I like Neil Lennon. If Neil Lennon is talking about football, I shut up and listen. But I respectfully disagree on other subjects. If the last three years have taught us anything it’s that Celtic don’t need oldco or newco Rangers. Unequivocally, Celtic Park is quieter since Rangers liquidated, the level of competition we previously had added many to the gates, none of us feel the anxiety of genuine sporting challenge, but so what?
If Celtic sell 40,000 instead of 50,000 season tickets are we mortally wounded? The accounts would suggest otherwise. Does it mean we cannot compete in Europe? I refer to Neil’s record. Does it mean we cannot attract quality players? Well, it means we will not be able to attract some players, but I’m more than happy with the calibre of players we’ve recruited at the moment. Good riddance to the parts of Celtic that went out the door when Rangers were flushed down the Liquidation Lavvy.
I’m going to cut Neil some slack. I’ve been among Rangers fans and been generous enough to acknowledge income will rise at Celtic if newco ever reach the top flight. It costs nothing to be magnanimous.
What we do need is competition, the like of which Aberdeen have given us in the league this season and they and Dundee United may provide next season, if current trends continue. Congratulations are due to Hearts, who won the Championship before the clocks went forward, an incredible display of dominance, but as our two cup wins against them this season (3-0, 0-4) proves, they are miles away from providing the level of competition we see from Aberdeen.
Don’t have time to get dragged into a larger debate at the moment, but whenever Scottish football next turns its mind to strategic development, how to bolster Aberdeen and United should be top of the agenda. I enjoyed our four games against United this month and the recent league game against Aberdeen. More of them would be welcome.
We have a league split at the moment, where the top six hive off to play for the title, but it comes with only five games to play. An earlier split, allowing us more games against those at the top, while creating more opportunity for teams at the bottom to pick up points from their peers, makes more sense. Especially if more commercial income could be shared with the likes of Aberdeen and United.
Have you ever walked up Ben Nevis? Will you ever do so? It’s a big task if you are starting from scratch. When is it safe, what do you wear, what if something goes wrong, how long will it take, what about nourishment along the way?
The Ben Nevis Huddle delivers much of what you need on a plate. The Foundation have it all in hand. You get to walk up the mountain with a couple of hundred other Celts. They let you know what you need to know, check the weather for you and generally look out for things. They have left no one on the mountain. Yet.
What’s more, you get to do it in the name of Celtic FC Foundation, for our work with autism, downs, the homeless and destitute, those marginalised from our society, and those living in third world poverty.
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TBB, was it the continued use of capitals that was the giveaway?
Captain Beefheart
11:37 on
24 March, 2015
Totally agree. It comes from the back of a tweet I read earlier that the way the club are handling these situations is uniting the support.
My question is that the goal in and of itself, or is the some larger plan on the go. (just musing)
the green man
11:43 on 24 March, 2015
TD67
Im sure we can agree….that the anti-Celtic agenda needs to be challenged.
That’s what makes me angry, the fact that Celtic and Celtic supporters are under attack from a corrupt SFA, and Scottish Media.
We should be challenging this…..and so should the Celtic board.
HH
Yes, I agree, BUT! This is not the time, let’s see how the case goes, if it goes? Again Guidetti, knee jerk reactions only put you on the back foot, I’m one for keeping my powder dry till its time to let it rip, know you’re enemy.
Antipodean red
—
Good post .. i find it strange all these decisions and anti celtic stuff still go on when our own mr lawell is now on the sfa board .
They must be awkward meetings or maybe he isnt allowed in on them. Im not 100% sure of his exact role with the sfa to be honest.
Embdy ever seen ht and dharma in the same room?:)
I completely agree with the point. Talk is cheap.
So are pot shots from behind a screen
HH
CAPTAINBEEFHEART
Yer Polish pal must have been a Yorkshireman in a previous life!
RWE
Good to see you on the site. How are things at home? You and the family have been in my thoughts of late.
T
TD67
I agree with you on this one.
The SFA are a bit gallus at the moment….Lets see how blatant they want to be.
HH
Paul 67,
Last Thursday night I attended a dinner where Martin O’Neill and Daley Thompson were the gust speakers.
Martin spoke for around 40 minutes. No Q&A, just him talking. During his speech he stated that in his opinion both Celtic and Scottish Football desperately needed Rangers to achieve promotion to the top league this season.
His statement was met with fairly muted applause from what was a mixed audience (in terms of allegiance).
TONYDONNELLY
Correct in saying that this is not the time. However,it’s long past time.
They’re making the rules up as they go along because they get away with it.
No more.
proudbhoy
This one?
http://www.celticfc.net/news/7908
THE SFA Compliance Officer has issued a Notice of Complaint to Celtic striker John Guidetti alleging that, in the course of an interview on Dutch TV, he made comment of an offensive nature.
A Celtic spokesperson said: ‘We are very surprised and disappointed that this has even found its way to an SFA judicial panel. John Guidetti will be defending this charge.’
