Dis Ting Won't Be On Setanta - the SPL 2009/10 thread

So, the proper part of the season kicks off in earnest tonight with Celtic's first Champions League qualifier against Dinamo Moscow. Motherwell are still in Europe, Falkirk aren't. Barry Ferguson has gone away, and Chris Killen is Celtic's form striker. Marvellous Marvin Andrews is back in the SPL, and we're going to have to pay lots of money if we want to watch it all.

Post your mental theories, ill-thought-out opinions, and gratuitous digs at Hearts here. And sign up for the Predictor once it's back on again.

Also, should have asked opinions on thread titles because of the sterling work being done over on the big boys' thread.

It made me chuckle anyway.

Needs more Livi references.

Was pointed out to me yesterday that Chris Innes was captain of Gretna when they went tits up, and went on to become captain of Livingston. That's a set of career moves that would put me to shame, and I'd pay his taxi fare myself if he decided to rock up at Murray Park any day soon.

Wasn't he being considered for a transfer to the MLS for a hot second right around the Gretna demise? We probably should have run with that.

He was, yes, he could have brought his powers of destruction overseas as well. Chris Innes, DESTROYER OF WORLDS!

Considering he was trying out with the Metros here in New Jersey, I'm not so sorry. At the time, he seemed like a good idea we mystifyingly just let go.

thought n'guemo looked tidy tonight, compact, hungry, and not wasteful

fortune looked v.flat footed imo

u still stand by ur belief in donati, ailsa?

also ws boruc always tht fat?

Yes, I still stand by my belief in Donati. Thought N'Guemo looked like a cross between Evander Sno and Thomas Graveson. Continue to think that Fortune looks like Kenny Miller. Am not convinced that the best use for the left back we've all been crying out for for two years is to play him as a midfielder (as onimo pointed out to me, we spent years trying to turn midfielders into left backs. We finally get a left back and what do we do with him...seriously, had enough of this square pegs in round holes shite already). Would like to smack Aiden McGeady upside his head for leaving Hinkel stranded for the goal. Not terribly impressed with the change to route one hoof it up to the big lads football after Killen and Samaras came on, especially since they'd brought on Danny Fox for, er, what was it again?

Bizarre team selections, puzzling tactics, intense pressure ruined by inability to finish and a worrying tendency to cave in on the break. It's like last season never went away. Ah, it's good to be back.

That said, there were some positives, mostly from Maloney. Still maintain all we really need on our coaching staff is a dude with a megaphone to yell "blooter it!" every time the ball falls to a player at the edge of the box, rather this hesitant no-you-have-it pish (not that it didn't stop everyone falling about laughing when Lee Naylor tried an audacious shot from just over the halfway line which possibly ended with the ball over in Moscow ready for the next leg). Seriously, they showed some video clips of John Hartson before the game, perhaps they should have shown them to the entire squad instead.

God, I'm wishing for John Hartson back. This can't be good, can it?

def far tmfd on the edge box tonight

RIP Paul McGrillen

Something very eerie about four players from one squad in a game I remember very clearly all dying before their 40th birthday.

Jeezo, the Team of Doom

Bad day all round for Motherwell really, getting spanked 3-0 off Steaua Bucharest. Aberdeen even worse off, losing 5-1 at home to Sigma Olomouc.

Livingston haven't gone bust. Yet.

Livi must stay alive to keep the kkk kuntz in division 2.
All football fans should have a whipround to keep livi up.

With all due to respect to Celtic's European away record, does that mean Scotland effectively down to one team left in Europe before the end of July? That's got to be a record.

^gloating rangers fan pops in

revenge for posts a year ago i guess

right, I'm sueing

What have the second division done to deserve them more? What difference does it make which division they're in?

xposts

the lower the division the better for them

It's only our group stages away record that's shit, fwiw. We've won a CL qualifier away from home (Ajax in the Amsterdam Arena).

According to the sun , rangers have put in a bid of £170,000 for James McArthur. Hopefully ronnie tells them to fuck off.

Confident Celtic will win in Moscow, Ailsa?

All the teams have to go through pre-qualifying next year I think, so this is not good. I don't understand how the recent good runs have faded away so quickly

I think Celtic *can* win in Moscow. Public displays of absolute confidence on the internet are for morons.

Game being re-run right now on BBC Alba for those who can get it, and those who care.

the whole "shouldnt let the winners of scottish/league cups into europe ,let the highest placed teams in the league get the place instead" argument wouldnt make any difference as they tend to get knocked out before the 1st proper round too.
xposts

I was going to say that at least they lose to proper teams from proper countries, but I hadn't noticed that Pierre Littbarski manages that mob from Liechtenstein's second-largest town.

I posted that on the last thread, because I am queen of shite football trivia.

I realise I am basing my view of FC Vaduz's credibility entirely on the involvement of a bloke's cool name from my football sticker days

Yeah, was going to say, bit like going "hey, John Barnes scored a great goal or two in his day, Celtic are bound to win the Champions League now", innit?

Dan Fox is on BBC Alba right now going "yeah, I have Scottish grandparents, I played for England U-21s, but it was only friendlies, can I have a Scotland cap please?"

Paul McGrillen's death was suicide, according to a couple of the papers today.

So, Rangers pwned by Arsenal. Quelle surprise. Davie Weir is hilarious. Rangers fans giving it big licks with the still-illegal, still-not-being-policed-very-well famine song, and being lauded by the Sky commentators for bringing fun and a party atmosphere to the game. I take they haven't broken North London yet then?

Am all in favour of games being on BBC Alba btw. Unintelligible teuchters >>>> unintelligent Scott Booth.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/news/2568371/Derek-Riordan-arrested-for-a-breach-of-the-peace.html

Poor wee Deek still getting "picked on". When he was in Glasgow he didn't even get picked :P

Slopping out still standard practice in Embra?

http://img.thesun.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00858/SNA0307AA-280_858893a.jpg

what a noob

If Darren MacCormack is anything to go by, DEEKVOLUTION of more than one type.

MOGGAVOLUTION!

With all due to respect to Celtic's European away record, does that mean Scotland effectively down to one team left in Europe before the end of July? That's got to be a record.

pwned!

Up next, Arsenal, Atletico Madrid, Fiorentina, Lyon or Stuttgart. Scared? Nah. (OK, just a wee bit)

I think Arsenal would rip us apart. From what I've seen of the others in the past couple of seasons I think we'd have a chance but would probably struggle. We're guaranteed Europa League group stages if we lose though, aren't we?

Fortune for Brown: strange but effective substitution. Sami remains an enigma but for the moment I'm happy he's with us. N'Guemo could be a great acquisition. Donati still doing a not bad job of keeping himself in Mogga's good books.

Yep, minimum of Europa Lolgue group stages now. Mostly impressed with everyone today, which is rare for me.

I had also completely forgotten that there was a Scotland game next week, talking of lolz. Caldwell brothers + any version of inexperienced goalie vs Route One John Carew. Expect several mentions of Chris Iwulemo's sitter the last time we played them from every lolcommentator ever.

Or Iwelumo, if you prefer.

Crikey, I wasn't expecting that. I'll just tuck my tail between my legs and slink off now.

no, no, that's exactly the sort of form that'll still put you above me in the predictor!

Oh, and cheerio-ish to Livingston, relegated to the third division, where the huge crowds will surely ease their financial woes. This keeps Airdrie United up, which I'm sure will please Kerr no end. Also means Cowdenbeath go up to the heady heights of the second division.

The Blue... erm... Clyde.

I still find it amusing to refer to Brazil as the Yellow Cowdenbeath, which probably says more about me than I should admit in public.

Didn't Iain St John popularise that? (ps I do that too and find it just as funny)

Cowdenbeath! When I was most into football - aged maybe 10 or 11 - they were the rubbishest of the rubbish, so I'm delighted to see them reach such heady heights.

Good work Celtic, although I'm thinking you'll need more than good luck in the next stage.

from the BBC report

Kirill Kombarov had a decent claim for a penalty waved away when fell in the box with Danny Fox in close attendance.

Anyone else remember a decent penalty shout for Dinamo? I missed bits here and there throughout the game thanks to my kids but I'm sure they'd have made more of this in analysis if it was the case.

^quality writing there from the beeb too "when fell"

I don't remember a decent penalty shout, no.

Unusual details in Wikipedia articles, Scottish football thread interest only version:

from Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink's wiki page: He is 'affectionately' nicknamed hunskelper by Rangers FC's fans.

Um, you wot?

Right, so all news outlets are WRONG, that list I posted isn't the teams we can get at all. Pick any one from Arsenal, Lyon, Sporting Lisbon, Panathinaikos or Stuttgart. Not that that's a whole lot better, right enough - though Rangers managed to see off Sporting and Panathanaikos en route to the Manchester street wrestling gig, and scud Lyon away the year before. We've beaten Stuttgart in relatively recent years (2003). Arsenal, er, OK, I'll get back to you on that. Best I can do for optimism is "Battle of Britain" = formbook out window.

I'd love it if we played Aresenal, love it........... of course, we'd have to beat them

Predictor's up for next weekend's games already. Let battle commence!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/sportscotland/predictor/index.shtml

I'll look into the mini-league thing at some point, I suppose.

btw, the Massimo Donati roadshow continues apace, as he rocks up at the City of Manchester Stadium to look like a more assured centre half (yes, really!) than Steven McManus managed for most of last season.

Last year's minileague is still there as far as I can see.
I would have thought they'd scrap them at the end of each year.
In case they do will I start a new one?

aye may as well

There are no fixtures scheduled to kick off in the next 7 days.

LIES!

New minileague is excitingly named ILX SPL 2009-2010 and the password is oi7um6hf

Last season's points carried into new league. This is like the UEFA coefficients keeping the little guys down.

I think it's not working properly yet. BBC being useless I guess...

I think I'll just point out that the BBC have deleted both the old and new minileagues.

So I made yet another one:
name: ILX 2009-10 Predictions
pw: vz7vogb7

OK, am in. Password reminds me of Vogts, B which isn't a good thing, is it?

password is uselesscunt?

Dear Kris Boyd, stop giving press conferences about how Scotland would have been better if Davie Weir had been playing last night. We might have scored a couple of goals if you'd been available rather than sitting in your pram looking for the toys you jettisoned, so your opinion counts for even less than fuck all, OK?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/celtic/8196528.stm

Celtic to face Benfica in Canada

Celtic will play a friendly match against Benfica in Toronto on Wednesday 2 September as part of the annual Canadian National Exhibition.

What a fucking waste of time after a season has started and in the middle of an international break and with a CL or Europa campaign to fill up midweeks aplenty in the coming months.

lolz @ this bit

The match will take place at BMO Field, the home of Toronto, who are managed by former Celtic striker Maurice Johnston.

Aye, "former Celtic striker Maurice Johnston", that's what everyone calls him.

Aye, it's pish being Scottish. Bookmark this for days when you still have a teary-eyed nostalgic moment when you want to think we're great:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nmtB7rBs3M

(hello, yes, it's after 4am, I am having a teary-eyed nostalgic moment when I want to think we're great)

YOUR PREDICTION HAS BEEN SAVED.

It's good to be back.

Now where can I steal the 'tic game on the Internet?

Got my bet on, got my dodgy Internet feed, entered my predictor, Sportsound on the wireless, Celtic live news blog ready to poxy fule at every goal. Beer chillin in the fridge.

It's good to be back, Enjoy the season!

http://i28.tinypic.com/33pass9.jpg

Wait, so Setanta fail to pay the SPL £25M but still get to show SPL games outside the UK? Fuck 'em. By my reckoning I'm entitled to steal this feed.

Goal of the season right there!

Good start to the season so far!

Getting better by the minute mate :)

3-3 then fulltime score?

have Celtic been good or Aberdeen just really bad and defending like Motherwell did with McGhee as manager?

Both. Celtic are attacking quickly with numbers and passing well and shooting on sight. Maloney and McGeady are on fire. Aberdeen are a fucking shambles.

I've put the TV on and the games on (virginmedia) on Sky Sports 3. No doubt there will be no more goals now.

Whoever the co-commentator is , he's annoying me by going on about how at least by playing the long ball behind the celtic back four it gives darren mackie something to chase THREE FUCKING TIMES IN 5 MINS.
I'm sure the Aberdeen fans are enjoying the long ball tactic.

I could go down the pub and watch all this on Setanta*.

(* - Setanta Sports Australia)

Actually, I meant to post that in the EPL thread but it works here just as well!

oh ffs

peach of a goal though

goal of the day?

Not as good as Aiden's imo

Donati at centre half might be a laugh in a pre-season friendly. Not sure it should even be an option in an actual real game unless everyone else over 5'10" is injured.

Unless that Fortune guy is a penalty taker then he's not gonna be a double figures goal scorer. Which isn't good enough for a main striker for celtic or rangers.

That looks like a nasty injury for Zander Diamond

BBC have taken a goal off of us - not quite as bad as Alison Douglas saying we were 3-0 down at half time.

