Scottish Fitba 2018-19: Falling and Laughing

The Talented Allen Ripley

holden
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Oct 2, 2003
12,723
MetroWest, MA
Celtic have won two Trebles in a row, Rangers finished third, and The Honest Men are in the Championship again. The National Team is sitting at home for the World Cup, which wasn't entirely unexpected, but they went about it in typical Scottish fashion (e.g. several heartbreaking rug-pulls along the way).

Cheers to the coming year, lads!
 

fletcherpost

sosh's feckin' poet laureate
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
12,139
Glasgow, Scotland
I was gonna start the thread, so glad you did Kev. Let's get the musical reference out the way first. I am very excited about the coming season.

 

fletcherpost

sosh's feckin' poet laureate
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
12,139
Glasgow, Scotland
So it looks like Celtic are set to ink the Odsonne Edoaurd deal. Numbers not confirmed yet, but it is a new transfer record for Celtic, i think that's fair to say. Looking like £9m-£10m is the ball park figure.

"The move is expected to be concluded shortly and it is believed that Celtic will lay out a club record fee to get their man."


I like this move a lot. He will have resale value. He's young, plenty room to improve under BR, loves the club and he's gonna get regular playing time.

https://stv.tv/sport/football/1418816-celtic-agree-fee-for-edouard/
 

CodPiece XL

Member
SoSH Member
Jun 4, 2007
2,422
Scottsdale, AZ.
I just got back from two weeks in Scotland today. I love that place.

I'm honestly at the end of my rope with Rangers supporters. Look, I'll sit down and talk about football to any supporter, I don't care if it's Morton, Aberdeen St Johnstone etc. I'll even hope you take points of Celtic, maybe even win ..it's all good. But Jesus, Gerry fae Liverpool can do no wrong, his signings so far will put Celtic in Ranger's shadow etc etc. Reality: never heard of them and none would make the bench at Celtic or the squad for that matter. I just don't get it. They seem really angry, they have been pissed on , shit on , it's all about the rest of the Scottish teams trying to kill them off. Ummmm no, you managed that yourselves. I wouldn't want this to be my first post in a new thread, and I wouldn't unless I was personally abused and insulted by them in the last few days. Fuck, I'm at the point where I don't even want to talk about Scottish fitba anymore.
 
Last edited:

CodPiece XL

Member
SoSH Member
Jun 4, 2007
2,422
Scottsdale, AZ.
So it looks like Celtic are set to ink the Odsonne Edoaurd deal. Numbers not confirmed yet, but it is a new transfer record for Celtic, i think that's fair to say. Looking like £9m-£10m is the ball park figure.

"The move is expected to be concluded shortly and it is believed that Celtic will lay out a club record fee to get their man."


I like this move a lot. He will have resale value. He's young, plenty room to improve under BR, loves the club and he's gonna get regular playing time.

https://stv.tv/sport/football/1418816-celtic-agree-fee-for-edouard/
I think that's the Scottish press pulling a number out of their arses because they simply don't know. Pretty certain it's not 9-10.
 

fletcherpost

sosh's feckin' poet laureate
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
12,139
Glasgow, Scotland
I think that's the Scottish press pulling a number out of their arses because they simply don't know. Pretty certain it's not 9-10.
Sun saying £10M

https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/6540681/celtic-sign-odsonne-edouard-in-10million-deal-as-hoops-shatter-transfer-record-to-land-psg-striker/

"CELTIC have shattered their transfer record to clinch the signing of Odsonne Edouard in a £10million deal.

The Hoops have been locked in talks with PSG in order to land the French striker this summer."

No figure on the Celtic website. Just that it's a four year deal.

https://www.celticfc.net/news/14507

"CELTIC Football Club is delighted to announce that it has signed striker Odsonne Edouard from French champions, Paris Saint-Germain, on a four-year deal in what is the biggest transfer in Celtic’s history."
 

CodPiece XL

Member
SoSH Member
Jun 4, 2007
2,422
Scottsdale, AZ.
Sun saying £10M

https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/6540681/celtic-sign-odsonne-edouard-in-10million-deal-as-hoops-shatter-transfer-record-to-land-psg-striker/

"CELTIC have shattered their transfer record to clinch the signing of Odsonne Edouard in a £10million deal.

The Hoops have been locked in talks with PSG in order to land the French striker this summer."

No figure on the Celtic website. Just that it's a four year deal.

https://www.celticfc.net/news/14507

"CELTIC Football Club is delighted to announce that it has signed striker Odsonne Edouard from French champions, Paris Saint-Germain, on a four-year deal in what is the biggest transfer in Celtic’s history."
I think the actual up front figure is closer to 6M. There will be series of escalators in the deal such as international call ups, Celtic making the CL stages, goal incentives etc that may push that final figure closer to 10M . Of course if the final figure does reach 10M it means a lot went right and money well spent. The press were speculating months ago what the buyout figure was and they came up with 8-9M . Rodgers was asked about it and said the it wasn’t close to the figure being bandied about by the press. I just have my doubts it’s a simple 10m fee even in installments.
 

Dummy Hoy

Angry Pissbum
SoSH Member
Jul 22, 2006
8,232
Falmouth
I just got back from two weeks in Scotland today. I love that place.

