Today is the anniversary of the Hillsborough tragedy. At six minutes past three, spare a thought for those who never made it home from the game.
Co Adriaanse, described by the daily Mail as a “Dutch coaching legend “, has urged national team boss Louis van Gaal to take Virgil van dijk to the World Cup. Ralph Malph, of Etims, has backed this claim, amidst fears that the big defender is about to embark on a career in the teenage music industry.
Adriaanse is currently without a club, but has been in charge of more than most during a colourful management career where he is remembered for calling a PSV Eindhoven chairman a “talking lampshade ” and telling Marco van Basten, who was being touted for a coaching position with Ajax, that a “good horse does not make a good rider”.
‘Virgil van Dijk is a good option for Holland,’ said Adriaanse of the former Holland Under-21 star.
‘He has the height, the build, the temperament and the speed for that position.
‘Van Dijk has been consistently good for Celtic and he is also a threat at set-pieces.
‘I believe Holland would have a good defensive partnership with Virgil van Dijk and Terence Kongolo of Feyenoord.’
Maybe its too early for van Dijk to be a first team player for his country, especially one that usually makes the latter stages of tournaments before self destructing, and although you want the best for your players, I’d rather he stayed away from possible destructive and destabilising influences for a while yet.
But I’m no Co Adriaanse.
Brad Walker of Hartlepool, a seventeen year old midfielder is the latest youngster to be linked with a move to Celtic, although other top sides such as Stoke and Norwich are interested. Colin Cooper, the boss at Hartlepool, says the six foot three lad is amongst the best players he’s ever seen at that age. And he’s got a job.
From what I’ve seen of the boy, he can stand on one leg unassisted for ages, which is useful.
Hugh Keevins has left the Record, and the search has begun to find another quality commentator to help Scottish football fans understand fully what the game is all about north of the border. The competition, known as the “hotline ” has already unearthed a couple of prime candidates;
” Lyndsay Archibald, Glasgow, reckons Rangers could have done with the striker ( Stevie May ) on Saturday against Dundee United. He said: “If we’d had May it could have been different. But we shouldn’t be too down – we proved we can live with one of the best Premiership sides.”
Until they have the ball.
Colin Campbell, Paisley, also thought Ally McCoist’s side proved the critics wrong at the weekend.
He said: “That was the best display I’ve seen from Rangers since they beat Motherwell last season.
“If Dean Shiels had scored with his early chance, I’m convinced it would have been a different outcome.
3-2 ?
“It shows what the players are capable of when they put their minds to it. With another two or three additions this team will be good enough for second place in the top flight before we then take the next step of adding a bit more quality so that we can win the title.”
Despite being easily beaten by a side playing at half pace at their own ground. A side who are currently fourth in the Premier League. Thirty six points off the pace. Having won less than half of their games.
We’ll try to keep an eye on this new reality show, although reality doesn’t seem to feature very highly amongst the entrants.
There is a bright young prospect in the media, Michael Stewart…
But his career is expected to be cut short after he checked his hotel room after the game;
Eoghan O’Connell, the young centre back who made his debut a couple of weeks ago, has popped back down from cloud nine to talk about it;
“The manager has shown in the past with players such as James that if you work hard and are good enough he will give you the chance.”
Then he decided to talk about Liam Henderson instead, showing a commendable humility and a genuine respect for his team mate;
“I’d like to think players such as Liam can give the manager something to think about when it comes to signing new players and hopefully save the club some money.
“It is brilliant what Liam has achieved this season and everybody in the development squad looks up to him.
“In most of the Premiership games that Liam has played he has been the stand-out performer. So I don’t see any reason why he couldn’t take that step up and hold his own in the Champions League.
“The likes of Liam and myself will just keep working hard and see where that takes us.
“It is up to the manager what he wants to do with regards to signing players in the summer.”
There is an ethic coming to the fore with these young players, an ethic of hard work. Previously, under Kenny McDowell ( whatever happened to him ) youngsters didn’t make the final step to the first team, but in the last twelve months we have seen Darnell Fisher, Liam Henderson and now O’Connell slot in alongside more experienced players and learn from them. Its all good, and theres nothing better than watching a youngster make the grade.
We hear theres another starlet in the making, who could explode onto the scene next year,
Stefan Johansen is someone else who has been spending a bit of time on cloud nine. Statistically Celtics most decorated player-he wins a title every six months- has decided he is not going to use Celtic as a stepping stone to England;
“From my first day here, people have been asking me about the English Premier League and things like that.
“But, I have a two and a half year contract with this club, and I am enjoying Celtic and I am enjoying Glasgow.”
“Celtic are in the Champions League because we won the championship again this year,” he said. “So, the expectation for the club is what is intriguing me.
“Winning is what football is all about, and it is what it is all about at Celtic.”
