{"id":4559,"date":"2014-02-07T09:38:16","date_gmt":"2014-02-07T09:38:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/etims.net\/?p=4559"},"modified":"2014-02-07T09:38:16","modified_gmt":"2014-02-07T09:38:16","slug":"celtic-diary-friday-february-7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/etims.net\/?p=4559","title":{"rendered":"Celtic Diary Friday February 7"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gary Hooper probably doesn’t read the Daily Record, but if he does, he might have seen the story which says that Darnell Fisher is being watched by England scouts as he continues to impress in his role at right back.<\/p>\n

Coach Gareth Southgate said;<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had some contact regarding Darnell and we\u2019re now monitoring his progress.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve already had scouts at Celtic games looking at him and obviously watching Fraser.<\/p>\n

\u201cDarnell is someone we\u2019ve been notified about recently and we\u2019re always looking around, making sure we have everything covered. Just the fact he\u2019s playing regularly in the Celtic team right now is an endorsement of how well he\u2019s doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Quite right as well. If Fisher had been a forward, we’d have been raving about him. As it is, he’s been called on to cover for Matthews and Lustig, and has slotted in effortlessly.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s just a young boy at 19, compared to some of our other players. And we have Carl Jenkinson and Calum Chambers who play right-back for Arsenal and Southampton in the Premier League.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut it\u2019s good to have depth and Darnell is certainly one we\u2019re looking at.\u201d<\/p>\n

You can’t fail to be surprised at that. An English player in the Arsenal team ?<\/p>\n

The article then goes on to add the customary nonsense ” understanding ” that teams down south are looking at him, as he is out of contract in the summer. Checking on transfermarket.com. it has him as a player in 2013, no real clue there, but since the site has Georgios Samaras and Kris Commons missing, it may not be the most accurate of sources.<\/p>\n

But I did spot this;<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
Name \/ Position<\/th>\nAge<\/th>\nNat.<\/th>\nAppointed<\/th>\nContract until<\/th>\nLast club<\/th>\nwas a player<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
\n\n\n\n\n\n
\"John<\/a><\/td>\nJohn Reid<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
President<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n66<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n30.09.2011<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n\n\n\n\n\n
\"Ian<\/a><\/td>\nIan Bankier<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Chairperson<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n?<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n\n\n\n\n\n
\"Peter<\/a><\/td>\nPeter Lawwell<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Executive director<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n53<\/td>\n<\/td>\n01.07.2003<\/td>\n30.06.2012<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n\n\n\n\n\n
\"Dermot<\/a><\/td>\nDermot Desmond<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Board member<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n63<\/td>\n<\/td>\n2008<\/td>\n?<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n\n\n\n\n
\"Eric<\/a><\/td>\nEric Riley<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Board member<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n?<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

<\/h2>\n

Could it be that the bold CEO Peter Lawwell has been so concerned about other peoples contracts that he has forgotten to renew his own. Could he be stolen away without a fee by an English club ?<\/p>\n

It would be amusing to watch Lawwell in action at an English side, where huge debt is the norm and money is wasted on an enormous scale daily. In fact, I can almost hear him screaming now at the very thought of a bank statement written in red ink.<\/p>\n

The Etims Rumour Mill surprised everyone by getting something right last week, as the club announced that Fergus McCann will be honoured at the first game of the season. From the Mill;<\/p>\n

” \u00a0So the Bunnet has been asked by the club to return for a 20th\u00a0anniversary applause at Celtic Park. He made an absolute fortune but the wee man deserved it. Would have been great if he was in charge during Dougie-gate and the Sevco five-way-agreement nonsense. He would have ripped the SFA apart. Pity no one at the club has cojones as big as his. ”<\/p>\n

Plans amongst the support for a mass heaving of bunnets into the air are already afoot and the wee man deserves all the praise we can give him.<\/p>\n

Chief Executive Peter Lawwell said: \u201cWe are delighted that Fergus has agreed to be our Guest of Honour at our first home match of next season.<\/p>\n

“2014 is a very special year for Celtic, with a great deal happening for the Club, but not least it is a year of real significance, as it marks the 20th anniversary of Fergus\u2019s takeover of Celtic and it is absolutely right that the special contribution he made to Celtic is marked in this way.<\/p>\n

\u201cFergus\u2019s intervention in 1994 delivered the current Celtic Park, at the time the largest club stadium in Britain and ultimately, he re-established Celtic as a footballing force by winning the Scottish Premier League in season 1997\/98.<\/p>\n

“He enabled supporters to take a stake in the Club they loved, to be part of something and once again have pride in their team. He energised and motivated our support and our supporters responded brilliantly by backing his vision.<\/p>\n

\u201cFergus was also instrumental in revitalising Celtic\u2019s charitable traditions, establishing a Charity Foundation which has now become one of the most successful in world football as well as personally delivering financial assistance to causes close to the Club\u2019s heart.<\/p>\n

