Bipolar strategy strikes again

Bling on tic!

We have missed out on yet another player.

Get a move on.

2 clubs that are everything that is wrong with modern football.

3rd ?

Is Manchester Untied a Freudian slip?

He's only worth £75M in my oinion

80 million for Wes Brown!?

Paul, what is the latest with the Mowbray situation? Has the Boloni story got any legs?

Speaking of cricket...................... Saw a wee bit during the add break of "The Somme" (2 hours of heart-breaking TV BTW ! If you get the chance, get it watched) and I watched incredulously as this bowler threw what can only be described as a "side throw" ! My understanding was / is, that the arm must be above shoulder height to be accepted as a legitimate bowl !!!???

Aye ?

Naw ?

And what about that clown that "caught" the 6, only to step over the boundary and then proceed to play volley ball with himself and pass it back on to the field of play !!! WTF wis that awe aboot ???

pablophanque

Steinreignedsupreme

from previous blog

Re: Keevins I Agree with you there mate. I stopped listening to that show years ago and I dont think I have bothered reading anything he has written in years. I just hope that he is part of a dying breed and we can look forward to a time were that kind of bile is lost for Good..but I'm being naive and hopefull there.

Wishaw Tim or is that SSM,

Is that why we missed out on him? You should have went the extra £5m but would that have been saved for Janko?

Mort

Paul67 - It's basically just cheating on Madrid's part. For their debt-ridden counterparts it helps a little, as you said.

It is very funny listening to the English media getting indignant about the fee Madrid are willing to pay, while ignoring the recklessness of the EPL clubs. Hypocrisy with a capital H!

How much debt are the Spanish Gov't. (sorry Real Madrid) in now?

MWD watis it out .CSC

couldnt care less,its just obscene.

The last time Madrid went mental on debt didn't they have to get the help of a friendly council official to buy their training ground?

Strange that at a time when Barcelona are playing a short pass and move game RM are collecting players who want to run with the ball.

Take away all the hype of the EPL and the Spanish league is the most entertaining.

Anyone got any news on the manager position, surely we are not going to wait until the 1st July for Mowbray compensation to drop, dont the board re-call Bratislava???? I certainly do and we need to have the new man in NOW so that he can prepare for the CL qualifiers. Anyone shed any light

Tom, Tom, Tom

Please I am really not upset, and my dummy is firmly stuck in my gob. But don't try and rewrite your posts.

Where below does it say that you did notintend to imply.....what it says is that you did not imply.

I did not imply that anyone on CQN had a "gutter press mentality". I voiced my opinion that some of the claims that the board were making a mess of the hunt for a new manager were "straight from the gutter press mentality".

There is a big difference.

Some people on here are incredibly over-sensitive, it seems to me. You're all presumably big boys. No need to spit the dummy.

In fact I would go further and say that you supercilliously sneered at those who happen to be no more than impatient.

Over-sensitive - couldn't give a monkey's for myself to be honest, but don't come the all hurt 'I was misunderstood cack' No you weren't, your too articulate for that.

LOTPAM

Paaul67

cheers

MWD waiting is not infinite (hopefully) .CSC

Paul67

How about some comments on the financial state of our club instead of a few cheap comments about ManU?

Where are we with our search for a manager?

Coming up for three weeks now and we seem to have been reduced to be squabbling over pennies. Any thoughts on this or is your loyalty to PL and not the club?

I fear we are seeing a re-run of the 2006 player recruitment campaign, three good candidates lost to end up rummaging about the remnant rack looking at the lost, the lonely and the bewildered.

I fear you are only holding the fort till something turns up.
Sad really.

LOTPAM

Get over it.

Wee Green Machine - Me too. I don't listen to radio phone-ins as they tend to be an outlet for every eejit with an index finger.

I haven't bought a Scottish newspaper for years either.

The internet has many advantages, but when it comes to Celtic, it too has become increasingly nauseating with the tabloid generation infesting every website.

We played parsimonious poker in January; betting that the Shame had only a pair of fours but when it came to turn the cards over we had a pair of fives but they did have a pair of fours.
And another four.
And Miss Scarlett.
And Master Bun the baker's son.

MWD- Jorge Valdano, who won the WC in 1986 with wee Diego and is now a writer, believes that' literature is not an alternative to football, it complements it'.

I expect he's in regular touch with Greenlion2. [FTLT]

Pabbers- legal bowling is all about the straightness of the elbow-the Sri Lankan bowler Malinga has a very low arm, and it is still legal to bowl under-arm.

Still at least it shows' up the EPL self proclaimed greatest league in the world, when the best player, from their best team wants to go and play in La Liga and not even to that leagues best team.

madmitch

please elaborate. if you know something then let us all in on it please.

MWD knows nout and is hoovering up all crumbs of the enlightened while his wait goes on .CSC

At least it shows' up the EPL self proclaimed greatest league in the world claim, when the best player, from their best team wants to go and play in La Liga and not even to that leagues best team.

Still a bit daft to show the footballing world you have £80million before you have signed his replacement first.

Our financial state is tickety boo Madmitch. I hope the board dont pay a "thin dime "(C)F.McCann, to WBA or anybody else for that matter.

Dontbrattbackinanger

Jorge Valdano really is an excellent writer. I shall pepper the blog during the close-season with some tales from his masterpiece Sueños de Fútbol (Dreams of Football). It's Winningemmelesque, but with fewer bees.

oops, sorry for the double post

I once caught a big Effin Bee in my jar.

M McGinn CSC

i thought exactly that, !!!!! showing all of europe you have 80 mill whether you reall have or not, isnt the best bit of poker play.....

i imagine, the munichs, lyons and whoever are laughing atm.

benzema for 30 mill. is a big goer,

lets ask for 1 mill for willo !!!!!

DBBIA

i may add him to my summer reading material.

MWD waiting reading watching posting waiting .CSC

From Celticminded.com

Rangers - No Irish Need Apply

pablophanque

It may have already been asked, but any truth that the club have a board meeting planned for Friday to confirm the new manager?

So how much should we accept for Scott Brown, Aiden McGeady, and anyone else you care to mention?

SAF (in my opinion), would actually have got rid of Christian Ronaldo last leason, but he is a stubborn Govan cuss and having said that he 'wouldn't sell that club a virus', he waited on the new regime arriving.

Now what if I said that his judgement may just once again prove to be spot on and CR may prove to have passed his peak IN EFFECTIVENESS, not necessarily in pure ability.

That would be the coup of the decade surpassing Arsene W with Viera, Henri, Overmars and Petit.

For Madrid it will probably be cost-effective but we'll have to wait to see the shirt sales, friendlies etc

The fans (what have they got to do with it) may however want a European cup etc.

Have the days really gone when Asset Management takes precedence over the creation and emulation of heroes, or is the game now about the middle aged pot-bellied accountant rather than about the dreams of the six-year old who wants to be Scott Brown and who will cry himself to sleep if he leaves.

I did when Paddy Crerand went (and I was 10)

I am not daft enough to think that things don't change, but I am also not daft enough to think that change and progress are the same thing.

Look around you at CP. How many kids are there. How many from the 'streets'. That's where your noise, atmosphere and future has gone.

They're out on their bikes or swimming or skateboarding.

The club is getting old and the supporter base with it.

LOTPAM

I had to reluctantly admit to a Spurs fan during small talk before a meeting this morning that we look vey amateurish at the moment...

We've gone from the 'possibility' of Hiddink, to MON, to GS and now to the 'possibility' of Mowbray?

Surely there must be someone (who has a credible record) interested in a 'big' job? I have to agree with Davie Hay - the Celtic job HAS lost its appeal.

Poor situation really for our club that used to get 60,000 at each home game....

Give me some good news soon !

Here's a wee starter.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3z-qm-Sb_4s

This is widely reputed to be the greatest goal ever. We've all seen it lots of times.

Jorge Valdano says in the book that when the boys got into the dressing room at the end of the game, they were delighted to have won, delighted to be through to the semis, but that very quickly people began raving about this, the second goal.

Only for Héctor Enrique to claim an assist and to pipe up that if it hadn't been for his brilliant pass, wee Diego would never have scored.

The incisive and decisive intervention from Enrique comes 3 seconds in.

What do these teams have in common?
• Manchester United
• AC Milan
• Bayern Munich

a) ‘massive’ clubs
b) ‘ambitious’, to use a term often found on these pages
c) They have recently sold, or are about to sell, their best player

Steinreignedsupreme

Again same here I dont bother with the Local papers as they never have anything worth reading and haven't for as long as I can remember. They mostly just seem to be filled with Petty point scoring..and only on one side.

As far a the Radio Goes I hate to admit it but I do listen to the Real Radio phone in for time to time. only because they seem to get far more "crazy people" than any other station lol.

The internet for me has became a far better resource for news but I am pretty much down to this site for my Celtic needs.
With the Search for our new Manager I have stopped listening to most press and news stations as the do seem to be getting quite desperate with their Stories and their need to stick the boot in. The Vata and Bilic story proves it far to well!!

Pablo,

journalist must remain cynical so that the public does not become sceptical.

I wonder how many jouranalist in this country live by that line.

MWD away to read the rest of that article now .CSC

got my cynicals and scepticals mixed around

ha ha

MWD what chance do journos have in waiting .CSC

pablo

the arm needs to be straight(ish) at delivery and thats about it. underarm bowling is within the laws if not the spirit of the game, - some aussie rolled the ball along the ground when new zealand needed a six from the last ball of the game a while ago. sideways is fine.

MWDs

Unfortunately I am on the outside looking in.

The spectre of losing all three young guns is too much to contemplate. That is where the 2006 analogy comes in.

All gone a bit quiet which worries me given the timescales involved. We seem to have backed ourselves into a corner with little chance of an alternative. Mexican stand-off where we have the higher profile and the weaker position.

Need something to outflank the opposition.
Has OC actually signed anything?

LOTPAM, twist n turns posted that he got a piece oan apple jelly. (pan breed tae) Nothing left in the cell when the Monitors freed me last night. Let me know if the CQN loyalists try to take you by force of arms. I'll sneak ye in a wee bridie. Up the rebs !

backtheteamCSC.

C1ST- the current dearth of bees[ for which it has to be said Mr WG is blameless] could turn out to be one of the more rubbishy bits of modern life.

A guy with a WC winners medal and the soul of a poet. I hate him already

Typical Celtic !!!

Real Madrid, they see a target, they move, and they get him, and they are not even in the EPL !!!

what do we do......mess around and try to get the best deal for our club for the long term.......this is rubbish

Why do we not sign this guy ?

The board are selling us short ?

If only that Strachan had won the league then we could have signed him ?

A taxi driver told me that Ronaldo had told his best pal from Gweedore whose auntie goes to the Gorbals for her holidays that he was desparate to play for Celtic for £50 a week.....

As usual Lawwell has let us down...

blah blah

Paul67,
Though major cash injections for league winners from transferring their best players might be of mild interest particularly as those same league winners are in danger of being drowned in their own debt is there any news on when we will see your review of season 08/09?

LOTPAM

Question I have asked before, whose place would PC have taken in the LL's team?

BA - outside midfielder / winger who JS took inside?
BM - Like for like replacement?

rod stewart

spurs havent exactly covered themselves in glory when it comes to managers. they've ended up with a manager who has been in the game forever has hardly won anything and who was recently rearrested by the police.

with his appointment they seem to have settled for mid-table mediocrity

i'd take mowbray over rednapp any day

Ronaldo never did much against us. Watch out for Barca putting in a bid for Lee Naylor.

Wee Green Machine

Keevins is not part of dying breed.....quite the opposite IMO

He is doing a great job for those who employ his services.

Why would anyone not see the value of increased 'listners'in the current environment.

Judging from the amount folk get wound up by what he says in his newspapers he is clearly an asset to them as well.

My sense is we will see more, not less, of his like going forward, as long as we (the wider Celtic consumer group) continue to listen and give credence to the garbage which he utters.

Many of our consumers have allowed themselves to be deliberately manipulated by his ilk into anti board / management / player agenda's .....in the interest of getting more listeners / readers....

the sad thing is these people even contribute by phoning in to pass their ill informed, and in many instances ignorant view.

None of this is good for Celtic, but it is a reality which we should stand against IMO

I'm afraid that this highlights just how detached some football clubs are from reality. I'm not impressed at all. In a world in the middle of a financial meltdown, this is brinksmanship that should be roundly condemned. It is obscene.

£80M for one player is just madness. Here we are, apparently, arguing about a settlement of between £1M - £2M (depending on who you believe) for a new manager. It just shows where Celtic are in the football hierarchy.

Real Madrid are just throwing money around like confetti. They bought Kaka for a then world record of £62M. Now they have smashed that ceiling just a couple of days later.

Much as I would love to see Celtic win every competition they enter, I wouldn't want to see them lose their soul in the process.

Jorge Valdano, as well as being the Spanish-language's answer to Winningemmell, is technical director of Real Madrid.

He said yesterday that he thought Cristiano Ronaldo was a great player and an excellent professional, but that he wasn't convinced all his modelling activity might not prove to be too much of a distraction.

A few other points from the Madrid point of view.

El País says this deal was done last summer, in the sense that Ronaldo was going to go, but allowed himself to give one more season to Manchester United at the request of Alex Ferguson. Manchester United told Real Madrid that they would transfer the player after June 30 this year if Real Madrid came in with an offer over €80 million (note the Euro symbol).

Spain's best newspaper also says that the player has still to agree terms, so the deal isn't sealed.

If it goes through, it will be the most expensive transfer in world football history. The top three transfers at the moment are Zidane from Juventus for €75 million, Kaká from AC Milan for €65 million and Luis Figo for €61 million. In each case, the buyer was Real Madrid.

Asked what he felt about Real Madrid's new splurge, Barcelona president Joan Lawwell said he was "tritranquilo" about it all, something like "treble calm".

To be fair to Florentino Pérez, his response was classy. He said: "I suppose that's a clever reference to the fact that Barcelona won three trophies last season, something on which I congratulate them. I recognise what a great season they had. I get on very well with Laporta and the only thing I wish for him is lots of success. It was good for Spanish football for Barcelona to win the European Cup, and good for Real Madrid too, because it will motivate us."

Sitting here right now, examining the footballing landscape, it's hard not to conclude that we're not alone in being a little bit quiet. That would be fine in a normal, stable year when the league had just been secured, when we had a winning manager at the helm of a winning team.

Right now the inactivity is shocking and worrisome. Madmatch is right, one hundred percent down the line. We should NOT be haggling over pennies, we should NOT be depending on an act of self interest from a man who is not selfish or disloyal and we should never be asking disloyalty from such a man anyway, as the precedent it sets is highly dangerous.

Three of our first team players are either gone or going; Big Jan, Naka and now Hartley. Potential transfer targets are talking to other clubs right now.

Three things worry me here.

First, there is ample evidence to suggest the board knew the manager was leaving LONG BEFORE he officially resigned. This accounts for why no money was spent in January, why only Zaluska has been signed on a Bosman and why contract renewals were not done sooner.

That begs two questions all on their own.

Number one; we ALL heard the rumours about Strachan, the whole of Scotland did. Did ANY member of our board of directors, including Lawwell, sit that man down and ask him DIRECTLY to clarify his position vis-a-vis a fifth year in charge? This, one would think, is ESSENTIAL to forward planning. If the answer is NO then SOMEONE should lose his job.

Number two; if the answer is YES, then we must accept one of three things. Either Strachan obfuscated and this was accepted by said board member(s), in which case someone should be fired; Strachan said he intended to remain in charge ... and then didn't ...... or Strachan was candid, declared his intentions to go and this was known in advance.

In the third scenario, EVERY SINGLE PERSON who was privy to that news should be considering their OWN position right now, as a new manager SHOULD have been appointed on the very day Gordon Strachan walked out the door.

This suggest appalling management at the top of our club.

The second thing that worries me is TIME; Any new manager is going to need as much time as possible to accurately guage the scale of the job. With no manager in place it is difficult to know whether the new coach has money or not, but transfer targets WILL slip away unless we get ourselves moving IMMEDIATELY. The new coach will also need time to assess the squad, assess its needs AND examine reports on scouting etc. Who knows what assignments Strachan was sending our scouts on, but when Wilo Flood was the sum total of all of it in January, we have cause, I think, to worry.

The third thing is this; Given that we appear to be squabbling over a few hundred grand for a coach, one would assume the transfer budget is SO TIGHT we are going to need every single available penny. This suggests we have good reason to be gravely concerned. This is not a small tweaking job, but a wholescale rebuilding of the squad.

The clock is ticking. Who is fiddling whilst Celtic burns? Who is asleep at the wheel?

WHO HAS BEEN SLEEPING ON THE JOB???

Leading Channel 4 news: Ronaldo's transfer. Man U fans quite happy he goes, if the money is put back into the team. Will that happen?

Madmitch,

Great Question.

I don't know! I tried to model myself on Paddy, and when he went it was like the curtains had been drawn. I then became Bertie and finally towards teh end of my illustrious career I became more like Jinky (after 15 pints of lager)

When Bobby Murdoch played well as Jock said, "Celtic Played well" and what a choice that would have been.

To be honest, I think Jock would still have gone with Bobby, who was a better all round player than Paddy, but when I was 10 .......Paddy was the best!

But what an alternative system to have up yer sleeve.

LOTPAM

Celtic First

Apologies for any offence yesterday. Bit of a misunderstanding methinks however there was no intention to offend. No hard feelings, I hope.

Paul,

I'm not too sure why you are highlighting this particular transfer - it's not exactly a shock story. And I remain a little discomforted by your use of the term bipolar in relation to transfer activity, particularly as it doesn't fit Real in any sense of the word.

Real Madrid are likely to spend an obscene amount of money this summer - but what's new? This is a club which pretty much every summer spends vast sums in pursuit of the world's leading players.

Last year they bought Pepe, Jerzy Dudek, Christoph Metzelder, Royston Drenthe, Wesley Snijder, Arjen Robben and Gabriel Heinze.

The year before it was Reyes, Diarra, Cannavaro, Emerson, van Nistelrooy, Marcelo, Fernando Gago and Higuain.

And let's not forget Zidane, Owen, Beckham, et al before that, each one brought in for large sums of money.

Barcelona, Real Madrid who are these people trying to kid.

Channel 4 interviewing that well known Celtic fan, Kevin MacCarra about the situation. He reckons Man U will try to buy Ribery for maybe £70 million. Mid-summer madness all round.

James Forrest

Why eaxctly are you suggesting people should be considering their positions if they knew Gordon was leaving ?

Should they have advised the media as they did prior to Black Sunday with Martin ?

or are you thinking that they might have got a better manager lined up prior to the end of the season ?

Paul,

I mentioned the other night that Dan Petrescu's team (FC Unirea Urziceni) were on the verge of becoming champions of Romania...well last night they did it. No mean feat by the way. When he took over two years ago, Urziceni were in the Second division. It would be the equivalent of a team like Queeen of the South winning the Scottish Premier League in two years from now!! Oh and he did it without any financial backing from a sugar daddy.

Thats two years in a row that a team outwith the big two/three have won the league here.

I really think that he will be another coach to watch in the coming years.

By James Forrest on June 11, 2009 12:04 PM

My understanding of what happened is that the board did indeed know that Strachan was probably leaving. They did identify and speak (via agents, advisors etc) to their chosen replacement and he agreed to take over. The plan was for a handover a la O'Neil to Strachan. The identified replacement then changed his mind. At this stage the 'recruitment process' kicked in, i.e. scrambling around to see who is available and interested. There was no Plan B because they didn't think they needed one.

80 million. plus wages. how can you justify that, I dont think ManUtd made that amount this season form winning champions league. I think it will take a big club to go out of business for a rational approach to be taken. But while it is illegal to stop a company trading they can do what they want.

here is the end of underarm bowling !!!

bearing in mind, in the very old days, this is how bowling started.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underarm_bowling_incident_of_1981

as for the guy who caught the 6 ball, and threw it back into the field,

that was magnificent.......

new zealand to bt ireland, (thanks to mccullum)
england to bt south africa, (pieterson bat, sidebottom ball)

Celtic First @ 11:48

that was some size of spider in the middel of the field. do you not think.

MWD waits .CSC

Gary 67

Roy Keane perchance?

Burnely78:

Yeah I am suggesting we should have had a new coach in place on the day Strachan walked out the door. We should have been talking to people in advance, we should have been guaging levels of interest, we should have been in active negotiations.

Indeed, I don't believe it would have been a bad thing had we made a public announcment that the coach was leaving in the summer. Not a strategic leak, but a full announcment. Each and every player would have KNOWN he was playing for his future. And with the weight off his shoulders, Strachan might even have had the guts to adopt a new style.

I just can't believe no-one in our board room ASKED him. And if he declared his intentions, at the VERY least a shortlist should have been drawn up WELL IN ADVANCE and the names on it sounded out under the radar.

My frustration level grows hourly.

GET A MOVE ON CELTIC !!!!!!!!!

By WishawTim on June 11, 2009 12:12 PM

Owen Coyle

Didn't overarm bowling come in because women (wearing dresses) couldn't bowl underarm?

Men then thought - that's a good idea (bowling overarm, not wearing dresses, apart from David Beckham)and next thing you know, Harold Larwood is knocking Don Bradman's skip cap over the boundary! (That bit may not be totally accurate)

LOTPAM

mackybhoy

Don't think Sidebottom (famous dad ex Man U and Yorkshire I think) will play tonight...reckon it will be the 2 spinners.

