Teams can lose their competitive edge quickly. The Celtic team of 2003-04 were imperious: 25 consecutive league wins, they beat every team in the country, home and away, on the bounce. Larsson left, of course, but the following season’s problems were deeper than that.
Watching Argentina last night took me straight back to Fir Park, 2005. A feted team, packed with reputation and talent, simply failed to compete. Unable to match the industry of Iceland, or the ability of Croatia, they look like they want to return to the safety of club football immediately after the group stages.
Having great players is not enough if they are not sufficiently hungry, and keeping millionaires hungry for the SPFL is a challenge we will forever encounter. On this front, we must do what we can. Packed 60,000 seater stadiums help. I’m sure open-top bus parades help even more. These things create a sense of occasion and achievement, which is difficult to find elsewhere.
CQN Golf Annual Charity Open
This year’s CQN Open is set for Friday 29 June at the first class Aberdour Golf Club once again. It is a day of sport, entertainment, Celtic chat and is always good fun.
After the golf, we head up the road to the CQN friendly Woodside Hotel for our evening meal. We’ve the usual round up of all things Celtic by Paul67, and our very funny after dinner speaker is Willie Allan. Then musical entertainment from Scoogz, who you may have seen if you’ve been to Celtic Park entertainment nights. Plus all the usual prizes and charity fundraising, for the Petrov Foundation this year. Cost is £40 night only and £80 all day including golf. Please contact cqnopen2018@outlook.com if you’d like to attend this fun event.
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WITS: I was going to go out and watch the match in an Irish bar here. Glad I didn’t now.
Eagerly awaiting Dublin’s 4 o clock throw in in Timmy’s in Torreblanca.
Go on the Green and White team. Intae this blue white and red mob.
Manè is a crackin’ wee player I love to watch. Mon the Senegal!
Mon the BialoCzerwoni!
Forza Polska
Watchin this game ..cant remember if it was Charlie Nic or Joe Royle who called them the ‘senegalakis’ a few years ago.
Mane diving like Neymar :-)
Trust me they are all at it
Great diagonal pass creates Japan’s equalizer. 1-1
Great Japanese goal.
GFTB
The most annoying aspect of this World Cup is the play acting by the majority of players.
Is there an Oscars type award for best actor?
Belated congratulations to Donegal on their Ulster campionship win over Feramanagh today. Donegal are an excellent side . The commentator stated after the match former Donegal and Celtic coach, Jim McGuinness , had assisted in Donegal’s pre season preparations.
Senegal have the best home and away strips at the world cup and the coolest looking manager , Cisse .
Saw a quote from a journalist today after he was accused of being out of touch & outing people who refused to talk to him.
His reply should be pinned to the screens & desks of Scottish “journalists” who pretend to report on football.
“What I actually report is the attitude of certain persons to sceptical and rigorous enquiries, when they are perhaps more used to sycophantic credulity.”
The love fest for all things Gerrard makes newspapers unfit even for the ultimate toilet insult.
HH
DD 4.42pm
I don’t mind a player going down if impeded (even slightly :-) but they dropping like flies when not even touched us downright cheating and it’s nit just wee Neymar :-)
Dallas
I concur, liking the Senegal home & away tops, was a bit gutted when they weren’t wearing the green when the game started but loving the white top, one of my favourite away Celtic tops was the all white with the green pinstripe mid-80’s ??? Although you probably know the date it was released :-)
Dallas
Senegal strips would be crackin Celtic 2nd and 3rd strips. Cisse would fit in with the Wailers no probs. Rastafari
Leeds station, 10 minutes after the final whistle in the England/Panama game.
A crowd of about 400 appear from nowhere and ‘own’ the main station concourse.
Stripped to the waist, klaxons, air horns, chants of ENGLAND interspersed with 10 German Bombers and YORKSHIRE.
Sudden lockdown.
About 100 cops appear, either side. We, in Wetherspoons in the middle, are told nobody is coming in, and nobody is leaving. By Order.
While these pricks are chanting and waving the flag of St George, people are missing their trains.
Wetherspoon bar staff are told to let nobody in under any circumstances.
This results in about 20 of said pricks pishing against the glass entrance of the pub, two feet away from people sitting at tables inside.
I am videoing all of this, and am told by Wetherspoons manager to stop. I refuse. Cop arrives, and threatens me with arrest for ‘a public order offence – you are inflaming the situation.’
Point out that lots of people trapped in pub are phone-filming. Cop replies: “they’re giving them the thumbs up. You’re not.”
Tell cop I have airport train to catch in 20 minutes, for Oslo flight. Cop replies: “Tough. Nobody’s getting out till we disperse this lot.”
“This lot” are meanwhile enjoying themselves hugely – pissing all over the floor, chanting racist crap, taking stuff from Sainsbury’s and Paperchase, throwing it about, while the cops look on.
I believe it’s called “containing the situation”.
I got out by slipping through a door opened to allow a cop in to the pub and going straight through the middle of them.
I got my train; hundreds didn’t.
Leeds has always been really nasty in terms of football-related violence. I worked there on the paper for 15 years, was there when the two Leeds fans were killed in Istanbul, and all the rest of it.
But it now seems that the cops’ attitude to this is to acknowledge that the mob rules. There must have been several hundred people today who missed their trains because of mob rule. And the cops sided with the mob.
This scares the daylights out of me.
Sorry for ranting.
GFTB
When we had the green wi white pin stripes and white wi green pinstripes in 1980 I owned both taps. Best ever Celtic away shirts. I wore the green one in Amsterdam the night we wore it to win 2-1.
