I don’t know is that was the worst home performance I’ve seen, but it was up there. We look like a broken team. Dundee were comfortable throughout, limited Celtic to one genuine chance in the game (in the 76th minute), and caused havoc during their regular attacks on Craig Gordon’s goals. Their best chance came from a corner kick (what else), which was sent over by a player who stopped to head the ball from 5 yards.
Charlie Mulgrew is not the most gifted player, he’s not a central midfielder and he’s not game-fit yet, but despite putting in an indifferent shift last night, he never hid. The juxtaposition between him and others was stark. We need players with attitude – the captain back on form, Kris Commons fully fit and starting, and others taking their lead.
Confidence is on the floor. Mistakes, backwards passing and long balls forward were all subject to derision, but I think last night was the first time I’ve heard a Celtic substitute being booed onto the field. All because he doesn’t want to renew a contract for his position as occasionally-used squad player. The seriousness of the situation is clearly lost on those who want to boo a player taking the field instead of encouraging the guy to help us win a game. The whole experience got me thinking, how many of us actually want to win this league?
You better believe they want to win it at Pittodrie. They have focus, form, packed stands and patience. They also enjoy the ‘Leicester City effect’ – everyone not competing directly with them wants them to win. The rest of Scottish football is desperate for us to tear ourselves apart right now. We need to circle the wagons, live up to the reputation we like to think we have, and play our role in delivering this title.
You want 10-in-a-row? Bring me your complaints in May, but for now get your shoulder to the wheel. This is not our first performance crisis and it won’t be our last, as a collective, we need to be smart in dealing with these situations.
Everyone at Celtic Park (and beyond) knows this is not good enough, and there’s going to need to be big changes in the summer, but we need to get our act together and put the inquest on hold until the end of the season.
935 Comments- Pages:
- «
- 1
- ...
- 17
- 18
- 19
- 20
- 21
- 22
- 23
- 24
- 25
- »
macjay1, I am trying to eliminate s**f from my patter. I’m sure TGM knows that. ;))
macjay1 for Neil Lennon on 4th March 2016 2:31 am
Pete
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zHN4vCfwh4
……………………………………………………………………………………….
Superb m8ty.
Best of Ronny
A great thing when negotiating is the Ability to make people Laugh.
Deez Nutz
Morning,all.
Today is Friday. Watch and smile(!)
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PeFNZLGMFmc
Save this on another browser.
Humbled by The Hoops,almost 100 minutes of goals.
Ours.
And finally,just before I hit my cot for an hour or two-
The universally-despised Iain Duncan Smith takes advantage of an opportunity few are given-to write his own obituary.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3475696/Time-halt-smears-spin-threats-IAIN-DUNCAN-SMITH-No10-trying-bully-Britain-staying-EU.html
Dug his own grave too,fair play to him.
Here’s the 539 link.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SzHNU2vKcZA
Told you I needed my cot!!!!
“It’s about getting positive thoughts, thoughts you can do something about. Not about if you will win the league, if you will play, if the fans will get after you – you can’t do anything about that and you have to keep your mind away from those things. I have to be clear and make them feel safe. I have to show trust. If they don’t feel trust and I change the team all the time then there is no trust.”
But you do change the team all the time,Ronny.
You`re right .
There is no trust.
http://youtu.be/ZZOayiuCf40
Jocks in a lift ;)
HH
Macjay1
I would like to point out that he said `and` , not `because`.
JJ
weet weet weet(GBWO) on 4th March 2016 6:40 am
Magic.
WWW
I`ve seen that before and it really made me laugh then as well 0:-). I think we need a bit more humour on here at the moment. Angry Celtic supporters can still laugh, bitter ones cannot.
JJ
PS I am doing my bit for humour by going out to play golf !
MACJAY1 FOR NEIL LENNON on 4TH MARCH 2016 6:22 AM
“It’s about getting positive thoughts, thoughts you can do something about. Not about if you will win the league, if you will play, if the fans will get after you – you can’t do anything about that and you have to keep your mind away from those things. I have to be clear and make them feel safe. I have to show trust. If they don’t feel trust and I change the team all the time then there is no trust.”
But you do change the team all the time,Ronny.
You`re right .
There is no trust.
——————————————————————————————
Agree – your quite right.
It’s amazing that Ronny says that he still doesn’t know his best team – and yet we only have one significant injury, Simunovic.
There is no doubt that there will be plenty going on behind the scenes at the moment at Celtic Park, although we have no real evidence – however, absence of evidence does not mean evidence of absence.
It is my belief that Ronny will be on a flight back to Norway on Sunday night – I wish him well and I am sorry it did not work out – Ha det bra Ronny.
” absence of evidence does not mean evidence of absence.”
Surely if there is no evidence then that is evidence that that evidence is absent?
