Celtic showed considerable improvement last night in beating Limcoln Red Imps, and in the warm summer sunshine of a Thursday morning, thats all that matters.

A change in formation to 3-5-2 surprised the section of the support that doesn’t read the Dairy replies, and with the sites credibility at stake after getting something right, an urgent text was sent to the manager to instruct the players to keep the score down and thus deny us a double.

We are grateful to him for that, as we don’t want people to start thinking we actually know what we’re on about. Far rather they reckon we don’t, and then there’s still a chance of a career in the MSM.

Perhaps we’ll hear from Sky TV, who may need a little help in their pre match tactical assessments…

Or the BBC, who seem unsure of how the two legged format works…

The goals, all well worked and well taken, came during  a ten minute spell midway through the first half. Mikael Lustig, Leigh Griffiths and Patrick Roberts put the tie fairly safe, and apart from a couple of wobbly moments in defence, the reality is that had the team been maybe just ten per cent sharper then it would have turned into little more than a training exercise.

For those who think that it should have been more, and we need to go out and immediately buy some players in time for next weeks trip to Khazakstan, calm down for a minute.

There’s no need. These guys are just beginning to get it together, and deserve a chance to redeem themselves for last years debacle.

After all, no one expects us to qualify anyway, and bringing in another project-because you can forget about any blue chip signing at this stage of the proceedings- will only cause disruption to what seems like a fairly happy set of campers.

Maybe we could have been a little more equipped for these games, but in fairness we have to remember Boyata, who may well surprise us all yet, and Simunovic, who is impressing on the training pitch, are injured, and thats just bad luck.  Hard to legislate for, as surely  it doesn’t make sense to buy two players every time you dip into the market  just in case one does get hurt

Unless one of them is Derk Boerrigter, I suppose.

Back to last night, and in another triumph for the PR department at Celtic, the 2015-16 champions flag was unveiled. The honours were performed by Bobby Lennox and Rosemary Burns, wife of  Celtic man Tommy, which lent the occasion some grace and dignity. Incidentally,  I can’t think of a more fitting way to describe Tommy, and I like to think he’d be happy with that description.

It seems strange to unveil the flag at a European game, giving the occasion a surreal feeling, and maybe someone at the club should ask whoever thought this one up had really thought it through.

Flag day, and there’s a clue in the title, is a day out to celebrate winning the league, and not a precursor to an important European game.

Note Hoopy hanging around waiting for his first team debut again. It could be argued that the great day is getting closer…

The support did their bit, which included a cracking Tifo from the cracking tifo guys…

55,632 turned up for the game, which is a remarkable crowd for this time of year.

And they seemed to have fun, especially in the new standing area.

And one or two were quite relaxed in the London road supporters club…

( Are you sure about this-Ed  Nope, not at all -Ralph.)

Afterwards, manager Brendan Rodgers seemed quite relaxed the game was out of the way, and the side had moved into the next round;

“That was the objective coming into tonight I was very pleased with the first 30 minutes. I thought the intensity was outstanding in the team, our pressing and ability to force mistakes and then get goals.

“I thought the crowd were incredible. A near full house for a game like tonight was incredible and the players really felt that support. So overall we’re pleased to get through.

“It certainly wasn’t perfect – there’s a way to go for us in terms of where I want us to be, but I’m delighted with the attitude of the players and how they took the game from kick-off.

“We scored three and their goalkeeper probably stopped it maybe being double figures but we’re through and that’s the most important thing. We’re only four weeks into pre-season so I wouldn’t expect us to be anywhere near top gear, but I think there was some fluency and structural things within the team that was very pleasing.”

Which i think sums it up pretty accurately, but the press won’t allow him to get away as easily as that…and it was back to the old transfer tittle tattle…are we going to bring someone in before the deadline expires for the next game ? ( Which is actually Monday, as you can bring in a “wild card ” )

“A lot of players have played their first 90 minutes of the season so far but we look forward to the trip next week which, again, is another difficult tie on a plastic pitch but we’ll be ready for it.

“There’s no doubt we need one or two more that I want to bring in so let’s hope we can do something before that (Champions League transfer window) closes. That would be the plan and it would be a great boost to the squad.”

There’s talk that Shane Duffy may sign in time for that game, or possibly Kolo Toure. Or Jerry St. Juste. Or perhaps Hoopy the huddle hound will get his chance….

There is little point in bringing someone in just for the sake of bringing someone in. If a player is not an immediate improvement on what we have already, then its not worth it.

Joe Allen would fit into that category, although Liverpool have accepted a bid from Stoke City of £13m , which is a lot more depressing when you actually live in Stoke, and see how far behind even the most provincial of clubs in England can easily outbid one of Europes biggest and most famous, though the player himself is rumoured to have shouted “Fuck that !” and announced his retirement.

Last nights performance wasn’t perfect, but it showed that the players are listening to and responding to the manager, and while there is certainly room for improvement, at least we can say, even after just two games,  there are signs of it. Encouraging signs.

And thats a refreshing change.

The support might need to cut the manager and players a wee bit of slack here. We could be onto something that might be worth waiting for.

An unusual viewpoint, you may think.

Moussa Dembele missed a few last night, Leigh Griffiths probably more. Definitely a work in progress, but there is progress. They’ll be fine. #

Stuart Armstrong and Calum MacGregor worked together well, and they took a fair share of the legwork away from Scott Brown, who had a much better game.

And Patrick Roberts was outstanding, and really enjoyed himself, which might just help him decide where he wants to be for the next four ir five years…

“This gave me a taste of what the Champions League would be like.

“It was incredible from the start with the unfurling of the flag and all the fans cheering and singing You’ll Never Walk Alone.

