The Europa League draw threw up a group which will provide interest, excitement, and a chance for afew Celtic fans to return to amsterdam and ask the authorities if theres any chance they could finish up the business that they were arrested for the last time they went there.<\/p>\n
Celtic face Ajax, Fenerbache and Molde in the group stages, by no means an easy group.<\/p>\n
Fenerbache have Robin van Persie in their line up, a feared and prolific striker in his day, and Celtic reacted immediately to the threat by snapping up Tyler Blackett, a Manchester United reserve defender, on loan for the season.<\/p>\n
Sometimes, I really don’t know why I bother.<\/p>\n
But don’t worry, we’re after Ryan Christie, of Inverness, to bolster a midfield which has worryingly dropped below double figures when it comes to international players.<\/p>\n
Apparently , the scouts have decided to just go shopping without checking first with Ronny what is on his list.<\/p>\n
A bit like when I sent a young lad at work to get me twenty Bensons. He asked what if they had no Bensons, and I said just get me anything, and he brought me back a meat and potato pie.<\/p>\n
Never mind, we’re playing St. Johnstone today, and to alleviate the general despondency amongst the support, there’s a big effort to make the match day experience something special;<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s your matchday schedule for today\u2019s match v St Johnstone:<\/strong><\/p>\n 9.00am:<\/strong> New Balance. The kit you buy for people you don’t give a toss about.. Which was probably the thinking behind the deal in the first place.<\/em><\/p>\n 10.30am:<\/strong> Go along whenever you feel like it to beat the queue.<\/em><\/p>\n 12.00pm:<\/strong> Seriously. A bar at the ground showing the fucking English League, where all our decent players end up, because tv pays them ridiculous money. Principles are just something that happens to other clubs.<\/em><\/p>\n 1.30pm:<\/strong> Hoopy the Huddle Hound. I was in Lisbon a few years ago, among the home fans, and they had a bloody great eagle swooping and soaring around the stadium. A majestic, even awe inspiring sight. I applauded, and told the local next to me he should come to Celtic Park. We’ve got a guy who dresses up as a dog.<\/em><\/p>\n Don\u2019t forget to pick up your Paradise Windfall tickets to be in with the chance to win \u00a310,000. Tickets will be available throughout the stadium ahead of the game, with the draw taking place at half-time. Look out for Windfall staff wearing the famous yellow jerseys and get your tickets to be in with a chance to win.<\/p>\n It used to be a bigger prize until staff complained that customers kept asking for the winning ticket, forcing them to smile and interact. Hard to do, in their defence, when your wage for the hour woudn’t even buy three tickets.<\/em><\/p>\n You\u2019ll also be able to get your hands on the match programme and the latest edition of the Celtic View, both for a special combined price of only \u00a34.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Or you can pick them up on the way out of the ground, because most people have read them at half time and left them under their seats.<\/em><\/p>\n 3.00pm:<\/strong> 3.02. The ear shattering sound of seats clicking back into place.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n 3.10 Theres a steward in my way. and he’s deaf.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n 3.17. He won’t move. More than his jobs worth. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n 3.22. Move to one of the empty seats a couple of rows back. <\/em><\/p>\n 3.23 Steward follows. Says he was asked to move by fans in the rows in front.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n 3.45. Half time.\u00a0How much for a pie and a bovril. By the way, crisps , a soft drink and a bloody biscuit is neither a meal or a deal. Not when you have to ask about easy payment terms to spread the cost.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n 3.55. There’s someone in my seat. The sodding steward.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n 4.10. Head to bar. It’s always a better game on the radio.<\/em><\/p>\n 4.45pm:<\/strong> It’ll probably be quiet. \u00a0Watch more English football ? \u00a0Instead of maybe a re run of the game, highlighting the talking points and clarifying why Gary Hooper got booked. Well, for a half hour until the bar shuts. Thats because the staff will be on time and a half after six, which would increase the costs, and mean we won’t be able to compete at the top table any more…. \u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sod this. I’m going to do the ironing.<\/p>\n Where’s that picture of that bloody rabbit ?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Europa League draw threw up a group which will provide interest, excitement, and a chance for afew Celtic fans to return to amsterdam and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":7702,"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\/2015\/08\/blackadder-image.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2J7If-20d","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7701"}],"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=7701"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7701\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7703,"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7701\/revisions\/7703"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7702"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7701"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7701"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7701"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nCeltic Superstore opens for the day. The complete 2015\/16 New Balance kit range is available in-store now with the Euro Kit available to buy exclusively from Celtic.\u2020 Check-out our latest ladies-wear range and a great selection of men\u2019s retro t-shirts are available in-store too. \u00a0Pop in before kick-off to pick up all your pre-match essentials. A must for all fans!<\/p>\n
\nThe Ticket Office at Celtic Park opens for supporters looking to buy or collect tickets for the match.<\/p>\n
\nThe Kerrydale Bar opens for supporters on a first-come, first-served basis. The food court and bar will both open from 12.00pm, with Newcastle v Arsenal showing live on the big screen from 12.45pm. Liam McGrandles will provide the pre-match entertainment playing all your favourite Celtic songs in the build-up to kick-off at 3pm.<\/p>\n
\nStadium opens. Take the kids to the Family Stand where they\u2019ll find lots to keep them entertained in the run up to kick-off at 3pm with free thunder-sticks up for grabs. The kids can also use our new Family Stand Post-box to send fan mail to Hoopy the\u00a0Huddle Hound as well as taking the chance to become our Family Stand \u2018Family of the Week\u2019 for the chance to feature on the big screen during the match!<\/p>\n
\nKick-off. It’s time to back the Bhoys to victory against St Johnstone! C\u2019mon the Hoops.<\/p>\n
\nThe Kerrydale bar re-opens after the final whistle where once again, Liam McGrandles will provide the entertainment before the Spurs v Everton match is shown live on the big screen from 5.30pm. Last season\u2019s silverware will be on display for fan photo opportunities and Hoopy will also make an appearance for all the young Hoops after the match. The bar will close at 6.00pm.<\/p>\n