{"id":17716,"date":"2022-05-15T10:31:39","date_gmt":"2022-05-15T09:31:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/etims.net\/?p=17716"},"modified":"2022-05-15T10:31:39","modified_gmt":"2022-05-15T09:31:39","slug":"celtic-diary-sunday-may-15-pour-some-sugar-on-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/etims.net\/?p=17716","title":{"rendered":"Celtic Diary Sunday May 15: Pour Some Sugar On Me !"},"content":{"rendered":"

Normal service was resumed at Celtic Park yesterday with the presentation of the League trophy.<\/p>\n

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Ange Postecoglou’s swashbuckling Celtic picked up the trophy after a routine 6-0 win over a hapless Motherwell.<\/p>\n

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\"And<\/p>\n

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In doing so, he equalled the world record of 55 in a row set by another club\/company just down the road, and in fact , you could almost hear the quaking of boots and the filling of trousers as he announced after the game….<\/p>\n

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“I want everyone to enjoy today, enjoy the summer and we’ll come back bigger and better, because we never stop!”\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

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The automatic qualification for the group stages of the Champions League measn that some of the players will come back bigger, but no doubt they’ll shed that in pre season training, which given the intense attitude to preparation probably starts on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

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It’s hard to believe the roller coaster ride that has been this season. It’s also hard to believe that a man jumped off an aeroplane with just a travel bag and an A-Z of Glasgow could oversee such a turnaround in fortunes not only on the pitch but off it.<\/p>\n

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He’s given the support their pride back, it’s as simple as that.<\/p>\n

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We’re now debating which three of six top class forwards should start the match.<\/p>\n

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That’s a hell of a long way from blaming Lewis Morgan for being thrown in at the deep end because the other strikers weren’t fit enough or interested enough to play in some of the more challenging games.<\/p>\n

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When Tom Rogic , having stayed a year longer than he wanted to, came on to a standing ovation yesterday, it was a pivotal moment in Celtic’s history.<\/p>\n

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Indeed, this image, as he left the field for the last time, marks the end of an era…<\/p>\n

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

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Along with Nir Biton, the two players said their emotional farewells to the support after almost a decade each in the hoops.<\/p>\n

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Others will depart over the summer, such as Barkas, Ajeti..if he’s still there, that is, Jullien, who did try to leave on a number of occasions last season but usually pulled a hamstring or sprained an ankle while getting into the taxi, but it was clearly felt they would only be embarassed by a chance to say goodbye.<\/p>\n

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Especially as most fans probably wouldn’t recognise them these days.<\/p>\n

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There will be others, but we’ll scarcely notice them as they head through the exit, although we would rather Karamoke Dembele would stay.<\/p>\n

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James Forrest , despite having other options on the table, signed a new deal that will mean he’ll be challenging John Clark for longest serving Celt.<\/p>\n

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Forrest has his eye on a coaching post when he finally hangs up his boots, and although Biton and Rogic will miss out on testimonials, the winger is still hopeful of his.<\/p>\n

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It’s his best chance of a start, according to observers.<\/p>\n

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Who really should know better.<\/p>\n

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Forrest and captain Calum MacGregor will have an enormous role next season, as they are now the only players to have played in the group stages for Celtic.<\/p>\n

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Given that, it might be two years before we win the big cup again, as the others get used to the rarified atmosphere, although in fairness,\u00a0 they all seemed to enjoy the last time they played under the lights….<\/p>\n

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The players will get some time off, and supporters should notice there will probably be a little bit more money in their accounts with no qualifiers to fund this year.<\/p>\n

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In the old days, under Peter Lawwell, that would probably be mentioned as the club helping us out during this period of, shall we say, pre Depression days, and the board would probably have raised the season book prices to adjust the income accordingly.<\/p>\n

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With an exodus of players already well under way, speculation is mounting over who will replace them.<\/p>\n

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Arguably , Matt O’Riley, the potty mouthed chap who joined when Riley McGree went to Middlesborobscurity, is pretty much the man to take over from Rogic, even if he should wash his mouth out with soap….<\/p>\n

