These pages have seen Gordon Strachan written off many times since those four days in August 2005 when Celtic conceded nine goals to Artmedia and Motherwell. Last night, as Scotland manager, he got the breaks. First, at the most ridiculous dive for a penalty ever perpetrated by a player on a yellow card (and I have seen Steven Naismith), then, when tired defensive limbs contrived to concede a late winner for Scotland.
If he gets a result away to Slovenia on Sunday, he will have earned whatever grudging appreciation goes his way. A generation of adults have never seen Scotland at an international tournament. They don’t know the joys of losing 3-0 to Morocco, watching a defensive wall shirk at a free kick, or celebrating as an Iranian scored an own goal to deliver a point. It’s time they learned.
Little about Scotland’s success is good news for Celtic. Should we win the league, our first qualification round will start two weeks after the tournament kicks off. Although that round is unlikely to provide a particularly stiff challenge, consider what happened to Newco when they arrived unprepared against Luxembourg semi-professionals.
Even if Scotland don’t reach the finals in Russia, a second place finish in the group for Scotland would see the players face two play-off games in the middle of our Champions League group games, and the possibility of a League Cup final.
Brendan Rodgers will wish his players every success, but he would surely not be too distressed to share hard luck stories with them when they return to training next week. The club-v-country debate has kicked around for decades, but I doubt if any club/country combo has seen it as acute as it is for Celtic and Scotland right now.
Catch up with this CQN Podcast from last month when we interviewed Celtic star from the Centenary season, full back Chris Morris. It’s a great listen…
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You feel “something” has to happen over Sevco way. Soft loans can’t go on forever and you have the takeover panel on glibby’s case.
Be surprised if Murray is in the frame though. As Robert Tressell says, the costs involved would be well into the tens of millions. And no generous BOS to tap into!
Oh, and what would happen to “Auchenhowie”? Surely it would have to be re-re-named!
Rename it to The Murray Park.
I don’t believe Murray is planning a comeback. Took him years to find a patsy. I doubt he’d be able to find another.
Murray would be putting on his own handcuffs coming back to the Doomdome and putting himself back in the spotlight but then again he’s a bawheided blowhard of the highest order, as for the Cardigan, he has flown so far under the EBT radar like the sleek it hun dog he is I would be very surprised if he stuck his head above the parapet again but that being said “there’s an air of Protestant supremacy about the place..
Jailralottathum!
As someone posted, how long can sevco go on for given the fact they are limping along with the aid of soft loans. There lies in the problem as long as there are sympathisers of the oldco around, sevco will last forever, unfortunately. Regardless if Parks or anybody else for that matter props them up.
I take little interest in JJ, Phil Mac and others who write frequently predicting their demise. In my opinion there will always be reincarnation of oldco playing out of ibrokes. So long as there they will to the world be the same club. They are and always will be the establishment’s club, more is a pity!
We need Padlocks, now!
Keep the Faith!
Hail Hail!
LENNYBHOY
The huns only hope is a masonic sugar daddy.
They’re FUBAR’d without that.
And if they don’t get some light at the end of the tunnel pretty damn soon,their support will disappear like snaw affa dyke. Just like in the early 80s.
OncomingtrainCSC
One thing is certain about the Huns.They cannot carry on as they are.Parks cannot keep putting their money in,it would eventually run out.It could be the case,that there is shady money coming into the place keeping them afloat,but without any financial obligations to adhere to,how would we ever know.How they still get away with unaudited accounts is one of the biggest scandals in a list of many.When was the last time their accounts were signed off?.They are not running on ST money and the odd top up from Parks,that is clearly obvious.
Should be interesting to see the outcome of the King hearing next week.
Anyway,Eibar.
In my day that was an engineering material. But my two sisters are off to Madrid soon and Real play Eibar while they are there.
They are VERY grateful for the responses re things to do,and places to eat or see while they are there,but…
Does anyone know the best way to get two tickets for that match?
They’d ask you all themselves,but they are perfectly happy to lurk,and have the occasional social wi the troops when possible. Let us do the hard work!
All assistance gratefully accepted,as always.
Has anyone any news on Eboue?.Someone told me he was back in training.Could he be available for the Dundee game?.Still nothing on Jozo I take it.
We have and still have the same governing body to make sure everything is right and proper, so no worries there, or at least no clubs other than Celtic think this an issue.
Can someone tell me the difference between the huns getting loan after loan, and trading insolvent?
