I’ve never treated the Ballon d’Or seriously, but would you be alarmed if your manager overlooked two of the most outstanding footballers of all time, to vote for one of the poor relations in an outstanding, if waning, Barcelona team.
England manager, Roy Hodgson, is entitled to his opinion but in nominating Javier Mascherano, he’s started a debate which will not reflect kindly on him.
I remember when Martin O’Neill was in charge of Celtic, he could do or say anything and no matter how incongruous it seemed, we all looked for hidden wisdom. Martin knew much more about the game than all of us but this authority was uniquely evident. I don’t remember any other Celtic manager being regarded with such awe, and I go back to the latter Stein days.
Whether Mascherano is fit to pass the ball to Leonel Messi is beside the point, Roy’s opinion is a prisoner of fortune. He’s dead meat to his critics.
For all of Martin’s brilliance he wasn’t one for cutting edge tactics. He knew what worked for him and stuck to it. So when Gordon Strachan came along with some new, ‘ideas’, the reaction was not appreciative.
Gordon’s early days (years) were remarkably hostile but it’s what I’ve regarded as The Ross Wallace Deployment which remains in the mind as an unfinished debate.
Ross was a left winger. But, five goals down after a first leg capitulation in Bratislava, Gordon deployed him on the right. The outcry was palpable. We’d never heard of playing a left footed player ‘out of position’ like this. What is now commonplace – to mix a left and fight footed full back and winger on the same side – was both new and proof positive that Gordon Strachan was a deluded simpleton.
There’s value in the opinions of the outliers, so my vote for the Ballon d’Or would have gone to Efe Ambrose. Gordon Strachan was a better manager than any of us knew at the time.
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It is often said that football is ‘all about opinions’ and that ‘everyone is entitled to their opinion’
However surely it is incumbent on the numbers who operate within the Lawwell/Board hating clique on this blog, that the opinions that they bore us with, day in and day out, have a least the a hint of the truth and are based on hard facts. Fields of Green latest tripe, by James Forrest, is a prime example of a tall tale made up out of nothing, by someone who appears to be a fully paid-up member of the flat earth society, or the US did not go to the moon conspiracy.
This minority, tendency, within our support would actively do harm to our club – boycott games, deprive the club of funds and some of the ‘loony tunes’ actually suggest withdrawing from Scotland and join the Irish league.
Why? because our Major Shareholder, Chief Executive and the Board of Directors do not soil their hands by giving a running commentary on ‘Rangers’/Sevco, who have raped and abused the Scottish Game for many years.
Social media has given this tiny minority, and it is tiny, carte blanche to broadcast views that in years gone by would have circulated only around the booze-laden tables in the pub bar of their choice.
All of us long-standing Celtic supporters who live in the real world, must repudiate the divisive claptrap that these people peddle – they would cut their nose off to spite their face – let’s not allow them to denigrate Celtic.
BMCUW
12.50 Petec and I arrive at the airport. Mad dash a gogo. :)
Alfie
Well spoken from your heart.
DELANEYSDUNKY
Problem is,that plane is full of The Bhoys!
BMCUW
How a problem??
Coneybhoy.
Re Sean Quinn.David Murray
Interesting comparison.
I would say Davie is the equal of Sean in skankerous use of other peoples monies.
The murray mantra was if you owe your bank a £ its your problem…. but if you owe your bank a £million or 2 or several hundred million it was there problem.
Murray had a myriad of valueless paper companies which grew into his group entity by gettin sisterco business.He comprimised the Bank of Scotland and every bank he dealt with, most notably getting his last share issue underwritten
Murray was the advance gaurd of ‘lever”(bloating a company via debt) which grew after *big bang* in the city in thatchers uk of 1985 and raged into bliars banking policy where banks were harvested by debt financiers like dave
Murrays group of companies(all involved in EBTs) were subject to notice in the london gazette yesterday-death notice
He has already issued warnings on pensions to those who spent a lifetime working for him.
I would contest, taken from early 80s he would give quinn a good square go in the debt/suited skank stakes:dave ate succulently for a long time Sean may have gorged in his decade or 2.
The 2 gie me the boak
Hope yir well:-)
HH
AT
Good read
Tiochfaidh ar la! :)
alfie noakes,
Just exchange the words hating for loving and you get a clique almost entirely polar opposite, many of whom would probably still be shouting down the Bhoys who started ‘Celts for Change’ and supporting the Kelly and White dynasty. Many people who watch not only Celtic but the game in General have real concerns about the governance of the game in Scotland as well as the direction that our club is heading, there is nothing wrong with discussion on these concerns, in the real world.
I also note that several posters have asked you for your opinion on the Clubs treatment of sections of our support, you may have responded but I haven’t seen any yet, can you enlighten us?
Hail! Hail
AR
AR
My bed calls! GNGB Whitecrook Rebel. :)
dd,
Enjoy, sounds like Belfast is gonnae be the biz, lucky Bhoys!
