Two years ago I had a memorable journey from one end of Poland to the other, mostly in silent prayer that our man from Poland would slow down, to check out a few footballers, including Wisla Krakow striker, Pawel Brozek, who obliged with a goal.
Pawel has played mostly as a lone striker, he can hold the ball up and bring others into the game. He’s not a particularly tricky player but he has good positional sense inside the box. His move to Trabzonspor last year hasn’t worked out well as he has played back up to scoring sensation, Burak Yilmaz, who is averaging better than a goal per game in the league this season. Brozek’s record at Wisla was comparable to Maciej Zurawski, who he replaced as top striker in the league.
The Polish CQN brigade told me Celtic should move for Pawel and his twin brother before Trabzonspor signed them. When news leaked that Pawel was a target to replace ex-Rangers player (too soon?) Nikica Jelavic our man in Poland suggested he would pick up a lot of points for Rangers in the SPL.
If he comes to Celtic on a six month loan both parties will have plenty of opportunity to figure out if there is long term fit. In the meantime, should Pawel arrive we have someone to put pressure on Gary Hooper and Anthony Stokes and the Cheeky Chappie will have to consider his next move (again, too soon?).
On the subject of Jelavic…. Remember in August 2010 when we were told he “effectively went on strike” to engineer his escape from Rapid Vienna after the player declared he wasn’t able to face Aston Villa? I hear he’s unable to play against Hibs this afternoon.
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We’ve won the first have of the season ,
whats stopping us doing the same for the second half?
Sorry I may have already answered that with my previous post.
Oíche mhaith cairde
the kids have just brought their friends in
and I have to stand watch on the fridge.
, it was just restocked yesterday and f@@k don’t they know it
Auld Neil Lennon heid says:
Last post was a cracker mate. Sometimes oly history can give the perspective you describe.
The fergus years are a prime example. We reap the benefit of the stadium etc now, but at the time, there was much wailing and gnashing over where the investment should go.
For example, remember the debate that started thus;
What’s the point of a big fancy stadium if the huns win ten in a row? Thre will be nobody here to fill it.
Was a huge debate in its time. Seems silly now, now that the stadium is built…..
HAMILTONHILL TIM Sorry but i cant afford to go up to inverness .thank you anyway ,
I hear the great premiership club that are doing us a huge favour by considering selling their third choice keeper to our undeserving selves got best by Brighton…
:-)))
I’m sorry but a “shared understanding” is simply a euphemism for conspiracy mate.
The political naivety on here is quite depressing. I can fully understand not liking the SNP, Salmond and, especially, McAskill but to use tha as evidence that we can trust them less than a British government is stunning. At least after independence we can vote Salmond out, what can we do about the tories when we re part of britain? As for using controversies from the justice system to support the point, has anyone heard of the birmngham 6? Is Scotland ready for dependence on Cameron and the rest?
Does anybody have info on gold coast Tom??
Off to see done kangaroos at a wildlife park
:)))
St
timbhoy2
No worries mate.
Hamiltontim,
I would agree with you about it not being an organised consspiracy, but the individual refs in games
follow their gut instinct to favour the team they support. However I have heard from people I know
who had family involved in reffing that the set up in the ref brotherhood was and is such that it is very difficult
to get to Grade 1 top refereeing if you were not from a particular section of scottish society. Indeed Brian McGinley
(former ref) was making little progress because they thought he kicked with the wrong foot, but started to progress once he had
made it clear that he was cut from the same cloth at Syme etc.
It is also my belief that an RC ref was not treated sypathetically when they were not seen to be harsh enough against the Celtic.
I can remember three refs in my time watching Celtic who were dropped afetr protests about their performance in games.
Jim Callaghan, who should have gone to the 70 World Cup but was replaced by JRP Gordon (later caught accepting gifts from AC Milan) , Kevin O’Donnell and Mike Delaney. No prizes for guessing what they all had in common. Kevin Toner rarely referred an SPL game. His father was a former Celt.
ggh
THE EXILED TIM says:
28 January, 2012 at 23:50
I hear you. BUT we have (supposedly) played things FAIR.. THEY havent. However, I still believe the board members have not been fit for purpose at Celtic PLC. too many poor strategic decisions.. which makes me question things somewhat.. they cant all be THAT thick, if you know what I mean ;) has there ever been a board of a PLC which have made so many poor decisions for years? exactly.. something smells
Gordon64
I am not calm, how the feck can I be calm if I support Celtic.
All I see is what is in front of my eyes, we are being cheated every which way.
And I disagree it is all about them, they run the game in our hate filled little country, they run the game to the benefit of their establishment team, to the detriment of all others, not just our team.
They have destroyed the game in scotland in their persuit of their supremisist aims, they care not for the game, they only care about being the peepil, they deserve to burn in hell, and that still would be too good for them.
