{"id":6620,"date":"2015-02-16T10:46:54","date_gmt":"2015-02-16T10:46:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/etims.net\/?p=6620"},"modified":"2015-02-16T10:46:54","modified_gmt":"2015-02-16T10:46:54","slug":"celtic-diary-monday-february-16-there-must-be-a-big-game-this-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/etims.net\/?p=6620","title":{"rendered":"Celtic Diary Monday February 16: There Must Be A Big Game This Week."},"content":{"rendered":"

Every now and again a journalist manages to surpass themselves with an offering that is so piss poor that it makes you scratch your head and wonder exactly what is in the photographs they have of the human resources manager at the paper they’re working for. On that basis, the guy in charge of hiring and firing at the Record must lead a colourful and interesting life.<\/p>\n

Its not just the articles themselves, its the use of language within, the synonyms and antonyms, the structure of sentences, the phraseology and so on.<\/p>\n

You see, its a big week for Celtic, and theres a big game on. so we can expect a story that perhaps isn’t true, and is hinting at a crisis within the walls of Celtic Park, but by the time the games over on Friday morning, everyone will have forgotten about it.<\/p>\n

” Ronny in Drugs Storm “, a thread on Celtic forum The Huddleboard poked fun at the probability, but perhaps it will be a little more subtle than that.<\/p>\n

Michael Gannon, in the Record, tells of the love affair between the support and manager Ronny Deila, and likens it to\u00a0getting spanked on the botty with a rolled up Celtic View.\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

I’ve yet to see a Celtic fan walking home from the paper shop with the View and singing “I’m in the mood for love ”<\/p>\n

I don’t even want to know how he came to that conclusion, but presumably there are a number of periodicals lying scattered around his house while he tried to find exactly the feeling he was looking for.<\/p>\n

Of course, this is an allusion to the movie “Fifty Shades Of Grey”, a soft porn flick designed for those who don’t have the bollocks to admit they know its available on the internet, or “women” , as they are more commonly referred to.<\/p>\n

Aberdeen fans have their own ” special interest ” movie to look forward to.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"shaun<\/a><\/p>\n

The allusion is perhaps to make the writer seem a little more “hip ” and “on the ball “, so that he can continue to establish the point he is trying to make. But there is something a little worrying lurking in the text as the article attempts to explain the fans “love- in 2 with the Norwegian;<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the thing with Deila. It\u2019s impossible not to fall for him. He comes out with stuff that should be cheesy and yet everyone nods along. Check this one, \u201cIf you want to be good, you need to dare to be bad\u2019.<\/em><\/p>\n

How groovy is that? He\u2019s the Deila Lama.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0I’m unsure quite how he managed to arrive at a comparison with one of the worlds most influential and respected religious leaders via a soft porn movie and hints of sado masochistic homo-eroticism, but then again, I’m not a fully trained journalist.<\/p>\n

Some of his soundbites are like those naff slogans girls post on Facebook after getting dumped<\/em>, ……<\/p>\n

Right, thats plenty.<\/p>\n

Its fucking disturbing.<\/p>\n

Can’t they just stick to transfer specualtion and hints of a cash flow crisis ?<\/p>\n

\u00a0All this in the week where Radio One banned Madoona records, as at 56 they feel she is too old and irrelevant. At least the BBC are well known for liking them young.<\/p>\n

Who trawls facebook looking for “naff slogans girls post” ?<\/p>\n

The article, last words on it, I promise, begins with<\/p>\n

Michael Gannon: Inter Milan will test<\/h1>\n

strength of Celtic fans’<\/h1>\n

growing love for Ronny Deila<\/h1>\n

and then announces, after his “unique ” way of getting there,<\/p>\n

But let\u2019s end this patter that the Celtic boss will be judged on these games against the Italians.\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Er, he started it.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, Italians take their football very seriously, and its perhaps by popping over there, we can get a true picture of how they view the game, something which would never occur to anyone in the MSM.<\/p>\n

