I am always alert to the noises coming out of Celtic in the week before we go to Rugby Park, the same was the case when we were at Livingston. They are horrible pitches. Players don’t like them, bookies don’t like them and managers avoid playing injury-prone players on the surfaces.
However, before a game, there are no excuses. We know the surface and we plan accordingly. There is a golden rule when facing an adverse environment: Give someone a reason to fail and they will take it.
I could not believe my ears at the weekend, when Newco manager, Philippe Clement spoke to Sky after their win at Ross County. When asked about the forthcoming games against Tottenham and Celtic he said, “Maybe we need to say financially out of our league, the two games”.
There’s your excuse. Out. Of. Our. League. Four words you do not want to hear from your manager when you are about to face a team you pretend is a peer. Celtic are out of Newco’s league, but not financially. Accounts for the year to June show Newco’s Operating Expenses at £109.785m, whereas Celtic’s only £105.4m.
Celtic operate in a different league when it comes to recruitment, coaching, commercial acumen, sports science, medical care and just about every metric you can think of. Apart from financial.
As the words left his mouth, Clement will have known he made the mistake of letting the world know he has prepared his excuses for failure. There is no financial disparity, the gap is all down to talent.
With two games remaining only Paris St Germain and Stuttgart, who sit outside the top 24, have a realistic chance of making the knockout stage. Both are on 7 points and they meet in Stuttgart on matchday 8.
Before then, PSG are home to Manchester City on 22 January, when there is a reasonable chance City will be out of their slumber, while Stuttgart can be expected to win at Slovan Bratislava.
Dinamo Zagreb (8 points, away to Arsenal, home to Milan) look certain to drop out. Had they beaten Celtic on Tuesday, getting to 10 points would flip that prediction. While our point on Tueday still left us work to do, it eliminated one of our key rivals.
PSV Eindhoven (8 points, away to Red Star, home to Liverpool) also have work to do. A draw in Belgrade may not be enough for them.
Of the clubs already on 10 points, Brugge are home to Juventus and away to Manchester City, and already have a -2 goal difference. While Feyenoord are home to Bayern, away to Lille and on -1 goal difference. Unlike others on the same points (or City on 8), these two will be looking over their shoulders.
A point should be enough at home to Young Boys, who did well for the majority of the game before caving in at Stuttgart last night. It’s set for a memorable Celtic Park winter’s night.
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Another one one for the off
“Rangers Chief Commercial Officer Karim Virani has resigned with immediate effect.
Appointed a manner of months ago the exit is a shock”
A quick search.
Billy McNeills aberdeen team won 3-0 at ibrox in march 78. Archibald and Harper scoring the goals, looking now for youtube.
Prestonpans bhoys on 12th December 2024 7:28 pm
Another one one for the off
“Rangers Chief Commercial Officer Karim Virani has resigned with immediate effect.
Appointed a manner of months ago the exit is a shock”
————–
headhunted by the current version of gretna.
how many times did mcneills celtic win at ibrox, to add to his aberdeen win ?
————————–
The Rangers Match Programme Archive.
The Rangers Match Programme Archive.
Follow
RANGERS v ABERDEEN
LEAGUE
4th March 1978
3-0 Aberdeen
Aberdeen Goalscorers, Steve Archibald 2 (23, 78), Joe Harper (38)
Attendance 34,500
SAINT STIVS on 12TH DECEMBER 2024 7:15 PM
how many managers have won at ibrox with two different clubs ? and did jock do it with 3 ?
*not sure about his time with the pars but in his brief spell at Easter Road he managed to beat them 3 times, twice in the League, including one at the bigot dome, and in his final game in charge a last minute winner at home in the SC, they also finished that season in 4th place, 4 points behind champions kilmasonic and the calvinists and 3 behind his former side the pars while we, the SC winners, languished in 8th place 9 points behind them, they came a long way from 10th place and 25 points behind the winners the season before, nae wonder Bob Kelly head hunted him, ken dodd or no.
