{"id":5851,"date":"2014-10-22T10:14:28","date_gmt":"2014-10-22T09:14:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/etims.net\/?p=5851"},"modified":"2014-10-22T10:14:28","modified_gmt":"2014-10-22T09:14:28","slug":"celtic-diary-wednesday-october-22-daily-record-just-why","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/etims.net\/?p=5851","title":{"rendered":"Celtic Diary Wednesday October 22: Daily Record. Just why….?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lukasz Zaluska<\/strong> is back in training after he was ambushed by a couple of fellow professional footballers. The Polish goalkeeper was beaten to the ground in a cowardly attack from behind whilst walking with his wife in Glasgows west end after a pleasant evening out with friends. His wife is okay, but obviously distressed, while the keeper suffered several wounds to his head and face.<\/p>\n

It is not yet known if either have suffered any permanent psychological damage after the brutal attack.<\/p>\n

I’m sure thats what the Record meant to say with this front page report of the incident.<\/p>\n

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With William Shakespeare dead, William Wordsworth long since moved on to his lonely clouds, it was left to whichever William does the headlines at the newspaper that brought us the Thugs and Thieves story when one of their cameramen took some photos he shouldn’t have, and had his camera nicked, to bring us imaginative and thought provoking phrases as “The Goal Keeker”-a clever play on glaswegian slang for a black eye and the victims employment status, “Peek a Bruise ” , which should appeal to the target audience of the paper, as its what their parents say to them when they try to keep them amused after Teletubbies is finished, and the “Battle of Bashed -In Lane “, which refers to where the incident took place.<\/p>\n

The English language need not worry the onset of words like “chillax ” and “bling ” when it has such brave and resouceful defenders such as these.<\/p>\n

The paper, which has seen circulation figures enter a downward spiral after its reluctance to consider objective reporting on virtually any subject, has been forced to diversify to balance the books;<\/p>\n

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but as most of us already know, it just isn’t absorbent enough.<\/p>\n

Zaluska himself has pointed out that he was attacked from behind, and has no idea who did it, so Police Scotland, who are investigating the matter, have put their best man on the job ( which , of course, is all relative ) and are relying on eye witness statements and cctv.<\/p>\n

Will the crown offer any evidence ?<\/p>\n

Indeed, will the club come out and tell us what they think of the attack ? Will they condemn the player-or players -involved and ask the club to dismiss them ?<\/p>\n

Will they refuse to play in a game which features any of the guilty parties-if they manage to stay out of jail, that is ?<\/p>\n

Know what?<\/strong><\/p>\n

If the club were to make a firm stance about this sort of disgusting behaviour, I’d feel like the old Celtic had crept back into the boardroom.<\/p>\n

By the way, just to clarify, I’m on about the violent and unforgiveable behaviour of Zaluskas attackers . Not the Records, although a wee shot across their bows wouldn’t go amiss.<\/p>\n

And if you want to help the keeper in his hour of need, theres a fund being set up soon.<\/p>\n

LukaszAid\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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The press can often print hurtful stories and comments. Sadly, I’m not immune to it either, as this letter shows, which appeared in a downmarket publication some time ago. Its only recently I have got over the trauma;<\/p>\n

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The Record also had a go at Astra , who are Celtics next opponents , on Thursday, in the Europa League.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Unpaid bills and stars left behind:<\/h1>\n

Celtic’s Europa League foes’ farcical trip to Glasgow<\/h1>\n

Unpaid bills ? When did the paper suddenly start criticising clubs for not paying their bills ?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a0Europa League opponents Astra Giurgiu were delayed on their way to Scotland last night \u2013 amid claims their flight had not been paid for.<\/em><\/p>\n

The hold-up wasn\u2019t the only problem\u00a0for the Romanian club,<\/a>\u00a0because when they finally got off the ground they were forced to leave two of their biggest stars at the airport.<\/em><\/p>\n

Astra first-team players Kehinde Fatai and Seidu Yahaya were turned away from the flight as they did not have the appropriate visas.<\/em><\/p>\n

The club were due to leave Bucharest at 4pm yesterday but their flight was grounded by local carrier Tarom, with the company reportedly claiming they had not received proof of payment from Astra.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0I had a similar experience when my Astra was repossessed when I couldn’t show any proof of payment.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Anyway, the Romanians eventually made their way into town, and are desperate to end their dismal run of one win in eight matches. Defeat tomprrow would finish them off as far as Europe is concerned, while the hoops would move to seven points from three games, which would set them up nicely for a spot in the knock out stages.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Ronny Deila may well be getting it together now, and although he’s had a difficult start, raise where its due, he hasn’t buckled. Sure , there have been one or two signs it all might be too much for him, actually more than one or two, but he’s weathered the storm and and may now have the ship heading in the direction he wants it to.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Astra are not one of Europes biggest clubs, in fact they are not one of Romanias biggest clubs, and its kind of refreshing to be playing someone we haven’t played before at this time of year, when airlines are normally bankning on the income from \u00a0flights into Barcelona, Milan and Lisbon to ensure their Christmas bonuses.<\/p>\n

\u00a0So, what do we know about Astra ?<\/p>\n

Fotbal Club Astra Giurgiu<\/b>\u00a0is a\u00a0Romanian<\/a>\u00a0professional\u00a0football<\/a>\u00a0club from\u00a0Giurgiu<\/a>, Romania. They were founded in 1921, inPloie\u0219ti<\/a>\u00a0and spent their vast majority in the\u00a0lower leagues<\/a>. Only after 1990, when the club was taken under the ownership of Ioan Niculae, it began to achieve some performances, starting with the first season of\u00a0Liga I<\/a>\u00a0in\u00a01998-99<\/a>. They are currently playing in the country’s top league,\u00a0Liga I<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

