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1957

October 1st 2008

Once again it was a case of glorious failure for the Celts on a Champions League away day as they went down 1-0 to Spanish league leaders Villarreal last night.

The fact that this time they played probably as well as they have ever done makes no difference when the bottom line is defeat.

Gordon Strachan picked the team that most fans would have wanted to see with McGeady, Nakamura, Maloney and Samaras all starting.

If those four had all played to the best of their ability then we may have just sneaked a win but unfortunately they didn't.

Samaras had a good game, Maloney had a good sixty minutes, McGeady had a great second half after struggling to find a Celtic player with a pass in the first half but Nakamura was absolutely woeful throughout.

Stephen McManus and Scott Brown answered their critics with excellent performances and Hartley, Caldwell and Naylor also did well.

The result leaves Celtic with a lot to do now but who knows what lies ahead, most of the pundits are assuming Celtic will lose home and away to Manchester United and that Villarreal will beat Aalborg twice but it's football so it doesn't always work like that.

Celtic are a victim of their own success to an extent. Because they made the last sixteen two years in a row they are expected to keep on doing it and some people are even looking for a place in the last eight.

Two seasons ago Celtic were seeded second in their group and qualified in second place but last season and this season they are the third placed seeds so to qualify for the last sixteen is an even greater achievement than the first time around.

Last season it would not have happened had Shakhtar Donetsk not blown it in their final home game against Benfica, you need a bit of luck and Celtic got it then.

If the Celts finish up third in the group this time then they will have achieved what any sane person would have expected of them even if they had hoped for more. To finish bottom would rightly be considered a failure.