Outrage over offensive chanting ahead of Uefa Final

can it be?

oh my god!

three's enough and thank you!

...is three enough? - goal diff!

Anyone know about the Algarve cup we are meant to be playing in according to the Cardiff web page. When I google it comes back with a ladies tournament. Ive not booked my holidays yet so this could be a deciding factor any help appreicted on the dates etc.

Tinytim too young for Lisbon.....more like you could not get time off your work....

Like it, Paul. Somtimes satire can be a very effective weapon.

Mind you, Scottish football is such a joke that sometimes you don't need to make it up.

I have an image in my mind of Saturday's game being commentated on by Stephen Fry. He has just the voice to lampoon McCurry and to add a few quite interesting facts about his previous in refeereeing their games!

Paul67:

with your indulgence, reposted.

"Football is a game played by people and people can make mistakes. It is always frustrating when decisions go against you - but this has been a part of football since the game started. We rely on our referees to make decisions in a split second and without the benefit of countless replays. I think that it is extremely sad that an honest, dedicated professional has been treated in this way."

Those are the words of a SFA employee by the name of Gordon Smith. I wonder who joined them up into sentences for him.

Now, I would have thought it was his responsibility, as the SFA CEO, to ensure the competence of these honest and dedicated professionals, employed within his remit. If their, the honest and professional referees, abilities are not equal to the task required of them, they should be relieved of their duties immediately. Failure to do so by SFA office holders is tantamount to negligence. Several precedence’s exist in several countries other than Scotland.

Out with Scotland, if an official, an umpire, or a referee, repeatedly displays incompetence he is often demoted to a lower standard; in some instances completely removed from the field where they can do most harm.

Gordon Smith has a duty to ensure that all Scottish Football Supporters get what they paid for.

They pay their hard earned money and they are entitled to watch a game of football devoid of personal bias. A game of football played between two teams, officiated by honest, dedicated, professional and competent referees. Referees, who have the courage of their convictions to actually call it as they actually see it.

Those supporters of all those clubs around Scotland pay their hard earned money in good faith and the hope that they might see their own team win. It is hard to take when your team gets beaten; it is even harder to stomach when your support and good faith is squashed in contempt.

Every football supporter in Scotland should have his good faith reciprocated in equal measure at least.

Every genuine football supporter in Scotland should not be advocating change… they should be demanding it.

Every football supporter in Scotland should not be rewarded in their support of the national game with transparent integrity and accountability by those acting on their behalf. They should enjoy that as a given and more so too.

After all, it is your hard earned cash that pays to get your own face smacked. Without your coin - there is no Football League. Not as we would like to know it anyway.

Every clubs supporters, Aberdeen, both Dundee’s, Clyde, Falkirk, Hearts, Hibs, all clubs supporters should be up in arms demanding that they get what they pay for.

I don’t care if you don’t like my club. As long as you share my desire to have our national game played, week in and week out, with each and every team subjected to the same set of standards as is written in sporting morals and the rule book.

In my opinion, every football supporter in Scotland is having his good faith, his sporting intellect and his battered wallet, grievously mugged by those in power with an agenda. And that agenda is most definitely not to the betterment of Celtic Football Club.

Say what you want about the likes of Dick Turpin at least he had the decency to wear a mask. Those who are mugging us all, week in and week out, in their contempt for all other Scottish football clubs, do not feel need for even that most basic disguise

Other football supporters not of my team (Celtic), may, or may not, be of the mind that Celtic benefit from refereeing decisions which are to their own team’s detriment. I can’t tell you how to think, nor can I tell you what to opine; but I will tell you this: every one of your concerns is mirrored in the minds of every Celtic Supporter. The equality and integrity of our national leagues is all we want. We share your concerns. We would welcome the introduction of referees not of this land. We crave a level playing field, just like you guys.

The only way we are going to achieve this is if we each and every one of us… talk. Discuss the problems at work, on the buses, in the pub. Where ever like minded, (irrespective of which team they support), football supporters meet they should be talking about how the rules of our national game are being prostituted, and we, each and every one of us, are being financially and intellectually raped, so as one team and one team only, gains.

In my most humble opinion Gordon Smith, you and your fellow office holders are not upholding your side of the contract.

No business can survive without ‘good faith’ and its mutual appreciation of all parties concerned You appear incapable of understanding, far less respecting, the concept and implementation of good faith.

The people you appoint to officiate are being proved incompetent in the least and your inaction to redress this problem does not inspire confidence in your ability to administrate and operate without bias.

To my mind, you sir - are also incompetent. You sir, should clear your desk right this minute; call security and have them escort you from the premises relieving you of the company credit card and company car keys (paid for by Scottish Football Supporters) as they, the guards show you the cold side of the door.

Not to resign Gordon would not be in the best interest of Scottish Football or Rangers Football Club, because this time Gordon, the product of your incompetence has had his ineptness shamefully shown and replayed on national TV channels all around the globe.

People are most definitely laughing at individuals in Scotland Gordon and most of those are engaged in incompetence under the same roof as you. Don’t be fooled dear Gordon, they are not laughing with you, they are falling about, creased up and laughing at you.

My opinion of you Sir is that you are a morally and ethically bankrupted Grub. You should pack your bags and go before the Genuine Supporters of Scottish Football Supporters are forced to show you, and all your incompetent associates, the door.

It is no longer a case of ‘Our day will come’, the pendulum is on its downward arc and it is fast approaching the day your time will come. Some of that might just be spent the wrong side of the bar too.

Am I angry… you better believe it. I am angry for Craig Levein; I am angry for Dundee United; I am angry at the poisonous erosion of our national game; I am angry that Celtic Football Club is inexplicably being tarred with the same brush of shame as those others more deserving.

I am angry that I am even writing these words. Why am I doing it.

Simple really.

Too many others just can’t be bothered.

Craig Levein, Dundee United, you dared to speak the truth. For that you have my gratitude, my admiration and my support. As a football supporter first and as a Celtic Supporter second.

If you do start a legal fund… I will get my contribution to you. That is a promise from one Football Supporter to one Football Manager.

Good Luck Craig Levein. Good Luck Dundee United. Somehow I think you just might need it.

Bambi :- From last thread. Sadly I'm forced to agree with you, a lot of Rangers games in Europe this season have been far from entertaining.

from previous thread

Inkybhoy, I agree with mnost of what you posted earlier at 11.23.

However, purely from a financial perspective, I don't know if full time referees is the answer. Referees have to retire at 47 or thereabouts (I think) so they do need a way of earning a living after finishing. At that age, it is not easy to start a new career and they may think twice about trying to get to the top level since they would not be able to have a career in tandem that would continue to deliver a source of income after they retire from refereeing. As you say, many of them currently have decent paying "real" jobs and giving them up may be too much of a sacrifice to make.

The comparison with players being full time has to be seen in the light of the vast difference in the level of pay. Players nowadays (at the top level)can retire and never need to work again. I know this is not the case for all players but those at the lower end of the scale have been in a position to chase their dream and so they are probably more willing to make that sacrifice. I don't know if there are many who have the dream of being a referee....apart from that eejit David Ellery who was a heidie of a posh school (not in Carmyle, funnily enough).

Paul67 :- As Gordon said satire can be a very effective weapon however you missed out the quote from the Celtic fan. The one saying "We don't think immigrants should go home, we are more civilised and tolerant, we would just pray for them to die in their sleep. After all they deserve it, coming to this country and playing for Rangers"

Gordon J, indeed.

Kitalba, agree.

Edward, are you suggesting Broadfoot is an alien?

Pablo:

maybe, just maybe, pressure from within is being brought to bear on Craig Levein.

He oes have a family to consider after all.

In the cold light of day and all that.

However, in the spirt of the moment when he spoke from the heart and in his anger... he publicly put moral distance between Celtic and the 'Old Firm'.

His original words are out there for all the world to read.

A board inspired dilution is neither here not there.

Edward: I think your points are fair about the relative quality of opposition in our respective UEFA campaigns and actually getting to a European final is a major achievement. Rangers have definitely got passed some good sides.

I would also accept that managers have to come up with tactics for the players they have.

On the other hand, Rangers have played a game that football has tried to eradicate. When teams got any success with such ultra-negative tactics in the 80s, the rules were changed. Successful teams change tactical trends because others copy them.

Jack Charlton's Ireland, for example, did much to make tall powerful centre-forwards fashionable again. He made a very pragmatic decision to basically try to eliminate the midfield area and bombard the opposition back line with balls to Niall Quinn or Tony Cascarino or both. They weren't pretty to watch but it was at least exciting.

If Rangers win tomorrow (playing a similar game to the one they have adopted) it will seriously worry major clubs and football administrators, not because of the rise of the Bears but because the implications are that about 20 teams in European competition next season would probably copy their example.

If that happens, football will lunge back to the 80s when fans were frustrated that flair was being smothered and you couldn't win playing "the beautiful game" - and it made marketing very difficult. That was partly why the three-point win was introduced, the pass-back rule, the four-second instead of four-steps rule, new rules against professional fouls, etc.

I honestly believe that a Rangers win tomorrow - unless they actually go out to attack - will spark a lot of behind-the-scenes meetings to figure out how you can stop a team playing for penalties. In fact, the golden goal and silver goal were tried to do just that and I wouldn't be surprised if they are being looked at again right now.

Ed,

Not that it makes any difference, after all you're in the final.

It just makes me feel better '0)

Forza Zenit

Just in case it's been missed by anyone. Our New-Found Champion has now labelled these decisions an OF only problem !!! Didn't think he'd stick to his huns-only rant from Saturday. He even goes so far as to say Aberdeen were "Robbed" by the ref against us. Levien's credibility back to where it's always been for me.

pablophanque

EdwardU,

You got mail,

Martin.

I seem to remember quite a few years ago that a precedent was met when the Rearrangers complained about either a linesman or referee. I think his name, surprisingly, was Kevin O'Donnell. They complained to the SFA about his decisions and if I am right he was banished never to be heard of again. Any of the old timers (like me) care to assist?

Thank you Paul67. Hopefully scaramouche reflects the character of a certain Mr Moonbeam more than my own? ;-)

My own belief regarding refs is that both ourselves and rangers get slightly more of the decisions than the other SPL teams, purely due to pressure from the larger crowds.

However, I also believe that, for whatever reason, there is one particular ref who is getting it badly wrong and quite consistently in favour of one team. I don't even have too much of a problem with that. If the 'support' from the SFA wasn't there, it wouldn't matter. It is the fact that the SFA appear to have 'rewarded' him with so many games for one team is what I really think needs addressed.

The point of my statement (last thread) is to:

- support all the referees who are unbiased;

- avoid taking the moral high ground – if we are getting any slight advantage, I don't want it, and it could be removed by supporting refs to make the high pressure decisions (we can then just win as the better team). I sincerely believe that you will not find a significant SFA supported bias in our favour so we would not be disadvantaged;

- reject the lazy use of the old firm label with regards to this problem. I think it makes it harder for the 'meedja' to tie us into this if we show we would welcome an OPEN review – we have nothing to hide and if there is a problem, we honestly want it removed;

- and this is, of course, the intended (if poorly executed) main thrust of the statement: support Dundee Utd. in their quest to get things out in the open and put pressure on the SFA - surely this would be the best way for the SFA to demonstrate that there are no agenda's (I notice G Smith was using that word again while defending the ref, last couple of times he has used it I think he was saying that there were agenda's).

This may not be the best time to address this, but when is? I also think it is bigger than a one game issue so complaining at individual incidents only attacks the ref when the problem is really the people who decide who refs what and when.

Apologies if this sounds bitter, it isn't meant to and it is far too sunny for that so I will retreat back into the garden now.

Cheers,
IJAPoorBhoy (insane)

PS, re new article, same basic problem from the same basic people.

Paul67 :- Considering he seems to have two left feet you may be on to something there :-)

OSMM :- I agree with you. After the past couple of seasons I have to say I'm a lot happier with our position this year but as I've commented on a few times not so happy about the style of football. I would hate to see it duplicated by other teams and hope that next season with some of the pressure off a more attractive style will be played.

Cadizzy,

That's a fair point. I did say the plan wasn't perfect.

It's incumbent on any employer, even if they are based in Carmyle, to offer career progression, security, pension etc.

A lot of discussion on this matter involved pundits saying 'people won't want to become referees if they're being accused of things.'

Well, SFA, tidy this sorry mess up and make it an attractive career prospect.

Wait a minute...that'll cost money and actually owning up to things.

STANDING UP...beside the drawing board with a fresh sheet of paper

There is not a prouder man on Gods earth than me at this moment, winning was important, aye, but it was the way that we have won that has filled me with satisfaction. We did it by playing football. Pure, beautiful, inventive football. There was not a negative thought in our heads. Inter played right into our hands, its so sad to see such gifted players shackled by a system that restricts their freedom to think and act. Our fans would never accept that sort of sterile approach. Our objective is always to try to win with style.

Jock Stein, May 25th 1967

Paul, that article is far closer to the truth than the casual observer might imagine.

Right on cue, I see the RST have already made moves to claim their songs are not racist, merely 'banter'

Kit, mate, with ALL due respect, it's not an "OF" problem. You know it, I know it and there are probably some people who are not of a Celtic persuasion who also agree. If the man was sincere in his ascertain that it ALWAYS favours them, why didn't he stick to it ? He has resorted To type, board influence or none IMHO.

We can present all the facts that we want, our enemies will always chose to ignore them. Our "off-side" ? goal not being shown on that joke of a programme last night tells you all you need to know. Thank god I don't watch it. Anyone who has a shred of decency cannot deny the facts, ergo, those who do are complicit.

We probably get more than the other teams in the SPHell, (imo), but they get more than all the other teams (including us)put together, year on year on year on year on........................

pablophanque

EdwardUrsus: As far as Rangers are concerned, I suspect they will play more attacking football next year because they will feel that getting to the final (and, pity help us all, possibly winning it) will alleviate much of the pressure to get results.

I would hate to see more teams adopt these tactics though.

inkybhoy, in fairness to you and against my own argument, I think there are some full time referees down here in the greatest league in the world. Then again, it is the RICHEST league in the world which may be a more relevant factor.

one star means more,
please do not begin to compare Ireland under Big Jack to them lot. we played 4-4-2 for a start. Yes we did play long ball but with the aim of actually trying to score. We also had players like Houghton, Aldridge, Whelan, Sheedy, Mc Grath, Brady, Townsend who could play football and did so for England and europe's top sides. I see there is a campaign to get walter waistcoat knighted! For what, bullying kids? I'm off to croatia this summer, i'd love if we signed the Croatian midfielder!

I can't see anything being done about their behaviour this week. Even if they sing that song I will be amazed if the Press give it even the slightest mention. I don't know about anyone else, but this song gets my back up more than any other, including the billy boys. As everyone keeps saying, can you imagine a group of guys meeting in a public place and singing 'Muslims go home' or 'Blacks go home'? They would be in the nick before they finished, and rightly so.

I'm sure also we'll hear of no arrests in Manchester this week.

I can't say I'm surprised to see Craig Levein change his tone from Saturday to the more 'neutral' Old Firm tag, his Chairman was already doing it 10 minutes after the game when he quoted 3 decisions he felt went our way against other teams.

John Colqhoun, well said. Walkers face was a picture when Colquhoun wouldn't say 100% that there are no refs in Scotland who don't cheat. I didn't realise he was Leveins agent, and after he admitted speaking with Levein yesterday morning I got the impression Colquhoun was being Leveins mouthpiece last night. Either way, good on him for standing his ground against Walkers attempts to get Colquhoun to backtrack. Would have been interesting if Scotsport was still on next year to see if he remained on their panel after that last night. I suspect he wouldn't have.

