GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - MARCH 16: (L-R) Celtic Non-Executive Chairman Leter Lawwell, Majority Shareholder Dermot Desmond, and Chief Executive Officer Michael Nicholson during a William Hill Premiership match between Celtic and Rangers at Celtic Park, on March 16, 2025, in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Paul Devlin/SNS Group via Getty Images)
Right now, inside Celtic Park, a lot of people are worried.
Obviously, the football department isn’t going to be terribly happy about the Champions League outcome last night, but those running our club can’t be thrilled either. Their gamble — and that’s what it always was — has already blown up in their faces, and things could very easily get a whole lot worse.
I know there’s a certain ignorance, a certain arrogance, amongst some people when it comes to how much they think they know about football.
Some seem to think it’s clever to leave things to the last knockings, to bring in players at the last minute. They don’t understand what all the fuss is about, which is the difference between being someone who watches the game and someone who actually understands the underlying mechanics of it.
But players need to bed in. They need to settle, to get to know their teammates, the manager, the system, the style of play. It has always been an act of incomprehensible folly to leave signings this late.
But to understand just how ridiculous it is, you have to consider where we find ourselves now. We know our Champions League fate. We know who we’re playing. More to the point, we know when and where — and this is where the utter stupidity becomes a millstone around our necks. Indulging it is a luxury we can no longer afford.
We are staggeringly ill-prepared for a Champions League qualifier of this magnitude. We need at least three players in forward areas just to be at the level we were previously at. Rodgers has been saying this for months. The nightmare scenario — which was always there, just over the horizon — came fully home to roost last night.
Some will accuse me of catastrophising. Allow me to explain.
Without at least two key signings, we’re going into next Tuesday night’s game weaker than we were at the end of last season, and a lot weaker than we were at the start of January.
The mechanics of this tie, and the task in front of us, are such that we have to win the first leg at Celtic Park. If we don’t, if our opponents turn up, defend deep, and get out of there with one foot still in the tie, then we’ve got big problems.
Because that second leg isn’t just a must-perform game — it’s three and a half thousand miles away, with an Ibrox trip five days later. If we’re going to get results in both, we’ll have to play it smart, and that inevitably means rotating the squad in Kazakhstan. That’s where the medical and logistical nightmare kicks in.
We don’t have the depth to rotate.
Our wide players, in particular, are going to run themselves into the ground over those two legs, the league game in between, and the one after. That’s just a fact. And we have no cover for them. That’s not just an oversight — it’s a disgrace.
Take James Forrest.
We’ll be lucky to get 70 minutes out of him at Celtic Park. There’s no way we’ll get more than an hour in Kazakhstan. If we do, he’ll be blowing after 45 at Ibrox.
Maeda? Doesn’t matter if you use him up front or on the left — he’s going to play more minutes than just about anyone, because there’s no other left-sided option. He’ll be done before the hour mark at Ibrox as well.
This is where football becomes about more than your starting XI.
This is why you need a proper squad. You have to consider what a 7000-kilometre trip does to the human body.
You have to factor in muscle stiffness from two 7+ hour stints on a plane over the course of a few days. Medically speaking, the five-hour time difference from here to there takes around five days to fully recover from. That means your players are only back to baseline the morning they walk out at Ibrox … unless you play it really smart.
The way this works is simple: two days before the game, the team flies out.
They’ll leave Sunday, have a light session Monday because the acclimatisation is brutal, and then try to sleep at the right local time. Even with club sleep specialists, a seven-hour flight wrecks the sleep cycle. Your body doesn’t know where it is, your muscles tighten, and your head is fogged. That’s the reality, whether you’re an athlete or a holidaymaker.
After the Tuesday match, they’ll fly straight back overnight, arriving in Glasgow Wednesday morning. That day is a write-off. Thursday is light training only. Friday is the first day you can do anything like a proper session. Saturday is match-prep. And Sunday? That’s Ibrox — while the body is still shaking off the last of the travel hangover.
