Celtic face Icelandic champions Stjarnan in their opening Champions League qualifier, with the first leg just three weeks away. Stjarnan knocked Motherwell out of the Europa League last season, by all accounts the Scottish club should have given a much better account of themselves.
It will be vastly more concerning to Ronny Deila that they went on to eliminate Lech Poznan in the next round. Lech finished second in Poland, just two points behind our old pals Legia Warsaw, and the Polish season starts two weeks before Scotland’s, so there is nothing to be complacent about.
A three goal home defeat at the hands of Inter Milan ended Stjarnan’s European adventure, but by that stage the Icelandic fans must had expired their European budget for the season, the trip to the San Siro would have been a suitable place to bow out.
The other consequential information when we draw teams from near the Arctic Circle is that they are midseason and (from what I can make out) play on an artificial surface.
I’ve no idea what happened to Motherwell and Lech Poznan but there are no excuses for either team and there will be none for Celtic. Let’s get the job done.
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BBC sport going with 14th July 7pm kickoff ?
If correct only 21 days to go
Offski
I think the tale of Finnbogason shows us one thing. There’s no such thing as a proven goalscorer that will guarantee you goals. Especially in our budget range.
4 goals in 1200 minutes of football or 1 in every 3 1/3 games doesn’t sound too bad – albeit far less than he was scoring prior to his move.
However it tells a tale of a player that just couldn’t make the 1st team. Only 6 starts in 25 league appearances, scoring his two goals against lesser teams.
Maybe it was just a ‘settling season’ and he’ll be banging him in this season. My feeling when he was being trumpeted all round here is that he might be a player that needs the entire team set up to feed him (like Brattbakk at Rosenburg) and if that’s not happening it all dries up.
What I think we need to identify is a player that will understand our system and work hard for it. That’s one reason I quite liked Guedetti, even when he wasn’t scoring his assist rate was very high. He helped the team score, even if he wasn’t.
Not at all worried about the lack of Celtic news on the daily rangers. While we leave rag space to the hacks who will further the demise of der Hun and the gullibles we will be doing our business quietly and discreetly right up to the time we announce a marquee signing that will put the fire in the new GB songs. Keep the faith.
Old Tim
Italian betting sites state that Celtic v Stjarnan is on Tuesday 14th July.
jamesgang.
There was me thinking you were as thick as me,and all the time you were joking (****)I’ve spent the last day trying to get the day of the game. now that I have I can book my hotel,should’nae forget that date the day after my birthday.
Gerryfaethebrig.
thanks for the help.
Laughing out loud at the desperate attempts of the media to sell Sevco season tickets.
Here are some thoughts on it!
https://theclumpany.wordpress.com/2015/06/22/just-buy-a-bloody-season-ticket-will-you/
TET,
I think there are different signing deadline dates for each round, therefore, I suggest that we have enough in the squad to handle the Icelanders and, perhaps the next round, too.
If only Jason has gone, then we have a good level of continuity, unlike last season.
We don’t need a lot to have our squad in great shape, we need to offload Derk, Balde & The Fridge & get in a back up Keeper, left back & Striker. Even though they are still listed, I’m taking it that Zaluska, Jason, Wakaso & Tonev are all gone.
Must say I thought Zaluska was the ideal back up Keeper, never let us down whenever called on and at his age appeared to be content with his role and his wage, but obviously the Mgt Team have a different plan.
weeminger,
I suspect the step up to the actual best league in the world may have been too big a step for him, I do believe had we got him he would have been banging them in.
But like you I think buying players who look good in their current teams is not a guarantee that they will suit us. We are looking for players to suit the system which I believe is the best way to go, it means we don’t need the best players in the world, we need intelligent players who understand our system and want to be part of it.
Striker ?
” I have sold one for 40 million plus and now I am struggling to find a suitable replacement for less than 10 million.Supply and demand in action.”
Maurizio Zamparini , owner of Palermo 22 6 15.
Quite happy the philately puns seem to have been stamped out.
Another summer of running around chasing transfer targets. What’s the point in our youth teams?
Hopefully Henderson will get a run. That’s all I can see.
Yes!
I have imported the fixtures onto my phone and work PC.
Good work Celtic.
Árd Macha
One time great Celtic prospect Paul George now on trial with Derry.
Mornin bhoys.
That thistle mascot is superb….stroke of genius.
The sevconians will be gutted.
I hope they get drawn against thistle at some point…could be a bit of hilarity with the antics of the wee mad mascot.
HH
bournesouprecipe @09 44.
Me too – best to avoid getting couriered away.
Off oot .
