Real Betis are home to Bayer Leverkusen tonight, both having six points from two games in the Europa League group also containing Celtic and Ferencvaros. If we can all agree that Leverkusen occupy a universe far beyond Celtic right now, catching Betis is the only realistic prospect Celtic have of qualifying for the knock out stage.
That 4-3 defeat in Seville still rankles; we played very well and deserved to go two goals ahead, before a familiar crumble. A point, or more, was possible. So too is a win against Betis in Glasgow, although other results are also a realistic outcome.
If Leverkusen win tonight and Celtic can beat Ferencvaros in Budapest, second place in the group could come down to what we can do against Betis in Glasgow. Of course, there is a case to be made that third place and the Europa Conference, is a better prospect that facing a Champions League dropout team in the first Europa knock out. It is also a lot more likely.
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Dominic MacKay Interim President of European Rugby
Harrumph CSC
via Bada
MADMITCH on 21ST OCTOBER 2021 12:47 PM
C40 @ 12.43
I wonder how much their CEO gets paid?
Did they find their last manager in the showers?
————————————————————–
Are they ever unprepared for the start of the season or Euro competition?
Are they ever 9 weeks into the league and some players still not fit?
Does anyone ever buy players the manger doesn’t want or knows nothing about?
Do they ever lack a proper scouting system for months?
Do they ever appoint mangers or CEOs and then stop them in their tracks?
ad infinitum
You have to admit Celtic is a very poorly managed business entity in the sense of achieving a lot less than its potential.
Dominating the SPFL should be taken as a given. Success in Europe should be the prime goal and the SPFL will take care of itself. Euro success brings in cash, reputation and therefore more pull in the transfer market, possibly better sponsorship deals. Dom McKay, contrary to official statements and planted rumours, had it all sussed out but unfortunately suggested changes to the moribund status quo. For that he had to go.
JIMMYNOTPAUL
I think Dixie was first to step up and all the pressure was on him. I watched the highlights that night although as an earlier poster commented in reference to Pat McCluskey’s penalty, your mind can play tricks on you. I think it was the first time a shoot out had settled a big European match. Going second must have helped the first Inter taker who may have been Mazzola who also played in 1967. However something about Murdoch´s unnecessary penalty rings a bell too??
Amazing that Jimmy McGrory only scored 3 penalties. The greatest goalscorer of all time. A Lot of talk about West Ham’s Mark Noble as a penalty expert but the real hammer from the spot was ex arab and right-back Ray Stewart. Scored 76 out of 86. I know it was only up to 2000, but that limits it a bit. Stewart used to just batter them in.
Hard to say which way the Bayer/Betis match will go. I am not a lover of German football although I admit that I don´t watch the Bundesliga and obviously Bayern Munich are scoring freely these days and are the reigning champs of Europe. So my heart will be with the Seville lads and in fact a victory for them may make our game against them less crucial for them. Aye it´s a conundrum.
RIMTIMTIM on 21ST OCTOBER 2021 3:21 PM.
It’s not me who is saying it.
The Celtic Wiki site, which is a go to to site, for a lot of Celtic historians, clearly states Inter took the first penalty. It was Mazzola who took it, followed by Dixie.
Inter won the toss at the shoot out and went first.
The Glasgow Herald Thursday April 20 1972
When the teams had proved that they were unable to break the deadlock of their semi-final tie, even after 30 minutes of extra time, the two goalkeepers, Williams and Vieri, had to go like men to the scaffold to their lonely duty at the east goal.
Mazzola scored easily, then it was the turn of Deans, an awesome responsibility for a player without any previous experience of the tensions at this level of the game, let alone a sudden-death situation. He hit his shot slightly and did not get over the ball which flew well over the crossbar leaving him an inconsolable figure.
INIQUITOUSIV
You can be argumentative all you wish, we all have different opinions.
My point is a bit of an oxymoron, on the one hand comparison with others achievements tend to diminish the last success but to improve on where we are we need to compare where we are to where we could be. I always look internally first before assessing the need to look externally.
There are a million things we could be doing better without comparison, though it’s always healthy to see how others do things.
Seems Dom is still an attractive appointment to some, who knows what the issue was, one can only speculate
BADA
“Dom McKay Interim President of European Rugby…….those personal issues must have sorted themselves pretty quickly…..”
Just wait until he make his first “largish” mistake.🤣😂😅
JIMMYNOTPAUL
You are dead right! Just saw it on yer tube!
Just had a quick look at the ref for tonight’s game at mordor.
Ref is card happy more so domestically and less in Europe or Internationals, maybe he’ll note some aggressive play or play acting tonight though
Here’s hoping….
https://int.soccerway.com/referees/fran-jovi/101207/
JIMMYNOTPAUL @ 2:50 PM,
My first huge Celtic heart break and I loved Dixie Deans.
Hail Hail
GO TELL THE SPARTIM
“Seems Dom is still an attractive appointment to some, who knows what the issue was, one can only speculate.”
I have a mate who is convinced, based on the fact that a long list of Celtic employment opportunities were advertised shortly before Dom’s demise, only to disappear quickly after his dismissal, that the Great Desmondo did not appreciate the stock market bring made aware that the Celtic Football Management structure was akin to a Swiss cheese.
Just speculation, but does appear to have some basis in fact.
GO TELL THE SPARTIM on 21ST OCTOBER 2021 3:32 PM.
