\n| PO<\/a><\/td>\n | ![\"Scotland\"](\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/1\/10\/Flag_of_Scotland.svg\/23px-Flag_of_Scotland.svg.png\") <\/a><\/span>\u00a0Celtic FC<\/a><\/td>\n | \u2013<\/td>\n | \u2013<\/td>\n | \u2013<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The game could be a commentators nightmare, as \u00a0they have three players called Bitton in their squad, and one called Brown, but theres nothing else of note when you look at them on paper.<\/p>\n But they are Israeli champions, they have already removed Olympiakos and Sherrif Tiraspol from the tournament, so they must be doing something right.<\/p>\n Though I’m struggling to find it.<\/p>\n One advantage Celtic may have is that the Israeli league doesn’t start for a fortnight, when Hapoel face Hapoel Ranaana in their opener, so we should be just that little bit sharper than they are.<\/p>\n Overall, its not the most difficult tie we could face, but we need to remember that this is the play off round, and there are no diddies at this stage of the competition.<\/p>\n With the signing deadline for eligibilty for this round on Monday, its good to hear that a deal, pending a medical, has finally been done for Scott Sinclair, who seems to be highly rated by Brendan Rodgers if not Aston Villa fans, so we’ll have to trust the gaffer on this one.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, here’s another picture of Helen Flanagan, who quite an attractive young lass, who no doubt has a warm and caring personality.<\/p>\n ![\"\"](\"http:\/\/i2.mirror.co.uk\/incoming\/article3306640.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s615b\/Corrie-babes.jpg\") <\/p>\n
Thats taken from the episode of coronation Street where she smuggled Grant and Phil Mitchell out of town when they were wanted for questioning after the murder of JR Ewing, who owned a petrol station on Brookside Close.<\/p>\n Since leaving Coronation Street, her career has gone the way of nearly everyone else who left the soap opera, though not as badly as that of Geoffrey Hughes, who died the other day.<\/p>\n Her tv appearances have been limited to I’m a Celebrity get me out of here, Celebrity Super Spa and Celebrity Wedding, although she did get a gig as a nurse in Holby City, as most actresses do at some point.<\/p>\n Her boyfriend is the one who has joined Celtic, but pictures of him are far less interesting, so we’ll give that a miss.<\/p>\n We also hear that another signing is “imminent ” , and may even be concluded this weekend.<\/p>\n One can only wonder who it might be, and what his girlfriend looks like.<\/p>\n This weekend, Celtic face Hearts in the opening game of what could end in a sixth successive league title, and there really couldn’t be a tougher place to start.<\/p>\n Hearts and Aberdeen will provide the strongest challenges this year, regardless of what you are told \u00a0in the mainstream national media, and not surprisingly, that suits the Edinburgh side, as Hearts manager Robbie Neilsen explained;<\/p>\n \u201cA team of Rangers\u2019 size, with the budget they\u2019ve got and the players they\u2019ve got, they would expecting to be challenging near the top of the league. We\u2019re delighted everyone is talking about Rangers and Celtic,\u201d said Neilson. \u201cIt gets us under the radar, nobody is bothered about us, we can just go and win games and try to get as high up the league as we can.\u201d<\/span>
\nMidfielder Arnold Djoum, who has signed an extended deal, echoed his manager, and showed the rest of us exactly how they plan to go about their business this season;<\/p>\n\u201cMaybe it is good for us that we don\u2019t have a lot of pressure on us this season There will be pressure but not like Celtic or Rangers, because they have to be first. So if they are not, that\u2019s a big thing. Ourselves and Aberdeen can keep a low profile, take it game by game and see what happens. So I think it\u2019s good we are not under so much pressure. Our team is not used to that.\u201d \u00a0<\/em><\/span>
