The Offical Glasgow Celtic thread

[Gaoth Dobhair Abu]

LB just seen that report from Billy Mc online, was gonna post it myself.

Telling lines:  "The big decisions have always gone against my club and in favour of Rangers. Nothing has changed.

"I felt that way as a player, during two spells as manager and now as a spectator.

"This season I've seen it in each of three derbies - and what happened at Ibrox on Sunday was as disappointing as any I've had to stomach."

[J OGorman]

Hello celtic men

Was wondering what ever happened to Alan Thompson who played on the left wing for Celtic a while back. Seemed a good player who was touted to sort Englands left sided problems. Caught him being interviewed for Footy focus (I think) at a time when for some reason he was caught in limbo...wasnt getting a start and was seeing out his contract...

did he play for anyone else after this?
what happened him @ Celtic and who was manager at the time?

cheers in advance

[clarshack]

Hello celtic men

Was wondering what ever happened to Alan Thompson who played on the left wing for Celtic a while back. Seemed a good player who was touted to sort Englands left sided problems. Caught him being interviewed for Footy focus (I think) at a time when for some reason he was caught in limbo...wasnt getting a start and was seeing out his contract...

did he play for anyone else after this?
what happened him @ Celtic and who was manager at the time?

cheers in advance

after celtic he went to play for leeds in 2007 after falling out of favour with WGS. he is now reserve team manager at Newcastle. a damn good player.

[T Fearon]

Excellent player. Saw him put away a penalty at Ibrox in 2003, right in front of the Huns supporters, just a few days after Celtic beat Boavista in the UEFA semi final. Shows how times change, Celtic had Larsson, Sutton, Hartson and the huns had De Boer and Caniggia. You'll not see players like that in Glasgow again anytime soon.

[lynchbhoy]

Excellent player. Saw him put away a penalty at Ibrox in 2003, right in front of the Huns supporters, just a few days after Celtic beat Boavista in the UEFA semi final. Shows how times change, Celtic had Larsson, Sutton, Hartson and the huns had De Boer and Caniggia. You'll not see players like that in Glasgow again anytime soon.

dunno - maybe not 'soon' but if the epl starts losing teams due to financial problems, and some of the sponsors pull out or have to reduce their money to teams - like AIG had to do to man u - then the epl may come looking for Celtic and maybe rangers to spice up their league again !

An injection of cash would start to bring better players (and managers) to Glasgow.
But prob right- not 'soon' !

[Myles Na G.]

You hardly need a left back of Danny Mc Grain or Tommy Gemmell proportions these days in Scotland.

The main difference on Sunday was that every Rangers player played up to his potential  and with conviction, ffs Davis controlled midfield at times as if he was Platini, whereas the likes of Mc Geady and Brown were pale shadows of themselves (they were ten times better last season under Strachan), with arguably only Boruc playing to his for Celtic. That has to be down to the respective managers.

Also if Strachan was a poor man manager how come so many lads were very happy to rejoin him at Middlesbro?

I can only assume that the total lack of any credible alternative and a big pay off, is the only thing that is now keeping Mowbray in place at Celtic Park.

Celtic had to pay WBA 2m to get Mowbray, plus his own personal terms. If they sacked him now, they'd have to pay out his contract, plus do the whole lot again for the new manager. We may be stuck with him.

[orangeman]

Harry Redknapp wasn't a saft fella !!!!

[clarshack]

according to the Daily Ranger lambert wouldnt want the job anyway...

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/2010/03/03/former-celtic-skipper-paul-lambert-insists-i-d-never-want-to-manage-hoops-86908-22081893/

[stibhan]

Ach Billy would say that. But in all seriousness, if this has occurred (and I doubt if it has in recent times, not intentionally anyway) it has not stopped Celtic winning 42 titles, when they have had teams and managers of sufficient quality to do so.

That's absolute bullshit. You who peddle lies about the IFA can't recongise that the SFA have been proven to be anti-Celtic in the past? Look up Jim Farry and then tell me what's right. If Celtic and Rangers had two equal teams with similar players then Rangers would always run away with the league title. This year the majority of games Celtic drew or lost were the result of bad refereeing decisions. I know this because I've followed every game.

