The latest news and talking points from the world of Scottish football.
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00:00 Hello and welcome to National World Fitba Talk, your nan's favourite football podcast
00:09 Ken. It's a show where we break down the latest news and results from the Scottish premiership
00:13 and around the SPFL. I'm your host Martin Simpson and I'm joined as always by regular
00:18 guest Lewis Anderson from Glasgow World. This week we're going to be doing a deep dive into
00:23 Celtic's 3-1 win against Aberdeen at Petaudry from Sunday and we're also going to be looking
00:27 ahead to Rangers, Hearts and Hibs European fixtures in the midweek. So Lewis, quite a
00:35 lot I think to dissect from that match in the North East on Sunday. First of all, from
00:41 a Celtic point of view, the approach to that match and their traditional, very direct,
00:48 you know, expansive football in Aberdeen, for the most part, were able to make that
00:54 difficult for them, shut them down. We saw a lot of passes just weren't hitting the mark,
01:00 a lot more than you would be used to seeing from a Celtic side. They looked a wee bit
01:04 aimless at times and even then, we're really not used to seeing Joe Hart sort of hoofing
01:10 the ball past the halfway line but we definitely witnessed that a couple of times. Look, in
01:16 the end, they got the three points, they got the result, that's the most important thing
01:19 but is there any sort of maybe concern there at their struggle to potentially adapt to
01:25 a team like Aberdeen actually trying to take the game to them?
01:29 Yeah, it's an interesting one. It did feel like a bit of a grind yesterday, I must say.
01:34 It wasn't Celtic, certainly, at their free-flowing best. I think it's probably, Aberdeen deserve
01:39 a lot of credit for that. It's probably the best I've seen Aberdeen play against Celtic
01:43 for numerous previous visits laid down to them. Fair play to the way Barry Robson set
01:52 out Aberdeen yesterday. Yeah, it's still early doors. I think Brendan Rodgers has been quite
01:57 vocal about how he still says that a lot of the new signings are still adapting to the
02:04 way he likes to work and it's just taken a bit of time to maybe click into place. But,
02:10 you know, it's the sign of a good team that still managed to churn out the victories while
02:16 this is all kind of going on in the background. Obviously, there's been a lot of uncertainty
02:20 around how the squad might look as well at the end of the transfer window with Karl Starvel
02:26 leaving last week. Celtic fans, I think the overwhelming verdict among supporters yesterday
02:33 was that they want to see a busy end to the transfer window. They do feel that they are
02:38 certainly short in certain positions. Looking at the squad from 12 months ago when Ange
02:45 Postacoglu had them, I'd say this Celtic squad isn't as strong, which will be a disappointment
02:55 going into these European fixtures. I think supporters would have really hoped that they
02:59 would have kicked on and managed to bring in additional bits of quality. But so far,
03:04 we've saw that they've struggled to hold on to a couple of players. So that'll be a disappointment.
03:12 At this moment in time, I'd be concerned very much with the way they are playing going into
03:17 those Champions League group stage games in mid-September. Because at this moment in time,
03:22 I don't see Celtic improving much on what they managed to achieve in Europe last year
03:29 as things currently stand. So I'd like to see a positive upturn in performance. There
03:37 was a couple of incidents yesterday where a few players I thought looked like they were
03:44 coming on to a game. Yang Hyun-Jun in particular, when he came off the bench, Odin Tiago-Holm,
03:50 they've both looked really good so far. There have been others that have taken a bit longer
03:56 to find their feet, which is understandable. But overall, job done yesterday. As I said,
04:02 Matt O'Reilly was probably the standout player on the park. And I think he could really mould
04:09 into a key player under Brendan Rodgers' regime going forward. But overall, not Celtic at
04:17 their free-flowing best. But as you said, they did enough to win the game.
04:22 That's the flip side of the coin, isn't it? We sit here and say, "Oh, they got a scare."
04:26 There's no point in pressing the panic button because they won the game 3-1.
