Another example of taking a quote and turning it into a story comes today from the Daily Mail, which shouldn’t surprise anyone;

Celtic midfielder Nir Bitton hopes to see Rangers back in the Premiership next season to add extra spice to campaign

• Nir Bitton wants Old Firm rivals Rangers to return to Scottish Premiership
• Celtic midfielder believes it would make top flight ‘much more interesting’ 
• Rangers on track for promotion after perfect start to the season

Even down to the last line, which mentions the “perfect start to the season ” 

So, why has Nir Biton been pleading for their return ?

He’s been on international duty, and the Israeli media have asked him about life in Glasgow. To which he replied;

‘I’d rather play for Celtic in the Scottish Premiership than Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Champions League group stage,’ he told Israeli media. ‘The Scottish Premiership is simply better than the Israeli league.

‘The Israeli league is more technical while the Scottish Premiership is stronger, faster and more intensive.

‘It’s completely different and it’s hard to put into words what Celtic means. There’s certainly nothing like it in Israel – 50,000 fans for every game, amazing support and a powerful club.

‘Everything at the club runs smoothly and I’m enjoying every minute of it and have no thoughts about leaving.

‘It’s not the sexiest league in the world but the games are tough and our opponents give 200 per cent. We’re expected to win every game but it’s not always possible.

Nothing wrong with any of that, though, presumably due to the “OldFirm ” myth perpetuated worldwide , the midfieder was asked about the once mighty,sorry, once existing, Mighty Gers. 

‘Obviously we’re missing the Old Firm derby and when it happens it will be great for all of Scottish football.

‘I hope that they (Rangers) will be promoted for next season and that will make things much more interestin

Diplomatic enough, largely because his original answer was deemed a little too controversial, even by Israeli answers , to make it into print, and thankfully it was pulled at the last minute.

” Do I miss them ? Do I fuck ! From what I hear their hatred and bigotry makes your actions towards the Palestinians look acceptable.” 

Alright. He didn’t say that. But he wanted to. Probably.

He did admit that his dream was to play in one of Europes top leagues, but there is a feeling he was only paying lip service. Biton has two years on his contract, and is negotiating a new one.

Not to be outdone, the same story was covered by the Record;

Celtic midfielder Nir Bitton: Rangers returning

to the top flight will be great for Scottish football

All this in the week when the big fraud case gathers momentum….

Agenda ? Don’t be paranoid, Timmy.

It’s almost like the failure to get promotion last year means that the new clubs money is running out and they need a wee bit of help from their friends to survive the season.

Stuart Armstrong is another enjoying life at Celtic, and is looking forward to getting back in the side;

“I’m really eager now to just get back involved.

“It was nice to get 
half an hour against Hamilton and get back into it and feel good.

“That was the first game where I felt my normal self again so if I can continue that there are a lot of games coming up and hopefully I can play my part at some point.

“They are all big matches as we’re still pushing for the league and we have theLeague Cup tie against Hearts coming up as well, which is an important one for us. 

“We’d like to retain that trophy and then there’s the Europa League and everyone wants to play in that too so it’s an exciting month. I hope I’m a part 
of that.”

Real football is back this weekend, and Celtic travel to Motherwell in what will be the debut of Mark McGhee as manager. ( Yes, I know he was there before, but you know what I mean )

The delight on his face will surely be matched by the long suffering Lanarkshire fans.

Armstrong is looking forward to the game, showing an enthusiasm which some might find surprising. Motherwell is a great wee place, but lately it’s not been the most pleasant day out for a football match.

When I was at Dundee United we always played well against Motherwell for some reason. They liked to pass the ball and it was always an open game so it tended to be high scoring and we seemed to come out on top.

“It’s away from home and Fir Park seems to be one of these pitches where there’s a lot of space so I always enjoy playing there.

“Hopefully I can play my part when we go there but there are a lot of different types of games and the manager may want to call on different personnel.” 

Come to think of it, after police behaviour in Hamilton, it might be worth anyone planning a trip to Motherwell, which has been known to be a little tense on matchdays, to have a look at this from the CAB;

police powers in Scotland

It may be a little more exciting to shout “you’ll never take me alive , copper ” before jumping off a bridge, but it’s an awful lot better to simply know your rights.

Another club, which admittedly has never been a favourite amongst the Celtic support, is Kilmarnock. And it appears they are going out of their way to continue that tradition.

After receiving feedback regarding the Clubs ticketing and pricing policies the Kilmarnock FC Board of Directors held a consultation meeting with a cross section of supporters to address any issues.

During the meeting it was made clear that some fans felt they were being unfairly penalised for making a decision on the day of a match to come along and support their team. Fans who purchased tickets before midnight the day before the match were paying £20 for adults and £15 for concessions whilst supporters were charged £24 and £18 on the day. 

The Board of Directors sympathise with fans who may have felt disappointed at having to pay more and subsequently stayed away. 

To address this issue the Board of Directors are pleased to confirm Kilmarnock FC will now charge one flat rate for each category of fans. 

Tickets will now be priced as follows:

Please note these prices DO NOT apply to league matches against Celtic, SPFL play-off matches or Scottish cup ties and are subject to review and amendment by the Club at any time. 

In addition to charging one flat rate the Board of Directors have also agreed to re-introduce a student category for the remainder of the 2015/16 season. 

Well, we won’t go then.

And their pies are overrated.

Seems like Celtic are about to be gazumped in the hunt for John Souttar, the dundee Utd defender linked with a move to Celtic Park in January;

RANGERS have been linked with a move for Dundee United defender John Souttar, just days after reported interest from Celtic.

See. They don’t need scouts. They just have a look to see who we are after, and then the plan is to plague him through the press about where he should go….

The 19-year-old, who can play in defensive midfield or central defence, has been courted by the likes of Arsenal, Southampton and Sunderland, with United accepting a £600k bid from the latter only for Souttar to knock it back.

Rangers are reportedly on the lookout for defensive cover, with Souttar mentioned as a possible target. (Various) 

And they’re on the look out for legal cover, it seems…as Charles Green continues his fight to prove that the Ibrox club should pay his legal fees.

That case has been moved back to November, as the judge thinks there is a “need for debate ” .

And the lodge meetings are at the end of the month, so he needs to wait for instruction.

The case was brought forward from Friday to yesterday, and the legal team from Ibrox wanted it thrown out. The judge disagreed, and so now there will be a formal hearing next month.

You could also argue that Green wanted his money sorted, the club doesn’t have it, so the judge put it back to next month as a delaying tactic.

Fair play to Green. He turned up at court and proved he still loves the club;

The judge is Lord Tyre. now, where have I heard that name before ?

Paul McConville on Lord Tyre

Gives you an idea as to how these things work, I suppose.

But then again, we already knew that.

Oh, by the way. Don’t worry if your New Balance top doesn’t last the season.

There’ll be some more next season….

And the season after that.

Caption competition time, and is that famous photo from yesteryear, which reminds us why footballers should always wear club suits, shirts and ties;