We had our 11th annual CQN Charity Golf Open at Aberdour in Fife yesterday and it was another brilliant occasion. £2000 was raised for good causes, including a local Aberdour need, Tommy Burns’ Charity and the Celtic Foundation.
My thanks to the Joe Miller, who regaled us with tales of Maradona, Jinky and Sugar Roy Aitken. The buzz he got from playing for Celtic is clear. The day wouldn’t be possible without Taggsybhoy and BlantyreKev, but it takes an entire crowd to make special nights like this, so thanks to each of you.
This afternoon’s game against Rennes is an important step towards getting the players fully fit but the 90 minutes have to be balanced against the Champions League qualifier on Wednesday. I expect Ronny will ask the players the burn the flame brightly for a short period, before making lots of changes.
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Really enjoyed the game today – good performances against a decent team that kept trying to play football. Rennes were obviously a fair bit short of fitness but I liked the Nos 6 and 15 – both knew how to play the sitting role in midfield. This is something we are well short of!
Britton again showed that he is far more accomplished at playing the ball forward than defending and Brown showed his rashness in getting involved in nonsense in a friendly!
First time this season watching NC in action – looks well short of fitness but seems to have a good attitude!
HH
Glad to see Efe getting the recognition he deserves. he is a football player, first and last, an African one at that. (I don’t mean that to be racist, simply that he shares a trait common to many of them of trying to play football all the time, rather than blooter it to safety.) Imo, apart from the Juventus game, when he should never have been on the park, he hasn’t made too many really bad mistakes. I do have to acknowledge that I often have my heart in my mouth when he is on the ball and is the last defender.
BGX. answer yir phone.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Roy croppie.
Tremendous post 14.36
was that the bus Willie and Mary G ran ?
let the people sing..
Gerryfaethebrig, I wish guys like Viduka and Berkovic had an attitude like Efe to go with their natural ability, or 70 per cent in Viduka’s case.
On Wednesday hopefully we don’t do anything daft, get a few goals and a clean sheet.
I hope we have checked out if Qarabag are good at defending free kicks and corners. If they are not, we should be working on our set pieces in the lead up to Wednesday.
I’m listening to e tims podcast with Billy Stark. One of our most underrated players in my opinion. Top guy and player.
Thompson Twin 1923-
I`m intrigued by this talk of third and fourth tier central and Eastern European teams who you are say are now able to invest much more than Celtic ever can into their team. Would you care to name any examples?
As far as I know, Celtic turn over £50 million on a bad year (i.e. Europa Lge qualification) and £75 million on a good year (Champions Lge qualification). As well as that we have the training facility at Lennoxtown, the youth development infrastructure which should in theory be producing players for the first team, a 60,000 stadium with all the additional matchday revenue that can produce through hospitality, food sales etc.
We also have a worldwide brand and fanbase with relatively high levels of disposable income that monetises itself to the club through sales of merchandise, Celtic TV subscriptions, overseas season tickets etc. We have the almost guaranteed income of circa 35,000-40,000 season tickets each year.
I cannot think of a team from Kazkhstan, Armenia, Slovenia, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Azerbaijan, Poland etc who can command any of these financial and sporting advantages. Nor am I aware of any oligarchs pumping £50 million per year into the local Azerbaijani team for example to get them into the CL.
Qarabag for instance dip into signing players from the likes of Rio Ave, a lower ranking team from Portugal. These teams aren`t signing the up and coming stars from central and Eastern Europe for £3-£5 million a pop. They`re signing journeymen who never made the grade in the leagues of Portugal, Spain (Liga B) etc.
You mention Maribor. That was a team of journeymen that knocked us out last season. They didn`t have a crop of outstanding young players who shone on the CL stage and subsequently were snapped up by other clubs across Europe. Those players are still there and the team that knocked us out was almost man for man the same team that were themselves eliminated at the first time of asking this year by the champions of Kazakhstan.
If we fall to teams from Slovenia, Kazakhstan or Azerbaijan we should ask the question why do we not get enough bang for buck despite the advantages that I listed that we hold over these teams. Can we get better on the park, in the dug-out and in the board room? I would suggest yes to all if we are failing more often than not at the CL qualifier stage, bearing in mind you can have the odd year of exceptional bad luck or catastrophe (such as last year).
And if we fail at CL qualifiers level we should not try to console ourselves with an abusive and corrupt rivalry with a Zombie football club that plays host to redneck OO trailer trash that wishes it were back in the 1690s. We should be looking up at the likes of Basel – a team who are a fixture in the CL despite having to negotiate qualifiers, coming from a smaller league and being denied the TV big bucks like us – rather than looking down at the likes of Sevco to define our level of realistic and sustainable ambition for our football club.
You`re post read to me like you`re trying to get someone`s excuses in early for failure in the qualifiers this year.
big archie
Thanks mhate, the very bus. Some great characters on it.
HH
Big Efe may not be one of the most talented players to wear the hoops but one things for sure he gives his all and doesn’t hide in the treatment room and for me that puts him ahead of others in the squad.
Went into the stadium in the company of Wee Fra today .. sorry, but a cup to tea doesn’t buy my silence .. .
After entering in front of him, I stopped as he seemed to have trouble getting the new system to recognise his ST. After a number of attempts, the steward pointed out he was using his bank card :-)))
Told him to check his bank account incase he had been deducted a match ticket for each try.
Enjoyed his company during the first half – nice to see a different aspect of WS2 .
Next time – chez moi Wee Fra
As said, a two goal win against Qarabag should be enough to take us through.
