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Celtic Diary Wednesday December 6: Half Full And Half Empty

Celtic swept into the last 32 of the Europa League last night by holding an impressive Anderlecht to a single goal victory at Celtic Park.

Anderlecht did their best to score, and only Craig Gordon kept it from being a typical home rout, but it was Jozo Simunovic who took pity on them, and not wanting them to leave Glasgow empty handed, he turned the ball into his own net to give them the now statutory three points at Celtic Park.

Prior to the game, Brendan Rodgers announced that it was 0-0.

This appeared to confuse the players who had checked the rules which meant Celtic were actually three up on away goals, so no one quite knew whether to contain the game or try to win it.

And it showed.

It was as disappointing a performance from Celtic since the last one.

An idea of how Anderlecht would treat the game came from this tweet… from the medical manager at Anderlecht

I used to wear a shirt when I was a young guy. Now I can experience the athmosphere finally live tonight. Looking forward to this one! #100%   

If you haven’t clicked now that other teams positively love playing at Celtic Park, and it could even be said to bring the best out of them, then you never will.

I keep saying it, but we need to make them want to get away as quickly as possibly, and not circle the date on their calendars as to when they are playing there.

If we don’t, we are going to see many many more results like the three defeats this season.

There is also a possibility that the players have no faith in themselves at this level. Indeed, if we keep telling them that, and I include management, media and supporters in this, then they will believe themselves to be second class players.

When this team plays, it plays very, very well. There is no doubting its ability, but somehow thise doubts have crept into the play, and the results are that in this years group stages, Celtic have played six, lost five and conceded -well, I’ve run out of fingers and toes to count the goals against.

However, it is a results business, and the end result is that Celtic are still in europe, although at times it feels more like Theresa May is managing the campaign, and everyone at the club must sit down and take stock of where its going wrong, and put it right.

To play that badly that often and still make the knockout stages of the Europa League, from a starting point back in the summer qualifiers is no mean feat, and its that shred of hope to which we will cling when it all starts up again.

What do we need ?

Well, despite what you might read elsewhere, or even believe yourself, we don’t need major surgery.

There are some great players at Celtic, and most of them are more than capable of doing a job at Europa level.

It would be nice of someone would tell them that now and again.

After the game, Brendan Rodgers kind of proved my point…

We were fourth seeds and there won’t be too many of those who have jumped up to third place and gone through. We have been able to do that.

“A Scottish team to have come out of the Champions League and have European football after Christmas is a huge achievement. 

It’s an achievement, but it shouldn’t be a surprise. One could argue that the wealer league we play in, if we are to accept that as fact, allows us more scope to concentrate on European games. We don’t have tough games before or after ties against European giants.

We have closed the campaign and we have qualified. To have got to the Europa League is absolutely brilliant. 

“Our aim was to finish third. That would be a massive achievement for us at this stage of where we are at.

“We have done that, so there is immense pride, but it’s hard to feel that when you’ve lost.” 

“Some of them think they are Champions League players, but this is a good leveller for some of those guys to reflect on the performance and be better.

“It was a poor performance. Our technique was poor. The players could not play quickly enough and needed five or six touches on the ball. 

“We now have a few months to put in a lot of work and there are always lessons to be learned at this level because of the players you are up against.

“We won’t get carried away. You see the amount of work we need to do to be competitive at this level.

“The context of the game probably affected our performance, especially in the first half, with Anderlecht having to chase the game to make up the goal difference.

“They were much brighter and quicker than us and, overall, the best team won.

“There is a story for some of our players in that they have a long way to go before they can call themselves to be players at this level.

“But we’ve shown over the course of this campaign that we can be better.” 

“We have to have a touch of realism.

“There are going to be much, much better teams in there than ourselves. 

It’s this last bit that I don’t understand, as it implies a level of defeatism that I don’t associate with Celtic teams. Especially at home…

Of course there are better teams out there, just don;t tell the players which ones they are. Instead, show them how to at least compete with them.

Do that, and we might have something to cheer about on a European night under the lights.

 

Elsewhere, and Derek McInnes looks like he’ll resign and take the managers job at Ibrox. So the media reckon, at least, after Aberdeen turned down an official approach from the new club to speak to their man.

