Fixture gains and worries

287

We travel to Ibrox the day before the transfer window closes.  I’m not entirely happy about this.  My expectations are that several of our key players will be subject to offers, some of which will go to the wire, some of which may not be accepted.

Approaching deadlines are unsettling.  There can be a tacit acceptance that the player will move after a game, such as Odsonne Edouard moved to Crystal Palace two days after he ‘posted in’ a losing performance at Ibrox.  And there can be an outright refusal to contemplate a transfer, such as when Lyon were given a heard ‘No’ when attempting to sign Moussa Dembele, only for the player to throw a hissy fit in front of teammates, coaches and press photographers.

Even getting replacements in early does not fix all problems.  Kyogo was on the field when Odsonne performed so poorly at Ibrox, but the our new Japanese forward played on the wing until the last 20 minutes, when he started to terrorise the Newco defence.

Managers are understandably reluctant to bench a tried and tested player for an untested one in important games.  Ange Postecoglou should have started Odsonne on the bench and put Kyogo through the middle, but no one seriously considered that before the game.

The most positive reading from the fixtures is that we are away to Aberdeen, Newco, Hearts, and Dundee United in the first round of fixtures.  These are difficult games and will mean we have the same sides at home during the winter months, when away pitches are often poor, and for the deciding set of fixtures in April and May.

Plastic pitches are a larger than normal feature for next season.  We have Livingston and Falkirk at home, and Kilmarnock away, in the first 11 games.  I don’t expect any of these sides to make the top six, which means we will have one less game on plastic than we would if we had two away games at these venues during the opening set.  It’s a small (potential) benefit, but still welcome.

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  1. St. Mirren at home first game is a stinker, Robinson knows how to play us at Celtic Park, physical ultra defensive and play for the break of a ball at a set piece.

  2. concerns about the fixtures and who we play before and after european games, well i care not a jot.

     

     

    worrying about ibrox or pittodrie, a waste of energy.

     

     

    bring it on.

  3. Bhoyjoebelfast on

    SCULLYBHOY ( Hi Kieran)

     

    From earlier John Colrain ( penalty)

     

    Glentoran v Benfica ’67 Oval

     

    Glens were first team to lose on away goal rule.

     

    Was at the Oval ,’63 Celtic won 5-4 v Glens.Yogi scored four Johnny Divers with other.

     

    Sorry Kieran re Clonard…attended Dungannon,Shankill well being centre and Knockbracken health Park eye trouble.Finally Downe hospital…. cataract and glaucoma issues.Surgery on right eye now have to go to Shankill well- being centre July 22nd.Will work something out

  4. !!Bada Bing!! on

    The hun drug dealer at Livingston moaning about being told they need to put a new pitch down

  5. WEB

     

    Sky TV schedules, most of Celtic’s domestic games are Sundays, the new Saturday.

  6. West -end Bhoy on 20th June 2025 12:28 pm

     

    I’m more concerned about why again are we not opening the season, as champions we should be.

     

     

    tv.

  7. !!Bada Bing!! on 20th June 2025 12:39 pm

     

    The hun drug dealer at Livingston moaning about being told they need to put a new pitch down

     

    ____

     

    I thought they got a new plastic one, which would only be for one season if they need grass next year. Can we please do the 8 second countdown in sync, unlike ynwa. The too fast singers do my nut in 😁

  8. Bhoyjoebelfast on 20th June 2025 12:27 pm

     

     

    SCULLYBHOY ( Hi Kieran)

     

     

     

     

    From earlier John Colrain ( penalty)

     

     

     

     

    Glentoran v Benfica ’67 Oval

     

     

    Glens were first team to lose on away goal rule.

     

     

    Was at the Oval ,’63 Celtic won 5-4 v Glens.Yogi scored four Johnny Divers with other.

     

     

    Sorry Kieran re Clonard…attended Dungannon,Shankill well being centre and Knockbracken health Park eye trouble.Finally Downe hospital…. cataract and glaucoma issues.Surgery on right eye now have to go to Shankill well- being centre July 22nd.Will work something out

     

     

    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

     

     

    Very sharp as usual.