AR
Alfie Noakes Horrid Henry
Michael Kellyspants or whatever fake tag you are using today.
I may/may not agree with James Forrest but he has posted ALWAYS as himself always.
Celtic have had dissent ingrained in itself since the day we were formed.It could be argued that dissent in 1994,brought us our modern and dynamic club.:-)today.
I am sure all is said with the betterment of Celtic in mind.
Your them and us flatulence is meeja kack.The fan and board dynamic has always and will always be there.its how that energy is channelled so we can have Celtic improving.
If you want one opininion head south of river .Give me the rich tapestry of differing opinions coming together as Celtic anyday
.
A possible new top.
https://twitter.com/RetroCeltic/status/555220596045279232
HH
an tearmann,
That’ll do fine!
AR
Eddie*deed of novation* guy
https://www.youtube.com/embed/-y7SwKTgK-I
Enjoy your day Celts.
Snows ere yippee:-)
HH
Sir cardigan,wonders why ally quit
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/30800161#
HH
If that is the new top in the Twitter link, I’ll be over the moon.
Have never liked the present strip. Don’t mess with the Hoops.
alfie noakes
04:04 on 14 January, 2015
Moaning about moaning is also moaning and could be divisive in of itself. See the irony there?
If we were all brainwashed board lackeys, we would be living in a sanitized, pasteurized and sterilized existence of opinion that the huns found themselves in with regard to Minty. How did that work out for them?
P.S. BTW, do you have irrefutable evidence that there was indeed a moon landing?
Arrrrreeetha….
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=P7wCrjuTIyo
Hail hail… Rise and shine
Alfie….,
Are you a hun ?
Good morning CQN, have got an hour to kill before my flight as I like to be early and can remember the days when that would have meant buying a paper or two to find out the latest football news.
Those days are long gone so instead, time to sign in to CQN and ask if there is any news on arrivals or departures at Celtic Park?
Alfie Noakes,
You are incapable of debate.mevery time you are asked a question you run away. Is it because you find it too difficult to face reality and you would rather tug your forelock to those who have overseen an alarming decline at celtic?
It look forward to your reply but won’t hold my breath……
NA
I hope that the ‘talk’ about Celtic bringing in GMS and John McGinn are true.
I can see GMS becoming the type of player that his current manager(Jackie Macnamara) was during the Wim & Murdo season – a superb performer on the right hand side of midfield.
Hopefully the arrival of GMS will fire a revitalised James Forrest onto the pitch as well, canny have too many guid players about the place. I’m also hoping that the arrival of GMS will signal the beginning of the end for Broony – Looks like a hun, plays like a hun, acts like a hun, will get ye put oot the CL coz he cant reign-in his cheap taking of the bait – how many bids for Broony?….theres yer answer.
Anyway….I’d cut my losses with JG and, take a gamble on Billy McKay, think he’d be Dixie Deans-esque in the hoops.
Alfie Noakes – Sack the kow-towing bored – git it roon ye.
san diego bhoy
06:15 on 14 January, 2015
If that is the new top in the Twitter link, I’ll be over the moon.
Have never liked the present strip. Don’t mess with the Hoops.
—-
Ditto re current strip – a marketing tie-up gimmick too far. Logo on the shirt – OK (well, long accepted, at least) – but completely changing the hoops so they look like the logo – too much of a sell out I thought.
That said, still had to get one for Wee BGFC!
HH
BGFC
Alfie Noakes – did you used to be on Blue Peter in the 70′ & 80’s?
Or, was that another Noakes?
Apologies to the other Noakes if it is.
Nae apologies tae you Alfie coz your joost a sticky – git roon ye again.
Good morning friends from whiteout East Kilbride. Very Christmassy looking, if 3 weeks too late ;-)
An Tearmann
05:18 on 14 January, 2015
A possible new top.
https://twitter.com/RetroCeltic/status/555220596045279232
HH
____
AT – I hope ye dont mind a repost – thats a brammer mhan.
Hail Hal
P.S. I hope the link works….
The old fogie got the link to work – yeeha
Away Off oot awe happy :)
Laters….
Good morning CQNers,
Disappointed yesterday’s game was another defeat – I caught the 1st half in the pub and irrespective of the line-up it seems we are susceptible to opponents attacking the centre of our defence.
A winning mentality is a vital component of a winning team, something Jock Stein instilled in his teams, Ronny Deila it would appear doesn’t hold to that tenet. Albeit the last 2 games have been friendly’s our recent record of 2 wins in our last 7 games is a concern going into a month of football that’ll determine this season.
Kevj..,
Alfie noaks was an invention of Derek and Clive
Alfie noaks knows the jokes, in this case Alfie noaks is the joke
Good morning CQN fan ownership at Hibernian gie ole Alfie the book
THE financial cost of Hibernian’s calamitous collapse in form last season was laid bare yesterday when the club announced a drop in turnover of more than 25 per cent.
