There’s been a palpable sense of relief among all of us since Leigh Griffiths scored in Astana last midweek, but as Wednesday’s second leg draws nearer, the reality that our Champions League hopes are very much on the line is dawning.
Astana’s natural game in Europe is to defend and play on the break. They kept a clear sheet in Vilnius in the last round and conceded only twice on the road in last season’s three away qualifiers against Maribor, HJK Helsinki and APOEL Nicosia – decent qualifier opponents by any measure.
They will put two men on both Patrick Roberts and Leigh Griffiths, and sit deep, hoping to draw Celtic into leaving space at the back. This is the exact scenario we lost out to otherwise inferior teams in Europe over the last two seasons. We enjoyed possession and territorial advantage (home and away) but were ripped open on the break.
Progress to the playoff round will be all about how well we defend.
The bulk of tomorrow’s training session should be set aside for the practice of penalty kicks. Celtic lose far too many penalty competitions, and despite legacy notions which persist in British football, penalties can be practiced. 10 players should hit at least 10 penalties each.
Dreadful news that Tommy Gemmell was hospitalised over the weekend. He’s been a great friend to CQN in recent years and I know we all send him our best wishes.
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Dallas@7:42,
Did we no win it at Easter Road the following game?
Hey Delaney’s… Mention to ACGR that he might be the “to go person” for Ibrox related comments from the green and white…….there is a pamphlet there ….ACGR incorporated…
Smiley thing
Braw .
Gordybhoy64
You might be best to check as I am sure I read somewhere that tickets for Wednesday are now only available via Internet or at Ticket Office.
Kelvinbhoy,
cheers mucker,will give them a phone first thing
Mark Lawrenson isn’t everybody’s cup of tea as a commentator, but the guy was a top quality defender and knows his stuff.
You will often hear him saying “as a defender you have to be a pessimist”. Efe Ambrose is not a pessimist.
Cascarino’s 1st goal against the Hertz was one of the great Celtic Park occasions. Think Andy Walker put it on a plate for him and my how we celebrated. The big numpty got sent off 5-10 mins later.
I think it is only fair….if Bojo can rip it up for the Union…..then our own beloved ACGR should take up the press duties at Celtic…at present the Union must have tens of thousands wee diploma ties…. Hahaha so the Carmylie Man can hire lots of braw lads ….
What a wonderful thought …proper loving women and men ….enjoying what they do ….and encouraging others to get on..
The Celtic way was not dreamed up…..the Celtic way is tick tock tick tock…and smile all the while
Braw
James
See you at 5 on Wed my son.
Contingency plan for Friday off too.
See how the Gowf wi ACGR goes on Thursday.
NB
Great wee break en Espana thanks.
Ok Da!
;-)
HH jamesgang
Gordy
Probably on the 3pm train fae Dalmuir on Wed. Give me a phone mucker.
Glad game not tv so hopefully we can get over 45000 or so along to get behind the team.
Too many folk thinking this is a done deal !
☆;:*:;☆;:*:;☆;:*:;☆;:*:;☆
DALLAS DALLAS @7.42
☆;:*:;☆;:*:;☆;:*:;☆;:*:;☆
Delaneys,
if i canny get a ticket tomorrow i will go to the ticket office on Wed ,
just meet you in the boozer,but i will give you a bell either way
Dallas Dallas
Agree entirely with your post re Efe.
Some of those who pay money to go to Celtic Park and abuse our players are an utter embarassment to themselves never mind the club mind you !
CALL_OF_JUAREZ on 1ST AUGUST 2016 8:16 PM
Cascarino’s 1st goal against the Hertz was one of the great Celtic Park occasions. Think Andy Walker put it on a plate for him and my how we celebrated. The big numpty got sent off 5-10 mins later.
Apart from Liam Brady being his agent, and I imply nothing, Cascarino’s being signed by Celtic always puzzled me.
Brady, an exponent of smooth silky football, never hid his disdain for the physical, kick and rush, and moderately successful,game deployed by Jack Charlton’s Republic of Ireland’s sides. Lo and behold, on taking over at Celtic, one of Brady’s first acts was to sign Cascarino, the centre piece of Charlton’s kick and rush side. There should have been a steward’s enquiry.
Burnley
The Maribor match is too relevant in my mind to expect this as tie over.
Full house of ‘supporters’ required Wednesday.
G64
I purchased and printed 2 tickets today
Simple and quick
weebobbycollins on 1st August 2016 7:43 pm
I really, really, really hope Efe plays on Wednesday and is man of the match after a fantastic hat-trick. I also hope he blooters a few balls into the crowd and succeeds in hitting a few ‘haters’ right smack dab in the middle of the mush…away to Ibrox, the huns could be doing with a few more of your kind…
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WBC, couldn’t agree more! If Efe does decide to leave, he’ll go with my best wishes, and thanks for the delight his goal celebrations gave me while he was our player.
