I’ve been to a few non-Celtic games over the years and always found is striking the different reaction mid-table teams have to a defeat compared to how we react. There is simply not the expectation that every game has to be won. For most of the last 40-odd years Celtic have been nip-and-tuck with a direct opponent at the top of the league, so a single defeat can have a significant bearing on league title prospects.
Even when we were not involved in a close league race, the desire to win by an astonishing number of points provided an edge, whereas, back in the 90s, the chasm between Celtic and the top was made increasingly unbearable by each passing defeat.
This season is different. We’ve dropped 10 points in 10 games but substantial evidence exists that the team is making solid progress, a fact not disputed by the support, even as they left Celtic Park on Saturday. For most, the distress of defeat has tempered.
We’re two points ahead of three teams at the top of the league, with a game in hand, which makes this the most competitive SPL ever. The gap between second and second last is just six points, St Mirren who sit second bottom, would be level on points with joint-second St Johnstone had they won the game between these two earlier this month.
All this honest competition has resulted in a rise in average attendances for most clubs during “Armageddon”. It’s too easy to poke fun at the miscalculations of the SPL and SFA chief executives who believed the game needed a fatally flawed giant in the top flight. Instead, what it needed was genuine competition, which we have, to a degree.
Hibs, Aberdeen and St Johnstone are all two points from the top of the table while Inverness and Killie are only one win below them. Can you imagine how good a league this would be without the last remaining over-sized behemoth?
The SPL didn’t need Rangers, in fact, it is a better, more competitive league without them. The same goes for Celtic. We are not good for the league and do nothing for Aberdeen, United, Hibs or clubs who want nothing but a sporting chance in the game. Many of these clubs seem to have Stockholm Syndrome; locked into the belief that they need to be with their tormentors.
If I was writing a blog about any of these clubs I’d tell Celtic to go find themselves some fantasy football league and let the rest of the country get back to a proper sporting endeavour. They have nothing to lose but their loser labels.
The next issue of CQN Magazine is due out shortly, let me know if you would like to advertise, advert@cqnmagazine.co.uk.
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Many years back, I spent the weekend at a college in Glasgow.
My family were amazed at how quickly I had picked up the Glaswegian accent in only a few days.
It seems that it works on Yorkshiremen too. Here’s Chucky turned into one of ra peepul in a very short time. Clearly he thinks that defiance is the way to the top.
Hasn’t really worked so far has it Chucky?
Oh sorry, I forgot, you actually planned to go down to Div 3 didn’t you?
And that’s also why you partied all night long when the SPL refused to give you RFCil’s old spot in the top flight!
Question: How many lies does it take to enlighten a Sevconian?
Chucky: I dunno. I’m still counting.
Paul67,
The same thought struck me as I looked at the table on Saturday night.
If it wasn´t for Celtic the SPL has the same look about it as the league below has had the last few years – next to nothing between top and bottom.
I was looking at Ross County and thinking, at third bottom they were only a couple of wins off second!
That’s the way a league should look.
Rangers Tax-Case @rangerstaxcase 15m
Chic Green: “we can’t run out of money” but season ticket money only just covers wage bill for the year. How much is rest of
OVERHEADS
Arm A Geddon to like Armageddon.
Don’t think I can remember any previous event which has offered such an injection of positivity to the entire game in Scotland.
The SPL is having the most competitive season of its history.
The lower leagues are enjoying having this slain giant giving their coffers a boost as the hundead display their defiance.
What’s NOT to like ?
There should be more Armageddons.
Paul67,
that’s what most other SPL fans I come across on fora say.
So well said.
HH
Now correct me if I am wrong but did Chuck not say only last week that he had only run into Craigy Bhoy once? This week it is now Four times.
“I’ve never worked worked with Craig Whyte,” Green said. “I was introduced to him by Imran Ahmad [Rangers’ commercial director], Craig Whyte did introduce me to Duff & Phelps. We needed to get hold of Craig Whyte’s shares, so Duff & Phelps would treat us as credible.
“We didn’t need them in the end because it went down newco route. I met him four times in London, Imran Ahmad has had loads of meetings with him. People thought we were working with Craig Whyte, [but] I believe he is now suing us, because he believes he was entitled to something for handing over the shares.”
Paul67
This is you told. A big hello to Chuck if you are reading. lol!
“I’m running the club, I’m making the decisions and I’m going to protect the club with my life,” Green said. “Nobody’s going to abuse it, [or say] rubbish that I’m going to sell the ground. Absolute nonsense. The blog I’ve seen said that we’re going to enter into a sale and leaseback for £8.5m, you can shove the offer where the sun don’t shine. We’ve got a valuation in the share prospectus in excess of £80m. I might be Green, but I’m not a cabbage. It’s just rubbish put out by people trying to disrupt the IPO.”
