Celtic Diary Tuesday January 8

Its January 8 again, and if you can’t trust the author to get the date right, then the little tales and snippets within must also bear little resemblance to the truth. Which is a great get out where lawyers are concerned.

Yesterday, which according to the diary , was also January 8, saw Celtic seal a loan deal, depending on work permits being approved, for the man in the picture Rami Gershon. The deal is initally for six months with an option to make it permanent in the summer.

They say there is no such thing as a second impression, but hopefully he will get a haircut, lose the smile , the man bag and the daft trainers, and start to scare the life out of opposition forwards. Unless he plans to swing the man bag at wingers who beat him for pace, perhaps a wee image makeover wouldn’t go amiss.

Angelo Martins, who is the agent for Braga winger Helder Barbosa, a one time Celtic target, says that ;

“At this moment, the interest from Celtic is still there and is, I think , stronger than before. Helder would be thrilled to go to Celtic, I can assure you.”

Celtic , however, have not returned the enthusiasm. A source close to the club-he lives on London road and reads forums, says :

“No it isn’t, and I don’t care how thrilled he’d be.”

Another link that has been rubbished by the club is the interest in Leeds defender Tom Lees. According to the Yorkshire Post, a source close to Celtic-he has been busy-claims Celtic are not interested.

Dedryck Boyata, a centre back/right back who isn’t likely to force his way into Manchester Citys’ first team any time soon is the latest non story. Although the 6 foot 2 Belgian does look the part, there has been no quote from our source, who is looking on wikipaedia because he has never heard of him.

No sign of a man bag either.

Liam Kelly, the Kilmarnock midfielder is wanted by Bristol City, which may mean he is out of our price range,

One story that caught my eye was John Hartson, the eagle eyed former Celt who spotted the Dens Park riot from hundreds of miles away, talking in his role as assistant Wales manager and claiming that Aaron Ramsay could do with a loan spell away from Arsenal. After breaking his leg against Stoke City, the winger has been unable to force his way back into the Arsenal team….

Could Hartson be trying to make up for his controversial comments in the sun which prompted the mass burning of books and DVDs about the former favourite?

We asked our source, but he hasn’t stopped laughing yet. He did say that the Mladen Petric story is guff, but there could be a move for Maor Mellikson again, the Wisla Krakow striker, and still a club whose name cannot be written without getting a cold shiver down the spine, remembering the European exit to them years ago.

Someone who is joining Celtic is Berwick physio Jamie Dougal, who left the Shielfield club to start work at the Celtic Academy, working with the youngsters. One of his first tasks will be to fly out to Dubai to attend a training camp. Because thats where these things take place, which is worth remembering the next time you renew your season book.

Elsewhere, David Longmuir, the current chief of the Scottish Football League, has commented on the new 12-12-18 set up, and how it would affect hard done to minnows New Rangers;

“This isn’t about one club. This is about whats best for Scottish football. People are getting ahead of themselves a little bit because no decisions have been taken with regards to how the new leagues would be set up. But if you look at the league tables today it doesn’t take much imagination to work out how to make it happen.”

Which, of course is handy, with imagination not being a strong point of those in Scottish footballs higher echelons.

He goes on;

“Yes, that might be disappointing for some clubs in the second and third divisions if it was to work out that way, but then we are talking about the long term good of the game here. If change is going to happen then there would have to be one season when adjustments would have to be made.”

He then made his excuses and left the interview, donning a big duffle coat and dark glasses.

That means that Rangers could win Division 3-and be promoted to division 3, which is a shame.

The new clubs free scoring forward Lee McCulloch has urged former players Kenny Miller, Kris boyd and Steven Smith to join the Ibrox revolution-even though they can’t , and has hinted that John Greig, Willie Henderson and Derek Johnstone could also be on their way back….

One bit of news that makes me feel a little uncomfortable and dismayed is the story that Terry Butcher has been approached by Barnsley, and has been given permission by the Highlanders to speak to the bottom placed championship club.

Butcher has done very well at ICT, but its a bit of a kick in the teeth if he leaves the second place Scottish side to go to the fortieth placed English one. The big Englishman actually comes across as likeable, and it would be a shame to see him go.

No-one guessed the publication asked about in yesterdays diary. It was , in fact the Celtic panini sticker album, which was free with the record just after Barnes and Dalglish began their brief stay at the club.

Some of the blurb written about some of the players by the Pravda inspired writer is hilarious. for instance, which player  is he writing about here?

“His skills and trickery are sure to make him popular with supporters.”

Elsewhere, Lionel Messi has lifted the Ballon d’Or for the fourth successive time, as the selection panel overlooked his failuer to inspire his team to a win at Celtic Park. his delight in winning was shared by Real Madrids Christian Ronaldo, who had thought he was in with a shout of winning himself.

Also announced was the winner of “Coach of the Year”, which went to Chelsea for the one they parked in front of the goals against Bayern  and Barcelona in last seasons  Champions League.