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Celtic Diary Thursday February 8: SFA Post Regan Strategy Revealed

Well, further down it is, but we’ll start over at the ranch…

All of our wishes may come true over the next couple of weeks as the weather gets better and some of the players have started to recover from injury.

Marvin Compperr, the man brought in to provide a little bit of stability and experience to the back line is back in training, Stuart Armstrong is getting better and Tony Ralston has appeared for the development side.

Jozo Simunovic is in line for a start against Partick at the weekend, though he was injured. He’s due an injury, so he wasn’t risked on the artificial pitch at Kilmarnock .

John Kennedy explained..

“Jozo missed the match at the weekend but he will be fine,” 

“We just didn’t risk him on the pitch there.” 

He means Rugby Park, not in defence, where he can be a bit of a liability.

Trying to sound cheerful, the defensive coach added..

“We have one or two others, including Compper, who is back in training and we hope to see one or two other faces coming back in,” 

“But these are guys who haven’t had a lot of minutes on the training pitch, so we have to make sure they get their fitness up in terms of training before we look at the games.” 

Who knows… we may soon have a settled back line, and its only February.

Another about to return is Patrick Roberts, and there is a section of the support who rate him somewhere between Lionel Messi and Cristian Ronaldo, whereas in actual fact, given the form of James Forrest and the goalscoring of Scott sinclair, Roberts may have only played a bit part if he had been fit.

Then again, against a tiring defence for half an hour or so, its quite a dramatic bit part. Rodgers will already have pencilled him in for a cameo against Zenit in the latter stages, which could be the difference in the overall tie.

With no midweek game there has been time for the players and management to do a little more work at Lennoxtown, without the distraction of all that sunshone and the general holiday atmosphere associated with a mid-season break, the very word break kind of negates any thoughts that it was a working holiday.

In fact, all thats really needed is to inject a sense of urgency into the players, remind them they they should be presing when not in possession and making things happen when they are.

The oft criticised tippy tappy along the back line is merely because the midfield aren’t creating any other options with off the ball movement, and the defenders are choosing the easy option, preferring to wait until someone makes a run into space, or even just makes themselves available for a pass.

Unfortunately, the game is only ninety minutes long, so that creates a problem, which leads to nervousness and instills a little bit of confidence in the opposition, who wander forward a wee bit, and end up doing unto us that which we should be doing unto them.

Partick could be in for a real hiding this weekend, but its a Scottish Cup game, so I couldn;pt give a toss. At least until the final, at which a mass walkout is threatened when the SFA bigwigs attempt to present the trophy to Scott Brown, who gives it them back and tells them to shove it up their arses, before turning to the crowd and doing the Broony, after which we all walk out together and go for a beer.

Image result for that could work gif

You see, Stewart Regan has gone, guilty of handing “rangers ” two away ties in succession in the Scottish cup, something no other CEO had even dared to attempt.

Despite attempts to cover up his mistake

Image result for scottish cup draw

it was too late, and the bold Englishman was asked to leave.

He hasn’t commented on what happened behind closed doors as yet, either because there’s a confidentiality agreement in place to ensure he keeps quiet and as a reward gets a pay off, or , actually, its the gagging order.

Speaking of gagging, thats the noise coming from the Daily Record sports media canteen, as their reporters find they may have bitten off more than they can chew with their , er, admiration of and support for Walter Smith, who they want in charge of the national team, because, well, just because Timmy.

In fact, they are starting to panic as the SFA have yet to follow up their initial contact, and they might allow Smith to slip through their fingers, especially given how slippery the old rogue can be.

 

Well, they will have to hurry up, at his age there’s little point in planning too far ahead, and with Scotlands next competitive game a mere eight months away, you can see why the pressure is on..

 

Actually, I can see why the pressure is on. and its got absolutely fuck all to do with smith rescuing Scottish football whatsoever.

Take a look in the top left corner of that page.

Rangers Agree New Overdraft.

Er, overdraft ? Really, an overdraft ?

an amount of money that a customer with a bank account is temporarily allowed to owe to the bank, or the agreement that allows this: 

Usually unsecured, and usually with their own bank…

Gary Ralston is the man behind the article, so perhaps a little further explanantion of the detail is required..

