Celtic didn’t need to get out of second gear to overcome Dunfermline yesterday, making it one of the most comfortable performances of the season. After the festive season games against Rangers in the previous two seasons we played the team bottom of the league, Falkirk and Hamilton, both of whom were subsequently relegated, but we dropped points on each occasion. Teams fighting for SPL survival are filled with players fighting for money to pay their mortgages, no result can be assured.
Dunfermline are everyone’s hot tip for relegation but they are still missing several players and having watched Hibs capitulation against Hearts yesterday I reckon nothing is clear cut yet. Hibs are in trouble.
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757 Comments- Pages:
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One of the main sticks that was used in the election campaign was Labour’s ‘tax on jobs’, which was the planned National Insurance increase.
Guess what. It was never rescinded by the coalition.
Far from being unable to do do anything about it, the government is in fat the only body able to affect employment. Membership of the European Union has no adverse effect on this whatsoever. It’s about policy an priority and whether you believe employment underpins a healthy society or whether a free market does.
£275bn in 2 years to free up the market forces. Has that worked?
That kind of money would pay 2 million people £28k a year for 5 years, with about one third of it coming back in tax and NIC, let alone the health effects, reduction on benefit claims, ability to repay debt, growth, output etc.
The market failed spectacularly and on a global scale, why it is being ‘stimulated’ in such a smoke and mirrors way via purchase of invisible bonds to make global or national corrections is beyond me.
Value people. Dignify people. Employ people. Take it from there.
The Honest Mistake loves being first – Well if they continue to do this while writing off their friends taxes then they’ll find themselves in trouble soon enough.
Whose taxes are being written off?
Do you think they’re write mine off? (thumbsup)
Poll: When do the decorations come down?
I never had any to take down
They are gone as soon as Christmas Day is past
Before the New Year
After 1st January but before Twelfth Night
5th January (Twelfth Night)
Sometime in January
They stay up all year round!
PHILVIS RETURNS 1308
A spirited response,as ever,but one of your analogies is a little off-key.
You say
there are huge swathes of people on disability benefits who are “at it”. People in wheelchairs aren’t going to be made to dig coal.
Theere are huge swathes of people who were placed on disability benefits by the tories in order to massage the unemployment figures-IIRC they used 43 different methods of doing this.
Many of them were from mining areas after Maggiebaby destroyed their industry.
They would LOVE to be digging coal…..
bournesouprecipe says:
3 January, 2012 at 13:27
5th January (Twelfth Night)..
bournesouprecipe 3 January, 2012 at 13:24:
Fleckadinho not sent out on loan is as good as a new signing.
The new signing of Nacho Novo is as good as Fleckadinho’s non loan deal.
Travel News………………………..
The Kingston Bridge has reopened
bournesouprecipe says:
3 January, 2012 at 13:27
Open your windows, they’ll be down in seconds.
BlantyreKev – the government is in fat the only body able to affect employment
Nonsense.
Membership of the European Union has no adverse effect on this whatsoever
Nonsense.
whether you believe employment underpins a healthy society or whether a free market does.
Poppycock. The free market is the only thing capable of creating sustainable employment. All government jobs are funded by taxing the private sector. No private sector wealth creation = no jobs.
£275bn in 2 years to free up the market forces. Has that worked?
You seem to think “stimulus” and bailouts = “the free market”, which is also nonsense.
Back to Economics class with you, BK. In the meantime I give you a D-, frowny face, and “must try harder!”. (thumbsup)
starry
The first day I go back to work ;-)
*hates pine needles*
Apology
Kingston Bridge CLOSED Jackie Bird says
BlantyreKev
Wonder if they have a new name for this hurricane?
Philvis
Please correct my typos when you quote me.
Murray Park is falling down,
Falling down, falling down,
Murray Park is falling down,
By Craig Whytey.
Build it up with wood and clay,
Wood and clay, wood and clay,
Build it up with wood and clay,
By Craig Whytey.
Wood and clay will wash away,
Wash away, wash away,
Wood and clay will wash away,
By Craig Whytey.
Build it up with bricks and mortar,
Bricks and mortar, bricks and mortar,
Build it up with bricks and mortar,
By Craig Whytey.