HH
geordie munro
There is nothing for Celtic to say just now. They’ve expressed their surprise and disappointment.
Lunny stated on radio this morning that the citation is relating to the death of the huns as opposed to referring to them in such terms.
Let’s see.
RWE
Can I echo TBB’s sentiments and say it’s good to see you posting.
Many happy returns to the wonderful music and photie mhan Roy Croppie, and daughter Lucy.
Hail Hail
HT,
Yup neebs.
I thought I read lunnys name mentioned earlier.
I thought he had moved on from his previous role??
HH
Antipodean red
SFA =DOB
With a nation of similar sentiment ably abetting them.
I agree with your suggestion that JG and Celtic reject the kangaroo court.
When Reid made the statement about not being treated like 2nd class citizens i thought the board had finally grown a set.
Alas no in subsequent years we have turned the other cheek so often our face is permanently red.
The huns are deid, is a statement of truth!
Happy birthday to Roy (the fotty) Croppy & daughter.
HH
GM
He has mate but he was interviewed on radio this morning. I’m assuming he was given permission to say what he did.
Geordie, you’re continuing that joke about looking in a mirror with that question, aren’t you?!
Captain beefheart I doubt there is a country that doesn’t have some elements of racism. However the nature of racism in Scotland is institutional. In many certainly western countries there is racism but it is acknowledged and it’s institutions work against it. In Scotland there is no acknowledgement of the racism and the institutions serve to exacerbate it.
Ergo the OB act, banning of the word sevco and now hun, collective denial of the Huns dying etc.
Racism in Scotland is pervasive and not only accepted but seemingly encouraged too.
Just saying that racism exists elsewhere so we should slag scotland isn’t enough.
bobby murdoch’s curled-up winklepickers
Agreed, all I’m saying is let them show there hand first as we don’t REALY know what the charge is, it’s all guess work, to be honest they are looking very silly as far as I’m concerned, but if it is to make us look silly THEN, I’d say it’s gloves off time, we don’t have to wait for PL or the board, we have celtic blogs all over the place, that is our weapon, and this may be the time to use it, all of us not just one group.
A very happy birthday to excellent CQN’er Roy Croppie and his daughter.
Thanks for all the foties, you know that’s my thing:))
Have a cracking day..
HT
Lunny skyed the park last year. He’s effectively just a talking head now, expressing an opinion like everyone else.
New fella is Tony McGlennan. Been in post for about 6 months or so.
Cracking post on TSFM
Zilch says:
March 24, 2015 at 9:50 am
Personally, I don’t lose sleep being called a “Fenian b*****d”. It’s not a nice thing to say, and the addition of the F word in this context lets me know exactly where the hatred comes from.
Anyone calling me this belittles themselves.
Someone, or even thousands of someones, singing that they want to be “up to their knees in Fenian blood” – has, IMO, crossed over the line into genuinely offensive behaviour. By this I mean going beyond personal offense and into the realms of offensive to the general public.
The difference is the implied threat of violence.
It would be so easy to come up with a list of nicknames for other fans that could be deemed offensive:
Aberdeen : Sheep Sh****rs (Alleged ruminant relationships issues)
Hearts: Jam Tarts (loose morals there – careful now!)
Partick Thistle: Jags (are we saying they are p***ks?)
Dundee United: Arabs (who knows, but surely offense is to be found here somewhere – the middle East is a nightmare!)
Might be fun to see if we can complete the list?
In fact, I would feel sorry for any club that did not have a distinctive fan’s epithet – a measure of insignificance surely?
OK. So there are some more differences.
The word Fenian refers to an Irish revolutionary group that fought against British rule. It is therefore a direct reference to the Irish conflict, something which continues to plague Scottish (and obviously Irish) life to date.
In common modern use in Scotland it has come to broadly mean any catholic, with the implication that they all support militant Irish republicanism – and are therefore, in the minds of those that use the word, legitimate targets for violence. We are slowly emerging from the NI Troublees where this was a real feature of the conflict.
The H word (can I even write it?) refers to “Older Slang: Disparaging and Offensive. a contemptuous term used to refer to a German, especially a German soldier in World War I or II. The disparaging and offensive use of this term likens the Germans to the barbarous and warlike Huns of the 4th and 5th centuries.” (a dictionary definition).
The term has been in use wrt Rangers fans for so long, that its origins are a bit hazy, but there is no doubt that it includes associations with violent behaviour and lack of culture. I know of no religious significance to this word. It is only directed at Rangers fans (though perhaps they self-identify as being synonymous with protestantism?) and I have heard it being directed at Hearts fans, mainly due to some of their fans having a reputation for dual allegiance with Rangers etc.
I have heard the word used in the context of loyalist parades, but this is also a consequence of the prevalence of Rangers tops at such events. There are many other words used to describe the people organising and participating in such events, but the H word is not one of them.