Every position without backup will be exposed in that half-week. If the tie is still alive going into the second leg, you’re asking your big players to empty the tank twice in five days, with a 7000-kilometre round trip in the middle.
It’s lunacy. And yet, right now, that is the hand our manager has been dealt.
The difference between knowing that and acting on it is the difference between being a boardroom blowhard whose biggest concern is where to book a massage on matchday, and being a coach who understands exactly what it means when you gamble on the squad and lose.
These people have put Rodgers in one Hell of a spot here, and in doing so, for whatever ego-driven reasons are theirs, they have put our qualification in jeopardy.
Let their apologists dress this up however they will. This is outrageous.
We are playing Karat Almaty, not exactly a household name, and although we have to be very wary of them and take care of business, then that should be fairly straightforward. The travel distance is of course a drawback, but that is the same for both teams, and I’m sure we will cope with it perfectly okay. Yes, we could certainly do with reinforcements along the line but right now the squad we have should be good enough to get to the group stages.
Keep the faith.
What faith? The only faith shown by the money grabbing numpties on the board is BAD faith, or faith in the fact that gullible supporters will keep making excuses for them.
Nevertheless, I hope Celtic prevails despite the self inflicted handicaps.
If not then Telt Yees! will be the phrase of the day.
It’s as remarkable as it is predictable that we are sitting here, again, before some big European games, short of quality and with an obscene amount of cash reserves. There is a real possibility we won’t make the Champions League while the other lot might, allowing them to capture the CL money. And we know they will invest it in players. At some point they are going to get things right with players and it’s going to burn us.
Sitting on a pile of money while we know we should be strengthening is dereliction of duty. The fans will make the board well aware of this should we not make the group stages. By then it may be too late
.
I hope we don’t make it Patc for 2 reasons,1the board will think they’ve been proved right,2 if we don’t the fans will finally start boycotts, walkouts and stop buying merchandise etc,it’s the only way we can change the attitude of this shower of chancers we call a board.Oh we can also listen to Johnny green and think everything is fine ,no worries we’ll sail through, Gibraltar red imps anyone.
I suppose the good news, given your jet lag theory, is the Khazak’s will be playing us only 6 days after the long flight home and having run themselves into the ground at Celtic Park.
Your points are well made…but the real sad thing about our situation is….It’s nothing new. How many times in the past have we watched this scenario unfold…??…Far
too many is the answer…However, I’ve also been told that plans are in place for big expenditure on the South Stand…and that has a bearing on CL qualification as well…Time will tell…Keep up the good work.
Meant to say…Can we / should we postpone Livi game now ?
One additional problem you didn’t mention – the heat in Kazakhstan will be unbearable. If I were Rodgers, I would be seriously tempted to leave the starting 11 against Rangers at home.
Didn’t realise that we were rockin up v Brora or Berwick that weekend !
Haven’t played QPR for a while. 🙂
The heat won’t be that much of a factor – we’re kicking off at 9.45 local time. Temps will be down to about 24degrees at best with the sun having set about 3hrs earlier. The issue is the lengthy flights – it is a shame we didn’t get drawn away first but it is what it is and at least the return leg is the Tuesday rather than Wednesday so we get an extra day to recover.
Away first is surely a disadvantage if jetlag is an issue. Then you have 2 games with jetlag. Unless of course you are prioritising the game against the peepul ahead of the Champions league?
Nothing is straightforward when we play in Europe especially away from home .
We’re dealin with people who in general, couldnae give a fk what the support think, because they think they know how tae ‘work’ them. That is, until they’re ready tae revolt and that’s the only time this board really act. Lawwell recently told a Celtic season ticket and shareholder at a conference, who was angry about how things were being run tae “behave or leave’. This tae a guy who has put more money intae Celtic than millionare Lawwell ever has. He also told us that we ‘get what we pay for’ ! Clearly thinks he’s worth the ridiculous amount he gets yearly. This is the arrogance we expect, so wouldnae expect much in the way of what we, the support want for our club.
