In 11 days we will know our potential opponents for the first and second Champions League qualification rounds. While earning the money available for Champions League qualification is the overriding priority, we also need Uefa coefficient points.
Should they progress, Celtic will be seeded for each of the four qualifying rounds, but they are in position to be bottom of the seed: five points below second bottom PSV Eindhoven, and four above unseeded APOEL Nicosia.
Our place in fourth spot in future years depends on who else qualifies and how successfully we replenish our stock of coefficient points. We earned eight points from our Champions League/Europa League endeavours last season, with a six point season due to drop off next year.
Eight points from one season is a baseline for teams who wish to be seeded in the champions route, but it is difficult to imagine even a modest improvement without a significant pick-up in performances. Chances of us winning two or more games in the group stage feel no more likely than the chances of us winning none, or of finishing bottom of the group stage – equal to our seeding.
The dirty wee secret of European football progress should be acknowledged. Teams from small nations find it nearly impossible to progress through the group stage every year, much like on the international stage when betting on the World Cup, but those who manage to get there more seasons than not, tend to have financially difficult season, where they fail to qualify for the Champions League, but earn a significant haul of points in the Europa League, making subsequent campaigns a little easier.
Despite the general invincibility of the team domestically, I suspect the current levels of achievement in Europe are not stable. We will have to improve, or there will be a season of retrenchment.
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Czechoslovakia.
Beatbhoy
Didn’t know Germany were four time runners up, coupled with their victories, do they have most final appearances?
HH
HEN1RIK @ 8:47 AM,
That was a very interesting piece on E-Tims. Their silence on the WTC amongst other things screams to me of a cover up…
Further down in the comments section Auldheid posted a link to a Graphic on the Sun piece he refers to.
Obstructive Liars…That is what We Had To Face At Rangers
https://drive.google.com/file/d/11p0gvps_cj5lbmxMr1xyf0xi1V5yOv-s/view
Now, then the 10 March 2012, like now, we were in between the process of notice of complaint being levelled at Rangers and the beginning of a SFA JP Disciplinary Tribunal.
Could you imagine if a similar thing happening now. The SFA CEO, Ian Maxwell, going to the press and condemning the Real Rangers men at the heart of this scandal and stating they were liars? Before the JPDT even begins.
If anyone had any doubts about Craig Whyte being a patsy… don’t. This sort of treatment has never been meted out by the SFA, he was not so much a scape goat and distraction as a giant, low flying, radioactive squirrel.
Now let’s have look at a couple of examples of misdeameanours the SFA dealt with. Leigh and his sing along with Hibs fans – got him a £2500.00 fine and two match ban.
Ian Blacks betting foibles – got him a £7500.00 fine and 3 match ban (with seven suspended).
Craig Whyte whose trial was held ex-parte, was fines of £200,000.00 and was banned sine die.
What was CW crime?
Well someone re-posted a rather amusing video of Alister Johnson opining in his (faux) outRAGE that Craig Whyte should be tried for Murder! Yes Murder!!
Which begs the question, in that context what would the charges against AJ and the rest – aiding and abetting? Or joint enterprise?
Actually the charges the SFA levelled at CW were less dramatic.
Now one was failing to disclose that he had been barred as a Company Director some years earlier, this had been disclosed in a BBC documentary into the MBB. Over six months earlier, it was rectified (as an oversight cough! Cough!) at the time.
Now if this was so heinous as to attract maximum punishment, then why did the SFA sit on it? Why was the SFA President and CEO happy to have a private meal after this became public knowledge.
Another charge was bringing the game into disrepute.
Now you may have noticed I’m rather obsessed by this stuff…
I have actually read the SPL LNS Commision report, I’ve read the SFA JPDT report. What I haven’t read was the SFA LNS Inquiry report as this was never published and as Auldheid makes clear, despite Stewart Regan suggesting it did, it was not presented to the JPDT panel (who were these guys? (c) AMcC).
