{"id":5694,"date":"2014-09-23T10:26:32","date_gmt":"2014-09-23T09:26:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/etims.net\/?p=5694"},"modified":"2014-09-23T10:26:32","modified_gmt":"2014-09-23T09:26:32","slug":"celtic-diary-tuesday-september-23-celtic-secure-world-title","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/etims.net\/?p=5694","title":{"rendered":"Celtic Diary Tuesday September 23: Celtic Secure World Title."},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Finally , something to gloat about.<\/p>\n<p>The Diary mentioned an online poll last week, which hundreds of you voted in, and the final result is in !<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/ByMlKC0IUAAyPEq.jpg:large\" alt=\"Embedded image permalink\" \/><\/p>\n<p>It was close, but that takes Deilas win record to two in eight, giving the players a much needed confidence boost, and hopefully the side can now kick on and start to play the football they are capable of.<\/p>\n<p>Starting tomorrow night, live on the BBC, against Hearts in the League Cup.<\/p>\n<p>The BBC, at a directors meeting yesterday, have been warned that their archaic imperialistic view of the world needs to change after a movement sprang up to boycott the tv licence fee as a protest against their recent coverage of the Scottish independence referendum, and there were calls to modernise the service;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/ByM6BNMIQAAu4TO.png\" alt=\"Embedded image permalink\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Or at least make it entertaining. Sportsound, who will cover the game, often gives the impression that they share a director with mournful soap opera Eastenders, as presenters and guests \u00a0prattle on \u00a0in a low monotone \u00a0about events on the field, presumably so they can hear any &#8221; sectarian &#8221; singing from the Celtic End, and make you wish the BBC would show adverts at half time instead. Or highlights from Eastenders. Or Homes Under The Hammer.<\/p>\n<p>Anything would be preferable.<\/p>\n<p>Back to the football, and Ronny Deila was asked if he would play his strongest team against Hearts. Which, of course, implies that he knows what his strongest team is.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #444444;\"><em>&#8220;We try to do that every time, but there are a lot of reasons why we do it [rotate the squad]. We&#8217;ve a long, hard match programme and you have to give some players the opportunity to get match fit.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #444444;\"><em>&#8220;That&#8217;s something we are thinking of all the time. But in the game against Motherwell there were maybe too many changes. You could see that in the first-half.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #444444;\"><em>&#8220;The League Cup is the first trophy we can win and, as I&#8217;ve said all the time, both domestic cups are important to us.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #444444;\"><em>&#8220;I know the League Cup is sometimes used for playing younger teams, but we have used a lot of our squad the whole time.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #444444;\"><em>&#8220;It&#8217;s going to be a tough match, the players and I know it, but I&#8217;m looking forward to playing another game so we can bounce back from the result against Motherwell.&#8221;\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #444444;\">We have a picture taken at the team selection meeting, which is held prior to every game&#8230;<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #444444;\">\n<p style=\"color: #444444;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/etims.net\/?attachment_id=5695\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-5695\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5695\" src=\"https:\/\/etims.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/lots.jpg\" alt=\"lots\" width=\"275\" height=\"183\" srcset=\"https:\/\/etims.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/lots.jpg 275w, https:\/\/etims.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/lots-150x99.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 275px) 100vw, 275px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #444444;\">\u00a0If a player doesn&#8217;t toe the line, and train properly, his name doesn&#8217;t even go into the pot. Pplayers such as Leigh Griffiths, who is still linked with a move to Hibernian.<\/p>\n<p><em>Leigh is at Celtic and nothing is going on with Hibs. There haven&#8217;t been any real talks between the clubs.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;Leigh is fighting for a place in the starting XI. We want him here.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;He needs to work hard every day and take his chances when he gets them, same as everybody else at this club.&#8221;\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p>But as soon as Hibs agree to pay a higher percentage of his wages, he&#8217;ll be heading east.<\/p>\n<p>Deila has done his homework on Hearts;<\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u201cI watched Hearts against Hibs and had people at the game on Saturday. We have a good idea of them and the boys have played them so we know what we\u2019re going to meet.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p>Does this mean he is prepared to listen to someone elses opinion ahead of a game ? Or , as I suspect, is he a little too fond of the sound of his own voice ?<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #000000;\"><em>\u201cThere have been ups and downs,\u201d<\/em>\u00a0Deila continued\u00a0<em>\u00a0\u201cWe have had some good games but sometimes the next game is not good enough, like against Motherwell.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #000000;\"><em>&#8220;We need more progression and consistency in the performance. The lowest levels have to be higher and we have to manage that and work as a group.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #000000;\"><em>\u201cThere are a lot of teams that will sit in,\u201d he continued. \u201cWe got more tempo in second-half and opened Motherwell more but that\u2019s what you have to prepare for.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #000000;\"><em>\u201cIn the centre we open teams well but we need more in the wide areas to be at them in different spaces.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/etims.net\/?attachment_id=5696\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-5696\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5696\" src=\"https:\/\/etims.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/press-office.jpg\" alt=\"press office\" width=\"259\" height=\"194\" srcset=\"https:\/\/etims.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/press-office.jpg 259w, https:\/\/etims.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/press-office-150x112.