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Matt O’Riley<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/div>\n
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@mattoriley8<\/span><\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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What a fucking club\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u00a0Yes, we know, but we do have standards.<\/div>\n
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\u00a0He should have said<\/div>\n
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What a fucking club\u00a0 \u00a0this is<\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u00a0Otherwise it makes no sense.<\/div>\n
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\u00a0Anyway, that was balanced by Daezen Maeda, who simply tweeted that everyone should …<\/div>\n
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have a nice night\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/div>\n
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\u00a0 Stolle Salbakken of Bodo Glimt is apparently joining June, as may one other from that club.<\/div>\n
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\u00a0The papers were talking of Mohaned Jeahze, an Iraqi left back who has been outstanding for Hammarby in Sweden recently, which will provide competition on that flank.<\/div>\n
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\u00a0Greg Taylor has improved beyond recognition, but is about to find out that We Never Stop also applies to further improvement, and quality cover is needed.<\/div>\n
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\u00a0Whoever comes in, and there will be a number of new recruits, they are likely to be ready to step into a first team place.<\/div>\n
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\u00a0No more projects, and no more loans that don;t give Celtic first dibs when the loan is over.<\/div>\n
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\u00a0Although the season is finished, bar the Festival of the Seventeenth Century cup final next week, Celtic fans will have plenty to talk about and plenty to get excited about over the next couple of weeks before the manager finally takes a bit of a break to recharge his own batteries.<\/div>\n
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\u00a0Transfer business is already under way, and there will be no hanging around as potential targets want to assess all their options.<\/div>\n
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\u00a0Either they sign when we want them, or we don;t want them.<\/div>\n
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\u00a0Changed days indeed.<\/div>\n
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\u00a0Group stage football in the UCL is also guaranteed for the Scottish champions next season, so the club can;t afford to take their eye off the ball domestically.<\/div>\n
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\u00a0That’s why the squad won;t be any smaller than\u00a0 this season;s despite a number of exits.<\/div>\n
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\u00a0Whether or not this is down to a new approach from Michael Nicholson or the fact that Postecoglou knows how to get what he wants is debatable, but what matters here is not how it’s come to this, but the fact that it has come to this.<\/div>\n
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\u00a0Part of the reason for the collapse under Neil Lennon was a sense of complacency and a feeling that the league would be won if players who didn’t want to be a part of it could be persuaded to stay.<\/div>\n
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\u00a0This proved to be calamitous, and now anyone who doesn’t want to be here will be shown the door, the pavement and finally the street.<\/div>\n
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\u00a0Paul McStay , the legendary former captain , would have siad there was a buzz about the place.<\/div>\n
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\u00a0And he’d be spot on.<\/div>\n
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\u00a0Meanwhile, there are rumblings of a possible takeover at Ibrox, as the current board, who have spent \u00a3100m getting to a Europa League final, may want to sell up.<\/div>\n
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\u00a0That’s if they haven’t already…..<\/div>\n
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\u00a0In the property and business high court of England and Wales, SDI sports and The Rangers Football club discontinued their little battle over a few quid, with the claimant serving a sealed copy of the order to the defendant.<\/div>\n
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\u00a0There will be no costs involved, and as far as my considerable legal experience can determine, that means Mike Ashley has agreed to an out of court settlement, which might be tuppence ha’penny, it might be several millions of pounds, or it might be a basket of assets……<\/div>\n
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\u00a0It’s all very secret, as the news of the agreement, which was issued on February 23, 2022, seems to have been missed by the media.<\/div>\n
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\u00a0Though in fairness, it does say on the statement that it “matters would be resolved on a confidential basis<\/em> “, though that surely doesn’t mean the press can’t tell a worried Ibrox fanbase that everything is settled now ?<\/div>\n
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\u00a0Surely if it”s all sorted now they can trumpet another triumph from the rooftops ?<\/div>\n
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Or am I on the point of spotting something they’d rather no one saw ?<\/div>\n
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They really need to beat Eintracht Frankfurt next week, or they might not be around to stop Celtic next season.<\/div>\n
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\"Madagascar<\/div>\n
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\u00a0In the meantime, let’s have a new caption competition…..<\/div>\n
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\"Video:<\/div>\n
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Normal service was resumed at Celtic Park yesterday with the presentation of the League trophy.   Ange Postecoglou’s swashbuckling Celtic picked up the trophy after…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":17717,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","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\/2022\/05\/images-30.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2J7If-4BK","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17716"}],"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=17716"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17716\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17718,"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17716\/revisions\/17718"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/17717"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17716"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17716"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17716"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}