Slovan Bratislava arrive in Kazakhstan today ahead of their Champions League qualifier against Kairat Almaty. Almaty started their campaign four weeks ago, eliminating Slovenian champions Ollimpija 3-1 on aggregate. They then overcame a 2-0 first leg defeat to Finns KuPS to win 3-2 on aggregate.
Those wins are the first Almaty have recorded in European competition since 2021, when they beat Luxembourgers Fola Esch to reach the Conference League group stage (finished with 2 points). We can expect to face Slovan in the playoff round later this month. The second leg is away from home on Tuesday 26th August; we are at Ibrox five days later. Almaty is 200 miles from China and an 11 hour flight time, plus a refuelling stop, away from the UK. Bratislava may suit us better.
Slovan were the fairytale side last season, starting in the Champions League first qualification round and reaching the league stage, having never previously qualified for the group stage. Fairytales do not always have happy endings and Slovan only managed to avoid bottom place on goal difference, having a balance one better than Young Boys. Their 5-1 defeat at Celtic Park will set expectations in Bratislava, even if you and I know this will be a different challenge.
Slovan’s material advantage is that they will have played eight competitive games before facing Celtic. By contrast, we will have played only three (St Mirren, Aberdeen, Falkirk). The difference in fitness eight games into a season from three is substantial.
Compared to what it could have been, this is a gift of a draw, there can be no excuses, but we need to get everything right to progress. We also have the ghost of Bratislava to exorcise.
230 Comments- Pages:
- «
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- »
Celtic v Livingston goes ahead as scheduled, St Mirren v Sevco postponed
Genuine question
Has the board ever indicated what they intend doing with the cash reserves at the club? Even before this summer’s transfer profits to date, is it simply the intention to let it sit in the back?
Obviously, they are not going to spend even a quarter of the money this transfer window. What is the actual point of the cash reserves? Why not invest in the stadium or associated public realm works? Hotel? Restaurants? Etc
Bratislava will not be taking anything for granted against the Khasaks who are
half way through their season which finishes in late Autumn. Hopefully
we’ll not be on a slow boat to the Chinese border.
Weeron – cheers and Lol at “I think”.
My compliment was genuine.
BTW – I try (often don’t succeed) to see the other fellow’s point of view.
Even if the other fellow is the board.
Even though, IMHO, their communication is poor and they are a tad conservative (small c) for me.
PeterLatchfordsBelly on 5th August 2025 4:02 pm
Slovan’s reported turnover is £14.3M. kairat’s is £8.7M. Celtic’s is £110M.
Still, it’s so hard to attract superior (to Slovan and Kairat) players to the SPFL.
——————–
What’s our wage bill in comparison to them both?
How much should we be looking to spend to overcome these clubs?
ONIL – my challenge to you expertly handled.
😀
“Ah just wishful thinking”
…. Or perhaps not.
See my previous on shareholder organisation into a formal block.
One assured way to get recognition, attention, influence, control
(depending how far along the gamut any initiative gets)
Just because the response to the previous Celtic Trust led initiative was largely tumbleweed …
… don’t mean it doesn’t deserve another crack?
!!Bada Bing!! on 5th August 2025 4:09 pm
Celtic v Livingston goes ahead as scheduled, St Mirren v Sevco postponed
——-
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
I smell fear.
This is a new initiative to help clubs in Europe.
Anyone know what the new regs say about rescheduling?
I don’t like the way google chrome seems to
fragment lines in my post, much preferred
Firefox. layout as u meant it to be.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cev2d9ldk4ko
Eight times Celtic gets mentioned.
Spam, spam, spam, egg, chips, spam & spam
Welcome to Celtic Jahmal
https://youtu.be/9UpyLomtOQQ?si=9zqehvhGc3UaIFzz
HH
“… this is a gift of a draw, there can be no excuses…”
Interesting…
Same narrative that was peddled during our top 24 performance in the UCL last season.
Easy draw*
The same fholk that want us to believe that nonsense, would like us to believe Peter Lawwell is the great Messiah!!
