Despite a remarkably solid defensive record, we have lost four and three goals on our two visits to Ibrox this season, although two of yesterday’s goals were lost with a two man deficit. We were deservedly a goal down before Cha Du-Ri was ordered off and the contest irrevocably skewed. Several Celtic players looked panicked from the opening minutes and it wasn’t until Kris Commons started to menace the Rangers midfield that we appeared comfortable in possession.
Until then, we looked pretty ordinary.
After a remarkably consistent run of games that ensured this season’s league title is Celtic’s, two big games, which could each have delivered a trophy, have been lost.
The drive to the line which is needed for teams to fulfil their potential is not there yet. It will come. Days like yesterday, months like October, are what team building is all about.
If you need a pick-me-up, enjoy The Celtic Family video above, its’ sure to hit the spot.
To read CQN Magazine go to the dedicated site the graphic below is just an overview.
Thanks to everyone who has bought a hard copy of issue 7. Order your copy for delivery by clicking on the link below for news and views from Celtic supporters.
Pay by card or Paypal.
1,243 Comments- Pages:
- «
- 1
- ...
- 26
- 27
- 28
- 29
- 30
- 31
- 32
- 33
- »
MattE
Can you give a second choice as well mate please.
67 European Cup Winners on 27 March, 2012 at 11:34 said:
If you believe Neil is the real deal then let him be who he is and don’t let anyone else shape your opinion of the man.
No amount of discussion on here or anywhere else can change Neil or any man for that matter and if you believe like me that Neil is just the latest in a succession of Celtic managers to get the same treatment (The Tony Mowbray character assisination was truly sick) then give him you full support and don’t live in fear of what he might or might not do.
Neil Lennon is a true Celtic man and his position in the clean up that must take place in our national game is paramount to the growth and success of Celtic within that game and I for one would doubt that I have the courage to walk even one mile in his shoes.
This might sound strange but the parallels to the smear campaign agains Martin Luther King are relevant here and if we want perfection in our leaders and heroes we must first look at ourselves and ask the question, What would I do were I in his position??
Hail Hail
Starry
Player of the year has to be Mulgrew or Ledley, I’d say Mulgrew.
Forster has improved immensely but he’s just a good keeper now, nothing special IMO. He’s worth the £2m or £2.5m fee that’s set now, but he wasn’t at the start of the season.
Forrest started the season well but he’s went off the boil.
Wanyama has been a revelation but is still a bit raw and is solely a defensive player.
The whole team plays better when Ledley plays without him being spectacular but Mulgrew for me has been top-drawer. Our best defender, a creator and a scorer – the team can build from the back when he plays and he’s added pace to his game.
fritzsong on 27 March, 2012 at 11:27 said:
Its not just about Sunday – in fact I thought Neil’s interview on BBC was very good
I don’t know what he said to the Ref in the Tunnel
BUT he gave the Hun Ref a reason to send him off
I accept it could be a pathetic reason – BUT he gave him that reason
67ECW
Folly Folly on 27 March, 2012 at 11:18 said:
criminal negligence: “one of the three general classes of mens rea (Latin for “guilty mind”) element required to constitute a conventional … offense. It is defined as an act that is: careless, inattentive, neglectful, willfully blind”.
Would suggest SDM’s stewardship of rfcia falls nicely into the above category also ……!!!!!
67 European Cup Winners on 27 March, 2012 at 11:42 said:
I don’t know what he said to the Ref in the Tunnel
BUT he gave the Hun Ref a reason to send him off
I accept it could be a pathetic reason – BUT he gave him that reason
That’s where you are mistaken.
Derek Adams was sent to the stands in a match for swearing at an official. It transpires that the Derek Adams doesn’t EVER swear. The official lied to get Adams in trouble. Adams was let off with that charge.
I feel that your opinion falls down in the fact that you don’t know enough background information to the situation. Your opinion has been swayed by what is put forward by the SCottish press.
MattE
You`re no a very good keeper, are ye?
A passback from big Johan broke yer wrist, ya big girls blouse
(quote received)
HT
2nd choice is Wanyama, not so good last couple of games but was solid thru the winter months
Time for Celtic to stand back.
Win the league. Withdraw Lawwell from SFA/SPL groups.
No more than minimum required press conferences to meet sponsorship obligations.
No media interaction
Selective Bhoycotts.
Let the establishment eat themselves… While we win all that lies before us.
moralhighground.csc
Mort/ Prof Green
It would stupid and very counter productive to use that photo of Brines “being aggressive”.
We don’t need to invent things when there is so much evidence elsewhere of the bias against us.
