Yesterday was perhaps the most bizarre day I can remember as a Celtic supporter, and thats going quite a way back. A long way back.

Which is exactly the scenario facing manager Ronny Deila after he was handed a second bite at the Champions League cherry due to the appearance of suspended Legia substitute Berezsynski in Wednesday nights 3-0 win over the Polish side.

Berezsynski, the most popular substitute in the east end of Glasgow since the introduction of methadone, hadn’t appeared on the squad list to face St. Pats in the second round, and therefore hadn’t officially served his suspension. It made him ineligible for the Celtic game, and you have to feel for Henning Berg, the Legia manager, who whilst at Rnagers , probably felt that ineligible players were allowed to participate anyway, regardless of whether they were correctly registered.

Deila seems determined not to pass up the gift of re-instatement, and he wants to make the most of it by making Celtic stronger.

If you don’t count selling Fraser Forster to Southampton that is.

The clubs have agreed a fee of £10m , which makes Forster the most expensive British goalkeeper of all time. He overtakes his replacement Craig Gordon in that respect, who cost £9m, which is a fraction more than Celtic paid for the former Hearts man.

So, arguably our best player won’t line up against Maribor, who must not be under rated, but we’re going to be stronger. If , as one reply to the diary yesterday commented, Maribor get their paperwork right, we could be in serious trouble. Look what happened to the last Scottish side to play them….they went into liquidation and ceased to exist!

High stakes indeed.

Still, we’ve always got UEFA to help with our defence;

And Celtic News Now, on twitter,  also noticed that we still have one of our more reliable allies ready to pitch in when we need him;

There cannot be any grudges held toward Forster. He’s been here a few years, and he wants to return south of the border. His exposure to the highly paid prima donnas in the England squad will have turned his head. Thats why we got Craig Gordon. Forster was always going to leave this summer.

Good luck to him, he gave us some great memories. But Southampton ? He could have done better than that.

Gordon has raised a few doubts amongst the support, his fitness, his commitment and so on, but my mind goes back to one of the trips pre season, and it was Gordon who showed up at the airport first, and to me, that shows a desire and a commitment to do well. As for his fitness, if Stevie Woods, our goalkeeping coach, and the medical team think he’s fit, then thats more than good enough for me. And theres no doubt he would have undergone a stringent medical. I can’t imagine Lawwell wanting to get lumbered with a wage for another Mouyokolo.

Deila looked ahead to the Maribor game, which , thankfully is ten days away, and there are two league games in between.

We need some new players, and our main task right now is to get them before the play-off round. 

No shit. Not so much new players, but players who want to play for Celtic. Theres still a feeling that one or two have already chucked it, and to be honest, Deila should just call a meeting, and tell anyone who doesn’t want to stay , to get themselves gone. At least then he’ll know what he’s got to work with.

“With the chance to get to the Champions League, it could be easier to get them.” 

Well, why didn’t you get them in earlier, when we had the chance to reach the champions league without depending on administrative cock ups ?

You’ve no idea how upset some people are over this…

Mind you, that was nothing compared to the reaction of Vladimir Weiss, who used to play for the now defunct Rangers…

Deila continued, well, it was his voice, but I think we know who was doing the talking

“It was the same with my old club, Stromsgodset. We could get the players in, but it was the salaries.

“You can’t do it. You will ruin the whole club.

“And that’s one of the things the fans should be proud of, and that I am proud of, that I’ve come to a club that has good organisation. 

“That’s important, and is going to be more and more important in the future.

“I can understand they want names. I understand that. When you are talking about Celtic, it is an unbelievably big club.

“And, if they had been in the Premiership, we would be fighting with Manchester City for players. But, we’re playing in the Scottish league, and that is the difference.” 

He shifted uncomfortably in his chair, presumably because the operating hand in his bottom was causing him some discomfort.

“If it was up to us, we would have a lot of players coming to Celtic.

“But the money is so much less in Scotland than it is in England.

“A Championshipo player is earning much more than they do in the Scottish league, and in Celtic.

“That wasn’t the case around 2000 and 2005. The wages were near each other. Now, the gap is so big. And players want money.” 

