The most important aspect about team plan for tonight will be the balancing act between aggression and discipline. Celtic need to get in about Legia without losing discipline. Legia roped us in perfectly last week. A buoyant home crowd fed off meaty challenges but when the red mist rose, they adopted choir boy looks. We didn’t.
Celtic need to disorientate Legia in a similar way; get physical, expect the same back, but remain in control of events. Efe Ambrose’ red card was critical to the outcome of the game in Warsaw, let’s work on their less-controlled players to see if we can tempt them into a similar fate.
An early goal would be nice but it it’s not necessary. 90 minutes is a long time to defend a lead and we should remember how last year Shakhter Karagandy kept things tight for 44 minutes before losing 3-0. If we can’t get an early goal it’s just as important to get Legia chasing the ball and making tackles.
Legia’s first half game plan will be to keep it tight frustrate the crowd. If there’s little penetration in the opening period we need to stick with the players, give them encouragement whenever possible – this works.
Beside our normal game plan there are a couple of objectives we should be looking for:
Get into the box. Despite having limited possession, Legia did this perfectly last week. If you’re in the box you force defenders into committing to challenges they would rather not. Make getting into the box a territorial objective and we’ll get a penalty. Or two.
Shoot often. Both our goals away from home in Europe this season have come from deflections, from limited opportunities.
Legia will tire late in the game. Teams always do when they have to traverse the Continent before a game. Teams also tire when the opposition have the bulk of possession and move the ball, and therefore opponents, around quickly. Keep the ball moving, bring on four fresh legs with 20 minutes to go and exploit this natural advantage.
Play it clever, and we’ll have enough in the tank.
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Robert,
I have really enjoyed your recent football posts. More please.
However…
We tried your economic equality agenda. It was a disaster for humanity. Your Marxist friends created their own economic elite who stole from ordinary people. The theory doesn’t work in practice.
Enjoy the game.
We are all well aware of how the game is skewed in favour of teams from the bigger leagues at the moment, but couldn’t we be seen to be doing more about it alongside the Ajax’s, Portos etc?
The big clubs hold all the power but without anyone to play they might as well just play each other, as is quickly becoming the case in the last 8 of the CL.
It can’t go on like this forever, or even much longer…surely?
COYBIG
HH
Cliftoncelt
” a lot more football ambition”
Could you explain what that would look like?
Could you suggest the price and explain how it would be funded?
Would it be a case of spending money we don’t have in the hope that we might earn enough money within a year to pay off that debt?
If so, can you explain what our next move would be if the player/managerial assets failed to deliver within that year?
At what point would you suggest that enough is enough and that the strategy of spending money we don’t have on an unforeseeable outcome is flawed?
AskLeedsUtd CSC
FF.
Lustig.
Wilson.
Ambrose.
Emilio.
Mulgrew.
Brown.
Wanyama.
Ledley.
Samaras.
Hooper.
————
And everyone of those was criticised from the day they arrived and left (or leaving). We are some support on CQN
A measly £8million for Fraser Forster?
An absolute joke valuation.
HH.
Brother in Manchester. Anywhere showing the game down there..
PS squire. I know its not on TV. 8)
traditionalist88
——-
Ajax have had a pretty awful past 10-20 years, their downfall has been bigger than any other club.
Someone in Princes Street tell what “The Magnificent Seven” on the bagpipes sounds like, please.
In my head it sounds awful.
HH
Just passed the team bus halfway along the M8
AR
Steinreignedsupreme
14:32 on 6 August, 2014
When did the IDF start to worry about children getting murdered?
Hasn’t been an issue for them in Palestine.
———————————————————-
Sadly in all conflicts it is the innocent children then seem to suffer most, but with groups such as Hamas who indoctrinate children into their fold at a very young age
there is very little concern for the children.
If they did care they would uphold a cease fire, surely they know that every time they lob a rocket into Israel there is going to be a ten fold response.??
bigphil 16:58
I just looked in and was about to post my surprise that nobody had asked if the game was on TV …..
Where have you been for the last week?
Auldheid
15:18 on
6 August, 2014
Quonno
SFTB
And as I have pointed out previously RCO has a lot of responsibility for how CL has evolved.
—–
Whither All The Happy Shiny People The Dae..!
Ah’m Hearin’ Ye…KevJ….!
Guardian Of The ‘Celtic Ethos’….
