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Celtic Diary Saturday December 27: Back To Normal

The misery of Christmas is over, and the joys of the football have returned. Celtic play host to ross county today, and I’ve not bothered with the trip because its bloody cold, I’ve a bathroom to decorate and I never really liked football anyway, and much prefer to spend the holidays at home with my wife and children.

 

 

Right, she’s gone now.

 

Christmas hasn’t been the best of times for some people-over at CityLink, the courier firm, thousands of people are set to lose their jobs. Te company put it down to ” changing customer and par el recipient preferences. ”

Apparently most people don’t want their parcels flung over next doors fence.

And my mate who works for Pepsi has been sacked-he tested positive for coke.

Celtic are at home to Ross County, as i pointed out earlier, and Ronny Deila hinted during the week that he might start with two strikers, or at least a different one from the one who has been starting of late, largely because he hasn’t been scoring.

So, perhaps today is the 7-0.

Its going to happen, mark my words.

To help him settle into life in Scotland, something he has admitted he found a little difficult at first, manager Deila has had a chat with Gordon Strachan, which began when ronny asked him for a quick word;

” Velocity ” replied Strachan, armed with his typical ready wit. Other examples of his wit include several sharp replies to idiot hacks, and picking Lee Wallace and Lewis MacLeod for Scotland.

Deila gave details of his chat with Strachan;

“Gordon was really, really good to talk with.

“The best thing for me is that he is also very much into coaching, but he also told me to switch off.

“To put yourself away from the pressures and find something to do outside of football.

“It’s about choices and decision making.

“The passion for football in Scotland has excited me most and not only in Celtic.

“It’s much better than it is in Norway. The people are really passionate about football.

“It also drives me a little crazy to see Sky Sports everywhere, it’s also on the players bus and is going all the time, football is going round and round.

“At home I want it, but here I don’t want to watch the news now.

“When you are sitting eating and Sky Sports is on and football is on the radio, it’s football, football all the time.

“It’s a good thing, but you have to switch off, so I have to think how can I use my energy to help the team better, how can I save my energy and I have to go away from things that takes my energy and doesn’t give me it. 

“I’m a social person, so also to be with my friends and relax and watch movies. I also relax watching football matches and fall asleep after 30 minutes.

“I work out, that’s important, and I’ve also had some tennis lessons.

“I have to compete, I love to compete to win.

“I played a lot of squash, but now I have to do something I can improve in.

“I can’t play football, I hate to play football now, I haven’t kicked a ball since I stopped playing because it can only go one way.

“So it’s much better to start something you can improve in and it’s tennis.

“I’ve always wanted to watch a top game in tennis because it’s such a high level.

“I’ve also played golf twice and I want to do that more, although it takes up too much time.

“I need to beat Kendo [John Kennedy] because he is the champion of the staff, but his handicap is not right. Everybody says they play off 18!” 

 “I am much more experienced as a manager than just as a coach.

“In Norway, I’m more on the pitch doing tasks, but now I manage more.

“Having so many games, handling pressure, finding ways to switch off.

“Learning new language and culture.

“You have to be able to be comfortable in yourself, to deal with loneliness. 

“All of these things, I am better.

“I am so happy I made this move because I was getting bored in the end at Stromsgodset.

“Everything that was coming, I knew it. I knew how things were to be done.

“Now I have to do it another environment at a bigger club and it’s been a really good time.

“It’s also been hard, but when you have bad things and you come through them, then you have learned as a person and a lot of people in this world would like that.

“You also feel stronger. If I went back to Norway now, I would be a totally different person because I have had this experience.

“I’d know what I am talking about when I talk of training a team in Britain.”

 “It’s about what you do on the training pitch to get the level up, to get people well organised and in good shape.

“If you do your work 100 per cent there, you get the same in matches and that is a philosophy we share.

“As Gordon said, there is no-one who can imagine what being Celtic manager is like unless you have been in the situation yourself.

“It is so good to talk to people with experience. That is also why it is important for young players to talk to experienced players.

“They can give you 90 per cent of things which tell you that you are doing the right things.

