While I want a win, or a clean sheet, what I would really like to see is evidence of what we have learned since Anderlecht ran through us in Glasgow two months ago. We have a genuine chance to eliminate a stronger opponent and reach the last 16 of the Europa League, but merely hoping the same strategy that was so overwhelmingly ineffective at home to PSG, Bayern and Anderlecht, will work better this time, is not going to cut it.
Let’s keep it tight until late in the game, when Zenit’s energy levels will be stretched. I also think we get more out of Forrest, Sinclair and Dembele with space to exploit in the forward third. I know we are unpractised at this, but, all going well, we will face far stronger opponents in September, when a polished rear-guard action will definitely be needed.
Today’s lesson: how to defend against skillful opponents.
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Well here goes, my team selection tonight would be .
Dorus.
Hendry Simo Ajer KT.
Kouassie n Broonie
Ollie
Jamesy———–Cal Mac
Moussa .
Christmas tree formation ie 4321.
Looks like its a 4 jumpers night for me, plus the usual other attire of course.
H.H
BT- more clues required…
Hail Hailstones in EK
Today’s lesson: how to defend against skillful opponents.
Can tomorrows lesson be; how to defend against SPFL dross ? (Kilmarnock, Partick Thistle)?
Hyndland even
Tall, (obviously) buys and sells Whisky and is a bit posh
We Jim was union rep for years still has crew cut
Both mid 50’s
Bada Bing 1:41
Hope so – that’s what I went with :-)
Maybe a different formation though.
Eurochamps——meant to poet before re your chemo. I finished a second bout in 30years 2 years ago. First time round I had my spleen removed, hence penicillin every day from then on.
Anyhow, this time round they were (the medics) having kittens when I told them I was playing with my band the same night.
After the first couple of times they came to the conclusion it was doing more good than harm.
So, enjoy the match tonight—-I envy you.
Alternately you could do as I did—take up mandolin playing seriously.
Or perhaps, given some of the side effects, the Arabian Arse Flute.
Better than the steroids, in my opinion.
BALORNOCK BHOY..
If you still interested in the Seniors Friday night 5 a sides Footy.. drop me a wee line.. andyr53@btinternet.com.
(includes anyone else looking for a wee kick about at the 5’s, we play it for fun and fitness).
Cheers, HH and All the Best Everyone for Tonight.
63BHOY on15TH FEBRUARY 2018 1:28 PM
I missed that subtlety. :)
Lessons to learn for tonight.
We have a title, now we just need to know who we face in SEPTEMBER.
Barney67
lesson to learn
don’t get ahead of ourselves
I can’t make the game tonight so there is a spare going in the North Curve.
Call me on 07881 511223 if you are interested in it.
KTF
dumpster not interested in SFA job
we are not worthy
Lesson for tonight – watch Ivanovic at corners (if he’s playing). If he isn’t playing, definitely DON’T watch him!
Bada
Best option available to us given the injuries.
HH jamesgang
Does anyone know if the green brigade will be walking to the game together tonight? If so where do they meet and when? Cheers
REBELBHOY72
Usually meet in London Road Celtic club mate
Bada
So Lustig is injury free, is he?
JJ
Anyone in the Town Centre seeing any evidence of the infamous Zenit support?
JJ
I think P67 is suggesting we park the bus, reading between the lines. Can’t see it happening myself.
GO TELL THE SPARTIM on 15TH FEBRUARY 2018 1:02 PM
Auldheid
I think we know the reason for the bbc analysis, it’s deep rooted racism and sectarianism towards anything remotely mentioning Catholicism.
Shameful shameful organisation
######
In fairness that’s more of a Scottish thing than a BBC thing.
Has there been any update on the fitness of Paddy Roberts? He was pictured training in Dubai with the squad and expected him back by now
HH
“A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti…thip..thip..thip..thip..thip”
Definitely for me the greatest villain in the history of book and films!
Who knows maybe some characters have apparently done worse – Clint Eastwood singing ‘I talk to the trees’, John Wayne as a Roman Centurion or Michael McIntyre doing stand-up spring to mind – BUT good old Hannibal uniquely has no shame, no regrets, no ethical doubts. His rock-solid certainty in the personal virtue of his calling allied to his ability to see through subterfuge, pretence and false morality, lends him the air of the saintly missionary with the deadliness of a slow acting curare tipped dart.