James Forrest
Brilliant post from an obviously intelligent contributor. You are absolutely spot on. The board strike me as going about their (our!) business like a bunch of complacent buffoons.
notimpressedbutunsurprised

Burnley'78

I would agree with that as well mate. As I said I "hope" he is a dying Breed But I'm mostly likely Being Naive and hopefull. I walked away from all that stuff years ago. I would love to see a day when all Celtic fans turn their back on the "red tops". It would be interesting to see how they react to such a dip in profit margins.

But I cant see that happening anytime soon.

Your right as well when it comes to some Celtic fans being manipulated by his ilk and what are quite clearly "anti Celtic" Wind up Stories. For Example the Bilic story that Real Radio broke. The current Manager search again is a prime example of this. I shudder to think how many of these negitive spin stories are going to raise thier ugly little heads before and after the Appointment made.

If Ronaldo is worth £80m, how much is Rangers wunderkind John Fleck worth?

Will maths boffins have to invent a new number to reflect Fleck's astronomical value?

Paul great work as usual

Dont suppose you know if Bobo is away yet ?

Goggsy - "The board strike me as going about their (our!) business like a bunch of complacent buffoons"

I bet all the publicly traded companies you're a director of would have wrapped things up by now.

Now this is good !!!!

The following was developed as a mental age assessment by the School of Psychiatry at Harvard University . Take your time and see if you can read each line aloud without a mistake. The average person over 50 years of age cannot do it!

1. This is this cat.
2. This is is cat.
3. This is how cat.
4. This is to cat.
5. This is keep cat.
6. This is an cat.
7. This is old cat.
8. This is fart cat.
9. This is busy cat
10. This is for cat.
11. This is forty cat.
12. This is seconds cat.

Now go back and read the third word in each line from the top down and I betcha' you cannot resist passing it on.

pablophanque

James Forrest

Could it be possible that Celtic did know Gordon was leaving and had sounded out possible candidates but unlike the previous situation where Gordon was out of work and able to join straight away, the people talked to were in work and unable to commit?

When is Mark McGhee joining?

Mort

James Forrest

Congratulations sir, you summed up what many of us are feeling.

This whole thing has been an utter shambles and shows the club in a very poor light.

Mort:

Lol .... as I said, I hope time proves me ONE HUNDRED PERCENT wrong on the Mark McGhee story. I hope and I PRAY I am one hundred percent wrong.

Until two things happen, I will remain scared.

Celtic getting a new coach ..... and McGhee officially installed as the new manager of Aberdeen.

Otherwise, I don't feel entirely safe to look stupid.

JF

I fear an influence from on high came into play.
Suggests that someone has developed a bunker mentality regarding the club.

If I say it must happen it will happen.
King Canute where are you?

I think everyone except DD was resigned to WGS leaving.
I think DD tried a last minute sales job on WGS to stay.

WGS stuck to his guns, I'm leaving and thats it.
DD goes mental, steam out the ears and PL has to get on the phone.

My knowlege on this is limited to the Player of the Year function.
All the talk was WGS was going and OC was a stick on.

Consequently here is a disconnect somewhere.
The manager fiasco is further evidence of this to add to the last two transfer windows.

DD is acting like a helicopter parent.
PL is limited but surely not as bad as the last 12 months would suggest.

Issue here is the capacity of the chairman to keep the Irish Raj under control?
Comeback BQ, all if forgiven?

burnley78:

i would have thought he would bowl at the death.

so are you saying swann and who ???

watching so far, im not sure quickies are the answer, jayasuria type bowling is the key for me, a mixed bag, thinking bowler, rather than full out.

i think sidebottom mixes his up better than anderson and broad, but not better than flintoff.

i would bowl pieterson collingwood, and swann after the 4th over, and strangle them,

the sri lankan way

Ah thoat Bi Polar wus oor new furrin manager.

philvisreturns
:-)

Wee Green Machine - the way I see it with the media is they do not have a clue what is happening at Celtic Park. This has been the case ever since Jock Brown was at the club.

So taking the current situation as an example; the media have to guess at who the new manager is going to be. They name names and nothing happens. They run interviews with ex-players to give credence to their speculation and still nothing happens. Then they try to cover their tracks by inventing scenarios as to why one of the several names they have stated as a cert for the job has not been appointed.

Unfortunately too many Celtic supporters buy into this rubbish and can’t see what is happening. This provides the media with a final opportunity to play the ‘fans are getting frustrated’ card.

Paul67

This model has worked for Real before under Perez. He markets them so hard that he recoups a massive amount of the fee. Expect to see record turnover at real madrid with commercial income rising steeply.

James Forrest - chill out. just let the board get on with it.

Have a beer and relax.

Antsman

agreed they are masters at marketing

remember also that the previous Galacticos reign did not work out to plan though

BARCA

BARCA

BARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRCA

There are some posters who start from a position of suspecting the Board's every move. And so every opportunity to criticise is taken.

Let's say that we save £1M in compensation by taking a week longer to make an appointment. Is that a good deal? The fact that we are looking to buy several players surely makes taking good care of the finances more of an issue rather than less.

Of course if we had simply stumped up £2M right away, the blog would have been full of praise for our decisive action, wouldn't it? Or would we have had posts arguing that our CEO was to blane for wasting money rather than negotiating a compromise and saving us some cash?

And as always there is a need for instant gratification. We need a manager now. If we appoint Tony Mowbray on Friday morning, what's to bet that we get a "why haven't we signed anyone yet?" post by mid afternoon. After all, he has known for two weeks that he is coming, He should have had deals ready to go by now, surely?

Afternoon all. Have not posted for a while and feel I have something to say now.

James Forrest is right they need to get a bloody move on because the qualifiers are coming, soon.

Ronaldo has made me laugh and smile greatly. The Morrally bankrupt league has failed and the best player is doing what he would have done if SAF hadn't threatened him last summer.

I repeat any team containing:

O'Shea, Park, Fletcher, Evra and the grossly overrated Vidic and Ferdinand should be nowhere near a Champions league final. IMHO.

Come on the rest of Europe. Where is the challenge from Serie A and the Budesliga? Spain is doing us a favour by buying these guys from the EPl. It stops smug toerags on Skysports telling us the best league in the world tosh every week.

Richard Keys is the most embarrassing and cringeworthy man on television and his inane utterings may falter as La Liga will resume dominace of European football. I have no love for Real Madrid ( the literal facist club) but if it gets it right up the arrogant Scum U and EPL rubbish then I am all for it.

Fergie the former shop steward goes aginast his principles when cash is involved; funny that.

Pablophanque@11:45am I didn't read all of the article (far too long) on why there have been no ROI Players playing for Rangers for the last 15 years or so despite ROI players playing for every other club in the land. I think what I read of the article misses what I think is probably THE most important factor. i.e. Why on earth would any ROI player actually WANT to play for Rangers?

Yours in Celtic,

Jim.

FallingAsleepWithBoredomWaitingOnTheNewManagerCSC ZZZZZzzzzzZZZZZzzzzz

"80 million. plus wages. how can you justify that?"

well, you must take into account merchandise. perez is a good businessman and so he looks into the amount money a player can generate for the club, not just their ability.

zidane was bought for an equally obscene amount of money but that transfer is one of the cheapest (and best value) they ever made because of the money they made through shirt sales etc.
kaka and ronaldo should be the same.

---------------------------------------------------------
the laszlo boloni story looks over to me - http://www.imscouting.com/global_news_item.aspx?id=2276

a shame because his record was one of the best from realistic candidates linked. league titles in a number of different countries, european experience etc.

there was a delay on his contract extension because he was considering 'other offers'. whoever they were from have missed the chance now.

Steinreignedsupreme

I've got to take the Dog out I'll answer When I come back if that's cool mate!

philvisreturns -

john fleck doesnt get bought, he buys the club he wants to play with.

The Spanish Government will bank roll Madrid and ‘marketing’ will rewrite the Manchester United soap. And we will still be Celtic playing in the SPL. I don’t give a toss for Manchester United and even less so for Real Madrid.

I once had a dream that eleven Scots playing football would win the Worlds most prestigious competition and those Scots would be wearing green and white hoops. My dream came true, but my question is… do dreams ever strike twice?

Celtic has somehow got to mean than money again.

And in all the turmoil who’ll look after Martin?

This is Martin’s Story.

To appreciate Martin's story best, you might want to first watch this video produced by Australian TV. Martin: Locked In.

Martin (41) spent his formative years in Springburn, Glasgow. He immigrated to Australia in 1989. Three years later he met, fell in love and eloped to marry his wife Carolyn. They legitimized the ceremony by press ganging two American tourists, who were happy to oblige, to bear witness. After their humble honeymoon, Martin and Carolyn set up home in the Eastern suburbs of Perth Western Australia and had two children Sean (16) and Alanna (13).
Together, they are a modest, proud and loving family.

On the 5th November 2008 all of their lives changed forever.

Martin went from a conscientious employee, working as a Branch Supervisor in an Industrial Lighting Company, and a family loving husband and father… to a mute shell; overnight. He went to sleep whole and woke up to a surreal nightmare that he is forced to live each and every day.

215 days ago his own immune system turned destroyer and left him a victim of what the doctors diagnose as Devic’s Syndrome. The severity of his disability and the devastating alacrity with which it struck demonstrates both the value of health and its indiscriminate fragility. Martin’s disability was not a progressive deterioration. There was no slow descent from health to limbo. No time for Martin to adapt to his misfortune; no time to plan for his family’s future; nor was there time for his family to adjust to his ailment and grieve accordingly whilst learning begrudging acceptance. Martin suffered catastrophic physical damage and Martin suffered it instantly. When he came out of his coma, confused, he had no choice but to deal with it; as did his family too.

The consequential damages done by his infliction are extreme and they tragically illustrate nature in its most undiscerning vulgarity. Martin is completely paralysed from the neck down. He cannot speak and his sight has not escaped deterioration either. Psychologically he is under constant assault, but his smile belies his anxieties and your concerns for him are mirrored and surpassed in his eyes by his concerns for you. His fears, his dreads and his desires too are all quarantined, captives to the ethereal black hole of his mind and by his inability to effectively communicate them. To achieve any meaningful communication is to challenge patience. Communication is only partially accomplished through a protracted labour of love; a labour of love that is in itself expensive of frustration, anxiety and stress. A labour of love whereby the recipient can never be truly confident that they have been accurate in their interpretation of Martin’s wishes; and a labour of love that is never devoid of tears; albeit more often than not, for the sake of Martin, dry tears, and as you may know, those are the tears that sting the worst. They are the tears that only love has the strength of will to stem.

It is not easy to appreciate Martin’s existence and his future prospects; to do so you have to apply every day perspective to givens. Givens such as eating a bacon and egg roll; such as drinking a glass of beer or whisky; such as going to the bathroom with only dignity for company; such as getting in the car and leisurely going for a drive, maybe to the beach and walking in the surf with the sand tickling between your toes; but most important of all, such as wrapping your arm around your wife and kids and squeezing them tight in the most comforting of hugs, sponging the pleasure of the family warmth that swells the heart and gives pride and purpose to your long days.

Those are every day things that each of us do and yet squander with regretful nonchalance. Familiarity often belittles the value and we toss the moment and it’s gone and will be forever; and a once maybe precious moment was maybe just rendered worthless.

Martin doesn’t though.

Martin will never know any of these givens again. He’ll never a waste a moment again, not a single one, because, baring a miracle, he may never get the opportunity to enjoy those givens again.

He won’t ever again savour a beer, he won’t taste the salty bacon, he won’t walk on the sand with wind in his face and marvel the sun sinking into the ocean, and he won’t ever hug his loved ones close to his chest again, he won’t smell their hair and smell their name. He can’t even go to the toilet by himself again; he can’t even ask to go. He’d love to shake your hand, to exchange that most socially intimate and peacefully accepting of greetings; he’d love to shake everybody’s hand. But for Martin they are all givens that have all gone; they are all now bittersweet forlorn memories that hurt deep if he ever dares visit them… and he does. Pain aside… he does.

And often.

Martin is now a hostage to his life support system. He’s a virtual prisoner to his enforced clinical confinement. A soulless confinement with a railway station sized clock hanging on the wall that constantly mocks as Martin, without choice, watches his time ebb away in futile and total impotence.

Martin is a good guy, a gregarious guy. Before his illness he had been active in football, tennis, swimming and boxing; loved a drink and a laugh, and he loved to talk. He was opinionated, very opinionated, and both socialist in principles and nature. He loved a Thursday night/Sunday afternoon, ‘debate’ on whichever subject anybody would care to choose just as long as it included a few beers, good company, and nobody leaves early. Nobody spoke more vociferously in support of equality and human rights than Martin; sometimes he got a wee bit painful with it though.

Martin was, is, and probably will be, for the rest of his life… paralysed from the neck down; a callous and unforgiving mute life sentence of immobility without remission for a man who once was so effervescent and active.

After two hundred and fifteen days and nights the enormity of it all would have crushed the spirit of the most resolute, but Martin’s does not humour his plight, he instead is unequivocally focused on returning home and once again being a father and husband in his own modest home.

More than life itself, he just wants to go home. The doctors and the nurses are good to him and they love him to bits, but they have had their time, they’ve had him too long. What time Martin has should be spent in the dignified and private comfort and company of his little home and family. And the doctors and nurses will just have to adjust accordingly, they’re professionals, they’ll get over it.

Martin does not fear for himself, not often anyway, as opposed to fearing for his family and their survival as a unit without him; without him providing and nurturing and laughing and joking and talking and encouraging and drinking and doing all those things that a father in love with life and his family does… normally. These fears and concerns often haunt and torment him and they are most vicious when he is at his most vulnerable; in the wee small hours when - in his solitude - with his eyes squeezed tight, he silently screams defiance to the heavens and he shares a few secret tears with his cheeks and his pillow. He’s not weak, he’s strong, stronger than strong, and not many people know about his tears and not many people need to know either. Only Ramie, his best friend, and his wife get to see the manifestation of his fears, but I know about them. Nobody has to see Martin’s fears to feel them; they may be nebulous to comprehension, but they are ever so tangible and touchable if only you have some compassion in your heart and you care enough to just reach out. Martin’s tears are his relief and as they evaporate in the Western Australian heat so too do his private demons, and for a while at least, his hopes have refuge in a sleep without despair.

We are now into the eighth month of Martin’s clinical confinement. His physical progress, if not his psychological progress, have plateaued. The metabolism of his rehabilitation is stagnating in mundane repetition of restrictive daily routines. There is little if anything in Martin’s day that taxes an acute mind. There is nothing in his clinical cell that demands his attention. When I spoke to Martin last January, I asked what seemed to me at the time to be the stupidest question I’ve ever asked of anybody in my life, I asked, “Really Martin, are you alright, is there anything I can do for you?” He answered simply “I’m bored”. Martin is haunted by his demons; I am haunted by those two words. Almost one hundred and fifty days since he silently mouthed them and one hundred and fifty days more he has endured that boredom. That day when I visited Martin I witnessed one of the most powerful acts I’ve ever witnessed when Ramie kissed Martin’s forehead cheerio and in both their eyes I saw a lifetime of hardship shared and joys enjoyed silently communicated in an intimate act of homophobic affection that humbled me to the core and almost crumbled my own personal resolve to stay strong. I learned that day how stinging dry tears can be and one hundred and fifty days later those two words “I’m bored” and Ramie’s farewell to Martin, resonate with dissonance and constantly remind me of what the word friend really means out with the pages of a dictionary.

Martin might not have much, but what he does have money just can’t buy and even death itself can never take it away. Martin has a reciprocated love with his family and friends. He has their constant respect. He has a pride in his heritage and he has a strong and constant bond with all his blood siblings and his father back in Glasgow too.

Martin was/is a most gregarious person and all that he has left as proof of this is his smile, which is quick and a constant reminder of the person that he is but no longer functions as. His smile even in the depths of adversity where he now finds himself is often, and welcoming, and sincere.

I write this as a mate of Martin’s. This is for all his mates who can’t find the words. This is for his wife and his kids and his father and his family and his friends and Ramie, most important, too. I have not earned the right to title myself ‘friend’ I have not shared the time and the hardships, the hopes and the fears. I haven’t struggled from pay day to pay day doing without so the kids could have a little and the mortgage would be paid. I don’t spend my day by his bedside either. However, like others, I have an indelible obligation that until Martin goes home demands honour. An amorphous obligation forged between spiritual siblings that are bound only by the ethos of our club and our commitments to not only adhere to its morals but to promote and advance them with our words and deeds too. My obligation to Martin’s cause would not exist if it were not for the charter of our club, a charter that binds us as one in the Diasporas that constitutes the social company that is, in envy and renown, the global’ Celtic Family’. And if those are not the ties that bind then I have no other explanation to the devotion many and I share to see Martin home; other than the obvious simple sense of equality and humanity which along with hope and determination, Martin has in abundance.

And if you take that sip of whisky… savour it. If you hug your wife or kids tonight… savour it. If you meet your mate in the boozer and you shake hands and share a beer before the game… savour it. And when the Celtic next run out of that tunnel and you rise to your feet and applaud as you scream “c’mon the Celtic”… and your stomach flutters and your mouth is dry and you sweat anticipation, and you find your second wind you’ll draw a lung full and from the depths of your faith way down deep in your stomach’s pit, again… only this time with conviction… “C’MON THE CELTIC”… then savour it too, savour that moment, love it for its being in your time, because you might not appreciate it as you look around the stadium at all your spiritual siblings, but I don’t mind reminding you, we are - at least - one good man down.

And off to the south, over the top of the main stand, high up over the horizon and beyond the lands of sands, over the orient and on down to the edge of the world, it’s there you’ll find one of those men down; and if you listen really hard, really, really hard, it won’t matter one iota, it’ll have been in vain, because you still won’t hear the symphonic cacophony erupting in the confines of his head, but strange as it sounds, just as the ref blows the whistle to start the game, that you watch as you stand, a scream will race through the halls of his mind and will echo long with intent and his silent scream will be equal to yours as he draws in a processed breath and joins the global chorus that reverberates our very world every Celtic day.

You can’t see him, you can’t hear him, but there is no leap of faith required to know, to really believe, to understand, that his scream, that silent scream, will be in harmony with yours and that that ever so silent scream will sound just like your “C’mon the Cellllllllllllltic”.

Martin needs to go home; home to the ones that love him dearly and view him as the father, husband and friend that he is, more than anything else, more than the air that he breathes, Martin must go home.

Martin’s hopes are Carolyn’s hopes, they are his families’ hopes, they are Ramie’s hopes, and they are all of our hopes. None of us, who claim membership to the Celtic diasporas, who profess to know our history, whose hearts beat in tandem with the ethos of our club that gives a pulse to the mantra that we are many, but we are one, none of us, not a single one of us, no 'one' is ever truly home until Martin goes home for ever.

Thanx for the expl' re, the bowling ghuys.

mackybhoy from the village, I had to turn over after that and I didn't notice the umpire signaling for a six, so I assumed he was caught ! So why knock it back in and did that change anything ?

pablophanque

Looks as if yet another Summer will go past with increased transfer fees and activities then.

I thought the bubble was meant to burst?!

My dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,friend.. Steinreignedsupreme.

Correct, palomine.. You are so Right.

Here is the latest and the ONLY SCOOP.

We do not know WHEN Celtic knew the Manager was Leaving... Fact.

We do not know WHAT is Happening at the W.B.A. Negotiating Table... Fact.

We do not know WHERE Celtic will look next,if the W.B.A. Negotiations shall Break Down... FACT.

We do not know HOW Things shall eventually Turn Out.. Fact.

Therefore...

We must be content to wait and leave the Negotiating and the Searching, to Pierre and his Minions.... Fact.

That is all she wrote.

Maks sense tae Me!

Kojo.
yer pal.. who likes the wey ye think.

I really don't care a jot for Man Utd or Ronaldo. Where the hell is our next Manager ?

This is old news, but I just found out today what paperwork-hider and general wee fart of a man Jim Farry is up to now:

http://www.akpscotland.com/news_events/94_new-goal-for-former-sfa-chief-executive-jim-farry

He's a salesman for a mid-sized construction industry firm.

In the current climate, that probably means he gets to sit around the office tapping his desk and hiding paperwork like the good old days at the SFA.

You have to wonder what sort of funny handshake - I mean demonstrable sales and management skills - got him the job. But then again, to go from head of the SFA to selling interior refurbishment at the tail end of a construction boom is a bit of a climb-down for the wee fart. Maybe those funny handshakes aren't all they're cracked up to be. Or maybe the JobcentrePlus staff made him take the job.

I like to think the disgraced former SFA chief wakes up every morning in a cold sweat after another nightmare about Fergus roaring with laughter and waving him off with a giant bunnet.

I hope they don't have an electric fan in that office, Farry would probably end up wafting out of the window.

LOTPAM

Could you never play BM and PC in the same team?
Didn't their careers overlap at CP

LL's with BA and BM.

BA = Schemer / LHS / Cruncher / Cheap shot merchant
BM = Passer / Spreader / RHS

Consequently who did BA replace when he came inside?

How would you describe PC?
Right half is what I can find, little pace but good range of passing.

BA + PC = Similar ages.

BA = Transferred to Birmingham 61 - 65.
BA = Bad attitude but highly thought of.
PC = Transferred to ManU 63.
PC = Fall out with the club and manager.

