CQNers are a new type of community. We mostly, though not always, share interests but we are anchored in commons values. The achievements of the community are incredible. We’ve made friends, some of whom are no longer with us and who shared their darkest hours on these pages, while others were lost in an instant.
Those lost friends now have a memorial stone outside Celtic Park, a credit to their memory. Thanks to all who contributed.
You and I have been talking Moneyball for six years. We’ve been convinced of the merits since then, most of the world is now, so it’s gratifying to know a manager would rather lose his job than succumb to the new orthodoxy. Very brave of Mark Warburton, he has the makings of an ideal Newco manager.
Last week I wrote that I expected Newco to appoint Stuart McCall as permanent manager. He was a reliable choice, had taken Motherwell to two consecutive second place SPL finishes, knew the task, had spent years scrapping around for free transfers and, let’s face it, is a ‘Real Rangers Man’. I would not have looked past him.
Warburton managed Brentford for two years, winning promotion in the first and taking them to the play-off semi-finals in April, but Brentford is the story of owner, Matthew Benham, who has invested close to £50m in the club. Warburton is fortunate to find two consecutive owners intent on spending £50m living the dream……. you do have the money for him, Dave, don’t you?
Fans Against Criminalisation issued this statement yesterday:
“Our view is that from the outset, despite the claims from the then First Minister, Alex Salmond, that he ‘wished to build consensus’ the only support that the government has managed to attract for the Act is that of the Police Service of Scotland and the only consensus that is being built is that of the opposition to this dreadful, unworkable and pernicious legislation.
Their claim of public support for the Act is based on figures which show that people want action on sectarianism and not specifically that they support this Act. They also conveniently ignore the fact that the overwhelming majority of sectarian offences (ie those with religious aggravation) do not take place in football grounds [http://www.gov.scot/resource/0042/00424865.pdf]. In addition, many of the incidents for which people have been charged under the Act are unrelated to sectarianism.
We deplore:
• The action of the Scottish Government in giving off-the-record press briefings alleging that the Act will stay in place. This undermines the integrity of the Review process and the role of Parliament and its members.
• The use of the statistics from a highly skewed YouGov poll commissioned by the government to mislead the public.
• The continued reference by the Government to the Stirling research as being the ‘Review’ which the legislation requires them to have is an attempt to prevent the full and transparent examination of the Act which the public in general, and football fans in particular, expect and are entitled to. These claims are made despite a statement issued by the University of Stirling on Friday (12/6/15) afternoon that the work produced by their team is not ‘the review’ and their work cannot be interpreted as ‘an endorsement of the Act’.
We note:
• The conviction rate for this Act over the whole period of its existence is standing at 22%. This compares with a conviction rate for rape (itself notoriously low) in 2013-14 of 41%
• The scale of the resource devoted to enforcing this Act (including a specialised unit of the police service) which necessarily diverts finances and manpower from the detection and prosecution of more serious offenders.
We pledge:
• To continue to oppose this legislation by all peaceful means until it is repealed.
We call on the Government to listen to football fans; to listen to those whose lives have been drastically affected by a piece of legislation which is a stain on the justice system of Scotland.”
We have the most right-wing left-wing government in history.
573 Comments- Pages:
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paisley bhoy
23:13 on 15 June, 2015
Scotland: ” a feeble little country”. David Starkey 23rd April 2009.
——–
Starkey’s extreme utterings are in direct proportion to his media exposure.
Academic / historian – who initially was fairly accessible and informative – who has fallen in love with his own celebrity persona.
Getting more rabbid as he gets older – happens to a lot of people, but most don’t get the same platform to spout their racist views.
HH
BGFC
WeefratheTim
23:08 on
15 June, 2015
Wee Bertie on Sky117 now.
Weefra HH praying to Wee Oscar.
Hi Weefrathe Tim ………. love Bertie :-)))
HH
I somehow think that Stuart McCall twitter page is a spoof. He appears to be following only one thing and that’s Warburton’s bread!
Mr Pastry
23:23 on
15 June, 2015
Richard Wilson’s BBC piece on Warburton is the biggest load of sycophantic tripe I have ever come accross – this was the same ***hole with would have torn Boyata to shreds, but for the intervention of Owen Coyle, on BBC, about ten days ago.
The same shit that we got with Murray, Whyte, Green, King, The Blue Knights, The Three Bears, McCoist, McCall, is now being fed us by the Scottish gutter press, as they once again close ranks – the Wilson story is an attempt to twist the knife.
They are all determined to sing from the same hymsheet, because they know they are now in the last chance saloon – it’s them against the world, they believe, even though the Scottish media, en masse, are four square behind them.
================================================
Chill
Where has all their fawning, forelock tugging pash got them?
The higher they punt them up the moonbeam fairy story land, the deeper hole they get into.
