I am always alert to the noises coming out of Celtic in the week before we go to Rugby Park, the same was the case when we were at Livingston. They are horrible pitches. Players don’t like them, bookies don’t like them and managers avoid playing injury-prone players on the surfaces.
However, before a game, there are no excuses. We know the surface and we plan accordingly. There is a golden rule when facing an adverse environment: Give someone a reason to fail and they will take it.
I could not believe my ears at the weekend, when Newco manager, Philippe Clement spoke to Sky after their win at Ross County. When asked about the forthcoming games against Tottenham and Celtic he said, “Maybe we need to say financially out of our league, the two games”.
There’s your excuse. Out. Of. Our. League. Four words you do not want to hear from your manager when you are about to face a team you pretend is a peer. Celtic are out of Newco’s league, but not financially. Accounts for the year to June show Newco’s Operating Expenses at £109.785m, whereas Celtic’s only £105.4m.
Celtic operate in a different league when it comes to recruitment, coaching, commercial acumen, sports science, medical care and just about every metric you can think of. Apart from financial.
As the words left his mouth, Clement will have known he made the mistake of letting the world know he has prepared his excuses for failure. There is no financial disparity, the gap is all down to talent.
With two games remaining only Paris St Germain and Stuttgart, who sit outside the top 24, have a realistic chance of making the knockout stage. Both are on 7 points and they meet in Stuttgart on matchday 8.
Before then, PSG are home to Manchester City on 22 January, when there is a reasonable chance City will be out of their slumber, while Stuttgart can be expected to win at Slovan Bratislava.
Dinamo Zagreb (8 points, away to Arsenal, home to Milan) look certain to drop out. Had they beaten Celtic on Tuesday, getting to 10 points would flip that prediction. While our point on Tueday still left us work to do, it eliminated one of our key rivals.
PSV Eindhoven (8 points, away to Red Star, home to Liverpool) also have work to do. A draw in Belgrade may not be enough for them.
Of the clubs already on 10 points, Brugge are home to Juventus and away to Manchester City, and already have a -2 goal difference. While Feyenoord are home to Bayern, away to Lille and on -1 goal difference. Unlike others on the same points (or City on 8), these two will be looking over their shoulders.
A point should be enough at home to Young Boys, who did well for the majority of the game before caving in at Stuttgart last night. It’s set for a memorable Celtic Park winter’s night.
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Hail hail
Get in FANADPATRIOT
Friday eve!
Mon the Ange!
Good afternoon you rascals. 🍻
Aipple
New competition for you 😀☘️
Our draw in Zagreb put us in a great position. It was a very good point.
We’ll get an insight as to how Sevco will approach Sunday tonight.
I expect a low block and long balls. Lets see.
FANADPATRIOT re: competition
Your card is marked.
Fanadpatriot
Be careful with Aipple, he’s Louisville Lightning. 😂
Phew! Thanks to a new article, I think I`ve got away with my previous post :-))
Oops 🙏☘️
HOT SMOKED
Your dull post ? 👍
BRRB
Just the nine and a half hours until happy hour for me. Then I shall move like lightning.
P67:
“Celtic are out of Newco’s league, but not financially. Accounts for the year to June show Newco’s Operating Expenses at £109.785m, whereas Celtic’s only £105.4m.”
Harsh to use last years figures given they have been cost cutting like crazy.
“There is no financial disparity, the gap is all down to talent.”
Last year they spend comparable to us and but for their bottle crashing (RC + Dundee) might have won the league.
I expect a bigger gap this year both in the finances and in the teams performances/results.
Big Jimmy:
If you need any tech support, email me at my CQN name @gmail.com and I will see if I can help at all as I work in IT though my company have just went into Admin so might have a bit of free time to help between job hunting!
QB
Hot Smoked on 12th December 2024 12:13 pm
“Phew! Thanks to a new article, I think I`ve got away with my previous post :-))”
Too late I saw it; though it aligns with my thinking pretty much. Though if it were a one off game (other than a Final) and thems winning saw us play 1 less qualifier for CL then I might have to reluctantly hope that they win.
QB
bournesouprecipe on 12th December 2024 12:21 pm
Yip…..but it looks as though I haven`t got away with it :-)
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.skysports.com/amp/football/news/11095/13270853/champions-league-2024-25-why-it-matters-where-each-team-finishes-in-the-league-phase-table-and-the-knockout-round-impact
Darn it . Quadbhoy saw it as well !
On to other matters.
Will Spurs be fielding a `weak` side tonight?
Not really Ange`s style but the EPL might get priority.
Hot Smoked
Ange’s priority will be winning a trophy of any kind I would think and given the squad / injuries he has the chance for 2 less games in Europe must appeal to him.
Add in that Europa League Win = CL participation next season so as good as top 4 finish and I think he might go all in.
QB
A worthy repost
Hi Celts.
I spoke to Shirley,Tonys(sftb)wife there,arrangements are finalised for Dec 18th at 1pm at Linn Crematorium,thereafter at kings Park Hotel 2pm-ish for a cup of tea.
If you wish to email Tonys family with any pictures,tales or anecdotes of Settingfreethebears please do so to-
martin_gillespie@icloud.com
With thanks in advance AT.
Hail Hail
HOT SMOKED on 12TH DECEMBER 2024 12:34 PM
Spurs are pretty much down to the bare bones tonight, he’s got one or two options in midfield but other than that it’s probably whoever is fit and available.
Paul67 et al
Let me get this straight….
Depending on how the stars align, one point against the Swiss…
Could be…should be….would be…..
Enough
That’s cleared that up!
QuadBhoy on 12th December 2024 12:27 pm
………..
QuadBhoy for your offer of help with IT stuff.
I am gonna send you an Email right away although my new Desktop Computer appears to working okay just now.