Oor ‘Horatio’ Oan The Bridge…
—
——————–Forster——-
Lust/Mat—-CHAIRLIE–Virgil——Izzy
McGregor–Kayal-Biton—Johansen–
—————————-Commons——-
—————Griffiths———————
—
Subs: Stokes,Ghost Of Tony Watt,Ghost Of Joe Ledley,Paul McMullan,Kojo….
–And Henderson…
Masseuse: RanchoFrancho…
Celebrity KitMan: Kilbowie
—-
Virginia say AYE….Tae The Union….
An’ FMG For MWD….!
Right…? RIGHT…!
—–
the_huddle
Not really relevant to the point tbh
HH
Its pretty funny reading peoples different permutations for tonight….
Quality is the bottom line… its quality on the park that allows you to turn around such deficits.
We simply dont have sufficient quality anymore.
All about opinions obviously, rightly so. But for me, we’ll be lucky to win tonight. At that, i predict 2-1 Celtic win at best… but also a hunch for 2 each
Beep yer horn if you see Bcw’s Focus on the M8. It’s easily distinguishable as it’s the only one displaying Green and white.
the_huddle
17:12 on 6 August, 2014
————————————————–
Indeed,individuals are often criticised,but together that was one hell of a team.
Sometimes you don’t realise what you had until it’s gone.
Ah well such is life.
HH.
On the 38 bus en route from work in Falkirk to Murrayfield.
Hope to get a pint at Ryries at Haymarket , that’s if the early hoops havent drunk the place dry!!
Still confident of destroying this mob by 5 !
Hail Hail
COYBIG
Foster
Lustig VanDijk Mulgrew Izzy
Henderson Biton Johansen
Commons
Griffiths Stokes
C’mon Ronny, you know it makes sense.
Jungle Jim
16:56 on 6 August, 2014
____________________
The inexplicable mistakes were made by the ‘same’ player who made the same mistakes at Inverness in the game after Sammi ‘blew’ the league for us, with his penalty miss at ibrokes ie: Charlie Muldini.
Muldini then, burst the bubble in our next game after our victory in the ‘shame-game’ when he, was instrumental with his, harem-scarem procedure and he was totally to blame for our 0-2 defeat at Motherwell.
He has made lots more mistakes that I canny be ersed writing doon.
Thing is….why does he just walk into the team in his ‘easy- osy’ style – 4 years down the road?
There are no structures in place at CP – only cliques and cronyism.
John Collins is the ‘mhan’ to end that shambles. imho
Get Ronny to effff. He hisny got it. imho
Folk talking about the games on Celtic TV.
Tell ye a wee story about Celtic TV.
I went to the Celtic v Seville KOK’s farewell game and was touched by the fans version of YNWA – one of the best renditions ever. imho
So, my bro was recording the the game onto DVD for me and we couldny wait to get home and see the amazing walk-on.
Well, what we got was….a shambles.
YNWA at it’s best, KOK’s walking round the pitch in tears, for the last time and. what do we get on Celtic TV, the wee gang-hut at it’s best.
The Celtic Park clique sitting reading out pi#hy unrelated e-mails and texts – to each other – all over the amazing spectacle going on in the stadium.
Celtic TV – run by amateurs for, anybody who is unlucky enough to purchase it.
A pile of cheaply assembled pi#h that is in tune with the present team on the pitch.
Sack The ‘Bored’ or, we’ll be just a rung above the huns before too long.
Efff this, bye.
traditionalist88
Not really relevant to the point tbh
HH
———-
the point was despite you listing that as some sort of ideal team, I was pointing out that all of those players were slagged off rotten on here and elsewhere.
16 roads – Celtic über alles…
———-
Yep, great powerful team, always looks better once it’s gone :o)
cliftoncelt 17:01
I love the contradiction in your first two paragraphs :D
The answer to the question is likely a resounding NAW, based on his failure at this level in the past – that’s when he was even trusted to be given a start by NFL at this level
I hope you come back and post this after he scores four goals tonight
COYBIG
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/28678687
London boys – is it on in White Bear Kennington ??
67ECW
Celtic have enough in the Tank ?
Sorry Paul I just cant agree
This is the poorest Celic team since the pre MON days
The manager is an experiment (cheap option) and we have consistenlty dumbed down the squad
Legia will win tonight and possibly by more than one goal
I cant bet against Celtic so I wont but if I did Legia at 4/1 and Legia -1 at 14/1 would be very tempting
Hope to be proved wrong but I think I wont
the_huddle
Whit you on about?
I referenced Ajax as an example of a big club outwith one of the big leagues, and suggested that we need to work together with clubs *like that* to improve our lot, basically.
