First-hand knowledge is only insight worth having

Afternoon all

podium ?

Nope not this time!

But do we really need another striker who doesn't score a lot of goals as seems to be the case with him.

Top 5?

Phil Brown denies any link with Scott McDonald live on SSN, looks like more nonsense from Jangle Jangle

Never mind buying players.

Farrah Fawcett R.I.P. Now there is a sad loss to the world.
Another fine beautiful lady stolen. she was my bhoyhood crush.

MWD has a tint of sadness today

Morning all,

Just over a week back from a great holiday and I’ve refrained from posting after reading so much rubbish over deleted posts. The rules of the blog are simple and if you don’t like it move on and leave this blog for those who want to discuss all things CELTIC.

Paul, receiving disgusting hate mail from coward(s) must be so frustrating. I commend you for not thinking enough is enough and shutting down CQN. I’ve never met Paul67, it is only through this forum that I have ever had contact with him. I’ve had disagreements regarding his views as have many others. There’s no doubting that he is indeed close to senior sources at Celtic Park and in my humble opinion this sometimes clouds his own personal view. He has on record questioned our current most expensive signing’s impact on the team, which wouldn’t be welcomed inside the corridors at CP. His informative financial information regarding both glasgow SPL clubs has made interesting reading even though it meant bugger all to me at the end of this season. Finance means nothing if there’s no champions tag attached to me.

Kojo, the only rhymes I know are 3 blind mice etc so i’ll not try to match your posts with like for like. Your are definitely someone with a big ghra for the Celtic. No doubting that your posts are unique, but suggesting Caddis as a central midfielder is akin to asking Balde to appear on Dancing on Ice. Keep posting mo chara!.

Back to all things football and next season now seems certain that we will have some amount of changes to the spine of our side. We could lose Boruc, Caldwell, Hartley & JVOH which was the spine of failed title run-in side. Personally if we only kept GC out of those four I would be happy. Artur has suffered form through his own indiscretions and doesn’t seem to be able to enjoy his home life under the constant media spotlight. I think that TM should be given time with McGeady because if he can get the best out of him we have a potential superstar and if he can’t then it will be time to sell. The board have stated that they will back TM financially and it will be very interesting to see how this pans out.

I’ve renewed my seat and I’m very confident that I will be watching Celtic regain the title and i’ll be logging on here and enjoying the banter between fellow supporters.

Hail Hail to All!

Gary 67

I better cancel that taxi that i was ready to drive to Hull then, thats a bummer.

Serious comment this time....

Priority Signings
-----------------
1 x Left Back (Castillo, Petkovic, Robinson)
2 X Strikers (Please not Fortune or Fletcher)
1 X Dominant Midfielder (Lewandowki?)

Would like on top
-----------------
1 x Dominant Defender (??)
1 x Attacking Midfielder (Right-sided)

Celtic_first : sent mail to you last night. Can you let me know if you got it, in case I've got an old address from Pablo?

Many thanks,
TTTT

Have you heard the news ?

Michael Jackson is dead.

I think Roy Aitken is too old to play another season, and Mark Burchill will be a star.

Hanif with his scrawny finger on the news pulse

DBBIA - "I was at a meeting on Wednesday night regarding SwineFlu/H1N1, and the planning and preparation for what may/ or may not be unleashed."

Personally, I reckon this is just another bogeyman, birdflu/H5N1 was touted as armageddon a few years back, when in actual fact only 258 reported deaths were linked with the virus, a negligible percentage of those who die from seasonal flu around the globe.

Billions of dollars/Euros/Sterling were used to purchase the useless Tamiflu to combat the symptoms of H5NI virus (nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, and headache), despite Tamiflu packaging carrying warnings of side affects exactly the same as the as the virus it purported to provide relief from. Tamiflu has a shelf life of three years, which, coincidently, means that all those unused batches purchased for H5N1 will now be out of date and disposed of.

Not to mention the fact that it's not actually the virus that harms you, but the human body's over-exuberant immunological reaction to it.

For me, the pharmaceutical industry, and it's links to national governments/administrations is one of the darker out there.

Wolfetonebhoy, thank you for your kind words.

By delboy67 on June 26, 2009 12:19 PM

Priority Signings

1 x Left Back (Castillo, definitely not Robinson)
2 X Strikers (Fortune or Fletcher plus ??)
1 x Dominant Central Defender (Goian, Onyewu)
1 X Dominant Midfielder (Mozart)
1 x for the future (McCarthy, before its too late)

TG,

Couldn't agree more regarding the pharmaceutical industry.

it's in their interest for you not to get better as you will then keep requiring to purchase their drugs etc.

A lot of well intentioned people in the indusrty are sickened by some of the goings on at a financial/commercial level.

the token tim

i am not claiming that every fan in the jungle that day in 1988 was a saint,in fact im saying the opposite,the majority should hang their heads in shame,what i was trying to say was that even the most decent people out there,the salt of the earth types who wouldnt say boo to anyone,can do the craziest things if they have enough hatred for something as in this case hating mark walters because he played for rangers.

michael collins

i agree with you also,the mark walters fiasco si really an isolated incident,but one we should never try to forget,also agree on the banana-potato analogy,there is no difference,but we as a support must rise above this filth and let them slither into their cesspit.

hail hail

CQN Cycle For Kano

interested in joining 4 fellow CQN'ers in the 50 mile cycle from Glasgow to Edinburgh then drop me a line @

cqncycleforkano@googlemail.com

I will be registering our team tonight so hurry hurry hurry.

Last call to Falkirkbhoy & Bigsinend

can you drop a line to CQNcycleforKano@googlemail.com and let me know if you are still interested or not.

I am assuming your initial interest has wained somewhat but as yet have no heard from either of you to confirm either way.

Hail Hail

MWD

@ Tictical_Genius :

Pharmaceutics companies are there to make $$$, you'd think instead of inventing "cures" for minor ailments, they'd work on something more deadly, and therefore more profitable....

I can imagine a bunch of them sitting around the lab: "Will we work on cancer today?"... "Nah, lets see if we can invent something to cure the cold".

wolfetonebhoy

Just read your post. Boy was that dull.

Oh and by the way wolftonebohy.
Your comment
"The rules of the blog are simple and if you don’t like it move on and leave this blog for those who want to discuss all things CELTIC"

So your choice of moniker makes you a bit of a hypocryte does it not?

By the way the question is rhetorical.

o no! not again.

i'm off.

MWD

Moonbeams -

Farrah was THE Catholic icon of the 1970s behind JP2

hazyjane,

I care not about her religion, creed or colour. only her beauty.

MWD

Ooooops. I was supposed to be off.

Tictical

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=13408

celt for life -

Take him down in the taxi anyway, hopefully he'll get lost and not come back to us.

Cant stand the man. No bad footballer, not as good as he thinks he is.

Samaras is a better player. He started the season on fire but McDonald kept chipping and chipping away at his confidence till he had none left.

Samaras was scared to try anything and scared of failing because of McDonald.

In my opinion, hes nothing more than a fat bully. He does not behave like a Celtic player should.

£6m?? Id take £3m and get shot of him.

Paul67 - Better the devil you know? Like others I am not overly enthused about Fortune's stats record but the management team are raving about him. We had a dearth of goals from midfield last year and if they think he is the type of link player we need then I am all for it!

I take it it will be likely we will have to wait until pre-season training starts so BTM gets a look at the squad before we really find out who is staying and going?

If I was BTM I would be sanctioning the sale of Boruc (Offers over £7m), McGeady (offers over £7m), McManus (offers over £3.5m), Donati (offers over one penny chew).

Now if we take that lovely little bundle of circa £18m add it to the existing budget PLUS the wages wriggle room we will also have surely this adds up to enough dosh for a new spine to the team plus replacements for the outgoings? Maybe even a Janko?

What do you think?

bazzabhoy

100% agree with you.

Paul67

While I agree with your assessment to a point, I would say that alot of the problem that people have with buying players from the domestic scene is that Scottish players are rubbish.

Year after year the new exciting young prospects come through but it is rare that we produce an athlete with the skill, the professionalism and the attitude to take his career to the very top. Our homegrown players tend to become infused with the small fish, small pond mentality of thinking they're already great before they've really been tested at the highest of levels.

That is why I personally, among others, would always choose the Spaniard (for example) over the Scot. Their players just tend to be of a better general standard while ours tend to be average at best.

wolfetonebhoy - for the record, i didn't think your post was dull!I've renewed too - I've got a brand new seat for the brand new season and I can't wait to use it to see some brand new football. Lower north stand in line with the half way line - sweet. Like you, I'm hoping to get the chance to see what aiden can do under the new regime - could be well worth watching. Mon the Hoops!

Frever

bazza bhoy

so hes a fat bully!!

its his fault that samaras is not playing well!!!

in my opinion te wee man is a far better player than samaras,more workrate,more guts,scores the goals when it matters most,he basically played up front in a 442 formation for most of the season,carrying the burden of holding up the ball,linking up and scoring all the goals.

so imagine if he had a mobile,pacy goalscorer,with some bravery thrown in,how good would macdonald be for us then.

but hey if you just want to call him names and insult him carry on,maybe you think thats the way a celtic fan should behave:)))))

hail hail

RL 12:41

that tickles my fancy!

seriously... what's not to like?

us splashin 20MIL in wan windae aint gonna happen tho is it.

tbdJ

Mr Angry,

Apologies for not having the ability with words to enlighten your day. My moniker may make me sound like a hypocrite but I'm not too sure of me being a hypocryte. What do you think?

By the way the question is rhetorical.

TBDJ - To say I would be surprised should those events come to pass would be an understatement...although we have no pressing debt to pay off, should we get the money in there should be no reason not to allow it to go back out again.

Dear delboy67, re Priority Signings...we have noted your post today at 12:19 on CQN and are happy to announce that we will indeed take your advice and purchase immediately...1x Left Back, 2x Strikers, 1x Dominant Midfielder...we would also hope that by late this afternoon we will have signed the 1x Dominant Defender and 1x Attacking Midfielder (Right-sided) that you suggested as well...we do hope these players will meet with your approval and fulfill your expectations for the coming season...All the best, PL and the Board........PS anything else, (new goalie or new manager) just let Paul67 know and we will do what we can.

RL,

Big Mick is having an operation therefore I cant see anyone buying him this summer. More likely that we sell Caldwell imho

HAil HAil

Tictical_Genius - vaccines are created using de-natured (or dead) versions of whatever they're trying to protect you against and almost all of them provoke a mild version of the response you'd get if infected. Tamiflu is no exception.

Similarly virtually all medicines have a shelf-life after which they become less effective. Some might still work but the effects will be less predictable.

While I too am a little unsure that swine flu will be as bad as predicted, it is reaching a tipping point.

And although I also agree that the pharmaceutical industry is slightly on the shady side, it does gall me slightly that people (not necessarily yourself) are constantly questioning the integrity of honest, hardworking scientists.

I hope that wasn't too patronising.

I see Cory Feldman has been asked for his thoughts on the death of his close friend Michael Jackson but nobody asked Cory Haim. However, nobody asked The Thrills either. Wonder what happened to them.

CelticSephiroth - "That is why I personally, among others, would always choose the Spaniard (for example) over the Scot. "

My money's on the Kurgan.

Bazzabhoy and others,
I'm not saying I'd sell McDonald but his reaction and manner on the field has always been something that has been a real problem for me.

He always seems to be shouting and bawling at someone for something they have done wrong.
I know that many will say it's his determination to suceed and win, but I will always remember the way Larsson would conduct himself in similar situations.

This is a guy who would turn and applaud the ideas of his team members for their passes, even if they were into row Z.
I never once saw him shout or lose his temper the way McDonald always does and he earned the respect of player for that IMHO.

I think Henrik understood the importance of confidence in his team mates and did everything he could to keep it high. Something I don't think McDonald does at all.

Just an opinion.

/Bishop B

Wolfetonebhoy -

I'm with you on this one! But don't rise to the bait.

Jobo

tommytwiststommyturns at 12:22 PM

Mail back to you, TTTT. Sorry for the delay.

ibleedgreenandwhite -

I just cannont stand the sight of a Celtic player constantly giving another abuse. I hate it when the fans do (yes I see the irony here), its not right, so why should a player be allowed to do so?

Samaras is a confidence player, McDonald robbed him of that. If someone in your work was constantly on your case like Skippy, youd lets say have words with him,,, at the very least.

McDonald scored what 4 goals more?? played more games too.

He is a good player, as I said, but his attitude stinks.

He behaves like a bully, I'll take the fat out cos to be honest I wouldnt mind being that fat !

Cadizzy - There is at least a silver lining in the sad news.

My mint condition Sega Megadrive "Moonwalker" cartridge is going to be worth millions now. I'll be richer than Gary Wilmot.

paul67
when you talk about a previous manager i take it you refer to martin oneil because off the top of my head i cant help but think of names like momo sylla, david fernandez, magnus hedman, juninho, henri camara, rab douglas was a regular, fair enough but a poor one at that.

philvisreturns

there can be only one

hail hail

highlanderCSC

Len Brennan - "I know that many will say it's his determination to suceed and win, but I will always remember the way Larsson would conduct himself in similar situations."

Now, the world don't move to the beat of just one drum.

What might be right for you, may not be right for some.

I love Scotty's attitude, he's a winner and a grafter.

Paul67,

with regards to any argument over a 'McDonald type' Vs a 'Fortune type' the this is a no brainer in my eyes.

Furtune is strong, tall, fast, extremely fit and athletic. This is the 'type' of player we should be buying.

I hope, now that Strachan has gone, that we stop buying players who have attributes such as being small, slow and weak. Examples:

McDonald - fitness concerns and small, little pace
Maloney - small and weak
Crosas - small and weak - very little pace
Flood - very weak and very small
Naylor - small and no pace
Mizuno - small and weak
McCourt - unfit

The club's signing policy cannot continue along these lines if we ever want to reach a European final again or hope to beat Rangers on a regular basis again.

Mowbray has aluded to this fact and I look forward to a bugger physical presence next year that will help us 'mix-it-up' a bit better.

From what I have seen - Fortune will gave old Mr Weir a tough time.

ibleedgreenandwhite - I love Highlander. Did you know it won the Academy Award for Best Movie Ever Made?

MacDonald has his limitations. Being passionate on the park and getting angry when things dont happen is not one of them.

Signing any new striker is a gamble. There are so many variables that can affect whether he is a success at the club. At the moment we have one, only one striker who has shown he can score goals and important goals at that.

In my opinion Scott was the only player in our team who looked like turning draws into victories and did on several occassions.

It has always amazed me how many Celtic fans seem willing to slaughter him and he is the last player in our team we should be looking to sell.

Paul

There is a severe lack of consistency in your blogs of late. Most notably today stating you are only comfortable having players who have worked under mowbray, but two days prior urging the club to sign croats. It is clear Mowbray has been brought in to delve into the average championship market and sign "steve guppy's," if we wanted to sign REALLY talented up and comers we should have spoke to the interested Bilic and plundered Croatia.

TrueTim - "I look forward to a bugger physical presence next year "

Freud was right CSC.

Tictical genius- you're right, it[H1N1] MIGHT just be a bogeyman; or it might be the real deal; nobody knows. What is happening is that people are trying to be prepared; maybe the preparations will be superflouos in 2009 but there will be another major pandemic in the future.

It is the nature of the virus to mutate genetically; it's not going to stop doing that any time soon. And when the genetic tumblers click into place they might create a new Spanish Flu.

Now that's a bogeyman with a capital 'B'

That is the real worry with bird flu- not that it will cause widespread infection because [thankfully] it is hard to catch and transmit to another human- but that bird flu will interchange genetic material with a seasonal flu to make it more easily transmissible; with a probable lack in virulence which will reduce mortality from the 'very high' to the 'high'.

We don't know how things are going to pan out; but a lot of people far more expert than me are worried that come the January transfer window Celtic not signing a fullback will be the least of our worries.

bazza bhoy

your reply to me was far more consrtuctive than your first post:)))))

i agree with you on a lot of the things you have mentioned,he is a wee moaning git,and yes he lets others know when he is not happy,but whats the difference between macdonald doing it and say someone like keane,aitken,and before you say anything i know they are better players.

the point im trying to make is,football players are moaners,win lose or draw they moan at each other about everything,regarding samaras,yes i agree he is something of a confidence player,but i dont think you can lay all of the blame on scott for the big greeks form dip,anyone who plays for celtic must have a certain amount of mental toughness,to me samaras is lacking in this dept,also in the physical side of things.

but cheers for your reply mate:))

hail hail

RogueLeader, most transfer business is done late in the window anyway but I expect Tony has a good idea what to expect from his current squad.

CelticSephiroth, agree that Scottish players are far from good, but at least we should know this about them. It is harder to spot the European failure-in-the-making.

down in albion, none of the players you mentioned worked for Martin O’Neill before coming to Celtic, and I was referring to all previous managers.

TrueTim, I don’t know enough about Fortune to agree or disagree with you, but agree with your desired attributes.

hoops1990, not necessarily. In assessing the merits of a new player I would feel happier if our manager had direct experience of managing him before than not, but it would be crazy to limit yourself to players in this category, irrespective of the reduced risk.

TrueTim

agree with most of your points mate

but cannot agreed willo flood is weak

have saw him previously shove bigger players off the ball (fairly)

Paul67

Interesting regarding your assertiobn about Guppy being the only failure amongst previously managed players.
The successes would be Henrik, Lubo, Lenny, Telfer (!), McDonald (?) and some others who I can't think of.
Did Blinker play under Jansen at Feyenoord?

Phil

Don't knock Tru Tim. Paul agrees with him.

" but agree with your desired attributes"

Yikes

The Battered Bunnet - Down with this sort of thing.

Quite

Paul67 - an example of a manager buying a player he had previously worked with and it going very badly wrong - Billy McNeill buying Willie Garner. A disaster of the complete variety, even allowing for his part in Daily Express 6-a-side triumph.
Which is a shame because I know a guy who works with Wille Garner and he assures me Willie is not only a good bloke but also a season ticket at Paradise.

Paul67 - "I expect Tony has a good idea what to expect from his current squad"

Well I hope his expectations, borne of a professional eye, differ from mine. If they don't he is going to need that £18m :)

I saw a stoat last night; it was small but also fast and nimble.

We could do with a stoat in the box.

Paul 67

Now that we are hopefully over the daftness of the last wee while, I'd like to thank you for this blog.

I do not agree with you a lot of the time, I am a self confessed mineshafter, (its in my nature), however, I thought the point of blogs like these was to exchange views.

Anyway, from the second most crabbit poster, (PF Ayr being the first), keep up the good work, and thanks.

jvoh67

DBBIA - or a mongoose.

Afternoon all!

On the Fortune debate, with an office in West Brom, which I occasionally visit, a West Brom (and Celtic) suporting wife and a couple of mates who are West Brom season ticket holders my information is that Fortune is an excellent player.

Pacey, strong and good in the air with an eye for goal, exactly the kind of player we need. Might not have set the heather on fire in the Premier League last year but the SPL is a different stage and he would be playing with better wide players hopefully in McGeady, Maloney, McCourt and who knows who else as the transfer window unfolds.

I would definitely welcome him to Celtic Park.

Hail Hail!

RobinBhoy

Dontbrattbackinanger

Rangers have a stoat that plays up front, wait, sorry, that's a weasel.

PVR- we already have a mongoose at CP. His name is P.Lawell.

Stoat in a box? Refer to WG for relevant tales.

ToedInTheHoleCSC

DBBIA :- Considering where you live wouldn't a weasel be more appropriate fauna? ;-)

The reason for the different strikers is the way football is in the SPL.

Harold Brattback
Kenny Miller
Fortune?

Poor return of goals why?
There is no space to run into when playing in the spl, the gap between back 4 and the goal keeper is about 10 yards at parkhead. The goals they score they need the team to be stretched, not sitting defending for their lives for a draw.

Brattback - hat trick v Real Madrid, goal against st.Johnstone, hes at his best running onto the ball
Miller - goal against rangers, goal against benfica, all goals on the break.

It doesn't matter who we sign, unless the SPL stops being such a negative league full of teams that even play just one man up front when they are getting beat 1-0, it will never change.

The league titles will be decided on refereeing decisions and bits of luck. - The way rangers like it!

Wolfetonebhoy
@ 12.17.

Where to start?

Got it!

Difficult to gie ye the Razz that ye deserve..

Why?

Because, Ah am in a particularly guid mood.. Ah ayeways am,
jist in frae the jiggin'.

So .. Ah shall be gentle wi' ye.

The next time ye decide to offer a Humorous Analogy.. like the Bobo Balde wan.. remember this.. and dinnae ye forgeet it..

Yer Analogy must be based on a previously ACCURATE Statement.

Fur..

NO WHERE WULL YE FIND IN MY STATEMENT, WHICH YOU REFERRED TO...when you formed yer clever Analogy.

