Delighted Joe Ledley got on the score sheet twice yesterday. As well as missing the influence of Wanyama, and Scott Brown on Champions League duty, Joe’s absence through injury has been felt. He has been back a few weeks now but Neil Lennon has used him sparingly, putting a lot of responsibility on the shoulders of Beram Kayal and Charlie Mulgrew. For me, Joe’s composure and running deserves place in the team.
Ross County have dropped like a stone recently, even when you consider their abandoned matches, but they successfully pressed high up the field for long periods of the game. When Celtic do this in Europe we are always concerned about opposing teams passing through us with speed. It was a bit concerning that we could not do the same to County.
The most pleasing aspect of the game was the performance of Emilio Izaguirre. Neil Lennon went on record in the summer to say he needed cover for left back, which is still the case, but at the time ‘cover’ was interpreted in places for an admission that Emilio’s form was not what it once was.
We are incredibly strong at right back, with internationals Adam Matthews and Mikel Lustig vying for the position, while Nigeria’s right back, Efe Ambrose, occupies a different position at Celtic, but Emilio has no obvious left-footed cover.
Following the loss of St John Doyle, George Ryan, Lennybhoy sent £1534.30 on your behalf to the Mini St John Doyle Fund, now officially launched as Sean’s Trust. George’s wife, Linda, responded with this message:
“George’s fantastic friends at Celtic Quick News have this evening donated £1,534.30 into the account for our charity Sean’s Trust. This money has been raised since George’s death on 5 October. Also they paid for 4 seats at Celtic Park for the family to attend the Ajax game, and sent beautiful floral tributes.
“Most of the supporters on CQN had never met George in person. Paul Brennan from CQN visited me after George’s death and he said ‘It takes a lifetime to make a Celtic Man like George’ What a beautiful tribute. We are grateful for the immense effort you have all made in memory of George. We will never forget you x.”
There are never any real compensations on occasions of such loss, but your efforts connected with, and supported, a family, at a time when that was as much as anyone could do for them.
Thank you to everyone who participated, especially Lennybhoy, for picking up the ball.
[calameo code=0003901717f52b09cba04 lang=en page=1 hidelinks=1 width=100% height=500]
Order your CQN Annual here:
507 Comments- Pages:
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- ...
- 14
- »
Good Afternoon.
COYBIG
Podium
G’Day
KINGLuBO
Now to read the article
HH
Paul67, Emilio had a fine game yesterday, solid defending and some great deliveries, the whole team played well, I thought Pukki worth a mention too, very good hold up and linking play.
I also echo your sentiments regarding Lennybhoy, well done mhate.
A heartfelt article it is to……
Going back to football….
Could be some coupon busters down south today…..
P67:
Thank you for your supporr, thank you all for your supporr, without you all it would not have happened.
On yesterday, I was not looking forward to the game given the team selection. However, how wrong was I, so many good performances. Young Fisher looks the part and only 19. Ww still need a striker though.
Keep the Faith!
Hail Hail!
Quiet today….
HH
67HEAVEN 1425
Yes,I know you did. I thought it was good enough for a re-post.
Plus,due to James’ idiosyncratic style of writing,I had opened it on a separate tab to read when I had time!
PAUL67
I echo your heartfelt comment on LENNYBHOY’s efforts.
Outstanding stuff from all concerned.
Lennybhoy
Young fisher never put a foot wrong all afternoon, he also didnt look out of place in that team at all…..
Maybe he has a wee left footed brother
Lennybhoy
Young fisher never put a foot wrong all afternoon, he also didnt look out of place in that team at all…..
Maybe he has a wee left footed brother
Meanwhile,a wee donation to a potential miracle?
Please consider the following
* * * FUNDRAISING SUPPORT CQN STYLE * * *
Handicapped Children’s Pilgrimage Trust (group77)
Bhoys and Ghirls, looking for support with a very Important Fundraising initiative for my Daughter.
Laura is a member of HCPT 77, from this year, having been in the Scottish Youth Group section for several years, (a life changing experience for not only Laura, but the children who attend) acting as an entertainer for Children with special needs, disability, or underprivileged etc, on an annual Easter week Pilgrimage to Lourdes.
