Champions League Matchday Four Thread

1

Tuesday, 06 November 2007
Celtic v Benfica, D, 19:45
FC Porto v Marseille, A, 19:45
Lazio v Werder Bremen, C, 19:45
Liverpool v Besiktas, A, 19:45
Olympiakos v Real Madrid, C, 19:45
Schalke 04 v Chelsea, B, 19:45
Shakhtar Donetsk v AC Milan, D, 19:45
Valencia v Rosenborg, B, 19:45

Wednesday, 07 November 2007
Barcelona v Rangers, E, 19:45
Fenerbahce v PSV, G, 19:45
Inter Milan v CSKA Moscow, G, 19:45
Lyon v VfB Stuttgart, E, 19:45
Man Utd v Dynamo Kiev, F, 19:45
Slavia Prague v Arsenal, H, 19:45
Sporting v Roma, F, 19:45
Steaua Bucharest v Sevilla, H, 19:45

Rumours today that Nakamura is out for 3 weeks with a recurrence of an old injury. In better news Jan has trained for the past two days and may play some part against Hearts tomorrow.

2

I feel sorry for Naka. He hasn’t had a summer off in years. This year Japan got knocked out of the Asian Cup in the semi finals on the Thursday and he was back on the bench for the first league game 3 days later. It was the World Cup the year before that and the Confederations Cup the summer he joined. He seems to be getting lots of little knocks that might be related to the fact he’s not had enough rest though the story about him being out is not confirmed yet.

3

Yeah it’s easy to forgive him a few poor performances when he’s played football for 3 years solid and is rarely rested. Hopefully he can make it through the next few weeks as far as Milan away then irrespective of the opposition he should be given a break in December to get him fit for the New Year’s game against na Hunna.

Stupid SPL for doing away with the winter break. That was frustrating when there were no matches on but it was fairly useful for teams competing in Europe.

4

There’s not really any outstanding fixture for the next round. Pretty shitty. Accums galore though.

5

This is the last round where I’d be confident doing accumulators. After this there’ll be a few team more or less through on 10 or 12 points and they often ease off and put out understrength sides for the remaining games.

6

Benfica won 2-1 yesterday at Pacos Ferreira with a late Katsouranis goal. They’ve won both of their league games since we played them in Portugal and have now won 5 and drawn 4 to be six points behind Porto. It will be a tough game but I’m never less than confident at home.

7

A RANGERS fan booked flights to see his team play Barcelona - to an airport almost 700 miles from the match.

Bungling Paul McDowall - nicknamed Glum by pals - booked 125 return flights to Malaga thinking he could taxi it fromthere to Barcelona.

But he will land in the Costa del Sol - 12 hours from Nou Camp stadium, where the Champions League game will take place.

Now Paul, of Maybole, Ayrshire, faces a 690-mile each-way race against time on trains and buses.

He is due to arrive in Malaga at noon on Tuesday with the game set to kick off the next day - 33 hours later. His main problem will be getting back in time for his return flight to Prestwick at 12:40pm on Thursday - only 14 hours after the game ends.

Paul, a golf caddy and labourer, said: "Direct flights to Barcelona were all booked or too expensive. I thought Malaga was the nearest airport.

“To make matters worse, I haven’t got a ticket to the game or found a hotel yet - but I’m determined to go.”

8

We’re in store for another week of top quality football and, yet again, the biggest game for the neutral appears to be the clash of European giants, Celtic and Benfica. It’s really a must win game for the Scots/Irish side who’ll be looking for a reversal of the 1-0 defeat they suffered in Lisbon two weeks ago in order to keep their qualification hopes alive.

Celtic continue to be riddled with injuries but given the depth and quality of their playing resources the absence of several key players should be surmountable. The most uncertainty centres around Shunsuke Nakamura, the world class midfield magician, who’s been nursing a persistent knee injury for weeks and has only featured intermittently in the past month and a half.

I feel sorry for Naka given that he hasn’t had a free close season in recent years to recuperate from his impressive exertions what with the Asian Cup last summer, the World Cup in 2006 and the Confederations Cup in the ‘close season’ just before he joined Celtic in 2005. His nagging injuries this campaign are probably directly correlated to his lack of rest yet still uneducated buffoons accuse him of pulling out of games. The word from within the Celtic camp is that the plan is to ‘manage’ his injury until the final group game in Milan in December before giving him the rest of the month off ahead of the New Year’s derby against the Huns.

