Celtic Diary Wednesday February 4: New Guys All Ready To Go

Apologies for yesterdays Diary, which first of all didn’t appear, then appeared only partially before deciding amongst itself to repeat one or two pictures and paragraphs. Not quite as bad as the one when I did it on my phone and all the predictatext was published, but not likely to win any awards for design and presentation nonetheless.

Yesterday was a strange day anyway, as I had a film crew in the house recording an interview with me for a tv programme-more closer to the date of transmission-and both the presenter and the director were distractingly attractive young ladies. So much so that when they said they would require an entry shot  through the back door, it was difficult to see who was the most embarrassed, me with my trousers hurriedly removed, or the director who explained what she really meant. You’ll understand when you see it.

Back to the real world, and Celtic paraded the new guys yesterday.

Both will go straight into the first team squad, including that for the Europa League, although it may be that Mackay Steven will spend some time with the mascots to get a feel for the place.

My old man used to say you could tell whether a player would sign for Celtic just ny looking at his profile. A young, clean cut fellow was odds on to head to Celtic Park, while the more neanderthal, hairy chap would carve out a career at Ibrox.

For example, here we have Gary Mackay Steven

Compare and contrast with , for example, Rino Gattuso

Nacho Novo

or , going further back, Ally McCoist and Mark Hateley

There has been implied criticism that Celtic are plundering their nearest rivals, and leaving them at a disadvantage. There has been implied criticism that the players have “done the dirty” on their old club. you know, in exactly the same way that the press would praise old Rangers for snapping up Scottish talent and keeping the money in the game up here, despite having absolutely no intention of giving the players concerned a run in the first team.

So much so that United boss and former Celt Jackie MacNamara was forced to defend the clubs decision-and this on the back of a statement from the club explaining why they had to sell, or at least why they felt they had to sell;

“The fans and other people might look at it and think we’ve given up on what we have.

“But I can tell them there’s no way that’s true.

“I’m really disappointed to lose Stuart and Gary and so are the supporters but it’s my job to make sure the team keeps moving forward.

“We do that by bringing through more players, signing the right players and keeping the club going in the direction we want.

“There are mixed emotions with what has happened but you just need to get on with things. I spoke to both players and their representatives and they wanted to move on to bigger things at this stage.” 

We hear there were emotional scenes as the lads said goodbye to their old teammates, but the circle of life keeps spinning. At least the money stays in Scotland, and will help to stave off the inevitable armageddon for a couple of weeks yet.

Or have I just hit on why the players moves have upset the press ? It does seem to be the red tops who are making a big deal of it, perhaps because yet again it points to a thriving Scottish game, rather than the one they predicted when their heroes fell into the abyss.

Typically, the hacks bore down on Armstrong, and instead of congratulating him on the move, or praising him for staying in the Scottish game, they wanted to know if he had demanded to leave Tayside. Armstrong, who it seems will have to learn quicker than most how to handle the laptop loyal, replied;

 “No, I wouldn’t entirely agree with that.

“I don’t think I actively expressed that to them.

“It was in the club’s control and the club is responsible for accepting or rejecting bids.

“I just had the role of being expected to come and speak and explore what this club is all about. 

“I don’t know the exact wording of the statement but I would say that I didn’t actively push myself out the door.

“I think I was quite relaxed about it and waited for the clubs to accept or reject and came here once it happened.

“I wasn’t thinking too much about what I wanted at the time.

“I didn’t know how things were going to turn out. I was just waiting patiently to see how things progressed and if Dundee United were going to accept the bid, and they did eventually. 

“When they did, I was given permission to come and speak here, which was really pleasing.

“What will be will be. It transpired it was going to happen.” 

A mature and sensible response, which could only have been improved by adding the well known phrase “So go fuck yourself ” at the end.

Mackay Steven concurred;

 “I had a great four years at United and I never once kicked the door down and asked to leave because I had always been happy and was happy.

“At the start of the month, United wanted a certain figure for me.

“It wasn’t until deadline day that figure was met.

“So then it was a case of me talking and all that stuff.

 “But it was all about the clubs talking and a fee was agreed.

“I said before, I signed a pre-contract and was delighted to have my future secured at a club like Celtic .

“It was just a massive opportunity for me here.

