Shortly after Elfsborg cracked one against the crossbar last night I quickly scanned the Celtic team and had a thought. For the second season in a row we are taking on the Swedish champions but we’re missing two of last season’s big performers and none of this season’s new signings were ready for action. In short, this was Celtic 2012 minus Wanyama and Hooper. No wonder we looked unstructured.
Joe Ledley brought some vision to central midfield when he arrived, hopefully banishing the Brown-Kayal partnership to hidden corners of our mind once and for all. Anthony Stokes playing at the front of a wide diamond was equally effective. With the signing of Amido Balde, bids in for Kevin Doyle, and the addition of a wide-delivery-expert Derk Boerrigter, clearly Neil Lennon has a different plan for the months to come….. so there’s no real need for me to state the obvious.
Defensively we looked solid after a shaky opening few minutes. I’m not the only one who was a bit nervous about Efe Ambrose after he was (again) caught underneath a long ball, but he settled quickly. As we know to our cost, being great for 87 minutes is not how Champions League reputations are made, you are judged on your how vulnerable you become in your weak moments.
I said yesterday that Samaras and Commons were the two players who could cope at this level, which became plainly obvious during the game. Georgios was the one player who frightened Elfsborg, they either swamped him with four defenders or fouled him before he got near goal.
Kris is simply the most intelligent footballer we have. He is not the fastest, will never have the best stats, but he understands how games are won and is able to act accordingly. Without these two players Celtic would be distinctly vanilla.
Thanks to those who sent over their 1254125 Great Scottish Run details, I’ll have them on the page later.
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67HEAVEN
You joining me on my dayooooot?
Any suggestions for the venue?
Central-ish Glasgow..
Summa of Sammi….
04:55 on
2 August, 2013
Your tale of employment opportunity reminds me :
:
Traitor to yer birthright,mon.
Shades of the ” Old Orange flute.”
Now Bob the deceiver he took us all in
He married a papist named Bridget Mc Ginn
……….
……….
The flute would play only the protestant boys.
Tims.All inclusive.
Here`s tae us.
MACJAY
Cyberglass raised to a fine sentiment!
BOBBY MURDOCH’S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS
Polish language uses masculine and feminine nouns but when it comes to occupations you don’t know if the name refferes to the woman or the man untill you see him or her face to face or see Mr or Miss written. Summa of Sammi…. gave good example which is probably one of the few exceptions here. We say actor and actress.
The Boy Jinky :-)
Imagine, the men in Poland kiss right hand of women when they meet them. I always do that when my Mother In Law visits us. That’s an example. We think it’s respect for women and has nothing to do with sexism.
Summa, the boy jinky
Did either of you guys travel on the Cooks bus in the late 70’s / early 80’s?
Bobby.
4.P.M. Sydney
Wee glass of Glaetzer (Barossa Shiraz Grenache) “Wallace” slipping down a treat.
I remember when you were a slight inside right.
Slainthe.
MACJAY
Life o’ Reilly,huh?
Smashin’………..
.
I see Setanta have signed a Deal with UPC..for Scottish Football..
What does UPC stand for..?
Summa
Bobby
Still need some runs on the board.
But gettin` there.
Not the result,the journey.
ZBYSZEK
I had a conversation only a few hours ago with a mate about respect.
Or the difference between now and thirty years ago,say,in that regard.
I’m with you on that one-though I’m not married!!!!
.
The Horseface
06:58 on
2 August, 2013
Summa, the boy jinky
Did either of you guys travel on the Cooks bus in the late 70′s / early 80′s?
..
Maggie brought me a Programme from Seville..;-)
Did You drink in The Horseshoe bar in the 70’s..Ha Ha..
Summa of TheRatPitCSC
MACJAY
Just don’t mention even the most tenuous link to knowing me-red pen through the “GOOD” column.
Remember,The Bells of Hell…..
Good morning CQNers,
I thought and hoped the acquisition of Virgil Mouyokolo and Rogic signalled a change in tactics, one where these 3 ‘footballers’ would move the ball quickly and offer an alternative to the ponderous snake-like progression up the park. However, it seems my hopes are dashed by NL’s bid to bring Kevin Doyle whose main attribute is to hold the ball and wait for the troops.
Can’t ignore the big question this morning, are Malmo a Jekyll and Hyde team or are Hibernian, and by association, Scottish football that bad?
I’m pleased to see Chris Mather challenge the SFA over the discrepancy in the transfer embargoes they handed down, it presents an opportunity for questions to be asked of him about Sevco’s shameless circumvention of the embargo by their use of trialists.
From The Express
Celtic increase offer for Kevin Doyle
CELTIC have upped the ante by offering Wolves £750,000 for Kevin Doyle, but are fighting a losing battle to keep Kelvin Wilson.
By: Scott BurnsPublished: Fri, August 2, 2013
0Comments
Celtic are offering Wolves an increased bid of £750,000 for Irish international Kevin Doyle
The Hoops were initially set to offer £500,000 for the hitman, but after being knocked back they are now prepared to put another £250,000 on the table.
