Neither you nor I are medical experts, but if Leigh Griffiths can bang in a couple of goals for the reserves last night, he can take his place on the bench against his old club, Livingston, on Saturday. The 11 games in five weeks before the winter break will go a long way to determining the success or otherwise of our season. Going into this period with only Odsonne Edouard available up front places too much of a burden on the French striker.
Tottenham, honestly! All the money in the world and they think Jose Mourinho is the next big thing in football management. Five years ago, Mauricio Pochettino was an inspiring choice, the hottest property in England after setting Southampton on a road to finding and developing young players, before selling them at an enormous profit (including Victor Wanyama).
Mourinho is not without talent and he is undoubtedly box office, but his natural instincts are as far removed from Tottenham’s as it is possible to imagine.
Yet again, we look at a football club and wonder, with all these resources, why can’t you just go out and find a manager with a verifiable record of improving teams? Is it really that difficult?
I’m over the Seville thing with Mourinho, no grudges left. If he’s ever in town he’s welcome to draw the Paradise Windfall, but Tottenham do not deserve this appointment to be successful. It is lazy and conservative – and there are enough like that around.
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Zero comments?
Not quite.
When I said it, it was`quite` :-))
Casn someone else post so as to remove any suspicion that the Article Title is not seen as a reference to myself and MacJay !
Good morning Arbroath and Australia.
C’ Mon Leigh, get yir bits oan. We need you.
HH
🇨🇦
Is it possible for the Garngad not to have weather today? 🤔
TAL
I hope Leigh is improved enough to gain a place on the bench on Saturday.
Cheerio for now.
TAL
I think the garngad had its weather on the last page of the other article.
Incidentally, the first four or five years of my life were in the Garngad.
Def. Off.
Glad to see Afolabi got 45 minutes yesterday . I understand he did OK as well.
He is a powerful lad, obviously young & raw but could emerge as a useful back up to our striking options with the glut of games coming up.
Greg Taylor was excellent last night.
JJHS
Missed it – 4° in the Garngad.
Off to work.
HH and C’mon the Celts
In view of the fact that I missed the Swede during his wonder years , Leigh is the best natural Celtic striker I have seen since the marvellous Joe Mc Bride , who was leading goalscorer for the season in spite of being ruled out through injury from the beginning of December until the end of the season.
The current Leigh saga is puzzling in view of the information which has been made available to us.
However ( courtesy Kojo ) , unlike some , I have absolute trust in the decision makers at Celtic Park. I fully expect them to do what they consider places the health issues of our players before the footballing interests of the Club.
And to see that his situation is handled with consideration and tact.
While he sometimes ventures into the faintly unseemly , Leigh`s larrikin spirit appeals to those of us who have seen the other mob dishing it out.
The wee Naco Nacho ( Oops Ignatius the newby ) parody of the penalty miss by Sammi springs to mind.
Leigh`s cracking scoring shot against the hun at Ibrox , followed by his ostentatiously restrained gesture of resting an elbow on their corner flag lives long in the memory.
Unrestrained joy , followed by guffaws of laughter.
A heady mix reminiscent of Bert ” the gallus ” Auld.
Come on , Leigh .
We deserve more of the above and so do you .
Speaking of football finances.
Here is a link to a page with a very simplistic but ultimately revealing comparisson in Celtic and Rangers finances………
https://www.tifofootball.com/video/football-finances-rangers-v-celtic/
HOT SMOKED on 20TH NOVEMBER 2019 9:58 AM
Casn someone else post so as to remove any suspicion that the Article Title is not seen as a reference to myself and MacJay !
==============================================================
Please .
Capital ” C ” Conservative .
:-)
Paul 67,
Regarding Leigh Griffiths: Apart from a few fleeting appearances he has been out for a year. Has any professional footballer been out for that timespan and come back at the same level or better. ?
Physical fitness is one thing but mental health is so unpredictable. I wish him well.
Regarding Jose Mourinho: In my opinion it was totally predictable ( I stated that last night as soon as the sacking was announced)
They have the best and costliest club stadium in Europe . Nice football and second best is np longer good enough. They need success and to win things now.