TURKEYBHOY
The source of their funds is,IMO,being obscured behind the fog of “soft loans”
Those sources are unlikely to be soft men. They WILL want their pound of flesh,and it is owed to them by Glibby.
I reckon he is unlikely to return to the UK. Maybe once or twice,but his time’s up. And it can be difficult hiding from proper criminal organisations apparently.
When you go in too deep,you might sleep with the fishes,to paraphrase The Godfather.
I put that in for Mikeintoronto!!!
Interesting Thoughts on JJ’S Blog Today…
I’m in agreement with most views.
Sevco are in an untenable posotion but SDM won’t be heading or funding any “Rangers” revival or third “Rangers”.
Still, no smoke without fire… no doubt Murray’s patsy plan has back fired to a huge extent and he has a large amount of EGG on his face.
If they revive a Strong Rangers and he had his fingerprints on the Royal Blueprint I think it would go some way to restoring his very tarnished reputation. Important I would imagine for doing Business in Scotland.
Walter Smith is a staunch, loyal, Rangers diehard. When we first met Sevco in a match, it was in a Glasgow Cup Final, as it was a junior Competition against a Newco it was pretty low key for us. Yet Walter Smith was in the Sevco dressing room giving their boys (who of course seen him as a legend) the team talk. They went out and won the game.
The Glasgow Derby draw last Season (2-2). Rumour has it and I’m inclined to believe it, that Walter Smith was behind their Caretaker Managers preparation for the game… with true Blue Walter there and an Equally Partisan Referee, Sevco got a result.
So I’m sure the Sham they’re seeing masquerading as Rangers Football Club will be heart breaking for them.
No doubt there’s others who feel Rangers’ Supremacy is paramount and they don’t do humble pie too well. In fact I’m sure it sticks in a lot of throats.
3rd, 4th or 5th in the League!? ComeOn! As it stands there is no way back, no stopping the ten in a row. Continuity Rangers is a failure.
One thing you can bet your bottom dollar on, there will be people looking at every possible avenue to turn this situation round. So I think it is possible, even likely, that there is a plan evolving to get “Rangers Back” and I find it highly likely that the usual suspects could be involved.
What I can’t see is how they do it. Several years ago I predicted that Sevco would have to find an Additional £30M a year to compete with Celtic of course it didnt happen and looking back that seems a conservative figure.
Now, well at least an additional £50M per annum over 3 plus years. Add to that the cost of putting all that’s wrong with the Club now, No Retail, Fix the Stadium, Pay the debts and Soft Loans – thats another £30M right there before they start.
If they are concocting a plan it has to be very radical and very well financed to have any chance of success. They may be talking about it but I can’t see it happening.
Hail Hail
!BADABING!
I’m in England,so aye.
You’re in Scotland,so it will get lost in translation.
Hope yer smashing,big fella,and in training for 11/11
Chairbhoy
Plenty people have said there are issues with the stadium , roofs asbestos general deterioration, but, despite all the talk safety certificates allowing them to operate out of Ibrox continue to be granted, are these issues real or imagined?
DESSYBHOY @ 1:31 PM,
Of course that is a very good point, it comes back to how much you believe the bloggers…
But certain facts have emerged, there was issues with the safety certificates and remedial (short term?) Action had to take place.
There has been debris falling from the roof and a temporary fix of “safety netting” was required.
Add to that, the Craig Whyte trial revealed that a substantial contingency was required to “fix” the stadium (£5m??). That money was never spent, that was seven years ago and they have got by on patching up every Season. At some point substantial funds will be needed to bring the Stadium to “working” order. Even more for the substantial refurbishment and upgrading it really needs.
Any new plan might have Hampden as a key component;)
Hail Hail
CHAIRBHOY
Will that be the Hampden which SFA/SPFL are actively looking at vacating?
What a coincidence.
Bmcuw
Local, British or even interested International Larry Graysons had plenty opportunity the last six years to bail out the Huns. All potential big hitters decided to body swerve.
Unless of course some Masonic Qatari Sheik emerges. Sheik Mahon?
More chance of the Vatican pumping in funds.
BMCUW @ 2:00 PM,
Yes, my thoughts exactly when I heard that.
Short term or Long Term who knows, but Sevco at Hampden looks a distinct possibility.
Hail Hail
MARRAKESHEXPRESS
Always good to hear from you-and hit the target as ever.
There are,of course,Real Rangers Men with shed-loads of money. The huns hung their bowlers on one stepping up.
They forgot one thing. You don’t become a billionaire by throwing money away.
