Stan Collymore is still getting it in the neck from the Ibrox hordes. He’s new to things up here. and we need to help him ascertain the difference between Rangers supporters and huns, Huns are bigots who want to beat you up, and Rangers supporters want the huns to beat you up.
Glad to be of service.
The referee for Celtics match with Inter milan has been announced. He’s Ivan Kruzliak, from Slovakia.
At least one Celt has happy memories of the man.
Kruzliak was the referee when Swedens under 21 side beat their French counterparts 4-1 with a late goal to overturn a 2-0 first leg deficit, and French defender Layvin Kurzawa mocked Guidetti after the French had scored, seemingly sending them through. Sweden scored in injury time, and , as you see in the picture , Guidetti returned the favour.
As far as I’m concerned , thats an omen, and Guidetti will score a late winner to send Celtic through tomorrow night, and there will be much rejoicing.
Lets face it, thats at least as serious an analysis of the game as you’ll get in the MSM.
So lets look somewhere else. SempreInter is one of the Italian sides fansites.
Inter had to start over right away after the win against Cagliari, on Thursday Inter face Celtic in the Europa League return leg. This morning the team was divided in two during practice. The ones that played against Cagliari had a calm session under the roof while the others worked with the ball and on tactical situations. As far as Mancini’s choices for Thursday the doubts about Handanovic remain, he is still feeling the pain in his foot (hurt it during practice). So it seems that Pablo Carrizo will guard the goal in the Europa League as well.
Inter .of course, played on Monday, and again this means that they will be at a disadvantage the longer the game goes on. They will want to kill the game early, and bearing in mind our lackadaisical start in the first leg, they will be quite confident of doing that.
So, we need to make sure they don’t. The back four need to be switched on. and they need to stay switched on. Craig Gordon I’m not so worried about, he just had a bad game, and that won’t happen again. But he maybe needs to take charge of the defence, and keep them on their toes.
Mauro Icardi, the striker who said the crowd at Celtic Park wouldn’t make any difference is a quick learner. Which implies the rest of them are taking the game seriously as well.
Celtic? We are playing them in two days, we have to give everything we got to beat them.”
The city of Milan is taking this game seriously as well, and theres a bit of news for anyone over there;
After a group of Feyenoord fans literally attempted to destroy the Italian capital during their Europa League match against Roma, the city of Milan does not want their city to be trashed with broken beer bottles next. Inter will play Celtic in Milan on Thursday, and are taking precautions in order to prevent violence and vandalism in the city. No Alcohol will be sold at the Orio al Serio airport from 12:30 CET-15:00 CET. The Celtic fans will arrive in Milan on Wednesday at 12:30 CET. The ban will repeat on Thursday from 10:30 CET- 13:00 CET. The prohibition of the sale of alcohol will end on Friday from 22.30 CET- 0:30 CET. Hopefully, no violence or vandalism will occur and the focus will be on the football.
Good job the Lennon CSC isn’t going. No beer ? We’d be straight back on the plane and out of there. Football without cans is nothing.
Especially if you are not going straight home after the game, voraciously sucking on Halls Mentholyptus to hide the evidence. I did this once, it masked the smell of beer, but the enlarged pupils and empty wallet meant the wife thought I’d switched to cocaine, so it doesn’t always help.
If you are over there, you might find this useful;
Another wee bit of useful advice comes from John Paul Taylor, who provided this link;
Thats my title, not his.
From that link, here’s the highlights
At the match
Advice for when you’re at the match:
- access to the stadium might be slow; there will be ticket checks and you should have your passport with you; body searches may take place at the entrance to the turnstiles
- to avoid a last minute bottleneck you should aim to arrive at the stadium early
- no glass and plastic bottles, cans, poles, drums, megaphones, flares and pyrotechnics
- alcohol is banned within the stadium and the surrounding area
- Celtic supporters will access the stadium via Gates 9 and 10 (South Stand, Sections 301-302, Blue Sector); they will be issued with tickets indicating their names
- supporters will be asked to show their original passport which will be checked against a list of registered supporters provided by Celtic FC
- most Celtic supporters are expected to arrive on the day of the match and return to the UK by commercial flights the following day
- please refer to the Celtic FC official website for detailed information about ticket booking and local arrangements
- as a public safety measure, Celtic supporters are likely to be held back for around 30 minutes after the final whistle
This is all fairly routine, but be careful out there. The Feyenoord fans behaviour in Rome has put the Italian authorities on alert, and they will be ready to surrender at any time without warning.
Or change sides.
Away from the game for a moment, and we need something to take our minds off it , if only so we can get some work done, or feed the kids.
Speaking of kids, i’ve just had a row with one of mine over the correct pronunciation of his name. I let it go in the end. Not worth making a Sean.