The WOID.. CENTRAL.. Tacked oan before the WOID .. MIDFIELDER,..when I recommended, that wonderful wee Player.. Paul Caddis for the

CELTIC.. MIDFIELD.. MIDFIELD.. MIDFIELD.. a woid standing alone.. without a Qualifying Adjective.

Read that,and Weep!

I shall repeat that. just fur effect..

I did Not use the Adjective.. CENTRAL..AS YOU HAVE SAID I DID... when I Recommended, Paul Caddis, for the Position of.. A MIDFIELDER.

So..

Get it? Got it? Good!

True Tim,

"....and I look forward to a bugger physical presence next year that will help us 'mix-it-up' a bit better."

I sincerely hope that Tony has no plans to have an African tour which includes Uganda then :-)

HAIL! HAIL!
Token

RE:

Fortune

I've no info on the guy or how good he would be, but pace is a virtue which he've been so short of under WGS's teams.....so if the guy does have pace and is strong and decent in teh air, I think he'll bring some energy to a side that has slowed to a crawl in the last 6 months.

Tony Mowbray was not my first choice for manager, but he's our man now and I will trust his judgement and if he thinks this guys a player well that's good enough for me.

Spent too much time in recent months whinging about WGS and generally fed up with a Celtic side that let us all down, so I'm gonna think positive, back TM 100% and his team cos right now we're building a new side and I'm kinda excited about that.

Hail Hail

TrueTim

Naylor...small? (Whit height are you...6'6"?)

It is not height and pace or strength that maketh a good football player but ability. The other attributes are for those that lack ability.

What height Xavi/Messi/Iniesta?

And yes they are attacking midfielders (or attacker in Messi's case) but Puyol ain't no giant either (granted he has pace).

We are trying to field a football team not a basketball team!

We might need greater balance, but Robson already gives us dig.

As Paul67 Oft said "play the footballers".

I don't mind if players are big/strong and/or fast as long as they can play a bit.

Falkirkbhoy :- Or it could be decided by one team being better than the rest the way it was last year :-)

Before anyone replies I'll concede the same can be said for the previous three seasons, in fact every season since it started.

DBBIA - he's the mongoose to my snake? Or is it the snake to my mongoose? Either way, it's bad. I don't know animals.

TrueTim on June 26, 2009 1:08 PM
Paul67,

"I hope, now that Strachan has gone, that we stop buying players who have attributes such as being small, slow and weak."

I commented a number of times last season about how out of step we were in not signing players of african ethnicity....if you want pace, power and athleticism then thats a market to ignore at your peril

i would really like to hear gordon's explanation for this, because with no explanation the reasoning could be twisted to something altogether sinister....not that i believe anything sisnister was the reason, but it was totally illogical to ignore this source of player

EU, me ole musteliphobic mucker, that would be a stoatily different kettle o'fish, ermine opinion.

Now awa' and badger someone else- marten42?

philvisreturns

The Kurgan was Russian ;^)

"I've got something to say! It's better to burn out than to fade away!"

I've always thought it was mad how the most famous Scottish actor in the world was cast as a Spaniard who had been around in Egypt/Japan. While the man with the most confusing accent in the world was cast as the Scot.

"You big haggis!"

Paul67

Indeed, but would you rather sign someone you know likely to be average or someone who will be average at worst?

I think you have said before, this is where the scouts come in and must be trusted to deliver. Otherwise, why employ them?

barcabhoy

I raised that very point on here a few months back and was shouted down. Didn't imply anything sinister in it I just found it strange we hadn't any players like that and the ones we did couldn't get a look in i.e Balde and Doumbe.

Glad there is change afoot!

DD

Philvisreturns
Gary Wilmott may or may not be stinking rich.

According to Wikipedia, Gary Wilmott's father Harry was a member of The Southlanders was the Bass voice that sang the unforgettable line “I Am A Mole And I Live In A Hole”.

Sadly, they did not add the great lines

I am a stoat and I live in a boat
I am a mongoose and I live in a hoose
I am a rat and I have my own flat

Make Gary look rich or poor

Gary shows a range of emotions hitherto unseen in his acting career

Cadizzy

You have too much time on your hands,away and do some charity work or
summit else worthwhile .

Sorry Edward

playing for a draw and hoping to take your chance if you get it, via a mistake, a corner or a freekick, is not a team playing better in my book.

But thats the walter way!

Another thing I've often wondered.

Did Nat King Cole ever beg his wife for his "me"?

Voguepunter

By all means!Which worthy cause is currently looking after you?

Cadizzy
Just leave money behind the bar,will be gratefully appreciated.

Cheers:0)

Bazzabhoy

Don't agree with you completely on McDonald but I think you make a valid point concerning his attitude towards his team mates. I think it's damaging and needs to be addressed.

Sir Paul

Frankly, pal..Ah shall be deeply disappointed if Celtic were to Sign Mr. Fortune.

As Ah hiv written, elsewhere, oan this Forum..

Mr. Fortune, defies .. Two, of Kojo's Golden Rules.

My anticipated dismay, is founded oan, the following..INELUCTABLE TRUTH...

We need a Gordam Prolific Striker.

Period!

Mr. Fortune, even oan his best of days.. could only be described.. and I am Charitably Speakin' in this...

As...

Only Barely Adequate, in the SCORING OF GOALS DEPT!

Says it awe.. Really.

Kojo.

Kojo

I'll admit to a SCHOOLBOY error....
indeed you did not mention the word CENTRAL when
you spoke of Caddis being part of our midfield and
for that I owe you an apology!!. But that's it.......
to think Caddis could be the answer on either flank would
be to me another SCHOOLBOY error....

your mate.....wolfetonebhoy.......who likes you a lot........!

Voguepunter

In the snug..a big gallon bottle full of copper and silver and nothing that folds. You can't miss it. Very heavy so I'll help you carry it... but it'll cost you....in the region of.... a big gallon bottle full of copper and silver and nothing that folds.

Natalie Cole had no choice but to remain celibate.

McDonald is a crabbit git (so is mcGeady) and as far as I can remember never thanks a team mate for an attempted pass, but instead shouts abuse at them. Is that passion or being a Richard? Henrik, as some one stated before always encouraged a team mate, no matter how good or bad they played, I don't think anyone can say he lacked passion.

£6m for a poor team mate, who is overweight and cost £600k 2 years ago? Grab it and run.

Barcabhoy,

Good grief! That is among the most twisted posts i've ever read. Honestly if your spin was suggested by a member of the RST for our signing policy I think even they would think it was too absurd to make public.

For what its worth, i'm fairly sure that Strachan and every other Celtic manager past or present, would sign any player they felt was good enough no matter what their ethnicity, religion or country of origin. It kinda what defines us and Strachan never let us down in that regard.

And for the record, African players are as difficult to sign as Asians and South Americans. Players of African descent are available in every major European league, usually with French or Dutch passports, but they form part of the same market as white players or Scottish players, or whatever. So the same principles apply - if they're good enough and within our budget then we can consider signing them.

This summer is getting longer and longer.

Greenjedi

Selling one of the very few players that were able to turn a game for us last season and replacing him with unknown quantities would be nothing short of madness. Given the fact that JVoH is already half way out the door even more so.

As far as his moaning is concerned if I had to play beside Samaras and JVoH for a whole season I would be moaning as well.

Personally if we could get 6m for McDonald I'd bite their hand off as long as the WHOLE 6m was spent on another goal scorer in addition to the 4m for Fortune. If we sell to buy it'll only prove the rumours of no money being on offer to the manager to be 100% true.

IMO we could get Janko for 6m along side Fortune and walk this league by a country mile next season.

DD

Some fair comment on Scott McDonald today. Personally if we were offered £6m for him and used that to buy Janko I would be ecstatic but I don't think that's going to happen. His constant moaning has to have a negative effect on Sammy, and I think he knows it. Strange when Gordon spoke of good teammates so much, that doesn't seem like the mark of a good teammate. BUT, and it's a big BUT, the fact that he is a moaning wee so and so makes him what he is, so we have to be careful not to take that edge off him.

Would also like to add my belated condemnation of the cowardly personal attacks on Paul67. We don't always agree Paul, but the blog would be boring if we all did. Part of the reason I go to games, or watch them in Cardiff pubs with likeminded individuals, or log in to CQN is so I can have that debate, so thanks for letting us all take part and apologies in advance for the number of times I will disagree over the coming season !

Couple of quick additional observations,

We're not out of step with the European Champions as regards the height, weight, girth or colour of our squad.

Fortune reminds me of Bellamy or Camera. He is a talent, good feet and pace etc, but lacks a composed finish.

As others have said, that can change. I genuinely thought Larsson lacked the very same when he arrived at Celtic Park.

My dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,friend..Wolfetonebhoy.

Your Graceful Apology is eagerly Accepted.. Palomine.

You ur noo Back in the Will!

Ah hiv bin known tae mak a few Embarrassing Foxes Paws, in ma time,as well...

However, Ah wull never Admit it Publicly!( Ye jist Did,buddy.. ed)( Drat!... so Ah did~ ach.. too late, noo~)

Pax Vobiscum!pal.. Pax Vobiscum! ( Is that a Zinger?...ed)( If it is.. then Father Reilly, hiz been gettin' away wi' insulting us fur Years)

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

Nanu Nanu from the Dark Side,

Have enjoyed reading the site for some time and there were a few things that i would like to add my comments on. I would however like to give some background which may at times give some context to comments/views I may put forward.

Come from a family with Celtic supporting parents and sibling. In early 70's as a youngster I would be taken to games at Parkhead and also watched amongst others the juniors at Cambuslang. Final game i can remember attending with family was the Bobby Lennox/Jimmy Johnstone testimonial in I think 74. My memory has Davie Hay, a personal favourite, returning from Chelsea to play in that game however that may just be senility creeping in.

For a few years I had more of an interest in the English game and then the penny dropped and it was Ibrox for me ( Insert Boos here). Been a season ticket for many years now and would never give it up. On to the comments:

The Mark Walters game. On the day of the game I puchased a ticket for the main stand in the corner nearest the Celtic end of the ground.What surprised me was seeing some Celtic fans dressed in Monkey suits hired for the day. On some occasions the hatred between the 2 teams really does defy logical analysis.

During the past year I believe I could have cut & paste swathes of comments from the site which mirror almost exactly how Rangers fans were during periods of success. Fans become spoiled by the success and it reached a level where they do not even enjoy the winning anymore. The demand becomes for even more exciting buys and better football. I never understood that and both teams have had in recent times many honest players who gave there very best for their respective clubs. Appreciate them more. I understand that Kirky Broadfoot is never going to be a footballer but I have way more respect for him. He gives his best and always makes himself available for the pass, which was an easy one for the more celebrated Captain to make. Just because it goes wrong does not make it all Broadfoot's fault. After all it is the legendary captain who continually absolves himself of the responibility of making something happen by passing the buck. You may have noticed my contempt for our former captain. I believe he was one of the fundamental reason for Rangers flaws in recent times.

Hope you dont mind an orc popping in. Ed seems to be very well appreciated and much credit to him.

James

What's happened to Jim Blyth now that Steve Woods has been made the first team goal-keeping coach?

Any story behind this?

via_nirone

You've accused barca of posting a twisted post even though he said there was nothing sinister in it. I agreed with him. Then you say we're not out of step with the european champions on a number of scores but I would say thats not the case. They have Eto'o, Henry, Keita, Abidal and Yaya Toure as first team regulars all of african ethnicity but playing for France or african countries.

As both myself and barca bhoy have said, nothing sinister in it but I for one feel those of african descent are on the whole, more athletic, faster and stronger and we have lacked that in the past couple of seasons.

Glad to see it will soon change.

DD

Orc and Mindy - Welcome to CQN! And I commiserate with your parents for the dreadful mistake you made that they now have to live with regarding your team of choice. They must be thouroughly ashamed :)

Anyways welcome to you and from the post I have just read you certainly do not seem like somebody I class as an "Orc". Keep it up and you will enjoy the debate / banter on here!

Barcabhoy

Not even Follow Follow would see any mileage in that sinister "explanation"

As via_nirone says, African players are harder to get because of UK work permit rules (more rigorous than rest of EU)so those who do qualify under the internationals played rule are more likely to be wanted by EPL teams also who, as we all know. To paraphrase Eddie Murphy, if this is a "black thing" worry you have, WGS did sign Camara, Dublin and Hutchison....and I assume many black players in England. It's daft to be even giving this thought oxygen so I will leave it but I hope you do too.

Michael Collins

He might as you say be one of the very few players who can turn a game for us. But he also misses a lot more than he scores, he rarely creates a chance for himself (or his team mates)and IMO is more interested in how many goals he scores than us winning the actual game. If He is through on the keeper and a team mate is in a better position, do you expect him to pass. And before you all great strikers are the same, think back to thar swedish guy we had upfront a few years ago.

I find looking for opinions about a certain player a bit like looking at the weather forecasts. I just keep looking and finally settle on the one I lke best. I find this particularly good for those ocasions when I travell to Glasgow - or indeed Clones - (it always seems to be sunny in Clones when Armagh play).

With this is mind I will take RobinBhoy's post @ 1:38 as the absolute truth about Monsieur Fortune. I like the "Pace, strong and good in the air" bits especially. Paul's point about Anton Mor having worked with him previously only adds to my confidence. I have to add though Paul that I had thought of that myself. Can't have you taking all the credit!

Have to add though RobinBhoy - if he signs for Hull then the aforementioned post becomes absolute rubbish!!

Paul67,
Glad to see you're back and in fine fettle. Really was a strange week what a lot of big uns acting like weans. Modern close season is rubbish I suppose. "Don't let the ......" well you know the rest. I think Edward offered the same advice - only in Latin. Classic scholar that he is!!

wolfetonebhoy

Did we speak recently?

53

Paul67
The gamble of judging values in the transfer market
are a huge, part of the new managers chances
of success. Ironic we have Celtic fans at the same
time of wanting new 'gambles' to arrive, can't appreciate
the good players we already have.

Orc and Mindy,

Welcome to CQN. If you treat this blog with the same class as Ed does then you will enjoy the respect in return. Looking forward to engaging in some banter.

sorry missed out a phrase re EPL teams

who as we all know..... have much more money than us

Orc'n'mindy,

That's a funny and preceptive first post.

The Mark Walters game was Celtic's worst day. I felt utterly ashamed ( there's an story that the guy in the Monkey suit got punched by another Celtic fan, but maybe that's just retrospective gloss ). As a club we've got to acknowledge the bad moments too.

Obviously, I can quote some equally shameful rangers moments right back at you, but it would be churish...

Anyway, how on earth could you start watching Celtic in the early 70s then choose to follow David Murray XI ? Are you some sort of masochist ?

Come back and follow the Celtic man ! You know it makes sense. You'd be very welcome - a sinner saved and all that.

H u D

Orc

just one question why did you Buy a ticket for Celtic part of the ground in a NEW year game?

Orc and Mindy.

Lots of us reading your post. At the minute we're considering it!!

Great nmae by the way.

Failte romhat

Barcabhoy

what a pile of dribble that was. So WGS is racist now. C'mon take a good look at yourself. I did not your "Not that I think that" but you must have to have typed and posted. Get a grip man.

Orc and Mindy

1st question - how the hell did you manage to turn from the path of righteousness to the path of evil. Cannot phathom that out in my mind. Good first post though and with the spirit of the post I am sure your opinion will be welcome on here. Just my view. Don't expect the same from everyone though.

MWD

can i just ask why from some there is such negativity towards the possibility of fortune signing? - the "please not fortune" comments and the like.
most people admit to not seeing much of him so how can they write him off? is it purely down to his goalscoring record?

you have to look at what else he brings to the team. he's not prolific but by all accounts having him in the team means the side as a whole created more chances and score more goals.

after he joined W.B.A. they had a good 2nd half of the season - i think i read somewhere they were about 8th in the 2nd half of the season table.

peter grant even commented that despite his lack of goals himself, there were more goals from the midfield after he joined.

i would also take the view that we should trust the manager in his first attempted signing, that's why is in the hotseat.

Re skippy,

yep, he's a moaning wee git on the park (no idea whether he is the same off it, or the worlds nicest bloke), but so what?

Most teams are full of different characters, & its usually the case that successful teams have some right whingers. Roy Keane is an eg of that, but so weresuch as Willie Miller & Richard Gough, to use examples of such characters at other clubs.

I am not suggseting that Skippy is in the same league as a player as Keane, or Miller or Gough for that matter, but his on field demeanour, & readiness to criticize, or cajole, other players in the team, is similar to the way those blokes operated.

Should we flog him if someone pays us 6m? Possibly yes, if we are confidentthat we can improve the team using these funds, but not for any other reason.

Lurgan 53 @2.51

The issue of whether Fortune signs for us or not may well be down to money. Clearly with their £30 Mio plus from Sky they can offer more money than us.

If he signs for them over us then clearly he has no ambition and therefore will not be missed.

Hail Hail!

RobinBhoy

Orc (you're funny) and Mindy(but you're prettier)

Welcome to you. It is getting more and more common for Rangers fans to be less than enamoured of Barry Ferguson as a player and as a captain. I think, by his absence, he was instrumental in your team winnning the league (obviously not as instrumental as our lot throwing it away). Your best spells were at the start and end of the season when he wasn't playing. No coincidence there I feel.

True Tim

Your assessment of many of our currant squad is spot on

Too small - too slow - too weak

And before any Barca-minded guys get on the case - lets just say that we do not have their level of player nor should we forget that they have plenty of muscle and pace in people like Yaya Toure and Sergio Busquets !

Power and Pace is what we need - so Fortune would do for me
Especially as it would show that the board are prepared to back TM's judgement

On a different tack - Orc and Mindy

I do not have a problem with huns posting but when they start by dragging up one incident ( and it was a shocking disgrace granted ) from 20 years ago - then perhaps you would like to take up the next 2 days apologising for all the times your support had been remiss in their actions !

Moonbeams, sent you an e-mail.
cheers

DD,
I hope you'll excuse me for saying so, but it is slightly sinister because it's based upon a fallacy (i.e. that we can sign good players of any particular background more easily than less good players of any particular background) and more importantly; if you do wish to discuss this, then the way to avoid sinister implications is not to say 'i would really like to hear gordon's explanation for this, because with no explanation the reasoning could be twisted to something altogether sinister....not that i believe anything sisnister was the reason, but it was totally illogical to ignore this source of player'

Who's asking him, why are they assuming that the lack of expensive French/Dutch signings could be a consequence of racism and why do they assume that anyone else thinks the same way they do?

DD, that is spin, and it is sinister.

Via_nirone

Weel I read nothing sinister into and I made a similar point last season when we were lacking in pace, power and size.

AS I say glad to see it will soon change with Fortune and i'm hoping timothee attouba.

DD

Lennondinho18 - should have cleared it up better but I am benchamrking against the european team we are likely to come up against and beat if we want to be in the CL again.

steelica - Naylor is small and does not help out at set pieces. We also brought on O'Dea with Lafferty was pitched against him.

Xavi/Messi/Iniesta - exceptional football players who play in an exceptional team that play the ball on the deck. The whole team has enough fitness and stamina to harass opponensts. To look at these players and the team, not to mention league, they play in then compare that to Celtic in the SPL is not fair. Playing at Firhill in December would be tough even on these players.

Are you saying that the small players in our team can make up for their lack of physical attributes with talent? This is a team that won 1 game in Europe and lost the league to Rangers - the plan needs to change.

My point was that Fortune could play every bit as McDonald but we should have standards in terms of physical attributes - I am confident that Mowbray agrees.

barcabhoy - I always though it was stange how Gordon signed so many players only to drop them becuase we needed a biger presence for set pieces...... A shame that after all the CM's he bought we hadf to reshuffle to play our best centre back in the middle of the park

One of the weird things about who is going and who is staying,
In the past we could well have said “I really hope we don’t sell, so and so,” be it Larsson, Sutton, Viduka, Pierre, Nicholas, etc because we didn’t want to sell our superstar player

Today however we have no superstar(s) to speak of. I don’t think that there is a single player at CP who couldn’t be replaced by a similair caliber of player who is already currently at the club

That in a way sums up where our player pool stands at the moment
We have an abundance of average to mediocre players (enough for mediocre in every position apart from left back!) We have no genuine stars.

About 10 years ago we sold viduka for around 7 million quid,
Personally I believe that a club with 5 million to spend could take their pick of any of the current players at CP, 10 years ago our star player could fetch more than our “stars” of today could. I guess this is the reality of downsizing.

Lurgan 53

Not sure as i've had the pleasure of speaking with many an orchard man....where did if it happen the meeting take place?....your boys will find it tough trying to topple to red hand men this year.....meanwhile our boys who prefer to hit a smaller ball with a bit of an ash tree continue with 15 straight championship wins under their belt.....if only Celtic could match cody's generation of domination!!!!!!

