Gordon Strachan

[crowie]

Originally Posted by Kiko

Strange though - i know the teams are of better quality in the Champions League - but in the Uefa cup games they were fantastic away from home and got great results away to teams like Liverpool, Blackburn, Villarael.

Bar Blackburn the other two are as good as some of the teams they came up against and got beat by in the Champions League.(

Would have to disagree Kiko

1. We got humped 2-0 (going on 5) at Villareal. The manner of the loss wasn't far behind that of the Porto and Shaktar defeats.

2. Neither side were as good as the CL sides we faced.

Liverpool were still struggling to do anything decent under Houllier. The good performances flattered to deceive but were outweighed by many more mediocre performances. We just out fought them and wanted it more at Anfield.

Villareal did well in Spain last season and are pretty decent at home in Europe (as are a number of sides, us included) but were not CL quality IMO. They exited Europe beaten home and away by AZ Alkmaar last season. Certainly not a Lyon or Porto quality opponent though never mind a Barca or Milan.

[GaNgStA kEeKs]

Did Villarael win??

I can't remember the final score. I could've sworn it was a 0-0 though. Oh well. Ignore what i said.

Although i know Liverpool weren't as strong or whatever but not many teams can go there and win.

[crowie]

They did indeed. Goal in each half in the end it could have been more. Jose Mari got the first, can't quite remember the second but Riquelme took us to bits. We ended up with the likes of Wallace on the pitch chasing goals that were never going to come.

[all_funkt_up]

ha ha ha - baboon man

[Parahandy]

I thought Kiko maybe meant Celta Vigo where Celtic lost by the odd goal but played very well and won the tie on that ground.

I was gutted after the first leg against Artmedia as they looked a very ordinary side to me. The only plus from that was the value on Celtic 1.28 for the return, when I reckoned they should have been about half those odds. Over 2.5 goals at 1.40 was also a value bet so as the saying goes, every cloud. . . That was my take on it anyway.

I've done well enough backing and opposing Celtic in Europe and will certainly miss the big match nights home and away. It will be interesting to see how Rangers go against Famagusta for a place in the group stages. The Cypriots surprised me by beating Trazbonspor and on the evidence of that victory, anybody expecting a walk in the park for Rangers might find this a tougher proposition than it might look at a casual glance.

[zonker84]

Looks like Balde is moving to Marseille on a free transfer

[Parahandy]

Originally Posted by zonker84

Looks like Balde is moving to Marseille on a free transfer

Not a notable loss IMO. Varga and Bobo lost their way in the second half of last season and Celtic lost the league because of the daft goals they shipped. I can see Varga being replaced too in the coming months.

The Hoops look a bit threadbare in central defence just now. Don't know how good Virgo is and its a massive step up from turning out for Brighton to playing in front of 60,000 at Celtic Park. Young John Kennedy is nearing fitness after almost 18 months out with a cruciate injury and if he can get back to where he was before it happened he'll be a regular starter in the heart of the defence.

Getting it right at the back will be Gordon Strachan's main concern in the coming weeks as Celtic have plenty of options in midfield and attack.