AIK came through a tense final few moments in a 1-1 draw with Moldovans Sheriff in Stockholm last night to face Celtic in the Europa League playoff round, the first leg is in Glasgow on Thursday.
AIK were bottom seed in the Champions League first qualifying round, where they overcame Ararat-Armenia 4-3 on aggregate, but were bottom of the unseeded pack for the second round, which they lost 4-3 to Maribor. Maribor were beaten home and away by Rosenborg in the last round.
Last season AIK eliminated Shamrock Rovers from the Europa League qualifiers before losing home and away to Danes, Nordsjaelland.
Neil Lennon twice faced Swedish opposition in Champions League qualifiers in his first term at Celtic. Two comfortable 2-0 wins over Helsingborg in 2012 were followed by a more testing examination by Mo Bangura-inspired Elfsborg a year later, which resulted in a 1-0 aggregate win for Celtic.
Ronny Deila needed to overcome Malmo to reach the Champions League group stage in 2015 but despite racing into an early 2-0 lead, the first leg at Celtic Park was turned on its head when Malmo scored an added-time goal to make it 3-2. Jo Inge Berget, who Ronny had on loan months earlier, scored both Malmo goals. The Swedes won 2-0 a week later to knock Celtic out.
Although AIK are 19 games into their domestic league campaign, there should be a negligible gap in fitness by the time we face them on Thursday. There can be no excuses.
You and I were there in the dark summer of 2010, when Utrecht and Braga were the last teams to deny Celtic group stage football, and a year later, when Sion came within a CAS ruling of doing the same. It took Neil time to get it right, but a year later he earned 10 points in a tough Champions League group.
Before AIK, we have the small matter of a League Cup to defend against Dunfermline at Celtic Park tomorrow. Celtic have won a record 27 consecutive domestic cup games. Avoid defeat tomorrow and we set an unbeaten record. Let’s hope Dunfermline feel a backlash.
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Not that I agree at all but I believe the reason for McGregor playing left back was because (Lennon admitted) he needed to get Ntcham in the team. The reason he needed to get him in the team is because they want to punt him for as much as possible and CL is the shop window. McGregor therefore had to come out to accomodate Ntcham. My theory.
Fickle as F.
DAVID66 on 17TH AUGUST 2019 8:56 AM
Exactly how I feel.
One of ours attacked and vilified repeatedly by the unclean.
Shoulder to shoulder.
This is about more than fitba`.
Mind you…………
Lucky Cody
….. as a box of frogs ….
Gordon
Ajer Jullien Simo
Forrest Broonie Ntcham Sincy/Boli
Christie
Griff Eddie
Wow that shut up the drek
VOGUEPUNTER on 16TH AUGUST 2019 8:47 PM
BIG PACKY AKA Billy Big Baws
See if you don’t give Celtic a penny…Do not tell anyone else what to do.
ps I don’t give a fuck what school you went to.
………………………
Post of the YEAR Voguepunter !
I dont post on here very much now due to Chumps such as Big Packy, and one or two others. Many months ago I posted about BP and his inane posts, and DESPITE my stating of FACTS, soley based on what BP had posted himself over a period of time. Two or three on here wanted my Post about BP removed…DESPITE my only posting FACTS, and reminding others of the absolute Crap that he was posting on a daily basis.
I was sad to see that some very intelligent posters, actually stood up for this BP character…DESPITE my only posting FACTS !
Silly me, I thought that most on here were only interested in FACTS ?
As for BP’s post last night ( Page 8 ?), telling REAL Supporters to starve Celtic of money etc….This is from a Chump who has NEVER posted about travelling up from England to see the Celtic. This is from a Chump who has NEVER posted about meeting any mates and going to a Pub to watch the Celts…Why ?…My guess is that BP is TOO MISERABLE to spend a Penny towards watching Celtic for many a long year.
“My Guess” ?…Apologises…I will now revert back to FACTS….I sometimes lurk on Sentinel Celts, and couldnt help but notice that BP was posting most days on there, and had in FACT gathered some sort of “Gang” ( His description…not mine) on SC, who post the most inane crap that I have ever read.
