Qualifiers, cash, mitigating fitness

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Lots to consider after last night’s Champions League qualifiers.  Top surprise of the night was Marseille being eliminated by Panathinaikos on penalties.  The Greek side equalised in the 10th minute of added time at the Velodrome in what must have been a horrible way to lose for the home fans.

Should Panathinaikos reach the group stage at the expense of Braga, Celtic will earn an extra £900k in 10-year coefficient bonus.  Unfortunately, Copenhagen (higher 10-year coefficient than Celtic) twice came from behind in extra time away to Sparta Prague to win through on penalties, with Larsson Jnr scoring a first minute opener for them.  The Danes face Polish champions Rakow Czestochhowa in the playoffs.  Rakow started the new season in mixed form, so I expect the Larssons to be celebrating.

AIK Athens continued a good night for Greek football winning away at Dinamo Zagreb.  The second leg is scheduled for Saturday and a Dinamo elimination would also net Celtic around £900k.  Dinamo were keen to retain Croatia international keeper Dominik Livakovic for the qualifiers, so that position could change early next week.  Could be an interesting one.

This money all adds up for Celtic and shows the perils of Champions League qualification, where teams are caught early in their season’s preparation.  100 minutes into the game, it was no surprise that Marseille legs and minds were not up to the task.

Newco’s draw in Geneva earned them €5m plus takings from an additional home qualifier against PSV Eindhoven next week – huge money for a side that badly needs cash.  Their season ahead of our visit to Ibrox on 3 September will be markedly different to ours until that point.

We will have played four competitive games, none against a team that has/will physically exert us.  Newco will have played eight games, four of which are ideal preparation for facing Celtic.  They are in Eindhoven four days before that Celtic game, with the possibility of elation or depression, as well as exertion.

There are clear negatives for Newco but after eight games they will be close to fully fit, whereas we are likely to still be finding our legs.  That problem is hopefully something the backroom team can work on to mitigate.  Not sure if this is a good or bad fixture mix.

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  1. bournesouprecipe on

    Bosun Lawal has signed a new deal at the club and is heading out on loan to Fleetwood Town.

  2. SFTB…I agree…forgetting our roots is a dangerous path….commemoration of them should be progressive and, I believe, thats through social, political and economic means. The singing of traditional ballads at Celtic Park is an unalienable right…but some addons are outdated and unwelcome and hinder progresd towards an inclusive future.

     

     

    H.H.

  3. That’s neat, that’s neat, that’s neat, that’s neat

     

    I really love your Lagerbielke, I really love your Lagerbielke

     

    Your Lagerbielke

     

    Your Lagerbielke

     

    Your Lagerbielke

     

    Well, alright

  4. Celtic Mac…no and yes…we need better at RB cover than Ralston and I suggest a better LB than Greg Taylor…a settled CB pairing is essential….just my european tuppenceworth….

     

     

    H.H.

  5. SETTING FREE THE BEARS FOR RES. 12 & OSCAR KNOX

     

     

    I have just transferred my Superbru fees.

     

     

    Could you let me know if the transfer has gone through please, obviously when you have time.

     

     

    Many thanks.

     

     

    Brian.

     

     

    HH

  6. Brian…shall we jockey for last place again….or a sidebet on who fares worst this Superbru season? £40 on the line ;-))

     

     

    H.H.

  7. Listening to Gustav on the the Celtic TV Channel,could I ask were in Celtic Park did the interview take place,it looked very nice ,oh and welcome to Celtic Gustav.

  8. Joe Brolly should go after the rangers support.

     

     

    If they could stop singing about the IRA and Bobby Sands then I will as well.

  9. TLT

     

     

    I will have to decline your offer, I’m giving them FECK all.

     

     

    I hope SFTB burns my name into the ‘Wooden Spoon’, my conscious will be clear. :)

     

     

    HH

  10. Back to Basics - Glass Half Full on

    Has Lagerbielke definitely signed?

     

     

    I’m not convinced.

     

     

    No mention on Fabrizio Romano’s Twitter

     

     

    🤔🤔🤔🤔

  11. Joe Brolly

     

     

    “You look at that, it’s absolutely vibrant, it’s joy, it’s ‘Oh, ah, up the Ra’. My son was at it and his best friend who is, as he describes it, half a Protestant. His father’s a Protestant and his mother’s a Catholic, and there they are bouncing up and down singing, ‘Oh, ah, up the Ra’.

     

     

    “So I think a lot of younger people, it’s more a sense of identity, of saying, ‘We had no army, we had no police, but what we had was the Ra and they stood up for us’.

     

     

     

    ————

     

     

    Bobby a member of the British Parliament –

     

     

    Our revenge will be the laughter of our children.

  12. SCULLYBHOY on 16TH AUGUST 2023 7:45 PM

     

     

    look at body language, his heid is doon already, he thought he was getting a real celtic hooped jersey.

     

     

    he might be tall, but he is too skinny

     

     

    waste of money

     

     

    lawwells hands all over it

  13. Big Gustav follows in the footsteps of previous Number 4 giants such as Adam Virgo, Badr El Kaddouri, Efrain Juarez, Jack Hendry and Shane Duffy…

     

     

    Who says the shirt doesn’t shrink ??!!???

     

     

    Break the mould big fella.

     

     

    HH

  14. The Blogger Formerly Known As GM on

    Shane Duffy.

     

     

    Don’t know whether to laugh or cry.

     

     

    There were many who beefed their jocks because he was Irish, which folklore said confers super powers in a Celtic shirt.

     

     

    I think Shane put that one to bed.

  15. Remember people talked about how skinny Lustig was when he signed

     

     

    Watched his videos and read his back story

     

     

    He will do well

     

     

    Welcome to Celtic Gustav

  16. I don’t normally look at YT videos, but decided to have a swatch at Big Gus, he will do for me, fast, good with the ball at his feet, can score a goal or two, as I said, he will do for me, well done the scouts, we seem to have ramped up a few notches in the past couple of years, is it a coincidence >:)…..obviously one of the reasons BR came back.

  17. TET: I listened to the Joe Duffy Show too. Duffy was a complete dick to Brian Warfield. I turned it off because everyone was just talking over each other.

  18. Almore AKA the cafe Mhan

     

    Aye it was embarrassing.

     

    Mrs TET also heard it and slagged me for actually having it on, she was right, used to get Newstalk, it was bad but slightly better than RTE but we no longer get it on the free sat, so reduced to RTE, jeezo, it’s actually worse than the BBC et all FFS, and that’s saying something.

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