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Levein lining up excuses

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By on CQN BLOG & Comments

I watched Olly Lee’s body language as he hobbled off Celtic Park on Sunday, it was clear he was distressed at something more than just missing part of a meaningless game.  For him, the Scottish Cup Final was in jeopardy, which Hearts have now confirmed he will miss.

Football managers like an excuse for failure as much as anyone and Hearts are lining them up ahead of the Scottish Cup Final.  Cup finals come round rarely for players like Lee, so I was empathetic to his distress as he left the field, but Craig Levein was straight in with the “hugely disappointing news for us……….. and especially for Olly.”

There are a raft of Hearts players with no chance of playing on Saturday, look out for Levein drip feeding the news between now and then, to ensure everyone knows how hard their job is.

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  2. Delaneys Dunky on

    KnightswoodBhoy

     

     

    Welcome to CQN. Good to see another Knightswood Tim on here. There are a few of us post on CQN.

     

    YNWA

  7. Delaneys Dunky on

    Greenpinata & Jobo

     

    Been having a break from social media.

     

    Thanks for welcome home ?

  8. Big Jimmy on

    BIG JIMMY on 21ST MAY 2019 4:10 PM

     

    FRANNYB67 on 21ST MAY 2019 3:38 PM

     

     

     

     

    Horse ? running @4:00 Wolverhampton fields of Anthery 4/1 yir cash ? dont shoot the messenger HH

     

     

     

     

    …………….

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Great shout Mate…it WON at 7/2…Ya dancer !

     

     

    ……………….

     

    Franny….Mind Me to buy You a Drink….some Sunday…during the week !

     

    Oh the Glasgow Banter..

     

    HH

  10. Delaneys Dunky on

    J McCormick

     

    Cheers J. Hopefully Hampden in the sun to make history in our lifetime.

     

    YNWA

  11. The Onlooker on

    Earlier this evening I stupidly answered the house phone at Onlooker Castle ( my butler was otherwise detained).

     

    It was a cold call.

     

    Before I politely hung up, the girl mentioned my Celtic FC shares….

     

    Phoning from NY on behalf of client making a hostile takeover!

     

     

    My shares are an emotional investment and are not for sale at any price…..but I may lend them to a Nigerian Prince.

     

     

    Anyone know what is going on?

     

    Is this a phishing scam?

     

     

    The Onlooker

  14. Delaneys Dunky on

    David66

     

    Thanks Davie. Been a tough time for us both lately bud. Looking forward to making history on Saturday.

     

    YNWA

  15. YogiHughes on

    DELANEYS DUNKY,

     

     

    Welcome back. It’s never easy after what you’ve suffered, but you have many friends on here.

     

     

    HH

  18. David66 on

    DD-Garry- Absoloutley. We have only just got Thomas body released. Cremation with immediate family on Friday and I will toast to him on Saturday hopefully as well.

     

     

    Hope you are coping with the loss of your mum.?

     

     

    Hail Hail

     

     

    D. :)

  19. Delaneys Dunky on

    TAL

     

    Magic S. Perfect song to start any night oot.

     

    Cheers bud.

     

    STRUMMERVILLE

  20. Delaneys Dunky on

    YogiHughes

     

    Thanks for that. Good to be home amongst friends indeed.

     

    YNWA

  29. lucky cody on

    It’s whispered in corridors of Lennoxtown — no name for obvious reason.

     

     

    Generally I would not share this info but I have zero respect for a failed CEO whose incompetence cost the club £100M CL revenue and stood idly by while the Phoenix club were parachuted in.

     

     

    Lawwell is a millstone around Celtics neck.

  30. setting free the bears for Res. 12 & Oscar Knox on

    CHAIRBHOY @ 6:27 AM

     

     

     

    SFtBs…

     

     

    …“No matter your vigilance- you can do nothing to stop us losing to them again- even losing badly. It has happened many times in the past, it has happened in the near present and it can, and will, happen again in the near future. ”

     

     

     

    Like me you are now equating Oldco and Newco. The continuity myth is now “fact!?”

     

     

    I was aware of it as I typed it. I am often careful to make the distinction but, in this case, it seemed less important, as it is a fear of a resurgent Ibrox club that is evident. It is a much more pervasive fear among our support than was there when Hearts or Aberdeen were our regular competitors.

     

     

    But, as you say, for most of Scotland and for much of our support, particularly the younger ones, the continuity myth has been swallowed whole.

     

     

     

    As far a the “gap” goes.

     

     

     

    Rangers won the U18 Youth Cup, Reserve League and beat our first team twice at Ibrox. To suggest they haven’t narrowed the gap substantially this season would foolishness and complacency in the extreme.

