Celtic, What Now?

Celtic crashed out of the Champions League last week in Turin, as expected, but there's no reason that it should be all doom and gloom for the Scottish giants.  

It was a great year for Celtic in Europe and it has been a massive improvement on their recent adventures into Europe's top club competitions.  They hadn't reached the knock out stages of the Champions League since 2008 when they lost at the same stage to Barcelona.  In the years between there has been very little to celebrate.  In fact they have only progressed beyond two rounds in the last four seasons and one of those was when FC Sion were kicked out of the Europa League for fielding ineligible players.  It's easy to see why Hoops fans weren't brimming with confidence at the prospect of having to negotiate two qualifiers to earn a place in the group stages and a shot at the big boys.  

The campaign didn't have the best of starts when Celtic stuttered to a 2-1 home win over HJK Helsinki.  The doom and gloom merchants were out in full force talking about Celtic's poor away form and the importance of Helsinki's away goal.  Fortunately neither mattered as Celtic picked up a 2-0 win in Finland to put them into the Final qualifying round. Standing between Celtic and the group stages were Swedish champions,Helsingborgs.  The Hoops made light work of them and after a 2-0 win in Sweden they followed it up with another 2-0 win and Celtic were finally back in the big league for the first time since 2008.  

Celtic were handed a very tough draw in the group stages.  Club World Champions, Barcelona, Portuguese giants, Benfica and big spending Russians, Spartak Moscow.  Barcelona need no introduction, Benfica reached the quarter-finals last year and Spartak Moscow's squad included former Celtic star, Aiden McGeady.  On paper it looked like Celtic would do well to finish third in the group but Neil Lennon's men had other ideas. 

Celtic got off to a bad start drawing 0-0 at home to Benfica which had them on the back foot straight away.  However, a 3-2 win in Moscow got the dream back on track and left Celtic on four points from two games.  Next up was a double header with Barcelona.  Going into stoppage time in Camp Nou Celtic looked like earning an unlikely point but with the last kick of the game Jordi Alba netted from close range to break the hearts of Celtic fans all over the world.  In the home game things went a lot better and although Barcelona scored another goal in the dying minutes, Celtic were already 2-0 up by that stage and hung on for a famous victory.  Celtic travelled to Portugal in their penultimate game knowing a win would secure qualification to the knockout stages.  It wasn't to be though and Benfica ran out 2-1 winners to set up a nail biting finish to the group.  The equation was simple; Celtic needed to better Benfica's result in Barcelona in their home tie against Spartak Moscow. Benfica to their credit picked up a credible draw in Camp Nou but Celtic weren't to be denied and Kris Commons scored a late penalty to send Celtic into the last sixteen. 

The draw was once again tough on Celtic and they were pitted against Italian champions, Juventus.  Unfortunately, Celtic had met their match and Juventus ran out rather flattering winners with an aggregate score of 5-0. It was a tough game for Celtic and despite performing well for the majority of the tie Juventus had too much quality and progressed to the last eight.  

It was a fantastic experience for the team, the coaching staff and the fans. A lot of people will have a lot of happy memories from this year but it's gone now and I'm more interested in what happens next.  

It has become apparent since Neil Lennon has taken charge that the clubs transfer policy has changed.  For years Celtic have had a habit of signing older players with little or no sell on value.  Aside from a few free transfers in his first year in charge, Lennon has concentrated on bringing in younger players playing outside the top leagues with high potential.  This policy has saw players like Joe Ledley, Gary Hooper, Beram Kayal, Emilio Izaguirre,Fraser Forster, Tony Watt, Adam Matthews, Victor Wanyama and Efe Ambrose arrive at the club.  If anyone of those were to leave the club this summer,Celtic would see a handsome profit on their initial investment.

Many Celtic fans would like to see those players stay but unfortunately it doesn't work that way.  Some players will leave and the money generated from their sales will be reinvested into the next generation of young talent and a few of the current players will receive pay rises.  Whilst Celtic are in a solid financial position they are not in the position to throw silly money into transfer fees or players wages.  The majority of the other clubs in the last sixteen are paying individual players annual salaries in the same region as what this entire Celtic team cost to buy.  Teams in England's Premier League earn almost as much from the league's television deal as Celtic's entire annual turnover.  The numbers quite simply don't add up.  

Celtic as a club had to come up with a plan to maximise the clubs potential. Fortunately, they came up with a model similar in style to the one that Lyon used so successfully in the 2000s.  Lyon were in a similar situation, successful domestically but not making an impact on the European stage.  The club began developing young talent and after selling them on at a healthy profit, they reinvested in the next generation of young talent.  Some of this talent included names like Michael Essien, Florent Malouda, Juninho Pernambucano, Éric Abidal,Mahamadou Diarra and Karim Benzema.  Lyon enjoyed a great period of dominance in France as well as reaching three Champions League quarter-finals and a semi-final.  In their first year back in the Champions League, Celtic reached the last sixteen so I see absolutely no reason why reaching the Quarter-Finals in the next few seasons is out of the question.

As well as young talent on the pitch, Celtic also have a young management team. Manager, Neil Lennon is 41 and is assisted by Johan Mjallby (42) and Garry Parker (47).  If I'm completely honest I'm not 100% convinced by Neil Lennon.  I absolutely love the guy and regardless of how his managerial stint at the club turns out he has already earned his place in Celtic folklore but I find myself totally bemused at some of his decisions. In recent weeks he has made some increasingly bizarre decisions that I simply cannot agree with or even begin to understand. 

