Virgil’s suitors

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Aye, sure, Dick Advocaat would like to sign Virgil van Dijk for Sunderland.  Of course he would, but Virgil is very unlikely to go to Sunderland for a host of reasons.  Many clubs have made inquiries about Virgil but the player has an understanding with the club.

For a start, he’s going nowhere until after the Champions League qualifiers are over with, and even then, player and club have agreed that only approaches from tier-one clubs will be considered.  No disrespect intended for Sunderland, but a haul of one cup in 79 years leaves them well off the pace.

The prospect of Celtic being interested in Steven Fletcher, as reported in The Herald this morning, is unlikely to make any difference.  If Fletcher is wanted it will be for the qualifiers, there will be no quid pro quo.

Virgil has two years left on his contract and there’s little prospect of him extending his stay in Scotland, so if Celtic decide to listen to offers in late August it’ll do no harm having as many English clubs as possible bidding portions of their TV bounty for the player.  So let Sunderland bid away.

You and I have been working on the whole Mary’s Meals project for a couple of years now.  It’s not a big part of any of our lives, but what we’ve done is a big part in the lives of thousands of kids we’ll never know.

Reaching the 1 million kids fed each day figure last month has reinvigorated the charity.  It’s a worldwide phenomenon but incredibly started here in Scotland.

At midnight tonight a couple of guys will start to walk the West Highland Way, 96 miles, a 17 thousand feet ascent.  They hope to complete the journey within 24 hours.

You and I know that not every journey is completed on time, some, sadly, will never be completed……… but these two are close to hitting their £6k target figure for Mary’s Meals before they set off.  Go and give them a a couple of pounds, help drive them on to complete the task.  Every £1 you give will feed a child for a month.  A month!  Tell me you’re going to do something better today and I’ll not believe you.

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2,079 Comments

  1. leftclicktic on

    Delaneys Dunky

     

    He is a wise bhoy and a gent too,pass on my regards as always and hugs tae the gang.

     

    good night all and thank you for being here .

     

    ohhhh a couple of zombies passed my windae earlier today with their carry oooooot still in the bag, obviously their big day ooooot in glesga at the fest was a wash oot,

     

    “That was a waste of train fair was it not ” i politely commented ,

     

    I think they replied luck toff or something like that.

     

    They are finding it hard to lift their heads these days,some even cross the road as I approach,musta been something I said:)))))))))))))))))))))))

  2. Delaneys Dunky on

    GFTB.

     

     

    Big Leftclick is an original Motherwell man. One of the greatest men I have the pleasure to call my friend. :)

  3. leftclicktic on

    Gerryfaethebrig

     

    I was in the news agents(arthurs) earlier this year and was called an interloper,

     

    34yrs :))))

     

    Still my missionary work is ongoing:)))))))

  4. Gerryfaethebrig on

    leftclicktic

     

     

    01:34 on 7 June, 2015

     

     

    Brilliant….

     

    Hope you said you were a good interloper !

     

     

    DD

     

     

    I would not disagree, Leftclicktic would surely know what I meant, us Bhoys fae the brig can be a bit insular as well as being open to all !!!

  5. Enjoyed that game tonight, I am wasted, and so are he unfortunate geordie couple who we introduced to the free Spanish vino……..What a shame they canny handle their drink, wimps so they are

     

     

    HH

  6. Off to South Dublin in a couple of weeks…..An annual tradition for me.

     

    Dun laoghaire, Sandycove, Dalkey.

     

    Will enjoy some Guiness and more in Dunphy’s, Fitzgeralds and Finningans….luv it !

  7. A Ceiler Gonof Rust on

    Ruggyman, we,re not all gimps.

     

     

    Although, I canny speak for sipsini.

  8. skyisalandfill on

    ruggygman

     

     

    I was thinking the same.

     

     

    good to see travellerbhoy on the blog

     

     

    On hols for three weeks with a three geared i.e no blooming use campervan.

     

     

    Anyone know a VW vintage parts specialist cause stuck for a gearbox or parts.

     

     

    SFTB

     

     

    Loved the Levi Stubbs stuff.

     

     

    HH

  9. west of ireland csc on

    just after reading glasgows sectarian orangefest was a washout

     

    what a pity!!!!!!!!!!

     

    but seriously this is karma for the orange order

     

    couldnt piss rain on a nicer bunch of backward cretins

  10. I make this site part of my daily routine. A lot of very informative and intelligent posters.

     

     

    Paul67 you have created a monster and I am grateful, hail hail my brothers in Celtic.

