Emenike, Ashley and only Montrose

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I suppose we should start by heading the warning from Sevconian under-performer, Ian Black, who suggested that the Third Division is harder than the SPL.  By this logic, Second Division Arbroath will terrify the life out of the Celtic defence ahead of their Scottish Cup tie tomorrow, they did, after all, put three goals past Inverurie Locos in the Third Round tie, and again in the replay.

Only Montrose

Having previously experienced the delights of Brechin, Forfar and the Dundee clubs, after tomorrow, the only Tayside club I will not have seen will be Montrose.  These opportunities don’t come around often enough!

In all seriousness, Second and Third Division football is not difficult, it is essentially Keep Fit on the cheap.  Celtic must deal with the sincere endeavour of their opponents while giving an opportunity for several fringe players to grace Celtic Park.

With our midfield already stretched by injury and suspension ahead of the Spartak game, Neil Lennon will want to guard this area of the team in particular.  Spartak play their last game before heading to Glasgow tonight, at home to Zenit, who sit five points about them after 17 games.  This is a huge game for Spartak and interim manager Valery Karpin, who will either succeed as interim, and be made permanent boss, or to fail and to also lose his general manager position.

Unusually for the Champions League, they have five days to recover before facing Celtic, a game Karpin is keen to win.  Celtic will technically only have four days rest but the bulk of players likely to play in midweek will surely be rested tomorrow.

Spartak will be without striker Welliton, who travelled to Germany for an operation this week.  Emmanuel Emenike, who scored twice against Celtic last month, is likely to lead the line.  Emenike is a penalty box striker who is more than capable of exploiting gaps in the Celtic box.  Karpin may instead opt to play target-man Artyom Dzuba as a sole striker.  Dzuba is not a prodigious goal-scorer but he is able to hold play up and bring others into the game.

I loved media suggestions today that Sports Direct have a fight on their hands from other firms if they want their brand used to rename Ibrox.  You have to admire the intellectual endeavour that goes into news coverage in this country.  Sports Direct area THE key business partner for The Rangers.  The only issue open to question is how much skin they are in the game for and what they get in return.  Remember this when you’re buying sports kit for Christmas!

Unlike the CQN Annual, the perfect Christmas present, available here and not found in any Sports Direct store.

Lower league clubs will all surely be quaking in their boots at the news The Rangers will not only bring in well over £20m in a share issue, but could also earn countless riches from stadium naming rights.  The leaked IPO PowerPoint presentation suggested the Offer for Subscription would commence on Monday. I am sure it is on-plan.

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1,178 Comments

  1. Morning all you peeps in Celtic land.Hope you’re all well.

     

    A day for our young guns to show what they’ve got, and they have a lot I’m sure.

     

    I have a very GOOD feeling that this season will be an historic one for us, don’t know why, just have this feelin’!!.

     

     

    Hail Hail

     

     

    Kinglubo

  2. thetimrieper

     

     

     

    12:51 on

     

     

    1 December, 2012

     

     

    He is mate. Still to play a full 90 minutes but today might be as good a game as any.

  3. DBBIA

     

     

    Good for him. I read the entry on Wikipedia. I don’t recall hearing any mention of him and the English guys in Valladolid were justly very proud of that college’s history.

     

     

    I think six of the 40 canonised martyrs of England and Wales had links to the college and there are lots of others who are Blessed or Venerable, rather than Saint, who suffered a similar fate on returning to England or Wales to exercise the ministry for which they had been prepared.

  4. Apparently Arbroath are taking ove 800 supporters to the game today. Pity about the boycott as the people who run the Club are decent folk and, in Armageddon Year, It would be good if they get a decent payday (and maybe more….upsets do happen).

     

     

    JJ

  5. Big ones – lazy far me. I meant her part in prisoner release which, as you say, was much later.

     

    off to have lunch and watch the fitty on the Beeb. Speak later.

  6. Dontbrattbakkinanger on

    C1ST, Wikipedia, the premium source of made up stuff on the internet, says today is the anniversary of the martyrdom of St Edmund Campion.

     

     

    Faith of our fathers right enough.

  7. .

     

     

    Miki67..

     

     

    Ye Don’t want to be Buying one of they Bi-Polar Bi-Panes..Ah heard they Go Up and Doon and are All over the Place at times..

     

     

    Summa of BiPolarBearsCSC

  8. Hamiltontim

     

     

    Ta.

     

     

    Theres not many games where we are relatively under no pressure.

     

    This could be one of the few where Neil might have confidence to play

     

    a few of them from the start.

     

     

    HH

  9. 67Heaven ... I am Neil Lennon..!!.. Ibrox belongs to the creditors on

    kinglubo

     

     

    12:53 on

     

    1 December, 2012

     

     

    With the demise of the bhun, this has already been a GREAT, GREAT season for me ……. thoroughly enjoying football and the media depression / denial……the SPORTING ELEMENT has been given a huge, appreciated, boost…….

  10. Summa

     

     

    Good question.

     

     

    I think you can, but I’m not as organised as that, and simply lose hundreds of pics.

     

     

    If you are jailbroken (which I’m not) then there are Apps you can get that do it.

     

     

    If you’re not jailbroken try syncing them with iPhoto which I think will tell you dates and info

     

    on the photos?

  11. Thetimreiper

     

     

    Yep agreed also because he’s used to playing with Watt so not having to worry about a new strike partner.

  12. 67Heaven ... I am Neil Lennon..!!.. Ibrox belongs to the creditors on

    Rococo Quinn equalises for Ross County…..yeeees

  13. South Of Tunis on

    DBBIA @ 12 59 .

     

     

    I don’t have that faith thing but I do have a thing for biography .

     

    This is a mighty fine biography –

     

     

    Edmund Campion — A Life ——— Evelyn Waugh

  14. Canny believe I’m not en route to CP but sitting at the Kings theatre Edinburgh bar, waiting for Mother Goose to start.

     

     

    Burghbhoy and no1 son not happy bunnies but mrs Burghbhoy & miss Burghbhoy insisted !

     

     

    Counting on fellow CQNers to keep us posted.

     

     

    Bah Humbug no1 CSC

  15. Hamiltontim

     

     

    Theres a lot of exciting talent at Celtic Park, it will be exciting

     

    to see if they realise that talent in the next few years.

     

     

    Neils Cubs

  16. jude2005 is Neil Lennon \o/ on

    PfAyr

     

     

    Wd have liked to have seen Robertson at C P when he was at his peak!!

  17. South of Tunis

     

     

    I too would like to add that to my reading list.

     

     

    And while you are here, if I may, I would like to ask you two questions.

     

     

    1. Can you recommend a good biography in English of Aldo Moro?

     

    2. Can you or your good lady tell me how comes it when Italian people make a basic tomato sauce for pasta it tastes so much better? I have the passata, the oil, the onion, the garlic, the wine, the herbs … something is lacking.