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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igc
8th.
HH!!
No players in before the qualifiers and we are talking to Craig Gordon.
The end is nigh.
I remember ole Craig Gordon ‘palming’ us the winner via Stephen McManus into the Jambo’s net when we needed an injury time winner at CP.
HappyDays CSC
Parkheadcumsalford- they gave the impression of being co-conspirators.
For R.Brookes to have got to the top of the tree at News International she must have known what was going on, and sanctioned it.
Auldheid
The Auld bun:)) across the road from me 92, reminds me every now and again that celtic got a corner when it was cleary a goal kick against Albion Rovers in 1957:)))))
itsnojustusCSC :))))
It needs to be on a pay per play deal.
Not a contract surely.
Paul67 et al
Another thing is the way the players who failed England queuing up to say Roy is the man to take the team forward. Elsewhere Gerrard will let the world know in a few weeks whether, one, he will give up the captaincy, and two whether he will keep playing for England. He will decide! After his performances I didn’t think there should be any doubt about it.
Auldheid- it’s [one of ] the explanations for the high homicide rate in the Deep South; given the high percentage of crackers with hot Scots/Irish/Scots blood
Bsr,
Tis the game I refer to.
One nil down with 4 mins to go.
Leavingitlate csc
Let`s try and get Mo Johnson back as well, forgive and forget `n aw that. Someone mentioned Kenny Miller, he was a goalscorer,(occasionaly) who scored for and against us, as was Skippy.No problems there. Craig Gordon went out of his way to stop Celtic winning the league. Would have preferred Rangers to win it. Oh, he`s a Jambo, not a hun? Salt `n vinegar salt `n sauce.
“Bart Maverick buys a guitar and discovers it’s an instrument of death” *
* Based on the true story of Dick Byrne and The Embrocation
PFAyr
I thought the total cost to Celtic to implement the living wage was in the region of £500k, hardly backbreaking amount for a company with a T/O of circa £70m. Still plenty to pay bonuses left in the kitty.
Did the not come out with some mealy mouthed excuse that the living wage was calculated by an unregulated body that a “responsible” PLC coudn’t allow to set their wage levels? But it’s ok for unregulated banks to set interest rates etc etc. Gie ye ra boak!
THEDOGBARKS
A very good summation of Ian Wright’s background,and easy to understand,bearing in mind what you have said,where he is coming from.
Perhaps less easy to understand his consistent infidelities-and worse-at the height of his fame,bearing in mind he knew how such things could affect his kids.
Mind you, I bet even Bert Maverick wouldn’t have had the brass neck to pull his piece out in the Ole Burns Howff.
“Poker?”
“Nah, jist a wee feel like.”
IGC
8th in league 1964/65, I think.
But we won the Scottish Cup!
sat 4th nov 2006
league
celtic…………………………………..2-1…hearts
Jiri jarosik…………….86min…………….andrius velicka-72min
CRAIG GORDON…OG-90min plus
celtic moved 13pts ahead of hearts
hail hail
Bert? Bret…
Not sure if this discussion has been had, but who is considered to have given the best World Cup performance as a Celt?
I remember Davie Hay having a great WC in 74, but think he was already a Chelsea player at the time.
The only other decent performances I can think of were Packy in USA, and maybe Henke – I remember him scoring against England (in Germany).
DONTBRATTBACKINANGER 1347
Being just that shade younger than you-!-I don’t recall that programme.
But I do remember the remake in the late 80s or early 90s with Mel Gibson and Jodie Foster.
Played for laughs,and excellent slapstick send-up of what made America great.
Frankmarker,
The very game.
The one v them the year previous was a belter of a comeback too. 2 nil down after about ten mins.
ger57
14:23 on
24 June, 2014
First up I’m a supporter of the living wage and believe the club should pay it.
That said referencing T/O is relatively meaningless. A company could have a T/O of £1Bn and still make losses, in which case £500k could be deemed unaffordable.
For a company not necessarily guaranteed a profit in any given year £500k could be considered a sizeable chunk. Regardless of T/O.
Celtic FC should pay the Living Wage,
Rab Douglas let in 6 goals in one game against Celtic before we signed him from Dundee. Nowhere near the standard required to be Celtic goalkeeper. I was angry that we were stooping so low. Once he pulled the jersey on I backed him 100%. I didn’t think he was ever a great goalie but he was certainly better than I thought he was.
