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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Damo Lennon
13:44 on
21 February, 2014
Not many voters from the 50s left though, massive change in demographic since then.
snake plissken
13:52 on 21 February, 2014
Frank Ryan’s Whiskey
The worst years of Sectarianism arguably were the interwar years when the depression was on.
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Are you talking from experience snake? :-))
sipsini
Not that old bud but I do know that this was the time of Sectarian gangs in Glasgow and anti-Irish Political parties being formed like The Scottish Protestant League.
Ernie Lynch I’ll save you the bother of saying so were the SNP.
Billy Bhoy 05,
Thank you for your kind words.
Its obvious we both want the best for Scotland, we just have differing opinions on how to achieve that.
Anyway we can agree to disagree and continue sharing our common dominator :
Our love of Celtic.
Back to the Curling. Cumon the Scots — sorry GB. Talksport eat your heart out.
Moonbeams WD. Kano 2000 \o/ Supporting Neil Lennon 29.9%. Champions. C’mon Wee Oscar.
Thank you for the update on the kids post earlier.
SFTBs
I’ve seen a number of debates where non Scottish contributors have been Union supporters and have said so. They’ve been English, Welsh and even Slovak who have made the same tired arguments unionists always make.
I’m afraid it was and is a distinct possibility that at a University with a diverse student base my assertion could very well have been true.
Another possibility is that people have started to shift from a year ago.
Another poll done this week at another Glasgow University showed 62% YES and 18% No.
Change is coming whether some people like it or not.
Can’t chat on this. Must work now for a good few hours.
I keep trying not to post about this but I keep getting sucked back in.
Geordie Munro
Before my time but with the league being bigger in the early 70’s were there not also a lot of diddy teams in the league too?
What teams did the Aberdeen keeper have shut outs against?
It’s possible that the teams Andy mentioned weren’t even involved in the shut out record.
I don;t actually have much of a problem with Andy Walker. He does a pretty good job and his opinion is just that. It is his own mind. He isn’t being encouraged or paid by Celtic to give us good press. Now who would do that?
LB
Embramike and livibhoy.
If yous are lurking his nickname wis corky, one the funniest guys a ever met.
He move to livi in the nineties a think.
His faither tam used to drink in the bowling club in roseburn a think.
A know its a long shot.
Cheers.
Big sean.
More from that fud Walker re big Frazer
“The likelihood is that Forster will leave Celtic soon. You can guarantee that he will look back on his time in the Scottish game as a great period for his development as a top-class keeper.
When you look around the Barclays Premier League now, there are plenty of goalkeepers who have honed their skills north of the border.
Hull City’s Alan McGregor was magnificent with Rangers and Scotland, and would probably still be there if the Ibrox club hadn’t gone into liquidation.”
So, there you have it, Frazer will want to go unlike McGregor who would like to still be at the Huns. You can scarcely make up nonsense like this although former Celts – Lions excluded- all seem to all do it. At least Walker does recognise the L word.
Em and livi.
Meant to say corky once met never forgotten!.
Big sean
Billy Bhoy 05
13:50 on 21 February, 2014
‘Yes, further debate is needed on the causes of sectarianism in Scotland – including the core issue, the poisonous legacy of England’s historic domination of its neighbours, Ireland and Scotland’
His blog entry from 23/6/11 in support of the Offensive Behaviour (Level up the Score with those Dirty Fenian Basturts) Bill.
Oldtim or Malorboy if either of you are about can you get in touch. Get my details from Paul67 Hail Hail Hebcelt
These Canadian curlers are very hun-like in the approach.
Dharma Bam \o/ stands up for Neil Lennon
13:28 on 21 February, 2014
Apologies, I didn’t see your post from yesterday.
Absolutely no harm done, I can well understand how off putting it can be to constantly have to read childish squabbles on here hence my apology.
Hail Hail mate.
sean thornton
Corky rings a bell. I will let you know what I can find out.
