There is an unusually sombre tempo head of tomorrow’s Champions League last 16 tie, a consequences of the 0-3 reversal at home three weeks ago and the general sentiment around Scottish football this week, but this match is an excellent test for both manager and playing squad.
We are a Champions League team again with aspirations to achieve at this level next season. Having finally overcome the hoodoo of never having won away from home in the competition, we must use occasions like tomorrow to continue our growth in the competition.
We defended our 18-yard line in the Camp Nou and almost got away with a point. The plan was wrong in Lisbon, where a talented Benfica controlled midfield and recorded a narrow win, but the win against Spartak in Moscow was deserved.
Celtic might not be able to qualify for the quarter finals but they can win the match tomorrow; this is an achievable objective which would sweeten the inevitable medicine.
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Well that’s a shame. But never mind – it gave us all a wee chuckle!
lionroars67
08:31 on 6 March, 2013
You don’t seem to be following this.
The article you posted said that the politician had backtracked.
That’s what I was referring to.
Or are you saying that the article you posted in support of your argument is wrong?
I very seldom introduce the subject of politics on here (I made an exception yesterday by flagging up a forthcoming event on the Manchester Irish and their contribution to the fight against fascism in Spain being rum by the IBMT).
The nats, like yourself, on the other hand are forever posting stuff exhorting us to support their childish nonsense. If you introduce the subject don’t moan if others expose it for the gibberish it is.
ernie lynch
08:55 on
6 March, 2013
You don’t seem to be following this.
I very seldom introduce the subject of politics on here (I made an exception yesterday
Ernie very funny gibberish indeed
Time to concentrate on Celtic Ernie, stop making a fool of yourself
Whats your prediction for tonight
MIKI67
Some track,strong stuff.
The comments section is a shocker though.
Good morning from the Gaza Strip (we are everywhere)…watched man ure game with a group of Palestinians last night…very well informed guys, mainly Barca fans so well aware of the bhoys…many mentions of Henrik…good luck for tonight…
weebobbycollins
09:00 on 6 March, 2013
‘Good morning from the Gaza Strip (we are everywhere)…watched man ure game with a group of Palestinians last night…’
I think I saw a Palestinian flag at the game.
the spirit of arthur lee.
Likey…doing it’s rounds throughout the work as i type ;-))
Cheers.hh
lionroars67
09:00 on 6 March, 2013
Can you provide an example of when I have introduced the subject of politics on here?
Or don’t you bother with little things like accuracy and truth, what with you being on a great and sacred crusade and everything? Something of a hallmark of the nats.
morning from side (pronounced seedy) in turkey……just to make it a level playing field im gonna send letters to every club, with a history, in scotland a letter from here …..then they all will have side letters……aff oot far mer sunstroke!
Lions roars … I have a mortgage a job with a company whose hq is not in Scotland. I rely on the NHS and the state education system for my children.
Conditions of Scotland’s entry to the EU and the currency I would be paid in (assuming my employer doesn’t up sticks) are vital to me and my familys financial well being.
SNP ministers lied about this issue. And neither you nor they can offer any guarantees about whether Scotland would remain a member of the EU or on what conditions…
I hate being lied to. For SNP ministers to do so on this issue is, IMHO absolutely unforgivable, and makes me think this whole independence nonsense is both sinister and potentially catastrophic.
Nuclear Bovril and a Half Munched Pie
08:52 on
6 March, 2013
Afraid the Puma site is a spoof folks, they are not listed on it yet.
In fact the enormous multi quid deal doesn’t make their ‘news’ page.
Clearly an administrative error.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~
To hel wi it,if the huns and MSM can do it,so can we.
Let’s get TSOAL’s post from 0831 viral!
If you tell a lie often enough,it becomes accepted as fact. Let’s see how they like them apples……
SOAL 08.31
That is a brammer .
Every single Celtic fan needs to save that screenshot , show it to anyone that states otherwise.
I have saved it and posted it on to Facebook.
When there official shirt sponsors state emphatically that the The Club was established in 2012 there can be no doubt.
I wonder how long it will take for chuckles to get it removed?
To all CQN’rs follow the link SOAL posted and save the screenshot.
TT
As usual, I find myself out of alignment with our manager’s thinking. My team would be all out attack:
3-4-3
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Forster ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
::::::::::::: Ambrose ::::::::::::::::: Wilson ::::::::::::: Mulgrew ::::::::::::::
Commons :::::::::::: Wanyama ::::::::::::::: Ledley ::::::::::::: Samaras
:::::::::::::: Forrest ::::::::::::::::::: Hooper ::::::::::::: Stokes :::::::::::::::
Those players are, with the possible exception of Forrest, the best we have at our disposal.
The back three are the ideal blend of outright (Wilson) and ball-playing CBs (Ambrose & Mulgrew), while the front three are dedicated goal-scorers. Hooper is ideally equipped to play in the middle and go deep to press Pirlo, and we would have steel and experience through the middle.
