You don’t need to tell me. The biggest thing worrying you about tomorrow is the number of people (from both sides, but especially from the other side), who are saying Celtic are going to “batter them” tomorrow.
I have been going to Ibrox since John Greig was manager and Rangers were a midtable side. Greig endured several years of humiliating results and grief from those who were previously only disappointed in him for being so poor as a player against Celtic. “Greig must stay” was a popular Glasgow ditty for a while. “Martin must stay” has a ring to it too.
There is an anchor game which is often in my head I want to talk about, not long after Greig left the scene. The sides met at Ibrox in November 1985. Jock Wallace – the man who eventually stopped John Stein and won two trebles in three years- was back in charge. Celtic would go on to win the league that season, Rangers edged out Dundee on goal difference to finish fifth, with the same points gap between them and Celtic, as they had to bottom of the table Clydebank.
Celtic were buoyed by the arrival two days earlier of big money signing Mark McGhee from Hamburg. Everyone expected Celtic to breeze to the points but they lost the game 3-0. Good Celtic teams have lost to poor sides at Ibrox for as long as the place has stood.
The managerial titan that is Barry Ferguson took Newco to Celtic Park in March and left with the points. It has been an entire year since we have beaten them over 90 minutes (a penalty win in the League Cup Final being the exception), which for a Celtic team who win so much domestically, is not a good look.
I have indulged in watching them a few times this season. Russell Martin’s suggestion that they have players who do not have minds on the task is on the mark. Punches are being pulled. Does anyone think they will pull their punches against us? Expect Newco players to throw everything they have at us.
We are not without our worries. Kairat’s soft-press was all it took to eliminate Celtic from the Champions League. We struggled to progress the ball quickly enough into dangerous areas. And when we managed it, the cutting edge was gone. Who can we expect to get the goals tomorrow?
Brendan’s record against Newco managers has been very good, but Ferguson was one that got away. Russell Martin could do the same if we don’t find a cutting edge. This is why Brendan is the manager and you and me just fans. He needs to find a fix for what ails us.
Welcome to Celtic, Marcelo Saracchi. The 27-year-old Uruguayan left back joins on a season-long loan from Boca Juniors, allaying fears of an over-dependency on Kieran Tierney. It’s a tall ask but I expect to see him at some point tomorrow.
That game in 1985; two weeks before it I walked into the Celtic Shop in town (top of West Nile St, I think). Stevie Chalmers from behind the counter said, “How can I help you?” “Six tickets for Ibrox”, I replied. That’s how easy it was to meet a European Cup winner can get away tickets back then. Enjoy the game.
203 Comments- Pages:
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- »
What larks
No, my main worry re tomorrow is who we will field, especially up front.
You were correct to highlight, in an earlier article, that Nygren would improve as he and his teammates gel. Yet tomorrow we could have a couple of debutants. Not ideal
Do we play Idah and Yang? How will they perform, esp the former.
Sevco are there for the beating. I am under no illusions as to the difficulty in this.
Our shambles of a recruitment window has made this a much tougher ask than it might have been.
They are a shambles, we seem intent on making things interesting
I don’t have any confidence of a result tomorrow, any point(s) would be a bonus. I my time watching Celtic (1962- ) and sitting as an Exec in a fair few places I have never witnessed such a Football/Business clusterf..k.
Clueless on and off the park.
And nothing about a shitshow from the Executive that should have us in the CL and crusing this tomorrow, Old Firm are us right enough, did PL pen this squirrel?
C’MON THE CELTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
“ Celtic need to examine long term transfer trend “
Brendan Rodgers
My concerns for tomorrow are defensively we are weak through central defence CCV is very slow, ok passing side to side and back but if we are pressed across the back we are prone to panic
Yeah, where are the goals going to come from? Is there anyone left to sell?
Joke.
No mention of the recruitmdnt shitshow ..mm
I’d bite anyone’s hand off for a draw tomorrow!!!!
BSR @ 11:30 am,
“Where’s Adam ?
We seek him here, we seek him there, that damned elusive Adam Idah…
You will have heard the excuse many times on CQN good players are hard to find;)
Hail Hail
Considering the uncertainty of who will be available up front tomorrow, I would nominate Jonny Kenny for the striker role.
He is mobile and a natural finisher, who I believe would cause havoc in the home defence.
Paul67
I also remember the days you could walk in a buy tickets for us playing in Govan.
How times haves changed .
We’ve all seen much better Celtic teams than this losing there .
Like most folk on here , I’ve never been so disillusioned with the club .
It actually beggars belief we find ourselves in this position.
My guess is , we will haggle over the Danish guy until the last minutes of the window.
If we get a good result tomorrow, probably won’t buy him and go with what we’ve got .