It seems a reasonable plan in theory but there remains doubt as to whether he’ll be fit enough to feature tomorrow. If he is absent then the creative onus will fall on Aiden McGeady whose form has been fantastic of late. As Gordon Strachan mentioned after his master class at Rugby Park on Saturday McGeady’s at the stage where Ronaldo was at the beginning of last season. The Portuguese added consistency, regular assists and goals to his game and now that Aiden’s achieved the first two it’s time for him to start scoring regularly. His majestic display on Saturday was a joy to behold and given his abilty to go by players on either side and the fact that he’s two-footed the Benfica defence won’t know what to expect from the young superstar.

Other than that it was important for Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink to get a full game under his belt on Saturday and his partnership with the excellent Scott McDonald could prove to be the key for Celtic. McDonald continues to astound with his all round class along with his superbly taken goals and the brace on Saturday were (dare I say) Larssonesque.

At the back the onus will be on Stephen McManus to organise the defensive unit. Other than an unfortunate error for the first goal in Donetsk the captain has been in inspirational form this season. While previously he could have been regarded as being in the ‘British mould’ ala John Terry and Jamie Carragher (two suspect defenders who hare around trying to head and block every ball while paying scant regard to the space they leave vacant) McManus has developed more into a continental style defender who, while not lacking in bravery when required, has now added a greater appreciation of danger to his game and the number of interceptions, blocks and astute interventions he makes has been most noteworthy.

Behind him will be Artur Boruc, the Holy Goalie, a man committed to crosses in every sense of the word and someone whose performances generally improve the greater the occasion. Boruc is vey much like myself in that I’ll often make a silly spelling error in a report I’m handing to my immediate boss, like Artur might let a shot squirm under him against Dundee United. However, if I’m preparing an extremely important report for a committee of senior personnel who would rank far higher than my direct boss then this always, without fail, brings out the best in me. Similarly, for Boruc on the big European nights - he revels in the occasions and produces his best form.

With the right back injury crisis continuing and Massimo Donati flattering to deceive in recent weeks then I’d advocate the same lineup as Saturday if Naka doesn’t make it. If the Japanese Bhoy does return then Jiri Jarosik should make way.

My team:
Boruc;
Caldwell; Kennedy; McManus; Naylor;
McGeady; Hartley; Brown; Jarosik;
Vennegoor of Hesselink; McDonald;

Prediction: Celtic 4-0 Benfica

9

I think Strachan will go with the team Bandage mentioned above. Only real alternative is to play McGeady on the left with Brown/Hartley out wide on the right with Donati coming into the centre of midfield. Doubt Strachan will do that based on current selections and I think a Brown Hartley centre midfield is probably the best option for us presently. One worry is that if Naka doesn’t make it we don’t really have any offensive minded player who we can bring off the bench like we have done previosly with Naka and McGeady. Riordan is probably closest one who fits the bill but he seems to be out of favour while the prospect of bringing Killen on to win the match for us doesn’t fill me with joy. It should be an open game with both sides really needing to win which might suit us as we hopefully won’t have to break a side down who have loads of players behind the ball as is becoming the tendency when all sides come to CP of late. It also means of course it is of paramount importance that we defend well.

10

Interesting article about Aiden McGeady from Celtic Quick News:

CQN

Monday, November 05, 2007

DuPonts Sports Science beginning to tell on McGeady

There has been a debate recently on player development, specifically young players, who can find the step up to first team football at Celtic difficult. I am not sure of all the components that go into making a great player; ball control, strength, speed and, of course, good decision making, but what is true is that better players continue to develop well into their 20s, and few achieve greatness without some help along the way.

A case in point is Aiden McGeady, who has enjoyed a palpable step-up in form this season. When Aiden broke into the team in 2004 he looked a fabulous prospect, but subsequent progress has been mixed.

This season he has moved up a gear; when Celtic are playing well he is on fire, even when Celtic are poor, he is a fluent, better player. He has found a gyroscopic ability to throw himself into a challenge and emerge with the ball.

When preseason training got underway, new head of sport science, Gregory DuPont interviewed each player. DuPont has a PhD in Sports Science and Exercise Physiology, a light year away from the medicine balls that dominated the gym Celtic used in the 1960s, so speaking to the players, doing some research, was the first step in establishing a forward plan.

Aidens request was simple, I need you to make me faster. Aiden had the close control, but the ability to escape from a defender once he had beaten him was a perceived weakness. This weakness had an impact on decision making; would Aiden take a player on believing he could not get away from him? It may also have an impact on confidence.

