Games come thick and fast when you remain in all competitions in late October. The Allianz Arena got your heart beating on Wednesday, but much more is on the line at Hampden Park tomorrow: the first trophy of the season.
While our unbeaten domestic run goes on the line every game we play in Scotland, I wish we were not facing an occasion as important as a cup semi-final immediately after such a huge Champions League occasion. The timing of this game contributes towards Hibernian’s chances of success.
Neil Lennon’s Hibs have already won at Ibrox and drawn at Celtic Park this season. They genuinely have no fears about making the trip along the M8 to face Celtic at the national stadium. While Celtic players were draining every muscle of energy on Wednesday, Hibs players were resting in front of the television. They would have been tucked up in bed before Scott Brown and his team-mates got to Munich Airport and have enjoyed the benefit of a week’s uninterrupted training.
For Brendan Rodgers, the challenge is to pick a team with sufficient energy and ability to ensure a cup final appearance next month. He is able to make changes, which I expect to happen.
Moussa Dembele and Tom Rogic should start. Callum McGregor enjoys the Hamden stage and I would give him the nod ahead of Olivier Ntcham or Stuart Armstrong in the central mid berth, although Brendan will think otherwise.
We are the champions and treble winners for a reason: that we have unerringly raised our standards to meet every challenge presented. Tomorrow is another occasion when our deep reserved will be called upon.
Enjoy your day at Hampden.
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Thanks Ernie. So it was Motherwell only taking what they could sell. Makes sense. What’s amazing in your post is that Hibs may bring fewer fans to Hampden than Celtic took to Munich.
Here’s a question. When was the last time any Scottish club other than Celtic or Sevco sold 20,000 tickets to a game other than a final?
Again, thanks Ernie.
T
The ticket revenue from the two semi finals is added together then split four ways.
We complained to Doncaster about the empty seats at last year’s Betfred Cup Final in the Aberdeen end.
We suggested that any non-Sevco opponents at Hampden should sell their allocation from behind the goal at the main stand side and work around from there to the half way line.
This incidentally gives them MORE tickets than Celtic. We get 49%, every little bit helps eh?
If the opponents – Hibs or any other side, sell only 10k tickets the unsolds could come to us.
If you are a Hibs season ticket holder you were entitled to TEN tickets for today. We have tens of thousands of season tickets unable to attend.
Worse still the Affiliation and other supporters groups got an allocation of ZERO tickets. That was only changed a week ago, due to a poor uptake from the corporate Celts, who get first dibs.
The Affiliation has 500 regulars without a ticket.
Shambles.
QF @ 10.09
Revisit the Anderlecht game to understand our issues.
It took the team 30 minutes to work out that we were a class above them.
If we had lost a goal in that opening period — by whatever manner — it would have been away ECL business as usual. That we didn’t was down to a good quality defensive unit playing well.
However even then we managed to make it difficult for ourselves.
The belief drained out of ourselves for 15 minutes only to return with a couple of good moves.
In full flow we are / we’re a class above Anderlecht.
In full flow we will give BM a very good game — the three goals we lost were shocking.
We looked, behaved, and reacted like a well beaten team that had only turned up to fill the fixture.
Finally I think we have to start looking for our next captain.
Having SB as captain has its issues.
Think Lisbon 67 — giving BA the armband instead of BMcN.
How would that have turned out?
Just enjoying my Benidorm breakfast in the sun, tuna bocadillo beer and cqn. Lot of good reading back from Wednesday.
Germany is the best country I’ve visited and I try to see a different city most years. Berlin has everything but I found Dusseldorf beautiful. The people are sound all over and I’ve said it on here before that it’s the levels of health that stands out.
This doesn’t go down too well with my old man though, who scoffs and reminds me of being blown out of his Gorbals bed by the Luftwaffe in 1940.
I always make a point of spreading the Celtic gospel when in Germany and the one constant I hear from football mad locals is their admiration for our passion. ‘Real fussball fans ‘ they call us.
Off to Irish bar for game..hh
QF — part 2
Not much of a record.
BMG were there for the taking.
The away game flattered them while we were honking in the home game.
Have to ask where are they now?
MC were in holiday mode — real dip in their season.
Plus we are a class above Anderlecht.
