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Celtic Diary Wednesday October 16

Scotlands 2-0 win over Croatia caused such embarrassment for the visitors that coach Igor Stimac immediately offered his resignation after the game. With his nation having secured a place in the play offs for Brazil, its unclear whether or not it will be accepted, and one wonders whether its all just for show.

GordonStrachan, who has at least saved face for the Scots by securing fourth place in the group, and that has to be hailed as a remarkable achievement considering how Craig Levein had decided to give all the other countries a head start earlier in the campaign.

Strachan was a happy wee fellow last night;

“It was a nice way to finish the week. The week has been hopefully enjoyable but hard work, so when you put that kind of hard work in it’s always nice to get a performance and a win.”

Goals from Robert Snodgrass, probably the least Scottish sounding player of all time, and Ibrox favourite Steven Naismith secured the win, and means that Scotland can look forward to the Euro 2016 qualifiers if not with confidence, then certainly with optimism.

The radio and newspapers will be full of the “what ifs ” over the next few days, considering what would have happened if Strachan had been in charge throughout the whole campaign, but put simply, he wasn’t , so its irrelevant.

England qualified for the finals with a 2-0 win over Poland, meaning we will have just 31 teams to support next year. Except this time it might be different. With manager Roy Hodgson admitting he “died a thousand deaths ” ( no, he didn’t -ed ) every time Poland crossed the half way line, he will be looking to blood a new keeper to either replace or at the very least provide back up to the calamitous Joe Hart, which means Fraser Forster will get his England cap, without ever having to go there via Norwich. That means if the big man plays in Brazil, a lot of the enjoyment of watching the English get beat on penalties in the semi finals will be tapered , especially if their press blames Forster.

All of that won’t matter if he moves from Celtic in the meantime, but for now he is still one of ours.

It’ll be like watching a car load of Rangers fans drive off a cliff-in your own new car.

Elsewhere, Emilio Izzaguerre and Honduras booked their place in the finals, a 2-2 draw in Jamaica ensured third spot in their group, ahead of Mexico, and the latter will now face a play off with New Zealand.

Play offs also beckon for Mikael Lustigs Sweden and Gergios Samaras with Greece. Sweden finished second to Germany, and despite a win at home to Leichtenstein, Bosnia winning in Lithuania means that the Greeks lost out on automatic qualification.

One other heading to Brazil is Aussie midfielder Tomas Rogic, who drew praise from former Australia captain Paul Wade;

”Every time I’ve seen him play, even if it’s just a cameo, he looks like he’s all class and he doesn’t panic, and he’s not been out there a long time,” Wade said.

”But he’ll come good [from injury] and he’ll play in the World Cup and he’ll score.

”I don’t think he’s going to crash and burn tomorrow so that he never plays again. He’ll be back and then we’ll sit there and go, ‘Yeah, we found a jewel’. He’s got a gorgeous touch under pressure, beautiful, love it. He reminds me of Ned Zelic, he just glides.”
Now its time for those five  most commonly used words in the English language-James Forrest is fit again

This time he’s looking for a “wee bit of luck ” to stay that way;

It’s just been bad luck getting not well and having a wee niggle here and there and I just need a wee bit of luck now to get a run of games,” he told the club’s official website.

“We have a lot of big games left and once all the boys are back on Thursday and Friday we can look forward to the next few weeks.

“When you haven’t been well, you don’t want to come back and do too much, so it’s been a good wee break and I have been able to do some hard work.”

The club are taking their own precautions with him

Another potential injury has entered the minds of Celtic fans when this still from the Greece game last night appeared in Interwebland;

View image on Twitter

With what happened to Samson when his missus got the clippers out, there are real fears over the Greek gods well-being, and we can only hope it grows back quickly.

Over at Ibrox, there has been a change in the board room again. Craig Mather , who was the CEO, has resigned with immediate effect after a record breaking few months in the post.

The club said;

“The company announces that, by mutual consent, the chief executive, Craig Mather, has resigned from the company with immediate effect. The company also announces that non-executive director Bryan Smart has resigned from the board with immediate effect. The directors would like to thank both Craig and Bryan for their contributions to the club.

“As a matter of priority, the company, working with its advisers, will now seek to strengthen the board, both to meet the standards required for an AIM company, and to achieve stability through a consensus amongst major shareholders, which can then be considered by all shareholders at the annual general meeting.”

The man himself said;

“The interests of the club are of paramount importance and I believe these are best served by me leaving the club.

“Despite recent events and speculation, the facts of the matter are that the club is financially secure and in a far better place than it was a year ago. Unlike most football clubs Rangers has money in the bank, no borrowings and this season we have assembled a squad which is capable of progressing through the leagues.

“My short tenure as chief executive has been beset by incessant attempts to destabilise the operations of the club, all done supposedly in the interests of Rangers. I had real faith in the rebuilding of Rangers and invested significantly in the club. Sadly, those who have been most active in upsetting the very good progress we have been making were not willing to do the same.

“I leave with my head held high and will remain as a shareholder and a supporter of Ally and his team.”

and Celtic supporters said;

for which we must be eternally grateful to the new club, as they continue to supply an endless stream of hilarity.

We tried to get hold of Mather for an exclusive interview, but he wasn’t in.

Where do they go from here ? Who cares, as long as it keeps us smiling ?

Grant Munro has left Ross County to pursue a career away from football-surely he’s not next in line for the job ?

