Virgil van Dijk looks like a level-headed footballer, so I don’t think his game will be upset by his agent’s loose lips. He has enjoyed a remarkably successful first season at Celtic Park but any attempt by his representatives to create an earner this summer is likely to be inhibited by the three years remaining on his Celtic contract.
There is always a risk of serious injury, but short of that, Virgil’s market value will not diminish in the next 12 months and may even appreciate. He is in a completely different situation from Victor Wanyama and Gary Hooper, who glided into the last two and one year of their contracts respectively.
It’s a truism of football that those spending a nation’s the mineral wealth on football players tend to get what they want, but it remains to be seen if a handful of Champions League performances are enough to tempt this kind of approach onto the table. Great player though he promises to be, Virgil’s not been tested at the top level over a prolonged period.
Thanks again for all your support of the Mary’s Meals Malawi school kitchen project ahead of Friday’s CQteN St Patrick’s Day dinner. You can get involved here.
For whisky aficionados, we have a very special auction running between now and 12:00 on Friday. We have bottle No. 1 of a limited edition (291 in total) Craigallachie Telford’s Bridge, in a wooden box and presentation cardboard tube, whit an authentication certificate.
Bids are by email only to auction@celticquicknews.co.uk. This is a rare and valuable bottle, an opening bid of £100 is on the table. Shipping within UK and Ireland is included. Please include contact details and your bid amount.
Rest in Peace, Rose Theresa Brennan, who died yesterday, and our thoughts and prayers to Martin42 on the loss of his mother, for the difficult days ahead.
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Ginger
Just back on and haven’t read back, can I just clear things up, the only people who get eggs from me are Tims. And their first half doz are free. You close by. :-))) HH
Weefra HH supporting Wee Oscar.
Winning Captains,
What about showing a running figure for the whisky auction which may encourage higher bids from those who have already submitted an initial bid?
Condolences to Paul and his family.
Paul, Martin and all the Brennan family, thoughts and prayers,may she Rest in Peace.
Papa John
AC Milan are a truly awful side at this level.
Ballotelli has dropped a massive clanger signing for them.
There for the taking if Lenny had been better with his formation and tactics.
Most certainly a massive chance missed this season.
WGS would have wiped the floor with this Milan side.
Just my opinion like.
Martin42 sorry to hear of your loss, may her soul rest in peace.
Vinny
Watching Bayern v Arsenal on ITV online. Commentator summarising the first half: “well Arsenal are half way to doing what they need to do”.
Naw. They are still two-nil down.
Although Arsenal are being dominated, I do think that 0-0 is an OK score. They will get a chance in the 2nd half and if they (giroud) takes it then Bayern will worry.
I don’t want Arsenal to go through, but I think they are still in it. A goal now for Bayern and it is party over (or party starting, depending on your point of view).
What is the going rate for a taxi from the city centre to Celtic Park?
Paul sorry for your loss
Thoughts and prayers with the Brennan family tonight
May perpetual light shine upon them
British unionists and the company they keep
Last week the Chief Executive of oil corporation Shell said a ‘YES’ vote in September’s Independence Referendum would introduce greater uncertainty into the industry.
Ben van Beurden’s comments were reported on every newspaper front-page and in every news bulletin. The stories carried the same message, that the input of the Shell boss was a damaging blow to the case for Scottish independence. Apparently, none of the journalists or reporters thought to ask Shell or Mr van Beurden why an independent Scotland would introduce greater uncertainty into the oil industry, particularly when Shell’s own website states the company “operates in over 90 countries and has around 101,000 employees”.
Shell manages to operate in almost 100 independent countries, but if the people of Scotland decide to govern their own country, then that would cause problems. Clearly, Ben van Beurden’s intervention was politically motivated: he was doing a favour for the Tory-led British Government.
