uefa cup predictions

[Paul]

Dont want to be falling out with anyone, just pointing out that it might not be as easy as you think!!!

Well I'd happily echo the not falling out with anyone and I don't think it will be as easy as we like to think.

Rovers fans see this as a very big game and we are very confident in our team. In Friedel we probably have the best keeper in the Premiership and our midfield and attack are capable of scoring goals from all over the park. Defensively we can be dodgy on occassions but Berg and Taylor in particular are playing well. On Saturday we kept the English Champions and, on their day, one of Europe's best attacking teams at bay for 90 minutes - and we beat them. Last week we put 5 past Newcastle.

Arsenal and Newcastle are both Champions league teams and we've beaten them in consecutive games. Celtic, with respect, consistently fail in the CL, which is why you're playing us.

Overall we are looking forward to a great night in Glasgow and at Ewood in two weeks. Both clubs can show England and Scotland how good they are. We have lots of confidence because we KNOW just how well we can play - we just want to take our chance to show everyone. We have a team which always raises it's game for the big match and will do so tomorrow night.

Does that help? It won't be easy but my heart says Rovers will shade it if we score at Parkhead.

[Peikko]

I will be happy if we can score a away goal. This game will be as tight as it was against Arsenal. I hope a good result from this game also so we can crush them in Ewood Park.

Still, I had a dream last night that we won 1-3 at Glasgow.

[Tris]

Still, I had a dream last night that we won 1-3 at Glasgow.

I had a dream last night I missed me train and lost me match tickets

[Gav]

Still, I had a dream last night that we won 1-3 at Glasgow.

I had a dream last night I missed me train and lost me match tickets

I'd be going to the station now if i was you......

[CAPT KAYOS]

I just hope its not like Sofia and we go 3-0 up and end up drawing (or losing) but I wouldn't mind us scoring 3!!

See ya in Glasgae

[T4E]

As a Celtic fan looking forward to tomorrows game I thought i'd have a wee look to see what the general opinion was by the Blackburn support. Couldnt quite believe that 99% of you were so confident of turning us over both home & away!

Now im not going to come on here and say we'll thump you, but how many of you have actually seen Celtic play recently?  Plus the mentions of our players are always likes of Guppy and Lennon?  What about European Champions League winner Lambert?  Golden boot winner Larsson or even Bulgarian captain Petrov?  Im sure you'll know all about these guys come 10.00pm tomorrow night!!

From our perspective, only Henning Berg is a recognisable quality defender in that back 4 of yours.  As for Flitcroft?  Whats he ever done?  

Prediction?  Home Celtic 3 - 1; Away 1-1  

Dont want to be falling out with anyone, just pointing out that it might not be as easy as you think!!!

To be honest mate, its not as much about Celtic as it is about our fans. On this site we rarely predict the other team to beat us. Arsenal on saturday being the obvious exception. What we usually base it on, is if we are a better team player for player. Since we always have a lot of faith in our players, we always tend to believe that we have an all round better team.

As far as it goes, would you care to name Celtic's strongest 11 for us? Would be good to see what your ideal starting line up would be when everyone is fit.

[Pete1888]

Would reckon the following team will play, not our strongest due to injuries and probably not what i'd play, but here goes anyway.........

Douglas

Valgaeren, Balde, Laursen

Agathe, Lennon, Lambert, Petrov, Thompson

Larsson, Sutton

Take your pick from Guppy, Hartson, Sylla, Healy, Fernandez, Petta as subbies.  Hedman might make second leg, but is defo not fit for tomorrow night.

For the record my strongest team if everyone was fit would be.

Hedman

Mjallby, Balde, Valgaeren

Agathe, Lambert, Healy, Petrov, Thompson

Larsson & Sutton.

Im sure youll get another 100 variations of that if you asked 100 Celtic fans, but thats my choice anyway!

[T4E]

For the record my strongest team if everyone was fit would be.

Hedman

Mjallby, Balde, Valgaeren

Agathe, Lambert, Healy, Petrov, Thompson

Larsson & Sutton.

Im sure youll get another 100 variations of that if you asked 100 Celtic fans, but thats my choice anyway!

Well for arguement sake, my opinion of our strongest team is;

            Friedel

Taylor    Berg    Short     Neill

Thompson  Dunn  Flitcroft  Duff

         Jansen   Cole

I now firmly believe looking at the two teams that we are the stronger side.

Friedel vs Hedman? I'd take Friedel any day of the week.

Its hard to compare some as you play 3 defenders and we play 4. However, I'd admittedly take Balde over Berg, but I'd definitely keep Neill over Valgaeren and Taylor over Mjally, though I admit they are very close comparisons.

Midfield wise, I'd probably had to admit Lambert is better than Flitcroft, however, There is no way in hell Healy is better than Dunn, and David Thompson is far better than Alan Thompson, and Duff is far better than Petrov. Not saying these aren't good players, but I belive ours are better.