LB
Frank Ryan’s Whisky.
FYI. : A mock poll was held in all Aberdeenshire’s 17 secondary schools and 4 special need schools on the Indy debate in September using the same question.
The result : 11,653 secondary school pupils in Aberdeenshire took part in the vote. A total of 8718 voted No in response to the referendum question, with 2847 voting Yes. The turnout was 79.9%.
Draw your own conclusions.
Best Rgds to you and HH.
Hamiltontim is praying for Oscar
12:53 on
21 February, 2014
Not been on since yesterday afternoon. Worth reading back?
————————————————————————-
Naw! It’s been quiet waiting for the next episode of the great Hamiltontim soap opera.
Get over yourself ya walloper.
HH :O)
The Green Man 13:19 on 21 February, 2014
You should stick a few quid on Sevco to win the Scottish Cup. You seem pretty sure they are going to do it. Why not make a killing on?
Be sure to tell us how much you won though.
Done my best CQteN team – was a bit confused over whether to opt for best XI on paper (best team in one off game) or best XI as in who done the best for Celtic – for example in my opinion hooper done better for Celtic than Bellamy, but in a one off game you’d pick Bellamy… Just used that as an example.
snake plissken
14:06 on 21 February, 2014,
Just trying to lighten things up.
Most people on here have experienced bigotry on a few occasions, of that I have no doubt but as you say things were a lot worse in the thirties for our forefathers. HH
From Previous blog for SidneyTim (if you are still about)
Sidney Tim
It is difficult to answer a question that is not asked although a late entry on the club’s approach to the next 5 years that arrived after the deadline happened to be addressed at the Forum.
It will be in the minutes of the meeting that Paul mentioned will be published once agreed..
The matter of bums on seats came up in another context which will also be covered in the minutes. It explains why some of the missing crowd are missing and I expect it to be a matter of debate .
If you want to watch players of the standard that would encourage anyone to turn up on a cold wet day to watch then you have to pay top dollar.
It is simple economics that the wages of that kind of player, if money was the only attraction to him, needs a significant rise in crowd numbers to finance.
Every £5M on the wage bill needs 10,000 increase in SBsales @£500 a pop. Now that is unlikely but it is the hard financial reality that you really rant against not the balance sheet which is but a reflection of that reality.
Now crowd size is obviously a concern but it is not a stick to beat Celtic with but a reason to ask ourselves as supporters what can we do to compensate for any income lost? Unless of course the income loss is already compensated for by other revenue – CL money for example. In which case falling crowds are less of a concern than you make out.
However if you want better you have to pay more and one thing that stood out at the Forum was the time and energy not to mention money the supporter associations put in trying to get bums on seats.
Without these guys the position would be worse. So what are YOU doing to help these guys make sure there is a crowd to give the game an atmosphere for you ( and I when I am overseas) to watch on TV or Celtic TV.
The folk who do attend games in effect subsidise TV viewers and TV or streaming is one of the many, if not main cause of smaller crowds.
So its all very well in the comfort of our deck chairs to blame the club and wave the balance sheet stick, the question is are you putting in anything like those who do attend and in so doing give viewers a game to watch?
Perhaps if viewers were to pay that bit more direct to Celtic within what they can afford ( and the Overseas Season Ticket is but one way) then the burden of improving player quality through increased revenue would be more equitably shared across the total support base.
That could lead to lower ticket prices which would help increase the crowd but at no actual los of income overall.
Dharma Bam \o/ stands up for Neil Lennon
13:28 on 21 February, 2014
Wait till HT disagrees with you on the footie pitch :-)
HH
CRC
Snake Plissken
13:52 on
21 February, 2014
Frank Ryan’s Whiskey
The worst years of Sectarianism arguably were the interwar years when the depression was on.