BM = Six years younger.
Inside right before moving to right half.
Started playing in 62.

Rise of BM related to the departure of PC?

Stein reigned

Pretty much spot on I would imagine!

However I would add a few more steps.

Media suggest Manager Job is in jeopardy

Media suggest potential replacements

Media use 'have you stopped beating your wife/husband) questions

Media then speculate and come up with reasons when they are wrong.

All I would say in their defence is that this now appears to be their raison d'etre, and as long as people keep buying, they'll keep lying.

Just one problem with the alternative 'new media' - they do exactly the same!

So if no one knows why do we bother with any of it?

Well its good craic for up the pub, coffee mornings, shoutin out the buses and has to a great extent arisen because the clubs don't like independent comment and limited the input to all news outlets.

Stage managed news is never a good idea, and I see a good bit of disruptive value in the speculative analysis (I am not talking here about gratuitous degrading treatment or deliberate misinformation).

Secondly, most Newspapers aren't just bought for the sport - Crosswords, international war news, famines abroad, famines at home, page three university graduates, all sorts of things.

The difference is of course that most news can be divided into fact and opinion. Unfortunately the sport and football in particular is a very nebulous area when fact and faction are discussed.

Still good craic mind you, as are most websites.

No harm in most of them.

Mind you Keevins should be subject to a specially tailored education programme to bring him up to the level of the rest of the human race - or should it be those who are happy with his output?

Aw a give up.

What I will definitely say is that if any trad Journalist does know what is going on, he is keeping stuum deliberately - and that Journalist is Hugh MacDonald.

LOTPAM

Burnley78 :- I hope so, I think watching a good spin bowler on form is one of the best things in cricket. I know others prefer to watch a big hitter or a really fast speed bowler but for me spin bowling at it's best is sublime.

Madmitch, would it take so much of your time to put names down instead of initials, some of us don't have the time to read all the posts and it would be nice if we knew what the ones we do read mean.
JMPOV
(just my point of view)

EdwardUrsus - The best thing about cricket is that you can change the channel. What a boring game! I'd rather watch Kirk Broadfoot boil an egg.

Kitalba 12.42PM,

A timely reminder that as important and frustrating our wait / search for a new manager is, it pails into insignificance with the plight of Kano.

I have watched the video on Youtube and am waiting for a response email to see how i can buy a few tickets for the signed jersey raffle

pablo,

your'e waisting my waiting time. that's 40 seconds of waiting I will never ever get back

MWD WAITS .CSC

kitalba 12:42 PM

Thank you for Martin's story.

Paul67

when are the players back for preseason?

Real Madrid announced during the presedential "elections" that they would have £300m to spend, and Perez has been given some credit in the Spanish Press bout running the club properly if he was elected, so i wouldnt read too much into their spending prowess. Personally i find La Liga a more entertaining league than the EPL.

My concern re: the Board is that in football if your not moving quickly then it can have considerable detrimental effects both short term and long term even in the close season. Real Madrid had no real urgency to sign Kaka so soon, but they arranged medicals etc...

I think its a bit presumptious that the board and CEO are chasing players, if anything the transfer windows of late have taught us is that fighting over pennies costs you pounds (as stated previously by a learned poster),and in our case kudos. Champions League entry is a big carrot to dangle, and while we're not out of it yet, the present team doesnt offer me much confidence that we would get there, even with a favourable draw.

Yours in Celtic

GTTS

Adam - "Madmitch, would it take so much of your time to put names down instead of initials, some of us don't have the time to read all the posts and it would be nice if we knew what the ones we do read mean."

Don't encourage him Adam.

Remember that scene in The Shining where Shelley Duvall discovers Jack Nicholson's manuscript consists of thousands of pages of densely-typed "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy."?

Remember that scene in I'm Alan Partridge when Alan discovers the shrine his Number One Fan has built to him, including the life-sized papier-mache Alan doll?

Remember that popular pop/ska band from Camden Town, London, who had a big hit in the 1980's with "Our House".

Remember that deranged Shakespear's Sister music video?

That's madmitch, that is.

As a club I don't think we have much scope to slag any other club just now given the way we are being run;-(

Adam

LL = Lisbon Lions
BA = Bertie Auld
PC = Paddy Crerand
BM = Bobby Murdoch.

Half the fun is trying to work out the names?
Thats what I tell my lawyer!

philvisreturns

Coming from you that is a compliment.

Pablophanque :- Thamks, that's forty seconds of this old farts life that I can never get back :-)

Philvisreturns :- Each to their own, there are quite a few games mentioned on here that I have no great liking for, NFL, Baseball and GAA games, probably because I don't understand them and having never seen them when young never built up any affection for them.
My own choice in watching runs, football, rugby, cricket, with my interest in cricket coming from the days of Ian Botham, Kapil Dev and Imran Khan.
You should try watching some of the 20/20 games you might be pleasantly surprised and it gives something to watch when there is no football around.

Paul 67

The money at the top end of football is toe curlingly mental. Who is bankrolling Madrid is that £130M (Ronaldo & Kaka) in a week.

It woould be nice to get them in the CL and skelp them because they are wide open at the back, don't cover the runners, and push both full backs up at the same time! Oh and the expensive forward line do not drop back to help out. I guess getting whalloped 5-0 by the Pool was too hard to take for the Spanish Royals.

No news, I see, any day now all will be revealed and I see another cover story has emerged some bloke in Belgium.....we will need to wait until OC and PL unpack their holiday suitcases, its only a 2.5 hour drive from Burnley...so sometime tomorrow lunchtime!

Time will tell

MWD = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcdDg30VBgo
That's you that is...

/Bishop B

James Forrest - crazy talk sir. We've got the daily rags spoonfeeding the masses & surmising what we're doing, who's getting the job etc. Guys like Davie Hay throwing their tuppence worth in doesn't help either especially if we are in delicate negotiations with another club

I'm confident that Peter Lawell is intelligent enough to identify the best candidates & appoint the right one. We're not a premiership club, so we can't just steam in & get someone at any price. You know the financial script, so we have to be patient & get the right guy in whatever time frame that takes

My own preference would be Laszlo Baloni as he has an impressive record of success, his teams play good football & on a small budget, but i've no doubts he would suffer the same ridicule as any foreign coach who comes to this backward land. So in light of this & to keep the short sighted tracki kestrel boys at bay it will no doubt be someone who is a big celtic man so'an he is - blah blah blah

madmitch - "Half the fun is trying to work out the names?
Thats what I tell my lawyer!"

Is your "lawyer" a 6ft 7" Red Indian guy known as "Chief"?

WG - keep it up. However i feel the need to disabuse you of your bee/onion allergy nonsense.

As you well know I am an admirer of the onion, and consider it to be the holding midfielder of FC Verduras. It's the Neil Lennon of the soup, the stew, the curry, the gravy or the salad. Thus I have both wild onion and garlic growing on my smallholding.

As coincidence would have it, I have observed only this spring as my allium cepas flower, that bees are enthralled by its aromas and pollen.

Look!

http://www.risc.org.uk/garden/plants/pages/12.%20Bees%20love%20the%20welsh%20onions.html

...and indeed the Spanish variety too.

Just thought your should know.

Ingin Johnny CSC

philvisreturns

medication time!

Hail Hail

Re Crerand/Murdoch, this debate surfaced on here about a year or two back.

Someone posted (maybe Gordon) that he had spoken to Pat Crerand years ago about whether he would have played for the Lions if he had stayed. Paddy's answer was along the lines of him eventually having to move on because Bobby Murdoch would have definitely taken his place and in his (Paddy's) opinion, Bobby Murdoch was a far greater player than he himself could ever have been.

mackybhoy

The wrist spin chap Rashid will play IMO.

Madmitch

Remember I was 10 and although I am now a wizard of tacxtics and formations at that time I was merely another up and coming strategist with the nous to organise formations in the school playground when the teams were 42 a side,

Their careers 1st team careers overlapped by about a year and I'm not sure if they played together with any regularity, but when at their peak Bobby and Paddy would have been occupying a similar area of the field.

Bobby was much more of a driver, ball winner, and short distributor - although his long passing was very good.

Paddy's medium and longer passing remains in my opinion unsurpassed, and the openings he made with what appeared a short 5-10 yard run and a casual chip were what inspired me to play from dawn till dusk.

His ball retention (we called it 'haudin the ba') added to his apparent ability to have 5 secs longer than anyone else on the ball.

Early in Bobby's career they would have partially complemented each other, but later on I think they would have got a wee bit in each others way.

They both made teams tick, but I think bobby also made the bells chime a wee bit more - but Paddy was first.

As footballers - give me either one.

As footballers today - give me one of their legs.

LOTPAM

I am too much of a cynic to fall for this fake posturing between Celtic and WBA. The delay in the announcement of T Mowbray suits both - it allows Peace to demonstrate to his club's supporters that he did all he could to keep the manager. And it means that all those who are underwhelmed at his appointment as Celtic manager will be just thanking their lucky stars now that we have a manager at all.
How many boats do the club think travel up the Clyde each day?

......On the rare occasions when Vadis was not intent on raising hell we’d catch bees. My trap of choice was a Hartley’s jam jar with a lid with Martin Peters on. This particular jar was the perfect size for my hand but I particularly liked it because the lid didn’t just snap on – you had to twist it around the grooves at the top of the jar which gave the bees the chance of escape and the opportunity to sting me. It was my way of levelling the playing field. Coffee jars were anathema – they were mostly orangey brown glass (which reminded me of the identically-coloured pokes of chocolate buttons you got in Easter Eggs) and you couldn’t see your prisoners very well. Where was the joy in that ? I also pointedly rejected pickle jars – the smell of Branston and onions never left those jars no matter how often you washed them out with bleach or disinfectant. I truly believed the smell of onions would upset or antagonise the bees and I honestly couldn’t put them through that. I considered all bees to be allergic to anything of the onion family, even onion aroma. From my current vantage point I can see that I was projecting my own likes and dislikes on to the bees but I can say proudly and sincerely that no bee of mine was ever incarcerated in an onion-fumed environment.

I loved bees then and I still do although I was very bad and cruel to them back in the day. There were various types – bakers (white bum, yellow or black nose), hymies (the ones that didn’t sting – small, orange bum, yellow nose), red hot pokers (brown and furry with the sorest sting) and queenies ( a rare but wonderful sight and a truly prized capture). We’d entice bees into our jars by putting some ‘food’ therein – I always chose the same flowers, pink and blue lupins. Bees went loopy for lupins,. Their brilliant colours lured the insects throughout the summer, nature’s honeybee honeytraps. I loved the feel of the lupin florets, there’s nothing quite like it in the world. If I was attracted to the flowers no wonder the workers and bakers went ‘ape’ for them. The only problem was the lupins were not wild flowers which meant we’d to invade gardens to stalk our quarry.

I’d normally settle for three or four bees tops in my jar – the more you captured the more likely an escapee when you unlidded to snare yet another. The ultimate disaster was a sting to your jar-holding hand when you would likely drop and smash the container , lose your prisoners, possibly incur further stings from the newly liberated and be left with Martin Peters . Consequently you had to trudge back home for a replacement – this invariably meant I’d to finish off what was left of the jam as a wee bonus. However, as with all things flammable, Vadis preferred quantity over quality. If my bees were humanely treated and more-or-less ‘free range’ Vadis preferred the battery approach. This meant a huge coffee jar, zero ‘food’ for the inmates (as the flowers would use up precious bee accommodation) and a missionary zeal to fill the jar to the brim with bees. Vadis refused to fork his lid so the bees could get air. He might have been Patrick but he steadfastly refused to pierce.Nothing was sacred or off-limits as far as he was concerned. His jar would tussle with mine to snaffle a bee. If his oversized jar was almost full of bees he’d beg me for a ‘transfer’. This was a hazardous transaction where I would endeavour to switch the few bees from my wee jar into The Buzzing Black Hole of Calcutta that was Vadis’ teeming swarm without losing a single bee from either prison. Further he’d freak if any florets fell into his apiary – ‘no food, no food’. When he was satisfied that he couldn’t possibly fit another bee into his jar he’d declare The Moment as being imminent. The Moment was when Mad Vad threw his jar high into the air while we scarpered before it smashed on the ground and the bees were released. It was madness but it seemed the natural thing to do for the propagation of the species. Some of the bees in the hell that was The Vadjar were already dead but I was pleased that the rest were free. The last thing we needed was a bee shortage for the remainder of the season on account of Vadis’ manic monopolising.

-

We had long convinced ourselves that the yellow-orange pollen baskets on the bees’ legs were in fact honey. Although neither of us was particularly keen on honey we needed experiential evidence that the buttery pouches were in fact honey. We therefore captured one of the pollen bearers and executed it a la Madame Défarge – we carefully removed the lid but covered most of the mouth of the jar. When Mr Honeybags got his head to the rim Martin Peters cut it off. We were therefore spared any guilt, Catholic or otherwise. Peters and Bee - we turned a blind eye, it was nothing to do with us.If only the England legend knew of the atrocities he carried out in the name of medical science. However, as they say in the best thrillers, ‘the beheading was the easy part’. Trying to remove the pollen bags intact from the bee’s legs was an impossibility – we managed to amputate the legs but couldn’t take the amputated leg from the pollen sack, it was harder than removing a hair from a bogey but a similar operation in many ways. There was nothing else for it - we ate the smudges of pollen, bee legs and all. It tasted of nothing. A measly lunch of bee leg pollenaise had proved unedifying. We would have our revenge……

EdwardUrsus - Nah, when there's no football around I go back to watching repeats of "The House of Elliot" on Yesterday. All those other sports are rotten too.

I went to a baseball game once, it would have been an intolerable experience in the absence of alcohol.

The worst sport I ever saw on TV was Aussie Rules football - it's basically the sporting equivalent of the movie "Deliverance".

Entouradge

How are we being run?

Mort

Land of the Pope and McGrory - You’re right that the situation extends beyond football and Celtic. Since the onset of 24-hour television and the internet the media have been creating the news rather than reporting it.

Sadly, we are long past the stage where you can totally trust anything that has been reported. Because even stories with a factual base have some sort of spin on it depending on the outlet reporting it.

That’s why I can’t get too animated about anything to do with our new manager at the moment.

Could not care a toss what is happening at Man U.What the fick is going on at Celtic.I hope their not trying to contact Doctor Jo again.I find it strange there has not been any comments from Tony Mowbray, makes me wonder if he is keen on the move back to Parkhead.( Still Neil Lennon can look after the team for the Euro ties.)It looks like we are getting short changed by this board again.

mcgrain -

if you follow the biopic carefully you will note that I have already owned up to projecting my likes and dislikes on to our winged friends. I was young, impressionable, you know the type.

et al -

thanks for the feedback, more tomorrow when things take a twist.....

WaGgledancer

pablophanque @ 12:42pm

The reason he hit it back in play was to prevent it being a six. At not time did the ball make contact with the ground beyond the rope and also at no time was the fielder touching the ball AND he was also touching the ground. Hence, instead of a six it was only three runs.

Quote from cricinfo web site:

Angelo Mathews' acrobatic fielding effort in Sri Lanka's match against West Indies at Trent Bridge on Wednesday conformed to the Laws of Cricket, the MCC has said. Such "brilliant and quick-thinking" acts, it said, are good for the game and should not be deemed illegal.

Mathews was stationed on the wide long-on boundary when, in the 17th over of the chase, Ramnaresh Sarwan lofted Ajantha Mendis in his direction. He caught the ball on the right side of the line but, realising the momentum had taken him backwards, flung the ball in the air before his foot landed over the boundary. Looking up, he saw that the ball would land outside the boundary, resulting in a six, and so picked himself up, jumped and smashed the ball, tennis-style, over the rope and back into play.

It led to a brief hold-up in play with the two on-field umpires - Billy Bowden and Simon Taufel - consulting the third umpire Ian Gould and eventually West Indies were credited with only three runs.

John Stephenson, the MCC's assistant secretary, confirmed Mathews' fielding was deemed legal according to Law 19.3(a)(ii).

"The MCC Laws sub-committee had recently discussed fielding such as this and felt that such brilliant and quick-thinking acts should not be outlawed," Stephenson said. "MCC is happy with the Law as it is written and occurrences such as the one yesterday, while extremely rare, are good for the game of cricket as a whole. It is also pleasing that two of the committee's members were involved in making the correct decision on the field of play."

Law 19.3 (a) (ii) states: A boundary shall be scored and signalled by the umpire at the bowler's end whenever, while the ball is in play, in his opinion - a fielder, with some part of his person in contact with the ball, touches the boundary or has some part of his person grounded beyond the boundary.

VargasShampoo

I think the "Daily Rags" are actually bored with the managerial situation. Their reporting over the last few days is significant only because of the lack of colmn inches dedicated to it. The whole situation dragging on and on and on only drains out enthusiasm. When the new manager is appointed the reaction will be one of relief rather than excitement and anticipation. It is difficult to continue to believe that this boardis in any way proactive.

53

Vargashampoo, we also have the daily rags perpetuating this myth of tracky wearing Celtic fans wanting a Celtic man. If they repeat something often enough it seems it becomes the truth. Personally, I have not heard a single fan ask for this in real life, possibly some hundercover agents in forums have raised it, but to me that blows their cover. Be careful whose agenda you are pushing.

Jim The Tim

What would you want Tony Mowbray to say?

He is currently employed by WBA and possibly in negotiations with Celtic over the managerial position. If he were to say he wanted to go to Celtic, this would burn all his bridges with WBA and he may only be one of a number of candidates being considered by Celtic.

Mort

Kitalba

perspective amongst mundane ramblings.

thanks again.

MWD doesn't mind waiting as it is only a game really .CSC

Edward Ursus

If the Scottish spinner lad 'Majid Haq' had played on Saturday vs New Zealand instead of Craig Wright or one of the medium pacers like Drummond than I reckon they would have won and be in the next round !

Ryan Watson showed this with his 1 wkt for 4 runs over bowled in that game and his good performance vs England.

winningemmell - You have evoked the endless summers of my childhood, collecting both bees and wasps in empty jam, pickle, and marmalade jars, and exhibiting them in my "zoo" (the washing green).

Bakers! I haven't heard that word used in the context of beekeeping since the 1980's.

Of course, it is best not to smash the jars. A real apiculturalist spins around with the jar in his hand like a dervish, and then opens the lid to release the groggy and disoriented (not to mention very, very angry) bees in the general direction of girls.

Alas, the summer moths eventually had to end, and the autumnal sporting pursuit of going round the back of the garages to set fire to spiders with matches proved less satisfying.

So that's £136,000,000 spent/borrowed by Real Madrid in about a week in order to buy two players' contracts for around 5-6 years, and probably another £100,000,000+ to pay the players' salaries for the duration of their contracts.

For well under half that amount they could have bought Newcastle United FC, lock, stock & barrel. They could recoup potentially around 60% of that by selling all the players, then sell all the fixtures & fittings to raise the funds to pay off all the back-room staff, and they'd still be sitting on a very large plot of prime city centre land.

Or they could transfer all their fringe players to Newcastle United and still win promotion to the Premier League next season... and then transfer the rest of their playing squad in too. Then in 2010-11 they would win the self-proclaimed best league in the world for the first time of many, and the TV & prize money would cover most of their wage bill, for Ronaldo & Kaka at leat!

Now when was the last time Celtic bid £80M for a player?

By the way, who will Kaka & Ronaldo replace in the RM team, and might Celtic consider an audacious wee bid to take them on loan for a couple of seasons with an option to buy?

And has Martinez signed for Wigan yet? (I thought he was supposed to have signed LAST Thursday!)

winninggemmel - things have already taken a twist - your now execrcuting the poor wee bees and eating them!

make that 'executing' - canny help it - am in shock!

ah, rashid, didnt think he was good enough.

that makes me think SA will win. and i know one player doesnt make a team, but one player CAN make a difference.

PABLO:

the fielder caught the ball magnificently, but his momentum was taking him out the ground, so therefore it would have been a 6. that is why he twrew the ball back into the park, he had to lose contact with the ball in order for it to stay in play.

if another fielder caught the ball, the guy would have been out !!!

dont get worried about it sounding confusing, that will be my fault.

that incident doesnt happen very often, altho i have seen it twice by a couple of juniors

LOPG

Loved the poem..not least because it puts Serenity on his mettle.If you are worried about the fallout you might apply for political asylum in Timlord`s mineshaft.(better get your application in early as there may be a flood of refugees soon).

Alternatively you could apply to our sister club Hiaphong Cement for a place in their reuducation camp.The operation does not hurt a bit and I`m told that we rarely use that part of our brain anyway.

The only side effect is a tendency to break out in sustained clapping anytime the name PL is mentioned and a compulion to shout
four legs good two legs bad at any negative (or the politically correct speak) gutter press views

Alexander Solynitzen CSC

Wishaw Tim at 11.45am

Regretably I threw out my Matt McGinn LP some time ago!

THE EFFEN BEE KEEPER

He kept bees in the Scot’s town of Effen
A wise Effen bee keeper was he
When one day this Effen bee keeper
Got stung by a big Effen bee!!!!!

