Celtic Diary Tuesday March 11

Twenty first century technology is a complicated affair. None more so than the little slider switch that turns wi-fi off and on at the front of a laptop.

Just saying, like. and that had nothing to do with the non-appearance of the Diary yesterday. No, nothing at all.

No, what really happened was I went out into the woods to cut down a couple of trees, to get wood for our new log burner. Car wouldn’t start, and it was a bit of a nightmare trying to get a lift back. Stood there for ages by the side of the road with my chainsaw.

Don’t suppose my hay fever mask helped either.

See, people can jump to the wrong conclusions when you’re out and about. Ask Virgil van dijk.

His recent dinner date with David Luiz of Chelsea has prompted speculation that the London side are the latest to attempt to woo him away, when in actual fact the cafe he was in was the only one that would let him in dressed the way he was. Turns out Luiz also shops at Primark, and he wasn’t allowed in anywhere decent either. Still, they got on great, and Van Dijk then went off to cheer his new pal on in the London heat of the  Leo Sayer lookalike competition.

The Dutch defender will miss the Friday night festival of football against Kilmarnock-not, like the rest of us, because he can’t get time off work, but because the club have decided to drop the appeal against his sending off against Aberdeen. Largely because it didn’t stand a chance.

With Kris commons also been handed a wee break, -according to twitter he’s been in Dubai, then it looks like plans to get ready for the European qualifiers are already under way. Van Dijk may yet make the Dutch World Cup squad-hard to believe they played Edson Braafheid in a final, but haven’t picked van Dijk yet, so its maybe too soon for him to give up hope yet. The time off will do him good. Providing he doesn’t move south in the summer. In which case he should be docked his holiday pay.

His agent, of course, has been holding up a big neon sign to English clubs, asking them to come and get him. Theres been no hint that van Dijk is taking any notice of him, but you can bet

Neil Lennon has, and it wouldn’t surprise me if the manager reminded everyone that van Dijk is under contract until 2017, but that would just be playing to the gallery.

There was no football last weekend, and theres none this weekend. Friday night football may be fun for those who can get to the game, but for those of us who have to travel, its a nightmare. Its one thing to complain that Celtic are moving away from their roots, but it looks like the whole game is. Football is a live event-a day out-not something you watch while you’re eating your tea.

The whole idea behind putting the game on the telly is to encourage people to witness the spectacle first hand, it should be an advert for the game, not a saturated commercial product.

And it means I have to do things around the house, like a proper husband and father, which in itself is ridiculous. Then when renewal time comes up, its no surprise that wives all over the country tell their husbands not to bother, as they hardly ever go.

There was the distraction last  weekend of a few Scottish Cup ties to while away the time. St. Johnstone beat Raith, Aberdeen beat Dumbarton-the only one not on the telly-and Dundee Utd powered past Inverness.

There was English football, too. Something I don’t normally bother with, but there was a medical emergency at the Etihad as Manchester City became Latic intolerant in their defeat to Wigan.

In the tie between the lower league sides, Second Rangers snatched a draw with a beautifully crafted example of football when Albion keeper Neil Parry was barged out of the way to allow possibly the ugliest player ( and thats some going) to be associated with the blue side of Glasgow, Moshni-I don’t think he has a first name-to handle the ball firmly into the net.

Albion had taken the lead when Lee McCulloch had set up Ciaran Donnelly with a defensive header that raises suspicion that the elbow waving captain is actually now completely burnt out physically and mentally.

The game itself was actually edge of the seat stuff, as Second Rangers stuck to their tried and tested format of hopeful balls into he box, and the part timers from Coatbridge did everything they could to keep them out. Albion rovers actually showed what the game is about, commitment, dedication and discipline. They can hold their heads high, and were unlucky that the referee didn’t have the bottle to rule out the Moshni goal, but I suppose if he had a penalty was only a few minutes away.

If Albion do succumb to the another honest mistake in the replay, Dundee Utd will line up against the self proclaimed cup favourites, and it will be a delight to watch the cumbersome duo of McCulloch and Moshni up against Uniteds flying forward line.

