So, we might not get Carlton Cole after all, as it seems he hurt his leg in training. Well, at least he had the decency to get injured before he signed a contract.
So, wonder who is next on the agent inspired list of players that no-one else wants…
Cole would have been drafted in to offer back up for Nadir Ciftci and Leigh Griffiths, although sceptics might argue that Ciftci has so far failed to impress, and that Cole would have been shunted up the queue to allow the Turk time to settle.
An indication of how much Celtic rely on Leigh Griffiths came when the SFA decided to fine and suspend him in the wake of his sing song along with a few Hibs fans before an Edinburgh derby last season. An immediate ban would have been a problem for Celtic.
He got a £2,500 fine and a two game ban , which was suspended, so it appears that here as well a wee bit of plea bargaining had gone on, because , as with the court case, Griffiths could easily have fought it should he have desired, but the nature of the offence, effectively racism, meant that it was better to admit it, and most importantly , learn from it.
Racism is still a problem in society, however much we try to deal with it. For instance, remember the Spice Girls ? You have to wonder why the only black girl in the pop combo was named “Scary Spice “.
Anyway, ahead of tomorrows game against Fenerbahce, there’s a warning from the Evening times;
Fenerbahce remains Celtic strongest opponents in the
Champions League
So, it’s not just Second Rangers they would put in the champions League….
Despite losing their opening game 3-1 at home to Norwegian side Molde, the Times reckons the turks are the main rival to Celtic in the Europa group.
The paper called it “the biggest challenge of the campaign so far ” and called upon Dedryck Boyata to offer his thoughts on the game;
“You never know what can happen in European games, but before you play the games, on paper you can say which team you think is strongest.
“And I think on paper Fenerbahce are the strongest team in the group.
“But you never know what happens out on the pitch. It’s a team game. We all want to play well and come off the pitch having done our jobs well.”
It’s not just the lads decision making that needs working on. It appears his thought processing isn’t up to much either. But to be fair, he is talking about the ever popular “if the game was played on paper ” route that some players and reporters take when they can’t be bothered doing proper research.
And maybe it’s unfair to blame Boyata for his comments.
In fact the press may have been a little harsh on the Belgian, who is finding life a little more difficult than he thought it would be a Celtic. They let him ramble on about Robyn van Persie, now at Fenebahce , but not geting a game;
“I remember playing against Robin van Persie for Bolton and it was tough. Very tough.
“I came on as a substitute at centre-back and we were 10 men against 11 at the Emirates, which made it even harder.
“We all know van Persie. Wherever you go, if you say his name to people they know he is a real quality player.
“He can finish really easily and if we leave him a bit of space in front of goal he will kill us.
“We have to be really tight on him. You only need to type his name into YouTube to see the amazing goals he has scored across his career.
“Have I typed his name into YouTube before? Yes, in the past, not before this game but I’ve seen all his amazing goals for Arsenal and even before that.
“He’s just a really good and really dangerous player.
“As a defender and a football lover, I’ve seen him play. His movement is great and he can hold the ball up well. He’s technically good and he scores goals easily. He has a lot of positive qualities.
Then it appears they let the penny drop;
“I didn’t know he was not getting a start in recent games.
There is good news from the camp.
Stuart Armstrong is back in the squad after recovering from injury. Armstrong plays well, Celtic play well. We’ve missed him.
Emilio Izaguirre will miss the game, he’s suspended , Charlie Mulgrew is injured , which means it will either be Keiran Tierney at left back, or Tyler Blackett.
Whoever gets the nod, be it the inexperienced Tierney or the incapable blackett, the man directly in front in the wide left position will need to track back.
A lot.
Which could well be Armstrong, Or maybe even Tom Rogic, as there’s little doubt Stefan Johansen will resume in the number ten role.
It will be a big night for Efe ambrose as well. He has stepped up to the plate since being handed a little more responsibility at the back, and it hasn’t gone unnoticed back in Nigeria. This is from the “Leadership ” newspaper, which, to say the least, has an unusual title;
Celtic coach John Kennedy has hailed Efe Ambrose for his performances for the team in recent times.
