Barca will be no better prepared, how the news works

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I don’t subscribe to the ‘Would rather face them with Messi’ world view.  I’ve seen Lionel Messi a couple of times, it’s a bit like standing atop the Eiffel Tower, a breath-taking experience, but I don’t need to visit Paris every month to reinforce the view.  Tomorrow will be an almighty challenge against one of the sport’s all-time great teams.  Having pushed Barcelona to their absolute limits twice last season, we have no right to expect a second consecutive New Firm victory, but this is a home game at Celtic Park, we hope for a win.

The omission of Joe Ledley is a worry.  Celtic need mobility and positional awareness in all positions tomorrow, Joe brings both elements to the party, how Neil Lennon compensates for his enforced absence in central midfield will be a key decision.

I also don’t subscribe to the view that, unlike a year ago, Barca will know what to expect this time.  Celtic’s 2-1 victory last season came after they took Barca to added time at the Camp Nou before Barca got their winner.  Barcelona knew exactly what to expect, they just didn’t know what to do about it.  I see no reason why they will be any better tutored this time.  Unless they’ve figured out a way of making wee guys jump higher than big guys.

We are fast, we’re tall, we defend when necessary and we run all game.  Unless Barca decide to play for a point and defend deep, which they won’t, they will play exactly as they did last season.

On seeing an X Factor item on the news I complained, “That’s not news”, but I was challenged, “If that’s not news, what makes football news?”  Sporting and entertainment events are news if those who produce the news determine it to be so, which places considerable authority on news editors.

Charlotte Fakes revelations have shown us how news professionals, keen to distract attention from a disaster zone of a club, tried to create negative ‘news’ stories concerning Celtic.

Three years ago the Green Brigade displayed a banner at Celtic Park which went largely uncommented upon for several days.  Four days after the event, the banner became a nationwide news story, TV news reported it and it made a Radio 5 Live morning discussion programme.

The delay in the item becoming ‘news’ was the most important part of the story.  It wasn’t news until the news editors had been convinced otherwise.  The damage to Celtic’s reputation was considerable.

Today news editors who ran that story three years ago have an interesting dilemma.  Do they run a story about an alarming message being displayed at a football ground, or without being lobbied, is that not a story?

Celtic don’t spend money trying to get negative stories about other clubs in the newspapers, but this is surely not exclusively the way the ‘news’ industry works.

We shouldn’t have to wait on a whistle-blower to shine a light on what happened three years ago, journalists know when they have been lobbied, and that’s the real story, which is not dependent on unfathomable leaks.
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817 Comments

  1. THE EXILED TIM

     

     

    23:04 on 30 September, 2013

     

     

    He first got involved because he saw the story as some kind of parable about zombie capitalism.

     

     

    He wasn’t prepared for the hunnishness he encountered from the orcs.

     

     

    The FTT result meant that there wasn’t going to be a big bang, crashing resolution to the story and his interest waned.

     

     

    I regret it was him and not Michael Crick who took up the story.

  2. A customer told me tonight that “you’ll never walk alone” got an airing on university challenge this evening.

     

     

    Sure enough just checked on the i player .About fifteen minutes in and it’s on for about thirty seconds.

  3. On independence.

     

     

    England seems to have taken a massive lurch to the right.

     

     

    Whatever negative impact the Orange Order might have on us, it will be nowhere near as bad as right wingers tearing our society apart.

     

     

    Look them in the eye, they are mostly good people.

  4. Big Georges Fan Club - Hail, Hail, Wee Oscar on

    mungolian bhoy

     

     

    22:35 on 30 September, 2013

     

    YES ? NO? What to do. How to vote. Catholics in Scotland viewing Ibrox and the Squaddies would I’m sure be less inclined to vote YES now. Just how I feel. I’m Catholic and if I were voting today it would NO. The sectarianism has been around for generations. There do not appear to be any reasons to think it may get worse with the status quo however a change to YES is unpredictable.

