Maribor are currently playing monopoly with the Slovenian league, having won four titles in a row, and have a very settled, experienced, team.
The season before they eliminated Rangers into oblivion in 2011 they defeated Hibernian home and away, who had Anthony Stokes in their side. It’s worth noting that Edinburgh police arrested 30 Maribor fans following a riot in the city after that tie; this lot have an unfortunate reputation for trouble.
They lost away on Saturday, a defeat which was largely a consequence of their defence having a nightmare, however, among others, they rested key central defender, Marko Suler, who Celtic came close to signing four years ago. They were also reduced to 10 men 30 minutes into the game. It’s unlikely they will be so poor at the back against Celtic.
Dare Vrsoc is their creative fulcrum. He also likes to shoot from distance, with some justification. Whoever in the Celtic team is tasked with winning a personal battle with him will have a great deal of responsibility.
If Celtic leave space at the back Mitja Viler will be the player most likely to exploit. He is lightning fast and will have noticed how Celtic lost goals to pace against Legia. The early scare Gary Mackay-Steven gave us on Saturday further emphasises this vulnerability.
Brazilian-Slovenian striker Marcos Tavares, 30, is Maribor’s royalty. He has scored more goals than anyone in the club’s history, but he is a player who has found his level. He has been over the European football course before so will know how to unsettle defenders.
Macedonian international winger, Agim Ibraimi, scored the goals in the last round which got Maribor this far. He had a couple of unsuccessful seasons in Seria A before returning to Maribor. Good player with tendencies to lunacy.
The fans boo boy is goalkeeper, Jasmin Handanovic, who remains in place despite a disastrous last season. Slovenian clubs throw cross balls into the box to put pressure on him as often as possible. Some early attention might turn the atmosphere inside the stadium on Wednesday.
They score a lot of goals from headers: five of the 12 this season, before the o.g. they benefited from on Saturday.
Our man Blaz in Slovenia tells me they are better than they were when they brought the end of days to Rangers in 2011. Last season’s Europa League campaign, when they progressed from a group containing Russian, English and Belgian opposition, before giving eventual winners, Sevilla a fright, gives an indication of what we can expect.
After those performances last season they knew this could be their Champions League year. Drawing Celtic has put them in a state approaching over-confidence. A shift like we delivered on Saturday will come as a shock.
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greendreamz 1330
agree completely.
The article suggested that there are Celtic players, professional athletes, who are training and not replenishing after training because they are skipping lunch.
I found that surprising .
Big Wavy
Nothing mate, never heard of him till yesterday, just what I read in the Swiss online media today after someone mentioned him yesterday, Luzern media describe him as the Jewel of the Luzern team and he’s capped at every level for Switzerland and on the verge of the full team. He’ll bit fit that’s for sure and I guess can play a bit, he played against St Johnstone recently if anyone saw that game..
Bring on the Striker.
Celtic Park a place for Heroes.
SP
Ambrose still suspended
Big Wavey only balance sheet obsessed celtic supporters would deem 30 goal a season commons as “”dead wood”
Gordon_J backing Neil Lennon thanks or your response which I appreciate.
All anyone can do is read the evidence and make up their own mind and while I agree that this GP does give some of her opinions I also feel there are sufficient facts included for me to worry about the future of the NHS in Scotland under Westminster rule.
Does anyone know what would have happened if we had lost the first leg 3 nil?
Setting free/Starman
I know I’ve asked this before – but too me the “Cheating” talk only stated around thursday last week when the story about their goalkeeper warning the defender about a similar situation (at a romanian club he’d played at I think) before the game and he confirmed it with thier hierarchy which they declined to mention in their initial protests – it was fairly widely reported but seems to have been dropped since – was that false?
I thought we’d agreed that there was no “agreement” rule as uefa wanted to stop some club applying positive/negative pressure on anopther club – ie carrot or stick
Its kinda like the refereeing debate – when incompetence is so high – other suspicions arise
I was gradually impressed with Berget on Saturday,I thought he seemed nervous initially but grew into the game and his touch and movement got better as the game went on.Looks to me like he has better movement and more game intelligence than Stokes.Looks like he can head the ball also and he finished well,he deserves a start on Wednesday IMO.
67 european cup winners,
Ha, Ha, Will call to fix a date.
Re Kayal on Saturday. I noticed he moved forward much more rather than his crab like square passes. Perhaps Ronny & John had a wee coaching tip for him?
Moonbeams WD. Wee Oscar’s our Bhoy and Kano’s our mhan.
13:37 on
18 August, 2014
=============================
What’s this?
You don’t want seperation/Independence?
