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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Actually, I’m not sure how many have :p
I can only think of 3 in squad. And one who has played but isn’t in.
HH
Geordie – Fernandinho for Shaktar Donestk!
FAC the Act
KTF
VFR
Wooft….thats going a bit far there.
Have you been drinking:)
HH
AULDTAM
I know what you are saying,Jock had little sentiment for players whom he viewed as not in his future plans. But it’s worth remembering that there were no agents in those days.
It was managers themselves who largely finalised deals,meeting halfway at M-way service stations was de rigeur. I don’t know if there was any element of kickback involved,I’d be surprised if “expenses” for time and travel weren’t taken care of,but I would be hugely surprised if they were ever the actual reason behind any transfer by Jock.
Hope yer swell,bud. Mailed you a few minutes ago.
HH.
Vfr,
Ol ferdy didn’t play at paradise.
HH
Tonight is not our “Big game”.Neither was the last game.Our champions league big games are against the Germans.If we got a point tonight,god willing,it would put massive pressure on them.We are fighting to get into the EL,nothing else.
As long as we aquit ourselves well tonight ,I will be happy.If its a defeat,a respectable one,but please,no more humpings.
To everyone going,have a great night.
I dont want anyone sneaking over to The Louden for a sample of their delicious buffet mind.You will die and go to hell.
I wonder if Steve Kean feels kinda vindicated today?
TURKEYBHOY
Is it ok to nip in and piss on their chips?
PHILBHOY on 28TH SEPTEMBER 2016 10:06 AM
MACJAY1 FOR NEIL LENNON on 28TH SEPTEMBER 2016 10.50 AM.
:-)))))))))))
I couldny name a Manchester shitty player if you offered me a grand, and i dont care.
We dont get the engleesh phish over here on the telly apart from the goals …..GOOD……..
I’d hazard a guess that none of their players could actually spell Manchester, football mercenary’s the lot of them.
Do them big time time tonight Celtic.
This may or may not work ?
https://www.facebook.com/www.JOE.co.uk/videos/746394582191277/
I hear the Louden are offering pre match drinks and free pies to Manchester City fans today. They have also organised tours of Ibrox for supporters of tonight’s visitors. Souptakers/Legends, Derek Parlane, Jim Melrose and Gordon Smith will also be there.
If any Man City fans are looking in could you ask the supporters of the ‘same club’ where is the £328,248.71, owed to your club by Rangers FC?’
If you take the tour of Ibrox I’d be interested in any replies.
Duty calls.
VFR
Remember, TD67 doesnt like anybody that is in the habit of reading books…(Uni mob):)
Little does he know, that im not too fond of our universities either, having suffered years of the inane rantings of bourgeois professors and their daft ideas.
It still gives me enormous pleasure to burst their wee historical balloons:)
The Surrealist/Anarchist History GroupCSC
BANKIEBHOY1 on 28TH SEPTEMBER 2016 9:00 AM
Bhoyos……….
Nil-By-Rekord………..
Very good.I like that.There are gems to be found.
Yaya played for Barca at Paradise. He was brilliant
Auld Tam
That was the nature of transfer dealings back then. the club and more importantly the manager had the power and made the decisions. the power is now with the players agent\s.
MWD
Eurochamps,
Yip. He’s the one that’s played but not in squad.
HH
CLOGHERCELT
Where have you been hiding,bud?
I’m not commenting on the substance of any stories.
However.
Nowadays It seems fashionable to trash the past , while conveniently forgetting the great achievements.
In football and beyond.
HH. COYBIG.
The Green Man says SACK THE Board on 28th September 2016 11:00 am
VFR
Wooft….thats going a bit far there.
Have you been drinking:)
HH
___________________________________________________
Come one answer the questions :>)
At least it wakened you up. TD67 cannae respond as he’s spat his tea oot over the keyboard and it’s no’ workin’ jist noo!
FAC the Act
KTF
Hot Smoked
Thanks for posting that brilliant video by Paul Larkin on how the Edinburgh establishment tried to end Celtic. A great watch. I disagree with Paul’s assertion at the end, however, that Tommy Burns was the founder of the modern Celtic. Everyone and his granny knows that the founder of the modern Celtic was Fergus McCann.
He also, indirectly, slew Rangers FC (1872) by refusing to let Celtic die, by restructuring Celtic in a fiscally responsible way and by building a bigger Celtic Park stadium than Ibrox.
AULDTAM
There where rumours the brown envelope went to Jock from the Dalgliesh transfer back then when he left for Liverpool, but that’s as far as it went, I say if you don’t know then it’s just gossip, and you should just ignore it, there’s a lot of big Jock stuff going around these days mind you, I ignore that also.
BMCUW & MWD –
Thanks.
Makes sense.
HH
AuldTam,
Just what goes through your head when you besmirch the memory of Scotland’s greatest ever manager by surmising, some imaginary, in your head, 50 year old link to a modern day, no mark English buffoon of a spiv boss?
Really?
How can you think that big fat Sam should even be mention on a Celtic blog forum never mind in the same sentence as Jock Stein?
Seriously suspect thought processes IMO.
Eurochamps67
ReallylookingforwardtothefirstfullchampionsleaguegroupstagefloodlitgazebotonightCSC
BMCUWPs,
‘Where you been hiding bud?’
Trying to limit my internet time tbh. All good though. I see you are ‘flying the flag’ at the weekend:))
Regards to CCB & the family etc…
Work calls.
Missing the game tonight due to family reasons. My 14 year-old niece will now attend her first Celtic game with her father.
