Celtic Diary Thursday January 23

Neil Lennon is looking at Yann Kermorgant of Charlton, which explains his jaunt down there the other day. Thats according to an Addicks website, who say the striker is out of contract in six months and would be relatively cheap.

Relatively cheap. Thats our signing motto these days.

Or is it ? Jordan Rhodes was in Hamilton yesterday, allegedly, and if that doesn’t start tongues wagging, nothing will.

Kermorgant scored twice in Charltons 3-0 over Oxford, and might not be a bad move, but he is not what we need.

The Evening Times reckons it was defender Michael Morrison who was being scouted, and he,  too, is out of contract in June. Personally, neither set the pulse racing, but as long as we don’t sign their contracts manager I’m not bothered.

And then theres Lee Tomlin, who was watched again this week;

‘Celtic were at our game last night but I haven’t heard anything from them since the bids we got on transfer deadline day in August,’ said manager Barry Fry. ‘The lad really wanted to go and we feel guilty because we are not a club, as a rule, which holds players back.

‘If that deal we rejected from Celtic in August was put to us now we could perhaps have a better view of it and take Lee’s wishes into consideration.’

Swansea have lost interest in Rhys Williams, but thats probably because West Ham have upped theirs.

Reports in Sweden claim Elfsborg’s 16-year-old striker, Tshutshu Tshakasua, is on his way to Parkhead after impressing in a trial in November. He’s only young, and quite some way away from the first team, which is fortunate because if he does well we really are going to struggle with a song for him.

Michael McGurk has been invited to train with Celtic after winning his most recent fight in just 21 seconds. Presumably his opponent will now have to take a couple of days off school to recover.

Thats right, he’s a boxer-and a Celtic fan. He said;

“Neil Lennon told me he’d been impressed and that I could come to Celtic Park and train with them. I’m a Celtic fan and something like that is a great confidence booster for me to keep working hard.”

We could maybe get him to work with some of our players and toughen them up.  A wee sly jab now and then never hurt anyone.

As the press continue the Scottish football is dead campaign, with no competition being offered to a dominant Celtic, Hibs boss Terry Butcher has a different take on it as he prepares his team for the visit of the champions this weekend;

Butcher said: “Every club is striving to beat Celtic this season. We have reached the point where we are asking, ‘Who’s going to be the first to beat them?’

“From Celtic’s point of view it’s a nice pressure. They want teams to come at them so they can then pick them off with the assets they have.

“It’s a free go for us.

“It’s like being at the circus when you swing a mallet onto a button and try to ring the bell with your strength.

“It’s like trying to get a 180 or a bullseye at darts. It’s ‘Roll up, roll up – who’s going to have a go at Celtic and be the first ones to beat them!’

“It’s good for Scottish football, not bad.”

Of course it is, and hopefully it will keep Celtic on their toes and we’ll get one of those performances that makes for great entertainment again.

Butcher continued;

“It’s not a concern that Celtic are so dominant. Yes we want to compete but we don’t have their budget or funds.

“Even when Rangers were in the league, those two were miles ahead of everyone else apart from the odd upset.

“I don’t think it’s bad for the game. It’s still exciting to pit your wits against Celtic.

“The reality is they are so far ahead. In the past we were behind two teams. Now there is one more European place available.

“If Rangers aren’t there for now then the rest have to make hay when the sun shines.

“It’s great when Celtic come to town because you can have a pop at them.

“We play them having lost two games in a row and you could think, ‘Blimey, is this the last team we want to face?’

“But I actually think it’s the best team we can face – you have to tighten up, batten down the hatches and then fight like you have never done before. If you don’t do that then you will get absolutely smashed.

( Are we sure Michael McGurk is training with us, and not Hibs ? )

“I’ve seen them demolish Hearts and other teams but against Hibs it was 1-1 and 1-0.”

Thats exactly what is needed. Someone prepared to talk the game up, rather than run it down. He’d better keep his hand in management for as long as he can, because he sure as hell won’t get a job in the MSM.

Meanwhile, scurrilous little rag Private Eye, which used to be good, has featured Celtic in its “Planet Football section of its “City ” pages;

Now we might shake our heads, and cry foul, but the difference between us and a team that died is that we welcome this sort of investigation, and if anything isn’t 100% above board then those who have been at it can be exposed and dealt with.

Its the last paragraph that is interesting, and if they have withheld information from shareholders, then they should correct that now.

At least with Private Eye , the magazine will publish corrections fairly prominently, so its maybe a good thing that its out in the open, purely so that the claims in the article can be dealt with .

