PT Barnum may have been right 150 years ago, but The Greatest Show on Earth these days gets underway this afternoon, despite the shameful corruption displayed by Fifa. By comparison, the Olympics is a sideshow. My first experience of the World Cup was watching Scotland play Zaire in 1974. For 20-odd years the tournament had participation value for Scotland, even if the joy of being there was short lived.
These days the joy is all about being a neutral football fan and soaking up the drama and brilliance from the game.
Statistically it is difficult to look past Brazil, who will benefit enormously from home advantage. European teams have never won the tournament in the Americans, where Brazil and Argentina have won every competition since Uruguay triumphed in the last time the tournament was held in Brazil 64 years ago.
Leo Time
Lionel Messi was, until recent times, the undisputed best player on the planet, but his position in the all-time greatest list is in considerable dispute. Ask an older Barcelona fan, who has watched Cruyff, Maradona Ronaldo and Messi all do their stuff at the Camp Nou, and they are likely to tell you Leo is by far the better player. His stats as a striker bear this out, but ask an Argentinean, and he’ll scarcely get a mention in the same breath as Diego. There is not even a debate that Messi is the greatest Argentine.
After giving a spectacular display of goal-scoring prowess in 1982, then 25-year-old Diego Maradona singlehandedly led Argentina to their second World Cup in 1986 and back to the final four years later. By Comparison, 26-year-old Messi has looked comparatively pedestrian in his two previous tournaments. He’ll be 30 by the time of the next tournament, which will be held in the completely different environment of Russia. If Messi is to be considered an all-time great, he needs to take Argentina to the final. If his career ends without an outstanding World Cup, he’ll slip somewhere between Eusabio and Cruyff in the list.
I’d like Belgium to win. Belgian clubs and FA go about their business correctly and brought a remarkable bounty of talent to Brazil. It’s always been easy to back Brazil but I’m still not over the Neymar thing. The guy is an abomination in the Brazil No. 10 shirt, a vastly over-rated charlatan. Anyone but Neymar, please.
Bertie Auld live chat, tomorrow, 1pm, on CQN. Be there.
Visit the CQN Bookstore to get Tommy Gemmell to sign your personal copy of his tome, All the Best.
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Whither the cash strapped scrofulous hillbillies the day?
Phil recently reporting that it cost 1.35 million quid per month to run murray park
as much as i hope its true, i cant really understand why it would be so much, any thoughts
secondly how much does our own lennoxtown cost to run per month?
TAMRABAM
If that’s true,then getting rid of it means their solvent.
There they’re their.
Ffs,schoolboy error!
‘it cost 1.35 million quid per month to run murray park’
– have you seen the price of Monster Munch?
‘
BMCUWP
Modern techniques are now being used……howling is soooooo yesterday.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/06/11/arizona-man-arrested-for-shooting-at-moon/
Sevco Season Ticket Sales
Friday, 13 June 2014 07:00
The board of Rangers (the “Board”) can confirm that approximately 17,000 season tickets have been renewed to date for the Club’s forthcoming SPFL Championship season.
This level of renewals reduces the potential requirement for short term financing as highlighted in the Business Review Summary published on 25 April 2014 particularly given the updated season ticket pricing structure for the 2014/15 campaign.
Applications for new season ticket purchases opened on Monday and sales of season tickets are continuing. The Club very much looks forward to welcoming more supporters back to Ibrox for what promises to be an exciting league competition.
The Board believes that whilst this level of support reduces the potential requirement for short-term financing the Board also notes the strategic objectives that it identified in the Business Review Summary published on 25 April 2014 and the related funding requirements. The Board continues to evaluate its plans in this regard and will update the market in due course.
—
17000 X £400 = 6.8 mil now that’s a top estimate and considering a lot of that cash will come in installments I expect they will need the same again to get through the season
Ah but they are in great financial shape says their CE
thindimebhoy
08:07 on 13 June, 2014
Move along Timmy, nothin tae see here…..
thindimebhoy
08:07 on 13 June, 2014
It’s coming to them …. Justice
From http://www.bbc.co.uk
Coach Niko Kovac said his Croatia team should “go home” after the way they were beaten 3-1 by Brazil in their 2014 Fifa World Cup opener.
Kovac was angered by referee Yuichi Nishimura awarding a penalty for Dejan Lovren’s challenge on Fred, despite there being minimal contact.
Neymar converted from the spot to give Brazil the lead for the first time.
