No wonder the players are showing signs of fatigue, there’s another game today, and its wearing me out just writing about it.
Those who have to do the running about have my utmost sympathy.
Celtic hist top of the table Kilmarnock in what promises to be an intriguing if perhaps not thrilling encounter this afternoon.
Undoubtedly the big match this weekend, and of course due to the intricacies of the tv deal the clubs negotiated through their piss poor front man Neil Doncaster, the game on the telly will be Dundee v “rangers “.
Perhaps one of the reasons that Scotland cannot get a good slice of the television pie is that the two clubs with the largest audience are unwilling to have the cameras in their own grounds too often, and as a result, the tv companies think that showing two teams in a variety of settings isn;t enough of a draw for a neutral audience.
In short, the clubs have made their own bed , and have no right to whinge about how much money they get from tv.
But lets be honest, if a tv executive wants to show the big game this..or any wekend…and the clubs won’t let him, then that is why they throw only their small change up north…
Celtic will have to be at their rampant and ruthless best to get a result today, make no bones about it, as Scotlands top peeping tom, who knows whats going on in every dressing room, Kris Boyd, has spoken out.. again..
Truth is, our target for the season was to stay up.
He means the club, although he does like to try to stay uprght himself, as his body shape makes it tricky to get back up, or stop rolling.
After that, we wanted to try and get into the top six and then maybe challenge for one of the European places.
But win the league? Do a Leicester and finish top of the pile?
Still trying to find out when Leicester won our league.
No, I don’t think anyone in our changing room believes that’s realistically possible.
But let me say this. Us being where we are is NO fluke whatsoever.
We’re not top of the table by luck. We are there because we have played winning football.
Right now, we’re just enjoying the ride.
It’s a happy place to be these days and long may that continue.
Our gaffer, Steve Clarke, has instilled a confidence and belief in the squad that’s taking us places.
And the way he has us playing makes it difficult for anybody we play. Whether we’re 1-0 up or 1-0 down, we play in exactly the same way. We all know our jobs.
He’s right. The players at Kilmarnock know who they have to kick, and that helps them immensly. Other Scottish clubs kick anybody who is near them, but Clarke has his chaps much more organised than the ordinary cloggers.
Kilmarnock beat Celtic earlier in the season, a result that prompted the sit down between the powers that be at Celtic and the order from the main man to ” get a fucking grip or the pair of you can fuck off ” , which seems to have had the desired effect.
Today, Celtic need to lay that particular ghost and give themselves a big shot in the arm ahead of the Salzburg game next Thursday.
Nothing can be taken for granted in football, and as Celtic look towards a possible eighth successive title, there was a warning from a man once tipped to be England manager, but not by anyone with any sense..
Mark Warburton, the man who led “rangers ” to whatever it was he led them to , was asked how he thought the league would finish..
“I think it’s Celtic for me, I think Rangers will come second, I think between Kilmarnock and Aberdeen for third place.”
Given what he knows about football I expected him to say he thought Ronnie O’Sullivan would win it, with Andy Murray a close second.
Trouble is, if he reckons Celtic will win it, we’re going to be relegated.
The pressure is on the manager now..
Rodgers isn’t feeling it though, he even joked with a reporter who asked the current situation with Dedryck boyata, by saying
“He’s signed a five year deal ”
There were expectations that the club would use yesterdays press conference to announce that they won;t be taking up the smaller ticket allocation for Ibrox.
However, it now looks like that announcement will be made on the back of the report that will be released shortly that asks questions of the police involvement before and during the Janefield underpass crush.
Well, if they cannot supervise a crowd of thousands safely, how can we expect them to look after 800 ?
I know this will start the argument about if people want to go to Ibrox then they should be allowed to go, but CEO Lawwell has a genuine fear for the safety of fans, employees and players of Celtic.
He does worry, and he is correct in putting those concerns first.
However, if you fancy getting batteries, coins, golf balls and cups full of stale urine flung at you, you go knock yourself out.
But the club has a responsibility to ensure safety, and that cannot be ensured at a place like Iborx, where our crowd would be vulnerable because of piss poor police and a legion of volunteer stewards who at best could be described as value for money.
One solution could be to show the game at Celtic Park on the big screens, whilst another would be to grow a covering of fur, learn how to peel a banana with your feet and go to the Ibrox ticket office and pretend to be one of them.
If two of you go, remember to pick fleas off each other while you wait to be served.
Referee Douglas Ross has claimed that making referees full time won;t stop them from being shite…well, i think thats what he meant..
Referee Douglas Ross has stressed that employing full-time officials at Scottish matches would not stop mistakes and controversial decisions.
Former Scotland striker Steven Thompson has urged authorities to follow England’s lead and employ officials on a full-time basis and pay a salary.
Ross told BBC Scotland he does not think it will make much difference.
“All I would say is, in England, they employ full-time referees and there are still controversies,” he said.
“Unfortunately, the beautiful game that so many of us enjoy, part of the reason many people enjoy it is because it’s down to a matter of opinions.”
He’s got a point, Ross is a full time Conservative MP and he’s not very good at that either.
Celtic should beat Kilmarnock today, but nothing is certain, and it will take a massive effort.
But yet again, Scottish football has failed to promote the best of itself to a wider audience, preferring to stay in its own goldfish bowl where no one pays it too much attention…
Can’t think why…
Yesterday, we had this..
Caption: “Daddy who’s taken the soup?” “Kris Commons son.”
He’s on a roll…
I’m here all week as well.
today..
And here’s a chistmas message from an old lady to her fans