Wolfetonebhoy

Orc & Mindy @ 2.40pm

"For a few years I had more of an interest in the English game and then the penny dropped and it was Ibrox for me"

Could you elaborate a wee bit on that please, what happened exactly? All your family support Celtic and then you decide to switch your alliance to the darkside? Must have been some penny.

Greenjedi

We cant keep comparing our strikers or potential strikers to Henrik. He was a special case, one of a kind, the best I've ever seen, who went on to prove to the footballing world after he left us that he was in the top 5 strikers in Europe. Thierry Henri certainly seemed to think so.

I'm not saying Scotty is anywhere near the level of Henrik and for sure in the ideal world I would have two or three strikers all better than him playing for the club.

What I am saying is that we know Scott scores goals for us which is something we dont know about Fortune or even Janko yet many are advocating spending the guts of 10 million on these two.

You also say he doesnt create goals for himself. I would disagree with that and ask you to cast your mind back to Kilmarnock midweek last year when he scored the winning goal after beating two or three defenders or Ibrox in December when he took the ball with his back to goal and spun the defender and buried the chance so I'm struggling to figure what it is you actually want him to do that he doesnt do already.

His moaning for me is a non issue. Many of the worlds great players are serial moaners and as he watches another Naylor cross sail over the bar for a goal kick or Samaras running head down into a ruck of defenders yet again or JVoH spending the whole game in a 10 square meter area I think any player would be driven to moaning.

wolfetonebhoy

Though maybe you were local from one of our GAA clubs - Wolfe Tones. Lurker and occasional poster.

Aw well. You're right. Armagh will do well to get past Monaghan tomorrow week. After that we'll see. Tyrone and Cork look strong but Kerry will be lurking - wounded and very cross with themselves.

Your GoD looks like continuing for some time yet.

53

In the words of Alice Cooper,"SCHOOLS OUT FOR SUMMER".

Happy new year to all the teachers( and pupils) who read the blog.

Lets have a 'new year' resolution to be more positive.

Even in the darkest moments, Raith Rovers, Armedia etc etc we can console ourselves we are not huns/orcs/blue noses/bears/sons of William/ cousins of william/ Andy Cameron.

God bless you all and forgive me for the state I'm going to drink myself in over the next 10 hours.

Falkirkbhoy & Bigsinend

Good news ghuys.

mail to you.

thanks

MWD

Jc2, The ticket for new year game was only 1 i could find that day and came from another Rangers fan. In late 80s spent a lot of time in wrong end as tickets were hard to get.
Jbj717, apologies for any offence. The incident was mentioned earlier and i thought i would add my own experience

Kittoch calling Orsen come in Orsen

Orson your footsoldier Orc from Orc and Mindy has lost the plot, apparently The Woodruff Wisconsin Penny fell on his head and is making him do terrible things!!!

Please help him!!!

Bring him home.

My dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,friend.. Dean Moriarty.

You intimated that you were perplexed as to why certain members of this estmable Forum, were not in favour of this assumed present pursuit, of Mr. Fortune, by Us.

The Reason that there are others, beside my good self, who are set against the very thought of us bidding for Mr. Fortune is this...

His Record.. and by the way, I believe he is a Matured Fellow, of Twenty Seven/Eight Summers.. does not impress,in the Goals Scored Category.

And that little piece of evidence, which Possibly Foretells his true FUTURE Performance, as a Celtic Striker.. Tells the Whole Story, on why there are subscribers such as I, who are totally against the idea of Celtic.. WASTING Precious Monetary Resources on Roping a Stunted Steer.

Just as Willie Sutton chose to Rob Banks.. Because, that's where the Money is..

I want to Sign a Striker.. who can Strike, fur that is Where THE GOALS COME FRAE!

I have not the slightest of interests in signing a Striker who has impressed Mr. Mowbray and his Team of Helpers, as being an Encouraging force in creating More Goals, from the MIDFIELDERS~

That,reason, reeks of Convoluted Logic.. and . .may Ah point oot that is the Kind of Logic, that one could expect from, Kojo..

But, No frae a Celtic Management Team!

Maks sense tae me.

Kojo.
yer pal.. who likes ye aloat.

I saw some stats regarding Fortune earler today. They aren'r really all that impressive.

From Monthehoops website:

In season 2006/07 he scored 5 goals from 15 starts with Nancy.

In season 2007/08 he scored 6 goals from 34 starts with the same team.

In season 2008/09 he scored 1 goal from 15 starts for Nancy, and 5 goals from 17 starts for West Brom!

An average of 1 goal every 4.76 games would hardly suggest we've got a new Henrik Larsson

However, I think Paul may have hit the proverbial nail with the last sentence in his article.

TM knows Fortune, and has worked with him before. It is quite possible (Lord, I hope so), that Mogga sees something in him that he feels he can mould into the finished article.

However, we as supporters can't afford to jump the gun with impatience. As I said when Gordon Strachan first took over, we should be expecting a new manager to win the league in his first season. But we will only see just how good he is when he has had time to build the squad, and is playing European games in his second season. Here's hoping. Oh, and if the football can be attractive, then so much the better.

Hail Hail

Disagree with a lot of the blog. Managers bringing in players they worked with previously very rarely works at big clubs. For every Neil Lennon there is a Paul Telfer. Alex Ferguson took Jim Leighton, nuff said. Celtic need fresh, exciting and hungry players, ones that want to build a career not ones that would even consider Hull Cuty first.

Via_nirone on June 26, 2009 2:39 PM
Couple of quick additional observations,

"We're not out of step with the European Champions as regards the height, weight, girth or colour of our squad."

I'll try and deal with this factually, which is a lot more than you deserve given the abusive nature of your previous post.....we are out of step...we are miles out of step...we have no-one of the power and athleticisim of Toure, We have no-one close to Seidu Keita or Abidal in terms of pace or athleticism.....equally we don't have a defender, who has anywhere near the pace of Pique or Pujol....we don't have an attacker with the strength or speed of E'too...

if you are going to post factually inaccurate information, then it suggest you pick more obscure topics than the make up of the Barcelona team in comparison to Celtic

Moonbeams wet dream on June 26, 2009 2:58 PM
Barcabhoy

"what a pile of dribble that was. So WGS is racist now. C'mon take a good look at yourself. I did not your "Not that I think that" but you must have to have typed and posted. Get a grip man."

I'll try and be polite to you as well given you are a long term poster and usually a good one on here....i will do you the courtesy of not telling you what you are thinking if you give the same courtesy to me....especially when your's effectively accuses me of mendacity, and is totally and utterly inaccurate in terms of what my thoughts are

i posted exactly what i thought....not coded for anything else.....we haven't signed players from africa or colonial countries, we therefore presumably haven't scouted them....i wondered why....i think when we don't get players from a proven successful source, we are entitled to ask why..... and that question should not be subject to personal abuse from you

Orc and Mindy - are you Sean Connery?

Frever (who is shaken, but not stirred)

Barcabhoy,

My post was not abusive, nor was i posting facts in regard to Barcelona or Celtic. However, it is fair to mention that a common opinion expressed after Barcelona won the CL this year was that they proved that you didn't need to rely on pace and athleticism to win these days. This is also my opinion.

I have zero interest in entering into a debate with you on a personal level, but, you're clearly at a bit loss this summer if you think that you can give vent to such nonsense and not expect someone to challenge it.

If you have an opinion about something try to express it honestly, it seems to me that you have, in both posts, imagined something that doesn't exist and then given it credibility by writing it down. Strachan is not racist, nor was i being abusive in correcting your misguided notion.

via_nirone

'However, it is fair to mention that a common opinion expressed after Barcelona won the CL this year was that they proved that you didn't need to rely on pace and athleticism to win these days. This is also my opinion. '

The barca team proved you didn't need pace or athleticism??? You having a laugh??? Where about?? That Barca team is brimming over with pace and athleticism!!

I think you're confusing pace and athleticism with size.

DD

via_nirone on June 26, 2009 3:56 PM
Barcabhoy,

"If you have an opinion about something try to express it honestly, it seems to me that you have, in both posts, imagined something that doesn't exist and then given it credibility by writing it down. Strachan is not racist, nor was i being abusive in correcting your misguided notion."

where exactly did i say that strachan was racist !!

please point that out to me...or retract....and do not attempt to lecture me about expressing my opinion honestly......you are not able or in a position to do so, and your inaccurate remarks do you no credit

Isn't the notion that black people are somehow physically stronger than people of other origins pretty suspect in itself?

Latest from the Football Rumours Website.

CELTIC: It is highly unlikely Celtic will sign anyone major before the first Champions League qualifier. Mowbray wants to see what his squad is like before signing anyone. Expect Boruc to be the biggest name to leave as Celtic have Fox and two new keepers in Zaluska and Cervi all to fight it out for the number one so no other keeper is required. Mowbray is going to make Gary Caldwell his captain and play him at the back with either O'Dea or Milan Misun with Kennedy and Loovens kept as back–up; McManus will be sold for as little as £3m. Wilson will be kept on with Naylor but a left back is the top priority. Celtic do not need a replacement for Nakamura as he has Maloney, McCourt, Mizuno, Caddis, McGinn and possibly Robson who can all play his position. Expect Flood to be loaned out to Dundee United. A complete clearout of strikers will happen: McDonald will be sold after the qualifiers, along with Samaras whereas Vennegoor will be freed with McGowan; Sheridan will be sent back out on loan, possibly back with Mark McGee to Aberdeen or Hibernian. Hutchison will be given his chance to form a partnership with Killen for the opening game in Australia. So Mowbray's priority– along with a left back– is a centre midfielder and at least two strikers. Simon Ferry will be given his chance to fill Hartley’s position as a defensive midfielder ahead of Crosas. Mowbray will look away from Fortune as he won't be allowed to spend in excess of £3m for a relatively unproven and unknown player in his late twenties and will not splash out on Fletcher as he is not a 20 goals a season striker.
OUT: BORUC (4m, Munich/Arsenal/ Milan), BROWN (free, Hamilton), MCMANUS (3m, Sunderland/Stoke), CUTHBERT (100k, Aberdeen, Dundee, Hibernian), *DOUMBE (free), *BALDE (free, Birmingham), HARTLEY (free, Salonika), *NAKAMURA (free, Espanyol), DONATI (1m, Sampdoria), FLOOD (loan, Dundee United), SHERIDAN (loan, Aberdeen/Hibernian), MCDONALD (3m, Wigan/Hull), SAMARAS (1m, PSV), VENNEGOOR (free, Larissa), MCGOWAN (free, Dundee).
IN: *ZALUSKA (free, Dundee United), *CERVI (free, Chicago Fire), MEGHNI (3m, Lazio) MORIENTES (free, Valencia), STOKES (1m, Sunderland), ZEMMAMMA (nominal, Hibernian), WALLACE (2m, Preston) or MULGREW (1m, Aberdeen– deal involving Sheridan), DOYLE (6.5m, Reading).
* done
(meanwhile…)RANGERS: Smith is looking to sensationally sign former Celtic striker Craig BEATTIE (200k, West Brom) and Billy MEHMET (300k, St. Miren) of what he feels is his ideal Champions League dream–team strike force alongside Kenny Miller. Boyd, Novo, Naismith, McGregor, Ferguson, Smith and Adam finally moving on.

I fail to see, why it is so difficult to find and sign a More than Useful Striker...

If..

Wan is willing to Spend.. say..

Eight tae Ten Million Pounds of Frijoles.

It appears to me that that is a fundamental statement.

Howevahhhhhhhh...

We,unfortunately are in the Position of the Guys who can only afford a Po'Bhoy Submarine Sandwich...and Not a Maine Lobster, for oor Din Din.

So

Keeping that in mind..

It would seem that we must think of a way to INCREASE, oor Spending Power.

"Hey! Why didnae Ah think o' that, Before? " say the Celtic Movers and Shakers.. scratching their collective Heids.

So

In order the we be able tae sign a real, gosh bi gosh, Scoring Striker... we must find a way tae get oor Hauns in some mair Lolly.

How dae we dae, that?.. ye say, drily.

Answer...

We must sell the Family Jewels.. which ur no Real Diamonds,at Awe.. Jist Paste..

But, naebuddy else, knows that~

Maks sense tae me.

Kojo.

Paul67

Paul Telfer was mediocre at best.

jbj717.

this "you'se are worse than we are" nonsense just doesn't wash any more. the sooner we accept the fact that both sides have their share of eejits, the better, as far as i'm concerned.
The West of Scotland needs to take a long hard look at itself, and some of it's inhabitants and decide if it want's to drag them out of the dark ages or let the eejits drag everyone else down with them.

Some have questioned the desire of a player like Fortune who may have the opportunity to choose Hull over Celtic. Someone else, in his farewell to Naka post questioned why he ( Naka ) would have wanted to stay.
if Fortune looked in here and read stories about what some of our "supporters" did viz a viz Mark Walters, then he isn't going to want to come here, is he, regardless of money, professional desire or any other reason.

This blog is a civillised place from what i can see, and the fact that rangers fans can post here and be welcome says a lot for it's inhabitants. banter is good, and reasoned discussion is better. there's always another point of view, and we should always be prepared to listen ( and disagree reasonably if necessary )

kojo,
surely if the team performs better and scores more as a team then a player like him is a good thing to have? it's a team game afterall.
look at emile heskey, capello has stated he's the most important player in the england team despite him not being much of a goalscorer. his contribution to the team allows others to excel.

bringing goals out of the midfield can only be a good thing. if you look at all the top clubs they have a number of midfielders who chip in with a good amount of goals.
i'd much rather have a team who score plenty of goals that are spread throughout the side rather than being mainly from just one or two players.

On the subject of Skippy...... I can't believe that the centre of the debate concerns his merits , or otherwise , of being a greetin' faced wee naff.......he can greet all he likes as far as I'm concerned...but if he doesn't read up on the off-side rule and start paying attention to it ...he can go anytime he likes.Does my head in !!
Hail Hail
ThingscanonlygetbetterCSC.

Michael Collins

I said he RARELY creates a chance for himself, not he never creates a chance for himself. I also see that you never brought me to task for saying he RARELY creates a chance for his team mates, is more interested in his goal tally that us winning and he doesn't pass to his team mates in a better position. So I assume you agree with those points or can't find a point to counter them.

Also one of the reasons Larsson was world class because he cared more about the team and was a good team mate. If McDonald was the same he would be a far far better player. And that has nothing to do with ability, just attitude.

barcabhoy...

I see your point but we could say the same about South America and non-EU Eastern European nations such as Serbia, Croatia and the former Soviet states.

I'm lead to believe that UK immigration laws are the major stumbling block here and that puts us at a disadvantage to the likes of Turkey, Holland and Portugal - as if we don't have enough of a handicap as it is.

Is this "colonial" debate turning into another debacle as previously in the week.

My issue as with DD was that the comments were in part non factual, ie Power pace and athleticism with ref to Barca.

I didnt think it was suggestive of something abhorent and sinister but was stating a glaring anomaly, subsequent posts have added nothing to the debate, tis been overrun by alleged racism.

As a collective support we should know and think better to even suggest that as a club this is an avenue we would visit.

I'd like us to try and sign Joseph Yobo, as i havent heard that he's signed for anyone else and he had previously stated he wasnt staying at Everton. Work permits may have been the underlying issue when trying to purchase players from the African continent.

"Timmy" Ramsbottom
Time to get off your knees mate !
If you really think that the Celtic support is as bad as the huns then why would you support the club ?

Your fellow traveller mentioned one incident from 20 odd year ago.
I could mention dozens right up to this last season where the huns behaviour has been a disgrace

Celtic like all big clubs will have some eejits amongst their support but absolutely nowhere near the "minority" of huns who sing their songs of hate and racism where ever they go.

geebee1978 on June 26, 2009 4:11 PM
barcabhoy...

I see your point but we could say the same about South America and non-EU Eastern European nations such as Serbia, Croatia and the former Soviet states.

I'm lead to believe that UK immigration laws are the major stumbling block here and that puts us at a disadvantage to the likes of Turkey, Holland and Portugal - as if we don't have enough of a handicap as it is."

I think there are area's where the immigration laws cause us problems, but equally i think there are ways round it for special players....we managed it for stillian petrov and rangers recently have brought in edu and bougherra from non eu countries

i agree it is much harder for lesser known players , especially coming from south america

Barcabhoy & DD,

Guys i have no interest in the petty debates. I think it's obvious that Barcabhoy's original post was somewhere short of well put. I'm not calling you names, i'm pointing out that you applied a spin to your question, valid or otherwise, that was absurd. That, i'm happy to contend, is a given.

As regards Barcelona; I get that they have athleticism and pace, why wouldn't they. We have a bit of that too, but quite obviously we have less of that and less of everything else too. I also get that the close season gets a bit boring and we get bogged down in silly discussions.

I think a wee bit of a brush up on semantics would do both of you the world of good. I identified an unacceptable implication and pointed out why I thought it was uncool. You, DD, have identified an inference and subjected my post to your inference. I can't help you with that mate.

Go tell the Spartim on June 26, 2009 4:20 PM
Is this "colonial" debate turning into another debacle as previously in the week.

My issue as with DD was that the comments were in part non factual, ie Power pace and athleticism with ref to Barca.

I didnt think it was suggestive of something abhorent and sinister but was stating a glaring anomaly, subsequent posts have added nothing to the debate, tis been overrun by alleged racism.

As a collective support we should know and think better to even suggest that as a club this is an avenue we would visit."

Couldn't agree more, we are the last club on the planet to exercise a selective recruitment policy....a point which i made in my first post when i said there was nothing sinister in our not recruiting such players.......even though others knew that i really meant the opposite of what i actually said

My dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,friend.. Dean Moriarty.

You have marshalled your reasons,for staying with your conclusion, very well, pal.

Howvehhhhhhhhhhhhhha..

Your reasons fail to convince me, that it is bettah to have a Striker who enhances the scoring abilities of others, rather than doing whit he is paid to do, himself.

Like, Henry Ford, I am also a Believer in,apportionment of Labour.

It woiks extremely well.. in Manufacturing..

Nevertheless...in the Field of Soccer.. I am a believer in having in My Team... an old Fashioned
Goal Scoring Center Forward.. who has the elusive and rarely found ability..

Tae Tak his Chances..

A la.... Dixie Deans.. or.. Joe McBride... or.. Henrik Larsson.

Until Celtic do find another Player who can at least, sort of, emulate any of these worthies..

I shall never be happy.

And... to be baldly candid..

I do not find any of those qualities in Mr. Fortune.. no maitter how ye dress him up..

Tae me.. Mr. Fortune is Run of the Mill.. Also Ran, in the Striking Sweepstakes.

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

barcabhoy....

Did the non-EU players you just mentioned fit the criteria of appearances for their national team? I know this can be a sticking point although I'm not sure if Edu is a regular for the United States.

Kojo....

Kris Boyd?

geebee

i dont think stan did...i'm sure we had to go to a tribunal, in fact i think we went to a tribunal for mizuno and others as well

bougherra probably qualified by playing enough games, but i'm sure edu was a tribunal as well

the thing is tribunals almost always give the ok....it's only the exception , like jason scotland, that get refused

jbj17.
on my knees ? why would i be ?
I didn't say anywhere that "we're as bad as them". don't tell me that celtic fans don't sing bigoted and sectarian songs. doesn't matter how many or what percentage of our support does it, if there's one person doing it, it's one too many.
only my opinion, and some may think it 's a laugh, or "banter", but I find it repugnant. presumably you do too, and won't hesitate to condemn those who do it - irrespective what colour of shirt they wear.

geebee1978: 4:26

Canny argue wi' that...well ah could ah suppose...but am no goin' tae.
Wherehaveallthestrikersgone CSC.

via_nirone

In fairness you have just proved over tha last few points that you are THE LAST person to be preaching to anyone about brushing up on anything. You have accused Barca bhoy of saying something he didn't even mention on the premise that you interpreted what he posted to mean something that he clearly didn't mean.

Now come on down off that high horse before you hurt yourself, theres a good lad.

DD

philvis @ 2.11pm,

that was a true L.O.L. moment for me.

Thank you. Brightened up what has, so far, been a lousy Friday afternoon.

HAIL! HAIL!
Token

My dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,friend.. Geebee1978

Kris Boyd?..

He would soitenly not quite pass, on ALL of the qualities, that I would Seek in an IDEAL, Celtic Striker..

Nevertheless..

In that one quality,in which he excells..

HE TAKS HIS CHANCE.. And Not every time,of course.. But enough to win Games.

Yes.. I would not turn away the same kind of Striker for Celtic.

Why?

Because, the remarkable Kris.. despite his complete lack of Agility..and Speed...

Did this...

HE SINGLE-HANDEDLY...

