Astra started their season on a historical high, eliminating Lyon from European competition, but their 8 games since August have brought five defeats, two draws and a solitary win against opponents currently 14th place in the Romanian league.
On paper this sounds as straightforward as previous European ties did against teams from Karagandy or Maribor but as we found out on those occasions, European ties are seldom straightforward.
The cynic in me suggests there is more going on at Astra than meets the eye. Any team who can win in Lyon would be heavy odds against shipping three goals in the cup to lower league opponents a few weeks later, which Astra did. They then turned up away to league leaders Steaua Bucharest to keep their only clean sheet since August. Another coupon buster.
Astra, it would seem, are a gift to those who bet outsiders. They are long odds tomorrow, so I’d caution against backing Celtic for a comfortable win. The visitors will apply themselves, just as they did earlier this month against Salzburg, who won by a single goal.
The Celtic books we have published in recent years have been a real labour of love. After a biography of Willie Wallace and a football journey from Tommy Gemmell, we published your story of Seville, a record of its impact on the Celtic Movement.
Today we launch Caesar & the Assassin, the accounts of Billy McNeill and Davie Hay as Celtic managers, told in their own words. It documents the period of our history from when Billy took over from Jock Stein in 1978, through to the end of his era 13 years later, including Davie Hay’s four years in charge.
Most of us lived experienced that period first-hand but it has been an absolute education to read about the games and events which we watched as spectators from the managers in charge. It’s the best CQN book yet.
The first batch of orders will receive a copy signed by Billy and Davie, more here.
If you fancy watching Sunday’s game against Kilmarnock in comfort…….. We have secured another pair of Premium Seat tickets for the Jock Stein Stand from Celtic sponsor Magners. To win the tickets answer the following question:
Which country do Thursday’s opponents FC Astra come from?
Optionally, if you have £1 available, please donate it to Mary’s Meals at this MyDonate page, which will send your £1 straight to Mary’s Meals, then send me your contact details (with or without donation confirmation) to celticquicknews@gmail.com
Competition closes tonight (Wednesday) at 10pm, so get your entries in now and watch your inbox Thursday morning. You can donate more than £1 if you like, of course. Terms and conditions are available here.
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Livibhoy –
If you can buy a Celtic shirt for under £20, as you claim, then it is undoubtedly a fake or replica shirt. Are you really suggesting that Celtic should sell fake/replica shirts in their official outlets? Nike would have the club in court in a heartbeat.
Celtic shirts cost £55 adult which is on a par with all the top British clubs and cheaper than clubs in Europe.
TET @ 00.17hrs
“4 of the local Guards were in the bar watchin the game tonight, in uniform, with guns n all, all were partaking in a few beers, wouldn’y happen back in sevcoland would it, they were great craic, top blokes.
Focus eat yer heart oot”
————————————————
Were they paying for their beers ?
If there was no charge, were they neutrons ?
HH. COYBIG
.
Sounds like Mark Wilson has been disciplined by Dundee United for being out late when he should have been tucked up in bed.
“beatbhoy
23:47 on
22 October, 2014
Still delighted for Wilko Johnson.
Told he had terminal cancer, months to live, refuses chemo to prolong life a bit, and then a “little miracle” comes along.
One op later, massive one, right enough, and he’s cured, it’s gone.
Always great when anyone beats that “Emperor of all Maladies”.
Dr. Feelgood, indeed. Roxette.”
Indeed! A trip down to the doctor’s is better than one down to the jetty. A tumour weighing 3 kilos!
A comment from someone on a thread in the Guardian discussing Wilko
“I booked the Feelgoods in 1975 for 200 quid for a little college gig in Summer of 1976. By the time it came around, they cancelled because they were on TotP and Stupidity was top of the album charts. 3 months later, they came and played a 300 capacity hall for the original money. They were wonderful and didn’t gripe once.
Now that’s a f*cking band.”
Tempted to watch “Oil City Confidential” yet again.
Z-if i could post the picture i would,Fojut was there.HH
cadizzy-Oil City Confidential is the best music documentary i have seen.HH
Tom McLaughlin
I was talking about an official kit for a 2-3 year old. I don;t wear a Celtic shirt much these days.
My dad bought the wee man the black 3rd kit and the yellow away kit a few months ago. Full kit for £20 for the wee man.
This was still more expensive than the new kit for other teams made by Nike.
I can get the Italy kit made by Puma for a tenner!
http://www.jdsports.co.uk/product/Italy%202014%20Childrens%20Home%20Kit/001736/
LB
Anybody know the betting for tonight..?
Team Jerseys in the Benfica shop at the stadium last week were approaching 90 Euros.
Also, took the official stadium tour (approx 6-10 tours a day, 10 E Adult 4 E Child) and the tour guide was telling me he gets paid 5 Euro an hour, the poor guy probably brings them in at least 800 Euro a day. He does the the tour in at least 3 languages.
Was in getting the ole locks trimmed yesterday and while waiting picked up a Cycling magazine to flick through. In the coverage of the Vuelta de Espana there was a picture of Stage 14 and there, among the roadside spectators in the hilly section, was a guy resplendant in the Hoops. I enjoyed pointing it out to my barber who is of a blueish persuasion!
Jacki Mac was getting a wee bit of a sagging yesterday for the apparent support of Paton, looks now like Dundee Utd and Jackie Mac have acted on info they have received.
Fair play……. to them, but nothing more than is expected of Utd, integrity is their middle name.
Ayrshire is Green and White
EmeraldBee\o/ still proud to be an internet bampot
did you ask for a shave??????
Sagging yes I meant sagging…..