A funny thing happened to me today…huns that I’ve not heard from for over three years are texting me again!
I’ve not replied, as I know they will fall financialy and I’ll nail the monkeys to the wall when the time comes.
Fav uncle…Will text you Monday D..
Jerome67,
I saw him in last year’s pre season game against East Kibride FC, even though they were a Lowland League team, Joe along with Paul McMullan , were our players who stood out in that game.
He showed for the ball a couple of times today. A good sign for any player.
dallas dallas
He had been a huge player for us until the Juve game because of his performances, especially in Europe.
Hindsight says he shouldnt have played that night after all the travelling, Internationals and whatever partying was done after winning the tourney but i know i hoped he would be back in time and in our team.
Don’t think i was the only one that felt that way.
As much as Efe should have done better our formation should have been too and we played such an open game.
Too open.
Ah well.
Its gone now but i am glad Efe is still with us.
Roy croppie .
was the first bus I travelled in circa 79 and I always remember
w repeating Nnnnaae drinking on the bus .. Always ignored.
went on bus to Tynecastle two seasons back and daughter A
Running a great bus.
let the people sing…
When Scotland play england in the world cup will part of the english team Abstain as usual…seems the norm…
roy croppie and big archie:
Roy, told you mate I was a member of the Bus back in the day. Big Archie think you were as well or did you just travel on it a few times?
Keep the Faith!
Hail Hail!
the glorious balance sheet
20:52 on 25 July, 2015
————————————
Well said that man.
Far better than that jingoistic crap being spouted by former congressman Allen West.
What’s the score with Commons?
big archie
Yeah AM runs the Bus now, lives in ML5, great woman.
Keep the Faith!
Hail Hail!
PS. Roy croppie a cracking post from earlier, i did similar in my youth, the worries I must have given my mum when I was a youngster!
They say you reap what you sow…p**h, I was just a loose cannon when I was young, maybe more from my da’s side.
Luckily, I turned into Mr normal and brought two great kids up. Still, I’m not sleeping well knowing my daughter is in Kavos on her first holiday with her friends, I’ll be glad when she is home.
Roll on Wednesday.
Pog…,
I only got as far as a yank accusing anyone else of state funded terrorism, had a wee laugh, that was enough, he was right about one thing though, he is not very bright.
To be fair to the three sevconians arrested at Easter Road for sectarian singing, they had powerful singing voices.
big archie
Good people as lennybhoy has said. I was a member for about 20 yrs before I moved. Some great times and laughs.
HH
GBS,
A fine post. Thompson twin did raise some intriguing points though.
Maribor was an absolute disaster. Just as Legia was. Polish and Slovenian football is mediocre. Scottish football may be worse but we have money. We didn’t use it.
We have, as you have highlighted, many advantages over teams from Bulgaria etc.
No excuses this year. Get a striker pronto.
sipsini
Thanks mhate. Know that feeling eldest off to Ibiza this week.
HH
Sipsini, I don’t like to worry you but an old neighbour had a saying ‘ you cannae breed tame rabbits from wild’ :)
Thunder Road, I agree with all of your post at 20.59.
The two games against Serie A’s equivalent of the deid club here, hurt me as we should have been more compact against them.
Efe missed a good chance also in the first game which didn’t endear him to some of our support.
The Etims podcast with Billy Stark is enjoyable. Its a good listen. He said Souness was some player but was a nasty bit of business on the pitch.
Lennybhoy.
I was too young to be a member..
let the people sing..
Evening folks.
Anyone know how the tickets will be distributed ? I’m a season ticket holder and just purchased my seat on-line.
Mensah is a far better player than Danny Wilson.
Mind you, that wouldn’t be difficult.
HH!!
Captain Beefheart
21:15 on 25 July, 2015
GBS,
A fine post. Thompson twin did raise some intriguing points though.
Maribor was an absolute disaster. Just as Legia was. Polish and Slovenian football is mediocre. Scottish football may be worse but we have money. We didn’t use it.
We have, as you have highlighted, many advantages over teams from Bulgaria etc.
No excuses this year. Get a striker pronto.
——————
I think one of the issue is, despite having ‘money’, we don’t have much profit (spare cash), every penny we make we spend out (mainly on wages). We should bring in the living wage for some of our squad ;o)
Being in the UK we pay good wages to far to many average footballers, I don’t know why a footballer in Poland/Holland is happy to accept £1k a week yet when we try to sign them the wages jump to 5-10 times that.
Tally,
Scary thing is that we seriously contemplated signing Wilson. The mind boggles.
Weeman, enjoyable wee speech.
BCW
Unfortunately I won’t make it on Wednesday due to hols but I believe that as a ST holder once you buy a ticket your season book will be activated.
Three huns arrested at Easter Road for sectarian singing?
Were they three tenors?!
HH!!
tally…,
That’ll be the fines
roy croppie…
It’s a worry, my daughter has been texting me and mailing me constantly, other than getting sunburnt (warned her) and mosquitoe bites alls well.
I can’t remember who posted it last week but told her a glue pen took the itching away…:)
______
craigelllachie 10…
Thanks for putting my mind at rest :)
weeman67 @ 20:32,
A little OT but what a speech………..
“GOD BLESS AMERICA”
Predates the puppeteer myself…..
Who said “I hate Illinois Nazis”
Struth stranger than fiction.
Hail Hail
Barcelona corner defending failure v Man Utd allows Rooney free header to score.
Not sure what system they were using. Looked like the old “put 6 men at the front post and hope they can’t get it over them” or a variation thereof.
Didn’t work.