Now then that report in my opinion should be published, maybe in the wake of Sevco Rangers and the SMSM new love of transparency and accountability, it will? Breathe not held…
So we can but guess what terms of reference Stewart Regan set out for Nimmo-Smith. We can read from the JDPT report that the Chair of the panel, (sorry for the lack of legal speak), excuses the JPDT for not delving into other aspects of Rangers wrongdoing.
He makes it clear (as was with the LNS Commision) that he could only look at the charges and evidence before him.
The notice of complaints were against Rangers Football Club and Craig Whyte. We of course note that despite allegations of wide spread wrongdoing by I-Bampots, The MSM and exRangers Directors, not to mention “Heavily Conflicted” officials, were limited.
It might seem odd that the charges were tailored down to narrow specific terms. It may also be interesting for some to note the timeframe…
… yes the Tribunal looked into Rangers wrongdoing from very specific dates, 06 May 2011 until 06 March 2012. Why? Are the dates significant?
Well the dates are signicant as they are the start and end of Craig Where’s tenure. As for Why? They would confine themselves in an enquiry and subsequent Tribunal to these dates, who knows?!
Yet the wrongdoing that was rumbling on before and after those dates, including the WTC which of course is Auldheid’s main point, is ignored.
Interestingly enough, despite their reluctance to extend or expand the enquiries, the SFA Compliance Officer does add an additional charge (against Rangers not CW), that of failing to pay Dundee United their share of the gate money from a Cup tie.
Still substantial and serious allegations against Rangers were ignored or batted away or kicked off to the SPL.
Now as regards Craig Whyte, which despite my deviation’s is the point of this post…
His fine and ban…
Now his fine is made up of £50,000.00 for bringing the game into disrepute. Now this is the maximum, now £10,000.00 was regarded as an amont for very serious charge. CW’s is five times that.
Now you may well ask what the other £150,000.00 was for. Well believe it or not, this was 3 x £50,000.00 fines (maximum) for not engaging with the Tribunal. That is a huge sum is it not?
Seems a bit harsh, but the opening page of the JPDT report states quite clearly that CW refused to engage with the process. There were comments by CW at the time…
“The SFA is a farcical organisation,” said Whyte.
“I will absolutely play no part in it and I will have no representation at Hampden.”
Now then, the two parties were clearly at loggerheads – this was said by the great and the good to be (despite his fervid denials) an excuse as CW couldn’t defend himself.
Which with hindsight i.e. after his criminal trial, seems odd, his statements at the time charges were levelled, that he would robustly defend himself, seem to carry more weight in light of the evidence and outcome of that trial.
Yet you see, if you go past the first page and go down to the bowels of the report – P38 or around there… they expand on Craig Whyte’s engagement with the panel.
Far from refusing to take part, Craig Whyte made an initial plea through the Solicitors he had engaged of not guilty, he asked for an (lenghty) extension to proceedings and asked for documentation to be provided for the defence (documentation that wouldn’t be refused in a criminal trial imo).
The Tribunal refused his request for an extension, they were only partly allowing him access to the “raft” of documents he requested (remember at this time he was no longer in Ibrox). And Stewart Regan had gone to the press to condemn him as guilty.
He had two weeks to get his case ready with only a proportion of the “discovery” of evidence he wanted.
Now under those circumstances how does this statement sound…
“The SFA is a farcical organisation,” said Whyte.
“I will absolutely play no part in it and I will have no representation at Hampden.”
One of the reasons his extension was refused. Rangers FC were anxious to secure a speedy resolution.
Anxious Eh!
With the plethora of allegations coming into the public domain… you bet they were.
Hail Hail
DBHOY
Yes, 8.
Brazil 7.
Then Italy 6.
DBHOY
Brazil most wins (5), one ahead of both Germany and Italy.
Beatbhoy
Impressive and so is Uruguay’s record but lessened by the extent of their play acting and cheating over the years. When compared they’d make Jose’s Porto team look like boy scouts :)))
HH
I’m back! :) :)
Right first an apology for not getting back with the definitive answer to Friday’s ‘Where am I?’ as posted at
http://alturl.com/xyjm8
I decided to go for my first bike run of the summer out to Dumbarton via Bowling and back, a round journey of a mere 35 miles. When I got back I was knackered and in no fit state to do anything but lie on my couch and maintain vital signs just north of rigor mortis.
