The UEFA Champions League Challenge

[Klippybo]

Ronnie Simpson

Ex Newcastle keeper Simpson was in goal for Celtic in the 1967 European Cup final. He spent the last 6 years of his career at Celtic (1964-70) and made 118 apps for Celtic. He won 4 league titles, 1 Scottish Cup and 3 League Cups as well as the European Cup while at Celtic. As a Newcastle fan I have to say that he won 2 FA Cups for us!!!

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NOVEMBER

UEFA Champions League Group H

Lineup - Smart, Ibson, Wlodawski (Francisco), Deronjic, Makelele*, Lopez, De **** (Mario Augusto), Andrejic, Knight (Dembele), Martinelli, Aspinall

Now what do we have here then??? This result has certainly put the cat amongst the pigeons as we defeat Chelsea to move up to 6pts. We are still in 3rd place, 3pts behind Barcelona and Chelsea but we have given ourselves a slim chance of qualifying now at least. A win away to Gent is a must now!!!!

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Lineup - Smart, Ibson, Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele (Dunn), Lopez, De **** (Mario Augusto), Andrejic (Atkins), Agudelo, Martinelli, Aspinall*

This win takes our side top of the table on merit as Rangers drew away to Hamilton. Aspinall struck twice to give us the win and Declan Dunn came off the bench to make his debut against his old club.

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Lineup - Smart, Ibson, Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Lopez, De ****, Andrejic (Dembele), Agudelo*, Martinelli (Rogers), Aspinall

St.Johnstone seem to be the 3rd force in Scotland so this was a pleasing victory and it took an Agudelo penalty for us to get it. Not a great performance but it was a case of job done.

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UEFA Champions League Group H

Lineup - Smart, Ibson, Francisco, Dunn, Makelele*, Lopez (Gray), De **** (Mario Augusto), Andrejic, Rogers, Martinelli (Knight), Aspinall

Dont be fooled by the narrow scoreline - we battered Gent here. Martinelli had 2 first half goals disallowed so in the end the goal from Aspinall decided the match. We go 2nd in the group but unless we beat Barcelona or Gent somehow beat Chelsea it will be Europa League football for us.

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Lineup - Smart, Hill, Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Lopez, Mario Augusto (Dingwall), Andrejic (Dembele), Agudelo, Martinelli*, Aspinall

We have been threatening to thump a side for a while now and unfortunately for Morton it was them who we picked on albeit them having a man sent-off helped us massively. Aspinall grabbed a hat-trick and had 1 disallowed, Martinelli struck twice while Mario Augusto fired in from long range.

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SUMMARY

A perfect month as we won all of our matches which sees us cling on to the slimmest hopes of qualifying for the Champions League knockout stage and also lead the SPL by two points. We started off the month with a magnificent 2-0 victory at home over Chelsea in the Champions League which was a tremendous result and really gave us a boost in that competition. Gent were beaten later on in the month but as I have said before qualification is still unlikely.

In the league we have been pretty solid. Controlling games and grinding out the wins without being spectacular although the Morton game went against that.

Now I have discovered something huge and possibly game changing. The loan deals for Wlodawski and Dembele have clauses in their contracts that I have to buy them after 20 games. Now they are only a couple of games away from that so possibly next month they will be made permanent for a total cost of £32m!!!!!!!!!!

**** SAKE!!!!!!!!!!

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PLAYER OF THE MONTH
MAKELELE

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SPL

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[Klippybo]

Jim Craig

Craig played for Celtic between 1965-72 and naturally (take it as read from now on) won a host of trophies while at Celtic. He played RB in the 1967 European Cup final and in all he made 148 apps and scored 1 goal while he earned 1 cap for Scotland.

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DECEMBER

Lineup - Smart, Hill, Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Lopez (Mario Augusto), De ****, Andrejic (Dembele), Agudelo, Martinelli, Rogers (Bradley)

We created enough chances to win 3 matches here but alas Morgan Rogers had a bad day in front of goal and their keeper performed wonders. We also got off the hook as they had a penalty but Balogun blazed it high and wide!

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Betfred Cup Final

Lineup - Smart, Ibson, Wlodawski, DeronjIc, Makelele, Lopez (Mario Augusto), De ****, Andrejic (Dembele), Agudelo, Martinelli (Rogers), Aspinall*

We win the first silverware of the season as Philip Aspinall scored a double to win us the trophy. We were always in control and the victory was never in doubt. This game secures the permanent signing of Wlodawski which is £17m up front and another £10m in extras!!!!!!!!!!!

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UEFA Champions League Group H

Lineup - Smart, Ibson, Francisco, Dunn, Makelele (Aubert), Mario Augusto, De **** (Knight), Andrejic (Dembele), Rogers, Martinelli, Aspinall

WE QUALIFY FOR THE KNOCKOUT STAGES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What a match and what a performance as we edge out Barcelona in a 5 goal thriller. I have realised now that we can beat anybody at Celtic Park and that bodes well for the future. I am overjoyed with this result but I must admit that I was kinda looking forward to having a go at the Europa League!!!!

Whether or not this makes the Chelsea manager have his position in doubt is up for debate I suppose.

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Lineup - Smart, Hill, Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Lopez (Dingwall), Mario Augusto, Andrejic (Dembele), Agudelo (Knight), Atkins*, Aspinall

A narrow victory which was settled by another goal from Aspinall. Atkins had an earlier goal disallowed but he still ended up with the MOM award.

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Lineup - Smart, Hill, Wlodawski, Deronjic*, Makelele, Lopez, De ****, Andrejic, Agudelo, Atkins (Rogers), Aspinall

A nice and comfortable victory with the only downside being the late penalty miss by Agudelo.

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Lineup - Smart, Hill, Francisco, Juan, Makelele, Mario Augusto, De **** (Handling), Andrejic (Dembele), Agudelo* (Knight), Atkins, Aspinall

Atkins to the rescue!!!!!!! We were 2-0 up early on here but Hearts clawed there way back into it and seemed to have snatched a point when they drew level with 6min to go but fortunately for us Atkins tapped home in the 94th minute to give us the points. We had kept 6 clean sheets in a row in the league leading up to this game.

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Lineup - Smart, Hill, Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele (Dunn), Lopez, Mario Augusto, Andrejic, Agudelo (Rogers), Atkins*, Aspinall

Very nice. We dominated this match from start to finish and we scored 4 goals to make it a very comfortable victory. I have just realised that most of my goalscorers and even players surnames begin with A!!! Agudelo, Atkins, Aspinall, Andrejic, Aubert and Augusto (kinda lol)

Sean Atkins scored 1 and assisted the other 3 in a superb individual performance.

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Lineup - Smart, Hill, Francisco, Deronjic, Makelele, Lopez (Mario Augusto), De ****, Andrejic (Knight), Agudelo (Veiga), Atkins*, Aspinall

This match was a nice way to end 2032 as we beat struggling Livingston. Sean Atkins scored in his 3rd game running while Aspinall got a double. I wasnt impressed with Aspinall when I first joined but the on loan striker has really came on - just a pity that I have another striker coming in once the January transfer window is open........

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SUMMARY

What a month December was!!!!! Sure we drew 0-0 with Rangers at Celtic Park which was a huge disappointment but after that we were immense. Domestically we won the first trophy of the season as we defeated St.Johnstone 2-0 to claim the Betfred Cup and in the league we went on to win our next 5 matches but despite that we still only have a 2pt lead at the top of the table.

It was in the Champions League where our highlight of the month/season came as we beat Barcelona 3-2 at home to clinch a place in the knockout stages. Chelsea were the side who missed out and I still cant quite believe that we sneaked through but I suppose we are a match for anyone at Celtic Park. Bayern Munich will be our opponents in the next round.

Speaking of tough cup draws - we will play Rangers in the Scottish Cup!!!!!!!

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PLAYER OF THE MONTH
SEAN ATKINS

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SPL

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[Klippybo]

I have just realised that my midfielder De **** gets his name starred out!!!!!

