“The Battle of Britain”
By: Matt | August 7th, 2009
Be prepared to read that headline for the next few weeks…a lot. The S*n, they’ve probably trademarked that slogan already. The Daily Ranger? Oh yeah, they’ll be wearing out the “b” key on their press. The Herald, The Times, etc. You bet. As there were only two teams from “Britain” in the Champions League draw, you’ve probably figured by now that Celtic have drawn Arsenal in the “playoff” of the Champions League (what a stupid name, by the way). Charlie Nichols head will probably explode during the pre-game of this match. Celtic’s high spirits after defeating Dinamo Moscow will be put to the test, with a match against the highest rated team left in qualifying. Yes, Arsenal are a great team and it will be a challenge, This same Arsenal team dispatched of our “city rivals” (Thank you, ToMo for that great phrase), but let’s look at the positives, shall we.
-Tony Mowbray has got Celtic feeling like world beaters and the team has looked good so far, especially when handling Arsenal’s London rival’s Spurs.
-A trip to London means there will be a good sized Celtic contingent in the away stand of the Emirates.
-Nothing like testing out your squad against one of the best teams in the world. It’ll be a tough fixture, no bones about it, but it will be a great way to see how we are doing.
-We have 100% European Cup titles than Arsenal. As the kids say, Just Sayin’.
-With the match up against Arsenal, maybe “I’m on Setanta Sports” will mention us when Jose calls the Voyeur. Shut up Voyeur!
-Finally, I don’t know if you knew this, but for this Champions League campaign, WE HAVEN’T LOST AWAY IN THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE YET! (tongue firmly in cheek, Gunner fans).
Bring on the Gunners. C’mon the Hoops! KEEP THE FAITH!
Category: Champions League
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Comments | Add your comment
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I think it will be a tough one for us Arsenal lads and the atmosphere will be blinding.
All the pressure is on us. If we win you know the press will say ‘well you should have won’. If we lose……
Posted from
United States
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A good point Carlos. Celtic are the obvious underdogs, but they’ve proven they could hang with EPL teams lately, Spurs and Man U being the obvious example.
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United States -
Not expecting an easy ride at all from Celtic. It’s going to be a tough match for both sides. Best of luck lads.
Posted from
Ireland -
Another rough draw, but we can take Arse’s babies!
Posted from
United States -
Am absolutely delighted with the result in moscow but as i said the second the game was blown up, Now as long as we dont get Arsenal, it was a sick coincidence. There isnt another team in the draw even close to their calibre. They WILL attack , WILL NOT show us the respect united and liverpool did and they WILL show that our centre back pairing just arent good enough. I fear the worst but hope im not right.
Posted from
United States -
How many tickets do you guys generally give the away side in european fixtures.
hoping to come up on the 18th
Posted from
United Kingdom -
matt do you think that josh thompson will have an immediate affect at the beginning of the season? he looks very promising but is young. will he be able to step in and shore up the shaky back from last year?
Posted from
United States -
mon the hoops
Posted from
United States -
Danny-I think the full Rangers end at Celtic Park is something like 3,000-4,000 tickets, but I think they only give European away teams something like 1,500 tickets. Anyone know for sure?
Matt D-Josh Thompson might have to play a role early on in the SPL because Glenn Loovens was given a one game suspension (though it’s being appealed, so he might play while that process goes) and Gary Caldwell has accrued disciplinary points from last year, so he’s out against Aberdeen. That only leaves Darren O’Dea and Thompson. He might get a trial by fire, right away.
Posted from
United States -
I have a good feeling about this game. Adebayor is gone, meaning their only “true” striker is Van Persie (which is freakie-deakie Dutch for “made of glass”). They’ll have Fabregas and Arshavin in the midfield, but injuries are hurting their other “reliable” mids, Rosicky and Nasri. The Arse’s back line is in flux as well with Toure out and the new guy – Vermaelen – in … I don’t think they’ve had enough time to gel yet. I don’t want to jinx it, and I think both games will be thrilling to watch, but I’m feeling conky (a mix between confident and cocky) that the Bhoys can get past the Gunners.
That, and my 2 closest friends are Arsenal fans, so we’ll have a good ole time watching both legs.
‘mon the hoops!
Posted from
United States -
AND … this is a team that no longer has any players on the roster who have won any silverware in an Arsenal shirt. With Toure, the last of the “Invincibles” have departed the North London club.
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United States -
Andrew-It’s a tough draw, but I think we can make a go of it. The first match at Celtic Park will be the key, desperately need a result.
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United States -
Like the fact there is no ‘history’ between us.. Want you to lose (2-1) at Parkheeeeed…then thrash the rest of the SPL!
If you win, please knock out a few more English teams en route guys!
To the better team – Arse fan!Posted from
United States -
Ponyboy-Cheers for the kind words. It’s always fun to play a new team, especially since Celtic has been matched up with either Man Yoo, AC Milan, or Vilareal every year in the Champions League, so it’ll be nice to see another part of England haha. Should be an exciting tie tuesday!
Posted from
United States
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