If you were sitting in the Cliftonville dressing room tonight, you would fancy your chances against Celtic. They are a team reportedly playing the best football in their club’s history and are packed with professionals who are focussed on the task in hand. Celtic have vastly greater resources, but the fact that we have a list of excuses ready for a below-par performance is concerning.
The plastic pitch, the departed Wanyama and possibly departing Hooper, the tactically non-existent preseason and the fact that the deciding game will take place in Glasgow next week, are all available excuses, and teams with ready-made excuses often take them.
None of the above hold water, though. I would be surprised if Celtic players didn’t spend more time working on a plastic pitch at Lennoxtown than they spend on Celtic Park. Wanyama and Hooper were each absent from substantial Champions League victories last season and whatever gave Celtic the blues in Germany is a consequence of poor form, not a reason for it. Celtic can draw or even lose tonight and will still be favourites to proceed in the tournament but this is a game of football, and deserves to be respected as such.
The momentum for last season’s triumphs started to build after a solid win in Helsinki. A win tonight in Belfast would take the pressure of next week, allowing Neil Lennon more freedom to prepare for future challenges.
No excuses, Celtic.
To kick off the new season we’re having an Internet Bampots session on Friday at the (always excellent) Columba Club in Blantyre. Paul McConville, Phil Mac Giolla Bhain and myself will be on stage for a Question and Answer session from 19:30.
Tickets are available at the door. See you there.
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Bless ye, Pal..
There is a Spot Reserved fur You an Yours.. In Paradise
KOJO.1624.BEST POST EVER EVER ON CQN.
YOU JIST SAID WHIT EVERYBODY ON HERE THINKS ABOUT OOR PAUL!!!!
ps any chance of finishing the story about you an the film stars an the dug in the woods in CALIFOR NIA?????
Politik @TCN_Politics 6m
Q. When do you know that a company is a basket case ? A. When Institutional investors bail slashing share val by 14% in one hour #Sevco
Thanks guys. Was looking at the beeb hd channels. Silly me.
asonofdan
Wit’s up wi that? :)))
Weefra HH
Its back at last .
no more of this pre season friendly guff .
kept away from all that mince for years now.
Mrs off oot shortly ta her pals . closely followed by me off oot ta the greenhills to watch the green team play the red team .
Its back.
nopreseasonpashforme.com.csc
BT
How’d the hospital visit go? Well I hope. :)) Haven’t been on much as you know.
Weefra HH
Emusanorphan. That could be it, I was very very drunk. Kept in touch with a lad I met there and whatever it’s name, it is still going strong. I liked the pub just up the hill from round the bay where there’s a few restaurants and those mad Maltese bus’s stop. The lad behind the bar was happy to put on the Hoops when we were there. But the one you mean, down at sea level is probably called that and it was a fine boozer. Enjoy.
croppybhoy 17:18 on 17 July, 2013
Among many other pressing problems the ground is an Achilles heel for Sevco.
The main stand is requires constant upkeep and three sides of the ground are now over 30 years old.
As far as I understand, no proper investment has been made on maintenance at Ibrox since before Murray Skint bailed out.
I reckon £20m will be required to sort it out – and there has to be issues with safety certificates. It is a serious situation.
So 416000 shares sold today, who to ?
ASonOfDan
16:28 on
17 July, 2013
—————————————————————————————————————
Nice one mate :)
put great p67.
A woman from a celtic family started in work today – it’s a great feeling
http://dublinermalta.com/.
OK…
Can I get BBC2 Scotland on iPlayer in England (no I don’t have a Sky box)?
Will it be on BBC Football webpage somewhere?
canalamar-
Owen Coyle’s gran of course
Try and keep up.
Just heard from the BBC Radio Scotland that at 6:15pm they will broadcast the interview with Willie Wallace and Bertie Auld that was recorded over the summer.
Don’t miss this as it is a belter and very funny!!!
Negredo signs for Man City for £24m.
Jovetic next up.
Hope tonight’s result cheers us up.
Programme after game is interview with wee Maxine Peake, a terrific actress but she’s not been in many side-splitters.
dbbia,
Of course, silly me :o)
Serbian champions FK Partizan had an
uncomfortable afternoon against FC Shirak in
Armenia but thanks to a stoppage-time
equaliser from defender Vladimir Volkov will
return to Belgrade with their UEFA Champions
League hopes intact.
Partizan, who survived several scares in the
first half, had trailed to a 48th-minute goal
from Davit Hakobyan as Vardan
Bichakhchyan’s hosts more than matched
their better-known opponents. However,
Volkov’s intervention means Partizan will go
into the second leg next Wednesday as
favourites to reach the third qualifying round.
For Shirak, there will be some regret at their
failure to capitalise on several clear scoring
opportunities. The first arrived just after the
half-hour when Ismaël Fofana’s pass sent
Dame Diop racing through but, despite two
bites at the cherry, he failed to get the better
of goalkeeper Milan Lukač.