I'm honestly at the end of my rope with Rangers supporters. Look, I'll sit down and talk about football to any supporter, I don't care if it's Morton, Aberdeen St Johnstone etc. I'll even hope you take points of Celtic, maybe even win ..it's all good. But Jesus, Gerry fae Liverpool can do no wrong, his signings so far will put Celtic in Ranger's shadow etc etc. Reality: never heard of them and none would make the bench at Celtic or the squad for that matter. I just don't get it. They seem really angry, they have been pissed on , shit on , it's all about the rest of the Scottish teams trying to kill them off. Ummmm no, you managed that yourselves. I wouldn't want this to be my first post in a new thread, and I wouldn't unless I was personally abused and insulted by them in the last few days. Fuck, I'm at the point where I don't even want to talk about Scottish fitba anymore.
I don’t do religion, but my family did, and I end up on the Catholic side of that register every time with my biases in that particular derby. But fuck, you can understand why Rangers fans are awful right now. I mean, if you’re just Johnny Football who was born into Rangers, the last bit of time has been dreadful, and you’ve personally done naught wrong. They’re true, proper fans- know the game, love the game, live it. What has happened to their club (and as you point out, that is largely self-inflicted, which probably makes it worse and harder to accept) is traumatizing, and they’re acting the part. Not saying they shouldn’t be better, but it comes from a place.

This makes me realize I’ve never really thought about the Old Firm loyalties in regard to the Tartan Army. Zero doubt the Scots are a top 3 fan base for me, truly amongst the best. Given the passion and the fact that 70% (?) of their fan base is on one side or another of this rivalry, what is the vibe amongst Scottish fans? I don’t hear much about it.
 

CodPiece XL

Member
SoSH Member
Jun 4, 2007
2,422
Scottsdale, AZ.
I don’t do religion, but my family did, and I end up on the Catholic side of that register every time with my biases in that particular derby. But fuck, you can understand why Rangers fans are awful right now. I mean, if you’re just Johnny Football who was born into Rangers, the last bit of time has been dreadful, and you’ve personally done naught wrong. They’re true, proper fans- know the game, love the game, live it. What has happened to their club (and as you point out, that is largely self-inflicted, which probably makes it worse and harder to accept) is traumatizing, and they’re acting the part. Not saying they shouldn’t be better, but it comes from a place.

This makes me realize I’ve never really thought about the Old Firm loyalties in regard to the Tartan Army. Zero doubt the Scots are a top 3 fan base for me, truly amongst the best. Given the passion and the fact that 70% (?) of their fan base is on one side or another of this rivalry, what is the vibe amongst Scottish fans? I don’t hear much about it.
I mentioned this in the old thread regarding the Scottish national team and a possible loss of Hampden as the home stadium. Of course, it doesn't help that the Scottish team has been pretty garbage for two decades. Anyway, the landscape has changed, it used to be that the majority of Celtic or Rangers fans would support the national team , if anything, I'd say more Celtic fans DIDN"T because of Irish heritage etc. Since Rangers went under, there is the perceived notion by a lot of their fans that it was the Scottish Football authorities that killed them off. How the SFA fits in here, I don't know. It had nothing to do with the SFA. Now it's all about "US" against the rest of Scotland and that means the Scottish national team. They call the "tartan army" , skirt wearing trannies. I've heard many Rangers fans say there is no way they will support the national team etc. The political landscape has changed of course, Scottish Independence vote, the swing to the SNP. Historically, Rangers have always been about queen and country, Great Britain. You won't believe how many times I have heard "you can't be a Rangers fan and support the SNP and want Independence". They link the two. Simply put, you want independence? You don't support Rangers then. Now with this siege mentality they also link supporting the Scottish national team with supporting independence and the break up of the union. I'm not dismissing the notion that the poor state on the national team has caused apathy. I'm not dismissing that my comments are based on a small sample size, but I will say be it Edinburgh, Glasgow or the Western Isles it's been a very noticable common theme I've seen and heard.

My wife and I were staying in a hotel in Stornoway. Now my wife was given a brief synopsis about the Rangers- Celtic rivalry and a bit of history by me over the years. She is from Charleston , SC but she has taken an interest in the teams and sports I watch. I told her about what happened to Rangers back in 2012. Anyway, we are chatting to some guy at the hotel bar after a day out sea fishing just relaxing. General chit -chat, he was on the island doing an audit for monies that the European Commission had given the local castle for renovations etc. We landed up talking about sports. My wife has been working in baseball practically all her working life and that's how it all started, he asked about baseball . Anyway , she asks about him about football and what team he supports, Rangers he said...ohhhh my wife says, that's the team that had to start all over again right? Wow, what a reaction, he was practically spitting with hatred and hissed "fuck off you cunt, they didn't get liquidated, it was Celtic that was liquidated". The guy just turned on a dime, personality wise. It was like flicking a switch. I won't go into the details of what happened afterwards but he wasn't in the bar longer than 20 seconds after he said that to my wife.

I don't think there is any point in rehashing the religious divide between the two teams. I will say that I have personally been doing some soul searching about my youth and growing up in the Western Isles, as you do as you get older. I get asked why I support Celtic given my Protestant upbringing. My usual response has been I didn't care about religion , my favorite color was green and I liked Kenny Dalglish.