The biggest and possibly most costly mistake was the decision to play Efe Ambrose in the first leg against Juventus.  In hindsight it turned out to be a terrible decision but I can confirm that I am not simply jumping on the bandwagon.  I wrote a preview of the Juventus game and wrote "Efe Ambrose is a good player but I can't see how Celtic can put a player into the biggest game of the season who has had the lack of preparation that he has."  The Juventus game was the biggest of our season and the team won't have played the Inverness game on the Saturday and then started to prepare for the Juventus game.  They will have been preparing for that game for weeks and for all of that preparation, Ambrose was in South Africa representing his country.  I don't think many other managers would have played Ambrose in those circumstances and it was a gamble that backfired spectacularly. 

Another recent incident also involved Ambrose. He was substituted in the first half against Dundee.  He had made a few mistakes in that game and looked to be low on confidence. Celtic's following game was a top of the table clash with Motherwell.  The game was tight with the score at 1-1 when Lennon decided to bring on an out of form Ambrose.  If you want to build a players confidence the last thing you do is bring him into a big game like that.  Sure enough, Ambrose was at fault for the goal that saw Motherwell take the lead. Lennon still wasn’t finished though. Right after the goal he decided to put Victor Wanyama into defence and moved Ambrose into centre midfield.  At2-1 down Celtic were going to be pushing forward and needed their best players in more advanced positions.  I am completely baffled at what Lennon was thinking by effectively taking the one player who could drive the team forward out of his best position to play defence and replacing him with an out of form player whose confidence was at zero. 

Having said all this, in the European run Lennon did get his tactics spot on in most of the games.  I would argue that the Barcelona win went to his head a little and it led to him fielding a very attacking team against Benfica which led to us getting over ran in midfield which cost us at least a point but in the end it didn't matter.  He is a young manager and I genuinely hope he learns from these mistakes as I don't think there is a Celtic fan on the planet who could take any satisfaction in seeing Neil Lennon struggle as Celtic manager.  Nothing would please me more than in a few years time to be talking about how great a manager Neil Lennon is but as things stand the jury is still out.

Next up for Celtic is trying to secure a domestic double.  The league looks a certainty despite two league defeats in a row.  Celtic are fifteen points ahead of second placed Motherwell with just eight games remaining.  To be honest I would say Celtic have already got enough points to secure the title as the teams from second to eleventh are tightly grouped and have been taking points off each other on a regular basis.  To complete the double Celtic will have to beat Dundee Utd in the Scottish Cup Semi-Final and then the winners of Hibs v Falkirk in the Final. Obviously, Celtic will be hot favourites but there are no guarantees in Scottish football and Hibs in particular will fancy their chances as Celtic are yet to beat them in the SPL this season. 

This summer will inevitably see some players leaving.  I would expect Gary Hooper and Victor Wanyama to leave.  Both are exceptionally talented and in my opinion are ready to make the next step in their careers.  Celtic spent less than £3m to sign them and I would be expecting huge profits on both players.  The profits won't be as big as they may have been with both players contracts due to expire in 2014 but they should still pull in a combined fee in the region of £10-15m.  I would expect a good bit of that money to be reinvested but not necessarily on direct replacements.  Tony Watt looks like a younger version of Hooper and I would expect him to get more time on the pitch.  For Wanyama's place I would expect Beram Kayal to get an increased workload and the young Australian, Tom Rogic also looks to be one for the future.  Before Wanyama's arrival Kayal looked superb and he was being linked with some of the top clubs in the Premier League.  There's no reason why he can't rediscover that form if he gets regular games.

If newspaper reports are to be believed Celtic also face losing Joe Ledley, Fraser Forster and James Forrest in the summer. I don't think any of these players will leave this year.  Ledley's contract is up next year but unlike Hooper, he is already an established international and it's unlikely that he would get a move to one of the Champions League clubs so it’s in his best interests to stay at Celtic and I would expect to see him sign a new deal that will put him among the top earners at the club. Forster only signed for us permanently last summer and I would expect we will keep him for one more year at least. Forrest is still very young and I think his future in the game would benefit from another few years at Celtic. One player I think will leave is Efe Ambrose.  Things have turned into a nightmare for him since his return from international duty and I feel his indiscipline in Turin when he missed the bus to training will have been his last chance and going on his recent performances it's no big loss to Celtic. 

Even if Ambrose stays I think Celtic need to look to strengthen the defence,particular the central area.  Kelvin Wilson has progressed well in that position but other than Charlie Mulgrew, I have little faith in any of the other options. If we can bring in a decent centre-back and build from there, I'd be confident of another successful season among the cream of Europe's footballing giants.

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Manchester United v Real Madrid Preview

Tonight should be a great night for football fans as two of Europe's giants go head to head in the Champions League.  Manchester United and Real Madrid are arguably Europe's biggest clubs but there's only room for one of them in the Quarter-Finals of Europe's elite competition.  They drew 1-1 three weeks ago in Madrid to set up what should be a breathtaking night at Old Trafford. 