Lech finished second in Poland, just two points behind our old pals Legia Warsaw
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No they didn’t, Lech won the league!
Lech were 2 points behind at the end of the ‘Preliminary round’ (pre-split) but finished the season 1 point ahead of Legia.
We should have the hang of league splits by now!
http://www.fifa.com/world-match-centre/nationalleagues/nationalleague=poland-ekstraklasa-2000000030/standings/
HH
BSR – yep indeed………..them posts were rubbidge.
HH
Still nothing in the MSM about Phil’s assertion that the lying King visited big Mike on the day of the EGM.
No surprise there then although King’s ill-conceived solo mission to London made as much sense as Rudolf Hess’ 1941 air trip to Scotland !
Posters were completely unhinged.
Canamalar
09:30 on
23 June, 2015
Agreed but I also think that’s why we took a punt on Pukki. His record in a league similar to ours was great. He moved to Schalke and his 1st season wasn’t actually too bad, then he drifted out of it. His 1 in 3 record at Brondby, which I’d say is close to our league standard, is not abysmal.
It didn’t work out with us but I don’t think the reasoning behind the move was unsound.
Make sure you only click the fixture link once. Where unlike me suddenly has Celtic v Ross County Celtic v Ross County Celtic v Ross County all on the opening league game.
Doh csc
Reading through the posts this morning ( from those posted from around 4am onwards), I can safely say that it would be inaccurate to accuse some Celtic supporters of over-rating our team, our Club and our chances!
There is , obviously, a place for criticism but a positive outlook is much more likely to lead to improvement than is its negative counterpart. When I think of how our standard has risen under Ronny and of how it is likely, based on Ronny`s record, to improve even more, I look forward to the new season with a kind of quiet excitement.
JJ
Reading the first couple of paragraphs of the warburton piece on the online record pages makes the guy sound like superman, he jetted in from here,he’s jetted up from there before everybody has had breakfast, he’s on one line discussing contract takes with Danny Maldini while making sure keirnan is on the way up on another line, chasing the deadwood out of Murray park hahaha there that desperate for him to be the messiah haha clowns
Oldtim
As long as you get free cancellation, why not make 2 bookings.
One for the 14th, one for the 15th and then cancel the 1 you dont need when you know for sure.
That awkward moment when your in a garage in (Springburn) and you’re car won’t be ready for at least two hours.
BSR
If it is the right part of Springburn, you can gaze at the Campsies 0:-)
JJ
Thompson Twin
“That leaves us with ELEVEN whom we have confidence in – there will be injuries and suspensions to these players during the season.”
If you start discounting your squad because of experience, injury record, misgivings about form, then I reckon we have 2 and a half players to compete at CL level (Gordon, Van Dijk and half a Broony). The rest are what they are Solid pros with the occasional bit of flair from Izzy, Jamesie or GMS.
We are not in the market for a £6m Sutton or Hartson anymore because any reliable English pro with a track record is going to go to West Ham, West Brom or East17 before they consider coming to Scotland for our wages. And anyone like Hartson or Sutton is gonna fetch a bigger than £6m transfer fee now. When you see Soldado, bought for £22m and being touted now for £11m, despite being a dud at Spurs, you know you are dealing with a market where you have to find hidden gems.
A temporary purchase of a Ledley or a Matthews to put them in the shop window, or a punt on a Wanyama or Van Dijk, where you have to kiss several Gershons, Lassads and Banguras in order to get your gem.
We are trapped in this glass ceiling and it does not matter that we “demand” (FFS) that Celtic do it better, the strategy will remain the same, the recruitment parameters will be similar and the CL qualifying campaign will always be a challenge, because other ambitious clubs are trying to do the same thing. We have no god given rights to success and, when we are and have been successful, albeit with a “downsized” (treachorous, misleading term that it is) team, then I think we should be a bit happier about it.
SETTINGFREETHEBEARS
What is treacherous and misleading about the term downsized?
Transfer news
We’ll see :))))
I may be happy clapping but in Ronny I trust and think we will bring in some of his wish list whoever they are.
———
this made me smile broadly when catching up
JimmyQuinnsBits
22:41 on
22 June, 2015
And ma boxers are still hangin on the line, like failure.
The make a mighty satisfying sound when you shoot them with an airgun
You had to be there
I agree with the sentiments of the arguement put forward by James Forrest, Fields of Green, who wouldn’t.
We all want Celtic to get the best possible players and make some progress in Europe again.
What James is really asking is, what level of debt are we prepared to take on to make CL qualification the norm each season?