DD 5.03pm
1980 I was ten so you could be correct I also had both strips (didn’t buy tops back then :-) Christmas home strip birthday away strip …. also had a belter of a trackie around that time as well happy days, great memories
Greenin
Shocking. I have family in Middleton. I know Leeds well. There is a very sinister EDL mob in their support. Many great Scots and Irishmen and Welshmen support Leeds, however, I have been to many games at Elland Road since 1970 and I always detected a lunatic fringe in their support. Right wing nutcases who make a lot of noise.
GFTB
I got both taps for my 15th birthday in 1980. One fae my mammy, the other fae my granny Delaney. The woman dressed their bhoy well.
GREENINBINGLEYINOSLO,
I walked back from Hampden to the city centre last June, (was it?), in the company of guys from Leeds and London who we just happened to end up walking with. Really nice friendly guys.
It can’t be denied that the “element,” is there though.
Saw it today. That pathetic element that were hoping for a bit of plastic chair throwing in celebration. It’s obvious that they get something out of it.
In self analysis…I DO admit my own inherrent prejudices!
With no alcohol, they were two up by the time we got to a suitable venue. The bawling from the pubs at the first two goals as we were passing…gave me feelings that I think I need treatment for.
BCW..
Grilled fish and salad is what I like….no shortage here!
@benthetim on Twitter.
Rangers have two players at the World Cup. Bruno Alves with Portugal, and Jamie Murphy with Sweden. He’s been in Lustig’s pocket since April.
V v droll!
https://twitter.com/bermondseyboy68/status/1010278481786298369?s=21
Our ladies have not been on their best behaviour today.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/44595757
Greeninvariousplaces
Leeds was my English team since the late 60s due to a connection with my next door neighbour whose nephew lived there and came to Glasgow 3 or 4 times per year for his holidays and we played football together
His Scottish family were Rangers fans but I converted him to be a Celtic fan.
However as I got older I began to realise the substantial nasty element aamongst their fan base and my interest in them weakened.
It died when they embarked on reckless overspending and got liquidated, never to be resurrected.
Think that may be a good draw for Polska, if they get their act together and defeat Colombia and Japan. Do-able I think.
Mon the Bialo Czerwoni
Forza Polska
Leeds still have a big Irish support
Partly because of John Giles being a big player with the great Leeds team of the 70s.
Also there was a decent sized irish immigrant community there.
But they always had a crazy element in their support.
Just back from watching the mighty Dubs easy win over Laois in the Leinster final. Turn on tv and the weather headline is ‘getting very hot’.
Too right. With Lucy V delivering the weather report it is is always getting very hot.
KICKINTHENAKAS
Love it here at Auchenlarie thinking about booking for next weekend , I went to Sports bar at half time wearing the Hoops got quite a reaction from hun / engerland mob ! GREENBINGLEY Not surprised at what’s happening in Leeds ! DELANEYS I also have relations in Leeds , Chapeltown area but no contact for years but as you say some nutters in that support ! URBANFOXESCSC
WITS: my wife,son and a brother are all Leeds supporters. Only been at Elland Road once but really enjoyed it.
The strange thing was though, all the hawkers leading up to the stadium were selling anti-MU gear rather than pro-Leeds.
PR67
I am a regular visitor to Leeds to visit my folks.
Leeds have a huge Irish/Scot support who are sympathetic to the Yorkshire Republican Army side of their support. The other half of their support are BNP EDL types. Very divided support are Leeds. They often battle each other, if they can’t get at the opposition’s fans. Mental mob
My feelings toward England have changed dramatically today…once more I want to see them gubbed and have their words rammed down their throats…and all because of danny murphy and the commentator…I knew I should have watched it without the commentary…they are just like huns in their attitude of superiority, they canny help themselves…arrogant, patronising tosspots…
:-)
Almore
The one thing that brings the Leeds United left wingers and right wingers together is their mutual hatred of Manchester United. Bizarre hatred to me. Battle of the Roses serious in Leeds.
WBC
Watched the England game wi sound down and Pink Floyd’s The Wall album on. Great for the blood pressure. ??
Gerry , the white and green pin stripe tops were used in the 1982/83 season . From memory we only wore the white pin striped strip once, a game at Easter Road, I’m possibly wrong with that one.
Our away top for the previous two seasons was the green top with the umbro diamond down the sleeves . My main memory of us in that top was our 7 1 home win against St Mirren in 1981 with Francis McGarvey scoring a hat trick including the best goal he scored for us, not the most important goal he scored for us (1985 cup final goal ) but his best.
WBC
On ITV they were discussing whether it would be better to win the group or come second. Fair enough I thought until I realised it was to see who they’d meet in the quarters. So they have discounted Senegal, Colombia, Japan or Poland.
They can’t help themselves
I think that Robert Lewandowski is the best striker in the world. He needs to show it here.
Bialo Czerwoni Polska
My cousin was down at Leeds around the same time as the Gray bhoys and the last Argentina manager ?His name escapes me.My cousin could’ve been a contender :-)))
Delaney’s , I had no intention of watching the England game earlier once I found on the The Ulster GAA championship final was on the North of Ireland BBC 2 channel.
Far better , no annoyance with the comentary and amateur sportsman doing their very best for the respective county. The only annoying thing was seeing Arlene Foster’s coupon in the crowd.
She was given a polite round of applause when she arrived outside the ground just as she got at Martin McGuinness’ funeral.
There was a wee boy next to her wearing an orange t shirt just to comfort her
Hope that the Poles are sharp tonight.
Back to work tomorrow. Finishing the holiday with steak, onion, new potatoes, wine and Magners. Hic ;-)
FORZA POLSKA
Gerryfaethebrig.
Really unlucky with your bet.
A nice wee treble for you, glass half full,as you say, but so close.
Hail Hail