The weekends action means that if the league were to be called tomorrow, and awarded on a points per game basis, Celtic would be awarded their tenth successive title, “rangers ” would say it didn’t count, and we would all have something to talk about until the pandemic is finally over.
You get the idea that might just suit all parties….
Celtic won 3-2 in one of those games that would have had us on the edge of our seats had we been allowed to sit in them, as Livingston refused to lie down after manager Neil Lennon thought he’d make the game interesting by making some adjustments to personnel and formation when he didn’t need to.
As a result, the game finished closer than it ought to have done, but there were flashes of the old Celtic who showed a wee bit of fire after conceding an early penalty to the visitors.
As the season reaches the quarter way mark, that’s encouraging, but there is still a ways to go before optimism turns to confidence.
Although the media would have us believe that “rangers ” are the biggest threat to ten in a row, Hibernian , with a bit more faith in themselves, could prove to be our real opposition this season, although it remains to be seen if they can build on their draw with the Ibrox side, and look at it as a couple of points dropped rather than a point won.
The mentality of Gerrard and his men was called into question post match as the bubbly Scouser had a moan about everything from players to refs to fans with all three refusing to bow down to his reputation, such as it is, and the fragile mentality over there became evident yet again.
Alfredo morelos was up to his tricks again, on the one hand proving they really can’t do without him with his goal, and on the other showing they can;t do with him when he tried to foul a Hibernian defender, bounced off him, kicked out at him and then rolled around as though he’d been shot by someone who had a bet on him to grow up.
Sausage roll naw, crispy roll naw, el buffaroll aye pic.twitter.com/9kQH99RT8K
— Witchy (@WitchyOfG21) September 20, 2020
After the game, he was equally sporting towards his opponents…..
https://twitter.com/i/status/1307760846463012866
A mood that was shared by his wantaway comrade and captain James Tavernier….
and of course, ” Grofaz ” Gerrard himself….(Grofaz is a nickname used sarcastically by German troops for Hitler, a derogatory acronym for Größter Feldherr aller Zeiten, a title initially publicized by Nazi propaganda to refer to Adolf Hitler during the early war years; literally, the “Greatest Field Commander of all Time”. )
Mind you, look at this for bitterness and hatred on a face…..
Kris Boyd, the unbalanced expert of Sky sports, was in tatters, as this clip shows…
https://twitter.com/i/status/1307684241359212544
Of course, the Hibernian player wasn’t offside, well, not all of him, anyway….
Some you win, some you lose, although in their case they haven;t actually done the “some you win ” bit yet.
You can understand his ire at referees, given the horrific injury caused to his chunky Colombian…
and we’d like to offer him help here, with some evidence that refereeing standards are quite poor in Scotland, though we doubt he’ll reply, just as we doubt the media will see it like that….
https://twitter.com/i/status/1307592708333228037
And then there are the hordes….
There are still the loons amongst them, as this post shows….
And this, from someone who has seen this film before…
…but by and large, they are falling apart already, and you’ll be able to see Gerrard , the players and the fans fall apart on a weekly basis from now on in, until the SPFL or government administers a mercy shot and calls the league.
Still, on a brighter note for them, at least they didn’t have to spend thousands and thousands of pounds they haven’t got taking in the Dubai sunshine to reach that stage this year.
Back at the ranch, and with Neil Lennon offering psychological help to his players, presumably to shock them out of their lollygagging, things are looking up.
Ajeti has settled in quicker than wed hoped, providing a failsafe option should Oddsone Edouard leave town, against his will, but leave town he still may.
The new breed are starting to get minutes, Turnbull and Soro have both been included on matchdays, and Patrik Klimala looks like he’ll fill in when needed.
All of which makes Lennons balls up against Ferencvaros even more mystifying, but thats bye the bye now, and there’s a trip to Riga to concentrate on, and with the draw being kind to Celtic for the play offs, there is a prospect of European football towatch on the telly, unless, of course, the virus has other ideas.
One other piece worth mentioning was the Dermot Desmond interview that appeared in The Athletic, a pay as you go website which recently reduced its subs from eight quid to just a pound after they failed to secure any quality writers, where the Irishmen made one or two claims that cast doubt n either the veracity of the article, or the reliability of Desmonds memory, which as we know, is not entirely one hundred per cent where Celtic are concerned…
Desmond told the Athletic…
“I had asked Alex Ferguson to be manager of Celtic around 1997 and I offered to pay the money myself, twice the salary he was on at Manchester United,”
“He said he would like to consider it, even though he had a Rangers background.
