Bayern Munich and Paris St Germain will bring some autumn glamour to Glasgow in the Champions League group stage. Bayern are second favourites for the trophy, PSG, fifth. The challenge to reach the knock out stage could scarcely be greater.
Anderlecht, by comparison, offer substantially less-ominous opposition, but a quick glance at their European form will dissuade anyone from underestimating the Belgian champions.
The group bears a remarkable resemblance to Celtic’s 2003 Champions League group, the last time we faced Bayern and Anderlecht, with another French side, Lyon, ending up as group winners. All four teams finished within three points, with Bayern and Lyon both winning the final games by a single goal – dropped points would have seen them eliminated. Celtic qualified for the Uefa Cup, courtesy of a superior head-to-head record against Anderlecht.
Anderlecht started last season slowly (as they have this season), failing to reach the Champions League group stage, but that only spurred them on for a memorable Europa League campaign. In Europe’s second-tier tournament, they won away in Azerbaijan before recording draws in France (St Etienne) and Germany (Mainz, whom they beat 6-1 in Brussels). Fortunate form for trips to those two territories this term.
They knocked-out Zenit and APOEL Nicosia in the first two Europa League rounds before being eliminated 3-2 on aggregate in the quarter-final by Manchester United. Those are very decent European results, but it you want some comfort, Ajax went all the way to the final 14 weeks ago, and they were beaten home and away by Rosenborg this month. It’s not about what you did yesterday that counts.
At Celtic Park, we have a punchers’ chance against Bayern and PSG, but our measure of progress this season will be determined by results against Anderlecht. The night we beat them 3-1 in 2003 counts as one of our great Champions League performances, the stadium rose to a man and blew the Belgian champions away. Watch the highlights if you are in any doubt about this.
The 2003 1-0 defeat by 10 men in Brussels still rankles as an underachievement. Losing to an 86th minute goal in Munich, after being ahead with 17 minutes to go, and losing to an 86th minute penalty in Lyon, leaves me feeling we have some scores to settle.
Let’s take them this time, Brendan. You know you can…
NEW CQN PODCAST – PAUL DYKES PRESENTS WITH FORMER CELTIC CAPTAIN ANDY LYNCH AND SPECIAL GUEST PAT STANTON
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Cowiebhoy
Pedantic, just a wee bit :))
Agree with you on all things PSG but unfortunately the same could be applied to just about all of the top teams now.
FWIW I have a feeling that we will beat the Neymar and co. and that would be worth paying for.
If it’s £49:00 to watch the Huns and you don’t like the price, don’t go simple, someone else will take the ticket, won’t be me as I don’t go, if someone else does, fine, I have no problem with that, moaners moan, it’s what they do, anything for a moan, what’s the matter, everything in the garden to rosey, unbelievable.
RT
I also wish the same, I just have this horrible feeling that something is just around the corner that will energize them again.
When you really think about it, we are only Brendan Rodgers leaving away from being close to them again, throw in the corrupt powers and the cheats with the whistles………………
HH
Proudbhoy,
I booked through Trivago. There are a number of decent looking hotels for around the same as Delaneys Dunky/Sipsini have booked, all within reasonably easy access of Marijuanaplatz, and in close proximity of Metro stations.
Having never been to Germany before I relied on user reviews – I also looked at Leto Hotel, and was about to book there, but changed to Hotel Atlas – can’t remember why but it might have been the availability of a balcony ( and because they offer airport shuttle – airport is around 40km from city centre apparently…)
Proudbhoy
Our digs are 2 miles fae Munich City Centre to the south, and 2 miles fae Allianz Arena to the North. Good luck mate.
mullet and co 2 on 25th August 2017 1:27 pm
Auldheid,
I posted some of the FTT decision this morning wrt Mr Red HMRC and the SFA.
You can imagine the reaction of the SFA upon being requested by HMRC to supply the information they had on Rangers contracts. Was it standard for HMRC to request this information from the SFA? Who received it and did they alert Rangers? Did the SFA discuss internally?
=======================
If an enquiry were held I’m sure it would uncover exactly when the SFA first got a whiff of jiggery pokery and later knew when the jig was well and truly poked.
Me Red is Ian McMillan the MIH tax adviser who could not find the De Boer/Flo side letters held at Ibrox in Mr Dickson’s domain in April 2005 when asked it they existed. He probably lost sight of them amongst the other 29 side letters also held in player files.
