Most importantly of all is that Janko is a player with an excellent pedigree that has seen him play at the top level in Austria, Holland, Portugal and Turkey, and also average almost a goal in every two games for his country.

He is available on a free transfer and Celtic may have to tickle their wage structure to get him, but Janko is also an attacking player who is known well to Neil Lennon from the club’s previous attempts to sign him.

The Austrian would provide a great level of experience up top and offer Celtic something different going forward.

In short, he is exactly the right type of player for the club to be linked with.

Yes, but two questions spring immediately to mind;

First, whats wrong with his head ?

Second, can he sing ?

 Because being able to carry off a tune is essential for the Celtic front line these days. Otherwise newspapers would have to lay off most of their staff.

 Leigh Griffiths is still under investigation, while Police desperately try to find him guilty of something other than waving his arms around before sitting down  in a pub where people were singing. ( thats what you see in the video…. )

Anthony Stokes is being dragged over the coals-fortunately for him theres a lot less these days because all the pits are shut -after he appeared on stage with his band ” The Terrorists ” promoting their new album ” Blow the Bastards Up “

 Well, so the Daily Record would have you believe, but then again, who believes anything thats in the Daily Record ?

After all, have you seen what is hanging in the foyer over there ?

Stokes wasn’t in the pub on the night the Record report claimed. The RockBar Belfast tweeted;

rockbarbelfast @rockbarbelfast · 20h

We’ve no recollection of Stokes being in the bar in night cited.It appears to be a doctored photo and seems story writer jumped feet first.

 I know who I believe.

And it appears that Andy Muirhead, editor of Scotzine magazine, knows who he believes;

Andy Muirhead is the Editor of Scotzine and the Scottish Football magazine FITBA. He has written for a number of publications including ESPN, Huffington Post UK, BT Life’s a Pitch and has had his work featured in the Daily Record, The Scotsman and the Daily Mail. He also produced and presented the Scottish Football show The Final Whistle for Pulse 98.4FM. 

Well, now its getting featured on Etims as well. 

A week on from the Green Brigade unfurling a banner dictating to striker Leigh Griffiths how he should act now that he is a Celt, we see Anthony Stokes attend a ‘Rebel Sunday’ gig on Falls Road in Belfast.

No, we see a picture of Stokes in a pub. 

Nothing wrong with an Irishman attending a pub in Northern Ireland I have to admit, but when that pub has a gig lauding the IRA in song, along with a musician who is up in court soon on trial after video footage showed him leading a crowd in IRA chants last year. You have to wonder what goes through Anthony Stokes’ head sometimes.

Phew, but at least he wasn’t wearing a t-shirt with the queen on it. Who laid a wreath for those “rebels ” who died at a memorial last year.

It was not that long ago that Stokes was criticised and fined by the club for attending the wake for murdered Real IRA chief Alan Ryan. At the time he was warned about his future conduct after he had damaged the club’s name and was urged to steer clear of similar events.

Similar events ? Was there a funeral on in the pub ?

Was it a coincidence? Well given his agent owns the bar and that such events are held every Sunday then you can make an educated guess yourself.

Why ? You haven’t.

The Green Brigade’s banner ‘informing’ Leigh Griffiths of his responsibilities read: ‘A man must be a Celt on and off the field. Otherwise he is of no value to this club.’

Does this sermon extend to all Celtic players?

How about the Celtic supporters themselves?

What value to Celtic are those hooligans that caused trouble at the recent Glasgow Cup Final at Celtic Park?

Er, the Rangers supporters who terrified the press, tore up seats and let off bangers ? Very little, i guess..I

£10,000 worth of damage was caused, 100 seats trashed, smoke bombs, flares and fireworks set off with both Rangers and Celtic fans shaming their respective clubs and a youth game. 8000 fans attending a youth game – how many of them were simply there to fire hate filled comments, sing sectarian songs and try to break through segregation to get at one another?

This is a perfect example of reading a report, not checking it independently, and jumping to conclusions. Its known in the trade as “talking through ones arse “

Going by several reports and eye witness commentary, most of these ‘Ultras’ didn’t care about the game just in targeting their rival fans with their hate.

