In our defence ?

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

You have to admit that the defensive line up has to be given time to gel and get to know each other but I have real concerns about the personnel.

As I see it Gillet and McCann are traditional full backs. McCann is solid enuff defensively and rarely leaves his blades of grass but is not exciting going forward - but then again he had the outlet of Hayes - and we need a right back who defends and covers - but he did not appear to cover inside yesterday - perhaps that was his instructions. Gillet has pace and an attacking penchant - I think that the is going to be a real find - but again yesterday he stuck wide for the most and again gave little cover inside - although Fortune played wide all day.

Hopefully the full backs will learn to push forward more with Cox and Duncan responsible for the cover. At the end of the day I would prefer to see Proctor in at right back.

I was really worried about the "partnership" of Rosscoe and Granty - They may well be solid in the air and in the tackle but the central defence looked extremely shaky when peeple ran at them and Cellic got in behind far too often. Rosscoe just doesnt have the pace any more and he started going deeper and deeper - evidently for the fear of pace and movement. Granty should have been shouting his head off at the other defenders and pulling them out but he appeared to decide to cover them and that kept us deep. Granty isnt exactly quick over the ground and that is why we need the likes of McCann and especially Gillet to be tucking in.

Granty has never been as good since the Machine left - He appears to have gone from season to season as the one out and out central defender - and although he has done his bit, especially last season - he is given too much responsibility and I would give the vice captaincy to Esson and get him shouting the odds. i am afraid that I would give Innes a run instead of Rosscoe.

Having said all that it is without doubt that if amateurs like maself have these reservations that seasoned ex defenders like Terry and Mo will sort this out in training and on the SPL pitches.

[old caley girl]

Not too sure if Innes would add much Im afraid. looked very shaky at the Clach park the other night and made 2 bad mistakes.

[Johnboy]

I was really worried about the "partnership" of Rosscoe and Granty - They may well be solid in the air and in the tackle but the central defence looked extremely shaky when peeple ran at them and Cellic got in behind far too often.

You can look extremely shaky when anyone runs at you... Your tackle's probably seen better days too.

[Gabby]

I was really worried about the "partnership" of Rosscoe and Granty - They may well be solid in the air and in the tackle but the central defence looked extremely shaky when peeple ran at them and Cellic got in behind far too often.

You can look extremely shaky when anyone runs at you... Your tackle's probably seen better days too.

Most people run away from IHE, irespective of his tackle.

[alternative maryhill]

You have to admit that the defensive line up has to be given time to gel and get to know each other but I have real concerns about the personnel.

As I see it Gillet and McCann are traditional full backs. McCann is solid enuff defensively and rarely leaves his blades of grass but is not exciting going forward - but then again he had the outlet of Hayes - and we need a right back who defends and covers - but he did not appear to cover inside yesterday - perhaps that was his instructions. Gillet has pace and an attacking penchant - I think that the is going to be a real find - but again yesterday he stuck wide for the most and again gave little cover inside - although Fortune played wide all day.

Hopefully the full backs will learn to push forward more with Cox and Duncan responsible for the cover. At the end of the day I would prefer to see Proctor in at right back.

I was really worried about the "partnership" of Rosscoe and Granty - They may well be solid in the air and in the tackle but the central defence looked extremely shaky when peeple ran at them and Cellic got in behind far too often. Rosscoe just doesnt have the pace any more and he started going deeper and deeper - evidently for the fear of pace and movement. Granty should have been shouting his head off at the other defenders and pulling them out but he appeared to decide to cover them and that kept us deep. Granty isnt exactly quick over the ground and that is why we need the likes of McCann and especially Gillet to be tucking in.

Granty has never been as good since the Machine left - He appears to have gone from season to season as the one out and out central defender - and although he has done his bit, especially last season - he is given too much responsibility and I would give the vice captaincy to Esson and get him shouting the odds. i am afraid that I would give Innes a run instead of Rosscoe.

Having said all that it is without doubt that if amateurs like maself have these reservations that seasoned ex defenders like Terry and Mo will sort this out in training and on the SPL pitches.

As I mentioned on the matchday thread, I was pleasantly surprised by the defence yesterday. McCourt and Maloney are capable of making life difficult for every defence in the country, but with the obvious exception of the goal I think we contained them reasonably well, and Granty won his fair share in the air against Samaras. Maybe I'm being generous because I generally have reservations about Tokely as a CB and would prefer to see Innes, who is more of a Dods-type player, in there alongside Granty, but I felt Tokely was fairly solid too.