If he does go to “rangers “, perhaps the SFA will refer allegations of match fixing and unsporting behaviour to UEFA.

Or perhaps they won’t.

Those in charge of the game in Scotland don;t care about those who pay for it.

That won’t change until change is forced.

 

Speaking of the SFA, here’s an update from Brogan Rogan Trevino on how things are going with the compliance Officer investigation into the Resolution 12 issue… ( taken from CQN )

The current position is that everyone is waiting on the review of the UEFA Licence situation (application, review of application, award of licence, submission to UEFA, compliance and review of licence conditions and subsequent review of information supporting compliance and the handling of that info by The SFA and so on) by Mr McGlennan the compliance officer.

  In the past couple of weeks, the compliance officer has been contacted to ensure that, when deliberating over this issue, he has full access not only to the information provided by the SFA from within their files, which should include all correspondence from RFC PLC (In Liquidation), Duff & Phelps and of course Celtic PLC, but also to the correspondence between the Res 12 solicitors and the SFA Corporate Compliance officer and the same solicitor and UEFA.

  As we understand it, no proper review is possible without looking at all of this information and correspondence. Further, upon reviewing the information in detail, it is very hard to conclude that the Cjief Executive of the SFA has given several different explanations as to when, how, and why the liceence was granted and why the Rangers of the time remained compliant with UEFA regulations at different dates.

 Mr Regan has, on various occasions, explained that:

  1. The Licence was granted as at 31st March 2011 on the basis that the wee tax bill was only a provisional debt as at that date.

  2. The licence was granted as at 31st March 2011 on the basis that there was a potential tax bill but ot was not yet “due” in terms of the Inland Revenue regulations.

  3. The Licence was granted as at 31st March 2011 on the basis that there was a tax bill due as at that date but that it was not overdue in terms of the UEFA regulations.

  4. The licence was granted as at 31st March 2011 on the basis that there was a tax bill due as at that date but that RFC PLC (In Liquidation) had secured an agreement with HMRC that payment of the debt would be postponed and paid over an agreed period of time. It is essential in terms of UEFA legislation that any such agreement is in writing.

  5. That the licence was granted as at 31st March 2011 on the basis that there was a Tax bill due as at that date but the tax bill concerned was the subject of an appeal to the first tier tribunal by RFC PLC (In liquidation) which appeal renders the bill as not technically due as at the date of granting.

  Over an above the different explanations given above, there have been numerous mixtures and conflations of all of the above points of view.

  Dealing with the key date of 31st March 2011 it should be noted that in fact the licence was not granted until 19th April 2011 (I think as I am working from Memory) and existence of the grant of a licence was not transmitted to or intimated to UEFA until 27th May (again that may not be the exact date but it is around then).

  This is important because on 20th May 2011 RFC PLC (In Liquidation) received a formal demand from HMRC in relation to the wee tax bill concerned that made it plain that HMRC were of the opinion that the tax bill was not only due but overdue in terms of HMRC’s own regulation 80 procedure.

  Not only that, but the letter goes on to state that HMRC are of the opinion that RFC had fraudulently and deleiberately underdeclared their monthly PAYE and NIC returns each month since 1999/200 and that these acts (plural) were fraudulent and deliberate and as such HMRC demanded both penal interest and penalties.

  RFC PLC (In Liquidation) were under a duty to report the existence of any such demand letter to the SFA as soon as possible in terms of the UEFA licensing regulations.

  It also follows that this letter should have been in the hands of the SFA BEFORE they were able to intimate any licence grant to UEFA on May 27th.

  Not only that, but when corresponding with Celtic PLC in writing (in response to a letter sent November 2011 by Peter Lawwell), and on other occasions, Mr Regan of the SFA stated that once the licence was granted as at 31st March 2011 (Notwithstanding that no licence was granted by that date at all) the SFA had no further role to play in the UEFA licensing process as all monitoring and compliance checks post 31st March were carried out by UEFA.

 There are two aspects to this particular position:

 The first is that it means that no one is checking compliance issues between the dates of the granting of the licence and the intimation of a licence grant to UEFA. If the licence was meant to be granted as at 31st March then this means that no one was checking things between that date and 27th May which period, in this case, was crucial.

