I spent a lot of time last season defending Stefan Johansen. His goals, goals created and interceptions stats were incredible. He needed defending because apart from when he was scoring or creating goals, lots of his work was done off the ball. Those who take note of off the ball work, his direct opponents, voted him Player of the Year (those who follow the ball, or action on TV, miss lots).
This season’s been different, none of the markers he put down a year earlier have been met. I don’t have enough information to explain why this is, so I’m not going to absolve the player from responsibility, but what we got from him on his return to Norway on international duty was the talking part of a good game:
“I am dissatisfied with the way I was playing”
“But in recent months I have felt my rhythm is better and that my body is good”
Perhaps more importantly:
“We are going to get those two trophies [league and Scottish Cup]. We have decided to do that.”
You very occasionally hear players talk in those terms – “deciding” to win. I remember writing up that Fraser Forster “decided” to make the England World Cup squad. He made his mind up, put the vagaries of form and fortune out of his head.
The commitment from Fraser in the year-or-so before the 2014 World Cup was enormous. He worked harder than any Celtic player. Enormously harder than some. That’s how you decide something which isn’t actually your decision.
Stefan has a lot of work to do to get back to where he was a year ago. Only he can decide if the time for talking off the park is over.
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Donnycarney, from the Irish Domhnach Cáirne, means Carney’s chapel. I have no idea who Carney was. In 1916 the area would have been largely rural and only began to develop from the 1950s onwards when people were rehoused there from the run-down inner city and East Wall (docklands) areas. More than half the area was made up of council houses and it was only in the late 50s and 60s that private houses were built. I attended the local junior primary school and the senior boys primary school (Scoil Chiaráin) but to this day the area has never had its own secondary school.
https://dublintenementexperience.wordpress.com/2013/08/20/from-henrietta-st-to-donnycarney-with-peter-brannigan/
‘Famous’ former residents are Barney McKenna of the Dubliners
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barney_McKenna
Charles Haughey, former Taoiseach
Sarah Harding’s mother:-)
Luke Kelly, also of the Dubliners, had strong connections to the area and U2 attended the nearby Mount Temple Comprehensive School.
http://www.mounttemple.ie/people/famous-past-pupils/
Beside Parnell Park (our venue) is ‘Clontarf’ Golf Club. Clontarf is a good distance away but Donnycarney was too working class to name the golf club. Also nearby is the Casino, an architectural gem.
http://www.heritageireland.ie/en/dublin/casinomarino/
Donnyers, as we are known, have a unique grasp of the English language:
‘Soft’ ths are pronounced as T: 33 = tirty tree and
‘hard’ ths are Ds: this = dis
Local expressions include:
How many are you? (What age are you?)
Giz a birra dat (May I have a piece of that?)
I wanna do me toileh ( I need to go pee) and
Giz yer odds. (You are being mugged)
What is the Stars on 24th March 2016 7:46 pm
Sandman
I think he probably would get a longer sentence for “assaulting” an 8 year old than a 15 year old
=================================
That’s my point. No, he wouldn’t. They categorised his crime as an A1 offence – the most serious of child sexual offences.
Absurd.
Georgie Best, for all his tricks around Madchester in the 60s, would’ve gotten life these days.
Talk of the devil ……..
Hankray: I know, my younger bro is looking to be excused from setting-up duties to attend.
some swearin
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljPFZrRD3J8
We should simply be light years ahead of sevco. We have had a golden opportunity to lay the foundations for decades of Celtic domination and what do we have? A team that struggles to win against the most average of opponents. The plan was simple by the shysters in the suits – stay where you are and await the return of the hun. Leagues will be tight, bums on seats, “old firm” back in action, happy days. Sevco should be buried and our board should have ensured that however this was not part of their business model. Welcome back hatred, bigotry and the best derby in the world. Disgraceful and shameful. We should be not be part of this.
Charlie Gallagher? What a Player!
Biography by David Potter.
Forewords by Willie Wallace and Tommy Gemmell.
Published by CQN Books, May 2015.
Just love our Lions!
Ps same old Rangers….
Name change
Now WWW(GBWO)
Weet weet weet
HH
Sandman
We will leave it because these type of discussions can go off in tangents.This one already has.
Whats George Best got to do with it
He slept with a lot of women for sure,why wouldnt he.
However they were women….not children
6 years is a relatively light sentence for the rape of a child,thats why I maintain that he would have been treated more harshly had the child been 8 and not 15…
In the eyes of many she was as you said yourself ” an infatuated groupie” .That mindset takes some blame off the perpetrator and places it on the victim and is possibly reflected in the sentence.
Which is I am sure you would agree a dreadful state of affairs.
IVEHAD
?????
Winning Captains,
Put me down for the book in Charlie. Having it signed would be even better. As you say, what a player!! Class.
