I remember a situation several years ago when we had five full backs and converted-full backs out injured at the same time. The injured count for central defenders is not currently as high but the situation is just as critical.
Erik Sviatchenko joins Jozo Simunovic, Dedryck Boyata and Kristoffer Ajer on the injured list. Kolo Toure is certain to be added to the Uefa squad before tonight’s deadline but will be pushed to be match fit for next week.
Fortunately, the man who has spent more time injured over the last two seasons than anyone else, Mikael Lustig, is fit and able to move from full back into the middle, with Saidy Janko able to deputise on the right.
More words have been written about Efe Ambrose than any other Celtic player this month. It’s quite possible he’ll move on towards the end of the transfer window but he’s set to be given an opportunity to make good his error in Gibraltar by leading an unfamiliar defensive line-up in Astana tomorrow.
If I had a choice, I would prefer Celtic in adversity than Celtic over-confident. We know we will have to protect the defence tomorrow so the match plan should be straightforward.
Astana are not without their concerns either. Kazak media are concerned Astana are weaker than a year ago, due to the departure of Georgi Zhukov the likely absence of captain and top scorer, Tanant Nuserbayev, added to the turmoil at the club this week, caused by Lyon’s bid for midfielder, Nemanja Maksimovic. They will battle tomorrow, but their preparations are far from ideal.
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http://www.celticfc.net/news/10948?
Brendan knows the issues with Efe just the same concerns as us.
KLV
The problem is with the goals and objectives laid before PL. He is not measured or rewarded based on the success of the football club. His rewards are purely financial!!! Herein lies the issue. He will con the fans into buying season tickets, continues to be negligent in the transfer market, and has funded a team of maybes in order to profit from their development. That’s it in a nutshell!
SEAN THORNTON on 26TH JULY 2016 6:55 PM
I was in Aruba a few years ago, absolutely loved it. Take a catamaran round the island!
If you like diving, you have to visit the wreck of the SS Antilla off the northwest point of the island at Boca Catalina Beach.
German cargo ship, launched in 1939. When war was declared it made for neutral Venezuela but was stopped by Dutch marines. Rather than hand over the ship, the crew scuttled her.
It’s an amazing dive. Even snorkelling it makes your heart pound, but Scuba – wow!
The criticism of PL by the usual suspects is nothing short of pathetic. Sure he makes mistakes he’s only human. He sold Kenny Miller when Strachan and TB begged him not to, which cost us three champonships
However we are where we are and should be grateful for the great shape Celtic are in on and off the park given the incredibly hard financial climate in Scottish football.
FOXY on 26TH JULY 2016 6:56 PM
!!BADA BING!! on 26TH JULY 2016 6:40 P
What makes you think BR wants a Director of Football?
FOXY on 26TH JULY 2016 6:59 PM
!!BADA BING!! on 26TH JULY 2016 6:55 PM
Will you be pig sick if BR makes him into a great centre half?
2 goes in about 10 minutes? Keep them coming. If you read the Director of Football post,I said have one only if BR wants him. Efe should have been moved on for his own ,and the team’s sake. He passed the point of no return a good while ago,he is only used when we are short,and the support,in the main, have no faith in him. FWIW , I think he will start at RB tomorrow,played well there any time I have seen him for Nigeria.
The guys directly in front of the FBs will be vital, I can see Izzy and possibly Armstrong playing there.
Seems like the plague has decended on Celtic Park with the news that Erik is now down. What a start for Brendan in the new job. Just as well Eoin O’Connell and Mikel did well on Saturday agains Leicester City in a test which was above the level of an ordinary friendly match. Celtic played well in this match and certaintly showed no signs of inferiorty against the EPL champions. I liked the way young O’Connell demanded the ball to crash home the equaliser and stepped up to take his penalty – no lack of confidence here. The performance on Saturday augurs well for Astana. Will Brendan go for Effe or Eoin?
HARRY BOE on 26TH JULY 2016 6:46 PM
Burgas Hoops
That’s the shopping list sorted for tomorrow. Cheers mate.
if i may be so bold to suggest a local dish while yir there, try the Brodet you wont be dissapointed.
