Break record but don’t leave pointless

At around 13:16 tomorrow afternoon Fraser Forster will hopefully break the 40-year record of Aberdeen’s Bobby Clark for not conceding a goal in Scottish league football.  Clark’s record is next up for the Celtic keeper but the British and European records are not too far away.

Apart from Celtic Park itself there would be no better place to break this record than at Tynecastle, but the most important part of the day is to secure a win.  Concede early but win the game and we have done our job.  Break the record and leave pointless and we will have nothing to celebrate.

Clarity has never been a prominent feature when it comes to the analysis of football finances.  2012 threw up a slew of ‘experts’, practically all of whom swallowed lines from PR people instead of explaining HMRC’s published rules on voting for or against Company Voluntary Arrangements.

Journalists were briefed on HMRC’s intentions, which filtered to the ‘experts’, soon this PR version of events was accepted an a reality.  The same was going on inside football.  One journalist called me back then to dispute my challenge to his assertion that Celtic would have vote to allow Newco Rangers into the SPL, and that the SPL itself was absolutely certain to vote them “back” (sic.).  Celtic were never going to that way and by then the SPL tide had turned.

It was not in Celtic’s interests to have Newco parachuted into top flight football, which has become clear in the subsequent years, although many in Scotland, including a sizeable chunk of the Celtic support, thought otherwise, and that the club would vote in favour.

It was, therefore, refreshing to watch BBC Reporting Scotland last night without the 2012 flops.  A new expert was found to ask the pertinent question, a £1.5m loan is fine for a short-term fix but what about the enormous long-term problems?

Many thanks to everyone who participated in the CQteN Dream Team.  We have now passed the 125 team target, which has triggered a £1000 donation from a longstanding CQN’er, who is a shining example of what Celtic is all about.

The Dream Team is your chance to select your team from those who have played 10 or more games during the CQN decade.

Select 11 players in either a 4-3-3 or 4-4-2 formation; you’ll need a goalkeeper, two full backs, two central defenders, 3 or 4 midfielders and 2 or 3 forwards.  You also need to select a manager from the decade.

The team judged as the strongest will be announced at the CQteN St Patrick’s Dinner on 14 March.  The event is open to bloggers and lurkers but you can only enter ONCE.  Closing date is 3pm, Sunday 9 March.  There will be prizes!!

For a comprehensive list of players who are eligible for selection, see CRC’s comment here. Email your entry to Doc here, and remember to include a manager: doccqten@gmail.com

If you would like to read the new CQN Magazine, GO HERE to read properly, and for FREE, the graphic below is just a taster.
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