With real football still a couple of weeks away, though there is a behind closed doors friendly with Rennes on Decmeber 10, addicts were forced to endure the World Cup once more, with Japan and Croatia facing off in a last 16 tie.
It went to penalties, or as they are known in Japan, passbacks, with the Europeans triumphing in the least exciting shoot out in football history.
The enduring image though, was this one….
Josip Juranovic comforting Daezen Maeda after the game….this group of players we have now genuinely seem to look out for each other, and although Juranovic may not be around for too long, one wonders if he is having second thoughts.
During international breaks, players talk. Maybe he has seen that the grass is greenest where he is….
Maeda was the star of the show for Japan, simply by doing what he does every wek for Celtic. He puts me in mind of Frank McGarvey, the bendy wee man who did so much work that his partners George McCluskey and latterly Charlie Nicholas had the freedom to score as many as they did.
McGarvey and Maeda share the same work ethic, and also the same lack of recognition for what they actually do on the park.
There was an added bonus to the second world cup game yesterday, when the sound went off during Brazil and South Korea.
That meant we didn’t have to listen to the commentators dribble, and hopefully it will catch on.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Geirgios Giakoumakis, as expected, arrived back, read the papers and promptly told everyone he was happy where he was. Talks over a new, improved deal will apparently resume and everyone is confident of an agreement,
Manager Postecoglou dealt with the issue in his usual way, which suggested he wasn’t concerned either;
“I don’t have those kind of discussions and what I deal with is what I see every day. How a player trains and presents himself here, that is what I deal with. If I see there is any shift there or people are unhappy, or have some issues, I’ll deal with it.
“Right now, all I see is the players here training and committed to us as a football club. That is all that concerns me. Beyond that, with their contracts, they have representatives who look after them. If there are any issues, they’ll come across my desk. But that is in the background. What’s more important to me is what I see everyday. If I am happy with it, all good, if not I’ll deal with it then.”
At a later, unspecified date…..which comes as no surprise since there weren’t really any talks, and he still has the bulk of his current contract ahead of him.
It’s not clear who is to blame for the ,er, misunderstanding, but when you consider the usual narrative in the media, it’s not difficult.
Put simply, the enthusiasm and expectation trumpeted by a fawning media over the appointment of Mick Beale, that’s his name, not his nationality, has failed to prompt a reaction from Celtic, and in particular Ange Postecoglou, who when asked about it, replied that he was more worried about what he was having for dinner.
They haven’t got round to slating him for being disrespectful, but then again, they dont want to get into a battle of wits with him, because they aren’t equipped for it.
That’s why they are trying to unsettle the players , or push the fans into debating players commitment, as they did with the big greek forward.
It almost worked, with some fans berating the player on social media, and others discussing life after he had left, which is what the hacks wanted.
No doubt Maeda will be the next to be tempted by big bucks, now that he’s been noticed.
At least, as far as the media are concerned…..
There may be a wider issue here, and it’s something that is certainly worth considering. Are agents worried their main income stream is about to go arse over elbow? Will they try to unsettle players ?
In England, two of their biggest clubs are up for sale, Manchester United and Liverpool, and one wonders if this is because the bubble may be about to burst.
TV subscriptions are expensive, and there are a few of them about.
Going to the football, for the core supporter, is now prohibitively expensive , and any EPL game has now become an almost tourist event, with mobile phones replacing scarves, which themselves tend not to be the ones handed down through generations.
Money is tight, and with UEFA now also watching finances with a keener eye, perhaps the new breed of owners have decided it’s time to move on to other adventures.
Things are changing in the subscription tv industry, with even Netflix now offering a cheaper deal, featuring adverts.
Football will suffer as well, and fortunately , the genius of Neil Doncaster and his negotiating skills mean that it won;t be a big blow to Celtic, which is a blessing.
In the meantime, we’re stuck with our media praising the new messiah who is presumably about to part the River Clyde and storm Celtic Park with his followers, which will take their mind off their AGM, and that bubble won’t burst until they actually play a game.
Like it usually does.
And now, the Etims
a little earlier than usual, but this is spectacular knobbery, and deserves immediate recognition….
https://twitter.com/i/status/1599482502032158721
An embarassing leap from Harry Kane, who has never won anything in his career, showing why he’ll never win any admirers either….
Congratualtions to him, at least he’ll win one trophy this season. Co-incidentally, one in his own image.
And now, this…. what’s going on here ?
Don’t you dare take a shit there!!!
Juranovic may or may not change his mind……..Lawwell won’t tho.
Monti, I’m very glad to see you come back on here more often.
You always offered more than most. For me? Jist the god thing.
A PS thing, and I really do care, are you still in touch with Mike? Is he okay?
How’s Peas’n gaun? (rhyming slang)
Ah well, some hit the target, some miss…..
Rather Monti’s ‘God Bless The Pope’ than your ‘F*ck The Pope’ outbursts every time you’re pissed.
Caption: Dr Henderson telling Mr Bellingham to get in position for his prostate exam
“Or as it’s known in Japan, pass back.” Priceless.
Caption: get out out and get it in here
“In England, two of their biggest clubs are up for sale, Manchester United and Liverpool, and one wonders if this is because the bubble may be about to burst.”
I don’t think this is the case.
Instead they’ve seen the unbelievable £4bn sale of a distressed Chelsea and thought, we’re having some of that.
I think Manure have spent £1bn on players since the Glazers took over but the fans are only interested in on-field success, so are revolting (insert joke here).
Despite great success (UCL plus 2 finals, EPL etc) the Liverpool fans attribute that to Klopp, Salah, Van Dijk etc and not the owners.
They always push the owners to do more rather than fawning over them.
“The best we can possibly be” is the mantra and not “oh, look at how good we are”.