Enjoy.
GARY67
I take your point about Izzy bombing forward but unfortunately once the gets there the only person liable to get on end of his cross is the far side linesman.
HARRY BOE on 26TH JULY 2016 6:25 PM
Good evening from a hot and sunny Makarska coast in Croatia. I’m on my 3rd bottle of Karlovacko (lovely beer btw)
Indeed….my favourite lager beer. It travels well back to Scotland so stick a few in your case if you can.
Makarska is well known for Slivovice (plum brandy). It is lovely when mixed with a little honey as a nightcap.
STEBHOY on 26TH JULY 2016 7:20 PM
The problem is with the goals and objectives laid before PL. He is not measured or rewarded based on the success of the football club. His rewards are purely financial!!! Herein lies the issue. He will con the fans into buying season tickets, continues to be negligent in the transfer market, and has funded a team of maybes in order to profit from their development. That’s it in a nutshell!
The problem is not PL who is exceptionally good at his job.
The problem is with the fans who repeatedly fall for his half promises.
Johansen not travelling for ‘personal reasons’. I wonder.
Fan-a-Tic……………Izzy made some great breaks down the left on Saturday and could have spelled trouble for Leicester but his crosses were so far off the radar, unreal.
wife in labour
THETIMREAPER…
His wife went into labour.
FOXY on 26TH JULY 2016 7:22 PM
The criticism of PL by the usual suspects is nothing short of pathetic. Sure he makes mistakes he’s only human. He sold Kenny Miller when Strachan and TB begged him not to, which cost us three champonships
However we are where we are and should be grateful for the great shape Celtic are in on and off the park given the incredibly hard financial climate in Scottish football.
If I recall correctly, the problem was not the selling of Miller who hardly set the heather on fire during his time at Celtic.
It was the timing of the sale that left no time for the money coming in to be laid out on a replacement.
Foxy 722pm
I think it’s a bit of an exaggeration to say Celtic are in great shape on the park.
Lost to the champions of Gibraltar 2 weeks ago.
0 wins in the last 11 Europa League matches.
Knocked out the Scottish cup to the lower league Sevco 3 months ago.
2 years in a row of domestic cup semi final defeats to clubs from the highlands run on a shoestring budget
Don’t think you can blame the financial climate of Scottish football for all of that
http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/other-soccer/the-son-of-celtic-legend-henrik-larsson-brilliantly-shuts-down-the-rumours-of-him-joining-rangers-34914389.html
STEBHOY on 26TH JULY 2016 7:20 PM
The problem is with the goals and objectives laid before PL. He is not measured or rewarded based on the success of the football club. His rewards are purely financial!!! Herein lies the issue. He will con the fans into buying season tickets
I’d like to ask any Celtic fan who thinks they have been , in your words, CONNED, to step forward and demand a refund.
Did Peter pee down your trouser leg on a dreich day in the Jungle?
HE GLORIOUS BALANCE SHEET on 26TH JULY 2016 7:37 PM
These pre season games can always throw up a surprise or two .
No need to get hysterical.
Celtic FC/Plc are in great shape considering.
Kudos to Lawwell and Desmond.
Not read back but it would be gross stupidity to start with Efe.Oconnell and Lustig should play.More or less every game he plays there is a costly mistake waiting. Tomorrow keep it tight be organised,compact and disciplined.We can take them next week at a capacity Parkhead.Objective must be keep the tie alive
Looking for some help going Portugal ,Albueira.
Monday ,looking for a Celtic pub to watch the
Game next wed.
Sean Thornton…I was in Aruba a couple of times during 80s. Loved the place. I hope it hasn’t changed…I’m sure you’ll love it too…good luck
T20- Jinkys at top of the Strip
Foxy-I replied to you earlier
Not sure I get the comments on signings not happening quickly enough.
There we’re loads of complaints understandably from fans when it was suggested someone other than the manager was choosing players.
Had signings came in earlier than they are doing I would suggest they were not the managers. Brendan did the right thing by taking a bit of time to assess the squad and then make moves. Watching replayed of games is not the same as seeing it for yourself.
