Friday night football, which frees us all up to help the wife with whatever women do at weekends finally gets its grip on Celtic on this historic date.
Television had secured the soul of the beautiful game long before this, but it still seems fundamentally wrong to play a game on a Friday. Like snow in July.
After Celtic put on the performance of the season at Tynecastle last week, cruising to a 7-0 win over Hearts and playing the game as it ought to be played, Virgil van Dijk is looking forward to a repeat;
“It was a good result, of course, and we were very happy to go through to the next round so it was a good day,” van Dijk said of the Hearts win.
“In every game we want to play like that and win the game like that, but every game is different.”
And they don’t come any more different than Motherwell at Fir Park.
Stuart McCall side will be hurting after they were knocked out of the Cup by a team other than Second Rangers, when Albion Rovers put them to the sword last week. They will be out for revenge, and if you consider that their usual tactic is to kick anything that moves, and if its not moving kick it until it does, then Celtic will need to be on their toes.
Neil Lennon has decided to introduce another new strip for this game, which makes good marketing sense just before Christmas, and the players will be attired this this rather fetching little number
The game starts at 7.45, and is live on BT Sports – the BT in this instance standing for Bruised Torso, as Adam Matthews will testify.
Celtic will be without Tom Rogic, Adam Matthews, Beram Kayal, Steven Mouyokolo and James Forrest, while Nir Biton and Georgios Samaras have come down with a virus, which makes them doubtful.
Steven Maclean is tonights referee, which means that the unbeaten run will be just that little bit harder to prolong, esoecially as manager Neil Lennon didn’t endear himself to the refereeing community yesterday either.
Stuart Dougal, a shy retiring ex ref who doesn’t want to be in the news, has called for the men in the middle to consider industrial action after Dundee Utds Nadir Ciftci wasn’t given a life sentence with no remission for his attack on a referee.
The refs don’t want to go down this line-mainly because the replacements from Europe last time round showed then up to be a little more incompetent than they would have liked- but they are annoyed that Ciftci only received a two match ban.
Of course, you will remember the outrage from Dougal when Madjid Bougherra carried out his assault , which resulted in the Algerian being sent to his bed early without any tv, and Lennon has made a point of the double standards that the masons , sorry, men in the middle employ.
The Celtic boss took Dougal to task over his call to arms and insisted referees cannot speak out only when it suits their agenda.
He said: “Managers would love that but then referees leave themselves open to a lot of criticism.
“I understand why they don’t do that because (referees’ boss) John Fleming wants them protected. That’s fine by me but they can’t have it both ways.
“When things don’t go for them, they can’t say we want our side to be heard. But then, when managers want an explanation, things are not forthcoming.”
Asked about Dougal’s strike call, he said: “It would be a bit over the top to go on strike, a bit extreme to do that.
“Maybe some people felt the suspension was lenient but you have to take each case on its own merits.
“You can’t lay a hand on officials. They are there to be respected and protected and maybe they think the ban is unjust.
“But I’m sure there are other ways for them to make their feelings known rather than going on strike.
“It wouldn’t be good for the game. Two or three years ago they were upset about a lot of things. It caused chaos last time and in this case it would be way over the top.”
” And they are a bunch of cheats ” he didn’t add. I put that bit on.
So, I’m off to the bookies to place a bet on a couple of Motherwell penalties tonight, and a booking for at least five Celtic players.
Hopefully, though, the standard of football will be similar to last week, and it won’t matter what the referee does, and another big win would offset the miseries of the weekend ahead, which looks like consisting of trudging round shops to buy presents for people that I don’t know, with money that I haven’t got,who don’t want them anyway.
I’m getting a new Christmas jumper, which says “Ho, ho, fucking ho ” on the front.
Friday used to be rumour mill day on Etims, and with our usual source now allowed back into the community, theres one or two things we can share with you, if only because theres nothing else to talk about today.
Aaron Taylor Sinclair looks like he’ll be moving across Glasgow to cover for Emilio Izzaguerre at left back, £75,000 has been mentioned, and Jags boss Alan Archibald says he isn’t staying at Firhill.
Hiroki Yamada , a Japanese playmaker who has just broken into the national team, should arrive on trial at Lennoxtown. Thats according to the Herald, and the name Valmir Beresha keeps cropping up.
Who ?
The Swede who just scored seven goals in seven games in the Under 17 world Cup, thats who.
