You and I know better than to take pleasure in being drawn against weak teams in the Champions League, but these games are still more welcome than coming up against properly resourced sides. Last night’s results, therefore, we welcome in that they took AEK Athens in the playoff seeded spots.
With one round to go before the playoffs, there are a few sides still in the unseeded spot that could cause us problems. If we were drawn against Bodo/Glimt few of us would be confident, but Viking Stavanger beat them to the Norwegian league last term and sit just a point below them halfway through this season. They will be far fitter than Celtic and will be a formidable opponent.
LASK topped the Austrian league, overcoming Salzburg, Sturm Graz and the Vienna clubs. Any team better than Salzburg are worthy of respect. Kairat Almaty will make the playoffs again if they overcome Levski Sofia. I want Kairat again; unfinished business.
AFG Aarhus saw off Midtjylland and Copenhagen, both of whom have caused us problems in recent years. AFG face Azerbaijani champions Sabah, who coasted the league, humbling Qarabag, who with Camilio Duran progressed out of last season’s Champions League, league stage, remember.
Slovenian champions Celje are likely to get the better of Ararat-Armenia. Neither will be the strongest side we could be drawn against but you and I both have bad memories of Slovenians in the playoffs.
124 Comments- Pages:
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HH
We need more ready made players.
And soon.
The two forwards appear to be excellent signings, and I congratulate all involved
However, we’ve lost a few and may yet lose more
Need to keep the focus in
We can’t suggest there’s plenty time left in the window while simultaneously worry about CL qualifiers
This is our position most years
The standard setting is somewhere just barely above the floor.
I refuse to be conditioned into fearing European minnows. UEFA have given us as clear a path as possible. If we again fail, it’s entirely on those who run the club.
From no excuses to a litany of excuses…
Not for me.
Ooft
My ad blocker has stopped working and this is the first time I’ve looked in here since. In the name of the wee man. Now I get all those trolling articles bating for engagement. A once fine site is now a lazy moneymaker.
It’s practically unscrollable .
Oot!
I want Kairat
… and one more signing in and ready for 18/19 August.
Howe will get the Everton job, their fans do not want Moyes
EKBhoy- I think we rely on agents to hawk their players to us mainly,the agents that still deal with us….
Paul67 et al
Any team that qualifies through a series of knockout rounds deserves our respect, recent results under Lennon, Postecoglu and Rodgers will all tell you that. Trips to Greece are best avoided not least because their tendency to refer to us as Kelts can be confusing for some. Looking forward to the draw on Monday, and as things stand squad wise. we have a group of players more than capable of making it into the CL proper…..as things stand.
Auldheid on 30th July 2026 1:30 pm
Chairbhoy
Previous blog 5.39?
You said.
Yes, the fact that Dermot Desmond seems quite happy to coast along in this transfer window with Micheal Nicholson and Chris McKay the only active senior staff implementing the player transfer activity is mind.
boggling.
=====
I cannot verify this and so it can be treated as hearsay which is why I was barred from SC for challenging your BR narrative.
The story goes there was a meeting last week involving MN and DD on video and football dept reps. MoN was not there as the message from football reps was that Celtic could not attract players MoN wanted at the wages on offer.
The outcome from DD was to tell MN to get playes signed.
That was before Hogh and the German lad has made his position clear to his club he wants to leave. Waiting game.
The point is that if this is true and it was posted elsewhere then the problem is not a capacity one or a competence one but a financial one and in making judgements room should always be made for what we do not know.
Being hopeful it might mean DD has to accept that the wage Plimsoll line has shown Celtic are about to be grounded if they dont move to deeper waters.
Analogies. Wit am I like?
Transfer Dealings rating to date 2/10.
Thank God we have Michael Nicholson running the show.
It’s only a matter of time.
What could possibly go wrong?
Lucky Cody 1.37
We’ll see.
We need a solid defensive middy added to the skwad!
Pour some Sigur on me !
DefLeppard CSC
HadjukSplitEnz CSC
THE BADA BING on 30TH JULY 2026 12:56 PM
EKBhoy- I think we rely on agents to hawk their players to us mainly,the agents that still deal with us….
…..
Agreed and a few hand picked ‘consultants’ on a temporary basis to complete the donkey work internally to get the transfers over the line.
HH
Am I right in thinking that if Brendan Rodgers moves from the Middle East to the North East…..
Celtic FC would be entitled to a sell-on fee. No?
quadrophenian on 30th July 2026 1:43 pm
We need a solid defensive middy added to the skwad!
Pour some Sigur on me !
DefLeppard CSC
HadjukSplitEnz CSC
——
We could then say, I got you, that’s all I want😉
Kelvinbhoy on 30th July 2026 7:34 am
Auldheid on 30th July 2026 12:55 am
This initiative is to be welcomed, no doubt. As you say fans need to be involved on an ongoing basis with genuine transparency and interaction. I see some key areas of focus noted on the website but this has to be augmented/ validated via the fans feedback you refer to. I do hope JPT gets the influence and authority this role needs, something I’ve always had my doubts about in his previous role due to the inability of the Board to truly listen to the fans.