Should I name him Decock lol

 

[Klippybo]

Billy McNeill

Captain of the European Cup winning side, "Cesar" was Mr.Celtic as he played for them between 1957-75 and not only did he win 23 major trophies while at the club as a player he also made 486 apps and scored 22 goals. He also was manager of Celtic in two spells (1978-83 & 1987-91) and then he led the side to another 8 trophies!!!!

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JANUARY

Scottish Cup 4th Round

Lineup - Smart, Hill, Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Lopez (Mario Augusto), De ****, Andrejic, Agudelo, Martinelli (Rogers), Aspinall (Caique*)

What a debut for Caique!!!! He came off the bench along with Rogers and assisted the 1st and headed in the 2nd to see us win the Old Firm derby and knock Rangers out of the Scottish Cup which naturally means we are huge favourites for the cup now.

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Lineup - Smart, Hill (Ibson), Wlodawski*, Deronjic, Makelele, Lopez, De ****, Andrejic, Agudelo, Martinelli (Rogers), Aspinall (Caique)

Caique came off the bench again to rescue us as he latched onto a through ball to finish at the near post to win us the match. Aberdeen were unbeaten in their last 7 home league matches so this is a good win for us.

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Lineup - Smart, Hill, Wlodawski*, Deronjic, Makelele, Lopez, De ****, Knight, Agudelo (Rogers), Martinelli (Atkins), Caique (Aspinall)

I gave Caique his first start here but he was disappointing in truth, In the end it was my attacking midfield 3 who won us the match with them getting a goal each but it was Wlodawski who won the MOM award.

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Lineup - Smart, Hill, Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Lopez, De **** (Mario Augusto), Knight (Aspinall), Agudelo, Martinelli (Atkins), Caique*

Caique does the job against Rangers again!!!!! He put use ahead but most crucially struck the equaliser to carry on our unbeaten run. A defeat against Rangers could really dent our title hopes so it was imperative that we didnt lose this match.

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SUMMARY

We returned after the winter break and put in some good results - especially since we faced Rangers twice!!!! We started the month and 2033 by beating Rangers 2-0 in the Scottish Cup thanks to an incredible supersub debut performance from Caique! We then beat Aberdeen 1-0 away with Caique being the supersub again and followed that up by beating St.Johnstone 3-0 (Caique was ****) and then drawing 2-2 away to Rangers and Caique scored twice!!!!

So I better introduce you to Caique!!!!

He was on my shortlist before the Celtic job became available but when I took over I realised that his contract was expiring so I moved to sign him on a free transfer so he joined at the beginning of the month. He has had not a bad start!!! Unfortunately he has a £23m release clause.

My only other January signing was that of Grant Kerr from Motherwell for £3m to be my 4th choice CB. He has 7 caps for Scotland despite being only 20y/o and he will act as cover at CB.

As for players out - 1 first team player left - as Juan joined Tianjin for £13.75m (£17.75m) and that represents a good deal for a player who barely played for me! I did however reject a Chelsea bid for De **** and also Barcelona, Man City and Roma had bids for Deronjic rejected so he is now not happy but he is a world class player so he is going nowhere!!!

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PLAYER OF THE MONTH
RODRIGO WLODAWSKI

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SPL

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[Klippybo]

John Clark

McNeill's CB partner, Clark had 13 years as a Celtic player between 1958-71 and made 182 apps but just scored the 1 goal!

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FEBRUARY

Lineup - Smart, Hill, Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Lopez, De ****, Andrejic, Agudelo (Knight), Martinelli (Atkins), Caique*

Caique strutted his stuff again as he scored both of our goals here but considering they played most of the match with 10 men I would have liked a bigger winning margin. We seem to be experts of completely dominating a match, ending up with a win but never blowing teams away!

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Scottish Cup 5th Round

Lineup - Smart, Ibson, Francisco, Dunn (Kerr), Aubert, Dingwall (Handling), Mario Augusto, Dembele, Veiga*, Atkins, Aspinall (Bradley)

I put my faith in my backups here and they won with ease. Marcio Veiga was the star of the show as he scored with a fantastic strike from outside the area and he also set up 2 goals.

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Lineup - Smart, Hill (Aubert), Wlodawski*, Deronjic, Makelele, Lopez, De ****, Andrejic, Agudelo, Martinelli (Rogers), Caique (Aspinall)

A wonder goal from Andrejic was enough to get the points but we should have scored more goals in truth. Rangers lost to Hibs so we go 2pts clear with a game in hand at the top of the league.

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Lineup - Smart, Hill, Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele (Aubert), Lopez (Mario Augusto), De ****, Andrejic*, Agudelo, Martinelli, Caique (Aspinall)

Back to back 1-0 wins with Andrejic scoring after Rangers drop yet more points!!!! We werent great this time out and will have to up our levels in our next match for sure!

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UEFA Champions League 1st Round 1st Leg

Lineup - Smart, Hill (Francisco), Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Lopez, De ****, Dembele (Knight), Agudelo, Martinelli (Rogers), Caique

We gave it a good go here but ultimately they had a team full of world class players and they made it count. The chance of us winning in Munich by 2 goals is hardly likely so it seems as though that this will be the first time I havent won the Champions League.

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Lineup - Smart, Hill, Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Lopez, De *****, Dembele (Knight), Agudelo, Atkins, Caique (Aspinall)

I thought it was going to be another 1-0 win here but late goals from Atkins and De **** added a bit more gloss to the scoreline.

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Lineup - Smart, Ibson, Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Lopez, De **** (Mario Augusto), Andrejic (Dembele), Agudelo, Martinelli, Caique (Aspinall)

How we didnt win this match is beyond me. We absolutely battered Hearts and did everything but score as we missed an early penalty and had a late winner disallowed for offside. Karamoko Dembele's appearance makes his loan move permanent and he will cost me £14m in the summer.

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Scottish Cup Quarter-Final

Lineup - Smart, Hill, Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Lopez*, De ****, Andrejic (Dembele), Agudelo, Martinelli (Atkins), Caique (Aspinall)

We quickly got the chance to make amends for the last match as we beat Hearts to claim a place in the semis. Agudelo also made amends for missing the penalty in the league fixture by scoring one here which proved to be the decisive goal.

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SUMMARY

We had a busy schedule this month with no less than 8 matches being played. In the league we won all of our matches apart from a 0-0 draw with Hearts and that has seen us open up a 4pt lead at the top of the table with a game in hand over Rangers so I feel the title is all but ours now - even if we lose our final match against Rangers after the split!!!

We have reached the Scottish Cup semis after knocking out Queen of the South and Hearts and have Hibs in the next round but alas it seems our European dreams are over as despite putting in a brave effort we lost 3-2 at home to Bayern Munich in the first leg of our tie.

Some strange news. My world class defender, Deronjic, requested a transfer in January as I rejected several bids from Europes biggest clubs for him. He wasnt happy and I was getting asked questions about him all month. Then at the end of the month he took Scottish citizenship having been here for 5 years and immediately withdrew his transfer request!!!! Here is a screenie of him.....

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PLAYER OF THE MONTH
VUK ANDREJIC

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SPL

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[Klippybo]

Tommy Gemmell

Gemmell scored Celtic's equaliser in the 1967 European Cup final and had 10 years at Celtic between 1961-71. As a left back he had a pretty good goalscoring record as for Celtic he scored 37 goals in 247 appearances.

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MARCH

Lineup - Smart, Hill, Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele (Aubert), Lopez, De ****, Andrejic, Agudelo*, Martinelli (Atkins), Caique (Rogers)

Agudelo now has 15 goals this season and 9 have come from the penalty spot so for him 2 get 2 goals in a game without a penalty is a rarity. Even more annoyingly he had a goal disallowed in between the 2 he did score so he was denied a hat-trick!

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UEFA Champions League 1st Round 2nd Leg

Lineup - Smart, Hill (Francisco), Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Lopez, De ****, Andrejic, Agudelo (Knight), Atkins (Rogers), Caique

Meh. Victory was never really on the cards here so Bayern become the first team to eliminate one of my sides from a European competition!

