Braga v Celtic 27/28 July
Celtic v Braga 3/4 August
Bohs/TNS drawn against Anderlecht
I’m relatively pleased with that draw. I don’t know a lot about them (Bill) but it’s okay in terms of travel and the other potential teams we could have drawn - Zenit, Dynamo Kiev, Ajax and Fenerbahce - are more experienced and battle hardened European sides. We don’t have a great deal of time in terms of trying to gel a team together what with a large level of player turnover and a new manager but it could certainly have been worse.
Yeah. They’ve a reasonable European record in the last couple of seasons having come through an Inter Toto campaign which has given them a bit of experience but they shouldn’t be any better than Celtic and so can’t really complain. There were certainly far tougher prospects.
We’re in no shape to be playing a European tie at this stage with a squad in flux and a new manager but if Mowbray managed a win last season then Lennon has some chance this year.
The important thing is not to leave ourselves too much to do at Celtic Park. We’ll still be looking to mould ourselves into an organised unit ahead of the first leg over there and it’s only a week and a half away. We then have the Emirates Cup between the two legs so he’ll still be trying out personnel and formations prior to the second leg.
The last thing we need around the time of the Emirates Cup is a European distraction. I don’t think any team has won the Wembley Cup and Emirates Cup back to back before. Ever. This is a chance at history and the Champions League should not get in the way.
Looking at the goal we conceded in Philadelphia last night our defence needs serious work. And if we have nothing else sorted for the away leg we should at least try and be competent defensively.
Doesnt some fella on this forum support Braga?
if sporting fingal can do well against a portugese team celtic should trounce them
SF halfway through their season mate.
Whilst I think Celtic will progress, there may be one or two hairy moments along the way
I’m a bit tentative about tomorrow night but Rocko is relatively confident. I think the Artmedia game from 2005 plays on my mind a bit but we’ll hopefully be okay. I was encouraged by the display against Sporting Clube de Portugal in Boston last week and I also noted that they went on to do well over the weekend against Manchester City and Spurs. Dodgy enough trying to draw form lines from pre-season games but our fitness seemed decent enough and we improved as went on in America as you’d expected. I’m worried about the team gelling though as those pre-season games involved a lot of different lineups and loads of substitutions. O’Dea hasn’t travelled (hamstring) but McGeady is available. I’m interested to see if he plays 4-2-3-1, which he tried out in America. Hooper will probably be on the bench but Juarez and Du-Ri are in line to play, as is Ledley. It’s hard to know what team he’ll go with as there wasn’t one friendly game where he played what would have been considered a first choice XI. There were generally 5 or 6 recognised starters, with some squad players and youngsters making up the rest in each match. The game’s been picked up by Portuguese TV so a link should be available tomorrow.
Huge game for Neil Lennon tomorrow. He’s inherited a shitty squad but crucially, unlike Strachan a few years back, he had a couple of months to assess things before making his moves in the transfer market. It’s still hardly ideal that Hooper, Juarez, Murphy, Ledley and Cha Du Ri may all make simultaneous competitive debuts.
Also odd that Lennon hasn’t really picked a settled side yet so it’s more from formations and partnerships he has used that you can begin to guess at the team.
I’m guessing at
Zaluska
CDR Loovens O’Dea Mulgrew
Ledley_Juarez______
_Maloney__Brown___Samaras
Fortuné___
These are good opposition who did well in the league last season with an excellent home record and a very good record against the big Portugese clubs, bar one thumping from Benfica. They’ve a more settled side with additions to the squad to improve it this summer instead of the overhaul Celtic have been trying to do. And yet I’ve been impressed with Lennon so far and he has bought well so far I think (Juarez will be a fucking gem).
This video is more about home games but fuck it:
braga 's home record - won 14 drew 1 lost 0… scored 27 conceded 6… :unsure:
a lot will depend on ref tomorrow as Lennon will send celtic out to kick the bollox out of the tempermental
portugese…
Funny you say that, i have a mate who was on the piss with Lennon stateside last week, and this was more or less what he told him they would do. :lol:
Dead right, win at all costs for games like these, play the fancy stuff later on.
Lennon’s press conference earlier:
“Unless I am told differently, he [McGeady] is playing. It’s a simple as that, unless something happens in the next 24 hours, or 36 hours. He is naturally fit, and I don’t think it’ll be a major gamble playing him. He has to put that [speculation over his future] to the back of his mind and concentrate on playing for us; he is still a Celtic player.”
O’Dea hasn’t travelled, Rocko. He’s hamstrung.
Interesting. Didn’t know either if those. Presume hooiveld is the likely partner for Loovens so. Surprised that Aiden is starting. Big ask to come straight into the team so Sammy alone up front presumably so.
Braga have a great terrace behind one of their goals - check it out.
Mate of mine used live there a few years ago. They had a decent side back then. If they still have then Glasgow Celtic will be out.
According to reports, Hinkel isn’t in the squad tonight. He’s expected to move back to Germany and we’ve signed Cha Du-Ri and Efrain Juarez to cover that position. When Lennon came out to the supporters at Celtic Park to answer for the Ross County debacle last season, he said Samaras and Fortuné would never start together again. I hope he remains true to his word but I would start Samaras.
Isnt that the stadium built for the Euro’s, basically goes into the side of a quarry or mountain or something?
That’s the one alright. Cliff face sort of thing at one end.
I think we will win tonight and have backed accordingly. I expect us to go out with a positive attitude and score a couple. I’m envisaging a performance like the one against Ajax around nine years ago.
Compare that team to tonight’s Larry.
I fear the worst tonight