Oh, come on…did you really think that top players, even the ones Brendan Rodgers has told Peter Lawwell to go out and get-Sinclair, Toure, Duffy would sign up before they knew if champions League football was on the agenda ?

Even though the players want to, the agents who advise them wouldnot be doing their job if they didn’t mention to the players that its only july, and they’ve their families to think of….

Whilst its not the ideal situation, its one we have to deal with.

Brendan himself isn’t letting it get to him, and is showing no signs of frustration;

Whilst it is easy to blame Lawwell for pretty much anything these days, I’m prepared to cut him a little slack on this one. We need to remember the market we’re working in, and the wages and signing fees available down south and elsewhere make Celtic a venue for only the most dedicated of players, and I suppose viewed in a positive light, thats not always a bad thing.

Players such as Shane Duffy, who has even been practicising the “Broony ” in a bid to fit in and show his love for the hoops…

although blacburn boss Owen coyle, speaking in the  Lancashire Telegraph claims that no move has been made for the Ireland defender…

 “In regards to Shane, there’s been no concrete offers from Celtic, in terms of a written offer, so that’s the only thing I can class as interest.

“If there’s other people speculating, then I can’t really comment on that.

“I only deal in the facts and the fact is there’s been no concrete offer from Glasgow Celtic for Shane Duffy.”  

And no doubt he wouldn’t accept a concrete offer, it would have to be cash pound notes.

Celtic assistant manager Chris Davies is aware of the problems ahead of the trip to Khazakstan to ace Astana…

‘It is being worked on and we have the wildcard option which is a buffer for us as well,’ said Davies. ‘It is only natural to know that option is there if there is business to be done. We are aware of it.

‘We know the areas we need to improve on and we have identified targets. It would be a big boost for us if we can get people in who are going to make the difference. 

‘But the most important thing is that it’s the right player, rather than rushing in and doing something hasty that maybe isn’t right.’(copyright P.Lawwell, 2003-present)

We all know the area that needs improving..

But it may well be that the manager has to make do with what he’s got. Which at least will mean that no one will be shoe horned into a game as important as the Astana one having barely had time to find a shirt that fits him. I suppose as long as the shirt doesn’t have to shrink when he does get it, we can wait.

Reading between the lines on further comments from Davies, it looks like perennial fall guy Efe Ambrose could be on his way out… though it appears he’s getting a good reference;

‘It’s a situation where if we can get deals done, then obviously the squad gets that little bit bigger and there is more opportunity for players to move on. But all I can say about Efe is that since we’ve come in here he’s been great to work with every day, his personality and his attitude to training, and he’s given everything he can, every session and every day.

‘He did it again today. He’s been a pleasure to work with on a day-to-day basis but we’re obviously assessing the whole squad and assessing what we need to bring in to improve and take the team forward and there might be opportunity for players to move on.’

Its the use of the phrase “opportunity to move on”  which is interesting, implying that the player wants out.

Next time someone has  to tell someone “the company is going to move in a different direction ” they  can no doubt now add that they can “take this opportunity to move on ” which will make the employee feel a lot better about himself on the way to the foodbank.

If Ambrose ends up at Valerengen with Ronny Deila, and scores the goal that puts Celtic out of Europe next season, then karma really is a bitch. And a particularly nasty one at that.

Celtic face Leicester tomorrow in the International Champions Cup, and the visit of the English champions poses a bit of a dilemma for the Celtic manager.

Does he continue to work on the squads team spirit and match fitness, with a fairly realistic chance of landing what at least sounds like a prestigious trophy, or do the fringe players get a crack at it, thus saving the first team from risking injury ?

Well, Barcelona have already excluded Messi, Iniesta and several other first teamers from their squad in next weeks second game of the tournament, and although we will be without Boyata and probably Simunovic, we can’t reall yclaim this evens things out, so why not keep the momentum going, and possibly end up winning a tournament that contains the names of the most famous clubs in the world, if not actually their best players ?

Wins against these two, one in Glasgow and one in Dublin, combined with a trip to Limerick to face Inter Milan would certainly put the hoops in with a shout, depending on goal difference, and the odds have to be in our favour given the circumstances.

Its all about bonding…

And as Chris Davies pointed out yesterday, we cannot offer excuses ahead of Astana, we just have to get on with it, which might well mean a full strengthish side at Celtic Park on Saturday.

“Ware trying to create an environment – and in fairness the players are good like this – where there is a no excuses environment, We know about the travel, we know it’s an astroturf pitch, we know these things but we are trying to focus on the positives and how excited we are to be there.

“We hoped we would do the job last night, we were confident we would do so and we are in the next round. We are looking to the positives, we are excited to be there and we know we can do a job there.”

The travel shouldn’t be an issue, its not like they’re getting a train from Crewe  to Central and then a train to Gourock and a ferry to Dunoon, starting at say, 8pm tonight and finishing around 1,30 in the morning…

Oh no, they can’t really grumble about travel, as Kris Commons showed the last time the team went out to Khazakstan..