Just RECENTLY…This BP guy was complaining on Sentinel Celts about having to spend £10…..A Fecking TENNER !!!!….on getting a Taxi from his work…ahem….Dug Salon…in order to watch Celtic on Hesgoal…A feckin FREE Stream !
Yet, he thinks it fine to tell REAL Celtic supporters what they should do with their money ???
if things dont get better at Celtic….MAYBE a Boycott would be an answer of sorts….but I REFUSE to be told what I should do with MY Money by a Miserable, Tight Fisted, Chump…who is nothing more than an ! Attention Seeker”….and I posted on here MANY months ago about his attention seeking.
This is the Chump who thought it sensible and clever to post his Wife’s NAME on here….how many would do that ? How many HAVE did likewise ?
He has also posted His Surname on here and on SC as its the same surname as a current Celtic player…I ALSO have the same surname of a current Celtic player…but I dont go posting it on here, for OBVIOUS reasons.
IF Coatbridge was so feckin wonderful…why feckin leave ?
Once a MIDDEN….Always a Midden !
No doubt that some on here will want this post removed….Feel free to make that request, but its a VERY Sad Day ( like before)…when a Post gets removed for simply stating FACTS ?
HH
Talk of ‘losing the dressing room’?
It is my belief that a manager loses the dressing room when the players in his team believe that his actions and tactics are actually making the team get worse results than they are capable of.
It is far to early to label that on Neil Lennon’s reign.
We have only lost one game but boy it was a big game and all the hallmarks of the above certainly appeared to be relevant .
Lennon’s bullish response about that game in his presser slightly took me aback.
I was expecting a bit more humility about his own actions on tuesday night but he was adamant he did nothing wrong tactically and his players simply never started quick enough.
Even if you give him that,
This outstanding second half he was talking about ended three goals each with the modest Romanian team at Celtic Park.
I would have really liked our manager to admit to his bad night at the office then we could all move on.
He is correct to praise our attacking play but those attacking players will I suggest be feeling the anger and frustration almost more than us as they really got robbed of qualification to the next stage by a series of basic unforgivable errors by the defence and management team.
BIG JIMMY
Keep postin’ mate, ye’ve been missed!
Has anyone sighted the Scotzine article on our teams current recruitment status?
Oh deary deary me……..
Does anyone know exactly when or in which incident Scot Bain dislocated his thumb?
Sorry if this has been mentioned I have been working two 11 hour shifts.
My friends in Celtic,
IMO , failure to use substitutions is the only real comparison between our negligent display on Tuesday night and our loss to Partisan Belgrade in 1989.
Partizan were a good team used to playing in a rigid regime. They were not a team plucked from relative obscurity to make up CL qualifiers and even today that are UEFA ranked in the 70’s.
Our manager then remains an undisputed legend at Parkhead. Big Billy epitimises everything that is Celtic.
I will just make the observation that even legends at the club do not necessarily make the best fit managers.
HH to all.
PS : TOSB. : I have never seen you so despondent about a Celtic result and general lack of urgency and ambition for our club. That speaks volumes.
i would take a punt on the young left back of Hearts , if they would sell to us / if he would come to us .
also i’d rather have Soutar than Mckenna if we lose Jozo….in fact i’d take Consadine before Mckenna :))
The next couple of weeks will be very interesting with transfers in and out .
a good professional display today and a clean sheet would be nice .
ILWT …to get it right :))
aff oaff tae Asda…Catchyeez .
Have we still not completed the Gutman Visa case yet?
BIG JIMMY,Were do you stay,just asking like🤔🤔
Was at my WITS end trying to work out the flag some neighbours down the street were flying in their back garden.
5 mins on Google told me it was the Nordic flag for Dublin.
Wow.
https://www.pressreader.com/uk/scottish-daily-mail/20190817/283558042229882
This article says that Celtic has paid substantial damages to an ex-player in respect of an abuse claim.
