So, das blaue Reich want a friendly with us America. And, yes, the morons actually propose calling it the Yankee Doodle Derby
.
They didn't want to play us in Boston last year because of the, er, "Celtic supporting"
population that would treat them as the backup act in our show.
Although I'm sure they would feel more at home in some Deliverence-style Banjo County where the main industries are Crystal Meth production and incest, I think Celtic should tell them to do one. Given their current predicament they'll no doubt expect us to pay for everything anyway.
edited 21st Nov '11 5:38:09 AM by TheBatPencil
And let us pray that come it may (As come it will for a' that)
That is still an interesting idea that would serve to raise the profile of the Scottish league system in general over here, although I'd think of a new name for it if I were them. If they really are concerned with making sure they got equal promotion though, they should probably test the waters first by setting up friendlies with MLS teams. Not that Rangers don't have any US supporters' groups, but I suspect Celtic is the more popular Scottish club over here in general. Case in point, at the specialty shops I've been to, Celtic was the only Scottish club shirt I saw for sale.
The thing is, everyone would rather go to America and play against Manchester United again or someone of that calibre. That's better for us than having Rangers stalking us across the ocean and watching them inevitably humiliate the whole country (again).
Celtic have sizeable fan bases all over the world and regularly take trips to Australia and America because of it. Rangers, by comparison, have an international backing consisting of some Nazi groups in Hamburg and the regulars at Windsor Park in Belfast.
The whole thing is just an invitation for trouble, and not worth the hassle.
And let us pray that come it may (As come it will for a' that)The SPL has signed a new four-year broadcasting deal with SKY and ESPN. The deal however automatically becomes void unless there are a minimum of four Celtic v Rangers games per season.
Let's think about this deal for a second here. Right off the bat, the money being offered is a complete and utter pittance (a club that stays in the English Championship for the four seasons can expect to earn £50m more in TV rights than Celtic in the same period). We will continue to be shafted like this because SKY and ESPN, the only two rights holders, have agreed to share the rights rather than bid against each other. In short, a cartel.
Secondly, it is now clearly in the SP Ls own interests to allow a phoenix company to replace and succeed Rangers should they fall. It is now completely unlikely that they will face any penalty that could relegate them.
This is so corrupt it's almost funny.
Aside from the fact that this means Rangers could get away with decades of winning trophies with the aid of illegal activities, it sends a clear message that the SPL feels that it needs Rangers to be doing well. Because the fourth derby game has always came after the split* every team in Scotland now has a clear incentive to ensure that Rangers always finish in the top six to play us* .
How can we possibly have a fair, competitive and even viable league in these circumstances?
edited 22nd Nov '11 7:28:26 AM by TheBatPencil
And let us pray that come it may (As come it will for a' that)Hopefully HMRC wipe them out to the point where they can't come back and this Deal with the Devil collapses. Maybe a Kill Em All is the way forward - out with the old and all that.
And let us pray that come it may (As come it will for a' that)![]()
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While I'm fully prepared to believe that the SPL and Rangers are pulling an Argentine FA/River Plate style swindle on us, I must ask where you got this information? The BBC article
on the subject says its a 5-year deal and that no details have been revealed as of yet, with no mention of a '4 Old Firm games per season' clause.
EDIT: Ah, wait a minute, I've found it on the Guardian
. Still, they're not reporting it negatively, surprise surprise.
edited 22nd Nov '11 10:16:11 AM by Saeglopur
Listen to Music with Tropers at The Troper Turntable!So, they tried to get Gordon Strachan back as a Director of Football earlier this season. Aside from the obvious heart attacks that this news will give many of the Celtic support, it's interesting to consider.
A Director of Football would, I think, undeniably be a positive appointment for Celtic. Our previous experiences with this role haven't been successful - Jock Brown in 1997/98 and Kenny Dalglish in 1999 were both complete failures on a number of levels (Dalglish spent most of his time on the golf course while Brown was and always will be an arse), but the problem there was with the personnel involved rather than the role itself.
The "British Model" of running a big football club in the modern world is a really, really stupid one. For some reason, the British seem to have a fear of anyone not titled "the manager" having an influence at a club at all. That might have worked when a football club was just 11 players, a board and some coaches, but these days?
I think that there is a lot of benefit to have someone in who can direct the long-term development of the footballing side of a club. Someone with an understanding of finance, scouting and player and coaching development.
Compare Alex Ferguson and Andre Villas-Boas here. Ferguson is essentially a Director of Football with a different title; he overseas the entire development of the footballing side of the club while a legion of coaches handle training the players (that Ferguson can do this while also taking responsibility for leading the first team at matchday is a credit to the man).
By comparison, AVB is very much the Head Coach at Chelsea. While everything to do with coaching and setting up the first team is his remit, the wider direction of the club is being handled well above him (this is probably why the squad hasn't changed all that much in years).
Neil Lennon, Celtic manager, would fall into the category of Head Coach. Above him we have Peter Lawwell, Chief Executive and de facto Director of Football. The problem is that Lawwell is not a "football person", so to speak. He's an accountant by trade and not qualified to make final decisions on things like player recruitment and the organisation of the football side of the club.
Maybe Strachan isn't the man for the job either. But I certainly do think that having someone in who, as part of a wider team (Lyon are magnificent at making sure decisions are taken together), can be responsible for long-term football development. Without that, it's easy to become rudderless and lose direction.
Look at Spurs, for example, and how well they are doing; it has more to do with the long-term work of Damien Comolli and Pleat before him than any work of genius by 'Arry Redknapp.