So back to ‘where am I?’.
Bournesouprecipe with ‘Glasgow Green’ got the general location correct, and Pogmathonyahun aka Laird of the Smiles posted a fine aerial view of the setting.
But I had a reason for asking the answer to be a wee bit more specific. The name of the site was new to me.
The stones themselves are called ‘The Time Spiral’ and are found in McPhun’s Park. This fenced in park lies just past the Glasgow Green football area and runs parallel to The Green. There is a link to some more of the plaques and history at the end of these few paragraphs, but I also delayed this answer because I wanted to find out who McPhun was.
I was aware of Margaret McPhun a Glasgow suffragette and hunger striker from just before the first world war (she received a hunger strike medal) and I really hoped, that in this centenary of ripping a hole in the patriarchal society it was named after her.
Sadly it wasn’t, but there should definitely be a memorial to this fine lady and her sister Frances somewhere in Glasgow. If anyone knows of one I’d be delighted to get the info.
Anyway McPhun’s park is named after Robert McPhun, a timber merchant, and was dedicated to him in 1773.
The inscription I found just outside ‘McPhun’s Gate’ also said that the park was originally called ‘Dassy Green’, so I’m off now to find a wee bit more about that.
For a wee bit of fascinating history about Glasgow Green itself check out
http://alturl.com/auei2
It’s a pictorial PDF so it might take a few seconds to open.
Couple of other wee things….there is a Celtic Cross there in commemoration of an army battalion’s sacrifice during the second world war. The combination of monument and commemoration caught my eye…but then a wee floral tribute sparked my interest. It’s from the Bridgeton Protestant Boys.
At first the combination of monument, dedication and floral tribute seemed a bit incongruous, but then oddly I thought that perhaps there’s hope somewhere in it.
Finally, for no particular reason other than my ever engulfing insanity I have included a picture of two fruits….one is a very angry looking tomato that I think should become an emoji. And the other is a pear that I cannot eat since it reminds me of “Slimer’ in ghostbusters. (This obsession with fruits/vegetables and their alternate existences stems from when I was a wee boy and my cousin Catherine, told me that if I ate orange peel my eyes would pop out of my head. My Dad compounded this one day as we waited on the can of Jolly Green Giant sweetcorn steaming. When ready my Dad pierced the can and the escaping steam screamed like a banshee. I was three and taken a wee bit aback. Comfortingly my Dad told me that it was ‘just the sound of the Jolly Green giant screaming in pain’. I haven’t eaten orange peel or sweetcorn since then.)
So that’s me for the moment.
Sorry to have bored you all catatonic but who knows there might be some morsel of interest to tickle your tastebuds in there (unless it’s orange peel or sweetcorn)
The other ‘McPhun’s Park’ pics can be found at.
http://alturl.com/bgeeu
Hail Hail
Matt
p.s. Re the suffragettes …in 1918 when they won the right to vote it was only ‘granted’ to those over thirty. This was because so many men had been massacred in WW1 that if they had given the franchise to women on the same age basis, they would have outnumbered men. Brilliant eh…let’s make sure that the self-centered naval gazing testosterone fuelled murdering power brokers stayed in positions of authority where they could wipe out another generation at the whim of an incestuous monarchy.
p.p.s
The time spiral’s plaques stop at 1996….why? Closing of Paddy’s Market, Commonwealth games and National Hockey stadium are examples that surely should have their own stones.
This is what happens when an offensive socially unacceptable group run into a bunch of naked cyclists
Robinbhoy, Sorry pal not guilty, I’m from North Lanarkshire. Still it’s nice to think I would have got an invite to your wedding! Cheers.
Dbhoy
Uruguay also reached the semi-final of the famous 1970 Mexico World Cup, losing 1-3 to that great Brazil side, having led until a minute before halftime.
