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Celtic Diary Saturday September 5: Complacency Brown Needs a Shake

 

Sounds more like the title of an Enid Blyton book, which it probably was. About a young man who wanted to join the Labour Party until his granny found out and locked him in the wardrobe for forty years. Old Enid wasn’t one for socialists.

Or men.

Or kids, come to think of it.

Remember the Secret Seven ? The initials on the shed door, which served as a clubhouse ? Well, that’s where Hitler got the idea from….

Anyway last nioght threatened to turn into a catastrophe, but thankfully, the scotland game was done by around seven, so I could make sure that the rest of my evening wasn’t wasted.

Scotland became the second side to lose to Georgia in their Euro group, following the eastern sides historic win over Gibraltar. It finished 1-0. And finished Scotlands interest in the tournament, although to be fair they lasted a bit longer this time.

Gordon Strachan continued his policy of making his teams smaller both physically and mentally as the Scots nit only made an arse of it, but didn’t seem that bothered that they had.

In fact, it was that bad it reminded me of Celtic’s trip to the other week, but with even less hope.

I’m not going to go into what went wrong, because I’ve to go to work on Monday, but it was dire. Next up are Germany in the cauldron of Hampden on Monday, which might be worth watching if there aren’t any adverts on.

The most worrying thing about the game, which was immediately noticable, was the performance of Scott Brown. This is two big games in a row where he has been posted missing, and maybe he needs a break to get his mojo back.

It could be that he’s carrying an injury, it could be he has other things on his mind, but a couple of games off can only do him good. He’s just not at the races at the moment. With the Europa League looming, he needs to be right.

Mind you, the Grimsby Telegraph could have the answer…

Scott Brown missing for Grimsby Town’s

match at Boreham Wood

BOREHAM Wood won’t have Scott Brown snapping at their heels today – but the Grimsby Town midfielder is on the road to recovery.

Having played only 45 minutes during pre-season, the 30-year-old has missed the Mariners’ opening seven games of the season.

But while Paul Hurst could be without the services of Brown (pictured) for another month, things are moving in the right direction.

Town’s boss told the Telegraph: “Scott is going okay – he’s now out of his boot and walking around.”  

He’s not only been moonlighting, but it appears the English side have a rather unique outlook on transfer negotiations.

Well, someone needs to tell a constable, and get this sorted.

Another Celt who featured last night, albeit as a late substitute was Leigh Griffiths. You really have to admire him. At club level he was second fiddle to John Guidetti, and earlier this season, to Nadir Ciftci. At international level, Steven fletcher got the nod ahead of him.

Anyone else would have buckled under the confidence -sapping decisions he’s had to put up with.

But he just gets on with it. He didn’t score, but to be honest, the Scottish high ball assault in the final quarter of the game didn’t help. Especially when Strachans men appeared to be auditioning for the most repetitive corner kick competition  in the final quarter of the game.

He was disappointed, but also resolute about Mondays game;

“It wasn’t the best of games and it was disappointing overall to lose. But there are still nine points to play for.

“We felt we did enough to get something. Maybe not enough to get all three points but 
definitely a draw, yeah.

“We had chances in the game and were putting pressure on them towards the end. There was a header that flashed just past the post but it wasn’t to be.” 

As a striker you want to have chances to get back in the game and I didn’t get one.

“To their credit the Georgians minimised the space in behind. It was just one of the things we have to take on the chin.

“Now I would love a crack at the Germans. It’s an honour to put a strip on for your country and if I’m selected or on the bench I would love to get on.

“I don’t see why we can’t still beat Germany. It’s at Hampden Park and we have beaten the best there before.

“We got good results against France, Holland, Italy. A draw against Germany. I don’t see why we can’t get something on Monday as well. 

If Scotland are to have any chance, then it’s probably best not to show them a re run of last nights game, as Griffiths says, he hasn’t seen any reason why the Scots won’t get something against the Germans. If he watches that game….

There was a little bit of pressure put on the striker from Emilio Izaguirre, who showed the world how to take a penalty during Honduras’s 3-0 win over Venezuela;

Emilio Penalty

 Charlie mulgrew, also in the side, gave his post match speech;

Overall it just wasn’t good enough.

“We’re not even talking about the corner and whether it went in. We’re concentrating on things we can affect and one thing you can’t affect are decisions.

“The fact is we all know in that dressing room we can do better. It’s as simple as that.

“We’re not looking for any excuses. We have to stand up 
and admit we had a bad night 
and get on with putting things right. The one thing is there’s still a lot to play for and a chance to get back out for another big game right away.

“We’re all so disappointed because we wanted to come here, put on a good show and win the game. But we haven’t done it so we just need to turn it round and move on.

“If you lose a goal against Georgia they way they play, sitting in the way they do, they will make it hard for you.

“It was a horrible moment when their goal went in but you just need to get on with it. We had the belief we could get ourselves back into it the way we’ve done before but it just wasn’t to be. We simply didn’t have enough about us on the night.

“We have to get over this quickly and be ready for Germany – we have no choice, there’s no time to feel sorry for ourselves.

“I’m absolutely sure we’ll get down to work between now and Monday and we’ll be ready.

