The Offical Glasgow Celtic thread

[Clown]

I think we'll do better in the Europa league as the teams there are more our standard at the minute, we need a few signings before the window closes though
i see everton are lining up a bid for scot brown, id take anything over 6 million for him
he has flattered to deceive on too many occassions and is let down by his touch and passing a lot. he's nowhere near as good as petrov who we let go for 8 million

mowbray will probably want to keep broonie tho as he had him at hibs and got the best out of him

[Clown]

Why does it look like time up for Mick?

u sure u dont mean Caldwell? what has he to do to be sold, or even dropped???

[lynchbhoy]

I thought Loovens was commanding. It looks like time up for Mick.

Also with a few minor adjustments, such aslifting his head and improving his final pass, Mc Geady could mix in any company as well

Also thought Loovens was superb, celtics motm imo. I dont rate caldwell and mcmanus isnt a centre half (neither are imo). In fact I'd have odea and loovens.
Donati did some good things, maloney was dire.
Hinkel wasnt great in the def stakes - was maloney or mcgeady in front of him as he was completely exposed all the time - esp for the second goal at CP  and the second and third goal last night.

I dont think I have seen as scandalous a dive where not touched at all as eduardo last night - well not one that didnt end up in a booking for the diver. He has talent but is a cheating fcuker. thats his card marked by all the epl refs this season and he only has himself to blame.
arsenal deserved to win the tie, though 5-1 flattered them given the lack of actual real chances they had.
Arshavin is a fantastic player !
Good enough perf against the epls form team at the moment.

Certainly Celtic put it up to arsenal more than arsenals last two epl opponents - making a mocker of people saying that Celtic woul dbe in relegation zone if in epl IMO.

Hope to get some decent draw in the europa cup. Mickey  mouse it migh be, but it should generate a few quid.

[Gaoth Dobhair Abu]

Why if Artur fouled Eduardo did the referee not see fit to book him? 

Shitty two games and too top off a bad night the Huns get into pot two for the draw this evening!!

[Doogie Browser]

Why if Artur fouled Eduardo did the referee not see fit to book him? 

Shitty two games and too top off a bad night the Huns get into pot two for the draw this evening!!

Every team in Pot three are well capable of beating them though, so things are not so bad 

[Main Street]

Why if Artur fouled Eduardo did the referee not see fit to book him? 

The ref would have seen it as an accidental collision, not deserving of a card but a penalty nonetheless.
Giles was in rampaging high moral mode on RTE, out and out cheats are the lowest of the low. Johnny would ban the player for 3 matches.

I was very pleased with McGeady. His game has clearly come on under Mobray. He has a much freer role, ball retention and distribution is better. Obviously he didn't track back Clichy.
With his first chance he could have passed to Donati? but I suppose he felt the shot was on.
The second chance was just pure McGeady football intelligence.

[lynchbhoy]

Why if Artur fouled Eduardo did the referee not see fit to book him? 

The ref would have seen it as an accidental collision, not deserving of a card but a penalty nonetheless.
Giles was in rampaging high moral mode on RTE, out and out cheats are the lowest of the low. Johnny would ban the player for 3 matches.

I was very pleased with McGeady. His game has clearly come on under Mobray. He has a much freer role, ball retention and distribution is better. Obviously he didn't track back Clichy.
With his first chance he could have passed to Donati? but I suppose he felt the shot was on.
The second chance was just pure McGeady football intelligence.

mcgeady could have put Donati and maloney through but he has scored from shots like that in the past and Celtic are sometimes too shot shy,imo mcgeady was great in the first half, good in the second and I'd expect a lot of epl managers at the top of the table as well as the bottom - will be thinking about putting in offers for him.

[Evil Genius]

He is a cheating cnut, even Wenger who is a bull shitter at the best of times was struggling to defend him, his 'celebration' was just as annoying.  Unfortunately he will get away scot free.  It was an appalling dive.

Probably, but apparently Donati is asking for Eduardo to be banned, citing the following precedent:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/6993901.stm

I must say, whilst I hold no brief for Celtic, I found myself feeling genuinely outraged when the penalty was awarded, and really hoped he'd miss it.

That said, I still had to laugh when Boruc "sent himself the wrong way" in attempting to save it.

[Doogie Browser]

He is a cheating cnut, even Wenger who is a bull shitter at the best of times was struggling to defend him, his 'celebration' was just as annoying.  Unfortunately he will get away scot free.  It was an appalling dive.

Probably, but apparently Donati is asking for Eduardo to be banned, citing the following precedent:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/6993901.stm

I must say, whilst I hold no brief for Celtic, I found myself feeling genuinely outraged when the penalty was awarded, and really hoped he'd miss it.

That said, I still had to laugh when Boruc "sent himself the wrong way" in attempting to save it.

That 'precedent' involved Lithuania though, who UEFA would have no fear of, I would be very surprised if they tried to cite Eduardo now after the event.  There is a great reluctance for retrospective action on Uefa's behalf - Darren Fletcher last season being a case in point.  It would have made little or no change to the outcome of the game, but his smugness really got on my breasts, it would be nice if they had the balls to do something though...