WHITS
—————-
Johnson wasn’t charged or convicted of rape
Unlike this bloke who got 3 years
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/woman-posed-as-man-to-have-sex-teenage-girls-jennifer-staines-bristol-a6948491.html
And now some music from Bill Wyman :O) World is f’d up
The Rolling Stones – (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction
We will be holding a raffle on the night which incudes:
A signed and dedicated copy of Pádraig Yeates’ book ‘Dublin in Civil War’
An AICSC t-shirt
A bottle of 60% scotch whiskey
A football autographed by some of Celtic’s first team
The main prize is an absolute cracker. It was especially prepared for our event and is provided by one of CQN’s many unsung heroes who doesn’t wish to be identified.
It is an A1 framed pencil drawing of the 1916 Proclamation surrounded by the 16 executed leadersand with the Gaelic header Éirí Amach na Cásca. The GPO and the courtyard in Kilmainham Gaol where the leaders were shot are also featured. There is a colour border of Lilies and at the bottom is a fitting Celtic motif marking the event we are organising.
It is an absolute masterpiece, the few people who have seen it think it is amazing. Whoever wins it on the night will be thrilled with it.
We will be in a position to sell copies of the art work after the event and will get a photo of the piece on the blog afterwards.
Míle buíochas to those who contributed the prizes.
The Rolling Stones – (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction
https://youtu.be/nrIPxlFzDi0
Parkheadcumsalford
Thanks. Charlie will be on CQN and will sign all the books for guys on the blog, with any personal messages.
Would like to get Ronny on too.
Correction: The bar will be open until 12.30am at Craobh Chiaráin.
Hello again all you young rebels.
Hope all you bhoys and ghirls going to Dublin have a fantastic
weekend i know if id been home i would have definitely been
there, as it is i would love to see any pics of the event.
We have our legend Willie Wallace tribute night Saturday at the
Bay Hotel Mornington and it sold out weeks ago people still
pleading for tickets.
Talking about pics, loads of ours from our Paddy’s day celebration
are up now on the Bay Hotel Mornington Facebook page and the
Social Celts Mornington Facebook page and i tried my very best
to upload them on here but it’s way beyond my old Guinness
addled brain, if any of you clever techie guys know how to then it
would be appreciated, lots of visitors from the U.K. and Ireland
who knows you may recognise some of them.
H.H Mick
thanks the huddle some proper music
Enjoying the virtual tour and history of Dublin.
Keep up the good work. Hugely interesting.
Jealous as hell mind ye.
Keep it lit.
Did it work
Aye
HH
Good Evening,
In the pantheon of world footballing terms, few words will ever resonate across the globe with as much reverence as the words Johan and Cruyff.
Born Hendrik Johannes Cruijff on 25th April 1947 just a few minutres walk from the old De Meer stadium in Amsterdam, the young Johan joined the Ajax youth system at the age of ten. He won eight Eredivisie titles and three European Cups with Ajax over his two spells with the club, not to mention a number of domestic cups.
In the 1966–67 season Ajax won the league championship, but also won the KNVB Cup, for Cruyff’s first “double” with Cruyff ending the season as the leading goalscorer in the Eredivisie with 33 and was voted player of the year. Had his club made it to the European Cup semi final that year then he would have faced the Lisbon Lions – but in that year while Cruyff’s Ajax would crush Shankly’s Liverpool 7-3 they were no match for Masopust’s Ducla Prague — unlike Stein’s Celtic.
In the 80’s, when Ajax refused to offer the grand old man a new contract marking the end of his second spell with his boyhood heroes, he promptly wandered off and signed for arch rivals Feyenoord and guided them to a league and cup double.
His move to Barcelona in 1973 for a then world Record fee would spark a renaisance and a revolution for the Catalan club. Their 5-0 drubbing of Real Madrid at the Bernabau where Cruyff ran riot led to mass street parties in the Catalan capital and this was repeated when Barca were crowned champions for the first time since 1960. It is said that Cruyff did more for Catalan independence in 90 minutes than numerous politicians had achieved in decades.
However it was the 1974 World Cup which really propelled him to International stardom.
They say that impersonation is the greatest form of flattery. In 1970, no one in Europe had ever seen the “step over” or the “elastico” performed by Rivellino and after the tournament, despite Pele being the absolute star of the show, it was the moustachioed brazilians tricks which were the talk of the playground.
However, in 1974, with one breathtaking turn Johan Cruyff stamped his name on a football move which was to remain uniquely his and which still bears his name to this day. That move would be impersonated by professional footballers and schoolboys alike in every corner of the globe from that day to this.
He would be player of the tournamnent by a country mile and the dutch team, inspired by Cruyff and his Ajax influence would be said to have changed the style of football forever. He would take that style to Barcelona and his legacy at the club is to be felt to this day.
It is said that had there been no Cruyff at the Camp Nou then players such as Iniesta, Xavi and Messi would have been rejected as too wee and not worth pursuing as kids.
As Manager he would bring fantastic players and fantastic football to the club and his team would defeat Sampdoria in both The European Cup Winners Cup and the European Cup with the result that suddenly Barcelona was the place to be as a footballer. He singlehandedly put Barcelona at the very centre of the modern footballing map.
