Games come thick and fast when you remain in all competitions in late October. The Allianz Arena got your heart beating on Wednesday, but much more is on the line at Hampden Park tomorrow: the first trophy of the season.
While our unbeaten domestic run goes on the line every game we play in Scotland, I wish we were not facing an occasion as important as a cup semi-final immediately after such a huge Champions League occasion. The timing of this game contributes towards Hibernian’s chances of success.
Neil Lennon’s Hibs have already won at Ibrox and drawn at Celtic Park this season. They genuinely have no fears about making the trip along the M8 to face Celtic at the national stadium. While Celtic players were draining every muscle of energy on Wednesday, Hibs players were resting in front of the television. They would have been tucked up in bed before Scott Brown and his team-mates got to Munich Airport and have enjoyed the benefit of a week’s uninterrupted training.
For Brendan Rodgers, the challenge is to pick a team with sufficient energy and ability to ensure a cup final appearance next month. He is able to make changes, which I expect to happen.
Moussa Dembele and Tom Rogic should start. Callum McGregor enjoys the Hamden stage and I would give him the nod ahead of Olivier Ntcham or Stuart Armstrong in the central mid berth, although Brendan will think otherwise.
We are the champions and treble winners for a reason: that we have unerringly raised our standards to meet every challenge presented. Tomorrow is another occasion when our deep reserved will be called upon.
Enjoy your day at Hampden.
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Pete
We stop the wee Bankie Tim McGinn today and attack Whittaker at will, we’ll be happy.
Kojo’s LA Dodgers still await to see who they will meet in the World Series.
Game 6 in Houston , Astros force a 7-1 win, and, to the delight of the licensed trade from Long Beach to Long Island, Astros and Yankees meet Saturday night in game 7 in Houston.
Before that, in the week of Hampden in the Sun 60th anniversary, Celtic will comfortably advance to the League Cup final.
https://youtu.be/FfwyNR9mvaU
Early start tomorrow, so goodnight and God bless the good ship Celtica
And all who sail in her.
DD
Who knows, who cares…..
Celtic is our gift, again loved reading about all of the travelling fans from wee Big George to Bateem Bhoy, aynyhow works calling, Brendan might lose a domestic game at some point but in my opinion I would rather have have Brendan than not, for the Bhoy’s & girls going today enjoy our Brendan he is pretty special, Corkcelt hope whatever the vote outcome yesterday that Niamh goes onto bigger & better things with her business Hail Hail
Off to work that Santa Bhoy doesn’t deliver presents for nothing…. and by the way see that Neil Lennon, hope his team get gubbed the day
NeilLennonCSC (except against Celtic)
DD 4.01pm
Should have been on my last post as a laugh :-)
Definitely, off to work now
DD, again loved reading you & Sipsinis Bavarian posts :-)
GERRYFAETHEBRIG
Aye,the Bhoys-on-tour did us proud. Loved the wee snippets from them,even if I was eating my liver from pyoor jealousy!
Bhoys-on-tour for me and my mate today. Nothing like the lucky bassas last week,but really looking forward to catching up with the Wimbledon Tims for the first time in two years.
Good morning CQN from a very stormy (Brian) East Devon.
Pump the Hibees today please, Celtic.
Hail! Hail!
Good Morning Timland.
Will be heading up to Hampden early in a effort to get a decent
parking space,lot’s of yee’s predicting a hard game,a angry Celtic
and a poor uptake of ticket’s by Hibs fan’s have me thinking we’ll
win this with a bit to spare.
BMCWP 6.52am
Jealousis the word (in a goood way) only ever been to one away game Ekeren for my 21st, brilliant journey going terrible on the way home but would do it again if given the chance
PhilColesCSC
http://celticbynumberscom.ipage.com/brutal-reality-bavaria/
Not my happiest piece. Great opposition, yes. But Celtic HAVE to defend better
Best ever Mikey Mikey Galloway and the Ekeren players cane our after the game applauding the Celtic fans and has a big birthday cake ??? First time I heardalways look on the bright side of life so the away fans still enjoyed themselves, not Munich standard but Ekeren was a lovely place, the local football parks were like bowling greens and has NETS…… a few of the Bhoy’s we were with wanted to borrow them :-)
” Who’s that team the call the Celtic,
Who’s that team we all adore,
There the Bhoys in White and Green,
Feck King Billy and the Queen,
And we’re off show the world what we can do” !