Another point, you would think after 2 years doing the job that Andy Walker would be able to read off an autocue! The coverage we get is a disgrace, especially for those without Setanta and for whom Scotsport is the only chance they get to see Scottish Football on the telly.

From the Guardian. Life imitates a Castlemaine advert

"An Australian motorist has been fined for putting a seatbelt around a case of beer instead of a five-year-old passenger.

Police who pulled over the man's sedan on the Ross highway near the outback town of Alice Springs found the child sitting unrestrained in the back of the vehicle with the driver and other adult passengers apparently unconcerned for the child's safety."

I have been pondering doing this for some time. So here goes. I am after all a Celtic supporter and believe in fair play, I am not unintelligent and have the interest of my footballing neighbours at heart.

"In the interest of Scottish Football I would like to wish Rangers all the luck in the world in their quest for the UEFA Cup"

Bad luck of course! Hope they get humped.

Nothing personal Edward. Enjoy! Until Saturday of course.

The reason why Dundee Utd are now talking about a Glasgow problem (I wonder if this includes Queens Park & Thistle) is to help them garner support from the rest of the SPL. Aberdeen have recent experience of perceived injustices at Celtic Park; having lived in Edinburgh for a number of years I know that there is a genuine and widespread belief that teams don't get a fair crack of the whip when playing in Glasgow.

They are trying to turn this into an "Us v Them", "Us" being the provincial club, "Them" being the "Old Firm" (their tag, not mine.) It makes sense really.

We have a very different perception but this doesn't make their position any less valid.

Jack Regan - Kevin O'Donnell was subject of a complaint from Wallace Mercer's Hearts and hung out to dry by the SFA.

Pablo - it would be absolutely ridiculous to suggest we don't benefit from bad decisions. All teams do. However, I don't think a case against an individual referee could be built, like the one against McCurry. Therefore these are far more likely to be classed as 'honest mistakes'.

If it could be show that an individual ref had consistently favoured us, I would happily see him booted out.

The reason the wee-er teams see it as both a Rangers and Celtic issue is that if thy come to the respective home ground they might only get a handful of chances. If, as on Saturday, two of those are removed it's more costly. We are more likely to be able to absorb the impact to two bad decisions and still come out with a result (as a general rule). Basically it's a much higher percentage of a wee teams chances that they're having chalked off than, so it looks far worse from their side.

An open, independent investigation could sort this all out.

I predict a riot

I predict a riot

I prefict a riot

Picture the scene.Saturday, 10th May 2008. The Rangers dressing room falls silent. You can feel the tension as the team talk begins. "
OK lads. We ned to win today. Destiny awaits. We are on the verge of an historic quadruple"

Then in walks the Carmyle Cardigan. "OK Reverend Mike, I'll take it from here"

Scottish refereeing seems to me to be a mixture of desperate incompetence (eg Brines, Dougie McDonald) and the biased (McCurry). All fans though have an image that their team is uniquely discriminated against: Falkirk fans are my personal favourites - teams from "big cities" get the decisions is the usual complaint...so handily that covers Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee. Is it any wonder they can only finish 7th at best?

Jack Regan

I remember Walter Mercer and Hearts complaining about a linesman with an Irish name who made a decision against Hearts that favoured Celtic, he certainly disappeared, I think that might be the occasion you might be thinking off.

Pablo:

I agree with all that you have just said.

I concur inasmuch as we do get some decisions that go our way that maybe shouldn’t. But they are few, and to me, they are welcome. With no disrespect to any other Scottish Football Team, they only marginally offset those ‘dubious’ decisions that our city rivals abundantly enjoy.

I’d much rather we all played on the same level playing field and let the best man win.

However, that level playing field does not exist and never has done so in my life time.

And in that lifetime I have never heard an opposition manager speak such nakedly truthful words.

Not a one. Not even one of our own. Not Jock Stein and not Martin ONeill.

Commercial sense has now settled over the Dundee United boardroom. Commercial necessity dictates they water the bellicose outburst of their manager.

But the words of the moment by Craig Levein, were of the moment. They were not chocolate words – they were sincere words of unadulterated anger and frustration.

He sold the concept of ‘cheating’ within the Scottish game to the world. A concept that no Celtic employee could never be seen nor allowed to do.

Craig Levein did not mince his words and he, at the moment, did not include Celtic Football Club.

He has a family to support as does every office holder and player of Dundee United football Club.

The RST made their threat quite emphatic.

Commercial sense and the need to feed the family dictated that his original words be diluted.

But none-the-less he spoke those words and those words did go round the world.

He said on national TV, what nobody has ever said before him.

His dilution, for me, is not only understandable, it would be expected in the interests of his family’s stomach.

But his words are out there. His Words. Nobody elses. His words, his anger, his frustration.

I wouldn’t have to play with semantics too much to turn ‘Cheated’ to ‘Cheat’.

His words Pablo and no matter what the backtrack, he has my admiration and my support.

JM1888, perhaps banter is what you call racism when you can no longer control it.

Paul67

Had to start reading the thread over,satire is it
The long wait for Celtic fans has begun, we hope and
pray for justice, and in the end Football wins

I like to think of wee dicks team as Leningrad,
sounds more formidable.

Jack et al - At the time I'm sure it was written up as withdrawing from the role due to abuse from fans. That's not to say he wasn't removed but at the time linesmen were on petrol money + tea and biscuits. So it's very possible he just couldn't be bothered with the hassle.

Can anyone recommend the best place to sit for the game at Tannadice if I can only get a home ticket?

The big differenec to me is in the media attitude to refereeing decisions.

In the old days, you got ten minutes highlights of one game with slow motion replays from the same angle. With every other game all you had to go on was what the Sunday papers said.

Now every game is televised and it is easy to get multi angled replays, so refs are under more scrutiny than ever before and mistakes are shown up.

But when a mistake goes in our favour, as by the law of averages some must, there is media fury. A corner, a free kick, how we suffer.

However when it is the other way around and they get the benefit, as seems to happen far more than the law of averages would suggest, there is no comment. Or worse: anyone who comments is roundly attacked.

Now when it comes to McCurry, I don't think he is a bad ref. I've seen him referee games not involving us or them without incident. So why does he make so many "honest mistakes" in their games? Can't just be coincidence, can it?

Yet the moment the truth is show up the SFA and the media close ramks around him.

Anyone else feel that the City seems more civilised all of a sudden?

Paul: Did you notice that on the BBC's "Bear trek" story they mention the "Dubai Loyal", who are pictured decked out in orange? On their website, which the BBC links to "but takes no responsibility for" they have amongst the "funnies" a picture of guys in orange jump suits holding a card saying: "Daniel Cousin Gabon Loyal - Big Jock Knew". They also have a pic of the "funniest tshirt ever" which reads: "I'm as full as a Catholic primary school".

Now that, to me, is sad. The other night I met a guy who was born in Scotland but came over from Canada for the game and couldn't help thinking that, probably because he was coming from that environment, he was like any other football fan, just interested in the game and wearing his team's colours.

Then we see that idiots - obviously well-off - take this crap as far afield as the middle-east.

Incidentally, on their forum was one Alan Carson who wanted to get in touch with the group's admin.

Looking for some help identifying this player

I’ve won the European Super Cup, I’ve won the European Cup, I’ve won the Uefa Cup, I’ve won the English Premiership and the FA cup, I’ve also been relegated from the Premiership, yet I’ve never [played in the championship. I am still playing today. Who am I?

I don't know the answer but hopefully someone out there will know.

Banter and Tradition seems to cover a whole spectrum of things over
Ibrox way.

I wonder if the Russian's and their own preference for non coloured players is covered by banter and tradition.

Scottishleaf, it's Kanu.

Porridge,

Again, re the new Hit single from the RST...I couldn't be more disgusted.

I felt worse after it was directly aimed at Noel Hunt & Willo Flood at the Weekend.

Mucker
Actually Nervous about tomorrow

I think porridgeand bananas is right with Kanu. He also won an Olympic gold medal!

Edward - your comment

Paul67 :- As Gordon said satire can be a very effective weapon however you missed out the quote from the Celtic fan. The one saying "We don't think immigrants should go home, we are more civilised and tolerant, we would just pray for them to die in their sleep. After all they deserve it, coming to this country and playing for Rangers"

Yes a very small number of fans sing that song but they are regularly shouted down - I shout it down myself there is no place for it.

Every big club has this sort of problem with some offensive songs occasionally being sang by a minority.

Your club is built on hatred and thrives on hatred.
Within your club this hatred and bigotry exists at all levels - it is not just reserved for a small minority of fans.

The BBC don't bat an eyelid at the Rangers entourage. As the said supporters are well pocketed this fits in with the Queen Margaret Drive approach to reporting i.e. People with money are alright. It is not only to do with religion you know, this anti- Celtic crusade. Boycott BBC.

Slight change of topic from biased refs but I wondered if anyone else held this dubious record.

A manager who has managed 5(I think) teams.
He's finished in a relegation position with 3 of them and walked out on the 4th. The 5th team he won the treble with.

McLeish

Relegated with Hibs
Finished bottom with Motherwell but stayed up on a technicality due to Falkirk's stadium.
FOD - won treble while we were in Seville
Scotland - resigned
Birmingham - 3rd bottom and relegated.

Interesting career to say the least!

On the subject of refs - would it be possible for someone to come up with a few excellent examples of controversy and a letter template so we could all write to SFA/SPL en masse?
The controversy would probably have to be more than just a few examples over a few years (unless it's McCurry where all his favour TFOD) and involve several teams.
What we don't want is to be seen to be merely claiming we're hard done by but that everyone is due to incompetence or partiality.

Question...

What do We do for the 120Min's plus... Tomorrow night...?

Do the Ironing...?

Hide behind the Couch...?

Walk the Dog...?

Stand out the back Counting Stars...?
OR
Have a Internet Sing Song...?

Post your all Time Fav Celtic Moment...?

Name your Best ever Hunskelper...?

Tell your Funniest "JUNGLE" Moment...?

Recall your first ever Hoops Moment...?

Any more ideas would be good as I/WE Need to take our minds off IT...?

As a Youngster We would Run a Bus to Blackpool every year on the 12th... So I have Fond/Funny Memories of That Date...

o1bhoy

P.S. I try not to use the Word "HATE" But my CQN Name "o1bhoy" is abhor... So i would "o1bhoy" it if they win on Wed...

Edward Ursus

Nacho Novo

I don't believe 'Nice Goal' Nacho has ever been abused for being an immigrant (temporary or permanent), nor for being Spanish, nor for his religious beliefs, nor for being enchanted with Rearrangers FC.

It is quintessentially for his prolonged and consistent abuse of supporters of our club from his position on the park, added to by an alarming ability (for a very average player) to score against us.

I think that draws some clear blue(?) water between your example and the need for some people to go 'home' immediately as TESCOS is now open for business.

There is a test of import here that can easily be used:

If I or 5,000 other people (or perhaps 80,000 this week) systematically sang 'why don't you go home? The holocaust is over, why don't you go home?' to a selection of Jewish People do you think this would be described as meaningless 'Banter'?

notquiteonaparcfc

Should say o1bhoy on Spellcheck is abhor...

o1bhoy

whoabhorsspellingmistakesCSC...

If your going down south on the motorway
you're in for a serious fright
you'll meet hordes of the stinking and ugly
If you have a green car they'll throw sh***
But truth be told (If I may be so bold)
As they've brought your colours and flag
and loved Queen England since old
You can keep them cos We don't ever want them back

porridge and bananas:

Thanks very much, that looks spot on. I have passed the answer on to my buddy.

Cheers

I'm hopeful that the 'other lot' fall flat on their faces tomorrow night (cannot contemplate anything else), and then - on the rebound - drop points to the mighty Well on Saturday.

Just wondering what will happen if we do manage to pull it back, and clinch the title a week on Thursday. I think, under normal circumstances, to become champions this season would be almost as big a celebration as in '98.

But, because it is a mid-week game and away from home, I am slightly worried about an anti-climax. Would they bring the trophy back to Paradise that night or the following weekend? What the hell do we do if we achieve the biggest come-back since Rocky Balboa knocked out big Dolph Lundgren, and we're all at (f*%%ng) work the next day?

Freebirdsfly

I'm not interested in the final of a competition we were too good to enter this season. I'm more interested in the outcome of McGhee's next match. Motherwell have a poor history, of abject deference to their warlord club. I'm from that neck of the woods and would take great heart from a change in attitude by the steelmen.

fairly decent and interesting email answer from Hugh Keevins on celticminded, in reply to an email with a list of McCurry incidents like what was posted on here.

DA,
THANK YOU FOR YOUR E-MAIL.
I CALL ALL SUPPORTERS PARANOID FUNDAMENTALISTS. BUT IN A GOOD WAY.
YOU'RE ALL OBLIGED TO SEE ONE SIDE OF THE STORY BECAUSE YOU LOVE YOUR
FOOTBALL TEAM SO MUCH. NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT.
I DON'T KNOW IF MICHAEL MCCURRY IS DOWNRIGHT INEFFICIENT OR WHATEVER. I
CAN'T PROVE IT SO I CAN'T SAY IT OR WRITE IT.
BUT I DID SAY ON SCOTSPORT THAT CRAIG LEVEIN SHOULD REFUSE TO PAY ANY FINE
THAT COMES HIS WAY FROM THE SFA. THE REFEREE HAS ADMITTED HIS CULPABILITY
SO CRAIG'S ANGER WAS UNDERSTANDABLE.
HOW DO YOU FINE A MAN FOR BEING RIGHT?
YOU CAN POST THIS ON WHATEVER WEB-SITE YOU WANT. THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE
TIME TO WRITE.
HUGH KEEVINS.

madierabhoy

I think he misses the point, which is, that this is not an isolated incident, but that there is a firm pattern. Like absence at work a pattern must be established before it becomes grounds for action. A pattern exists. It is time for action.

Anyone noticed that the ref for the Lanarkshire darkside v Rankers game on Saturday is John Underhill?

This is his last ever game as a referee!
Whats the odds on another debacle like we all witnessed from the "Reverand" on Saturday?

It appears to be some kind of tradition that Refs are given a game of their choice for their last one!

Anyone remember Bobby Tait?

Indeed I know from the horses mouth that Dallas asked for Skippys shirt after Black Sunday as this was his last game as a ref.

What chance Mr Underhill walking away with a bag full of blue jerseys on Saturday!

Is that John Underhand?

w33bhoy

some of that is awful and uncalled for

Sorry Paul, but your site now seems to cater solely for the basest instincts of our support.

You, and the majority of your posters, seem obsessed with Rangers, especially the activities of them, their supporters and their supposed helpers in the authorities off the field. You come at it from a number of different angles, but the underlying message is directly related to them.

In the recent Ed resigning situation, you wondered online if some of your, then recent articles, had contributed to the atmosphere of the blog. I thought at the time that this was a very insightful self observation on your part. Sadly, in my opinion, you seem to have come to the conclusion that it did not, as there has been no real let up on the tone and nature of recent postings.

It's your choice of course, it's your game and your ball, so you set the rules, and I'm well aware of the options I have as a reader/sometimes poster. However I beleive you are someone who might value feedback, and I hope you take this in the constructive manner it is intended.

I have always enjoyed this site as a fount of information about Celtic, and even on occasion, a good laugh at the expense of our biggest rivals,( to which I have happily contributed) but sadly obsession with them, and some great conspiracy, appears to have taken over. I miss the humour, the rumours and the downright bonkers,off the wall, contributions that first attracted me to the blog

Hope it changes, and we can get back to discussing Celtic and one of the most exciting league campaigns in years, but I'm not holding my breath.

Don't expect much agreement from others on this, but there you go....

