This is the way to start the season. A competitive match, albeit one which is no longer puts us in direct jeopardy, to open what will be a lush green Celtic Park for the first game of the season. Neil Lennon will correctly press his team hard tonight, Elfsborg are reportedly the fittest team in Sweden and are only a week away. That prospect, is enough to get the blood pumping.
Kris Commons and Georgios Samaras took the plaudits in Belfast last week, just as they did in the European qualifiers last season. They are players who can be relied upon to deliver for the team, but it’s the new guys who always attract the most attention in front of the Celtic Park crowd, and tonight, that is likely to mean Amido Balde.
I’m not going to waste your time listing the considerable number of great Celtic players who have taken more than a few games to settle into life at the club. If we see him tonight give him your support. There will be plenty time to judge next month.
I’m delighted to hear John Keane has been asked to unfurl the league flag this season. John was one of the ‘rebels’ who stepped in when the old board collapsed but few in the Celtic support know him, he declined to be photographed on the steps with the others. In many respects he was merely one of the many Celtic supporters who stepped forward when we needed them, but in one respect, John did a whole lot more.
In 1994 the Bank of Scotland informed Celtic that they had to bring their account back under the agreed overdraft limit that same day, or the bank would call-in the overdraft and appoint an administrator. We’re not talking Duff and Phelps-type administration either, the bank’s men would have shredded the playing staff in an immediate attempt to bring costs in line with income.
The old board had no money but John Keane stepped forward. Without any security from Celtic, or from the Bank of Scotland, he paid £1m of his own money into Celtic’s account, bringing the account back inside agreed terms. The bank could still have called in the overdraft and John would have lost his money. We covered it here last year, when aghast at the lack of anyone stepping forward elsewhere.
Within hours Fergus was on his way to Scotland and in the days which followed the old board agreed to sell their shares (with the worthy exception of Kevin Kelly, who told Fergus he could rely on the support of his shares without needing to pay for them).
John has attended board meetings and AGMs for the last 19 years; I can think of no better hand on the tiller. In future, when our history is written, he’ll have a page to himself. Unfurling the flag will be a proud moment for one of the most significant fans in our history.
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marakesh
I know they sold 1200 tickets as of last week, but was told nearer 3000 coming over.
Off to the game shortly with all available children!
Great to see John Keane honoured in this way– he deserves far more.
By the way I have no doubt that the Charlotte revelations re media House show yet another breach of the rules by the fellas down Ibrox way!
Canamalar
Ever since I can remember, and in horse parlance, I’m no yearling, keevins has followed every criticism of the dark side with a ” ones as bad as the other” type remark. Even his voice gies me the boak.
You may or may not remember the supporters association barred him from one of their “press conferences”. King kenny was at Cp at the time. I think it was leckie who asked KK if he would consider moving the venue to cp for future gatherings. Kenny asked him why and leckie said it was so all journalists could attend, informing Kenny that Keevins had been barred. Kenny remarked that it had hee haw to do with him but added that he wouldn’t allow Keevins in his house either!. Not a bad judge of character is our KK.
One if the other journalists in attendance said something about it being the principle and again Kenny shot him down saying something like ” oh you’re interested in principles all of a sudden?”
I’ve never trusted keevins. I’ll tell you what’s more, Walker has become his apprentice. Walker, nevin, provan, all reptiles who have taken their cue from the likes of keevins.
One of the reasons I so admire the likes of Tom Boyd, Frank McAvennie, Derek White etc is that you just know they’ll never play the game for the money.
Almost everyone who has ever posted about crowd behaviour on this blog are against anyone bringing flares into football grounds. The pitch invasion may have frightened a few timid souls but it was not aggressive or threatening, it was a fun thing maybe it would have been better if it didn’t happen but it doesn’t merit long winded condemnations. The singing of a song that no one on earth knows the lyrics of didn’t happen, the only people likely to sing that song would have been The Aran Islam CSC but they were away practicing suicide bomb runs.