Bricks and mortar will not stay,
Will not stay, will not stay,
Bricks and mortar will not stay,
By Craig Whytey.
Build it up with iron and steel,
Iron and steel, iron and steel,
Build it up with iron and steel,
By Craig Whytey.
Iron and steel will bend and bow,
Bend and bow, bend and bow,
Iron and steel will bend and bow,
By Craig Whytey.
Build it up with silver and gold,
Silver and gold, silver and gold,
Build it up with silver and gold,
By Craig Whytey.
Silver and gold will be stolen away,
Stolen away, stolen away,
Silver and gold will be stolen away,
By Craig Whytey.
Set a man to watch all night,
Watch all night, watch all night,
Set a man to watch all night,
By Craig Whytey.
Suppose the man should fall asleep,
Fall asleep, fall asleep,
Suppose the man should fall asleep?
By Craig Whytey.
Give him a pipe to smoke all night,
Smoke all night, smoke all night,
Give him a pipe to smoke all night,
By Craig Whytey.
Evening Times
Long-term strategy is now paying off for Neil reaping the rewards
Published on 2 Jan 2012
AS HE enters his fourth transfer window as boss of Celtic, Neil Lennon knows the hard work has already been done and only fine tuning is now required.
The complete overhaul of the squad he inherited from Tony Mowbray in April 2010 meant bulk buying and selling was a necessity, not an option.
The result is a younger, better and hungrier squad which is now finding its feet and confidence.
Lennon is correct when he says their best years are ahead of them, and equally accurate when he predicts the hardest bit will be keeping them together.
The better they become individually and as a unit, the more attention will be drawn from other clubs with more resources than Celtic currently enjoy.
Like Gordon Strachan, Lennon has already overseen a significant reduction in the running costs of his squad.
There was a brief respite in this fiscal policy during Mowbray’s 10 months in charge, and the cost of this has impacted on Lennon’s budget to date.
But, over the piece, he has spent wisely, as the current resurgence of his side’s fortunes verifies.
The policy of buying players who can not only help the club regain former status both domestically and in Europe, but will also bring with them a resale value, is exemplified in the case of men such as Beram Kayal, Gary Hooper, Victor Wanyama, Adam Matthews, and Joe Ledley.
Of course, not every signing works out the way a manager would hope and there have been some disappointments – some of them quite notable. Mo Bangura, anyone?
However, in the market in which Lennon must shop, gambles are an unavoidable part of the process. The important bit is to ensure those that pay off outweigh those that go awry.
To date, Lennon’s transfer account is very much in the black. He has augmented this success with his willingness to promote young players from the development squad which was his domain when he was an under-used coach during Mowbray’s time at the helm.
James Forrest is the shining light among those who have been given their chance. And the 20-year-old is acting as an inspiration for the likes of Dylan McGeouch, Paul George and Marcus Fraser who have the potential to make the breakthrough.
The problem for them will be that, with the squad now swelling by the week as much more experienced players return from injury, they could find their path to the first team severely congested.
Lennon has shown a willingness to allow players to go out on loan to aid their development or just to ensure they get the game time they would be denied at Celtic at the moment.
Nine have made use of this facility in the first half of the season, but it is difficult to make a case for any of them returning to the Parkhead and finding themselves any further up the pecking order, such has been the improvement in players who are already here.
It may require some movement out before there is a radical alteration to the hierarchy which has established itself in recent months.
And Lennon is already on record as acknowledging his best players will be in demand. He has had the foresight to ensure the cream of the crop are tied down on lengthy contracts which, even if it does not deter predators, will guarantee the club are in control of the situation.
Lennon has already shown he can afford to lose top players like Aiden McGeady and Artur Boruc and use the income to improve the overall quality of the squad.
So there may come a time when the manager – in harmony with the board – believe it is prudent to allow one or two of their brightest stars to go.
However, it would be a major surprise if that happened during this window as the SPL title is still in the balance, and, having finally got their nose in front of Rangers in the race, no-one at the club is minded to destabilise the current confidence and belief that this is a group with a common goal which can be achieved.
Lennon wants another central defender and some fresh firepower to help cement what is already a solid group of players.
Baba Diawara has been a long-term target to provide that something different in attack, but the Maritimo hitman’s value is rising in tandem with his strike rate, and the chance to land him may have gone.