Tommy Gemmell, who helped to set inmotion the death of the old Rangers when he scored against Inter Milan all those years ago, does  something else today that  they will never do when he celebrates his seventieth birthday.

Many Happy Returns from all of us at Etims to the big man, and we hope you have a great day. Theres a brief biography of the great man on the official site Tommy Gemmell, which is worth clicking on for those who like a bit of nostalgia.

 

Nostalgia was the name of the game with yesterdays quiz. Celtic continued their line in bizarre friendly opponents by inviting Newcastle to open the new North Stand in 1995, after fans had thrilled seven years earlier to the visit of Cruzeiro to celebrate the centenary. There is no record of Fraser Forster having travelled and fell in love with the place, in the way that Paolo di Canio did when his dad got him a subbuteo set for his birthday.

Can anyone else remember what was significant about this game ? Note-this one is purely from memory, and does not appear in google, so there is a chance I may be wrong. It should provoke a bit of discussion though..

 

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Jinho
10 years ago

Celtic wore numbers on their jerseys for the first time?

CarlJungleBhoy
10 years ago

OK. Numbers on the shirt. However, wasn’t it also that same night when Rangers lost to St Etienne at Ibrox and somebody make an unforced error with their shirt numbers?

comment image

elcormaco
10 years ago

Whose left on their board now? The wee women who was in hoovering around the table was the last person in the boardroom I think so is going to be announced to the the AIM stockmarket later today?

Can I make a recommendation to something celtic related, that isnt on this site (boo, hiss, burn the heretic)?

Hail hail media have a series of free celtic history podcasts, taking a decade at a time, and they are an excellent listen, even make going for a walk for exercise reasons pleasureable. find on spreaker as “celtic history ” or via hail hail media website. They are asking for a donation to charity, and IMO they are well worth it, might even help me answer a bloody quiz question right some time

Steveo
10 years ago

Yeah numbers on shirts for first time would be my guess!!

jon littledick
10 years ago

‘It’ll be like watching a car load of Rangers fans drive off a cliff-in your own new car’

Brilliant analogy! As for the quiz, Sean Fallons’s last game in charge in a Euro tie?

10 years ago

Haud oan a minute…if Fraser Foirster is at the World Cup, who is gonna be in goals for the Champions League Qualifier Qualifier Qualifier Qualifier Qualifier?

Judging by that programme, was it the first game to raise money for footballers with Rickets?

Doc
10 years ago
Reply to  Desimond

good point. the WC final is on sunday 13/7 and celtics qualifyer will be on the tuesday or wednesday. not exactly a lenghty holiday

Charlie Saiz
10 years ago
Reply to  Desimond

He will be sold in Jan Desi so it makes no difference anyway pal.
I hope we go and get ourselves 2 good Keepers for the money we raise off the sale myself..
Mibees an older ,wiser Keeper as back up with a younger promising No1 like McCarthy at R

Charlie Saiz
10 years ago
Reply to  Charlie Saiz

..eh?
Reading.
Schmeichel at Leeds or even try get David Marshall back from Cardiff and sign him long term.

Lenny Bruce
10 years ago

Andy Thom made his debut. He was later subbed.

And thus a pattern was established that would see him through his Celtic career.

Newcastle fans were horrible that day. Completely awful. Hated them ever since.

10 years ago

glad 2 know that THE PISH FC are in such disarray, here’s hoping that the JAMBOS & KILMARNOCK ARE NEXT TAE GO DOON THE TUBES INAT, ANYWAY LETS GET TAE FECK OOT A SCOTTISH FITBA COS IT REALLY IS EXCREMENT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

10 years ago

EXCEPT CELTIC OF COORSE

Frank McGaaaarvey
10 years ago

Is that the day when, as a fresh-faced youth player, Roy Aitken’s afro grew so big that he couldn’t get through the normal entrances at Parkhead and had to come in those big gates at the side of the main stand?

All the best to big Tommy Gemmell on his landmark birthday. As well as being a Lisbon Lion and a Celtic Legend who can ever forget the footage of him playing for Scotland and chasing that German player before kicking him up the arse? I always wanted Bobo or someone to do that to the repugnant wee snotter nacho novo.

CarlJungleBhoy
10 years ago

Frank. Roy Aitken – AKA Shirley – was very young (16?) when he made his debut in 1975. – If I recall correctly he was wearing pink that day, so it was naturally assumed he, erm, “preferred The Boys Gate”. Nudge Nudge, Wink Wink

Big Tommy set a precedent others should follow – I gather Ghod gives extra bonus points for kicking a hun up the arse.

Run Sammy Run
10 years ago

Was that the first European game during the Stein era that Mr Stein wasn’t in charge?? Maybe not, but worth a guess. I know he had a car accident in 1975 and I think he took a year out to recover. I would imagine we would have played a Euro game before November but worth a wee try.

At least we can now tell Barcelona ‘Whit the guy with the long hair? Nah he’s long away, you’ll need to go find someone else to buy’

tam the tim
10 years ago

The photo on the Celtic website is of TG after he scored against Feyenoord 1970, the only thing we cheered all night. Although the Tims were in great voice that night you couldn’t hear us because of all the bloody horns the Dutch were blowing. My brother got one of them and had it taken off him at Swinecastle the next season. Stood in the Jungle the night big TG scored against Benfica. Fantastic.
HH

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