BY SCORING THOSE EXTREMELY VALUABLE and GAME WINNING GOALS.. WON THE LEAGUE, FOR HIS TEAM.. in my own, not so humble opinion,of course.

Meanwhile,back at the Celtic Rancho.

Well.. ye get where I am Going.

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

Timmy

without becoming tiresome - can you tell me what bigoted or sectarain songs Celtic supporters sing ?

It is along time since I heard " Roaming in the gloming ... "

or really any add ons to other songs such as the "Soldiers song"

Iam sure that most who were at either Rankers game this season at CP could give you an extensive list of their repetoir that they indulged in to their hearts content without any comment from the compliant old media

We should never sit on our laurels regarding the bigotry issue but to me there is just no comparison between the supporters and to say that we should make no comment until we get rid of every clown on our side is plain nonsense

Would you have told MLK not to make any protest until he had won every African American away from the Nation of Islam ?

Kojo: 4:41
I awaited , with baited breath, your response to geebee1978...No worries....answered in your usual classy style.
Hail Hail,
PS: You're spelling is not very good :)

DD,
I think i said, more than once, that i was confident of my contention. So, i remains sitting proudly upon my high horse.

There is an unpleasant malevolence towards Strachan that courses through the veins of some of our fans. For the most part i'd prefer to be talking/reading about football, and the original post makes a valid footballing point. However, the context in which the point is presented is unpleasant, pointlessly presumptious, and as i said previously wouldn't get past first base with the anti celtic spin merchants in the press.

I also, because its clear that i need to spell this out to you, did not suggest that Barcabhoy was calling Strachan a racist. I said he was implying it. I hope, for his sake, that it was just an ill-considered thought that escaped to the page, otherwise i don't think it was very cool.

DD, i know from your posts that you are a tenacious poster, and for your benefit it's worth noting that i will not be adding anything further to this discussion.

Have a good weekend guys.

Kojo...
YOU'RE spelling???...what a dunce.
Am away tae sit in the corner.
PeoplewholiveinglasshousesCSC

My dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,friend.. TimBuckTwo.

Yep.. My the Accuracy in Spelling is no whit ye wid ca' Compellin'!

Ah'll gie ye that,pal.

The main reason is the Ma Mind Goes at Hundred Miles an Hoor. and my Puir Fingers, canny keep up!

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

Sweeden v England u21s just starting on skysports1.

No sign of Jordan Larsson, yet.

I googled his name, Man U supporters are posting comments like 'Let's not make the same miss-take again as with Henke, signing too late that is.'

......well that was a long (but thoroughly enjoyable first night) with Mother and new Baby.

Only in Brasil - when the wee fellah popped out the Paediatrician said to me "Whatever your team is - whisper it in his ear. It'll be the first words he ever hears from you"

What a grand idea!
(DinkyDiamond, sorry to disappoint but it wasnae Fla or Flu)

Anyways. Thanks to everybody for the thoughts and congratulations last night.

BarcaMole - Send me a CV. Who knows? Not met AB yet, is he/she here?

MyBoysNowaTim - Yes Caithness born and raised - The Peoples' Republic of Canisbay (John O'Groats to the outside world)
to be exact.

A tired but happy, Rio - who's worried about the Mother-in-Law's party plans for the Conf Cup final on Sunday!

via_nirone on June 26, 2009 4:23 PM

Barcabhoy & DD,

Guys i have no interest in the petty debates. I think it's obvious that Barcabhoy's original post was somewhere short of well put. I'm not calling you names, i'm pointing out that you applied a spin to your question, valid or otherwise, that was absurd. That, i'm happy to contend, is a given."

via_nirone on June 26, 2009 4:23 PM

"Good grief! That is among the most twisted posts i've ever read. Honestly if your spin was suggested by a member of the RST for our signing policy I think even they would think it was too absurd to make public."

the above was your opening remarks on a perfectly legitimate post i made regarding our failing to exploit an obvious market for a requirement the team has had for years

for someone who has no interest in petty debates, you have a very strange and confrontational way of opening a discussion

To follow that up with the nonsense you posted about Barca was equally bizarre......and suggesting others are applying spin when you distorted and misinterpreted my posts brings to mind a saying from a master of spin...a lie gets half way round the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on

Kojo....

Agree entirely. Had Birmingham met his demands in January, I believe we'd be champions and the "We Deserve Better" campaign really would have grown legs.

On the subject of McDonald, if rumours are true, this would represent great "asset-management". I agree he's our only real goal-threat but as long as the funds were added to the money we already have in the kitty, I'm sure we could replace him with a better player.

His value won't go up and I tend to agree with Paul67s assessment that we keep players on too long after their value has diminished.

Barca

I have read and re-read your original comment. I find it distressing that you consider it appropriate to refer to the libidinous behaviour of 'sisnister'. This wanton act was outlawed in Leviticus, and you have no right to expose we many men of good faith to it's ugly latter day shadow.

If you wish to continue nistering your kin may I repsectfully suggest you find another, more private place to conduct your affairs.

Meantime; Do Celtic now control the business of the SPL, given that the other clubs collectively cannot honour the £3M loaned to them in lieu of the Setanta default?

There is not a player at celtic now that would leave me devestated if he were sold. This does not mean I thnk they are all rubbish mereley that I think they are replacable. However the trick is to ensure that any sold are replaced by a better players and that money bought in is spent and not banked

BTW

Tony Mowbray has phoned me 3 times this afternoon at 15 minute intervals, imploring me to renew my season books.

For heaven's sake, have a little patience Tony.

Celtic are in for Fortune and so are Hull, the suddenly Hull are supposed to want Scott McDonald?
might be time to declare our interest in Daniel Cousin.

Then again maybe not.

via_nirone on June 26, 2009 4:50 PM

"I also, because its clear that i need to spell this out to you, did not suggest that Barcabhoy was calling Strachan a racist. I said he was implying it. I hope, for his sake, that it was just an ill-considered thought that escaped to the page, otherwise i don't think it was very cool.

DD, i know from your posts that you are a tenacious poster, and for your benefit it's worth noting that i will not be adding anything further to this discussion.

Have a good weekend guys."

Not only did i not say it, you specifically said that i had written it down(your post at 3.56)......your change to a stance of i implied it is pathetic

There was no such implication, the opposite was the case....i specifically said i didnt believe there was anything sinister in our failure to sign said players

it's impossible to have a civilised debate with someone, who takes what you say, and then puts his own completely inaccurate interpretation on the post....and arrives at the conclusion that what was said was the exact opposite of what was meant

i've never read a post from you before on the blog.....no offence, but i think i'll scroll on past your next one's based on the accuracy and civility of what i've read today

geebee1978: 5:03

For what it's worth.....I voted for Skippy as my Celtic Player of the Year last season. Reason?..... No one worked harder or covered as much ground as the wee man did and as there wasn't much "brilliance " or skill on show from anyone , he deserved it for that alone IMO. I think he was asked to do far too much running and was not given a chance to be in the right place at the right time as often as he should have.I still think he is a natural goal scorer but he has to be played in the proper way...and last season he wasn't.
I don't know the first thing about Mr. Fortune and will rely on the management's judgement..but I do believe that if we play to Skippy's strengths and he gets the support he needs...he'll deliver the goals.
I will also repeat a point I made earlier....if he doesn't get a grip of the off-side rule....he should get his a*** kicked.
Hail Hail

Rioskorrie

Congratulations.

My wife and myself went through ten years of IVF treatment ,before my daughter was born in 1998.

You can imagine just how cherished she was and still is by us.

It was a huge event for our families ,and especially for my parents,who had rode the emotional roller coaster that IVF is.

My wife went into Labour during the Old Firm match when Burley and Lambert scored.It was a great win on our way to stopping 10.

The Wee yin was born on the 3rd of Jan,1998,at Forth Park maternity hospital in Kirkcaldy,Fife.
She was in intensive care for a few days ,which heightened our desire to get her home.

We had a dilema of where we would take her first.
My parents house?My inlaws House? Our own House?

We lived in Lundin Links at the time which was some fifteen or so miles east of Kirkcaldy.

When i picked her up,there was thick snow on the roads and it was sub zero.
The first journey my daughter would ever make in her life.

I drove from Forth park to Celtic park.
We got out infront of the main door and had the security ghuy take a photo of us.

I told her that whereever she was in the world ,if Celtic were playing she would know that this was her dads spiritual home and hers too in time,and that both our spirits could meet there.

My daughter is the most important thing in our lives.
Celtic come a very close second.

Hail! Hail! The Celts won't fail.

My dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,friend... Geebee1978

Your comment rings true,pal.. and echo's my own sentiments, regarding the "The Man..who Ah Wish wid Hiv Goat Away"... Song of Regret.

Kris, did the Doity oan his Manager, by refusing tae go..

And..

He soitenly repeated that same Act.. later, in the League Race.. oan US~

Back tae Maverick..

I would not hesitate for a Nano Nano.. if the opportunity presented itself, of an urgent request for the Services of Mr. Macko..if the Amount of Corn, in the offer, was a Goodly amount.

In short or in long..

Ah wid sell ma Granny. fur a Profit!

Which, is easy fur me tae say.. As Baith Ma Grannies.. are wi' the Dearly Departed.

But, that shocking claim, manages to underline ma Feelings in espousing...

Tae, never look a Toothless Hoarse in the Mooth..And, when awe is said and done.. Dae ye Blame me? Wid You?

Kojo.
yer pal... who likes the wey ye think and express yersel.

The Battered Bunnet on June 26, 2009 5:09 PM

Touche' and nicely put.....in response

Moral Indignation is Jealousy with a halo

I also am being exposed to TM's telephone technique....he's up their for persistance with the Clydesdale Banks credit card fraud department

TinyTim on June 26, 2009 5:23 PM

Nice story mate,one i will be telling my friends in the pub later.

weeminger on June 26, 2009 8:57 AM

At 29 if Owen goes on to have a successful season, I can see his value next summer rise to 10 mill plus. Being a World cup year if he’s going to rediscover his touch then this season will be the time for him to do so. You may well be right and 20 or 30 k a week may not be enough, however the bonus of any sell on may well be enough to entice him.

I honestly believe Owen and Celtic would be perfect for each other. Playing for a low league or mid table EPL side he’s unlikely to score freely. He will get many more chances in front of goal in the SPL and could score a barrel load for us. Of course European football would be another carrot that he’s unlikely to get in England. Celtic would give him the perfect platform to re-establish himself as a top marksman and who knows his best chance to make the England squad for the World Cup.

Kevin Nolan went to Newcastle for 4 mill last season, with his relegation it would not be unexpected to imagine that his value may have diminished. 2.5 -3.5 I would imagine to be a realistic figure, an alternative could be a loan for a season. They are by all accounts financially strangled and need to get some big earners off the wage bill, at least until they get back up to the EPL.

Faithfulthru&thru on June 26, 2009 9:06 AM

If it was good enough for WGS then it should be good enough for me:)

I think we know that BTM will play not unlike Barca or Spain in set up. He did that at West Brom and little to suggest he would change that too much.

tiny tim
Great story, but where did she go then your mums, your inlaws or your own house. I attended all my childrens births at Forth Park, wouldnt have missed them

Barca,

I was thinking that you and McGrain would be amongst the very few of us who can still enjoy Nakamura's grace in the flesh. Is it not enough that you get the weather, the architecture, the food and the best team in Europe, without snaffling one of the best footballers we've had at the club?

BTW, serious about the SPL situation. Although it's only £3M, who other than Celtic are good for it? St Mirren maybe? Or Hibs? Mr Gold needs a top hat and a docile rabbit kinds quick, or there are all manner of interesting ramifications.

It's a pity Michael Jackson is dead when Terry Wogan is still alive.

Paul:

I note you have not been about the last couple of days. I note your early post about business being done late in the window, whilst I don't agree with this policy, I know your right!

I've posted on previous threads regarding activity behind the scenes, has your man in the know managed to connect with the new team?

Any news on Fletcher...as per my previous posts I understand he is serious target?

...is made for you and me!

Hail Hail!

Paul 67

While I agree with your opinion that a 4 million pound player can turn out to be a drain if unsuccessful.

I think it would depend on who the player was. Also any manager spending that kind of money must be pretty sure about that players ability.

For me Fortune would be the wrong gamble at 4 mill. I think that kind of money could be better spent However at this embryonic stage in his tenure, we have to trust BTM's judgement if Fortune signs.

By TrueTim on June 26, 2009 1:08 PM

Paul67,

with regards to any argument over a 'McDonald type' Vs a 'Fortune type' the this is a no brainer in my eyes.

Furtune is strong, tall, fast, extremely fit and athletic. This is the 'type' of player we should be buying.

I hope, now that Strachan has gone, that we stop buying players who have attributes such as being small, slow and weak. Examples:

McDonald - fitness concerns and small, little pace
Maloney - small and weak
Crosas - small and weak - very little pace
Flood - very weak and very small
Naylor - small and no pace
Mizuno - small and weak
McCourt - unfit
________________________________________________

I often thought that Strachan was trying to prove a point by signing all these wee guys. I hope to that BTM adds height pace and strength to the Celtic first team.

Emusanoprphan :- I have to ask, why?

Orc & Mindy :- It's good to see someone who has come over from the dark side post on here :-)

Edward. Behave!

I've been 'phoning BTM all afternoon...and his line is continually engaged. Don't understand it....
Hail Hail,
NamedroppersareweCSC.

Tim Bucktwo....

That is true but everybody has a price and if we get a multi-million pound bid for a player who cost less than a million then we have to think about it - especially, as I say, his value won't increase.

As long as funds are reinvested so that our new manager can mould a team to his desire then I'm afraid EVERYBODY at Celtic Park right now has a price. It's up to Mowbray and the board to decide what that price is.

Tony Mowbray is the new Celtic manager charged with the task of raising the standard of players at the club along with our quality of performance overall on the pitch. It is my belief he has a big job in front of him, the existing quality of playing staff is as low as it has been for at least a decade, a squad which seriously lacks pace and athleticism is way short of the standard Celtic should have, morale is certainly at a very low ebb in the squad, add in last seasons boring playing style, along with a distinct lack of goals from every department in the team, Time certainly seems to be giving Tony no favours as the C/L qualifiers are coming soon, Mowbray certainly doesn't have to look for problems he has them in abundance!! If he is now weighing up options in playing staff for his first team squad, and Fortune is his choice, i for one at this point is willing to have patience to see before i condemn. Good luck Tony you will need it, of all the big clubs in the U.K you have a start to your career which is the most challenging to say the least.

The Battered Bunnet on June 26, 2009 5:32 PM

I might be tempted to go see Naka next year, Espanyol are moving to a new stadium which is in a more user friendly situation than the old one in Montjuic.....

Espanyolifation of Rangers isn't as attractive a thought as it was only a few weeks ago....sadly

I agree on the SPL situation.....i suspect this is a very big punt on being able to get a deal done with Sky/Espn

Personally i would go with Sky, if we can get civilised kick off times and their normal production values

Just shows what the Celtic fans have gone through last season when they would be happy to sell any of our best players. I can see the point of our better players all having an 'offer we cannot refuse price' But how in the name Celtic fans on here think we would be able to replace the likes of Aiden, beats me.

Would the current Celtic board be willing to spend the actual total money received for outgoing players? Not only that, look at the market, for example the vastly inferior Damian Duff who cost 15million or the equally less talented Jermain Pennant who has cost the same, Celtic fans are so spoiled, and just do not appreciate our better players especially home grown talent.

Even if they could spend big the board won't shell out they would bank the cash, but I'm confident we have already refused bids in the past, and wouldn't sell unless it was a massive offer. I don't include Artur as he has never fully recovered his past form, that leaves us with the others who are all players now firmly surplus, and bids for our star players would not be encouraged.

All IMCO of course.

hi paul. fellow celts.

with regards to paddy mccourt. watching that bhoy on utube prior to us buying him .i was really excited at the prospect of a winger who could drift past the opposition with the ease he could do it. can anyone enlighten me as to why a bhoy of 24 cant last a full 90 minutes.something surely amiss there. at that age he should be able to run on full all day.

tinytim. grand story mate .

orc and mindy . if you conduct yourself like ed, you will be most welcome .

geebee1978:
Your second last line is the one that bothers me......
Also is it now accepted that our object is to sign "cheap" or develop home grown players...so that we can sell them for a profit, before it's too late??
How do we build up a team with that approach?
Hail Hail
BringbackthegoodolddaysCSC

OuR Next Superstar

award for young celt islam
Gregor Kyle
HE has already made his Celtic Park ‘debut’ in the Tommy Burns Tribute Match and, at the tender age of 14, Islam Feruz has picked up his first ‘major’ personal award.

Islam was honoured at the Scottish Minority Ethnic Achievement Awards event at the Hilton Hotel in Glasgow last night (June 25) – being voted Male of the Year.

Since joining Celtic’s Youth Academy five years ago, Islam has made exceptional progress, establishing himself as one of the club’s most talented and promising youngsters.

The young forward is also seen as one of the best prospects in his age group in the UK and was a protégé of the late, Celtic great and Head of the Academy, Tommy Burns.

His is an extraordinary success story and having sought asylum in Scotland with his family, the young Somalian has already made his Under-19 debut, featured regularly for the U17s and made an appearance in the recent Tommy Burns Tribute Match.

Youth Academy Operations Manager, Brian Meehan, was at last night’s ceremony, which was attended by over 700 people, to accept the award on Islam's behalf.

A Celtic spokesperson said: "We are absolutely delighted that Islam has been recognised in this way.

“He is a young man whose early life has been very difficult, but he has shown great determination to overcome this adversity and make an impact within our Academy.

“His dedication and hard work, combined with his ability, has led to him being tipped for great things in the future and the club and Youth Academy will continue to do all it can to support him and ensure that his development is carefully monitored.

"A young boy when he came to Scotland, seeking asylum in this country with his family, Islam is an example of Celtic’s vision - a club that is open to all and one which prides itself in celebrating diversity.”

You can find out more about the Scottish Minority Ethnic Achievement Awards at www.minorityethnicawards.co.uk

Kojo

You are posting a helluvalot just now, is the jiggin shut.

Yer pal that likes you a loat,I think.

For anyone who equates pricetag with quality, please keep in mind these three words:

Torre. Andre. Flo.

On the Mcgeady question, i am sure Mowbray is desperate to hold onto his sole creative player with pace!! a player in his early twenties who has international experience, with an excellent international side coached by one of the worlds most experienced coaches, a player with C/L experience soon that will be vital. Mowbray will be sure he can re-motivate and utilise Mcgeadys obvious talents, thereby saving the club fees which have already been alluded to, around 15 to 20 million the going rate for a player of that quality in the EPL.

My dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear, friend.. VoguePunter

I only go tae the jiggin' in the night.

The time here,at the moment, is 10.02 A.M.

I have no pressing business engagements,just now.. and rarely do have in the Summer Months.

We are sittling here in the office, mostly chatting and indulging in an extended bout, of whit Lou describes as Harmless Persiflage, among us.. (Whit? is that legal?..ed)( When Ah find oot exactly whit it is..Ah'll let ye know!)

Kojo.
yer pal.. who likes ye aloat.

TimbuckTwo...

I didn't mean quite that rigidly so we couldn't build a team. I'll take Petrov as an example. We bought him relatively cheaply, got the best years of his career then sold him at a time when his value was highest. I'm thinking more along these lines. It worked for so many years at clubs such as PSV and this, along with a decent crop of homegrown players would ensure we punch above our weight.

This would require decent scouts, a board that are willing to reinvest and an understanding support. Which of these three, if any, do we have?

lion
Im sure BTM would love to keep Mcgeaady, he would know enough about him to convince him he was a player worth keeping. Same with Scot Brown he knows him and I think could improve him. Boruc is someone I think BTM would consider selling. It would generate additional funds which would not have to be spent on a replacement thus giving him additional cash to spend on another area of the team

Kojo

Looking up to you (its a wonderful life)lasoothemoonC.F.C

Mebbe they us right, when they say.. ye hiv nevah lived...until, ye hiv "sittled"

That claim, Notwithstanding...

Should have read... "Sitting"...

Sorry about that.

"Ready, when you are,C.B.!"

Kojo.

Celtic Dawn

I for one hope Boruc is sold this summer, his conduct in the dressing room along with irresponsible and unacceptable behaviour on and off the pitch should not be tolerated or accepted any more by Celtic, I'm glad to say that from rumours i have heard, Celtic feel the same.

Jimtim,

Did you not watch any of the reserve games last season ?

Paddy was the best player by far in that Title Winning team.

God only knows why he didnt feature in the title run in.

For example, Strachan, in his wisdom, while 0-1 down v 'them' brought on Naylor to replace O'Dea ??

McCourt would've been perfect and when he gets a proper pre-season under his belt he'll be raring to go come August.