“Then there is the other 10 per cent which you hadn’t though about.

“You think: I should do that this way.

“It gives you confidence that you are on the right track, but also puts new things into your mind.

“To speak to people like Gordon with experience is so good for me, that is why I go around and seek knowledge.”

Admit it. You didn’t read all of that.

I got bored half way through as well. There are phone lines he can ring if he’s feeling lonely, he really needs to be a little more wary of the press, who can put a spin on what he says.

And Diary writers, who comment on it despite not having read all of it.

So, lets cut to the interesting bits…

The manager wants to keep Virgil van Dijk and John Guidetti at Celtic, which hopefully he will be able to do. Neil Lennon got frustrated at trying to build a team and seeing it dismantled every time someone waved a chequebook, and maybe Ronny has still enough of his initial enthusiasm to believe he can avoid that.

Jason Denaayer, who to the casula observer seems to have lost interest in Celtic, having dragged out a poorly foot now for a couple of onths, is also on Deilas “to keep ” list.

“I hope to do that [Keep Jason].

“He is in good development here. He hasn’t played a lot of matches at the top level and when you are in good flow you should keep doing it to go to the next stage.

“When he is ready for that he will go on but it’s also important for us to have consistency going into next season as well.” 

 If Ronny can have consistency going into next season then he deserves a statue outside the ground. I’d have said it was easier to win the Europa League than find Lawwells phone and take the battery out until February.

 Be good if he could, though.

 Heres something you don’t see in the diary every day.

 Something interesting.

Leading doctors are demanding a ban on alcohol firms sponsoring sports clubs and events because they claim that the “outrageous” practice is fuelling underage drinking by children.

 

The leaders of Britain’s nurses, A&E specialists and hospital doctors are among those urging ministers to outlaw the sort of deals that have seen Everton and Celtic football clubs agree multimillion pound tie-ups to advertise beer and cider brands on the front of their players’ shirts.

In a letter to the Guardian, a group of medical leaders, public health campaigners and health charities are calling for the action because alcohol sponsorship of sport has become “as commonplace as advertising for cereal or soap powder”.  

 Ah, its not the poverty, the destitution, the boredom or peer pressure that makes kids wrap a bottle of wine in newspaper and sit up the graveyard, its the word ” Magners ” across a football top.

 If only these doctors had been around over the last thousand years or so, and they could have put a stop to it then. remember in days of yore when Knights of the Realm , the heroes of kids everywhere, thundered across the continent with their armour emblazoned with the logos of Auntie Nells Throat Blaster and other assorted foaming ales.

 These people went to university to be doctors. Might have helped if they’d spent more time in the real world before shouting their mouths off.

 People will drink anyway, the prohibition in the USA back in the early twentieth century proved that. These companies know that, they’d just rather you drank their stuff instead.

 Elsewhere, it appears that the Second Rangers club, currentl;y teetering on the edge of financial collapse, have been offered a £6.5m share underwrite-or whatever it is they do-to save the club from Mike Ashleys influence. Ashley being the guy that has stealthily gained control of the latest entity to pollute the game in Scotland.

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See, thing is, the cheerleaders in the Mainstream Media cannot count on Dave King anymore, as it appears his new accountant may have the same misunderstanings of South african tax laws as his old ones;

Dave King’s dream of owning Rangers

could be scuppered as South African government

order probe into his tax affairs

Which, i suppose, saves the SFA from telling him where to go. It gives everyone a nice, easy way out.

So, these new guys. Who are they ?

 Known as the “Three Bears “, these guys mean business;

laughter

 No. They really do.

Rangers takeover stunner:

Motor mogul Douglas Park leads £6.5m investment

plan to rescue stricken Ibrox club

 

George Taylor, Douglas Park and George Letham

So, the club needs £8m or so to keep the lights on. These guys will put in £6.5m, which would mean that if successful, Ashley would demand his £3m or so back straight away, so its not really going to help, is it ?

 But then, accounting was never really their strong point.

 And anyway, these guys all had their chance to get involved with the club when it was up for a shiny pound. They didn’t do it then, and you get the feeling they don’t really want to do it now. The venture capitalists knew how to strip the club.

