Celtic have apparently asked the Scottish Government to take a common sense look at their Covid restrictions for football players, but I don’t know if I have ever imagined a greater waste of energy than to appeal to this Government’s common sense.
Yesterday they shuttered the hospitality sector for most of the country, while locking down rural areas after 6pm, claiming this sector was prevalent in the rise of Covid’s second wave. You don’t say, Sherlock. Since August they permitted football fans to gather in enclosed pubs to watch games, while prohibiting games at open air stadiums, contrary to all scientific evidence. We have repeatedly discussed this folly here.
Encourage people into pubs, then blame pubs for the second wave, if only they were prepared to deviate from the policies of a Westminster government, scientific evidence would have had a chance to influence political policy.
Thousands of fans attend games across Europe, all outdoors, all socially distanced, all with strict travel, entry and egress protocols, mandated by governments who are not following Boris Johnson’s cabal. There has been no related increase in contagion – because, as we all know, this is not how contagion happens. It happens indoors, where there is no monitoring.
The hospitality sector needed to be thoroughly monitored (just as the football sector would have been) when it opened. Spot checks should have taken place many times each week, with licences pulled immediately for those who allowed unsafe practices. If it was monitored, social distancing practices would be sufficient to keep people safe.
I saw plenty of venues that had clearly spent a small fortune on partitions, with staff permanently wiping and cleaning handles, and others which looked little changed from the pre-Covid era. There was no consistency, which means there was no enforced monitoring, which means responsibility for the rise in contagion from the hospitality sector lies largely with the government.
If you do not monitor compliance and close offending venues, you know you are contributing to the problem. Despite this, you can continue watch afternoon games in a Dunfermline pub, with as much alcohol as you can consume, without any change in government monitoring policy.
Unusually, this wave of restrictions came several days ahead of Westminster’s planned move. Don’t get me started on it grabbing the headlines on ‘Oh, I forgot Day’. We are bereft of competent leadership in Edinburgh and London. The former can do what they like because their opposition is even less competent than they are, and the latter can do what they like because they have another four years before they need to care about you.
It is thoroughly depressing; our government co-joined twins care nothing of the game, do not expect any amount of evidence to bring about change. As long as they keep their legions of cognitively dissonanced fan boys (CDFBs) on side, competency will not improve. I buy none of their bull, self-promoting careerists to the last. Green and white are my only colours.
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Not sure the surge in covid cases is down to pubs and restaurants being busy.
Has anyone been in M & S Food Hall in the Gyle recently?
The shoppers appear not to give a monkeys.
A dangerous place to go, imo.
Find myself disagreeing with a lot of your posts Paul67 but on this occasion In my humble opinion you are spot on …. Nail, head
PHILBHOY
I’m well thanks and I hope you and the family are too.
As for being busy , I’m not going to complain as I have been able to trade almost all the way through. It’s really heartbreaking listening to good people who’s businesses are dying.
ERNIE/JIMBO
Wouldn’t it be good if The ones agitating for a move could
be named and shamed ?
Maybe not, to many surprises methinks.
BrokenheartsCSC.
BORGO67
All well thanks!
Glad you are doing ok!
The fallout from this pandemic on industry and commerce will take years to get over.
Take care!
SFA chief Gordon Smith wants showdown talks with the SPL to stop Old Firm fixtures clashing with Scotland games.
George Burley’s plans for his Scotland debut against Croatia tonight at Hampden have been wrecked by big name call-offs.
Rangers stars Christian Dailly, Barry Ferguson, Lee McCulloch and Allan McGregor have all pulled out, along with Barry Robson, of Celtic.
This has led to claims some players are saving themselves for the crunch SPL Glasgow derby at Ibrox this Saturday.
Smith is keen to ensure the same thing doesn’t happen again, and said: “The SPL helped us this season by postponing games involving Celtic and Rangers before our match against Italy.
“Maybe we should now look and see if we could avoid having Old Firm derbies after international games. It doesn’t do us any favours as we’ve lost players from the squad for George’s first game.
“And I don’t think it does the Old Firm any favours to have their players involved in intense inter-national games so close to a derby.
