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How Celtic can reach Champions League quarter finals

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By on CQN BLOG & Comments

Two clubs from outside the top five wealthy leagues reached the quarter finals last season but Benfica were drawn against another team from outside the big five, Zenit St Petersburg.  Apoel Nicosia eliminated Lyon in the last 16 on penalties (we should be practicing penalties every week between now and then).

Two teams, Basel (who earlier eliminated Manchester United) and Bayer Leverkusen (who eliminated Valencia), lost seven goals in one game in the first knockout round last season. This tournament retains an ability to be harsh and unforgiving at every moment.  Leverkusen actually conceded 10 to Barcelona over two games.

Apoel Nicosia conceded eight to Real Madrid in the quarters.  The Cypriot team held things together for as long as they could but failed to reach group stage of the Europa League this season, going out at the hands of Neftchi Baku (Azerbaijan).

Our seven potential opponents, all from the top five leagues, will each present an enormously difficult challenge but some are easier than others.  Our biggest advantage is our own position.  Those seven clubs will each underestimate Celtic, we have by far the lowest coefficient of all teams left in the tournament.

Thanks for the great support for the CQN Annual. You can order online here!

We are enormously outgunned and inexperienced at this level but we know a few things:

We can defend under incredible pressure.

We can score, home and away, against anyone.

We cannot retain possession.  This is not a good thing, but it is an acknowledged weakness, so we know not to plan to retain possession.  If in doubt, laces through the ball and get into position.

Our opponents will know we have the tallest team in the competition.  Height is an advantage until your opponent learns how you use it.  During the first half on Wednesday Celtic tried to repeat the corner kick success we enjoyed against Barcelona and Benfica but Spartak had read the script.  We will be unlikely to score the same goal again in Europe.  A fresh plan is needed.

The Spartak goal is a real lesson.  This is not a goal we would have conceded against a far superior Barcelona.  We had a 1-0 lead and our entire left flank was exposed, compromising a winning position.  We can leave our left flank exposed at Kilmarnock tomorrow but this kind of laissez-faire defending came within 8 minutes of eliminating us on Wednesday and will do so in the next round if repeated.

Penalty kicks determined the outcome of 50% of Champions League knockout ties last season (20% after games, 30% during games).  No amount of practice is too much.

Planning for the quarter finals starts now.

The next issue of CQN Magazine will be out next week. If you would like to advertise get in touch, advert@cqnmagazine.co.uk.

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  2. thetimrieper on

    Night All. cocoa time.

     

     

    Good to know ,that tomorrow the blog will be back to doing

     

    what it does best, talking football.

     

     

    Hail Hail

  3. sipsini on

    Voguepunter.

     

     

    The foxy bhoys from the chateau only encroach on your territory with their big bushy tails to enliven the ruggy vixens .;-))

  7. celticrollercoaster loves Wee Oscar, our Celtic Warrior on

    joe_joe_john_bobby_teddy

     

    22:36 on

     

    7 December, 2012

     

    Jim casey never scored for us

     

    ———————————————————————

     

    Only goal : Morton home 2-0 8 March 1980 Scottish Cup, George McCluskey got the other

     

     

    HH

     

     

    CRC

  8. celticrollercoaster loves Wee Oscar, our Celtic Warrior on

    Doc is Neil Lennon

     

    22:49 on

     

    7 December, 2012

     

     

    Apart from the mistakes :-)

     

     

    HH

     

     

    CRC

  14. DJBEE on

    Cheers CRC quiz is back and you were like magnus magnusson, er without the questions.

     

     

    I blame your team of researchers and the glass tele prompter and junior financier.

  15. Marrakesh Express on

    Voguepunter

     

    I’ve been in jail once in my life and it was courtesy of ruglen polis 1975. I done nothing wrong (honest m’lud), but when they heard I was from Castlemilk my card was marked. A lie-in and a fiver fine.

     

    Btw I had a couple in the Vogue last week. First time in the shop for about 5 years.

  19. THE EXILED TIM on

    Morning bhoys from a cold hun free mountain.

     

     

    I wonder who will win the europe league this year ?

     

     

    Some decent teams in this year, just thinking about who will get in the world club final thing ;>)

  24. sipsini on

    Marrakesh express.

     

     

    I was tarred with the same brush and having a tim name put the nail in the coffin.

     

    Where did you hail from in castlemilk?

  26. Doc is Neil Lennon on

    TET, Alex would have enjoyed the day, it was a wake I would have been proud of were it it mine.

     

     

    I would still have won the pool tourney tho’ even were he there;-). (He gets the gag)

  27. Gordon64 on

    E Williams

     

    J Brogan B McNeill D Hay T Gemell

     

    B Murdoch B Auld

     

    J Hughes B Lennox W Wallace J Johnstone

  31. barbsbhoy2 on

    I am in the El Mirador Hotel in Costa Adeque Tenerife and would appreciate a pointer to a Celtic pub where I could watch the match tomorrow. Any recommenations would be appreciated, taxi ride no problem. Many thanks for any suggestions.

  32. THE EXILED TIM on

    petec

     

     

    Aye, he is, and I for one am over the moon that he is.

     

     

    It would have been so easy for him to walk, the pain and suffering that his family have had to endure must have been a serious toll on their life, moving to safe houses in the middle of the night, minders for the wife and kids, all cos he is who he is, so feckin sad.

  33. fanadpatriot on

    Friday frank

     

    As I said earlier I coached player(s) to take penalties,up to now the system is fail proof.

     

    You may know one of my prodigies,KC.

     

    Having dinner tomorrow night in your home place,hope the red is awaiting.HH

  35. DJBEE on

    Get in a taxi and say “The Fiddlers Celtic Pub” might cost you a few quid but you won’t want to leave.

  36. roy croppie on

    “On weekdays the Daily Record fell close to 253,500 – down 15,000 in a month and 25,000 in a year. The Sun sold 286,000 in Scotland. Its sales are also down on the year but the gap with the Record remains broadly similar. ” BBC Scotland

     

     

    And Jabba jumps from a sinking ship to SS Sevco…

     

     

    I blame all you t’internet bampots!

  41. sipsini on

    Doc is Neil lennon.

     

     

    When traveling down to old trafford for the cl game there was a song played a couple of times.

     

    The words that stuck in my head was about.cutting of heads and boiling them.

     

    You wouldn’t happen to no the song,its been bugging me for a few years.hh

  42. petec on

    THE EXILED TIM

     

     

    Neil unified this Club in a way that was totally remarkable when we think about where we were when Tony left.

     

     

    These are very good days and they are likely to get even better over the coming years. The attacks on Celtic will become even more insidious however and we have to be wary as our success will not go down well with the people who currently hold the levers of power in this Country.

     

     

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mACqcZZwG0k

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