Fulham v Celtic
Pre-Season Friendly
Sunday 19th July 2004
Craven Cottage, London
Kick Off 2pm, Live on Setanta
Finally. Since Henrik walked off the Celtic Park turf after a dull 1-0 win over Sevilla in his benefit match, we’ve all been counting down the days to when The Champions take to the field again. Tomorrow is our first game back; Craven Cottage, London is the venue.
Of course, tomorrow’s game is only a friendly, but a chance to see The Bhoys back in action. It also gives our London-based fans a chance to see the team in the flesh, and with around 10,000 travelling down, it’s sure to be a great day.
The game is Fulham’s second game to be played at the newly refurbished Craven Cottage, after a 0-0 draw with Watford. The Cottagers have been playing home matches at QPR’s home, Loftus Road, for the past two seasons. From pictures, the newly revamped ground looks smart – I’m sure it will be more impressive with thousands of Hooped jerseys in the stands! The match is a sell-out, but there is an attendance limit as the ground has not yet received full Health and Safety certificates. This means that only 17,642 fans will be allowed into the ground. There is also no booze on sale.
Despite being only a few weeks away from the start of the SPL campaign, we have still not signed any new players. For some this is worrying, but I believe there is no need to go all crazy, just because there’s no Larsson replacement yet. Yes, it would be nice to be going to Fulham and seeing four or five new additions to the squad but we’ll just have to settle for the return of Bobby Petta. For now.
The match is live on Setanta for £7.99. We’ll see how good this mob are on Sunday, as the broadcasting rights to our season are in their hands. Hopefully they’ll be improved from last season but unfortunately they have signed up Rob McLean as their main commentator. There was me getting excited as well.
Many people will see no reason to get psyched up over a friendly, and despite the football frenzy that was Euro 2004, I’ve missed seeing The Celts in action. I’m just glad pre-season is upon us, and it won’t be long until we’re defending the SPL crown.
Fulham is also a chance to meet up with fellow Celtic-Mad users, in O’Neill’s Bar, before and after the game. The pub is located across the road from Putney Bridge Train Station, which is the closest station to Craven Cottage.
Celtic-Mad Preciction: Fulham 1-3 Celtic
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