Don’t see any dissection of his UCL-Q draws &/or record, during his Generation of Domination do we.!?
So let’s hark back to our glory days…
There was a couple of myths around the SPL and the Glasgow Giants at that time
Myth one, the SPL is a two horse race.
Myth two, Rangers and Sevco Rangers are the same Club.
So, let’s go with that for arguments sake, as well as the sake of the old firm afficionados.
Well, during the 21st Century Peter Lawwell was CEO for 17 years.
During that time the SPL was a two horse race ten times, yep the great Rangerses, that the Machiavellian Prince didn’t have to face, failed to even be runners up on seven occasions.
During that time Celtic won the League Five Times, the Rangerses won the League five times.
So, the question often asked – who did we dominate?
*Let’s hope we don’t get a Pot 4 side like Aston Villa away this time round eh!
Hail Hail
Tell me which draw would be easier Chairbhoy.
Kyiv or Pafos is the only one I see.
Wow Chairbhoy
Astonishing
True colours with the non rsngers leagues not counting.
Should the ones where we right sized and they didn’t count as double then.
You really do need help.
B2B- https://x.com/spfl/status/1952746470765150322?s=46
BSR @ 1:08 pm,
Grand stuff again…
AND
Welcome to Celtic Jahmi
Hail Hail
Burnley78 @ 5:02 pm,
BURNLEY78, I think you missed the point AGAIN
It wasn’t the draw I was referring too
It was the “no excuses.”
You guys narrative through the GoD was very, very different in those days, where any and every excuse under the sun was used…
Hail Hail
Burnley78….
That would be a bit unfair as we are still “right sizing;)” this season…
Paul67, often talks about no complacency
Yet, why the complacency around a UCL-Q where we have a diabolical track record.
Who have been complacenct.?!
The Players?
The support?
The Manager and Staff?
The Merchandisers?
Or the Board?
Hail Hail
No excuses eh, 2014/15 to 2024/25
Our Qualifing record…
NK Maribor – Failed to Qualify
Malmo – Failed to Qualify
Hapoel Be’er Sheva – Quailified
Astana – Qualified
AEK Athens – Failed to Qualify
CFR Cluj – Failed to Qualify
Ferencváros – Failed to Qualify
Midtjylland – Failed to Qualify
Automatic Qualification
Automatic NK MariborFailed to Qualify
MalmoFailed to Qualify
Hapoel Be’er Sheva – Quailified
Astana – Qualified
AEK Athens – Failed to Qualify
CFR Cluj – Failed to Qualify
Ferencváros – Failed to Qualify
Midtjylland – Failed to Qualify
Automatic Qualification
Automatic Qualification
Automatic Qualification
No Complacency Celtic
Hail Hail
https://cdn1.67hailhail.com/uploads/18/2025/08/GettyImages-2172947311-1536×920.jpg
Apologies for the pigs ear of a post…
No excuses eh, 2014/15 to 2024/25
Our Qualifing record…
NK Maribor – Failed to Qualify
Malmo – Failed to Qualify
Hapoel Be’er Sheva – Quailified
Astana – Qualified
AEK Athens – Failed to Qualify
CFR Cluj – Failed to Qualify
Ferencváros – Failed to Qualify
Midtjylland – Failed to Qualify
Automatic Qualification
Automatic NK MariborFailed to Qualify
MalmoFailed to Qualify
Hapoel Be’er Sheva – Quailified
Astana – Qualified
AEK Athens – Failed to Qualify
CFR Cluj – Failed to Qualify
Ferencváros – Failed to Qualify
Midtjylland – Failed to Qualify
Automatic Qualification
Automatic Qualification
Automatic Qualification
No Complacency Celtic
Hail Hail
Giving up..:)
Hail Hail
The Huddle 4.29pm
Whatever it takes of course, because we can afford to leverage our financial advantage.
In the same way Bayern did to defeat us.
