BBC’s Jim Spence reports this morning that Dundee United have rejected a £900k bid from Celtic for striker Nadir Ciftci (23), as Ronny Deila continues his quest to recreate the all-conquering (cough) Dundee United team of 2014.
While Ciftci is clearly talented, this is an unexpected move. He can hold the ball up and bring others into play but he never struck me as having Ronny Deila-type industry. Not that he would be the first convert to perpetual motion.
With John Guidetti away and Stefan Scepovic yet to stake a claim, we’ve space for a couple of strikers. It would be good to have at least one before the qualifiers.
Dukla Prague are one of those teams who my generation grew up hearing about. They were one of the finest teams in Europe, with one of the world’s top players, Josef Masopust, who sadly died yesterday. Masopust won the Ballon d’Or in 1962, after leading the great Czechoslovakia to the World Cup final that year, which they lost to Brazil.
He faced Celtic with Dukla in the semi-final of the European Cup in 1967, losing only once in the competition, at Celtic Park. Czech football retains the potential to create great teams, but, denied access to TV deals available in neighbouring parts of the EU, they have been robbed of the ability to achieve meritocratic progression.
The passing of Masopust is a chance to celebrate a great player and team, and to regret what appears forever lost because of television.
Enjoying Phil MacGiollaBhain’s work with the Belfast Telegraph, laid bare in his blog of yesterday. He includes scanned letters from the newspaper’s editor who regards it as “outrageous to suggest that I, or the Belfast Telegraph, would operate a blacklist of any form”, including one which includes Phil, despite how popular such a move would be in places.
775 Comments- Pages:
- «
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- ...
- 21
- »
Don`t know what went wrong with that post!!!
Dubaibhoy
Cheers for that but we did our fancy restaurant at the 360 last night.. Nice food but Overpriced to be honest .
Looking for more mid range place tonight with bit of atmosphere which I know is going to be difficult with it being Ramadan .
Warbys warchest wardrobe
Exiled Tim.
Thanks for the reply.
I share some of your frustration.
The constraints of the TV deal and where we operate have a huge bearing on decisions made by those in positions of importance.
Yesterday’s article showed how inept the decision makers whoever they are, can be.
Like yourself I hope our manager& coaching staff now have a bigger input.HH
Crows are very territorial- they’ll certainly mob bigger birds [buzzards] if they see them as a threat.
Here is our new centre half in action.
‘In addition to flying at the predator and emitting alarm calls, some birds, such as fieldfares and gulls, add to the effectiveness by defaecating or even vomiting on the predator with amazing accuracy. There are reports of predators being grounded by the volume of droppings over their body after a concentrated mobbing attack by a colony of fieldfares.’
-from RSPB, SIMBT.
Proudbhoy…..
Used to be a great (S. African) meat restaurant just past the souk looking at the fountains. Ate there a couple of times but not for a while and heard a rumour it might have closed.
PF Changs (Chinese/Asian) was also in the same locale circa 50 yards away.
Probably a year since i’ve been it that area.
As someone said earlier there’s always l’Atmosphere… but pricey!!
Very good value is the Grosvenor Hotel down in the marina area. not too far from where you are staying.
Failing that the Meridien hotel (where the Dubliners is) have great Kiwi steaks etc.
Did you miss out on the Friday Brunch…. best value in Dubai…all you can eat and drink for $60 a head (around 4 hours).
CQN Tourist Board Info Request.
Thinking about taking a wee drive around Ireland in the not to distant future (mid Jul). Staring at Cork going clockwise round to Dublin (with a wee visit to the Curragh).
Needing advice on good spots for those who’re no into the touristy things, like their beer, craic n’ board.
Any pointers appreciated.
Put a £1 e/w Yankee on Wits nags yesterday,doubled my money.
Cheers mucker
HH
Rioskorrie -Ireland in mid July?
I’ve heard Belfast is nice, there’s a traditional street festival laid on that’s very lively ;/)
Rioskorrie
15:13 on
30 June, 2015
CQN Tourist Board Info Request.
Any pointers appreciated.
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/images/47535000/jpg/_47535667_grant.jpg
Dontbrattbakkinanger
15:12 on
30 June, 2015
‘In addition to flying at the predator and emitting alarm calls, some birds, such as fieldfares and gulls, add to the effectiveness by defaecating or even vomiting on the predator with amazing accuracy. There are reports of predators being grounded by the volume of droppings over their body after a concentrated mobbing attack by a colony of fieldfares.’