Only thousandaires do that.
*** LMS9 – ALL THE WEEK 2 PICKS***
In the middle of painting so I’ll be brief – this week’s choices are shown below.
Good luck
Jobo
Friday 6th October
Georgia v Wales [7]
Saturday 7th October
Bosnia and Herzegovina v Belgium [3]
Bulgaria v France [17]
Switzerland [22] v Hungary
Sunday 8th October
Denmark [3] v Romania
Poland [29] v Montenegro
Lithuania v England [36]
Slovenia v Scotland [1]
Norway [1] v Northern Ireland [2]
BMCUW 1:02
Spot on. They need some kind of “hope” asap or crowds will drift. That then has a further knock-on re finances.
The problem for them is that they see the success they had was genuine. Nothing to do with the £250m of other people’s money!
The gap that currently exists between us and the new club would have been the same to the old club if they had been running on a sustainable basis.
Bmcuw
Purely hypothetical of course but I’ve always thought that if we were in such hun-like peril, we would not be without suitors with real clout, and I’m thinking American. Our brand appeal is far beyond that of the Klan club worldwide. Then again, by the time the Scottish msm had completed their year long 8 page daily pull out hatchet job on CFC maybe nobody would touch us.
All rubbish though and anyway not our nightmare .
Jobo Baldie on 7th October 2017 2:17PM
It’s no biggie but my pick isn’t included in the list of runners and riders for LMS9W2. It was a second life, necessary following Huddersfield’s doomed effort last week, although I confess to not reading every line of the rules email sent to me. Are you doing buybacks?
I chose Latvia to win against the odds in the baltic Faroe Islands today on an email to the gmail address on Tues 3rd Oct at approximately 1.26PM, as far as I remember. Kick-off is 5pm, so off now to find a pub which is showing it.
BOBBY MURDOCH’S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS
I am going to Madrid next week when their only home game is Spurs so I won’t bother with that.
Looked at the website for Eibar tickets. Both goal ends say no tickets available.
There are tickets for the other two sections starting at …250 euro!
FFS!
Confined to the house this afternoon. Listening to RS for once. Actually heard a lot of sense spoken. Scotland, of course, is the topic. But have enjoyed the contribution of Michael Stewart particularly.
Fortunately, the likes of Chick and his ilk have had little input.
PCS 3.55pm
Mikey Stewart is brilliant on the radio, he (like most of us) loves wee KT, you are spot on he does talk a lot of sense and seems impartial, which should be a given and not a surprise :-)
BOBBY MURDOCH’S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS on 7TH OCTOBER 2017 1:16 PM
Bobby
Might be worth contacting Triskel Tavern. Home of CSC.
Cheap eats…..El Tigre…just ofc Gran Via. Buy a drink & eat like a king.
HH
BMCUW….
There is discord amongst thems, I here what’s left of them in the work arguing until they see my fenian smirk approach and change the subject.
The only way to really to bury a corpse is to bury it with their flutes and all.
Ban them from staggering down our streets.
Simple.
I turned over to Radio Scotland after hearing the usual nonsense Music when out driving earlier.
Michael Stewart was talking sense, an actual insight into the game.
Only 5 minutes of listening howevaaaah.
Mikael Lustig starts for Sweden ~ KO in five minutes
Great ball in from Mikael “legs have gone ” Lustig for Sweden’s second
I went to the Pollok Clydebank game at Newlandsfield this afternoon , Pollok won 4 nil.
Our very own Benyu was watching the game . He spent a fair amount of time chatting to other spectators including Matt McGlone .
He was talking to a Clydebank player after the match who was possibly one of his pals .
As I approached the Morrison’s at Newlands , the Tufty club were out marching for whatever reason, heading towards Kilmarnock Road. The marching season for them seems to be never ending.
Dallas
They were “walking” in ML5 today also
The walking dead
They have eff all else in their lives
Happy days
Mikael “legs have gone” Lustig header net bound till his own man blasts it over the bar
TET ~ got a link?
Full sectarian songbook currently being aired by Linfield fans at Tannadice. It’s on bbc Alba.
Wonder what the local plod will think. I remember them being an enthusiastic bunch whenever I was up there.
Gerry , they were probably marching as their team never had a league game today.
I received a text earlier saying sevco had a behind closed doors game at Cappielow today . They drew 3 each with Ryan Jack getting sent off for the second game on the trt
Linfield fans angrily singing ‘fck the IRA’ to a bemused, half empty tannadice. Great game to take the weans to.