All the best

I am outraged at reports that Zenit St.Petersburg fans might make racist chants at Rangers players, who will not be used to that kind of abuse. Ibrox fans are irate.
Apparently these mean minded Russkies have a song which translates as,...........
The slave trade's over....Why don't you go home ?

w33bhoy,

The 6th stanza should get that deleted.

I think it would be an act of charity towards brother McCurry if the SPL recognised the difficulty he has fallen into and helped him out by never asking him to referee a Rangers game again

w33bhoy at 1.48. Think you've just made my case.

Ta.

Gordon et al -

I'm at work so only have limited reference (nothing for 20002-03 until 2006-07 inclusive) but unless any of these seasons had more than six then we are currently just one own-goal away from the most in our favour in one season ever.

I feel two own-goals ( a record-breaking one for us by Dundee United and one by the darnel in their remaining league fixtures) will be what wins the league for the good ghuys.

I also expect the darnel to concede at least four own-goals tomorrow.

A bientot

WinninGoal

regarding the refereeing debate

in my humble opinion there are two issues here

1. cheating ,biased, dishonest refereeing

2. referees who are swayed by making decisions for big teams and in front of big crowds

referees are influenced by home teams, and crowds all over world football, not just in scotland, that's a reality of football

IMHO if we get non-scottish referees in place,this deals with the cheating problem ,thus helping celtic

but I don't think dundee united and other will gain much from this.

w33bhoy,

That post of your's is mince.

Post it on the BBC boards where you get that kind of not funny, not clever, drivel.

You're as bad as...

Well, work it out for yourself if you can.

STANDING UP...

Also I always used to think of Own Goals when people mention Owen Coyle. I find it difficult to separate the two in my mind even though I don't remember Owen scoring any own goals. It's the same wi Michael Owen's goals.

I might well be in need of a pint in the darnel-diluted ambience of The Voucher-addled Teser.

Hell knows I deserve one(...........and a pint tae!)

BeijingCelt,

Your last post strikes me as being something akin to asking the kids to be quiet on Christmas morn while opening their presents.

I thought the core of this site was to help counteract the proponderance of lazy journalism against Celtic.

Have you been keeping abreast of the SPL recently and the politics and incidents that are affecting Celtics chances of the league this year ?

I dont expect you realised that or you wouldn´t have posted your last post or did you think this blog was so you can chat about all things Celtic ?

Its not what I thought.

All the best

yours in Celtic´s welfare

Awe Naw

Syd Owen

Owen McGhee

Owen Archdeacon

Owen Ness

Oweny ithers ?

Back tae work, WG

Syd Owen

Owen McGhee

Owen Archdeacon

Owen Ness

Oweny ithers ?

Back tae work, WG

http://www.rightresult.net/

interesting web site.

Everton would have been in the CL this year if they hadn´t been diddled out of it by favourable refereeing decisions shown towards Liverpool. Mind you they got into the semi finals of the CL Solely on poor refereeing decisions

a downright bonkers, off the wall, contribution from cqn's favourite but well-known multi-millionairess (covered)?

Chris

Abmucker

I not nervous about tomorrow night, I resigned myself that they were going to win it after Fiorentina 2 weeks ago. It's all set up for the perfect script (from their point of view), the guy discarded by Rangers beats the guy who was to come in and take them further than he could. I'm just dreading it as I'm out in the taxi tomorrow night and really can't face it when they win. I'll probably just park up for the night.

I would rather be in deepest darkest Peru tomorrow than on the streets of Greenock, unless of course they get beat! Holiday coming up though so really need to do it.

scottishleaf
no problem, that question seems to do the rounds from time to time as it got me the first time I was asked it. Another good one is who is the only player to have played in the CL, UEFA, all 4 senior Leagues in England and the Conference?

WG...

GarryOwen...

o1bhoy

w33bhoy

What was the need for that post?

Mike McCurry should be relieved of his refereeing duties with immediate effect.

This should have been done years ago. The fact he is still in the job active and not suspended pending investigation tells you everything you need to know about the governing body of Scottish football.

Corrupt beyond contempt.

...royal blues

Chris

Got another

Owen McNally (CFC 1927-30 (from Denny Hibs), 11 apps 4 goals, no bad)- he then went to Bray Unknowns where he was largely anonymous

Zenit bomber jaickit.....

Awe Naw, by incidents affecting Celtic's league chances do you mean failure to close out a win against ICT, or to take chances at Christmas time against Hibs or St Mirren?

As for everything else, it's an irrelevance, if Celtic do the job on the park, and the fans do theirs off it.

There is clearly a combination of dodgy behaviour and downright incompetence going on, but is it necessary to go on and on and on about it?

I prefer to focus on looking forward and rising above the rest of the nonsense. Sadly I see a lot of wallowing going on just now.

I thought we were better than that....

That fool Hargreaves ?

One Star, shocking stuff.

W33bhoy, deleted. Disgusting.

BeijingCelt, apology accepted.

Awe_Naw that is an interesting website but I don't think it would work up here as few people are objective up here. Plus if only the issues which were raised in the media were counted then
you would find that Celtic will be denied a number of points and Rangers will have less dropped than they should do.

Paul -

Thanks for deleting that. There is no requirement for rubbish like that on here.

WG -

Owen Yerway??

Ryclu

Sub, before I click your links, are they both youtube or some other social networking site? The company cyber police are prowling and their response to my claim of accidental use will almost certainly be "Aye Right"

Awe Naw - What I find quite interesting about that site is how close to the actual table the right result one is. With the exception of Everton, the positions are largely the same. I guess there would be a pretty big difference in prize money for Fulham but overall there no material difference.

I'm not sure it would be the same if that happened with out league.

Cadizzy - always just hover your mouse over any link, and the url will appear on the bottom left of your screen. That tip has saved me from undeletable Rick Astley videos on many an occasion.

BeijingCelt: I think you're being a wee bit unfair.

Much of what is discussed is inevitably led by the context at the time.

- When we are relying on Rangers to drop points, the sort of performance from Mike McCurry on Saturday is bound to make refereeing a hot issue and one that provokes anger.

- Likewise, the approach of the SFA in particular, who do seem to have acted dubiously over the extension issue and a few other things. I know some people see the epitome of reason as never perceiving any bias but sometimes these issues do arise and people like Gordon Smith do nothing to help.

- Given that Rangers are in their first major European final for 36 years, it's unlikely that the issue wouldn't command the interest of most Celtic supporters, particularly given the response to our own final in 2003. It is also to be expected that most Celtic fans would hardly be overjoyed with the fact, and the comments from Ibrox and the media directed at Celtic have done nothing to promote goodwill.

- The continued whitewash by the authorities and the media on the "Famine's over" song has understandably caused a great deal of ill-feeling, as has the gusto with which this new diatribe has been adopted by Rangers fans.

I agree that sometimes people are too quick to get over talking about Celtic after a good win and then get round to complaining about Rangers but much of what has been read here in recent weeks has been a reflection of the above.

W33bhoy - if ever there was a case for deletion, it is your post. It's not big or clever.

Please think of me tomorrow everyone! I am in the unfortunate position of having to be out and about in Manchester and Salford where I am running a training course that has been organised for some time. To make matters worse it is being held in the NOVOtel. Lttle did I think when I arranged it all those months ago...

I think my nice pale green suit and a suitable tie will be the order of the day. And some earplugs too, of course. Ah well...

Sarcasm eh Paul, or maybe smartassedness? Not sure why, but I expected better.

Boltonbhoy: The course isn't anything to do with primitive anthropology, by any chance?

just recieved a text from my brother

Re-ararangers convoy heading south from george square

UPDATE 1 Hour later

Convoy last seen heading towards john o groats
with the holy goalie in the lead vehicle
in the popemobile

Re- routers csc

The good folk of Manchester prepare to make their visitors feel right at home

[It's pic 11/18 that paints a thousand words]

LeGrandPierreTheFrenchConfrere, many thanks for that tip.

Rick Astley! the only person more unplayable than Aiden McGeady.

Beiijingcelt,

I´m not having a go at you buddy honestly. I am just genuinely interested in your frustrations and just trying to get a handle on it ?

By your reckoning Celtic have to be absolutely perfect every match and any doting on external factors that may affect the outcome of such matches that you mention are the actions of those who should do and know better ?

"I am still furious about a goal and the offside decision that we didn't get at Inverness - so we are all furious. - WGS May 3 2008"

Or is WGS joining in with the rest of us with our ready made excuses to save his job?

Personally I think Celtic have had a few bad results as you pointed out. The fact that we dropped those points in December where we played 9 matches and Rangers played only 6 is irrelevant ready made excuses ?

We don´t need or expect a level playing field and how dare anybody get too bogged down on it ..... even the manager ?

Personally I see that as completely missing the point.

One Star Means More - unfortunately not! However, it is about equality and diversity so the upside is that I will have plenty of real life examples of how not to behave to offer to the participants! Every cloud and all that...

One star

Thanks for at least giving my post some serious consideration. I can't disagree with much of what you say, I think my main gripe is just the sheer volume and repetitiveness of the same points over and over, all largely focussed on them.

Don't get me wrong, I want them humped as much as any other Celtic supporter, and I'm likely to get arrested in Tiananmen Square if they crumble and we pull off a league win.

I'm also not oblivious to the sheer hypocrisy and double standards of those in authority and in the press. It's sickening, but it was ever thus.

I would just like to see more concentration on what we do and what the support, far and wide,need to do to get us over the line.

I've always said and will always believe, they and their support system are irrelevant unless they are on the same pitch as us.

All the best in Celtic

Antrim_Bhoy - Best place to sit would be next to me! How would you suggest that someone could go about aquiring a ticket for the home end? As a neutral observer of course ;-)

Hail Hail
Gogo

Owen and Mzee

o1bhoy

Awe Naw, no worries I did not read your post as having a go.

You couldn't be further from the truth though about me expecting Celtic to be perfect in every game. I just believe that we can look to more than just what McCurry does, or what lies the papers tell, to see reasons why the league isn't finished just now.

I guess I'm guilty of what I've just accused Paul of being, in the way I phrased my opening sentence.

I'm actually very realistic when it comes to the ups and downs of supporting Celtic, the latter strengthens us the former uplifts us, and you will find no previous post from me ever criticising manager or players if things don't go our way.

All the best in Celtic. Here's to three in a row.

Cadizzy,
...what links are ok so's you're aye right with the cyber polis?
Chris

Subt - I can think of a few that would get you cyber-lifted.

BeijingCelt,

You know and I know what we are both talking about it would seem. It would seem that me and you are probably from the same generation. Nothing new here to dwell on. Same old same old is what we say

Except there never has been a league extension to the Scottish league. Rangers getting to a European cup final is the impetuous for this singular unprecedented action. Rangers being in with the chance of a quadruple has heightened Celtic anxieties.

So this is something entirely new; An SPL league extension that the SFA (not Rangers) deemed was not long enough for Rangers due to Rangers desperately trying to avoid playing the DU game. The SFA eventually sorted that out that fly in the ointment via Mike Mc Curry on Saturday.

I think it is fabulous that the modern Celtic generation highlight and collate and present these disgusting injustices against us. More power to them I say and derision to those that try and stop them. They are doing the devils work.. I mean how can you say that we are better that this ? better than what ?

Doing what we have done in the past by accepting it shrugging the shoulders and saying well we´ll beat them on the park if we get a strong unbiased referee. We are better than them - we know that anyway ?

I´m glad that they are showing their frustrations and disappointed by those Celtic fans that dont want to rock the boat too much or have given up the fight?

The future teaches you to be alone
The present to be afraid and cold
So if I can shoot rabbits
Then I can shoot fascists

Bullets for your brain today
But we'll forget it all again
Monuments put from pen to paper
Turns me into a gutless wonder

And if you tolerate this
Then your children will be next
And if you tolerate this
Then your children will be next
Will be next
Will be next
Will be next

Gravity keeps my head down
Or is it maybe shame
At being so young and being so vain

Holes in your head today
But I'm a pacifist
I've walked La Ramblas
But not with real intent

And if you tolerate this
Then your children will be next
And if you tolerate this
Then your children will be next
Will be next
Will be next
Will be next
Will be next

And on the street tonight an old man plays
With newspaper cuttings of his glory days

And if you tolerate this
Then your children will be next
And if you tolerate this
Then your children will be next
Will be next
Will be next
Will be next

Hail Hail to the new Bhoys

My own personal protest is to drop all interest in supporting any officially SFA sponsored

beijingcelt
i agree with the jist of your post.
we do have ourselves/board/gs to blame for losing this league if
it comes to pass. some of our performances this season have been absolutely attrocious.
but some of the refereeing and outside input to this season have been equally damaging to our clubs tilt at 3-in-a-row.
and this season has proved beyond doubt that we do have to be even better than just being better than them.

прибытый в zenit входят в этих гуннов

spelling above impetuous=impetus

One Star, I understand the Corporation heard your voice….

Curly, indeed.

Boltonbhoy, you’re bound to see a YouTube moment.

BeijingCelt, I write what I feel like writing. Sometimes that will appeal more to some than others, but apart from changing my formula (to write what I feel like writing about) there is not a lot I can do about that.

It’s a much better idea to keep the formula and not to be overly concerned by feedback.

rankers convoy spotted

To: sutcliffeg@parliament.uk

Sir
I fully endorse your stance with regards to the potential of racist chanting from supporters of Zenit St Petersburg in Wednesday's Uefa Cup Final.

However, you may not be aware of racist chanting which has been evident in Scotland, emanating from the supporters of Zenit's opponents, Glasgow Rangers.Their chant 'Go on Home, the Famine is over' has been obvious for some months now, most voiciferously at the recent matches versus Celtic FC, and on Saturday last directed at the Dundee United players N Hunt and W Flood, Irishmen.

As a proud Scot of Irish parentage I find this chant abhorrent and an affront to civilised decency.
I trust that potential racist chanting of this sort will be dealt with similarly?
What instructions have you issued with regard to dealing with offensive chants?
Will you take these matters up with the relevant football authorities of these countries?

Hopefully the people of Manchester of Irish descent will not be racially abused.
However , any lusty renditions must be dealt with and immunity must not be granted to the perpetrators.

I welcome your reply.

Yours in(untainted)Sport

Sub, my very very good friend. Thank you for your reply. I now have the good advice from LeGrandPierreTheFrenchConfrere to guide me and help keep me Aye Right.... though if I were ever looking for hotels in Airdrie, I'd appreciate your help.

My dear,dear,dear, friend.....BeijingBhoy

I Believe that you used the Hackneyed Phrase..."it's your ball",in
reference to Sir Paul being the sole arbiter of all or any, subject matter, on this Insightful Site.

A much more descriptive allegory would be to liken Sir Paul's modus operandi...would be this..

"It is Sir Paul's Peerie, which he Whips into life... then leaves the maintaining of the Spin solely in the hands of his contributers."

Who said dat?

Fargo, did... just now!

If the Peerie continues to Spin... for 300 and Upwards Submissions... then, you can bet yer Sweet Patootie...that Sir Paul's Leader...has hit the Sweet Spot apropos the subject matter.

When all is said....and NOT USUALLY DONE.... the Raison D'Etre of any Public Forum...is to CAPTURE THE ATTENTION and by doing so... attract addititive and cogent contributions...

So far...Sir Paul's Choices of Discussable Subject Matter... has always been highly successful and have attracted extreme interest...and have therefore, bountifully vindicated his selections.( "Discussable" is no a woid, surely?....ed)( I didnae think so either...but, I just came acroass it, in reading my Bible, during Vespers!...and if ye believe dat pal!!!...)

You, my friend, are the MOMUS, at the Gathering... who is always considered to be in the very best of circles... an essential presence.

