Speaking at the weekend, Kenny McDowell looked ahead to the cup semi-final saying “We aren’t going into the game fearing a big defeat. If anything we are going into the game knowing we’ll have to be on our guard and wary of that, but we are not going into it fearing of losing by a big score-line”.
Admitting that he’s wary about the prospect of a big defeat is the last thing you want your manager to say publicly as you prepare for a cup tie. It conditions everyone to the prospect of defeat.
From Ronny, it’s all positive: “It’s going to be fun.
“It’s good that this is a big game, so we won’t be underestimating the opponent.
“We are in a good position, we can win everything and that motivates.”
Big games, big results, are often won in the head before a team takes to the field. You win because you know you’re going to win, because you know you can rely on your team-mates. You know that if you do your job correctly, there is nothing the opposition can do, short of elbowing you in the face and hope you retaliate.
No game of football is easy and Ronny and the players will know they will have to work for anything they get on Sunday, but the preparatory work has been done. The players are fit, rested and can’t wait for Sunday.
On a side note, I can’t believe how thoroughly the New Club advert has penetrated media coverage this week. On top of Motivator McDowell, can you imagine ‘ex-players’, pundits and fans having to explain their existence and relevance in the run up to a semi-final? This wasn’t a crowd-source advert, it was crowd-sourced media management, which ran rings around the best paid PRs in the business.
Let me know (celticquicknews@gmail.com) if you want a ticket to CQN 11 St Patrick’s Dinner at the Kerrydale Suite on Friday 13 March – Cup Final weekend, as it happens, or you can buy a ticket at the bottom of this page. I’m in the mood now.
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South of Tunis,
Greetings from a sunny and warm Cyprus.
Firstly,cheers for the recommendation for The Nowhere Men by Michael Calvin.A cracking read,highly recommended for others.
Other footy books recently read and recommended by me would be.
Tor:The Story of German Football by Uli Hesse
A Life Too Short : The Tragedy of Robert Enke by Ronald Reng
Reading your bit about the rocket launcher with the Barca top reminded me of the photo of a nattily dressed woman with leather jacket,wee skirt etc firing an armalite round a corner in the North of Ireland.
Auntie of someone on The Huddleboard and,as you would imagine,quite a character.
HH
medtim
Istanbulcelt
09:09 on
30 January, 2015
jamesgang
Watching the MSM work is like finding your walls covered in paint and a 5 year old with their hands covered in paint…..blaming the wee boy next door who’s actually been next door all day.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You are right, i posted earlier today that two nights ago the BBC tried to get Ronny to call the game the Old Firm. He wouldn’t. Now listening to Last nights BBC podcast, they tried the same thing with Broony.
Again, Broony wouldn’t call it the Old firm. He called it a Celtic – Rangers game.
The MSM are pathetic and so see through it’s embarrassing!!!
—————————————————————-
All of this nonesence could stop if the club had the balls to issue a press release stating clearly that it does not recognise the term “old firm” in the context of our opponents on Sunday. I appreciate it is no longer referred to as such on our website but a pre-emptive strike at the heart of their newsrooms would spike their guns.
To James Forrest’s (‘onfieldsofgreen.com’) list of excellent reasons for dishing out a good hiding to Sevco on Sunday:
An added bonus of doing so would be that their already fragile league form would receive another thundering blow …
VIP
“No list of proscribed songs,” say Police Scotland ahead of Celtic and Rangers derby
Newspaper accused of stirring up ill-feeling
POLICE Scotland has said that there is no list of ‘banned’ songs for football fans, contradicting earlier newspapers reports ahead of the Celtic versus Rangers game on Sunday.
Reports in the 29 January edition of the Daily Record claimed there was a definitive list of songs, originating from 2011, which were proscribed in advance of Sunday’s League Cup Semi-Final between Celtic and Rangers.
When asked, the Daily Record refused to provide any clarification on where they had obtained the ‘list’ from.
After doubt was cast on the authenticity of this story, Chief Superintendent Andy Bates said on Thursday: “There is no list of songs as they constantly change and people can insert words into any song.”
While insisting no list exists, Bates warned that fans could still find themselves liable to arrest if they sing songs which police deem as offensive.
“If its clearly offensive, don’t sing it and conduct yourself responsibly at the football stadium,” he continued.
Many Celtic fans are from Glasgow’s Irish diaspora and Republican songs remain commonplace among sections of the support. Followers of Rangers traditionally identify with loyalism and sing songs of this tradition.