After all, this is how one of their papers reported a previous win, as posted on twitter by Lisbon Lion;<\/p>\n

\"Embedded<\/p>\n

Veteran striker Rodrigo Palacio was short and to the point, speaking after his sides 4-1 win over Atalanta yesterday<\/p>\n

“We\u2019ve won on a tough ground today, where very few teams manage to get the three points. It\u2019s an important win and will give us a lot of confidence. We know that all matches are difficult. We go to Glasgow now and then we\u2019ll focus on Cagliari,”\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

He’s giving nothing away.<\/p>\n

What about the manager, Roberto Mancini ?<\/p>\n

” Today did us well to prepare ourselves in view of the Europa League. ”\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

There is a worry that Argentinian striker Mauro Icardi might not be available for the game in glasgow, but Mancini played it down;<\/p>\n

” I think so ( when asked if he will play ) . We wanted to have him today, but he was not ready.<\/em> ”<\/p>\n

thats the sum total of his injury problems, everyone else is available, he claimed , and said<\/p>\n

“ In the coming days we will work on recovery , nothing special<\/em> ”<\/p>\n

There is a story in Italy that ponders the possibility of an escape clause in Mancinis contract, should he not enjoy his time at the San Siro;<\/p>\n

\u201cIn life you should always be able to leave when you want to,\u201d Mancini said as he appeared on La Domenica Sportiva.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s only right if you\u2019re not feeling good or you want to change. What I\u2019m saying is, there\u2019s always that possibility, but there\u2019s no clause.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Surely that could have been covered, if only to pressure the Italians and draw attention to a possible problem in the Inter camp ?<\/p>\n

Not exactly going to sell papers, but it would be nice if the MSM would tell us more about how they are going to prepare for the game.<\/p>\n

But, of course, they are more interested in where they will prepare for the game;<\/p>\n

\"Embedded\u00a0Thats the big story. A foreign side, looking for somewhere to train before a game in Glasgow, have hired a training centre nearby. big deal, they have to train somewhere, so they might as well put a few quid into the coffers of a cash strapped first division club.<\/p>\n

Surely a better story to dwell on would have been the one at the top of the page, where a team of officials led by the blundering willie collum ( ( ( he’ll get capital letters when he deserves them. ) made an arse of it again, and that could perhaps lead to a debate about and the \u00a0eventual improvement of the standard of refereeing in Scotland ?<\/p>\n

No. don’t be silly. This, after all is Scotland. Where the phrase “Willie collum had a nightmare ” is fast entering common usage in day to day conversation.<\/p>\n

Collums crew missed the goal in the picture, and although it didn’t matter in the long run, Aberdeen were fairly comfortable \u00a0winners, despite having this goal , and a couple of others , chalked off. They do say these things even themselves out, and one wonders if the beaks have already pencilled in March 1st as the day it does.<\/p>\n

But thats in the future, theres the Inter game to concentrate on, and former Rangers boys club player Keith Jackson, wants to know something.<\/p>\n

RONNY DEILA is fast approaching a fascinating juncture on this, his\u00a0<\/span>Celtic<\/a>\u00a0journey. Eight months in, we\u2019re about to discover if he should be taken seriously or not.\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Top of the league, still in both domestic cups, still in Europe. I think we can take him seriously.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s be clear here, he doesn\u2019t need to scalp Inter Milan to prove he\u2019s the right man for the job, although it would certainly strengthen his case.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

I think i’m on the point of spotting the agenda here. They don’t want Ronny to fail, but if he does, they’ll be delighted as it will prove all along that he really is the cheap alternative to a proper manager, which would sort of make up for the way the MSM felt when he got the job, and their international \u00a0football knowledge was exposed for being, well, not exactly international.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The truth is should Deila secure a place in the Europa League last 16, he would be bombproof in the short to medium term. But even so his reputation hardly hinges on the outcome of this tie.<\/em><\/p>\n

No, the Norwegian doesn\u2019t have to land a knockout blow on Inter, all he has to do is land a couple of decent punches. Just making a genuine fight of it will be good enough.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0Jackson isn’t too far away here, but he misses the point.<\/p>\n

