I read the CQN Magazine article this morning on our December fixtures; eight games, seven in the league, with only one midweek off. It has the look of a month which will go a long way to deciding the outcome of the title.
The awkward looking fixtures come at the start of the month. Away to St Johnstone, home to Hibs and away to Kilmarnock. We have played each of these teams before this season and have yet to win, drawing home to St Johnstone and at Hibs, while losing a League Cup tie at Kilmarnock.
Four of the remaining five games after that are at Celtic Park. On paper, they are against more resourceful opponents, but there is less jeopardy in these games. The Feyenoord game has only pride, coefficient points and cash on the line, while we recorded three goal wins earlier in the season over the next three opponents: Hearts, Livingston and Dundee.
The game against Newco at the end of the month is already attracting attention, but honestly, if we do what we need to do between now and then, that game will take care of itself. It holds no fears whatsoever.
St Johnstone on Sunday, however? That’s a bigger game that the one we played in Rome on Tuesday. Win this game and see the confidence build.
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`Where are our World class players today?`
Playing for Clubs that pay them a considerable multiple of what we could EVEN if they were willing to come to the SPFL…….and that is a massive EVEN.
CHAIRBHOY on 2ND DECEMBER 2023 5:39
Excellent post, a true reflection of how it is at the moment and how our board treat us with disdain.
If the board don’t release funds for Brendan to strongly enhance our team, he will be off.
I wouldn’t blame him, fool me once…..🍀
Played 14
Won 11
Drew 3
Lost NONE
For 35
Against 8
Points 36.
Terrible time to be a Tim.
No doubt someone will post our European results to `prove` that we are rubbish.
Just as my figures do not show that we are great, neither do the European games prove we are poor.
We are the best in Scotland and also-rans in Europe. There are reasons for that and spending a few million on on two or three 10 million pound players is VERY unlikely to change that.
Login strikes again
HH
but the point is that if our only ambition is to finish ahead of a club that most of our fans continually say are shite – and they are – why are our season tickets 600 quid, why does it cost 150 quid for a CL package, why does it cost 33 quid or more to buy a ticket for our home games against clubs that are orders of magnitude smaller than us and why does our CEO get paid a ridiculous amount of money just to finish ahead of sevco?
Obviously the last point depends on the other points – the PLC run the club to hoover in as much cash as they can. For whose benefit? certainly not for our benefit via the team on the park.
We should be able to half our spending on players – and hence half our ticket prices – and we would still outspend the rest of the league and still be favourites to win it.
but that would also mean paying the execs less money so they clearly wont go for that.
we are run like a big club in terms of how much cash we try to take in, but run like a small club in terms of ambition.
so i will ask again – for whose benefit?
3 guys die on Christmas eve ,to get into heaven St Peter says” you must have something on you that represents Christmas ”
1st guy takes out his lighter , flicks it on and says” it’s a candle ” St Peter let’s him through .
2nd guy jingles his keys and says “they are sleigh bells ” St Peter let’s him through .
3rd guy pulls out a g string and panties , St Peter says ” how do they represent Christmas ”
3rd guy says ” they’re Carols… 😜
At my Mum’s in Dundee, heavy snow, might be struggling for game tomorrow.
Good morning all from a warm and sunny Fuengirola.
☀️🍀🏖
Almore
Not jealous……..maybe a wee bit.
Almore
Snow coming your way. 😂
If you want to use European performance as a yardstick I’m not sure how much better the domestic competition was during niar than it is now.
Out with Rangers and Dunfermline a couple of times throughout the 9 seasons Scottish teams rarely made it beyond the second round of knockout tournaments
Rangers finished third three times in 9 seasons, Aberdeen and Hibs went out in the first or second rounds the next seasons
If you consider Sevco’s much vaunted European record there’s an argument that we’ve faced a better Hun team recently than back then
LETS ALL DO THE HUDDLE on 2ND DECEMBER 2023 10:30 AM
Good succinct post👍👏
Never get bored saying this about huns euro record run. Consisted of 21 games and they won seven ( copy write James Forrest) to reach the final. Completed their group stage with two points lower than we did moreover they play in the second tier of euro tournaments……apart from one year 😳
7 still to trap for Superbru 3 pm deadline.
Apple, Ayrshire Tim, Chalmersbhoy, McCaff, The Token Tim, wee BGFC and wee McCaff.
If we have any ambition , European football must be our benchmark. It reaches the parts that domestic football cannot.
We are a massive club with supporter clubs all over the world. However we need to ensure that the sons, daughters and grandchildren of all the ex pats continue supporting the bhoys.
With continual failure in Europe that becomes much harder.
Put simply, a club our size needs European exposure to move forward.
In the short term, let’s make it really worthwhile and enjoyable to encourage fans to actually make the effort to go to games and to tune in from further afield by playing positive, entertaining, attacking football.
We have the resources in domestic football to do this.
Let’s do it Celtic. Play football the Glasgow Celtic way.
HH, COYBIG
Almore – enjoy. ☀️
CHAIRBHOY on 2ND DECEMBER 2023 5:39 AM
Excellent post. Precisely the point with the two world class players, ie Johnstone and Dalglish
We never bought them. Our scouting, our training and our aptitude made them world class.
