All of a sudden things look serious.
This month has two games a week, al of which can be deemed as crucial in their own way. For morale in most cases, but in some they can be rightly called season defining.
Tomorrows game with Astana needs no further comment on its importance, but the game with Motherwell next Wednesday in the League Cup cannot be underestimated, as it will send out a signal domestically as to what kind of season we are expecting. Thers been no talk of a treble, but winning one would surely shut a few people up.
Those in the media who seem to think that the entrance of a particular club will make that achievement so much more difficult.
Scoot Brown, playing a captains role of the field superbly, told an astonished media that he wasn’t too bothered by the new club. Parodied here by the Clumpany in wonderful fashion…Clumpany
What he really said wasn’t too different. when asked who will be the biggest threat to Celtic’s dominance, he replied;
“I think Aberdeen after the last couple of seasons.
“They have been exciting to watch and have taken points off us at Celtic Park.
“We struggled up there so we’ll need to do a bit better this season.
“Aberdeen and Hearts have been great in the last few seasons and we expect more of the same from those two.”
“rangers” captain, and not someone you would want alongside you in a witness box, Lee Wallace, replied;
“That’s fine. This is the scenario we’re going to be faced with. We are going to get that now that we’re back in the top flight. We are ready for it, we’re ready for the challenge. We’re going to make sure we are highly competitive, be the best prepared we can be every single match and we’ll see where it takes us.”
Somewhat cruelly, the reporter then shouted-“Look out -theres a Burnley winger coming”, and Wallace promptly hid under the desk and screamed.
Brown was finally forced to comment on the Ibrox club, and was quite dismissive with his answer…
“We’ll see when it comes. We meet them in the fifth game of the season.
“A Rangers-Celtic game is always good in a packed stadium, but we have a lot of big games.”
Before we go any further, that needs to be the first 7-0 of the season. Just to make up for the feeling I had, and i’m sure you had, after the inept display in last season cup game.
Just saying.
On to tomorrows game with Astana, and their defender Igor shitebag is still moaning about being beaten up and left for dead by Leigh Griffths…
“Griffiths hit me and what happened should have been a red card. He should be suspended for this match. The referee did not see it properly because he only gave a yellow card.
“Griffiths was very lucky to stay on the pitch and we were unlucky because he scored his goal a few minutes later.”
Reading betwen the lines, griffiths will be targeted one way or another tomorrow, and thats why we should maybe look to Nadir Ciftci , our only real strongman, to stand beside him in case it all kicks off.
The referee will be important, and UEFA have given this game to Istvan Kovacs, of Romania, seen here doing his impression of Level 5 chief and former Daily Record sports editor James Traynor;
He refereed Scotland’s under 21 game with Iceland last October, so may be familiar to a couple of our players. Well, Ryan Christie might remember him, he played in that game, but I cannot find whether or not he ws one of three Scots booked, but by all acounts christie had a good game that night up at Pittodrie.
Looking at his record on WorldReferee.com, nothing stand sout, and hopefully he won’t be someone we remember after the game either. Maybe he is a little inexperienced, and tomorrows game will by far be the biggest crowd he’s performed in fron tof, so a little intimidation wouldn’t go amiss.
Thats if you are going to the game, and haven’t been put off by the £1,50 activation charge on your season card, yet another example of the club -or somebody-out to make a quick fifty grand or so.
Come on, just now and again , is it too much to ask that the club thinks about the fans ? Especially as there may be a Champions League package to pay for on top of the season book ?
As for the line up and formation tomorrow, its a bit like when ronny first came in, and if you remember we had no idea who would get a game. in fact, in one game he signed someone in the afternoon and played him that night, more or less, Jo Inge Berget, but ot was okay because he had his name on his shirt so everyone knew who he was.
Tomorrow will see Craig Gordon in goal, hopefully having recovered from his throat infection and fully able to use his voice to shout to Efe Ambrose to leave it when a hopeful punt towards the box is thrown at them.
In fact, just shouting leave it to Efe ambrose at all times would probabaly help.
Look, we all love the guy, but his confidence has gone, and he shouldn’t start tomorrow.
O’Connell and Toure for me, despite Toure being new, he has experience and as long as he is fit, get him in. Lustig and tierney either side of them, with Scott Brown just in front of the back four.
With Armstong and MacGregor in front of him, and Patrick Roberts given a free role, we can hit them where it hurts with Ciftci and Griffiths up front.
After about an hour, freshening things up by introducing Moussa Dembele, James Forrest and probably Nir Biton to keep the head would finish the job, and Biton would be better as a sub than a starter, as the pace needs to be quite high from the off.
In order tpo keep Celtic fans in their place, and remond them that they are not the big global club they think they are, the Record tells us why David Moyes didn’t take the Celtic manager’s job…and instead, is now ensconced at Sunderland, where the only thing he will achieve is his own parking space.
“I met Celtic and I know the people very well. They spoke to me several times before but I had other clubs this summer who met me at the same time.
“I’ve had opportunities to go abroad but I wanted to come back to the Premier League.
“The League has an exciting group of managers and I wanted to compete against them. But it is the potential of Sunderland that, to my mind, hasn’t reached the heights.”
Moyes, who managed to take Everton to fourth before making an arse of his posts at Manchester United and Real Sociedad, needs a club which doesn’t make unreasonable demands, such as winning things, and will do well to last at sunderland, where the support can be unforgiving, and not nearly as nice as the Everton fans, who were just happy to cheer the occasional goal.
Boy, did we dodge a bullet there.
And we’re supposed to regret that ?
Anyhoo, the diary didn’t appear yesterday, I finally got my MRI scan results, and apparently i have a chronically prolapsed disc, which has caused the nerve passing it to suffer damage, and its probably surgery, and a wee metal rod to replace the support that has been removed by the disc “popping out “
See getting old, its really, really shite.
Keep it to yourself though.
You never know who is listening…
The media would have you believe that the emergence of a new club, admittedly with a big following, are going to make this a season to remember.
We asked an expert for his view on that…
Fair enough. I’d agree with that.
As would some who are daft enough to look at how the SMSM agenda is shaping up for the season..
Compare and contrast…..
Caption time, and on sunday we gave you this..
and you gave us this, in return..
Caption: James Forrest gets fitted for the latest in electro-virtual cross training technology. The Lightweight Training Frame for Crossing (LTFC) also known as Learn to Fucking Cross.
And today, ponder this, if you will…
Oh, almost forgot….Karaoke time now, and can you learn this in time for next month ?