1403: GOAL Aberdeen 1-2 Celtic (Sone Aluko)
^
Posted this on EPL thread by mistake.

Which isn't good enough for a main striker for celtic
Fortune played his part today but it's a bit worrying that he's missing chances. The "main striker" is the wee Aussie guy next to him who scored today and away in Moscow.

Went for 3-1 wins on the predictor most of last season, thought I'd take a chance today and go for 3-0 :(

Still, top of the league!

for some reason accies have been trying to sell our only goalscorer Offiong. i think he got 6 league goals last season but i doubt any accies player would do any better. It's gonna be a grim season unless we buy another striker that can score goals.

all level at Ibrox

Killie top of the league

Not unless they score again - Rangers at 4-1 will go top on goals scored.

i thought it was still 3-1

Naismith just scored.

Need a couple of final whistles in England and my coupon's up!

nice one

That's the price of a pint or two sorted :)

Donati at centre half might be a laugh in a pre-season friendly. Not sure it should even be an option in an actual real game unless everyone else over 5'10" is injured.

He's surprisingly not too bad at centre half. That game he played for a laugh was against Man City's CM2009-assembled squad of awesomeness, and he didn't look as bad as Darren O'Dea did against Sunderland.

How many full blooded 50/50s did he have to throw himself into in that game? I've seen the man shirk jumping for a header if the other guy's got a run on him. I appreciate his reading of the game and his distribution are good attributes to have in defence, but I'd rather have someone who can tackle, or is at least prepared to try.

One or two. I've seen him tackle, it does happen! I'm not advocating him as a first choice defender either, you'll notice, just pointing out that it's not the straight-up carcrash that you'd have thought if someone said "massimo donati at centre half" this time last year.

Or, say, this time last week when you texted me "donati at centre half!" or similar.

He's been a car crash waiting to happen for most of his time in midfield these past couple of years - I'd rather he had five guys behind him just in case.

I've seen him tackle, it does happen!

Me too. The fact that we notice (and comment) every time he does it shows how much of a rarity it is.

Or, say, this time last week when you texted me "donati at centre half!" or similar.

I was excited at the prospect, honest guv...er, OK, maybe not, but I've seen it in action now and it doesn't terrify me any more.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/celtic/8204371.stm

Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp admits an admiration for Scott Brown but says he has not made a bid for the Celtic and Scotland midfielder.
Redknapp was responding to reports that he was poised to make a £10m offer for Brown after Celtic's Champions League games with Arsenal.
"He is a good player, but I have not made an enquiry," said the Spurs boss.

I hope he's wearing protective gloves when he holds out that £10m cheque.

Aye, I'm as big a fan of Scott Brown as you'll get, but I'll drive him to the airport myself if 'arry comes calling.

(you have mail 'bout tomorrow night, btw)

Reporting Scotland claiming Cesc Fabregas has only a 50/50 chance of making it tomorrow. Am hoping someone accidentally runs him over in the carpark or something. In a non-painful but mildly discomforting and 24-hour-recovery period kind of a way, obviously, I'm not *that* mean.

as a Rangers fan I don't appreciate Tony Mowbray, he's far too thoroughly likeable to root against. I liked Strachan too but at least he could do a good panto villain. I don't want to see any more of his big sad face after last season, so mon ae 'tic tonight.

You know it'll cost Rangers about £5m if Celtic get through?

it'll be worth it to see the smile on Tony's face.

You know it'll cost Rangers about £5m if Celtic get through?

Spent the week's wages down the bookies have they?

They gambled a load last year on securing CL football this year and it worked, just. Celtic beating Arsenal would mean the CL Pot of Gold gets split two ways instead of going to Rangers. I'm sure that would hurry along the sale of Kris Boyd and A.N. Other.

(Boydenko considering moving to Turkey for £50k a week according to Spew Keevins this morning)

So, in other words, Rangers are keeping the pot of gold then

aye, pretty much :(

I'd love it, love it, if we split that pot in two

no chance

They don't like it up 'em, those Gooners

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z5hT1P0X79c/Rn2eOAmd-zI/AAAAAAAAApA/L75kT6eaXKA/s320/Jones.gif

There's always a chance. Arsenal have better players, lots of them, but then so did Manchester United and AC Milan when we beat them at Celtic Park. I'm not kidding myself on that we're not huge underdogs here, but we've pulled huge results out at home for years now so I'll remain hopeful, and nervous.

sure its not impossible that celtic could win at home, but over the tie I say no chance.

The fact that the only game I've watched daaaahhhn the pub this season was Norway v. Scotland fills me with some trepidation

good luck anyway. would be funny if rangers didn't get the whole champs league money.

and good luck actually getting there and back due to U2 playing Hampden just down the road.

I'll be getting myself out there well before kick off and I'm sure U2 won't be finished until long after 9.30ish when our final whistle is due.

Expect property crime to double with Strathclyde's finest otherwise occupied.

Aye from all over Strathclyde as I'd imagine loads of coppers from all areas will be drafted in.

first time ive seen a player scoring by cowardly ducking away from a shot in a while

not quite in with his arse though

My man Bobby Z scored with what looked like a cowardly duck at the weekend (though he may simply have been oblivious). He leads where others follow.

Ach, a flukey deflection and an o.g. is the way to go out with heads held high (though I've just watched Heid's o.g. and I reckon if he hadn't connected with it then van Persie would have scored anyway). Watching highlights show on Sky just now, Hoddle is talking pish about Arsenal having all the ball all the time, funny how the big screen stats in the stadium was showing 53/47% possession in favour of Celtic for most of the game.

Cracking display by Glenn Loovens and Aiden McGeady, passmarks to most of the rest except Donati (still reckon he'll do a great job in the SPL, but this wasn't the game for him), Fortune and the invisible Paddy McCourt (see Donati). I've had better nights, but it wasn't as bad I feared. We held our own for the most part against a team widely expected to be there or thereabouts at the business end of the season in The Best League In The World. I won't be hiding from the office Rangers fan tomorrow, put it that way.

Didn't see evidence of OMG ZILLIONS OF PEOPLE apocalypse. There were no more people at Celtic Park than you get any other game, and Hampden is on the other side of the river and on different train lines/bus routes.

mcgeady looked pretty good alright as i caught the game on and off.

do we have a european thread this season yet? really want to talk about some of those greek goals.

Aye, it's called Gareth Barry Won't Be On Dis Ting, or something.

In fact, it's called exactly that.

Gareth Barry won't be on dis ting: Champions League and Europa League 09/10

memory star, cheers

This photo's doing the rounds just now, with the internets going nuts over the lack of Artur Boruc.

http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/8499/image048h.jpg

I'm more concerned about the fact that Hoopy appears to be wearing a Hannibal Lecter mask.

You mean boruc isnt hoopy?

Also quality touchy-feely action between Brown and Maloney :-)

Can't see Mick in there?

front row 4th from left.

Oh aye. Was checking the back row where the put all the tall defender types. This can only mean Mick will be playing on the wing once we sell Koki, who is clearly about to fall off the edge into the Championship.

Talking of tall defenders, Josh Thompson looks a beast and a half.

Kevin Thomson sent off early vs Hearts. Nade doing his best to even it up - warned umpteen times, booked, and still keeps fouling people - expect him to be subbed any minute.

Ooh, goal! That's my predictor bust again :)

Allan McGregor should have got more than two fingers to that one...

McCulloch attacks a ball he can't win and kicks the keeper. Setanta commentator "he wasn't going in to win the ball there, he was just trying to protect himself."

eh?

(this 2 mins after Hearts denied a clear pen)

"sometimes you get them" was the verdict on that one.

Elbows McFuddoch equalises to keep my predictor dream alive :-(

overheard at work today towards the office hun: "I can't believe it's only taken two games for the dodgy non-penalties to start". I await the same reaction to McCulloch's non-punished kick at the keeper as was meted out to Glenn Loovens at the back end of last season. *holds breath, counts to a million*

Still, comedy continues apace at Snake Mountain, as Wattie agrees to not have a contract but keep working until the end of the season anyway until Swally gets to have a go in the big seat, unless Wattie fucks it up in which case he gets to stay. Eh, you what?

http://sport.stv.tv/football/118049-no-contract-for-walter-smith-as-rangers-prepare-to-change-manager/

Today's comedy update from the House of Hun sees David Murray relinquishing personal responsibility for the club and its mad debts as an employee while still being the majority shareholder. He can't preside over the building of the stadium of moonbeams now :-(

Oh aye, and Celtic have a game on, I believe. As do Hibs and Raith, to keep our other correspondents happy. Or not.

Oh well at least the Rovers have a chance at revenge on Saturday.

Notice how I glossed over Ross County (did I mention my dad was one of their Best Players Ever) v Hamilton?

no you didn't.

There's a photo of my dad in the trophy room of the newly rebuilt stand of Victoria Park. He was quite the thing in the mid- to -late 50s (note to editor: please check date). I believe he was their captain in some trophy win or other (Highland League Cup or something). Anyway, meh.

So long Massimo Donati: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/celtic/8225760.stm

Shame it didn't work out. In the last few weeks we've seen a bit of why WGS brought him to Celtic in the first place (along with a wee bit of why he never got a game). Possibly (Crosas aside?) the best passer of a football Gordon Strachan had. His last minute winner again Shaktar will live long in the memory.

Never a centre half though :)

haha, just when he started to look alright as well.

Rumour hazzit the Jambo's managerial merry-go-round just took another spin...

noooooooooo!! (about Massimo). If he's off, I'm glad his last kick of the ball in a Celtic shirt was a peach of a goal against a quality team. I was (theoretically at least) a fan, and wish he'd got a better crack of the whip in his time here. Certain people I know will regard him as little more than a latter-day Rafael Scheidt, and they evidently know fuck all about anything. Like Jarosik, like Sno, a victim of a team that he couldn't fit into. I hope the Bari move works out for him.

Poor Czaba :-(

Poor Czaba :-(

Not gone yet, though it doesn't look good when your owner is saying it's your fault you can't find strikers for him to buy.

Czaba

Mr Loverman now playing in my head :/

he gave a list of strikers to Romanov and Romanov said they weren't suitable to him according to the news.

Hearts aren't the only club who need new strikers. Though its not strikers who will have a torrid time tomorrow at Ibrox. Going to be a complete and utter thrashing tomorrow since the new squad of players haven't gelled yet.

Still have horrible memories of the only minute of the Real Radio phone-in that I watched live when it used to be on Setanta, which involved supposed Hearts fan Urine Cameron dancing round the studio singing "Mr Loverman" :-(

Kerr, you should sign up for the predictor this year and get points for predicting thrashings! treefell has posted the password details upthread.

I'm only good at predicting thrashings for Accies.

Well there should be enough of them to keep you going :P

jumping over a dude who is about to clatter you isn't diving re:killen

didn't see the mcgeady sending off but lol anyway

If McGeady's second yellow was a booking, he should have yellowed Killen if he wasn't giving a free kick against the Hibs lad. lol at the idea that Aiden was conning the referee by trying to gain a free kick about 45 yards from goal. Dougie McDonald now a stick-on for the first Glasgow derby game, I reckon.

<3 artur, btw

One of my mates wants to join a predictor league - can I give him the password for this one? He would probably post on here as well, I reckon, which is good, because we could do with a St Mirren fan to laugh at :-)

(hi Stuart!)

Anyway, thought Boruc was MOTM, lolled heartily at Deek's whatever-it-was-that-ended-up-with-the-ball-off-the-park, mystified at several refereeing decisions (Bamba clattering the card out of his hand, anyone?), worried that McGeady will bear the brunt of the Eduardo backlash on top of the suspension he's already earned himself, Tony Mowbray a very honest man with a post-match mic in front of him. Craig Burley still a tit.

Am going to post this any time anyone talks about fucking diving, btw.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OCn5lfF-Hc

haha forgot this one
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8W00d3yJKl4&feature=related

Aiden dived. Killen jumped over a tackle and fell. Ref got both decisions spot on. He should have booked or sent off the boy who whacked Sami in the first minute and could have sent off Bamba for dissent when he booked him but other than that I can't think of too much I would argue with.

Craig Burley is a bawbag - going on about horrible foreigners making all our home grown footballers into cheats - like no Scottish players dived in his day. Oh, and please to stop saying "simple as that" every time you are asked for an opinion.

Ha, I love it in these clips when the 'tackler' isn't even in the frame. You might get less diving if any referee had ever given a foul when the victim stayed on his feet.

When does the transfer window close? Is it today?

Tomorrow at 5pm.

I'm happy to have as many people as possible in the predictor league!

Thanks Dalzinho - I assume we've moved it back to allow for the English bank holiday.

Aye. I've watched the Aiden thing again now, my initial reaction was that he was jumping out of the way of the tackle rather than diving, mostly because there's no advantage to be gained in winning a free kick out on the wing at the half way line.

Agree about Burley being a bawbag. Almost makes me nostalgic for Scott Booth in the commentary box rather than the studio. Almost. Devil. Deep Blue Sea. Rock. Hard Place. Get well soon, John Hartson, your public needs you back.

