At least I think its Saturday. Might still be Friday. No sign of the sun yet.<\/p>\n
Actualy, it might be the 1990s, I’ve just put the telly on, and Sky Sports are showing that Rangers beat Airdrieonians 3-0 last night, and I could have sworn they wee both dead.<\/p>\n
Oh, they are.<\/p>\n
The tarrier carrier is fuelled up and ready to roll in a couple of hours, and it must be the excitement keeping me awake. Thats the excitement of going to the football, not the excitement in an Angelas Ashes sort of way. Which is, of course, immoral.<\/p>\n
Theres me being the middle aged man of god again.<\/p>\n
UEFA decided yesterday to uphold the three match ban for captain Scott Brown, which has dampened the mood at Celtic Park ahead of next weeks crucial game in Amsterdam, though not for everybody.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Celtic will face Dundee Utd this afternoon, and there is immediately a bit of a dilemma for manager Neil Lennon. With Brown losing his appeal ( every time he gets sent off -copyright Desi mond ) does the manager stick with his captain, or go with the Kayal\/ Ledley\/ Mulgrew midfield that is likely to face Ajax next week ?<\/p>\n
Brown , of course, cannot play in that fixture, which was always going to be the outcome of any appeal, but it was a nice day out for him.<\/p>\n
So, does he get rested, and leave those who didn’t get sent off in this years campaign a chance to get acquainted, or do we let him play ? Brown will probably play, which doesn’t make a great deal of sense..<\/p>\n
Lennon seems to have missed the point on Browns European ban completely;<\/p>\n
\u201cFor him to miss these games is a blow to him and to us. He\u2019s a huge player for us and we\u2019re going to miss him.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s another two games now and Ajax away is pivotal. We\u2019re prepared for it, but it\u2019s still very disappointing because I felt we had a good case.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve not seen the written reasons or affirmation. I don\u2019t have all the facts in front of me, so I don\u2019t know what they have said. But it\u2019s been upheld.\u201d<\/p>\n
“He will be flying back and meeting up with the squad tonight. I feel the ban is excessive for a misdemeanour, or whatever you want to call it.<\/p>\n
“I am sure we had a fair hearing but it wasn’t to be. It is a blow for us and for Scott and we will just have to deal with it.”<\/p>\n
How about kicking his arse all round the dressing room and then maybe , just maybe Brown will start acting like a man worthy of being \u00a0a Celtic captain ? Instead of moaning about how much we will miss him, or how harsh UEFA are being ?<\/p>\n
A wee bit of maturity and responsibility is required from Brown, and realistically he should be on his last warning, and not being held up as some kind of martyr for the cause.<\/p>\n
Kris Commons and Georgios Samaras will miss todays game, but James Forrest and Charlie Mulgrew will be back.<\/p>\n
Mulgrew , the only first pick in history to not actually have a position all his own is someone perhaps not valued by the support. Sometimes a manager will see something in a player that isn’t immmediately visible from the stands. Mulgrew has quietly and effectively filled in wherever Lennon has asked him to, and performed admirably into the bargain.<\/p>\n
Maybe we should absolve Scott Brown of his responsibilities for a while, ask Mulgrew to take over, and then Brown can concentrate on what he’s good at.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Waiting in the wings today will be striker Amido Balde, who though probably not ready yet, is showing signs of settling and wanting to do well. Especially after his dramatic entrance last week at Firhill, where he scored the winner by doing the simplest of things. Collecting the ball and running towards the goal with it.<\/p>\n
“It was very important for myself and for the club. But I’m still new here so I’m eager to learn and work,” Balde said.<\/p>\n
“I’m always learning from watching Anthony Stokes and Georgios Samaras.<\/p>\n
“Even when I’m sitting on the bench I’m watching them and taking note.<\/p>\n
“It wasn’t easy for me at first, having to adapt to coming here. I know Celtic want a forward who will score goals but I’m calm and prepared to take my time because I know the goals will come. It’s all about learning little by little at this stage.<\/p>\n
“If there is one thing I have to learn more than anything else it is patience.”<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
“It’s always good to receive praise from the manager but in general I am feeling very good here,” \u00a0he continued<\/p>\n
“I won’t be resting on my laurels because I’ve scored. The thing is to keep working and to keep getting better. The job is not done just because I scored at the weekend.<\/p>\n
“I know what the manager meant when he described me as a baby and I will have to grow up quickly.<\/p>\n
“But I’m positive the boss knows me well and is aware of any difficulties I might have.<\/p>\n
“I’m sure I’ll grow quickly and I’m not going to let the manager down.”<\/p>\n
Visitors Dundee Utd should be up for it today, they lost a last minute extra time goal in a League Cup game in midweek which saw them crash out to Inverness Thistle. There was also a wee bit of bother with both managers being sent to the stands and Uniteds top scorer Nadir Ciftci sent off when he grabbed the referee by the throat.<\/p>\n
Elsewhere, Hibernian boss Pat Fenlon has resigned, citing it was time for someone else to build on what he had started. He said;<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a very difficult decision. I\u2019ve been here for a while and I love the place. But you have to be fair to everyone. It\u2019s the right decision to make at the right time.\u201d<\/p>\n
No idea who they might go for. Jimmy Calderwood is probably already sitting outside the ground, cv in hand.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Someone else who got out of dodge yesterday was the well respected journalist and radio presenter James Traynor, who was removed from his post of director of communications at crisis club Second Rangers. Apparently it was a cost cutting excercise, and Traynor has been deemed surplus to requirements. The official announcement was more than a little terse;<\/p>\n
“Rangers today announce that Director of Communications James Traynor has left the club,” No good wishes, no thank you.., just a reported pay off of \u00a3200,000…<\/p>\n
He must have made quite an impression over there. We hear he’s away to the beach for a while to take stock-and maybe even impress the ladies;<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Afterwards he could \u00a0join Radio Clyde on their expert phone in panel , Radio Scotland have allegedly told him he’s not welcome \u00a0back, and Keith Jackson has changed the locks and taken \u00a0the phone off the hook down at the Daily Record.<\/p>\n
At the independent Clyde he would link up with \u00a0Hugh Keevins , Gordon Dalziel and Derek Johnstone in a dazzling line up of talent unmatched anywhere in the sporting world that is sure to set the phone lines buzzing.<\/p>\n
BT are already installing a new hi-tech system to cope with demand;<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
It was a busy day in the world of Second Rangers yesterday. Dave King, who seemed so perfect for them won’t be coming after all.<\/p>\n
The convicted South African based fraudster said;<\/p>\n
“Over the last two years we have all witnessed the destructive value when individuals, who should be putting the club first, advance personal agendas through the media in an attempt to influence the most important stakeholder in Rangers Football Club, the fans. ”<\/p>\n
No shit, sherlock. What really happened was the institutional investors blocked it.<\/p>\n
More bad news for them, but its good news for the ice cream industry, which traditionally suffers a downturn this time of year.<\/p>\n
Celtic beat Tirol Innbruck 6-3, 7-5 on aggregate in a tense match at Celtic Park back on the 26 August 1997, the picture yesterday was a wee reminder of an exciting tussle which saw Celtic install defibrillators at the ground in case it ever happened again.<\/p>\n
the Celtic wiki explains what happened…<\/p>\n