I know we all liked big Erik. He brought instant calm to Ronny Delia’s team when he arrived two years ago today. But, while 2016 started authoritatively for the central defender, it ended with him looking pensive and out of his depth at Ibrox, albeit in a Celtic win.
2017 has been largely forgettable for the player. This season has effectively been a write-off for him, after an injury in the Champions League qualifiers. It would have been better for all if he got a permanent deal elsewhere but at least a loan return to Midtjylland will afford him time to regain his confidence, hopefully leading to a new deal elsewhere in the summer.
I am sure we are still looking at the central defensive space for this month. There could be more in and out.
NEW CQN PODCAST OUT NOW FEATURING TOMMY SHERIDAN
A Celtic State of Mind presents its 30th instalment of insightful discussion around the culture of Celtic Football Club, the city of Glasgow, and fans of the reigning treble-winning Scottish champions.
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The other voice you may hear throughout this episode is that of former Celtic striker, Frank McGarvey, who is a friend of Tommy’s, and who was also interviewed separately that day for a future show.
You are sure to enjoy Tommy’s eclectic input, as he discusses everything from Catalan independence to Coolio, with a constant undercurrent of that thing called Celtic.
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Is there ANYTHING in the OBAF Act that was not already covered?
JJ
HOT SMOKED
I may be wrong but carrying a concealed miraculous medal had previously not been considered an offence. :-)
THECELT45
It scarred the whole area for life, those who worked there and their families will never forget that, how can you??
I left the Shire in the early 80’s but it seems to me it never really recovered from those closures.
Small world right enough:)) I was just in Tokyo a huge gaff and I managed to meet a guy who knows all of my mates from Glasgow:))
Glad ye like the stuff, I’m happy when fellow Tims see it and it keeps me from going insane over here:))
UTLR
HH
Owen
I think you are wrong :-))
I meant to add that some people found it very offensive.
Corkie
Correct, we are a Club open to all and that helps set us apart☘️☘️☘️☘️
HOT SMOKED
It wasn’t that bad a joke :-(
Celtarella
“Brexit was never going to happen
Scotland was going to Vote for independence
Hilary was going to win
yer both avoiding the prime directive…..people are thick! :)”
Not that relevant to this dispute.
No one will argue against the proposition that bad polling techniques are biased
No one will argue against the proposition that some polls get it wrong because people lie to them or are ashamed to reveal their views or are secretive.
No one will argue against the proposition that some people lack sense and all of us, at times, display that propensity.
Our point of departure here is that the views of the Celtic support on this issue have not been adequately tapped by anyone reliable as yet.
The results of such a properly conducted survey might surprise or depress me.
Or they may surprise or depress you.
Or they may prove that KevJ spoke sense once :-)
Anyway, it`s a goodnight from me.
`night all.
JJ
Neilbhoy
“My opinion on what in particular? ”
You had earlier stated that having a different opinion was not a crime- I was not sure who or what you were referencing there or whether you were proposing that all opinions are equally valid?
The diversity of the blog makes it, in my opinion.
Everyone should feel free to post was they like, as long as it’s not offensive.
Oops what is deemed offensive?
Time to repeal the OBAF act.
Night all.
Enjoy
Hail Hail
So our club is doing as well as ever.
Heading toward back to back trebles and heading towards domestic dominance and even in Europe post xmas for just the 7th time in 38 years…..
Yet some daily record reading former supporters, hankering for the days when we had to ‘take it’ from the media and the system as they seemed to enjoy on a regular basis, are suggesting we protest and harm our club and let our rivals gain financial parity and neutralise our position of strength.
Aye right …..
Erik Sviatchenko. For whatever reasons Brendan has went off him, he was a fixture for the first few months of last season but it was the Hogmanay game at Ibrox when it all started to go downhill. In the following weeks Boyata came back into the team and that was pretty much that.
