Celtic Diary Tuesday November 19

Thats an orange top. Well, I suppose theres a lot of people out there looking for a new favourite team who might go for that sort of thing.

This international week is starting to get to me. I found myself watching that celebrity in the jungle thing last night, which reminded me of when I met one of the presenters, Dec. I asked him if he ever ate stuff like cockroaches, and he said no, but he had tasted ant once or twice.

Scotland have recalled Kris Boyd to the fray for tonights game against Norway, and Scott Brown is glad to see him back.

“The first thing he did was put the ball in the top corner. As soon as he did that I thought to myself, ‘Boydie’s back.’ He’s as good a finisher as I’ve played with. ”

It got more difficult for Boyd when the rest of the players joined him on the pitch, but Brown will have upset his fellow strikers at Celtic with claims like that. On second thoughts, perhaps the fat monster munch fan is one of the best finishers he has played with.

Brown continued to wax lyrical about Boyd;

“When we played against Killie, Boydie worked his socks off.

“That’s why the gaffer has rewarded him with the call-up.

“We work hard as a team and you don’t just want one guy standing up front. Boydie has been working really hard – he looks slim and fit.

“Some people said he didn’t work hard enough in the past but he has scored 300-odd goals in his career. I think he’s doing not too badly. He brings a lot of banter and has experience.

“Kris holds the ball up well. He has strength, keeps the ball and is relaxed in possession. He has played in big games before and done that.

“He could work with anyone but Kris and Steven Naismith had a good partnership at Killie and Rangers.

“You also have guys such as Robert Snodgrass who can play in about him so we do have options.

“Boydie is a big-name player and I was surprised nobody else came in for him in the summer. ”

I wasn’t.

Peter Lawwell has tried to defend the clubs shameful policy of not paying a living wage. Lawwell, pictured below, was speaking after an internal wage review

“It was very emotional and you have to respect the points of view but it is a very complicated issue. What I can say is this club is a first-class employer. We look after our people and their well-being, I don’t think there would be any club or company in Britain that would look after them better.

“They are satisfied, we had a staff survey last year which showed that. The majority of staff who fall into that (living wage) category are on match-day, so it is second incomes for people, who top-up in stewarding and catering on a Saturday.

“It is an established payment structure which is independent to anybody, and we have to be in control of our business.”

People take a second income because they have to. Usually so the kids can go to school in shoes that don’t have a hole in them.

What is interesting is that he claims the majority of those concerned are “top up ” staff.  What about the others ?

For the sake of what it would cost to implement the living wage, Lawwell is missing an own goal here. The publicity, the feel good factor within the staff, and most of all, the adherence to the clubs own ethos, would score a massive public relations victory, and buy the sort of headlines that would only result in increased sponsorship and media deals.

In fact, it would probably pay for itself.

Its not too late to change your mind Peter.

Now, the Diary has gone on about this issue for a few days, and thats because there is a passionate belief in the idea. Even Hugh Keevins described it as not nice, not paying a living wage, in fact he added that it was the same as running away from your debts !

Steady on , Hugh. It isn’t even remotely the same thing. And I don’t think I even have to explain why. Then again, you have said that you are not a financial journalist, and have no expertise in that field.  Fair enough, although I do feel there is perhaps one word too many in that sentence.

Fraser Forster will be back on the bench for Englands game against Germany, which means Joe Hart gets a chance to prove he is the best option for his country.

Harts nerve has clearly gone, and Forster will start to feature more often in internationals as the World Cup approaches, but best of all, we can get back to laughing at the English when they take a tanking.

That game was one of my favourites, especially when it went to a ” put your finger in your ear ” shoot out, and England lost.

Back to goalkeepers, Celtic are believed to be monitoring David Forde, Millwalls Irish international keper, who is 33 and out of contract soon. I wouldn’t be taking this one too seriously. Which more or less guarantees him a move to Celtic.

Craig Levein has turned down the chance to be boss at Inverness, which is good news for Inverness fans. The former Scotland boss was concerned at the effect it would have on his benefits. Inverness fans were concerned at the effect he would have on their team.

The new stadium built for the World Cup in Qatar 2022 has drawn criticism from observers who have said that it looks like a vagina.

No, thats a fanny.

The architects said that the design of the Al Wakrah stadium was inspired by the flowing shape of a dhow, a traditional sailing vessel used by pearl divers and fishermen in the region for centuries.

Are there any other stadiums that can be linked to marine vessels throughout  history, however loosely ?

I suppose there must be.

Gary Hooper  created a unique scoring record when he scored against West Ham the other day. It means the former Celt has scored at every level in England, and in every competition north and south of the border, as well as both European competitions. Thats worthy of a round of applause and even capital letters. Heres how he did it.

PREMIER LEAGUE

Norwich City – 7 matches, 1 goal

LEAGUE CUP

Norwich City – 2 matches, 2 goals

Southend United – 6 matches, 2 goals

Scunthorpe United – 4 matches, 1 goal

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Celtic – 7 matches, 2 goals

(plus 6 matches, 3 goals in qualification rounds)

UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE

Celtic – 6 matches, 2 goals

SCOTTISH PREMIERSHIP

Celtic – 95 matches, 63 goals

SCOTTISH FA CUP

Celtic – 13 matches, 3 goals

SCOTTISH LEAGUE CUP

Celtic – 11 matches, 9 goals

CHAMPIONSHIP

Scunthorpe United – 35 matches, 19 goals

LEAGUE ONE

Scunthorpe United – 47 matches, 24 goals

Southend United – 13 matches, 2 goals

Leyton Orient (Loan) – 4 matches, 2 goals

LEAGUE TWO

Hereford United (Loan) – 19 matches, 11 goals

FA CUP

Scunthorpe United – 3 matches, 2 goals

FOOTBALL LEAGUE TROPHY

Scunthorpe United – 5 matches, 2 goals

CONFERENCE PREMIER

Grays – 40 matches, 8 goals

CONFERENCE SOUTH

Grays – 29 matches, 12 goals

TOTAL

170 goals

You can only wish him well. Or bring him home.

Speaking of strikers, we can exclusively reveal that Celtic have their eye on this youngster, who has a special , crowd pleasing talent;

spectators-laugh-footballer-astonishing-miss-091846965–sow

A customer has had his money back after he spotted no fewer than forty five factual errors in the latest Alex Ferguson biography. The book, which adds on a dozen pages every time you think you’ve nearly finished it, is full of factual errors, such as wrong dates, wrong players and so on.

Not surprising really, when you consider Ferguson has always had his own , unique view on the game.

” In England, it’s a rare thing to see a player smoking but, all in all, I prefer that to an alcoholic. The relationship with alcohol is a real problem in English football and, in the short term, it’s much more harmful to a sportsman. It weakens the body, which becomes more susceptible to injury. ”

I tried to speak to the United youth team player, but he wasn’t allowed to comment

I couldn’t find the great mans  book on amazon. Is this it ?

Yesterday was indeed the famous ten men win the league game against Rangers in 1979. A strike amongst journalists meant the game didn’t get any tv coverage.

However, this one-and a couple of others one summers day a few years later  did.

What game is this, and why was it significant ?