This will be the first time Celtic have faced Rangers in their current form after the old club was liquidated in 2012. There has been significant media hype about the game and the potential for trouble and arrests.
Following a tumultuous Glasgow derby in 2011, the Scottish Government brought in the controversial Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications legislation which gave the police and prosecutors additional powers over singing at football games.
The legislation has faced heavy criticism with football fans claiming that the Act needlessly criminalises supporters and has led to excessive police harassment. Of the 154 cases taken to court last year, there were not guilty verdicts declared in 74 of them, 48 per cent of all cases.
There has also been confusion over which songs are deemed acceptable after the conviction of a Celtic fan for singing Roll of Honour, a song which commemorates the deaths of IRA hunger strikers during The Troubles, last year at Dundee Sheriff Court – just months after another Celtic fan had been cleared of charges in the same court over the same song.
Jeanette Findlay from Celtic campaign organisation Fans Against Criminalisation was present at numerous meetings with the police at the introduction of the Act. According to Findlay, on every occasion Strathclyde Police, and thereafter Police Scotland, insisted there was no list.
Findlay told CommonSpace that she believes “certain newspapers including the Daily Record are seeking to stoke, stir up ill feeling in advance of Sunday’s game. In order to do so they are even stooping so low as to make references to songs which do not exist and have never been sung.”
“I fear that Police Scotland wish to use this relatively insignificant game to further stoke the myth this legislation is necessary to control football fans.”
“The so-called shame game in 2011 was used as the public excuse for this abominable legislation,” Findlay continued. “With separate funding of FOCUS (Football co-ordination unit for Scotland) now coming to an end I fear that Police Scotland wish to use this relatively insignificant game to further stoke the myth this legislation is necessary to control football fans.”
A Police spokesperson told CommonSpace: “In recent years police officers have been provided with training to enable them to recognise songs that are sectarian or otherwise offensive. This is one small part of our overall approach to tackling all forms of hate crime.”
The match on Sunday will take place at Hampden Park and kick off at 1.30pm.
Kris Commons signed new 2 year deal yet. I’m hearing it is happening today.
If true great bit of news management by the Board.
Vmhan…thanks for asking. Doing fine, but wind still causes trouble on the Esplanade when I take my daily walks.
Not going to semi-final. Heart might not last the pace. Like you not sure if I ever want to be involved so closely when Newco are around. Nephew has my ticket. So paid up but….
lionroars67
Beat me to it
SMSM deliberately fanning flames and telling lies
Whod a thunk it ehh
JimTim says it all in a nutshell – it ALL depends on which Celtic team turns up – let’s hope it is not the Ross County one who could only score with a deflected shot in 180 minutes of football.
A freak moment, a sending-off, a soft penalty, could see us huff and puff to a humiliating defeat and give them the biggest propaganda boost for four years.
We must look to score in the first fifteen minutes, if that happens, they will lose it and then it can be any score – Commons and Brown will be key – they will look to nullify them by ‘doubling-up’ – this should leave room for Stefan and Leigh to punish them through the middle and Lustig and Izzy to get at them down the flanks.
Scott Brown MUST have an iron discipline – they will try to get him booked early on to draw his ‘sting’
“All of this nonesence could stop if the club had the balls to issue a press release stating clearly that it does not recognise the term “old firm” in the context of our opponents on Sunday.”
M6bhoy,
This would stop journos using the term and asking questions in the hope of catching out a player or fan?
Aye right you are.
m6bhoy
11:14 on 30 January, 2015
‘All of this nonesence could stop if the club had the balls to issue a press release stating clearly that it does not recognise the term “old firm” in the context of our opponents on Sunday.’
###
The advert gave the Club the perfect opportunity to nail they lie.
All they had to do was prime a friendly journalist [they do exist] to ask for a comment on the ad, and they could have released a pre prepared statement making their position unequivocally clear.
They didn’t do so and it appears they are content to acquiesce in the lies and deceit.
Fair enough, if that’s what The Great Desmondo wants, it’s his Club, he owns and controls it.
As it is the weather forecast for Sunday looks like good walking weather, so that’s me sorted. If that doesn’t work out I’ll probably be watching this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pz-qYwJUGPo
Well Done the Sports Reporter in the METRO, Fraser Rorison.. in his columns both yesterday and again today.. Not one mention in his report of the O– F— words, and he accurately stated oldco’s ‘Liquidation and Relaunch’ in yesterday piece. Well done Fraser.. Keep up the accurate factual reporting.
Hail Hail.. Mon the Hoops on Sunday!!