HH
I’ve not counted the dots but at a quick look at the available tickets there should be over 50,000 there i reckon.
is this the same David Meikle who got his article posted in the record and scotsman unattributed today ?
http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/13214332.Ten_famous_couples_you_didn_t_know_were_an_item___/
The guy that is spoken about in the same circles as Ben Stiller , Christina Hendriks, Sasha Baron Cohen ?
The only Tory councillor in Glasgow ? … that´s some going
This guy ? …. does he have a CQN account ? Mmmmmmmmmmhhhhhhhhh… I hope so he would be entirely at home.
https://athousandflowers.net/2014/08/08/weekly-wanker-036-david-meikle/
Maybe he can tell us why Peter Lawwell gave up his seat on the professional game board at the SFA for his Rangers counterpart ?
LazyjournalismCSC
Gordy
Took me 2 mins on Celtic Website to book my ticket for Wednesday.
BT,
aye easy if you have a printer that works ;-))
I watched the first half of the Astana away game in a pub I hadn’t been in before in Blantyre. 3pm, a dozen or so Celtic fans max, a dead dog in the corner, some old boys studying the racing post and a wee telly high in the corner wired to a laptop.
Chucked it at half time because one of these supporters had decided McGregor is “a rat”. An expression he used loudly and repeatedly. I’d rather have listened on the radio than stay and watch in that sort of company.
Thankfully the Parkville had got their act together for the 2nd half, an altogether tremendous experience in there.
Obviously booing a player is not on, but beyond the Efe situation there also has to be even reluctant acceptance that folk behave in a manner that reflects their personality and circumstances.
Some folk come to Celtic Park to clap and cheer, some come to be entertained, some come to escape an otherwise pitiful working week among many other reasons. That manifests itself in reaction to events on the park and the outlet of emotion football affords the working man, woman, student or adolescent brings varying outcomes.
To many it is way more than a game, and defeat means a week ahead being goaded by workmates, friends, family or neighbours. How Celtic play, what they achieve is actually dead important to people. And among all that some folk are just horrible people. You’re unlucky if you’re sitting next to serial moaner, but you’ll not change them.
However when the boos are so many that they’re audible as a group and repeated more than once you either have quite a wide issue over a consumer society that is reflected in football support, or you have folk scunnered with repeated mistakes making their point. Harsh on the player, should be a kick up the backside to the manager.
The solution isn’t to try and stop people booing. You won’t. You’ll get yourself into a stressful situation with them. The solution is in the hands of the manager, whether we like it or not.
Spam on CQN is there no end to the modern rubbishness of the internet:)))
I shudder to think what the answer is……..
BT
Thanks, bought ticket for 102 F10. Hope to make BV before game or CQN corner
HH
There are moments on this wonderful place …..when you can actually feel darkness being turned to light …
Big smiley thing
Braw
Hunsware alert !
Out of here.
Be careful hoops
Who or whit is that?????
Abbiebell3…pants on fire…
Hot Smoked, if your lurking, documentary about Coppi on Freesat 251
HH
Abbiebell3
I was going to ask if you were a hun, but with that level of income you cannae be!
Is your best friend called Peter, in drag? :-)
HH
CRC
It’s spam by the looks of it, didny open it, but the blog used to get them quite a lot.
Blantyrekev..
It is difficult to get a grasp on daily grime….and for most that is what it is ….that it is how it is…
The Celtic were and should be a couple of hours of …being free…
We all kicked a ball…and we all had excuses….why no me???
Football as we understood it ….that is gone ….big unsmiley thing …
The internet will kill the goose…
Hoisted by their own Breeetardband…
Braw.
Blantyre Kev
“The solution isn’t to try and stop people booing. You won’t. You’ll get yourself into a stressful situation with them. The solution is in the hands of the manager, whether we like it or not.”
There’s no way the manager can sort that tendency either. The rules do not allow him to replace the starting 11 with an entirely different team every 15 minutes as someone’s favourite scapegoat messes up and a demand is made that he be disappeared.
Well not if he has to respond to cries for his own removal too. We have had 18 managers in our history. If we sack a manager every 5 minutes, we can double that amount in every single game. It could develop into a live interactive form of Strictly Come Managing with boos replacing phone votes.
AbbieBell3
“my best friend earns over £9185 a month doing this”
She’s either a lawyer or a wh…., er something more reputable :-)
Can we not have a clay doo shoot policy …..in fact that sounds like another money maker…
Twenty posters shooting an intruder poster…..who is against beautified thinking….…. …aufniemalswiedersehen
Braw
Efe Ambrose should have been moved on about 18 months ago, as long as he is on the park , playing for Celtic,he has my 100% support.