The phrase Poisoned Chalice could have been written with the Scotland national team manager’s job in mind. Even in the 80s when we had great players, and the likes of Stein and Ferguson in charge, a sense of under-achievement followed Scotland in tournament football.
In Gordon Strachan’s favour as he takes over at Hampden today, is the 14 years in the wilderness which has reset expectations to ‘Incredibly Modest’. This contrasts with his arrival at Celtic Park seven and a half years ago, a few weeks after the messianic Martin O’Neill left the premises. Then expectations were huge, but Gordon had to achieve put a winning team on the field while curtailing expenditure against rapidly increasing budgets in the English game.
The result was not always pretty but it was effective. He became only the third manager in our history to win three-in-a-row and took us to the knock out stages of the Champions League twice, eclipsing O’Neill’s achievement in Europe’s top tournament. Few could have measured up so well.
In 2006, when he won the league at the earliest date in the history of Scottish football, he took his players, backroom and support staff onto the field in a moving movement of triumph. The stoicism with which he clung onto the league campaign in 2008, when all seemed lost, was remarkable. There can be few more enjoyable ways to win the league than from a 15 point deficit in April – one of the great times to be a Celtic supporter. When his team ran out of steam in 2009 he left the scene with much less fanfare than he deserved.
Of all the former Celts working in the media Gordon is truest to the club. Celtic is his team and the joy he gets as a supporter is evident. Such comment will be tempered now he is Scotland manager, but we wish him every success.
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I am absolutely sickened at the thought of Irish abattoirs are slaughtering horses for human consumption. These animals probably put all their trust in the owners who bought them for their own pleasure. Suddenly they can’t afford to keep them, so slaughter them. Shame on all of them. Things like this really rile me because the poor animals don’t have a choice in the matter. Before anyone asks, YES I am an animal lover and have owned horses in the past which died of old age even in hard economic times.
Weefra HH
Was the ram happy about that though Celtic first ?
I wondered why those burgers were giving me the trots.
I understand sevco have a bounce game tomorrow provided they can get hold of a bouncy castle – chuckie says he has enough hot air to blow it up
Weefra
do you have free range hens up there?
67 Heaven,
LOL!
pogmathonyahun aka laird of the smiles
21:03 on 15 January, 2013
Takes “joy riding” to a whole new level.
http://www.itv.com/news/2013-01-15/cleaner-injured-after-taking-commuter-train-for-a-joyride-in-sweden/
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Looks awfully like greengo’s ‘bandwagon’…….
Jackie Mac
If it said that on the pack it really wouldn’t put me off.
The abattoirs had the meat, the meat companies offered it, the buyers bought it. There’s only a problem when retailers and consumer products manufacturers fail to the tell the truth about their products, usually to pretend they are better quality than they really are so that they can charge a higher price than is fair. In those instances, hammer the cheats.
All cheats deserve to lose: in sport, in business, in love, in life.
The truth will set you free.
This is a world in which nothing can be hidden. The only way to go is to have nothing to hide.
headtheball
and I have a real sore throat – feel a little hoarse
BT
You better believe it. Nothing tastes better. The sooner I can get some down to you the better.
Weefra HH
Did TET have a pony on the bhoys tonight?
I read somewhere a year or so back that they found over 300 different DNA’s in a
Mc Donald’s burger, never said if it was anything other than a coo though ….
gene’s a bhoys name
21:10 on
15 January, 2013
headtheball
and I have a real sore throat – feel a little hoarse
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don’t fancy a slap fae a hoarse….
BT
Eggs I mean DOH
Weefra HH
Jackie Mac
The ram never got a look from me. I declined as politely as I could. Fortunately, mein host had already given up on me because I said if it was all the same to him, I wouldn’t be going to that ‘special’ night club he showed us.
Apparently, the ram dish helps performance in that kind of nightclub.
But a guy has to be able to look himself in the eye when his working day is done and has to be able to look his wife and weans in the eye when he gets home. So I said no. Not for the first time.
TET
that was just from under the finger nails of the staff
the exiled tim
21:12 on 15 January, 2013
I read somewhere a year or so back that they found over 300 different DNA’s in a
Mc Donald’s burger, never said if it was anything other than a coo though ….
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
That could turn out to be a right burger, that….
Weefra
hoped thats what you meant.. o))
need to take a trip up when the weather improves…
Gene
A tail short of a pony >}
I went to France on holiday about 25yrs ago and discovered horse meat was the normal diet of beef. Never put a foot in the place since.
Weefra HH
TET
is that a Manx horse?
BT
Yer very welcome. Bring HT up wi ye. Have you tried duck eggs Mmmmmmm?
Weefra HH
It’s so lonely round the fields of Athenry……….cause all the hoarses have disapeared….
67
The ole grass’ll be getting long.
Weefra HH
WeefratheTim
agree once you own a horse you’re saddled with it
WeefratheTim
21:15
I went to France on holiday about 25yrs ago and discovered horse meat was the normal diet of beef.
—
Sorry. What do you mean? That the beef cattle eat horse meat? Or that they say it’s beef and serve people horse meat?
In either case, I can assure you it’s not true.
Was feelin lucky, so took a five timer at half time, 4 are doing as expected, the Mackams are blowing it oot the water
Good on ya cf. No confessions on the death bed, the way we should leave this hoopy coil
gene
Lol pmsl
Weefra HH
As long as the horse meat isn’t the mane ingredient
Jackie Mac
I’ll be looking to make the confession, let me assure you. And I will have plenty to confess. Just not that sort of thing.
Celtic_First
That article stating that the US doesn’t slaughter horses is BS (or HS, I suppose). They have been killing off tens of thousands of mustangs every year and selling them abroad for food and pet products. Oddly I was reading about it during the weekend.
Once again the Irish food industry is doing its level best to destroy itself! Jeez!
I once bought minced horse meat instead of beef by mistake when in France. I only realised after tasting the spag boll…odd flavour to it.
Hail Hail
People just want to stirrup trouble it seems.
celtic first
Said it a bit poorly, they eat horse meat the way we eat beef. A la steaks. Does that make sense?
Weefra HH
Jungle Jim.
Thanks for a reasonable post to me. I am sorry for making my post too personal about you. Hail hail!
That is the maine reason I stopped.
Weefra HH
I was offered horse in a restaurant in france but I said neighhhhh
If Fraser goes to Barca now, we need a clause that he can’t play against us in the final…
Oh aye, and £15m euros