Footblog

In the early hours of Friday morning, New York Red Bulls took on Chicago Fire in a fascinating 3-3 draw in the MLS.   The six goal thriller was as enthralling as you’d expect however it was a story of what could’ve beens from a Celtic point of view.  The scoring was opened by Lewis Morgan twenty minutes in when the twenty five year old expertly dispatched his spot kick into the bottom right corner past Gabriel Slonina.  It was Morgan’s fifth MLS goal of the campaign and one that kept him top of the Red Bulls’ scoring charts for 2022.  The wide-man was widely remembered by Celtic fans for the string of starts he earned at the beginning of December 2020 when Odsonne Edouard was out injured and Leigh Griffiths was also unavailable. Morgan started in five consecutive games against Rennes and Cluj in the Europa League, Ross County and Hamilton in the league, and finally, Rangers in the League Cup final. In those appearances, the Scot scored one goal and assisted as many a...

After the monumental winning of the Scottish Premiership title in his first season as manager, Ange Postecoglou is set to embark upon the second phase of his Celtic rebuild.   A lot still has to be done for the Australian to get his squad where he wants it to be yet the appointment of former City Group man Mark Lawwell, who Postecoglou worked with in Japan, as head of recruitment at Celtic has further developed the sense of what’s set to be an intriguing summer at Lennoxtown.  Moreover in this piece, we’ll be examining what the club will be looking to do in the upcoming transfer window as the Hoops prepare to defend their title and gear up for the Champions League group stages.  Turning the loan deals into permanent ones Cameron Carter-Vickers and Jota both joined Celtic on one year loans with options to buy on deadline day of the last summer transfer window.  In their year in Glasgow, the pair made a hugely prevalent impact with Carter-Vickers providing great stabil...

  Despite a starting eleven with a front three few expected at Tannadice on Wednesday night, Celtic were still able to secure their status as Champions of Scotland.   A 1-1 draw was sufficient enough for the Hoops to crown themselves as the finest time in Scotland and as ever I’ll be delivering my customary player ratings.  Here they are.  Joe Hart - 6/10 Joe Hart won the third league title of his career this evening but had some Celtic fans’ hearts in their mouths when doing so. Hart played the ball out from the back consistently and could do nothing to prevent Dylan Levitt from equalising with a wonderful strike in the second half.  Anthony Ralston - 8/10 Next to no-one would’ve been expecting to talk about Anthony Ralston when discussing a Celtic team that has just won the title but here we are. The twenty three year old was eminent at right back tonight, playing some sublime cross field passes and setting up Celtic’s only goal of the game.  Cameron Cart...

Yosuke Ideguchi joined Celtic on New Year’s Eve of 2021 as part of a trio of Japanese signings. He was seen as somewhat of a ‘project’ signing and cost the Hoops approximately £700,000 according to Transfermarkt.   Before coming to Celtic, Ideguchi (or ‘Guchi’, as he prefers to be called) already had previous experience in Europe in stints at Leeds United, Spanish side Leonesa and German outfit Greuther Furth. However, all of these spells were ravaged by injury as he managed only 13 appearances for all clubs put together.  As a result of his initial lack of success in Europe, the Japanese midfielder returned to Gamba Osaka in his homeland where he initially made his breakthrough between 2014 and 2018.  Guchi was able to solidly rebuild his reputation at Gamba, making 86 appearances in his second spell at the club as he helped them to 7th, 2nd and 13th places finishes in the J. League in the 2019, 2020 and 2021 seasons respectively.  The holding midfielder was able to...

Celtic faced off against Rangers on Sunday afternoon in a match that ultimately left both sets of supporters going away in a contented mood.   It is fair to say the Hoops weren’t at their best in the game however a 1-1 draw was sufficient enough to keep their six point lead at the top of the league.  Here are my player ratings from the match.   Joe Hart - 6/10 Granted, Joe Hart made some vital stops in the second half however I believe he could’ve done better at his near post for Fashion Sakala’s equaliser. The Englishman was slightly hesitant in build up play at times however the commanding presence and leadership he brings is invaluable. Furthermore, his save in the second half to deny Scott Arfield was utterly crucial.  Anthony Ralston - 6/10 Anthony Ralston didn’t look the greatest on the ball at times yet was constantly marauding down the right hand side to provide the Hoops with another attacking dynamic. The twenty three year old remained solid defensivel...

Celtic travelled to Dingwall on Sunday with the pressure firmly on them to regain their six point lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership.   This coercion didn’t seem to phase Ange Postecoglou’s men as they secured a 2-0 win over Ross County. There were undoubtedly some nerves among the Celtic support towards the end of the match however they were banished when Jota doubled the Hoops’ lead on the eighty seventh minute.  Here are my player ratings from the match.  Joe Hart - 7/10 Joe Hart has been ever present between the sticks for Celtic throughout this campaign and that was no different today. The Englishman didn’t have much to do but was alert late on when he denied what could’ve been Ross County goal had the offside flag not been raised.  Anthony Ralston - 7/10 After an injury to Josip Juranovic, Anthony Ralston will be expected to fill in at right back over the next few weeks. Today, the Scot done so amply, getting up and down the right hand side with ease....