{"id":17117,"date":"2021-08-18T10:30:55","date_gmt":"2021-08-18T09:30:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/etims.net\/?p=17117"},"modified":"2021-08-18T10:30:55","modified_gmt":"2021-08-18T09:30:55","slug":"celtic-diary-wednesday-august-18-good-vibrations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/etims.net\/?p=17117","title":{"rendered":"Celtic Diary Wednesday August 18: Good Vibrations"},"content":{"rendered":"

For the avoidance of doubt, etims has not merged with any other website, it will continue to be free at the point of entry, and there will be no adverts on the pages.<\/p>\n

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However, as some of you have noted a more positive slant on events, there will be no compromising on content,<\/p>\n

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If we think something is being done well, we will say so.<\/p>\n

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Otherwise, when things are going badly, and we like to think we’re not shy of offering criticism when it’s due, that criticism will not have any credibility.<\/p>\n

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We will therefore say what we think.<\/p>\n

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And right now, I think we’re getting the band back together.<\/p>\n

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There’s a new right back on the books, Croatian international Josip Juranovic, brought in from Legia Warsaw. Personal terms haven’t been agreed yet, but he’s been told he can have some, and thats good enough for him.<\/p>\n

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Liam Scales, the outstanding defender at Shamrock Rovers will join in due course, which means Celtic will have four central defenders to choose from. And Nir Biton, giving us a total of four.<\/p>\n

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Incidentally, as Hector Bandido pointed out on our recent podcast, did anyone else notice Ange brought biton on in midfield the other night ?<\/p>\n

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Perhaps he sees him as back up there.<\/p>\n

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Whats interesting and exciting is that the players already there are seen as back up, and the new players are the starters….a paradigm shift in policy.<\/p>\n

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It looks like plan A, which was to get the team winning, is working.<\/p>\n

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We’ve heard something about plan B, but aren’t in a position to confirm or deny it, but if it’s true, then it’s a massive leap forward in another part of the business, for which credit will be due to Dom McKay.<\/p>\n

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And again, as I said when the fan media became the hot topic, we’re not remotely interested in taking part.<\/p>\n

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From a personal point of view, there’s a deep mistrust of the current board, and there’s a long way to go before I’ll even consider chucking my lot in with them again.<\/p>\n

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You’ll remember when they asked for the smoking gun on Resolution 12, and promptly poured water on it and hid it under the bed….<\/p>\n

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Anyhoo, the Europa League play off is tonight, and Glasgow Celtic Glasgow face Alkmaar Zaanstreek Alkmaar.<\/p>\n

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They’re called AZ, and our man in the Netherlands knows a little about them…. (from yesterdays replies )<\/p>\n

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AlkmarBhoy<\/em><\/div>\n
\u00a023 hours ago<\/em><\/div>\n
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Alkmaar is my local Eredivisie team, though my preference is to go to Telstar in the Eerste Divisie, mainly due to the horror of exiting the parking at the Alkmaar stadium, and playing at quarter to nine on a Saturday night.<\/em><\/p>\n

My take on the tie has changed dramatically. 2 weeks ago I was shitting myself and preparing for months of getting the piss taken. AZ had a good preseason winning against Torino and Real Sociedad despite losing Stengs, Boadu and later on Bizot. Now Wijndal is injured, Larsson is suspended and Koopmeiners is in similar transfer place to Eddy. That\u2019s the list of their best players from last season. On paper much weaker than last year. They\u2019ve recruited as usual in Scandinavia and cherry-picking lesser Eredivisie teams. Celtic fans would call them \u2018projects\u2019 except for Pavlidis, 22 goals for Willem II last season. Their manager thinks it\u2019s a good idea to play a midfielder at left back, replacing the injured Wijndal. He might change this for Wednesday playing the \u2018invisible\u2019 James Forrest.<\/em><\/p>\n

As a team they are always very good with the ball and their aim is to have the ball most of the time. Good in the transition where they will look to move the ball forward very quickly. High press when they lose the ball but this is also their weakness. Their players are defensively less strong than for instance at Ajax and PSV which is why they finish 3rd or 4th most years. The team holds its structure and has good routine. They\u2019ve played this way for years, have high player turnover but new players fit in quickly as they are scouted for this type of football.<\/em><\/p>\n