“We do talk quite openly with the SPL and our relationship is good so maybe this is something we can discuss.”
Players withdrawing from Scotland squads ahead of Old Firm games is nothing new.
Last October no fewer than five Celtic and Rangers players – Scott Brown, Gary Caldwell, Paul Hartley, Alan Hutton and Allan McGregor – pulled out of the crucial Euro 2008 clash with Georgia.
Alex McLeish’s men were defeated 2-0 – a loss which seriously damaged their hopes of qualifying for the Finals in Austria and Switzerland this summer.
However, a few days later, Brown, Caldwell, Hutton and McGregor all took part in the Old Firm game at Ibrox as Rangers won 3-0.
Meanwhile, Burley has challenged the players at his disposal to stake a claim for a permanent place in his plans ahead of the World Cup qualifiers.
He said: “The players here are very keyed up for the game and they are proud and honoured to be selected in the squad.
“The ones who start in that line-up will be very honoured to play for their country and I’m sure that’s the only thing they are thinking about. We are working with 20 players who are all desperate to play and that’s the most important thing.”
Can we drop the politics on this.
In every situation there is an opportunity. Dump the current sky deal, and allow each club to sell virtual season tickets and PPV for games. Instead of having a 5 or 6 thousand Celtic fans visiting they could sell 50 or 60 thousand PPVs. Sky are paying around £30m per season clubs get a fraction of that. There are around 230 games in the premiership per season average attendance (2018/19) 15,996 even if the update of PPV is only 10 times this that’s more than a 20% uplift to ~£37m. With full control of the TV rights in the UK and abroad that number could be much higher. When fans do get back in keep the PPV, it’s not the same as being there and maybe off the back of the PPV viewers the cost of being there could drop (or at least not rise).
JAMES FORREST on 8TH OCTOBER 2020 12:34 PM
What a pathetic post that is.
Honestly James, more and more you read like disgruntled troll.
Stick to your own blog, seriously.
T
Paul,
Not content with some posters trashing the reputations of a few of our players on a regular basis, we now have posters trashing the the leaders from you.
Is character assassination a prerequisite for posting on this blog? If so heaven help the blog.
Hail Hail
Stay Safe
Stick to football talk P67. Your political stuff is uninformed gash. Or maybe you’re doing our Tory boards press releases for them?
Latest idea ,from down south ,to start getting the fans back into stadiums …….No Entry for the over 60’s !!!!
Hand of God
Pubs can show games – with the sound off.
No music is allowed.
The pub I drink in in Hamilton (The Vaults – a Bellhaven/Greene King pub) follows the rules really tightly – someone nearly got papped out for singing recently.
Other pubs aren’t as strict I hear.
Also Hand of God/anyone
What would your team be v the huns knowing who we know is available at the minute?
SNPBad Quick News Is less enjoyable than Celtic Quick News.
SQUIRE DANAHER
We’ve never got over the roasted toasted Cheese Quick News.
8-))))
H.H. Mick
MAJESTIC HARTSON
My team
Barsik
Ajer. Duffy. julien
Frimpong Broony. McGregor. Turnbull Laxalt
Paddy. Ajeti.
H.H. Mick
MM
Kaaarect!!
MELBOURNE MICK on 8TH OCTOBER 2020 1:52 PM
SQUIRE DANAHER
We’ve never got over the roasted toasted Cheese Quick News.
8-))))
H.H. Mick
________________________
Thank goodness for a sense of humour. Provides some light relief from the shouty argumentative tykes…
Some posters are turning the blog into the Bairns Trust…
SLABHOY
You’d think all Celtic fans would have a sense of humour
after the reinvention of that mob at crumbledome.
H.H. Mick
WBC
Zat no a Falkirk fan site?
Had Nicola Sturgeon’s meeting been about any other person than Alex Salmond, then her reason may have stood up to scrutiny, just maybe, but being that it WAS about Alex Salmond then, to me, it’s not credible that she wouldn’t remember such a remarkable event about to transpire. Is going to a pub what anyone would call essential? I just can’t see it. Should have remained closed and money found to subsidise those businesses until they could open safely, also, I can’t see that going to a football match is again essential, when you consider that a very small majority of Scots attend, then it most certainly isn’t a priority at this time, public health affects everyone and that should always be the priority in making decisions, por cierto..
