Celtic

It looks increasingly likely that later this month, Fraser Forster will become the first Celtic player since Alan Thompson in 2004 to represent England at the international level.

Forster, a 25-year-old goalkeeper who began his career at Newcastle United, has already come a long way.

Loaned out four times while considered a promising prospect on Tyneside, it was the last of these loan spells that turned into a permanent switch.

Forster initially joined Celtic on loan in 2010, having previously progressed through stages of his education at Stockport County, Bristol Rovers and Norwich City.

A successful first season—coupled with the presence of Steve Harper and Tim Krul at St James' Park—saw Forster enjoy a second year-long internship in the 2011-12 campaign before finally agreeing permanent terms in a deal worth roughly £2 million in the summer of 2012, as Newcastle decided Krul (a few weeks younger) was the man they were going to go forward with.

Now, just over a year on from that decisive move, Forster looks set to make his international debut this month—quite probably against Chile at Wembley on Friday but, if not, against Germany the Tuesday after.

Last month, as England qualified for next summer’s World Cup, Forster was among the substitutes at Wembley as Joe Hart played both matches. But, with Hart’s current form issues well-publicised and his national team understudies (Forster and Norwich’s John Ruddy) having been exposed to limited international action, England head coach Roy Hodgson appears set to experiment somewhat.

"I understand why Roy went with Joe,” Celtic boss Neil Lennon told The Guardian on Tuesday, “because he has played very well for him throughout the tournament, and you show a bit of loyalty to your No. 1 at times, no matter if they have a rocky period or not.

“But he did intimate that he may look at Fraser for these friendlies and I hope that is the case.”

With Hart currently on the bench at Manchester City—an exile that could end tomorrow, or could continue for a few months yet, depending on Manuel Pellegrini’s view and Costel Pantilimon’s form in the Englishman’s stead—it is easy to assume, or speculate, that Forster now has a great opportunity to stake his own claim to be England’s No. 1.

In truth, it is not that straightforward. Hart has been error-prone but continues to have the support of Hodgson (his mistakes, while not limited to club matches, have tended to come in that area), while it is also not just Forster who will consider himself worthy of a shot at being the Three Lions' No. 1.

Ruddy, for example, appears to have been the de-facto No. 2 in recent months—returning immediately after a broken finger caused him to miss Euro 2012.

But he is now failing to avoid mistakes in a struggling Norwich side—and, unlike Forster, he has never been tested at the highest level of European competition, surely the closest thing to the international arena.

On Wednesday evening, Forster travels with Celtic to Amsterdam, where the Scottish champions face perhaps the pivotal contest of their group stage campaign. Beat Ajax, as they did two weeks ago in Glasgow, and the Bhoys can entertain realistic hopes of reaching the knockout stages at the expense of AC Milan.

Lose, however, and they face the very real prospect of missing out on even the consolation prize of a Europa League berth.

Forster played a key role in that win, at Parkhead—making a smart save just minutes before Beram Kayal’s eventual winner.

That is why Lennon wants his talented charge to focus solely on the job in hand, rather than the fact he may also be entering an audition for international recognition.

“Three years ago there is no way you would have envisaged Fraser being in the England squad," Lennon said. "But he has just improved year in and year out. I have said this to him already. I said, 'You have just got to stay in the moment now.'

“Just keep this form going at this level and I can't see him not being picked for one of the friendlies coming up. I think he deserves the opportunity regardless of Joe's form.”

Forster has been a key part of Celtic’s recent success, improving his reputation as the club have won successive Scottish Premier League titles and, last season, reached the last-16 of the Champions League.

He is big, even by goalkeeping standards (6’7”), yet has good reflexes and a strong command of his area. Both his distribution and desire to come for crosses needed extensive work when he first arrived at the club but, working closely with coach Stevie Woods, those areas have improved considerably.

Adding those fundamentals to a natural reflexive gift—aided by his sheer size—for saving shots, and Forster has quickly proven himself to be a well-rounded goalkeeper.

Nevertheless, partly as a result of where he plies his trade he has only been on the fringe of the England discussion—at least until Hart’s performances begun to dip.

Now, he has a chance—however slim—of forcing his way into the first-team prior to next summer’s World Cup. It will require him to be almost perfect in his performances; starting on Wednesday, where an England scout will be at the Amsterdam Arena on behalf of Hodgson.