“He said, ‘I’d like to do it, to follow in the footsteps of Jock Stein,’ but he said his overriding ambition was to win the Champions League with Manchester United. In fact, my good friend JP McManus and I were his guests at the (1999) final in Barcelona, where he fulfilled his dream.”
1997 ?
A noble gesture by our biggest shareholder and de facto club owner, and one that might have us wondering what if….
Except that Desmond wasn’t the main man in 1997, and had no authority to offer anyone the Celtic job, even if he was going to pay the salary himself.
So, I’m wondering if that subscription pound would be better spent on , say a Glasgow football club when it inevitably comes on the market…just think what it will cost them to sack Gerrard…..more money they haven’t got to pay for something they won’t have.
Just a few reasons to be cheerful this Monday morning as the world begins to turn again…stay safe, stay alive and keep doing what has kept you safe for the first six months of this crisis.
And remember, there is always somebody worse off than you…
A weekend of early starts at work means we have to go back to last week for the last caption competition…..
Andrew Coyle
Get the new Castore car, beautifully made, to last a lifetime
Oh, that reminds me….
Today…
I know you’ve already seen it, but one does wonder what was said….
The defence is a worry, we look static & uncertain, granted it takes time to build an understanding but we look a bit dodgy at the back.
Going from a three to a four is not helping, why can’t we just go with the three every week?
We are still looking for a left sided defender, so why is that?
Why is it taking this long?
As far as bringing in a psychologist, would it not be a thought to bring one in BEFORE the CL qualifiers?
Embarrassing man & get rid of the disco lights for heavens sake.
On a positive note, i loved the way Ajeti took his goal on Saturday!
Greg Taylor? Out!
I see Scott Mckenna is possibly leaving Aberdeen for Nottingham Forest for £3m?
Note to Hammond: Scott McKenna is a young Scottish defender, left sided & available for transfer?
( has head i hands )
The young lad Porteous at Hibs seems to enjoy winding the hun up.
Hammond?
I’ve got a built-in wardrobe that’s more mobile than Scott McKenna. Better at football as well.
He isn’t everyones cup of tea, i understand that, however i see in what he could offer Celtic & he would have been a useful addition domestically, just my opinion, which is a learned & educated one.
Hahahaha!
Boyata should have been here for 10IAR.
The disco lights are here for 10IAR.
Caption—ach go on,pull ma finger,pull ma finger…..
Caption:- I’ll bet you a years salary Celtic will win the league.
I rememeber De Vries getting pelters for a similar goal that Barkas conceded on Saturday. I dont think Barkas is the answer Big Forster would probably have saved that pen also.
I’m not impressed with the goalkeeper, I think the defence doesnt trust him much either. He needs a big performance the sooner the better.
HeyTav, do you think my hand is big enough to wrap right round yer neck?
This season Celtic have invested some £14.00 million on new players coming in, adding to the quality players already at the club, there is no comparison with any other club in the country, by a mile. I cannot recall a better Celtic squad since the days of Martin O’Neil. Martin spent some serious cash on his squad on Hartson- Sutton- Valgeren- Thomson- Balde- Agathe and of course Lenny. But he also inherited some brilliant players like- Moravcik – Petrov – and of course the King. It could be argued that some of his picks were minging like – Laurson – Silla – Rab douglas – and others. So lets look at what he delivered: 3 Titles – 3 Scottish cups – 1 League Cup, the highlight of his five years at Celtic was the UEFA Cup final when we were narrowly beaten in the final by a team that went onto win the next seasons C.L. Leaving the Celtic support with many wonderful memories. Out of 282 games played he won 213, drew 29 and lost 40, but we must put it into context regarding the quality of the opposition at the time. We must also remember that football is not an exact science with many different outside variables. Martin O’ Neil was Celtic’s most successful manager since Jock Stein.
With the money that the Celtic supporters invest in the team (not forgetting the emotional memories) we should, must be doing better, Champions League Qualification is so very important to the club, without it the Celtic brand diminishes in terms of money available to invest in new players and not forgetting the clubs profile both at home and in Europe.
Once again we have not qualified into the C.L. Qualifiers, lets give it all we’ve got to be successful in the Europa’s, its not ideal but….
I feel a lot of Celtic supporters miss the issue at Celtic. Celtic PLC Ltd, all monies raised go to a company doing what companies do…make money for shareholders/investors. Nothing for football.
