Manchester City have flattered to deceive in the Champions League since becoming one of the richest clubs in the world, before reaching the semi-finals of the competition last season. That contest ended in a 1-0 aggregate win for Real Madrid, closer than many expected, based on City’s domestic form at the time.
What happened at City last season is the stuff books are written about, well after the event. They took the early season by storm, but when it became clear manager Manuel Pellegrini was to be replaced by Pep Guardiola in the summer, results fell apart. Even their highly-credible results against Real Madrid were criticised for a perceived lack of effort in places.
Now Guardiola is in charge and City are short odds on to take the title. The look imperious in English football, while their 4-0 trouncing of Borussia Monchengladbach in the Champions League earlier this month was remarkably comprehensive.
Celtic have managed to draw a Champions League group stage with two of the four top favourites to win the tournament. Barcelona are favourites with Bayern Munich and Real Madrid behind, but City are ahead of recent finalists Juventus and Atletico Madrid. The other UK clubs barely rate a mention.
This luck of the draw is far from a normal event. It appears harsh on pot three team, Borussia, and absolutely daunting for pot 4’s Celtic. The humbling in Barcelona two weeks ago served Brendan and the players with a lesson, perhaps not their last this campaign, but tomorrow gives us a chance to face off against one of the best teams in the world. It will be exhausting and exhilarating, but we should face it with some anticipation.
You are going to see Celtic score four, five and six against many teams this season. We are so far ahead of the rest of Scotland this is the norm. These Champions League games are the bonus which will illuminate the dark evenings, but they will also provide a valuable yardstick to measure the scintillating football we watched at the weekend.
Are Kieran and Tom ready to face the best in the business? Do Scott Sinclair and James Forrest have a point to prove? Can Leigh and/or Moussa use their pace to create space against top international defenders?
By 21:45 tomorrow evening you’ll know some of these answers. Give me this kind of stress any day, instead of Molde or Fenerbahce.
Thanks for all the support for the Great Scottish Run for the Celtic Foundation on Saturday. Special thanks for those who got the MyDonate account up to this level (below) yesterday. And a bigger thanks to the person who moved us on!
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Almore,
I will take your tickets if they are still going,
DD has my number , or BMCUW has my e mail ,
An Tearmann, thanks for the shout out
Almore
I’ll take them if available.
VFR800A8 on 27TH SEPTEMBER 2016 12:20 PM
_________________________________________________
I replied to ye earlier today but, the post got lost when the blog took a sickie.
Sorry about that.
Anyway, where would Celtic be if it wasn’t for Fergus McCann ?
Well, I’m assuming that you’ve been sooked-in by the myth that, Celtic would have died without Fergus’s intervention ?
Well. I don’t for one minute imagine that,…..
Wullie Haughey
Michael MacDonald
Gerald Weisfeld
……and,…..
Brian Dempsey and, Edmund Keane had a bank account worth £7 million ready to invest into Celtic which was, with the Bank of Ireland, the money wasn’t invested because, Fergus moved the goalposts when he was given the keys of the club. The deal from the rebels which, they all agreed to was that, when the 5 year period of reconstruction of the club had been completed, the rebels shareholding would be sold back to the Celtic supporters for, 10% less than the price the rebels purchased them for. Fergus reneged on that deal, putting himself before the very folk who made the take-over possible in the 1st place – the Celtic supporters who took out loans to by the shares that would generate the money to build the stadium – Celtic supporters built the stadium – not Fergus. Brian Dempsey later appeared on Scotsport with the Bank of Ireland statement for the viewers to see, he also told Fergus at the time – just after DR Jo was appointed that, if Fergus continued through the club newspaper(Celtic View) to criticize both, Dempsey and Celtic historian, Gerry McNee with leaks back to why, the rebels all split when McCann took control, that Dempsey would reveal his version of events in the media as well. Strangely…..Fergus hid from this without any response ??????