Kelvin Wilson, meanwhile, was a major addition in the last window at the back, but the Bosman from Nottingham Forest was only just beginning to make a real impact when he suffered an Achilles’ injury.
He will remain the man Lennon wants at the heart of his backline, but another dominant defender with the pace to operate in a team where there is little protection afforded by full-backs, due to the fact they are required to get forward so much, is on the wishlist.
Rafik Halliche is still waiting to hear if he did enough during his short trial at the club last month, and the Algerian’s experience and composure tick the right boxes.
But the Fulham defender is not the quickest, so the search continues for someone to bring in along with Swedish full-back Mikael Lustig, who has arrived on a Bosman.
Lennon is more than happy with his midfield options, and at least one of the players struggling to get game time could be allowed to leave, either on loan or for good.
As the season started, the notion Kris Commons might be a candidate for the off would have been laughable. But the prospect of taking a big profit on a man who cost only £300,000 and has failed to build on his initial impact might be tempting.
By the time February dawns, Lennon would also like to the establish what is going to happen with the long-term goalkeeping situation.
He would be delighted if Celtic could move on the £2m option to convert Fraser Forster’s signing from its current loan status, and he wants to know if Lukasz Zaluska will re-sign to provide cover, or if the interest in Hearts’ Marian Kello needs to be stepped up.
Lennon also has decisions to make regarding the other players whose contracts are out this summer, including Daniel Majstorovic, Glenn Loovens and Mark Wilson.
But none of this needs to be done from a position of panic as the groundwork put in place over the last 18 months means the long-term future is looking more secure than it has done for many seasons.
bournesouprecipe says:
3 January, 2012 at 13:31
You’ll no be at work today then with the storm??
starry
tomorrow.
The 7.00 O’Clock train will see the commencement of ‘Operation don’t fall asleep beyond Central Station’
The Honest mistake
Thanks mate, I googled and got a blog where someone recommended removing the battery and holding on key for one minute.
Eh eh problem solved!!!
That was a weird one.
bbc scotland weather report, some guy doing it, wheres judith ?
not on this,
BBC Lunchtime Rangers News, complete piece on Rangers with all the goals from yesterday, and the call for the return of Novo, previous goals from Lafferty, and close ups of Ally in his Walter cardigan.
How does this work?
BSR
train stopped just outside blantyre station from 7.30 till 10.30..
tree fell onto the train and had to wait for a diesal train to shunt it to Newton.. lines also down….
I go back to work on Thursday and have to rep at 3 appeals for those people who are ‘at it’…. the joys… o))
BSR – Greg Hemphill had previously pointed out that hurricane names usually alternate between male and female names, and he suggested that the next Scottish storm should be called “Fannybaws”!! :-)
T4
Kittoch:
That’s you an IT consultant now
AWE NAW,
Seems RTC is having a wee problem with posters moving their IP addresses.
To Germany,amongst others,coincidentally!
He mentions it about 0930-fancy a bit of digging?
philvis @ 1318.
If the purpose of this awful little government is to reduce the country’s deficit then they are going the wrong way about it. They are “turning off the taps” of publicly funded investment which, if used judiciously, could:
a. Improve our national infrastructure
b. Provide employment
c. which in turn keeps unemployment payments low and the tax take high.
d. And which also keeps money flowing though the economy as workers spend their wages in the high street and on British goods and services.
From this results the economic growth which will pay off the deficit. With the added benefit that a degree of social cohesion is maintained at the same time, and that as few families as possible suffer the absolute misery of unemployment.
The government’s original approach – based on the vicious lie that Britain was “bankrupt” and heading down the same road as Greece- had seen public investment halted and the economy strangled. This pleases those on the far fringes of the Tory party for whom anything associated with the public sector is inherently bad, but is, as we are starting to realise, the road to utter ruin.
Even Osbourne is starting to change tack, aware of how badly his comically right-wing economic policy is faring. Soon you will be the only one defending it.
