With Leigh Griffiths and Moussa Dembele both approaching full fitness, the continued absence of Odsonne Edouard for the trip to Lithuania should not be too much of a concern, but the fact that our three strikers have all missed games due to strain-related injuries should give the fitness team matters to consider.
There is no surprise the Belgian will travel for the game against Suduva. He can make his return to the team far away from all but a few fans. After this game, the two remaining fixtures before most of Europe’s transfer windows close are at home, to Hamilton and Suduva. If the result in the away European game goes well, I suspect we might not see much of our World Cup hero.
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Fairhillbhoy enjoy New York, I have never been, but going in October, and so looking forward to it.
Going to try and do as much touristy stuff as possible, any tips from anyone would be welcome.
I have been told to get City Passes on line before we go, anyone any recommendations ??
HH
D. :)
Bournesouprecipe,
He has always been Lawwell to me ; he is an employee of the club and being CEO his failures deserve scrutiny. He has been handsomely rewarded for his time at the club —-probably more than any other employee in the history of the club ( there was a table that highlighted it in the past at the time of the Delia decline in front of a half empty Celtic Park).
The reality is Brendan gave the list to the CEO. Whether it was the doubting Thomas part, the beancounter element or the ego ( fresh from Selfie pics with corporate “fans” at the SCF ) —- the CEO spectacularly failed to deliver.)
Now you can him the messiah or st PTL ; it does not matter a jot.
He failed Celtic, the support and most importantly Brendan in what should have been the easiest transfer window of recent times. In a season where they started with a rookie manager we have given them hope and now belief.
Face up to reality.
Belgians
Tintin and captain Haddock
Dedryk makes a few mistakes but he’s a step up from anything else we have and the best central defender in Scotland. I hope Brendan sorts out his contract and if he pulls on the jersey tomorrow he will have my full support.
David66
We bought tickets for bus off a guy who said he was Bobo Baldes cousin
We weren’t wearing Celtic stuff but fair to say a lot of Green.
{: > )
He asked us “Scottish ? Celtic ? Bobo Balde”
He was a big lump and his badge name was Balde.
Anyway he gave us 4 days for price of 3 and a boat trip for $65 i think
It was March n cold so depends how busy they are but my mate has been a few times
got best price off one company($80) went to big Balde and said she offered it for $67
we will give you $65 .
Fair doos all…thought there was something fishy put it down to his blue shirt. Said he was Campbelltown too…ashamed of his Geordie roots tut tut
£3.5m for Scott McKenna.
£3,500,000.
Fairhill Bhoy
If you have the time to tour the bars, I was given the recommendation by 16 Roads, of this parish, to visit Foley’s Sports Bar on West 33rd Street, very near to Jack Demsey’s bar. Foley’s has a tremendous amount of sports memarobilia and was well worth the visit.
However, to view a Celtic game, The Parlour, on the other side of town, deserves your business.
HILL 16
O.K. boss
Why don’t you evidence ‘ his failings’ given his tenure since 2003 ( wee clue for you, where to start ) rather than silly billy name calling? it might substantiate why we’ve to ‘face up to reality?’
While your ( clearly ) at it, could you let us know more about Lawwell’s list, who was on it, what the transfer fee was, what there salary was, and how Peter single handedly ‘spectacularly failed to deliver?’
We demand to know the names of these people? © Super Salary
Did the ‘listees’ sign for other clubs e.g. like John McGinn, or what?
Do you know the names of any other board members aside from Dermot Desmond? ( no Googling )
Do you know the name of Celtic’s financial director? ( no Googling )
Was he involved in any way with these spectacular failures?
If it was ‘ Lawwell ‘ that ‘acted alone’ you where did the CEO go so badly wrong?
No Daily Record or other made up pi*h please, we want factual based stuff in the evenings,
as the nights are fair drawing in.
As ever CSC
David66,
Personal favourites from 3 visits to NYC.
Central Park strawberry fields then the zoo.
Walk most places and maybe do 5th Avenue St Patrick’s and find a bar for a pint there.
Walk the Highline.
Go to the world trade centre memorial but look at the new Oculus train station longer it’s right next to it.
Staten Island ferry is worth a trip to see ?.
Brooklyn bridge and Brooklyn.
Go to China Torn and little Italy at night.
When you are there you will find your own groove. Even just walking through the lower east side or Chelsea and people watching is great.
mncelt @ 10.21
‘ best central defender in Scotland ‘
by some distance ?
Bournes – very much enjoy your posts.