The big question mark would be on the wings. Neither Commons nor Samaras are wingbacks, but ask yourself, how often has Izaguirre performed this role satisfactorily? In Commons, we would have our much-needed a player who can shoot from distance (a necessity against Juventus) while Samaras is, quite simply, indispensable.
Scotland’s Catholic population is of mostly Irish descent, Keith O’Brien included, with consequences not always predictable, writes Ian Jack. Photograph: Angus Blackburn/Rex Features
When we were boys and girls, did we have any idea what priests got up to? Perhaps some Catholic children did, when they came across those now identified as bad apples, but for the rest of us they remained rarely seen, black-clad figures who (we were told) exercised a severe power over their congregations. Old films showed them as shrewd and humorous characters played by the likes of Bing Crosby and Spencer Tracy, and though as Protestant or at least non-Catholic children we never swallowed that sunny version, they appeared sinister to us only in the most general way. I remember a moment of teenage speculation when, looking at the drawn curtains of a priest’s house one winter’s night, one of us wondered about the female housekeeper’s role. A dozen years later, post-midnight in the lounge of a grand Dublin hotel, I saw a group of bibulous priests getting pie-eyed in what one of Cardinal Keith O’Brien’s accusers would call a “late-night drinking session”. To anyone raised with the purse-lipped notion that men of God should always be sober, this was a memorable scene, and for quite a few years after, maybe even until the advent of Father Ted, it represented my idea of “inappropriate behaviour” in the priesthood. That the same priests might end up undressing one another would then have been a preposterous suggestion.
We knew so very little. The clerical uniform successfully erased the individual inside it, so that instead of seeing a 25-year-old man of amiable intention and uncertain sexuality – quiet Pat Flannery, say, from the next street – we saw a member of a secret society with a lineage that went all the way back to the Spanish Inquisition. But then, we were on the outside. As a family of non-believers, we rarely saw the inside of the village kirk, but we knew the minister and the Bible he read from. The Catholic church – “the chapel”, we called it – was a different matter. It had wooden sides and a corrugated iron roof and lay on the outskirts of the next village, where it had been built for migrant Irish workers at the beginning of the last century. On Sundays, our Catholic neighbours would put on their best clothes and walk over the hill to reach the hut’s Latin ceremonies, which, when we occasionally heard them as passers-by, seemed to us superstitious and foreign.
It wasn’t a barrier to friendship. The regular attenders included two of my closest playmates, Patsy and Neal, and when we drew apart, the reason wasn’t chapel, but Scotland’s state educational system. Since 1918, it has funded separate Catholic schools where priests have full rights of access and the church can veto the appointment of any teacher on grounds of inadequate faith and character. The funding has always been contentious – “Rome on the rates” in the old catchphrase of its opponents – and the division gets much of the blame for Scotland’s persistent sectarianism. But in a country where 16% of the population is nominally Catholic, no political party is likely to abolish it. For my Catholic friends it meant a complicated journey each morning to St Columba’s in Cowdenbeath, the school that later recruited Keith O’Brien as a science teacher after his ordination in 1965. Separate buses meant separate departures and homecomings. We lost touch.
In the long run of things, this hardly mattered. I made other friends who were Catholic or, more accurately in a post-religious age, friends who have “a Catholic heritage”. None of the many questions that I expected would bedevil our conversations – papal infallibility, Irish state censorship, the Ne Temere decree and so on – ever gave us much trouble. And yet certain habits of mind endured. It had once been important to know who was and wasn’t a Catholic, not in my case to deny them a job, but to avoid giving offence. In Glasgow, I worked on a newspaper where religious identities were layered like geology. On the editorial floor: mixed. Below in the composing room: mainly Protestant. Further below, in the machine room where the presses ran: substantially Catholic.
There were careful conversations. “I hope you don’t mind the question but are you a Catholic by any chance?” a subeditor colleague asked one night. No, but why might he think so? “Because you’re wearing a shirt and no tie, but you’ve buttoned your top button. It’s something I’ve noticed Catholics do.” Sometimes the task of identification ran in the other direction. When another colleague was talking about Kirkcaldy, I mentioned the fact that my mother was from that town. “Your real mother?” he asked with a meaningful glance over his reading glasses, implying there were other kinds, perhaps (I could never be sure) in the form of Masonic lodges. The composing room had more direct methods. Compositors wanted to know which team you supported and when you said neither Rangers nor Celtic, that you were a Dunfermline or a Thistle man, a subsequent question arose: “No, but which team do you really support?”