04:30 Yeah, look, again, we'll get on to Aberdeen, but a couple of key moments here or there.
04:36 Nicky Devlin's mistake that gifts Kjobe the second and then when it's 2-1, Leighton Clarkson
04:42 has an effort that goes really close. These moments could have changed the game. But Celtic
04:49 are the better team overall and they won the game rightly so. But it does seem to me a
04:56 side just littered with technically gifted footballers. Do they maybe need just a few
05:04 more guys with just a bit more of a physical presence? Not necessarily to go straight into
05:10 the team because they obviously don't need to completely change the way they're playing.
05:14 I'm not suggesting that for a second. But maybe just in the midfield and just at the
05:19 top end of the park, could they maybe just be doing with the option of having someone
05:25 a bit more physical, just a little bit more, take the game by the scruff of the neck, rough
05:32 and ready, be a handful for defenders. Kjobe was obviously a handful for defenders, but
05:37 in his own right. But say like, I know there was very unlikely, not probable links to say
05:44 Miquel Antonio from West Ham. That's a transfer I would be shocked to see happening. But a
05:51 player like that, someone at the top end who's rough, who's physical, who can hold the ball
05:57 up but does still have good technical ability, even potentially say a Lyndon Dykes type from
06:04 the job he does for Scotland. Do you think Brendan Rodgers might look at this game and
06:09 say it would be useful for them to have someone like that in the squad?
06:14 Definitely. Yeah, yeah. I think you'd be going back a couple of years since Celtic had that
06:19 type of striker, I'd say. So it's certainly, yeah, that's an area of the park in particular
06:26 they need to try and find that bit of cover because at the moment, Kjobe, we know he's
06:31 kind of had a chequered injury past, always obviously been ruled out for, I think it's
06:36 five to six weeks, which is a bit of a blow. And currently Kjobe has no competition in
06:41 that area of the park. I guess was that type of striker previously for Celtic. So yeah,
06:48 certainly be looking at that area and saying they need someone, as you said, that can do
06:55 the dirty side of the game. I think Kjobe, terrific movement, he's got great feet and
07:02 he's a prolific goal scorer, but he doesn't have that kind of physical attributes that
07:08 Jaki Makis previously had, for example. So certainly there was actually a name that Celtic
07:14 were linked with earlier in the transfer window, a guy called Levy Garcia, who looked like
07:19 the type of player that could fit that type of mould based on a couple of games that I'd
07:24 watched. He plays for EAK Athens, I believe. He looked like the type of candidate that
07:30 would have kind of fitted that system quite well, in my opinion. And then certainly in
07:37 the middle of the park, I wouldn't be as concerned at this moment in time. I think they've got
07:40 enough creativity and kind of real natural born leaders in that middle of the park. I
07:47 think Ketati, when he showed yesterday, when he came on, he made a real difference to the
07:52 way Celtic were competing for second balls. There was a lot of direct football played
07:59 yesterday and Celtic struggled in the midfield in that first half in particular. And yeah,
08:07 I mean, defensively as well, you're looking at Cameron Carter-Vickers as the kind of the
08:11 first choice centre back, but then obviously with Starford going out the door, you're asking
08:16 a lot early doors for Norowski to kind of go in there and mould a strong partnership
08:25 like Starfeld did with Carter-Vickers instantly. There's obviously chat around Gustav Lagerbeil,
08:32 who looks like he'll join the club at some point this week over the coming days, from
08:37 Elfsburg in Sweden. So that'll be another interesting one. Certainly a like look of
08:43 him based on what I've seen of him so far, Martin, he looks like the type of player that
08:49 over time, again, he's that type of player, a Thiago Holm, he's one for the future, if
08:55 you like, in a couple of seasons' time we'll see the best out of him, I think. So, yes,
09:00 certainly areas of the team that Rodgers should be looking to strengthen in the final weeks
09:06 of the transfer window.
