Match 31 in Celtic’s domestic season: Motherwell at home, 29 wins, one draw and no defeats behind them. It all looks straightforward tomorrow. Right?
A reminder, if needed, that while Motherwell shipped seven goals during the week, St Mirren did the same to Gordon Strachan’s Celtic before knocking us out the Scottish Cup a week later.
It was also Motherwell, at Celtic Park, who ended Scottish football’s longest winning run of league games in 2004. Celtic had just beaten Barcelona but were held by Motherwell to halt the run at 26 consecutive victories.
Runs like this often end against teams with nothing in their locker but desperate defending. You’ll see that from the visitors tomorrow, whose players will surely have had a word with each other about collective responsibility.
Take nothing for granted. Celtic have worked hard to get into this situation in the league but they will have to work just as hard to maintain momentum.
How does Brendan do that? I suspect by shuffling the pack again. We have genuine competition across the team. The central defenders must be scared to sneeze in front of the manager in case he drops them and they don’t get another sight of the pitch for weeks.
Full backs feeling a little weary late in the game? Don’t show it, Emilio and Cristian are ready and waiting. James Forrest and Patrick Roberts are both delivering at the highest standard of their careers, otherwise they would not be considered.
While Leigh Griffiths is injured, Moussa Dembele will be confident he will get the opportunity to score three consecutive hat-tricks, surely an unprecedented achievement. It’s only Scott Brown and Scott Sinclair who can be confident of being included when fit.
The former, because he is captain and leader of the team, the latter because he has had the most profound impact on Scottish football this season, unequivocally Player of the Year.
You are looking forward to seeing these guys do their stuff tomorrow, I can tell.
580 Comments- Pages:
- «
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- ...
- 16
- »
Yorkbhoy
No it is the opinion of an anthropologist!
Dessybhoy
I know where you are coming from but consider this.
They can wriggle and wriggle, but ultimately they get their comeupance although It admittedly takes time and the press dress iy up as something else.
1, No one now disputes that Murray ran up huge losses at MIH and at Rangers eventually running them into the ground. Back in the day, the press went with hover pitches, Tenners for every Fiver and all sorts of other crap. But eventually the truth came out.
2. The press also went with Murray the financial supremo with his succulent lamb, private jet (the one he hired from time to time) and the banks all falling at his feet. Truth is, he overcooked his business, borrowed way to mutch, cooked his own books and was ultimately booted in the haw maws by Lloyds.
Long before then, HBOS had cut off his supply line (remember Walter screaming that the bank was running the gers mucth to his annoyance and his surprise and angst?) and Murray spent 4 years looking for a buyer.
3. When that buyer was found, The press proclaimed him a Billionaire and a saviour. Once again this has been shown to be sheer crap and by that time the die was cast. Old Rangers were unsavable and were doomed to Arbitration and Liquidation.
4. Even when Duff and Phelps were appointed, many people could not understand the way they were going about the Admin process especially given their court imposed duty not to increase the losses. Ultimately, after many years, they themselves are now being hauled through the courts in relation to their conduct and damages are being sought.
5. With regard to the EBT’s (Both the Dos and secondary scheme) you will recall all the bluster from Murray that there was nothing illegal, there were no side letters, the schemes were fully declared and above board?
Well, (a) the Dos scheme was declared absolutely illegal and was accepted as such (b) we now know that Murray lied re the side letters and that HMRC chased them on the basis that they had a historicl record of seliberately concealing the truth and looking to avoid taxes (c) even the SFA tribunal declared that their conduct was “as close to match fixing as it could possibly be” and (d) it will eventually be ruled by the Supreme court that the big EBT case was an unlawful tax scheme and that the back tax of £x pounds has to be paid.
If that is the final ruling then even the SFA and the SPFL will have to accept that the Nimmo Smith commission is functus and, as one person involved in football at a senior level has previously told me, in those circumstances the SFA will act because it has no option to.
Murray (Coproreally bust), White (personally bust), Green (in exile having made off with the RFC loot), King (more and more in SA and rarely coming back) — they have all blustered and flustered and all ended up in a busted flush and no one but no one can deny any of that.
