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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Paul67 et al
Not sure if they’ll play national anthems on Wednesday, but on the off chance they do I have researched the first verse of the Azerbaijani one;
‘Zabadak
Karakakora kakarakak
Zabadak
Shai shai skagalak’
And I don’t want to see anybody facing the wrong way when the band strikes up!
tamrabam
14:03 on 27 July, 2015
CQN turns into a pile of xxxxbags as we tremble at the thought of playing against Qarabag
Im glad the standards/expectations and ambitions at Celtic haven’t fallen over the years then eh? Ghod help us!
If we cant see our way past teams like this in the qualifying stages we genuinely don’t deserve a CL spot.
Spot on tam , let carrier bag worry about us..way bigger clubs than them have left celtic park with thier tails between thier legs.
Weeminger
But remember we did beat Barcelona
And on that basis, why should we expect to fail against qarabag?
Ive listened to everyone on here tell me that we have an absolutely young manager ever at CP- well lets see him do it then!
should read
ve an absolutely SUPERB young manager ever at CP- well lets see him do it then!
my “thoughts” on the game……….
:)
…expect the unexpected and Celts to edge out the game.
HH
Tamrabam
14:38 on
27 July, 2015
No. I’m saying that no matter who you are and who you’re playing, sometimes the unexpected team wins.
It doesn’t mean you’re a worse team than you were previously or that the other team are actually better. Just better on the night.
Football is not utterly predictable, thankfully. Otherwise there’d be no point watching.
bournesouprecipe
14:18 on
27 July, 2015
Awe_ Naw no the ole price of a Capri Sun debate…..
====================================
Don’t get me going on the other stuff,supporter sustenance sub contracted to mercenaries.
Parched CSC
No obvious questions to the Leeds-born scoddsman with regards to the upcoming international?
The crowd could have a big part to play. I hope everyone that can be at CP on Wednesday will be. Gaps in the stands will have the same impact as away fans would have to the Qarabag players.
Hail Hail
Paul67 et al
Keep a clean sheet on Wednesday and we will go through. I’m confident on that.
Confident also that we will score, we have enough ability to do that. That our first competitive home game is a CL qualifier is a bit of a concern but we are not starting the game 2-0 down. For all their faults this time last season, Ronny’s team still managed to score a few goals away from home, which adds to my overall optimism.
Talking about results on paper…you have got to admire Phil’s cultivation of sources.
The Mash/sevco credit deal document.
http://www.londonstockexchange.com/exchange/news/market-news/market-news-detail/12227853.html
For Mash get Smashed.
tamrabam
14:38 on 27 July, 2015
Weeminger
But remember we did beat Barcelona
And on that basis, why should we expect to fail against qarabag?
On that basis we should get to the final…
We should beat Qarabag but
themaestro72
No buts…….we,ve got to be butter…….er, better (than Quarrybag)
Good Afternoon.
A quite ridiculous article in ‘The National’ today took a pop at Celtic fans mocking Sevco…
https://theclumpany.wordpress.com/2015/07/27/a-national-joke/
Enjoy the rest of the day!
One of these days Phil will get it right about sevco going the way of the hun and die.
Or maybes not, Mash might just save them.
HH
for the irish bhoys,a wee programme that may interest you tonight :-)
https://twitter.com/MarysMeals/status/625667717207605248
HH
My word what a surprise , Ashley still in the background down govan way . As I stated ages ago , it makes no sense for Ashley to hold the merchandise rights to a team who are not performing , not attracting large crowds . And not competing in high profile games . And with fans who aren’t buying the merchandise .It will be better business for SD if thems are buying the strips , which they will when they are back in the top league . Ashley has never been out the picture , and unfortunately for us he WILL bankroll them . I watched there game on Saturday . Like the old rangers they could have played without a ball , I expect to see them next season . Boosted by the billionaires cash . And you can take that to the bank .
TheClumpany
Martin Hannan is a disgrace but …..
Nahhhhhhhh he is not worth a rant,:))
keep up the good work Clumps
god bless me Da’s favourite Charlie Tully
https://twitter.com/BarryMcGonigle/status/625622843825516546
HH
glendalystonsils
That song is going to be in my head all day now… HH
hehe:-)
https://twitter.com/Lavvy1888/status/625655259260669952
HH
Headline on aol
‘Man not respinsike for mammoth extinction’
That’ll be another one getting laid at Peter Lawell’s door!
HH jamesgang
‘Man not responsible for mammoth extinction’-
well, that’s the elephant in the room, climate change wise.
…ole Jamesgang not respinsike for spellchecker.
Successfully skewering the ole Celtic Park Capri Sun is a forgotten art. Don’t ask me to to figure it out and figure it out.
I’m a bhoy that threw away his Rubik’s cube because he couldn’t open the plastic blister pack gubbins.
Any £10m offers for VVD .. Hands should be broken off imo…..
I think the ticket sales will pick up by Wednesday, but Celtic should charge one price and cut out the deadline stuff to avoid the chaos for Euro games.