This year is different, her first year as an adult helper, and allowed to fully sponsor and support 24/7 a child throughout this trip.
To allow this to take place, she needs to raise £1000 by December, to fund the Child.
We are looking to run over the course of the next week, a Football Card,
50 teams and £10 for a team, with a very special prize. ( we can add more teams if more contribute)
“The Calm before the Storm” a 44″ * 32″ portrait of the Nakamura free kick goal scored against Man utd on 21st November 2006, ( it was £500 when bought)
If you would very kindly like to support this, please drop a note to
HCPT77@hotmail.co.uk.
We will respond with details on how to pay into the fund and have the chance to win this prize, once payment made, a team will be allocated, and hopefully drawn by next Friday ?
Thanks to all in advance to all who will support
The prize (thanks to Doc for posting);
http://www.twitpic.com/dkhzlu
Hail Hail
normanstreet49
15:22 on 10 November, 2013
That good you need to say it twice
:-) HH
It’s so quiet I posted same nonsense twice
Turkeybhoy@01:05
“you really do not want Celtic to sign a REAL striker ,do you?
Absolute nonsense. Do you not remember my numerous previous replies saying we lack a central striker at present? Why do you forget the previous replies? It makes me wonder if this one will be forgotten too and be a waste of my time.
Of course, maybe it is the addition of the capitalised adjective REAL which gives you the get out as there is no REAL definition of what that means. Unless you think I favour buying an imaginary striker?
Is it your money?
It is my money and yours and that of lots of others. I would like us to spend it wisely and not run the risk of spending our children’s inheritance. They deserve a healthy Celtic more than I need a big name signing to be an instant star. I would no more turn up at CP outwith a match day to welcome a big money signing like Scheidt or Gravesen or Cascarino or Martin Hayes than I would for the lesser value signings like Larsson or Boruc or Wanyama.
Will you be able to sleep at night if Celtic pay the going rate?
There’s a going rate?? What is it? Spurs paid £26m for Soldado, Villa paid £7m for Benteke, Blackburn paid £8m for Rhodes, Man U paid £23m for Van Persie. Prices are all over the place; there is no going rate. There is only what you are willing to pay and it has to match the price at which the club you are buying from are willing to sell. That will vary from club to club and the smart clubs buy at or below worth and sell at or above worth. No-one survives by flashing and splashing the cash Like Billy McNeill did in buying Hayes for 500k when Arsenal would have sold at £150k. I want a wheeler and dealer handling our transfers not a cheque book manager who does not worry about whose money it is because he will be gone from the club long before it goes bust (look at Harry Redknapp’s past clubs).
You tell us,its better to buy 3 players than 1,how has that worked out this season?
Brilliantly, we are having a great season- have you not noticed? We negotiated 3 tough qualifying ties and we have won 1 of the 4 tough CL ties we have had, losing narrowly in 3 of the defeats and performing well in 2 of those. We are top of the league and unbeaten there.
Of course, we are short of quality and cover in many positions, especially Central Striker but we have room for developing fringe players and youngsters to part-fill these. And we have the January window coming up.
Very selective in your quotes about Finnbogason.As i said before,only one stat counts.Guy has scored 80 odd goals in 120 games.
The stat I quoted is relevant. Many players have scored loads of goals at minnow level clubs and failed to step up a level. Therefore, Alfie’s international strike rate, vis a vis Sigborsson, are relevant. You avoid answering- why not pick the Ajax player as he seems to play at a higher level and be available at a cheaper price?
You have the hots for Alfie and he may well prove to be a future great. At the moment- coming from Heerenveen- he might prove to be the next Huntelaar or the next Samaras or the next Alfoso Alves. All big money sales from that club; all with varying levels of success. I have conceded you might be right about Alfie. You have yet to concede you may be wrong.
Dont let real facts get in your way.
The only fact either of us know is that no-one, from all the senior clubs who could have bought him, chose to do so at the advertised cost of £5m. That tells me one of three things.
Either he was going to cost a lot more than the advertised price or there is something in his record which has put all those clubs off (and some of them burn money so it may not have been the price) or he has been tapped and knows that, if he runs down his contract, he will get a move to a club he has the hots for.
