Valhalla or Hell ?
Tonight brings part one of the clash we’ve all been waiting for.
On the road again, to another lions den,, we wouldn’t have it any other way.
They will be up for it bigtime and we go into the tie the form team.
Its a genuine thigh rubber and tonight we see just what our bhoys are truly made of on a bigger platform to showcase our talent, or expose our weaknesses.
The second leg at home is what we all would have wanted no matter who the foe, so theres already a slight advantage. The bookmakers still see us as favourites at time of writing and ironically we have brought the weather with us as there is rain plus 20 mile an hour winds due about game time, and around the same temperature as home is expected.
Does this suit us or them? Soon find out I guess but that could make the nice playing surface zippy encouraging an attacking mentality to get the crowd onboard and force the play.
As the team used to having most of the ball, dominating play keeping the ball from us and constantly probing would be the sensible option,, looking for that poor off-ball positional play Fan-a-tic is often pointing out.
That would certainly be my instructions rather than all out press as we have the players to hurt on the counter.
The Danes go into both legs without their star striker who has been punted for ‘an acceptable offer’ which doesn’t sound like a happy coach to me but the wily old fox still has three to choose from and N’Doye has a touch of quality about him plus he will be out to impress his host club and maybe potential suitors given he is on a free end of season. He will surely start now.
Morale will have taken a dent yes, but they will be able to sense the build up to this tie all week in the town and taking the foot off the gas just wont be an option.
They sit second in the league 7 points off the leaders but after 21 games have shipped 25 goals which points to defensive frailties that should be tested.
After losing the last three games including a cup final all eyes and minds will have been focussed on tonights game and taking something from it.
Its going to be a battle. Which they started in the 9th century but anyway.
We are a striker down in Griff who has a niggle and will be saved for the weekend and will probably opt for a Ryan and Odsonne double act up top in that case. That might actually suit us on this occasion.
You all know we are now 9 wins ina row now,,have a bit of swagger plus a bit of quality sprinkled about the pitch. The first twenty minutes dont concede,,no needless bookings,, yadda yadda.
The troops have earned our trust by now, the gaffer has experience enough to call upon , big Kris is back in Scandinavia to kick ass just like the weekend. Our Captain is a berserker at heart and will relish the test. Our star striker is a cut above what they have seen so far this season and should terrorize their rear guard all night.
The formation and rectifying any mistakes asap is what the gaffer will be judged on this Friday, he gets the first part right and half the battle is won. The big calls are what he gets paid for and getting them right at this level will get you noticed.
Bringing it home alive and kicking is the priority and anything else is a bonus in my book.
The honours might be historically even but if we show up we will be too good for them to live with us and thats a fact. Getting to the last 16 of a major competition would a dream for the fans and provide momentum to keep headway in the league, keeping players on their toes striving to nail down their position for the big ties coming up.
It would bring a feel good factor that cant be bought.
This group of players and the manager have developed a knack of showing up and winning when they must and arent expected to.
Lets hope tonight it continues.
CMON ON YOU BHOYS IN GREEN !!!
I’m confident of a decent performance tonight,though not necessarily of getting the victory. We are going into the game on the back of an excellent run of form,during which we have utterly destroyed some teams or,like Sunday,plugged away at it in the belief that the win would arrive.
And I hope that N’Doye has a birthday to forget-nothing personal!
AWENAW
Condolences to your adopted home town,and in particular to the victims and the families and friends.
Morning all
I’m confident we can return with a 1-1 draw at worst. A single goal victory wouldn’t surprise me either. The latter is preferable but I’ll take either.
Over the 2 legs we will qualify .
Now this statement from ICT is what constitutes a statement.
“Following the decision by the 3 man Fast Track Tribunal Panel to dismiss the club appeal against the yellow card awarded to James Keatings by referee Greg Aitken during Sunday’s Tunnock’s Caramel Wafer Cup Semi-Final, the club has no option but to speak out publicly on behalf of our player and on behalf of the growing number of Scottish football clubs who believe that the SFA disciplinary process is not fit for purpose.
In relation to the inexplicable decision to dismiss our appeal this morning, one which will see James miss the Cup Final, we would like to communicate with our support and to the many people who have contacted James and the club since Sunday.
Our appeal was submitted on Monday morning with our payment for the right to appeal and video evidence of 3 different angles of the incident, with the most enlightening angle shown at full speed and also in slow motion. The referee also submitted his reply to the appeal and within that, he states that from his angle, he believed there had been no contact made by the defender on James and this led him to believe that James had thrown himself to the ground in an attempt to deceive him, therefore he deemed it to be an act of simulation, hence the decision.
