Kairat Almaty are odds against to qualify for the Champions League proper; Celtic are 1/3 (hot favourites, if you are unfamiliar). The bookies know more about making money on sports betting than me, but I assume few of them were at Celtic Park on Wednesday night.
Kairat looked comfortable from the opening minutes of the game and were never under sustained pressure. They ‘scored’ an offside goal, then had hearts in mouths when a Cameron Carter-Vickers error saw a chipped effort from 40 yards hit the top of the net. James Forrest’s saved shot early in the second half was as much as the home side had to show for their efforts. 1/3 looks harsh.
I put a lot of store in an old adage about European qualifiers – a week’s extra training is a long time. Celtic will be fitter than last week and can hope that Zarutskiy, the keeper who turned that shot from James Forrest onto the post, remains injured, after he left the field 75 minutes into the first leg.
Alistair Johnston’s absence is compensated by the suspension of Kairat’s talented 17-year-old left Satpaev, who played directly against Alistair until the Celtic defender went off injured.
We can expect Kairat to be more adventurous than last week, although I doubt they will be openly expansive. They will happily take this to extra time and penalties, as they did when despatching Slovan in the previous round.
The good news is that Adam Idah travelled with the squad after missing out at the weekend due to injury. We have to hope that Brendan sees the benefit of starting Daizen Maeda through the middle, but the manager also likes to switch the forward line around, so I expect Adam to put an appearance in at some point.
The best news from Brendan’s pre-match press conference was his “no excuses” line. You and I always recoil when a manager offers up excuses for failure. This game is there to be won, “no excuses” will do.
To hammer home the point. Kairat are in the playoff round because they beat Slovan Bratislava, who lost 0-1 at home to Young Boys in their Europa first leg last week. Prior to that, Kairat beat Finns KuPS, who were battered 4-0 at Miftjylland. In their first round, Kairat eliminated Olimpija, who lost 1-4 at home to Armenians Noah in their Conference League first leg. They have faced three very weak sides. No. Excuses.
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Ureaguythatwewant ooh ooh ooh ooh
Play to our collective abilites and this Celtic team shoud have too much, in no way a foregone conclusion as we have seen too many times Celtic sides fall apart away from home.
Hail, hail to the good ghuys!
It’s the blame game that will be loud and clear tonight if it all goes tits up .
Prepare properly or prepare to fail .
Have we done everything a world class football club would have done to achieve qualification to the big boys playground ?
On and off the park ?
Some would say four weak sides …
Re Raskin…
“…we have no one to scare the crap out of him .”
That’s something I just don’t get. What would he be scared of? And are our players afraid of him? I doubt it.
Having said that, just watch out for him at corner kicks…wee prat has managed to get his head onto a few deliveries into our box…
I thought it was Tuesday.
Thanks for the response to my Huns or Kairat option.
FWIW, I get more pleasure from beating the Huns than I do from any other victory but that is a spontaneous response.
I can see that, in the big picture, Kairat is a more important game.
Cheerio for now.
COYBIG
Matchday 6
Schmeichel
Ralston CCV Scales KT
Engels McGregor Hatate
Nygren Shin Maeda
Would like Brendan Rodgers to start with Engels and Nygren ( top scorer ) but more likely James Forrest/Yang in his preference of two natural ‘widemen’. No matter the side, we’re up against it without a natural goalscorer since last January. In any event the subs are crucial and could determine the outcome as they often do. Shin Yamada looks lively, as did Johnny Kenny. Adam Idah scores in the CL, be nice if he got the winner tonight.
‘Excuses’ is an interesting word.
CQN has always been data rich and insightful.
If we qualify, we will explore the reasons why. If we don’t, I’m sure the analysis will be equally probing.
Need to make sure we leave room to discuss ‘reasons’
No excuse not to
Strengthen the squad sufficiently with the quality players the manager has been crying out for since January/July when he lost Kyogo/Kuhn, in time for the CL qualifiers. No Excuses. Oh wait………
jimtim on 26th August 2025 1:32 pm
Reading back I note a few mentions of raskin , he is a brave wee devil right enough.
Jim, perception is a funny old thing. I see Raskin as a sleekit wee shyte, who fouls carefully ie. at no danger to himself (much like the master shyte of yesteryear, Lasley of Murderwell, who had perfected the side-on foul which hurt his opponent while risking least hurt to himself).
Anyway, last year, in the PSV v Ranjurs play-off over in Eindhoven, where PSV wiped them 5 – 0, wee Raskin had left the boot in on a couple of occasions against his direct opponent who clearly wasn’t impressed. At the end the PSV player made directly for the Ranjurs’ subs bench (where Raskin was to be found) and Raskin actually ended up running away from him, round the back of the Ranjurs’ bench. I no see no brave!
Wee Booby’s got it right mind you, he seems to be able to find space at corners against us.
Ave Ave
Getting excited now.
3½ hours to go.