     

     

    I am very sorry to hear about your health issues. You are an old fashioned Celt, the type that made me fall in love with the Club.

     

     

    If at all possible we can think about Clonard, but definitely we shall meet for a coffee.

     

     

    HH

  9. Fixtures are fine.Not a problem.Although some will pick some.

     

    Bigger story for us is Mathew Anderson.Reading his contract is up shortly.We all saw the boy in America last year,and were mightily impressed.Since then,he has been outstanding for Admira,and been capped 4 times now for under 21s.Mc Manus,almost pleading with Celtic to get him signed up and into the 1st team as KTs back up.Raving about how big a talent he is.Quote,” He is going right to the top”. Just WTF are we doing looking at players to fill this position.A lot of talk on here about no kids coming through.Surely this boy deserves his chance.21 now,if not now,we lose him.

  10. Ziggydoc,

     

    I agree about the singers who want to finish the song before anyone else.WTF is that all about.Numbnuts.

  11. TB, your kidding yourself.

     

    the celtic park crowd have no patience to blood youngsters, they get slaughtered with the first wong pass or failed clearance.

     

     

    lose a cup tie and everybody gets it.

  12. bigrailroadblues on

    Good afternoon all from the Brazen Head. A sweltering day south of the River Clyde.

  13. Huns now maybe getting the reality check we all predicted they would.Now allegedly in for another Dundee player,free transfer.Thats two from the team relegated last season.A few more ” Frees” being eyed up.No dross left the building yet.Reading some nonsensensical shit that Igamane,who Media say had a slow start to his Ibrox career,then had a brief burst of goals,11 in the SPFL,not exactly astounding,then dropped for the final 10 games and on the bench.

     

    The result.A fee of around ( Wait for it ),upwards of £ 20 million should be demanded.

     

    Fekin imbeciles on the loose.

  14. SS,

     

    You watched the boy in America.Does he look to you like a boy the fans would not take to.Tigerish in the tackle,good going forward.

     

    I know what you are saying,and if that was the case,then no point in having B team,,or any reserve kids anywhere near Celtic Park.

     

    This kid did look the business to me,so I hope he gets his chance.

  15. BRRB,

     

    Sounds like a day,for the Panama Hat,white jacket,and shades.Nonchalence.I can just see it.

  16. so i thought all football fans would be happy that clubs get the chance to postpone league match day 3, to allow more time to concentrate on the playoff but have alook at the ff comments.

     

     

    ——————–

     

     

    Post

     

     

    See new posts

     

    Conversation

     

    Scotland’s Coefficient

     

    @scotlandscoeff1

     

    🆕 The SPFL have introduced a new rule this season, to help clubs that reach the playoff round of European qualifying.

     

     

    ❌ Teams involved in that round can choose to postpone their 3rd league match – scheduled between the two playoff legs – without seeking permission from their opponent.

     

     

    4️⃣ Only Celtic and Aberdeen are guaranteed to play in this round, but if all five sides reach it then we could see up to 4 fixture postponements:

     

     

    🍀 CELTIC can postpone home Vs Livingston

     

    🐑 ABERDEEN can postpone away Vs Dundee United

     

    🔵 RANGERS can postpone away Vs St. Mirren

     

    🥬 HIBS can postpone away Vs Falkirk

     

    🍊 DUNDEE UNITED can postpone home Vs Aberdeen

     

     

     

    ——————————

     

     

    Only cause they have a qualifier now ehh. Couldnt make this corrupt cable up. What about the qualifiers before the CL playoff round? Only assisting one club with this policy

  17. The Parkhead crowd have become spoiled, entitled, and drained of “The Best Fans In The World” era class, spontaneous, chanting, singing players names to give them a lift, not stupid assed songs that see you singing 5 verses before you even get to the players name, type of boring brain drain pish like today, or Celtic’s pro Scotland era fans lol, who refuse for whatever reason to sing the names of our 2 Irish players who’ve only been here for 2 years now??

     

     

    Then there are less and less fans holding up scarves for YNWA might be because the idiot disko lights mean that YNWA is now in darkness anyway so why be ersed holding up a scarf.

