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Celtic Diary Tuesday October 30

Tonight Celtic have the chance to right a couple of wrongs when they face St. Johnstone when they face the in form side in the League Cup quarter finals at Celtic Park. The Perth side won in the league last month, and Celtic go into the game after two defeats-against barcelona and Kilmarnock, and Neil Lennon is adamant there will be no more slip ups.

“There will be a bit of revenge in the air, I’m sure the players will be very motivated. I’m looking for a really good reaction and I’m sure I’ll get that” he said, his fingers firmly crossed behind his back.

“I’m not going to give my team away, but its fair to say it will be a pretty strong team. Its a quarter final, off the back of a disappointing performance and result, and its important we bounce back in the right way. They know how important the shirt is, they know how important it is to play for the club. They didn’t do themselves justice on Saturday and its not often I can cast that aspersion on the players. Thats gone and we move on” he added, mentioning again in public what he has hopefully drummed into his underperforming side.

“We had a proud home record for over a year, which is gone now, so we’ve got to start that all over again. Domestically, we want to put as much distance between ourselves and everyone else as possible, as quickly as possible. We had a bad day and I’ll make sure that doesn’t hapen again.”

Or as the players put it, he’s in one.

Rightly so, the games are coming thick and fast, growing in importance, and tonights one off means that another failure to show will ย result in no treble this year.

Adam Matthews has apologised for his display last weekend, and Kris Commons reckons the players will bounce back, having received the proverbial kick up the arse.

With the press determined to unsettle as many of the players and staff as possible, mainly because they still choose to ignore the corruption and cheating scandal within Scottish football since the last century, its tony Watts turn to be linked with a move to the glamour of the English Premier league, with West Brom reportedly interested in taking him away, but as he said himself,

“If the club wants to tie me down for the next couple of years they can.”

A strange request, as most players would be happy with a new contract.

Anyway, back to tonights game, and Lennon has added Samaras and Brown to the squad, which at least signifies intent, but McGeuoch and Lassad are still out. St. Johnstone may be without Gregory Tade, Jamie Adams, Paddy clegg Peter Pawlett and old friend Craig Beattie, the memory alone of his triumphant celebrations and broken down move to Rangers should encourage the crowd to “make some noise for the bhoys” tonight.

Down south there is another row brewing over racist comments as a referee stands accused of calling the all new non racist Chelsea player John obi Mikel names. Surprisingly, the media down there have adopted the style of the Scottish media by asking the forst person they can think of for his views.

In this case its Jeff Winter, who you may remember is under investigation for his anto catholic remarks on his own website-which he says was hacked. Asking a bigot for his views on racism, and paying him for it. In one way, its a relief its not just Scotland, and in another its a pathetic example of piss poor journalism which concentrates solely on anything except balanced and accurate reporting. Still, fair play to nicky Campbell, who on his radio show, actually asked Winter about this, and the former ref was then blanked for a while, or treated with the disrespect he deserves, to put it another way.

Charles Green, fresh after his “I want to hear the champions league music at ibrox again” comments, says he doesnt want to play in the SPL again, “unless the fans want it”. With very little comedy being made for tv these days, the Yorkshire terrier is a godsend , especially now the nights are longer and colder.

Playing to the gallery, he said

“We were thrown out of the SPL (no you weren’t, you went under and started a new club), they stole money that we were due from the previous season (no they didn’t, you are a new club, especially with a real firm of liquidators moving in, we are confident that’ll be your new defence), and they are now pursuing title stripping. (From the old club, who cheated.)

“There was money due to Rangers from Sky and part of that was for finishing second. That money has never been paid and has been kept by the SPL (Of course, if it was paid , it should go to the creditors of the old club)

“For me it is very difficult to forgive and forget” he said, as well as remember, presumably.

Ach, they will lap it all up, like they usually do, and then blame everyone else when it goes arse over tit again. Still, at least he has promised to stick by Ally McCoist, which is always good for a laugh.

As they say in Edinburgh, lang may his lum reek. Or “got any gear, pal”, which was pretty much a catchphrase the las time i was there, but it doesn’t fit the story.

Yesterdays teaser was answered correctly, if not spelt correctly by Malkybhoy, as it was indeed Billy McNeill who made the mountain and molehill comments on the centenary video.

Today, with the League Cup the focus of events, think about this. ย Tony Shepherd-whats his “claim to fame?”

 

And, has anyone seen Pensionerbhoy-he went to the game on Saturday, and hasn’t reported back yet.