A fable:
There was this renowned horse trainer who had run a regal ruler’s stables and produced several race winning nags over a period of years. He kept asking the rich sheikh for the necessary supplements and comforts to keep his multi-race winning thoroughbred in top nick, yet the all-powerful potentate dallied and declined saying the nag was a thoroughbred and had eaten of the finest oats in all the lands. There was no need for special treatment of the equine who unexpectedly lost a race to an almost unknown dark horse in a prestigious race meet far, far overseas. And the people wondered whose fault it was; the trainer’s or the sheikh’s and there was no happy ending and the stallion was banished to a pasture far far away.
Sure; there’s no room for excuses but there can often be fairly understandable reasons why things happen.
HopefullyNotA’Mare CSC
Birds of a feather … etc.
Raskin has played for the team in blue for 100 years.
He’s had scores of different names and faces but he’s been the same player throughout.
Chubby wee guy who runs around pulling, grabbing, kicking and tripping.
This iteration suffers from a total lack of upper arm conditioning …
… you know? The kind of exercise you get from lifting silverware over your head?
To while away the time, while waiting, here’s a wee fairy tale from the Guardian about Real Oviedo and their journey from near annihilation (thanks partly to the local council!!??) to La Primera. Maybe not our colours, but could have been our story.
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2025/aug/25/la-liga-spain-real-oviedo-emotional-return-top-flight-real-madrid
B2B, sure do recognise the ‘player’ you were describing.
Ave Ave
Paul 67
We played like a pretty weak side ourselves in the first leg . We know we aren’t of course , though we’re not as strong as we could/should be . Play to our potential tonight and we win by 2 , although 1 would do .
https://philmacgiollabhain.ie/2025/08/22/interview-with-duncan-smillie/#more-37938
Taking my seat in the directors box in the Vicky Bar. Canapés and hors d’oeuvres supplied by the management. Come on you fine Celtic fellows, play up!
Need to play as many of our best players and to give Tony some cover , so for me line up
KS
TR. CCV LS TR
AE CM RH
BN AI DM
HH
If Adam Idah is the good news……
.this guy needs to step up and soon…..
Less than two hours to go and my confidence in us qualifying increases.
It might be in added time and it might even be decided on penalties but I am relaxed about our chances of success.
….and this is a link Bada very kindly offered a while back:
http://www.fawanews.sc/
I have found it to be pretty reliable.
That link from Bada is excellent. Have used it without problems from the first day he posted it.
If only others at Celtic were told – no excuses…
The thought of the game being decided by PKs makes me consider Idah n Engels to start on the bench…but then I think Jamesy might be a better sub whatever the score.
In Brendan we trust CSC
I would start Engels right midfield to cover Ralston, and put Nygren further forward
Just in case you ever wondered what Eyal Berkovic is up to these days:
“Want to know why Israelis are indifferent about Gaza? Just watch Israeli TV” (The Guardian)
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/aug/26/israel-gaza-tv-journalists-famine
!!Bada Bing!! on 26th August 2025 3:51 pm
“If Adam Idah is the good news……
.this guy needs to step up and soon…..”
%
So too does the manager who is paid handsomely to get the right tunes out of Adam and has driven the poor guy to the booze.
The dugs on the streets are saying that Idah and others would learn more from boring dull and creepy looking, Stephen Pressley than they will learn from one trick Rodgers.
Fans could stop singing to themselves instead of chanting the players names, by singing 3, or, 4, verses before they get to the bit were the actual name gets mentioned?!
And players can’t understand a single word of the songs.
But, but, but,……
Who would trust a manager who has obviously instructed his players to, [not look the Green Brigade in the eye], look above them and pretend to be looking at and waving at fans who have long left because of Snp/Greens disgusting/woke cycle lanes that are never used?!
Who votes for these idiots, and why has Phil the shill not called them out for it, and warned fans about the dangers of voting for these disgusting creeps?!
How many layers of deceit does it actually take to make Timdumb?!
KevJungle on 26th August 2025 4:24 pm
Do you want us to win today?
Bada…would defo play Nygen at RW.
Who knows tho
Looking for massive performances from Schmeichel, KT and CCV.
And need a bit of razzle from Reo and Jsmesy.
Most nervous, I’ve been for a game for a long time.
COYBIG!
And by us I mean Glasgow Celtic…..
Celtic: Schmeichel, Ralston, Carter-Vickers, Scales, Tierney, McGregor, Hatate, Nygren, Forrest, Maeda, Yang.
Subs: Sinisalo, Doohan, Simpson-Pusey, Idah, McCowan, Yamada, Osmand, Kenny, Engels, Bernardo, Murray, Donovan
Team picks itself….
Team.
https://x.com/CelticFC/status/1960364319448936655?t=7sj_Qst4UgWzgMl86dPuIg&s=19
HH
Team should be good enough to get the win .
Mind you , I thought that about last weeks team .
Different mindset tonight though .
Think we will do it.
Best of luck to the team!