Just by chance Susie Dent’ s Word fact of the day is:
‘ Oxymoron ‘ a self contradicting word or group of words, comes from the Greek ‘ oxys ‘, meaning ‘sharp’ , and ‘ morus’ meaning ‘foolish’. Which makes oxymoron an oxymoron itself.
Today’s useless price of information for you :-)
I just thought it was a nice coincidence that I read your post, then moments later read Susie’s word of the day.
RIMTIMTIM on 21ST OCTOBER 2021 3:34 PM
JIMMYNOTPAUL
You are dead right! Just saw it on yer tube!
Thanks buddy but I can’t claim the credit. I had a vague recollection, that Inter went first, but wasn’t sure, so that’s,why I went to Celtic Wiki, bizarrely, my vague memory of it, is my Dad moaning about it, he wanted Celtic to go first, it’s incredible the things that stick in your head from almost 50 years ago.
DAVID66 on 21ST OCTOBER 2021 10:52 AM
FAO DAVID66….
I had Two hospital appointments yesterday morning, and I then headed by Taxi to my Local Pub.
It was my 1st Day oot in 5 weeks…and those 11 or 12 Pints of Beer went doon lovely !
However, as usual I spent far too much on the Pub Juke Box. No one else used it for over 5 hours so I fired into it for approx 5 hours, and played everything from ” The Stranglers” to Dean Martin and Frankie Sinatra.
Wee Frankie the owner and the lovely Barmaid ” Carol” usually enjoy my musical tastes.
HH Mate…I hope that you and the family are all well.
————–
Jimmy that’s good you got to the pub.
I am jealous, I’m having to abstain for a month to get bloods done.
But either the 12th or 19th if you are free we can make an afternoon tea party…
72 EC sf pens.
https://youtu.be/2YIzR4Q6Lms
HH
DAVID66 on 21ST OCTOBER 2021 10:54 AM
BRRB – If you are lurking hope you are still on course for that sober October.
Hopefully you can make the 12th or 19th as well and anyone else that fancies a wee gathering before Chrimbo.
D :)
Oman v Scotland
T20 World Cup
Oman 53 for 3 after 10 overs
TOM MCLAUGHLIN
Oman v Scotland
T20 World Cup
Based on previous experience, we will get a win, a draw, and a loss, and go out on goal difference.
I owe INIQUITOUSIV half an apology.
Inter’s Mazzola took the first spot kick, but the main point was – the shoot-out finished 5-3. There was no ‘needless’ 5th penalty by Bobby Murdoch.
Dom McKay is back in his natural habitat among the jolly chummy world of Rugby Union.
Someone called Matt Vallance (a journalist ?) is today quoted as saying : “delighted to see my old sparring partner Dom back in rugby. I told him he was making a mistake going to Celtic “.
QUADROPHENIAN on 21ST OCTOBER 2021 2:04 PM
Hey good sir. Was referring to one or two snafus they made. The MP that was a serious anti-vaxxer and Trump like man in his tweets, was it Kelly? Also, and this was experienced by a fine liberal minded exec at my company, the way people were made to quarantine on returning to Australia, wasn’t really the most humane treatment.
I know the strict closures, travel bans and contact-tracing really helped but I was also led to believe that there is an extremely low vaccination rate caused by poor planning, logistics and scare stories in the media.
With that said, I am only basing this on interactions with one or two folks that live there.
Hope you are well and I’ll stay out of this stuff going forward.
Our talented youngsters are being picked up……….Germany, England, Italy.
Ajax have always been the model but don’t know if we can emulate other than being very well run they have countries that they seem to be able to get a supply of youth from.
Dom McKay has been appointed as a NED and Chairman (interim). That’s not a proper wage paying job so he will still be on the lookout for a full time job
DAVID66 on 21ST OCTOBER 2021 10:52 AM
…..
At this moment the 12th or 19th November are both fine for me a I dont have any hospital appoints etc at this time …however I will obviously let you know if my situation changes…or IF the Pubs etc are closed down again due to Covid ?
HH Mate.
CONEYBHOY
SMSM winding up the Celtic supporters ?
Bada
I suppose that counts as a personal reason.
Oman all out for 122.
Great bowling and fielding from Scotland.
Achievable target for Scotland.
Is the game on TV?
Sorry, that was asked of Tom Mc Claughlin
It`s OK,Tom. I have found it on Hesgoal.
Oman is a weird place anyway, was there for a day, glad it wasn’t two.
Hope Scots pump them.
Scotland 1/9 favs in running at the cricket
They were heavy bookies underdogs when defending a total v Bangladesh.
We’ll see what they’re made of when having to chase a total
Like to see them win.
BOURNESOUPRECIPE on 21ST OCTOBER 2021 4:36 PM
CONEYBHOY
SMSM winding up the Celtic supporters ?
——
did a wee bit of digging. Looks like the Chairman has left after 6 years or so and the CEO announced in July he was leaving in Autumn. There is an interim CEO (the CFO) and now McKay is interim Chairman.
I suspect the CEO job is still up for grabs and I assume Dom is in for it
Speculation on my part but sometimes your dream job pops up just as you have started another.
Good start, Scotland 20-0 after 3 overs.
Coneybhoy- or we could still be paying him,until he gets a full time job?
Scotland 28-0 after 4 overs, tootling along nicely at this stage.
I Know one thing for sure,being in the Football Game sure does pay handsomely weither it’s getting the sack or still managing,Hopefully in if there is another life I’m going to be a Football Payer or a Manager either way you can’t lose financially.
49 required off 63 balls, 9 wickets in hand. 🏏
‘ The batsmans Holding the bowler’s Willey ‘
Puns CSC