{"id":15750,"date":"2020-06-18T10:29:46","date_gmt":"2020-06-18T09:29:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/etims.net\/?p=15750"},"modified":"2020-06-18T10:29:46","modified_gmt":"2020-06-18T09:29:46","slug":"celtic-diary-thursday-june-18-slippery-slopes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/etims.net\/?p=15750","title":{"rendered":"Celtic Diary Thursday June 18: Slippery Slopes…."},"content":{"rendered":"

UEFA announced yesterday that with the exception of the final play off round, all qualifiers will be one off matches, which caused alarm among Celtic fans.<\/p>\n

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With the 2019\/20 season now scheduled to finish on 23 August, the principal change to the 2020\/21 calendar is that everything is now a little later. Qualifying, which had been due to begin on 23 June, will now kick off on 8 August, with the group stage draw in Athens on 1 October and the competition proper getting under way on 20 October. The knockout stages will be unchanged from the original schedule.<\/em><\/p>\n

All qualifying ties will be single-leg matches before reverting to home and away fixtures for the play-offs.<\/em><\/p>\n

The final will take place at Istanbul’s Atat\u00fcrk Olympic Stadium, which had been due to stage the 2020 decider. Saint Petersburg, the prospective 2021 host, will now stage the 2022 event.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

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In fact, we may now have the date of Celtic’s first competitive match since the lockdown, as they have released the timetable for next seasons tournament…<\/p>\n

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Qualifying<\/b><\/em>
\n08\/08\/2020\u201311\/08\/2020 Preliminary round<\/em>
\n18\/08\/2020\u201319\/08\/2020 First qualifying round<\/em>
\n25\/08\/2020\u201326\/08\/2020 Second qualifying round<\/em>
\n15\/09\/2020\u201316\/09\/2020 Third qualifying round<\/em>
\n22\/09\/2020\u201330\/09\/2020 Play-offs<\/em><\/p>\n

Group stage<\/b><\/em>
\n20\/10\/2020\u201321\/10\/2020 Matchday 1<\/em>
\n27\/10\/2020\u201328\/10\/2020 Matchday 2<\/em>
\n03\/11\/2020\u201304\/11\/2020 Matchday 3<\/em>
\n24\/11\/2020\u201325\/11\/2020 Matchday 4<\/em>
\n01\/12\/2020\u201302\/12\/2020 Matchday 5<\/em>
\n08\/12\/2020\u201309\/12\/2020 Matchday 6<\/em><\/p>\n

Knockout stages<\/b><\/em>
\n16\/02\/2021\u201317\/03\/2021 Round of 16<\/em>
\n06\/04\/2021\u201314\/04\/2021 Quarter-finals<\/em>
\n27\/04\/2021\u201305\/05\/2021 Semi-finals<\/em>
\n29\/05\/2021 Final\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

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Celtic start in the first qualifying round, and won’t face\u00a0 Lincoln Red Imps in Gibraltar. but there are a host of other unfamiliar names and potential banana skins, so it might be an idea to see the doctor about some form of beta blocker.<\/p>\n

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It’s not as simple as it looks, and there will be further problems as they also declared…<\/p>\n

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The deadline for national associations to enter teams to the competitions will be 3 August for the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League; and 10 August for the UEFA Women\u2019s Champions League\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

which runs directly opposite what they said about<\/p>\n

With the 2019\/20 season now scheduled to finish on 23 August,\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

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Some of the resumed leagues may not have finished in time to declare entrants, especially if there’s a further lockdown with new outbreaks of corona beginnng to emerge.<\/p>\n

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In the midst of all this, Hearts, who voted along with most other Scottish clubs to end the 19\/20 season early, are now going to sue the SPFL for loss of earnings as a result of the vote.<\/p>\n

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They are hoping for \u00a38m, which sets up an interesting legal battle in the months to come.<\/p>\n

Word is that the SPFL might consider a suspension for the Edinburgh club, but they haven’t stopped laughing yet and so a decision may take some time.<\/p>\n

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One legal viewpoint runs like this….<\/p>\n

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\"Image\"<\/p>\n

\"Image\"<\/p>\n

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Hearts voted to end the season, which it has to be said weakens their case.<\/p>\n

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Something else which slipped under the radar of the Scottish SMSM was the opinion of Steven Gerrard, this weeks manager over at ibrox, who countered the opinions of his club\/company’s fans when he said;<\/p>\n

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\"Image\"<\/p>\n

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No mention was made of an asterisk, and no tricky questions about his own club either…<\/p>\n

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Then again, his followers have made their dissatisfaction known about a number of things lately…culminating in yet another riot on Glasgows streets where they made their views known about refugees, who were protesting about living standards.<\/p>\n

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Some may baulk at the cheek of those offered refuge at the expense of others finding something to moan about, but the issue is far, far deeper than that, with little doubt that some are making an awful lot of money out of it.<\/p>\n

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Anyway, the far right extremists who aren’t all that keen on foreigners unless they can play football took to the streets to announce that Brittannia rules the waves whilst Police Scotland waived the rules for the day, allowing them to vent their spleen.<\/p>\n

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When football was shut down, it seems that no one thought about what to do with those who frequent Ibrox would do when their safe place was taken from them, but now we fucking know, don’t we ?<\/p>\n

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Reportage of the riots has been framed as “rival protesters ” by the same compliant media that has allowed the extremists to grow in number and confidence, and unless the video footage from cctv is analysed and those responsible are held to account, then we are merely stoking the fire ready for a major disturbance later this summer.<\/p>\n

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2020 is turning about to be a bit of a nightmare on a number of fronts, and societal leaders need to get a grip on the undercurrent of violence that is being encouraged by those who would rather we focused on that than on the thousands of deaths caused by their incompetence in dealing with\u00a0 viral pandemic that hasn’t gone away yet.<\/p>\n

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Anger and frustration is finding a way to reach the streets, and we may be on the verge of complete chaos.<\/p>\n

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Especially if its true that Southampton want \u00a310m for Fraser Forster.<\/p>\n

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If thats the case, it’ll be another loan deal or a swap plus cash for Ntcham.<\/p>\n

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Meanwhile, there is a chance that the hordes will be placated, as Castore Sports have brought out a range of products to soothe their furloughed brows…<\/p>\n

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\"Image\"<\/p>\n

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0.<\/p>\n

\"Image\"<\/p>\n

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There is a suspicion that this is a parody account, but I don’t think religion comes into it.<\/p>\n

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\"Ill<\/p>\n

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Other products include<\/p>\n

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\"Image\"<\/p>\n

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They even have plans for the future….<\/p>\n

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\"Image\"<\/p>\n

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On twitter, you can immerse yourself at @Castore_UK, one of the funniest sites on the platform.<\/p>\n

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Due to work commitments, there has been a dearth of diaries this week, but hopefully if I organise myself a bit better we can get back to normal now.<\/p>\n

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We have to go back to Monday for the last caption competition…<\/p>\n

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\"Image\"<\/p>\n

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\n
Yoker Bhoy<\/em><\/div>\n