It qualified for the very first time in history to the\u00a0UEFA Europa League<\/a>\u00a0at the end of the\u00a02012\u201313 Liga I<\/a>\u00a0season, after it finished 4th in the table.<\/em><\/p>\n

Astra Giurgiu was known as\u00a0Astra Ploie\u0219ti<\/b>\u00a0until September 2012 when it was moved from\u00a0Ploie\u0219ti<\/a>\u00a0to\u00a0Giurgiu<\/a>, by owner Ioan Niculae.<\/em><\/p>\n

The traditional colours of the team are white and black.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Club world ranking<\/span>[<\/span>edit<\/a>]<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n

These are the\u00a0IFFHS<\/a>\u00a0club’s points as of May 2014:[7]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
P<\/abbr><\/th>\nClub<\/th>\nPoints<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
36<\/td>\n\"Scotland\"<\/a><\/span>\u00a0Celtic F.C.<\/a><\/td>\n179,0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
37<\/td>\n\"Russia\"<\/a><\/span>\u00a0FC Zenit Saint Petersburg<\/a><\/td>\n171,0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
38<\/td>\n\"Paraguay\"<\/a><\/span>\u00a0Club Nacional<\/a><\/td>\n169,5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
39<\/b><\/td>\n\"Romania\"<\/a><\/span>\u00a0Astra Giurgiu<\/b><\/td>\n169,0<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
40<\/td>\n\"Paraguay\"<\/a><\/span>\u00a0Club Libertad<\/a><\/td>\n166,5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
41<\/td>\n\"China\"<\/a><\/span>\u00a0Guangzhou Evergrande F.C.<\/a><\/td>\n166,0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
42<\/td>\n\"Greece\"<\/a><\/span>\u00a0Panathinaikos F.C.<\/a><\/td>\n166,0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Which shows how useless that particular ranking system is…<\/p>\n

Astra’s primary colors are white and black, although the kit design also included red on many occasions, especially on the away outfits.<\/em><\/p>\n

Astra’s home kit consists of white and black stripped shirts, white shorts and white socks, making them similar to those of\u00a0Juventus Torino<\/a>. The away shirts are decorated with red and black strips, making them similar to those of\u00a0AC Milan<\/a>. The shorts and socks are predominantly black, but they also include splashes of white.<\/em><\/p>\n

The present Astra crest was adopted in July 2009, following the team’s promotion from\u00a0Liga II<\/a>. The design is based on a classical template, and is characterized by the same black and white stripes which can be found on the team’s shirts. The numerous stars which adorn the crest have their origin in the club’s name, with\u00a0Astra\u00a0(like\u00a0Steaua<\/a>) being a\u00a0Romanian<\/a>word that translates as “star”.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

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After Astra’s premiere promotion to the\u00a0Divizia A<\/a>\u00a0in the summer of 1998, its few fans engaged in a grudge with their cross-town rivals\u00a0Petrolul Ploie\u0219ti<\/a>. Often, the matches between Astra and Petrolul ended with violent clashes between the supporters of both teams. Most Astra fans consider Petrolul as their main rivals, but the Yellow Wolves regard\u00a0Rapid Bucure\u0219ti<\/a>\u00a0as their main arch-enemies. Even after the moving of the team to\u00a0Giurgiu<\/a>, the rivalry is kept, because between Giurgiu and Petrolul, there’s an old rivalry kept from the time when Petrolul was playing in the Romanian 2nd league.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0Sounds like a fairly new club trying to establish its identity. Wonder of Mike Ashley will put in a bid for the merchandise ?<\/p>\n

\u00a0Their manager-or coach-is a familiar name, though.<\/p>\n

He’s Oleg Protasov, who used to play for Dynamo Kiev , amongst others, back in the eighties, and is actually the old Soviet Unions second top scorer, behind Oleg Blokhin.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Mind you, he’s managed about a dozen clubs since he retired from playing and so far his best achievement is getting all his players to remember to bring their boots for a crucial relegation battle.<\/p>\n

\u00a0So, it should be another Suduva, but it could be a Politechnica Timisoara. That’ll scare the older readers.<\/p>\n

\u00a0On a different subject, Diary comments regular Bondibrian asked if it was only Ralph Malph who wrote articles on here, and of course it isn’t. The structure of the website credits the person who posts the article, which due to my particular work schedule makes it easier for me to do that side of things.<\/p>\n

A lot of the work done here is decided behind closed doors. Which are only opened to let us out for food and excercise.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Like the team of writers behind Friends, or Modern Family, ideas are discussed, dismissed or a decision to move ahead with the article is taken after lengthy consideration between the team.<\/p>\n

\u00a0The team, incidentally has written for such top comedians as Michael McIntyre, Miranda Hart and Stephen K. Amos, material of such quality which has cemented the aforementioned at the very top of the light entertainment industry.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Actually, thats why we use pseudonyms and write about football. Even genius such as that couldn’t turn our tripe into comedy.<\/p>\n

\u00a0It was fifty years ago today that Paul McStay came into this world, and fifty years ago next Monday when he signed for Celtic, and he didn’t leave until his ankles were destroyed and he could give no more.<\/p>\n

\u00a0There aren’t many like him these days. Happy Birthday to the Maestro, shown here signing an extension to his original contract.<\/p>\n

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Actually, thats not quite right. Read this, the story of how Sean Fallon signed McStay, from his son , on twitter.<\/p>\n

maestro signs..<\/a><\/p>\n

Lisbon Lion<\/strong> on twitter for a wee teaser today… whats going on here ?<\/p>\n

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