It’s been six weeks since Celtic have had something to play for: 1 May, a five goal win over Dundee. Since then we wound down the remaining Premiership games before cranking up a fortnight ago at our new second home in Paisley, but it all comes into focus on Wednesday at Celtic Park, when we are expected to humble apparent Champions League whipping boys from Iceland.
People at Celtic have complained for years about having to play such important games in the middle of July, but I’ve never bought that argument. If we have to face Legia-type opposition later this month, we can’t have an early enough test. The challenge is known, it’s the responsibility of the club to be ready.
Stjarnan are likely to be the least resourced team we will face this summer, but if we get a comfortable win on Wednesday, these two games, as well as the friendlies against Eibar and Rennes, should provide ample opportunity to physically and tactically ready for the real test.
A few weeks back we discussed the game of brinksmanship involving Greece and it’s analogy in Scottish football, “Those sitting at the Syriza side of the table know they may be marching their citizens off the edge of a cliff”.
8 days ago Tsipras won his referendum mandate but quickly accepted that you can’t play poker if you don’t have any cards, never mind aces. I wondered if he hoped to ‘lose’ the referendum. I wonder if others hoped the SFA would find ‘against’ them a few months back. As we mentioned, it was “one of the classic failures of leadership – telling people what they want to hear in order to gain power, without any way of delivering on the promises made”.
If the Greeks had said ‘Yes’ Tsipras could have capitulated, blaming the will of the people. If the SFA said ‘not Fit and Proper’, others could have declined to invest, blaming Peter Lawwell and his ‘cronies’ at Hampden. I’m sure you could write the script yourself.
Populism’s easy, until you are given control, then it’s harder than granite. We’ll see the same lesson played out in Scottish football in the months to come. You need five aces in your hand to play poker with a billionaire, even then, don’t make assumptions.
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Parallels between Dave King and Fergus McCann are uncanny. Both keen to invest in boyhood heroes. But only if the cash goes to the club.
Matthew Lindsay
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-33516423
quonno my point had nothing to do with minimum age. It was that the board should not and cannot react to every small group making a noise. it was imo a ridiculous statement filled with delusions of grandeur. For what its worth a club claiming to be like no other and built on charitable foundations should be at least considering the introduction of min wage imo
What is the Stars.
No.I used my common sense, I new there would be a lot of drink drunk,Well PFAyr was organizing the day out,and I know I’d try and keep up with him at the drinking stakes,so I’d be a loser from the start,and I’d just carry on losing,no I was better not going, no hangover for a start, on Sunday.
OT
Happy birthday auld pal
Slow day yesterday …wasn’t much quicker today :-)
Oneneillennon,
I’m no sure I get your point here, what is your gripe, 10000 season tickets is still a lot of money, far more than the cost of paying the living wage.
Are you bitter that people are being made a wee bit less poor ?
Why are you trying to count what was it 120K overseas ? What have they to do with it, how do you know what their feelings are, who are you that you think you speak for the Celtic support when this petition actually got the support of 10,000 Celtic supporters,you have no idea if that was the tip of the iceberg or what, do you ?
Me, I think your jus trolling along, are you just jealous that we can influence our board :)
Petrofac cup yer havin a laugh
oneneillennon
22:00 on
13 July, 2015
quonno my point had nothing to do with minimum age. It was that the board should not and cannot react to every small group making a noise. it was imo a ridiculous statement filled with delusions of grandeur. For what its worth a club claiming to be like no other and built on charitable foundations should be at least considering the introduction of min wage imo
At least we agree that they should be attempting to pay decent wages.
Rangers documentary starting on Chanenl 4.
Oldtim
They made me stand at the racing then walk to the boozer
I was shattered
OldTim – just popped in to wish you a Happy Birthday!
We’ve done Barca – somewhere different (with sunshine) would be ideal this year. Portugal x 2, Greece and Turkey are in Pots 1/2/3.
Catch you soon – take care!
H!H!
67heaven
For personal reasons I find this one amusing –
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-33506258
I know of 2 who lost their jobs last year for something similar
Hail Hail
Lennons P……………..would gladly buy a ticket but as I dent live in Glasgow I’m one of. Celtic’s foreign legion supporters from across the channell.
canamalar you’re right you missed my point. My point was precisely 10k signatures does not speak for whole support. My point is the support has not spoken – a tiny number has. I’ll spell it out for you. While i think the board should introduce its because its right morally not because some WEE faction is making a noise. You really let yourself down by calling any dissenting voices a sevconian. If you read my posts i agree lw should be introduced. I dont agree with big egis thinking a tiny number influence the board or speak for support. Pretty pathetic post from you – i defer to your superior celtic supporting power – get a grip ffs
Hankray
You will get live stream if you are abroad on CTV
I volunteered for the Toronto 2015 Pan Am Games, my first choice was football, and yes that’s what they have called it as of the 41 countries involved only the host nation calls it soccer. My next choice was golf, and why not, 3rd was equestrian, my grampa was a bookie at one time so I figured horses were in my blood :-))).
So football it was, which although a brand new stadium which will be used for football and soccer was built, unfortunately it’s in a seedy part of beautiful downtown Hamilton.
For those that were at the 1994 Hamilton Tournament when we beat the jambos, complete with a durty wee sleekit midden, 4-2 on penalties with the much maligned Carl Muggleton saving 2 of the shots and being the hero of the day, and the sheep in the final 1-0 thanks to a Paul Byrne goal. Well that’s the same area, just a redeveloped Ivor Wynne Stadium. Think brigton and CP.
My main memory of that game was listening to CHML a Hamilton based radio station on the way into work the following morning and the sheep chairman being interviewed stating that it wisnae a big deal us winning the tourney as “it disnae get them intae Europe”. Effin soor grapes there.
