Hooray! Celebrity big Brother is back. Or as it’s now called, Big Brother.

Something to do with Trading Standards.

Jenna Jameson, the ,er, adult movie star made a huge entrance, as opposed to making her entrance huge.

Well, just trying to cheer myself up.

It’s Friday.

The draw for the League Cup was made yesterday, and Celtic will face Raith rovers at Celtic Park in the last sixteen.

There was a huge sigh of relief. at least we didn’t have to face these guys;

Rangers are capable of hitting NINE goals in ONE game

after their storming start to the season, says Rob Kiernan.

So, it’s not just their fans suffering from a refusal to face reality.

The Ibrox side were given their traditional home draw, but as a non seeded side, they must face St. johnstone, a much higher clas of opponent than they have come across during the Warburton era.

There’s another draw taking place today, and Celtic will find out who they will face in the group stages of the Europa League.

You’ll notice that Southampton aren’t in there.

Despite spending an incredible £92 million in the last eighteen months or so, they failed to overcome modest Danish opposition in Midtylland, which makes me oddly , and perhaps childishly, cheerful.

Not everyone sees it that way, though.

The big dutch defender has apparently cleared out his twitter account, and the signs are he will be away. If anyone wants him, that is.

Ronny seems resigned to it;

“He’s a top player but Celtic as a team is important. He’s under contract and we want to keep him. He has ambitions to take the next step in his career but it has to be right for everybody if that is to happen.” 

If his heart isn’t in it, let him go.

For the right money of course.

Just to clarify. Southampton spent £92 million . It’s not what you spend, it’s how you spend it. And what you do with what you’ve bought.

And one of their better buys wants away…..

The grass isn’t always greener on the other side of the border.

Despite what the “secret Journalist ” might say. To be fair, coming out with shite like this, I’d keep my identity secret as well.

Celtic in PL just a joke

It all seems to have all gone quiet on the regularly resurrected hot topic of Celtic and Rangers joining the English Premier League. I wonder why? Rangers went into financial meltdown and are still struggling to regain their place in the top flight north of the border. And as Celtic continue to win their domestic league title with embarrassing ease, they still can’t compete with even the mediocre among the European elite.

Witness their timid exit from the Champions League play-off round against Sweden’s Malmo in midweek. Even manager Ronny Deila admitted that they were “frightened and scared” during the 2-0 second-leg defeat and 4-3 loss on aggregate. Bye bye, the CL and its mega-riches … hello, Europa League and its Thursday-Sunday slog.

Forget Rangers for the time being – they are currently irrelevant – but Celtic in the EPL might make Sunderland look half-decent. At least, on relegation, the not-so-bold “Bhoys” could rebuild in our Championship.

Funny, he didn’t mention Southampton or West Ham.

Todays Europa draw throws up a number of interesting possiblities. There won’t be any walk overs, and the support will need to get behind the team in the way they would have had it been the UCL. We’re not ready to make an impact there yet. Why should we worry too much about the players confidence being shattered by teams already capable at that level ?

Surely it’s better to work our way up than try to come back up ?

And at least we can be confident-well, alright, optimistic of participation after christmas.

That’s because the pressure will be off, and the players can continue their learning about European football. The Deila plan involves taking the best young Scots, and infusing them with the best ideas about how to play the game.

It’ll come, we just need to be patient.

There has been talk of spending on marquee type players, and maybe a wee bit of experience would help, but apart from playing in Scotland, which isn’t really sold very well as a league, and the lower wages on offer, there’s also the challenge of getting a player to live in the wild wet west of Scotland.

Under Deila, we may have to take a step backwards, but the signs are, despite one or two setbacks, we are, on the whole, moving forward.

After all, it’s only a few weeks since we saw one of our best away performances against  Qarabag. although we followed it up with one of our worst. The extremes could have been done without, but there is definite improvement on twelve months ago.

The players are fitter, the team is better.

There’s a lot of work still to be done, but if we continue to put in the foundations properly, the structure  will be a lot stronger.

Anyway, whats the alternative ?

It would show an amazing lack of foresight, even ambition, to ditch the policy now.

Now, that might be sen as a somewhat partisan view in a Celtic minded article on a Celtic minded website. Thats because it is, but I like to think i’ve given good reasons to at least make you think about it.

Which is why when it comes to the Daily Record choosing their “blogger of the week, ” and giving him the chance to air his views, they probably won’t pick me.

Though they have picked Jonathan MacFarlane again. Who sees the exit to Malmo as the

key to Rangers’ return to the summit of Scottish football.

The thought of an already dominant domestically Parkhead club being able to bank more than £20 million in Champion’s League revenue would be enough to trouble the sleeping patterns of even the most optimistic Teddy Bear.

It would have put them in an extremely strong position for next season’s inevitable resumption of Old Firm hostilities and left Rangers playing catch-up on a scale that would be difficult to bridge over anything other than the long term.

Gers fans have to be pretty thankful then, that after Malmo, Celtic are now weaker and more vulnerable than at any time in the last decade. 

Not as weak as the Gers. They’re beyond the point of resuscitation . But please, do go on.

They have a manager whose chief positive attribute seems to be the ability to talk like a football hipster. He certainly knows how to sell himself and his ‘new ideas’, but looking at his record you have to wonder if he isn’t just a Norwegian Kenny Shiels.

His record is one of consistent failure in big games and from a Rangers perspective; you can only hope he trundles on into next season. 

If you don’t count the two trophies last season.

There Ronny Delia will come up against a much stronger test, a man with a magic hat. 

Presumably that’s where the transfer kitty is kept.

Last season we got our club back and now it seems like our place in Scottish Football is finally visible on the horizon.

Your place in Scottish football is not only visible on the horizon, it’s as clear as the hand in front of your face. surprised you can’t see it , really. It’s been there for a few years.

Away from all that, and Aston Villa striker Libor Kozak has turned down a move to Celtic, which is a relief. Whilst i’m not advocating over spending on players, we need to move away from buying diddies who have done nothing in the last two years so they can come to Glasgow and do nothing for the next two.

 Seriously, get the guy who scouts strikers into the office, and show him this.

Help him fill it in, and send him on his way.

Elsewhere on the site, there’s an excellent article on the French football market, showing that there are players out there, within our budget that could make a difference.

This site has readers all over the world, if any of you have any thoughts on any players in your neck of the woods, let us know.

I’m willing to bet we’d come up with better options than the one’s that are probably on Deila’s desk this morning.

Thats because we are not agents.

Here’s a picture from the past. And it’s another of those what happened next type questions.

So, what happened next ?

And where is this, and why might it be worth putting the picture up in the dressing room for the players ?