  Secondly, and most interesting, is the fact that the people at UEFA stated in a later letter that not only were the SFA in charge of monitoring UEFA compliance throughout 2011 (after the grant of the licence on whatever date) but that at the same time they were monitoring UEFA eligibility for the following season 2012/2013.

  Not only does this contradict what Regan said to Lawwell in 2011, it would appear that either Regan didn’t understand the function of the SFA in the process or he deliberately failed to inform Peter Lawwell of the full functions of the SFA and that they had decided at some point in season 2011/2012 that RFC PLC (In Liquidation) were no longer compliant with the UEFA regulations and should not be granted a licence for season 2012/2013 in any event.

  When the SFA reached this conclusion has not been made clear but according to UEFA it was an SFA decision.

  There are many many further aspects to this but key is this ….. at what date did RFC PLC (In Liquidation) accept that they were due to pay that tax bill.

  There is clear evidence that this occurred prior to March 31st 2011 and it has been suggested that the “new” evidence led at the Craig Whyte trial shows that the SFA were misled as at 31st March 2011.

  The evidence concerned was, in fact, not new at all and was pointed out to the SFA years before but they advised that they could not act on the same for a variety of reasons one of which was that their duties for each individual season actually ends at the end of that season – so if they only find out something after the end of a particular season then they cannot act on it.

  This is such a perverse and idiotic legal position that the rules either will have to be changed or have been changed since.

  There are any number of other matters to be considered including the submissions made by RFC PLC (In Liquidation) throughout the UEFA licensing process in order to remain compliant and how the SFA dealt with them.

  No doubt Mr McGlennan is making fresh enquiries of friend Dickson and others (although this should have been done years ago but wasn’t) especially about the letter of 20th May and whether that letter ever found its way into the SFA files and when?

  What we, and Celtic, want to make sure is that when looking at all of this he has all the available info and not simply the info fed to him by the SFA themselves.

  They chose to leak some correspondence after the trial, but forgot that we too have correspondence that does not sit on all fours with what they have said thus far.

  So, we wait on Mr McGlennan and his review before going further.

  Of course there should be a full review of all Licensing compliance between 1999 and 2012, especially where HMRC cites deliberately false PAYE returns for over a decade, just as Celtic and the SPFL requested but a dying man rarely prepares his own rope or sets about convicting himself!

 

Which simply re-iterates the fact that we haven’t gone away…

 

Yesterdays somewhat bizarre image..

6

Steven R December 5, 2017 at 8:42 am · Edit · Reply →

Caption: a historic photo from the archives of Microsoft, demonstrating the first ever Office Mobile app

 Today..

Image credit: Fred Mott

 

 

 

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Admin
6 years ago

SFA Compliance Officer throws out old Valentines cards from Ryan Jack

Monti
6 years ago
Reply to  Desi Mond

🙂

TC
6 years ago

Jim Farry shows how he deals with applications from Celtic for approval for players like Jorge Cadette

Pat Higney
6 years ago

Caption:
The SFA compliance officer deals with the latest batch of freedom of information requests about resolution 12

Pat Higney
6 years ago

Caption: “No Mr Milne, I can’t seem to find the folder containing the rules reference tapping up another team’s manager!”

Level 5 plant
6 years ago

We aren’t a champions league team pure and simple. We were brutal last night. What has happened to Stuart Armstrong? He isn t the same player at all. Sinclair and Rogic never did a thing as well. We played for a draw and it was like watching paint dry! I really haven’t enjoyed this CL campaign.

Rebus67
6 years ago

I am more disappointed by the result last night than the hammers we received from BM and PSG. Why? Because we should be able to beat the Anderlechts of European football at Parkhead. Failure to do so, shows we are not progressing where it matters.
That is the easy part, but it is more difficult to spot what needs to be done.

To beat Celtic, teams need to press the middle two of the 4231. The team is slow to transition out from the back, so if you stiffle the middle two, you stop Celtic. That is what happened last night. Neither McGregor nor Armstrong are good enough defensively or going forward to break the pressing game.

Players that don’t play in a defeat are always better than those that do! However, both Ntcham and Kouassi have accurate long passes in their lockers. McG and Armstrong have limitations in that department.

Ultimately, it is the responsibility of the manager to pick the best players for his system. In Europe that is not happening……the question is Why?