Still, that doesn’t explain why Erik is completely out of the picture. There were some poor performances and he does have some weaknesses, lack of pace and not great on the ball being a couple. It could be something else like a personality clash or maybe he has done or said something. He’s part of a wee clique with Armstrong, GMS, Ajer and Christie. Brendan is on record as saying he doesn’t like cliques and after the trip to Dubai last season he sent Christie and Ajer out on loan. I’m probably reading too much into it. I also heard he fancied a move to Leicester this time last year and there was an issue with his agent and the Club.
Good luck to him anyway.
JNP.
This blog’s greatest strength is it’s diversity.
HH. And goodnight all.
As a one legged black lesbian Presbyterian I feel excluded from a lot of the 2 legged white hetro catholic stuff that gets posted on here.
A club open to all.
Aye Right !!!
Robbie Savage ruins my enjoyment of BT Sport football shows. Stood there dossed-up like a gay Peaky Blinder, waffling utter pish. Total fanny.
Wits
That’s the closest description of you I’ve ever read ;-))
See Erik is to be loaned back to Denmark…
Think he done a fine job and was fully committed as a Celtic player.
What went wrong? I don’t know. It’s obvious that after his injury he never figured. This could because BR didn’t rate him highly enough as the type of CH he needs.
Yet, BR to me, is a modern Manager but an old skool disciplinarian, it could be an attitude clash type of affair, who knows.
What is obvious is that BR thinks he can do fine without ES.
It’s worth recapping on how Erik got here in the first place…
After the great CH partnership that Lenny had went, we didn’t do a great job of replacing them.
Simunovic it seems to me was carrying a condition, one that Celtic took a calculated risk on when buying him. How that Will pan out is still a mystery to me.
Point is he was obviously playing injured, I suspected and we now know we were seeing a limited Simunovic at that time. Carrying on patching him up and giving him injections to play was not a viable option.
We have always been about value in the transfer market and our policy at that time was even more so. Yet we approached Erik’ s transfer like an English Championship Club, namely find a player who can do the job, pay the going rate, get him in.
The fact is we needed too. The prospects and projects were failing big time. We needed a defence.
On that basis I believe Erik was a necessary signing and did exactly what it said on the tin.
I hope it works out for him back in Denmark, he may well get his move to FC Copenhagen.
Hail Hail
WITS
I won’t have you describing Almore in such terms!
Thetimreaper,
where does your info on this clique come from,
Armstrong and Ajer dont seem to have any problem being selected
Owen
Deeming and the power to deem by police officers is one of the things that is entirely arbitrary and interpretive about this act.
In view of the occupation of some of those identified as wrecking the toilets at Celtic park it’s not a great leap to suggest the OBAF act can and has been used to attack Celtic supporters.
It’s a matter of public record ( see Christine Grahame on YouTube) that Celtic supporters songs could not be prosecuted previously as the repertoire largely included political songs.
WHAT IS THE STARS on 16TH JANUARY 2018 9:57 PM
As a one legged black lesbian Presbyterian I feel excluded from a lot of the 2 legged white hetro catholic stuff that gets posted on here.
A club open to all.
Aye Right !!!
Wi a Racing Post hangin oot yer manbag…
BLANTYRETIM IS PRAYING FOR THE KNOX FAMILY on 16TH JANUARY 2018 8:51 PM
Big Packy
Don’t ever be ashamed or scared to talk about your faith..
KTF
———
What he said….
One Club. Open to all Faiths. You keep on talking about your’s Mhate.
HH jamesgang
Chainbhoy
“After the great CH partnership that Lenny had went, we didn’t do a great job of replacing them”
What one mate ?
Chairbhoy
Brendan has hinted in the press that some players were still citing injuries when the medical staff were passing them as fit.
I have no idea as to whether it was Siunovic or Sviatchenko or neither that he was referring to but it remains a more plausible reason for finding a player to be of not much value to your squad than the more fanciful speculations on cliques or faces not fitting. I am sure Brendan has some standards of decency that he expects from the squad but he also knows he is dealing with lively, well-paid and pampered players who live in a bit of an unreality bubble so he cannot get too rigid in what he expects.