In the Western Isles of Scotland there were very few Catholics. I remember at my secondary school ( around 1200 kids), there were 4 families, they were shunned, put down. Even when they left the general class to go their own RE class, the teacher would give them a disgusted look and shake her head as they left the room . There was only a handful of Celtic supporters, we were a bunch of IRA supporting scum bags. At that time, Rangers dominated. Why would I put myself through the persecution of being a Celtic fan on a Catholic hating island being Protestant myself?

I finally figured it out. My dad died when I was 5 ( we had been living abroad), my mother took me back to the islands . She wanted me to grow up in a safe place , good education, surrounded by good God fearing people. Anyway, my mother remarried, my step father and I never got on. I was pretty good at football, but nothing was ever good enough, if I scored three goals he'd ask why didn't I score more, if I had all A's on my school report he would say the school must be too easy. He loved Rangers, he would talk about them a lot..WE ARE THE PEOPLE I would hear him shout at the TV when Rangers were on. On my last trip home I realized the truth, it came back to me...it wasn't about my favorite color green, it wasn't about Kenny Dalglish...I did it out of spite. I became a Celtic fan to spite my step father and he hated it.
 

mic99

New Member
Jul 18, 2005
490
Strong (message board) rumors that Tierney is off to Everton....that truly hurts if true. I really thought he would stick around for a few more years.

Could start our Champions league campaign with Boyata and Lustig in Russia and KT in Liverpool.

I imagine this does not help our slim chances of holding onto players like Dembele.
 

fletcherpost

sosh's feckin' poet laureate
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
12,139
Glasgow, Scotland
It's still pre season in England, but up here in the Republic of Jockistan, there's been competitive fitba for a few weeks with the long drawn out Europa, and Champions League qualifiers. Normally Celtic would already be on their own, like a Murray at Wimbledon. This year we've still got three, yes three teams, into their respective 3rd round of qualification.

Hibs deserve a lot of credit. There were down 0-2 at home to Asteras Tripolis of Greece, and came back to win the home leg 3-2. Last night they got a 1-1 draw away from home to keep dreams of reaching the Europa League Group Stages alive.

The Rangers FC are a different animal this season. More bark, more bite, more scouse. They got through against a decent NK Osijek side. New manager Gerrard, Stevie of England and Liverpool fame described the Croatian side as cocky and mouthy, well they're not mouthy anymore cos the mighty Gers got a score draw at home and are through, largely thanks to Shagger. Two mare roonds tae go.

Celtic got through against Rosenborg, 3-1 at home and scoreless away. I'd like to see Celtic spend some decent cash on a quality central defender, they have money, it's well worth their interests to splash out IMO.

I'm not pleased at all that 26 teams go straight into the Champions League. I think it's a joke to just have 6 other sides from 4 qualifying rounds getting into the CL proper. They really need to think about changing the name of the tournament if this is the way things are going.

If less than half the teams in the Champion's League are champions...well...I mean, it's not a champions league, it's that simple. Pre season starts way too early in Scotland, and I hope there's some challenge to the new CL direction moving forwards. The rich will always get richer, until the glorious revolution, but can we no slow it doon a wee bit ay?

Four qualifying rounds to get into the CL for proper for Celtic is a fuckin joke.

As ever I want to see more TV money coming to Scotland. I think it's gonna be a great season this year. If we have a better product, we ought to be better remunerated for it. The idiots, and i'm being kind using that term, who run the game up here and do the deals need to get their heeds out of their arses. Or pressure has to come from the clubs themselves.

When Salford FC can pay more wages than Motherwell for a player, shit needs sorting out, bawbags need to be shown their fuckin jotters.
 
Last edited:

The Talented Allen Ripley

holden
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Oct 2, 2003
12,723
MetroWest, MA
No Champions League for Celtic this year, they got bounced in the third qualifying round by AEK Athens. It sucks as a fan, the CL is a respite from the foregone conclusion the SPL has become; even though we've gotten our asses kicked from time to time on the European stage, it was nice to have any kind of stakes at all.
 

Titans Bastard

has sunil gulati in his sights
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Dec 15, 2002
14,446
No Champions League for Celtic this year, they got bounced in the third qualifying round by AEK Athens. It sucks as a fan, the CL is a respite from the foregone conclusion the SPL has become; even though we've gotten our asses kicked from time to time on the European stage, it was nice to have any kind of stakes at all.
Does the Europa League hold any appeal for Celtic fans? It's way less glamorous and lucrative than the CL, but unlike the CL it's a competition where Celtic could conceivably make a decent run if things go well.
 

fletcherpost

sosh's feckin' poet laureate
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
12,139
Glasgow, Scotland
I think Celtic fans would have liked to see the defense strengthened. I think Rodgers will be gone before the end of the season. Celtic are a decent side going forwards but have real problems in defense that show when they come up against decent opposition. Celtic are a well run club, prudent to a fault. But i sense Rodgers frustrations with regards to transfer funds might be a sticking point moving forwards.

Rangers played well to go through against Maribor. Rangers fans are loving life at the moment.
 

fletcherpost

sosh's feckin' poet laureate
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
12,139
Glasgow, Scotland
I watched both Europa League play off first leg matches yesterday. Rangers beat FC Ufa 1-0 at Ibrox. They played well enough, and i thought they shoul dhave got a penalty in the second half. They're pretty solid at the back, so I hope they get the job done over in Russia next week.