In fact, I just heard Vito say ..only, yesterday....

"There's Nuttin' that beats a Good Momus... Now an' agin'!"

Kojo.

Beijing Celt - you make a pretty fair point which I think would have carried even more weight in early April when everything was still in our hands. Now that we have to rely on somebody taking points off Rangers we are bound to be even more critical of refereeing performances and press propaganda aimed at helping their league campaign creak over the finishing line. Add to this their UEFA Cup run and this season is enough to send the mildest mannered Celtic fan into a bitter rant. I know, I'm pretty mild mannered and I can feel a rant coming on every time I post now!

On Sunday I felt we should have concentrated solely on Celtic and getting behind the team. We only really got behind the team when the 2nd goal went in despite playing some of the best football we've seen for a while. The result and the performance did not lift the spirits as normal thanks to the abysmal refereeing at Ibrox which did change the destination of the points, affect goal difference and even the players Rangers will have available for the coming games.

I would normally agree with you in saying that we need to focus more on what we do and ignore the other side but as we are waiting for a miracle to happen at Fir Park, St Mirren Park or Pittodrie we have little option but to focus on what they are doing right now. Add in a little frustration with (1) previous performances this season (Motherwell H, ICT A), (2) our poor domestic cup showing and (3) our main rivals doing well in Europe and there has to be a release of some kind.

Craiginho

My dear, dear friend Cadizzy- speakin o' Airdrie Hotels- make sure and ask for the Goblin teasmaid to be sent up to your room.

Aye right!

dontbrattbackinanger she is the good looking one.

DBBIA I was eating my lunch there. That is just wrong.
Johnnydoyle I have to agree though that is their "looker"

Afternoon everyone,

Just a quick question.
Is it confirmed that the league winners (Celtic of course) will gain automatic entry to the Champions League group stages next year?
Sorry if I've missed this being discussed earlier.

Please, please, please.....
RAN*ERS - Diddy-cup runners-up 2008
CELTIC - League champions 2008
MAYO - All-Ireland champions 2008

Mayomandan,

At least there's some chance of the first 2!!

highorlowit'swilliejoeCSC

Mayomandan

you missed one....

RAN*ERS - Scottish Cup runners-up 2008.

I don't know for definite the answer to your question however. Sorry!

Just for information, John Underhill is from Portsmouth and is English and is not in any way shape or form a Rangers fan. That being said he isn't the best referee in the world either but he isn't a hun.

Mayomandan,

You are correct.

I understand the argument that we should have more points than we do. But then if we take it to extremes we could argue that if we just won every single game it would make no difference what any other team does!

As others have said, the really blatent refereeing decisions don't seem to occur in the seasons where we are well ahead. They seem to be saved up for the close yers, like this one, when they really can make a difference to the destination of the title.

And if that makes me paranoid, well so be it!

DBBIA,

...the cqn cyber sheriff is aye right on to you. ;-)

Chris

Ah Kojo! As much as I enjoy your psuedo intellectual, Philip Roth wannabee ramblings....please try and get my name right.

All the best

Mayomandan

Think the red hands might have something to say about your last hope!

Cadizzy,
Would that be the hotel with 57 rooms and one guest? Recommend it? Aye right!
Chris

I know the point has been made before but it is worth repeating - we can have corrupt politicians, governments , presidents - people from every walk of life, accountants, solicitors etc - the one thing you never ever find is a corrupt Scottish Grade 1 ref.

Do they think we are all daft?

half n half

Let's hope you are right.

Airdrie, billed as The Entertainment Capital of the World, is famous for massive and lavish casino resorts, the unrestricted availability of alcoholic beverages (as is true throughout Lanarkshire), and adult entertainment.

Las Vegas town centre has changed much in the last 10 years with a new road scheme and a shift in emphasis with the type of shopping it offers. New housing complexes are being built notably in Chapelhall, Rochsoles and Glenmavis, the former Boots factory site in Rawyards and the former Imperial Tube Works in Cairnhill.

Wikipedia never gets anything wrong. Aye Right!

Mayomandan-if in doubt ask your Uncle Bert.

[On no account look at the number of co-eff points the Horribles have managed to scrape together on the Road of Shame to the Final.]

Porto and Boavista Corruption
http://www.uefa.com/footballeurope/news/kind=2/newsid=693942.html

It does happen.

As for Celtic, i hope to see some transfer movement soon, so the squad is together and ready for pre season by the end of June.

Just a thought... but I reckon we all expect Scotland's Shame to treat Manchester no better than they treated other European Cities. However, I would expect the ENGLISH media to fully report their discgraces and the Scottish media will be helpless in their attempts of ignorance.

Defeated by Wee Dick by a couple of goals and their fans shown as the utter disgrace many of them are. Their week could turn very quickly!

Am I being too optimistic???

Paul, can I hide in here till Thursday please? I'll be no trouble..

What makes Scottish football unique is while in other countries you may have to offer money/women/boys/ nights out in Airdrie to get the referee to come up with the result your club needs over here they will gladly do it for nothing.

'Nice goal,Nacho'

Aye right.

Johnnybhoy. my concern is that any bad behaviour by the fans of Nadir in relation to their game with Zenit (courtesy and copywright of DBBIA)could reflect badly on us (old firm etc) or on Scottish teams in general. God forbid we ever get a situation like Heysel but remember that all English teams were banned from Europe after that one.

My dear,dear,dear, friend.... PekingBhoy.....

S'attabettah, Pal?...

You have me at a disadvantage...

I hivnae a clue who Philip Roth is... or was.

You must enlighten me...in order for your Barb to have the desired effect!

If a tree falls in the forest and...well...you get the idea?

Na....ma literary hero...who I try to emulate..... unsuccessfully... nevertheless...I strive.... I strive.

Is W.W. Wobble....

If that name is unfamiliar to you...

Check with our Polish contributer, Mr.Z..... he mentioned that my writing reminded him of that personage....only a few weeks ago.

Kojo.

anyone want to chip in a hire private investigators to blow the corrupt establishment of the SFA/ SPL wide open. I'm talking tapped phones, bugged rooms, photos of meetings, hi jacked emails, under cover infoltrations etc????

It sounds absurd eh?

thats what you will have to do to force a change, sad I know but thats the way it is. They will not make any changes that will harm the way things work, they have to be found out.

i am of the opinion that it will never change, it's just the way it is.

Walters Demise

Where do send the cheque?

Still Desperately looking for tickets for Tannadice a week on thursday guys, if anyone has a chance of any i'd be forever in your debt if you could send them this way.

I'll probably keep asking until the day of the game on the off chance that I might get some luck so i'll appologise in advance.

Hail Hail
Gogo

hidinginadarkroomuntilthegamesoveronwedCSC

If they behave badly and get banned from Europe, can we kick them out of Scotland also on the basis that Scotland is in Europe? They would be left homeless having to sail the high seas like the Vikings or roam the steppes and plains of Central Europe like the, ahem, Huns! Maybe not "roam" It doesn't quite sound right for them

Gentlemen,

This is my first post after a long busy period when time has not permitted me to read everything written let alone offer a personal view. That period has not ended yet but the McCurry incident and the reactions to it have prompted me to offer the following views and suggestions for how to move the debate on.

It seems to me that the excuses delivered by all and sundry (non Tims) in the game for poor decisions generally being the results of honest mistakes could be right but are more likely in McCurry’s case at least to be complete hogwash. This is almost certainly unprovable in respect of disallowed goals and questionable penalty decisions but the same may not be true of more general performance in respect of free kicks and penalties awarded for and against certain sides and yellow or red cards used to penalise sides or favour opponents.

The question is can this views be proved unequivocally?

I suspect it would be difficult but if there are any statos out there I invite you to try with this as my suggestion:

First take the referee in question then construct I suggest 2 tables to begin with showing the following stats by club for the last 3 seasons.

Base Statistics For & Against
Club Free Kicks Penalties Yellow Cards Red Cards

Aberdeen
Celtic
etc

Statistics per Minute Refereed For & Against
Club Free Kicks Penalties Yellow Cards Red Cards

Aberdeen
Celtic
etc

Now I know that even this could be deemed to be misleading (Giving free kicks for as an example in non threatening parts of the pitch) but I submit that this analysis will provide some logical and perhaps even statistically robust basis to either confirm or refute the allegations.

It could also be enhanced if some seeming biases for or against particular clubs seem to emerge by doing a comparison of the same stats in head to head confrontations.

Anybody with access to the details prepared to give it a go?

Warszawa.

Kojo, P.Roth is an American writer who wrote the best and most imaginative ever novel on self abuse.I think a lot of people learned something from that one.(Portnoy's Complaint if you're interested, though maybe not eh?)

Can we not focus on the 'nice goal nacho' comment. I'm sure it's not the only time a ref has commented positively to a player after a decent finish. If we want complaints taken seriously I really think should concentrate on the actual complaint worthy incidents.

Tinytim

send all cheques to

The undercover institue for the preservation of the game of football in Scotland

Walters Demise's hoose
Glasgow

G18 88C

make payable to

Walterdemises'campaigntoridthenationofthecheatsinpowerthroughundercoveroperationsincludingbutnotlimitedtobuggingofphonesvideotapingmeetingsandfllowingmembersoftheestablishmentCSC

all donations to this cause greatly apreciated.

Cadizzy @ 4.39 brilliant!!!

Beijing Celt

I agree with your point.
It does us very little good to ignore our own faults.

If we had won more games, the Mike McCurry's of this world, would not matter.

That being said,there is something corrupt in the state of Govan.

I would love to be a fly on the wall of Gordon Smiths office.He makes my blood curl.The sneaky *******.

From the Guardian - simply awesome reading...

Five goals, a breathless comeback, pitch invasions, rioting and 36 years of bitterness. If the last time a Russian side met Rangers in a European final is anything to go by, we're in for an eventful night in Manchester tomorrow. Dinamo Moscow's match against Rangers in the 1972 Cup-Winners' Cup final made them the only club from Russia to reach a European final in Soviet times. For them it was not a happy experience.

"I don't think we were weaker than the famous Scottish club," said Vladimir Pilguy, the Dinamo goalkeeper. "But not having experience of such matches we were overly worried and as a result froze before our appearance on the pitch. We were affected by the usual atmosphere in Barcelona before the game, and in Moscow before we left there were nakachkas [ideological speeches from Communist Party bosses aimed at motivating the players].

"For instance we were spoken to by the vice-president of the Sportkomitet of the USSR who believed that by slogans and appeals he would lift the moral spirit of the team to a new level. We didn't need it. We knew how much was at stake - the honour of Soviet football. For the defeat we have nobody to blame but ourselves. We didn't manage to show over the 90 minutes the sort of football we were capable of playing."

A timorousness pervaded everything, as it so often did when Soviet teams played abroad. (The Spartak forward Roman Pavlyuchenko has said that Guus Hiddink's key achievement as Russia coach has been to relax the players so they travel to games without being haunted by the terror of failure.) That Dinamo side was blessed with a host of gifted forwards - Gennady Evryuzhihin, Vladimir Kozlov, Anatoly Kozhemyakin, Michail Gershkovich, Anatoly Baydachny and Vladimir Eshtrekov - of whom their coach, Konstantin Beskov, who had played against Rangers on Dinamo's 1945 tour of Britain, tended to pick three or occasionally even four.

For the final, Kozlov and Kozhemyakin were injured, but Beskov's selection still seemed uncharacteristically negative as he started with just Baydachny and Evryuzhihin up front. Dinamo's strength was their attacking play, but that night they sat off and tried to contain Rangers. The ploy could hardly have failed more spectacularly and they were 3-0 down inside 50 minutes thanks to a goal from Colin Stein and two from Willie Johnston.

Finally Beskov was forced to attack. On came Gershkovich and Eshtreko for Vladimir Dolbonosov and Andrey Jakubik, and Dinamo were transformed. Eshtrekov rolled an Evryuzhihin cross into an empty net on the hour: 3-1, and a glimmer of hope. Eshtrekov and Alexander Makhovikov missed great chances; the Rangers keeper Peter McCloy twice made fine saves from Gershkovich; Sandy Jardine cleared off the line from Evryuzhihin and then almost turned an Eshtrekov cross into his own net; Josef Szabo and Valdimir Basalaeb fizzed efforts just wide;and Evryuzhihin was within an inch of getting a toe to a ball across the face of goal.

For Rangers, what had looked like being a procession had become a desperate rearguard action. Somehow they clung on, though, and Dinamo's second did not arrive until four minutes from time, when Makhovikov, having exchanged a sharp one-two with Gershkovich, held off two defenders to slam his finish just under the bar.

Rangers kicked off, and within a few seconds a long ball had found Johnston in an offside position. To waste time he belted the ball into the stands, at which Rangers fans had a better idea for running down the clock, with hundreds of them pouring onto the pitch. "The majority of them were drunk," Pilguy remembers. "They had mad faces, with bulging eyes. They had to be cleared from the field and although they didn't really do us any harm, it meant the game was held up, and that was a big advantage for our opponents. They were exhausted by that stage and could hardly drag their legs, and I'm sure in that final four minutes we'd have scored a third."

By the time the game restarted, Rangers had regrouped, and held on until the final whistle, which was greeted with a full-scale pitch invasion. Franco's police waded in with batons, the fans fought back and, as a riot raged outside, the Rangers captain John Greig and their manager Willie Waddell were presented with the trophy in an office deep beneath the stands of the Camp Nou.

While Rangers felt the end had been anti-climactic, Dinamo were furious, appealed against the result, and seemed to have most of the world's press on their side. The Spanish media, not surprisingly, condemned the pitch invasions, but so too did neutral sources. The correspondent of the UPI agency for instance, wired that: "The referee had the right to stop the match during the pitch invasion, but he chose to take a different course. He patiently waited until the hooligans had left the pitch, and then ordered the players to complete the final four minutes. The pitch invasion prevented Dinamo from converting their attacking superiority and so was not a fair result."

Even the president of Uefa, Gustav Wiederkehr, backed them. "The behaviour of the Scottish fans was shocking and ugly," he said. "I support Dinamo's protest but the question of whether the game can be replayed can only be decided at a formal Uefa meeting." A decision was expected when Uefa met on the day of the European Cup final in Rotterdam, a week after the match in Barcelona, but no statement was made.

The chairman of the Soviet Football Federation, Nikolay Ryashentsev, who was also a member of Uefa's executive committee, raised the issue the next time the executive committee met and finally, on June 16, three weeks after the final, the result was upheld, with Rangers being banned from European competition for two years (although that was later reduced to one year on appeal).

In Russia, the sense of resentment still rankles.

Oh dear the name you need to make the cheque payable to did not fully apear on the page.

Please do not send any cheques as your money can not now be used for the purpose intended ........but as ITV say.............. "you may still be charged"

Walter's Demise, I am afraid I don't have any of those big cheques that you see on Comic Relief or Children in Need so unfortunately, I 'll have to just make it out to Cash. I hope you don't mind.

Thanks for the info guys. Thought we'd be ok after Man U/London huns finished 1-2 in England.

Dbb - Amazing how they've amassed that much in the way of co-eff points after just this 1 run, and not even in the premier competition. Surely UEFA will have to look at the way they distribute points between UEFA cup and Champions League.
Some less ambitious clubs will actually start to aim for 3rd place in the CL group stages rather than finish 2nd and face likely elimination.

Half n half/Mort - Think you may not be far off. Fancy Tyrone to make the final if ye keep your main men injury free. But just like the huns (sorry to draw such a horrifying comparison) tomorrow night, you'll end up losing to a much slicker outfit in the final! I don't mean Kerry either!