The Nigerian returned to his preferred centre-back role following the departure of Virgil van Dijk and injury to new signing Jozo Simunovic, and in the process Neil Lennon’s side have kept three consecutive clean sheets.
Though Efe got the marching order against Hearts on Saturday, Kennedy feels the former FC Ashdod player is beginning to show his worth to the club.
“The big positive is Efe has come in and done really well for us. He’s been patient,” Kennedy told Dailyrecord.co.uk.
“He’s been patient. He has found himself out of the team when maybe he thought he might have had a chance, but he has trained well and he has certainly come in and done a great job for us in recent weeks. So there is competition there as well.
“He has done it under Neil Lennon for a long time,” he added.
“He has made some errors in the past, as all players do. He has probably been unfortunate at times to find himself out the team.
“But he is a great professional, a terrific player to work with, and when he concentrates he can put in good performances like he has shown in recent weeks,” he concluded.
What does Ronny have to do to shake himself free from the shadow of Neil Lennon….?
Fenerbahce will not want to lose a second game in the group. So it will require hard work, concentration and an impassioned support.
Which won’t bother the Turks, apparently.
Cocky Raul Meireles says Celtic fans will be
wasting their time trying to intimidate Fenerbahce.
Which shows how much he knows. Celtic supporters don’t really go in for intimidation, it’s the support for the hoops that matters. Maybe if the opposition get a penalty there’s a bit of whistling and scarf waving, but that’s about it.
“I know Celtic is a big stadium and I know their atmosphere is well known.
“But if they think they can intimidate a Turkish team? All I can say is good luck.
“I have played in some big games in Portugal and England, but there is nothing like playing in Turkey.
“I think on the return game, they will find out what intimidating means.”
He isn’t the first, and won’t be the last, to misread the effect of the crowd on a Celtic team.
Fenerbahce are not playing well. Van Persie has fell out with the manager, they lost their first game in the group, and they were beaten by Besiktas at the weekend, a result which knocked them off the top of the turkish league.
Meirles denied , though, that now was a good time for Celtic to be playing Fener.
“Maybe Celtic do think it’s a good time to be playing us, I hope they do.
Yes. Because that’s what any team would like to be up against. A fast, confident side, roared on by a big crowd, who think you’re shite.
“The result in the opening game was disappointing, but we are still very confident we can progress.
“We have some of the top players in Europe, there is never a good time to play us. I don’t expect Celtic to make it easy for us, but we are ready.
“Signing players like Nani, Van Persie and Lazar Markovic was a big injection of confidence for us over the summer.
“New players can sometimes need time, but these are players who are used to big games and who have the ability to do special things in these big games.
“Of course we wanted to be playing in The Champions League, but we are not and we accept that.
“This is a competition we want to win and it is a competition we will be doing out best to win.”
He used to play for Chelsea and Liverpool. But not very often.
Celtic really need to start taking this season seriously. not only do we have the challenge of europe, a competition which qualification from the groups is a must, we have the resurgent aberdeen leading domestically.
And that’s not all….
Martyn Waghorn believes Rangers can challenge
Celtic and Aberdeen for Champions League football next season.
“In the short term the Champions League is not unrealistic. It’s realistic if we get promoted, anyone can beat anyone on their day.
“We’re going to set our standards to get into the Champions League, I think that’s realistic for Rangers, how it’s developed and how it’s run.
“We want to be as high as we can as quick as we can. I want to be a part of a successful team and I’ll do anything I can to bring that here.
They’ve only played one Premier league side this season, St. Johnstone, and the Perth side, three up ahortly after half time, felt sorry for them and let them have the ball for a bit.
Quite how they fancy their chances at the top table of european football is , well, a little bemusing.
And amusing, to be honest.
“You can see in the cup in the previous week teams were knocking out other teams.
The difference isn’t that much anymore, the gap is getting tighter and tighter.
Gaps don’t get tighter. They get smaller.
“I want to be part of a Rangers team that is getting into Europe and winning trophies. We just need to concentrate on getting the job done by making sure we get promotion.”
Anyone know how they can make sure of promotion ?
The defeat to St. johnstone, which should have given them a reality check, wasn’t so bad, according to the man the press have dubbed “Waggy ”
“We just had an off day against St Johnstone and it was there for everyone to see. But we’ve analysed it, learned from it and it will make us better. We will improve.
