Illustrating the very high regard the business community and people of Barcelona hold Celtic fans, one of the city’s top restaurants, Cinc Sentis have donated lunch for two towards our annual charity causes.
I am assured by our resident food critic (WDH), Cinc Sentis is a fabulous dining experience. The auction has just gone live – so get a low bid in early – and ends Sunday. If you’re heading to Barcelona next week, or anytime thereafter, get your eBay bid in here.
Many thanks to Cinc Sentis and WDH.
Read lots yesterday about the vast majority of people in Scotland missing the ‘Old Firm’ games. Trying hard to inoculate myself against any “bravado” I really don’t see this. The edge we used to feel when going into the final minutes of a game needing a goal is no longer there, but I’m really not sure that edge is healthy or necessary.
More than this, I don’t know a single fan from another Premiership club who regrets the liquidation of Rangers, or feels their life is enhanced by the presence of Celtic. Everyone is aware of the harsh reality – we spoil the league.
We do, of course, sell copy, as did the liquidated lot.
CQN Annual:
Sean Fallon biography:
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Paul McConville
As most are now aware, Paul McConville died suddenly last week.
Paul’s funeral service will be held at St Ninians Church, Hamilton at 9.30am on 13th December, next Friday.
Our job is to ensure that the service is standing room only. If you can make it along to pay your respects to Paul, please do.
If you cannot make it in person, Paul’s family have suggested a small donation to the British Heart Foundation would be appropriate.
Paul published his views via his blog; Random Thoughts re Scots Law. In the 31 months during which he ran the blog, he published 920 articles.
On the basis of “A Penny For Your Thoughts” it would be in order to make a donation of £9.20, a penny for each of his ‘Random Thoughts’. You can donate thus via the BHF website here: http://www.bhf.org.uk/secure/in_memoriam_07.asp
TBB
The “demotion” lie should be challenged at every turn.
Rather than start a rant I think the best way to challenge it is simply to ask,
“Who demoted them? Why were they demoted?”
Cue awkward silences, shuffles and splutters.
“Where were Gretna demoted to? Why were they not demoted to the Third Division? Just trying to get my head round these rules!”
Forestieri of Watford. Seen him a couple of times lately. He’s……… different. The square pass is not for him.
Worth a punt in January?
Anyone?
It’s late where am urr. Off to bed.
NatKnow – Supporting Wee Oscar 12:55 on 5 December, 2013
TBJ Praying for Oscar Knox 13:14 on 5 December, 2013
Poll: we miss Old Firm matches
A clear majority of people believe senior football in Scotland has been diminished by the loss of regular Old Firm matches between Celtic and Rangers.
The first poll on the subject, carried out exclusively by YouGov for the Evening Times, found a two to one verdict among Scots when asked about the effect on the Scottish Premier League by the absence of the traditional fixtures.
The Glasgow rivals last met in the top flight in April 2012, before Rangers were thrown out of the league and re-admitted to the old Third Division. They won it in season 2012-13, and are currently top of SPFL League 1, with a 100% points record.
But even assuming they win that race, and are promoted again after season 2014-15, the first Old Firm league reunion in the Scottish Premiership is still at least 18 months away, although the clubs could meet in cup ties before then. Both are still in this season’s Scottish Cup, with the final to be held at Celtic Park.
The temporary demise of the Old Firm has provoked a mixed reaction among football fans: some Celtic supporters believe their team’s success in Europe more than compensates; some Rangers followers say they’ve enjoyed visiting smaller clubs in the lower leagues; some fans of other clubs have welcomed the chance of increased exposure.
But almost all have a view about the Old Firm.
YouGov asked almost 1200 Scots: “Would you say the Scottish Premiership is better or worse off without regular Old Firm matches between Celtic and Rangers?”
In total, 36% said the league was worse, split evenly between “much worse” and “somewhat worse”. A total of 19% said it was better – with 10% saying “somewhat better” and 9% “much better”. A further 14% said neither better nor worse, while 31% didn’t express an opinion.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the loss of the fixtures is felt most keenly in the west of Scotland. There, and in the central and south Scotland regions, the total “worse” rating jumped up to as high as 48%, while the “better” verdict fell as low as 12%.
Far more men than women expressed an opinion: 43-23% for men, 30-14% for women.
There are no significant variations based on age or social status, but the political allegiances of those polled does throw up one notable statistic: SNP supporters are almost split equally, with 33% saying the league is worse, while 26% say it’s better. The responses from voters from the other three main parties are closely aligned to the overall trend.
The Battered Bunnet
Nice idea, I donated £9.20
God Bless Paul McConville may he Rest in Peace
TBB
Donation made
RIP Paul McConville
Illustratingthe very high regardthe business community and people of Barcelona hold Celtic fans,one ofthe city’s top restaurants, Cinc Sentis have donatedlunch for two towards our annual charity causes.
I first read that as two forwards and thought Barca need a game and things are getting desperate ;-)
Snowing noo in g69
HH
el blizzardo in g74
Kev jungle
You just joined the posters I scroll past but in your case I might make allowances if you own up not to getting your medication today because of the weather conditions or are you trying to tell us your Gerry ?
