My friends in Celtic, a year ago I signed off on 2010 by saying, “I have never spoken to less confident Celtic fans ahead of a game against Rangers than I have this week”. Celtic had won only five of their previous 10 league games, seven of which were at home, but with a squad ravaged by injury, they found a formation which over several games dominated Rangers.
After three defeats and an Ibrox draw against 10-man Celtic, Walter Smith eventually got it right and beat Celtic at Hampden. The league challenge floundered in a scrappy defeat at Inverness, the home team fought for everything and found some vulnerabilities in Celtic but the season ended on a high with the first trophy of the Neil Lennon era as the Scottish Cup was won at rain-soaked Hampden against Motherwell.
Neil Lennon, Paddy McCourt and Niall McGinn all had to deal with more serious events than football in the first half of the year. Bombs and bullets were sent to Celtic’s three Irish stars, prosecutions are pending. These events put Scotland on the international news circuit in a very unwelcome light. First Minister, Alex Salmond, promised to take action but instead of tackling a century-old anti-Catholic, anti-Irish tradition, his government passed a law which criminalised all sorts of non-sectarian, non-racist activity.
Despite this initiative taking on flagship status for the Scottish Government, Salmond has steadfastly refused to re-gather and publish information on sectarian attacks in recent years. Policy has been made without reference to facts.
The new season brought great promise. Neil Lennon had a year under his belt and was no longer up against Rangers’ most successful manager, instead he would face rookie Ally McCoist, but a humbling by Sion, ultimately neutralised by Uefa, and poor early season league form saw the manager consider his position.
A home defeat to St Johnstone and an utter collapse at Ibrox set the tone, but it was Kilmarnock’s three goal lead which caused Neil Lennon most concern. The story of the second half comeback at Rugby Park is likely to take on legendary status in years to come, but as with much in life, it contained prosaic events. Celtic came out of the dressing room like a condemned team and failed to register a genuine attempt on the Kilmarnock goal for 25 minutes. Anthony Stokes struck a free kick which would have been stopped by most defensive walls but the Kilmarnock version was made of butter and Celtic had a platform to stage a comeback. Killie’s reserve keeper, Jaakkola, failed to reach Anthony’s shot a few minutes later and Celtic were level six minutes after they realised they had a game of football to play.
In their next game Celtic failed to score at home to then-bottom Hibernian, allowing Rangers to open up a 15 point gap over their rivals, who by then were in third place, although with two games in hand over Rangers. Celtic then went to Motherwell and promptly fell behind, our season hung by a thread, but it was that guy Stokes who again had the stomach for the fight. Anthony equalised within minutes and Gary Hooper scored a late winner.
Celtic have not dropped a point since, while Ally McCoist and his boss, Craig Whyte, now look like the rookies they are. They have lost three of their last six games, completing a collapse at Celtic Park on Wednesday night.
A year ago I reflected on the 46 players who played for Celtic during 2010 and suggested we would be better starting with a blank sheet of paper. The league challenge ended in failure but 2011 didn’t. This year ends with a coherent team strategy which could deliver the first sustainable and successful Celtic team in 40 years. We have a young squad, on wages the club can afford, with a scouting and management team that have delivered a clutch of players destined to achieve an enormous amount in the game.
Despite the energy and excitement around Celtic Park, attendances are down. Football is not as fashionable as it was three or four years ago. For much of the season, we play in a cold, wet, environment against well-organised but defensive teams; it’s a hard sell. We all know fans who have drifted from the stands, large areas of the stadium are now scarcely populated unless Rangers are visiting, which will impact income and subsequent expenditure.
Still, the shambles of 2010 has gone, Celtic look like a club with purpose and the tools to move forward with confidence. A two point lead at this stage of the season is largely symbolic but it’s a deserved honour that your team deserves.
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Gary Ablett ex Liverpool / Everton RIP.
Traynor today :
Rangers, as they’ve been known for more than a century, might be killed off and a new club born from the fall-out and recriminations.
A ruling on the HMRC case is expected this month but there may be a feeling within Ibrox that no matter the outcome of the tax dispute, the best way, maybe the only way, forward is administration or some form of liquidation.
