Researchers at the University of Bristol have found a means of creating a battery capable of generating clean electricity for five millennia, or as long as human civilization has existed.<\/em><\/p>\n Scientists found that by heating graphite blocks \u2013 used to house uranium rods in nuclear reactors \u2013 much of the radioactive carbon is given off as a gas.<\/em><\/p>\n This can then be gathered and turned into radioactive diamonds using a high-temperature chemical reaction, in which carbon atoms are left on the surface in small, dark-colored diamond crystals.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Obviously, Armstrong is testing one of these batteries out for the university.<\/p>\n Now restored to his favoured central midfield position, Armstrong is flourishing and now looks to step up a level to the demands of Europe. Well, its not really europe, becuase Manchester is in England, and England doesn’t want to be in Europe. However, they drew Scotland in the qualifiers and despite their best efforts still won 3-0.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u201cEnding our Champions League\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0campaign with a win would be the ideal finish. It is a very tough competition, the performing level for the best players in Europe. If we give a good performance and continue to develop and learn then we\u2019ll be happy.”\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n It would certainly show that there is considerable improvement in the side over the campaign, which has some notable bad memories-losing to Lincoln Red Imps in Gibraltar, the 7-0 hammering at Barcelona, and the weak performance at home to Borussia, which in hindsight was the one that killed the team off.<\/p>\n Celtic haven’t won any of their last six games in Europe, which is a hell of a bad run, and I’m not interested in the so called high calibre of opposition. At home Celtic should be winning, and thats the bottom line. There’s little point in having this terrific atmosphere if the other team is going to be inspired by it. One point from three games is unacceptable, but there are signs that things will improve.<\/p>\n Supporters slated early Knob of the Week candidate Derek McInnes for talking down the chances of his aberdeen side at Ibrox at the weekend. His side lost, and if the manager is to take credit for victories, he must also accept criticism for defeats, and frankly, he told his team, not in so many words, that they were second best to “rangers “, and even left out the players who could do most damage, in a sort of damage limitation exercise, clearly because he had decided that his side were up against Rangers, and not some plucky cash strapped newly promoted side.<\/p>\n The same argument could easily apply to Celtics attitude when the group was drawn out to include teams from Germany, England and Spain. Much was made of the comaparitive budgets, much was made of the standard of league they played in, and everyone agreed that we’d probably only get a couple of points at most.<\/p>\n Hey, guess what ?<\/p>\n Remember the old saying ?<\/p>\n If you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’ll be right.<\/p>\n What is significant about Armstrongs declaration is this;<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll go into the game against City with the same attitude we take into every match and that\u2019s a positivity and belief in ourselves, as we showed against Motherwell.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n There is a tendency to think that the players didn’t quite believe in themselves at the start of the group games, confirmed by the tummy tickling in the Nou Camp, but since then, as Armstrong says…<\/p>\n \u201cAfter our initial poor performance in the Nou Camp we\u2019ve done really well, including the home game against Man City, away at Monchengladbach – and there were even positives signs amidst the 2-0 defeat at home to Barcelona.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n The accent is on the positives, and happily no one from the club has said anything about relative budgets being the difference. From now on, having less competitive domestic games than opponents will be sen as an advantage-like it was when Celtic were at their peak in the late sixties, and not a hindrance. After all, its all about how you look at things, and there are positives everywhere if you look hard enough.<\/p>\n No matter what happens tomorrow night, the players will be considerably more confident going into next years campaign than they were this time round.<\/p>\n And that is progress.<\/p>\n \n Then again, Peter Lawwell is so used to making excuses, he couldn’t help himself..<\/p>\n \u201cIf we played in a football league like the English Premier League, I think we could be the biggest,\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cBecause there is no barrier then; we have the whole bit so there would be no barrier to where we could go.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cWe have the history, we have the story to tell, we have a global fanbase and we have the facilities. We have got the profile of a big European club but we don\u2019t have domestic TV revenues. Our fundamentals are so strong.