We’re close enough to the English psyche to intimately understand their hopes and fears ahead of a tournament like the World Cup, but the M74 provides enough space for those of us based within a short distance of Celtic Park to have the kind of perspective that’s not possible for most fans immersed in the moment.
For long enough, England, along with Spain and France, were the perennial underachievers of European international football, which was dominated by “skilful” Italians and “efficient” Germans, while even the Dutch and Czechs have managed vastly more major final appearances than England.
France, then Spain, got the monkey off their backs, but England still relive their regular tournament nightmare, although this time it looks likely they will bow out before troubling any of their players in a penalty kick competition.
So cut England open and what bleeds out? After the game last night Danny Murphy on BBC Radio 5Live tried to offer objective resistance to the idea that England lacked passion from a tidal wave of calls, asking “Where is the Terry Butcher with a blood soaked bandage around his head?”, “Where is the crying Gascoigne?”
Fans often confuse sporting defeat with a lack of will to win. This notion was expressed last August when Celtic lost to Shakhter Karagandy, aided and abetted by an ITV commentator who proposed the notion during live broadcast. I’m pretty sure upwards of 95% of us have played the game at some level, but time seems to remove the memories of what it’s like to be losing in a team sport, and importantly, just how difficult it can be to reverse momentum.
Suggesting professional footballers don’t try during some of the most important games of their season is an embarrassing failure to think from another’s perspective.
Listening to the radio last night and again this morning, there was no dispute to the claim that what England needed was a manager who could lose his temper in the dressing room.
Even Murphy didn’t feel comfortable enough to take on the nation on this one, instead assuring listeners that Roy Hodgson was capable of losing his temper. This was mean to be supportive. It was surely viewed as such by many. This morning, Kevin Phillips trotted out the hoary old “lacked passion” line.
Is there any other field of human endeavour where losing control of your emotions is viewed as an attribute? Football managers exist in a highly competitive, technically exacting environment. At the top level they have to communicate subtle instructions to highly skilled professionals who have heard it all before from lippy managers. By the 30th rant they are all immune and it’s highly unlikely that intimidation led to an increase in performance first time out.
Despite this, managers are supposed to demonstrate a primitive human weakness to an audience who can often scarcely tell the difference between a football match and a pantomime.
We have to be different. We have to be cleverer; let the rest satisfy their need for an alpha-male role model – because make no mistake about it – this is what they’re really craving, while Celtic show uncompromising adherence to getting the best people for the job. On a side, note, can you imagine what appointing Roy Keane would have said about our strategy?
Roy Hodgson has done enough in the game to prove he’s a good manager but he’s more Euro-sophisticate than an archetypal alpha-male. Best of luck to him.
The Celtic Graves Society are having a fundraising raffle to generate funds. 50% will go towards their excellent work and 50% will go to the Northern Ireland Childrens’ Hospice, who looked after Wee Oscar recently. For the cost of a £5 raffle ticket, you can win a singed boot from Scott Brown or from Virgil van Dijk.
To buy your ticket go to Paypal and send £5 to donate@celticgraves.com
Don’t worry if you don’t have a Paypal account, you can still work through Paypal with a debit or credit card. Please add the phrase “Boots Raffle” to the Paypal subject line, and they have asked if you could alert them to which site you picked the message up from, so “CQN” will do.
Good luck
Visit the CQN Bookstore to get Tommy Gemmell to sign your personal copy of his book, All the Best.
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Delaneys Dunky
03:48 on
22 June, 2014
My family were there from`49 till `81 0r `82.
Sure I would have recognised his face.
As you did in a regular congregation.
1pm. Lunch and a beer.
Two weeks ,I`m told ,till Tim time.:-)
16 roads – Celtic über alles…
03:59 on
22 June, 2014
I think you credit the Vatican with more power than it has.
“How many divisions does the Pope have?”….Joe Stalin.
Not too difficult to be disillusioned by the Church these days.
Encouraged,though,by the Papal decision to excommunicate the Mafia (Camorra?) during a visit to Sicily.
All I do is remember all the good people of the Faith,clergy and others.
That reassures me.
macjay1 for neil lennon
04:08 on 22 June, 2014
—————————————–
Disagree.
The Vatican always opt to remain silent.
Self preservation, maybe.
I am not criticising individual clergy.
Two years ago, I read the words of a Hezbollah general regarding the conflict in Syria – the fella said, this isn’t about politics or religion, he said that they were involved in a battle for the very sake of humanity.
Those were the words of a Muslim.
If that Pope called for Christians to go to the middle East and defend the faith, many thousands would answer the call.
Of that, I am certain.