===========
So, this is the first time I’ve seen someone from the pander-press mention the L word, and also indicate that it is _different_ from the A word. People still seem to think that administration will be a 10-point penalty (therefore still in 2nd or 3rd place) and all of the debt and problems disappear. Open the war-chest, and business as usual.
Did the turning of the year open Jabba’s eyes?
Beautiful sunny morning in Stonehaven.
Awe naw- Thanks very much HH.Back to your press report :)
THE SMALLEST CSC
Maybe the monthly stipend didnae turn up?
Oh naw, having just read back a deep sense of foreboding has washed over me………..
jings crivvens etc…………….
Totally gutted if THEY sign Jerry Bengtson from Izzy’s former club Motague.
This lad is exactly what WE need and was linked with us in the summer. Woulkd be very angry if THEY were to sign him as he would score for fun in the SPL.
A number of the redtiops are running this story this morning along with THEM also showing interest in Bengtson team mate Jorge Claros, another player we were linked with in the summer.
HH
/Bishop B
The Smallest CSC says:
2 January, 2012 at 10:37
I know most here detest jabba with a passion and the record even more,
but his piece today takes some reading, honestly its worth a look just to see how poor a journalist this guy is,
like his beloved club he has absolutely no shame
none whatsoever
PS
I read it and thought awe naw had hacked into their system and re worded it.
you didny…..did you?
The Smallest CSC says
Jabba is still gnawing on the succulent lamb at Poundland.Sounds like Whytemare is getting the lapdogs to increase the drip feed settings.hh.
Len Brennan,
Can’t Izzy have a word with his mates and warn them what they might be getting themselves into?
Why would anyone want to sign a contract that might never be honoured as the club could disappear?
Is there a format for getting bold text, italics and underlines in the comments? In google talk I would do *bold* and _italics_ with asterisks and underlines. The RTC blog supports emoticons as well.
Che says:
2 January, 2012 at 10:42
I read it and thought awe naw had hacked into their system and re worded it.
you didny…..did you?
================
That was from a kerrydalestreet article. I haven’t checked the original. Daily Record, probably.
Happy New Millenium!
Jobo
Gordon J
Don’t think either player would cost a great deal and don’t think the wage structure in Honduras is anywhere near that of European clubs, so there would be a real financial incentive for both club and player here.
On Izzy having a word I would hope he’d be having that with Lenny to get him to go and get Bengtson!
HH
/Bishop B
BOBBY MURDOCH’S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS says:
2 January, 2012 at 10:34
Their run to the EC final had as much appeal as an advert for hemorrhoid cream in an gay adult movie .
They really were awful .
They even played for pens in the final ,is it any wonder the tele turned itself aff and the hordes went on the rampage
hail hail
Awe_Naw:
That is an extract from this, been a long time coming.
Cash woe crisis time for Ally McCoist and Craig Whyte
By jim Traynor on Jan 2, 12 08:18 AM in rangers
RANGERS had hoped to turn into the New Year with fresh hope despite last week’s setback but the fear and uncertainty that dogged them throughout the first half of this season refuses to go away.
If anything, this outfit faced the dawn of 2012 looking more forlorn than at any time since Craig Whyte bought the place in May.
In fact, Rangers appear moribund.
The lead over Celtic, which was 15 points in November, has gone and so too has the drive and belief that carried Rangers to the front in the first place.
For several weeks now they’ve been a shadow of their former selves and it was inevitable a much more robust and creative Celtic would overtake them.
It was also a certainty that Ally McCoist and his key players would be lambasted for failing to hold on to their lead but while shouting and jabbing fingers at them is an understandable reaction, it is also a simplistic one. Rangers fans are missing the point.
In fact, many of them seem to be in complete denial of the problems facing their club. However, they had better wise up and open their eyes soon. The truth may be about to hit the fan.
The last six months were bloated with speculation about Rangers and I’ve lost count of the number of times it was suggested they were about to tip into administration, mainly because of the seemingly never-ending tax case.
Just about anyone with access to a keyboard and the basic ability to jab both index fingers at the letters had something to say about bills and wages not being paid. Something bad was supposed to happen in September. Then it was October, which became November and then December.
