Before we start today, I’d just like to thank nearly three thousand readers of the follow follow website, who popped over yesterday to have a look at what they termed a “Timplosion” and “comedy gold “.

If only they’d showed so much concern when their own club was in turmoil, when businessmen and venture capitalists took turns to rape it from all angles before leaving it for dead in the gutter, then I could understand their glee. Bizarrely, the SFA, the target of the Resolution 12 movement, was the authority that sanctioned the venture capitalists who proceeded to gently prise millions of pounds from a gullible support, desperate to believe anyone who said they were still the same club, having bought the titles and history from , er, themselves , presumably.

Yet somehow, they think we’re all a bit doo lally.

In fairness to them, they’re getting ready for their first stint in the big time, and at least one of them is getting right into the spirit of the old club, and its old ways…

There will be more news on the Resolution 12 issue towards the end of the week, and we’ll keep you informed.

Back to the ongoing chatter about changes at Celtic, and Bertie Auld, who knows a thing or two about football, reckons that the club should move for a new management duo…

Celtic FC: Martin O’Neill and Roy Keane should be Hoops

dream team says Bertie Auld 

BERTIE AULD has called on Celtic to break the bank and appoint a managerial dream team of Martin O’Neill and Roy Keane.

The 78-year-old Lisbon Lion believes the Irish duo should be at the top of the champions’ wish list to replace Ronny Deila and restore the club’s fortunes by using an iron fist.

One of the hurdles potential candidates such as O’Neill and Keane face is their participation with the Republic of Ireland at this summer’s European Championship Finals with the start of Celtic’s Champions League qualifiers counting down towards mid-July.

But Auld would be happy to suffer a haywire summer if it meant getting his ideal partnership of two former Hoops heroes in place.

He said: “Celtic should appoint Martin O’Neill, only on the understanding that Roy Keane would come with him because you need that balance.

“And I’m telling you straight, Dermot Desmond must unlock the purse. What we need is a strict person to come in.

“Keane is the right one because he won’t take any nonsense and having Martin back first and foremost he would run things from the top of the house.

“I know they’re going to the Euros with Ireland and there are qualifiers in July but every team has to deal with that.

“I only hope they get it right. Don’t bring in an apprentice to do a journeyman’s job. Unfortunately that has happened two or three times at Celtic Park.

“What’s the use of having a 60,000 stadium if there is nobody in it. The supporters need someone at boardroom level who is there for them.” 

“The players are frightened to make mistakes. The game against Rangers highlighted that.

“They bottled the first half – I don’t think they turned up at all. Everybody knows in the first 25 minutes of an Old Firm you have to come out on top.

“Big Jock used to tell us we had to go out, shut them down, and go through in every 50-50 challenge because it was still a contact sport then.

“If you look at what happened in that semi-final at Hampden, Rangers 
dominated because Celtic didn’t come out and shut them down.

“They were like rabbits caught in the headlights as Rangers knocked the ball here and knocked the ball there and when you have only one man up front it makes it more difficult.

They took stage fright when it should have been the other way about. I don’t get anything from watching this Celtic team – that’s why I change my glasses!

The thing about Bertie is, once you get him started on Celtic, he doesn’t stop…

“The fans getting unhappy is not something that has happened overnight.

“They don’t have that in their make-up. They have been brought up throughout the history of club on entertaining players and the quality hasn’t been there this season.

“Ronny has gone in there and been very honest but I think he’s more of a fitness coach than anything else.

“In the first year you really expected him to learn because in European football you get punished if you don’t know the game.

“He brought in John Collins and you were looking for a wee bit rubbing off on him there. But unfortunately it hasn’t changed in the two years.

“I’m not sure if Collins did enough or not because I wasn’t there at Lennoxtown to watch.

“John Kennedy is just a young boy and I didn’t realise he played so few games for Celtic – I think he only played 30 games.

“I don’t think the three of them got together enough to discuss things. One is out on the track and the other two are on the bench.

“Ronny had a system in his mind but you can only play a system that suits the players.

“I’m really disappointed in the last two matches especially – the semi-final and Sunday’s game.

“I don’t know what like a player Ryan Christie is or Scott Allan is because they don’t play.

“But if we’d won on Sunday we could bring them in front of big crowds in the remaining games.” 

There’s not much wrong with any that, and Auld is one of the few we can forgive for using the OF words, but events of late make you wonder if the original use of the phrase, which was coined to describe the mutual sense of financial compatibility  has become even stronger of late, in the two boardrooms.

We’ve heard of the existence of a video that has Dave king and Peter Lawwell singing to each other, though all i could make out was “I need you, and you need me, and we’re a ha-ppeee family , with a great big hug and a kiss from me to you….”

I’m sure that song came originally from something to do with a great big purple dinosaur.

Scott Brown has been over in Dublin to publicise the upcoming International champions cup, or whatever its called, which itself is indicative of the way the club is being run these days. Surely with a league game at a difficult ground this weekend, that could potentially land the fifth title, there are more important things he should be doing ?

Those of you thinking of nipping over the water for the game might want to reconsider , however, bearing in mind the cost of tickets…

With the cheapest seats at 60 euros, it doesn’t promise value for money, but hey ho, who gives a toss about the support ?

Brown was pictured with Edgar Davids to promote the game, and we hear he asked him if those glasses really did help him find team mates with a pass…

60 euros ?

Thats actually as much as I’ve ever paid to go to a game, and although I was thinking of going over, it isn’t going to happen now.

It’s interesting to see O’Neills name mentioned in the media, as he had asked not to be linked with the club until after the euro’s, which is in direct contrast to nearly everyone else in the management world who doesn’t have a job.

We’ve been saying O’Neill and Keane for a while now, and the reports that Desmond is after a box office manager seem to strengthen the case that this has been on the cards for a while now.

It’s unlikely that Peter Lawwell will still be around if this is the case, and as Desmond is currently looking into whats been going on over the last couple of years while he’s been at the golf, then don’t be surprised if Lawwells tenure comes to an end.

While we’re on the subject of owners and board members, it’s worth taking a moment to actually praise one of them, the much maligned Lord Livingston, who actually voted against the government on the issue of allowing three thousand children sanctuary in Britian, the only Tory lord to do so.

We criticised him when he voted the wrong way in the past, so its only fair to commend him for doing the right thing this time.

Rebel Voters – sorted by party

Lords for which their vote in this division differed from the majority vote of their party. You can see all votes in this division, orevery eligible lord who could have voted in this division

Sort by: Name | Party | Vote

A rebel on the board !

I’ll pop a cd in the post he can have a listen to…maybe we’ll have them all singing the Foggy Dew before they start their meetings.

Ah, the board. They really don’t have a sense of humour, as the govan Emerald CSC found out when they tried to make a bid in the charity auction at the player of the year knees up;

Away from all that, on a serious note, there is a game to look forward to, and one wee boy, a Hearts fan , is looking forward to it more than most..

I think we can do that, can’t we ? Good luck to the wee man, and I hope he has a great day.

We’ve not had a caption competition for a while, so we’ll start over with this one today…