( Typed with a smile 0:-) )
Cheerio for now,
JJ ….who still believes in Ronny Deila.
Good morning my friends and may I wish you all a Big Happy Friday from a dissapintingly wet, grey, c;loudy and blustery East Kilbride.
I understand that there are still some tickets remaining for Sunday’s cup quarter final so if anyone fancies joining me in the front row of the upper tier (405) the half time pies may be on me ;-)
Finally snowing in Dublin! Snowball fights at lunchtime
Mr Pastry on 4th March 2016 7:02 am
The strange thing about this situation is that Paul and Winning Captains ( from memory ) , who appear to be in the know , state with some certainty the ” there won`t be change ” before the Summer.
How can they know that?
Looks like I’ll be using the ivehadtochangemyname type moniker soon. Had big hopes for the new regime but it’s gone pear shaped.
Had to laugh at Phil Goodhunlad this morning, according to him O’Dea and Harkins WRONGLY referred to r****** as a new club…….silly bhoys!!
to me this is the most important league title since 1998 when we stopped 10 in a row
it is absolutely imperative that we win it
therefore desperate times call for desperate measures
so here’s my plan to give us the best chance to ensure we win it
it wont be popular, but there are times in life when you just have to bite the bullet fro the better good
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
we should play the remaining home games behind closed doors, and make sure we sell all our away tickets
this will mean that no negative vibes can come down from the stands at celtic park, and the players can get on with playing football
and the atmosphere we would generate at away games should help us no end as well
we can worry about season ticket refunds, loss of income etc once its all done and dusted, as well as sorting out why highly paid players hide when someone in the stand shouts ‘booooooooo’
so now thats me sorted winning us the league, i will be back shortly with my plan to greatly increase revenue in the scottish footballing backwater
first, brekkie….
Macjay
Just reading back
I stand over my comparison of the behaviour of refugees in Europe now and that of the irish in America in the mid 19th century.
It’s not odious. But some of their behaviour was. As was the attitude of the” know nothing” party which organised frenzied mobs to attack them.
No crime in Europe until those dam poor dark skin funny religion foreigners arrived.
Why not round them up and put them in camps. Did any visionary European leader ever try that before.
Macjay. When we getting together for a sat afternoon session. Lost Ma phone and your no
Mackay
Listen to yersel man. People are emigrating to Europe largely because of wars we started.
It was the same in Ireland as it is in Syria, the poor folk suffer because of rich people having a lovers tiff. The rich folks money, in the words of Jim Bowen, “That’s safe!”.
Only the poor are forced to move, or starve.
Macjay I should say
What is the Stars on 4th March 2016 8:03 am
Macjay
Just reading back
I stand over my comparison of the behaviour of refugees in Europe now and that of the irish in America in the mid 19th century.
It’s not odious. But some of their behaviour was. As was the attitude of the” know nothing” party which organised frenzied mobs to attack them.
No crime in Europe until those dam poor dark skin funny religion foreigners arrived.
Why not round them up and put them in camps. Did any visionary European leader ever try that before.#
_________________________________________________________________________
Couple of important differences WITS
The “poor huddled masses” where invited into the USA and the irish who came to Britain’s shores most of them thought they were going to America.
There was no Social security nor free houses waiting for them and they had to learn the local language or die.
I wonder if the “refugees” read illegal aliens would be so eager to go to Europe if all that awaited them was to Fit in, find work feed and house your children and aged relatives or die.
viva cristo rey
From the Johnjames blog ….sorry if it has been posted before … haven´t checked.
The Passion Play
I have a confession to make. I have never enjoyed the Old Firm derbies. They were always fraught with tension. They were more often than not tight affairs. As I looked around me I saw reasonable men behaving like bigots, or as the eminent QC Donald Findlay purported, ninety minute bigots. I don’t wish to spend even one minute as a bigot. I much prefer to watch these games in the company of friends over a few beers, preferably at home as things tend to escalate in pubs and clubs.
Almost eleven years ago, Scottish football was gripped by an end of season passion play. It became known as Helicopter Sunday. As we rejoiced in pipping CFC to the title, we were not aware that our chairman had helped himself to a £6.3m EBT and a £500,000 per annum EBT consultancy fee. We were not aware that our manager Alex McLeish received a £1.7m EBT. We were oblivious to the fact that captain Barry Ferguson received a £2.5m EBT. Stefan Klos received £2m; Dado Prso received £1.9m; Michael Ball £1.4m; Nacho Novo £1.2m; Fernando Ricksen £684,225; Jean-Alain Boumsong who played until January in the 2004-2005 campaign received £630,000. Alex Rae received £569,000; Ronald Waterreus £510,000; Zurab Khizanishvili received £405,000; Alan Hutton who made 12 appearances in that season received £364,000; Marvin Andrews received £316,025; Chris Burke received £55,000. In the 2002-2003 title Rangers pipped Celtic by a goal difference of one. Rangers also pipped Celtic in the final game of the season in 2008-2009. All three titles were won using The Discounted Options Scheme or Employment Benefit Trusts.