Add to that any number of former chairmen called Murray or whoever, Ahmad (hiding in Pakistan), Richard Hughes (former Green backer and Ahmad’s senior partner at Zeus Capital) who has at least 17 companies under revenue investigation and faces various criminal proceedings in Manchester and oh so many others and you can take it to the bank that these guys all eventually come a cropper because they just don’t do things right and push the envelope that bit too far.
The ghost, the etheral being and entity that is the current Rangers runs on fresh air and the fumes of the past vehicle.
I am not saying that it will disappear for ever but it is likely to come a cropper again in the near future and some other schmuck will pitch up and try and resurrect it in some shape or form or in some other guise.
And good luck to whoever that is, but unless it is run properly, unless it complies with the regualtions that govern any sizeable business that is subject to the law, it will eventually go down the toilet because that is the way these things work.
And the press, the desperate to sell copy press, can call it whatever way they want, by whatever name they want, by omitting whatever facts they want, but thay cannot and will not change the truth and that truth is that eventually …………… you can wriggle for all you want but you will not escape the hook.
The next few months will be very interesting.
SOUKOUS on 17TH FEBRUARY 2017 8:45 PM
It made it on to the 2012 re-master bonus disc.
KTF
GFTB …. We’re good. As I have said before, one of my rules for posting on CQN is, if a comment can be taken in two ways (for example, a jest or a shot), always assume the best about my fellow posters.
EDB: Hoopy birthday. KTF
Marspapa-Hamilton bhoy,there’s a few on here:-))
DALLAS DALLAS WHERE THE HECK IS DALLAS on 17TH FEBRUARY 2017 9:37 PM
Yep I remember the Mardis Gras as well. I can also remember a few occasions being to wasted to get in anywhere else we would end up at the Sav and the floor was moving there as well; however, that was down to the nick I was in!
KTF
BRTH …
I gives me comfort that one of CQN’s eminence grises believes that an end is in sight ….
I’ve been on a bit of a Malcolm X kick of late (always been a favourite of mine)… and am presently more of the mind that there wont be change unless those at the bottom rise up. And I just dont see enough anger or appetite for revolution, even amongst our fans.
But, I sincerely hope that you are right, and I am proven wrong…. particularly as it would mean that I could get back to watching the bhoys play.
MIT 9.41pm
spot on
I was lurking during the week at work and a post was copied and pasted where we were both mentioned, I cringed as it could have been taken a totally different way….. my CQN is “if you have nothing good to post just read” I should maybe stick to that at the weekend :-)
GFTB/ work tomorrow,dad gets my seat,my granddaughters christening is on Sunday at St. Peter’s,like you say,family:-))
BRTH
Thanks for the reply, plenty to consider, if the EBT case is won by Hector I do hope they go after the individuals who benefitted from these,top of the list David Murray and his £6 million in payments from EBT’s, a substantial Tax and NIC bill due, no time to pay they are not a bank, he must be doing alright though he has just opened a new clubhouse at Torrance Park, think he is involved in this, and, he has the West of Edinburgh site to develop so he should be able to pay shouldn’t he?
DALLAS-8;36pm yesterday.i gave s shout out while ago for fruits of passion:-))
MIT, I understand the angle both you and Mags are coming from; I just don’t agree with you.
Extrapolating (both) your arguments that paying into Celtic via a season ticket indirectly benefits the huns, the logical argument is then, IMHO, that any money you pay into Celtic (merchandise, Celtic TV etc.) goes into that same pot of hun supporting. Taking that argument one stage further means that in order not to “buy in” to the lies and cheating you withdraw all financial support from the Plc and the club.
No need to ask where that leads!
As I said earlier this week, it’s been going on since the 19th century till the modern day; we’ve always known it was there, but it’s now out in the open!
Do I like it? No.
Can I put up with it to continue to support Celtic? Yes I can.
It’s all down to personal choice.
KTF
VFR, haha .
I have omly had the pleasure of the suave sav once and like you, the floor was moving due my inebriated condition .
Im old enough to remember when the Ultrateque was the La Scala pictures.
Fairhill bhoy, a fine band were the Fruits of Passion
Hail Hail CANcers
Been a while since posting and I’m currently in Bourton on the Water. Tomorrow I’m going to Anne Hathaway s cottage in Stratford on Avon. Anybody know where I can watch the match? Very much appreciate the help of the knowledgeable Celtic boys on here. Carry on breaking records.
