Celtic Face Austrian Champions LASK as the Board Gamble With £40 Million – We’ve Seen This Film Before
Celtic face the hardest possible Champions League play-off draw, yet the squad still looks unfinished. With £40 million on the line, supporters are entitled to ask whether history is repeating itself.
Phillip Cooney 
Celtic’s Champions League play-off draw is now confirmed.
Austrian champions LASK stand between Martin O’Neill’s side and a place in Europe’s elite competition.
Supporters could be forgiven for thinking Celtic have landed one of the toughest draws available.
It also raises another uncomfortable question.
Have we seen this film before?
Celtic have failed to qualify for the Champions League proper in seven of their last nine qualification campaigns. With that record in mind, should the club really be approaching another decisive tie with so much uncertainty surrounding the squad?
Celtic LASK draw puts transfer strategy under the spotlight
The UEFA registration deadline for the initial squad arrives on 13 August.
Clubs can then register up to two additional eligible players before the first leg, but only before UEFA’s strict deadline on the day before the match.
That leaves very little room for delay.
Around 14 players have departed this summer.
Only two new arrivals have come through the door.
Daizen Maeda has already left.
Meanwhile, Arne Engels and Alistair Johnston continue to be linked with moves away.
Should supporters be asking why so much important business still appears unfinished?
Could Mika Baur, Haissem Hassan and other reported targets have already been integrated into the squad?
Wouldn’t that have given Martin O’Neill the best possible preparation for such an enormous European tie?
Celtic cannot afford another costly European lesson
Champions League qualification is believed to be worth around £40 million.
With so much at stake, are the board gambling by allowing another transfer window to drift towards the closing weeks?
These are fair questions.
Supporters have watched similar situations unfold before.
Too often, urgency seems to arrive only when the pressure reaches its highest point.
Should Celtic really be relying on late deals when continuity and preparation can make such a difference at this level?
The board are only doing their job when they complete ambitious signings.
However, isn’t it equally fair to question whether enough urgency has been shown this summer?
LASK will punish mistakes.
European football regularly comes down to fine margins.
Every supporter hopes Celtic progress.
However, if the squad falls short once again, won’t many inevitably ask whether this opportunity could have been strengthened weeks earlier?
With £40 million potentially at stake, supporters are entitled to wonder whether history is about to repeat itself.
Eric Knott 
Bhoycie 
Aodhán Ó Conchobhair 
LASK are the hardest team in the group. AI rates Celtic as having a 65% to 68% chance of qualifying against them. They were rated top of the 8 teams drawn in the qualifiers so for Celtic it’s a worst case scenario. I still Celtic are good enough, especially with Hogh and Duran up front.
I worry Nicholson wont spend and it will cost us again. Ideally I’d like to see Engels and Hatate go and bring in Mika Baur and Fares Ghedjemis. If the reports are true that Nicholson only bid around £6m for a player valued at close to £10m, what on earth was he expecting? Even a lowly £8m as an opening point seems far more realistic. Of course Frosinone were always likely to reject a bid that low.
Michael Nicholson is killing Celtic from within. I get they have big plans but let’s do that with CL prize money. This is an investment after all.
The real question is: Should Michael Nicholson be CEO? And the answer is a resounding no – he’s utterly incompetent!
We need to also ask the question of why Martin O’Neill is not pushing for these quality players through the door. He says in interviews that he wants quality more than quantity. Well, Nicholson has been delaying Mika Baur, Hassan and a couple of other quality-linked potentials for weeks now. We also have Sarachi there for the taking. So what is Martin O’Neill these days: A coach or an apologist for the Board. He knows the quality players are already lined up, yet Nicholson won’t spend on them. That makes him look like a co-conspirator whose main aim is to top up his pension. It’s certainly not the Martin O’Neill from 2000.
Could you imagine this board working under Alan Sugar in the apprentice to close out million pound deals. No me neither. Michael and the rest of your cronies time is up.