Qualification for the knockout stages of the Champions League is an astonishing achievement for a team seeded in pot 4. You need only look around Europe to see how unforgiving this tournament is. The champions of England and Europe are both out, while England’s reigning champions last year went out at the group stage (to Benfica).
Amid numerous predictions of a comfortable victory I suggested yesterday that last night’s Spartak game would be difficult. What we now know is that Celtic eliminated two very good teams from this season’s Champions League. Benfica took four points off us, by all accounts, were the better team in the Camp Nou and dominated Barcelona in the early part of their game in Lisbon. They beat Spartak at home and pinned the Russian’s back into their own box for long periods of their game in Moscow.
This is the fourth time Benfica have faced Celtic and they have been eliminated on each occasion, always by the slenderest of margins.
Spartak finally got their act together last night under new boss Valery Karpin. Reaction in Russia suggested this was their best game of the season, and that Emenike, who has seldom shown the appetite for the game, was playing for the attention of scouts. They are a good team who enjoyed 60% possession away from home in Europe, although Celtic denied them genuine chances for most of the game.
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Spartak and Benfica will both believe they could have done better in the group but we got further evidence of a few football facts from this campaign:
It is more important to prevent defensive mistakes than to create chances.
The margin of difference between a well-organised team at this level and the very best in the world is slim, especially if the above point is observed.
Possession is overrated as an indicator of progress. Learn not to be stressed by it and to remain organised.
Discipline is an underrated indicator of progress.
I started Monday’s blog by saying, “Here is a prediction for you, Wednesday’s Champions League game at Celtic Park will not end with 22 players on the field”. Spartak are a good team but they had a man sent off against Celtic in Moscow when in a winning position, then kicked everything that moved last night, culminating in a red card for an assault on Kris Commons.
Indiscipline is an expensive commodity.
Neil Lennon will now have time to review the several elements of this campaign which worked well and the few which didn’t. Each tactical decision made was a risk but will have taught him things about his team. We will be well prepared for the next round.
As for Georgios, what a performance.
Epilepsy Scotland have a Celtic ball with certificate of authenticity, signed by 12 Celtic players on the day of the Barcelona game which is available for auction by email. The competition closes tomorrow (Thursday) at 20:00. To win this fantastic piece of Celtic memorabilia email your bid to trusts@epilepsyscotland.org.uk. The prize if for collection only, any postage required would need to be paid separately. All funds raised will go towards Epilepsy Scotland.
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rothbhoy
The PSG support includes a large group of extreme right wing nut jobs and several hooligan crews who don’t take kindly to fans of other clubs coming to” their patch ” and not showing” appropriate respect”
Is it just co-incidence that Juve have mental dimwit fans, a reputation for match fixing and cheating Amorusos?
Hmm.
Sounds like oor Lenny and Greek Ghod Sammy need to re-deploy their hunskelping weaponry.
A hunskelper’s work is never done.
Just ask oor Lenny who has spent over a decade doing it :))
Celtic mhan on SSB……BRILLIANT…..silenced dalziel (to a lamb) on him being “proud, having been brought up on rankers PRINCIPLES “…..LOL
starry
He was just glad it wasn’t me for a change (⊙_⊙)
FFM,
When the moonhowling started, BMCUW done a runner like a cowed whelp, I’m proposing a suspension of his membership or right to refer to himself as such :oD)))))
Liverpool 1 up v Udinese ITV 4 now
Thank u Celtic
if we were guarenteed a win in our next game i would like to beat man utd… OMG
corkcelt
18:14 on 6 December, 2012
Apart from that, we were fully accepted …..LOL ……no wonder we had to be reminded to ‘keep the faith’ …..!!!!
Penaaaaaaalty Celtic…..
!!bada bing!!
18:26 on 6 December, 2012
THANKS FOR THAT …..I had forgotten about the Europa League….WONDER WHY …..??
Corkcelt,
And now the board are trying to cow descendants of those great people, I find it funny they think force and imposition could work.
corkcelt
18:05 on 6 December, 2012
The term was first used in 1900 by which time any links with King Billy were long gone and forgotten. It’s a myth.
Calumn Murray would never have given that penalty he would have booked Sammi…
Ernie..,
Out of interest, who was first to use it ?
Look bhoys football on TV on a Thursday !!!
HH
All the same twats on the twittosphere writing us off the same way they wrote us off months ago.
They can all get tae.
We are where we are in The CL on MERIT. Make no mistake about it.
All bets are off. We can progress.
We probably will.
I’m not the only one dreamin’. You can bet NFL and The Bhoys are dreamin’ too.
And why not?
These dreams have been earned.
67Heaven-Small beer I know mate….:}
Canamalar,
Now I won’t have you mixin it now you think you’ve earned yer wings.