Hail Hail
VFR ….
“No need to ask where that leads.” Disagree 100%….. the whole point of CQN is supposed to be about asking questions, and following leads…
and, I will give you my thoughts on where that would lead …. if enough Celtic fans made it clear that they were not going to to renew seasons tickets unless and until PL said/did something, and followed through with that …. I’d bet my bottom dollar that something would be said and done….and we wouldn’t be waiting 5 years for him to get off his ass and do something.
that is my greatest frustration ….I believe that Celtic fans have much more power here than most seem to realize …. we are just not using it.
Fairhill Bhoy
Hope you and the Fairhill Bhoy family have a smashing day on Sunday
All the very best to the proud grandfather and the whole family
Obviously that should have been CQNers.
Sorry if that caused any upset. Predictive text bollocks
Hail Hail
Cyrenean- you could watch it in Anne Hathaways front room if she has wifi and a dodgy link through kodi……
Only kiddin- no idea!
Fairhillbhoy
St Peters never been the same since Father Muldoon left the parish .
Not keen on Father Quinn …the few times i’ve been back .
A proud day on Sunday for you , enjoy .
Dallas- they were a great 80’s band,,and I loved them.bed time,some of us have to work Saturdays:/))
Cyrenean
Am sure some Cqner will point you in the right direction…..
Mike, IMHO, your argument is predicated on the assumption that the Board don’t want to make an issue of it.
At this stage i am giving them the benefit of the doubt and that they are keeping their powder dry. We will know when the Supreme Court makes their decision and backs the SFA into a corner!
Dallas, I also remember La Scala!
KTF
Tix a free to any good Bhoy or ghirl. Transport not included. :@-)))
Must be returned before next game. Post ok in padded envelope for return.
MWD
Any of you fine cqners with good taste in music manage to secure pixies tickets for kelvingrove in August?
If so, any spares?
Thismonkeysgonetoheavencsc
Weebobbycollins
That Motown track took me back to the mid/late 60s , in my bedroom with my Christmas present ” a record player ” you know the we “blue vynl base with the white vynl Lid” lol .
Well after your track i lost 4 hours kip remins…remin….thinking back , just wanted to thank you :)
Is John James Jack Irvine in a bad mood cause naebody is giving him enough Queen Lizzie notes?
MWD
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=O8WzDO_hj8A …magnolia…
Roberttressell and GFTB
Thank you for very quick responses. Still chuckling at yours Robert. Excellent. Always depend on the good guys
HH
MIke In Toronto
Here what you say but my badly typed rant above is not to be taken as some sort of prediction that “an end” i in sight at all.
What I am saying is that no matter which way you cut it, dress it, slice it and dice it, everyone who has touched Rangers since the days when Murray came in the door have come, and by necessity, gone.
The facts speak for themselves. There is no hiding it, no getting away from it and no possible alternative view.
Now, forget Rangers as an entity for a moment. Look at the rest of the clubs and the other people involved in Scottish football and look at what they are doing, not what they are supposedly saying in the press, but what they are doing.
1. McCoist — sacked, silent, and gardening.
2. Kenny McDowall — chose to leave rather than take over from Ally for a prolonged period.
3. Warburton ( a surprise choice but deemed the greatest managerial discovery since sliced …..) kicked out unceremoniously and taking them to court. Davie Weir ditto.
4. Hearts thriving under Budge etc even before current Rangers appeared in the top flight.
5. Hibs burgeoning despite not being in the top flight and will fly to a better place under Lennon and Dempster
6. Inverness Caley and Ross County — well respected (within football) and ran well as community clubs in the Highlands.
7. St Johnstone — an unmitigated business success under the Brown family and as stable a county club as you can find anywhere in Britain.
8. Partick Thistle — was near the edge a number of years ago but with good business guidance, a small budget, a decent management structure, they have done brilliantly to reinvent their business and their club.
I could go on and on but don’t need to.
All of these clubs and businesses are stable. They don’t like peaks and troughs, unexpected and crazy business practices, or here today but gone tomorrow fly by night business people having some kind of hold or influence over their businesses — directly or indirectly.