Teams relegated from EPL get £50mil parachute money….
dessybhoy on 25th August 2017 1:52 pm
Auldheid
It would seem the SFA are still refusing an enquiry though, I wrote to PL, no reply , the SFA are hoping all this dies a death, to read the garbage told to the Celtic delegates by Doncaster and Mckenzie which was posted here tells me they are not for changing their entrenched position either, for them to say they would welcome an enquiry I do not believe this for one minute,if it took place it would be a sham like Nimmo Smith.
=========================
No they most certainly would not, but it is the SFA who are stalling, which suggests they have more to fear (and they do) than the SPFL.
It would produce a different result because we ken noo what they kent then. ;)
Thanks Ernie apology accepted
Regarding the big contest. Tomorrow night I was wondering can an expert in martial arts without the use of his feet take out an aggressor or boxer. I can see a lot of clinches and wrestling in this fight. Can McGregor’s strength wear his opponent down eventually.
Cavani makes it 3-0, he’s got 2 goals from 7/8 good chances. Looks like the type that would enjoy at January evening in Dingwall.
Tonydonnelly
Our season tickets are now £100 more expensive than when a club dissapeared
A tribute act have appeared, and Celtic have put season tickets back up to over £600 for me
I still pay this for 2 games less a season
But again you totally miss any point being no made
Hankray
It is fake and farcical. No interest in this Capitalist fake extravaganza. The end is written and agreed by both parties. Showtime USA!
There is the small matter of the world’s biggest beer festival ….Oktoberfest… Munich will be awfy fou…in many ways….
Smiley fassbier thing…
Braw.
HANKRAY
I noticed on the betting site that Mayweather was odds on to win the fight, but McGregor is shorter odds to win in rounds one, two or three.
Other than that I have not a scooby :-)
HH
Late Cavani goal from close range gives PSG 3-0 home win over St Etienne.
We will have to be disciplined, work hard to keep our shape and be ‘assertive’. As Cpl Jones would have said, “They don’t like it up them!”
Hankray
One of them will get a cut eye after a round or two. Fight over..re match arranged..never give a sucker an even break as old mr Barnum used to say
Auldheid
My reading of the minutes
Doncaster has still to write a request for a JR to FtSFA?
What is holding this up ? He announced he supported this about 3 weeks ago
Delaneys
A bit like scottish football then, fake and farcical.
HH
The only way Mayweather will lose is if it’s a fix and they want a money-spinning rematch.
back to prices. a good few years ago celtic cut SB prices – £100 i think. As a result i bought my wife and my brother a SB at the same time as others were deciding not to support the club for non financial reasons. i still pay less now for my SB several seasons latter. i have saved more than the cost of my CL package by a factor of four or five!! but still fans who are blinkered don’t adnit this. worse than the SMSM. i sometimes wonder!
GLASSTWOTHIRDSFULL on 25TH AUGUST 2017 8:44 PM
“When asked when they were first made aware of the looming RFC admin RM responded,” the day before they filed for administration”. (February 2012). Both Neil Doncaster and Rod McKenzie denied specifically knowing any earlier than this beyond rumours in Scottish Football.”
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I guess that fabled meeting with Craig Whyte never actually happened then. Or, if it did, maybe they were discussing global warming?
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makes you wonder if anything they said was truthful
Corckcelt…..
If any CQN’er with a season book is not taking up their entitlement & are willing to buy tickets for me I would be extremely grateful.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Here your not shy corky……not only do you want the tickets but you want them paid for ;-))))))
It wizny that long ago that, Cellic were [trying] to give away tickets for domestic games, to the less fortunate folks going around, not out of charity but, to save embarrassment, during the era of the hapless RD and his plastic roar. [If they want to show charity, and really mean it, they should build another tier above the Main Stand and, dedicate it to the, homeless, unemployed, disabled, poor unfortunates, and open it every day to cater for the needs of these folks.]
Aye,…..like effff they wull !!!
Me, ah chucked it in 2005. A manager takes the Cellic to their first European final in 33 years, knocks Barcelona oot the same tournament the following season and still the cheapskate PLC, snipe behind his back, digging tunnels underneath him, as they looked him in the eye. The very day of [black Sunday], it was the PLC who blew it that day, not the team. The morning of the game, wall to wall coverage…..
….”MO’N to leave, Strachan is his replacement !” screamed the headlines.
Ah mean, who blabbed that info to the SMSM ?
Who’s agenda did it suit ?…yeez wull never be free, till yeez sack the PLC.
The team were demoralised before they even got on the bus !!!