The game is packed with some of the best players in the world with players like Nemanja Vidic, Wayne Rooney and Robin Van Persie going head to head with Xabi Alonso, Mesut Ozil and Cristiano Ronaldo.  It's not just on the pitch that world class competitors will be going head to head.  There will be another heavyweight battle in the dugouts as Sir Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho do battle.  These two are right at the top in the management game and although there is a mutual respect between them, both are ultra competitive and would love to add the others scalp to their already overloaded CV's. 

I am a complete neutral in this one and have no love for either club.  In England and Spain I follow Leeds United and Barcelona so I am used to cheering against both sides.  Having said that, as a football fan I have a lot of respect for the players and coaches on show as there's not many better in the game.  All I can hope for is a good game, played in the right way by two world class sides with two world class coaches. 

My biggest fear is that the two sides will take a cautious approach and cancel each other out.  As much attacking quality as there is between the teams, the two coaches are more than capable of setting up their teams not to lose.  Fortunately, the 1-1 draw in the first leg means that a dull game would benefit Manchester United more and I simply cannot see Sir Alex setting up his team to play defensively against anyone at Old Trafford.  I have no doubt however that Mourinho will have a plan in place to spoil the game if his side score the first goal. 

Tactically, I would expect to see them both line up in the 4-2-3-1 formation.  United are without Phil Jones and I would expect Tom Cleverley to take his place alongside Michael Carrick in midfield.  Kagawa, Rooney and Welbeck should line up across the attacking midfield area supporting Robin Van Persie in attack.  Defensively, I would expect to see De Gea in nets behind a back four of Rafael, Evra and two from Ferdinand, Vidic and Evans.  For Real, I would expect to see Lopez in goal behind Arbeloa, Varane, Ramos and Coentrao.  In midfield Xabi Alonso and Sami Khedira should provide the muscle to allow Ronaldo, Ozil and Di Maria to join Benzema in attack. 

I can see this game being one of the classics but as far as predictions go, I'll leave that to someone else.  It's almost impossible to call.  United could simply roll over a Madrid side who have struggled on their travels all year or Madrid could outclass United with their technical superiority.  Equally Ramos could throw the head up and get himself sent off or Ronaldo could once again grace a stage he has many happy memories of and send Madrid into the last eight.  You want a prediction?  Get a coin and flip it.  Heads says United win and tails says Real win.  It really is that tight. 

AC Milan v Barcelona Preview

Tonight sees two of Europe's biggest clubs go head to head in the San Siro in a huge Champions League clash.  AC Milan and Barcelona are two of the biggest names in European football and it promises to be a fantastic spectacle.

Milan have the better history in this competition but Barcelona will be favourites when you consider the two sides current standing in world football.  Milan have been on a downward slide in recent times as their players ages have caught up with them.  They are now bringing in some younger players in an attempt to build another great Milan side but surely it's too much to ask a transitional Milan to beat one of the best club sides of all time. 

This Barcelona team are without doubt the best club side I've ever saw but maybe if I was just a few years older I might consider the great Milan team of the early 90's a rival to them.  I remember that team in flashes and even watched the 1994 Champions League Final as a nine year old when Milan battered Barcelona 4-0.  I was a little too young to truly appreciate that team and the only other rivals to Barcelona in my generation would be the Galactico's.  It is no doubt tight but in my opinion this Barcelona team are better.  Older readers may point to old Ajax, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid teams but I'm too young to consider them. 

Milan and Barcelona met four times last year in this competition after being drawn together in the group stages and the Quarter-Finals.  Barca got the better of the battles last year with two wins and two draws in the four games. Since then Milan have lost Gennaro Gattuso, Clarence Seedorf, Alessandro Nesta, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Thiago Silva.  Gattuso, Seedorf and Nesta were all getting a bit old but Ibrahimovic and Silva are players that are irreplaceable.  If a team that included those five were unable to get one over Barcelona I can't see this current team doing the job either.   

For tonight's game, Milan's new star striker, Mario Balotelli, misses out as he is cup tied.  Barcelona are also without one of their strikers.  David Villa misses out but Barca have plenty of other attacking options and his absence will not be as crucial to Barcelona as Balotelli's is to Milan.  Both sides are in good form however.  Both are unbeaten in six games and after a slow start Milan have lost just one of their last thirteen Serie A games.  Barcelona's league form has been terrific and even at this early stage it looks as though it's just a matter of time before they officially take Real Madrid's league crown off them.   

I am looking forward to this game as I watch Barcelona on a regular basis so know exactly what they are capable of.  I don't watch a lot of Milan so I am eager to get a look at this new team but I would have to say that in the little I have saw of them I don't think they are close to being on the same level as Barcelona.  I think we could see another Champions League mismatch similar to last night's tie between Arsenal and Bayern Munich.  I have no doubt that Barcelona will come out on top in this tie and I would be quite surprised if they don't go home to Spain with a lead.

Football, The Biggest Loser

This blog is called GJ Sports Blog for a reason. I intended to use it and my Twitter account to discuss nothing other than sports. I never had any intention of using it to discuss politics but unfortunately sport and politics met in the ugliest of manners yesterday in North Belfast. Cliftonville and Crusaders were due to meet at Seaview, home of Crusaders, in a vital league match. The two sides currently sit in the top two places of the IFA Premiership and as things stand it looks like one of them will end the year as league champions. Neither side are in the habit of winning the league title, it has been fifteen years since Cliftonville won it and sixteen years since Crusaders won it. This should have been a great day for football in North Belfast. Unfortunately what materialised was something no right minded individual or football fan would have wanted. A protest took place which I will go further into later and the Police Service of Northern Ireland were unable to guarantee safe passage to the stadium for the Cliftonville fans and the game was therefore postponed.