The League One club are looking for at least £1.5million for their Republic of Ireland international, but are keen to get their highest earner off the books after back-to-back relegations.
Celtic have money in the bank but don’t want to pay over the odds, knowing there will be next to no future sell-on value. Doyle is keen on a move to Celtic and is prepared to drop his wage demands to get a deal done.
The 29-year-old is currently earning significantly more than anybody at Parkhead.
Celtic boss Neil Lennon is keen to get players in to strengthen his squad after the sales of Victor Wanyama and Gary Hooper for more than £18m.
Celtic boss Neil Lennon is keen to get players in to strengthen his squad after the sales of Victor Wanyama and Gary Hooper for more than £18m
He wants Doyle and another striker and also looks certain to have to sign a new defender with Wilson keen to return south. A midfield replacement for Wanyama is also needed following his Southampton move.
Nottingham Forest failed in a £1.5m bid to re-sign Wilson last week and are ready to go in again around the £2m mark.
Lennon accused Forest of trying to unsettle Wilson ahead of their Champions League qualifier with Elfsborg.
Wilson has struggled to settle in Scotland and is keen to return to England and that is a major blow for Celtic, who may have to cut their losses and let another key player go.
HH
SUMMA
I did,and still do.
Best pub in Glasgow,except on a Saturday apparently.
And never too far from the bar,magic.
B.M.
Mmmmm…….
Intriguing……..
Had a few pals who frequented the Horseshoe.
Frequently.
Bells of hell?
Followed by ‘What will we do with Ritchie,Shearer……….
Ure,Ure, yer maws a ……..
Transportation in reverse.Van Dieman to paradise.
Bobby,
I thot ur wee day oot clashes with a wedding, it doesn’t.
Being a city bum, what are you looking for, live music?
even better if its the more mature woman!
P
Just read that.
I’M NOT A MATURE WUMMIN
.
The Token Tim..
Mail to You..
Summa
macjay1 –
Reminds me of a staff meeting many years ago. Two feminists were questioning the general use of the term homosexual, on the basis that “women can be gay too”.
I was more than happy to point out that homo in that particular context means self rather than man.
Summa
Maggie T, who collected fares, or Margaret Mc S, the convenere’s wife?
Mather- “They are entitled to think there is one rule for our club and another for everyone else.”
Never a truer word spoken.
POD I
Actually,looking for somewhere that just lets us get blootered gracefully,disnae raise a fuss,and points us in the direction of The Gallowgate for a h-u-g-e huddle later on.
Within reasonable walking/staggering distance.
TOM McLAUGHLIN 0731
I reckon you don’t do irony.
Summa, that article of Angela Haggerty’ s would be well worth a ‘re-post for a wider audience later in the day.
Murdochbhoy, yermanfromMK
07:16 on 2 August, 2013
re Mather’s comment, I may be wrong here but I seem to recall the “we are newco/oldco” argument. The £50k was oldco and never paid it didn’t matter if it was a £50M fine they had no intention of paying it and everyone knew it!
Tom McLaughlin
07:31 on
2 August, 2013
As in homogeneous.
Thanks.I`d forgotten that.
prestonpans bhoys
I don’t believe Mather is the sharpest tool in the box and the SFA, if they were so inclined, or a good journalist would have more than enough to expose him for what he is.
But in Ogilvie’s SFA and Jack Irvine’s media world Mr Mather is pretty much a protected species.
Tom McLaughlin
07:31 on
2 August, 2013
It means ‘the same’, not self. From the Greek, homos.
lymmbhoy that express article. I thought that we got big Kelvin on a free. How can getting $2 Million be a loss . Getting put out of the second round of the Ramsden Cup is a loss !. I liked watching Doyle get in amongst it in the penalty box. If we could get him for 750 I think that he would be a good option. At 29 should still have a couple of years in his boots. Wouldn’t be unhappy if he became a Celt. I would rather Big Kelvin stayed but if he wants to go he is not the man for us. I am waiting for a class young striker to join us when we get into the qualifier for the CL. Big attraction for any up and coming goalscorer with something to prove.
I think more women involved in football would be a great thing.
More tea anyone?
ernie –
Thanks.
BMCUW –
I don’t understand that comment about irony in the context of my post at 7:31, but I think I gave up a long time ago trying to work out how your mind works :-)
Burghbhoy my middle daughter plays first XI girls football at her college and I look forward to every game, never miss them. Full on 100% every time. Seriously good fun. I used to take her to Celtic park and she loves the game.
Languages, words and their meanings?
Lisbon lions – derivation – from the Latin “Lisbonicus Lionus”
Meaning – a group of warriors from East end of Glasgow who will haunt the Hun tribes until their dying day.
taurangabhoy
We signed him on a Bosman, seem to remember lots of talk at the time of a fee if we could bring him in early.
Don’t know why the journo used the “cut our losses” term.
HH
A lot of sexist comments on here this morning.
Shameful.
For any of our female fans looking in don’t you worry your pretty little heads about them.
.
The HorseFace..
Wee MaggieT..
Broke her ankle on Way to the Game and Still got me the Seville Programme..
God Bless Her..
Summa
Probationum my arsium !!!