Looking ahead to tomorrows game, Neilsen said;<\/p>\n\u201cIt depends what Brendan does with his formation,\u201d said Neilson. \u201cHe\u2019s changed it a few times now, they\u2019ve brought a couple of players in and they have a big squad so they can rotate it. \u201cWe\u2019ll concentrate on ourselves and try to put a team together that is going to go and win the game. You want to play in big games. We\u2019re in a good place at the moment fitness-wise so it\u2019s a great time to get Celtic.\u201d<\/span><\/em>
<\/p>\nCeltic boss Brendan Rodgers is up for the next phase in his career…<\/p>\n \u201cMy mantra and focus is always the next game anyway,\u201d .<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n \u201cWe had a big game during the week and I got to sleep at 1.30am after it. \u201cAt 4.30am, I was studying Hearts for the game on Sunday. You\u2019ve got no time to rest. I didn\u2019t set my alarm, by the way, I just couldn\u2019t sleep!<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve got scouts here who do great work, including John McGlynn who knows Hearts inside out. But it\u2019s also good to see it with your own eyes. Now everything gets poured into planning to get the best result against Hearts. <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n\u201cI watched a recording of their last European game which they lost. They worked hard and were unfortunate. Conor Sammon is a new player for them and I know Don Cowie well. He is an excellent player, I took him to Watford when I was manager there and he did a really good job for me. \u201cSo we will give Hearts plenty of respect but we go there with confidence that we can get a result.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThat night I went there with Liverpool, it was very passionate. I was surprised when they told me afterwards how many people were in the stadium, because it feels like a lot more. <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n\u201cIt will be the first time for me going into the first league game of a season after having already played competitive fixtures in Europe. We are having the game in August and it feels like December already!<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n \u201cBut it means we are in a good physical state going into the game. So I\u2019m now looking forward to the Premiership starting. It\u2019s new for me in every way and I\u2019m excited about.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/em>
\nbut, but, Brendan, what about the “rangers ” ?<\/p>\n![\"Celtic](\"http:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/jpress\/image\/fetch\/w_700,f_auto,ar_3:2,c_fill\/http:\/\/www.scotsman.com\/webimage\/1.4195733.1470416313!\/image\/image.jpg\") <\/p>\n
Congratulations, and best wishes go out to “rangers “, winners of 54 titles in just four hugely successful years of existence as they try their hand at competing on a week to week basis with full time players in Scotlands elite league.<\/p>\n With the media fully behind this rags to riches tale, it came as no surprise that Rodgers was asked to mention them in his list of potential challengers, which was nice, and he duly obliged, and credit to him for not laughing.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know a lot of the teams well but I think you look at the usual suspects who have been in and around it in the Premiership,\u201d. <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n\u201cAberdeen are an experienced team who were close to Celtic for three quarters of the time last season. They\u2019ve obviously just come out of European football which means they\u2019ll maybe have less games to play. \u201cThey have been building without too many changes. I know some of the players there and they are good players. They will be around it. <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n\u201cRobbie Neilson at Hearts [pictured above] has been trying to build something. They lose players but he\u2019s still organised and he is working to have maybe another \u2028challenge this year. <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n\u201cRangers will of course have their supporters demanding that they are up there and doing well. <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n\u201cThen you look at the great job big Tommy Wright has done at St Johnstone. They finished fourth last year so I\u2019m thinking every game will be a difficult test. <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n\u201cBut our concentration is primarily on ourselves. If you win the games you should win, then you are \u2028in with a good chance of \u2028winning the title again.\u201d<\/span><\/em>