Rangers have agreed a funding facility with a leading merchant banker and claim it’s another step towards financial recovery. 

My auntie grew a pair of testicles and claimed she was my uncle.

The Ibrox board have been granted an overdraft of “modest millions” with Close Brothers to fund a range of projects at the club. 

Overdraft ? We know what an overdraft is, but what do we know about Close Brothers ? Are they a high street bank, with whom “rangers ” do their business, and do they perhaps value the Ibrox club as a regular customer ?

This is their home page..

close brothers

and when you go to that page, you can have a chat with an advisor, so I thought i would ask a few questions, for clarification,

JessicaHello, thanks for visiting Close Brothers Invoice Finance. Are you looking to improve your business’s cash flow? Would you like to chat?

VisitorDo you provide overdrafts?

Jessica8:14 amThanks for coming on chat. Let me see what I can do for you.

8:16 amCould you please elaborate? – We offer invoice finance, which essentially enables you to release up to 90% of the value of your invoices the same day you raise them.

 

VisitorMy mistake, i read in this mornings paper you granted an overdraft to a glasgow company, and was interested in the details as it sounds a little too good to be true, as i didn;t even know you were a bank.

JessicaThat’s fine. Do you know which of our services you are interested in?

Visitor8:20 amAn overdraft, this feels more like a sort of payday loan, which isn;t what i’m interested in, but thanks for your help Read

JessicaNo problem.

 

Record Sport understands the facility is less than £3 million, but managing director Stewart Robertson insists there is no danger of chairman Dave King and his fellow investors withdrawing their backing. 

What backing ?

He has also refuted suggestions the club, who have relied on soft loans from King and Co in recent years, are cash-strapped. 

They have just used an invoice financing company, who don’t do overdrafts. Which means the soft loans have run out.

Rather, Robertson says it’s evidence of the credibility of the current board among City moneymen as Rangers prepare to launch a share issue later in the year.

Robertson said: “It’s another positive step in the club moving forward. We turn over more than £30 million a year and there are very few businesses with that level of turnover that don’t have a banking facility. 

Probably none, to be fair, but lets not ask why they are almost unique in that respect.

“Some folk take pleasure in winding us up because we don’t have a bank facility but this is the next stage in moving the club forward and getting it onto a sensible business footing. 

It’s a fucking payday loan, a secured payday loan. Not usually associated with any kind of sensible business footing, no matter what colour the brogues on those feet are.

As trite as it sounds, the money is almost incidental. it’s about someone having belief in the club and the way it is being run as we move forward and normalise operations.

Either he is stupid, or he thinks everyone else is. And some would have this guy in at the SFA in place of Regan..which is kind of my point.

With the campaign to get Smith as manager, who better for the media to pitch for than robertson as CEO, because then all the little, er, complexities that arose the last time a club from ibrox got involved with close brothers.. summed up briefly here..

…we all know how it ended up.

What we don’t know is how much, well, some of us are fairly sure, the SFA played in these shennanigans, but what we do know is that there has been no investigation, and no one has been held to account for a major club going into liquidation after years of it, and its supporters , being abused.

What we also can see is history beginning to repeat itself, hence the high drama around Smith getting the managers job, as it deflects from the real tory, and that real story is that something, again, is rotten at ibrox, and the club, like the previous incumbents,  is teetering on the edge of an insolvency event.

and yet the press hail this latest development as a triumoh, and a return to normality.

Then again, chaos is the normality over there…

 

So, what do we do ?

What are Celtic doing right now, as all of these allegations of skullduggery affect them, and us as shareholders and supporters, or customers, if you like.

Until I hear anything else, and having spoken to a high heid yin, i am assured that Celtic are still going about this correctly. The battle is still raging, and there is little doubt that the tactics of the good guys are better than the tactics of the bad guys.

