FC Basel vs Celtic

1

Just back from the game - not Switzerland but the pub - and a few brief points before The Sopranos.

Scotty Brown was fooking imperious.

Donati looked like a real composed and thoughtful player.

Mark Brown was extremely competent in goal.

Mark Wilson was excellent and great to see him get a full 90 minutes.

McGeady was very good down the left hand side.

Steven Pressley is a big Hun and shouldn’t have been let near the armband never mind been allowed to wear it.

Good to see Bobo back too.

The League was won tonight having seen Brown and Donati in action.

I’m getting Brown 8 on my new hoops.

That is all.

For now.

2

Started a thread concurrently and I’m now dashing back downstairs for the Sopranos but I can’t let this therad pass without agreeing on the Scotty Brown point. Wonderful.

3

Dont use the words “brown” and “hoops” in the same sentence.

4

Nice interview with Trappatoni here:

TRAPATTONI: CELTIC ARE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE CHALLENGERS

Trapattoni thinks Celtic can make the quarter-finals of the Champions League this year

Saturday July 7,2007
By Gary Keown

ITALIAN legend Giovanni Trapattoni insists Celtic are back at the top of European football and ready to gatecrash the last eight of the Champions League.

The former Juventus and Bayern Munich coach gave his stunning verdict after taking Austrian champions Red Bull Salzburg to the Uhren Cup in Switzerland and running the rule over Hoops boss Gordon Strachans new-look squad.

Trapattoni reckons the Parkhead sides drive to the last 16 of the tournament last term heralded their return to the highest level of the game.

And the 68-year-old believes Bhoys fans will see their club become the first team in Scottish history to make the quarter-finals of the Champions League this time round.

Trapattoni was a dogged defender at AC Milan when Celts were a Euro superpower in the 1960s and 70s and coached Juve to a hard-fought Champions Cup win over the Hoops in 1981.

He said: I wasnt surprised that Celtic did well last season. It was more of a surprise for me three or four years ago when they were not at that stage of the Champions League.

At the moment, I think Celtic are really up there at the top of football in Europe. They are on a par with the Italian, English and Spanish clubs.

I definitely think they can go into the quarter-finals this time because they made it to the last 16 last year and only lost to AC Milan.

Getting through the group for the first time is always difficult, but it helps in future when you have the knowledge you can do that.

I have known Celtic for a long time and they are one of the major teams in Britain and Europe. I came up against them in my career and have always admired them.

Trapattoni believes that summer signing Massimo Donati will make a big contribution to Strachans quest for glory at home and abroad.

He coached the Italian national side between 2000 and 2004 and had Donati in his youth ranks at the time of his 10million move from Atalanta to AC Milan in 2001.

Trapattoni said: Massimo was one of the best players we had at the younger levels of the national team. Ive known him for eight years or so and he was always very important.

Massimo has a good personality, hes still young enough and I think he can do very well at Celtic. He plays the ball confidently and I am sure he will have no fear of the game in Scotland.

Donatis switch to the San Siro ended in frustration as he spent most of his time there farmed out on loan to the likes of Atalanta and Messina.

Trapattoni said: Why did his move to Milan not work out as hoped? He was not a classic big star. In football, you have the fantasy players, the creative ones, but Massimo is the kind of player I was in my day.

"He is solid, like concrete, and thats the kind of thing that is needed in Scottish football. Scottish football is not South American football. In Europe, our football is different.

5

Bad loss against Young Boys or should that be Bhoys tonight. 4.1.

6

Poor result alright Captain but the performance was decent enough.

McGovern was fine in goals

Bjarnsson was very good with the ball but he’s obviously not a full back and got beaten quite a bit by their left winger who was superb. Pity he had to play nearly the full 90 there.
McManus and Balde looked solid enough first half. Pressley and Kennedy then looked a bit shakier and then Kennedy and Virgo weren’t great.
Naylor was good.
Brown was quieter but hampered by a very soft booking early on. Sno played well I thought. Gravesen wasn’t great but not as bad as Jock Brown was suggesting. Jarosik wasn’t bad at all. Riordan wasn’t great. Aiden was good.
Big Jan played ok - still looks like he’s lacking sharpness but they struggled with him. McDonald did little or nothing. Miller was the same and had to play right wing which was where they scored their goals from but no blame really because Teddy at right back and Miller at right wing is just not natural. Killen didn’t touch it. Magic didn’t see much of it either.

7

Strachan has to go.

CELTS PLUNGED INTO SWISS CRISIS AS SPANISH SUPERSTAR JETS INTO GERS!

It was another interesting watch for Celtic supporters though.

The main positive to take out of the game is that Pressley is injured and hopefully it’s long term. Every time I see him wear a Celtic jersey it sickens me. I fooking hate that hairy hun after all he did against us in the past. It’s disgraceful he was able to get 2 medals out of Celtic last season but to see him with the armband fooking sickens me.

Other negatives:

We won’t win the Champions League playing like that.

Big Jan and Scott McDonald struggling to link up together.

Donati getting caught in possession twice - please don’t let him be another Gravesen.

Gravesen - he’s fooking shit and was again tonight. Fook off to Sheffield Wednesday or whatever idiots are offering silly money.

Squad players not good enough - McGovern (harsh but deserved), Virgo, Pressley (as I said), Jarosik, Riordan (should we sell him? - I think so), Miller, Zurawski.

Positives:

We are the greatest club in the world.

8

Some of the online reactions to the loss last night were crazy. People writing off our chances of making the CL on the basis of a friendly match on an evening when we’d already trained for 2 hours already that morning.

I was happy enough with things. Small bit worried about Donati getting caught out but Sno was like that too and I think you just get used to it if you’re good enough and from seeing him on the ball and his range of passing I think he’s good enough.

Most pleasing for me is the form of Aiden who looks like he’ll start this season like he started last season. He created plenty of chances yesterday - it wasn’t just tricks out on the wing. And Teddy looks a player. Looking back at the FCB game again and that’s a lovely pass he plays for Miller’s goal.

9

Bandage wrote:

Positives:

We are the greatest club in the world.