Celtic have a strategic problem. The great Neil Lennon European campaign of 2019 is slipping from our coefficient status, and we have done little of note since. Neil’s team are the only Celtic side to win a European group, finishing above Lazio, Rennes and Cluj. Four wins, a draw and defeat in a dead rubber in Romania required some breathtaking performances.
If we are to continue at the Continent’s top table, we need to get back to winning games in Europe. This is remarkably difficult in the Champions League, although Neil and Gordon Strachan had a formula. Thier teams defended, played to their strengths and gave us some of the most memorable Celtic games in the last 50 years.
Brendan Rodgers and Ange Postecoglou changed all that. Pragmatism was sacrificed for purity as record heavy defeats arrived in droves. It remains to be seen what learning has been achieved.
The threats and opportunities within this afternoon’s pots are not evenly distributed. We could get Manchester City or Feyenoord from Pot 1, Inter or Porto from Pot 2, Milan or Red Star from Pot 3. There are five current or previous European Champions in Pots 1 and 2, three in Pot 3 and we are the only one in Pot 4. Liverpool, Juventus and Ajax didn’t make the cut.
If it’s Feyenoord and Porto, fair enough, let’s see what we can do, but for me, the draw is all about Pot 3. That is where we are most likely to find a team with comparable resources and challenges, and therefore collect some points.
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“The guys”
Give me heid peace
HH
Spikeysaukdman
Just received your message Re Reagey. Tell him I was asking for him and if he needs any
Support I’ll try to help
Very happy to see we’ve rejected the MoR bid. I’ve never been a fan of the idea because your making a substantial profit that you automatically sell and go again. BR will want to build and he’ll want to keep MoR.
My friends in Celtic,
If you know your history. On his last journey it was mentioned numerous times that BR was not just a good manager, but a lucky manager.
What a favourable draw.
Go Celtic Glasgow.
AN DÚN on 31ST AUGUST 2023 7:47 PM
See, here’s what happens then, you sentimental fool ye.
We keep.
Bernardo is a brammer.
Takes MOR’s place.
Hatate, Callum & Bernardo first picks.
MOR drops out of team.
Value falls accordingly
Sell him a year later for peanuts as a Celtic reserve player.
You gotta know when to hold, know when to fold.
Succession planning.
We’re crap at it.
HH
Rangers get it lucky tonight.
Zagreb blow a 3-1 lead losing 4-1 to Sparta.
This means the Huns avoid Ajax West Ham Liverpool Roma etc and will be pot 1 seeds.
Hope they get Sporting L, Brighton and Panathinikos.
Big Wavy
I get your point re MOR.
Kamara has not played much for a year at rangers but is going for £6m.
That suggests value / potential lasts a bit in folks minds.
BURNLEY78 on 31ST AUGUST 2023 7:59 PM
Great information. I doubt anyone knew that before you posted it.
Cheers and HH.
Andy Murray walloped 6-3 6-4 6-1 in US Open by dimitryov
There is one factor that can make a difference, the order the games are played.
Last year I thought playing Real Madrid first might have worked in our favour but Shaktar at home could have been better at the time. Any team at home will give us a chance of points early doors and maybe some added confidence. Either way the draw should focus the minds of players and management, and Brendan at least has some fairly recent Euro experience to build on.
BIGRAILROADBLUES on 31ST AUGUST 2023 6:01 PM
I’ve told Mrs BRRB I’m going to all 3 away games. Now homeless and requiring hospital treatment. She’s no sense of humour.
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Brilliant :) :) :)
Is M available for Sunday?
M could be the enforcer that we require. :)
BURNLEY78 on 31ST AUGUST 2023 8:01 PM
That’s a good parallel. Kamara was their golden child bought for pennies. They held on too long.
We need to be better at 2ish years with these guys, trade them, try and move up at some point, rinse and repeat. The courage of getting a better player along the way isn’t something we want to do yet.
People quoting O’Riley and Hatate are conveniently missing the literally dozens at 600k-4.5m we have wasted our money on, who are clogging up the squad and who are pissing off any young academy player in the process.
HH
Want the dons to win this. They are playing well and unlucky not to be ahead.
