Dinamo Zagreb dropped points for the second time in 10 league games this season on Saturday when they drew a blank against bottom of the table Slaven Koprivnica. Slaven took only one point from five league games in August, and lost heavily to Zagreb on the opening day of the season, but have tightened up at the back in recent weeks. Parking the bus on Saturday was enough to curtail the Croatian champions.
That blank score line was a rarity for Dinamo, who had scored in all but one of this season’s 18 previous outings. After losing their first leg at home to Zagreb, Aalborg shut up shop in the Champions League qualifier in Croatia and overturned the first leg deficit.
So what can we expect on Thursday? We’ve kept only one clean sheet in the last 10 outings, and that was to lower league Hearts, who missed a penalty and struck the crossbar. Looking at Celtic’s defensive record, Dinamo will fancy their chances of getting a goal. Like most teams away from home in Europe, they will plan to defend first and foremost, and take their chances on the break.
Having collected a vital point away to the top seed on match day one, the group opens up for Celtic if they can beat Zagreb this week, but how should they go about achieving this? If St Mirren, Motherwell, Dundee and Inverness can score against Celtic, Dinamo Zagreb will do so, unless Celtic protect their back line considerably better than they have so far this season. Celtic are likely to need to score two or more to win the game. Without Goals Guidetti, this sounds like a big challenge.
Going on form, it’s in Celtic interests to ensure this is a tight game, deny Dinamo space to break into, and use their own speed to attack when opportunity arises. We’ll need to hold the ball, and that means Kris Commons will have to play, no matter how fit he is, but I would be tempted to give him a deeper role than usual. Johansen and Brown have critical roles to play in protecting the defence but they will need Commons available to bring calm to proceedings.
I see The Telegraph have taken a punt on Craig Whyte, et al’s, Worthington Group being in sufficient funds to mount their threatened legal challenge to Sevco Scotland Ltd, now known as Rangers International PLC, for acquiring the legal entitlement of Sevco 5088 Ltd. Sevco 5088 had irrefutable entitlement to the assets of liquidated Rangers FC but this entitlement was assumed by Sevco Scotland, then owned and controlled by Charles Green.
Green and Craig Whyte both claimed to control Sevco 5088 when the company’s entitlement was assumed by the other company. So what does all this mean? There’s nothing in The Telegraph story that we didn’t know two years ago. Even if a journo had first-hand information from a prime source, you’d have to wonder what value you could invest in what any of these characters say.
Until Our Hero spins the roulette wheel at the Ibrox Casino, everyone’s chasing shadows on this one.
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Hello
Hail Hail the celts are here
Timing!
Top ten?
Where’s Philvus?
Close!
blantyretim is praying for the Knox family
Get well soon mate, feel your pain…………..
BOBBY MURDOCH’S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS
The old sleeping in a telephone box trick in Central Station wrapped up in newspapers?
Been there, done that :-0))
Jungle Jim, are you going down to the game on Thursday?
I’ll be leaving here at 15.30. Staying down for the night to get a few drams with skyisalandfill in the Pot Still after the game.
Let me know.
HH
BMCUW
mailed you
I see a lot of posters are commenting on the need for RD to play 442.
I have been thinking on it and I wonder if what they really mean is play Stokes instead of Commons?
When I watch our games, as I have commented before, KC plays upfront! No question. Watch back any recent performances and you will often see him as our most advanced player.
He certainly doesn’t play the classic number 10 role IMO.
I would love to see stats of the positions he takes up and contrast that with a Silva or Fabregas.
I think the difference on Saturday was that Stokes picked the ball up and looked to thread a pass.
All too often KC or CM pick the ball up and want to turn, dribble or shoot.
Too much stock is placed in ‘naming’ formations.
Had KC been on the park on Sat he would have been in the same area as AS but would likely have made a different choice. Thats all.
Didn’t Pinsent Masons investigate the whole thing thoroughly and conclude there was no link to Whyte? It was thorough wasn’t it?
bobby murdoch’s curled-up winklepickers
12:21 on 29 September, 2014
IMPORTANT INFO ALERT!!!!
Just under a year ago we lost one of our well-known posters,
ST JOHN DOYLE.
His family set up a charity foundation
SEAN’S TRUST.
BILLY NO’WELL is supporting act on a special night for the trust in four weeks time at
THE PEOPLE’S PALACE,24 Oct.
The main part of the evening promises to be even better!
This looks like a belter of an evening with the added benefit of a great cause-oh,and a few laughs too.
Details are here.
https://mobile.twitter.com/saoirsefanclub/status/514473542818492416/photo/1
WHITEDOGHUNCH
Not got anything,mate.
