Paul67: September 2008 Archives

Celtic lost to a Marcos Senna free kick midway through the second half after frustrating Villarreal for most of the evening and threatening on the break.

The first half opened with Celtic on the front foot as the midfield attacking trio of McGeady, Nakamura and Maloney held the ball and brought Giorgios Samaras into the game, but as the half wore-on Villarreal pushed forward but could not prize open the defence.

Minutes before half time Samaras had the best chance of the game but could not finish when clean through with the goalkeeper to beat.

Playing for a free kick is a tactic we have discussed here before and it is clearly a tactic Villarreal are familiar.  Senna sent his first chance wide but scored with his second after Paul Hartley had been drawn into a challenge 25 yards from goal.

The free kick was softly hit over the wall, crossing the line a yard from the post and a yard off the ground but Boruc could not get across his goal quickly enough.

Stephen McManus and substitute Scott McDonald both had second half chances but Villarreal are formidable opponents at home and denied Celtic time in advanced positions to create clear openings.

Despite the calibre of the opposition, the oft-maligned Celtic defence never flinched and only twice had to rely on Boruc to make good saves from open play.

Live updates will appear below after 19:45 BST.

On paper this one doesn't look promising.  Villarreal finished second in the Spanish League last season, ahead of Barcelona who comfortably disposed of Celtic in the Champions League knock out stage, and they sit joint top of the league today.

They have not lost a home match in 2008 and I can offer no precedent to suggest that tonight will break that run.

But through the gloom of away Champions League performances the odd shaft of light has appeared.  Milan, Munich, Barcelona, Manchester and Turin have been the scene for some of Celtic's best away performances in the Champions League, where defeats have been of the narrowest margin, more than once as a result of a disputed penalty.

If Celtic succeed in taking a point tonight it would, without question, be regarded as one of the finest results in their Champions League history.

They will need players who spend every minute of the game looking for the ball; they will need 11 winners and probably at least one goal scorer. Importantly, they will need a goalkeeper who lives up to his billing.

Gordon Strachan and his players spent a lot or preseason preparing for tonight.  Visits to Oporto and Rotterdam, as well as less successful outings, were planned with the objective of going to difficult away venues in this competition and coming home with a result.

Villarreal will expect a comfortably win which makes them vulnerable to the indefatigable Celtic spirit that this club often finds when faced with ominous challenges.

The spirit which overcame a 12 point deficit in April to become champions again in May.  The spirit which so impressed the people of Villarreal that they still make pilgrimages to Glasgow, is in Spain one more time.

Celtic, leave your fear in the dressing room and play like you have a chance to make history.

The 'Reap what you Sow' exercise underway at Newcastle United took an unsettling turn yesterday when Nigerian businessman, Chris Nathaniel, told the BBC that the consortium he was acting on behalf of had submitted a bid to buy the club, but that the consortium were not prepared to let their identity be known until after their bid was accepted.

Unless current owner Mike Ashley has been spending a lot of time with the Missionaries of Charity recently he will sell to the first bidder who meets his asking price; he didn't get to be a billionaire by looking out for the interests of people who take to the street to demonstrate against him.

Refusing to reveal your identity before buying a club is a dreadfully poor portent of things to come after the sale.

Gordon Strachan has mentioned that successful teams need variation on play so I am surprised we have not seen Aiden McGeady and Shunsuke Nakamura switch to right and left wings respectively more often.

The second Celtic goal on Saturday came when McGeady whipped an early ball between defenders and goalkeeper with his favoured right foot, instead of cutting inside, which he is more likely to do when playing on the left.

I am not opposed to the notion of playing McGeady on the left and Nakamura on the right, it has served us well for some years now, but surely 15 minutes on the opposite wing should be found in every game?

Celtic won all three points at home to Aberdeen today but had to rely on one of their now-legendary late goals.

Giorgios Samaras was again the outstanding player on the field, though he was the only Celtic striker not to get on the score sheet.  Instead he did an excellent impression of a midfield ball-winner on 14 minutes, ploughing through the middle of the field chasing a ball that was never really his to win.  

His perseverance resulted in Scott Brown teeing-up a chance for Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink to open the scoring.

Aberdeen got a deserved equaliser after ex-Celtic, Charlie Mulgrew, came on as a substitute and was given the freedom of Celtic Park to knock a far-post cross home on 57 minutes.