  11. rudicantfail on

    Tremendous human being and Ulster Protestant flute player…..gets stuck into the Huns….

     

     

     

    Sir James Galway has criticised the late former DUP leader Ian Paisley

     

    Sir James Galway has launched an attack on the actions of Ian Paisley Sr, saying the late former DUP leader was indirectly “responsible” for murders.

     

    The renowned classical flautist told BBC Radio Ulster’s The Nolan Show he “never admired” the former Northern Ireland first minister.

     

    He said: “I’m sure he was [responsible] because he wasn’t exactly preaching let’s all live together, was he?”

     

    In a statement, the DUP’s Sammy Wilson said legal action was “pending”.

     

    Sir James, originally from Belfast but now living in Switzerland, said he felt Mr Paisley Sr “on paper was a man of God, but in reality he never was”.

     

    Mr Wilson, the East Antrim MP, said the 75-year-old’s comments were “the typical hallmark of an anti-British social climber”.

     

    Disgraceful

     

    “The Paisley family have requested that we do not comment on Sir James’s remarks because of pending legal action,” he said.

     

    “We respect this request. However, we will always defend Dr Paisley’s record as a leader of unionism.

     

    “During the interview, Sir James indicated that he doesn’t take much interest in politics and perhaps he should have kept it that way.”

     

    Mr Wilson added: “I have always admired Sir James’s work, but some of his comments were offensive, inaccurate and downright disgraceful.”

     

    In his career, Mr Paisley Sr, who was the leader of the Free Presbyterian Church, launched countless attacks on Catholicism and Irish republicanism.

     

    Sir James said: “How many people do you think he was responsible for killing indirectly by planting the thoughts of violence and no surrender in the heads of people who had no more sense?

     

    “How can you justify setting one side against another?”

     

     

    Sir James Galway said he felt Ian Paisley Sr “on paper was a man of God, but in reality he never was”

     

    Sir James said that “maybe [Mr Paisley] didn’t have any choice” when he made a historic agreement to share power with Sinn Féin in 2007.

     

    Mr Paisley Sr died in September 2014. He was 88.

     

    Sir James, who was knighted by the Queen in 2001, also suggested that he was supportive of a united Ireland, and objected to the British empire’s historic rule of Ireland.

     

    He said: “Wouldn’t you say it is immoral for one country to take over another country just because the other country is not so well armed? Wouldn’t you think that was immoral?

     

    “Well, let me put this to you – would you not think that 800 years ago what the British did was immoral and is still immoral?”

     

    Occupied

     

    Sir James said that as he grew up as a young Protestant in Northern Ireland he was “brainwashed to the Protestant ethic” by politicians and “Presbyterians who made the school systems separate”.

     

    The Presbyterian Church in Ireland said that was “neither historically or factually accurate”.

     

    “The Presbyterian Church in Ireland transferred our schools to state control in the 1920s and 1930s,” a spokesperson said.

     

    Sir James added that he considers himself to be Irish, rather than Northern Irish.

     

    “I would like Ireland to be Ireland.

     

    “[People] say: ‘Well, how do you become a sir?’ I say: ‘Because I come from the British-occupied part of Ireland.'”

     

    Later on Friday, Sir James issued a statement saying: “Music is my life and love. We all have our views on life. I am here today to celebrate music.

     

    “I love Northern Ireland and it is never my intent to cause offence.”

     

    Mr Wilson described the interview as “incoherent” and said they would be viewed as having come from “someone who is out of touch with reality in Northern Ireland”.

     

    “Sir James’s interview will have discredited him with many admirers.

     

    “For Sir James to express his pro-republican viewpoint [and] criticise Northern Ireland being part of the United Kingdom but then accept a knighthood from our monarch is hypocritical.

     

    “If Sir James’s views are so dearly held then he should probably consider handing back the knighthood.”

     

    Stephen Nolan’s full interview with Sir James Galway on BBC Radio Ulster’s The Nolan Show is available on the BBC iPlayer.

  12. rudicantfail on

    Great 28 minutes and 24 seconds on the resurrection of a great Brigton Tim……

     

     

    Frankie Miller’s voice is truly……A Gift from God

     

     

     

    ▶ 28:24

     

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DI24jV1AxwE

     

    13 Jan 2015 – Uploaded by james mcmeekin

     

    frankie miller stubborn kinda fella bbc documentry. … This documentary is top- heavy on personal life and light on what counts most: the music.