09:09 Well, all credit to Aberdeen, but I think the question that I was thinking most after
09:16 that game was, are other teams in Scotland actually going to look at what can be achieved
09:24 by taking the game to Celtic? Now, first of all, we do have to say Aberdeen, Hearts and
09:31 Hibs do have a budget that the likes of St Johnstone and Livingstone could only envy.
09:37 So they do have more technical players than those so-called "smaller clubs". But I just
09:48 don't know, I mean, you look at what Aberdeen achieved there and surely would your fans,
09:53 yeah, you could go out, take the game to Celtic and potentially lose 5-1. How much worse is
10:01 that than losing 2-0 and not having a shot on target all game, realistically? I mean,
10:07 listen, we saw how close the relegation battle was, so I understand that these are really
10:11 fine margins, even with goal difference or that one point, if you dig in and try and
10:17 get a draw at home to Celtic or Rangers, that one point can make all the difference. But
10:23 it feels to me like Celtic deserve a lot of the respect they get. I don't think there's
10:30 any denying that because they are a brilliant team, a technically gifted team, but they're
10:36 not Manchester City. I do feel like we show them a bit too much respect sometimes. Aberdeen
10:43 showed that they were in that game right up until the 80th minute and they weren't just
10:50 like they were last season under Jim Goodwin when they were at 0-0 for 85 minutes, but
10:55 they hadn't crossed the halfway line seemingly all second half and they hadn't had a shot
10:59 on target. They were in that game and they were playing a game of football. They weren't
11:05 just sitting there trying to get a draw. So I don't know, what do you think? Do you think
11:10 we'll maybe potentially see more teams try that now? Because in recent memory, under
11:16 Posta Koglu and now Rodgers, that Aberdeen game and then I think Hibbs maybe once at
11:21 Easter Roads and Hearts maybe once or twice at Tyne Castle. They are the only teams I
11:27 can honestly say I've ever seen actually try and play a game of football against Celtic.
11:33 I found it quite refreshing to watch yesterday. It wasn't a 3-1 game. Let's be frank about
11:40 that. I think Aberdeen, Barry Robson talked about how he actually felt that they deserved
11:45 something out of the game given what they put into it. The scoring was harsh, but personally
11:54 if you were a fan of Aberdeen going into that game yesterday, you'd much rather lose playing
12:01 that type of attacking football than sitting back. Similar to what they did under Derek
12:07 McInnes a lot was that type of approach, wasn't it? It was kind of cram the box if you like
12:13 and then try and hit on the counter attack. Aberdeen have got those type of flair players
12:18 now, the likes of Duke, Miovski, linking up to brilliant effect for that equalising goal.
12:25 The disappointment for Aberdeen yesterday was they instantly shot themselves in the
12:28 foot a couple of minutes later. When you're in that position, look to try and get into
12:34 the break at one all and then kind of reset and see what the second half throws at you.
12:42 But that was a disappointing aspect, the fact they weren't able to cling on to that one
12:48 all score line and see where the second half would take them. Because as I said, they did
12:53 have moments in that second half. I think Gester Sokler when he came on looked like
12:59 a decent acquisition. Joe Hart was very fortunate with one moment as well where he survived
13:06 a bit of an offside scare after gallivanting out of his line quite aimlessly. Hopefully
13:14 this is a sign of things to come in terms of the way other teams play against Rangers
13:20 and Celtic. I think Aberdeen have shown, based on this evidence, that it will be intriguing
13:28 to see how Rangers fare when they go up to Pittodrie shortly. That will be an interesting
13:35 one. I think because Aberdeen have proved that if they continue to play that type of
13:41 style of football, I could see them picking up a couple of points here and there against
13:45 Rangers and Celtic this season. As I said, a couple of costly mistakes yesterday, the
13:50 Devlin error. You can't do that with...you know Keogh was going to be in and around that
13:56 area and it was a wonderful finish. But just cutting out these kind of wee daft, silly
14:02 errors, it could have been a totally different game yesterday.