Cadizzy

Cash goes a long way in the corridors of power!!!

johnnybhoy,
the english press never reported barcelona so I find it unlikely they will report any minor offences, I find it likely they will have a hoard of russian speaking translators waiting for the russian fans racist outbursts whilst being deaf to the obvious inevitable. Excuses will be made that the russian speaking outbursts will be more deplorable than the english outbursts, regardless of comprehension. I do not consider it any less repugnant than the inevitable rotten mob outbursts but it will be made a bigger deal.

TMC' Timorousness pervaded everything' well, maybe not everything..

The'office' was in fact the toilet in the Horribles' dressing room.

I got a Mitre mouldmaster in the nakachkas once. That motivated me.

If CelticFirst is lurking perhaps he could come up with a list of choons by Shostakovich; he was a big Zenit St Petersburg fan and went to many of the games.

We could then play them at full volume tomorrow evening.

DBBIA said "I got a Mitre mouldmaster in the nakachkas once"

Me too. Point blank range on a cold windy sleety day. Needless to say the Philip Roth book went back into the bookcase for a while

My dear,dear,dear, friend... Cadizzy.

Thanks for the enlightenment.

In a way you have told me too much of what I should know...

Nevertheless... according to the subject matter which this Mr.Roth was rivetted.... and the fact the PekingBhoy... Mentioned this author in comparison.... it follows, and perfectly logically,may I add....that...

If this is the Type of Works that our dear Friend PekingBhoy spends his leisure hours, in devouring...

Then, it tells me a lot about our dear Friend PekingBhoy's ..
Literary Appetites.

I am afraid that Prurient Literary Woiks of the sort read by our Dear Friend... PekingBhoy....

Have nevah captured my interest..

I nevah read 'em.

Kojo
yer pal....who as I said.. ye hiv done tole me... more than I evah wanted tae know.

Kojo, you and I both know nobody else reads the articles, just you and me :-)

Mayomandan, yes.

Frever Anever, you and me both.

I have read on several forums Celtic people stating what they will be doing tomorrow night when Rangers play Zenit. Some will do gardening some early nights reading watching the shopping channels the list goes on and on. My goodself will sit and watch the spectacle unfold. Yes if they win the channel will be changed quicker than Jordan changing her underwear. But I will make sure I feel the pain there and then. The Orcadian masses in their finest hour, yes I will soak up that pain and in turn channel it for the forthcoming battles.

To those Rangers fans like ED I will say well done. To those of a McCurry persuasion I will say kiss my big fat (better leave it there):)>, and then I will think of them no more.

As I stated to my better half just the other night, they could end up with a league cup and a big fat zilch. The odds are not in favour as appears are the gods but it is still in the frame. What price at the bookies that Rangers end up with just that????. Those gods you know do sometimes have a sense of humour.

Walter Smith says ``Having had a break since Saturday is probably the longest break we have had for a long time. I think we should be well-rested for the game.''

Makes you wonder what all the fuss was about ?

Mayomandan- this season the big strategic target was[and still is] to win the league; for once Europe plays second fiddle and if we had finished 3rd[ or even 4th!] in the group that could have been tempered by retaining the SPHell.

The last 16 was at most a side-show to the main event.

It's crazy to be typing that Scottish football means more this year than the ECL but-Flamin Nora!-Tomorrow night I will be cheering [from the top of the garden] for wee Dick and Alan Thompson's best pal.

Kojo, the Philip Roth reference I had in mind is more to do with a distinctive writing style. Not what you might or might not get up to with the lingerie section of the Freemans catalogue... got to go now it's getting late here.

Be careful in the hundred acre wood there are heffalumps and woozles, not to mention jagulars.

Kojo it is literature so it isny really a durty book. Aye right!
Now to go back and read the article :-)

Fabrizio - Nevermind the great Willie Joe, we have Billie Joe now! Although unfortunately not a patch on his father

Beijing

If I catch you

I value the factual stuff I pick up here in regards to Rangers - the stuff they often find it hard to argue about or indeed embrace or believe

At my work, though seldom stuck for a witty line or particularly offensive jibe, I can wvaer in light of their selective reading of our times - It is then I am indebted to this site and the material within, displayed and offered freely.

Liberdad!

1 game left!

As someone else mentioned earlier, I can't believe that I'm worried about the out come of a competition that we were too good to be entered in.
I am though.

Canamalar,
I agree. The press will pick up on the disgusting outbursts from the Zenit fans (If justified) but nothing will be mentioned of teh Rangers "Banter". I lived in London over 10 years ago and found many pubs to have a nice sign on teh window saying "No Blacks, No Irish, No dogs!"
Being anti Irish in Scotland or England is not actually seen as being racist. How many jokes are told at school, through comedians and on mainstream TV which portray the Irish as different/stupid/drunk. Not all examples are oppressing but they do all contribute to the alienation of a sizeable minority.
No, I actually think they will treat the Huns as the home team and not report any wrong doing.

My Daughters birthday on the 22nd of May so this fekin extension by and for teh huns has actually affected me in a couple of ways. I won't be able to go to the match. Can't concentrate on teh match which will in turn mean I can't concentrate on my daughters Birthday party with her wee friends.
But....I will remember her 6th birthday as the day we won 3 in a row

Mucker
With Dreams & Songs to Sing

Alobundy,

That all makes sense - apart from the part about Jordan wearing underwear!

Like Walter's demise, I am also starting a legal action against the SFA and McCurry and would be grateful for support from the bhoys.

I'm calling it the Campaign to Abolish Scottish Hunnery, but if that's too long for a cheque, then the acronym will do just fine.

JUST TO LET YOU KNOW

Canamalar

Fair point re press.. BUT this would be on THEIR English soil...

I think they would revel in the chance to highlight a "Scottish problem" - which backs up Caddizy's point! Hmmm!

ulysses mcghee, I am compelled to answer you as in recent weeks I have found yours to be among the most inspirational posts on here, and I just wanted to thank you for that. I should have done it a while back.

All the best

Hail, hail

Just had a look at William Hill's website.

They have a number of ludicrous special bets for this game tomorrow night including the fantastic..

'Fernando Ricksen to be booked or sent off for a tackle on barry Ferguson'..

at 9/2.

Don't think it's a Scottish referee, so even at that price I wouldn't touch it

STANDING UP

Henrik out of International retirement for euro 2008.

Come on Sweden!

ONWARDS WITH GORDON STRACHAN

Cadizzy,

...when responding to criticism of his literary achievements, Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Philip Roth responded, "Aye right!"

...according to the Airdrie wiki I think.

Chris
Saints&SinnersCSC

My dear,dear,dear, friend....BeijingCelt

Pax...

Consider the Hatchet buried...

It has been suitably concealed...and, in depth...somewhere,under the HUNDRED ACRE WOODS!

Kojo.
yer pal....who sometimes.....over does the "chugging the chain" bit. Apologies,pal.

No worries Kojo, I'm not exactly a sensitive wee flower. I enjoy a good dig up as much as the next guy. At the end of the day, even though we debate and fall out a bit on here, there's much more to unite than divide us.

All the best

johnnybhoy,
manchester is the biggest irish catholic population in the UK, very few do not have direct irish links, so most already know the script and will avoid the city centre, their famine song should hang them here and as we know such songs will be sung, but the onus will be on a language few understand, the fenian blood will run freely in manchester over the next couple of days, sung by the vast majority. The police and media have already chosen their target and will unlikely waver from this course, short of a full scale riot they will go unpunished.

Attn ticketyboo,12.32,thanks for that quote from THE greatest champion scottish football has ever had,it ranks with his other one"Celtic were not my first love,but they are my fondest,and most abiding"i am not ashamed to admit to being close to tears whenever i think of him,GOD BLESS JOCK STEIN.

Sir Paul

Look, pal...you know that I am ayeway's staunin' behind ye.

Hey!...I wull even prove it...

Take a look in the Mirror....O.K.?

There!... Ah done tole ye, kiddo... I am ayeways there!

Kojo.

This is the most fragrant Wishaw has been in many years. It's like that wummin fae the Seventies in the green skirt has done the Shake 'n' Vac and put the freshness back.

Bring flowers of the fairest.......

WG

Kojo

"chugging the chain"

That's an open goal for any prurient posters looking in.

Tinytim,

Just noticed your comments there sorry for not acknowledging them. Rest assured, what goes around comes around. These bampots are heading for a fall...

My dear,dear,dear,dear friend... Cadizzy...

Ah Surrender,pal...

Ah gie up!

Ah canny get oan fur fa'in' aff!...( Ye already used that wan already... jist yesterday... ye're slippin'...I say ye're slippin'!....ed)( Ye're right,pal...so check dat.... Hoo about...Ah put ma Fut in the Bucket...Ah Futted the Bucket aboot... The mair ah Futted the Bucket aboot, the mair the Bucket ran Oot?... Bettah?( That's easy fur you tae say...ed)( Ya think so?... try it efter a few pints o' Guinness.... then we wull see if it is sae easy!)

Kojo.
yer pal...who is jist hivin fun!

yeeehaa,
dundee united ticket confirmed

The SFA have also confirmed that they are not yet looking into the statements made by Murray on Rangers' official website in which he said the season has been spoiled by "bureaucracy and Scottish footballing legislators".

Article 123 of the SFA's Articles of Association says any football official in Scotland can be fined, suspended or expelled who "brings the game into disrepute or is likely to bring the game into disrepute". In practice the general purposes committee summons people making critical remarks and reprimands or fines them.

An SFA spokesperson said: "The next meeting of the general purposes committee is not until the first week in June. The agenda for this meeting will be set nearer the time."

Hearts are watching how this issue develops, as chairman Roman Romanov is presently under investigation for his remarks at the club's AGM that the SPL is "fixed".

For the sake of avoiding a mud slinging competition. Nothing will happen to Levein, Murray or Romanov regardless of who wins what?

It amazes me that its always Old Firm or Glasgow when it is referred too by those teams when recounting their injustices out with Glasgow. When you consider that with league extensions or lack of them depending on what year you are talking about? Or whether players have failed to have been registered? or fixture anomalies, or the disparate way that the Scottish footballing authorities deal with similar incidents. I could give quite a few examples here but lets face it do I really need to ? I think the employment record at the SFA is all that needs scrutinising by any independent body.

It makes you realise that although they are having a pop at Rangers. They are not strong enough to say so outright. If they do believe that it is Rangers AND Celtic I think it highlights that they dont want Rangers getting the better of them unfairly and they just dont want Celtic getting the better of them fairly or unfairly. i.e the usual anti Catholic anti Irish Scotsman

I cant wait until the men in suits become more involved and start a breakaway league. That will affect football as we know it. The SPL. The EPL. Primera, BL. Serie A etc The CL. International scene but all of these are in desperate need of revamping and removing the bloodsuckers from the game.

There is billions upon billions to be made out there. There has never been a better time to do so.

What are they waiting for ? What´s the hold up ?

I will not be watching tfod tomorrow night but will be tucked up in bed trying for some kip.

Being 3 hours ahead of GMT i have an excuse but i trust it will be a fitfull nights sleep.

If as i suspect scotlands shame is defeated by the better team
i also expect to see the house of cards the loyal cardigan has fashioned fold like a MFI wardrobe.

None of his players apart from captain tiny tears and ratboy have really been over the course in a title race.
Lets hope not just for a russian win but a football lesson
then stand back and watch how their season goes?

After the motherwell defeat at CP i thought our chance had gone,
but with the points in the bag and a damn good thrashing for tfod tomorrow night the bogey man will come calling.

Step forward uncle wattie he`ll be kicking teacups all the way up the M74, two must win games and no margin for error can they clear the final hurdle???

I don`t think so but it will be fun finding out, never thought just a few weeks ago we could be in it till the last game but here we are and who`ll bet against us winning the day.

HAIL HAIL YOU KNOW THEY`RE GONNA FAIL

DBBIA

Shostakovich is an acquired taste that I haven't acquired yet. Basically, the guy hasn't done any adverts at all, proving that early twentieth-century life was, frankly, a bit rubbish.

Nevertheless, to your question.

Symphony no. 12 in D minor has some potential. It's called 'The Year 1917', but you could stop it a wee bit before the end and rename it 'The Year 1916'.

To find interesting names of the works, you have to flick forward to a collection called Transcriptions, which the Penguin Complete Guide helpfully describes as 'A higly diverting collector's item'. I think it's re-works of other composers' works and folk tunes, including the tune we know as 'Tea for two'.

It includes Opus 17 with snippets called 'I waited for you in the [Carfin] Grotto' and 'Tale of the Priest and his Servant [Bobo] Balda'.

You could be onto something.

greenlion from last night i think the hun ref wae the tim name was mcclusky.

Anyone notice on Setanta that if there is an offside decision it gets replayed UNLESS that decision has been incorrectly awarded against Celtic.

Scott McDonalds disallowed goal was not shown in replay,ah said to ma bhoy wits the betting that wis onside.Fortunately with the aid of skyplus a quick rewind confimned that indeed he was on.

Question Why was Scott Mcdonalds goal not reshown when replays are commonplace any othertime.

Answer Video ed is a hun.

awe naw,
I'd imagine existing sponsorships are the hold up, manure are in line for probably the biggest payout in history with the EPL money as the biggest prize in the world followed by the big cup being the second biggest prize, also how would they determine promotion and relegation if they break away from their respective national associations.

Walters Demise-

you're being paranoid........

Anyone else hear Scotland's Shame go into choruses of the Billy Boys on the Five-Thirty show?

Embarrass themselves everywhere they go, I hope they get humped!

going to pub tomorrow night with the hun in law, well he did go to seville, can't wait for this to be over, all the huns in the office are non stop, the women who havnae been to a game are the worst.
i soo hope that they get well and truly destroyed...

Malone Heard rscotlands 430 news report ended with the deathofculturezone in manchester belting out their traditional ending to the sash.

Humped pumped dumped mon the ruskies.

looking forward to the St Pauli song at dundee, I missed the motherwell version where the correography (help never even tried to spell that before)was outstanding.

We are celtic we're celtic we're celtic
and thats the way we like it like it like it.

repeat ad infinitum

canamalar,

I am of the opinion that existing sponsors could be easily compensated.

The problem is with International football. If a franchise was astute enough to get enough clubs to sign up to their competition then those with their fingers in the pie will scream the loudest. All those bodies and associations that have more than a vested interest in the status quo will cry foul.

Not that that´s important. Money and making it will be the main driving force behind it. Who cares who´s face is out of place when it comes to making money ? UEFA and FIFA do not like their little monopoly even tinkered with never mind taken away.

There has to be a clear cut strategy on how to achieve this. In conjunction with the footballing bodies or in direct competition against them.

I think the time is right for the carpet to be pulled from under their corrupt feet. What´s under the carpet should be their passport to actually set up this franchise free from worry.

It will mean the death of international football as we know it and as a proud Scot that can´t come quick enough.

I dont believe that it is possible to be ripped off any further than we are now.

Apologies if this has already been asked but is there possibility that Dundee Utd will make extra tickets available for next weeks game?

Kevin Thomson struggling with an injury? My heart bleeds for him.

The singing of certain songs means hee haw in England. You could be singing a von trap ditty for all they would know.

Methinks that the editor of the Manchester Evening News is a Tim. The front page has a picture of their copnvoy leaving Glasgow and DIRECTLY above is something called Green Life and the headline: WHY THE FUTURE MUST BE GREEN. 16 page special pull-out inside today.

WE SHALL NOT BE MOVED.

Terry O,

I also was surprised that twice the screen went blank just when Aiden was bearing down on goal. No apologies offered or anything.

What´s the streaming quality and picture quality of CH67 like ?

is it honestly comparable to Setanta´s picture quality ?

awe naw,
does it still not leave the problem with the fresh blood, promotion and relegation, I completely agree with you and hope its not too far away, but without fresh blood any such league setup would stagnate.

