Celtic Diary Friday September 2: Jibes, Jollies and James Morrison

The Birmingham Mail has confirmed that James Morrison was indeed the subject of a late bid from Celtic on deadline day, which can only mean the other targets weren’t interested. The paper does cast a little doubt on the authenticity of the story by saying;

It’s thought Celtic were prepared to match his wages 

which is hard to believe, but may indicate a shift in policy at Celtic Park, and the deal didn;t happen because tony Pulis wouldn’t sell. morrison, it appears, was up for it.

January, based on that detail, could be an interesting month.

The Evening Times, in a desperate bid to gain some readers who can actually read, has spoken to Martin O’Neill about his time at Celtic, and presumably asked him to give Brendan Rodgers some advice.

“Brendan called me after he had got the job, He is long enough in the tooth to know exactly what he wants to do at Celtic and I wouldn’t be in the business of dispensing advice to anyone. Not that they would take it anyway.

“But all I said to Brendan was that it is a mighty job. The one thing about it is the glorious intensity of it. That is all. It is not like anywhere else and you know what? He will enjoy every minute of that.

“Honestly, there is simply no other way than to immerse yourself in the club and relish the spotlight that comes with the job. You are on all the time. The games are fast and the pressure is absolute and he will thrive on that, I am sure.” 

“I didn’t speak to Brendan before he was given the job but we spoke afterwards. I was delighted when I saw that he had got through the qualifiers because it really lights the whole season up, having those nights in the Champions League,” said the Irishman.

“In some ways it feels like there is no time to enjoy it. The pace is furious and the season starts with a bang when you have the games on your plater to get into the Champions League. The supporters will be loving it, absolutely loving it.

“You feel that energy. You feel that willingness, the belief in you. The Celtic supporters are special people. They will be right behind Brendan now. I always felt that the Champions League nights and the big European nights under the floodlights were very similar to the games against Rangers – there is just something different in the air for them.

“You can sense the desire and the exuberance from the crowd. The atmosphere is fantastic and while I don’t give anyone any pointers, the only thing I would say is enjoy it. Savour every minute.” 

O’Neill, as we know, was Desmonds first choice for the job, but refused to consider the position until after the euros. Events at Hampden after the Cup semi final forced the majority shareholder to stamp his feet, but O’Neill, along with Roy Keane wouldn’t budge.

Hence Rodgers came in, and everybody is happy.

So we heard, anyway. Significantly, not long after rodgers arrived, O’Neill and Keane signed a new deal with Ireland that they had been putting off for quite a while. Coincidence ?

The Evening Times has quite a few pieces on O’Neill, and I’m loathe to spend much more time on them, so I suggest you go out and buy a copy. Be careful, though, don’t let anyone see you, maybe buy a Readers Wives  or something and hide it inside the more socially acceptable publication.

The BBC aired the second part of their documentary about Scottish football last night, choosing to concentrate on the financial side of the game over the last thirty years in what was a refreshing break from the usual diet of Reality TV.

The problems at Motherwell, Hearts and Gretna were covered in some detail, but the lack of detail and accuracy surrounding the collapse of Rangers made one doubt the veracity of the rest of the report, which is unfortunate, because you got the feeling that Tom English, Graeme Spiers and Stuart Cosgrove had plenty more to say than what was aired.

Maybe they did say more, but it was left on the cutting room floor, presumably for their own safety, but well done to all of them. They are often the subject of criticism in the diary, but praise has to be given when its deserved as well, otherwise there’s no point in commenting on anything, because no one will take you seriously when you actually have something to say.

The programme did have one bombshell to drop, though, as former Rangers manager Alex McLeish became the first person to break ranks from behind the wall of silence built after the EBT scandal broke. shifting uncomfortably in his seat, he announced

Funnily enough, he hadn’t been asked to appear before the Lord Nimmo Smith enquiry, which based on his statement may well have had a different outcome, though the SFA, astonishingly missing from a documentary about financial misdeeds, will no doubt be setting up a new enquiry that actually wants to deal with the issue.

I rang them for a response, and was told to fuck off and “leave us alone.”

With the big lie about liquidation glossed over, the BBC failed to do what a documentary should do, and assume that the audience knows little or nothing about the subject it covers.

Still, if MacLeish could be asked to explain his comments and confirm them, it will have been worth it.

Getting a hold of him could be difficult, as we hear he’s taken a short break.

Its the start of the World cup qualifiers this weekend, so international football holds the spotlight, but if you want to see a team you can cheer for instead, then go to the Energy Assets Arena . where Celtics development side take on hosts Livingston in the third round of the Irn Bru cup.

The youngsters have already disposed of Annan and Cowdenbeath on their adventure, and although Livingston are a level above them, theres no reason why it should end here.

Especially if a few of us go along and make a day of it. Its a 5.15 kick off, and theres a couple of decent pubs nearby. I always used to enjoy going to Livingston, and it was always a good day out.

And it has to be better than watching Scotland, who are in Malta, where they begin their latest series of humiliations.

Jozo Simuovic has spoken about his wee trip to Italy, and explained what happened. more importantly, he has a message for Celtic supporters…

Fair enough, get out there and show us what you can do. We can always use someone with heart and ability.

And honesty, which in itself is a rare trait among footballers. Good luck, big man.

Speaking of honesty, hats off to Aberdeen, who have caused a bit of a rammy with this…

Will Celtic do the same ? Acknowledge them for who they really are ?

We will wait and see.

What is more astonishing is how this has been reported… the Evening times, for instance

Aberdeen and Rangers have never met before in the Scottish Premiership, according to the Dons website.

The two clubs are set to face off at Pittodrie on September 25 and last season’s runners-up have struck the first blow in a jibe suggesting the Gers are a ‘new club’.

In the matchcentre section of the website, the ‘last time’ section states that there are ‘no previous meetings found’.  

Heres another “jibe ” suggesting “rangers ” are a new club… from the man who is in charge of club licencing at UEFA…

Still waiting for Grant Russell to tell us what he asked UEFA in his “series of persistant and detailed questions”, which will be interesting…

More on that later.

Now, its Friday, and in a change to the advertised programme, we’re going to dispense with Knob of the Week, for one week only, because today we have a special award.

The Etims Great Guy Award 

An occasional nod towards someone who has performed above and beyond the call of duty, possibly even at risk to physical or psychological damage to to his actions, which he knew was a possibility, but he went for it anyway.

In any scandal where more than a few people are involved there is always a weak link that leads to the chain of conspiracy  breaking and then its only a matter of time before the whole lot comes crashing down.

The Great Guy I’m referring to should not be called a weak link, for it took great strength and character to do what he did.

If you see him, shake his hand and buy him a beer.

Alex McLeish, the first and only winner of the

The Etims Great Guy Award 

Speaking of winners, the £200 “post that wasn’t trying to win anything ” has been discovered.

I had no idea what i was looking for, just trusting to instinct that someone would say something so profound about something that we -well, mostly I-, could identify with.

And i found it.

Yesterday.

Devoy45 September 1, 2016 at 2:58 pm · Edit · Reply → 

 I would like to maul and humiliate Sevco, just because we can. Otherwise, I don’t care about them at all. 

That sums up what I think we all feel, and by using the word “maul “, which is what Lions do, Devoy gave me one of those grins that Americans would refer to as “shit-eating” .

Put them, and their supporters, in the media and in their stands, back in their place.

Just because we can.

Brilliant

Check you emails today Devoy, and I’ll arrange to get your prize to you.

Caption competition….

Yesterday we had this…

Superbly summed up by this..