According to Sky Sports, Sunderland, Tottenham, Celtic, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Villareal, Sevilla, Inter Milan Juventus and Liverpool-who are favourites to get him-are all after his signature.
Yet the lad wants first team football. So, which of the above clubs is he more likely to get that with, and which of them offers champions League football as well ?
Its about time we had another prolific Swedish striker, and even as we speak, Mikael Lustig and Johann Mjallby have added him to their facebook list.
Meanwhile, as the AGM over at Ibrox draws near, someone who has been following the events there has hinted that there may be a touch of Queens evidence being prepared.
Barcabhoy, who tends to be right about these things, posted this on Kerrydale Street yesterday. ( The forum, not the little road next to the ground, That would have been silly. Theres no game till next week. Unless they move that one as well. )
” Tis the season to be thinking about whether you can trust your former partners in crime….
As Flo-rida says
“Can you blow my whistle baby, whistle baby
Let me know
Girl I’m gonna show you how to do it
And we start real slow
You just put your lips together
And you come real close
Can you blow my whistle baby, whistle baby
Here we go ”
There are 2 types of whistleblowers.
The first type are the ones who have been outraged by the actions of their peers or governments. Clive Ponting, Mordechai Vananunu, Harry Markopolos, Bradley Manning and Edward Snowden are all well known examples. Agree or disagree with their motives, they felt a need to make public what was being hidden. Their crime, in legal terms, was to breach their contracts or a confidentiality agreement.
I’m sure we can all think of information which was important in the context of Scottish Football , which would have remained hidden from public scrutiny if it wasn’t for the actions of individuals who took some risks to expose cheating, corruption and worse.
The second type of whistleblower is the guy who has been waist deep in dodgy dealings . He has either been the leader of immoral and/or illegal activities, or he has been a significant cog in the wheel . Important enough to be able to prove a case that would bring jail sentences and the destruction of reputations.
Barclays Bank just saved themselves £hundreds of millions by turning in their accomplices in crime. They probably felt it was only a matter of time before the truth came out, and best to be outside the tent p*ssing in rather inside the tent being p*ssed on.
Sammy the Bull Gravano, was guilty as sin. He was complicit in just about every crime John Gotti committed. He cut a deal, he effectively got a slap on the wrist for nailing Gotti.
Why did he do it ? Simple really , he realised Gotti was about to turn him in . He was going to be traded for a lighter sentence for Gotti. The instinct for self preservation is usually stronger than the instinct for loyalty.
The UTT will be sitting down early next year, late January, to determine whether MIH ran a tax scam. The Aberdeen Asset judgement must have sent a shiver down the spine of those at the heart of this . What is absolutely certain is all concerned will be considering their options.
Will The Rangers Gotti sell his foot soldiers down the river. Will The blue nosed Sammy the Bull get in first and save his own neck. Will anyone from the various lawyers , accountants, tax advisers and journalists have a crisis of conscience and feel compelled to expose the bad guys.
The question they all have to ask themselves is self preservation or loyalty to someone who may be preparing to save his own skin by setting them up to take the fall, worth the risk.
Et Tu Brute
“He that has eyes to see and ears to hear may convince himself that no mortal can keep a secret. If his lips are silent, he chatters with his fingertips; betrayal oozes out of him at every pore.”
Sigmund Freud ”
The implication being that one of those involved in the biggest scandal in sporting history might be about to break ranks and spill the beans.
Thing is, after thinking about it, who is sleekit enough to dump on their friends and save their own skin from that lot ?
Hang on, perhaps it would be easier, and quicker to ask, who isn’t ? You wouldn’t want to be in court with any of them.
Brian McClair, recently elevated to legendary status amongst the Celtic support after this story from Gorbalsbhoy yesterday;
” when Brian played for Motherwell, they went to Portadown to play a freindly in the winter of 80 or 81. the card here had been wiped out and the manager, jock wallace(horrible man), arranged the game to keep the squad ticking over.the half time entertainment was an orange band incidentally. anyway, after the game there was food and refreshments provided and the young Motherwell players filled their boots( if you pardon the pun) they were sitting on the bus waiting to depart for Bonnie Scotland, when the manager appeared, ” eh, sorry tae keep yeez laddies but am not travelling back with youz. ah’v got somewhere tae go, so ah’l see youz at the park oan monday”. At that. he turns to walk of the bus and our hero Choccy shouts,” away yae go ya big orange bastard”. Everybody dived under the seats and wallace stopped dead in his tracks, paused for what seemed like an eternity and proceeded to walk off the bus.thats when I found out Brian was a Celtic fan. true story, my brother was sitting beside him when it happened. HH ”
-was the man who was top scorer every season he played in the hoops.
