For a striker, getting your first goal at a new club is a huge mark. The longer it takes, the more pressure lands on your shoulders. Giorgos Giakoumakis settled that liability on his first start for Celtic against St Johnstone on Saturday.
After an inauspicious start off the bench against Hearts, Kyogo Furuhashi also scored on his first Celtic start, away to Jablonec in the Europa qualifiers. The flurry of goals that followed changed the trajectory of Celtic’s season. Giorgos goal on Saturday could be just as important.
Apart from the November international break, Celtic have two games per week until Christmas. This is the kind of run that blunts players whose responsibility it is to carry the load game after game.
Ange Postecoglou will be able to rest Kyogo, who will return to Asia for Japan’s games next month, and let Giorgos lead the line. The Greek striker also has the benefit that he is not the Greece striker, he has not represented his country since March and is likely to have a two week break next month, time hopefully spent at Lennoxtown honing his fitness.
Resting Kyogo also means bringing Mikey Johnston and/or eventually James Forrest back into the team. There is no freshness gained if Kyogo is shifted to the right. Johnston has looked sharp on his substitute appearances this month, especially against Ferencvaros on Thursday. The home game against Livingston on Saturday would be an opportunity for him to start.
For all that has been said about our defence this season, they scarcely conceded a chance worthy of the name during their three consecutive clean sheets. This is a factor not just of defensive form, but of shape in the middle of the park. It is as though everyone now knows what to do.
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Church of Scotland Protestants decalred on 2001 census as 42%.
Why would the other 58% want to close catholic schools ?
if it was a vote winner it would have been done already.
Anti-sectarian charity calls out ‘derogatory’ Rangers tweets by St Mirren chairman
By Aidan Smith @SmithAidan1
Digital Sport Audience & Engagement Editor
Anti-sectarian charity calls out ‘derogatory’ Rangers tweets by St Mirren chairman
Anti-sectarian charity calls out ‘derogatory’ Rangers tweets by St Mirren chairman
ANTI-SECTARIAN charity Nil By Mouth have commented after St Mirren chairman John Needham apologised “unreservedly” for alleged posts directed at Rangers fans.
The SFA are investigating the tweets which Needham allegedly used the terms “huns” and “sevco” when referencing Rangers.
Another post referencing Rangers supporters packed on the Squinty Bridge in Glasgow allegedly read: “Here’s hoping the Squinty Bridge tips as well. Second thoughts… the pollution would be awful.”
It’s thought the alleged comments will be probed by the Compliance Officer with possible disciplinary action if there is sufficient evidence.
Mr Needham yesterday apologised “unreservedly” for the alleged posts as he branded them “completely inappropriate”.
Posting on Twitter, he wrote: “On Friday 22 October a number of Tweets I created in the past referring to Rangers fans were highlighted on Twitter. As a club chairman I have extra responsibility for the conduct and example I show.
“These posts are completely inappropriate and do not reflect my character or beliefs as a person and I very much regret them.
“I apologise unreservedly to the Directors and fans of Rangers and to everyone at St Mirren. I am acutely aware of my responsibilities. This won’t happen again.”
Anti-sectarian charity Nil By Mouth made comment this morning, adding: “We are aware of the recent derogatory tweets directed towards Rangers fans by St Mirren chairman and subsequent apology.
“We suggest these sentiments could be made more tangible by a donation toward Rangers Charity Foundation to support its education work with young people.”
Saints Stivs – why do you bother? something not right about you posting that type of retort – doesn’t suit you.
maybe she is just telling lies. just to get the “catholic voters”.
https://www.thetablet.co.uk/news/9193/nicola-sturgeon-scottish-government-unequivocal-supporter-of-catholic-schools
DId I see this right on Saturday evening Sportscene results round up? I thought I saw their correspondent from the Killie game as one Cammy Bell, the one who got booted off the Heart & Hand Podcast for bigotry? Was he re-employed by the BBC or allowed to continue regardless?
Saint Stivs – sorry – that was in response to your 5.07 post.
ROCK TREE BHOY on 25TH OCTOBER 2021 5:17 PM
noted, cheers.
Guys,
Please keep up.
