Can't really go into too much detail here...and this thread is so long I can't remember who said what!..and I haven't read all the comments. For my overall view of the tie, please see my Post that I started 'the Rovers-celtic game(s)' But...just wanted to add to this post by saying thanks to all those who congratulated my team for our victory. Especially 'Tugay4' who I had the wrong opinion of initially but who has since posted some really good stuff. Paul (moderator) and Husta are others who deserves a mention. I may get a chance to look back over the comments and respond again....but I have to get back to work! Cheers

Paul (McGarry) First of all, I'm shocked, surprised and appalled at the treatment you received last night....it's terrible. I apologise on behalf of all decent Celtic fans who made the journey to enjoy the occassion. The animals who treated you like this are not worthy of wearing the hoops. However, I have to comment that I spent the whole day in Blackburn, drank in O'Neils, went to an Italian restaurant across from it, wandered around the City centre before heading to Fernhurst for the big party. In that whole time I witnessed no unsavoury incidents at all. The vast majority of the 12,000 who made the trip did so in good humour and only purpose was to enjoy the occassion. It is for this reason, I object to your comment "I'm not surprised pubs were 'home only' after seeing the loutish behaviour of your so-called fans last night." Please do not let the minority scumbags cloud your judgement of the large majority. However, I understand, if I was in your position I would probably react the same. As for the youngster.....I hope he still continues to support the hoops and maybe we can give him years of happy memories to wipe away the events of last night. Rosie.....Nice comment, nice post. Thanks. Same goes for others....Paul (moderator) etc.

Tucker.....I had extreme difficulty getting my ticket....I was very, very fortunate and came from a good friend with connections...nudge nudge The tickets were distributed through the 'European away game registration list'...which i am on...but did not get my ticket through that. I know of full supporters buses going down....without ANY tickets!! It's going to be a busy night!! As for the pubs closing.....how bloody stupid is that! Let's have Celtic fans wandering the streets with carry-outs as we won't get into pubs! The fans are coming down to have a drink and a laugh.......by doing this, the police will be causing more trouble than preventing it! Sometimes I wonder about the logic behind such decisions! Pathetic!

Hmmmm......Extremely difficult to predict. Despite some of the comments on Celtic after the first leg, I think both sides are pretty evenly matched. It's almost like an old firm game in terms of predictions. I'll take a guess at an exciting 2-2 draw....with the Celts going through thanks to the lucky first leg win. ...and I'll be there to see it !!! yessss !! Hail Hail !!!

Thanks Rovers fans for the invite.....tell me place, where and when and I'll try and make it...because found out today....I HAVE A TICKET !!!! YEEESSSSSSSSSSSS !!!!! Good luck Pete.....hope you manage to get one. Can't wait !!!

Just want to add to the Daily Record comments.....an absolute joke of a newspaper....it's a rag...and that's putting it mildly. The Daily Record does it's best to stir up the Scottish/English thing (which personally has no interest for me). They criticise any English comment about Scotland.....then go overboard with their assaults on English events (eg taking great pleasure when the English team fail) Truth is, they have to play on such things to hide their lack of ability in the journalistic department.

Well, I must say, the comments have been much better over the past day or so!....except Tugay's of course. Thanks to those who welcome rival fans on here, it's a pleasant board to visit. Few things to state. 1) I like Blackburn Rovers, I hope they do well in the Premiership. 2) I enjoy this board, seems to be a lot of decent fans here. 3) Blackburn were excellent against Celtic and deserved to win. 4) I, and no other Celtic fan I have met, has a 'condescending attitude towards rovers! Tugay, you have a chip on your shoulder about Celtic fans for some reason! Tugay, your point about 'Blackburn not allowing Celtic to play'...is true to a certain extent. You kept the ball very well. However, my assessment of Celtic's terrible performance was based on the periods we DID have the ball. We couldn't put two passes together. It was infuriating. I was going mad at half time, cursing everyone of them as they were making so many basic errors. I have held a Celtic season ticket since 1987, I think I can judge their standard of play. The reason so many Celtic fans are saying 'we can't perform as bad again' is because it is true. It takes nothing from Rovers saying that, Rovers are a very good team. If you ask me to compare both teams, I think Celtic and Rovers are pretty close, whatever happens second leg. Maybe you will play terrible next game and us brilliant....but I wont be on here saying 'Rovers are 2nd division blah blah' because no matter the score, it wont cloud my view of both teams. Once again, thanks to those with useful comments, roll on the 2nd leg. Cheers

Rangerrover..... Sorry for taking your comments so seriously mate....just getting a bit fed up with the criticism overall, which Martin o'Neil has even commented on.....'complete lack of respect' were his words...... I believe the comments may have been said...but you have admitted they are 'selective'! As for the comments.....some came from Tam Cowan (who tries to wind up Celtic fans) and Bill Leckie who DOES wind up Celtic fans....with his terrible 'journalism'. Anyway.....you must be mad if you would go to Bairds etc and sign Rule Brittania as part of a bet!