The SNP know they are dead in the water as soon as the vote is cast, whether it is a yes or a NO they are defunct, the gravy train has hit the buffers.
Salmond realised this so he pushed the referendum out as far as he possibly could get away with to milk EVERY penny he could for his acolytes.
He tried to weedle his way into Devo max but was blown out of the water very early when it was mooted.
Devo max is the route the NO camp will be exploiting this month.
Salmond’s inability to propose a Plan B to the pound is a ‘below the waterline’ torpedo.
Ach Come on NegAnon2
There’s been speculation, there is a conversation to be had about those surplus to requirements and I put Commons in the mix for that reason….
I like him and would love him to stay and flourish but it was aimed at kicking off a discussion rather than pressing the pavlovian buzzer again :)
What time is CAS result due and do UEFA need to comply with decision?
MWD says AYE
setting free the bears for res. 12 & oscar knox but saying no to cqn racists
12:31 on 18 August, 2014
SFTB, I have been in full agreement with Celtic’s stance on this issue. The rule was broken and the dispute is between Legia and UEFA.
Now you say there is a “rule” allowing Celtic and Legia to come together to try to find a compromise that would uphold sporting integrity.
Can you copy and paste the rule please. I’m sure quite a few of us would like to see it as this revelation has come as quite a surprise to me.
HH
Bocchini, my initial thoughts were replay even perhaps jsut the extra time element, but I think there was a subsection in the rule about the club that was “wronged” shouldnt be put out, though I think that was only if they – the wronged club – had won by more than 3
Cheers Starry…
The Swiss, like the Belgians, seem to have upped their game in recent years and have a fantastic midfield currently by their standards. If he’s a breakthrough player that’s a decent endorsement.
Whurz the striker though :)
Squire I forgot that,Charlie at LB then and maybe Izzy on left of midfield.As much as I would prefer not to we may need to start with Kayal.
Johansen/Kayal/Biton maybe with Commons as the number 10.Can’t see RD throwing Henderson in with no previous game time.
Rubicon
13:50 on
18 August, 2014
Look forward to it we have much to discuss
Not least The Consultant (RD)
67ECW
Belfastbhoy
I will try to get info on the extent of the “gentleman’s agreement” wording but I cannot post this info at the moment.
The “cheating” talk seemed to have been based on a DR allegation that Berezinski had warned his club this could happen. This story does not seem feasible for two reasons:-
1) If he had warned them in advance, they would hardly have played him then would they?
2) It was in the DR.
Interesting article about how referendums work.
It goes some way to explain why the nats have now switched to their current ‘vote yes or your willie will fall off’ approach.
In short, they’re stuffed.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/scottish-independence/11040226/Independence-referendum-Heres-why-Scotland-will-vote-No-probably.html
rubicon
13:50 on 18 August, 2014
67 european cup winners,
Ha, Ha, Will call to fix a date.
Re Kayal on Saturday. I noticed he moved forward much more rather than his crab like square passes. Perhaps Ronny & John had a wee coaching tip for him?
———–
I think an “un-coaching” session, to undo our old playing style would have been more likely. I like Kayal.
Hope you’re well mate.
HH
Ayrshirtim
It’s understandable if some of us are unsure of the rules given the amount of nonsense spouted by sports journalists.
There is no way Celtic and Legia in agreement can over write the UEFA rule book. Talk of a replay, standing aside etc is simply not allowed under the rules. UEFA have reached their decision, Celtic have no role to play.
Legia in contacting Celtic are engaging in age old blame deflection, make Celtic look the bad guys with the help of an obliging MSM.
I was very impressed with young Denayer in his home debut but I would still be wary about playing him in a CL tie of this importance away from home.
CL football is a very unforgiving place and the first experience of it has made many solid players quake. I would look to play Charlie or Lustig if Efe is still suspended.
WEEMINGER. 1301
I know you know,but a lot of people don’t.
Due to legislation slipping past,barely being reported.
This is just one example. Care workers,people trained and charged to look after the more vulnerable in our society.
Paid significantly less than minimum wage.
Not only does this government not give a damn about people who need help,it doesn’t give a damn about those willing to provide it.
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/aug/17/care-workers-take-home-to-tribunal-over-pay-and-hours
setting free the bears for Res. 12 & Oscar Knox but saying no to CQN racists
Tough call for the gaffer. If he plays and we lose fingers will be pointed. Same if he doesn;t play. After Saturday I would stick with the same back 4 and pack the midfield.
We need consistency of team selection.
LB
Hi folks been off the radar, any news re Maribors appeal.