Revelations 20:4
HH.
16 roads – Celtic über alles…
03:59 on
22 June, 2014
On the other hand,
“Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar`s and to god the things that are god`s.”
Separation of the powers…Church and State.
Of course,there are areas of crossover.
Dare I mention Ireland and the interconnection between the two.
As the loyalists said “Home Rule is Rome Rule.”
Don`t think they were too far wrong.
Just in from a very good Arctic Monkeys show here in Toronto…class act them bhoys…class act.
macjay1 for neil lennon
04:34 on 22 June, 2014
———————————————-
“Loyalists”
Loyal to what?
Same “Loyalists” whom imported German rifles,via the Kaiser, to be used against the English king,if Home Rule wasn’t granted to the planted population?
Never worry about them mugs anyway, sure we tuk down their fleg in Belfast town, and there’s no sign of it going back up again, anytime soon.
Do not fear though, we are never going to treat them the same way as they treated us when that tribe were in control.
Parity of esteem and all that there and all.
Also, your own government facilitated the exodus of Takfiri footsoldiers, via Turkey to inflict the most heinous crimes upon poor Syria.
When are they due back?
HH.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OGd6CdtOqEE
Marvellous.
16 roads – Celtic über alles…
04:59 on
22 June, 2014
Off at a tangent.
O.K.
It’s what I do, you see.
Study history, war and conflict.
All day and everyday.
That is my main interest, well apart from Celtic.
Fascinating I find it all.
Maybe just a product of the environment that I grew up in.
It doesn’t really matter anyway.
God bless the ghetto Fenians – Glasgow, Belfast, Derry & Dublin.
Unbowed and unbroken.
Slan.
Macjay1 – Never a bother chief.
Thanks for the civil debate.
God bless ye.
Def gone now.
HH.
Any CQN’ers in Prague ? We arrive there 19 July same day as the Celtic Dynamo Dresden game which is only a couple of hours away. Anyone know if there is a Prague CFC that might have a bus going to the game? Celtic bars say Paddy Reillys sports bar towatch thw tic but doesn’t say anything about a csc.
Good morning all from Sunny Cambridge. A couple of friends and I got together a week or so ago to try and produce a World Cup anthem, it’s a tune of two halves, the first half a tribute to the beautiful game, the second half might strike a chord with long suffering football supporters of any nation … Maybe one in particular… Any feedback and sharing of our effort would be hugely appreciated…
http://tinyurl.com/lu2ytdz
taurangabhoy. I lived in dresden for 4 years. Leaving in 2006. There is a good train service from Prague to dresden taking just over 2 hrs
Up and had breakfast…weather nice and bright…off to the golf….hope to come back to some signing news….
Love the summer and the good weather
Love this World Cup….
Kikinthenakas
Lovely summer morning here in North Ayrshire
Top of the morning to you all from warm and sunny Fife.
Chuffed for Efe that Nigeria won. He was rated 7/10.
Anyone interested in my court case there is an attempt by Stephen House QPM to knock me out of the multiplepoinding claim for the Elgin gold wreath by an objection to my Defences.
Details here: http://www.tomminogue.com/blog5.php
H.H.
Now Collins can go continental
Graeme Macpherson
Football Writer
Sunday 22 June 2014
JOHN Collins never got the chance to play in the Champions League with Celtic.
John Collins at Celtic’s Lennoxtown training ground with manager Ronny Deila. Collins says he will always want his teams to dominate the game. Photograph: Nick Ponty
He would atone for that by reaching the semi-final with Monaco a few years later but in his six years in Glasgow there was nothing but disappointment. Collins’ stint as a Celtic player came slap-bang in the middle of an era of Rangers dominance as the Ibrox club went on to match Celtic’s record by claiming nine successive championships.
Only in 1997, a year after Collins had moved on to the south of France, did Uefa open up their flagship club competition to include teams who hadn’t just won their domestic title, meaning Rangers were Scotland’s sole Champions League representative for most of the 1990s, albeit with limited success.
That remains a source of regret for Collins, but another chance to represent Celtic in European football’s most prestigious competition has now presented itself. The new assistant to manager Ronny Deila will watch with professional interest as Scotland’s European representatives discover their fate tomorrow when the draw for the first and second qualifying rounds of both the Champions League and Europa League is made in Nyon.
“It’s a regret when I look back and see that I didn’t get the chance to play in the Champions League with Celtic,” he said. “But you can’t get everything you want in life. It’ll be great for me to be able to coach in the Champions League.
“It’ll be fantastic to pit your wits against the big boys as it’s where we want to be.”