Miserable? Hehehe......you should try having to put up with the sour grapes from you lot because we beat you :!:

I have to back Pete up here....... He only asked you guys a question but many of you seem to have a real bitterness towards us because you played well and lost. Only Paul answered the question properly and took it in the manner it was meant. On this 'attitude'.....I'm just trying to understand something...... Arsenal tear Rovers apart, dominate the game, miss loads of chances and Rovers sneak a win.......so Blackburn are a top Priemership side. Rovers outplay Celtic, fail to turn possession into goals but Celtic sneak a win. So, according to most of you, that means we are equivalent of '2nd division' , 'conference level'. 'It was men against boys' blah blah 'players huffed and puffed but could only boot the ball up the park etc etc. Slight hint of hypocrisy there. Can't believe how many English fans, players and press are judging Celtic on one 90 minute performance. On Saturday, the players looked angry after the criticism coming from England. They were relentless against Aberdeen in the 7-0 hammering...which could have easily been double figures. I just hope they keep that attitude for the 2nd leg. Also, on Pete's comments....Valencia was a great example. We beat them 1-0, and fully deserved it (unlike Thursday). Liverpool couldn't beat them home or away and they top the English league.

Hmmmm........RANGER-rover.....some neutral! Funny.....I don't remember reading a lot of that nonsense in the press up here. As for the player's cpmments....very selective. What you didn't quote Sutton or Lennon saying was that we were well short of our best and will not play as bad again. I hope your words come back to haunt you.

Glad some of you took my advice and visited the 'Galoowgate'!! Also glad you had a great time....see you in Blackburn for the 2nd leg!!

Think I'll take Zippy's stance on this and leave it.... Just for the record Ozexile.....I didn't post anything on official site....I don't visit that site.....and I'm not greenbhoy. Dr Rich.....show me where I have taken the @#/?? I found this site last week and think its great....I have enjoyed chatting with most of you.

Cheers Stegraham.... I have to add, I think Souness was very clever as he 'hyped' up the Celtic fans before the game......think the players and some of your fans expected it to be like a cauldron of hate.....like Turkey or something. Celtic Park's atmosphere is very, very loud when everyone sings...but it is not a nasty atmosphere. For a player, it's most likely very pleasant and inspiring. Sorry we disappointed some of you Rovers fans that were expecting something else, but you should be pleased.....a better Celtic performance would have given you the atmosphere you were expecting!! Put it this way, several Valencia players & Juventus players said Celtic Park was the best atmosphere they had ever encountered...having played regulary all over Europe. Even Berg said the Rosenborg captain, Hoftun, told him he had played all over Europe with Rosenborg in the past ten years and it was the best stadium, atmosphere and fans he had ever experienced. Suppose the fans performance went in tandem with the teams....disappointing. The 'Walk On' at the beginning was good though....which TV viwers would have missed.

Must say....I'm really disappointed with some of the attitudes on here. Before the game I exchanged messages with quite a few of you and everyone seemed pretty sensible. Something has changed since the game though and there seems to be more numpties around writing a lot of dung. eg Tucker....you can't have it both ways. All I've read on here is how Celtic fans were really quiet, 'what cauldron ha ha' etc etc......then you criticise a Celtic fan for 'biting' and asking you about your home attendances week in, week out. Think you'll find the 'my car is better than your car' stuff was started by all those the slagging off about our players, our performance and the atmosphere last night. Really looking forward to the 2nd leg now......and hopefully silencing some of the arrogant arseholes on here. (That's not directed at everyone, just the ones with the pathetic comments)

Last night I was surprised at the lack of atmosphere amongst us (Celtic fans)....but I put it down to nerves. True, we were being outplayed on the pitch and it definitely had an effect. However, some of the comments on here have been pathetic. Let's see how you get on with your home game...see how loud you are compared to us when we bring 8,000 plus to Ewood. I'll look forward to coming on here and asking if you can hear the Rovers sing.......