A strange one, Marc-Antoine Curier on loan to Accies for a year. Why would Dundee let their top striker go on loan? Are the that confident the will go up and they can play him in the SPL next season? (the player wants SPL footie so I can see why he would go) but Dundee are taking a risk. I heard they onl let him go on loan after he signed a 3 ear deal. Maybe they thought he would leave completely if he didn't get SPL footy and they hope to be in the SPL next year, but the 1st Division is hard enough without letting your top scorer go. Dundee fans are raging about it anyway.

Any other transfers in the SPL?

Rangers are getting French winger Jerome Rothen on loan from PSG - should be a good acquisition for the SPL - he reached a CL final with Monaco and made a few appearance for France.

Darren O'Dea and probably Chris Killen are being loaned out. Rumours abound about an attacking midfielder arriving a Celtic but nothing confirmed yet. Surprised Mowbray is going with so little cover at centre half.

I wish Killen was going on loan to us. Who is he joining? A championship side?

Rangers are getting French winger Jerome Rothen on loan from PSG - should be a good acquisition for the SPL - he reached a CL final with Monaco and made a few appearance for France.

And he is The New Who? According to the Daily Record?

1611: Scottish latest: Celtic aim to complete a two-year deal for the China captain Zheng Zhi, who is a free agent after leaving Charlton at the end of last season. So, no rush to beat the 5pm deadline....

Du Wei? Do what?

wiki wags at it again

Jérôme Rothen (born March 31, 1978 in Châtenay-Malabry, Paris) is a French footballer, who plays as a left winger for Rangers on loan from Paris Saint-Germain. Rothen has won 13 caps for the French national team and he competed at the Euro 2004 tournament. He is a highly skilled winger who specialises in free kicks, crossing and passing. The move came as a suprise for many due to his well known love of playing the bodhrán and appreciation of a pint of Guinness along with a slice of wheaten soda bread.

Rothen pron. Rotten

Happen to read a Daily Record yesterday - I promise, it won't happen again - are they loving McGeady getting sent off or are they loving McGeady getting sent off? Let me stop you right there, they are loving McGeady getting sent off.

re: Rotten, if Rangers get David Pleat to commentate on all their matches it'll turn out okay. Poor DaMarcus Beasley, forever apparently too much of a likeable-seeming guy to get in the Rangers first team.

Cripes, what beasley rothen luck for DaMarcus

I've changed my mind about the McGeady sending off following some good green-tinted lawyering on other boards. If McGeady went down without contact and was booked for simulation, why wasn't the Hibs boy booked after he went down in the exact same challenge that there was no contact in? Did his momentum take him over as he tried to avoid a collision?

Thing is, how many times have you seen players booked for diving on the halfway line, esp. if they have already been booked? Applying the same criteria at all times, which I am all in favour of, could lead to some highly entertaining 5-a-side matches this season.

Celtic signed Zheng Zhi, Chinese captain, formerly of the Jaggerletics.

http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/spl/celtic/celtic-sign-china-captain-zheng-zhi-1.825681#

a quality signing no doubt

We're in the big time now

To be captain of a nation with over a billion people he must be something special eh?

Eh?

:/

Accies have released a few players that they just signed. It's Lambie in 86 all over again. Seems to be a bit of a shambles at Douglas Park.

Oh, I remember going "lol he's just like Du Wei" to LJ when he signed for his mob (having never seen him play ever and resorting to the standard staple of lazy zhinging). Hmmmm, this has been well worth skulking around on the interwebs behind my boss' back :-( Still, at least we got a left back this window, so we can moan about centre halves instead. yay.

must be the worst end of transfer window ever btw

More like a porthole than a window

Or a cat flap

Swap you for the last one where the big news was Willo Flood signing for Celtic and reporters being astounded that Bobo Balde hadn't gone anywhere.

You can't slam shut a porthole!

Mark Brown off to Kilmarnock on loan. Had heart failure when I saw "out: Brown" on the BBC tracker, but not Skoosh.

Rotten looks ok, decent left foot and handy with a cross and a dead ball.

Perhaps he is the new Charlie Adam except not shit.

wow when did you return to ilx ally c

Very recently. Hi!

Jesus, we're being overrun by Rangers fans! Out of the woodwork for the first time in four years, eh? :-)

And there was me thinking Rangers fans were too scared to post on this thread because of you Ailsa ;)

(welcome back Ally C)

Er, why?

xpost

Published Date: 02 September 2009
THE Scottish Football Association are discussing a salary cap where clubs would only be allowed to spend 65% of their income on wages, Gordon Smith has confirmed.
The model being considered follows the reforms in Ireland and would attempt to tackle the problems of clubs spending beyond their means, something UEFA president Michel Platini is also keen to combat.

In an interview with FC Business magazine, SFA chief executive Smith said: "I have been talking internally about what happens in Ireland where clubs can only spend 65% of their income on wages.

"If we carry on like we are now, I'll be pushing for this and additional reforms in relation to the license to play in our leagues. How can the SFA sit back and watch clubs destroy themselves? And there's a few close to doing that.

"Michel Platini has it right on one level that spending through debt is a form of cheating.

"But for us here in Scotland it's about ensuring that we retain the clubs we have and they have more money to help build the game as a whole.

"Our review on youth development would be pretty useless if there are less professional or league clubs for young Scottish players to play in, wouldn't it?"

Finance in Scottish football was complicated by Setanta's UK operation going out of business this summer and Clydesdale Bank Premier League clubs being forced to accept a vastly-reduced broadcast deal with Sky and ESPN.

Smith added: "It's not a good idea to be reliant on the TV money, clubs have to be more prudent."

also

Published Date: 02 September 2009
ZHENG Zhi will not be able to play in Celtic's Europa League group games after UEFA today confirmed he was not registered in time.
The Hoops were today trying to wrap up the free transfer of China captain Zheng, who arrived in Glasgow yesterday evening to pen a reported two-year deal.

Although the 29-year-old is able to complete a move outside the transfer window, Celtic needed to register the player with the Scottish Football Association by 11pm last night for him to be eligible for European competition before the new year.

UEFA revealed this afternoon this had not happened, meaning Zheng – who is able to play both in midfield and up front – will be forced to sit out the Hoops' European campaign until the knockout round begins in February.

A work permit was last night the main stumbling block to the completion of the transfer of Zheng, who is a free agent after being released by Charlton.

Manager Tony Mowbray remained behind in Glasgow to conclude the deal, while assistant Mark Venus took Celtic – minus their international players – to Toronto for a friendly against Benfica.

Strangely enough this wasn't called for when Rangers were pushing 90% of turnover...

xp

http://sport.scotsman.com/football/Peat-points-finger-at-Iwelumo.5617209.jp

"But what they tend to forget is that had a certain individual not missed an open goal at Hampden in the first match against Norway, we would have been three points ahead regardless and the same pressure wouldn't have been on us.

Peat staying classy. How in the fuck has this guy still got a job?

He also doesn't seem to know the rules of football. Iwelumo's miss (may have) cost Scotland 2 points, not 3.

Heard that on the radio on the way into work today. Unbelievable stuff, really. Maybe if a certain organisation hadn't flown the squad out to sweaty hot Macedonia less than 24 hours before a crucial game rather than stump up for accommodation to let the players acclimatise...(or, in fact, hadn't arranged the game for the middle of a summer afternoon in the first place...), to give just one example of why this entire qualifying debacle isn't Chris Iwulemo's fault.

George Peat fuck off.

Hamilton Academical v Celtic Sat 24/10, which was always provisional, is now Sunday 25th Oct, 12.30pm kick off, at NDP, live on ESPN.

I thought you'd have been agreeing with him!

xpost

'Mon teh Scottishes!. BELIEVE!

i hold the guy responsible for that result yeah, but not the whole tourney. Others fucked up those games!

I can't even pretend that the Scotland results matter anymore. World cup qualification just isn't happening.

So I'm not bothered I'm working tomorrow.

I don't understand being able to not care about your team when they play (not a dig at you, jim, honest). I can't not care about it. Even when it doesn't matter in the bigger picture, it still matters.

(celtic reserves v Benfica after midnight the other day notwithstanding, because that was beyond even my capabilities of careitude in terms of my team and any pictures you care to pretend they might be in)

oh i'm a total plastic Scotland fan, wasn't there for the Vogts era, never been to a game etc. but usually i like to watch the matches and would be very displeased to have to work when one was on on a Saturday. This is going to be so shit and the failure to qualify is so immediately apparent that missing the match really holds no great sting.

Ha, but mathematical outside chances with calculators and statisticians and bookies on standby is what we've always done!

but, aye, you can always find some random first-cap guy that probably isn't Scottish, even if he is, to blame, eh?

also, our assistant manager got Inverness Caley Thistle relegated. Well done him.

(double edged sword there, because basically I want to laugh at him and go nyah nyah nyah fuck off and then still somehow stick up for Scotland, but, y'know, guy's an embarrassment and a shit manager and yah he took that bunch of clogging fucknuts back out of my immediate line of vision, so aye, fuck off ya clown I support Scotland despite you. Just as well no ICT player will ever trouble the Scotland squad, eh, so basically, Butcher's the worst thing I think about supporting Scotland, but not because he's English, just because he's a twat)

I need to lay off the brandy, eh?

Jim Traynor on Radio Scotland just now backing Peat.

Wonder who Jim Traynor gets his comps from and arranges for him to be on the official planes with the squad and officials...

Aye, I wonder. Very eloquent chap in the pub interviewed on the radio earlier squaring blaming the SFA for the shambles of a fixture list, their choice of manager, the entire set-up of Scottish football from the bottom up, etc. Traynor's minion Annie McGuire not particularly interested, instead choosing to go and talk to a small boy who shouldn't have even been in the pub who thought Scotland were going to win 6-0.

Macedonia are a bunch of hacking thuggish scumbags. Dirtiest team to play Scotland since Uruguay in 86.

this ref is a prick who doesnt have a clue. why was faddy booked? he now misses the holland game.

o Faddy way to forget what sport you're playing.

WAHEY WE'RE GOING TO THE WORLD CUP. Assuming swine flu hits the Dutch squad. If Brown meant that it was a pretty brilliant header.

we wont beat holland, but even if we did, can we still qualify as best runners up? surely we wouldnt have enough points?

watched this with Ray Hudson commentating, he brought the lolz as usual.

xp a quick glance at the table suggests that it'll be 'touch and go', as the old cliche goes. Beating out one of the Irelands looks... conceivable. Assuming victory over the Dutches, they'd both need two wins from their last three games to beat out Scotland, I think.

oh no! who wil celtic and rangers fans have to support! ;)

Norway are more likely to win both games and us not beat Holland tbh. So they will probably finish 2nd.

i suppose we want a draw between poland and n ireland tonight then?

probably doesnt matter since we gotta beat holland anyway but iceland drew with norway. Tho if Holland beat us, then Norway ,if they win their last game, will be 2nd on goal difference. But presumably not one of the top runners up.

A draw's enough now is it not? Maybe not even, if Norway and Macedonia cancel each other out.

im not sure exactly how it works but you have to be in the top runners up with points. but were the only group with 5 teams, the others have 6,so im guessing the results against the bottom team in each group will be removed and the top 8 runners up on points go in the play offs. So finishing 2nd isnt enough, you need points. Lowest team on points misses out.

For second, but then we have to be better than at least one of the other second-placed teams in the other eight groups. fuck it, it's not Scotland if it doesn't involve calculators, statistics and a collective deal of wishing-for-the-impossible.

I heart Scott Brown, btw.

Aye, sorry, crosspost. Other teams get their diddy team points and goals wiped. How do none of you know this stuff?

So even if Scotland did fluke a win against Holland, it might not be enough to get in the play offs (and with our luck even if we did we would get France who would be desperate for revenge of a few years ago)

why did brown kick the ball off tht guy? I missed the incident leading to the drop ball

Aye, fluke a win like the last we played Holland at Hampden. Sometimes things stops being a fluke and start just being a thing we do. you know, like beating France. home AND away.

I've been trying to map out the second-placed thing. It's pretty complicated because most teams have quite a few matches left and it's not clear in a lot of the groups who's going to be second, but it looks like the runners-up in the Northern Ireland group (probably Northern Ireland or the Czech Republic) will be worst-placed of the other groups*, on 10 or 11 points once the diddy results are stripped out, with possibly minus one or two goal difference. Scotland have ten points and really poor goal difference, so beating Holland is probably still essential.

* this seems a tad unfair, because the only reason they'll have a poor record is that it's just about the only group where the top five can all beat each other - all the other groups seem to have two diddy teams even in the top five

It's still officially shite being Scottish then, is what you're saying.

believe

For all my calculations and guesswork, I can't help thinking that whether or not the group nine runners-up can sneak into the play-offs is not going to be what decides who lifts the golden trophy in ten months' time.

how the fuck wasnt that penalty given? Miller was clearly being held back. How the fuck did the ref not see it?

what happened to the stylish dutch? theyre hacking like fuck.

what happened to the stylish dutch?

