When we drew Maribor I wrote about their performance in last season’s Europa League, when they were eliminated by eventual winners, Sevilla. Our man, Blaz, in Slovenia, also warned me that this was a settled team who had improved since ending Rangers’ interest in European football three years ago.
I watched Red Bull Salzburg destroy Ajax in Amsterdam last season with some sublime football, and my pal in Austria tells me not to put too much store in their 3-0 humbling by Malmo, who, apparently, rode their luck to an incredible degree. Having said that, on the balance of probabilities, they are by far the top seed we would have chosen.
As Croatia Zagreb, Dinamo Zagreb bossed Celtic out of the Champions League play-off round in 1998, our first attempt at the tournament. Zagreb’s stock has fallen since, so while you could make a good case to suggest we are far from ready to tackle any European team right now, this is a good draw. They are also not Legia Warsaw, which would have been an unwelcome confrontation at this time.
So far, so good. Then we draw a complete unknown from pot 4, who happened to eliminate Lyon in the last round.
Between now and the middle of next month Celtic have to be ready for these challenges. We have an opportunity to progress in the Europa League, earn some badly needed coefficient points, and revenue in the second half of the season.
Bring it on.
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Never a penalty in the man Utd game.
It only hit the two hands.
G M
Wd be in Scotland V us!!!!
Hamiltontim, Efe can gave concentration issues but I think he is a good footballer and a great athlete. He comes over as a good guy also.
I hope his form and concentration can be sorted out.
Efe’s versatility might be part of the problem also.
Some football fans don’t take the change to a team’s playing style into account into a player’s form and adapting to it.
Things are bad for us but that Old Trafford crew are in a far worse condition following the mess that Fergie fella left. He knew what he was doing when he chucked it.
Any Tims interested and living around the Dundee area I believe there are still tickets available for tomorrow’s game from the Dens Park shop.
winning captains
14:13 on
30 August, 2014
Celts beat the dead mob 4-2 on Monday 21/5/1979
That was Celtic’s last match. The Huns had 2 games in hand as their SCF went to 2 replays.
The draw would’ve kept them 3 points behind with two extra games.
The Huns beat Thistle on the Wednesday in front of an attendance reported by the Daily Record as 2000. They finished at Easter Road on the Friday and either won or lost by 2-1
Celtic needed the win on the Monday night. The Huns would have still had it in their own hands (and those of their friends) had they escaped with the draw.
Scott Arfeld at Burnley…..cost them feck all from Huddersfield apparently…..How did our super scouting system miss out on young Scottish talent again?
Decent player and easily good enough for SPFL.
On a more serious note , Burnley have played well but they really should be beating mid table dross at home if they want to stay in EPL…..scoreless draws are no good against poor sides like Manky United.
VanGaalmuststay
Luv Izzy to bits but I think he needs a good long rest!! Him and Efe were at the W C
winning captains
3 games v Hibs correction – 3rd game was scheduled for after the 4-2 game.
This game was our Ner’day home game that had been postponed.
Winning captains
There was a big freeze that year. We played st mirren at iPox on a Friday night as we had a fixture pile up. Late goals followed by a 1-0 win v diets set up the 4-2 game.
The upside of the bad winter was that it allowed danny mcgrain time to recover from his injury and make a telling return to the team. If all the games hadn’t been postponed, danny would have played far fewer games
It’s heartening to see some support for Efe. We could debate his ability all day but there is no dispute in the fact he comes over as a right good guy.
Neil Lennon was always talking about his natural fitness but it does seem his exertions over the past two years have taken their toll.
squire danaher
Thanks for that. Believe it or not I was just checking something in the next mag from Billy McNeill. It was some night, the 4-2 game.
Squire danaher….
Do you remember Huns had a large section of the jungle that night on 21/5/79.
I was there and can remember it clearly.
Did they ever have any of the Jungle after this?
Can’t remember …..but there were a few cans and bottles thrown after Murdo’s screamer that clinched it for our famous 10 men.
Dallas Dallas
I agree with you regarding Efe’s perceived versatility. Problem is I don’t think he’s as versatile as some think and too much is expected of him especially considering how frequently he’s moved around to compensate for suspension/injury of others.
“How did our super scouting system miss out on young Scottish talent again?”
Ryecatcher,
I’m not sure they fancied another dip into the Scottish market after getting their fingers burnt with Charlie Adams.