Well.....having briefly read the first few comments on this thread, I have to reply before I get to read them all. Tugay.....what the hell are you all about! Your first message......what a pile of pysh! First of all, the way I saw the game.......Blackburn were excellent.....passed the ball very well and controlled the midfield in the first half. We were lucky to be still 0-0 at half time. 2nd half much the same at the start then Celtic slowly began getting into the game. 2nd half was about 50/50 in the end. I think Blackburn deserved at least a draw and we are lucky you didn't score. However.....I have a warning for you.....we were absolutely shocking!! We couldn't do the basic things like control the ball, hold possession and pass. The warning is....that I cannot see us being that bad again. Before the game, many people said this game will NOT answer whether Celtic are good enough for the premiership etc. but we have Tugay **** on here spouting all sorts of rubbish...along with some others classing Celtic as 'division 2' etc. on the basis of one very, very bad game. Well, let's hope the Rovers players have the same attitude....then we may give you a little surprise at Ewood. At the end of the day.......you had an excellent performance.....we were terrible.....and we still won 1-0. Roll on the 2nd leg.

Must say, lots of nice comments about my home city..... Almost time for me to sign off.....having a half day to enjoy the build up for the big match tonight! Hope all you Rovers fans have a great time up here.....apart from the result of course!

Capt Kayos.... Just to give you some info........ The reason Celtic bundled the Blackburn and Caley games together was that they knew the Caley game would be empty! With a lot of the 54,000 fans struggling to pay instalments for season tickets, and a 'not to be missed' UEFA tie, this month to pay for.....it was obvious the Caley game would not be sold out....by a long long way! The incentive was to attract people to the Caley game (it worked with me, I went!.....although it was a reserve side and bloody freezing!). There will be absolutely no public sale of home tickets. 54,000 season ticket holders get first option....then it goes to the 'world huddle' members (season ticket waiting list). My guess is that if there were enough seats....you wouldn't be far away from 100,000 !!! Cheers

Capt Kayos.....you're in for a treat.....whatever the result, the atmosphere will be immense....and you 'll have a great day out in Glasgow. Hope you take up my open invitation to Rover's fans of visiting the Celtic pubs! Even with a Blue and white scarf...you'll be welcome! Cheers

Thanks for the pub list ....that will come in handy! I hope to arrive as early as possible.....probably 12.00...so plenty of time to check out the pubs! Don't have my ticket yet, but will definitely get one! Rovermatt.....I believe you.....I meant it was genuinely a 'nice' story!

That's great news Jordan!!! Well done....a victory for common sense! Hope to see you and your many fellow fans in the Celtic pubs along the 'Gallowgate' before the match! Enjoy the occassion... Cheers

Thought you may be interested in a Celtic fans view? I agree with most of you....I think it will be two tough games...very tight scorelines at each leg. Also, like most of you...I think my team will sneak it....but that comes from the heart, not from the head. Truth is, it's impossible to predict. A few of you have commented on the difference in the league standard having an effect....I don't think that will be a factor. If anything, it makes Celtic players hungrier for the big games like this. Some of you reckon Celtic are not that great, they look good in a poor Scottish league....but remember, we took 9 points from our Champions league group last year....beat every team at home the whole season...bar one draw with rangers and a loss to Ajax which was effectively meaningless as we had the tie settled in Amsterdam with a 3-1 win. In the league, that home record may not be impressive, but victories v Juventus, Valencia, Porto and Rosenborg tell another story. Martin O'Neil has built a solid, well organised team. They don't have the flair of Celtic teams of the past.....but are very difficult to beat. I think over the course of a 'Priemership' season, Celtic would struggle to be near the top....but in a one-off game they are capable of beating anyone. Just to comment on someone elses previous post, Guppy, Hartson and Lennon are not 'stars' in Scotland. Hartson can't get in the team. Only recently Guppy has broken into the first team and Lennon is a good reader of the game, mostly reliable but not a 'star'. Also, someone mentioned that the vibe from Celtic is that they are very confident on this....I disagree...the mood up here is similiar.....we are all looking forward to it but reckon it will be very tight. So...to summarise....my prediction......two hard fought, tough games....tight scorelines with both teams scoring home and away.....as for a winner......we'll see !! Cheers

Sorry, never managed to get pics to you in time....but at least someone else did! Just to confirm.....on that link to the pics......the third photo down, on the left hand side....the corner between the two stands is the area you will have for the match. The pole visible in that pic is the ONLY obstruction....it's not too bad.

That's excellent Rovermatt....nice story! Not making the trip up for this match?