The Scottish Premiership is receiving a lot of love internationally this week for its knife-edge title race and dramatic match conclusions. It deserves more credit for the fact that any team in the league can genuinely be hopeful of taking points from any other. Celtic are now bookies favourites to take the title, but less than a week ago bottom of the table Livingston came within a whisker of taking a point at Celtic Park.
That favourite status is influenced by recent results. Irrespective of the manner of the wins, Celtic have taken all nine points available to them this month. Hearts collected three from nine, while Newco took eight from 12. Celtic’s title push is on track, but there will be changes in sentiment, and perhaps title favourites, more than once before the season ends.
You and I can get hung up on our own fragilities. While acknowledging them, I would not swap squads or managers with either title rivals. Celtic get the job done because we have players and a manager who have been over the ground many times. Lennoxtown is full of experienced winners. That’s a quality you would never bet against.
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Shirley not ?
El segundo ?
Posted this earlier today, but worth a read if you missed it. Looks at how teams that are winning domestic titles at an even greater rate than we are can’t get to the CL group stages.
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An interesting article on the state of European Club football:
“If you said when the Champions League was born in 1992 ‘this is what it’s going to be like’, I’m pretty sure they’ll have said ‘wow, we really messed up’,” says Alex Muzio, president of the Union of European Clubs (UEC).
https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/cgmzylx4004o
The 12 team SPFL may be getting some notice Paul but there’s a spread of between 57 points at top and 12 for the bottom.
The 12-team A-league – with a kinda salary cap – seems more equitable with 33 points at the peak and 17 at the foot of the table.
Saw Mata play on the weekend; still absolute quality (at least for 65mins).
I so hope your appraisal of our advantage is prophetic Paulo – fingers crossed.
Wouldn’t swap squad or manager with any rivals, though I’d be interested in their player trading and recruitment operation.
Happy St. Alexis Falconieri Day! Ave Ave
Petition:
One Celtic. Back our Board, Manager, Players and Charity.
https://c.org/kC24nkswRn
We have an exciting competitive league this year because we have come down to everyone else’s level. It is far easier and cheaper to be competitive by
We have an exciting competitive league this year because we have come down to everyone else’s level. It is far easier and cheaper to be competitive by coming down a level than going up a level even if it costs you a multi trophy winning manager.
Europe is unbridgeable, RossDesmondCSC
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cly86125nqno
A legal challenge against the Met Police over its decision to force staff to declare whether they are or have been Freemasons has been thrown out by a High Court judge.
Time for this in Scotland but I cannot find evidence of any evidence of any activity or intention by the police or any political party to instigate such a register.
Maybe our football referees will shock us all by taking up the challenge. Or maybe not!
Looking ahead to the two Ibrox games, can’t see us having much joy if we keep playing a midfield of Calmac, Reo and Nygren. It offers very little in the way of protecting the defense and very little turning defence into attack. Hopefully AOC can manage an hour in both these games.
Noticed Rohl went 442 against Hearts which a few of us on here think would be a more pragmatic approach in bigger games han always playing two wingers.
HJ- A pal ,an ex cop,worked on the Hillsborough Inquiry for years,you were asked if you were a Mason before you got the job,those who said ‘yes’ got chased
Is there a way for anyone or institution to check Freemason Membership, if the answer is no? por cierto
🎯 Experience is invaluable in these situations.
You’re starting to see the gibberish from McInnes, who is looking like a rabbit in the headlights, affect his team.
The huns came from behind twice and won a game they really couldn’t afford to lose at the weekend.
If we can go there on March 1 and win…………….
Some might be surprised how near the Freemasons actually are, some of them working on a different kind of rough and perfect ashlar.
Ain’t that right.
It’s between us and the Huns. I’m not particularly worried about the cup game, a point at Ibrox would have us clear favourites for the title.
Our midfield is a big problem. Engel’s running will be sorely missed. CalMac was a one man midfield in the first half against Killie. Any repeats of that at Ibrox will see us soundly beaten.
the Bada Bing on 17th February 2026 12:39 pm
HJ- A pal ,an ex cop,worked on the Hillsborough Inquiry for years,you were asked if you were a Mason before you got the job,those who said ‘yes’ got chased
=========================================
My Father in law was in the Edinburgh police and always said it worked the other way . He was convinced that being RC held him back . Most of the higher ranking officers were masons .
Glen D- 💯
Hibs (H) before Sevco and Aberdeen (A). We will see how things look after that. For the reasons laid out by An Dun I only hope the Ox is sufficiently match fit to make a material contribution. Running with a skeleton staff in central defence is also a major worry.
It shouldn’t be anywhere near a close league. But it has become one due to the bad luck that hits us every time we try to strengthen from a position of strength…..
A close league championship is good for the Old Firm
#Priorities #Dividends
DeniaBhoy on 17th February 2026 12:06 pm…..
DeniaBhoy, thanks for posting this.
UEFA is largely to blame for the ever-widening gap among leagues. ‘Wee’ countries can’t catch up. Even if Celtic or some other clubs get into the CL for 2 or 3 years in a row, they will get further ahead of their own league AND, they will never close the gap with the clubs from ‘big’ leagues.