From a wiki interview from a fan who was at the game.another wee bit of skullduggery I had forgot about before the 4-2 game
Another supposed victim of the weather was the Rangers v Celtic game scheduled for Saturday March 24th. This crucial fixture – to be played at Hampden due to the redevelopment of Ibrox – should have been held just 42 hours after a weary Rangers had exited the European Cup following a 1-0 aggregate defeat to Cologne. However the game was called off call off on the Friday afternoon due to the wintry conditions and Rangers were saved from facing their title rivals so soon after that draining defeat. Celtic reacted angrily to this premature call-off and would point out that come kick-off time the conditions, on the both pitch and terracing, had been perfectly fine. Rangers stated the decision to call off the game had been made by Queen’s Park but to the further fury of Celtic it emerged that on the same afternoon they should have been facing their city rivals in a vital league clash Rangers were actually playing Partick Thistle in a Glasgow Cup tie at Ibrox – a game arranged in advance of the official call off of their league clash! What do you remember about the controversy surrounding this fixture?
“Just about every Celtic fan saw it for what it was, a poor excuse to get the huns off the hook. I don’t recall what the press had to say about it but everyone involved in Celtic were livid as, at the time, we had the upper hand and it was felt that we would have saw them off and picked up vital points. The idea that Queens Park were responsible for the call off fooled no one, the culprits behind this were the SFA acting in collusion with TFOD. Were we angry? I guess you could say that”!!
Dallas Dallas @14.34
Hamiltontim, Efe can gave concentration issues but I think he is a good footballer and a great athlete. He comes over as a good guy also.
I hope his form and concentration can be sorted out.
Efe’s versatility might be part of the problem also.
Agree with that , and it’s noticeable that Charlie Mulgrew also a current scapegoat is
‘versatile’.
There is a permanent resentment about certain Celtic players and Ambrose remains emperically superior to any ordinary SPL player especially in terms of athleticism, where he continuously overall outpaces, and out plays anyone.
Mulgrew is resented because he’s gone from Full Back to freed – to Full Back to Centre Back to Centre Mid, and yes, he also suffers from concentration lapses.
It’s all degrees of Celtic rubbishness and no good enoughness which sometimes gets microscoped in European games.
Yon wee snake nevin is on setanta sports now…8(
ryecatcher
Thought Arfield was Burnleys best player.Nice quick feet.
Two dross teams .
winning captains
Prior to the 4-2 win, Rangers had 43 points having played 33 games; Celtic 46 points were top of the league, from 35 matches.
They beat Thistle 1-0 and lost 2-1 to Hibs in their last game.
The Hoops win meant our lead was unassailable.
Winning Captains…
I often think that Celtic’s achievement in winning the League in Caesar’s first season was underplayed.
The Huns were a good side in Greig’s first season and ko’d Juventus and some other big team,although I can’t remember who,in their progression to European Cup QF.
Cologne unexpectedly ko’d them after the Huns drawing away leg…..I think that knocked the stuffing out of them after this.
Our inexperienced team responded brilliantly to our rookie club legend Manager.
The rest as they say is history.
Hail Hail to the Gallant 10
Ref the 4-2 game.
I also think there were no highlights of that game as there was a strike.
HH.
Winning Captains
Here’s a wee clip of the terracing song it spawned:
http://youtu.be/I1So7q6IfJ4
Ten men won the League – nah! nah! nah!
Leftclicktic
Didn’t know all that about why the original fixture was postponed.
Was the Cologne game the one that was live on TV and a picture of Christ on the cross came up on the screen during play?
The wiki interview
Enjoy
http://www.thecelticwiki.com/page/I+Was+There….Ten+Men+Won+The+League
Till later all
Hamiltontim
I was 18 and cant remember over a decade through alcohol:))))))
Gies an easy wan :)))
thank God for Wiki and others memories
21/5/79
4-2 game highlights….
Looks like it was shot on a camcorder by Alfred Hitchcock
Enjoy……
► 2:30► 2:30
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H64BOxqZh6Y
3 Jan 2012 – Uploaded by Barry Celtic
Celtic 4-2 Rangers – 10 Men Won The League. Barry Celtic … Celtic goals v rangers in the …
leftclicktic,
Interesting and enjoyable from the celticwiki.
