I can’t argue with John Hughes winning the Manager of the Year award. Without glossing over the obvious semi-final issue, he’s taken Inverness to stick-on favourites for the Scottish Cup and, for a while, stuck with Aberdeen in the Best of the Rest fight. The second half of the season have seen fortunes fade, but this reflects the resource paucity he has, compared to Dundee United or Aberdeen.
What’s just as clear is that Ronny Deila would have been a contender for the award. Appointing a manager is always a risk. Gordon Strachan was as safe a pair of hands as you could hope for in 2005, but it took nerves of steel for him to cope with some early reversals. Tony Mowbray was also a known quantity, who should have done better, but rookie Neil Lennon pitted against experienced Walter Smith was highly risky. Neil could have sunk without a trace, instead of winning all those trophies.
At least Neil knew the club and the club knew Neil. Appointing a guy from one of the smallest professional clubs in Europe, totally unknown in the Scottish game until Celtic scouted Stefan Johansen, was an almighty risk.
What we recruited was a philosophy. Celtic knew how a football team should be prepared, how to recruit, what tactical intelligence was required in a manager, and they travelled to Strømsgodset to find their man.
Had he qualified for the Champions League group stage, I reckon Ronny would have won Manager of the Year, but as this is the standard Celtic managers are judged by, he missed out. There are no guarantees in football, so qualifying next season cannot be taken for granted, but he should be better prepared. As should the players. This is the target, Ronny.
SPECIAL COMPETITION ALERT
Celtic sponsor, Magners, have offered two of the new home shirts, launched yesterday, as competition prizes. To win one, all you have to do is answer the following question:
Who is the Celtic assistant manager?
Email your entry to celticquicknews@gmail.com with the name of the assistant manager in the SUBJECT line of your message. Competition closes at 1pm tomorrow, so you have one day to get your answer in. Terms and conditions apply.
These are two fabulous prizes. While you are entering the competition, you might want to donate £1 to our Mary’s Meals school kitchen campaign. You can do so here. Thank you.
Many thanks to Magners (who get what we’re about).
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Ronny Deila is my Manager of the Year. That’s all that matters to me.
Kit
Yes. And I do get your point about the risks of history being ‘re-written’.
I suppose my overiding personality trait is ‘we are where we are’ allied to closing ranks around our manager.
HH jamesgang
kevjungle
12:00 on 5 May, 2015
MickTT
10:53 on 5 May, 2015
__________________
If………the huns are back in the same league as Celtic next season….Scott Brown will show the football world what he’s – really – like.
He’ll…imho…willingly bite all the bait that’s dangled in front of him coz….when the ‘heat’ is really on….Broony makes sure that – it’s – all about him and, tae fluk wi how it impacts on the team and fans.
He blew…Celtic’s chances in last years CL with his cheap-corner-bhoy antics in trying..repeatedley to stick the boot into a player who would roll aboot the floor as though he’d been shoot…like Lovenkrands did wi Thommo…that Barca player was – Neymar – any ‘savvy’ Celtic manager…which Neil Lennon certainly wasnt would have had it drilled-into-the-team-dont-go-near-Neymar….but, el,capitano couldny help himself and…to demonstrate how lacking in structure Celtic FC really is…Neil tried to defend Broony….?
Unbelievable would be the word but, no…not wi Broony who has a penchant for taking cheap-hunlike-swipes….he widny be oot of place on this blog…he is condoned by the ‘weak-management-structures’….that are so evident at Celtic Park.
The new strip is pish as well and, they get pisher as the years go by…….
Celtic without rebellion are pishy-punchbags-of-the-establishment.
Back of the bus forever…….CSC
….oot.
₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩
Oot yer nut…!
Kev, I feel honoured at your reply, as previously stated I respect all commemts and the posters who suit them.
I also laugh at some and you made me laugh, keep up the good fight, your fight.
I think ye don’t get oot enough..HH
Ayrshire is Green and White
67Heaven .. CHALLENGING THE LIE ..I am wee Oscar…… Ipox belongs to the creditors
12:49 on
5 May, 2015
A politician phoned me yesterday ……. I told him to simply “go away”, not wishing to be rude.
Instead of going away, he replied ” are you saying you won’t be voting ?”
“If I get a minute between fiddling my expenses, and making the poor poorer’ I will vote” ………. he hung up….hahahahahahaha
Have never been lucky enough to have politician give me the chance to tell them to f off or go away.