I agree absolutely about the need for McCann and Gillet to tuck in and support the centre backs - Caley Stan made the same point yesterday, I think. Even with Innes in there in place of Tokely, the central defence will still lack pace. The workrate of both full backs really impressed me though, although McCann had one or two shaky moments, unsurprising against a pretty decent team. Once Innes is fit, we do have proper cover at right back, with either Tokely or Proctor able to fill in, so again, I'm feeling reasonably happy about this area, provided the full backs are properly instructed.

Yesterday was a pretty tough start for a new defensive line-up, and it didn't help them that Cox and Duncan lost control of the midfield after half time, so on the whole I'd say they came through it pretty well.

[starchief]

I thought Tokely had an excellent game yesterday and played well with Munro. In fact, for us, Esson, Tokely and Gillet were our best players over the 90 minutes. How many saves did Esson have to make from Fortune and Samaras? Not too many I'd say. Fortune rarely had a sniff, whilst Samaras was picking up the ball outside the box as he was pushed back by our defence. I fancy quite a few clean sheets against lesser opposition this season.

I don't think pace is vital for a central defender but Ross is probably one of the quicker ones in the SPL. Way quicker than Dods or Weir for instance. I do think we defended too deep but I blame that more on the midfield. Cox and Duncan collapsed, whilst Ross and Hayes were nowhere near strong enough for a 90 mins against Celtic, so didn't do their defensive duties well enough. That meant Celtic could pile bodies in, overwhelming our back four.

In a 4-2-3-1, you don't really want attacking full-backs too much, so it's probably fine for a slower player like McCann. Did okay yesterday but will reserve judgment on him til later in the season.

All-in-all, I think our defence looked pretty good yesterday. It's just our midfield tired badly.

[Eye Settee]

Esson , Tokely and Gillet were my choices too. Along with Munro I thought they showed great passion and commitment to the club. I am optimistic for the rest of the season.

[12th Man]

Would this thread have been created if we were more ruthless in front of goal and had won the game.

[Pedz4king]

You have to admit that the defensive line up has to be given time to gel and get to know each other but I have real concerns about the personnel.

As I see it Gillet and McCann are traditional full backs. McCann is solid enuff defensively and rarely leaves his blades of grass but is not exciting going forward - but then again he had the outlet of Hayes - and we need a right back who defends and covers - but he did not appear to cover inside yesterday - perhaps that was his instructions. Gillet has pace and an attacking penchant - I think that the is going to be a real find - but again yesterday he stuck wide for the most and again gave little cover inside - although Fortune played wide all day.

Hopefully the full backs will learn to push forward more with Cox and Duncan responsible for the cover. At the end of the day I would prefer to see Proctor in at right back.

I was really worried about the "partnership" of Rosscoe and Granty - They may well be solid in the air and in the tackle but the central defence looked extremely shaky when peeple ran at them and Cellic got in behind far too often. Rosscoe just doesnt have the pace any more and he started going deeper and deeper - evidently for the fear of pace and movement. Granty should have been shouting his head off at the other defenders and pulling them out but he appeared to decide to cover them and that kept us deep. Granty isnt exactly quick over the ground and that is why we need the likes of McCann and especially Gillet to be tucking in.

Granty has never been as good since the Machine left - He appears to have gone from season to season as the one out and out central defender - and although he has done his bit, especially last season - he is given too much responsibility and I would give the vice captaincy to Esson and get him shouting the odds. i am afraid that I would give Innes a run instead of Rosscoe.

Having said all that it is without doubt that if amateurs like maself have these reservations that seasoned ex defenders like Terry and Mo will sort this out in training and on the SPL pitches.

If he didnt play that deep fortune would be open to cut in where and whenever he wants and then would just cut back and BOOM! goal

[Pedz4king]

Also can you name me more than 4 centre backs who have quite good pace in the SPL?

Madjid doesnt count, he plays @ right back

[Joe DiMaggio]

I thought Tokely was not bad today but I thought Munro was awful.

Samaras beat Munro to the ball in the air every single time and this created a good few chances for Celtic, he also made a blunder which put a Celtic player through. The only time Samaras didn't win the ball in the air was when he was competing with Tokely. I don't know why they never switched position at CB as Munro was getting done every single time in the air by Samaras.

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

Would this thread have been created if we were more ruthless in front of goal and had won the game.

Of course it wouldnt :_beatme:

I thought Tokely was not bad today but I thought Munro was awful.

Samaras beat Munro to the ball in the air every single time and this created a good few chances for Celtic, he also made a blunder which put a Celtic player through. The only time Samaras didn't win the ball in the air was when he was competing with Tokely. I don't know why they never switched position at CB as Munro was getting done every single time in the air by Samaras.

Aint if feckin amazing how we see the game in different perspectives - but that is the beauty of football. I have just watched a re run of the match and I stick by my earlier comments.

Out of interest - do we video our home games ?