Eight minutes later Mulgrew despatched a free kick into the postage stamp corner which had Aberdeen fans searching around for a suitable emotion.

Not for the first time this season the Celtic midfield were being bossed and breached which exposed alarming frailties at the back, however, the direct talents of substitute Aiden McGeady turned the game.

McGeady crossed from the right for fellow-sub Scott McDonald to nod home an equaliser on 78 minutes.

The stage was then set for a typical Celtic siege.  The planned structure of play was abandoned as players flooded forward and played early balls into the box.

On 88 minutes Shunsuke Nakamura missed a glorious chance to put Celtic ahead when he shot wide but I don't think anyone in the stadium thought the chance to win the game was gone.

The winning goal was unusual in as much as Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink found himself goal-side of Aberdeen keeper Jamie Langfield was the ball inches away and only three seconds of the regulation 90 minutes left.

Celtic Park celebrated they way we used to when beating Aberdeen in the old days.

Just to ensure we didn't forget how poorly Celtic controlled the ball and defended, the fifth minute (of the three there should have been) of added time presented Aberdeen with the chance of the season but Darren Mackie pulled his shot wide when clean through with Boruc to beat.

Live updates will appear below after 15:00 BST.

From the book of 'Tell me something I don't know', Virgin Money's Football Fans Inflation Index today reports that the cost of following a football team has risen 21% in the last three months.  

The company surveyed 3818 fans in England last month and found that 26% plan to attend fewer games this season than last as a result of the economic slowdown.  

Virgin Money's Scott Mowbray said: "Football often seems immune to the real world existing on its own Planet Football where there is always money for player transfers and salaries and the cash keeps on flowing from TV and sponsorship deals.

"However fans do have to live in the real world and the past year has seen severe pressure on people's finances from rising mortgage costs, fuel prices and food bills. But with merchandise and rail fares also on the rise something has to give and obviously keeping a roof over your head and keeping your house warm outranks going to football matches."

Both income and expenditure for the year ending 30 June 2008 turned slightly against Celtic, squeezing operating profits, but it was still the club's second profitable year in the last nine.

Turnover shaded from £75.237m the previous year to £72.953m while operating expenses rose from £59.283m to £64.095m.  Operating profit, before items like the buying and selling of players, tax and interest was £8.858m, or 12% of turnover, which is still very healthy. 

The club have changed the how income is reported and for the first time provide information on the gross profit (GP) earned from the three core income streams, football and stadium operations, merchandising and Multimedia.

Income from football and stadium operations (ticket, match day income and youth development) was £38.6m which fell short of the £50.2m spent on football and the stadium.  

Interestingly, we got to see the answer to the big question two years ago when Rangers signed their merchandising deal with JJB Sports.  Celtic earned £4.8m GP from merchandising sales in a year without the release of a new home strip.  Figures are provided for last season, for comparison purposes, when the club earned £6.6m GP from merchandising.

We'll compare this and other aspects of both club's accounts next week.

With Champions League revenue for the second consecutive season, Multimedia and other commercial income earned £18.281m, up £81k from the previous year.  This returned £15.637m GP, which is the most profitable business segment by a considerable margin and reinforces the importance of Champions League television income.

Salary costs at Celtic peaked at an eye-watering £40.5m in 2004 before falling 8% to £37.4m in 2005.  Despite the addition of Boruc, Zurawski, Nakamura, Telfer and Camara (M), in season 2005-06, salary costs fell a further 13% to £32.5m as players like Lambert, Hedman, Juninho, Belamy McNamara, Laursen, Sylla, Fernandez and Camara (H) all departed in 2005.

That £32.5m from 2005-06 was lower than any salary figure Celtic have recorded since 2001.  Since then payments have partly recovered to £36.4m in 2007 and £38.9m in 2008; for the first time higher under Gordon Strachan than they were in Martin O'Neill's last season.  

Investment in players during the financial year was £5.11m, which is near the trend figure charged to the profit and loss account as amortisation of £5.598m, however, this expenditure figure excludes the acquisition of Scott Brown and Scott McDonald, both of whom were signed pre-30 June 2007 in the previous year's accounts.

Actual cash paid during the 12 month period for player acquisition was £12.254m, which may include much of the Scott Brown transfer fee.

Cost of finance was £1.063m, split almost evenly between bank interest of £519k and cumulative preference shares of £544k.  Despite the healthy profit bank debt reduced only marginally from £4.99m to £3.52m, largely as a result of payments for players.

