Brugge endured a terrible start to the season but since defeat to Gent in September they have lost only away to Milan in 11 games. Champions League wins away at Sturm Graz and home to Aston Villa mean they travel to Glasgow with hopes of taking at least a point.
While their win over Villa came as a result of a bizarre penalty kick, the Belgian side deserved nothing less. Villa turned up expecting to win but were unprepared for how effectively Brugge took the game to them.
This has been the most open Champions League I can remember, possibly ever. At the halfway point, Celtic sat above Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Milan, Atletico Madrid and PSG, while Villa and Manchester City, who were comfortable earlier in the season, are now back in the mix. This is a reminder that expectations can be subverted over the course of 90 minutes. All that confidence we have enjoyed in recent times will either be validated or punctured before the day ends.
Three weeks ago we experienced one of the great Celtic European performances of the modern era, raising expectations of a points tally few of us could dream of at the start of the campaign. Tonight, that game against Leipzig counts for nothing. If we have any aspirations to be a competitive Champions League side, we need to raise our game again against Brugge.
We have already faced both our Pot 1 opponents and Brugge are the second and final Pot 2 team we are up against. They have earned the right to be in the top half of the draw because they know how to get results on a consistent basis. There is a lesson there for us before an enormously difficult game.
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Matchday!
Get the dogs dressed MARSPAPA!
Today is “bring a dodgy firestick to work” day.
HH!
Confidence is the last thing we all need tonight. We need to be nervous, anxious, pessimistic, otherwise we’ll be disappointed.
Broadsword calling Danny boy
Broadsword calling Danny boy
John has a long moustache.
So looking forward to tonight. Seems like much longer than 3 weeks since RBL.
Been shuffled into 115 tonight to let my son take his pal to the game so hoping we start well and score our goals first half so I can actually see them.
QB
Bada Bing
Nobody said CL was “beyond us”.
What was stated was that getting to the CL Group stage when you had 3 pre-qualifying two-legged ties to negotiate, was difficult and could not be guaranteed. Our record in attempting to qualify proved that. The Battered Bunnet showed, ion mathematical terms why, even if you faced 3 teams that were weaker than you, the odds on getting to group get closer to 50:50 or 45:55 as you accumulate them over 6 ties.
And then , when you get to the Group Stage, you have accumulated injuries and suspensions earlier than the teams you face, who already have stronger squads than you and a better competitive environment in their league to prepare them for this. Therefore, qualification out of the Group Stage becomes harder and our record in the competition (and that of other teams from peripheral leagues) proves that.
Now, in this new format, following on from a rare automatic qualification to the Group Stage, which won’t last, we have had a great start, and that is untypical (but not unheard of- we’ve had 3 last 16 CL outings this century). So we’ve had a recent period of earning the CL riches, without troubling the last 16.
And, here’s the nub- we haven’t earned it yet. We can still fall in the bottom 8 yet (tonight’s match could go a long way to determining this). If I was a betting man, I’d say we have a greater than 50% chance of making the play off rounds but we will most likely be drawn against a Big 5 League team with a stronger squad then and will fail to achieve a 4th last 16 outing this century. My heart hopes it will not be so but my head and our record (the science) tells me this is how it is likely to pan out.
Now, some will say it’s because we spent £11m on Engels and £9m on Idah, we are in a different era and we are finally listening to the “Speculate to accumulate” argument. That, with respect, is nonsense. We are able to spend these fees because we have been prudent and have budgeted for failure to qualify for CL riches.
Even if we do make it to the play off round and even if we do win our way to the last 16, it will still be our 4th outing to that stage and not a new breakthrough.
We have not changed our level yet.
We make our money by earning an invitation to the dance, we do not, even this year, make it by winning the dance competition.
Our record in the past decade is 4 visit to the CL Group stages and 6 failures to get there. That’s what PL is referring to. We haven’t able to guarantee being there and getting the riches. And this year’s successes so far does not disprove that, great though it is.
We are merely in the same territory as pointing to a 90 year old man with a 60 a day smoking habit and saying that proves smoking is not fatal.