Steinreignedsupreme, 17:03
The Brentford fans I saw walking up and then mingling with the Celtic fans thought it was fantastic – I heard them comment
Right bhoys am off tae watch the Hoops. 4-0 to the Bhoys and Hooper tae score.
KTF
HH
Twitter.
@joebhoy2412 You seen this? Write a story about how they concocted the lies. http://t.co/xgOO8x6lM7
squire danaher
Thanks. I forgot how tough game Plzen will play. Don’t know who is next in for seaded if they don’t go through?
Help ma Boab,
Find myself agreeing with a lot of Kojo’s posts over the last few days.
With regards to the posts about Brian Dempsey :- While I acknowledge he had a relatively positive part to play, and for a time was the media face for Fergus McCann some people seem to be trying to rewrite history. IMO he will be remembered for the Robroyston fiasco and for pouring out his and his family’s soul to the Daily Record.
Since seeking voluntary bankruptcy in 2011 owing nearly 11m, many people won’t see their cash again while no doubt he will continue to live in luxury in the Caymen Islands. ( Sounds rather familiar walking away ) Maybe I’m being too harsh here.? but maybe not
We should honour the real white knights; John Keane and Fergus McCann. We still have their lasting legacy that many clubs can only aspire to.
HH, Always in Celtic.
There appears to be great potential for a number of teams and seeded teams at that to fall out of this round of qualifiers and the next.
Bate Borisov are out, Plzen could go out tonight and so could Partizan Belgrade (although this seems less likely) and HJK Helsinki are losing 2-0 right now.
In the next round Basle play Maccabi Tel Aviv (both ranked higher than Celtic), APOEL are due to play Maribor and Celtic themselves have a difficult tie. Take nothing for granted but should we negotiate tonight and Elfsborg we should be in a great position.
Elfsborg are winning 3-0 but HJK thumped some mob before they played us last year and we all know how that wound up.
Next week at Celtic park is crucial.
A wee funny bhoys and girls.
Here you go … been a while since I’ve felt inspired! ;) All good fun! @Themayancsc2012 http://t.co/obkxFP8rFv
O.G.Rafferty 17:21 on 23 July, 2013
The Brentford fans were fine with it all. The local businesses did a roaring trade – especially the pubs – and there were only two arrests.
The only people making a big deal about it are the usual suspects, who all happen to support Sevco.
Previous attempts to smear of our fans have backfired spectacularly – but they keep trying anyway.
They are very slow learners, as the constant backing of every chancer involved with Ex-co and Sevco has proved, so we shouldn’t be surprised.
Both Sherrif Tiraspol and Maribor are due to move into seeded positions if two teams fall out in this round.
Mighty Tim
Thanks fur yer Gracious Comments.
and
Ah Mean that.
Whit Keevins said..regarding the singing of that Song..
if he did actually come oot and say them..
Ah am not in Agreement.
But Ah am TOTALLY IN AGREEMENT ,with him,regarding the Foolish Behaviour of Certain Celtic fans, regarding the Flares Foolishness and the Pitch Invasion
Whether you are aware of it or not..
A Pitch Invasion, is Never Taken Lightly,in the Eyes of The Mighty
and Rightly so.
Fur…
If It wur Not. then that could and Lead to all sorts of trouble… In the AFTERMATH of
some Games.
Therefore.. In the Eyes of the Mighty..
A Pitch Invasion is Never tae be taken Lightly.
If . as was Reported..Neil.. Laughed off.. that Pitch Invasion by Some Celtic fans
as jist a sign of..
“Over Exuberance.. and Made in the Spirit of Friendship..”
Then….Ah disagree ,vehemently, with Mr.Lennon,in this..
