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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Oops…me at 9.09
*not buying
Don’t know about a boycott, we could just stop going to the games………………………..
:-(
LAWWELL OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh……………and LENNON AS WELL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I’m in the hoose masel.
Aboot a glass left in the bottle.
To drink or not to drink…………….that is the question………..
LAWWELL AND LENNON OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Huddle
I will back up BP.
There is a cancer at our club …. somebody at our club decided not to speak out about the5 WA, or LNS, or the cheating … or … or … or… these are hurting our club form the inside…
if there is a cancer, it needs to be cut out … and, like other cancers, there may need to be treatment (e.g., radiation or chemotherapy) that, in the short term hurts the body, but, in the long terms, saves the patient….
withholding funds is akin to that …. hard now, but will save the club in the long run, by removing what is wrong within the club ….
if we dont, what is wrong within the club, will eventually kill it….or at least kill what has made the club different and special…
Philbhoy…lol…is that Derrida?
Hope yer knee is healing nicely…are you going to the hoot next month?
H.H.
RON67
Would that be the left back that we let go a year ago
Watching Athletic B v Barcelona.
Some of these guys kin pass the ball as poorly as we can.
Thoughts to TheBhoyfromOz and his family today as they laid young Charlie to rest. God Bless them in what must been a truly difficult day and indeed period of time.
HH
CRC
Mike in Toronto on 16th August 2019 9:23 pm
——-
That’s all fair enough, but you don’t seriously think this team can win the league this season if they don’t have the fans turning up and supporting them??
Sure, it might contribute to us losing the league and as a result PL is replaced but we would still lose the league
Logged in for the first time since Cluj.
Fought through a snowstorm of pop-ups, intrusive full-screen ads, nasty screen demands and virus-loaded suggested links.
To get a third-form squeaming match on James Joyce and Jaques Derrida.
Christ almighty. I used to really like this place.
THE_HUDDLE on 16TH AUGUST 2019 9:16 PM
So your plan to help the team win the league this season is for fans to boycott the games??
………………………….
Do you remember the days of the Kelly’s and White’s? We had a Board that would not respond yo the aspirations of the fans. They kept selling our best players and we ended up playing guys we got from the British Army, as well as Wayne Higgins and Carl Muggleton. We’ve only got what we have now because fans supported the team by boycotting games. The time for boycotting games has not arrived but, mark my words, if things continue as they are, that time will come.
*Biggins
GreeninbingleyinOslo on 16th August 2019 9:27 pm
——–
We’ve been assured that once P67 has found a way to log on he’ll fix all the site problems :O)
Mike…the club that we grew up loving and following…is dead…commercial considerations are given priority over everything else…we are only customers…however…the team on the pitch will always have my support notwithstanding my reservations on how the club is being run
H.H.
THE LURKINTIM
Was at hospital on Wednesday and got good news.
Knee cap split straight across the middle and no other damage.
Healing process had begun, therefore surgery not required…………..
But leg brace and crutches for 6 weeks, so sadly won’t make the HOOT.
It cooda bin worse.
The only real down side is I need to wear the brace 24/7.
Hope you are well my friend!
GREENINBINGLEYINOSLO on 16TH AUGUST 2019 9:27 PM
Logged in for the first time since Cluj.
Fought through a snowstorm of pop-ups, intrusive full-screen ads, nasty screen demands and virus-loaded suggested links.
To get a third-form squeaming match on James Joyce and Jaques Derrida.
Christ almighty. I used to really like this place.
………………,,.
😂 Top comment of the day!
TheOriginalSadiesBhoy on 16th August 2019 9:27 pm
———
You can’t even compare those eras in my opinion but that’s a discussion for another time.
BP, and you agreed, said starve the team of our support.
Do you think that would help or hinder our chances of winning the league this season?
PhilBhoy
That must be very painful. Hope it’s not too long before you’re back to normal. Good luck.
THEBHOYFROMOZ
Prayers said for you and your family.
Rest in peace Charlie.
The Huddle
Not an easy decision, I get that … but….
1. If it had been done sooner (when it should have), we would never have gotten to the situation we are in …but we let the disease fester so it is now a much bigger mess to clean up than it should have been…
2. You have to understand your enemy. If all they care about is money, they aren’t going to persist in a course of conduct that costs them money. So, I strongly believe, that a small boycott (maybe a meaningless cup tie) would have been enough to get their attention. And, if not, the threat that enough fans might not renew would, I believe, have been enough to force our Board’s hand.
3. And I dont believe that it owuld just be replacing one devil with another. if the club knew that fans were actually going to hold them to account, they would be forced to change their ways, or suffer the consequences.
I am not saying it would have been easy. Nor am I saying that we would have gotten everything.
But, I dont believe for one second that it would have led to the death of Celtic. I dont believe it would necessarily have lead to the loss of one title (although, to me, we were cheated out of 10 and got nothing in return… if we gave up one and got some measure of justice in return… I think I could live with that deal, better than the one we ended up with).
I think we missed a real chance to do some good here.
