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Positives but no hiding places

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By on CQN BLOG & Comments

As you and I speculated in yesterday’s blog: “after a run of difficult group stage draws, we expect Celtic to get a favourable Champions League draw this evening”.  More of us will find out later today, optimism is well placed when you are a Celtic fan.  For Celtic in the Champions League, it is all about what we do at home.  Young Boys, Slovan Bratislava, Club Brugge and Leipzig is where our focus should be.  We need Celtic Park at its very best to make the most of what is a genuine opportunity in this competition.

Brugge narrowly lost last season’s Conference League semi-final to Fiorentina.  They have the fortitude to last the pace over a long campaign.  Leipzig reached the Champions League Round of 16, losing 2-1 on aggregate to tournament winners Real Madrid.

Young Boys dropped out at the Group Stage a year ago, then lost out to Sporting in the Europa play-off round.  Slovan provide the most comfort from last season,  They made it through the Conference League Group Stage but were thumped at the next hurdle by Sturm Graz (winners of the Austrian League).

Away games at Borussia Dortmund, Atalanta, Aston Villa and Dinamo Zagreb are not for the faint hearted.  We have endured so many Champions League away games we are now conditioned to expect the worst.  Perhaps this is the season when everything really does even out.

Dortmund battered through this competition last season, before losing the final to Real Madrid.  They despatched PSG, Altetico, PSV, Milan and Newcastle on the way.  Expect them to move comfortably through the gears when they face Celtic.

Atalanta have just finished the greatest season in their history.  3-0 wins in the quarters, semi and final over Liverpool, Marseille and Bayer Leverkusen respectively, ensured they won the Europa League in emphatic fashion.  Aston Villa reached the Conference League semi-final last term, while Zagreb left that competition at the Round of 16.

This is without question a favourable draw, but there are no hiding places in the Champions League.  That sense of anticipation you have right now will turn into anxiety by the time you hear Zardok the Priest over the Celtic Park PA.

There will be another blog along early afternoon.

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  1. Aipple on

    Climb that mountain TexasTim!

     

     

    Shipbank bhoys have fun.

     

     

    Bed, is again, not wet. Could it be dryer?

     

     

    Love that “Cantwells” may soon be an official unit of measurement.

     

     

    Can’t believe people have Alexa in their house.

     

     

    Kentucky grass ain’t blue, it’s green.

     

     

    We can qualify.

     

     

    3 day weekend. Bless the Unions.

  5. celtic40me on

    I had completely forgotten about Dortmund last season, although they sneaked into the Champions League this season after finishing fifth in the Bundesliga. Hopefully last year was a one off

     

     

    The four games against Villa, Dortmund, Atalanta and Leipzig will be a challenge but we shouldnt be heading into any of them expecting the sort of doings we’d get from the very best teams.

     

     

    Loving the new format, loads of interesting fixtures

  8. lets all do the huddle on

    i agree.

     

     

    the home games are even more uber importanter than they have been in thrle previous format.

     

     

    i for one am delighted that there is none of this barcelona and real madrid carry-on

     

     

    im bored of these games in the group stages! the atmosphere is great before the game and then for 15 minutes then it dies down when we cant get a touch of the ball!

     

     

    if we have to play them in the last eight though then im cool with that 😋

  9. Tom McLaughlin on

    I was watching Sky Sports deadline day earlier.

     

     

    Arsenal talking to Chelsea about taking Raheem Sterling. The reporter on-site said the player will have to take a 50% wage cut for the deal to go through.

     

     

    I thought, Jesus Wept! Just what has been going on at Stamford Bridge?

  11. lets all do the huddle on

    Arsenal talking to Chelsea about taking Raheem Sterling. The reporter on-site said the player will have to take a 50% wage cut for the deal to go through.

     

    —

     

     

    arsenal obviously dont want to pay him for the time he spends rolling about the deck.

     

     

    quite right.

     

     

    snivelling diving cheat.

  15. Tom McLaughlin on

    SMSM getting excited about CCV missing training this morning.

     

     

    He’s away with Michael Nicholson meeting & greeting Auston Trusty.

  16. Back to Basics - Glass Half Full on

    Good article Paul. Cheers.

     

     

    Emotional rollercoaster is Celtic.

     

     

    On our best day we can move mountains and send the mighty home empty handed.

     

     

    On our worst, we can trip over molehills and be bested by smaller clubs.

     

     

    Smarts will be key here.

     

     

    I’ve no idea how many points we’ll end up with … but I trust Brendan Rodgers to play it smart and I feel confident our team will learn from the 8 games.

     

     

    Will they learn quickly enough to turn

     

    – thumpings into creditable performances despite losing?

