Football has been tribal and jingoistic for over a century. Where it succeed in penetrating beyond the scope of a mere sport, it is inherently primitive. This can be a healthy way for people to remain in contact with all that is important in life but it’s often not.
Writing in today’s Sun, former Celtic player (good grief) , Ian ‘Wrighty’ Wright said: “The next young player who says he does not want to play for England should be ordered to ring the parents of a soldier who has died serving his country in Afghanistan and tell them his reasons”.
To invoke the memory of those who have sacrificed their lives in order to rebuke reluctant footballers is beyond primitive, it is debased and ugly. Bereaved parents would surely be sickened at attempts to equate their sacrifice with a football game. Football and our media have lost their way. Wright should be ashamed, but he won’t be, it’s nonsense like this which newspapers pay for. His media value will have increased.
Harry Redknapp’s ill-made comments about Spurs players not wanting to travel for England games are also a nonsense. There’s not a top-flgiht manager in the game who’s yet to experience players reluctant to fly to Tbilisi, or some other distant destination, for a friendly instead of resting at home with his family. If you are a top pro, these games hold little excitement or value and come at a fitness cost, to pretend otherwise is being duplicitous.
Players with imposing club demands can see these games far enough. Those involved in European football often have two games per week for months, depleting resources and adding strains to muscles. A flight to the back of beyond before a thankless task of a game is simply not an attractive offer. Most players go, but let’s be honest, almost all will choose times to back out occasionally.
England are hurting after an awful World Cup but it will be counter-productive to hand the stage over to jingoistic lunatics. And ‘Wrighty’, if anyone asks you to pull the Paradise Windfall one day, don’t feel obliged to pitch up.
Visit the CQN Bookstore to get Tommy Gemmell to sign your personal copy of his book, All the Best.
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Im sure fifa will get to the root of the problem and cut out the decay thats rotting in the beautiful game
My Last Samaras Rant – I posted months ago that it was ridiculous asset management not to offer GS a new contract,for a number of reasons . without going into all the nuances before,PL Is culpable .If you went anywhere in Europe on holiday,and ended up in a wee local bar,they could possibly name 2 Celtic players, Samaras & Forster.PL has allowed a £3-5 mil asset walk out the door for nothing . Very poor management IMO. I totally understand GS divided opinion at CP (although most of the shite I heard was guys who don’t go to watch the team and listened to the shocking abuse weekly on Radio Clyde. GS said he wasn’t offered a new contract, no response from the Club. He dropped a
million on his Man City contract to sign for us.The World Cup is the most famous tournament of them all,it should be a Celtic player holding all the world press headlines right now,but it is Gorgios Samaras OUT OF CONTRACT. Over to you at the AGM Peter.
spikeysauldman
23:47 on
24 June, 2014
‘the disproportionate amount of tcheuctars on bbc scotland annoys more than suarez biting antics’
###
The one that grinds my gears is that pollution with the Shetland accent who does the sports news on radio shortbread.
skyisalandfill
20:56 on 24 June, 2014
Lininker, shearer and the usual clowns dissing old Georgious. Hope has the last laugh.
HH
==========================================
And didn’t he just?
Said 2 months back that losing Sammi was total false economy for us, and a huge loss on the park when it comes to big-game class and experience.
What will it cost us to replace him with similar class? Overall, DOUBLE the wages he was looking for at least I’d imagine.
Peter Lawwell, you took a bath on this one. Lift your head out of the ‘Old Firm’ mire and realise we have the opportunity to remain light years ahead of them, not by playing the Scotttish tradition card but pushing the European ambition card. That starts by knowing your players of true class and holding onto them.
Think, man. Sammi could command quite a fee elsewhere now, but why not meet his Celtic requests and se eif he’ll give us a couple more years.
Sad to see Suarez the butt of so many of your jibes – his remorse for his actions will be genuine and his contrition heartfelt in line with his deep faith; I’m sure I read he was Greek Orthodontal…
Celtic should’ve offered Sammi a contract a year ago, if he didn’t sign then sold him.
That was the only business mistake PL made.
I don’t believe Sammi wants to play for Celtic at the wages we offered him.
That’s my opinion might be wrong but then again might be right no one here knows.
Question. Would Sammy get a game for Scotia?
How many competitions have Scotland qualified for recently compared to Greece.
If he wasn’t playing for us obviously.
ernie lynch
The one that grinds my gears is that pollution with the Shetland accent who does the sports news on radio shortbread.
———-
Craig Gordon also has family in Shetland so I’ll just leave that there not saying anything else but you know right
Bada totally agree PL drops the ball again, and rd has already told us no new signings! I think pl is playing with fire and rd wont be the main target if we dont get into cl group stages. We bumbled into it last year with a new manager with zero experience in european cl what do you think?
To be fair Greece are bloody awful, god knows how they keep on qualifying for Euros and WCs they are boring to watch.
Excuse me…..I am a very tolerant person BUT Craig Gordon left his goal to try and score upfield in a meaningless game for Hearts….but a game that meant a lot to Celtic…..how often does a goalie come to the box in meaningless games ? Answer is NEVER…..it’s not ice hockey. Some people are anti-Celtic, no matter what….why even give this guy a game.
Maybe Red Hand Andy Gorham next ?
Give us a break, please
Good Night fellow Tims and well done Sammi
the_huddle
00:09 on 25 June, 2014
‘I don’t believe Sammi wants to play for Celtic at the wages we offered him.’
###
Well I dare-say if you cut everyone’s wages enough none of them would want to play.
It might be the way forward right enough.
I know for a fact there’s at least 20 guys on our bus who would play for nothing.
Big up for Georgio…….last 16 of the World Cup but surplus to requirements at Celtic…..mmmm!