Of course, these questions conflated religious with ethnic identity: more than from theological dispute, they stemmed from Ireland’s conquest and Irish migration. When Pope Benedict visited Scotland in 2010, his welcoming party was careful to stress Scotland’s own pre-Reformation history and thus to nativise its Catholicism, but Scotland’s Catholic population is of mostly Irish descent – O’Brien was born in County Antrim – with consequences not always predictable. My own grandmother, for example, liked to pronounce the republican De Valera as Devil Era, and detested the colour green so much that even the Christmas cards we sent her had to be green-free. But a form of denial may have been at work here, given the unknown but certainly Irish origins of her father and old stories that priests had once coming knocking at the family’s door, anxious to reclaim their lost sheep.
Who knew? And now, who cares? In the 1960s, the Catholic church still loomed large in the secular as well as Protestant imagination as an authoritarian and repressive force, demanding obedience from states and individuals, and interfering in everything from library books to birth control. Its doctrines may not have changed much, to judge by Cardinal O’Brien’s beliefs, but these days fewer of us pay attention. Whether the accusations against him are true or false, the television still shows us pictures of elderly men decked out in primary colours imagining they matter. Majesty, history, mystery: these may have been the impressions they once conveyed, with their thrones, their curia and their white smoke. But now … well, one can’t help thinking of the poor ashamed wizard when the curtain collapses in Oz.
Our earlier suspicions were too ordinary: behind the drawn curtains, an occasional housekeeper fondled and a whisky bottle unstoppered. In truth, a vast male organisation pledged to celibacy was in a great sexual stew
up over goal
I think the big question mark would be cover for Charlie with a nippy forward attacking him on the ground in a back 3.
Has Charlie played in a back 3 before under Neil?
I expect we will see the speedier Matthews and Izzy deployed.
BMCUWP
Absolutely. It’s a valid as any of the black propaganda ‘holding company’ greenbeam slavers drooling out of the slack jawed MSM. In fact more so, as even though it’s fake, it’s true if you get me
Lionroars67
This is the latest foreign Minister in an ever growing number to reject the UK media’s reportage of comments on the EU.
The Bitter together campaign who offer no real hope for the future (just more of the same guff so they can exploit Scotland’s resources til they’re gone before giving us Independence wihile using young men and women for illegal wars – coincidentally opposed by the evil SNP) seize upon these comments and the way they’re reported and it is up to others to point out these lies.
The BBC have thus far reported the Irish Foreign Minister’s comments incorrectly and the Minister herself had to correct them and others and they ran to the Czech republic to get one man’s opinion – a man who was Candidate for President (and who coincidentally lost to a Communist so what does that say about him?).
Regardless of Party politics the media’s role to date has been spectacularly biased.
ALSO
The Latvian Minister has had his words deleted never mind misconstrued also by the BBC. This taken from NewsnetScotland:
http://newsnetscotland.com/index.php/scottish-politics/6842-bbc-scotland-edit-out-controversial-uk-eu-claim-from-national-news-programme
This Latvian Minster believes Scotland would “naturally” become a member of the EU and qualifies to be fat tracked as a full member quicker than Iceland or Croatia because it satisfies “practically all key issues in almost every field”.
These comments were edited out later by the BBC.
So it is no wonder people are quoting rubbish with regards to the EU position because they’re only getting things spun one way.
So that’s Latvian, Luxembourgian and Irish Ministers being misquoted or selectively quoted and a Czech Politician’s opinion being spun in one direction only.
The media are shameless but it isn’t surprising. The UK must keep the oil at all costs.
If you want a positive story about Independence here’s one about the country where I live.
http://newsnetscotland.com/index.php/affairs-scotland/6583-slovakian-independence-a-success-story-says-countrys-deputy-prime-minister
If you go onto the Puma website, you will see that the team who actually occupy the place where Sevco seem to be is in fact Borussia Dortmund. In other words it a screenshot which has been modified.
Doesn’t make it any less amusing though!!
Lurcy
Sorry, meant to add this –
http://www.puma.com/football/teams#club-teams
Ulcyr
Snake…
” fat tracked as a full member” ooh er Missus..
starry plough
I thought we’d finished with the Carry On films Stuff.
:)
I understand big SPL meeting on Friday if this confirms no further action on illegal registrations and talk of re-construction leading to fast tracking of others – then they can switch off the lights.
Unless urgent action is taken to ensure sporting integrity is upheld then they better be prepared for REAL armageddon, fans will not accept being lied / misled – they will turn their backs for good.
Carry on Independence…etc etc…
Actually I haven’t been following the debate as I have no vote, except for you guys lobbing bricks at each other on here, I would imagine that Scotland would have to be in the EU to have any chance of succeeding as an independent country and I wonder if swapping London for Brussels would make that much of a difference on the ground??
Is Slovakia in the EU? The Swiss seem very happy not to be in it most of them I thought they were isolationists at first but it seems they have quite a history of opposition to a single currency..
Not my thing politics as you can see..
Carry on up the Turin Pass!!
