In 11 days we will know our potential opponents for the first and second Champions League qualification rounds. While earning the money available for Champions League qualification is the overriding priority, we also need Uefa coefficient points.
Should they progress, Celtic will be seeded for each of the four qualifying rounds, but they are in position to be bottom of the seed: five points below second bottom PSV Eindhoven, and four above unseeded APOEL Nicosia.
Our place in fourth spot in future years depends on who else qualifies and how successfully we replenish our stock of coefficient points. We earned eight points from our Champions League/Europa League endeavours last season, with a six point season due to drop off next year.
Eight points from one season is a baseline for teams who wish to be seeded in the champions route, but it is difficult to imagine even a modest improvement without a significant pick-up in performances. Chances of us winning two or more games in the group stage feel no more likely than the chances of us winning none, or of finishing bottom of the group stage – equal to our seeding.
The dirty wee secret of European football progress should be acknowledged. Teams from small nations find it nearly impossible to progress through the group stage every year, much like on the international stage when betting on the World Cup, but those who manage to get there more seasons than not, tend to have financially difficult season, where they fail to qualify for the Champions League, but earn a significant haul of points in the Europa League, making subsequent campaigns a little easier.
Despite the general invincibility of the team domestically, I suspect the current levels of achievement in Europe are not stable. We will have to improve, or there will be a season of retrenchment.
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Should be pissed off?
a big braw 6
Braw
341/4
GLASSTWOTHIRDSFULL @ 12:10 PM
“…The whole thing reeks. And that is just what we know! They are desperate to keep the lid on the box.”
Well, exactly, maybe Craig Whyte isn’t everyone’s cup of tea and our references to “our hero” on CQN were very much tongue in cheek. This does not change the fact because he was held in disdain by Scottish football, he could be stitched up.
None the less, the fact that they were prepared to put on a huge pantomime to condemn this guy, starkly highlights their modus operandi.
Let’s see the last 5 movers and shakers at Ibrox…
Sir David Murray
Craig Whyte
Charles Green
Mike Ashley
David King
The fact that Mike Ashley soars above the lot as a paragon of probity, compliance and accountability says everything…
…you could point out, he put his money where his mouth was and was upfront on his dealings and got hunted by Stewart Regan who allowed an unlawful takeover of Sevco by someone who failed the fit and proper critera…
Dave King has an unscrupulous past, has failed to deliver on his promises to Sevco Rangers has verbally insinuated impropriety in the Scottish football governing bodies. Has failed to keep in line with good governance and statutes.
Does that sound familiar, unlike Craig Whyte, who was lambasted and recieved the maximum of penalities, Dave King – very like CW’s predecessors Sir David Murray has his wrongdoing is ignored – he is in fact exonerated and invited to SFA HQ…
Yes, I’m not sure what is under that lid but you are right, we can smell the stench already.
We will see at the end of the month just where the SFA is in this regard.
Hail Hail
hehehehe and another braw 6….
Braw
Beautiful day here in the capital of the liberated 26 so it’s off to Croker to see De Dubs set football in Leinster back by another five years or so
three hundred and seventy wan for 5 wickets….
game on ….
smiley homosexual martial art thing
Braw
Harry Flasheart
What part of the city are you from
Fixtures out on Friday, the huns first 3 games will be Hamilton, St Mirren and Livingston, 2 home and 1 away
gerrard could be axed after those 3 games,if he starts of course..
smiley trippy up thing
Braw
What Hootenanny?
Sitting in McLaughlins in the New Lodge. Heading shortly to the Red Devil then either PD Club or Roddys. ???????
Just home fae Embra , after The Stones gig last night…..just wow….?
Just got a qoute of 8/1 from Boyles on Steven Gerrard leaving or being sacked from the Rangers job before Christmas
The actual wording was “not to be Rangers manager on Christmas day ”
What do you think of those odds
WITS
Rangers don’t exist so careful.
What 3 players have played in 5 world cups?
against what country was the fastest red card in a world cup?
I watched the BT programme last night.
I was underwhelmed and annoyed that both Lenny and Ronnie allowed, the weasel Tanner, to reference the deid club so often.
Brendan, as usual, manoeuvred away from any talk of them but Lenny especially let himself down by continuing the same club myth narrative.
Tanner at his most Sleekit.
Eurochamps67
Our 7 in a row is nothing to do with them.
Celtarella
Lev Yashin, Uwe Seeler and Dino Zoff.
Scotland
David Murray’s wife is suing him to set aside their prenup. Wonder if she knows and will dish some dirt?
Ger57
No
Yes
EUROCHAMPS67 on 10TH JUNE 2018 4:06 PM
I thought all three Manager’s gave an honest account of their experience. I don’t agree with what Lenny said about ‘missing them’ but that’s his opinion and the way he seen it. At the end of the day Neil couldn’t get the players up for the Cup games against the likes of Morton and that’s mainly why he’s left. Brendan has immersed himself in Celtic, he knows the score and is savvy enough to sidestep the questions with ease. I think to be fair to Ronny he doesn’t know half of what has went on.
As for Tanner himself, I don’t know why BT employed him. He was a buffoon and an embarrassment at SKY.
FRANNYB 4-15PM
That was funny ! My kinda humour HH !
