Efe Ambrose looked a tad nervous at the start of last night’s game. He wasn’t the only one. Adam Matthews was pressed into an early return from injury, a forced change, but Celtic’s decision to deploy a more adventurous line-up than in previous encounters with Barcelona was by choice.
The result was 36% possession, heady heights compared to last season’s win and narrow defeat, but oh what a price. When Barca went 4-0 up early in the second half I suggested “This could be our record defeat”. My Dad said “Artmedia was only one more than this”. I meant THE record defeat, not the record European defeat. We were a few bounces of the ball away.
Results like this are always possible at this level if the game plan is wrong. In the minutes before kick off on Champions League nights, when the stomach knots with tension, I tell myself there is no shame in defeat, but “let’s make sure it’s not 3-0 again”. This must always be the priority. There seems to be a couple of rules:
If we defend the 18 yard line, in numbers, we have a chance of winning Champions League games, but beauty will very much be in the eye of the beholder.
If we chase vanity marks, as we did at home to Juventus and Milan, and away to Barcelona, we’ll lose heavily.
Last season’s Champions League campaign was a textbook lesson on how pot 4 teams from weak leagues should tackle the tournament. Spartak Moscow had more possession at Celtic Park than Barcelona had at the Camp Nou last night, but Celtic won both games against the Russians. There is a shout out loud lesson here.
Between now and the beginning of the next European campaign we have a great opportunity to build upon the type of football we saw in the last two domestic games. If we do this well, we can prepare for next season with a more mature model, but venues like the Camp Nou should only see our bedrock tactics for the foreseeable future.
The Celtic Graves Society are commemorating the life of Peter Scarff, who died of TB 80 years ago this week at the age of 25. Peter, a teammate of John Thomson and Jimmy McGrory, scored 54 goals in 112 games for Celtic before contracting his fatal illness at 23. A short service will be held at Peter’s grave in Kilbarchan Cemetery at 11:30 this Saturday, 14 December. You are all welcome.
There’s a Celtic shirt signed by the first team squad available for auction on ebay in aid of the Wellburn Care Home in Dundee, run by the Little Sisters of the Poor. It’s currently going for a song, so get there and fill your boots.
“The centre of Astana very much had a western feel- vibrant, affluent with a splattering of large video screens on the buildings advertising top of the range cars to luxury apartments. With skyscraper office blocks and top-end hotels with marble kerbstones, this very much is one side of Asia.
“The stadium itself looked fairly new, the shape of it reminded me of Tyncastle, thankfully we were made welcome here though!”
From a trip to Kazakhstan page 136 of the 2014 CQN Annual, available here:
Sean Fallon, Celtic’s Iron Man:
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Bamboo
A bit harsh calling his other half a boot ;)
Listening to Commons and Samaras and Lennon on STV reveals that not all is well at our team.
All this talk of players we could or should bought misses the basic issue.
We have brought in 6 players from the boondocks.
Currently only one is a first pick with a couple waiting for a taxi out.
Just what was wrong with JR?
Why was he not on the list of transfer targets?
Was he too old, too expensive, too much of a risk?
Are we too close to a limited number of agents?
Why is there no one in the SPL that is or was good enough?
Finally just how much did we pay and to whom for our recent recruits?
No transparency and no detail — what have we got to hide.
I fear another round of exceptional write downs in the next set of accounts.
Rocket Man,
WE are Celtic we should always be in the Champions league. WE should always be looking to at least get past the group stages. we have proved we can do it. Our away form is terrible. With the right tactics we should be able to come away with at least a draw on our travels to most teams. Personally i would set up not to loose with a strong defense and Keeper which is the backbone off all the top teams. We proved against Barcelona last season we can win these type of games even in the Nou camp we were that close to getting a result. Our place is at the top table and i beleive we can at least make the quarters, Hail Hail,
jack regan
18:50 on 12 December, 2013
Listening to Commons and Samaras and Lennon on STV reveals that not all is well at our team.
——————————-
What was said ?
Thanks for the replies. I feel that qualification is not a given but we should always play each game in Europe as if it were the game of our lives.
RobertTressell
18:10 on
12 December, 2013
Take care and god bless
Rocket Man
18:13 on
12 December, 2013
PFAyr: I feel the same way.
I thought when Pukki scored at Tynecastle and hit the bar against Kilmarnock we had a player he just needs time to settle. I don’t feel that way anymore. Boerrigter I thought looked the business in the 20 minutes of his debut before he got injured. I don’t believe he is the same player.
notthebus
Perhaps it was for those twenty minutes that he was not the same player.
for the first time last night , I wondered if it was time for lennie to move on. it didn’t last long as the reality of our squad against a morass of money soon flooded me sober mind
another reality which hit me last night was the cyclical nature of our buying strategy, ie. sell Wilson vic and hoops – we can’t hope to replace them’ til the window in the year after they are sold, this has some horrible consequences for our CL performances
adrian durham is a tool of the highest order
he clearly has a hun leaning, either deadco, newco or both
but doesnt have the baws to say why
what i dont get is why celtic fans phone up the show to argue
you are just giving him the oxygen of publicity that he doesnt deserve
it is basically the radio equivalent of the worst tabloid you could ever read
I think we may be at a watershed moment for our great club there is no doubt we cant compete with the top European teams Real Madrid paid £92 million for one player Barca, Man City,Chelsea can buy the very best I watched Shaktar Donesk at Old Trafford earlier in the week and they had 5 Brazilians in there side. So perhaps we should adjust our hopes all I want to see is Celtic to compete and last night we did not compete but am I being unrealistic ? until or if a level playing field is brought into European football I think we will have more heavy defeats to live with.I think a start could be going back to the old system where a team were only allowed 3 foreign players in there squad that would allow more Scottish talent to flourish and may level the playing field a bit. H.H.
hoopy-do
AD is very much a currant IMO ,he likes nothing better than sticking the boot into the Celts .
then again maybe he is a Chelski fan
Evening Timland from a cold hun free mountain valley.