His two year contract is the perfect fit for them. Expect comings and goings in January. Victor Wanyama welcome back.
HH.
The ‘gap’ is closing alright.!
Last year we managed to trim our wage bill by 5/6 million whilst the team from the other part of the city actually spent more than us on player transfers.
Really seems incredible that they will be able to continue on this path without having HUGE problems.
Celtics figures in general accross the board are pretty fantastic
Good Morning CQN. Central Highlands (belated) weather report – Overcast again, but a very different day than yesterday. The mercury has swung by 12 Degrees C. Yesterday morning it was minus 8c, today it is plus 4c, but it still feels cold, with 100% Humidity and a steady breeze coming in from the North. I am eying up the coal fire.
Is Paul posting at unexpected times to see if he can knock PHILBHOY off of his Podium hogging run? 😉
🍀⚽️
HUNDERBIRDS ARE GONE
Wednesday is my housework day so too busy chasing podiums!
Just having a wee cuppa before I continue with the ironing!
Hope you are good!
busy to be
Wonder if Jose has heard of RESOLUTION 12………
Greenpinata on 20th November 2019 10:37 am
Danny McGrain was out for over a year and came back as strong as ever.
Is there any news on Bayo? There was rumours of an operation of his knee but normally these things are confirmed by the club and given that there has been radio silence, presumably the news is better than expected?
A striker in the January window is imperative as we can’t rely on Griff and Bayo remains untested. We are an OE injury away from a bit of a crisis.
LazyD – thanks for link.
You summarised this perfectly … simplistic and revealing.
No bells, whistles or spin.
90% fact based with a dollop of conjecture.
What journalism used to be in fact.
Our noisy neighbours are all in.
PS – Good news about Leigh.
If he can contribute 6 – 12 goals this season that’ll do for me.
Hail hail
BIGYINMILAN on 20TH NOVEMBER 2019 10:57 AM
True.
The best of the best. Danny Mcgrain remains a Celtic legend. He is as revered today as he was yesterday.
Cheers and HH.
Hello again all you young rebels.
BIGYINMILAN
Good to see you back on amongst yir ain fholk, i take it
your recovery is going full speed?
Hope to see you back in Oz soon.
Wouldn’t it be great if Leigh regained the sharpness he had
before his time out? i think there’s a long road ahead yet.
Never the less we’ll still need back up for big Eddie in January.
H.H Mick
THE HANDS CANT HIT WHAT THE EYES CANT SEE on 20TH NOVEMBER 2019 11:07 AM
No word on Bayo or Elyounoussi. I imagine these things will become clearer when Neil Lennon speaks to the press for the weekends game.
I think Spurs treatment of their gaffer is way worse than disgraceful. They had a great manager who, after the club spent squillians on their new ground, had virtually nothing to spend improving the squad. This has been the deal for over two years.
And to have done a deal for Jose behind his back, well, what a shower of shit. I was half expecting Brenda Rodgers would have gotten the job.
Poch should go to Arsenal and ram it up Spurs arse big time.
KINGLuBO
From JJ
Resolution 12 – The Silver Bullet
I am aware of the identities of two Celtic Plc stakeholders who are advocates of Resolution 12, one of whom bears the same name as of one of a group of three individuals who I am reliably informed by an impeccable source are behind the Rangers Tax Case blogs. When I reverted to my source who has never once been incorrect in our three years’ association, he could not confirm whether his named individual had a foot in both camps. I have long learned that coincidences are rarer than conspiracies.
One is not dealing with foolish men. They are not in any way paranoid or obsessed, as apologists for Rangers’ malfeasance would have you believe. Their partial anonymity is a useful device to stop those, whose voices are at odds with their intellects, from shooting the messenger. Phil Macgiollabhain is the nom de plume of an individual who courageously discussed his depression. The blue horde refer to him as ‘ill Phil’. I am referred to as either ‘that cunt John James’ or more recently The Mentalist John James. I find comfort in the fact that the name I provided to a trusted associate has been accepted as fact. It was a creation, as was Phil White. Only one reader knows my true identity. He does not contribute to the upkeep of our site. He is one of the 20,000 who read my article apropos Alfredo Morales’ visa.