His power of thought to make lesser mortals go breach physical limits as when he killed Miggs in the next cell by persuading him to swallow his own tongue, is nothing short of inspirational.
It is a thing of beauty to watch as he skewers the psychological and egotistic weaknesses of his slowly catatonic adversaries and leaves them as eye-bulging, toungless, slabbering, limb twitching, life ebbing cadavers.
Truly one of the great spiritual joys of the world of celluloid and an unrivalled communal experience for carnivores, herbivores and Bacchanalians alike.
And there we have it! Wrapped up in one irrevocably damaged psychopathic cannibal, all the qualifications, all the attributes and the ruthlessness for surely what should be the job description for a football manager – Scottish Style!
That anyway, through the filter of my own wayward psyche, is what I’ve distilled from a wide sample of febrile fans and timid Tims in the face of the great Russian bear potentially dancing a Cossack through the tactical turgidity, artistic absence and physical porousness of Celtic’s managerial and football naivety.
Ach I suppose they might all be right but to be honest with my expectation of a 3-0 win for the Green and White combine harvester, I have a bigger quandry/opportunity to deal with.
It’s time or not as the case may be to put my money where my mouth is…well actually where the bookie’s counter is.
The dealer has called for the money to be laid, the antes to be upped and a phantasmogorical phuture oph phinancial phame and phortune to be realised.
It’s not about blind faith anymore, it’s not even about wide-open eyed faith in the power of my mind to holding vanquish both doubt and the calculations of those fat fingered, sweaty browed, odds setting, blinkered axe wielding seedy bookmakers .
This morning’s glance into my ever-thinning, ever lighter wallet triggered once again that vision of stuffing it later with a bulging surfeit of fivers, tenners and twenties and testing the strength of its stitching to its limits.
Fifty Pounds in notes and a single quid in my ‘coin box….for use in emergencies only’ ….What to do?
Does the thought of that wealth disappearing into the underwold’s grubby pockets negate my uber (and I’m not talking about taxis here) confidence in Brendan and his warriors. Does my expectation of glorious triumph dissipate like a Guinness and Madras fuelled bowel evacuation? Does my step falter and at that moment of truth do I turn away from the bookie’s door as the twitching dribble in the corner of my mouth become a torrent washing away the crimson eruption of my lips ravaged and bitten by the despair and the forgotten love of those lingering five crisp £10 notes dissolving in a regretful pang of ‘if only I hadn’t listened to the promises of those two faithless sirens ‘Hope’ and ‘Drink’.
Or does my confidence become a knowing smile?
Does my heart pump with glee as I write up my line, cast it with insouciance and understated disdain across the Rubicon of dreams in Ladbroke’s? And then with my one remaining quid will I buy one half time draw ticket in the absolute certainty that it is the winner and it is I who will be waving from the centre circle acknowledging the applause from every corner of the earthly paradise.
Will I then dash from back to my seat in cast iron faith that the house of evil odds-setters has lost and it’s I….I…. who will be swimming in a river of joy, riches beyond the dreams of avarice and screaming ‘GIRUY’s at the sad, pathetic bookie reduced to abject poverty, wallowing in a midden of despair and soiled sleeping bag under the Heilanman’s umbrella?
I know what I expect, I know what I will do……and even if it all goes wrong, there’s always next week and till then I’m sure that a bookie’s liver is as tasty with baked beans and a bottle of Bucky.
‘Mon the Hoops
Hail Hail
Matt
I watched 4 games the last 2 days, 4 very good ones at that. 1 of the teams has already scudded us, their opposition last night most of us would love tae see back at Parkheid and the away game would make a good day out and its not that far away and 1 of the others, well we did well against them last year but this season, hmmm naw as IMHO they are the most exciting team in Europe right now.
1 of the others falls intae the athletico/rapid/racing club/deidco/calvinists category, i.e. cheats and cannae stand them.
The other 4 I would fancy our chances against them. However, 2 of them were well scudded at home which should be a wake up call tae us as Liverpool are a hot and cold side they are already out of the FA Cup tae bottom club WBA.
