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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BABASONICOS71….
Fair post mate, if you ever get a chance have a talk with Preacepta. HH
Whoa…..where did all that Bellarmine stuff creep in. Got to be from the Bundy side.
I suspect Allerdyce won’t go hungry.
Clown.
He brought it on himself!
Watching Porto, reminiscent of 2003, soft fouls falling over, some things never change!!!
Havanalaugh.
Nae Bundy.
Priesty for me and Tongs for An Tearmann.
Were you a Bellarmine Bhoy?
Official: The Outer Hebrides is the happiest place in the UK
09:57, 27 SEP 2016 UPDATED 10:04, 27 SEP 2016
BY CLAIRE MILLER
The Western Isles is the place where people gave the highest score to the question, ‘how happy were you yesterday?’
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The Outer Hebrides is officially the happiest place in the UK.
The Western Isles is the place where people gave the highest score to the question, ‘how happy were you yesterday?’, according to the Government’s wellbeing survey.
Respondents rated their average happiness as 8.2 out of 10 in 2015/16, up from 8.1 in 2014/15, meaning the area overtakes Fermanagh and Omagh in Northern Ireland, which was the happiest place in 2013/14 and 2014/15, as the happiest place in the UK.
People in East Northamptonshire are the least likely to give high marks for happiness the day before, with people there scoring an average of 7 out of 10.
People in Mid and East Antrim find have the highest life satisfaction, rating it as 8.4 out of 10, while people in Corby have the lowest, 6.9 out of 10.
For feeling life is worthwhile, again Mid and East Antrim gave the highest rating at 8.6 out of 10, while the lowest was in Gravesham at 7.3.
READ MORE
Scotland’s most affordable ‘commuter towns’ revealed – did yours make the grade?
People in Hammersmith and Fulham felt the most anxious, scoring levels the previous day at 3.7 out of 10, while those in the Orkney Islands were the least anxious, just 1.9 out of 10.
VIEW GALLERY
Across the UK, average ratings across the four measures of personal well-being in financial year ending 2016 were: 7.7 out of 10 for life satisfaction, 7.8 out of 10 for feeling that what you do in life is worthwhile, 7.5 out of 10 for happiness yesterday and 2.9 out of 10 for anxiety yesterday.
Reported personal well-being had improved every year since the financial year ending 2012, when data were first collected; however, the financial year ending 2016 sees the first instance where there has not been an annual improvement across all of the measures.
Average ratings of feeling that things done in life are worthwhile, happiness and anxiety in the UK have not improved when comparing the financial years ending 2015 and 2016, but all have increased since the financial year ending 2012.
Life satisfaction is the only measure of personal well-being which has increased in the UK when comparing the financial years ending 2015 and 2016.
Those living in London reported lower average ratings of life satisfaction, anxiety and feeling things in life are worthwhile compared with UK overall.
The Standing stones at Callanish on the Isle of Lewis
People in Northern Ireland continue to give higher average ratings of personal well-being for all measures except anxiety, when compared with the other UK countries.
Although women reported higher life satisfaction and worthwhile levels when compared with men, they also reported higher levels of anxiety.
Dawn Snape, Quality of Life, Office for National Statistics, said: “We have seen personal well-being improving on a UK-wide basis over the past five years. But today’s data paints a richer picture, enabling people to explore what’s been happening in their local area.
“This will help individuals, communities and local authorities to look at well-being locally alongside other traditional measures of progress.”
The 4 personal well-being questions are:
:: overall, how satisfied are you with your life nowadays?
:: overall, to what extent do you feel the things you do in your life are worthwhile?
:: overall, how happy did you feel yesterday?
:: overall, how anxious did you feel yesterday?
People are asked to respond on a scale of 0 to 10, where 0 is “not at all” and 10 is “completely”.
Marrakesh….
Surely the Magic Hat will be a shoo in!
HH
Havanalaugh .
Forgot to add and if you were a Bellarmine Bhoy, are you Peter Lawwell?
Am a Bellarmine bhoy, left in ’70, por cierto
JIMMYNOTPAUL
Long long ……..long time ago. In the days of Harry Morgan, the Gonk, Murphy and Burns if you’ve heard those names.
Disappointed my mate Gordybhoy got pipped at the post tonight for 2 tickets for Paradise tomorrow. I cannot remember a match at home when tickets were as hard to come by. Glad I got the 3 match package now. At the time of sale I was extremely skint but thanks weans. Very thoughtful present. :)
SAINT STIVS SAYS SACK THE BOARD on 27TH SEPTEMBER 2016 8:54 PM
Unless you know how to sun dance, I’d give where I stay 2 out of 10.
Another bloody washout summer.:(
On the bright side, we will run away with the league and hopefully perform better tomorrow at home. HH
Vacant England post….FA phone Wattie and then SuperAlly to offer the £3 million job to either wan ?
Both respond in the same way, ” feck aff, I’m waiting for the Sevco job again once Wobbly Warbo is binned” !
English FA don’t know who to turn to next…..” Wait a minute, let’s get Wobbly Warbo cos he’s gonna be on gardening leave any time now ” !
HH
DELANEYS DUNKY on 27TH SEPTEMBER 2016 9:01 PM
God love the youngsters
HH
Kevjungle, all the rebels had the chance to put their money where their mouth was. They didnae; the bunnet did. They could’ve invested the £7M before wee Fergus. They didnae.
