Alistair Johnston

[Cheeta]

To no one's surprise getting the start at Celtic Park against Atletico.

Breath.  Just ... breath.

[Kadenge]

He looks like a little boy out there during the lineup with a big smile on his face. Go get em tiger.

[Kadenge]

1-0 Celtic at 3'

[Kadenge]

2-1 for Celtic at the half. 2nd goal by Honduran Luis Palma who has looked good. Solid half for AJ. He is so much better at RB

[WestHamCanadianinOxford]

Got to watch the last 10 or so minutes of the half.  Our boy does not look out of place in limited viewing.

Really good attacking movement maybe a little more precision on crosses but they still asked some questions and some really important interventions defending. 

[Cheeta]

Not bad, eh?

You know, sometimes the worst thing that can happen to you is that half-time whistle.  To be fair, sometimes it can save your ass as well but today doesn't feel like its one of those days if you're a Celt.  Let's keep playing!

Here's to a 2nd half that'll echo the 1st.  

 

 

[Cheeta]

LOL.  Both Galan and Saul out at the half.  Lovely.

[WestHamCanadianinOxford]

Have I mentioned that I find Carter-Vickers well short of being a decent footballer on this platform?

[TOcanadafan]

6 minutes ago, WestHamCanadianinOxford said:

Have I mentioned that I find Carter-Vickers well short of being a decent footballer on this platform?

 He played great last year, but not at the same level this season… and has cost them immensely in CL.

[Kadenge]

Atletico down to 10 men at 83' of a 2-2 game

[Cheeta]

56 minutes ago, WestHamCanadianinOxford said:

Have I mentioned that I find Carter-Vickers well short of being a decent footballer on this platform?

Lots of love for the man up North but you take the good with the bad.  Can have a grand day but still pull a grade AAA+ cluster out of his ass once a match.  Or it feels like it.

Anyway... bugger.  That was a must win.  I don't want to write Celtic let it get away from them because Atletico had a say in the proceedings.  Still, here we are, on 1 point after 3.   Ug.

Edited October 25, 2023 by Cheeta

[Cheeta]

AJ invisible after Phillips came on and Maeda pushed central. 

Better than fair match by our Alistair I though, until then, but not his very best day.  His real-time vision and passing maybe doesn't get recognized enough around here but to my eye it's his best weapon and while he showed some of that today maybe there wasn't enough of it.

Faint hope yet for Celtic & Co., but very faint indeed.

[InglewoodJack]

15 minutes ago, Cheeta said:

AJ invisible after Phillips came on and Maeda pushed central. 

Better than fair match by our Alistair I though, until then, but not his very best day.  His real-time vision and passing maybe doesn't get recognized enough around here but to my eye it's his best weapon and while he showed some of that today maybe there wasn't enough of it.

Faint hope yet for Celtic & Co., but very faint indeed.

This is what stuck out for me about him last year for Montreal, especially watching him live. Glad to hear his performance was better than his stat sheet showed- I’m still unsure if AJ has that extra level to push beyond Scotland and hold his own against the best of the best in the world like in the champions league. Always tough to get a sense of his form being that it’s Celtic and either the team is severely outmatched or is severely outmatching opponents, so hard to parse through the stats without actually watching the game. 

[Kadenge]

Agree and it's an attribute that we don't max out when he plays as a RCB. 

30 minutes ago, Cheeta said:

.... His real-time vision and passing maybe doesn't get recognized enough.... around here but to my eye it's his best weapon and while he showed some of that today maybe there wasn't enough of it.

 

[costarg]

53 minutes ago, Kadenge said:

Agree and it's an attribute that we don't max out when he plays as a RCB. 

A year ago we'd get attacked when saying this.  It was like people thought CFM was playing him out of position and not the other way around.  CANMNT and Johnston are better when he plays RB not CB.

[The Real Marc]

One of the poorer Fotmob ratings if that means anything. Eustaquio had a good one against weaker opposition mind you

[BearcatSA]

However, I thought his passing wasn't good vs Japan.  So if he was better in that department today against this calibre of opponent, than that's good to see

[Borjans Sweatpants]

Do we think he could play RWB? Just thinking in terms of what we typically run formation wise now, though our CBs might struggle with that too much. 

[Unnamed Trialist]

Saw the full review from At Madrid perspective, and they were concerned that their LB Galán was overwhelmed, and most of the Celtic attack was most successful down that right side. AJ often launching and supporting it. In turn At Madrid pushed better down their right, not against Alistair's side.

Some of those fouls were nasty, ugly from Carter-Vickers.

[Shway]

3 hours ago, Borjans Sweatpants said:

Do we think he could play RWB? Just thinking in terms of what we typically run formation wise now, though our CBs might struggle with that too much. 

Of course he could. 

But is Laryea and Buchanan better in that position? For me, most definitely. 

[Obinna]

40 minutes ago, Shway said:

Of course he could. 

But is Laryea and Buchanan better in that position? For me, most definitely. 

I suppose it depends on what type of wing back we want, but in general I think Buchanan and Laryea are better alternatives because of their attacking and specifically their one-v-one ability. Johnston could give us a different look with may have the best passing and crossing of the 3, but he's not going to dribble players and such. 

Also, who plays RCB if Johnston is at RWB? Waterman? Bombito? Zator? If we are trying to get all of our best players on the field, these RCB alternatives will be on the bench or not dressed. 

[costarg]

Here's me again chiming in with the anti-3-man back talk.  Broken record I know.  But once again, all of the questions and issues you raise are answered and solved with a 4-man back.  

35 minutes ago, Obinna said:

 Buchanan and Laryea are better alternatives because of their attacking and specifically their one-v-one ability. Johnston could give us a different look with may have the best passing and crossing of the 3, but he's not going to dribble players and such. 

