Celtic Diary Thursday January 19: How Rumours Start

That motto, of course, is not applicable if a drunk guy tells you something.

The recent tittle tattle about Summer Harl, the girl who presents Celtic TV, is a prime example of how a story can grow legs without actually having any substance to it.

Chinese Whispers ?

Absolutely.

It appears that the story started in Dubai, no doubt as a prank between the players, and then went viral as the story spread.

Although its equally possible it started online, as many do, reached the players, and then when they started talking about it, it gave the story more “substance”-well, some substance, when all they were doing was repeating what they’d seen on twitter.

It seems that by deleting her twitter account she has inadvertently given the very people who look at her with a box of tissues close by, the chance to convince themselves she’s exactly the type of girl they imagine she is….

No wonder she quit social media. It’s all a bit disturbing.

She’s not been sacked, she’s not been reprimanded , and she’s kept her virtue where immoral acts and deeds were mentioned.

And there should be no surprise at that.

Mikael Lustig has signed a two year extension to his current deal with Celtic. He’s happy, presumably because the medical facilities are top notch on this side of the river, and certainly because he likes it here..

“I’ve been here for a long time and I really enjoy my life here and playing for Celtic, I’m really happy. I’m still hungry for more and I love being here.

“We’ve started really well in the first six months under the new manager and staff so that’s why it was an easy thing for me to do. Celtic is growing and getting better every season now and I want to be a part of it.

“We have a chance to take the treble now and we’ve obviously not done that yet, but everyone wants to just continue to develop as a team, continue to play against good sides and learn.”

He’s been here for five years, which might surprise a few of you, but then time does fly when you’re having fun.

He officially joined on January 1, 2012 and will be with us until 2019 at least. Thats not bad these days, and he joins an impressive list of Swedish players who have been with Celtic for the peak years of their careers. Well, alright, there’s three of them now…

His time at Celtic ?

“For me it has been brilliant, not just at Celtic but the people in Glasgow have also been really helpful. You just feel like people want to help you all the time and it’s been amazing for us as a family.” 

He gets more than his fair share of criticism, and is sometimes unfairly described as being made of glass, but Lustig is a great player, and we should all be pleased he’s going to be around for a while yet. More importantly, he has become Celtic minded, and this shows on the pitch..

He joins James Forrest and Tom Rogic as players who have impresed Brendan Rodgers enough to get new deals, with Craig Gordon and Stuart Armstrong waiting patiently for theirs.

Over on the soccer souls website, they’ve been discussing the possibility and potential of Keiran Tierney at Manchester United..

He might hit the ground running and turn out to be a great signing, or struggle to cope entirely with life in the topflight, but the latter looks more like the most feasible. The 2-time capped Scotland international just haven’t done enough to show he can hold down a regular starting berth as Manchester United’s undisputed first choice left-back.

A couple of Champions League games aren’t enough for Tierney’s C.V to fit the bill for that top job now available at the Theater of Dreams. However, there is no denying that the teenage bag of promises, who was a ball boy on the night Celtic famously beat Barcelona 2-1 at Parkhead back in 2012, has a bright future ahead of him.

An excellent tackler who is hard to beat on one-on-one scenarios, Tierney is more than your average left-back as he combines a perfect blend of top-notch defensive and offensive qualities. His incredible pace and ability to direct the perfect cross into the opposition box makes him a real threat whenever he gets forward, while he has an eye for a goal due to his power-packed shots.

Liverpool and Bayern Munich are also said to be monitoring the youngster’s development, but he has a lot of growing to do, and Old Trafford might not be the most perfect of next-stops for him to continue that. Not even the most experienced of defenders have impressed Jose well enough this term. A 19-year-old playing in one of the world’s less competitive leagues might have a harder time convincing the Portuguese.

Right now, this move doesn’t have all the features to become an instant hit, and United badly need a left-back who will hit the ground running upon immediately arriving at the club. Kieran Tierney doesn’t look like one. 

Although its full of the usual arrogance expected from a Manchester united angle, he does have a point, although he sort of dances around it.

Manchester United don’t want a ten million pound left back with a bright future. They want the finished article, and they want it now, or they’re going to hold their breath until they die.

Thats whats wrong with English football, and thats why it’s rapidly going down the tunes, quality wise. The supporters see it as a sort of computer game where they buy up foreign “stars ” who they are told are brilliant, the players see it as a wage packet, and the managers see it as a place to work for a few months.

As for Teirney, if the author of that piece, or indeed any Manchester United fan is having this read to him, he’s shite, so is Dembele and anyone else you might be tempted to do a Liam Miller on.

And you know how you got Larsson when he was winding down ? Well, that was becuase he wanted to play for a football club when he was at his peak, and not some corporate entity which lost its soul when Sky TV offered to pay for it.

Manchester United are still the club with the biggest turnover in the world, over half a billion pounds last year, Celtic are way behind on just over £50m.

However, despite their income, United are still paying off huge debts, and the latest financial quarterly report shows just how much debt..