Go to it Celts…put this mob in their place !
HH
” We Drink Beer,
We drink wine,
Celtic already, made it NINE ” !
DoRoo RooRoo Roo
HH
Derek Parlane…..Superstar,
He walks like a woman, and he wears a Bra” !
HH
Good morning CQN
From a dull wet St.Andrews
Not long to kick off come on the Bhoys
Hail Hail
Mt
Celtic by Numbers
I don’t know what you do for a living mhate but if there was justice in the world you’d be making a fine living from football analysis. Below is spot on in accucary ……
HH jamesgang
It wasn’t as if the Germans were pressing particularly aggressively. More that they were disciplined about keeping their team shape. However, Celtic seemed to have a collective failure of nerve as 1. Defenders were reluctant to try and find team mates if they were covered (they always were) and 2. movement seemed lacking. By the 22nd minute the goalkeeper and defenders had given away 14 passes and Brown, the deepest midfielder 2. None of the front 5 had given the ball away once! Gordon’s distribution in the first half was particularly problematic. He completed 11 passes but gave the ball away 12 times. Long diagonals to the small full backs were inaccurate and ineffective. Neither did they gain territory and respite.
What did not help was the midfield shape. Armstrong is not a number 10. I analysed this last season (this wonderous article explains The Renaissance Man). A flat and narrow three in midfield had been tried against Paris Saint-Germain. That failed due to lack of clarity on defensive organisation – neither pressing nor sitting deep. Deploying Armstrong ahead of Brown and Ntcham simply stretched the game. Celtic have suffered from this for three games in a row now. Hibernian and Dundee deployed full court presses with three forwards pushed on the back line and man markers in midfield. Bayern Munich did neither as aggressively, but somehow Celtic could not connect. The three forwards were therefore isolated. This gave Celtic a further defensive problem because there was little support to the wide areas where all the trouble was. A narrower three in midfield would have allowed the wider midfielders in the three to cover the wings.
Good morning friends. In just over 4 hours we again get to see The Champions play and this Bhoy’s excited (as I always am) about that.
But first I’m contemplating a return to ParkRun. despite the rather dark and gloomy clouds overhead. Been suffering from sciatica since early June but the medicine finally started to have an affect about 10 days ago (coincidentally, and honestly, it coincided with me becoming a Papa!). So, unless the rain REALLY starts to batter down it’ll be Strathclyde Park for me for the 9.30 kick off. See you there! ;-)
Oh and just waiting on the 3 final picks for LMS before putting out the details on ‘who has picked whom’.
Morning all
Just about to get up. Will make myself some black pudding rolls and then meet my nephew before we head off to game.
Have to admit to some dread with this one. Hibs results are not that great but they played well against us 3 weeks ago and possibly shaded the game on points. We seem to stsrt games slowly these dsys bit todsy is surely one to take the game by the scruff of the neck from the off. The last time I thought we played really well was at Hamilton ( who had recently beaten Hibs) when we dominated throughout.
The frying pan awaits.
Jimbo67
The first of 2 big games for The Invincibles coming up. Practicing the Callum McGregor song in anticipation. Hh
Celtic team for today will be nothing like the following if my past attempts are anything to go by.
Cragie G.
Tony R
Big Mick.
Dedryck
Wee KT.
Broonie n Ollie
Paddy
Tom
Sinky
Moussa.
O hampden in the rain, for a Celtic win and Hibs pain.
H.H
Must run….
EMERGENCY POST: Both daughters in Madrid but loathe to go as far out as the recommended bar Celtic club as first time on holiday together ….
Any suggestions welcome
COYBIG
CCB arrives Central 1050!
COSYCORNERBOY
I’ll keep an eye out for replies and text one of them wi any*
Enjoy yer day of freedom!
CCB BMCUW
Messaged my pals son who stays in Madrid
I’ll let u now if he gets back to me
for those going by car.
works on aitkenhead road make it very difficult to get in and out the area,
go early or be prepared for a long delay at polmadie.
BLANTYRETIM
Yer some man,mate-thanks!!!