Careful what you wish for, they've been passing it around nicely for 10 minutes. There's a WC thread btw.

HOW THE FUCK DID MILLER MISS AN OPEN GOAL! YOU USELESS CUNT!!!

I wonder if George Peat will dare blame a Rangers player.

Right, jim, I know you've changed your name now, but Big Jock aka the Steindriver would have been a good play on Hoos' name. Including the word "knew" doesn't increase the pun-ness but it does increase the hun-ness.

it increased the pun because of the rhyming and was the reason for the inclusion. But it's changed now so we can move on.

I didn't even know about this big jock knew thing

ah, sorry for bringing it to your attention then. Unfortunately I've seen it graffiti'd all over the shop.

i have no idea what this knew business means

Do you lot live in the same country as me? Doesn't anyone pay attention to anything sung during the biggest club game in the country?

I find it's best not to.

True.

To be fair the Scottish press did decide not to publish any stories about this as for some reason they thought it would be better for Rangers to sort it out for themselves rather thanactually point out what was happening.

Um, Charlie Nicholas, David Marshall actually made his Celtic debut in a cup game against St Johnstone, and also played at Celtic Park against Barcelona when Rab Douglas got sent off at half time, but don't let the facts get in the way of your talking pretendy-authoritative pish.

ooh, mega xposts while my dad was talking some "it's all Chris Iwelumo's fault" pish to me on the phone.

xpost, now, the Rectum did have a "Big Jock Crew" caption on a photo of some Celtic fans once. Pretended it was a coincidence, iirc.

Jesus Christ whoever the fuck that was interviewing Frank de Boer "you're definitely better-looking than your brother" UGH FUCK OFF GO AWAY.

Ronald de Boer a way more reasonable summariser than Charlie Nicholas, btw. Quite fair and reasonable. Who'd have thunk it?

Was he the penalty misser or the wank?

Charlie Nick? He's both. Neuchatel Xamax, never forget.

:-)

(penalty misser was Frank. Ronald is the wank, but still better than Charlie Nicholas. Which one is shit at poker?)

Ronald was the TV poker player wank.

I keep having the misfortune of walking into pubs and seeing massive big screen De Boers on the telly. It's (almost) enough to put you off going into pubs.

Don Hutchison is punditing on Sky Sports just now. He's younger than David Weir! Get him back in!

So, kneejerk predictions for next manager? Anyone out of a job that isn't Gordon Strachan?

...I know Gogs has a job as telly pundit, but you know what I mean.

cant think of anyone i'd want but its bound to be strachan unless someone in the premiership gets sacked and they appoint him first.

Burley wont resign that's for sure.

I'd quit if I had enough money to give up a job with nothing to go to and my job was being dictated by a bunch of morons with zero organisational skills willing me to take a public flogging for their mistakes.

I don't know that George Burley is in a position to do that though, I should say. What with kneejerkery abounding, he might find a new job a bit hard to come by. He'll be made the fallguy for some fucking ridiculous decisions (hi dere, you want to go over to Macedonia and make a bunch of Scottish people run about in the middle of the afternoon in the middle of summer? you want to play Norway before the season even starts when it's halfway through their season? lol yeah, OK, SFA, you're on). I'm not saying he's blameless, but it's not all his fault.

Doesn't he, as the manager, have a say in the fixture list? I'm pretty sure the other managers did so I don't see why this would be any different.

Fixture list was set before his appointment.

http://www.inthenews.co.uk/sports/rugby/autocodes/countries/ukraine/scotland-unveil-2010-fixtures-179068.htm

No idea why that URL mentions rugby, btw.

There's no way Gordon Strachan would keep his gob shut when faced with the inanities of our high heid yins.

btw, see in all this "a certain individual missed an open goal and cost us points that I can't even count because I am a fucking morong" bollocks? Has George Peat even remember what Gordon "and" Smith "must score" was most famous for before becoming the worst SFA chief exec since the last one, and the one before that, etc etc. Brighton and Hove Albion could have been the best team in the world!

oh aye, and a point made elsewhere in our glorious media elsewhere this evening. The sleeveless cardigan will probably be off its peg at Ibrox in the summer. "Triumphant" return for Wattie, anyone?

There's no way Gordon Strachan would keep his gob shut when faced with the inanities of our high heid yins.

Aye the way he spoke up when the high heid yins at Celtic sold Kenny Miller to "balance the books" two days after Gogs said he was going nowhere shows he wouldn't take that shit.
The way he warned them "I want fifty grand for Willo Flood and not a penny more out of the 75 million we took in last year!" in January put them in their place with all their pathetic attempts at getting him to spend unnecessary millions to secure a title we couldn't possibly lose.

Gordon knew who paid his wages, and who called the tunes.

Bah, you can win any argument with actual facts. Truth is for losers, do you not know how the talking bollocks rule on this thread works?

I, for one, welcome the idea of Gary Caldwell on the left wing for Scotland with Mark Wilson on crutches in goals.

I, for one, welcome our Kenny Miller selling overlordheidyins.

Aye, they knew what's what. Useless fucker, with his current SPL scoring form. Still, he hit the ball off a Dutch international goalie, that's yr proof right there of how totally rubbish he really is.

I don't even know what side I'm arguing here, tbh.

Just be glad we got rid and kept the scoring sensations that are JVOH and Sami!

Marc-Antoine MisFortune and Chris Killen ftw!

Now with added (broken) Fortun'e (couldn't be arsed doing that e properly). xp

(The other day someone posted something about JHVH on an ILx thread and it took me a few minutes to realise we weren't discussing the big Dutchman)

the slings and arrows of outrageous Fortuné I've taken to saying.

Just as well him and Glenn Loovens weren't playing against Scotland the night, eh?

(actually, Loovens has turned out OK after that total bombscare of a debut he had against Aberdeen)

http://www.acciesfc.co.uk/Pictures/Season2009-10/awaykit2009b.jpg
Looks cheap and nasty.

and yes Tom D, the strip doesn't look any better..

i saw Glen Loovens today getting out of an Audi in the Lilybank Gardens car park. Just fyi.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/h/hibernian/8248684.stm

Liam Miller looks to have finally found his level. After seven years of being mostly injured he (according to the board) knocked back being the highest paid 23 year old in Celtic's history and having a team built around him to go and rot at Old Trafford and maybe missed out on being a star for Celtic.

I'm sure he'll do well for Hibs if he stays fit.

OOh, I forgot to do my predictions! Cheers for timely bump.

Liam Miller's name leaves me with a sour taste in my mouth. I wonder if he wakes up every morning regretting the mistakes he/his agent have made over the last few years. I can't imagine he doesn't. I mean, just think, he could have had lots of money and still had to sit on the bench while Thomas Gravesen showed headless chickens how it's done*

Guillaime Beuzelin played the second half of a friendly for Celtic against Cork City the other night. Tony helping out a mate, apparently, but it doesn't stop the rumour mill going into overdrive.

* I know this lame non-cause and non-effect isn't how it works, OK?

http://www.etims.net/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=203&Itemid=46

forgot about this, I think you linked it on another thread at the time.

You've got mail re tomorrow btw. I'm off to my kip.

Oh, so I do.

Comedy 1-1 LOL HUNZ DROPPED POINTS predictions are back on as my tactic of choice. Have also just realised that I swapped my work fantasy football team around to pick Aiden McGeady just before the Hibs game and I can't swap him out due to some weird no-transfers-til-October-no-subs rule so he has minus points for being a twat (I didn't have him in for the game against Aberdeen) and now is suspended. Yay.

(competition is being run by a season ticket holder at Ibrox. Can't imagine why I didn't think it might be corrupt)

Comedy lolz Huns dropped points tempered slightly by fucking ridiculous tactics and refereeing at Celtic Park. Scott Brown up front with Sami hanging around on the halfway line as Scott MacDonald knocks balls down to no-one? O RLY?

Look forward to the evening up of the offside decision at approx 3:00 in this and the handball at approx 5:00.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/scotland/8253561.stm

Bet Levein isnae bumping his gums about the West Coast bias this weekend, eh?

Sorry, should say Scott Brown "up front" because he was ostensibly up front but was somehow nowhere. Also, N'Guemo was having a mare and Crosas got hooked?

Danny Fox making errors that would have Lee Naylor's head on a spikey stick on the Gallowgate, but hey, he's not Lee Naylor, right?

also, lol hibs.

Right, have just seen the rest of the games. Anyone on this thread calling for a retrospective red card for Trent McClenaghan like they were on Sportscene just now? Anyone?

It wasnt deliberate. It hit his chest then arm. If he gets a retrosopective red then so does the Hibs player.

fuck off gordon smith and fuck off george burley. how are these 2 clowns still in a job?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/8256276.stm

But SFA chief executive Gordon Smith said: "We felt that there were positive signs about aspects of the campaign, despite the fact we did not qualify.

so what were they then you prick? fuck off!

Faddie goal against Macedonia, Fletch kicking van Persie, uh... 4am hotel bar bonding sessions?

Can't see too much positive but then I don't see a queue of willing and able replacements.

Just about every SPL manager said they thought Burley should stay, but then maybe they were thinking "just don't offer it to me!"

more than likely. I thought Strachan,since he was out of a job, might appeal to the SFA "no need to pay compensation" but i would seem the fact they would have to pay out this numpties contract they have decided to keep him. Well done SFA, dont give Smith a contract so he walks out, then give this useless fucker a long contract so they cant afford to sack him. GORDON SMITH FUCK OFF AND RESIGN!

Getting a bit fed up of hearing all the players talking about how they'd like Burley to stay and various pundits ignoring this and deciding that Burley has lost the dressing room, when what they really mean is he's lost the players that are so far up their own arses they don't really care about playing for Scotland. I'm quite happy to see him stay, as I can't see anyone else doing any better with what he's got. Isn't it more Peat than Smith that's the twat.

I thought Walter Smith had a contract as Scotland manager, which he broke to take over at Rangers?

Isn't it more Peat than Smith that's the twat.

Not that Smith isn't a twat as well, but most of the ineptitude seems to come from the man who managed to make Airdrie go tits up before somehow getting to run things for the rest of the clubs in the country as well.

his contract was about to run out, they refused to offer him an extension,(which everyone had been moaning about for months before rangers gave him the job) at which point murray offered him the job and it cost rangers minimal compensation.

Fuck the entire SFA.

get rid of the damn lot

I think we can agree there's a whole bunch of twatness involved.

I can still see Burley being sacked before the next competitive game.

There's less twatness involved since Bazza and McShagger got dunted, so that's a plus point in Burley's favour right there.

xpost, onimo, that wouldn't be because another candidate may be available then would it? One whose appointment would cause this thread to collapse under the weight of the capital shouty letters it would inspire?

GET TRAITOR SMITH TAE FUCK ETC ETC

Aye if rumours are to be believed he'll he contract free and ready to come back to Scotland in her hour of need. Don't know how he goes about rehabilitating himself with the Tartan Army in the meantime but I'm sure there'll be an "unfinished business" charm offensive in our red tops when the time comes.

Wont happen. Noone would ever accept him that isnt a rangers fan(Rangers fans would like him to take the job so he leaves ibrox taking his dull football with him)

but yes, you can bet the daily record will help him out

lol, this is going to be the worst season ever.

I'm going to the match tomorrow for the first time in an age. I have been a bit of a Jonah last few matches I've been to so possibly expect dropped points.

I think there are other factors which would lead me to expect dropped points :-)

haha yeah i thought that after i posted but couldn't be bothered correcting myself!

Wrong smiley, btw, should have been a :-(

Still think we'll edge out the tesco value huns tomorrow, but the thought of Andy Driver tearing Andy Hinkel to bits isn't going to help me sleep any better tonight.

Went to the game myself today. Wasnt a great game Falkirk dominated the 1st half. We were better 2nd half and had a few half chances but still not good enough, happy with a draw tbh. Referee was awful btw, he missed a falkirk player punching an accies player off the ball. Hope that little shit gets caught on the TV and gets a lengthy ban.

The lyle injury looked bad, as soon as he went down the Falkirk player picked up the ball and shouted for the physio. It was a bizarre thing, Lyle was tackled, took a step and either his leg gave way or he tripped over the ball/stumbled over his feet. It was an innocuous challenge so im not sure if that caused it or not. It was quite weird. BBC website says broken leg but a club official told someone i know that it was cruciate ligaments. so who knows.

Falkirk had a goal chopped off, I couldnt see what was wrong with it but others say they saw the falkirk player pushing the accies player in the back.

BBC report says

striker Derek Lyle collapsed after his studs stuck in the turf and was taken straight to hospital in obvious discomfort.

Makes more sense, I knew the tackle couldn't have caused it.

Forgot to do my predictions :(

Killer vs Gers was rubbish. ESPN/Sky must be wondering what they've bought into.

Uh, Killie

Killie are quite poor but Kevin Kyle is enough to keep them out of relegation trouble.

