Europe in July, heavy legs and waning concentration

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After losing the second leg against Salzburg in last season’s Champions League 3rd qualifying round, Qarabag eliminated Twente Enschede on away goals before having a good Europa League group stage.

Draws home and away to Saint Etienne, a home draw against Inter after a two goal defeat in the San Siro, and a win and a loss against Dnipro is enough form to suggest Celtic have a match on their hands.

On the positive side, Qarabag are also preseason, play on grass and Baku, their home city, is four hours ahead of Glasgow, so they will have a small jetlag adjustment to make for Wednesday’s game.  The final whistle will go after 1:30 in the morning Baku time.  Players find the latter part of any big game tiring, more so early in the season, so we have to push hard late in this game.  Qarabag will be vulnerable as concentration wanes and legs get heavy.

This tie feels very much like the Shakhter Karagandy play-off tie two years ago.  Shakhter arrived with a solid two goal lead, but an impassioned Celtic Park pushed us over the line.  A similar intensity will be required on and off the field on Wednesday.

What’s our chances?  Not sure, but we’ve a serious challenge on our hands.

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602 Comments

  1. Morning all.

     

     

    Slightly disappointed that Liam H is going out on loan again. Have high hopes for the bhoy.

     

     

    Is it a season-long loan or until January?

     

     

    Besta luck to the bhoy anyway.

     

     

    HH!!

  2. blantyretim is praying for the Knox family on

    Loyal a

     

    Passed on your email to Lennybhoy

     

    Think paddy will be in touch soon

  3. blantyretim is praying for the Knox family on

    Kitalba

     

    Sorry that must be the worst autocorrect recorded on cqn. 8))

  4. Thanks, desertbhoy. I am stuck on biz in Saudi today so no chance with the Azb visa. Disappointed the wee mhan but I’ll make it up over the season. HH

  5. BT

     

     

    I share your disappointment if it’s true about Liam going on loan.

     

    Liam has showed in his few appearances he has the quality to play in our first team.

     

    Get the feeling that he might be another who gets moved on permanently .

     

    I wouldn’t argue with RD but it’s a long season and I think we should benefit from Liam playing for us not Dundee UTD.

     

    Above all Liam has the potential to be a great

     

     

    HH

  6. Visa refusal story?

     

    Nothing like that happened.

     

    One of the Azerbijani who played for the team in the other country came back and signed for Quarabakh. Everybody knew, due to the paper work the player could not be in the sqad for the first game. He was given green light from UEFA only yesterday.

     

    The other problem is, the guy is phisicaly not ready for the first game against Celtic.

     

    This is all truth, not newspapers “facts”.

  7. stirlingbhoy on

    where’s Lennybhoy? he gave us some info from last monday saying new left back by end of the week! what’s happened? we need this left back especially with mulgrew now struggling……..disappointed we are allowing wee liam to go on loan….maybe laking room for Allan from hibs???????

  8. foghorn leghorn on

    i have said it before and i will say it again

     

     

    dont eat yellow snow

     

     

    and liam wont play another first team competitive match for us again

     

     

    just my opinion

  9. I would say that I think RD knows what he wants, and what he is doing with the boy, only he knows what is good for Celtic and the boy at this moment in time, the rest is pure speculation, and opinions, but! That’s only what I think.

  10. Stringer Bell on

    blantyretim is praying for the knox family

     

     

    09:26 on 28 July, 2015

     

    TTT

     

     

    I appreciate that part of it but what about the deadwood?

     

     

    ——

     

     

    Good point. Below is the official site squad list of our midfielders. (Charlie is listed as a defender btw). We could easily trim 4 names off this roster and not be at all weakened.

     

     

    Ronny’s assessment must be LH won’t get enough game time with the competition in the squad.

     

     

    Like you, I’m dissapointed if he goes, but a 30+ first team starts at utd might be better for his development.

     

     

    Midfielders

     

     

    6. N. BITTON

     

    8. S. BROWN

     

    11. D. BOERRIGTER

     

    14. S. ARMSTRONG

     

    15. K. COMMONS

     

    16. G. MACKAY-STEVEN

     

    18. T. ROGIC

     

    25. S. JOHANSEN

     

    36. J. IRVINE

     

    42. C. MCGREGOR

     

    46. D. MCGEOUCH

     

    49. J. FORREST

  11. Jungle Jim Hot Smoked on

    ger57

     

    Thanks

     

     

    Zbyszek

     

    ….and thanks for the `true` story!

