What exactly went wrong at yesterday’s Scottish Cup draw? Plastic balls can break open, that wasn’t the problem. The rule which insists that when a ball breaks open the draw must be started again isn’t the problem either. It’s a perfectly reasonable rule, but the event still can the SFA in a dreadful light.
Imagine for a moment that you had a Cup draw to arrange live on international television. You would surely acquire the materials necessary (8 balls and a bowl), and test their effectiveness (mix the balls, pull them out, open), until you were satisfied the process was robust and not likely to embarrass the organisation.
Appropriate preparations were evidently not followed for the Scottish Cup quarter final draw.
Having got to the stage that the draw went wrong, the TV masses were then treated to the most cringe-worthy pregnant pause, as SFA president, Alan McRae completely failed to communicate, either to the watching TV audience, or to the event broadcaster SKY, why he pulled a ball out of the bowl and instead of announcing the tie, declared the draw invalid.
McRae knew the ball was opened before it was drawn, and that this invalidated the draw, but clearly the glaikit-looking TV presenter had no idea what was going on when McRae halted mid-process, neither did the TV audience. A simple explanation:
“This ball is open. Rules state the draw is invalid. We will need to start again.”
….was surely what any person possessing even remote people-awareness or communication skills would have said?
No explanation was given. We were treated instead to the site of a TV presenter trying in vain to figure out why a cup draw was scratched halfway through.
The role of SFA president requires a degree of communication skills, which Mr McRae was hugely bereft of yesterday.
As for the SFA itself, I went to their official site this morning to check the spelling of McRae’s name, only to find they still list Campbell Ogilvie as president, despite McRae’s appointment 8 months ago.
It beggars belief. They just don’t care enough to get the easy things right.
As for getting Morton at Celtic Park! Ooft. After Ross County repeating their Hampden trick on us, Morton will fancy the same.
I know many of you have previously supported the fantastic efforts of Bundoran Bhoy. This year he is doing four runs for Solving Kids’ Cancer, in memory of Oscar Knox. His first is the Great Edinburgh (misnomer?) Run in April, the Edinburgh Marathon in May, Glasgow Men’s 10k in June and the Great Scottish Run Half Marathon in October.
He has just launched his 2016 fundraising efforts, so you can nip in here and encourage him along.
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Davidopoulos
I was a board member of my local club, went to a fair few then stopped, mainly due to people talking absolute nonsense throughout, even beer couldn’t make me switch off from the shite people were talking DD is far more important than me and has many more important things to sort.
The lesser spotted Dermot Desmond quote;
“Gordon Strachan is a wonderful manager – for the balance sheet
Tommy Burns Thursday Tannadice
Robert88,
Massive difference from MrKeane, he didn’t look at it as a business opportunity or milk it for publicity, he put his money up front with only one motive behind it, save the club. And he would have accted the loss with good grace, if DD thought there was any chance of loss you wouldn’t have seen him for dust, don’t be a sucker.
Aye but is he a Celtic fan???
Only kiddin’!
Love ya Rod!
timaloy29 on 9th February 2016 3:00 pm
Er you do realise were getting a standing section next season, don’t you?
WEEMINGER on 9TH FEBRUARY 2016 3:02 PM
Yes.
It’s too small.
Canamalar it looks like OCD obsession
But without Fergus and DD amongst others, Mr Keane’s money would have got where exactly? brilliant gesture, but 1 isn’t 4 with underwriting 4 more if required, id want reassurances so would anyone makes perfect sense.
timaloy29 on 9th February 2016 3:04 pm
Got to start somewhere. No point converting eg the whole lower Lisbon Lions, only to find that numbers dwindle after season 1.
So what some are saying, is Celtic needed someone to stick in four million , and up stepped DD and said I think you’ll need more than that, so I’ll ringfence another four million for you just in case you might need it, so he’s a bad guy, and not a Celtic supporter, and cares nothing about the club, and is only in it for the money because he’s a business man? Hahaha, comedy gold, right enough.
Robert88
No disrespect to your local club or your role with them intended, but is that really comparable to Celtic’s board?
Are Ian Bankier, Peter Lawwell, Ian Livingstone etc all sitting around talking rubbish?
Davidopulus
——————-
The reason that Dermot does not feel the need to attend board meetings is that he has implicit trust in Peter Lawwell and the board to work in the best interests of the club.
He is in regular contact with PL and his finger is on the pulse, be assured of that.
He is a benign investor and a Celtic fan – rest assured that if ever there was some kind of administrative and/or financial problem at Celtic, he would use all his power and many influential contacts to put things right.
Desmond and Peter are our guarantee and insurance that what happened to the ‘establishment’ club in Scotland, will never visit Celtic.
So whether you love, or, hate, our present custodians, never ever be in any doubt that the welfare of Celtic Football Club comes first, and always will.
