Kairat Almaty’s Champions League qualification campaign started five weeks ago with a draw at Olimpija Ljubljana. After eliminating the Slovenian champions they did the same to Finns KuPS Kuopio, overturning a 2-0 first leg defeat, before their epic tie against Slovan Bratislava, which they won on penalties.
Kairat are the lowest seed still in the competition, but all three of their earlier opponents were seeded higher, so they are punching above their weight this season. Brendan Rodgers biggest concern will be the fitness gap between the squads. Kairat are 19 games into their domestic league, are fully fit and tactically settled. Celtic will be three competitive games into the season when the sides meet in Glasgow on Wednesday. That is a material advantage.
Despite this, there can be no excuses. Over the last three years Kairat have signed players for money only twice, for fees totalling €350k. Kazakh football does not benefit from significant investment, the country has no player development heritage to speak of and this squad has never played anywhere like Celtic Park.
Prepare correctly and get the job done, Celtic.
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Aye, that’ll be Wednesday you can smell.
Act accordingly.
Any information on who will broadcast the home and away ties?
coybig
McPhail Bhoy on 13th August 2025 12:04 pm
“Any information on who will broadcast the home and away ties?”
BBC Scotland surely? :))), por cierto
Good afternoon all from Kealeys pub, Swords Road. Come on ye bhoys in Green!
It was the best of times it was the worst of times.
Great pints BRRB
As expected, BR is lined up in the crosshairs should we not progress.
We should win.
But we’re 40 goals down from last season and have found chances hard to come by in our first two league games, despite being dominant.
We’re an injury away from Scales at Left Back, we’ve no left winger if Maeda is injured.
Hopefully everyone stays fit.
I’m off to Brittas bay next week – Jack Whyte’s here I come.
Maybe if we had replaced our top striker who was sold 7 months ago or our right winger that was sold a month ago you could say we are prepared. We’re not, the forward line is weak. A huge, unnecessary gamble has been taken by those who approve/conclude deals, the manager, and the support, have been sold short
BRRB
Up the Dubs 🍺🍺🇮🇪
Paul67
Wise words Paul If only the board would listen.
If it’s that much of a formality there shouldn’t be any potential signings waiting to see if we qualify…..
I would never play Scales at left back at a push Trusty as he has a bit of pace and is more agile, Inamura looked fine to me surely he can get a euro squad place.
‘Prepare correctly and get the job done, Celtic.’
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Trolling at its finest…………
And they’re off………
Never let the facts get in the way of a good narrative.
The article says Celtic should win this tie comfortably.
I’d love to hear an argument to the contrary.
I feel like we’re a man down with Idah at the moment – coming too deep; not there for tap ins or KT. I’m a fan of his, not criticising.
I wonder if Brendan will try a 3-5-2 on Friday….
THE BLOGGER FORMERLY KNOWN AS GM on 13TH AUGUST 2025 12:34 PM
And they’re off………
Never let the facts get in the way of a good narrative.
The article says Celtic should win this tie comfortably.
I’d love to hear an argument to the contrary.
——
Fair enough.
But you’ve missed the headline.
Mcphail Bhoy
I am pretty sure from play off stage onward will be the same broadcaster as has the rights for the CL proper in your country.
So in the UK it will be TNT.
It is syndicated from this stage onward.
We also get to hear that music at CP too !
Yes, we will win the tie.
But many of our players will be tired. That 8s why we need a decent squad with players fighting for each position.
Jet lag is real after travelling through multiple time zones. That is factual.
HH.
Bournesouprecipe @ 10:41 am,
“FWIW Paul67 ran an article you’ll recall, where he said he was concerned that the transfer window went beyond the Sevco game ,and took in the qualifier. He knew for a fact that the best we’d get, was the end of window business. Could it be a Robbie Keane at 11.00 O’Clock in the car park stunt.
Brendan having a look at low buy players brought in, is a side show, his good housekeeping as we mentioned before. Transfer stalling ( they could have fixed the WIFI in the interlude :) is tied around Daizen Maeda and Reo Hatate and maybe one other exit IMO.
These low buys must keep flowing in because it’s ‘ diamond in the midden ‘ all over again, they are vital to the strategy, who cares if they’re scattered to the wind some of them, still strung to the club.
The elite coach will prevail that’s what he does, that’s why DD brought him back, unless he gets sickened again in the process, – we’ll see.”
Yes, quite, gone are the days Larrson mended the WiFi…
The “development model” and selling “HVPs” makes the job of putting a quality team together a huge challenge at Celtic.
If you add to the fact that the Board don’t want to spend the supporters money on quality players, makes it nye on impossible.
It’s quite easy to see who does the heavily lifting at Celtic, and who has the life of Riley…
No doubt we will prevail but it will be despite not because of the lazy hangers on.
Hail Hail
Nope – if we fail to progress the “excuse” will be that we failed to sign new players of “quality, pace and power”.
With the resources currently available and an elite manager, Celtic have more than enough to get the job done (please provide a counter argument to that).