I’m wasn’t talking about players – I think you need to reread my post
HH
Turkeybhoy
15:29 on
6 August, 2014
Natknow,
As you are evidently highly knowledgeable about the situation, you can perhaps answer a question I posed a couple of days ago and as yet remains unanswered.
Given that the much vaunted Israeli intelligence services must have known about tunnels that would have taken weeks or even months to construct; why has Israel taken so long to do something about them?
O to put it another way. Is the timing of the present Israeli bout of ethnic cleansing, for that is what it is, a smokescreen for something else.
And by the way, I am of a generation that was brought up with loads of sympathy for the Jewish people in the aftermath of the holocaust, of which I am not a denier.
traditionalist88
——–
Sorry got your post mixed up with someone else.
The Ajax comment was about a club that has been shafted more than any other.
Ignore me.
Turkeybhoy
15:37 on 6 August, 2014
SFTBs,
No you did not introduce it,but were only too keen to jump in to decry and mock someone with a different viewpoint from you and Natknow.Too late to hold the hands up claiming innocence.
Your trustworthy sources !!!!!?Hamas give out the figures.
I dont try and score cheap points from human disasters.In fact I never bring them onto the blog,but I refuse to sit and read ill informed,one sided vitriol that passes for comment from some on here
——————————————————————————-
Well said Turkeybhoy, it is sad that there are those on here who do not agree that others have a right to their opinion, it’s my way or highway is their mantra, so sad that they claim to be Celtic supporters. Dictators would be a good description.
Good luck to the Bhoys tonight….HH
ruggygman
17:19 on 6 August, 2014
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Fairly decent appraisal of the situation,although there is one important factor that you have overlooked – The magnificent Celtic support.
It wouldn’t be the first time that the faithful have carried the team to their objective,against all the odds.
COYBIG!
Get wired into this Polish tripe.
HH.
We could use the Vic money for a start.
The idea that we cannot attract good players to Celtic is risible. We can.
the_huddle
17:26 on
6 August, 2014
traditionalist88
——–
Sorry got your post mixed up with someone else.
The Ajax comment was about a club that has been shafted more than any other.
Ignore me.
============
No probs! Enjoy the game:)
HH
—
(Courtesy Joe McHugh/VideoCelts)

Watt helps Standard through to Champions League play-off.
——————————————
Date: 5th August 2014 at 9:26 pm
Written by: Joe McHugh | Comments (7)
Tony Watt helped Standard Liege into the final play-off round for a place in the Champions League with a 2-1 win away to Panathinaikos tonight.
The Greek’s were strongly fancied to go through after drawing the first leg 0-0 in Belgium last week.
Panathinaikos got off to the perfect start when Dino Arslanagic put through his own keeper in the 17th minute but before the interval Standard put themselves in front.
Yanis Mbombo equalised in the 36th minute with Paul-Jose Mpoku putting the visitors in front four minutes from half-time.
Watt replaced Carzela Gonzales ten minutes into the second half with the Belgian side holding on comfortably despite Panathinaikos enjoying the bulk of possession.
After finishing runners-up to Anderlecht in last season’s title race Standard will face another non-champion side in the final qualifying round where they could be drawn against Arsenal, Porto, Napoli, Zenit St Petersburg or Bayer Leverkusen.
Previewing the match Standard coach Guy Luxon said: “We will just have to play our own game and deal with the pressure of the Panathinaikos supporters.
“After the first match Panathinaikos are the favourites but an away goal can change that and I’m confident that we have the players who can put the ball in the net.
“It’s a very important match for both teams, we know what qualifying for the group stages would mean for the club and it’s our goal to achieve that.”
The draw for the final qualifying round will take place on Thursday with five places available through the champions route and five from the non-champions path.
http://videocelts.com/2014/08/blogs/former-celts/watt-helps-standard-through-to-champions-league-play-off
–
So When Was The Last Time Celtic Avoided Defeat In Greece…Mr Lawwell… ??
Still….We’ve Got Your ‘Three Amidos’..
Balde,Derk Dastardly….& Holbert….
And You’ve Got Your Handsome ‘Trading Bonus’…..
KOJO Wept..!!
Bring Back JOCK BROON..!!!!
—–
squire danaher
LOL workin
Captain Beefheart
We could use the Vic money for a start.
The idea that we cannot attract good players to Celtic is risible. We can.
————
When was the last good player we attracted?
That should be who was the last good player we attracted??