BREENY@ 9:14
If that’s the case , and it may well be then the simple solution would have been not to play CalMac at all . In my eyes Lenny bottled it and took the easy way out by dropping Bolingoli.
HH .
Weird fact for you – when Calmac started with Celtic Youth he played as a centre-half, it was only later that he was moved to the wing and eventually to mid-field – check it out if you don’t believe me.
MARSPAPA on 17TH AUGUST 2019 10:23 AM
i would take a punt on the young left back of Hearts , if they would sell to us / if he would come to us .
mentioned the same last night imo he is a better player than the killie left back , it seems the young hearts player came thru our academy where he played midfield, only to be released and was picked up by hearts , another one we have missed out on.
Re the team today & going forward. Ajer came to us as a midfielder but was converted into a centre half. We need a bit of physical strength in midfield particularly against the hammer throwers, We have Jozo, Julien, Bitton & Elhamed who can all play in the centre. Today would be a good day to try Ajer in a midfield role, I reckon he would take to it like a duck to water.
Boli has had a shaky start but he has played successfully at a high level prior to joining us, he has cost us 3 million it would be crazy to give up on him so quickly, After being dropped for a midfielder last Tuesday his confidence must be on the floor. We need to either persist with him & coach him into the left back position or utilise him further forward as a wing back or a winger, he can play football we need to find his best position.
My team would be Gordon. Boli, Julien, Bitton, Elhamed,, Ajer, Henderson,Christie Sinclair,Shved, Griffiths or Bayo..
First Line Subs Bayo, N’tcham, Morg
I think the attendance today will be used as a stick to beat us with (as usual).
It was never going to be a large crowd, no matter what Tuesday’s result was.
Hail Hail.
New bus leaving time is 11:30 so we can get a seat in the association club😱 now must be disciplined cause you could get wrecked before the game😵
⚽⚽⚽⚽:0 today👏👏👏👏
i see lawell is still in europe
PETER LAWWELL has come under fire this week for his role in Celtic’s exits from the Champions League. The chief executive has overseen four exits over the past six years and it has been deemed not good enough by supporters.
However, the man himself is charging on with things and this week has been appointed by the European Club Association to sit on Uefa’s Professional Football Strategy Council which will be tasked with shaping the format of the competition over the next four years.
Today’s Couponeers Picks –
TET – Blackpool
BMCUW – Exeter
Pog – Crewe
GFTB – Lincoln
Jobo – Raith
AWATR – Ross County
LB – Barnsley
LUCKY CODY
I agree entirely. I started to get worried last season against Aberdeen when he made 2 substitutions at half time, one of who was Sinclair (that was the end for him).
The shape of the team end up a shambles and in the end Aberdeen should won the game.
Tuesday night was just unbelievable, with him accepting no responsibility whatsoever. That is not good for team morale. That’s what finished him at Hibs
Aff oot….to Stirling….why do I agree to such nonsense….grrrrrt
We never improve any playing weaker opposition week in week out hence another Cluj is never far away and why our best players must always move on.
The young left back at Hearts has a lot of potential. If he does well this Season and I think he will, go get him next Summer.
Why Luca at another young left back, when we have already signed
Luca Connel for this position ????
Marspapa, like you, I would take Souttar long before McKenna was being considered
He can play at right back, so again a better option for me than the Kilmarnock right back
The Lurkin, whits wrong with Stirling?
I’ve just walked the dugs round the Bannockburn heritage centre (battlefields) and currently sitting looking at the Wallace Monument and Castle
Not much wrong with that 👍
Not posted for a while, been busy… also was sounding like a broken record.
FOURSTONECOPPI @ 11:16 AM,
This is a tactic PL uses all the time when he’s under fire, get a “good” story out there… old news, fake news – whatever
He was appointed PFSC in Sept 2017…
How’s that worked for us!?
https://www.insider.co.uk/news/celtic-chief-peter-lawwell-elected-11115942
…But he has been handed another role. Lawwell has now been elected alongside the ECA’s four representatives on UEFA ’s Professional Football Strategy Council (PFSC).
