Celtic Banter Archive December 11 2013

11 Dec 2013 22:51:53
UEFA, Europe's top players and match officials will unite to pay tribute to Nelson Mandela in a ceremony to take place ahead of every UEFA Champions League game this week.

A 12m-by-2m banner reading 'Madiba, the world will never forget' will be unfurled before every matchday six fixture, with teams and referees to pose for pictures behind it ahead of kick-off. The former president of South Africa, whose actions helped precipitate the collapse of the apartheid regime in his home country, died on 5 December at the age of 95. 'Madiba' is the traditional Xhosa clan name by which Mandela was affectionately known.

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Nothing short of hypocritical. Surely if UEFA charge us for a political banner on Friday it should be thrown out if challenged as they have displayed political displays in 16 matches in two nights?! Add also, Barcelona fans had a Catalonian independence banner in Camp Nou tonight.

On a night when our team hits rock bottom in Europe some people are still arguing about banners! Jeez!

@DesH D'you want one better than that? Type "Celtic pay for Killie seat damage" in to the search bar on the BBC's website and read the article from 9th May 2007. There was 1, 500 seats snapped at Rugby Park the day we won the league that season which cost £20k to repair, yet the media and our club are telling us that the 60 seats at Fir Park on Friday night cost £10k to replace? I can't remember the press having a field day with the seats being broken that day. I can't remember Celtic calling for bans or investigations. I can't remember other fans branding others as hooligans, neds, etc + actually wanting the authorities to take action on our own kind? Who's having who?!

HamiltonBhoy, common sense covers this one.

Seats at Rubgy park where broken through people standing on them celebrating winning the league and trying to get a view of the players celebrating at the end. There's a difference to doing it through spite and vandalising for the sake of it.

I understand it might seem a thin line and you might not see the difference but there is a difference and the club and media understand it. I imagine the same happened when the dead mob celebrated there title win there 3 years ago and will have got a bill for damages aswell. (Kilmarnock, like the face painter will still be waiting for the cheque)

That the other night was vandalism for the sake of it. Just wee bell ends doing what they do best. acting like bell ends.

Stevensee88

But that doesn't explain how 60 seats cost £10k to replace in 2007 but 1, 500 cost £20k in 2013.

HamiltonBhoy

11 Dec 2013 22:35:54
Commons is on for 10 minutes and wins us 3 or 4 free kicks in dangerous areas which was always going to be our best chance of a goal and Charlie delivers a fantastic cross and yet none of them start. Can't understand that. How can you play Matthews away to Barca after being out for so long. Baffling to say the least. Always stick up for Lenny but team selection makes no sense tonight

11 Dec 2013 22:23:37
Where do you start with the showing tonight . The tactics were awful, the team selection was awful and most of all the attitude of some of the players was awful . After tonight's performance and the closing of section 111 Saturdays going to be a strange home game . Why tonight didn't we start with a defensive mindset and go with a containing team for at least an hour . We must start rebuilding for next season . We must start asking questions concerning our team as tonight was embarrasing at times . Out of our starting eleven we had ten full internationals . Who identifies these players like Pukki, Boerrigter, etc . Like everybody else I would like to know what's going on at the club because instead of progressing and going forward I actually feel we have stalled and Europe wise we are moving backwards. DH

11 Dec 2013 22:10:00
I wish I could post happy posts on here, but simply put:

Board sell our best players and replace them with mince.

Fact: Lennon does not learn tactically, and in fact is going back the way in his tactical development. This evening he got it sooooo wrong that we suffered what I believe (and correct me if I am wrong) to be our worst ever European defeat in 125+ years. Take a bow Neil.

Last two domestic games saw him deploy new formation that actually worked - he then got to a European game where he could actually afford to keep those tactics and show signs of progression. Instead he gutted that team and completely bottled it, to the extent we were embarrassed with the entire world watching.

And yes the players have to take some blame, and there were some awful performances out there. But the buck stops with the manager.

And lastly, do you think players like Ledley will want to stay? Forget it, he made up his mind to leave celtic before half time tonight and I do not blame him.