We do not want to question anyone’s integrity in this statement and therefore if we set what we do or do not believe aside, it could certainly be argued that this position is plausible. The video evidence however removes all doubt from the situation and it was this evidence with which we confidently based our case on. As far as we were concerned, once the 3 man panel viewed the video evidence, coupled with the fact that the referee himself was stating that he only made the decision based on his personal view, albeit that he was only a few yards away and not the vastly superior and different video angles, justice and sporting integrity would surely prevail.
James Keatings has never been booked for simulation in his entire career and Sunday’s red card was also the first in his career. The player himself was devastated by the decision on Sunday and has been contacted by many players, ex-players, the PFA and multiple journalists and friends, all of whom believed that justice would be done by the panel. This scenario represented the exact situation that these protocols were set up to address.
When the club was given the news this morning that the appeal had not only be dismissed but that James had in fact been adjudged to have committed simulation, we were both incredulous and furious in equal measure. We would once again re-iterate that we do not want to call into question anyone’s integrity with this statement but we must call into question the actual football knowledge of those sitting in judgement on all Scottish football players under this current system. If the individuals involved in this morning’s Tribunal can watch the footage we supplied, footage which the whole of Scottish football has now seen and call this simulation, then there can be no other conclusion other than they do not understand football or the rules of the game. As harsh as this sounds, there can be no other conclusion. Fans and officials of all clubs are mystified by this decision.
This decision has cost our player the chance to play in a national Cup Final, not something that comes along every week, to the detriment of the player, his team mates, the club and our fans. We believe it also damages the credibility of our governing body and brings the game into disrepute. The decision is plainly wrong and the dogs in the street know this. We have no right to appeal this final decision and it is painful to accept.
As a club we have been contacted by Chairmen, Chief Executives, Directors and fans of other clubs today in a completely unique show of support and solidarity with James Keatings and ICTFC. As appreciated as this has been undoubtedly been, it does not change the fact that there is clearly something wrong with the system, if it is not addressed, we are all responsible for the continuing denigration of our standards, our supporters view of the national game and sporting integrity in Scottish football”
Scot Gardiner – Chief Executive Officer
Ross Morrison – Chairman
The incident is shown here:
Absolutely ridiculous decision
https://ictfc.com/club-statement-9#respond
Who is sitting on a 3 man panel and can review that footage and still come to the conclusion that simulation has taken place? Seriously?
Who are these people? I want them named. ?
TnT, ex Celt accused of simulation against a Ranges team? Doesn’t matter what the pictures say.
Guilty!
Oh you want truth in Scottish football?
“We will be celebrating our 150th anniversary in 2022”
as advertised in every media outlet in Scotland.
BAD
It’s an absolutely incredulous decision.
FFS they’ve been given the footage, clearly barged to the ground. Ref reports he felt there was no contact. 2nd yellow. Off
How on earth can the review committee then review it, and agree it is a yellow for simulation? What’s going on here?
Is there betting involved? Unlikely, so what is it? It cannot just be incompetence? Nobody can be that incompetent?
I’m genuinely at a loss. Wtf is going on??
Can this player take legal action? He’s being denied his chance to play in a cup final? He’s been labelled a cheat for diving.
There’s something I’m missing here. Not particularly the referees ‘ mistake’ , but the review panel.
Baffled
In other news, or should I say, where’s the other news?
Sevco advertise for a sponsor! Why isn’t that being reported in the Record etc?
Unprecedented surely? Having to advertise for a sponsor? Isn’t that worthy of the back page?
————————-
On a sombre note – just catching up on events in Germany. Very sad. Thoughts go out to all affected.
MORNING ALL, twisty and bad, its been happening since time began, anyone that’s ever wore the hoops is targeted, sadly cant see it changing in our lifetime, getting rid of the orange order might help, on tonights game im confident we wont get beat, lets just say that.,COYBIG.hh,
Better make a move I guess. Slack morning. Too much reading and coffee as per usual. Got customer orders to fulfil. Speaking of customer satisfaction:
Had a quick check on my car status there.
Ordered 23/12/19
Anticipated date of delivery now 6/3/20
What’s that? 74 days if that date is accurate?
I’m not the only one slacking I guess.
Offski
AWE NAW codolences, terrible news from germany,,stay safe bud?
