Celtic Diary Wednesday October 10

Kris Commons has ,as expected ,been called into the Scotland squad as Jordan Rhodes joined the injury list.  The in form playmaker was asked by Levein to provide the cover the manager said he didn’t need, which takes the amount of Celts involved in Fridays Wales Scotland game to six, and is an excellent case to turn the game into a non contact sport.

According to CalcioMercato, quoted on the CaughtOffside website, Commons is about to be the subject of a bid from Aston Villa, and claims the player  may be interested in finally playing in the EPL.  Victor Wanyama has played down the latest rumours linking him with a move to Manchester Utd in January , saying he is happy where he is. Its only October, and the speculation has begun. Adam Matthews may well be watched by a few clubs this weekend, now that he has been awarded the Welsh Young Player of the Year, both he and Mikael  Lustig seem to have benefited from the increased involvement of former right back Danny McGrain with the first team squad.  Nobody seems to want Andre Blackman though, and even if they did, no-one can find him to tell him.

Barcelona are running scared ahead of the visit of Celtic, Sergio Busquets, who deliberately got himself sent off  has been told, to his relief, that he will miss both games against Celtic, whilst the Catalan giants defenders are busy hurting themselves so they too can avoid the impending humiliation at the hands of the swashbuckling Scottish champions. As long as no-one gets hurt in the international games, Celtic will be at full strength, and Barcelona will need to take something from their last two games to ensure qualification, although there is always the safety net of falling into the Europa League, one of a very few trophies they haven’t won yet.

Scott Brown, ahead of the Wales game, has spoken of his delight at having the two Fletchers back in the squad. The energetic midfielder, being used sparingly this season by both club and country-and neither getting the recognition from the MSM for their help-is pleased, as it means he won’t have to play alongside Charlie Adam. Though you never know with Levein and his bizarre tactics. As for Darren Fletcher, good luck to him, as it seems as though he’s been through a lot of shit lately.

Levein , who got the job purely on merit, has adopted a very conservative and protective style of  management, refusing to try anything new and inspire imagination amongst those of us who follow Scotland. The SFA, his bosses, have a very conservative style of management, refusing to…. oh, you get the point. Scotland , of course, are unlikely to get any points from their next two games, and whilst most forward thinking fans would like to see Gordon Strachan in charge, the scene is set for the nightmare scenario of Walter Smith returning to save the day.

The Etims podcast, recorded last night , discusses this , and is on the front page ready to be listened to. We also discussed Arse of the Month, which , incredibly saw Ally McCoist, Craig Levein, Hugh Keevins and James Traynor all beaten, but by whom? You need to have a listen to find out, he wrote, shamelessly plugging some guys yapping about football.

Pat Nevin, a man who is seen as the intelligent voice of Scottish football, as he twirls his pen to detract attention from the nonsense he spouts while on air, was involved in a Radio 5 tribute to Jock Stein last night. If you haven’t heard it, go find it here  –

http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/5live/5lspecials/5lspecials_20121009-2136a.mp3

A great way to settle down for a couple of hours. Alongside him was Hugh McIlvanney, still far and away the best journalist in Scotland, even at the age of 106.

Nevin talks very fondly of Celtic, and the show is excellent. Makes you wonder if the Hibs supporting thing was just a career move..And when Hugh starts reminiscing, you’ll have a wee lump in your throat.

Doesn’t make Nevin any more likeable, but it could be another sign of the shift going on in media attitudes towards all things Celtic. However, we fully expect the soup slurping little rodent to be back on form soon.

A report in an American business magazine quotes US financier Jon Pritchett as saying that the new Rangers club could go bust, just like their predeccessors. He looked at the club books along with truck magnet-shame he wasn’t in the fridge business-Bill Miller. When they had finished laughing, they decided not to invest, saying that it wasn’t really a “turnaround business”, but one for someone with “tens of millions of pounds” to chuck away. Pritchett says

“If Charles Green is not willing to face the fans, explain the economics and risk the torrent of abuse that will follow in the short term, then Rangers will shortly find themselves back in the same place.”

Rather too quickly, Rangers chairman Malcolm Murray has put out a statement.

In it, he says that the figures Pritchett refers to have had no “relevance since May”, and that there is no danger of the club going into administration. He finished by saying we are the people, no surrender and conducted a rousing chorus of the sash his father wore.

The warning signs are there, but will the mass hordes of supporters heed them? (Fancy using the word “mass” when describing Rangers fans!)

Wolverhampton Wanderers were indeed the first team to benefit from new floodlights at Celtic Park in 1959, well done to all who got it, especially the lurgan tiger, who was first. Many old Rangers fans, with their blue tartan rugs across their knees will tell you it was  the Luftwaffe who first benefited. This old myth was among many perpetrated in the dark old days of anti-Celtic and anti -Irish paranoia by the establishment in Scotland, and there are many others. Most of which don’t even deserve to see the light of day again. You’ll know them when you hear them.

Today, with international football taking centre stage, which Celtic player has the most caps for his country whilst at Celtic? Its probably one of our easier teasers, but is it?

Don’t forget, have a listen to the podcast, and tell us what you think. We can take it.

PS, anyone else hearing about Rangers fans trying to get tickets for the Barcelona end? Still, be nice for them to see a big game.