 These guys would be left with just the shell. Everything else has already gone. Maybe they aren’t entirely serious with their offer, and perhaps the Record just needs a hero.

 Oh, and by the way.For the followers of the new club, heres a wee bit of help for you this morning as you find your way through to Edinburgh for your clubs first visit to Easter Road, home of todays opponents Hibernian;

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We hear the East Coast is ready to welcome its visitors;

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Now, a blast from the past.

What happened next ?

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 Enjoy the game.

 Spare a thought for the old lass two doors up today. She asked me to get her husband a ticket to see Elvis for Christmas. Poor old dear has obviously forgotten he’s dead.

 Silly old cow.

I was at his funeral in  April.

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jas
9 years ago

Fat DJ handled the ball on the line, ran crying like a big fat baby to the ref who ignored his rantings and Andy Lynch stepped up and won the cup for Celtic in 1977, which was KD’s last game in the hoops before Liverpool stole him.

Bawsman
9 years ago
Reply to  jas

Kenny’s last game for us was against Dunfermline at their place in a pre season friendly.

binkabhoy
9 years ago

“Apparently most people don’t want their parcels flung over next doors fence.” – scarily accurate, made me chortle.

RD: “I also relax watching football matches and fall asleep after 30 minutes.” – aye. Unfortunately it seems to during Celtic matches. Would explain a lot.

Monti
9 years ago

Handball, penalty!
Strange thing tho…it was actually awarded, much to the amazement of pensionerbhoy who was celebrating his 50th birthday at the match!

joratim
9 years ago
Reply to  Monti

hope wss’nt monti, cos i’m older than him

hh

Monti
9 years ago
Reply to  joratim

joratim,
Lol

Cartvale88
9 years ago

The. Humour just gets better. I am wetting myself at Sevco, a payday loan might be the answer. Hibees and Stubbsie showed the way to play them off the park.
Can’t wait for another year of laughs, Karma is a pain!

Charlie Saiz
9 years ago

2 upfront 4 across the middle worked a treat today.
We managed to keep a clean sheet and put 9m tims to sleep all in one swoop.

Superb more of the same please Ronny 😉

andybhoy
9 years ago
Reply to  Charlie Saiz

Charlie, they started 4 2 3 1, changed it to 4 4 2, then changed to God only knows what. Absolutely dire, no ability to take people on, passing a joke and so predictable. Also, the pitch is as poor as I have seen it for many a year.

jim orourke
9 years ago

Ronny should not be trusted with money in Jan as today proves again the man is clueless. We have no idea how to break down defenses.

Tourtenay
9 years ago

I can’t help but think that after watching Celtic today that when the street wise Inter come calling our Europa involvement will come to an end and quite abruptly.
Nothing in the transfer window will improve this side in the short term.
I really do hope that Ronny succeeds but when you look at what happened today Celtic appear to be in no mans land, one step forward two steps back.
Please Ronny, prove me wrong.
HH

London Celtic
9 years ago

Would someone PLEASE take johansen aside at Lennoxtown and teach him how to pass a ball. Great player but his passing let’s him down. Infant ronny work on all there passing. PLEASE

binkabhoy
9 years ago

Absolutely fucking dire. Still waiting on any kind of evidence – hard evidence, not blind faith – that this current management team has what it takes. If there was a team with any consistency this season we’d be in trouble. Fucking dreading the next time we face any kind of test, we’ve failed in almost every one so far. Marks out of ten for Ronny? Maybe 3?
This is NOT GOOD ENOUGH for our club! What’s it gony take? The writing has been on the wall for some time, then it was on the ceiling, on the floors, the windows, the doors….

The players are trying hard, I’m sure even Ronnie is, but it is absolutely chronic stuff we’re watching. Not that I expect our current bunch of spineless stubborn tight fisted (often absent) custodians to actually do something about it. They’re part of the problem after all, it would amount to admitting that despite their big salaries their strategy is deeply flawed.