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Not only did he complain about barriers, he went on to say they were getting higher..<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI think the gap has widened, <\/em><\/p>\n To be fair we were in the most difficult group; we had an English team, a Spanish team and a German team this season. But did I feel that the quality had risen. We were up against three clubs from the biggest nations so it is extremely difficult. Perhaps in a different group, it might have been a different story. The group Leicester were in might have given us a better chance but overall I think we could consider that we have given a good account of ourselves.<\/em><\/p>\n We have shown we can compete and this is only the first year. Brendan is just in the door here but we have shown that we can organise and we can compete and that can only get better.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \n \u00a0So where do we go from here ?<\/p>\n A clue might be found reading between the lines in this comment from Rodgers \u00a0after a meeting over dinner between the manager and the biggest shareholder..<\/p>\n \u201cHe was very good. I had a meal with Dermot on Wednesday for three hours or so, talking about how we can improve and keep moving the club forward. We\u2019re content, but want to keep pushing.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Two and a half hours of that was largely spent with rodgers asking for more money and Desmond complaining how he has the bills to pay, the kids to feed , the wife needs her hair done, the kids needing a school uniform and the cars head gasket had blown, but eventually the Irishman gave in to the other Irishmans incessant demands.<\/p>\n Well, so we think.<\/p>\n Jordan Rhodes is back on the radar, though he will cost \u00a39m , and that may mean that Rodgers looks elsewhere for a striker, but if the club are to cash in on Moussa Dembele before anyone notices that he’s not quite as good as the hype suggests, then Rhodes is paid for with a few quid left over in the bank.<\/p>\n Oh, and before you tell me that Dembele has scored 17 goals-or whatever it is by now, have a look at this…<\/p>\n Goal involvement for Celtic<\/strong> 2016\/17: <\/em><\/p>\n Moussa Demb\u00e9l\u00e9 – 20 <\/em><\/p>\n Leigh Griffiths – 15<\/em><\/p>\n Tom Rogic – 13 <\/em><\/p>\n Scott Sinclair – 13 <\/em><\/p>\n James Forrest – 12 \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n \n I don’t need to tell you that one of those has hardly played, and whilst bringing in another striker could lead to the same problem, sooner or later we will realise what we actually have in Griffiths, and build the front line around him.<\/p>\n One other thing that was notable was when Rodgers hinted that the club will no longer accept less money for players than he thinks they are worth, and he explained why..<\/p>\n \u00a0\u201cThe different position the club is in now, with all due respect, is that I know the market and the level.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cIf I see a player here and I think he\u2019s worth \u00a330million-plus then he\u2019s worth \u00a330million-plus. We don\u2019t need to shift him for \u00a310million.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThey don\u2019t need the intermediate club to go. I would like to think that we can get the market value.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Players will come , and players will go. The idea is to bring some in who want to stay a while longer than in previous seasons. Dembele wants to stay, but in his case its probably better to sell him while he’s at his peak value, because as Rodgers would agree, the value of your investment can go down as well as up.<\/p>\n The latest interest comes from Red Bull Liepzig, who will have a vacancy in the first team when Tim Werner leaves in January, so his career will be less interrupted than if he goes south.<\/p>\n Football is a business when seen from the boardroom, and as we know, players are often bought cheaply purely to sell on later. Thats why some players are bought by big clubs and languish out on loan. Then , after doing well under another coach, at no cost to the buying club, they simply sell him on at a profit. Doesn;t always work, of course, but thats what they try to do.<\/p>\n With Celtic, hopefully the key difference is that Rodgers buys in players of a higher standard than previous managers when they claimed they were developing players. Guys like Sinclair, for instance, have been around for a while, and need a lot less to kick start their careers than someone like Kristoffer Ajer, an undoubted talent , who needs a bit more time to get up to speed.<\/p>\n If I’m reading the signs right, then Rodgers and his backroom staff know exactly what they are doing, and as the man himself says, he feels more at home developing players, then we may be present at the start of a few special years as the club refuses to accept bids from mediocre mid table English sides, as the manager does his bit in persuding the players they don’t need to take the first offer that comes along.<\/p>\n That way we keep them longer, do more in Europe and get the full value of a player and not a percentage of a sell on fee.