![\"Another](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/boxofvinyl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Much-Rejoicing.gif?resize=578%2C318&ssl=1\")
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Celtic extended their lead at the top of the table with a 2-0 win over Kilmarnock yesterday.<\/p>\n
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And there was much rejoicing.<\/p>\n
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Well, maybe more relief than rejoicing.<\/p>\n
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January\/February is usually when the serious contenders line up for any title race, and since there is no real challenge it’s all going to be a bit of a formality from now until May.<\/p>\n
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Manager Ange Postecoglou has a difficult task keeping everyone focused and at the top of their game lest complacency creeps in and things start to fall apart.<\/p>\n
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The players have been told they can bring board games to work on Fridays, and have been encouraged to wear their own clothes to training on alternate Mondays, which should help alleviate the boredom.<\/p>\n
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Happily, yesterday also showed that the players are more or less recovered from the virus that swept through the club, leading to one or two players saying they were fit when they weren’t, ahead of last weeks game with “rangers “, which put the manager in a difficult position when it became apparent that he’d perhaps laid too much trust in some self diagnoses.<\/p>\n
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At least it brought a bit of excitement into the proceedings, giving our junior neighbours a wee bit of hope and ensuring their new manager isn’t hounded out of town before he can truly realise his full potential.<\/p>\n
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I have a feeling we’re going to enjoy Michael and the Invincibeales.<\/p>\n
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He seems blissfully unaware that the improvement of one or two of his players is that they are desperate to get out of town.\u00a0 Kent and Morelos, both running down their contracts, have been a “revelation ” during his short and hilarious tenure, and whilst the media have been quick to credit Beale, instead of stating the obvious.<\/p>\n
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Beale will have to promote youth, and his team are about to enter a period of transition, a period where they will need as much help as they can to prevent their support from losing interest….because their support loses interest very quickly when things don’t go their way.<\/p>\n
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He’s already been getting his excuses in…..<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe don\u2019t spend the most money in this country,\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cCeltic have made three signings and people are asking: \u2018Are you [Rangers] going to make three\u2019? No, we will do what we think (is best). But also, they spend a lot more money than us. So Ange is a lucky man because he\u2019s spent a lot of money.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s a good coach – but he\u2019s spent a lot of money. I know who I want here and who is free to go or I\u2019d like to move on. I know the areas I\u2019d like to strengthen. But I think it\u2019s going to take one, two, three windows to get who I want.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n You\u2019re talking about a 25 percent turnover, which is natural over three windows. We have to get a lot of decisions right and do a lot of quality work.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThere are a lot of players whose situations are that they\u2019re either out of contract or being linked with moves. I don\u2019t want anyone else coming in here that in three or four months I\u2019m being asked: \u2018Are they here or not\u2019? The players that come in have to be here.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n At least, I think that’s what it was.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Aside from the mention of “Lucky ” Postecoglou, and the inference that he’s a chequebook manager, which is a blatant attempt to gain sympathy from the hordes, and pander to their impression that our manager isn;t as good as he seems, Beale still seems to struggle with coherent sentences.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n . I don\u2019t want anyone else coming in here that in three or four months I\u2019m being asked: \u2018Are they here or not\u2019? The players that come in have to be here.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The League Cup semi finals are next week…. Celtic will face Kilmarnock and the SFA on Saturday at 5.30, whilst the SFA and “rangers” will be facing Aberdeen on Sunday.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n This tournament presents an opportunity for Mr. Beale to score a quick win for his club\/company. His team in a final is pretty much assured, as Aberdeen tend to fall apart in Glasgow, and these days they are not exactly at the peak of their powers.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Not that it matters, as even if Aberdeen do put in a shift and the game hangs in the balance, the Ibrox side can always call on their twelfth man, and the thirteenth, fourteenth and so on.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The real concern is that they’d rather not play Celtic in the final , because they want to win it.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n When Celtic face Kilmarnock next week, there may be one or two contentious decisions.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The article by Schroedingers Cat on this site yesterday, a must read, showed the way forward.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n It raises the bar in the debate by a considerable margin, and for those of you who listen to or participate in radio phone ins, or newspaper hotlines, this is the way forward.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n As it’s unlikely that anyone in the SMSM is familiar with the studies quoted in the article, perhaps it’s time to enlighten them.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n By raising the level of debate along these lines we move into a new argument, one which refutes completely the idea that it’s just fans moaning, one that encourages discussion about conscious or subconscious bias, or even the perception of bias, all of which combine to put added pressure on supposedly impartial referees.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n And the studies are there to support that argument…..the full reports are quite astonishing.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n After listening to Kenny Clarke dismiss the concerns of supporters regarding VAR, which he did on Radio Scotland’s Sportsound yesterday, it’s clear the SFA have no interest in listening to demands for clarity or transparency.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Clarke repeated the company line that all decisions upset some fans, an astonishing degree of arrogance from a man who has very little to be arrogant about.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The SFA will attempt to ride out yet another storm of criticism about their own level of competence, and until serious journalists take up the mantle, then it’s down to the support.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n One of the major difficulties in initially getting widespread support for Resolution 12 was the perception that it was all about Celtic and Rangers, it wasn’t, it was about the SFA.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n This particular debate is also about the SFA.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n It’s about their inability to ensure a high level of\u00a0 competence, consistency and above all clarity in the refereeing of matches….and until they do, there will always be suspicion.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n After all, surely they would want to have their officials trained to the highest level, and when they are subject to scrutiny, surely it suits everyone concerned that they are able to deal with that in an open and professional manner ?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n If not, why not ?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Without it we are moving into the murky world of match fixing, which leads to unusual betting patterns and criminal investigations.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In the wider sense, sponsors and investors steer clear…even players and managers will see their futures elsewhere.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The SFA are dragging our game down, for whatever ends, and have to be challenged.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n It seems our own board may be a part of it, as they seem reluctant to take up that challenge.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n They need to do their job.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n On the weekend of January 21, the Scottish Cup fourth round takes place.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Wouldn’t it be interesting if somehow we could organise a mass walkout after an hour of the game…..it might even catch on.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Or perhaps all turn up twenty minutes late ?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n After all, it’s not like they’re going to let us win their tournament anyway…….<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Celtic extended their lead at the top of the table with a 2-0 win over Kilmarnock yesterday. 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