Before we delve into the latest injury for the reborn winger, I’d just like to say a few words about the joy of parenting.
As you may know, all my children have grown up-well, physically, at least-and christmas doesn;t quite hold the same appeal-or tension-that it did when they were little.
However, now that they are older, and lucky enough to be working, a new joy is upon us. That of receiving presents from the kids as they try to compete for your affection!
The first round of results are in, and one of mine is paying for the flights to Lisbon in May ( Voodude, send me the flight details, I’ll renew my passport after I’ve booked. )as Celtic fans celebrate winning the European cup when it was players that did it, and not bank balances, making him far and away the bestest son and presumably the least affected by his unorthodox upbringing.
Thats put pressure on the other two. Its probably my reward for taking him to Malones and letting him be sick on the train. If the other two are reading this, the Ferrarri showroom is in Wilmslow.
Anyhoo, James Forrest will be out for two weks following the knock he picked up at Fir Park, when shrapnel from a stray hand grenade went into his leg.
So, who will step up in his place ?
Bloody hell, I suppose we’d better give him one on Geography.
For Forrest, it couldn’t have come at a worse time, although he probably could do with a break, as Gary Mackay Stevens is ready and raring to go. Whilst many would say there is no need for four first class wingers in the squad, the evidence would suggest there is. wingers get kicked, they get hurt and they lose form. Its good to have replacements of high quality, and Mackay Steven will be difficult to dislodge from the side if he gets going.
The same applies to Patrick Roberts, who has stepped into the shoes of Scott Sinclair, and let nobody down. If Roberts is largely ignored when either of the two injured wingers are fit again, we’ll have a clue as to whether or not Rodgers is going to put in a bid for him.
Roberts is on record as saying he wants to go back to the Etihad, but he was never going to say anything else, at least publically. and the room he shares with Keiran tierney at Lennoxtown is an indicator of how he really feels.
Speaking of Manchester City, the fallout from Tuesdays game continues, but for the first time, a journalist wants to know what really happened, and is asking for information..
Interested in any oral, written or video evidence of events at the Etihad on Tuesday.DM me please…or follow & I will reciprocate for DM.
I would imagine the story from Jimmybee in the replies yesterday is the kind of thing he’s looking for.
Speaking of fallout, James MacFadden, another who is holding a grudge becuase he never got the move to Celtic he thought he was getting, proved he’s even slower off the park than he is on it when he leapt-well, jumped up a bit-to the defence of his manager.
See if you can spot the quality journalism from the Mail in the headlines…
James McFadden hits back at Celtic’s ‘disrespectful’ Chris Davies
- Steelmen boss Mark McGhee claimed not to know Curtis Davies’ name
- Davies refused to shake hands at the end of a thrilling 4-3 win for the visitors
- Assistant manager James McFadden backed his boss on Thursday
In the article, MacFadden whined in a spectacular late entry for Knob of the Week….
Celtic warmed up in an area of the pitch that they were not meant to be warming up in
‘Under league rules, they have to shoot into the portable goals if provided. But they would not move for our groundsman so the manager went up and moved them. That’s not unsettling them. That’s just him using his authority to go up and say: “You are in the wrong place, go and move.”
‘It’s a lack of respect from Celtic to say: “We don’t care. We will just shoot into the goals. We will do what we want.” So, no, I don’t think we were unsettling them. That’s maybe just a wee bit of a defence from Chris Davies after Celtic’s first-half performance.
‘After the game, he [Davies] refused to shake hands with every member of our staff. For me, that is a lack of respect to everyone involved, especially considering how well we played and how much of a test we gave them.
‘He put his face in other people’s faces, which is a lack of respect. To come and go right in someone’s face having refused a handshake and make a gesture is totally wrong, no matter who you are. The manager took offence to that and quite rightly so.’
On the transfer front, there was a surprise for all of us..
Celts Capture Crilly
But as ever, the headline was misleading, and in fact its the Ladies team who have signed Sarah Crilly, who is no relation. Largely because Father Ted Crilly isn’t real.
She is though, and we wish her well.
The group ganes in both European competitions are all done with now, and perhaps you’d agree with me that it would take something either very special or very interesting to catch my attention in the later rounds.
There is one intriguing possibility, purely from a Celtic point of view, that could help with assessing this seasons performance.
As Chris Sutton pointed out…
.@btsportfootball Perception
Hapoel have gone from an awful team losing to Celtic to a great team beating Inter and now the Southampton
Looking at Hapoel Be’er Sheva’s last four away games, you’ll see what I mean…
Celtic 5-2 Hapoel
Inter Milan 0-2 Hapoel
Olympiakos 0-0 Hapoel
Southampton 1-1 Hapoel
The Israeli’s are in the last 32, where they might come across Borussia Moenchengladbach, and that would be worth watching. Especially if the German fans waved Palestinian flags. Actually, given the history between Germany and what is now Israel, that would probably start another war. So perhaps its not a good idea.
Whilst we are talking about Europe, a wee story came my way yesterday.
Remember the “riots ” in Amsterdam ? Where a lamp post attacked several Ajax fans ?