     

    – narrow defeats into draws?

     

    – draws into narrow wins?

     

    – narrow wins into in control handsome victories?

     

     

    Who knows.

     

     

    Will be exciting & illuminating to watch though

     

     

    Bring it on.

  18. McPhail Bhoy on

    After that draw for Sevco I’m hoping for another record breaking campaign for them in the Europa League after their last record breaking stint in the Champions League!

  19. GlassTwoThirdsFull on

    “Dortmund battered through this competition last season”

     

    ——————

     

    Seriously??? Unless battered means scraped!

     

    Would also disagree that we had a tough group last year. If we had strengthened instead of weakening we could have got third at worst.

     

     

    Anyway, not a bad draw, although it might have been better with the home/aways switched around. Can’t really complain though.

  20. Back to Basics - Glass Half Full on

    Another potential variable will be scheduling.

     

     

    So called bigger clubs will likely use the new stretched format to manage gluts of games both European and domestic.

     

     

    Here’s hoping for big local derbies or tough league fixtures to be navigated either side of games against Celtic.

  21. kevinlasvegas on

    Is that 100% Tom?

     

     

    I did think that may be the case but didn’t see it anywhere.

     

     

    And yes they manage to find a negative in anything for us as their favourites have players jetting in all over the world and clubs lining up for their stars.

     

     

    Bananas.csc

     

     

    KLV

  22. Back to Basics - Glass Half Full on

    Didnt know the draw was on until comments above.

     

     

    Just saw R2ngers draw.

     

     

    I’ll spread guess between 3 and 9 points.

     

     

    Pity if it unfolds like that.

     

     

    Re my post about coefficients last night, we need R2ngers and ourselves to get perhaps 13-15 club points each with Hearts chipping in around 6-8 points … to give Scotland any outside chance of hitting 14th place for 26/27 qualification.

     

     

    Doesn’t look likely to me.

  23. celtic40me on

    BACK TO BASICS – GLASS HALF FULL on 30TH AUGUST 2024 12:51 PM

     

     

    Thanks for that

     

     

    What does 13-15 club points look like in terms of results?

  25. quadrophenian on

    So Tomo hawked around some English clubs.

     

    While we also ‘drop the Maik’…

     

    And Auston powers his way up to Celtic Park?

  27. Darwin on

    Paul sounds a wee bit gloomy like Sir Keir.

     

     

    The UK will be fine.

     

    Here we are in the the world’s sixth-largest largest economy, blessed with innovative engineers, scientists, creative artists, great universities, a civil service and the rule of law which is admired across the world, a global reach in soft power, oil and gas fields waiting to to be tapped, world-class companies like Rolls-Royce, Astra Zeneca, BP, HSBC and hundreds of others.

     

     

    So Paul, here’s Celtic – uber-successful, top players, top manager, great stadium, plenty in the bank, in the new look Champions League and beholding to nobody – no Middle East states, or, multi-national banks and institutions. So much to be happy about – OK we may suffer a few defeats, but as big Jock once said, “better struggling at the top than struggling at the bottom”

     

     

    Happy Hail Hail

  29. Aipple on

    KINGLUBO re: Blue Moon

     

     

    It’s known as the Bluegrass State. Motto is quite clever. “Unbridled Spirit.”

     

     

    Bourbon and horses etc.

  30. Maestro on

    The Europa League draw has put Rangers up against some old foes. I am looking forward to watching their rivalries with Ange Postecoglou and The Greater Manchester Police reignited.

  31. The Blogger Formerly Known As GM on

    “hawked around” – could you not have come up with something a bit more pejorative?

  32. Back to Basics - Glass Half Full on

    C40me – cheers.

     

     

    We’ve got 6.0 points already.

     

     

    I really like the UEFA coefficients concept and methodology … more so now that they’ve finally addressed a blatant gap …. how bloody hard it is to win and draw games in the Champions league group stage compared to the lower competitions.

     

     

    R2ngers get 3.0 for EL group, Hearts 2.5 for Conference.

     

     

    So …

     

     

    For us – 3 wins and a draw in the league, making it to play offs and getting a draw in one of the two legs

     

     

    R2ngers – as above but 1 more draw or win plus making play offs and maybe even winning play off?

     

     

    Hearts – hold their own. Two wins and a draw – coming second in their group and advancing to knockouts would be amazing.

  40. celtic40me on

    BACK TO BASICS – GLASS HALF FULL on 30TH AUGUST 2024 1:22 PM

     

     

    Thanks. Not looking promising then

  41. celtic40me on

    I watched some of the qualifiers the other day. Its crazy how much pressure there is on one tie, it cant be right

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