     

     

    The under age achievements are no guide at all to Senior Team success. Sevco won the same Youth Cup in 2013/14, Well in 15/16 and Hibs in 17/18- none of those Senior teams went on to win the league. Celtic Youth have a very decent record in this cup, winning 15, since its inception in 1983/84, compared to Rangers/Sevco total of 7. 14 of those leagues were won by either Dons, Hibs, Hearts, United, Dunfermline Well or Kilmarnock. They have not led to their senior teams winning the Senior league. Celtic have won 6 of the last 10.

     

     

    The SPFL Reserve League is in its inaugural year- we can draw no precedents from it- the competition has been played just once. We last had a Reserve League between 2004/5 and 2008/9 and we won all 5 (incidentally Rangers were runners up only once during those years). Yet the old Rangers won the Senior League in both 2005 and 2009- not much of correlation there either.

     

     

    So we are left with their 2 Ibrox wins against our Senior Team as your evidence. We did not beat Hibs at Easter Road either- Neil Lennon’s team beat us 2:0 and Heckingbottom’s team drew with us- so maybe they are challengers too. we dropped points to 9 teams in total (draws with Dons and Livi at CP, defeats away to Hearts, Killie, Hibs and Sevco (2x) and drew away to St. Mirren , Hibs and Livi.

     

     

    Our league winning margin remained at 9 points again this year. Admittedly those are the two lowest margins of victory in our 8iar but neither progress nor deterioration are linear. In our original 9iar, in our current 8iar, and in old Rangers 9iar- there was no increase of winning margin all the way to titles 4 or 5 leading to a gradual diminishing gap in years 8 and 9. That is not how it works.

     

     

    Any judgement that Sevco have narrowed the gap is a subjective one- not objective, based on the style of their competition. On that ground, and only on that ground, I would share your view that they looked a bit better this year. Yet I remain sceptical, not smug, about how they will do next year as I need to see how their finances hold up and how their recruitment goes vis-a-vis our team.

     

     

    I will reserve my judgement on how they look until we are 4 to 6 weeks into next season. Even then, it is hard to gauge- Sevco were still 6th in the SPFL after week 8 this season and still 5th by week 10. They reached the top spot in week 15 and were 2nd from then on until wk. 38.

     

     

     

     

    We have a huge rebuilding job to do before we meet them again, who our head coach/manager is and who our Director of Sports/Head of recruitment is will tell us a lot about our intentions.

     

     

    That’s modern football- a lot of turnover. Whoever we have in whatever titled position will tell us nothing. BR was a very good coach but a very poor recruiter for us, in collaboration with/ opposition to PL

     

     

    The Rangers team we play next, will be better than the one we last faced at Ibrox, the team we field will be a resounding reflection of our intentions.

     

     

    They might be but then again, they could be just the same or worse than this season’s version. Neither you nor I know for sure at this stage.

     

     

     

    I’m convinced it will be a clarion call. The good thing about Rangers getting better means we get better.

     

     

    I can wholeheartedly agree…….. bar for the specification of Rangers. We need more competition to force us to improve. I don’t care who provides it but too many easy beat teams will not challenge us to improve.

     

     

    See you at the Cup Final for the Treble Yell!

  32. Bateen Bhoy on

    DD

     

    Delighted to see you back here,

     

    Looking forward to a proper catch-up soon. If not before, then certainly in the summertime, when the weather is fine, and the music is loud ?

  34. geebee1978 on

    Lucky Cody…..

     

     

    That wouldn’t disappoint me too much – as long as they pull a decent alternative out of the bag.

  35. Delaneys Dunky on

    Bateen

     

    Cheers mate

     

    TAL has got me in the mood for The Clash tonight.

     

    YNWA

  41. RobinBhoy on

    Lucky Cody

     

     

    How are you doing these days? Still globetrotting?

     

     

    I’ve stopped the Berlin run since last June when I took early retirement or as I call myself these days, self unemployed!

     

     

    One of these days we’ll need to get together for a pint. Never seemed to manage it in Berlin despite crossing paths for quite a while back.

     

     

    As much as I love Neil Lennon, I would like another, hopefully more progressive coach, lets see what the next week or so brings.

     

     

    HH

  42. Burghbhoy on

    TAL

     

     

    You are bang on brother.

     

    Neil can and will deliver The 10 and I can think of no finer Bhoy I’d rather see do it.

     

    Some in our support have been really disrespectful to Neil of late.

     

    That Bhoy had to endure physical attack, bombs and bullets and loyalist death threats.

     

    All for love of the Jersey.

     

    Hell knows how this season would have panned out had he not been available?

     

     

    As u say… NFL legend

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