{"id":7890,"date":"2015-10-08T09:49:25","date_gmt":"2015-10-08T08:49:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/etims.net\/?p=7890"},"modified":"2015-10-08T09:49:25","modified_gmt":"2015-10-08T08:49:25","slug":"celtic-diary-thursday-october-8-to-all-our-international-players","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/etims.net\/?p=7890","title":{"rendered":"Celtic Diary Thursday October 8: To All Our International Players"},"content":{"rendered":"

Honest. it’s like sending the kids off to summer camp.<\/p>\n

Well, if we had summer camps in this country, that’s how it would probably feel. When ours were little , we used to send them to granny and grandad in Dunoon for a week, but we were never able to sell up and move before they were due back.<\/p>\n

Anyway, bearing in mind Celtic have several key players away fighting for their countries ( sorry, it’s Tory party conference week again and you just get all caught up in the excitement ) , and we’ve stumbled on a copy of the memo Ronny Deila gave them , along with their packed lunches to help ensure a safe return.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

It simply reads…<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

That ought to do it.<\/p>\n

And Scott Brown has been warned about his particularlry provocative staring. If he strains his eyes he won’t be able to see how bad the defenders are playing.<\/p>\n

So, Brown, as is his wont before a big game, restricted himself to one of those Ho hup and At Em speeches, which won’t annoy the Poles at all.<\/p>\n

All this is because Gordon Greer, who somehow is a Scotland player, put in a tackle on Robert Lewandowski, who I suppose we could refer to as nearly an ex-Celt, which would have landed you in court on monday morning had you done it in the street.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

So Brown, playing the part of committed captain, said that Scotland would contest every ball , which really means “will kick everything in sight ” because we are not a bunch of girlies north of the border, despite a propensity to wear skirts.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cThat\u2019s not the kind of people we are in Scotland.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWe are not going to let them have too much time on the ball and create chances and not tackle them.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s football, it\u2019s a man\u2019s sport.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Until someone brushes into you and you fall over screaming.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs it music to our ears to hear them still talking about it? They are just trying to get the referee on their side.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThey are trying to make it all about Lewandowski, but, it\u2019s a team game and, hopefully, our team is better than theirs on the day.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Strachans team has taken eleven points from eight games. I wouldn’t have thought “our ” team would be better than anyone elses on any given day.<\/p>\n

There is still debate over whether or not to start Leigh Griffiths ahead of Steven Fletcher, or whoever else Strachan can dredge up from lower league English football, or whether David Marshall should get the nod ahead of Craig Gordon.<\/p>\n

Griffiths is desperate to play -and score-for his country, and that’s an admirable trait.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou always want to try to score as many goals as you can and play at the top level.\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI scored a couple in the Champions League and then scored against Fenerbahce in the Europa League so my next aim is to try to score for Scotland.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve said before Scotland have good strikers and we\u2019re all vying for that one jersey. We just need to be patient. Whoever it is who gets handed the No.9 jersey will deserve it and I\u2019m no different.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cSteven Fletcher played really well against Georgia and led the line well against Germany so he\u2019s probably the favourite for that jersey against Poland. But I\u2019ll still do my best and hopefully change the manager\u2019s mind.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a Scotland fan and always watched the games growing up. Representing your country is the highest accolade you can get and I\u2019ve managed to do that on a few occasions but I\u2019m hoping there is more to come.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWe haven\u2019t been to a tournament since 1998 so it\u2019s going to be a big ask. We need to go to Hampden and try to get a result against Poland while hoping Germany do us a favour against Ireland.<\/em><\/p>\n

I like to see our players represent Scotland, and other nations. But it surely can’t do their confidence good when they are not picked in favour of non achievers from nowhere.<\/p>\n

I hope they do well if picked, but as long as they get back without any injuries, i couldn’t really care less about anything else.<\/p>\n

Speaking of Griffiths, this interesting stat appeared on twitter yesterday;<\/p>\n

First 50 competitive starts for Celtic:<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Leigh Griffiths – 39 goals<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Gary Hooper – 28<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Scott McDonald – 25<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Henrik Larsson – 20<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

You could argue all day about the quality of opposition, or the team they played in, but 39 goals in 50 games is not bad by anyone’s standards.<\/p>\n

The main thing about Griffiths, to my mind , at least, is that you always feel he will score. A feeling you get with very few strikers anywhere. Larsson gave you that, but no one since has come anywhere near it.<\/p>\n

Griffiths is still learning. He will get even better.<\/p>\n

It’s not just on the field, he has matured off it. Something manager Ronny Deila thinks should be taken on board by Anthony Stokes;<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Well, no, I don’t think we should “shusshh ”<\/p>\n