Mr Green is claiming the disparity between attendance figures revealed by FoI requests and those declared by sevco are caused by hospitality and sponsors not being counted.
It should be easy to prove or disprove this theory by filing similar requests for other clubs with a large stadium and hospitality suites and then comparing to the numbers declared?
Paul, not sure if you’re in the Prozac section of the north stand but the feeling around us was that Saturday was rank rotten and completely unacceptable. Barely stung the keeper’s gloves in 90 minutes.
I will watch Celtic and have a season ticket as long as I’m able and regardless of success but we paid an increment on last year, a massive amount more than any other supporter in the league and the reason is we pay more in wages for better players. Someone needs to get the players’ heads right. And in some cases their feet. Full effort for Champions League is not enough. It’s that simple. Sort it.
The complicated part is what that sort of performance does to attendances. £5 for kids, Halloween special. How many will want to come back?
How many parents are thinking that the 3 match Champions League package and a Sky subscription or good internet feed is the way to watch Celtic? (or not watch them at all other than CL this season?)
Me or you can bang on about loyalty, supporting the club etc etc but here’s the stark reality – there’s only about 25,000 of us who think the same. Every other seat is dependent on what they get back from the team when they are sitting in that seat.
“I only go to away games” is a phrase that frightens me as I’ve heard it several times now.
When was the last time you went to Celtic Park and thought, as the song goes “there’s gonna be a show”?
Saturday was not acceptable of any Celtic team. I’m not talking about a divine right to win, it was mince against Aberdeen, Hibs and Hearts too. ‘What a waste of money’ I will continue to make. Others won’t.
zombieheadhunter
I thought you made that up but he did actually use that excuse. lol!
“So people go to police under Freedom Of Information, but those numbers in every stadium will be less than the official numbers.
“They don’t have access to all the corporate hospitality and sponsors [numbers]. That’s thousands at Rangers, so there is a disparity between the numbers the police book in.”
We have been here before paul67
I disagree.
All Celtic’s absence would do is make room for aberdeen or a.n. Other to become the top dog.
It is always thus.
What if, and it is a big if i admit, our spl rivals manage to get a decent batch of young players coming through in five or so years time? What if they actually mount a challenge to our hegemony? What if the league fight became a four way scap between glasgow, the new firm and maybe even hibs? With cups far harder to win as well – we struggle already in that dept.
Fantasy football spl style? Maybe. but i would like to see it.
So according to Chuck, Sevco get more hospitality sold for a game against Elgin than we will against Barca.
Pleeeease… if any zombies are reading, GIVE YOUR MONEY TO THIS GUY!
A defeat but not the end of the world because the team is still top of the league.
However the five home league games have been disappointing with the team barely out of second gear. Crowds are falling and season ticket holders are being taken for granted with these tired post UEFA performances. If this continues we would be wrong to assume that Celtic will retain the title..
ASonOfDan
12:51 on
29 October, 2012
Paul McConville tweeted earlier that a block of 5 or 6 pages in the BTC result(dossier) are “devastating”.
Devastating for who?
Tallybhoy
11:09 on
29 October, 2012
BMCUW
Morning!
Ah – Latin!
Brings back a lot of ‘happy’(?!) memories of the auld school!
The old classics teacher was the late ‘big’ Jim McCutcheon….
——————-
His party piece was to throw the heaviest latin book at anyone not concentrating, ahhh the good old days….
Tallybhoy do I know you? I was a tallyman (bhoy) at Ardrossan docks during the ‘Great carnation Milk Scandal’
Pod I
If it was devastating for anyone else other than the zombies, then you would have heard about it by now from the laptop loyal.
fair comment!
Chuck Green is predictive text in human form.
Soon he’ll be the Huns’ version of HAL 9000.:
‘This mission is too important for me to allow you to jeopardize it, Ally…’
“Open the pod bay doors, Mr.Green.”
‘I’m sorry, Ally. I’m afraid I can’t do that…’
“What are you talking about, Mr.Green?”
‘Ally, although you took very thorough precautions in the pod against my hearing you, I could see your lips move. You whispering f…’
Guardian blogger [Daniel Harris ] responds to Manchester City fans booing their team off at half time [ Manchester City 0 — Swansea 0 ] – thus
” How dare you , a team in whose reflected glory I demand to bathe,not sweep aside all
opposition , when I have paid for my ticket. ? ”
Speaking of Manchester City —- Italian football media continuing to claim that Mancini is a cert to be sacked and that he will be replaced by Pep Guardiola
The Herald have just put up a report on Chuck’s Talksport nonsense. They mention Chuck’s dismissal of Paul’s scoop on the sale and leaseback of Sevco’s properties. Strange that the Herald and all the other MSM wholly ignored this story over the weekend yet they were clearly aware of it. Twas ever thus.