Well, it appears the the investigation is still ongoing, and the Celtic supporters who were arrested still have no idea if they’ve to go back. Some are hinting at an establishment cover up, and the blame being passed to the supporters as the Dutch elite weren’t actually in the Palace after all, and therefore weren’t scheduled to leave just after the police indulged in that favourite pastime of all police all over the world, which is wading into crowds with big sticks.
For those in Amsterdam who are following the story, and who wonder what really went on, this video, from the official Dutch Royal Press correspondent which might help -The title translates as “Celtic on the Dam whilst King Willem Alexander awards Erasmus Prize”
Meanwhile , back at the ranch, preparations are underway for tonights short trip to Firhill, for the Friday night BT sport game. Sporting Life lists the two squads as;
Partick (from): Stuckmann, Elliott, Booth, Lindsay, Devine, Barton, Osman, Welsh, Erskine, Amoo, Doolan, Azeez, Lawless, Wilson, Gordon, Edwards, McDaid, Syme, Penrice, Cerny.
Celtic (from): Gordon, Lustig, Gamboa, Izaguirre, Toure, Sviatchenko, Simunovic, O’Connell, Brown, Bitton, Armstrong, Rogic, Forrest, Roberts, Dembele, Ciftci, Griffiths, Christie, McGregor, Mackay-Steven, De Vries.
Celtic could start with Gordon, Gamboa, Sviatchenko, Simunovic, Izaguirre, Brown, Armstrong, Roberts, Rogic, Mackay Steven, and Griffiths.
Gamboa could come in and give Lustig a break, Toure isn’t in the squad which gives the rest f the defence a break, and Dembele needs to be rested in case he gets injured and we can’t sell him in January. He rarely scores away from home anyway.
Griffiths can now step up and get himself on the way to a second consecutive forty goal season, a target which could easily be reached as there is still a minimum of two games against “rangers “and their defence to play. If he starts tonight, then expect him to get at least three of Celtics seven goals.
And I’m kind of curious to see if the striker will up his game even further now he has a serious challenger for his shirt. Off the park, he has already moved up a notch or two..
joe doran@Leighgriff09 wonder can you help, my wee boy has ask Santa for “the same boots as Leigh Griffiths”,what boots do you wear these days,lol
@joed1978 send me ur address, il get the wee man a signed pair for Xmas! 
Oddly enough, I sent him a tweet as well…
Leigh, I asked my wee boy what he wants for christmas and he said he wants a car like Leigh Griffiths drives. Lol, By the way, if you don’t drive a Ferrari, can you tell me who does ?
Oh, and while I’m on about the second Glasgow derby of the month, I wonder if I should ring this number and ask them how they can provide something that simply isn’t possible. In fact , we all could.
One for the ASA there, methinks..selling something by using a term that one of the clubs refuses to use and most people accept is no longer accurate.
Will there be any comment in the media about this ?
Not until
Those of you who still have children at school, and are perhaps a bit bemused by some of the christmas plays the little ones are participating in might like to be reminded of how it was when we were at school, with this charming reproduction of the nativity scene by a Glasgow Primary..
Remember , dreams can come true at Christmas…
But not that one, obviously..
By the way, of you are struggling to think of what to get someone for christmas, it might be an idea to get them something from the Etims Store, which you can find on the home page.
From those who have used it before , we have one or two testimonies..
” Top quality gear, I even paid them twice it was so good. “
” A wonderful selection of high class goods, when you buy some for a friend, buy some for yourself as well “
” I couldn’t believe how good it was, and how reasonably priced it all is. I told them they could empty my bank account f they wanted to. “
By the way, if you have used the store, some genuine comments would be appreciated. If you haven’t used it, then go and buy something and tell us what you think.
It’s Friday, and as you know, that means its time for Knob of the Week. And what a week its been.
Joey Barton, for his statement about how he was built up to be some sort of Messi-Neymar hybrid, Crawford Wilson of UEFA for his selective eyesight, Mark McGhee and latterly James MacFadden for their incessant whinging after last weeks game at Fir Park, Derek McInnes for his baffling team selection and tactics at Ibrox, and Kris Boyd for his insightful comments in the media this week all would have won the title had they competed in separate weeks with what can only be called excellent efforts.
It was always going to take something secial to beat them, and , as they say, cometh the hour, cometh the man…
Robbie somehow got himself a gig as the match summariser with BT for the last group game between Manchester City and Celtic. His oefully underinformed and patronising comments put him in the running for the title, and then he cemented it with this tweet..
Which appeared to attract an awful lot of non Celtic supporters…
Anyhoo, Savage, clearly trolling here did enough to land himself the coveted title of Etims
Knob Of The Week
For those of you who don;t know much about him, here’s former Celtic player Dion Dublin deep in discussion with him during a match some years ago. Which gives one a warm and satisfying glow that gets brighter every time one watches it.
In the Diary yesterday we asked for comment on this snap, featuring Criag Thomson, who will referee tonights game
which was explained with the help of the sharp hearing of..
Caption: fuck of over to there, once you get there, fuck of some more, and then, just fuck the completely off….
and so to todays picture…