Stokes is the epitomy of the “could have been a contender ” cliche. He can score goals, he can support a main striker, and he is fairly creative.<\/p>\n

But he also lacks the desire to step up a level. Or, at least he appears to.<\/p>\n

Ronny seems to have given him a final warning…<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are some of the same issues as Leigh.<\/em><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/em><\/div>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s about discipline and consistency in what he is doing. It\u2019s never an issue of skill with Stokesy, it\u2019s about getting the best out of himself.<\/em>\u00a0\u201cThen we need discipline with him over time.\u00a0It\u2019s not an attitude problem, it\u2019s a discipline thing he has to do over time.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to see some improvement.\u00a0It is tough competition, but he is still at the club. He is an alternative on the wings and as a striker.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cHe trains, but he has to show he is better than the others.\u201d \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

There isn’t a great deal of enthusiasm in those words. Stokes needs to make his boss care about him. Otherwise, he’ll be plying his trade elsewhere.<\/p>\n

And that would be a shame.<\/p>\n

Maybe players don’t get the encouragement they used to get in the old days. With kids these days earning fortunes, then perhaps a novel and refreshing approach in helping \u00a0them to improve is required.<\/p>\n

One Premier league club appears to have grasped the initiative;<\/p>\n

\"Embedded<\/p>\n

Well, I suppose it’s better than being pulled off at half time.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

There’s been a little bit of controversy over the Peter Houston rant when his team, in his eyes-and everyone elses-were unfairly treated by the referee at Ibrox last weekend.<\/p>\n

So, in order to remind everyone , and Houston, how things work, here’s a little excerpt from the current Scottish Referees exam, to help you understand.<\/p>\n

\"Embedded<\/p>\n

There’s an astonishing article appeared in the Record online, which should turn a few heads;<\/p>\n

Never gonna happen:<\/h1>\n

Five of the most ridiculous \u2018transfer\u2019 stories EVER<\/h1>\n

Although, in all honesty, around eighty per cent of all transfer stories are nonsense. The other twenty per cent is made up.<\/p>\n

first, there was this, from the Sun;<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Which, of course was spectacularly wrong, both on Ledley and Boyd.<\/p>\n

Then this little admission;<\/p>\n

3). THE \u00a380m DREAM TEAM<\/strong><\/em><\/h3>\n

David Murray used to feed reporters a lot of nonsense<\/strong>. Remember the casino on top of the floating pitch, or whatever it was? But surely nothing can beat this belter. In 1996 Ibrox superscout Kenny Dalglish was going to be handed \u00a380million to bring the world\u2019s best players to Rangers. Names such as Patrick Kluivert, Marc Overmars, Jurgen Klinsmann, Paolo Maldini and Eric Cantona were just some of the superstars being touted in a piece of absolute fantasy. Honestly, the floating casino had more chance of getting off the ground. Quite literally.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Of course, times have changed.<\/p>\n

Now it’s James Traynor who feeds reporters a lot of nonsense.<\/p>\n

One or two are starting to see through it. Jackson, Spiers, and so on, but the Evening Times duo of Lindsey and Jack need to have a look at themselves.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Yesterday we asked about a fotballer who tweeted that fifty years ago he couldn’t sleep.<\/p>\n

It was Jim Craig, remembering the night before \u00a0his debut against Go Ahead Deventer.<\/p>\n

He remembered the game…<\/p>\n

It must have been difficult to watch; it was definitely hard to play in. I tried as hard as I could but everybody seemed to be off-song and lethargic, passes went astray and we only managed the one goal from Joe McBride in 12 minutes. At the end, what was left of the crowd gave us a booing and once we got in, I experienced \u2013 not personally but as a group -my first rollicking from the manager. It was what has become known as hair-drying stuff and he did not miss. It was a very chastened group of players who left the ground that night\u2026.and the fans waiting outside were not slow in expressing their disapproval too. It couldn\u2019t always be like this in the first team, could it?<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Something happened for the first time in that game.<\/p>\n

What ?<\/p>\n

\n

And a caption competition as well !<\/p>\n

For those of you who interpret body language, , can you tell me what these two are talking about ?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Embedded<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

–<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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

Honest. it’s like sending the kids off to summer camp. Well, if we had summer camps in this country, that’s how it would probably feel.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":7891,"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\/10\/be-safe.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2J7If-23g","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7890"}],"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=7890"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7890\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7892,"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7890\/revisions\/7892"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7891"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7890"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7890"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7890"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}