HEARTS today reassured supporters that funds raised through the club’s share issue will not be used to pay any tax bill.
As Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs pursue £1.75million in tax for players loaned from Lithuania, senior Tynecastle officials promised they will not delve into share money if they are ordered to pay up at next month’s tribunal.
“Should we become liable for the tax, an alternative source of funding will be sought,” said a Hearts spokesperson. “The money raised from shares is going towards the youth academy and working capital. That is, the operating costs of the club.”
Hearts launched their new share initiative at the weekend hoping to raise £1.79m by selling ten per cent of the club back to supporters. They are determined to re-invest the money despite HMRC demanding a similar amount. Hearts deny they are due any money to the Inland Revenue.
Nineteen players who joined the Edinburgh club on loan from FBK Kaunas are the subjects of the tax case, which will be heard some time in November.
Posters were saying on TSFM that jabba had denied seeing the ftt result courtesy of his master, But could then go on to tell people it was over 200 pages long and names had been replaced by numbers.
now according to other posters the average ftt decision is about 20 pages long and the longest this year 96 pages.
SOOOOOOOOOOOO what are the chances of jabba knowing the size of result with no prior knowledge if decision is over 200 pages,
One poster claimed pages 246-252 were devastating to zombies HMmmmmmm wont be long now till we know.
Rubicon
I am sure that Paul could send the Herald a copy of the “Heads of Terms” document is he so wished – but that might spoil the fun.
What is it about this mob and dodging their liabilities…
A rates exemption for Orange halls in Northern Ireland has saved the Loyal Orders an estimated £4.6m on their rates bills over the last six years.
The figure was confirmed by Stormont’s Finance Minister, Sammy Wilson, in answer to a written question from his DUP colleague, Jim Wells.
The party had lobbied for the exemption under direct rule, and the change came into effect in 2006.
The halls are listed among community buildings exempt from paying rates.
Empty seats on match day …..
In my row (Lower South Stand ) when we played Hearts earlier in October there were 7 consecutive empty seats ,
They are all season ticket seats.
On Saturday against Kilmarnock ( after our exploits in Barcelona) only 1 of the 7 had returned.
If so many season ticket holders chose to miss out both home SPL games in October, it is one small step for them to opt out of the season ticket pool entirely.
We should all be concerned by the potential erosion of our support back to a core 25,000.
It is fanciful when we speculate about the desire to ‘finish’ the stadium to make an 80,000 + capacity.
Last week someone posted a mocked up image of how it would look.
It would look great ……. until match day.
The Onlooker
-Every day for the past several months I have posted on the bhlog a genuine enquiry on the whitherabouts of the ole cash strapped scrofulous hillbillies, and yet no satisfactory answer so far has been forthcomin’.
And yet I am now given to understand that ole Chic Dastardly himself lurks on the bhlog and could easily have eased my worried mind!
I bet he hasn’t even bought a badge.
Ali G- “I am here with my main man, Sammy Wilson he of the Democratic party or sumfin.
Sammy- is you Irish?”
“No, I’m British”
“Are you here on holiday, then?”
The Onlooker
I know of four bhoys who have had to give up their tickets due to irregular work and fewer finances.
There is a world recession just now, why would football be untouched by it?
Dontbrattbakkinanger
I am still trying to get my head round the 5000 squeezed into hospitality. lol!
WATP,Long side burns,Man up and now “I’m a Yorkshireman” are now, in my head, as hunisms.
Apoligies to all Tims in Yorkshire.
ASonOfDan
Agreed re recession
… however I checked the Celtic Online Ticket on club website and all of the seats are still listed as ‘unavailable’ for purchase for our next home game.
I therefore assume that they are still held by season ticket holders who, despite having paid for the seats ,have decided to stay at home.
The Onlooker
@ ASonOfDan
Think Charles Green could done on Health & Safety regulations for overcrowding.
Haha probably licensing too!
from Oct 27th.
Paul McConville @Paulmcc12
@BartinMain @rangerstaxcase @mdkster On the same basis I won’t post about decision till publication, but pages 246-252 of it are devastating
Rubicon
Exactly. Don’t carry the story until you’ve the official line on it direct or from Media House. MSM will be complicit again.
Jelly and Ice Cream II, return of the pudding.
At a football association near you from February.
The Onlooker
I tried to get a kids ticket before huns went bust as seat either side of me always empty. I was gobsmacked to be told they were season ticket holders. Girl explained that alot of people were moving around as stadium not a sell out. The seven you mention might just have found a better view…
goldstar 10.
Very funny …
happy Celticing
tomtheleedstim
I hope it is published tomorrow. It might liven up proceedings.