Macca
9 years ago
Reply to  binkabhoy

Could not have put it better. When will the penny drop that Ronnie is out of his depth here. We have been dire all season. big scores against 10 men (eg Thistle) doesn’t mask a shocking defense, a midfield totally lacking creativity and a front line that cant make up its mind if it is a one up front or a three catching up!! complete garbage and as everyone says, shocking to watch !!!

tom campbell
9 years ago

Another penalty for Celtic in an Old Firm final – and it was softish. The Rangers’ player intended to save a goal with a hand-ball, and then thought he could clear it, but did not quite manage to get his hand away in time. Full marks to the referee.

Another penalty? Think of George Connolly, and Harry Hood.

Devoy45
9 years ago

I worry about our team. If we can’t beat Ross County (sitting bottom of the table) at home nor even score against them at home, who can we beat for certain? And agreeing with Tom Campbell above, let’s stop crowing about Sevco. Sevco are probably better than Ross County so where does that leave us? We will not beat Sevco for certain.
New players in won’t help because most of our new signings have been crap.
Our defence is dodgy and we can’t score goals.
We keep talking about a 6-0 hammering to someone very soon but maybe that someone will be us!
I no longer believe we can beat anybody for certain: Partick, Ross County, St. Mirren—it diznae matter. Youse in the pro-Deila camp, convince me/us that we are improving and that we will win any trophies at all this year.
My green-tinted spectacles have been removed and I don’t like what I’m seeing.
I’m not fickle just telling the truth as I saw it yesterday. Paper the cracks if you want, but the wall is falling down. How I would like this team to prove me wrong, very wrong, but…..

andybhoy
9 years ago
Reply to  Devoy45

It is all about Ronny and Johnny. They are still hiding their inabilities behind the fitness and weight bollocks with the players.I know of players who think Deila is a ‘big head’ and has a way of belittling them whether they play well or poorly.
Judging by what we are seeing on the park, it is very much a possibility that they could blow this league along with the nightmare scenario of losing to Sevco which may sound ridiculous, but I have no faith in Deila and Collins, I know that the players are capable of better than what we are witnessing at the moment,but Deila and Collins are incapable of providing a unified team that will work their socks off for one another, something that should be a basic requirement of a Celtic team. I am no great fan of young McGregor, but what Deila did yesterday when substituting the substitute,(when he could have picked more or less anyone, even Johannsen, who had his poorest game for a while)
shows how his leadership qualities are very, very suspect.

Charlie Saiz
9 years ago

I said at the start of the Season we have to give this Manager any Manager of Celtic at least 12 months to settle in and sort his team out.
I also stated I normally give the team 10 League Games to sort their shite out but 15 if we have a new boss or multiple signings.
Both these things still stand.
Whilst the teams form in General has not been at it’s best it has been ultimately fairly successful up till now.
We are Top of the League regardless of other sides because truth be told no other side bar Deadco have had any where near out level of consistency in the last 10 years.
Why would this year be any different?
Deila has taken on a job that’s the biggest yet in his career in Management there’s no doubting that and so therefore he is going to require some patience from our Support.
Will he get it at Celtic?
I doubt very much he will from a very fickle support raised on high expectations and a certain amount od delusion of who we are and where we are as a Club.

It might say Big Club on the Tin but when you open the lid it’s half full Small cheap Club biscuits on the inside.

All that aside we then have the players…
Some have performed on and of fairly adequately the likes of Virgil Johansen Izzy Brown and Guidetti have all had periods of decent quality and performance levels.
The rest have for the most part blown hot and cold all Season so far and some well some have been pretty useless as it happens.

A great many have been calling for 2 up front a return to 4-4-2 like it’s some sort of fail safe for a Team who have for the most part dominated possession and created enough to win in all but a very few games so far?

Our issues this Season have not been the Management,it has not been the change in Philosophy regarding playing a more aggressive attack minded mentality?
It has boiled down to one thing for me..
Individual performance.

Poor defensive errors
Poor Finishing in front of goal

So far in the League we have created over 140 corners.
Of those 6 have found the net.

A shocking stat but no different than when Lennon was in control.

If by way of signings in January we can remedy the 2 main issues above we can and will walk this League fairly easily in the end.