Exactly Kev ,the arrogance of this board is unbelievable,but it has always been the way of the super rich upper class,they think they’re untouchable but liewell can be got at but it will need a vast u turn in the way Celtic fans operate,stop buying merchandise , boycott games especially sky coverage games,and don’t give me the pish that a half empty stadium reflects how the team plays,they are professional footballers,play like you are paid vast sums to play,and empty stadiums didn’t effect sevco did it.
And what, pray tell, will happen if one or two key players were to get injured in the first leg? Both wingers out – even for ten days! Maybe the belief is that it doesn’t really matter because we have the parachute into Europa League, a competition we could do well in. It is really difficult to understand but let’s see what happens.
Suck it up. Do what your told. The board IS Celtic, and there’s nothing you can do about it.
The board are more like “trustees” for Celtic!!
I think ONE of their big problems is the PR side of things. I remember the days of the club “moving” to Cambuslang and hours away from going bust. So maybe I give the board more credit than most.
BUT are they building up a war chest for Stadium upgrades, are they squirreling away money for a hotel that was talked about pre Covid?
Regarding transfers i personally think it is a lot easier to buy good players cheaply and can be developed, buy expensive players that have already made the grade but Celtic can not afford them. The difficulty is getting players in the area in between at your £10m mark. That said tell us!
For god sake TELL US what is going on and you will find criticism will reduce drastically!
Proddytim,was that auld pish about moving to cambuslang not under the old board of shysters before the bunnet saved us.
Proddytim I’m sure you are a board sympathiser, surely if the hoarding of money was for stadium upgrades they would have made that clear by now,No they are just hoarding money for their own benefit,ie pocket more bonuses,they aren’t interested in strengthening the team.
Agree James the position Celtic are in regarding wing players is ridiculous, We should have enough to defeat Almaty, but that’s not the point, their is no way a club like Celtic should be so short of options in one area of the team.
Luckily the game is on Tuesday, so the recovery time should be okay after an 8 hour flight and a 5 hour time difference. As far as the temperature goes the average in Almaty is 75 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit in August so shouldn’t be too hot, better that, than the extreme cold of winter in that area.
I’d love to know why a team who play in a country east of Iran and Azerbajan, whilst bordering China play in the European Champions League and not in the Asian equivalent. Bizarre.
I’ve been wondering that too. It makes no sense. The travel is obviously as issue because we lost our last 2 games there. And if Daizen gets injured then we can kiss goodbye to the CL and winning at Mount Doom.
They play in the UCL because they were part of the USSR which played in european competition.
Russian teams if they weren’t banned play in european competition. Just so happens all top Russian teams are technically in europe.
Theoretically Celtic could come up against a team just a few miles from Alaska!
Borders are never easy!
Aye they were part of the USSR, surely when the USSR broke up geography should have been used in a common sense way when deciding what competitions clubs from each country could take part in. Pre USSR Russia was always part of Europe, Khazakhstan was always part of Asia, post USSR they reverted to that. Common sense and geography was never a UEFA strongpoint.
Pre USSR Russia still stretched to the Pacific Ocean. Don’t think they were playing in many european football comps then though!
Anyway Kazakhstan play in european football and it is harder for them than anyone else. Its like Celtic complaining about playing in Dingwall while Ross County had to play in the central belt every week.
Mr Mojorisn are you comparing the distance between Dingwall to Glasgow and Glasgow to Almaty. Ruling out our joint geography lesson I agree there’s no excuses and I get the point of the Almaty players travelling to Glasgow.
It’s definitely no walkover.
Could be worse. If the Russians hadn’t sold it to the USA, we could be heading to Alaska for a UCL qualifier!
Thats a bit more extreme than a 12.30 ko in the highlands.
It is a 4 hr time difference, it’s also harder on your body travelling east, so if we get the result we are looking for at home, leaving it very difficult for our opponents then it should be easier travelling coming home. A good 4-0 should do at Celtic Park
Remember Gibraltar red imps Micmac,this might not be as easy as some think.
The real problem is in the forward line,what happens if Forrest or Maeda are injured against Falkirk on Friday?