So now label me a ‘happy clapper’
Robert88,
Your still pushing these figures that you cannot guarantee hearsay, but avoided completely any estimation of how much money he has made from the club
Here’s an estimation £15M and I think that is a very economical estimate.
So for £4M he has made a right few bob no, and it’s all because he loves the club, aye right.
Wooft….its like the Untouchables taking down Al Capone.
Elliot Ness cleaning up Chicago and dismantling mob operations.
Just hope they can make the streets safe from all those Mineshafters:)
HH
If you want your area of the ground to be a “standing section” just throw your seat on to the people in front of you.
I have a very simple litmus test …………… does anyone on here, who considers themselves a celtic supporter, ever ever use the terminology ……………
Rangers and Celtic.
The Absentee Kaiser does ………………….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nntGV-Pe3pM
while mentioning MONEY, THE HOLY GRAIL.
MrPastry,
They are not working in the best interests of the club they are working in the best interests of DD and there are plenty of time those interests will come into conflict and DD’s interest will trumph every time.
WEEMINGER on 9TH FEBRUARY 2016 3:05 PM
I suppose. I genuinely think its something that will save Celtic Park from being a morgue
Let daft boys be daft and jump round like maddies
And if DD sees fan representation going anywhere near CFC you won’t see him for dust, same as I would do if I was him, can you imagine some of the chancers on here on the board of directors, ppphhhffftttttt, lol, Ffs wit a laugh.
ROBERT88 on 9TH FEBRUARY 2016 3:00 PM
Davidopoulos
I was a board member of my local club, went to a fair few then stopped,
Rubbertoe,
which number was it, and what was the password.
TONYDONNELLY67 on 9TH FEBRUARY 2016 3:13 PM
And if DD sees fan representation going anywhere near CFC you won’t see him for dust, same as I would do if I was him,
———————————————
tony do you promise ?
The mobs in town and the guns are out
And Louie knows what its all about.
Moving in a black sedan, a pick-up worth a hundred grand.
Headline Sensation: a payroll grab in the union station.
CQN Time Machine.
Elliot Ness and the G men hunt the Mob.
Canamalar it looks like OCD obsession on 9th February 2016 3:11 pm
This is one of those issue where we’ll disagree. You are saying (and correct me if I’m picking you incorrectly) that decisions are taken which can only be detrimental to the club, for the benefit of DD?
I wouldn’t include eg failing to invest for the CL within that due to that potentially going either way.
However if you’ve got an example where the only possible outcomes were either beneficial or detrimental to the club and we chose the bad one to suit DD I’d like to hear it.
CFC have invested very well for the club, all you have to do is have a look at the place when you walk in from London RD. It’s a fantastic site to behold, as good an arena as any in Europe without a doubt, but that just appeared no work was put into that, it was as expected? Talk about ungrateful .
Mr Pastry
Similar to Robert88, we disagree on what a diligent board member should be contributing to corporate governance.
To be honest, I don’t recognise the portrait you paint of DD. You do, so fair enough. However, the absenteeism doesn’t sit well with me.
Specially for the SFA and STV
Search
Moravcik, Lubo – The Celtic Wiki
L | Player Pics | A-Z of Players
Personal
Fullname: Lubomír Moravcík
aka: Lubomir Moravcik, Lubo, “A Gift from God”
Born: 22 June 1965
Birthplace: Nitra, Czechoslovakia (now Slovakia)
Signed: 27 Oct 1998
Left: 1 June 2002
Position: Central Midfielder
Squad No.:
Debut:
Internationals: Czechoslovakia; Slovakia
International Caps: 42 caps; 37 caps
International Goals: 7 goals; 6 goals
Biog
Moravcik, Lubo – Kerrydale StreetThere have been very few players in the recent history of Scottish football quite as wonderfully gifted as the man known to Celtic fans simply as ‘Lubo’.
Born in Nitra, Slovakia Lubomir Moravcik was in the veteran stage of his career when he was brought to Celtic Park in November 1998 by then boss Josef Venglos.
The signing of the midfielder from German side Duisburg for just £200,000 was met with indifference from the Celtic support and howls of derision from a Scottish media who were soon made to look rather foolish indeed.
Aged 33 when he arrived in Glasgow, Moravcik had played most of his club football in France and despite being highly rated there and in his homeland he was very much an unknown in Scotland. At one point he was to make a high profile move to Marseille until injury struck and hampered his career progress.
So he arrived in Glasgow, with something to prove to many. That would all change when Lubo made his debut in a 6-1 demolition of Dundee at Celtic Park on November 7th. The Slovakian midfield ace displayed an array of sublime touches and suddenly the Celtic support sensed that here was a very special talent.
The magnificence of Moravcik was confirmed in the sweetest fashion just a fortnight later when he scored twice and inspired his new club to a 5-1 thrashing of old rivals Rangers at Parkhead. The legend that is Lubo was born.