“To be honest, at the time I signed that pre-contract, I was really excited, but I tried to put that to the back of my mind.

“I was a United player and, in my head, it was going to be until the summer. That was always the case.

“People were obviously asking me about it and congratulating me.

“It was exciting but I tried to do what I had done all the time and concentrate on United.

“It has happened sooner than I expected but that’s great and I will get my head down and work as hard as I can.”

Asked if United’s statement was unfair, he added: “I think so.” 

A sensible and mature response. Again, though, as far as a slight addition, the same phrase could be slightly altered to ” so they can all go fuck themselves. “

Maybe the last word should go to Stephen Thompson, the United chairman, who has always come across as decent, and a man with his clubs best interest at heart.

“I’m a fan, I’m gutted,”

“For a long time last night [transfer deadline day] I hummed and hawed and would not sell — but in the end I am chairman and I have to act in the best interests of this club.

“I have always put its long-term interests first and I always will.

“In the end, that is why I agreed to sell these players and having now had time to reflect, because I haven’t been to bed yet, I know I have done that.” 

 They’re home now, and its great to see Celtic shopping closer to home, instead of lining the pockets of foreign agents and  foreign players who think they are doing you a favour by being here, and of course it should be a big kick up the arse to the scouting staff, who have failed to deliver on numerous occasions over the last few years, and only seem to get lucky just enough to keep themselves in a job.

 Could it be that Ronny , during games against Dundee Utd , actually identified the players himself ? In the old traditional, I’m the manager, I’ll watch players and choose them myself. Well, that would be a step backwards that would catapult us forward. It has to be the first transfer window where everybody seems to be happy with the three players brought in.

I said three because Michael duffy isn’t getting the same headlines, which will benefit him as he begins the next stage of his career. Don’t forget he scored twice against the Newcastle development team, which considering the quality of player that is down there , that is no mean feat.

 Well, when I say quality of player in the Newcastle B team, we will soon get a chance to see that for ourselves. With almost all the Sevco squad out of contract in the summer, manager, doirector and cheif executive Mike Ashley gave the club its first five new players, who will form the Newcastle Development squad next year, eithe rin the Premier league or the first division.

 There are actually five, its just that the other two were still in shock at their misfortune,

so only three were presented to the media.

 Rangers TV were enthusing over the news in their daily round up.

With  Ashley tightening his hold on all things  over at Ibrox, it was only ever a matter of time before Britains loyalist support ( see what I did there ? )  hit back. They won’t go down without a fight, even though the result of the bout was decided two years ago, and they are out to raise money to combat their evil new overlord;

Rangers Charity Foundation – Lucky Legends Prize Draw

FF is once again supporting the Lucky Legends Prize Draw.

The main prize this year is a weekend in New York!
Tickets are £1 a time. You can buy either 5 or 10 entries online from FF and we will scan your tickets and send you a copy to save postage costs


Paypal charges are included in the two options

FIVE TICKETS – http://tinyurl.com/2015LuckyLegends-5
TEN TICKETS – http://tinyurl.com/2015LuckyLegends-10

You can, of course, request Draw tickets direct from the Rangers Charity Foundation for yourself, family, friends, workmates and supporters clubs –http://www.rangerscharity.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=525&Itemid=85 

Well, thats upped the ante.

The fact that Ashley has now loaned them players, to be paid largely out of the money he loaned them a month or so ago, means you could be forgiven for thinking he really doesn’t like them. Not only is he hell bent on promoting his own brand, he appears to be ready for that brand to replace the old Rangers name altogether.

I couldn’t have done a better job of erasing them myself.

A warning now, to thoise of you who use facebook, twitter and other social media to post pictures of yourself at the football. always check what you are posting;

We do have to watch what we say, as Phil McGhiollabhan pointed out on twitter

Phil MacGiollaBhain @Pmacgiollabhain · 13h13 hours ago

Joe Craig was the man in the picture, scoring against SSW Innsbruck during one of those seasons-77-when it was hard to believe that Celtic had been a reguklar in European Cup semi finals and finals in the previous decade. No fault of Joe Craigs, still the only Scotland player to score after coming on as a sub with his first touch, and then never get another sniff of a game.

An old picture now, from Celtic Collectibles on twitter.

Can anyone work out the year ?