\u201cA true Celtic supporter, Fergus delivered huge personal investment, sound leadership and tremendous vision during his tenure at Celtic. He showed unwavering determination and resilience to ensure his Club could once again flourish and his contribution has led directly to the position of health which our Club is in today.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know I speak for thousands of Celtic supporters when I thank Fergus sincerely for all he achieved at Celtic and I am sure we will join together in August to remember and celebrate his magnificent achievements.\u201d<\/p>\n

Manager Neil Lennon said: \u201cIt is absolutely right that we show our respect and gratitude to Fergus McCann, someone for whom I have enormous respect. Fergus showed tremendous foresight and, indeed, courage to tackle the situation the Club was in at the time in 1994.<\/p>\n

“No-one can deny that Fergus absolutely delivered. He did what he believed in and achieved all that he said he would.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first time I met Fergus was at Fenway Park in Boston.\u00a0It was a pleasure to meet him and I felt it was very important that the players met him too on that occasion. He was very humble about all his achievements, something which says a lot about him as a man.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are many great figures in Celtic\u2019s proud history and for me, Fergus McCann is right up there as one of our most important.\u201d<\/p>\n

And the man himself-he said;<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is very kind of the Club and supporters to think of me and to offer this gesture.<\/p>\n

“I am sorry I can\u2019t be with you at the match on the 1st of March due to unavoidable commitments in America but I will be pleased and honoured to attend a match at the start of next season. It is incredible to think that 20 years have passed since the takeover.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt gives me great pleasure to see Celtic as such a successful and well-run club as it is today. That is credit to the faithful backing of the supporters, also the investors, and, since I left, the vision and management of the Board, Peter Lawwell and Neil Lennon and their staff and players.\u201d<\/p>\n

The cheer that goes up on his appearance is not only for him, because we will also be applauding ourselves, and the fact that we came through a very difficult time by pulling together and taking back what was rightfully ours.<\/p>\n

It should be a great day.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Its Scottish Cup weekend already, and the action starts tonight with an all third division tie between one of the games oldest clubs and one of its newest. Second Rangers face Dunfermline at Ibrox, and the Dunfermline boss, “Jolly ” Jim Jeffries can’t wait, and has fired his troops up for battle.<\/p>\n

\"Jim<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWhether this current Rangers team could take on the might of Celtic? That\u2019s probably what everyone would love to see,\u201d said the 63-year-old. \u201cThe fixture has undoubtedly been a big miss for the game up here. It would create a massive\u00a0amount<\/span><\/a>\u00a0of attention and interest, it would fire up a lot of people, particularly on the Rangers side after spending a period out-with the top divisions.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere would be a lot of pressure on Celtic to beat them, too, and I think most people would be very interested to see how that would pan out. ”<\/p>\n

Er, Jim, you’re in charge of Dunfermline…could you maybe talk about them ?<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, I want us to cause a shock and get to the next round but, if we don\u2019t, then Rangers are well capable of going on to final and it would be a terrific occasion. ”<\/p>\n

Astonishing. Could you see that happening anywhere else in the world of football ?<\/p>\n

He added;<\/p>\n

\u201cRangers are Rangers, it doesn\u2019t matter what league they are in or what competition,\u201d he continued. \u201cThey are a massive club and the quality is there to be seen if you look at their squad.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou would be foolish to think they have no chance of winning it.”<\/p>\n

Well, I guess that makes me a fool then. And I know where there are several more.<\/p>\n

Still, we did get a sneak preview of his tactics for tonight..;<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The guy who is managing the Ibrox club, at least for the moment, says that the 23 point difference at the top of the third division doesn’t matter tonight; At least , I think thats what he meant;<\/p>\n

“I don’t know if it takes on greater significance, it certainly has massive significance,”<\/p>\n

( He probably knows what he means. I don’t. )<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

McCoist said. “Obviously last year wasn’t good for us, we had a disappointing result at Tannadice.<\/p>\n

( Define disappointing. It sure didn’t disappoint me. I was laughing for days. )<\/p>\n

“It would be good for the supporters and the players. You need a bit of luck to go on a cup run and we certainly need that, but we certainly believe we’ve got players who can go on a cup run.”<\/p>\n

( He’s off again. I think the words just fly out of his mouth in the hope they can arrange themselves in mid air and make some sort of sense. )<\/p>\n

“We have got a bit of experience in the squad with lads who have had success in cup competitions, obviously Lee McCulloch in particular but also (Ian) Black, (Jon) Daly, Cammy Bell and people like that.<\/p>\n

( When you say success in cup competitions, it must be relative. Compared to McCoist managerial record-one quarter final placing -then these players are superstars.)<\/p>\n

“We believe, outwith Celtic, who would be most people’s if not everybody’s favourites to win domestic competitions because of their strength at this moment, we believe we are on a par with the rest of the SPL teams. Aberdeen are obviously very strong as well. ”<\/p>\n

( He’s getting mixed up again. The only way his collection of misfits and journeymen are on a par with any of the SPL teams is that they will start the game with the same number of players. )<\/p>\n

