I hear the modest noises which Shakhter manager Viktor Kumykov made after their win over Celtic last week have been replaced by more robust predictions. Kumykov told the most senior local apparatchik, Baurzhan Abdishev, that Shakhter will score a few goals in Glasgow and progress into the Champions League group stage.
I always like to hear confidence like this from the opposition camp. Let Celtic do their talking on the park.
Shakhter are further away from home than any team participating in Champions League history, apart from Celtic who faced the opposite journey last week. The second half on Wednesday kicks off at 01:45 Kazak time; no matter what the score at the halfway point, the latter part of the game will be when the visitors are at their most vulnerable.
Meanwhile Kazak news report that Shakhter have shipped shirts to some Glasgow-based football fans, who will be attending Celtic Park on Wednesday as newly-recruited Shakhter fans.
Did we mention practicing penalties? The entire squad should spend time today and tomorrow doing so, but Kris Commons especially. He is the one penalty taker Shakhter will prepare to face.
Memory of the day:
We lost the first leg of our European Cup, first round, tie against Partizan Tirana in 1979 1-0. It was thought important for Celtic to score first in the return but Partizan doubled their lead and scored an away goal.
Celtic went on to hit four and progress, although none of the strikers got on the score-sheet, Davie Provan played arguably his best game for the club.
Bring it on……..
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roy croppie
18:52 on 26 August, 2013
hankray
I hope we get 60,000 but I seriously doubt it.
HH
Not a chance in hell will there be 60k on Wednesday. And the first on to SSB and CQN to vent their anger will be thd ones who stayed away.
Kaka,Was seen in Ross Hall?.
SOAL- Interesting one that.
In the days before sub goalies anyone recall outfield players having to take the gloves?
I’m sure it has happened but senility setting in.
oldtim67
He works there now
Oldtim
I have attended ross hall for physio
I think you will find its just kack that they found there :)
Agree with Professor Green, Happy Clappers, Mineshafters, Green Brigade, Grey Brigade and my own Bald Brigade must totally unite and for the next 48 hours with a mixture of positive thinking and prayer, attempt to will our Bhoys to victory & qualification.
When the dust of battle settles we can renew hostilities and either the Clappers or the Shafters can dominate CQN post match, depending on result.
The Croybhoy
and no doubt if we get through they’ll want a seat…team need supported on Wednesday.
G10
Big Tam Gemmil took over from Ronnie. Think it was a cup game v Clyde
If Celtic even entertain the prospect of selling big Fraser then it will prove to all that the balance sheet is more important than the team.
Correct me if I’m wrong but the concept of a football club is about winning trophies and success on the park, not about the profits??
Croybhoy
Wether they attend the game or not if we go out to this lot then anger will be justifiable.
We often excuse ourselves against bigger teams due to budget comparisons.
The lack of additions says a lot about our clubs priorities.
There could be other reasons for failing also.
goldstar10, Certainly in League of Ireland Football I have often seen outfield players taking the gloves, was always the cause of great excitement.
goldstar10
I remember it happening in the Scottish cup/League cup final between Aberdeen and rangers a few years ago. I think Leighton got injured in a rather rough challenge early on and with only 3 subs being allowed on the bench Robbie Winters went in goals for the remainder of the match.
Karagandy like to use the long throw tactic but remember we have two long throw experts of our own. Matthews and Ambrose both can hurl the ball into the penalty box so lets give them a taste of their own medicine with big Baldie the man to take advantage and cause mayhem and fear to their defence..
Burghbhoy
19:04 on
26 August, 2013
Correct me if I’m wrong but the concept of a football club is about winning trophies and success on the park, not about the profits??
Agree, but what if the player wants to leave? Why keep an unhappy player, especially in such an important position as keeper? Surely you then need to maximise the money you can get for him and identify a replacement, hopefully someone better.
Corky …Roy .. et al
We are celtic supporters .. faithful through and through.
What can we contribute to get our team into the group stages… we all want that .. I think
We can get along to the match tomorrow .. shout and sing and cheer our hearts out.
Its easy to go support our team against barca .. benfica .. juventus…
Faithfull through and through …
Come on you bhoys in green …including the bhoys and ghirls in the stands
Let’s not forget we do have European football ’til Christmas and there’e a lot of good teams in Europa.
So- Lennon suggested there should be someone in today. Unless we hear a late announcement from the Celtic PR department, Lennon is looking more and more like a guy with egg on his face.
I wonder why he hasn’t been more forthright in stating, for example, that he hopes the club will indeed re-invest the profits from VW and GH??
We have heard, for years now, that the aim of the club is to come out of any transfer window with a stronger squad than before. Can anyone seriously expect that we will be coming out of this window stronger?
If the official line is that “Celtic are really really really close to signing players (we promise)…”, that cannot harm ongoing ticket sales for the Shakhter game. It wouldn’t help to say “Celtic are (really) going to wait until Thursday before (maybe) getting the finger out”
#stillbeingtakenforgulliblefools
Most infamous example is Graham Roberts, twice?
TBJ Praying for Oscar Knox
Couldn’t agree more.
I hope the ‘latent’ support turn out as we really have a part to play in encouraging our Bhoys.
HH
Dexter
Will lenny look like kirk broadfoot in the morning
Just heard carracher say no matta..
Does that mean he isnae playing or it doesn’t matter?
Big tam also covered for Ronnie in a league cup semi v Ayr when Ronnie’s shoulder popped in his comeback game. That signalled the end of Ronnie Simpson’s career
A few things:
Everyone, I presume, agrees we’ve a better squad than SK, higher quality players, and have proven our worth at CL level.
