The Huddle Breakdown

Is the Celtic board as successful as it claims? On this week’s Huddle Breakdown Extra Time, James benchmarks Celtic FC against Club Brugge, Sporting CP and PSV Eindhoven on revenue, matchday income, wages, player amortisation and player trading. His conclusion is that weak player trading and missed Champions League football have cost the club £300M or more under Dermot Desmond’s model, and that domestic trophies hide how far behind its European peers it has fallen. Alan explains why Scotland’s Nations League loss to Slovenia felt so familiar to Celtic fans. He also covers the knives coming out for the new manager, and why Ryan Christie, not Lewis Ferguson, should partner Billy Gilmour. Then he breaks down the Speedboat League variance data: Celtic are losing almost half a goal a game to poor finishing and to opposition goalkeepers having the best run of any SPFL side against them. Plus Falkirk’s upswing, Dundee’s “cockroach” luck, and a full Motherwell vs Celtic preview ahead of Sunday at Fir Park. Want to support the channel? - https://huddlebreakdown.com Like 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

James and Alan break down Tennis Ball Gate at St Andrews and the club's furious Saturday night statement. They ask whether the growing split between the Celtic board, Dermot Desmond and the support can be repaired, or whether escalation and personal targeting will only deepen it. The pair look at why domestic trophies and a healthy balance sheet can't justify Celtic's European record against similarly sized clubs, and what proper benchmarking, expected trophies and modern football governance would look like. James explains his "Anderlechtification" fear. In the second half, Alan relaunches the Speedboat League, his expected points table for the Scottish Premiership, along with the Banked League projection. They cover xG, luck, variance and randomness, why the league table lies, whether Hibs were right to sack David Gray, and how tight the Celtic vs Rangers title race really is after seven games. More data-driven Celtic analysis at huddlebreakdown.com.

Is the Manchester City case Scottish football's Rangers 2012 all over again? In this Huddle Breakdown Extra Time, host Martin Murphy is joined by Alan and James to compare the Premier League's handling of Man City with the Lord Nimmo Smith Commission into Rangers. They also ask why the clubs' own fans were victims too, and look at the UAE geopolitics that could shape the outcome. Then it's into your subscriber questions on Celtic. Who's the signing of the season so far? Is Callum McGregor reaching a hinge point, and should he play deeper? Is Cameron Carter-Vickers still Celtic's most important defender? The data on why Celtic's pressing stats hide a real problem: possession down from 73% to 60%, more shots conceded, and set pieces now a net negative. Should Martin O'Neill stay? What would Alan and James do if they were Dermot Desmond for a day? And how do the Rangers investors ever get their money back? Data-driven Celtic analysis from The Huddle Breakdown. Read more at huddlebreakdown.com. Want to support the channel? - https://huddlebreakdown.com Like 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

As the Premier League's Man City case dominates headlines worldwide, Alan and James ask why the Scottish football media has stayed almost completely silent, and what the parallels with Rangers' 2012 liquidation, the EBT scandal and the obstruction of investigators reveal about football governance, power and accountability. The Huddle Breakdown then turns to Celtic. Alan has rewatched the games from his time away and comes back with a stark verdict on Martin O'Neill's management team drifting from Celtic's possession-based playing model. James brings StatsBomb pace-to-goal and xG-conceded data showing Celtic losing control. They also discuss Cameron Carter-Vickers' honest comments about confusion in the squad, revisit Stephen Welsh's Celtic legacy as he starts for Scotland and Swansea, and take hope from Scotland's cohesive display against Slovenia in the Nations League. Want to support the channel? - https://huddlebreakdown.com Like 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

Alan is back(!) from Japan and straight into the wreckage of Celtic's three straight defeats, capped by a 1-0 derby loss to Rangers at Celtic Park. With James and Martin, he argues it was a systemic collapse, not a question of individual effort, and backs it with the numbers: Rangers won the ball back with 42% of their pressures, the highest figure in six-plus seasons of our data. We look at Martin O'Neill's tactics, why asking Celtic's centre-backs to hit 50-yard channel balls played straight into Derek McInnes's hands, the Callum McGregor question, and why Celtic are now playing a game of "least bad option." Then we go through Celtic's 2026 financial results: a £4.8m loss after tax, revenue down 22.7%, and why the £66.4m cash headline is really closer to £31m once you strip out season ticket money. We also cover the Champions League money left on the table, why Scotland pays a Saudi-level premium for players, how a new stand could realistically be funded, and the title race with Rangers and Hearts. Plus Poetry Corner. Want to support the channel? - https://huddlebreakdown.com Like 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 1-0 defeat to Rangers at Parkhead was, by the numbers, the worst home Old Firm performance of the Wyscout era: an xG difference of -1.91, just three shots to Rangers' 14, and a long-ball rate roughly triple Celtic's historical norm. James is joined again by Rhiann (DataBhoys) to rewatch and dissect the debacle, including the confusing team selection and shifting formations, Callum McGregor's 14 possession losses, and why "the players didn't try" is the wrong conclusion. They then zoom out to the bigger picture: the "Frankenstein" clash between Celtic's legacy possession game model and Martin O'Neill's more direct approach, season-to-date data on xG conceded, possession, build-up turnovers and clearances that suggest one of the weakest Celtic sides in recent memory, the club's lack of strategy at executive level, and what Celtic's preliminary financial results really say about the club's cash position.Want to support the channel? - https://huddlebreakdown.com Like 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 were humbled 3-0 by Rangers at Ibrox, and The Huddle Breakdown goes beyond the hot takes to explain why. With Alan away in Tokyo, James is joined by data analyst Rhian (RhiCam on Substack, @databhoys on X) for a tactical and data-driven breakdown of the Old Firm derby. They cover Derek McInnes' man-marking plan, James Penrice's dual role, the Hassan and goalkeeper selection calls, Celtic's disjointed press, and Callum McGregor dropping between the centre-backs. The bigger question is whether Celtic's possession game model is now outdated, since opponents like Rangers, LASK and Club Brugge have worked out how to neutralise it. They also preview Thursday's Europa League match against Ferencváros, with PPDA pressing numbers, the inverted full-backs, key players to watch and how Martin O'Neill should line up to take three points.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

Martin, James, and returning guest Heath break down Celtic's 1-0 win away at St Johnstone — a game that delivered three points but raised plenty of questions, from a flat first half and an experimental 3-2-5 to Mika Bauer's match-winner and Sam Johnstone's debut in goal. James shares striking benchmarking data on Hassan, Celtic's brilliant but baffling winger — 99th percentile for dribbles and crosses, near-zero for defensive work — and asks whether the pieces up front actually fit together. Then it's the big one: a full Glasgow Derby preview ahead of the League Cup tie at Ibrox, with a data-driven look at Derek McInnes's Rangers, their shift toward direct football, Celtic's alarming open-play xG conceded, and the selection debate over Duran, Hogh, and Hassan. Plus League Cup history, lineup predictions, and a wee bit of poetry corner.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