There comes a time during any endeavour when you have to ask, is this worth all the hassle? News revealed by Phil MacGiollabhain last week and swiftly picked up by the newspapers today that an SFA executive has had his life threatened for what some regard as holding a firm line on application of the game’s rules, are one of these occasions.
This is sport, it is not the struggle against apartheid. It really, really, isn’t worth putting your life on the line for.
The SFA executive who received the threat has not been named but he will hopefully find a degree of fortitude in the face of such intimidation. We have called for resignations from the SFA but not under these circumstances. If the recipient of the threat continues to work as normal they should be commended for their bravery.
It is becoming increasingly difficult to put football back on solid ground but whatever our game looks like in future, it must take on a different face. Ordinary football fans want their sport back, a sport where honesty and endeavour can be rewarded by success on the field.
That will have consequences for us. Celtic are far too powerful for any other club in Scotland to genuinely compete. 35 of our 41 clubs figured out they can do without Rangers and 34 of them know they can do without Celtic too.
They should remind Sevco rules are there for a reason and tell Celtic to stop mumbling about finding another league to play in and go do something about it. I could not be more convinced that every other club in Scotland would be better off if Celtic Park and Ibrox didn’t exist.
Question is, do the rest of the clubs have the balls to do something about it? Is the ‘Arab Spring in Scottish football’ over, or does it still have another chapter?
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HT
I know the supporters paid to get in and probably expected more.
However, if I was a Celtic player I would not be breaking a leg in a friendly one week before the season, a very big season, for our club, starts.
Hope you are well!
weeminger on 25 July, 2012 at 11:38 said:
That’s exactly what I was alluding to in my post above , I think the Celtic board could be playing this perfectly ( cue the attacks from the board haters )
Paul67
I know how the fans of other clubs feel, but big clubs in every country get similiar antagonism from fans of smaller clubs so I don’t think fan power alone will be enough to force Uefa into accepting us moving league, taking into account all the ramifications such a move would have?
HH
Philbhoy
I’m smashing mate enjoying the long break :-)
You know me, normally extremely positive. Last night had me concerned about a few things. Still think/hope we’ll be too strong for the Finns.
Ps why did you refuse to kiss the ring?
Ole Dick
Given your alleged 70s musical heritage, it wouldn’t surprise me if you had some vulgar part to play in the recent doping allegations against wee Hope Solo.
Anyways, enjoy yourself at the ballgame along with the 30,000 schoolkids, boyscouts and dance troupes with their freebie tickets.
traditionalist88 on 25 July, 2012 at 11:42 said:
You mean like a European League?
Whoops, there’s me in the clouds again :0)
HH
CRC
Paul67,
Is Scotland a nation of glory hunters?
Would the removal of the top club in Scottish football (Celtic) and the bottom club in Scottish football (sevco), leave a void for the next two most succesful clubs to fill and dominate?
hamiltontim
Totally agree with you about the lack of movement last night , players need to be more proactive in our time on the ball . Making runs earlier to create space for themselves or taking defenders with them to allow others to exploit that space .
Remember to give me a shout for net CQN swally session :-))))))))
Paul67
But the supremacy of Celtic is not one of birthright, monarchy or establishment prejudice.
It is one based purely on a wide loyal support.
You cannot and should not be bitter towards a club because they have more fans.
We get better sponsorship and TV media because….. we have lots of fans who pay money into the game.
Kill the goose and you might end up with an Irish league setup.
Believe me, standing watching Finn Harps is no fun.
net = next
traditionalist88 on 25 July, 2012 at
11:13
I posted on here last night that I saw David Weir and a young lad going into the game last night.
The boy didn’t have any colours on so don’t know if he’s a bhoy and I have no idea if he is Weirs boy, but they were certainly at the game last night.
Philbhoy – It’s just the beginning! on 25 July, 2012 at 11:34:
“I was quite involved with Our lady of Good Counsel, but had a fall out with my PP when I refused to kiss the newly promoted Cardinal Winnings ring!”
I could have understood you reticence a bit more if you’d been asked to blow in it…
Childish and predictable … but unable to resist CSC.
A lot of support for Paddy today and understandibly so, unfortunatly Lenny doesnt fancy him in the team at all let alone in the middle. I am also a fan of Ki in the middle especially for European games he to can pick that pass and shoot, and has good technical ability but we are looking to offload him. A big mistake in my opinion. I fear we will not make the Champions league for a long time to come unless we get an experienced coach or someone to guide the current coaches going forward. I hope they prove me wrong. For me the tactics in big games have been our main flaw, plus we need a striker of the highest quality for European games the current strikers are not good enough at that level. Just an opinion of course.
Hamilton Tim
Swansea Bhoy has moved to Lenzie and is all Twitter and champagne-receptions at vernissages these days. I’m sure CQN will get him back when the bubbles go flat.
