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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Por Cierto
A fair point but there were many Celtic fans in 68 who thought we would compete well and we didn’t.
But that was a different era, pre-professional football in Holland, pre-Bosman ruling, pre-Sky TV money doping the field.
When we won the Cup in 67, nobody from Liverpool, Real, Bayern or Inter came calling to buy our players and take them from us. The likes of Brighton, Southampton, Bournemouth and Middlesborough didn’t wave money at us to steal our good players. Jock Stein was able to control the continuation AND the break up of the Lions; he was able to retain all the promising players in the Quality Gang. Jock chose to sell Wallace and Hughes, Gemmell and Murdoch and Johnstone. He felt he could cope with Macari’s loss for the money gained and he was a shadow of himself by the time Dalglish burst all our bubbles by seeking to leave the great Glasgow Celtic.
Any team that produces a group of promising players gets predated upon by the big boys and is forced to re-build again & again. We would have preferred to keep the likes of Forster, Van Dijk, Jota and O’Riley but we cannot provide the wages that they will get elsewhere so we will continue to face these challenges. Occasionally we back-fill with equal quality- or close to it- Johnston for Juranovic, Kuhn for Jota etc; but most often we are taking a punt on someone like O’Riley and ,now, Engels, hoping their potential develops into as good or better than the guy being sold. Its not an easy trick to do as our spend on Ajeti showed, as Serco’s spend on Danilo shows and perhaps as the spend on Adam Idah may show (the jury is still out there)
Missed the U19 game. Any standout performances?
ZD
Not much cohension from either team, Celtic detended well restricting them to shots from outside the box or they put in high balls which were dealt with, midfield battled away and maybe Cummings should have done better with a second half header which he put over the bar, I only seen the second half, we weren’t outclassed at all, quite competitive and even in terms of possession, lots of shouting from the Bruges coaches.
I thought the big CB looked good for us,strong with pace
3 CL games where we could get valuable points,a point tonight wouldn’t be a disaster, Zagreb away is another chance to get a monkey off our back,we need to take the game to them from the start,and Young Boys at home who are struggling.
I only saw the 2nd half- thought Turley & Bonnar were brave on the ball. Mitchell Frame had some good deliveries from the left. Both CBs were put to the test. No one was outstanding but I liked the tackling of Kyle Ure- his one weakness is that he tends to turn his body to make a pass (bit like Carl Starfelt) and that can telegraph his intentions.
Overall, I think the B team has grown taller and stronger. Brendan values physicality so that is good and earning. Results so far
Celtic 4 Bratislava 0
Dortmund 4 Celtic 0
Atalanta 2 Celtic 1 (lost to an injury time goal)
Celtic 3 Leipzig 2 (were 3:0 up)
Celtic 1 Bruges 0
Bada dizny like or trust the board. SFTB kisses the boards ass and will suppress any notion that the board are in any way duplicitous or have any weaknesses which cannot be easily understood or filibustered out of any conversation.
Bada is a board doubter – but has no problem in financing the bourgie borgie board gravy train.
SFTB is a fully paid paid up succulent board anorak as well as a boring board filibuster were he’ll deploy any level of mental gymnastics to convey the board in a positive light in any discussion like the house trained executive shill that he is so chuffed to be seen as.
Conclusion –
All seating has turned Timdom into a boring boak-inducing pussy parlour.
PS, It has taken 8 long punishing European learning curve years for Brendan to get over himself and drop his pretty perfect pass pass and pass again approach and the relegation of Leicester City FC – to make Brendan realise that it was HIS ego fuelled naivety which was the problem all along.
Playing defensively away to Europa League trophy holders Atalanta FC has forged a new psyche for Brendan.
And now all he has to do is utilise the quick high long ball to Maeda and Kyogo and Khun for their pace to be managed properly, or the high ball to big high ball guy Idah to lay on for these road runners. Beep! Beep!
ENGELS TO SCORE TIGHT, SURELY ON PENALTIES
If your heroes are Walter Smith, Tommy Robinson and Conor McGregor, you are unlikely to get much traction among the Celts.
Blantyre’s last Rebel of T’Internet- scared of brown people- internet rumours & attacking fitba.
Rebel of the Year!
Thanks for the updates on rhe u19s. If it’s the same league format, they must have a great chance of progressing.. Similar score tonight would be great.