     

    ===============================

     

     

    I think it has been getting worse recently, as illustrated by the State-sponsored legislation that uses targeting of a minority population as a political football to garner votes among what it appears to see, in some geographical areas, the voting majority.

     

     

    We now see three extremely worrying developments:

     

    – The overt use of one State instrument – Police Scotland – to target that minority group

     

    – The overt, and repeated, use of another – the Regiment of Scotland – to curry favour with the perceived (in the West of Scotland) majority

     

    – A clear pattern of restriction of press freedom – through a combination of unwillingness to report for, perhaps, reasons of personal affiliation, coupled with genuine fear for personal safety through threat and intimidation – which is not commented on by the State, and which can only be seen as being a pattern that accepted by the State.

     

     

    Taken individually, any one of these developments is a scandal of huge proportions. Taken together, and taken with no comment from the current Scottish Government OR, IT MUST BE SAID, the opposing parties in Scotland, this is nothing less than sinister and extremely concerning.

     

     

    I have on occasion been an SNP voter (when that eejit Labour Health Secretary from East Kilbride tried to shut Monklands A&E), and was probably a floating voter as far as Independence was concerned – maybe even leaning towards Yes. I think Alec Salmond has now, however, allowed political expediency to completely cloud any judgement he had, and is wiling to do or say anything that he thinks may get him what he so desperately wants. In doing so, he has, in my opinion, lost.

     

     

    Not because the SNP are bad, but, as Mongolian bhoy says, a Yes vote is unpredictable; many (sensible) voters will conflate the police / army / press failings with the SNP, and may decide “no thanks” as a result.

     

     

    We can only hope that the worst excesses will not be repeated once the battle for independence is over, either way.

     

     

    HH

     

     

    BGFC

  5. A light insanity

     

     

    No word back yet waiting for reply on 2 ,possibilities and will let you know asap tomorrow.

     

     

    HH GMB

  6. ernie lynch

     

     

    The only other jurno who has sort of spoken about it yer man Greenslade.

     

     

    Why are they all not reporting it ?

     

     

    What is the problem, it has everything that a jurno could wish for.

     

     

    Corporate fraud, banking fraud, tax evasion for starters, notwithstanding all the corruption within the football powers.

     

     

    Jeezo, you could even throw in a porn baron for a bit of tittilation.

     

     

    They have some clout that cabal.

     

     

    HH

  7. Canamalar,

     

    Did you see the response on p 27 of the previous blog at 03.24 re. hudgies? Did you recognize any of it?

  8. Catman supports Wee Oscar on

    Just in from the Rod Stewart concert……. What a guy. As we left the Hydro over the tannoy was playing “We are Celtic supporters faithful through and through”

     

     

    Fantastic gig from a true Celt

  9. cliftonville celt from belfast praying for Oscar the wee legend on

    Sorry bhoys but Alex Thompson is a very good and even handed journalist who is probably the only journalist from the national media to report on the dead club story in any depth.

     

     

    From memory he reported pretty fairly from Belfast earlier this year when the Orange Order attacked and tried to storm the short strand.

     

     

    As for the Brits at Ibrox – I refuse to discuss the antics of the British army as it is a discussion that is very emotional for anyone who lived through their occupation

  10. snake, canamalar was on my case tonite, he is one bhoy who knows what he’s on about, if that’s not a reason to help a cqner out, I don’t know what is. gtf back here ya nonhun.

  11. Hamiltontim is praying for Oscar on

    smoke and mirrors

     

     

    23:31 on 30 September, 2013

     

    Vote No then vote Salmond out

     

     

    ———–

     

     

    The argument I seem to be hearing from many Celtic supporters is vote YES then vote Salmond out?!

  12. Bhoys

     

     

    Just back from Rod, have to lounge tickets for tomorrow, £70 each. Let me know asap as they are a bargain and normally £100 for non members.