HH
New phone, sagging I meant slagging..!
HH
EMERALDBEE
A few years back I had the pleasure of pointing out to a hun mate that The Hoops would be on display at virtually every major sporting occasion he watched.
For years,he would be glued to the telly,soaking in whatever he was watching,until the inevitable
‘Bassas! No’ anither wan!!’
rent the air.
Ah,the joy of the simple things in life…
ger57
09:20 on 23 October, 2014
Have you just come to realise that ?..hahahahahahaha …. HH
Favourite Uncle,
hardly trust him with the scissors, but he’s ok with the ole cutters.
BMCUW
To be fair the wee man is all right, good banter. He’s a fit wee fecker and did the Three Peaks Challenge last year and the grace to mention that a group of Hoops-clad guys buzzed up and down the three mountains at a fair old pace at the same time he and his mates were doing it.
Thinking about buying someone a laptop…..how does this sound to you experts on here
HP
Processor ….AMD A4 – 6210 APURPLECTIC
windows 8.1
Memory 4gb
Hard drive 1TB
Graphics : AMD Radeon R3
£299…..!!!!
Must say I think the current home strip is the worst one in our history.
The breaking up of the hoops is blasphemous.
here we go again
we’re on the road again
we’re on the road again
we’re on the way to paradise …
coybig
APURPLECTIC = AP ……. Bloomin’ predictive text…..hahahahahahaha
bognorbhoy oscar in my thoughts
10:24 on 23 October, 2014
We love the Jungle dear
That’s where the lion sleeps
For then those evil eyes
They have no place in Paradise
coolmore mafia-agree re current home strip.
coolmore mafia……really quick on the uptake …. :)
Also picked up The Herald yesterday at the barbers (stopped buying it ages ago) and saw a writer, Gary Keown, that I’d never heard of. He was writing some wonderfully positive tosh about a team from Govan beating East Fife the other day and it prompted me to find out something about him. A quick Google didn’t throw up too much, but I did come across a Rangers’ Forum reference to him being “.. a wonderful journo and writer”!
Guilty by association, m’lud?
67heaven,
If all you are doing is general emailing and cqning it’ll be braw.
Why buy a top at the ‘reduce’ price of £44 when the team will stop wearing that top at the end of the season?
Why buy any of the Nike Celtic gear when we are changing kit manufacturer at the end of the season unless its half price or less?
Warrior (our rumoured new kit manufacturer) tops cost £45, a minimum of a tenner cheaper than Nike tops.
Maybe Celtic, along with their kit manufacturer, should look at the Spanish model where the match top costs the full price (and in Barca’s case more than others) but there is a supporters top which is significantly cheaper (15-20 euros). The difference between the tops is material, the match top has all of the new technology whilst the supporters top is just the basic material.
Bada Bing
It is wonderful but equally so is the Muscle Shoals documentary which came out last year “The future is unwritten” about Joe Strummer is great too.
GARY67
Bring back the simple long sleeve cotton I grew up wi.
Job done.
Totally agree with what’s being said about the Celtic shirt.
Now Burghbhoy junior is only 12 but tall like his dad.
60 odd quid from the Celtic shop for his new long sleeve away top is a scandal.
The madness gets worse when you realise that the same shirt can be bought from a Sevco shareholder for £10-£15 cheaper.
I always buy from the Celtic shop….. What a mug!
Gary67
Warrior is our new kit manufacturer??
Is this to encourage us to come out and play? :)
gary67
10:39 on 23 October, 2014
Why buy a top at the ‘reduce’ price of £44 when the team will stop wearing that top at the end of the season?
Why buy any of the Nike Celtic gear when we are changing kit manufacturer at the end of the season unless its half price or less?
Warrior (our rumoured new kit manufacturer) tops cost £45, a minimum of a tenner cheaper than Nike tops.
Maybe Celtic, along with their kit manufacturer, should look at the Spanish model where the match top costs the full price (and in Barca’s case more than others) but there is a supporters top which is significantly cheaper (15-20 euros). The difference between the tops is material, the match top has all of the new technology whilst the supporters top is just the basic material.
##############################
Oh aye try selling that to the weans, naw Dad that’s no washin wae me, I want the team wan…..
But it’s the exact same, look there’s no difference.
Team wan….
Ayrshire is Green and White
Having said all that about the price of Celtic tops there is still no finer sight in the world than seeing those hooped jerseys emerge from the tunnel on a Euro night in Paradise!
My heart feels like it could explode at times!!!
Roll on game time
HH
When is agm?
burghbhoy
10:44 on 23 October, 2014
Totally agree with what’s being said about the Celtic shirt.
Now Burghbhoy junior is only 12 but tall like his dad.
60 odd quid from the Celtic shop for his new long sleeve away top is a scandal.
The madness gets worse when you realise that the same shirt can be bought from a Sevco shareholder for £10-£15 cheaper.
I always buy from the Celtic shop….. What a mug!
##############################
Allegedly the Clyde manager can get them even cheapness……!
HH
67Heaven
Re laptops, HP have always let me down in the end. 3 laptops, each failed within 3 months of the end of the warranty. Printer did the same, two weeks out of warranty, fair play to Amazon who refunded the price.
HP after sales support is also pants – online-based and pants.
Toshiba – cheap and you know they’ll fail eventually but they are cheap.
Lenovo (ex-IBM) – I find these expensive but good. You get what you pay for.
A great way to get free and impartial advice is, go to your local computer repair shop. Those folks will tell you what lasts and what doesn’t.
That cheapness was a joke by the way and should not have been = cheaper…!
HH