Have to make do with binning their leaflets.
jamesgang
13:04 on 5 May, 2015
Geordie
Son of Dallas looked so young and dweeby @ the weekend that I doubt he’s yet allowed to stay up late to do evening matches.
Anyway shouldn’t he be studying or something? Advanced Higher in Hunguffery to sit soon.
HH jamesgang
***
As the Bard said in (July) Twelfth Night ….
“Some are born in great hunguffery, some achieve great hunguffery and some have great hunguffery thrust upon them”…
it seems Dallas the younger, being of good hunguffery stock, managed all three.
Commemts = Comments
Suits = Posts
Ayrshire is Grien and White.
HH
FAC petition signed
This act is oppressive in nature and unfair in fact. It is much more likely to criminalize the innocent than catch any wrongdoer. It is bad law, plain and simple.
https://www.change.org/p/the-scottish-government-repeal-the-offensive-behaviour-at-football-threatening-communications-scotland-act-2012?just_created=true
Mike in Toronto
Quite!
HH youngster jamesgang
Jamesgang …. “a female Roy Keane”?!
… the image alone is enough to make even Ron Jeremy’s willie recoil in horror!
Hey, if we can discuss Diamond Jackson on CQN, why not RJ? This is an inclusive club after all ….
oneofthe70percent
13:08 on
5 May, 2015
Would Hughes have got manager of the year if any other team(especially a dead one) had won 2 trophies,no way , can.t remember anyone other than the cheats manager winning when they stole trophies,and Kenny dalgleish never won player of the year,and some right numpties were given it ,the excuse being he will win it eventually,we live in a sick bigoted shithole province of the uk and now loads of idiots are going to vote for SNP RACIST SCUM,and as in 79 will complain when Cameron and his public school mates keep control
F–K THE SNP TARTAN TORY SCUM
When you cool down ask yourself the following.
Just how have Labour, having long held all the cards in Scotlandmanaged to make the SNP once a bit of a joke, the major political force in Scotland.
jamesgang:
I am not having a dig at our manager, neither am I shrouding him in myth. He did well this season, though did he do better than those he replaced might’ve done? We’ll never know.
My point is this part of Paul’s post:
“What we recruited was a philosophy. Celtic knew how a football team should be prepared, how to recruit, what tactical intelligence was required in a manager, and they travelled to Strømsgodset to find their man.
I have so many issues with those few sentences it would take longer than I have to articulate them. Let me just offer up a few words, not taken out of context deliberately to cause anybody any angst but because I find it hard to confidently agree with them.
Celtic knew how a football team should be prepared….?
how to recruit….?
what tactical intelligence was required in a manager….?
and they travelled to Strømsgodset to find their man….?
Remember ‘not lazy journalism’.
Did Neil lennon and Johan Mjallby fail Celtic prior being forced to leave and resign respectively?
My post was not about Ronny but others decided it was. My post was about accuracy.
Are any of the parties on Thursday pledging to take the means of production in to state ownership? Are they even.proposing re nationalising the railways? Or ending and reversing privatistation of health? Are they guaranteeing free education for all up to and including Degree Level?
Vote for the ones that promise that or vote for a variety of paces at which you amd your community get screwed.
Afternoon Bhoys and Ghirls. First time poster, but long time admirer.
Hard to argue with Paul’s article regarding John Hughes taking the Manager of the Year. He’s achieved massive things for a club of Caleys stature. A club that live within their means yet compete to a level well above their weight. Well done to them.
Ronny Deila can however feel justifiably hard done by. He’s overcame massive hurdles to make this transitional period a mainly enjoyable one. European nightmares aside when he still didn’t know his best team (pukki started in Poland but soon landed in Denamark), there has been a drastic improvement in the fitness levels and the style of football. Friday nights team goal against a Dundee summed up what’s Deilas trying to do here, patient on the deck football with a ruthless cutting edge in the final third. Every pass means something. The transformation of Leigh Griffiths, Stefan Johansson, the signings of GMS and Armstrong, Nir Biton aka Sergio Busquets only with a 30 yard ping in his locker have all been a joy to watch this last few months.
Here’s to a full summer of pre-season under Ronny’s terms and a proper settled squad assault on the champions league. Exciting times ahead at Paradise.
Hail Hail
“Would Hughes have got manager of the year if any other team(especially a dead one) had won 2 trophies”
70%
Quite possibly.
Kit
I hear you pal.
