Celtic have point to prove in Europe

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Celtic will face their first Champions League qualifying opponents on either 31 July or 1 August but heartbeats among the scouting staff will quicken tonight and tomorrow when every potential opponent will play in the second qualifying round.

A number of potential opponents from eastern and northern Europe are mid-season but all will benefit from successfully coming through two qualifying games before tackling seeded opponents two weeks from now.

It is crucially important that Celtic are ready for this tie.

The final qualifying round, scheduled to take place during the last two weeks in August, will offer a greater challenge on paper but European qualifying games in July are notorious for catching better teams unprepared.

After a credibly, though ultimately unsuccessful, Europa League group campaign last season Celtic’s domestic form clicked into place and we looked like a team capable of becoming champions.  There was some regret that we didn’t hit form early enough to make the most of our European adventure.  Neil Lennon will also be keen to avoid the anaemic performance against Sion, who beat Celtic on aggregate but were subsequently awarded two 3-0 defeats for failing to observe rules.

These Celtic players found hidden depths last season but they have a point to prove in Europe. There is also the nagging suspicion that this Celtic team is more talented that the two Gordon Strachan took to the later stages of the Champions League.

Bring it on.

Get your season ticket and saddle up for the ride.

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  1. miki67 on 17 July, 2012 at 16:00 said:

     

    Serious question,for I am not as clever as I like to think I am : can Ch67 be viewed on an iPad?

     

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    Download the Skyfire app, ive got it on my iphone and i can watch live streams of the games, if i can get the phone out of baby hendrix mouth that is.

     

     

    Theres a few games on tonight, sadly not ours, but it will give you a trial run anyway

  2. Celtic Football Club ‏@celticfc

     

    Kris Commons leads the team out as the captain tonight. Celtic are in the hoops.

     

     

    C’mon you Bhoys in Green…

  3. Jungle Jim on 17 July, 2012 at 17:53 said:

     

     

     

    This, from the Evening Times, made me smile:

     

     

    “RANGERS are lining up a glamour pre-season friendly with Greek giants Olympiakos ahead of the Irn-Bru Third Division campaign.”

     

    I read it as suggesting there won`t be much glamour in Div 3! Even so, I will be surprised if the ” Greek giants” play at Ibrox.

     

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    Interesting, since they cannot play any friendlies until the SFA approve a license for them.

  4. Philvisreturns @ 18.07,

     

    Sorry to embarass you with my support, but excellent post IMO. A big problem in discussing the Thatcher period is that many people imagine that everything that happened during her rule was because of it – how mistaken!

  5. Seriously, why is anyone stupid enough to let anything Nacho Novo says upset them?

     

    He was a fecken nobody whilst he was here and now that he’s gone people are still interested in what he says? on twitter!

     

    Corrrect me if I’m wrong but is this not the forward that went almost two years without scoring a solitary goal for der hunne?

     

    I’m obviously missing something here

  6. Celtic Football Club ‏@celticfc

     

    4. Goal for Aalen! A free-kick is swung in and it is eventually bundled over the line despite calls for offside from Celtic. 1-0

  7. archdeaconsbench on

    Must say, I am intrigued by Russel Grants tweet re Chicos trip to UEFA/FIFA…. The word ‘misunderstanding’ was used.. Not buying that.

     

    Wonder what he was upto, esp given the rest of Sevcos boardmembers are (still)at a fairly pivotal meeting at Hampden.

  8. archdeaconsbench on

    charles kickham on 17 July, 2012 at 18:25 said:

     

    Gettin there, just finished season 3. Superb show.

  9. On celticunderground newsnow section

     

     

    Saw Ratcho’s comment then promptly pmsl …..noticed the header Scottish Division Three …haaaahaaahaaa….Girfuy ya bam

  10. charles kickham on

    archdeaconsbench on 17 July, 2012 at 18:26

     

     

    said:

     

     

    Stick with it – enjoy

  11. Celtic Football Club ‏@celticfc

     

    8. Lovely ball in from Mulgrew. Hooper chested it down but was ruled offside. It looked tight from here and he wasn’t happy either.

     

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  12. ibleedgreenandwhite1 on 17 July, 2012 at 17:57 said:

     

     

     

    I was wondering if anyone could post a link to some pictures of the surrounding areas at Celtic Park,the new road/the velodrome etc????

     

     

    Hail hail

     

     

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    No got any pictures myself but if you go to Google Images and enter East End Regeneration Route Glasgow you will get some good images showing the before and after. Hope that helps.

  13. thebhoyfromoz on

    charles kickham on 17 July, 2012 at 18:25 said:

     

     

    Watched the first episode of season 5 last night, seems to have kept up with its high standards.

  14. Celtic Football Club ‏@celticfc

     

    13. Good play from Celtic, their movement has definitely improved. Shame Hooper just lost the ball there as it was played into his feet.

     

     

    C’mon Celts fitbaw..

  15. stevenagebhoy on

    Starry –

     

     

    -thanks for the recommendation — have just bought the Motown Remixed 1 album for a fiver on Amazon. Mind you, I have still have Philadelphia International Classics: The Tom Moulton Remixes to get round to yet. This was bought for me as a birthday present recently ( though the hun were not then extinct!)

  16. 'crushed nuts?' 'Naw, Layringitis!' on

    toure goes down like a bag of spanners after a ‘typically maurauding run’, commentator compared him to ‘you wright-philipses…’ What ever happened to him ? A memorable quote was that he thought an offer of £70 000 per week was ‘disrespectful’!

  17. stevenagebhoy on 17 July, 2012 at 18:35 said:

     

     

    Tom Moulton now there’s a legend..

     

     

    I grew up on a diet of Philly and Motown buying 45’s on holiday in Blackpool!!

  18. charles kickham on

    thebhoyfromoz

     

     

    Looks like season 5 only has 8 episodes – make the most of it while it lasts

  19. Celtic Football Club ‏@celticfc

     

    17. Celtic are making good runs forward here, it’s a refreshing sight. Mulgrew’s cross is blocked as he attempts to send it into the box.

  20. thebhoyfromoz on

    charles kickham on 17 July, 2012 at 18:38 said:

     

     

    Apparently season 5 is to be split into two eight episode mini seasons with the last eight episodes airing next year.

  21. Celtic Football Club ‏@celticfc

     

    24. Those attacking runs forward seem to have dried up – Mulgrew slides in to block an Aalen shot at the opposite end.

  22. Jonny the Tim on 17 July, 2012 at 18:41

     

     

    lol, rest easy, that’s nothing. you should see some of the scalps I took during halftime at first pre season friendly.

     

    well, it’s the silly season after all.

  23. charles kickham on 17 July, 2012 at 18:38 said:

     

     

    thebhoyfromoz

     

     

    Looks like season 5 only has 8 episodes – make the most of it while it lasts

     

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    Evening Celts,

     

     

    Charles K, BB has another 8 episodes out this time next year, the last of Breaking Bad :¬(

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