I know that most of the hits this blog gets are not from Northern Ireland so I will give a bit of background on the situation. Politics in Northern Ireland are not quite like any other country. Unfortunately people don't care what political parties thoughts are on education, health, social welfare. People in this country will vote for someone or not vote for someone purely because they are catholic or protestant, British or Irish. It's a quite ridiculous state of affairs but unfortunately that's the country I live in and to be honest it sickens me. There are a lot of potentially good politicians who will never get the opportunity to make a difference as they either stand as independents or live in the wrong constituency. On the other hand there are as many idiots who get elected every time purely because they attach themselves to one of the big parties and people only care about what you are and not what you can do. Until this country moves beyond the green and orange divide it has no future. Sadly that doesn't seem like it will happen any time soon as any time there is trouble in Northern Ireland it always seems to be young people on the streets rioting. These people are younger than me and I only have vague memories of a time when the troubles were at their worst. Unfortunately we still seem to be teaching bigotry to our children and until that changes then I'm afraid to say this country has no chance.

Today's protest was the latest in a long line of protests throughout Northern Ireland about the decision by Belfast City Council to remove the Union flag from Belfast City Hall. As it was the flag flew 365 days a year but after a vote on 3rd December 2012 it was decided that the flag would only fly on eighteen designated days. Flags and emblems have always been a huge issue in Northern Ireland. Catholic areas will often fly the Irish tricolour and protestant areas will fly the Union flag. In the last election the nationalist (Catholics) gained a majority and were therefore able to get the motion passed and the flag now only flies on the eighteen designated days. Since then unionists and loyalists (Protestants) have took part in protests all over Northern Ireland in opposition to this decision. The majority have passed off peacefully but unfortunately on some occasions these protests have ended in violence. In recent weeks these protests have usually took place around the area of Belfast City Hall on a Saturday afternoon. There had been no protests at Seaview until today. Maybe I'm paranoid but I don't think it's a coincidence that the protesters picked today to hold a protest outside Seaview when Cliftonville, a team with a majority nationalist/catholic support were due to play at the stadium. It is nothing other than bigotry and there is absolutely no place for it in football or society in general.

It's important that I make it clear that this was in no way the fault of Crusaders Football Club. Crusaders have been working alongside Cliftonville in recent times to ensure that religious differences were kept away from this game and unfortunately for them they will ultimately be the biggest losers from this. The game will have to be played at some point and as I see it we are now left with just two options. The powers that be may decide to move the game to another venue as it can't be guaranteed that the protesters won't block the roads on the day that the game is to be replayed. The other option is the game goes ahead at Seaview with restrictions on travelling fans. Neither option will be ideal for Crusaders and regardless of what happens the game will now be played during the week which will reduce the attendance further and Crusaders will lose out on a lot of money. My opinion on what will happen is that the game will be played at Seaview but that Cliftonville fans will be forced to travel to the game on buses which is quite ridiculous when you consider that the journey would take less than five minutes on a bus. Many Cliftonville fans have already said that they won't go to Seaview if they are forced to go on a bus and not only are Crusaders losing revenue but the Cliftonville team will be without much needed support.

For me, the PSNI also have to accept most of the responsibility. They allowed protesters to gather on a route were they knew over a thousand football fans were due to pass on the way to a game. I was at Seaview earlier in the season for the first meeting between the clubs and the police presence was bordering on ridiculous. Every ten feet there was an armed police officer and dozens of Police Jeeps lined the streets. All for a football match were there has been no history of trouble between fans. Residents in the local area have made accusations of damaged property and sectarian abuse in the area but despite residents standing on the streets and in their gardens videoing fans, no evidence to back up these accusations has ever emerged. Police are obviously taking this seriously as the sheer volume of them is a lot more than I've ever saw at any other football match.

I was in Belfast early yesterday as I live over 30 miles away and had to collect a ticket I had ordered online from the Cliftonville shop. I was making my way down the Antrim Road at just after 1pm, two hours before kick off and there was already a heavy presence in the area that the Cliftonville fans were due to meet for the walk down to Seaview. I refuse to believe that there wasn't a similar presence in and around Seaview. Surely once even one person arrived in that area the police should have moved them on instead of standing watching them and allowing a situation to develop that they were no longer able or wanted to control. Being a Celtic fan and an Irish Catholic I've been accused of paranoia on many occasions but perhaps some clear thinking, better educated individual than myself can explain to me how a police force with a history of removing protesters forcibly, stood back and allowed a small crowd of people to cause disruption on such a huge scale. I'm all for allowing people their right to protest. In fact I have joined in many protests in my time, usually anti-war, against job cuts or poor pay but I have walked on the streets alongside fellow protesters as I felt a sense of injustice about something. The difference is that this protest took place to spoil a football match between two clubs who have been working together to keep these sort of issues away from their football clubs. The police handled this situation very poorly and I would like to think that neither Crusaders, Cliftonville or their fans will suffer due to their inability to handle what should have been a straight forward situation.