Incidentally the Tommy Gemmell CSC bus, currently on its way to Hampden is just over half full. It is usually jam packed for home games and trips to Hampden.
None of the bhoys just back from Munich could face their usual early start drink this morning!
Do Hibs have to pay for the 10k unsold tickets?
Given they insisted on equal split of tickets they should. In fact teams at Hampden semis/finals should pay for all tickets they receive, they should request an allocation and pay for them, that way teams like Hibs and Aberdeen will think twice about asking for what they can’t sell to stop others getting them.
TCW @ 10.32
City Break CSC more like.
Madmitch
You can’t have it both ways. it took us 30mins to get into full gear in belgium . we started better in munich in the first few minutes actually but at the end of the day results count. you shouldn’t therefore say “no evidence” then disregard the evidence that doesn’t fit your rant in my opinion. anyway – flight’s boarding. enjoy the game – i’ll get extra time if it’s a draw!
MADMITCH on 21ST OCTOBER 2017 10:10 AM
I should adopt your style and be paid by the acronym. Minted.
!!BADA BING!! on 21ST OCTOBER 2017 10:15 AM
Gordon, Lustig, Bitton, Boyata, KT, Brown, Armstrong, McGregor, Roberts, Sinclair, Griffiths
That’s the team Gerry Braiden tweeted yesterday afternoon, looks like the leak is back.
Would have rather seen Dembele and Rogic start ahead of Griffiths and Armstrong but a strong bench if required later in the game.
BLANTYRETIM
Outstanding work,mate. I’ll see you in a few weeks,gratitude time!
Hmmm – if Bertie Auld had been captain rather than Billy McNeil I reckon that we would never have collected the cup at the end.
Bertie would still be having a party with the supporters…
Goooood Morning CQN
And good luck to the Bhoys today :-)
4 teams in semi final share gate receipts between them, that’s after paying a FtSFA for renting Hamdump and policing etc
I heard there was an un-official bhoycott by Hibs fans, sending a message to both Petrie and his FtSFA board, that they are not happy with decisions made regarding Sevco and refusing the Review, if so, well done Hibs Fans
And instead of getting tickets on the bus most had to pay £7 extra for Royal Mail special delivery.
QF @ 10.36
You probably have a point.
However it did not take us 30 minutes to play well in Anderlecht.
It took us 30 minutes to realise we were a much better team than them — slightly different angle.
We played some good stuff in that game early doors but we played with limited ambition and well within ourselves. When we opened up they couldn’t match us.
If however we had lost a goal then the fear / cringe would have come into play.
For the record other teams have had to deal with similar issues.
Spurs had the beating of RM on Tuesday — but they had the fear in the MF.
M8 westbound closed at Bathgate due to serious accident..
Via Freestste Charlie on FB
Repeating myself
I would rather same team as played Bayern, (possibly change Griffiths for Dembele) get team settled for next 2 games, change for Kilmarnock, then back to previous and beat Bayern at Celtic park.
Hail Hail
CQN Saturday Naps Competition
for those in the CQN Naps Competition, please post your Week 12 selection here:
http://www.celticquicknews.co.uk/celtic-stretched-out-of-normal-passing-game/comment-page-10/#comments
Cheers, fleagle1888
G67 @ 10.41
I fear stubbornness is coming into play.
Surely for the future KA needs to be brought into the team.
Especially when he would have had DB beside him?
Plus not sure on the TR angle.
He is good enough to build a team around him.
However he just doesn’t seem to fit in or want to fit in at the moment.
Happy to have NB in the team.
However more a sweeper in a central 3 than a stopper in a flat 4.
There was a position for him on Wednesday.
TWC @ Apology
Sorry for the cheap shot regarding your City Break bus.
MADMITCH
Nae offence,but if CQN had been up and running in the early 90s,you’d have had us all reaching for the razor blades.
Chin up,mate. It’s not always easy being a Celtic supporter,but it is always worthwhile.
Wise words. And obviously not mine-though,aye,is it not just!!!
Good point Gary67! What it looks like now is Hibs are not responsible for selling all those tickets. SPFL also not responsible for selling them. A game deemed so important that it must be played at the national stadium and yet no one is responsible for selling tickets. In fact people have ensured through inaction and an unwillingness to learn from the past that as much as 25% of the tickets will go unsold.
T
Go to it Celts….
