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Celtic Diary Thursday September 12

Defender Steven Mouyokolo has returned to Sochaux, in France, to undergo treatment and probably an operation for a ruptured achilles. Its more bad luck for the cursed ex Wolves man, who  landed on his feet when he got offered a deal by Neil Lennon, only to find that the impact caused more damage, and he’ll be out for months.

Although its hard not to feel for the guy, Efe Ambrose and Virgil van Dijk look like they will be the first choice back two this season, and they could set a new club record this weekend of three consecutive appearances together if they start against Hearts.

Another defender who had a bad week was Emuilio Izzaguerre. His country Honduras conceded a late goal against Panama which means they haven’t qualified for Brazil just yet, but are still in pole position.

Georgios Samaras helped his team to a 1-0 win over Latvia in Greece, they stay joint top of their group. Adam Matthews and Joe Ledley played for Wales, which means they can hang about with the likes of Scott Brown, Charlie Mulgrew and James Forrest next summer because they will get plenty of time off .

Teemu Pukki starred for Finalnd, as we saw in yesterdays diary, and Efe Ambrose featured in Nigerias 4-1 win over Burkina Faso, who they do seem to play rather a lot.

Thomas Rogic got a chance to face Barcelona new boy Neymar when he got eleven minutes of the Australia -Brazil game in Brasilia. The game ended in a narrow 6-0 win for the hosts, and Rogic was left looking forward to an important season in which he wants to be a regular in the hoops.

This from Ronnie Cully in the Evening times;

“Every player always wants to start, and I’m no different in that respect.

“But, being realistic as well, it’s been hard of late for both club and country, so I know I need to push in both teams and, hopefully, really head in the right direction towards starting.”

With the golden ticket to the World Cup finals dangling tantalisingly in front of his nose, Rogic concedes this will be a defining season in his, so-far, short career.

The man who only moved up to senior football a couple of years ago after catching the eye as a futsal star said: “Of course I want to make sure I’m back in Brazil in nine months’ time.

“And I’m going to do everything I can in camp and at my club to continue getting called up.

“I want to keep representing my country, and I certainly want to play a bigger role as well.”

Rogic may be playing his club football on the other side of the world. But, in this age of super-fast communications, everything he does in Scotland is followed and scrutinised Down Under.

Like every player, he understands the attention paid to the Champions League makes it a competition which can ensure you are making headlines around the globe.

“These are the best teams in the world and the best players in the world.

“The thought of testing yourself against them is very exciting and I am really looking forward to the coming weeks.

“I don’t think we could have asked for a tougher group, and I am very proud to be a part of it and looking forward to it.”

Rogic seems to have a little of the eye of the tiger about him, which may have been that extra quality that has seen him move from the world of futsal to one of Europes top clubs in just two years.

( That last bit wasn’t from the Evening Times, obviously )

Mikael Lustig went back to the Astana Arena with Sweden, where they beat Khazakstan 1-0 to remain favourites to make the play offs in Irelands group, and another bit of selective reporting about this one comes from the Evening Times, who have decided to get the old alarm bells out early ahead  the Milan game next week.

From the Times;

“Mikael Lustig looked certain to have to withdraw from the Swedish squad after being stretchered off at Tannadice.

The defender recovered in time to face the Republic of Ireland in Dublin last Friday, but, worryingly, he did not get any game time when the Swedes won in Kazakhstan on Tuesday. ”

Why its worrying they don’t explain. They could have asked Swedish boss Erik Hamren, who said;

“There were no serious things, he (Lustig) was a little worn and had probably been able to play but did not feel a hundred and because I did not want to risk having to make an early change.

“Given that I know that also Anders (Svensson) may not have the energy, Although he played almost 90 minutes yesterday.”

Which gives a completely different impression of  events.

An interesting report from the BBC shows that the cheapest day out in Scottish football is at Inverness, where a ticket, a pie  a cup of tea and a programme  on matchday will cost just £20.60. With the cost of travel added that comes to just over six hundred thousand pounds. You could buy Henrik Larsson for that.