As for Tottenham, l always liked them, especially after they took 8 off deidco over 2 legs in the 1st round of the ECWC and sent them hame tae think again (memories of that game is the hordes being interviewed leaving the train in London including wee scheidty andy stewart when asked why he was in London he replied tae see the rainjurs with a big grin on his face, the White Heather Club was never watched in our house again), and yes they are still entertaining but dearie me a better side than rube would never have let them back intae the game, shades of Celtic.
So tonight is just like one of our earlier European games pre-Jock, just enjoy the occasion and the fact we are still in Europe at all and not just after Christmas, our day will come again.
Matt Stewart … how about John wayne as Ghenghis Khan? even worse!
!!Bada Bing!! on 15th February 2018 1:41 pm
Devries
Lustig Ajer Jozo KT
Ntcham Brow Kouassi McGregor Forrest
Dembele
Apparently team for tonight
=====================================
McGregor?
Only mystery there to me – hasn’t shown anything recently. As low a dip in form as Sincy.
But I’d have Sincy in there from the start instead – purely for pace. KT will nee dthe help against Rigatoni.
And if Lustig is anything less than 100%, Gamboa to deputise.
Again, pace.
Pace, pace, pace – the defining factor at the level we’re about to play at tonight.
Pace allows the high-tempo press we need to have at our disposal to get anything from these Euro thoroughbreds.
In the SPL we can sit off teams and contain them. Soon as we try that in Europe we get savaged. We can’t ‘feel our way into the game’ or for that matter – apols P67 – ‘keep it tight’. We need to be in their faces, hustling them out their comfort zones.
The only way we get big results in Europe is when our players shoot out the blocks like they’d heard a starting pistol.
Aside, tonight is the JOY of watching Celtic – big Euro game, big test, big ambitions. Wouldn’t have it any other way. The (often bittersweet reward) for enduring the 90s with faith and hope.
COYBIG
Matt: Superb.
Paul67 et al
Funny thing is we would be more confident if we were playing Spartak Moscow. And yet Brendan should have a good idea how Mancini plays the game, ie generally on the attack. Ergo we need to defend well as a team. Tierney needs to be first and foremost a defender, Brown playing on the front foot and not on the back as he tends to do these days, and where misplaced passes are lost near their corner flag than our eighteen yard line. A performance similar to that against Bayern Munich just might give us a chance to win, if we take whatever chances we create. And we will create some of that I have no doubt.
Looking at all the teams I see nobody is playing Charly.
So I’ll go
De Vries, Lustig, Jozo,Ajer, KT. Brown, Kouassi, Ntcham, Mussonda, Forrest & Dembele.
It’s been a while since we faced a team we were not expected to beat. That might turn out to be actually less of a burden than the expectation of rolling over everything on the domestic front.
I’m hoping it might free the minds and loosen the limbs after some of our recent introspective domestic displays.
!!Bada Bing!! on 15th February 2018 1:41 pm
Devries
Lustig Ajer Jozo KT
Ntcham Brow Kouassi McGregor Forrest
Dembele
Apparently team for tonight
===============================================
Good call
HH
Hope Brow keeps the head tonight….
Devries
Lustig Ajer Jozo KT
Ntcham Brow Kouassi McGregor Forrest
Dembele
If the above is the team for tonight, I would expect them to line up thus:
De Vries
Lustig, Ajer, Simunovic;
Forrest, Ntcham, Brown, Kouassi, Tierney;
……………….Mcgregor;
……………………….Dembele
Although a fan of Mcgregor, I would like to see Mussonda instead.
JJ-‘It seems…’ put a bit of doubt on the info..:)
Catman`s post, reinforces my view that Bada`s information is correct.
I fear those looking for an escaped goat will already have targeted Calmac.
Do the business, son !
One hour until departure of Sticky and the Arbroath Emerald.
Hail ! Hail !
JJ
Sandman- playing 2 wide players v good Euro teams has us exposed IMO
BT- think i know who Jim is, Paul ex brigade?
Brendan is looking in – wants to know when you lot will make up your mind on what team he should pick :))