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Lineup - Smart, Hill, Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Lopez, De ****, Andrejic, Agudelo, Atkins*, Aspinall

We put on a show here as bottom side Livingston were thumped by 7 goals. I dropped the misfiring Caique for Aspinall and he responded with 2 goals while Atkins grabbed a hat-trick. Everyone played so well I didnt even make a sub!

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Lineup - Smart, Ibson, Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Lopez, De ****, Andrejic (Knight), Agudelo (Rogers), Atkins*, Aspinall

Morton didnt have a shot on goal in the entire match here but almost got something out of the match amazingly enough. We missed an early penalty and then scored an own goal to see ourselves behind at the break but fortunately Aspinall headed in the equaliser and Ibson scored a beauty to win it for us. This victory ensures our Champions League spot for next season and I have been given a transfer budget of £12m (Wlodawski and Dembele are costing me £31m annoyingly.)

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Lineup - Smart, Ibson, Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele (Aubert), Lopez, De **** (Mario Augusto), Andrejic, Agudelo*, Atkins, Aspinall (Caique)

Very nice. The only downside to this match was another penalty miss for Agudelo but he got 2 assists and the MOM award so I will let him off lol. Deronjic netted his 1st goal of the season.

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SUMMARY

March saw us play some nice stuff and we really strengthened our grip on the title race by opening up a 7pt gap over Rangers with just 6 games to play. Our standout performance was the 7-0 victory over Livingston and tbh I want a few more of those performances next season. I feel when we start scoring 4 or 5 or more in maybe 3 games out of 5 like my Liverpool and Barcelona sides then I will know that we are at the level of being able to start really competing for the Champions League.

Speaking of which, Bayern Munich knocked us out - not a surprise!!

The youth intake was pretty dismal too....

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PLAYER OF THE MONTH
JOHN AGUDELO

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SPL

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[Klippybo]

Bobby Murdoch

Murdoch spent 14 years at Celtic between 1959-73 and amassed 291 apps and 61 goals and obviously a load of trophies before joining Middlesbrough who he went onto manage. The midfielder also only had 12 caps for Scotland but still managed to score 6 goals!

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APRIL

Lineup - Smart, Ibson, Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Lopez, De ****, Andrejic*, Agudelo (Knight), Atkins (Rogers), Aspinall

My cat, Miggy, actually picked this team as she stood on the space bar when paying me a visit and it went to the match. Ibson would have been dropped for Hill but it didnt matter in the end although they did score with their only shots on goal and one did come down the left hand side lol. This was our last match before we head into the end of season split.

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Scottish Cup Semi-Final

Lineup - Finlayson, Hill*, Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele (Aubert), Lopez, Mario Augusto (Dingwall), Andrejic, Knight, Martinelli, Aspinall (Caique)

We reach the Scottish Cup final thanks to a goal from 17y/o RB Matthew Hill. We were without several players, including my GK - Smart - so Finlayson came in for his debut. We will play Hamilton in the final.

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Lineup - Finlayson, Hill, Wlodawski, Deronjic, Aubert, Lopez, Mario Augusto, Andrejic, Agudelo (Veiga), Martinelli, Aspinall (Caique)

Its fair to say I didnt see this result coming as I lose my first domestic match as Celtic manager. We were all over Hamilton but they broke away twice to score and although we scored once and had a goal disallowed we just couldnt get that crucial 2nd goal.

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Lineup - Finlayson, Hill, Wlodawski, Deronjic (Francisco), Makelele, Lopez (Dingwall), De ****, Andrejic*, Agudelo, Martinelli, Aspinall (Caique)

Very nice. Hibs are a decent side but we put them to the sword here and scored 4 goals plus we had 1 disallowed. They also missed a penalty.

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Lineup - Finlayson, Hill, Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele (Aubert), Lopez, De ****, Andrejic (Dembele), Agudelo, Martinelli* (Caique), Aspinall

CHAMPIONS!!!!!!

A perfect day for Celtic supporters as not only do they win the title but they beat Rangers in the Old Firm derby to clinch it. We only needed a point to win the title but we did a proper job on Rangers and won fairly easily. We once again had a goal disallowed too.

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SUMMARY

This month has a big huge tick next to it as we sealed the title by beating Rangers 3-1 on a great day for the club but there is also a dark shadow looming over the month as we inexplicably lost 2-1 to Hamilton which was simply not good enough.

Hey ho. We go into the final month to get revenge on Hamilton in the Scottish Cup and that is our target. I will play my backups in the final 2 league matches but Mario Augusto wont play as I am planning on selling him in the summer and if he plays 1 more game we will have to shell out another £5.75m on him!

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PLAYER OF THE MONTH
VUK ANDREJIC

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SPL

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[Klippybo]

Bertie Auld

Auld was a midfield player who had 2 spells at Celtic between 1955-61 and 1965-71. In all he made 176 appearances and scored 53 goals.

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MAY

Lineup - Smart, Ibson, Francisco*, Dunn, Aubert, Dingwall (Gray), Handling, Dembele (Knight), Veiga, Atkins, Caique (Bradley)

Out came the backups and they did me proud with this win. Stuart Gray made his league debut, coming off the bench, and he fired in a terrific shot from distance for his goal.

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Lineup - Smart, Ibson, Francisco, Dunn (Kerr), Aubert, Dingwall (Gray), Handling, Dembele, Veiga, Rogers*, Caique (Bradley)

Although this was a dead rubber of a game on paper, personally I wanted the win so we could reach the 100pt mark and we duly did. I was ****** off when they came back to 2-2 and then Dembele had a goal disallowed but he was not to be denied as he scored the winner.

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Scottish Cup Final

Lineup - Smart, Hill, Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele (Aubert), Lopez (Veiga), Dingwall, Andrejic, Agudelo*, Atkins, Aspinall (Caique)

WE WIN THE DOMESTIC TREBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We had all the incentives that we needed here not only to be treble winners but to get revenge on Hamilton after our last meeting. Sean Atkins got us off to a perfect start with a 2nd minute goal and his fellow loan partner, Aspinall, made it 2-0 shortly after. Agudelo then converted 2 penalties and it was party time!

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SUMMARY

Just the 3 games this month as we closed out the season. My backups played out the final 2 league fixtures and got 2 wins to take us up to 100pts so I am pleased with that but the main aim was to win the Scottish Cup against Hamilton so my first teamers naturally came in and we trounced them 4-0 to complete the treble.

So that ends my first season as Celtic manager - now for a major squad overhaul as I have already agreed to sell 4 players while the loans of Atkins, Aspinall and Francisco are all ending too!

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PLAYER OF THE MONTH
SEAN ATKINS

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[Klippybo]

Jimmy Johnstone

"Jinky" is a Scottish football legend and played on the right wing. He starred for Celtic between 1962-75 and made 308 appearances and scored 82 goals for the club. Amazingly he only had 23 Scotland caps though.

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END OF SEASON POST

I have enjoyed my first season back in my home country! We won the domestic treble while we only lost 1 domestic match under my stewardship so it is fair to say that we dominated Scottish football. I took over Celtic after only 2 games played which they had drawn and lost and by the end of the season in Scotland in all comps we had lost just 1 more and drew 3 more!!!!

Rangers matched us all the way until about January or February but then they began to slip up and we just kept winning and in the end we won the league by 13pts although despite that winning margin we only sealed the title with 2 games left to play.

In the Betfred Cup we beat St.Johnstone 2-0 in the final and had an easy time getting there while in the Scottish Cup we navigated our way past Rangers in the 4th round with Caique starring on his debut before reaching the final and thumping Hamilton 4-0. They are managed by Darren Ferguson and somehow he got manager of the year and it is fair to say that we slag each other off at every opportunity.

Obviously the Champions League is where my main intentions lie and somehow we performed a minor miracle to qualify from our group ahead of Chelsea but behind Barcelona. We won 4 of our group matches and that set us up with a tie against Bayern Munich and although we performed admirably at home despite losing 3-2 we got trounced 3-0 away to seal our exit from the competition.