Gimme five minutes and I’ll call you.
Celtic spend all season attacking. They can’t ‘play to defend.’
I’d go back to 4-3-1-2 – solid midfield, wingbacks attacking, Commons and Stokes up front, and Wakaso occupying a roving role behind them.
The chances of that are fat, to say the most.
Glasstwothirds
Of course it was truly independent and the Rangers paid.for it to be independent.
Hi ghuys,
A number of good ghuys spending the weekend in London to celebrate a 50th. Does anybody know of a pub/club which will be showing the game on Sunday?
Thanks in advance.
BT
Just scrolled back to see the old kneecap is in for a bit of rough treatment. Hope you get your dancin’ shoes back on soon. I am astounded of forehead that the Jura-juice did not cure it !!!
Auldheid
Paul’s contention is that the Edinburgh establishment ( Murray/ Mercer, Angus Grossart, Masterton & others) worked together using their influence to provide an unlimited credit line in order to establish the now deceased club as European champions and surpass our 9 in a row. Such was their jealousy it had to be achieved at all costs.
Part of the plan was according to Paul to extinguish Celtic by denying us a credit line.
They didn’t reckon on Fergus.
Fergus was an outsider they couldn’t influence or control.
The irony is we prospered whilst they died.
Paul is out to demonstrate the anti Celtic Edinburgh establishment would have continued to back RFCIL had it not been for that pesky global banking crisis.
I wish Paul the very best of luck in his quest to educate the general football public.
Hashadenough.
Pop down to the Wimbledon CSC. You’ll be more than welcome.
Hail hail
Hashadenough –
Sunday’s game isn’t being televised.
Davenelli
12:42 on 30 September, 2014
Top ten?
Where’s Philvus?
________________
The Peerless Prince of Podium Pursuants has patently proved his predominance & has piteously progressed to more pleasing & productive pastimes.
4,265,000
The number of Rangers shares someone has just cashed in.
That’ll be worth nearly a tenner.
Posting this link to Wee Evie’s mum’s blog in the hope that thoughts and prayers make a difference in this life or what lies after. Difficult to even imagine what they are going through. God bless them.
http://enablingevie.moonfruit.com/blog/4563020335
A wee birdie was telling me we are about to see a show of Scottishness on Sunday from a section of cough! Cough! Celtic supporters, a show of the saltire of which has never be seen at Celtic Park, will it be for our passion of being Scottish, or someone’s political statement, here we go again, allegedly!
tonydonnelly67
13:17 on
30 September, 2014
A wee birdie was telling me we are about to see a show of Scottishness on Sunday from a section of cough! Cough! Celtic supporters, a show of the saltire of which has never be seen at Celtic Park, will it be for our passion of being Scottish, or someone’s political statement, here we go again, allegedly!
=======================================
Pretty ballsy for a minority GROUP to do this, they’ll probably get the same reception fat Alex got when he doorstepped the Ryder Cup presentation. BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!
Presumably, there’s not a peep from the media about the handball and 2 head butts last night at Poundland ?
Additionally, if there was 31k there, half of them must have stayed in the toilets by the look of the BBC highlights.
First page???
Yes!!!
petethebeat
Yes you would think Vincent Lunny would be very busy this week, ……then again?
Bawsman
The Celtic fans are used to bring a noisy minority….8-)
Kilbowie Kelt
13:13 on
30 September, 2014
Davenelli
12:42 on 30 September, 2014
Top ten?
Where’s Philvus?
________________
The Peerless Prince of Podium Pursuants has patently proved his predominance & has piteously progressed to more pleasing & productive pastimes.
———————————————————————————–
Pure pish
Keeping Zagreb scoreless is not as important in this phase of the competition as it would have been in a qualifier. Whilst it is possible that head to head goals could come into it, in the event of two teams finishing on the same points total, the trick at this stage is to finish with more points than your opponents, so for me its all about the 3 points whether its 4-3 or 4 nil.
Tony Donnelly –
Sounds like someone’s been ripping the pish out of you.
The referendum is over. It’s done n dusted. Get over it.
BT
A wee prayer said and a candle will be lit tomorrow when i visit St Marys.
lawwelsaccountant, Based on yesterday’s performance, you have no place on this blog.
corkcelt
I concur.
Tony Donnelly
I seen plenty Saltires at the Motherwell game.
tom mclaughlin
13:36 on 30 September, 2014
Tony Donnelly –
Sounds like someone’s been ripping the pish out of you.
The referendum is over. It’s done n dusted. Get over it.
I think you need to read my post again, slowwwwly Tom.
He won’t last long. He is obviously another creation of the Darwin’s warmer….