Champions League: AC Milan vs CELTIC, 18th September 19:45 kick off, live on SS2

We don't have a ceiling at all. If we can beat sides so far ahead of us in the group stage, we can beat them in any round of the competition. And we can beat any side in this competition.

The Milan side tonight wasn't €*,*,* better than our side. Money only gets you so far.

 

Yeah, as long as we don't take Rangers mid 90s-esq beatings I'm happy. Tonight though I felt was probably our best chance for away points.

 

BRING ON THE AJAX WE SUOLD HI[M THEM

 

So much negativity on here! It's actually depressing me! :smiley-laughing002: We're a very, very good side & we're one very good performance into our Champions League campaign. Just enjoy it & see where we end up. We can beat anyone in this competition (doesn't mean we will but I certainly don't think we'll be embarrassed - and if we are, who gives a *?). Stop giving the side a limit. We could top this group or we could fail to pick up a point. If we get to the last 16, we're unlikely to face a side better than Barcelona (Bayern, Dortmund & Real, aside). With a favourable draw, we could make it to the quarter-finals (see Málaga, Marseille & APOEL in recent seasons).

I don't necessarily mean this season.

 

Being disappointed at dropping points to Milan at the San Siro is a sign of how far Lennon & the Bhoys have come.

 

I reckon we can do better, just look at the portuguese clubs. Benfica and Porto are both pot 1 teams. Although they have certain things in their favour it shows what can be done

 

I'll predict that a top revenue club will win the CL, just as the EPL will be won by a team with a billionaire owner.


Get back to me in May 2014.

 

I will if I can get WiFi in Lisbon.

 

I think you're overestimating Milan's spending power tbh. We haven't spent big in a long time and transfers in have been completed with funds from transfers out. Our starting XI for example:

Abbiati - €0.5m
Constant - Traded for co-ownership of another player valued
Zapata - €6m
Mexes - Free
Zaccardo - Straight swap with a squad player
Muntari - Free
Nocerino - €0.5m
De Jong - €3.5m (What a steal)
Birsa - Free
Matri - €11m (Bizarre transfer)
Balotelli - €20m + possible €2m in add-ons


Then you have the lads coming back into the starting team like

Abate - €2.8m
De Sciglio - Youth product
Kaká - Free (Steal imo)
Montolivo - Free (Steal)


We do have a high wage bill at the minute definitely (it's being cut every year however) but Milan certainly are not the big spenders we once were. Even Ibrahimovic was brought in for only €24m and Robinho was €18m, our biggest transfers in years but not breaking records by any stretch. And not to forget the massive fees brought in for Kaká , and Thiago Silva as well as Ibrahimovic recouping what as paid for him.

Barca, Madrid, Bayern, Dortmund, City, United, Arsenal, Chelsea, PSG etc. are all way bigger spenders in terms of both wages and transfer fees. Juventus and Napoli are also bigger spenders. We're more around the level of Marseille these days.

 

That's the one.



They really were a * club.

 

They can attract Brazilians that don't have to learn a new language.

 

We can only dream of spending that. I'm sure you spent around €25m this window alone.

 

Yeah I fully understand. Spent just under €27m for 9 players to come in overall. Matri for €11m was an absolute joke however and he was only brought in as a Balotelli backup until Pazzini is fit and then one of them will be sold. The €30m we got in television rights for the CL group stages was huge.

My post was meant as more of a statement about how yous saying Celtic are a long way off Milan's spending power and me trying to say that we are that same distance off of the spending power of the likes of Arsenal, Manchester United and Dortmund and then there's another gap to the Sugar Daddy clubs and Barca, Bayern etc.

The one thing in our favour is that Milan are well supported and can attract a high quality of player and lots of young, up-and-coming Italian players are delighted to get the chance to play for Milan's youth teams etc.

Lots of Milan fans in the team too now that I think of it. El Shaarawy, Balotelli, Matri, De Sciglio and Poli to name but a few!

Would love a Scott Brown type player in the squad. Ambrosini was similar in his leadership but was let go in the summer unfortunately.

 

The problem with us is our league is woeful and it's very hard to attract people to a one horse race. Secondly there are far more quality young players in Italy than there is in Scotland and with Milan being one of the big guns you can attract those youngsters and thirdly and most importantly is wages, although you may not be spending 'huge' amounts on transfers your wage bill will be vastly bigger than ours, thus being able to attract a far better quality of player than we can.

 

Agree completely

It's a pity about the one horse race. Not much Celtic can do about that though to be fair to them. Focusing your spending on the youth academy could offer a great return in the long term but there are no short term solutions I don't think. Still, whether it's Partick Thistle, Milan, Barca or Bayern - Nobody will fancy travelling to Glasgow for an away game vs you lot. Hoping to be there myself in November if all goes to plan :icon_mrgreen:

 

We have spent a lot of money recently on a brand new training complex and one of the things most Celtic fans are disappointed about is the lack of talent that is coming through, a few players like Forrest and Watt have showed glimpsed of genuine quality but none who have came and cemented there place in the team thus relying on scouting cheap young foreigners with potential. It's working in the short term but long term we would love some top quality youngsters coming through.

However that aside a draw would have been a fair result and the return game should be a cracker!

 

To say that we are disappointed to leave the san siro without a result, even against a poor Milan side, still milan at the end of the day, speaks volume I think.

 

Jammy greasy *

 

Sad game. Bhoys really deserved more than they got. Bad luck in 1-0 and substituting midfielder with striker gave Milan opportunity to rule the midfield until the end. 2-0 didn't really change anything.

Brown / Matthews MOTM.