Think you were right the first time. It was dreadful, aye. Had to nip out after it for a bit so decided to cheer myself up by listening to the cnuts on Clyde (a bit of righteous indignation is good for the soul). Entire panel giving pelters to the referee for ruining the game by booking too many people and sending people off for the heinous crime of committing a couple of bookable offences. Didn't hear them after Aiden McGeady was sent off a couple of weeks ago, but I imagine there were mild variations in the direction and nature of criticism.

xpost

Aye I heard "If he's already booked the ref should realise that and just have a word with him."

How about if he's already booked he shouldn't go flying into another badly timed tackle?

^ aka The Gary Caldwell Special

that would mean players would have to have brains

fuck, the lyle injury is now being reported by the BBC as a career threatening one.

lol accident-prone :-)

http://www.whoateallthepies.tv/2008/03/dundees_derek_l.html

Killie are quite poor but Kevin Kyle is enough to keep them out of relegation trouble.

On his own? He couldn't even score today against a very old man and Lee McCulloch. Thought Danny Invincibile looked the best player on the park. Nice to see Mark Brown in good form as well.

I am winning teh Predictor out of us lot, which is nice. The entire thing is being won right now by someone called CaleyGers, whose name was obviously designed by an ailsa-baiting bot.

I keep forgetting to make my predictions. Next week's are up already so I've put them in early.

I think Kyle will score enough to keep Killie out of trouble between now and January, when he will be sold. Danny Invincibile missed an open goal and his game went to shit after it but up till then he looked ok.

I'll be driving tomorrow btw so I'll pick you up after 1, assuming you want a lift.

Oh cheers, that'd be great. I should maybe go to bed at some point to have a fighting chance of being some approximation of coherently human by then.

last minute winner against the diet Huns :-) Natural order is resumed in the SPL.

Am looking forward to seeing the penalty shout near the end when McGinn was brought down in the box. Looked as stick-on as the Darren Dods handball last week.

Or not. Oops.

and just before that Wallace should have been given a penalty?

It definitely looked like there was contact.

I haven't seen the highlights but I said at the time it looked liked a penalty. There were lots of bad decisions throughout the game, most notably Hearts being allowed to kick seven bells out of anyone in green without censure - that we had two bookings each despite them kicking us off the park is still baffling me.

At one point a Hearts player ran the ball down the wing and ran it out of play. The linesman flagged for a throw-in. The Jambo argued with the ref and linesman that he had kept it in. Final decision: throw-in... to Hearts!

I'd put my wages on Dougie McDonald being above Steve Conroy in the "who's getting the Old Firm match" table.

That throw-in that Goncalves managed to claim was truly baffling. I reckon Dougie MacD's a stick-on for a week on Sunday. They have to give it to someone who isn't Craig Thompson sooner or later. His pursuit of Scott Brown the length of the field with his hand to his pocket all the way waiting for Skoosh to do something that would allow him to book him was the stuff OF games are made of (Skoosh's first foul of the game, btw, yet somehow Thomson and Palazuelos got to clog about for ages with only Palazuelos finally troubling the ref after fifty-odd minutes of kicking McGeady up and down the park, a decision which meant we could see a booking for Celtic coming for anything after he'd finally had to book one of the wee Huns). A budding McCurry, definitely.

And yeah, the tackle on Wallace was definitely a better shout than the one on McGinn, but less of a shout than Darren Dods' last week. These things happen, evened out over the course of the season, yada yada.

Oh, and Gary McAllister is the new whatever-it-was-that-Elvis-did-in-the-Scotland-setup.

Poor wee Alan Hutton felt pressured and bullied

Just saw the highlights, didn't look much in the Wallace incident - wee bit of contact but not enough to knock anyone over. Didn't get a good angle on the McGinn one but it didn't look as stick on as it did at the game.

From the five minutes of highlights it looked like a very even game as they showed all of Hearts' 4 attempts on target and 3 of Celtic's 15. Yes, 15.

the accies game highlights didn't show the superiority of Falkirk in the 1st half but they evened it up by not showing accies nearly scoring in the last min, a cracking shot inches by the post. Also they didn't show Canning getting punched in the face.
in short, sportscene sucks.

they did show Lyle getting injured though, it looks even more horrible than it did at the game. Hope he makes a full recovery poor guy.

Coupon busters r us tonight with the Sheep and Hibs out. Good job Willie Miller pointed out that McGhee's job wasn't dependent on winning cups.

Dundee 3 - 2 Aberdeen R
After Extra Time
Hibernian 1 - 3 St Johnstone R
Kilmarnock 1 - 2 St Mirren R
Motherwell 3 - 2 Inverness CT R
After Extra Time
Ross County 0 - 2 Dundee Utd R

Radio Scotland sound a good couple of seconds ahead of BBC Scotland pictures, meaning I know when to look up without actually watching the game (they keep cutting to Chick Young going mental about QotS's chances).

Boydichenko wins this week's comedy diver award.

Today's exercise in idiot second-hand Hunnery concerned a few non-football girlies at work who appear to get their opinions wholesale from their partners/Radio Clyde grumping about the referee ruining the Rangers game by booking too many players. I pleasantly enquired as to whether they'd considered that Rangers ruined their own game by committing fouls in front of the referee "oh, did you even see the game, the referee was terrible, he was booking everyone". "Aye" says I, "with good cause. I also saw him refereeing Celtic last week not giving a blatant handball and booking everything that moved and disallowing a perfectly good goal for offside, so yeah, he's not the best referee in the world. I presume you were criticising him then as well?". Silence.

btw, compare and contrast the Hunday Mail ref watch from Celtic v Dundee Utd

"Steve Conroy wasn't afraid to dish out the yellow cards with Scott Robertson eventually picking up a red. All were justified and there could have been more. He controlled it well but was too lenient at times when he should have blown for free-kicks for both sides. Rating: 6/10."

with the same paper's refwatch assessment of Kilmarnock v Hibs. Steve Conroy was dismal and it was a pity he couldn't have sent himself off. Dished out 11 yellow cards and two reds but only one bookin was deserved. Was rarely in control and obviously has little idea football can still be a game for men. Rating: 1/10

Too lenient v allowing people to kick other people with impunity.

Um, Kilmarnock v Rangers. The Deekvolution has infiltrated my subconscious.

<3 Paddy McCourt (based on what they are saying on the radio, which seems to tally with my general opinion of the lad)

Poor wee Queen of the South :-(

Walter getting a bit twitchy when asked about the dive.

Apparently it's not a dive if you get back up quickly.

Right, so if you get don't get hurt on your way down, you were actually tackled and you weren't diving. Well done, Wattie, impeccable logic.

Tony Mowbray is very hard to please, isn't he? Miserable git :-)

Tony Mowbray getting tore into his second string team after a 4-0 away win wtf.

lol xpost

Presenters now coming to the startling revelation that managers don't always tell the press everything they are feeling, and that what they say they are telling their players isn't necessarily what they *are* telling their players.

Also, considering he wasn't exactly overly critical (in public at least) of his real team at shipping a lead in Israel last week, this is quite the turn in public persona from Mr Mogga.

I think scottish football fans would enjoy Jonatahn Meades Off Kilter episode 3, which had a lot about less-fancied teams and their history.

I've recorded it to watch later, as I was watching a less-fancied team (against a totally unfanciable one, ho ho).

Celtic get Hearts, Rangers get the 1st Division team. This month is going to be mad heavy on my wallet :-(

Great solo effort from McCourt again. Craig Burley doing his best to take the shine off it by pointing out the "embarrassing" defending. Same word he used when we put 8 past Dunfermline in the league iirc. Wee axe to grind after being sold for shooting your mouth off Craig?

Bullshit half-time analysis there "whether that's a penalty or not is academic as you'd expect Celtic to go on and win anyway." Fuck off! Just give us the fucking penalty!

Wonder if Mogga knows Gary Caldwell was chatting on his mobile during the warm-up, that should cost him a wage or two. Wonder if he was moaning to his agent about being dropped.

McCourt has been great to watch today, hope he can get a run in the team

How is letting players get away with bookable offences "common sense refereeing"?

http://i34.tinypic.com/wksqcj.gif

one mans great goal is another cambridge students goal caused by dodgy defending.

but to me its goal of the season

is mccourt on drugs?

that's him scored two beauties

It's like watching an old FIFA game.

You all (well, at least one of you) scoffed at me when I claimed Paddy McCourt was going to be brilliant.

I wouldn't get carried away yet Ailsa it's not like he's turning good teams inside out. Be nice to see him get the chance to try all the same.

He's got mad skillz, so I claim brilliance, so nyer. Spoilsport.

(also, you should remember I am somewhat prone to exaggeration to make ludicrously outlandish claims viz player of the year Massimo Donati)

...though I believe he's quite the wee star of Serie A

btw, was watching some women's tennis on Eurosport earlier. Francesca Schiavone = Scott Brown with a ponytail:

http://beingz.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/extras_albumes_0.jpg

http://www.pizzeriastella.it/images/Guests/Francesca-Schiavone.jpg

Watching St Mirren v Celtic highlights - "Potter attempting the clearance and... just getting there" is how a stonewaller is described.

arsehole of the year award goes to
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/8286672.stm

arsehole of the year award

Chris Iwelumo, George Peat, George Burley, Eduardo, Steve Conroy and Kyle Lafferty must be breathing a sigh of relief that that one's in the bag for someone else now.

(see also Ferguson, Barry and McGregor, Allan)

It's been a great year!

St Mirren finally won a home league game! Only took them 9 months or so.

Hibs missed a good chance to cement 2nd place today - sounds like they had numerous chances to kill the game off.

Morton with two wins on the spin since they finally got rid of that numpty manager. Now only 3 points behind pre-season favourites Dundee.

"Form goes out the window in an Old Firm game" - one for the cliches/received wisdom threads - heard it twice on the radio today now I come home to see Pedro Mendes is falling for it - http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/scotland/8287213.stm I hope form does go out the window as the form this season's been fuckin gash.

WTF

WTF at Zheng Zhi, Celtic's defence looking like something from the early 90s, Kenny Miller finding his goalscoring boots, Mark Wilson's invisible knees keeping Paul Caddis out of the team, Broken Scott Brown still getting a game despite being approx 95% knackered?

Or at Celtic being denied a couple of decent penalty claims at Ibrox (because that's not really that WTF)?

Ooh, actually get a penalty now. Third time lucky, eh?

My predictor shagged, I didn't realised Rangers had never gone 4 consecutive games without scoring before when I predicted it.

Mine's shagged an' all. Still, Aiden scores for my work's fantasy team, so it's all good really.

great run from zheng zhi (whotf is he?!)

^ positive thinking to stop me lapsing into chronic alcoholism before I've even had my lunch.

xpost, he's a cynical marketing ploy to sell jerseys in the far east the captain of the Chinese international team.

you're very cynical ailsa probably spot on

btw, anyone seen Marc Crosas?

Listening to the pre-match on 5 Live, all the talk was comparing him to the Du Wei Diddy. (Not Crosas obv xpost)

Aye, I think I did that as well on another thread a couple of years ago when he signed for Charlton (he took over from Du Wei as China captain).

Kenny Miller is looking razor sharp up front.

When was the last time someone wrote this in a BBC match report?

pretty easy to look razor sharp when the celtic back four are your context

what happened to the japanese lad (mizuno?) who got bullied in his old firm debut at ibrox?

He still crops up occasionally, but being a wee tricky midfielder trying to break into a squad of wee tricky midfielders takes time.

Koki Mizuno (水野 晃樹 Mizuno Kōki?, born 6 September 1985 in Shimizu-ku, Shizuoka) is a Japanese footballer. He is a midfielder and currently plays for Scottish Premier League side Celtic. Celtic only signed him due to the lucrative revenue they get from japanese fans as he is a complete dud of a player.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koki_Mizuno

the sight of seeing 3 players crowd mcgeady every time he gets the ball in every game is starting to get my goat

You haven't watched Celtic v anyone in the last four years then?

This is looking a wee bit better, but seriously, is Tony Mowbray basing his defence on his own stint at the back with Derek Whyte? Because I don't recall that being too successful either, and they actually occasionally had a first-choice fullback on one or either side.

I tend to zone out when watching football : /
xp

thought tht challenge on novo was better than it actually was but he hardly hit him

sorry, I mean touched

That was fukcing rotten. We managed to get beat off the worst Rangers team in years that can't even score against Kilmarnock or Motherwell. That's it. That's our strikers. That's our defence. I'm still wondering why taking Lee Naylor off to put a right back at left back in place of the guy putting in the useful crosses was even an idea, let alone a reality.

Charlie Nicholas "this game never disappointed, but I was a bit disappointed". Why do people give this man money to talk?

Kenny Miller interviewed and says his injury isn't a problem any more. Alison Douglas "Kenny Miller playing through the pain barrier, he doesn't look like he is, and he says he isn't". So, er, Kenny Miller NOT playing through the pain barrier then, eh?

btw, dear referees, if a player goes down in the box and it's not a penalty, that doesn't mean it's automatically a booking for diving instead. It is possible to fall over as the result of a good tackle, or as a result of being unbalanced. OK?