It doesn’t hurt to be nice, does it ?<\/p>\nUnless you happen to be fuckwitted “rangers ” midfielder Joey “The Mouth ” Barton, who really ought to be showing a little more respect to the Scottish game, considering its saved him from the scrapheap;<\/p>\n So much so that his manager, Mark “The Hat ” Warburton, has tried to calm things down a wee bit;<\/p>\n “They don’t need a comment from any player.<\/em><\/p>\n“Obviously Scott is a very experienced international player, but we don’t need a comment from players to get ready for Saturday.<\/em><\/p>\n“Before Scott’s comments, Joey said some words and I said it is Joey’s opinion.<\/em><\/p>\n“Football is a game of opinion. As long as it is put forward in a respectful manner, I have no problem with it and Scott has made his thoughts very clear and good luck to him.<\/em><\/p>\n“At the end of the season if he is proven right I am sure he will put his hand up, if he is not I am sure we will have our word, obviously.<\/em><\/p>\n“But our focus has to be on Rangers and what we do and hopefully we will start off on a positive note and take it from there.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\nWith aging forward Kenny “the tosser ” Miller also adding his tuppence worth during the week, it appears that nerves are beginning to fray over at Ibrox, but they usually do when they actually have to go out and do something , instead of talking about it.<\/p>\n All of this talk is, as usual, a deflection from the real issues at ibrox, because it wouldn;t do for the club who will single handedly save Scottish football this season to have any bad publicity.<\/p>\n Publicity like this, an article which has been given no publicity whatsoever, which isn’t surprising…<\/p>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n
From RFC blog daviesleftpeg:
My friends, as you may already know, my blog only ever appears when<\/em>
something comes to my attention which is unjust towards our team or fans.<\/em>
The Lionbrand is something which meets those requirements. The tag line<\/em>
\u201cAll Profits Go to Club\u201d is a massive lie, a falsehood, which is designed<\/em>
to dupe, us, the fans. With one simple example I can prove this to be<\/em>
untrue.<\/em>
Lionbrand \u201cSons of Struth\u201d products. The profit from this line goes to<\/em>
Craig Houston\u2019s football academy. Is that Rangers Football Club? Is the<\/em>
Lionbrand actually the Lying Brand? Yes, it would certainly seem that way.<\/em>
What about all the other lines they promote such as RST? I think with some<\/em>
certainty we can say that doesn\u2019t go to the club either.<\/em>
Lionbrand like to stay in the shadows and, to this date, don\u2019t like to<\/em>
mention who\u2019s involved or in charge. What we do know is the Rangers<\/em>
Supporters Trust seem to be getting all the benefits. The profits which are<\/em>
supposedly going to club are sitting in an RST account or have been used<\/em>
for Season Tickets. Tickets for whom?<\/em>
Lionbrand originally had money sent via Mark Dingwalls PayPal account for<\/em>
Follow Follow. Shortly thereafter it was changed to their own account.<\/em>
However, none of their dealings have been transparent or open. When<\/em>
questioned by the Vanguard Bears about cash being given to the club an<\/em>
obtuse reply was sent;<\/em>
\u201cWe don\u2019t hand it to the club. They would get into trouble.\u201d<\/em>
Just how exactly would Rangers get into trouble? If a legitimate business<\/em>
purports to give Rangers 100% of their profits surely that should be viable<\/em>
and above board? Is this possibly the single most ridiculous claim made by<\/em>
the Lionbrand?<\/em>
If you thought only a small amount of cash was involved, in this business,<\/em>
I have news for you. Lionbrand claims to have sold 5000 of their Red &<\/em>
Black tops. If that was a \u00a310 profit going to the club that\u2019s \u00a350,000. They<\/em>
also planned on opening up a retail business at three locations. How would<\/em>