LB
DONTBRATTBACKINANGER 1416
The question re Brookes is why she was awarded such a high rank in the first place.
It’s not as though she had served her time and excelled as a journalist.
Her eyes and ears were always open to methods of advancement. Possibly they were not alone in that regard.
Me,I’m just happy that her husband Charlie has finally got his comeuppance for what he did to John Francombe.
lionroars67@09:46
“Glasgow plays host to more Protestant Loyal Orders and Irish Republican parades than Northern Ireland’s two biggest cities combined,
Figures from Glasgow City Council and the Parades Commission of Northern Ireland show that during a period when there were 217 marches by the Orange Order, the Apprentice Boys and Royal Black Chapter on the streets of Belfast and Londonderry there’s 6 redundant letters in that place name, in Glasgow there were 247.
Who has control of these parades in Glasgow ?
Glasgow City Council under the rule of law, and it was the law that told them to back down. Seriously, do you think that GC wants all these parades or more of them? Believe that and you’ll believe in that letter crc’s boss claims to have seen.
The OO has lodges all over the UK, does any mainstream political party have any proposals in any white papers to deal with the OO and parades?”
Precisely my point. You are choosing to put the boot into the one body that tried (and failed) to stand up to them. If you had, even handedly, decried the efforts of every political party and every Council that has done nothing to control this activity to decent levels, you would be seen to be more interested in solving the problem than in political points scoring.
***Today’s winner is Frankmarker***
Give that man a coconut.
So close Tallybhoy and Ger57, better luck next time.
Celtic were indeed Scottish Cup winners that season as well as the Glasgow Cup which was somewhat coveted in those days (also reached the League Cup Final)
LIVIBHOY
Naw he wisnae.
Good to see that Maruane FellA&E has made into the World Cup Medical Eleven’s.
Stubbs confirmed as Hibs manager.
Weeminger
Point taken.
BMCUWP
Maybe it wasn’t just her eyes and ears she kept open to secure her advancement. Dis she not admit in court that she had an affair with Coulson? It makes the decision to acquit even stranger.
IGC
If yer struggling for a question tomorrow,let me know.
About time I got one right!
Btw,I thought we finished fifth. Wrang again.
Bobby Russell .. It was myself that mentioned Kenny Misser…. the point is valid.. he played FOR and scored against us for them…. we got him for nowt, sold him for £2.25m and made a 20% sell on fee when Derby punted him back to them.
The ginger rat that is Johnston (allegedly) committed to returning to us and then signed for them. That was the end of him as far as we are concerned.
CG has never played for them. Did he score against us ?
Give the guy a chance.. he’s aprofessional footballer making a living the same as the rest of them. What IF he joins us and becomes number 1 and makes save after save and gets us beyond our wildest dreams in Europe ? Are you still going to call him a jambo ?
Dontbrattbakkinanger
14:16 on
24 June, 2014
Parkheadcumsalford- they gave the impression of being co-conspirators.
For R.Brookes to have got to the top of the tree at News International she must have known what was going on, and sanctioned it.
Interesting one that. Only yesterday I was being told here, that although he signed the cheques for paid adverts by Faith in the Union in the Observer , Willie Haughey would have been too busy a man to know chapter and verse the content of the adverts.
Although I personally doubt it, perhaps Ms Brookes was similarly pre -occupied.
Court would have dealt with proven fact and not perceived morality or the lack of it.
Bret Maverick was Bart Maverick’s smarter brother, and Bart later changed his surname to Simpson.
DOH CSC
sun 1st jan 2006
league
hearts………………………….2-3…celtic
edgaras janauskas-6min……….Stephen pearson-55min
steven pressley…….8min……….Stephen McManus-87..90mins
hail hail
Alan Stubbs appointed as new Hibernian manager
Alan Stubbs sacked as Hibernian manager
GER57
Possibly true,but it would be unwise to comment.
Apart from the fact that she has no cv to speak of in the industry,clearly management are able to spot a diamond in the rough.
Those who appointed her are to be admired for realising that she was a star despite her lack of experience,and I won’t hear a word against them.