The games continue to come thick and fast, and tonight Celtic make the short journey north to face St. Johnstone in Perth. One of the more picturesque parts of Scotland, steeped in history and charm, Perth is always a good day-or in this case night-out.
The players however, are treating this one as strictly business. Kelvin Wilson is desperate to get the title wrapped up as soon as possible, and Anthony Stokes doesn’t want anyone to take the foot off the pedal. This attitude may yet see us triumph in Turin, as it certainly seems like the team are wounded , and want to hit back. what was that Iniesta asked about what they fed the Celtic players, referring to their physical strength and determination?
A win in Perth will see a twenty one point gap open at the top, and it seems like the league is a formality. With Scott Brown having performed heroics this season, common sense may now have taken over, and he’s away to seek “further treatment “on his hip problem. Mikael Lustig has a thigh problem, and although Georgios Samaras is back in training, he won’t be risked just yet. If he’d just got off a plane he might have, but he hasn’t.
With the stunning success of the diarys pre match prediction for the Dundee Utd game, 1-1 being the forecast, which it actually was, but not for long, tonight we will go for 4-0 to Celtic, which will give budding punters a chance to scratch that one from their coupons.
Gary Hooper has won the SPL player of the month for January, after he scored six goals and turned down three moves during the month. Hooper has scored 23 goals this season, and is maybe being taken a bit for granted by the support. He doesn’t get the same sort of adulation other big hitters have got, but that could be down to this feeling that we won’t have him for very long. Though apart from paper talk, there is no real evidence he wants away. Still, we’ve had a good few years from him even if he does.
Yesterdays enquiry about the Green Brigade pointed us in the direction of a statement they released about their treatment before the Dundee utd game last Saturday.
The statement is easily found on the web, and concerns the treatment of a number of supporters by the police, in the Celtic Supporters Association, and at the ground. And in it as well.
For brving the dreadful beer in the CSA, the GBs reward was to have the police, on the premises, according to the statement, sieze their merchandise. Amongst other incidents that may have taken place, this one is particularly galling, because that is simply not on. Wearing a police uniform doesn’t make it right to simply demand aomething that isn’t theirs, and the CSA need to have a good look at themselves for standing by and letting it happen on their premises, which is a private club. Then there were claims that peoples season cards were being rejected at the turnstiles, “flashing up” a one match ban.
The Scottish Football Focus Unit are fast adopting an image associated more with those police who bullied the miners during the strike, and they seem to have this idea that they are some sort of task force akin to Elliot ness and his Untouchables.
If all this is true. So the first move should be to gather evidence, make statements-Celtic have asked for them-and simply sort it out. The guys who had their card rejected should demand answers from the club.
What happened yesterday was the Affiliation of CSCs, the GB, the club itself, and anyone else with a vested interest released statements. About who met with who and agreed what when. Although the man in charge of policing at Celtic Park, Tommy McCrindle has been removed from his post , amidst accusations he was a little over zealous in his duties. and the job description he had on a now deleted facebook page, where he listed his duties as cleaning up termites, probably haven’t helped any claims he may have about acting impartially.
So, at least that has been done, but the various groups need to get together, leave their egos at the door, and get to the root of any problems. And then fix them.
Otherwise, like with the miners, the policy of divide and conquer will win again.
Meanwhile, Charles Green might just be paving the way for his exit from the Deathstar as the Daily Record has a story which hints at a massive row at the new club, still less than a year old. The paper reckons he has asked the board to choose between him and Malcolm Murray, who is the chairman. Now, the story could be something or nothing, but the line that the two were “ordered to attend a peace summit in London, organised by Cenkos, who oversaw the share issue” is significant. They have links to Ticketus, and it makes you wonder who is in charge over there. It makes you wonder, but doesn’t make you care.
But it might all explode again, and put smiles upon our faces.
Still, the smiling Yorkshireman has been keeping his club in the papers with his fervent ramblings. He’s like a wee midget jumping up and trying to see in the window, and when he gets noticed he just says whatever comes into his mind. Graeme Spiers has questioned his statements, and Mark Dingwall has mocked Spiers, for his “lazy ” article, but doesn’t actually offer anything to back Green up by way of facts.
No need to list Greens claims here, suffice to say if he hear anything daft being said, it was probably him.
Hamburg, PSG and Werder Bremen have all kept whichever Celtic teams faced them from scoring, as Bob Cobb pointed out.
Paolo di Canio has had another leetle problem, and has quit Swindon as manager. His leetle problem at Celtic ended up with him not actually being sold, because the club emphatically refused to sell him. So what happened?
We swapped him for reggie ‘stinker’ blinker
The bold Jock Brown “traded” him for Reggis Blinker.
He was “Traded” for Regi Blinker…..who lost his spine in a one on one with Mark Vidukas old teams goalkeeper….when an away goal would have been priceless.
was it not “part exchanged” for Regi
Jim is spot on; he was ‘traded’ for regi blinker plus £3.5m. Which works out at about £1m all in.
according to Jock Brown he was “traded” for Regi Blinker….an awful day for football….