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SPL

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SQUAD

Goalkeepers - I used 2 keepers this season. When I arrived at the club I immediately promoted Callum Smart into the first team squad and the 18y/o wonderkid was one of many young players who starred this season. With 23 clean sheets in the league he set a new record and he is attracting interest from bigger clubs but they can **** off. Simon Finlayson came in for a few games towards the end of the season and he is a decent keeper who is good enough to be first choice but alas Smart is too good.

Defenders - Drago Deronjic was arguably our best player and most consistent performer. He is a magnificent player and should be playing at a higher level but I am not complaining lol. On loan Chile international Rodrigo Wlodawski did well alongside him and he joins the club permanently in the summer. Francisco was another loan player who featured at times at CB while I fear I wasted over £7m on Declan Dunn from Dundee United.

At RB my first pick was my first signing - 17y/o Matthew Hill. I brought him in from Morton and he duly scored on his debut. He also scored the only goal in the Scottish Cup semis and he is a magnificent young player. Trying to decide my young player of the year will be difficult!!!! Ibson was his backup while on the other side I paid £25m for Makelele and he was solid with Aubert as his backup.

Midfielders - I had 2 Belgians at the heart of my central midfield in Lopez and De ****. Lopez didnt score a goal which is shocking but he did well overall and De **** did well also. They hardly missed any games tbh so Mario Augusto and Dingwall never really got many starts.

I had loads of players for my attacking midfield 3. On the right I bought Andrejic and he ended up winning the young player of the year. 15 goals and 15 assists showed how important he was as he had a standout maiden season in Scottish football. Karamoko Dembele was his backup but he didnt overly impress although he joins permanently in the summer.

Martinelli was my LW and despite struggling with injuries he notched an impressive 17 goals while Sean Atkins was his deputy and although he had a slow start under me he went on to really impress me as he scored 13 goals.

Agudelo was my AMC and the Colombian had a terrific campaign. He scored 19 goals (albeit a fair chunk being penalties) and assisted 15 times as he really impressed me. I paid £5.5m for the lad and he is already proving to be a bargain! Rogers, Veiga and Knight also made appearances but didnt pull up any trees.

Forwards - Philip Aspinall was on loan from Everton and he scored 30 goals which is pretty good considering he flitted in and out of the side at times. Caique was brought in in January and after a spectacular start he began to struggle. I have just realised that his contract ends at the end of next season so that is something that we will have to address.

My Player of the Year - Drago Deronjic
My Young Player of the Year - John Agudelo (could also have been Smart, Hill or Andrejic!!)
Must Improve - Karamoko Dembele
Donkey of the Year - Declan Dunn

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SUMMER PLANS

I fully expect me to be here at the start of next season but who knows what opportunities will arise? I have to overhaul the squad as about half a dozen players are due to leave for one reason or another and I only have 1 pre-arranged deal coming in. Lots to do!!!!​

 

[Klippybo]

Stevie Chalmers

Chalmers scored the winning goal in the 1967 European Cup final and the striker had a great goalscoring record with Celtic as he scored 155 goals in 263 games yet he only got 5 caps for Scotland and scored 3 goals!!!! He played for Celtic betwen 1959-71.

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PRE-SEASON POST

Pre-season is over but the transfer window is still ongoing and at the time of writing (the opening day of the season) I have signed 7 players - not including the Wlodawski and Dembele deals - and sold 10 players but there is still work to be done. Also you have to bear in mind that there were a few loan deals that ended.

I have broken the clubs transfer record (it is now £40m) and have £40m left in the bank to spend as I wish and that will have to go on standout players. I am happy with my starting XI but obviously we arent going to win the Champions League any time soon but I do have several wonderkids who can take us there but it will take time!!!

I was invited to apply for the Benfica job and although I attended the interview I felt that we were in similar positions so although I would normally jump at the chance to manage them after my long term save in last years game I decided to stay in Scotland.

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PLAYERS OUT

I raked in over £100m in transfer fees and every player who has left were not first choice! Morgan Rogers joined Brighton for £13.5m, Ben Knight went to Sheffield United for £16m, Gabriel Martinelli was shipped off to Newcastle for £11.75m, Mario Augusto joined Watford for £14m and Southampton signed both Ibson (£12.25m - £17m) and Julien Aubert (£16.5m - £23m)!!!!

In addition to that Declan Dunn joined Aston Villa for £3.6m (rising to £5m) and these are the players I sold before pre-season training got underway!!!!!

Two more departures and both are off to Spain. Romario Baro joined Atletico Madrid for £5m while Caique had his £23m release clause met by Valencia so he was off too!!!!!!

Also the loans of Francisco, Atkins and Aspinall ended.

So lets see who replaced all these lot...........

--

PLAYERS IN

My new record signing is Francois Andre who joined from Anderlecht for £40m. The 19y/o wonderkid will be my new left winger and he is good enough to play for one of Europes top sides - no doubt about that! Incredibly quick, excellent dribbling skills and he can pick a pass. I am expecting big things!!!!

I spent £14.5m on my new striker - Billy McMahon - and he is just 18y/o. He signed from Hibernian after a great first season in professional football and he should fire in the goals but he will also need to keep on developing. Surely a Scotland cap will be coming soon.

Lewis Neilson was brought in from Basel for £7m and he will be my backup CB. He has all the attributes I want for a ball playing defender and the fact that he is Scottish is an added bonus!!!

Another Scottish signing was that of Ken Ecrepont who was brought in from St.Mirren for £5m. The 18y/o will be a backup player but his main aim is to keep on improving and developing his skills for the future!

Scotland international, Kieran Shearer, joined from Spurs on a pre-contract. The striker was hot property as a wonderkid at Aberdeen before he joined Spurs and he has since had loan spells at Rangers and Real Zaragoza but he arrives here as my backup striker.

The Scotsmen keep on arriving lol. Enock Malitoli has 24 caps for Scotland and joins on loan from Everton to cover the full back positions.

Finally Sean Atkins has returned to the club on loan from Chelsea. The Barbados international did well last season for us and hopefully he will do the same again this term. I have just realised that he is also a natural RWB which is a bit weird.

--

SQUAD

Francois Andre and Billy McMahon are the 2 players who have been signed as first choice players while all the rest have to work hard to get into the team. Smart, Hill, McMahon, Agudelo and Andre are all teenagers so it is a very young side that I have got!!!!!

The aim is to win the domestic treble again and give a good account of ourselves in the Champions League.

--

Note - I have just started an online save and although I applied the licenses fix for that version I forgot to do it to the older ones so the UEFA Champions League is now the Champions Cup but hopefully it will revert back to the Champions League next season as I think I have rectified that.
​

 

[Klippybo]

Willie Wallace

Wallace played up front in the 1967 European Cup final and spent 5 years at Celtic between 1966-71. He made 142 appearances and scored 89 goals which is not bad going before he left to join Crystal Palace.

--

AUGUST

Lineup - Smart, Hill, Wlodawski*, Neilson, Makelele (Malitoli), Lopez, De ****, Andrejic, Agudelo, Andre, Shearer (McMahon)

A great way to kick off the new season as we rock up at Tannadice and dish out a hiding. Francois Andre had a great debut as the winger scored twice while De **** scored from distance and Wlodawski headed in the 4th. McMahon was short of fitness so he didnt start so Shearer got his debut along with Malitoli and Neilson.

--

Lineup - Smart, Hill (Malitoli), Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Lopez, De **** (Gray), Andrejic, Agudelo, Andre (Atkins), McMahon*

Billy McMahon got his first start for me here and he responded with 2 goals against his old club.

--

Betfred Cup 2nd Round

Lineup - Smart, Oliver, Wlodawski, Neilson, Malitoli, Gray (Handling), Dingwall (Ecrepont), Dembele, Hojiev, Atkins, Shearer*

I played my backups here and they got the job done but it wasnt an easy victory! Kieran Shearer scored his first goals for the club to get us through. My new signing, Daler Hojiev, made his debut here as did Ecrepont.