“The manner of the defeat, but St Johnstone played well and they had a gameplan and scored three very good goals. Sometimes you have to take you hat off and say well done.
“But we know if you dip below those standards you get punished at a club of this size. But we showed on Sunday you are a strong squad. Sometimes ittakes a defeat to take a step back and progress again.”
might help them the next time they play a full time team, I suppose.
That story is just the latest in a long line of PR pieces designed to keep the forces of darkness on message. Things, they would have you believe, are all rosy in the Ibrox garden.
Exceot Phil MacGhiollabhan, the author of downfall, which logged the death of the old club, has been digging around again, and he feels that there is more bad news on the way.
A couple of interesting revelations in there, including the closure of Murray Park, and the use of Ibrox confined to just match days ?
You’d think the press would be sniffing around those stories, rather than how Waggy thinks the club would get on in the champions League.
Still, it was partly due to media ignorance or neglect the old club died, so happily, it appears they haven’t learned their lesson yet.
Oh look, a squirrel…
A walk down memory lane now, as today would have been the seventy first birthday of the legend that is Jimmy Johnstone.
What is the story linking the great man to this rather exquisite ornament ?
Faberge made it in honour of the wee man.
Great read as usual thanks.
Is it the Faberge egg created for Jimmy Johnstone?
As for Thursday nights game, I won’t be there.
Just like I did with the old board in the early 90’s, if I don’t agree with the boards attitude and outlook towards the team and the support, I won’t give them my hard earned, it’s an action I don’t want to take, but there is no point in moaning if you do nothing about it.
It is my firm belief that this board do not want to provide the manager and supporters with a team to be proud of, a team to be respected and feared throughout Europe.
Until this board leave or change strategy, I won’t be going back! HH!
Get yourself to the game with a Father Ted “Down with this sort of thing!” banner!
Desi,
The only way change can be affected is by voting with your feet, I’m choosing to do that.
I’ll watch the game in the house and within a minute of kick off will wish that I had gone to the game.
But I feel strongly about this board on a number of issues.
Boycott?????Bucksake Monti get a grip.
That’s the Egg Faberge made in Jinky’s honour.
I think he is the only Sports person ever to have been honoured in this way by Faberge?
I had to laugh when I ead the “Waggy” quotes reminded me of how they used to do the same with “Walter” in days gone by almost like an elevated sense of importance by the Daily 2angerd.
I took it upon myself to watch the first half of the “Morton” game and although 2angers won convincingly it has to be noted “Morton” managed to create 3 clear goalscoring chances and managed to miss them all.
They could easily have gone in at the break 3-3 which I think might have had a bearing on the second half.
Morton are not blessed with Champions League level penalty kick takers like “Waggy” nor do they have the running costs of such a high flying Club as 2angers.
I hope they draw us or Aberdeen in the Celtic Cup next myself then we will soon find out how shite they truly are.
As for Cole if he’s dallying fuck him off cause it’s down to money and nothing else.
There are only two sportsmen to have been honoured in this way by Faberge. Our very own Jinky and the slightly less famous Muhammad Ali..! I also think they are the only people to have Faberge Eggs made to honour them while they were (at the time) alive.
Waggy “We want to be as high as we can as quick as we can” must have been on the wacky before the interview
Waggy on the wackie? 🙂
So the Monkeys ( apologies to real Monkeys) get outclassed on the first half by St.Johnstone at home, 0-3 down at one point….and they think they are a match for Celtic and Aberdeen?
No one should take notice of these fucking rats.
I would like to say I hope we draw them in the Scottish cup to dish out a hammering, but my heart and my head tells me I never want these inbred Zombies through our gates again.
No danger of that it would be a guaranteed away draw Monti 😉
Very true Charlie, we’re all paranoid though!
There is no wish to draw sevco in an competition, it only helps to prolong the day to Armageddon.
However what with Waggy, Warbs etc; you can see there is no bias in the media.
It’s Celtic continuously in melt down according to the press and one game away from the end.
Jock had the right idea treat them with disdain and misinformation, a man who new the value of leading the MSM a merry dance.