The majority of this year's season tickets would have been sold before economic uncertainty reached excitable levels, so we can expect income for the current year to be no less than £70m.  With another freeze on season ticket prices it is unlikely that income will reach the levels of season 2006-07 unless the club reaches the quarter finals of the Champions League or drops to the Uefa Cup after Christmas.

The rise in operating expenditure of nearly £5m is alarming and more than I expected.  New contracts issued this year to Boruc, McDonald and McGeady, a full year with Samaras and Hinkle on the payroll, and with the addition of Loovens, Crosas and Maloney, salary costs are set to rise significantly again, despite the departure of Gravesen.

Celtic will not be immune to inflationary forces that are affecting the rest of the economy, a further rise in line with current inflation this season would add around £3m to operational expenditure, which would seriously squeeze the pre-tax profit figure of £4.453m.  

Pressure remains to keep a check on expenditure and find new sources of income, while fulfilling football aspirations and not losing the unique spirit of the Celtic movement, objectives which will always conflict.  The club must strive to find new ways to engage supporters in dialogue about the nature of this challenge at a time when commercial landmarks concern many.

Next week we will discuss our financial outlook compared to our principle domestic rivals and in particular the consequences of failing to earn Champions League income.

We got a really enjoyable performance from Celtic last night.

Glenn Loovens not only got the all-important opening goal, but he got an assist by hooking the ball across goal to Gallus Georgios for the second.  The defence had little defending to do all evening so all I can report for our new Dutchman is his composure in the opposition box.

Aiden McGeady rediscovered the electric pace that exploded onto the scene last season.  On one occasion he carried the ball and three defenders from the halfway line into the Livingston box before shooting against the post.

Just as they did against Falkirk, McGeady and Shaun Maloney were mutually aware; well worth playing together, Gordon.

I felt for Scott McDonald.  He had three good chances, a header, a dig from just inside the box and a snapshot, all past the post.  There was another which darted across goal but whether it's confidence or the vagaries of fortune, he is stuck on one goal for the season.

Georgios was an absolute treat again.  His running style and pace is very reminiscent of Didier Agathe, although he has much better traction control which allows him to be productive when he needs to address the ball.

He is also able to throw his not-inconsiderable stature into challenges, which last night allowed him to start as second favourite for a challenge and emerge with the ball.

Many more goals could have followed.  After benefiting from a Samaras pass to score, Scott Brown returned the compliment but the ball was cleared from the line.  Paul Hartley hit the bar with a free kick and Brown had to ask Livingston goalkeeper McKenzie how he managed to stop a late header, to which the keeper could only shrug his shoulders.

Credit also to the fans who congregated in the Green Brigade area of the Lisbon Lions Lower, who sang good-natured football songs without a pause for 90 minutes, they lifted the atmosphere enormously.

Live updates will appear below after 19:45 BST.

I know I am not the only one who had the odd moment of doubt that we were on the right path last season.  My first came after an anaemic home defeat to Hearts in the CIS Cup, which matched an equally dire home exit against Falkirk the previous year.

It is impossible to reach for the same dose of inspiration for a CIS Cup game as a Champions League match, but Celtic have fallen well short of the standard in this competition required in this competition for some time.

Livingston present the classic cup-football challenge; top of the second-tier division and full of confidence, they aspire to be playing league football at Celtic Park next season and will throw everything they have into proving they are capable of the challenge.  

If Celtic take the field without the correct levels of urgency they will lose, but there is reason to hope that this will not happen.

Aiden McGeady started on the bench on Sunday but when Shaun Maloney shaded in the second half he was hooked for the current Young Player of the Year.  Giorgios Samaras was first reserve striker last month but after a series of gallus displays last season's 31-goal marksman, Scott McDonald finds himself on the bench.  He and Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink will both have a point to prove.

Marc Crosas took advantage of a Barry Robson injury to contribute to a fine win on Sunday, which leaves those two competing with Paul Hartley to partner Scott Brown in central midfield.

We are also likely to see keen-to-impress Glenn Loovens tonight and whether Mark Wilson, Paul Caddis or Andreas Hinkle start at right back, we will see someone playing for his place in the team on Saturday.

As a rule, hungry footballers are more effective than good ones, but good, hungry, players are likely to take care of aspiring lower league competition.

