Celtic have a chance to pull six points clear at the top of the league at lunchtime when they visit the ancient town of Perth to play St. Johnstone. closest rivals Aberdeen don’t play until tomorrow, which means they are all free to spend quality Valentines Day time with the woolly mammal of their choice.

Or, as the Evening Express describes her, the bride of the year;

That ones got no clothes on, so if any dons fans are reading this they’ll get all distracted and disappear into the lavvy.

Anyone ever wondered why the football club is called St. Johnstone, and the town is called Perth ?

The name Perth derives from a Pictish–Gaelic word for wood or copse. During much of the later medieval period it was known colloquially by its Scots-speaking inhabitants as “St. John’s Toun” or “Saint Johnstoun” because the church at the centre of the parish was dedicated to St. John the Baptist.^[2] Perth was referred to as “St. Johns ton” up until the mid-1600s with the name “Perthia” being reserved for the wider area.^[6] At this time, “Perthia” became “Perth Shyre” and “St. Johns ton” became known as Perth.^[6] 

And their coat of arms ?

Theres an unhealthy obsession in the north with these animal, and the story goes that the fair maiden of Perth, a statue in the town, is actually based on a lady who was waiting at home while her man was out in the fields, er, amusing himself.

She’s certainly not happy about something.

Another good performance from Celtic, and no-one in the town should be happy. Right now, the hoops are on a roll and theres a feel good factor about the rest of the season that threatens to overwhelm common sense, especially where expectations are concerned, but thats no bad thing, and its been reflected in ticket sales for upcoming games.

Inter milan is sold out, the St. Mirren away game is sold out, the Aberdeen fans are moaning that they haven’t been given enough tickets for the trip to Glasgow in March. Its all good, and the other clubs are beginning to see that getting people into grounds is the way forward.

Hamilton recently did a pay what you want day, and Airdrie are doing the same.

Raith Rovers, who yesterday made Turnbull Hutton Honorary President for Life-something the SFA/SPFL should immediately do as well, are letting kids in free.

  Even Second Rangers made an attempt to bolster their crowds by simply locking the doors after last nights 2-0 defeat to hibs by not letting the away supporters out until their next match.

Good to see Ally McCoist back at Ibrox, incidentally, although he was nowhere to be seen at the pre match protest, where former player John Brown had called for ex-players to make a stand on the steps of Ibrox. True to form Nacho Novo turned up, and one of the Andy Gorams, but other than that, it was a bit of a disappointment. Especially when it appears a Celtic minded chap offered his opinion on the players.

But to business, and Ronny Deila has a bit of a selection problem today, especially with the Inter game due on Thursday. Does he go with Leigh Griffiths, or will he feel that John Guidettis commendable effort at Firhill deserves another crack ? It would be harsh to drop the Swede, whose attitude was outstanding on Wednesday, but then again, Griffiths has been on fire.

Then theres the new bhoys. Neither deserves to lose their place, although the temptation to rest Mackay Steven ahead of the Inter game must be there, although on the other side of the coin, the more games he gets the more he’ll be used to the way we play.

Resting Mackay Steven probably wouldn’t help. you get the feeling if he was left out, he’d run up and down the line following the play anyway. And if you play him, you can’t leave out his buddy;

Celtic new Bhoy Stuart Armstrong:

Team mates dub GMS and I ‘Zig & Zag’

because we do everything together.. even score

“The boys here give us stick for doing everything together so to have scored together on our debuts was great.

“The staff call us Zig and Zag but it’s good to have him here, to have a familiar face and a good friend around – although we get some abuse.

“It’s nice to know a familiar face in the dressing room so you’re not completely alone but everyone here has been very nice to us and made us feel at home.

“It’s been a nice transition for us and I’m really enjoying being here.”

But not an easy one when it came to training….

 “I didn’t quite realise how hard the boys work until I came here. In training and the games it’s phenomenal the amount of work we put in.

“To get the ball back when we lose it so quickly is the way we are dominating games.

“It’s definitely not easy. It’s a lot of work and I was absolutely knackered after the game.

“Once I get to the levels of fitness that the rest of the team have my performances will definitely improve.

“The tempo of the training will help my fitness gradually improve.

“But it was a bit of an eye opener to see just how fit the boys are here. If I can get to that level in a few weeks time I will be delighted.

“In one of the first training sessions we played a big game. It was relentless. I was thinking, ‘Bloody hell – this is actually really hard’.

“That was a bit of a shock to the system. A few days in the sports scientist said to myself and Gary to watch what we were doing and to ease our way in.

“He’s been great with us and has looked after us really well.”

 If, as the substitutions against Partick suggest, Ronny is keeping his main men safe for the Europa game, then we might see things freshened up today, but again, does he really want to break the momentum.

Craig Gordon should start, the defence will be the same, Brown and Bitton certain, Johansen could be the one to get a break, with Liam Henderson-or Kris Commons of he’s ready-stepping in. And then theres Anthony Stokes, James Forrest and Calum MacGregor to think about, and thats before we decide on who’s leading the line.

I’d go for Gordon, Matthews, van Dijk, Denaayer, Izaguerre, Brown , Bitton, Mackay Steven, Johansen, Armstrong and Guidetti. Just to keep the train rolling down the tracks. Key players can be removed when the game is won, which I thoroughly expect it to be, by a simple 2-0.

No point in charging around trying to run up a big score , risking injury, with the big game due on Thursday.

