It’s been dreich in Glasgow all week, so I was hoping the miserableness continued for our guests from sunny climes tonight. A cold blast of wind and rain would surely suit our northern European locals, but it’s as though the city knows there’s a big European game on. The weather is perfect for football.
Like most I’ve been in two minds about who we should start with up front but the truth is how we defend is more important. A narrow win to zero is a good first leg result in Europe, I’d take that right now. And I’d have Leigh up front!
Qarabag are a team who travelled across Europe last season with some purpose, but they haven’t experienced Celtic Park yet. I’m hoping for a night like we had against Shakhter Karagandy, where we pull together to get the job done.
I watched a documentary on homelessness in the London borough of Tower Hamlets recently. It seemed to be a shakedown area for those who have spun off the planet. Poverty, social-exclusion, anonymity and hopelessness on an industrial scale in one of the world’s great cities.
The Celtic Foundation have been working in the far flung corners of world for years, as well as in Scotland and Ireland, but working with London’s needy, in Tower Hamlets, as they now are, has a different feel to it. There’s a tendency to think of London as one huge cash machine, which it is in many respects, but it’s also where a lot of our poor end up. The social isolation is absolute.
Celtic Foundation’s objectives, to improve Health, promote Equality, encourage Learning and tackle Poverty (HELP) know no boundaries. We can’t be the biggest club in the world right now, but we can aspire to be the most ethical. We (that’s you and me) can set the highest standards.
Nothing would demonstrate this more than having 100 people doing the Great Scottish Run for the Foundation in October. Get yourself and/or a friend registered. You don’t need to be fast, you just need to get around Glasgow in your own time, and target raising £125 for the Foundation.
Thanks to everyone who donated to our Mary’s Meals school kitchen appeal, in connection with yesterday’s Magners ticket competition. It amazes me that every time we run a ‘Who do Celtic play on Saturday?’ competition, people get the answer wrong. The winner will be drawn this lunchtime, so watch your email.
Thanks also to Magners. The people there get the point of what the club’s all about. They could have put their mineral water brand on the jerseys in Iceland, where local laws don’t allow alcohol sponsorship, but they offered the space to the Foundation instead.
These guys at Newco love a drama. They’ve blocked the rights of four shareholders, including memorable name Blue Pitch Holdings, who declined to answer questions on about the nature of their interests in the club.
The Companies Act provides for this as you have a right to know if your shareholders are, for example, amassing shares for a prospective takeover bid. It’s unlikely Blue Pitch and the others are planning a coup of this nature. A response along the lines of ‘Hoping for future dividends and capital growth’ would be sufficient. It strikes me as a pointless exercise, playing to the gallery, although it’s consistent with their other shareholder charm offensives.
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I cannot understand the logic of playing a striker who ain’t scored for us in place of a striker on fire.
I trust Ronny and trust his judgement is correct but for the life of me cannot work it out.
On the other hand RD might be working on the law of averages theory!
Hope to God it works out
HH
Ciftci non Goalmachine starts
Griffiths Goalmachine on the bench
I hope you get this call right Ronnie ….otherwise it’s a major howler
What Does Leigh Griffiths have to do to start a game?
Giving the guy the No.9 shirt then treating him like he wears the 99 is an absolute insult to the guys intelligence.
AR
Maybe the hackers have to be in their beds by 9pm.
‘GG
18:57 on 29 July, 2015
mncelt
18:43 on 29 July, 2015
GG – Here you go….
It’s a cop out MNCELT
They stated they were in negotiations at the beginning of the week.
They are punishing overseas subscribers because they are wary of Internet hackers?
They must think we don’t know our bits from our bytes.
Do they ever get Denial of Service attacks during a league game?
Do they have measures in place to combat them?
The statement is deflection from the real issue.
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i agree gg
bull fae celtic
‘GG – Given that the only broadcast of the game tonight will be from Celtic TV direct, I can understand that they are nervous about the real threat of hijack from the many clever pirate sites out there. Added to the fact that every man and his dog will be moaning if the coverage is not absolutely perfect, broadcasting the match was going to be a big risk.
