Where do you start with all the praise and respect that Celtic have had from the mainstream media this morning, as the news that the title will be staying at Celtic Park starts to sink in amongst those fine gentlemen of the fourth estate ?

With newstands awash with 32 page pullouts, and magazines praising Neil Lennon and his team-one of a handful of teams who have secured their title with an unrelenting consistency that has blown away opponents-there really isn’t anything to add to it.

Oh wait, theres a big thank you from Partick Thistle, for all the money they made on Wednesday night, and for all the exposure their club got on tv.

Partick Thistle Vs Celtic – a club statement

Peter Lawwell has been speaking to the press, and he again looked as though he was on the defensive, yet at the same time you got the feeling he wanted to grab Charles Paterson ( who interviewed him for Sky TV ) by the back of the head and keep banging it on the table until his efforts, and those of everyone involved in winning the league again, were finally recognised.

Peter Lawwell and Celtic have nothing to be defensive about. Its that simple. We won the league, we played some great football, and we’ve a lot to look forward to.

But the papers would have you think differently. We’ll have a look at a couple of them in a minute, but one thing thats worth bearing in mind is that Celtic have a tremendous record this season, one defeat, three draws and so forth, but something which isn’t in the headlines-and its unlikely it will be, is the improvements-statistically-of Aberdeen and Dundee Utd, who have upped their win ratios by around 50%-which is phenomenal. If they continue to improve at the rate they are, then it will be a hell of a lot closer next year, which incidentally, had Celtic not improved their league form, it would have been this year. Anthony Stokes agrees;

“Aberdeen have been very strong and all the teams have been improving, but we just concentrate on ourselves,” the Ireland international said.

“Every year we try to push forward and I think this year in the league we have been outstanding, very consistent, but we were slightly disappointed with the cups and Europe.

“That’s something we need to improve on, but take nothing away from the league form, it has been outstanding.”

Theres an upswing in consistency from a few clubs, but don’t expect to hear it shouted from the roof tops.

Scottish football is coming out of a crisis, which begs the question, why are the media trying to plunge it back into one ?

Chris Jack, of the Evening Times is first;

Lawwell: Celtic stars and boss can rise together

Which sounds optimistic enough. 

PETER LAWWELL is confident Celtic can match the ambitions of manager Neil Lennon and his top stars to keep them at Parkhead.

The Hoops wrapped up their third consecutive title on Wednesday night and speculation has grown that Lennon could look to leave the club to test himself in England.

Its only Friday morning and already the press have him wanting out the door. Its not really speculation, its a kind of wishful thinking. 

But the Parkhead chief executive is eager to hold on to his manager for as long as possible.

Ah, perhaps some quote about Lennon being restless, maybe concerned about wages or conditions ? Or perhaps the direction the club is going in ? 

Er, no;

Lawwell said: “I think one of the consequences of being successful as a club and as a manager is that people notice and ultimately they might court you. There has been nothing, no approaches for Neil as yet.

“He’s a great young manager but Celtic is a big part of Neil Lennon as much as Neil Lennon is a big part of Celtic.

“I am hopeful that Celtic can provide his ambitions and aspirations as a young manager. I haven’t spoken with him about it.

“I think if there was something there that was of interest or current then we probably would, but at the moment we are getting on [with things].

No approaches, no requests for a chat, in fact no indication whatsoever that Lennon might be looking to test himself in England. Lawwell should have asked him where the speculation was coming from. Even though we all know.  

While Lennon may not head for the exit door just now, the champions are likely to have a fight on their hands to hold on to the likes of Fraser Forster and Virgil van Dijk after impressive seasons.

“Just now ” ! So, having been dismissed with one “story ” , he moves on to the players, who were presumably seen packing their bags and selling their furniture on ebay immediately after the Firhill victory. 

Lawwell said: “We don’t have to sell them.

“Then again, these players hopefully can find what they need and what they want at Celtic. Who knows?

“Maybe we will get some interest over the transfer window but we don’t need to sell.

“I hope we can meet the career needs for these guys.”

Twice he said that we don’t need to sell. Importantly he mentions that he hopes Celtic can meet the career needs for these guys. The article ends there, the reporter presumably in tears that everything seems under control at Celtic, and those in charge actually have a plan for the future. 

Or just simply that they intend to be at Celtic in the future.

Michael Grant in the Herald started with;

Peter Lawwell, the Celtic chief executive, has predicted that Rangers will return as a major force in Scottish football but insisted that his own club planned always to remain one step ahead.

Lawwell reflected on Celtic’s latest league championship victory, their 45th in total and third in a row, by saying it was inevitable that richer clubs might be interested in talented figures such as Neil Lennon, Fraser Forster and Virgil van Dijk. So far, though, there have been no approaches made for their manager, goalkeeper or centre-half.

On the day that Rangers posted losses of £3.5m over the last six months of 2013, and revealed staff costs of £7.5m while still in SPFL League 1, Lawwell nevertheless acknowledged the Ibrox club’s “fundamentals”, namely its huge fanbase, and said that they would return as a challenger in the top flight eventually. When asked if they could again be as strong as Celtic, he replied: “We would plan not.”

