With one week before Champions League qualification gets underway, Celtic play their third and final warm-up game against Swiss’ St Gallen tonight. Three games is not sufficient to get players anywhere near peak fitness, but next week’s opponents, Sarajevo, have played only twice since their season ended in May, their final game, a defeat on Sunday.
While we may be well below peak condition, at least we should be better prepared than the other guys.
There is always some trepidation when an unknown helicopters in to buy a football club, but most Hibs fans will be happy that Rod Petrie has been emptied out of the club today as he and Sir Tom Farmer sold their shares to a Peruvian – surely the only man from Peru called Ronald Gordon.
Hibs were the last club to win a trophy before the Celtic monopoly began. They are now debt free, have a suitable stadium and competent backroom team. They are also not Hearts, so have a great deal going for them.
What is not clear is why a Peruvian has bought into Scottish football or what he intends to do with Hibernian. Putting a challenge into Celtic will be difficult, but if he can work the South American market successfully, Hibs could be in the mix for the celebrated Best of the Rest title. Which would be fun to watch.
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The qualifiers are completely counterproductive in obtaining a good level of performance. They disrupt our best period of preparation and rest.
Doesn’t matter if Celtic win 10-0 or 2-0. It just matters they get through.
Ralston will do fine. It’s his time to stake a place.
Celtic in that summer of 2013 the documents should have provided cause to refer the matter to UEFA, who had the authority to ask for the originals under CFCB rules. Why that never happened is a bit of a mystery to this day.
It is a mystery, why would Celtic not want to do this ? Hmmm let me think now.
Have Celtic been involved in corruption since 2012 ?
SID on 3RD JULY 2019 9:58 AM
How does that help us get players bedded in to give us the best chance of making over 40M and giving us the prestige and publicity our fans deserve?
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It’s not an ideal situation but it’s not one of Celtic’s choosing. We don’t choose to play these games in the summer and other teams don’t care what our schedule is. It’s a disadvantage but there’s no magic bullet that will solve it. It’s unrealistic to expect all our transfer business to be conducted by July.
It’s risky to try and embed new players in such crucial games. Usually, the guys who drag Celtic through these qualifiers are the tried and trusted like Leigh Griffiths. I’m more interested in his fitness than who we’re signing.
The only time I can remember a new player making a super significant impact was Moussa Dembele coming off the bench against Astana. He was ineffective in Kazakhstan but won and converted the penalty at Celtic Park. It’s not an ideal situation to rely on the guys who have just walked in.
Mbombo will be the third signing of the window. Add to that Shved, Bayo & Arzani. It’s pretty good going in my opinion. Especially when you consider the Turnbull situation.
We should be able to get through the first round with what we already have. Otherwise we might as well fold as a football club. This isn’t Real Madrid we’re facing. It isn’t even Rosenborg.
Hearing Jack Stacey and Stephen O’Donnell will be our new Right Backs.
Got to run…
Until we meet again…
Keep the Faith!
Hail Hail!
Stephen O’Donnell isn’t good enough.
Hope Jack Stacey is a good un…and first pick.
Stephen O’Donnell is minging so hope Jack stays fit.
On the way to the Colosseum…just past the Car Park………
:0
Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears;
I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.
The evil that men do lives after them;
The good is oft interred with their bones;
So let it be with Caesar. The noble Brutus
Hath told you Caesar was ambitious:
If it were so, it was a grievous fault,
And grievously hath Caesar answer’d it.
Here, under leave of Brutus and the rest–
For Brutus is an honourable man;
So are they all, all honourable men–
Come I to speak in Caesar’s funeral.
He was my friend, faithful and just to me:
But Brutus says he was ambitious;
And Brutus is an honourable man.
He hath brought many captives home to Rome
Whose ransoms did the general coffers fill:
Did this in Caesar seem ambitious?
When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept:
Ambition should be made of sterner stuff:
Yet Brutus says he was ambitious;
And Brutus is an honourable man.
You all did see that on the Lupercal
I thrice presented him a kingly crown,
Which he did thrice refuse: was this ambition?
Yet Brutus says he was ambitious;
And, sure, he is an honourable man.
I speak not to disprove what Brutus spoke,
But here I am to speak what I do know.