Right, still on a Motherwell theme, whats the connection between this bar
and this flag ?
Finally, yesterday saw the passing of one of the true great statesmen of our time. Nelson Mandela, ( 1918 -1013 ) died at home, and an era has come to a close.
Sepp Blatter has said that there will be a minutes silence at all games this weekend, and I suppose he’s quite relieved there are no Champions League games taking place, as , of course , they would not have been allowed to bring politics into the game.
That Brian McClair story is funniest thing Ive heard since Margaret “Greeting Face” Curran said “Mandela’s legacy is the capacity for people to govern themselves”.
Which for Margaret applies everywhere bar Scotland of course.
RIP Nelson and if you havent seen it, please check out the fitting tribute of CarlJungBhoys Nelson Mandela piece on the site.
Desimond – The man who took the Jung out of the Jungle…
BTW The aforementioned Mandelaa thingee is here. S.trange how The E Tims got the obitiuary out 2 days before his death Mystic E-Megs:-
https://etims.net/?p=4082
ENJOY!
Strange how I made 10 times more typos when I’m sober!
looks like Lenny’s local Lurgan Celtic Supporters Club
Flag is the four provinces of Ireland…not sure about the pub though.
The Four Provinces used to be a bar in Ranelsgh, Dublin but it shut some years ago and is now a Superquinn…
*Ranelagh
Its catching :
http://wingsoverscotland.com/so-blind-that-you-cannot-see/
I heard a similar type of Motherwell related story, apparently, before Stephen Pearson signed for us, there was a phone call in the Pearson Household, the story I heard was as follows, Stephen’s brother:”Dad , David Murray is on the phone, What does he want, He wants to speak to our Stephen Tell him to Fuck Off”
those orange cunt,s with whistles can go on strike permanently
the replacements last time were a breath of fresh air,virtually no mistakes and those that were made were made honestly
That’s got to be Tullys in Motherwell. I think it got outed in the paper as being a republican pub as they had that flag painted on the ceiling
If the Refs do go on strike, will Chick Young still be there to repel the replacements at Glasgow airport?
greenmaestro
Is that C Y the wee Glesga repel – “come all ye wee repels and list while I ming….”
H H
I remember us playing on a Friday night at least once before – in a cup game against Kilmarnock at Hampden (I think it was in our season-long stint in that horrible place). I’m sure it finished 1-0 with a John Collins goal…..I think!!
Think you’re right…was that the night the lights went out at Hampden?
JC scored a penalty as I recall during an era when Celtic getting a penalty was almost unheard of…
PR
“an era when Celtic getting a penalty was almost unheard of…”
That will be 126 years now!
H H
Is that Tullys Bar in Motherwell and Charlie Tully was from
the locale of the flag.
Please send me my £100.00 for guessing correctly
John
Is that place still there? By the way, Charlie must have had long legs to stretch over all the places on that flag(s). If you get the £100, you owe about 10,000 (not an Ibrox estimate) of us from over the years so take a penny and pass the rest on. If you wait for Desi or Ralph to cough up, breath hard and deep ’cause you’ll need to hold it for a long, long time. You might do better with Hector. He’s a nice guy.
H H
Does the UTT look at new evidence, or review evidence submitted to the FTT? I suspect that it’s the latter. Nevertheless, no doubt the liquidators will be happy to hear from some troubled soul seeking a deal 🙂
Tic played a scottish cup replay at mordor on a Friday night against Hibs, beat them 3-0 I think. Can’t remember correctly cause some bastard hit me over the napper with a bottle before the match. Spent a good bit of the game getting treatment.
Ralph
It is indeed a Black Friday. Bucking Tossers have re-scheduled the Slaughter of the Steel Men on the same night as the Vatican has re-scheduled my trial. So, while all you lucky heathens are freezing your butts and bolls off, I will be getting flame tested for the afterlife. If the Big Man is around, and I do not refer to a past manager, I will put in a good word for the team and a bit of fire and brimstone to prevent the supporters goollies petrifying. From all of this you may have guessed I am committed (“am” not “should be”) to a church service tonight (7 – 9.30 20 miles away). Even The Lord is cross (that’s a beauty) about the TV moguls and their schedule shambles.