The SFA are reeling from the enforced loss of their head man, and you’ll notice that very few are putting themselves forward to replace him, almost as though thats kind of already been decided…

you see, whats needed is a man who is prepared to stand up and lie about what happened, and indeed try to play down whats happeneing right now, with words such as “overdraft ” in the same sentence as “Close Brothers “, whom we have seen, do not provide overdrafts, and have clearly explained above what they do provide.

 

And we need to nip that in the bud right now.

First, we must organise ourselves into a credible voice of opposition, and to do that, I’d like to ask the Celtic Supporters Association and the Celtic Trust to meet with a few others to discuss what we should do next.

I’ve no doubt that their combined experience and ability, shown recently in the success of the FAC campaign would be invaluable.

The FAC campaign involved fans of all clubs, and this level and diversity of support is needed again, if we are to rid the game of the cancer that has eaten away at it for so long.

The fight against the SFa and what they stand for must step up now, and those who have a genuine love for our game must come together and make it known that the removal of Regan was just the beginning of a brave new world in Scottish football.. football for the people, by the people, oh hang on, we’ve already had that, so we probably need someone else to come up with a slogan.

But whatever we do, we must do it now.

 

Yesterdays picture…

Image result for walter smith rangers

Alzyerpal February 7, 2018 at 9:36 am · Edit · Reply →

Caption:

After hearing the Fun Boy Three performing their 1983 chart hit “Our Lips Are Sealed” The SFA make a move to sign-up the “Dream-Team” management combo.

Today…

Karamoko Dembele

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D'Fhinnein Mick
6 years ago

Hey-thanks,Karamoko. And can I have your autograph too?

6 years ago

Caption
Ok dembele I’ve done the photo and kept my end of the bargain any mention of you nutmegging me and I’ll kill you ya wee bastard

6 years ago

Caption: Neymar is overawed by his once in a lifetime chance to meet a footballing genius.

Having lived in London for a number of years, I’m aware of the types of commercial buildings in the Tolworth area. There are no grand palaces built on the wealth earned from their business, and Close Brothers will be operating from an address that you would happily walk past, totally ignorant of what goes on within their four walls, far less interested. Likewise, the Feltham address of their official website administrators. Sevco’s speciality is to create an air of superiority, however the truth can be revealed by having a look on Google Streetview. It follows then, that upon closer inspection, this grandiose “overdraft” is mere window-dressing to hide the fact that they are in hock to legalised loan sharks.

6 years ago

Sfa will always be about the ‘establishment’ they’ll find another lodge member to sit at the top. A hun will be appointed Scotland manager. ‘Rangers will be ferried through their fraudulence and we will all be gaslighted into believing nothing criminal ever happened, and if it did then the criminals would’ve been dealt with and quickly forgotten about. Meanwhile we will be lifting the trophies much to their chagrin They’ll go to pains to prevent this with the help of ‘fake news’ from the press like Brendan’s going to Chelsea or Leigh’s been busted again for speeding, well that’s not fake news but anything derogatory about celtic will be accentuated into something it isn’t

Rob O'Keeffe
6 years ago
Reply to  Iancelt67

Speaking of trophies,any chance of titles and cups being stripped? Only asking for a friend of a friend of a friend…….

john young
6 years ago
Reply to  Iancelt67

That’s the way establishments work lancelt67 even more so in this country,they are used to getting their way,they have placemen in every nook and crannie,Sevco are the standard bearers for the establishment/unionists and it will take something akin to a tsunami to obliterate them,not in my lifetime I,m afraid.

Celtic Symphony
6 years ago
Reply to  john young

They were obliterated,John ?
Their fans let them die !
That’s why they had to start again,in the bottom tier.:)

Monti
6 years ago

AMEN!
sashes to ashes, dust to dust…..

Monti
6 years ago

Caption: ” Karamoko, can i take a pic with you “?

Bognorbhoy
6 years ago

Caption ….

Neymair… that’s the awards over….let’s talk tax…how did the rangers go about it Kara ?