[Evil Genius]

E Genius, hpefully Boruc will retain his sense of rage to be suitably motivated to restrict the North of Ireland to a blank scoresheet on Saturday week, not that that would be a particularly momentous achievement really

A "raging" Artur ("Ulster's No.1") Bollox is exactly what I want to see out there!

After all, he was spitting feathers at Windsor, for all the good it did him! 

[lynchbhoy]

Boruc was one of the best penalty stoppers I have seen - at least a couple of seasons ago - hasnt had too much pracice in the past couple of seasons to be fair.
Def moved and dived way too early imo - bit like eduardo I suppose !

At least Boruc looks like he is back to his best now after an indifferent season last year.

[illdecide]

The financial implications of dropping out of the Champions League for Celtic are huge, make no mistake, the £10 million they would have received for reaching the group stages is far more important to Scottish clubs than it is to Premier League clubs. SPL sides receive only a fraction of the TV money that Premier League clubs get, so that £10 million is a lifeline (maybe Eduardo can delve into his pocket!).

You cannot underestimate the significance of losing that money and, like we've seen with Rangers, it is now likely one or two big players will leave Celtic - they'll do well to hold onto the likes of Aiden McGeady and Scott Brown.

Of course, the financial struggles of SPL sides always raises the debate over whether there can be a form of merging with The English Premier League, but that is a minefield. Put it this way, I would not like to be the one who has to think through the logistics of that decision!

The obvious question, if you're using Celtic and Rangers as examples, is what route do they take to the Premier League? Do they have to qualify from the Championship? Or do you form a new league, which is an idea I've heard touted behind the scenes.

I do believe something may change over the next five years, I will say that. It's been over 40 years since a Scottish side won a major European trophy and, while the SPL throws up some absolutely cracking matches, it is absolutely essential that representatives from Scotland are totally prepared for the challenge of Champions League night on a Tuesday or Wednesday.

What makes this topic so dangerous is that the fans themselves are divided on it. There are many who would love to see their club playing in The Premier League against the Gerrards and Lampards of this world.

But then you have the logistical nightmare of getting fans from north of the border to travel all the way to an away match at Portsmouth for instance. Financially that is crippling for the average fan. You also have Scotland's footballing identity to consider.

Only once in the last 15 years have the Old Firm been separated though (by Hearts in 05/06), so maybe those other clubs may fancy having a real crack at league success in the absence of Rangers and Celtic.

The big two shouldn't forget that the 'guarantee', if you like, of competing for Champions League football helps them lure big players. Jean-Alain Boumsong is an obvious example, Rangers got him for free and then sold him to Newcastle after six months for in the region of £8 million. Some fans don't like their club to be used as a stepping stone, but it does have its financial advantages that may not be so prevalent if they cannot qualify for Champions League football from the Premier League.


The weekend ahead
A tough task lies ahead for Celtic this weekend, trips to Easter Road and Hibs are never easy, particularly with confidence riding high for John Hughes' men after two opening victories.

Easter Road is a tight ground and the crowd will definitely try to ramp up the pressure on Tony Mowbray's men as they look to put the Arsenal game behind them. They may face a Celtic backlash, so I think that's got all the ingredients for a really big afternoon in Edinburgh.

[illdecide]

I'll decide, Rangers won the ECWC in 1972 as did Aberdeen in 1983, a lot less than 40 years ago.

Celtic were unlucky to draw Arsenal, I believe they would have had a reasonable chance of beating any other side at this stage of the competition.

ahh just found on a site Tony and posted it...never paid to much attention to it

[lynchbhoy]

The financial implications of dropping out of the Champions League for Celtic are huge, make no mistake, the £10 million they would have received for reaching the group stages is far more important to Scottish clubs than it is to Premier League clubs. SPL sides receive only a fraction of the TV money that Premier League clubs get, so that £10 million is a lifeline (maybe Eduardo can delve into his pocket!).

You cannot underestimate the significance of losing that money and, like we've seen with Rangers, it is now likely one or two big players will leave Celtic - they'll do well to hold onto the likes of Aiden McGeady and Scott Brown.

Of course, the financial struggles of SPL sides always raises the debate over whether there can be a form of merging with The English Premier League, but that is a minefield. Put it this way, I would not like to be the one who has to think through the logistics of that decision!

The obvious question, if you're using Celtic and Rangers as examples, is what route do they take to the Premier League? Do they have to qualify from the Championship? Or do you form a new league, which is an idea I've heard touted behind the scenes.

I do believe something may change over the next five years, I will say that. It's been over 40 years since a Scottish side won a major European trophy and, while the SPL throws up some absolutely cracking matches, it is absolutely essential that representatives from Scotland are totally prepared for the challenge of Champions League night on a Tuesday or Wednesday.

What makes this topic so dangerous is that the fans themselves are divided on it. There are many who would love to see their club playing in The Premier League against the Gerrards and Lampards of this world.