Celtic must first find a way through three potentially tricky qualifying rounds before they can daydream about taking on Europe’s elite. They passed a similar challenge last season but it wasn’t without its moments. Northern Ireland’s Cliftonville were dispatched with minimal difficulty in the second qualifying round but Elfsborg of Sweden and then Kazakhstan’s Shakhter Karagandy in the subsequent rounds both posed far greater tests.
Celtic should again be seeded in each of their three qualifying ties this time, although they play the first two home matches at Murrayfield with Celtic Park unavailable due to the Commonwealth Games.
Travel difficulties will likely be kept to a minimum in the second qualifying round, with Uefa set to announce – probably tomorrow morning – smaller, regionalised pots ahead of the draw. That could see Celtic play another side from the British Isles – St Patrick’s Athletic from the Republic of Ireland, Wales’ The New Saints, and Cliftonville are all in the unseeded half – while Scandinavian sides, including Deila’s old club Stromsgodset, could also be considered “local”.
With the opening match in mid-July and the team back for pre-season training on Tuesday, there isn’t a huge amount of time for the new management team to get the players ready.
“It’s early in the season so there’s not a lot of preparation,” Collins said. “But that has been the case for the last few years so we know what’s coming. We just have to make sure that on Tuesday we get the work started and are ready for the big games. These are massive games even though they might not be against massive clubs. We will just have to wait to see who we are going to face but like every football match, it’ll be what we do that counts.”
Collins’ most recent exposure to the Champions League came from a seat in the Sky Sports studios. The former Scotland international was an analyst for the TV station on the big European nights and so watched many of Celtic’s matches over the last few seasons. With the majority of last year’s squad set to return for the new campaign, it gives Collins hope that the team can again make an impact in the competition.
“There have been some excellent performances,” he said. “You have the jump up from the Premiership to the Champions League and it’s a big jump. But Celtic have proved they can get the results and it’s been big results. It’s a challenge for myself and the manager as we need to get the players ready, but we have a terrific squad.”
Both Deila and Collins are idealists rather than pragmatists when it comes to how the game should be played. The prospect of “parking the bus”, even in a European away game, is anathema to the Scot.
“Not from kick off, I would never do that, If you are 1-0 up with five minutes to go, then you’ll park the bus to get the result. I’ll always want my teams to dominate the game and control the ball. That’ll never change. I’ll always want that and I’ll always work towards that on the training pitch.
“The reality is that in some games you won’t be able to do that. You go up against better teams and better players and they will have more of the ball.
“But what we will never stop is working on the training park to go up against them and keep the ball. We’ll try to create chances and score goals. My mindset and methods in training and coaching will never change.”
Celtic close in on pay-as-you-play deal for goalkeeper Craig Gordon
Jun 22, 2014 07:42 By Dailyrecord.co.uk 1 Comments
GORDON has been without a club for two years due to injury but could be set to join the Hoops as back-up keeper Lukasz Zaluska heads for the exit door.
CELTIC will step up their bid to sign Craig Gordon as Lukasz Zaluska prepares to quit the club.
Zaluska, who has been a back-up keeper since arriving from Dundee United in 2009, is wanted by Israeli outfit Maccabi Haifa.
And new Hoops boss Ronny Deila is prepared to let the 32-year-old Pole move on before his contract runs down at the end of next season.
Celtic will now have to look for a new goalie, especially with No.1 Fraser Forster being linked with a move away from Parkhead.
And they are ready to snap up former Scotland star Gordon, who has been without a club since leaving Sunderland two years ago. The 31-year-old has been plagued by a knee injury and Hoops chiefs have already discussed a pay-as-you-play contract.
Gordon trained with Celts at the end of the season and impressed goalkeeper coach Stevie Woods.
But Parkhead chiefs may feel it is too much of a gamble to offer the shot-stopper a permanent deal and feel a contract covering first-team appearances would be a reasonable compromise.
Gordon, who also trained with Rangers earlier this year, is eager to get back into the game for the new campaign and the 40-cap star would welcome the chance to revive his career at Parkhead.
At last a winning Celt at the World Cup
Date: 22nd June 2014 at 7:30 am
Written by: Joe McHugh | Comments (0)
At the fifth time of asking a Celtic player finally enjoyed a World Cup win as Nigeria beat Bosnia and Herzegovina 1-0 last night to keep alive their hopes of reaching the last 16.
With Fraser Forster on his way home after England face Costa Rica on Tuesday and Emilio Izaguirre requiring a Honduras win over Switzerland while France beat Ecuador it looks like Efe Ambrose will be left flying the Celtic flag as the tournament switches to knock out.