I do believe that there is a significant difference in the use of the F and H words, with one directly conflating the hatred with the Irish coinflict and the other directly conflating the hatred with the “Old Firm” (as was).
The current attempt to have the H word added to the list of sectarian offensive terms is a desperate attempt to continue the both sides equally bad myth. Sad, but true (IMO).
Personally, it is not a word that I think anyone needs to feel any great attachment to using.
In the context of the John Guidetti song – it is easy to replace the word with e.g. Gers, Bears etc and the meaning is still the same –
Rangers died by their own hand.
And this is the ultimate truth that Rangers fans will never be able to change and that fans of every other club will taunt them with forever.
Moving on…
Personally I find the Sheep Sh****rs epithet more offensive than any of the others and cringe when I hear it. But the way that the Dons fans have defused it by embracing it is genuinely funny – blow up sheep being bounced around the crowd are hard not to laugh at.
If it was us being called the H word, I am pretty sure we would all turn up wearing those ridiculous WWI German helmets with the spikey thing on top and strut about saying daft German stuff, wearing mad moustaches as well.
But I guess it is hard to have a sense of humour when your world view is that of social supremacy. The peasants laughing at you? How very dare they!
They really should get used to it. Because the Gers ARE deid…
Are we really getting ( wacky to some) facebook pages listed on here as accurate historian’s . ie The Shadow of Yale Centre :-(
On another matter does anybody have problems with a link on Newsnow ‘ HITC’ it has the most Celtic stories but I’ve found the page to be a problem page..sometimes can’t close it etc ..anybody else or is it just me :-)
Happy Birthday to Roy Croppie and his daughter; the photos you post are fantastic and are usually ones I’ve never seen before- it’s great looking at them.
WillBeAccusedOfBeingstarryploughnowISuppose.csc
TBB
I know mate but I’d have thought that he’d only have expressed such opinions I’d he had some knowledge of the reason for the charge.
I suggest they should have added the words in CAPITAL letters
THE SFA Compliance Officer has issued a Notice of Complaint to Celtic striker John Guidetti alleging that, in the course of an interview on Dutch TV, he made comment of an offensive nature.
A Celtic spokesperson said: ‘We are very surprised and disappointed that this has even found its way to an SFA judicial panel. John Guidetti will be defending this charge, WITH THE FULL SUPPORT OF CELTIC FOOTBALL CLUB’
RWE…I’m another who is glad to see you back after such a sad difficult time…
When I sing “No huns at Hampden” am I speaking exclusively about raingers or would this venomous chant also include members on the sixth floor ?
west end of east end
Put gattusso’s name on the list please !
Incidentally I think it’s a good thing that the sfa have brought this charge because whether it’s about the use of the word hun and that they are died this drags into the light the rotting core of scotland in a way they have previously avoided. This will become very uncomfortable but you can expect scottish institutions now to rally behind this and pretend that hun is sectarian or that the Huns didn’t die (they were and are merely resting one must presume).
A bit like Clyde last night who kept saying that maybe JG didn’t know the meaning of the word hun. Well Clyde what is the meaning of the word Hun? Or have you just imagined it’s sectarian because those naughty catholics and or celtic fans have been using it. Ergo offence is in the eye of the beholder ergo the accuser is racist. Just like Clyde agreed that tricolours and the irish national anthem are offensive.
So let’s see them squirm through this but don’t expect a good outcome. Oh for a leader to come forward and really ask them hard public questions…..PL? Cardinal? bueller? Anyone?
From twitter
Its all a camouflage to hide this .
https://twitter.com/maxibhoy/status/580333581605711873
Chairbhoy
11:29 on
24 March, 2015
hamiltontim @ 11:24,
“…..I do think that to some extent we need to pick and choose our battles but this is one we need to fight.”
Spot on.
Hail Hail
Total agreement on this issue.
RWE
welcome back
i still visit Dont Shrink…
still a humbling read
HH
liquidate
1.
a. To pay off (a debt, claim, or obligation); settle.
b. To settle the affairs of (a business firm, for example) by determining the liabilities and applying the assets to their discharge.
2. To convert (assets) into cash.
3. ****To eliminate, especially by killing.**** (deid)
Hun
1. A member of a group of Central Asian nomadic pastoralist peoples who invaded Europe in the fourth and fifth centuries ad and were defeated in 455.
2. often hun A barbarous or destructive person.
The defence rests
A “comment of an offensive nature”.
So, in Scottish football, the truth is now deemed to be offensive.
Yet, if the word ‘huns’ is not the problem, then the song quoted by JG is expressing the same sentiment as the Statement by Celtic supporters in the Sunday Herald, passed for publication by lawyers, the Police and ASA alike.
The SFA doesn’t have a case here.
Make sure they pay for their bigoted stupidity, Celtic.
If, as Lunny suggests, Guidetti has been cited for referring to the death of Rangers, thus flying in the face of the rewritten history of the event, is he in effect being charged for bringing the Game into Repute?