Midfield, slow burner seasons, Kano

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When contemplating his first competitive game as Celtic manager, Ange Postecoglou may want to paraphrase Vince Lombardi: half the squad are injured, half want away and the other half are inexperienced kids.

We have a few weaknesses, today, all we can do is own them and get ready for battle.  I expect Odsonne Edouard, Ryan Christie and Nir Bitton all to feature at some point, if not from the start.  If we are to have any chance, our new club captain, Callum McGregor, will be the man who leads from the front.  He brings experience and a level of fitness that belies his west of Scotland heritage.

The midfield core, with Callum, Ismaila Soro and David Turnbull looks like the most effective area in the team, they will need to dominate the ball and Ismaila in particular will be required to offer protection to the back line.

Martin O’Neill’s era started with indifferent preseason performances before the pieces began to come together of what was the third treble in our history.  I would accept a slow burner of a season this time around.

Special thoughts today for our old pal, Kano.  He would have run us through every scenario on what to expect from an Australian manager.  Some legacies live on, though, his sure did.

If you want some news that is not dominated by the self-interested or deluded, here is a wee piece on what your Foundation is doing right now with Islamic Relief UK to help homeless, asylum seekers, refugees, children and victims of domestic abuse in Glasgow.

Celtic is a wonderful thing to be part of, never take it for granted.  Enjoy the game tonight!

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  1. prestonpans bhoys on

    Well its my 31st wedding anniversary today, have a table booked in Porto a restaurant in Bowness on Windermere.

     

     

    My phone has been banned😈 so no football for me tonight😱😵⚽

  2. Madmitch

     

     

    From nowhwere. I was questioning PLB`s figures and tried to use humour as a vehicle to do so. I think I have failed :-)))

  3. PRESTONPANS BHOYS on 20TH JULY 2021 2:36 PM

     

     

    Are you sure it`s not your 32nd?

  4. PB,

     

     

    your a saint, how could you put up with her all that time when so inconsiderate not to postpone the anniversay to let you see the match. tell her there is another anniversary next year.

     

     

    -))

  5. In a rare concession to let me watch the Jock Stein documentary on Alba last night my missus let me into the living room to watch the big t.v.

     

     

    Normally any native language film is not allowed, as she “canny be bothered reading sub-titles”.

     

     

    A few huffs, a few puffs, and she bought into watching it once Bertie came on. He is a brilliant story-teller she says, and settled down to watch it.

  6. Big Georges Fan Club - Hail, Hail, Wee Oscar on

    PRESTONPANS BHOYS on 20TH JULY 2021 2:36 PM

     

    Well its my 31st wedding anniversary today, have a table booked in Porto a restaurant in Bowness on Windermere.

     

    My phone has been banned😈 so no football for me tonight

     

    ———————-

     

     

    Ooooft – that is committment – well beyond what I could muster.

     

     

    I guess that’s why I spend so much time in the spare room :-))

     

     

    Enjoy yer dinner !!

     

     

    HH

     

    BGFC

  7. Tom McLaughlin on

    MM got the figure right. The ST renewal figure was indeed 45,000 – ON THE 25TH JUNE AT 5PM WHEN RENEWALS CLOSED.

     

     

    My nephew and his gf received 2 STs from the waiting list nearly 2 weeks ago.

     

     

    To date we have sold in excess of 50,000 season tickets.

  8. ROLLING_STONE on 20TH JULY 2021 2:17 PM

     

    @ CELTIC40ME on 20TH JULY 2021 1:34 PM

     

     

     

    You clearly are disagreeing with SwissRamble’s figures. Im not sure how you could argue otherwise.

     

     

    I’m not, you’d need to be an idiot to argue with him about football finance. He takes all his numbers directly from the accounts.

     

     

    I’m arguing with your interpretation. He’s not suggesting that CL participation is worth 30m in 2021/2022, he’s merely highlighting that there’s a significant difference in CL and Europa league money based on previous numbers. He’s not anywhere near putting a number on it fir this season. You are, and you’re wrong

     

     

    “Well, unless CL tv income has fallen, why would there not be a similar difference between TV income in CL and Europa League now?”