Very strange ?????
Four years ago when, the huns were removed from the same league as Celtic coz they got caught……Fergus McCann said that it was the ‘worst’ decision ever made to remove them ?????
Very strange ?????
Ye see,…….imho……
If Fergus hadn’t been involved with the rebels at all, a more Celticyyyyyy board of directors would have been in control of the club and, would have made sure that the promise that Fergus ‘didny’ keep in selling the club back to the fans, so that Celtic FC would be run by rebellious Celtic supporters and not, sleekit-kowtowing-soul-selling-look-the-other-way-grass-ye-up-to-the-cops types of charlatans yeah, the promise that Fergus ‘didny’ keep would have been kept and, as a result of that,….Celtic FC, under the watch of the rebellious Celtic board would have shed-killed-exorcised the old-firm tag and, the new rebellious Celtic FC would probably have been playing in another league…..years ago.
But, Celtic FC at the minute are dining out on the fact that, a squirrel-manager who couldny get another job in England and, who’ll be off at the 1st EPL job offer, has managed to hook the Celtic support back onside when, it looked like 20,000 crowds were just around the corner.
For me, if Celtic are in the same league as the huns and are skelping them,….I’ll die happy, like a Fenian-Pharrell.
But, maybe you’ll need to wisen-up in terms of – if ye know the history – before you shuuv petitions down folks throats and, get them to align themselves with the very folk who will sell Celtic’s soul in the blink of an eye. Ah mean, are the petition-peddlers trying to tell Celtic supporters that, everything is ok now, the PLC-Leopards have got new spots ?????
It’s like this…….
Shame on the PLC-Hierarchy for selling Celtic’s soul to the establishment.
Shame on the Celtic support, if you let them do it again – and they will.
Tick, tock…….
Take care fella – back the morra.
HH
Gordybhoy got there first.
gladdens my heart when people who really want tickets get them.
full hoose.
Sam Allardyce is nothing but a fat greedy bassa HH
bcw e-mail sent
Kevj…..
I love reading your posts….always bring me down to earth from any unusually happy place I might have been.
Being Scottish any prolonged period of happiness is to be avoided at all costs.
Thank you! :-)
HH
Almore
I sent you on Gordys details
So big Sam is sacked…Makes my blood boil at the way the English FA handled the problem , no messing around, emergency meeting get the facts and act upon it at once. Contrast and compare with the weasels and cowards at Hampden ……Anything that required a decision with you know who ,they washed their hands of it and set up an “independent” enquiry in a way to give them the result they wanted all along …….ROTTEN to the core every one of them. All Scottish clubs owners ours included should hold their heads in shame that the SFA are still in position as we speak
Roddybhoy
Gordybhoy: Tickets gone, I’m afraid. I got a text just as I posted. Apologies. If I come across anymore I will contact you first
Geordie Munro
Agree – Bitton’s best season was 14-15 without doubt.
Kevj….
PS…did Fergus not give fans first call on his shares when he sold up but the fans were too hacked off with him to follow up on their original purchase? Possibly because many resented him getting all that money?
Just asking!
HH
Almore you big tease
You owe all the bhoys a round of Coffee in the New Cafe
BT Sports “The Goals Show” not yet living up to my big build up – 8 games, almost 20 minutes in and just 1 goal scored….
GlassTwoThirdsFull on 27th September 2016 8:01 pm
Geordie Munro
Agree – Bitton’s best season was 14-15 without doubt
……………………………………………………………………
An he’s 26 now!
KEVJUNGLE on 27TH SEPTEMBER 2016 7:53 PM
VFR800A8 on 27TH SEPTEMBER 2016 12:20 PM
_________________________________________________
I replied to ye earlier today but, the post got lost when the blog took a sickie.
Sorry about that.
Anyway, where would Celtic be if it wasn’t for Fergus McCann ?
Well, I’m assuming that you’ve been sooked-in by the myth that, Celtic would have died without Fergus’s intervention ?