WTBhoy

I think ledeley had his mind made up long before tonights game .To be honest outside Scotland few of the players on show tonight would shine anywhere else .Not 1 bit of difference a £20m striker would have made tonight, the midfield was totally exposed .
I'd imagine if Celtic had of went out to play Barca at their own game the damage would have been greater

TTTS I agree totally but one question would Ledley have stayed if we had invested better for example instead of Pukki, Boeriggter and Balde we had signed a quality striker for the same sort of cash and loaned in midfield cover?

ok arguement could be have less players but Balde, Pukki and Boerrigter are nowhere good enough so wasted that money

@2, they never have been good enough. Second rate players no other team wanted and their old teams were glad to be shot of. If they can't perform in the SPL what chance do they have of doing well in the CL? Very poor indeed. The current squad is our worst in a long time while our finances have never been better. Thank you Lawwell & Co.

Hail Hail
ChrisBhoy

I have said on this page and I will say it again, we are playing our football in a third rate league, the quality of player required to perform at european level
will not come to this country because of the standard its at.Its not celtics fault
we find ourselves stuck in this level, and it won't matter a jot what wages we are going offer, the players won't come.Our preparation for euro games is, and with all due respect to them, is the journeymen who ply their
trade with the lesser teams, whereas our opponents whoever they may be are playing against the best the world has to offer every week.Time to waken up and realise what we are up against playing in this leaguejimbhoy

11 Dec 2013 21:46:29
First time poster. Disgraceful show. Worst ever for me. Basic mistakes and too many empty jerseys.Pukki is never a top striker and Samaras was woeful.
Ambrose once again proving to be a liability at the back.
Really fed up with the away day malaise. Something is seriously wrong in a coaching capacity.

Pukki is rotten agree there ambrose was at the heart of every mistake defence wise samaras was poor but if it was not for him last year's cl would not have happened think people expect him to do it all the time in Europe if that was the case he would be playing against us in Europe I am not too upset about result maybe make board realise we need serious signings for next year

Aye nae bother mate.Great first post, try to remember who we're playing against and the massive difference in funding between us and 95% of the other teams in C.L. To qualify is as much as we can hope for, any points won are a bonus.

Artmeda Bratislava much worse result. At least we got humped by one of the best teams in Europe.
Our goal is to qualify for the group stages of the CL and we achieved that.
However it was a disappointing result and a poor performance by most of the team except VVD.
Surely Pukki must be sold and a decent striker added.

11 Dec 2013 21:17:52
Hang your heads in shame bhoys, pathetic!

11 Dec 2013 21:03:42
"Samaras is the kind of player that can get managers the sack" - OK it's a pointless game for us but he is a constant disappointment living off a handful of good games in a very mediocre Celtic career.
If he didnae look like Jesus I would kick his erse!
Talking of careers, Put Pukki down for a very short wan.
Mathews was also a big gamble after a long injury when Mulgrew or Ledley could slot in and is the plan to keep Scott Brown as far away from Neymar as possible?
Too many changes from a winning confident team and I know it's not Hearts or Motherwell we are playing but I do know how their fans feel as I watch goal number 5 fly past big Herman.

Hope the Board (and manager) can sleep at night after seeing what our CL team has become 1 year on

At least the headlines tomorra will no be about Fir Park seats.

Totally Mortified!

JJ

I agree. We had a side last season we should have used to build a real quality side. They should have broke the bank account open paid for hooper and wanyama to stay one more year got hooper a partner and progressed. Now look at us.
ParadiseAndy

11 Dec 2013 20:48:06
Samaras for me tonight has summed up nitey five per cent of his celtic career poor passing poor control and blindly running into 2 or 3 players and losing possession but worst of all is is laziness and unwillingness to track back a know a few players have played poor passing wise so far but at least they are still trying and giving 100percent sammy yet again looks disinterested and that is not acceptable . Must say as well thot Lenny got team well wrong playing Matthews who has been out for so long and will be lacking match fitness yet pitch him straight in against barca is just wrong play Charlie there surely and playing sammy I front of him was ridiculous due to his lack of work rate a didn't expect us to win beforehand but thought we could have offered more resistance

11 Dec 2013 20:33:53
That 3rd goal just shows why samaras shouldn't be playin the night standin starin into space while montoya just strolls in. Guys worse than a man down

GunnieBhoy

11 Dec 2013 19:05:34
Just heard on the radio that two Ajax fans have been stabbed in Milan. Ajax fans apparently causing trouble with home fans & innocent protesters! Looks like the Ajax hooligans picked the wrong place to start trouble eh?

