Within a few hours the first leg of our Summer Cup Final will be upon us. Make no mistake about it, these are the biggest games of our season.
The players and manager have learned plenty about European football over the last four weeks to know the scale of the task. Maribor will be given due respect but the importance of Saturday’s win over Dundee United cannot be overestimated. Players’ confidence will have received a welcome boost, while some will have realised the weight of responsibility lies with them.
Since the draw I have written enough about the strengths of Maribor, but they are weak at the back – and they are showing all the signs of over-confidence. Having watched us against Legia, this lot will be shocked if a different Celtic turn up tonight. Their fans, media and officials are emotionally spending their Champions League windfall already.
Most of all, we need a disciplined performance from Celtic. No conceding penalties, getting caught in possession deep in your own half, or second yellows. Stick to the basics, stay alert and we have an excellent chance of progressing; this is not a team with irresistible talent.
For a few players, they have the chance to claim a great reputation at the club. What an opportunity…..
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Sannabhoy
If you see this we might want to consider a disabled friendly venue for tonights meet up. It seems that I am going rollerskating with my daughter this afternoon, the wife is getting her revenge in early, maybe organising a booze up on our 10th wedding anniversary wasn’t so clever after all :-)
Is Bankiebhoy attending?
3 years for murder – not bad at all:
http://news.stv.tv/west-central/289020-john-henderson-ran-over-killed-audrey-gray-near-ibrox/
Owen – your getting off lightly……………….
;)
I wont make it into town this evening sadly, next time!
HH
One question to those who are peddling the nationalists’ NHS health service privatisation lie:
Would a future SNP government of a devolved Scotland consider privatising the NHS?
steinreignedsupreme
Macaroon bars story made me splutter my coffee.
Thanks – now I have to clear this mess up :o)
Moniker should be “Errsyermacaroonbars”
HH
Phils up with a wee story.
http://www.philmacgiollabhain.ie/off-site-and-off-script/#more-4999
What a massive, massive game and even greater opportunity all things considered.
What a massive swing of the pendulum within 180 minutes..
If we qualify, then Ronny can be lauded as a hero having done it with one hand tied behind his back.
(queue the immediate and incessant links with every vacancy going from the English League 1 upward from then until his last working day)
If don’t qualify I really can’t see how the board will, or even can last beyond it.
Without wanting to go into the debate over whether its the business or football club which exists to subsidise which we can only deal with the here and now.
If the players can maintain the positional discipline they have been told to keep whilst not having the ball and conceding chances – we stand a helluva chance of qualifying.
Its all too easy when the goings tough to revert to type, evidenced by the first 5 minutes of the 4 halves against Legia and then the change thereafter.
I am nervously excited at the same time as trying to not get my hopes too far up.
The emotional baggage and scarring a Celtic fan wears compares to no other!!!
Agent Green
14:00 on
20 August, 2014
Try……
“Aye but what big team do you support?”
Usually works.
The Honest Cover Up
I honestly don’t know why we bother.
the majority of cybernat posting has been reduced to Fear Factor targets involving variations of :-
Vote No and your the same as the OO and BNP
Vote No and the NHS will be destroyed
Vote No and the Tories or UKIP will rule for a 1000 years
Vote No or Ireland will never be free
I honestly believe the weakness in the cybernat campaign, which was rightly lauded initially for its passion, commitment and energy has now degenerated into uncontrolled scaremongering and playground politics.
At this rate, the counter-productive effect of its campaigning will see the Don’t Know and Don’t Care Votes at a record high.
Anyways, Maribor.
I want to see Denayer protected and kept on the bench. If we are to have a hard working defensive line up which still sees us use our break away opportunities then movement and support runners become invaluable. That means Berget and McGregor. Anybody playing the front man role will need to be replaced by the 60 minute mark, so run Griffiths into the ground and replace him with Commons or Stokes.
My line up
Gordon
Lustig Ambrose VVD Izzy
Biton Johansen & Mulgrew or Kayal(both have weaknesses; I prefer Henderson)
McGregor Griffiths Berget
“The biggest games of our season”…. Since the last one and before the next one. …
This imo is where the Scottish sporting psyche is fragile, always thinking of the consequences and the so whats. For a german team this would be the next game.
