Getting ready for our summer panic

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We have a curious end of season coming up.  Out of the Scottish Cup and a matter of weeks away from securing the league, the last six weeks of the season will hold no competitive challenge for Celtic.  Neil Lennon has suggested he will, as last season, rest players with next season’s Champions League qualifiers in mind.

The end of last season, however, was complicated by the Scottish Cup Final, so players were spared in small numbers, for short periods.  There is no reason why we cannot give players the equivalent of their summer break the day after the title is secured, on the basis that they return earlier than normal, to build competitiveness before we experience our annual fright against a team we need to look up in order to spell.

Send them away as soon as possible, do a Kenny and play the promising youth players, and get the first team back very early.

Congratulations to Patrick Kerr, who was at table 16 at CQteN, and who has won a Champagne lunch for two at The Honours restaurant, Edinburgh.  The Honours is owned by Michelin Star chef, Martin Wishart.  It will be a great experience, Patrick.  We’ll be in touch by email.

Seville – The Celtic Movement, is moving…

““Look at that old bloke there in the full kit. He looks like a Subutteo man”. Turned out it was my dad and we hugged and shed a tear. We were altogether as most of the guys from our CSC had met him and heading to a European final. Our CSC was 5 years old. We had our flag and we were ready to watch our team lift the cup.”

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  1. Catman supports Wee Oscar on

    BRTH

     

     

    Sincere condolences to you and your family on the loss of your Dad.

     

     

    Requiescat In Pace

  2. Geordie Munro on

    Paul67

     

     

    Agree totally.

     

     

    Blooding young guns is most important matter now. Rest the old guns before the important early games next season.

  3. Afternoon

     

     

    BRTH

     

     

    So sorry learn of the passing of your dad, James. Sounds like some fella

     

     

    RIP

     

     

     

    Jimbo67 supporting Oscar Knox

  4. Sorry to hear your sad news BRTH, I suspect your dad was as proud of you as you were of him. Condolences to all your family. Hail Hail Hebcelt

  5. BRTH

     

     

    Sad news to hear of your Fathers passing, a time for prayer and reflection

     

    Psalms 55:22

     

     

    God Bless

     

    HH

  6. BRTH , my thoughts and sympathies are with you and your family . May James rest in peace .

     

     

    It’s a common platitude to say ‘remember the good times’ but from some of the stories you’ve told us of your father’s life , the people he’s known and the places he’s been , I think you have a lot of ‘remembering’ to do.

     

     

    Know that the CQN community are there for you .

     

     

    Sanna

  7. BRTH

     

     

    From what you have told us in snippets your Da must have been some man!

     

    Sincerest condolences to you and your family for your loss.

     

    Thoughts and prayers with you.

  8. My sincerest condolences, to you and your immediate family.

     

     

    The loss of your dear father, will be a hard cross to bear.

     

     

    Please accept my utmost sympathies, dear friend.

     

     

    Kojo

  9. With Respect to BRTH

     

     

    The UK butget at a glance, they seem to be aiming for the grey vote.

     

     

    Tax avoidance

     

     

    15% stamp duty on properties worth more than £500,000 bought by corporations

     

     

    Business

     

     

    Investment allowance increased from £250,000 to £500,000 and extended to the end of 2015

     

     

    No employee national insurance for the young

     

     

    £7bn cut from energy bills for manufacturers

     

     

    Betting

     

     

    Bingo duty halved to 10%

     

     

    New 25% tax on fixed-odds betting terminals

     

     

    Alcohol

     

     

    1p off a pint of beer

     

     

    Cider duty and Scottish whisky duty frozen

     

     

    Personal tax allowance

     

     

    No tax to be paid until £10,500 has been earned, £500 more than expected

     

     

    Higher rate tax threshold to rise to £41,865 – a rise of 1% as expected

     

     

    Saving

     

     

    Cash and stocks ISAs to be merged, limit for tax-free saving raised to £15,000 from £11,520

     

     

    Pensions

     

     

    No longer need to buy an annuity, the amount that can be taken out as a lump sum doubled and the tax rate cut from 55% to 20% (or what ever the pensioners’ marginal rate of tax is)

     

     

    10p rate rate on saving income which kicks in at £2,790 abolished

     

     

    Floods and potholes

     

     

    £140m for flood defences and £200m for filling potholes

  10. Rock Tree Bhoy on

    This is the deedco mindset that’s out there and heading our way very soon…..from ‘the Metro’

     

     

    “Although Dundee United stand in their way before Rangers can even think of winning the Scottish Cup, victory in the final will mean they’ve had a better season than Celtic.

