The competition to be the first Scottish team to beat Celtic this season cranked up another notch yesterday as Dundee’s Cammy Kerr blasted a warning to the hoops.
Yeah. I know.
“The players will relish the opportunity and the challenge ahead to go there and try our best,”
“We have to go to Glasgow and work hard as we know it will be a tough game as they are in great form in the league.”
We will definitely go there with the belief we can get something out of the game.
“If you keep them quiet for the first 20-25 minutes, then the crowd might start to get on their backs a wee bit.
“We know we have players who have the workrate that can put on that kind of dogged display.
“We could have won it last time we were at Celtic when Kosta (Gadzhalov) was unlucky with a header to make it 1-0 to us.
“We were excellent that night, and we just have to take a wee bit from last time and push on again.”
Have you noticed that all of these type of stories contain something along the line of ” if ony that header had gone in, or we’d been given that throw in ” when the truth is it wouldn’t have mattered.
Dundee did gain a 1-1 draw last season at Celtic Park, and you get the feeling that their plan will be to get a repeat of that, without the goals.
The man behind the claim, Cammy Kerr, reckons they will take something from Celtic Park, and looking at his cheeks, I think I know where he’ll hide it.
One of the reasons Hamilton were difficult to break down on tuesday night could be this guy, who looked fairly determined as the teams came out of the tunnel for the second half.
You might remember him from his time at Celtic, and its obvious his addition to the Hamilton side has lifted them up a level. Furthermore, this weeks Friday night football festival comes from Hamilton, where they face newly promoted “rangers “.
Massimo Donati is looking forward to it.
….if the performance is like the Celtic one then we can do it.
“We were maybe a bit unlucky. We know Celtic are a very good team and we had to try to frustrate their fans and take some of our chances.
“We defended well and had some chances in the last 20 minutes to score.
I’ve mentioned donati because it doesn’t seem like too long ago that he was with Celtic, but he said something that shows just how much we’ve changed since he was here..
From the Record…
Although he didn’t get the right result, the defender was pleased with his show and also left with a souvenir after nabbing the shirt of home skipper Scott Brown.
Donati said: “He is the only one that was here when I was.
Time flies when you’re having fun.
One of the new guys, legend or cult hero in the making Erik Sviatchenko pointed to what seems to be the biggest difference between now and then when he spoke of the winning goal against Hamilton, and how moussa Dembele unselfishly bottled it and laid the ball off to Griffiths…
“It showed something of Moussa’s character He has been scoring goals all season and showing some great little bits of skill but it definitely said something about him the way he played Griff in.
“Leigh has come in for the last two games and has been excellent and it is great for the team to see that spirit. I don’t know if you read a lot about our team with just one moment but for me that said a lot. It showed an unselfishness but also a maturity. We are all winners.
“We all want to win football matches and be successful here and if that showed anything it is that we are playing for a team and not for ourselves.”
Svaitchenko , according to his manager, dissects each performance afterwards to see where he can improve, and he did think that such improvement was necessary after the Hamilton game..
“Personally I felt I was guilty of some sloppy passes and there were a lot of things that I felt I needed to improve upon. That is what happens when you lose some concentration and I felt that was what happened with me against Hamilton. The manager talks all the time about being focussed and being relentless and this is why – if you keep the same attitude then the standard doesn’t slip.
“We have showed that we are capable of winning in way that maybe other times we might have lost points.
“Sometimes you have to accept that it is not always going to be as polished as you want it to be. In some ways that is the beauty of football and it is interesting that we can win that way too. We were tired but we were able to dig deep and find that inner fight in us to keep pushing on.”
Maybe he’s not the only one feeling tired. After all, Celtic have already played fifteen league games, twelve european games, four league cup games and a few in the intercontinental super cup-or whatever its called, and there’s still a few more to come this month.
Maybe the time has come to rotate the squad a bit, and save the key players for the clash with second placed “rangers ” at the end of the year.
Speaking of which, the controversy around the state of their ground is hogging the headlines, and we decided to put the matter to bed ourselves by sending in an expert to have a look at the place..
After spending some time examining the structure , he gave his considered opinion..
The Scottish Government wiped their hands clean of any problem with a statement yesterday..
“This is a matter for the local authority and Glasgow City Council are in recent dialogue with Rangers about the safety certificate for Ibrox and other issues.
“The club has a safety certificate which is valid until July- but clearly that can be reviewed at any time if serious issues emerge.
“The Safety Advisory Group has discussed this issue and it’s dialogue with the club is ongoing
Oh dear-“are ” in recent dialogue ? Surely “were” in recent dialogue, or are in dialogue ?
whoever does the statements was clearly suffering after the Christmas Party, and threw in the bit about the Safety Advisory Group in a sort of “fuck off and ask someone else ” way, and so we await with interest their response.
Typically, however, the Sons of Struth, the voice of lunacy, claimed it was all lies and threatened to extract retribution from the haters, bigots and anyone else who expresses concern for his safety.
CASE FOR THE DEFENCE
Our club has been seen as fair game for certain people in the media, anti Rangers bloggers and fans of opposing teams for years.
Recently we have seen stories claiming our stadium is being used while unsafe, our club is being used to launder money and an ex captain had abused kids. All left unchallenged by the club but defended by us fans. Is it time to change our dignified silence stance?