Yes lads – what a great addition to both clubs.

Griffiths is still under investigation by the Police and Celtic over his alleged racist chanting over former Hearts player Rudi Skacel, yet the same fans who are defending Stokes to the hilt have already ruled that Griffiths is guilty – would that ‘ruling’ be different if the Scotland international was in fact Irish?

Another crime when writing is generalisation, used to make a point which might not actually stand up to scrutiny. Thats known in the trade as ” Completely talking through ones arse “

Of course that way of thinking would be absolutely idiotic.

But a prerequisite when writing for the Scotzine, it seems.

Racism is after all racism no matter the skin colour or nationality of the perpetrator.

Stokes may have not broken any law and at no time did anyone claim he did, however as a Celtic player he is a representative of the club even when he is ‘off duty’ and anything controversial involving Stokes or even any other Celtic player is a negative headline that Celtic do not need.

Read the first bit of that again-Stokes may not have broken any law and at no time did anyone claim he did , but fuck it, lets have a go at him anyway. Irishman has beer in Irish pub where irish bands play Irish songs. At least if he’d had a pee in the car park on the way home there would have been a story there, but as far as we know , he didn’t. Though I’ve probably given the Record an idea for their next “scoop”

Were the Celtic hierarchy seething with another Stokes and IRA story in the Scottish papers? We will probably hear their stance from the manager himself during Friday’s pre-match press conference.

We probably won’t.

Will the Banner Bhoys unfurl the banner once more to preach to Stokes about his responsibilities as a Celtic fan?

There’s no chance of that happening, but you can put your mortgage on them singing the Roll of Honour and other ‘rebel’ songs that add no value to the club or inspire the team on the pitch, the same team they profess to support.

So what is being a Celt all about nowadays?

Searching for the truth before condemning people ? 

Speaking of the Glasgow Cup, next seasons final is to be played behind closed doors, or Ibrox Stadium, to give it its full name.

Has Barry Ferguson turned  against the SFA and the Sevco board ?

Barry Ferguson: I love Scottish football but evil idiots are

ruining the game for everyone

Er, no. 

IN the aftermath of the shameful Glasgow Cup Final BARRY FERGUSON asks the hooligans to calm down and think about the damage they are doing to their own clubs and the players on the field. 

Good stuff, as a club captain with the previous Ibrox entity, his words might have a calming effect. 

More than anything I looked forward to the next Old Firm derby. I told myself that as soon as that fixture was back we’d have something to boast about again. Something worth ramming down the throats of all those people down here who are so quick to tell me the Scottish game is dying.

Something that will make the whole world sit up and take notice.

But you know what? After what went on at Celtic Park on Monday night at the Glasgow Cup Final, I find myself changing my mind. In all honesty, I’m beginning to dread the thought of it.

Because if these supporters can’t behave themselves at an Under-17 match then, really, what hope is there?

Go on Barry ! Tell it like it is…. 

Listen, no one knows more about this rivalry than I do. I was born and bred on it. And, yes, it’s got me into some trouble over the years.

I’ve seen fans falling out of the top tier at Celtic Park, referees getting their heads split open by coins thrown from the stands and I’ve even ended up fighting on the streets of Bothwell because I got caught up in the madness of it all and acted like an idiot myself.

That was just one of the many mistakes I made and learned from.

But I’m serious when I say I believe the current climate is like nothing I’ve ever known in all my time. It’s becoming downright evil – and that’s not a word I use lightly.

Maybe the fact that the two sides have been separated by different leagues has made things worse because the game itself can act like a pressure valve.

Without it, the tensions and hatred have been simmering away, the resentment building up and up. That’s why I worry about what might happen whenever the first teams next meet.

Astonishing, he is talking sense here.

What are we going to end up with? World War III? All live in HD on Sky Sports?

There is a real danger here that the one fixture which should make Scottish football feel good about itself could turn into a national embarrassment and I take absolutely no pleasure in saying that.

The truth is, Monday was not a one-off as there was similar trouble at last year’s Glasgow Cup Final at Firhill. I just wish these clowns would calm it down a bit and think about the damage they are doing not just to their own clubs but to the young players on the field.