DerryCityFanMissingMcCourt&McGinn.com

Lionroared67

"his conduct in the dressing room"

What do you mean by that?

Cognitive Dissonance - #153

lion
I think the crucial point regards selling boruc is that no money would have to be spent on a replacement. This would not be the case with Brown or McGeady

Yeeeees

Sweeden come back from three goals down to make it 3-3

Another goal for Berg - out our league now.....

hello rod stewart. thank you for your reply .

yes i watched a good few reserve games on ctv. The reason i asked my question was, i read recently from one of the reserve backroom staff, that they were putting paddy through a close season fitness programme. They felt (their words not mine )that they needed to build up his stamina. this was backed up on a good few occasions, when even though he was having a good game he was substituted. as i stated he is the type of player who if we can get the best out of ,will no-doubt get the fans excited .

hail hail

Celtic Dawn

I agree, it is not by chance Celtic have been active in the goalkeeping signings.

Nothtebus

Hows the fishing? personally not a lover of fishing myself.

jimtim

Good man for clearing that up - thought you were giving Paddy a hard time for a minute !

Paddy was never a Roy Keane (box to box) player - he would drift in and out of games at times even looking uninterested but then would show a flash of brilliance to create a goal etc..

However at this level its not acceptable - even Lubo did a bit of tracking back !

So stamina is critical this summer for McCourt to build.

In his last few reserve games he put in some good shifts along side the cigar moments - he needs to do this every week to feature in TM's plans.

Watch this space - he will win games for us and "get the fans excited"

test

Evening bhoys

I'm just in ..did I miss anything? chances of white smoke?

I have no reservations to add to my advisement, to Transfer Master Brown.

After winning his Player of the Year Award.. at this time, we can, Outrageously, dangle this Award, to encourage any suitors, as it is the Primest Of Baits, to attract the aunwary.

I have no fear that Master Brown's Place can be filled,and easily, from our Stock of Unsung and Untried Heroes..

Namely.. Master MILLAR, for one.. and Master Grant,for anither...

Master Millar, is the best Midfield Prospect in Scotland.. he is a Brammer.

He has bin sorely neglected and Ignored.

I say it is Now... Millar Time, for Celtic.

Kojo.

Weeminger @ 12:58 - Would have followed up on your post earlier but got snagged up on that irksome daily task called "work"

I would'nt have called your post patronising, perhaps partially inaccurate would be closer to the mark. As far as i'm aware, Tamiflu is an antiviral drug rather than a vaccine, used for treating symptoms rather than for immunisation. What use is treating symptoms with a drug that has the same side effects as the condition being treated, as well as others that are more serious?

With regards to shelf-life, what I was getting at was the co-incidental nature of the latest overhyped flu epidemic's timing.

With regards to hardworking scientists and their integrity, I agree, the guys and girls in the labs are the "shop floor" of this industry. It's the "management" upstairs and their ties with national administrations that should be berated in these cases.

Aw_naw - Thanks for the link, it saved me going on a rant about Donald Rumsfeld!

Internetdoctorspharmacists&conspiricytheoristsCSC

Tiny Tim

What a wonderful post at 5.23.

Kojo

Sell Scott Brown by all means, but make sure Celtic get the market value. The only clubs likely to be interested are EPL based, the rest of the world aren't so easily fooled. Although you are banging the drum for a sale remember he's injured, and dafties like Spurs have already been
bitten with Hutton, now for sale at a knock down price.

99% of the bids mentioned in the media, never materialize.

I've a theory, why dont we try and replace the duds in the squad first.

As every signing is a gamble, why would you sell your better players in the hope of getting a cheaper but just as able a replacement. And for those that think Zaluska is just as good as Artur, well i'd have to vehemently disagree.

I think that all the speculation about McDonald going is exactly that - pure speculation based on Hull concluding that there is a fair chance they will lose out on Fortune.

Any decent side needs four half-decent strikers, and don't we appreciate that only too well following last seasons post Christmas debacle.

With JVOH going, losing McDonald means we would be looking for 3 strikers - sorry to those who want to see the back of him, but I just can't see it happening (and also think it is a big risk to assume that we can get 3 in).

I will be amazed if we don't hold onto McDonald and buy another two strikers this summer.

Boruc is a logical suggestion for the off - I would expect one of McGeady or Brown may join him if we are really short of a kitty.

Do i detect a pattern developing with our 'players of the year'......?

Hmmmmm....

Notasellingclub csc

Tiny Tim,

Just been reading back, that story is magic thanks for sharing it with us.

From the Celtic FC site, its hard to believe this lad is only 14yrs, I hope he's with us for 14 more.
**************************
award for young celt islam
Gregor Kyle
HE has already made his Celtic Park ‘debut’ in the Tommy Burns Tribute Match and, at the tender age of 14, Islam Feruz has picked up his first ‘major’ personal award.

Islam was honoured at the Scottish Minority Ethnic Achievement Awards event at the Hilton Hotel in Glasgow last night (June 25) – being voted Male of the Year.

Since joining Celtic’s Youth Academy five years ago, Islam has made exceptional progress, establishing himself as one of the club’s most talented and promising youngsters.

The young forward is also seen as one of the best prospects in his age group in the UK and was a protégé of the late, Celtic great and Head of the Academy, Tommy Burns.

His is an extraordinary success story and having sought asylum in Scotland with his family, the young Somalian has already made his Under-19 debut, featured regularly for the U17s and made an appearance in the recent Tommy Burns Tribute Match.

Youth Academy Operations Manager, Brian Meehan, was at last night’s ceremony, which was attended by over 700 people, to accept the award on Islam's behalf.

A Celtic spokesperson said: "We are absolutely delighted that Islam has been recognised in this way.

“He is a young man whose early life has been very difficult, but he has shown great determination to overcome this adversity and make an impact within our Academy.

“His dedication and hard work, combined with his ability, has led to him being tipped for great things in the future and the club and Youth Academy will continue to do all it can to support him and ensure that his development is carefully monitored.

"A young boy when he came to Scotland, seeking asylum in this country with his family, Islam is an example of Celtic’s vision - a club that is open to all and one which prides itself in celebrating diversity.”

mon Sweden
vmhan
Hail Hail

PJBhoynyc

Would that be our player of the year curse..when they are bloody awful the year after getting the award?

Rioskorrie,

My In-laws are from there and have the same surname too. Unfortunately they support them.

All the best.

GO TELL THE SPARTIM at 7:11pm

absolutely spot on mate, agree with evrything you said.

Hail Hail
CB

Far too early to sell Scott McDonald.

I always thought the one thing Fergus McCann got wrong was not giving Pierre a contract extension way back in 1996. Had Pierre been allowed to continue his impressive goalscoring record for one more season we would have got £5 or 6 million rather than £3m.

So far in a very ordinary Celtic team McDonald has enjoyed two impressive seasons however with the right players around him season three could be even better. Which would increase his value from £4-6m to £8 or 9m.

Someone compared his scoring record with Samaras but his goals against Man U, Rangers and Kilmarnock last season were exceptional and set him apart from ordinary strikers like Samaras and even the prolific K Boyd.

McDonald is the one player we should not be looking to sell.

BSM,
I missed the glorious last day because of jury duty. I feel somehow bereft.

Ofcom tells Sky sell

last two paragraphs are interesting hmmmmm

Debate over Sky's market influence over how much we pay to watch football is the pay-TV equivalent of Groundhog Day.

So will today's news that regulator Ofcom may force Sky to make its football and movies cheaper to competitors lead to cheaper pay-TV packages for us?

The debate over Sky has raged since Alan Sugar - then an object of derision for Spurs fans and manufacturer of white satellite dishes rather than a gruffly loveable TV star - was overheard telling then Sky chief executive Sam Chisholm to "blow them out of the water" to secure the TV rights to the fledgling Premier League. Was Sky an 800lb gorilla crushing the competition underfoot? Or a British success story that improved the entertainment options of millions and turned the Premier League into the glitziest, richest and often greatest sporting show on earth? Probably a bit of both.

First, a bit of context. In the past 16 years, rivals have perpetually complained that Sky's dominance of premium movies and sport has hampered their ability compete. ITV Digital, the mismanaged train wreck undone by misguided strategy and poor technology, complained that Sky's wholesale rates helped to send it bust. Cable companies accused Sky of hampering growth by adhering to the letter of the law to ensure it sold premium content at a fair price - but consistently flouting the rules in spirit. NTL and Telewest blew billions before merging and becoming Virgin Media, which promptly became the loudest complainant to date. Meanwhile, a new breed of competitors - Setanta, Top Up TV, BT Vision - queued up to complain that Sky was unfairly using its position in the market.

Ofcom's stab at solving this perennial puzzle boils down to revamping the rules that currently apply to cable - forcing Sky to offer its movie and sports channels to rivals at a reasonable price - and extending them to everyone. Price will be set by a formula based on the "retail minus" principle. In other words, Ofcom will look at how much Sky sells its channels for and deduct the costs, using the outcome to set a wholesale price for its rivals. What will this mean to the average punter? Presuming the proposals survive the consultation process unscathed, Ofcom thinks it would lead to lower prices, more choice and greater innovation. Critics, particularly those in Osterley, think it might mean the opposite.

Operators like Top Up TV could offer Sky premium channels as an add-on to Freeview. In these cash-conscious times, might the idea of Freeview plus Sky Sports be an appealing idea for a significant minority of Sky subscribers?

Sky argues that it has won all its rights in free and fair auctions and, having gambled billions on building its business, should be free to reap the rewards. And it will point to Setanta's very existence and the European Commission directive to make sure at least one package of Premier League rights goes to a rival as evidence that the market is working.

Nowadays people make their pay-TV and broadband choices based on a host of factors from customer service to technology to choice, not just on how much it costs to see Arsenal play.

The truth is that the outcome could have been much worse for Sky and, while it will do little to change chairman James Murdoch's less than rosy view of regulation in general and Ofcom in particular, less partisan observers will probably chalk it down as a draw. Analysts have already suggested as much, with UBS saying this morning that the Ofcom proposals could lead to a "fair outcome" and a "swift resolution" for Sky.

The most interesting - and potentially damaging - unintended consequence could be on the value of rights. Will Sky's rivals be as keen to engage in a head-to-head auction for Premier League rights, say, in the knowledge they are guaranteed access to the games at a regulated price anyway?

The Premier League was banking on another bumper haul when the rights come up for auction again next year, but if Ofcom's proposals remain unchanged the ripples will reach all the way from the living room to the football pitch.

Lionroared67

Unless you are a member of the first team squad, its a silly accusation to make.

If you cant back it up, then you are guilty of spreading malicious rumours about a Celtic player.

If you spread malicious rumours about a Celtic player, then I have no time for you.

Kevtic:
Totally agree...see my post at 5:20pm
Hail Hail

Tiny Tim 5.23

Fantastic

Lionroared67.......just keep playing into the hands of the laptop loyal, why don't you......some folk see only what they want to....
......As soon as they discovered we had a REAL goalie in Artur, the campaign began....

Tim Bucktwo

Yeah spot on mate!

Sorry Kojo I must disagree once again for Gomis is the best midfield prospect in Scotland.

Don't sell Skippy or Scot Brown either.

And, whilst we're at it, why is all the talk about selling not buying???

By Lionroared67 on June 26, 2009 6:25 PM

You were like Brian Quinn yesterday, but Keith Jackson today you are fairly putting it about mate.

There is something just not right about your post @6.25

rod stewart. 6.47

i hope you are right regards paddy, and other starlets. one thing tony mowbury was acclaimed for was giving his younger players a chance , i hope that continues. but still feel some top drawer signings are required. tony has been installed as our new boss,wel,l just have to put some faith in the man .

hail hail

Cognitive Dissonance - #154

I read that several clubs are in a "transfer tug of war" and "battling it out for the signature" of Charlie Adam. Names such as Barnsley and Blackpool have been mentioned whilst Sampdoria lead a clutch of Serie A sides who are chasing " misfit midfielder" Massimo Donati. Is it just me or is the tone of these reports completely through the looking glass? ......... mmmmm the Laptop Loyal Lapdogs eh, wha's like them?

kojo ....... i take it you would be delighted with a midfield of

caddis ------- grant ------ millar ------ ferry

SFFS

MacDonald if a bid comes in, it's a no brainer. Take it and run. Don't make the same mistake that was made with JVOH last year when Hamburg came calling.

People need not worry there are far better players than Scott McDonald, the problem is that Celtic over the last couple of years have seen the quality of the side decreased, that a player like McDonald is seen as some sort of saving grace. Wrong he's a limited player IMO. 6 million daylight robbery. Scott McDonald when he was first signed i'm sure was seen by many as a backup striker and to me he still is.

As i have said time to for Celtic to rid of the mediocrity that is in the club and supplement the very few decent players we have wiht better personnel. Think what 6 million could be bring. You could probaby get a Maierhoffer and a Aragones for that.

Bye the way i have been done some research in the boy Simon Cox. Let's just say whoever takes the punt will have someone like Dean Ashton on the hands that could easily make the step up a level. Boy is getting rave reviews.

West Wales Celt : 7:49
Totally agree with points made....however.....I think we have to balance the books ( seems to be a priority I'm afraid) so we sell before we buy!! Hope I'm wrong ....
Hail Hail
PS: I don't know who we're selling....but I just been "advised " that Simon Cox is a high priority. Passed on in good faith from good source.

re Artur (THG) Boruc

He has been the best 'keeper we have had since big Pakki and the meeja have targetted him with the sole purpose of upsetting his form - all because he dared to show his faith as most continentals do by blessing himself. He saw they didnt like this and he gave them a bit of wind-up back.

His off-field 'antics' as some would call it include the guy splitting from his wife and having the audacity to find himself a new girlfriend and....wait for it....kiss her in public (how dare he) !

He enjoys a drink (as do a lot of players) and, with all the pressures that come with being under such intense scrutiny as he has, who can blame him. Sure, getting sent home from international duty may have been a manifestation of this?!

Thumping McGeady (he maybe has one of Kojo's tenners in his back pocket after that one) was unfortunate business but confrontation is always going to be part of any team of sportsmen intent on achieving success. (BB and Cuthbert had a set-to at training which never made the headlines).

The meeja's intentions were evidenced last season when the rags had a story on THG but decided not to print until the game against them loomed.

WE should judge him not on the cr*p they print but on what we, as Celtic fans, receive in terms of commitment and performance. His weight is an issue and his blunders at Easter Rd etc are also of concern so we know there is room for him to improve....BUT......a fit and happy Artur Boruc is still the asset we had 2/3/4 seasons ago and is in no way bettered or equalled by our other gk's. If the club decide to sell him for funds I will be sorry to see him go and would be outraged if we didnt get top dollar (£8-9m+)......

Hail Hail
CB

67heaven

your comment
".....As soon as they discovered we had a REAL goalie in Artur, the campaign began."

So why wasn't there a campaign against Larsson?

TinyTim at 5.23

YOU the man! And you know I mean that sincerely.

On a separate note, given that season tickets sales are allegedly at the same level as last season, why did BTM telephone me twice this afternoon trying to flog them? I was doubly disappointed because I thought he was phoning to give me a trial...

malceye : 8:29

See my post at 5:45 pm.....
Hail Hail

While I would jump at the chance of getting £3 or 4 million for MacDonald, I also think he is the best poacher at Celtic Park. In fact, I think that that is all he is, although he seems to think otherwise. He definitely has too guid a conceit of himself. He seems to think he is God's gift. His lack of a good first touch, his lack of awareness of the availability of his team mates is another but far and away his constant moaning testify to his obvious limitations. Granted he has scored a number of very good and important goals but I would cash in on him at the price being mentioned.

My dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,friend.. West Wales Celt.

I am with you, regarding Mr. Gomis..or Gomez as I foist called him, when I highly recommended him to Mr. Strachan.. the foist time that I saw this Midfielder.. as Mr. Gomis, is a Fine Prospect indeed.

Mr. Millar, on the ither hand is a Home Bhoy..and as such.. should be given his chance..I have watched Mr.Millar's Progress for several year's.

This young Guy has a song to sing.. however, so far the Celtic Management haven't given him a proper hearing.

He can also score the odd Goal..and his reading of the game is excellent as is also, his hard tackling and covering... he is, indeed, the quintessential Mid Fielder.. the Kind that went oot with the demise of Mr. Murdoch.

He and Padraig, are the controllers who pull out the Stops in the Celtic Reserve Team Organ.

As regards yer ither point of contention..

You ask... to paraphrase...accurately,I believe..

"So what is all this Selling and No Buying. .awe abooot?"

The answer to that, pal...is elementary.

If one does not have any money to start with..and therefore, cannot Buy
...which is the state of circumstance that Celtic,at the moment find themselves..

Then..

The intelligent thing to do...

Is to SELL one or more of one's assets, in order, to .. OBTAIN THE MONEY TO BUY, whatever one Wishes.

Maks sense tae me.

Kojo.
yer pal.. who likes ye aloat.

Kojo,
Just in fae the coalface, wish a wis at the dancin, plenty of comment from your good self today, so camon, gees yir team for next season.

Viewfae, who wonders if you can pick a team.........!!!

Is BTM promising those whom he phones that they can have their old seat? The reason I ask is that my mate tried to renew his season ticket this afternoon. (He has been out of the country for a while and isn't computer literate.) It had been sold already but he had no sooner got home from Celtic Park, rather dejected, than he got the call from our new manager. It seemed to add insult to injury. He feels having had the ticket for about a dozen years , he might have been given a bit of leeway.

Just adds to my own disgust at the Ticket Office. As I have said before, there seems to be one law for some and one for the rest.

Parkheadcumsalford: 8:35
"He is the best poacher at Parkhead"..we'll take as a plus.
Conceited..God's gift.....lots of good footballers are....
Lack of a good first touch is a common trait with strikers I would have thought. Lack of awareness of availability of fellow players would possibly be because he's on his own most of the time and there's no one there?
His constant moaning I won't defend...he's a wee greetin' face right enough.
He has scored a number ( a fairly big number) of very good and important goals we will also take as a plus.
All in all , based on the foregoing, I think we must keep him.
Hail Hail

My dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,friend... ViewfraetheWindae...or.... BoidseyeVieweroBhoysTown. tak yer Pick~

An ... "If I were King"... Interlude:

Goal Tender.. Why... Cool Haun Luke.

Left Back.... Why... Ange.

RightBack... Why... Just "K"

Central Mid... Mr. Caldwell, Mr. Loovens.

Midfield...

Master Caddis,Master Millar,Master Padraig,Master Mizuno.

Strikers Mr. Macko and Herr(?) JANKO.

So ye see.. Ah kin pick a Team.

Note...

I would not spend a Brass Farthing, oan importing any other player

Than.... Herr Janko....

Him..I would Get his Services..by Any method that I could..

and that includes

By Hook, Crook or by selling my Soul.
and not necessarily in that order.

Even, Murder.. I would not rule out!

So noo ye know.

Kojo.
yer pal...who likes ye aloat.

Lots of posters criticising Skippy tonight.

Don't see any of them being called "lapdogs" or "doing the meeja's work for them"

Does this only apply to those whose criticise Artur Boruc?

53

WGS, You have got exactly right, £6 million for McDonald, take the money and run.

However, it wont happen, there is some daft money spent down here in England,but there is no club daft enough to pay that sort of money for Mcdonald.. NO SPEED, NO DISTRIBUTION, NO CONTROL OF THE BALL.

Charlie Adam. Read on here on numerous occasions how poor a player he is. However at Brammal Lane last season, he was the best player on the park when United played Blackpool.

Shows how one game can give the wrong impression.

Sell McDonald

Utter madness. He may be an archetypal wee nyaff but his goals speak for themselves. Keep him and keep the best players we have. Ship out the deadwood that contributed to us having the biggest wage bill in the SPL and replace them with affordable quality.

Much has been made of TM,s previous work with John Park so that should now result in us seeing, hopefully, B I G G E R better footballers in the Hoops this season.

Tony if your first signings contain anyone in our price bracket that is smaller than 5 FT 10" I will personally Boe yir Taws.

TT earlier, some post mo chara.

Kojo,

It's a yes, yes from WGS !! If a bid comes in for Macko, we takeo, my good friend Kojo.

Capeche!!

kojo ... what the hell r u drinking. paddy mccourt centre midfield!!!! the guy couldnt last 10 mins in the engine room before boakin his ring up!!!

SFFS

Oh by the way,guys...it just has been pointed out to me, by Girl Tuesday..that I have inadvertently reversed the Right and Left Back Berths..

Please...make the proper adjustment, when you read them.

Kojo.

We need a striker of class as Hesselink is gone imo and Sammy is too ineffectual when it counts.

Kojo

How are collie & mabel these days?

I haven't seen the tail a wagging for a while?

Hope they like yourself are well.