MiT
;-)
HH jamesgang
jamesgang
Sorry for the late response, was on the fone tae Boaby, ma sister and back on to ma sister again. Bliddy fone hasnae stoapped. Lol. Ok, gotcha now re the black pudding, was totally lost wi that one. Hahahahaha
Weefra HH praying to Wee Oscar.
RobertTressell
13:48 on
5 May, 2015
Are any of the parties on Thursday pledging to take the means of production in to state ownership? Are they even.proposing re nationalising the railways? Or ending and reversing privatistation of health? Are they guaranteeing free education for all up to and including Degree Level?
Vote for the ones that promise that or vote for a variety of paces at which you amd your community get screwed.
I believe that along with promising longer sticks for lollipops, the born again socialist Jim Murphy may have hinted at some of the above.
Kitalba,
who were the three that turned it down prior to Ronny taking the job?
HH
gsu
totalcelticfans
Ok, I’ll ask you, urr ye? If not, welcome aboard the nuthouse special.lol
Weefra HH praying to Wee Oscar.
totalcelticfans
You likely know the script.
Welcome. Are you a hun?
;-)
HH jamesgang
Apologies for the length of this item but it needs to be more widely circulated..Thanks
FAC link
http://fansagainstcriminalisation.com/campaign-news/
FAC launches petition to the Scottish Government calling for repeal of the Act
As we head towards the August deadline for the review of the Act, Fans against Criminalisation has today launched a petition calling on the Scottish Government to repeal the Offensive Behaviour Act once and for all. Here is your opportunity to make your views knowns and to let the lawmakers know that this is a bad law and one which discriminates against football fans; criminalises Hamilton fans for saying ‘Fuck yer well’ (two 18 years olds got 3 nights in Greenock prison for that one); criminalises Motherwell fans (kettled men, women and children at St Mirren Park; criminalised Aberdeen fans and fans of every other club; not to mention harassing and criminalising Celtic fans for expressing their political views. The Act was introduced against the advice of every part of civil society and every MSP other than those of the governing party.
Whatever your views regarding the chants and songs of football fans, the use of the law in this way is wrong and has created a poisonous atmosphere between supporters and police. That is in no-one’s interest. We call on all citizens to sign the petition and support the repeal of this unjust, unworkable and dangerous piece of legislation.
https://www.change.org/p/the-scottish-government-repeal-the-offensive-behaviour-at-football-threatening-communications-scotland-act-2012?just_created=true
Now is the time, now is the hour!
There is only a very short time now to ensure that the review of the Offensive Behaviour Act delivers the correct outcome ie repeal of the Act. The review has to be before Parliament by August and given the recess period that might mean June. FAC has asked for meetings with representatives of all parties and one of these has already taken place, with Patrick Harvie, of the Scottish Greens. FAC continues to press on all sides for a full and thorough review of the Act and we have also written to the Justice Committee Convenor, Christine Grahame MSP, to ask her what plans the Committee has to take evidence in relation to the review. We have, as yet, received no response, but will be chasing it up soon.
Meanwhile the assault on the lives and civil liberties of young football fans continues apace. A recent Appeal Court judgement in an OB case, based on false evidence from a police officer, seems to leave no room whatsoever for Sheriffs to make sensible decisions based on the facts before them. This will, we hope, be subject to a further appeal beyond Scotland where we expect it to have a fair hearing. A complaint has been made to the Procurator Fiscal regarding the evidence given by the officer. Dawn raids on the homes of young people also continue and lives , employment and studies are disrupted.
So what does this mean for you?
Well, it means that now more than ever it is important for everyone, no matter what team you support or if you don’t support any team at all but just care about the rights of people to go about their lawful business without unwarranted interference from the police, to step up to the penalty spot.
It is absolutely vital that you contact your MSP – no matter what party – and ask them to ensure that there is a full and thorough review and that football fans are allowed to directly convey their experience of the Act to politicians before any vote.
Please keep an eye out for a public event which will take place between now and the end of the season. The Celtic fixtures have not been particularly helpful in this regard, given that Celtic fans have been the most vociferous in opposition to the Act, but a date and time for a large, public event will be decided soon. It is absolutely crucial that there is a big turnout at any such event to show the Scottish Government that the public expect a full and thorough examination of this Act.
If we do not seize this opportunity to get rid of the Act then we may be saddled with it for some time to come with many more young people criminalised for their identity or for their support for their team.