That’s my tuppence for the day. Mon the hoops
SFTB
Three up front?
Bookies seem to have us favourites tonight.
Wish I was as optimistic as them.
Can’t believe Celtic would be part of an administrative over sight regarding Ambrose after the last tie against Legia.
Crazy state of affairs. If Efe does play tonight and has a howler the scape goat is primed and ready to be devoured by the media and fans alike.
I feel really sorry for big Efe. The man will do anything to play football including flying all over the world to make sure he is available for selection. If he does play tonight I hope he has a great match. Not many players in world football deserve it more.
LB
Kdc
Well said that man.
My line up for tonight –
Simpson
Craig
Gemmell
Murdoch
McNeill
Clark
Johnstone
Wallace
Chalmers
Auld
and
Lennox.
Celtic to win 8-0.
If only!
Surely the bookies odds will be influenced by the money going on.
Mibbe some big bets on Celtic.
That would shorten the odds and make us “favourites”.
Maribor are favourites.
HT
“3 up front”
Naw.
4:3:3 becomes 4:5:1 at the drop of a hat or, in this case, the first blow of the ref’s whistle. The mention of support runners was supposed to alert you to the role of Berget and McGregor in supporting our sole front man. They are the best two we have for getting into the box from midfield while also doing their defensive job.
Too often, playing one man up has come unstuck for us, because no-one supports him on the rare occasion he manages to beat 3 or 4 defenders to the ball.
Gordon_J backing Neil Lennon
14:12 on
20 August, 2014
They might (although why you assume the SNP will be in power I’m not sure). We don’t know.
What we do know is that if they did, they’d be directly answerable to the Scottish people and it wouldn’t be happening as a consequence of decisions taken in Westminster that were out of our control.
Why do you think that NHS privatisation is a lie? What is your understanding of the connection between the Health and Social Care Act and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP)?
Referee Pavel Královec (CZE), in charge of tonights game, was in charge last years play-off game against FC Shakhter Karagandy in Astana.
Philbhoy @14 22
Sicilian bookies –
Maribor — 2.95
Celtic ———-2.70
Draw —–3.30
Setting free the bears for res…..
Be very suprised to see any of these guys start tonight :
Griffiths
Kayal
But well done in being one of the very few on here who can see the link between 4-3-3
and 4-5-1 ,i.e they are 2 of the same system.
i laugh when ive read, “we cant play 4-3-3 like we did in warsaw.. we must play 4-5-1”
some peoples understanding of football baffles me,.
SFTB
Fair enough but for me your line up is too offensive.
My choice would be
Gordon
Ambrose VVD ‘New Guy’ Izzy
Lustig Biton Johansen McGregor
Commons
Berget
I would also consider, purely for height, omitting Commons and playing Mulgrew on the left of a 5 man midfield.
Opinions eh?!
setting free the bears
14:14 on 20 August, 2014
I want to see Denayer protected and kept on the bench.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
I agree with you there.
I also agree with your formation although for me it would be Johanson, Mulgrew and Biton or Kayal.
I just dont know enough about the opposition to decide which of the 2.
Biton keeps the ball, recycles it, moves it 2 yards.
This will be advantageous in some games, but unecessarily slow it down and fail to identify gaps developing further up the field.
The current version of Kayal on his day will chase and harass when we dont have the ball a lot more (off his day he just runs through players as if they are casper the ghost when we dont have the ball and randomly lose his balance at any other occasion)
I agree with the sentiment of how and why you picked the front 3.
I think I am a wee bit too tempted to stick with the tried and tested left foot of Kris Commons though.
Id have Commons and McGregor on the flanks
Id have Berget up front on his own.
Hes looked hungry enough and knows where and when the chase the ball down leading the line.
I think Griffiths and Stokes are both used to playing as 1 of 2 strikers and dont have that discipline.
