I suspect we have not seen the best of Daryl Murphy, who has proven to be a solid Championship and fleeting Premier League player in England but has been unable to retain a place in the SPL, but his hamstring injury, suffered after the long flight to Pennsylvania, will be a blow on two levels for Celtic. They are denied a squad player for the crucial Champions League play-off round against Helsingborgs and are likely to unable to loan him out, easing more pressure from payroll.
Daryl was singled out for credit (here) for the way he changed the shape of Celtic in our opening league game of the season against Aberdeen. He would have been useful to Neil Lennon this coming week.
News that Helsingborgs have lost their top striker is welcome but is not quite ‘like signing a new player’ for Celtic. Let’s hope they haven’t lost their Kenny Miller only to find their Jordan Rhodes.
There can seldom have been more financially important games to the club than the Helsingborgs tie. Celtic accounts are usually released mid-August (16th last year) but I don’t anticipate any rush to publish this year. Last season’s accounts could well see the largest loss in our history as the club chased their first league win in four years (insert standard lecture on financial responsibility program, avoid urge to run legacy Sir David Murray malware).
I expect the figures to show Celtic are operating with a Champions League budget (and that’s without evading tax). Football finance lessons are clear, if you have a Champions League budget you need Champions League income. Time for this team to step up to the challenge. Get along and pack the place out on the 29th.
No regrets this time.
Bed early tonight if you are off to Dingwall in the morning. I hope we see a few of the young lads.
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philvisreturns 13:13
I think it was three times you said I blamed USA and UK of things that happened in my country under German occupation in the 1940′s
Can I ask one of you outsiders to read my post at 12:25 and tell if I blamed USA and UK of things that happened in my country under German occupation in the 1940′s?
Or I did make a reference to the ghetto in Warsaw (only) ?
I meant USA and UK got the news about Warsaw ghetto from first hand. They were to blame becouse knew everything about the ghetto and did nothing to help.
Samaras and Watt up front?
Or just play all the kids before this game next week?
Hearing Watt’s attitude needs to smarten up before he’s considered for a jersey.
Philbhoy – It’s just the beginning!
13:20 on
17 August, 2012
macjay1…
…….me!
:0)
Guilty,as charged, of low asperations.
Or high standards.
Funny how we all see things differently.
I think John Collins was one of the most over rated players to play for Celtic. He was fortunate to even have played on the same pitch as Paul McStay, as were many, many others I hasten to add.
Lets not forget we still have Samaras, I’d like to see him an Tony Watt, could be a good combination.
philvisreturns
By the way, appreciate your words about my English. Thank you.
Snake Plissken
Great assessment on McAllister. Not attending the games you are probably more right than me.
I suspect the booing of Scotland players is by the elitist tartan army these days rather than hating Huns like the old days.
Excellent comments on McStay. In the mould of Tommy Burns for me. He knew what it meant to the fans and was probably the greatest Celtic midfielder outwith the Lisbon Lions. He was my hero as a kid. Always behaved in a manner befitting a Celtic player. gentleman and top class foootballer.
Paul McStay – Celtic legend
LB
Anyway, it’s 2012, and we have pressing European and domestic challenges imminent.
Also, the not-so-small matter of Scottish footbal surviving in its present form because of the ongoing scandal engulfing our game thanks to the orange bomb that’s gone off.
HH!
Paul McStay will ALWAYS be my favourite Celt,still got the photo I bought of him on a school trip to the Glasgow Garden Festival.
Celtic Football Club@celticfc
NL: “Injuries not majorly concerning and hoping we will have a bigger and more vibrant squad for game on Tuesday. (MH)
Wigan signed Arouna Kone,pretty sure thats the big striker who gave us a hard time for Anderlecht in a CL game in 2002.
Fud Paterson fae Sky put in his place by DU Steven Thomson,after he inevitably brought the subject of Sevco up.
miki67
You are right. There were also another cases like Canada. Their goverment asked the Jews to faight against the Nazis in their Army and promised them to take Jewish families from occupied Europe. The Jews fought in the Canadian army but later Canadian government helped only few hundreds of Jews from Europe. Finally they closed the borders and made the immigration to Canada very complicated to the Jews.
charlie greens club will be the proud record holders of:
(a) highest ever attendance for a minnow club
(b) highest ever cumulative rate of tax dodging by a british owned company
takes some doing that in one season
dignfied till the end
What’s up with Watt?
