{"id":13699,"date":"2018-11-29T09:07:34","date_gmt":"2018-11-29T09:07:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/etims.net\/?p=13699"},"modified":"2018-11-29T09:07:34","modified_gmt":"2018-11-29T09:07:34","slug":"celtic-diary-thursday-november-29-beware-fake-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/etims.net\/?p=13699","title":{"rendered":"Celtic Diary Thursday November 29: Beware Fake News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Then again, we’re used to that sort of thing.<\/p>\n

Celtic are in Trondheim and although there is every reason to be confident of getting the win that will prolong the clubs participation in Europe, as the game gets closer, the doubts creep in.<\/p>\n

Apart from anything else, its in a city that today will only have five hours of daylight.<\/p>\n

09:22<\/em><\/div>\n
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Thursday, 29 November 2018 (CET)<\/em><\/div>\n
Sunrise in Trondheim, Norway<\/em><\/div>\n
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14:51<\/em><\/div>\n
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Thursday, 29 November 2018 (CET)<\/em><\/div>\n
Sunset in Trondheim, Norway\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/div>\n
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Its just not worth the effort for the Sun to get up at all.<\/div>\n
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Fortunately, most of our players have taken the field at Ibrox, where the stadium is shrouded in perpetual darknes, so they should be able to cope.<\/div>\n
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Both clubs have a cup final to look forward to at the weekend, and the norwegians have more or less said they’ll put out a weakened side. I’m not buying into that, but if Celtic do score early it may lower their interest in tonights game.<\/div>\n
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Rosenborg can still qualify, as Moravcik 67 detailed in yesterdays diary, but its unlikely. But to suggest they won;t compete is a little over optimistic.<\/div>\n
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Celtic, however, are taking it seriously, as you’d expect..manager Rodgers said<\/div>\n
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Whatever team we put out will be a strong team and a team we think can win the game and then we go into the first final of the season and it will be another very strong team that we think can win the game,”\u00a0<\/em><\/div>\n
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We want to go into our last game at Celtic Park with an opportunity to qualify and if we get a victory tomorrow night then we have an opportunity to do that,”\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

“We understand and respect Rosenborg. They have come off the back of a celebration of being champions again for the fourth consecutive time.<\/em><\/p>\n

“So we know it can be a difficult game for us and that is what we will prepare for.”<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

It will be the fourth game between the two this season, which will mean that Celtic will have faced the Norwegian champions more times than up to six of their Premier League opponents come the end of the season.<\/div>\n
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So we should know what we’re up against. With two wins and a draw so far, form suggests Celtic can certainly avoid defeat, but will an away win be beyond them?<\/div>\n
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The return to fitness of Leigh Griffiths will help, he found the net against Rosenberg in the crucial opening Europa league game at the start of the group campaign, but its Oddsone Edouard who scored twice in the 3-1 qualifier win.<\/div>\n
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That presents a dilemma for the manager, who won’t want to change a side that has hot form, so we’re more likely to see an unchanged line up with Griffiths coming off the bench later on.<\/div>\n
however, its the defence that has improved greatly as the season has progressed, with the Boyata Benkovic partnership blossoming, and also allowing the players around them to play with a bit more confidence.<\/div>\n
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Rodgers spoke highly of the two men..<\/div>\n
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The two of them are top-class.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI was talking to someone the other day, and I said if I was managing in the Premier League you would be happy with those two as centre halves.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cBoth have different attributes. But they are really stable and secure. They work very well off each other.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThey love playing with us, and it\u2019s great for us as a team to have that stability.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes we haven\u2019t had that. So to have those two and their qualities gives us a really strong base.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Any team, if you\u2019ve got that stability in your centre-halves, then that\u2019s important.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Take note of what he says about how much they are enjoying playing at Celtic. That could be a crucial factor in whether or not it will be a fleeting glimpse of a competent pairing, or something a little more long term.<\/div>\n
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Calum MacGregor, another who has developed into a class act, spoke confidently ahead of the game.. and perhaps dispelled any doubts about the team becoming complacent or over familiar with their opponents<\/div>\n
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It\u2019s always good when you have that familiarity about stadiums you\u2019ve been to and have had good results there,\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cYou get a good feeling when you\u2019re coming back. It\u2019s another tough test for us to come here and try and get a positive result, but we come into the tie with good confidence.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is another big game, off the back of a big result in the last match against Leipzig. We know how hard it\u2019s going to be against Rosenborg but we need to get a positive result.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cYou can see the confidence with the goals and the scorelines in the last few weeks. The boys in the attacking half have been great and, defensively, we\u2019ve kept clean sheets. We\u2019ve only conceded one goal recently.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

