Celtic Diary Sunday June 26: A Genuine Threat From Over The River ?

Apologies for yesterdays diary not appearing. That’s because I didn’t write one. Instead, i took my eldest down to Holyhead, where he was off to start his new life in Dublin, along with a packet of Halls Mentho Lyptus he took off my dashboard when I wasn’t looking. The bastard.

The wife, his brothers and I spent last night changing all our phone numbers, and contacted the local paper, as we  now have a room for rent.

Well, a couch , anyway, as he didn’t really live here as such.

Then myself, an Irishman and an Englishman went out for a beer, but the Englishman didn’t like the pub so we all had to leave.

Shall we do the transfer gossip first ?

Might as well.

Shane Duffy is the latest defender to be lonked with a move to Celtic. With just a year left on his Blackburn deal, there’s speculation he might cut his losses and move north to plug the gap created by the absence of Dedryck Boyata and Jozo Simunovic, who aren’t going to be fit for a while.

Actually, its more reasonable to suggest he would come north to plug the gap created by Boyata and Simunovic when they are playing.

Kolo Toure could be another, and to be honest, its more likely to be the 35 year old free agent who plugs any gaps in the short term, largely because of his experience and the fact that he’s a 35 year old free agent.

Word at Lennoxtown is that a fully fit and functioning Simunovic is a far , far better bet than any of the other names mentioned, but he does seem to have been out for a long time over what appeared to be a minor injury, although there are no reports of him having injured it in a squash game with a team mate.

On that basis, toure looks more likely, but bearing in mind there is a lack of quality cover, perhaps duffy could be the one.

Or maybe both, or maybe none.

Whereas the papers will trumpet the stories in the hope of an exclusive, we’re a little more honest here and will admit we haven’t got a clue.

Anyone else leaving ?

The odds are shortening on Charlie Mulgrew not hanging around. He’s chewing over the two year deal he’s been offered, and that can only make it awkward to sign, and lets be honest, no one at Celtic is going to be in any hurry to pick up the saliva stained document if he does.

And James Forrest, the marmite winger who had the offer of a contract pulled when he wanted to think about it a few months ago ?

Well, it depends on how you interpret the words of the new manager, which are…

“I do see a future for him, very much so. He is one I am looking forward to analysing.

“He has obviously had a run of injuries and maybe some that have held him back but he is a big talent.

“I don’t know him well enough yet but I know he has talent. From the few days I’ve worked with him, he looks fit and fresh. Hopefully the way I work will suit his aggressive style.

“You have to be able to defend but you also have to be able to attack and he has great attacking ability – so let’s hope he can stay clear of injury and recapture his best form.

“I have spoken to him about his
 situation, absolutely, but I’m quite relaxed about it. The kid has until December, that’s his contract. By that time he’ll have a good way of looking at it.

“Like with every player, though, we want players who want to play for Celtic, who want to be here.

“If they don’t want to be at the club, that’s absolutely fine.

“It’s a huge club, one of the biggest in the world, playing in a great league, and the chance to come and play every other week at Celtic Park is a wonderful
opportunity for any player. I hope James, over the next six months, sees his future at the club.

“He’s a talent, he has gone off the radar over the past couple of years from where he was at.

“But I hope over the next six months he can get back on track and see Celtic as the club for him.” 

Now, if I was looking at that through the players eyes, I’d find those words very encouraging, and as footballers know that they are playing for their next contract pretty much week in week out anyway, all he has to do is show what he can do, because he is a player who merely needs to get back on track, avoid injury and get rid of that ridiculous girly haircut.

The last contract fiasco won’t have done his confidence any good, but as Rodgers says, he wants players who want to play for Celtic, and Forrest certainly falls into that category.

Oh, falls, yeah, he could maybe try and stop doing that as well.

A clean sheet for all.

It’s the only way forward.

So, if Forrest picks up the papers this morning, he should feel encouraged , right ?

Well, sort of.

Gordon Waddell, in the Sunday  Mail;

You’ve six months to save your Celtic career, Brendan Rodgers tells James Forrest

And you just know he delted the word “warns ” at least half a dozen times before settling on the use of “tells ” .

Oh, scratch that. Like a Mail hack ponders over semantics.

Whereas Moira Gordon, of the Scotsman, using the same quote from Rodgers, went with;

Brendan Rodgers hopes James Forrest stays with Celtic

Which I’d say appears to be closer to the truth.

One definitely staying is Keiran Tierney, who has just signed a five year deal. With Celtic , just to clarify, after he was touted remorselessly around English clubs by the Scottish media.

But, as we knew already, he just didn’t want to go. And thats the attitude that just cannot be bought. It has to be in the heart, and Tierney certainly knows whats in his heart.

 “They are huge clubs and it’s the Premier League so of course you take a bit of pride in that.

“But I never thought about leaving at all. You think about the interest but it never crossed my mind to leave.

“I’m delighted to be here and sign that new contract. The negotiations didn’t take too long at all.”  

“I’m delighted to be here and sign that new contract. The manager spoke to me after the first training session and told me he wanted to tie me up here.

“He told me this is the best place for me to be. And with him managing the club now I’m delighted to be here.

“The negotiations didn’t take too long at all. Basically they only started once the new manager came in which was just four days.

“To get it done that quickly is brilliant. You don’t want to be training for four weeks and talks going on. So to have it sorted this fast is great.

“When I first saw him being linked with the job I wasn’t sure what to think. It seemed there was a different favourite for it every day.

“But when he got it I was delighted as he’s known for liking youngsters, bringing them on and playing good football. The whole team is delighted he’s here.

“Hearing his backing for you gives you confidence, knowing he likes you already. You just have to try to keep that up.

“When the season comes hopefully I’ve done enough for him to pick me. Everybody always raves about the football played under him and how good he is at developing youngsters so I just hope that happens for me.”

As many a Celtic legend will tell you, the negotiations primarily  consisted of the player asking if anyone had a pen….

Another signing which perhaps didn’t catch the eye was the recruitment of John McGlynn, the former Hearts boss , to help with the coaching.

Well, if he fails, or does or says something stupid, there’ll be a picture of him with another award on these pages…

Thats a little harsh, as McGlynn comes with an impressive record. Well, for a Hearts boss, that is.

which is exactly the one voted for at a kit meeting I went to a while back.

The picture, however , is fake, but it would be a belter, and with the name Ibrahimovic on the back, a big seller.

Something we’d all like to see , and there’s nothing to stop us doing it, I suppose.

Like the editor of a Cork newspaper who managed to fulfill a wee dream of his, one suspects…

Speaking of politics, get your money on Liam Fox as next prime minister. He’s been saying all the things the party chairman would tell a hand picked prospective  PM to say, especially as Theresa May would split the party within a month, and Boris Johnson within an hour.

A catholic Britsh PM ? We do indeed live in strange times.

Theres no rule against it, the 1701 Act Of Settlement deals with the accession to the throne, but I suppose they’ll have one when one good enough comes along, an idea that sounds sort of vaguely familiar when it comes to employing catholics to do a job.

And theres something a little familiar  about this picture, which I’m sure you can explain, in your own witty and informative style.