FourGreenFields on 25 July, 2012 at 11:46 said:
Good to see you last night mate. Your Bhoys clearly get their looks from their mother :-)
Possibility of a wee drink after the Aberdeen game. Once I hear anything I’ll let you know.
Paul67
Where would Celtic play if not Scotland? I know that the Celtic board’s end game to this whole oldco/nwco farce that’s been entertaining us for the last 6 months is maximum damage to oldco/newco & scottish football to try to force a way out, but where can they go?
England don’t want us, and to be honest I don’t want to see us playing in England. UEFA don’t have the vision/foresight/balls, call it what you will, to address the huge problem that have across the continent where big football clubs are sufferring because of their geographic location they play in. Regional European leagues, open to all countries outwith the big 6, should be the way forward but it not happening anytime soon.
celticrollercoaster
If only this could help facilitate the setup of a European league…extremely doubtful, no?!
HH
HT
It was the beginning of a difficult time in my life.
I was 21 and into alcohol and other substances not for discussion on a family blog. I was beginning to lose my faith and that was the day I “walked away”.
I was a selfish, self centred little so and so who thought the world existed for my convenience.
My dear old Mum noticed that too and shortly after I was homeless.
The rest of the story i will recount when we are having a beer!
Oh, and bring lots of tissues!
Back later.
Celtic_First
The grass is not always greener.
Just glad to hear that he’s doing ok, always enjoyed his contributions on CQN.
CRC
You leave uncle mike alone lol stole anymore of my badge sales ya jakey? ;-)
HH
The Comfortable Collective on 25 July, 2012 at 11:48:
traditionalist88 on 25 July, 2012 at 11:13:
“I posted on here last night that I saw David Weir and a young lad going into the game last night.
“The boy didn’t have any colours on so don’t know if he’s a bhoy and I have no idea if he is Weirs boy, but they were certainly at the game last night.”
I bumped into Davie Weir about 18 months ago. He’s not nearly as miserable as he looks, and is actually quite a decent fulla.
An even bigger shock – the guy who was with him was extremely affable as well.
OK let’s summarise!
Previous articles have included questions in clubs playing across borders, invites to others to hunt us and the CQN TV comment, never play poker with Peter Lawell ” I wouldn’t ” said Paul.
My take on it is that Paul is inviting others to agree to allowing Celtic to get tae without the customary 2 year wait.
I’m not often right though :-)
We are stuck in Scotland.
The only way forward for Scottish Football is for a total ban on non Scottish players.
Organic growth. Lisbon Lions.
But illegal.
Paul67 – I could not be more convinced that every other club in Scotland would be better off if Celtic Park and Ibrox didn’t exist.
Depends on how you define “better off” Paul.
Would Scottish football be better off if the SPL was like the Welsh Premier League or the IFA Premiership?
Probably not financially or in terms of media coverage.
However, the status quo is unsustainable. As a product, Scottish football has been turning off its customers for donkey’s years, because:
* It’s not competitive enough, as you say
* It’s too expensive for fans, especially given that people have the alternative of watching more glamorous leagues in the comfort of their own home or pub anytime they want
* It’s often boring – partly this is because of the lack of competition to Celtic and Rangers (Rest in Peace). Also it’s due to too many games against the same old clubs – no offence to the likes of Motherwell, St. Mirren, St. Johnstone, etc. but familiarity breeds contempt. Even the Glasgow derby games had lost something of their lustre due to us facing the huns at least four times a season in the league, with a good chance of meeting them at least once in the cups as well.
What can we do, short of leaving the league structure that we’ve been part of for over a century, to improve the product that is Scottish football?
* Redistribute the cash – give every SPL team an equal share of TV and league sponsorship money. We could learn a few lessons from the American sports franchises. Somebody on CQN came up with a great idea recently to give a few thousand tickets away to visiting clubs for free as a better alternative to empty seats – that kind of creative thinking is what we need.
* Radically lower the cost of tickets, especially for kids. In these straitened economic times we’re in danger of losing the next generation of Celtic supporters because of the cost of bringing a family to Celtic Park.
* Increase the size of the league. We should have 16 or 18 clubs playing each other twice a season. More interesting than watching us play Kilmarnock again for the fourth time that year.
*Get rid of the under 21 rule, aka the young players sitting idle on the bench rule, and bring in a cap on the number of full time professional players any club can have on its books. Maybe then we’d stop signing so many fringe players, and it would help improve competition.
Admittedly, these are not new ideas, none of them are a panacea. Most of them will involve some degree painful adjustment.
But if we try nothing, we’ll get nowhere.
I’d rather we tried to make Scottish football work before jumping into another league whose sustainability is questionable.
(thumbsup)
Hamilton Tim
I’m only joking. Mrs SwanseaBhoy would never make the mistake of taking SwanseaBhoy to a vernissage.
He will be lurking and will be on shortly no doubt to give me a hard time for my cheek.
The bit about Lenzie is true.
