The winners of Celtic-Cluj will face Slavia Prague in the final Champions League qualification round later this month. Slavia reached the Europa League quarterfinals last season, eliminating Sevilla – who practically own that trophy – on the way.
They also disposed of Bordeaux and Genk before losing to eventual winners, Chelsea. Dinamo Kiev knocked them out in Champions League qualification.
Although this will be Slavia’s first Champions League qualifier, they have played four domestic league games already, so are likely to be as fit as Celtic, should the sides meet in two weeks.
Two central defenders at the heart of that Europa League run were sold this summer (both heading to Belgium), with much of the money (€4m) going on a creative mid Romanian, Nicolae Stanciu (26), brought home from Saudi – a significant investment for a Romanian club.
Two years ago Slavia were knocked out at the qualification stage by Apoel Nicosia (another team we could have been drawn against today), while Anderlecht eliminated them from the Europa qualifiers three years ago. Viktoria Plzen, who finished runners up to Slavia in May, reached the Champions League group stage last season, where they finished behind Real Madrid and Roma, but above CSKA Moscow.
Slavia and Plzen showed enough last season to indicate that Czech clubs are dangerous, but this is the playoff round and we were always going to need to work for it.
Cluj first: no injuries, no suspensions, please.
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Corkcelt
I enjoyed Saturday as much as anyone. It was great.
Let it be known, I’ve been impressed by our team in general. The 4 European games thus far. It has exceeded my expectations.
When Lenny first took the reigns, after Rodgers departure we seemed to limp through each and every game. Apart from Aberdeen, we couldn’t put teams away convincingly.
Fast forward to now, and its a world of difference. So yes, thoroughly enjoyable.
I am just being realistic, in that there are many challenges lying in wait… As we all know
Ruggyman
Poor St Johnstone, ( because Celtic score 7 ) in a magnificent performance, tut tut?
Your view could have been written by any number of SMSM rejects.
It doesn’t’t take ‘perspective’ to know that Celtic will face tougher tasks, but it takes perspective to
understand that Celtic’s football department know better than you, or I, what we need in terms of players willing to come and play against the ‘deplorable’ St Johnstones.
As regards St Johnstone being poor, I said after the game that I didn`t know if they were a bad side or not. Celtic dominated so convincingly it was difficult to know what St J are really like. Compared to us on Saturday they were, obviously, outclassed. Compared to the rest of Scottish football, I simply don`t know.
I don`t know if we were so good because they were so bad or, we were so good because we were so good !!
JJ
BSR
Get a life… seriously
You not allowed an opinion on here.
And certainly if it is an opinion that differs to yours, you class it as an SMSM viewpoint.
Sober up man… weekends over. Its Monday now
Ryan Christie has become the kind of player that manager’s dream about and CEO’s drool over.
Box to box, tackles everything within range, wonderful touch, fantastic fitness & energy AND scores goals.
For as long as we have him…
Now that he has become the competitve player he is – we know that two things will happen to him.
– He’ll pick up yellow cards
– He’ll pick up more injuries
NFL will have a Plan B(2) for when we are obliged to play without him. Part of that must be to rest him when we can.
HH
Fool Time Whistle
To me, Ryan Christie falls in to similar bracket to Andy Robertson / John McGinn.
Each of these guys have a tremendous appetite for the game. Outstanding Energy levels, dynamic.
And no less ability / talent.
Stevie Clarke is lucky to have each of them. And the national side needs should be built around them.
FTW
Hopefully we’ll have Rogic or N’Cham (if he’s still here) to rotate in the number 10/advanced mf role. or even young Henderson (who looks a top prospect)
Ruggyman
Down with those, who say you weren’t allowed an opinion.
What you meant was, I’ll post my opinion and woe betide anybody
that chooses to disagree with said opinion.
I haven’t read SMSM or spoken to the Huns in work, but I bet ya
plenty thought, St Johnstone were deplorable, and have said so.
Come to think of it, most of your posts are ‘deplorable somethings’
be it St Johnstone, delusional Celtic employees, deplorable prospective
signings, yada, yada, yada
I’m sorry, if it rips my knittin but I’ll maintain the right to reply, to what I read.
I hope we make Cl for the simple reason that Thursday & Sunday football is awful. It undoubtedly played a role in our laboured first half of last season.
BSR
Your upper-burnside snobbery is rip’in oot yae.
Take the day off.
You spend far too much time on here anyway for an old guy. Should be out pruning those hedges. Or playing bowls
Statement Time;
‘ We blame Kilmarnock ‘
And if you are drawing parallels…. you are the closest thing to Hugh Keevins on here.
In fact… wait a minute. Are you Hugh Keevins ?
Mon, tell us.
The game is up Shug
Fool….
Problem with that first link is it states our first match was a 5-1 defeat to pre-Sevco rather than the defeat of pre-sevco!
A pedantic HH to all 😊
HOT SMOKED on 5TH AUGUST 2019 3:50 PM
As regards St Johnstone being poor, I said after the game that I didn`t know if they were a bad side or not. Celtic dominated so convincingly it was difficult to know what St J are really like. Compared to us on Saturday they were, obviously, outclassed. Compared to the rest of Scottish football, I simply don`t know.
I don`t know if we were so good because they were so bad or, we were so good because we were so good !!
is that your opinion or are you stating fact.
Ruggyman
Went back to have a look at your original whinge, and to see why you were
losing the plot.
Defenders away? – you even missed a few outs, and an in.