Shared Tv pot for Europa would cost the Huns a bit too.
Guess Devlin’s ‘challenge’ on a mid air Sadiq, bad as it was, wasn’t bad enough…
He’s just put BKH two up
Can’t believe Aberdeen are losing this.
The Sheep have been unlucky but they don’t have the experience or know-how to get through.
Are we still on the hunt for a left back? Any credible leads on that?
I’d like a GK too but a decent left back and the Portuguese boy in midfield would represent a decent few days work.
Rabbits from hats please Celtic
McCann ffs,typically BBC Scotland,get a hun on
Robertrussell
From DR
Free agent Ryan Bertrand has been offered to Celtic as a solution to the Scottish champions’ search for left-back reinforcements
Any ideas when the order of games is out ?
Would take the £10m for O’Riley, if that figure is actually correct.
Can’t see us finishing any better than 4th in our group.
BURNLEY78
Saturday morning
!!BADA BING!! on 31ST AUGUST 2023 8:43 PM
Was just thinking the same . Doesn’t matter who is playing , there’s always a hundit on BBC Big quiet Joe Lewis giving McCann the floor . What’s wrong with Willie Miller? An Aberdeen man but a knowledgable and fair pundit . And he doesn’t have a wee weassel face either .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjrQQK_5V84
And Miller knows what he’s talking about.
McCann just talks half baked managerspeak mumbo jumbo.
Big Wavy
You gotta know when to hold, know when to fold.
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It’s a hold for me :)
Matt has a good CL campaign and we’ll be taking 20 million bids next summer. Having had a year to bed in and get a good look at bernado.
gggggggggggg
Bertrand is a pass for me. He’s done and played little football for the last number of years.
ST TAMS on 31ST AUGUST 2023 8:47 PM
Can’t see us finishing any better than 4th in our.
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Now how are you going to convince the team on here you don’t work for the BBC. 😀
BIG WAVY on 31ST AUGUST 2023 8:16 PM
We need to be better at 2ish years with these guys, trade them, try and move up at some point, rinse and repeat. The courage of getting a better player along the way isn’t something we want to do yet.
Its got nothing to do with courage, its basic business, which we aren’t bad at. We paid 9m for a 20 year old. We will do it if we think theres value in the deal but at the moment theres better value for the team and for sell-on value
“People quoting O’Riley and Hatate are conveniently missing the literally dozens at 600k-4.5m we have wasted our money on, who are clogging up the squad and who are pissing off any young academy player in the process.”
We aren’t wasting money on them, we’ll have done the maths. Buy so many at a certain price and you get a certain amount of return if you get the scouting right, and players who can do a job for the team in the meantime. VVD, Ajer, Frimpong, O’Riley, even JJ. If you dont buy enough players at that price and that profile you miss out on them.
Its not very “football” but its pretty basic business, basic asset management.
Aberdeen get the penalty we didn’t get at Killie. Cheating hun refs
At this rate of reported fee increase, Kamara will be a £10m signing by the weekend.
Clearly Sevco have no financial challenges after all.
You either buy lots at a lower price and hope a. few come good or pay much more and hope they all do. Or a bit of both, which we do
Risks associated with both. 20 odd million quid on 6 or 7 players aged 23 or under is not lacking in courage or strategy. Its the opposite actually, the safe bet is to pay the bigger fees for players more likely to succeed but who will have a lower profit in them.
Its foolhardy to buy a player with the expectation that he will get sold for more than the market has paid for a player before. Until someone does its magical thinking to assume they will.
Its too much of a risk ands I’m glad the board are smart enough to see that
THE LONG WAIT IS OVER on 31ST AUGUST 2023 8:53 PM
And Miller knows what he’s talking about.
McCann just talks half baked managerspeak mumbo jumbo.
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exactly! been at Largs I think.
It’s like when your manager has been on a Harvard leadership course and talks shite for a month.
McCann is interviewing for a job every time he gets a mic
Celtic40me,
No point in conversing.
Barrack Room Lawyers CSC.
Does Willie Miller still work for the BBC, if so why was he not on the panel 🤔
Willie Miller is contracted to BBC Radio Scotland.