Celtic can take another step towards the title tonight when Partick Thistle come across town for the big Glasgow Derby. Derby games should be on a Saturday, but that’s all I say about that.<\/p>\n
Will Anthony Stokes keep his place up front ?<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Ronny Deila explained why he chose the Irishman for Fridays game at St. Mirren;<\/p>\n
“… he has been very positive lately, and been good in training. It was a tough game for him to play, but I wanted to see him up front again,\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cIn the end, we managed to break down St Mirren and get the goals we needed for the victory.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Just not from Stokes.<\/p>\n But it is a team game, and the competition is good for a healthy squad. what’s important here , though, is that Ronny was true to his word, and by impressing in training, Stokes was given a chance.<\/p>\n \u00a0And by putting in the work, he has earned that chance, so despite not scoring on friday, if Ronny thinks he deserves a run in the team, then I’m happy enough to go along with that.<\/p>\n \u00a0Sometimes, due to the manager being with the players all week, he will see things that the supporter doesn’t, and this explains why one or two team selections have led to a bit of head scratching in the stands.<\/p>\n \u00a0Where Stokes is concerned, in that lone striker role, we may not agree with what Deila is doing, but we should be impressed by why he’s doing it. We certainly don’t want \u00a0a return to the days of certain players being picked automatically, or even shoe horned into an unfamiliar position just to get them on the pitch.<\/p>\n Scott Brown will miss the game, he’s suspended for one game having reached a disciplinary points barrier, and that could mean johansen dropping deep again, which didn’t really work, or Stuart Armstrong playing alongside Nir Bitton,<\/p>\n Ronny agrees-or is it me agreeing with Ronny ?<\/p>\n I was much more nervous when Broonie was missing through injury at the beginning of the season. We needed him more then,\u201d he said.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cWe have international players for his position. Nir Bitton can play there, and Stefan Johansen is good there as well.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0Since the manager seems to want to include Commons and Johansen, then the former is more likely, meaning Armstrong , Gary Mackay Steven and James Forrest will battle for the two places either side of Commons.<\/p>\n \u00a0Something that surprised me when I read it was that Calum MacGregor-remember him?-has actually played more than James Forrest this season, and scored more goals, which is an indication of how little we have seen of Forrest this term as he gets to a level of fitness that he wasn’t allowed to attain under Neil Lennon.<\/p>\n \u00a0He’ll be hoping for a start tonight, and as a supporter I am looking forward to seeing a twin attack of Mackay Steven and Forrest, because I think that on their game, they are two of the best doing what they do. When they do it well, that is.<\/p>\n Tonights squad, minus Brown, is;<\/p>\n \u00a0Celtic squad<\/strong>: Gordon, Denayer, Matthews, Izaguirre, Ambrose, Van Dijk, Tonev, Bitton, Armstrong, Mackay-Steven, Johansen, Forrest, Commons, Scepovic, McGregor, Wakaso, Griffiths, Guidetti, Fisher, Zaluska. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n According to STV, anyway. It’s probably just a guess, seeing as how it includes Aleksandr Tonev, and not Calum MacGregor.<\/p>\n Ronny has been a little more relaxed of late, now that the bulk of the work has been done this season, and a treble is within sight. But it wasn’t always like that;<\/p>\n \u201cI must admit, there was a \u2028period when I doubted whether I wanted to do it (the Celtic job). I felt it was a little unfair at times.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve always said I want to build and create but when you come in and \u2028everything is \u2018result, result, result\u2019, it\u2019s tough to think how are you going to fix this in the right way.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cIf it\u2019s only about the results it\u2019s not fun. If I have to go in to work and think: \u2018I can\u2019t make mistakes today\u2019 then there is no development.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cAt the beginning I wanted to build a \u2028foundation but for the first two or three months I couldn\u2019t find the land on which it was going to stand.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n At the time, he wasn’t the only person who thought he couldn’t do it, but he’s made of stern stuff, and he proved all the doubters wrong, and actually has us looking forward to games again.<\/p>\n He also spoke about settling in off the pitch, and getting used to certain aspects of living in Scotland.<\/p>\n The accent, for instance;<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t find it hard to understand Scottish. It\u2019s not hard to know the language. I can understand 70 per cent of you and the other 30 per cent is very difficult.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cBroony is one of the hardest. He is so quick. Half the time I just try to laugh at the right moments! However, I \u2028am now getting to \u2028understand more.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s most tough in social situations. When people try to be funny then I don\u2019t follow so easily. But it is good for me to see how people are in a foreign country because I\u2019ve always been in Norway.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI understand it is not so easy to be a social guy when you don\u2019t understand what everyone is saying. On those occasions you just try to be in the room.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cIn the first three weeks in this job, after trying hard to listen to what people said for five hours every day, I would go home at night and be totally gone, so tired. All the time I was sitting thinking: \u2018What is he really saying?\u2019 There were so many new things.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n All of which should help him to understand what it’s like for any new players coming in from overseas. Or it might be why he’s decided to steer towards a policy of snapping up local talent.<\/p>\n \u00a0Whichever it is, it shows he is adapting, and is a more flexible manager than perhaps we thought.<\/p>\n \u00a0Anyone from Coatbridge here ?<\/p>\n \u00a0As far as I can remeber, theres a large Irish diaspora in and around the town, and perhaps UKIP candidate Scott Cairns should have thought it through when he tweeted this, amongst a series of tweets that prove that democracy, whilst a good idea in principle, isn’t always working.<\/p>\n His Granny sounds such a delightful old dear, although judging by the age of Cairns, she’s probably in her late thirties.<\/p>\n And Cairns ? I vaguely remember something about him before. Is he the guy who went for an IQ test and it came back negative ?<\/p>\n Remember , the first rule of UKIP club is that it’s probably a good idea if they don’t talk about anything. Anything at all.<\/p>\n There were cheers all over Glasgow when convicted tax fruadster and shameless liar Dave King-GASL, as he is described in the Rumour Mill, was given the all clear to become a director at Rangers International or whatever it is they are called these days.<\/p>\n \u00a0The irony of a man done for tax fraud taking over the new club that emerged from the last one, largely due to imaginative tax issues is completely lost on their support, and indeed, some of the media.<\/p>\n \u00a0The new club is now officially thrown off the AIM, which means they can’t raise money publicly, but it does mean that “emotional investors ” can invest, and that was the plan all along.<\/p>\n \u00a0As for all those supporters who invested under the previous regime, well, there shares have finally stbilised in price after a turbulent few months;<\/p>\n Rangers International Football Club PLC\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n![\"Embedded](\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/CB7_1VnWIAALTyK.png:large\")
<\/p>\n\n0.00000<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n0.00000<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n