2017 survey found that 58 % of Scots were non religious.
That figure rose to 74% among those aged 18 to 34.
You can bet the figures are even more polarised going into 2022.
Celtic supporters will not substantially buck that trend.
HH.
its the jedis i am worried about.
`JHB on 25TH OCTOBER 2021 4:59 PM
Our’s, Celtic (open to all), Irish & Catholic, is a minority community in Scotland (c16%),`
Are you saying that the Celtic support all come from the ` Irish and Catholic` community in Scotland?
Or are you saying that Celtic is Irish and Catholic?
Quite astonished to see Carters Vickers being booked for getting kicked in the stomach on Saturday when he was lying on the ground, why do we put up with stuff like that, we never call them out? Crazy.
From a 2017 survey:
`7.2% of Scotland’s population regularly attend church, down from 17% in 1984;`
Good for Nil by Mouth somebody got called an alleged sectarian name twenty years later, a reminder of why they were formed;
‘Hidden in Plain Sight’
Twenty years on from founding Nil by Mouth Cara Henderson spoke with BBC Scotland’s Andrew Picken to reflect on why she took a stand and what she thinks has been achieved….
Twenty years ago, in the aftermath of a senseless death, the anti-sectarian charity Nil by Mouth was born. While it came from a “tragic place”, it sparked a debate about sectarianism which was not really happening at the time in Scotland.
But two decades on, its founder Cara Henderson says Scotland still has a long way to go in tackling the problem.
The issue is “more in the open than ever before”, says Cara, but is far from fixed.
She set up the charity after the sectarian murder of her 16-year-old school friend Mark Scott – a Celtic fan who was stabbed to death as he walked home past a Rangers pub. The anti-bigotry drive “consumed” her life, she told BBC Scotland, and it took a long time to come to terms with Mark’s death.
Nil By Mouth was “far from planned” and came out of a desire for some good to come from the loss of her friend. “We just wanted to get people to talk about the issue and ask questions,” Cara says. “Back then it was talked about in a sideways manner, not directly, it was this thing that was hiding in plain sight because we were so used to looking at it.
“I think people were bewildered at me. I didn’t fit into any category, an outsider, and that worked more for me. I was a girl who didn’t know much about football, with no political affiliations as such.”
Cara, now aged 40, says the campaign was a “weird way” to start her adult life and she often felt exposed and as uncomfortable with the praise as with the criticism.
“After I stepped back from Nil by Mouth it took me a long time to come to terms with everything. “The trauma of what happened to Mark, I got stuck in it emotionally for a number of years, it was almost too big for me to process. But I am proud of the charity, it came out of a very tragic place but some good has come from Mark’s death.”
The murder of Mark Scott and the creation of Nil By Mouth sparked a period when the issue of tackling sectarianism was high up the political agenda. In 2002, the then first minister Jack McConnell launched a new anti-bigotry drive, calling sectarianism “Scotland’s secret shame”. The following year the Scottish Parliament backed new laws which for the first time made a specific provision for the prosecution of offenders for religious prejudice.
In the following years Nil By Mouth evolved from a campaigning group to running education projects in schools and workplaces. Sectarianism hit the political agenda again in 2011 when “viable parcel bombs” were sent to Celtic boss Neil Lennon and there was disorder surrounding Old Firm games. This resulted in the controversial Offensive Behaviour at Football Act which was eventually repealed after critics said it unfairly targeted football fans and failed to tackle the problem.
One way used to understand the extent of sectarianism is to consider religiously aggravated offending in Scotland. Hundreds of arrest are made each year for such offenses – a result of the charity’s work with Donald Gorrie MSP and McConnell to create the law in 2003.
The focus of sectarianism disorder switched to the issue of loyalist and republican parades last year when some marches in Glasgow resulted in clashes with the police and counter-demonstrators. Cara, who now lives in Switzerland and has stepped back from formal involvement in Nil By Mouth, says there has been progress in tackling bigotry in Scotland.
“It used to be a more back page story, in with the football, and over the years it has become a front page story,” she says..
“It is sad but in some uncomfortable sense that is a measure of success, the issue is talked about, acknowledged and more in the open than ever before.”