Their annual figures were released but weren’t signed off by the auditors and the shareholders still don’t know when they’ll be called to an agm.
But although they’ve lost some credibility and their SPL lead, Rangers haven’t yet lost all will to survive.
They aren’t in the best of shape but they’re still with us, although – at the risk of joining the ranks of the doomsayers – decision time has arrived.
This month will be critical for all concerned with Rangers.
The transfer window has just opened and supporters should brace themselves for further losses.
Players will leave and Nikica Jelavic could be the first to depart, although not for the £9million Rangers expect. They’ll do well to get £6m for the Croat.
The striker is playing as though his mind has already left, while Steve Davis is another who has fallen short of his own standards this season.
But his problem, and it might be the same with Jelavic, is probably psychological and one that is commonplace amongst the squad.
A team’s main men often become jaded after two or three seasons, especially if they’ve had to carry the burden of fans’ expectations, and Davis appears to have reached this stage.
But it’s also true that when top players see their club fail to build on success by signing talented and capable additions, something inside switches off.
Suddenly they are left doubting if the people who run the club have the same level of ambition.
Clubs, especially the ones expected to win titles and cups, really must revitalise every three years or so otherwise everything becomes stale.
Urgency and desire drop off and belief is eroded. If you doubt this, just look at what’s happening to McCoist’s team right now and then say it isn’t true.
The previous owner, David Murray, usually managed to come up with £15m or £20m every three or four years to refresh the team but Rangers will not win a fourth successive championship with this squad.
They have too many empty jerseys and it’s clear players like Juan Manuel Ortiz, Alejandro Bedoya and Matt McKay aren’t good enough.
If they were, much more would have been seen of them but as everyone knows, you only get what you pay for and Rangers haven’t paid a lot.
And now they are in desperate need but although the window of opportunity for managers has opened again, McCoist cannot be confident of getting his hands on the kind of money he requires. Unless the owner has a plan.
Fans, hacks and commentators will be taking a close look at McCoist in the weeks ahead to see how he copes in adversity but this is also the time when Whyte has to play his part. He can see the glaring weaknesses in the squad and so he must also recognise the need to come up with an emergency fund for new players if Rangers are to stay close to Celtic in the title race.
But will he? Can he?
Or has he already written off this season because he is finalising his plan to ensure Rangers have a decent future?
If Whyte isn’t able or willing to invest heavily in the team for the remainder of this season then he must reveal his long-term strategy because he didn’t buy Rangers only to watch them stumble along while Celtic gallop.
Also, he knows the best way to protect his investment is to make sure his team wins.
So while the focus will remain on McCoist, with fans always more concerned about results on the pitch, the main player now is actually Whyte because more than another title is now at stake as Rangers enter a critical phase.
The decisions Whyte takes in the next month or so will determine his club’s fate and administration is a real option even if Rangers fans, as well as the SPL and SFA, would rather such a scenario was avoided.
But it could be even worse.
Rangers, as they’ve been known for more than a century, might be killed off and a new club born from the fall-out and recriminations.
A ruling on the HMRC case is expected this month but there may be a feeling within Ibrox that no matter the outcome of the tax dispute, the best way, maybe the only way, forward is administration or some form of liquidation.
However, that would require a lot of explaining. All those fans who bought into the new regime but who have since been trying not to think of worst-case scenarios will finally be demanding answers to questions they should have been asking months ago.
The reason of that comedy talk about Nikica Jelavic transfer might be very simple.
a)He was bought from Rapid for 4 millions.
I’m not sure 100 percent how much Rangers paid 18 months ago? According to the sources in Austria it was 2 millions. Rest of the transfer sum was due in instalments. Rangers paid another 500 000 in September last year. The outstanding sum is 1,5 millions.
b) Clubs in that part of Europe secure clause that they get percent from next transfer. It might be 25 percent from Rangers sale to another club.
Waregem got 25 percent from Rapid to Rangers sale.
Worst scenario of that transfer is that Jelavic will be sold for 4 millios but Rangers will get nothing netto from that transfer.
In my opinion he is not worth more than 4 millions.
Pawel Brozek who plays for Trabzonsport is available for circa 1 million. He is not worse than Jelavic is.