What a mess
bournesouprecipe on 30th August 2025 12:06 pm
“ Celtic need to examine long term transfer trend “
Brendan Rodgers
=====================================
My guess is that;
a) There will be no examining of long term transfer trends.
and
b) Brendan Rodgers will have more to think about from his seat in the Ferencvaros dugout .
GDT
Agree with your first guess, autocrats don’t examine mistakes.. Second point where is this coming from?
CHAIRBHOY
LOL. We’ll all be glad when the window closes, I’d imagine somewhere south of the wall definitely, he’d could be by The Chilterns as we speak, with friend Yang dropped off along the way.
We have a ‘super intelligent guy’ in charge and ‘directors that bleed for the club’ you’ll note his careful wording there. This is the bit where they all fall back in love.
Strikers don’t get registered and score on the same day do they? – looks like another staying up all night to get Pukki.
HH
Miovski instantly makes them more dangerous and they have pulled out stops to get him in.
I am honestly bewildered by this game tomorrow I reckon it could be 0 – 0 with a world record number of side ways passes completed.
Paul 67,
Right now I struggle to get motivated for tomorrow. I know that will change 8n the pub atmosphere tomorrow.
Now we know for a certainty how the huns will play against us. The actual line up is immaterial as RM has no plan B and will never change his style.
On that basis we should PREPARE accordingly and get a result.
HH.
GLENDALYSTONSILS on 30TH AUGUST 2025 12:35 PM
bournesouprecipe on 30th August 2025 12:06 pm
“ Celtic need to examine long term transfer trend “
Brendan Rodgers
=====================================
My guess is that;
a) There will be no examining of long term transfer trends.
and
b) Brendan Rodgers will have more to think about from his seat in the Ferencvaros dugout .
—————
a ) Why break the habit of a lifetime.
b) Brendan when the window closes – will do a MON and say “ We’ll go with what we’ve got “
HH
“You don’t need to tell me. ”
—
no one did 🤷🏻♂️
Yep, an interesting history lesson, but I can’t muster much enthusiasm for tomorrow
Hopefully this feeling of numbness will abate overnight.
I’m sure I’ll be delighted if we “batter” them tomorrow and pleased if we win, but being able to beat pish should not be the benchmark.
When Sevco are after players, there doesn’t seem to be all this hullabaloo about how much they think the player is worth ,they just go out and sign the player,while our club seemingly try and sign players with lower bids,personally I think the hun Media it’s printing all this fake news,
Or clubs know we have 100m and are tight as a ducks arse
Our board have Enron tattoos.
So Paul,”Brendan needs to find a fix tomorrow”.We’ll I knew this Board were driving him to distraction with their deranged attempts to bring players in,but not that bad he would be searching about for Drug dealers.
God help him.Dont Dae it Brendan.
This clown troupe got lucky with Ange. He bequeathed Brendan a good squad that he’s made the most of. The empire has since struck back and we’ve reverted to the pre-Ange downsizing. We’ll be back to Deila levels next season when Maloney is brought. Don’t reward their arrogant neglect and ineptitude with another thin dime. No more adidas merch, no EL packages or tickets. Let our own contempt for them echo round an empty stadium. We’re their marks, without us they’re nothing.
On here, my impression is that about 70% think it’s the board that are stuffing our re-tooling up and about 30% who reckon Brendan is at fault for, largely, an inflexible game plan that’s easily rumbled.
Not that much being aimed at the players themselves who are the only ones who get to execute whatever plan they’ve been coached – some for months if not years – to execute.
Tomorrow’s 90 will not be decided by a Board of Execs or a guy with a tie or no tie on, but by players.
THEMS tend to show up all aggression and snarls for these fixtures and we’ve won only 2 out of the last 11 on their patch.
So Celtic players… which ones of you are really gonna show up and get us the points tomorrow rather than get distracted by whether yer going to Birmingham, Brentford or Swansea ??
TheRightMindset CSC
I’m sure WGS said something like managers get too much praise or stick for how results are going. It’s the players that are responsible for the performances. They are the ony ones that really have any influence on results.
Meanwhile , it has been revealed that Brendan Rodgers was misquoted in yesterdays interview.
He did not, in fact, say “we have a board who bleed Celtic” . He said “We have a board who bleed Celtic supporters”.
quadrophenian -good post. Our experienced and better players failed to show up against them in most games last season, especially in the 3-0 defeat in January. Not sure on the back of the Kazak jaunt they can go to Govan and rediscover the kind of form that pushed Bayern Munich all the way. We have been toothless since that magnficent night despite still having most of the same players around.
“In Glasgows fair City,
Where the Huns are not pretty
The Board have eyes only for Sean Maloney
And the 6 fekin Codgers
Will be shot of B Rodgers,
Crying,we’re all Cocks and Dumbells,
And we’ll never change”
“On here, my impression is that about 70% think it’s the board that are stuffing our re-tooling up and about 30% who reckon Brendan is at fault for, largely, an inflexible game plan that’s easily rumbled”.
