On his third appearance back after injury, James Forrest pulled-up in the dying moments of Saturday’s game clutching his hamstring. The player will be devastated but the mood was no better among those walking away from the stadium minutes later. Just as James was back and planning for what looked like an important season in his Celtic career, fundamental questions were being asked about his fitness viability.
We’ve seen this before. Shaun Maloney was forever breaking down, sometimes minutes after returning from injury. Shaun was a different type of player from James, he had a speed on the turn which made him a valuable asset, but likely contributed to his fragility.
The other pace player in the squad at the moment, Derk Boerrigter, has similarly fragile muscles. I hear the same about Aleks Tonev, currently injured. One of England’s greatest hopes of the last 20 years, Michael Owen was another member of the Fast and Fragile club. There seems to be a link between speed and injury.
There’s good news for James, and Derk too. After leaving so many regrets on the Celtic treatment table, Shaun’s limbs matured and stabilised. Michael Owen can tell a similar story, both players found their bodies vastly more robust from the middle part of their careers onwards.
James has to stick with it, continue to work on strengthening his muscles, and try to find what’s causing the problems, which can often be obscure. After a run of inexplicable injuries, AC Milan discovered that poor teeth were afflicting their athletes. Apparently your bite affects your running gate. Owen eventually found that his choice of cars (more specifically, sports clutches), was putting enough regular strain on the wrong muscles to leave him exposed to tears.
James’ and Derk’s bodies will continue to mature, to the benefit of the second half of their careers.
Not that Ronny is short of cover for James, having signed wide players Jo Inge Berget and Aleks Tonev we now have Ghanian Walaso Mubarak going through a medical.
The squad is becoming wing-heavy. It remains striker-light.
Greatest Irony
Do you know what would produce the greatest irony in sporting history? If Efe Ambrose came on as a late substitute tomorrow night, and we later discovered a rule deep in Uefa’s Articles that forfeit matches don’t count for suspensions. Forfeit matches are so rare no one will be familiar with the rules concerning them. Should we check? Oh yes.
James Alexander Gordon
It was the way he told them. Every week the man would uniquely intone the football results, you knew the outcome of each game, home win, away win or draw, before he read second number.
Maestro Match
Really delighted Celtic FC Foundation have nominated Unicef and War Child as their beneficiaries from the Maestro match next month, where we will “assist in their humanitarian work in a number of current Middle East countries”.
Foundation cheif exec, Tony Hamilton, said, “From our living rooms we have all witnessed some of the terrible vivid horror of conflict in recent days and the particular effects that these events have had on children.
“The work of UNICEF and War Child takes no sides but simply cares for all the innocent victims of conflict on a humanitarian level. The match in September will bring together some great names in football who want to make a difference.
“We hope as many supporters as possible can join us to assist children and their families who so desperately need our help.”
I know Celtic fans will want to support this enormously important cause. Read more and book tickets here.
[calameo code=000390171ae033f39a0c4 lang=en page=120 hidelinks=1 width=100% height=500]
1,046 Comments- Pages:
- «
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- ...
- 28
- »
Davidopoulos
15:53 on
19 August, 2014
Natknow
hate cheese! Can take mozzarella on a pizza but other than that cheese is a sweaty word in my house. Blessed are not the cheese makers.
so technically in answer to your question; roasted.
———————————————————————-
Cheese a sweary word?
What the feta?!?
And you don’t like Dylan either?!?
As long as you like Celtic, dude – all that counts!
davidopolous
Buffalo Springfield?
Now yer talkin’!
Neil Young’s the man for me.
HH!!
TD67
I just read your post about Maribor. IMO they are an inferior club to Celtic in many terms
They have a 12,000 capacity stadium and operate on a budget which is a tiny fraction of ours, they pay their players a fraction of what we pay and they buy them for a fraction of what we pay.
If they knocked us out over two legs – i would be disappointed.
I would find it hard to post something positive about it
In a way its a bit like playing Morton in the cup, We are huge club with lots of cash and are expected to beat Morton every time, If we do beat Morton we get very little credit. If however Morton Knocked us out of the cup, we could expect a slagging.
So if Maribor did knock us out, dont expect too much positive posts about it, because most of us are expecting a win and its not an unreasonable expectation and having a positive expectation is a good thing right?
Always been partial to a Greggs scone http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/aug/19/why-did-an-offensive-greggs-logo-show-up-in-googles-web-search
SoT
“On the basis of having watched them for 2 games . ———-Maribor would finish second .Cup Finals —–who knows ?”
Agreed.
We need to be aware that our rivals in Scotland are composed of a mix of callow youth and English League One and Two rejects or homesicks. We would also be wary of an away trip to Motherwell or inverness as our results show that dropped points there are a live possibility. That is doubly true of a trip to Slovenia, Poland or Kazakhstan.