I get its not ideal but it’s what you need to do when you get a new manager.
QUONNO
It was the timing of the sale that left no time for the money coming in to be laid out on a replacement.
Now, if I was a cynic……………………………..
Joe Hansens wife in labour?
Ernie will be pleased. :)
HH
Full support to Efe tomorrow if and when he starts. We’re all behind you son. A bigger heart in the team you will not find.
If, however, there is a lapse from him I trust Paul, who has at times been vociferous in his criticism of the player of late, will give him some leeway for reasons that he is not responsible, nor to blame for the position we now find ourselves in defence personnel wise. That would seem just churlish now wouldn’t it?
:-)
TOMMIE20
Check this one,mate.
Jinky’s Bar, Montechoro Strip (New Town) Albufeira (Jinky’s CSC)
And have a great time!
Hmmmmm …
Aston Villa FCVerified account
@AVFCOfficial
#CUFC 0-1 #AVFC – 8mins: GOAL!! @Scotty_Sinclair fires home.
GEORDIE MUNRO on 26TH JULY 2016 7:51 PM
Joe Hansens wife in labour?
Ernie will be pleased. :)
===================
;))
Looked in at the blog at lunch time saw some posters positively Salivating at the prospect of Celtic losing tomorrow. They can then indulge in their favourite method of supporting the team by slaughtering everyone and anyone connected to it.
Had a look a while ago and saw a list of embarrassing defeats we had suffered because of Peter Lawwell, no one else mind, no mention of five in a row, memorable wins nope only defeats.
Come back on now and it is still going on. Read a comment yesterday that “Stoke city showed us how to do our transfer business properly” that would be the same Stoke city that will get as much per match from their TV deal as we get for the whole season. People complain about meaningless friendlies, but still demand that the club should spend money it wouldn’t have if it didn’t play the games. We hear how our Board are ripping the fans off with 3rd strips and such, don’t even mention the colour, but some people seem to think that we can just magic up piles of cash.
I hope we win tomorrow, I will be screaming at the TV and kicking every ball but I will not be spitting my dummy out if we do not win. I was always of the opinion that we were faithful through and through not conditionally, provided the board have spent enough of other people’s money to my satisfaction, faithful.
good article barcabhoy, if you’re on. Yeah we don’t quite know yet how it’s going to go yet. New rangers won’t be woeful but there’s only one or two quality player there. It looks like we will be better than last season. A slight improvement in consistency and we will be ahead
The mere fact that the technically adept side Lyon are scouting one of the Astana midfielders tells you something.
They will be disciplined and prepared.
Broony will be out pivotal player tomorrow IMHO. Big game required from the captain.
Gordon, Lustig, Tierney, Brown and Griffiths are, in my opinion, the only certain starters – that leaves six from the rest – I couldn’t hazard a guess how we will set up.
None of us can be confident – will we get a good win, sneak a draw, or, lose heavily? There really is no way of knowing. That is being realistic, not defeatist.
We know all about this squad of players and how they can get within ninety-minutes of CL qualification, on the last two occasions, and blow it from eminently winnable positions.
We also know that they can blow hot and cold in domestic cup competitions, and yet be reasonably reliable over the longer league campaign.
Ronny done the best he could before losing his confidence and doubting his own abilities – in the end the job was just too big for him.
Can Brendan turn this group of players into a unit we can trust – I hope so – it will be this time next year before the overhaul of the squad is anwhere near complete.
SHOOIE @ 7:48 PM,
Just for the record, as I posted a comment that could have been construed as negative.
I’m in total agreement that BR should be given time to sort out the squad and bring in players he wants to work with.
It will take attention to detail and commitment to improve… BR has shown that’s what he’s about.
The “negativity” coming from most posters is a palpable desire not to make the same mistakes that commulated in last Seasons woes.
The fact that so many are suggesting that no mistakes were made, beggars not only belief but the tangible facts.
We need a bit of Actuality at Celtic Park…
I think BR is the ghuy to bring it.
Hail Hail
B.M C W. Thanks bud I thought
You would be working l
would have come to you .
Right away H.H
OWEN@7:57
Well written – I agree with you 100%. HH