Most Celtic fans are happy enough with Deila, and would be happy enough with a decent peformance, but as for making him bombproof ? Thats nonsense. Deila is here to stay, win lose or draw, and I’d venture that most of us are more than a little curious to see what sort of side we’ll have a couple of years down the line, when he’s in absolute control and the policies he has implemented have had time to take root and grow.<\/p>\n

Speaking of the boss, what does he think we need to do to beat Inter ?<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to be better on the ball, and that is what we are working on every day – There’s no doubt we will have to be more accurate with our passing against Inter Milan,\u201d \u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Common sense, and more than anything else we will read or hear this week, that simple statement gives me , if not complete confidence, then certainly optimism.<\/p>\n

With Celtic having a big game this week, the media will be going all out to make sure that they keep First division cloggers Second Rangers in the news, and they will also need it to be good news, so we can expect the truth to take a back seat for a while.<\/p>\n

Cheif cheerleader Chris Jack at the Evening Times managed to get this nonsense past his editor;<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The numbers are starting to add up for Rangers First<\/h1>\n

IT is all about the numbers at Rangers.<\/p>\n

\u00a0It always was. How much they borrowed, how much they never paid back. how much they can save in tax, and of course, the crucially important number 2012, which was when it all came to a head , and forced the club out of business.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Supporters have finally awoken to the idea of greater fan involvement, having their club in the hands of people who know it, understand it and care for it.<\/em><\/p>\n

If King, Murray and Gilligan can overthrow the current regime, that would be another step in the right direction.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Er, weren’t two of them on the board of the previous club when it ? Thats not caring about it, thats neglect.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Jack has been speaking to Ricki Neill, the man behind Rangers First, an organisation which wants to raise money to help oust Mike Ashley, who curently holds the reins of power at Ibrox.<\/p>\n

\u00a0RF are now the biggest fan ownership group in the United Kingdom.<\/em><\/p>\n

They have almost 10,000 members, 1.4million shares and are likely to use their stake of 1.7% to vote against the under-fire board at the upcoming EGM. It is those numbers that Neill can rightly take pride in and heart from.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Er, 1.7 %<\/p>\n

\u00a0Hardly makes them Kingmakers ( see what i did there ? ) , but it does show that quite a few fans have begun to see through the spin that the MSM have put on their clubs demise. Ironic really, that their cause is being backed by one of the main perpetrators of the “same club everythings going to be fine ” myth that was given such credence in the press.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Neill told the Times;<\/p>\n

“The fear for some fan groups is that when news is bad, people jump on and want to help their club but when you start winning trophies again, the first thing they cancel is their fan memberships<\/em><\/p>\n

I wouldn’t have thought that this would be a major concern for him this season.<\/p>\n

“The difference with Rangers is that no other club has had to put up with what we have had to in the last few years. Our fans will be a lot more loyal.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u00a0And he’s only waiting to lock up after the game.<\/p>\n

“Everyone talks about the 200,000 in Manchester and the millions that watched it on TV. We need them to step up and join.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0Yes, I remember that,<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n

and the tv programme.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Mind you, we have heard that Ally Mccoist, who resigned as manager at Ibrox a few moinths ago, is afraid to leave the house. He’s heard that the capain of the Italian cruise liner \u00a0“Costa Concordia” has been jailed for 16 years after he left a sinking ship.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, there was criticism of the Diary for indulging in porr taste jokes about Aberden fans and their alleged habits, so I have to confess it did worry me a little. What if their fans took it personally ?<\/p>\n

\u00a0I decided to have a look at one of their fan sites, but fortunately, there was no mention of it.<\/p>\n

\"Embedded<\/p>\n

In other news, Police Scotland have been investigating the possibility of bringing back standing areas to Scottish stadia;<\/p>\n

\"Embedded<\/p>\n

\n

Right, who is this ?<\/p>\n

\"Embedded<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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

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