I’ve been trying to interpret the Champions League group all evening. It’s an exciting draw. The world’s biggest box office team will come to Glasgow, a chance for us to marvel at, and test ourselves against, Messi, Iniesta, Xavi and the rest. We also have a sporting chance of finishing second or third, either of which would be acceptable.
For me most of this analysis is irrelevant for now. The two most important games are the first, Benfica, and the last Spartak Moscow, both at home, so for now, all that really matters is the 90 minutes at Celtic Park against Benfica on 19 September. Beat Benfica and you go to Moscow in the following game with nothing to lose and everything to gain.
Can we beat Benfica at Celtic Park? Benfica have lost all three games they have played at Celtic Park, twice in recent Champions League history, but they are not a pot two team and we are not a pot four team for nothing. They have played only two league games this season and did not benefit from being tested by a Champions League qualifying competition.
In short, playing Benfica in the first game, when we will have played twice as many competitive games as they have, is ideal. We will be ready for them.
Tomorrow is a big day. Who was it said ‘perfect day to bury bad news’? While some of us are busy trying to keep a server online as transfer speculation reaches its annual crescendo, what chance last year’s accounts will be released?
If they are (and I have no information on this), you can count on some very bad news. Losses will be frightening, which sheds some light on some of the earthy tones from Neil Lennon today on just how big a result the win over Helsingborgs was.
We needed that win. We needed Messi and his pals to help us sell 60,000 ticket packages, and to prompt Celtic fans to go out and buy some of the many thousands of season tickets still available.
Let me leave you with a word that came out from the Spartak camp tonight. Andrey Tikhonov, Spartak player until he became a coach at the club last year, said, “Barcelona are favourites from the group. We and Benfica will be fighting for second place.
“Celtic are outsiders. The Champions League competition is about very good technical football. It has nothing to do with running after the ball that somebody kicked forward.”
Beat these clowns, Celtic.
700 Comments- Pages:
- «
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- ...
- 19
- »
All Hail Neil Lennon
no, i’m neil lennon “i’ll never walk alone” (fourstonecoppi )
22:44 on
30 August, 2012
Condolences, remember the good times, lovely eulogy for your friend.
Rangers have had a joint bid for Hearts pair Ryan McGowan and David Templeton rejected.
STV understands the Ibrox club made their offer on Thursday but failed to meet a combined £1.3m valuation for the two players.
It is understood Rangers bid was under £1m. As part of the negotiations, the Third Division side also agreed to pay immediately an outstanding £500,000 due in the summer of 2013 for the transfer of Lee Wallace.
hahahahhahahah like the part about they will pay outstanding
Would anyone take them both for 1.3mil?
HH
Paul67 22:53
Its the ‘frightening losses’ part Im concerned about.
2011/12 transfers
31 players out, 1m for Maloney and undisclosed for Hooiveld.
10 players in, Wanyama 900,000 and Bangura ‘2,200,000’
Id guess there was a reduction in wages, TV deals and sponsorships remained constant, won the league, decent performance and turn out for EL games. How frightening is this ‘frightening?’
EN
Apologies if already posted –
> Little Hodaiki
>
>
> Read to the end………
>
>
>
>
>
> The teacher said, “Let’s begin by reviewing some American history.
>
> Who said ‘Give me Liberty, or give me Death’?”
>
> She saw a sea of blank faces, except for Little Hodaiki a bright
> foreign
> exchange student from Japan, who had his hand up: ‘Patrick Henry,
> 1775’, he
> said.
>
> ‘Very good!’
>
> Who said, ‘Government of the People, by the People, for the People,
> shall
> not perish from the Earth?’
>
> Again, no response except from Little Hodaiki: ‘Abraham Lincoln,
> 1863’.
>
> ‘Excellent!’ said the teacher continuing, ‘let’s try one a bit more
> difficult…’
>
> Who said, ‘Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can
> do for
> your country?’
>
> Once again, Hodaiki’s was the only hand in the air and he said:
>
> ‘John F. Kennedy, 1961’.
>
> The teacher snapped at the class, ‘Class, you should be ashamed of
> yourselves, Little Hodaiki isn’t from this country and he knows more
> about
> our history than you do.’
>
> She heard a loud whisper: ‘F . . k the Japs,’
>
> ‘Who said that? I want to know right now!’ she angrily demanded.
>
> Little Hodaiki put his hand up, ‘General MacArthur, 1945.’
>
> At that point, a student in the back said, ‘I’m gonna puke.’
>
> The teacher glared around and asks, ‘All right! Now who said that!?’
>
> Again, Little Hodaiki said, ‘George Bush to the Japanese Prime
> Minister,
> 1991.’
>
> Now furious, another student yelled, ‘Oh yeah? Suck this!’
>
> Little Hodaiki jumped out of his chair waving his hand and shouted to the
> teacher, ‘Bill Clinton, to Monica Lewinsky, 1997!’
>
> Now with almost mob hysteria someone said, ‘You little sh*t. If you say
> anything else, I’ll kill you.’
>
> Little Hodaiki frantically yelled at the top of his voice, “Michael
> Jackson
> to the child witness testifying against him, 2004.’
>
> The teacher fainted.
>
> As the class gathered around the teacher on the floor, someone said,
> ‘that`s it, we’re f*cked!’
>
> Little Hodaiki said quietly, ‘Ally McCoist, 2012
The Singing Detective – Ha! We’ll see. (thumbsup)
THE EXILED TIM – Who is going to pay the huns debt ?
I’m glad you asked that.
To a certain extent, the huns have. They’ve paid the price in terms of having to cease to exist and start an entirely new football club, whose future is very much uncertain. There is no guarantee Sevco/”The Rangers”/whatever-you-want-to-call-them will still be in business in 12 months, never mind proceed to the top tier of Scottish football and continue as if nothing had happened.
