Brendan Rodgers will blow the title race wide open this afternoon by handing the goalkeeper jersey to Dorus De Vries.
De Vries will then pick it back up and put it on, taking his place between the sticks. This time, he might even try to move about a bit and at least get in the way of anything Dundee throw at him.
It’s thirteen months since he played a league game, and although Celtic won that one 6-1 against Kilmarnock, the 36 year old went on to concede seven to Barelona, which meant his Celtic career stalled somewhat.
To add to the fun, it looks like Christian Gamboa and Nir Biton will play centre half…
If this turns out to be the case, its obvious that the trip to Munich next week is very much in the managers mind.
Jozo, like Scott Brown and Stuart Armstrong, is very unlikely to be involved against Dundee on Saturday but all three should train and hopefully be ready for Bayern Munich [on Wednesday].
“So it was never an injury that was going to keep him out for a sustained period of time but he felt something and he stayed behind to get treatment.
“[Brown and Armstrong] are great, they have come through very well and will join the squad tomorrow for training. Maybe too soon for Saturday but certainly they should be fine for Bayern Munich.
“[Ralston] still hasn’t trained yet so we are keeping an eye on him. He has spent a real good couple of weeks with the medical team and hopefully he will be in very soon also.
“We are still waiting on Tom Rogic, he has a way to go. He normally arrives the day before so he should be back tomorrow.
“It is very difficult when he has had the travel he has had. There is normally a protocol with him in terms of the way he feels, as you can imagine with the travel in such a short period of time, so normally when he gets back he needs to recover for at least 48 hours so I think Dundee will be soon for him.
“What I’ve been impressed by [Dundee manager] Neil [McCann is that] he’s clearly trying to get them to play, to show a courage on the ball. He wants his teams to build from behind so they open the game up very well in order to want to get on the ball.
“So it seems pretty clear to me to how they want to play and it doesn’t matter where they play whether it’s at home or away from home, they want to impose their way of working.”
Fair enough, a few players may need a rest, but a bit of game time wouldn’t hurt, surely, even if its just for the Scots lads to get used to playing with top class players again.
Armstrong, Brown , Simunovic and Ralston are injured, whilst Tom Rogic only returned from international duty yesterday.
Expect a line up something like this..
De Vries, Lustig ,Gamboa, Biton, Hayes, Ntcham, MacGregor, Benyu, Sinclair Roberts Dembele.
Dundee will be boosted by the return of our old chum Josh Meekings, along with fellow defenders Jules Etxabeguren and Kosta Gadzhalov.
Neil McCann, their popular and likeable manager said..
“They’re a quality side and they’ve proven it over the years that they’re the best in the country by a stretch,” Neil said.
“It doesn’t matter who’s away, who’s fit, who’s not — they’re just a real good side and that’s the strength and depth Hoops boss Brendan Rodgers enjoys.
“It’s up to us to come up with something good enough and get a result.
“He’s only played the same team once and he wants to go into matches and keep the opposition guessing.
“That’s a great quality to have and it’s something we’re all searching for.
“There are teams throughout the league that have found a formula that works for them.
“I think any manager would rip your arm off to be able to change personnel and formations readily to keep people guessing but still have the same quality Celtic have.
A better idea might be to rip McCanns arms off and hit him with them until he stops talking.
Ordinarily, you’d expect a narrow win for the hoops, but whatever you may think of the makeshift defence, the front four are more than capable of getting a result no matter how many are needed.
A win is needed, rivals Aberdeen have a difficult trip to Easter road, and should they beat hibernian, we will have to start taking them seriously.
We might even be glancing nervously over our shoulder at “rangers “, who chalked up a remarkable 3-0 win over St Johnstone in Perth last night.
Fair enough.
But we do need that win….
Elsewhere, and Scotland appointed Malky Mackay as interim manager. He’ll take charge of the side against the Netherlands on November 9, or as he calls them, the clog wearing tulip eating wavers at windmills.
Mackay, of course, famously lost his last job when a few of his text messages became public knowledge..
Yesterday, the SFA got right behind this campaign..
and then within half an hour followed it up..
The SFA are not noted for their self awareness, and surely now it must be time to just cut them off from football.
Incidentally, the Netherlands game is at Pittodrie, where the resident club are looking to move from as it isn’t adequate for their needs.
It must be just a coincidence that Aberdeen chairman Stewart Milne recently supported the SFA decision not to get involved in a judicial inquiry…
Stewart Regan, the hapless head of the SFA reckons it could take eight months to find a new Scotland manager, which given his own inability to find his own arse with both hands and a flashlight comes as no surprise.
Can anyone point to anything that Regan has achieved during his tenure ?
Can anyone offer any justification as to why this guy is still in charge ?
And why is no one calling him out ?
Someone else who appears to be a favourite is Dave King, the convicted tax fraudster now apparently the owner of “rangers “.
His second day in court-well, he didn’t show up, but you know what I mean- wasn’t covered by the BBC on twitter.
Thats because the news wouldn’t have been good.
King says he’s skint, despite owning a firm which has lent money to the club…( from their accounts )
which means he isn’t in a position to comply with the order from the Takeover Panel.
This tactic, known amongst regular defendants, is called Taking the Piss, and almost always ends badly…
South African site BizNews reported the story somewhat differently..
In September 2013, Joburg-based serial entrepreneur Dave King paid an eye-watering R706m to SA Revenue Services after a 13 year fight. His refusal to accept authority has now landed the JSE-listed MICROMega chairman back in more hot water. He is the focus of a well publicised court case brought by the UK’s Takeover Panel.
King and his cohorts acquired effective control of the listed football club Rangers FC two years ago at a price of 20p. UK rules require him to make an identical offer to all other shareholders. King refused, arguing that as the market price had since risen to 32p, it was a fool’s errand.
The Takeover Appeals Board then ordered King to make the offer by April. He refused once more. So a well publicised court case started in Edinburgh yesterday, one which is turning into a huge embarrassment for the serial entrepreneur. Specifically because of a boast before becoming Rangers chairman that he would inject £30m of his own money into the club.
Yesterday King’s lawyers admitted their client doesn’t even have the £11m required to make the stand-by offer to other shareholders – much less what he promised. For Rangers fans, that news is likely to enjoy the popularity of a green and white jumper, colours of arch rivals Celtic.
Well, if anyone told them, that is.
Perhaps they should study this summary, from Cartuja of Kerrydale Street, which is succinct enough.
They might also want to consider why they aren;t in this table…perhaps an indicator as to how UEFA really view the new club..
Anyhoo, our CSc holds its Hooley for the Homeless tonight, so we’ve got a lot to do today.
Anyone else who wishes to contribute should get in touch and we’ll let you know how.
And I still have no idea where the flag is.
Yesterday, we showed this image..
Caption:Mercedes unveil their latest paint scheme, called, ” White, with a hint of wronged wee ginger guy”
Today… what is this ?