I’m part of the press crew situated on the sideline between the press and technical area, separating the media from the coaches and players. Hopefully the South Americans can understand Scottish for “please move away”. But it’s really hot there with the heat bouncing off of the astro turf.
We have an old geriatric Partick Thistle fan, or so he says with us. Hamm-ish as the North Americans call him was telling me that his cousins lad was a huge fan of the team that used to play out of Govan.
He then started to sing follow follow, no bad for a Thistle supporter. I informed him that team was now deid, wisnae too pleased with that. I also told him that was the last tune played as the Titanic sunk, (follow follow, we will follow Jesus) so like the boat the team was sunk as well.
Don’t think I’m his pal anymore.
Celtic tv question
I subscribed over seas but my laptop is bk in oz.. Can I watch the game on Celtic tv live here in Ireland ?
Tontine Tim
Don’t think I’m his pal anymore
Ye had a lucky escape there :)))))
A zombie in disguise is a dangerous creature,
Avoid at all costs.
Proudbhoy
Think you would need to use a proxy server, no idea how that works tbh
Point being made this evening that Board really should not be swayed by minority.
At the same time we have posts showing what happens in society when views of minorities are systemically ignored.
Oneneillennon,
Trick being it is not a tiny minority of the support and you have no idea what proportion of the support does support, here’s one to ponder, 10,000 Celtic supporters made their view known, aye, with me ?
Now remind us all genius, how many are on the board and who exactly they represent when they took the decisions not to pay the bonus ?
Or any other decision they take for that matter, go on enlighten us all genus about majorities and percentages ?
Good night all
Two more sleeps
For those who haven’t seen the stadium from end of season ye are in for a treat.
TT
You could try por favor vamos hope it doesn’t get you a belt on the mouth
On paying of decent wages.
Although it would never happen, it would be interesting if at a Celtic agm, the votes of individual shareholder were counted as opposed to the number of shares held by some individuals.
canamalar i’ll sum up your logic:
“I won’t debate with anyone. See if you disagree with me, you’re a hun. See if you dont support Celtic the way i think, you’re a hun. See if you don’t think I can influence the board you’re a hun. I can influence the board. I’m a big deal. Im a great celtic fan”
That’s how your post read. Not accepting other people’s opinions or beliefs, totally deluded. Sure you weren’t marching at the weekend?
Blantyretim………………..ok thanks for that.
Jesus wept. 10k is a tiny proportion of support. That is a fact. Over 100k did not make their voice known. Who knows how the overall support feels. To reiterate i have no idea how the support feels. NEITHER DO YOU. Calm down and think rationally.
Happy Birthday Old Tim.
Paul 67
For someone with no cards, the PM of Greece has struck a much better deal than could ever be imagined by any of his predecessors who towed the IMF line.
Unfortunately the whole situation has come about by irresponsible lending and blaise governments.
It’s always a recipe for disaster when you politicize from the fringes: extreme right or left.
Oldtim
Happy birthday, hope it was a guid yin :)
Looking forward to seeing you at Aberdour..
Oneneillennon,
Looks to me like you lost your way with your silly whine and looking to lash out at anyone who states the bleeding obvious, your argument is drivel.
canamalar were you a debating champ at school? Incredible skills.
Watching the kkk documentary.
Its the orange order in bedsheets.
Thoughts with the Bhoys from the Ardoyne. Our Club in Clonmel has close links with a great group of Celts from the Ardoyne. They have been down to us and we have been up to them and we’ve all gone to Glasgow together quite a few times.
Great people, great Irish men & women and great Celtic Supporters. They are really strong, they have to be, they will be all right. Hope the wee girl, trapped under the car is OK. Could say more but would be pulled for racist comments. Difference between an apple and an orange. Well have ye ever heard of apple bastards.
Oneneillennon,
I was always good at stating the bleeding obvious, you obviously had and still have trouble even spotting it.
You come on babbling drivel about percentages and proportions with made up numbers the only number you not made up is that 10,000 Celtic supporters made their feelings known, everything else you have said is none sense you have nothing to back up any of your made up numbers. Havering about 60,000, seats don’t vote, this season it’s likely to be what 40000 45000 if that’s the case then 10,000’s no a Bolton the arse of a quarter of the support is it ?
But back to the my main point, what is the proportion of the board as supporters, will the board make up the shortfall in season ticket uptake if they upset 10,000 people enough to walk away ?
Your argument is as it said drivel and it did not take the captain of the debating society to spot it, you just have to deal with being no as bright as you like to think you are.
quonno
21:53 on
13 July, 2015
proudbhoy
21:31 on
13 July, 2015
Hope the young girl in ardoyne is ok
Can’t imagine what it’s like to have to go through that every summer.
When are folk going to take on board that it all just a cultural celebration.
Me. I often wondered just who pays for all the pallets the burn on the eleventh.
On the subject of the “Pallets”No idea who pays for them,but I know for a fact that 8 years ago,they were costing Imperial Tobacco,£30 each.So expensive ,because of the amount they needed,they had a section to keep track of every one out and in.You can imagine the cost every 12th.Staggering.
What about all the tyres they burnt as well.
Murdering the planet these non environmental loyalists.
Just back from Bette Midler concert…..highlight of the night
got a wee wave from the Legend that is Davie Hay….he’s looking well.hh
Pfayr
Apologies mate I was aff oot.
I can’t remember her name but I know she has aspirations to be a high court judge and she’s heard cases there previously.
oneneillennon
I think 10,000 customers is a sizeable enough number that any Plc should take them seriously.
I’m making the assumption that you don’t agree with Celtic paying the LW, that’s your perogative mate, but I strongly and respectfully disagree with you.