———————————————
Understandable,seeing as our floodlights guided them Zeppelin’s to ole Glesca.
pabloh_AKA_NEIL LENNON
I have the same problem. I am also trying to work out how to slot in Mulgrew who was Scotland’s player of the year a few years ago. I would have to leave Izzy out or pick one as a RB.
LB
Anyway.. Whaaaat about this for a team;
Mark brown
Braafheid
Thompson
Caldwell
Du-Ri
Sno
N’Guemo
Jarosik
Fortune
Beattie
Miller
Green Pinta
“Scotland voted Tory until the 1960s” Really
Labour was the biggest party in Scotland in the elections of ;
1922, 1923, and 1929. Since 1945, Labour gained;
1945; 37 of 71 seats
1950; 37 of 71 seats
1951 35 of 71 seats (Tories 35, Libs 1)
1955 35 of 71 seats (Tories 36, the only time, and last time, since 1945 they won most seats)
1959 38 of 71 seats
1964 43 of 71 seats
1966 46 of 71 seats
1970 44 of 71 seats
1974 (Feb) 40 of 71 seats
1974 (Oct) 41 of 71 seats
1979 44 of 71 seats
1983 41 of 72 seats
1987 50 of 72 seats
1992 49 of 72 seats
1997 56 of 72 seats
2001 55 of 72 seats
2005 40 of 59 seats
2010 41 of 59 seats
Now, it is all very well having an opinion, but it would help if you and others on here, based it on something resembling the facts. No?
weeminger
14:01 on 21 February, 2014
That’s true, but independence would change the whole dynamic of Scottish politics.
A Labour vote now is to keep the Conservatives out, but how much of that is due to them being perceived as an English, and anti-Scottish party?
I’d imagine more Scots are conservative with a small ‘c’ than the Conservative vote suggests.
Robert88
13:26 on
Robert you are aware that Rosanna Cunningham was instomental in getting this act passed?
Bawsman
13:20 on
21 February, 2014
Can you Nationalists go somewhere other than here with yer rubbish?
Sick of logging onto here and reading yer muck.
Thanks in advance.
======================================
I’ve read some ridiculous comments on here on many subjects, but that one really scrapes the barrel and belongs in the gutter
Even those who argue against the ‘Yes’ vote would cringe with that type of support
I’m going to guess that in your younger days you didn’t spend much time in school if that’s the best you can come up with
LB,
Fraz wears gloves. Nuff said;)
Nah both have done well.
My point was that I don’t think walker was deserving of such abuse going on what I read.
Damo Lennon
14:28 on 21 February, 2014
It’s no coincidence that what used to be the Tory’s secure seats are now in the hands of the SNP.
Hamiltontim,
I’m glad you didn’t take offence.
I’ve come to the conclusion that another person on the blog just likes attention regardless of whether it’s for good or bad reasons.
Hail Hail
Celticrollercoaster,
the only time I would be on a football pitch would be if there was a pizza shop on it! Now, if anyone tried to take away my pizza…
Looking for 3 tickets for the Aberdeen game on Tuesday night, would pick them up at the ground.
Pat
Geordie Munro
Agreed.
Just because Andy is honest doesn’t mean he is anti Celtic.
People point at the ex players from another team now deed. Their old players have proved to do the club more harm than good in the media.
LB
Livibhoy
Yes, mulgrew is a hard one to slot in despite being a POTY because he rarely plays in the same position in consecutive games. I would argue his best position is centre half.
Midfield very hard to pick.
Up front even harder considering my earlier confusion…cos there’s two that really stand out that didn’t play for long.
It’s enjoyable to think about though. Wee trip down memory lane.
Alan Thompson, what a player he was.
VP
Roon ye ya wannabe prawn star :-)
CRC
Sorrrreeeee…….but I did get the ball :-)
Darma
My hope is that enough posters will realise without me having to draw attention to it :-)
I know nothing about curling but that Cram knows even less.
PatSean
I might be able to help. I’ll post on here if I get more than I’m looking for mate.