Methinks the editor of the Manchester Evening News is a Tim. Today's front page has a photo of their convoy leaving Glasgow. Directly above is an advert for something called Green Life with the headline: WHY THE FUTURE MUST BE GREEN, with the line: 16-page special pull-out inside today.

WE SHALL NOT BE MOVED.

WG especially for you

Shake 'N' Vac

I'm going to join the growing band of abstentionists of all things hun for the next 72 hours and this includes even jurking here. You see I just don't care and refuse to muster any feelings towards that shower.

If I am needed I will be on a mountain in the Sierra Espuña.

¡Hasta viernes!

Celtic First - could you drop me email at mcgraininspain@gmail.com ? I thank you

Huh? Jurking? No I'll not abstain from jurking, no way. Lurking, aye.

McGrain

canamalar,

Has the CL or the EPL or even the SPL not proven that the idea of fresh blood is not a problem.

I think that it would make sense to have a two tier league. One the main event and the other an avenue into the main league. I think that it wont be too long before new teams are born on the back of an attention seeking billionaire. A global league made up of clubs teams from the different major cities of the world based on the present WC model. The Asian markets will drive this one through

Just to get away from tomorrow night for a while,

I was driving to Aberdeen to do a job today and my girlfriends best friend called me. She works at Celtic Park and only phones when she has information that she feels certain is correct.

This is what she told me this morning.

Artur Boruc to Manchester Utd for £11mill is just about a done deal.

Paul67,

Could you give a response as in

a) confirm
b) deny
c) neither confirm nor deny

I wouldn't post it normally but I don't count this info as being just any old bog standard rumour.

She also told me something about another player at Parkhead but the information wasn't certain so I'll refrain from posting it.

awe naw,
the sooner the better.
hail hail

both scotish news programmes going with the zenit colour issue,though bbc did show rankers singing H**** H****,but with manchesters police chief saying if its not tolerated at ibrox it wont be here ,and if caught then being arrested is a possibility

My dear,dear,dear,dear friend... ChrisSutton.

That information is correct.

We have been sitting on this one...for weeks....

Remember, my submission...where I calculated that this coming Aug. window...we would have ..give our tak a piggy bank of 20 Million Pound to Spend...arriving at that sum...by way of a POSSIBLE ... Artur Transfer?

Ye dinna... pity...weel ah did...ah did!!!

Kojo
Yer pal.....who likes ye aloat,

Kojo,

She also told me about another player but she was told that nothing was certain at this minute in time but a bid had been made and hasn't yet been yay'ed or ney'ed. Would you happen to know the player and the bidding team that i'm refering to?

My dear,dear,dear,dear, friend.... Chris...

Apropros to my last submission... the Team that I was told who was most interested in acquiring Artur...was not Manchester United.
That is not to say that your information is wrong... as your intel is much more current,than mine was.

Yes, I have heard that there are bids being considered for not one...but, two Celtic Players... out with the Arthur negos.

It would not be appropriate for me to name any names.

The only reason that I confirmed your Arthur news...was I believe it will soon become Public Knowledge.

Kojo.
yer pal....who is serious..fur a chinge...
Hey... I like it!

Weeminger

Absolutely spot on about the McCurry aside to Novo about "nice goal". Quite frankly it was about the only thing he got right.

When I refereed you needed to have a bit of banter with players. If you saw a bit of skill you would complement them the next time you were near them. I remember not long after one of Lambo's few but exquisite strikes for the hoops I saw a guy have a similar effort in a Sat morn game. I opined "almost lambertesque"..he said "wrong team". Cue penalty kick for his opponenets:-)

loumacarisbettingslip. I think the police officer in question said "it might be acceptable at Ibrox but its not acceptable here".

Chris Sutton, contrary to what my friend Kojo says, the answer is: deny.

I expect lots of this in the coming weeks and understand the newspapers will have a go at a different version of this story before the final game next week.

It will not be news, but it will be a scheduled story.

Someone jst sent me this to put on my website, and im going to publish it, well said son.

We are better than you.

We are so much better than you

With your flute, your hate and your royal blue

you sing your bile and spew your hate

with my damning words I wont hesitate

We have had our problems in the past,

with rebublican songs we had a blast

but as society has changed, so have we

its a pity you havent, you cant even see

you cant even see that times have changed

you still drag your knuckles you are so deranged

you use child abuse as a way to poke fun

you sing about your pistol, your rifle and gun

no longer will we lie down and yield

when our players are abused when they take the field

the anti Irish, tim hating fans

who dont understand that beyond humour this spans

we know that not all are bad

but the good are minority, and that makes me sad

protestants died in the famine too

does that not mean anything to you

Ive kept my mouth shut for far to long

but my poem was sparked by that disgusting song

I put it in rhyme becuase its the only way I know

your hate for us makes me oh so low

a disgruntled old tim

Craig Gordon 9M....

Artur Boruc 11m......I would like to think we would get a bit more than 11m for him if Gordon is worth 9m.

Paul67,

Thanks for the quick reply. She usually does well with her intel so i'll have to have a word in her ear tomorrow.

Can you print your e-mail address for me again please?

Cheers.

Philip Roth is a fine writer and it is no form of abuse, not even the Portnoy variety, to be compared with that level of writing.

His funniest book is the ambitiously titled "The Great American Novel" about an American baseball team, the Port Ruppert Mundys, who were forced to play all their fixtures away from home, the U.S. equivalent of Gretna.

His only unreadable book was "Deception: A Novel" where he did away with Quotation marks and attributed speech leaving you with no idea of who was speaking.

If it was not for that book you could say that Roth aye writes well.

Zbyszek

Congratulations on beating Wisla on penalties. Was that a final or semi-final result?

Setting free the bears, Portnoy's complaint read it many moons ago,av never been able to look at a slice of liver in the same light.

Saw this short film before Ironman on Friday night.

Quite funny I thought.

Park Football

porridgeandbananas @ May 13, 2008 2:10 PM

Another good one is who is the only player to have played in the CL, UEFA, all 4 senior Leagues in England and the Conference?

Id say thats Steve Guppy..now btw as you mite know player/assistant-coach of Rochester Rhinos of the USL in the states.

the first time I read Portnoy was about the same time as I read Luke Rheinhart's (spelling?) Dice Man. Now that was a grown up book. SFTB, agreed on Deception. I put that down quicker than a Thomas Pynchon novel. No new Irving yet?

Chris Sutton, celticquicknews@gmail.com

Could someone remind me:

What was the content of the YouTube in Barcelona video seized on by The Sun?

With apologies to the Beckenbaur Chiefs

Watching the Orcs get lairy
Is not very pretty I tell thee
Walking through Manchester is quite scary
And not very sensible either
A friend of a Tim he got beaten
He looked the wrong way at an ugly Hun
they attack him I swear it was Smeaton
And old Masonic Master
La-ah-ah, la la lalala la
Ah-ah-ah, la la lalala la

I predict a riot, I predict a riot
I predict a riot, I predict a riot

I tried to get in my taxi
A man in a Hun top attacked me
He said that he saw I was Timmy
The air was filled with Bigotry
Girls running away from those from Govan
for they look more beast than man
If it wasn't for chip fat, they couldn't comb their hair
They're not very sensible

La-ah-ah, la la lalala la
Ah-ah-ah, la la lalala la

I predict a riot, I predict a riot
I predict a riot, I predict a riot

And if there's anybody left in here
That doesn't want to be out there

Watching the Huns get lairy
Is not very pretty I tell thee
Walking through Manchester is quite scary
And not very sensible

La-ah-ah, la la lalala la
Ah-ah-ah, la la lalala la

I predict a riot, I predict a riot
I predict a riot, I predict a riot

And if there's anybody left in here
That doesn't want to be out there

I predict a riot, I predict a riot
I predict a riot, I predict a riot

Greenlion2 (12.05pm), the only info that is available to date about the Algarve tourney is that it is a pre-season competition, probably involving FA Cup Finalists Cardiff City, Middlesbrouhg, Celtic, and an as yet un-named Portuguese team. A press-conference is expected on Thursday to (probably) announce further details.

Everyone else, I got this from the official Celtic site:

"Celtic Ladies play Hibernian in the Premier League at Dalkeith Juniors tonight, Wednesday, May 14 (KO 6.30pm), and again in the Unite Scottish Cup final on Saturday, May 17 at McDiarmid Park, Perth (KO 3.15pm). Entry to the Cup Final on Saturday is FREE."

Note that last sentence. Entry to the Cup Final is FREE! And it's one of only two Cup finals Celtic will have been represented in this season (the other being the Youth Cup Final, which we lost to TFoD).

So there is no excuse for you not to get along and cheer on the Lhadies' in their attempt to win their first trophy in their very first season. Having already been to see a ladies match this season I can assure you, should you go, that you will be pleasantly surprised at the quality of some of the football on display. And they are better looking than the men's team too... well, apart from Georgios Samaras of course!

Alobundy

i stand corrected,also at the end of reporting scotland
anchor woman jackie bird was nearly doing the "bouncy bouncy " with a group of rankers fans

meanwhile outside my backdoor is the local golf club,and from were im typing now,i can see the first hole,and to my utter astonishment
some hun ,or must be a monkey has climbed the tallest tree ,how he got up there heaven knows but its some hight,well from that tree right now I can see a union jack flying with a rankers one underneath it,hunbelievable,of to neighbours house now to borrow his chainsaw

loumacarisbettingslip - sometimes a lack of opposable thumbs can come in handy, I guess.

record breakers

anyone add any more to this?

http://www.bhoy4life.com/record%20breajers.htm

chris sutton is a legend,

i owe you an apology. I told you yesterday that the reserves were not presented with the league trophy after the final whistle. They were in fact given the trophy but after a lot of the fans had left the stadium.

Surely the announcer at Celtic Park could have told the fans to hold on a bit longer in order to see the bhoys lift it up.

Hail Hail

Paul67

re: YouTube content from Barcelona

There may be others but I imagine the "sectarian" content is the add-ons which refer to the IRA.

Lou 7.26

re Jackie Bird (nee Macpherson, ex Radio Snyde and The super soaraway Hun)

recall her doing news on clyde one night many years ago, cutting to travel news, we were at home and there was travel chaos in central Glasgow. correspondent suggested Celtic fans would encounter serious travel probs getting to game.

'GOOD' sez La Macpherson.

Never forgot that.

Despise her, her cod populist bonhomie, and Hunnite tendencies which - when aware of the above - are frankly never difficult to detect.

She will be bedecked in blue tomorrow, leading the Famine song.

Blantyre tim - I agree whole heartedly

When stating at work today I wanted Zenit to win, I was accused of being a "racist and bigot" - by an ex-Free Presbyterian now Mormon.

Thery don't really do irony, I feel

Bhoy4life

only scottish side to win quizball on the bbc

Mort, thanks.

Can you/anyone confirm, did the Daily Record carry this story as well as The Sun?

Edward,
Enjoy the game tomorrow......
May the best team win .......

squire danaher

Will take your word on Jackie Bird's 'leanings', although I do remember her saying a few years ago, I think in MO'N's first season, she had a presenting engagement - at the Rangers End of Season Dance. In February.

paul67

google it - daily record celtic sectarian

report dated 28/03 no author

the frequency of sirens heading into manchester town centre has picked up, wonder whats going on eh ??

celtic tv showing documentary from centenary season.
starting at 8.00

Cadizzy

Persevering with books is a difficult choice. The first 100 pages of Jonathan Franzen's "The Corrections" was very difficult but the middle and end were great. I dumped a copy of Will Self's book about Monkeys ruling the world "Great Apes", having read only 20 pages, in a wastebin in Barcelona- worst book ever.

I hear John Irving is writing a new one about a football team of bears trained in defensive techniques by a wrestling coach who conquer Europe (including Vienna) through their penalty kick taking prowess. Sure, isn't that what he's aye writing.

For more that 130 years this club would not sign a player because of his religion.

30 years ago no Catholic could play for this club.

No Catholic could be Chairman of this club.

This team has a picture of the Monarch for motivation in the dressing room; for religious reasons only.

Am I a bigot?

Am I supporting the Scottish Club in the UEFA Final?

Am I ****

Come on the Russians

Paul

Daily Record reporting of "sectarian" singing

There is no byline on this and I can't confirm if it appeared in the paper or was lifted from the Sun. The BBC also reported this "story".

Yep, I have nothing better to do :-)

The place........ 7.53

I refer you to the phrase 'cod populist bonhomie'.....

A quite hilarious double-pager in the Evening Times with 'good luck Rangers' messages from a host of folk. They include Joe Jordan, Alan Brazil, plus restaurateur Sanjay Majhu who claims to be a Celtic fan, but is 'proud Rangers are in a European final' and Jim Craig ('it'll be a real boost for the game if they win') and screenwriter Martin McCardie, another Celtic fan. Among the other 'celebs' are:

(I've included a brief description so we know who they are)

Miss Scotland Nieve Jennings
XFM DJ Heather Suttie
Sculptor Andy Scott
Comedian Janey Godley
Rock Radio DJ Tom Russell (a Falkirk fan)
Restaurateur Satty Singh
Author and musician Doug Johnstone
Boxing promoter Alex Morrison
Smooth Radio DJ Dougie Jackson
Singer-songwriter Roddy Hart

Paul67,

Daily Record link

Possilbhoy,

Cheers for the update. I noticed pics on the Celtic website of the bhoys with the trophy.

squire danaher interesting,well thats another bird of the "fancy" list

sent this off to the bbc afterwards

dear sir/madam

I am absolutely ouraged at the segment on bbc reporting scotland, with the showing and laughing of the rangers fans doing the "bouncy bouncy"aided and abetted by the bbc team in manchester for the uefa cup final
My outrage concerning this so called song and dance originates from the death of a young catholic man in belfast ,being beaten to death ,and having his head jumped on ,hence the bouncy bouncy which this chant replicates,I cannot emphazise my utter disgust at this being broadcast,as any right minded individual would be so
to broadcast a song and dance ,gloryfying a horrific death is totally repugnant and repulsive,why did the bbc team show this?as it is well known in scotland what the "bouncy bouncy" means
an unreserved apology is the least that can be made ,even just for this young mans family as well as the right minded thinking scottish population

yours in disgust

Stephen

Paul67
I remember tony bananas made a complaint to the bbc about this report, he had all the info.

squire danaher

I thought Jackie Bird was a Celtic fan too. I never saw the clip that you did but I'd hate to have her job and have to report on their triumphalist slumping towards bedlam.

The place that....

Did you know this
"They will go for a curry. Manager Alex McLeish has long been a fan of Mr Singh's curry house in Glasgow, and has taken his squad there before each of their recent fine home wins. The eponymous Mr Satty Singh is a supporter of McLeish's former club Rangers FC, as shown by the evocative names of his sons Oleg Kuznetsov Singh and Mark Walters Singh. So how did the Ukrainian end up inspiring the 13-year-old's moniker? A pledge made by Satty during a derby against Celtic FC on New Year's Day 1994. Satty said: "It was a great game and I'm a big Rangers fan, so I made the pledge that my son would be named after the next goalscorer. It would always be more likely that someone like Mark Hateley or Ally McCoist would score but this time it was big Oleg. Everything has turned out well and Oleg doesn't get any bother for it. He just gets referred to as wee Oleg, which quite suits him once you get used to it."

He does get abuse of members of his family who are Celtic supporters though!

The follow up story the next day has an interesting slant on UEFA dropping the case.

Celtic escape rap from UEFA.

Record again

Paul67

I think the Record carried that story in print, but I'm not 100 per cent. I think we had a conversation about it.