"I don't want to put extra pressure on Fraser by saying, 'You have to play well’,” Lennon added. “I think he is really in a good place.

“I have said before I don't want this to be a short-term thing for him. I want it to be a long-term thing for five, six, seven years of him being England's No. 1 or No. 2."

Forster has his supporters, including ex-Manchester United shot-stopper Edwin van der Sar, who believes Celtic’s custodian has everything it takes to play at the very highest level.

Now a director at Ajax, the club he started his career, Van der Sar told the Daily Record this week:

I’m really impressed with Forster. I was down at pitchside when he came out for his warm-up in Glasgow before the Ajax game and I was really struck by his size.

People look up to me, they always say I’m a big guy. But he is something else with his enormous frame. I found myself looking up to him.

Of course there is more to him than that. He’s playing really well at the moment, especially in the big European games which means he’s getting quite a reputation.

But he’s earned that with his all-round game. I’ve played in Italy and England and Forster could definitely do well in either of those leagues, no problem.

He could play in the very best leagues in Europe without any struggle.

Whether or not playing for Celtic is holding him back internationally, it seems probable Forster will move on from Scotland before too long.

He has even been tipped as a possible candidate to replace the departing Victor Valdes at Barcelona, a suggestion that has not been scoffed at by the club’s own players.

"I think the players all know about the Forster interest—and it is a player we know very well," Xavi said last month, according to Metro. “I can’t say that I watch him every week – but when we have played Celtic he has shown that he is a world-class goalkeeper. From what I have seen he has everything to succeed at a club like Barcelona.”

Barcelona. England. There could be some big changes in Forster’s career over the next few months—as long as he does what he is paid to do, and just keeps his eye on the ball.

“That's all for the future,” as Lennon concluded. “I need him at his best [against Ajax] and he seems to thrive in this environment."

Scott Brown has failed in his attempt to reduce a three-match Champions League ban, as reported by Darren Johnstone of The Scotsman.

Brown had travelled to UEFA's offices in Nyon for a personal hearing after his automatic one-game suspension had been extended to three by the European body’s Control and Disciplinary Committee, per BBC Sport.

The Celtic skipper was sent off for a needless kick at Neymar, during the home defeat to Barcelona. Brown was dismissed on 59 minutes, with the score still 0-0, before the visitors struck the only goal on 76 minutes.

As Johnstone writes, Neil Lennon described the ban as "excessive" and told reporters he found news of this outcome to be "disappointing."

At the time, Brown told Celtic's official website:

It's something that happened in the heat of the moment but I shouldn't have acted in this way.

I need to live with that and there is no-one more disappointed than me.

Having missed the next Champions League tie with Ajax, a match in which Celtic sustained their qualification hopes with a 2-1 win, Brown will miss the crucial return trip to the Netherlands and a potentially crunch showdown with AC Milan.

Despite two defeats, Celtic currently sit on three points, just two behind AC Milan who travel to Barcelona during the next round of ties.

Unless there's a shock at the Camp Nou, Milan will then travel to Celtic with second-place very much up for grabs.

It may provide Celtic small comfort to know their recent European record is marginally better without their captain.

Of their previous 14 Champions League and Europa League ties, Brown has missed exactly half. Celtic have recorded three wins and two draws from the seven games he's missed and taken just the two wins and two draws from the seven he's played.

However, statistics aside, there's little doubt Brown's presence and leadership will be missed against two challenging opponents.

Celtic are already underdogs to qualify and their captain's needless absence only makes a tough task more severe.

This is a massive game for both Celtic and Ajax.  

Unfortunately for the Glasgow side, injuries to key players mean manager Neil Lennon doesn't have the option to play a full-strength starting eleven. 

Besides that, the players who are available still pose questions for him: How will 19-year-old Darnell Fisher cope if Mikael Lustig doesn't pass a fitness test? Will Anthony Stokes or Teemu Pukki start up front? And, perhaps most importantly, who will fill the creative gap in the wake of Kris Commons' injury? 

The latter question cannot be underestimated. Commons is Celtic's most consistent and creative player with six goals and six assists from his 17 games. Even if he is susceptible to indecisiveness when playing in Europe, he is a massive miss. 

Given captain Scott Brown is out due to suspension, it is likely Lennon will opt for Charlie Mulgrew in central midfield. The 27-year-old Scot has performed well when played there recently for club and country.  

This does, however, suggest that Commons won't be replaced, per se. 

