Boyata crucial part of CL planning, failure to emulate Gretna

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I know Ronny Deila was delighted Dedryck Boyata pitched up at Glasgow Airport last night.  He’s a player the manager has known about for some time and one who was not on the Man City available list when we secured the loan deal for Jason Denayer a year ago.

The mechanics of the deal are interesting.  It’s quite possible it wouldn’t have happened at all without the success Jason enjoyed in Glasgow.  A year ago Jason was a complete unknown, below the pecking order than Dedryck, but we gave him a platform and now he’s a full Belgian international.  The pitch we put to Dedryck was along the lines of “Look what Jason achieved here”.  If we’d singed Dedryck instead of Jason a year ago, Jason would still be an unknown and Dedryck would be a Belgian international.

Assuming no late hiccups, Ronny will know his central defensive pairing for the Champions League qualifiers is sorted, allowing him to concentrate on other areas.

There are no guarantees in football, least of all with Champions League qualification, where we have three awkward knock-out rounds, but we’re starting the summer from a good place.

There’s so much to discuss about yesterdays’ Fir Park hilarity, the consequences of which will be profound.  More on this later in the week, but a few points on Motherwell.  For a team with such glaring shortcomings they deserved the scale of their victory.  Barraclough took a squad who finished 11th in the league into two challenging games and out-thought his opponent.

However, if Celtic fans behaved the way Motherwell fans behaved yesterday your Government would be all over it by now.  I’ve seen flares thrown onto pitches, I’ve seen pitch invasions (although I don’t remember seeing one congregating in front of opposition fans), but I’ve never seen a player smacked in the face and leg by a spectator’s flag, and I’ve never seen anything close to this entire repertoire from fans at a single game.

Who knows what the score would have been had Newco faced the team who finished 10th in the Premiership! Their attempt to emulate Grenta in winning three successive promotions always sounded like a tall order.  They came close, but they’re no Gretna. Not. Nearly. As. Good.

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  1. From last

     

     

    Really glad it is a light work day today, plenty of time to read and watch and generally laugh out loud a lot at the events of yesterday.

     

     

    God that was fantastic, like many others I was dreading having to play the scum 4 times next season and the fact that they got totally pumped by a pretty average Motherwell team makes it even funnier.

     

     

    Feeling just magic today and over the moon that my oldest nephew has bought a season ticket for next season, with mine and my brothers renewals with our 2 youngest kids that makes 5 season tickets instead of 4 for next season. Every little helps.

     

     

    Have mentioned already but if anyone is in Edinburgh on Saturday pop down to the Cowgate for a 1pm assemble for the 29th Annual James Connolly Commemoration organised by the James Connolly Society and the 1916 Societies. Guest Speakers and Live Music part included.

  2. GlassTwoThirdsFull on

    So, does that mean Motherwell will be the team to give us the challenge we need next season?

  3. Paul67:

     

     

    Two questions:

     

     

    Who will the other one be of the UCL pairing?

     

     

    Not as good as Gretna, does that mean that sevco will go the way of Gretna and end up defunct?

     

     

    Keep the Faith!

     

     

    Hail Hail!

  4. Fieldofdrams,

     

     

    Do you really know what Kris Boyd feels like.

     

     

    It’s hard to get a xxxl footie top. As if he’s not got enough on his plate today .

     

     

    HH.

  5. !!Bada Bing!! on

    Tom McLaughlin-if you are looking in,apologies for my post directed at you,it was unnecessary and insulting,so much so,other posters have rightly condemned it.We are not going to get on,so the previous scroll by option is probably the best bet.Apologies to our host ,and for bringing down the tone of the blog.

  6. Bob O' Baldy on

    Transfer News

     

     

    Tony Mowbray this morning announced the signing of Lee Irwin from Motherwell. Tony presenting the player in front of the media declared with delight “Lee is a player I’ve been watching for some time and is my kind of player, he knows how to take it on the chin”.

  7. Dontbrattbakkinanger on

    Gretna 2008 can boast the bestest name in british football in midfield – take a bow Brandon Longcake.

  8. Anyone know what date qualifiers are going to be ?

     

     

    When do we find out who we will face…

  9. I know the Motherwell fans “misbehaved” and I have no time for them anyway.

     

    However yesterday I was in a forgiving move and I enjoyed their antics and loved their celebrations. Re Elbows getting a poke from a spectator, the clown was trying to push the ball with his flag (try doing that with 8 or 9 pints in you) and the flag didn’t connect with centre of ball and just popped up and gave elbows a gentle tap on the coupon. However the Huns now have a valid case to have the result overturned and be awarded the game on a 3 nil scoreline. :(

  10. The Battered Bunnet on

    Hands up. I didn’t see that happening yesterday. A pleasingly thorough pumping with splashes of slapstick comedy courtesy of gravity and self-delusion.

     

     

    In the absence of humility: Humiliation. Aesop couldn’t have scripted a better lesson. Whether it will be learned of course is another matter entirely.