One Celtic supporter one price csc
cultsbhoy
Would you ‘drive him down to England yourselve’
Internet Cliches csc
BOURNESOUPRECIPE
Gubbins? I thought you said nubbins. Expect ACGR on shortly to ask where you get these blister packs.
Bournesouprecipe
…. Only if I could walk over broken glass to get to Celtic Park …
He’s a good player but not worth £10m. He won’t set Everyon on fire.
We could coach Rogic or Biton to do what he does.
Cults…,
No sure either have the arial strength of VvD
Re-Phil’s article. The doh-heids who purport to be Scottish football journalists ( in the loosest sense) should have enough now for even the thickest of the thick to frame at least two pertinent questions of the GASL. If they are insure how to I’m sure someone will oblige and write down simple questions using Lizzie Windsor’s English. GASL is obviously desperate and I hope MA tells him to get lost.
cultsbhoy
Transfer prices have rocketed since Wanyama Forster and McGeady. Celtic will smash the transfer record if we sell, he’s not just an SPL player, he’s Erediivisie European
and selected for Netherlands.
He’s also easily the best CB at Celtic since Paul Elliot.
Opinions csc
To suggest you could coach Bitton OR Rogic into being the stand out central defender in the SPL and in a Celtic jersey for a number of years is a tad, how can I put it politely, naive..
I would suggest if it was that easy either player would be lining up beside VVD by now.
CultsBhoy
Tom Rogic couldnae tackle a fish supper and Biton has a heid like a ten bob bit, aye good shout Cults:))
Leave the coaching tae the pro’s:))
VVD will be a big loss to us and he will do just fine down South…
HH
Re the price of a visa to get into Azerbaijan… It is one of the places in the world that charges visitors from another country the same as they would be charged going the other way. Qarabag fans will get charged $136 for coming to the UK this week…
Interesting place Baku though.. Some old buildings and a castle in the middle, largely friendly locals, some buildings impressive in a post soviet way, and some very visible displays of wealth. Quite cheap for refreshments as far as I remember too.
More FFin’ negative publicity:
“This is an onslaught, a full on war waged on us primarily by Roman Catholics.”
——
“All we have to do is have the clubs solicitors send out a letter to all media outlets, warning them that they will be taken to task if negative stories about us are found to be untrue and are potentially damaging to the brand name.”
——
“Like most bullies they will continue to provoke until we fight back.”
——
“Was looking forward to the back page of today’s Metro , all about Cycling… our magnificent result got a mear tiny paragraph 6 pages in bottom of the page.”
——
“this country reformed its religion, satisfactorily, but by feck we are about to pay for that big style. Now we have COS ministers fighting and falling out over who should be first to shake the popes hand on his last visit, the absolute embarrassment of some clown dressed as John Knox leading the popes entourage through Edinburgh. Our Church has been ridiculed and diminished, now it’s the turn of [Sevco] and when they’re done with us it will be the loyal orders. These c[hap]s believe they have us on the ropes and they will not let up. They have got themselves into positions of power, quietly, and are now unleashing their assault.”
——
“The hate was always there, but the level of hate is raised by the jealousy of our success.”
——
“It might be good to have a positivity PR babe in when we get back to the top league Just have her recite mantras while we go about our business.”
——
“The overwhelming majority of mhedia attacks on [Sevco] and its support is due to basic anti-Protestant sectarianism.”
——
“The biggest legacy of the previous negligent silence routine was that it allowed an environment to grow and blossom which led to us pretty nearly being killed off.”
[Pretty nearly,Sammy, pretty nearly.]
——
“Firstly I do believe there are a considerable number of people with influence in media, politics and within Scottish Football who are intent of spinning anything [Sevco] negatively.
There is also the influence of the [Celtic] support. There are extremists there who will stalk anyone who dares write anything negative about Satan’s 11 and even issue threats of violence. We have not stooped to such levels that I know of.”
Canamalar
I had a gangly centre forward in my team who can run like the hammers.
He stopped scoring and at same time we started conceding goals through the middle….
As a stop gap I put gangly centre forward in centre defence until I worked something else out..
The boy has been a revelation. Finding that his pace means he hardly ever needs to make a tackle. He is first to every ball ( he is scottish Athletics pentathlon champion in his age group)…
Ok big step from youth to pro football but I’m more convinced that very fast centre half who can play football is something Celtic might benefit from. We lose goals from break aways as we mostly have the ball and are pressing opposition. So makes sense to have a centre defender who can play football and has pace…so Rogic perhaps more likely?
I always feel VVD is a frustrated centre mid…. He looks better in possession going forward than chasing back to defend.
Any pro player can be coached to jump and heAd a ball. It’s a basic. If you’ve got height and timing.. You get there first.
wed night is a massive night for us and a massive night for Virgil van dijk.
If we get a favourable result and the big man plays his part then I think both Celtic and Virgil will both get what their looking for! A negative result and shakter away performance from VVD then it will be spfl only for everyone this year.