Given another half an hour we would have drawn that game, some comeback at the end.
HH
Joe Fillipis
Another angle would be if fans said enough is enough, it’s a spectator sport and not a vehicle for an elite few to make astronomical sums of money off the back of the punters. Although that would involve fans becoming organised and radicalised, showing solidarity with each other across the continents….stupid idea I know ;)
anyway am doing a KevJungle….ofski
Jackie Mac
I agree with you regarding Vic and Hooper, but I think Virgil is head and shoulders above Wilson.
My opinion is Wilson isn’t a big loss.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnOOOfyctGw&autoplay=1
Jamie Carragher rips Adrian Durham a new one.
Go on Carra.
Quonno: it was his debut at home which should be taken into consideration of course. He looked the part which is what a lot of players this season have done in different circumstances. Paul and others have written about Biton after a game or two looking the same way.
monteblanco. Some one needs to think outside of the box as the Champions League is now the play area of the super rich or super in debt clubs.The rest are just the cannon fodder I don’t think you will ever get unity with us the fans but the poorer clubs I include Celtic in this could refuse to play in the CL and set up there own tournament.There must come a time surely that some of the so called super clubs go to the wall as they are unable to pay there debts but as it stands we cannot compete with the riches. H.H.
We bared our bum in Barcelona.
It got skelped.
End of.
SorebumCSC
Steinreignedsupreme@ 14:50 on 12 December, 2013
What do you expect Celtic to be achieving under Neil Lennon?
————————————————————————————————————————
Europa League football and domestic double with the odd treble thrown in for good measure.
SFTB
I hope your reduction in posting is only by a small amount. I genuinely enjoy your reasoned posts. There are far too many reactionary posts on here which hide under the ” every one`s entitled to their opinion” banner. If I wanted to read those opinions, I could buy the DR. CQN , I think, is to offer an alternative from the Celtic bashing media. I can understand exasperation in trying to educate but someone has to do it and I would rather it was you 0:-)
Don`t let them get you down !
JJ
This talk of sacking NFL; get a grip. Real Madrid managed by Jose Mourhino lost 6-0 in the Camp Nou. It can happen to ANY team when Barca are in the mood. We’ll get over this.
Our expectations were raised by our outstanding performances last year. Note: we hardly threatened Benfica in the 2 games against them last year.
It’s a blow but let’s not go overboard.
We will be able to beat Barcelona when we can afford the players they can afford.
We will be able to compete with them when we play in an equal league set up to them, and can offer some random 20 year old Brazilian starlet the same climate and bars and clubs and apartments and restaurants and bistros and quality Girlies and anonymity and open top driving and exposure and Mediterranean flair and soul.
After that we square the circle and we are there.
It really is that simple. Tick the above boxes and we would win the CL.
Durham is a bellend and wind up merchant. Best ignored.
hoopy-do
19:08 on 12 December, 2013
Agee with you that no Celtic Supporter should ever phone those phone-ins…….I sometimes listen-in, though, to hear all the hurtinhun pundits and peepul suffer as a result of their sad bias / bigotry……..they really don’t appreciate just how entertaining they all are…..
iPaddyMcCourt
You should have, then 0:-)
ger57
19:42 on 12 December, 2013
So correct….I’m well over it and can’t wait for Saturday…..HH to you, Bhoy
Ipaddy he was bang out of order with what he said about Carra.
Didn’t expect Jamie to ring him live on air.
It was brilliant listening.
Durham is a bellend mate….correct.
I phone Keevins tonight to wind him up and slip in a wee political point or two re Mandella and Eufa
Thanks to whoever on this site alerted me to the change.org petition website
Iv recently been alerted to some worthy causes to support
Makes me feel better about myself
B-)
rocket man
18:37 on 12 December, 2013
Success would be winning it would it not ? HH
cultsbhoy
19:49 on 12 December, 2013
You shouldn’t give him the ammunition he craves…….incidentally, there should have been a World Holiday for commemoration of one of the greatest men who ever lived, if not THE greatest……what he did for the Black community of South Africa, and for the whole World was nothing short of a MIRACLE…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnOOOfyctGw&autoplay=1
Adrian durham/Jammie Caragher
67 HEAVEN
There is.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandela_Day
DURHAM at his best,tosser…
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BMesvxL5XrA
Notthebus…
I posted the Carra one earlier?
BMCUWP
Bobby, do you have Auldheid’s email addy? I’ve tried to email CQN and I’m getting probs. I want his info re the resolution and SFA corruption.
I don’t know about anyone else, but I can’t wait for Saturdays game.
I expect a reaction from the players and manager.
I’m sure we’ll get one.