It’s just an example.
“Also, he knows the best way to protect his investment is to make sure his team wins.”
100 pence!!!
Cash woe crisis time for Ally McCoist and Craig Whyte
By jim Traynor on Jan 2, 12 08:18 AM in rangers
RANGERS had hoped to turn into the New Year with fresh hope despite last week’s temporary setback but the fear and uncertainty that dogged them throughout the first half of this season refuses to go away.
If anything, this outfit faced the dawn of 2012 looking more forlorn than at any time since Craig Whyte bought the place in May.
In fact, Rangers appear even more moribund than usual.
The lead over Celtic, which was 15 points in November, has gone and so too has the drive and belief that carried Rangers to the front in the first place.
Since Stewart Regan not Campbell Ogilvie asked for information regarding Graig Whyte´s character they’ve been a shadow of their former selves and it was inevitable a slightly more robust and creative Celtic would overtake them.
It was also a certainty that Ally McCoist and his key players would be lambasted for failing to hold on to their lead but while shouting and jabbing fingers at them is an understandable reaction, it is also a simplistic one. Rangers fans are missing the point. Their players are not very good.
In fact, many of them seem to be in complete denial of the problems facing their club. However, they had better wise up and open their eyes soon. The truth may be about to hit the fan.
The last six months were bloated with speculation about Rangers and I’ve lost count of the number of times it was suggested they were about to tip into administration, mainly because of the seemingly never-ending tax case.
Just about anyone with access to a keyboard and the basic ability to jab both index fingers at the letters had something to say about bills and wages not being paid except for me. Something bad was supposed to happen in September. Then it was October, which became November and then December. Now I am telling you 100% for sure I think it might be January
Their annual figures were released but weren’t signed off by the auditors and the shareholders still don’t know when they’ll be called to an agm.
But although they’ve lost their credibility and their SPL lead, Rangers haven’t yet lost all will to survive but it is becoming close.
They aren’t in the best of shape but they’re still with us -just, although – at the risk of joining the ranks of the doomsayers – decision time has arrived.
This month will be critical for all concerned with Rangers.
The transfer window has just opened and supporters should brace themselves for further losses on and off the pitch
Many players will leave and Nikica Jelavic will be only the first to depart, although not for the £9million Rangers expect. They’ll do well to get £5m for the Croat.
The striker is playing as though his mind has already left, while Steve Davis is another who has fallen short of his own standards this season. Salary delays is not an excuse as the Hearts players have admirably demonstarted this month and last.
But his problem, and it might be the same with Jelavic, is probably psychological and one that is commonplace amongst the squad.
A team’s main men often become jaded after two or three seasons, especially if they’ve had to carry the burden of fans’ expectations, and Davis appears to have reached this stage.
But it’s also true that when top players see their club fail to build on success by signing talented and capable additions, something inside switches off.
Suddenly they are left doubting if the people who run the club have the same level of ambition.
Clubs, especially the ones expected to win titles and cups, really must revitalise every three years or so otherwise everything becomes stale.
Urgency and desire drop off and belief is eroded. If you doubt this, just look at what’s happening to McCoist’s team right now and then say it isn’t true.
Davis a lifelong Rangers fan cannot be expected to function on a normal basis when his first love Glasgow Rangers FC is so close to the abyss.
The previous owner, David Murray, usually managed to come up with £15m or £20m every three or four years to refresh the team but Rangers will not win a fourth successive championship with this squad.
They have too many empty jerseys and it’s clear players like Juan Manuel Ortiz, Alejandro Bedoya and Matt McKay aren’t good enough.
If they were, much more would have been seen of them but as everyone knows, you only get what you pay for and Rangers haven’t paid a lot.
And now they are facing financial oblivion the window of opportunity for managers has opened again, McCoist cannot be confident of getting his hands on the kind of money he requires. Unless the owner has a plan Q
Fans, hacks and commentators will be taking a close look at McCoist in the weeks ahead to see how his weight fluctuates in adversity but this is also the time when Whyte has to play his part. He can see the glaring weaknesses in the squad and his managers health so he must also recognise the need to come up with an emergency fund for new players if Rangers are to stay close to Celtic in the title race.