Ralph, do you think Celtic will be roared on by a passionate Parkhead crowd on another great European night? We filled Paradise for Inter and what an occasion that was, but we didn’t even fill the ground for the “be all and end all” Champions League qualifiers. I would imagine 40-45k and at the back of some of those minds will be the niggling thought that we should have been playing the previous night.
Hopefully I’m wrong but as you say the fans seek to support our team, not intimidate the other; it just so happens that the volume of support does make more than a few shake in their shoes.
Gerry,
The Champions league may not be ” the be all and end all” for you or some others, you have to respect that it is the be all and end all to others though.
A fierce vision of where we want our club to be is healthy.
We must do more as a Club and as a team!
What I was meaning is if we can’t fill Parkhead for that game what chance of recreating a European night atmosphere for the game tomorrow.
I fully agree, and have said on here before, that the qualifier games are the most important matches in our season. To take the opposite extreme would I mind losing the league title to Aberdeen so long as we had competed in the Champions League? Absolutely not!! BTW I know you, me and all others want the league title AND UCL participation but the title is the most important thing. I just know that Celtic can recover dropped points in our league but cannot recover in qualifiers which is why those particular games are so important imho.
The league is a must for any Celtic manager, and while Ronnie has been given time, failure next year to qualify will not be tolerated I’m sure.
Gerry,
Fully agree with you here!
Sevco are a funny old lot and so are the media that ignore real stories and concentrate on fairy stories like they always did. Moonbeams continue to issue from Sevco HQ unfiltered by reality. It’s pitiful yet somehow amusing as well. I’m also unsurprised by comments about intimidation and a very good counter by Ralph. The implication is that violence, physical harm or even death could be on the cards for teams visiting Turkey. In 2015 the player talking about it should be ashamed of himself. An intimidating atmosphere is one where a support gets right behind the team in a noisy and passionate way, just like Celtic park for big games. Monti please reconsider. I remember a long discussion with a friend of mine years ago about boycotting Ibrox because most of the money went to the old huns. We decided that Celtic need everyone who can go to go and support the team ( by the way the board was worse in those days). Buy some shares and start some activism as an activist shareholder.
Broxburnbhoy,
I know the board was worse then, I witnessed it!
I won’t reconsider mate and I hope the fans vote with their feet on Thursday.
It’s time to send the board a message!
I see Dermot Desmond ( who he?) is shouting about aiming for the later stages of the Champions league.
Aye ok Dermot, we are still scouring around looking for a Gary Hooper, when all we needed to do was maybe err, give Gary Hooper a call.
Dermot, you are taking the piss!
Once again monti I agree with you re CL football it means the world to me. as far as the papers are concerned every post is spot on re their bias so do you know what why the fuck buy them only askin because if you keep buying them they will keep the same bias shite so stop buying hit them where it hurts
drewster,
Have you seen Desmond’s comments today, banging on about Celtic AND the Hun playing in the Premiership in 10 years?
I swear to the God almighty I stopped reading as soon as he mentioned the scum.
FFS my head hurts when they get mentioned now!
Desmond should concentrate on bringing players to the club who will excite the supporters enough to fill the ground!
NOTHING ELSE MATTERS!
Desmond is ripping the piss, on a golf course talking about the deady bears….meanwhile Malmo prepare to play Real Madrid!
I can see right through you Dermot!
Agree
I’m afraid DD’s comments today prove beyond doubt that he sees Celtic inextricably linked to “rangers ” as he delights in calling them.
He can’t (won’t) make a comment on Celtic without mentioning them ,I believe at one point today even putting their name ahead of ours , when mentioning both of us.
It’s hard to comprehend that he can be so out of touch with the Celtic fans feelings on this.Either that , or he couldn’t care less about our position re “whatever ” entity coming out of Ibrox.
I have just been reading what DD has been saying about a British Premier League. I am also bit puzzled by his reference to SEVCO. More reality being missed here by our own Chairman. SEVCO are living beyond their means, just like the old Huns who were liquidated in 2012.They are unlikely to make it to the end of the season financially unless someone loans them more money. This idea of Old Firm is exactly that OLD and GONE. One part of that term was liquidated in 2012 and now we play against Premier teams, who for the most part live within their means. Please Celtic Board Members forget the past and focus on the future. A future without SEVCO and look our for our interests first and foremost. What is the vision? How can we attract more investment? How can we make the match day experience more enjoyable? What commercial deals can we do to fill our bank account? How can we use money wisely in terms of attracting better players even for a couple of years? Lets see some strategic and financial acumen from the Board that translates into better football
Broxburnbhoy,
Good post!