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 259px) 100vw, 259px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0It all sounds convincing, and to give Ronny credit, he appears to know what he&#8217;s talking about. But if thats the language he uses in the dressing room, he&#8217;s going to have his work cut out , becuase about halfway through his speech, the players will be playing candy crush on their phones.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0May I suggest a more, er, simple approach ?<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #000000;\">\n<p>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/etims.net\/?attachment_id=5697\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-5697\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5697\" src=\"https:\/\/etims.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/ball.jpg\" alt=\"ball\" width=\"225\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/etims.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/ball.jpg 225w, https:\/\/etims.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/ball-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/etims.net\/?attachment_id=5698\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-5698\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5698\" src=\"https:\/\/etims.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/nets.jpg\" alt=\"nets\" width=\"279\" height=\"181\" srcset=\"https:\/\/etims.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/nets.jpg 279w, https:\/\/etims.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/nets-150x97.jpg 150w, https:\/\/etims.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/nets-110x70.jpg 110w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 279px) 100vw, 279px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com\/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSR_Ur3i2zw2HSfq328JSN0soHT0SbtwLJ__ZxY6-vz-AdTjm87\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com\/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcROIYva7bOZm6oARUm_IlvQv4PRH1YZwGIIOvbj6LrREBjhNQ29\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/etims.net\/?attachment_id=5699\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-5699\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5699\" src=\"https:\/\/etims.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/fans-celebrating.jpg\" alt=\"fans celebrating\" width=\"275\" height=\"183\" srcset=\"https:\/\/etims.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/fans-celebrating.jpg 275w, https:\/\/etims.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/fans-celebrating-150x99.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 275px) 100vw, 275px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Pleased to be of assistance.<\/p>\n<p>The debate in the Diary replies yesterday concerned the future of the manager. Some-a minority-claimed it was too early to dismiss him. Others pointed out that Aberdeen and league leaders Dundee Utd, our two biggest challengers , have both lost at Celtic Park already this season. Thats true, but despite losing , United still lead the pack. Inverness are also ahead of us, and they beat the hoops .<\/p>\n<p>It could be that Celtic won&#8217;t lead the table until the clocks go back, and on current form , it could well be they will go forward again before we hit the front.<\/p>\n<p>That might sound a little pessimistic, it might even be unrealistic, but there are no signs that this team is a potential championship winning outfit.<\/p>\n<p>So, if we accept that the club is going in the wrong direction, at what point do we finally call time on the Deila experiment ?<\/p>\n<p>If we lose to Hearts ? Or , heaven forbid, in a tie against Second Rangers in a later round ?<\/p>\n<p>If we fail to beat St. Mirren ?<\/p>\n<p>Christmas ?<\/p>\n<p>If we get knocked out of the Cup ?<\/p>\n<p>From what I&#8217;ve seen of Deila so far, and how the players are reacting to him, a decision to either give him a full season or cut our losses needs to be made, and stuck to rigidly.<\/p>\n<p>Whatever the club decides, at least we will know that the board \u00a0are either one hundred per cent behind him, or are already looking for his replacement.<\/p>\n<p>And if, as is suspected, the players are trying to undermine him, then they will know he is in charge, and not going anywhere.<\/p>\n<p>However, despite the League Cup being a &#8220;diddy tournament &#8221; , calls for his dismissal will reach a crescendo by the weekend should the team perform below standard again. A defeat is not unlikely, and he needs to get his finger out now.<\/p>\n<p>Claiming to have finished tinkering with the squad is a good start. It just depends on who he thinks his strongest team is.<\/p>\n<p>Rumours of discontent in the camp were fuelled when he found a note on his desk&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/ByNKZUfIYAACTLA.jpg\" alt=\"Embedded image permalink\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com\/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQaMiO-fyww5G85lyGbgoFPFDLA6GolMFIMKCNNoJ8X_pJnjABk\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Frank connor was the man featured in yesterdays diary, a man who many thought, especially the players at the time, should have been given the job on a permanent basis. Here&#8217;s another assistant manager, one you might not remember&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/etims.net\/?attachment_id=5700\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-5700\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5700\" src=\"https:\/\/etims.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/davie-macparland.jpg\" alt=\"davie macparland\" width=\"275\" height=\"183\" srcset=\"https:\/\/etims.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/davie-macparland.jpg 275w, https:\/\/etims.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/davie-macparland-150x99.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 275px) 100vw, 275px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Finally , something to gloat about. The Diary mentioned an online poll last week, which hundreds of you voted in, and the final result is&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":5702,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","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\/2014\/09\/winners.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2J7If-1tQ","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5694"}],"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=5694"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5694\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5703,"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5694\/revisions\/5703"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5702"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5694"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5694"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5694"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}