None of these people or the clubs they control will be running to man the pumps if King’s business model catches fire and burns. Even if some of them want the occssional financial boost a visiting Rangers can provide at the gate, they cannot predicate their business model or their income stream on a legal entity that is so openly short on capital, lacks proper finance, is seemingly goverened in a fashion that is questionable by an ever changing cast of characters who do not and cannot reassure anyone other than the blindly loyal (and there are fewer and fewr of those) about their business sustainability.
I say again, the full impact of 2012 and the following years has still not been fully felt.
Imagine a bungee jump.
You jump off the bridge and you freefall downwards.
Then the stretchey elastic rope stops your complete fall and bounces you back up again.
But you never get back to being as high as where you came from, and the bungee rope is just that — an elsatic rope which will never keep you up on its own. Eventually, despite climbing back up the way after the initial fall, you have no option but to fall again because the elasticity in the rope will propel you upwards but only so far — time and time again.
The only way to get back to the place where you jumped from is to absolutely start again, get off the rope and climb the stairs under your own propulsion using the right stairs and your own energy.
Of course, if you were sane you would never have needed to jump in the first place.
Timreaper
Getting to the latest bacth of Lisbon e-mails now.
THE EXILED TIM
not a classic but my fave stones song .
Still doing at their age to ..impressed .
https://youtu.be/1UeaydIq48c
Cyrenean – sorry I couldn’t be of more help!
glad you saw the joke! It’s always a fine line…..
That said the only Hathaway I ever knew was a Tim. So you never know.
I also bought a lovely Double tricolour and shamrock pin badge in Stratford many many years ago. Strange but true!!
VFR…. I disagree, my friend.
It is not an assumption (in the sense of a statement of belief, without evidence) …. there is considerable evidence … there may or may not be proof …. but there is indisputably considerable evidence that the Board dont want to do anything … DD’s statement, the lack of reasonable response over a sustained time ….and if an opinion is based on evidence, it is not an assumption.
the only question is when do we determine that time for the Board to adduce the evidence has passed.
I cant say my timeline (which was the start of this season) is any more right or less arbitrary than your timeline of after the Big Tax Case …
but I will point out that there are other issues on which the Board has stayed silent which are in no way contingent upon the success or failure of the Big Tax case …. which makes me wonder.
I envy your faith in the Board … and, at one time, I gave them the benefit of the doubt …. but too much time has passed, and too little has been done, for me to extend that courtesy to them further ….
but, I never close doors to these things… and if, in the end, your faith is justified, I will be the first to hold my hand up and say you called it right, and I called it wrong, and buy you a pint or two to celebrate. And I will do so quite happily.
BRT&H
Over and above all that I’ll believe it when PLC finally have gonnads to act on Res12. To act on the years of hard work of 4 normal Tims. Duck the rest of the SPFL. It’s about us and the PLC. Are they men or cowards.
Cowards will buy off fans with success and superiority in Scortchland.
MWD
Like a said river detectives my fav, but canny wack Harry Chapin :-£)
BRTH 10.20pm
Vfr’s word of the day was excellent…… But
Your 10.20pm post misses one important point
(Or a couple)
The fans of Govan still believe they are hard done by, their mythical board still feed them lies, they are skint, they don’t observe business laws, or even the laws of their gracious Queen…..
They think they are above the law and a lot of people play to their tune……
TOGC…….why HMRC don’t just shut them down (whatever company) is beyond me
By the way mythical board…….for all we have our feelings about Celtic’s board, am afraid I would rather have them than not …….and I realise they are nothing like most of us Celtic fans (successful :-)
VFR, I am pretty much in agreement.
The Board, via Peter Lawell have stated we are a stand alone club, the Old Firm is never used in official communications. Until and when the Supreme Court has delivered verdict I will give the benefit of the doubt.
I know the DOS scheme is proven, but I think they are waiting for the verdict on the “Big Tax Case”.
I have a ST, and will have for as long as time and money allow, regardless of who owns the club, jeez I spent enough money when the club was owned by families.
I also think the Board can read financial statements and are aware that Sevco are going bust, or at least they are no competition to us.
Big Tax case
Heidi Poom….. Was astounded of a forehead the other two did not contest…. Fact !