This is how our CEO Operates, how he is with the press – the teflon CEO
Not wanting to sound like a broken record again but open your eyes ghuys.
Aff Oot…
Hail Hail
From the BBC per: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-49380349
Celtic agree ‘significant’ compensation for sex abuse victim
A former youth player at Celtic has been awarded “significant” compensation from the club after being sexually abused by a coach.
The Parkhead club has admitted liability for historic abuse carried out by convicted paedophile Jim McCafferty.
The award was made to the victim, who cannot be named, by the Personal Injury Court in Edinburgh.
The man claimed his mental health was affected by abuse during the 1990s.
The victim’s lawyer, abuse specialist Kim Leslie, said: “For decades my client suffered as a result of McCafferty’s abuse so above all else I’d like to pay tribute to him for the courage he has shown in stepping forward after coming to terms with what happened.
“Ever since McCafferty’s abuse was exposed, Celtic FC remained firm in its defence and denial of responsibility.
“However, after thorough investigations I was able to present a robust case which resulted in the club admitting liability.
“I hope the successful end to this legal action brings closure to my client and also brings hope to those who considering a civil action of their own.”
The exact amount of the payout has not been disclosed, but was described as “significant”.
In May, 73-year-old Jim McCafferty admitted 10 charges of indecent assault, one charge of lewd and libidinous behaviour, and a breach of the peace.
The offences were carried out against 10 teenage boys between 1972 and 1996.
He was jailed for six years and nine months. He was already serving a jail term for abusing a teenage boy in Belfast.
McCafferty was a coach and kit man for the Celtic youth team and also worked for Celtic Boys Club.
In his career he also worked at Hibernian and Falkirk football clubs.
Celtic FC has been approached by the BBC for comment.
Oh dear
A former youth player at Celtic has been awarded “significant” compensation from the club after being sexually abused by a coach.
The Parkhead club has admitted liability for historic abuse carried out by convicted paedophile Jim McCafferty.
The award was made to the victim, who cannot be named, by the Personal Injury Court in Edinburgh.
The man claimed his mental health was affected by abuse during the 1990s.
Football abuse: SFA publish child safety strategy
Celtic abuse regret ‘too little, too late’
Jim McCafferty: The abuser who preyed on dreams of football stardom
Former Celtic youth football coach Jim McCafferty admits abuse
The victim’s lawyer, abuse specialist Kim Leslie, said: “For decades my client suffered as a result of McCafferty’s abuse so above all else I’d like to pay tribute to him for the courage he has shown in stepping forward after coming to terms with what happened.
“Ever since McCafferty’s abuse was exposed, Celtic FC remained firm in its defence and denial of responsibility.
“However, after thorough investigations I was able to present a robust case which resulted in the club admitting liability.
“I hope the successful end to this legal action brings closure to my client and also brings hope to those who considering a civil action of their own.”
The exact amount of the payout has not been disclosed, but was described as “significant”.
McCafferty with a Celtic youth team
Image caption
McCafferty (far left) pictured with a Celtic youth team
In May, 73-year-old Jim McCafferty admitted 10 charges of indecent assault, one charge of lewd and libidinous behaviour, and a breach of the peace.
The offences were carried out against 10 teenage boys between 1972 and 1996.
He was jailed for six years and nine months. He was already serving a jail term for abusing a teenage boy in Belfast.
McCafferty was a coach and kit man for the Celtic youth team and also worked for Celtic Boys Club.
In his career he also worked at Hibernian and Falkirk football clubs.
Celtic FC has been approached by the BBC for comment.
I always expected the above to happen and there is little doubt that this will be the first of many. Does this explain the need to build a big cash reserve.
Corky
He was employed by CFC during this therefore we have a duty to pay compensation. The Celtic boys club had no affiliation with CFC therefore there will be no claims.
OK Prestonpans, Thanks for info.
TIMBHOY2 on 17TH AUGUST 2019 10:35 AM
BIG JIMMY,Were do you stay,just asking like
………………………….
Why do you ask ?