Just Dae It !
UNLEASH HELL CELTIC !
HH
Hello again
Parkrun – first in months and managed a not too shabby 23″21′
Gene – if still lurking I replied to your email
Channelislandcelt – if lurking, you are a winner in the competition to be last to send in this week’s LMS pick ;-)
Madmitch – hope you take this as constructive criticism but the reason I scroll by your posts is your constant use of acronyms and initials. Your posts are well received and attract feedback but I think more would do that if you took another few seconds to use players names ;-)
SB / SA / CM — midfield.
Interesting to see how this pans out.
I am hoping for the best, preparing for the worst.
Interesting to see how the opposition shape up and how they play?
Rogic apparently not in squad today.
Oops, 1 more thing. This is the first cup game in Glasgow in years for which I took the decision to refuse tickets. No more attendance at the 2 domestic cup comps until something material is done over the years of poor governance etc. So it’s he telly (and a half time roll ‘n’ square) for me (and Maria Rose) today. Still excited!
Madmitch @ 9.58
I am heading off shortly so quick reply
“Qarabag might have taken a few sore ones in the ECL but their performance on Tuesday gives the impression that they are learning as they go, they are becoming more experienced and are seeing the results. ”
It is just dangerous to extrapolate from a single instance to determine a trend. Kust because they got one good (and rare) result against a top team does not mean they have “learned” how to do it. They have one point after 3 matches and we have 3 after the same amount this season. You apply the neat trick of excluding their other recent matches in the CL and, therefore, expect us to believe that the Qarabag players and managers had not learned this lesson in Sept. 2017 but suddenly stumbled upon it in October 2017. How will you reconcile that view when they lose heavily to Roma and/or Chelsea or Atletico next time.
They are a team qualifying for the first time to CL group stage; they have always been known as a low scoring- defensive minded unit but this has not served them well in qualifying. In Europa Group stages where they are usually to be found their recent group positions have been 4th (2016), 3rd (2015) and they never qualified for it in their previous 10 attempts since 1996. Qarabag fans look on in envy at the achievments of Celtic in Europe and do not fool themselves that they have obtained a comparable status because of one good result.
And the last objective measure of the relative merits of the Qarabag and Celtic approaches was answered as recently as 2015 when we knocked them out deservedly at the 3rd round qualifying stage. They held us to 0:0 at home too on that occasion. Should I extrapolate and say they are not improving because they are still just getting 0:0 results? No! Of course not because that would be stretching the data beyond what a small sample can bear.
As for the Scottish Cringe being there for all to see; that’s an easy statement to make and hard to disprove. Who else saw it and commented that it was in evidence?- I think it may have been just you. How did it manage to infect a Costa Rican, a few Englishmen, a Swede and a Frenchman?
What is the most likely explanation and in keeping with respective recent form?
Your view that Celtic are too scared to compete?
Or my view that Celtic and other teams in Divisions 3 and 4 of the European elite leagues will routinely lose more often than they win?
We will bloody a bigger team’s nose now and again but we are in no position to become regular quarter or semi finalists in CL until the financial situation is reversed. That is the truth- the winner does and will again come from Spain, Italy, England, Germany or France. Therefore, by your logic, the Scottish Cringe has cousins in Portugal, Holland, Belgium, Austria, Poland, Hungary, Switzerland, Romania, Bulgaria and, even, Russia.
Wha’s like us?
Quite a lot it seems.
Aff oot to see Lenny cry :-)
G67- i thought he didn’t look interested when he came on as a sub v BM…
Today we will witness the latest installment of the football authorities project ABC.
Go stuff these green huns Celtic and take away the hope of huns triumphing in the final.
Let’s show them the free flowing Celtic at the House of Corruption.
COYBIG
Today’s starting line up
Gordon; Lustig Boyata Bitton Tierney; Brown McGregor Armstrong; Roberts Sinclair Griffiths
Subs: De Vries Forrest Ajer Gamboa Ntcham Rogic Dembele
LIVE UPDATES UP
*REMINDER*
CQN Saturday Naps Competition
for those in the CQN Naps Competition, please post your Week 12 selection here:
http://www.celticquicknews.co.uk/celtic-stretched-out-of-normal-passing-game/comment-page-10/#comments
Cheers, fleagle1888