Rebus

john young
6 years ago
Reply to  Rebus67

Spot on rebus67,I would get Kouassi in and bed him in,Armstrong/Mac G not goodenough at this level,we have too many homegroan players that by don’t are always going to struggle at any decent level,they were athletes we were/are plodders.

Monti
6 years ago
Reply to  Rebus67

Rebus,
Surely you don’t want to see us playing long balls?
It’s the short, sharp stuff we want to see m8

rebus67
6 years ago
Reply to  Monti

No, the day of the big punt up the park is over. We need passes that go behind the pressers. A few of those and they will back off. Both Kouassi and Ntcham can pass 15-20 feet accurately. Armstrong largely runs with the ball, whereas McG plays short passes. McG’s style would work if he could play one-twos but who is there to do that with?

We need to find a solution this quickly, otherwise the ball comes right back at a defence that is none too confident.

BR must be aware of this.

Rebus

Monti
6 years ago
Reply to  rebus67

Rebus,
Last season this is how we played, Armstrong, Roberts, Sinclair, Griffiths & Dembele were all involved in one two situations, the problem tbis year is there’s no Roberts & Sinclair has downed tools….James Forrest has made the wide position his own now, he has upped his game big time.

Rogic needs to do the same, step it up a level.

mike
6 years ago

When most of the facts are out in the open and include double speak by the SFA, why then is the SFA’s compliance officer reviewing the evidence, surely this review should be completed by an inpartial, independent review panel.(if same can be found in Scotland).
The investigator investigates the conflicted, like a criminal deciding his own sentence, that makes no sense whatsoever.

mike
6 years ago

Another post disappears to the trash can.

Monti
6 years ago
Reply to  mike

Well jump in & get it, you Dundee boys are used to rifling through bins 😉

Boitheimeach
6 years ago

Dunno what has happened to SA and SS. They need to be dropped/rested for sure.
Hasta be down to players focus, going into these CL games. Well hit on in Dairy.
And maybe this 67 unbeating run is playing a terrible part in it.
BM home game showed we could kinda fit in. But there were to many below par preformances.
Jan around the corner again, if we to go forward in europe we must invest.
And it cant be the likes of Aberdeens best player.

Monti
6 years ago

Caption:SFA compliance officer Tony McGlennan refuses Ryan Jack’s latest red card appeal.

SteveNaive
6 years ago

Three games against the Ravenscraig Works eleven wont have helped but there was an apathy and lethargy about the teams performance. Not to lose an early goal would have been uppermost but they didn’t start well ( and didn’t fall for their manager,s “they’ll start like a whirlwind “ trick ) but I feel we are always better on the front foot in situations like last night. It translated to the support as well. Would you have taken this back in July ? Damn right ! Work to do Brendan but then you always knew that.

mike
6 years ago

Nope now its St. Mirren and Bonny Dundee, some great players have come oot of the Jute City, modesty forbids……..

Devoy45
6 years ago

We have been more effective when we let Bitton or Ajer go forward with the ball, which is a more effective way to get forward than short passes in our own half or hoofing the ball up the pitch, which Gordon doesn’t do well nor do those on the end of it. Dembele falls down, gets climbed all over or doesn’t control with his chest so it comes right back at us.

Tim Buffy
6 years ago
Reply to  Devoy45

How is Dembele supposed to control the ball with his chest when it’s about five feet above his head?

Monti
6 years ago
Reply to  Tim Buffy

Position himself a few yards further away, the ball will drop to chest height at that point….unless it’s a Boyata pass.

mike
6 years ago

The high press that tactic that we first saw against Man. Citee has been kicked into the long grass and Anderlecht done a Celtic to…. Celtic.

Tim Buffy
6 years ago

He chewed a couple of his fingers off while being a bit over enthusiastic when biting his nails during last night’s game.

mike
6 years ago

Caption, Deek McKay his budget follow follows Mike’s post into the trash can of oblivion.

