I was at primary school during the 1979 devolution referendum. It’s fair to say many in the Celtic community were suspicious of the SNP due to the hostile attitudes some of the party leadership had to the Irish diaspora in their midst.
Fresh blood brought change to the SNP in the 1980s, there were even overtures to Irish nationalism. Alex Salmond cemented these changes, broadened the appeal of the party towards new and multi-generation immigrants, and asserted the SNP’s multi-faith credentials. He also became close friends with disgraced Cardinal O’Brien (which is no reflection on Mr Salmond).
At the height of his political powers Salmond appears to have overreached. Something would be done about men shouting at football games. From now on only certain flavours of nationalism would be favoured, acceptable, perhaps even legal. MSP Christine Graham let the Scottish Parliament know, the problem was that Celtic fans were not acting illegally, so the law had to change.
The Axe the Act candidate in today’s Glasgow City Council, Govan, by-election, Thomas Rannachan has brought the consequences of Salmond’s largess to his door. The SNP are defending the seat but one year out from the battle Salmond really needs to win, his shoddy attack on football fans is set to undermine him. As an independent Rannachan may not win, but he has put the First Minister on the back foot.
George Ryan’s funeral will take place at St Andrew’s Cathedral, Glasgow, at 10:00 on Monday. All are welcome.
Sean’s book’s here, fill your boots:
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kitalba the koala tim
Jungle Jim
Its not exactly worth arresting someone for is it?
A sense of balance and proportion needs to be exercised and I will be surprised if the lack of such does not influence the outcome in these cases.
proudbhoy
You leap to the wrong conclusion.
The fault for Tony’s fitness is not Celtic’s, it is Tony’s. That is why he was shipped out- to a last chance saloon team. We are giving him a chance to preserve his career.
Tony’s fitness does not reflect on the fitness of any other Celtic player anymore than Scott Brown’s superb fitness means that Barca trainers are not doing their job well.
—
Its a mixture of both obviously,
Shaun maloney left us and wigan never played him because martinez said he wasnt fit enough for a professional footballer.
As someone else mentioned boruc was allowed to get out of shape. Alot falls down to the player but celtic should know that tony isnt upto stratch then more cardio for him.
Surely each player has different needs and training programs ?
Lennybhoy asked this be reposted on the new thread.
lennybhoy…supporting neil lennon, wee oscar knox and cfc until i die
12:14 on 10 October, 2013
Arrangements for George Ryan’s Funeral:
Sunday 13/10/2013, St. Andrew’s Cathedral, Glasgow, 18:30
Monday 14/10/2013, Requiem Mass, St. Andrew’s Cathedral, 10:00
Daldowie Crematorium, 11:45
City Chambers, Coffee and a chat, 13:00
Family have requested Flowers only from Family and close Friends, they suggest a donation to a specific charity very dear to the Ryans.
I will explain tonight about the charity and what we will do in supporting it.
It doesn’t matter what you do for a living; you have a duty to yourself, your employer and not least your workmates to turn up in a fit state to do the job.
Tony Watt is a talented footballer but talent on its own will only take him so far.
cliftonville celt from belfast praying for oscar the wee legend
14:46 on 10 October, 2013
Proudbhoy
The good guys are the quiet ones that don’t say much anyone who mouth’s off is a clown and also very dangerous in my experience
Ah well we’ll just keep the heads down
—
Your 100% right but too many people allowed to hide behind the banner of republicanism and drag it down.
I think most the good guys have given up on all aspects of it.
Anyway must go here. Another time maybe.
winning captains
Where is the full list again?
Peter Lawwell/Dermot Desmont:
I appreciate you’re both very, very busy men, but I was wondering if you each had a wee coffee break, a wee quiet reflection stool, a wee compassionate moment like, then maybe could you give my poor latin a shufti and critique appropriately.
“qui tacet consentire videtur ubi loqui debuit ac potuit”
What do you think, ring any bells, like flamin’ blaring alarm bells?
bakubhoy
14:47 on 10 October, 2013
Proudbhoy, here’s the link. (Hope this works!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-B10Id5J-s
—
Cheers
Thats it, theres another one aswel from the qpr game last weekend.
