Ange Postecoglou

[GG Riva]

I rarely watch the Glasgow derby live, but felt drawn to watch it on Wednesday night, in part to see how Postecoglu would set up his tactics and overall game plan. When he was first mooted as Celtic`s new manager hardly any of us had ever heard of him, but Ozpar assured us that he was an outstanding manager and he would turn round the club`s fortunes in double quick time. He also said there was more chance of Ange succeeding Klopp at Anfield than StevieG.....

I must admit I thought Oz was laying it on a bit thick, but this game made me reconsider. Celtic were on fire in the first half and they managed the game well in the 2nd. Their quick passing, high intensity style, is reminiscent of Guardiola`s Barcelona and the Lisbon Lions of 1967. I didn`t buy into McCoist's assertion that Rangers were appalling. They were only as good as their opponents allowed them to be, although defensive lapses didn`t help their cause.

This game could well signal a changing of the guard. Celtic have improved beyond all recognition compared to the shambles of Lennon`s  last season, while Rangers are no longer the well drilled unit which swept all before them in the league, last season. How many trophies Celtic win will depend on long Postecoglu stays at Parkhead. It`s only a matter of time before a top EPL club will be bidding for his services.

Eddie Howe did Celtic a huge favour by turning down the job.

[Digs]

Celtic were fantastic, and have been for most of the season with their high press, high intensity play. They absolutely battered Rangers in the first half to the point they must have felt they were playing against more than 11. 

However, I don't think it can be argued in any way that Rangers were not an utter disgrace in that first half. The defending was as bad as we were watching at the start of the season under Peter Grant, the third goal in particular.

[livipar2]

No fan of either half of the OF but Ange comes across brilliantly in interviews etc. his team also seems to try and play good football with the onus on attack. His use of the Japanese market has been fantastic.

A lot of the Scottish media and also a large chunk of the C*ltic support have also had to hastily revise their opinion of him given the way he was treated on arrival.

[alwaysaPar]

It's actually refreshing to hear him talk about his team and players,  not the usual about the club, he doesn't regurgitate the usual stuff about the history of the institution,  just concentrates on coaching and putting a team out to play

[GG Riva]

3 hours ago, Digs said:

Celtic were fantastic, and have been for most of the season with their high press, high intensity play. They absolutely battered Rangers in the first half to the point they must have felt they were playing against more than 11. 

However, I don't think it can be argued in any way that Rangers were not an utter disgrace in that first half. The defending was as bad as we were watching at the start of the season under Peter Grant, the third goal in particular.

Rangers were poor defensively but maybe suggesting they were "an utter disgrace" is more than tad harsh, Digs. You give credit to Celtic for their attacking display and then dilute it by hammering the Rangers performance. A poor team can make their opponents look better than they are but the corollary is also true.

Agree with Livipar2 about him handling the media well, especially the more nippy journalists. Jock Stein and Fergie had that same edge.

[Digs]

10 minutes ago, GG Riva said:

Rangers were poor defensively but maybe suggesting they were "an utter disgrace" is more than tad harsh, Digs. You give credit to Celtic for their attacking display and then dilute it by hammering the Rangers performance. A poor team can make their opponents look better than they are but the corollary is also true.

Agree with Livipar2 about him handling the media well, especially the more nippy journalists. Jock Stein and Fergie had that same edge.

I'm not diluting it at all, they're not mutually exclusive.

They battered them, but the actual defending, rather than the general set up from front to back, the tactics and overall performance, are a different thing. The 3rd goal in particular was an absolute horror show defensively from Barisic, a decent player who will want to erase al memory of his game from his brain he was so bad. They were also caught sleeping at least 3 times with the same short diagonal corner. It was schoolboy stuff. The first goal saw two defenders literally run into each other causing an injury to one of them, and didn't even clear the ball.  

According to Scott Arfield, the normally mild mannered Giovanni Van Bronkhorst went absolutely ballistic at HT which did have an impact as was borne out by the second half performance, so this seems to vindicate my view as Gio clearly felt the same. 

Let's not forget, this is a team that won the league at an absolute canter last year, so to put in that sort of performance is unacceptable if you're a Rangers fan. (to be clear I'm not 😂)

[alwaysaPar]

2 minutes ago, Digs said:

I'm not diluting it at all, they're not mutually exclusive.

They battered them, but the actual defending, rather than the general set up from front to back, the tactics and overall performance, are a different thing. The 3rd goal in particular was an absolute horror show defensively from Barisic, a decent player who will want to erase al memory of his game from his brain he was so bad. They were also caught sleeping at least 3 times with the same short diagonal corner. It was schoolboy stuff. According to Scott Arfield, the normally mild mannered Giovanni Van Bronkhorst went absolutely ballistic at HT which did have an impact as was borne out by the second half performance, so this seems to vindicate my view as Gio clearly felt the same. 

Got to agree with Digs,  Celtics movement and quick passing were tremendous but the actual basics expected from the Rangers players was sadly lacking, no pressing, failure to track opponents lack of an out ball,  it was all clearly evident

[GG Riva]

2 hours ago, Digs said:

I'm not diluting it at all, they're not mutually exclusive.

They battered them, but the actual defending, rather than the general set up from front to back, the tactics and overall performance, are a different thing. The 3rd goal in particular was an absolute horror show defensively from Barisic, a decent player who will want to erase al memory of his game from his brain he was so bad. They were also caught sleeping at least 3 times with the same short diagonal corner. It was schoolboy stuff. The first goal saw two defenders literally run into each other causing an injury to one of them, and didn't even clear the ball.  

According to Scott Arfield, the normally mild mannered Giovanni Van Bronkhorst went absolutely ballistic at HT which did have an impact as was borne out by the second half performance, so this seems to vindicate my view as Gio clearly felt the same. 

Let's not forget, this is a team that won the league at an absolute canter last year, so to put in that sort of performance is unacceptable if you're a Rangers fan. (to be clear I'm not 😂)

I respect your opinion and I agree that several Rangers players had a night to forget, with Barasic top of that list by some distance, but I prefer to give the credit for that to Celtic - their tactics made it extremely difficult for Rangers beleaguered defenders.

Here's an interesting article from The Athletic:-

https://theathletic.com/3109165/2022/02/03/cox-gasperinis-atalanta-would-have-been-proud-of-celtics-devastating-rotations/?source=user-shared-article