I will judge Deila by his signings not by his Formation or approach because for me when both are applied correctly by our players then it is a far better watch than the ever so boring sideways football we had to endure last Season at times under Lenny.
Which when we switched to 2 up top yesterday was very much on show again for vast periods of the game.

Time will tell of course on Ronny I for one am prepared to wait and find out.

Are you?

holy sea
9 years ago
Reply to  Charlie Saiz

Yes,Charlie,we all want to win the league.But will we do this,
not by our own volition ? Or,will it be because the other teams
cut each others throats ?
Signings ?? WE are the only club who can spend MONEY on
players.Scepovic 2.4M,should have hit the ground running in our league.He has been poor.Did Deila buy him ??
We could have got Ceftci at half the price and would have scored plenty for us.
Loan players,Berget,Tonev and Wakaso……over to you !

Charlie Saiz
9 years ago
Reply to  holy sea

How many of the signings/loans brought in were already earmarked by Lenny and the Scouting Department before Lenny jacked?

No one knows for sure but I do know 3 of the players brought in are of a decent standard in Gordon Denayer and Guidetti.

I don’t see Wakaso or Berget getting a deal ,Tonev might still be in with a shout though but I guess that’s why you loan these guys instead of going out and blowing money on them first.
Lenny made more than a few blunders himself in that department.
But he was a “Celtic Man” so that makes it excusable to some.
Boerrigter cost more than Scepovic incidentally and Pukki cost round about the same proving there are no guarantees at Celtic no matter what League you play in.
The fact is we had all 4 strikers on the Park yesterday at some point, Commons too and had 15 Corners.

No one goal came of any of it.

Shite happens it will come good again perhaps a few days off and a few decent additons might just be what we need eh?

I hope so and I will afford the new Manager the time to sort them out.

holy sea
9 years ago

Devoy,
Concerns about our team under RD,I am 100% with you.
However,I can’t agree with you,or Tom Campbell, “that we are
gloating too much about Sevco”The day that you can’t have a laugh at the bigoted ‘establishment ‘ club(s),will be the day that
I chuck football.As said before,we were taunted,when we went
to away games,in the 90’s,with Huns giving it ” long may your
team sink to depravity “.The abuse we suffered in those times,
are etched in the memory bank.So,NO,I for one,will always rejoice in their MISERY !!
Last night,I watched their game in it’s entirety.I don’t normally watch their games.Before the minute’s silence,we had the billy boys being belted out,any arrests ?They continued with sectarian songs,the Famine etc.But,this made the Hibs taking them apart,all the more enjoyable.I had a glass or two,and toasted their TURMOIL !!
We will beat them. Hail Hail

Devoy45
9 years ago

Charlie Saiz? I so want to believe but we gotta win the League.We’re only 2 points clear of Aberdeen now.

holy sea? Gloat was maybe not the right word. I despise Them too, the bigotry, their Royalty, The Famine Song, the whole effin Orange works. But based on our own play, let’s not gloat until we actually beat them. Tonev gets accused of alleged racism yet Ra Peepil (Mark Two Zombies) do it by the thousands on national TV, with no punishment at all. Sevco is better than Ross County, Killie, Inverness, Motherwell, St. Mirren and probably a few more in our league.
So far, we have nothing to gloat about because we haven’t won anything yet.
Is Deila the ghost of Christmas Past? Mowbray, Macari, John Barnes or Liam Brady?
Time will tell. I do enjoy the plight of new Sevco based on their borrowed Hun values but I would enjoy it more if we were doing better ourselves. With our budget, we should never be troubled by Ross County or Hamilton.
I can eat humble pie with the best of them and will glad to do it again in a month or so. I want to be proved wrong but before I can get my evening meds I see them all in front of me: Venglos, Macari,Liam Brady, Barnes, Mowbray and I don’t want to see Deila along with them. I want to win the League so that we might (a long shot) go on to Ten in a Row—then we can really gloat! Imagine losing the title to Dundee United or Aberdeen while Ronny tries to get his act together. No thanks and no way.
C’mon the Hoops. Hail, hail.

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