I heard last night (On the radio) that they would not be appealing the LNS decision?
Anyone confirm?
starry plough
We certainly ARE in the EU with no resources, no oil, no major exports (other than manufacturing thanks to foreign investment of companies like Kia) and a population of 5M (same as Scotland). They are a success story within the EU relatively speaking.
It could be that Celtic will play their Champions this summer who are looking like being Slovan Bratislava (boooooooooo – cheats who coincidentally wear blue). It might be a nice trip for a few people so fingers crossed.
The biggest Slovak export is supermodels and I thank God for that every day of my life. It’s certainly not that manky Plum brandy they drink here.
I don’t know what it is but the gene-pool here has some of if not the most beautiful women in the world.
Snake @ 9.36
I am reluctant to talk politics on a CL day bit your post is a wee bit disingenuous.
In an attempt to paint the BBC as unremittingly anti-SNP in a biased manner you list some editing out of comments (which, presumably, they had previously reported or you would not have known they had been omitted) but did the editing out change the tone of the reporting to a neutral listener, as opposed to anyone from a pro-SNP viewpoint on the lookout for slights?
I find it disingenuous that you then list an article from the Slovak politician which you source from newsnetscotland but, as the article makes clear, was originally presented as an item on the BBC, that so called anti-SNP broadcasting machine. If it was such a positive article on the benefits of Independence why would the BBC have run it?
I think partial viewpoints find ways of selecting material to suit. The Yes campaign feel the BBC (and I assume other media) are biased because they are losing the campaign vote. They cannot believe that people have different thoughts to them and, if they do, they are probably not Scots, or real Scots, anyway. ( I cite the reaction to the Glasgow Uni vote)
It is remarkably similar to the biased media debate on football fan sites. Both fans of Celtic and Sevco believe that BBC Scotland, the Record, Sun and Mail are pro-Celtic and pro-Sevco outfits, dependant on their own viewpoint.
Celtic fans site the Nevin/McLean bias, the “thugs n’ thieves” headline and any Gordon Waddell article as evidence. The Sevco fans cite the Mark Daly documentary and any mildly demurring comment from Keech Jackson, plus the mere existence of Hugh Keevins, despite his attempts to ingratiate.
I am not stating that any news agency is free from bias either on a political or a football front, merely that as partisans we tend to exaggerate it and look to select supportive evidence only.
Having said that, I feel most of the Scottish media suffers from the sin of mediocrity more than bias. I favour selecting only the more readable writers and more gifted presenters, few though they are.
Now, back to football. I am one of the few on here not confident of victory tonight. I saw a clinical Juve team that we found difficulty in penetrating. Though the 3:0 scoreline was unjust, I felt the 0 part of it was fairly just. Efe’s header was our best chance, and it was a good one but it was not one of many.
Yes, the ref played a part in that but, with the damage done, Juve will not need to sail as close to the wind this time and they are at home with a comfortable lead. All that points to us being forced to be a bit more adventurous and being picked off on the counter. We have seen that movie away in Europe before.
By the time kick off is on us, i will be more positive but, for now, the bookies have us at 10 to 1 to win the match at all. That gives some estimate of the magnitude of that achievement, if it comes.
I.’ve lost a whole bloomin’ post via stoopidity. It’s all just roasting with gas air anyway, eh, Paul?
“Woopsy Daisy,”( Daniel Day Lewis : 8 seconds of utter genius……..and he’s a Tim. Howzat?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nbc1Fs3Om-0&feature=youtube_gdata_player
theweegreenman
10:03 on
6 March, 2013
williebhoy
09:55 on
6 March, 2013
——————————
No spl appeal
the matter is now closed
and the spl and sfa want everyone to move on for the good of scottish football
roll up roll up the show must go on
THE STENCH FROM HAMPDUMP WILL LINGER FOR MANY MORE YEARS TO COME
jam67
Imagine if Lenny reacted like SAF did last night…..?
Torchesandpitchforks.CSC
Cheers Jam67
Tory politician on BBC trying to justify Bankers bonuses. Phud.
I said B ankers….
4 in a row. Wow!
Have I got cyber BO? :-)
Is that that weegreenman hogging the blog again!!
Starry Plough
LOL
I was thinking about buying a basketball and drawing a face on it there…..:-)
Haud oan, Ah’m kurking!
Oops…..lurking!
A wee thought occurred to me earlier. The SNP’s biggest selling card is the perception that the UK is run for middle England (which I’m sure it is, especially those of the south east). Maybe it could attract more of us Tims, who are utterly sure that the SFA is run purely to benefit one deid team, if it cracked down on the main practitioners of the corruption. I’m sure this is legally feasible; I doubt if they would even dream of it politically.
theweegreenman
That’s funny Mini Starry and me were doing that seen on the weekend with a burst baw!!
Have you seen Life Of Pi similar scene where we both burst out laughing!!