Though McCoist and his management team has outlined a system that could work;

The Ibrox support, who haven’t had much to smile about since their old club died, have been particularly scathing of recent  performances, and Ian black, their midfield enforcer-( honest ) hit back;

“You come to see us win – we win,” said the £8,000-a-week former Scotland midfielder.

No you didn’t.

“What else do they want? We are there to win the league and it doesn’t matter how we win it.

It does.

“They aren’t going to talk about performances in the past when we win the league at the end of the season.

They will.

“People will moan on a Saturday because it isn’t entertaining but will forget about it in two days’ time.

They won’t.

“They will talk about the next game coming up and they will talk about how Rangers have won the league.

More a sort of “how the fuck have this lot won the league “

“We have an opportunity to win it now and I can guarantee that after Wednesday night there will not be a complaint about any performance.

With certainty like that perhaps he should put a bet on it.

“The manager has been given a team and a job to get us back to the top flight. We won the league last year with kids, we have brought in experience this year and we haven’t been beaten.

If you don’t count Forfar.

What else do they want?

Effort.

“We are still in the Scottish Cup and we have a good chance. So what more can you ask for?

A sense of reality .

“The boys are working hard and we want to win the league for the fans and for ourselves.”

Wonder what odds he got.

Sorry to bring Black into focus-I understand some of you may be eating your lunch, and perhaps the introduction of such a nauseas character may put you off.

I mention because its a sign of how far they have fallen from their own dignified outlook. Now they are like the kid at school who thinks he should be in the school team every time, but because he’s a big lad, and his dad is the headmaster, no-one has had the balls to tell him he’s not wanted anymore.

Black, and his club, have become an irrelevance. They’re the fat kid in the team chasing the ball they cannot catch, but blaming the wind when they fail.

Someone who doesn’t sound like he intends to fail is Celtic striker Leigh Griffiths.

After his victory in the Glasgow Toulouse Lautrec lookalike competition, theres just no stopping him.

“I’ve said you haven’t made it as a football player unless you’ve played Champions League football and I stick by that.

“I was at Dundee when I said that to myself, sitting in the house watching Champions League football. You always watch those games on TV and if you can get a ticket for a big game you’re always buzzing to go.

“I’ve been to big Champions League nights at Parkhead on many occasions because my agent Darren Jackson has a few good contacts at Celtic and he sorted me out.

“I was at the Manchester United match when they drew 1-1 and also when they lost 3-2 to Barcelona and they were both great occasions.

“I want to be involved in them next season. Hopefully we can do the business in the qualifiers and draw a big team in the group stages so we can show everyone what we can do.

“It’s the pinnacle of any player’s career when it comes to club football. That’s where you want to be – playing at the highest level you can – and there’s no bigger stage than the Champions League.

“I’ve proved I can score for Celtic in league games and hopefully I can take that into the Champions League.

The difference between Griffiths and virtually every other striker we’ve had since the trio of Sutton, Hartson and Larsson is that he will keep trying until he succeeds. His effort alone is worth a goal in any game, and the more I see of him, and the more I hear him talk-especially after the Jos Hooivelda and Mikus of this world, the more I think he will become a legend.

Wishful thinking ? Maybe. but it won’t be for a lack of trying on the lads behalf, and I’m looking forward to him testing himself in the Champions League.

“It’s a big jump from the Scottish Premiership but you want to keep testing yourself.

“There were people who didn’t think I was good enough for international football but in Gordon Strachan’s eyes I was good enough to start two very important qualifiers so if I can do that then my next step is the Champions League and hopefully I can take that in my stride.

“I don’t think any player looks forward to pre-season but when you’ve got Champions League games coming up so early in the campaign you’ve got to take care of yourself during the summer and come back as fit as you can.

“That’s what I’ll be doing – I’m going to be fit and raring to go. I came back from Scotland duty last season and basically went straight into games so it will be good to get a few good runs under my belt and then look forward to the Champions League qualifiers.”

That attitude has been missing for a while, but Griffiths has enough for everyone.

Sundays diary featured a picture of Celtic Park before the smoking ban was brought into effect.

Can you spot the tim in this picture ?