We will both find out soon what the facts are and no shouting from each of us can transform the base metal of our opinion into the valuable form of a fact.
Safely back from our escapdes in Inverness and Dingwall……
A great wee trip with four great Celtic men, we had tickets for the main stand no colours on. No issues at all, bar one middle aged clown sitting with his young son, calling the referee a bead rattler…!
Anyway enjoyed the company the game and the laugj.. Hail Hail to Ayrshire Tims
Ayrshire is Green and White
HH
Is it my auld tired eyes or does anyone else have trouble reading James Forrest’s articles against that dreadful black background?
bobby murdoch’s curled-up winklepickers backs resolution 12
15:17 on 10 November, 2013
You do appreciate that I was just kidding….!!!!!!!!
Paul,
Neil’s tactics were interesting yesterday.
We are often out numbered in midfield in such games. Yesterday we matched their numbers and – in my view – totally dominated proceedings.
To do so, we left Pukki on his own up front. However, we had midfield players willing to go beyond the striker, and it all worked.
A couple of thoughts. Sammi and Stokes – while giving us a bit of the ‘unexpected’ – they give the ball away too easily. Without them yesterday, midfielders could make runs, fullbacks could overlap, and Defenders could be brave on the ball – safe in the knowledge that we wouldn’t get caught by giving the ball away cheaply.
I understand, and share, many of the concerns over the need for a goal scorer. However, the priority for me would be a ‘number 10’.
A fit Commons can do that quite well. However, a fit Commons is a rare site these days. One more player who can do the unexpected, keep the ball, and see the pass….this will bring better things out of Pukki and others.
As things stand, we are a Pot 4 team, hoping to climb to Pot 3. Four or 5 successive years in the Group Stage, investing and reinvesting wisely should see us move up the charts.
Oh, yes – need to start using the January window as our made window, and March and April as our prep for the CL qualifiers.
Hope all is well with you. Give my regards to you Dad.
Cheers,
Ronnie
Site = sight.
normanstreet49
15:22 on 10 November, 2013
I certainly hope he has. Did you know he used to play for Eldon Celtic before moving to Farnborough before signing his first professional contract with us in 2011. Eldon Celtic to Celtic, love that and that he was born weeks before Fergus saved us. It was destiny.
Keep the Faith!
Hail Hail!
made = main.
No wonder I rarely post…..
67HEAVEN
Aye,of course,bud.
Taken in the manner it was intended,and apols that it didn’t read that way in my reply.
I was deadly serious though about saving it for later…
Joe’s had a stop start season due to injury but hopefully that him fit again he’s an 8/10 every week when fit great player who’s took the club to his heart, would be great if he signed a new contract and if he doesn’t he moves on but will always be super joe to the bhoys.
Izzy has started to return to the form he had before his ankle break which is great news for the team hitting the by line and getting the crosses in the way Celtic full backs should be doing.
Anybody else think fisher is a great crosser of the ball ? A few times yesterday he put it in between defenders and keeper a poacher would have had a field day if we had one HH
Paul67 …….would you be happy to see Joe Ledley
get a 30k a week contract?
Lennybhoy
I was aware of the link…..
It’s great to see it posted tho…..
Hun Skelper
I’m dragging myself into the new age…. New iPhone ….. Never posted from one before….. Expect a few more follys before the month is out.
HH
MickTT
Plenty of spare tickets for the Celtic end outside.
James Stokes VC: Celtic Fan and Hero
The Gorbals district on the south side of the river Clyde has been home to successive waves of immigrants over the years. The Jewish community settled there or used it as a stopping point on the way to America. Highlanders poured in as Glasgow industrialised and the hills of the north were cleared for sheep. The post famine Irish arrived in huge numbers in the second half of the nineteenth century and all these groups left their mark on the area. Conditions were often grim and the area produced a few tough characters. Jimmy Stokes was born to Irish parents in a tenement on Commercial Road in February 1915. When he lost both parents at an early age and the family of four was split up, Stokes spent some time in a Catholic children’s home before becoming a labourer on his uncle’s farm at the age of 14. He later travelled into England and worked for a time as a waiter in London before returning to Glasgow to work in the building trade. Life was hard and Jimmy was a tough young man who could look after himself in the Glasgow made infamous by the book ‘No Mean City.’ Stokes, like most of the Glasgow Irish, was also a great Celtic man and would have known the greats of Willie Maley’s Celtic teams well. Matt Lynch, John Thompson, McGrory, McStay, Scarf and Nappier would have been among his heroes. In 1939, he married a local girl, Janet Kennedy, and they set up home in a single-room apartment at 20, Clyde Street. He joined the Artillery as his brother George had already done when war broke out.