Awerabest PJ
setting free the bears for Res. 12 & Oscar Knox but saying no to CQN racists
13:36 on 18 August, 2014
Sandman
“Relinquishing our 2nd chance at the prize would have gained what? ”
I never suggested that. I suggested that Celtic should have had the courage of their convictions and actually stated a position.
——————————————————————–
Couldn’t disagree more. Celtic have done the right thing here by saying nothing. This dispute is between Legia and UEFA. Always has been. All of your conjecture is based on the notion that clubs can have a wee chat and, if they feel like it, decide to over-rule a UEFA decision. Where is that stated in UEFA’s rulebook? This seems like utter nonsense.
timmy7_noted
13:32 on 18 August, 2014
You’ll be fine with the trains. Enjoy yourselves!
BelfastBhoy,
Yes my problem with Legias position is that they are essentially opposed to the effect of the rule on them in this matter not the rule itself. If they had won the first leg 4 nil they would not have appealed .This is were their argument is fatally flawed I think, in a legal sense at any rate.
ernie lynch, sorry not that interesting an article however the comments below it illustrates the way many of your right wing friends feel about Scotland and it’s people.
I know nowt about fitba’………
However….
On Wednesday we should park the bus, as the saying goes. A draw would be a fantastic result for us.
I expect us to play better but still get beat.
What’s the news on wee jamesie……?
HH
Brendan O’Neill
Brendan O’Neill is editor of the online magazine spiked and is a columnist for the Big Issue in London and The Australian in, er, Australia. His satire on environmentalism, Can I Recycle My Granny and 39 Other Eco-Dilemmas, is published by Hodder & Stoughton. He doesn’t tweet.
The kosher controversy at Sainsbury’s speaks to a profound problem: acquiescence to anti-Semitism
By Brendan O’Neill Politics Last updated: August 18th, 2014
269 Comments Comment on this article
Photo: Bloomberg News
Were you outraged by a Sainsbury’s store’s decision over the weekend to hide away its kosher foods in an attempt to placate anti-Israel protesters? You should have been. For this incident, though seemingly a one-off, speaks to a profound problem in Europe today – the respectable classes’ acquiescence to anti-Semitism; their willingness to accept anti-Semitic sentiment as a fact of life and to shrug it off or, worse, kowtow to it.
The kosher incident took place at the Sainsbury’s in Holborn in London. When a mob of anti-Israel protesters gathered outside the store, the manager took the extraordinary decision to take all kosher products off the shelves lest the protesters target them and smash them up. Kosher foods, of course, are Jewish not Israeli; they are part of the Jewish dietary requirement, not part of any kind of Israeli food corporatism. To shamefacedly hide away such foodstuffs in order to appease a gang of hot-headed Israel-haters is an attack on a religious people and their rights, not on the Israeli state. That in Britain in 2014 we have store managers taking kosher foods off public display should be of concern to anyone who hates prejudice and racism.
So does this mean Sainsbury’s is anti-Semitic? No. It doesn’t even show that anyone at the Sainsbury’s in Holborn is anti-Semitic. But it does shine a light on the modern phenomenon of acquiescence to anti-Semitism, the rank unwillingness of influential people and institutions to face up to anti-Semitic sentiment and their preference for moulding the world around it rather than challenging it. Imagine if a Sainsbury’s manager suggested that the best way to deal with a racist in his store was to remove the black employees who were offending him. There would be outrage. Yet this weekend, in central, apparently civilised London, a manager decided that the best way to deal with people possessed of a possibly anti-Semitic outlook was to hide away the Jew stuff, lest they see it and feel disgusted by it.
Such official or institutional acquiescence to anti-Semitism is now widespread in Western Europe. I have lost count of the number of times I have heard people say that the problem of anti-Semitism isn’t all that bad, because they would rather just not talk about it. Or they say anti-Semitism is an understandable if slightly wrong-headed response to Israeli aggression in Gaza, excusing this poisonous prejudice as a kind of misfired political anger. In a world in which we are supersensitive to racism, in which a politician telling a less-than-PC after-dinner joke can expect to be harangued in the press and vilified on Twitter, it is simply extraordinary that more people are not exercised by the spread of anti-Semitic sentiment in Europe, by the smashing-up of synagogues, the vandalism of Jewish stores, the attacks on Holocaust memorials. This is the only prejudice that the opinion-forming set would rather not address. And in failing to do so, they effectively collude with it, granting it a special moral authority above all other prejudices. Everyone now knows that this is the one prejudice that respectable society won’t really challenge you for holding, and in fact will allow you to hold through making life easier for you. Hate Jews? OK, we’ll just remove this kosher food for you so that you don’t have to look at such ghastly stuff. Translation: be an anti-Semite, we don’t mind.