Perhaps surprisingly to some, when the club is made aware of a problem, and the proper facts are in front of the right people, problems can be sorted. The Diary is quick to criticise when someone does something wrong, so accordingly it must be equally prompt in handing out praise.

We were given this picture yesterday of a disabled Motherwell fans view of the game last week from his seat in the away end.

.

A quick exchange on twitter, and John Paul Taylor has promised an apology and a refund. Superb stuff, and a step in the right direction towards better communication between  supporters and the club.

Meanwhile, that has reminded me of the view I had at a game a few years ago, and wonder if I could get a similar response…

I must be due thousands in compensation.

The Celtic Trust held their meeting last night, and judging by comments on twitter, it seemed to have went well. Some decent points raised, and hopefully it will all have been productive.

After all, theres enough people out there who don’t like us without us falling out amongst ourselves.

And heres one-Richard Wilson, the esteemed Herald hack who just refuses to face reality;

( My words are in brackets )

Dave King believes Rangers should be investing in the squad rather than seeking to cut costs.

( so do I lol ! )

The former Ibrox director has expressed his concerns that decisions made in the coming weeks will affect the team’s ability to compete with Celtic when they eventually return to the top flight.

( Return ? )

The Rangers chief executive Graham Wallace is conducting a review of every aspect of Rangers’ business.

( Except travel and hotel costs)

Last week he raised the possibility with the squad of a 15% wage reduction, although the players responded by asking if a similar sacrifice would be made by the club’s executives. By Wallace’s own admission, though, cuts will need to be made to bring the business back on to an even keel, although he has insisted that administration is not a threat.

( Back to an even keel ? Does he mean like it was under David Murray ? Or Craig whyte ? Or Charles Green ? )

King, though, believes that cutting costs now will undermine Rangers’ attempts to restore the club to its previous status. The first-team wage budget is 30% of turnover – significantly less than UEFA’s recommendations – and there is no scouting set-up, following Neil Murray being removed as head scout last year.

( That turnover included two lots of ST money…)

“The CEO has a lot of personal credibility but he is constrained by the funding realities,” said King, a South Africa-based businessman.

( Surely “convicted tax fraudster ” ? )

“I believe the club has to have funders who will invest to ensure that we can compete with Celtic when we get back to the SPFL. Unfortunately, our existing shareholders either don’t have the money or the willingness to support Ally [McCoist, the manager]. With the right shareholder profile we should be investing in the squad not reducing it. We should be supporting Ally 100%.”

( Absolutely ! )

King has previously said he would like to lead a new round of fundraising through a fresh share issue.

( He wants to buy the club using other peoples money ! )

The shareholders would have to reinvest to maintain the relative size of their stake in Rangers International Football Club, so such an initiative would likely change the ownership dynamic. Wallace has said he will address the need for new funding once the business has been streamlined.

( Stream lined ? Surely “bumped ” ? )

King held meetings with Sandy Easdale, the shareholder and member of the Rangers Football Club board, last year in an attempt to broker an agreement that would have allowed him to invest in the club and take up the chairmanship of RIFC plc. He could not reach a compromise deal with the different factions within the shareholder base. He was also keen that Paul Murray should return as a director. Murray was among the four nominees who did not receive enough votes at last December’s annual meeting to be elected on to the board. King believes that as well as supporting McCoist, shareholders ought to have been open to working with Murray. “He is a man that all Rangers’ fans can completely trust,” said King.

( Like wage vacuum Ally McCoist , presumably . )

Meanwhile, Tom English, the Irishman at the Scotsman, has decided to take voluntary redundancy from the paper, and will have a rest from writing. Good luck to him. At least he had a go now and again, and has had the dignity not to take the Sevco route out of journalism like  the once respected James Traynor.

Actually, perhaps “once respected ”  is too many.

Elsewhere, its not getting any better for Davie Moyes, the former Celt now in charge at Manchester Utd. That is if you’re reading this this morning. His side were beaten on penalties by Ki Seung Yeungs Sunderland last night in the English League Cup Semi final-ironically, only Darren Fletcher didn’t shit himself during the shoot out.

We hear that new signing Jaun Mata has already handed in a transfer request, just a day or so after he joined the club for £37m. Apparently, this fee was agreed when Chelsea turned down the original offer of £40m plus Danny Welbeck.

Wayne Rooney has been told that he cannot join one of Uniteds main rivals, ruling out a link up with ex-Celt Gary Hooper at Norwich.

Rudi Vata, Stuart Slater and Andy Payton were the men signed all those years ago with an incredible amount of foresight. It means that we should never moan about anything again.

This Celtic great was born one hundred years and two days Before me. He caused a bit of a rumpus in his day. Who is he, and what did he do ?