“It was something special and I hope we can continue that and get through to the group stage. 

He was a little more forthright on twitter;

Alright, it was only part time opposition, but the pressure was as great as anything else they’ll feel this season.

And its left them hungry for more.

“More ” at this point comes in the shape of Astana, the Khazak side who made the group stages last year. They scored a late winner at home last night to avoid elimination on away goals to Zaliris Vilnius, and book a date in Glasgow.

Astana , by all accounts, are the team Celtic supporters know most about. There is no doubt they are a stronger side than Lincoln Red Imps, but thats to be expected.

They made the group stages last year, and this year have a chap who might need keeping an eye on who has had six attempts on target in his appearances so far..

9	Scott Quigley	TNS
6	Nemanja Nikolić	Legia
6	Patrick Twumasi	Astana
6	Liam Walker	Lincoln
6	Jamie Mullan	TNS

The full draw-or arrangement-is;

Champions route

Olympiacos (GRE) v Hapoel Beer-Sheva (ISR)
Astra Giurgiu (ROU) v FC København (DEN)
Ludogorets Razgrad (BUL) v Crvena zvezda (SRB)
Rosenborg (NOR) v APOEL (CYP)
Dinamo Zagreb (CRO) v Dinamo Tbilisi (GEO)
BATE Borisov (BLR) v Dundalk (IRL)
Partizani (ALB) v FC Salzburg (AUT)
Trenčín (SVK) v Legia Warszawa (POL)
Astana (KAZ) v Celtic (SCO)
Viktoria Plzeň (CZE) v Qarabağ (AZE)

 

• League route

 

Ajax (NED) v PAOK (GRE)
Sparta Praha (CZE) v Steaua București (ROU)
Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR) v Young Boys (SUI)
Rostov (RUS) v Anderlecht (BEL)
Fenerbahçe (TUR) v Monaco (FRA)

 

Are the Khazaks as good as we fear ?

Last season, they made it to the group stages, starting in the second qualifying round.

Twelve games in all, they won three of them, none of which were in the group stage.

Matches

14 July 2015 Second qualifying round Match page
Maribor		1–0		Astana
Referee: Carlos Del Cerro (ESP) – Stadium: Stadion Ljudski vrt, Maribor (SVN)

22 July 2015 Second qualifying round Match page
Astana		3–1		Maribor
Aggregate: 3-2
Referee: Adrien Jaccottet (SUI) – Stadium: Astana Arena, Astana (KAZ)

29 July 2015 Third qualifying round Match page
HJK		0–0		Astana
Referee: Alexandru Tudor (ROU) – Stadium: Helsinki Football Stadium, Helsinki (FIN)

5 August 2015 Third qualifying round Match page
Astana		4–3		HJK
Aggregate: 4-3
Referee: Alon Yefet (ISR) – Stadium: Astana Arena, Astana (KAZ)

18 August 2015 Play-offs Match page
Astana		1–0		APOEL
Referee: Viktor Kassai (HUN) – Stadium: Astana Arena, Astana (KAZ)

26 August 2015 Play-offs Match page
APOEL		1–1		Astana
Aggregate: 1-2
Referee: Martin Atkinson (ENG) – Stadium: GSP, Nicosia (CYP)

15 September 2015 Group stage (Group C) Match page
Benfica		2–0		Astana
Referee: Tasos Sidiropoulos (GRE) – Stadium: Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica, Lisbon (POR)

30 September 2015 Group stage (Group C) Match page
Astana		2–2		Galatasaray
Referee: Martin Strömbergsson (SWE) – Stadium: Astana Arena, Astana (KAZ)

21 October 2015 Group stage (Group C) Match page
Atlético		4–0		Astana
Referee: Aleksei Kulbakov (BLR) – Stadium: Estadio Vicente Calderón, Madrid (ESP)

3 November 2015 Group stage (Group C) Match page
Astana		0–0		Atlético
Referee: Anthony Taylor (ENG) – Stadium: Astana Arena, Astana (KAZ)

25 November 2015 Group stage (Group C) Match page
Astana		2–2		Benfica
Referee: Ruddy Buquet (FRA) – Stadium: Astana Arena, Astana (KAZ)

8 December 2015 Group stage (Group C) Match page
Galatasaray		1–1		Astana
Referee: Craig Thomson (SCO) – Stadium: Ali Sami Yen Spor Kompleksi, Istanbul (TUR)

Not exactly the mission impossible some would have us believe.

Domestically, they look impressive, and are twenty games into their season, but its a different ball game when they, too, have to travel halfway round the world for a game.

They managed to score only twice in six games. Seven if you count the goalless draw in Lithuania last week.

In their league, they are the top dogs…

and are playing well at home…

However, things are different at Celtic Park now, and maybe the manager can adapt the side to deal with each game and its circumstances as they come around.

Last night certainly hinted at this.

Elsewhere, Neil Doncaster, the much maligned SPFL chief has been burbling again…mostly about negotiations for tv rights, which he shouldn’t be allowed any where near, but he also said something that made me sit up…

“There are always things we can do differently or better and we welcome constructive criticism.” 

By a happy coincidence , I’ll be in Glasgow on Saturday and Sunday, and Neil, I can be both constructive and critical in equal measures.

I’ll send you an email and we’ll have a chat. I’ve got a few ideas which you might want to hear.

It won’t hurt any of us to listen to each other.

And it’ll do your street cred good to be seen in better company than you’ve been keeping of late…

Caption competiton…yesterdays picture,

Combine wit with brevity  and you have  the winner…

RichieBhoy26 July 20, 2016 at 9:20 am · Edit · Reply →

* ipox where everybody knows your dead……*

today, what has just been said here…