D J Smyth
6 years ago

What was wrong with playing for a draw last night, if indeed we did . What was wrong was that our players were slow of thought & movement . In the SPL when a midfielder receives a ball facing his own goal he can flick ball on & usually a team mate runs on to it . Last night nobody was anticipating & ball went to the hungrier Anderlect players . Anderlect dominated procession but our defence limited to few clear cut chances .
With the game starting 3-0 if we had started to chase game from outset , like we usually do & lost an early goal or two , these forums would have even more to be critical . From the draw was made everyone said it was head to head us v them & we won that .
We need to improve,especially our fitness big time & introduce more youngsters
Gordon was excellent & our best outfield players were Tierney Forrest Brown Ntcham & Edward for his cameo role , Dembele lesser so but worked hard . That half wit Sutton, saying Dembele should be chesting the ball down to himself when Dembele was doing very well to reach ball with his head & surrounded by defenders who would have headed if he hadn’t

Monti
6 years ago
Reply to  D J Smyth

” What was wrong with playing for a draw “?

Nurse Ratched….

Monti
6 years ago
Reply to  D J Smyth

Who’s ‘ Edward ‘?

D J Smyth
6 years ago
Reply to  Monti

Most teams who are starting with a 3 nil lead would be likely to play with some restraint . Monti , the NHS funds are rather scarce , they having got the funds to supply you with a mental health nurse to discus football tactics

Monti
6 years ago
Reply to  D J Smyth

D J Smith,
I’m not a tactical genius, by i’m world class at talking pish.
Something i’m very proud of!

San Miguel
6 years ago

Ralph,
the Celtic Players are professionally paid which means that regardless of what supporters may think of them or what the media may print/post/say about them , they are paid to do their job. Last night for a few reasons most didn’t.

Mental -Its quite obvious that Sinclair & Armstrong where who BR was referring to last night. If they are not mentally capable of upping their game then there is no way they can progress to the fabled next level he talks about in terms of development. Answer- either punt or SPFL player only. I would maybe include Rogic in that too .

Ability -Boyata, Simunovic & Gordon(great shor stopper, never going to ber able to play out from the back) is down to ability . Answe -see above.

Age-Lustig sadly is done – he’s reaching the end of his career but he just can’t play at this level anymore – watch what happens to Sweden at the World Cup.

McGregor -solid SPFL player, found at this level .
Forrest I would also keep , he is a great run of form just now but like all wingers is likely to go off the boil.

Brown – not my favourite player and is technically limited but wish we had 11 Scott Brown’s last night.

Tierney – not his greatest game last night but already a legend in the making.

Rodgers – Stubborn bastard isn’t he ? His Liverpool European record wasn’t great at all I think, but how can you argue with a man who hasn’t lost a domestic game with Celtic in almost a year and a half ? This is now the level he should be judged at and FFS buy a centre half (or two !)

Monti
6 years ago
Reply to  San Miguel

San Miguel,
Two!

D J Smyth
6 years ago

San Miguel , I think the Anderlect players are also professionals & they cost collectively four times as much as Celtic players . They have played 8 games less than Celtic this season so far .
In the last 5 seasons no club coming through the Champion route have qualified for European Football after Christmas
Everyone would have liked a better performance last night but from the draw was made last summer ,everyone said it was a shoot-out between us & Anderlect who are a group 3 team . We won that 3-1

San Miguel
6 years ago
Reply to  D J Smyth

DJ Smyth – I see what you are saying however the cost of a player does not mean that automatically they are better players?

Tierney “cost” nothing as did Dembele, I’m more interested in value and getting as much as possible out of players.

How much per week are these Anderlecht players paid , more than Sinclair ?

Your pot 3 argument I also disagree with- Spartak Moscow were a pot 1 side -currently 3rd , Monaco also Pot 1 will finish bottom.

We were the top ranked pot 4 team we will finish at best somewhere in the middle of these teams after tonight. Progress of sorts ?

This feeling reminds me of the Ajax games back in the MON days (1-3 then 0-1 ), except that Celtic side knew they could compete and weren’t intimidated or bullied.

I am happy we are through to the EL (honestly!) but that was brutal last night – certain players should be handing back bonuses due to them . I can take a 1-0 defeat but not when its a meek performance like that.

rebus67
6 years ago
Reply to  San Miguel

SM,

Are you located down my the mission?

Rebus

Rob O'Keeffe
6 years ago
Reply to  San Miguel

Anderlecht are the best paid players in Belgium but Celtic have a much higher average wage than them.They were on €40,000 bonus per man for a win last night,what were Celtic players being offered because a lot of their faces were tripping them….