We know that this Act is not just used against Celtic fans, or indeed fans of the Rangers, and representatives from FAC have been supporting fans of other clubs too. However, the Law Lords who delivered the Appeal Court Judgement made clear something which politicians have been very reluctant to admit but which FAC and its constituent organisations have long known:
The main, but not exclusive, focus is on the behaviour of certain Celtic and Rangers fans with their long standing attachment to opposing factions involved in the politics of Ireland, and Ulster in particular.
There you have it! The Act was created to stop anyone here having a political view, and expressing it, on the politics of the land from which many of us came and to which many of us hold a continuing attachment. It is decision time and the decision is to actively oppose this Act now or live with the consequences for some time to come.
A ‘review’ of the Offensive Behaviour Act: coming to a Scottish Parliament near you soon!
When the Offensive Behaviour Act was voted on to the statute books you will recall that the SNP government, having said that they ‘wanted consensus’ were humiliatingly left to force through the Act using their 7 vote majority. They could not convince a single other member of the Scottish Parliament to vote with them. However, the opponents of the Act were able to get a review clause built in which meant that the Act must be reviewed within two year of operation. Most of us believed, not unreasonably, that given the Act was introduced in March 2012 that this would have been done in March 2014. No, it was then interpreted to mean two full football seasons so they counted that as 2012-13 and 2013-14 and then added another year on for good measure! However, they now must have the review no later than August 2015. We were aware that the government had commissioned some research from the University of Stirling which we understood would be used to inform the review. We also assumed that the review would consist of discussions directly with those affected by the Act ie football supporters. In this regard, we believed (and still believe) that FAC had a particular role to play given the amount of data and information that we are able to bring to the attention of MSPs. However, it would appear that our evidence as the only group which has consistently since 2011 campaigned on this issue and has, from the outset, declared its intention to provide quantitative and qualitative data to MSPs at the appropriate time is not relevant or important. Quite incredibly it would appear that the Stirling research is the review! We are not aware of any other example of a piece of academic research being used in this way and we are aware that the researchers themselves were not aware that their research would be used in this way.
So, as things stand, as far as we are aware, the research team’s judgement in terms of how they collected and presented the data they collected will be all that MSPs will be presented with – in fact there is no certainty that there will even be a parliamentary debate on the matter! We have asked what the format of the review will be and there appears to be no form of public consultation or evidence gathering beyond what the Stirling team choose to present (see below)
FAC was not invited to take part in this research as an organisation until February of this year when the interim report had already been submitted to the Scottish Government. This fact was met with some surprise by the Scottish Human Rights Commission when we met with them last year at a point when we had had no contact with the research team and none was arranged. Nevertheless, we met with the team in February in a hastily arranged meeting and had some discussions with them. However, this is clearly not the same as presenting our evidence directly to Parliament. Having our views merged in a report which necessarily must be compiled using the judgement of the academics involved (ie weighted by them in advance) is not the same as having our evidence assessed by politicians. To be fair to the academics, they are clear about this and did not themselves understand that their work was to be used in this way.
We have written to Michael Mathieson, the Justice Secretary and received a reply from a civil servant. We reprint it in full below:
Question 1: Is the Stirling research simply going to be sent to MSPs to be followed by a debate in chamber?
The University of Stirling report, which covers Section 1 of the Act, will be carefully considered by Scottish Ministers along with the evaluation of Section 6 on the threatening communications offence. The Scottish Government will respond to both reports. The decision on whether there will be a debate in the Scottish Parliament is a matter for the Parliamentary Bureau which is responsible for proposing a programme of business to the Parliament. Information about the functions of the Parliamentary Bureau is available on the Scottish Parliament’s website at:
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/parliamentary-bureau.aspx
Question 2: Is there going to be any opportunity for citizens or organisations to make submissions on this issue?
There have already been a number of opportunities for citizens and organisations to make submissions in relation to the review of the Act and all of these will be fully considered as part of the review process. There were two online surveys carried out in the summers of 2013 and 2014 to assess supporters experience of attending football matches since the introduction of the Act. Each survey attracted in the region of 2,000 replies and supporters of all 42 SPFL clubs have participated.
In addition to those surveys, supporters from a number of clubs have participated in a range of focus groups. If you, or any other representative from Fans Against Criminalisation, feel you have any additional points you wish to make which were not covered during your session with the research team, you may wish to get in touch with them directly setting out any further points you wish to make in writing.