Point and laugh……….works for me
Big George, he is a nuisance. However, not nearly as bad as that odious Hobsbawm who tried to justify the deaths of tens of millions of Russians.
Goodnight Timland
HH
Politics was never spoused on CQN leading articles in the early days. It was a unique Celtic web site because it highlighted the real financial nature of the Glasgow Celtic Football Club which we all love. It wasn´t St Pauli or Irish Independence which the articles were about. It was about spending or not spending the Seville money and you taught us what amortisation meant Paul.
Many kept our political views to ourselves. This is becoming more difficult as the anti SNP tirades go on. Apart from being completely out of touch with the population and many Celtic supporters, I can only assume the anti SNP vitriol has its roots in the the Scottish Labour Party. I get the feeling that some people are hankering after the days when John Reid, Brian Wilson, Jim Murphy and the like ruled the roost, they who benefited from the football classes of our country, who were elected on a socialist ticket but then supported war in the name of British Imperialism around the world. NO LESS. Iraq anybody?
It´s not that I support the SNP so much but the implicit support for Blair, Thatcher, Jack McConnell, George Foulkes, Nicky Fairbairn, Michael Forsyth and the Right Honourable Malcolm Rifkind in this article is just ludicrous. How can the SNP possibly be more repressive than all these people we have seen in Scottish politics in the last 45 years. Are there women in the SNP? Quite a few, and asians and frenchmen too. There weren´t many women in Scottish university student unions back in the day when Labour students had no problem running the exclusively Men´s union at Glasgow University and I am talking about the late seventies here. Some of us know the history because we lived the history.
Better off with Jerry Maguire and Hail Mary passes Paul. Because I respect you as a businessman but I feel you need a crash course in Scottish politics. John McLean is not a bad person to start with. A wee free frae Pollockshaws in his youth, who through education and experience would later suppport Irish Independence and Scottish Independence.
Captain Beefheart
23:11 on
15 June, 2015
Just making a comment on one of the smaller Glasgow based teams in Scottish Football. You gottta think about the bigger picture sometimes as one day this newco may aspire to help the Scottish European co-efficient , ha. ha!
HH
CRC
Tin legs had problems climbing the marble staircase…….Eat the breed might be able to negotiate it better…….what wi those shoogly knees !!!!!
Suspect that’s not a legit twitter account.
Not McCalls style at all.
HH
WeefratheTim
23:08 on
15 June, 2015
Wee Bertie on Sky117 now.
Weefra HH praying to Wee Oscar.
Hi Weefrathe Tim ………. love Bertie :-)))
HH
Hi Dena,
So disillusioned with the blog at the mo. Too many self righteous, so called, supporters. The change from when the blog started 10+ years ago, beggars belief. It was a Celtic blog then, it’s now a platform for every self seeking screwball to air their views for free. THEY KNOW WHO THEY ARE. They are ruining this Sacred Site to the detriment to real Celtic ..why do I try.
Weefra HH praying to Wee Oscar.
topkat
Its been a while since we have caught up!
Hope you are well?
HH
CRC
rimtimtim
“I can only assume the anti SNP vitriol has its roots in the the Scottish Labour Party. I get the feeling that some people are hankering after the days when John Reid, Brian Wilson, Jim Murphy and the like ruled the roost”
If you can look past some of the more rabid stuff, far from there being a preponderance of anti-SNP vitriol, you will find there has been much much much much more anti-Labour Party comments on CQN by a factor of around 4 to 1. Before you stumble upon a comment which fails to pay homage to Nicola and Alex, you will scroll past several items of self-praise from SNP and Yes men proclaiming Nicola as the new stateswomen for our age, proclaiming progressive virtues which are present within the party but not, funnily enough, in their legislation, or just giving Jim Murphy or Ed Who? or Joanne Lamont a kicking. But all of that may seem like sensible politics to you if you only spot the offence when your side is attacked.
Feel free to attack the Labour Party for all the sins it was involved with. I’ll join in with you when it comes to the Iraq War, nose in the trough expenses, and developing policy via opinion polling.
However this isue is about the OBaF Act, and the reason the SNP are het is because they are the one and only party in favour of launching it and keeping it. All other parties, with all their other myriad faults, are opposed to this Act. It exists and continues to exist only because of bloc voting and iron discipline to stifle dissent from the SNP itself.
And we will only defeat this trend if SNP activists, councillors, MSPs and MPs break ranks and say “let this daft thing die!” Will you be one to place loyalty to the SNP above your regard for Celtic men and women, and fans of other clubs, who have suffered from this daft Act’s provisions.
I’ll do you a deal.
I’ll “educate” myself about John McLean, if you break ranks and let your fellow SNP guys know about the dissatisfaction you have with them in this area of football.