However no-one was aware of this, other than HMRC who started to take an interest in 2005. When Jean-Alain Boumsong was transferred to Newcastle United, with Graeme Souness receiving a £30,000 EBT, City of London police raided Ibrox and uncovered the systemic tax avoidance.
If the Old Firm derbies were analagous to a Punch and Judy show, Mr.Punch was using a loaded cosh. I posit that even William Nimmo Smith would be hard pressed to argue against the unfair competitive advantage in these three last day title deciders. However he did, as was requested by the constables in this Neapolitan narrative, Neil Doncaster and Stewart Regan. The Lawyer who became a bit part player in this marionette theatre is playing a much more significant part in real life.
As the CFC fans look on, many of whom were crestfallen in 2003, 2005 and 2009, they were hoping that their chairman, Peter Lawwell, might rail against this injustice. He and his board are responding to their plaintive cries with what is known in Glasgow as a rubber ear. As Bill (Merlin) pointed out, you cannot have a Punch and Judy show without Mr. Punch. The fact that he used a loaded cosh from 1998 -2011 is no longer relevant in 2016.
Some enterprising CFC equity holders chose to raise the topic of Rangers participation in UEFA tournaments in 2011. The CFC board soothed their fevered brows with a few well chosen words prior to kicking the ball into the long grass with indecent haste. Peter Lawwell is not a Celtic supporter. He has no regard for historical injustices. He is the CEO of a PLC with a turnover north of £50m. His job is to deliver premiums to his shareholders, notably Dermot Desmond. The larger the premiums, the larger his bonus. In the most recently published accounts Mr Lawwell picked up slightly less than a cool million.
Mr Lawwell has essentially three choices to make. How much is he prepared to gamble in the Champions League qualification rounds? Is he prepared to invest sufficient amounts in the squad to play in the Europa League? If neither UEFA tournaments deliver significant returns, what is his contingency planning?
Next season he has a contingency plan. This back-up plan is Rangers. Mr. Punch is back, no longer wielding a loaded cosh but with freshly laundered money and a career criminal chairman. Just as previous CFC boards looked away during the profligate tax avoidance years, even though they knew about it courtesy of Hugh Adam since 2002, Mr Lawwell is looking away now and he has no desire to look over his shoulder. When he and The Professional Game Board approved Dave King and Paul Murray, he knew fine well that the former was a convicted tax fraudster and that the barber’s model may have had access to the Charlotte files to agitate for a place on the board. He cared not a jot. If either could present a credible Mr. Punch, Mr Lawwell did not care whose hands were in the glove puppet.
To make matters more interesting, Neil Doncaster awarded the phoenix club 81 titles, with Stewart Regan chipping in another 33. Did Mr Lawwell or Mr Eric Riley, who are represented on the SFA and SPFL baulk at this? Of course not. Another ingredient of the passion play is The Chase.
CFC must be engaged in a Herculean struggle to catch Rangers.Whether they do so in the next decade is immaterial. The chances are they won’t as the gap will close between the Glasgow duopoly. They might not even win the title this season as they have an imbalanced team that relies on Leigh Griffiths to paper over the cracks. If you mark Griffiths effectively, or he has an off night, CFC produce less than title-winning performances.
Scottish football is an entertainment. It is not a Corinthian pursuit. All those with their noses in the trough know this. Sporting integrity is for the supporters to squabble over. The commercial imperative of paying Dermot Desmond’s green fees at the most exclusive Caribbean golf courses is what ‘drives’ Mr Lawwell. The Caddy, career criminal Dave King, will be welcomed to Celtic Park like a long lost brother. Mr. Punch is back to beat the living daylights out of Judy. Let the sadomasochistic games commence.
on the back of my plan for ensuring we win this league, as promised, here’s my grand plan which will allow the club to make large amounts money in the footballing backwater that is scotland
so, what areas of culture still generate large amounts of money?
Answer – entertainment.
And specifically entertainment aimed at adults
so, we should ditch the ‘family club’ nonsense, and make it an over 18s only club
there should be a plethera of bars, a casino, a bookies and some ladies and gentlemens exclusive ‘relaxation areas’.
The money will roll in, and Peter can build a new tier on his heated driveway
“What about the children, why won’t anyone think of the children?” i heard one person say
“i believe the children are our future, teach them well and let them lead the way” i heard someone else yodel
well, the children will naturally join the club as soon as they are 18, the same way they start going to other pubs etc at that age because they always want to go where adults go
there, 2 problems in 1 day – SORTED
“You want 10-in-a-row? Bring me your complaints in May, but for now get your shoulder to the wheel. This is not our first performance crisis and it won’t be our last, as a collective, we need to be smart in dealing with these situations.”