WGS ..... a player i have read a lot about recently is Franco Zuccilini of Racing. 18 year old hard tackling midfielder argentinian. Just joined Hoffenheim in germany :-(

SFFS

Seven Fishes Four Steaks

If that is the way that you wish to interpert my team sheet... that is o.k. by me.

Nevertheless..

Padraig, is the Best Midfielder that we hiv,noo that Naka is gone.

and.. to.. C.M.A...

That team selection is entirely Mine..and has bin registered by the Copyright Office, for all Countries.

Seven Fishes,

How much? I mentioned him on the blog not so long ago. .

jbj717

you don't watch many away games then, do you ? on numerous occasions this season, it's been obvious. both on tv and in the stadium. the songs you mention have been aired, and certainly, the "Holy Goalie" song has some pretty obnoxious add-ons.
at Celtic Park, it's all but eradicated, but no-one can deny that our travelling support ( who are much more vocal than the home support) belt these type of songs out on a fairly regular basis, and outside the grounds, it's even more prevalent.

perhaps you need to read what i wrote again. the criticism of ALL this type of singing is pretty obvious in what i've written. no burying my head in the sand, no " they've got the bigger problem " no justifying the few who sing amongst our support by comparing them favourably with a greater number who do the same from across the city.
to suggest comparisons with what happened in the U.S in the sixties is just crass. really.

whatever. i've just watched the "laughing baby Cow and Gate" ad. on tv and coupled with the "baby" stories from other posters, i'm not minded to argue.
i will accept that you have a different view on things, but i reserve the right to disagree with your view, and to believe that you're wrong in your assumption that because they " have the bigger problem" it somehow exonerates the eejits in our support.

jonnybhoy @ 9:01 PM,

Well said. Last season's team does not need a root and branch overhaul they are way better than what they produced post Christmas. Remember their unbeaten run last autumn. Now I'm unsure why they didn't perform anywhere close to their potential after Christmas, but something was clearly amiss.

I'm excited by new signings but would rather that they were first team replacements for the dead wood and that BTM also brought the good players who are already there back to their best.

Ard Macha

Kojo,
Just going tae the dancing, however best the viewfaethewindae
wis young Mark Millar.....if he canny get a game then the baw's burst..... Viewfae who thinks you sould pick the team eaach week..!

My dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,friend.. HangtheDj.

Mabel, has just left the office, to go shopping, accompanied by My fair Lady...Gabriella.

collie,is living and working in Scranton,Penn.. with the Boss.

Everything, with them is copacetic.

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

Kojo:
Ok, ok give yur Mr Millar a chance, but give me Gomis.

Money?

But surely we have packets of the stuff?

Smell the glove and get spending....

Regards to yer multiple personalties BTW - yer a hell of a ghuy, that ya are!

Evening Lhads.

As we're on the talk on next seasons line-up, heres my shout...

Boruc
New LB (ad have tried for Risse pre-Roma, £4million? A steal in the inflated English market!)
Hinkel
Caldwell
Loovens
Maloney
Crosas
Brown
McGeady
McDonald
New striker (anyone who's big, strong, quick, good 1st touch, can beat a man n scores 30+ a season! - emdy know wan for less than £2mill?!!!)

As you can see, I dont think we need that much tinkering, a good manager could work well with these players. I would also prefer a creative-attacking midfielder but cant see this happening unless Brown goes for big bucks

PS. Saw people talk about a new no.25......we've got 1....Paddy McCourt. Remember, Lubo didnt play every minute of every game.

Hail Hail.

Kojo

How do you see yourself? I'm truly intrigued and I think very well of you.

WGS ..... dont quote me on this but i think Zuculini went for, wait for it, 4.6m euros. what a snip!!!!

SFFS

John Glass,
Sell Boruc,Brown,Mcgeadie and MacDonald for £22m and replace all those looooosers with the winners fae the 9 in a row reserves. Grant,Ferry, McGinn, McCourt etc.
A know cause I've seen them faethewindae

My dear,dear,,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,friend..Viewfaethewindae..

I know that ye hiv the odd keek at whit is going oan at Bhoys Town,pal..

So ye should know whit ye ur talking aboot.

Look..the time his come tae set oor nearly grown up Eaglets Free..

Let them spread thur wings..

Koki, is a Brammer.. in fact he could be fashioned intae a Darn Fine Striker, nae bother...in fact, I could dae ma ain sweet sel'...and that wi' one haun tied behind ma back.. which is nae big deal,really... but, it ayeways sounds good!

Oor basic troubles can be fun in the Left Back.. and STRIKING DEPT.

Both these places must be completely renovated.

Just 'K", is the best prospect I have seen .. fur oor Troubled Left Back Berth..and he wullnae cost a penny.

He is a Six Footer.. he is Nineteen Years old.. he can run... he kin beat his man.. and he kin croass the Ba'...and.. he kin also Defend.. by Jingo..he Can Defend!

We dinna need tae go oot an spend a penny or take a chance in a Bozoman. fur the Left Back Berth.

If we hid the Malum tae go oot and Buy... Mr. Janko fur.. whatevah it takes .. then we darn well should.

Instead of Pussyfootin aboot wi.. Players who couldnae kick the door if thae wur haudin the Haunle.

Maks sense tae me.

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

MurdochauldandHay at 5.59 pm.

Great news about young Islam.

Your post made me go to the Celtic FC site to look at the 15s details.

Do you think Joe Chalmers / 15s Centre Back is taking the profiling thing seriously:

Name
Joe Chalmers

Age Group
U15

Position
Centre Back

Signed for Celtic
2004

Favourite Player
Ross Tokely

Favourite Food
Spag bol

Favourite Music
Tom Jones

I mean...spaghetti bolognese...what's that all about Joe?

viewfaethewindae,

Yer selling us short there, only £22mill?
Tell me, hows the Bhoy Grant doin now after his injury hell the last few years?

Seven Fishes,

See what i mean, it is a snip. Hoffenheim will probably get double that when they sell him. Hoffeheim?????

i hope angel goes out of BB tonight.

IRON BALLS

Did he no play for Villa a few years back?

R.I.P.
Michael Jackson,..a flawed genius,..but a genius nevertheless.

WGS ... they are bankrolled by a billionaire. they have an outstanding striker in bosnian Vedad Ibišević and old favourite Timo Hildeband

SFFS

John Glass,
Ferry and Grant.
Ferry is twice the player Broon thinks he is and Grant would run through a brick wall.........Celtic don't need many new signings, just the bottle to play what we have, Jock did it, 30m radius and all that.

4.6 million euro's though. Celtic could afford that just now IMO. hey there are plenty out there awaiting the call.

WGS .... loads of great Argentinians etc but work permits are problem. he will go for triple that in 1 maybe 2 seasons.

SFFS

Ard Macha.

We need to largely work with what we have, with a few quality additions. You are correct about the post Christmas performances, something was rotten in the state of Celtica for the displays to be so inept.

A good gardener knows what to prune to ensure good growth and what to cultivate...

Hope TM has green fingers. WGS was more of a barren landscape man near the end of his tenure.

Am off tae mix ma metephors.

This time next week I will be in Aberdour Celtic Heaven. Cannae wait.

Like the fact that we're discussing potential teams, but hasn't anyone noticed that the preferred team formation of our current manager has ALWAYS been...

****

***

***

Based on that, how would we line up?

I will reassert that we are bereft of the type of central midfielders required to make this system work, namely 2 skilled technicians to operate on either side of the TOUGH, BALL-WINNING midfielder (I would nominate Robson for this role, even though he likes to get up the park a little too much).

For the front three, we are well-stocked, in my opinion, as they don't need to be strikers. Koki, Paddy, Molly, Macko, Aiden, Broonie, Georgios, (yes, Georgios - I'm not pressing the panic button on him... yet!) are all ready to fight for a place in the front three.

Yep, for me we need two craftsmen in the middle. Heck, even an extra holding midfielder might come in handy, considering the injury-prone status of the Dundee baritone.

John Glass / Viewfaethewindae, is Charlie Grant fit again? I've had contradictory reports. I was told he had to retire through injury and somebody else told me he was finally on the way back? To me he is on of our best home grown players in years and exactly what we are lacking in the middle of the park.

I would love him, Simon Ferry and big John Kennedy to be fit to fulfil their promise. That would be about £15m of players for free.

SFFS

John Reid with his political background should be doing more to get rid of the need for footballers to need a work permit to play in the UK.
If this need for a work permit was taken away it would give us a serious chance of progressing in Europe. The Portuguse league is not much better then the Scottish league however Porto won the European Cup in 2004, in which their Brazilian players played a big part.

The like of PSV in Holland have benefited from this also with Ronaldo, Alex etc

viewfaethewindae

I love your confidence n there would be nothing better than to reclaim the title with a few more homegrowns in our team BUT as someone once said "You dont win anything with kids" and he was proved right.........wasnt he???! ;)

Charlie Grant looked a right good player a few years ago, I thought he'd be the natural (more mobile) replacement for Neil Lennon before the injuries struck. Ferry is another 1 who has been unlucky in that sense but anyone who can score a a goal of that calibre against the best keeper in the country (aye right!) is a good prospect.

The 1 who i'd love to see promoted is Paddy and if any manager will do it, its Mowbray. Heres hoping.

up_over_goal on June 26, 2009 9:53 PM

Gary Caldwell ? ;-)

HAil HAil

johnnybhoy,

Change for change sake is not what we need. It might be exciting and sell a few rags but there is little point throwing out the baby with the bathwater.

I believe BTM will improve the good players we have, and hopefully 2-3 quality signings to replace 3-4 squad players will further the team's overall improvement.

Improving as above might be less exciting but much more effective.

Ard Macha

My dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,friend... EldiegoBhoy.

I am not soiten as to whit yer question directed at me is,pal..

"How do you see yourself?"...is a wee bit hard to interpret..

Nevertheless... Ah wull tak a shoat.

And answer it, thusly.

Ah have not actually seen any of the players at practice in Bhoys Town.

Howevahhhhhhh...

As you probably know, collie, has a constant flow of interesting intel, from one of three Cousins.

Who are Actual Celtic Coaches.

collie, keeps me informed and up to snuff oan how so and so is performing, at training, or how is so and so improving .. and so on..

Then, of course, I never miss a Celtic Reserve Game on Chan 67..

And..

I just do not view a Reserve Game just ONCE..

Lou and I and sometimes Bill.. shall watch the Game..over and over...each time running the rule over a different young Tyro.

Soon, one becomes very familiar with the Pluses and the Minuses that we see in each young Reserve Players over all performance.

By the Way..

By the way the following...Two players are First Team Ready.

Padraig and Mark.. are both ALWAYS excellent. Koki, is not far behind.. Koki, is a very "Heady type of Player"..it is probably his Ethnicity ,that helps him to act in the manner.I am a great admirer of the woik ethic of the Asians and,in Particular, the Japanese.. great people.

When I say Just"K", or Charlie Grant.. or even Young Ferry..who along with Charlie has missed almost .. TWO YEARS Of Playing Time, because of niggling long term injury...are excellent Prospects for Promotion to the First Team Pool.. I ain't whistling.. Brahms 14th..fur frankly.. I dinna know how it sounds.

Hope this gies ye a little Insight intae from where Ah get my INSIGHT.

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

up_over_goal

Zaluska

Caddis Caldwell Loovens Misan

Ferry Grant
Millar
McGinn Janko McCourt

European Champions 2013

Awe_Naw_No_Annoni_Oan_Anaw_Noo

As Peter Sellers once said during mid-trajectory -

NoooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

6 months ago, I would have nominated Crosas, but he panics under pressure. However, he would be a candidate for one of the 2 flanks. Who would you put in there?

Jonnybhoy, Taggsbhoy and all,

have a great day in Aberdour. May all your putts be uphill tap-ins.

One of my highlights from last year that still makes me laugh, when I think of it, is Johnnybhoy just about falling off his seat from laughing at Len Murray's sublime delivery of the joke about the wife saying "wear the fox hat..."

a terrible joke told with a perfect straight face and received with un-restrained joy by us all, especially Jonnybhoy...comedy gold right there.

All the best.

seven fishes four steaks

I noticed you mentioned Argentinians, there are many great buys from there and Id love us to sign a few. Ive asked before about the work permit thing, how did Dundee Untied and Dundee manage to sign non international team playing South Americans? At one point Dundee had possibly four Argentinians.

Its the land of number 25s.

EN

up_over_goal

Good point.

Boruc

New LB
Caldwell
Loovens
Hinkel

Robson
Crosas
Brown

Maloney/McCourt
New striker
McGeady

Now I dont mind TM playing a 4-3-3, in fact im all for it if it works, but I always liked the idea of us playing 2 central midfielders none of whom were "sitters". I absolutely couldnt stand it last season when Brown would sit deeper than Hartley (who was an attacking midfielder-turned-into-a-holding-midfielder by Strachan) and NONE of them got forward!!! It left a big onus on our strikers which, sadly, they couldnt respond to.

EN .... i know dundee and Utd had them but dont know how. Juan Sara and Fabián Caballero are 2 i can remember. Would love to see more as teh Boca academy have loads from what i have read.

SFFS

viewfaethewindae

Have read a lot of your posts, and always stop when I see your wee moniker, BUT

Have you been cookin pasta? Cos

Yer windae's steamed up!

Yikes! So many of our former team cast out into the Lennoxtown wilderness.

Losing a manager is a bit like any kind of break-up. When it's over, there is a tendency to criticize everything he did, and in doing so, throw out the baby with the bathwater. In this case, we'd be losing the jewellry as well. Take some advice from Zsa Zsa - always hang on to the jewellry.

3 championships, 4 other trophies, and 2 European last sixteens - not everything Strachan did was pants!

SFFS, Estadio

Juan Sara has Italian nationality, i presume Fabian Cabellero (smashing player) did aswell.

Canaggia was still on the Argentina national team when Dundee signed him so he would be eligible for a work permit by having played in 75% of Argetina's previous 12 matches or if he can be, "seen as a top class player and of benefit to the game in the UK"

Timbhoy05/Seven fishes four steaks

I was thinking about that earlier, John Reid may be able to ask questions, not asking for Scotland emloyment laws to be changed but if possible the football could be relaxed a bit.

Is there not a ranking system for work permits? Players from the top ranked international teams dont have to be internationalists?

EN

Kojo 8.58

that midfield would be blown over by a strong wind ..plenty of creativity but where is the balance? You sure you could get a tackle out of that lot? Would be sussed out in 10 mins and overrun by teams who utilise craft and guile with strength and doggedness.
one scenario should confine it to the 'trash can':

Caddis, Millar,Paddy,Mizuno versus
Davis,Thomson,Mendes, Edu ?

Fear the consequences.

still standing

Guys on celticpoland.com website are sure that so called "good bye to Celtic supporters" was not written by Artur Boruc. They have invastigated that this was written by the same person who has his profile on bebo under McGeady name.
Celticpoland.com wrote article about that. It looks not truth in it.

Ard Macha

Spot on mate.

Abbott,

I can still remember vividly the sublime delivery!!!

One of my brothers, who is a regular witty poster on here, came out with that statement years ago and it became an in joke for our lot, when Len said it, it was the first time I heard it outwith the family, hence the reaction.

Its a shame you wont make it, as just like jimtim and others you were "guid company"

We shall enjoy this year and look forward to seeing familiar faces next year and the years beyond.

Its one of the Celtic great days oot, as you know :)

I meant no truth on bebo, not on celticpoland.com

MWD

From the first or second post

I will miss Farrah Fawcett (/ Majors)

And that poster - which my biggest brother introduced, as he did Dali and Guevara and that original whale poster...

But

F

Michael Jackson

King of Pop my arse

If I was spared another 40 years (Giving ample time for Madonna and Timberlake and their ilk to pass away) I think we would be short on the ground for songs with a chorus telling me 'Michael Jackson isn't dead, and you're coming back to me'

Mother Theresa died around the same time as Charles first wife.

Farrah Fawcett hours before this misguided man child stopped breathing.

Could someone please define if I'm being told to miss this genius's music or his existence, or his humility, or his grace, or work for charity, or his profligate spending, or his detachment, or his self destruction, or his parenting skills...

You all delude yourselves

The guy was wrong and a busted flush ambling his way to mediocrity and a heart attack - every footstep echoed by the fact that he, at the very least, created an environment for children where they might be open to abuse... If not from himself then others

So all you dreamers dream on.

I'm reminded of that joke about Hitler - but what a painter?

Isn't life a right laugh?

I mean isn't it?

timbhoy05

Your line "seen as a top class player and of benefit to the game in the UK" reminded me of the carry on to sign Petrov, Im sure we roped in Kevin Keegan to help our case after he had a good performance against England.

I think we did the same with Rafael Scheidt, who ever it was that made the case for him must have been good.

EN

John Glass

Not bad! Not at all bad!

BUT

Brown is too OFFENSIVE for the role you have given him.

As I have said, we are full to the gills with OFFENSIVE midfielders, one of whom has decided to embody both meanings of the word.

Look at the way Barcelona play (ok, they're Barca, but didn't Tony say that was the kind of football to which we should aspire?). Busquets sits deep, protects the defence when he needs to, and wins the ball, while Xavi and Iniesta weave their little footballing tapestries alongside him.

That is why we need 2 CRAFTSMEN of similar ilk (you'll notice I said ilk, not ability).

A lot has been said about Grant, Ferry and Millar. I don't watch the reserve matches, so I can't comment, and if they are to break into the squad, fine by me!

But we need central midfield TECHNICIANS and we need them now. I look around that squad and how many do we have? Let's count:

There's Crosas...

Estadio

I am pretty sure that to be eligible for a work permit you need to have played in 75% of that countries previous 12 matches.

However if that country is a top ranked country exceptions can be made if it can be proved that the player has exceptional ability or potential in the case of a younger player.
Rafael Scheidt only had two caps when we signed him because we proved what outstanding ability he had :-)

up_over_goal,
When did I ever mention WGS was pants?
Gordon took us to new levels in the C.L, God bless him.... all I say is there is talent within Bhoystown and I know 'cause I watched it fae the windae.

Viewfaethewindae, whobleedsgreenandwhite

timbhoy05

Im sure we sent in Sir Dignity Moonbeams to talk him up.

EN

yes....angel goes out.

Been thinking about this since GS went, heres what i think may happen.

OUT:

GK: Mark Brown

DF: Doumbe, Balde, Naylor, JFK and one of McManus or Caldwell,

MD: Hartley, Donati, Naka

CF: JVOH, McDonald, Samaras, Killen

IN:

DF: 1 x Left Back,
1 x Centre Halve (Maybe 2 depending what might unfold in the coming weeks. Wouldn't pass big McLeish putting a bid in for Stephen).

MD: Replacement for Naka
1 x CM( Annan and Poulsen mould )

FW: 2 x FW: Simon Cox being one.

Maybes:

Cuthbert or McGeady to go as well ??????

Glastonbury?

Its outdoors Top of the pops, miming, cheap pop and screaming kids.

Boo

up_over_goal,

I dont think 3 up front would work and I dont think 1 up front would work either. We were overrun in midfield last year with four and if Tony Mowbary plays with one up front reverting to 5 in midfield he´ll be hung out to dry.

I would be prepared to sacrifice Europe this year to bring through some of our youngsters. Who knows in the long term it might be more lucrative I´l like to see Mark Millar get about 10 - 15 games this season. I have been impressed by him every time I see him but I must admit that hasn´t been often. I also thought that Koki was very unlucky last season.

It should be a good environment to take the step up this year for some of the bhoys because Rangers through necessity will be doing the same and I´d hate for them to take a march on us and then herald it as some kind of master plan.

If we dont buy or sell anyone - which wont happen. I think we´ll punt Caldwell and Boruc and I am not for selling Boruc or Mc Geady especially having lost Naka and JVOH.

I´d go for

BorucSaluskas

Hinkel CaldwellLoovens O´Dea New Player

Mc Geady New Player Brown Robson

Skippy New Player
HAil Hail

Maybe part of the problem with us getting work permits for South American players is the success rate in the past with players from this continent:

Rafael Scheidt
Juninho
Fernando De Ornelas

Success Rate: 0/3

Paul67,

Are we really in for Fortune? I think we are using him as a smokescreen for one of the austrian lad's? I also think it's one of Flecther or Cox to come in as well. Maybe 2 of them depending if all 4 strikers i mentioned up top leave.

ulysses mcghee.
he was a genius-that is to say,a man who does,superlatively,and without obvious effort something that most people cannot do by the uttermost exertion of their abilities.

BIG AL.

up_over_goal

I dont personally think Brown is too offensive when played on the right side of a 3. Look at that right hand side I put down, Hinkel behind Brown n McGeady in front...all 3 have pace so wouldnt hopefully get caught out that much. Who knows? Thats something for Mogga n co. We can only offer our mere opinion. I would love the youngsters to make the big time and lets face it, if their on their way 2 9 then their doing something right.