Question 3: Is our organisation, Fans Against Criminalisation, the only body set up to oppose this Act, going to be able to provide our evidence to Parliament or one of its committees?
This falls within the responsibilities of the Scottish Parliament. You may wish to consider writing directly to the Convener of the Scottish Parliament’s Justice Committee on this point as they have taken the lead in scrutinising the Act from a parliamentary perspective. You can do so by writing to: Christine Grahame MSP, Convener, Justice Committee, The Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh. EH99 1SP.
So there you have it, a piece of legislation, poorly drafted, hastily introduced, horrendously implemented, and now undemocratically reviewed! It really does tick all the boxes.
However, the fight is not over yet. Please visit your MSP and ask her or him if the following:
Do you support the abolition of the Act?
Will you and/or your party ask for a full parliamentary debate on this issue by August?
Will you and/or your party insist that the Justice Committee hear our evidence?
In addition, keep an eye out for a series of planned action by FAC over the next lot of months. If you do not pull out all the stops now we will be saddled with this abomination of an Act for an indefinite period to come. It is up to you.
The curious case of the Police Service of Scotland email that never was..
Early last year the FAC committee decided (for the umpteenth time) that they would organise a fund-raising social. The date was picked and the venue was selected…..and that was as far as it got: no band booked, no advertising, nothing. As it drew nearer to the chosen date it was obvious that the event was not going ahead. However, early in July the venue was approached by a police constable from the Licensing Division at London Road to say that he was aware that a ‘Green Brigade’ function was due to take place and implied that this was a problem and that they would like staff to keep the informed – all secret squirrel like. On hearing this one of the committee, Jeanette Findlay, called London Road to ask what the issue was. She was told ‘There was no issue’ and if there had been, she would have been ‘pulled in’ (!), that this was ‘routine’ and that the Police Service of Scotland Licensing division routinely collect information about social events such as 18th and 21st Birthday parties taking place in their area. Leaving aside his manner and whether anyone would believe this story, Jeanette asked how he knew about the event. She was asked, in turn , ‘What is the problem with us knowing about it?’. She replied ‘There is no problem at all with you knowing about it but how did you know about it?’. She was told that it came in the form of ‘an email from a senior/superior officer. She asked for this officer’s name and was told that he was not going to tell her anything as he ‘didn’t know who she was’. She offered to come down to London Road to introduce herself but he instead said he would speak to his supervisor and get back to her. He duly did, later that day, and repeated the line that this was normal behaviour and that the information had come from a ‘third party’. Jeanette asked if this was a third party external to the PSoS or internal to it. The PC declined to answer and seemed decidely anxious and shifty at that point.
Following discussions in the FAC committee, Jeanette submitted an FoI request to PSoS asking for the email, any notes of any phone call or any notes of any meeting which related to the event of which she had been one of the organisers. The response, given in August 2014, was that she was not entitled to a copy of the email. Having taken further advice from the Scottish Information Commissioner she asked for the decision to be reviewed and clarified that she did not need a copy of the actual email but simply who it was from, who it was sent to, and what it contained. The review, completed in September 2014 confirmed the original decision so we referred it to the Scottish Information Commissioner for a decision in terms of 47(1) of FOISA. That decision notice has now been issued (Decision 025/2015 18 February 2015) which should be available shortly at;
http://www.itspublicknowledge.info/ApplicationsandDecisions/Decisions/Decisions.php
The Decision upholds the complaint and finds that the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Scotland failed to comply with Part 1 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 in responding to the informaton request made by Jeanette Findlay.
However, that is not the interesting part dear readers! The lengthy communications (‘several’) between PSoS and the SIC’s office (September 2014 to February 2014) culminated in them ‘eventually’ confirming that ‘they held no recorded information that fell within the terms of (the) request: indeed it transpires ‘there had never been any email concerning the event she had organised’.
The Decision Notice, indicates ‘The Commissioner cannot comment on why Ms Findlay was informed that the source of the information about her event was an email, when this turns out not to be the case’.
So there we have it. Yet again, and in line with Stephen House’s shenanigans around Stop and Search statistics, we find that someone within PSoS is lying. So the following questions remain:
Did the PC lie when he said he’d had an email from another officer?
Did PSoS lie when they said there was no email?
How did PSoS come to find out about the event that never was?
…and having found out, why did they seek to interfere with it and mislead the venue staff as to who was organising it?