I’ll be content to watch from my armchair, in my Celtic shirt and enjoying a glass or 3 of the amber nectar.
City are a quality side, but this is Celtic Park and anything can happen.
I’d take a cheeky wee 1-1 just now.
Everyone enjoy the show, whether in attendance or watching on TV.
HAIL HAIL
The Green Man says SACK THE Board on 28th September 2016 11:08 am
I was doing a degree as a mature student; politics was part of it. I was asked by the lecturer to present a critique of Thatcherism for the following week (primarily because of my left-wing tendencies).
Realising that this was designed to make it easy for him and the rest of the group to set up their arguments against the left, I presented an extreme right-wing critique extolling the virtues of Thatcher and right-wing policy groups.
He wisnae happy. His starting point was “You don’t believe a word you just said”.
“I don’t have to” was my response; “I was asked to produce and academic critique. I did and it is valid.”
Still no’ happy he then had to abandon his whole strategy of attacking the left; instead he had to put forward (what was a very weak) counter argument not ably assisted by the mainly middle-class younger students.
Smug as feck was my demeanour!
He later saw the funny side of it and bought me a pint in the SU! Got an A for it!
FAC the Act
KTF
VFR
Ive been called the ‘Charles Manson’ of Historical Studies:) by a Unionist historian of Stalinesque stature….he thought id be insulted:)
They have tried every trick in the book to throw me off course….never worked though.
A friend of mine called this particular ‘Fellow’…a lump of wid……the look on the lump of wid’s face, was priceless:)
Universities….ive worked in quite a few over the years,…..but, its a closed shop if you get my drift.
The Professors dont seem to like the Green Man for some reason:)
As for Politics…..For the next few months, i will be working with a group of know-it-all political scientists/theorists,…wont be fun.
They do hate it, when you tell them to be more specific:)
HH
AULD TAM
If we can avoid the usual early loss of a goal then i reckon we’ve a decent chance tonight.
Defend as a team and we could do well tonight, leaving FBs exposed is what the top teams thrive on.
VFR
Thatcherism….now thats a theme.
Much fun ive had watching post-grads attempting to define the essence of Thatcherism:)
HH
Maybe i’ve got out of the wrong side of this morn ?
Who know’s ?
But,……………..here’s the thing….
I think that Man City will be melted(is that a word?) by the fire and fury
of a Celtic team gripped / driven by the relentless tempo of the Magnificent Green Brigade.
Maybe it’s because it’s raining ?
I like the rain.
Rain reminds me of the auld uncovered Cellic end at Hundump.
Lot’s of dancing and, singing in the rain days at yon place.
Magical.
Off topic…..just a wee thought.
Would it no be just Magical, ah mean ‘real’ Magical if,….all the seats from the bottom of the North Stand where the – CELTIC – seats are, were moved to above the main stand, bringing the capacity to 70,000 but,….putting safety rail seating – New Jungle – in it’s place and ‘importantly’….making the new Jungle available at dirt-cheap-prices-or-free, to the underdog / under-privileged / downtrodden / lost-souls / paranoid-oot-they’re-wits-fraternity of the Celtic support ?
FAC the soul-selling-PLC-Leopards-who-don’t-change-they’re-spots.
James-Ribbery-Robben-Forrest is the mhan the nicht.
HH….laters…..
!!Bada Bing!! on 28th September 2016 11:52 am
Defend as a team and we could do well tonight, leaving FBs exposed is what the top teams thrive on.
__________________________________________
The wingers (probably Forrest and Sinclair) need to be effective going forwards to curtail City’s full-backs. They also need to cover KT and (especially) Lustig.
The centre-backs (hopefully Toure and Simunovic) will need to get round the back of KT and Lustig at times to cover, so Brown and Bitton need to defend the central attacking area diligently.
I think we need Rogic in there for a wee bit of guile to help unlock their (sometimes shaky) defence. My head says Griffiths should start, but my heart tells me big Moussa could really cause their 2 centre backs some problems. So I’d go for:
Gordon
Lustig, Simunovic, Toure, Tierney
Brown, Bitton
Forrest, Rogic, Sinclair
Dembele
Griffiths and Roberts to come on while we are still (hopefully) in the game for the last 30 (Dembele and Sinclair to score). Sviatchenko to come on for the last 15 in place of Rogic to tighten it up after Griff puts us 3-2 ahead!
FAC the Act
KTF
KevJungle
A Floating South Stand Upper Deck. I like it.
MWD :@-)
Goooood afternoon CQN
Back in Scotland now
So nearly Celtic time :-)
Yippeee
We’ll need to have somone marking Georgi Kinkladze and Paulo Wanchope.
KEVJUNGLE on 28th September 2016 11:56 am
Would it no be just Magical, ah mean ‘real’ Magical if,….all the seats from the bottom of the North Stand where the – CELTIC – seats are, were moved to above the main stand, bringing the capacity to 70,000 but,….putting safety rail seating – New Jungle – in it’s place and ‘importantly’….making the new Jungle available at dirt-cheap-prices-or-free, to the underdog / under-privileged / downtrodden / lost-souls / paranoid-oot-they’re-wits-fraternity of the Celtic support ?
James-Ribbery-Robben-Forrest is the mhan the nicht.
_________________________________________________
That would indeed be magic! Only downside is that you’d need to support the Board if they did that! OOFT. :>)
Wee Jamesy could well be the go-to guy tonight. They may well be expecting Roberts and Griffiths and get Forrest and Dembele. Here’s hoping for a great night!
FAC the Act
KTF
new article posted.