     

     

    Read my analysis from earlier. It’s basic but it’s based on real numbers from Uefa. It’s how CL and Europa league prize money is calculated. Better still, look it up on the Uefa website and check with my figures – they aren’t wrong. The way that CL revenue is distributed has changed since the last time we participated, the big clubs get more, the weeer clubs get less. It’s very simple – CL prize money has increased, the way it’s shared has changed to the detriment of clubs like ours, and even more so for clubs like the Huns with poor ten year co-efficient

     

     

    “You have introduced performance related metrics. I was noting the TV income figures.”

     

     

    Swiss Rambles figures are for CL prize money – its the same thing.

     

     

     

    “Clearly SwissRamble is wrong here though…you can’t both be right.”

     

     

    We can and we both are. He’s just reported the numbers, the same as me. You put your own interpretation on it using figures from cL participation 4 years ago

     

     

    Straw men arguments aside, the figures I quoted are from Uefa. Thats all the money either of us will receive from CL or Europa participation this year.

     

     

    If they get to the cL and do as expected theyll be around 10m better off than us if we do ok in the Europa and 7m better off than themselves they if they went into the Europa and did the same as last season

  9. preston pans the Italian Razzellis on lake road just as you come into the village is good, also the Angel inn

  10. PB,

     

     

    10,000 of them are consession either the kids £50 one or the pensioners discounted rates.

     

     

    but then 2,000 of them are the heated seats and boxes big money versions.

  11. ST STIVS and TOM MCLAUGHLIN

     

     

    My mate has 3 tickets and sits behind the Directors Box.

     

     

    He paid just under £9000 last season.

     

     

    Said he got a discount this season but he still paid thousands.

     

     

    Not sure if he’ll get a Christmas Hamper this year.

  12. I know we all effectively invested our money to Celtic last season without knowing if we would ever get back in, or what we would actually really get in return. My own feeling was if we were going to do a ten and had any chance then i wanted to be there , somehow.

     

    I did let my heart rule my head, because in my job, I get to see a lot of data regarding Pandemic, and it was obvous, that even with a vaccine, and even if we get one that kills the virus, the shear amount of humans on the planet, it would take mulitple years to beat this.

     

    I lived in hope the virus mutated a way that it killed itself, like spanish flu.

     

     

    My SB at £640, my darling wife told me I was particularly stupid for doing this, we aint got money to burn, if you felt that strongly give it to a celtic charity, I got roasted about it all season, and then some when we imploded.

     

     

    YOur face is tripping ye, what has celtic done now ? That book was a waste of money.

     

     

    When I read though of what the posh seat guys were paying, now that was incredible heart over head decisions, muliple thousands, and then the value add returns were mmmeeehhh.

     

     

    I read on SC one fellas story, and I did think, that is bonkers, all that money.

     

     

    Wait till the day I get to go back, that letter that i am in the chosen group,

     

     

    “where are you going ?”

     

     

    “am goin to the game”

     

     

    “you bought a season book again didnt ye, ya stupid bas ,,,,,,,,,,

  13. Go tell the Spartim on

    The one thing Celtic are world class in is taking your money, remember it’s our money they are reticent to spend.

  14. prestonpans bhoys on

    PHILBHOY on 20TH JULY 2021 3:08 PM

     

     

    My corporate mate costs him £8k for two tickets, asked if he got a discount, wouldn’t be surprised if the answer is no😵

  15. At last some good news. Midtjylland will be without 3 key midfielders tonight, Jens-Lys Cajuste who’s a handy defensive midfielder, Ajer Mabil a left winger, and Frank Onyeka has just joined Brentford for 9m.

     

     

    The only real quality left in their squad comes from both wings in Dreyer and Sisto, plus central mid Evander who can bag a goal or two. Beyond their main forward Sorry Kabo, who has refused to play, they have no strikers of any merit. Probably tempting fate with this.