HH
NatKnow – Supporting Wee Oscar
13:46 on
5 December, 2013
Even if you just took the people that expressed and opinion it’s only 52% that think it’s worse – hardly a landslide.
I don’t miss them one bit…
Ayrshire is Green and White
HH
If you have an Orange phone and travel to Italy, your phone defaults to Tim..
that Old Firm thing gets everywhere.
NatKnow – Supporting Wee Oscar
13:46 on
5 December, 2013
On the other of those that expressed an opinion only 27% said it was better, a clear minority.
NatKnow – Supporting Wee Oscar
13:46 on
5 December, 2013
If we removed that that expressed a neutral view 65% said it was worse.
There’s a lot of ways to play with figures.
9 Oct 1965, Everton, 3; Tottenham Hotspur, 1.
I have a bit of a soft spot for the Toffees and it goes back to this game.
Then, I was a 20-year old Assistant Carpenter on a ship, the MV Stirlingshire, which was undergoing repairs in dry-dock in Birkenhead. There I got chatting to an “old bloke” who had engaged me in conversation about what team I supported.
This old engine fitter (probably 20-years younger than I am now), was very well informed and wanted to know everything about the Celtic and enthused about the Scots who were playing for Everton, especially Alex Young, as the ex-Hearts man was a cult figure at that time on Merseyside.
Anyway, when he asked me where I lived and I told him Rosyth, near Dunfermline, he said I must know about the local man who was the greatest ever Scot to kick a ball. I was stumped and when he enlightened me by telling me it was Billy Liddell from Townhill, I wasn’t much wiser. This dyed in the wool Evertonian was amazed at my ignorance and regaled me with stories of the legendary Billy Liddell and how he was idolised on and off the field in that great city.
I was very confused by this because here was a man whose greatest hero was a player for his greatest rivals, Liverpool!
Anyway for the week we were in dock I would pass the time with him. Have a smoke and the craic about football and his job in overhauling the ships steam winches, which was coming to an end, when, on the Friday before we were due to sail on the Monday, while saying goodbye, he handed me an envelope with two stand tickets for the Saturday’s game, which was Everton v Tottenham Hotspur.
This ragged-trousered philanthropist refused to take anything in return for the tickets (best in the house) and I never saw him again. That is how I came to see my first English game with one of my shipmates. The most memorable thing to me was the fact that I was seated, and could get a pint of beer, served in plastic cups, at any time from bars around the ground, which I was told was being refurbished for the coming World Cup.
The details of the game are fuzzy, due in no small part to the availability of alcohol, which I made good use of, but though he was on the losing side I remember being impressed by Jimmy Greaves, who was only in the game for flashes, but looked deadly and was unlucky not to score.
Later, when the MV Stirlingshire was in Durban, South Africa, loading oranges I heard the news that England had won the World Cup and while most of the crew were Jocks and weren’t overjoyed I had a wee smile to myself thinking about the old fitter on Merseyside cheering on Everton’s Wilson, and no doubt Liverpool’s Hunt as well as the rest of the team, because he was obviously a good sport.
I have seen many acts of kindness from football fans and though this man’s selfless actions are not typical, they are not as rare as the media would have us believe. That is why I get angry when I see laws being made that apply only to football supporters as if they were some sort of pariahs.
Sure there are hooligans and bigots who go to football matches, but the majority of fans are good, decent people with a sense of fairness and perhaps those who would make Draconian laws targeting fans as if they were some kind of sub-species don’t know this because they have never stood on the terraces and rubbed shoulders with the ordinary football fan.
Perhaps some who inhabit our boardrooms don’t get it either for the same reason.
We aren’t such a bad lot.
eddieinkirkmichael
you know the old story well enough Eddie, if you repeat a lie often enough eventually it will come to be accepted as the truth, so for that reason I think its important that we debunk at every opportunity the whole rotten stinking lying unbroken history rubbish that gets dumped on us, mainly by the MSM,
watched the scottish cup draw on Monday, the guy (rod tanner?) was clearly on a bonus for the number of times he could say ‘old firm’ every time he was on mike, pretty soon they’ll have the term ‘liquidation’ classified as a sectarion insult, thats the direction we’re heading in, so yeah agree we all know the story, but lets not get trampled under foot by the rush to bury the truth, we should holler loud and clear at every opportunity.
Miss who??
Is our game still going on in spite of the windy conditions in Scotland? Big wind on a coo field, sounds like winter fitbaw!!
Brrr..
To any Celtic fans who miss playing them I’d say this –
just remember how it felt to lose to them.
Losing to them when they were better than us ( paid for ,as is clear now and as we suspected then, with someone else’s money) was bad enough but just recall how empty it felt to walk away from a game we’d lost to them when we should have won and were robbed by Honest Mistakes.
If you miss that feeling you need to go and see a doctor. Immediately.
LogicAl @ 13 53 .
Forestieri .?
An Italo /Argentine who played for Italy Under 21..