But before we get the usual replies from those who can’t read a post.
I said wary, not fearful. I expect to win our tie against Maribor overall but I despair about some of our support’s tendency to dismiss these highly competent champion teams as pub teams from….. what was that offensive phrase? Borutland?
P.S. We have yet to beat a Polish team in Europe. What right have we to look down our nose at them?
From
Ghanasoccernet
As if Celtic’s season hasn’t contained enough in ?the way of drama and controversy already, ?enter Mubarak Wakaso.
The Ghanaian winger, the subject ?of negotiations over a season-long loan from Rubin Kazan with a view to a permanent transfer, is, without doubt, an interesting proposition with a decent pedigree, but he will bring the ghosts of a past shaped by tantrums and tragedies with him ?to Glasgow.
There’s the awkward business in Spain the season before last, which involved him branding all referees as racists. He got himself into further trouble at his then club, Espanyol, when being fined for turning up late from a stint at the Africa Cup of Nations and made to train on his own.
Mind you, that was nowhere as bad as the campaign at Elche that started with him resurfacing 34 days late after his summer holidays citing visa problems.
Eighteen months later, Elche sacked him amid claims from the president, Jose Sepulcre, that his relationship with his manager and team-mates had “deteriorated”. Accusations emerged that he was failing to turn up for training on time. He certainly couldn’t stop himself from being sent off.
He collected 12 yellow cards ?in half-a-season prior to being dismissed by Elche in January 2011. Over the course of his two years there, he was ordered-off on five separate occasions.
In his one and only campaign with Espanyol, he racked up 18 bookings and two red cards in all competitions before Rubin decided to pay £5m for his services.
Providing Celtic manage to iron out paperwork issues and secure a work permit, he will sign off from the Russian club having left his team-mate Vladimir Sobolev requiring cruciate ligament surgery following an accidental collision in training this week. It is perhaps understandable that the 24-year-old, who can play anywhere across midfield, feels it is time for a new beginning elsewhere, though.
Wakaso, as he is commonly referred to, has not been a regular starter at the Russian club. He has had one or two injury-related problems. Those issues are meaningless, however, when put into context by the death of his four-month-old son, Mubarak Jr, during the winter break in January when the family were on holiday in Africa.
“My family and I came to Ghana from Spain, but then my baby fell ill,” explained Mubarak in a radio interview at the time. “His body was warm and he was vomiting, so we took him to the hospital. After a check-up, we were told there was nothing wrong.
“Later, there was a light improvement in his condition and I was playing with him, but, then, he deteriorated. I contacted my mother to help me take the baby to hospital.
“On our way, I realised the baby was no longer alive.”
Wakaso, a practising Muslim ?who wore an “Allah Is Great” T-shirt under his strip at the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, dedicated his goal in a 4-0 Russian Premier League win at Krylya Sovetov in May to his son and went on to play for Ghana in two of their matches at the World Cup.
Events such as the passing of a child must change a man and it is likely Wakaso, providing a deal is completed, will arrive in Glasgow a more reflective soul than the 18-year-old brought from his home city of Tamale to the Spanish Second Division by Elche in 2008.
He made a positive early impression there, but trouble soon emerged at the start of the 2009-10 campaign. He reappeared at training almost five weeks late and was docked 34 days’ worth of wages.
Wakaso became a hero among fans thanks to his midfield displays, but disciplinary issues were evident and a row over money spelled the end of his time there.
“I do not understand how the president can say I’m a bad person and I have problems in the locker room,” he said.
“My problem was with my pay and it was not regular.” The Elche left-back, Edu Albacar, disagreed. “For the good of everyone, he had to leave,” he said. ?“He has not been focused on the job.”
Wakaso was sacked by Elche on the final day of the January transfer window. Villarreal’s B squad signed him that very afternoon on a two-and-a-half year deal and would fast-track him into their first-team squad after a matter of weeks thanks to an injury crisis.
The Ghanaian would make the very most of the opportunity and was regarded as one of their best players despite suffering relegation from the Primera Division in 2012.
Espanyol offered £400,000 for him in the summer of 2012 and his short stay at the club, a clear success despite his dreadful crime count, was certainly eventful.
Following a 2-1 loss in Valencia in November, in which his side had a last-minute penalty given against them in addition to two men sent-off, he stated that officials in Spain were biased against black players.
“Sometimes, they just give the card, and I hate to say this, because of the colour of the person,” he said.
Mauricio Pochettino, then the head coach, claimed Wakaso “spoke with his heart and not his head”. The Argentine would leave the club days later and it wasn’t long before his replacement, Javier Aguirre, was dealing with a fresh issue.