STANDING UP...ironing an old CCCP top, sorry, best I can do for tomorrow night

Can i ask why are we posting links to the Record website.Each hit they get from us gives them money.

Picture the scene -

Zenit 3-1 Rankers

key moments:

Zenit's first goal comes from a very dubious free-kick when Fatih tussles with Steven Whittaker. Looked like six of one and half a dozen of the other. Fatih heads into the net from the free-kick.

Nacho Novo blatantly brought down in the penalty area by Anatoly Tymoschuk when through on goal. Referee waves play on.

Lee McCulloch 25 yard shot deflected into his own net by Ricksen. Referee consults with his assistant and disallows the goal. Everyone in the ground can hardly believe what they are seeing.

Ivica Krizanac clearly punches Barry Ferguson off the ball. No action taken.

Andrey Arshavin headbutts Davie Weir. Arshavin and Weir both booked.

-------------------------------------------------------------

I wonder if the reaction of the Scottish media would be along these lines:

"To suggest there was any kind of agenda behind the decisions made on the day does a massive disservice to the game and, quite frankly, is completely unfair"
Gordon Smith 13/05/2008

Or would Laptop Loyal reaction be more consistent with the following statements from this motley crew of dignified huns and hun apologists:

"If it was a player making a terrible decision in a match, he may not play in the next match. UEFA have to ask if he should be in a game like this. He made a horrendous mistake and doesn't deserve to be officiating at a high level"
Alex McLeish (The Sun, 19 November 2007)

"I hope action is taken against the referee. We've been punished so why should he not be punished?
Lee McCulloch (Daily Express, 19 November 2007)

"the foul on Alan Hutton by Giorgio Chiellini was an appalling mistake that could have been described as robbery and cheating. The assistant referee is only yards away from the incident and for the referee not to over-rule him was incredible"
Craig Brown (Daily Record, 19 November 2007)

"We all accept that officials make honest mistakes. They have to decide instantly on 'is it?' or 'isn't it?' 'Did he or didn't he?'. Jimenez did have these things to consider when he raised his flag. He had to decide whether Alan Hutton had been fouled or not. There was nothing else to consider - but he chose to invent one for himself. In my 30 years of refereeing I've never witnessed such a blatant deliberate error. It was no mistake. The big team were going to get a little help."
David Syme (The Sun, 19 November 2007)

Such dignity in defeat. How is it, that criticising the referee in a game where he made multiple mistakes in favour of one team only results in ranks being closed around the referee concerned tighter than a camel's bottom in a sandstorm and constitutes a "massive disservice" to the game; but it's open season for any slander you care to come up with for the foreign referee, who's mistakes were distributed two to one in favour of the Scotland team?

How covenient it is for Rangers that McCurry's supposed blunders came at such an opportune time. Talk about daylight robbery!

squire danaher

I found a link where Jackie Bird talks of her pride about Seville.

Jackie in Seville

Check the opening paragraph about her failed Bill Clinton interview:-

"I dropped to my knees in frustration"

Well, if that did not do it....

It seems Davie Syme accepts that officials make honest mistakes only if those "honest mistakes" benefit Rangers.

Following the disallowed penalty and goal in the Rangers v Dundee United game, the referee Mike McCurry came out and said that he made mistakes.

Fair enough.

I'm sure most people in the country are aware of the above situation but I guarantee very few (our goodselves excluded) are aware of the penalty we should of had ad the goal we has disallowed in our game at the weekend.

Has the referee made any comment about those decisions? I doubt it. Tony Banana's Blog has a brilliant picture which proves without any doubt that Skippy was onside.

Compare the (non)reaction of these decisions with the hysteria that surrounded an incorrect call for a corner and a "goal" Aberdeen got chalked of a Celtic Park earlier in the season.

Apologies if this has already been posted. It seems the man with no surname has forgotten the script. It's the last sentence to save you wading through the rest of it...

Walter Smith has issued an eve-of-match rallying call for his players to make themselves legends by bringing the UEFA Cup back to Glasgow.
The Ibrox club take on Zenit St Petersburg in the final at the City of Manchester Stadium tomorrow night.
Rangers remain on course for a quadruple, with the UEFA Cup now arguably the most attractive of the trophies still up for grabs.
Smith freely admits to being surprised by his side's enduring continental campaign but having overcome Panathinaikos, Werder Bremen, Sporting Lisbon and Fiorentina to reach their first European final in 36 years the Rangers boss is looking for one last push from his players.
"Once you reach the quarter-final stage, you start to think about the final and realise just how much it means to everyone," he said.
"It starts to take over everything else and it has done for the last few days. We had a difficult weekend and had to concentrate on that match but now that we are here we will try to win this trophy on Wednesday.
"We started the Champions League section very well and managed to get a place in the UEFA Cup.
"After a shaky start against Panathinaikos we picked up a little and the good results since then have taken us to the final.
"The European competition isn't one that we thought we would get this far in so it's a nice surprise for us and hopefully we will do well tomorrow night andwin it.
"Zenit have also had a terrific season so it will be a very difficult game."
While Zenit had three league matches postponed to prepare for tomorrow's game,
Rangers failed in their own bid to have a free weekend ahead of one of their biggest matches in years.
Dundee United succumbed to a 3-1 defeat at Ibrox on Saturday with the only negative fall-out from the win being the injury sustained by Kevin Thomson which could yet keep him out of the final.
But Smith insists all thoughts of fixture congestion and rows over league extensions must now be put on hold until after the clash with Zenit.
He said: "We would have liked a weekend off to catch our breath but we are over that.
"We played at 12.30pm on Saturday and we don't play until tomorrow night so it's probably the biggest gap we've had for some time so we are okay with that."

Makes you wonder what all the fuss was about then!!

Mick,

I'm only trying to gather some information regarding a question that Paul posed.

Should I be hung, drawn and quartered for such a faux pas?

is the news now link coming back to cqn

A few classic songs

St. Petersburg

From Russia with Love

Mother Russia

Roads to Moscow

Its watching the Apprentice with Sur Alun for me tomorrow night.

Chris Sutton / Paul67 - if you think the Daily Retard spin was bad, ITV website's title was - LACK OF EVIDENCE SPARES CELTIC.

Our fans are guilty until proven innocent. The contrast to the coverage of the loyal hordes couldn't be sharper.

Birdghirl of Seville?

Chris

Link in relation to my post above (ITV) -

http://www.itv-football.co.uk/story/0,19239,9487_3369819,00.html

In today's Sheep and Journal: Tango confirms that on loan players Sone Aluko and Josh Walker will return to their clubs before the Final League game. Tango states that if Aberdeen still had something to play for they would have kept them till after the final game.

Doesn't look like the Aberdeen players are going to be sent out fired up to take 3 pts from der hun.

Open Quick The Beers 7.07 pm

Cheers mate. It was cup final game. We won three of four games against Wisla Krakow, one in the league and two in the cups. Unfortunatele we won only second place in the league, after Wisla.

WGS

If you are around.I have found good player for you. His name is Ludovic Obranjak. He is OSC Lille attacking midfielder.Only 23 years old and I believe he will be soon Polish National team player.

Forget about Ongjen Vukojevic. Another agent is looking for a market and creates the mess. There were no news on Croatian sites when the story appeared in UK.

Just been for a run. Seen at least 6 cars bedecked with Union Jack flags. Lot of approving "thumbs up" and horn tooting. This is going to be a hard 24hrs. Hopefully that will be the end of it. If there is any justice surely it will.

Going to require big deep breaths over the next couple of days.

Not seen much of Zenit. Sure they have the skill and speed. Hope they have the bottle.

Paul67: I believe The Herald website (not sure about the paper) also carried that story.

Thanks for the heads up on the BBC wesbite - at least they removed the link.

Ulster-celt, Mort, chris sutton, inkybhoy, thanks.

Tonybananas, thanks for the ITV link.

One Star, thanks, they did hear your voice.

Zbyszek,

I asked a friend about it as he lives in Eastern Europe and he came back with this -

Link

He translated it roughly as -

representatives of celtic were at the hajduk dinamo match to scout vukojevic..apparently after the match there was some talk that the celtic reps met with vukojevic to discuss about a contract..the president of dinamo said nothing is done and that after the season they will have a discussion about the club and about transfers..

In an impassioned appeal to the SFA, SPL and other Rangers fans, Sir David Murray asked that "In the interests of Govan and Scottish football," the start of the new season be postponed until after the September weekend.

Surrounded by admiring and applauding press and sporting a natty tangerine polo shirt Sir, soon to be Earl, David said "We have played an unprecedented number of games in search of our unprecedented quadruple. We have upheld the honour and dignity of our club and brought the attention of the whole world to Scotland. This heavy load has created unprecedented pressure on our playing and management staff. A postponement to the start of the SPL would allow our players and those of other teams playing in the European Championships to rest their bodies after a long and gruelling unprecedented season.
Barry, our captain, favours a late start as that would allow him and a few of his team mates to begin their new season training with some light marching around Glasgow Green in July."

Gordon Smith and George (come on the diamonds) Peat warmly welcomed Lord David's suggestion. "The SFA wholehearted endorse this suggestion of an unprecedented postponement. This would allow us to train a few more referees in the advanced dark arts of denial and missing the blindingly obvious."

As we go to press Pleat and Skirt are convening an emergency meeting to discuss the postponement.

'GG from a press bar in Manchester where we are "Up to our knees in orange juice."

I really wish this stupid match was over and done with. Bad enough that the Bad guys are playing in it but to have every movement, song, banner, picture, chant, player ,manager etc etc discussed on these boards quite frankly is making the suffering more acute.I've probably added to it with is post - unavoidable and I apopogise.

Please stop the madness!! (Phoebe; aka Lisa Kudrow, Friends)

The reporting is all getting silly, even by the low standards of the Scottish media. I'm sick of the stories about all these amazing people somehow managing to make it all the way to Machester. It's just down the damn motorway ffs! You can get a train or a bus right there. You would think it was on the dark side of the moon from the way they are going on.

Paul67: Cool - obviously this is THE place to be to influence people.

Hey, Darrell!! Yir a ....!

After 70 minutes Bayer Munich are leading Darmstadt by 8 goals to 4.

Walter Smith thinks that this sort of thing is a disgrace to football.

Lurgan53,

I agree. 'twas bad enough being out and about today working. I promised myself when I got home I wouldn't leave the house tonight and I'm hoping I have no calls in for tomorrow. A game of 5's arranged with some other like minded individuals is going to be my only sojourn out of the house, with a bit of luck.

Love the pic on the Manchester Evening News - from Shambles Square (no, seriously :))

It has a pic of some revellers with a Rangers fan, pint in one hand - the other one down his trousers. This final should be in Milan, I tell you.

No telly,no papers,just ignore it all and when you wake up they will have been humpt.
Keep the Faith.

Dunno if anyone has posted this before, but it's just like Seville, only rather less cultured!

Never mind Jackie Bird, what about the poor ex alter boy and big Celtic fan David Kerr having to be in amongst that manky mob in Manchester and keep a straight face whilst interviewing them for the BBC Scotland news, but at least he got the head polis in an interview and say they would lift any of that mob caught singing sectarian songs

Celtic First- thanks. I'd also thought about 'the Leningrad Symphony' a musical tribute to that cities great suffering at the hands of the..err.. Huns.

Anyways, Scottish Poet Laureate Ewan Mcteagle has penned this opus to commemorate the stirring times we live in:

Ode to events in Manchester on the 14th day of May~

Ooooooooooooh I'd rather lick the crabs frae a deadhoorscrutch

Than watch that lot play 'football'

Thankyou very much.

One Star Means More, aye, I see what you mean. Here is the whole gallery.

Just a wee thought, albeit a really nasty one... just think how much better Glasgow would be if Al Q' nuked Manchester tomorrow evening!

subterranean 8.23

I have a pic of Jane Lewis and I in Munich - it doesn't make her a Celtic fan.

Power to the ex altar-bhoy though........

Sorry, that was out of order.

But as the PFA, SPL & MMcC will realise, what's done is done, and cannot be undone!

BigChip,

Wouldn't Gordon Smith think it was OK as long as they apologised for their mistake afterwards??

Gordon J

I just watched North West News on the BBC web site. Putting the rivalry to one side for a moment it does give the impression of Scottish people in general as being beside themselves with excitement at getting a trip to Manchester. The report then goes on to show a pub selling Deep Fried Mars Bars.

There is also an element of Manchester talking it up big time. It showed footage of an empty fan zone as the girl in the studio said the crowds were gathering already.

I didn't know their giros could extend to paying for the petrol there & back and the beer and their match tickets and the hire of some working ladies. There's nno way those girls are Rangers fans... they're far too bonny!

chris sutton is a legend

At the top of the article there are only roumors that Celtic people were there to see the game. Nothing concrete.

And later they say:

- Već mi je glupo stalno ponavljati iste riječi. Rekao sam nebrojeno puta kako čekam da završi sezona, da uzmemo dvostruku krunu, pa tek onda da sjednemo za stol svi zajedno i odlučimo kako i što dalje. Ako išta bude konkretno oko eventualnog transfera, na vrijeme ćete saznati - rekao je “modri” veznjak. Slično je reagirao i Zoran Mamić:

- Što se tiče transfera Ognjena Vukojevića, ne mogu vam ništa konkretno kazati - bio je kratak sportski direktor Dinama.

I feel discomfort to talk again about the same things.I decided myself to wait the moment when the league ends. After that we will seat to the table together and we will see who and what money is ready to pay. If we have something concrete we will take the offer into our consideration - said "blue" player.

There is also wise answer from Zoran Mamic:

What cosiders Ongjen Vukojevic I cannot say nothing concrete - said director of Dinamo.

Sory, mate for beeing late with the answer but it takes time to learn Croatian language :)

I'll try to see if there is anything concrete about Celtic interest on Croatian site. If I find somethin I will come back.
I doubt if such stories are true. It's always strange when you hear that in UK first and within the next two or three days there is nothing in the place where it should be something f.e. in Croatia.

SouthLondonTim,

I just watched part of that but gave up when I saw the guy in the sombrero. It's Manchester, man!

GordonJ, exactly! And I should add that due to my incompetence I had taken up a bad position and was therefore unsighted, so it was my colleague's fault.

Haven't ManU already got a highly rated Polish 'keeper ? Not to mention their first choice 'keeper ?

I hope it p----- all day tomorrow

just seen this on another board

Saturday 17th May 2008

MOTHERWELL V. RANGERS Live on Setanta, kick-off 12.30pm
John Underhill - Gary Sweeney - Steven Craven - Alan Muir

Monday 19 May 2008
ST. MIRREN V. RANGERS Live on Setanta, kick-off 7.45pm
Craig Thomson - Brian McGarry - Mark Doyle - Chris Boyle

Thursday 22nd May 2008
ABERDEEN V. RANGERS Live on Setanta, kick-off 7.45pm
Kenny Clark - Neil Brand - Charlie Smith - David Somers

DUNDEE UNITED V. CELTIC Live on Setanta, kick-off 7.45pm
Stuart Dougal - Brian McGarry - Willie Dishington - William Collum

Some interesting appointments there. We'll have 2 wullies at our game, I see. BTW, at least one of those suspiciously timmish sounding names down for the St. Mirren game is not celtic minded.

Wednesday 14th May 2008 is higher I.Q. Day in Scotland.

This Is Why

pic.courtesy of Bellamy 47.

down South at the moment

back to Manchester tomorrow late morning, then back in at 8am on Thursday..

I'm really old enough to know better than take a camera, play the Wolfies and wear something green...

thats why I won't do it, honest ;-)

Full time score:-

Darmstadt 5 Bayern Munich 11

Walter Smith says "This is football as it was never intended to be played. I mean, that's a season's total in one match."