Touted as a wonder boy in his teens and cursed with ” the next Messi ” tag .He was at Udinese for a while . I imagine his ” ownership ” status is very complicated.
On the time taken for Post Office to deliver The CQN Annual – we are resolving all enquiries re slow delivery by organising a First class post replacement. One order came in for the West End of Glasgow about half an hour ago and I delivered the copy personally within 5 minutes of the order coming in! Can I nip over to FF to claim a world record?
On missing games against Rangers: Isn’t it pssoble to miss them without necesarily wanting them back?
Some of my best memories of watching Celtic are from Rangers games – I can’t imagine being happoer then when the 3rd goal of the 6-2 game went in for example. The build-up the nerves, the passionate tribalism, the misery of defeat, the elation of victory and the Monday morning gloating or explaining why it was all the fault of the masonic referee. I miss all of that.
It doesn’t mean I want them back though. The stuff I miss does not outweigh all the negatives that came with the fixture. I’m with Paul67 the current monoploy is spoiling the league but the duopoly of the past was spoiling it even more.
Ideally we’d escape to a league that contains more teams at our level or have a club emerge from the pack to give us a real challenge that we could build a new rivalry with untainted by the sectarianism of our previous rivals. A purely sporting rivalry whic we would be passionate about but not to the extent of overflowing A&E departments on the night of the game.
Big Nan
Brilliant story.
On this point – “Sure there are hooligans and bigots who go to football matches, but the majority of fans are good, decent people with a sense of fairness and perhaps those who would make Draconian laws targeting fans as if they were some kind of sub-species don’t know this because they have never stood on the terraces and rubbed shoulders with the ordinary football fan” – I give you Albert Camus:-
“All that I know most surely about morality and obligations, I owe to football.”
Said as a former player but equally true for many fans.
HH
TLWIO
Got an email from Celtic last night advertising 30% off all Celtic away kits.
Clicked the link to have a look for the wee Bhoy who will be 17 months old on Christmas Day so it’s the wee kit you can only buy as a whole outfit.
The only items not reduced are infant kits and small boys. I have checked the email again. It doesn’t say jersey/top it says kits. I have fired off an email. Pretty poor show that.
LB
one of my most horrible memories of playing them was when jorge albert think it was broke Paul Lambert’s jaw – and the ref gave them a penalty, have lots of horrible memories of them but that’s a sore one – as it must surely have been for Paul.
Big Nan
Great read. Glad you told us that one
HH
Big Nan…..braw post …….you tell a grand story….
.and donation of 9 poonds and twenty pennies made …
Steinreignedsupreme
13:58 on 5 December, 2013
NatKnow – Supporting Wee Oscar 12:55 on 5 December, 2013
TBJ Praying for Oscar Knox 13:14 on 5 December, 2013
Ta.
weeminger
14:14 on 5 December, 2013
NatKnow – Supporting Wee Oscar
13:46 on
5 December, 2013
Even if you just took the people that expressed and opinion it’s only 52% that think it’s worse – hardly a landslide.
Yes – they’re desperate!
the long wait is over
…………………
You have to hand it to CQN where else could a tale start with a fitter in a dry dock on Merseyside and jump to the life forming events of a French Existentialist philosopher.
I love it. Great stuff TLWIO
weeminger
14:18 on 5 December, 2013
NatKnow – Supporting Wee Oscar
13:46 on
5 December, 2013
On the other of those that expressed an opinion only 27% said it was better, a clear minority.
weeminger
14:20 on 5 December, 2013
NatKnow – Supporting Wee Oscar
13:46 on
5 December, 2013
If we removed that that expressed a neutral view 65% said it was worse.
There’s a lot of ways to play with figures.
Lies, damned lies and statistics. Ole Mark Twain knew a thing or two! Another of his is appropriate for today : “Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it.” :-)
I have had the misfortune of being in McNee’s company a few times. An arrogant pr*** would be my thoughts on him.He would have no problem writing an article which would be anti-Celtic then drinking in the pub which was full of Celtic fans (the article would be crap on most occasions) I seen him getting lamped once and on other occasions no one would give him “air time” and a big gap would appear around him in an otherwise busy pub. Thankfully I’ve not seen him in that pub for a while and he chooses to drink in a pub further along the road. I’d love to see him having a Guinness in the District bar or Loupin tavern after writing a negative article on the dead club.
…stand corrected…he didn’t break his jaw…..just knocked out 4 off his front teeth.
Questions for the Sevco Angry General Misleading:
When’s the new orange away tap cumin oot?
the moon bhoys
I remember seeing PLs teeth flying out his mouth and D ADVOCAT screaming for a penalty
Still cringe thinking about it
HH
http://mobile.newsnow.co.uk/A/683402105?-10583
A winning Celtic team led by Lennon must really be hurting the Huns HH
The Moon Bhoys
14:45 on
5 December, 2013
I could be wrong but I do recall it as being a reckless tackle and probably a penalty. The fact that Lambert took a knee in the face didn’t make it less so.
Who’s to miss?!
MWD