Joking apart, that is fantastic value to watch  the team who top the league just now, because  if the catering prices are anything like Celtic Park, you could ditch the food and the programme and watch the game for a fiver.

A day out at Celtic Park works out at £30.40, though what they found at Celtic Park for Forty pence is beyond me. Still, if you factor in beer money and bus fare, thats about £250 for the day.

What came as a pleasant surprise, and the press deserve a proper kicking for not promoting this nationally, is that clubs are making a massive effort to get kids in through the gates. The game will die on its feet if the next generation are not encouraged to go to the games.

St. Mirren and Dundee Utd operate a free tickets scheme with local schools, which gave me two surprises actually, as I wasn’t aware there were schools in Paisley and Dundee, and several other clubs will give a free kids season book with every adult one purchased, and thats is the way forward.

Special praise to Partick though, who have free admission for under 16s, no doubt trying to scoop up the decent fans from the glasgow club who died last year. If not the actual fans, then their kids. Well, at least the kids that social services haven’t taken off them.

 

If only the guys at the top of Scottish football, such as Doncaster, Regan and that one who killed off  Rangers and nearly killed Hearts with his financial acumen showed half as much vision and energy towards the teams that survive as they do to the one that died, then they might have a bloody good product that would be easy to sell.

Which reminds me, Mark Dingwall, who supports Rangers and occasionally appears on telly to help with the development of wide angled lenses , has had some figures back from an accountant friend of his, published them on a Rangers forum, and watched the howls of anguish as the scales fall from the eyes of his fellow fans  as they realised that they could be going back into administration.

Wonder who put him up to that ?

I’d like to reassure them, because they do seem worried about another insolvency event, that there is absolutely, and I have this on very, very good authority, no chance of  another administration, or even liquidation.

Thats because the current entity is a completely new club, and they have never been in any sort of financial bother at all.

I hope that helps.

Yesterday , Frank Sinatra, Paul ” macca ” McCartney and Vennie Kocsis, the Tacoma singer/poet gave us Frank MacAvennie, and a plethora of funny comments.

Today, we have another “character “, from yesteryear

Oh, by the way, the Oxford dictionary drew a few comments yesterday, and it just so happens I checked another definition;

Trap : An unpleasant situation that is difficult to get out of.

 

 

 

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Pensionerbhoy
10 years ago

Ralph

I will not be contradicted. That has to be the best Diary ever. I have laughed myself back to bed to recover. Absolutely hilarious writing – pity about the subject matter :).

From “(That last bit wasn’t from the Evening Times, obviously )” through to the Oxford definition of “trap” was pure rib tickling. Thank you and I will it spoil it with my inane comments.

Quiz: I can assure you, he never needed a plane. He had the odd trip “doon the watter” in a rowing boat, mind, in between acting linesman for Scotland games.

H H

Pensionerbhoy
10 years ago
Reply to  Pensionerbhoy

“I will it spoil it with” Had a Yoda moment!
And I will not spoil it with…

H H

harryo
10 years ago

think it’s jinky. I seem to recall that the spanish press referred to him as the flea

Andy Bhoy
10 years ago

The greatest.

steve paterson
10 years ago

best player in the world 1967

Tony Paterson
10 years ago

Last time I was at Inverness I bought a cup of tea for the Mrs and seem to recall it was near enough 3 quid!

10 years ago
Reply to  Tony Paterson

a cup of tea for the wife….sounds like a fair swap!

San Miguel
10 years ago

Noticed in that BBC survey ,Sevco are the only club in Scotland who don’t have any published prices at all .

Did Jim Spence carry out the survey?

Or is it that they were a wee bit embarrased to publish the prices for a third tier club ?

CarlJungleBhoy
10 years ago

Well, if it’s not Jinky, then I want my money back. Then again, I don’t suppose Ian – you know the step dad of Sean Wright-Philipps & possibly have of lower Englisg leagues – was one of the original Wright Brothers?

CarlJungleBhoy
10 years ago

Oops. Excuse all t!e typos – I really am genuinely dyslexic (hic-sic?)- Honest. I meant Jynki

10 years ago

Flea? Hmmmmmm. Itchy.