TnT, because they are not remotely interested in arriving at the correct decision, they are only interested in their appeasement of the horde. Funnily enough, even though the deady bears had threads about Keatings on their blogs, they are now stating how ridiculous the panel’s decision is.
This time they have managed to leave everyone scratching their head.
If ICT’s semi-final had been against anyone other than Sevco, I’d bet everything I have no one would be talking about James Keatings today.
Sorry if already posted.
https://youtu.be/W-QPzxHLR0c – Lenny
https://youtu.be/vaDhax7ojX8 – Broony
Eddie
https://celtsarehere.com/its-something-incredible-edouard-on-celtic/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=its-something-incredible-edouard-on-celtic
BMCUWP & BP
Thanks lads
The germans need to stop giving right wing loonies licenses for hunting rifles
Bada,
I don’t believe that Elite have anything to do with Dave King. I reckon its a company that LBJ apparel felt necessary to setup when dealing with dodgy companies from the outset. It was founded in 2010
AWENAW
Re Elite,this might interest you. Sorry for the source!
AWENAW
Re Elite,it might have helped if I’d remembered the link.
https://www.ibroxnoise.co.uk/2018/09/exclusive-truth-behind-rangers-new-kit.html
McCAFF
Mailed you re uploading PDF etc.
BMCUWP
To end on another good note Elite Group/LBJ supply a very large number of EPL clubs Spurs, Arsenal etc so they’re a credible group and we appear to be safe with them.
This is what I deduced from companies house.
Elite group is a firewall for LBJ
Is Jozo fit for duty? If so, wonder if Neil will go 4 across back; Frimpong, Jozo, Jullien and Ajer?
And re TRFC’s search for a new kit manufacturer and sponsor, they must surely be down to: Admiral, Bukta, Gola or TopDog.
0-1 for the good guys. HH
Awe Naw- thanks for your replies.HH
https://www.modernfitba.com/blogs/2020/2/19/ip3nnyqgqlys52oi0biwu0kym126es
Excellent article. Worth a read. At times I do worry about the tactical nous of our management teams.
https://twitter.com/Scottsman1978/status/1230411740627841030?s=08
New Sevco kit
Oh Dear,
It’s a wee bit ironic that the apparent main man at LBJ is called Friar. Neil Friar, 29 Directorships and 15 current.
Interesting reading.
According to DueDil.com LBJ has trade debts of £2.2m against assets of £1.5m.
https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/07111486/officers
https://app.duedil.com/company/gb/07111486/lbj-sports-apparel-ltd
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Regarding the tribunal Panel decision on James Keatings it is astonishing. How 3 people could not see the ‘mistake’ of the referee is unbelievable. I can only thing it is the old pals act. The fact it was a game against their colts can’t have anything to do with it, can it? Typical SFA.
ROLLINGSTONE
Great read,mate. And just what I was telling the lads on Sunday(!)
Jim
You’re welcome bud. Hope you’re feeling a bit better.
Re the panel. I genuinely didn’t know when I posted that the match had been against Rangers’ colts. That possibly / probably explains the ref ‘ mistake’ .
However – the review panel decision??
Mind boggling. I truly still cannot see how anyone can reach that decision. My wife could tell you that is not simulation. It’s beyond belief.
@ BOBBY MURDOCH’S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS
I found another one on the same site which covered BR’s last Glasgow derby in Jan 2019 (Beaton gate):
https://www.modernfitba.com/blogs/2019/1/12/analyzing-the-pressing-strategies-that-won-on-derby-day
It tells a similar story (notwithstanding the MIB’s influence which is not cited) of the opposition adopting a mixed bag of man and zonal marking, pressing from the front, cutting out options in the channels and nullifying our ability to find team mates with time and space.
It does make me worry that Stevie G on 3 occasions (and now seemingly McInnnes) has worked out a system which neuters this team. I think Lenny has done a sterling job so far, but I still think there is a tactical naivety within the management team. I cannot recall a game where we adopted bespoke tactics to deal with and nullify the opposition.
To my mind a lot of our victories stem from individual inspiration on the pitch and/or from the manager (half time team talks etc) or from the stands. I may be being harsh and my opinion may be misconceived, but I would love to see us set out and execute a similar tactical approach.
RS
We have lost 3 of the last 19 games against Sevco
And, 3 of the last 35 to Aberdeen
And whatever McInnes & Gerrard attempt to do, I’m confident Neil will find a way past them.
