While Maribor were clearly second best at home to Celtic last week they remain a potent threat to our season. You can be sure they’ve watched every minute of every game Celtic have played this season and will have dissected each defensive lapse. Our acknowledged weaknesses – primarily a defence which has yet to find cohesion – will be well-known to each of them.
The vast acreage of Celtic Park should suit the mobile, pressing, game Ronny Deila has brought to our play. It will be difficult for Maribor to cover all defensive zones, so with Celtic certain to play without a target-man, I expect the visitors to concede territory on the wings, defend their penalty area and force Celtic to play through them.
We will inevitably leave space at the back, in particular down the wings. How attentive we deal with this risk could determine the outcome of the tie.
Maribor’s schedule since facing Celtic on Wednesday suggests their biggest challenge will be to maintain energy levels late in the game. Thursday will have been a rest day, only light training would have taken place Friday and the bulk of the first team had a league game on Saturday evening. Yesterday would be another rest day, and they will travel today before a light job on Celtic Park this evening.
By contrast, the bulk of those who will start for Celtic tomorrow will have had normal preparatory training Friday, Saturday, Sunday, with some light work tomorrow. Those who made substitute appearances on Saturday will not have made a significant debit on energy levels.
We need to keep the ball moving early on, curtail rest times and have Maribor accessing their reserve tanks as early as possible.
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Athletes , cyclists and tennis players definitely have tremendous stamina and powers of recovery, however, not sure how they would react to a meeting with thugs like elbows.
MADMITCH. 1414
Not much point in hoping PAUL67 has a wee bit of inside info if you trash what he says.
MadMitch
14:14 on
25 August, 2014
====================
You’re not mad at all Mitch, spot on.
jamesgang
14:17 on
25 August, 2014
==============
Cheers James
Doh…Reckless…..even
PEDROCRAVANTHATSWHATYERLIVINGINNow
Didnae know you were a Steely Man.
Though obviously I clocked you as a fella with exquisite taste.
We must compare notes the next time we meet.
Btw,I thought you were too young for them,I can only presume you borrowed yer brother’s 78s.
► 3:50► 3:50
m.youtube.com/watc…
7 Feb 2011
borgo67
14:23 on
25 August, 2014
====================
Rugby 7’s players then?………….Elbows? Pah!!!!!!
The Battered Bunnet..
Via Specchi ..
Back in the day ,if you wanted to buy a mirror ,you went to Via Specchi
Scullybhhoy
Each to their own but Ihave always enjoyed these 3
Italian …….Barolo Mitchell Lane …….. Less than 25yards from Buchanan St and 50 from Argyle st.
Turkish …….Anatolia st Vincent st/hope st ………. Between Argyle and Sauchiehall St
Scottish(y) …….. Ingram Wynd ……… Ingram st ……. Near merchant City and Argyle st
Btw airport shuttle is 500 ….. Leaves outside terminal but I think it stops outside of / close to Ramada…… worth asking hotel.
More economical to buy a return.
Wee bit of quality music for those who don’t know.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Nomb3-hIWjA
BMCUW @ 14.24
What inside info …
… And to what ends?
It is self serving / reverse engineered nonsense.
It smacks of a huge lack of confidence at facing a small hurdle.
My understanding is that we played well,last week.
We should be looking forward to the game as another step up the ladder to CL credibility.
Now we are looking weak and fragmented with half the squad phoning it in.
rD might get a lot of benefit from seeing the stiffs playing but he will not get it for tomorrow night.
pedro…
Great song by the wonderful Donald Fagan.
The wife was christened Maxine, allegedly, because her mother was a big fan of Max Byegraves!
She had an excuse ‘tho – she came from Paisley!
:-)
HH!!
Can we drop all this talk of ‘glycerol levels’ etc. We should be pumping this mob tomorrow and that’s all there is to it :-)
BMCUWP’s
Yip, more my bigger bro, no the eejit you know.
Seen them at the Secc many moons ago, Donald and Walter, I think it was the first time they had performed in Scotland, they were halted for possession of narcotics on their first attempt.
Keep hoping DF will come back.
Genius.
The Maribor game is a cup final – 3 league games into the season.
In fact it’s the second half of a cup final with the HT score at 1-1.
Some first team regulars were not selected for the ICT game on Saturday. The team that was selected should have been able to beat ICT.
The starting line up featured Commons, Ambrose, Mulgrew, Griffiths, Pukki and Bitton. The subs were Johansen, MGregor and Stokes. The remaining five players who started all have first team experience.
Gordon, Van Dijk, Izzy, Lustig, Denayer, Berget and Kayal did not feature.
Ronny could have fielded his strongest side and been criticized JUST for fielding them in such a game/journey.
The same, strongest side could also have lost to ICT – more criticism.
One or more of his regulars could be nursing niggling but slight strains and injuries that could have been exacerbated by the six hour round trip and playing on Saturday – more criticism.
One or more of his regular starters could have been injured in the ICT game – and unavailable for the Maribor game – more criticism.
Fact is Ronny fielded the side he thought best to beat ICT without compromising the team’s chances of winning the tie against Maribor. It’s what he’s paid to do.
We can all second guess him all we want, but at least wait until after tomorrow night’s game to really have a go. If we win the tie we will consider it a masterstroke to save some of our best guys for that game.
And does anyone think that the league has gone – 3 games in?
The team on Saturday did not play well and I do feel for the travelling fans who deserved better.
HH
Rugby7s is a girls game. :)
In the fifteen aside they need a week to recover , in fact they really need two weeks
NRG levels ma arse Just score
More goals than them or better still Dont lose any and we win simples !