Neil Doncaster, who has proved time and time again that he is absolutely useless at the job he does for Scottish football, is going to help others in the industry.
Neil Doncaster
Chief Executive
Scottish Professional Football League
‘Crisis Management in Football’
Neil Doncaster, Chief Executive of the Scottish Professional Football League, talks about his twenty years involvement in the professional game. Using examples of crises that he has had to face in his time as CEO of Norwich City FC and of Scottish football’s senior league, Neil will demonstrate that all is not always as it appears in the world of football.
Event Format
5.30pm – Registration
6.00pm – Lecture begins
7.00pm – Networking and refreshments
8.00pm – Close
I don’t know who is the dumber. The person who thought Doncaster was the man to speak, or those who will turn up to listen.
Tough choice, right enough.
FIFA have confirmed that the World cup will, after all, be held in Qatar. Which is a bit like holding a beauty pageant at Ibrox, or the final of Mastermind at the offices of the Daily Record.
It means that the World Cup final could be on December 23, which could cause havoc for Scotlands clubs, but also for the players, as new televisions tend to cost a bit more that time of year, so that they can be reduced for the sales.
Over at Ibrox, there has been more movement through the exits as James Easdale has become the latest to tender his resignation, probably because the wages are due this week and he doesn’t want to hang around for the “my money hasn’t gone into the bank ” phone calls.
Or he could just be sick of it.
With the press championing fraudster Dave King and his band of incompetents, and the support not sure who to support, but still clinging on to their traditions and heritage, Easdale has probably thought “sod it ” .
Mind you, in the Ibrox boardroom , no-one seems to stay too long, which , I guess, if theres ever any suggestion of dodgy dealings, or financial irregularities, would make it much easier for everyone concerned to say
” It wasn’t me ”
The EGM is next week. Will he be the only one to get out of town before the inevitable implosion ?
The SFA have announced the introduction of new technology in order for them to remove the sound of sectarian , racist and Celtic songs from football grounds around the country. They claim it will help clarify exactly what is being sung, and by who.
The Sun, which is flying the flag for the Ibrox club this week, claims that they have their sights on a new manager, and this is taken from the Scotsman, who have included the story in their rumour mill section;
RANGERS have identified Nottingham Forest boss Dougie Freedman as the man they want to install as the next Ibrox boss.
Kenny McDowall is working a 12-month notice period after handing in his resignation just weeks after replacing Ally McCoist, who was placed on gardening leave in December last year.
Freedman, who replaced Stuart Pearce as Forest gaffer at the start of this month, has taken charge of three wins and a draw since arriving and will hope to continue that run against Bournemouth tonight.
Forest owner Fawaz Al Hasawi revealed that the former Scotland striker had signed an 18-month deal before later admitting it was only until the season’s end. Freedman is still hopeful that Forest can make the play-offs, however.
Valencia No 2 Ian Cathro is another name linked with the Rangers post.
Freedman was asked by reporters if he fancied the job;
and told the reporter where to go;
Meanwhile, with nearly all their current squad out of contract at the end of the season, the Ibrox board have acted swiftly to avert any potential problems by securing the signatures of their squad for next year already.
Speaking of their former players, its nice to see one of them has gone up in the world since leaving Ibrox;
Alvysinger, in the replies yesterday, was absolutely spot on when he said it was Basel, in the St, Jakobs Stadium, in February 1974, Celtic lost that game, but still progressed on aggregate to play Atletico Madrid in the semi final.
Caption competition ?
Oh, go on then.
Ant and Dec
Oh mammy daddy mammy daddy mammy daddy……..
we play for Celtic…..
its like all ma birthdays and christmass and tooth fairy nights roled into one…..
oh his is brilliant….a big airyplane…….oh mammy daddy….
Charlie and Lola.
Alan Cameron ma erse, yer Jack Straw in hiding.
Caption Comp: Let’s all smile for kevin kyle !!
SA:
“Right I have the Anal Probe Zig have you seen wee Jamesie”
GM-S:
“Aye he’s in the sock compartment in my Bag Zag”
funniest name on the picture is Mols.
Ah..The laptop loyal wanted us to go to England.
How sick must they be,to see us boarding a flight to Milan,with the famous Celtic! Ha Ha
Lots of fun going to matches in Europe these days. No peeve, aye right, polis watching and waiting for their chance, passport checks at the turnstiles. When we went to Milan in 1970 virtually walked in unchecked, big kick about with the Italian army the day before the match in the car park then a big pagger amongst ourselves in the stand before the match. Great days.
HH
If we beat Inter,I can see you,Ralph,putting forward the motion,to change your bus name from Lennon to Deila CSC ?