Analytical and focused on facts, generally supportive but critical where it is due.
I hope you continue to enhance this forum for a long time.
Suspect you haven’t been interacting here today with Celtic fans exclusively.
Hail hail to all fellow celts.
To the fake personas – it won’t work. Celtic are united.
BSR…
did you mum never tell you that, in polite (CQN) society, you never discuss politics, religion, sex, or what the Celtic Board did or didn’t do.
Would I be correct if I guessed that, the transfer window closes the day before Stevie G’s huns rock up at Celtic Park ?
If so, what a time for Lawwell to be putting the manager’s nose out of joint.
BSR. 10.48pm
Great post. Too many visitors here these days. Roll on 2nd Sept when normal service can resume.
Scott McKenna is peak Celtic. Don’t get me wrong there boy might turn out to be decent but our scouting system is dead in the water. Hopeless.
We went to this restaurant last Friday night.
http://davios.com/nyc
Beside Grand Central Station
Quite possibly the best meal I’ve ever eaten in my life. Get the meatballs to share. It’s an insult to call them meatballs. And then the shared beef platter.
Absolutely stunning.
Went for one of the cheaper reds at a mere(!) $55 and can still smell and taste it now. (Not cos I boaked on my tap SOAL!!)
Not cheap but the best I’ve ever eaten.
HH jg.
Bournesouprecipe,
We all know the catalogue of Lawwells failings or has that been airbrushed from history. From the Willo Flood window to the latest failure on McGinn.
I have no need to google the Celtic board names ; as a shareholder I have a good knowledge of who is on the board. It’s not that impressive in my personal opinion and therein lies part of the problem. With Dermot approaching 70 TIAR would be a nice present for him.
Celtic are at a critical juncture. Panic buys will not help. The fans can understand what has happened and they no who is responsible. It only seems to be the CQN lifers who are in complete denial.
Even when the EL group games are played to closed top tiers it may not spark the thinking necessary to comprehend what caused all of this.
When players can pick and choose their games fans are entitled to do the same.
I would imagine Lawwell does not have any regrets over what has happened. He must be the only Celtic fan in the world who feels in a good place. Even the CQN lifers know it’s been a disaster but don’t call it out.
Anyways goodnight ; I always make a point of reading your posts when lurking. However it’s already Wednesday here.
Ps I know the typical reaction is to question my allegiances but they are beyond question. I just set a far higher bar than most and I don’t mean that to sound arrogant.
We bought a 3 voucher ticket and used it for the Empire State Building. You can choose what else. We chose the intrepid aircraft carrier floating museum. And the 911 museum which is v well done. We then accidentally fell into O’Hara’s bar which is next to ground zero nd played a huge role in events.
Staten Island ferry is effectively a free body tour of the Statue of Liberty.
Capped by a Christopher Walken lookalike taxi driver from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. US ranger who believes trump to be the greatest man alive. We had a terrifying/fascinating and thankfully peaceful debate.
So glad I’ve now visited properly.
Enjoy. HH jg
Hey Dad,
What does the phrase ‘epic fail’ mean?
A lot like this son??
but they are beyond question. I just set a far higher bar than most and I don’t mean that to sound arrogant.
JAMESGANG on 21ST AUGUST 2018 11:17 PM
We went to this restaurant last Friday night.
http://davios.com/nyc
—–
Noted.
Keanes Steakhouse in NYC is up there too…
HILL 16 @ 11.21
What no evidence?
Have great Wednesday
Hail Hail
p.s Peter Thomas Lawwell (58), Chief Executive, joined Celtic in October 2003 from his position as commercial director with Clydeport plc. Previously he held senior positions with ICI, Hoffman-La-Roche and Scottish Coal. During the year Mr Lawwell served as a member of the Professional Game Board of the Scottish Football Association, the Board of the Scottish Football Association and the Board of the European Club Association
!!BADA BING!! on 21ST AUGUST 2018 11:47 PM
Keanes Steakhouse in NYC is up there too…
=================
Jeezo – 11 bucks for chips :)) !!
HH
BGFC
Makes you wonder why one of the first things that Fregus did when he got control of the club in 1994, was to get rid of Lawwell, even stranger that that little morsel of fact, disappears from the rewritten evidence that the convenient “plants” find no trouble in, ahem, coughing up.
Awfy strange……….if ye urny paranoid enough.
Hmmmmmmm.
Aye.