I think another complaint to PSoS will be arriving soon.
Call for information re Roll of Honour Cases
As many of you will know, FAC has been trying to keep track of all the cases which are taken under the Offensive Behaviour Act as a way of monitoring its implementation. However, we don’t always get told about all the cases so we are trying to do a sweep to get basic detail of cases we don’t already know about. At this point, we are particularly interested in cases involving the song The Roll of Honour for reason which will become clear in due course.
If you have been charged under the Act for singing this song and whether or not the case is concluded and even if you think we already know about your case, please email us, DM us or use the contact form on this site to give us the basic details. It would be most helpful if you were to use the special form on the page entitled ‘Been arrested?’. Your information is completely secure on this site and your details will not be used by us in anything other than a completely anonymised form without your express permission. Please spread the word to anyone you know who has been charged with singing Roll of Honour. Thanks.
Police Service of Scotland uphold complaint from FAC protesters
In news just in (30/1/15) we hear that the complaint from the small group of FAC protesters who went to protest at the SNP Spring conference in Aberdeen last April and who were issued with a Section 12 Notice under the Public Order Act (all 19 of them including the 7 year old wean and the pensioners!) has now been partially upheld. Those of you who followed the FAC wordpress blog will remember that the complaint was initially rejected and was then referred to the Police Investigations Review Committee (PIRC) for consideration. Thereafter, the complainant was asked if she would consider allowing the Police Service of Scotland to look at it again as they felt they hadn’t addressed all the issues in their original response. Being a reasonable person, she duly gave her permission and after waiting a considerable time her patience has been rewarded. Two of the 4 complaints have been upheld, including the most important one which relates to the issuing of the Section 12 Notice. We will cover this in more detail shortly but the significance of this cannot be underplayed and is yet more evidence that FAC will not stand by while our civil and political rights are stamped underfoot by House’s army. Politicians again please take note!
The last man standing from the Gallowgate goes to trial – and walks away victorious!
Yesterday at Glasgow Sheriff Court a young man who refused to accept a fixed penalty (which leaves you with no criminal record) of £150 for alleged Breach of the Peace during the kettling incident in the Gallowgate in March 2013 was found Not Guilty. He had earlier insisted on being tried on the grounds that ‘he hadn’t done anything’ and the Sheriff agreed with him. In a quite incredible display, a Chief Inspector and a Sergeant from Police Scotland were exposed time after time as liars in the court. Sadly it appears that they will face no penalty for this as the Sheriff declined to suggest it. More importantly, however, this young man’s courage and integrity was rewarded and this brings all of the criminal proceedings to an end – with Police Scotland now completely exposed as having no justification for their disgraceful behaviour on that day. It is now up to politicians to hold them, and their imperious leader, Stephen House, to account for their behaviour and for the lies they told MSPs and the public in the subsequent cover-up. We look forward to hearing what they plan to do about it. In the meantime an addendum will be added to the Gallowgate Report to cover this really quite astonishing case. Congratulations to the bold bhoy, his family and his friends on a brave decision and a well-deserved result.
(ps if there are any theatre groups out there that want to turn this trial into a comedy sketch, one of our observers has a full set of notes and it is pure comedy gold!)
John Mason & Co support Free Speech
Without a trace of irony John Mason (who thinks Yes banners and Free Palestine t-shirts at football games should lead to prosecution) has tabled the following very commendable motion:
Motion S4M-12020: John Mason, Glasgow Shettleston, Scottish National Party, Date Lodged: 08/01/2015
Freedom of Speech
That the Parliament notes with great sadness the deaths at the French satirical magazine, Charlie Hebdo; considers that, while hatred of any group in society should be opposed, freedom of speech must be supported and protected; strongly believes that in a healthy society it should be possible for politicians and religions to be ridiculed and satirised however uncomfortable that might be for those who are the subject matter, and considers all deities and prophets well able to handle criticism and ridicule without human intervention.
Supported by: Joan McAlpine, Christine Grahame, Stuart McMillan, Kenneth Gibson, Adam Ingram, David Torrance, Bill Kidd, Roderick Campbell, Mike MacKenzie, Margaret McCulloch, Jean Urquhart, Murdo Fraser
FAC encourages all opponents of the Offensive Behaviour Act who are constituents of any of the above MSPs to congratulate them on this finely worded motion and ask when they plan to put it into effect in Scotland.