Glad to see him do well. Bags of talent.
cavansam \o/ posted earlier this morning maybe around 10.30am?
Can anybody help me out here, trying to figure out what this means:
“Silence is the weakest form of consensus.
My wee quiet reflection stool was spoiled this morning when I discovered there was no bog paper in the torlet
Apologies:
I did not mean to misspell Dermot Desmond’s name in that earlier post.
mihal
14:49 on
10 October, 2013
A vote for an independent Scotland is not a choice of Religion.
Or of SNP, or socialism, or personalities, or justice, or economics, finance, North Sea Gas, Armed Forces, infrastructure, EU integration… Or indeed, Politics.
Its all of the above.
Our duty, is to listen and read carefully, and with dispassion, every argument, every nuance, of every debate. To challenge every hypothesis or proclamation.
This is not playground stuff.
It’s very serious Big Boy stuff.
An opportunity which many dispersed societies would, and have died for.
Vote Yes. Vote No. We shouldn’t be influenced by only one site, poster, commentator or publication.
Just take an interest, Engage.
Then Vote
( I’m undecided ).
Well said
Salmonds storm troopers at there best, not got a clue
http://youtu.be/Rg72hfmtoGk
All Celtic fans against the bill HH
Dontbrattbakkinanger:
Even the Queen admits that her most inspirational moments move her when she sits on the throne.
@Turkeybhoy
Next time you see youR son ::::::::: shake his hand for me.
Very emotive.
H.H,
Look ghuys!
I suffer from IBS and was havin’ no a bad day till all this talk about stools!
Gotta go.
oops sorry about the capital R.
Winning captains
My Xmas will be ruined if not on list
proudbhoy
Shaun lacked fitness because of his injury record. He did not learn how to be fit at Wigan. He spent a lot of time injured there too. At Celtic he was fit first and injured later. At Wigan he was injured first and fit later. He is no more fit at Wigan than he was with us. Neither is Paddy at Barnsley. As can be seen in that clip, Paddy is still moving as well and badly as he has always done. He is now in a team with less exacting team mates, however, with which to compare him.
Artur was a basket case with us laterally. He too got himself out of shape. Unfortunately, a half fit Artur was still better than our other goalie options and he knew it. The Polish manager, the Fiorentina manager and, I suspect, Southampton, have other options which mean Artur cannot “slum it”and remain number 1. If Celtic had a better no.2 goalie option, Artur might have been more motivated or, maybe, it was a phase he had to go through somewhere to rediscover his pride.
You say that you would love to see our fitness stats and compare with others. Could I suggest that this would be an admirable first step before throwing out accusations that there is something wrong there? Have you tried writing, with enclosed stamped addressed envelope, to our fitness people and asking questions on our approach. The level of professionalism and research undertaken might surprise you. They will give you only anonymised data though so they won’t name and shame our worst in each section. Opta already have stats for distance run in 90 minutes so you can already do comparisons with CL opponents, for example.
The again, it may not convince you, since, every time that we mess up a throw-in, someone will suggest, what seems to them an innovative idea, that we should practice them sometimes :-)
There is a time to rush to judgement and that is, after a careful consideration of the facts :-)
Proydbhoy,
If Celtic were the problem here surely Tony would be fit by now if paddy is??!!
Players who have fitness/ training / injuries with us who continue to have them after us is surely no embarrassment to Celtic?
Could Tony Watt’s fitness level have something to do with his age? How many 19 year-olds can regularly play 90 minutes?
I always thought “Thick as thieves” meant there was a lot of thieves all in together.
Bringing King back into the fold kinda makes me think they are simply “thick”.
SFTB and Auldheid
I agree that the Act is about as acceptable as rotten mince but it is still the Law and I am simply showing how the police actions can be justified legally.Not for one second am I agreeing with their behaviour but I am saying that that line in RoH COULD be seen as offensive and this gives the powers that be the excuse they need/want to act as they have.
Personally, I would do the same with the Bill as I would with rotten mince . I would throw it out as soon as possible.
JJ
JJ
79caps:
How many 19 year-olds can run a marathon or play 5 sets of tennis, how many 22 year-olds can run 3,339 miles on one leg like Terry Fox did?