14:07 I think from an Aberdeen point of view, defensively at the weekend, a back three with two full
14:12 backs in it. Nicky Devlin is an experienced player, he was at fault for that goal. It
14:20 happens sometimes. Jack McKenzie is on the more robust side for a full back, but he is
14:26 a full back and still quite a young player. You only really had Slobodan Rubicic as a
14:34 recognised centre back there. You've also got Shaden Morris playing at right wing back.
14:41 Shaden Morris is a winger and also is a winger who hasn't been near the Aberdeen first team
14:47 since he arrived until recently.
14:48 Frank Taylor couldn't cope with him yesterday. They had a shocker of a match.
14:55 Well, that's good for Aberdeen because he is tied down on a long-term contract and he
15:00 is still quite young, so they'll be hoping there. It does make you wonder, I think we
15:06 can safely say Anthony Stewart was on the bench. He's completely out of the Aberdeen
15:11 first team picture, but that's as clear as day, I think.
15:16 Or Dadia was an interesting one, obviously an actual right back. He goes with Morris
15:22 and was vindicated, like you say, in doing so. Is that just match fitness potentially,
15:28 that Aberdeen are playing a winger over a right back there? Angus McDonald obviously
15:34 is a big miss in the Aberdeen defence. Then you've got Rhys Williams, who I'm not sure
15:41 what the situation with him is at the moment. They'll be wanting him back soon because high
15:44 hopes for that guy on loan from Liverpool.
15:48 I believe he signed and he had a couple of niggly injury things to deal with.
15:54 They've just signed the New Zealand international full-back James McCarrie, so we'll see how
15:59 he fits in that team. It does maybe make you wonder if with European football coming up,
16:06 this is potentially showing Aberdeen are a bit light defensively. I think Barry Robson
16:14 might very well be looking. I know that their main target now, I believe, is another creative
16:20 midfielder that can play in that number 10 role after missing out on the Croatian Tekulic.
16:27 I think another centre-back might not go amiss at this rate.
16:31 Devlin Overton's mistake and McKenzie, I think they're showing that they are capable of playing
16:39 in that position. If long-term injuries come around, you don't want full-backs playing
16:45 centre-half for extended periods of the season. It's far from ideal.
16:50 I think that's a fair comment. It's an interesting one. You saw the draw for Aberdeen and Europe
16:56 the other day. What an opportunity they've got as well to go to the group stages this
17:01 year. Obviously, in previous years, they've had to navigate numerous play-off rounds,
17:07 if you like, which has obviously been a bit... They've just run out of steam right before
17:13 it. This draw, I think, against BK Hacking, or who was the other team? It's a great opportunity.
17:21 Lithuania. I'll try and pronounce it. I believe it was Salvavidas.
17:24 Salavidas.
17:25 Yes. A massive opportunity to get to the group stage, which would be a huge financial boost.
17:33 I think, as you said, the squad is certainly good enough at this moment in time to achieve
17:39 that. But yes, I think Rob's in three or four players he talked about yesterday that he
17:45 still wants to get in the door. You're right, I think at least two of them are probably
17:49 going to be in the defensive third of the pitch.
17:53 Well, that takes us nicely on to European football this week. We'll start off tomorrow
17:59 night as we recorded since Monday. So Tuesday night, Rangers head to Switzerland for the
18:03 second leg against Cervét. 2-1 up from Ibrox. Overall, probably disappointed with that result.
18:10 They had a lot of chances. The Cervét keeper has had to make a couple of pretty decent
18:15 saves in that first leg. And now it's going to be more tense than it needs to be because
18:23 if Cervét get an early goal at home, suddenly it's on level and Rangers are going to have
18:28 to... I don't know, what do you think, Lewis? Is there much need for concern or did Rangers
18:34 demonstrate in that first leg that they are the better of the two sides and they should
18:39 still have enough about them to win comfortably in Switzerland?