A very simple way of putting it, Only revenue generated in the ground goes to CFC Ltd.[football, a separate unattached company] Ticket sales, tv rights, pies n bovril etc,etc and the main product, manufacturing football players by picking up cheap raw materials,building them into potential profitable products.The final piece of this being, the shop window.ie.europe. The europa league satisfies this need, so why waste shareholders profit on big money gambles for the Champions League ?
Good point, but the bar has been set, big Jock set it. The C.L. is vital to the club, I would never advocate reckless spending, so we must have the best player recruitment that we can afford and try to stop amateur directors of football interfering in purchasing players behind the managers back.
Perhaps a back door approach to Abramovic, i hear he likes to spread his bets. 😉
Not sure what you’re getting out as Celtic pay out roughly £½m in dividends per year on an annual income of approx £90m.
Just about all of that income is spent on wages and other expenditure related to the football club.
I doubt that any shareholder/investor is in it for the dividends as they’re trivial compared to rich pickings available elsewhere.
Of course they could be in it for the fabled EPL move but their naivety is deserving of the slim pickings.
The Invincibles were far superior.
This team/squad will need to go some to stand comparison.
Any Celtic team that included Moussa- Odsonne and KT. would be very hard to beat, but my comparison isn’t with the 2017/18 team, it was with its first team squad. Neither do I compare managers then and now. No, IMO the first team squad is now better than then and with better overall quality. The same IMO the SPFL is now better overall than then, tho I’m not really interested in the other clubs especially the Huns, although its better to know your enemy.
Let us not forget that in Season 2002-2003 Celtic failed to qualify for Champions League . They went all the way to the UEFA Cup final in Seville , but despite all our wonderful players both inherited by MO’N & bought by him Celtic won nothing that season . No matter how well we do in Europe , not winning the SPL will not be acceptable this season
I’m still trying to forget Suttons strike against the upright in that qualifier against Basel, but thanks for reminding me! And yes I agree we must/will win this seasons SPFL.
If Forster is available again and willing to be here at least for this season 100% get him in. Gives the new keeper time to settle too. Imagine the reaction from our rivals — whoever they may be – if we did, the psychological impact? 😀
I too thought I saw flashes of us starting to click on Saturday, unfortunately never trust ‘the sieve’ (though it was a trademark Ntcham challenge and a tired Broony mostly for their second i reckon). Their penalty – the new rules are shite that should not be a pen. At same time can the coaches not have a work with Ajer about staying on his feet?
One last thing – Sportscene? A joke. Nuff said.
Anyway – a good weekend of fitba results for us. We’ll get better, the zombies are at their best and we’re still leading on a points to game basis which won us the league last year. Hail hail!
So many of our fans are always wanting our young players to be sent out on loan . When Ajer came back & played first team football , many fans wet themselves with excitement as how elbows Mc Cullagh improved Ajer . However ever since he was out on loan Ajer’s hands & arms have got him in trouble . He got caught up in McCullagh’ defending style .
That ‘s the problem of loaning out players who can pick up bad habits at their loan club .
Following Sevco’s slip up yesterday, our 3 points the day before proved very important. However, once again we defended like a pub team………..I’ve seen some comments suggesting that Barkas should have saved Livingston’s 2nd goal?. I disagree as it was a helluva strike which should never have been allowed to happen.
Our focus should be on the total buffoonery 2 seconds earlier that led to the goal when at least 4 Celtic players were taken out by the oldest trick in football. Watch it again…………is it just me that thinks some of players are daft? They earn huge amounts of money and fail to do basic things correctly, I really do wonder about them. Our defending generally is fairly poor and occasionally criminal, Lennon’s face in a post match interview said it all, despite the fact he defended the players. For the love of God Celtic WAKEN UP!!!!
Another issue is that with Broonie having lost a lot of pace and his tendency to be a bit erratic re decision making and passing precision, we badly need a dependable DM to help shield our defence. Bitton, Ajer and maybe Soro could fill that role effectively. That horror challenge by Sibbald on Christie should have resulted in a straight red. Fkn wee animal.
I keep hearing people say Ajer should play DM but when has he ever played this role?
I’m pretty sure he’s never played there for us and pretty sure he also played CB when on loan at Killie.
He’s only 22 so, if he ever played there, it would be when he was a teenager.
To me that means it would probably take a substantial time for him to grow into the role and I do not see us having that luxury.
Given his natural tendency to carry the ball forward I don’t think it would be such a huge adjustment to make. Many CBs with attacking tendencies have been converted into DMs in a short space of time.
I just worry that that his defensive indiscipline, although not as critical in midfield, is still an issue given the need to shield the defence.