I know that the war n peace style blowhards, will tell me that…..
MO’N left an aging team…
MO’N spent too much money!….oh yeah ?….aginst a £100 million huns team ?
MO’N wizny as good as WGS, thing is, MO’N didny get WGS’s luck in Europe….watch the charity game at CP, were Henrik and Gerard Butler were our strikers, the full stadium chanted for MO’N dozen’s of times, WGS who was managing the other team, didny get a mention.
Point is,…..if Celtic give off the impression that they have a pair of balls in the dug out, the PLC find that uncomfortable….jist look at the examples of, MO’N, NFL.
Brendan hizny been required to show balls yet, cause he’s playing in a pub league.
If, the GB don’t display all their plastic rebels fae the back ae the bus banners, then all the focus will be on the performances in the dug out, and on the pitch.
I wish them well.
Oh, as for the Moussa leaving stuff, I just heard a story along the lines of, he’ll be sold before the window closes, offer the club couldn’t refuse, no time to sign a replacemnt etc…..we’ll see, hope not, but given who’s involved in the proceedings, nothing would surprise.
Celtic FC, fae begging bouls, tae selling souls, fae 1994.
Anyway…….oot.
cheers for tips
TET
You are not far fae the truth there.
Hopefully it is not quite as bent as Mayweather and McGregor is, yet?
octberfest now on from mid september to 3rd october in munich apparently
be changing the name soon me thinks
Delaneys
It’s all relative I suppose, how fake does it have to be to be bent ?
In my world, bent is bent, end of, but I live in a cave so excused maybes :-)
HH
KEVJUNGLE,
If you got your way who or what would you replace the PLC with?
Sipsini, LOL,
Yes I should rephrase that, I’ll get Bank Draft to would be purchaser by express post.
Plenty of ghuys to vouch for me.
McGregor vs. Mayweather – how to milk the gullible public for max. $$$$s!
A pathetic modern day version of King Kong vs. Godzilla (the 1962 Japanese science-fiction film) – a live human match-up.
Kerching! Kerching! Kerching!
TET
Haha. Nice one K. Your cave life gives you wisdom methinks. :)
I agree that the prices are a bit high, no real problem with the £38, maybe it could be £35? but the concession and child tickets are way too high, not fair on a family.
When McKenzie issued the “depends who it is” regarding him being questioned by a QC on this whole stitch up , if a JR gets the go ahead or some other legal challenge can be mounted, to hold all those accountable who are corrupting the game here, by, their selective application of the rule book, I hope and I’m sure we do get the type of QC that he McKenzie does not want to face, and he and Doncaster Regan Ogilivie and all the others are shreaded and banned from football for the rest of their natural lives.
THE EXILED TIM on 25TH AUGUST 2017 8:58 PM
Fergusslayedtheblues
The media in scotland are huns virtually to a man so from the get go we are up against ingrained bias, they also do nothing to help themselfs, and the huns know that intimidation works, it’s been proven to work, the polis won’t go after them, they spend their time hassling the wee bhoys from the GB for waving banners and wearing provoctive T shirts.
As for the sfa-spl, what do you expect, honesty, transparency, it won’t be happening in our lifetimes mi amigo sad to say.
Our biggest problem was when we were gorging on Jelly and Ice cream plans should have been made for the outcome that has occured, it’s too late, they have gotten away with dumping well over £125m of debt and will still be our only real challengers in the years to come, things go in cycles, it’s just the way of the world, we had the chance and blew it.
HH
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agree with the main jist of your post but it may be a little early to say the chance of true justice is gone
IMO the fact that these two clowns saw the need to go in front of CSC reps to try and bulls**t their way out of their corruption leads me to think they are beginning to panic to an extent .
Also if that crock of sh*t is the best they could come up with after all this time then IMO any honest scrutiny of the sham that has been scottish football in the last 25 or so years will every single one who lied and covered up the systematic cheating from then till now
KTF
BATEEN BHOY….
Has the lovely Mrs D hitched on your trip yet.:))
Well after watching that game , I would be disappointed if we didn,t test psg more than st etien . Also looks like no one is allowed to tackle The 200 million man . Motta in the middle of the park , could play without a ball , and seems to want to fight . But if we have a go ,we will give them a fright .
The farce in Vegas will need to go 7 + rounds for the actors to try and make it credible in any way, obscene ticket and PPV ($100) prices, even the gullible Yanks would see throught this if it was over first couple of rounds, re match is a cert.