“This has been the most open Champions League I can remember, possibly ever”
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Agree with that, Paul. The new format would be the obvious reason, but I also think it’s down to the less well resourced teams losing the fear factor and having a go against the richer clubs.
Haven’t done any analysis to confirm but it feels like there hasn’t been that many draws. Possibly the reason why the projected points for a play-off place might be a bit higher than initially thought.
As to tonight really don’t know what to think! Have a feeling it could be a trickier assignment than it looks on paper.
With Cesar, Bertie Auld and big Jock Stein
SFTB
Quality post.
The only bit not covered is the fact that the new format gives us guaranteed more games of a higher level than normal which in turn gives us experience and with the larger safety net of 24 teams and fairer seeding it does give us a better chance of progress. You did cover the later point.
The risk taken by the board in spending to the extent we did was that next season there is no guarantee that we do qualify for it at all and we are then left with a CL squad paid CL wages playing in Europa. With the resultant implications.
Glass 2/3
You are spot on re draws. The stars show about 40% reduction in draws vs 10 year norm.
Also agree re tonight being really tough. Having been to their stadium I am sure they won’t be fearing our atmosphere. I also dislike them as a club. Their allegiances are not aligned with ours.
setting free the bears for Res. 12 & Oscar Knox on 27th November 2024 11:59 am
Bada Bing
Nobody said CL was “beyond us”.
I was there,on more than 1 occasion he said the CL was beyond us,couldn’t compete etc
The difference now is a top quality manager and proper investment in the squad, not projects, and guys turning up at Lennoxtown in a Celtic tracksuit,a pair of boots ,and introducing himself as a guy the Club have taken on loan………..Edson Brafied (sp)
Tough night ahead. Take any type of win.
Make some noise for the Bhoys!
Celtic champions league youth game on live TNT channel 1pm
CLUB Brugge manager Nicky Hayen is convinced the visitors can silence Parkhead when they play Celtic in the Champions League tomorrow evening – if they embrace the intimidating atmosphere the home supporters will generate.
The Belgian champions defeated Sturm Graz 1-0 in the Worthersee Stadium in Austria in their second league phase game and then gave AC Milan a serious scare in the San Siro in Italy in their next outing before being reduced to 10 men and losing 3-1.
Hayen, who was Arne Engels’ coach when the midfielder was a youngster at Club NXT, the Brugge academy side, is confident his charges can pick up all three points against Brendan Rodgers’ team.
However, he has acknowledged they will have to block out the noise the 58,000-strong crowd will make to replicate their previous displays on the road and come out on top.
“I think the first 35 minutes were really good in Milan,” he said. “Unfortunately, we got a red card and that changed the picture of the game. But that match was a good preparation for this game.
Brendan Rodgers has warned his Celtic side not to take Club Brugge lightly on Wednesday despite their impressive recent Champions League form.
Rodgers’ side bounced back from their 7-1 loss against Borussia Dortmund with a goalless draw at Atalanta and a magnificent 3-1 home win against RB Leipzig.
While Club Brugge are not ranked as highly as Celtic’s last two European opponents, Rodgers expects “another big examination”.
“Teams like Club Brugge are not teams that are probably spoken about a lot, maybe in the same echelons of some of these other big names,” the Northern Irishman said.
“But these are teams that you cannot underestimate. They’re very experienced at the level.
“They’ve got some fantastic players, a very good coach who’s stepped up and taken them and works them very, very well. So we have to be mindful of that.
“Every game is a very, very tough game and this game will be another big examination for us.”
GlassTwoThirdsFull on 27th November 2024 12:47 pm
“As to tonight really don’t know what to think! Have a feeling it could be a trickier assignment than it looks on paper.”
Depends which paper you read ;)
Pot 2 team = likely better than us = difficult.
Still hoping for a win though but trying to temper my expectation (expectation is the root of all disappointment and all that).
Burnley78 on 27th November 2024 12:54 pm
“The risk taken by the board in spending to the extent we did was that next season there is no guarantee that we do qualify for it at all and we are then left with a CL squad paid CL wages playing in Europa. With the resultant implications.”
