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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Dont sell McCourt!!!
Paddy McCourt!!
73. Murphy replaces Hooper.
If Celtic get beat tonight – two friendlies in a row. I hear CQN are running with Celts in Crisis headlines and a broken crest ! :)
Front line of Bangura and Murphy now…
Group Stages here we come..
77. GOAL FOR CELTIC!!
Ya dancer…
Anto…
2-1
makes it 2-1
Ibleed…….
What a bonkernut !!!
Brown plays the ball into Stokes. He
dummies it and Forrest plays it
through to him. Stokes puts it
through the keepers’ legs to make it
2-1
Nutmeg…
Back of the net.
Whoooooosssssshhhhhhhhh
2-1
….PFayr on 17 July, 2012 at 19:55 said:
Ibleed…….
What a bonkernut !!!
Too mad for even the bampots but will cause uproar for some I bet :))))
De Stefano, the maddest, mad march hare in the world
The man is crazy
He has been telling people for years that he is a lawyer
Noted liar
Dead and Loving it
As well as claiming friendship with all the Serbian warlords
C’mon Mo give us a goal..
Dead and Loving it
Re pretending to be a lawyer .disnae make him a bad person …
Philvis has accused be of such pretence for years :-))
flying
Blog broke?
back again
Anyone out there ??? HELP IM GETTING SEPERATION ANXIETY LOL
YAY blogs back!!
A big hiya to the great CQNers i met today to drop off badges, you know who you are!
HH
all away to bed or the pub
I figured if the blog was down, some momentous news must have occured, such as Chucky shutting down Newco. No such luck.
Mon the Hoops
Has someone rebooted the server? Thank god!
waitin for the payment details for my badges
I blame Kevtic for breaking the blog.
Giovanni Di Stefano is completely bonkers
Alan Partridge would have been proud of that video
…have the false flags been at it again????
Final score??
paul 67 why blog doon what did kevtic dae
Stokesy broke the blog!
Kevtic ya ballon, whit’ye aw aboot….sake man !! :-)