Had to leave at 85 minutes on Saturday…no honest I had to… and listened to 5 live hoping for a late winner when your man says ‘Up in Scotland there’s been a set back for the league leaders…’ my heart sank thinking the cousins had stolen one until I heard the guy say ‘Inverness Caley Thistle 2 Aberdeen 1 ‘ and it dawned on me. Still in that mindset. Joy and pain !
Is Dermot Desmond bumping into things and pishing himself (not in a laughing sense) these days, or is he just so fucking out of touch with the fans of his little plaything?
Stick to the golf course you cretinous twat.
andybhoy,
same old “ten years from now ” crap he was saying ten years ago, regurgitated ten years on.
It’s like Del Boys ” this time next year we’ll be millionaires” line.
That kind of tells me that there is in fact no plan to try to address some of BroxburnBhoy’s questions , above .
Andybhoy,
I think he is bumping into his pal, Dave King.
Dermot Desmond – so out of touch with the Celtic support it’s embarrassing. We’ve missed Rangers these past few years – my fucking arse. It’s time that plonker shut the fuck up then sold up! What a tit.
Althetim,
Well said and I totally concur!
Cannae believe that we now wait for a reject like Carlton Cole to dither over whether he’s going to sign for us as he waits for a better offer from anywhere down South. I know players are professionals and get paid…but give me a guy whose heart is in playing for us first before signing an obvious mercenary who’d probably play for ISIS if they offered him enough cash.
That’s how low we’ve sunk…and to rub salt in the wound Finnbogason scored the winner against Arsenal yesterday…we could have had him for 4 million at one time.
Monti…cheer up ffs!!!! I’m depressed enough for the two of us.
Funkyy,
You are regularly looking for me to ” Cheer up “?
Ok then I know what I’ll do, I’ll read Dermot Desmond’s latest words of wisdom shall I?
There, I feel better now thanks Dermot.
P.S. Dermot?
Instead of telling the watching world what your hopes are for rangers ( IL) why aren’t you demanding answers from the SFA as to why they gave original Rangers a European licence to play in the CL in 2011? Thus denying Celtic those revenues? Go on Dermot, ask them!
Only Faberge egg to be given in honour of someone who was still alive when it was commissioned……..that is how much we Jinky was revered. !!!
Chris, I’d never seen that Faberge Egg before It’s outstanding. Is it still with the family or on display at Parkhead? What an honour, but well deserved.
I am open to contradiction but I believe that a Celtic fan or Jinky admirer who at one time ran a sub post office in Dumbarton may have bought it a few years ago.
Was it Willie Haughey by any chance?
Speaking of which, I wish Celtic get their arse out of gear with the plan to build a visitors centre including a museum in the space of the old school.
Maybe we are waiting on ‘state aid’ 🙂
Or the sale of Bitton!
Q.How many Lisbon Lions have been knighted?
God that’s a good question Monti, can’t think of one.
Hate the honours system anyway so s GIRFUY ya shower of Tory Basurts.
What are the scouts at Celtic doing? FFS Finbogasson is on loan to Olympiacos ?
We are pissing about with CC when this guy was drifting in the reserves with Davie Moyes team .. I could have made that call to Moyes and he would probably have listened. So that is Hooper and Finbogasson we have missed out on. Wassocks!!!!!!
Morning Dan,
I have mentioned before here about the Eastern European market and possible hidden gems to be found there.
Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary to be exact.
There must be a player or two in these leagues that could enhance the Celtic side.
It’s a big world out there but we are still bringing in ‘ work in progress ‘ players?
This has to stop.
Look at the Job Markus Rosenborg did against us for Malmo…Rosenborg is 33 but still has the know how.
Poland is another country that produces good strikers, are we even looking there?
lol monti dont be silly, of course were not looking in poland…. that would mean spending 3 million on a striker!!!