The Huddle Breakdown

With Alan away in the Far East, Martin and James welcome Celtic analytics community scout Heath Tempe to break down a huge week for Celtic FC. The panel reviews the win over Aberdeen — Yang's electric man-of-the-match display, Duran's ridiculous finishing form, and why Hassan's crossing is driving everyone mad — before diving into Celtic's transfer deadline signings: PSV wonderkid Yoel Van den Berg, Feyenoord loan fullback Jordan Latombe, Sorensen, teenage Chelsea striker Mukko, and ex-England goalkeeper Sam Johnstone. Plus a data-driven look at the Europa League squad and a full tactical preview of Saturday's top-of-the-table clash away to a rebuilt St Mirren. Celtic news, transfer analysis, and Scottish Premiership stats — every week on The Huddle Breakdown.Want to support the channel? - https://huddlebreakdown.comLike this video and want more content like it? Subscribe to the channel below and hit the bell to get notified every time a new video goes live. Follow us on Twitter: @huddlebreakdown@Alan_Morrison67 @jucojames

Celtic's win over Falkirk produced a completely standard-looking stat pack — plus-two in xG, a +300 packing score, more than double the box possessions, six saves to one — but James and Alan argue that almost nothing about the inputs behind that familiar output was normal. This week on The Huddle Breakdown: Hassan's first proper look at Celtic Park, where his ball-carrying projected to roughly 45 pack dribbles per 90 minutes, against a 12-year record season average of 15 — and yet ended with no shots, one chance created, 14 passes given away and 0.1 expected scoring contribution. The lads dig into whether Celtic's pressing identity has quietly evaporated since Brendan Rodgers left, why the Duran–Hassan–Hu selection puzzle may never cohere, what Callum McGregor's packing numbers against Falkirk reveal about his best remaining role, and why four summer signings have realistically solved only two starting problems. Plus a deadline-week trawl through the rumour mill — Nkunku, Sorensen, Van de Berg and the goalkeeper hunt — an argument about how intra-Premier League spending has detached the top of the market and left an €8m average fee everywhere else, and a preview of Stephen Robinson's big, direct, set-piece-hungry Aberdeen arriving at Celtic Park on Wednesday.Want to support the channel? - https://huddlebreakdown.comLike this video and want more content like it? Subscribe to the channel below and hit the bell to get notified every time a new video goes live. Follow us on Twitter: @huddlebreakdown@Alan_Morrison67 @jucojames

Celtic threw away a four-goal aggregate lead in Austria and crashed out of the Champions League to LASK — and on this week's Extra Time, Martin, Alan and James argue that luck had nothing to do with it. Alan makes the case that this is a pattern of boardroom incompetence stretching back years, with as much as £300 million in Champions League revenue left on the table, before breaking down the tactical collapse: a 4-4-2 that should have been a 4-5-1 mid-block, two pivots permanently ahead of the ball, goal kicks fired down the middle, substitutions that changed nothing, and a standard of conditioning he found astonishing. James explains why LASK's second-half press exposed a fragility Celtic have shown for 15 months, why the squad's depth compounded every other risk, and where Bauer fits into a fix. Plus: xG and packing data placing this among the worst Celtic performances of the last decade, the Manchester United–Hull comparison that explains the midfield, Hearts, Hibs, Motherwell and Rangers in Europe, the Europa League draw ranked by Elo and Opta power rankings, and a Falkirk preview.Want to support the channel? - https://huddlebreakdown.comLike this video and want more content like it? Subscribe to the channel below and hit the bell to get notified every time a new video goes live. Follow us on Twitter: @huddlebreakdown@Alan_Morrison67 @jucojames

Celtic take a 3-0 lead to Linz — but how do they actually kill this tie? On this week's Huddle Breakdown, Alan and James break down the Champions League play-off second leg against LASK at the Raiffeisen Arena. Using average position charts, duel data and pressing heights from the first leg, they explain how LASK flood the middle of the pitch, why their wing-backs were neutralised at Celtic Park, and how their three main weapons — the long early ball, crosses and set pieces — could still cause chaos in Austria. Alan makes the case for a compact mid-block and a 4-4-2, James argues over Liam Scales vs Cameron Carter-Vickers and the risk of playing a high line, and both revisit the Astana and Hapoel Be'er Sheva horror shows as cautionary tales. Plus: the state of Celtic's transfer window before September 3rd, where the squad is still dangerously thin, and why Celtic fans should be quietly rooting for Rangers, Hearts and Hibs on Thursday.Want to support the channel? - https://huddlebreakdown.comLike this video and want more content like it? Subscribe to the channel below and hit the bell to get notified every time a new video goes live. Follow us on Twitter: @huddlebreakdown@Alan_Morrison67 @jucojames

Celtic beat LASK 3-0 at Celtic Park to take a commanding lead into the Champions League play-off second leg in Linz — but what does the data actually say? On this Huddle Breakdown Extra Time, Martin, Alan and James dig into a 3-0 win built on three world-class finishes from just 0.89 xG, a lost packing battle, and a midfield that was repeatedly wide open in transition. Alan explains why Callum McGregor was packed 31 times — a figure he's only matched against Bayern, Dortmund, Real Madrid and Milan — while James lays out the "jailbreak" problem behind the scoreline and asks whether Mika Baur and McGregor can play together. Plus: Camilo Duran's double and whether he's really a right winger, Benjamin Nygren's vindication after a season of abuse, Kasper Høgh's role debate, Viljami Sinisalo's first big save, Colby Donovan's breakout, and why Haissem Hassan's eight minutes were the most exciting of the night. The guys also look ahead to the return leg at the Raiffeisen Arena, the latest Celtic transfer links, and how Rangers, Hearts, Hibs and Motherwell fared in Europe.Want to support the channel? - https://huddlebreakdown.comLike this video and want more content like it? Subscribe to the channel below and hit the bell to get notified every time a new video goes live. Follow us on Twitter: @huddlebreakdown@Alan_Morrison67 @jucojames

Celtic hammered Dundee United 4-0 — so why did they lose the xG battle and concede 19 shots? On this episode of The Huddle Breakdown, James and Alan dig into Alan's post-match stat pack and packing score data to explain the contradiction at the heart of Celtic's fast start to the 2026/27 season. Celtic are conceding packing scores near 300 against bottom-half Scottish Premiership opposition, roughly double the rate of the games they genuinely control, and the numbers point straight at central midfield: Callum McGregor's defensive success rate almost halved without Arne Engels beside him, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was physically finished five minutes into the second half, and Celtic simply aren't stopping danger at source. Alan and James also give first impressions of new signings Bauer and Hassan, debate Trusty vs Scales alongside Carter-Vickers, argue over Tounekti vs Yang on the left, and preview Wednesday's Champions League qualifier against LASK at Celtic Park — a Red Bull-adjacent, transition-hungry Austrian side that Celtic should out-talent, but who could drag this into exactly the kind of chaotic second-ball game Celtic are currently worst equipped to handle. Analytics, eye test, and a lot of anxiety about whether a great attack can paper over a structural problem. Subscribe at huddlebreakdown.com for Alan's full stat pack and James's LASK preview analysis.Want to support the channel? - https://huddlebreakdown.comLike this video and want more content like it? Subscribe to the channel below and hit the bell to get notified every time a new video goes live. Follow us on Twitter: @huddlebreakdown@Alan_Morrison67 @jucojames