Must have been millions back in Brazil thinking at one point, aw naw, they’re going to ruin it again!
Delaneys Dunkey, Good to hear from you. Glad you are having a great time. Hope you said a prayer for us, I could be doing with one. Telly Bobby I sent my best wishes.
*Tell
MATT STEWART
Cracking post.
Hidden Glasgow eh ? Time and time obliterate our history. Lots of it should be hidden mind, like the flower-bearers .
Calton Weavers garden London Road – gone. Did they ever rebuild it ?
Shipyards in Rutherglen ? The Ways – gone ?
St Mungo’s Well – suspect it’s still there covered over in the former tenement’s back court, behind and adjacent to the Sarry Heid ?
Shipka pass – gone.
Matt Stewart
Top blogging keep em coming
As ever CSC
BCW
Boatyard still there in Ru’glen visible from main train line but very hidden access, to find by road.
Chairbhoy
Excellent post. The whole thing reeks. And that is just what we know! They are desperate to keep the lid on the box.
From ETIMS
THE FIX IS IN.
A CUNNING PLAN…SAME AS THE LAST CUNNING PLAN
June 10, 2018 · by Ralph Malph · in Latest
Timposter looks at the 26 June upcoming JPDT where the SFA will investigate the SFA, like they did once before…
Well I never thought I’d see the day when the SFA would decide to adopt a more progressive foreign approach to footballing matters.
It would appear they have gone all French.
They have looked around and found an impeccable plan that has worked previously.
A plan that cannot be questioned.
A plan that guarantees success.
A plan that all the clubs cannot question.
A plan that has worked before and will work again.
A plan that cannot fail.
You might even call it a Blueprint. Let me spell it out to you, no translation from the French needed.
LNS
What’s that I hear you ask?
What’s this got to do with the French?
Deja vu mes amies.
Now let’s just flesh this out for you.
The Disciplinary Process is in operation.
The CO has thoroughly investigated and decided the appropriate charges to be brought and the tribunal will decide if there is enough evidence to support the charges.
Articles of Association and Disciplinary Rule allegedly breached:
Charge One Article 5(2) of Scottish FA Articles of Association 2010-11 5.
All members shall:- be subject to and shall comply with the Articles and any statutes, regulations, directives, codes, decisions and International Match Calendar promulgated by the Board or by a Standing Committee, committee or sub-committee thereof, or by FIFA or UEFA or by the Court of Arbitration for Sport;
Article 5.1 (a)(2) of Scottish FA Articles of Association 2010-11
Each member shall procure that its officials and its players:- Observe, submit to and comply with the Articles and the statutes, regulations, directives, codes, decisions and International Match Calendar promulgated by
(a) the Board or by any Standing Committee, committee sub-committee thereof, or
(b) by FIFA or (c) by UEFA or (d) by the Court of Arbitration for Sport; Charge Two Disciplinary Rule 1 (Scottish FA Judicial Panel Protocol 2011-12) Disciplinary Rule 2 (Scottish FA Judicial Panel Protocol 2011-12)
Rule 1 All members shall:-
(a) observe the principles of loyalty, integrity and sportsmanship in accordance with the rules of fair play;
(b) be subject to and comply with the articles and any statutes, regulations, directives, codes, decisions and International Match Calendar promulgated by the Board, the Professional Game Board, the Non-Professional Game Board, the Judicial Panel Protocol, a committee or sub-committee, FIFA, UEFA or the Court of Arbitration for Sport;
(f) behave towards the Scottish FA and other members with the utmost good faith.
Rule 2 Each member shall procure that its officials, its team officials and its players act in accordance with Rule 1.
So we await the judgements on the 2 Notice of Complaints which were raised as a result of the Compliance Officers Report which will be heard on Tuesday 26 June 2018.
All is well with the world of Football in Scotland.
Or is it ?
The widely held view on these charges are a result of the SFA’s granting of which was the subject of ‘Resolution 12’ to Celtic plc’s 2013 AGM.