@ Big Audio Dynamite
The first of those 19 games is about as relevant as our 6-2 victory over Oldco. Since Gerrard arrived they have managed 3 victories and completely outplayed us in the cup.
We have the better players, but with the next Glasgow derby away from home I would hope that we adopt a strategy to cater for their approach as opposed to “playing our own game” and allowing them to stifle us.
Reading those articles in the links I provided does make me wonder how both we and Copenhagen will approach the game. I hope Neil and his management team are on it with their tactics, as I think this tie will be tight. Copenhagen do not score or concede many. Scoring tonight is crucial.
Morning folks
Thats the first Ive seen that video or heard of the incident tbh.
Just watched it.
Thats beyond belief. Utterly utterly incomprehensible to have gave the call then upheld it by 3 men.
If the game is ever to move forward in Alba then outsourced refs are a necessity.
Laters.
RS, I would say that is exactly what Neil has done since the break, making sure the team are comfortable in any formation. Since the game in Dec, we have wiped the floor with everyone, while playing different formations & tactics. Sure, we will lose individual games …we lost to Livingston!
The point I’m making about results is, we have dominated those 2 teams for years, with Neil in charge, I can’t see that changing any time soon. Will we win EVERY time we play both? ..no, we wont.
RS
I’d also bet we outplayed them loads of times in the 90s, but it never had any bearing on the destination of the league trophy.
Sevco will, (if they survive long enough) beat us on occasion, but over the course of a league campaign? The evidence says no.
Something to consider..
The last time Sevco dominated the title count in any decade, without cheating, was in the 1950s (And even that would now need to be questioned)
Lenny will keep them in the position they have become accustomed to …nowhere 🙂
I do sympathise with Keatings and ITC, but this is how it feels when true justice is just cast aside.
I would have more feelings for ITC had they challenged the real misdemeanour that was laid bare for all to see, LNS, but no nothing.
Everyone of them stayed silent and now they expect us to feel for them, now that they are receiving the hard end of the stick.
Can you imagine how good it would have been to see a statement like the one they issued today about the 5 Way Agreement.
You reap what you sow, YOU REAP WHAT YOU SOW!!! por cierto.
Por Cierto
Plus, I don’t recall ICT acknowledging the blatant handball not given in the semi final at Hampden. I saw it clearly from my seat… As you say, what goes around, comes around.
HH
On yonder hill there stood a dookit
It’s noa there noo coz someone took it
COYBIG
BMCUWP
Cheers for the GIF tips, still looks kinda above my Pay Grade!!
Por Cierto
The heartening thing about the ICT statement is that it was absolutely devastatingly to the point about the ineptitude of not only the procedures but also the inability of the chosen panel members to arrive at the right decision. The fact that it was so forensic in it’s detail should give the SFA cause to ponder but notwithstanding that it should be a time for ALL clubs to come together to ensure this decision is repealed in favour of the only decision which could have been given. If the panel believe the ref’s account of what he saw then they are entitled to take him at his word. To then view the evidence and stand by the ref’s wrong decision defies credibility as well as belief. The function of the panel has been seriously undermined by this decision. These 3 faceless individuals should be sine die from any further panels.
evening all, wish one of you ghuys had told me it was an 8-0 clock kick off, im walking up to celtic park now feckin empty, anyway team news, bobby lennox failed a late fitness test, and the new guy harry hood we just signed, comes in COYBIG.hh.?
McCAFF
Mail it to me please and I’ll do my best on it.
bmcuwp@gmail.com
Btw,if it takes a while it’s because I’m just in from work and about to hit my cot prior to work again(!) Plus I’m a technophobe,so having done something right before doesn’t mean I’ll remember how to do it again.
FACT
APOLOGIES,, did not know harry died last year.
Big packs.
Is the kick off not 17.55.
Team pretty much as expected, especially with Griffiths not travelling. So back to 4-2-3-1.
I’m glad Ntcham keeps his place, and have to say I’m happy with this team. My worry would be that our full backs aren’t left exposed.
Por Cierto, Friesdorfer
maybe ICT had inside knowledge of our official stance on Res 12 before we did. Now that we do know I fail to understand your stance. Its frankly ridiculous. Sorry
Sorry should have been big packy
BIGPACKY
Don’t beat yourself up about it,bud.
I take it you went to Celtic Park and it was closed?
Awe Naw
Each to their own.
You are entitled to your view, as am I.
It is a ridiculous decision, but hey ho.
HH
BOBBY, take it easy pal, them split shifts would kill me especially driving in this weather, keep away from the air balloon roundabout??