Celtic Diary Monday July 4: Stomach Bug Hits Squad.

We got word yesterday of an outbreak of a stomach bug in the camp, and one player is bedridden whilst others are complaining of feeling unwell. Lets hope it blows over, but its fair to say that if a squad goes through a lot of shit together, it will help with bonding.

The club may however, be accused of skimping on the private health insurance premiums

Ryan Christie was on target yesterday as the Celts began their annual practice run at beating second rate european teams in time for the european qualifiers. A 1-0 win was enough to put the smiles back on the faces of the supporters who remembered there was a game on, and who weren’t sitting in the back garden enjoying a beer.

Having not mentioned the game at all in yesterdays diary, you can see what category I fall into, and you can also see why the Lennon CSC don’t involve me in any of the planning for trips to the game, electing just to text me a couple of days before instead.

Rodgers used twenty two players during the game, showing again that he is using the tour to have a look at everyone, and decide who he wants, who he doesn’t want and where he wants them.

The only player not to be substituted at half time was nir biton, but as Brendan explained after the game, the Israeli, not noted for his speed, hadn’t made it to the dressing room by the start of the second half, so it was easier to leave him where he was.

again, it was all a bit lacklustre-judgung from reports, I didn’t see the game, so I’m just assessing it from what everyone else is saying-but these games usually are, and the result doesn’t really matter, unless , of course, we get beat.

Then its a full blown crisis, complete with shattered crests and gleeful reporters.

A win, of course, doesn’t suit their agenda, so they will play it down.

On the transfer front, another player from the Welsh European Nations side has been linked, this time it’s chris Gunter, who has a £1m release clause in his contratc, which seems a little low, but then again, who knew he’d be resting up today with a European semi final on his mind ?

This could mean that three of the team end up at Celtic, leaving a distraught Gareth Bale to head back to Spain on his own.

Robson Kanu’s wife has told the babysitter the deal is done, Joe Allan is upset at the graffiti sprayed on  supermarket car parks all over Wales, and wants to get away from it all to the quiet life in Glasgow, and now Gunter.

A search on google for the evidence of this actually showed that the problem is getting worse, with blue positive instruction signs now appearing by the roadside…

a bit harsh, but the Welsh can be like that.

We have a couple in the Lennon CSC, and I was surprised at how vindictive they can be.

Tell you a wee story…

On the way back from one game, up north somewhere, possibly Aberdeen or Dundee, we were re-routed past Gleneagles, and as the delay was quite long, several of us were forced to stop and have a pee by a field. In that field were several sheep, and i asked one of our welsh chaps if they were okay being so close to one of the fluffy honeys whilst holding his willy in his hand..

He replied, rather tersely, that whilst they may do that to them, they then sell them to us and we eat them, which is a terrible way of destroying society, and thankfully one that ISIS haven’t thought of yet.

Mind you, when I think of all the journalists who have eaten succulent lamb, a little smile always plays across my lips.

Bayer Leverkusen may be about to offer £1.5m for Efe Ambrose, but they want to inset a clause that they get a full refund of he makes an arse of it in an important game, which has caused negotiations to stall, and he could be joined in the Bundesliga by Stefan Johansen, who is showing very little interest in hanging around any longer than necessary in Glasgow.

And “Kris Commons” , “Hibernian” , and “re-united” are words we keep hearing in the same sentence…

Kristoffer Ajer had another outing at centre half yesterday, and Brendan , speaking after the game, hinted that he might well be able to do a job there, in the same way that many of us will remember the conversion of Brian O’Neill.

We’ll see where he fits in. He’s 6ft 5in so I don’t think he’s going to be a right-back!” said Rodgers. “I just see him as a good footballer. At his size, being very comfortable on the ball, once you get that aggression into your game, it’s a position he could play very well,” he added. 

The important thing to take from that is that the lad is a “good footballer “, which is something you don’t see very often these days, and we already know he played in a few different positions for his previous club, and if he can do that at a higher level, then its a bonus.

Chris Sutton was probably the last player we had who could perform in different positions at a high level, and it was always a mystery to me why his national coaches never saw that when picking a squad for tournaments, and there’s no question that a player who can do that is a tremendous asset.

As long as he doesn’t get demoted to utility player, that is.