Rather than having an attacking midfielder pushing forward to support the lone striker in Commons, Lennon may choose to deploy five players across the midfield to try and stifle Ajax's passing game by controlling as much of the central areas as they can. 

As ever, this means Georgios Samaras will be key for the Hoops coming in from the left flank to run directly at the Ajax defence. The big Greek is also regularly used as an out-ball when Celtic are experiencing periods of pressure in these big games.

While Mikael Lustig is expected to be available, the only back-up for the Swede is teenage defender Darnell Fisher as Adam Matthews is out with a shoulder injury.

Despite impressing in the Scottish Premiership against Hibernian on Saturday, Lennon would probably rather not be forced into handing the youngster a Champions League debut in such a high stakes match.

Emilio Izaguirre is fit, however, and will take up the left-back berth in a back four beside central pairing Virgil van Dijk and Efe Ambrose. 

Joe Ledley's return from a groin injury is welcome news for Celtic, even if the Welshman is unlikely to be fit enough to play a full match. He will almost certainly start in central midfield alongside Mulgrew and Beram Kayal. 

The return to health and form of young Scottish international James Forrest signifies a more attacking approach down the right wing than recent European matches. Lennon has recently opted to play Matthews at right midfield, albeit the Welshman performed to great effect and plaudits. 

Finally, the striker berth.  

It's almost a given that only one of Anthony Stokes or Teemu Pukki will start against Ajax; Lennon could deploy Samaras as a lone striker, but the Greek has always played more effectively out wide.

Stokes has started the previous two group games, against Milan and Barcelona, and played a reasonably well lone-striker's role in each, including a brilliant piece of skill against Milan in the San Siro which almost led to a goal for the Irishman. 

Pukki has scored twice in his eight games for Celtic, but hasn't started in the previous two group games at the expense of Stokes. Despite playing well on Saturday against Hibs, the Finnish international will likely start this one on the bench. 

Predicted line-up (4-1-4-1): Forster; Lustig, Ambrose, Van Dijk, Izaguirre; Mulgrew; Forrest, Kayal, Ledley, Samaras; Stokes

It's win or bust for Celtic in the Champions League on Tuesday as Dutch champions Ajax come to Glasgow for the first of a double header with just a single point separating the pair.

Celtic boss Neil Lennon played in both matches the last time the sides met back-to-back, in the 2001 group stage qualifiers.

They each won away from home back then, with Celtic prevailing 3-2 on aggregate. 

To add even more spice to the match this time round, both sides face a different kind of problem going in to the game.

Celtic's Injuries

Celtic must cope with injuries to several key players with the biggest worry now replacing Kris Commons, their main creative outlet with six assists this term, who was ruled out of the game with a hamstring strain picked up in Saturday's 1-1 Scottish Premiership draw with Hibernian.

Longer-term wounded Adam Matthews, Steven Moyoukolo and former Ajax winger Derk Boerrigter remain on the sidelines, with Welsh international Matthews in particular a big miss for the Glasgow side having impressed playing right midfield this European campaign.

Mikael Lustig will have a late fitness test before a decision is made on his availability, while captain Scott Brown is definitely missing after he was handed a three-match ban following his sending off against Barcelona, suggesting Charlie Mulgrew is likely to start in central midfield.

The good news for boss Neil Lennon is that not only is Honduras left-back Emilio Izaguirre in line to start following a spell out with a virus, but James Forrest and Joe Ledley are available again after lengthy lay-offs.

While off the pitch the fans will be as vocal as ever, once more Celtic's fortunes on the pitch may rest on the shot-stopping of Fraser Forster and the form of Greek forward Georgios Samaras.

Ajax's Away Form

Ajax, meanwhile, have to contend with a problem many a Celtic fan will empathise with: poor away form. 

The Dutch champions haven't recorded a win in any of their five domestic away games so far this term and currently sit fourth in the Eredivisie.

They have played once away in the Champions League, going down 4-0 to Barcelona in the Camp Nou.

As might be expected, Ajax much prefer to play a short passing, attacking game. However, losing the key component of their attack in Christian Eriksen to Tottenham during the summer lessened their offensive threat; as it would any team who lost a player of his calibre.

While they seem to spread their goals around some, they do have an in-form striker in the shape of Kolbeinn Sigthorsson.