[Ronaldo]

Can't answer the question about the video, but I would give our defense 8/10 yesterday.

[TopSix]

From yesterdays performance it looks like my relative who works for Barnet is right about Gillet - he is good and has an excellent workrate. McCann was good too - no doubt Hibs will take him back come the end of 2010. Esson - wow. I know I was making the case for Tuffey to start but Esson was supreme yesterday. Though Munro was ok tbh.

[+Gringo]

Esson saved us from a very heavy defeat.

[VIVA LAS TOKLEY]

I thought Esson had a great game, was my man of the match for the saves he made in the second half. Although I thought Gillet played reasonably well, I could not believe how much of a hole he kept leaving for Fortune to slip into in the second half.

[Harry Chibber]

You have to admit that the defensive line up has to be given time to gel and get to know each other but I have real concerns about the personnel.

As I see it Gillet and McCann are traditional full backs. McCann is solid enuff defensively and rarely leaves his blades of grass but is not exciting going forward - but then again he had the outlet of Hayes - and we need a right back who defends and covers - but he did not appear to cover inside yesterday - perhaps that was his instructions. Gillet has pace and an attacking penchant - I think that the is going to be a real find - but again yesterday he stuck wide for the most and again gave little cover inside - although Fortune played wide all day.

Hopefully the full backs will learn to push forward more with Cox and Duncan responsible for the cover. At the end of the day I would prefer to see Proctor in at right back.

I can count at least 3 occasions that either McCann or Gillet came from wide to make crucial challenges inside the box. You can't have it both ways that they push forward to support the wide men and also come inside to protect the centre backs. Both players gave an excellent account of themselves when playing against 2 attacking wide players, unfortunately, the 1 occasion McCann let McCourt cut inside him lead to the goal... even then it was Cox that could've done a lot better to prevent a shot coming in.

I was really worried about the "partnership" of Rosscoe and Granty - They may well be solid in the air and in the tackle but the central defence looked extremely shaky when peeple ran at them and Cellic got in behind far too often. Rosscoe just doesnt have the pace any more and he started going deeper and deeper - evidently for the fear of pace and movement. Granty should have been shouting his head off at the other defenders and pulling them out but he appeared to decide to cover them and that kept us deep. Granty isnt exactly quick over the ground and that is why we need the likes of McCann and especially Gillet to be tucking in.

Granty has never been as good since the Machine left - He appears to have gone from season to season as the one out and out central defender - and although he has done his bit, especially last season - he is given too much responsibility and I would give the vice captaincy to Esson and get him shouting the odds. i am afraid that I would give Innes a run instead of Rosscoe.

Having said all that it is without doubt that if amateurs like maself have these reservations that seasoned ex defenders like Terry and Mo will sort this out in training and on the SPL pitches.

Agree about Rossco, he was caught out of position on a few occasion because he was so eager to push up the pitch and help attack. Tel will hopefully tell him to be more disciplined in future and it shouldn't be an issue... only happended on a couple of occasions mind and for the rest of the game I thought he was outstanding.

Honestly don't know how you can get on at Munro.. he was probably my pick out of the 4. He even played a couple of inch perfect diagonals to Hayes!! Captaincy should only be questioned if there is not enough commitment or orginisation, both of which we had plenty of on Saturday.

[davie]

Esson saved us from a very heavy defeat.

Nah, honestly Gringo, Celtic didn't look like a side that would have really hurt us. Esson had a few great saves, but that's what he's there for. They might have got another goal and then closed the game out, but very heavy defeat? Nah. What made most difference was an unfit Foran and a half fit Hayes - with them both functioning, we might not have had a dfeat at all!

[starchief]

I agree that Esson wasn't the main reason for not having a heavy defeat. Celtic set up a few chances and dominated the second half but Samaras and Fortune saved us from the heavy defeat. If you don't have strikers that can score, then you're always going to struggle. Lennon said he wasn't worried as the goals will come. I think that's playing the blind optimism card rather strongly. Get a regular scorer in and you don't need to create that many chances.

Selling Scott MacDonald, not getting Robbie Keane or Craig Bellamy back on loan and not buying a striker, whilst spending millions on Samaras, Murphy and Fortune is the reason Celtic didn't win by more goals. Quite why they wanted to sell Sheridan, whilst spending over ?3M on Fortune and another ?1.5M (or so) on Murphy beggars belief. I can't see much difference in goals between them.

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

You have to admit that the defensive line up has to be given time to gel and get to know each other but I have real concerns about the personnel.

As I see it Gillet and McCann are traditional full backs. McCann is solid enuff defensively and rarely leaves his blades of grass but is not exciting going forward - but then again he had the outlet of Hayes - and we need a right back who defends and covers - but he did not appear to cover inside yesterday - perhaps that was his instructions. Gillet has pace and an attacking penchant - I think that the is going to be a real find - but again yesterday he stuck wide for the most and again gave little cover inside - although Fortune played wide all day.