I digress. Peter Lawwell stated to the R12 Requisitioners that if they could provide a silver bullet, he would not hesitate to shoot. The targets are at a minimum Sir David Murray, Alastair Johnston, Andrew Dickson and the individuals at the SFA who allowed Rangers to participate in a UEFA tournament despite the DOS/VSS elephant in the room. Their longstanding social tax was accepted as due prior to the March 2011 cut-off date. This was revealed in the sworn testimony of a tax inspector at The High Courts of Justice in a petition in which Whitehouse & Clark, the joint administrators of The Rangers Football Club Plc, were the appellants. The respondents were Collyer Bristow LLP; The Rangers FC Group Ltd (Craig Whyte); The Commissioner for Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs; The Trustees of The Jerome Pension Fund Plc; Ticketus LLP; Ticketus 2 LLP.
Collyer Bristow agreed to a settlement out of court for a quantum of £24m. One other takeaway from the court transcript was a ‘missing’ sum of £9m and change. I will deal with this in my forthcoming book, A Darker Shade of Blue.
The Silver Bullet took a long time to be placed in the chamber. Officers of Rangers – referred to as the club – were informed in a letter of 14 June 2004 that HMRC had opened an investigation in regard to their tax return of 2000/2001.
When one fast forwards to 10th February 2011, the tax inspector, Hector if you will, met with the club’s board. Mike McGill from MIH attended this meeting. I would be inordinately surprised if Alastair Johnston and Andrew Dickson, the club’s chairman and their head of football administration respectively, were not present. If they were absent they would soon be apprised of the fact that the club’s board had sought leave to contact their tax counsel Andrew Thornhill QC. Eight days later Mike McGill contacted Hector by telephone to confirm that Mr. Thornhill had agreed with Hector’s analysis in regard to De-Boer & Flo viz the club had a DOS/VSS tax liability.
On the fourteenth of March 2011, Mike McGill called Hector to inform him that he had met with the club board and that they had agreed to find a way to solve the position on DOS.
Hector met McGill on the 21st March. He confirmed the club’s acceptance of the tax liability in regard to De Boer and Flo and raised a further DOS/VSS payment that had not been considered by Hector. The latter only had incontrovertible side letter proof in regard to the aforementioned players. I venture that Mike McGill revealed that Craig Moore also had is nose in the DOS/VSS trough.
In summary some time in the period from 10 to 18 February 2011, Alastair Johnston knew that the social tax was liable. Johnston had discussed this liability in a board meeting prior to 14th March.
The UEFA application was fraudulent. Alastair Johnston lied to a pet hack at The Daily Record on the last day of the March cut-off that a tax demand had dropped through his letter box in the previous two weeks.
Peter Lawwell’s silver bullet has been served to him on a silver platter, but for reasons best known to Celtic’s spineless CEO he is not prepared to pull the trigger.
Solicitors‘ letters have been sent to Celtic Plc and the SFA. There can be no doubt that Johnston and other directors of The Rangers Football Club Plc engaged in a criminal conspiracy. They gained a pecuniary advantage for the former club. This is fraud.
So why won’t Lawwell pursue this matter? One hypothesis which occurs to your humble correspondent is that Sir David Murray, who was desperate to sell his toxic club, would be implicated if Johnston was found guilty. The club’s board reported to the 83.5% majority shareholder.
Sir David Murray, who is feted by the SNP, has powerful friends in high places. I contend that Lawwell is running scared from Sir Bribe & Lie. If he takes on a knight of the realm his KBE might be in jeopardy.
Either that or he has been informed by his billionaire succubus Dermot Desmond, who may be involved in a development deal with Sir David Murray, to spare his partner any embarrassment.
The R12 advocates would prefer the City of London police to pursue the criminal activities of the former club’s board. They don’t have locus. They R12 Requisitioners don’t trust the All-Seeing Eye acolytes at Police Scotland who have been pandering to their fellow Freemasons on the former club’s board since The Ibrox Disaster viz living memory.