As far as the forwards go, I'd rather have Jansen than Larsson. I know Larsson has a great record and is a class act, but Jansen is young, extremely talented, works tirelessly and has a great hunger to win. In addition, I'd choose Cole over Sutton. Both are tremendous but the effect that Cole has on all those around him when he plays sets him apart from Sutton. Every player in the team seems to raise their game when Cole plays, and its invaluable to have a natural born winner in your team like Coley.

I haven't bothered to compare Agathe and Short as it would be farily meaningless.

I admit that it will be very close and you could well win, it would hardly be a shock, however I believe, along with many others, that we have the better, more talented players. Having said that, its a team game and Celtic do have a great spirit under O'Neill. Although so do we under Souey!

So many combinations and points to consider, really could go either way. Just thought I'd attempt to clarify as to why some of us are quietly (!) confident ahead of Thursday.

[hawkeye]

my two pence worth........

Sutton and Hartson we know all about, neither played well in England (after Sutton left us) and have gone to Scotland to be good players in an average league and win stuff

ditto Thompson and Lennon

Larsson is a player but we should have the talents to stop him

their defence looked good against dunfermline and livingstone, but then so would half the teams in division 1

prediction 3-1 to the Rovers, Dunn (pen), Yorke, Ostenstad,

and to finish the job at home with a comfortable 2 nil

ending Scottish involvement in Europe and giving teh Rovers their 2nd and 3rd wins in Europe

[Pete1888]

Well for arguement sake, my opinion of our strongest team is;

            Friedel

Taylor    Berg    Short     Neill

Thompson  Dunn  Flitcroft  Duff

         Jansen   Cole

I now firmly believe looking at the two teams that we are the stronger side.

Friedel vs Hedman? I'd take Friedel any day of the week.

Its hard to compare some as you play 3 defenders and we play 4. However, I'd admittedly take Balde over Berg, but I'd definitely keep Neill over Valgaeren and Taylor over Mjally, though I admit they are very close comparisons.

Midfield wise, I'd probably had to admit Lambert is better than Flitcroft, however, There is no way in hell Healy is better than Dunn, and David Thompson is far better than Alan Thompson, and Duff is far better than Petrov. Not saying these aren't good players, but I belive ours are better.

As far as the forwards go, I'd rather have Jansen than Larsson. I know Larsson has a great record and is a class act, but Jansen is young, extremely talented, works tirelessly and has a great hunger to win. In addition, I'd choose Cole over Sutton. Both are tremendous but the effect that Cole has on all those around him when he plays sets him apart from Sutton. Every player in the team seems to raise their game when Cole plays, and its invaluable to have a natural born winner in your team like Coley.

I haven't bothered to compare Agathe and Short as it would be farily meaningless.

I admit that it will be very close and you could well win, it would hardly be a shock, however I believe, along with many others, that we have the better, more talented players. Having said that, its a team game and Celtic do have a great spirit under O'Neill. Although so do we under Souey!

So many combinations and points to consider, really could go either way. Just thought I'd attempt to clarify as to why some of us are quietly (!) confident ahead of Thursday.

Im afraid id take Mjallby and Valgaeren over any of the two defenders you mentioned.  Both are proven internationalists whereas Taylor, Neill and Johannsen are rookies whom id never even heard of before this season.  Funny how you say Balde is the one player who you rate, if I had my way he wouldnt even be in the team and can be the real weak link in our defence.

On the midfield, you cant really compare Duff and Alan Thompson as they are so different.  Duff without doubt is your best player, but defensively im sure Thompson is 100 times better.  Healy hasnt really had a chance in the Celtic XI, but yet is now becoming a regular in the Eire team, which I suppose tells you how well the midfield has been playing.  As for Petrov, I think he could be our ace in the pack, mainly coz you'll all be focusing so much on our front two that you might not notice him ghosting in from midfield.  The number of goals he gets from midfield in big games has been invaluable.

Jansen instead of Larsson.  Im not going to comment too much on that except to say ill pretty much guarantee that you wont be saying that after the 2 legs are over, regardless of outcome.  Ive never seen a player work as hard as Larsson, and thats the beauty of him, such a team player, but a brilliant individual at the same time.

Its gonna be close, but I think you'll be surprised at the quality we have in our side.

[chris]

"Duff without doubt is your best player"

Duff is a quality player, but we got a lot of quality players now,   Yorke Cole Jansen  Dunn Thompson Short Friedel are all just as important as Duff in their individual roles.

Since the world cup Duff has become this God, but he is a top player among some top players and i think we will only get better under Souness. It certainly going well so far.  Obviously will still have some areas that need massive improvement, mainly in defence but they are holding up right now best they can.

BTW, has anyone esle noted that Stubbs was this world class defender up in Scotland and now at Everton he is fighting for his place.  I think that says allot about the standard up there, and we got a  real chance of winning.

[Pete1888]

BTW, has anyone esle noted that Stubbs was this world class defender up in Scotland and now at Everton he is fighting for his place.  I think that says allot about the standard up there, and we got a  real chance of winning.

Dont remember anyone up here saying he was a class player?  Good yes, but not world class.

Once he left we improved defensively, too slow.