“If that’s how we start the World Cup, we better give it up now and go home,” Kovac said.
But Brazil boss Luiz Felipe Scolari believed the referee was correct in awarding the penalty.
He said: “Millions didn’t see the penalty? The referee did and he said it was a penalty and they are the ones that must decide.
“We also think it was a penalty. I have seen it 10 times and I think it is a penalty.”
But Kovac disagreed, adding: “We talk about respect, that wasn’t respect, Croatia didn’t get any. If that’s a penalty, we don’t need to play football anymore. Let’s play basketball instead. It’s a shame.
“If you continue like this you will have 100 penalties. I think 2.5 billion people watching on TV saw this was not a penalty.
“This was ridiculous and if we continue in this way we will have a circus.”
The decision came at a pivotal moment in the match with the sides level at 1-1.
Brazil were dominating possession with Croatia holding out for what would have been a respectable opening draw for Kovac’s side.
But in the 69th minute Fluminense striker Fred received the ball in the middle of the box with his back to goal and went down under the challenge of Lovren.
“Fred is an 85kg man and I don’t believe he can be brought to the ground in such a manner,” added Kovac.
“I cannot blame Fred at all – everyone tries it on. Like it or not, this is part and parcel of football. What I want is for referees to stick to the laws of the game and apply them equally to both teams.”
Croatia took the lead through Marcelo’s own-goal but Neymar pulled the hosts level just before the half-hour.
Barcelona forward Neymar scored Brazil’s second with their controversial penalty before Oscar poked in his team’s third.
THUNDER ROAD
That guy’s an eejit.
Shooting at the moon. A big enormous white thing up in the sky.
I mean,how did he miss summat that size?
Morning all.
Dull, dull, dull down here at the moment.
Shame, shame, shame down in Brazil. Is thon Fred a bigger cheat than Neymar?
Has thon ref a bigger neck than Regan?
Cheating and hypocrisy are alive and well throughout football.
squire danaher and 67Heaven …
Now lhads you know they are Scotland’s most successful club (on a shoestring)
HH
Don’t watch it
They are stealing the game.
McGregor …working in a shop …then gets a gig at St Mirren …then is injured for a year and unwanted by St Mirren….magic signing
Probably getting £5 k a week :-))
http://m.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/http://m.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/27825194
The SFA speak out about FIFA corruption
You cudny gie them a red neck wi a blowtorch.
Squire
“You cudny gie them a red neck wi a blowtorch”
Haha, that made me laugh mate.
Glad to the Croatian coach has the cajones to call it out as the cheating it is.
HH jamesgang
My friends in Celtic,
Some form of “Rangers” will eventually be back in the top flight of Scottish football. ( maybe not this season, but eventually ) Not sure where they will play or train though.
However, I do not think that they will be a footballing force for many, many a year if ever and we will remain by far the dominant force both on and off the park.
Yes, normal service will eventually resume with all the poison that will eventually accompany it.
What I would like Celtic to do is state our long term strategy and how we hope to achieve it.
HH.
PS : What a poor Brazil team and what a poor game in general to open the “greatest show on earth”
Viva the much maligned Ally MacLeod, if only we could have bottled his enthusiasm.
HH, always in Celtic.
The penalty award was…..erm…..soft, but to me THE pivotal moment was Neymar’s yellow card for his elbow on the Croatian player.
He should have got a red.
About a minute later he is scoring the equaliser.
The ref bottled it.
Thindimebhoy
08:07 on
13 June, 2014
Just to say most of their STs will have been paid up front after they could’t get terms for credit card and direct debit payments.
I’d put the figure at closer to £6M and I think their statement that it reduces the need for short-term funding is waffle. If things had gone on plan the share issue would have been required after Christmas. It’s now needed to provide working capital quite early in the season.
If the SFA were a professional body they’d be asking for good evidence the The Rangers could fulfill the full season. They won’t of course.
Retweeted by Lindsey Hilsum
BBC Radio 4 @BBCRadio4 · 10h
Love Brazil, but not football? Try @MishaGlenny’s history of Brazil: http://bbc.in/1kr5lHr “…a lovely programme” said @msmirandasawyer
All things considered – 17,000 season tickets is not bad for a lower division club
CHARLES KICKHAM
Mibbe so,but a team in a lower division had about twice that by this time last season.