Celtic will need to go out and win the game with positive football. If they let AZ play, they will. Very capable of the the classic European sucker punch that puts us out of Europe every year.<\/em><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re planning to visit, Alkmaar is a lovely wee town \u2013 old city centre, canals, bars \u2013 also an easy train ride from Amsterdam. My AZ friends are sick that they don\u2019t get the chance to visit Paradise, are as nervous as me about the game but really looking forward to it. They were surprised by how well Scotland played against the Netherlands in the pre-Euros friendly.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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From the sound of that, tonight’s game should be a cracker, and we should be pleased with any positive result.<\/p>\n

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Echoing the thoughts of alkmaarbhoy, a few weeks ago we wouldn’t have even thought we’d be in the play offs, and now we are, and we can look ahead with if not confidence, certainly optimism,<\/p>\n

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Or we could just moan that we should have already had these players in, that the board are a bunch of self serving tory bastards.<\/p>\n

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Enjoy it, and don’t forget , things are getting better, and , as they say, Rome wasn’t built in a day.<\/p>\n

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Then again, it might have been if Ange was on the job.<\/p>\n

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Elsewhere,\u00a0 bears are fighting with other bears as they realise that not all of the money they raise goes where they want it to….<\/p>\n

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\"Image\"<\/p>\n

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What do they expect ?<\/p>\n

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With the taxman shouting cos he wants his dough, and Dave King after his, something has to give when your club\/company is losing a couple of million quid a week.<\/p>\n

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Will Mike Ashley just seize the assets …?<\/p>\n

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Its probably the best they could hope for…..<\/p>\n

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Even if there are some still standing staunchly by banging the drum and whistling the flute in support….<\/p>\n

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How Alashkert rose from the ashes to earn dream Europa League date with Rangers<\/h1>\n
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By\u00a0Christopher Jack<\/a>\u00a0@Chris_Jack89<\/a><\/span>Senior Rangers Writer\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<\/address>\n
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\u00a0Senior Rangers writer refers to him , and not a third incarnation of the club, listed as Senior Rangers<\/div>\n
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RANGERS<\/em><\/a>\u00a0will return to the familiar territory of the Europa League on Thursday evening but there is a degree of stepping into the unknown.<\/em><\/p>\n

The defeat to Malmo that ended their Champions League dreams has come at a cost financially and the challenge now is to limit the damage by embarking on another prolonged run in the competition that has given Steven Gerrard some of his most important and exciting moments as manager.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Gerrard\u2019s side are no strangers to these qualifying round ties and the challenge of Alashkert is one which Rangers are expected to overcome relatively comfortably.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\u00a0The usual dismissive claim about their opponents is followed by thi revelation from …. Armenian media production\u00a0@FootballKentron<\/a> ,\u00a0 <\/em>the interviewee dredged up by Jack ,<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Whilst Rangers is one of the oldest and most traditional clubs in the\u00a0world<\/a>, that won basically every single trophy there is since the beginning of the organised sport, Alashkert is pretty new and only recently started actually winning titles.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/div>\n
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\u00a0We did a little bit of digging, and think we may have found the Armenian expert….<\/div>\n
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\"Glasgow<\/div>\n
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\u00a0His name appears to be Alamy Stock,<\/div>\n
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\u00a0St johnstone and Aberdeen are still involved in europe as well, and it would be good to see three clubs and one holding company compete at a higher level than usual, and it would be good overall for the profile of the game.<\/div>\n
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\u00a0As long as the holding company don;t take any of their fans abroad with them, that is.<\/div>\n
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\u00a0The last caption competition featured this image….<\/div>\n
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\"Image\"<\/div>\n
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alzyerpal<\/em><\/div>\n
\u00a05 days ago<\/em><\/div>\n
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\u201cPrincess Diana had barely escaped one previous attempt from Phil the Greek and MI5\u2026\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Today….<\/p>\n

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