On a personal level, my initial shock has been overcome by anger. I had been looking forward to this match for weeks. I drove the 30 plus miles to get to Belfast and arrived around two hours before kick off to collect my ticket. I then went and sat in the car for about an hour as I had no other reason to be in Belfast whilst I waited or the organised, stewarded walk to the stadium. I got to Glandore Avenue were the fans were meeting and the Red Army were out in full force waiting for the go ahead from police to began the ten minute walk down to Seaview. Word spread quickly that a protest was under way down the road but we were then told that things were fine and the delay was just to make sure all the Cliftonville fans had arrived before setting off. Shortly afterwards a club official told us that there were issues down the road due to a protest and that unless the police gave assurances that the fans would get into and out of the ground safely the game would be called off. The next thing we were told was that the kick off had been delayed but that we were about to move. We got about twenty feet down the road before we were stopped again and this time people were saying that a riot was under way outside the ground and shortly after we were told that the game was postponed. Credit to the hundreds of Cliftonville fans who were gathered as once the game was postponed, they dispersed without any fuss. I have to be honest and say that I feared the worst as with a crowd that size, it only takes one idiot to start trouble but there was none of that and people were obviously disappointed but turned on their heels and made their back to the Antrim Road to get on with whatever they had planned for the rest of the day.

No doubt there will be much wrote about what happened but it is very important to remember that this had nothing to do with football, Crusaders, Cliftonville or the IFA. This was a bunch of bigots who choose to target a football match to get publicity for their cause and the inability of this countries police force to deal with it. The sad thing is that politicians will be trying to jump on this to gain votes and that is going to complicate things. If this issue was left to football people and only football people it would be sorted in no time but like everything else in this country it will be turned into a religious issue and politicians will point the finger at anyone for a vote and I have no faith in them to point their fingers at the right people. Sadly, it's football and it's supporters, whether catholic or protestant who are the biggest losers.

Celtic v Juventus Preview

The UEFA Champions League returns tonight and it promises to be a fantastic night at Paradise as Scottish champions, Celtic take on Italian giants, Juventus.  It will no doubt be a tough test for Neil Lennon's men but they should have nothing to fear.  They have already beat Barcelona at Celtic Park and came within seconds of a draw at the Nou Camp.  This is a special Celtic team with some special players and I hope they're not done with their European adventure yet. 

History would suggest that this will be a hard game for the Italians.  Celtic have faced two legged ties with Italian clubs on nine occasions and have never lost the home leg at Celtic Park.  Juventus have been to Paradise twice and lost on both occasions, most recently in 2001.  Celtic also have an exceptional record at home in the Champions League.  In 23 home games, they have lost just twice.  Both of those defeats came at the hands of Barcelona.  Neil Lennon spoke about bringing the thunder back to Celtic Park.  Not only has he succeeded in doing that, he has also gave the fans a team that can compete with the very best in Europe.

Juventus will most likely line up in their usual 3-5-2 formation.  They will be very strong throughout their team and will be very good technically.  Their midfield looks especially strong and will most likely include Andrea Pirlo, Paul Pogba and Arturo Vidal.  The battle between Pogba and Victor Wanyama in the midfield promises to be epic.  Both are young men who are built like heavyweight boxers.  It should be a fantastic watch and the winner of that battle could end up being the difference maker in the eventual result.  Another man Celtic have to be wary of is Pirlo.  Pirlo is thirty-three years old now but he's the sort of player who could play until he's forty.  He's not the quickest player in the world but he doesn't have to be.  All the speed he needs is in his brain.  He has the ability to see things that most players don't see and he also has the technical ability to make the pass.  If Celtic stand back and let Pirlo dictate the pace of the game then they may as well concede the tie before kick off.  Pirlo is the sort of player who warrants special attention and Neil Lennon will need a plan to reduce his impact on the outcome.

Most Celtic fans seem to be favouring a 4-3-3 but I expect to see Celtic line up in the 4-4-1-1 that served us so well in the group stages.  If it was good enough to beat Barcelona then I don't see why we would change things now.  My line up would be as follows:

GK : Fraser Forster - He is a top class goalkeeper and with Joe Hart making mistake after mistake it should only be a matter of time before he is England's number one.

RB : Adam Matthews - Matthews is probably a better attacker than defender but his pace usually gets him out of trouble and he deserves a start.

LB : Emilio Izaguirre - Similar to Matthews in that his pace is his best asset in defending.  He hasn't been as good since his injury but is still the best left-back at the club.

CB : Kelvin Wilson - Wilson has grown into his role at the club and has come a long way since a poor start to his Celtic career.  He is quick too and it's an asset I like in a centre-back.

CB : Mikael Lustig - Realistically, if Nigeria hadn't done so well in the African Cup of Nations he would have been playing right-back but as it is I'd expect him to partner Wilson at the heart of the defence.  Efe Ambrose is a good player but I can't see how Celtic can put a player into the biggest game of the season who has had the lack o preparation that he has.

RM : Scott Brown - The skipper will most likely start on the right but with Juventus playing three in the middle as well as wing-backs, I expect we will see him drift from right to middle when required.  Personally, I'd put him in the middle and play Forrest here but I'd be very surprised if Lennon does that.

LM : Charlie Mulgrew - Mulgrew's set pieces will have a big impact on this game and he can play just about everywhere but for this occasion, I think the left wings the place for him.  Like Brown, I don't think he will be restricted to the wing and will come inside when required but he will start out wide.