If I mind right (though I can’t rightly mind), you were nowhere to be seen during my own lunar howlings.
I’m with BMCUW and the People’s Front of Howlers.
If you insist on a hardline splinter group such as ‘the Real PFH’ then meet me at the corner of Union St and Argyle St where Boots used to be. Any time, am waiting there now and will be there til 2025 :))
Yep Gene and stuck in there was an incredibly nasty one. If a Catholic man had some land, his son if he turned Protestant could automatically take over his Father’s land and turf his parents out on the side of the road.
This penal code was fairly called “the most complete code of persecution that ingenious bigotry every compiled.” The intention of these codes was to force Catholics to become protestants or perish, but the native Irish instead became even more resolutely Catholic, and utterly irreconcilable to English rule.
Remenber stories of guys and kids hiding under supporters buses in Turin from the mob,police standing by watching.
rom the MFM (mainstream French media), vive la difference, eh?
Posted this earlier…
Celts dominated the front page of the EQUIPE today… for the first time since 26thMay67.
SACRé CELTIC
The Scottish club Glasgow Celtic have quailifed for the last 16 of the Champions League beating Spartak Moscow (2-1).
Ten million supporters all over the planet are in heaven!
Great spread on Celtic on page 3 – “More that a club , a people!”
Hey, maybe it’s us that arra peepil?!?
http://www.lequipe.fr/Quotidien/index_new.php#
saw the beast and the usually excellent Wilkins on Sky last night after the game.
What was surprising was how “on message” the pair of them were regarding Scottish football’s need for a strong Sevco was.
Is Jabba already in place? Are the scripts already being handed out?
Starry Plough
How is your Mum ?
Hope she is doing well
HH
HH
SUCCULENCE 1836
They just can’t give us credit.. It kills them. Snyde and Shortie on it already tonight. The Herald newspaper falling over itself to avoid praising us while talking up the sevco. yday classically they could not bring themselves to be positive..
Tiring as it is, it makes our victories all the sweeter..
HH
anyone got a clip of the charlie mulgrew comedy show from last nite?
B-)
Sammi whit a Hero…
Continuity R*****s.
What a bunch of plums. They really make me laugh.
So we were 20 seconds away from winning the group! Absolutely fantastic achievment. Sammi and Kelvin were stars.
I’m away to put my tank on Killie for Saturday now ;-)
I did enjoy the Mynah Bird talking about his winter break chasing ‘snow bunnies’.
Just remember that this is a guy who, after he had left school in the 1950s, has told us he was in a youngsters’ street gang in Glasgow ( The Hedge Gang, he called it) with the legendary Bob ( Bert) Crampsey.
Bob Crampsey, beautiful man, died two years ago, having lived into his EIGHTIES.
So what age is the Mynah Bird ?
Sadly for him some of us have not yet lost our memery.
Snow Bunnies ?
A cup of hot chocolate would be more fitting.
What a sad & delusional attention seeker he is.
Awe_Naw_No_Annoni_Oan_Anaw_Noo
She’s doing alright Awe Naw, took her to the clinic today they seemed quite happy with her, she’s happy her Bhoy is hame!!
ArranmoreBhoyLXV11
actually sourness was ok until he brought our difficulties into it (financial difficulties caused by the fall of the hun and the rise of the zombies). When Wilkins followed suit the eyebrows were raised – and raised they remain.
Timing,it is said,is everything. The one night a week I can post at this time,due to a mid-afternoon shift,and I get back in time for the following.
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Neil canamalar Lennon hunskelper extrordinaire
18:25 on
6 December, 2012
FFM,
When the moonhowling started, BMCUW done a runner like a cowed whelp, I’m proposing a suspension of his membership or right to refer to himself as such :oD)))))
~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~
FYI,I had to hit ma cot early last night for that shift,CANAMALAR. And you canny prove otherwise……
Which is just as well,tbh!
It was getting a wee bit fractious wi the arguments going round in circles. Pity,really. I’ve always liked THE BOULD BHOYS and his forthright opinions.
I also hope that he returns,in whichever guise.
no doubt i’m not the first to say it but Eminike was smashing last night. Only a matter of time before the lapdog loyal are coming out with “make me a hun for life (and beyond)” headlines… Of course he may be officially signed as a turnstile operator but that will not be a problem for the journos.
FFM,
There’s loads you don’t remember, innit :oD))))
Sixtaeseven,
Saw that earlier. Very nice to see a hun free rag for a change :)
Who’s the establishment team in France? Take it it’s PSG?
Aye likely story :oD))))
Santa list no.3 just been produced by the weans. So happy, both want the 125 strip. Happy as anything.
Ps brainwashing does work