McGeady is now working to develop specific leg muscles and in the space of just a few months has seen his speed and form improve significantly. I understand he believes his work with DuPont has made the crucial difference to his form this season.

It is still early days for DuPont; he has only been at Celtic four months, and not every player will have been able to articulate his area most in need of development, but if he is as successful with other players as he has been with Aiden McGeady he will prove to be a significant appointee.

11

Can’t disagree with that Celtic selection either Bandage. Assuming one of Hartley, Brown, Jarosik and Donati won’t make it then I think Donati is fourth in the queue at the moment. The retun of big Jan means there’s less need for Jarosik’s height but he’s still been in decent form and hasn’t been short on effort.

Donati could be one to bring on if we’re chasing the game as well because he’ll play from a deeper role but he’s not shy about getting forward and he’s scored plenty of goals.

12

I think Celtic will nick a 2.1 win. Id always back them at home against anyone. Anyone going over from the tfk to the match?

13

Myself, Bandage and DOB are all attending. Hoping for a Celtic win but expecting a tight one.

14

therock67 wrote:

Myself, Bandage and DOB are all attending. Hoping for a Celtic win but expecting a tight one.

Personally I’m expecting a 4-0 Celtic victory.

Adopting Johnny Giles mentality:

‘It’s very cold and the Portuguese won’t like that. Their keeper will be flapping at crosses and they won’t like it up them.’

McDonald x2
McGeady
Brown

15

Just discussing with Bandage this morning about the chances of McGeady scoring. Then we were thinking of the Irish players who have scored in the CL. Not many are there - even in the old format. Duff scored for Chelsea, Roy Keane got a couple, not many others even way back.

16

O’Shea scored last season too against Copenhagen.

Impressed the freekick is being looked after in Glasgow. Shows true dedication. Ill watch this match over Rte and Liverpool.

17

Bandage wrote:

therock67 wrote:

[quote]Myself, Bandage and DOB are all attending. Hoping for a Celtic win but expecting a tight one.

Adopting Johnny Giles mentality:

‘It’s very cold and the Portuguese won’t like that. Their keeper will be flapping at crosses and they won’t like it up them.’

n[/quote]

Bit harsh on Giles. Sounds more like Alan Hansen to me. At least Giles admits when he doesn’t know one of the sides and doesn’t bluff like others.
Unchanged side for Celtic.

18

So with Celtic winning the Shakhtar game at the end of the month important. At least a win of 2.0 is needed but a 3 goal win would mean Celtic couldnt be leapfrogged by them. Is that right?

Liverpool how the hell they did win 8.0. Amazing.

19

That is correct captain but it still doesn’t guarantee qualification as Benfica could still go through if they win their remaining two games and finish on better goal difference than Celtic (head to head is level after the two matches).

That game tonight reminded me a bit of the home match against Moscow with there being so many chances. We were poor at the back and Benfica had at least four excellent opportunities to score. The communication at the back didn’t appear to be good with Kennedy getting caught on the wrong side of his man and poor marking from crosses. Would that communication thought be shared by the freekickers at the game? Going forward we were excellent and created even more chances than Benfica. Brown was excellent and Hartley grew into the game. Jarosik was effective too while Jan, Killen and particularly McDonald get the better of their defenders. Man of the match was McGeady though. Following were comments before the match from RTE:
John Giles: If Celtic are relying on McGeady for creativity they are in trouble
Dunphy: He comes from a long line of brainless winger. Strachan is only trying to build his confidence by praising him
Souness: There would have to be a sea change and not a subtle change for McGeady to develop into a player
They were all laughing at Bill for playing the fool and bringing up the McGeady question again. Afterall we all know he is useless.

This all made McGeady’s superb performance all the better. He ran at Benfica defenders all night and they simply couldn’t live with him. He has certainly gotten quicker as Bandage so eloquently alluded to.and this along with his strength has meant he is a far better all round player than last year. Huge huge game now in a couple of weeks. I thought our poor form in recent weeks told a bit tonight so hopefully we improve between now and then.

20

Captainshan wrote:

So with Celtic winning the Shakhtar game at the end of the month important. At least a win of 2.0 is needed but a 3 goal win would mean Celtic couldnt be leapfrogged by them. Is that right?

Liverpool how the hell they did win 8.0. Amazing.

how did they lose the last game 2-1