CM : Victor Wanyama - What a find he was?  Wanyama cost peanuts when he moved to Celtic from Germinal Beerschot but he has been a fantastic signing and is a massive reason that Celtic are at this stage in the competition.  For anyone who still doubts how good he is, just watch the Barcelona games were he was the best midfielder on show in both games.

CM : Joe Ledley - Ledley's at his best when you don't really notice him.  He just quietly gets on with things but when he's played in centre-midfield he never lets the team down.

AM : Georgios Samaras - Obviously this depends on his fitness test but I would feel a lot better about this game if the big man is playing in this role.  In this position he will have two jobs to do.  Juventus will most likely have a lot of possession and I expect Celtic to be under pressure for large periods of the game.  When he get it, we have to make it count.  Samaras is the best player we have at holding the ball up.  He can carry the ball or just hold it up to allow the midfield to get out.  He needs to be our out ball and when used in this role he has always done well.  His second job and perhaps most important job, is to babysit Andrea Pirlo.  Pirlo is an expert at finding space in the midfield and we need Samaras to shadow him when possible.  If Celtic played a normal 4-4-2 or even 4-3-3, Pirlo would just sit in the gap between the defence and his midfield colleagues and dictate the play.  With Samaras on his tail, hopefully he won't be able to do that. 

CF : Gary Hooper - Hooper is perfect for this role.  He has pace, can play football when required and if presented with an opportunity, I'm backing him to finish it.  With three centre-backs for company it will most likely be a frustrating night for him but he only needs a second to score a goal and there's no better man for the job.

I would expect to see Kris Commons and James Forrest at some stage too.  Both are quality players and if it was up to me they would be in with a shout of starting but Neil Lennon has always favoured the cautious approach and it has got us this far so it's hard to complain.  One thing I would like to see Celtic do is try to force Juventus into a 5-3-2.  By going 4-4-1-1 and having Brown and Mulgrew out wide the Juventus wing-backs will have to be careful when going forward.  If Celtic played 4-3-3, the wing-backs could push forward knowing that there's three defenders to cover Celtic's forwards and Pirlo will be just in front of them to act as a spare man.  With a 4-4-1-1, the wing-backs will know that Celtic have Samaras and Hooper ready to attack as well as two wide men and that would leave the Italians short at the back.  By doing this Celtic will be narrowing the areas they have to defend and when required, Brown and Mulgrew have plenty of experience in central areas and will be more than capable of providing the necessary cover. 

Prediction - It's a hard one to call.  Celtic need to respect Juventus as they are technically superior but we are well capable of causing them problems.  I can't see there being a lot of goals in this one and can see 0-0 or 1-0 to either side.  I'll put my neck on the line and go with a 1-0 win to the bhoys in green and white.     

Superbowl XLVII - Baltimore Ravens 34-31 San Francisco 49ers

There we have it.  Superbowl XLVII is in the books and it was the Baltimore Ravens who picked up the Lombardi Trophy after another fantastic game.  The game looked over when Jacoby Jones scored a touchdown after a 108 yard kick off return to open the second half.  It looked like something dramatic and crazy would have to happen to allow the 49ers to get back into the game.  Something dramatic and crazy like a power cut?  Obviously we can't say for definite that it changed the game but it certainly looked like the 49ers dealt with it better and came out flying after the interruption.

Up until then it had been all Baltimore and they led 28-6 when one half of the stadium was plunged into darkness.  The Ravens were well on top on both sides of the ball and had scored four touchdowns while restricting the 49ers to just two field goals.  After the break the 49ers came back with a bang and scored seventeen unanswered points to reduce the gap to five points at the end of the third quarter.  The Ravens responded with a field goal but the 49ers scored a touchdown to reduce the deficit to two points.  They decided to go for the two point conversion to level the game but the Ravens ran a blitz and the attempt failed.  In my opinion the Ravens had a bit of luck as it looked like there was an offside on the play.  As it was the officials missed it and the Ravens went on a clock killing, 10 play drive that took 5:38 off the clock.  The drive ended with a Ravens field goal that left the score at 34-29 with 4:19 remaining.  The 49ers got down to work and made good progress down the field.  After five plays the 49ers had first and goal on the Baltimore seven yard line and looked sure to score.  They tried a run play on first down that got the ball to the five and took the game to the two minute warning.  Two incompletions later and the ball was still on the five as the 49ers lined up for fourth down.  Kaepernick got a pass off and it seemed clear to everyone watching that Michael Crabtree was held but bizarrely the officials let the play go. 

The Ravens now had the ball with 1:46 left on the clock.  San Francisco had one timeout left after wasting their second one on the previous drive when it looked as though they were about to be hit with a delay of game penalty.  Due to the lack of timeouts, the Ravens were able to run the ball on the first three downs which left just twelve seconds on the clock.  Instead of punting from the back of the endzone they very cleverly took an intentional safety which allowed them to run eight seconds off the clock and then punt from their own twenty which made things a lot more difficult for the 49ers.  As it was Sam Koch hit a booming kick right down the field which Ted Ginn Jr managed to get back to midfield but after breaking a few tackles he was eventually brought down which set off the purple ticker tape much to the delight of everyone involved with the Baltimore Ravens. 