<\/p>\n Having now determined the way things are going to be in the next few years, this remarkably optimistic and intuitive Diary will now hand back over to the idiot who lives in Stoke for some funny pictures and a tasteless joke or two.<\/p>\n The template for the kind of player Celtic need could well be in this old snippet from when football was played in black and white..<\/p>\n In the space of a few days, he’s fallen ill, died, been buried and got his place back in the team.<\/p>\n Thats the kind of attitude we need, and not these pampered little pooches who end up in the hospital every time they stub their toe.<\/p>\n Celtic are lucky to have a settled manager in Brendan Rodgers, an outsider who has come to Scotland with his own ideas, his own style and shown that it can be made to work. Ronny Deila had the same approach, but he was hammered in the press on a daily basis, and one cannot escape the thought that it was more than partly because he was an outsider.<\/p>\n Something that Hearts new managerial target Ian Cathro is about to find out. He’s not even in the job yet, but the knives are already out.<\/p>\n Kris Boyd, who joined Barry Ferguson on the list of “Why the fuck are we asking them ? ” experts, had this to say over the potential Hearts boss, presumably because his buddy Baz was not even considered for the post. Along with neolitihic others such as Jolly Jim Jefferies, Jumpy Jim Calderwood and Alex McLeish, all out of work, all of whom must have thought they’d be in with a shout, depsite all of them being out of work for a reason, in that they’re bloody useless.<\/p>\n Thats the real world outside Portugal, Spain and England where he has done a fair bit of coaching. Although only 30, Cathro has aready been about a bit, and will be itching to get his ideas worked on in practice, which can only be good for the Scottish game, where we are used to the likes of Derek Mcinnes battening down the hatches for a visit to a newly promoted cash strapped outfit, who happen to share the same name as a more illustrious side.<\/p>\n Though Boyd doesn’t think so. In fact, boyd has kind of offerd up convincing evidence that he thinks thinking should be left to horses, who have bigger heads.<\/p>\n Exactly which superstar egos is he on about at Hearts ?<\/p>\n Its good to see Hearts avoiding the trap of bringing in someone who knows the Scottish game. What clubs need are people who don’t know it, and have the strength of character to see their ideas through.<\/p>\n If he arrives at Tynecastle, he’ll have my best wishes.<\/p>\n Here’s something that might interest you. BHS, the high street store that went into liquidation last week, presumably not having the nous to simply ditch the creditors by pretending to be another shop, has exactly the same liquidators as Rangers, and , it seems, exactly the same problem with them.. from the Times…<\/p>\n A row over fees has broken out between BHS\u2019s biggest creditor and one of the administrators to the failed department store chain.<\/em><\/p>\n The Pension Protection Fund (PPF), which is bailing out the huge shortfall in BHS\u2019s retirement scheme, has vetoed an invoice for \u00a34.1m submitted by Duff & Phelps. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Duff and Phelps.<\/p>\n Theres a lot of money to be made in liquidation, it appears.<\/p>\n Christmas is just around the corner, and with that comes the debauched drunken celebrations, so it was good to see one local newspaper helping young ladies to take care of themselves…<\/p>\n \n Caption from yesterday…<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I won-with this..<\/p>\n “Can you actually believe that fuckwit McGhee thought he was in the running for my job<\/em> ?”<\/p>\n Today, study and appraise this one, if you will…<\/p>\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Arguably the most improved player under Brendan Rodgers, Stuart Armstrong, has declared he thinks Celtic can end their champions League campaign on a high when…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":10456,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/etims.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Thoughts-for-Today-315x175.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2J7If-2ID","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10455"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10455"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10455\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10457,"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10455\/revisions\/10457"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/10456"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10455"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10455"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10455"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}@<\/s>OptaCeltic<\/b><\/span>\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0Dec 3<\/span><\/a><\/small><\/div>\n![\"Image](\"http:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-ogwtVdHQJg4\/UB5s8WoZXKI\/AAAAAAAACG0\/hRqV9X4hnAo\/w1200-h630-p-nu\/star-trek-nodding.gif\")
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