No mi hermano, I can’t keep calm when I see the injustice that confronts us.
I still don’t hate though, seriously pissed off, but still no hate.
Lol not really.
Auldheid has said it right. The words “do this, don’t do that” never need to be said. All that has to be said is that everyone recognises Rangers are in trouble, that for the good of the game they cannot be allowed to fold and that things should be viewed in that light. No-one has told someone to do something or not. There is no penalty kick quota, nor demand for a decision in a game … just an all-round acceptance that refs too have a responsibility to the betterment of the league.
Add to that subtle pressure from above. Decisions for Celtic or against Rangers getting more scrutiny behind closed doors. Refs who thought they were in line for certain games finding out they have been overlooked for reasons they cannot understand until they think back on 50/50 calls they made …
Refs who do toe the line being granted permission to go on radio shows and write in the press about how they made certain decisions, given a public forum to defend themsevles whilst other refs, who perhaps didn’t get with the program, get hung out to dry, denied a public forum, when they make their own mistakes.
The conspiracy only exists at the very top, two or three people. And I believe that does happen. That everyone else is actively involved … not at all, but they don’t have to be actively involved in the decision, as long as they understand the mechanism and what they have to do.
These guys work in the public eye. They know they have to do everything in the full glare of the press and TV. Those who do it “by the book”, and I don’t mean the football regulations as handed down across the world, are protected. The rest are hung up on a bracket, lambs to the slaughter.
We’ve seen it happen.
undoubtedly there is a strong cultural bias in Scotland that costs Celtic and favours the Huns – it has been ever thus. Good point made that when we overcame this in the past we had better players but no longer have the quality to counter this bias…
This happens with MIBs and is reinforced by media coverage but I think citizen journalism, open access to youtube,(CQN even!!!) etc is making this less tenable
Oterwise we wouldn’t be looking at getting our hands on the treble, surely?
hamiltontim says: 28 January, 2012 at 23:52
For me, organised or not, the outcome is the same. Although some of the shenanigans with Dallas hinted at more than co-incidence (but no proof).
My biggest rant today, apologies to the wife and kids, came during Traynor and co once again peddling the line about their demise hurting us. So what? They cheated – let them die. If our crowds fall, if our revenue falls, so be it. I cannot understand why the media are not critical of Rangers over this. They may occupy too much of my thought time but my support of Celtic is NOT anti-them – it’s nothing to do with them. It started from a heritage passed down through my dad, uncles, grandparents. It’s a love of a certain type of football. The high point is 67 – though I was less than a year old.
The media want to peddle them and us but have no understanding where we come from. Manchester woulkd never have happened with Celtic fans. It seemed inevitable as soon as they qualified for the final.
Breathe . . . . Breathe . . . .
S
Victor Wanyama: “I can eat fifty eggs.”
Dragline: “Nobody can eat fifty eggs.”
Society Red: “You just said he could eat anything.”
Dragline: “Did you ever eat fifty eggs?”
Victor Wanyama: “Nobody ever eat fifty eggs.”
Prisoner: “Hey, Babalugats. We got a bet here.”
Dragline: “If my boy says he can eat fifty eggs, he can eat fifty eggs.”
Loudmouth Steve: “Yeah, but in how long?”
Victor Wanyama: “A hour.”
Society Red: “Well, I believe I’ll take part of that wager.”
Victor Wanyama ate fifty eggs,in less than an hour.Society Red bet against Victor Wanyama.Society Red lost the bet…
garygillespieshamstring says:
29 January, 2012 at 00:00
Nae offence but I’m too young to give a fair opinion on your last paragraph :-))
The rest of your post I would agree with completely, that was the point I was trying to make.
Goodnight folks.
HT
Keep the peace.
SO65
Remember we’re all pals.
MB
Lay of the whiskey.
BT
Talk tomorrow.
The rest of you take care.
HH
Mountain_Bhoy
No argument from me on the PLC.
But, I hark back to the establishment and their aim of keeping the hun alive, I believe righty or wrongly that we would have not won the league the last few years as the aim was to keep them alive.
But as ever, once tha machine is in motion the bad times catch up, and the system has caught up with thems, they have been caught.
For once the PLC have done the right thing, we supporters want everything now, we want to win everything, we can’t, sport dictates that we won’t. the suits have played the long game and they will be vindicated for it imo, it pains me to say that, but they could see what was in front of their eyes, the system in scotland needs to be torn down and rebuilt, I have my doubts it will be, but the other clubs need to grow a pair if it is to happen, we can’t do it by ourselfs.
Bed time now.