Moravcik seemed to have it all. Quick feet, wonderful vision and an eye for goal. Equally comfortable with his left or right foot Lubo possessed a level of skill not seen at Celtic Park – or in Scotland – for many years. His tricks and flicks were a joy to watch but in addition to being a supreme football entertainer Moravcik had a real cutting edge to his game and was much more than just a show pony.
Truth is that despite his talents there were many a game where he just drifted, and during the dark season under Barnes/Dalglish, he may have been a bright spark amongst most of the gloom back then but he was just as culpable for the poor results and performances as many others.
Despite his abundance of ability Lubo had never won a major trophy in his long career but that was to change at Celtic with the Slovakian playing a major part in securing honours for the Bhoys and re-establishing the side as the dominant force in Scotland.
It might have been the pragmatic skills of inspirational manager Martin O’Neill which ultimately toppled Rangers from their perch but it was the skills of Lubo and Henrik Larsson which ensured they did it with panache and style.
Nowhere was this better illustrated than at Ibrox on 29 April 2001. Celtic had already sealed the Championship and Rangers had made it known they were determined to show the Bhoys that they were really still top dogs. Moravcik slaughtered them in their own backyard. He scored two wonderful second-half goals in a 3-0 triumph in which during the second 45 minutes the Lubo inspired Celts to simply and mercilessly destroy their vastly outclassed rivals.
Celtic won the treble and the next season – Lubo’s last in the Hoops – retained the league as Moravcik finally had a chance to parade his skills on the biggest stage – the Champions League. He didn’t disappoint but even he couldn’t prevent Celtic’s unlucky exit from the group stage.
In many ways, he was underused in his last season with some arguing that Martin O’Neill did not know how to use flair players. Nevertheless, Lubo’s entry onto the pitch was usually at vital stages in order to hold the ball, slow the tempo and retain possession.
Lubo left Celtic in the summer of 2002 for JEF Ichihara in Japan after four years, 129 appearances and 35 goals. While at Celtic Park he won two league titles, a Scottish Cup and two League Cups.
But even the most impressive of statistics can never do justice to the skills of Moravcik. He was a joy to watch and the memory of his performances will live long in the minds of the Celtic support.
@ CelticWiki
TD67
Come on now…take your choice and be done with it.
Secret Brotherhood or Splinter Group.
Whats it to be:)
HH
Saint Stivs
Read my last post to The Green Man.
There are more than a few posters on here who would do a good job on our board.
Right am off to watch a couple of movies on my new chrome cast , best £30 I’v ever spent.
HH
Apart from me of course!
Shrove Tuesday.
A wee message for all my fellow Happy Clappers
http://youtu.be/MOWDb2TBYDg
And in the interests of even handedness I couldn’t forget the Mine Shafters
http://youtu.be/FA3Royf9_zM
Here a Wee treet before a go, enjoy.
http://www.philmacgiollabhain.ie/the-importance-of-looking/
Saint Stivs
Btw…TD67, says you are one of the ‘Cabal’
I think he has got me in it as well:)
Its been like Ghostbusters in here all day.
HH
TONYDONNELLY67 on 9TH FEBRUARY 2016 3:18 PM
CFC have invested very well for the club, all you have to do is have a look at the place when you walk in from London RD. It’s a fantastic site to behold, as good an arena as any in Europe without a doubt, but that just appeared no work was put into that, it was as expected? Talk about ungrateful .
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Celtic Park is vastly improved.
Its magnificent to look at it, But it is now 20 years old.
We have an affection yes.
But architecturally there are prbably now 50 better looking stadiums.
Weeminger,
The welcoming of that great club with the wonderful history back to the top division and resurrecting the rivalry that caused the death of so many of our supporters who are part of this great club kind of conflict you mean ?
TonyRome,
I enjoyed your post.
Go raibh maith agat.
Ard Macha
Phil’s up again …
http://www.philmacgiollabhain.ie/the-importance-of-looking/
Davidopoulos
No, but my point is still valid, DD can let others listen, he doesn’t need to be there. nobody has a right to demand his presence and judge him on it.
Canamalar it looks like OCD obsession
Your still pushing these figures that you cannot guarantee hearsay, but avoided completely any estimation of how much money he has made from the club Here’s an estimation £15M and I think that is a very economical estimate. So for £4M he has made a right few bob no, and it’s all because he loves the club, aye right.
I am not avoiding it, I could only guess so would prefer to use sources for what I have stated he put in as opposed to state what you have. Say it is that amount If i put in 4 million hard cash id want a return, he owns the club, the risk is with him not you and me and its on his head, he deserves what he gets. I believe its naive to state otherwise.
Do you run a business yourself? if you did I believe you would say what I just have regarding risk to reward etc.