She added there was a “lot to be positive about” with a range of anti-sectarian initiatives, especially at schools, now the norm and attracting significant Scottish government support.’
But the fact Nil by Mouth still exists is a negative because it “shows the problem is still there”, Cara added.
Cara describes her role and that of Nil By Mouth 20 years ago as “starting the conversation” on Scotland’s sectarianism problem but insists she was tapping into a wider feeling in society that tackling the issue was “long overdue”.
SS- do you have any pictures of the team ,Lions era,walking along London Rd,going to and from Barrowfield? Any round about Springfield Vaults? A pal owns it,and asked if there are any pictures of the building back in the day, many thanks.
!!BADA BING!! on 25TH OCTOBER 2021 5:31 PM
SS- do you have any pictures of the team ,Lions era,walking along London Rd,going to and from Barrowfield? Any round about Springfield Vaults? A pal owns it,and asked if there are any pictures of the building back in the day, many thanks.
0000000000000
there is the famous wee woman at the traffic light, let me go see where it is.
Tony McK Flag of Scotland ||*||
@oakroyd
#Shoap – Flynn’s (Springfield Vaults), Springfield Rd, #Glasgow, 1957.
Pic – Newsquest
https://twitter.com/oakroyd/status/1426423339845775366/photo/1
https://www.oldglasgowpubs.co.uk/springfieldvaults.html
And Ange thinks he has a fair chance
Fair Dinkums ? CSC
Good to see us playing far better , but I hope we don’t go overboard with our expectations . We have improved from last term ,(would not be hard ) but we have still a lot more to do . Wait until our wee totty boys come up against the hammer throwers, labada, Kyoto , and Micky Johnstone in particular ,great wee tanner baw players if allowed to play , soon time will tell . Still areas of the team needing strengthened ,and players played in there rightful positions . Rogic and turnbull presently playing better and consistent ,will that continue . And where is the protection for our wee guys , doesn’t look like McCarthy is going to be doing it for them ,and we have no one else . Still makes for better watching than last season .
a “wee wummin” leads the Lisbon Lions to training!,
https://bit.ly/2Zw8ZBL
por cierto
Por cierto
That’s the one
SAINT STIVS on 25TH OCTOBER 2021 5:18 PM
maybe she is just telling lies. just to get the “catholic voters”.
https://www.thetablet.co.uk/news/9193/nicola-sturgeon-scottish-government-unequivocal-supporter-of-catholic-schools
####
What has any of that got to do with what would happen in an independent Scotland
Would the cult still be running the country and would Sturgeon still be running the cult?
Lisbon revisted by it’s Lions
typo 👆👆👆👆
To the fantasy attention seeking defender of shite oot fc 4.59
Still the non catholic, vomits his divisive unionist bile.
Makes a change from his hun/unionist theories bout dom mc kay.
Hun scum and britnat nazi
Sftb I disagree this prick is nowt to do with the left.
To the right of tory scum
SS- PC- brilliant Bhoys, thanks
David Moyes is doing a wonderful job at West Ham – he would have done a wonderful job at Celtic….but we didn’t want him enough. He is, and has proved to be, head and shoulders above Eddie Howe. A real missed opportunity during Neil’s tenure; and yes I hold DD, PL & the board to blame…..unless there were extenuating circumstances that we were completely unaware of at the time.
POR CIERTO on 25TH OCTOBER 2021 5:49 PM
a “wee wummin” leads the Lisbon Lions to training!,
https://bit.ly/2Zw8ZBL
por cierto
—————-
it is just such a wonderful of its time picture,
I will say it again, all our away games are on the betting sites, they are free and legal as long as you have a small amount, say a tenner in your account.
Mrs TET went through a 6 and a half hour Op this morning, and thankfully so far she is doing good, trust me the relief is unbelievable.
Mikey Johnston………………
How Celtic science and manager’s faith is paying off for resurgent winger Mikey Johnston, ready to prove naysayers wrong
Celtic supporters want to see their club moving forward off the pitch as well as on it. The bright cameos provided by winger Mikey Johnston in the weekend 2-0 success over St Johnstone, and in the Europa League win by the same margin against Ferencvaros four days earlier, could be evidence that is happening.