And……ordinary joe is a racist skank regardless of the moniker
We see you freaky boy.
I mentioned before the Leipzig match that if you worked it out, (calculators allowed) ie divided the area of the Celtic Park pitch, c 8500 sq yds in old money give or take the odd sod or two, by the twenty two players on the field, each has, on paper, a surprising amount of space. Not only did we find that space against RB we found each other with a high level of accuracy, and in so doing made our opponents work their socks off. Of course you can only do that if you are confident receiving and being on the ball, and making yourself available for the pass. Not totally original I know, but if we add the change of pace we have going forward, we may well be among the best exponents of this type of football. First seen in the summer (in the city) in the USA, it can give us confidence, not so that we will win the game, but that we will score goals, and therefore be optimistic about winning tonights game. Dont know it in Flemish, but do know in their other language….Allons Y Les Bhoys!
St.Stivs
You posted the heating advisor job last week.
Yup tis a good clip.
So to game now
Go easy buddy,keep it lit as you say
HH
Full moon again.
ordinary joe on 27th November 2024 4:28 pm
Good God!!!!
Saint Stivs on @4:41pm
ENGELS TO SCORE TIGHT, SURELY ON PENALTIES
………
Will we ever have wingers who can take corners again?
Brendan takes the big tall guy [ Engels the invisible man sssshhhhh ] out of midfield to take the corners whilst the 2 smaller wingers stand with their hands on their hips waiting for the corner kick to fly over their heads and 9 times out of 10 be cleared out of the opposition box.
How many clubs are watching Rodgers these days?
Ange did the same with big MOR at corners.
Why do none of these data drones compile the data for the amount of wasted corners, free kicks, etc.
No wonder folk buy tickets then can’t be bothered sitting listening to planted droning anoraks for 2 hours every match day.
Awe naw – The Tranny story hour CSC bus has trapped. Yuk!
No wonder I drink.
Dear oh dear !!
a random question, that has been puzzling me just a little.
that kemi badenoch, dearie me what a swining brick for a heart, shocking statements today
Nerves kicking in. Will be great if we get s result.
Play up you fine Celtic fellows!!!!
AT .
I should be at the corner for 6-45 if you’re meeting up.
MOTH 💚🤍💛COYBIG
SS- Skybet have Engels 6/1 to score anytime, bet responsively
OJ- keep well.
My grandson Sean (14) is on his way to get the supporters bus in ML5.
All Thanks to a special bhoy Paul F a friend of his dad’s,who after purchasing a ST and CL package was put onto compulsory back shift with his job.
Said to my son in law ” tell your bhoy to enjoy it”(as he passed on ticket)
All free of charge, just one special Tim being kind to another.
How does one bet responsively Bada?
🤔
2-1 to the Bhoys tonight.
15/2 with PP.
You look at the price and if you like it and think it’s value , you bet…😉😂
But do it quickly …😉😉
Tonight will be very difficult,IF,we are not at the top,or near as dammit,of our game.
We have all seen this movie before.Far too many times,but a performance like the Leipzig one,will give us a huge chance of success.
Not too concerned with their Villa result.Villa have had quite a few poor displays like that this season.Its how we play that will decide this game.
Decent first half in Belgrade. Red Star came from behind to lead Stuttgart 2-1 at the interval.
You better you better you bet…..
Who’sNextCSC
I have to agree with our resident Doowally on his corner kicks.Contrary to a lot of opinion,Engels is not that good at them.Around 50% don’t beat the first defender.Doowally head is right,big boy,get him in the box.
engels to score and an assist from a corner, like he did for big scales, and then scores the penalty himself.
what are people watching when they see this kid.
offski
ps, remarkable similar stats, expect in goals scored, us 9 them 3.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/live/c9vn400pyj4t#Head-to-head
Gazebo jumpin 👍
Starting XI:
Schmeichel
Johnston
Carter-Vickers
Trusty
Taylor
McGregor (c)
Engels
Hatate
Kuhn
Maeda
Kyogo
Substitutes:
Sinisalo, Scales, Palma, Idah, Valle, Yang, McCowan, Nawrocki, Bernardo, Forrest, Ralston, Welsh
Go to work Celtic
A hard shift this evening
Do your best for us and each other.
God bless Celtic and all who support
HH