Even when some people have challenged the new anti-Semitism, they have tended to do so in a back-covering fashion. Consider Owen Jones’ Guardian piece on the rise of Jew hatred. He admits there has been some anti-Semitism in Western Europe lately but then suggests that the real anti-Semitism is among far-Right groups in places like Greece and Hungary. This, too, is an attempt to distract attention from the scourge of anti-Semitism in Western Europe by effectively saying: “Look East – that’s where the vilest people are.” But a progressive should always start by challenging prejudice in his own society, and there is currently heaps of it in Western Europe. It can be seen, not only in the violent attacks on synagogues, but also in the targeting of Jewish cultural events and Jewish shops and the waving of banners and placards depicting Israelis as big-nosed puppeteers of global politics or as a warped people who take a perverse pleasure in killing children. I’ve seen such banners on the very pro-Palestine demos that Mr Jones has spoken at; no one confronted the people who were waving them. Again, we acquiesce to anti-Semitism; we turn a blind eye; we comfort ourselves with the fantasy that anti-Semitism is something that exists among gruff skinheads in Budapest, but not in polite, tolerant, caring Britain.
But it does exist here, and it is deeply entwined with a now widespread, highly emotional, often unhinged anti-Israel sentiment. This is one of the main reasons people don’t want to pick apart anti-Semitism in Western Europe – because to do so would involve asking some very awkward questions about why it is that Israel gets people angrier and more red-eyed than any other issue on Earth, and why some of the very same things that were once said about the Jews (they’re child-killers, they control global politics, they cause international instability) and now said about Israel. Better to leave the anti-Semitism issue alone than invite scrutiny of Western Europe’s very own middle classes and left and the responsibility they might possibly bear for creating the conditions for contemporary anti-Israel-bordering-on-anti-Jew sentiment.
A civilised, democratic society would confront anti-Semitism. Our acquiescence to anti-Semitism is calling into question both our claim to be civilised and our democratic credentials.
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Bocchini, I imagine uefa will say the rule is that strict because (i) we’ve better things to do than do admin for every club in every association (ii) if it wasnt that harsh every chancer would be “at it”
According to UEFA rules Celtic must be in Slovenia no later than tomorrow. All clubs in UEFA competitions must be in the country they are contesting a game no later than 24 hours before the match.
If Freuler is indeed Paradise bound it will no doubt keep our Renfrew posters happy
Young Remo ya bass
Honestly the people who are beating them selves up over this thing should find a dark room some where and find themselves, it’s nothing to do with Celtic , not a chance do I have any problem going into the Maribor game with a complex you kidding me, phffft, then again some WILL use it as an excuse on the outside chance we don’t qualify for the CL, I can see that coming a country mile away, in fact I’m predicting it, THE aweeeee am glad we got beat we didn’t deserve to be there, aweeeeeee second bite at the cherry and blew it, aweeeeee we should have played in the Europa cup, put the pot on for it, and I could name the ones who will be posting it, but i won’t, don’t want to spoil there fun, they will out themselves, CL onwards an upwards, defetests an lurking Huns GIRFUYs, I’m in a good place right now, enjoy your wee dark room.
Greendreamz. John Collins body fat would be sub 8% in his playing days possibly even now.
I find it hard to believe to the extent of being proposterous that Celtic players drink full sugar drinks after training.
3500 to 4000 calories would be on the high side for players who only train on the high intensity side for 45 mins 4 times a week. I’d hazard a guess that average heart rates don’t go above 85% for more than 45 min per session. I’d also guess that the vast majority do not do conditioning work, yoga or come back to practice set plays and skills in the afternoon.
A Tour de France competitor eats around 8000 calories a day but that is over 100 miles a day full out over mountains.
Compare and contrast our lot with these guys or even with home grown athletes who are prepared to sacrifice more for a lot less.
As you point out its not just the qty of calories but the quality and proportions that have to be right. I would be very surprised if individual players don’t have a set diet sheet to improve or compliment their current stats. .. But irn bru and coke Jees.
neganon2
13:46 on 18 August, 2014
Commons, great though he is in the SPL, is worse then a man down in Europe.
Lost count of the amount of moves that breakdown as a result of how slow he is.
Scotlands leading historian says a big giant Aye
—
From the Observer 17/08/2014
Scotland’s leading historian makes up his mind: it’s Yes to independence
The marriage with England was based on convenience, not love, says prizewinning author Sir Tom Devine. Now it is time to split
Scotland’s leading historian has delivered a major boost to the campaign for Scottish independence with the announcement that he will be voting yes in the forthcoming referendum.