18:43 Yes, Rangers are a better team than Cervét based on the evidence we saw during the first
18:49 leg. They should have won that game by more than the 2-1 margin. It's going to be a challenging
18:57 place to go by all accounts. I know Cervét have sold out their stadium, the Stade de
19:03 Genève, for this match tomorrow night. So going into a bit of a cauldron, I think it's
19:07 the first time they've managed to do that for quite some time. It will be a challenge.
19:12 I think there's a lot of evidence that players are still taking a bit of time to gel together
19:19 and click the way Michael Biel had hoped. That was the case again against Livingston
19:24 at the weekend. A couple of players, Cyril Dessers in particular, they spent a lot of
19:29 money for him from Cremenici and he's openly admitted that he's lacking match fitness and
19:36 struggling to get up to the levels that his manager needs him to be playing at. It will
19:46 be a tough game going over there. I think, as you said, anything could happen. The big
19:50 thing with Cervét, they're a stuffy opposition. They proved that. They're going down to 10
19:56 men. Bear in mind they had about six or seven key first-team players out as well through
20:02 injury and suspension for the game. I think they've got a couple of those players back
20:06 for tomorrow night, which will be a big boost for them. But in terms of looking at the bigger
20:11 picture in terms of the coefficient, we need Celtic and Rangers to be performing at the
20:19 top table in Europe. I think the incentives there are potentially another clash with PSV
20:28 Eindhoven in the play-off round if they were to get through this. I think Rangers will
20:34 get through it, but I don't think it will be done playing pretty football, if you like.
20:41 I think it's all been a bit of a grind so far. Supporters, it's a very demanding support
20:47 as we're well aware, Martin, that the fan base at Ibrox can be quite incredibly demanding.
20:55 I think when you've got that many new players being integrated into the team at once, it
21:02 does take it naturally, it will take a bit of time to click into place. That's been evident
21:07 so far.
21:08 Well, over in Edinburgh, Hearts are welcoming Rosenberg to Tyne Castle. I think you have
21:15 to say a similar situation that Rosenberg find themselves in as to Rangers. They all
21:20 go to Tyne Castle probably as narrow favourites, would that be fair to say, over Hearts? And
21:27 then they've got that lead, but Hearts have given themselves a really good opportunity
21:32 to get through to the next round after that first leg.
21:35 Yeah, important. It was an interesting one. Hearts were poor in the first half. They were
21:42 very flat. I think it's important to mention that this isn't a Rosenberg side that we saw
21:49 play Celtic in the Champions League a few years back. This is a poorer Rosenberg team
21:56 than this. I think going back to Tyne Castle, given the fact that they did manage to get
22:02 that goal through Shankland over in Norway, it's kind of lifted the optimism among supporters
22:09 going into this one. We know Tyne Castle is a really intimidating venue. A lot of players
22:15 don't like playing there. The crowd are right on top of you. So I think they've given themselves
22:22 a right good chance of progressing, bearing in mind that they've stuck into that game
22:28 last week without playing particularly well. I still think Rosenberg, as you say, will
22:36 be slight favourites going into this, but Hearts, with their home support fully behind
22:44 them and a fully firing Laurence Shankland, anything's possible. So fingers crossed they
22:52 can overcome Rosenberg and see where it takes them.
22:56 Well, if they do, it'll take them to face either Hadjidouk Split of Croatia or PAOK
23:04 of Greece. I'll never see that written down. The full letter is PAOK, not just PAOK. I've
23:11 no idea what that stands for. I've only ever seen it written down. That'll be quite a winnable
23:17 tie for them, to be honest. They'll have a chance of that and a chance of getting at
23:21 the groups. I mean, they've had two really tough ties, but two ties that you'd certainly
23:26 say are winnable.
23:28 Hibs, on the other hand, I think what they're looking at is if they can beat Lucerne, which
23:34 they've given them a great chance of doing. We'll be back next week to probably discuss
23:38 the results from those ties and the next round of, I was going to say Scottish Premiership,
23:42 but it's via play cup fixtures this weekend. Should be some interesting things to talk
23:47 about there. Thanks very much for joining me this week, Lewis. We'll see you all again.
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