Well. I don’t for one minute imagine that,…..
Wullie Haughey
Michael MacDonald
Gerald Weisfeld
……and,…..
Brian Dempsey and, Edmund Keane had a bank account worth £7 million ready to invest into Celtic which was, with the Bank of Ireland, the money wasn’t invested because, Fergus moved the goalposts when he was given the keys of the club. The deal from the rebels which, they all agreed to was that, when the 5 year period of reconstruction of the club had been completed, the rebels shareholding would be sold back to the Celtic supporters for, 10% less than the price the rebels purchased them for. Fergus reneged on that deal, putting himself before the very folk who made the take-over possible in the 1st place – the Celtic supporters who took out loans to by the shares that would generate the money to build the stadium – Celtic supporters built the stadium – not Fergus. Brian Dempsey later appeared on Scotsport with the Bank of Ireland statement for the viewers to see, he also told Fergus at the time – just after DR Jo was appointed that, if Fergus continued through the club newspaper(Celtic View) to criticize both, Dempsey and Celtic historian, Gerry McNee with leaks back to why, the rebels all split when McCann took control, that Dempsey would reveal his version of events in the media as well. Strangely…..Fergus hid from this without any response ??????
Very strange ?????
Four years ago when, the huns were removed from the same league as Celtic coz they got caught……Fergus McCann said that it was the ‘worst’ decision ever made to remove them ?????
Very strange ?????
Ye see,…….imho……
If Fergus hadn’t been involved with the rebels at all, a more Celticyyyyyy board of directors would have been in control of the club and, would have made sure that the promise that Fergus ‘didny’ keep in selling the club back to the fans, so that Celtic FC would be run by rebellious Celtic supporters and not, sleekit-kowtowing-soul-selling-look-the-other-way-grass-ye-up-to-the-cops types of charlatans yeah, the promise that Fergus ‘didny’ keep would have been kept and, as a result of that,….Celtic FC, under the watch of the rebellious Celtic board would have shed-killed-exorcised the old-firm tag and, the new rebellious Celtic FC would probably have been playing in another league…..years ago.
But, Celtic FC at the minute are dining out on the fact that, a squirrel-manager who couldny get another job in England and, who’ll be off at the 1st EPL job offer, has managed to hook the Celtic support back onside when, it looked like 20,000 crowds were just around the corner.
For me, if Celtic are in the same league as the huns and are skelping them,….I’ll die happy, like a Fenian-Pharrell.
But, maybe you’ll need to wisen-up in terms of – if ye know the history – before you shuuv petitions down folks throats and, get them to align themselves with the very folk who will sell Celtic’s soul in the blink of an eye. Ah mean, are the petition-peddlers trying to tell Celtic supporters that, everything is ok now, the PLC-Leopards have got new spots ?????
It’s like this…….
Shame on the PLC-Hierarchy for selling Celtic’s soul to the establishment.
Shame on the Celtic support, if you let them do it again – and they will.
Tick, tock…….
Take care fella – back the morra.
HH
= = = = = = =
We’ve got a mission statement,though. ;))
Roddybhoy….
You miss the real point…..
A press sting exposed the whole rotten mess to the world meaning the FA had no choice but do what they did.
The folk at the FA are no better than their SFA equivalents, probably worse in fact given the money sploshing about down there.
The real comparison is with the press….no way anything like that would happen here. Even when Fergus exposed Farry the press still had deniers.
HH
Almore,
No bother mucker, thanks to the bhoys that put my name forward, in work now so will check later
Kevjungle
Celtic supporters built the stadium – not Fergus.
————-
Yes. But could we have built the stadium without Fergus?
Evening bhoys
I posted yesterday to ask if any Belfast bhoys flying over for game tomorrow on 5 o@clock flight
havent been able to check back,, so if there are can you contact me
HH
Gordybhoy64
No worries mate, I was in same position today after work diary change meant I could go.