It's hard to take the victory away from the Ravens but I would point to two dubious calls late in the game which may have changed the outcome.  However, it wasn't to be and in a few years time it will only be the San Francisco 49ers fans who remember those bad calls and everyone else will remember that Joe Flacco, Ray Lewis, John Harbaugh and the Baltimore Ravens won Superbowl XLVII. 

Once again, the most important statistic in football reared it's head and the team who lost the turnovers battle, lost the game.  The Baltimore Ravens turned the ball over once and the 49ers turned it over twice.  The 49ers went close to beating that stat but not close enough and in each of this years eleven playoff games, the winner of the turnover battle was the winner of the game.  If that doesn't underline how important it is to take care of the football, then nothing will. 

The San Francisco 49ers put together a good run this year and got an extra step closer to success but they will no doubt be developing a few scars after last years defeat in the NFC title game and this years Superbowl loss.  I imagine next seasons mantra will be, "one more win" or something to that effect.  The 49ers deserve a lot of credit for their performances in the last two years but as an Eagles fan I know as well as anyone that when you make it to these games, you have to take advantage of it as it can all go very wrong, very quickly. 

In the game itself, Colin Kaepernick finished with 302 yards, a touchdown and an interception.  On the ground he ran for 62 yards and a touchdown.  Michael Crabtree and Vernon Davis were his leading receivers.  Crabtree caught 5 passes for 109 yards and a touchdown.  Davis caught 6 passes for 104 yards.  Frank Gore also had a good game on the ground, rushing for 110 yards and a touchdown. 

The Ravens struggled on the ground and averaged just 2.7 yards per carry.  Ray Rice picked up 59 yards from 20 carries and Bernard Pierce ran for 33 yards from 12 carries.  Anquan Boldin was their leading receiver, catching 6 passes for 104 yards and a touchdown.  Jacoby Jones also had a great day, catching a 56 yard touchdown pass and he also returned a kickoff for a 108 yard touchdown.  All those players played well but the MVP for this game and right through the playoffs was Joe Flacco.  Flacco completed two thirds of his passes for 287 yards and 3 touchdowns.  He has been outstanding throughout and nobody deserves more credit for this Superbowl win than Joe Flacco.  He has been a bit of a joke figure throughout his career but eleven touchdowns and no interceptions on the way to a Superbowl victory is the best way anyone can stick two fingers up to their critics.  Flacco will now get a huge contract with the Ravens and if he can carry his current form into next season then there's no doubt that Flacco will be in that elite bracket with other Superbowl champions like Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers. 

No Superbowl review would be complete without mentioning the two stories that dominated the build up to the big game, Ray Lewis' retirement and the battle of the Harbaugh brothers.  Ray Lewis got the end to his hall of fame career that he could only have dreamt of.  No professional sports man fits the marmite tag more than Lewis.  Some hate him, some love him but nobody can deny that on the field he has been a pleasure to watch over the years and will go down as one of the best linebackers in the games illustrious history. 

The other story was the amazing circumstances that led to two brothers standing on opposing sidelines.  Jim and John Harbaugh have proven themselves to be excellent coaches in the NFL and with them both being in the early stages of their careers, this may not be the last time that they go head to head in the Superbowl.  It is an amazing story though and when you consider the amount of coaches at every NFL franchise and throughout college football it is remarkable that they have been able to work their way up the coaching ranks to be the head coaches in a Superbowl.  Their family will be extremely proud of their achievements but at the same time it will also have been an extremely difficult time for them.  In the end John is the brother who will be getting fitted for a Superbowl ring and as happy an occasion as that is, there will always be the sadness that it came at Jim's expense.  The brothers seem solid though and I've no doubt that nothing would please John more than to see his younger brother follow in his footsteps and get his ring in the next few years. 

49ers Offensive Star : Frank Gore - Gore just edges Kaepernick for me.  His 5.8 yards per carry and a touchdown was a good return and Kaepernick gets a negative mark for what was a very poor and costly interception.
49ers Defensive Star : NaVorro Bowman - 9 tackles including 2 for a loss and 2 hits on Joe Flacco were enough to earn Bowman this prize but unfortunately for him, it wasn't enough to win the game for the 49ers.
Ravens Offensive Star : Joe Flacco - Who else but the Superbowl's MVP?  Flacco has been excellent throughout and although he was run close by Jacoby Jones, he deserves it for his play right through the playoffs.
Ravens Defensive Star : Corey Graham - This guy has shown himself to be a top class cornerback in this playoff run and he was on top of his game last night.  He made 6 tackles but more importantly he made 2 crucial pass deflections that had a big impact on the result. 


NFL PLAYOFF CHALLENGE AND PICKS

Big congratulations to Edward McMullan whose Mallbrohimovic team won the blog's league on NFL.com.  Edward is a New York Giants fan but we won't hold that against him.  My own challenge went much the same way as my predictions.  After a 4-0 start and getting all eight of my team through the wildcard round, things took a bad turn for me.  After that I went 2-5 to finish 6-5 for the playoffs and I never managed to pick one player who won a divisional round match or a conference championship match.  It wasn't to be for me and it looks like I will have to abandon my gung ho style and take a safer approach in next years competition. 