Let's start with the irrefutable positives; Celtic win regularly at Kilmarnock but seldom with such style.  Yesterday's game was more controlled than last week's victory against Motherwell, although the result took longer to put beyond doubt, but Kilmarnock were never a competitive threat to Celtic. 

Even this early in the season it's possible to mark out a Player of the Year contender and Giorgios Samaras has all the hallmarks.  His first goal yesterday was delicious. 

Some recalled his debut goal also at Rugby Park, but it eclipsed even the Di Canio debut goal at the same venue.  There are very few players in Scottish football who can collect the ball in their own half and simply extend their stride away from all challenges before calmly knocking the ball into the net.

He is a very special player who shone at Heerenveen before struggling to settle in Manchester, and, to an extent, in Glasgow last season, but with each passing week evidence mounts that we have the genuine article on our hands. 

He will join Boruc and Nakamura as another tremendous signing for around £1m.

Samaras scored with his penalty; however, Alan Combe got a good contact on the ball, which suggests that we still have a lot of work to do on that front.  No team will attain its potential if it cannot make the most of opportunities from 12 yards.

Practise, practise, practise.

There is still work to do, of course, sterner tests lie ahead, but this might just be the season Celtic morph into an attractive team to watch. 

After a slow start, Celtic sparkled into life when Shaun Maloney hit the first of three penalties awarded this afternoon past the post.  Fortunately for Shaun, he scored the opening goal a few minutes later with a shot from 17 yards into the postage stamp corner.

Giorgios Samaras missed two good chances before scoring the goal of the season so far in the second half.  The Greek international collected the ball on the wing on the halfway line and outpaced the Kilmarnock defence before scoring from seven yards.

Samaras made it 0-3 when he converted from the spot after Nakamura was held when running onto a cutback from Vennegoor of Hesselink, though goalkeeper Combe made a good attempt.

Kilmarnock had to wait until the 87^th minute before they managed a serious attempt goal which resulted in Gary Caldwell charging at the ball with his hands at the right height to stop the ball progressing into the net.  Caldwell was injured in the process and ordered off when he got back to his feet.

Another excellent away performance by Celtic.

Live updates will appear below after 16:00 BST.

I know it scarcely needs to be said, but there will be people among the Celtic support at Kilmarnock on Sunday with mobile phones recording every utterance.

It will take less than a dozen Celtic fans to make the news; watch out for it.

The second annual Celtic Quick News five-a-sides takes place on Saturday 25th October 2008 at Glasgow Green Five-a-side pitches.  We are delighted to be again running the tournament with charity at its core and in conjunction with our good friends at Glasgow the Caring City.

This year participants are asked to bring along educational equipment for a school in Kaponda Village, Malawi.  Rather than a cash fee each player is asked to bring with them a donation consisting of items such as packs of pencils, rulers, erasers, chalk, jotters, pads, solar calculators and, if possible, some good quality, light material, children's clothing, although our focus is on educational equipment.  For a variety of reasons, including import duties and availability of power supply, electrical equipment and curriculum specific items, such as text books, are not appropriate.

There is no minimum requirement for entry, players are simply asked to use their initiative and do what they can.

Those who are unable to attend and would like to contribute with a monetary donation will have their contribution directed to a concurrent project in Johannesburg, South Africa. Funds raised will go towards the costs of creating a multi-sports play area, aimed at getting kids back into playing sports and brining them into a safe environment to learn, share and add to their quality of life.

The Caring City's initiatives are being developed under their 'football4life' banner, you can have a preview of their  work-in-progress at www.football4life.org.uk . International projects co-ordinator Ross Galbraith will update the site with more specific information on the projects in the coming weeks in the run up to the event and specifically for Celtic Quick News contributors.

Ross told us "We are delighted to be teaming up with Celtic Quick News again after the success of past events.  Our sports and football projects have benefited hugely from the generosity of not just Quick News readers but also Celtic and other football supporters across the country in tragic circumstances with the donation of the tributes made to Jimmy Johnstone, Tommy Burns and Phil O'Donnell.

"Word of our projects spread across the globe and we have had media coverage of our work by African news agencies, alerted by a Celtic supporter in Paris, ensuring the recent Tommy tribute strip donations were heard and seen across Africa on television and radio by quite literally tens of millions of people.