TOSB
I fell on holiday in Crete and didn’t go to hospital until I got home a week later.
Stupid I know.
And very painful too.
Much easier now thanks!
You take care too!
THEORIGINALSADIESBHOY on 16TH AUGUST 2019 9:30 PM
GREENINBINGLEYINOSLO on 16TH AUGUST 2019 9:27 PM
Logged in for the first time since Cluj.
Fought through a snowstorm of pop-ups, intrusive full-screen ads, nasty screen demands and virus-loaded suggested links.
To get a third-form squeaming match on James Joyce and Jaques Derrida.
Christ almighty. I used to really like this place.
………………,,.
😂 Top comment of the day!
IF ……almighty gets back to you, you will both know if it,s the post of the day or not.
ST TAMS on 16TH AUGUST 2019 9:23 PM
yes it sure was
Watchin’ Athletic B v Barcelona……………..Cluj wid beat the two of them!
Philbhoy…glad to hear it’s not gonna require surgery…you wanna borrow my weights to build yer upper arm strength lol…6 weeks is a bassa but not an eternity…fortunately. 24/7 means 24/7…no shortcuts. Mental health aside, am getting there Philbhoy…hope to be another viable government labour market unit within a few weeks
H.H.
On the mooted boycott….
1. If we’re having a boycott, can we wait until we’ve got another 2 league titles in the bag before we stop going to the games?
2. Will the Celtic diaspora being travelling back from Australia, U.S.A., England etc. to take part in the boycott or do they intend to “support” the boycott in absentia from afar by not attending as usual?
Thanks for the clarifications.
:-)))
Philbhoy on 16th August 2019 9:43 pm
Watchin’ Athletic B v Barcelona……………..Cluj wid beat the two of them!
——-
Wish i’d watched the Huddersfield Fulham game now :O)
THE_HUDDLE on 16TH AUGUST 2019 9:31 PM
TheOriginalSadiesBhoy on 16th August 2019 9:27 pm
———
You can’t even compare those eras in my opinion but that’s a discussion for another time.
BP, and you agreed, said starve the team of our support.
Do you think that would help or hinder our chances of winning the league this season?
…………………..
No in all honesty, I don’t think it would help our chances this season. I think it’s too early for a boycott. However, I would have no compunction in withholding my season ticket money at the start of next season if we have shown no improvement in getting in players who will help us qualify for the CL group stages if we win the league this season. As I’ve said already, this transfer window is still open and we have January to come. By then we could/should have a squad in place that we don’t need to add to, to give the qualifiers a really good go. However, if we find that at the end of the season we need to replace 3 or 4 players for the coming season then I would support a total boycott because we know it will be Groundhog Day yet again and we will have our expectations lowered yet again and have to listen to the Lawell Litany of Platitudes. I hope that makes my position clear.
Favorite Uncle
All this talk of resting players tomorrow has got to be a bad joke…we’re only 8 games in ffs…Lenny needs to play the strongest squad tomorrow with a view to continuity for Thursday
Who is he resting exactly?
As I recall it Lenny said, only last week “I have such a good squad of players that I dont know who my first eleven is”
CRC- Perspective….may he RIP HH
One thing I noticed from our annual brief champions league foray this season was how poor the refs were.
And not in the usual way of letting teams dive all over the place, this time they let so many fouls go.
Don’t know if we just got a bad batch or if it’s a trend to let a more robust type of football.
Cracking goal Bilbao
THELURKINTIM
You take care and if you feel like a blether get my email from PAUL67 or BMCUWP!
TheBhoyfromOz
Heartfelt condolences.
Requiescet in Pace, Charlie
Hail Hail
Barcelona Quick News in melt down.
TOSB. You are right to say the time for Boycott has not arrived. Football Supporters will never be totally Happy with any Board. The Board generally operate by what the head says, Supporters more by what the heart feels.
The Board has already sanctioned about 11 million in spending this window, not enough for me but the real problem is the Manager feels unable to play our main purchases.
I am angry & dissatisfied at the moment like the majority of fans but the reality is up to Tuesday I was buzzing, we had absolutely cruised through the first 2 European rounds and demolished our first 2 SPFL opponents, We were playing attractive football, scoring goals for fun and had got a score draw in the first game. I was supremely confident we would beat Cluj at home but 3 unexpected catastrophes combined to floor us.
Regardless of what he is still saying today for me Lenny got it totally wrong and is chiefly responsible for what happened but he might have got away it only Bain had a poor game & Brooney had a nightmare,
We have not become a bad team overnight what happened Tuesday will in all likelihood never happen again.
However apart from that our chief rivals have been tooling up and it would be totally negligent if we did not respond. I am looking no demanding that the Board spend to strengthen this window but we can still have a great season.
Time to back the team.
Been a tough week for lots of us on here, not just the fitba!
Wee prayer said for all those in need this night and…………..thanks for being here!
Good night and God bless!
Aurora at 9.45
That was me…there was chat on here about resting players…that was my response
H.H.