Rob O'Keeffe
6 years ago
Reply to  Bognorbhoy

Please don’t mention the T word on here,ever,ever……Signed(comment severely removed-ed,Ralph and his lawyers)……

Rob O'Keeffe
6 years ago

First,the good news.Close only loaned the money with Edminston House and the Albion Car Park as security so hopefully Sevco won’t pay their debts,as usual,and the excrement shall hit their fans.
Bad news: WorldClass PR from Celtic to gee up the supporters.John K dragged out to state that Compper(some “knock” that was) is back in training and a couple of others are on their way back…oh,and big Jozo who tells BR which pitches he’ll play on,will be ready for the mighty Thistle.Celtic,if you can’t be arsed just tell us……..

Celtic Symphony
6 years ago

Neymar,” Ralph on Etims,said your club has signed McGinn from Hibs ? I’m sure I saw him score for Hibs at Ibrokes on the tv ? “

50 Shades of green
6 years ago

Who’s that in the picture with Kaddy????.

Noelskytrot
6 years ago

50, it’s the cheating fuck, Neymar.

puggy67
6 years ago

Caption: In Scotland we call footballers that evade tax ‘huns.’

Rob(Ralph's contact)O'Keeffe
6 years ago

I wonder if Nir Bitton will play CH against Zenit? Remember in November BR stated that outside Celtic,he was the best CH in Scotland and could cope with PSG? So,who makes things up? Ralph and some others….or BR?
I kind of think that comment surpasses Ralph’s McGinn prediction…..usual place for ££s Ralph,business is business…..

Noelskytrot
6 years ago

Caption,
Neymar gives KD some cheating bastard diving tips.
As for the SFA, we know that they’re a shower of shite, maybe they’re trying to keep all those involved in the EBT years onside. A truly despicable bunch of bastards. Please let’s hope that the midgie rakers do disappear for good, I certainly wouldn’t miss these rancid, vile non progressives.

Daziekanowski's nightclub child
6 years ago

Caption: ‘When I become an adult I want to be like you.’
‘Calm down, I’m not even 15 yet!’

Noelskytrot
6 years ago

On the overdraft pish. The tramps knock back 8 million for Fredo but are now relying on a Wonga type financial deal. Are the huns really that thick and believe this? Financial stability my feckin arse.

Monti
6 years ago

Caption: ” Hey Neymar, do you know this photo doesn’t count, because ” the rangers ” weren’t present at the time of the photo being taken “

Monti
6 years ago

Craig Levein is a bell end!

Monti
6 years ago
Reply to  Monti

He likes to be the big man Levein but he wasn’t looking too ‘ up for it ‘ when i approached him a few years back about Webster’s ‘ assault ‘ on Agathe.

Fanny!

Jinkylarrson
6 years ago

Caption…hey 118 ah hear the tribute act are looking for a loan.How are they going to pay it back 118.

henkesdreadlocks
6 years ago

Minky finance for the m the monkeys. LOL!!!

henkesdreadlocks
6 years ago

Bloody phone.

Monti
6 years ago

Afternoon shagger,
I hope you have the fire on two bars 🙂

Monti
6 years ago

Q. I take it the compliance officer will be inviting Levein over to Hampden, for a cup of tea & a disrepute fine?
I mean, after the compliance officer is off the phone to Lawwell?

Mike Annis
6 years ago

Caption. Hey, Nemymsr, KT was right, you’re still a prat.

Monti
6 years ago

So Alan McRae was the one who approached smith about the Scotland job?
The same McRae who said ” i hope it doesn’t happen again ” when talking of Celtic’s, historic, unbeaten, undefeated treble, last season.

Oh dear.

Monti
6 years ago

I see Dundee have signed Steven Caulker on an 18 month deal?

Interesting……

Maybe Dundee can get get Steven 100% fit before his move to Celtic in the summer?
It’s a good strategy using small clubs to get players fit before they move on to big clubs, if we remember Craig Gordon training with Sevco before signing professional forms with a big club.

Monti
6 years ago
Reply to  Monti

Weered,
Not bad m8, yourself?

Cartvale88
6 years ago

Caption
That Ralston put the shits up me son

Every job is bring in a Rangers man/person

Wattie or Sally for manager, or Maxwell and Dempster to the SFA.

Keep the tims out, they should know their place.