"News spread to America where both Celtic and Rangers supporters groups clubbed together for further donations.  St Mirren invited us to Love Street to make a huge contribution by way of football kit as they move to their new stadium and there are many other cases.  Passion for football can quite literally aid life for the most impoverished people in the world and our 'football4life' initiative has been born quite literally from the generosity of the people like you guys at Celtic Quick News."

Ross left us with a plug "Visit our website and look for the 'donate here' link on the top of the page to donate funds or contact us to arrange a collection of materials by calling 0141 634 8560 and arrange for our team to collect items from your home, business or chosen address, or simply post donated items to: Glasgow the Caring City, Unit 6 Linn Park Industrial Estate, 315 Drakemire Drive, Glasgow, G45 9SS."

To request entry for your team please drop an email to cqnfives@hotmail.co.uk

Look out for the 'live draw' in the run up to the event and some other fun.  Get in touch to register a team and look out the school items required.  It's time to relive the mission of Br Walfrid.

Celtic put in a miserable performance at home to Danish side, Aalborg, drawing 0-0 in the Champions League at Celtic Park last night.

The team had yet another experimental look to it; I am not sure if Scott Brown and Barry Robson have ever played together in central midfield, but I certainly know they have not played well there together.  The first half was notable primarily for a missed penalty.

Shaun Maloney turned his defender inside the box on 28 minutes before being brought down.  Barry Robson immediately grabbed the ball and repeated the ritual we seen against Rangers and St Mirren, but while his execution was identical, sending the ball straight down the middle, the result was not.

After the St Mirren penalty we discussed how Robson would need to change his preference for smacking the ball in the centre of the goal as every goalkeeper in the country would now know his modus operandi.  But while Aalbog keeper, Zaza, tried to dive left, he wasn't quick enough to get out of the way and left his legs lurking to clear the danger.

Barry, I believe over half the Celtic Quick News readership has the wherewithal to stand in the middle of the goal and block one of your penalty kicks, start practicing hitting them to the side.

At half time I was frustrated by what looked like an overwhelming lack of urgency from Celtic.  Although Aalborg had forced a couple of corners and the odd shot off target, they didn't pressure the Celtic midfield and defence, but unlike Saturday, when Marc Crosas drove things by playing regular forward passes, square balls out wide were the order of the day, more often than not behind Nakamura or Maloney.

The second half started much better; three good chances were created within three minutes but Aalborg settled without conceding and returned to their game plan of defending their 18 yard line.

Shunsuke Nakamura had two free kick opportunities but instead of lifting the ball over the wall he tried to score at the post the goalkeeper was defending.  On both occasions a defender made an attempt to stand on the unguarded post, but Giorgios Samaras was alert to this and moved forward, which brought the defender off the post again.

 

This uncertainly should have played against the goalkeeper, who had a defender not quite committing to a position, but instead seemed to confuse Nakamura who ignored the unguarded post and shot to the goalkeeper's side.

Those free kicks and the earlier penalty were the sum total of Celtic's three attempts on target on the game stats.

Scott Brown did have the ball in the net after a one-two with Nakamura but the assistant referee incorrectly flagged for offside against the Japanese international.  It was indicative of the kind of evening Celtic were having.

As with so many performances last season, Celtic's best spell occurred as the game drew to an end and they surged forward, at last losing the compulsion to retain possession rather than make a decisive pass.  None of the midfielders were guilty of specific errors during the course of open play, Brown and Robson put in a shift, Maloney, Nakamura and then McGeady looked comfortable against their direct opponents, but as a unit, it didn't work.

Irrespective of the missed penalty and chopped-off goal, Celtic didn't play nearly well enough to deserve a win against a team struggling in the bottom half of the Danish Premier League.  I am in favour of experimentation, in fact, when results or performances have been poor, I prefer it, so I'll not complain that last night saw yet another speculative central midfield partnership. 

But on a night we dropped our creative Player of the Year, we spent far too long waiting for Celtic to get into the box and create, I cannot help but feel we compromised an important element of the team to make room for a, largely passive, central midfield.

The major plus point from the evening is that, without being disrespectful to Aalborg, they are by far the weakest Champions League opponents we have faced; a better performance in Denmark is very likely to be more productive.

Live updates will appear below after 19:45 BST.

In a week where the Scottish football became something of an international diplomatic incident, I hear Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, has put in writing to the SFA his request that fellow Fifer, John Thomson, be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Thomson, who died as a result of head injuries received while playing in goal for Celtic against Rangers in 1931, would have been 100-years-old in January, and remains a legendary figure in Celtic, and Fife, history.