In terms of the actual pounds and pence, the taxpayer and their other creditors have paid their debts by swallowing the losses.
So, all debts must be paid. Somebody, somewhere, ends up paying for every single penny of debt a football club or any other organisation accrues. There is no such thing as a “get out of debt free” card in football, or in life. (thumbsup)
Forget kenwyen jones and Berra
I’m anticipating an annual accounts loss circa £8.5m .
We will RIGHTLY bank this money and outlay at very most £3m total
Talking about Scotland and the world cup qualifying group if i wrer a betting man,which i’m not,i would place some hard earned cash on Belgium topping the group.That’s a very useful looking squad
Don’t know how i manage it ,but i always get the transfer window
last day as a day off work,looking forward to it even more as i think we may be
involved in a few deals.
12hoursinfrontofthetellyCSC
No Celts in Scotland team please.
Never ever ever.
Dat’s all I have to say about dat.
MWD
pauloantony
23:19 on
30 August, 2012
If that means running the club to a budget and staying solvent, fair doos.
Bundoran Bhoy – Wee Oscar 4 Life Campaign
If the rumour that we are interested in Humphrey at Motherwell is true (we made an initial enquiry) then i’d say Templeton is a better player in the same position. I’d sign McGowan anyway so £1.3m (in reality it could be negotiated down to closer to £1m) may be tempting, providing the manager wants them
B B
Ryans dad told them to G T F!! :o)))
Kayal33
Think both would be decent additions but still need CH n CF
HH
Very surprised to see us quoted at 5/1 to qualify from the group.
I was expecting 5/2, tops.
Benfica are a much bigger danger than Spartak, imo.
If we can get 7 points from our home games and something in Moscow we can do it.
Just a pity that games 3 and 4 are back to back v Barca, would have been good to get them last game with them already likely having qualified, still hopeful though.
Magnificentseven 22:56
Haha, the guy with the white socks, classic hearts moment.
EN
philvisreturns – still can’t believe that the ex-huns fines/bills/dues were partly paid by finishing second in the league. Money they should not have been given. We – the taxpayer/football supporter – paid again!
philvisreturns
I suppose what you say is right, they are suffering, not enough imo, but tis better than nothing I suppose.
You also said that the epl bubble will burst, and have been saying it for years, as have many others.
From where I am typing, that seems a long way off, there are other TV co’s wanting to take the epl from Sky, Al Jazera for one, and there seems to be no shortage of money on the table.
I think the epl has a good few years left in it before any bubble bursts, and Spain, it will burst in the country, but the likes of Real and Barca will be ringfenced from any bother, the governments will see to that.
I could be completly wrong, but I doubt it :>)
Wasnt to impressed with our right back last night!!
No wonder Celtic’s accounts will be poor this year, according to the Sevcovians we have been paying a fortune (mullions) on Timmy Lawyers, heavily conflicted head hunters, Opus Dei and several unseen fenian hands. They have a bar graph histogram thing to prove it.
Indio
Bundoran Bhoy – Wee Oscar 4 Life Campaign
Agree, we need a CH & CF for CL but we also need another 2 or 3 to give the squad a bit of depth. 17 out and the manager talking about a paper thin squad.
Does anyone think Celtic may sign someone tomorrow that nobody has thought of the press obviously have no clue
gordybhoy64
How did ur nephew get on last nt and has he came down yet lol
Davie
PL is flying under the radar as we speak…
Watched Ryan tonight solid game!!
Kind Celtic fans offer to do the tobacco run in Europe for Sevco fans, for three years and not just for females.
S P
So thats what the noise was??
jude2005 is Neil Lennon \o/
Aye he just dropped JD on yer roof…
I would have thought if Templeton is on offer for under a mill, after his games against Liverpool, there will be a few teams from down south having a pop at him.
He did good last week and was good again tonight.
To guys sayin Berra had medical
He was on the bench for Wolves tonight so…
HH
No Del Piero. Good,imo. No Russell: again good. We have a plentitude of good young lhads. Their time has come. The auld heid we need is a class CH. Is there such an asset? Boly seems to be the only one mentioned and he seems to be a youngster.
Parkheadcumsalford
Efe Ambrose apparantly as well, again a young fella, 23 I believe.
We will know the morra night
Ryan Mc Gowan could be turned into a very good CH 6.3″.??
I thought Paterson was the best Hearts prospect. I wouldn’t be averse to signing him.
Paul67, lets not cry over spilt milk as they say. If the accounts were that bad then they are fixed now. Theres a buzz about the place and we no longer need to think about protecting our players. Pure unadulterated football from now until their return. Celtic Park under the floodlights and the hairs on the back of my neck standing up. Not many feelings to beat that.
No doubt the ‘frightening losses’ will make the Sports News before Andy Murray like deflections on BBC TV of this morning.
Hurtin Bad CSC
Art of War – Yes indeed my friend. There are parallels with the “too big to fail” mentality that first Gordon Brown’s government and then David Cameron’s government applied to the banks. The lesson should be: no institution is too big to fail. (thumbsup)
THE EXILED TIM – I think the epl has a good few years left in it before any bubble bursts
You could well be right my friend. But when the bubble does burst, the shakeout will be swift and brutal.
Bubbles can persist far longer than common sense would suggest. Take the UK housing market for example, which is still vastly overvalued as a result of deliberate government policy, but which has still seen values decline by something like 30% from its peak.
In the end, though, all debts must be paid, and all markets must match supply with demand. Demand for football, be it in terms of Sky TV money, season tickets, or hotdogs sold at Wembley, will not rise indefinitely. The number of colourful foreign billionaires willing to lose money for the sake of owning a Chelsea or a Man City will not rise indefinitely.
(thumbsup)