Ivorian forward Fofana went close twice
subsequently, seeing one header blocked by
Vojislav Stanković and then nodding wide
from just six metres out shortly before the
break.
After those misses, Shirak finally made a
chance count early in the second half through
Hakobyan but after the same player
squandered an invitation to double the lead,
Vuk Rašovic’s visitors came back into the
game. Artur Harutyunyan kept out a Stanković
header with five minutes remaining but right
at the last, Volkov struck and the pendulum
swung back Partizan’s way.
steinreignedsupreme
Music to my ears
67ECW
Malarkey and all
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 2ND QUALIFYING ROUND 1ST LEG
Venue: Solitude Date: Wednesday, 17 July Kick-off: 19:45 BST
Coverage: Live on BBC2 in Northern Ireland & Scotland; live video on BBC Sport website; commentary on Radio Ulster & Radio Scotland
Canamalar
I’m no expert and hopefully someone who is can correct me if I’m wrong, but does the fact that the price is plummeting not indicate that no one is buying, just lots of investors selling? Seems to be one way traffic to shouts of sell, sell,sell. I’m assuming if there was any buy buy buying going on, the price would be higher? No?
Wilkins found guilty of drink driving
@googybhoy
many thx
greendreamz
I hope you don’t mind.
midfield maestro
I would add:
Tretyakov Gallery , I loved that place
Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, thats’s new place but built on the old plans, full of gold etc.
Arbat Street, small Arbat and big Arbat. Very expensive restaurants, banks, street full of artists.
Kremlin, with chappels etc. There is amazing huge shop on the Red Square, one of the Kremlin’s walls. The shop is called GUM, Italian style architecture.
Don’t wake up that b@@@@@@ in the Mausoleum.
malarkey-might be on the red button on a BBC channel
I wrote a complaint to a manager in my workplace yesterday about a colleague (nice enough bloke but a bit odd) who wore an orange top on 12th July in a completely incongruous setting. I pointed out that the nearest orange lodge has the following on their website
He should uphold and defend,by all legitimate means,the Protestant Faith in Church and State. Protest against and oppose the erroneous and dangerous doctines and practices of The Church of Rome.
‘And resist the power, ascendancy,encroachments and extention of that Church. He should also by all lawfull means, co-operate with true Protestant’s in preventing or removing in and from the Established and other Protestant Churches all changes,ceremonies,practices and ornaments savouring of or resembling the Church of Rome,or inconsistant with the reformation principles’
and
‘He should oppose the ascendancy and oppressions of non Christian religions ‘
as it broke article 18 of the UN declaration on human rights. For the record I also said I was concerned for my colleague and the position he was putting himself in by blatantly associating himself with people who would deny minorities their human rights. Anyway, my manager said he would be talking to my colleague as three other people had said to him how uncomfortable they were with it.
nice to hear too – probs bad karma for today on the blog given the day that’s in it.
MON THE HOOPS
be safe bhoys
Midfield,
Learn to read a little Russian as it will help a lot if you are not part of a travel group. Main advice is to take the train to Saint P. Enjoy Russia!
@dundeefconline: Dundee FC are saddened today to hear of the death of the clubs last major trophy winning manager Davie White
RIP
Zbyszek – good luck to your first team!
L
T4
Responding To Popular Demand From His Worldwide Fanbase…..
•-:¦:-•** -:¦:- Sir Kojo :¦:-.•**• -:¦:-•.
Is Pleased To Announce,To The Expectant Masses In The Kilbowie Postcode…
That On Conclusion Of Tonight’s Match With Cliftonville…..
He Will Reprise His Luminous Anecdote…..
Concerning Red Foxx, The Blushin’ Maggie McGill, The Two Prize Hunting Dogs, A Quantity Of Six-Packs…..
& A Very Angry Brown Bear……
Somewhere In The Backwoods Of California….
[ Kojo..You’re Only Young ONCE !..Ed]
Ten Men Won The League (17:49): “Wilkins found guilty of drink driving”
So even their “greats” are susceptible to liquidation…
hahahahahahhahahahahahahahah – fupping hilarious bigchipsuk
Tallybhoy
How you doing mi amigo? I’m really enjoying this blog. Must be a great way for you to keep in touch. When are you next due to visit? We must meet for a pint and a catch up. HH
Re the falling RIFC share price; is it at all possible Malcolm Murray has had a few business lunches in the past few days and has perhaps let slip his fears about what is going on behind the scenes at RIFC?
Stein reigned supreme
The article is Lennon direct
the Dr did not have to do anything
Excusesattheready CSC
Gary Hooper @HOOP588 33s All the best to the boys 2night.
Inadvertently, of course.
Dharma Bam \o/ stands up for Neil Lennon 18:09 on 17 July, 2013
“Re the falling RIFC share price; is it at all possible Malcolm Murray has had a few business lunches in the past few days and has perhaps let slip his fears about what is going on behind the scenes at RIFC?”
I think serious investors are well aware of what is going on at Sevco.
The media and the apologists are happy to go with the flow, but those in know are somewhat smarter.