I think we are now seeing the results of Tisdales data driven recruitment scheme.
Brendan tells him the positions he needs covered and this is the result:
Doohan in for Bain
Tierney in for Taylor
Inamura in for Schlup
Simpson Pusey in for Nawrocki
Yamada in for Kyogo
Nygren in for Khun (pity he is not a winger)
Nobody in for Jotta
£3m spent, what is there to worry about?
HH
I hope we sign Bischoff and now Strelec and our problems are solved.
HH
Dream on Terry ?
With Slovan Bratislava now out the Champions League running their appetite for selling Strelec will have increased.
Did we make a 7m bid earlier ?
Our panther like boardroom preditors will no doubt be ready to exercise their lightning fast instincts.
Or,
Perhaps like David Dickensons real deal, pull another fiver from a concealed pocket.
Tough gig — but a tough gig for both teams.
They would appear to be the usual mix of locals / Euro wanderers / Brazilian prospects and journeymen. We will probably shade it regarding talent but they will be better set up and prepared.
Our whole summer reeks of failure but that has been the norm for too many CL qualification campaign through the ages.
DD is in full Ryanair mode — hates the customer and knows that they will always come back for more. Not really engaged but can just about remember his run ins with the support.
PL is just doing what he does — making sure he is in local charge and making sure the manager knows it on a daily basis.
BR is working on his CV / contact list / outside interests.
What could possibly go wrong?
Interesting to see the accounts when they come out in September.
The speak your weight analysis from the board will hopefully generate change.
We are currently going through the motions and that would appear to be the way DD and PL like it.
That mad Mitch is the best summation of our uncaring , money grabbing shower of shite we call a board ,you have summed up the whole Celtic board, Brendan Rodgers scenario,spot on my friend.
Kairat — 25K stadium / £50mill turnover would appear to be an over statement..
They certainly don’t push the boat out on transfers but they have a 17 year old wunderkid.
If they were in the SPL they would be a challenge but little else.
Unfortunately we struggle with the new and the exotic in August so it will get messy.
If we fail — what next for DD and PL?
I fear that we are going to need a bigger car park.
I also think this is not going to be the walkover a lot of fans think,if we don’t qualify and sevco manage to ,we better look out because they will spend they’re winnings to improve their team,while we cuddle our money in the bank,I seriously hope we get shafted out of the CL and show this board how not spending any real money equates to losing 40 million minimum CL income.
Interesting jet lag theory. So if a major factor it should affect the Khazaks a lot more for the UCL tie as they will have flown twice. So they should be easy meat in the first game having such a big disadvantage and the 2nd game both teams will have jet lag issues…no?
What score do we need in the first game to be able to leave players at home for the return?
James is more concerned with jet lag affecting our team and performance at IBROX not so much vs Almaty (we really ought to beat them over two legs). He’s rightly concerned that without the ability to rotate we will end up with players arriving at Ibrox tired/leggy. Hopefully mentally the derby game will take care of itself and negate any physical tiredness – especially since we haven’t beaten them over 90mins since the same game last year!
Ibrox should not be the priority. We are already 4 points ahead of them and couldn’t beat them in the last year without jetlag so its irrelevant.
Mr mojjorish, you’re point doesn’t make sense ,” were 4 points ahead of them” so last season if we were just 4 points ahead,what would the points be after playing them,twice they beat us ,so they’re 2 ahead.
The UCL qualifier has got to take priority over the Ibrox game. If we lose at Ibrox we should still be at least one point clear. If we lose the play off tie we are out of the UCL. The point is that it is foolish to be more worried about the Ibrox game when a defeat is most likely going to be insignificant. We haven’t beaten them over 90 minutes in almost a year and its made no difference to our trophy haul or our finances. I don’t really buy the jetlag thing making a lot of difference. Tbf we looked jetlagged against them the last few times without the travel.
Forget about Ibrox, UCL must be the priority right now!
3 or 4 nil.