A view not shared in the boardroom at Celtic Park and we’re the poorer for it.
The only chat I hear is people dumping sky contracts and getting chipped fire sticks. Where does that leave Sky and BT? Where does it leave the EPL? The English bubble will burst and their league will bankrupt itself as it has I’m Italy and more recently Spain. In lieu of the tinfoil hat brigade who seem to have headed for 5G mast infested pastures new I think the Chinese will hamstring Western media companies (and all the advertisers they host) by providing football streams for pennies. It’s a black ops war and every £50 chipped stick has a chop stick behind it.
I hear the same chat but see no tangible evidence of it ie Sky happily continuing to pay exorbitant sums for EPL.
I think last year they paid over £5bn to extend by 3 years, boosting their share price.
That’s during the pandemic when you’d expect prices to be depressed.
We should also not forget that proportionately more people in Scotland pay for the EPL than in England, so if you’re still getting your non-core market to chip in then you look to still be in fine shape.
The bubble may burst at some stage but doesn’t look likely any time soon and I doubt a few chipped fire sticks will cause it to all come crashing down.
I think you need to seriously consider the cost of living crisis, and it IS a crisis that’s here for a long time, and its effect on TV revenues and hence football which is TV’s top banana. Most folk will prioritise eating and heating over Sky/BT as I most certainly would but I don’t pay for either.
Then there’s their pets’ costs.
Point is, those who friar tucked football by stealing it from the average working man will see BIG changes to their monarchy-style lives and HELL MEND THEM. But of course there is no “HELL” to mend them. Me? I just hope they wither and die slowly.
Life-long thieves, cheats and liars will have no sympathy from me. And IMHO that’s fair.
Ralph, great Diary with many positives. When I now think Big Ange I FEEL he’s inseperable from Big Jock. They’re (were) full of intelligence, decency and ability and they play with “stenographers” (as PMGB calls them) to enthral us all.
On Lawwell? I’m keeping quiet for now as my views on him have been aired on here for almost a decade. I’m just checking……
Your thinking mirrors mine but crucially we’re not Sky subscribers and, even if we were, we’d consider it an easily dispensed with luxury.
I don’t think this reflects the views of subscribers who would consider it a household necessity eg save on trips to cinema, pub and something for the family, kids etc.
During the pandemic at times there was less/no football when people were laid off or on short-term working and they seemed to have weathered that and recovered temp lost subscribers.
I can’t see it coming crashing down any time soon and long before the cash cow of the EPL goes down the plughole (taking Sky with it) the SPL will be severely impacted and Maxwell, Doncaster, Lawwell won’t have a clue what to do.
Caption: Allowed after a VAR review as the ball hadn’t completely crossed the line.
Caption; next round we get knocked out by the French…viva!!
Cheatin Kanes fav trick is to grab the defender just as a corner/free kick is hit but not to push defender away to pull him towards Kane…Kane then falls over with defender over the top of him but trying to unlock Kanes grip on him…daft ref gives pen.
Very clever but def cheatin knob.
Award well deserved.
Your spelling is wrong on your shirt bellend
Everybody do the Barisic
Hey Jude
you’re waiting for someone to perform with
Caption: “You lyin’ twat, bell-end, you said it could reach the goal-post from there!”
Just to say, regardless of ‘ups and downs’, this is my favourite Tim site.
On some issues, like Lawwell, there’s a need for a unification of ALL Tim sites. FFS, is that not so FN obvious? TO STOP HIM (AND) DESMOND IN THEIR TRACKS? O** F*** revitalised?
Anyway, celebrate this with me please: Liz and I were watching (our grandson) Sam’s team on Monday night. It wiz FN freezin’ but the surface, a new, long-cut version of artificial grass was a brilliant surface to play on.
Point is, Sam scored the 1st headed goal for his team in 3 years. Magic doesn’t happen often, so you’re lucky to be there. We were. We were lucky, and we realise that…….in the blink of an eye……
.
I concur.
Caption
Mickey Beale is looking for the Bellend
McBeal … Can we no just call him Ally#2
McBealin
Caption: I need a shite! Can I wipe your arse can I can I?
Just watched Josip Juranovic double his market value with an
absolute stand out performance today for Croatia.
All them hacks trying to unsettle him with their made-up reports
will now be sh1tting themselves and moaning “what have we done?”
If he goes, it’ll be for a record transfer fee, especially if it’s to the EPL.
Meanwhile *rangers are linked with a free transfer to cheer up their
easily led fans.
He played really well. May be the furthest in a World Cup a Celtic player has been when playing for Celtic. If he stays with us we have a standout player if he leaves we get a massive transfer fee. Hope he stays
£10m is the most quoted price and anymore would appear to be down to a bidding war breaking out.
It doesn’t seem a lot but he’s 27, so probably last big move and little resale value, different from VVD, Vicktor and Tierney, who were a long younger and would have future big moves eg Virgil.
It also doesn’t help that Scotland has a poor reputation, so we don’t get a premium on sales that the likes of Portugal and Netherlands get.
One thing I noticed is that he has a terrific long throw, which I’ve never noticed for us, mind you with our mighty midgets, that’s hardly surprising. 🙂
Let’s hope he gets to/wins the Final and that two or three EPL teams
compete for him…they’ve paid tens of millions for players who were not
particularly eye-catching.
I agree it would be to our advantage if he was a few years younger, but at least
the thought of Celtic getting more millions will sicken the media.
Also Celtic are going to receive quite a nice wee bonus from FIFA the further
he gets in the World Cup. Not to be sniffed at.
I’ve noticed the long throw as well. Why not use it more often – it’s as good as a corner from some positions?
Today I feel myself!
Rather you than me Port lol
In some countries you can be arrested for that.