Uncertain times yes but dont downsize!
It truly is uncertain times and not just at our club of choice, I think it’s fair to say the beautiful game has never faced anything like the challenges it is looking at right now. And in having become a collection of individual interests seeking to further themselves and their hold on your spare cash, the sport is built on foundations of sand, and as such there’s every chance it just won’t survive major trauma.
Looking globally, the covert civil war between FIFA and UEFA just became overt with the latest Superleague plans which FIFA have backed, presumably to get a slice of the action. Why anyone thinks its great time for major restructuring is beyond me, looks like the ideal time to hunker down and be thankful for what you have, but they say money does strange things to men. And this is all about the money.
The Champions League would be no more, or a rebranded much lesser competition which has massive effects on outliers hoping for the windfall qualification brings.
This in turn means the big carrot just became a lot smaller, although I’m sure many will feel relieved at that as the prize pot can and does skew leagues, certainly not in a good way.
Football truly is the world’s game, easily the most popular sport on the planet, yet Europe’s paymasters aren’t interested in a truly global club competition, instead preferring to pit their elite teams against each other continuously. It’s patently unfair.
We should see teams from opposite sides of the globe clash more often.
Brazil produces the best players, if they weren’t forced to move to get the big bucks their teams would rival Europes and a world league could be competitive.
FIFA are right to stand up for those feeling left behind, it’s just that they have lost much of their sheen and moral authority with their shenanigans, a seemingly regular occurrence in football.
As such events like their World Club Competition, which we should all want to watch with its exotic names and locations, has usually been shunned by the continents biggest clubs.
Such a pity, not one bit a surprise though.
Looking locally I’m certainly of the belief the club won’t see the same VST response from fans again, and that will be compounded by either the pain of title defeat or the lack of massive target should ten be hit. There’s a good chance early curtailment without refunds would put many fans off the same again also. I think that goes for all clubs. With no refunds and not getting what it says on the tin I believe a once bitten twice shy attitude will prevail regarding paying to watch games at home.
Where exactly would that leave us?
We have a money hungry board who will use the footballing department to balance the books, but should a managerial change become necessary, that approach will hardly entice a quality name through the doors. A name with a substantial spend used to be enough to pack the place to the rafters, it’s our old trick when in a malaise to help ease the notes out of your wallet, but that is looking increasingly less likely by the day.
The bank balance which was very healthy surely must have taken a dent, if anything to make up for the lack of match day revenue, and the accounts won’t make for great reading when held upto last years,despite the phenomenal Adidas merchandise sales.
To me this screams of downsizing to ride out these choppy waters, which I would admit makes perfect sense on paper.
However it doesn’t take into account the reality of the situation we face.
For starters the fanbase will demand a big reaction should we miss out on ten, which will go against the bean counters instincts. A name and spend will be the cry, sorry we are pretty broke won’t cut it after being loaded plus having big money at the helm.
It especially won’t cut it should the Ibrox outfit find themselves in the same situation and go bigger than us. There’s every chance they will need a new manager, the current one was always using Scotland as a stepping stone and if he lifts a title that will carry him to an Epl gig, helped by fans with typewriters who want him ‘back’ to help boost sales.
If their recruitment outshines ours it will raise anger levels not more VST money.
Our board is very risk averse yes, and there’s a time and a place for that, but they must overcome their natural instinct to downsize next in this unsure climate for that would only lead to a downward spiral which will take more finance to overcome the longer we are in it.
If Celtic adopt a ‘holding position’ pretty soon there will be nothing to hold on to.
By Mahe.
Frankly my dear I don’t give a damn
Grinch 😉
Do you like Christmas?
Depends.
Is there a sanity clause?
I’ve just read that Dermot Desmond has issued a “yellow card” to Neil Lennon when he summoned both him and Lawwell to a video conference meeting after the defeat to Sevco. Presumably, one of Desmond’s minnions must have let him know the score. It strikes me as all a bit too late. Where the feck was Desmond when Lennon yet again conspired to get the team papped out the Champions League by a team with much inferior resources and then threw the players under the bus for mistakes he made in team selection and tactics? Surely, that’s the point when the first yellow card should have shown and the post-huns game meeting should have been to hand him his P45. Also, was a yellow card handed to the man who appointed him?