There have been players-Joos Hooiveld springs immediately to mind-who have talked the talk at Celtic, before underperforming on the pitch. Johansen talks and performs. a rarity these days, and his atttitude is second to none. But that contract needs extending while he’s still in a good mood….
Johann Mjallby likes the lad too, and has been impressed with how quickly he has settled in Scotland;
“Sometimes you can be a bit unsettled. But the main thing is not to show that on the pitch.
“If you are a footballer, you should love it always to be able to play football.
“Obviously, you can be effected by family situations, or if you are not playing well, confidence-wise, and stuff like that.
“But, if you want to make it at the highest level, it’s really important you are strong mentally, and I think Stefan has that in him.
“He has started well enough to show he can become a really good player for Celtic.”
The midfield is taking shape, and with the defence sorted, then next season could be one to remember… as long as everyone turns their phones off when the transfer window opens…
Celtic fans have a lot to look forward too. The Champions League, a possible four in a row, solvency, and so on , so spare a thought for those on the other side of the city who face a summer of uncertainty as the vultures gather to compete for their season book money.
Dave King, who already has multiple convictions for fraud, has offered to look after their money for them, releasing it to the Ibrox club only when they hand over security-the stadium and anything else he can get his hands on.
I’m thinking of a similar scheme for our CSC, the Lennon, where members give me their season book money and I put it into a new car or something.
It might be difficult to persuade them though…I mentioned it at the last meeting and they haven’t stopped calling me names yet.
It would be unfair to criticise the Rangers support, as they have given no indication of falling for this bullshit, although their track record isn’t great, one would like to think they can see through this latest scam to relieve them of their money.
If they truly want the current board out, they just have to refuse to renew. Like Graham Wallace, the CEO, has reportedly refused to renew the lease on his current house…..
John “Bomber ” Brown is the latest former player to jump on the Dave King bandwagon;
The handsome, articulate and cultured former defender said;
“Dave King’s plan is the only show in town now,He is 100% right in asking for the money to be put in a trust and released to the club only in the right circumstances.
Right circumstances…. presumably a court order.
“If he can set up a trust and gain guarantees that Ibrox – and, to a lesser extent, Murray Park – will never be used a pawn to broker deals and be safe in the fans’ hands forever, that would be a good thing.
Its probably too late for that..
If the board get all that season-ticket money up front, the club maybe won’t last until the end of next season.
Next season ? They are struggling to make the end of this season.
“Remember what the board has done in the last two years. From what I can see, all the money has disappeared and the chances are it could disappear again.
Wouldn’t they have to find it first, so they can make it disappear again ? Oh, sorry, he means the next lot of money. This lot struggle with the correct usage of the word “again ” . such as entering administration “again” . For the new club, administration will be a first.
I would never ask Rangers fans not to support their team, but they haven’t been happy for two years and they need to do something now.
Buy their grandchildren a Celtic top ?
“I am 100% certain that Rangers are going to go into administration again further down the line unless the supporters move to take control of the situation. The faces have changed in the boardroom, of course, but I would question who really is running the club behind the scenes.”
Still, there is some good news for them this week. The five day Ibrox weather forecast has sunshine and temperatures in the low twenties, although towards the end of the week it is expected to reach around ten million degrees centigrade…
Yesterdays caption competition had Jimmy Bell, the kitman at the Death Star, musing on his clubs latest humiliation. Jackie MacNamara didn’t help with his handshake at the end of the game either;
Which reminds me-what has the former Celt noticed here….?
Interesting to see how holding back on a couple o million in season tickets win you control over 30-40 million in assets
Has Jackie stolen Mr Greens hands?
Has Jackie noticed the baliff trying to get in to Ibrokes?
“That fat auld jakey looks a wee bit like Ally McCoist”
‘What’s that in my pocket? Fuck me….it’s fat Sally.’
jackie says i dont know wether to laugh at him or pity him
Lindsey Archibald – one time presenter of Rangers TV & former lover (well for 1 night only, before he dumped her) of Maurice Edu – great credentials to be making silly predictions! She’ll go far with the SSM.
Jackie is trying to see the other end of the pitch passed the Sevco dugout; you try looking round the Rotund One you’d need eyes as drawn by a Walt Disney cartoonist!
Jackie’s looking and wondering if all pies are fat Salary or the feeding of the five thousand.
Can sumbdy tell me how you can buy a stadium, a training facility, 50+ players, 150+plus staff, 140 years of tradishun for £5.5 Million – Fast forward 2 years and just the (un-maintained) buildings a suddenly worth £60 Million?????
Can a team in administration gain promotion?