However, if we went with your 3, ill not be giving off
Ok we are lucky to be where we are, I get that I get it, Ffs, but no as lucky as this guy lol.
http://onlyfighting.ru/archives/337
weeminger,
A hypothetical question not an assumption. If you believe the line – that privatisation in England leads to reduced budget for Scotland and to privatisation – then the corollary must be that a Scottish government would introduce privatisation. So would the SNP do so? If they wouldn’t on principle then it must mean they are lying now.
My view is simple – as the last SNP manifesto said, health is fully devolved to Scotland. Only the Scottish Parliament could decide to privatise the NHS. And no Scottish party has that policy.
TTIP would mean that US companies must be allowed to bid for contracts where there are tendered, in the same way as all European companies can now under the single market. But where there is no market and no tendering – such as the direct supply of health services by health boards in Scotland – TTIP is not relevant.
ruggygman
14:28 on
20 August, 2014
I’d imagine that most people are aware of how 433 easily changes to 451.
My problem with playing it is that if you play with outright offensive players in the wide positions then regardless of the intent to resort to 451 it will remain 433 because players won’t carry out their defensive duties.
RWE 14:12 on 20 August, 2014
“Macaroon bars story made me splutter my coffee.”
Reaction at the game was similar, everybody was p1shin themselves. Nobody bought anything off him though.
Lol, Sicilian Bookies, that has to be an oxymoron , my god, hahahahahahaha
Any chance Brown will play tonight?
I noticed he was training with the squad yesterday. He anywhere near it?
LB
LB
that has been in my thoughts
mon the hoops!
14:27 on 20 August, 2014
Referee Pavel Královec (CZE), in charge of tonights game, was in charge last years play-off game against FC Shakhter Karagandy in Astana.
—————————————————–
You’re acting the goat here, surely you’re kidding?
TTIP means zilch unless ” Fully Devolved Responsibility ” and “Ring Fenced Budget ” mean zilch after a No vote ..
Hucksters spinning re currency / the European Union etc have no qualms about spining re health
My friends in Celtic,
One thing seems certain in regards to the team line up. Craig Gordon will be in goal; some are even advocating him as captain.
What a gamble. Craig played his first competitive game for us in July. His first competitive match for two years.
This is not a knee jerk reaction from myself, I stated this when he was first linked with us.
My view has not changed, I sincerely hope and pray that he plays out of his skin tonight and blossoms during his Celtic career.
Nevertheless what a gamble and we all saw it coming.
HH.
Paul67,
Dont think that I have ever commented on your header before but I will on this one.
“Make no mistake about it, these are the biggest games of our season.”
For the past few seasons, these have been the biggest games of our season, you would think that by now we would be in a very good position to anticipate the difficulties that lie in wait in respect of these games. In my opinion we don’t seem to be learning anything at all year on year about how to approach them, last year’s near-miss against Karagandy and now this year’s debacle against Legia show clearly that we are actually regressing rather than progressing. Serious questions should be asked about why this is happening at the club, if it were any other form of business, those questions would already have been asked and most probably answered.
Regardless of my opinion above, I will be hoping that we can come through in this tie but it will need to see a vast improvement on the performance that I witnessed at Murrayfield a fortnight ago.
AR
The Honest Cover-up @ 13.52
Well said. Totally agree with you.
——-
The Green & White Tiger @ 13:04
Welcome. Excellent post. It’s nice to hear another positive viewpoint.
Joe’s Haircut 13.17……Commons should not be payed tonight.
Ha Ha a wee Fergus type slip of the tongue mate.
Hope big Peter disnae read that.
Anyway there’s only one way to go tnite
Intae Them Intae Them.
H.H.
Gordon_j backing neil lennon
Privatization lie or Marketization truth
The NHS is getting deregulated. Your Labour party carried on the same privatization policies as Tories
Eds milliband & balls are already locked into Gideons austerity war on the poor because of Labour party mismanagement
Labour party defending Tory health policy who’d a thunk it.and all to keep the union too.
HH
LiviBhoy
14:41 on
20 August, 2014
Any chance Brown will play tonight?
I noticed he was training with the squad yesterday. He anywhere near it?
—————–
Still 4 weeks away apparently. just started running.
TJ