Easy asked, harder answered… how much does it mean to you?
Why did Nelson Mandela thank Glasgow?By Steven Brocklehurst
BBC Scotland news website
Three years after his release from almost three decades in prison, Nelson Mandela went to Glasgow to thank the city for its support in the fight against apartheid in his native South Africa.
Nelson Mandela praised the “Citizens of Glasgow” for being the first to offer him the Freedom of the City, at a time more than a decade earlier when many others were still condemning him as a terrorist for his role in challenging the system of racial segregation in his home country.
In a speech at the City Chambers in Glasgow on 9 October 1993, he said: “While we were physically denied our freedom in the country of our birth, a city 6,000 miles away, and as renowned as Glasgow, refused to accept the legitimacy of the apartheid system, and declared us to be free.”
Mandela’s visit to Scotland’s largest city in 1993, the year before he became president of the Republic of South Africa, was the culmination of a long association between people in the city and his campaign for freedom, which began when he was imprisoned in 1962.
Scottish anti-apartheid activist Brian Filling campaigned from the 1960s against the system in South Africa which allowed the white minority to oppress the majority black inhabitants.
He had joined the campaign when his parents got to know the English theatre director Cecil Williams, who had allowed Mandela to pretend to be his chauffeur and had been in the car with him when he was arrested.
Mandela had been convicted of charges including conspiring to commit acts of sabotage and guerrilla warfare for the purpose of violent revolution.
However, the trial was condemned by the United Nations Security Council and nations around the world.
Mr Filling says that, despite some of the dreadful things happening in South Africa in 1960s and 70s, it was “not fashionable to be associated with Mandela because he was widely regarded and reported in our media as a terrorist”.
However in 1981, Glasgow Council decided to set its face against this opinion and awarded Mandela the Freedom of the City.
Mr Filling remembers that just a couple of years earlier the previous Lord Provost of Glasgow, David Hodge, had hosted a lunch with the South African ambassador, which had sparked a protest outside the City Chambers and a threat by catering staff not to prepare the food.
He says: “The incoming Lord Provost, Michael Kelly, partly as a reaction to all this, wanted to give the freedom of the city to Nelson Mandela.”
Dr Kelly says: “It was a bold step for the Labour Party in Glasgow because Mandela was regarded as a terrorist by a lot of people and many people thought Glasgow should not become involved in this at all.
“So it was an uphill struggle and we received a lot of bad publicity, but eventually when Mandela’s story got through people began to see that we and he were in the right.”
Glasgow’s promotion of Mandela’s cause quickly led to other cities following suit and within a year Kelly had launched a declaration for the release of Nelson Mandela. It went on to gain support from 2,500 mayors from 56 countries around the world.
The declaration got the backing of the United Nations in New York and Dr Kelly, on behalf of the city of Glasgow, had the “privilege” of being invited to speak first in support of the petition.
In 1986, Glasgow brought more attention to the jailed freedom fighter by changing the name of St George’s Place in the city centre to Nelson Mandela Place.
The name change was made more significant by the fact that the South African consulate-general was based on the fifth floor of the Stock Exchange building, at an address which now bore the name of the country’s most famous political prisoner.
By now the efforts to free Mandela had become mainstream with global pop stars such as Jim Kerr, from Glasgow band Simple Minds, writing songs and playing concerts in support of his freedom.
International pressure, in the form of sanctions against the South African regime, eventually led to Mandela’s release.
At the age of 71, Mandela was freed on 11 February 1990 after 27 years in prison.
During the 1980s he had been given the Freedom of the City by nine UK regions – Aberdeen, Dundee, Greenwich, Islwyn in Gwent, Kingston Upon Hull, Midlothian, Newcastle, Sheffield and, of course, Glasgow.
‘A special place’
It was the city which was chosen to host Mandela as he arrived to accept all these awards in October 1993.
Brian Filling, who set up the 1993 trip and spent two years getting agreement from all the other cities that Glasgow should be the venue, says: “He was very appreciative of the people of Britain for their support, rather than the government – which seemed to hold out against imposing sanctions on South Africa.