Jimmy had his scrapes with the law and was no stranger to the court system. In 1944 he found himself before a judge again. Home on leave from the Royal Artillery, Stokes took offence at an insult to his wife and the ensuing fight left another man seriously injured. The judge noted that Stokes was a character who seemed to like a scrap and as there was a war on decided that he would let him choose between prison or joining the infantry which was short of men for the fighting in Europe. Stokes, the judge commented, would be better taking his aggression out on the Nazis. Stokes was transferred from the Artillery to the infantry and soon found himself involved in heavy fighting with the Wehrmacht in Holland. By early 1945 the allies had smashed their way into Germany proper and the war seemed set to end soon. Despite imminent defeat some Germans fought on with a ferocity born of desperation. Jimmy found himself with his comrades in the small town of Kervernheim on the Dutch German border. Without warning withering machine gun and rifle fire poured from a fortified farmhouse and raked the Platoon. What happened next is the stuff of legend. The British Victoria Cross Society recorded Stokes actions as follows…
’In Germany, on 1st March, 1945, during an attack on Kervenheim, Private Stokes was a member of the leading section of a platoon pinned down by heavy fire from a farm building. Without waiting for orders Private Stokes dashed through the enemy fire, to disappear inside this building. The fire stopped, and he reappeared, wounded in the neck. This valiant action enabled the platoon to advance to the next objective. Private Stokes was ordered back to a Regimental Aid Post, but refused to go. The platoon then encountered heavy fire from a house on the left. Again without waiting for orders, Private Stokes rushed the house by himself and all firing from it ceased. His gallantry enabled his platoon, which he subsequently rejoined bringing five prisoners, to continue the advance. In the final assault Private Stokes, now severely wounded, once more dashed to the objective through intense fire. He finally fell, firing his rifle to the last. It was found that he had been wounded eight times in the upper part of the body. Private Stokes’s one object throughout this action was to kill the enemy, at whatever personal risk. His magnificent courage, devotion to duty, and splendid example inspired all around him, and ensured the success of the attack at a critical moment; moreover, his self-sacrifice saved his Platoon and Company heavy casualties.’
It was noted that his courage and willingness to make the supreme sacrifice saved the lives of many of his friends. He knew he was dying and in his last moments said his farewells to his comrades. He was awarded the country’s highest award for bravery, the Victoria Cross. Jimmy is remembered today in a variety of ways. The Celtic Supporters bus which runs from the Brazen Head Bar in the Gorbals is named in his honour. Glasgow City council erected the ‘Gorbals Rose War Memorial’ in his honour. The children of St Bridget’s Primary School made a video to celebrate the courage of Jimmy Stokes, their local hero. The Victor War Comic featured his story three times calling him, ‘The Soldier Who Would Not Give Up!’
Jimmy Stokes, Gorbals boy, Celtic fan and hero died on 1st March 1945.
We remember with pride.
The above was shamelessly copied + pasted…
I’ve often been critical of Izzy’s defensive qualities. Yesterday he was sublime. It’s even better that as an individual he ‘gets’ Celtic.
Joe Ledley?
Decent but not great would be my assesent.
I’d happily retain his services but by the same token no tears if he doesn’t renew his contract .
He’s been great at points and anonymous at others.
If we sold him for money that would be the best outcome…imo
Ki playing well for the Makems
normanstreet49
15:42 on 10 November, 2013
Only joking mate, do it myself HH
Man city need to buy a decent cf – can’t score against bottom team
Cultsbhoy
Was thinking that myself. He looks an improved player.
I posted yesterday IMO Mulgrew is more valuable to Celtic than Ledley.