He was always a player…….we just never had enough quality at any one time to accommodate him IMO
He cost less than 2M and his Euro goals were game changing money spinners for us……he was as loyal a player to Celtic as its possible to get in the modern age.
You blew PL…..big time.
Best wishes Georgiou………theres still much to play for out there…..regardless of what some at Celtic think.
If Suarez would admit that he has perpetrated immoral Behaviour then he could be forgiven if he pursued therapy or something. However he is just am instinctive animal in denial.
big sammis goal – best moment of world cup so far for me
and btw gerrards trademark yellow v uruguay was way worse than suarez (and i like gerrard)
FIFA will have been delighted at the way this tournament has gone so far, with the quality of the football and the matches being the main focus of discussion in the media. They won’t want the spotlight to move to Suarez, and what they’re going to do, or not do, for any longer than it has to. Song got a 3 game ban for the elbow in the back, so 4 for Suarez wouldn’t be seen as draconian, but would ensure he plays no further part in this WC, assuming they believe him to be guilty after reviewing the incident.
Greece were excellent to watch tonight – pegish in the other two tho
ernie lynch
———–
You’re right, and Celtic offer money they believe they can afford.
There’s loads of frees out there be we aint there yet, Sammi is just out of our price range.
Broony will be next. Not a big loss but I’d guess he will be willing to reduce his pay packet.
Neither Sammi’s nor any other player is out of Celtics price range.
What is out of Celtics price range are executive bonuses and share manipulation
broony not a big loss ??
do you watch the games when he isnt playing and i include games when victor the southampton sub was there
if we get rid of broonie, we better get a new captain and leader, there isn’t another at the club at the moment
the_huddle
00:16 on 25 June, 2014
You don’t think Sammi would have had a resale value tonight if we had renewed his contract a few weeks ago?
You don’t think Celtic’s world wide profile would have been raised tonight (which would mean £££ in advertising and marketing)?
Personally I think Celtic supporters have been sucker punched for a generation
You know I am right
we dont need sammi to raise our profile – we’ve got another greek and his german wife coming up to salmondland to do just that in a couple of weeks
Thomthethim
Much of your post is about opinions and that’s fine, I happen to think, for his European experience and the fact he’s a quality player, we should have kept him.
No, I was alluding more to the shameful act of Celtic refusing to offer him a new contract.
Of course Sammi has a resale value if he signed, that’s why he shouldve signed a year ago. Big fat 3 yr contract sell for a few mill.
He had no sell on value last month when he didn’t sign a new contract no matter how he performed in the WC.
Oh Sammi Sammi…
Spikey
I’ve said for the last couple of years that Brown is one of the worst passers of a ball that I can remember at Celtic.
He’d still be first on my team sheet though.
I think we should have tried a lot harder to keep Samaras but tonight is the first time this WC that he’s been a major topic on here and that perhaps sums up we didn’t.
I think broony being the worst passer of the ball in living memory and still first in the Celtic team sheet sums it up nicely
HT
You’re spot on. On both counts!
And with that rare outbreak of agreement on post watershed CQN I shall love and leave you all.
Night Timdom.
HH jamesgang
James
Night big fella.
Margaret McGill 00:19, utter pish.
Exec bonuses are part of Celtic and our PLC way of working in the modern game. Agree or disagree, this is the market and the game we are playing in.
Share price manipulation is not something I’m aware of. What have you heard? Or are you trying to stir up a bullshit storm?
You should have come away with me on my boat when you were offered ya nutter, It’s the best offer you’re getting before you kak it. We could have caught fish and been happy.
xxxx
paolosboots-thanks for reply, it is a very interesting/worrying time ahead. RD said there will be no new players before Rejjavik game, and probably not for any qualifiers,which is what NL was told.We have been left with a decent enough squad ,compared to previous departing managers,so RD has a great chance to put down an early marker.HH
Yeah who needs any of this Samaras Mjallby Lennon wanyama hooper shit the glorious balance sheet can still plunder Hibs & Arabs youth squads
CL here we come!
Suarez is bizarre. He can’t see a defender’s shoulder but he has bite it. Then he collapses from sore teeth syndrome.
If he continues to play he has got to be muzzled. After all the boy may have rabies.
his passing is much better now then it was just two years ago. the most erratic passer of the ball in celtics midfield in recent times was victor (just my opinon of course).
will need to start looking at those stats now.
worst tackler in living memory – kayal
worst throw ins – most full-backs – mar matthews
worst back post headers of the ball – most full backs bar lustig
worst movement in box – most forwards since the king left
but i still enjoy watching them ;-)
a ceiler gonof rust
00:32 on 25 June, 2014
Shite mate!
Enough of Sammi….
……what about Count Dracula of Montevideo?
The real disgrace is some of the appalling jokes that are trawled up every time Suarez causes an incident. Once we’ve seen one p*sh joke or pun, it should be a case of ‘once bitten, twice shy’. But, no, we can’t consume enough of it. We’re like toothless internet trolls. We never learn and it sickens me to the back teeth. We’re better than this but we get sucked into it every time. Mind you, the Uruguayan Dracula will have to shoulder the blame for this one. An oral warning just won’t do. The authorities will have to punish him as they can’t simply pay lip service any more. They cannot floss over this issue.
And finally,
….if he gets a ban, …….
….I hope they relax it, if Uruguay get drawn against Germany, because ratboy would like to try a shoulder of Lahm…
…..ok I’ll get me coat.
I’m off “outwith”.
I hope Cowiebhoy enjoyed seeing the Greek god slotting that winner past the Ivory Coast keeper.
World class is a prefix that will always precede the Grecian’s name.
We let him go. What a fukkup!!