He won the Balon D’or on three occasions and was voted second to Pele in the football team of the 20th Century.
Cuyff the player was no soft touch and he was the first Dutch International ever to be shown a red card.
However, he was a ballet dancer of a footballer, with an athletic slightly stooped running style and an endless ability to invent things with the football and his body. He is credited with once scoring a phantom goal where he pirouetted in mid air and back heeled the ball into the net from an acute angle whilst about 5ft up in the air.
He once said that “Football is played with the head- The legs are only there to help!” and on the pitch that proved to be so true.
Off the field of play, this was a man of principle. He stated that he could never play for Madrid as he wanted nothing to do with a team which was asociated with Franco.
He named his son Jordi after St George, the patron saint of Catalonia, at a time when the name had been banned in Spain by Franco — so Cruyff flew to Amsterdam and registered the birth there.
He refused to go to the 1978 World cup after his family and he had been held at gunpoint in a failed kidnap attempt, as he felt that it was far more important to be at home and to be near the family which had suffered such a trauma.
He founded the Johan Cruyff Foundation and the Johan Cruyff University and colleges to further the education of and the sporting development of children and there are over 200 Johan Cruyff Football pitches throughout the world in underpriviledged areas.
There is an asteroid and numerous footballing awards named after him, and he is known for his Cruyffisms — basically phrases which are a mixture of the blindingly obvious and the absurd – “Every disadvantage has its advantages.”
His Cruyffisms will never outshine his footballing skill though, and when he played he made other players play better, and when he managed he introduced Barcelona to the Tiki-taka series of short passes which the club remain the main proponents of to this day.
He was a footballer like no other and has been voted the sixth most important Dutch person of all time and the most imporatnt person in the history of Barcelona FC.
There will be weeping and wailing in Catalonia and Amsterdam tonight and no doubt many a prayer will be said for the man who was personally completely irreligious. His death will have brought a tear to the eye, yet his memory will always bring a smile to the face of any true football fan.
Many will see him as a genius and a god-like figure however I am delighted to be able to remind everyone that he was just a brilliant brilliant player and one hell of a man. God- had nothing to do with it.
Who says so?
Johan Cruyff of course – I leave you with his words on God, football and Spain. It is one of his greatest Cruyffisms.
You will not see or hear his likes again.
“In Spain all 22 players make the sign of the cross before a game, if it worked, every game would be a tie”
Johan Cruff – 1947 – 2016 – in footballing terms he will live forever.
Melbourne Mick: The flag I wanted finally arrived today, it’s exactly what I expected it to be like. I will display it on Saturday night in honour of all those who left Ireland due to centuries of British oppression.
Thanks to your good self and Paddymacoz for all your help. A glass will be raised to you both on Saturday night
BRTH
Superb tribute to Cruyff.
HH
That famous Cruyff turn
Check out the cross after it.
He Was No Lubo.
☺
RIP Johann, genius can be an over word used, but not today.
Roy C, Lucy, Hoooooooopy Birthday.
And Lucy, make sure your Dad spoils you!
Was out in the car and listening to the Scotland game on the radio, Alan Hutton gets his 50th cap for Scotland tonight, let that sink in, Alan Hutton has 50 caps for Scotland. When you think the majority of the Lions didn’t reach 30 that’s staggering….
Good stuff tonight on 1916, Dublin & Johan Cruyff, hate international breaks but some quality posts tonight making it much more bearable…
The Strokes – You Only Live Once
https://youtu.be/0vhyej58a4o
In Malones for a wee reb night
Sorry I can’t make Dublin but what has Ireland got to do with cheating money grabbing PLC board members
UTLR
ALMORE.
Great stuff, hope you manage to see some of our pics
of the massive tricolour down the front of our CSC
hotel building.
H.H Mick
Weezer – “Memories”
https://youtu.be/C5Fq3U_FjYc
http://talkingbaws.com/2016/03/martin-oneill-open-to-attractive-wags-at-euro-2016-not-so-keen-on-uglier-ones/
MO’N makes a controversial remark and is described as an ex Celtic manager!
BRTH-brilliant tribute to Johan Cruyff. I was a younger bhoy in The Jungle at the 82 game at CP. All eyes on the legend of course (great game btw), he was a bit older than his prime but still amazing on the ball. It took me a while to work out that he naturally done something I had never seen before. He always had his head up looking to pass the ball, because he never had to look down to see where the ball was. His quotes are amazing too,’football is a simple game,but to play simple football is the hardest thing to do…’
Johan Cruyff The greatest football player of his generation.
And again
HH
Sleep forever in peace, Johann. I saw my heaven when I watched how you played.
Bada….Younger Bhoy????
Yer erse, I was 22 an there’s no way you’re younger than me :O)
One of the few games I watched in jungle(along with Willy ‘O’)Cruyff was my favourite non Celt in the 70’s,a joy to watch the man that night.hh
Great win for Scotland. Great win for WGS,