14 Dec 2013 19:11:48
Make that 4 Rory. They attacked Milan scarfers earlier today then not long before KO Milan's ultras/hooligans caught them off guard. There's videos of them attacking Milan scarfers kicking about the internet already, including this one:

www.geenstijl.nl/mt/archieven/2013/12/ajax_hooligans_slopen_milan.html

11 Dec 2013 16:20:09
Back to footballing matters, how's everyone feeling about tonight?

No doubt, with it being a nothing game for us, this will be one of those famous nights that means heehaw! Stuck Celtic to win on at 17/1 last night.

In regards to the team line up, I feel it's unjust and very unfair to change it. Same team from Friday night, or even dropping Pukki to throw Biton in to MF:

Forster
Lustig - Ambrose - Virgil - Izzy
Broony - Mulgrew - Ledley - Commons
Pukki - Stokes

or

Forster
Lustig - Ambrose - Virgil - Izzy
Broony - Biton - Mulgrew - Ledley - Commons
Stokes

11 Dec 2013 16:52:33
Honestly think we'll take a beating. Celtic on form Barca in crisis lol what's that 2 games they've lost and we've won 2 convincingly. We're still worlds apart. Hope am wrong just don't see it 3 nil Barca

11 Dec 2013 16:56:09
Is anyone else worried like me, that Barca will do to us what we did to Hearts?
16/1 in a 2 horse race? there is a good reason for such big odds, also our CL campaign has been pretty poor this season, I am worried we take a drubbing tonight, hope I am wrong Timalloy

Can't get motivated for this one at all
It's the last European game for a year or so and that will leave a big hole in the season - football and financial wise. But the Camp Nou is an experience that may benefit the team for next season?
We have captured some good home form and I just hope to get a half decent result without picking up any injuries or suspensions and get back safely; maybe the manager will shuffle things around as we have nothing to lose except pride and that went bang with 3 points out of 15 in the group so far.

JJ

Just seen the team. So we skelp Hearts + Motherwell; yet Lenny drops Commons, Mulgrew + Stokes for Boerrigter, Sammy + Matthews? Question marks over my head.

11 Dec 2013 13:24:52
I'd like to see Matthews at right back and Lustig on the right wing in front of him.
Lustig does the right wing better than Matthews, better crosses and running at defenders.

11 Dec 2013 20:07:46
Before a say this a think Mathews is a gr8 player a am now of the opinion a would rather have lustig at right back than Mathews.a think he has got better and better never let's the team down good in air, defence, positionally, getting forward

11 Dec 2013 02:03:28
'They've been given precautionary suspensions, ' said Lennon. 'People will be able to put across their case. There are plenty of them who are probably innocent parties in all of this, so if that's the case I'm sure we'll be pretty fair with them.'
So it looks like there were people on here spot on as usual and the club have banned people with no evidence and the manager had admitted it. Lennon is a disgrace and should be ashamed of himself for backing the club's stance on this

Surely the evidence is the 100+ broken seats at fir park and the flares thrown all seen on live tv?

Scotland: Where you're guilty until proven innocent!

HamiltonBhoy

Lennon is a disgrace is harsh this group has constantly cost the club thousands of pounds in fines not to mention the damaged seats Celtic need to be seen to be taking action not defending theses people I myself support Celtic football club for football nothing else if these clowns want to make political statements then do it outwith the stadia football has no place for politics simple as I had taken my son and nephew to firhill a few years back for a pre season friendly against Partick and was removed from the Celtic end into the Partick end by police for safety fears because of the amount of smoke generated by these smoke bombs I could not even see the pitch through the thick smoke not my cup of tea at a football match what you expect Lennon to do defend these clowns just keep racking up the fines until more serious action is taken like stadium closures and that because if it continues this is what will happen and will ruin it for the normal decent supporters

Ayrshire bhoy

Any person causing damage to seats and using flares should be BANNED

Lennon's a disgrace?! The persons who damaged the seats and thew pyro's onto the pitch are a disgrace. The GB have already admitted it shouldn't have happened on their watch so the club had no other alternative. The GB are a joke, they think they are as important as the club and more important than the other +95% of supporters in the stadium. I back the club and manager's stance on this one. Too many times this group of "supporters" have shamed our club. How many warnings did they think they would get before this would happen?