“But we are looking forward to the tie and nothing more than an opportunity to extend our run.”<\/p>\n

How the mighty have fallen. He’s speaking of a good run in the Cup, like all the wee teams do, simply because they need the money.<\/p>\n

Money that has been denied them with the decision to hold the League Cup final at Celtic Park, instead of Ibrox. McCoist had a thing or two to say about that as well;<\/p>\n

\u201cCall me an old cynic but I didn\u2019t fancy\u00a0our chances of getting the League Cup final.”<\/p>\n

( More than anyone, he knows the state of the place. Remember , the old share prospectus said that money would be spent on urgent repairs and maintenance. Surely they wouldn’t have spent the money elsewhere ? )<\/p>\n

\u201cI did say to our chief executive Graham Wallace that, if we were allowed to bet, to get a few quid on the final not being at Ibrox. Neil Doncastler, or indeed whoever is running the SPFL, made the decision. That\u2019s something they\u2019ll have to live with.\u201d<\/p>\n

( Ah, come on. Sure he has a big list of people he could have asked to go to the bookies for him )<\/p>\n

He then went on to dismiss the argument that there was a game scheduled at Ibrox the previous day to the Final, which meant it would be logistically difficult to play the big game there.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve worked with television long enough that I know these boys are unbelievable at their job in terms of de-rigging and setting up for games. Come on. That doesn\u2019t wash with me and I don\u2019t think it washes with you either.\u201d<\/p>\n

And I don’t think we care either, to be honest. But you do make us laugh, and the world would be a terrible place if we had not the gift of laughter.<\/p>\n

So, to our own game tomorrow, the visit of Aberdeen in what could be the game of the season.<\/p>\n

Manager Neil Lennon spoke of his desire to go all the way this year;<\/p>\n

“It\u00b4s a trophy we want to defend and a trophy that\u00b4s very important to us. We had a great time last year. I thought the cup final experience and winning the double was fantastic and I would like to sample that again.<\/p>\n

“I don\u00b4t know if Aberdeen are one of the most improved teams but they have been one of the most consistent teams, and obviously the fillip of getting to the League Cup final for the first time in quite a while will give their players a psychological boost as well.<\/p>\n

“They are second in the table so you have the two best teams in Scotland playing against each other and it has all the ingredients for a cracking cup tie.<\/p>\n

“We are very determined to win it, though. We are well clear in the league, which is important, and now we can focus our attention on the cup.”<\/p>\n

Speaking of betting, put some money on Aberdeen to score. From a penalty. Willie Collum is the referee, and he doesn’t usually even wait for an offence to take place.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Lennon says he doesn’t care who the referee is, but we did catch his reaction to the news when he thought we weren’t looking;<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Still, his claim about concentrating on the Cup when the league is all but won \u00a0makes a change from the nineties, when we would go out of the Scottish Cup, and then concentrate on trying to qualify for the UEFA Cup. Something worth remembering if you ever start to think its all getting too easy.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Aberdeen were the last team to score against Celtic, over thirty years ago now, or so it seems, and Lennon seemed a little surprised by the fact;<\/p>\n

“It is ironic I suppose, and quite remarkable really when you think back to that goal just before half-time,” said the Irishman. “We went on to win the game late on, deservedly so as we had dominated the game.<\/p>\n

“But if you are sitting here and telling me that was the last time a team scored domestically against us, it\u00b4s very hard to believe, but it\u00b4s wonderful.”<\/p>\n

New signings Leigh Griffiths played 45 minutes of an Under-20s game on Monday and the Scotland internationalist could feature against the Dons, which could allay fears that we’ve signed another diddy up front. He’s been here over a week now, and still hasn’t scored. Wait till Keevins finds out.<\/p>\n

“He will be in the squad and will definitely be in contention to start or certainly come off the bench,” added the Hoops boss.<\/p>\n

“I have known him from his Livingston days really. I wouldn\u2019t say I monitored his progress relentlessly but he has really came to fore in the last couple of seasons.<\/p>\n

“You always look at a goalscorer\u00b4s record and his is pretty impressive. Can we improve that? I think we can. He\u00b4s 23 so he\u00b4s a good age. Can he mature into a very good player here? We think so.<\/p>\n

“That\u00b4s down to the individual, myself and the backroom team to make him better. But what he will bring is goals. And I think there is plenty scope for Leigh to improve.”<\/p>\n

He might be right, you know.<\/p>\n

Still, its nice to have a character on board for a change, in what has become a sterile world. Griffiths gave us his thoughts;<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Not since Wayne Biggins joined Celtic have I really wanted a player to do well for Celtic. Biggins made me look stupid-I’d seen him play for Stoke, and he was a predatory striker with an excellent record. And I told everyone I met in Glasgow before his debut how good he was.<\/p>\n

Thank god I went straight back down the road after the game.<\/p>\n

Andy Lynch was the man in the picture yesterday, who scored the penalty that won the 1977 Scottish Cup.<\/p>\n

Going back a little further, who is this dapper chap ?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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