Fergus put his money in with no guarantees. The rebels didnae.
That to me is the most significant factor. He stopped the bank foreclosure, no one else.
That’s why we survived. IMHO.
We will agree to disagree my friend.
FAC the Act
KTF
Dena
No a birthday or anniversary or anything. Just a present fae four children who I introduced to our Celtic family in Paradise.
4 stars.
Havanalaugh.
Yes I remember Morgan PE teacher, had a nickname that I can’t put on blog. The Gonk. Yip McLaughlin was his name a bully if ever there was one.
Can’t place Murphy or Burns. I really didn’t care much for school. H.T. Will confirm he uses my posts to let his primary school pupils correct them :-))).
I remember names like Gerrie, only good teacher, my word he had some barneys with me, Cuddihy, Shields, a joke of a guy.
Pot Cierto.
Before my time I’m afraid I left in 1979. An Tearmann was in year above me, he’s much smarter than me though, so he might have stayed on longer.
If your are on the home cup ticket scheme,does it include the Champions League,
So the manager of a country where the top league’s biggest boast is how much money it makes and that rewards failure (relegation) with tens of millions of pounds loses his job for being greedy.
You reap what you sow.
If only they worshipped the pursuit of footballing rewards as much as they do cash…
The Record online’s lead article is Warbiola is ahead of Brendan in the betting for the England job, it is truly a thing of beauty
Rumours Paul Gascoigne has turned up at Wembley with cans of lager, some chicken & a fishing rod, claiming to be a friend of #SamAllardyce
VFR800A8….
I’ve heard different figures on how much the bank was looking for to stop a foreclosure?
I would really like to know how much we actually had to pay to halt it.
I’m quite confident that the Huns owed a lot more than we did and the invisable man had a lot to do with it.
It’s time he was called out for what he was up to.HH
Watching Real v Dortmund the thing that is most obvious is the spacial awareness of players.
That is the difference at the highest level.
There are no huge gaps from back to front as everyone moves as a unit.
Dortmond though have a tendency to ball watch in the box and have been caught at back post a few times.
Football intelligence is the difference between good and great.
DELANEYS DUNKY on 27TH SEPTEMBER 2016 9:11 PM
Dena
No a birthday or anniversary or anything. Just a present fae four children who I introduced to our Celtic family in Paradise.
4 stars.
= = = = = =
C’mon big fhella,they deserve full marks,4 out of 5 stars doesn’t do them justice.And if you’re marking them out of 10 then you are despicable. ;))
Brilliant stuff mhate.
A positive reap-what-you-sow story.
HH
JIMMYNOTPAUL
1972 for me. Remember Cuddihy. Murphy was a Science teacher. Real good guy. Leo Burns English. Also remember Winnie Dean music teacher. It does have an impressive list of former pupils though.
St Stivs @ 8:54 Happy Hebcelt here now officially the happiest CQNer in the whole of the U.K., unless Barra Obhampot wants to go joint 1st !!!!! Looking forward to meeting some old friends tomorrow and bite yer arm of for a draw but hoping for a victory. Hail Hail Happy Hebcelt
establishment sting in full motion to get allardyce in as newco’s manager
As Bada Bing suggested earlier big Sam was at it yeas ago.
I seem to remember his boy being involved maybe as an agent.
You would think he would have learned and ??? 3 million a year as Engurland manager
Previous manager was top paid at Euros
Clearly a case against you only get what you pay for.
BABASONICOS71 on 27TH SEPTEMBER 2016 9:25 PM
:-)))
Goodnight Timland its an early start tomorrow and a long day but worth it for another trip to Paradise
C.O.Y.B.I.G.
HH
Hebcelt, are you heading to the BV tomorrow?
If so, I,ll see you there.
HH
Baba
Haha. You reap what you sow, was the only advice I gave them when they fleed the nest.
Nice one bro.
HH
HebCelt: Don’t mean to be a party-pooper but doesn’t Donald Trump have connections out that way:-)
The Western Isles are in the top ten on my bucket list.
Oíche mhaith.
ACGR if I can make it on time, coming down on the Rosshire CSC bus leaving at 1pm, so hopefully make it. Almore that was Trumps mother who came from our island , she ‘ll be turning in her grave if she could see what she spawned. H H Hebcelt
Jnp/havanalaugh/porcierto
Re Bellarmine
I left in 78.
What a school ha.I ran faster comin off the bus than usaine bolt.
The bundy got turned into thepollokcentre which evilved intio Silverburn (some description that for the brockburn ha)
I enjoyed it for the football, ii recall harry morgan at pe, scott weir and eagan.
Leo burns was my economics teacheras was Hugh Henry (lab mp)
Miss obritis at maths, the gonk, cuddihy at maths, mrs dolan english, mrs miller and big biology teavher.
Good times and a lot of good people.
All feeder areas changed.southie is now a private house area-nitshill and st ignatius area is gone built on privately.
No shilton or ravenscraig in priesti.
Hail hail :-)
Tough old day on the blog.
Hat raised to those who have done their best to keep it operational.
Trying to post today has been joeyslow.
Bring on the Mancs.
G’nite fholks.
http://youtu.be/PrFqNBsaqjE
http://youtu.be/ArVtjR8K4wQ
FOREVERANDEVER!!!
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