Celtic drew 1-1 away against FK Suduva and it was to be honest quite a lacklustre performance. Something's not right at Celtic at the moment. Rodgers was pretty dowbeat in his post match interview. He's wasn't happy with the defending for Suduva's goal, and to be honest, i think he's pissed off with the lack of recruitment in the central defender position. Celtic are a bit thin and lacking quality there.

There's unrest amongst the ranks of the Celtic faithful. A bit of the same old same old. The frugal Celtic board not backing the manager in the transfer market. Folks think Rodgers might be nearing the end of this tether. To be fair he's delivered success on and off the field, in terms of trophies and cash money. Everyone knows Celtic are a well run club, but I do think they should have spent a bit more on recruitment. The defense has been an issue for a while, and Celtic tend to get shown up in Europe in that regard. Domestic dominance hides a smattering of ills.

But the Gers are on the rise, no doubt about it. And as a Scottish football fan first and foremost. I thought this was a season where both teams, Rangers and Celtic, could push on in Europe and improve our ranking. The end of season break seems to be getting shorter with more pre qualifying for the European club tournies. It puts a lot of pressure on players and staff at such an early stage of the (pre) season.

I wonder how this is going to pan out.
 

Winger 03

Member
SoSH Member
Oct 15, 2003
1,673
Frederick, MD
Now is as good a time to ask this an ever considering the "struggles" Celtic is having.

Understand that I know very little about European Soccer (or soccer in general) but a good friend of mine is a Celtic fan so I am along for the ride. So my question is what is the end game for Celtic. Clearly they are or at least are recently the class of the SPL. Great, good for them. But to me (the untrained observer) they appear to be a big fish in a small pond. Once they get to the big boys in the CL they get bounced in short order. What I keep hearing is that SPL has a low number and therefore will not get an automatic bid and have to fight through qualifying yielding them tough draws.

To me it seems, that whoever runs Celtic is content to clean up in the SPL but never make the commitment with money to be at all relevant in the larger European picture. As a fan I would find that infuriating as Celtic appears to have the means to get very good players, smash through the SPL like it is a preseason tournament and really set sights on CL games. So why dont they do it? My friend seems to cry poor mouth on behalf of the owners that they dont have the money. Not having and not wanting to spend are 2 different things which me as a cynical north American sports fan can tell the difference but maybe that cynicism has not made its way to Europe.

Imagine if the Sox really kicked ass in the East but got smashed in the playoffs year after year. The glaring missing piece is a pitcher or two yet Henry wont pay to get one - seemingly content to win just enough to keep Fenway filled. This place would go nuts over something like that. So is a similar situation happening with Celtic?

I find soccer with league games mixed in with other league games and national games interesting.
 

The Talented Allen Ripley

holden
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Oct 2, 2003
12,723
MetroWest, MA
I don't think Celtic can generate the revenue to consistently attract and pay the talent required to actually compete in the CL. That money sure as shit isn't coming from being in the SPL. Qualifying for the CL certainly provides a lot of cash, but you're not going to sign any top-tier talent to play in the SPL on a weekly basis, and if Celtic happens to generate a home-grown star (which happens from time to time), they're going to lose him to England or elsewhere due to the transfer system anyway. At least they pocket some cash in the process.

If that sounds somewhat nihilistic, it is. I do think the club can afford more talent than it currently employs, so I'm not excusing that, but there's a very realistic cap on what they can spend for players.
 

The Talented Allen Ripley

holden
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Oct 2, 2003
12,723
MetroWest, MA
Does the Europa League hold any appeal for Celtic fans? It's way less glamorous and lucrative than the CL, but unlike the CL it's a competition where Celtic could conceivably make a decent run if things go well.
For me, it's like the NIT. I'll care if they make a run, and objectively, it's better than staying home completely, but it's hard to get worked up about. That's my American perspective, I don't know if European Celtic fans feel any different.
 

Titans Bastard

has sunil gulati in his sights
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Dec 15, 2002
14,446
Now is as good a time to ask this an ever considering the "struggles" Celtic is having.

Understand that I know very little about European Soccer (or soccer in general) but a good friend of mine is a Celtic fan so I am along for the ride. So my question is what is the end game for Celtic. Clearly they are or at least are recently the class of the SPL. Great, good for them. But to me (the untrained observer) they appear to be a big fish in a small pond. Once they get to the big boys in the CL they get bounced in short order. What I keep hearing is that SPL has a low number and therefore will not get an automatic bid and have to fight through qualifying yielding them tough draws.

To me it seems, that whoever runs Celtic is content to clean up in the SPL but never make the commitment with money to be at all relevant in the larger European picture. As a fan I would find that infuriating as Celtic appears to have the means to get very good players, smash through the SPL like it is a preseason tournament and really set sights on CL games. So why dont they do it? My friend seems to cry poor mouth on behalf of the owners that they dont have the money. Not having and not wanting to spend are 2 different things which me as a cynical north American sports fan can tell the difference but maybe that cynicism has not made its way to Europe.

Imagine if the Sox really kicked ass in the East but got smashed in the playoffs year after year. The glaring missing piece is a pitcher or two yet Henry wont pay to get one - seemingly content to win just enough to keep Fenway filled. This place would go nuts over something like that. So is a similar situation happening with Celtic?