Whilst I’m on, has anyone read the absolute pap by James Forrest on his blogsite about how the Celtic board are hurting as much as the fans and how they really hate the huns. Has he forgotten their role in the Five Way Agreement, their silent compliance over the continuity myth, Desmond’s comments that “Rangers are a great club with a great history….”, the comfy deal with the huns to alternate a seat on the SPFL board, the agreement with Sevco to charge £49 for away supporters at Old Firm/Glasgow Derby games and of course their refusal to do anything about Res12 which could have cost the club and shareholders up to £30m? Quite frankly, I will judge the Celtic board by their actions or non-actions and not what one of them might have said in an unguarded moment.
https://t.co/yySYFN5m9B
Thanks Mahe, interesting times and you’ve captured many of the unfolding mysteries of this drama.
A changing order perhaps? It was pretty surreal watching a limited PSG last night.
In fairness I didn’t really expect our board to spend in transfers.
The much reduced income and uncertainty was the perfect opportunity to sit on cash and maybe sell off an asset or two.
Maybe that decision not to sell has unsettled one or two?
The pursuit of 10 appears to have taken precedence.
Let’s hope the internal bits and pieces have been quietly addressed.
Chairbhhoy,
Thanks for the reply. I’ve put your points in brackets. Hopefully this isn’t prescriptive, just nudging on the dialogue…
The Gombeen Man @ 11:27
(Issues like original sin and karma are of course guides for our moral behaviour.)
To me, the message of the Mystics is,
“All is well.” No matter what the head tells us. “All is well.”
Medieval terminology often doesn’t really help.
Sin/karma can be thought of as the conditioning that seperates us from reality or whatever word used for; God…Peace, Love, Nature, Source, One, Reality, Non- Duality, Truth, Justice, Joy, etc.
As soon as the ‘I’ thought is apears we are entering seperation and conflict.
(In the ancient East and Western culture the idea of doing right and living a good life and the structures in place to support that were axiomatic to the cultures.
Whether Christian, Hindu, Buddhist etc the fact was there was an understanding of what was required to build a “civilised” society.
Yet how did the populace as a whole to follow a moral path and create this civilised society?)
It depends on how one defines “civilised”.How egalitarian many of these ancient societies actually were I’m really not sure? In the Christian tradition, the Desert Fathers and Mothers went to the deserts of Egypt shortly after the foundation of the church to form communities. They followed a more simple, contemplative path away from the developing established order. Emphasis on Lectio Divina and repitition of prayers like the Jesus Prayer etc.
Post industrialisation the incoherence of our thinking and increased technological capacity has caused an ecological tragedy. Endless wars, poverty and crime etc. Despite our progress, despair, anxiety and exclusion are on the increase.
Rules, laws, money, borders even race etc are all inventions of thought and subject to our incoherence.
We are continually lectured about individual sin of course but very little emphasis is placed on things like corporate evil or societal/structural evil.
It’s all the fault of the punter.
(Of course the superficial things helped; rules, regulations, rewards and punishments are all carrots and sticks to aid desired behaviours.)
The “carrots and sticks”…
To me the point of this is to have a positive impact on life.
Unfortunately rules and regulations are often used to exploit and discriminate.
They often support undesirable behaviour by authority.
Life often intervenes and supersedes rules. Jesus often challenged rules. Ghandi, Martin Luther King and Mandela did this in different ways.
The self-righteous weren’t high on JC’s agenda. He spent more time with what our society calls “sinners.” He gave many of the righteous a wide berth. Words like obedience/worship have similar unfortunate connotations.
(Yet if you can get into the phyche of the individuals that being righteous has huge benefits in and off itself you can do away with such superficial constructs, it is of course the truth yet few follow the path.)
How to influence Man’s psyche might have to wait for evolution. The ego seeks security in domination. It’s believed that the silence of meditation gradually clears the unconscious (purgnation). Psychology helps too, with conscious and unconscious material.
The fact that we are here is evidence of the fact that we’re loved. Love has a remarkable way of touching everyone. Even the prisoner on death row. Our conditioning and society often conceals this from us.
It doesn’t fit with our concepts but it’s there, everywhere. Often in the darkest things. In our rush we miss it. Life is the path, we’re too busy judging.
(So nirvana, heaven, hell, purgatory, eternal life, reincarnation as destinations become huge motivations of behaviour for those people. Karma, sin, etc become important guages on the journey to their desired outcomes.)