EC67
BR
He never scored…….
less than 450 tickets left for the Saint Johnstone game.
If your undecided about going, you better make your mind up quick.
https://www.eticketing.co.uk/celtic/details/event.aspx?itemref=5369
Back in December 2011 this quote appeared in the Guardian
” The meeting was chaired by a former referree and I have to say his decision making has not improved. The three gentlemen on the panel have effectively called my player a cheat and a lair”
” The compliance officer is a lawyer, so effectively we have someone who hasn’t played football telling me my player is a cheat ”
” It’s staggering , absolutely staggering and to say i’m angry would be a massive understatement ”
So who said this. None other than McCoist when referring to Aluko diving against Dunfermline and losing his appeal.
Was McCoist reported to the SFA for these comments ………..NO
Did the MSM take McCoist to task about his attitude
and how to behave…….NO
Paranoid ……..you bet I am
As soon as Neil Lennon makes a comment he is hammered
tomtheleedstim on 27 March, 2012 at 11:36 said:
the picture used in the newspaper is slightly different ,
Brines finger pointing into Lenny’s CHEST.
Have a look in the pic of brines in the sun rag (online ) he is the one who is being aggresive in pointing, possibly poking Neil Lennon in the chest, he is also on video at sallys whisper of returning to have another push at Neil after it had been broken up, these incidents are all managed, lets make Lennon look as bad as poss whenever we can. When we win the league and cup, let Neil collect them.
67 European Cup Winners on 27 March, 2012 at 11:22 said:
I said as much yesterday. Lennon could win the Champions Lg and he still be a figure of hate for the bigots of this country, and I include the press, who spoonfeed their hun readership with anti-NL headlines. I honestly think he should win the double and quit while on top. That will be the ultimate victory for the man. He can then go south and live in peace. And before anyone says that such a move would be giving in to the bigots, i’ll say this. Neil Lennon would send out the biggest possible message to the world by walking away from the club he loves while he’s a champion. Outside this cesspit of a country, it would be seen as an indictment against the bigots who terrorised him and the authorities who failed to protect him. I also agree with the above that its highly possible the refs and governing bodies are even more likely to give decisions against us (as if it couldnt get worse) while Neil is the manager.
hh
Listen bhoys i can be very critical with neil lennon.if we get beat my emotions get the better of me ,and neil is the number 1 target ,i will say im sorry if i have offended him and others on this site. yesterday i purchased 2 tkts .1 for the killie away game,and the other for the game at hampden against hearts.its time for me to support the whole team again, rather being so negative. its just i hate seeing the hoops playing dire at times that gets to me.
My POTY
1 Ledley
2 Forster
3 Wanyama
voguepunter on 27 March, 2012 at 11:53 said:
Don’t know why I capped chest,must have been
thinking of something/someone else there:O)
Our top two? Sammi and FF.
timbhoy2 on 27 March, 2012 at 11:59 said:
Fair play to you Timbhoy and btw I am one of the “offended ones”
Hail Hail
I wish I could be at both those games you are going to but will have to make do with Celtic TV.
Starry
Referees do not like their authority being questionned and if they perform to match the authority given them, then no problem.
But refs are human too, and they can overstep or misuse their authority, especially if it is to put who in their eyes is a wee nyaff, in his place.
It is entirely possible that this is what is taking place here, payback for the times Lenny fought and won when they tried to stamp on him before. No manager gets the treatment Lennon does from officialdom.
What allows them this unbridled power, and Lenny mentioned it, is lack of accountability. There is no accepted independent monitoring of refs from OUTSIDE the broad refereeing fraternity in Scotland.
It is interesting that Cha’s red card was appealed, is that to get him off or provide an opportunity to show that Murray got the sending off wrong. It is the only avenue open but is still within the referee fraternity.
Are Celtic gearing up again to bring the mistrust, whether the readons are real or not do not actually matter, the MISTRUST is real and it has to be addressd.
It can only be done by introducing accountability, separation of providing refs of the required standard and the monitoring of their performance, maybe Lennon’s cry for accountability and the Cha appeal is the start of restoring authority by making refs aware that if they get the big ones wrong, they will be accountable.
timbhoy2 on 27 March, 2012 at 11:59 said:.its time for me to support the whole team again, rather being so negative. its just i hate seeing the hoops playing dire at times that gets to me.
___________________________________________________
Dire?
What did you do in the Nineties? self flagellation?
timbhoy2 on 27 March, 2012 at 11:59 said:
I thought we were all bhoycotting Killie away?
VP @ 11.53 – not seen that one mate. Happy to take your word for it though.
I’d rather listen to Neil Lennon being honest 100% of the time than listen to Tims putting him down for being honest with their Tabloid propaganda.