I find soccer with league games mixed in with other league games and national games interesting.
@The Allented Mr Ripley already answered this question about Celtic, but it's an issue that applies to a lot of clubs in a lot of leagues outside of the big ones in Europe. The reality is that in the last 30 years, the amount of TV revenue available to the big fish of Europe has exploded. There was also the Bosman Ruling in 1995, which was basically the soccer equivalent of when baseball ended the reserve clause and created free agency, making it easier for players to move around and abroad.

The reality is: unlike leagues with a deeply socialist structure like the NFL, European soccer leagues are ruthlessly capitalist. There is no way for one-time European contenders like Celtic or Ajax to compete at the highest level, even if they are run brilliantly. Their leagues and countries are too small to generate the TV revenue to compete with clubs in bigger/wealthier leagues. Even though a club like Ajax is renowned for its player development, when they do build a good thing (like a few years ago when they reached the Europa League final), they simply can't pay their players enough to keep them, so they have to sell them to higher-paying clubs or risk having the players be super unhappy, then leave for free when their contract expires, and then have future talent not want to sign for them because the club will be viewed as a roadblock towards reaching the biggest leagues (with the biggest prestige and salaries).

This also goes for smaller clubs in the big leagues. In a miracle season, you'll get Leicester City, but there's almost no shot. The goal for Wolverhampton Wanderers is simply to not get relegated, for eternity. Maybe snag the last Europa League slot could be the high water mark, but that's about all that could be hoped for.

All Champions League finalists have been from Spain, England, Germany, or Italy since 2004-05. The 2003-04 final was an aberration, featuring a Portuguese and French club. Before that, you have to go back to 1995-96 to find the next instance of a club from outside the Big Four reaching that mark, when Ajax lost to Juventus.

The entrenched group of clubs atop each league specifically and atop Europe generally are unassailable by any club managed in any sort of responsible, sustainable way. The only hope is to get bought up by a bored, egotistical, and shady oligarch or Middle Eastern prince who is willing to pour a metric f-ton of money into the club for his own entertainment and sense of self-importance and/or as a PR campaign for his country of origin.
 

67YAZ

Member
SoSH Member
Dec 1, 2000
8,729
Celtic haven't been in the Deloitte Money League top-20 since 2008. This years #20 - Everton with €199.2m in revenue. Celtic would have to make the Champions League final to break in.

The Swiss Ramble had a nice write up on Celtic 3 years back:

Although this might be considered a lack of ambition on behalf of the Celtic board, it also comes down to a simple lack of money. On the face of it, the club’s finances look pretty good, as they are consistently profitable and have little debt, but if you dig a little deeper, then Celtic’s financial challenges become all too apparent. As Deila beautifully put it, “Celtic is unbelievably huge, but the money here is not so huge.”
 

CodPiece XL

Member
SoSH Member
Jun 4, 2007
2,422
Scottsdale, AZ.
I've been keeping a low profile, I wanted to wait and see how much the board would support Rodgers. They have less than two hours to replace Dembele. Even a loan. There is more chance that I will find a scantily clad Jennifer Aniston beckoning me with a "come hither" look when I saunter in my bedroom tonight. Tirade to follow....I've been biting my tongue for a few weeks. Effing shambles. But this shit comes from the top...Dermot Desmond----> Peter Lawwell--> shits on Rodgers.

Edit: Accountants will be pleased...fans have been let down.
 
Celtic's (and Ranger's) only path to European relevance almost certainly requires a shake-up of the European league structure in some way, so that most of their football isn't played in Scotland. Either that means Celtic joins the English league pyramid, or the "Atlantic League" idea gets resurrected, or a European Super League forms so that the ration of European to domestic football roughly flips around and maybe a realignment of domestic competitions happens (as feeder routes into a Super League with promotion/relegation), etc. All of which sounds fanciful, but no more fanciful than the idea of Celtic ever playing Champions League football in the spring again.
 

Winger 03

Member
SoSH Member
Oct 15, 2003
1,673
Frederick, MD
So then from the discussion above, it is rather pointless from a financial perspective to bother getting players good enough to be competitive in the CL for Celtic. That is kind of crummy for fans knowing full well of the thrashing that will occur once they qualify. Very much a big fish in a small pond in the SPL.

On another topic..... How did it all go so wrong so fast for Rogers? It seems like last season everything was great and now we see rumblings that he may be out (via the Board) or quit.
 

fletcherpost

sosh's feckin' poet laureate
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
12,139
Glasgow, Scotland
The Scottish Women's National Team, qualified for the World Cup...well deserved and very well played.

The men's team on the other hand are fuckin awful and Big Eck needs his fuckin jotters. I quickly read some of his post match quotes and I think he said, 'it was my fault, i told them to pass the ball.' We've never mastered this passing lark. I watched the whole game v Belgium last night, and Hampden wasnae even half full and the famous Hampden Roar - (look it up) was a cavernous echo. £35 quid to sit in a piss poor stadium watching Scotland get pumped. No wonder most folks couldnae be jeered. And yet, Celtic can get more folks for charity matches and Rangers got 40k plus for a friendly v Wigan.

The free lunch muppets that run Scottish football should be kicked out and sent to work in a fuckin care home for min wage.
 

fletcherpost

sosh's feckin' poet laureate
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
12,139
Glasgow, Scotland
Hampden as it is is better as a rock music venue than a national stadium. Who are the fuds that run the SFA? I never read a good word about them. About 20,000 showed up, paying £35 for a ticket to the Belgium game and 17,000 showed up for the big Albania game. The Hampden Roar is now a Hampden echo.