Politicians are going up in my estimation by the day, who knows what they will achieve next.  Well done, Prime Minister.

On his icons.com web site, Henrik Larsson looked forward to tonight's Celtic v Aalborg Champions League game:

"Sir Alex Ferguson said that Celtic are one of the top teams in Europe judged on home form and he's right. By most standards Celtic are one of Europe's top teams, but if you look at the home record they are one of the very best.

"Obviously the fans at Celtic Park have a massive part to play in that. When you play in front of that support on a big European night it is just tremendous. It ensures every player raises his game. If they can get a little bit more luck away from home who knows how far they could go."

On the day of the Champions League group stage draw I asked for one of four teams, Aalborg, Anorthosis Famagusta, Cluj or Bate, curiously, all four were drawn away from home in the first round of games.  To be fair, this looks like an enormously hasty judgement.

I watched Cluj play in the Olympic Stadium, Rome last night.  They held the ball, out-passed Roma, came from behind to score twice and then hit the woodwork.  It was a thoroughly professional European away performance.

Anorthosis draw away to Werder Bremen was apparently no less professional.

Bate are away to Real Madrid tonight and we face Aalborg in what is unquestionably our first must-win game of the season.  This is the game that will go furthest to deciding if we see European football after Christmas, and let's be frank with each other, we are more likely to be threatened by the champions of Denmark than the teams who finished runners-up in Spain or the European Champions.

The games against Manchester United and Villarreal will sell more hospitality packages and attract higher TV audiences, but tonight is the fans night. 

I'm looking forward to another special Celtic Park, European night.

I have had one of those uncomfortable days.  Peter Lawwell has been the most effective board member Celtic have had in the modern era, perhaps ever, so when rumours reached me that he had been approached by a wealthier, FA Premier League club, the consequences of losing such an experienced talent was disconcerting.

In his five years at Celtic he has reshaped the club, which returned to profit in 2007 for the first time since 1999.  He instructed the building of a state of the art training facility, replaced a legendary managerial talent with one who over three years later has still to lose a league and rabidly tore away at obstacles put before our football club.

He is staying for the best reason of all, because there is still a lot more he wants to achieve for Celtic.

We have a 167% man in the board room.

Last week many readers asked how best to make their views known on the singing Rangers fans indulged in at Celtic Park two weeks ago.

The litany of offensive material was considerable, but UK law specifically prohibits racially motivated chanting, flouted by the "go home" sentiment expressed towards Irish descendants.  The downright pitiful lusty-references to child sex abuse simply beggars belief.

If you feel that you were offended by this behaviour, you might feel it appropriate to let your MP and (if you live in Scotland) your MSP.

TheyWorkForYou.com is an excellent resource for contacting your elected representatives, and as the name implies, these people are paid money to work on your behalf, so it might be useful to let them know what is on your mind every now and then.  Especially at this time.

I plan to let my MP and MSP know that racism has no place in Scottish society and that I expect them to press the police and football authorities to end this take steps that will end this scourge once and for all.

Few outside Newcastle thought Kevin Keegan had the temperament to manage a major football club when he took over at St James' Park in January, so we have to conclude that in appointing Keegan, Mike Ashley is ultimately responsible for the disarray his club started the month in.

Ashley bought the club 18 months ago for £134m and has subsequently spent £110m reducing (not eliminating) the club's debt.  In his statement yesterday he informed us that millions are still due for signings made before his time and that the club's current commercial deals were front loaded, paying high levels of cash up front, leaving little for the later years.  He also said he planned to cap his ongoing commitment to the club at £20m, considerably less than he spending so far, but a phenomenal figure all the same.

Keegan didn't like the football governance model Ashley imposed on him, a subjective view which he is at liberty to hold, and exercised his right to leave.  But frankly, Newcastle needed firm controls and the kind of due diligence carried out on expenditure that Keegan, not to mention every other Newcastle manager in the last 15 years, would be unfamiliar with.

The resultant demonstrations, which brought thousands onto the streets of Newcastle, against Ashley, defy logic.  Having spent "more than a quarter of a billion pounds" Ashley is the latest example to prove that you need to be mad to buy a football club.  As well as all that money, when a football club benefits from a huge investment, it gets the governance of the owners choosing; that is the rule, and for Newcastle it would not bring the kind of hardship last known when the Vikings invaded.  In fact, I could argue that it would have been a good thing (subjective view again). 