(PS dear cnuts in charge at the SFA, let's have some video-based justice dealt out to Kylie Laughatme for kicking Zheng Zhi in the knackers and scraping his boot down his leg for afters)

zheng zhi deserves a lot more credit than he's given, 'twas very good for periods. But the conspiracy against the number one team in Scottish football continued regardless. Still, for an old firm match it wasn't totally dull, even if I'd have preferred a different result.

Referee gets it wrong, admits it, still, he's had a good game, eh?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/scot_prem/8290945.stm

Referees, don't you just love them? (answer: no)

So, is no-one posting this week because you're all in Japan with your boots on waiting for the nod?

http://www.expressandstar.com/2009/10/08/balde-declared-technically-bankrupt/

Aye, I saw that! No wonder he wanted a new contract :-) £28k a week for doing fuck all doesn't go far these days.

(I know that's not how it works and that he doesn't really have no money)

I know but why let the truth get in the way of a good lol?

Talking of good lolz, Jeremy Piven has just drawn Hamilton Accies as his team to support on Soccer AM.

They should teach him to moan about how terrible the England cricket team are while he's on.

I thought he just had to shout CHEAT a lot :-)

Well, that was mince. Can't see many of that lot troubling the statisticians at the SFA again any time soon.

Heading off to watch the wee yins against Belarus at the new St Mirren ground this afternoon.

He is now a free agent and had a trial with Wolves in pre-season.

I think if you go a full transfer window as a "free agent" at the age of 34 having not kicked your own arse for two years your status changes to "unemployed former footballer".

I actually thought Scotland had a nice shape and organisation about them for most of the game despite playing a 4th string team. Berra looks a much better player than any Scottish centre half currently plying his trade in Glasgow (comedy og aside). Wallace did ok (the defensive one). Fletcher should have started.

Celtic should sign that Kengo Nakamura* guy, save them throwing out a pile of unsold merch.

(*spent the entire game trying not to think of Kendo Nagasaki)

Berra had a ropey-ish start with the Wolves last season but he's come on leaps and bounds since August imo.

I've only caught highlights of Wolves so far this season but he doesn't look out of place in the Prem, even in a hotly-tipped-for-relegation team where he's kept pretty busy.
I think there was talk of Gordon Strachan taking a punt on him a couple of transfer windows ago but nothing happened and we're still stuck with picking the least worst two from Caldwell, McManus and Loovens :(

Had this sent to me Rangers fans vandalise Lafferty's Car
http://scotzine.com/2009/10/07/laffertys-car-vandalised-by-rangers-fans-angry-at-party-snub/
http://scotzine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/gersyobs.gif

Published: October 7, 2009

It is one thing to see articles in the paper a day or so after an Old Firm match all about rival fans attacking opposition players or their property. However it is totally bewildering that the player is on the receiving end of an attack by his own fans. But that's what happened to Kyle Lafferty on Sunday night hours after Rangers defeated rivals Celtic 2-1 at Ibrox.

A gang on yobs fuelled on booze reportedly turned up at Lafferty's unannounced, singing and clutching bottles of champagne as they tried to party with the player. However it appears that Lafferty was with the Rangers squad at the time and his fiancee Tori Smith had to get her father to chase the group of boozed-up supporters away.

However it seems the thugs took exception to being snubbed and they attacked the striker's Bentley and Range Rover before fleeing. Rangers sources last night said they would heighten security for the player.

According to her Facebook page, Tori said, "I can't believe it. People try to give you champers and sing songs, try to push into your house, then key all the cars. They would have got in if my dad was not there. I'm never staying in alone again. Sad times - how scary is that? Thank God my dad was over and saved the day."

Tori added, "It was horrible. Kyle plays football, earns some money, has a nice house and cars - people are all jealous. He doesn't deserve it. It's life in the Old Firm, I suppose."

Despite unsubstantiated claims in the papers that it was Celtic fans who targeted Lafferty, it now seems that it was his own club's supporters who lashed out after taking exception to their party snub.

What is life in Glasgow coming too as a footballer in the Old Firm, when you are not safe from your own supporters let alone your rivals?
Source: The Scottish Sun

^looks like a bs made up story about the original vandalism story trying to shirt the blame. Any chance of a Scottish Sun link?
I know they're piss poor but I don't think even they would let this "What is life in Glasgow coming too" through

shift the blame, not shirt it. I know I'm piss(ed) poor but I can't believe I let that through.

funnily enough there was no link provided

Using google so you don't have to:

http://www.thesun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/news/2670896/Champagne-plea-from-Kyle-Lafferty-car-yobs.html

(looks like the first and last paragraphs are the work of the Scotzine blogger dude, the rest's lifted from the Sun. Who don't actually mention if the vandals were Rangers fans rather than just a bunch of drunk wazoos tootling around Bearsden looking for a party)

New St Mirren ground is toty. Couple of decent players in the U21s, but they didn't have to wait 90+ minutes to score past Belarus. Tons of possession coming to nothing, squandered chances, woeful refereeing - it was just like watching Celtic, except Paul Caddis actually got a game.

Celtic getting it right sort of up the SFA:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/celtic/8311561.stm

Basically "why is Glenn Loovens banned, yet somehow Kyle Lafferty gets to try to castrate Zheng Zhi and gets away with it?" would seem to be the subtext.

Expect repercussions and a full and frank discussion and explanation sometime around the twelfth of never, just around the time hell freezes over.

Also, aye, this puts the Chuckle Brothers in defence tomorrow. Bear that in mind for your predictions :-)

Paul Dickov on Soccer AM bringing some truth about Berti Vogts' brilliant idea of playing him at right wingback against the Faroes. There's a scab I didn't need picked, cheers :-(

Saying that, now it's out there, I have googled the team for that day. Scott Dobie? Stephen Crainey?

btw, anyone with nothing better to do tomorrow and a burning desire to save a club could do worse than pop up to Broadwood and watch Clyde v a Man Utd XI featuring some wonderkid or other, and Rafael da Silva.

Soccer AM update: thanks to the lucky dip that made Jeremy Piven a Hamilton Accies fan, Tony Almeida off 24 is now a Celtic fan.

SACK THE BOARD.

It wasn't the board who made the decision to end the game with three wingers pinging high balls in to a midget, having taken off the three best players on the field.

Well, on Celtic's part of the field anyway. I'm sure every Motherwell player was better than the Chuckle Brothers and Broonie today.

perhaps Jim is blaming the board for hiring the manager who made the decision to end the game with three wingers pinging high balls in to a midget, having taken off the three best players on the field?

SACK THE BOARD is just my stock phrase of knee-jerk overreaction. I do think Mowbray is doing an absolutely terrible job as the manager, Strachan staying on would have been preferable to this and I'm not wee Gog's greatest admirer. Rather than looking forward to the Hamburg game on Thursday I'm going to feel like leaving the flat and getting the train to Bridgeton, and sitting about in a cold Glasgow night is going to be a chore, and that's no way to be feeling before a European game, diddy Europa league or no.

The only benefit to Strachan staying on would have been the continuity of shitness, rather than the anticipation of a new era being swiftly dissipated the minute you see another fucker playing Gary Caldwell in midfield in a crucial European tie.

Same shit different day. Money's been given and been spent, and it's not been spent on sorting out that midden of a defence. A decent manager would have been able to beat Motherwell with that squad. So far it is plan A (which doesn't work), plan B (which doesn't work either), then plan give-the-ball-to-Paddy-McCourt.

Getting harder and harder to watch Celtic (or anyone else in the SPL, with the possible exception of Hibs) this season.

Cheering myself up watching Ronald de Boer miss a penalty in France 98 (story of the WC on ESPN Classic).

One's called Ronald,
One's called Frank,
...

:)

Poor wee Clyde are so poor that if they have more than three subs, like in the friendly that I went to this afternoon, any sub with a number higher than 14 doesn't get his number on his jersey :-(

Was actually mildly impressed with the standard of football on display. Was expecting a team of kids lying bottom of the second division to be utterly rank, but they actually weren't too bad (special mention for one of the numberless subs for doing a Paddy McCourt through the middle of the Man Utd defence before doing a Sebo in front of the Man Utd goalie). Grassroots football not quite dead yet in Scotland. Having been to see Scotland Under 21s last week, I'm getting right back into going to wee stadia to see wee teams again. I might go and watch something random next Saturday before Celtic bore me into depression again on Sunday.

I might go and watch something random next Saturday

Go and see your local junior team. They could use your cash!

I might, actually. *googles*, oh Renfrew Juniors are away this week. Don't fancy a trip to Maybole, my journey into pishy wee football has limits. I'll think of something.

Hah Maybole, what a shithole that is.

Hence why I don't want to go there. Our last car went from 99,999 miles on the mileometer back round to zero again in Maybole on the one and only time I was there. There, that was interesting personal trivia, wasn't it?

It's better than Maybole's major claim to fame.

You're going to have to help me out here, I'm afraid.

Vale of Clyde play Petershill in Tolcross, and Pollok v Arthurlie is in Shawlands (I'm going to that one).

Sacked if I would travel away down there to see Renfrew though, right enough!

oh im sure you dont wanna know Ailsa. It's not football related so you wouldn't care.

Pollok have a tidy wee ground (that's the one you go past on the train to Hampden, aye?). Might end up at St Mirren v Motherwell due to vagaries of the only person likely to accompany me on this mission, but I really don't want to have to look at Motherwell two weeks in a row. Or else I'll end up in the pub looking at Jeff Stelling like I do every other Saturday.

xpost, OK, whatever.

Google tells me a Hamilton Accies player (James Gibson) went to Carrick Academy. There you go, a football-related bit of Maybole-related trivia.

Poor gibbo, a great talent and perfect replacement for Sheena but out for the season with a horrid injury. Hope the injury doesn't ruin his career.

Jeez, have just found out that A. Trialist who was an old man at centre half for Clyde this afternoon was ex-Rangers dumpling Scott Nisbet. Seriously didn't recognise him at all!

?????????????????

i still remember the hugh keevins led scott nisbett for scotland campaign on radio clyde.

one caller phoned in to say he would rather Rab C played for Scotland than Scott.

Four miles to the west of Maybole on the coast is Culzean Castle, the chief seat of the marquess of Ailsa

I've been to Culzean Castle. It's very nice, perhaps I should put dibs on it. Is not actually in Maybole though.

There's a few things called Ailsa in Ayrshire. Ailsa Craig i'm sure you know about then there's the psychiatric hospital too. Another reason you should be glad you didn't grow up in Ayrshire, schoolkids woulda made your life a misery with that.

Maurice Edu racially abused by Rangers fans.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/r/rangers/8318117.stm

The Rangers Supporters Trust condemned anyone who might have abused Edu, who has been out all season with a knee injury.

RST spokesman David Edgar said: "We would absolutely condemn that if that's the case. These are not Rangers fans and they should be caught and prosecuted to the full extent of the law."

Oh , so who were they fans of then Mr Edgar?

This'll be the same David Edgar who sees racist abuse directed at Irish footballers as a bit of a laugh, aye?

http://www.rangerssupporterstrust.co.uk/rstsite/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=234&Itemid=43

As in, take the plank out of your own eye before worrying about the speck of dust in someone else's, eh?

oh FFS

It's going to be a horribly long year.

At least Cally Thistle are doing well. Annoyed at lack of TV coverage today, but figure I'm going to have to get used to it.

It's going to be a horribly long year.

Oh yes.

Teams Rangers have managed to beat since the end of August: St Johnstone, QotS, Celtic.

Teams Celtic have beaten from 7 home games this season: Hearts, St Johnstone

If Mowbray could get anything close to Strachan's or O'Neill's home form Celtic would be running away with the league and would probably at the right end of the Europa League group. It's a good job Rangers are as bad. I've seen nothing so far to suggest Celtic or Rangers can pull away from Hibs, Dundee United or Motherwell.

Caley are 6th in a league of ten having only just been relegated from the SPL. They're very much in touch with the leaders but I wouldn't go so far as to say being two places above Morton is doing well.

I wouldn't mind seeing Ross Co or QotS coming up, just for the sake of having someone who's never been in the SPL before.

An Accies fan on Sportscene Results today described Mowbray as "a numpty manager".

Forthcoming talks concerning possible sale of Rangers are to take place this week. Goodbye, Moonbeams. Hello, people who will actually contribute sums of money to the club that will make them some sort of footballing force, rather than just current leaders in the "who-can-be-marginally-less-shit-over-the-course-of-the-season-two-horse-race-footballing-mogadon-SPL? Am I right to be semi-patting my shants or am I an alarmist millenarian who should STFU and take this in much the same way as the famous moonbeams declaration - i.e. with a tub full of Saxa?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/r/rangers/8324603.stm

Rangers manager Walter Smith has revealed he is unable to enter the transfer market because the club is being run by the bank.