He should Have
Totally , Condemned this Foolish Action , and He should Have Apologized ,in Public,
oan the behalf of These Recalcitrant Celtic Followers.. and should have Promised that such Action,in the Future.. would By Heavily frowned upon by the Celtic Management.
that is How Mr. Lennon should Have Handled this..
He did Not.
And
He shoulda.
Like Ah keep oan reminding Mr. Lennon..
A Goodly Portion of his Joab, as Manager of the Celtic.. is that of Being the Custodian and the Guardian Protector
of Celtic’s Reputation..
at all times…this Must be foremost in his Mind.
Kojo
Still Laughin’
squire danaher
With the elimination of Bate, Celtic are now the second highest ranked team in the Champions section of the qualifiers.
Should we beat Elfsborg, whoever we are drawn against in the 4th qualifying round will be tough opponents; more difficult IMO than Helsingborg were last year.
I am confident that, with a fully fit squad having had more time together, we will be up to the task. HH
@JohnMcLean_HS67 Last post from me was from this chap :)
Kojo,
You interjected into a discussion that you were not leading, the discussion was about keevins implying Celtic supporters were singing a song which glorified the slaughter of a young soldier on the streets of London, nothing else, the flares and pitch incursion were not being discussed, go back and read it, your two bobs worth was and is irrelevant to the discussion that was taking place, the quote posted and being discussed never mentioned any other behaviour, just the implication about the singing.
You’ve made it quite clear you have no intention of reading my points so stop asking me stupid questions.
Sorry I got that wrong Tel Aviv are not rated higher than Celtic but that’s a rough draw regardless.
To. John Keane,
Enjoy!
Thanks to you we have a Club, and we can enjoy the fruits of your kindness!
God Bless you!
H.H.
My fear is that there is a growing acceptance of smoke bombs and flares. They have certainly been a feature of many recent away games.
As for pitch invasions. That is the second consecutive away game that this has occurred.
It may be common in NI football, but it has been UEFA driven eradicated from most leagues.
Again, there is little or no condemnation by the majority of our support.
It is not enough to say that it is good natured.
It is a proscribed act in football stadia and such actions WILL bring censure on the club.
At least, it makes the stewards’ job more arduous than need be.
A bit of serious self policing by the greatest ……etc., required.
On a more serious note,
At around 3pm today, the good weather left North West Donegal.
A heavy thunder storm with torrential rain was preceded by a sudden, window rattling squall, which destroyed my trusty gazebo.
Where is BSR when you need him?
Twitter.
some really interesting contributions on TSFM re LNS enquiry http://t.co/UprXufAG6h SPL really did not present their case very well. Fudge?
@TheTributeAct agreed, the Discounted Options Scheme seems to have been conveniently erased from any bearing on the LNS enquiry. Stinks
Anyway… A hiv nae mair tae Say..aboot the Behaviour of some of the Celtic
travelling Support at the Brentford Game.
Case Closed.
Tonight’s Game Looms..
And Ah am Still… worried..
Aboot whit?
Well… Ah worry… If this Damn Heat wave ,we hiv in Vegas.. ever gonna end?
One Hundred and ten in the Shade.. is No wallk in the Park…Ah kin vouchsafe..
Ah worry…Wull.. The British Store in Vegas.. Hiv. goat the Supply of OxO cubes.. that Ma HouseKeeper. ordered.. Fur Kojo, jist luvs his Mince n Tatties..
and Tae Mak Mince. withoot . The Addition of Some Oxo Cubes tae the MIx..is. well
Unthingable.. and… Unthinkable, as weel!
Ah worry.. Wull Ah ever see ..collie , Again..? Ah saw him ,yesterday..
But we hid a wee bit o a Tiff…
And last but, by no means least
Ah worry , that Young Tony Watt.. May No Play the Night..
Fur.. When Hoops Goes… He wull be Needed.. and Badly ,at that.
Kojo
Still, Laughin’ .. though.
Horse talk.