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
James Gang
I ate in the same restaurant as I was staying in Club Quarters hotel nearby. Though I was impressed by the setting and the waiters’ knowledge, I was disappointed in the food I got there. I had Sea Bass in Poppy Seeds and was served 2 Brussel sprouts and a small carrot as the veg side dish with it and found it pretty unmatched. The wines were good though expensive.
I had a much better meal in a very unpretentious dimly lit S. American restaurant caled La Pulperia on West 46th street.
Wonder what whitedoghunch thinks.
Scott McKenna – dearie me.
New York Guide CSC
Demsey’s for games if you are a bit of a rebel.
St. Patrick’s Cathedral shines since its renovation.
Likewise Grand Central Station.
Walks, Central Park, Highline and Brooklyn Bridge.
On Brooklyn side of the bridge Grimaldi’s for a pizza.
Red meat is a distant memory for me but Smith & Wollenky’s on 49th is excellent as is Fogo de Chao for Brazilian meats.
New York PT2
The Natural History Museum is out of this world
Buy discounted Broadway tickets in Times Square at TKTS booth.
Otherwise avoid Times Square tourist trap.
If you go Downtown to 911 Memorial you should also visit the Irish Famine Memorial in Battery Park.
Downtown the South Street Seaport has a few historic sailboats including one with Scottish connections. The Staten Island Ferry and numerous other ferries operate from neighboring piers.
It’s so reassuring to know that peop,e like Hil 16 and Kev not only have the pulse of the Celtic support, but also have first hand information on the thoughts and feelings of the Celtic board and management.
Are they hearing these secrets in the confessional?
GG,
Who do you hold accountable for the shambles; The media, Rangers, Dave King or leprechauns?
Well the manager gave you a big clue and it’s none of the above.
We have been here before with Lawwell and we know the managers get thrown under the bus.
Brendan also knows this and sees it from the inside. Chris McLaughlin had a senior Celtic executive brief against Brendan ——not Lawwell but somebody very close to him. I would rather choose not to name him but those in the know have a good idea. One phone call and I had the name.
I hope Brendan is cute enough to see Lawwell out of the building.
HILL 16
Criticism of PL or the board simply isn’t welcome here. You’ve got more chance criticising Brexit in The Daily Mail.
Good morning CQN from a damp and blustery Garngad
Guys thanks for all the tips regarding NYC, both my wife and I are so looking forward to it.
Ps jc2 where do I get tickets from Bobbos brother??
Bring on the Suds
D. :)
Hopefully we get a few players in before the windy shuts.
Not that keen on McKenna, although he is a big lump of a Bhoy.
If BR wants him get him, but not at any price and I have a feeling Scottish teams will try and play hard ball with us.
HH
D. :)
Good morning all…
Hope Brendan and the bhoys are getting focussed on the job in hand in Lithuania… this now has become a huge tie, ergo this is a huge game for us.
I’m sure Brendan is glad he can concentrate on the team free of the Glasgow tumult.
This has turned into a longer post than I anticipated but nonetheless, I believe it has a point…
There has been an unfortunate but necessary debate around this summer’s transfer window and the Club’s activities and the lack there-off.
It would certainly go too far to say these issues are existential to the Club but there not far off, as witnessed by the tangential debates.
One such was the money spent on the squad; is it too much, is it too little, is it just right?
For me there is only one benchmark for Celtic football team, it’s the same criterion Jock Stein used…
…are we the very best we can be?
Now then certain activities, revelations and actions have shown something very dysfunctional in the fundamental way that Celtic operate. It has manifest itself in a transfer window debacle.
How did this happen?
Well, what we have seen unravel before our eyes in this transfer window is a flawed process. These flaws have been evident for several seasons now – although in past not as transparent as seen through this summer’s window – so it is not a one season or even recent phenomena.
Now of course we could argue that it’s just the nature of the beast, in living memory what Celtic Manager was backed?
Certainly Billy McNeill and Davie Hay could tell a few stories about trying to bring in players and the, let’s call it less than helpful, attitude of the old Board on occasions.
Of course Fergus came in and in conjunction with others saved Celtic from archaic practices of the old regime that almost destroyed our grand old Club.
However do you think you’ll find praise amongst Fergus’s (several) management teams for his universal backing on transfer windows and player renumeration? I think not.
However what Fergus did of course was a ‘solvent reconstruction’ of the ‘Celtic Football & Athletic Coy’. Floating the Club on the stock market allowing the Club to function in a modern business structure; allowing funds to be raised by means of a share issue, providing supporters with a means of taking a shareholding in the Club and a platform for further inward investment.