Can't be arsed searching but wasn't this vehemently denied in the summer when it was put to the club that the bank was running the club?

"lack of TV coverage" - I managed to find a pub showing it (it being the Rangers v Hibs game), so I imagine someone was hoicking it up to the interwebs as well. Rangers' and Celtic's home games were rarely shown on Setanta either.

I'm seriously considering putting a couple of quid on Hibs for the league. A wee run of results with us and Them doing as badly as we are, and the league's absolutely there for the taking.

I'm with onimo, would be good to see some new blood in the SPL. Haven't seen Ross County for years, but Queen of the South have looked a tidy wee team the couple of times they've made it to the telly. The continued absence of Dougie Imrie and Ross Tokeley is one of the few bright spots of the SPL this year, so long may that continue, at least.

Not sure what to think of the impending potential injection of cash down at the hunhole. Depends what Swally does with it, I guess. Celtic have spent a fair whack on average players and put them into a terrible system. I'm 100% convinced a better manager could have the players at Mowbray's disposal convincingly clear at the top of the league (both domestic and European). A better manager last year and we wouldn't have even been in the poxy Europish League. These are not bad players, but the attitudes and the divisions aren't too clever at times. Martin O'Neill would have had Gary Caldwell's big heid on a spikey stick for his attitude this season.

And, by the way, I recommend everyone listen to this interview with the Cardigan at around the 5 minutes mark, where he tells the world that the bank have taking over the running of Rangers. Isn't that administration? And shouldn't they be getting 10 points taken off for that, or wheeched off down to the arse end of the league system?

haha, xpost!

Nice wee article from a few years ago linked to off another forum.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/international/england/2335025/Having-a-Ball-in-Holland.html#

Interesting in terms of some of Rangers' practices - masking injuries with injections, moonbeams dreams about Premiership entry, stopping players playing if a clause in their contract was kicking in (think we've all suspected our clubs of doing that!), and getting Michael Ball to pay Rangers whenever he got a game!

Celtic: still pish.

I thought the forwards & Aiden & Shaun did ok in tough conditions. Usual bustle Robson performance. Not too many pass marks outside that, though I though Mick did well apart from the dodgy route 1 lapse at the end. Zheng didn't impress me at all - gave the ball away all day.

The subs took Celtic's momentum away, I'm increasingly worried that Mowbray makes subs because he can rather than because he should.

I was surprised at Hamilton, I expected more from them but they were barely in the game until Beuzelin came on. They spent most of the game watching Celtic (watching Celtic not do very much it has to be said).

Latest to a long list of former Celtic players becoming shite pundits: Darren Jackson (former everyone player I suppose), who said the Hamilton players should go out and kick Celtic and spit on them.

I strongly suspect, to paraphrase a famous quote from someone else, that Scott MacDonald was born in an offside position. It is baffling how often he manages to not be where he's meant to be, or be where he's not meant to be.

What did Aiden get booked for? Usual "being Aiden McGeady in a public place" thing?

Accies were crap today. Didn't get in about Celtic or put them under pressure til the last 10 mins when we should've made it 2-2.

Aiden was booked for kicking out at an Accies player while on the deck. No arguments from me - a typical bit of McGeady petulance. I'm fed up seeing the frustrated petulant wee nyaff instead of the player who should be able to destroy any defender in the country. Even on a good day he makes me sigh in exasperation at least twice a game.

I didn't see it, though I've read about it now. (was otherwise engaged when it happened, commentators nae fucking use as per usual). I strongly suspect McGeady's going to be one of those guys on the verge of greatness until he retires with a whole book's worth of reviews pegging him as an underachiever or using the phrase "unfulfilled potential" a lot.

Looking forward to the cracked and crumbling Rangers crests in tomorrow's tabloids? Surely one of Scotland's oldest and greatest institutions being brought under the heel of a debt riddled English bank makes them fair game? Surely we won't see a load of fluff about some mystery buyer making them a force in Europe once again?

The bank thing is given some prominence in the Hunday Mail today (read it in the pub, OK?), accompanying photo shows the Cardigan looking a bit glum and hard-done-by. This is presumably so we all feel sorry for him, and will be more kindly to the auld wanker when he takes back over after Burley gets the boot from the big gig to escape the terrible regime of not having any moonbeams to spend on pishy ugly dudes who like to use McGeady and Maloney for target practice.

Hun talk in the work today: Rangers financial problems are mainly the financial problems of Murray Holdings and if the club is bought, along with the club's debt, by a consortium they should have no problems, the only problem being Murray Park and whether it comes along with Rangers or not in any sort of buyout (it probably doesn't but anyone buying Rangers would probably want it to). Allegedly, and I'm not saying any of this is not completely apocryphal, the source of this is Martin Bain.

As I understand it (caveats ahoy) Murray Holdings wiped out ~£50M of Rangers debt with the last share issue which basically involved David Murray taking invisible money out of one pocket and putting it in another. I assume anyone buying Rangers would need to pay Murray that much plus whatever his other shareholdings added up to plus take on ~£30M of debt and a squad that's dying on its arse playing in an unattractive league that's dying on its arse with a TV deal that aint worth shit and the next ~6 years of merchandising sales already sold off to JJB.

I really can't see the attraction unless it's to an old dyed in the wool Hun willing to throw money away to restore them to former glories. It's hardly an investment that looks to have any potential beyond losing more money.

Away tae the bank and get us a sub Durranty!
http://i33.tinypic.com/xpx8h3.gif

samaras

celtic are awful.

you can blame the manager all you like but those players are to blame

keep mcmanus and caldwell away from the scotland team please

Keep Danny Fox away from it an' all please (and from the Celtic team - seriously, I think I'm the only person in the world who rates him below Lee Naylor. So, wow, he can cross a ball. He can't fucking defend, which should be the major priority of a defender, especially one with a major liability just inside of him. Andy Driver had him on toast all night, when he could even be arsed jogging back over the halfway line as Driver skipped off past him again. Still, first free kick on target all season, that "dead ball specialist" tag can get dusted back down and reused for another few weeks).

Haven't looked for or heard what Tony Mowbray's post-match comments were tonight, but since he's given to publicly slating his players, I hope he's carpeting Steven McManus for that tackle.

Oh, and word of advice. Some games cry out for route-one lone-strikers. A game against a team with large clumsy centre halves: not it. Despite the woeful finishing, Hearts' defence were getting torn a new one by Samaras, McDonald and McCourt, players with the ability to run at them and pass through them. I know it was two headers that we put past them the last time (possibly because our strikers seem to have forgotten how to kick a ball towards a goal), but anyone who has watched Hearts at all knows that it's way easier to just confuse the fuck out of them by actually playing football.

almost glad having the flu kept me from going to this tonight.

It wasn't really any worse than any other game this season, tbh. Still, that's us out of the only cup we won last season. Free to concentrate on the league, eh?

*cries*

Loving Swally.

"Please don't sack my boss, but if you do, can I have his contract instead? What do you mean you're not looking at extending mine either?"

Looking forward to the cracked and crumbling Rangers crests in tomorrow's tabloids?

Was talking about the very same thing a coupla days ago!

See, Celtic, it's not hard. Play football and the goals will come. If we'd had 90 minutes of that on Wednesday rather than just the 45, it'd have been OK.

(Danny Fox still shite, btw)

http://i36.tinypic.com/2edcty1.gif

:-)

NOTW says Rangers owe Accies money.
Rangers were due to pay Accies £158k based on the admission price of £15.

Rangers paid Accies £120k based on an old rule that they only had to pay £12 per head.

Accies are trying to reclaim the £38k difference.

There was an arrangement decided by SPL to split the difference , which both clubs appealed, it will now go to a joint resolution committee to decide, made up of 2 SPL and 2 SFL representatives.

$38k is a lot of money to Accies, those fuckers should pay up in full.
Accies have also decided to not pay the old firm extortion fee for selling tickets and will sell away tickets themselves. Accies know full well they can punt the tickets to local celtic/rangers fans, why they didn't do this in the 1st place I don't know. Apparently the club will save 10 grand for 3 OF home games a season.

If only we could put them into Administration over this :)

lolz as game called off, meaning a second tricky wee trip to Tannadice for the Forces of Darkness, hopefully next time with a referee who doesn't think Kyle LaughAtMe's diving should go unpunished. I mean, it's not like he's got previous for conning referees or anything like that nasty wee Aiden McGeady...oh, hang on a sec...

Any cards picked up in that game would be void anyway I'd imagine.

No, I'm pretty sure they would still count. Trying to google up some evidence, but I can't think of a single logical reason why offences committed and punished would be wiped just because the game didn't finish.

Oh hang on, I'm attributing logic to (1) referees and (2) the SFA. Sorry about that.

Not that that was even my point about Kylie's diving, btw.

Well done to treefell, who has finally knocked me off the top of the ILX SPL prediction mini-league on time difference (since I put mine in at about lunchtime on Saturday, this is hardly surprising).

Quick skoosh through the SPL rules shows Celtic might get a £250 fine if Niall McGinn's name wasn't on the team sheet. Thank God we're no' as skint as Rangers, eh?

Old joke section: Game called off at Tannadice as a result of Rangers being unable to keep their heads above water.

Run out of candidates for the Hall of Fame already?

Any awake and bored SPL thread fans might like to know that terrible Ally McCoist vehicle and eerily prescient Gretna-to-be story A Shot At Glory is on the telly RIGHT NOW on ITV4. I, obviously, am recording it, because it is weirdly great, in an utterly terrible sort of a way.

wow seeing Ally McCoist in a film is... odd.

Not as odd as Robert Duvall's accent. Veritable array of Scottish footballing talent on show - Owen Coyle, Peter Hetherston, Andy Smith, John Martin, etc etc. John McVeigh! Hugh Dallas! Didier Agathe playing for Rangers!

I'm not watching it right now, like, but I will be watching some other time, possibly when drunk. I hope it's as insanely great as I remember.

oh lolllll I was watching with the volume off, but yes, that accent. I think this may be too terrible and weird for a sober mind to deal with, and sadly I have nothing, so I think I'll have to leave it for another day. But it looks like it's definitely a must watch for that other day.

this is brilliant but I have to pull myself away before I warp my mind.

This is very reassuring. I haven't actually seen it for years, but am delighted to know someone else appreciates it

I have just googled it, and didn't actually realise it was properly based on Raith Rovers in 1994. I can only assume they never got the funding for "A Shot At Glory 2: 1-0 Up At Half-Time In The Olympiastadion" was pulled at the last minute.

Also lol at the imdb comments page (if you get past weird people thinking Duvall's accent was great): "I never thought Stevie Tosh would have his own IMDB page" = actual genuine lols.

(plz to ignore terrible sentence construction, my mind has been blown by the thought of Ian McCall starring alongside Michael Keaton)

Quality wee piece in the Scotsman here:

http://sport.scotsman.com/football/Open-letter-to-Martin-Bain.5804248.jp

As opposed to extremely poor quality piece here: http://sport.stv.tv/football/135413-rangers-and-celtic-it-takes-two-to-tango-in-euro-shame-game/

(basically, are Celtic to blame for, er, nothing at all? Still, got to make it an Old Firm problem, eh?)

1214: Here's a belter for you: Riordan has been placed on the bench because of "an incident with his dog", according to the news wires. The mind boggles.

lol

also, better change my first scorer on the predictor, eh?

Got Stokes in at 12.29!

(basically, are Celtic to blame for, er, nothing at all? Still, got to make it an Old Firm problem, eh?)

I told ailsa the other day of the Metro front page story after Wattie announced the bank was running Rangers - the first paragraph started "Half of the Old Firm faces administration..."

Dunno why I'm bothering predicting though, I reckon I've missed half of the entries :(

Aye, me an' all re Stokes.

I'm getting quite a lot of mileage out of that Metro story now, cheers.

Ok that Frazer Cardow "article" - what a fucking cock.

Betting people around these parts might be interested to know Partick are even money away to Morton who only have 12 fit players...

Cool, will be heading bookie-wards shortly :-)

They might be 12 really good players, if they weren't Morton players :)

Hearts make everyone else look shit, but not by being any good themselves. It's like an infectious ineffectiveness.

Might have been a pen there for Hearts at the end though...

Seeing it again it looks like a dive.

my mum, dad, and wee brother are in tht film

Morton 0 - 2 Partick Thistle L

I'll be looking for beers from everyone who got on dis ting.

I didn't go to the bookies :-( I didn't even make it to the pub :-(

Just watching the goals just now on Sky Sports - that Hamilton v Motherwell game looked a belter, with Guillaime Beuzelin this week's "two bookings in two minutes" numpty. I keep forgetting they re-run diddy games on BBC Alba after they've finished, that was yesterday's, and it might have made a half-decent background to my following David Haye online. Also, Gaelic commentators are ace (compared to Burley, Booth, Provan, etc etc).