D J Smyth
6 years ago
Reply to  San Miguel

Miguel, you are using the Rangers argument that paying more money doesn’t necessary mean you get better players .
As Celtic are the only group 4 team to be playing football in Europe after Christmas maybe we haven’t done bad .
You said in an earlier ost B R was a stubborn bastard .
I know the family and he certainly isn’t . To discus what he achieved or failed to achieve at another club before he joined Celtic is a bit stupid
Like Celtic he wasn’t at L’pool long enough to stamp his European game on them . You may remember that cunt Ferguson achieved no European success in his first two yrs at United

charlie
6 years ago
Reply to  D J Smyth

see that dj smyth hees no daft

Monti
6 years ago
Reply to  charlie

Yes he is!

Doc
6 years ago
Reply to  D J Smyth

Last year Ludogorets, Legia Warsaw and Copenhagen qualified through the Champions route and were still in Europe after Christmas.

Monti
6 years ago

Go back to pre-season and the CL qualifying games, these games mentally & physically exhaust everyone, players, manager & fans.
We make it & we get there in the group stages, big money & the prestige…..
Then it changes from the euphoria of qualification to the watching through the cracks of your fingers group games, how long can we keep this up?
It’s meant to be enjoyable, the reward for qualifying, the team showing up well, competing and enhancing our great clubs name….but we aren’t, we are cannon fodder and out of our depth.
Before the PSG game in Paris, i knew we would be well beaten..but 7? Come on.
Even PSG at home 5 going on another 7? and all we hear is we can’t compete….well Strasbourg did at the weekend, beating PSG, Troyes took them to the wire the week previous, both of these clubs combined are a fraction the size of Celtic.
The reality is we may not be able to beat the likes of PSG but that’s not what i’m looking for, i’m looking to turn 0-5 defeats at home, into 0-1 & 1-7 defeats away into 0-2, there is a way to lose and that’s the way.
Last night the team knew we were out of the CL, 0-3 up in reality, the fucking shackles should have been off but they were on.
Not buying into this ‘ Anderlecht are much improved ‘ pish, they had up until last night lost EVERY CL game?

Celtic park has lost it’s intimidating aura, that is down to the players & it needs sorting.

Europa league? More of the same if we persist with some of these Charlatans.

We have a lot of work to do & players to come in before we are respected on the continent again.

” Build a side for Europe & the domestc scene will take care of itself ” – Jock Stein.

Come on Celtic, let’s lift the standard again!

HH

Monti
6 years ago

Can you count to 18?

mike
6 years ago

There’s no fight, there’s no passion, of course there is fight and there is passion, the fight and the passion manifests itself in the SPFL our unbeaten run to…67 proves that. Its a loss of confidence in the C.L. games that players seem to frightened to lose and players who are normally confidant in there ability to play somehow feel not confident in their own ability.
We used a high press to see of Man. City but I have not witnessed that same high press in many games since. Sumonovic has givan two goals away, one a penalty against PSG and the other last nights own goal against a team who couldn’t score to save themselves, the only thing that gave me some belief is the second half last night, much improved by two subs. Ntcham and Odsonne who both showed confidence and skill.

Monti
6 years ago
Reply to  mike

Mike,
I wasn’t talking about a lack of fight in general….specifically last night was my question.

mike
6 years ago
Reply to  mike

I think that the players were shocked by the pace and intensity of the Anderlecht players start last night, it frightened them.

Monti
6 years ago
Reply to  mike

Mike,
Are you taking the piss?

Leões de Lisboa67
6 years ago

Caption: Mary Poppins would be so proud as boffin unveils his new, industrial strength, office hoover. “I call it the “File-o-vax”” he beamed.

6 years ago

Interesting points Monti..the team do seem fatigued.

The adrenalin lifts and subsequent come downs have had a very tiring impact on the side. From qualifying for CL meaning a dull start to league (have we played really well at all bar 1 half in Aberdeen – another “challenge” in itself) and then the League Cup win and subsequent crash lately.

Brendan and team Need to manage the players and rotate the squad a lot more so would expect to see quite a few “show us what you can do” appearances over next few weeks with our big players then asked to show up when Sevco come to town.

Monti
6 years ago
Reply to  desimond

Cheers Desi!