Play Johnston AND Tajon.  Johnston at RB, his ideal position AND Tajon at RW, his real and ideal position.

35 minutes ago, Obinna said:

Also, who plays RCB if Johnston is at RWB? Waterman? Bombito? Zator?

We don't have one, we need to stop this shoehorning.  The back 3 does not suit our squad.  Any combination of dual CB is better than our current setup of 3 CBs

35 minutes ago, Obinna said:

If we are trying to get all of our best players on the field, these RCB alternatives will be on the bench or not dressed. 

We can't get our best players on the pitch by adding in a 3rd weaker CB.  The whole formation is stronger with a back 4.

 

 

Edited October 26, 2023 by costarg

[Obinna]

2 minutes ago, costarg said:

Here's me again chiming in with the anti-3-man back talk.  Broken record I know.  But once again, all of the questions and issues you raise are answered and solved with a 4-man back.  

Play Johnston AND Tajon.  Johnston at RB, his ideal position AND Tajon at RW, his real and ideal position.

We don't have one, we need to stop this shoehorning.  The back 3 does not suit our squad.  Any combination of dual CB is better than our current setup of 3 CBs

We can't get our best players on the pitch by adding in a 3rd weaker CB.  The whole formation is stronger with a back 4.

 

 

All good points but especially the bolded one. I think that sums it all up really. CB is our weakest position so why play 3 of them, including one of them out of position? That was a Herdman call early on in WCQ and it's seemed to stick, but I think it's time we move away from it. We know we can shift back into formation if needed, but I think we should be looking at alternatives.

------------Larin--------------

Millar-------David------Buchanan

-------Kone-----Eustaquio-------

Davies--Miller--McGraw--Johnston

------------Crepeau-------------------

 

I don't feel great about the RCB spot here and could be talked into McNaugton over McGraw, or Vitoria if we can sqeeze more juice out of that orange. Waterman, Bombito or even Zator could be options here too. Regardless, this will be our weak spot no matter how we look at it.

Post-Vitoria....Do we want a good passer? Then McNaugton or Waterman. Do we want someone good in the air? Then McGraw. Do we want a bit of both? Then Bombito...plus he is faster than all these guys...but until he gets more club reps I fear he is too raw. 

David at CAM and Millar starting...

I have said this before elsewhere, but Millar is too good not to start in my opinion. Playing an extra CB essentially means we are playing Johnston out of position and choosing Laryea over Millar. Richie has a lot of great qualities, but I think we are better served by starting Millar on the left, Johnston at fullback, and bringing Laryea on as a super sub. 

As for David, I think we need to drop him back to get someone else pulling the strings. I am fine with Hoilett doing this and David going up top instead of Larin, but I have been convinced now that Osorio is less dependable in this role than Junior or David would be. I am not ready to say he should be dropped all together, because he can give us some minutes without too much of a drop off, but if we are talking about starting a match against the best teams, it needs to be Junior or David now, until another player emerges.

I wish Nelson kept developing as a center midfielder because he could have been the solution. Maybe he sill can be in the future....

[Bigandy]

4 minutes ago, Obinna said:

I have said this before elsewhere, but Millar is too good not to start in my opinion. Playing an extra CB essentially means we are playing Johnston out of position and choosing Laryea over Millar. Richie has a lot of great qualities, but I think we are better served by starting Millar on the left, Johnston at fullback, and bringing Laryea on as a super sub. 

 

Thats not really true. Our best 11 (in a 3atb) has johnston rcb, tajon and davies wingback, with laryea and millar on the bench. 

 

27 minutes ago, costarg said:

Play Johnston AND Tajon.  Johnston at RB, his ideal position AND Tajon at RW, his real and ideal position.

 

 

 

I would argue that tajon has the potential to move to a higher level like inter/atletico as a wingback but he wouldnt generate the same interest as a winger. Therefore his ideal position to me is WB. Even though I desperately wish we would have tajon and koleosho as our wingers in a 4-2-3-1.

I would like a back 4 but I see 3 major issues with our squad pool. 
1. 2 of our best players are strikers. Dropping one makes sense but in a 3-5-2 we can get away with 2 more so than with a back 4. 
2. We dont have any "10's" or attack minded mids. Our midfield will lack balance. Although this is a problem with any 3 man midfield combination.
3. Our back line gets exposed more easily in a back 4. Davies pushing high, a lack of pace and height at LCB (unless kennedy plays), really weak options at RCB. I would say the best solution for balance is davies - cornelius - bombito - johnston. 

[Shway]

37 minutes ago, Obinna said:

All good points but especially the bolded one. I think that sums it all up really. CB is our weakest position so why play 3 of them, including one of them out of position? That was a Herdman call early on in WCQ and it's seemed to stick, but I think it's time we move away from it. We know we can shift back into formation if needed, but I think we should be looking at alternatives.

------------Larin--------------

Millar-------David------Buchanan

-------Kone-----Eustaquio-------

Davies--Miller--McGraw--Johnston

------------Crepeau-------------------

 

You haven't changed much to the starting lineup. What I did notice is that you essentially dropped Laryea or Osorio for Millar, and pushed Davies further back to get him on. 

If we were doing this formation I would swap Millar for Laryea, and swap him with Davies. 
Millar is part of the future, I just don't think he's a starter just yet, especially in a front three. 

------------Larin--------------

Davies-------David------Buchanan

-------Kone-----Eustaquio-------

Laryea--Miller--McGraw--Johnston

------------Crepeau-------------------

Or if you are adamant about Davies playing at LB, than Hoilett goes in that spot for me with super sub Millar, Brym, Nelson, Corbeanu, Shaffelburg, as options for the wide players.