“I think there is a special place in terms of his heart and mind for the people of Scotland.”
Dr Kelly was able to ask Mandela if he knew about Glasgow awarding him the freedom of the city back in 1981, while he was locked up on Robben Island.
The former lord provost says: “He confirmed there was a grapevine and through that he’d received these snippets of information. So at the time he had known about the award, and it kept him and his fellow prisoners going.”
Mr Filling says there had always been a concern about whether the man he had campaigned to free for so many years would live up to the “legend”.
“But in fact, he did. If anything, he was even greater than he had been imagined.”
Paul67 et al
Let us not forget the role played by the media in Scotland following Celtic’s 1-0 Scottish Cup victory at home in March 2011, and the faux furore they helped create, and which Alex Salmond inexplicably interpreted as the democratic will. The SNP victory which followed only two months later of course, gave Salmond and Grahame (with an “e”) not only the hubris, but the majority to turn that hubris into law, which they did in December 2011. It is difficult to tell how much the football related legislation influenced the Scottish local elections in May 2012, though the SNP failed in its’ goal of taking control of Glasgow, but I think it is fair to say we have seen enough of its’ impact since, to believe it is more of an electoral issue now. That Thomas Rannachan has stood on this issue before (2012) will help, and if his vote helps reduce the SNP share then he will have achieved his objective.
In terms of the fitness of Celtic players, have a look around the world. The very best players are physically strong and solid muscle but they weren’t always like that. Look at a young Bale, Ronaldo at Man Utd in the early years, and you will see they weren’t the monsters they are now. These guys spent hours working to be the best they can be, maybe some of our guys think they are at the highest level they will ever be and don’t need to do anymore. That could be the problem with Tony, he was brilliant at first and maybe this has got to him a wee bit. He took great pleasure in showing off his muscles, but will that make you sprint 50yds in the 93rd minute of a game, run 8-10km every match, nah, but it looks good for the burds up the toon on a Saturday night. Strength is great but that has to be coupled with endurance, mentality, stamina, speed, reflex, agility and then you become a real footballer. We brought in the guy from the GAA to work with the guys on sports science, to make them fitter, we have sent him back and told him to work more with the GAA guys. This guy came with a brilliant reputation for producing super fit athletes, maybe the current squad\management didn’t like what they were being told.
Even the Queen admits that her most inspirational movements are when she sits on the throne.
kitalba
15:08 on 10 October, 2013
Can anybody help me out here, trying to figure out what this means:
“Silence is the weakest form of consensus
There is no consensus in silence .
ie Silence does NOT equate to consensus.
JJ
Proudbhoy
Thanks for the clips of a Paddy McCourt at Barnsley. Hope he fulfils his potential. Great balance and creativity. Don’t think he was given a fair crack of the whip. I used to watch Jimmy Johnstone in the reserves on a Friday night……train to Belgrove and hoof it along the Gallowgate. A certain mentality then dismissed him as a tanner ba entertainer. Same mindset scorned Paddy. Hail, Hail !
Hamiltontim
At what point is it that ex Celts disengage from our ethos, traditions and support?????
A bit unfair to lump Gerry Britton in with the rest of them. He’s one of football’s good guys.
The last time the green brigade were at firhill they set off a couple of fireworks. Anyone who’s ever been in the main stand at firhill knows all that old wood and fireworks is a disaster waiting to happen. A small risk perhaps but not one worth taking.
The Battered Bunnet:
Nelson Mandela: “I thank whatever gods may be for my unconquerable soul. I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.
Nelson Mandela: “Forgiveness liberates the soul.”
Nelson Mandela: ” It removes fear.”
Nelson Mandela: “That is why it is such a powerful weapon.”
Nelson Mandela: “Forgiveness starts here too.”
Nelson Mandela: “My family is very large. Give or take a few, about 42 million.
Kitalba
“Silence is the weakest form of consensus
I always took it to mean that you agree but don’t have the courage to state that you do… Could be wrong though..
Jungle Jim:
And for bad men to prosper………………
yorkbhoy:
I always took it to mean ‘cowardice’, but that is just me.
bournesouprecipe:
Isn’t that what I said… :-)