“We’re looking at small things here. We didn’t perform as well as we can, didn’t create as many chances as we can and once we lost that goal it was difficult.

“We’ll be gutted for a bit. A few guys won’t have much sleep after a game like this – it stays with you, that’s for sure.

“But we’ve all been there before, plenty times. We know what it takes to get back up from a bad result and that’s our job now.” 

I’m sure I’ve heard all that before somewhere.

Scott Brown turned up for the post match interviews, which was something.

“Naisy says the ball was in the net. We didn’t get the luck tonight but the group is still wide open, there are still nine points to play for.

“We can’t feel sorry for ourselves and we have to get ready for Monday night.

“It was an average performance tonight. After they scored they shut up shop and made it hard for us.

“On another day we would have got a wee bit of luck but 
not tonight.

“We can bounce back, it’s all about bounce-back-ability – and we’ve definitely got that in the dressing room.” 

I’m a little worried about the mentality of those two. Brown and Mulgrew are depended on to offer experience and maturity in at both club and international level.

Judging from those words, none of it was their fault, it was just bad luck but there’s always a good time to be had in the dressing room.

Some thought it was complacency rather than fear that lost Celtic the Malmo tie, and they may well have been right.

Maybe time for Brown to get his finger out.

There’s another round of international fixtures that take place early next week, and after that just two more games in this campaign, not counting possible play offs.

I’ll be glad when it’s done.

So will the players, who according to Keith Jackson were having trouble getting a flight out of Tblisis;

Tblisi update. Still no plane. Now being told the earliest we’ll get away is 2.45am. Lots of pissed off players milling around. 

aawww. poor babies.

Maybe they could play a game of “you were shite tonight because …. “. should keep them going until February.

Today, September 5, is a special day for those of us who know the history. Joe Sullivan, from the official site, tells us why…

IT was 84 years ago today, on Saturday, September 5, 1931, the Celtic goalkeeper John Thomson received a serious head injury while playing against Rangers at Ibrox. He died later in hospital, having never regained consciousness after the incident.

The death of a footballer in his prime is thankfully rare, and even rarer on the field of play. Even after this length of time, John Thomson’s untimely death at the age of just 22 remains one of football’s great tragedies.

A young goalkeeper, already the first choice for his club and country, with a long and distinguished career seemingly ahead of him, dead as a result of an accident during a game.

Thomson was renowned for his bravery and fearlessness, and his dive at the feet of the Rangers forward Sam English as the player went to shoot was visible evidence of those virtues. As English shot, John Thomson’s head took the full impact of the Rangers player’s knee, leaving the goalkeeper unconscious and his head bleeding.

As the keeper was being stretchered off, a section of the home support were unaware of the seriousness of the injury and cheered until they were silenced by one of the Rangers players.

Thomson’s death stunned football, and was particularly hard felt by everyone connected with Celtic.

Some 40,000 people attended the funeral in Cardenden, including thousands who had travelled through from Glasgow, many walking the 55 miles to the Fife village, and Thomson’s coffin was carried by his devastated team-mates.

James Hanley, in his book The Celtic Story (1960) wrote: “It is hard for those who did not know him to appreciate the power of the spell he cast on all who watched him regularly in action. ‘A man who has not read Homer,’ wrote Bagehot, ‘is like a man who has not seen the ocean. There is a great object of which he has no idea.’

“In like manner, a generation that did not see John Thomson has missed a touch of greatness in sport, for which he was a brilliant virtuoso, as Gigli was and Menuhin is. One artiste employs the voice as his instrument, another the violin or cello. For Thomson it was a handful of leather. We shall not look upon his like again.” 

Thomson was brought up in the Fife mining village of Cardenden, and like many of his contemporaries, had started his working life as a teenager down the pits.

He signed for Celtic in 1926 at the age of 17, having been spotted playing for Wellesley Juniors by Celtic scout Steve Callaghan, who had also alerted the club to the talents of a certain Jimmy McGrory.

Celtic paid £10 for the young man who would go on to become known as the Prince of Goalkeepers, and by the age of 18 he had already made his first-team debut against Dundee at Dens Park in a 2-1 win for Celtic.

During his short time as Celtic goalkeeper, he won two Scottish Cup medals – in 1927 when East Fife were defeated 3-1 and in 1931, when Celtic beat Motherwell 4-2 in a replay, having drawn the first game 2-2.

International recognition followed on the back of his impressive displays for Celtic, and Thomson gained four caps for Scotland and four for the Scottish League.

A quiet and unassuming character off the park, once on the field of play Thomson had a natural athleticism aligned to a brave spirit and impressed all who had the privilege to see him play.

In his book, The Story of the Celtic; 1888-1938, Willie Maley, manager of the club at the time of the tragedy, wrote: “Among the galaxy of talented goalkeepers whom Celtic have had, the late lamented John Thomson was the greatest. A Fifeshire friend recommended him to the club. We watched him play. We were impressed so much that we signed him when he was still in his teens. That was in 1926. Next year he became our regular goalkeeper, and was soon regarded as one of the finest goalkeepers in the country.