  16. Back to Basics - Glass Half Full on

    Tom McLaughlin – thank you for providing your understanding of the season ticket renewals position of 50,000.

     

     

    Much appreciated.

     

     

    I don’t have facts at hand to confirm but detailed date-based narratives … such as yours … are typically more reliable than lazy punts from posters with a universally negative outlook.

     

     

    Re: attendances at Celtic Park and the older, more dilapidated stadium ….

     

     

    …. entirely predictable back of the bus stuff.

     

     

    For those who attribute this to a standard uplift over time I’d ask the following

     

     

    1. How many did Sevco ask for?

     

    2. How come we got three days notice of a decision and they got eleven?

     

     

    No way we were getting 18,000 in our larger, safer, more modern stadium a week before they got 17,000.

     

     

    I’m with Gene – the attendances are likely to increase right up until they don’t.

     

     

    Time to press on this and get all the facts out there.

  17. prestonpans bhoys on

    PHILBHOY on 20TH JULY 2021 3:26 PM

     

     

    Yeah but in a different economic climate to us bhoys. Had lunch up in Aberfoyle, tab was £110 and he refused to share the cost, bugger said I😱

  18. RC on 20TH JULY 2021 2:42 PM

     

    “are we still hesitating.

     

     

    Ange did say at the presser that the people we are dealing with are the ones who are holding things up! por cierto.

  19. TOM MCLAUGHLIN on 20TH JULY 2021 12:47 PM

     

    Crowd levels increase as the days go by without a surge in cases. The Ibrox 17,000 limit is for a game 12 days from now. Celtic’s first home game on August 7th should be 20,000 to 25,000 all being well.

     

    After restrictions are lifted on 9th August, our next home game will be a full house.

     

    Away with the paranoia. The council wouldn’t dare be so blatantly biased.

     

     

    Dear tom.

     

    When lumps were falling off the ibrox roof and cascading to the ground below, phil mac giolla bhain sent a freedom of information request to the Glasgow council. They refused his request on the grounds that it wasn’t in the public interest. Public safety in Glasgow isn’t in the public interest.

     

    Only in Glasgow.

     

    Only in Scotland.

  20. Ange says of transfer dealings, “we could have more precisely and quicker”. That says it all about our transfer dealings for the last five years.

     

     

    To say this so publically and in such a forthright manner, gives an insight into his management style – i.e. straight from the hip!

     

     

    Could it also be a not so subtle message to those upstairs – “sharpen-up, or, I may ‘ship-out’.

     

     

    Let’s not beat around the bush, we are left with a de facto development squad & a smattering of first-team players, for tonight’s most important game. It looks like the type of selection that is usually named for a League Cup Tie against tier 3, or 4, opposition.

     

     

    With no win tonight the pressure will only build – it is already high enough.

  21. “GO TELL THE SPARTIM on 20TH JULY 2021 3:22 PM

     

    The one thing Celtic are world class in is taking your money,”

     

     

    Celtic have never `taken` my money.

  22. I was in the process of posting on the blog and had written a few lines when it disappeared from the posting page, It was asking if the golf was on,on Friday or not.

     

    Could someone give Stephen BT a call and ask him to give me a call,It’s just to see if he was going or not.

  23. Having watched the Ange interview, as Tom mentioned already, what he said and how he said it, was not how the press have reported it.

     

     

    Completely out of context of his actual responses to questions.

     

     

    For me it was not a shot across the bows of those upstairs, it was nothing of the sort.

  24. The pressure comes from SMS, if Celtic fans allow themselves to be conned, note, I said Celtic fans, por cierto.

  25. Goalkeepers: Barkas, Bain, Doohan, Hazard.

     

     

    Defenders: Jullien, Taylor, Bolingoli, Urhoghide, Ralston, Hjelde.

     

     

    Midfielders: Bitton, Soro, Rogic, Connell, Shaw, McGregor, Forrest, Turunbull, Christie, Johnston.

     

     

    Attackers: Griffiths, Ajeti, Edouard.

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