Celtic Diary Thursday March 5: Just When You Thought It Was All Over

Celtic stumbled to a 1-0 defeat at home to St. Johnstone last night, and amidst all the howls of derision, its worth noting a couple of facts. Guess who the last team to score against the Perth side was ?

Thats right. Celtic, in a 2-1 win on February 14.

And who was the last team to score more than twice against them ?

Celtic again, back in August.

In fact, amongst their last few outings, St. Johnstone have beaten Dundee Utd at Tannadice and drawn 1-1 at home to Aberdeen.

So, they were never going to be easy to beat.

With a couple of crucial cup games ahead, Ronny changed things around a bit, and that made sense, one or two of the players would have been tired. For Celtics third game in six days, however, it might have been that more changes, not less , were needed.

It appears that the fringe players are not quite up to speed with the regulars, though, and the performance last night was jaded and uninspiring.

In the diary yesterday, we noted that the game would be “interesting “, which is was, and that the adrenalin from the previous matches would have run out, which it had.

So, a wee jolt back to earth in the short term, but in the long term, it shouldn’t make too much difference. No game in hand anymore, but theres still six points for Aberdeen to overhaul, and that looks to be unlikely.

But theres no room for complacency, because no matter what you read elsewhere, this treble is by no means guaranteed, and theres going to be a lot of squeaky bottoms as the season draws to a close.

And thats just the players.

Some of the papers were salivating about the title race being blown open, and thats a good thing. For the first time in years they are actually trying to breathe some life into the game, and although we might still think its all done and dusted, at least they are trying to spark interest in the league race.

Michael Gannon in the Record praised Danny Swansons excellent goal;

THE Saints star hammered a sensational second-half rocket to breathe life into a title race that was left with barely a pulse following Sunday’s 4-0 Celtic win over the Dons at Parkhead.

A bit dramatic, but if it helps to keep people going to games, then I’m all for it.

Ronnie Cully, in the Evening Times , was a bit more realistic, but again, he pumped a little life into the title race;

 ….the 1-0 defeat has halted Celtic’s momentum – built up after eight consecutive league wins – and breathed fresh hope into the Dons.

Sure, the Hoops are still strong, strong favourites to cross the line first.

But the procession towards their fourth coronation in a row may not be quite as unhindered as results since they last tripped up – losing to Dundee United on December 21, then drawing with Ross County the following week – would have everyone believe.

Not if teams show a willingness to ask questions of them the way St Johnstone did.  

 Finally, the press are promoting the game. And theres no mention of needing a strong Rangers.

Mark Wilson in the Daily Mail keeps it going;

So much for the start of a green-and-white procession towards the title. Having just cruised beyond their nearest challengers, Celtic promptly ran into a roadblock.

It was built by a deeply determined St Johnstone side seemingly inspired by a return to the scene of the greatest day in the club’s history. Danny Swanson wasn’t on the books when they lifted last season’s Scottish Cup, yet his winning strike here was worthy of its own place in the memory banks of every Saints fan.

With that pure, powerful swipe of his right boot, Swanson not only lifted his team into the Premiership top six, but kept Celtic within six points of Aberdeen. A run of ten successive domestic victories – a sequence which had granted Ronny Deila a new level of acclaim from Parkhead supporters – was brought to a shuddering halt.

You could be forgiven theres a little gloating in some of the stories, but that might just be our in built paranoia sense working overtime. Look at the big picture, it keeps interest alive in the game , and thats always a good thing. 

 All we need now is someone to wrap up this new found excitement and sell it to a sponsor.

 Alright, what we need is someone else to wrap it all up and sell it to a sponsor.

Anyone else, in fact.

Of course, if the rest of Scottish football is happy Celtic got beat, and its not always personal, Ronny Deila was of a different mind;

“It’s not about finding excuses tonight. The performance wasn’t good enough. We have had a hard programme with important matches and we had a big setback tonight.

“I’m disappointed about that but we have to bounce back on Sunday and we have to makes this into a positive.

“We have played three games in a very short time and we have also been in Italy. It’s been very tough on the boys but it’s disappointing that we lost and didn’t get anything.

“Every time we play in Scotland we are favourites and should win. Tonight there was a lack of fight – we didn’t fight enough. 

“We started the game quite well, created some chances but didn’t score. After that, we were too open and didn’t press as a team, while offensively we kept going into the centre. We need to have more width into the team, put crosses in and not be too easy to read.

“Everything came through the centre of the pitch. We had some chances, but you could see the lack of energy, there wasn’t the determination to get the ball into the net. It was a bit like Hamilton, though we created more chances in that game. 

There is always another chance in football, and that’s a positive. We have four days to get us ready and we are going to use them very well and we are going to put a good performance against Dundee United.

“We have to move on and learn from this and make ourselves ready for Sunday, and that’s the only way we can make this good.” 

Hard to argue with any of that, but the line about there always being another chance in football is a little worrying, as the Scottish cup game against Dundee Utd , should it incur a similar defeat, means there won’t be another chance.

Adam Matthews twisted his ankle last night, meaning that although Celtic have no cover at left back, its becoming clear that we don’t have enough cover on the other flank.

Deila said, somewhat abruptly, when asked about the Welshman:

“Adam has twisted his ankle, so I’m not sure how long he will be out.” 

 Thats three full backs we could be short of at Tannadice, as well as utility man Charlie Mulgrew.

Thankfully, Deila saw this coming a while ago and bought Dundee Uniteds two wide players.