Speaking of wonderkids-the title given to Ajer by the media, we’re in for another one, according to Football Insider;

Celtic are interested in signing right-back Musa Mohammed from Turkish side Istanbul Basaksehir, according to a report.

Nigerian international Mohammed still has two years remaining on his contract after he signed for Basaksehir last summer.

African football website African Football claim that the agency who transferred Efe Ambrose to Celtic want to agree a deal for Mohammed to follow suit.

It is said that Rodgers will have to move quickly to land the 19-year-old as French side Lorient are also showing a firm interest.

“Those who moved Efe Ambrose to Celtic from Israel now wish to take Musa to the same club,” the source was reported as saying by African Football. “It will be a very good move for a very promising player like Musa.”

Mohammed is no stranger to being linked with a move to a big European club, with the Flying Eagles captain reportedly being linked with Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United when he was 16.

He has also been linked with Norwegian outfit Rosenborg and German side Hamburg in the past.

Celtic fans will get a glimpse of Mohammed for the first time when he competes for his country at the Rio Olympic games in just over a month’s time.

Mohammed recently made his full Super Eagles debut in a 1-0 win over Mali.

Kit news, and it appears we’re going back to black this year…

It looks fine, and look okay as casual wear, but black is not a colour for football tops.

Here’s what New Balance have to say about it…

Commenting on the kit, General Manager of New Balance Football, Richard Wright said: “Celtic are, without doubt, one of the most successful clubs in the world. This new away kit looks stylish and carries the technology that will help the team to succeed on the pitch. We can’t wait to see it in action next season.”

The kit has been developed using NB Dry technology, a moisture-wicking fabric that helps keep players cool and dry whilst wicking sweat from the body, making it fast drying. The kit features a gradiant gold stripe detail to the body, gold piping, mesh panelling and is finished with a shaped gold and black collar.

The kit is completed with shorts in the same black, with gold trimmings incorporated into the club crest, number and New Balance logo. The socks also receive the same black colour base with gold finishing. To offer added support to the ankle, the socks have built-in comfort zones while the foot bed has been developed with polypropylene to help alleviate excess moisture when the foot makes contact with the boot.

The goalkeeper kit is constructed with engineered Flex fabric panels to offer range of movement. These Flex zones are called out by contrast heat transfers. The Titan purple design with black shoulder Flex panels is complemented with the Titan shorts and Titan socks. 

Richard Wright, who talks like a Wright Richard.

Polypropylene….for those who give a toss, is made up like this..

Now you understand, don’t you. Every days a school day.

And we explained moisture wicking in a previous diary, so you should have been paying attention then.

Every days a school day.

Mind you, its better than some of the other suggestions…

On the subject of football kits, anyone else remember when Gola put in a bid for the right to produce Celtic kits, back in the nineties. This was their idea for an away top, which could have made a painful decade even more unbearable…

Thankfully, we stayed with Umbro, and I can’t be the only one to have noticed that their tops have remained in very good condition over the years…

The simple fact of the matter is that the black kits sell more than any other. And thats the bottom line.

That they might hinder the team on the park is irrelevant these days. For those who doubt that, bear in mind that we have a change of srip every twelve months now, and don’t forget the Lisbon anniversary kit, which is due out in May…

Striker Leigh Griffiths  was persuaded to read out his opinion…

 “When we’re playing away from Celtic Park we need a kit that gives us confidence, that shows we are strong, united and have spirit as a team and I think this kit does that. It’s been really well-received by the team and we think the fans will really like this one too.”

Here’s another kit that does that.. modelled by some guys it fitted perfectly.

We try to cater for everyone in the diary, and in another new section, we prove to be even more accurate than the MSM in perhaps their most accurate and well researched feature, which is eagerly anticipated by a very significant section of their readership.

A lot of work went into this, so I hope you appreciate it, and its just one more thing we do better than the papers…

Iceland, the country who gave so much to the Euros, and warmed our hearts in a way that they hadn’t done since they jailed all their bankers, exited the competition last night, beaten 5-2 by the French, who continued their march to the final in a way not seen since tournament organisers at the 1966 World Cup felt it would be better if England could play all their games in London.

And we hear that there’s a half Scottish , half Icelandic player who is being spoken of very highly, and the Celtic scouts are onto him…

Stewart Weir let this secret out on twitter, and many thanks go to him..

Yesterdays caption competition, which was this picture,

was won by this reply, in the style of the SMSM..