{"id":18991,"date":"2025-06-11T08:57:16","date_gmt":"2025-06-11T07:57:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/etims.net\/?p=18991"},"modified":"2025-06-11T08:57:16","modified_gmt":"2025-06-11T07:57:16","slug":"celtic-diary-wednesday-june-11-work-goes-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/etims.net\/?p=18991","title":{"rendered":"Celtic Diary Wednesday June 11: Work Goes On"},"content":{"rendered":"

There’s ongoing work at Celtic Park just now, the pitch has been pulled up and is set to be replaced, with manager Brendan Rodgers firmly behind the project. Five years ago, he was behind the move to introduce a new hybrid surface, and it looks like that particular pitch has reached it’s sell by date.<\/p>\n

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Rodgers has always been one to make sure the pitch is of premium quality… back in December he said:<\/p>\n

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The pitch is so important for us, for our football, for the speed of the game, for everything. It\u2019s important.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

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\u201cYou need the surface to be right. The speed of the ball, the players\u2019 ability to trust their footing \u2013 it all starts there.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

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It appears, from drone footage, that the dugouts have been removed as well. That’s because having read those words from the manager, the board have decided they are surplus to requirements as it’s fecking obvious Rodgers hasn’t been using them to watch the games this season.<\/p>\n

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Instead, Snoop Dogg, the American rappa, will set up his burger van pitchside , which could well throw a few quid into the old biscuit tin.<\/p>\n

Especially if Kris Boyd is working for Sky tv that day.<\/p>\n

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Keiran Tierney has officially rejoined Celtic. Back from his adventure in the Big Smoke he couldn’t have looked happier.<\/p>\n

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\"Kieran<\/p>\n

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Now 28, and having signed a deal that takes him through to 2030…half past eight….he’s looking forward to winning trophies, shouting through megaphones and the benefits of private health insurance.<\/p>\n

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\u2018I spoke with the manager, and obviously I had worked with him before and I\u2019ve always kept in touch with him. He\u2019s one of the best so I\u2019m so lucky and grateful that he\u2019s given me the chance to come back again.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2018My ambition is just for Celtic to be as successful as possible, retain our place at the top and continue to win trophies and do well for Celtic.\u2019\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

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He’s done right by his family, put a few quid in his own bank account and can now concentrate on playing for the club he grew up with, which is fair enough.<\/p>\n

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And let’s be honest, the club would have been happy with the loan fee Arsenal paid as well..<\/p>\n

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Though there is a feeling we could do with a left back that can manage two games a week without ending up in A and E<\/p>\n

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Celtic don;t seem to be hanging about this summer as the manager attempts to freshen up the squad.<\/p>\n

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Callum Osmand ( like the Seventies pop combo, only spelt differently ) has passed a medical, and looks set to join. He may be a prospect and not a blue collar signing, but there’s a feeling he’ll progress along the lines of Matt O’Riley and Moussa Dembele.<\/p>\n

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A formal bid…which is a politer way of saying cheeky and disrespectful offer…has been made for Nilson Angulo of Anderlecht, who, according to the Record, enjoyed a “breakthrough” season and is “attracting interest from elsewhere ”<\/p>\n

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That sounds like something an agent would plant near a desperate hack in an attempt to get his clients name out there, and given that south American agents tend to do that, which is how we’ve ended up with a few donkeys over the years, maybe it should be treated with a pinch of salt.<\/p>\n

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Still with the Record, and they seem to be heavily dependent on their man in Belgium for stories….<\/p>\n

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Persistent Celtic have restarted talks with long-term target Michel-Ange Balikwisha with discussions over personal terms underway \u2013 according to a leading report in Belgium.<\/em><\/p>\n

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The Royal Antwerp winger has been on the Parkhead signing radar over the previous two windows and now the former Red Devils’ U21 star is expected to leave his homeland this summer.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Now signing insider Sacha Tavolieri states the Premiership champions have triggered dialogue with the coveted wide man.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Balikwisha directly addressed Celtic earlier this year but admitted his injury issues kiboshed any potential switch to Glasgow.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u00a0Another Celtic target, Lennon Miller, has been advised by Stephen Naismith, who clearly has the lads best interests at heart, to ignore Celtic …. and move abroad.<\/div>\n
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European football would suit Miller better, because his big attributes are he\u2019s good technically and his awareness is very good.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cOther parts he can learn, Ferguson is the prime example of that. Ferguson\u2019s turned into a brilliant all-round midfielder.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cMotherwell will get rewarded for their hard work [with a good fee].\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Naismith obviously unaware that European football would be a big attraction for Miller with Celtic. He’s unlikely to get a move to a major European club, and is still only 18.<\/p>\n

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As usual, the transfer window brings mostly specualtion and then opinion on that speculation. Unless we hear anything from our usual uniformed and inebriated “sources on the sauce” then we’ll keep our counsel.<\/p>\n

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Or make something up.<\/p>\n

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Some things though, one just cannot make up.<\/p>\n

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After forgetting to wear his brown brogues when he was introduced to the hordes of hell at Ibrox, new manager russell Martin attempted to get some points on the Staunchometer…<\/p>\n

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Russell Martin has Rangers acceptance already thanks to Jimmy Bell in a jacuzzi with a bottle of whisky<\/h1>\n

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It’s not some bizarre, club based game of Cluedo, but a rather private and tender moment between two consenting adults…<\/p>\n

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Russell Martin will never forget his final day at Rangers Training Centre as a player seven years ago.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Alone in the jacuzzi with only his thoughts about a loan spell that was ending in bitter frustration for company. That was until Jimmy Bell burst in.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

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Armed with a bottle of whisky, two plastic tumblers and his unrivalled stories that made the late, great kit man one of the most loved and respected characters at Ibrox for generations.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

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The team might have been in a bit of soapy bubble but Martin knew in that moment that, despite not producing on the pitch, he had been accepted by one of the most important people at the club.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

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Martin\u2019s not a drinker. But he took a couple of nips. It was Jimmy Bell insisting, after all. The conversation certainly lifted the then 33-year-old\u2019s spirits.<\/em><\/p>\n

But it also left\u00a0Martin<\/a>\u00a0with a clear appreciation of the standards that had once driven the club. No half measures. He heard all about the glory days under\u00a0Walter Smith<\/a>, Graeme Souness and other iconic Ibrox bosses.<\/em><\/p>\n

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the camera slowly panned away, and revealed a stunning shot of a sunrise as the music faded away…<\/div>\n
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Before I continue, if you’ve been affected by anything you’ve read in today’s Diary…. etc.<\/div>\n
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\u00a0Yesterday, we had this….<\/div>\n
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\"Girls<\/div>\n
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Woof Charlie<\/em><\/div>\n
\u00a018 hours ago<\/em><\/div>\n
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Caption: Match of the Day panel demonstrate the other meaning of a high press.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Today<\/p>\n

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\"Snack<\/p>\n

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