Now the Effen bee keepers “wee” Effen wife
For the big Effen “ polis “ she ran
For there’s naebody can sort out a big Effen bee
Like a big Effen polis man can

Now the big Effen polis was fit as a fiddle
And he ran doon the main Effen street
In his hand was a big Effen baton
He had big Effen boots on his feet

Now the big Effen polis caught the big Effen bee
And he twisted the Effen bee’s wings
But the big Effen bee goat it’s ain back
‘Cos this big Effen bee hud twae stings

Now they’re both in the Effen museum
Where the Effen folk oft come tae see
The remains of the big Effen polis
Stung tae death by a big Effen bee.

Len

do i get that mighty fine looking pint of the Black Stuff with that. Or is it just a cyber pint.

MWD waiting cn be good too you know .CSC

NavanBhoy, as far as I can see, I've responded to all mail that has been sent to the following address. Can you re-send please ?

Okay folks, it's the last chance to buy your raffle tickets for the signed Celtic Top. The draw will be made after Paul has posted his new article as long as it's after 12:00 BST.

I've set up a G-Mail account called Celtictop@gmail.com If you wish to be entered in to this draw, please send an e-mail to that address making your interest known to me. The "tickets" are £5 each and there is no limit to the amount that you can buy.

You will be sent details on how to pay from there.

Good luck to you all and thanks for your continued support of our dear friend.

pablophanque

By the way, with Newcastle getting relegated, might we see Peter Lovenpants arriving at Celtic Park, or returning to Ibrox?!

ZetaBhoy - Indeed, it's turned into a buzzy "Texas Chainsaw Massacre".

He's lucky there isn't a apinine war crimes tribunal to try him for his "bee-haviour". I bet the head judge would be tree-hugging Geordie warbler "Sting"!

LOPg

Ps Your spelling may also end up a bit dodgy.

burnley78:

craig wright is a really nice guy, but he wasnt scotland class a few years back, never mind now.

as an aside, we must have a decent wicky too, big colin is a nie guy, but we must have better, my club skip would have got a stumping , and iv seen many a wicky in the sncl look awesome.

Mort
If Tony Mowbray makes some sort a comment what is Mr J Pease going to do SACK HIM?????

Lurgan 53 - I think the daily rags are frustrated because they can no longer rely on Craig Burley or Jonathan Gould for inside info. Oh & Scott McDonald is in Australia so he's out too. Anyway it doesn't stop them having a guess at what's happening. We'll still buy their papers & believe every word regardless.

The situation dragging on is a result of the goldfish bowl culture we exist in. If we were a club in a healthier land with objective press, we would be more concerned at this time of year on what flip flops & bermuda shorts to buy

Regardless of the dissappointment of last season & the bipolar performances on the park post Larrson, we have been fairly successfull under Peter Lawell, so lets just wait & see

Jim The Tim

Possibly, and if he is only one of a number of candidates being considered for the job then it's quite a risk wouldn't you say?

Mort

Must admit I read the blog every lunchtime and evening scanning for a bit of news and by all accounts Paul67 and Ayrtic exchanged nudges and winks and hinted that both seemed satisfied that an announcement is on it's way.....I guess having contacts does change perspective on things!

My own personal grumble is the feeling I'm getting with every single transaction Celtic seem to be involved with seems to take an eternity with little 'wow' factor being felt by he fans. When did we last actually buy a first team player? Who was he? Scott Brown? Is gazzumping rangers in a player deal the highlight of ou transfer windows?

I'm only speaking for myself but for me even the Willo Flood transfer.... a whopping £50,000 seemed to take weeks and when we did sign him we took him out of the Gers - Dundee Utd game to boot....and even Willo himself appealed to be either bought or left alone cos he was obviously frustrated by the lack of a decision.

I believe this is a massive decision for the club in appointing a new manager but I can't help but feel very sceptical in our efforts for a manager...just not getting that Sharp Suited Man vibe anymore.....

I'll not be surprised if we do end up with Mark McGhee.....not surrised one bit.

man ure = selling club ha ha

Mort
I would not say it was much of a risk, Pease is not going to let Mowbray go without a fight.

Steinreignedsupreme

Pretty near the mark there mate. I don't think the press have had any idea what has been going on at Celtic for a long time, that along with the fact we have done so well over the last ten years.. hasn't gone down well at all.

Currently I am pretty frustrated by our manager hunt but not because of the press. Though it has to be said, I do resent any opportunity given to the red tops to stick the boot in.

I don't think we will have any idea who the Board are looking at to replace GS, a fact not lost on the press up here. They seem to be trying to find as many ridiculous candidates as they can find to fuel the fire that has existed between a certain section of the Celtic fan base and Board over the last few years.

That withstanding, my concerns are now on purely broad based footballing terms both on and off the field. It's getting far to close to the CL qualifiers for my comfort and I just hope our board watched with interest at the unfolding Ibrox dealings before their CL games last season. Not that I think we should need any incentive to learn from their mistakes for example not buying in players before the CL, but with the way the CL is set up this year. It doesn't seem to leave much margin for error. The question is, does the financial benefits of the getting into the group stages outweigh our budget if we should fail to qualify, even with the new players.
Somehow this year it's my feeling that investiture in the team is an imperative we cant afford to ignore.

I just feel this coming season may have more impact on the future than previous seasons..don't ask me why just a gut feeling.

Great observation Maxbhoy, you won't see Celtic selling their forwards to all & sundry. NoSiree, JVoH and Georgios are still Celtic players, in spite of all the interest from Europe's elite clubs!

Jim The Tim

What I'm saying is what if Celtic are considering a number of possible candidates. It would be risky for TM to do or say anything that could jeopardise his career if Celtic decided to appoint someone else.

Mort

WD

what did you do with the boggies after you removed the hair.

lick roll it flick it ot eat it like your bee?

MWD waits with a slight stomache ache now .CSC

By urphy2706 on June 11, 2009 11:22 AM

2 clubs that are everything that is wrong with modern football.

Everything that is wrong with the modern world !, por cierto

Thanks for the explanations guys. So what yous are sayings is, if he held on to the ball and fell over the boundary, the "catch" wouldn't have counted ??? Didn't know that !!!

Was some bowler back in my day BTW. Couldny bat an eye-lid, but could spin and fast-bowl.

pablophanque

Jim The Tim, I hope Pease is a big bloke, because I certainly wouldn't pick a fight with Big Tony!

If TM puts in some dodgy expenses claims, will Albion be forced to sack him?

Mort
Pease will not be moved Lawwell wont be moved unless Mowbray says or does something hes staying at WBA

Jim The Tim - "Pease is not going to let Mowbray go without a fight."

Pease, release me let me go
for I don't love you anymore
to waste our lives would be a sin
release me and let me love again.

meant WG as in WinningGemmell

MWD

On SSN just now looks like there maybe problems with the Wigan post..lol

Lamartine

A mere shadow of Serenity. A rhymer versus a philosopher methinks. Plus I have to work at it, I think it flows from his pen.the work of a master.

In terms of Celtic I am a pretty middle of the road critic, we do most things right and we get some things wrong.

I can think of a load of reasons why this is apparently dragging out, but I don't know why and I would think that all it says is that our foundations for whatever strategy was envisaged were definitely not as resilient as we thought.

I also don't think that Celtic should be revealing whatever their hand is, BUT I do believe that the support has every right to observe that this is taking far longer than anyone expected.

On the day that Gordon resigned it was predicted on here that a replacement was expected before TBs commemoration match. If that was based on inside info then something has gone wrong, if it was mere opinion then a lot of people have been sadly mistaken in their expectations of the leading articles.

Personally I think the craic is good and on a blog, that would seem to be a major plus.

LOTPAM

pablo, correct.

BigChipsUk

There's just not a lot of times you can say that about them that I needed to take the opportunity>

By Land of the Pope and McGrory on June 11, 2009 11:47 AM

Cant agree with you that the supporter base is getting old.

Granted the young suppoerters way of seeing celtic has changed, ie their faither or mothers have to pay for them to get in.

But I can think of hundreds of people I know who take their children to see Celtic, and I firmly belive that the vast majority of those kids will be just as keen to take their children with them when the time comes.

We are currently managerless and have a CL qualifier coming up in the near future and the Celtic board have now got us discussing CRICKET!!!

Dear dear, i for one am getting fed up with it all. If we want TM just pay the f-ing money so he can get in and get the team sorted otherwise we may be facing Arsenal or Lyon with Naylor at left back, Hartley in midfield and Samaras up front FFS!!

Sort it out now.....

PS

por cierto.

Vargas S

Fair point about the goldfishbowl nature of the press coverage of the club, however the process has been put in motion and now we have been left hanging there.

To my mind we have been making this up as we go along.
It has been an issue for the last 12 months.
WGS staying after Helicopter Thursday was the outlier.
Only DD thought that he would stay on this year.

Consequently still looking for a manager after three weeks is a poor show all round.
After the issues of the last 12 months decisive action was and is needed.

Big three months coming up.
The spectre of the £55mill T/O looms large.

£10 mill addition to the debt.
Without any net spend to the playing squad.

6 game wend around central and eastern Europe will not enhance the brand even it it re-fills the coffers.

Deadwood2 needs management and direction.
Fat Boy Three needs work, who goes and who stays.

TFOD re-birth is out there.
£15mill makes a big difference to their future.

I fear we will not survive an AMB moment again.
This time DD may not bankroll an emergency rights issue.

Consequently fair point to keep quiet and keep the red tops at bay.
However the board have not earned that right.

Mo
Could not agree more

I am at a loss to understand the amount of criticism the board is getting on a Celtic site for the way they are doing their business. Are there really Celtic supporters who think that we should just get on with it & hand WBA £2m., as though such a sum of money meant nothing to us. Until very recently £2m. was our entire TV earnings for a season. In SPL terms,it is a huge amount of money.
Assuming that Mogga is indeed our target, which is by no means certain, we WILL get our man without having to pay this arbitrary ransom.
We will NOT pay it, for the simple reason that we have no obligation to pay it.
If we want him,..& he wants us, then it is a simple contractual matter between TM & WBA. Nothing to do with Celtic. All we have to do is allow the situation to run its course. Celtic will NOT be moribund until the matter resolves itself. There is plenty of backroom talent to keep the wheels turning until the new man is available.
Monaco or Man Utd. did not give us money for John Collins or Liam Miller when the situations arose that they could get them for nothing, no matter how unfair that was to Celtic at the time.
All is fair in love, war ...& business.
We are NOT Manchester, or even Monaco. Some of us seem to have delusional notions. We should only do what benefits Celtic & we should all relax a wee bit & allow the CEO to get on with his job.
It is NOT parsimony to refuse to be ripped off.

God Bless the Glasgow Celtic.

Mo

The Celtic board take a lot of stick on here, some deserved and some undeserved but I don't think they are the ones who got people talking cricket on here.

Calm down, we will get a manager eventually. How do you know we want Tony Mowbray. The board want to speak to him about the role, but they may also want to speak to others and one of the others might turn out to be a better candidate.

Mort

For any people on here who consider Celtic’s dealings in the search for a new manager to be “embarrassing” take a look at the situation at Wigan right now. Compare and contrast.

Spanish press are reporting Martinez contract is for 800,000 euros a year. Also saying there are problems to be resolved

Maybe he was the cheap option plan B after all !!

Reading winningemmell's tale about jam pots and bee traps has set me thinking about the mire that the Celtic Board appear to have got themselves into. (The following does assume that they have approached Tony Mowbray of course.)

1. They will have familiarised themselves with the terms of Tony Mowbray's contract and will have prepared their approached to West Brom anticipating their reply.

2. They will have prepared their strategy, knowing that they weren't willing to meet West Brom's anticipated demands.

3. To fulfil this strategy they knew they may need to ask Tony to breach his contract.

Do you suppose they discussed any of this with Tony or am I missing something?

Well looks like the Wigan deal "might" be off, Roberto Martinez has asked for his backroom staff and his former club have asked for Money. Wigan Press con there and a certain loud mouth was noticeably absent.

We are waiting
We are waiting
Some in FEAR
Some sincere
Some are moddy
Some are broody
But we have no choice
So keep the faith.

Are you waiting
Are you waiting
with belief
and with some faith
or are you waiting
just tae grumble
or stick it in
the PLC's ear.

Can you hear me
Can you hear me
there's nout you can dae
other than wait
keep your marbles
and your bees
in a jar
and believe.

MWD is sooooo waiting .CSC

Assuming that WGS gave notice of his departure Dec/Jan time

then

apart from McGhee it would not have been possible to consider our other managerial targets at that time

TM ...if his team had stayed up ...he would be in an entirely different position than now

OC...noboby could have had the foresight to know how good a job he would do in 2009

RM...as above

all this leads me to the conclusion that our search started at the end of the season

if i`m wrong then WTF is going on

mackybhoy 11:42 AM

lets ask for 1mill for Willo!!
---------------

The huns will now be doubling the £3m they were expecting Sir Awex to pay for John Fleck and Daniel Wilson (who?) - (see Laptop Loyal Jan 2009)

Whatever happened to the boy Fleck anyway? last I heard he was getting humped by our reserves...

Kilbowie Kelt
I can't argue with much of your sentiment but a player is an entirely different proposition from a manager.

A team can wait on a player becoming available as you have a sqaud to keep the playing side ticking over.....but can a club let a transfer window potentially pass it by whilst awaiting their man becoming available? (not that we've quite got to that yet)

I agree that I'd be loathe to pay a single penny to WBA that was not necessary...not a single penny.....but if our target is required to resign to enable the transition and is then subject to a personal liability due to a contract he's currently in then I'll be a tad surprised if Tony was to agree to leave WBA and join us and then find himself facing a lawsuit for hundreds of thousands of pounds?

Waiting is one thing and I'm sure there will be a large sigh of relief when a manager is unveiled at paradise but lest face it we're not going after Arsene Wenger or Gus Hiddink here and haggling for dear life to get him......it's Tony Mowbray a fairly low key appontment IMHO.

Por Cierto

My observation only relates to those around me and when I pop around the ground.

But your own observation is interesting in that you know hundreds of parents who take their children.

I do as well and they will be as enthusiastic as any previously.

BUT

When (god I hate saying this) I went as a boy and when my own kids went as weans, they went on their own, in groups and got so enthusiastic that I doubt if most adults would have put up with their presence. They also paid out of their own pocket money, paper/milk rounds or standing selling last weeks papers outside the pub on a Friday night.

The went together, watcghed together, and sang together.

Even in the raucous areas the kids congregated and then graduated into the middle and up the stairs.

Most people I know, myself included buy 1 season book and share it with their weans, who have to sit where iyt says. For big games you try and get an other ticket nearby, but I can't afford £120 quid for one night.

I would estimate that the average age of those around me, say 4-500 people in easy range of vision is circa 35-40; that;s north stand lower (old jungle). It was nearer 20 -25 not all that many years ago.

Anecdotal perhaps, but anecdotes usually have a basis in reality.

IMO, we are pricing the youth out of the game!

LOTPAM

tonybananas

right now Fleck has just scored his 14th goal in the first 2 minutes of his full international cap agianst Holland. Scotland are winning 23-0.

MWD Stargate .CSC

Forgive me paraphrasing for disgruntled supporters, the point is not about money its about the length of time the Board lollygag around appearing not to do anything, in football you cant afford to stand still, commercially and on the recruiting side. How many Celtic fans are genuinely excited about the new season?

by all accounts SSM was on holiday this week. How often do the board meet, you'd think there would be some appearance of urgency.

I'll be presumptious for the sake of it, say an Artmedia moment happened again this summer, who'll carry the can, take responsibility for it, or will we be fobbed off with the "thats the beauty of football" rhetoric. Imho, time is of the essence, if we suffer from early exit from Europe then so would the much vaunted balance sheet. i think i do my bit, season books, new strips, new dvd's and new training gear etc, all i expect is that the club do theirs, and on the current evidence and that of the last couple of years i know who's keeping whose end of the bargain.

The only bipolar strategy I'm worried about is whether we can play Zaluska and Boruc at the same time without the refs noticing.

Hoping for some management news soon, if only to save me the 30-odd pence I spend every morning texting "no" to a mate in Cork in response to "Any news on the manager?"

I don't think I said anything at the time (too busy wallowing in misery) but I'd like to offer a huge thanks to Gordon Strachan and his team for three championships and some great memories. I think the time was right for him to go and he leaves with my best wishes.

Haven't posted for a wee while, but have been lurking.

I have to laugh at all those who are piped along by the piped piper which is the media.

They are bothered because they haven't a clue what is going on. So it aint any surprise to read all the tosh the come out with.

If its T.M. then it'll be what took so long, Celtic are penny pinching tosh,.. realistically we are in cracking shape for this economic climate compared to most and most of all the darkside.
So why be bothered? they want us too,.. don't let them!

If it aint T.M. and its someone else well they were in the dark, and they'll spin it either way, we couldn't afford to pay for T.M. so Celtic settled for 2nd best or Celtic do the dirty by dropping T.M. for big name manager,.. LOL so predictable.

Let the board do the job, wait for the appointment the we'll move forward, let the laptops roam in their madness which is storytelling fantasy.

I've known many a compulsive lier and storyteller and they aint the most happy of people as they are bothered about what everyone else is doing.

Living the Dream,.... while the laptops keep dreaming.

So now that Real Madrid have added Ronaldo (tbc) and Kaka to their attacking options, which of Raul, Saviola, Robben, Huntelaar, Higuan, van Nistelrooy & Negredo are on their way out?

So could we see Nike Super Friday tomorrow, with the unveiling at CP of Roberto Martinez, Marc Janko, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Bojan Krkić (loan), Marcelo (a left back also from RM), Geremi and Peter Lovenkrands (joke!). With JVoH, Chris Killen, Cillian Sheridan, Ben Hutchinson, Paul Hartley, John Kennedy, Lee Naylor, JJP Doumbe and Naka exiting stage left at the same time.

Remember, you read it exclusively in the Daily Retard first!

My dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,friend.. KilbowieCelt.

Wundebar,pal.. Wundebar!

You strike me as a Man who is cooking wit Gas...

Money, is the Spur..

Nae Money.. Nae Honey!

Ben Franklin, goat it wrang.

He should hiv propounded..this.. not that.

" Look after the Pounds.. as the Pence dinna amount tae a hillock o' Beans!"

Where dis it say, that Celtic hiv tae be the Mug, in the Story?

No in Ma underestaunin'.

Instead o' Extolling .. Discretionary Husbandry, as a Virtue..

The Common or Gairden, Celtic Supporters.. these days..

Go oot of thur way..

Tae Contemptuously, Denigrate...that Estimable and Laudable Virtue, as a Vice.

The Woild is Turned upside Doon,awright.

Na..

It's Aways aboot Money,Honey!

Kojo.
yer pal.. who is delighted at the wey ye Think,pal.. simply Deelighted~

How about Rolo Tomassi for manager?

Go tell the Spartim - "Appearing" not to do anything.

The fact is no one putside the board and the candidates are aware of what is happening.

What's the problem with that?

Does anyone else find it hard to believe that Martinez would ask for his back room staff last gasp as Wigan are saying?

I back the boards stance on the TM matter....

The players are not back at training, Tony will be watching videos of our matches from last season and will also be able to comment on our target list of players, whilst offerring any names of his own. As long as he is in place when the players report back to training, I am quite relaxed.

Absolutely no reason to panic .......yet

Wee Green Machine

What has been reported re: Martinez?

BBC saying Martinez move
hits a snag..........................

But Celtic are still away on holiday

Pablophanque,

Only just got your email about the tickets for Kano, i have replied,

If euro cheque is ok from Ireland it will be sent tonight

NavanBhoy

barcabhoy on June 11, 2009 1:54 PM
Maybe Martinez should have been first choice? £1.5Million compensation and 800,000 euro a year? Not expensive and possible move on value in the future.

BBC saying Martinez move
hits a snag..........................

But Celtic are still away on holiday

Wee Green Machine - regardless of what happens with Martinez the one sure thing to be noted is it's a lesson on how not to conduct business.

Madmitch - i take your point & i know where you're coming from, but who can say with any certainty that our board have not identified suitable candidates a long time ago & are in the process of selecting the right one?

There are a million things that irk me about the way Celtic is run, however one thing i am clear on is that we have people in charge who care deeply about the club

Through frustration we can sometimes take the bait with tabloid headlines, so lets ignore them

Fortunes in Football can chage in 24 hours & whilst there looks to be a revival on the other side of the city, a few results later & the pendulum can just as easily swing back to the east end

Keep the Faith!

Replacement F5 keys here

MWD save the F5 keys (oh yeah - waits) .CSC

See how on those PC player manager games, a whole week can pass in a minute, so that you, playing as the Celtic manager, can see your bid for Kaka made and negotiated in mere minutes.

That's just a game and no one would play if it ran on the same timeline as real life.

Some fans are close to losing it this summer, but the impending insanity of a handful of web forum obsessed football fans is no reason why our board should do something stupid.

No interest in cricket, but right now it seems a more healthy discussion than the endless mad ramblings of impatient fans making wild statements and claims based upon their own very limited knowledge of the circs.

MWD

I`ll have a pint of lager and a pack salted peanuts please.

Land of the Pope and McGrory

I agree with most of your comments.
But I used to sit in 105 which is probably the same area or thereabouts that you talk about.
That was the first area to be sold for season tickets and as such, I believe was the faithful thru and thru brigade who bought into that area.

However I used to lift my bhoy ovet at 105 until he just bacame to big.
So I got 2 tickets for section 111, long before the GBrigade arrived.
But before and now that they have arrived there is a far less mature support in this area of the ground.
Had I not moved I probably would be thinking the same as you but there a definte Green Shoots of growth in 111, por cierto.