COYBIW
Celtic Mac,
” One point from YBs game will see us through”
Yes,and many would,including yourself,seem to be happy with that.Skin of our teeth.
No matter how many ways people try to justify that result,we were dreadful,against a team fielding,50% reserves.We will never get a better chance to ditch this monkey,of 7 years without an away win,of our backs.No improvement for me to scrape through in the group we had to play.3 of the teams have not won a game.
If your happy fine.I am still raging.
Jock NEVER won away in his time at East End Park against the huns, the best he got was a 1-1 draw in 1962, he quit the pars in March 1964 after losing in the semis of the SC against them so it was bitter sweet in his final game with the Hibbees 2 year later when he knocked them out of the same tournament 2-1 with a last minute winner the same day we knocked out that seasons champions kilmasonic 3-2 at Parkheid in our last appearance wearing the shamrock strip
who’d win between
piss and thunder from the hun and
an accurate fast passing game from the spurs ?
hmm , yellow card offence not punished at ibrokes!
Kenny on the mark for Rovers
From the Beeb website…
The Rangers support have just unfurled an enormous banner in the Copland Road stand saying: ‘Make Rangers great again’.
Oranges of the wurrild unite!
Stoap it; oh ma achin’ sides !
another yella gonna beggin
not that time
C,Mon you Spo ers!
Spurs have come down to the huns level. Very poor.
Spurs very poor so far.
Spurs are pish,Werner is the German Dessers
Spuds look very very lazy.
Soapy doon injured.
Hopefully nothing trivial.
Bada bing. Was thinking exactly the same. Another olly Burke. Souttar gone. Will miss Sunday.
Just watched the last 20 mins. Spurs are performing at St Mirren level. Of course that can all change with a goal but that team is not playing for the manager, they’ve checked out..
Is Ange playing angeball
Balhamboy.
It certainly looks like it. No conviction in their play. Pulling out of 50 50 tackles.
Spurs don’t commit any players to any attack. V odd to watch.
Ange out getting warmed up…..
As much as I was frustrated by us giving the ball away on Tuesday , it’s nothing compared to the slack passes Spurs have been guilty of in that first half .
And that guy Werner is a waste of space . Wouldn’t get into the Celtic team.
Terrible display from Spurs, no passion whatsoever.
Huns are average, but put everything into their tackles.
Is this Angeball I see before me…….??
He played them off the park with a team “valued” at half of what he has on there tonight.
Lazy, overrated and overpaid prima donnas.
Best hyped league in the world.
As the guy in the advert said “ what a load of malarkey “…That Timo Weirnern is an absolute imposter thank goodness we never signed him…
As lame as Spurs are the currants do have their tails up.
For a man with the frame of a carthorse, Igamane does have the feet of Andalusian dresssager.
Spurs can’t play worse in the 2nd shirley ?
Watching this Spurs team,you can see what Ange is up against.Poor control,careless passing,wrong decision making,and far too casual.None of this anything to do with tactics or Ange.All down to the players on the pitch.
In saying that,the scum in the stands right up for this.A Spurs win would give them the dry boak.
Spurs poor with the exception of Fraser Forster .
Archie Gray , Porro and Werner have all been murder .
Two very good saves from Forster have kept Spurs in the match .
The first time that I have watched Rangers this season .
They are better than I was expecting .
Sunday could go either way , based on Celtic recent performances.
TT
I’m sure the huns will come at us the way they have come at Spurs in that first half . We’ll need to be ready for them . Having said that , there’s no way we’ll be as passive as Spurs have been so far .
TT
Absolutely agree.
HH
Gerry
What a load of keech. Dearie me.
Ah Ange, you gave up a team that would run through a wall for you and a fanbase that loved you.. to go to Spurs, where the players aren’t playing for you (and will lose you your job) and fickle fans that now dislike you.
Shame
Greenpinata
Re Tonys .Funeral
I am sure you would be made welcome by Tonys Family as well as cqnrs old and new.
Re woman keep championing the cause
HH
I