But then you have the logistical nightmare of getting fans from north of the border to travel all the way to an away match at Portsmouth for instance. Financially that is crippling for the average fan. You also have Scotland's footballing identity to consider.

Only once in the last 15 years have the Old Firm been separated though (by Hearts in 05/06), so maybe those other clubs may fancy having a real crack at league success in the absence of Rangers and Celtic.

The big two shouldn't forget that the 'guarantee', if you like, of competing for Champions League football helps them lure big players. Jean-Alain Boumsong is an obvious example, Rangers got him for free and then sold him to Newcastle after six months for in the region of £8 million. Some fans don't like their club to be used as a stepping stone, but it does have its financial advantages that may not be so prevalent if they cannot qualify for Champions League football from the Premier League.


The weekend ahead
A tough task lies ahead for Celtic this weekend, trips to Easter Road and Hibs are never easy, particularly with confidence riding high for John Hughes' men after two opening victories.

Easter Road is a tight ground and the crowd will definitely try to ramp up the pressure on Tony Mowbray's men as they look to put the Arsenal game behind them. They may face a Celtic backlash, so I think that's got all the ingredients for a really big afternoon in Edinburgh.

dont think financially Celtic would have to sell anyone. A lot of their revenue comes from merchandising. While the cl money would have been great, the actual money lost is 2 million quid. the rest on match receipts is going tobe much the same for Celtic - esp if they can progress a bit.
I think they made more money in 2003 on their way to the uefa cup final than they would have if they had been in the cl group stages (and gone no further as was the usual then for Celtic teams).
I could be wrong, this is from recollection of what I think I heard a few years back.

[Evil Genius]

The financial implications of dropping out of the Champions League for Celtic are huge, make no mistake, the £10 million they would have received for reaching the group stages is far more important to Scottish clubs than it is to Premier League clubs. SPL sides receive only a fraction of the TV money that Premier League clubs get, so that £10 million is a lifeline (maybe Eduardo can delve into his pocket!).

You cannot underestimate the significance of losing that money and, like we've seen with Rangers, it is now likely one or two big players will leave Celtic - they'll do well to hold onto the likes of Aiden McGeady and Scott Brown.

Of course, the financial struggles of SPL sides always raises the debate over whether there can be a form of merging with The English Premier League, but that is a minefield. Put it this way, I would not like to be the one who has to think through the logistics of that decision!

The obvious question, if you're using Celtic and Rangers as examples, is what route do they take to the Premier League? Do they have to qualify from the Championship? Or do you form a new league, which is an idea I've heard touted behind the scenes.

I do believe something may change over the next five years, I will say that. It's been over 40 years since a Scottish side won a major European trophy and, while the SPL throws up some absolutely cracking matches, it is absolutely essential that representatives from Scotland are totally prepared for the challenge of Champions League night on a Tuesday or Wednesday.

What makes this topic so dangerous is that the fans themselves are divided on it. There are many who would love to see their club playing in The Premier League against the Gerrards and Lampards of this world.

But then you have the logistical nightmare of getting fans from north of the border to travel all the way to an away match at Portsmouth for instance. Financially that is crippling for the average fan. You also have Scotland's footballing identity to consider.

Only once in the last 15 years have the Old Firm been separated though (by Hearts in 05/06), so maybe those other clubs may fancy having a real crack at league success in the absence of Rangers and Celtic.

The big two shouldn't forget that the 'guarantee', if you like, of competing for Champions League football helps them lure big players. Jean-Alain Boumsong is an obvious example, Rangers got him for free and then sold him to Newcastle after six months for in the region of £8 million. Some fans don't like their club to be used as a stepping stone, but it does have its financial advantages that may not be so prevalent if they cannot qualify for Champions League football from the Premier League.


The weekend ahead
A tough task lies ahead for Celtic this weekend, trips to Easter Road and Hibs are never easy, particularly with confidence riding high for John Hughes' men after two opening victories.

Easter Road is a tight ground and the crowd will definitely try to ramp up the pressure on Tony Mowbray's men as they look to put the Arsenal game behind them. They may face a Celtic backlash, so I think that's got all the ingredients for a really big afternoon in Edinburgh.

Some interesting points, ID, but in analysing what Celtic and their fans want etc, you are overlooking something far more critical i.e. what the EPL wants.

What would the presence of Celtic and Rangers add to the big teams in the EPL, who manage to fill their stadia every week as it is? In the end, C&R would either be uncompetitive in the EPL, in which case there is no point in adding them, or they would be competitive, in which case they'd be a threat to the existing big clubs.

As for the smaller clubs, which of those is going to vote for a measure (i.e. adding two Glasgow teams) that would inevitably see two from within their own ranks be forced to leave the EPL?

As it is, the whole pressure (from UEFA and FIFA) is to see the big European Leagues reduced to 18 teams (though that is being stoutly resisted by the EPL).

Unless something changes significantly, imo there is no prospect of the Old Firm being invited to join the EPL, though there may be some chance of them being admitted to the Football League, or any European Super League which might be created.