this be affordable for a business giving away all its profits? Simple<\/em>
answer, it\u2019s not! To date Lionbrand have been asked, on more than one<\/em>
occasion, to prove that it hands over cash to the club. No satisfactory<\/em>
reply has been given. There are no photographs of Mr X handing over a big<\/em>
oversized cheque to Paul Murray. Just how many season tickets do they own<\/em>
to justify that all profits go to the club?<\/em>
It would appear those involved in this business are Derek Johnstone,<\/em>
Christine Sommerville, Craig Houston, Chris Graham & Stan Gordon. To what<\/em>
extent I\u2019m unaware but all have a hand in the dealings and\/or profits.<\/em>
Derek Ian Johnstone & Christine Sommerville are the sole directors of<\/em>
Fleshers Haugh Ltd the parent company. Derek denies being in control of<\/em>
Lionbrand. All but one were involved with RST.<\/em>
Now here\u2019s the thing. Lionbrand have now changed their infamous lie of;<\/em>
\u201c100% of Profit Goes Directly to the Club\u201d to \u201cMost of the Profit Goes to<\/em>
Club 1872\u201d.<\/em>
They have, indeed, been stringing our fans along. The Vanguard Bears did,<\/em>
in fact, call them out and stated \u201cTo date nothing has been given directly<\/em>
to the club.\u201d<\/em>
With the statement, from our Chairman, regarding not buying the official<\/em>
jersey and appointment of John Brown, to a position within Rangers Retail,<\/em>
I smelled a rat. Transpires, Stan Gordon, is in fact, John Browns best<\/em>
mate, coincidence?<\/em>
Why is our club not taking control of this financially viable business &<\/em>
market? Why does the club continue to be associated with unsavoury<\/em>
characters such as Chris Graham & Craig Houston? Why, when we so<\/em>
desperately need finance, are we allowing others to make the Blue Pound?<\/em>
Would our fantastic manager actually have a transfer kitty if the club took<\/em>
charge? Personally I want the official jersey my team wears. I want the<\/em>
club to make a stand and stop being associated with a certain embarrassing<\/em>
element. In short I want transparency and truth. Ask questions if you want<\/em>
the same. If you don\u2019t Club 1972 will end up with the racist Chris Graham,<\/em>
Ibrox stormer Craig Houston, abusive publican Robert Marshall and the CIC<\/em>
King James Blair. You were warned! \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\nOh dear.<\/p>\n They’re at it again, it seems.<\/p>\n And then there’s the fiasco over the kits beong sold by Mike Ashley against the wishes of the club, who are threatening legal action of he does, although they should be concerned that this case would not be available on a no win no fee basis, and therefore they will have to consider their actions very carefully.<\/p>\n Perhaps they will make a statement. That should do the trick;<\/p>\n ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/CpHah7WXgAAqp_u.jpg\") <\/p>\n
And then there’s something you may not have seen, certainly not north of the border…<\/p>\n ![\"\"](\"http:\/\/brightcove04.o.brightcove.com\/4221396001\/4221396001_4886603914001_4886600207001-vs.jpg?pubId=4221396001\") <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n On top of all that, the SFA released a report on the trouble after the Scottish cup final, which surprisingly didn;t echo the view of Keith Jackson, who reported on the vicious assaults on the staff and players of “rangers ”<\/p>\n In fact, the report pretty much told the truth…a refreshing change where the SFA are involved.<\/p>\n Its well worth a read, as it has a go at everyone, right down to the design of Hampden Park!<\/p>\n Scottish Cup Final 2016 Commission of Enquiry – Report of SP Bowen<\/a><\/p>\nWhat is certain is that should the Resolution 12 guys push for an enquiry into the Nimmo Smith enquiry, Bowen should be the man to do it.<\/p>\n Mainly because he’s unlikely to get any more work from the SFA.<\/p>\n The Ibrox club slammed the “inaccuracies ” in the report, or what they perceived to be inaccuracies, but didn’t actually specify what they were.<\/p>\n But they have demanded a meeting with, amongst others, the author, who no doubt is resigned to the fatc he’ll have to pay for his own beer ..