But will he? Can he? Dont listen to me as I was telling you all that he was a billionaire and that he would deliver a front loaded war chest and then just 5 million pounds. I have just been repeating verbatim what I have been told.
Or has he already written off this season because he is finalising his plan to ensure Rangers have a decent future? A future with moonbeams ? It´s looking likely. So if Whyte does not spend then the Rangers faithful should see that as a sign of stability and investment.
If Whyte isn’t able or willing to invest heavily in the team for the remainder of this season then he will reveal his life long long-term strategy for the club he adores because he didn’t buy Rangers only to watch them stumble along while Celtic gallop.
Also, he knows the best way to protect his investment is to make sure his team wins.
So while the focus will remain on the past, with fans always more concerned about the future, the main player now is actually Whyte because more than another title is now at stake as Rangers enter a critical phase. apart from possibly the title deeds to Ibrox.
The decisions Whyte takes in the next month or so will determine his club’s fate and administration is the only option even if Rangers fans, as well as the SPL and SFA, would rather such a scenario was avoided.
But it could be even worse.
Rangers, as they’ve been known for more than a century, might be killed off and a new club born from the fall-out and recriminations.
A ruling on the HMRC case is expected this month but there may be a feeling within Ibrox that no matter the outcome of the tax dispute, the best way, maybe the only way, forward is administration or some form of liquidation.
However, that would require a lot of explaining. All those fans who bought into the new regime but who have since been trying not to think of worst-case scenarios will finally be demanding answers to questions they should have been asking months ago.
R.I.P Murray Barnes
Zbyszek says @ 2 January, 2012 at 10:51
b) Clubs in that part of Europe secure clause that they get percent from next transfer. It might be 25 percent from Rangers sale to another club. Waregem got 25 percent from Rapid to Rangers sale.
===========================================
I read a couple of weeks ago that Thems only get a percentage (60%?) of the fee. I cant find the interview now, but I think it was a throw-away comment by Sir Walter just before Christmas. Wasn’t keeping up to date with CQN so assumed it had been discussed.
Given Jim’s previous that piece beggars belief……although I see he too has finally managed two jab a couple of fingers in the direction of his second favourite team.
It is quite remarkable that a piece can at once open the trap door on scotland’s favourite disgrace and still offer salvation to the knuckledraggers. Professional.
Mustn’t lose face where the orcs are concerned.
But the penny is dropping.At last.
Can you imagine though if the subject matter was our club, Celtic?
The appetite wouldn’t be so much for succulent lamb, no, the unbridled sarcastic tearing of flesh would put you off your dinner for days. Nothing would be left and the bones thrown out with the rubbish.
Hell mend his kind. I hope they are left with nothing and plenty of time to contemplate how much they have short-changed the scottish public who in return for their 25 p or whatever only wanted insight, informed comment and entertainment.
HH
Aye Ready Or Not, Here I Come, You Can’t Hide
Gonna Find You and Take it Slowly
Aye Ready Or Not, Here I Come, You Can’t Hide
Gonna Find You and drop you in the sea
HAil HAil
Gary Ablett RIP
Condolences to his family.
Wetting myself laughing. Laughing at them. Belly laughing at them. Chortle Chortle
The huns give up here on CQN . We haven´t heard or seen hide nor hair from them for days …. and that was before they got humped
It is just Christmas I thought … they´ll be back on for the OF game.
They got a humping.
Will the be back on moaning about Frasers great save ……..nope they were not.
Jabba is not on the airwaves !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What Chico is doing the shock jock shifts ? Ancient diddery auld Chico ????
Seems that all the hacks with herpes on their mouths and tenderness while sitting have all been informed of the LET THEM DOON GENTLY strategy COUPLED with therapy to recovery from the shock.
Lemmings ……. cliff …………………JUMP !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
HAil Hail
Traynor really is odious.
He’s known this for months but chose to keep quiet.
I doubt even now the penny will drop for most huns.
Message to them GIRUY :)
Nach Novo, Ho Ho Ho,the festive season just keeps giving!!
Jabba jabbering and slabbering like the reptile he is…
The Return Of Izzy today??
Can see Izzy starting and Joe the Lion putting in a shift in the midfield..