Look, here’s evidence of me doing my homework:-
“John MacLean’s later embrace of a Scottish Workers Republic as a shortcut to the socialist transformation of society was a product of his despair at the lack of progress being made by Britain-wide socialist and Marxist parties.”
He does not sound like a Nationalist, per se, to me. I better research some more.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uAs5cyy5EM
awfy braw
NB…
A great wee tune about a big man. It’s time for a new one to fill his boots.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61etFdGpXq8
even brawer
evening sipsini…..for your good self ….https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHoL345GNC8
braw
It has struck me, living where I do, and being essentially an outsider, how diametrically opposed the majority of labour support that CQN espouses to the majority of Tims.
Just see Twitter for evidence of that.
Am I wrong, or overstating the issue?
awee diddy ….written for an awfy awfy braw bhoy….https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHOorKBE3zM
braw….
getyoualltappingcfc
braw
31 Celsius, some of the finest Belgian beer on the planet, rowdy company and a fest of woman’s football about to kickoff.
NoBlueMondayHereCSC
SDB
“It has struck me, living where I do, and being essentially an outsider, how diametrically opposed the majority of labour support that CQN espouses to the majority of Tims. ”
Care to quantify that perception?
Who or what is this majority Labour support on CQN- I would estimate around 10 to 12 regular posters who I’d identify as being Labour or anti-SNP. I could easily list 30 plus Yes men.
wan for San Diego Bhoy…….https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g98uN5Drbww
concentrate on the braw side of life…..no quwantifecation required …
braw
setting free the bears for res. 12 & oscar knox
00:25 on 16 June, 2015
Truly, I’m not looking to start a stooshie.
From a critical look at social media, it would imply that the majority of the Celtic support voted for independence and consequently the SNP.
Is that just representative of the cyber savvy fan, or is that accurate across the demographic?
neustadt-braw
00:31 on 16 June, 2015
Cheers pal.
Intae the bier und schadenfreude…
:-))
Still laughing at 6-1.
my intercostals are giving my rib bones a hard hard time….sevco should have health warnings before and after announcements ….we live in braw times
may it never end …
braw
hail hail
Being here in the US, the headlines created by Robert King of the Angola 3 wearing the Hoops on CNN has been momentous.
His message even more so.
A gigantic market slumbers in North America.
always a capital S …..Schadenfreude…..that is in the running for brawest word of the year…
braw
Robert’s choice of the Lisbon anniversary strip shows he is no mug either.
SDB
“Truly, I’m not looking to start a stooshie.
From a critical look at social media, it would imply that the majority of the Celtic support voted for independence and consequently the SNP.
Is that just representative of the cyber savvy fan, or is that accurate across the demographic?”
Me, neither- just clarity.
I accept that the majority of the Celtic support but, by no means unanimous, are Yessers and, by now, SNP supporters.
I think the online presence of that SNP majority, on twitter or elsewhere can misrepresent their actual size. You would still be surprised at how many core Labour Party supporters there still are among the Celtic support, minority though we may be.
My contention was against your view that CQN was a majority Labour supporting blog.
Our presence here may be larger than elsewhere, more vociferous or more confident, but it is not greater in number. As I said- just list, by blog name, those that you imagine to be Labour supporting CQNrs and, without research, I could type you a list 3 times as long of CQNrs who are not.
setting free the bears for res. 12 & oscar knox
00:47 on 16 June, 2015
Fair enough.
My Celtic “education’ was by and through the influence of my late uncle.
I won’t even attempt to describe just how red, left-ish, or whatever the correct term is.
Fabian Society members would have blushed in his presence.
aye the hoops are beautiful and easily the most instantly recognised anywhere in football…
I loved typing that ….
braw
Aye, Schadenfreude.
During the 90’s I was traveling the world on ships, subject the the typical style wink and nudge humour of der hun.
How I wish I had kept in touch with a few of them.
bet a few of them hiv jumped ship….splash splash
braw
Thems orange yins dinnae like it being handed tae them.
rintimtim
I am a founder member if you like on CQN. I now have my place on the Club Deck, …….
bailing rapidly.
Anyway, in those far off days of yesteryear there was only a small number of posters discussing the merits of the balance sheets, amortization and the fact that debits appeared on the windae side of the room.
It’s inevitable that the scope of the blog and the range of interests become more diverse.
I like to think I am apolitical and usually scroll past. The fact that I live beyond Scotland’s socialist shores means that I am not party to any of the parties, or cliques or get togethers.
I am still of the opinion that CQN is the best blog on the Timosphere and I keep coming back, even if I don’t post as regularly.
McLeod saves.
gg
02:10 on 16 June, 2015
rintimtim
As a serial lurker, I remember both of you from the early days. I never had the gumption to post back then, until I realized that it’s unlikely anyone would read my mince anyway.
FullSteamAheadCSC