--

Lineup - Smart, Hill, Wlodawski*, Deronjic, Makelele (Malitoli), Lopez, De ****, Andrejic, Hojiev (Agudelo), Andre, McMahon (Shearer)

Not much to see here. I cant stand their manager though so it is always nice to get one over on him!

--

Lineup - Smart, Hill (Gray), Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Lopez*, De ****, Andrejic, Hojiev, Andre, McMahon (Shearer)

Jacky Lopez got his first goal for me here with a fine strike but that was outdone by De ****'s goal as he thundered one in from long range.

--

SUMMARY

I cant complain with our start to the season! We have won all 4 of our league matches and not conceded a goal in doing so! Add to that a 3-2 win away to St.Mirren with my backups in the Betfred Cup and Rangers being knocked out it has all started off brilliantly.

Most of the main news however is about transfers. I was inundated with offers for my players. Chelsea went in for Andrejic, Spurs offered me £55m for my wonderkid keeper Craig Smart while De ****, Lopez, Makelele and Deronjic also attracted several offers but I have managed to keep hold of them fortunately. I did however sell Marcio Veiga who joined Cagliari for £13.5m which is a good deal considering I signed him on a free and he only played 9 matches for me.

In his place I brought in Daler Hojiev who had been on my shortlist for a wee while. The Russian international joined us from Spartak Moscow for £15.5m and with that I have a major selection headache as both he and Agudelo are top quality for the AMC. I now have 2 future world class players for that position and I will have to give both players an equal opportunity to start.

As for the Champions League we are going to have to perform minor miracles like we did last season to qualify for the knockout stages as we have been put in a group alongside Paris Saint-Germain, Inter Milan and Club Brugge.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
RODRIGO WLODAWSKI

--

SPL

​

 

[Klippybo]

Bobby Lennox

Lennox spent 20 years at Celtic between 1961-81 although he did spend a season in the USA in 1978 before quickly returning. The left winger played 336 games for Celtic and scored 167 goals.

--

SEPTEMBER

Lineup - Smart, Hill, Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Lopez (Gray), De ****, Andrejic*, Agudelo, Andre (Atkins), McMahon (Shearer)

Ross County are newly promoted and managed Danny Welbeck and we coasted past them here. McMahon opened the scoring, Agudelo (in for the injured Hojiev) converted a penalty, De **** headed in a 3rd and Andre slotted in the 4th.

Vuk Andrejic was the MOM though as he assisted 3 goals.

--

UEFA Champions League Group F

Lineup - Smart, Hill, Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Lopez, De ****, Andrejic (Dembele), Agudelo*, Andre (Atkins), McMahon (Shearer)

I am delighted with this result as if we are to have any chance of qualifying then victory here was a must. We were pretty comfortable at 1-0 but when they equalised with 15min to go I feared the worst but Sean Atkins came off the bench to head in the winner.

--

Lineup - Smart, Hill*, Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Gray, De **** (Dingwall), Andrejic (Ecrepont), Dembele, Andre (Atkins), McMahon

I was without both Hojiev and Agudelo for this match so Karamoko Dembele played as my AMC. With those 2 out the penalty taking duties were put onto McMahon but he had his first half penalty saved but he made amends by scoring the winner with a fine finish.

--

Betfred Cup Quarter-Final

Lineup - Smart, Hill (Oliver), Wlodawski, Deronjic, Malitoli, Lopez, De ****, Andrejic (Ecrepont), Dembele, Andre*, McMahon (Shearer)

This is the first of 2 back to back home games against Hearts and we claim the first match thanks to goals from Lopez and Dembele. Lopez didnt score at all last season but already has 2 this term.

--

Lineup - Smart, Hill, Wlodawski, Deronjic*, Malitoli, Lopez, De ****, Andrejic (Dembele), Agudelo (Gray), Andre, McMahon

A great result as we were down to 10 men but still managed to score 3 goals despite having a man less. Deronjic scored twice which is pretty incredible while McMahon alos scored a double and had a goal disallowed to boot. Their goal is our first goal that we have conceded this season in the league.

--

UEFA Champions League Group F

Lineup - Smart, Hill (Oliver), Wlodawski, Deronjic, Malitoli, Lopez, De **** (Gray), Andrejic, Agudelo, Andre (Atkins*), McMahon

Now obviously I am pleased with this result but it was a missed opportunity as we battered PSG. They only had 1 shot on target and that was a free-kick from Mbappe that found the net and it looked as though we were going to lose until Sean Atkins equalised late on.

--

SUMMARY

We had some fun this month! Our strong start to the season continued and we still have a 100% record and with that we have already opened up a 5pt lead at the top of the table which is pretty good considering there have only been 7 matches.

In the Betfred Cup we have reached the semis and will play Ross County when we get there.

As for the Champions League Sean Atkins has been the man of the moment there as he scored a late goal to beat Brugge and then get a draw against PSG so its all good.

Next month Scotland will play their final 2 qualifiers for the World Cup and I dont think they will qualify for a play off so if Steve Clarke doesnt get the sack I dont know what I will do lol.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
DRAGO DERONJIC

--

SPL

​

 

[Klippybo]

--

OCTOBER

Lineup - Smart, Hill, Wlodawski*, Deronjic, Makelele, Lopez, De **** (Gray), Andrejic, Agudelo (Hojiev), Atkins, McMahon (Shearer)

Absolutely pathetic! Rangers had 4 shots on goal and ended up scoring 3 goals so FM seriously ****** us over here as we lose our first game of the season. Simply not good enough and I expect a reaction!

--

Lineup - Smart*, Hill (Malitoli), Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Gray, De ****, Andrejic, Agudelo (Hojiev), Andre, McMahon (Shearer)

We werent at our best here but we came back from behind to win. It has been some week for Stuart Gray as he got his first Scotland cap, signed a new contract and scored a terrific goal here!!!! My keeper, Callum Smart, was the MOM as he saved a penalty plus he kept our lead late on!

--

UEFA Champions League Group F

Lineup - Smart, Hill, Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Gray, De **** (Dingwall), Andrejic, Hojiev (Agudelo), Andre (Atkins), McMahon

Meh. This was always going to be a tough match and we gave it a good go but alas it was not to be. Brugge drew with PSG so that is a big help!!!!

--

Lineup -Smart, Hill (Neilson), Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele (Malitoli), Gray, De **** (Dingwall), Andrejic, Hojiev, Andre, McMahon*

Partick were hit for 6 here as we put in a tremendous performance. McMahon scored a hat-trick and actually had an early goal disallowed too while Andrejic scored with a strike from distance. The last few games have been very close so it is nice to blow a way a team like this.

--

Lineup - Smart, Hill, Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Gray*, De ****, Andrejic, Hojiev, Andre, McMahon (Bradley)

The goals continued to come here as we notch another 4. Andre has really settled into my team well and his 2 goals takes his tally up to 8 this season.

--

Betfred Cup Semi-Final

Lineup - Smart, Hill (Malitoli), Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Gray, De ****, Andrejic, Hojiev*, Andre (Atkins), McMahon (Bradley)

Billy McMahon's goal is enough to see us into the final but it covers up a poor performance. Ross County could so easily have taken us to penalties or whatever but we managed to keep them out and McMahon struck.

--

SUMMARY

This month got off to a horrific start as we lost the first Old Firm derby 3-1 away to Rangers which cut our lead at the top of the table to 2pts. Adter that we went on to sneak a win against St. Johnstone before thrashing Partick and Morton.

In the Champions League we lost narrowly to Inter Milan but there was no shame there and in the Betfred Cup we edged out Ross County in the semis to set up a final tie with Aberdeen.

A special mention has to go out to Stuart Gray. He wasnt even a bit part player last season but he has been immense this season and had the month of his dreams here. He scored a stunning goal, got 5 assists, earned his first caps for Scotland and signed a new contract!!!!

