The League cup is upon us, the opening game in the fourth tournament of the season takes place tonight at celtic Park, and old friends Raith Rovers, the 2014 Petrofac cup winners, are the opponents.

The word on the street is that Ronny deila will be handing out a couple of debuts tonight, and high on the list of favourites to make an appearance is young Aiden Nesbitt, who was left out of last nights development squad game at Hamilton.

For those of you who indulge in gambling, and still have money left, a wee flutter on Nesbitt scoring at any time in the game would probably be a sound investment. Double it up with the long awaited 7-0 win, and you can thank me in the morning.

In cash, of course.

Although you are likely to spot why I don’t gamble by around ten o’clock tonight.

We spoke of Nesbitt in an earlier Diary, and with Celtic being somewhat light up front, there is no reason why he shouldn’t be given a run out, and gradually integrated into the squad. He’s scoring goals, creating chances, and has a neat turn of pace.

By the way, if you want a laugh, click on the official websites development squad page and have a look at the photo’s of the players. They’re hilarious.

You might also want to have a look at Wikipedia’s page on the Celtic youth squad, where it says that no less than twenty five kids have come through the ranks in recent years to become international players. Something Gordon Waddell of the Sunday Mail must have missed during his moan about the youth system.

Debuts are often handed out to youngsters in the League cup early rounds, and there is always a danger it can affect their career in not quite the way it was intended.

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Louis van Gaal’s miserable start to life as Manchester United boss continued with a massive Capital One Cup shock at the hands of League One MK Dons.  

There were elements of inexperience in United’s line-up, particularly out wide where there were debuts for Saidy Janko and Reece James, who operated either side of the defensive back three that Van Gaal has steadfastly stuck by in his three games in charge.  

Janko was substituted at half time, and to be fair , it was only 1-0 at that point.

Fortunately, he doesn’t seem to have let it affect him, and perhaps that attitude was a factor in deciding to bring him to Celtic Park.

Janko remembers the occasion;

“Yeah, it was a bit unfortunate,He (Van Gaal) was not happy with the formation. I was the one who had to go off but at least I got a few minutes.

“It was a good experience for me because not many 18-year-olds get to play in the first team at Manchester United so I’m very honoured, but it definitely could have gone better.

“I was one of the younger guys and I was trying to give my best but perhaps it was difficult for the players to play with the younger players.

“He didn’t speak to me. Ryan Giggs said I did well and it was a bit unfortunate. 

And on tonights game ?

“I don’t know much about Raith to be honest, but you have to be 100 per cent aware and be ready for the game.”  

Well, at least he didn’t say it was a lovely town..,

Janko, it has to be said, frightened the life out of one or two Celtic fans against ajax when he thought the ball was going out for a Celtic throw towards the right defensive flank, and instead of clearing his lines , kind of hung around a bit waving his arms.

His attacking play is fine, his pace is excellent, but his decision making is dreadful.

Any kid playing football is told to play to the whistle. He didn’t, and I still can’t figure out why.

Speaking of the Ajax game, Janko also added;

“It was the first time my dad’s side of the family had been up in Glasgow, It was good for him to see me and it was definitely a motivation. 

Ah!

Perhaps he meant “distraction ” .

Regarding the League Cup, it’s always been my view that you can’t win a treble without it, and so I’m always a little nervous when big changes are made to the side, but arguably the best two domestic performances, against the dundee clubs, have seen a less familiar line up, and for those close to Glasgow and at a loose end tonight, there may be another treat in store if Deila decides to swap things around a bit again.

Well, I say swap things around, but the side that took Dundee apart , with a few changes might be seen as a bit of a throw of the dice, but for most supporters, there would be a certain level of curiosity and excitement at seeing a similar swashbuckling performance.

 For me, tonight’s line up would be

Bailly, Janko, Simunovic, Ambrose, Tierney, Brown, Biton, Commons, Rogic, Nesbitt, Ciftci.

With the likes of MacGregor, Blackett and Mackay Steven getting a run out as well if no-one gets hurt.

There is always the ptential for shocks in this tournament, Morton, for instance beat Premier league Motherwell last night, but all the other games pretty much went to form, although Dundee United were taken to extra time by Dunfermline.

One manager, who’s name escapes me, may well have expected greater things from his first division side, and there were fears for his mental state last night after an item of clothing was found in the Clyde ;

For some reason, a first division new club were expected by everyone who doesn’t know anything about football to overcome experienced European campaigners St. Johnstone, and it appears some of them are taking it quite badly. Especially as they left the press box at Ibrox;

The Daily Express, still a little smug over it’s revelations that Nir biton is in talks over a new contract, got even smugger when it was confirmed by Ronny Deila.

Sort of.