=====
Its a pity the Celtic statement on communication did not come out earlier but having read it in full it will have taken a while to put together.
The fear from Celtic based on past and present experience is that the proposals will be shot down on social media by those with their own agenda.
Lo and behold the CSL have done just that on X but either did not delve into the statement in full where it is stated where members of the new Celtic Connect oversight group will be taken from see
https://www.celticfc.com/fans/supporter-engagement/
or did delve and are deliberatey tryin to undermine trust in the initiative before it gets off the ground.
They have much to fear if it does.
This innovation is a trust building opportunity.
I think JPT has generally passed the trust test hence his appointment and if the sick division that poisons Celtic as a whole is ever to end, then mistrust has to be put aside and supporters who want to see an end of division should consider telling Celtic in the form provided the changes they would like to see happen.
Yup, intrinsically perilous. Time of the season doesn’t help, with Cluj exhibit number 1. We beat them easily later the same season once into our stride.
Law of probabilities suggests we’re due some success.
Also much happier facing the challenge with Duran and Hogh in the team than Shin Yamada. No harm to him.
Celtic Mac.
Alas, we’d be entitled to Saud-all !
ziggydoc1 on 30th July 2026 1:59 pm
quadrophenian on 30th July 2026 1:43 pm
We need a solid defensive middy added to the skwad!
Pour some Sigur on me !
DefLeppard CSC
HadjukSplitEnz CSC
——
We could then say, I got you, that’s all I want😉
👍 👍
Hope AJ stays of course but a stay at Celtic that lasted from one World Cup through to another completes the full circle. Interesting that he may replace Seamus Coleman @ Everton FC given that, back in the day Seamus, really did pass through Parkhead’s gates, for a week’s trial, and was available from Sligo Rovers for the princely sum of 60 Grand in Pounds Sterling. These were the latter days of the Lawwell – Strachan axis and it may be that our budget had been used up in what is now referred to as the ‘Willie Flood’ window and it was left to Davie Moyes to take him down to Goodison for that very same figure in Jan 2009. Later Moyes tried to take him to Manchester for 15 million plus.
And so it goes……..
quadrophenian
Ha! Dermot missed a trick there!
Auldheid @ 2pm
Thank you for posting link.
Feedback submitted
Any agent worth his salt isn’t going to boycott any club, let alone a cash rich club like Celtic, when advertising clients who are looking for a move. That would be cutting off one’s nose to spite one’s face in the name of bad business practice.
I’d prefer if we avoided Kairat , they were 2/3rds way through their season , so for me if we’d played them even 2 weeks later we’d have ran out 3 or 4 goal winners. On that basis we need to avoid the Norwegians , best bet is the Slovenian’s , NK.
All these games are tricky , remember going through late with a Jamsie beauty cutting in from the left … just prior or after did the opposition not hit the bar when it was easier to score when we coughed up a chance from a corner.
HH
It looks to me, that AJ and Arne are going. We have two ideal replacements in Araujo and Baur, just do it Celtic.
We will never fully recover until the Desmonds are out of Celtic, high time our board told them to keep their noses out, and get to fuck
kingLUBO
The booking fee for a ticket is now £1.60, up 10p……every wee bit helps….
Lucky Cody
You’re a funny guy, not in a Goodfellas way you understand
KINGLUBO
Just back from 4 days in Dungloe….never disappoints
I liked Araujo…..but AJ is a definite step up
Off to Cork for a weekend of fun …fly tomorrow
Unfortunately will miss going to game Monday
Hard life
Good afternoon all from the Brazen Head. It’s a hard life enjoying yourself but I try my best.
Araujo was a terrific player last season and worth remembering he hadn’t been playing a lot of football previously so we probably didn’t see the best of him. AJ has been superb but if Araujo was his replacement I wouldn’t see it as a downgrade. Araujo’s also got a bit of madness in him that came to the fore against the huns, he knows how to wind them up :)
UEFA to boycott FIFA Tournaments if sell off happens
Another quiet day as far as transfers are concered
Well done UEFA…now rub that intae yer baldy heid Infantino!
No offence to any baldy heids lurking…
BRRB, I popped in to Platform 5 yesterday but no one around. Did you come through? Would have been nice to meet.
Hx2
ScotRail Chief Operating Officer, David Ross, told BBC Radio Scotland that issues began when “thousands and thousands of people” attempted to switch to the new app at the same time.
——–
Wow.
Thousands and thousands?
Go figure, David.
I wonder if the meeting at which the digital folks said
“In order to de-risk transition, we recommend running the old and new service in parallel for a period”
… was minuted.
🤔🤔🤔