I’m also grumbly that we don’t appear to have a ready made replacement for a situation that’s been obvious for a number of years.
I know what you mean Cha. It’s frustrating to see that he hasn’t ironed out those defensive slip-ups over time as the big lad is a huge asset when coming forward on the ball turning defence into attack in the blink of an eye. He’s so difficult to dispossess when in full flight. If he was more solid defensively he could potentially be a 40M player. I’d still be sorry to lose him this window but if Milan come in with a very big bid hè’ll be gone.
When the manager says “He’s not for sale, £14m isn’t enough” then you know its just a question of whether Milan will offer more to satisfy us.
If he’s going to go hopefully it’ll be sooner so that we can have a settled defence by the Europa League group stages.
Assuming we get there, obviously, which should be reasonably straightforward if its Riga then Sarajevo. Not sure what the Montenegrins are like, so that might be trickier.
Not Ajer. Poor judgement with flicks and tricks when last man, occasionally horrendous first touch, tendency to want to act the hard man when he isn’t. 14 million is tonnes of cash.
s’happenin’ Tavernier?
Covid 19 are the least of yer worries Jimbo, the Celtic are oan 19 with a game in hand.
Lennon has got to decide on 3/4 at the back and allow John Kennedy/ Stevie Woods to work with them plus Barkas to develop a solid and confident understanding of the chosen formation. Only when that is settled will the rest of the team be able to slot into place with good effect. Teams with the best defence almost always win the prizes!
In our last nine seasons , we haven’t bettered our points total after 7 matches . We have matched it a few times and done worse often , but too many of our fans are getting their knickers in a twist & worrying over nothing
Hibee forgets to wash his hands after pushing out a big number2.
Careful now talking sense will get you nowhere
Although it would be a welcome change!
Tenshun
Caption: just a normal handshake is fine can you do that?
Caption
Don’t worry you will get a job on Spotscene as a pundit Tavvy!
We have the quality in the team, but there is a lack of leadership. Twice now we have gone behind and only then do we begin to drive at teams. The lack of the support appears to also affect the performances, after we gain the lead we appear to drift. Overall though only bad mark so far Ferencvaros. As for Ajeti he is class and once fit will petrify defences.
As for the mighty Hun machine, it begins to stutter again, Hibees were the better team and should have come out winners, when you have clowns on Spotscene saying it was a fair result, says it all.. Love Poreous and Hammons, as there two masters Hagi and Rl Buffalo rolled about like weee lassies
I’ll gie ye £1 fir freddo, deal or no deal tav
Caption: Ranger’s ‘Class’ ?
Lenny needs to discover our best 11 and stick with it so they can gell.
Barkas
Bitton/Duffy/Jullien
Forrest/Ntcham/McGregor/Taylor
Christie
Edouard/Ajeti Our manysubs can also make a big difference: Frimpong/Ajer/Soro/Elyounoussi/Griffiths/Rogic
C’mon the Hoops….we know our history.
Nurse^
As someone prone to call NURSE! fairly regularly, you may want to watch “Ratched” if you’ve got Netflix, Monti (and everyone else). 🙂
It’s supposedly Nurse Ratched’s ‘development’, i.e. prior to The Cuckoo’s Nest.
It’s quirky and brilliant but maybe not everyone’s ‘cup of tea’ and Sarah Paulson plays the lead part incredibly well with terrific support. Definitely worth a go as it looks like being a long, hard winter ahead with Covid 19 spiking alarmingly quickly. Looks like the 2nd wave maybe even worse than the 1st. On that front I’d recommend having the ‘Flu jab ASAP and also Pneumonia jab which I’d never heard of before my GP suggested it.
Don’t underestimate this. The FN eejits who want to ‘party’ and spread it should be bundled off together as far away as possible, preferably into space.
On another note, surely TF we can overcome Riga on Thursday and maybe have a run in the Europa whilst keeping our ‘eye on the ball’ and doing THE TEN which for me is paramount this season.
HH
FC not PLC
BTW, It would be nice to see comments being posted ASAP on the same day they are written as otherwise they become pointless. Thank you Ralph, Desi, whoever.
Ralph, Desi whoever, my comment above was IN ANTICIPATION of my other reply to Monti going AWOL and was done just before the above.
It’s a big, now old, recurring problem……..it seems once the dreaded “awaiting moderation” shows the comment’s doomed. Not nice.
Caption: Taver-Pen follows in his hero ‘Bro’ Neymar’s ‘spiritual’ footsteps by refusing to shake the hand of any defender who plays in Green.