However the reported social behaviours of Erik and Simo are unlikely to be the reason that they were deemed surplus to our needs.
Well, not unless Brendan was an avid Landseer traditionalist opposed to Erik’s penchant for postmodernist abstract painting, unless he confused the layout of a Jackson Pollock action painting for the manager’s instructions on zonal marking.
BIG-CUP-WINNERS @ 10:12 PM,
Was thinking van Dijk & Denayar…
Hail Hail
setting free the bears for Res. 12 & Oscar Knox on 16th January 2018 9:48 pm
Its a democracy.
What I am saying is if 64% of Tims (about 2 in 3) support OBAF in a biased poll I think a good guess would be at least half of Tims support it. Maybe they were asked about the famine song in the poll.
BIG-CUP-WINNERS
The failings of the act are many and the political intention of “evening up” the arrest statistics was stated publicly before it was even passed.
My daft reply to Hot Smoked was meant as a light hearted joke and in no way was intended to downplay the effects of this flawed act.
CHAIRBHOY on 16TH JANUARY 2018 10:16 PM
BIG-CUP-WINNERS @ 10:12 PM,
Was thinking van Dijk & Denayar…
Hail Hail
——
That was Deila era. It was FF, VVD and Ambrose that broke the League record of 13 clean sheets although they couldn’t win a treble or even a double.
Bada Bing
You know the bookies are open to all )))
IT
there is more to Almore than meets the eye !!
BT
It was the Presbyterian bit that gave me away
IT should be HT
Some guy the ole Sergei Sviatchenko
SFTB
I seem to be missing your point directed at me.
I am merely trying to say that diversity of opinion is not a bad thing. It stimulates thought for a start. Hope you are fine with that?
Owen
I know that mate.
Just trying to focus some minds on the perils we all face from this dangerous piece of law.
Grahame has previous for this type of thing.
The SNP the same.
Owen
I joked on here years ago that ” Just can’t get enough ” would be deemed, and redefined as sectarian in the
evening up.
I was wrong its deemed offensive behaviour and we’ll lift you if we like.
Thee biggest problem with the Act is that it criminalises offensiveness which is entirely subjective.
You could be the only person in an otherwise empty stadium and be arrested under this legislation because had someone been there they may have been offended.
Dangerous, illiberal nonsense.
Night all.
Hamiltontim on 16th January 2018 10:30 pm
and when have police Scotland applied the laws objectively?
Celtarella
“I think a good guess would be at least half of Tims support it”
It may be a good guess but it is still a guess.
These things can be worked out.
Most polls tap perceptions instead of attitudes.
The OBaF Polling has been asking “Do you oppose sectarianism?’ and “Would you support the Scottish Government producing legislation to tackle this blight?” No wonder they would get 50% plus backing.
Yet if you are going to sample attitudes towards the loose definition of sectarianism being tackled here, you would have to ask – “Are you in favour of arresting and criminalising football supporters who swear aggresively and make derogatory (offensive) chants? and “Are you in favour of these young men being dragged through the courts with resulting jeopardy to their careers and qualifications?”
Only then will you have sampled an informed opinion on whether any respondent is in favour of the Act. If people are stupid enough to respond Yes to that because they believe their loudly expressed views will never cause any offence to a policeman acting as the Voice of Reason, then they deserve every repression that is going to be visited on them.
I believe there will be many Celts, how large a groupong is anyone’s guess, who are broadly in support of OBaF principles. I would also guess and be willing to have my guess put to evidential research, that many of that group are totally uninformed or minutely informed about the question they are answering. They are merely expressing their distaste for what they believe is bad behaviour and expressing support for measures that they hope clever people will come up with to put an end to this bad behaviour. They are the type of people who say that, if you have nothing to hide, you should give the police draconian powers to police you- I mean- what can go wrong?