The extent we spent too was not actually that large though, in net terms, was it? If there are no grand plans for the money in the bank then you could argue they have already mitigated for this risk and are now trying out the “speculate to accumulate” theory from a position of strength with a safety net.
I’d like to see the board structuring wages based on CL participation / results etc but appreciate that might put off some players/agents.
QB
Cummings puts the Bhoys 1 up,8 minutes
AT, TA FOR THAT LINK.
the tony hamilton celtic foundation works just had me drawing breath, what incredible things they do, and it really is in the ethos of the founders.
these thing matter more than football anf brand, meaningful as tony says,
300 people to be fed on christmas day, volunteers and our own staff giving up part of their day.
the fuel advisor is just an incredible initiative.
ta for that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7v8b8Skoz1Q
Saint Stivs on 27th November 2024 11:35 am
This will be the same Chief Executive who said at various AGMs that the Champions League was beyond us…….
=================
would the results in various champions league group stages under the old format not prove what he said ?
the chamions league then, home and away fixtures against bigger clubs results in record skelpings.
fast forward to today, and PL work with the ECA brings the “league format” and many favourable (winnable) fixtures.
ergo PL tells it as it is.
Good football from the Celtic.
Cummings is a player.
VIVE LA DIFFERENCE
Tonight we might take a step towards the next phase of the Champions League, or, we may not – I hope, and will say a wee prayer, that we do.
The new format has probably surprised us all in how fairness has been engineered into the early stages of the competition(see St Stivs 1:14). For so long the seeding arrangements saw the clubs from the elite leagues routinely pick off those below in tight lopsided groups, leaving the latter stages looking like the same old ‘carve-up’ year on year.
We are relishing things this year and now with three CL home wins on the spin our magnificent Celtic Park arena is on the way to becoming a European fortress once again.
Our chairman Peter Lawwell ‘s informed and common sense words at the AGM on our financial health and the necessity of maintaining a robust bank-balance is just as important as Brendan’ leadership and success on the pitch – financially weak clubs usually fail repeatedly.
The coefficient level is changing and direct entry to the CL will be denied next season and therefore getting to where we are today will be harder to achieve. Our financial reserves, maybe c£100m in the half-year interims is, as the chairman pointed out, a guarantee that we will not have to downsize if limited to the Europa League for a season, or, two. It will also ensure that we are still the strongest domestically.
Over the last number of years we have been lucky to have people running and managing our club who, despite a torrent of shouting and uniformed advice from the sidelines, can distinguish between making a noise and making a difference.
bhoys games on the big screen, those improvements to lesser hampden are excellent investment.
i can see up playing often there.
meanwhile, bad copy but one of those great nights.
just how good was paul mcstay.
celtic 5 sporting lisbon 0 – 1983 ec
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmS25xbk4xk
Willie Haughey and Co have done really well at the old Lesser Hampden, looks really good
And a pitch that would put Kilmarnock and a few other top flight teams to shame
Superbru Round 13 update
In a week where Sevco dropped points, Aberdeen got beat and Hibs didn’t totally Hibs it last night, it should have been hard to garner points but a few managed to defy the odds even though twenty-one of us got 2 points or less.
Those defying the odds like Clement holding on to his job were:-
Hot Smoked- 12 pts
Mouldy67- 10.5 pts
The class of 67- 8.5 pts
Stranger still was another top 5 appearance by current holder of the QNQS 2023/24 Superbru Dunderheid of the Year, Friesdorfer. I think a Stewards Enquiry or drug test is called for.
These scores look pretty impressive when you see the bottom group in this round:-
66- 70th- Nawlite, Call me Gerry, Bognorbhoy, Hamilton Tim & rebuswad- all on 1pt
57-65th- Greenpinata, Big Archie, celtic Mac, mckenna_88, Por Cierto, James Cant, Celticrollercoaster, Spootiemad & Hutchybhoy- 1.5 pts
This leaves the overall Leaderboard as:-
Cosy Corner Bhoy- 85 pts (with age comes wisdom obviously)
Hopeful Hoops- 84.5 pts
Gaz- 83.5 pts
I recently advised that, given that it was his birthday, the women of the family should let The Token Tim fill in his own predictions as a birthday gift. He has now fallen down to 4th place- Just Sayin’😀
At this rate- he’ll soon be reaching the level of :-
68th- BelmontBrian63- 51.5 pts
69th- An. Tearmann- 50.5 pts
70th- Jonny the Tim- 49 pts
Our next deadline is Saturday 30th November with four matches at 3 pm and two more to follow on the Sunday.