Noel, 9:07, :-)

Can't believe no one has mentioned the Gretna-Hearts game ! 0-0 after 70 mins. Some Hearts player managed to get himself sent off after 25 mins. I guess he just didn't want to be there.

Paul: Was it "an insider" who told you about the link on the Beeb?

As an aside, am I the only one disappointed that there was no UEFA Cup package offered by Mancunia - the Pilgrimage Specialist?

Schlaudraff bagged 7!!

He's a possible target for VFB Stuttgart as he wants first team football and can't get it at Bayern because of some lanky Italian and a pole.

Zbyszek 9:01,

Thank you for the translation. Anymore info would be greatly appreciated.

One Star Means More,

If you're interested here's a link to the story I told you about in the early hours of this morning.

Sportsmanship

chris sutton ...

Great story!

Paul

Can you check your mail email box?

chris sutton is a legend
:)
anyway, I have a lot of time. Your media are to lazy to find it untill Saturday.

Fellow Tims

As my street will be empty tomorrow i am taking orders right now

Pitbulls,Boxers,Bleached Denim jackets,Feathered Hats,Blue showwadaway suits.

Panini Euro 2008 update

Due to Morrisons running out of these great stickers i thought i had saved a few bob only to be hit with lightning when they told me there were now panini Euro 2008 Trading cards.

only one drawback no we square piece of tasteless chewing gum they were the days.

Remember sticky willies

Thanks Gordon J.

We both posted baseball related stories eerily at the same time regarding sportsmanship at both ends of the spectrum.

I have a passion for America's pastime.

Just found a FC Zenit Supporters Club in St Albans of all places!

Seems they have fans everywhere..

Lubo.

chris sutton is a legend: Thanks for the link. It's a fantastic story. If only there was more of that in sport - or indeed in life generally.

Lubo,

Nice one. :D

Watched the BBC North West link (thanks). With so many people travelling undesirable behaviour may be dilluted. A family final with Mexican waves? :-)
I wonder if the folk of the `Peoples Republic of Manchester` are puzzled by all these Union flags.

Learn For Thursday

I notice that the first photo on the link earlier from BigChipsUK to the Manchester Evening News website shows a bunch of the unwashed in Shambles Square in Manchester.

How appropriate.

chris sutton is a legend 8:18 PM

I wouldn't go that far:-)

Though seriously I don't think I'm the only one who'd like a heads up for unfriendly sites.

Well I'm washing the dog tomorrow!
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
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Even if she doesn't like it ;-)

setting free the bears

See Brian McGarry has got Huns at Love St & us on the last day....

Fact - Brian McGarry - Celtic Fan

chris sutton,

I'm more of an NFL man, but did go to a ball game in Philly a couple of years back and thoroughly enjoyed it. Still watch the odd game on NASN too.

Mick,

No worries.

Although in my defence I did post the link as clearly mentioning what rag it was from. :)

Its at times like these that CQN is priceless.

You can't buy a paper without some other bloody supplement/poster urging us all to support TFOD. You can't switch us the tv or even the sanest of radio shows without hearing some blinking reference to the gathering of Scotland's shame (except its not called that of course!)

I can understand Beijingbhoy's point about the amount of Rangers references on here as opposed to waht we do. of course. But, no offence mate, if I was in Beijing right now, my blood pressure would be a lot lower than it is right now!

Its times like these though that you appreciate some things more than others. The Darnelists in the media are now unashamed and unfettered.

On the other hand, you get the odd pearl of wisdom, from the unlikeliest of sources. I quote you the Sunday Times tv guide Critics Choice for wednesday night, entitled "If you all hate..."

It goes on

"The city of Manchester stadium hosts two clubs who could both do with some good PR. The gas company backed Zenith attract abuse as Chelsea for buying success, and the racism of the all-white team's hardcore fans is notorious. It is the way that Rangers play that attracts venom (ok, I could add a few other things from a historical point of view, but give the boy some slack)boring the more creative opponents to death in the hope of nicking a goal or winning a shoot-out.

All of us I'm sure know decent Rangers fans who are down there. I think there is a line (Ed, help me out?)that you want those guys and girls to have a good time, but you still want them humped.

I had no problems with Rangers fans taking that position in 2003 when the UEFA Cup was still a real trophy worth winning:-)

I don't think we are being over-indulgent with Rangers, given the league position, their unfathomable jammieness to date in Europe and their supporters in positions of power in Scottish football.

I've enjoyed the real humour on CQN, which is indicative of the great humour which is to be found in the Celtic support.

Noel's picture tonight. Mcgraininspain up a mountain. Awnaw, that brilliant Manics song.

Bhoys, to quote a great from Manchester, Mr Terry Hall, we're having all the fun.

Gordon J,

I'm a big Oakland A's fan. They look terrific playing in green, white and gold.

Go A's

Paul,

Belated congrats with the new site.

Here's hoping this time tomorrow night we will be in happy mood.

SFTB

You mentioned one of the official at the Buddies v TFOD game. I don't know if you were referring to Chris Boyle but he's more one of us than them. I met his brother in Seville. Shame he seems as incompetent as McFlurry in his fledgling career so far :(

Gretna beat Hearts 1-0 in case anyone is interested. A 90th minute goal in what could be their last ever match.

48 hours of media embargo heads back up and come on the mothers

dontbrattbackinanger May 13, 2008 4:23 PM

interesting to note from the UEFA ranking page that if a team were to qualify for the last 16 of the CL for 5 years consecutively, but not progress any further, they would be ranked 24th in Europe ie ~ 66 points

The CL is obviously over-hyed as as a tournament - Everton picked up 22 points this season after getting knocked out in the QF of the UEFA cup - Celtic got 13

This what Platini and co should be looking at

VertWolf

Did anyone give any thought to the idea of Dundee United still getting a spot in Europe ?

The ORCS are singing their little hearts out in Manchester tomorrow night, post match they decide to wreck the stadium and battle with the Bobbys.

Uefa launch full investigation into their antics. Uefa panel decides we don't want your kind in Europe, BYE BYE Rearangers, hello Dundee United.

Longshot yes, but worth the odds

gsu

Paul67

What if Ml1 gets a downpour between now and saturday and lets say the park was waterlogged

when would they play the game

Paul 67

Did not get a chance to post but read the SFA/whores thread. Absolutely 100% on the money well done!!! If we all keep at it we will get change.

I am also 100% certain that PL & JR & DD will be flexing their collective muscles and sending out messages to ensure the SFA get their house in order.

Someone mentioned earlier (don't remember his name) about David O'Leary and I was going to post this as a question Paul.
First of all I don't want to talk about Mr Strachans position because as far as I am concerned he is our Manager and should be next season (IMHO) however if he was to leave we must aim higher than O'Leary. I mean let's be honest here he is stinking as a Manager. So Paul can you alleviate my fears?

On the subject of this thread I implore all decent minded pillars of society in England to deal with the menace posed by the "banter" of the huns famine song and the associated garbage they spew. I emailed FIFA/UEFA/SFA/SPL/Show Racism the Red Card after Fiorentina and pointed out their continued abuse of Article 55 and I mentioned in my emails to the SPL and the SFA that by ignoring the huns they were themselves guilty by conspiring.

WE LOVE YOU WE LOVE YOU WE LOVE YOU
AND EVERYWHERE
WE WILL FOLLOW WE WILL FOLLOW WE WILL FOLLOW
COS WE SUPPORT
THE CELTIC THE CELTIC THE CELTIC
AND THATS THE WAY
WE LIKE IT WE LIKE IT WE LIKE IT

STAND UP FOR Mr STRACHAN
STAND UP FOR 3-IN-A-ROW
STAND UP FOR THE CHAMPIONS

Congratulations to the reserves 7-in-a-row

Hail Hail

Stephen with a "ph" (which IMO is important)

lets forget about the low life scumbags from 12 midnite tonite as we have enough in our own history to be having a sensible discussion rather than give air to the neanderthals that are following the herd instinct to manchester, and up the russians

Paul, when do we hear the results of the SPHell's video-review panel which has surely been poring over the two blatant asaults by hunsfc on Saturday !!!???

pablophanque

Ps, is there any chance of keeping the huns' game off this site tomorrow ? 'Cos if not, it'll be a book fur me the morra !!

Ppps, unless they're getting humped of course :o)))

Stephen with a "ph"

As far as I can understand the only evidence that David O'Leary might be moving to Scotland is the lowering of the Bookies odds - has anyone considered that some folks with solid evidence that he is moving to Scotland have put 2+2 together and made 5 - it would seem to me far more likely that O'Leary would end up as the next Hearts manager - both he and the club have virtually zero ratings on the football management front and so are well suited

VertWolf

hey lhads, one of those long time lurkers who with the new site decided should go all in and join properly.
Paul great site, thoroughly enjoy it,even though i do probably spend too much time on it when i should be doing work.

setting free the bears May 13, 2008 9:07 PM :

if it helps put your mind at ease, it is my understanding that the latter wullie of the two named is inclined to be of a green and white persuasion,(furthermore being an RE teacher no less at a school beginning with a St...hopefully his understading of right and wrong is slightly better than another religiously inclined referee)

yours in celtic

One Star, the national broadcaster has standards and doesn't wilfully dip below them.

Zbyszek, mail back to you.

St Anthony, cheers.

Spirit of, Lex Gold will be out with a pitch fork making sure it goes on. I’ll be the guy helping him.

Stephen, thanks. We have a manager, don’t listen to gossip mongers.

Lurgan56, we sure have our own history to consider tomorrow, stay tuned.

Pablo, interesting point.

Welcome dav, good to hear from you.

Strange story from the world of basketball-

This year, the Boston Celtics qualified for the play-offs. So far, they have won all 6 home games and lost all 5 of their away games.

wycombebhoy @ 7.20pm

The answer to the question earlier is Steve Harper of Newcastle, though when you mention Steve Guppy you would imagine he is a possible too.

Tomorrow is going to be very very hard. I plan to stay in all day with the blinds drawn with only CQN as my contact with the outside world until I have to go to work and face it all at 5pm.

A defeat tomorrow for me will mean more than them losing the UEFA Cup, I can see them definitely dropping points if they lose tomorrow. If they win then the high they get from winning that Cup could take them over the finish line in the League. I don't know if my nerves could take it but to me the perfect outcome would be a couple of goals defeat after extra time.

Nah, never mind that, perfect result is 5-0 for the Russians!

My dear,dear,dear,drear,friend....Chris Sutton @ 9.49.

Ye should be ashamed o' yersel,pal..

Everyboady who is Anyboady...knows ...that the number wan... TIM TEAM..in the M.B.L.

is Dem Magnificent Bums!!

Their history from away back...has Aye been Steeped in the IRISH CULTURE!

Foist in Brooklyn...and noo in L.A.

The O'Malleys owned them for over 30 years...until they sold oot tae Rupert Murdoch...but he in turn... R-Sold dem back tae the Irish, wance again.... Frank McCourt o' Boston!

Ach! get wit' the Program pal!

Tommy Lasorda, who is a Grand Knight, and wiz Their Famous Manager... at the Time ...when DA Bums last won the World Series...
Went as faur as hivin' Dodger Stadium, blessed by Mickey Hatcher's ( A player at the Time) Brother ,who wiz a Priest. Jist afore the Start o' the Series.

And ye know sumptin'?

It WOIKED!.... da Dodgers, who were the odds on UNDERDOGS... Aced that World Series

And guess who the Dodgers beat.... in that World Series Final?

Why it wiz that jumped up team, that ye like...The OAKLAND A'S!

It's Dem Magnificent Bums that ye should be rootin' fur,pal!

Shame! Shame! Shame!

Kojo.
yer Pal....who forgies ye...fur ye know not whit ye dae!

Paul

Did you get my reply?

Something is wrong with my programme. I'm not sure if it flew back to you.

new article posted.

Zbyszek, got it, thanks.

History has been rewritten:

ITV's News at Ten tonight reported that the 1972 Barcelona ECW Final passed off peacefully - showed brief clip of r@ngers fans invading the park then switched to prolonged clip of Russian supporters engaging in violence.

Chris
bemusedCSC

There are a few unnecessarily nervous Bhoys out and about tonight

think Lyon in Glasgow - only European tie where the opposition went all out to win from the word go - result 3-0

I will enjoy watching the spectacle

VertWolf

Stephen with a ph:

Thanks for the words of the new song (Untitled). I watched the u-tube version from fir park and haven't stopped whistling / singing my own percieved words since. I cannot wait to hear / see this on 22nd.

As for tomorrow night, I will take my 6 and 4 year olds swimming which has worked for last month. Every time the 4 year old see's that mob he now shouts "C'mon the Celtic" no matter who they are playing. It has worked so far.....

The news has just reported that sectarian or racist chants/singing will not be tolerated in Manchester, with supporting footage of some rnagers fans outside a pub singing the banned song.

Please keep me in your thoughts tomorrow as I sit through the game with my shouldnobetter maw n da, me chanting придено на вас Zenit and them politely cheering on rangers. IT'S A NIGHTMARE SITUATION!!!
:))))))
All the best

What with the wall to wall coverage of the consilation cup,I can confirm without fear of contradiction the undenieable answer to the song is you really can't see a handsome hun!

ist this final very poor fare and a sad imitation of our very own wonderfull seville special
the 100,000 fans ,the unprecendeted quadruple,all this jolly scotland nonscence ,lets support scotlands team etc ,even get the impression now that people are not really interested,and just a case of oneupmanship by rankers
But our seville will never be surpassed,a magical journey right through to an even magical final in a magical city,and those memories will last a lifetime and can never be taken away from us lets not forget that

the bhoys from seville

Not long in ,not pleasant out there hun tops galore plenty of cars with flags flying,i think its worse than i thought it was gonnae be,
Certainly will be a tough 24 hours ahead. Should the unthinkable happen..well im trying not to think about it. I so envy all you overseas posters ,you dont know how lucky you are not living on these shores just now.
My son just told me in todays Record a pic of McCurry with his cup final ticket, i thought he was at the wind up,anyone confirm?

Blogger GG

I lived in England for 20 years and I ain't English

I've lived in Sweden for 25 years and I ain't Swedish.

I was, however, born and bred in Govan (the last Royal Borough to be integrated into Glasgow and actually described once as "the prettiest village in Europe", admittedly a long time ago) and that still ain't Ibrox.

Many of us on here want to separate Celtic from the "Old Firm" tag. I am definitely one of those. Govan v Ibrox?

When I was growing up Ibrox was another part of Glasgow.

I went to St. Constantine's in Uist St.

My sister went to St. Anthony's, as did Jim Craig.

None of us had an affiliation with Ibrox.

Appreciate your posts

Appreciate your enthusiasm.

Please appreciate - Govan, with all it's faults, ain't Ibrox and is home to many Celtic supporters.

With respect

Alex

sftb

I love your stuff matey but please advise prior to any links to mirror group titles - I'm allergic.

Bhoys and ghirls,

Settle down.

Have you seen the union jacks being sold in the shops today?

Tommorow will be an extravanganza of all things british.

There is a story to tell.

There is a wee fella called ARSHAVIN who plays for us tomorrow. I believe that by this time tomorrow i will still be shaving my arse in delight.

Canamalar

Fair point re press.. BUT this would be on THEIR English soil...

I think they would revel in the chance to highlight a "Scottish problem" - which backs up Caddizy's point! Hmmm!

BBC Breakfast showed a bunch of idiots from Larkhall "doing the bouncy" this morning. Wonder if they know the origin of this "dance"? Think there is a wee agenda going given the preceding 2 days reports both battered on about how hard done by the R@ngers were with having to play some games - neglecting to mention Zenit St.P actually arranged a friendly during their gap to keep up match fitness...