#IbelieveNeilLennon
MWD
best to bhouycott 2 sendings off..that way you will get 1 dropped……do as the huns do appeal everything
Professor Green on 27 March, 2012 at 11:25 said:
Sorry for the delay.
The agression is seen in last seasons game, funny that Callum Murray was also the referee that game with Brines the 4th official.
The same game Murray didn’t consider Bougherra & Dioufs actions to be as they were.
The images I got from the TV on Sunday looked to be worse than what pictures show on google. I’m sure there was a pic there somewhere if Brines poiting in Lennons face but the images on google show an open hand which can be described as less volatile.
Good Morning,
I am a great believer in any situation in counting to ten. Perhaps even a hundred or even more. In business I was taught a lesson long ago, and it was this: If you receive a letter or have a meeting that leaves you angry and enraged, then by all means write a letter of complaint, vent your spleen, get it off your chest, and then when you sign the letter– simply put it in a drawer and don’t send it! Leave it for a couple of days, come back to it and have a second look. Does it come across as too angry? Does it actually say what you want it to say and could you have been much more subtle and clever in getting your point across in telling the recipient why they are in the wrong?
I have always found that to be great advice, and with all due respect to Neil Lennon, he needs to learn a lesson such as the one above.
I say that not because I want to criticise Neil, but because no matter which way you cut it under any circumstances, you have to be up early in the morning to outsmart Rangers Football Club, and you need to box very clever when dealing with a powderkeg situation like Sunday in a climate that gives discretionary power to both referees and later the SFA.
Heated instant reaction is not what is needed, and a far more subtle and indeed dangerous attitude should be brought to the fore.
Let’s be clear about a couple of unrelated things before going any further. Rangers were good for their victory on Sunday. They were at the races in terms of tactics, desire and no little amount of skill and drive. We were not. The midfield in particular did not engage with the exception of Brown and I cannot help but wonder why that should be. However, if I were a Rangers fan or indeed a potential investor I would also have questions. Can this be the same group of players who blew a 14 point lead? Can this be a team under the same tactical and impassioned management that can achieve a performance and a result like this– but only once in every ten games? If i am investing in a football team, I will be investing in management that I would hope can motivate players capable of such a performance far more often than has been evident this season.
However, I digress, because the second “unrelated” statement that I want to make is that from my own personal knowledge I can state honestly that Kenny Clark is a nice guy, and a genuinely decent, individual…….. but….!
The “But” comes not because there is really any qualification on KC’s personality or integrity.. it is because when I now listen to him on the Radio he genuinely seems permanently angry and annoyed– especially at Neil Lennon. Now, I know that will be denied, but that is just how it seems.
I have no doubt that he was annoyed– very annoyed– at the time of the refereeing strike and all of the incidents that lead up to that period, when Celtic Football Club did question the integrity of certain officials and processes within the SFA. The argument, from Kenny in particular, was that this is rediculous because if you continue down this line then no one will referee ( why would they ) and that the pressure being deliberately applied to referees by Celtic was well.. scandalous. You will recall very angry programmes on Radio Scotland when the very tone from Kenny McIntyre in the chair determined where the focus and the blame would be directed….. Celtic.
I don’t think the above is an unfair comment and it is not designed to cause anyone offence. There were journailists and others who were angry at Celtic and they mad that plain– that is all I am saying.
Last night I listened to Kenny Clark describe the issues in Sunday’s sending off of Cha, Big Vic and NL. Victor’s was a two footed challenge, studs were on show,and in my opinion the referee was correct in his decision to issue a red. Whether Stephen Whittaker should have remained on the park is another issue- as his studs were also on show and his foot was clearly over the ball and came down on Wanyama’s shin. Intent? Wreckless? Mmmmmm you takes your pick. I just wonder what if anything Calun Murray saw of that particular action and it will be interesting to see what is in his report.
However, it is the other two incidents where there is greatest debate. Cha committed a foul, but was it a sending off? A challenge which was at least as clumsy and had many similarities resulted in no Penalty for Fulham last night. Same scenario, defender the wrong side, little contact, player goes down– but nothing given… and the attacker appeared to be far more clearly through on goal than on Sunday.
Kenny Clark very properly explained that this was because on Sunday Calum Murray himself had to decide that A it was a foul and that B Cha had deprived Rangers a clear goal scoring opportunity. It is therefore Calum Murray’s personal judgement and discretion that comes under scrutiny, and where you are left with discretion and judgement then of course one referee may see things one way when another may well see things completely differently.