     

     

    Might be because 90% of SPL teams have less than 5% of our resources?

     

     

    Or maybe Thatchers long game of removing uppityness from Football Terraces has sucked the souls off of Football Terraces and replaced the souls with Apathetic boring snobs with their little green plastic seats and you no longer go to put a shift in for the team, but become selfish capitalists demanding to be entertained?

     

     

    Or maybe you feel that you have been shafted by having to leave 20 mins early to avoid the 2 hour traffic jams courtesy of the cheap punk, degenerate, anti Catholic, sleekits that most of you vote for?

     

     

    Remember that old saying that you are who you vote for!

  18. Back to Basics - Glass Half Full on

    We played R2ngers at home first last season.

     

     

    Incredibly one sided affair.

     

     

    Inevitable it would be Ibrox first this season … assuming of course their safety certificate is up to date.

     

     

    Very often too it is matchday 4 in late August.

     

     

    Hey ho.

     

     

    We’ll have the 2nd leg of CL PO the midweek before of course but they’ll also play a game to get into the group stage of one of CL, Europa or Conference.

  19. Celtic alerted – ‘Bojan Miovski a main candidate for re-sale’

     

    By Niall J 20 June, 2025 No Comments

     

    Bojan Miovski

     

     

    I’m not sure what I expected from Bojan Miovski when he made his move from Aberdeen to Girona last summer…

     

     

     

    He struck me as a fine striker with the Dons, if not a little streaky in the goalscoring department, but Girona, the season prior to Miovski signing, were the form team in Spain, outside the Big 2 of Barcelona and Real Madrid, and it seemed a big leap from the granite city to the top end of La Liga.

     

    Miovski hasn’t made the grade in Catalunya

     

     

    It turns out Miovski hasn’t made the grade in Catalunya and according to Girona FM the North Macedonia international could be on the move this summer with Miovski named as one of the “main candidates” for re-sale as Girona look to revamp their squad.

     

     

    That’s after a La Liga season which saw Girona finish 16th of 20 teams and finish just one point above the drop zone, after finishing the 23/24 season in 3rd place and only four points behind second placed Barcelona. Not the return Girona expected for a £6.8m transfer

     

     

    That’s quite the fall from grace, but it should be noted Girona had to play Champions League football this season, and as we well know from our experiences following Celtic, it is hard for a team to play top level football twice a week without league positions being impacted.

     

     

    Miovski has clearly left his new employers feeling somewhat underwhelmed with a return of just four goals from 22 appearances, which is perhaps not the return they expected for a £6.8m transfer.

     

     

    Yet in Scottish football Miovski was loved in Aberdeen, and he seemed to also have a very encouraging habit of finding the net against theRangers. That’s always going to ingratiate you with the locals up north, but also with our own support.

     

     

    So, you know what’s coming next. If Celtic are in the market for a striker, would you take a punt on Bojan Miovski, particularly if a loan to buy option was available? Miovski knows the league, has scored goals at that level and has some European experience.

     

     

    The pros are clear. Miovski knows the league, has scored goals at that level and has some European experience in the Conference League to boot, and that’s before you get to his goals against the Ibrox club. A potential ‘skelper perhaps.

     

     

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  20. Celtic miss out again.

     

     

    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

     

     

    Liverpool have agreed a £40m deal to sign left-back Milos Kerkez from Bournemouth.

     

     

    The 21-year-old Hungary international is set to join the Premier League champions after two seasons with the Cherries.

  21. Celtic have taken steps to invest in their next generation, with three academy prospects putting pen to paper on their first professional deals with the club…

     

     

    Liam Kennedy, Conor Daly, and Michael Charlton, all from the Under-16 squad, have signed new contracts that will keep them at Celtic as they continue their development with the club.

  22. John Colrain came to Celtic with the weight of being labelled “the next big prospect in the game” to live up to. He could hit the ball hard but was poor in the air. He always considered himself a centre-forward when he may have performed better as a midfielder. He combined well with the talents of Jackson, Conway, Divers and Auld in the Reserve side in the 1957-58 season, and then he got his chance in the first team after the departure of Bobby Collins to Everton.

