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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THE EXILED TIM
22:22
>Thanks to you sir.
Ed
Aye. In D&G they’re now complaining about the wind turbines. In Ayrshire I hear they bow to/fear/honour the great swivelling beasts!
Lord God, We are in the last 16 in Europe, We’ve beaten Barcelona & Spartak twice. Its one of the best times ever to be a Tim. We should be analysing and celebrating what has been achieved and looking forward to the battles ahead, starting with Killie on Saturday. Yet the blog has descended into farce, would everyone involved in the silliness please stand back, it takes 2 to start a row but only 1 to finish it.
Hi Stephebhoy1
You dont happen to be my plasterer-cousin do you?
(Bernard)
Papa John
22:21 on 6 December, 2012
Gerry’s a great guy, catch you later.
Awerabest, VFTW
jimmci
22:28 on
6 December, 2012
Mrs Rednapp into us would be worthwhile
Izzy
You answer my questions then I answer yours. Thats how it works. Why dont you answer any questions ?
TET you have always been the most gullible and likeabke person on here.
HH
corkcelt
22:32 on
6 December, 2012
Well said.
Jonnythetim,
Aye mibbes, but he still looks like a hun :))
Izzy
Just take it easy, you are no doing yersel any favours.
corkcelt
22:32 on
6 December, 2012
Agree with you 100%. Fed up and off to watch question time with a glass of wine. Will return on Sunday to CQN when I come back home from Killie, thank god my mum does not have broadband………….
Awe_Naw
Why thank you kind sir :>)))
Dear CQN’ers
have you seen a man going by the moniker jmccormick posting in these here parts,
if so, please refer him back to maley’s where he is wanted for grand larssony and sheer
timmery against the crown
come back jmac, we miss you fatboy
From Wiki:
In Internet slang, a troll is someone who posts inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community, such as a forum, chat room, or blog, with the primary intent of provoking readers into an emotional response or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion.
One of Celtic’s finest periods and what do we have going on?
Hmmm
Stephebhoy
I lived in central wisconsin in 2002/3… Sat in lambeau field on a november night at sub zero F temps for almost 4 hrs.
But that wind off the lake in toronto …. Oooft.
I was flying back from vegas and had an overnight stop in toronto. Didnt even have a coat.
You answer my questions then I answer yours. Thats how it works.
>Is it?
You no been slapped down enough tonight? You’re a liar and now everybody knows.
I think someone’s ego has took a bit of a hit. Another joke that thinks he’s more clever than he is.
I’m done for tonight Bhoys, God Bless All. HH
headtheball
A hun intrusion?
Weefra HH
I’m no expert, but right now Finlaggan seems to me to be a very fine malt, normally more of a Macallan man myself
Wits the frenzy?
Estadio,
links no workin?
headtheball,
but does that apply to someone who’s made good posts for years? A bit of sharper attention from some of the bandwaggoners and they’d see they’ve blindly missed the real culprit, last saloon anagram but quite blatant racist hun bigot in my humble opinion.
Ed
here’s another couple of questions
do you think your(ex) club are part of the fabric of scottish society?
what’s your views on the first 117 years of your (ex) clubs glorious 140 years history?
PC67
WeefratheTim
I don’t really think so to be honest but similar M.O.
Does anyone know of an anti-spam filter that automatically deletes blog entries for those posters i regard as offensive/hun-like/boring/all of the above, or do i just need to keep using the Page Down button?
Stephebhoy
welcome… although you could’ve picked a better time ;)
remind me never to be in the pub when you walk in
Pedrocaravanachio67, I don’t think the fact Rangers are playing in Div 3 is a punishment, the old company were punished by losing their place in the SPL, the new company started in the 3rd, not as a punishment but because that’s where you start.
As far as supporting Rangers goes, I no longer go to Ibrox so don’t support them financially but I always want them to win and still bawl and shout at the telly when they are on. Do I still view them as the same entity? That’s a tricky one to answer, I know the old company no longer exist and that the team is owned by a new company so in that sense they are two different entities, however last season I supported a team called Rangers who play in blue at Ibrox, this season I support a team called Rangers who play in blue at Ibrox, a lot of the players are the same so in that sense they are the same entity. The first part was a head answer the second a heart answer.
The last question I answered some time ago on here, if Rangers are found guilty then whatever punishment the rules say should be applied, if that punishment is losing titles then so be it.
pedrocaravanchio
can you give it a rest,
Ed’s been posting on here for many years,he doesnt have to explain himself to anyone.
never met him but i met poor old pablo (sadly no longer with us) and pablo (not a man to suffer fools gladly) spoke very highly of Ed.
thats good enough for me
headtheball
My post was more tongue in cheek, but I took one hell of a bashing for reprimanding him last night. :))
Weefra HH
Fortunes Favour Mibbes
It seems that yer man is getting all the blame for the blog falling into caos [sp],
Maybe if everybody had ignored him things wouldn’t have decended into the caos it has.
And you are spot on about yer other man, been agitating since he came on to the blog, some of his posts the past few days have been deplorable, but all the smart minds on here can’t see it.
I pulled him up the other day, no reply, he knows, he is the real troll.
How can something so good, be so bad?
Goodnight CQN.
So I have finally decided to register with this fantastic site after what must be 6-7 years of lurking almost daily! Like many of you CQN is my first port of call for all news Celtic! I look forward to debating all things Celtic with you in future. I have met a few members over the years so hopefully I can catch up with a few of them!
Just a quick question that hopefully somebody can help me with….I ordered one of the paving stones at the front of the stadium a few months ago along with a replica. We have since got the certificate back (about 6-8 weeks ago) but no word of the replica paving stone….has anybody else bought one of these? And does it take so long for the replica to be sent out?
Good to see Ed back posting again, always enjoyed reading his opinions.
Hail Hail
The inhouse bickering is bringing down the blog and chasing people away. On a night after we qualified for the last 16 of the Champions league. Catch a grip Bhoys.
Please to those concerned give it a rest, do not reply to those in dispute. Move on and scroll by.
End it, CQN does not deserve it.
Ed
Howzabout the snake oil salesman … Would you even consider investing your hard earned cash with charlie
Take evasion or tax avoidance coming up on question time.
Any hun lurkers please watch…its stealing of your own!!!
WeefratheTim
I just think it’s sad really.
Fortunes Favour Mibbes
You’ve lost me there…anagram?
Headtheball
22:41
http://www.celticquicknews.co.uk/?p=11112&cpage=9#comment-1648558
My first post today. Follow the conversation first before you have someones name blackened.
Whats the stars
Pabbers just asked me to tell you to refrain with the poor and defo the old ;)
Evening lhads, just in from a nice night out.
Any news on Commons injury? Looked painful.