If we fail to progress, the “quality, pace and power” excuse is a non-starter.
An Dun
Seriously the guy has not signed a single player who we would all agree has added significant capability or value to the squad in 3 windows.
Maybe some potential but nothing concrete. He has had 2 weeks shy of 3 windows.
The previous period which a much maligned gave us a few deemed by himself to be duds but also gave us
Kuhn
AJ
Maeda
Kyogo
Abada
MOR
Jota
CCV
Oh
GG
JJ
Starfelt
Hatate
Plenty of not so good as stated but over all many great quality purchases and trading profit as well as huge upgrade in team performance.
Tell me how many of his buys, since assuming control, have been decent in terms of quality on the park or indeed value potential or any ROI ?
Answer for me is maybe the Finnish goalkeeper.
Or is it all a big thing where DD isn’t backing BR but did back Ange ? Maybe that’s it. Our largest shareholder wants to sabotage his own investment.
If we were taking money out then fine but no one is. We didn’t hear Ange whinging about it. He just got on with working toward getting players in to suit his and the clubs needs. I only once heard him even say it was tough to do. We all know it is but I am sick of BR innuendo. Winding it up. I really wish he would just do his job. All I am seeing so far is potential for another Leicester City type mess that they are still recovering from.
The Blogger Formerly Known As GM @ 12:34 pm,
You want to hear a contrary argument, I can help you out there.
Listen carefully to the Celtic Manager, The Celtic Coaches and the Celtic Players, over the coming weeks.
Every single one of them will give you the contrary argument.
They will say they are not taking the opponents lightly
They will say we have to be at our best.
They will say they can’t afford to be complacent
See, you can bump your gums on a football forum or be a member of the Celtic Board and take such a lackadaisical, amatuerish view
You certainly can’t as player, coach or manager – you must treat these opponents seriously.
Celtic FC will be very professional and very diligent in their approach to this game, that’s why, despite the PLC Board, we will get through to the UCL- proper.
Hail Hail
Celtic are back in European action this month, with a coveted spot in the UCL league phase up for grabs as they face FC Kairat of Kazakhstan in the play-off round.
The first play-off tie takes place at Celtic Park on Wednesday, August 20 (kick-off 8pm).
We’ve been here before and we can do it again – be there to cheer the Bhoys on to victory and to help create that famous Paradise atmosphere.
Be there for the atmosphere, for the moments and for the dream.
Ticket information
General sale tickets will be available to buy online only from 3pm on Thursday, August 14, priced £39.
If we cannot beat Almaty with the playing budget we have then frankly it is not quite up there with losing to Arthurlie in the Scottish Cup back in the day but definitely similar to Raith in the league cup final.
The gap in respective budgets and experience are of a similar multiple as back then.
Top tier manager or not.
Burnley78 @ 1:01 pm,
So Mark Lawwell managed to sign top quality players before he even joined Celtic
Must have that great super power like his dad, who won a record amount of football trophies despite not being able to kick a ball.
BTW: You forgot our Mark’s swansong, 2023 not a single signing in a whole year!?
You sure you got your FACTs straight.
Hail Hail
The media has really done a job on us as fans, when we’re now doubting if we can beat a team, over 2 legs, from Kazakhstan, with or without new signings…por cierto
Sorry, we have Oh from 2023, the beat striker Mark signed…
Hail Hail
Burnley78 on 13th August 2025 12:49 pm
Mcphail Bhoy
I am pretty sure from play off stage onward will be the same broadcaster as has the rights for the CL proper in your country.
So in the UK it will be TNT.
It is syndicated from this stage onward.
We also get to hear that music at CP too !
_____________________________________________________________
Thanks Burnley78, but does this mean, ‘I’ll tell you this McCoist’?!!
Some people have forgotten about Ange ‘whinging’. I distinctly remember him having the exact same complaints as Brendan…
I also remember we needed a last minute winner to progress that last time we played a Kazakh side in the CL play off.
But it’s a gimme this time…
Burnley78 @ 1:05 pm,
Here is our UCL-Q record of the last few years
Doesn’t matter what the budget is, if you don’t invest in qualifying for the UCL you don’t qualify
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
Thats Ronny, Lenny and Ange who all failed to qualify for the UCL.
Celtic qualifying is the exception rather than the rule.
If you know your history
Hail Hail
Log in
Any know what Artmedia’s record transfer spend was in 2005 ?
Feel we will sign Jordan Larsson and get Ben Doakes on loan
Only a hunch though
KINGLuBO
Don’t think there is any hidden message in Paul’s lead today.
Even with the depleted squad we have if we fail to qualify for the Champions League big questions will be asked.
However if we do qualify the present squad will be no more than cannon fodder for the others.
Will we invest? We have seen this movie too many times before.
Yeah – we’ll be fine because we have a bigger budget than our opponents. Trying to remember how that theory has panned out in the past decade…….
Still, at least we have managed to keep the old firm active, which is fantastic for one half. I hope they are grateful…..