The Comfortable Collective
Interesting mate- perhaps his boy is a player and could be signing on the dotted line at Paradise, huns would love that one! Given the age of his father his boy must be mid 30s by now right enough:)
HH
Seriously bad news that a man’s life has been threatened. I hope and pray that no imbecile who claims to be a Celtic supporter is responsible.
I hope and pray too that the SFA and the SPL have the courage to face down such evil and act in the best interests of all of Scottish football. They have pandered to that dead team for far far too long and look where it has brought us.
Chaplin
What was the CQN TV comment you refer to?
Thanks
HH
philvisreturns on 25 July, 2012 at 11:57 said:
” Redistribute the cash – give every SPL team an equal share of TV and league sponsorship money”.
I’m gobsmacked.
hamiltontim
Thanks for the compliment mate , I even scare myself when I look in the mirror .
Will look forward to drinks after Aberdeen game if it comes up
Hail Hail
CAMINO MY PLACE
Happy Feast of St James, bro of John, son of Thunder, a Boanerge, guide of pilgrims, patron of Spain, symbolised by the old cockle shell.
In the advent of 2002 I decided to catch up with my cherished brother in Spain. I’m a John , you see, in real life. I was off to see James.
Celtic, our ‘bhoys’having seen off Souness’s ‘men’, had been paired with Celta Vigo (more fraternity in the form of our Galician culture shareholders) and I was off with Cambuslang Travel to sample the vagaries of Vigo. Unfortunately I hadn’t been paired with anyone else. None of my mates wanted to form part of the Brothers Pilgrim – at least not with me – so I was booked into a wee room of my own (£50 surcharge of course) in our smart hotel. I checked in, dumped my bags and headed to the train station and got myself a return ticket to Compostela (for some reason the name always reminds me of Tiswas). It was roughly three hours from Vigo to Santiago and, as I settled with a beer, I took in the marvellous Galician landscapes, the seascape blighted by the recent oil slick. The whole panorama was super-green, absolutely verdant, even in winter. It was heavenly. The wee guy kept coming round with his trolley and I kept buying me and him a beer. Eventually we reached the renowned pilgrimage centre that is Santiago de Compostella (St James in The Field of Stars). I could relate. I’d found myself in a field of stars many a time after drinking strong beer.
I actually had some difficulty finding the Cathedral. I was forever going round in circles or walking up dead-ends but suddenly the great place (and it is truly massive and awe-inspiring) emerged out of nowhere, like Brigadoon. I got the same neckhair-raising feeling seeing the cathedral as I did seeing One-Eyed Willie’s pirate ship in The Goonies. It was as if it had been waiting for me, calling me. John to James. As I climbed the steps I thought of the millions of pilgrims who had beat me to it and the millions who would follow.
In the cathedral itself I observed the massive thuribles, the gut-wrenching Calvary scene and the now-much-banned statue of Our Man beheading the Moors and, almost by accident, I found myself taking the narrow passageways that led me to what are deemed to be the remains of my brother Jim. JPII had beat me to that too. I prayed through James and thanked his mate, Jesus, for letting this happen to me. I returned to the main part of the church and tried to blag an embarrassment-free confession with a Spanish priest who had no English but he wasn’t wearing it. My sins were wearing me down but not as much as my bladder. I needed to go badly. I said goodbye to James, scourge of the Saracens and sought out a wee café.
The one I chose had all sorts of shellfish and chillis in the front window, very rustic-type food, rough breads and so forth. I ordered a beer and stared uncomprehending at the menu. Next minute my host has me in a bearhug and is shouting about Celtic and how glad he is to have me in his place. He made me the most perfect meal but I had a train to catch. I had, however, scratched one particular itch.
And we got through thanks to another John.
The fact that scottish football might be more competitive and exciting without us might help us to get out, but it won’t necesarily help us get in anywhere else.
Couple of things I thought I should mention that albeit arent directly linked to this topic.
Would anyone else not have proffered lennon to be going to see a league game involving Helskini, as in a competitive match, rather than the formality of preventing an 8 goal turnaround??
I dont understand watching team in friendlies unless its top teams or they are not playing in their proferred formation, perhaps working on alternatives.
But when you are playing a team next week in a VERY crucial match and you want to see them in the flesh…dont go see the reserves or them having a kickabout. Go see them try and win a game, a game that means something. Get the back-ups on video. Thats what scouts are for.
And now for my scary thought of the day:
Paddy is clearly receiving a lot of praise for his performance in the engine room last night…agree??
Wasnt it Tony Mowbray who first put him there…..*shudder*…
Paul67
They have never wanted us here because of what we represent.
Philvis
A very ‘socialist’ outlook in your contribution!! :-)
Thumbs-up
winningemmell on 25 July, 2012 at 12:04 said:
Love it
Son of Gabriel
Neil has stated he will go and watch them in their next league game on Sunday as well.
gorbalstam on 25 July, 2012 at 12:02 said:
It’s almost Communism!