     

     

    JJ

  12. stirlingbhoy on

    foghorn leghorn…..thats total crap m8…….liam has a future with us…i have no doubts about that!!

  13. gcctim

     

    09:40 on

     

    28 July, 2015

     

    Thanks, desertbhoy. I am stuck on biz in Saudi today so no chance with the Azb visa. Disappointed the wee mhan but I’ll make it up over the season. HH

     

    ……………………………………….

     

     

    still might be worth giving them a call… mine was a multi entry visa.

     

     

    HH

  14. Pity Henderson is going on loan again

     

    We could have done with him against Inverness in the semi in April wish him well all the same seems a sensible young man

  15. thomthethim for Oscar OK on

    BT,

     

     

    I think that Deadwood is difficult to move out, if they are still on contract and no other club wants them.

     

    The player also has to agree.

     

     

    We have to respect any person’s employment rights.

     

     

    One or two have suggested that Liam won’t play for Celtic again.

     

    Is that just a feeling they gave, or is it some background knowledge they have of a ” leetle problem”.

     

     

    Whatever the reason, the boss obviously thinks that Henderson and Celtic’s best interests lie in another loan spell.

     

     

    Personally, I don’t think the boy is physically developed enough to hold down a first team place with us and, as I suggested earlier, he has the too much ability to be an occasional first pick.

     

    He is still very young and possibly still growing. I would prefer to see him nurtured until he is physically and mentally ready got our first team.

  16. What a beautiful day for shoving a sandwich down rudolf nurievs tights and saying how’s that for a packed lunch

     

    KenDoddcsc

  17. Winning Captains

     

    I’m having problems with that cqn web you keep posting, it doesent work for me, and I have to keep on signing in here after I go on it, but it won’t let me read the story when I’m on it, if that. any sense ?

  18. foghorn leghorn on

    stirlingbhoy

     

     

    09:52 on 28 July, 2015

     

     

    foghorn leghorn…..thats total crap m8…….liam has a future with us…i have no doubts about that!!

     

    —–

     

     

    at ease private

     

     

    just my opinion

     

     

    im not saying he doesnt or wont have the ability to play regularly for us

     

     

    i just get bad vibes about the continuous loan thing

     

     

    i have a feeling we will always be signing players for ‘big’ money who are likely to get a game ahead of him so he will become surplus to requirements

     

     

    so you cant say its ‘total crap’ unless you can see into the future

  19. Stringer Bell on

    Our starting 11 from last years home game vs Maribor.

     

     

    Celtic (4-3-3): Gordon; Ambrose, Lustig, van Dijk, Izaguirre; Kayal, Mulgrew, Johansen; McGregor, Stokes, Berget.

     

     

    Subs: Zaluska, Denayer, Bitton, Commons, Griffiths, Boerrigter, Matthews

     

     

     

    More confident that this years starting 11 will be a bit stronger!

  20. Corkcelt @ 9:07 I’m afraid if we get through thistie we are only guaranteed another 2 games, get through that one and we are in the champion league proper and guaranteed another 6 games, here’s hoping. Hail Hail Hebcelt

  21. thomthethim for Oscar OK on

    *

     

    Couple of typos, buy, hey, you are all smart enough to get my gist!

  22. thomthethim for Oscar OK on

    Hebcelt,

     

     

    I think Corkcelt was alluding to automatic Europa League group stage if a club gets knocked out in the knock out round.

  23. tonydonnelly67

     

     

    What device are you using? If it is an iPad, we are aware of this problem and are looking for a solution. In the meantime try to close some tabs and see if that works. Sorry for the hassle.

  24. weet weet weet(GBWO) on

    Winning captain

     

     

    Can’t get on to the mag,getting error occurred message

     

     

    Using iPad

  25. Burghbhoy

     

    09:40 on

     

    28 July, 2015

     

     

    As a 19 year old Liam Henderson needs regular first team football to develop into the player we all hope he will become. Moving out on loan for a season is more beneficial to the bhoy than playing Development Squad games and occasional first team appearances with us this season. He’s not going to be a first team regular, who would you drop in first eleven to accommodate him?

     

    Perhaps this time next year it’ll be Nir Bitton or Stefan Johansen ready to move on to pastures new, Liam Henderson with a good season behind him at the likes of DU would then be ready to step up to become a first team regular for us.