Hail hail
BMCUW
God/Yahweh bless Donald Fagen.
Maxine on tv soon.
Hope it disnae go to her heid!
She uses her maiden surname for business purposes btw. Faither from Gloucester.
HH!!
PEDROCRAVANTHATSWHATYERLIVINGINNow
If I remember correctly,the last time I met you we passed said brother on the train.
Knee deep in cauld Scottish water wi a worm on the end of a pole.
Wi the greatest respect to G,who’s the eejit?
(Btw,usually me breaking world records running for the last train)
***PENULTIMATE CALL FOR UNUSED TICKETS***
Hi ghuys and ghals, looking for anyone who cannot make tomorrow’s game and has a spare.
IGC
Maribor had a league game postponed before they played maccabi tel aviv.
Just saying likesy.
TALLYBHOY
Heading that way first weekend in September.
Tell him to stay indoors. I can feel a drinking heid coming on that day,not had a real good blowout for a while.
Gotta practice for 11 October,doncha know.
SoT
Reflecting your age there :¬)
Steely Dan .
There was a wall in Ladbroke Grove which featured a Steely Dan graffito to which someone had added ————–BUNCH OF DILDOS .
Not my cup of tea but 2 very good 45s ———-Do it Again / Reelin in the Years .
Scorchio -Way down south -off oot to the beach
borgo67
14:34 on
25 August, 2014
Rugby7s is a girls game. :)
========================
You’ve DEFFINATELY not played 7’s :-)
BMCUW
It’s ok – he lives in Troon!
Still got his sassenach accent ‘tho.
HH!!
BMCUWP’s
Haha…made that train by the skin o ma teeth.
How many eejits that post on this site, that are related to me do u know?
My big bro G, wouldn’t lower himself by puttin a worm oan a hook, he is a fly mhan.
Oh aye and back wi ma wee mammy for the next 6-8 weeks……you might no be a million miles away wi the caravan thing, I think she’s about tae evict us :-)
Ricky!
Dont lose that number!
HH!!
scullybhoy
Sanna is right Dakota could be a rush for a pleasure trip.
Stay where you are book a table at Guys in candleriggs after the game and have them organise a private taxi for you back to the hotel.
BMCUWP
Bought Steely Dans first record (an old pre cd thing) and had tickets to see them when they were touring the UK with Kiki Dee. The tensions within the band led to flouncing and the tour stoped after 3 gigs and they all went home.
That was 1974 and I have bought every record/cd since. All good but the first five were the best for me, Cant buy a Thrill, Countdown to Ecstasy, Pretzel Logic, Katy Lied and The Royal Scam.
Steely Dan trivia
Guitarist Jeff Baxter, band member who featured prominently in the frist three albums is now a missile defense consultant to the US government and is a member of the Nasa Exploration Systems Advisory Committee.
HH
bawsman
Played 7s and fifteen aside but many moons ago .
To be honest it’s odd finding myself defending the fitness of footballers , they really can be precious at times.
Madmitch
will you stoap being so ecstatically happy! :-)
MadMitch 14:30 on 25 August, 2014
“My understanding is that we played well,last week.
“We should be looking forward to the game as another step up the ladder to CL credibility.”
You can do that if you wish. It is your choice if you want to be agitated or not going into the match.
I’m looking forward to the game because we played well last week. I’m pretty confident we’ll go through.
What to do, what to do..
I guess this is why we aint paid the big bucks – but heres my tuppence.
The Matthews at left back decision for the Legia 1st leg was possibly a John Collins one, with a prior acknowledgement to a known weakness – as in Emilio getting caught up the park because I cant see a manager with little knowledge of both making such a bold decision.
It was an experiment that failed catastrophically as Matthews failed to block 95% of the crosses he should have defended.
So, I guess we go ahead with Emilio and make extra contingency plans to cover for the counter attack – namely Charlie Mulgrew playing on the left side of the midfield trio, as opposed to the centre.
Put Johanson in the centre and finish the midfield off with Kayal on the right of the 3.
I dont think its too defensive in its approach – we created numerous chances away from home using it, so in theory should create even more at home.
If we need to go more attacking then we have the option to do so, with KC kicking his heels from the bench.
I’d rather protect the away goal from the outset and build from a position of strength.
We will have to persevere with Stokes trying to lead the line on his own again (Stokesy one of two strikers yes – his assists prove he is capable, not on his own though).
I think the bigger question is perhaps who to partner Virgil?
Deneyar looked a wee bit exposed in the 1st leg (understandably) do we leave him out of this one or go for the more experienced (but yet occasional bomb scare) that is Ambrose?
Before the season began,we knew we would have 3 ties to get through to reach the CL Group Stages.
If you had told me that,on the eve of the 3rd tie 2nd leg,we would be a clean sheet at Celtic Park away from qualification,then I would have been delighted.
I am,therefore,delighted and optimistic we will get there.
Huge night for the club,the team and the fans who have a big part to play in supporting the team and remaining patient
Jeff ‘Skunk’ Baxter is 65.
HH!!
borgo67
14:58 on
25 August, 2014
bawsman
Played 7s and fifteen aside but many moons ago .
To be honest it’s odd finding myself defending the fitness of footballers , they really can be precious at times.
================================
I’m celebrating my heinz birthday today so it’s a wee while since I played 7’s too.
I did play against Fiji in my youth, it was like getting hit by very fast moving trees. I’d tackle McCulloch any time :-).
I stand by my match fitness being more useful than putting the 1st 11 in cotton wool, like you, I think they are precious.
Just how long does it take us to complete a transfer?.