 Really ? This report from Matthew Buck, published in September 2013 begs to differ…

Matthew Buck is the director of player management at the Professional Footballers’ Association. He explains: “A contract will include a basic salary, signing-on fees, loyalty fees, objectives based on games, sub-agreements for image rights and any clauses you may wish to negotiate.” 

Top earners in the Premier League can receive a salary of up to £250,000 a week, according to Buck, but the average wage in England’s top flight is about £25,000 to £30,000 a week.

That drops to an average of £1,300 to £1,500 a week in the fourth tier – League Two. 

 If thats the average , then there are quite a few players earning less than that. Especially as the figures will be stilted with the high earners. The problem , though, is when Celtic compete with these clubs for the better players, they have the financial means to simply offer more.

 But it might be worth looking at some of the poorer paid players down there the next time we look for a gem. Especially amongst the English ones, who tend to be overlooked in favour of glamorous foreigners.

 Whatever Celtic decide to do, they’d better do it quickly.

 Meanwhile, as Celtic supporters rejoiced at getting a second chance, in the way that a political party might cheer an election win before realising the enormous amount of shite they will have to sort out now they are in government, there was news of a massive investment over at new club Second Rangers, presumably to help them get ready for their honest mistakes assisted grand entrance into the top tier next season.

 The Record, usually so accurate when there is talk of new investors, blew some more smoke up supporters rosy  cheeked arses in a desperate bid to sell a few papers, and with Keith Jackson having destroyed his own reputation as a credible journalist with his trumpeting of the last major investor over there, it was down to Gary Ralston to , er, trumpet this one.

 Speaking of trumpets, its this guy again;

 Guess who’s back ? Shadys back !

 And they don’t come much shadier than Ol’ Charlie Chuckles…

 But, I’ll let Gary Ralston describe the latest turn of good fortune for the Ibrox hordes;

Rangers fans threaten all-out Ibrox boycott

if Charles Green follows through with plan

to return to the club

Oh ho ? Change of policy at the Record ?

SUPPORTERS react with disbelief as former chief executive reveals he aims to rejoin board after lining up £10m investment from US billionaire George Soros.

Not quite. Use of words like “£10m investment ” ( known as a “Fraserforster” in financial circles, somewhere between an “Aidenmcgeady ” and a “Victorwanyama ” ) and “US billionaire ” show that nothing has really changed.

RANGERS fans have threatened a formal boycott if Charles Green darkens the door of Ibrox again. 

Is there anything they haven’t already boycotted ?

The Light Blues legions have reacted with disbelief after the former chief executive revealed he’s ready to return with a £10million investment from one of the world’s richest men. 

 Another key phrase subtly eased in -” worlds richest men “

It is claimed American billionaire George Soros, listed by Forbes as the 26th richest man on the planet, has given the go-ahead to a move within the next week aimed at buying out existing shareholders. 

Just in case you missed it the first time, he’s a “billionaire “, and in fact , he’s the 26th richest man on the planet, don’t you know ?

Even if they reject his offer of 20 pence per share, he is allegedly still willing to loan £10m at five per cent interest, with Murray Park as security. 

Ah, he -for “he ” read Charles Green – wants Murray Park.

If the fanciful plan comes to fruition, it is claimed Green would return as a director and the axe would fall on current chief executive Graham Wallace, with the position of boss Ally McCoist also under threat. 

 So, “it is claimed ” ? By who ? Did Ralston speak to Soros, or any of his representatives ?

Soros, 84, has been involved in Major League Baseball in the United States and holds a minority stake Manchester United.

The business magnate is the seventh richest man in America with a wealth estimated by Forbes at around £15billion and his hedge fund is one of the best performing in the financial markets. 

Er, you’ve kind of mentioned that already, Gary. What did they say when you rang them ?

Ibrox insiders are taking the latest appearance by Green in the ongoing Rangers saga with a pinch of salt.

And the rest of us are taking this report with the rest of the packet.

Green said last night: “I’ve got a number of people ready to invest in Rangers.

“I’ve told people this is a great club and a great opportunity. It’s one of the world’s biggest brands in terms of football. 

 Once again, absolutely no meat on the bones of a Record story. No checks, no verification, no nothing except a wacky Yorkshire salesman selling a cure for the cold.

 Can he fool them all again ? Hope so. I could do with a laugh.