The fall from £8 million to £5.6m for the year to 31 July 2014, revealed in the financial statement released by the club, was in part a consequence of the “outsourcing” of the club store. But the poor on-field performances that resulted in Hibs’ relegation from the Premiership also played a major part, as attendances fell and the SPFL’s annual payout declined. Staff costs fell marginally, from £3.9m to £3.7m. But the wages-to-turnover ratio, a key indicator of the health of a football club, increased from 49 per cent to 64 per cent. The loss for the year was £800,000, compared to a profit of £300,000 for the previous 12-
As things stood at the end of July, Hibs owed £6.3m to the Bank of Scotland and another £3m to their holding company, owned by majority shareholder Sir Tom Farmer. At the end of last month, however, they agreed a deal that wiped out the bank debt. As a result, the club’s estimated net assets have increased considerably – though their net debt stands at £5m.
“The net assets of the club at 31 July 2014, after taking account of all liabilities, amounted to £14.9m, equivalent to 25 pence per share,” the statement said. “On 29 December 2014 the club announced that it was free of bank debt, having reached a settlement with Bank of Scotland, and that the holding company had agreed to capitalise £4.5m of the club’s debts. The club’s indebtedness to the bank at 31 July 2014 was £6.3m and the amount due to the holding company as at that date was £3m. If the transactions announced on 29 December 2014 had taken place as at 31 July 2014, the impact would have been to increase the club’s net assets to £19.4m.”
Having freed themselves of bank debt, Hibs’ next step, as they announced at the end of December, is to bring in new money with a share issue. If fully subscribed, the issue – available to existing shareholders and supporters but not to the general public – will transfer a majority of the club to the fans. In explaining their plans yesterday, Hibs were at pains to point out neither the holding company nor any existing shareholder would receive any money from the share issue.
“An information memorandum providing details of the board’s plans to widen ownership of the club has been sent to shareholders ahead of the [annual general meeting] on 28 January,” the statement continued. “The club will be writing to supporters later in the week to let them know how they can participate in the share issue.
“The board of Hibernian announced on 29 December 2014 that it intended to widen the ownership of the club by making new shares available to supporters. Enough new shares are being made available which, if fully subscribed, would see supporters own 51 per cent of Hibernian FC, which would receive all of the £2.5m proceeds of the issue. None of the money subscribed is going to the holding company or to any of the existing shareholders.
“The mailing to shareholders contains the written resolutions changing the club articles to make the new shares available and giving the board of directors the necessary powers to issue the shares. Applications for new shares open on 2 February 2015 once the share issue has been discussed at the shareholder meeting.
“The club confirmed this is not an open offer to the general public. Accordingly, details of the share offer set out in the information memorandum can only be made available to shareholders and supporters of Hibernian FC. Disclosure of the contents of the document as a financial promotion to any other person may be a criminal offence under financial services legislation and regulations.”
The club might be entering a legal minefield should they try to impose a strict definition of who is and is not a Hibs supporter, but the intention of their statement is clear. While eager to attract new income, Sir Tom and his right-hand man, chairman Rod Petrie, want control of the club to stay in the Hibs community. They know, too, there would be a negative impact on the share issue if there were any suggestion that they would profit personally.
BuyHibs, the campaign to take the club into supporters’ ownership, broadly welcomed the share issue plans when they were announced. But last night a separate pressure group, Hands On Hibs, called into question the reliance the club now has on its holding company and insisted fans “should not be asked to hand over money without complete transparency”.
kevjungle,
He’s away looking for shep!…….or was that sheep?
Keep it lit
AR
How come Eddie was allowed to talk, unhindered?
Plant?
Again?
Oh and Derek and Clive were an invention of Peter Cook and Dudley Moore
Shaun Maloney: Leicester City agree fee for Wigan midfielder
Leicester City have agreed a fee with Wigan for Scotland midfielder Shaun Maloney.
The 31-year-old will undergo a medical before completing his move to the King Power Stadium for a fee believed to be just under £1m.
Maloney joined Wigan from Celtic in 2011 and has 37 Scotland caps.
Leicester are bottom of the Premier League, three points from safety, while Wigan are second-bottom in the Championship.
Maloney’s contract at the DW Stadium is due to run out in the summer.
He has been linked with a return to Celtic or a move to Major League Soccer but was thought to prefer to extend his stay in English football.
Leicester have already completed the transfer of Chelsea goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer this month and have also agreed a club record fee of £9m for FC Rijeka’s Croatia striker Andrej Kramaric.
An Tearman – re ‘real names’ – there are VERY few posting with their REAL name – btw that’s an unusual spelling of An, An!
Ondrej Duda from Legia could play against Celtic again. Inter Milan contacted his agent (Ondrej Duda Snr.) and Legia and checked the possibility of the move now. The player said that he won’t be moving anywhere this transfer window. Both Duda Jr. and Snr. asked Legia again do not consider offers.