Celtic’s 2-1 victory over Inter Milan on 25th May 1967 was celebrated not just for the fact it was the first time any British club had won the European Cup (indeed, any Northern European club) but because it was seen as a victory for attacking football over the “catenaccio” style of defensive (predominantly) Italian football. … [continue reading]
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT
Dear all A short post to confirm that this site, Celtic By Numbers, hosted on WordPress, will soon be no more. Thank you for visiting over the last eight years as I have hopefully developed my writing on Celtic and provided you with some insight into the performance of Celtic players, team, managers, and opposition, not … [continue reading]
Honest Mistakes: 2023-24 Season Summary
I have now collated three full SPFL seasons of assessments of key decisions affecting the top two teams in Scotland. 114 matches, 10,260 hours of football. Again, I would like to thank the Yorkshire Whistler who provides such in-depth, patient, well thought out and argued rationale for the decisions reviewed. His season ended well with … [continue reading]
Honest Mistakes: Season Final
The league is over, the good guys have won! But there were a few weeks of matches to catch up on regarding the big calls. The impact of big calls being incorrect can then be evaluated using the framework outlined here -> Honest Mistakes in the SPFL. 04/05/24 Celtic vs Hearts Incident 1 Referee Kevin … [continue reading]
Honest Mistakes: Scottish Cup Final Special
Such is the ongoing hullabaloo regarding perceived refereeing-induced injustices day after day after day since Celtic won the Scottish Cup, there was only one man for the job. I am aware I owe you all an end of season SPFL wrap up and that will be with you next week. But for now a one-off … [continue reading]
Honest Mistakes to Week 34
The run-in is well underway so a bit of a catch-up this week and this takes us up to date to the end of game week 34. The impact of big calls being incorrect can then be evaluated using the framework outlined here -> Honest Mistakes in the SPFL. 14/04/24 Ross County vs The Rangers … [continue reading]
Honest Mistakes: Leading the Witness
A critical game as regards the title battle this week as Celtic travelled to the soft play centre otherwise known as Ibrox. The SFA played it safe, putting their best guy in charge, John Beaton. The impact of big calls being incorrect can then be evaluated using the framework outlined here -> Honest Mistakes in … [continue reading]
Patterns of Assistance For One Club
On Thursday 28th March the following podcast was recorded on the A Celtic State of Mind platform. You can view it here or listen wherever you consume your pods. Today we wrap up the written record of this study. I have presented several analyses. They all have a consistent result. There is one club that … [continue reading]
Honest Mistakes: Week 31 – Here We Go Again
After an interminable international break, the SPFL Premiership was back with Celtic at Livingstone and The Rangers hosting Hibernian. The impact of big calls being incorrect can then be evaluated using the framework outlined here -> Honest Mistakes in the SPFL. 30/03/24 The Rangers vs Hibernian Incident 1 Referee David Dickinson Game Minute 20th Score … [continue reading]
Patterns of Assistance: What Happened in 2020?
On Thursday 28th March the following podcast was recorded on the A Celtic State of Mind platform. You can view it here or listen wherever you consume your pods. In the seventh written summary, I want to show you the aggregated estimated expected points impact of penalties and red cards. Summary of Impact of Red … [continue reading]
Patterns of Assistance: The Crawford Allan Coincidences
On Thursday 28th March the following podcast was recorded on the A Celtic State of Mind platform. You can view it here or listen wherever you consume your pods. For the fifth written follow-up, I consider the distribution of awards of red cards. Red Card Differentials I would expect Celtic and Rangers to broadly receive … [continue reading]