One good thing though is Scott McTominay played his first proper competitive match for Scotland so we locked him down. I prefer shagger in goals to Craig Gordon, so i hope he keeps his starting spot moving forwards.
 

Dummy Hoy

Angry Pissbum
SoSH Member
Jul 22, 2006
8,232
Falmouth
You guys need to bring Bazza in. Bannan has been in great form for Wednesday, scoring too. Beautiful free kick goal today against Jack Butland and Stoke.


He already won goal of the month for August. He's healthy and in great form. Fletch looks good too...
 

fletcherpost

sosh's feckin' poet laureate
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
12,139
Glasgow, Scotland
It's not been a great start to the season for Celtic. The Kilmarnock loss at Rugby Park on Sunday was the first time Celtic had lost from a winning position since PSG humped them.

Tom English of the BBC sums things up: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/45628656

On the field, they look a team who have, for now, run out of energy and ideas, even against teams with a fraction of their luxuries. Domestic losses to Killie and Hearts, a goalless draw against lowly St Mirren, a joyless grind in getting past Hamilton 1-0, another struggle against Partick Thistle in the League Cup.

It's their worst start to a league campaign in 20 years - and it runs deep. Over the summer, the irresistible force of Rodgers' ambition to strengthen his squad met the immovable object of chief executive Peter Lawwell's fiscal prudence. And things have been strained ever since.

I've been saying to the many Celtic fans I know that I don't think Rodgers lasts the season. It might smack a little of hyperbole, but my broader point is, i think he's more open to offers and fresh challenges elsewhere. Recruitment has been an issue. Is that all on Rodgers or all on Lawwell, or a bit of both? Hard to say...but i can't imagine an experienced manager like Rodgers doesn't spend long hard hours looking at how to improve the squad or target replacements should a big offer come in for one of his prized assets. Celtic have been a selling club for ages, and it's part of the business model, to find young talent, give them first team football and cash in for them a couple of years down the line. Lawwell has long had a reputation for being fiscally conservative, a long pockets, short arms kind of guy.

Either way, the other teams in the SPL, especially Rangers, will smell blood. And the 'ten in a row' chants will ring a little more hollow if things don't get better fast.
 

CodPiece XL

Member
SoSH Member
Jun 4, 2007
2,422
Scottsdale, AZ.
Well, I have said previously the only thing that could prevent Celtic dominating for the years to come was complacency. And behold that's what we have. I'm not saying it's good for Scottish football, just from a Celtic fan perspective. The last two transfer windows have been a cluster fuck.

Helen Keller could see Celtic required two decent center halves in the last 18 months. They go out and get some kid from Dundee who looks terrified of the ball ( I'll not write him off completely given his age but he has zero situational awareness in the box , just watch him). The other signing is some injury prone reserve from Leipzig who has made one appearance and I doubt I'd recognize him in the street.

Of course, they wheel out the same script every year about January being a difficult window to add quality to the squad and we should be happy with Compper and Jack Henry, I'm not forgetting Lewis Morgan. Well their gamble failed miserably so now you will be lucky to get 40, 000 at Europa league matches and shitty Sunday football that accommodates the EL with the subsequent lower attendance.

Roll onto the summer transfer window, no replacement for Roberts, no replacement for Armstrong, no replacement for Dembele. Boyata pulls a hissy fit and is a no show during the qualifiers , and I don't believe for one minute they signed Edouard for 9 mil. They signed Benkovic on loan and to be fair, he looks a class player but Leicester can recall him in January. If they hope to get any money for Boyata they will have to sell him in January although who would pay his market rate when he will be a free agent a few months later? Unless by some miracle he signs an extension but the relationship between player and club seems too far gone. So, that's their two best center backs who could fuck off in January.

They also signed Arzani on another loan deal. The boy may turn out to be the next Eden Hazard but the reality is he's a youth project who has barely played a full 90 minutes in his career. The summer window script was pulled out that it's difficult to compete with English transfer window still being open and things will perk up when that closed. They signed a 32 year old Izaguirre to cover for Tierney. They also signed Mulumbu on another freebie who I think is a decent signing but mostly as a squad player. I was impressed with him last year when he was at Kilmarnock.The point being I don't see any ambition being shown, no effort to improve the squad.

I just don't get it, once again they lose to a very average team in the CL qualifiers because the squad wasn't strengthened in time. They never really stood a chance. The sad part in all this is that John McGinn who would have given his shirt off his back to play for Celtic was sold to Aston Villa for a reported 2.75M. Celtic were too cheap to match Hibs asking price. The boy has been a revelation for Aston Villa by all accounts, and has been pulling all the strings in their midfield. Did you see his goal this weekend? Absolute fucking stupidity by the Celtic board.

