Celtic came out alongside Swedish side Elfsborg in yesterdays Third Round draw, causing panic amongst the support when it became apparent that Mo Bangura, the on loan forward who only plays well for other teams would be eligible to play.
The prospect of Bangura banging them in against the hoops caused alarm amongst those of us who should know better, and even prompted manager Neil Lennon to speak about the prospect of him taking the field against Celtic.
” There is no UEFA ruling for it, but I think it would be in his best interests not to play the game and if i get the opportunity to speak to him I will be telling him that as well. were Elfsborg to succeed, in the longer term I don’t think it would look good for Mohameds future here. ”
Its obvious what Lennon meant when he said this, but the way it sounds its only a little bit short of ringing Bangura and reminding him that we know where he lives.
Billy MacBiggott, from Larkhall, immediately fired off an email to UEFA, claiming that Lennon was threatening a player from another team, and for once in his life, he may have had a point. Although, as usual, the email was virtually unreadable, and written in crayon on his screen, so its unlikely UEFA will receive it.
Lennon must have realised how it sounded;
” I won’t be speaking to Elfsborg, but my take on it is that in his current situation it wouldn’t be a good idea. If he played it would put him in a compromising situation. I think it would be a very difficult situation for him mentally as well so I think it would be best for all parties if he didn’t participate in either of the ties. ”
Hang on, Neil. They might play someone who is good instead.
” He is our player at the end of the day and we have loaned him out to that club. The only reason we put him out on loan is to get him some game time. ”
And , of course, the fact that he is even worse than the strikers we already have.
After stopping short of making Bangura an offer he couldn’t refuse, Lennon then phoned Peter Lawwell and the two agreed they had made an arse of it, and should have stipulated that Bangura could not play against Celtic should the two clubs have been drawn against each other.
Whats done is done, and the situation does throw up a couple of interesting scenarios. Whilst Lennon focussed -or seemed to focus-on the possibility of Bangura scoring a winning goal that put Celtic out of the competition, the far more likely scenario of the player missing a sitter to send Celtic through was ignored.
It really would be simpler if he didn’t play, but leaving a horses head on his pillow was, in retrospect, the wrong way to go about it.
Elfsborg, predictably, are not overly happy with Lennon. Chairman Bo johansen called the comments “scandalous and unacceptable, ” and continued;
” Bangura is eligible to play, and we will play him. The reason we brought him in on loan was to assist in our qualification for the Champions League. ”
She doesn’t look convinced.
However, it seems Bangura isn’t unused to this sort of attention..
” He was subject to death threats from fans of his former club AIK when he moved back here. We had to take him from where he was staying and put him in a place where no-one knew. ”
Right, was that AIK fans, or Elfsborg fans ?
The whole thing seems to have leapt out of proportion, as these things tend to do.
If it becomes an issue, all Celtic have to do is cut the line that runs to the brakes on his car. Sorry, terminate his loan agreement.
But more importantly, lets just remember its Mo Bangura we are talking about here. This guy isn’t likely to score if he fell in a bucket of fannies.
( Note, the author reserves the right to delete that statement, and pretend he never wrote it, if , as usually bloody happens, Bangura scores four goals in the first leg, two of which are forty yard headers, and the other two from corner kicks with his back to the pitch. )
Away from Europe, Celtic travel to Brentford today, and so should I have done. however , one or two personal issues and a complete lack of foresight in planning means that I have to apologise to Paul and the rest of the Southampton CSC for not be able to join them in the Royal Horseguards, which I am assured is a very Tim friendly pub.
You guys enjoy your day, and we will meet up again soon. Its been about twenty years since I travelled with these guys, and can only assure them that they do see me again, the comments will all be along the lines of;
“Oh shite, now I remember him ”
Anyway, have a fantastic day if you are down in Brentford today, and enjoy the game.
Steven Mouyokolo has spoken of his delight at sealing a deal with Celtic. The former Wolves man is delighted to be back in the game and is looking forward to training.
” He hasn’t played much football recently, ” admitted boss Neil Lennon, ” but we are hoping he’s quite good at it. ”
Meanwhile, Nottingham Forrest have made a cheeky £1.5m bid for defender Kelvin Wilson, the club who kept him on the bench for months whilst then manager Billy Davies did his practical exam for the then Rangers manager job.
What it does show is that Wilson is turning heads, and with van Dijk and Mouyokolo arriving , he will need to be reassured he is still first choice in the side.
Not that we actually have a first choice centre half. Just some tall fellows who defend with enthusiastic optimism, whilst we continue with the long term plan of getting people in so we can sell them.
With Gary Hooper almost certainly away, its time to re assess our business plan.
A first team player is needed now-actually we need one or two players capable of walking straight into the team and staying there.
The season is already underway, and Celtic have neither a first choice central defence partnership, an automatic midfield, or a top class striker. Something has gone wrong somewhere, and it needs to be sorted soon.
A season without European football at the top level is unthinkable, and with great strides being made on the continent last year, surely this time the club will build on it. Please tell me lessons have been learned from the failure to grow after Seville .
On the other side of the city, the rape of the body of former rivals Rangers is almost over. The perpetrators are now getting dressed and heading out the door before the rohypnol wears off and the police turn up.
Millions of shares have changed hands over the last couple of days, and it looks like most of them used to belong to Charles Green, who has now been cured of Rangersitis and as predicted by nearly everyone, has disappeared over the horizon.
No-one from the new club Sevco has commented, and no-one is likely to. Presumably in case its used as evidence against them when the whole con comes up in front of the judge.
If you want a laugh, just check the share price on Monday morning, when trading starts again.
Elsewhere, Paddy McCourt will line up for Peterborough against Northampton, and that kind of makes me sad. Perhaps Celtic could have tried harder to turn an obviously talented player into a regular.
Perhaps Paddy himself could have tried harder. We’ll never know.
Ramon Vega was the man who would walk to Glasgow to play one more time for Celtic, and we figure he is just going past Southwaite services on the M6 even as we speak.
“Celtic is a way of life and very important for the Scots and Irish. Wherever they have emigrated to, and wherever you go, they applaud and support you. ”
Which popular forward of recent years showed that he understood Celtic ?
Bi Jan VoH – Top man
haha BIG*
Hi guys, it’s gonna be brilliant here today in not so sunny Brentford but the West London CSC is predicting a sunny afternoon for the game and likewise for a wee shwally after it. Brentford won’t know what’s hit them! HH
First time iv read your article laughed all the way through. Your summary of transfer our situation is spot on. Great collum
Yer right enuff SOS BHOY. This was the funniest bit:
Elsewhere, Paddy McCourt will line up for Peterborough against Northampton, and that kind of makes me sad. Perhaps Celtic could have tried harder to turn an obviously talented player into a regular.