Then we agree that we SHOULD have enough to get past them and qualify.
Football doesn’t alaways operate on ‘should’s.
If we fail, the word catastrophe will be thrown about, the mineshafters will copy & paste their pre-prepared Slaughterhouse 5s with perverse glee, the Green Huns will have their day, the Huns/Zombies will have their day…
Celtic will still be here.
Celtic supporters will still be here.
Celtic will still get the same tilt at the CL next season, through teams we SHOULD beat.
Some will, however, have to look in the mirror and decide if their delicate constitutions can cope with the abject humiliation of competing in this season’s Europa league. The Blackadder witch trials will pale into insignificance compared to Thursday’s blog if the worst transpires.
It also maybe that the Manchester All-stars and the Chelski Globetrotters get a whole new cache of ‘fans’ for their CL campaigns this season… Y’know, those for whom only the ‘VERY BEST’ will do…
Choose your weapons and your words, gentlemen. No space left for faint hearts and lazy greetin’-faced conceited malcontents. It’s about CELTIC, not your personl greivances.
C’mon The Hoops!
On Wednesday; 5-0; Us. GRFIT!
TBJ Praying for Oscar Knox
you could hit him in the coupon with one of Weefra’s hens and he’d still be better looking than Broadfoot:))
HH
Kayal33
Could also be said that players want to leave due to low aspirations for the footballing side of our club.
If only the custodians showed a fraction of the passion our great fans have for the team on the park.
blantyretim is praying for the Knox family
19:13 on 26 August, 2013
:))))))))
Till later all
Dexter, Why don’t you give it a rest, whether a guy is signed today or Thurs/Fri is of no consequence. The most important issue facing the Club is the game on Wed. night and neither, Lenny, the team or even the supporters should be distracted from concentrating on this vital game.
Will Rod Stewart uncontrollably if we get through on Wednesday night?
Kayal – my goodness we have sooooooo many unhappy players.
Ah Sandman – did you ever respond to me on Saturday?
Newsnow has a number of articles up from various websites saying we are about to sell off our biggest asset… the balance sheet. Fans will be up in arms. Raging… when they find out their prized asset will be sold in an auction to the highest bidder.
These fans have supported the club through its nurturing of the balance sheet and have stayed patient while the balance sheet made mistakes. The fans will miss watching the gravity defying manouvering of the balance sheet.
The balance sheet is said to have family problems and hopes to play in a league where he doesnt have to be massaged so often after taking a battering from other Scottish clubs.
Kayal
The problem as I see it is that players are only unhappy if they are wanting more money or they see the team they play in going backwards.
Fraser was happy enough to sign a year ago .
What may drive players away is lack of investment in the team.
We are substantially weaker than last year.FACT.
I ain’t happy about that.
We are gambling £20 m through lack of investment.
That is a gamble Big Pete has taken and IMHO if we fail on Wednesday he must take the blame and leave.His gamble will have failed.
This business model can only go one way, fail to invest in the team, standards slip, we continually fail to qualify for CL , standards slip further and crowds drop.
Quite simply, I’m sick of doing everything on the cheap.
We are all being taken for mugs.
Should read……..will Rod Stewart cry uncontrollably if we get through on Wednesday night?
Burghbhoy
19:04 on 26 August, 2013
If Celtic even entertain the prospect of selling big Fraser then it will prove to all that the balance sheet is more important than the team.
Correct me if I’m wrong but the concept of a football club is about winning trophies and success on the park, not about the profits??
****
David Murray used to say that in the olden days.
TSOAL.& TBJ.
That put paid to that rumour then. Misinformation is rife on this blog lately.I made a mistake anyway, it was Naka that was at Ross Hall.
Roy
Im pretty sure that > 99% of celtic fans want celtic to go through … and will be shouting them on Wednesday. .. just need them to get along to paradise.
One of the last times I spent with my son was the night we lost on pens to valencia…
The highs and lows of being a football fan … in one night
We were raging at going out.. but shared the experiences of that night.
Every European night I look up to the seats we occupied and urge my team to do it.. for Gary
NegAnon2
19:20 on 26 August, 2013
Kayal – my goodness we have sooooooo many unhappy players.
Ah Sandman – did you ever respond to me on Saturday?
=====================================
You posed a question on Saturday? Or abuse?
Oldtim
It was Nada
corkcelt
19:17 on
26 August, 2013
Dexter, Why don’t you give it a rest, whether a guy is signed today or Thurs/Fri is of no consequence. The most important issue facing the Club is the game on Wed. night and neither, Lenny, the team or even the supporters should be distracted from concentrating on this vital game.
_____________________________
Do you agree or disagree with the actual content of my post?
“whether a guy is signed today or Thurs/Fri is of no consequence”- absolute nonsense. Does it matter if we now sell FF? What about Samaras? Brown? Ledley? Just sell them all then. The balance sheet will look good and it is of no consequence thereafter if we replace them.
We needed to sign players weeks ago. We now need to sign players. We should sign players as soon as possible. The signing of new blood can provide the support and the players with a boost for Wednesday night. If you don’t value my opinion (which you don’t), check out the recent comments of Kris Commons.
“distracted from concentrating on this vital game”;
1. Lennon, the team and the board couldn’t give a rat’s ass what we write on this blog;
2. The most important word in your sentence is “vital”; hence the fact we should’ve had players in for the game.
Peter Lawwell loves supporters like you.
#dontbeacashcow