So...what does all this mean as far as Celtic's season so far? They crashed out of Europe to a very average Greek side due to defensive frailties never addressed. Other than the most lopsided 1:0 win over Sevco, this team has shown no passion, no urgency, no direct threat on the wings or in front of goal. They look lethargic and toothless. I woke up on Sunday at 4 am which is not that unusual for me and it crossed my mind that Celtic were playing Kilmarnock. So I switched it on in the hope that I would see a more positive attitude from Celtic. Nope, same shit. I switched it off at half time and took the dog for a walk. I admit the Kilmarnock pitch is not conducive to fast flowing ground passing, I don't think I saw a single pass that did not bobble a few times. You have to spend a bit of extra time trying to control the ball. It would not surprise me if Benkowic looked at the pitch during warmup and said "fuck that, that's not for me" and feigned his injury. Back to the game, all this passing from side to side , back, back again, pass it back to Gordon, then slowly back out, square, square. It accomplishes fuck all and is boring as hell. This is what Celtic have become this season, predictably so and easy to beat. No surprise that later I found out they had lost 2:1. Did I say they are so predictable?

There is plenty of time to turn this around, Celtic still have the best squad, I'd like to see what Lewis Morgan can do. However, Rodgers heart has to be in it and I don't think it is. This is reminding me of Martin O' Neil's last season, the team was not strengthened the cracks in the side were obvious, they required 2-3 decent players and the board did not back him. Come to think of it, Lennon left because he felt he had taken Celtic as far as he could......sound familiar?

Celtic will never compete with Europe's elite but what I think the fans would appreciate is an honest effort by the board to improve the squad every season and build on the success of the previous season. I don't think that's asking for much given the money they spend. How many teams have 52,000 season tickets?

So, anyway, we are heading to Scotland for a month in mid October and the wife wanted to go to another football match. She proactively looked to see what games are on when we are on the mainland for the last week. Sure enough she finds out Celtic are playing Leipzig. She asks me can we go? Now we will be in Edinburgh and I have given some excuse about not wanting to travel from Edinburgh to Glasgow and back the night before we fly back to NYC. The truth of the matter is I have no desire to watch this current Celtic team play in it's present mindset ( maybe it will change) but more importantly I don't want to give the board one penny of my money. If they can't be bothered investing and improving the squad then I can't be bothered wasting my money on them. Not that Peter Lawwell will notice our absence. I'm hoping that I can convince her we should spend the night relaxing and find a decent Indian restaurant. Staring at a plate Chicken Tikka Masala will be more entertaining than watching this Celtic team, assuming Rodgers can't turn things around. At this point, Rodgers must make the league his priority and I really hopes he starts sending out a reserve team for the EL on Thursday nights. It would be a perfectly acceptable thing to do and a very public "Fuck You" to the board. They deserve it.

I could go on about Peter Lawwell, the board, Dermott Desmond etc. I could mention that in one way, I'd be hesitant giving Rodgers serious money in the transfer market, after all, I could go through a substantial list of failed signings. But honestly..I'm not sure it is worth it. My gut is telling me that Steve Clark will be the next Celtic manager...which I think is more preferable that Neil Lennon part deux.
 

CodPiece XL

Member
SoSH Member
Jun 4, 2007
2,422
Scottsdale, AZ.
So the fuds at the SFA want to play two semis of the League Cup at Hampden on the same effing day? Idiots. For the more P.C " so the muppets at the SFA want to play two semis of the League Cup at Hampden on the effing same day?
 

fletcherpost

sosh's feckin' poet laureate
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
12,139
Glasgow, Scotland
Oh Scotland, why are we so pish at all things football?

Big Eck McLeish has in his short 8 game reign managed 6 losses from 8 matches. This last few days saw the Scottish team lose 2-1 away to 95th ranked Israel, then Portugal's B team gubbed us at 1-3 a less than half empty Hampden.

In both matches the football was woeful.

But the good thing is it stopped hurting twenty or so years ago. It ought to be funny soon, but right now it's not.
 

fletcherpost

sosh's feckin' poet laureate
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
12,139
Glasgow, Scotland
I watched that Israel game- it was dreadful.
Bloody hell mate, i didn't even watch the whole match. In fact i rarely watch a whole Scotland match. I have it on, but with the sound turned down and I'll be doing something else.

Five minutes of watching the Scottish national team is like an hour of root canal treatment.
 

CodPiece XL

Member
SoSH Member
Jun 4, 2007
2,422
Scottsdale, AZ.
Well in their infinite wisdom common sense prevailed and a League Cup Semi will be held at two venues. Heading over to Scotland for a month on Tuesday. We have decided to change a few things around and will be attending the semi against Hearts at Murrayfield...God it's been 20 years since I've been at Murrayfield. It will be a one night travel down and travel back north. The semi appeals to me a lot more than a EC game. So what the heck.

The only negative is I have to figure out a way to watch the World Series, I don't think I can fool my Direct TV app to think I'm still in the U.S. Anyway, I'll take an Apple TV and try and figure out something. These apps rely on GPS and not IP which sucks. Sunday Ticket is the same.

On the plus side.........getting away from all these political ads for a few weeks will be bliss...sick and tired of politics. But I'm sure I'll run into a Brexit conversation.

In the event that McLeish is sacked during my month over , I'll be applying for the Scotland job. What kind of manager has two world class left backs in his squad and refuses to play either one of them in position? Gormless...why , why, why did the SFA appoint McLeish? Is the Scotland job that bad ? Don't answer that.
 

candylandriots

unkempt
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Mar 30, 2004
12,327
Berlin
Well in their infinite wisdom common sense prevailed and a League Cup Semi will be held at two venues. Heading over to Scotland for a month on Tuesday. We have decided to change a few things around and will be attending the semi against Hearts at Murrayfield...God it's been 20 years since I've been at Murrayfield. It will be a one night travel down and travel back north. The semi appeals to me a lot more than a EC game. So what the heck.

