The Huddle Breakdown

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

Celtic face LASK in the Champions League play-off round, so we brought in Austrian football expert Tom Baumgartner of the Other Bundesliga podcast for a full scouting report — free for everyone this week from our subscriber show, Extra Time. Tom explains how Dietmar "Didi" Kühbauer took over a LASK side sitting near the bottom of the Austrian Bundesliga and turned them into double winners, their first league title in 60 years, and why a squad everyone said needed a complete overhaul barely changed at all. He breaks down how they actually play: Red Bull-style vertical transitions, but with a manager unafraid to go route one from the back, one of the league's best crossers in Jørgensen, the mercurial Sascha Horvath gliding box to box, and American striker Samuel Adeniran as the battering ram up top. Tom covers their set-piece threat, their three at the back and pacey defenders, why 41 goals conceded is only half explained by that dreadful start, and how this LASK side measures up against the Sturm Graz team Celtic and Hearts have both faced. Then the one thing he keeps returning to: this squad has almost no European pedigree, and Europa League might be their level. 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

James and Alan break down a chaotic week at Celtic on this Extra Time, plus a full scouting report on LASK from Austrian football expert Tom Baumgartner of the Other Bundesliga podcast. With Arne Engels heading to West Ham, Mika Baur arriving from Paderborn and Haissem Hassan already in the building, the pair dig into whether Celtic's player trading model is actually working — and what Baur really is: a Hatate replacement, an Engels replacement, or something new. James walks through his full transfer benchmarking on Baur (long passing, crossing volume, and an xG-per-shot number that raised eyebrows), while Alan shares fresh SkillCorner EPV data showing Hassan out-carrying Lamine Yamal for in-possession value, with a serious caveat on his passing. Tom then takes 25 minutes on LASK: how Dietmar Kühbauer rescued a squad staring at a relegation scrap and turned them into double winners, why they'll mix Red Bull-style verticality with route one, the threat of Samuel Adeniran and Sascha Horvath, their set-piece danger, and the one weakness Tom keeps coming back to — a squad with almost no European pedigree. Alan and James return to weigh the "toxic combination" risk of starting new signings with Donovan, revisit Alan's deep dive on Yang Hyun-jun, and preview a tricky League Cup trip to Jim Goodwin's newly front-footed Dundee United.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 went to Rugby Park and produced their highest expected-goals difference away at Kilmarnock since records began — a 5-1 win that Alan calls the most enjoyable watch in a long time. In this episode, Alan and James dig into the numbers behind the rout: why Arne Engels dominated the middle of the pitch in a way we simply haven't seen from him, how Kasper Høgh recorded the highest packing-receive score on the pitch while operating far deeper than his Bodø/Glimt role, and why the Høgh–Duran–Nygren interplay looks like a genuine attacking connection rather than three individuals. They also assess a back four of Johnston, Carter-Vickers, Trusty and Tierney that Alan rates as Europa League-good, before James pumps the brakes: two games running, Celtic's counter-press has been passive, the buildup has creaked against ordinary opposition, and that might be a personnel problem rather than a game-state one. Plus a full breakdown of incoming Egyptian winger Hassan from Real Oviedo — elite athletically, with progressive-carry and acceleration numbers benchmarked alongside Mbappé, Yamal and Nico Williams, but with real questions over decision-making and defensive work — and the tactical puzzle of fitting Duran, Høgh and Hassan into one front three without Daizen Maeda's out-of-possession engine. Then a trip round a Scottish Premiership on fire: Derek McInnes “sacked” at Rangers, Hearts' 4-0 over Dundee United, Hibs' front-line depth, and Motherwell's struggles without Just.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

Alan and James join Martin Murphy for a bumper Extra Time as Celtic bank three points against Dundee, Haissem Hassan edges closer, and a training-ground image lands mid-record showing Jota doing ball work. Alan sets the Dundee win against twelve years of expected goals and packing data to argue it was far more normal than the mood suggested, explains the fundamental flaw that ended Paulo Bernardo's Celtic career, and picks apart a stretched, unsettled Rangers side after their European misstep. James runs the numbers on Hassan's 99th-percentile dribbling, his crossing and his decision-making, benchmarks Mika Baur alongside Callum McGregor, and lays out why Celtic's build-up problem is systemic rather than personal. Plus Hearts and Motherwell in Europe, Kilmarnock at Rugby Park, and 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

Celtic are back in competitive action, and The Huddle Breakdown is here with a full data-driven review of the Flag Day win over Dundee at Celtic Park. Alan and James dig into the match stats and xG to ask the big question: are Celtic's new signings already being misused? We break down Martin O'Neill's tactics, the shape problems in build-up play, Yang's frustrating final third decisions, Nygren's man-of-the-match display, and whether a back three could unlock Duran. Plus a full Scottish Premiership weekend review — St. Mirren's statement win at Falkirk, Rangers' Del Ball debut under Derek McInnes, Motherwell's goal of the weekend — and first impressions of Celtic's Champions League qualifier draw against LASK. Like, subscribe, and hit notifications for weekly Celtic analysis, stats, and tactics.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

In this episode of the Huddle Breakdown Extra Time, James and Alan dive deep into Celtic's transfer window, weighing the massive impact of Alistair Johnston's potential move to Everton and analyzing the tactical fit of new striker Kasper Hogh. The guys also cast a critical eye over the rest of the Scottish Premiership, breaking down Rangers' radical "ultra staunch" cost-cutting pivot under their new ownership and the tactical chaos brewing at Hearts following their heavy European defeat. Finally, they look ahead to what promises to be a highly entertaining, high-scoring domestic season.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

Join Laura, James, and Alan on this week's Huddle Breakdown as they dissect Celtic's latest summer transfer business, featuring an in-depth tactical benchmarking of new Bodo/Glimt signing Kasper Hogh and how Camilo Duran fits into the system. The panel raises candid concerns over a sluggish transfer window, defensive vulnerabilities heading into European qualifiers, and the harsh realities of Cameron Carter-Vickers' Achilles recovery timeline. Plus, Alan delivers a blistering take on the SFA's latest refereeing controversy surrounding Sean Murdoch, and the trio bid an emotional farewell to the enigmatic Daizen Maeda following his transfer to Ipswich.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

In this episode of Huddle Breakdown Extra Time, Martin, James, and Alan dissect the latest Celtic transfer rumors, focusing on the potential system fit of Bodo/Glimt's Kasper Hogh and Real Oviedo's Haissem Hassan. The panel critically evaluates whether a technical prospect like Mika Bauer addresses the squad's desperate need for athletic midfielders and explores left-back options including Will Ferry and Greg Taylor. The team also delivers a sobering reality check on the state of Scottish clubs in Europe following shocking performances by Hearts and Hibs, before capping off the show with a poetic farewell to Daizen Maeda ahead of his potential move to Ipswich TownWant 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