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son of pensioner
11 years ago

Pensioner Bhoy made it to and from the game in one piece only stopping every five minutes for a breath and gripe about the teams performance. I think I now have tinnitus.

bartly cole
11 years ago

Tony Shepherd. Sent off in League Cup Final against Rangers (IA) by Brother Syme in 1986. Reinstated by Syme when the arch hun ref was convinced a coin had hit him rather than Shepherd.

Syme had sent Judas off in the same incident in what was the highlight of his refereeing career.

San Miguel
11 years ago

Was just about to that too -Am I right in thinking that as Judas was sent off he blessed himself as he left the pitch – much to the mock horror and furore of seething pus and bile in red white and blue ?

Did Billy McNeill then not give him a clip roon the ear and push him up the tunnel to get him out the way ?

Crap and crokked referees – plus ca change as Delboy would say

San Miguel
11 years ago

Wait a minute – was David Hay not the manager at the time ?

Im in my forties you know – I was 18 at the time !

Steveo
11 years ago

Yup to all that Davy Hay manager & le petite merde did indeed bless himself as he came off the pitch. Comments by some of his team-mates at the time were he wasnae the most devoted attender to the Chapel – did well to remember how to bless himself!!

binkabhoy
11 years ago

It was that game, as a still fairly young chap, that really drove home the reality of life in Scottish Football. Turned out it wasn’t that we were biased towards our own team – or paranoid – they really were out to get us!!

11 years ago

down with hunnery

the lurgan tiger
11 years ago

Wasnt it after that game the Davie Hay made his “we’d be better aff moving to the english league” comments?

Lenny Bruce
11 years ago

It was indeed after another episode of blatant cheating that Davie Hay said would have to move to the English league to get equal treatment.

Fair play to the Celtic board, they gave him the chance to do exactly that a couple of years later……

Pensionerbhoy
11 years ago

Ralph;

In the words of one more famous and probably more handsome than I, “reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated”. I have not posted for a variety of reasons, the main being that I have been busy getting my normal life back together and have just this minute completed ‘catch-up’. However, it could be said that I have also just been awoken from the deep slumber brought on by an all-consuming boredom that engulfed me last Saturday afternoon (God love the stewards who were casting lots to decide who gave me the kiss of life when they saw my still body stuck to the seat after the game)- a more complete travel-log could follow if desired. Thank you, Ralph, for all of your pre-match advice. Were you aware that your information could be invaluable to the stadium stewards who seemed to have as much knowledge of what was available at Parkhead as a certain Mr. Green has of share issues. No not one, no not any one could give me even a hint as to where the lifts were, if there were any and whether they were likely take me to D45 or into orbit, not until I reached the said level which was like advising me at Euston what train to catch from Glasgow after I had jogged all the way to London (imagination running riot. I could only manage Carlisle these days :>)). So, I had to negotiate the ‘few’ stairs that take one to the upper tiers. As my son said, I had to stop a few times to gather breath (not that there was a great deal of what could be called fresh air filtering through the staircases) on about every landing. Therein could have lain the genuine source of my demise. As it was, it led to what I can only describe as a thrilling moment when I first entered onto the terraces of that breathtaking arena. It was not necessarily comparable with many other instances I have witnessed in that hallowed place but, after eight long years, it was most definitely an occasion to savour. It nearly took away all the breath I had left after those damned stairs. Unfortunately the rest of the proceedings did nothing to stir the emotions nor did the weather help to warm the cockles of my heart nor any other parts of my gradually disintegrating anatomy. One pleasing positive was the freezing cold rendering my incontinence equipment redundant for the afternoon. I will conclude with a simple summary. In spite of all that was good, all that was disappointing and all that was truly bad, I had a great day. I hope I might get the opportunity to repeat it before the lungs finally implode, the heart stops pumping and the old bones no longer creak. If so, then perhaps I might avoid the toil of climbing the stairs by using an extendible ladder :>))
If you wish, I could provide a journalistic description of my days away. Please advise.

H H

Pensionerbhoy
11 years ago

P.S., Ralph. If you wish a more detailed account, it might take a day or two as I have few commitments this week that will encroach upon my life of leisure.

H H

bognor bhoyle
11 years ago

after reading about pensionerbhoy’s trip to paradise ,i am looking forward even more to my own return to the park .just
hope they fair better against caley .

the lurgan tiger
11 years ago

PB. Use the lifts at the accesses to the north stand lounges.

Mind and look eld and decrepit tho or they’ll tell you to get on yer way. A walking stick does the trick most times

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