Net Debt Net Debt as of 30 September 2016 was £337.7 million, an increase of £51.5 million over the year primarily due to the impact of foreign exchange rate movements on our USD denominated debt (USD/GBP exchange rate moved from 1.5128 at 30 September 2015 to 1.2941 at 30 September 2016) and the decrease in cash outlined above 

which is costing them…

Net finance costs Net finance costs for the quarter were £5.9 million, an increase of £1.6 million, or 37.2%, over the prior year quarter, primarily due to adverse exchange rate movements.

Still, at least they are making money. Just not much. On that turnover that is…

 Q1 OPERATING PROFIT OF £6.2 MILLION

It just shows how precarious their situation is, and if anything ever goes wrong with the Sky deal, then it will destroy the game down there.

I think, when all is said and done, I prefer the way Celtic is just now.

Celtic.

One surprise rumoured target-and I’ve explained how these stories can get out of hand, is the possibility of another new winger joining up, one who recently made a point that he hasn;t been offered a new deal by his club despite being generally acknowldeged as the best player there, and in fact, as the best player from there for quite some time.

 “There’s been nothing said yet. For me, right now is just about playing football.

“If they come to me then they come to me. Until they do, it’s up to me to keep doing well. I don’t think there’s anything to be gained from thinking about it too much.

“If you do, you can start to let it affect your performances and stop playing well. I’m quite a chilled guy and that probably helps me. I see my long-term future here.

‘I’ve still got 18 months left and if they want to look at extending it they can come and talk to me but until then it’s up to me to keep performing to the level I can and to keep progressing.”

Scootish footballs most exciting prospect-since the last time they had one- Barrie Mackay is struggling to hide his disappointment there, and could be the target of a cross border raid as the cash strapped Ibrox club are vunerable right now, as they haven;t had any home games this month, and were they not lucky enough to get a home draw in the Cup, would probably have been filling in loan applications on the web by now.

Chuck them a million quid, get the lad in, and then lend him to Aberdeen or somewhere.

Speaking of loans, The Express got something right yesterday when they predicted Gary Mackay Steven would not be allowed to head to Dundee united on loan. Brendan says he’s got a role with the first team at Celtic, proof that the fringe players will be used at the tail end of the season to allow the first picks to get a break before the champions league kicks in again, and of course, its a chance to prove themselves capable of doing a job for Celtic as well.

New signing Kouasi Eboue might get a run out against Albion rovers at the weekend, to give a feel for the team, which again prompts rumours that Nir Biton might become Far Biton as soon as a decent bid comes in.

Surprisingly, the Dembele story apart, there has been little interest in any of the Celtic first team, which might be down to the fact that no one seems to want to leave.

The Record runs with a story today that may have further implications..

 Gilmour was speaking on BBC sportsound, apparently, and no one thought to breathalyse him before he started rambling.

When prompted to discuss if the big clubs are part of a cabal running the SPFL, Gilmour responded: “I think you’re hitting the nail right on the head. I think that’s one of the problems of having a weak Rangers , shall we say, obviously they’re coming back and I don’t mean any offence whatsoever in that. 

“I think it was healthier for the game when we had a strong Rangers so we had two particularly strong clubs.” 

Would that be the strong Rangers who plunged into liquidation, after years of commiting tax fraud ?

This  allowed host Kenny McIntyre a chance to ask him who was running Scottish football, which was clearly the plan from the start, as it allowed Gilmour to stand on his soap box.

“Oh, Kenny I don’t think you need to ask me that. Are you trying to tell me that Peter’s not pulling the strings? Peter Lawwell ?

“And by the way I don’t mean any offence to Peter. Peter’s job is the chief executive of Celtic Football Club and in terms of that job and his key primary role, Peter does a fantastic job.

“Does Peter do a great job for Scottish football? Hmm. How many times are we talking about new TV deals and various other things and trying to promote the game – and what comes out the box again? Us [Celtic] going to England.

Er, when exactly did Peter say that ?

“Some of the chairmen that attend the meetings will not take Peter on. I think he’s got too much power on other clubs.” 

Yeah, they should stand up to him, and so should the beaks. After all, they stood up to Rangers when they were ruling the roost.

Then it was Neil Doncasters turn to face a salvo…

 “If you look back through the whole Rangers saga and chairmen of Premier League clubs, and I won’t embarrass them this evening, sat in a room in Gleneagles and said: ‘Let’s get all this sorted first of all and then we’ll sort him. 

“He’s got no credibility with supporters. It’s the way he has conducted himself throughout the whole time.” 

Is Gilmour blaming Doncaster for Rangers going under ?

Will the SPFL chief be the fall guy when they re appear for the third time ?

Gilmour is a very bitter man, and whatever his real gripe is, one wonders why he didn’t do anything about it while he was steering St. Mirren into oblivion.

But then, we have seen that the bitter fellows in the game only offer blame, and not solutions.

It’s the last day of the Kinloch v Coral case today, and after two days of stalling, we should see the word liquidation used today, unless Coral, who recently merged with league sponsors Ladbrokes, are afraid to tell the truth.

Follow James Doleman on twitter for the latest, live from the courtroom.

Should be a laugh, although there is a sneaking suspicion that the bookie may well lose this one, which is strange, as all they have to do is produce evidence that Rangers went into liquidation, which isn’t that hard to get.

Yesterdays picture, a heart rending image of kids climbing up a fence..

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