While very disappointing, I think the decision they have made is reasonable. I will be shutting down my connection until 9pm Celtic Park time and watching the game ‘as live’. It won’t spoil my day.
Evening bhoys…..daft question perhaps, but is the game being shown on Azeri tv? I might have better luck getting one of those than I do with other steams.
HH……and hopefully Ciftci to break his duck !!
gg,
They did raise the hacking issue during a couple of games last season but when you pay for premium and you don’t get some form of live broadcast, not radio, then that is simply not good enough.
AR
Quarabag are 9/1…. Bottom of the SPL price ….that’s what the bookies make of them
No game on in the usual Hong Kong csc sadly
Bedtime it is… No Griffiths .. Feel sorry for him or does ronnie now see him as an impact sub.
Ciftci first goal tonight hopefully
hamiltontim
18:49 on 29 July, 2015
We were speaking about this today, Ronny to stick with Nadir, hopefully pull the defence everywhere, then hopefully tired defenders and the Buzzbomb comes on when defence tires, by the way I would never have Leigh out my team… Goalscorer = goals
But hope And think Ronny will get it right
Ronny is only putting more pressure on shifty to score, and that won’t work, start with Griffiths, let him get us two up and then bring on shifty, gets his first goal under better easier circumstance, not rocket science,
Anyway all the best celtic can’t get to game as stuck in Winchester
Kittoch
Burghbhoy
Are you skiing in the Cairngorms?
Good interview from Darren fletcher on James McClean recent headline news.. Good to see a team mate come out and defend him.
good decision with Cifti although at celtic park i’d have played him and griff from the start and pile the pressure on this team. if we play one up front then it has to be Cifti. Note – griff is not as effective on his own.
4-0 celtic – Armstrong 2 , brown and Cifti
stebhoy
Some prediction………Get down to the bookies.
LIVE UPDATES ARTICLE IS UP
Stebhoy
Griffiths scores Ciftci doesn’t …don’t follow your logic
Apparently the Azeri’s spent 30 mil on their team can anyone confirm this?
Facebook patter:))
Griff the Biffs locker raided …t-cakes found ! so we are starting with the Arabs all up front …makes braw sense….never mind more than 6.5 corners and the Green to win….then hoopy days all over the world …except fir maybe a wee bit in the east…..
BBc radio …fecks sake ….
braw
As I have said before, I am a fan of Ciftci, and think he does and will bring something different to the team…. and I think the team should always come before any individual player …. but even I feel sorry for LG today.
Hopefully, Ciftci scores a few, as does LG when he comes on.
Paul67
Feels great to be back in the serious European business again.
Tonight is a right tough one
Agree that any result with at least one for us and zero for opponents is a solid basis to build a victory in the tie.
Good that increasing number of posters ‘get’ an understanding that there are now a swathe of teams from the less fashionable ( in a footballing sense ) countries who can give us as good as they get.
When they get up the park they can hurt us with pace and precision, and these boys are building a strong reputation against some of the traditionally hallowed clubs, such as Saint Etienne and Inter ..
Dareisay Celtic?
My sense that we are better prepared and organised than same stage last term, and offers more than just hope that we can click into gear and have a night to remember.
Give it laldy, enjoy the wonderful ocassion that is Paradise on European match nights. Also, Please remember to drink responsibly and only bet what you can afford to lose…
2-0 to the bhoys
Teuchter
Not skiing mate, just relaxing with a few swallies, BTW , Mrs Burghbhoy booked this before knowing about Champions League games.
Nervous as hell.
Women, eh?
WHY NO GRIFFITHS
CIFTCI IS A DONKEY !!
IBM.
Expect us to get two penalties if crowd is over fifty thousand.
didnae be knocking donkeys ……lots of money in Donkey Derbys …
braw
On my holidays and the bar has a Chanel called Idman azorbaycan on at the mo….