As for immigration. I might be biased, but immigrants always enhance the economic life of a nation, and much of our economic growth these past 2 decades is down to recent immigrants’ hard work and endeavour. As our population ages, we need them more than ever.
lennon’s passion says:
3 January, 2012 at 13:21
;-) aye it does look as if they were all ready for a good old game of best man falls (the players would have joined in anaw )
BOBBY MURDOCH’S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS – Theere are huge swathes of people who were placed on disability benefits by the tories in order to massage the unemployment figures-IIRC they used 43 different methods of doing this.
I realise that some people are incapable of distinguishing the Tories from shady cartoon villains a la Scooby Doo, but you’d think even the most purblind Thatcher-haters would get tired of the shtick some 20 or 30 years later.
However, Captain Facts is here to save the day!
Number of people claiming Disability Living Allowance in 1993: 1.15 million
Number of people claiming Disability Living Allowance in 2011: 3.2 million
So you can see why, in these straitened times, the government has to cut the bills and make sure that only people who genuinely need disability living allowance are paid it.
Maybe this is all part of an evil Tory plot to give people benefits and then take them away again, because they hate disabled people, or something. But I doubt it. (thumbsup)
RogueLeader says:
3 January, 2012 at 12:32
Paul67 – What do you think of this?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dJpf3zOXd4&feature=youtu.be
==============================================
W T F !!!!!
‘Ayeeee…blah,blah,blah, Ayeeee….blah,blah,blah…Ayeee, etc, etc’
philvisreturns says:
3 January, 2012 at 13:08
‘What part of “we’re broke” don’t you understand?’
The ‘we’ part.
From a post on RTC
a chappie on Follow Follow has posted:
“Damage To Murray park – Brick work at back entrance collapsed and roof in the indoor training centre collapsed. – Training off.”
That vijo of Craigy boy,I actually thought voice had been
doctored a la awe naw.
Whit planet is he from?
R*****s striker injury crisis now Shortbread headline news !
‘Directors’ pay rose 50% in past year, says IDS report’
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15487866
Looks like we ain’t all broke.
ernie lynch – The ‘we’ part.
Well, I’m not broke, obviously, although caviar and swan meat doesn’t come cheap.
However, we’re all in this together. (thumbsup)
BlantyreKev – Hail Hail to the Kano Foundation – Please correct my typos when you quote me.
:) (thumbsup)
ItaliaBhoy – If the purpose of this awful little government is to reduce the country’s deficit then they are going the wrong way about it.
Indeed, because they’re spending more than Gordon Brown ever did and also continuing to spend £170Bn a year more than they take in.
I agree, that will not reduce the deficit.
Neither will your vague and nebulous plans to spend even more money that we don’t have on “infrastructure”. If the “infrastructure” spending was such a hot idea, we’d have done it when we thought we were rich.
Is it a “vicious lie” that Britain is nearly bankrupt? http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/may/17/liam-byrne-note-successor
Re: immigration. Immigration is healthy if it’s managed properly, which it hasn’t been for decades. (thumbsup)
BT
Might try the Bus ;-)
tommytwiststommyturns
Ha – I like it.
philvis 1354,
The “note” was a joke, intended for another Tory MP whom Liam Byrne thought was going to get the job. It wasn’t an official economic assessment.
As for infrastructure spending, we did do it when we were rich, and this is the reason hospitals and schools are in an immeasurably better physical state than in 1997, when the last bunch of nut cases and high-born chinless wonders had left them to rot.
If you are seriously saying the government should not concern itself with infrastructure spending because this might involve borrowing money, your politics are even more off-the-wall than I thought.
Not even the most swivel-eyed Republican candidate in the States would argue this.
Three quarters of the cabinet are millionaires.
They ain’t broke.
Though obviously the rest are.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/cartoon/2011/may/26/cabinet-millionaires
PHILVIS RETURNS
However, Captain Facts is here to save the day!
Number of people claiming Disability Living Allowance in 1993: 1.15 million
Number of people claiming Disability Living Allowance in 2011: 3.2 million
################################
I don’t suppose you have the equivalent numbers for 1979,do you?
The numbers you quote are doubtless accurate,but I repeat,it was due to following a system introduced in the 80s.
By your hero.
Labour SHOULD have taken steps to reform the situation as the economy recovered from nearly twenty years of ideological damage,and didn’t.
However,that does NOT make them responsible for the policy in the first place.
BTW,what was the figure for 1997 when Labour took over?