Rocko, tickets for the home match with Barcelona are on sale for season ticket holders now - just booked mine online there.
I’m going to start scouting Barcelona in detail from now up to the game to formulate a tactical plan that I’ll send over to the Celtic training ground the week before the first leg.
[quote=“Bandage”]
I’m going to start scouting Barcelona in detail from now up to the game to formulate a tactical plan that I’ll send over to the Celtic training ground the week before the first leg.[/quote]
It will be sloppy errors like Bandage’s one above that could cost us against Barcelona. Your tactical plan needs to be sent over this weekend at the latest. Your a bit like Gary Breen Bandage. For every ten posts you make there is bound to be one big error.
larry, larry, larry - you couldn’t be more wrong if you tried. We need the maximum amount of time possible to see Henry, E’too and Messi all playing together. The first two are only playing together for the first time in recent weeks and the latter’s still injured. I want to wait to see how it all knits together. Then one week of intensive preparation before the first game based on the personnel, formation and tactics they’re deploying at the time.
How are you going to scout Eto’o playing alongside Henry in time for the first leg, if Eto’o is playing in the African Nations Cup with Cameroon?
He is quite error prone is Bandage.
And unapologetic too. You are due one
Booked my ticket last night Bandage - should be a cracking game. Larsson reckons it’s too close to call but I think Celtic have the edge when you consider domestic form etc.
It’s hardly an offence worthy of an apology. The African Cup of Nations final is scheduled for February 10 and I don’t envisage Cameroon getting that far in the competition. In addition, Messi will be back in the next couple of weeks and there’s the possibility / probablility that Messi, Ronaldinho, Henry and Eto’o will all be available together for the first time this season in early February. It’s therefore quite logical to hold off on preparing a detailed scouting report until that time when it becomes apparent what way Riikjard sets them up. Doing so now would be akin to basing your gameplan on beating a team in the GAA Championship based on the personnel and style they have used in the League. Apples and oranges.
I just read that there that is likely that season ticket holders will take all of the available tickets for the match against Barcelona and there will be no general sale. A bit surprised at this as I would have thougth that not that many Barca fans would be traveling.
Mizuno, Robson and Samaras have replaced Jarosik, O’Brien and Zurawski in our Celtic’s 25-man squad for the latter stages of the Champions League. From The Evening Times in Glasgow:
Mizuno is quickly into the swing of things at Celtic training
by Ronnie Cully
KOKI MIZUNO has just made his first appearance for Celtic - without even pulling on his boots.
The 22-year-old recruit from Japanese club JEF United is included in the revised list of 25 players registered by the Parkhead side for the latter stages of the Champions League.
Clubs who make it to the last 16 are permitted to make a maximum of three changes to the original squad posted back in September.
With Maciej Zurawski, Jiri Jarosik and Jim O’Brien all moving from the Hoops in the January window, the door was open for manager Gordon Strachan to bring in three of his latest recruits.
Defender Andreas Hinkel is cup-tied with Seville, which left four new Bhoys fighting for the three spots.
And it was 20-year-old Ben Hutchinson who lost out as Strachan opted to include Georgios Samaras, Barry Robson and Mizuno.
Clubs are also permitted to list a B’ squad containing youngsters, and Celtic’s includes full-backs Paul Caddis and Ryan Conroy, both of whom have made their breakthrough in recent weeks.
Hutchinson does not qualify for this as he has not come up through the club’s ranks. So his omission from the main squad will be a disappointment for former Middlesbrough striker who has made it clear he wants to make his mark as soon as possible with his new club.
Strachan is equally adamant the youngster - who was originally scheduled to make the move north at the end of the season - is considered one for the future and will have to be patient.
Mizuno is only a couple of years older, but has much more first-team experience than Hutchinson and will be given the chance to integrate into the first team within the next few weeks.
Strachan has warned that the exciting winger will experience a culture shock as he settles into life in the West.
That could have hit him full force as early as yesterday, had the reserve game against Hearts not fallen foul of the weather.
So Mizuno is having to content himself with finding his feet in bounce games and training sessions at Lennoxtown.