Is it Andy Mabozza Ritchie?

Brisbanecelt
10 years ago

Could it be that rocking wing wizard, Mark (Aero)Smith from the 80s? Cannae be wee Jinky…..he never had that number on the wing.

Pensionerbhoy
10 years ago
Reply to  Brisbanecelt

Brisbane

The painter was doing them all in one and forgot to stop at the end of each jersey that’s why the 7 is in the middle. See, so’s ye’re wrang, so’s ye are.

H H

Brisbanecelt
10 years ago
Reply to  Pensionerbhoy

There’s no substitute for experience is there big man….that first number must be a Roman numeral then? Well spotted..

Pensionerbhoy
10 years ago
Reply to  Brisbanecelt

Brisbane

Naw! the first one was a Rangers strip 🙂

H H

Brisbanecelt
10 years ago
Reply to  Pensionerbhoy

Quality response!

Apricale
10 years ago

AS Monaco are trying to flog me a season ticket starting at €200 (around £170), so around a tenner per game. To watch a measly €150m of talent – who are they kidding! By the time you add in the canapés and Bovril it probably comes to around a million Euros a game.

And it’s Jinky, of course. Small, red-headed guy who played for us a long time ago.

Pensionerbhoy
10 years ago
Reply to  Apricale

Haw, Apricale! Whit’s wae the “long time ago”. I played against him in school team games when he was at St. Columba’s Viewpark. Long time ago indeed!! And since you’re in Monaco I’ll tell ye “Watch it, pal!”

H H

Apricale
10 years ago
Reply to  Pensionerbhoy

Italy, but close to Monaco. And yes, it was the French who gave jinky the nickname.

deadhead67
10 years ago

jinky after running defenders of a team in spain ragged in an away match cant recall the team

Pensionerbhoy
10 years ago
Reply to  deadhead67

Deadhead

Benfica. Unfortunately Big Billy gifted Eusebio a goal at Parkhead and we ended up oot! We never did ourselves justice sometimes in those days. But, rest assured, they were fantastic times. I remember them well, even with my altzimers, Apricale!

H H

Raymy
10 years ago

Was my original comment not allowed?

Honest Hoops
10 years ago

Another great diary today, Jimmy Johnstone…left us way too soon, on a separate note…the long suffering wife has bought me a ticket for the Hearts game on Saturday, maybe a hidden agenda on her behalf to get me oot the ferking hoose!!

I don’t care… as I will see my other beloved that day!!

Hail! Hail!

tam the tim
10 years ago

It was the French who gave the wee man the nickname after a game against Nantes I think.

deadhead67
10 years ago

see the SFA done it AGAIN letting of the sevco betting cheat with a mere 3 game ban with seven suspended plus a small fine,he should have been banned for good

Raymy
10 years ago

Ralph

It was just a wee bit about st mirren and schools.
The fire service in paisley set up the safe kids campaign at st mirren park for all of renfrewshires primary schools. I worked at the last one and have grown to have a real respect for the buddies as they are apparently the only team doing it and while it was all going on they had pensioner teas and munches, let crisis and community groups take up space and time for meetings and provide service to them.
The kids showing most enthusiasm and knowledge were rewarded with free tickets and they all loved it. The final week of it was after the cup final so all the kids got photos with the trophy. They are trying to make new fans by actively engaging with the community, irrespective of match days. It is good to see.

Love the diary.

Peace

10 years ago

Patsy Gallagher “The Mighty Atom”

10 years ago

Pensionerbhoy

Can’t recall Billy gifting a goal to Eusebio – if it’s the 1969 match you’re thinking about Celtic won 3-0 at home, lost 3-0 away and got through on the toss of a coin. It wasn’t like today when we know the result as soon as the match is finished. I remember twiddling the dials on the radio at 1 o’clock in the morning trying to find out the result of the match in Lisbon.

Did Billyl not gift the goal to Prati earlier in 1969 when we lost to A C Milan?

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