New media coverage for FAC from STV
A month after the launch of the Gallowgate Report, Peter Smith of STV has released his short piece which covered events of March 2013 and the efforts by FAC to seek answer from the Police Service of Scotland as to their conduct that day. The piece shows FAC members discussing both the Offensive Behaviour Act and the corteo on the Gallowgate as well as following the small delegation which took the report to Holyrood to present to MSPs in December. It would be fair to say that we feel that the issues we were trying to raise go beyond the Green Brigade or any other constituent part of FAC – indeed it goes beyond just the Celtic support – but what the video does demonstrate is our continued commitment to fight this act; the actions of the police in enforcing it and the criminalisation of football supporters in general. Let us know what you think of it!
HH
jamesgang
A tad tardy there young yin eh!
Weefra HH praying to Wee Oscar.
A more serious reply to Robert Tressell.
AS I have previously posted. Hopefully, should it get the forecast scourging on Thursday, Scottish Labour will have a long hard look at itself and ask exactly how did it happen.
Unfortunately, given the very real chance of another General Election in the autumn, any change of direction by Scottish Labour, and that means ditching the branch office mentality, will have to be immediate.
TotalCelticFans
Welcome aboard the mad ship CQN.
Hail Hail
till later all
Year one of project Ronny went well after a shaky start , I’m looking forward to see where we it takes us.
Rwe
Jeezo Mhan. The last time I saw a post that long was when I Asked BRTH, ‘lager or Guinness?’
;-)
Jokin’jimOweYouApintCSC
HH jamesgang
Weefra
You’re getting all the pods today!
HH jamesgang
Nae apologies for this, it’s pure class from our compadre Chairbhoy
A bitchslaping for Hannan
Apologies for the long post but having read the article penned by Martin Hannan and some of the comments thereafter I have to say, this is a very poor, ill-considered piece, if, as seems to be the case the chap was once a Celtic supporter.
The reason I say this is not due to the fact that the chap has a pop at Celtic, little new there by the SMSM, it is how scathing and belittling it is to each, footballer, coach, manager, supporter of every Club and the Scotland National teams.
It is a complete disgrace, it says to them, you are no hopers and to ensure competitive Football in Scotland you ought to do everything in your power to ensure a strong Rangers (sic) as without a strong Rangers (sic) you are incapable of producing good coaches, good managers good football teams and ultimately a quality international squad.
It’s as if some sort of bent “Old Firm” duopoly was the best Scottish Football can get. What absolute nonsense. This chap obviously doesn’t know or totally ignores the short term, medium term and long term history of Scottish Football, whichever one it is, it makes him an ignoramus. I’m not being judgemental here, I’m talking literally.
Looking back at the pre-sixties history of Scottish Football Queen’s Park had a golden age, Hibs had a Golden age, Rangers had a golden age and several teams became good enough to win many trophies.
Yet when Celtic were on route to their unique (for the time) 9-in-a-row could you say Celtic dominated Scottish Football? Well to a certain extent yes, but you must put that into context, Celtic won more domestic trophies than any other Club but we had other Clubs winning European trophies, the International team beating the World Champions in ’67, and qualifying for World Cup Finals, Scottish Footballers, Coaches and Managers were the best in Britain and the equal of those around Europe and for a nation of 5million, Scotland was a hotbed of Football talent and Celtic rather than dominate were the vanguard.
So even after Celtic’s “dominance” waned Scottish teams still competed and won European trophies, the International side still qualified for major tournaments, Scotland’s best Footballers, Coaches and Managers were still amongst the best in Europe.
This only changed in the late eighties when Rangers decided that their Club had the right to be preeminent among the Scottish Clubs despite being an also ran in the last 30 years. They would secure backing and funding that meant their financial doping would totally distort Scottish Football. They bought the best Scottish players depriving other Clubs of their talent, but often they resided on the bench or in the reserves not developing their talent, instead opting for highly paid foreign talent to crush the Scottish Clubs.
Their 9-in-a-row would come at the expense of a nurturing Scottish Football environment totally not conducive to developing talent, this continued unabated until Rangers went bust. The defining moment for me was when with one game to go to Qualify for a major tournament the Scotland International team lost their Manager and Coach who deserted Scotland at a crucial time to go to Rangers. Scotland failed to qualify for that tournament.
Since Rangers went bust we have seen a renaissance in Scottish Football, more teams winning trophies, more teams financially secure and a National team we can be proud of at all levels.