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
STUART GRAY

--

SPL

​

 

[Klippybo]

NOVEMBER

UEFA Champions League Group F

Lineup - Smart, Hill*, Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele (Malitoli), Gray, De ****, Dembele, Hojiev, Andre (Atkins), McMahon (Bradley)

Considering some of the performances my players put out there I am grateful for a point as 4 or 5 of my players were atrocious in truth. The match itself was just as bad and I feel that like the PSG game it was a missed opportunity to get a big win.

--

Lineup - Smart, Hill (Malitoli), Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Gray (Lopez), De **** (Neilson), Andrejic, Hojiev, Andre, McMahon*

Andrejic and McMahon were at the double here as both bagged braces to give us an easy victory. After an hour most of my players were ****** so I may have to think about resting players for the next match. However having said that the international break is now upon us.

--

Lineup - Smart, Malitoli, Wlodawski (Neilson), Deronjic, Makelele, Lopez (Gray), De ****, Andrejic, Hojiev, Andre*, McMahon (Shearer)

Normally I would be ecstatic about my side coming back from 2-0 down to win 3-2 but Billy McMahon got injured here and will be out for 3-4 months so that is obviously a huge blow to us. Kieran Shearer better step up to the plate!!!!

--

UEFA Champions League Group F

Lineup - Smart, Malitoli (Oliver), Wlodawski, Neilson, Makelele, Lopez* (Gray), De ****, Andrejic, Hojiev, Andre (Atkins), Shearer

It was the late late show here as we scored 3 goals in the last 7min to win match and keep our hopes alive of qualifying. Unfortunately though Inter beat PSG so we will have to win away in France to qualify for the next round.

--

Lineup - Smart, Hill, Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Lopez (Dingwall), Gray, Andrejic, Hojiev*, Andre (Atkins), Shearer (Bradley)

A great away victory this as we put 4 past HIbs. Hojiev was instrumental as he scored the opener before setting up another 2 goals.

--

Lineup - Smart, Malitoli, Wlodawski*, Neilson, Makelele, Lopez, De **** (Gray), Andrejic (Oliver), Hojiev (Agudelo), Andre, Shearer

We werent at our best here and only had a Hojiev penalty to show for our efforts but thankfully that proved to be enough as we kept a clean sheet too.

--

SUMMARY

Every month seems to be a good month when you are Celtic manager just now lol. My squad is far too good for this level and the scary thing is it needs to, and will do, get even better!!!! We have increased our lead at the top of the table to 7pts now so the league is all but over already tbh!

In the Champions League we drew at home to Inter Milan and beat Gent so that was decent however unless we beat PSG away from home we will be eliminated and will drop into the Europa League.

More news down below....................................................

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
DALER HOJIEV

--

SPL

--

KRIS STUART IS APPOINTED AS THE NEW MANAGER OF SCOTLAND!!!!!

Right, I have to be honest - I added a new manager to get rid of Steve Clarke. He finished 3rd in his World Cup Qualifying group but still wasnt sacked and I thought it was only fair that I should get to have a crack at it!!!! Scotland duly offered me the job and now it is up to me to lead the country forwards.

The first XI has quality and there are some great prospects in Smart, Hill, McMahon and a Liverpool midfielder, Crawford but their is a lack of quality when you are looking for squad fillers etc.​

 

[Klippybo]

DECEMBER

Betfred Cup Final

Lineup - Smart, Hill, Wlodawski (Neilson), Deronjic, Makelele, Lopez (Gray), De ****, Andrejic, Hojiev (Agudelo), Andre*, Shearer

This was an entertaining final as 6 goals were scored. We got off to the worst possible start when we conceded a 1st minute goal and although we levelled soon after we fell behind almost immediately which was infuriating. However even that lead was short lived as Andre headed home and then in the 2nd half he scored again and De **** powered in a 4th to give us the trophy.

--

UEFA Champions League Group F

Lineup - Smart, Hill, Neilson, Deronjic, Makelele (Malitoli), Lopez, Dingwall, Andrejic (Dembele), Hojiev (Ecrepont), Andre, Bradley

Ah well it was always going to be a long shot - even if I hadnt been forced to play a weakened side!!! PSG battered us and it means we will have to drop into the Europa League however we will be in with a chance of winning that possibly and I havent won it in this save before so that is now our aim for the season with the league taking care of itself hopefully.

--

Lineup - Smart, Malitoli, Wlodawski, Neilson, Makelele, Lopez, De ****, Dembele (Malitoli), Agudelo (Ecrepont), Andre (Atkins), Bradley

Normally I would be upset at this result but considering we were without several players yet again I can accept a draw. I dont think Bradley is up to the required levels as yet and he may need to be loaned out.

--

Lineup - Smart, Malitoli, Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Lopez, Gray, Andrejic, Hojiev, Andre*, Shearer (Bradley)

Francois Andre had a standout game here as he grabbed a hat-trick. He is a bit of a conundrum. He has been scoring plenty of goals and doing very well but he chucks in a shocking performance every now and then. Sean Atkins is rated better on current ability but I have faith in Andre.

--

Lineup - Smart, Malitoli, Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Lopez (Gray), De ****, Andrejic (Dembele), Hojiev* (Agudelo), Andre, Shearer

Andre picked up another goal here and I just realised that he is my top scorer by 3 goals on 16 in total which is not bad for a 19y/o LW!!!!!!

--

Lineup - Smart, Hill (Malitoli), Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Gray, De ****, Andrejic (Dembele), Hojiev (Agudelo), Atkins*, Shearer

******* GET IN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What a performance this was as we gain revenge for our 3-1 defeat earlier in the season to trounce Rangers here - and we even had a goal disallowed!!!! We are now 11pts clear at the top of the league.

--

Lineup - Smart, Hill (Matioli), Gray, Neilson, Makelele, Ecrepont, Dingwall, Andrejic (Dembele), Hojiev* (Agudelo), Andre, Shearer

Half of my side was either injured or knackered so I had a makeshift side out but we still got the victory and that ends 2033!!!

--

SUMMARY

We had a very strong month here. We firstly claimed the Betfred Cup by beating Aberdeen 4-2 despite falling behind twice and then came the one downside as we lost our final Champions League group match 3-0 to PSG which knocked us out. We didnt disgrace ourselves in the group and will have a right good go in the Europa League as I dont fear any of the teams that we are up against!

In the league we drew with Hearts but then strung together 4 victories including a tremendous 5-0 humiliation of Rangers in the Old Firm derby. As a result we are 11pts clear at the top and it is a case of when and not if we are going to win the title.

Congratulations to my young striker - Billy McMahon. He won the European Golden Boy award and joins the likes of Fati, Stafidas and Smiljkovic who have won it under my sides.

Finally - the Chelsea job came up and I did go in for it and got an interview but they decided to appoint Marcelo Gallardo instead.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
FRANCOIS ANDRE

--

SPL

​

 

[Klippybo]

DECEMBER

Scottish Cup 4th Round

Lineup - Smart, Oliver, Kerr, Neilson, Malitoli, Gray, Dingwall, Dembele*, Ecrepont, Atkins (Hutchinson), Shearer

My backups win this one comfortably and it might be the perfect send off for Karamoko Dembele as we have accepted a bid for him from a Chinese club and he banged in a hat-trick!!

--

Lineup - Smart, Hill, Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Gray, De **** (Dingwall), Andrejic, Hojiev, Andre*, Shearer

I am ****** off with this result. We should have won and had a Dingwall goal disallowed but how their was 5min of injury time is beyond me.

--

Lineup - Smart, Hill (Oliver), Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Gray*, Dingwall (Lopez), Andrejic, Hojiev, Andre, Shearer (Agudelo)

We bounced back with a decent win here. Stuart Gray put in another top notch performance and he has come in from nowhere to be a key player in my squad. Andre now has 19 goals for the season while Andrejic is also in double figures.

--

Lineup - Smart, Hill, Wlodawski, Deronjic*, Makelele, Gray, Dingwall, Andrejic (Mehmedovic), Hojiev (Agudelo), Andre, Shearer

My recent signing, Admir Mehmedovic, made his debut here and he ended up scoring the winner with a fine finish. Dundee United are an average side but we usually struggle against them.