It took thirty years to uncover the Police malfeasance and cover-up at Hillsborough. I will keep this matter in the public eye for as long as our site exists.
Jobo,
Thanks for the info last blog.I agree,but could be more than 6 points.
Terrific performance by Taylor last night.I thought he and Jamesy linked up very well first half.We have ourselves a player here.
Christie gets better every game.Calmac was gliding by players in a great second half display.We are blessed at the moment.
TURKEBHOY
Sorry i never got back to you on previous blog.
Got speaking to a Oz soccer fan today and young Daniel
Arzani was mentioned, as i tend to do with our players
when socializing, and he had watched him coming up
through the grades of Oz soccer and said he was a sensational
midfield player.
Could be Celtic see that as well as your comparison with David
Silva.
H.H . Mick
Tottenham’s traditional instincts haven’t won them the league since 1961. Since when Mourinho’s have won him a fair few
At this moment I’d say Mourinho will take them closer than Poch
Pochettino to Real Madrid.
HH
Unlike Danny McGrain, Leigh’s prolonged absence is not down to a bad injury or to a physical illness. Instead, what we know is that Leigh has had serious personal issues for which he was allowed to take time away from his work to try to resolve.
For most of the time he has been absent, training/keeping fit has been an option for him. How he does that is between him and Celtic. The indications at the start of the season was he had being training hard. If he has managed to improve his personal problems, then I don’t think there is any real reason why he cannot start being a key player again. He is a hun-skelper extraordinaire and nothing would be more pleasing that to see him banging one in against them in December.
Contrast Leigh’s situation with Scott Sinclair. We are told SS is 100% ready to play at all times even though he is not getting any game time. In fact he is reckoned to be fitter than ever before as he is spending so much time in the gym. If Scott was given 2-3 games to play and played badly would be all be willing to say that he just misses “match fitness” or would he hounded straight back out of the team?
When Leigh gets his chance, I hope he takes it. But if he is carrying excess kilos and a yard off the pace then it will be a fleeting return. We cannot carry passengers on the park, though off it I am sure he will continue to be properly and lovingly supported.
PHILBHOY
I am fine, except for the fact that I turn 60 tomorrow. Mrs H has invited a few friends round for dinner and a few swallies tomorrow, and is taking me away to a nice wee hotel this weekend. She is good to me, but I am having trouble matching her excitement for the nature of the celebration. I never normally bother about getting older. Ach well, it looks like I will just have to drink my way out of this one 😃
🍀⚽️
@ DENIABHOY on 20TH NOVEMBER 2019 12:51 PM
Below are the latest comments from NL on Griff (after the Motherwell game when it was expected that Griff would be on bench but didn’t even make the squad):
“We’re hoping to give him two good weeks of work, then he has a developmental game next week – see how he comes through that.” Lennon told CelticTV
“We want him up to speed, he’s not up to speed, not at the level that we want him at, he’s got to do the work in the next two weeks.”
The last quote seems instructive- “he’s got to do the work in the next two weeks”. It suggests to me that maybe he hasn’t been putting in the work. As you note, SS seems in better shape than ever before.
The problem with Griff is that, his personal issues aside, he was quite prone to muscular injuries and was hardly renowned for his diligence to living an athlete’s lifestyle. I think that this, in combination with the 12 month absence, means that it will be very difficult for him to come back in any recognisable guise to the guy that scored 40 goals in a season (that’s coming up on 5 years ago and Griff is coming up on 30 this summer).
The best thing would be to get another striker this January and get Griff out on loan (to Hibs) for the remainder of the season. He then has an opportunity to prove his fitness and quality on a regular basis and we re-evaluate at the beginning of next season.
O’Connor scored for the Irish U-21s last night.
THE HANDS CAN’T HIT – Good points. Even if he is ok in himself his less than 100% approach to being an elite athlete will still be his achilles heel. Lenny and Celtic have been incredibly loyal to Leigh, but time stands still for no man etc. etc.