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Celtic Diary Friday February 8

Celtic manager Neil Lennon has said he will make a late decision whether or not to join Efe Ambrose in Nigeria for a week of horizontal celebrations if  the big defender is on the winning side in Sundays African Nations Cup Final. Oh, wait. I’ll start again.

Celtic manager Neil Lennon has said he will make a late decision on whether or not Efe Ambrose will be included in the squad for the upcoming Champions League game against Juventus. The big Nigerian won’t get back to Glasgow until monday night after his exertions in the African Nations cup Final on Sunday, and if the squad take up the offer from a core group of Nigerian leisure workers, then it could be weeks before he surfaces.

Perhaps it would be better to just go and fetch him, and a quick word with Hardy Kruger may yet get a result.

limbani

Its a hell of a situation for the club to be in. An upcoming latter stage Champions League game where we may be without a player because he is playing in an international tournament final. Or are we possibly reading to much into that. after all, Edson Braafheid played in a World Cup final.

Manager Lennon had this to say;

“Nigeria did fantastically well, and Efe played brilliantly in the game so I’m delighted for him in one way, but obviously very frustrated in another.”

We’ll have to hope that if Nigeria do win, Ambrose comes straight home after the game, and doesn’t think abut any frustrations he might have.

Lennon continued;

“The final is on Sunday and he probably won’t get back until monday evening, so he would be a doubt but we will get him into the squad and see howhe’s feeling”

Lenon says that Goalkeeper Fraser Forster and winger James Forrest should both be available for that game, and happily Lennon remembered during the press conference that there was a game against Inverness this weekend. He said that Forrest might not make that one.

Kelvin wilson says that victory over Juventus would eclipse even the Barcelona win, and described the clash as the “biggest of my career”

Meanwhile, Terry Butcher just sat and listened.

Here we go again, Look, its understandable that the big game will be on everyones minds. ITV in England have started advertising it, where it will be broadcast to a potential audience of sixty million, whilst Celtics tv financial share is based on an audience of just five million, which has to be one for the lawyers. but how about concentrating on the next game first. Inverness, based on Celtic form this season are a shoe in to take points off the hoops. But at least we have a cushion this time, I suppose.

Inverness, incidentally , had a move for Britains top scorer last season turned down on deadline day. The player,Damian  Reeves, scored 44 goals for Altrincham, and although he rejected the move, it seems other clubs are following the Celtic model f finding hidden gems.

Elsewhere, James Traynor, now employed as a director of commiunications for Charles Green, has called for Rangers fans to unite against those who peddle the myth that they are a new club. with the usual call to arms, he questions the intelligence of those who cannot see it is just the owners who have changed. Like the idiot behind this, presumably

rip

 

Or this balloon;

two jims

Yeah, keep your eye out for these people. defaming the club.

Traynor went some way to soothing anxious fans who may think there club is about to go belly up again, by saying that the £400,000 winding up order is not “legitimate” and Rangers will not pay out any money they do not owe. Unlike the previous incarnation, who didn’t pay out any money they did owe.

Charles Green continued with his comedy roadshow, telling Australian fans that a new shirt sponsor and kit was more or less signed, but they were waiting for a grand announcement, and that Juventus could use Murray Park free of charge to train on ahead of next weeks big game. Free of charge, though you’d hope the Italians would have somebody keeping an eye on their jackets.

He too, was at pains to suggest the club was in no danger of going down again, but did warn of seven years of famine ahead-not surprising when you have two guys like Ally McCoist and James Traynor near the canteen, who are both unlikely to ask for a salad.

Green actually described the present-you know, money in the bank, top of the league, etc, as the “good times”, so one can only giggle in eager anticipation as to what the bad times for them will be.

Of course, we know, and so does anyone else with a bit of sense, that their club is dead. Grief follows, and there are three recognisable stages of this.

First, we have anger. Where the bereaved reacts , often furiously, to the news that a loved one has died.Often asking how it could have happened, how indeed it happened, and who was to blame.

Then comes denial-a refusal to accept the facts of the matter. Maybe holding the body and howling “Nooooooo”

Before finally, there is a quiet acceptance. They know the death has taken place, and whilst perhaps privately not wanting to believe it, they have come to fully understand what has happened. At this point they begin to take comfort from their own memories.

Its been tough for those decent Rangers supporters, and there are a few, so go easy on them. Those you see now may still tell you their club lives on, but if you look into their eyes, they will not hold your gaze.

Yesterday, we asked about the three keepers who kept 100 or more shutouts for Celtic, and Liamatroinebhoy was spot on with Davey adams, charlie Shaw and Pat Bonnar. One keeper who never seems to get a mention is John O’Brien, who kept goal for Celtic back in the days where everyone wore a sepia toned strip, and his sole appearance came in a match where Celtic rattled six past Leith athletic. Perhaps the fact that the bold O’Brien allowed Leith to reply with five goals of their own may be why he never played again, but his contribution to make the game a bit more entertaining than it probably should have been,  cannot be underestimated, or forgotten. He needs a CSC named after him. A true legend.

Something else that tends to be forgotten, or at least not mentioned a lot, is that the clubs best manager, Jock Stein, also played for the club. How many competitive goals did he score?

 

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Manc Bhoy
11 years ago

Just the 2.

Admin
11 years ago

Another stage in the Maurice Ross Grief Model is Bargaining…how did that work out for Charles Green again?

joe brownisky
11 years ago

2

Diegoinhoops
11 years ago

We dont call them zombies for nothing, once again they die!!

mind you i like their tactics for skipping the bills, think i ll tell Scottish Power their claims for payment are not worthy of a response

Merciatic
11 years ago

Traynor looks in the mirror and says “Who you calling stupid?”

11 years ago

Sevco fans keep saying it was the business that died, not the team. Why then are sevco in the 3rd division?
if the team didn’t die, they’d still be in the SPL surely?
I’d imagine that chuckles green would have sued the SPL if they’d kicked rangers (RIP) out for no reason (they died and the new club had to apply for entry into scottish football.
and why are they not allowed into any european competitions for 3 years if they’re the ame team?
They died – everyone knows it – it’s just like the beetlejuice scenario where the couple die but don’t believe they are dead and haunt their old house

11 years ago

whatever became of my bhoyhood idol PADDY TURNER,IF ONLY CELTIC WOULD HAVE SIGNED HIM ONE YEAR EARLIER, THING WOULD DEFINITELY BEEN SO DIFFERENT,HE WAS BANGING GOALS IN FOR MY LOCAL TEAM MORTON FC

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