LOPAM
Thanks for the response

We seem to be rigidly adhering to the Micawber principle

1 ) Annual income 20 pounds -annual expenditure 20pounds and sixpence --- result misery

2 ) Our Motto Something( or somebody) will turm up

Uriah Heep CSC

PjDali

Hey mate!

they are saying that Martinez at the last min after agreeing a Verbal deal asked for his back for staff to be brought to the club. His former Club answered with "wait you never said anything about backroom staff" and they are now saying that wasn't part of the deal we are going to need compensation. Wigan are trying to sort something out. but it all smells very fishey to me.

FrankieBhoy 1:24 PM

Effen Brilliant!

By Wee Green Machine on June 11, 2009 2:11 PM

Does anyone else find it hard to believe that Martinez would ask for his back room staff last gasp as Wigan are saying?

Aye that does seem strange to say the least, por cierto

Barcabhoy

Never been a panicer (that doesn't look right!!) and I don't think anyone is.

Some are speculating and drawing conclusions, good and bad.

Some are mystefied as to why it's taking so long

Some are angry that it is taking so long

Most are just joining in and most like you, myself included, have one eye on the key dates for players getting back, dates for draws, an eye to the past when we didn't have a settled squad vs Artmedia, and the usual topics that are being discussed in pubs all over Glasgow today, tonight and tomorrow.

And when an appointment is made, well we've got the transfer window, the first games, the first goals, the first points, and the first long cold gentle swallow on a victory pint of the Guinness.

What's not to look forward to.

Bring it on!

LOTPAM

Jamiebhoy

enjoy

Pint of lager

packet of salted peanuts

MWD waits some more .CSC

Should also have mentioned another report in the Spanish Press today. A Rangers supporter by the name of Mark Crawford from Glasgow was jailed for 12 months in Pamplona today for police assault and being part of a large group of supporters who wrecked bars in the town when they played Osasuna.

The judge called the group "animals" who should not be allowed into Spain.

Don't know about you lot but when I'm on holiday I often need to take my laptop with me and my phone in case something crops up that needs my attention.

So I seriously doubt that our manager search is totally on hold while PL is away. We don't even know for certain that it wasn't all completed before he went away and we're jsut awaiting his return to make the announcement.

If you are Tony Mobary at this moment, what on earth must you be thinking.

'Yeah we have big plans for you Tony, but we just need you to walk out on WBA, breach your contract, go back on previous pledges, so that we can save a couple of quid on tax and NICS - here's a mail from Paul67 explaining the whole thing - Okey Dokey'

I explained previously such an arrangement WON'T WORK, in any case. I would not be surprised if our whole approch is putting major doubts in Tony's mind.

Amateur hour is too kind.

M

The Fu99ie Dew

"realistically we are in cracking shape for this economic climate"

Yes i agree, but yet Rankers have still just won the double. All we hear about is "financially sound"

Unless we sort ourselves out, the fans will leave in their droves. Would you not rather we lived a little and spent some cash because i know i would rather be in a bit of debt watching quality football than being "debt free" and watching the p*sh that we saw last season.

The last 2 games of the season were truly shocking. On the last day of the season watching that Hearts game I wondered where it had all gone wrong...

IMO bringing in TM is going to mean championship players and more hibs/hearts players coming to Celtic. There is no danger of us playing CL football next season with the possible teams in the draw. Unless serious money is spent, every team in the 2nd qualifing round would beat us easily over 2 legs, do you not agre??

Bilic would be much better being able to tap into the eastern european market which produces some gems. The transfers to Real Madrid this week show that we simply cannot compete while we play in Scotland

IF Celtic PLC are anything the are Due Dilligent.

What we are discussing on here is Celtic PLC's determined ,straight backed, approach to Financial Dilligence.

Aye TM may be the man.
Aye Peter Grant may come also alnog with Venus.
Aye WBA may want compensation.
Aye maybe Martinez is the man and TM the Red Herring.
Aye maybe its all a load of Bolloni.

But nothing, and I mean nothing, will transpire unless the Financial Side of things is sorted to Celtic PLC's TOTAL Satisfaction.

The Laptop Loyal can bleat all the want abou thet fans right to know etc etc.
But they will know through the Club when there is something to know, not when the media THINKS,por cierto.

Por Cierto

My ambitions and dreams are built por cierto on the Green Brigade, The Jungle Bhoys, and every other scallywag who swaggers their way into CP.

I am 100% behind you there.

I'm in 103 by the way.

LOTPAM

barcabhoy on June 11, 2009 2:13 PM
When would you say is the time to panic?

Marcella on June 11, 2009 2:26 PM

Absolute pure conjecture on your part,por cierto

The reason for folk talking cricket is the lack of interest in making up rubbish stories to create the illusion that there is loads of frenetic activity actually happening re the search for a manager.....

Of course folk with a more realistic sense of reality, folk who have held positions of responsibility in significant negotiations realise that it is not a sprint, but the fact that there is no white smoke or daily reports in the media of what Celtic are doing does not mean that the ball is not in play.

Of course many on here would prefer to use the current apparent hiatus as another excuse to blame the board for being rubbish and not having a plan b etc etc.

Does anyone honestly think that Celtic live in a vacuum and can just decide which manager they want and go and get them prior to the end of the season. Why would nay CEO not have a list of criteria lined up and potential candidates identified well in advance ? Why would any CEO not have a game plan and a series of options depending on range of outcomes ? Why would any CEO looking to get the best deal for his club be bullied by media into declaring his hand in public in advance of concluding a deal. Why would any CEO look to rush through a deal which would limit his 'stakeholders' potential to get the best possible value for money ?

As fans, of course we want to know, of course we want it sorted now. We chased the last chap out.....it might not be so easy for our CEO to persuade his options that this is a dream opportunity, he may not have all the chips he needs......he does not need his hand weakened by media intrusion, and over eager consumers IMO.

I do not believe for a second that the board had not pre empted the scenario which is unfolding, I do not believe for a second that they would like it reolved ASAP. I also do not believe for a second that they are incompetent, or are in some way trying not to do the best deal for the club.

But some on here would think that Ronaldo should be signed and have heard from their best pal that if Celtic had offered £50 / week he would have joined us not Real Madrid.......

James Forrest @ 12.04pm.

Lots of hypothesising there mate!

My take on it all is as follows....

WGS told your man McGhee that he was leaving last Hogmanay. Assuming this is true, I`d expect that he told PL around then too. My basis for this assumption is that WGS appeared to have a very good relationship with Celtic and our board. In addition, he always seemed to act with the best interests of our club at heart. Nothing that has occurred since his departure has persuaded me otherwise.

The transition from MON to WGS was made extremely simple by WGS's then position. This transition from WGS to whoever is next in is nowhere near as simple. I am certain that Celtic will have had a shortlist and have been watching and comtemplating appointments since December, however to have made a move for any then would have been too soon. Assuming our shortlist included McGhee, Martinez, Mowbray and Coyle, it would have been a difficult task to assess their performance and potential mid season. Coyle, for example was mid/bottom table with Burnley and had everything to prove. It may well be that the manner in which WBA finished their Premiership season will have had a bearing on our boards thoughts. From being written off at Christmas they very nearly survived in the end after a very impressive run of form.

If we had been looking at making the choice around Christmas, your man McGhee would actually have been one of the stronger contenders based on the status and position of all candidates of all the candidates at that time.

Have faith bhoys.

Hail Hail
jamiebhoy

Wee Green Machine

Hmmmmmmmmm

The Curious Case of Roddy Forsyth and Celtic Quick News.

In Celtic's search for a new manager the past three weeks have provided little media news for the supporters. Names to be bandied about were Moyes, Coyle, Martinez, Mowbury, McGhee, Keane and Curbishley. The press were glueless, it was reported gleefully by some. And yet that's not how it works. Reporters, from both the broadsheets and red tops, were no doubt being briefed, probably daily, on matters of progression or otherwise. When that briefing is OFF THE RECORD then it can appear that press reporters are floundering when actually they know more than they are allowed to say.

Last week something different happened. One reporter, Roddy Forsyth of the Telegraph, went out on a limb with a story that told of Dermot Desmond having a conversation with Mark McGhee in which one half of a managerial 'dream team' was offered to him on condition that Henrik Larsson accepted the other half.

No other journalist, as far as I'm aware, backed up this story. What is more surprising, astounding in fact, is that no other media outlet touched it. Why ? Surely for the tabloids this was a huge story if true and if not a serious paper seller in Scotland even if it was untrue.

On Friday night a spoof story about Steve Nichol being a possibility for the manager's job appeared as a post on Celtic Quick News. The following day Forsyth alluded to Nichol appearing on Celtic's radar. The same day Forsyth went on the national radio station, 5 Live based in London, to repeat his McGhee/Larsson story, adding that it was now dead as DD had texted McGhee with the news that Henrik wasn't coming. McGhee then, it appears, went into negotiations with Aberdeen about their managerial vacancy with which he had been linked for 2 weeks. Aberdeen had been patient while McGhee waited on the Celtic job, the papers reported, and left it at that.

At this point, Saturday evening, I would imagine that Celtic would have made themselves aware of what was coming regarding 'The Sundays'. They would have learned for example that Roddy Forsyth would be going to press with a direct quote from Peter Lawwell in which the CEO appeared to admit that Celtic had gone too soon. (The Tony Mowbury story had been leaked.) This was an astonishing quote, one which left open an accusation of incompetence.

Just before ten o clock the same Saturday night a new article appeared on Celtic Quick News. It referred to The Telegraph being caught 'hook line and sinker' and provided evidence of how Roddy Forsyth had been caught in a sting with the Steve Nichol spoof story. The final lines of of the artcle appeared to belittle Forsyth's Sunday piece waiting to go to press (complete with the Lawwell quote.) Cue lots of derision on the blog for Forsyth, to the extent even where one or two posters got carried away and used the word 'proddy' more than once.

So, how did get to a point where the whiff of sectarianism was blowing just beneath the surface on a respectable site like CQN ? According to one admired poster Forsyth is not the worst. That's true. In fact he infuriated Rangers last season by printing a story of Rangers youths singing the Billy Boys song on their way in from training at Murray Park. There was a press conference in progress at the time and many of the usual suspect journalists were present. Only Forsyth was brave enough to go with the story.

My father had a newspaper background so I have a better than fair idea of how things work. I have been asking myself many questions since last Saturday night. Some of them have been :-

1) Did Forsyth go with a story (McGhee/Larsson) in print and on radio which had absolutely no basis of truth ? Or was it true but journalists had been briefed off the record and therefore no one else touched it ?

2) Did Forsyth's information come from a different source and was therefore ON THE RECORD ?

3) Was one of Forsyth's sources fed/or read the Nichol spoof and thereafter passed it on to Forsyth in good faith.

4) Why did Forsyth go with Lawwell's self condemning quote ? (assuming the quote was genuine) No one else did. Was Forsyth again ON THE RECORD ?

I have no answer to these questions. For now. What I can say for sure that it is one amazing coincidence that the journalist who went with the McGhee/Larsson story, who quoted Lawwell direct just happens to be the very same person who fell for a spoof post on Celtic Quick News. What are the odds of that happening, considering the vast numbers of sports reporters in Scotland and elsewhere ?

Don't know about you but I think this Curious Case has not been locked away just yet.

backtheteamCSC.

MWD

my F5 key was showing signs of needing to be replaced at the end of last season but I decided to give it one more year. Half way through this season things were going well and I gambled that it would finish this season without out me forking out for a new one. Alas, it didn't make it as it fell away badly towards the end of the season. If only i'd helped it a bit more from January onwards. Even although I knew the F5 key would be needing replaced at the end of this season, I have not decided yet on which type of replacement key to buy. I was kinda hoping an F5 key from one of the other PC's would leave where it is and join my keyboard with out me having to spend any money on a new one.

Yours
PL's Keyboard. ;o)

Land of the Pope and McGrory

Aye spot on, thats the difference with supporters now.
We uesd to all be called Fenian ??*****s, now its , The Green Brigade, Jungle Bhoys, Rude Bhoys etc etc lol,por cierto.

Apologies previous post was supposed to read in 2nd last para.

I do not believe that the board would not be wanting it to be settled ASAP.

Steinreignedsupreme

The point is historically the PLC board take far too long, in this modern age its not difficult to work on the hoof. If they're still deciding between candidates, who is doing the recruiting of players, do we chase both candidates targets and double the work.

The new manager needs to hit the ground running, anyone who thinks differently, while entitled to their opinion, obviously hasnt been watchin.

2 million for Mowbray, if that is indeed the figure.

If we had no intention of spending that amount, then we have no business in pursuing him.

He is under contract and has a clause inserted. Yes cross borders that clause legally means little, however between Mowbray and WBA it means a great deal. If we want Mowbray we must pay, either directly to WBA or indirectly through Mowbray. If PL did not realise this then more fool him.

I suspect Mowbray has too much integrity to walk out on his current employers. I would be very surprised if Celtic felt he didn't and would also be surprised if Celtic wanted a manager who showed no loyalty towards his current pay masters. If they want a manager like that then I think that says more about Celtic than it does about the individual.

While I’m not advocating paying over the odds for Mowbray. What I am saying is if we want him, if we think he's the best man for the job, we should stop the petty nonsense. As in the long run any money paid out will be negligible if he turns out to be the right appointment. As I said earlier if we have/had no intention of paying the compensation then we have no business pursuing Mowbray at all.

Go and get an out of work manager or a manager who's level of compensation to secure is expectable.

Another day without a manager is another day lost and no doubt financially non beneficial.

There is a light and it never goes out:

A good time to panic would be when you announce a press conference, with all the cameras rolling and then have to say "eh, actually, there's been a bit of a snag"

Dave Whelan and Wigan - :))))))))))

Por Cierto

Re: Martinez.. glad I'm not the only one was starting to wonder if i was getting paranoid lol. Seems very very strange either this is a get out clause for Martinez or Wigan thought they could just walk over Swansea..either way it doesnt look very good.

mackybhoy

Craig is a good chap 'Wright' enough, as are most of the Scotland team.

They have all let themsleves down in past few years. Craig should have moved on a few years ago.

Where do you watch your cricket then ?

Cheers MWD.

Keep the change.

jamiebhoy
PutthewaiterouthismiserypleaseSSMCSC

gallowgate on June 11, 2009 2:35 PM

I'm sorry but I dont quite get the point that you are trying to make here,por cierto.

when is all this business acumen going to come to fruition, in a 2 horse race we were beaten by a 3 legged crippled horse (financially speaking).

BarcaBhoy (2.24pm): The judge called the group "animals" who should not be allowed into Spain.

A judge in a country with as barbaric a sport as bullfighting called them "animals"! Perhaps they should let the neanderthal hordes into Spain once a year, and let them replace the bulls.

Imagine the scene... all those Spaniards running through the streets of Pamplona, desperately trying to escape the rampaging yobbos. And at the end of the "procession" the good guys get to stab the "bulls" to death and eat their criadillas!

gallowgate 2.35

Excellent post mate. Knew I would get to agree with you at some point:-)

bjmac

(LOL last word of my post should read)

"acceptable".

Wee Green Machine on June 11, 2009 2:37 PM

Are all the managers that are available at this moment not hedging their bets somewhat.

The only manager to move is Bruce to Sunderland.

Maybe Celtic, just Maybe, are to play the final move in this game of chess, por cierto.

Por cierto, did Owen Coyle sign his new contract yet???

Will Owen Coyle be having another re-think?

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11661_5374459,00.html

hi ghuys

im wondering if anyone has any info on martinez???

has he taken over at wigan yet,,,,,or do you think there is a slight chance that he may yet end up at celtic??????

hail hail

“In practical life the wisest and soundest people avoid speculation.”

I am neither of the former.
Where all the debate when there is no actual information available to be debated.
Actually not even practical.

Kilbowie Kelt.

There is a vast difference between the Miller / Collins situation and that of Tony Mowbray and well you know it.

And it is quite ridiculous to say that we should "sit on our hands " and expect Tony Mowbray to resign and let the compensation issue between him and WBA. Celtic will have compensation to pay - either to WBA or Tony Mowbray himself. Tony Mowbray is a man of principle and integrity. Much as I would like him to be our next manager I would not for one moment force him into forsaking his principles. If we have identified him - another grey area - we should pay the price - should it be £2 million or whatever.

Much as I raged against Miller and Collins leaving for nothing - them's the rules. And much as I cannot subscribe to WBA being entitled to compensation - again - them's the rules

Gallowgate,

I am pretty sure that you will be spending a lot of time in the pokey.

I've had a nagging (doubt is too strong a word) urge about tghat whole thing.

Whether you like or despise Roddy (I personally like him - cards on the table) - he is a seasoned and well respected journo who probably gets 500 e-mails a day with rumour after rumour. Why go national with a totally groundless piece of nonsense, and why attach it to a formal quote from the CEO. It just seems weird.

BTW I'll leave some Walkers plain and a bottle of Irn Bru.

LOTPAM

By ibleedgreenandwhite on June 11, 2009 2:50 PM

Apparently confirmation is delayed until Burnley & Swansea agree on compensation package for his backroom team, according to Talksport.

Go tell the Spartim - it's been 17 days. That's not exactly dragging our feet.

Would you rather we took the Wigan approach for example?

Celtic took plenty of time to appoint Win Jansen and Martin O'Nweill and they worked out pretty well.

Celtic launch new kit

Celtic skipper Stephen McManus today helped launch the club's new international away kit.

The Scotland defender, who is recovering from recent knee surgery, said: "It will probably be the start of August when I start training. If it's any earlier, then great but it's important to get it right."

The above was today posted on the official SPL website. But if Mick isn't likely to start training again until the beginning of August, he might not actually get to wear the new kit that he helped to launch... as Celtic may be out of Europe before then!

James Forrest

The clock is ticking. Who is fiddling whilst Celtic burns? Who is asleep at the wheel?

Deal or No Deal find out when you return, por cierto.

PS

Jim Forrest was some centre forward, watched him destroy McNeil for two goals at hampden in the league cup final, por cierto.

im a mere village 2nd team player burnley78.

could play with the 1s, who are going to be in a play off for the sncl at the end of the year. but the golf has took hold.

my lad has just been released from cricket scotland, he worked under craig, but sadly didnt fulfill his talent.

i have been a regular watcher of carlton, and grange, and have been lucky enough to play there on lots of occasions.

gallowgate

when you find out what has been going on can you tell me :¬0

coincidences are much fewer in number than one is led to believe

burnley78

did you notice the slow bowlers again were more economical / dangerous.

obviously, the real quickies are better than scotland / ireland quickies.

therein lies the difference

i could have scored more than mccullum today !!!!!

outside stump, full length is my speciality !!!

Gallowgate

You say:

1) Did Forsyth go with a story (McGhee/Larsson) in print and on radio which had absolutely no basis of truth ? Or was it true but journalists had been briefed off the record and therefore no one else touched it ?

2) Did Forsyth's information come from a different source and was therefore ON THE RECORD ?

3) Was one of Forsyth's sources fed/or read the Nichol spoof and thereafter passed it on to Forsyth in good faith.

4) Why did Forsyth go with Lawwell's self condemning quote ? (assuming the quote was genuine) No one else did. Was Forsyth again ON THE RECORD ?

1. If you get briefed off the record, you can report the material, but you can't attribute it. So, in your scenario, others would have written stuff along the lines of: "Sources close to Celtic have suggested Mark McGhee and Henrik Larsson could work together as a new managerial dream team...".

2. Did Roddy attribute the information to anyone? If so, that would be an indication that he was briefed on the record. As long as you idenfify yourself as a journalist, everything is on the record unless you're told otherwise.

3. Even if they did, it's no excuse for poor Roddy. If he and his editor choose to run with the story, it's their responsibility to check its veracity, and the editor won't be taking the blame for this.

4. If it was a direct quote, he'd be in big trouble if it wasn't genuine or on the record, so you have to assume it was above board.

And by the way, calling someone a Proddy is not sectarian.

por cierto

I had been thinking there that Mr lawell might be watching with intrest!
or if he might be able to use it in someway ...nudge nudge wink wink

and no I don't think Owen has signed it yet.

Mo

we have never at any point in our history, been able to compete financially with Real Madrid, & never will. We may think of ourself as a big club historically & in terms of fan base, but we have always been small fry compared to them.

The problem isn't that we can't compete with Real, who are in the market for the genuinely world class players, which we've never remotely been pitching for, its that we are not even able to compete with low rank EPL teams with no pedigree, no history, & few fans.

Re our new manager- we do need someone in place before the players get back, but it doesn't seem to me that we should get worried about no sign of any white smoke from Parkhead at the moment.

I do have concerns about some of the things that have happened at Parkhead recently, particularly our failure to invest in the team in january when we were looking jaded & badly in need of a pick up, but it seems to me that we should all take a chill pill, & just wait & see who emerges as our new man, & when, before forming a view on how well, poorly, or indifferently the club have handled the situation.

Lurgan53 on June 11, 2009 2:50 PM

Spot on good post mate.

This situation stinks to me, what are we going to save by waiting for Mowbray to walk? (can't see it btw)

500k maybe 1 mill at the most, IMO not an amount that's worth dragging our name and that of Tony Mowbray's through the mud for.

I hope this ends with both clubs shaking hands and both being happy with and agreed compensation package.