HH
KTF
Auldheid
I have to say that I was not comfortable with your earlier analogy of Celtic & Rangers being locked in a dysfunctional marriage. For that analogy to work there would have to have been a period of attraction and affection between the two.
I was going to propose an analogy between the US and USSR spending on the mental “Star Wars” defence strategy in the 80’s but I feel the scale of that analogy would be overblown.
I have settled, instead, on 2 neighbours trying to outdo each other with their Xmas lights display. When the proportion of household income being spent on this inessential display became unjustifiable , one household reduced their expenditure to more manageable proportions but, in doing so, failed to pick up the Neighbourhood prizes for best display.
Neither of these Scottish households could compete with their English competitors for the UK prizes as their English competitors were being subsidised by the TV company who broadcast the “Britain’s Got Xmas Lights” show. And, in effect their massive light pollution only served to annoy their near neighbours whilst failing to register any impact in the rest of Europe.
And to complete the analogy, the Scottish judges belonged to the same secret organisation as the household that continued to spend, and Steven Fletcher plays the role of Biggest Fairy on top of the Xmas Tree (the prize eventually won by Kyle Lafferty).
CultsBhoy loves being 1st says:
28 January, 2012 at 23:49
What makes you think anyone is rewriting history?
Why adopt that position?
You have your view of history and I have mine. That some mistakes were made I agree, but to ignore all the conditions under which decisions were made and continue to ignore new evidence as it emerges that suggest perhaps one’s judgement was wrong, suggest that clinging to a past judgement is more important than taking all factors into account and changing one’s mind about a core/default belief.
If the default belief is that the Celtic Board are bad/incompetent or whatever negative judgement is made then anything that suggests that judgement is not accurate is going to be questioned rather than surrender a long held belief.
That belief was not being questioned when I posted, I was observing the problems Rangers have of competing with us now and in the future, but it is interesting that it was seen as being pro Board and excusing the past (or rewriting history) when that was not the intent.
On the actual pont are Rangers in good shape to continue to compete with Celtic even with MIBerry?
“do this, don’t do that” = “shared understanding” = conspiracy
I’m sorry but it doesn’t have to take place over a coffee or a pint or a cigar or whatever. If there is some form of agreement between a couple/group, then that’s conspiring.
I don’t believe that happens, I just believe they’re huns and intrinsically that determines many of their decisions on a football pitch.
TET
I’m off to bed.
Going to game tomorrow.
But seriously chill.
You’re getting me stressed.
It’s not worth it pal.
Take care.
HH
setting free the bears says:
29 January, 2012 at 00:14
It was an arranged marriage :)
Yup your analogy is more illuminating. :)
Night all…..(if they don’t sell jelly by Tuesday, they’ll be in admin by end Feb
Win, Lose or Draw…..
“It’s Celtic, Celtic That’s The Team For Me……….”
bankiebhoy1 says:
29 January, 2012 at 00:25
I love the ole traditional Celtic songs but came out of Mass tonight and the radio was on Clyde in the car.
Just as ‘Discoland’ (made famous at CP by the GB) was starting. I was mad for it by the time I got to the Indian take away :-))
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Auldheid
We’re probably closer in thinking than a blog can demonstrate… Of course we have had insufferable external factors competing against us but we have not been blessed by some internal factors either.
My view remains that the 3IAR was shameful failure of plc as I think we had a few opportunities to outweigh the external force that was working against us and with more courage and ambition we would have won despite cheating MIB best efforts..
Thankfully we are now in a better place and I guess the line of sight should be upwards and onwards…fans, players and plc alike…
setting free the bears:
I don’t think the Star Wars analogy is over-blown at all. I used it once myself in relation to this situation. Tell me if your thinking gells with mine.
The avowed policy of the Reagan Administration was to ramp up spending, to bring “parity” with the Soviets. That was the simplified version the politicians told the voters, and Thatcher did much the same.
The actual facts were slightly different. Spending was focussed on certain types of weaponry, medium and intermediate range weapon systems, based in Europe, mobile launchers which meant the Soviets would have to change their own spending commitments, focussing them on their own mobile launchers, which were less accurate. It cost a lot of money to do that, and when they had exhausted vast sums on developing the SS-20 the West announced the deployment of Star Wars, and that forced the Soviets to rethink the military strategy all over again, building yet more missiles systems to counter the threat ….
The strategic arc was to force the Soviets into spending they could not sustain, to make them use so much of their strategic reserve on missiles that other areas of the military suffered and, more importantly, their ability to hang on to the eastern countries lessened. Finally, forced with a choice between matching the west in defence spending or releasing Eastern Europe, one choice of which might have been affordable but two was not, the Soviets chose …
Celtic embarked on a risky policy during the first two O’Neill years. We spent money and that forced Rangers to spend more money. We made them the same choice, knowing even then that they could not sustain it, between spending on a first team squad and spending on infrastructure, and they made their choice and it was a bad one. They sold everything that wasn’t nailed down. They destroyed future income streams chasing cash in hand … and not to keep up with us, but to maintain Murray’s hubristic “for every fiver” nonsense … and as Auldheid said recently, it went deeper than that and was actually a spending ratio of 4-1 during the O’Neill era and something much larger overall.