Wakaso returned to training two days late after being away with Ghana at the Africa Cup of Nations. He claimed he had been suffering from fever, but Aguirre had been calling him for days to no avail in an attempt to find out where he was. Wakaso was fined and ordered to train alone until Aguirre brought him back into the fold in March.
However, the Mexican was forced to warn Wakaso about his temperament after he ended the season being sent off at the end of ?a 2-0 derby loss against Barcelona, picking up two quickfire yellow cards for abusing the referee and being restrained by his team-mates.
Within weeks, Aguirre felt compelled to comment on Rubin Kazan circumventing the normal rules over transfer negotiations and dealing with the player directly. Even after the Catalan club had accepted a multi-million pound offer, Wakaso appeared on their in-house television station to apologise for pushing the move to Russia through.
Whether Celtic can give him ?what he now needs and manage his personality in addition to his talent remains to be seen.
Patrick27
Even as a Scottish International he is a foreign player? Astonishing!
LB
One thing we can safely say is that the female(?!) union bigot from Airdrie isnae braw.
She makes Nicola Sturgeon look like Christina Hendricks.
HH!!
Got a feeling we’ll be celebrating next Tuesday.
CL football 3 years in a row, worst case scenario we have Europa League which wouldn’t be the end of the world.
Expecting a much improved performance from the last round and a lot more dig. Legia waltzed through us at times with ease and our tackling was weak.
A few more games under our belt now and I hope we are raring to go.
HH
Quality.
Lumberjack wizardry.
http://wimp.com/lumberjackwizardry/
Yahoo! A roasted/toasted debate, that’s more like it, about time too! Away, doom and gloom of last week, you are not welcome here. Out, serious political debate. Tolerate not ye personal abuse…
Roasted, of course, cos that’s what my mammy called it.
CelticFC SLO@CelticFCSLO · 1m
Celtic fans section for tomorrow in Maribor
https://twitter.com/CelticFCSLO/status/501748279231934464/photo/1
Yawn thing fi Airdrie is what we call in the Gorbals, A Midden.
Tamrabam
“So if Maribor did knock us out, dont expect too much positive posts about it, because most of us are expecting a win and its not an unreasonable expectation and having a positive expectation is a good thing right?”
I think you managed to twist that logic sufficiently to strangle the life out of it.
Ask your wife or partner if it is alright if you fail to notice or comment upon all the good things they do for you but you will continue to point out their faults and, when they mess up, you will let them know?
Then ask yourself if you are happy to have the same attitude visited upon your actions?
We should celebrate all important victories, even routine ones. This forthcoming tie is neither a gimme or unimportant.
I do not get or want to get the attitude of posters like Iniquitous IV who only posts after a defeat.
Naknow
I really don’t know what’s wrong with me.
At university I spent a year in France, can you imagine living in France as a cheese hater? No one should have to taste the horrors I’ve tasted.
Re James Forrest/biomechanics
I have a friend who has worked for Celtic (and TFOD) in the past as a physio. And he swears that TFOD come a distant third in the list of other clubs’ supporters who really don’t like us.
Anyway his take on Jamesie is that his style of running, with shoulders hunched, causes him to ‘pull’ his thigh through by hip rather than thigh muscles. You can see this, so I’m told, in the way that his running isn’t centred, he sways a bit from side to side with a lot of lateral shoulder movement but arms not pumping but rather ‘pulling’ him, looking a bit like Robocop.
And apparently when he makes a fast turn and accelerates away, the groups of muscles that support his movement struggle to get into their equilibrium and this imbalance/lack of balance makes him susceptible to strains and tears in that few seconds – more so thatn a player whose style is more ‘classic’.
Apparently, get him properly centred with a stable core and all will be solved.
Don’t shoot the messenger by the way!
I couldent stop laughing.
Home
News UK & World
Greggs Google gaffe: Bakery chain left embarrassed as logo is changed to leave snobby message knocking customers
Aug 19, 2014 15:27 By Mikey Smith
AT first glance the information all looks pretty standard… but it seems the search engine picked the wrong picture to represent the bakery chain.
81 Shares
Share
Tweet
+1
Email
GoogleGreggs
IF you do a Google search for Greggs right now, you might get a little surprise.
At first glance the information all looks pretty standard: A map to your nearest branch, their official website at the top, and the latest news about the bargain bakery chain.
But look a little closer, and it gets a little less appetising.
GoogleGreggs
It seems something’s gone wrong in the database Google uses to create the information panels on the right hand side of the search page.
Where the iconic blue, white and orange Greggs logo should be, there’s a similar but different logo – and it has an altogether swearier slogan than “Gotta get to Greggs.”
It reads: “Greggs: Providing s**t to scum for over 70 years”
The information that makes up the right hand column is drawn from a variety of sources – including a website called Uncyclopedia – into a huge database Google calls the Knowledge Graph.