EDIT - Oh aye, we've signed Mikael Lustig from Rosenborg
.
edited 23rd Nov '11 8:17:01 AM by TheBatPencil
And let us pray that come it may (As come it will for a' that)Won Jae Yang, a 17-year-old boy from Korea, has sent Bath City FC (currently at the bottom of the table in the Blue Square Premier League, having taken only 8 points from 20 games this season) "over a hundred e-mails" requesting to become the club's manager.
In a slightly cruel, yet moderately entertaining, decision taken by the club, they have published some of the kid's e-mails
and are now accepting feedback from readers on whether or not the kid should be made the new gaffer.
edited 24th Nov '11 8:09:29 PM by SeanMurrayI
Resounding skelping of St Mirren today. Gary Hooper scored a hattrick, youngster Dylan Mc Geouch stored a cracking debut goal and even Georgios Samaras got in on the action!
People are feeling optimistic for the first time in months, and the gap is down to 4 points with Rangers to play tomorrow.
Graffiti on the wall just as the Sun was going down;
I seen graffiti on the wall,
Of the Celts! Of the Celts!
Graffiti on the wall that says
"We're magic! We're magic!"
Grafitti on the wall,
Grafitti on the wall!
And it said:
"Ooh, aah, up the Celts!" Say, Ooh, aah, up the Celts!
Alright, I'm calling this. With FIFA's Goals of the Year candidates already announced, this is the first goal guaranteed to make it on next year's list.
From what I gather, the striker's name is Bruno Mezenga, currently on-loan with Red Star Belgrade (Although after a play like that, I wouldn't be surprised if he gets signed up full time); the goal being scored in a Serbian Cup fixture against Smerderevo.
edited 26th Nov '11 11:36:31 AM by SeanMurrayI
Wales manager Gary Speed has died at his home at the age of 42. The Football Association of Wales has told the BBC that it appears that Speed committed suicide. He is survived by this wife and two children.
This is just... unbeleivable. I was watching him live on Football Focus just yesterday morning.
Speed's playing career lasted from 1988 until his retirement in 2010. The midfielder scored 103 goals in 677 career appearances for Leeds United (where we won the old First Division title in 1992), Everton (whom he supported as a youngster and captained), Newcastle United, Bolton Wandererers and Sheffield United. He represented his country 85 times from 1990 to 2004, and he became the first player to make 500 Premierleague appearances in 2006. He became the first to score in every Premiership season to date in 2007.
Following his retirement in 2010, he was appointed manager of Sheffield United and was appointed manager of Wales last December.
Stan Collymore Tweeted
on Friday something that is suddenly even more correct and relevant. Also this
.
edited 27th Nov '11 7:53:49 AM by TheBatPencil
And let us pray that come it may (As come it will for a' that)I'm not sure after reading this bit in The Guardian's article if "The Secret Footballer" really does know what Rafati may have been going through.
Unlike a player, whose primary worry may be poor performance or letting down his club's fans. A referee's job, on the other hand, is always thankless. If you're a referee, you're never the hero; even when you're right, you'll pretty much always be met with derision from a crowd.
I would be inclined to believe that both these cases of depression would need to be analyzed separately and approached uniquely—certainly not lumped together in the same basket and drawn for comparison.
edited 27th Nov '11 10:39:31 AM by SeanMurrayI
True. No two cases of depression are the same. It is a bastard of a disease.
But in speaking of bastards, some lighter news. The gap between us and Rangers is now down to just four points after they lost 1-0 away to Kilmarnock today. New singing Sone Aluko - who had to pay compensation to Aberdeen out of his own pocket to sign for Rangers - cost them the goal by being lazy when pressing out from a corner and playing the Killie man onside.
For reference, when we played Motherwell away on the morning of 6 November, we were fifteen behind. That's a closed it down by eleven points in just three weeks. A twelve point lead down to four just this week. We can do this, we will do this.
This
sums up our feelings right now. Lets hunt some Orc!
edited 27th Nov '11 11:27:52 AM by TheBatPencil
And let us pray that come it may (As come it will for a' that)Ballsy goal for a lad making his debut, mind. Moreso for not playing in Stokes who was chomping for a goal. I've seen Mc Geouch play a few times for a Development Squad and he really looks like he's going to be a good player. Very direct, skilled on the ball, and confident.
Anyway, Maradona is no longer the standard. The standard is now Paddy
.
edited 27th Nov '11 2:53:43 PM by TheBatPencil
And let us pray that come it may (As come it will for a' that)So I watched Sportscene (it's always a laugh when Rangers lose) and the BBC's production team really out-did themselves tonight.
On a weekend when Celtic score five and Rangers lose, they opened by showing guest pundit John Rankin scoring against us in 2008 (showed four times) then highlights of a St Mirren 3-0 win over Celtic from 1990 while somehow producing five Rangers goals.
It finished up with a "good luck next Sunday John" - guess who Dundee Utd, Rankin's team, play next Sunday?. If I didn't know better, I'd say they were running scared.
Really, though, Sportscene is the absolute nadir of Scottish provincial broadcasting. Aside from the fact that their highlights are normally crap and half the commentary obviously dubbed, "punditry" consists of some inarticulate moron stating the obvious. Compared to Match Of The Day, it's like they're actively trying to bore us all to death.
And let us pray that come it may (As come it will for a' that)

Neymar's got skill, but there's something about his style that strikes me as loathsome cockiness—akin to a Christiano Ronaldo of sorts, apart from being half his size and half his age.
edited 20th Nov '11 12:03:37 PM by SeanMurrayI