As for a prediction, I think we’ll get the result, and probably win comfortably, but its Europe, and its Celtic. So there’s always room for a bit of doubt.<\/div>\n
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The game kicks off at five minutes to six, so plan your day properly or you’ll miss it.<\/div>\n
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Elsewhere, and the other Scottish side in europe tonight, “rangers “, have had a turbulent few days as it seems all of a sudden everyone is against them.<\/div>\n
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In the spirit of solidairty, Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers said he hoped Glasgows fledgling club would also make the knock out stages of the Europa League, which was nice.<\/div>\n
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As you can see, however, this touching gesture was relegated to a sideline on one back page this morning…<\/div>\n
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Gary Ralston, who is noted for his partisan prattling on those pages, seems to be quite hurt by the news that his beloved “rangers ” will be charged with five counts of breaking the rules…<\/div>\n
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Like any other club would be.<\/div>\n
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The Scottish FA has charged Rangers with bringing the game into disrepute after the club’s criticism of referee Willie Collum.<\/em><\/p>\n

The Ibrox club released a statement\u00a0and wrote a formal complaint to the SFA following the sending-off of Daniel Candeias against St Mirren this month.<\/em><\/p>\n

The governing body has now issued Rangers with a total of five charges\u00a0including indicating bias.<\/em><\/p>\n

Rangers have until 4 December to respond to the charges.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

They will then face a hearing on 19 December.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

The charges are detailed here\u00a0SFA charges in full<\/a><\/p>\n

The statement that has caused the bother is perhaps an indication of why Celtic maybe shouldnlt hire James Traynor after all, because it does sort of sound like the sort of noise a small child makes when you take his sweeties off him.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

RANGERS\u00a0are extremely disappointed with the decision of the Scottish FA\u2019s Judicial Panel to dismiss our appeal against the second yellow card shown to Daniel Candeias in the closing seconds of last Saturday\u2019s match against St Mirren.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Rangers afforded the governing body the opportunity to let common sense prevail and we are surprised they have chosen not to do so by correcting what was, and what remains an inexplicable decision by the match referee, Willie Collum. Rangers shall now seek a fundamental review of the rules relating to red cards which result from two bookings of a player in a game.<\/em><\/p>\n

If one of these decisions is obviously wrong, it must be possible to correct that mistake.\u00a0It is wrong that players\u2019 livelihoods and careers can be impacted without the opportunity of redress, especially when the official responsible for the miscarriage of justice is allowed to continue as though beyond question or reproach.<\/em><\/p>\n

It defies belief that this same referee, who got it so blatantly wrong last Saturday, is awarded one of the biggest matches in Scottish football this weekend while Daniel Candeias is denied the right to go to his work. This, frankly, is unacceptable.<\/em><\/p>\n

Furthermore, it is understood that a number of people within the Scottish FA are in no doubt Mr Collum\u2019s judgment was flawed and\u00a0Rangers shall also now be submitting a formal complaint about the performance of this referee. The manner in which he reacted to an incident involving our player made it obvious he did not give due consideration to his decision.<\/em><\/p>\n

This is by no means the first time errors of judgment have been made in matches involving this official and clearly there is an underlying issue which requires to be addressed.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Presumably that statement will be used in evidence, and there can be little doubt that they are guilty on all five counts. On a positive note though, at least they’ll be able to explain the five stars on the jersey with a little more credibility by claiming its one for each fine.<\/p>\n

Its not been a great day for those cuddly caring bears…<\/p>\n

Ibrox: Dave King and his Going Concern<\/h1>\n
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Douglas Fraser<\/span><\/a>Business\/economy editor, Scotland<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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