--

Lineup - Smart, Hill (Oliver), Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Gray, Dingwall, Andrejic, Hojiev*, Andre, Shearer

Dejan Hojiev scored a superb hat-trick here to give us the win and another one over Darren Ferguson the Hamilton manager. Shearer had a goal disallowed and I swear he has had more disallowed than has been allowed!!!

--

Lineup - Smart, Hill, Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Gray, De **** (Lopez), Andrejic, Hojiev*, Andre (Piedra), Shearer (Agudelo)

Norberto Piedra came in the day before the game and came off the bench to make his debut here. Andre netted his 20th of the season and Hojiev struck with a free-kick.

--

SUMMARY

Our lead in the table is now 14pts despite us drawing with St. Johnstone as Rangers slipped up a few times. We werent at our best this month once we returned from the winter break but the results were decent enough.

Loads of transfer news. I missed out on one of my main transfer targets as he joined AC Milan instead but I still managed to bring in 3 players for the first team, made us broke and also got a couple of youngsters in.

Going out however was Karamoko Dembele. He scored a hat-trick against Dunfermline in the cup and the very next day he joined Beijing for £17.5m (£20m) so he needed replaced. Billy Bradley joined Hibs on loan, Gary Handling went to QPR for £4m while I sold a couple of reserve players also. Chelsea also recalled Sean Atkins from his loan spell the day before deadline day so he needed to be replaced also.

Now for the incomings. I really wanted a top quality CM and after missing out on my main target I plumped for a 24y/o Colombian. German Rios is his name and he joined from Spurs for £33m. He prefers to play as an AMC but with Agudelo and Hojiev I am well stocked there so Rios will play at CM. He is a wonderful player, at a good age, not taking a huge wage and I am delighted with this signing.

I had to replace Sean Atkins unfortunately on deadline day but I have replaced him with a hot prospect. Norberto Piedra will turn 19 next month but he has bags of potential and if he develops well we will have a world beater on our hands and he is another top quality young player in my squad.

To replace Dembele I signed an experienced player. Admir Mehmedovic joined on loan from PSG and he made an instant impact by scoring on his debut. The 27y/o Montenegro international is a quality player and will provide a short term solution until the summer.

I signed a couple of prospects and one deserves a screenshot as I brought in a young Brazilian keeper, Alan, on a free transfer. He will join my reserves but I will look to farm him or Finlayson out next season.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
DALER HOJIEV

--

SPL

​

 

[Klippybo]

FEBRUARY

Scottish Cup 5th Round

Lineup - Smart, Hill (Malitoli), Wlodawski*, Deronjic, Makelele, Lopez, De **** (Gray), Andrejic, Hojiev, Andre, Shearer

Wlodawski scored a late winner as we struggled to beat Motherwell here. We were the better side throughout but just struggled to get the goals. McMahon will be back soon so Shearer's run in the side will be over.

--

Lineup - Smart, Hill, Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele*, Lopez, De ****, Andrejic (Mehmedovic), Hojiev, Andre (Piedra), Shearer (Agudelo)

A boring bog standard win but Mehmedovic came off the bench again to score so its 2 in 2 for him but he hasnt played an hour of football for me yet lol. With the Europa League campaign about to kick off my backup players will hopefully still get plenty of chances to impress.

--

Lineup - Smart, Malitoli, Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Lopez (Gray), De *****, Andrejic, Hojiev, Andre, Shearer (McMahon)

In my first XI, Andrejic is the person who is most at risk of losing his place so for him to score twice is a decent effort. Billy McMahon returned from injury here after being out for around a third of the season.

--

UEFA Europa League 1st Round 1st Leg

Lineup - Smart, Oliver, Neilson, Neilson, Kerr, Malitoli, Gray*, Dingwall (Ecrepont), Mehmedovic (Andrejic), Agudelo, Piedra, Shearer (McMahon)

Cukaricki are a Serbian side and by far and away the weakest side left in the tournament so it wasnt a great surprise that my backups easily brushed them aside. Piedra got his first goal for us while Shearer did score but as usual had one disallowed lol.

--

Lineup - Smart, Malitoli, Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Lopez (Rios), De Lock, Andrejic (Mehmedovic), Hojiev, Andre, Shearer (McMahon)

Absolutely pathetic. Yes we had a goal disallowed (Andrejic), yes they scored with their only shot on target but we were atrocious. The only saving grace is that Aberdeen are a team that I support so I bear them no ill will. We also failed to score for the first time in the league this season.

--

UEFA Europa League 1st Round 2nd Leg

Lineup - Smart, Oliver, Neilson, Kerr, Malitoli, Rios, Gray (Dingwall), Mehmedovic, Agudelo (Ecrepont), Piedra (Hutchinson), Shearer

We were already through from the first leg but I am still disappointed that we didnt win this match. Lewis Neilson put us ahead with his first goal for the club but they levelled and we couldnt find the winner.

--

Scottish Cup Quarter-Final

Lineup - Smart, Malitoli, Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Lopez, De ****, Andrejic, Agudelo (Rios) (Mehmedovic), Piedra, McMahon (Shearer)

A disgraceful performance. We didnt show up and were well beaten and as a result we lose our hold on the Scottish Cup. We never looked like scoring and to make matters worse both Agudelo and Rios picked up injuries with Rios being out for 2 months!!!

--

SUMMARY

Its fair to say that this month was a shocker for us. Results on the field were very poor as we lost to Aberdeen in the league and were dumped out of the Scottish Cup by Rangers. Plus we drew 1-1 with Cukaricki which was also not acceptable. Our confidence is as low as a snakes belly right now in all honesty!

Also my confidence in winning this seasons Europa League took a big dent as I didnt realise there were sides still to come into the competition who I presumed won their group stages so the likes of Atletico Madrid, Roma and Man Utd have now entered which is a big blow to our chances. We have been drawn against Lazio though.

I expect better next month!!!!

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
RODRIGO WLODAWSKI

--

SPL

​

 

[Klippybo]

MARCH

Lineup - Smart, Malitoli, Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Lopez, De ****, Andrejic (Ecrepont), Mehmedovic, Andre (Piedra), McMahon*

We get revenge of our cup exit a few days ago by going to Ibrox and humbling them in front of their own support. Billy McMahon got the 2 goals and he also forced a 3rd goal but it was disallowed unfortunately. We need to get some players back fit though - all 3 of my AMCs are injured!!!

--

Lineup - Smart, Malitoli, Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Lopez*, De ****, Mehmedovic (Gray), Ecrepont, Andre (Piedra), McMahon (Shearer)

We are so far away from our expected level it is untrue but we got away with it here. Ken Ecrepont scored his first goal for us to give us the lead and then Wlodawski popped up with a late goal to make it safe although we did concede a late goal which was a bit of a worry.

--

UEFA Europa League 2nd Round 1st Leg

Lineup - Smart, Malitoli, Wlodawski, Deronjic*, Makelele, Gray (Dingwall), De ****, Mehmedovic (Andrejic), Ecrepont, Andre, McMahon (Shearer)

A terrific result as not only do we beat Lazio but we keep a clean sheet too which is all important. We deserved the win though and we limited Lazio to very few opportunities.

--

Lineup - Smart, Malitoli, Wlodawski, Deronjic (Neilson), Makelele, Lopez (Dingwall), De ****, Mehmedovic, Ecrepont (Andrejic), Andre*, McMahon

WOW!!!! No complaints here as we thrash Partick 7-0. After a string of pretty poor performances I was expecting a breakthrough game and here it is!!! Andre got the MOM award as he scored 1 and assisted 2 although Wlodawski and Mehmedovic really impressed also plus McMahon scored 1 terrific goal.

This win secures our Champions League spot for next season and a transfer budget of £30m will be handed to me.