<\/p>\n We can state however that we will be seeking an urgent meeting with the author of the report, Sheriff Principal Edward Bowen, the Scottish FA\u2019s Chief Executive Stewart Regan and his Compliance Officer, Tony McGlennan.<\/em><\/p>\n“It is imperative that we gain insight into the underlying basis for the findings in the report given that we consider it contains a number of factual inaccuracies and contradictions.<\/em><\/p>\n“It is right that the club gives the author and requisitioner of the report the opportunity to comment on our concerns prior to making a conclusive statement.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\nIt’s a good job there aren’t any problems with the ground, or any doubts over the issue of a safety certificate for the old place, otherwise they really would have to work overtime to keep the bad news at a minimum. In fact, they’d probably have to pay an agency or something to help them out.<\/p>\n You know, to deflect it all away from them…<\/p>\n ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/CpKC5fOW8AA5Pon.jpg\") <\/p>\n
Or, of course, they could just play down our good news stories…<\/p>\n ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/CpKBeCoWAAAWEqW.jpg\") <\/p>\n
Its going to be a long season for them, or a very short one, depending on when the money runs out…<\/p>\n Reality may just be about to bite them.. no matter how much they try to avoid it;<\/p>\n ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/CpGC_6iXYAEJXIX.jpg\") <\/p>\n
Yesterday we showed a classic picture of the old Celtic boot room,<\/p>\n ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/CoeUJTkVUAEn0N4.jpg\") <\/p>\n
you didn;t let us down with the quality of replies, and it was difficult to pick a winner, but I felt i had to go \u00a0went with the surreal.. as it still makes me chuckle because of what could be on the other side of those walls..<\/p>\n
|
![\"Hapoel](\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/en\/thumb\/e\/e9\/Hapoel_Be%27er_Sheva.png\/130px-Hapoel_Be%27er_Sheva.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"Turner](\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/1\/15\/Turner_Stadium_03.jpg\/220px-Turner_Stadium_03.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Germany\"](\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/en\/thumb\/b\/ba\/Flag_of_Germany.svg\/23px-Flag_of_Germany.svg.png\")
<\/a><\/span>\u00a0![\"Belgium\"](\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/9\/92\/Flag_of_Belgium_%28civil%29.svg\/23px-Flag_of_Belgium_%28civil%29.svg.png\")
<\/a><\/span>\u00a0![\"Denmark\"](\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/9\/9c\/Flag_of_Denmark.svg\/20px-Flag_of_Denmark.svg.png\")
<\/a><\/span>\u00a0![\"Switzerland\"](\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/f\/f3\/Flag_of_Switzerland.svg\/16px-Flag_of_Switzerland.svg.png\")
<\/a><\/span>\u00a0![\"Romania\"](\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/7\/73\/Flag_of_Romania.svg\/23px-Flag_of_Romania.svg.png\")
<\/a><\/span>\u00a0![\"Sweden\"](\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/en\/thumb\/4\/4c\/Flag_of_Sweden.svg\/23px-Flag_of_Sweden.svg.png\")
<\/a><\/span>\u00a0![\"Greece\"](\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/5\/5c\/Flag_of_Greece.svg\/23px-Flag_of_Greece.svg.png\")
<\/a><\/span>\u00a0![\"Albania\"](\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/3\/36\/Flag_of_Albania.svg\/21px-Flag_of_Albania.svg.png\")
<\/a><\/span>\u00a0![\"Spain\"](\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/en\/thumb\/9\/9a\/Flag_of_Spain.svg\/23px-Flag_of_Spain.svg.png\")
<\/a><\/span>\u00a0![\"Lithuania\"](\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/1\/11\/Flag_of_Lithuania.svg\/23px-Flag_of_Lithuania.svg.png\")
<\/a><\/span>\u00a0![\"Netherlands\"](\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/2\/20\/Flag_of_the_Netherlands.svg\/23px-Flag_of_the_Netherlands.svg.png\")
<\/a><\/span>\u00a0![\"Croatia\"](\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/1\/1b\/Flag_of_Croatia.svg\/23px-Flag_of_Croatia.svg.png\")
<\/a><\/span>\u00a0![\"Moldova\"](\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/2\/27\/Flag_of_Moldova.svg\/23px-Flag_of_Moldova.svg.png\")
<\/a><\/span>\u00a0