Not only did the pro-British Union media ignore the reality of Shell’s worldwide operations to portray Mr van Beurden’s comments as a blow to the independence campaign, the Tory-funded ‘Better Together’ campaign also got involved, immediately posting an item on its website, declaring the Shell boss had said “there are huge risks involved in Scotland leaving the UK”. Ben van Beurden didn’t actually say that, but ‘Better Together’ never let the truth get in the way of a scare-story.
Perhaps, though, the British Unionist coalition of Tory, Labour and Liberal Democrats should be wary of the company they appear happy to keep.
One of the independent countries Shell formerly operated in was South Africa under the racist apartheid regime, which treated the black majority population as very much second-class citizens. Of course, the then British Tory Government, led by Margaret Thatcher, also supported the apartheid regime, opposing international sanctions and branding Nelson Mandela a ‘terrorist’.
In 1987, the New York-based National Council of Churches (Africa office) published a pamphlet in which the respected South African churchman, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, called for a boycott of Shell and its products. The pamphlet explained:
“The Boycott of Royal Dutch/Shell is part of a world wide effort to bring about peaceful change in South Africa by ending international economic support for apartheid. Shell is one of the most important suppliers to the South African government of materials essential to the maintenance of apartheid. Shell fuels the police and military with crucial oil and petroleum products (South Africa has no oil of its own), Shell owns South Africa’s largest oil refinery and Shell exports key South African goods, particularly coal. Instead of joining peaceful efforts to end apartheid, Shell is helping to prolong the struggle against injustice in South Africa.”
Shell also operates in Nigeria, where it has racked-up massive profits while wrecking the ecology of the area populated by the Ogoni people in the Niger Delta. Local people have seen no benefit from the oil extracted by Shell. On the contrary, some report illnesses caused by massive leaks of oil into the environment.
In 2009 Shell reached an out-of-court settlement, in which the company agreed to pay $15.5m to prevent a trial where it was charged with crimes against humanity, torture, inhumane treatment, arbitrary arrest and detention, and involvement in the execution in 1995 of Ken Saro-Wiwa and other leaders of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP).
Court papers had been lodged in New York by the son of Ken Saro-Wiwa: Shell was within days of having to defend itself. The company denied the charges and said the out-of-court settlement was simply part of a reconciliation process with the Ogoni people. The money was paid to the relatives of those killed in 1995, with part of the funds being used to set up a development trust for the Ogoni.
Between 1993 and 1995 Ken Saro-Wiwa was Vice Chair of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organisation (UNPO), which is an international, non-violent body representing indigenous peoples, minorities and unrecognised or occupied territories. UNPO seeks to protect and promote human and cultural rights, to preserve the environment and to find non-violent solutions to conflicts.
In January 1993, when MOSOP organised peaceful marches of around 300,000 Ogoni people, protesting against the activities of Shell in their communities, the Nigerian Government backed Shell and imposed a military occupation of the area to allow the oil corporation to continue its operations.
In May 1994 four Ogoni chiefs were murdered. At the time, the Nigerian Government had banned Ken Saro-Wiwa from entering Ogoni land, but he was subsequently arrested and accused of having incited others to carry out the murders. Following a year of imprisonment, Saro-Wiwa and eight other MOSOP leaders – Saturday Dobee, Daniel Gbooko, Baribor Bera, Nordu Eawo, Felix Naute, Paul Levera, John Kpuine, Barinem Kiobel – were found guilty by a specially-convened tribunal and sentenced to death.
Some of the defendants’ lawyers resigned in protest during the trial, alleging the outcome had been rigged by the Nigerian Government. Many of the prosecution ‘witnesses’ later admitted they had been bribed by the government and had been told what to say in their evidence. Two of the ‘witnesses’ stated that, in addition to financial bribes, they had been promised jobs with Shell, and that this offer was made in the presence of Shell’s lawyers.
Ken Saro-Wiwa and the other Ogoni leaders who had led mass protests against the activities of Shell were hanged on November 10, 1995.