Can’t wait to see the Hoops…
SP
Kitalba
Thanks for putting this up. The viewpoint is really really interesting. Traynor’s comments on the players and their attitudes are good. The rearguard action on McCoist is stunning. Where’s the condemnation and personal attacks for someone who’s lost a 15 point in a couple of weeks. Where’s the comment on the no show at Celtic park ? If the player’s performance is psychological, where’s the comment on the role the manager has in this ? In other words, would Lennie get the same level of understanding ?
He also takes a classic DR swipe at bloggers/the new medium for warning about Rangers collapse but says at the end they are going to collapse !
Has anybody got a link to the Healy tackle. It hasn’t made it onto the bbc highlights or the sky repeat. I didn’t record the original out of superstition.
jackie mac:
I was curious as to why he felt the needto write this:
“Since Stewart Regan not Campbell Ogilvie asked for information regarding Graig Whyte´s character they’ve been a shadow of their former selves and it was inevitable a slightly more robust and creative Celtic would overtake them.”
Partizan says @2 January, 2012 at 11:17
Traynor really is odious.
He’s known this for months but chose to keep quiet.
=========================================
He may also be thinking about his phone-in shows. One of the accusations against him in recent months has been him keeping thems financial issues off the agenda but this gives him the response that he _did_ speak out without qualifying _when_.
Awe Naw
It may be a humour by-pass on my part but times like this show why I can’t stand your modification of articles then passing them off as the original. Sure it might be satire. But you reel in unsuspecting posters who take your ‘add-ons’ at face value then waste time discussing them. Traynor et al don’t need your help to show their colours.
I disagree with what you do. But to show I hold no malice I saw huns on RM just the other night talking about the stewards not being paid. I don’t mind when its the Huns who fall for your ‘work’.
Hail Hail
Goodbye to you my Busted fiend
We’ve known each other since 1690
Together we’ve climbed hills and trees
Learned of love and ABC’s
Skinned the hearts and skinned our knees
[Bryan:]
Goodbye my fiend it’s hard to die
When all the tims are singing in the sky
Now that spring is in the air
Pretty ghirls are everywhere
Think of me and I’ll be there
[All:]
We had joy we had fun beat the Rangers 7.1
won the league won the cup
your history has gone to F… we had joy …
[Shane:]
Goodbye Hunnee please pray for me
I was the black sheep of the family
You tried to teach me right from wrong
Too much wine and too much song
Wonder how you got along
[Mark:]
Goodbye RFC it’s hard to die
When all the birds are singing in the sky
Now that the spring is in the air
Little children everywhere
When you see them I’ll be there
[All:]
We had joy we had fun beat the Rangers 7.1
won the league won the cup
your history has gone to F… we had joy …
[Nicky:]
Goodbye Flecky my little one
smell the glove and wipe yer bum
And every time that I was down
I knew I´d always come around
And get my feet back on the ground
[Shane:]
Goodbye Naisy it’s hard to die
When all the tims are singing on the sky
Now that the spring is in the air
With the flowers everywhere
We´re so glad you wont be there
[All:]
We had joy we had fun we had seasons in the sun
But the hills that we climbed were just seasons out of time
We had joy we had fun we had seasons in the sun
But the wine and the song like the seasons have all gone
We had joy we had fun we had seasons in the sun
But the wine and the song
Like the seasons have all gone
We had joy we had fun we had seasons in the sun
But the wine and the song like the seasons have all gone
“However, that would require a lot of explaining. All those fans who bought into the new regime but who have since been trying not to think of worst-case scenarios will finally be demanding answers to questions they should have been asking months ago.”
Why have the pathetic so called ‘journalists’ not been asking these questions ? We all know why.
Partizan
Welcome to the internet.
HAil Hail
jackie mac:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUXIpeEoIGk
Even newsnow is used to deflect the truth from the hun.
Who runs newsnow ?
Hail Hail
Best part of Jabba’s article:
All those fans who bought into the new regime but who have since been trying not to think of worst-case scenarios will finally be demanding answers to questions they should have been asking months ago.
By fans, i assume he’s including himself, as those are also the same questions he should have been asking months ago.
Insipid bloater of a hack.