The talented 22-year-old has endured a horrendous two-year period with injuries. He lost almost 12 months to a ligament problem that required surgery and, just as he had shown up well in pre-season under new manager Ange Postecoglou in July, suffered a hamstring tear that he has only now recovered from.
A genuine talent, Johnston’s abilities have never been in question. However, his capacity for the rigours of the professional game inevitably come into question through spending so long on the treatment table.
Celtic’s recruitment of a new head of sport science a month ago with the appointment of Anton McElhone could have a crucial role in getting his Celtic career back on track. Johnston is doing everything in his power to move on from a set of debilitating issues and prove wrong the naysayers who he believes put his injury problems down to some deficit in his professionalism.
Injury troubles have been a tough time for Celtic’s Mikey Johnston. (Photo by Craig Foy / SNS Group)
“I’m feeling good and the new sports scientist has come in and helped me a lot,” the Celtic wide man said. “I’ve needed a bit more time to get myself back up to speed and to make sure I don’t pick up more injuries.
“I’ve been working hard and the international week came at a good time for me. I was able to get a lot of good fitness work in and some strength work that I wouldn’t necessarily get just from training.
“It’s not just the sports scientist, we’ve nutritionists at Lennoxtown. I’ve had to try and live a bit like a monk recently so I’m not getting any muscle injuries. A player like me is going to be a bit more susceptible because I’m a bit quicker. But, he’s helped me a lot.
“It can be difficult due to the amount of spells I’ve had out. Mentally it can take a toll. But I’ve come back and I’ve got confidence from senior players like Joe Hart. They’ve helped me a lot. I’m starting to get a bit more belief in myself again.
“I had the summer off, but I never took it off. I had surgery, I was working right away, in the gym and seeing the physio and doing a lot of fitness work. Obviously, I played two games quickly and my hamstring went. It was a very low time.
“A lot of people don’t know what goes on in the background. They’ll think I’m lazy and not a professional. But I try to do everything to get myself right to play for the club. Thankfully, it’s starting to pay off now and I hope people will see that.
“Being a Celtic fan, if supporters don’t like you it can get to you a bit. But the manager’s the one who picks the team and I’m back and he’s putting me on. He obviously wants to see me out there and that gives me confidence as well. I just wanted to prove people wrong and show that I’m good enough to play for Celtic.”
Saint Stivs…………Agreed with regard to Anthony Ralston, on observation I reckon he is probably one of the toughest lads in the Celtic team, an excellent tackler and quite good with the ball at feet. I wonder could he make a switch as a defensive midfield of course the problem is where points are so valuable Ange probably would not take the risk to try that switch.
Latest news from the Superbru Predictor.
A good week for three of us with Friesdorfer, Travelbhoy and myself getting 3 exact scores and a forecast to end up in joint top spot.
A bad week for Gutenburg who got the wooden spoon for one correct (prediction only) when he had the Celts winning by 4 to nil
A couple of good weeks can shoot you well up the table. I have fone from the bottom 10 or so to 14th position in 2 weeks.
Overall, Call Me Gerry and Hopeful Hoops remain joint top, 5 points clear of the chasing pack. They might want to start dishing out tips.
At the bottom, wee BGFC has replaced Leggy as the man holding up the table.
****************************
Remember to have a fresh round of picks in for 6 fixtures on Wed, evening, two days time, by 7.45 ****************************
Exiled Tim
Good news- pleased for you both.
The Exiled Tim …
Good to hear ..
Cheers bhoys, just needed to tell somebody as the emotion has been palpable, I am not allowed to see her till she is out of the ICU, so I just wanted to get it off my chest, sorry for the burden, I am being selfish I suppose.
The Exiled Tim
Best wishes and prayers for you and your good lady
All the best man.
HH
THE EXILED TIM
Good news mate, hope all goes well.hh
JHB
“I hold DD, PL & the board to blame…..unless there were extenuating circumstances that we were completely unaware of at the time.”
So you blame someone and in the same sentence declare that you really are not privy to all that goes on?
You practice law? Hope not.