Agree re; Crosas, I really love watching this Bhoy..what a footballer, it baffles me that some fans havent taken to him, he plays football the way it should be played. Remember "If God wanted us to play the ball in the air, he'd have built a park in the sky".

The best thing about TM coming in is that we wont worry about the other team as much as Strachan did (which in my opinion was his downfall). We are Celtic, (and with the obvious exception of Barca etc..) let others worry about us.

Hail Hail.

WGS,

It looks like we are in for him. Maybe Hull are using him as a smokescreen!!!!! They are after Michael Owen.

From what i saw of Fortune last season he looked a very good player, strong and pacey, something we havnt had in a good few years. If West Brom had him for the whole season i think they may have stayed up.
Chris Brunt was very impressive for West Brom aswell. I know he is an Orc but i would be delighted to see him in the hoops next season

Notthebus

Don't need to justify any of my opinions to you, ask billy mcneil what he thinks of Boruc? i will stand by what i know, he's unprofessional, irresponsible and not for Celtic.

067heaven

Boruc by being so dumb, made it easy for his enemies to attack him, why give your enemy the ammunition to fire at you? Boruc needed strong management, a real manager would have dealt with him, unfortunately we didn't have one, hence the decline in the morale of the squad, in conclusion, i don't need to help the laptop loyal as far as Boruc is concerned, he has done that all by himself.

bournesoupreceipe

Your still boring with the piss poor amateur wind up, stop trying the amateur psychoanalysis, your out your depth.

Abbott,

I did not realise that you were not going next week - apologies if you told me this before now and I forgot!
But as Jonnybhoy mentioned you and jimtim amongst others will be missed this year.

I fully intend on making it to more games this season (famous last words etc) and also hope to put in an appearance at BB's or some other suitable hostelry early in the season so that more names and faces can be connected etc and I can at long last get jimtim this long overdue beer :-)

On that note, myself and Moonbeams Wet Dreams are meeting up for beers in the Merchant City on Fri 10th July, so anyone who happens to be passing/in the area that fancy a few beers are more than welcome to join us even if only for 1 or 2. I shall post again on this nearer the time but thought I'd mention it just now.

As Jonnybhoy mentioned this time next week I shall be in Aberdour and hopefully enjoying the remaining time of a great day once again!

HAIL! HAIL!
Token

Hinkel Caldwell New New
New Brown Crosas McGeady
New McDonald

Thoughts?
Dont panic, we'll have a keeper!!
Hail Hail

Awe Naw 10.41

I agree re our European ambitions. Fostering young talent is only any good if they are given a chance.. How likely is that with our fickle support?

We should hope that the three new players you propose are good because the rump that makes up that 11( Robson excluded) couldn't close out the league from a winning position against a mediocre opposition.

still standing

Albert

Are you trying to tell me he did anything better than Sammy Davis Jnr?

Than Sidney Poitier?

Neither are classed as genuises...

Lazy Lazy Lazy...

Or we could go back to Holland for a young Swedish striker Marcus Berg and ask Rennes permission to speak to experienced Swedish centre half Petter Hansson rather than go for risky South Americans.

We could do with a few Swedes

laziness is nothing more than the habit of resting before you get tired.
BIG AL.

MWD,

if you are about (and others of a similar vintage to us, i.e. late 30s) then if you have the ole Hi-de-Hi on one of the music channels its a "90 from the 90's" night. Class!

Memories of Zanzibar in ML1, The Palace (early days) ML3, Kavos 92, Mallea 93 and Faliraki 94 flooding back!

Tre-men-dus!

Later 90's stuff not so good but can ignore that :-)

HAIL! HAIL!
Token

...before you get tired...

GENIUS!

Now why didn't I think of that?

Oh that's right, I'm not Michael Jackson...

Wee U

Lionroared67
Do you think San Quentin is a good place for Boruc, or too much freedom in there?

The Token Tim

I just tuned into that, it was Jacko that was on. You are right early 90s was the good end.

EN

wgs you must be the biggest transfer dreamer in the world god love ye lets hope one comes true for you for a change

Kevtic

As far as i'm concerned we can never have enough Scandanavians in our side. Very honest and hardworking players.

Berg has a very impressive goalscoring record. I think we may have missed the boat there as Groningen paid £2.5 million for him. We would have to push the boat out to sign him.

Somebody posted earlier that we have a serious interest in Simon Cox from Swindon. Havnt actually seen him play a full game but he knows how to put the ball away. Some outstanding goals from him last season.

Anybody watch the England U21 V Sweden U21 earlier? I see Bjarsmyr scored an OG. How did he play other than that?
Onuoha from Man City was linked to us last season, he scored tonight. How did he look?

still standing

Agreed... especially the MF player

I lost complete faith in Maloney and Samaras last year. Robson has been carrying an injury and I hope he comes back hungry.

I think both Brown and Skippy have been crying out for partners that complement them and I hope thats what we secure in the transfer market. I do hope Caldwell stays as he has grown in stature but he needs to keep it simple that´s where the MF player comes in. I might even sacrifice Brown for Crosas if we got the right midfield player. I like the American lad Landon Donavon and his buddy Bradley.

Hail Hail

moral indignation is jealousy with a halo.

BIG AL.

Calltheguards

Don't disagree ... new mid has to be heavy weight,producing balance; otherwise what is the point of S Brown's role as we have seen to date? New striker speaks for itself, as does LB.

still standing

Just online, have I missed anything?

Am I alone in wanting Artur Boruc to remian as our No1???

best goalie in my time as a Celt and better IMHO by far than our other goalies, albeit I must admit to not having seen too much of Cervi.

Also re. Skippy. Unless a £5m+ was definite I would keep him. Many of the arguments I have seen for his leaving appear to centre around his being a crabbit wee bam.
Now this habit of his does annoy me at times, but seriously can anyone who has played football at ANY level tell me they have not played with a guy of similar attributes? I know that I played with plenty who were crabbit bassa's.
Each player has his own character and whilst those of the crabbit nature can be annoying, if they can play a bit you tended to let it go or indeed ignored them.
If he was total rubbish then you binned him, however if his record over the last couple of seasons is anything to go by, Skippy does not fit that profile!

Get a good fit pacy strong partner alongside him and I think we can have a winning partnership to win back our title.

Incidentally I noticed one or two guys mentioning that Skippy's maoning deflated big Sammi's confidence. All i can say is that if Sammi canny handle his own team-mate's moaning and let it get him down, then he is definitely NOT mentally strong enough to play for Wishy FP's never mind Celtic FC!!!!

HAIL! HAIL!
Token

Aw Naw,

I like Bradley as well.

My dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,daer,friend.. Still Standing..

So you say that my Mid field would be blown over by a Strong wind..or whatever.. is that a fair interpretation of your sentiments?

Let's presume it is.

So ..take a look at Mr. Strachan's midfield.. although,he did mix an match quite a bit..

Howevaah..

Look at this Sample, fr'instance..

Naka, Crosus, Brown, McGeady.

Naka? do you think the a strong wind may possibly do damage to Him?

Crosus. Not exactly a Tiger,is he!

Brown.. He is soitenly a Tiger.

McGeady.. again.. rather a very poor Tackler and Poor Tracker Backer.

Yet.. I am sure that you and others considered this particular Midfield not too bad.

Now..

Take Mine.

Caddis.. A very strong Tackler,pal..and a VERY,VERY, fierce competitor.
Who is much much more stronger than Naka Ever wiz.

Millar.. An Equally strong and Fierce Competitor. plus a tough Nut.
Mucho superior to Crosus. who is a weak link

Padraig. A Naka Type.. so he cancels out..

Koki... Also a Naka Type..

Now here is my Thinking..

I have TWO STRONG HOLDING MIDFIELDERS.

Plus TWO TRICKY AND BRAINY MIDFIELDERS TO PULL THE STRINGS and make the FODDER for.. MACKO and Janko.

Personally pal .. I believe that you have poo pooed my selection, too quickly.. without really thinking aboot was behind my thinking.

Let's Take another.

Strachan Midfield...

Moloney, McGeady, Naka, Brown/Robson..

Again..

Three Players in the Midfield who were easily blown down by a strong wind,
One of course was a Tarrier.

Point is pal..

It is time to give New Blood a shot.. we have the New Blood..

why no give it a chance?

Rather than going out an spending oan.. whit..?

Another, Tommy? Another Donati?, Another,Jarosik? Another Flood?

I could even add, Mr. Brown's name to that list of Mistakes.

I do not rate Mr. Brown a bettah player than Mark Millar.. Mark Millar, is a known quantity.. and it is ALL GOOD.

Look.. these players that I have chosen are well known to the celtic Set up.. they have been brought up in it.. and know exactly how to handle a typical S.P.L. outfit.

I know that you shall never see it my way.. although, I have done my best to show you..

That the Midfield that I suggest is no more weaker than the Typical Midfield that Mr. Strachan Selected.. in fact.. most of the subscribers. .except my good self. were clamouring . weei after week for Mr. Strachan to gie Marc Crosus a Shot.

And eventually he did.. and whit happened?.. we found out whit AH knew awe the Time

MARC CROSUS, IS A FINE PLAYER, But He will never ever be able to Fit in.

The S.P.L. eats players like him fur Breakfast.

Kojo.
yer pal.. who likes ye aloat,

Lionroared67

You didnt offer an opinion.

You made a statement regarding "his behaviour in the dressing room".

Again, I will challenge you to explain that remark.

if you cant, its muck raking.

If its muck raking, please stop

mizuno, ferry, mcourt etc the time has come to either stick or twist with them and a few others in the second string. If we are not going to play them this season then they should be moved on. They cant afford another season in the second string and we cant afford to percivere with them for another season. If they are not good enough now, ship them out, if they are, play them and save us some money. Only the coaching staff and BTM know whether or not they are good enough but a decision has to be made now either way

Awe Naw

Donavon would be a great signing. He has been a top player for years now.
Why Celtic have never signed any American player beggers belief.

What was the source of this Scott McDonald story that has sparked unrest about him?

timbhoy
They call him mellow yellow, and he's a bit old

Jonnybhoy and Token Tim,

thanks for your kind words.

I'm gutted to miss out, but just wasn't able to get my act together and contact Taggsybhoy when I needed to. Celtic_First and Blindlemonchitlin were relying on me and I failed to deliver. But, in 2010, AGT will be back.

(That's Ayrshire Golfing Tims, by the way - a small but very effective unit, fighting the good fight from within the very core of hundom :-))

Good night and have a great day next week.

Awe NAW 11.11

Refer to my comment to Calltheguards at 11.12;

let's call it complimentary medicine!!

still standing

By The Token Tim on June 26, 2009 11:13 PM
Am I alone in wanting Artur Boruc to remain as our No1???

Has the wife made you promise to ignore me ? ;.)

Your right about Skippy as well. If only all WGS buys improved year on year like he has. He needs to be closer to the net and he needs the ball pulled back from the bye line. Something that Gordon seemed allergic too.

are we really all that delicate that we dont like his moaning?

It sounds like my Ma when somebody grogs on the pitch.

Hail Hail

Still standing,

The same Hymn sheet ;-)

NiCeOneCSC

Token Tim, I know why some have reservations about McDonald, his limitations are clear, but so are his strengths, he puts the ball in the net. Often.

More please.

Artur is another matter. He is well short of his early Celtic form....

... a friend might be of a mind to ask, “what have you done for me lately”

.... and I have my doubts over his ability to rediscover his game at Celtic. He has also been honest about a desire to leave at some stage. If his form is good enough to tempt a big club from a big league I think he will leave, although I suspect he might have waited one year too late for an offer like this.

I can’t see a Milan type coming in for him and I can’t see him move to a Wigan, so chances are he will stay.

EN,

totally agree, although 80's a whole were better :-).
BTW just watched a young Kylie giving it her best from 1990...nice...but nowhere near as good a tune as the one now on....Show Me Love by Robin S, 1993. Superb and Classic!

HAIL! HAIL!
Token

PS - Forgot the obligatory mention for the Tunnel 1992-1994 :-)

timbhoy 05

The same thought has occured to me, especially with the success of brand Naka!

I was actually stopped by an American family in George Square during the week who were looking for a store that sold Rangers tops!

Kojo
I have read your comments about promoting talent from the second string. Dont you think that if we are not going to do it this year then they should be shipped out as neither those players or the club can continue as is.

Zbyszek

Do you think Boruc has payed back a club who took a chance on him? do you think he gives everything a dedicated professional athlete should give back to the fans who pay their hard earned dosh to allow him to be earning a million pounds a year? he took advantage of the fact he had no competition, jeez WGS even played him when he was injured? he took the piss out of a weak manager, showed no respect for himself, the club and the fans, by allowing his standards of a supposed professional athlete to drop to farcical levels, spare me the woe is me line about being persecuted because i bless myself, its pathetic.

Can you show me where i stated he should go to jail? oh that's right you made up in true laptop loyal style

For those 90's kids out there:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anxalMu9zoM

HAIL! HAIL!
Token

notthebus,

I hope you directed them to the CP superstore ;-)

Hail Hail

Albert

You are right

So, how big is your halo?

Semantics aside wordy boy.

I can separate Morals and Indignation.

I am not an arbiter, but as a very old man in Donegal said a few years ago...

'... it looked like butter, and it smelt like butter. And I tasted it and it was butter!'

On discovering a centuries old butter stash.

Remember this?

Scott McDonald

paul
do you think Boruc is the one decent transferable player we could most afford to lose?

Talking of the U21 euros and the better players

Where did Rigters ever go with Blackburn.........

Stevie Woods as head goalie coach ?

Kenneth Williams appointed team bodybuilding coach.

Vannessa Feltz appointed team dietician.

Mark Hateley appointed media coach.

I take it Ian Andrews and Dusty Bin were busy.

Nothebus

You can offer your opinion on my opinion, again who are you to demand i justify it to you, get over yourself, i know i share the same opinion on Boruc as a former lisbon lion captain, and ex Celtic manager, he is not alone among ex Celtic legends, along with many Celtic fans.

The Token Tim

Thats a bit after my time, well at decent discos anyway, but Im sure I heard it when I retired and the hunt for after pub drink took me to The Palace of delights..

Hammer time.

EN

Awe_Naw_No_Annoni_Oan_Anaw_Noo

I did take the opportunity of explaining who were the good guys and who were the bad guys.Lovely family actually

Interestingly, they knew about Celtic from the Jock Stein era, but had never heard of Rangers until Reyna signed for them.The further American additions has apaprently raised the profile across the pond.

ulysses ,

Regardless of your opinion which I completely respect and I do always,lets not wallow in the guys death. Some regular CQN guys have lost loved ones recently and it might be good for them to move on.

IwantYouToMakeLoveNotWarIKnowYouveHeardItBeforeCSC

Awe-Naw,

did someone just speak to me?? :-)

Paul,

I agree re, Skippy. I am not his biggest fan, but a la BBJ he scores goals and often in big games. Not a bad attribute for a striker if you ask me! I would still take the (mthyical?) £6m for him though.

As for Artur, you may be right, but I hope, and more importantly believe that he can re-discover that form. I have no real basis for that belief other than blind faith I suppose, but to be fair towards the end of last season he did appear to be more focused on the job in hand......and as I say I have not seen anything from Zaluska to indicate he is as good as Artur never mind better!

He did state he would like a move to a bigger club and unlike many a Celtic fan I know there are bigger clubs than us - albiet monetary and league wise - and so if such a move arose I would not hold it against him. Like you though I would doubt that move will happen this close season and look forward to seeing him in goals for the Aberdeen game and beyond.

HAIL! HAIL!
Token

Paul67

Do you think theres any truth in the story about Artur asking to go back to Legia last January 'to rest and help him cope?'

EN

any fool can criticize,condemn and complain,...and most fools do.

BIG AL.

Lionroared67

I don't know who you are and how much do you get per year. I'm far away from checking other people pockets. I hear you are very sad becouse you wasted your money on watching him in hoops. You mentioned what he did bad, I and many others remember what he did good for Celtic. Despite his strange personality he will be remembered from his great saves. I said "strange personality" but who is no strange personality.
Reading you somebody may think he caused few crimes at Celtic. What crimes? Bust up with Aiden McGeady and alcohol drinking when in Lvov with Poland team. What else?
I can understand you if you tell me; his form is very bad, he is no more promising, useles now, I want him to go. But you don't say that. As Paul said, it's likely he will be still Celtic goalkeeper. Give some respect to the player who is still in here.

NAfos,

How the devil are you?

The Nintendo was aff the back of a lorry and it was Rogermillas!!!

He forgot to tell me about it. I told him he´s need to ask Awe Naw Jr for it back ... he declined. ;-)))))) We´re off to the Highland games on Sunday so Happy 48th Birthday before I forget

Hail Hail

The Token Tim

Had to chuck that channel, good eh modern stuff on bbc three. Doves.

Their first hit. (Before re-invention.)

EN

My dear friend Kojo 11.13

With a greater economy of words:

Firstly my friend, I was not defending our paucity in that department last season. I was critical of your submission...

Your retort is a stout defence of your weak midfield!!

Who is this giant of the game you promote with such gusto...

Mr Millar has achieved precisely diddly squat in meaningful terms, yes?

Mr Caddis, whilst an interesting prospect, has fallen off the radar, has he not ... due to better players being in the first team...however, definitely worth resucitating.

Paddy(Padraig).. as a voyeur, you will appreciate his only appearances to date are of the 'cameo' quality...verdict unproven!

Mr Mizuno, I like very much and I hope he achieves all his fleeting talent suggests he can.

However as a midfield to be thrust into the battle ground of the SPL ( let alone the killing fields of Europe) ..Do you truly believe this is the best we can produce??

Over to you.

still standing (despite your onslaught)

Lionroared67

I think i have your measure, however I will have one more go at this.

Lets try and leave Big Billy and the many celtic fans to you speak on behalf of to one side for the moment.

You said and I quote "I for one hope Boruc is sold this summer, his conduct in the dressing room along with irresponsible and unacceptable behaviour on and off the pitch should not be tolerated or accepted any more by Celtic"

Your opinion on whether Boruc should go is neither here nor there.His beaviour on and off the field is well documented.

However for the third time ,I challenge you to clarify your comments regarding "his conduct in the dressing room".

I would suggest you have no knowledge of his "conduct in the dressing room" and you have fabricated this to lend weight to your opinion.

Its very simple really.

TTT,

Beside JVOH, Samaras, & Fir Park loan boy, I would look fleet of foot.

Skippy should be sold if we can get a less selfish player who can give us 15+ goals and a basic understanding of the offside rule.

lionsroar67

If there is one thing Paul67 has come down very heavily on is peddling unsubstantiated rumours about Celtic players, on his blog. If you had been around long enough and not popped up with the arrival of Tony Mowbray you would already know that, nobody is interested in what you know, or more correctly don't know about Artur Boruc.

You still haven't explained to Notthebus and the rest of us when or how you managed to be inside the Celtic dressing room? You still cannot explain how Artur Boruc's behaviour 'on the field is unacceptable' You know nothing, and your posts reek of nothingness, other than rumours you have regurgitated from the tabloids, or elsewhere.

Revert to what you do best, comedy is your best bet, and it's how you first got everyone's attention.

Kojo,

Come on! N a like yer posts a loat! Naw, in fact a luv them!!

BUT.....Crosas only gets a doin in the SPL if ye let him...its like destroying fitba wae brawn....defying skill wae muscle...it has to work ALL the time...skill only has to work ONCE!

Take Chelsea/Barca in the semi-final last season. Chelsea's game...defend...defend...DEFEND! Sure they had something to hold on to but we all wanted that bit of brilliance to shine through....and shine through it did. Players like that can be stopped, sure, but so can all sorts of players......But if that man can weave his wand just that once then the game can be won....and that is where Crosas is a million miles away from the hammer throwers of the SPL!

Lets beat the cloggers with football, beautiful, inventive football.

celtic dawn, you make a good point.

Token Tim, let’s hope he gets back to form.

Estadio Nacional, no chance on that one.

NAFOS,

The most talented players very rarely make the best coaches. I don't know Stevie Woods personally, but I know a few folk in the game who speak highly of him.

Similar theme goes for managers. Not too many star players managing at the top end of the Premiership.

Let's give the new bhoy a chance. Perhaps he can re-focus Artur - if he does that there won't be many complaints.

Albert

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Insert your next quote there Mr Unoriginal

And kiss my right royal Irish arse.

Good night sweet ponce...

U

Notafanofstan

"Stevie Woods as head goalie coach ?"

Is that a true story?

Hope not, if so thats a wee bit too much Motherfwell behind the sceens.

Is it some new wacky goalkeeping tactic, gate n the woods?

EN

Awe Naw,

Awe Naw's Maw let the cat out the bag straight away and I was keeping my powder dry and was waiting to give you a Wii surprise.