     

     

    Kikinthenakas

  13. Hamiltontim is praying for Oscar

     

    23:39 on

     

    30 September, 2013

     

     

    That’s what I thought he said. Pants.

     

     

    Vote Yes. Have Labour become a real Labour Party again, and get rid of Salmond.

  14. The main question seems to be “What were the military thinking of?”

     

     

    There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that the main motivation behind the military bigotfest at the bigot dome on Saturday was to raise a flag against any idea of an independent Scotland.

     

     

    We have been warned.

     

     

    I wonder of the pro-unionists on CQN were quietly pleased at such a display of Btittania at its jingoistic best.

     

     

    Just a thought.

  15. Scotland votes left.

     

     

    UK votes right.

     

     

    Scotland gets right.

     

     

    Scotland gets right to choose…

     

     

    Terrified… Votes right, in case we get it wrong.

     

     

    And we shed a few tears in to our whisky, and carry on.

  16. Big Georges Fan Club - Hail, Hail, Wee Oscar on

    Good debate here tonight – off up to read a couple of chapters from The Return of The King ( unfortunately it isn’t Henrik – Lord of the Rings).

     

     

    HH

     

     

    BGFC

  17. leftclicktic oscar in our thoughts on

    Kelvinbhoy

     

    22:35 on

     

    30 September, 2013

     

    Just checked Ladbrokes website – Big VVD is 66s and Efe is 50s in the first goal scorer betting for ramorra……may break into young Kelvinbhoys bank and put a couple of quid on them.

     

     

    fingerscrossedCSC

     

     

    ———

     

    80s & 60s wae wm hills

     

    and 12s & 20s to score anytime in 90mins

     

     

    Efe come on son they are laughin it me noooooooo :)))

     

     

    Faithfulcsc

     

    Good night all

     

    I truly think we will take something from the game tomorrow.

  18. Tom McLaughlin

     

     

    “I wonder of the pro-unionists on CQN were quietly pleased at such a display of Btittania at its jingoistic best.

     

     

    Just a thought.”

     

     

     

    Not really one of your more challenging thoughts though.

     

     

    Being in favour of the status quo, or pro union if you want, is not the same as being jingoistic. The country does not belong to the right and the militaristic.

     

     

    It would be an equally meretricious point if I was to say that there is nothing very socialistic about abandoning the working class of England and Wales.

  19. night night bhoys

     

     

    gotta give it a go and not lose the plot in first 10 minutes like we used to, me v nervous as always

     

     

     

    c’mon the hoops

  20. Awe come on everybody is over reacting. Just to make things neutral the Celtic Bored should invite the same Armed forces to a singalong with the Green Brigade at Celtic park. A few renditions of The Soldiers song and everything will be all right. Trust me.

  21. zimmerman - Conspiracy Theorist : Nothing more than a derogatory title to dismiss a critical thinker) on

    Right,

     

     

    time for the final Breaking Bad.

  22. What kind of muppet programmes The Name of the Rose to start at midnight. I’ll never get to sleep at this rate.

  23. My brother is a marine.

     

     

    Most of his colleagues are English, so they have no issue.

     

     

    He did walk on a Scotsman holding forth…

     

     

    “I don’t hate catholics, but I really hate Celtic fans”

     

     

    I am a Celtic fan, but I’m not a Catholic (any more) said the bold wee man.

     

     

    No chance of any nonsense to his face.

  24. mungolian bhoy on

    Kojo

     

     

    Yer educatin us in French Kojo

     

     

    caoutchouc – rubber

     

    malheuresment – unfortunately

     

     

    we need Spanish swear words for Barcelona.

  25. That is the problem mags…nothing more needs to be said on the matter.

     

     

    A fecked up country, ruled by the same s**t that have looked down on us for years.

  26. Hamiltontim is praying for Oscar on

    I’m still undecided but I was just pointing out what many folk I’ve spoken to will be doing.