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UEFA Europa League 2nd Round 2nd Leg

Lineup - Smart, Malitoli, Wlodawski*, Deronjic, Makelele, Lopez (Dingwall), De ****, Mehmedovic (Andrejic), Ecrepont, Andre, McMahon (Shearer)

For 88min there was nothing in this match and it was a snooze fest but then on 89min they scored and we were heading into extra-time but then in stoppage time Kieran Shearer got in behind their defence and finished easily past a goalkeeper who was so out of position it was unreal!!!

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Lineup - Smart, Malitoli (Gray), Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Lopez, De **** (Dingwall), Mehmedovic, Ecrepont (Andrejic), Andre, McMahon*

A fine win as we follow up a 7-0 league win with a 5-0 one. McMahon scored a hat-trick but I want to give a shout out to Rodrigo Wlodawski as the CB has scored in our last 3 league games!!!!

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SUMMARY

We picked up this month and I put that all down to our opening game of the month against Rangers 2-1 away from home which was a huge result. We went on to narrowly beat Hearts and then we thrashed Partick 7-0 and Morton 5-0 to end the month 16pts clear and possibly just 1 win away from securing the title.

In the Europa League we managed to edge out Lazio after beating them 1-0 at home and drawing with them away thanks to a stoppage time goal from Kieran Shearer which was his moment of the season so far. In the quarter-finals we are up against my old side, Hamburg, so that will be a decent encounter and I fancy our chances tbh but after that we will face either Benfica or Real Betis.

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PLAYER OF THE MONTH
RODRIGO WLODAWSKI

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SPL

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SCOTLAND

Friendly

Lineup - Smart, Hill (Malitoli), Gebbie (Dunn), Neilson, Hickey, Gray, Dingwall (Turnbull), McLaughlin*, Devlin (Crawford), Kerr (Shearer), McMahon

My first game as national team manager and we get a good win. By no means is this my first choice XI as we were missing several players and I ended up featuring no less than 8 of my Celtic players!!! Matthew Hill got his international debut as did Peter Crawford of Liverpool (an 18y/o wonderkid) and David Kerr of Borussia Monchengladbach who I had at Man Utd when I was there.
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[Klippybo]

APRIL

Lineup - Smart, Hill (Malitoli), Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Lopez (Gray), De ****, Andrejic, Ecrepont (Agudelo), Andre, McMahon*

CHAMPIONS!!!!

We only needed a win to seal the title and it was duly done here so we head into the split knowing I can rest my players for the Europa League but I have so many players out injured still then that may be difficult lol.

Also this title win means I am top of the managerial hall of fame for Europe - and with so many trophies left to win too!!!

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UEFA Europa League Quarter-Final 1st Leg

Lineup - Smart, Hill, Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele (Malitoli), Lopez, De ****, Andrejic, Agudelo (Hojiev), Andre (Piedra), McMahon

I still had a soft spot for Hamburg before this game but no more as they have none of the players that I had there. We got the win thanks to a McMahon goal and they had a goal disallowed. Seeing my Cetlic side as they are just now and comparing them to my Hamburg side back then my Celtic side are far better than what my Hamburg side were - we just need to continue to improve and hopefully get a bit of luck!!!!

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UEFA Europa League Quarter-Final 2nd Leg

Lineup - Smart, Malitoli (Mehmedovic), Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Lopez (Gray), De ****, Andrejic, Agudelo (Hojiev), Andre, McMahon*

We dispose of Hamburg but we made hard work of it in the end. 2-0 down at half-time we needed that all important away goal and was duly supplied by Billy McMahon. They pushed for their aggregate winner but in the end we scored on the counter attack through McMahon again to see us through into the semis.

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Lineup - Smart, Hill, Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Gray, De *****, Andrejic (Mehmedovic), Agudelo (Hojiev), Piedra, McMahon (Shearer)

We get the win but it should have been by a lot more. Andrejic had a goal disallowed and Piedra missed a penalty before Matthew Hill put us in front with his 1st of the season. They then equalised with their only shot on goal but fortunately Kieran Shearer came off the bench to head us in front and then he had a goal disallowed too.

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UEFA Europa League Semi-Final 1st Leg

Lineup - Smart, Malitoli, Wlodawski*, Deronjic, Makelele (Dingwall), Gray, De ****, Mehmedovic, Hojiev, Andre (Piedra), McMahon (Shearer)

Fantastic. We win 2-0 thanks to a terrific team performance and naturally I am delighted with the two goals I am ecstatic with the clean sheet. We must not let this 2 goal lead slip in the 2nd leg!!!!

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Lineup - Smart, Oliver, Kerr, Neilson, Malitoli, Gray (Ecrepont), Dingwall, Andrejic, Agudelo, Piedra (Hutchinson), Shearer (Hojiev)

Embarrassing. We were 2-0 up with our only shots on target yet we still contrived to lose the game as St.Johnstone battered us in truth. Sure I played my backups but our standards are set far higher than what was on show here.

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SUMMARY

We wrapped up the league title this month with our win over St. Johnstone but we ended the month by throwing away a 2 goal lead to the same opponents to lose at the same time. The title was never really in doubt as we were 5pts clear after 7 games so our target is to reach 100pts again and for that we will need to win our final 3 matches.

Our main focus however is in the Europa League and we can almost taste the final as after knocking out my former side Hamburg we beat Real Betis 2-0 in the first leg of our semi final so all we have to do is not do anything stupid in the 2nd leg and we will have a place in the final.

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PLAYER OF THE MONTH
BILLY MCMAHON

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SPL

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[Klippybo]

MAY

UEFA Europa League Semi-Final 2nd Leg

Lineup - Smart, Malitoli, Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Lopez (Gray), De ****, Mehmedovic, Hojiev (Agudelo), Andre, McMahon (Shearer)

Job done. Sure we lost the leg but we are through to the final which will be held at the Aviva Stadium and our opponents will be Leeds United.

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Lineup - Smart, Gray, Wlodawski, Deronjic, Malitoli, Lopez, De **** (Dingwall), Mehmedovic, Hojiev (Agudelo), Andre (Piedra), Shearer

I am fuming at this result as not only did we throw away another 2 goal lead but this draw means we will not reach 100pts in the league. Kieran Shearer scored a wonder goal here though and at least we didnt get beat!

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Lineup - Smart, Oliver, Wlodawski, Kerr, Malitoli (Hill), Gray (Ecrepont), Dingwall (Rios), Andrejic, Agudelo, Piedra*, Shearer

A win and 3 goals with Piedra netting twice and Shearer scoring from outside the box again but defensively we were all over the place tbh.

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Lineup - Smart, Oliver, Wlodawski, Neilson, Malitoli, Gray (Rios), Dingwall (Ecrepont), Andrejic, Agudelo, Piedra, Shearer (McMahon*)

That rounds off the league season as Billy McMahon came off the bench to score the winner. Shearer had a goal disallowed and Piedra had a penalty saved beforehand so I was pleased that we eventually got the win.

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UEFA Europa League Final

Lineup - Smart, Hill (Gray), Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Lopez, De **** (Rios), Mehmedovic (Andrejic), Hojiev, Andre, McMahon*

UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!!!!

The result, the scoreline, the performance of Billy McMahon, the fact that we thrashed a team full of players valued over £60m including an ageing Erling Haaland - it was the perfect match. Billy McMahon ended up with 5 goals and he even had 1 disallowed as he put in the performance of all performances.

WE WIN THE EUROPA LEAGUE!!!!!!

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SUMMARY

This month was all about getting 100pts in the league and winning the Europa League and 1 of the 2 were achieved. The league target wasnt as we drew 3-3 with Rangers despite leading 3-1 with only 14min left to play and that draw meant that we ended up on 99pts - 1pt less than last season.

As for the Europa League we lost our 2nd leg tie against Real Betis but we still made it through and that took us into the final where we trounced Leeds United 6-2 with Billy McMahon scoring an incredible 5 goals in the match. That performance showed that on our day we can match anyone - we just need to do that more consistently in the Champions League!!!!

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PLAYER OF THE MONTH
BILLY MCMAHON

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