The Huddle Breakdown

Football author and executive Ben Lyttleton (Twelve Yards, Edge, Football School) joins Alan and James on The Huddle Breakdown Interview to talk about how data analytics is changing football and what that means for Celtic. Ben goes behind the scenes of the Netherlands’ penalty data before the 2010 World Cup final. He explains why your best penalty taker should go first or fourth, and why most Premier League transfers fail. He also makes the case for a sporting director as the “guardian of the culture.” Then the conversation turns to Martin O’Neill. Ben explains how the man-management strengths that won Celtic the Scottish Premiership title are now being held against him, and how a well-run club should handle a short-term slump. They also cover over-optimisation, the comeback of the dribbling winger, and why creativity may be the one thing AI can’t predict. Ben ends with why football is still a force for good. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Celtic’s 3-1 home defeat to Ferencváros capped a miserable week, and on this episode of The Huddle Breakdown Extra Time, Martin Murphy is joined by James and Heath to work out how much of it can possibly be fixed before Sunday’s Glasgow Derby. The panel goes deep into the tactical wreckage: a press with no triggers and no cohesion in the front line, a rest defence so open that every turnover turns into a jailbreak, Callum McGregor dropping into a 3-2-5 build-up that strands Bauer and Sorensen as a makeshift two, and a game model James calls “Frankenstein” — half Ange, half Rodgers, functioning as neither. There’s a look at Ross Grant’s set-piece work and Celtic’s front-post obsession, a close read of how Derek McInnes set Rangers up at Ibrox and what he might try at Parkhead, genuine praise for James Forrest’s performance, and a blunt assessment of the squad depth problem that shows up around the 70th minute. Plus: why Rangers have a Frankenstein of their own after Dan Purdy’s exit, where Celtic can actually hurt them, and what a bad result on Sunday means with Rangers two points behind and a brutal six-week run of fixtures ahead. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.