The cognitive dissonance of a sh*thouse who backed an ermin vermin war criminal as chairman of our club. Hah! What absolute cheek.
ERNIE LYNCH on 8TH OCTOBER 2020 1:06 PM
Also, do these new rules herald a return of the bona fide traveller from the Central Belt seeking alcoholic beverages in the the more far flung parts?
Between that and the 10 oclock dash it’s like going back in time.
Jumpers For Goalposts CSC.
===============================
Made me slmile :-)) Apparently my faither knew every watering-hole that opened up ’round-the-back’ at 8am in the north, south east and west of Scotland. Him and a few other tipper-truck drivers is stories are to be believed…
HH
BGFC
slmile = smile ;-))
HH
BGFC
DoubleRoundAtLastOrdersCSC
Melbourne Mick,
That seems about right to me – and bring on Griffiths around the hour mark
I think Neil may go with 1 upfront and flood the midfield against them, as early in the season that it is, I think they need to win it, we don’t, but I would like to, por cierto
I prefer the comments on CQN where posters tell you clearly what they disagree with and then provide evidence of why your statements were wrong.
Now, there were a few posts agreeing with Paul67’s sentiments that never added much colour to the reasons for their agreement and there were a few posts from people in disagreement who offered reasons for their disagreement (e.g. ernie with the line thet pubs should have been shut down too).
But the vast majority of oppositional points, with the possible exception of “Through The Rain’s post” which, at least, contained hints about his dissatisfaction, just chose to use insult or whataboutery as the response to the argument. There must be reasoning behind your disagreement with Paul’s views, beyond just being a knee-jerk political party loyalist (or converted zealot in one case), so why not state your case.
For the absence of doubt, I am listing the posts that I feel offered nothing but insult in the way of disagreement. Many of you, I know will jhave reasons, facts and evidence to back this up, so let’s hear that, because this kind of stuff is deeply unpersuasive:-
notthebus on 8th October 2020 12:26 pm
Stick to the football Paul,
WeeJoe on 8th October 2020 12:34 pm
Try posting on a political site Paul. What’s happening to our players in the various International squads?
Now that’s a valid subject for CQN. IMHO.
James Forrest on 8th October 2020 12:34 pm
What a pathetic CQN headline that is.
Honestly Paul, more and more you sound like party political broadcast.
Stick to football, seriously.
Through the rain on 8th October 2020 12:59 pm
What a depressing and thoroughly cynical article. An awful new low for this increasingly difficult to navigate site. I guess simplicity is not so profitable.
It is a no brainer that the opportunity to get a few supporters into stadiums should have been in place ages ago with a plan for stepped increases over time. It remains a mystery why it never happened.
However the gratuitous commentary about hospitality and the enforcement of protection policies is simply ridiculous, taken outwith an overall context and almost wholly idealisitic. The author is fully entitled to hold and express his political views and level of bias but perhaps each posting on this subject should declare such.
HH
bluegrass celt on 8th October 2020 1:37 pm
Stick to football talk P67. Your political stuff is uninformed gash. Or maybe you’re doing our Tory boards press releases for them?
Squire danaher on 8th October 2020 1:49 pm
SNPBad Quick News Is less enjoyable than Celtic Quick News.
Four-Leaf Clover Over & Over on 8th October 2020 2:15 pm
The cognitive dissonance of a sh*thouse who backed an ermin vermin war criminal as chairman of our club. Hah! What absolute cheek.
SFTB
Fair comment although I thought the Squire was having a
bit of fun.
H.H. Mick
P67
The response to CoViD19 shows that Thatcherism has won.
When it comes to fighting a global pandemic then you are on your own.
Fight the disease — yes using an app and a call centre.
Not-Jacinda had a chance to shine but she took the lazy way out as well.
The concept of self isolation will go down with appeasement as the worst government policy of the last 100 years. Policy in name only along with the travel quarantines. We are going to end up with a situation that the Spanish Flu was handled better by a country on its knees after a bloody war with limited public health capabilities and a health service that was a patchwork quilt of middle class support / working class penny pinching / poor and OAP charity.