This comment has me baffled, Paul67. Are you suggesting the current malaise is somehow to do with the fans “not being smart enough”?
Whatever you think of booing the team (and personally, I’m against it), I’d say the behaviour of the fans comes pretty low on the list of Things That Have Gone Wrong At Celtic. At the moment, in fact, the fans are pretty irrelevant. I’m sure I’m not the only fan who genuinely doesn’t have a clue what’s going on at the club – what’s our strategy in terms of signings, what’s our plan for progress, what’s out attitude to the monstrous cheating we’ve witnessed for 2 decades…? Why is our club run seemingly on the whim of an absentee shareholder?
You might want to focus your umbrage on the real problem: ie, the people that “need to be smart”, and “get their shoulders to the wheel” are the highly paid but under-performing players, management and senior management.
Not the long-suffering fans.
It’s not about investing in CL
We spend more money than our European rivals
It’s how we spend it
We spend on projects to sell to EPL
It’s been wasted
Much rather spend it on 30 year olds with no sell on value. But they will contribute to team
Peter Lawell has failed the fans with the moneyball plan
Sport Football Football News Neil Doncaster
Neil Doncaster: Champions League cartel idea is a clear and present danger to the future of Scottish football
06:00, 4 MAR 2016
BY KEITH JACKSON
THE controversial plan to turn it invitation only for elite clubs from the Big Five nations would cost Scotland’s future champions the chance of earning a £20m annual ticket.
NEIL DONCASTER last night sounded a terrifying alarm bell for Scottish football when he described plans to create a Champions League cartel as a potential disaster and a clear and present danger to the possible recovery of the Old Firm.
The anxious SPFL chief executive will be in Geneva a week today for crisis talks with the rest of European football’s league leaders as they attempt to form a coalition against proposals to lock all second tier nations out of UEFA’s most lucrative tournament.
The controversial plan to turn the Champions League into an invitation only event for elite clubs from the Big Five nations – Germany, Spain, France, Italy and England – would cost the Old Firm the chance of earning a £20m annual ticket into the biggest competition in European football.
It would also wipe out the chance of ‘solidarity payments’ worth around £1.5m a season to the rest of the Scottish top flight, a shared jackpot which is unlocked whenever a Scottish club qualifies for the group stages.
But Doncaster fears there will be further financial shock waves to come for the Old Firm including the loss of sponsorship cash should winning the SPFL Premiership no longer come with a potential Champions League pathway.
Speaking in an exclusive Q&A with Record Sport, Doncaster says: “The prospect of a closed shop Champions League – based on bank balances rather than winning matches – would be disastrous for Scottish clubs.
“It is a clear and present danger to the future of the game in Scotland. I’m happy to say that.”
Doncaster will fly out next week for the crisis talks next week in his position as board member of the Association of European Professional Leagues. Along with the Dutch, Poles and Belgians he hopes to whip enough enough support to help block any proposed move by the Big Five.
Doncaster has not ruled out opening discussions about setting up a proposed alternative cross border set-up including clubs from countries such as Holland, Portugal, Switzerland, Denmark and Sweden.
But he maintains his priority is to protect’s Scotland’s place in the current set-up.
He continued: “Over the next few months there will be a whole series of these sorts of meetings all over Europe as the leagues who would be affected negatively by any closed shop Champions League begin to rally support and make clear what the dangers are.
“That’s why the phones have been absolutely red hot since the news first broke. Football people across Europe realise if this plan was to go ahead, there may well be no way back.
“We need to stand together with our colleagues across Europe to ensure these plans are defeated. The fight must be relentless.”
“When the footballing bodies ditch sporting merit solely for the pursuit of income then the sport has died.”
JOBO BALDIE on 4TH MARCH 2016 7:10 AM
Good morning my friends and may I wish you all a Big Happy Friday from a dissapintingly wet, grey, c;loudy and blustery East Kilbride.
I understand that there are still some tickets remaining for Sunday’s cup quarter final so if anyone fancies joining me in the front row of the upper tier (405) the half time pies may be on me ;-)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From the photo of “you” posted by BOURNESOUPRECIPE last night,people might be using you as a table!
AWE NAW
Did you AWE NAW that last sentence from Doncaster?
Paul67
I agree we need to cheer the team on. But we sure as well need to boo the heck out of the director’s stand.
BMCUWP
Moi ?
Got to be the most subtle Awe Naw of all time:
“When the footballing bodies ditch sporting merit solely for the pursuit of income then the sport has died.”
N. Doncaster
http://johnjamessite.com/2016/03/03/the-passion-play/#comments
good stuff
AWE NAW
Quite the case of-You couldnae make it up!
Typical. I post a comment typical of the blog leader and now I’m getting pelted with videos of the leaning tower of Pisa…