“Nir is a player we want to have for a long time so, of course, he is one we are looking to keep. We are looking at everyone’s contract, we have control over that.

“The process is not done in one day. It takes time and you have to do it in the right way. However, Peter Lawwell and I have a lot of experience in these situations. We know what to do and when to start it.

“We have quite a few players who can get better and have the potential to get up to the level of Fraser Forster or Virgil Van Dijk.

“Nir has the possibility to be a top European player and is taking steps all the time. I think he can make it.” 

The key phrase there was the desire to get them up to the level of Forster and van dijk, ( £10m plus ) who are now with European giants Southampton.

Well, that should have the lad staying behind after training practising his fucking dribbling.

Clearly on a roll, the Express had another exclusive today;

Celtic miss out on Real Madrid transfer swoop but open talks over another new deal

CELTIC have reportedly missed the chance to sign Real Madrid wonderkid Martin Odegaard on loan

Well, that’s me checking their horoscopes before I plan my day.

There was a headline that got a few fans kind of excited, over on the official site;

Laurie Ross signs five-year deal with Celtic

Wow. He must be good.

Perhaps another promising youngster tied up to ensure his development continues at the already astounding pace it has begun ?

Er, no.

CELTIC have announced that they have appointed a new official broker partner, as insurance brokers Laurie Ross have committed to a five-year deal that offers both personal and commercial insurance products to the club’s supporters. 

Presumably they are only interested now that Celtic are trying to offload Derk Boerrigter, as any cover offered to him would play havoc with their share price.

but credit where credit is due…

The company will also donate £10 to Celtic FC Foundation for every purchase from their range of insurance products. 

Fair enough.

Oh, wait…now I have doubts….

Adrian Filby, Celtic’s Commercial Director said: “We are delighted to welcome Laurie Ross, such a successful organisation to Celtic as one of our new partners.

“We are sure the company will provide an excellent service to our supporters. 

Why should I have doubts ?

Adrian Filby is the man who assured me-and I mean me-that there was a guarantee of quality from New Balance when he signed the kit contract.

I think I’ll stick with the fat Welsh singer from the telly.

Still on contract issues, or at least potential signings, Ronny Deila has spoken about the possible addition of Carlton Cole to the squad;

Mind you, did you see Cole’s reaction when he was told the wages… ?

“Carlton loves playing football. He had a tough time at West Ham in the end having been so much involved. He is hungry to have fun with football again, score goals and be important for a team. He loves the way things have been here so far.

“Celtic sells itself. He was at the game on Sunday and saw the stadium, the fans and the way we play football. He now knows that to play as a striker in this team can be quite fun.

“It’s his first time in Scotland. It’s different. London is London, but Glasgow is a big city too. In London he can be anonymous and here he wouldn’t be, but there are negatives and positives about that. He will be an important figure and a star here.” 

“As always, these things start with agents, but I called Carlton first to try and persuade him to come up for a while.

“I’ve always brought in experience before, just maybe not at Celtic. The most important thing is not to use a lot of money in transfer fees to players who don’t give the club a financial return.

“Carlton was very interested to see around the club and what is possible. I know he has had options, but things happen near the end of the transfer window when your chess pieces don’t always fall into place and you find yourself out the game.

“We have not moved for him because of the start Aberdeen have made, it has nothing to do with that. We want to get better.

“We’re always looking for ways to improve the squad and we’ve been looking for a target man for a long time. We haven’t found one yet and maybe Carlton can be that man.

So, Nadir Ciftci finally breaks his duck, and for the first time in his few months at Celtic , is probably walking with a bit of a spring in his step, and a little bit of confidence, and Ronny kicks him squarely in the hee haws.

I hope he bites him.

A while back, there was a bit of a rammy between Steven Gerrad and El Hadji Diouf, the former pointing out that the latter could be summed up as a man by his action of spitting at a Celtic supporter in the crowd curing the Liverpool -Celtic UEFA Cup game during the Seville run.

Diouf responded by claiming that Gerrard, and Liverpool just didn’t like blacks. Something which would have surprised John Barnes, a legend in his time at Anfield. however, Liverpool used to be sponsored by a paint comapny, who if i’m not mistaken, used to refer only to their white paint as “brilliant “, so Broony’s old pal might have had a point.

You see, as you go through life, we must always consider those who do not share our own point of view, those who admirably maintain that, no matter what the evidence, no matter how ridiculous they look, they will still cling to their own beliefs, and I say good luck to them.

Stayed away from policial jokes today, so as not to upset the Camerons. They have filed for divorce, with Samantha citing pigamy as the reason.

Here’s one for eagle eyed tims now.

Donkeyoatie on twitter posted this picture, with the caption, “Naw, Sevco unry comin’ “

Can you do better ?