Stevie D
6 years ago
Reply to  desimond

I think we can look forward to some really eccentric refereeing when sevco next cone to town.

mike
6 years ago

The SFA’s compliance officer investigates the “Rangers” but especially the SFA…WTF. Surely an independent body should do the….investigating, they would nae ask a crook to judge his crimes would they…oh wait a minute. It is beyond sanity that a board investigates itself to come up with a fair and honest appraisal is it not, in any honest enquiry an independent body holds the enquiry, but then again this is the SFA.

Stevie D
6 years ago
Reply to  mike

Like getting Myra Hindley in to watch the weans.

mike
6 years ago
Reply to  Stevie D

Especially if she brings her boyfriend to babysit!

Una
6 years ago

Reflecting back on last nights woeful performance I’m thinking what if this happened to Lennon or Delia, would we be calling for a change. I was at the Salzburg game when we got thumped 3 1 news filtered through at the end that we had qualified for the last 32 via astra beating someone it was a hollow feeling of happy days, i felt the same last night. The glory days are well and truly over unless significant investment is made, this won’t happen any time soon because dermot is a tight basturdz.

Monti
6 years ago
Reply to  Una

Una,
I wouldn’t be so critical of Dermot, he is behind some of our greatest recent times.
He’ll do more for the club than you or i know.

HH

charlie
6 years ago

caption ralph says call me auld fashioned but wit can ye dae when some cunt steals yer phone ………..hows the investegation going ralph ha ha ha ha

charlie
6 years ago

the team is tired we should send thum awe oan thur holidays and play the youth team till christmas ……a luv this unbeaten domestic thing but it must be hard oan thur heids COYBIG

CarlJungleBhoy
6 years ago

Caption: Assembling IKEA’s “Easy Billy” filing cabinet proves too much for Alan Wicker lookalike

Monti
6 years ago

The missing W in Lawwell?

JimmyBhoy
6 years ago

Caption: Just in time for Christmas …. Dyson’s new “hoover Briefcase”. The perfect gift for shady spivs or football governing bodies should Hector / E-Tim’s come asking questions.

Monti
6 years ago

Caption: ” What fucking side letters? Nothing to see here timmy “

Mr Banjo
6 years ago

A young Stuart Regan’s briefcase bursts under the weight of smuggled documents needing incinerated.

Rob O'Keeffe
6 years ago

Biggest disappointment for me last night was a guy pleading with his old dad not to leave at half time.He was shouting that he had watched Celtic for over 60 years and couldn’t accept the lack of Celtic spirit.We rallied round,me pointing out that by God I’ve seen a lot worse and we discussed the bad days(just to cheer ourselves up) then two right darlings gave him hugs and kisses and he decided to stay,jammy bazza.His son thanked everyone and said his dad never leaves before the end.Some Celtic players,take a feckin good look at yourselves.Ralph,you are correct about the atmosphere,lovely and welcoming.Bring back the Jungle…..

6 years ago

Overall anderlecht were better and I’m sort of glad we didn’t jam a couple of lucky goals to win it the other night , because it’s plain for all and sundry to see we need reinforcements. A lucky day in would have stymied the idea of reinforcements or at least weakened the argument I hope rodgers has collated to bring to the decision makers

Monti
6 years ago
Reply to  Iancelt67

Iancelt,
Brendan will have known for a while now what is required, it an take time to get targets in so we have to be swift and decisive in the market.
We spent £3m on Kouassi, it’s time for him to show something now, that’s a decent fee, time for a consistent return.

In my opinion, we should just concentrate on the defence in the winter window, get the defence sorted for the second half of the season, get rid of some dead wood and use the summer window to replace Moussa, we don’t need half a dozen players, maybe 3-4.

Players brought in must be mostly first team ready, preferably with CL experience.

Rob O'Keeffe
6 years ago

Caption: Sevco doorman finds best “squad” in Scotland’s passports and says ‘Right,that’s just for starters ‘…..

6 years ago

Liverpool winning 7-0 , god it’s like former giant football nation so like russia and Scotland are now just fodder for franchises backed by oil money and decadent despots. Solution we need a decadent despot. We need to sell ourselves to Saudi wankers bored with their own shite league. Surely we are that sleeping whore giant ready for auction. I may abandon football if this unfair disparity continues…or just get into my local stuff

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