I am glad RM is being true to his Mayo apostolic upbringing and not getting involved in any Farryesque pockling and shenanigans.

Do you know I bought 100 sachets of that soup at LIDL ?

EN ,

True, 100% gate-wideopen-in-the woods

TTT,

Robin S, good sound but I am more of a jazz funk man/ 60,s soul man

Cerrone - Supernature. Thats a mover.

Northern Soul- Al Green The Snake

Frank Wilson- Do I love You

Dean Parrish I,m on my way

albert,

genius that you were, but in case you didn't realise...your deid!

So back in yir grave and nighty night! :-)

EN

take it your of a vintage slightly older than mine then?
Also when you say "Palace of delights" are we talking same "Palace", i.e. ML3's finest as Uly will no doubt be more than au fait with :-)

BTW that was a good tune, does this one hit the mark?

Kavos '92

HAIL! HAIL!
Token

Jonnybhoy

Great shouts, its a few minutes early but this is worth it.

Frank Wilson - Do I Love You (Indeed I Do)

EN

U2,

I do not see a goalie who was an abject failure being an inspiration to Artur or any other keeper.

Downsizing at a rapid rate.

Can anyone update me on how many of the 20,000 malcontents have renewed since our inspirational managerial appointment and flurry of transfer activity ?

Zbyszek

Correct you don't know who i am? that's called stating the bleeding obvious pal, and on that very subject of stating the obvious, can i ask you to be Verbatim, when you going to quote or interpret me, please do the decent thing and be verbatim, otherwise your interpretation of what i posted is your fantasy.

Just like good old Bush read my lips, i never he said he was a criminal, he has been unprofessional in his behaviour as a celtic player and whilst playing for his country, i'm in agreement with my fellow conspirators billy mcneil and Leo Beenhaker.

NAFOS

Wii II and the Mayo lorry with the dodgy door has already been ordered. Deal was he got the speak your weight Wii fitness board which he can happily have after it estimated my age as 68 !! It´s in the garden. I blame Mozza being late on stage and the beers you made me drink prior to my assessment

Soup ???? The Pinot Grigot soup ????

Hail Hail

The Token Tim

35? The very same Palace of delights, I developed a bad habit of going there after pubs but that was about five years ago, I think.

That reminds me of the place beside the old Hamilton pictures (to the right), the place with the circular walls at the front, and swirly paint job.
Like to pictures its now no more, name escapes me just now, I was there one Sunday night for some reason.

EN

John Glass

My earlier tete a tete wi Kojo, an chat wi Awe Naw, hints at the same conclusion .. play the players unshackled and with the right(dominating)support ... if it can be sourced and bought; we then have a productive midfield.

still standing.

My dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,friend... CelticDawn. @ 11.25

The answer to your question is elementary..

Yes, pal...indeed, Och, Aye!

Here is a little Johnny McGrory... what makes it cogent to this tale..shall be confirmed, as you read it.

I have a friend.. .Who is an old time Celtic Player.. a much loved an Respected Man among Men and Fitba' Players, as weel..and he related this story, to me..

" A friend, the other day, posed this question tae me..

He said that his son, was a much pursued and coveted Twelve Year old. Soccer Player..Arsenal, Manchu.. the whole Gang wur chappin' at his door at awe hoors... trying tae interview his, son.. with a view of signing him up.

And lo and Behold.. the ither Night.. A Celtic Scout.. rapped the door and wiz also most anxious to interview the lad with a view of signing him, Fur the Celts.

Now we come to the crux of the Tale..

My friend asked me.. To whom should the Prize go.. should his son sign for either, Arsenal, Manchu.. Liverpool or. .even Celtic?

Nooo, my friend wiz a staunch Celtic Man.. but, he was asking me as an ex Celtic Player, to give my honest opinion as to whom should his son sign up for.

My answer , shocked him... For I told him..

NONE OF THESE CLUBS!

Let yer son sign up Fur.. St. Mirren, Motherwell or even Killie.

Fur.. The Big Teams dinna gie a young lad a Chance, tae break intae the First Team..in fact, nowadays especially, it is Darn near IMPOSSIBLE.

So.. My answer tae my friend wiz.. tae get his son signed up with an Unfashionable outfit.. They wull gie him awe the chances in the world to break intae the first Eleven.. "Then yer son, kin move up the Ladder, if he is worthy tae sign for wan o they very Clubs who are noo Pesterng you."

End of the Johnny McGrory.

The initial Mistake that Koki, Mark Millar, Young Ferry et al..
was made by them five or six years ago.

When the Chose tae sign for Celtic.

So..

If they do get a chance. which is very unlikely.. as ye kin see fur yersel..even the Celtic Fans.. dinna waant tae taka a chance oan them... they should Grab it.. and play oot of their skin tae justify it.

And if they blow their chance...or if they dinna get wan,even
they have no ither alternative than tae move oan.

Fur they are just noo...at this stage in their Career..Jist Ripe, fur their Chance for a Chance.

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

EN

Thanks, dont do the linky thing!! 1 of the 3 before 8 tracks from Wigan.

I find it impossible tae sit down when those pearls of real music are blasting oot!!

Much to the annoyance of the wee fiery redhead and the mini-mees.

Yir a long time died.

notafanofstan

Talking of season tickets, I applied to join the waiting list last year, been a game by game buyer of tickets previously.

Got a letter in two weeks ago telling me it was my turn and to phone them, didnt get round to it and Im not going to take it up due to change in circumstances.

They said if I didnt phone they would call me, not had the call.

EN

NAFOS -

I know nothing of Stevie Woods as a goalkeeper, but I can't understand the link that says "crap player = crap coach"? Equally, I can't understand the mentality that says "legend player = great coach" ??

Hail Hail

Awe Naw,

I am heading off to bed dreaming of a new Lubo or at least a fire-raising Finian !

Take care

Paddy McCourt is our best midfielder.

If that is the case then Celtic, are, like Gordon Brown, stuffed!

This forum is choc-full of fake-Tims, they may as well be card-carrying Huns if they want Paddy McCourt and McGinn to play in the first XI. Bloody hell!

What damage are these people prepared to do to Celtic?

These fake-Tims here have their wish, to drive away genuine fans so they can carry on with their own sectarian/racist guff. No doubt they've called Bobo or Didier or Mark Walters a black b.

An Irishman in the team in place of a Champions League spot. What a disgrace!

They forget their own immigrant history with their own brand on National Front-style Celtic politics.

What can I say other than just total embarrassment and shame.

Best of luck! It's not the Celtic I love(d). I'll not be back until the manager whoever he may be has chased every loser out of the Celtic 1st XI.

On a positive note! Andy Murray for Wimbledon!

Try "deid" 12.05

NAFOS,

Alex Ferguson was a failure as a player. He inspires players.

Jose Mourinho was a failure as a player. He inspires players.

That particular list goes on.

Lou Macari was a very successful player.

John Barnes was a very successful player.

Liam Brady was a very successful player.

That list is similarly endless.

All I'm suggesting is give the guy a chance. His success or failure as a player is no indicator of his ability to succeed as a coach.

I don't know who the previous goalkeeping coach was (Jim Blyth?)but I'm not sure you can make a 'downsizing' conclusion on this one knowing little about the qualities the man may have.

Nafos,

fleet of foot I am all for and not just up front! BTW are you one of the 20K malcontents and Frankfurt v Koln - discuss?

Jonnybhoy,

a bit before my time :-) but we can maybe debate this next week my friend.

Paul here's hoping.
BTW nearly put my foot in it with a certain Lady who's initials are FB (possibly with a "K" in the middle) today. I asked how someone was doing esp. after a hard week and she replied along the lines of "why? any more reason than normal". realised my mistake so just said something like "oh usual CQN going mental".

Apologies for that! Also I'll call you early next week re. next Friday.

HAIL! HAIL!
Token

Still Standing,

I hope we're right then in our theory. We can only wait and see.

pggtips2,

What a load of pish! People have mentioned Grant, Ferry, Caddis and even Gomis (a Dundee Utd player!!!) as youngsters who could break into our team, why no mention of them???? Fact is, if you've saw Paddy McCourt in the reserves you too will want him to take that forn into the 1st team!

U2,

I understand now,

your wee potted list means that someone who is a ,(insert position) is a world-beating, (insert position) and vice-versa.

How foolish of me not to understand this.

And here was me thinking we got a dud on the cheap.

Will I ever learn ?

jonnybhoy -

Frank Wilson was not one of the '3 before 8'.

In fact, that linked version is not played at all. That's the Ian Leveine pop thud version which is horrendous.

Jonnybhoy

I know what you mean, when that song started I reached for my phone about 20 seconds in to see who was going dancing. Being sensible.

Al Wilson "The Snake"

EN

TT and EN

I pre-date you by a long way as a child of the late 50,s but spent my late teens and v.early 20,s as a doorman at various dance halls pubs and discos in Glasgow and London. My love for music stemmed from these places and the fact that the better the music the more the punters danced and the less they fought.

Happy days

TTT,

No, I am on perpetual renewal for my sins.

This must be the flattest most uninspiring summers ever as a Celt.

Give us something positive to talk about.

The blind-faithers need to wake up.

Nafos,

I got two Santana ticks 2 day

Just watched Neil Young cover A Day In The Life

John Lennon would have been proud.

sweet dreams !

Love to all

Although I haven´t renewed H´s season ticket. I´ll take yours if your ditching it.

Hail Hail

NAfos

VultureCSC

nafos,

Good to see you giving the new Celt the benefit of the doubt.

Although there appears to be no doubt in your mind. You obviously know the man well and know he will be a cheap, abject failure.

The last guy certainly improved Brown and Boruc in the last few years.

Perhaps you will be pleasantly surprised. I hope so.

For anyone who equates pricetag with quality, please keep in mind these three words:

Torre. Andre. Flo.

Tobi 12.14

It looked like Frank Wilson to me :)

Enlightenment welcome.

I see the Nightshift is on in Scotland now, morning world!!

noticed last night the talk was about Scott Mcdonald. I would not sell him now now way, he is our only striker, maybe if we bought to gaol scoring strikers we could look at punting him.

i was driving home last night on the M4 in Sydney and i saw this massive bill board with a guy wearing a hooped top, then i got closer, it is a hooped top!!, its Scott Mcdonald with a big Advert " Celtic FC coming to brisane"

Magic, make you feel all warm inside:)))

PS has the huns been linkied to anyone??????

ST

Lionroared67

I give up. I said what I said becouse I have learned from post that you are the Celtic supporter who remembers Boruc from his crimes.If this is everything you remember about him then fair. I have better memories from his play for Celtic.

John Glass

Aye, it's only that obvious!

pggtips2

on your positive note:

Me too on MURRAY,.. if we as a club had his ability,tactical awareness , adaptability, mental strength, spirit and fitness we'd be Barcelona!!

still standing

Jonnybhoy -

3 BEFORE 8
Jimmy Radcliffe - Long After Tonight is All Over
Tobi Legend - Time Will Pass You By
Dean Parrish - I'm On My Way

The Frank Wilson video is him but re-recorded 40 years later with a pop backing.

I understand the process for recruitment is :

Pal of Chris McCart = Job

Cheap old pals act.

Tobi...

Got you now...;)

Bournesoupreceipe

Another pathetic cheap wind up attempt, as for Paul 67 he can speak for himself? or are you his self appointed spoke person, or maybe you just used his name for a cheap shot, obviously one person at least is very interested in what a post, guess who? a patronising condescending poster who thinks he speaks for paul67, and all other posters.

Walter mitty has nothing on you, fantasy is your speciality right? conspiracy theories, here's yours, according to you i was in the Celtic dressing room? then it was, get this, its really funny patter, i am Brian Quinn, and Keith Jackson, brilliant repartee, really devastating insults, you really are good? ive been blown away!! As for Boruc unacceptable behaviour as a player, im quite happy to be with Billy Mcneill, whose comments are a matter of public record and Leo Beenhaker who had the Cajones to send him home.

Jonnybhoy

You are right about quality of music being linked to the possibility of bother.

Sub Club 94 - Not even a fight for a taxi.

Hamilton Place 1990-today - Make sure your pint doesnt give somebody the wrong look.

Glastonbury 1990ish - Kid on fighting over who is the best dancer.

Glastonbury now - Edgy.

Celtic Park - Lovely football party, everybody really good.

Ibrox - I cant swear.

Paper shop at my bit 9am this morning - Sunny happy people.

Paper shop at my bit 6pm with street music - Growling people swearing at the chapel and cheering on a wee boaby and mates.

Yip, we have just scientificly proven that behaviour is linked to the quality of music.

What should we do with the Nobel prize? Take turns?

EN

Lionroared67
How often do you call Celtic player dump. Is it only Boruc you call dump or you call that more Celtic players?

EN,

apologies my friend I now see you said "After my time"....but not too far after my time tho....38, but fast approaching 39 now!

I used to prefer The Rococo in ML3 but that had a rather spectacular downfall as the Palace came on the scene. Downside to there was the regular appearance of Durrant and Fergie Snr and Nicky nae-hauns too!

Assuming you are ML3er you ever play amateur for Hillhouse/Fairhill/canny mind their name but they played out of Carrigans and Jasper was their keeper!

What about this one:

Zanzibar's 1990

Possibly before your time but another classic 90's toon!

HAIL! HAIL!
Token

My dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,dear,friend..John Glass.

Pal...I am very flattered by yer remark,concerning the quality of my submissions..

I am delighted that they should please you.

Nevertheless, you are most welcome to disagree with any or all of the points that may be contained,there in.

Ah am no the Pope.

Noo. Marc Crosus is a fine Passer of a Ba'..he has a foist touch that Macko wid Kill, fur.. he has an excellent eye for where to send his final pass and where it will do the most good for oor Team.

Howevahhhh...

He his the Sun Belt Failing..or the Sun Belt Curse.. which is.

He disnae fit in tae a dreich dismal. wet.. Scoattish Typical S.P.L. encounter.

He,and .. possibly Donati as weel... are complete football artists.

No question..

But, jist as Some Horses.. are Mudders.. and Mudders only.

Which has nothing tae dae with this story..( How the heck did that line, get in here,anywey?..ed)( Gremlins?..)

Tae continue..

He and most ither Sun Belters.. ah know there are exceptions, so dinna bother tae bring any o them up.. are not suited tae oor Environment.. the weather,of course..but also the Tempo of the game as it is played here.

So..

We shall never get full value frae him as long as he remains in Scotland.

Mebbe.. England.. But, never in the S.P.L.

The Game is jist Played in a different Manner here.

Ye may hiv noticed.. fur Ah soitenly did..

Mr.Donati.. had many a fine game in C.L. competition.

In fact, I believe he was man of the match agin that Italian Outfit.

Nae matter..

If I were king..

I would never ever dream of pursuing a Player who was Born in the Sun Belt.

Scandanavia, would probably be a favorite place to hunt fur players.. Eastern Europe...Germany, Austria. .ye get the Picture?

Bottom line..

I would not build my team around Mr. Crosus.. he will turn out to be too undependable.

That is my own unvarnished opinion,pal.

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

U2,

My main frustration is the public pronouncements from our Club relate to horrifically misjudged minor coaching appointments rather than anything of any substance relating to the playing staff.

Mark Venus should never be let near a microphone ever again after his drivel this week even eclipsing Peter Grant the week before.

We need inspiration now or we will not get the 20,000 back

nafos,

"I understand the process for recruitment is :

Pal of Chris McCart = Job

Cheap old pals act."

You got me with that one. Can't answer that.

Ironic viewpoint, considering the title of the current thread.

I'm away to see if Chris McCart remembers me nutmegging him a few years ago. Would that qualify me for a job I wonder? Hope so. If my previous logic is sound, I could be a right good coach:)

By still standing on June 27, 2009 12:25 AM
pggtips2

on your positive note:

Me too on MURRAY,.. if we as a club had his ability,tactical awareness , adaptability, mental strength, spirit and fitness we'd be Barcelona!!

still standing

Unfortunately Celtic are not even aspiring to any of the qualities you list above.

jonnybhoy,

You're cycling to Edinburgh?

Do Hummer do bicycles?????

BTW, BK, Paul 67 and anyone who ever atended the gowf asked me to post this:-)))))

Netball Wae Studs CSC

SydneyTim

That must have been a great sight, did you manage to get a photo?

Cheers for the info last night.

So far I have £450ish via Trailfinders for a one way, Im guessing thats as low as I can get, take it theres no better around?

Noticed this today on the Brisbane Roar site

Which Celtic star are you most looking forward to watching at Suncorp Stadium?

Scott McDonald
36 %

Shunsuke Nakamura
18 %

Aiden McGeady
10 %

Other
3 %

None. I'm going to watch the Roar play!
33 %

Up Roar

I voted Aiden McGeady.

EN

Nafos,

I did hear (2rd hand to be fair) from others on the Celtic coaching staff, (1 now ex-coaching staff) that Blyth was "fecking useless" and that Woods "couldn'y be any worse".

How good or otherwise remains to be seen.

HAIL! HAIL!
Token

Lionroared67

Too late, you're smoked, and all your own work, shouldn't you be in your bed
early during the marching season.

Awe_Naw_

Oye Como Va

U2,

Maybe you could be the new Menotti after Diego failed as a manager :)

pggtips2

Sad but true... but how good would it be if someone of vision and desire promulgated otherwise??

A wee scrawny Scot 7 years ago decided he wanted to be as good as a Spaniard 1 year older...why not?

YOU HAVE TO BELIEVE TO ACHIEVE.

still standing

For Awe_Naw and Nafos :-)

HAIL! HAIL!
Token

notthebus

Anyone wanting to sell Boruc is a fool.His brilliance has made people forget that before he came we haven't had a proper keeper since Simpson,I include Bonnar in that.

Boruc for me had as much a say in us winning 3 in a row as the goals the forwards and others scored.

Celtic will probably never have a keeper of his briliance ever again.Let's keep him for as long as we can.

The Token Tim

Zanzibar and Roccoco was before my time, I dont know if one of them might be that place with the swirly paint I was on about though.

Im proud to say I have a G72 post code, Blantyre. Ive never liked the idea of Motherwell having a say in the good local postcodes, ML2, 3 and others.

Snap brought back memories of just starting out on our pubbing career. Love the start to it.

This is my ultimate dance yer socks of tune

Funky Guitar

The fact the you tube search produced that video says it all, magic.

EN

nae no photo i was driving, might try and get one this week

Shunsuke Nakamura
18 % everyone and their dug knew he was leaving apart from this 18 %

under 900 pounds short notice is good, if you had decided to earlier you could have got it at half that.

if its your 1st trip to oz, remember its winter although yestertday was 20deg and sunny for about an hr
and remember your visa!!

ST

Paul67

I am with The Token Tim, as far as Boruc is concerned, there is no way Celtic should even consider letting this man go. He was getting close to his best form towards the end of last season, and I am confident he will be Poland's number one goalkeeper again before too much longer. I stated at the time that Northern Ireland should have been thrown out of the World Cup after their antics surrounding the Poland game at the despicable Windsor Park, and recent events have not changed my mind on that one. Our goalkeeper played in the World Cup Finals of 2006, and the European Finals of 2008, not to mention helping Celtic qualify for the last 16 in, not one, but two, Champions leagues. We need another Centre Back to complement Loovens, and a new left back. If we achieve that, the goals against column will improve radically.

Wigan Casino live recording.

Frank Wilson is the last of the four songs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjAPwvhsgAg

Lazarus i agree, its not just the fact he is a good shot stopper, he organises the defence and keeps them on their toes( when stephen played they needed that even more)

insane to sell him

ST

Just read the rubbish spoken by Lionroar advocating around 6 p.m. onwards about selling Boruc.Once he is gone you will realise he is the best thing since sliced breid.

There is no one who can replace or come any where near this man's brilliance.Forget the garbage you seem intent on about dressing room bust ups these things happen.

Artur Boruc Celtic no 1 the only hero we have at the moment there no others.

ps Estadio Nacional ususlly business class is 4 times the economy fair. but check out airnet 1900 pounds return business class. makes the hellish trip a wee bit more bearable

TTT,

Great Stuff .. didn´t know you were a 90`s poser ;-) ..white socks and loafers ? Did you have your ear pierced al la Charlie nick .. stop pretending your younger ... it´s way out of hand.

Everyone,

I just love how much Artur Boruc winds up the huns. Even the ones that have sussed out how to attach the roller skates to their hands to avoid grazing. He has got to them sooooooooooooooooooooo muuuuucchhhhhh.

I was born to hun skelp
With every single beat of my heart
Yes, I was born to take care of you
Every single day...

KeepArturCSC

Before I go to bed. I don't know if Boruc should sell Boruc. One observation comes to my mind. At least one year ago Celtic should have good replacement for Boruc. Somebody who was almost similar class goalkeeper, independenty what happened afte