In a football world that has gone financially crazy, especially in the EPL – where journeymen players cost from £10 million upwards and demand and receive ‘premiership wages’, circa £40 plus per week, an ‘investment’ in one, e.g. Steven Fletcher, albiet at a smaller fee, say £5 million, would still cost us around £12 million over a four year contract.
How many of these could we afford, and would Fletcher, with his patchy scoring and fitness record, really make that much of a difference?
We are ‘farting against thunder’ in a mad mad football world and we may just have to lower our sights and get our ‘kicks’ from domestic success only.
Our stadium is a vanity project now, and is way too big for 95% of our needs. We should ‘skim’ the tops off the three big stands, bring them level with the main stand and reduce capacity to around 40,000.
We should then develop everything about the stadium to give a ‘second to none’ match day experience.
European success, at any sort of level, is moving further and further from our grasp, and to continue to reach for it, and make it our only raison d’etre, will only heighten the disappointment incrementally, year on year.
James rightly highlights the downward spiral in the type of player we have bought since 2001, in my opinion, players like Johansen and VVD, will be ‘out of our league’ in the very near future.
Home grown talent will be the only alternative in the very near future and home grown talent will only get us home grown success.
As usual for a Tuesday I was up early for a cycle and a swim.The guy who was doing the sport on shortbread at about 6:00am stated that the sevco “revolution” was gathering pace!! Feck me delusional or whit.
The sevconians are the most global peepul in the universe.
This new manager for all I know may work out to be great but he is being set up for a fall by the MSM.Read one of the hun sites yesterday yet again they are falling into the trap of forecasting Scottish cup wins……………………..mental.
global = gullible.
Squire d
” Somebody earlier said “Jamesie’s time will come”.
He is 24 in July.
Ten years from now there will still be some people saying his time will come.
The original comment was that – irrespective of what one thinks of them as players – Forrest and Lustig can be relied upon to be unfit for lengthy periods during any given season.
I agree.”
James has had a difficult three years with injuries. Maybe that means his career will be curtailed and ended by his body’s inability to cope or, alternatively, he might come good. Even his harshest critics will grudgingly accept that there is talent there. His time has already come. He played 19 games as a 19 year old for us, only talent at the McGeady or Maloney level manages that. He has been influential in key games such as Kilmarnock away (3:3), the Kazakhstan match at CP and several others where he was a game changer and winner. Despite his injury record, he has managed 19, 29, 15, 16 and 19 games in each of the past 5 seasons. He has contributed and it would be a mistake to let talent like that leave if their injury issues can be addressed and managed. The phrase “his time will come” was, I suspect, aiming at his “time, free from injury, will come”. Let’s hope the amateur Mourinhos haven’t punted him on a free by then. The verdict of the professional surgeons and physios is likely to be more influential.
P.S. Lustig managed 25, 29 and 30 games in his last 3 Rosenborg seasons, so his injury record was sound. He has played 4, 23, 16 and 5 games in his three and a half seasons with us. His two middle seasons gave us some value but his first and most recent have been disappointing. He remains a talent and our best right back. I hope he recovers.
Not been on a lot lately due to work but I did notice there was a discussion starting on Android TV boxes,was there a consensus on a recommendation ? Been thinking about getting one for ages and there are many decent spec boxes around £50/60 but a recommendation would be appreciated.
Cheers.
BMCUW
“What is treacherous and misleading about the term downsized?”
It is used as an active verb. It suggests a strategy as in “PL has downsized our club”. rather than a rational response to a relatively impoverished economic position.
No one would dream of accusing a wage earner of downsizing their house and lifestyle after losing their job. Nobody would suggest that if you kept up the flash car and champagne lifestyle you would impress people and land a new well paid job quicker.
It gives no credence to the fact that we have been downsized, acted upon, by the influence of the Bosman ruling, TV money and CL hegemony by the Big Leagues.
That is the treacherous intent; otherwise we would say we have been sensible and prudent rather than use a pejorative word.
SquireD as you know I agree with you on young mister Forrest,however big Mick is a star and our best right back by a considerable distance.Probably my favourite player in this current squad apart from Broonie of course.
in my opinion, players like Johansen and VVD, will be ‘out of our league’ in the very near future.
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Disagree with this.
We faced the same issues when we signed those players as we do now.
Clubs down south wouldn’t gamble on them, or the likes of Wanyama, or may not even have been aware of them.
Let them throw the big money around for ‘proven’ players, it hasn;t done them much good in Europe for the most part anyway.
There is always opportunity for us, and the bubble down south has to burst sometime, when is the big question. But they can’t sign everyone, and we are not the only league in Europe waiting for it to happen.
HH