I predict steel toecaps 0, James Forrest both legs – and he is not even playing, well not with the match balls anyway. Thankfully my kids do not believe in “him” any more so, unlike you (that is as in not like and not don’t like), I do not have “that shopping” any more at the weekend. However, I might be roped into Snow White again this year but I will go to the short version where there is a cave-in at the mine and only grumpy gets out. The kids always want to go home when that happens. You would think they would be over all that emotional stuff and cope with a bit of blood and guts now they are in their forties.
Anyway, where was I going with this? Och aye, Motherwell. There is a good chance I would be out of there quicker than the pictures. Have you seen the Murder-well women? Tarantino has a dating business there so that says it all. On the other hand, if as you say, there is a classic performance of Julius Caesar coming to Govan, I just might wait for the opening in the multi choice cinema at 150 Edmiston Dr. I hear the acoustics are second to none for a good laugh. The big decision is whether or not to go with a knife or to leave it to the performers to do all the stabbing. I believe the new version is called Cast a Dark Shadow. In the final analysis, I might just get in touch with the film editor. I believe his name is Dougal and I am told he is renowned for his judgements during performances, especially his blind eyed ones. So there could certainly be a few “tales of the unexpected” in the South Side Story. That will be music to the ears of many. I expect there will be a good number of scores involved, old ones, no doubt. I could imaging a few C sharps and a lot of cutting edge whistle-blowers getting stuck into a Bach or two.
Finally, those flags are the four provinces of Ireland, Ulster (North), Munster (South), Leinster (East), Connocht (West). I passed through each of them in May this year but sadly never had a drink in that pub – well not one I remember. But, I admit I could have had a “night in the Forrest”. The only difference is, if I dropped anything, I would have had little to show for it.
H H
Who changed Christmas to the 6th December? Everything posted first time. Santy must be doing the site today.
H H
If you see a light, dont go towards it, its my Hannukah candle!
Are you sure it is not Ju Ju?
H H
PB Waadyrmean 6th December? Santa came yesterday in Holland
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/16/Sint-intocht-boot.jpg
Btw.I can highly recommend Twitter for you. Only 140 bytes! 1 sentence. 1 lifetime.
Naw. Only jokin – A bit of variety on here is a good thing
CJB
I hate the way people can put your photo on the net without telling you, especially when you are doing silly things like making your reindeers swim underwater water. I always thought they were high-flying animals myself.
As for twitter, the only thing I know about all that is I do it after a good few whiskeys or during my sleep. My wife, when I let her out of the attic, says it is the only thing that is worse than my dribbling – I was never very good with my feet. Thanks for the advice but I think I will just remain a twit and keep away from the “er” stuff.
Great stuff on the Dam fiasco, by the way. continue drinking and keep us informed.
H H
Sorry, I have no pictures of “underwater water” but I can assure you it is great for swim when you have a few beers in you.
H H
Ralph,
Tullys is closed it’s now the windmill tavern.
Cheers
Cheers to you too, JF. I know that one though I have not imbibed there – well not that I remember. I doubt I will now as Newcastle is a bit far to walk to even when you have had a few.
H H
Yamada looks like he has a bit of skill and an eye foe a good pass or shot from deep.
Potential No10 perhaps?
stop moanin’ aboot rangers/sevco, masons and ra munkeemen,the gemme in haggisland is fecked aw’ because of ra PEEPEL,YOU KEN IT AND SO DAE THE UNWASHED O’ IBROX,WHEN YE GAN TAE WATCH THE GEMME YUR JIST TOSSIN’ YER DOSH DOON RA LAVVYPAN,dae sumhin’ guid wae yer cash ,fee it tae ra sally anne,and get aff ma’ back about referees inat nuff said ken
The referee in Motherwell is a disgrace..big bonus on its way no doubt
now thats football like it should be played bring on barca
every time i look at lenny he looks more like the big man next year we will win the champions league mark my words i can fee4l it
my wife says ime drunk
Brian McClair and his missus Moreene came up to the highlands for our POY Dinner Dance and paid the bill for his hotel before he left. True Gent, Scholar and 100% Tim