I make it,
Marvin Compper
Dorus De Vries
Mikael Lustig
Filip Benkovic
Dedryk Boyata
Jeremy Toljan
Christian Gamboa
Emilio Izaguirre
Boli Bolingoli ( another defender we signed ) played well on Saturday?, but the real star until injured, was of course Hatem Abd Elahamed pilloried on the internet along with his unpopular agent, before a Celtic fan except Neil Lennon had seen him play recently.
Snobs Keep Up CSC
P.s. Anthony Ralston looked tidy.
Never Alone
Thanks – I didn’t notice that.
HH
Ron67
Obviously it is my opinion. Why do you ask?
JJ
Wasn’t a whinge Shug
Just a simple numbers game, to illustrate we are thin on the ground defensively. Certainly in contrast to a few months ago. Nothing inaccurate about that.
Now out you go and water those Chrysanthemum’s
Typical blame the victim shi#@ from Traynor, a dangerous, poisonous reptile.
Ruggygman (I always read it as Ruggyman…time for my eye test)
Ryan has become that kind of player & how ironic that if we had spent the money to buy the Aston Villa’s fans & players player of the year – Ryan would have been lost to us as he he’d be thinking he had not future with us.
My only concern is that if we build the team around him – then we need that Plan B(2). He will get battered by Arfield etc & he will get cards from the usual suspects in black in our league.
Go tell the Spartim
Those two would be candidates to replace him buteach have their challenges.
Ntcham has motivational issues (ahem)
Rogic has a lackadaisical style that lacks the mobility and energy that Ryan has.
Mayeb Henderson or Morgan playing there might be more productive.
HH
Game is on Premier Sports on Wednesday
RUGGYGMAN on 5TH AUGUST 2019 4:23 PM
And if you are drawing parallels…. you are the closest thing to Hugh Keevins on here.
In fact… wait a minute. Are you Hugh Keevins ?
Mon, tell us.The game is up Shug
In fact… wait a minute. Are you Hugh Keevins ?.
Mon, tell us.
BSR. is one of the better posters on here I don’t know if your cracking a joke,or if your serious, If you are serious,You’ll just be another poster who has chased thousands of the blog over the years. .
And you can rest assured he aint Keevens.
Bada
Typical to put us on another pay channel – already got BT sport
Ruggyman
Naw yer right mate in fairness it wasn’t much a whinge, even by your standards.
You are just a common or garden whinger ( see what I did there )
Not, even the proper CQN whingers find too much to whinge about, when Celtic run amok on
another Flag day
Ho Hum CSC
P.s my days off are Monday Tuesday
Gene- Premier Sports is Setanta Sports with new clothes on,after what they done to Scottish football, nobody should be doing business with them.
Those pot plants and flowers won’t water themselves.
Or get yourself down the Mecca.. There’s one on Rutherglen main street.
Bada
Install the app mobdro and get PS free, does buffer a bit but its fine and better than hesgoal.com
PB- if you on Android, go to Livenet website download the app,i have MX Player which plays it,delete countries you don’t want content from, got it on Firestick as well mate
Ruggygman
Do you think that type of post ( 5:01) serves any worthwhile purpose ?
JJ
OLDTIM67
Thank you for the commendation, given it came from the most popular Celtic fan, imaginable.
Hail Hail
FOOL TIME WHISTLE on 5TH AUGUST 2019 2:28 PM
Thanks for that excellent post. Let’s see where we are at 21.40 next Tuesday but, if all goes well, it would be a great opportunity for the 2 clubs to celebrate that shared part of our respective histories.
BSR
I am not convinced by Celtic yet. After suffering Klan II winning 7-in-a-row pre-season trophies allied with Stevie G’s fantasticaldasticalmastical social media awards, I am very sceptical when it comes to anything Celtic.
No amount of treble trebles and 7-0 victories cannot match that sort of performance.
MWD falling for the BS
Give or take, there will be a high proportion of posts on CQN that maybe fall below the grade of serving worthwhile purpose.
But if you are hinting that I should be a tad more respectful towards him, then fair enough.
MWD @ 5.18 👍
HS @ 5.11
On the subject of Hugh Keevans I used to work beside his smarter younger brother, but that’s another story.
My abiding memory of Hugh was of him conducting the Celtic choir outside in the “ Hail Hail “ from inside the Celtic foyer ,one night we’d won the league.
A charlattan of a man CSC
Bada @5:11
Thanks for that, download and will have a wee look👍
Talking of middle class Celts, I was listening to Radio 4 the other day.
It was a comedy programme hosted from Coventry by Jack Dee.
He was talking about one of Coventry’s famous sons, Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall.
He said that Hugh began his food philosophy by scavenging plants and roots from the woods near Coventry and augmented this diet with some roadkill, such as squirrels, that he found on the road system surrounding.
Surprisingly, his children were quite willing to go along with him on this feeding programme. The only time they rebelled against his cooking was hen he added ginger to their mushroom risotto.
Ginger was, after all, the family’s much loved pet cat.
Meaningless Words from Dave King….
“Everyone Anyone is an all-encompassing initiative designed to highlight the similarities between the broad spectrum of supporters worldwide regardless of age, ethnicity, faith, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability and health.
“We may have different backgrounds and beliefs but supporting Rangers is the bond which unites every single one of us.
“We want to create an environment where everyone feels valued, safe, welcome, and wanted. Supporting Rangers should break down barriers and Ibrox should be a place where diversity, unity and inclusion are strengthened through the friendships football can create.”
Wonder what this is really about, DK must know the sevco clan just laugh off stuff like this.
I love booze