     

     

    In term of a Sevco promotion, Jungle Jim couldn’t see it happening. Clearly, I can’t see as far as him.

     

     

    I’ll be interested in his view as regards next season’s horizon.

  11. Dontbrattbakkinanger on

    Celtic enter at qualrd 2

     

     

    The draw is made 22 June, and the games are played 14/15 and 21/22 July.

     

     

    Unfortunately old Bert Kassie has no petrofac training cup updates.

  12. Corkcelt,

     

     

    I know your post about having the result overturned was in jest, however I heard the same comment in the pub yesterday from some really, really sad Huns grasping for any source of comfort.

     

     

    Reminds me of the old ” their drowning not waving ” scinerio.

     

     

    HH.

  13. Tamrabam

     

     

    11:57 on 1 June, 2015

     

     

    Stuart McCall

     

    6th April – Daily Record

     

     

    “Rangers are so good I’m getting goosebumps”

     

     

    Aye Stuart, me anaw……me anaw…..

     

     

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

     

     

    Misinterpreted.

     

     

    What he actually said was, ‘Rangers are so goosed I’m getting bumped.’

  14. dontbrattbakkinanger

     

     

    12:59 on 1 June, 2015

     

     

     

     

    Cheers.. was hoping it would be around these dates

  15. blantyretim is praying for the Knox family on

    Well I’ve just been done up like a kipper by a hurting Orc

     

    Went into the chippy for my Monday cuter of 2 roll n fritter,(myself and the owner laughing at the died team.)

     

    4 left and the Hun in front of me asked for 2 roll n fritter, then asked for another fritter

     

     

    I was forced to take a roll n chip

     

    He must be really happy to have done a tim like that eh?

     

     

    He can tell them all at the lodge how he done a tim by leaving no fritters

     

     

     

    HAHAHAHAHA

  16. The Battered Bunnet

     

     

     

     

    12:56 on

     

     

    1 June, 2015

     

     

     

     

    Hands up. I didn’t see that happening yesterday.

     

    ———————————————————————–

     

     

    Likewise, I thought the ‘Well game would have been the easiest of the three play off rounds for them – they looked so down in out in the last few weeks of the season. Fair play to them – I was wrong.

     

     

    And carrying on from that I will continue to (probably) be wrong by saying that I didn’t think Boyata was very good when I saw him playing for Man City*

     

     

     

     

    *one game – what more evidence is needed ;)

     

     

    Welcome Dedryck, I’m sure you’ll be a star.

  17. blantyretim is praying for the Knox family on

    gordon_j

     

     

    Aye was probably walking away saying dirty fritter less Fenian basa

  18. Hi Paul67,

     

     

    Great news on the new Centre Half, wonderful pitch .Dedryck Boyata must have look at what VvD and JD have achieved. A great blue print to secure future signings. Good Luck to him!

     

     

    When NL made a comment about the valuable players we had lost from his squad earlier in the Season, I couldn’t help thinking, lost some good players but we replaced them. Something we have failed to do since NO’N’s tenure.

     

    Great to see we’re keeping this going.

     

     

    As far as the Motherwell game goes I didn’t watch it, had half an eye on CQN and half an ear on five live.

     

     

    Unfortunately as normal when Scottish Football’s involved we were being updated by Roddy Forsyth.

     

     

    Now As they pulled away from the cricket for Roddy’s update his voice was shaken with nerves, it was getting to him.

     

     

    Anyways, while the Cricket was going in the background I heard, there’s a goal at Fir Park, over to Roddy Forsyth….

     

     

    Roddy came on with a dead pan voice, giving some spiel…

     

     

    It’s Mortherwell I thought.

     

     

    Then he started talking about flares and flares being on the pitch.

     

     

    Definitely Motherwell I thought.

     

     

    Eventually he said it… Goal to Motherwell. By this time I knew, he took so long to confirm that I had refreshed CQN and had a page of YYEEEESSSSSSS.

     

     

    Poor Roddy, it must, hurt.

     

     

    Hail Hail

  19. macjay1 for Neil Lennon on

    BOBBY MURDOCH’S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS

     

    12:00 on

     

    1 June, 2015

     

    CORKCELT

     

     

    Friction and differences of opinion should not only be tolerated,they should be encouraged.

     

    ———————————————————————————————————————–

     

    No they shouldn`t.

  20. ha ha HA H HA HA HA HA ha aha aahh haa

     

    HA HA HA hah ah ah AH HA HA HA HA

     

     

    I felt far removed from the disapointment of yesterday.

     

    I wasn’t there.

     

     

     

    HA ha ha HA HA HA HA HA HA HAH HA

     

    AH ah ah HA HA HA HA HA

     

     

    I was out planning to gazump a tim in his quest for Roll’s n Fritters.

     

    Job done. Oh what a feeling as I walked away from the chippy.

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