Now that we are rid of it in Scotland, the sugar daddy fixation seems alive and well in England, it might even be taking a firmer grip on the psyche.  Newcastle fans will eventually get their wish and be rid of Ashley, but the chance that his replacement will be as keen to dip into his own pocket is slim.  The club will be viewed as a poisoned chalice by any prospective owner and will certainly not attract an owner who lives in England, or one who thinks that a sound business strategy is needed to turn the club around.

I wonder if any of Saturday's demonstrators have got around to thinking 'what now?' yet.  The words 'crash and burn' spring to mind.

Well, we got what we asked for.

Concerns were expressed, with some justification, that the response to that defeat would be a reapplication of the same old system; Gordon has been fond of his system, but yesterday the chains were set free.

Marc Crosas made his first start, in the holding midfield role, and pinged more balls forward than we are accustomed to seeing from a player in that position.

Barry Robson was back!  Ostensibly playing his favoured central midfield role, but such was the fluidity of Celtic that he often switched with Scott Brown on the right.  He didn't disappoint.

Scott Brown played as well as he has in a Celtic strip.  He was in-tune with Robson, Crosas and Samaras as they passed and moved, always looking for an opening, always alert.

Scott McDonald and Shaun Maloney both scored their opening goals of the season, a more important event for McDonald than Maloney, last season's 31-goal top scorer has a challenge on his hands to top the pile again.  Giorgios Samaras played only 17 minutes as a substitute before starting against Falkirk but now has five goals from three starts.

Samaras earned a reputation as an impact player but never showed the swagger, confidence and goal-threat he now has.  Gordon Strachan called him "unplayable" and was not far wrong.

It looked shaky in the second half, but that should not be a surprise, we played a remarkably experimental midfield which created a bountiful amount of chances, but experimentation has a tendency to throw up a whole spectrum of evidence. 

Bring on the Danes.

Celtic were simply irresistible in the first half against Motherwell at Fir Park this afternoon, sweeping to a two goal lead after only eight minutes and giving Motherwell a thorough thrashing.

Giorgios Samaras benefited most from the super start by the sparkling Celts, lengthening his stride to pull free of the Motherwell defence to put Celtic two ahead shortly after Shaun Maloney latched onto the end of a Scott Brown cross to open the scoring.

On any other Saturday, the play and goal from Scott McDonald would have created headlines on their own; he linked with Samaras and Maloney and provided a regular target for Marc Crosas, and his goal!  What a goal.

McDonald bought and sold his marker inside the box before jumping, to reach a ball that would not fall quickly enough, and volleying into the net.

Composure was left in the dressing room at half time as suddenly this looked like a brand new Celtic line up.  Motherwell scored twice in the opening seven minutes of the second half and when a subsequent chance flew past Artur Boruc's post Celtic realised the game was not over yet,m and tightened up considerably.

Live updates will appear below after 12:30 BST.

Celtic players arrived back at Lennoxtown this morning from all corners of Europe a little over 24 hours ahead of kick off at Fir Park tomorrow.

Gordon Strachan will have had plenty of opportunity to watch replays of the defeat 12 days ago but there will have been no time to work on the failings with the majority of the first team squad; as a result, I am more cautious than usual about our trip to Motherwell.

By contrast, Mark McGhee's team have been preparing for this game for two weeks.  He too will have watched replays of Celtic's recent defeat and will have drilled his team accordingly.  This will be a difficult game of football.

After Martin O'Neill's Celtic lost five goals to Rangers in 2000 he remarked that it was important to avoid defeat in the next game, which struck me as curious, avoiding defeat was potentially dropping another two points in the championship race, which is what happened in a draw at Easter Road.

I am sure O'Neill was working on his player's confidence, which Gordon Strachan will also need to do; getting them back to playing with the confidence of champions will be an urgent priority.  Ironically, this might be easier with the vocal backing of the away support at Fir Park, than a more considered response at home.

As many of you will be aware, we have had sever resource problems for the last two weeks, resulting in regular outages.

I moved from shared, to a private server, and subsequently upgraded resources to little effect.  We will shortly move from our existing US based data centre to a site in the UK, providing more resources, support during UK business hours and better service for European users.

Celtic Quick News will be unavailable during the transfer which I expect to take around two days.

We'll be back as soon as we can.