Critical autumn fixtures provide comfort for Celtic

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A big pitfall in the autumn fixtures is who you face after a demanding European game.  Teams are more likely to drop points domestic away from home immediately after an away European game than in any other scenario.

A few years back, Celtic had the misfortune of four domestic away games after European fixtures, a wave of complaints perhaps ensured these fixtures are now evenly spread, as they are this time.  Following our Champions League games, we have away trips to St Mirren, St Johnstone and Livingston, and we face Livingston, Hibs and Dundee United at home.

Livingston caused Celtic lots of problems last season, so facing them twice will cause some concern.  In their corresponding fixtures, Newco have home and away games against Aberdeen, who are a perennial thorn in the Ibrox club’s soft underbelly.  Points will be dropped by whoever is unprepared.

Celtic, Newco and Hearts – likely to be Scotland’s group stage competitors, are all kept apart after European games, to assist fixture scheduling problems.  Motherwell and Dundee United may surprise everyone and qualify for the Conference League groups.

Between the league kick-off at home to Aberdeen on 31 July and facing Ross County on 12 November, when club football breaks for the World Cup, Celtic will play 16 games in the league, six in the Champions League and probably two in the League Cup.

24 games in 15 weeks sounds like a lot, but it will be our lightest load at the start of the season in many years.  Others are likely to play 28 games in that time.

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375 Comments

  1. Maybe the huns are relocating to England and are getting ahead of the game by moving their refs first

  2. On Madden

     

    The Ayrshire referees committee has sent a message to Ranjurz – Don’t worry there’s plenty here to take his place.

  3. !!BADA BING!! on 17TH JUNE 2022 3:10 PM

     

    In advanced talks to sign Siegrist from Dundee United

     

     

     

     

    Have to say. Don’t get that one personally. Feels a bit of an outlier to a coherent way to build the team with a keeper capable of playing from the back.

     

     

    Ah well csc

     

     

    HH

  4. Tom McLaughlin on

    BORGO67 on 17TH JUNE 2022 3:34 PM

     

    Bobby Madden going to start refereeing games in England. Got to be more to this story.

     

    Yes there is. He’s relocating to England to take up a new day job. Simple really.

  5. Tom McLaughlin on

    Edinburgh City have changed their name to FC Edinburgh.

     

     

    They obviously have Champions League aspirations.

  6. fieldofdrams on

    Announce Benji Siegrist! Not only a terrific keeper but a terrific person, a quality guy, I’m certain he will absolutely get Celtic. Brilliant signing for us and dare I say evidence of succession planning.

  7. Tom McLaughlin on

    Good of the SPFL to give us an easy opener for flag day. A home fixture against last season’s 10th place strugglers Aberdeen.

  8. Fieldofdrams,

     

     

    Evidence please ? Not the terrific guy bit, but the fit?

     

     

    Good shotstopper (which is not needed as much at SPFL level) but evidence suggests he’s poor at crosses and decision-making on a regular basis, and worryingly the deepest lying GK in the SPFL when it comes to playing out the ball.

     

     

    Not sure where we got our evidence for fit. I would hope that a better scouting dept would have sourced us a very good early 20 year old successor who was a natural fit with Celtic’s needs and playing style.

     

     

    I don’t understand it. Feels a slightly better Bain, which is hardly a great way of thinking.

     

     

    Seen a young Man City GK, Muric for sale having spent a season on loan in Turkey. 23 years old and the attributes needed in Ange’s team. That’s what a successor should look like.

     

     

    HH

  9. Big Wavy

     

     

    I don’t think the signing is that scientific.

     

     

    Barkas was awful, we bring in a free transfer keeper who has saved loads of shots. No brainer

  10. fergusslayedtheblues on

    coneybhoy

     

    Yes some memories seeing those old watering holes.

     

    There were a few in castle st before my time but I did have a pint a couple of times in the manx bar .