Uncyclopedia is a comedy Wikipedia parody, and refers to itself as “the content free encyclopedia.” The Uncyclopedia entry for Greggs includes the sweary, snobby logo.
A spokeswoman for Greggs said “investigations were ongoing” as to the exact cause of the message.
Meanwhile the company’s response has been remarkably good humoured.
Memo to Celtic:
Don’t forget to put Efe Ambrose’s name on the squad sheet for Wednesday game against Maribor. This requirement previously unknown in Poland, is how Efe will serve out the second of his two match suspension – provided he never takes the field. I understand it is sarcastically now known as doing a “Legia”.
Warsaw CSC
tony d
You ever went midgie raking?
Tallybhoy
for the record all future Neil Young chat has my blessing.
I was the best midge raker, an puddle drinker in the Gorbals ;)
Pity we hadn’t held on to Barry Robson, if we sign Cameron Jerome?
Sheik Yerbouti
Thanks for that piece on Wasako. He seems to have had his fair share of troubles. That story on his child is heartbreaking. Let’s hope he will find success and some measure of happiness with Celtic this season and can leave his troubles behind him for good.
Marti
davidopolous
Good mhan.
When CSN formed they had immediate success, but when Neil Young joined they reached another level.
Imo of course!
HH!!
Keep your wally close and your Miroslav Klose.
Ole Neil Young did a bit of buskin outside Central Station.
Tallybhoy
Yes, but,of course, adding him to the line up didn’t mean they gained any musical advantage, according to one of their biggest fans, Lord Nimmo Smith.
Davidopoulos
16:19 on
19 August, 2014
Naknow
I really don’t know what’s wrong with me.
At university I spent a year in France, can you imagine living in France as a cheese hater? No one should have to taste the horrors I’ve tasted.
———————————————-
Haha! I’m just back from France and tasted one of the most disgusting cheeses I’ve ever had. It must have been off. As ole Gen. de Gaul said “How can you govern a country which has two hundred and forty-six varieties of cheese?”
Tallybhoy
My favourite song in the CSN/CSN&Y catalogue is Southern Cross (i.e. without Young) but agree overall as an “ensemble” Young took them to another level.
Favourite Neil Young songs anyone?
I have an hour left at work to kill…
I was advised last year that wee jamesie suffers from sciatica
I have developed that blooming same ailment over the last two years and apart from being a right pain down my back and right leg it is also very unpredictable
SFTB
All very well, (and I am being a little playful) but you are being a little deflective. There are myriad groups actively campaigning with/for Better Together who represent Ms Hama’s social attitudes, and (one infers) believe that an independent Scotland would be a less fertile place to promote their agenda. (I ought to be clear that I am unaware that Ms Hama is a member of any such group, so let’s assume that she is not).
These groups are held at arm’s length by Better Together, while their votes are relied upon. Better Together does not want their campaign to be associated with these attitudes, the (my) inference being that it would be damaging to their campaign.
In your view, is that inference reliable? Would the Better Together campaign be weakened by sharing their campaign platform with, say, the Orange Order, Scottish Defence League and the BNP, all of whom are campaign active for Better Together, and each of whom share similar social attitudes to those expressed by Ms Hama.
It seems clear that these groups consider that the Union is a better, more fruitful place to hold and disseminate their views than the prospective independent Scotland, hence their active campaigning. An independent Scotland is not, they believe, in their interests.
Better Together it seems, are content to take their support, but appear rather concerned that the prospect of an independent Scotland antipathetic to such views would be a vote winner.
How come?
Davidopoulos
Four Strong Winds is my favourite Neil Young tune.
Marti
davidopoulos
16:38 on 19 August, 2014
Tallybhoy
My favourite song in the CSN/CSN&Y catalogue is Southern Cross (i.e. without Young) but agree overall as an “ensemble” Young took them to another level.
Favourite Neil Young songs anyone?
I have an hour left at work to kill…
Mother of Mine…….
Marti Sandino
16:41 on 19 August, 2014
Davidopoulos
Four Strong Winds is my favourite Neil Young tune.
Marti
———————————————
Oh, good choice. I had forgotten about that while weighing up mine. I’ll need to ponder some more.
!!Bada Bing!!
16:43 on 19 August, 2014
davidopoulos
16:38 on 19 August, 2014
Tallybhoy
My favourite song in the CSN/CSN&Y catalogue is Southern Cross (i.e. without Young) but agree overall as an “ensemble” Young took them to another level.
Favourite Neil Young songs anyone?
I have an hour left at work to kill…
Mother of Mine…….
————————————————
LOL!!!!
Davidopoulos
16:38 on
19 August, 2014
Cowgirl In The Sand or Down By The River are my favourites
Like a Hurricane, good track and Hawks and Doves, good album.