There are a number of arguments for saying Murray got matters wrong- there are other factors which woukld suggest he got it correct. However, he has to be certain, as I believe before applying the rule that says under certain circumstances a player MUST go, the referee has to be very VERY sure, with no dubiety. It is that last part that may well be hard to fathom.
What vexes Kenny Clark is that when a referee reaches such a decision, that decision should not be questioned or challenged, and that the referee’s position- whatever he has decided– should be respected etc. He acknowledges the right to appeal, but suggests that he cannot see the grounds of appeal and that there is honestly nothing to complain about. Amazingly, and rather school teacher like, Kenny went on to say last night that Neil Lennon would have been better served speaking to his underperforming Celtic team rather than questioning Calum Murray. Even as a former referee that comment came across as a little vindictive, spoken with a degree of relish, and smacked of an opportunity to fingerwag the naughty Lennon.
All of what KC said may all be very well in principle, but.. and there is that word again… what happens when you think that there is an argument which supports the conclusion that some refs are…. well lacking in fair minded objectivity at certain points. Or to put it another way, at certain times their integrity is genuinely open to questio?
Now there will be uproar– angry uproar– at this suggestion, but let’s look at some of the evidence to suggest that just sometimes the men in black have their own agenda which they implement rather than the rules of fair play as we would expect.
We start of course with “Dougie Dougie”. There the referee coldly and calculatedly engaged in a lie. A lie that was a conspiracy between the referee concerned, and a linesman who raised the issue and who vocally went along with the lie at first, and another linesman who knew all about the lie and who deliberately chose to say nothing whatsoever about it– effectively deciding to do whatever it took to protect his colleagues rather then ensure that the truth was known.
And that lie was told to Neil Francis Lennon— and the SPL delegate who was with him when Lennon sought permission to approach the referee. The lie was eventually admitted and everyone suffered the consequence– apart from the silent man who maintained an undignified, integrity lacking, silence!
It is widely known, that Hugh Dallas offered to call off the pending referees strike in return for Stewart Regan agreeing to drop the disciplinary hearing against him surrounding the sectarian e-mail issue. That was confirmed to me by a former grade one ref who was told the story by Dallas’ number two.
I am not sure what point the referees were trying to make with their strike, but if it was “don’t question the integrity of the man in the middle” then the man at the top sure blew a hole in that argument. Whether the referees as a whole could have been persuaded by Dallas to drop their action had Regan agreed to Dallas’ demands will never be known– but clearly Hugh Dallas thought that the referees stance on Integrity could be…. well bargained with!
There are many instances of the MIB making decisions which you don’t agree with, or where they have made a mistake, but at the end of the day the ref is human.
However, it is where a decision is unafathomable, unjustifiable and to be honest calculated to influence the game, or of such significance that the influencing of the game is inevitable, that leads some to the conclusion that all is not right with the idea that the integrity of the referee is not to be questioned.
I know of at least one former top referee who told a player in the Tunnel before the game that he would be “going off” today. Sure enough, the player who wore the maroon of Hearts, took an early bath!
This notion of lack of integrity has some very serious evidence to support it, and not for the first time, I will leave the boiling point of Celtic & Rangers alone and highlight the more than curious cases involving Derek Adam.
For example, Adam was serving a touchline ban at Ross County a number of years ago and as such was not allowed to approach the referee during the game. However, the referee concerned sent a message to Derek Adam saying that he wanted to see him in his room at half time. Adam came to the dressing room, knocked but was apparently told by the referee to leave it till full time. At full Time Adam waited outside the referees changing room and eventually the referee appeared but announced that he was leaving and that he had no time to see Adam. Somewhat Rude behaviour perhaps, but nothing more.
Consider Adam’s surprise then when he was charged with being in breach of his existing ban by deciding to approach the referee at half time?
Eventually on appeal, the additional ban that was imposed by the SFA was thrown out– but stop and consider how on earth those circumstances made it to any sort of disciplinary hearing at all? It can only have stemmed from the referee’s report. Not an incident in the heat of the game where an instatnt decision was called for, but a completely different set of circumstances, where there is time to stop and consider and then deliberately make your report.
When Adam moved to Hibs as assisstant manager, there was a game when he was suddenly sent from the technical area. The staff at Hibs knew that he had a disciplinary “problem” with the SFA which Adam claimed was never of his making, but this incident took all by surprise. In short, nobody could figure out what he had been sent from the technical area for. He had been sitting in the dugout when he was suddenly ordered from the pitch. At the time, he was already appealing various earlier so called disciplinary breaches, and if banned again, then the ban on ban rule meant that he would have been banned for an incredible 18 matches.