Just to clarify his name is Dark Mingwall, just for future ref.
Bravo JWard,
Regi joins Rafeal and Berkovic among others in the rogues gallery of poor scouting and desperation signings of that era(mind you better than Ranger$ policy given that were still around to regret it.)
Remember vividly Blinker pulling out a 70/30 (in his favour) wi the Partizan Belgrade GK when in a one on one.
Ralph
Gone again – reams of it. Anyway, I enjoyed today’s diary and have commented as I wanted. Pity it is floating with Charlie’s stock issues somewhere in the great unknown.
H H
Pensionerbhoy
I have freed up most of my day by no longer commenting extensively on the diary, limiting myself to pithy one liners, irrelevant (and irreverent) bon mots, and the occasional shaft of unadulterated keech! With all the hours now available to me, I have developed a talent for observing the defrosting pattern of ice on the roofs opposite, thus having a pretty good idea of who does and doesn’t have central heating (on a timer).
This will come in handy one day and I may become a mature student and develop a thesis on the thermodynamic heat diffusion of brick tiles.
So how many huns does it take to tile a roof……depends on how big they are I suppose.
Hail Hail
Estadio
I would have shot myself if I had missed this. It is A1+++ and I think that stops heat loss from Hun laid tiles especially the Yorkshire stone ones.
H H
PS I thought I was the only sad B that watched all those goings on in the street. Even the local talent about in the daytime is beyond redemption (and catching at my age).
damn it Croatia Zagreb!!not Partizan
Pensionerbhoy- I believe you – i have “lost” two posts today . Is there a clique – or a secret board on here – have I logged into Kerrydale st by mistake or celtic quick news ? 🙂
SM
I think there might be a serial postie killer on the loose, mate. There is a name going round the net – Desi. You are about his 100th victim so check there isn’t a prise. If the situation worsens, then prepare yourself for staring out the windae, like Estadio and me, at melting sna and pensioners washing cars. I am on a special this week with the wanes on mid term so a wee welcome break – screaming instead of coughing.
H H
Yeah, Jock Brown and his “new broom” worked a cunning swap where we lost our best player and got in a Sheffield Wednesday dud. I think the very moment where Brown tried to pass this off as a swap deal was the very moment Celtic fans thought “aye right, Brown, on yer way ya fud”.
Funny though, hindsight. I was angry at Fergus not stumping up to keep Van Hooijdonk and Di Canio while Der Bears were throwing cash around. Now we all know this was never their cash to begin with and players were being paid via a plan drawn up by a cunning pornographer on the back of a regal packet, but it hurt at the time. He who laughs last and all that.
The other weird thing is how one year on the revisionism is in full swing. I ve seen articles talkng about Rangers going to “the brink of extinction” and the worst year in the 140 year history of the club, ahem, you were liquidated and have around 6 months of history now. And Mc Coist and other sore bears talking about how they were victims and have had all these horrible things done to them. Was it something like £40 million they stiffed creditors for? Has anyone even acknowledged this, never mind apologised? Have they learned a single thing? Rumours about Green, the real amount raised in the share issue and who actually gets first dibs on this money, that a second admin is a real possiblilty are flying around, but no Bear wants to know – “Its an anti Rangers agenda”. “Thomson is a Rangers hater” This was the same nonsense coming out when questions were asked about Whyte. And Murray. Oh well. Let them walk away proudly from their debts to their next spiv saviour until there is nothing left but a supermarket at Ibrox and a wee junior team called the Billy Boys or some loyal name. So glad to be a Celt, with a mind, a conscience and a view of my own, following a club that meets its financial responsibilities and lives within its means HH
When Jock Brown was appointed, the final interviews were conducted with a shortlist of two.
The candidate who unluckily lost out….and what a difference this man would have made to all things Celtic was none other than…….Hugh Dallas!
Can you imagine what the ‘long list’ must have looked like!!
Hail hail
Estadio
I wish your posts were barred. Do you realise you just made an old man sh** his breeks at the mention of THAT name near Celtic. All the snow just melted with the heat from my panic. Well, at least the nightmares about JB might stop now. But can you be a bit more careful what you write in future. I have a dicky heart – no relation to cricket’s bird.
H H
Could anybody explain to me, given the recent CAS court case between UEFA and FC Sion, that Celtic benefited from. That a one year transfer embargo, meant that the offending team could not buy players for ‘two’ transfer windows. Which had nothing to do with dates.
My understanding of that ruling is that because sevco signed players last summer, they have in fact only served one of these windows and have another one to go. I just don’t understand how the sfa could get this wrong given one of its member club gained a Europa League place through it.
Maybe the clubs they play against in the third division next season could seek ‘clarification’ from UEFA, as sevco would be playing illegally registered players.
HH
schoosh71
Simple. It’s Scotland. It’s Scottish football and above all, it’s still THEM! There are rules for everyone and none for one.
H H
Cheers, PB
Corrupt to the core. As such a high profile case the Sion ‘drama’ was, the sfa obviously know better than CAS and UEFA. Awe well, that will be that then. Old club cheating Bees, new club cheating bassas.
HH