With all the resources poured into Lennoxtown ate we getting any tangible benefit?
I would suggest this must be looked at as I feel our problems start here.
HH.
All being well Celtic will be 11 points clear by the time the Huns kick off.
Apply the pressures 👍
UEFA Coefficients : Update if I may.
My posts earlier in the week focused on the threat faced to direct entry for Scottish Champions in 25/26 from Austria and Switzerland.
Took my eye of the Czech Republic.
They are a bigger threat than the other two.
They have three teams still active … Plzen and the two Prague teams
All had wins on Thursday night … moved them from 13th to 11th.
All three guaranteed continuing participation this season … so more points to follow.
CRUCIALLY – and I missed this previously – they have three of FOUR teams still active whereas Scotland, Austria and Switzerland all have three of five.
Why is that important?
Country rankings are calculated dividing points won by teams by total number of teams who competed.
Example : two points for a win.
Every Czech team win adds 0.5 points to their country coefficient.
(2.0 / 4 teams = 0.5)
For Scotland, Austria and Switzerland it is lower (2.0 / 5 teams = 0.4)
Czech Republic highly likely to catch us.
We won’t catch Turkey – currently one place ahead of us.
So, all about holding off Switzerland and Austria.
GREENPINATA on 2ND DECEMBER 2023 12:03 PM
I think it’s also important that we encourage younger Celtic supporters to appreciate and enjoy the successes when they come along.
BACK TO BASICS – GLASS HALF FULL on 2ND DECEMBER 2023 12:23 PM
Thanks again.
What are the chances of Austrian and Swiss teams making it to the knockouts and more games?
Good afternoon all, lut to do some shopping with the good lady (left the wife in hous, boom, boom) and Grandson….
The wee man is costing me a fortune.😬
Great afternoon yesterday. With the shipwrecks.
D :)
Good afternoon all from the Victoria Bar. Govanhill, land of a thousand dances.
SIPSINI @ 9:47 AM,
Thanks. Totally agree, Brendan has made it clear what he wanted to strengthen the team this season and accepts the reasons why he didn’t get the required players.
Yet that’s not going to wash ongoing.
BR has stated he came back to improve our chances in Europe.
Michael Nicholson has stated we are striving to be an elite Club, yet in pure monetary terms we’ve had no net spend on players.
How do you square that circle.
If we qualify for the UCL group stage next year our August to December will be very different in 2025.
We will play teams in the League Cup
We will be playing eleven SPL teams
We will be playing eight European teams
That means 2/5th of our opponents will be quality European Clubs.
Why are we hoarding money? It is a nonsense to suggest we can’t improve the team with extra spend.
Especially when the posters who suggest this, are the same posters that make the excuse we can’t compete in the UCL because other clubs spend more than money us.
It’s illogical.
Spending on the squad either gives you a sporting advantage or it doesn’t.
The majority would agree the more you spend the better players you get.
Also it is very short sighted to not to invest in the team during the new FSR rules introduction.
Clubs in Europe are allowed to spend 90% of their football income at the moment.
That will fall down to 70% of football income in a few seasons.
Now player registrations will be important assets, sales are regarded as football income, the money languishing in the bank doesn’t.
If we invest in the squad now, and I fully accept that by bringing in quality development players and improving them is one way of investing, yet bringing in established quality players is a far better way to invest.
If we need (another) team re-build in a few seasons time, selling our player assets and bringing in “new blood”, is the way to go under the 70% rule.
You can bet Sevco Rangers are going to spend every penny they are allowed to and then some.
It’s no coincidence they are revamping and investing in a new scouting set-up.
The PLC Board sitting on their hands is no longer a viable business strategy, it never was a good sporting strategy anyway.
Hail Hail
GREENPINATA @ 12:12 PM,
Yes, once again UEFA rules come into play here.
We were severely hampered by the home grown rules regarding the UCL squad. We need that elite academy we have been talking about for two decades now.
It also makes sense for player investment, if we have to keep an academy going, and that is necessary under UEFA rules, we should get maximum benefit from it.
It’s another way of investing in squad value, if we develop good players from the academy those player registrations are very valuable as “football income”, crucial going forward.
We get more benefit from those type of players anyhow, KT massive profit, Calmac a one club player and Captain
It definitely must be looked at.
Hail Hail
BACK TO BASICS – GLASS HALF FULL @ 12:23 PM,
Thanks for the co-eff updates, crucial points.
Hail Hail
new article posted.
BRRB
It was a pleasure to meet 100 Trophies yesterday at the Shipbank. Haste ye back C.👍
Thanks BRRB,
It was a pleasure to meet you all,
I had a great time,
And certainly will be back ,
C’mon, the hoops ☘️
CHAIRBHOY
“Michael Nicholson has stated we are striving to be an elite Club, yet in pure monetary terms we’ve had no net spend on players.
How do you square that circle.”
None of the clubs that finished above us in the groups had a net transfer spend.
Elite clubs of our size don’t