Celtic Diary Thursday December 30: We Know Where We’re Going

There may be a lack of football just now, but there certainly isn’t a lack of chatter.

The mainstream media continue their campaign to Save Another Rangers, as the decision to move the rest of the season back to when there’s a possibility that some of us might see it impacts on the Ibrox club/company with cash being in short supply over there.

At first they wanted to carry on playing without telling anyone why, and their poodles in the media came out with all sorts of nonsense to back them up, but that’s starting to die down now having failed to make any headway.

Or sense.

The plague has made a bit of a comeback and it’s safer to not hang around in pubs, on buses and at football matches until it’s either burnt itself out or at the very least infections are back down to a level that doesn’t threaten to overwhelm emergency services.

No one with even a modicum of sense can deny that, but then again, they haven;t asked anyone with a modicum of sense.

Kris Boyd gave his usual, overvalued, tuppence worth, old news now, but still worth mentioning…

“This decision to postpone the winter break is asking for trouble when it comes to pile-ups. 

“When you take a step back, it just doesn’t make sense to stop during a pandemic when we are allowed to play. 

“Doncaster said there are no free dates for postponed fixtures to be fitted in. 

“So when are we going to squeeze all the games in after the inevitable call-offs in the months to come? Remember, there is already a precedent that the league can’t be extended by more than a few days. 

“Well, what happens if Rangers arrange a tour of Japan like Celtic did back in 2008? 

“Everything coming from the clubs and the SPFL has been about the prospect of fans being back in a few weeks. 

“Does anyone really think there will be significant crowds back in by the middle of January? It’s a ludicrous suggestion. 

“The last short-term circuit breaker from the Scottish Government lasted for months, and the peak of the Omicron wave is predicted for February. 

“I’d be astonished if stadiums were packed after this early three-week break. 

Thats right..he said

it just doesn’t make sense to stop during a pandemic 

I mention it because Boyd’s strings, probably the heavy duty type used to tie boats to the pier, are clearly being pulled by someone else.

He also mentioned that the SPFL, and Neil Doncaster, who has always and will continue to act in the interests of all clubs, should be replaced by a single commisioner, who could act regardless of what the clubs think.

There should be someone, just one person, in charge to make the big decisions for the greater good.  

Derek Johnstone, another chunky vacuum , said on Radio Clyde that he thought that man  should be Campbell Ogilvie, the former Rangers former director who had a novel and refreshing outlook on sporting integrity , honesty and transparency.

That’s clearly the plan from an ibrox point of view, to get their man in charge of things, but cleverly what they did was to get tweedle dum and tweedle dumber to put the idea out there first, so that if it didn’t gain any traction then they could distance themselves from it quite easily.

Since you won’t read it anywhere else, it’s worth reminding ourselves that Mike Ashley has won his most recent court case, and that alone will cost the club/company millions.

What has gone largely unnoticed is that he’s made a claim for lost earnings as a result of a breach of contract. And he’s winning.

Two other firms who also lost money due to Ashley reminding “rangers ” about his agreement are waiting in the wings so that they can sue for lost earnings and breach of contract, and those cases won’t take anywhere near as long as the Ashley one….

For any business losing a million or so pounds a month before any of this, the race is on to sell players before they go under, as they then won’t be able to sell them.

That Champions League money isn;t looking like it’s going to cover the waterfront any more, but there is the legends game to look forward to …and pay in advance for.

To celebrate 150 years of the combined entities existence, there’s a legends weekend in March, and they’re hoping to raise enough in time from advance sales to cover this months wages, or it’s more loans to equity time again.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, manager ange Postecoglou continues to cement his position as master of all things football.

With League cup final celebrations causing one or two, er, medical issues at the club and leading to a depleted squad facing St Johnstone, he was, shall we say, not best pleased, and his position at the club was not the only thing cemented when he found out.

Indeed, the most common phrase recently around the ground hasn’t been Merry christmas, but “fuck me he’s got a temper ” as a number of players, including one or two who ought to have known better had their baws booted , for want of a better phrase.

It;s not difficult to work out who they are, but wings have been clipped and tails will no longer wag dogs.

And Vasilis Barkas showed the boss that he can catch a ball, control it with his feet, and even start attacks, which might well have one player thinking about his professionalism, whilst at least another one has been reminded that armbands can come and go…

The manager didn’t calm down for days, we’re told and that was evident when he called a reporter “mate “, something Australians call someone who isn’t their mate , usually just before they punch them.

Interestingly, Ange also said that Michael Nicholson was a great guy and a pleasure to work with.

He stopped short of calling him “mate “, but the warning was there….

And it seems that the first new face of the window is now a done deal, with several Japanese sources reporting the intial loan with an option to buy deal for Daizen Maeda, which is another break from tradition in that the window isn’t open yet.

The manager said weeks ago that he was working on additions, and this proves he wasn’t telling fibbers.

All in all, we can;t grumble about where we are.

We’ve won a trophy, the other two are still very much in our own hands, and whilst there has been a problem with injuries, largely down to players suddenly finding that their employment terms and condtions include the words full time, and training is now a fundamental requirement as opposed to an optional extra, the players who we may have felt had reached the end of the road have grabbed their opportunities with both hands, except, of course, Barkas, who used his feet.

Nir Biton and Tom Rogic have excelled under the new manager, and despite what our own Kris Boyd, Frank McAvennie thinks, if indeed he thinks at all, Tony Ralston has been perhaps the star of the show so far, which is testament to the manager’s ability to manage as well as coach.

And today, there’s news that Chris Jullien might even be back in training soon, if he can get his christmas decorations down without falling over the dog and breaking his leg.

Alright, maybe I’ve taken the optimism too far, but we’re in a good place, and with a manager who knows what he wants and crucially with the strength of personality to see it through, then we may yet have a season to remember.

Nah, we are going to have a season to remember.