People were desperate to forget about the tragedy and the loss in July so that they could go on their holidays to meet people just like them.
We are in a bad place.
Melbourne Mick
You are probably correct re Squire danaher, but I think his caricature of it being SNPBadQuick News when Paul was explicitly calling out the leadership from both Westminster (which is not ruled by the SNP) and Edinburgh (which is) may have been overlooked by some of the fan bhoys who posted in response
Hello all!
Haven’t been on here for a *very* long time – hope everyone is well and safe.
Paul67… I realise you ceased to interact with me a good while ago, as you don’t do challenging questions, but I’m going to put this out here anyway…
Firstly – you’re neither an epidemiologist or virologist. The government has a lot of access to both. One has to presume that the government are acting on the advice of those scientists. Why would there be a problem with that? As much as I have distaste for several of the SNP’s policies, I can’t find much to argue with in their approach. They’ve consistently led the field in trying to keep people safe. That is something to be lauded. Having lost a good friend to Covid (age 45 no underlying conditions) I’m aware how dangerous this disease is. If that means not watching football for a while? Fair enough. I don’t like it, but I’ll live. And so will some of the vulnerable people that might otherwise be killed by football attendance. And remember – it’s not an ‘outdoor’ event solely – unless you’re planning on funnelling people in over the roof. Turnstiles, stairways and other areas will present a risk. And the main parts of the stadium don’t have air filtering systems.
My other point? It’s somewhat distasteful to see you only now critiquing the tories – when we had a tory lord board member voting through bills dropping people into poverty and starvation you kept your ‘politics out of football’. Now it affects your comfort? Only now you find your voice? You do realise how tone deaf that is, don’t you?
I’ll lave you with a final thought – you’re a dyed in the wool unionist, your only colours are red, white and blue.
/p
There’s a story on NewsNow suggesting Middlesboro are about to sign Paddy Roberts permanently.
Well said Paul.
Let us back into the games.
More chance of catching Covid shopping in Morrisons
My friends in Celtic,
How long can football survive in its current format ?
Covid 19 could be about forever. Football will have to adapt or die and we cannot switch our economy on / off like a lightbulb.( Taken from breakfast tv )
But where is our plan. How do we exit this nightmare ?
Our league will undoubtedly contract and the only show in town for valued players will be the completely televised EPL.
Do we have a contingency? Have we even discussed the future ?
There are many intelligent people on CQN, can any of them tell me us a credible exit strategy without ” herd” Immunity. ?
Protect the most vulnerable in our society and let nature run it’s course. Is there an alternative that does not destroy our society and cause more damage than the virus its self.
If we don’t see a live game this season which is a distinct possibility, then how many will fork out circa £600 in a devastated economic situation to purchase a VST for next season ?
A mass spectator sport, cannot indefinitely survive no spectators especially in our league which is the most reliant league in Europe for gate receipts.
It is that serious and will surely come to a head in the near future.
HH to all.
St Tams,
What if you don’t shop in Morrisons?
:)
SFTB
I suppose you could take the comment different ways.
Preferred the funny one.
I’m sure he’ll clear it up.
8-))
H.H. Mick
P8 @ 2.54’ish
You are having a laugh — the Nats tried to keep people safe …
They just extended their passive efforts that bit longer than BoJo.
They then sat on their erse for 8 weeks basking in the glow of the low published figures.
No attempt to actively suppress the disease through sample testing or chain linking the outbreak.
Just stand up in front of a mic and put out a PPB every day at 12.30.
Not-Jacinda played to the galleries with lockdowns in Dumfries and Aberdeen.
She has never made an effort to put some effort in — everything done on the cheap.
Who needs testing when things seem to be going well.
Scotland is the only country in the world to have closed CoViD19 testing capacity.
The figures published every day are triumph of obfuscation and contrived ignorance.
We have spent the last 4 months hoping that it would all go away.
That laziness is the reason why we are in the shambles that we are.
BoJo is not up to the job and so — unfortunately — is Not-Jacinda.