 Perhaps we should get a surgeon to cut all the good bits of the full backs, and put them together to see if we can make one fit one.

I saw something like that in a documentary once. About Sports Science , I think.

you’ve probably seen the stories about a new kit deal next year elsewhere on the web. Its not really news, even the diary was talking about it months back.

 New Balance are about to announce it, Celtic are delighted with it, and its massive.

 Sadly, theres no tie in with the Dallas Cowboys and  no onerous contracts with sports retailers,but despite that, the club should do very well out of it. All sorts of figures have been mentioned, but theres no confirmation as yet.

 Suffice to say its bigger than the Nike one, and hopefully the shirts will be of better quality.

Elsewhere, as you have probably noticed, the AIM have suspended trading in shares of the Rangers International Football club, the abnormal offspring of the parent Rangers FC.

 Some sections of the MSM , who clearly don’t understand finace, reckon this isn’t really a problem.

Matt Lindsay, for instance, tweeted;

I am no financial expert (or a football one even) but I am reliably informed Rangers having their shares suspended is “inconsequential”. 

Incredibly, in just one sentence, Lindsay went from barnstorming and accurate insight straight into lalaland , but he probably can’t see where.

 Heres what it  means when the AIM suspends trading;

This usually heralds very bad news, although suspension can also be the Exchange’s only effective sanction against a company which persists in breaking its rules.

Shares suspended by the Exchange find it hard to return to a full listing. Sometimes the company in question has gone bankrupt. In these circumstances, shareholders just have to grit their teeth and hope something emerges from the gloom. 

Henry Clarson, posting on the Kerrydale Street forum, summed it up in laymans terms;

Let’s see.
The board of directors at Ibrox will be chaired by Murray. King will recede slightly into the background to work his crooked deals.
The club is losing millions and millions of pounds every year.
On top of that, the business plan is to spend millions of pounds which they haven’t got so that they can buy their way up to the top of the domestic game.
The media will downplay the club’s reckless financial policies just as it will gloss over King’s appalling reputation. Journalists will simultaneously fawn over every moonbeam which radiates from the arses of the club’s propagandists.
Nothing can possibly go wrong.

I bet the huns are kicking themselves for not coming up with a wheeze like this ten or fifteen years ago.

Whoever told Lindsay it was inconsequential isn’t someone you’d like sorting out your insurance or pension, it seems. In fact, the hack appears to have found someone with less knowledge of the issue than he does, which is not really how a reporter should go about his business.

 None of this, however, has stopped the press from continuing to back their latest hero, South African fraudster Dave King, who think is the best man for the club.

Well, as a tax fraudster, he fits the template to own that place, and maybe thats why they want him so badly.

 The Record even asked Brian Dempsey, once an ally of Fergus McCann in the coup that ousted the Kelly/ White dynasty at Celtic, when the press were equally dismayed to see a giant of the Scottish game in trouble. ( Is this right ? -Ed )

 Dempsey told the Record, and condemned himself to eternal shame;

“Since Rangers were demoted, Scottish football hasn’t been the same. It has damaged the game.

Sure has. And people who persist in the demotion myth are adding to the problem.

“I don’t know of any other trade association that would have responded by kicking and putting down a member club and fining them more and more money. 

Can someone point me in the direction of a trade association that welcomes fraud, tax dodging, corruption and money laundering ? I’ve got a plan.

“The authorities should have looked at that episode and used it to reorganise the game for the better, asking what they could do to save and protect Scottish football. 

 Yes. They should have.

“I accept the problems at Rangers were self-inflicted.

“There must be leadership and perhaps an appropriate line of discipline should have been taken against directors or other shareholders at fault.

“However, I feel for the thousands of fans who are loyal to their club and who were innocent of any wrongdoing. 

“The ones who have suffered most have been the Rangers fans and with my Labour background I find that appalling and unacceptable.”

What has his Labour background to do with this ?

Dempsey mentioned John Lawrence, the guy who sold to David Murray;

I knew John Lawrence very well through my father and he had unimpeachable integrity ” 

Unless one of his managers wanted to sign a catholic, that is.

“The parallels between our position and Rangers today are quite striking, although we were only 24 hours from going into receivership, which focused the minds of everyone involved.

“Rangers have already been in that position, so it’s not quite ‘24 hours or else’. 

 In that position, and way beyond it. They died, and Dempseys apparent lack of understanding of this makes me glad McCann ditched him as soon as he could.

Phil MacGhiollabhan , on twitter, summed the position the Ibrox club is in, which isn’t exactly stable;

So that’s four NOMADS ,three Chairman and five CEO less than three years. 

When this crash happens, you get the feeling it’ll be even worse than the one involving the old club.

Hope you are ready.

The EGM ( it stands for Everyones Gone Missing ) is tomorrow, and promises more laughter.

King has already met with Ashleys men, and he was supposed to outline his plans.

 Phil Macghiollabhan tells the story …this is worth a read.

Preparing to fail

 One could be tempted to think that King simply has no long term plans.

Which can’t be right, for David is an honourable man.

We hear, however, that another consortium is interested if King fails to gain control…

 That was Batumi, Georgia in yesterdays picture. Or it could have been Kosice. The latter more likely as Jorge Cadete is in the picture.

Today, someone  is having a pop at Jimmy Johnstone in this picture. who does he play for ?

 And we leave you with news of how a prominent member of the Scottish sports media reacted when he heard that Sevco had been suspended from trading