“But, alas, his career was to be short. In September, 1931, playing against Rangers at Ibrox Park, he met with a fatal accident. Yet he had played long enough to gain the highest honours football had to give. A most likeable lad, modest and unassuming, he was popular wherever he went.

“His merit as a goalkeeper shone superbly in his play. Never was there a keeper who caught and held the fastest shots with such grace and ease. In all he did there was the balance and beauty of movement wonderful to watch. Among the great Celts who have passed over, he has an honoured place.”

Certainly the death of John Thomson hit the club – the officials, players and the supporters – hard and had an understandably adverse effect on subsequent performances over the next couple of seasons.

Indeed further tragedy was to hit the club just two years later when Peter Scarff, who had played in that fateful game, died from tuberculosis at the age of just 24.

John Thomson’s memory has lived on with Celtic supporters and fans still visit his graveside in Fife to pay their own respects.

The final thought on the tragic events of September 1931 is to remember the epitaph on John Thomson’s gravestone, which reads: “They never die who live in the hearts they leave behind.”  

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That was the touring China side , back in 1979, in yesterdays picture.

Anyone explain this ?

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Right.

What do we want ?

Racing Car Noises !

When do we want them ?

Nnnneeeeeooowwww.

I’m here all week, try the veal etc.

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andybhoy
8 years ago

Ryan and his old man Charlie, who’s shorts / thong, look as if they are about to disappear up his arse.

Stiofan
8 years ago

Is Charlie wearing an NB top? Looks faded.

Hugh67
8 years ago

A good read (again). Thanks.

Off with my mates to watch the Glasgow Warriors tonight !!! Probably better than forcing them to watch that shit last night. Also be able to legally drink before, during and after the game.

This anniversary is always a sad time. A young man dies and another man’s life is horribly changed. Not sure if it’s true but I believe Sam English’s grandson married Evan Williams daughter.

HH

salad gueen
8 years ago

Looks like scotland will struggle to qualify now. Pity the suits will not be in France next year as UEFA might have a word in their lug hole about following of rules over at sev Co land!

John
8 years ago

Great result has us right back in it again COYBIG

Una
8 years ago

Sorry to say Charlie Mulgrew it’s time to call it a day you’re just not good enough anymore, you have looked lost in every game that you have played this season. Get them coaching badges sorted soon.

Best Regards

Una

Funkyy
8 years ago

Great Diary Ralph (as usual), but I’m getting worried that you’re taking these bad results (Malmo, Georgia) to heart. Personally I think it must be lacking in excitement to be a fan of Germany or Barcelona, boringly winning everything that you compete in, without even the slightest modicum of fear. Where’s the excitement if there’s not some fear present? we’re Scotland supporters, raised and nurtured on failure and disappointment and that’s what makes life worth living for us. We’re masochists at heart, we don’t like to do things the easy way. So why are we disappointed by what happened yesterday?…it has given us the chance to suffer a wee bit longer, ‘cos remember “mathematically we’re no oot yet”. And even after the Gerries rip us a new one on Monday, we’ll still be clinging on by our fingernails because of the other results, and we’ll still “no be oot”. We love to suffer, in fact we live to suffer, there’s no other logical explanation. We don’t want to win all our games and qualify comfortably, not when we can turn the thumbscrew on ourselves and agonize a wee while longer. We’re shite yet we come back for more…it must be a DNA defect, a genetic insanity.
But I’ll still be sitting glued to the screen on Monday, fearing the worst but believing we can gub the Krauts….I’m a lost cause, I’m a Scotland fan.

Charlie Saiz
8 years ago
Reply to  Funkyy

Hehe great posy Funkyy.
If all else fails by all means feel free to play the Irish Card my man.

I will 😉

Charlie Saiz
8 years ago
Reply to  Charlie Saiz

Posy? Post’

bondibrian
8 years ago

Vale John Thompson.

8 years ago

Ralph
Poor Article just like smsm everything is broonys fault no it’s not Scotland were poor all round only Charlie mulgrew gets pass marks lazy journalism must do bettet

Funkyy
8 years ago

@Charlie Saiz,
the incredible thing is that I believe that even if Germany beat us, we can still get that third place!!! I really am embarrassing myself, but:_
Ireland (home)beat Georgia…move to 15 points.
Ireland (home) lose to Germany..stay on 15.
Ireland (away) lose to Poland..finish on 15.

Meanwhile:-
Scotland (home)lose to Germany….stay on 11.
Scotland (home) beat Poland…move to 14.
Scotland (away) beat Gibralter…move to 17.

And even if we lose to Germany, then draw with Poland we can finish with 15 points like the Irish and get the third place based on the head to head with them (Scotland won and drew).
Am I not just the eternal optimist!!!!

highseastim
8 years ago

After watching the Germany v Poland game the other night, which was a fantastic game of football, I see no points coming Scotland’s way from that two games.

Funkyy
8 years ago

I know highseastim, logically we’re phtt…but no-one saw the Greeks winning the tournament in Portugal, and I mean no-one. Football is only predictable up to a certain point, but there are always results that kick logic in the baws. I’m hoping it’s our turn to do the unexpected….we’re due a wee break…and I don’t mean another heartbreak!!

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