THANK YOU

Finally, I'd like to give a big thanks to everyone who has read the blog over the course of the season.  It has had thousands of hits and it makes all the time I have put into it worthwhile.  Next up for me is the birth of my third child.  My wife is due in the next few days and fingers crossed all goes well.  I will most likely take a short break when that happens but rest assured I will be back posting within a few weeks although I'm not sure what subject it will be on.  I've no doubt, I'll have plenty to say on Free Agency, the NFL Draft and I will most definitely be back posting on the 2013 NFL season in September where I WILL finish with a better record than I did this year.  Once again thanks and in the mean time feel free to follow me on Twitter.  https://twitter.com/gjsportsblog

Superbowl XLVII - Baltimore Ravens v San Francisco 49ers

So after almost five months and over eighty NFL related posts on my blog, we are finally here and Superbowl XLVII is just hours away.  It's been a long season but it has been another good one.  We've had some great moments along the way and what better way to end it than with a bit of history in the Superbowl.  It is amazing to think that the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers are coached by two brothers and one can only imagine the pride that their parents must be feeling right now.

The game itself is very intriguing.  Both sides lost Conference Championship games last year but have bounced back from the disappointment to go one step further and reach the Superbowl.  Both sides have done things a little different this year and whilst I haven't always agreed with it, I've been proved wrong.  Initially I had them both as playoff teams and in my preseason predictions, I even picked the 49ers to win the Superbowl.  As much as I'd love to sit here and bask in the glow of that prediction, I have to be honest and say once Alex Smith was replaced by Colin Kaepernick that went out the window.  I still have issues with Kaepernick and it was a risky strategy from Jim Harbaugh to make such a big personnel change midway through the season.  However, as much as I can look for ways to argue, the bottom line is Kapaernick, Jim Harbaugh and the San Francisco 49ers have made it work and they have earned the right to represent the NFC in Superbowl XLVII. 

In the regular season, these teams won their divisions but neither held their conferences top seed.  The Denver Broncos and Atlanta Falcons held that honour and it is no coincidence that the 49ers and Ravens have had to beat those two along the way to getting this far.  The 49ers and Ravens both had decent regular seasons but more importantly, they improved in the playoffs.  All year I have been looking at certain statistics to help me gage how good certain teams are.  The Ravens have improved in 63% of the statistics I look at and the 49ers have improved in 75%.  It just goes to show how important it is to peak at the right time in the NFL. 

It will be no secret to anyone that the statistic I believe to be the most important is turnovers.  I have looked at all ten playoff games so far and in every single game the team who has won the turnover battle has won the match.  There was a few games were the teams had the same amount of turnovers but in the games were their was an outright winner, that team won the match.  It will also not come as a surprise to learn that when I looked at the turnover differential table, the top two teams are the Baltimore Ravens (+5) and the San Francisco 49ers (+2). 

One of the things I am looking forward to, is seeing how the Baltimore Ravens cope with the 49ers offense.  In their three games so far, the Ravens have faced three passing teams.  They have managed to get the better of Andrew Luck, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady but they face a totally different task when they take on Colin Kaepernick.  The Ravens haven't done well against mobile quarterbacks and lost to Michael Vick and Robert Griffin III.  Another of their defeats came against the Houston Texans who don't have a mobile quarterback but I would consider them to be a run first offense.  The 49ers will combine a mobile quarterback with a run first offense and the Ravens will have to find a way to deal with that.  They have improved on a lot of things throughout this playoff run so it's certainly possible that they will have a plan to deal with the 49ers. 

In their two playoff games so far, the 49ers offense has put up some great numbers.  In the regular season they averaged 362 yards of offense per game.  In the playoffs they have improved their passing and their running.  They are averaging 476 yards per game and most of that improvement has come on the ground.  They are averaging almost as many yards on the ground as they are in the air with 236 rushing yards and 240 passing yards. 

The one big issue is they have struggled against the pass so far.  In the regular season they gave up just over 200 yards per game in the air.  In their two playoff wins they have gave up a total of 644 yards.  That's a huge increase but it can be offset a little by the fact that they played two pass heavy teams and a lot of their regular season schedule was against teams who prefer to run the ball.  The 49ers will face a difficult task on defense as the Ravens have shown that they can win the game on the ground or in the air.  Joe Flacco has done a great job in the playoffs but it things aren't working out for him he can always turn to Ray Rice who is among the best rushers in the NFL.

I can't write my preview without mentioning that this is the final game in the career of an NFL legend, Ray Lewis.  Nobody can deny his achievements on the field and he has been a fantastic player for the Ravens over the years.  He has had his fair share of controversies, including one this week when it has been claimed that he has been using illegal substances but that's a story for someone else and unless it's proven that he broke the rules, it's not a subject I will be talking about.  Lewis has always been a controversial character but he is one of few players who will be able to say that he left everything on the field each and every time he stepped onto it.

Prediction - My final prediction of the season.  Who will be crowned as King of the Harbaugh's?  I'd like to say John as I like him but this isn't a personality contest and everything I know about football and everything I have learned this year about football tells me that the San Francisco 49ers will be crowned Superbowl XLVII champions.


Finally, I'd just like to thank everyone for all their support this season.  A blog is pointless without readers and I have enjoyed reading all the comments, debates and encouragement received.  I will do a review of the game but after that I'm not sure what I will be doing with regards the blog.  You can follow me on Twitter if you want to keep up to date with any future plans.  Thanks everyone and hopefully we will enjoy a great game.  Good luck folks.  Twitter - https://twitter.com/gjsportsblog