-from RSPB, SIMBT.
——————————————————————————————————
All together now….
“If I had the wings of a sparrow, if I had the etc. etc. etc.”
Rioskorrie
Dingle,Co.Kerry is a lovely town (village really) (Dick Macs pub)
Galway Races worth a visit (end July/Start August)
Cliffs of Moher,Co.Clare
Galway itself is always a “happening” place
Westport,Co.Mayo nice town
Stay away from Donegal,only good thing from there was the boat to Glasgow (That’s a joke for all you grumpy Ulstermen)
TinyTim,
thanks for your reply. I responded to your post, although not directly, as I always have thought of you as valued and level headed poster. I have seen the frustration creeping into your posts over the last year.
I think Celtic is in a difficult situation. We, as a support, scrutinise every movement by the board and are ever eager to pounce on mistakes. This is part of our make up and it has helped keep us alive whilst others have withered or died.
24/7 media and opinion boards don’t make things easier. Minuscule events get blown out of proportion quickly. People get converted into caricatures or moulded into whatever suits our mood (PL is a genus, PL is a useless CEO, Lennon is wind up merchant, Lennon is the man who stood up to the bigoted thugs, Delia is a yes man numpty, Delia is the greatest thing since sliced bread, etc). None of this is true. Rumour, innuendo and Chinese whispers distort everything.
The same goes with finances, season tickets etc. People aren’t going because they are frustrated, because of the economy, because there is no Rangers, because of kick off times, because the weather is shite….all have been used to back up whatever argument we want to support. I’d imagine that in reality it’s a mixture of these and many other reasons but the key point is that we really don’t know other than a bit of anecdotal fluff.
I believe the club has been trying to redirect the good ship Celtic in some very uncertain and choppy waters. I think we are getting there although maybe it is taking us longer than we imagined it would. Have mistakes been made? Many have but we have also got many things right. The Scottish game has been in free fall for over a decade but we have kept our head above water with a few notable successes along the way (leagues, CL last 16, a few gems like Wanyama, Nakamura, Forster etc). Until there is real change in European football then all we can do is rearrange the deck chairs to make our journey down as comfortable as possible. Hopefully we can stay afloat long enough to get rescued. There is no solution that will work that comes from us alone. Scottish football has shown itself to be incapable of changing with the times and until other clubs like us really get organised nothing will change. Our choice as supported is whether we back the club’s attempts to play the game we love or give up, get a different hobby instead. The choices our endless.
So whilst there is no denying that we can always do things a little better (buying a striker who scores goals*) most big changes are out of our hands.
*Goal scoring forwards myth. All in all a mixed bunch, hits and misses.
Ghods ;) :
Samaras 57/171
Scorers of goals:
Hooper 63/95
Stokes 58/134 (many subs)
Griffiths 21/37
Keane 12/16
McDonald 51/88
Not proven:
Scepovic 6/20 (many subs)
Not what we had hoped for (although not complete duffers):
Lassad 3/14
Miku 2/11 (not suited to Scotland but played in some memorable games)
Fortune 10/32
Absolute duffers:
Balde 3/20
Pukki 7/27
Bangura 0/11 (quite simply awful)
Kamara 2/9
Killen 2/26
Ramussen 2/10
郑智:
Zheng Zhi 1/16
2 horses today
Honey Badger 4.30 Brighton
Danse Rouge 8.20 Gowran
I prefer the latter(Smullen riding for Flynn,usually a good sign)
Cawsmopolitan Quick News .
One for the collective noun geeks –
What do you call 2 crows sitting on a branch ?
– Attempted murder.
https://youtu.be/kmGqg0qiV_M
http://youtu.be/le_bNtfLRu8
The honey badger [ratel] is by repute the most ferocious carnivore on the planet.
Ross County sign Richard Foster and Chris Robertson
Ross County have added to their defensive options with the signings of Richard Foster and Chris Robertson.
Former Aberdeen full-back Foster, 29, was recently released by Rangers, while Robertson, 28, arrives from Port Vale.
Both men have agreed two-year deals with the Scottish Premiership’s most northerly club.
Dundee-born Robertson has spent his entire career in England and lists Preston and Torquay among his previous employers.