But wait a minute. Resolution 12 was actually about the Role of the SFA in licensing dead RFC, “review and investigate the SFA’s implementation of UEFA & SFA license compliance requirements, with regard to qualification, administration and granting of licenses to compete in football competitions under both SFA and UEFA jurisdiction, since the implementation of the Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play Regulations of 2010.”
We can’t comment until due process has been carried.
We will soon find out the answer to this.
Or will we ?
Let’s just have a look at the evidence in the CO Report to see why not.
Oh wait a minute. We are not allowed to see the CO Report.
Wonder why not ?
So no evidence of any kind of what, when and who knew about the granting of this by the SFA.
How did that LNS turn out ?
A process that was predefined by the SFA, where beforehand we didn’t see any evidence that resulted in a whitewash.
Sound familiar?
Deja vu mes amies.
Deja vu.
Brendan set for C̶h̶e̶l̶s̶e̶a̶
Brendan set for A̶r̶s̶e̶n̶a̶l̶
Brendan set for Leicester
Faily Record CSC
BSR
Yeah mate I believe so. The boatyard is something different though.
The actual shipyard, just downstream on the same road (bear’s the name of the yard owner) is long gone.
The dead arose and appeared to many.
Damn drink.
HH. ?
Great interview with Ronny Delia on the ‘Magnifiseven’.
BCW
thanks – didn’t know that.
Beatbhoy
Cheers for the info, cqn an education as ever.
HH
New job….New word of the day
disposition
dɪspəˈzɪʃ(ə)n/Submit
noun
1.
a person’s inherent qualities of mind and character.
“a sweet-natured girl of a placid disposition”
synonyms: temperament, nature, character, constitution, make-up, grain, humour, temper, mentality, turn of mind; informalkidney
“the book is not recommended to readers of a nervous disposition”
2.
the way in which something is placed or arranged, especially in relation to other things.
“the plan shows the disposition of the rooms”
synonyms: arrangement, arranging, disposal, ordering, positioning, placement, lining up, setting up, organization, configuration
FTSFA
H.H.
E.g…..am a follow follower…..my disposition…is anger….and racism
FTSFA
H.H.
Following on from Beatbhoy.
Trivia…
If Tim Cahill scores in Russia he will join a select group of only 3 players to have scored in 4 separate World cups.
Can anyone name the 3 players who have already done it?
HH
MATT STEWART…
Excellent reading, doff my cap to you.
JTT53
Prayers said for all on CQN. Sitting in Brennans Bar having a Guinness to wash down our occupied 6 counties fry, with BMCUW, CCB and Friesdorfer.
YNWA
Lambmuncheraward
This week a poor 2nd to “jetting in “ for the new Beckanbauer , way out in front to SSB who gave the following summary of Conner Goldman
– started at Shrewsbury
– helped Brighton out of the championship
– underwent open heart surgery
– made his debut this year against Watford
Described by linkman as a solid start by Stevie G , Shug clearly no previous on the surgery stuff , readjusted his dentures and wished the boy well
?
DD, no jealous at all….all aboot timings & finance….njoi ;-))
FTSFA
H.H.
DBHOY
Miroslav Klose?
Pele?
Uwe Seeler?
DBHOY on 10TH JUNE 2018 12:55 PM
Maradona, Klose, Lato?
Pele surely is one
TIM MALONE WILL TELL
Well done!
Only one I knew was Pele.
HH
I’m bored.
Any dug photos?
Woof Woof
The greatest singer this world has ever known. And that includes Pavarotti.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1C8NFDdFYg
Germany’s Miroslav Klose holds the record of 16 goals across four consecutive tournaments between 2002 and 2014.
Just behind him is Brazil’s Ronaldo who scored 15 goals between 1998 and 2006. What a player he was.
HH
Terrific documentary from BT ‘re the 7 and hugely impressed by BR & RD but very disappointed in NL. Why he continually referenced them and used the hated OF tag really angered me. Is it any wonder the myth of same club is carried on with comments like that from an ex Hoops manager. Missed off big time?