I’m aware of the pitfalls from going in all out attack as the time and list of potential targets would be endless but to leave them unchallenged allows those against us to claim they were right as they are never challenged.
Even this morning readers of the Daily Record were informed that an ex coach had raped a child while working at our club when the same paper had previously printed that the coach had been sacked and police informed when he had actually verbally abused a kid. Surely this can’t go unchallenged by our clubs hierarchy?
For all we know the paper and club may have already opened discussions on the matter as the story appears to have been removed from their online site but if nothing else happens then how do the rank and file know if any action has taken place? If none is forthcoming then is it any wonder a total boycott of the paper is being muted yet again.
I believe our fans deserve a very public visible defence from our club. We have endured years of attack from others who appear to get off Scott free regardless of the accusations and lies they tell. How long can this continue?
Some of the stories used to attack our club and it’s fans actually grow from seeds planted from within our own support. I recently spent 2-3 days keeping the good name of two Ulster bears out of a newspaper after a fellow bear made outlandish claims via his now disgraced blog. The blog was jumped on by anti Rangers bloggers and ended up on the news desk of a national paper. We really do score own goals at times when we have more than enough attacks from out with.
Surely now is the time for our club to stand up publicly and strongly against the liars who attack us. Surely now is the time to make an example of those who have the largest audiences. Surely to remain dignified in silence has proven unsuccessful for too long.
To defend our club is not a crime it is a simple human right. News outlets should think twice before writing a negative story but when it’s easier to let the story run then deal with it in hindsight then that’s what they will do. Remember the cup final?
Pick three of the worst culprits with the largest audiences and hold them to task. Outlets would think twice if they knew they would be held accountable for inaccuracies.
There’s enough true stories out there to report on and if some of them are bad news then so be it but the nonsensical ones really should be challenged.
Bloggers and Internet sites should not be exempt from accountability as in these days of journalists being made redundant and less time spent on investigative stories, these bloggers become sources for the main stream media as many journalists scour the Internet for their next lead. I know this to be true due to the speed of my own phone ringing after posting stories online in the past.
Treating the issue at source could be the most productive policy.
I’ve laid out my case for the defence and I know I’m not alone in my view as more and more prominent fans are saying ENOUGH IS ENOUGH to the endless attack from others. If nothing is done to protect our club then the fans will look to other methods to protect our clubs name and standing.
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.
“Bloggers and internet sites should not be exempt from accountability “
I’m glad he feels that way, for when he’s called to court after an outbreak of violence by the support, he could ask for this statement to be taken into consideration before he’s sentenced..
If nothing is done to protect our club then the fans will look to other methods to protect our clubs name and standing.
He really didn’t think it through, did he ?
The attacks on his club he is referring to might be concerning the plan by Celtics fans to wear hard hats to the hogmanay clash, to mock the state of the ground, or should that be alleged state of the ground ? There must be something wrong if the authorities are in dialogue, but as usual, this concern for safety is seen as just another chance to have a pop at his club.
The kind of sick humour that is apparently beneath the dignity of his own supporters.
Chief Billy, Billy Carson, claimed even Celtic fans think its a bit of a laugh, so I’m sure he’ll be chuckling this morning as the tables are turned, and maybe he could help calm down the Sons of Struth writer, Craig houston, and tell him its only a bit of a lark.
Transfer rumours now, and the name Junior Flores doesn’t seem to be going away, and although it follows the usual pattern of Brendan tried to sign him/signed him when he was at Liverpool/Swansea there might be something in this, but, as the Sun claims, he’s unlikely to go on loan as he’s in the last six months of his contract and you’d think his club, Dortmund, would try to get something for him in January. Even if its only what they’d shelled out for his kit.
Maybe we could save a few quid by shopping in the SPL bargain basement, as there a quite a few out of contract this summer, some of which could do us a turn.
Niall McGinn ? Kenny Miller ? Calum Paterson ? Scott MacDonald ?
No, if Celtic are to win a treble, its important that anyone capable of stopping them is put out of the way, and thats why the club must sign Josh Meekings, who literally stood between the club and a treble two years ago.
Over at Ibrox, Clint Hill and Phillipe Senderos are also out of contract, and along with miller we could maybe make a treble swoop, and then loan them out to , oh wait, no one would want them.
Actually, we could loan them back to “rangers “, which would be a lovely gesture of friendship and not in the least bit humiliating for them, and after all, as Celtic need a strong “rangers ” to practice on before taking on Europes elite, it would do us good.
In fact, we should buy all of their players and loan them back to them. christmas is a time to help lifes less fortunate, and I’m quite sure the Ibrox club would welcome the help.
Ah, Christmas.
If this wee bit of news doesn’t get you feeling rosy inside-ooerr missuss-then you are probably on the wrong site.
Yesterdays picture, taken during the first gulf war,
prompted a flood of excellent entries, but the one that stood out is the winner.. as it combines the horrors of war neatly with the horrors of living in Ayrshire
Are we paddling or are we Saltcoats?
today, we have this…which also warns us of the danger of animals using your car to keep warm during the winter months, and its a timely reminder to just take a few moments to check your own before starting your journey.
By the way, I’d just like to send my best wishes to a few mates who are on a bit of a mission today.
Go on lads, make it happen.