Hope it all works out
Oldtim67
Be in bout 4ish.catch ye then young yin
Haul hail to you both:-)
Kevjungle
Celtic supporters built the stadium – not Fergus.
——————-
Yes. But could/would we have built the stadium without Fergus?
It wasn’t just the stadium. It was a total snap, a break from the way we were, to the way we are.
Like it or lump it. I like it.
WITS: I feel bad so a cup of of coffee is the least I could do.
Kevjungle ,I take it you have no faith,in the Board or The Manager,I know one thing Fergus McCann should have rebuilt the Main Stand,maybe Willie Haughey or Michael McDonald one of them could leave there legacy,by rebuilding the main stand,its not as if they are skint,
Roddybhoy
Was thinking that myself. No messing about, unlike our lot. I listened to various BBC reporters this morning, hedging their bets, scared to call it. The Independent chief sports writer Ian Herbert then came on and proceeded to crucify Allardyce, listing the charge sheet. The Wembley hierarchy got his message.
Unlike this place, their are no protected species in English football.
THIRDS63 @ 8:10 PM,
Well I have to agree with you about the press, don’t know about “sting” operations but in general they’d be all over any whiff of corruption or scandel.
But I have to agree with Roddybhoy, they have an impeccable track record on dealing with compliance in a robust and fair manner.
Dubious money has poured into the English and Welsh game but as far as implementing the rules the FA can’t be faulted.
There is no way the Rangers scandal..
a) Would have been allowed to develop
b) The rules bent and changed to accomadate the wrong doing – continuity myth.
Hail Hail
Almore
If only there was somewhere at Celtic Park to have a nice Capuccino
If Auld Mr Bewley was still alive !!!!
Panorama caught Allardyce at it years ago, said he would sue them, never did…
SIN CITY BHOY
Many thanks, that’s a great suggestion. Planning ahead for the BMG game and that’s as good a suggestion as any. I had tried the Kevin Barry pub…..but apparently no TV. Thanks for your help. HH
Bewleys at Celtic Park would be go hiontach.
Who’ll be the first Scottish hack to push BR for England.
I’m watching Borussia Dortmund a v R Madrid, cracking attacking fitba 1-1 half time.
Extremely Dodgy goalkeeping by Madrid goalie on a few occasions, one of which cost a goal.
Why can’t Celtic come up against goalie like him ( Navas) ?
I’m sure Pep has been in charge v Celts at CP ?
An Tearmann.
Jim said no problem and that ticket went to a very good home and that he will need to start posting.
Me, I’m delighted a Bellarmine bhoy managed to get sorted.
Hail Hail.
Marrakesh Express @8.42pm
Kevj will be suggesting it here I would imagine.
Jim
Hugh Keevins reporting Brendan Rodgers linked with England job!
Fishul!
timbhoy3 on 27th September 2016 11:02 am
Someone posted about Arnold Palmer ,saying he did a lot for Golf, and for Charity, then because he was a Freemason, he was a bad man,,but getting back to Arnold Clark, was it because he was friendly with a ex Sevco Chairman, that he was a bad person.
*WTF has arnold clark got tae dae with arnold palmer or are you just getting yer goatshaggers mixed up.
He wisnae just friendly with a “surrender no” but also marlboriough and had shares in the deid team.
Also that raphael about coming fae humble beginnings, his da was the local golf pro which gave him access tae free golf, no exactly carrying the hud or going doon the pits.
Alladyce, how to throw away at least £3 million a year in one swoop, whit a nutter !
He was always one of the guys that I have spoken about who haven’t got a clue about fitba, but yet walk into jobs earning big bucks.
BT sport claim that he has let the job on mutual agreement ?
In other words he hasn’t got a leg to stand on, and the FA have gave him a way out without paying compensation to the bam.
Sam, don’t let your greedy wallet jam the door on your way out !