Check the crowd stats. The old regime would never underestimate crowds. Would they?
HH.
Was reading about the Huns final game (and defeat :-)) in 1979.
Their goal against Hibs was scored by Billy Urquhart ! What an ugly git he was. Surely the ugliest Hun that ever was ?
He had world class competition, to clinch that title: Hurlock, Dodds, Greig et al
Urquhart took over Quasimodo’s Notre Dame gig when the Hunchback retired.
HT
Not only did 10 men win the League – it stopped a treble!
ryecatcher – dunno about the bottles because in those days my regular stance was in the middle of the Jungle halfway up after the passageway. I have heard that there was always a rump of Huns would make their way to the Rangers End of the Jungle (so to speak).
In answer to your question it would not have been a surprise.
In answer to your other point, the Huns beat Juventus and PSV Eindhoven in the EC that season, the latter performance particularly noteworthy in that they won 3-2 away after a 0-0 in Glasgow.
big-cup-winners is spot on.
Celtic’s run up to the 4-2 game was a nervy 2-1 (I think) win at Firhill on the bank holiday Monday which would have been May 7th, then the trip to Ibrox to beat St Mirren on the Friday night (was the Saturday the SCF?) Love St was being renovated.
A even more nervy 1-0 win over Hearts on the Monday 14th then the decider.
It is interesting to note that, due to a particularly severe winter, Celtic did not play a Premier Division match in 1979 until Saturday 2nd March. As highlighted earlier, this allowed Danny McGrain to recover from the injury sustained the first day of the previous season.
Celtic played 18 league matches between 2/3/1979 – 21/5/2979.
The decision to postpone the Rangers match at Hampden from 24th March was heavily influenced not only by their deflating aggregate defeat by Cologne, but the fact the second leg was postponed 24 hours and played on the THURSDAY. They did not fancy playing us on the Saturday but went ahead and played Thistle at Ibrox in a Glasgow Cup tie.
bournesouprecipe
14:49 on 30 August, 2014
Dallas Dallas @14.34
Hamiltontim, Efe can gave concentration issues but I think he is a good footballer and a great athlete. He comes over as a good guy also.
I hope his form and concentration can be sorted out.
Efe’s versatility might be part of the problem also.
Agree with that , and it’s noticeable that Charlie Mulgrew also a current scapegoat is
‘versatile’.
There is a permanent resentment about certain Celtic players and Ambrose remains emperically superior to any ordinary SPL player especially in terms of athleticism, where he continuously overall outpaces, and out plays anyone.
Mulgrew is resented because he’s gone from Full Back to freed – to Full Back to Centre Back to Centre Mid, and yes, he also suffers from concentration lapses.
It’s all degrees of Celtic rubbishness and no good enoughness which sometimes gets microscoped in European games.
It’s a fact Mulgrew is not the quickest by some distance.
Leftclicktic
My 20s were similar :-)
Praecepta
Even better!!! :-)
Right off to pick up Minx’s bhoy from the airport, here’s hoping he’s not delayed or I’ll get caught in the zombie procession out of Hades.
BIG-CUP-WINNERS
“Their goal against Hibs was scored by Billy Urquhart ! What an ugly git he was. Surely the ugliest Hun that ever was ?
———————————
Worse than Davie Dodds who abused the ugly stick—-Wow with capital W.
HH.
HT
I think so. It was a trailer for Jesus of Nazareth on Itv . It happened just after cologne scored.the story was that a Tim working at stv flicked a switch to be I g it up and lost his job for his efforts. That might be anurban myth. Who would believe a Tim working at stv?
Monte Blanco
Just looked in.
Brand but only half hour left. 1 0 to good guys.
Hamiltontim
14:53 on
30 August, 2014
YES!!
It was approaching Easter and ITV had spent crazy money on a Lord Lew Grade multi-national production of Jesus of Nazareth starring Robert Powell
Internal glitch at STV Coocaddens saw a still of Mr Powell hanging on the cross appear on screen………
An early example of the Unseen Fenian Hand…
BIG-CUP-WINNERS
“Their goal against Hibs was scored by Billy Urquhart ! What an ugly git he was. Surely the ugliest Hun that ever was ?
***************
Davie Dodds is the ugliest man to ever kick a ball. My old grandfather, heaven keep him, told me that was what happened to people who played for R*ng*rs.
Branky not Brand