Fascinating how they get so heated about racism or misogyny, but sectarianism, In every English language speaking nation in the world they have a St Paddys day parade, not here, move on, know your place.

Supporting Scotland in any form only allows them to continue their Biggoted policies.

Close bothers, sound a bit Masonic to me

Rob O'Keeffe
6 years ago

Great news from the Chairman: Interim accounts to end of Dec 2017.Revenue up 16.8%,Profit after,er,tax £17.4m.Net cash in the bank £30.9m.
That’s why we can offer £200,000 to steal someone’s goalie.Imagine certain people on here not happy with PL and the board.Bonuses all round I’d say……

Lenny Bruce
6 years ago

Caption…

On the left, Dembele.

On the right, Da bell end.

The choice is yours…

Monti
6 years ago
Reply to  Lenny Bruce

Winner!!

Macca
6 years ago
Reply to  Monti

Yup!

BJF
6 years ago

See Andrew McKinley has left the SFA, bit of a clear out, one by one….
I am coming back to Scotland next week, there’ll be
trouble I warn you!

Macca
6 years ago
Reply to  BJF

Rats deserting a sinking ship BFJ…http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/42991276

Doc
6 years ago

Interim results. Financial performance is up and we have £30.9m cash at bank but there are concerns, aside from the usual ones I go on about every time accounts are published there is a large rise in football expenses.

We have added Hayes, Bendu and Ntcham to the wage bill and we have got Roberts on loan but we have got rid of Ambrose, Commons, O’Connell, Allan, Christie, Janko, Bailly, GMS, Izzy and Cifci (not counting Toure). So that’s 3/4 in and 10 out yet football expenses, eg wages, have risen %21. Would love to know where exctly this money is going.

So young Karamoko’s idol is naemark. Cue feeling of dread.

jimmybee
6 years ago

Caption: quick maam take it before the cheatin bastard dives.

portpower
6 years ago

30 million G`day`s, Ghirls and bhoys.

comment image

portpower
6 years ago
Reply to  portpower

P.S.
The .9M pounds should go to charity. PG(Patsy Gallagher)

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/lisbon-lions-honour-their-celtic-bhoy-patsy-26295346.html

portpower
6 years ago

Observation:
Neymar wears stilettos.

Big Shuggy
6 years ago

Add that fucker tom English to the list for knob of the week

portpower
6 years ago
Reply to  Big Shuggy

The sad thing is Big Shuggy,Tom English had to pay for his own sevconian aye ready media course.

By the looks of it, Kris Commons has not long paid his tutelage off as well.

portpower
6 years ago

🙂

Feed `em porridge SMSM.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfJQYrNGgrI

Hey! Hey! Hey, hey, hey, hey!

Metro, Metro Bank.

We dinny need nae, Metro Bank.

Metro, Metro Baaaank.

I’ve got to be a sevconian! Ow….

sevco close brethrens FC.

portpower
6 years ago

Oh well! You get that with the big jobs.

Andrew McKinlay has opted out for second best.
He leaves a £16:90 full breakfast at the Murray Park arcade for a Scottish Golf Club price of £20:12.

Scottish Football Arnold

portpower
6 years ago

sevco to rejuvenate their spirits and revive mair creative flow…

portpower
6 years ago

Boxer fans beware:

Thy eradication of moles is nigh.
Buy them snug tighty whities.

The Dundee Farmers Market treasures the support.JH(Jack Hendry)

portpower
6 years ago

I noticed against Kilmarnock that Jack Hendry(had a very good debut) was on his toes and was getting to the ball as quick as he could.

Let`s hope his defensive style rubs off on some?

portpower
6 years ago

Wouldn`t put it pass it in this day and age:

It just goes to show Khids.

Celtic FC are to supply polystyrene bovril mood cups.

The warmth from your unseen Fenian hand`ll benefit the police/seneschal within Celtic Park.

Pray for Green.

portpower
6 years ago

NEWSBREAK:
Broonie cheats at ping pong again.

Craig Levine’s to jot down the situation.

portpower
6 years ago

Dave King eats fish on a Friday.

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