Whilst I didn’t expect much today from Tara, the news from Paddy Brennan is not encouraging. He states that whilst the horse may have looked to be travelling ok for 1.5 miles, she was doing it all on one breath. Hmmmm. That ain’t good. He said a wind operation would do the trick, but, she’d be scrambling around in 0 to 85 hcaps.
Now at 8k for the operation, how many 0 -85 races could we win?
Dear oh dear. Methinks its a lost cause ….and I’ve done my dough. Hey ho. Conference tomorrow to decide the next move …but I’m thinking its gonna take a touch of lead…..to solve this one…administered just behind …..the ear.
For any animal lovers, like me, that’s a wee joke of course. She’ll have a nice retirement in the field:-)
Enjoy the game whether your going or on here with updates.
Wee Oscar Knox and his proud Da will certainly enjoy the wee mhan leading out the team as a mascot .
ps
Mikael Lustig 0/30 to score anytime in 90 mins with Wm hill tonight.
(even though I took Efe at 6s)
offtomygroupmeetingcsc.
twists
That’s a shame ,hope Tara has a long retirement(it fekn better have)
Before I go if this pic doesn’t gladden your heart nothing will :))
https://twitter.com/Wee_Oscar/status/359697092861648896/photo/1
Guys
Is the game on the telly anywhere tonight?
Cheers
Vogue
Ha…indeed.
Mind you…I’m long enough in the tooth to know the risks…so…not the
first burnt fingers jobby and probably not the last, but it’ll all be worth it when I’m in the winners enclosure at cheltenham holding the champion hurdle trophy:-)
STV news showing more 2nd rate Sevco stuff.
At least now we know STV news is a mouth piece for the cheats.
bobby murdoch’s curled-up winklepickers
13:55 on 23 July, 2013MICKTTShowing my nephew some of the cultural hotspots of Southwest England and Wales.Smashing lad,but hard going. Thought I had him on the ropes last night,but he got a second wind!How was the trip wi yer lads? Did they let you on the rollercoaster with them?
Yep went better than I hoped, the big yin was a bit dour faced, the wee one said he’s a teenager..! lol
Just sitting on Kerrydale St the noo with him, he got the new home jersey, he’s got it on, so smiling now.
HH
Watched the the race twisty…
That’s the Cliftonville team just dropped off, on a bus, a working one.
HH
We have a new match day announcer – what happened to the other guy who’s been here for years????
HH
Twisty..,
A long long time ago now he let me question the the right revs refereeing cheating on Clyde, and i wasnt labelled a fundamentalist paranoid looney, I might have been the first to have been allowed to do so on Clyde, so I’ve always had the hope would come good.
twists n turns
17:18 on
23 July, 2013
Canamalar
Ever since I can remember, and in horse parlance, I’m no yearling, keevins has followed every criticism of the dark side with a ” ones as bad as the other” type remark.
——
When I posted part of what Keevins wrote today, I failed to post the previous sentence which reads:
“There’s a fight for the moral high ground involving two sets of supporters who are as bad as each other.”
An example of crass laziness combined with lying.
Canamalar,
I would ask you to take the advice of somebody who has already made the same mistake that you are making now.
For far too long I wasted time engaging with our self-obsessed Mynah Bird.
Pointless exercise !
He is everything that Celtic men have fought against since our inception.
Let it be.
Zybczek/Snake
This assumes that seded teams come through this round and the next eg we beat Elfsborg
Seeding for final qualifying round at this stage
Seeds – Basle, Celtic, Steaua, APOEL, Viktoria Plzen
Non-Seeds – D Zagreb, P Belgrade, Austria Vienna, Legia, Sheriff Tiraspol
Bubbling under if any of these are eliminated – Maribor, S Bratislava, Elfsborg, Maccabi
We will be seeded throughout the qualifying process
Evening Celts, is the game being televised, my reckons its on Irish TV, the northern most part of Ireland that is :¬)
Cheers for any replies.
V