Wigan about to hold a news conference, coverage on sky sports news but without Martinez, might be interesting.

A couple of posts have stated beliefs that Mowbray is a man of integrity who wouldn't walk on on WBA.

And yet, that is precisely what he did to Hibs in order to get to WBA. Have a look at these..

BBC 7th September 2006: Mowbray signs new deal with Hibs
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/scot_prem/5323912.stm

BBC 13th October 2006: Mowbray signs with WBA
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/w/west_bromwich_albion/6043410.stm

Celtic First

That's the follow follow reasoning for using the term fenian. It's all about motivations and context and the usage was to imply bias, not about religious beliefs.

I considered it to be sectarian in motivation and context.

I assume others may have done as well.

LOTPAM

My dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,fried.. Ellbhoy

Celtic knew that they would have to pay compensation,to his present employers, if they decided on seeking the services of Mr. Mowbray.

I shall also state, without fear of contradiction, that,indeed, Celtic also know... they must compensate,any Team, if the present Manager of that Team, of whom Celtic are seeking to lure to Parkheid on the Clyde.. is still under contract.

Fundamental,my Dear Watson..

So

What are you actually saying?

Frankly, I do not know.

Celtic, have not put one foot wrong, so far.

They, and the Present Employers of Mr. Mowbray, are in Deep Negos.

As we, the Public, are excluded from the said Negos..

It is pure futility, on our part to make wild guesses.. and equally wild allegations, as to what is actually transpiring at those secret Tete a Tetes.

I am confident,... though it does seem that it is but I... and a scant few others, who are the only ones, who have faith in the Negotiating Abilities of Pierre and his helpers..

That..

The Celtic Negotiating Team, shall Make the Best Choice, in their Managerial Selection.. under the most Beneficial Deal available, and which shall be in the Best Interests of Our Beloved club.

Kojo.
yer pal.. who likes ye a loat.

WGS....

Martinez deal hits glitch.....dare we dream?

That's Coyle's contract still unsigned and Martinez yet to agree to Wigan - with roughly the same compensation as West Brom are asking for.

Is there still time to get one of these?

Paul67....any possibility?

Steinreignedsupreme

Its not like much was expected of either when they turned up, both of them had better players to inherit, mon had a considerable warchest as well.

If your happy with them idling along then fine, as i said historically they drag there feet and leave us with tales of might have beens.

If WGS departure was a shock then they need to show some urgency. football and time wait for no man!

Ending in E

The bhoy he emptied the jam jar, before his mother could see,
the sight of all that Hartley's, flushed away with his pee,
he clean it until it was sparkling, no speck or even a mark,
would call on that maniac Vadis’, together they'd go down the park.

Torturing bees, this is my hobby, nobody does it better than me,
pulling off legs for the honey, sadistic wee bassa you see,
filling the jar to near bursting, wanting a sting on the hand,
seen as a mark of pure honour, worshipped all over the land.

Vadis’ he use to get jealous, no match for the slayer of bee,
but just like the Fight Club at the movies, Vadis’, well he's really me!
so here's to a split personality, winningemmell is my good side,
but when I turn into Vadis’, you better find somewhere to hide.

whoamICSC

Land of ...

Categorically not. To call someone a Proddy as a short, (dare I say) affectionate term for Protestant is a world away from calling Catholics Fenians.

A Radio 5 Live colleague of his, who is English, has referred to him by that name in conversation with me. My contact is a close friend of Mr Forsyth's.

SuperSutton

Just because you move job doesn't mean you do not have integrity.

Do you think he has said or done anything since Celtic approached him that shows a lack of integrity? You could question his loyality, but if Celtic offered you a job, paying more than you earn now. Would you take it?

Are we paying him more? Well you know what I mean, paying him enough to get by on. :o)

Cheers
Jama

LOPAMG

it`s sectarian in my book ..and i think in a criminal context also

PF Ayr

Explain this then:

http://www.funnation.com/14877045p

mackybhoy from the village

Not sure if I want kiwi's or ireland today ?

Not sure if I want England or SA actually ?

Cricket is the one sport where most scots want England to win I think. I just hate the jingoism when the England team do actually punch their weight ocassionally.

It is not exactly a global sport yet they had parade's when the won the ashes yet were still ranked 3rd in the world in 2005 ?

After the rugby (another non global sport where England has more players than the other nations added together !!!) world cup win 6 years ago I would be concerned about another Engalnd win even in 20 / 20 at home....

I think I will go for the Green and Gold tonight, with the Lankan's and Chris Gayle also in the grou it should be fun anyway !

Celtic first

Totally agree....nearly

The way I read the contributions however on here was that the 'Proddy' was the motivation for the presumed bias in his reporting.

BTW I like Janice's programme as well.

I also like 5 live, but Janice's voice always wins out for me. You know that slight roughness of a laugh caught in the throat, just as she's thought of a risque joke.

Fair used to make my sunday morning before shift work took over,

LOTPAM

Land of ...

Good for you, but who is Janice?

Land of.....

Although I rarely read the publications Roddy Forsyth has wrtten for, I have for more than 15 years enjoyed his contributions to Radio 5Live and sometimes Radio Scotland. I find him to be both intelligent and entertaining. Throughout this time I have affectionately referred to him as 'Roddy the Proddy'.

Kojo on June 11, 2009 3:05 PM

My friend.

I would be astonished if PL felt any manager currently employed would be attainable without paying substantial compensation.

Martinez has 4 years on his Swansea contract, surely PL knew that before asking permission to speak sir.

Mowbray 2 years left on his, again would be astonished if PL was not in knowledge of this either.

A question for you, is 2 million or there about an over inflated figure or unexpectedly high IYO for either of these managers?

For me I think the level of compensation is fair and should have been expected. If WBA, Swansea or any other club came after our contracted manager I would expect our club to be looking for compensation. It's not rocket science to think others would also.

We either pay the money or look elsewhere, the delay can only be down to money.

What else could it be?

I like the Roddy fellow. I have always found him to be a good knowledgable football enthusiast. His BBC radio stuff is usually witty, and he always subtly fights the corner for our wee league.

He wrote a David Murray biography or history of Rangers book a while ago, but he pretty well is a cut above the other reptiles in the pool he swims in, and often takes a different, or higher level view than the pack.

Roddy the Proddy or whatever I think he is good.

Land of...

You may be right about people assuming bias in his reporting because the guy is a Protestant. I couldn't possibly comment on what they were thinking.

If they had written Protestant instead of Proddy, while making the assumption no more correct, would that have been a sectarian comment too?

To accuse a journalist of bias is not against the law. To beat him up is. If I beat him up because of his religion, I exacerbate the offence. But if I accuse a journalist of bias and infer that it's because of his religion, it may be a foolish thing to say, but it's not criminal.

Swansea are demanding compensation for their back room staff and wigan are not happy.

Celtic First, you say your contact is a close friend of Roddy Forsyth. Could you ask his assistance in order to get to the bottom of the Curious Case. I'll be trying at my end. Then we can let PF Ayr compare our notes.

LOTPAM, the pokey's not that bad. Agree with you on the sectarian issue. Motivation and context are what matters.

bjmac)03, you've made my day.

Por Cierto, not making any point or accusing anybody of anything. Just puting some questions out there on a debating forum.

backtheteamCSC

Paul and all contributors, great site.
My second post , my first was under the name One Bobby Murdoch but i forgot log in details but i have been reading daily , in fact too much .

Bit of gossip / info first.
I have an excellent source (if Paul 67 emails me i will divulge)
who is within coaching staff at CP who has stated on the managerial front that there is absolutely no snippets , no rumour nothing leaking out of the park who the new man is due to DD solely doing the recruiting in Ireland .

Secondly that Artur is off , Aiden is off and Gary Caldwell wont sign the terms that has been offered.
This has been discussed with the players i assume .

I can argue all day long in my own head about the merits of this and of these decisions being made without a manager so who knows what the status of this is once a new manager comes in be it Tony Mowbray or AN Other

I know we are getting twitchy and would rather the recruiting had been done but i honestly do believe that the club is in good hands , decisions will be made and that players will move on or stay for the good of the club be it , on the park , financially or team spirit.

I know last seasons capitulation hurts and damaging decions were made but i think these are more down to error of judgement by the board and WGS ( we all make them , this post probably being one of them for me )rather than a deliberate attempt to downsize and hurt the cause

Now is the time to continue to support the club that most of us were born to support

Hail Hail

Hit frae all sides here.

Celtic First

Janice Forsyth I always thought - (Radio Scotland Saturday and sometimes Sunday am) was Roddy's Sister.

JohnnyClash

I am proud of the original meaning of the term fenian. I am even happy to be called one, however I am wouldn't accept that my professional judgement is tilted unfairly and deliberately because of that persuasion.

I have no problems with the context or usage of 'Roddy the Proddy', few people would read anything sinister into it, however where it is used as evidence of why he apparently misreported a Celtic story, then I question it's usage, relevance and the users motivation.

LOTPAM

Gallowgate

I'll try. It's someone who visits my neighbours, seeing as how they're his ma and da. But I only see him once in a while. He's a good guy. He always hands in signed programmes and stuff for my weans when he's covered a Celtic game (not Roddy, the other guy).

Mcgraininspain

If your out there

You have mail.

C_F

Trusting things are well.

On the Roddy comments; While I can see that such a reference may be interpreted as either mildly humourous or sectarian or indeed both mildly humourous and sectarian simultaneously, whatever it is, it is exclusive, which is not in line with your more typical open mindedness.

TBB

Celtic First

Did you see my comments earlier (approx 12ish)?

LOTPAM @ 2.51

I`m not particularly familiar with the work of Roddy, however it does appear to have been a pretty ridiculous faux pas on his part. I was on line here at the time TBB broke the story. It was at the height of the rumour frenzy and his article that he attributed to Sports News Network was intriguing. I googled SNN and his article and could find no evidence of it. I asked him to post a link to it. No reply. I made the simple assumption that the article was nonsense.

I`m no journalist, however would this not be the early steps of research prior to publishing a story in the national press??

As I say, it was a mistake and we all make them, however surely we should be allowed a chuckle at the national press's expense?

Hail Hail
jamiebhoy

It wasn't so long ago that Mr Mowbray was questioning our ability to even compete in the EPL (comparing us to the recently relegated Newcastle Utd)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/8027605.stm

Does this shout determination and belief that he could lead us into the champions league?

I think not!

kitalba on June 11, 2009 12:42 PM

Wonderfull post!!!!!!

CAL

Yes we are getting twitchy. Predictable enough I suppose. Actually - although I am growing impatient I would still be happy if DD was going out and doing the recruiting.

Would be surprised if Aiden was off this season now that GS has gone. Wouldn't be surprised if AB went up the road. Ditto Gary Caldwell

53

My fear was that Caldwell would leave....we will struggle to replace for similar money that is for sure..........

After the abuse this guy took from the ignorant abusers back in 07 it is not surprise, the guy owes us nothing. Good luck to him. I only wish his period in front of 60,000 at celtic would have been more memorable in a psoitive sense

Another that the Celtic moaning whinging consumers might one day regret chasing away !

Jamabhoy @ 3:11pm

I didn't question his integrity. I only said that there were posts where his integrity had been cited as a reason why he wouldn't walk out on WBA.

I only showed that he had done so in the past.

The Battered Bunnet

I'm fine, thanks, and hope you are too.

It's not a term I'm in the habit of using myself, but I have heard Protestant people use it of themselves, as well as Prod. Again, not something I would say.

Gallowgate's post on this at the start of the discussion seemed to me to suggest that to use the term is, per se, sectarian. I don't think it is. Perhaps that's not what he meant, and Land of's points about context and motivation are valid.

I don't know any Catholic people who refer to themselves, in the context of religion, as Fenians. On that basis, I challenged Land of's assertion that I was making a follow followesque point.

That's all. I'm not becoming narrow-minded in my old age, I hope.

Danny Boyle

Yes, no problem.

Celtic First

Again, most of what you say is reasonable.

However (ALWAYS ONE OR TWO OF THEM)

You are now taking me out of my depth in terms of law, custom and practice, and interpretation.

Proddy or protestant would have made no difference to my position. To assume that someone has a bias because of religion be it protestant, catholic, islam, Jewish is making a statement that is sectarian. In itself you are right that it is probably meaningless and foolish, but it is a fine line between that foolishness and incitement. Context and motivation in the case under discussion, m'lud however, the term protestant or proddy was used to add weight to the scurrilousness of the story and by implication the scurrilousness of the belief system.

Sectarian surely.

Sometimes the oldest analogies are the most appropriate

Shout fire in an empty room and nothing will happen, shout fire in a crowded cinema and suddenly Context and motivation are everything.

Anyway, I feel the coup de grace approaching now

LOTPAM

Hey Celtic-first,

Sorry mate you can't have that. If someone on a Celtic website uses the expression in this context, or pretty much any context that isn't discussing the word in the first place, it does whiff of sectarianism, or if it is easier to swallow - plain old religious intolerance.

The reason for this, is that it defines Roddy Forsyth in irrelevant terms. If his religion were relevant to the discussion then clearly the term wouldn't be particulary significant.

Of a bad day on this, the best Celtic blog in my view, it is possible to read numerous posts that define people without good cause, as mason, proddy's etc.

Indulging this does make us as bad as Follow Follow. Particularly because if all Scottish sports journalists were as good as Roddy Forsyth we'd have very little left to complain about with regard to media bias.

Burnley'78 on June 11, 2009 3:32 PM

"the Celtic moaning whinging consumers"

I am actually starting to find this funny.

Ulster-Celt

LOTPAM, sorry if I've brought some heat on you. If it's any consolation Paddy Crerand was my favourite player too.

Celtic First, that's fair. Thanks.

backtheteamCSC

CAL,

If that's true about DD running the show from Ireland, it raises a question I aksed on here a few days ago. As I understand it DD owns just over 33% of Celtic yet he seems to act like he owns 100%. It's OK for Abramovich and Glazer (or their delegates) to act like they own the place (because they do!) but DD only owns a third of the place, so should we not even pretend to act like a proper plc, where the board act in the interests of all shareholders and don't just do what the biggest shareholder tells them to do?

burnley78:

i dont mind england doing well, but its when they win, that im like, omg......

i like the flair teams in cricket, and england are usually very rigid, a bit like their football team, its all about growing up and adhering to rules about how you should play, instead of enhancing an individuals talent,

murali and malinga would have been turned into some orthodox nodody,

its a bit like that with the largs mafia imo, brown, roxburgh, are no more robotic than wee gordy was imo.

IS THE FLAIR WORD ALLOWED ON HERE !!!!

it is celtic after all

PL trying to do the best financially for our club, no problem there.

Where I do have a problem is in scrimping and saving every pound shilling and pence. Our image becomes tainted, we are already guilty of loosing out on players by doing likewise.

Put yourself in the shoes of a pro football player would you play for a club not willing to pay the going rate. I certainly wouldn't I would ask myself if they are not willing to pay what I am worth or what a manager is worth, then what's the true ambitions of the club.

Yes it's speculation but what's the hold up indeed what's been the hold up with any of our recent negotiations.

If it's not money then what could it be?

CAL on June 11, 2009 3:25 PM

I would not be surprised if AB, AM and GC all left the club. Although in GC's case he has a past working relationship with Mowbray, not sure but was he not his captain at Hibs.

To be honest the only irreplaceable one out of the three is Boruc. Shame we will get little or nothing for GC if he does go, suppose that's his prerogative to move on and our inability to maximise his value.

You say in your post TM or A another.

Do you have any thought's on who A another could be?

Por Cierto,
You take the time to post that my post is 'pure conjecture' - from which I conclude that you think every other post on here, apart from mine, is 100% factually based.

There is no conjecture regarding Celtic's approach to compensation of WBA - Paul himself laid out the strategy in every detail.

There is no conjecture that it is a busted strategy as regards saving of income tax and NICs - I haven't had a reply from Paul on this point.

M

Gallowgate

No heat.

I enjoy discussions and arguement, but prefer ones where facts rather than interpretation are the heart of the matter.

You know like civil versus criminal cases.

I was always better in criminal court.

Not saying where I was standing.

LOTPAM

Lurgan 53 , Burnley,

Boruc has been our best keeper for years but last 18 month he has been poor.I dont know enough about Zaluska but he is an international with a country who have lot of decent keepers so he must have something.Also dont know how much money is acceptable for AB.
Iam not sure Aiden is fulfilling his potential and not sure if he needs a fresh start , i dont know but again what is an acceptable fee .
The Gary Caldwell thing hopefully is just a negotiations stand off and he will stay but if he goes well that is another bit of bad management. Then again what is an acceptable weekly wage to give him and what is he looking for ??

By CAL on June 11, 2009 3:25 PM

Like you i have also been told that DD has been taking total responsibility for recruiting new manager, he met TM last week. Boruc is a certainty to leave and i was also told either Brown or McGeady would go but not both. Haven't heard about GC but was told our skipper will go when fit.

Andy....

To be honest, I'd be inclined to agree with him. Newcastle are a perfect example of how getting big crowds through the gates doesn't guarantee a Champions League team.

Wigan are now saying that they think the deal will still go through with or with out the back room staff.

Hmmm still seems very weird to me. If Martinez has agreed to sign without the backroom staff (as they are saying) then whats the delay? Wigan say they aren't going to do anything they will just leave it to monday to "see what happens". Em What !!?!?

sad to see caldwell go if he does. He should be captain.

Mcmanus well he can go now to be honest.

It does appear boruc will go and good luck to him. One of either brown or aiden smells of sell to buy and small or no net spend.

It's not a surprise. .

Hail Hail

I once was led into an job interview where I overheard a whispered, 'It's the Catholic applicant.'

On another occasion someone saw my forhead blackened on Ash Wednesday and explained to his wife, 'Gallowgate is a Catholic.'

The word Catholic used on two occasions. One sectarian, the other not.

backtheteamCSC

If we are selling our best players, what does that say about our board?

Go tell the Spartim

Nothing we do not already know.

No ambition

My dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,friend.. Ellbhoy

I see from your reply that I have no reason to quarrel with your reasoning,pal..

And..

That being the case, we have no other alternative than to agree to agree on this point.

No doubt a disappointing Conclusion..

as

Agreement,leaves no room for Dis- Agreement,which leads to ennui and tedium for all concerned.

As I have repeatedly Repeated...

Withoot the big "C".. life would be the Pits!

Kojo.
yer pal.. who likes yer style.

Ellbhoy,

You reckon AB is irreplaceable , not too sure .Maybe with a fresh start and a new focus this season he can prove that .Hope so.

not got a clue who the manager will be.I honestly dont think managing Celtic you have to be top drawer and there are numerous managers who are not top drawer.

I would have went for Keane or McClaren or Mowbray or Martinez or Coyle etc etc but not Mark McGhee

Iam just as fascinated by the rumours on here but i have been told that there is definitely no leaks coming out of parkhead.

Gary 67 , hope you are right about GC and by all accounts DD single handedly appointed our last two so that augurs well

LOTPAM, re standing position in court. Like in that old Otis Redding number ?

A Timposter on Fascist, Fascist shoorly !!!

From Celticminded,com

"freddyflintoff freddyflintoff is offline
SAS 3-0 IRA

Join Date: 15-08-2008
Location: Dundee, Hamilton...
Posts: 2,290
Default What have we done to Arsenal?
I've been having a look around some Arsenal forums and Websites to guage the reaction to our involvement in this year's Emirates cup, and to say I'm disgusted is a massive understatement.

Many have us down as mindless hooligans, many say we are incapable of behaving in a manner suited the the "friendly" nature of the weekend and unbelievably, some clown even proclaimed that Celtic would have added more prestige to the Tournament.

May I just remind any Arsenal fans looking in, we are the world's most successful club, with a fan base which is has no paralell anywhere in world football.

And on the matter of rather having the Scum at their wee tourny, I can remind you of Celtic's anti-English/British ethics and I'm sure you'll encounter them in their numbers the week before we visit.

So before you turn your nose up at the Rangers, compare the clubs, we are the benchmark for football clubs to aspire to, we would never accept being 2nd in our league, let alone the 4th place which you have made your own in England.

So whilst I'm not bothered about your respect, Our club demands it."

pablophanque

GO tell the Spartim

I was just going to totally agree with your implication when I suddenly thought.

We have a team with some skills that in the hottest of contests are never given a chance to shine, because everyone else is too busy fighting fires.

If we smooth down the peaks and raise the troughs, then maybe we would as a team be more consistent, more successful and to put them both together more consistently successful.

I would miss the potential when Broony makes a surge, or Aiden double turns, or Heid rises from the crowd, but I don't think I'd miss too much the sudden sight of an opposition forward clean throgh on goal and puzzled glances across the back four as to who should have been marking who.

Maybe that's the boards AND the new manager's thinking as well. Get the title back and THEN JUST WATCH US SPEND LIKE VIV NICHOLSON .......SPEND SPEND SPEND!!!!!!

LOTPAM

Celtic_First

If I may be of some assistance ("Oh God, not you," I hear you cry).
I have read your comments for a long time on this blog. If I can put aside the present debate, I have seen nothing which suggests you are sectarian in your approach to life in general or football in particular. I know this is my own opinion and others may have different views. I only mention it to give some context to the debate.