No they can’t… but Sevco can
Can you fool all if the Huns all of the time? Apparently. This is hard to get the head around but will give it a go. Take the season ticket money and it it in a trust fund managed by a convicted fraudster, demand the rights to a stadium as collateral, assets that are not actually owned by the club you are denying season ticket money to. Said club/board goes into administration/possible liquidation because you have the cash they are due and are left with collateral owned by someone else. Mmmm I smell something off here. Meanwhile what do all the fans get whose money is in the trust fund? They can’t get seats for the game because they haven’t paid for them because the money is in a trust fund set up by a fraudster. Such wonderful and weird planning would do George Osborne proud. So maybe you can fool all or the Huns all of the time.
So does John Brown believe the Board hold the deeds then? Strange hes talking asset security when he says they didnae own them before?
He’s leaning to the side to get a look aroud Sally’s fat arse …
Is Jackie looking at the 2nd Rangers team “play” and thinking “it sorta looks like football, but theres something no right about it”. If Lenny decides to move on (and I hope he doesnt btw) Jackie would be my choice to take the job.
Good times for Celtic indeed, I like the look of Johannsen very much, Biton was getting better til he got injured and VVD is a star – has he got no Scottish or Irish background if the Dutch team dont want him? And I would get Stevie May in, unlike the folk who phone the Record hotline who follow 2nd rangers, we could actually make it happen.
Ah poor 2nd Rangers, now so pitiful that humbling defeats are being praised as not being as bad as they d feared, no one knows who owns any of the assets, no one wants to put money in, I think even ra bearss are seeing Kings as a blustering shyster now “I ll spend my kids inheritance to save Rangers” *(I won’t, but if I kid on I will I could persuade punters to do it for me) and as others have pointed out both the figures from the board re the valuation of the assets, and the plan of the “reberls” to extricate teh assets for a very low price to me irreconcilable.
FC United – a group of Man United fans who started a new club might be a realsitic way for them to go, a 3rd Rangers who are solvent and build from the bottom up, rather than this Frankenstein 2nd Rangers who kid on they are the same old club, and if unsustaibnable spending is the mark of the club, are doing very well at kidding on, whihc seems doomed to failure.
Anyway, let Huins worry about it, another miserable summer of worry for them, Hoopy days, Glasgows Green and White.
And great line Ralph – give tehm celtic tops. Maybe as a n act of good will we could donate some celtic shirtsd to folk leaving Ibrox?
All these huns backing the tax dodger who was part of the demise of their old club,is just another joke,did these persons ever go to school
Totally agree with elcormaco re Stevie May. I would be delighted to see him at Celtic and have thought so for a while. Unfortunately he doesn’t seem to fall under our scouting radar – ie young Scot playing in Scotland. Too often we miss out on young players who are already doing well in our league, seemingly because they are less glamorous than someone completely unproven in our league but foreign so they might be a gem. How many of you would rather have had Stevie May this season than Balde and Pukki? Yea St J might have made us pay a bit over the odds for him, but would the fee have been as high as the £1.5m for Balde or the £2.5m for Pukki?? And May has scored 3 more goals all season than Balde, Pukki and Stokes combined. You can guarantee one thing – if Rangers hadn’t liquidated and were still in the SPL, they would have signed him long ago.
And Dave Kings plan (would he be as popular if his name was Dave Pope?) – what happens if they all put the money into a trust fund, then the board say they’re still not getting the assets? Do they get the money back to buy season tickets? Does Mr King keep the money until its resolved? Sevco will indeed eat itself.
Correct me if I’m wrong, the knuckledragger lemmings hand over their ST money to King and the Turd to put in a trust fund, do they or don’t they receive a ST? If not, why the feck would they give it to the gruesome twosome?
“Karaoke tonight then…your version of Long Ball Sally”.
Followed by “Lay Down Sally” ….and don’t forget Our Gracie Sally Sally don’t ever wander…..
Anyone else think oor Jackie has a bit of the Mourinho’s about him?
I’ve never been one to blow the get Lennon out trumpet, mainly because I’ve never been sure of who else would take the job but with all the talk about Lennon looking to England I think we should be thinking about Jackie as a replacement before the English clubs start taking notice.
Jackie McNamara looking for his taxi to Wolverhampton 5 minutes after his Celtic testimoninal cheque had cleared in the bank.
Don’t even mention his name in connection with the big job if/when Lennon goes.
Very unforgiving OFT
oft
I still have a thing about that too.
H H
PS Even this late that bl**y comment troll’s been at the moderating! Caption (as it failed in my own comment): “Aw right, I know we’re here, but where’s the fitba stadium?”
I’m being serious here, are the huns really that stupid, ah mean really. is there no one of them gonny sort it out?? Ah know a couple of huns who are no bad blokes, rangers supportesr for 40 years and they have given up: literally given up of any form of good governance being put in place. They were more interested in the L’pool Man city game than Sevo v Arabs. Says it all really. anyewys…
MON THE HOOPS !!!!!