Troll? Or Zombie?

Lennon a disgrace. away back to the sevco site!

@ OP

I'm sorry but I do not follow what you mean?

Che posted Celtic's statement and at nowhere in the statement did it say they had identified the culprits. We all know the tickets suspended are a 'precautionary method' the issue was the fans claiming their ticket had randomly been suspended. They were not in section 111 and had not bought a ticket using their client code for Motherwell which is complete bull.

Do you think Celtic just picked 128 tickets at random with no purpose, never looked into who bought a Motherwell ticket?

I would say we are still in the first half of the season and now looking at a 2nd fine (maybe it won't come to that, who knows) and there has been other fan incidents and you think Neil Lennon's a 'disgrace'

How would you deal with this? Please bear in mind Celtic are not a Court of law but need to take immediate action.

Some have become very good at criticising the Club this season, is Scottish football boring some of them?

If you are going to constantly moan, greet and criticise at least put forward an alternative. Some other plan of action.

The only was to sort this out is if the real culprits come forward but I suspect they are not the type to take responsibility for their own actions. Quite happy to sit back and just watch other fans take the blame. These are the type of fans we could be doing without - cause damage then run away.

@5 Where is your evidence that the banned bhoys (and ghirls) were at Fir Park on Friday, are the culprates guilty of smashing seats, intentionally or accidentally, or involved in setting off or throwing smokes/flares, and are actual members of the GB?

Get off your high horse with the GB are a joke malarkey, you're a joke sending people to death row when no one has any proof of who done what or not!

HamiltonBhoy

OP I see you have not left a name to your post, could you be a wee sevco on a fishing trip, I smell $hite. Come on Hamiltonbhoy "death row " bit over the top old bean
Tambhoy

11 Dec 2013 12:40:36
@hamiltonbhoy, death row, you now sound
as bad as the ones, as you say, going over
the top regarding the GB . Thank god the
stewards and the police did'nt go into the
crowd then there "could've been a murder"
as KBarry put it . There:s a big game on
if anybody wants to talk football, for me l
would like to try and play the same system
and get beat than, backs to the wall and lose
2or3 nill late on .2-1 the hoops .

I like OTT TamBhoy, seems to influence getting my point across lol.

HamiltonBhoy

@12 Ach some time's it work's, sometime's it don't Hamiltonbhoy, you do know the death penalty is abolished, is'nt it?
Tambhoy

11 Dec 2013 13:15:59
Hamiltonbhoy surely the 128 people banned are the 128 ST holders who's client code was used to buy the tickets. If somebody has given there code to some1 els to use then it's still there responsibility . If the person then let's them down by causing trouble that's there problem.
Av been asked over the years for mine av gave it and always had the thought in ma head is this c*nt gony behave or am a getting banned.

{Ed007's Note - No, believe it or not the majority of suspended STs come from areas where there was empty seats. So if you had a ticket, were sitting in your seat but there was empty seats around you, you have a chance of being suspended just because you were in that section. There are people who couldn't sit on their seat because there was people already sitting there been suspended.
The club has jumped the gun with a knee-jerk reaction and no proper investigation which hopefully comes back and bites them on their ar$e.}

11 Dec 2013 16:49:07
Your prob rite about jumping the gun. Maybe they feel they need to take a tough approach to it or could get a serious punishment, also there showing this is what happens when you brake rules.
So where did these 128 people get picked from? It's can't have been random

{Ed007's Note - Nobody can answer that question. The suspended tickets are from different sections, even different stands, people who were at the match and people who weren't, from young girls to OAPs. Not all the suspended tickets are related to Section 111. Our SLO today said on Tw@tter when asked about suspension selection and if it was only Area 111:

"That's not the case, STH's from all round the stadium are included, just spoken to someone who sits in South Front."

He is asking people to e-mail him their details but surely the club has a list of the people who are suspended so why would our SLO need them to provide anything except their ST details to explain their suspension?
It's a farce, there is no other word for it.}

Kbarry, where are you now. Lennon by mionutes, hours etc. He's just been No comment?