[Lamh Dhearg Alba]

Billy McNeil said it so it must be true . In all seriousness is nobody going to answer the question of why this supposed biased referee did not give Rangers a penalty when Hinkel fouled Edu in the box? Without doubt a bigger error than the sending off of Brown who was foolish in the extreme to charge into the lamentable Lafferty. Or indeed why he disallowed a Rangers goal? Had he seriously been biased it would have been easy enough for him not to see the ball hit Miller's arm in the build up to that. There have been some absolutely cracking bad calls in Celtic's favour which never seem to come up in this thread. I know a section of the Celtic support love to wallow in victimhood but these claims are no longer credible. Your problems are closer to home lads, 10 points behind a garbage H*ns team and that Celtic performance on Sunday for a team that had to win was pathetic. Blaming everybody else wont get you anywhere.

[T Fearon]

I agree. I'm not saying that there has never been bias against Celtic, and of course the SFA and most of the other teams are blue orientated, but this cannot be used as an excuse. After all the Huns were forced to play an incredible number of games in a short space of time in the league run in which coincided with the UEFA Final in 2008, at Celtic's insistence.

Now good looking for scapegoats I'm afraid

[rossie mad]

I dont think the bias is a reasonable argument.
Like already mentioned the ref on sunday could have had made sure the game was over by 70th minute if he was bias.
I think we are still suffering from the incompetency from our previous manager in terms of the squad he left and its defensive frailities.

On the match last sunday itself i was dissappointed with our attack and especially fortune.
I beleieve we are alot better than that going forward and i think rangers over pysical approach dint suit us.

We need leaders and not the two muppets that we sent down south (caldwell and mcmanus).

Hopefully the cup will enable us to win a trophy and a old firm win in april will lift the spirits.

[lynchbhoy]

I dont think the bias is a reasonable argument.
Like already mentioned the ref on sunday could have had made sure the game was over by 70th minute if he was bias.
I think we are still suffering from the incompetency from our previous manager in terms of the squad he left and its defensive frailities.

On the match last sunday itself i was dissappointed with our attack and especially fortune.
I beleieve we are alot better than that going forward and i think rangers over pysical approach dint suit us.
We need leaders and not the two muppets that we sent down south (caldwell and mcmanus).

Hopefully the cup will enable us to win a trophy and a old firm win in april will lift the spirits.

this season is poor and mowbray has done poorly - I think everyone agrees with that.
Same as last season, it was poor.
but the point here is that despite people being even more blinkered than the celtic bias some of us have , the referees have cost Celtic the three derby games v rangers this season.
That wouldnt have much of a bearing on the poor Celtic overall perf this season - the bit in bold I highlighted is the problem.
the game was won and lost as the ref permitted this to go on. You are spot on, it suited rangers. It is not always about the obvious decisions - penalties not being awarded, or offsided being called/not called. refs can have as big an impact by how they let the game go ahead, and the less physical Celtic team would never win when the over physical , dirty/persistent fouling is allowed to carry on unchecked.

[rossie mad]

I dont think the bias is a reasonable argument.
Like already mentioned the ref on sunday could have had made sure the game was over by 70th minute if he was bias.
I think we are still suffering from the incompetency from our previous manager in terms of the squad he left and its defensive frailities.

On the match last sunday itself i was dissappointed with our attack and especially fortune.
I beleieve we are alot better than that going forward and i think rangers over pysical approach dint suit us.
We need leaders and not the two muppets that we sent down south (caldwell and mcmanus).

Hopefully the cup will enable us to win a trophy and a old firm win in april will lift the spirits.

this season is poor and mowbray has done poorly - I think everyone agrees with that.
Same as last season, it was poor.
but the point here is that despite people being even more blinkered than the celtic bias some of us have , the referees have cost Celtic the three derby games v rangers this season.
That wouldnt have much of a bearing on the poor Celtic overall perf this season - the bit in bold I highlighted is the problem.
the game was won and lost as the ref permitted this to go on. You are spot on, it suited rangers. It is not always about the obvious decisions - penalties not being awarded, or offsided being called/not called. refs can have as big an impact by how they let the game go ahead, and the less physical Celtic team would never win when the over physical , dirty/persistent fouling is allowed to carry on unchecked.

Yeah that is a big problem.
If celtic were that bit more aggresive it would help.

It suits rangers to play like that as they wouldnt be blessed alot with technique.
A bit like tyrone and armagh over the last ten years in gaelic.
They adopted an over physical/persistant fouling approach and its paid dividends and most refs dont pick up on the constant fouling.
Doesnt mean the refs a re biased though.

[stibhan]

http://www.vimeo.com/9865326

All I have to say on the matter. Kenny Miller's tackle looks worse everytime you see it.