Ernie,
If the club was so anti the thoughts in the advert why haven’t they distanced themselves from it?
connaire12
seen this on their twitter page
FAC@FACKilltheBill · 1 hr1 hour ago
This is pure quality and well-deserving of another read:
http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/alex-massie/2013/06/hail-caledonia-fantasy-justice-and-offensive-behaviour-at-football-the-horror-continues/ …
Geordie Munro
11:28 on 30 January, 2015
‘Ernie,
If the club was so anti the thoughts in the advert why haven’t they distanced themselves from it?’
##
Pathetic.
Cowiebhoy
Prayers for the soul of your Uncle James and the hearts of those he left behind.
Take care Big Ghuy.
HH jamesgang
Geordie Munro
Good point!
I suspect the club are similarly minded to myself on this issue ..
I have gone on SSB to defend the accuracy of the statement but I also made the point I feel it is saying something that will not change any minds. Those who believe the content of the statement don’t need a printed statement and those who disagree probably feel the same post advert.
Not many people in their hearts believe liquidstion is anything other than what it is.
That’ll do me.
3-0 minimum on Sunday. Less than three will be a disappointment for me..
Rip James McCabe
Cowiebhoy
Extra Candle will be lit at mass, on the good news front glad L got back home safe and sound after her altercation with Johnbays Bhoy who is of course a tyre man
Cultsbhoy,
I hope you are not disappointed then :)
I’m gonna be a little less restrictive in my glee.
medtim@11 12.
Greetings from a very grey Montalbano land .An electrical storm seems likely .
Glad you liked Nowhere Men – feel I should get a % of the sales in consequence of my constant bigging up of that book
Read and liked ( and learned from ) Tor.Robert Enke is on my must read list .
2 recommendations – both from the late 60s-
The Football Man – Arthur Hopcraft
Soccer Syndrome – John Moynihan.
Found them both in a Kilburn charity shop.Highly recommended / well worth tracking down
ERNIE LYNCH
Agreed,mate.
I offer a caveat in defence of the board-unusually for me!
When TRIFCo or Sevco,whatever they are known as officially,came into being,there was no pretence at it being the same club as Rangers had been.
Newspapers,TV,legneds far and wide,all had stated that it was a new club.
As such,there was no reason for Celtic to issue a statement to that effect. It might even have been spiteful had we done so.
By the time we realised that the same club myth had taken root,it was probably too late.
And to be fair,we were all too busy laughing at their protestations of same club different company-in defiance of every law known to rational thought-to demand that the club say something back then.
The simple fact is that-as another master of hun propaganda said-if you tell a lie often enough,it becomes accepted as fact.
Rest In Peace, James McCabe
It’s gonna be a 5 setter bob.
#Australianopen
Geordie Munro
I’m hoping that we can click against slower, less fit players. I feel the team has been gearing up performances without results – generally an indication that a doing is on the cards for some team soon. Be great if we peak on Sunday.
I’d field the fastest team we can + Commons.
Ive watched Sevco a few times this season they don’t play football ( big punt every time) and have been undone by fast footballing from both Hibs and Hearts. We pumped Hearts with ease so we have the chance to turn the screw and Fire a few past them.
2 early goals will rob them of what little confidence any of them might have.
Got a piece printed in the right of reply column in The Irish News yesterday 29/1/15 re/ the death of the term the O** F***.
Journalist Brendan Crossan whilst printing it just didn’t get it I.e “their demise, though, is regrettable because the SPL just isn’t the same”. Obviously he needs brought up to speed on nil by mouth etc.
Anyway in the same issue another O** F*** piece appears courtesy of Ronnie Elspin who is The Irish News Scottish football correspondent. I had a dialogue on this blog about Ronnie who is going over dosing on the term this week for obvious reasons. Now I expect to see this pish in the SMSM given their cheerleading for the new team but I certainly do not expect it in The Irish News given their demographic.
My point caller is… Ronnie Esplin is the “journo” responsible for a couple of hagiographies from the blueside. Is he not?
Well done James Forrest……’ beat them like a pinata’..great article,off to read it again…
S o T,
Will look out for those other books.
I started the Agassi autobiography the other day.So far,very promising.
Have a good one
medtim
The ‘shame game’ still rankles with me, since it was so obvious that the ‘shame’ aspect of the game rested at the oldco’ door ……. Implicating CELTIC was ridiculous, and only served to reinforce our resistance ………Bhoy, did our resistance bear (pardon the pun) fruit…!!!!!!!!!!!!
ernie lynch
11:25 on
30 January, 2015
——————————————————————————————————————–
Celtic Football Club is run by intelligent people – it is advised by the best legal minds money can buy – it seems obvious to me that the club’s best interest is served by not ‘getting down in the gutter’ beside the Ibrox farce.