Hopefully the full backs will learn to push forward more with Cox and Duncan responsible for the cover. At the end of the day I would prefer to see Proctor in at right back.

I can count at least 3 occasions that either McCann or Gillet came from wide to make crucial challenges inside the box. You can't have it both ways that they push forward to support the wide men and also come inside to protect the centre backs. Both players gave an excellent account of themselves when playing against 2 attacking wide players, unfortunately, the 1 occasion McCann let McCourt cut inside him lead to the goal... even then it was Cox that could've done a lot better to prevent a shot coming in.

I was really worried about the "partnership" of Rosscoe and Granty - They may well be solid in the air and in the tackle but the central defence looked extremely shaky when peeple ran at them and Cellic got in behind far too often. Rosscoe just doesnt have the pace any more and he started going deeper and deeper - evidently for the fear of pace and movement. Granty should have been shouting his head off at the other defenders and pulling them out but he appeared to decide to cover them and that kept us deep. Granty isnt exactly quick over the ground and that is why we need the likes of McCann and especially Gillet to be tucking in.

Granty has never been as good since the Machine left - He appears to have gone from season to season as the one out and out central defender - and although he has done his bit, especially last season - he is given too much responsibility and I would give the vice captaincy to Esson and get him shouting the odds. i am afraid that I would give Innes a run instead of Rosscoe.

Having said all that it is without doubt that if amateurs like maself have these reservations that seasoned ex defenders like Terry and Mo will sort this out in training and on the SPL pitches.

Agree about Rossco, he was caught out of position on a few occasion because he was so eager to push up the pitch and help attack. Tel will hopefully tell him to be more disciplined in future and it shouldn't be an issue... only happended on a couple of occasions mind and for the rest of the game I thought he was outstanding.

Honestly don't know how you can get on at Munro.. he was probably my pick out of the 4. He even played a couple of inch perfect diagonals to Hayes!! Captaincy should only be questioned if there is not enough commitment or orginisation, both of which we had plenty of on Saturday.

Have to say that the interceptions were mainly when there was a dead ball situation or a more packed goalmouth - I was referring to Cellic attacking on the break - especially in the first half when both full backs tended to stay wide instead of tucking in. I did say that both accounted well enuff.

It wasnt meant to be a criticism of Granty - I was trying to say that he never really has had a competent partner since the Machine and has suffered by having to cover others. He isnt the captain any more which probably says a lot. Of course he is committed but not shure about being organised - just think esson would be more effective.

And as I also stated we have a management team who should be well able to sort that out. But what do you think of playing Nick Ross on the wrong wing and the wrong foot !!!

[WeAreSPL]

I thought our defence worked hard and played well on Saturday.

With the way Celtic approached the second half they did well to keep the defecit to one goal.

Makes me full of confidence for this season - I predict a 4th or 5th place finish.

[dan_ict]

I thought our defence worked hard and played well on Saturday.

With the way Celtic approached the second half they did well to keep the defecit to one goal.

Makes me full of confidence for this season - I predict a 4th or 5th place finish.

Calm yoursel min

[Bladeinexile]

Exiled Blade here, moved up with work but have become an honorary Caley fan.

from what i saw on saturday it looked like a lack of fitness from caley players, the ball was moved around really quickly by celtic and caley couldnt keep up.

i think your goalie looked really good but his defence seemed to open up time and time again, just look at the amount of chances that were created and saved, hit woodwork or were off target.

its a shame because caley looked really fired up early on and maybe had they taken an early chance it could have been very differnt. hays looked quick despite looking overweight, and maybe if he trims a little he'll be able to keep it up over 90 mins.

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

Exiled Blade here, moved up with work but have become an honorary Caley fan.

from what i saw on saturday it looked like a lack of fitness from caley players, the ball was moved around really quickly by celtic and caley couldnt keep up.

i think your goalie looked really good but his defence seemed to open up time and time again, just look at the amount of chances that were created and saved, hit woodwork or were off target.

its a shame because caley looked really fired up early on and maybe had they taken an early chance it could have been very differnt. hays looked quick despite looking overweight, and maybe if he trims a little he'll be able to keep it up over 90 mins.

Now that is interesting - Hayes has been out fer a while so he has abit of excues BUT he died after 60 mins most games last season - we were never lacking for fitness under Brewster - only time will tell - mind you the Blades havent been a Premier outfit fer a long, long time.

[Scarlet Pimple]

If Jonny keeps it up fer 90 minutes do you think he will be o Vinegaragra?