Of course, Black Lives Matter, but sometimes some of their manners have a lot to be desired. And DOBs of any colour don’t matter a jot to me.
HH
FC not PLC
Caption: “Ok, you might catch Covid but you’ll never catch Celtic.”
H H
Pensionerbhoy,
I hope you aren’t in a nursing home, you’ve probably got 15 mins left.
Caption:
“Peace be with you”
“F*ck off wi’ yer taig, tarrier bigotry!”
Caption:
“And here’s my hand, my crusty Hun
Now gies the hand o’ thine
We’ll laugh at Sevco as we laughed
At the Huns of auld lang syne”
Caption Hi I’ve got you in the Sevco transfer bingo – any inside info on your EFL destination ?
Caption – Do not worry useless, Ralph Malph, historian, sometimes humourist, oracle and all-round nice-guy, predicted to me afore the game you would sulk when ye realise that Lille did na want ta know and Celtic would win the 10!
(Aye, I know it ain’t moreless, but I’m doon the Louden with a whisky reminding the owner he told ne 8 years ago he would change the colour plan when we win the 10, and quite frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn!) HH!
So Celtic win every tournament they enter that season & you focus on two games we lost?
F.anny
The panty wetters are a nervous wreck & faulting Lennon on a daily basis yet he has won all the domestic titles he could
Nonsense, he’s lost the league to a dying Huns and has won 4 out of 11 domestic cups.
Perhaps an attention to detail rather than becoming moist about his omnipotence would be beneficial.
Aye but against Dundee Utd we had 128 shots on target 500 corners 99% of the play and a masonic orange bastard reffing.
It wisnae Jocks fault 🙂
many happy returns matey
Duncan,
When has Lenny ever gone 4-3-3 ?
Lennon effed up along with the players and to state anything else is pure delusion and why Ferencvaros has followed Copenhagen, which followed Cluj.
If it was just your delusion that would simply be laughable but when Lennon isn’t for the learning then the joke’s on us.
Griffiths was missing because he’s largely always missing when we need him this past 4-5years, he pissed about during lockdown, came back unfit and whether that caused a genuine injury or he just fancied another ‘week aff’ is irrelevant.
Just a small observation I made to my mates before Ferencvaros, having watched them against the Swedes and then some youtube follow up .”They have only one danger , a lad up front who has electric pace and cuts in from the left side. If Frimpong plays he is the only one who has that speed and can nullify his threat. The rest should be fairly straight forward “. Guess who scored ? If a minion like me can see that, why couldnt our management team ?
Stein comparisons again.
You really don’t help yourself and, by extension, Lennon.
“This is not to say he isn’t infallible”
Translate – “this is not to say he is fallible” – FFS.
I know you think you’re helping Lennon but coming out with pish like this doesn’t help.
Caption : social distancing, 2 metre rule, listen to sturgeon
“Hey James you still can’t defend , get it right up ya “
Caption: Player shuns ‘Take the Hawn.’
With the gaps between Diaries I’m often cold turkey.
Caption
“I’m telling Kris on you”
Scott McKenna is a cart horse (Apologies to all cart horses who are offended by that comparison).
slow as…A big step in the wrong direction signing that donkey. lets see where he ends up after forrest.
Caption……..
Penalty to Sevco and a £75,000,000 fine to Celtic.
Caption: Will I pick up the broken glass for you as your bottles crashed again
It’s easy if you try.
Caption:
Jesso, you are smaller than I imagined.
Caption:
Hello Tav, I am the egg man.
See the folk who don’t rate McKenna, will be the same folk who rated Ambrose & Boyata!
Nurse
Erm…none
🙂
Whoever is trying to upgrade the site, two things, it doesn’t work properly & can we drop the blue from the replies p.ish.
Caption : “Aw come on, it’s no as if I’m asking for your jersey, he he…”
Caption. Ryan mate you must be tav. Did u just come on ? haven’t seen you all game
New diary format is absolute mince! Can’t ‘like’ comments, can’t reply directly to comments etc. How many complaints until it’s binned and we go back a couple of ‘upgrades’ to a site we could all use.
Some football clubs in this country won’t survive the season. Even our big clubs wil struggle unless fans are allowed safely back into stadiums.
This what should have been a memorable season will be I think remembered for all the wrong reasons.
Will the league last till May next year I doubt it very much in the current climate.
I’m just not getting the government.
Its far more dangerous to be inside a supermarket than a football ground.