Financial advantage dictates footballing success these days. If you choose to apply it.
https://images.webapi.gc.celticfc.com/b51326c0-7093-11f0-b147-e58b5102dfc8.jpg
Chairbhoy on 5th August 2025 5:46 pm
Failed to Qualify is doing a lot of heavy lifting there.
You fail to mention what competition and round they were failing to qualify for, with there also being the relevance of dropping into a lesser competition qualifier.
For many seasons we were not good enough to get into the champions league, when we did we often got skelped with severe drubbings.
What has that got to do with todays squad, whom I believe have improved in european competition, actuallybeating teams well, beating higher co-eff teams, taken points away from home, amd ;earned not to get skelped by Atlanta or Munich,
indeed high-points for me were those games and Leipzig.
Cant forget we actually managed to score 15 foals in 10 ties, i never thought we were capable of that.
Kuhn might be gone, he scored 3, Kyogo scored 1, the rest of the goals scorers are still here.
I have faith in this team, and the boss.
Few games in and we will gel.
Convinced of it.
Chairbhoy
Our qualification performance under the Great Lawwell was risible. We should really have been looking at a 80% win rate against Artmedia, Malmo, Maribor, AEK, Cluj, Midtylland, Ferencvaros. At worst a 50% win rate against much smaller clubs. But 0%? That really bucked the laws of probability. And that’s without reliving the glorious edge of our seats victories against Karaganda and Beersheeva.
Tremendous work from big Pistol to help us find our level.
ps.
I am kindof developing a theory that the huns are writing off their chances of competing in the league allready.
They are bleating on FF that posptoning the st mirren game, and Celtic not, means they are running scared already.
btw, having caught up on all the games now, Hibs were good, Hearts better than they were, but Aberdeen, pish again.
For clarity we won
2004 2006 2007 2008 2012
2017 2018 2019 2020
9 seasons when Lawwell was CEO and rangers of some sort in the league.
We won the additonal
2013 2014 2015 2016 when we earned that right in 2005 and again in 2009/10/11 by properly structuring our cost base and not risking throwing the dice on the future of the club.
I get many on here advocate spending beyond our means and gambling on CL qualification. I get that many look at rangers (various entities) and how they have been run with envy. Many wish we could have such a carefree approach to budgeting. We have not done that since MON 2002/3. At that point DD and others bailed us out and we embarked on a more pragmatic approach as these guys said ‘never again’ to putting their money at risk.
PL carried the can for delivering the strategy very successfully. I wish we had sought and taken opportunities to move out of Scotland. My view is they thought change would happen globally with football and opportunity would be created. It hasn’t.
Our strategy is what it is. Personally I am glad we did not go down the route of rangers. I would take our league wins and dominance over theirs any time.
To turn the financial tables on them is an amazing effort by many this past 25 years. From Murray in 2000 and dear old Ken Gallagher with their 3 teams who could best Celtic to now.
It can be reversed though as we have shown. The perma malcontents and hunterlopers will have their day one day. Maybe this year we will see that. Self destruct if our esteemed manager cannot best a team with 12% of our budget to qualify for CL or can’t beat a rival, with 60% of our budget / in transition and a heap of debt, domestically.
If he takes the huff and walks off (as predicted) leaving manipulated fans blaming anonymous suits plus old bogeymen of the past and ‘manning the barricades’ then it might just be the time that the tide turns.
The manager tells us he has a hotline to DD and then says the board need to match his ambition. Then we play like a 2017 Brendan team but we are in 2025 and our squad value was 23 times our rival on Sunday.
No wonder even rangers fans are laughing at us.
St Stivs
What justification do they have for cancelling the St Mirren game ?
Their fixture list is massively stacked this season with loads of hard games from end December onward. I can’t understand how they are allowed to cancel a game like this when they are not even likely to be playing the following week or even the week prior.
I have been critical of our manager recently but huge respect for not seeking to cancel the Livingston game.
Getting proper game time is vital right now. Ideally for me a Friday ko would have been perfect allowing time for recovery pre away tie in Europe on the Tuesday but fans needs are another consideration which could have been in the decision.