Song in my head : “I want to play like Tony Watt”….apologies to The Kinks.
John Aldridge was on 5Live this a.m. talking about the pretentiousness of the modern young player.
The words ‘pot’,’kettle’ & ‘black’ sprung to mind but he did make some valid points about how bloated wages and rock god status will turn a head quite quickly.
So,wot’s the deal with the fhella?
Bada Bing
what was said?
The ‘Zigic story’ is a non-story!
The guy’s on £60k a week ffs, and he would be as effective as Darryl!
End of story, hopefully!
HH!!
Was talking to Paul’s brother Willie a couple of weeks ago,he told me The Maestro and family are loving life in Sydney.
!!Bada Bing!!
13:29 on 17 August, 2012
Wasn’t that Aruna Dindane?
Snake Plissken
12:53 on 17 August, 2012
We were very fortunate at Celtic in the 90s in one regard – we had three of the finest midfielders Scotland produced in a long long time plyaing for us but not always at the same time.
Apart from Paul McStay who was the greatest Celtic player of his generation and greatest Scottish player who was hurt by years of poor investment, mis-management being dragged down by carrying all our expectations on his shoulders against a financially doped up opponent, we had John Collins who won us many matches and was the best technical midfielder in terms of technique and commitment to improving his technique I’ve seen. We could do with him or someone of his ability in the Celtic team now. Not just for the great free kicks and brilliant goals but for his awareness and his ability to pull something out of the bag like Naka did so many times when we needed it.
And of course we had the World class Paul Lambert who Zico no less claimed after the opening game of World Cup 98 was the only player in the opposition who could have played for Brazil. What an accolade!
We have been very blessed with midfielders down the years who are cultured, classy and overall blessed with extraordinary football intelligence.
Both McStay and Collins deserved more from their careers but the love we all have for Paul McStay is there simply because he stayed with Celtic through the dark times and was our beacon of hope. He could have strutted his stuff anywhere on the planet at any team and had the accolades foisted upon no marks like Gary McAllister but he stayed with Celtic because he loved Celtic as we do. He will always be the celt I most admire because lesser men would have gone for the money or the fame and fortune or the easy way out.
That he didn’t when he could have and many would say should have says it all.
____________________________________________________________________
I absolutely love Henrik and what he done for Celtic but the first time I watched Paul McStay live, I was instantly hooked. It will take someone incredibly special to take that mans place in my mind as the Greatest Celtic player.
Snake-He told him to forget about the huns story and talk about football.
StMichaelsBhoy2,ah you could be right mate,he ran the show in Anderlecht.
Murphy should not still be with Celtic, seems like decent fellow who will always give 110% but if we are watching the pennies then he should be moved along if possible.
Hopefully we get good result on Tuesday night , be interesting to see if we go through to the group stages how much we spend on new players. If its worth 20m I’d be hoping but not confident that Neil gets 10m.
5/6m on 2 centre halfs and rest on striker. Maybe make 2m back gettin rid of Murphy, bangura and Wilson.
The saddest part of the McStay story is he had to retire early due to fighting all his own battles. You are right if only he’d played along side Lennon.
Remember one of the rangers players (maybe Ray Wilkins) revealing their derby tactics – two men on McStay. Sometimes even that wasn’t enough but it took it toll.
Larsson also had to fight his own battles pre-MON. Remember his run ins with Gus McPhearson but when Sutton, Lennon and co arrived the footballer blossomed.
Sadly Paul never got his fortunate.
!!Bada Bing!!
12:53 on
17 August, 2012
I’ve wondered for a while if Murphy could play CH
kdc
John Collins was a very good footballer, in my opinion not as good as Paul McStay, whilst JC had his moments they were in comparison not as regular or as effective as Mr McStays, JC gave the impression he was more interested in JC
McStay on the other hand was appeared more interested in what he could do for his team mates.
Zbyszek
I don’t think anyone is trying to make a fool of you. It is a difference of opinion. You suggest that in some way the UK and USA were culpable
“United Kingdom and USA are as well guilty of the tragedy that happened in Warsaw”.
Phil disagrees.
I’m sure others on the site will agree with your view that they should have done something but that is an opinion and clearly cannot be a proven fact
I’m not in favour of us going to Ross County and playing too many youngsters.