Bobby
Think my bhoy Mark will be there today. Enjoy
HH
morning all
brian not arrived to North Yorkshire yet
hope we can go on winning
SAINT STIVS on 21ST OCTOBER 2017 9:28 AM
for those going by car.
works on aitkenhead road make it very difficult to get in and out the area,
go early or be prepared for a long delay at Polmadie
Curtis Avenue in KP also closed,
Just read this article on CQN ‘ANGRY CELTIC IN TICKET ROW AND DONCASTER WAS WARNED’ Secco have been allotted 38,000 tickets? For Sunday’s semi? How was that arranged? I’ve missed something somewhere.
T
bad planning!
Flight’s in a hour then three hour flight!
i’m going to miss it all! bad enough having to give up my ticket .. but no even getting to watch it!!
QF
SFTB @ 10.01
Have to disagree.
Qarabag might have taken a few sore ones in the ECL but their performance on Tuesday gives the impression that they are learning as they go, they are becoming more experienced and are seeing the results.
Wednesday night for us suggests we are not learning, we are making the same mistakes as before and we are not playing at anywhere near the level we should be.
The Scottish cringe was there for the whole world to see.
We were beat from the minute we left the bus, probably from the minute we got on the plane.
No confidence, no attitude and no desire — not helped by the reported comments from BR that we had to play our own game so that we could discover our own weaknesses in this company.
My paraphrasing based on a poor memory of another posters comments.
Consequently there are enough gaps in the storyline to generate a bad case of Chinese whispers.
However if the history is correct then BR needs a good boot up the erse and a quick course in WoS attitudes and what needs to be done to move things forward. We laughed at WGS and his genetics / midget argument regarding the NT’s lack of progress.
Seems BR has been brewing up similar nonsense — putting us in discovery mode for an ECL match against BM — which has only served to provide an excuse for a culture and support that only too easily looks for them in the absence of hard work and finding a way of delivering success.
Mistakes were made in the summer and we are now paying for them at our leisure.
Time to start rectifying them.
Has Kevj been posting on Hibs blog – 10,000 empty seats
nice one Kev
Got a brother called Brian – always was trouble
COYBIG
madmitch
Loads of conclusions but where is the proof to back them up? this was the first defeat away from home in 4. our previous 3 games beat our previous away history since that night in turin when it all started. that seems like learning and improvement to me.
QF
TOBAGO STREET on 21ST OCTOBER 2017 9:50 AM
Just read this article on CQN ‘ANGRY CELTIC IN TICKET ROW AND DONCASTER WAS WARNED’ Secco have been allotted 38,000 tickets? For Sunday’s semi? How was that arranged?
##
I think it’a because Motherwell asked for only 10,000, which is probably realistic, so the rest went to the huns.
Sensible business decision from Motherwell.
It looks like there might be fewer Hibs fans at Hampden than Celtic fans in Munich. So both clubs lose out financially. That will hurt Hibs more than it will hurt Celtic.
JG @ 8’ish
The CbyN stuff / analysis takes a bit of getting used to.
At times I think he is a consultant getting paid by the verb.
However when you drill down to the basics he is spot on.
ML is not a CB.
CG needs work to improve his defensive capabilities — never turn your back, ever.
KT is still only half finished.
SB is not a DM.
ON needs support.
SA needs a boot up the erse.
ScS has huge talent but is very fragile.
LG might not be able to explain “Scottish Cringe” but he has it in spades.
PR needs love, coaching, more coaching and then some more — half finished at best.
Main thing is we are in limbo.
We will have to do this the hard way until the SPL gets better.
Too much poor quality local opposition is killing us in the ECL — physically and emotionally.
Need to set our horizons above the TFOD2.1 gorefest.
I thought Paul never made excuses for Celtic players to not perform?
I see the Scottish medians latest attack on Celtic supporters was for littering……….who’d have thunk it?
And are Celtic defending its supporters? Naw thought not.
Gordon, Lustig, Bitton, Boyata, KT, Brown, Armstrong, McGregor, Roberts, Sinclair, Griffiths
Erzi team…
Triskel Tavern
@TriskelTavern
San Vicente Ferrer 3, 28004 Madrid, Spain
Get
Showing game BMCUW
Ernie Lynch,
I read somewhere ( probably on here) that the money from both semi-finals was ‘pooled’ and after the SFA had skimmed their share, the remainder was split equally amongst the four teams participating ?
Could be utter rubbish ( if we’re still allowed to use that word ), but I definitely remember seeing that.