In the third Brazilian goal – it also looks like there was a foul on the Croatian player from behind
I suppose one conspiracy theory could be that the sponsors, FIFA and the Brazilian government want Brazil to progress as far as possible to avoid more rioting and demonstrations, especially if they got knocked out of the group stages – they do have a crap defence and goalkeeper
Maybe worthwhile putting money on Brazil to win it then
Called it right last night. Diving cheating and general honest mistakes ensure Brazil win their opener.
LB
My friends in Celtic,
The emphasis placed on the word eventually when talking about “Rangers” is very deliberate.
Hopefully our future strategy will not involve them.
HH.
Lionroars
Given Sevco have now sold 17,000 season tickets there will have to be a lot of one of tickets sold for every game for to any player to play in front of 50,000 people at a game at Ipox next season.
Seemingly Sevco have told AIM that news! with a warning this threatens their ability to continue trading. Oh well, never mind. White charger reported approach Paisley Road West to swoop in and save the day. Or pocket some more mugs cash, whichever.
Hi Ho.
SFTB
I like Oscar. He wins a lot of balls through tackles and pass interceptions for both Chelsea and Brazil. Outstanding is too high a complement for tonight but he does a good Dave Narey impersonation.
:::::;
Without the toe poke
My friends in Celtic,
Never underestimate political will in football to obtain the “best results” on and off the park.
HH.
Doc
08:59 on
13 June, 2014
The deals done to have them return have left them financially weakened for the foreseeable future, barring a financial miracle the international standard players they once had are gone forever
As far i am concerned they are an irrelevance to me, i will never watch Celtic v Zombie FC, my seat will be empty at parkhead, time to have a different football in Scotland
On a side note, profiting in the build-up to the World Cup, the company I work for gave a marketing presentation to companies who have business interests or wish to enter the market in Brazil tied to the World Cup and the Rio Olympics.
The corporate interest is on a scale unimagineable
lionroars67
Your seat should never be empty. Pass the ticket on to someone regardless of the opposition.
LB
Don’t watch it.
When they’re not stealing the game they are pimping it.
There’s only one – John Collins – one John Collins
bends the ball – round the wall – walking in a
Collins wonderland.
John Collins = Celtic’s best player from 1990-96
imho.
Paul ‘Maestro’ McStay was done, through carrying
the Celtic team on his back since big Roy Aitken
left for Newcastle along with, big Mark McGhee and
also, the late TB(RIP) left for Kilmarnock.
That left PM as our most experienced player but, he
was never captain material. imho
PM carried the Celtic team on his back for 18 months till
JC arrived and, for me, JC showed how you captain a
Celtic team in the game v’s the huns at ibrokes by, marching
onto the pitch and taking bull by the horns and scoring one of,
his best ever goals for us fform a freekick.
In the above game, then Celtic manager Lou Macari showed
that, he was the exception to the rule of, Celtic managers of the
early 90’s(pre-Wim) who could call the ‘myths’ bluff and play him
at his own game by – parking the bus!!!
The ‘myth’ spat the dummy twice, after Macari’s Celtic visited ibrokes
and, Macari seemed to be – streetwise – enough to get at the ‘myth’ maybe
LM was even too streetwise for Fergus? Aye! imho
Anyway, get Johnny Collins in and, don’t listen to those types who
widny know a guid ‘Celtic’ player if one came up and kicked them on the
bahookey!
John Collins ‘thee’ Celtic player of the 90’s till the arrival of Henrik. imho
Hail Hail – Off oot.
LiviBhoy – sorry but I’m with lionroars67 on this one. If we draw them at home in the cup I’ll watch the game from my armchair. if we ever have to invite them to our place for a game that’s on my season book then my seat too will remain empty
ps – I still think it was a (soft) penalty last night and that the ref had a very good game overall ;-).
LiviBhoy
09:12 on
13 June, 2014
With all due respect it is my seat if i want to leave it empty! thats my right if thats ok with you
I also take my nephew, i will not put him in a stadium to listen to that nonsense and bile
It is time for Scotland and its football to move on IMO, that again IMO, means the reduction of interest placed on Zombie FC
I am not defined by them, if you need to go fair enough……old firm fans knock yersell oot
weeminger
08:51
Aye my estimate was at the top end with all the tickets at full price. Of course some of those tickets will be reduced prices kids, pensioners, students etc so yes closer to 6mil maybe less would be about right.
I believe there is a facility for season ticket holders to pay by installment I think it applied to existing owners who used installments before and its done through some finance Co called zebra.