And here’s why – a few weeks back we bemoaned the lack of game time and preparation our first team had in the run up to Helsinki. By the time we kick off against Ross County it will be two weeks since we kicked a competitive ball in anger. If we leave players out to ‘save’ them for Sweden in what way is that getting them match ready?
Some players need the rest, others need to be playing to keep up to speed.
While I would not risk any player who is carrying an injury and might rest one or two of the ‘naturally fit’ characters and give a few young ‘uns a run out the bulk of the team should be the starting players for the Helsingborgs game.
Continuity is a great asset in a football team.
Don’t rest too many – it could come back and bite us.
Zbyszek – I meant USA and UK got the news about Warsaw ghetto from first hand. They were to blame becouse knew everything about the ghetto and did nothing to help.
Because losing hundreds of thousands of young men in the war against Nazi Germany and its allies counts for nothing…
Nah, sorry. I’m not buying this revisionist nonsense that the Allies – the good guys who sacrificed their sons, fathers and husbands to liberate Europe – were somehow partly to blame for the Holocaust, or even for a tiny little bit of it.
You might as well blame Harold Macmillan for the human tragedy of Mao’s Great Leap Forward, or Herbert Hoover for the Holodomor.
In the context of a global war that killed over 60 million people one can always find scope to second-guess what the people in charge at the time should or could have done. But they didn’t have perfect information or unlimited resources. (thumbsup)
macjay1 – The High Coats used to be the Bel Air of Coatbridge. (thumbsup)
Monaghan1900
13:21 on 17 August, 2012
dirtymac » fast forward to the G.O.D
13:11 on
17 August, 2012
And as this post from KDS shows, the DR haven’t bothered to do much research into the issue:
“Football league 2 play off final in 2007 had over 60000 at wembley between Bristol Rovers and Shrewsbury. That’s 4th tier. The 2009 final had over 50000 between Gillingham and Shrewsbury.
It’s good to see the DR is keeping up it’s tradition of dingying research.
So what they are aiming for is a Scottish record for an attendance at a 4th tier football ground.”
+++++
Since the 4th-tier play-offs became solely contested between 4th tier clubs (it had been 3x4th tier = 1x3r tier) there have been five finals played in front of 40,000+
1994, Wycombe v Preston: 40, 109
1996, Plymouth v Darlington: 43,431
1997, Northampton v Swansea: 46,804
2007, Bristol R v Shrewsbury: 61,589
2009, Gillingham v Shrewsbury: 53,706
There have also been six finals with over 30,000 in attendance.
Sure some of you remember the England v Scotland under15 schoolb(h)oy international at Wembley in 1980?
Star of the show – the maestro!
5-4 to Scotland, 2 goals for Paul. Stood head and shoulders above every other player on the park that day!
HH!!
See Paul McStay – great footballer, great Celt, no fanfare, no publicity seeking or cash grabbing.
He was unlucky, like the rest of us, to have had to spend his prime while Celtic were at their lowest ebb. He carried the team and he never complained. For that alone he is immeasurably the better Celt than John Collins. Better player? I think so, but Collins was also absolutely class and I loved watching him. But if this was Top Trumps for Celtic Players Paul would have much higher scores in every department apart from perhaps dead ball situations – Collins was second only to Nakamura in my lifetime in that department.
The Pantaloon Duck
With that injury list maybe a team of
Forster
Matthews, Mulgrew, Rogne, Izzy
Commons, Ki, Kayal, Ledley
Samaras & Wanyama up front with Super Victor to get a Hat-trick.
RobertTressell
With this list our hand as to what team we will play looks like being forced…
Gregory Ioannidis @LawTop20
NL on players out for game:”F Twardzik, Dylan, Murphy, Stokes, Bangura, Ibrahim, McCourt, Brown, Forrest and Hooper is a doubt as well.”
Maestro quotes: “There’s a buzz about the place!”
HH!!
I see Ross County haven’t been beaten at home for a year now in the league.
So wont be shooting practice of us tomorrow, not ideal preparation, hopefully no more injuries an a clean sheet will do. (a goal or 2 would be nice tho)
As a left midfielder I don’t ever remember Collins beating a man on the wing and putting a cross into the box. Even Steve Guppy, although lacking the pace and skill of Collins knew how to gain a yard of space and put a great delivery into the box.
Could take a smashin’ free kick though :-)