Quite why a club clinging on to life with the help of secured crisis loans and the bluster of a South African businessman who , like everyone else in this charade, promises loads but delivers nothing, is of concern to Lawwell is a mystery. Still, anything rather than congratulate him… 

Incidentally, on the Etims facebook page theres another excellent article by James Forrest on Dave King…which somehow has been overlooked by the MSM..

The article then continues in much the same vein as the Evening Times one, i.e. everyones leaving in the summer and Scottish football is shite without Rangers-before finishing on a note about the lack of tv income;

Lawwell again expressed his frustration over Celtic’s limited broadcasting income, compared to the vast riches which pour into all clubs in the Barclays Premier League in England. Celtic’s attendances are down this season and a section of the support has turned its back on a championship in which they are currently 26 points ahead and are missing the cut-and-thrust of a challenge from Rangers.

Remind me, how far ahead are Bayern in the cut and thrust German league ? 

“In context we still have the third highest [number of] season-book holders in the UK,” said Lawwell. “Man United, Arsenal and Celtic. And in terms of the average paid attendance – people who pay to come to watch the match – I think we are third or fourth in the UK.

“So that is the context and the fundamentals. But clearly you can see from our support empty seats and maybe people even paying for the games and not turning up. I guess that is an issue and it’s an issue based on meaningful games. We need to find a solution here and have more meaningful games within the Scottish game, that allows competition to thrive and people to come out and be interested.”

The latter is hard to argue with, more meaningful games are needed, they don’t have to be against the toxic brand that will be attached to whatever incarnation from Ibrox finally makes it up the leagues though.

With Celtic out of both Cups, as Lawwell actually pointed out in the original interview, broadcast on Sky, interest in these tournaments has been high throughout Scotland. Those are meaningful games.

When the European rankings increase, as they will soon, There will be an extra place in the Champions League, and consequently more money coming into the game.

But before any of that happens, the game needs to learn to sell itself. Those responsible for the tv deal are to blame for its parsity, not those who play the game.

When this one is done, for the love of God do not let the same people sit down with the tv companies to discuss a new deal. hopefully, the SPFL will prove more adept at getting a good deal than the last lot were.

But that will take an effort from the press as well, who need to market the game a little better. Some already are, but the old guard refuse to see beyond the Blue Room at Ibrox, and seem to forget its down to shennannigans over there that the game has stagnated in this country.

Scottish football is on the way back, its just that some people refuse to acknowledge it.

Anyway, back to our own players, and Tom Rogic has been talking about his career so far, on the problems of being  the great white hope of Australian football and a reserve at Celtic.

Its another example of an intelligent article, by Sebastian Hassett in the Sydney Morning Herald, and offers an insight into the mind and background of Rogic, which hasn’t really been covered in Scotland. to journalists up here, he’s more of a stick to beat Lennon with. Interestingly, he also mentions what life is like trying to establish himself in Glasgow;

“Celtic has been a good experience but I won’t lie, it’s been very tough,” he says. “It’s a serious level, and I don’t think I realised what a big club they actually are – and I don’t think people here understand that. The expectation on the players is just enormous.”

Rogic doesn’t want to upset his parent club, where his contract still has more than three years still to run. They still pay most of his wages, after all, and he understands the demands on manager Neil Lennon.

“Everyone wants to play all the time. I’m no different,” he says. “That said, don’t you think it would have been a bit naive to think I was going to walk from Central Coast into the Celtic starting XI? That’s not realistic.”

The Hoops, it should be mentioned, cakewalked to their 45th league title this week. Won 27, drawn 3, lost 1.

“Kris Commons plays in my position. He’s the top scorer [27 in all competitions], he’s played in the English Premier League, he’s a seasoned professional,” Rogic concedes. “He scores almost every week. It’s difficult for anybody to come in and take his place.”

Some pundits canned Rogic for moving to a league where the physical outstrips the technical, saying it would impede his development. Rogic rolls his eyes at the suggestion.

“Some of these guys have skill that would blow your mind,” he fires back. “When I arrived, it was probably after two or three weeks, it dawned on me, and I thought: ‘This is hard. This is so much tougher and sharper than back home.'”
The full article is here, and its very, very interesting. And it confirms that we need to hold onto and develop this guy.

Rogic article

Another loannee, Tony Watt has been demoted to Lierse reserves, and he is apparently the target of a couple of other Belgian clubs.

Someone needs to have a chat with him. a lad of his talent should not be allowed to waste it. Watt and Griffiths could be a huge success for club and country. Though , to be fair, you wouldn’t want to book a day trip with them.

Theres a lot of work to be done, but if its done right, theres a lot of good times ahead.

Lets do it.

Theres a few problems with the accounts at Ibrox again, in that theres no money in them. Shame.

When will we see them again ?

Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.

No. We have to deal with the serious issues affecting our club.

Such as the Celtic Lucky Bag.

I bought one of these the other day, purely out of curiosity , and was disappointed to find a lollipop, which wasn’t even green, a powerball that hardly bounced and a set-well, two sets , of little Celtic badge stickers on a roll.

To say I was disappointed is an understatement. Come on, Peter. Address the real stuff.

Mind you, those little stickers could easily be sold at nightclubs for a fiver a time, as they did resemble those little tablets that helped people dance back in the eighties…

Yesterdays caption competition gave us a chuckle, now heres on for today…