     

     

    However it was not a great time to be with Celtic. After the classic League Cup success in 1957, Celtic did not win another trophy until 1965, and John Colrain’s first team debut was following not long after this success in a the 1-0 defeat to Rangers at Celtic Park in the the traditional New Years Derby. So it can be taken that Rangers managed to gain some revenge for their humiliation in the league cup final, although it was Hearts who went on to romp the league title.

     

     

    He was a mainstay through much of the 1958-59 season taking over from James Conway, notably scoring a hat-trick against Stirling Albion in the league in a 7-3 victory in Dec 1958. He had a fair season, scoring 18 goals in 19 games in the three major domestic competitions. However, his best form was in the first half of the season where he was regularly scoring, and then like the rest of the team, his form seemed to slip. For Celtic as a whole it was a poor season, and Celtic finished well behind Rangers but also even Airdrie. The slump at Celtic had really set in, and was to only be resolved once Jock Stein arrived in 1965.

     

     

    John Colrain swapped back and forth out of the team in season 1959-60, but ultimately it was future Lisbon Lion Stevie Chalmers who took over his place in the side at the end of the season, and the rest as they say is history.

     

     

    In his final spell of games he was struggling to find the goal, and played in both the Scottish Cup semi-final matches which Celtic lost 4-1 in the replay to Rangers. His best form had seemed to now desert him.

     

     

    His last game was in a 2-0 defeat to Dundee in the league.

     

     

    For any aspiring footballer at the time, Celtic was a poor environment to be in with an admittedly poor team manager, a meddling chairman and a demoralised squad of players. Celtic were at a very low point this period.

     

     

    Little Celtic success meant John Colrain’s time was not a fruitful one. Regardless, he can more than hold his head up high as he had a fair return of 23 goals in 58 games. Little more could have been asked of him, although most of those goals were concentrated in one single season. He just never seemed to show greater consistency which would have benefited his chances as well as Celtic’s hopes.

     

     

    Post-Celtic

     

    He left Celtic for Clyde and then moved to Ipswich before moving to Glentoran and was appointed as the player-manager at the age of 29. He managed probably the greatest Glentoran side ever which failed to be beaten by Benfica at home (1-1) and at the away leg (0-0) in the European Cup (losing on away goals). He also put together a Glentoran team for a North American tour in 1967 which returned unbeaten, and led them to back-to-back league titles. When he was sacked from Glentoran an EGM demanded his re-instatement. He was to be a legend at the club.

     

     

    On a visit to New York while manager of the Northern Ireland side, John Colrain was introduced to American entertainment legend Frank Sinatra in a restaurant. It was just a casual meeting, the type of contact that many top stars are obliged to make with their fans. John Colrain, though, was a man of considerable charm, and soon he and Ol’ Blue Eyes were seated beside other and talking away as though they had been friends for years.

     

     

    He went on to spend two years as a manager with St Pats before returning to England as a scout for Manchester City.

     

     

    John Colrain is credited by Billy McNeill with giving him the nickname ‘Cesar‘ after Cesar Romero at the time of the original Hollywood bratpack of Sinatra, Romero, Sammy Davies Jnr., Dean Martin, etc. John Colrain himself had a fine voice and a full admiration for Frank Sinatra, he also had the looks for it and dressed well too.

     

     

    John Colrain died prematurely of a heart attack at home in Glasgow at the age of 47 in 1984.

     

     

    CELTIC WIKI

  23. Just out of interest who do thems play after an away Europe tie .if I mind they had easier games and almost at home

  24. How much rest has Alistair Johnston had ?Ridiculous National team competitions being played all over the place.

  25. garygillespieshamstring on

    BRRB

     

     

    That would be long odds against as a double.

     

     

    Seeing the Huns coming and one of them being handsome?

     

     

    More chance of Colin Montgomery overtaking Jack Nicklaus’ career total of major wins.

  26. montgomery interview last week and asked questions about turnbury and trump. i am biased bit i thought he came across as a total self serving twat

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