More recently, in January of this year, Shell announced the sale of its Australian petrol stations and refinery to the Vitol Group for 2.9billion Australian dollars (£1.5billion). Vitol’s president and chief executive is a man called Ian Taylor: the same Ian Taylor who has donated £500,000 to the pro-British Union ‘Better Together’ campaign.
Back in 1995 Vitol paid $1m to the Serbian war criminal Arkan to ‘settle a score’ over a secret oil deal to supply Slobodan Milosevic’s Serbia with fuel.
So, there you have it – Tory, Labour, Liberal Democrats, ‘Better Together’ and their pro-British Union friends. What is it they say about being able to judge people by the company they keep?
Is this the same Dave King of Sevco fame………………
http://www.golf.com/tour-and-news/gary-player-settles-1-million-dispute-friend?xid=ob_news
I smell a wee rat………………
Jackanory …..
….. will doubtless cover the next
glib’n’shameless saviour…………to grace
the magnificent façade……….
….
Bayern Munich playing well within themselves but still well in command of the tie against Arisen Whinger’s primacy bad.
1-0 Bayern
BM 1-0
The wife has made a table decoration for CQN10
https://twitter.com/edwardrice1/status/443490422791618560/photo/1
Primacy bad= primadonas
iPad predictive texting is weirder and weirder
Bayern 1-0
Apparently Arsenal are ‘in peril’ no s@#t Sherlock !!!!!
Goallllllllll Bayern…..
Come on the Good Guys!!
Billy bhoy 05 that’s one of the most desperate pro unionist posts I have ever come across.
It’s no coincidence that business is unhappy at uncertainty. Uncertainty is rid with scottish independence. I long since gave up convincing pro independence voters to vote against.
Give up the ghost mate.
Give up the ghost.
Arsenal score 1-1
Martin42 & Paul67 – sorry for your loss, RIP Rose
Play on BM 1-1
Podolski fouls Lahn and goal allowed to stand.
Strange decision.
WeefratheTim
20:41 on
Are you near East Kilbride? We usually go over once a month to see the gran kids and we usually take them out a walk down calderwood park. When we have them down in Helensburgh they love going up to the local farm at Drumfork.
Maybe see you at CQN10 and arrange something.
Play to the whistle most perfectly demonstrated there…
interesting in munich
Terrible decision for goal but as every 11 year old knows – play to the whistle !!!
Arsenal playing we now and have silenced the crowd
Pat Nevin, BBC Radio 5 live
Bayern Munich 0-0 Arsenal
“I think if Bayern really had to go for it then I think there is more in there but they don’t need to. I think they are just trying to wear Arsenal down.”
You can listen to full 90 minute commentary on BBC Radio 5 live and online.
Playing well !!
Glad to see a ref not giving a foul when lahm takes the cowards way out.
What are all the pro independence folk going to do when the YES campaign bombs and they’re left in this unionist situation which they so detest …..
KK..20.09
Rinty Monaghan ,a great head teacher , particularly when he had to answer complaints regarding those two psychopaths, Denick and Quin…good old days…..aye right!
BBB
Lovely cushioned header by the BM – GK.
Malorbhoy
20:51 on
11 March, 2014
What is the going rate for a taxi from the city centre to Celtic Park?
———————————————————————————
From Central station just over £7 mate (day/evening rates)
eddie
Fraid I’m not going to CQ10en, but if you contact me on email, HT or BMCUW will even give you my moby and email, I will gladly direct you here. We are approx 11 mls from EK heading east. We love getting Tims here. :-))
Weefra HH supporting Wee Oscar.
PFAyr
21.06
The same as you…get shafted by the incoming Tory/UKIP coalition
becarefulwhatyouwishfor.CSC
Bayern in 2nd gear and saving themselves for their title run in as they’re only 20 points clear in Bundesligue.
Now they can’t tie it up quicker than Sevco can….the heads might go down a wee bit.
Sevco also have more stars on their shirts than Bayern.
Some team that Govan shower of shite really,ey?
WeefratheTim
21:09 on
Thanks mate, I’ll get your details and hopefully see you soon