When Fergus sold his shareholding to Dermot Desmond and for the first time, arguably since Jock Stein took the reigns of the Club a Manager was backed – in the shape of Martin O’Neill.
Now the financial landscape of Football was beginning and would continue to change rapidly. Also the then seemingly promised FAPL riches to ensure the maintenance of Celtic’s investment in the squad diminished from a shoo-in to a pipe dream.
Now Fergus had by facilitating the building of a 60,000 all seater stadium and selling 50,000+ season tickets ensured Celtic was economically viable. But to remain competitive we needed more.
We had to find other ways to supplement our playing squad and fund the acquisition and retention of our playing squad.
Another share issue was raised to fund a new Academy to develop Celtic’s future players. Barrowfield had a proud reputation of turning promising young footballers into Celic greats, it was hoped the new state-of-the-art complex at Lennoxtown would be even better.
Also as the SPL had turned into a two horse race and UEFA competitions were a way to acquire footballing riches especially the revamped European Cup… the Champions League. Celtic still had a significant income relative to Scottish Football.
Still none the less, Celtic had to cut its cloth to suit.
Now since then Celtic’s fortunes have been mixed; working in a new economic reality in football economics, the wave and flow of access to European competitions and therefore monies, the hostile and deceptive Scottish Football playing environment. Could partially explain this. Yet what has long been suspected and now has become apparent is that some of these woes that have prevented the Celtic team from being the very best we can have most certainly been self inflicted.
There seems no doubt that Celtic in the last decade at least and most markedly in the last five Seasons, Celtic have failed to reach, never mind maximise the team’s potential.
Certainly three Academy first team players seem scant reward for the Lennoxtown endeavours.
And now we have it, a loggerheads between the commercial departments and the football department – one hopes the administrative departments that encompasses all aspects of the Club activities and seems to be well run are outwith this clash, though I’m sure they can’t be immune.
So why the damaging and corrosive contention when we need mutual support to achieve clear objectives and goals?
Here’s my take…
…’The Law Of The Instrument’
It suggests poeple have a cognitive bias for the processes and skill-sets they have and see solutions to problems through their prism…
… as Abraham Maslow saw it: ‘I suppose it is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail.’
The fact is the way that Celtic Football operations and the Celtic Board view things are really quite different.
This is compounded by the fact that Celtic are a sports club and its not only the solution that these two factions differ on but the fundamental problem itself…
So what is the point of Celtic Football Club? Well you’d need a post ten times longer than this one to get started on that but certainly the key thing the most important aspect for the Celtic football team and fundamental to everything the Club stands for…
…is to be the best football team it can be. That is the raison d’être
Now here’s the rub, that is not the key reason why PLC’s exist.
The ubiquitous PLC has become the go to structure for many organisations.
Many Sports Clubs, Mutual Cooperatives, Not for Profits etc etc have, like a hermit crab have retreated into a (often ill fitting) PLC mollusc for protection in a very competitive and often hostile business environment.
Yet what is the purpose of a PLC.
It is to secure the investment and maximise profit for it’s shareholders. That is a PLC’s raison d’être.
Both these aims are incongruous, you simply can’t have an organisation with two key aims.
Either the Club strives to ensure that the they are producing the best football team they possibly can and all reasonable resources go towards that aim. Or the Club can try to maximise profits while managing the risk to safeguard shareholder investment while maintaining operations.
To say we are caught between two stools at the moment is a huge understatement. The Club needs to restructure to ensure our key objectives are delivered within the PLC.
At the moment
For our Footballing department ‘The Belgian’ looks like their best Centre Half.
To the Commercial department ‘The Belgian’ looks like Ten Million pounds.
What does he look like to Dedryk Boyata and Celtic supporters?
A small symptom of a huge malaise.
It needs fixed and it needs fixed now.
Aft ooot
Hail Hail
I am as frustrated as the next man about the lack of transfer activity, but CL non qualification must have an impact. Reportedly our wage bill last year was £55 million ffs we get about £3 million for winning our league. We probably need to cut our wage bill anyway, whether we reached the CL or not.
I don’t know the answer, it probably is get rid of a lot of fringe players and add 1 maybe 2 first team players.
I don’t know but we need to win the feckin league. I believe we will.???
HH
D. :)
SFTB
How interesting that you had a different (poorer) experience. We had the same at Gallagher’s. Recommended highly by a friend, all around seemingly having a great meal….ours was wide of the mark that night.
HH jg
Good morning all from the Govanhill flood plain.