     

     

    Neil Lennon’s side might be running away with the Scottish Premiership but is that enough to deem the season a success for Celtic?

     

     

    The Champions League group stages were far from good, and the League Cup and Scottish Cup were ultimately disastrous.

     

     

    Defeats to Greenock Morton and Aberdeen both came at Celtic Park where, ironically, the finals of both competitions are held this season.

     

     

    The league campaign went as well as expected for Neil Lennon’s men. Yes, they were tipped to win it but nothing is guaranteed in football and they have merely lived up to the hype as overwhelming favourites with only one league defeat this season.

     

     

    Celtic fans may scoff at the suggestion Rangers will have had the more successful season if they win the Scottish Cup, but it’s hard to argue against it.

     

     

    It’s unfair to write off Rangers’ victories as nothing purely because they are expected to win

     

     

    Rangers have strolled through League One and completed stage two of their journey back to the top after beating Airdrieonians 3-0 at Ibrox.

     

     

    They have a Ramsdens Cup final versus Raith Rovers to look forward to, as well as a Scottish Cup semi-final at Ibrox versus Dundee United in which Jackie McNamara’s men will go in as favourites despite the match being at Ibrox.

     

     

    However, you can’t write off Ally McCoist’s side just yet.

     

     

    While League One and the Ramsdens Cup are not major achievements, they are competitions entered by Rangers to win and if they do so then they are successes.

     

     

    The idea that they shouldn’t be celebrated is baffling because you can only beat what is put in front of you – thus far, Rangers have.

     

     

    It’s unfair to write off Rangers’ victories as nothing purely because they are expected to win – just as it is unfair to write off Celtic’s victories in their league campaign.

     

     

    Both teams have done well in the league and deserve credit for that, even if fans aren’t always delighted by how their teams play.

     

     

    There are still many obstacles in front of Rangers, in particular the semi-final clash against Dundee United, but if they can get past the Tangerines and into the final then there is no reason why they can’t win the Scottish Cup in a one-off game in the final.

     

     

    If they do take the Scottish Cup back to Ibrox for the 34th time, along with the League One championship and potentially the Ramsdens Cup, then it will make Rangers’ season a superior one to Celtic’s.”

     

     

    Don’t know whether to laugh or cry..

  11. Sorry to hear of your sad loss, BRTH.

     

     

    May your Dad rest in peace.

     

     

    As a youngster, I met your Dad (who was a school bhoy friend of my own Dad) on a couple of occasions. Most notably on an excellent holiday to Italy in 1975, when our tour group was staying in a very new and very grand hotel in the hills above Tivoli, near Rome. (I think you might have been with your Dad [and Mum?] on that trip.)

     

     

    Anyway, if you were there, you may recall that the hotel had an Olympic-sized, indoor swimming pool which, due to a local bye-law, could only be used if a qualified lifeguard was in attendance. Your Dad managed to convince the hotel manager that my own Dad and another member of the group (another of your Dad’s old school pals, John Golightly) were fully-fledged lifeguards, so that we had more-or-less free run of the place.

     

     

    Another abiding memory of that trip was being woken some mornings by the sound of your Dad shouting through a loud-speaker from the hotel Car Park ‘encouraging’ that day’s day-trippers to get out of their scratchers and down to the waiting bus(-es). I take it we were the only guests in the hotel!

     

     

    FF

  12. BRTH

     

     

    Sorry to hear about your dad, I’m sure you and your family will take comfort from cherishing the memories of a life well lived.

     

     

    May perpetual light shine upon him

  13. FAVOURITE UNCLE on

    BRTH………..just back from mass said a wee prayer for your father when I was there.

  14. The Token Tim

     

     

    It is a day for sad news, I fear.

     

     

    Dick McKenna, was a guy whom I happened to have met, briefly ,in the Past.

     

     

    Sorrowful, news . Indeed.

     

     

    He was introduced to me by another friend of mine.

     

     

    the ..ONE. the ONLY..