The Icelandic international has scored four in his last four matches for his country (all World Cup 2014 qualifiers) and has netted seven times in 13 matches so far for Ajax.

The Match

With a last 16 spot still technically possible, Frank de Boer will be looking to win the match regardless of recent travelling form.

Ultimately, Celtic need to ensure Tuesday's match results in them getting some points on the board after two defeats from two games so far.

If not, reaching the last 16 for a second consecutive season will be all but beyond them.

Key men: Georgios Samaras (Celtic), Kolbeinn Sigthorsson (Ajax)

It's not going to grant automatic victory by any means, but an absent Lionel Messi will spark hope among Celtic fans that their team can get something out of Tuesday's Champions League clash with Barcelona.

Messi limped out of his side's 2-0 La Liga victory in Almeria, sparking concerns that he could miss the Champions League clash with Celtic. According to Sport and The Guardian, the 26-year-old is likely to miss the Celtic game, along with the following fixture against Valladolid, with a hamstring injuty.

Of course, a Barcelona side without Messi is still one that will be expected to triumph at Parkhead. Although that was also the case last year, and even a late goal from Messi couldn't get Barca back in the tie.

It's going to take another performance like the one in November last year, particularly from Fraser Forster. The Celtic 'keeper put in towering displays in both games against the Catalan giants, and it took an injury-time winner to deny the Bhoys a point at Camp Nou.

Nevertheless, Celtic will need to raise their attacking game if they are to progress in this year's competition. 

Although they put five goals past Kilmarnock at the weekend, they were occasionally careless in possession and allowed their opponents to get back in the game with two goals before half time. 

Sky Sports pundit John Collins had some words of warning for Neil Lennon's side ahead of the Barca game:

They are going to be on the back foot and have to work hard, stay tight and keep themselves in the game - and not give the ball away cheaply as they did against Kilmarnock. This will be a proper test.

I think Celtic started poorly in the first half, but in the second half they controlled the game. Kilmarnock backed off and tried to be more compact but it backfired because they couldn't get up the park and were chasing the ball and getting tired.

If they repeat this against la Blaugrana, they will quickly find themselves chasing the game. Even without Messi, Barca have added Neymar since the teams last met, so there will be plenty of creativity on the pitch.

Although Celtic have lost Gary Hooper and Victor Wanyama from last year's campaign, the recent performance of Georgios Samaras will give Lennon some heart. The Greek striker scored a hat-trick against Kilmarnock and played well from a deep position, linking well with Kris Commons and looking a constant threat.

If Celtic are to succeed, they need to take every chance they get. The Scottish side only mustered three shots on goal in this fixture last year, compared with Barcelona's 25. Crucially, however, they were all on target, and two of them produced goals.

If Samaras can continue this run of form and communicate well with Commons, the Bhoys have a chance at getting a result. The defence is going to be under pressure for a lot of the game, and they have to retain their shape.

It's going to take everything Celtic have, but the loss of Messi for Barca gives the home side that little extra hope.

Celtic have signed Finland striker Teemu Pukki from Schalke on a four-year deal.

Pukki struggled to get a regular run with the Bundesliga side, partly due to the form of the prolific Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, and moves to Scotland the same week the Bhoys dramatically secured their place in the Champions League group stages. 

James Forrest’s stoppage-time strike sealed a 3-2 aggregate win over little-known Kazakhstan side Shakhter Karagandy in the final qualifying round and the lure of elite European football makes Celtic an attractive option.

"The carrot of the Champions League might be a bigger draw for a lot of players now," said Celtic manager Neil Lennon, according to the BBC.

"I think it puts us in an excellent position but they will have to play well to get into that team."

Pukki has scored six goals in 24 international appearances, including an equaliser against Spain in World Cup qualifying which earned a shock draw against the world and European champions.

After impressing in Finland as a youngster with FC KooTeePee, he moved to La Liga with Sevilla, but played the majority of his football with their reserve side as he struggled to break into the first team. A move back home to Finland followed before he switched to Germany, where he played for two seasons.

The task for Pukki at Celtic will be filling the void left by last season’s top goalscorer, Gary Hooper, who left for Norwich City earlier in the summer. He possesses nimble footwork, a smart finish and is also good in the air. If he can average more than a goal every two games, as Hooper did, Celtic should have few problems retaining their Scottish Premier League title. 

Last season, they pulled off a huge upset as they beat Barcelona. Despite finding domestic football tricky to come by at Schalke, Pukki actually started three Champions League matches, although he failed to score.