Credit to him either way.
Rangers will have not top level football after Wednesday 13th until they play us Should they lose next week in Plzen and their St Mirren game is cancelled.
Noted they have only requested it be cancelled if they are in play offs.
“Burnley78 on 5th August 2025 6:27 pm
I have been critical of our manager recently”
Calling him a charlatan would certainly fall into that category
!Bada Bing!! on 5th August 2025 4:09 pm
Celtic v Livingston goes ahead as scheduled, St Mirren v Sevco postponed
____
As it should because we need the game time. If we ever manage the ardous task of signing someone decent, then maybe he’ll get some game time.
Meanwhile, Celtic sign a 23 year-old on loan from man city (according to stv). He’s only 19 Raman
PeterLatchfordsBelly @ 5:57 pm,
Yes, we has a terrible qualification record…
… the mantra then was fail to plan, then plan to fail.
Our planning for UCL failure was quite exemplary.
Saint Stivs @ 5:53 pm,
Yes, I get that, yet the ties I listed, or attempted to list…
NK Maribor – Failed to Qualify
Malmo – Failed to Qualify
Hapoel Be’er Sheva – Quailified
Astana – Qualified
AEK Athens – Failed to Qualify
CFR Cluj – Failed to Qualify
Ferencváros – Failed to Qualify
Midtjylland – Failed to Qualify
Automatic Qualification
Automatic Qualification
Automatic Qualification
Were pay-off qualifiers in the main, that is what we are up against.
If we have gone up a level, and I believe we have, there are two points…
There was no reason why we couldn’t invest more in the first team from Ronny’s time on.
It’s incremental improvements in the last four seasons that have got us there.
So Celtic PLC have a strategy of selling off HVPs, they say it is necessary to keep the Club sustainable.
In a year, we have sold, Matt O’Riley, Kyogo, Kuhn, that is a lot of goals, assists and money.
Our forward line needs rebuilding to keep us on an even keel or we can easily slip back to where we were four short seasons ago.
I get what you are saying about Kyogo’s and Kuhn’s last contributions, it was very apparent at the end of last season we needed more fire power as they had “downed tools”.
Yet we have that with Daizen now, is he going to be off or still out of form by the time we meet Slovan Bratislava? Cause as ot stands our goal tally is going well south.
Hail Hail
Typically it’s the PL mantra of….look what’s happened to them stuff,total scare mongering to the parsimonious types,it’s actually laughable when you see how cowardly the Board have been when we have CL Qualifiers, and what a surprise, look what’s happening right now.The manager has said umpteen times we are considerably weaker than last season, but we have a Board and some on here,who want the manager to fail,it’s them that need help,but we now have a psychiatrist on here now,to tell us that now.
Burnley78 @ 6:05 pm,
Yes, we know the history and magnificent it is, my point as it often is, is that Celtic have had a great 21st Century and to try to do down the O’Neil era, up the PL era, and do down the MN era, you need to cast down Martin and Brendan and make excuses for Peter.
That is nonsensical.
No one is asking for Celtic PLC to spend beyond it’s means, far from it, they are asking the PLC to invest in the Football Club so we can make more money.
Celtic PLC have a sustainability model, it relies on developing Footballers and selling HVPs.
That’s exactly what BR&CO are delivering but they are not getting investment back in the team and we are risking sporting failure and profits as a result.
Hail Hail
B78
this season the league are allowing participating clubs to postpone the fixture beforee the play off 2nd round game
dundee united aberdeen scheduled for 23rd august is allready postponed.
2nd rangers will only postpone if they have a cl play off.
am i right thinking if they get beat this tie, they drop into the europa with no play off game reuired ?
Burnley78 @ 6:05 pm,
Also, it is worth pointing out, one of the excuses for hoarding a ridiculous amount of cash, is that if we fail to qualify for the UCL one season, we have money to cover less revenue from the EUL.
However, as we are budgetting as a EUL team currently that is abject nonsense isn’t it?
Hail Hail