But the diminutive Japan international is desperate to play his part in helping Celtic rack up their third SPL title in a row, defend the Scottish Cup, and throw down a serious challenge to Barcelona in the Champions League last 16 ties which kick off at Parkhead a fortnight today.
Mizuno said: "There are so many internationalists here and so many good players, so it will be difficult to break into the team.
"But I was fully aware of that before I signed, so that will be my challenge.
"Hopefully I can get involved in a match soon.
"I may be small in height, but I want to do something big at this club.
"Shunsuke got Player of the Year here last season, so I would like to emulate him as much as possible.
“But first I want to see what I can achieve at this club and for this club.”
Mizuno admits he is still getting to know everyone at Celtic, a task not made any easier by the fact so many players are away on international duty this week.
Naka has educated him as much as he can. But, to a large extent, Mizuno’s knowledge is based on distance learning.
“Because Shunsuke is here I’ve seen quite a lot of Celtic games,” he said. “I watched a lot of them live in Japan. I’ve also seen them in the Champions League.”
Mizuno was finally able to get a close-up view of just how Celtic play, and how influential Naka is, when they demolished Kilmarnock at Rugby Park last weekend.
And, after the cheers had subsided, he did not have to travel far to discuss what he had seen with the man who is acting as his mentor as Mizuno has already moved into the same apartment block as the Hoops hero in the centre of their adopted city.
Mizuno admitted: "Shunsuke being here is really good for me.
“He is really supportive and is the player I look up to. I want to learn as much from him as I can.”
Lining up in the same Celtic team as Nakamura, something he has already done in the Japan national side, is an early ambition of Mizuno’s.
He has spent most of his fledgling career playing on the right, the position Naka currently occupies for the SPL champions.
But, as he is almost as comfortable on his left foot - and certainly as lethal in front of goal - Mizuno believes he could challenge for a spot on the other flank.
He said: "My normal role is on the right-hand side, and I have not played much on the left.
“But I am young and it will take time to find my best position here.”
Mizuno wants to be able to talk the talk as well as walk the walk, and is already making huge efforts to learn English as he understands this will speed up his integration - and let him join in the fun.
It has remained a mystery why Nakamura has elected to continue to lean so heavily on his personal translator, Makoto - who attends training and has even made it onto the Celtic bench - more than two years after moving to this country.
But, this is one example Mizuno is not about to follow. He said: "Communication is really important.
“If I can communicate with the other players I can really get to know them, find out about their personalities and who the characters are.”
The early indications are little Mizuno is quickly going to become one of the big personalities and characters at the club.
Rte are showing United Lyon. What a shock. http://www.thefreekick.com/board/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink.gif
Bandage has made some amount of errors in this thread.
Concentrating on Messi, Henry and Eto’o and now it looks likely that 2 of those 3 won’t be playing.
Then he envisaged Cameroon not doing much in the African Cup of Nations…they strolled to the final.
very poor foresight Bandage…very very poor
Which two won’t be playing Baby? Have been relying on Bandage for my scouting of Barca but the information is dodgy.
Surely not. Bandage and dogy information? Maybe he wasn’t able to steal his info off another website and made it up this time.
Anyway, if Messi plays it’s goodnight Vienna.
wtf is Flano on about this time?
Anyway, getting back to reality - dancingbaby, don’t be so naive. Eto’o is definitely playing, as is Messi. The only doubt surrounds Henry’s hip problem but the truth is he might not have made the starting line-up anyway.
I’m on about the “Exclusives” you post that are stolen off other websites with minor alterations made to sentences and a few additional comments thrown in. Sad really
That’s ridiculous Flano. The Setanta scoop came from Bandage and Rocko travelling to the UK with Trevor East. The Cork county scoop came from an inside source and was two days ahead of any other website - some of which don’t even allow discussions on the Cork strike.
The Cork scoop appeared on RTE roughly 30 minutes before it appeared on here. Fact.
No, it didn’t. Get your facts straight. Their story was speculating about the outcome of the County Board meeting (which everybody knew was taking place), whereas ours detailed the fact that a resolution had actually been reached. However, feel free to keep whining away just because some of your threads were moved to the talking balls section.