Mr Hannan does not cite a single fact or give a coherent argument to suggest how the new Ibrox Club will be any better for Scottish Football than it’s dead predecessor – In fact the reverse is true.
Mr Hannan reminisces about the eighties and the new firm – he forgets to mention their decline was nothing to do with Celtic who were arguably more or less on a par with those Clubs. No it was Rangers financially doping induced dominance that shattered the ambitions of the “new firm”, saw Hearts fall by the way side and Celtic were a hair’s breath from going bust – what did Rangers or their supporters care for Scottish Football then. In fact many a St Georges flag was waved at Ibrox.
It is a clear and undisputable fact that any success Celtic have had in the last 30 years is despite Rangers. What Celtic have done since they recovered from the body blow in the late eighties every other Club in Scotland was entitled to do. Hearts operate out of one of the most successful Capital Cities in Europe, Aberdeen operate out of the most prosperous Cities in Europe, with a proud Football heritage these Clubs could have done something, Celtic have no God given right to succeed, and still today we are their for the taking.
Mr Hannan is also very disingenuous to suggest the new Ibrox Club is comparable in size and has the similar resources to Celtic, in this Season of all Seasons that statement is so inaccurate it must be seen as a coecered, manipulative lie. The Ibrox Club is no match for Aberdeen, Dundee United, Hearts or Hibs ALL of whom are in a better financial and footballing situation. So without going back to financial doping which is now outlawed as a result of UEFA FFP rules New Rangers have no chance.
His support of Dave King is very worrisome. The New Rangers had a Billionarie at the helm before he was ousted by King, a man certainly capable of ensuring the Ibrox Club had the resources to continue and in the long term compete in Europe.
For me Martin Hannan’s article says, you don’t want the Tim’s winning everything, so allow The New Rangers to cheat their way back to the top. I do hope he’s a bigot, that I can understand, if not what motivated such a wrong minded piece – spite, envy, vengeance or plain greed thatever – you’ve got to feel for the man’s soul.
Hail Hail
delaneys dunky
13:07 on 5 May, 2015
BMCUW
Boring the thruppeny bits off me.
Vote for personal choice. This blog will not change how I or anyone will vote on Thursday.
HH
~~~~~~~~~~++~~~~~~~~~~~
Correct,mate.
IMO,vote with your conscience on Thursday.
If your conscience is clear on Friday morning,you have done your bit.
It’s all too easy to say they’re all the same,the arguments have been done to death. Left right and centre!
I’m past caring,tbh. I live in a marginal,so my vote MAY make a difference.
For five minutes.
The war’s lost,mate. The bastards wi the money won.
Big game hunters GTF
Paul67 et al
There is no doubt that Neil Lennon’s sudden departure, at the end of last season left the Club, in all kinds of turmoil. Lenny said he didn’t know what he was going to do next, and I suspect Peter Lawwell would have felt pretty much the same had he been asked the same question. Would have been difficult for any Celtic manager in those circumstances, moreso probably for Ronny coming over from Norway. Fact is he made a good impression on the club, even if the vast majority of us had never heard of him. What I did like about him early doors was that he was his own man, with his own ideas, ideas that did not always meet with a positive reaction in British football, think Dr Joe Venglos at Aston Villa (Dr No), and Paul Le Guen at the old Ayebroke club. The funny thing is it was after that chaotic summer that I thought I saw some green shoots, the fact that we managed to score a few goals away from home in Europe, and against a lot of odds got into the knockouts of the Europa League. Hopefully this summer will leave us in better shape for the CL qualifiers. Let us see just where Ronny might lead us.
Bada
Read it on CQN Magazine
http://www.cqnmagazine.com/gordon-pay-rise/
Kevj – go and start a Rebel Celtic
Canamalar.
There is no mystery about Martin Hannan. Tim or no Tim, he is simply a journalist, which by definition means he would sell his soul for a by line.
QUONNO 1347
I wish I knew. One of the biggest political collapses ever.
My own opinion still centres around the smoking ban.
jamesgang
Na na nana na lol..
Weefra HH praying to Wee Oscar.
Bobbio
FFS!!!
;-)
HH jamesgang
glasgowdave-thanks for that mate,new deals for Bitton and Johansen soon i hope HH
TOTALCELTICFANS
Wi a name like that,you’ll do for me,and nae questions asked!
Welcome to the madhoose. Wur aw TOTALCELTICFANS but sometimes wi different approaches…