For as long as Peter Lawwell has controlled Celtic on behalf of Dermot Desmond there has been a Toxicity at Senior Management level in the business. Ambitious Football Managers are seen as Disruptors. Strachan, Deila, Lennon for the bill and are grateful for and respectful of the Status Quo and fall in line. Yes men to a man. Ange and Brendan, both Managers well beyond the standard of Football Manager Celtic would ordinarily attract have both crashed against the Rocks of Peter Lawwells Iron Grip and Defined Control of the cash albeit Ange probably seen it as a stepping stone and Brendan partially the same. The fact is Celtic is a Cash Cow for DD and PL. Under their ownership and management Celtic has never ever consolidated its position never mind invest to progress.
People like myself remember the Steven Fletcher year where PL was put on the spot and did what he does. Similar to the John McGinn situation with Brendan Rodgers. It’ll never change..
In the days of the groups of 4 in the Champions League, Strachan and Lennon were the only two managers to take us into the knockout stages. Strachan took over the reins when Celtic were leaking money and had to caw the horns in. To me the wee man did a great job, reached the last 16 and took a really good AC Milan team to extra time.
I wouldn’t knock any manager at Celtic this century, maybe Mowbray who to me was a bit of a disaster and who should never have been a Celtic manager. Deila was 2nd choice and was okay domestically and a disaster in Europe. Lennon 1st time around gave us some great nights in Europe, 2nd time around he will go down as a total failure in the TIAR Covid season.
The Celtic board this century have played a cagey game financially, that has served us well, as the big mouths across the city imploded.
This window has been strange to say the least, sitting on a load of cash and unwilling to spend to cover the deficiencies in the team, especially on the wings. If it’s down to a clash of egos then it is disgraceful, Lawwell has history of unneeded penny pinching in the past with the Fletcher and McGinn sagas. It would look like his influence is still there in his two proteges Nicolson and McKay.
To be fair Rodgers took some heavy beatings in europe also. His first time round was pretty poor in UCL and even with safety net of europa never got past last 32 in that comp.
I don’t prescribe to the theory that last season was great either….just that expectations are as low as they have ever been.
Eddie you are spot on regards liewell and desmond,all they care about is profit and money,I remember Strachan wanted Fletcher as a goal scorer, liewell said no ,we got willow flood for a few quid and we lost the league that year to the Huns for the want of a striker,same old shite with Mcginn, liewell and the board rule everything,no sympathy for Rodgers he knew what was going and still came back , maybe 3 million helped ,but we as a club are going nowhere in Europe where we would be noticed but desmond, liewell are quite content to win mickey mouse SPFL,just keep ahead of sevco and pick up any bonuses we might make out of Europe,but they’ve no intention of spending to try and make us better than cannon fodder in Europe.
A recent article James mentioned something about the people across the river asking for a domestic day off due to european games. The article suggested this was a thing that could be done though not sure because they don’t seem to have cancelled any games.
If this is a rule surely Celtic could ask for a postponement of the derby if jet lag is a real issue 5 days later?
Its only the games on weekend of 23rd/24th August that can be postponed (i.e. Livi in our case) so as to give the team extra preparation/rest time before the 2nd leg of the play-off tie.
Keep up, the Ibrox mob asked for a cancellation of the St Mirren game then asked the SPFL to cancel that request. after they realised the could be 10 pts behind at the end of August.
Fair enough. I take it asking for the Ibrox game to be cancelled is a no no then?
To be honest it would be a bit embarrassing.
A good rant James but all for nothing,the BENJAMINS in our team will still sell the stadium out every week,even if we don’t make it to the big guys playground.
Unless they stay away from the ground in protest leaving at least a half empty stadium the CHISLERS at our club will continue as they are,RIPPING everyone off.
Nail on the head stephen.hart but whether that will happen I don’t know but it fuckin should, because ,I’ll bet that mob across the city would be kicking up fuck ,if their club had 100 million and didn’t buy decent players, they’re fucking skint and still the billy boys are demanding top class players.
Oh we couldn’t be having that,we just laughed our arses off for sevco crying the same wolf.
But the rule is there for reason and to be used,so yiu don’t get it if you don’t ask.