Europe:- The Final Countdown

[Bluesman]

Talking of the Firth of Forth (had to get me teeth in right for that one) I see that one of the options for the name of the the new crossing is Caledonia Bridge. Add an n to that and it has a certain appeal....

[dougal]

Look I'm not saying European football is a bad thing but it all depends on the luck of the draw, if we qualify I will be just as excited as an any ICT to see who we get paired against

The only real money to be made in the Europa League is for the clubs that qualify for the group stages, I'd hazard a guess that most clubs who don't make it struggle to break even never mind make any money in the initial ties

Anyway does anyone know how many ties would we have to win to qualify for the group stages?

Dougal

[Guest Mahonio]

We would enter at 2nd or 3rd qualifying round, not sure how many rounds there are in qualifying.

[+Fraz]

Welcome back Dougal and it is nice to see a well presented post aimed at encouraging debate from different perspectives. Although your recent rather subdued and polite contribution has received a mainly negative response I suspect that this is as much due to your previous reputation. The prospect of losing money or being "embarrassed" are both definite possibilities. But the main "prize" would be finishing third in the SPL. Personally I would actually have swooped a top six and a league cup victory. But we simply have to be ambitious and with the luck of the draw finances and reputations could be enhanced by a venture in to Europe.

The reasoning also reeks of an excuse for not qualifying by a happy clapper !! I may also have agreed more with you but fer the fact that we appear to have kept the core of the squad fer next season and I would rather play competitive games in Europe rather than pre season friendliest in the Highlands. I am sure that many fans will also see qualification as "the dream trip" which may not come along again - as will most of the playing staff.

By the way Mahonio has been discovered to be the love child of Terry Butcher and his previous rants were evidently unconscious rants were fired by his internalised anger and feelings of rejection.

Oh - and Fraz - why would be build a stand in the Firth of Forth ??

 

 Keeps it a safe distance from the gas pipe, though there could be aquifier issues there too. 

[Proctor]

Comparing the standard of football in Scotland to the Irish or Welsh league is a gross exaggeration. Dougal are you Walter Smith in disguise? Playing in Europe gives us a chance of elite competition which everyone at the club should be desperate to achieve, even if it is only for two games. I think if we do qualify people will underestimate us and that is when we are at our best.

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

How did Gretna fare against Irish opposition ? I suspect what Dougal is alluding to is that there would be a big difference in being tied with the likes of Kashakistan Kickers or Albania Albion than a wee trip across the North Sea. Personally I would love a trip to Wales or Ireland or a jaunt to summery places in the Iberian direction.

[Proctor]

I agree a trip to Ireland or Wales would be good. Although playing the Welsh teams would be a bit like a Highland League pre season game (Have you watched their league on S4C?).

[Proctor]

I am not mocking the quality of the Welsh League (although I would put it at SFL2/3). The grounds are sparcley filled and remind me of Highland League grounds.

[Struan94]

Boooooooooooooring! Getting out of the U.K would be a much better experience! Belgium, Holland or Greece would be great, Wales or Ireland would feel like a pre season friendly. Still confident we can do it and will be a big disappointment if we didn't make Europe in my eyes given the position we have been in for most of the season. Getting the impression some people don't give a hoot if we make it or not now because we made top 6 for the first time, most of the teams in the SPL underachieved and i would see not making Europe a very disapointing end to a 'decent' season. You have to keep setting high targets to move forward as a club.

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

Getting in to Europe is the feckin goal !!

[Kingsmills]

Given where we were before the winter break, not making progress in the Scottish Cup was disappointing, not making the final of the League Cup was more than disappointing but throwing away the chance of of Europe when we were in pole position would be a very bitter pill to swallow indeed.

[HumbersideDude]

With Neil Lennon putting out weakened teams against County and St Johnstone, I fear the hope of European football, may be slipping away!

http://sport.stv.tv/football/clubs/celtic/223658-celtic-boss-to-sacrifice-spl-wins-for-cup-final-and-european-qualifiers/

Edited May 1, 2013 by Dewsburydude

[djh222]

That really peeves me off!!!

[HeScoresWhenHeWants]

I will be raging if County beat Celtic just because Lennon was "looking forward" and not playing key players. This reminds me off Neil Warnock as Sheffied United manager raging at I think Rafael Benitez at Liverpool because he fielded a poor team against some other relegation threatened club and they won the game to stay up and SUFC went down. Celtic better beat County and St J tho :/

[caley100]

He put out a weakened team against us before they played Barca,  look what happened to us!   have some faith eh.

[Renegade]

If we don't get Europe, we'll only have ourselves to blame.

[+DoofersDad]

Whilst we should already have secured our place in Europe, I do think that people are right to be angry at Lennon.  It is, of course, perfectly legitimate to rest players and rotate things a bit so that you can field your best team for key matches and have them properly fit for the game whilst giving fringe players an opportunity.  But there is still an obligation to field a side that is competitive as failing to do so gives an unfair advantage to other clubs.  One might normally expect Celtic to win certain matches and if Lennon is publicly stating he is sacrificing games then that is not acceptable as that may well distort league positions thereby making a serious financial impact on those clubs disadvantaged.  If Celtic are sacrificing matches then the fairest thing would be for the SPL to even things up by taking sanctions against Celtic and awarding all their post split games to their opponents and giving them a fine proportionate to the potential financial consequences to smaller clubs of their actions.  Lennon himself should be  charged with bringing the game into disrepute.

[Kingsmills]

No fan of Neil Lennon or his team but I do believe that he is entitled to do whatever he thinks is in the best interests of his club.

[ICTRoughi]

Win the last 3 game and it's irrelevant what County/St J do.

[HeScoresWhenHeWants]

St J have DU away and County have Celtic at home so two tough games for both but saying that we have Motherwell (hate to bring I up but our bogey team this season) and its going to be very very hard to pick up even a point the way they've been going. Lennons resting some key players for Celtic so good news for County and kinda bad for us but St J are away and United need a win so it could go either way that game. What do you think?

[Kingsmills]

I think the race will tighten even more with us falling to defeat against Motherwell with  St Johnstone and County each taking a point.

Edited May 2, 2013 by Kingsmills

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

We are going to scape a flukey 1-0 whilst Perf and Tinkerville will get feckin slaughtered,

[Guest Mahonio]

I like your prediction John my friend and actually agree.

I can sense us getting a win from Motherwell and Dundee U taking a point or 3 from Saints and despite the possible "weak team" Celtic are likely to put out, I still see them winning at Dingwall, all of which puts us 4 clear of Saints and 5 clear of County.

[caleydawson]

St Johnston will get it and we will finish 4th 

[HeScoresWhenHeWants]

Na I still think we'll get it, even if it does mean to get something at Dingwall. I think we have to beat DU at least tho and maybe get a point from Well, although I see us maybe sneaking a 1-0 win from that game. Bring it on :)