You all did love him once, not without cause:
What cause withholds you then, to mourn for him?
O judgment! thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason. Bear with me;
My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar,
And I must pause till it come back to me.
HH ( Cesar)
I would have to agree that I don’t think Stephen O’Donnell is Celtic class but I’ll be very happy if Stephen proves me wrong.
Stephen O’Donnell was the best right back in the league last season
ST TAMS on 3RD JULY 2019 10:45 AM
Stephen O’Donnell was the best right back in the league last season
=============
Do Ajax want him?
Naw.
Then neither should we ;)
HH
ST TAMS on 3RD JULY 2019 10:45 AM
Stephen O’Donnell was the best right back in the league last season
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He was decent against Celtic for Killie from a defensive point of view.
But when I watched him for Scotland against Cyprus he had no attacking nous. I worry about him against packed SPFL defences. Ultimately, the opposition teams figure it out and let him have the ball.
Lustig was an excellent passer of the ball in the opposition half.
Timaloy
I get all your saying that’s why our disaster summer transfer window then our sticking plaster January window when no plasters stuck was such a disaster.
We know when these games are coming our preparations are amateurish.
ST TAMS on 3RD JULY 2019 10:45 AM
Stephen O’Donnell was the best right back in the league last season
—–
He really wasn’t. By no measure.
Trad @ 9:01
Well done.
Henrik 1967 @ 9:59
A worthy repost.
Bankiebhoy @10:32
He was a fine man with a pen was Ol` Will.
Trad 88 @ 11:04
:-))))
Timaloy 29
Not that many years ago, I thought PC Lustig was as good as any full back in Europe; latterly, I felt his tendency to take the safe option and pass back was detrimental to our attacking threat on the right wing.
JJ
Timaloy29
Jeez yir fair taking the Vim to the Ajax debate lol
:-)
Was a young O’Donnell not part of our academy ?
HH
If its Stacey and O’Donnell for RB, who is first choice?
HH
SID on 3RD JULY 2019 11:15 AM
I get all your saying that’s why our disaster summer transfer window then our sticking plaster January window when no plasters stuck was such a disaster.
We know when these games are coming our preparations are amateurish.
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I would agree with you that the last few windows haven’t quite went to plan. To be honest, apart from the McGinn debacle I lay the majority of the blame at Brendan Rodgers & Lee Congertons feet.
The January window was indeed a papering over the cracks operation. On the whole, the loan boys did well enough to get us over the line (Particularly young Weah). Brendan Rodgers had already made his mind up where he was going last summer and it had a detrimental effect on both windows. Moussa Dembele made that pretty clear.
It doesn’t change the fact that the situation handed to Celtic every year is a massive challenge. Celtic will never have all their transfer business settled and new players bedded in by the first qualifier on the 9th of July! It’s not achievable. We have to believe that we will qualify on the back of the squad that’s already here. That’s reality. If some new players can contribute great, but they can’t be relied upon.
By no means am I a happy clapper…
but my goodness, there are some miserable, never happy, people come on here…
however, you are always welcome…(well, almost)
For their unhappiness, I blame Peter Lawwell…
Only reading back the last two pages,I dont think O’Donnell is a Celtic RB.The boy Stacey,I watched in the play offs last season.Very difficult to judge on one game,but he literally did a Roy Aitken performance.He was immense,and topped it off with a wonder goal.Probably the game of his life.No idea if he is good enough.
All the reports I have read on Boli,if true,would make the possible departure of KT,a lot easier than some would think.Good defender,lightning fast going forward,good delivery.One thing from last night ,which I take no pleasure in saying,Tony Ralston,is a poor RB.Johnny Hayes,not much better on the other side.Much better further up the park.People screaming out for new players have to take into account,which they wont,the difficulty in getting the class of player we need at this stage of the window,through no fault of our own.If Turnbull had been OK,we would have spent £13.5 million,great going .Plus young Luca.It takes time,through no fault of our own,its time we dont have,to suit some.
Timaloy
We’re not disagreeing but the priority was the right back position, the fact Celtic are chasing 2 Right backs tells you what they think of Ralston.
Ralston isn’t good enough, imo and obviously NFL too.
new article posted.