  13. rudicantfail on

    To see ourselves as others see us…..

     

     

     

    In 2012, the Scottish Premier League suffered a massive setback: Glasgow Rangers, one of the two powerhouses of Scottish football, went into liquidation and were subsequently demoted to the lowest tier of Scottish football. This meant that only Celtic remained as recent title winners in the SPL, creating a league whereby there was only ever going to be one winner. And win they did, running away with the title last season and seemingly poised to do the same in 2013/14.

     

     

    For a number of years, many commentators have campaigned for Celtic (and Rangers, before their financial problems) to enter the top tier of English football, something that would give them the competition they need in order to develop into a really great football team. They’ve always been shouted down though, and remained in their own league, stunting their growth and denying them the millions of pounds received by every Premier League team each year. So, should they now be given the chance to prove themselves against better opposition by switching to the Premiership? Well, in short, the answer is a comprehensive no, for a number of different reasons.

     

     

    A Matter of Fairness

     

    For teams in the Championship – and lower down the English leagues, for that matter – getting into the Premier League is the ultimate goal. It is the way to gain massive amounts of money but more importantly it allows them a shot at glory, playing against some of the world’s best players. Now imagine having to tell the team that has finished third in the Championship, and who are favorites to win the playoffs, that they aren’t going to get their chance because Celtic will be given their place instead. Is this fair? Is it right that a whole season of trials and tribulations comes to nothing in order to accommodate a foreign team? It obviously isn’t, and doing so would make an absolute mockery of the promotion system.

     

     

    There’s also the possibility that an extra team would have to be relegated from the EPL in order to allow Celtic to get in and this is clearly not fair either. Getting relegated costs a club tens of millions of pounds and can be enough to bankrupt them. Is it right that a team should suffer so much simply to help a foreign club?

     

     

    The only way to fairly introduce Celtic into the English league would be to have them start at the bottom. Somehow, it is unlikely that Celtic will react favorably to an away trip to Wakefield in the Northern Premier League (the eighth tier of English football). Therefore, staying in the SPL may be their only option.

     

     

    Are They Good Enough?

     

    There’s no doubting that Celtic is a massive club, with loads of supporters and the potential to become a giant of the game. The problem with this is that the same holds true for Leeds, Sheffield Wednesday/United, Nottingham Forest, and a load of other huge clubs wallowing in leagues below the Premier League. This means that simply having the potential to be great isn’t enough to get into the Premier League, otherwise these other massive clubs would already be there.

     

     

    As hard as it might be to accept for fans of the club, Celtic simply aren’t good enough to play in the Premier League. When the Celtic squad is looked at, it doesn’t even compare to the squads of even the worst teams in the Premier League. In short, they would be in a relegation fight in their first season.

     

     

    Think of the Scottish League

     

    Bringing Celtic into the Premiership wouldn’t only adversely affect the English league, but the Scottish one as well. Currently, the SPL at least has one big team playing in it; a team that brings in the crowds when they come to town, therefore helping to keep gate receipts for other clubs higher than they would be. Imagine if they left – the SPL would be a league completely bereft of quality, a league that would completely fade into insignificance under the shadow of the mighty Premier League (even more than it does now).

     

     

    Rangers also have to be considered, because it will only be a few seasons before they are back in the top tier of Scottish football. As a team equally as big as Celtic, they will have a legitimate claim to also move to the English leagues, which would create the same problems all over again. Laying down a marker now and ensuring Celtic continue to play their football north of the border is the only way to preserve both the English and Scottish leagues, both in the short term and also well into the future.

     

     

    This is an opinion piece written by Ilan Hurwitz. Ilan runs the Australian web site Football Jerseys Online where you can purchase jerseys from all the top European leagues including EPL, SPL, La Liga, Serie A and Bundesliga.

  14. Captain Beefheart on

    Scrolled back and saw various references to the IRA. What have they got to do with Celtic?

     

     

    Barca… Superb team but they have been up to no good.

  15. rudicantfail on

    Captain Beefheart….

     

     

    The Real IRA or the Pretendy IRA?

     

     

    Barca are serious up to no good if you are a Northern European taxpayer……but then again so are Rangers (In Liquidation) and their bastard Zombie Spawn……

     

     

    Anarchy for the UK…

  16. rudicantfail on

    Captain Beefheart. ….

     

     

    In Secular 21st century Scotland….

     

     

    What have the Catholic Church got to do with Celtic either?