     

    Popular with hospital visitors along with the royal bar town head

     

    Denholms in ther too reminded me of my dad as that was the pub of choice for the floor layers after work on fridays

     

    The shipbank and the blame valley there for the hootnany bhoys

     

    Think the women drinkers helped the pubs put a bit more thinking into the look of the bars as some of the establishments in the old pictures would be lucky if the had a lavvy

     

    HH

  11. Coneybhoy

     

     

    I don’t think the signing is that scientific.

     

     

     

     

    That’s exactly what worries me fella. I thought we were leaving that behind us.

     

     

    More science, not less.

     

     

    Headscratcher for me. Hart’s succession plan is key. We’re also an injury away from the science informing us what we truly get from our back-up keeper that isn’t just shot stopping…

     

     

    HH

  12. Filling a day off with Celtic TV replays and goal compilations.

     

     

    Laughed at a little at our Japanese bhoys eating Scottish food.

  13. fergusslayedtheblues on

    I wonder if bobby madden will throw his hat into the ring for a gig on the spfl VAR list .

     

    I wonder if the SFA will outsource it .

     

    HH

  14. Big Wavy

     

     

    I find tactical fashions with keepers fascinating.

     

     

    Latchford did well for us but the trend was for more athletic abilities; hence Bonner

     

     

    Then they changed the pass back rule (coincidentally due in a large part by Packy’s team in WC1990) and his skinny legs were out and robust Marshall was in

     

     

    Not being a very good shot stopper got Packy back in and out

     

     

    In the 90s and early 00s we saw it as a non priority under various managers. Lost us loads of big games

     

     

    Strachan decides keeper is key anc we get Boruc

     

    Shot stopping seen as priority under Lennon and Deila too

     

     

    Then we get to the ‘great player who became a keeper’

     

     

    Rogers tried with the Dutch guy and Bain when Gordon should have played

     

     

    Ange has asked Hart to be a ‘player’ and over the piece it has been OK but he isn’t a natural

     

     

    Come for crosses and stop shots- anything else is an outfield job

  15. The Blogger Formerly Known As GM on

    Wonder if Madhun knew he’d be reffing the Old Firm against Celtic for the last time in the SC semi.

     

     

    More to the point, I wonder if the SFA knew he was for the off and gave him the gig.

     

     

    His performance makes more sense now.

  16. Fergusslayedtheblues

     

     

    Working in Dublin, i get to enjoy the ‘old pub, new vibe’ places.

     

     

    I saw an article rating the best heritage pubs in England this week- most in London but a few scattered around. Brilliant architecture

     

     

    Old pubs in Glasgow deserved to be knocked down. Even worse in Ayrshire

     

     

    Concrete or breezeblock with no windaes!

     

     

    Almost as if we were ashamed of drinking

  17. bigrailroadblues on

    Good evening all from the Laurieston Bar. The Guinness is flowing as smooth as a The Celtic attack. 🍺

  18. Tom McLaughlin on

    CONEYBHOY

     

     

    It’s not so long ago the general public were not allowed to see inside a betting shop while passing by. No windows or smoked glass only, even on the doors.

  19. why ? we play loads of sunday afternoon games year after year,

     

     

    i dont mind at all.

  20. Tom McL

     

     

    A bit like Dubai(my hq) and pubs

     

     

    There were beautiful pubs in Glasgow, as that great video showed, in the Victorian days. Why Scotland built so many horrible ones is probably due to myriad reasons; post war austerity, cheap materials etc- maybe

     

     

    I remember on my bus journey home from school in Kilmarnock, passing a pub every day that was pure breezeblock, no paint, and a Tennents sign . Thought it was depressing

     

     

    Thankfully the town had 5 discos when i started going out 😎

  21. vinniethedog on

    Big Wavy….agree…average at best …the cross he dropped against us was a shocker

     

     

    Listening to radio 2 news at 6pm………the celtic convention in Vegas gets a mention ….and even the journo telling us what the celtic fans changed the words to blow by blow …..yet I went on to BBC news pages …nothing …….I smell huns