A former Scotland Under-21 international, Foster made his Aberdeen debut in 2003.
Prior to joining Bristol City in 2012, he spent a season on loan at Rangers and he returned to the Glasgow club in 2013.
————————————————————–
Ricky Foster gets a big move to the Premiership.
LB
SOT
may be of interest
http://www.thevinylfactory.com/vinyl-factory-news/one-of-the-worlds-most-isolated-record-shops-opens-in-mongolia/
Marc Antoine Fortune was the last of the ‘big buy’ strikers and arguably the worst in recent years given his £3.8 million price tag IMHO
Complete waste of money resigned by WBA for an undisclosed fee.
Tamrabam,
To which Warbs replied, good we’re doing better than I expected
Desert bhoy
Cheers for all that info, s.aftican place sounded right up my street too.
We’ll probably just head down that way and take a look about and see what we fancy.
Seems people go out later here to eat ? We ate at 360 at 9ish last Nyt and was only getting busy when we left after 10.
Only got here late Saturday night so missed what sounds like good deal.. Leave again tomorrow sadly.
Proudbhoy,
MTT advice is just eat in the food court of the Dubai mall and use what you save to visit their aquarium it’s very impressive, in fact I prefer it to bloody fountains and lights.
wits,
I asked you last night if you could point me to your source that you used to say that most Irish people agree with macjay’s opinion that the IRA were just bloody murderers, I’m having trouble finding anything that supports your opinion as that is all I can credit it with as there appears to be no concrete evidence. If you have a source please share.
whitedoghunch@ 15 44.
Thanks – for the link..
Proudbhoy,
There is a restaurant across from the aquarium where you can see the public display of sharks and tuna, turtles and many other species swimming round in circles, it’s an amazing feat of engineering in its own right.
Canamalar… u still at Mughalina, or whatever it was called??
Desertbhoy,
In Abu Dhabi now, tourist area. Left Qatar in feb.
Rioskorrie
15:13 on
30 June, 2015
What is the Stars has alluded to the West Coast of Ireland which is absolutely stunning for scenery and natural beauty.
The guinness there is like another drink you will never have tasted before
You could do 2 weeks quite easily visiting Cork, Clare, Kerry and Mayo quite easily.
Its your call – the one thing ill suggest you consider is to focus on a region more intensely and enjoy what you find – or pick 1 spot from a region to allow yourself to get around Ireland clockwise as you have indicated you would like to do.
You might be trying to do too much in too little time and glaze past the best bits in a jack of all trades master of none kind of manner.
Contrary to What is the Stars would have you believe – the real Ireland starts where he thinks it finishes, in good Ulster.
(if you wanted to, you could use the number of Celtic tops you see as your benchmark to compare!!!)
Rioskorrie
15:13 on
30 June, 2015
I left out the village of Ballymote in County Sligo, which has a memorial for Brother Walfrid in what was his home village.
Cabanal at
Don’t think a food court will cut it with the boss.. You remember the name of the restaurant near the aquarium ?
Id much rather see that than a fountain show aswel ..love aquariums. Saw bit of the one at palms Atlantis.. Impressive.
proudbhoy/desertbhoy
hope to be in the dubliner sometime tomorrow night
dubaihoopscsc
Canamalar .. That was for u. Pre txt
Bustybhoy
I fly to Ireland tomorrow evening sadly, few more days would have been nice.
Would the dunbliner have anything on tonight or Ramadan put an end to that ?
Any bars worth checking out tonight that you know off ? Both of us late 20’s .
Was in mcgetigans on Sunday night, nice pub.
DBBIA @ 15:11
Try pulling that one on Johnathan Livingstone:-)
bournesouprecipe @ 15:45,
Well, would tend to disagree. MAF had everthing a forward should have.
Of course he didn’t quite pass the aul Kojo goal scoring striker thing but that apart…
As you are oft inclined to say if he didn’t have that wee flaw, and scored all his chances he’d be Pele – and would not playing for Celtic:-)
HailHail
Tell you what, if Ciftci is our limit, Big Peter made a big mistake…..he could have signed Boydychenko for buttons.
And you know, I wouldn’t be surprised.
In fact, Lee McCulloch wouldn’t cost much.
Get on it Peter…..are they on the list?
HH
Go on Peter….Keith Lasley, go get him.
HH