My Email Addy starts with…..rocky.
HH Mate.
HH.
ziggydoc1 on 12th December 2024 11:27 am
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.skysports.com/amp/football/news/11095/13270853/champions-league-2024-25-why-it-matters-where-each-team-finishes-in-the-league-phase-table-and-the-knockout-round-impact
thanks for finding that, really interesting,
so the opta super computer permeatations, prediction for the 16 playoff round as
17/18 Monaco or Celtic
versus
15/16 Real Madrid or Sporting Lisbon.
—————
11/12 Feb 18/19 Feb
the one flaw with the opta predictor, it is giving decimal points for rankings and places, when in the real points tally that connot happen, so now i am a bit puzzled,
0,1, or 3.
I said straight after the game on Tuesday night that we now had a big advantage ahead of the final, 48 hours more time to recuperate and prepare for it. Two days training with Hampden as the only focus point. My hope is that, at the least, the R2ngers game is physically draining for them and that come Friday morning the challenge of getting them up for Sunday is that bit harder. In an ideal world they also get battered and are left completely demoralised. But Spurs, as we all know, are not presently great in defence and they rushed back two CHs for Sunday’s game against Chelsea and both went off injured. I wouldn’t be totally surprised if it ends up something like 3-3. 5-0 Spurs would be so much sweeter. One can only hope.
Clement could go fom zero to hero between tonight and Sunday afternoon. Or he could be facing the sack on Monday. Fine lines.
I try to think strategically, and apply that thinking too all things concerning Celtic.
I think what is best for Celtic in the future, thinking what happens in the longer term, what makes things easier for us, that old cliche “what does success actually look like”.
With this in mind, direct entry to the groups/league stage of the champions league has been a critically game changer in our finances, the players who we can sign, the commercial deals we make, the sponsorship and kit contracts and so on and so forth.
Riches beyond even PLs dreams when he was influencing these decisions with the ECA.
We need to acknowledge that the coefficient points won by that other team have been instrumental in gaining us direct access. Sure we need to win the league, but through gritted teeth, we have to accpet the co-efficient monkeys success in gathering these point, so lets not be churlish about tonight, and be big enough to accpet the gifts they bring with a coefficient point of two.
then again, i hope the huns get humped, mate.
Good Afternoon – Grand Day To Be A Tim…
Very good lead…
…”Dinamo Zagreb (8 points, away to Arsenal, home to Milan) look certain to drop out. Had they beaten Celtic on Tuesday, getting to 10 points would flip that prediction. While our point on Tueday still left us work to do, it eliminated one of our key rivals.”
Yes, that game was a lot more strategic than fholk seem to have realised.
We often talk about “a must win game”.
On Tuesday we had a “don’t lose game”.
Letting Dynamo nick it at home could have put enormous pressure on the Celtic team.
Us on eight, them on ten, would mean we have another team above us likely to qualify, and some very serious Clubs below us very keen to qualify.
Not losing was priority.
Zagreb, you could argue, did have a “must win game”, yet, they too were very keen not to lose.
Chasing the game meant they would have to deal with Celtic’s counter attack – they did not fancy that one iota.
They sat back, defended, hoped for a break, and concentrated on nullifying, Hatate, Meada Kyogo and of course the mecurial Kuhn and you know, they had just the full back for the latter…
It is a huge testament to the respect we have garnered in Europe, that Zargreb feel eight points, or draws with Arsenal &/or Milan was a less risky strategy that going all out to beat the Glasgow Celtic, even at home…
Hail Hail
I don’t mind him going to hero tonight as long as he returns to zero by the end of Sunday’s March.
match
10 Points in CL would leave us i think in a very vulnerable place
But one name not mentioned in dogfight Benfica their goals difference (+3) might save them
But 10 points with H Barca Juve A i am not so sure
Paul 67,
As you mention Man City..
We took 4 goals off them as we defeated them earlier this year.
We showed the way to beat then and others have fed off our strategy. ( Incidentally it was the game where Nic Kuhn demonstrated that he is the real deal )
This was not the first time we have showed the pack how to stop the unstoppable Man City and end their perfect record.
We hammered them 3 – 3 in the CL at Parkhead then they managed to hold us to a draw at their own ground.
We belong.
HH. IBWT
PS : Hot Smoking, I too saw your post. Tee Hee.
That is why I like this new Champions league format. We are still in it in the New Year with so much to play for. Looking forward to watching Big Ange against thems again today. Good to see Kieran Tierney back in the fold at Arseholenal. Even better listening to his manager talk about his attitude and hard work to get to where he is again after a few lost years. That says a lot about the Bhoy’s attitude and commitment. In a world where superstars shut up shop or gripe to the press about their situations, nice to see a good young player get his head down and try and force his way back in. Go on the first place FanadPatriot,no disrespect Aipple. Got to go with the Donegal Bhoy :))) Kerrykeel all the way!!!!
Hail Hail.
Sean
in a very rare thing for me to say, am i right in thinking a win for hearts would actually see them qulify for their own playoff round in the conference league ?
and good luck to shamrock rovers, what an acheivement that would be, come on the hoops.
Ange is under pressure, and needs to win games……starting tonight
https://youtu.be/-tRQrDmFGp8?si=1_3_eq3iZAMXDBXv
93 game against young boys of berne.
Sounds like the same boo boys are still attending .
Fills in a bit of time .
a dreadful time, our capacity was greatly reduced due to uefa restrictions, we won by an own goal, in extra time, the huns getting knocked out was our highlight.
more famous for the tiger tim dismissel
how far we have come.
If the Spurs players have the stomach for tonight they should win, kolusevski is excellent and Johnson quick and a decent finisher, if they don’t have the guts they will lose, coping with that horrible atmosphere is stage 1 of winning the game.