So, Celtic travel to the Emirates tomorrow at 2:45 in a Champions League Qualifier to attempt to overturn a 2-0 loss at Celtic Park a week ago. While similar in situation to the Dinamo Moscow match, the 2-0 deficit is a little bigger and the team we face is a little better.
Celtic are returning to action after a 5-2 defeat of St. Johnstone while Arsenal continue their winning ways with a 4-1 win over Portsmouth. Celtic do not appear to be harboring any injuries from this weekend and may come out in an attacking (and why not?) 4-4-2 formation with a return of Scott McDonald and Marc-Antonie Fortune to the starting lineup. Arsenal are not quite as fortunate on the injury front as they will be without Cesc Fabregas after he was injured this past weekend in their match.
I hope to see everyone there to support the Bhoys in their quest to send the Gunners down to the Europa League group stages!
Celtic face off against St. Johnstone this Saturday at 10:00 A.M. St. Johnstone are back in the SPL for the first time in seven years and are managed by Derek McInnes (a former hun).
Celtic are arriving off of a 2-0 defeat to Arsenal in a Champions League qualifier on Tuesday. Previously in SPL action Celtic defeated Aberdeen 3-1 while St. Johnstone pulled off a spirited 2-2 draw with Motherwell. St. Johnstone bring with them a former Celt, Gary Irvine, who played for Celtic for four years without making a first team appearance.
No injuries have been reported from midweek action while the interwebs are saying that Stephen McManus should be returning to action sometime in the near future.
Being Celtic, of course, and losing to Arsenal has made the papers (rags) begin the great sell-off of 2009. So far, Scott Brown to old ‘Arry for 10 million, McGeady to ‘Arry as well for 3 million, and Hinkel to Hull City for 1.5 million have been floated. But they wouldn’t be rabble-rousing would they? Just to sell papers?
Anyway, another step toward the SPL title is taken this Saturday at 10:00 A.M. Fado has been kind enough to inform me that 4 EPL matches will be shown at 10:00 this Saturday but we are still secure in our area. Please think of arriving early to stake out a claim. I hope to see everyone there!
Celtic’s Champions League adventure continues with a match against Arsenal tomorrow at Celtic Park. The teams had their respective league starts this past weekend as Celtic took apart Aberdeen 3-1 while Arsenal exploded against the blue side of Liverpool in a 6-1 rout over Everton. Let us hope they used up their goal quota for the next couple of weeks.
Injury news is popping up left and right for both teams as Celtic look to see if both Glenn Loovens and Shaun Maloney will be match fit after Saturday’s match. Arsenal is in a similar injury-riddled position as it is being reported that Theo Walcott is out while Bacary Sagna, Cesc Fabregas and Denilson will have their statuses determined closer to game time.
I hope to see everyone (who can conceivably make it) at the match tomorrow!
It’s here! It’s here! It’s here!
Due to Champions League Qualifying this is not the first match of the year. That was the opening game at Celtic Park. Nor is it the first match of the year where we have been together. That was the return leg in Moscow.
But it is the first SPL game of the year. We will be opening both Fado’s (there is no early EPL match) and the season Saturday morning with an away match at Aberdeen before Celtic change their focus to more Champions League play versus Arsenal on Tuesday.
No major injuries have been reported at this time for Celtic. There is one player move on the cards as it appears that Cillian Sheridan is moving on a 6 month loan to Plymouth Argyle. Another rumored move that would benefit Celtic mightily would be the return of Arsenal’s Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona. Here’s hoping.
I have been a little negligent in putting out the financial news, so you have my apologies for that. We are once again offering a season pass for those wishing to purchase one. The price remains the same at $300 which can be paid in up to four installments. The match price is remaining the same at $10/match.
And in broadcast news FSC as of last night had time blocked off saying CL Qualifiers (or some such) for our matches against Arsenal. HOWEVER the teams in said slot are not named at this time. Setanta has no such information on their site. Obviously if the match is on FSC there will be no viewing charge.
I hope to see everyone very bright and very early as a new day dawns on another season of Celtic football!
And now, shown on Setanta! No more Channel 67 or Justin.tv unless you have to. Or want to. But you better not want to.
Celtic travel all the way to Moscow to try to overturn a 1-0 home loss to Dinamo Moscow on Wednesday. As been discussed at length, Celtic do not play well in the Champions League away from home, last winning in 2000 3-1 over Ajax. They also are coming off of a 2-1 friendly loss to Sunderland, which if you watched, did not feature many starting players (to start) and a whole lot of boredom.
If Celtic win by more than 1 goal, they will qualify for the next round of the Champions League. A 1-0 victory leads to extra time. Less than 1-0 leads to a parachute into the Europa Cup (formerly known as the UEFA Cup) qualifiers.
It has been mentioned repeatedly in cyberspace that Scott Brown will be able to return to action if Tony Mowbray so chooses. Barry Robson has been declared unfit for the match due to a thigh strain. As for the other injured, not much has been mentioned.
So Wednesday becomes our first chance to get together for a match this season! I hope to see everyone there.