There is a solution (of sorts) that could help close that gap, however. Take the ‘big clubs’ idea of a European League….and give it to the ‘wee’ leagues. Take the biggest one or two out of their domestic leagues and put them in this ‘European League’. Full time European football. Much more competitive than they current ‘wee’ leagues. Much higher revenues. Eyeballs in more than a dozen participating countries.
It won’t happen of course. And in 20 years from now only Real Madrid and Man City will be winning the CL.
Cheers,
Weeron
Dickinson on VAR again for the huns this weekend, his involvement with hun games isnt luck…..
The change of formation to get us through,this phase,could go like this.especially,their games
Kasper
Arthur,,,,,,,Trusty,,,,,,,,Scales
Aaurajo,,,,Nygren,,,,,,Chamberlain,,,,,,,Calmac,,,,,,,,KT
Tounetki,,,,,,Caravan.
Not written in stone,but you see the idea.Midfield has to be stronger.
Wee Ron.1.35
Good post Ron.
Uefa imo changed years ago from football getting played by as many people as possible to an organisation that caters for those countries with the highest viewing figures.
Hence the tilt to the big5,Eng,fra,italy,Ger and Spain to the exclusion of say Scandinavian,Balkan.eastern bloc countries.
If you recall how the CL started with 8 clubs,grew and got added to til we got the latest format introduced last year,a league prototype for european league.
In the meantime gaps will grow nationally and that will only show in the gaps between CL snd EL,snd we will feel the difference when we get in there as the gaps in money and quality grow wider.
Uefa would drop the wee countries at the drop of a hat imo,national leagues are strugglin exc those in the big 5 and even in there debt is skyhigh.
HH
Bada,
Who picks the officials?.Is it Colum?.
re the champions league,
if i am looking at the athway for the rest of the tournament, i think there could be a chance that the semi-finals could be ALL ENGLISH teams.
i might be wrong but
It’s only an exciting league because Peter did not like Brendan
67ECW
What happened to the VAR Will Fix It show,with Collum and the Clyde 1 Sock Puppet?
TURKEYBHOY on 17TH FEBRUARY 2026 1:57 PM
Agree. At IPox the objective is not to lose
Hearts went to there with a view to win and I get that. Had Hearts won they would have been 8 clear if the Huns But they opened themselves up
Huns took advantage
When we go don’t get beat. As we have them at home after the split.
All too exciting for my liking
67ECW
TB- I think that’s part of his job
The most recent VAR Review show hosted by Scottish FA Head of Refereeing Willie Collum was released on 16 January 2026.
So due one now….
BADA BING
Who is the sock puppet on Clyde
GLASSTWOTHIRDSFULL
Nancy was ‘bad luck’?
The Huns actually play the old John Barnes formation of:
4-2-2-2
No doubt some cheap punk will try to smear me as a racist for mentioning John Barnes.
These folk would do themselves a favour if they were clued up enough to learn that White people are a race as well, the race most feared by the Genocide mob who were planted onto the stolen land of Palestine, by the Black and Tans, after the IRA had chased them out of Ireland back in the day.
And now the Genocide mob who also run all of the Immigration scams, since the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade into America and elsewhere, are now doing the same thing to Ireland for their revenge on the Irish for standing with the German’s in WW2.
But, Shhhhhhhh!
DeniaBhoy on [17th February 2026 12:32 pm](https://www.celticquicknews.co.uk/lennoxtowns-experienced-winners/#comment-4064024 “17th February 2026 at 12:32 pm”)
Looking ahead to the two Ibrox games, can’t see us having much joy if we keep playing a midfield of Calmac, Reo and Nygren. It offers very little in the way of protecting the defense and very little turning defence into attack. Hopefully AOC can manage an hour in both these games.
Noticed Rohl went 442 against Hearts which a few of us on here think would be a more pragmatic approach in bigger games han always playing two wingers.
How does mentioning a black person’s name make you a racist? As for the rest of your gibberish; wtf?
We had an experienced winner of a manager at the start of the season but our board thought they knew better than him and decided not to listen to him (instead they turned to a monorail salesman). After they chased him they then brought in another experienced winner but, in their infinite wisdom, they decided to go and get a cowboy to replace him.
Our experienced winners would almost certainly have a cup in the bag and a healthy lead in the league if they hadn’t been undermined at every possible stage by the senior management at the club
The treble is still on.
No other Scottish team can win it. Realistically a domestic double may be more realistic.
However, we play a team in 4th place in the Bundesliga. Arguably the best league in Europe.
If we win the two games , then how can anybody seriously say we have regressed. I’m really looking forward to it.
One thing that does bother me is the amount of money it costs to support our team. Especially families.
I have no wish for any argument . But ” Not a penny more ” will only increase cost for the average supporter.
Football without fans is nothing.
On Sunday I celebrated Celtic’s late winner in the boozer, the fans at Rugby Park demonstrated what It meant to be Celtic.
This is the true spirit of supporting Celtic. It is what we all remember and cherish.
HH, the journey continues.
VALE BHOY on 17TH FEBRUARY 2026 2:56 PM
Yep.
Even worse luck was us selling £34 million and 60 goals worth of attacking talent from the 24/25 season and replacing that talent with £3.5 million in Yang, Yamada and Kenny.
Maolmuire O Muirgheasa on 17th February 2026 9:08 am
Moral arguments are the propaganda of the disingenuous.
*aye ok myles morrison