He will be relishing the chance to play against some of Europe’s biggest sides after the group stage draw matched Celtic with Barcelona, AC Milan and Ajax. If he can lead the Bhoys to another success over Lionel Messi and company, then he will quickly become a favourite at Celtic Park.

Having successfully negotiated their passage through the previous two rounds against Cliftonville and Elfsborg respectively, Celtic once more find themselves just two games away from a return to the group stages of the Champions League.

But before thoughts turn to those massive European nights at Celtic Park against the Continent's finest, Neil Lennon's side know there is a job to be done against slightly more modest opposition and that they will need to be entirely focused on their game if they hope to progress.

Strangely enough, if Celtic do want to make it two years in a row at European football's top table, they'll have to travel to Central Asia to get there—the industrial mining town of Karaganda in Eastern Kazakhstan to be precise, some 4,086 miles from Glasgow and across the whole of Europe.

Shakhtyor Karaganda (the name Shakhtyor is derived from the word for pitmen), Celtic's opponents for the playoff round which kicks off on Tuesday night, come from further east than Iraq, Iran or Saudi Arabia, making it something of a trip into the unknown compared to their visits to north Belfast and southern Sweden. Shaktyor will be hoping that by the time the visitors arrive, all that travelling will have taken its toll and will have had an adverse effect on their preparation.

But first things first—who are Shakhtyor Karaganda? And how come nobody's ever heard of them before?

Although Kazakhstan secured its independence in 1992 and became members of FIFA two years later, they spent most of the next decade as members of the AFC and only joined UEFA in 2002. Shakhtyor Karaganda made their European bow in 2006 with an inconspicuous exit at the hands of Latvian side MTZ Ripo (6-4 on aggregate), and failed for the most part on subsequent attempts to make any serious inroads into European football—until this season.

A shock first-round win over BATE Borisov, who of course played in the group stages last season and scored a shock win over eventual winners Bayern Munich, raised a few eyebrows, and they went on to defeat Albanian champions FC Skenderbeu to set up this tie with Celtic—arguably the most important ever played by a team from Kazakhstan. A victory will see them become the first Kazakh side ever to make it to the group stages of the Champions League, but even a defeat would make history, qualifying them for the group stages of the Europa League, a feat which no side from Kazakhstan has ever achieved.

The players

Shakhtyor's undoubted star player is club legend Andrei Finonchenko, a local hero who came through the youth ranks and has since scored 116 goals, putting him second place in the club's list of all-time top goalscorers behind the seemingly untouchable record of 182 scored by Nikolai Igamberdiev.

He's played in all four matches of their campaign up until now (in fact, he's been on the field for all but seven minutes of those games) and their manager, Viktor Kumykov, will know just how important a player he'll be if they are going to be able to match Celtic or pull off an upset.

Elsewhere in the squad, 22-year-old forward Sergei Khizhnichenko has bagged three goals already in this season's qualifying rounds and was in the Kazakhstan squad for their World Cup qualifiers against Germany back in March alongside teammates Aleksandr Mokin, Maksat Baizhanov, and Zhambyl Kukeev, who some may remember scored against England back in 2008.

Very few of their team have much or indeed any European experience, nor do they have a lot of players who've played in Europe's top leagues, but the pressure will all be on Celtic to perform, and if Shakhtyor can unsettle their highly rated opponents early on and stop Celtic from getting into a rhythm, then they might just have a chance.

Prediction

Tuesday's match promises to be a tricky one for Celtic, but if their current run in the qualifying stages is anything to go by, they should have enough about them to be able to progress.

They haven't conceded a goal in their last four qualifying ties (eight matches in total), and so long as they're able to come away with at least a draw from Karaganda, it would be difficult to see them being unable to finish off the job in front of their home fans at Parkhead in the second leg.

Goals have proved difficult to come by of late as Neil Lennon struggles to fill the void left by Gary Hooper's departure for Norwich City, but even if Georgios Samaras has yet to find the net this season in the league, his recent form for Celtic in Europe, particularly away from home, will be reason for optimism.

An early goal would go far to settling any nerves, as it did last season at the same stage away to Helsingborgs (Kris Commons opened the scoring in the second minute) and although they would need to hold off Shakhtyor for the rest of the game, it would open the play up a bit and might lead to a second later on. 2-0 Celtic.