2 softer than soft bookings by a claret and amber wearing ref. over the 90 mins he was the most biased referee ive ever seen. fouls that were given against accies werent fouls when done by motherwell players. the man is a disgrace and he shouldn't be allowed to referee in the top level again. if hes scotlands no1 ref then we're fucked.

jesus celtic are almost as gash as the wolves

bit of an insult to wolves ;)

that was a lousy first half, but i'm watching hull-stoke now so it'll probly look better in retrospect

Celtic utterly gash. My knee is jerking Mowbray-wards.

he was the most biased referee ive ever seen

Coming from you, that's some claim! He's just a fairly shit ref no matter what team's playing (see three stonewall penalties not given to Celtic at Ibrox a few weeks ago). He's a St Mirren fan, btw.

hes awful. 1-0 celtic btw. Accies fans supporting Celtic for this game.
Im shocked at how bad Celtic are today. but i dont think its one off is it? have they been as bad as this all season?

Or just when i watch them on tv?

They've not been great, but not as bad as this.

stoke 1-0. ironically i was about to put falkirk back on cos this game's bleeding awful

It's a bit like when we played falkirk, we were awful and falkirk missed tons of chances, except celtic have managed to score.
Our excuse was we had players out injured and new players who hadn't played yet.

ohh penalty to falkirk

1-1

2-1 falkirk

So it is.

oh ffs

Celtic are utterly fucking gash, btw. They are playing like a bunch of guys who just got introduced to each other five minutes before kickoff (and took an instant dislike to each other).

yeah i just flicked over, it's painful

2-2

Dear Santa, I've been a good girl this year. Can I please request a couple of centre-halves, an extended run for Marc Crosas, and a striker or two who don't think they are wingers/midfielders/immune to the offside rule? Oh, and several millions for McGeady from anyone who thinks fannydangle with no end product is an acceptable return from a professional football.

Cheers.

2-2, btw, Scott MacDonald manages to not be offside for once.

footballer. I'm so fed up I don't even know how to type.

falkirk look like they could score in every attack.

wtf lee bullen is on

if a retired player who is now reserve team coach comes on and scores, then celtic's defence might as well retire.

^ yes please

(thought they had already, to be fair)

aye, you have a point there.

oh my 3-2

(shock at celtic getting the 3rd)

celtic will have to get a 4th i think. dont trust that defence. you would think they were as old as davie weir as they are so slow.

3-3

Fucking prophetic xpost

that really is a shocking defence

Yeah, it's almost as if the Celtic fans on here have been moaning about Celtic's defence for fucking years or something.

surprised there was no chants of Mowbray out.

no doubt Falkirk's 1st win will be against us

Hard to chant whilst choking on shocked disbelief i reckon

There were scarves thrown on the pitch and some booing, which is as bad a reaction as you're going to get.

If Mowbray's out, he can take a wee minibus with him with, er, some players accompanying him. I'm not knee-jerking here, but I'm on record upthread as saying I don't think N'Guemo, Fortune, Fox, McManus, to give a few examples, are good enough. Various others will get a free pass for now because I've seen them better in a better team, so I'm not ready to hoof Caldwell, Brown, MacDonald, Samaras, McGeady, Maloney etc just yet, but I'd like to see them improved or even back to something like their best as opposed to going backwards.

It's not even disbelief, Noodle, it's chickens coming home to roost. I knew this was coming, we've had two vaguely convincing wins all season (against St Johnstone, and even then we shipped two goals in the process, at at home to Killie who haven't won at Celtic Park for approx 100000 years). Oh, and a 4-0 away win to Falkirk in the League Cup, which ended with Tony Mowbray getting ripped into his second string for the mistakes which ended up in that 4-0 win.

First time i've watched them in the league this season i think and was shocked out how lumpen the side looks.

That was quite bad, even by recent standards. We've looked far from convincing, but that was another whole few levels below the usual standard of unconvincingness. We've made up for it by sneaking some wins (Hearts should be reporting us to the polis for daylight robbery), but they are just papering over massive big cracks. When I saw the lineup, the only changes I'd have made would have been to put Crosas in for N'Guemo, and Naylor for Fox. Even then FFS it was Falkirk! A team of players not starting that game would have looked winning on paper:

Boruc, Wilson, McManus, Thomson, Naylor, Crosas, Maloney, Brown, McGinn, MacDonald, Killen. I wouldn't have cried at that going out to play. Which kind of begs the question of what they are teaching them. I haven't seen a squad of players with such terrible trapping and passing ability for years. There's no vision (Crosas, and the odd misplaced well-intentioned hoof from Caldwell, aside), no support, no shape, no seeming overall plan.

Now, I've depressed myself. I'm off to continue drinking.

not to mention that falkirk had half a team missing and had their retired coach coming on as a sub

You already mentioned it.

I don't think n'guemo is all tht bad but I remain unconvinced by fortune, samaras, fox, maloney, caldwell

hibs for the league?

Not if they like they did yesterday.

+ play. The drinking's going well :-)

btw, can our resident expert on crap officials please give his view on Samaras' offside decision right at the end?

wasnt offside

btw look who just scored for Hull

Indignation? Worst official ever? Cheat?

not in brines league

So some way again behind Craig Thomson (most biased referee you've ever seen) despite denying what surely would have been a winning goal (deserved or not)? OK, whatever.

A pretty good game, I thought, if you're non-partisan - if you are a Celtic fan I imagine it was worse. (Actually, given my family are all Celtic fans, I know it was - but even they appreciated Falkirk today). Samaras was oddly lacking today.

Samaras wasn't that odd, tbh, if you've seen him playing at all ever. Dude's the most frustratingly inconsistent player ever. I'm convinced he's actually a winger. Falkirk wanted to win it, Celtic played like a bunch of bored teenagers with hangovers being forced out on a park in the cold against their will.

the only changes I'd have made would have been to put Crosas in for N'Guemo

uh N'Guemo alongside Crosas maybe, those two played together the last two games and did fuck all wrong.

I've no idea what Crosas did to put himself behind "foul everyone, always" Robson in central midfield but then everything the manager does baffles me. He switches his central defence, central midfield and centre forward line almost constantly, having never read the wee bit in the quick start guide to Champ Man about building up understanding. He subs all the wrong bad players. He subs even the good players when the team's winning. He refuses to accept that playing his one and only goal scorer is the best way to score goals.

I could go on all night but basically Mogga out.

not gonna happen just now while still top of the league. If it happens it will be if Rangers go 10 points clear (and by then it will be a bit late)

Anyone know how is his record is compared to john barnes at this point btw?

I'm not a huge fan of N'Guemo and think Barry Robson's got more of a heart for what should have been a bog standard SPL tussle with a fairly poor team. Push comes to shove, I wouldn't have either of them.

Mogga out isn't realistically going to happen this season, because the board spunked a couple of million quid on their third-choice manager and no-one's beating our door down to take over that wouldn't cost even more.

I have seen nothing to suggest that Rangers can capitalise on Celtic's current poor form. This doesn't equate to a free pass for Mowbray.

xpost

Barnes record here:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/637415.stm

Mowbray's record available by looking at the SPL table.

Tomorrows headlines most probably
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5y2-U6Ll1Q

afaik it was from outside the ground but no excuse.

maybe it was the same cockneys in burberry who were in romania the other night ;)

that's pretty low

That didn't exactly sound like that on the telly I was watching, and the BBC reporter at the ground pointed out that the silence was impeccably observed inside the stadium. I've read on blogs elsewhere that there was singing outside the ground and a wee bit of idiocy inside the ground which was shushed, but I think TV coverage and the news elsewhere might have made a bit more of it if there had been an actual major problem, don't you?

No excuse for what? For singing outside a football stadium? Because that's exactly the same as fighting with stewards inside one.

oh wait, no it's not, my bad.

(note to self: dnftt)

So... in an attempt to engage actual discussion (to what end, I'm not sure), I have provided Barnes' managerial stats for a period of a bit more time than Mowbray's had. I could google the actual games for you to provide a better breakdown, but I can't be arsed. Now, is there a point to be made there?

(as an aside, do TV companies often broadcast noise from outside the stadium?)

well allegedly Sky muted it. but no idea if that's true.

funny how when someone accuses celtic fans of bad behaviour they get accused of being a troll by you instead of you condemning it. Yet you happily go on about rangers fans bringing shame on their club.

OH NOES COVERUP CONSPIRACY!

Whatever it was, some twats maybe made twats of themselves at worst. No-one was hurt. Nothing to see here, let's move on.

So, John Barnes. Your point?

and thank you for providing the barnes stats. No doubt you would rather discuss that than the green brigade bringing shame on the celtic support.

as for barnes' record we cant really compare him and mowbray til hes had 20 league games. Unless someone finds stats for the same amount of games played.

You weren't accusing. You were doing your usual non-point-making-link-posting thing. I think a couple of Celtic fans outside the stadium made themselves look silly. I've just said that. I'm quite happy to condemn idiots, and I've done so in the past.

Now, do you want to get lamped into whoever left their mobile phone on at Stamford Bridge this afternoon?

Why do "we" want to compare Barnes with Mowbray? Google it yourself.

Oh, and the Green Brigade boycotted the game today.

disrupting a minutes silence in a pre-planned bout of singing (and quite possibly republican songs) might not be the same as fighting with stewards, but it's still bad behaviour which brings shame on your club and it's support every bit as much as the fighting numpty rangers fans did on their club.

they might have boycotted the game but it was them outside. And a couple of fans do not make that much noise.

haha you really think a planned protest to disrupt a minutes silence is the same as someones phone ringing?

millions of xposts

There were people in the stadium singing. Fuck making excuses for these cunts tbh, even if the mic dude made a point of standing right next to the loudest bunch of fannies there.

Kerr, you compare Rangers' idiots physically attacking people with Celtic's idiots singing songs - these are not the same thing. Attempting to use the "as bad as each other" pish here *is* trolling.

You also specifically *asked* how this compares with John Barnes record. Why do so if "we cant really compare him and mowbray til hes had 20 league games."? What is your point?

Does anyone remember any fuss about Armistice day five or ten years ago? Me neither. What has changed in that time?

because i hadnt realised barnes had lasted in the job so long.

I don't particularly want to discuss Barnes's stats at all. It was ten years ago. You're the one that brought it up. But, since you did, you might as well make your point.

I wasn't at the game. So far I've read eyewitness reports, seen one allegedly-muted bit of footage live on Sky Sports, and one YouTube clip you've provided which totally contradicts everything else I've seen and read and makes it sound like a Wolfe Tones gig was going on in the stadium. I'm not sure what I'm meant to say? Some guys didn't respect a minute's silence. Guys have been disrespecting minute's silences for years, it's why we generally have minute's applauses instead. Some supporters are fannies. I'm not, and never have, denied that. Let's get over it, shall we?

btw, you know the guys in the Green Brigade personally, do you?

xposts while I went off to do something else

for some reason i had thought he got sacked after a league cup defeat not a scottish cup one.

xpost obv

. I'm not sure what I'm meant to say? Some guys didn't respect a minute's silence. Guys have been disrespecting minute's silences for years, it's why we generally have minute's applauses instead.

everyone else in the country can respect a minutes silence, why should there be a minutes applause instead just because a section of Celtic fans cant respect the dead who fought for the very freedoms they enjoy.

Off the top of my head (and therefore might be miles out) Barnes won something like 9 out of his first ten games, destroying Hearts, Aberdeen and Hibs with big scorelines in the process. He failed to beat Rangers. He won manager of the month for December. We had a winter shut-down. February started badly but he went into a week where he had two league games to go within a point of Rangers and fucked them both up (I think against Killie and Hearts?) then Caley beat Celtic 3-1 in a midweek cup game and that was that.

fwiw I think Mowbray can safely pick up fewer points per game than Barnes and still win the league because he's up against a shambles of a Rangers team. Barnes' Celtic team would stroll this league.

Right, here are Celtic's results in 1999.

http://www.kerrydalestreet.com/page/1999

Barnes was appointed pre-season, so you've got a decent set of stats there to compare with Mowbray's. Unless of course you can't find Celtic's results for this season on the internet, in which case let me know.

You can surely compare them so far, if you desperately want or need to.

xpost EVERYONE has minute's applauses for dead players and that. I'm not saying do a minute's applause for remembrance sunday, where did I say that? (btw, if you want to play the "freedom" card, I suspect the protestors would count their freedom to protest as one of them. Note: this is not necessarily my view, but one I have read elsewhere)

Freedoms include freedom to protest, Kerr, (cpsot, what ailsa said) whether you agree with them or not. I disagree with them. I have never broken a minute's silence for anyone but I won't say I never will because I reserve the right to refuse to pay my respects to murdering cunts.

For some people the politics surrounding some of the conflicts and wars being commemorated today make them feel obliged to protest, that is their call, just as it is yours to criticise them. None of this is Celtic's fault.

dunno what a cpsot is :/

Interesting to see the respect if, as Kerr suggested elsewhere once, some wackjob decides to request minute's silences for Thatcher up and down the country when she fucks off down to hell for good.

xpost at least it didn't turn into saying DOGTITS like it did when I posted xpost last night :-)