The Doha CSC will be there…as the Daily Record will be pleased to discover.

Has to be said, for a European Cup game, thats a pretty unusual map of Europe.

Closer to home, and my email to Neil Doncaster got a courteous reply, and he is going to phone me next week, or today maybe.

A report in the Daily Record by Keith Jackson made interesting reading..

Had to happen sooner or later, I suppose.

PETER LAWWELL and Neil Doncaster have less than eight weeks left to save Scottish football’s involvement in the Champions League.

SPFL chief executive Doncaster revealed on Wednesday that the secret details of a German led initiative to transform UEFA’s elite event into an invitation only event for the biggest nations in Europe should become public before the end of the year.

But Record Sport has learned that the complete blue print for this full closed shop proposal will be unveiled for the first time at a UEFA congress in Athens on September 14.

And it’s anticipated the plan will be driven through by the big boys at that meeting before being sold off for hundreds of millions of pounds in an auction with the world’s richest broadcast corporations which will begin in December of this year 

Scaremongering ?

Possibly, but these schemes always have an outside chance of taking off, so it does need to be addressed. However, the way voting works amongst member countries in UEFA, as long as the smaller ones work together, and UEFA stands upo to the big five, it won’t succeed.

Mind you, thats a couple of big asks.

What a cynic might think ( me ) is that Lawwell and Doncaster are about to make a play for complete control in Scottish football, and with the SFA under pressure on account of being a corrupt and self serving institution, the timing could not be better.

If the move by the big five is thrown out, then Lawwell and Doncaster can claim a victory, and having taken part in the negotiations, they will have done their own credibilty no harm.

Scottish football is at a crossroads, and as Celtic are a major part of it, then we need to pay attention to whats going on overseas, and fight our corner.

Still think that Lawwell and Doncaster need the third member of their unit to get the harmony required on the big stage though..

Again, the situation here is that Scottish football is playing with a weak hand against a stacked deck, so we do need the best players we have at the table.

The guy in the middle might be able to help.

Rumours of a split in the administration gathered pace when it was learned that Brian McClair quit his post of token ex fenian at the SFA, leaving Stewart Regan a little embarassed.

What am I on about?

Regan embarrassed ? With what that guy has got away with, and been party to over the last few years, now he’s embarrassed ?

The SFA chief explained;

“I would like to thank Brian for his time as Performance Director. I am really disappointed that we have parted company after a year, but the complexities of the role cannot be overestimated. While his experience of developing talent over a sustained period of time at Manchester United was a major attribute, being Performance Director requires a different style of leadership and focus.

“As Performance Director, he found himself spending more time lobbying and presenting in the boardroom. It became apparent that this was neither a comfortable nor tenable situation in the long term. I would like to reiterate my thanks to Brian for his efforts and wish him the best of luck in the future”.

From that, it appears that McClair, who had done the job well at Old Trafford, has found out that developing youngsters at the SFA doesn;t involve developing youngsters, which is not the only post at the SFA that has little to do with football.

Anyway, i’m looking forward to hearing from Doncaster, in my new adopted persona of….

All I need are some ideas…

Friday means its time for someone to have their day considerably improved, safe in the knowledge that they have been appointed  the Etims

Knob Of The Week 

This week the winner is someone who was always going to pick up the award, it was just a matter of when. and oddly enough, it came the first time he has spoken to the papers in a while…

Rangers have left Celtic playing catch-up says Ibrox stalwart

It’s Ian Durrant!

Pictured here showing the vision that he employed in his short but fucking hilarious stint as Rangers manager…

I’d just like to point out,first of all, as this is 2016, and not the late 80s , that Durrant is not gay, not bent, and no part of his anantomy has ever been up for rent.

And if he is, was, or chose to make a living in that way, its no business of ours.

Anyway, he placed new old midfielder Joey Barton on a par with a few others from Scottish football, showing a level of ignorance and a degree of arse licking not seen since, well, the last time Level 5 needed to put some good news out there….

“The Old Firm has always been littered with gallus players. You go back to [Jim] Baxter, you’ve got [Kenny] Dalglish, [Henrik] Larsson, [Brian] Laudrup. I think Joey Barton will certainly bring entertainment but he will bring some other stuff as well

The only way, and I mean absolutely the only way, those names should be in the same sentence are if it undergoes considerable restructuring.

I’ll help.

“Scottish football used to have a sprinkling of great players, from here ( Dalglish, Baxter ) and from overseas ( Larsson, Laudrup ) and now its reduced to claiming idiots like Barton are at the same level ” 

Level 5, actually.

anyway, well done, Durranty ranty ranty.

You are this weeks Etims

Knob Of The Week

Hey, Walter. Yer man just won Knob of the week…

Yesterday we put up a picture, eventually, that drew another winner, though a much more noble winner…

Today, a picture from the Olympics, back in 1908. So they say.

If I don’t get a chance to do a Diary in the morn, I’ll catch you all at Malones tomorrow night.