At the disciplinary appeal the official who sent him to the stand said that he could honestly not remember just why he had sent him off but one of the factors was foul and abusive language although there was no note of what the foul and abusive language was. The official concerned admitted that he could not remember what else had occurred and accepted that his report on the matter was poor. When it was put to him that no one else present could remember any such incident there was humming and hawing but when it was also suggested that Derek Adam simply did not say anything and did not use foul and abusive language because he has always chosen personally not to use swear words at all…. then the embarrassing shuffling of feet began in earnest. Not for the first time, an officials report against Derek Adam was thrown out because… well it just didn’t stand up to scrutiny and just didn’t ring true!
Shortly before he died, I was told that at yet another set of proceedings, the late Paul McBride QC represented Derek Adam at a hearing where he was appealing being sent off—- yet again. The referee concerned was giving evidence about why he had sent Adam to the stand when McBride asked the referee if he would have sent another manager to the stand in the same circumstances? Unbelievably, the referee concerned said “No”!
In other words, it was to be Derek Adam and Derek Adam alone who this referee wanted to send to the stand. No one else would have been treated that way by his own admission. Whether this, or any of the other officials concerned in the incidents above, have an agenda with Derek Adam is something I will leave for the reader to judge.
However, what I think is perfectly clear, is that these cases show that the integrity and the quality of the officials judgement in each case must be open to question. Not open to question just because I want it to be, but because the powers that be have a duty to ensure that referees and other officials apply the rules of the game impartially, objectively and with the utmost integrity. Not only MUST the do that but they MUST BE SEEN to do that. The instances above cannot possibly be seen to demonstrate the application of utmost integrity– in fact they point to the very opposite– like it or not!
To my knowledge, none of the officials in any of the above cases faced any reprimand and all are still officiating. I will be candid and say that I find that very-Very- strange.
I do not know who reviews the abilities and the conduct of Scottish football officials but there must be a question or two that has to be answered when incidents like those above occur. A referee’s duties go way beyond the 90 minutes and they cannot possibly be correct 100% of the time– and everyone has to remember that.
It is not a crime to make an error or a mistake, but to instigate and/or perpetuate an injustice is unforgiveable, and where an injustice has been perpetrated there is a duty to speak out and question why it should be allowed to continue, what steps can be taken to reverse it, and how you ensure such an injustice will never be perpetrated again.
Further, if circumstances exist which have given rise to genuine concern about the integrity of the decision makers, then no one should be surprised when questions are asked in a situation which requires a referee to exercise discretion and then justify it– especially where there is a justifiable alternative interpretation of the facts.
It would just help matters immeasurably if all concerned were just a little less angry sounding, and stopped to consider a whole course of conduct rather than the events of a single game—– even former referees who have access to the airwaves!
I have a bottle of wine a friend gave me which I have been saving for a special occasion. The day TFOD are liquidated I am going to pop that cork and share it with him. I missed out on the UEFA cup final but nothing is going to spoil this party.
The picture of Brines with his finger in Lennys chest is in the inside of todays Daily Mail
I am looking at it right now
So Neil Lennon’s passionate defence of Celtic in the face of injustice is evil, but open animosity shown by a supposedly impartial official like Brines is quite acceptable?
The clown should never be anywhere near another Celtic game.
Just watching the highlights on Channel 67. Sammy’s run and shot after the huns goal was sublime. Had he scored…..
And Celtic HAVE TO get the point across regarding the shittiker tackle. 100% intent.
Auld Neil Lennon heid on 27 March, 2012 at 12:03 said:
Especially when that referee also happens to be a person of authority (ie. Police officer) , Which I’m sure Brines is.
I’ve been thinking recently that because of the complete lack of trust between us and the SFA and their refs we should maybe ask for claification from the SFA of the numbers of people they employ from different ethnic and religious groups. Our perception is that it is full of WASPs – let them prove otherwise. If their office bearers and staff don’t accurately represent the make-up of Scotland then they should be forced to change. At that point we might start to trust them a bit more.
67 European Cup Winners
You seem to set a lot of store by press opinions on Neil Lennon. These opinions, in the past, have been informed by little short of malice.
As for giving refs an excuse to act unjustly towards the manager, they need no excuse. For as long as I can remember the press has reported gleefully that this Celtic manager or that Celtic manager is ‘in hot water’ with the SFA. And even when Smith alleged that ‘Mr Murphy’ had denied his team the title there wasn’t even the suggestion of a whimper from the SFA.
brogan rogan travinno
do you seal the letter
when you put it in the
drawer
Chavez on 27 March, 2012 at 12:19 said:
It would be a lot quicker and easier if we just demanded they used foreign referees.