There are so many legal twists and turns still to be played out at Sevco/Rangers – no one, BUT, no one, knows what the end-game will be – so why risk our reputation of a few ‘throw-away’ remarks that could come back to haunt us in the future.
Celtic will keep its ‘powder dry’, however be in no doubt, should the current shenanigans at Ibrox threaten any aspect of business and/or sporting aspirations, going forward, at Celtic Park, they will be fiercely challenged.
Yes, we were cheated out of things in the past, but until the ‘Big Tax Case’ is fully settled, there is nothing we can do other than await the outcome.
Supporters and bloggers have the freedom to express their partisan opinion, but the club must always be on the right side of the law, however frustrating and weak that may look to the more vociferous among us.
S o T,
Forgot to mention.
If you haven’t read it already,I would recommend the Stanley Matthews autobiography
Geordie Munro
11:25 on
30 January, 2015
“All of this nonesence could stop if the club had the balls to issue a press release stating clearly that it does not recognise the term “old firm” in the context of our opponents on Sunday.”
M6bhoy,
This would stop journos using the term and asking questions in the hope of catching out a player or fan?
Aye right you are.
—————————————————————-
It might not stop journos asking the question but at least our players could ask them if they had read they club press release and turn it back on them. Do nothing is not an option when your opponents attack you.
Honest, just saw this on rm …….hahahahahahaha
“Remember to keep your eye out this weekend on all social media for the secret sign that denotes the poster is a Bear. Lots of theses celebrities, politicians and public figures,for various reasons, cannot publicly show their allegiance to the famous Glasgow Rangers – this is a great way of letting everyone in the Rangers family know who is with them. “
Alfie Noakes
11:47 on 30 January, 2015
ernie lynch
11:25 on
30 January, 2015
——————————————————————————————————————–
Celtic Football Club is run by intelligent people – it is advised by the best legal minds money can buy – it seems obvious to me that the club’s best interest is served by not ‘getting down in the gutter’ beside the Ibrox farce.
There are so many legal twists and turns still to be played out at Sevco/Rangers – no one, BUT, no one, knows what the end-game will be – so why risk our reputation of a few ‘throw-away’ remarks that could come back to haunt us in the future.
Celtic will keep its ‘powder dry’, however be in no doubt, should the current shenanigans at Ibrox threaten any aspect of business and/or sporting aspirations, going forward, at Celtic Park, they will be fiercely challenged.
Yes, we were cheated out of things in the past, but until the ‘Big Tax Case’ is fully settled, there is nothing we can do other than await the outcome.
Supporters and bloggers have the freedom to express their partisan opinion, but the club must always be on the right side of the law, however frustrating and weak that may look to the more vociferous among us.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Have to agree with Alfie here. Nothing and I mean nothing, will stop those in power putting things across the way they want – sadly.
Cults,
I hear you.
If we click it could end up messy. But I also know they are far superior to the arbroath team we only managed a replay with due to an incredibly freakish goal.
These things happen in football.
My point is I’ll have not a modicum of disappointment should we only win one or two nil
gearoid1998
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
The Irish News has for a long time now sidelined Celtic.
Alfie Noakes. I must admit I think your post is realistic Sundays game could turn on poor refereeing.In my opinion we havnt been playing all that well for an example our last game away to Ross County we huffed and puffed and then hung on for the last few minutes against a very poor side. I would stick my neck on the block and say the Rangers would be capable of beating Ross County and I also remember last seasons defeat at home to Greenock Morton.As the game on Sunday will depend on what Celtic turn up we are capable of some good stuff think of Dundee Utd and Motherwell at home but all to often we make hard work of winning games. H.H.
Aftern
3.0 ………3.0 ………
not good enough ….JCB ,s don,t just fllee oot oh thin air ye kin ….pipes burst and fuel pumps go GGGGGGGRRKKKKIIIIIIIIRRRRRRR…
plus 4 wid be braw thankyou in advance ..
braw
67 HEAVEN
The ‘secret sign’ on social media?
I usually start at the spelling and punctuation errors,then work through equivocation and lies until I get to foaming-at-the-mouth lunacy.
Not so secret,really. But then-I’m a Kilwinning lad,and know quite a few of their signs!
Btw,if you want to piss off a Mason in Kilwinning,ask-
How come you haven’t rebuilt Kilwinning Abbey yet?