Ambrose played the full 90 minutes on the day that Africa made it’s presence felt with Ghana fully deserving a point from their 2-2 draw with Germany in the match before Nigeria beat Bosnia and Herzegovina thanks to a goal from Stoke City’s Peter Odemwingie.
A draw in Wednesday’s final group match against Argentina will see Nigeria into the last 16 while a defeat coupled with anything other than an Iran victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina will also be good enough to keep Ambrose in Brazil.
After last night’s victory Nigerian coach Stephen Keshi said: “Everybody is happy in west Africa; Ghana got their result and we won. It’s good for the continent. The fighting spirit we showed was good. I never thought that we wouldn’t make the Round of 16. I have the players. But look at Iran today, if it was not for Lionel Messi. We need to work hard for the game against Argentina.
Goalscorer Odemwingie added: “The goal means a lot to me but the win was down to 90 minutes of concentration and effort from my team-mates.
“The most important thing today was the character. We even enjoyed defending together. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t love this country. Playing for my fatherland is an honour and a pleasure.
“What better way to come back than playing in a World Cup. Being back with my fiends made me happy. I didn’t expect to come back and score a winner in such an important game, but I’m very happy. But this was a point the team earned. Right now I’m so high on our team’s performance.”
Wee quiz this morning
Q. Name the year :-))
MURRAY’S BLUEPRINT
By Ken Gallacher
“Just as promised, Rangers are moving on to another level from the rest of Scottish football, as chairman David Murray announced a new investment of £53m for the Ibrox club, with a further massive cash boost soon to follow.”
Pogmathonyahun aka Laird of the Smiles
23:06 on
21 June, 2014
Cheers again for all the tips (especially the sunbathinht – off to get g one – will need to keep the weans’ eyes averted at that point – Wee BGFC still thinks girls showing any flesh is disgusting – he’s only 11, so that will change in a couple of years I’m sure!).
Will definitely visit the Aussie / Irish bar for some traditional Munich atmosphere :-)
Right – off on the ole t’imternet to (hopefully) make a decision about where to stay, before Mrs BGFC starts to get too anxious..
HH
BGFC
getting close…!!
Twist and turns
2000. Just before Mon was appointed
Chico young interviewed the crook murray and after the spin Chico said ” that’s amazing david “. Vomit
Mon was appointed and the cash cow CL was taken from the deid club and the rest is history
Good morning Ghuys, weather in ML5 bright, sunny and warm.
Keep the Faith!
Hail Hail!
Where’s Jobo, I demand to know the E.K. weather…:)
Keep the Faith!
Hail Hail!
Makes sense for Zaluskas to move on, not going to get a regular starting position.
Keep the Faith!
Hail Hail!
I don’t think though Gordon is the answer having not played since 2012.
Keep the Faith!
Hail Hail!
Sydneytim
It was quite prophetic I suppose in the fact that it it was fairly accurate. They indeed moved to a different level from NEARLY all of the rest of Scottish football. Just not in the direction they had expected:-)
Lenny
Pay as you play. I guess that amounts to the equivalent of a zero hours contract.
Twisty
Was that not in the DR last week :) por cierto
I think we probably have another goalkeeper on the radar por cierto
With zuluska going , we need a goalie as Forster will be sold for a healthily balance sheet at AGM or if we gamble and don’t make CL his cash will make up the loss of CL income
Desertbhoy
You have mail. I hope. Bloody bt yahoo on ipad is awful, tried everything, but an Indian scout couldn’t keep track of the e mails on there. All over the place. It groups all the conversations, but seemingly in random order. Each thread of conversations repeats the previous one, and I end up scrolling up and down forever looking for the latest reply.
Reinstalled latest app, but still crap. Might move to icloud, which seems easier.
Twists.. that’s exactly what Gmail does, there is a set up choice to change it but as it’s used seldom i never bother
Morning all. Beautiful day down here once again.
Wonder if we’ll enjoy another day of beautiful football.
I only saw the highlights but it looked to me as if Bosnia deserved a draw.
Thanks SydneyTim. I had a look at that option, game kicks off 5:15 so if there is a train back in the same night train might be a good way to go. Would prefer a Celtic bus though. Hail Hail
Good morning timland from a sunny north staffs. Granddaughter’s 3rd birthday- jelly and icecream later.
twists n turns
08:20 on 22 June, 2014
Wee quiz this morning
Q. Name the year :-))
MURRAY’S BLUEPRINT
By Ken Gallacher
“Just as promised, Rangers are moving on to another level from the rest of Scottish football, as chairman David Murray announced a new investment of £53m for the Ibrox club, with a further massive cash boost soon to follow.”
2014, 2015, 2016 etc etc..