It’s so rare it almost feels un-Celtic to look ahead to an important game without a handful of injury concerns. Callum McGregor missed the kick-off in our visit to Ibrox last month, a game we went into with the prospect of going five points adrift if we’d lost. The win over Newco at Celtic Park in December was achieved without Cameron Carter-Vickers or Reo Hatate (who made the bench but had not played since October).
And who can forget our first trip to Ibrox this season, which saw then-unfancied Liam Scales get a jersey due to the absence of Carter-Vickers, Nat Phillips, Maik Nawrocki and Stephen Welsh. We finished that game with a back four of Ralston, Lagerbielke, Scales and Bernabei – still won, in case you’d forgotten.
Brendan Rodgers had clearly whispered in the ear of those who stepped up in the days before these games, inspiring performances that would have surprised their dads. By contrast, yesterday, the manager told Celtic TV that Saturday’s game “will probably be the best version of the team that I’ve had since I’ve been here”. Adding, “I think after another good week of work and concentration on the training field, we’ll arrive on Saturday as good a place as we have been all season.”
That’s why you feel a little unease ahead of Saturday, you are in unfamiliar territory. Football is seldom straightforward, the best two sides in the country will be on the field trying to win, so the risks are clear.
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Man in a garish costume
https://www.gettyimages.ca/detail/news-photo/owen-o-duffy-with-members-of-the-blue-shirts-an-irish-news-photo/613505708
One of the nasty paedophiles
https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL25335675/
Bruges were robbed
SFTB
Just saw that. Disgraceful.
Bada Bing / SFTB
It does sound like a lot of tickets have been offered out with this quickish response deadline.
A few I know who regularly seem to get the tickets have not had anything yet so perhaps there is some hope still.
B78- can’t see it if tickets can be bought tomorrow by successful ones?
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Interesting to hear Paul Lambert talk of the pressure of ‘carrying the hopes of 50,000 plus Celtic supporters on your shoulders into an old firm game’.
Nowadays it is 60,000 into the Glasgow derby.
Bada Bing
Curious to see how the allocation went. My sense is that ordinary Cup Scheme folks had less than a 1 in 8 chance.
Re cup final tickets, we have a group of 7 and 4 got one, which seems a good hit rate. Unfortunately young KB and I are 2 of the 3 that didn’t. Ah well, a walk round the Whitelee Windfarm will have to do with Livescore goal alert on or listen to the FA Cup final and await their updates. Haven’t watched a Celtic game I wasn’t at for a few years now – nerves getting worse as I get older.
Burnley 78 – Yet again you have presumed something about me.
If for any reason like an operation I cannot go my tickets get used as I said I would rather someone was there and the stadium is full, but you being snide will not change someone elses attitude.
On that note is that what your boy done buy a season ticket as a badge of honour but never goes, a consumer as you say.
I suppose you are right Celtic means more to some of us than others.
D. :)
Offft Bayern 1 up
A Riley-esque ball from Kane to set up Davies to rocket it home.
All kicking off in Spain.
Real equaliser ruled out due to a push in the face.
Bayern goalkeeper must have had money on a draw in 90mins.
88th minute equaliser
WOW
Real Madrid equalise, first ever CL final at Wembley still a possibility
Keeper fecked up.
That CF is offside.
Real have ball in the net
Goal
2-1 Real heading for London
Deja vu for Bayern.
1999 all over again.
That looked bloody offside tbh
Looked offside but he’s behind the ball. Goal.
I’m confused about when 2nd phase starts. Joselu was offside until the ball reached the player who made the cross. It’s impossible to defend when we this is done.
Mind you- I won’t complain if Kyogo does that on Saturday
UEFA would much rather a German v Spain final than a German / German final.
More money to be made. Not that the officials would be in on the act. . . . .. .or would they … . . ?
In a recent broadcast on Go Radio, Ferguson, who has extensive experience with 39 derby appearances, pinpointed McGregor as the linchpin in Celtic’s build up play. “He (McGregor) starts the attacks. They’re just little passes, but they’re important passes,” Ferguson observed.
He suggested that Rangers should apply intense pressure on McGregor, advising players to force him to play defensively and commit fouls if necessary to disrupt his rhythm. “Rangers need to make sure Callum McGregor is facing back to Joe Hart every time he gets the ball. And if he does turn you, take a foul,” he stated.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Dujon Sterling should be tasked with ‘sorting out’ Callum McGregor for Rangers this weekend.
The teams will meet in a do-or-die Old Firm clash on Saturday lunchtime at Parkhead.
The result will likely go a long way to determining the outcome of the Premiership title race, with the Hoops currently three points ahead of their city rivals.
Celtic skipper McGregor is usually a key figure in these games, as he’s proven in the past that if he can dictate big games then positive results usually follow for the club.
So, former Rangers player and manager Stuart McCall would like to see his old team put the energetic Sterling up against him in an old-fashioned man-marking job.
He told BBC’s Scottish Football Podcast: “If, like people were saying, McGregor was back to his best for Celtic, apparently, and pulling the strings.
“I’d like to see somebody to go and sort him out and, for me, Sterling can do that. He can go and play and sit on somebody who’s going to try to dictate the tempo of the game.
Ball in Real net
Not clear what happened
Bayern are getting mugged here.
Weird offside decision disallows Bayern equaliser
Linesman should have kept his flag down…..
Good evening all from the Tolbooth. How I suffer for my art. 🙄
That looked like a good goal for Bayern at the end there. The whistle blew for a very dubious offside with Bayern attacking in their box. The player who was judged off-side didn’t actually play the ball, the RM defender headed back across goal and the BM player scored with a good finish. Didn’t seem to be a VAR review. Why wasn’t the play allowed to continue as we see in every game these days and then reviewed for off-side afterwards? I think the goal would have stood.
Fixed result
https://static.standard.co.uk/2024/05/08/13/34/CelticRangers0805A.jpg?trim=75,0,75,0&quality=75&auto=webp&width=1624
Referee legged it at full time and abandoned the linesman who wrongly flagged for an offside rather than let the play go then check it.
Referee took no action against the full bench of madrid who invaded the park yet books a single Munich coach for hell knows
Team for Saturday
Joe,Canadian Bruiser, Liam,CCV, Greg, Captain, Reo, Matt, Shogun Warrior, Kyogo, Jamesie.
Brendan told me the team this morning in McKinnons.
My first reaction when I saw the linesman flagging was that he was at it as the fix was in.
MNCELT- the referee, who otherwise had a good game, blew his whistle as soon as the flag went up,I think the directive is play the move out ,then look at it ,not sure if referee could have overruled him and played on?
Just back in, and tuning in to the latest stivism
SAINT STIVS on 8TH MAY 2024 4:55 PM
no.
iwill raise the topuc every time i want,
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No worries lol
You raise the topucs
SAINT STIVS on 8TH MAY 2024 6:07 PM
I am telling ye. The day will come when a use it or lose it policy will be implemented by the PLC.
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That day is not today
Weep for your seat
Hold on thats a hashtag
#weepforyourseat
#gimp