Why can folk view things as either black or white?
Anyone with a semblance of objectivity can see it’s been a collective shit-show.
I will be very surprised if we don’t get beat tomorrow.
Too many of our fans have far too high an opinion of our quality compared to the Huns.
TT
0-0 is the likely result
TIMBHOY163 on 30TH AUGUST 2025 1:07 PM
When Sevco are after players, there doesn’t seem to be all this hullabaloo about how much they think the player is worth ,they just go out and sign the player,while our club seemingly try and sign players with lower bids,personally I think the hun Media it’s printing all this fake news,
……
2 things the Hun press don’t print their shenanigans in their transfer deals , secondly they are usually after distressed ‘assets’ , so less room for haggling.
Celtic internet is almost completely negative all the time and this plays into into the supports distrust of every board.
We have a pile of cash so other teams want that , we have a current manager moaning about quality in and also on occasion waxing lyrical on specific players , all having the impact of driving prices up , against a background where transfer fees are headed north anyway.
All of the above , allied to our approach to construct deals (guarding every penny) , sell on clauses and goodness knows what else to get a deal over the line , leads to a lot of ping ping on deals. Seems to me that this approach is OK for a run of the mill full back , centre half , when going for a game changer forward you need to take a deep breath and go for it. I accept this will give us a problem down the round , as it will increase our record fee and wages and be used as a benchmark by other clubs in the next window . But hey that’s life.
HH
Club Brugge would have battered us.
Would Almaty have beaten rangers.
Fritzsong on 30th August 2025 11:41 am
The Returnof WeeRon & James Forrest
Many thanks, gents, for your kind words.
In summary, Celtic is now, by far, the major club in Scotland. This status has been achieved in the face of often open hostility from Scotland’s football establishment and, more recently, financial chicanery on the part of RFC. Celtic’s Board deserve credit for their refusal to accept any part of this. ‘Celtic is not half of anything.’
On the other hand, a sense of direction seems missing. Celtic’s financial advantage now almost guarantees domestic success. But, from a supporter’s viewpoint, UCL qualification tests our team against elite European clubs. Apart from that it guarantees revenues which would make the club stronger domestically and more competitive in Europe.
If UCL participatin is our goal and, arguably, it should be then why doesn’t the club do its utmost to reduce the odds against qualification?
==================================
A good follow up post that bolsters your original Fritzsong.👏👏.thanks.
We seem to exhibit fear,a fear of stepping on from where we are.
HH
Quadro,
No matter what anyone says,no one can fault Brendan’s record in Scotland,or his efforts and tactics in Europe last year.
Too much nonsense spoken from some about ” Too much side to side”Really ?.No small matter the team scored 112 goals in the League,and 10 at home in 4 CL games.Plus plenty in the Cups.
No entertainment,my Ass.14 out of 16 Trophies,and they moan.If BR goes,they are in for a shock.
I appreciate the desire to use a historical precedent to frame a current risk Paul
(It can be an effective tool)
… but your recollection of the backdrop to that 1985 game at Ibrox is way off.
Pray allow me to elaborate, at length.
1985/86 season was the one that got away for Hearts.
Celtic started the season brilliantly with good wins, goals and good form.
Hearts arrived at Celtic Park, we played them off the park and lost 1-0.
Hearts had lost their previous league game before this one.
They would not lose another until Dens Park.
That result rocked our confidence.
We struggled to a 2-1 win at Fir Park, late penalty needed.
Then came a 3-game run against Dundee United at home then away to Aberdeen and R1ngers.
OMG !
0-3 against United, we were hopeless.
4-1 loss at Pittodrie.
We weren’t terrible. Frank MacDougall had four chances and scored four times. Willie McStay was hacked down in their box at 2-1. Brian McGinlay seemed to take particular pleasure in waving away our claims.
Then to Ibrox.
The weather was awful. The performance was worse.
We lost 3-0, the Maestro was quiet and the legend of Ian Durrant was born.
The post mortem was long and public.
What has happened to Celtic?
10 goals shipped in 3 games?
Where do we go from here?
Anyway, we stabilised without bring brilliant, stayed in contention, and the rest is history.
Footnote to the Ibrox experience.
We were in the enclosure. Our bus arrived late.
All the Celts in the enclosure tried to huddle up the back to shelter from the rain, so the only standing spaces were at the front.
Bizarrely, in those days the R1ngers fans in the Main stand were diagonally above us.
(We had half the enclosure and approximately a third of the Main Stand ! )
Without a word of exaggeration …
Spit, Bovril, coins and even half eaten pies !
We got the lot on our heads.
Oh, and I caught a cold that became a chest infection which floored me for two weeks.
Happy days.