As far as the present issue goes, I think on balance it may be better not to use the adjective pertaining to R Forsyth esq. I can remember many years ago, I was in a crowd who were mainly not of the Catholic faith and some of whom (shame) were TFOD supporters. However, there was some good-natured banter about all this stuff which led to me being nicknamed "...the P". I was almost relieved to discover the "P" was a reference to Pape. Call me naive, but I did not regard this as sectarian because of the context. However, if I did not know the context, I am sure I would have had a different perspective.

We, as Celtic supporters, are probably more sensitive (rightly so) to the issue of "name-calling" than certain others we could mention. I feel the word you used could, arguably, be regarded as inoffensive especially as the "y" ending is normally considered a diminutive, and, consequently, lessens the impact. However, I feel it also disproportionately draws attention to a certain aspect of the intended target.

yours very much in Celtic

hoopeddreams

pablo

You would think. Though you never know. Many of the other side do have some serious delusions.

Mort

Gary67.....

As long as the money was reinvested into the team (and not entirely confident it would be) and the prices were right, I wouldn't be sorry to see some of this under-performing side go. McGeady won't get any better and if we can get decent money for him and the scouts actually start doing their job, I'm not convinced there aren't better players for less in the world - maybe in Eastern Europe.

Scott Brown is another. Had some decent games, has youth on his side etc but at £4.5m, not sure we got the better deal of the two "twins". Again, if any of the figures being banded about are acurate and we can actually make profit on him, least of all get our money back, he's another one who could be easily replaced.

Again, scouting is the key word here. We certainly haven't got "bang for buck" with our last few signings and this is the reason why Rangers pipped us this season. Their money from player sales went straight back into the playing staff with players who came in and improved their first team. We signed bench-warmers and "potential".

Paul, I need to go now. Assuming we are still pals I'll catch your reply to my post (11:20am) either tonight or tomorrow night.

backtheteamCSC

***************
*Breaking News*
***************

New member to the Celtic Family this morning Kevtic's wife had a little girl - both mother and child doing well.

Celtic First

how you spend your free time is a matter for you :¬)

context is the key

i can call myself a Fenian B ...when others do it in certain situations it becomes sectarian

consider ...a black man calling himself a black B..no problem ...you try it ..see how you get on

btw ...the PC world( not the shop) bursts my trumpet ..it`s there and very much alive
re RF if the inference is pejorative based on sectarian bias then you would be in trouble

ps..knew i shouldn`t have commented

Kojo on June 11, 2009 3:58 PM

"we have no other alternative than to agree to agree on this point.

No doubt a disappointing Conclusion."

Top quality, it is much more interesting when we disagree.:)

Maybe in this case you could make something up just for arguments sake.

On second thought's I'm calm in the knowledge that we are on a similar page on this one.

Hail Hail!

EB your bestest cyber buddy!

CAL on June 11, 2009 3:59 PM

I am sure AB will go on to prove once again what a quality keeper he is, I only hope he is still wearing the hoops. If we need to raise funds from player sales would much rather sell Brown, McGeady, Skippy or even Hinkle before considering letting Boruc go.

Your manager list all names that would be acceptable with the only exception just like you McGhee.

I'm really trying hard to convince myself that I'm enjoying all the insider informed speculation but my daft old logical head is screaming at the top of its' voice for the nudge-nudge secret squirrell brigada to stand down, demob, move seats, ship out etc.

On the sceptical/ cynical debate, why would we have already agreed to get rid of certain key playing staff without the new manager in place?

Yes, it may be realistic that we change personnel due to the financial hit of potential revenue loss ( champs league)we all know this but to speculate on some of our key players before it is actually done!

What purpose does it serve?

Bankiebhoy1
(rockingbackwardsandforwardstillthefireworksstopCSC)

Paul67

You said (in a previous thread) starcrossed, I am sure Gordon Strachan never said that Celtic cannot afford Championship players, indeed, he managed to sign several in his time, so clearly this was not the case. He did make a comparison with a Championship club being prepared to pay more money than he was for a player, which was an interesting observation at the time, but is a long way from was you suggested he said.

I've been looking for the interview where he mentioned not being able to compete (latterly). I can't find it for now, but this one will illustrate my point well enough.

"About seven years ago, Celtic had the fifth biggest wage-bill in British football. Now we can't compete with Hull or Stoke."

So, we can't compete with Hull Or Stoke? Let's put this into perspective. Hull, last season had a turnover of 9m. Stoke? 11m. Even with the stellar TV money there is a world of difference in terms of the cash available to us. And we can't compete?

Gordon Strachan, in cahoots with the board has mortally damaged the brand value of both Celtic and the SPL by making these preposterous statements - and trust me, he did mention no longer being able to compete with the Championship.

The above quote is one reason why I'd like a degree qualified manager rather than a supposed "football savant". Or put another way, a person with the ability to think through what they say before saying it. I don't care if its a man or a woman, I just want an intelligent, articulate, capable manager that knows when he or she is being exploited. I don't believe that to have been the case with Strachan and I don't believe it will be the case with Mowbray.

Burnley78 3.32

It has little to do with moaning, whinging, consumers,and more to do with money.End off.

If Celtic wanted to keep him them they could up his salary and extend his contract again.

The improvement in his form has caught the eye of clubs who are willing to pay better wages.

Surely you know that his agents will be filling his head,and both their boots.

Your using this to support your opinion that our support are moaning ,whinging,consumers.

If his stock was low,he wouldn't be considering,or considered for a move.

Mort
Like a plaything by two men, one an Absentee Landlord and the other, a Control Freak.

Is there a press conference or is everyone toasting little miss Kevtic?

Well done Mummy Kevtic, Daddy Kevtic and a very special welcome to the magical world of big daft people, who all go around sayin things like

C'mon the hoops, hail hail, Tiocfaidh ar la, and "whit's yours"

TO Baby Kevtic

C'mon the hoops

LOTPAM

Congratulations Kevtic.

There's nothing quite like it.Nothing.

A Great Day Kevtic - many congratulations

starcrossed

Where is this quote from?

Mort

a roll n pie n liquid fat bursting forth down yir jumper

Well done mr and mrs kevtic and baby kevtic

Health and happiness to you all

Hail Hail

Congrats Kevtic on your wonderful and magical bundle of joy.

Remember that at 3 in the morning with drool down your shirt LOL.

PF Ayr

Yes, I can quite see that it could be interpreted as a pejorative remark based on my (not his) sectarian bias and that this could very well land me in trouble.

I was thinking throughout the discussion about the lad in Govan who went down for aggravated breach of the peace because he had the word 'Hun' on his T-shirt, which from my non-legal perspective, was very unfair. That led me to imagine someone saying 'Proddy' and being done in the same way. In this case, though, as you point out, 'Proddy' does refer to the guy's religion, which of course gives it potential for making an offence a sectarian offence, whereas Hun, in reference to a football club from that lad's neck of the woods, has nothing to do with religion.

My original point, as I said above, was that Gallowgate seemed to be suggesting that the word Proddy was necessarily sectarian. I don't now think he was, so I too am beginning to wish I hadn't commented.

We need more stories about bees.

Peace and love to all.

Kevtic.

Ard mhor ort.

53

I see we've been comparing Paddy Crerand and Bobby Murdoch again. While Paddy was probably everybody's favourite player at the time (what a passer of a ball he was and he really did play for the jersey), Bobby in my opinion made a far greater over all contribution to the team. To me, it is very similiar to my own favourite player, Charlie Gallagher. What a passer and crosser of the ball was Charlie. Yet, wee Bertie, when he returned, contributed a very necessary "dig", which Charlie didn't have. We can only be glad that such great footballers graced Parkhead.

congratulations Kevtic!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Congratulations to the Kevtic family.

Celtic First

i have never understood the reasoning behind "the hun Tshirt" conviction

imo hun, stand alone, is a pejorative term for a Rangers fan ...i use it all the time ..resident bear ED has no problem with it

i had expected an appeal on the convistion

don`t know if it`s still outstanding

perhaps we should seek the sage words of Ayrshire`s finest on the subject :¬0

Congrats Kevtic,

As the father of three young hoopettes I wish you all the best!

Get that left peg of hers working, we have a vacancy at left back

SSB

Hoopeddreams at 4:05

Thanks very much for your message.

I should point out that I was not among the posters that Gallowgate was referring to. In the course of the discussion, I made several references to "If I said this or that" purely for rhetorical reasons.

SuperSutton

Here's a direct question for you mate.
Do you think he is a man of integrity?

or you could answer any of th questions I asked before:

"Do you think he has said or done anything since Celtic approached him that shows a lack of integrity? You could question his loyality, but if Celtic offered you a job, paying more than you earn now. Would you take it?"

I very interested in you answer to the last question. ;o)

Hail Hail
Jama

CAL - I have no reason to doubt you have a source at CP but are the coaching staff at work just now?

Also, the stuff about players leaving sounds like gossip. Certainly with no manager in place it would make sense for Caldwell to wait before signing anything.

Celtic_First

Sorry about that. I really should read the posts more carefully before posting!
I would add that I look forward to reading your posts, not only in regard to football but also matters of a cultural nature. Keep posting, fella!!

Maith thú kevtic.

L53,

Don't wish to be pedantic but...Adh mór ort.

Ard Macha

Celtic First:
Guy's standing at his car with petrol cap in hand....he's run out of fuel....
Just then a huge swarm of bees arrives and proceed to fly down into his petrol tank ..two minutes later the head bee says ..
"Right sir, that's your tank filled....no charge "!!
"Hold on " says the guy " who are you ..where are you from"?
" BP" says the head one .

Sorry about that !!

Hail Hail

Starcrossed - that's correct Hull had a turnover (and we operating effectively it seems) of £9M and then they knew that they were guaranteed a minumum of £60M in the next three season that required no investment of time or resources from themselves.

In fact it's better than that. At the start of the season any team in the Premiership know that it's guaranteed a minimum of £60M (do the parachute payments rise with the new tv deal?) in the next three seasons.

I don't think anybody is arguing about whether we could compete with Hull when they were in the Championship but when they got to the EPL that was £30M in the first season they had that was double our most profitable season of recent times. And four times our average net spend on players and debt reduction over GS managership.

What Hull are guaranteed in three years takes us 7 years to accumulate at our current rate of spendthriftyness. And that's assuming either CL football or a decent Europa Cup run. Take those away and we'd never ever reach that figure because we'd be making losses constantly.

I can't really state it any clearer.

Hoopeddreams, thanks again.

PF Ayr. Don't know about you, but I could see Ayrshire's finest being held in contempt of court if he got involved in that one. Either that or he'd sell his principles down the river.

Parkheadcumsalford on June 11, 2009 4:29 PM

Charlie Gallagher .. been a while since i heard his name mentioned.

a very nice guy! Taxi'ed in G64.. and his son Kieron was in my class at school.. and was in my team at Westpark BC. His dad was a very decent chap!

quite a few ex-celts in G64 ..

Charlie Gallagher
Stevie Chalmers.. and his son Paul.
Andy Lynch
Paul McGugan
Tommy Callaghan and his son Tam (played for Celtic BC at time we played for Westpark)
Gerry Britton (played centre mid in my Westpark team)
Joe Mcbride - whom i met again recently at the last home hibs game of last season in the hospitality restauraunt .. and was a very friendly and approachable chap.

there were more.. but my memory isnt what is used to be.

An Irish man went to confession in St. Patrick's Catholic Church.
'Father', he confessed, 'it has been one month since my last confession. I had sex with Fanny Green twice last month.'
The priest told the sinner, 'You are forgiven. Go out and say three Hail Mary's.'
Soon thereafter, another Irish man entered the confessional. 'Father, it has been two months since my last confession. I've had sex with Fanny Green twice a week for the past two months.'
This time, the priest questioned, 'Who is this Fanny Green?'
'A new woman in the neighborhood,' the sinner replied.
'Very well,' sighed the priest. Go and say ten Hail Mary's.;
At mass the next morning, as the priest prepared to deliver the sermon, a tall,voluptuous, drop-dead gorgeous redheaded woman entered the sanctuary. The eyes of every man in the church fell upon her as she slowly sashayed up the aisle and sat down right in front of the priest. Her dress was green and very short, and she wore matching, shiny emerald-green shoes.
The priest and the altar boy gasped as the woman in the green dress and matching green shoes sat with her legs spread slightly apart, but just enough to realize she wasn't wearing any underwear.
The priest turned to the altar boy and whispered, 'Is that Fanny Green?'
The bug-eyed altar boy couldn't believe his ears but managed to calmly reply,

'No Father, I think it's just a reflection from her shoes'.

Congratulations to Mr.and Mrs . Kevtic....
Lang may yer WAYNE SLEEP.... ya dancer !!
Hail hail

Celtic First

i know the feeling

but,wouldn`t mind giving the establishment a GIRFUY tho

i fear my judgement would be somewhat clouded

So when is Martinez due to get unveiled? Tomorrow instead?

Any chancee, nae can't see it. Although would love it, does sound like he's Wigan bound.

Atternoon all,

It's a holiday here today (Corpus Christi) so dossing about the hoose trying to avoid 'er indoors chores list.

Much merriment amongst the locals here last night when Argentina went down 2-0 in their WC qualifier against Ecuador in Quito (the Argentian's blamed the altitude). First Ecuadorian goal's a belter. Argentina now in 4th place (4 automatically qualify from the S.America grp, 5th place goes into a play-off against, Eurasia - I think). Ecuador, two points behind.

Brasil move top of their group with a 2-1 win against Paraguay. Brasilian first goal a Daniel Alves 25yd lob to back post which Robinho buried on the half volley. Second a candidate for a "you are the ref" question. Nilson chested the ball to Robinho (in an offside pos'n) but it bounced back off a defender for Nilson to run onto and slot away.

Most intresting thing of the game, for me, was watching Paraguayan striker, Cabanas. Who looks totally out of place in the modern game (think Dixie Deans and you'll get the idea). He created a lot of problems for the Brasilian defence until he run outta steam in his wee chubby leggies.

Brasil now need a point from their last four WC qualifier games to book a place in S.Africa. Their next game? Away to Argentina.

Meantime, a very confident squad fly out today for the Confederations Cup in S.Africa (their first ame against Egypt on Monday).

Only other point of note has been the amount of column inches devoted to Dunga's new hair transplant. Wonder what they'd do if Barry Fry ever took the job?

....better go, shooglie shelves don't fix themselves (or so I'm assured).

As an advocate of asset management, I'd support our selling on some players this summer, & it stands to reason that would mean moving on some of our better players, as no-one is going to pay substantial sums for our lesser lights.

So, assuming we can get good money (& what would constitute good money is open to a separate debate), Artur is someone that we can afford to let go, having brought in Fabianski & Cervi, & I whilst I'd be happy to keep these guys if the new manager wants to, I'd not lose any sleep over selling on Aiden or Broonie.

Caldwell- thats a more difficult one for me. I think he has been our best, & certainly most consistent, player for the last 18 months.

Howevah...

I am with Kojo in thinking that players coming up for contract renewal time generally perform much better than they have done before, & after the new improved contract has been signed, tend to revert to their old level.

I also think that whilst I like him as a player, that he is a bit small for a central defender in Scottish football, & on balance, if we received a decent offer for him, would let him go. We won't get good money for him as he only has 1 year left, but if he won't accept our offer of a new contract, we'd have no choice but to try & move him on, rather than losing him for nothing next year.

I am not suggesting we move on all these guys, but 1 or 2 out the door would be fine, so long as the money was reinvested in the team.

WGS....

We can dream....and I'd love to see the egg on that Whelans face as well as getting one of the UK's top, young managers.

Congrats Kevtic.

Get yerself out n wet the ghirls head.... cos you will be busy for quite some time with the newest member of the celtic family needing indoctrinated!

Best wishes to you and yours.

Gallowgate, I found your question (although not at 11:20).

All true, we dropped points against Rangers which could have won the league. Also true that Rangers sold and bought £18m of talent last year and that the players who came in were instrumental in them winning the league. However, despite Rangers spend their football budget is still 25% smaller than ours.

My point is no less true. We repeatedly failed to beat teams with 10-15% of our budget, and our proposed big spend in January was a £2.5m bid for Steven Fletcher, which would have to rise to £4m before it was accepted, which I am far from sure would have won us the league.

While I agree spend could easily have increased by a few percentage points (or another few million) it would only have made a difference if it was spent more effectively than the money spent last summer.

Our budget last season was broadly in line with income, which is where it should be.

Kevtic, brilliant news, well done. Thanks to McAlpine’s for passing the news on.

Starcrossed, context is everything. Hull or Stoke may well have outbid Celtic for a player (especially in the unusual circumstances of facing a huge increase in turnover following promotion) but Celtic spent much more on wages and football budget last season than either team, and many times their budget when they were in the Championship. I am unaware of any Championship team who matched Celtic in this regard, so clearly the manager’s comment was within a specific context.

I will agree that the comment itself was open to an interpretation that is clearly inaccurate, but these guys spend a lot of time facing microphones, so occasionally, a comment will escape which is technically correct but subject to ridicule out of context.

starcrossed,

"I'd like a degree qualified manager"

Where do you get a degree in football management? I'd be interested in studying for one. Does the OU do them by distance learning??

starcrossed on June 11, 2009 4:16 PM - the turnover figures you quote for Hull & Stoke relate to the Championship, not EPL.

Gordon's comments appeared on the BBC website on 29 January 2009.

Several posters have already made the point that although our turnover is relatively high, so are our costs. In addition, TV money is special in that there are little or no costs to set against that form of income.

In order to compare you need to consider much more than turnover.

Kojo,

The deal we are trying to seal, is becoming incerasunlgy frustrating.

Boaby so far has not signed on for joaby at at WA. Can we not ask Boaby one mair time, if he will become the Roberto of El Paridiso ?

WGS

Boaby then Mogga for me!!

Every signing is a risk, we all know this...

So the "rumoured" Celtic strategy is, lets sell our best performing players, the Best goalie in generations, a joint SPL player and young player of the year, the Players player of the Year and the Sportswriters player of the year and then trust in our scouting system to replace like with like for a fraction of the cost, mmmmmmmmmmmmm, sounds like a good idea, oh wait a minute do we have any evidence the scouting staff know what they're doing, do we heck.

You want to buy that strategy, go on

many uni's do football management degrees

moscow; bedfordshire; liverpool.. etc etc

none allow you to escape the fact that to coach/manage within a UEFA club you need specific association coaching badges though.

Why didn't we go for Ronaldo.........and Kaka for that matter ?

Yet again, another shocking example of the complete lack of ambition by this excuse for a Board !

Rioskorrie.....

I have a feeling that this pragmatic but effective Brazil side will win the World Cup. I think they are the only side to have ever won a World Cup out of their own continent, will have experience of playing at the altitudes of South Africa and will take some beating.

WGS, when I heard that Martinez still hadn't signed for Wigan, I knew you would be on here praying...

.

Warning.... Van Bears....

No Bad Read....;o(

Donegal loses village idiot again!!!!

001

PS. How Many names Does DD Have....?

Paul67....

Mowbray deal dragging on; Martinez deal hits glitch; Coyle yet to sign new contract.

In your opinion, what is the chance of Mowbray NOT being the next manager of Celtic?

Paul 67

The issue i have with the football budget is that the proft each year represents opportunites lost. By ths i mean...

Financial - as an opportunity cost. You could pick up a 2-5m player from europe who could, subject to performances in the CL, double in value in a season. This capital gain should not be ignored.

Footballing - linked to financial. Having a good player for a year or two then selling them on, allows the whole process to be repeated

Of course every signing is a risk, but pretty much every club has to take a view whether to spend its resources on keeping the players it already has in place, & hopefully adding 1 or 2 others, or relying on selling a few players for good money & trusting your scouting & management team to use this to bring in other players & make the team better overall.

Lyon have done this successfully for years, as have Porto, & even our friends from govan have had a lot of successfrom this policy.

I think we should try to do likewise. Holding on to players we have didn't work very well under MON, when we ended up with an aging, tired squad being paid top dollar but not contributing much, & had no money left over to freshen up the squad.

I can't help but feel that if we'd sold on the best goalie in generations, & the 2007/8 player of the year last year, we'd have got a whole lot more money for them than we would get now, & I don't think, given the performance of these 2 last season, that we would have been much worse off even without using the money to strengthen.

We shouldn't make the same mistake with the current player(s) of the year.

48days till the 1st date for the 3rd qualifying round of the Champions League.

I am not worried however as I know that the Board are in full control of the worldwide recruitment process they undertook and that a quality appointment is imminent.

Indeed I am re-assured by the fact that the unknown appointee will have already briefed the CEO regarding his proposed targets and will have fully evaluated the existing personnel so that both parties are clear regarding those that the new manager is happy to sanction as dispensable.

I am certain that as we speak the business of making our new manager familiar with the extensive list of available potential identified and shortlisted by the previous management team in conjunction with our worldwide scouting system will have long been concluded and our CEO will already be homing in on the players needed to re-vamp the first team squad.

I scoff at those clubs who are making deals for players now. Are they not aware that there is an abundance of time until the first of July when apparently all prospects worth pursuing will be able to enter new contracts? Are they afraid they may not secure their targets at that time? What have they to be afraid of?

I do of course also have nothing but praise for all involved who have achieved such remarkable results with the new appointee throughout this extensive process despite having received permission from no-one to speak to any candidate.

I rejoice that our process has been so sophisticated and flawless that we are able to laugh at the country bumpkins of Wigan in their pursuit of the unknown and unproven Roberto Martinez.