Rangers tried everything in that period, much like the Soviets did. They pulled out of Afghanistan to conserve cash. It didn’t work. They began pressing OPEC for oil price increases. America pressed harder, and used Saudi Arabia and a “partnership” with Iraq (who we were funding in a war with Iran) to push prices down again. They started opening up their economy, allowing, for example, small farmers to keep their produce or sell it, rather than making it the property of the state. They also started selling off some of their natural resources off-shore.
In short, the kind of stuff they needed to grow their economy, they began to offload for ready cash to spend on guns.
Rangers sold off everything they could to keep the spending going. Media rights went in a mental deal which Celtic were offered and refused to sign. Catering was outsourced. The youth setup was sold to four businessmen for a million each, making it necessary for them to pay for their own youth stars. The scouting network they depended on to find new youth was slashed – with the resultant shambles you see today, of useless trialists coming and going.
And of course, as we know, they then started looking for ever more creative ways to find the money they needed to soldier on. Tax fraud became standard practice, and Murray’s companies engaged in a little creative accounting when the numbers got just too big to reconcile.
The Soviets gave up Eastern Europe to stay in the game, and that was what sunk them. Murray, when he could not longer put up his own cash, realised the legacy of debt was not something he wanted to deal with, and sold the lot of it for a quid.
Both the Soviet Union and Rangers, monoliths which were believed untouchable, were brought down by their own over-spending, and a brief splurge from the other side to force them into suicidal actions they couldn’t afford. Had it not been for the sanctioned spending in the O’Neill first seasons, I doubt Rangers would have gambled with their club and introduced the folly of Advocaat being allowed to squander £80 odd million.
Likewise, Walter’s three titles may have cost his club more than he won. The pursuit of those titles was only possible by spending the £30 million in Champions League revenues which could have been put aside to settle the tax bill and secure their financial future.
The analogy is a good one. You should have explored it, definitely.
Sorry lhads
left the computer and one the son’s mates (a chelsea support0r hence the nonsense got to it )
gmls
Night all.
Hopefully a good result tomorrow – expecting Falkirk to play a bit more football than some of our ‘Premier’ grade opponents. Not got a ticket but temptation may get the better and it’s only a 30 minute walk from here.
S
James Forrest
the thinking is in line with my own on the events.
Just to clarify, I did not feel that the analogy itself was overblown, just the scale of it. Important as Celtic is, I feel the whole Cold War thing was slightly more important historically :-)
setting free the bears:
Hehe.
Whilst no fan of either Thatcher or Reagan (indeed, to say I harbour a passionate hatred of them both) they were either extraordinarily smart or they had advisors who were extraordinarily smart, because as geopolitical strategies go, theirs was one of the finest ever concieved, and it worked brillaintly.
It helped that they were faced, across the table, with a man who broadly understood the game and wasn’t prepared to take the third road open to him, which would have been a war to neutralise NATO.
I am a great Gorbachev fan. He knew he was in a corner, but instead of lashing out he made the most of the opportunity to stamp his own political ideology on the state instead. A masterful politician and a great, great man.
CultsBhoy loves being 1st says:
29 January, 2012 at 00:33
You will be right about us being closer, but there are a number of factors at play that I have observed, that whilst not erasing mistakes from history, would explain better how they came about. The mistakes are not all on the one side either.
I could write a book.
Sixteen roads to Golgotha says:
I don’t know what the motive for increasing the price of alcohol in Scotland is, but in Ireland, in spite of the hypocritical spouting of the pro side, it is in response to the strong License Trade lobby.
Some of them want the Supermarkets to be banned from selling booze, to save our young people, dontcha know.
Auldheid and Exiled Tim,
Two beacons of light, along with a few others, who have the ability to recognise what is/ has been going on.
Gordon Strachan called it right, when questioned about the disgruntled attitude of our support.
He said it was caused by fear.
That fear has surfaced tonight again. Why?
Is it because the gap is down to one point?
dirtymac 21:04
James Forrest 00:36
Two of the best posts I have read on CQN, in a year of fantastic contributions on both the blog and magazine. Well done lhads.
Morning Bhoys, hope you are all well?
Time for a wee bit of music. Saw this band last week for the first time in 20 years. Bhoy had they aged. Glad there was no mirrors.
Remember this one
HH
CRC
JVOH:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpDzsPgMcrs&feature=related