Celtic diary Wednesday January 9

Theres a lot of pictures of the new Celtic home kit all over the interweb, this one, we mean;

Of course, this top will not be used next season, because the word Tennents will not be on it. The deal runs out this season, and Celtic will finally bury the Old Firm tag once and for all by going it alone with the Magners brand logo emblazoned upon our chests.

Magners, who re-invented the image of the traditional tramps drink of cider by er, pouring it over ice, have seemingly decided to raise their profile even more with this association with Scotlands biggest and most successful club.

There is no word on which company will sponsor the shirts of the Sevco rangers club, who inherited the old tennents contract, but then there is little assurance they will still be around next year anyway.

The drunk who phoned us with the news has no idea what the deal is worth, although to be fair  it was difficult to make out what he was saying-he said he was returning the support Magners were giving celtic by heavily investing in their product, but it will be announced this week.

The significance of going it alone cannot be underestimated. Some may see it as a clean break with our old foes, whatever form they take in whichever incarnation they settle on, and that has to be the way forward.

speaking of the way forward, the league reconstruction, which should be in place next season, will go to the vote amongst clubs now. Rangers, as they are only associate members, will not be allowed a say in the future of the game, largely because they can’t be trusted with any responsibility, as they proved when it cam to paying their bills.

James Traynor, the man entrusted with being the voice of the new club, has called the new set-up-the 12-12-18 system-an “abomination”, which is quite ironic as many have described the now discredited former sports editor and broadcaster in a similar vein.

His rant , published on the Rangers website, is a last ditch attempt to bully the other clubs into recognising that the new club are still needed by the game, but actually all it does is confirm what we already knew. They are an irrelevance.

He has also warned that people should be careful what they say about the club, threatening all sorts of legal action if anyone mentions their tax dodging dual contract past. And of course, there should be no use of the word “cheats” , which  is the natural assumption when there is a suggestion that they fielded improperly registered players.

Can’t wait to see his reaction if titles are stripped. Which they should be. Because they cheated. And is it true they had a meeting at Ibrox yesterday to discuss wage cuts?

But the game moves on, and whilst the new set up, featuring another split reeks of “something must be done, this is something, lets do it” at least there is no sign of anyone being fast tracked, which allows it to retain integrity.

The transfer speculation continues, twitter is saying that Gary Hooper has turned down a new contract, and Tom rogic, an Australian prospect is going to train with Celtic. Otherwise its just the same faces and the same stories.

Italian legend Dino Zoff, now 135 years old and clearly showing it, reckons Celtic “are not an impossible opponent, and (Juventus) should certainly go through” Juve, he says “are quick, strong and should not have too many problems”

The biggest fear of reaching the last 16 was that Celtic would lose the element of surprise, and teams would be a little more wary and respectful of the side, but it seems Juve have a bit of a superiority complex, which will help. The closer this tie comes, the more confident we should start to feel.

To fixture changes to tell of, the home game against Dundee utd will now take place on tuesday January 22, and the visit to Perth to face St. johnstone will be on February 19, because it clashes with the League Cup semi final against St. Mirren. Go on, admit it, you’d forgotten about that game, hadn’t you?

The player who would become a hit with fans was the Israeli midfielder Eyal Berkovic, although some of the answers yesterday brought back memories of other flops, including Stephane Bonnes, who has been reported missing by his parents.

Todays question has been prompted by a glance at the match programme from the Valencia UEFA Cup game back in 2001, when the atmosphere that night still makes the hackles on the neck rise..

Which team have won the Cup Winners Cup, the UEFA Cup,the European Super Cup, but never their own domestic league?