[AndyC]

i'd take 2 players from celtic - petrov and larson

the rest would not get in our best XI

it will still be a very close game and I'm going for 2-2

[waggy]

glasgow celtic 4-4 blackburn rovers

         larsson 34,57         dunn,pen 3,24,26

         sutton 87,90          tugay  50

attendance59,879.weather freezing.

[tashor]

yes.

[Pete1888]

glasgow celtic 4-4 blackburn rovers

         larsson 34,57         dunn,pen 3,24,26

         sutton 87,90          tugay  50

attendance59,879.weather freezing.

I think you need to be more exact with your predictions!!! ha,ha!

[Flopsy]

glasgow celtic 4-4 blackburn rovers

         larsson 34,57         dunn,pen 3,24,26

         sutton 87,90          tugay  50

attendance59,879.weather freezing.

I think you need to be more exact with your predictions!!! ha,ha!

Weather - Bloody freezing with it bucketing it down with rain

Atmosphere - bloody loud with a hint of sweaty jocks  

[Guest cmonthehoops]

"Well for arguement sake, my opinion of our strongest team is;

                               Friedel

                   Taylor    Berg    Short     Neill

                   Thompson  Dunn  Flitcroft  Duff

                            Jansen   Cole"

Well heres my best team that the two teams could put out together:

                               Friedel

            Mjallby       Valgaraen       Berg

  Agathe    Lambert     Petrov    Dunn      Duff

                      Larsson     Sutton

I dont think many folk could argue with this team.  Not only could this team win the English league, it may even win the SPL as well. :cool

[CAPT KAYOS]

"Well for arguement sake, my opinion of our strongest team is;

                               Friedel

                   Taylor    Berg    Short     Neill

                   Thompson  Dunn  Flitcroft  Duff

                            Jansen   Cole"

Well heres my best team that the two teams could put out together:

                               Friedel

            Mjallby       Valgaraen       Berg

  Agathe    Lambert     Petrov    Dunn      Duff

                      Larsson     Sutton

I dont think many folk could argue with this team.  Not only could this team win the English league, it may even win the SPL as well. :cool

Not bad call there Cmonthehoops

But you could pair any two of the four up front and have a world class team

Take it you'll be there tomorrow , see ya there.

GOD - How excited am I, just can't wait!!

[Eddie]

3-2 to Rovers at Parkhead..Yorke scoring twice...and Thomson once

3-1 to Rovers at Ewood Park..Yorke scoring once...Jansen once..and Dunn once

6-3 on aggregate..pretty convincing!

[Neil Weaver]

Just heard on the radio that Glasgae is fog bound tonight and the forecast is much the same for tomorrow!!  Now who'd have predicted that!

[T4E]

On the midfield, you cant really compare Duff and Alan Thompson as they are so different.  Duff without doubt is your best player, but defensively im sure Thompson is 100 times better.  Healy hasnt really had a chance in the Celtic XI, but yet is now becoming a regular in the Eire team, which I suppose tells you how well the midfield has been playing.  As for Petrov, I think he could be our ace in the pack, mainly coz you'll all be focusing so much on our front two that you might not notice him ghosting in from midfield.  The number of goals he gets from midfield in big games has been invaluable.

Jansen instead of Larsson.  Im not going to comment too much on that except to say ill pretty much guarantee that you wont be saying that after the 2 legs are over, regardless of outcome.  Ive never seen a player work as hard as Larsson, and thats the beauty of him, such a team player, but a brilliant individual at the same time.

Firstly, I didnt compare Duff to Thompson. I said I'd rather have our Thompson than yours, and I'd rather have Duff than Petrov.

As far as Jansen and Larsson goes, you see Larsson a lot, I see Jansen a lot. There is no way I would swap the two. Not saying Larsson isnt good, as he is awesome, but you will definitely be surprised at how good Jansen is.

I think the fact that you said Duff is "without doubt our best player" shows how much you have to learn about our team!

[tchocky]

Have I given a prediction? Well then,

Away: 3-2 loss

Home: 4-2 win

(I'm putting money on the away tie, so I'm sure to get the first one wrong!)

[Dr Rich]

Well heres my best team that the two teams could put out together:

                               Friedel

            Mjallby       Valgaraen       Berg

  Agathe    Lambert     Petrov    Dunn      Duff

                      Larsson     Sutton

I dont think many folk could argue with this team.  Not only could this team win the English league, it may even win the SPL as well. :cool

your kidding me, I see a lot of celtic as they are my second team and you obviously are placing a lot of unwarrented faith in some of your more ordinary players. I'd go:

                        Freidel

        Neill           Taylor       Valgaeren  

Healy     Petrov     Dunn    Thompson    Duff

              Larsson        Cole

[RangerRover]

Damien Duff (if he plays) will cause Celtic problems - no doubt about that. The Celtic defence is fine until someone can get behind them - as has happened this season with Lovenkrands and McCann (Rangers) and young McFadden of Motherwell.

I think both attacks are well matched and the game will be decided by whose defence rises to the occasion. Celtic don't look as strong in that department as they did last season and that's where, IMHO, the game will be won and lost. Rovers have also been leaking goals but put that down to the higher standard of opposition in England rather than poor defending.