The eagerly awaited announcement by Sir Tom Devine, made in an interview with the Observer, will provide much-needed support to the pro-independence campaign, which has seen support for a yes vote stall in recent weeks.
Neither side in the campaign has openly courted Devine, but each has been eager to receive the endorsement of a man who is considered to be Scotland’s foremost academic and intellectual.
The professor of Scottish history counts several senior figures on both sides among his friends, including Gordon Brown, the former Labour prime minister and now a driving force of the no campaign. Last week he also shared a platform at the Edinburgh book festival with the Scottish first minister, Alex Salmond.
The latest news will be welcomed by Salmond, who was perceived to have performed below par in the recent televised head-to-head debate with Alistair Darling, leader of the no campaign.
In an exclusive interview, Devine said that at the outset of the campaign he had been a firm no supporter, though he had favoured a “devo-max” arrangement with extra powers devolved to Holyrood.
He had been persuaded by what he believes has been a flowering of the Scottish economy in a more confident political and cultural landscape. “This has been quite a long journey for me and I’ve only come to a yes conclusion over the last fortnight,” he said.
“The Scottish parliament has demonstrated competent government and it represents a Scottish people who are wedded to a social democratic agenda and the kind of political values which sustained and were embedded in the welfare state of the late 1940s and 1950s.
“It is the Scots who have succeeded most in preserving the British idea of fairness and compassion in terms of state support and intervention. Ironically, it is England, since the 1980s, which has embarked on a separate journey.”
He also analysed the progress of the Union since its birth in 1707 and the reasons why it had worked for both countries, but why he believes it is coming to a natural end. “The union of England and Scotland was not a marriage based on love. It was a marriage of convenience. It was pragmatic.
From the 1750s down to the 1980s there was stability in the relationship. Now, all the primary foundations of that stability have gone or been massively diluted.”
Devine received a knighthood in this year’s birthday honours list for “services to the study of Scottish history”. One newspaper wrote: “He is as close to a national bard as the nation has.”
Devine is the author of 34 books and holder of all three of Scotland’s most coveted prizes for Scottish historical research. His analysis of the issues at play in the independence campaign is forensic.
“We now have a proper modern history of Scotland which we didn’t have until as late as the 1980s. We have a clear national narrative underpinned by objective and rigorous academic research. This wasn’t always the case.”
Devine also points to what he calls the “silent transformation of the Scottish economy”, based on the metamorphosis in manufacturing from heavy industry through de-industrialisation to a more diversified model.
“Our economy is now based on some heavy industry, light manufacturing, electronics, tourism, financial services and a vibrant public sector which provides sustainable jobs.
“We have a resilient economic system and reserves of one of the most important things for an independent estate: power, power through the assets of oil and also through the potential of wind energy. In this, Scotland is disproportionately endowed compared to almost all other European countries.”
Devine, who is from a working-class family of Irish immigrants, is fiercely proud of his ethnicity. It is a theme that informs much of his research and figures prominently in his writing.
He believes the emancipation of the Catholic Irish in Scotland has also contributed greatly to a more robust economic model. He is scathing about the views espoused by George Galloway and some others that Catholics in Scotland would become more vulnerable in a smaller country. “This is nonsense. George, as usual, is talking rhetoric.
None of those assertions is based on any academic understanding or knowledge.”
He also cites the enhanced reputation of Scottish higher education and research, with four Scottish universities among the world’s top 200.
“We get 16% of the UK’s competitive funding despite having only 10% of its population. If we can apply this research to industry and the economy, Scotland will have a head start in the future which will all be about brain-intensive industry. That adds to the potential resilience of the economy.”
He now says “devo-max” would merely prolong a running sore. “If more powers are granted, many English people will be unhappy; they’re already unhappy about the Barnett formula. Only through sovereignty can we develop a truly amicable and equal relationship with our great southern neighbour.”
Devine believes the union served an important purpose and has now simply run its course. He believed it united citizens on either side of the border from the Jacobite rebellion of 1745 until the dawn of Thatcherism and that the cornerstone of the union and its main pillars have either crumbled or become rotten.
He cited the loss of empire and the dilution of Protestantism as a unionist ideology and the primacy of European markets over English and imperial ones. The loss of 12 Scottish regiments since 1957 had loosened military ties,” he said.
“There’s also the weakening influence of the monarch and the absence of an external and potentially hostile force which once would have induced internal collective solidarity, such as fascism and the Soviet empire.
“When you put all of these together, there’s very little left in the union except sentiment, history and family.”
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/aug/17/scottish-independence-tom-devine-yes-vote-referendum-alex-salmond
Ernie
If nothing else, you are good comic value. Cheers :-)))
MWD says AYE