Yesterday we considered the idea that Ronny Deila was seeking to emulate the domestic domination he saw Rosenborg enjoy back in Norway from the mid eigthies until the turn of the century, and a reader from Norway added a comment late last night to the replies that most of you wouldn’t have seen. Its worth re-producing here, because it raises a few good points, some of which hadn’t been mentioned before;

Thanks to Fluke, for this piece;

As a Norwegian, I know a thing or two about Rsenborg in their glory days.

Rosenborg in their heyday is in many ways a good comparison to what Deila is trying to implement at Celtic.

Rosenborg relied for a large part on local talent, and monopolized the market for fresh norwegian talent, ensuring a strong local base of players and a steady stream of income from exporting players to european leagues.

They also tried to keep the base of their team on long term contracts, to ensure continuity in the style of play and player relations. This was doen to the point of several players staying in the team for about a decade – late into their 30′s – which proved a good thing, because these players were excellent, they knew their job and they would still not be hunted by the big money teams because of their age. They provided stability.

Rosenborg played an attractive 4-3-3 dogmatically. I think they even entered it into the club statutes at one point that Rosenborg plays 4-3-3.

Rosenborg did not have the same emphasis on high and intensive pressing as Ronny does, and were never in the forefront in fitness and diet. Player relations was however a big thing – having a system where everyone were in sync at all times and so could always anticipate the next move coming from teammates on the pitch.

Rosenborg would also keep bringing old players back after they had been in England or in europe for a few years. Steffen Iversen is an example. He came from Rosenborg, had a good career at Tottenham, Wolves and a norwegian team, was brought back to Rosenborg for another 4 successful years, then he was sold to Crystal Palace before returning to Rosenborg again.

This is also what Ronny was talking about – bringing players back after successful careers elsewhere. Rosenborg must have been his model in this respect. As long as the basic playing system stays the same – previous players will fit right back in again, and their experience from years of playing f.ex in the EPL would be another asset for the club.

Rosenborg grew rich and successful. Eventually it started to unravel as the organization balooned, salaries and other expenses ballooned, millions were spent on mediocre foreign players, and their playing style which had been their trademark became watered down and disappeared.

Today Rosenborg is just another norwegian club, struggling even to win the norwegian league, much less beating teams like Milan and Dortmund, like they did in their glory days.

So Rosenborg is a faded star, but it doesn’t mean the way they did things can not be repeated. 

It makes perfect sense, really – monopolize the market for local talent and you will have 3 major advantages:

1. You will keep winning the domestic league and cups, keeping up enthusiasm and support, filling the stadium.

2. You will be the main outlet for domestic talent to leave for richer clubs, filling the coffers.

3. You will be more or less ensured yearly european football, which at CL level is extremely profitable.

This is the situation Rosenborg was in when they were at their peak, and of course it can be replicated in celtic. The chances of doing it in Scotland is even greater, Celtic being a much bigger club with a much bigger fan base and international following than Rosenborg could ever dream of. 

Wee bit of news now, keep your eye out for a documentary on the Quality Street Gang, being put together by Celtic and the BBC. More on that when I hear it.

The Scottish Cup quarter final tie against Dundee United at Tannadice will kick off at 3.30 on Sunday March 8, meaning that if we from Stoke go to the game, we can expect to be home in time for the semi final. 3,30 is a new one, and yet another reason to look at the Sky contract.

 That should be the first step. Action needs to be taken to reverse the damage done to the game by those who previously negotiated with the television people, so in order to sort it out, we need to see that contract. Pressure needs to be placed on Doncaster to a point when he says “here, you see if you can do better ” and chucks the paperwork at us.

 Though he won’t.

 But its worth a try.

 Something is rotten in one section of the game north of the border. The problem is, its the section that runs it.

 When Rangers collapsed into liquidation, the powers that be wanted to keep the franchise alive, and they warned of all sorts of famine, death and disease should the rest of the clubs deny them what they felt was their inalienable right to sit at the top table.

 Men like Turnbull Hutton led the resistance, and football, as we have seen, is far better off for their absence, and would no doubt flourish again should those who have tried to hold it back be removed. Doncaster, Regan, Ogilvie et al.

 Today is the third anniversary of the event that changed the game, and allowed us to see the true faces of those who ran it. In two years time, ( some even sooner ) those directors who stiffed all those creditors, will be allowed back in to whatever incarnation of the club is around. Anyone else starting to think this was the plan all along ?

 Is Mike Ashley there-albeit making a few quid as part of the deal-to unite whatevers left of the support against a common enemy while the clock ticks until the day the old crew can gain control of the new ship ?

 After all, if the press and the support are all focusing on what Mikes doing, then no-one will question what the rest of them are up to.

Enough of all that, the games on soon and I need to nip into town to get the wife something for Valentines Day.

Valentines Day ? I’m still waiting.

Billy Stark was the other debutant who scored in 1987, against, as so many of you pointed out, Morton, and not St. Mirren.

Willie Maley was his name, and he ran Celtic with an iron fist in an iron hand many many years ago. Its not hard to see how when you see this picture,

I’m sure we can come up with a caption to improve the mans image….

By the way, with talk of Ronny developing the youngster, perhaps buying in players from down south, maybe we should give england a miss. Their under 17s were beaten 7-0 by the Netherlands yesterday.

Hang on, do we really want an improved tv deal ? Look at the damage its doing down there….