     

     

    HARRY CONNELLY. who is.. Ah think…

     

     

    The Present .. Sergeant of Arms.. of the San Francisco Celtic Supporters..

     

     

    A very Fitting office,for him, indeed..

     

     

    As the Formidable Harry, never wiz the wan tae

     

    Take No High Jingo.

     

     

    Kojo

  15. NatKnow - Supporting Wee Oscar on

    BRTH –

     

     

    Sorry to hear about your dad’s passing, Jim. I’ll say a wee prayer for him, for you and for the family. All the best.

     

     

    NatKnow.

  16. leftclicktic We are all Neil Lennon on

    Rock Tree Bhoy

     

    Its a laugh for me

     

    Hurtin hurtin buns :))))

  17. Kilbowie Kelt will vote YES on

    James McGinley was a shining example of what the Donegal diaspora has brought to the life of our adopted country & city.

     

    A special man who gave of himself selflessly & whose life touched so many in his community.

     

     

    May he Rest in Peace.

  18. boondock saint on

    Condolences to you and your family BRTH. Lost my da a few years ago, a better Celtic man than I could ever be. Don’t post very often, but always a pleasure to read your contributions. Congrats to all of you on what appeared to be a wonderful event last Friday. CQN is more than a blog, it is a part of our daily lives. Thanks Paul for all that you do.

  19. glendalystonsils on

    Rock Tree Bhoy

     

     

    Ah, the good old MSM, typing furiously with fat little masonic ringed fingers.

     

    “it’s hard to argue against it”………

     

     

    Au contraire my dear little deluded Sevconian…….it’s hard to know where to start.

  20. prestonpans bhoys dam justice for the 5 on

    Rock Tree Bhoy

     

    14:00 on 19 March, 2014

     

     

    A guy hit me with the same logic in the pub on Friday, must be theme of the month, although in his mitigation he was plastered……………..

  21. BRTH my thoughts and prayers are with you and your family at this sad time. May James Rest In Peace. I’ll be at mass tonight and will light a candle for him.

     

    slainte

     

    tony

  22. BTRH–I logged on to find out the sad news of your father’s death. Unfortunately I never met the man–or yourself. I know him however from his legacy to Celtic and the supporters–you and your frequent pleas for the unfortunates in life.. He has gone to meet someone who will recognise his faith and goodness. Rest in peace, thou good and faithful servant.

  23. BRTH.

     

     

    My own Dad’s anniversary was earlier this month which marked the 29 years since he passed.

     

    He was only 48 years old which was far to young for anyone to die.

     

    I was only 17 years old when it happened and I think my biggest regret was that I never had the time to know him in my adulthood.

     

     

    He was a kind man and an amazing Dad who was always willing to help people out and was such a hard working guy. As a kid when I was growing up he actually worked two, sometimes three jobs so my mum could be at home to raise me and my two siblings. I always have a memory of him coming in from the shipyards looking black as coal and getting “a wash” (no showers in those days) getting his tea down his neck and then heading out to drive buses in the evening.

     

     

    Also I don’t think there was a year went by when we didn’t get a summer holiday, though they were mostly back to Donegal to see my wee Granny, but it was still a holiday to us and we always had a great time where the sun was always shining (well as much as I can recall).

     

     

    He was such an amazing guy that even though it was costing him a fortune to do so he would take me and my older brother along to Celtic Park every other Saturday and to Cappielow if the Celts were playing the Ton.

     

    This started my life long love of the hoops and was something I would have loved to have thanked him for.

     

    And although I regret that I didn’t get the chance to do it I still have the fondest memories of those days standing in the Celtic end (as the Jungle was a wee bit rough for a 5 and a 7 year olds as he would say) and of eating look warm pies and macaroon til we felt sick. He would also try and sing some alternative words to some of the swearier songs (he really was a great guy).

     

     

    Anyway I just wanted to share this with you as I remember the days and weeks after his death we were all inconsolable and we thought we’d never get over it, but you get through it day by day and having your family and friends around us made this sad time all that more bearable.

     

     

    And now even after 29 years the memories of my Dad are as fond and fresh as they ever were, and I know that my love, affection and respect for the man will never fade.

     

     

    God bless you my friend!

     

     

     

    HH

     

    /Bishop B

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