The only negative is I have to figure out a way to watch the World Series, I don't think I can fool my Direct TV app to think I'm still in the U.S. Anyway, I'll take an Apple TV and try and figure out something. These apps rely on GPS and not IP which sucks. Sunday Ticket is the same.

On the plus side.........getting away from all these political ads for a few weeks will be bliss...sick and tired of politics. But I'm sure I'll run into a Brexit conversation.

In the event that McLeish is sacked during my month over , I'll be applying for the Scotland job. What kind of manager has two world class left backs in his squad and refuses to play either one of them in position? Gormless...why , why, why did the SFA appoint McLeish? Is the Scotland job that bad ? Don't answer that.
I have my AppleTV in Germany and have been watching playoff games on it. But I have a router with a VPN in the firmware. But before that I had a VPN program I ran on my laptop that would work to watch EPL games as if I was in the US, but it wouldn’t work on my iPhone or anything that did use GPS. Feel free to PM me and I’ll try to help if I can.
 

PedroSpecialK

Comes at you like a tornado of hair and the NHL sa
SoSH Member
Dec 12, 2004
27,164
Cambridge, MA
The mlbstreams subreddit tends to have reliable desktop + mobile streams but not sure how the latency will be if you’re not on wifi there
 

Smiling Joe Hesketh

Throw Momma From the Train
Moderator
SoSH Member
May 20, 2003
35,719
Deep inside Muppet Labs
The Hearts-Hibs derby featured the Hearts keeper getting punched in the face by a Hibs fan, and Hibs manager Neil Lennon trolling the Hearts crowd after a late goal was ruled offsides and promptly getting hit in the face with a thrown coin.

Never change, SPL. Never change.
 

Dummy Hoy

Angry Pissbum
SoSH Member
Jul 22, 2006
8,232
Falmouth
Nice turn around from the boys. Apparently a touch of Steven Fletcher was all you needed to get back to winning (group C) ways.

In all seriousness, Forest and Fraser looked dangerous, and McGregor had a good one. Nice to see a little bit of pride. Hamden wasn’t full, but I thought the crowd was solid too.
 

CodPiece XL

Member
SoSH Member
Jun 4, 2007
2,422
Scottsdale, AZ.
The Hearts-Hibs derby featured the Hearts keeper getting punched in the face by a Hibs fan, and Hibs manager Neil Lennon trolling the Hearts crowd after a late goal was ruled offsides and promptly getting hit in the face with a thrown coin.

Never change, SPL. Never change.
Having spent quite a few days in Edinburgh in the last month, I had a chance to talk to various Hibs and Hearts fans. I didn't meet one who wasn't glad both teams are now in the SPL, there was a mutual respect and both sets of fans appear happy for the "healthy" local competition. Evidently that went out the window at this local derby.
 

CodPiece XL

Member
SoSH Member
Jun 4, 2007
2,422
Scottsdale, AZ.
Nice turn around from the boys. Apparently a touch of Steven Fletcher was all you needed to get back to winning (group C) ways.

In all seriousness, Forest and Fraser looked dangerous, and McGregor had a good one. Nice to see a little bit of pride. Hamden wasn’t full, but I thought the crowd was solid too.
Who knew wee James Forest had turned into Kenny Dalglish. Some well taken goals over the last 2 matches. I thought Christie, McGregor and Armstrong have brought much needed energy to the Scottish midfield. It's no coincidence that Celtic have been playing at a higher tempo with Scott Brown injured and McGregor ( taking over) and Christie playing regularly. Less aimless sideways passing and much more direct. Of course it helps that Scotland have been playing the likes of Stenhousemuir , I mean Albania and Israel but credit where credit is due. MacLeish actually had players playing in their natural positions..amazing what happens. I have no clue how this Nations League works but it appears to be better than shitty friendlies. I'll have to google the competition.

I went to Murrayfield to see Celtic and Hearts, I'll take Murrayfield any day over that Hampden crypt. Night and day. However, the SFA says Hampden...it really is a shit hole.
 

mic99

New Member
Jul 18, 2005
490
Huge win away at Rosenborg. I only had audio but it sounds like the Celts played well considering our away record in Europe. Celtic need 1 point from the Salzburg game at Paradise to escape the group stages of Europa League.

Mon the Hoops
 

fletcherpost

sosh's feckin' poet laureate
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
12,139
Glasgow, Scotland
Huge win away at Rosenborg. I only had audio but it sounds like the Celts played well considering our away record in Europe. Celtic need 1 point from the Salzburg game at Paradise to escape the group stages of Europa League.

Mon the Hoops
They played well enough but they can play a lot better. Quite a lot of sloppy play in passages. A few times Celtic were one good pass away from creating some clear cut chances. The goal came from some great play from Forest, who is in the form of his life at the moment.

Celtic would have taken this position at the start of the group stages so a point at home is certainly doable.

In other news Gers just down to ten men. They're not playing well, giving the ball away a lot. With ten men it's gonna be tough to get anything from the game but its 0-0 at half time. Flanagan can't cut it at this level.