Good luck to you all and can anyone in the Greater Tayside area carry out a dope test on Friedorfer?
Bada Bing
“I was there, on more than 1 occasion he said the CL was beyond us,couldn’t compete etc”
—————————-
And you knew what he meant by that too.
i.e. We can get to Group Stages occasionally but we can’t guarantee to get there.
We can, on even rare occasions, qualify out of a Group, but it is a great achievement to do so.
But we cannot compete with the group that reach the final stages beyond last 16.
This century- we have had :-
12 winners from Spain (Barca & Real)
6 from England (Liverpool, Chelsea, Man United& City
3 from Germany (all Bayern)
3 from Italy- (Milan & Inter)
and only 1 from outside this group- Porto- 21 years ago.
Nobody can say with a straight face, we are competing to win this thing.
Nobody can say that CL Group Stage participation should be guarantee-able by a team from a peripheral league
what a game hibs dons was!!!!
SFTB
Friesdorfer is back on the German beer again. That may explain matters.
Still 1-0 Celtic.
SFTB- I’m not saying win the thing,and neither was he,it was a defeatist attitude in trying to compete, which after all these years we look like we are doing
Finished 1.0 well done Celtic
In 1966/67 season if you had said that we couldn’t compete with the top teams in Portugal, Italy, and Spain probably very few folks would have disagreed with you. por cierto.
Good afternoon all from the Prince Charlie. Warm up and fitness test going well. 👍🍻
Bada
The what does compete mean?
He said it at times when we were winning, losing and drawing games in CL Group.
He wasn’t denying reality and saying we could never win a game there.
He wasn’t saying we can’t win a single game so there’s no point in trying.
He wasn’t saying we can’t get to the Group Stages.
He wasn’t saying we can’t qualify for last 16.
He’d seen us do all of those things but he KNEW that the clamour for just spend a wee bit more- the odd £10m Centre Forward and there’d be guarantees of better times in the CL.
And he has been proven right.
It’s great that our first team and our Youth team are doing a bit better this year in their European Competition- being a bit better was always possible but we have turned no corner, nor entered any new, Nor have we proved that big spending on Arne and Adam have shown us a new way.
It is far too premature to say we have reached a new level. If we can do this for the next 3-5 years or even reach CL Group Stage and do middling well every year of the next 5 years, then I’ll reconsider.
We can deride PL’s statement as “defeatist” or ridicule the Speculate to accumulate view as delusional but that’s just name calling.
I see it as realistic to look at what you are actually achieving and claw your way inch by inch up that ladder. A realistic view states we can beat teams in the CL but are not competitive, yet, in the last few furlongs, and it’s bloody hard work to get there and impossible work to stay there when you’re a corner shop in a Hypermarket world.
SFTB- You know what I meant,thanks for replies.
Por Cierto @ 2.56
In 1966/67 season if you had said that we couldn’t compete with the top teams in Portugal, Italy, and Spain probably very few folks would have disagreed with you. por cierto.
————/
As my Dad, God rest him, told me as a wee bhoy,, they said the same thing about the Empire Exhibition Trophy & the Coronation Cup – he said “ Celtic always win new things at the first attempt” (1967 hail hail), he was right!!! – maybe, against all odds, we might do in this new format – what a dream!!!! . Brendan is the nearest thing to Jock imho – so who knows? HH
Aipple on 27th November 2024 12:01 pm
Matchday!
Get the dogs dressed MARSPAPA!
Today is “bring a dodgy firestick to work” day.
HH!
🤣🤣🤣
I’ve nice outfits for them for the Final if we hump the huns lol.
Might need a minder with me , last time was well dodgy …..there’s nothing uglier than an angry hun .🤣🤣🤣