Consequently I am relaxed in my knowledge and the re-assurances offered by those who urge us all to Keep The Faith and so I look forward to the new season confident that all is well, with the comfort that should matters not go according to plan I will be able to place the blame squarely where it lies - at the doors of the scurrilous media who have consistently misled and bewildered me to the extent that I might question that the process thus far might not produce a satisfactory result.

I berate myself for continuing to be such a simpleton.

Gordon_J

I'm not too bothered what the degree is in, more that the person can demonstrate a level of high thinking on a subject other than football.

Mourinho, Billic, O'Neill are three such qualified managers. There are plenty more.

On top of that, coaching badges are a prerequisite - but I'd like a manager who analyse what the team needs and not simply parrot some tired soundbite about "attractive" football or football the "celtic way".

Paul67

This signing has got me thinking in commercial terms.

Celtic say they can not afford big wages etc but what type of income did recent 'box office' signings generate? For example Keane, Gravesen and Hessilink. This is not to say do it for the money as ultimately none added immensely to the side but my point is is a £4m £40k a week 'box office' signing really going to cost that if you offset the income they generate? I would say no but this does not appear to be factored in. So we will pay say up to £2m on modest wages for a Loovens when if we got a proven CB at £4-4.5m plus £30k a week the cost could perhaps be brought down when offsetting commercial activity generated

Paul67.

The comment wasn't "out of context". It was simply that he couldnt' compete with Stoke or Hull. I can link you to the interview if you like.

The problem with the quote is rather simpler - It was an attempt to obfuscate. To make us think that the EPL is the land of Milk and honey and we are the poor relations. Further it was two other things - Stupid and dishonest. On the former, I'll offer no comment, on the latter, was it purposeful or innocent? Who knows.

What I do know is that I want the next manager to have enough grey matter to challenge the financial guys on every level. To work with them, but to push them.

The "football operation" is the life blood of the club. We are NOT an investment bank. I recognise absolutely the need for the club to be well run, but at the moment it's patently not so.

A manager with the correct intellect will drive improvement on both fronts.

Like most on here, my frustration borders on tedium with regard to the Tony Mowbray saga.

However, for those giving us pelters about the lack of apparent progress, let's compare and contrast Celtic's approach to Dave Whelan's at Wigan.

Dave seemed happy to give it large to all and sundry that he had his man signed sealed and delivered early last week - no messing around in that case - and here we are more than a week later with Wigan holding a press conferrence to tell everybody that Boaby hasn't actually signed up yet due to financial glitches.

This tells me a few things:

1. Dave Whelan can't keep his mouth shut and is embarassing himself.
2. The Celtic board are correct to tell nobody anything.
3. Severance discussions take a bit of time to sort out whether you are Wigan or Celtic.

I fully expect Boaby Martin to be at Wigan and Tony Mowbary to be at Celtic in rougjly the same time frame.
Ask yourself though who made a bigger erse of themselves - Wigan or Celtic?

starcrossed,

I'm not too sure that a degree is really that relevant for a football manager. And I've worked with and for some folk with degrees that I wouldn't describe as the greatest of managers anyway - especially those with MBAs.

Also, given that most football managers will have played professionally from a young age, relatively few will have had the opportunity to go to university anyway.

Your final point is a good one - but I would argue that the type of analysis you are looking for comes from experience rather than qualifications.

Waiting on white smoke?

Bored?

To break up the day.

Who was the first player you remember to have signed for the hoops?

Frank McGarvey is my first real memory of a player who signed for Celtic.

There he was. Back page of the paper drenched in hoops scarves sitting in a big chest with his arms in the air and a big massive grin on his face. Brilliant picture. Canny find it on the net though. Think it was from the Daily Ranger.

1980 - I was 10.

MWD thought it would break up the monotony of waiting .CSC

I'm sure there has been a deal on the table for a few months for Caldwell to think about, its not the boards fault, nor was it Gordon's fault that its unsigned.

Maybe Caldwell wants to seek greater challenges?

He's seen the best at Parkhead during the champions league games, hes played a the camp new / old trafford / san siro..... He played in the some of our greatest European nights at Parkhead, Milan, Man utd, Spartak Moscow, what is there left to do here?

We all want to move leagues and see better football at parkhead,
well maybe he wants to move on and play in a better league!

This is not a Miller or Maloney, where there was little talking between player and manager.

He's another in a long line of recent players, managers and board members who some of the support almost hounded out, and now on reflection say it wasn't them!

MWD,

Although I am sure that there were others I should remember, the first on that stuck in my mind was Alfie Conn...I wonder why?

A surprising lack of posts on the compensation wrangle Wigan revealed they now have with Swansea.

I guess all the posters who were uptight about the rumoured compensation wrangle between Celtic and WBA or was it Swansea, erm … no, it was Burley wasn’t it? … have said all they have to on the subject!!

Press conference anyone?

MWD - I remember Archie MacPherson announcing on Sportsreel that Celtic had signed John 'Dixie' Deans - a Saturday night about 10 o'clock.

weeminger

Like I've said before - The TV deal guarantees nothing. Ref: Setanta if you need further evidence of this. Moreover, TV knows no loyalty. Celtic fans and football fans do. Therefore it's not a huge leap to suggest that fan income, whilst subject to more vagaries is probably the more reliable of the two. Further it allows other commercial opportunities not given by the TV deal.

A worldwide fan base for a start.

Hulls turnover for this year will be what, 40m? And we can't compete. Apparently.

Now, the costs issue. Yes, the tv revenue comes without associated cost. However, what are the extra costs that Celtic have to incur? For example - policing costs remain relatively flat. The figure for 30,000 is similar to that for 60,000. Celtic have been in dispure over this for many seasons now.

Likewise the extra numbers of fans mean greater income opportunities - Pies, drinks, merchandise, etc etc etc. So there is a cost/benefit. It's not simply a cost penalty. To suggest otherwise is inaccurate.

So...what do all these extra bodies employed by Celtic do? 500 employees? About half of those signed by Gordon Strachan to rot in the reserves! ;-)

in reality, the managers huge squad is wasteful in the extreme and extravagant. Moreover it's pointless. We have wasted money on player after player. How many players under Gordon Strachan have lasted longer than two years? Not many? Because most are inadequate for our needs!

Davie Whelan on skynews with jeff randall tonight at 7.30

Not sure if its live or recorded

TMWT

yeah. I wonder why? :o)

way before my memory banks started holding Celtic related data.

MWD waits it our .CSC

Steinreignedsupreme
All teh questions you have asked re validity of my post you will see i have alluded to in my original post mainly about decisions being made without a manager being in place.

I hear loads of stories but i know the validity of information received which makes me believe at the time conversation this would be accurate information as far as anyone can get without being hooked into the main players ie DD , PL

My dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,friend.. WGS @ 5.04

It looks like none of the Players on our "People of Interest", list... are completely OFF, the Radar.

Very interesting.

In point of Fact.. those Players are only doing what Smart Fellows Always SHOULD do, whenevah there is an opportunity to "Pump up the action".. which means, in plain language..

Take FULL ADVANTAGE of the SITUATION, in which they fortuitously find themselves.

They may Nevah have another chance to squeeze some more... More Money,out of their would be,and very ANXIOUS.. Suitors.

Taking that fact, into consideration.. I widnae put too much hope oan either They or their Potential Employers, hivin a REAL change of Heart.

It looks like Tony the Tiger is the one that we are most interested in, otherwise we would have pursued Boaby, in a mair serious manner.. same goes fur Ownie.

I do not need to tell ye,pal.. that I am indulging in Pure Speculation, when I say all of the above.

So Ah Wullnae!

Annoying and most Frustrating as it seems .. and is..

We can only, watch the rest of the Movie, unfold..

And...ye kin bet ye sweet Patootie.. that things for us, wull all woik oot weel, in the End.

I trust oor Representatives tae dae a Guid Joab.

Kojo.
yer pal.. who likes ye a loat,

By Andy on June 11, 2009 3:31 PM
It wasn't so long ago that Mr Mowbray was questioning our ability to even compete in the EPL (comparing us to the recently relegated Newcastle Utd)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/8027605.stm
---------------------------------------------------------------

though i don't know the details of this particular interview, i wouldn't be surprised if his quotes were taken out of context or manipulated to suit an anti-old firm agenda.
it could of course be exactly what he said and meant but experience shows the english press are pretty derisory when covering scottish football.

if he did say and mean what the article is suggesting then i take your point, doesn't endear me to the idea of him being manager.

i'm just dubious about the article, TM surely knows that celtic - unlike teams like newcastle - have a lot more than big attendances.

SteinreignedSupreme

I would loved to have seen DD.

I wasn't even 1 year old.

MWD

dean_moriarty - I don't think there is anything particularly controversial or insulting in Tony Mowbray's comments.

The jist of the article is that a big club is not necessarily guaranteed success. That is stating the obvious, if anything.

Who could be offended by that?

Moonbeams wet dream - I know some Hibs supporters and they still shiver when I mention Dixie.

He was a great player for us. Some amazing goals ... usually against Hibs funnily enough!

Trouble for Rangers?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/scot_prem/8095413.stm

MWD -

First signing i remember was Joe Miller halfway through the centenary season i think.

dean, I take your point but in this case there were numerous sources for this story which all led with pretty much the same info, just type 'mowbray old firm' into google and it brings a few of them up. A couple of which I would tend to find are accurate.

Pablophanque

Great news on the job front mate.

Good luck to you.

MWD - The earliest I can recollect was Ronnie Glavin and Stevie Murray. Not sure which was the earlier though.

Oh - and Andy Ritchie.

Pabs

Cork-er.

MWD

Spearman,

Let's hope so!

Evening fellow Tims

I've had a day from hell!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Got up at 5am this morn made my way to Dublin Airport go to check in desk (flying to New York) woman looks at my passport and says the plastic is slightly peeled off from the photo and therefore I was refused travel!!! (obviously I protested vehemently but to avail) ( bear in mind I travel back and forth to Scotland to see my beloved hoops about 20 times a season and this has never ever been an issue!!) Woman told me if I was flying to any other country I would be fine but U S immigration at Dublin Airport would definitely not let me on the flight, I was told!!

Had to then get photo's for new passport ( €12 ) then go to police at Dublin Airport to get a form signed for emergency passport then I have to travel from Dub airport to passport office in dub city centre (taxi €20) then I had to go to another office to get something signed then back to passport office then back to Dublin airport (about 5hrs later ) to inform them I want to book the flight for tomorrow morn (€364 for new flight) then taxi back to city centre (again €20) to pick up my Passport (as its an emergency passport it cost € 135!!

After this I got the train home extremely exhausted, frustrated and upset!!

All in all the day has cost me close to €600 and I'm still in Ireland!!

I'm gutted!! Still its only money health is far more important!! At this moment I think of people (like me) who have lost loved one's (and many many more CQN'ers) and also people who are sick like Kano and millions of others worldwide!!

tryingandsucceedinginkeepingthingsinperspectiveCSC

Special bhoy

Joe Miller - I like wee Joe. Especially the 1989 cup final.

Super Sutton

Stevie Murray? Never heard of him.

Ronnie Glavin was 1974 (I think).
Andy Ritchie - Vague memories of my da speaking about him.

MWD

Andy - What do you find offensive about Tony Mowbray's comments?

MWD

Good question!

I used to deliver the Ranger before school end 80's/early 90's,back in the days before the transfer window so almost everyday was exciting to check the back page,Ive tried to think which back page stuck out and it was actually the Rat signing for them,I'll never forget the picture,two huns,one wearing their training top at the time,outside the midden burning their scarves,what a picture,sums that club up for me.

Jacki was my favourite at the time but I cant remember the signing!

roccobhoy

chin up mate. your still a tim.

MWD is waiting .CSC

MWD - Stevie Murray was a classy midfield player we signed from Aberdeen. He refused a Scotland cap while at Celtic because of the abuse our players got from the Scotland follow following at the time.

RoccoBhoy

Have a wee pint mate,you deserve it after that!

Roccobhoy

You deserve a beer.

Well done for keeping calm and sorting your way through that maze. I think if it was me I'd be sitting in a puddle of tears in a corner of the airport.

But could the lassie at check in not just have stuck the wee bit of plastic down with a Pritt stick?

BB

le merde is the only player I have any memory of ever signing for them. Normally don't pay them that much attention.

Horrible little excrement hun that he is.

MWD waits on waiting .CSC

P.S.

why does STV have a bifg pict in the background with Steven McManus standing in front of a Hibees badge?

Moonbeams cheers mate

and by the way your spot on thats another reason to be cheerful!!

Hail Hail Roccobhoy!!

Bradford Bhoy

cheers mate will do (100 % guaranteed!!)

Celtic _ First

No mate the issue is as follows: Because the plastic was slightly away from photo she says than means the photo could have already been interfered with!! I know its a joke!!!!!!!!!!!!

SRS & Chris Sutton

just read up on Steve Murray on Kerrydale Street.

thanks for that.

useful idea of mine after all.

MWD

when exactly did I say that I found Tony Mowbrays comments offensive?

I believe that I was questioning his opinion of our ability by comparing us to (the recently relegated) Newcastle and how (badly) we might fair in the EPL.

I think that this is a fair question as he would be managing the team with a view to qualification for the CL which I think most people would agree, is a step up from the EPL.

roccobhoy

couple more reasons not to be down.

THink of what might have happened if your wee lass didnae notice.

1. Roccobhoy - drop em pants as you hear the snap of the gloves.
2. Roccobhoy - NY my erse you're going to Gitmo

count your lucky stars.

MWD waits and waits .CSC

Andy - but he didn't question the ability of the team in any of the quotes.

He made an observation about the size of the club being irrelevant to any guaranteed success. Therefore the obvious comparison with Newcastle.

It’s difficult to disagree with anything Tony Mowbray said in that press conference.

C_F

Much ado about hee haw to be honest. A slow news day in the closed season I'd say.
Anyway, don't listen to that LOTPAM chap, he's just a little Piscy at the bottom of a hole. :¬)

A View Fae
Spent 20 minutes going up and down the Strathblane Road yesterday. Where's the entrance to the training ground? All I could find was a sign saying "No Entrance to.."

UEFA Under-21 Championship Fantasy Football

How about this competition to break up the summer boredom of no league football!!! Starts on Monday.

It should be interesting given that the only players anyone may have heard of play for England. However, there's also Italy, Germany, Spain, Finland, Serbia, Belarus and the hosts Sweden to choose from.

I've created a private league called CQN.

So, if you aren't already playing the game then you can register at

http://en.u21fantasy.uefa.com.

Once you have logged in and entered your team, click on the 'Leagues' link you can find at the top of the page. Now enter the code 2714-330 to join the private league.

Enjoy the game.

Michele

Roccobhoy

The only other thing I would have thought to ask, if I had no check-in luggage, would have been to ask her to let you give it a go with the US Immigration dudes at Dublin airport, so that if they waved me through, I'd see the check-in girl at the gate, remembering to thank her for her faith in me.

If not, you could have trooped back landside to go through the rigmarole with the police and the form and the taxis and she could have reassigned your seat.

The advantage at Irish airports is that you face the US Immigration officers are on this side of the Atlantic. And some of them are Irish. Worth a try, surely, even if it meant promising to sort a new passport out once you got to NYC.

Rocco

Can I have the telephone number of the taxi company you use? I've been charged €15 to go from the termianl to the Radisson, which turns out was all of 500 metres away from the terminal. €20 to the city is damned good value!

Moonbeams :)

Celtic_first

I did say this to her but she was adamant I would have no joy!!

Hopefully please God everything will be fine 2moro!

Hail Hail

Roccobhoy

starcrossed

The 500 odd employees Celtic employ undertake a range of activities which helps to increase our turnover.

For instance there are ticket office staff, retail operatives in the superstore, other shops across UK and Ireland, catering staff, Celtic Pools staff, a marketing team, finance people, Channel67 staff, advertising staff etc etc. I'm sure many other clubs employ similar people but not as many as Celtic do as a larger club we need more to generate more income.

The EPL teams receive at least £30m from Sky with absolutely no outlay and no extra staff to employ.

As well as the wages Celtic pay these people, they also have to pay rates on premises, heating, electric etc on premises.

Mort

Really dissapointed at the way we are going about getting a manager in.

If this is what it is to be like getting a manager, I'm not looking forward to our player recruitment. Not very professional at all. Reminiscent of the nineties actually.

Any reputation we had for being well run is evaporating fast.

Lubo.

Do we believe the BBC?

http://www.keep-the-faith.net/index.htm

Earliest recalled transfers

Bobby Carroll, I think and Willie Fernie when he joined up for a second time. Paddy Turner from Morton - a Bob Kelly signing if ever there was one.

Apparently Pat Crerand was speechless when reporters informed him, as he left Mass, that he was on his way to Old Trafford.

The late '50s and early '60s witnessed a fair few uninspiring Celtic signings. Billy Price was an exception to that particular rule. His celtic career was short but fairly distinguished.

Andy Ritchie played for Celtic reserves in the early '70s. I don't think he ever played in the first team before his transfer to Morton.

By starcrossed on June 11, 2009 5:17 PM

Contrary to popular belief, Martin O'Neill does not have a degree.

He was, I understand, enrolled for Law at Queens, but skied the park less than one year later to pursue his fitba' career. No shame in that mind, and matters since have shown this to be a good decision, but he doesn't have a degree.

TBB

Lubo

I agree with the time its taking but done you think there just isn't an outstanding candidate who would come to us at this moment in time.

"West Bromwich in debt deal talks" says the BBC. Ah, I thought, an interesting if unexpected development at last. Turns out to be the building society, not the Baggies....

TBB

I think he was given an honorary degree.

Mort

Moonbeams wet dreams

Bored? yes and no....

Evan Williams was the first tic I can remember signing, for tuppence happeny and a penny arrw' bar from Birningham or was it Wolves.

Best signing.....Henrik

Worst signing (in terms of return v outlay) Schedit, followed by Hayes then Slater

Most tactically inept .....Peter the pointer or Tommy Coyne (always offside)

Shortest player .....Shaun

Tallest player.......McGuigan

Heaviest player.....Big Shuggie

Best double act up front (leaving out Henrik)....Chicken George and Frank....very good positioning between them and the movement towards the ball which was then dummied and then move for the return....usually fed from the meastro...happy days....sometimes touched back for Murdo to pile drive a shot that just missed the hot pie you spend half time queuing up for.

Anyway ....not long before OC is announced and the red tops will have been led a merry dance once again.

Elhboy

erm... No

See the following dated 27h MAY

Celtic are set to appoint Burnley boss Owen Coyle as manager, according to the BBC.

Coyle, who won promotion to the English Premier League at the weekend, is thought to have opted to turn down the chance to take Burnley further and instead manage the club he has supported since childhood.

Burnley were desperate to keep Coyle at Turf Moor, reportedly offering him a contract extension, but the lure of Parkhead has apparently proved to be too strong.

The claims come hours after Croatia boss Slaven Bilic was said to be interested in the vacancy. Former Charlton boss Alan Curbishley is also rumoured to have already been interviewed for the role.

steinreignedsupreme

Your comment re Stevie Murray is not correct.

Paul67 said a while back we could still post stuff that was totally irrelevant, now before any cyber wags dive in with the obvious..........
for the first time since we lost the league I ventured a sneaky peek at the Scottish news on the telly.

It's clear they know nowt about who our next manager is going to be either..........

But, thats not the point of my irrelevant post. No Sir, however, lhads and lhassies I give you.......BBC Scotland Weather Gal JUDITH RALSTON!(nee Tonner).Thats what I call a warm front.

Jings, Crivvens and Help ma Boab!

notthebus on June 11, 2009 7:06 PM

They are not the most reliable are they.

All these snippets though are becoming tedious, for the sake of my own sanity hoping for a quick announcement.

Surely tomorrow will bring some sort of clarity.

Peter Grant, agree

i find it bizarre that we are trying to canvas support from chairmen of English clubs, to enable us to engineer our way into the English Premiership, while on the other hand we are trying to shaft them and steal their Managers without paying proper compensation

poor show

Mazy

What are some people on here on ?
Why should our club fall over itself to hand over money to an ex-EPL club ?

If we are still without a manager when the season kicks off then we should start asking questions but not now !

Given that Wattie is /was only 2/3 games away from back to back TREBLES - our primary object should be to win back the league

If whoever we appoint cannot do that with the players on the books plus a few additions then he will not be a great choice !

The team needs more power and pace from back to front
The new manager should be able to identify the required players very quickly - as long as they are mostly on board by the end of August we should be in a strong position for the league campaign

Europe should be regarded as a bonus this season

Lets ses who we get as manager and then let them get on with things

I attended Steve Murray's debut for Celtic at Elland Road in a testimonial for Jack Charlton.

Celtic won 4-3 and wee Jinky was absolutely magnificent. Think he might have scored the winner and mibbees with his left boot. It was a screamer anyway.

Steve Murray was an excellent player but sadly retired through injury after only a couple of years with Celtic.

Oh forgot to mention........ he was a St.Pat's Dumbarton bhoy!

MWD:
I had the privelige and the pleasure of firing crosses in from the left wing for John "Dixie" Deans to bullet into the net.Fabulous striker and helluva nice guy as well.
Hail hail

Same old same old. Everything we seem to get involved in is done at snail's pace. I know the old adage "Fools rush in" might apply, but could we not just for once act swiftly in sealing a managerial appointment bearing in mind the CL qualifiers?