Right, get to the crux of the matter and call out the supporters of the club who did the damage…

Yes, it was noisy. Yes, both sets of fans were winding each other up. And at times it got a bit tasty on the pitch because the players got caught up in it and there was some needle.

But never was there even a hint of trouble. It was what it was – a kids’ game. It was a watered-down version of the real thing – a stepping stone for boys like myself to learn from and in which to gain experience.

And that’s why I feel so sorry for the kids who played on Monday night. In fact, I’d go as far as to say I’m seriously worried for them

Eh ? The players ? What about the fans who brought shame on your first love ? 

The journalists should have been writing about Celtic’s up-and-coming right-back or the next Rangers central midfielder. Instead, we’ve had four days solid now of discussion and debate about a shower of halfwits in the stands.

And now, because of their behaviour, these kids are going to be deprived of the chance to play in a game like that again. I hope they are proud of themselves.

I was at Murray Park a few weeks ago to watch Rangers play Celtic’s Under-20s. A game like that should be bringing in over 10,000 people – but it was watched by mums and dads and a handful of others like myself, there by invitation only.

That wasn’t fair on the players who want to showcase their talents to Ally McCoist and Neil Lennon. It wasn’t fair on the parents, who want to see their kids play on the biggest stage.

And it wasn’t fair on the hundreds or thousands of decent supporters who would like to take a look at the next generation of players. These idiots are ruining it for everyone.

Ferguson had the chance there to tell the support to behave, and they might even have listened to him. But again the implication of both being as bad as each other. Until that changes, then nothing else will change. 

If you are around Celtic Park today, be careful. The Regimental Blues are on the warpath.

As they say, this is serious. I had a look at their website last night, there were sevety three guests and no members viewing. Returning to the forum this was found on-the huddleboard-it seems thats exactly what everyone else found as well.

Perhaps the members were having an early night. big day ahead and all that.

Perhaps these people should worry more about their own club. Though it seems the players wouldn’t want that.

Kevin Kyle thinks he might be on the point of spotting why the new club is about to suffer the same fate as the old one. He told the Daily Mail;

‘There are guys at Rangers who can’t believe their luck at what they earn,’ said the 32-year-old, who signed for the Ibrox club in August 2012.

‘I remember a fellow pro phoning me in the summer and, because I had read about it in a paper, I asked him: “Did Rangers really offer you that amount?”

‘And he said to me: “You know what? I think I could actually get even more off them”.

‘You are thinking to yourself: “Third division football and they are going to be earning £350,000 or £400,000 a year? And they would go higher still?”’ 

Kyle spent last season at Rangers, making nine appearances and scoring three goals during an injury-plagued spell.

Exonerating his former team-mates of blame for doing the best they can financially, he claims he was offered four times what he would have accepted to join the club.

‘You cannot blame the players because they were offered the cash,’ he maintained. ‘It’s the guys who were at Rangers before who ultimately paid them the cash.

‘If you are going to be really, really honest and brutal about it, you take a lot of those players in the Rangers team and challenge them to go somewhere else in Scotland and get the same cash — they wouldn’t get it.

‘Even if they tried to go south, they wouldn’t get it there, either. There would be one or two that might. Lee Wallace probably.

‘But I don’t think any other player in that Rangers team just now could go to another club and get the same wages.’ 

Having watched that club a couple of times, I’d be surprised if any of the players could go to another club and get any wages at all.

Still, McCoist reckons that the wages to turnover there is the envy of the footballing world.

It probably is, if you’re a player.

Or the manager.

Finally, congratulations go to Dundee United fans, who have raised around £12,000 so far to give to their own supporters, who for one reason or another , cannot afford to go to the Cup final.

Armageddon my arse.

Welcome back ,  Scottish football. Football for the fans ?

It might just catch on.

Yesterday, we showed a picture of Davie Provan, in his big hair days at Kilmarnock. As fine a winger as you’ll ever see in the hoops, when his hair started to fall out, with it went a lot of his common sense.

Who is the bearded guy on the left here…?