I can’t see that happening,with the best will in the world.Don’t laugh,I can see Ronny playing Efe as a sweeper,3 centre-halfs.One thing Efe has is great recovery pace.When he is not given time on the ball,and he just defends,I think he’s fine.They will play balls over the top again,and Efe is your man!
Zag : Did you manage to find a travel size can of Gillette Bum Fluff Shaving cream in duty-free?
Zig: Naw. But Jamsie said I can borrow his Clearasil. Also I’ve brought my PS4 and GTA San Siro game. Plus I’ve got loads of sweeties & bags of crisps in this here bag.
Zag:Shut up Zig! Ronny might be listening..Grin for the cameras
Great work as ever Ralph. Tried to order the headphones but they are all sold out, bulk buy from the rest of the Scottish media it seems.
Haven’t given my thoughts on Thursday.
First time to see Ronny’s team in the flesh and I was impressed. For a time, during which we got the two goals in the first half, we pressed so high and so hard, you could see Inter just didn’t know what to do.
Earlier in the half Inter players had time to control the ball, look up, assess their options and then move it along. Made them look good and the game look easy. When we started getting round them in groups they didn’t know what to do, resorted to booting it away or handing us back the ball. I know its hard to do that for 90 minutes but it was striking the affect it had – you saw last night City stood off Barcelona and they strolled it. No player likes being pressured every time they have the ball. While not as intense in the second half we were able to control the entire game by having Bitton shield the central area and cut out any forward passes.
This is the key in Italy – if we can press high up the park and force them to return the ball to us it gives us a great platform to go and attack. I also think Bitton has really come onto a game – he is calm, plays with his head up, his positioning is excellent and he is technically sound. Matthews was also excellent and Griffiths is a real pain for defenders, he may not be technically the greatest striker in the world, but he earns his place for his work rate and awareness of his colleagues positions and willingness to muck in for the team, and to run behind the defence and stretch the pitch, giving other players space to operate. This for me is the key difference with Guidetti – quite often he looks to come short, which compresses the space available for others.
The other striking thing last Thursday was that when we when we had the ball, we had the confidence to get it down and play, even when losing 2-0, and it was very impressive. No lump it forward hoping to win second balls, it was high tempo pass and move, playing out of tight areas and always providing the man on the ball with options.
Earlier this season I said I couldn’t see progress when Ronny could. Happy to admit I can see the progress now too, and I like it a lot. I don’t think we’ll do it in Italy – we’ve never won there, and while this would be a great time to start, I think our defence ultimately will make a rick or two too many. Hope I’m wrong, but even if we don’t go through, if we give them a game again, and create some changes, which I believe we will , then I think we’ll all be happy enough with the progress we can now clearly see under Ronny. If we then go and beat Aberdeen it will have been a great couple of months for Celtic.
I am pretty sure the BBC have a cupboard full of those ear phones. Chick Dung and Pat ‘look at me, I am a little cunt’ Nevin certainly have a pair.
Don’t think Ann Widdecombe would make that team. Good Tim, convert from CofE
I know Stu, deadhead says Ronny is still a dud.
“This is oor first time on a plane”
Just one more sleep to go
Before we bless the San Siro
AS we set out to beat the Inter Milan
No doubt with the blessings of the AC Fan
The scores all square we’re in with a shout
Have to score of that there is no doubt
Set up to win with pace in attack
Strong in the middle
And switched on at the back
This can be done if we continue to play
Ronny Deilas version of the Celtic Way
It’s a massive task make no mistake
Let’s just go for it Bhoys
For it’s there for the take
comment lost. Funny, insightful, thought provoking – not my post, just some words I ve used to describe other posts
Ralph
Funny Diary today. I am not sure whether I am up or down after reading it. Perhaps it’s nerves though that would be the return of a long lost sensation given there has been little reason for it in ages. It could be a longing for the next potential big game in town, another top class insolvency event. It could be uncontrollable expectancy of real action from Hampden at the next SPFL board meeting where club representatives seem about to discard their Bearphones and to replace Doncasteritis with some refreshing actuality, see the evil, speak the evil and hear the evil in the blue atmosphere for the first time. Or it could be blind optimism and a childlike anticipation of a big unexpected present on Thursday night.
No matter what, I have found it the most “more like it” week or so in many a long season.
H H
Hoping Barry Hearn can make time to listen to Doncaster’s “pearls of wisdom” on 18 March and then do a a wee guest column here or on TSFM…:)
Go on Gary, sing “Tomorrow belongs to me”.
I’ll join in . Promise.
Alternatively….
“YOU HAVE A WOMAN’S BAG, MY LORD”
“International travel fer fuck sakes who widae ken it!”