Donegal will be in the Ulster final against Fermanagh
Chairbhoy
Excellent post on the dumping of Craig Whyte and it looks like they are trying to do it again by precluding events at end of March from Non Compliance scrutiny.
End of March was when SFA granted under old regime (in that an internal e mail says the HMRC think what Rangers did before HMRC lost patience was tantamount to fraud) so you bet they don’t want the granting and it’s basis under scrutiny.
The latest excellent follow on ETIMS to the Regan/LNS blog says there is a sense of Deja Vu and there is, but it stops being Deja Vu when you see it coming and challenge it.
And if the JPDT are being used to dump it all on CW again challenges need to go in.
me has two tings ta say
1 FC Progrès Niederkorn
2 Does King remind anybody else of Trump?
“One that” not ” in that.”
Jimthetim
Beautiful voice but don’t think I’ll follow her alleged slimming routine. Have a tape worm put into my body sounds a bit like swallowing news from ibrokes. But the music was excellent
HH
The Agony and the Ecstacy
I am fascinated by sport, I love football and I am a Scotland and Celtic fan.
None are exclusive and each has its own place in my soul and psyche.
Others have different stances and not only do I accept them but I also respect that many people don’t actually care about other competitors or competition, in football especially. But for me competition is absolutely essential and like life, the ability to surf on the raucous crest of a breaker and to take the plunge into the depressed silence of a trough go hand in hand.
That of course is NOT to say that I enjoy the moments of failure, defeat, or shattered hopes and expectations.
But I’ll be fecked if I’ll admit it to those insulting, sneering, digging, dismissive rivals with their false gods of cynicism and sarcasm.
No not me….I’ll lie through my teeth with the stoic insouciance of the ‘ imperious grown up’ at their childish jibes while inside the eight and half year old ‘me’ is plotting deadly revenge and readying for the day when I will be the man on the mountain ledge with the opposition’s lifeline in my hand, a sneer on my face and a decision on whether to haul them up or let the rope fritter across my palms and see them plunge into the snowy wastes of the frozen valley of doom.
I pride myself on my ability to conceal the raw nature of my emotions. I nod my head sagaciously as I navigate the rapids of win, loss and draw with equanimity. I pretend that I abide with that old manly principle of Baden Powell…..(no not the one about always having a jar of Vaseline at hand) …
“If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;…” (what a crock of Craig Whyte)
And all the time I know that I am no more than the accused in the dock desperately conjuring up a mitigating plea.
I am about to break the habit of a lifetime and reveal the ‘truth’.
Truth after all is a dangerous commodity. When it concerns what exists at your very core, it opens you up to those who would exploit any weakness. Like a hacker with the back door into your computer security the potential for damage is limitless.
My own Agony and Ecstasy, that feeling immediately following a defeat or victory, has rarely been distilled, bottled and dispensed. As I said honesty in the immediate aftermath is fraught and has the potential to make you appear like a complete eejit. I have however the affliction of my genes and for whatever reason I cannot avoid scribbling my feelings, but fortunately fate, drink, the inability to balance and closing time has intervened and actually posting or publishing them has been avoided.
Come the following morning, more sober ‘pretence’ has taken over and my evocation of delights or despair have been confined to the folder marked …”ya daft bugger, only to be opened after I’ve gone or when things are quiet in the close season”.
Well, I’m no’ gone, I’m still a daft bugger but it is the close season.
So here we have the two extremes of the Celtic supporter.
The Agony…..October 24th 2010…a loss to you know who at Celtic Park http://alturl.com/kebvd
The Ecstasy – February 15th 2018…a triumph over Zenit, again at Celtic Park http://alturl.com/6prg5
Both fortunately as I said unpublished, me being saved in both cases by a rickety stool ….ach but who cares now…we all reach a time in life when we need to laugh at the ridiculous natures of our own egos, and when it comes to being ridiculous trust me…”I am a master”…and that’s the truth.
Hail Hail
Matt
Fess19, I went on to Wiki to see if there was any truth in her swallowing a tape worm to lose weight, apparently it was only a rumour. Btw, that is the largest entry I have ever saw on Wiki. She split opinion in many ways. But to me she will always be La Divina.
What A Hoot ?
JTT53 and Fess…not disputing the Maria Callas thingy but………
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IDvE8uKWznc
Bada Bing
September or October before Sevco roll up at Celtic Park where they are due given the first SPL game was at the Bosmandome last season.
The ‘fix’tures list is well named and eptomise the cheating in Scotland if only they left it to
the ‘computer’ they’ve tried everything else and it backfires.
Their dificulty is that Sevco are also rubbish at home and the hand picked fixtures are no longer
a Rainjurz home win.
Doggy walk posting……….. sorry
Unbelievable, as the man says, have you no sense of Irish History?
https://twitter.com/irishunity/status/1005491686250831873?s=21
For those that enjoy the cricket.
10 JUN 2018 ONE DAY INTERNATIONAL SERIES
Scotland
First innings 371 – for 5 wickets
Result
England
First innings 365 all out
Weebobbycollins, Amazing. Love La Boheme. Been to see It twice at the Theatre Royal.
The ground has been engulfed by jubilant Scots, these are fantastic scenes. Flower of Scotland is blazing out across the public address system.
Who say Scots don’t care about cricket.
trappedin front,stone dead,fans on the pitch and Scotland have won against the number one ODI side in the world….
awfy awfy braw
BRAW