Some say these things are inventions of thought. So too our understanding of God, Religion. Those understandings help many and hinder others.
To me it’s just life’s journey explained in different ways. The gentleness, beauty and wisdom of teachings was often neglected and misery and conflict resulted.
Despite that many benefit hugely from the practices and a non-literal interpretation of teachings etc.
(Yet it is the mystics that can show us the true path, the esoteric mystic teachings to bring us to live an enlightened life or in a state of grace then that was the pinnacle.
However, things are different now in the modern western world the idea of civilisation is at odds with our ancestors.
Of course people still like to think of themselves as moral yet our society is a-moral and there is little desire to live a life full of grace. So people generate their own moral codes, decide what rules, regulations and laws are good and bad – material rewards are all that matter to many, while bread and circuses are enough to fill our time.)
Some think we are already enlightened (the Kingdom of God is within you). We are just not aware.
There are many paths and paradoxically no path. Maybe just, ‘What is?’
Some folk who refer to themselves as atheist are among the most connected people I’ve found.
Interpretation of morals is fraught with difficulty and often clouded by cultural conditioning.
The problem is in our thinking. It’s often, ‘all or nothing’ or ‘black or white.’ Fixed judgements emanating from our conditioning without reference to the evidence or facts.
Many practices were designed to help and address our thinking. This was often lost too, replaced by moral codes, rules, authority etc. They didn’t encourage progression to maturity but engendered fear, guilt and conflict.
Technology removed us from contact with nature. Many of our spiritual practices were connected to our oneness with the environment.
Contemplation is more common than many are aware. It’s complementary to the other paths but can be less inclined towards dogma, hierarchies etc. It often builds upon contact with nature
Today, Mindfulness is a popular way used to connect…
Poetry, art, music, helping others are all equally valid ways of experiencing and expressing oneness.
(Celtic supporters like to think of themselves as a moral lot, yet as long as the Celtic Board give them a circus, the Executive can and do exactly as they wish.)
We’re all prisoners of our conditioning, karma etc. Much of this is in the unconscious. Some of our conditioning isn’t even the result of our own thinking. It’s handed down.
Thinking becomes thought.
Values like Celtic are vital to us.They’re very important to who we are. They are a source of energy. We’re programmed like a computer programme and things that contradict the programme are rejected.
That’s what they mean by blindness or ignorance. We make quick value judgements without realising what’s happened.
We then justify and rationalise.
Unfortunately this makes life more painful than it need be.
All part of our development I suppose.
An awareness of value judgements helps. Some value judgements are useful but many are entangled in a knot and create significant harm.
Ultimately, if the “I’ notion or conditioned thinker is reduced with it’s accumulated internal and external baggage :
We come across Peace, Freedom, Joy…
“…It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”
That’s what the Mystics call ‘Dying before you die’ or Union.
Confirmation that, “All is well.”
Brilliant article in the Guardian, Awe Naw!! It’s not before time this level of exposure was visited on this case! Not too happy about the opening paragraph about Catholic/Protestant… unnecessary in the scheme of things and not necessarily true but nonetheless McDonald doesn’t miss and hit the wa’ with the rest of the article!
Auldheid- thanks for reply re VPN
Afternoon All,
HH
Morning all.
Yep I see next season as a real clusterfluck already with downsizing probable to match the environment. Yet that is the very last thing a club needing a kickstart should do.
Quick question for anyone, when if ever have both ourselves and our rival switched managers at the same time?
Because in that case the club with the bigger name and spend should sell more VSTs than the other.
It’s interesting we don’t tend to head to head that way but I see it happening for next season.
A manager usually wants a spend and that will be very hard next year if less resources.
I see next year as very very interesting in case you didn’t notice.
I fear a doing tomorrow,, we should play the fringe players I think.
The Dons game is more important, they will fancy ruining our season bigtime.
I wonder how they will approach the cup game if beaten in the league?
Always like to see Dylan McGeogh play, one that never got a proper chance I believe.
Get well Jim.
Hail Hail
Celtic manager Neil Lennon: “We have a great game to look forward to. We have tried to be positive with the players and they have responded in the right way.
“We get our heads down and work hard but they also have to holds their heads high. There is a long way to go. We are not happy with the result [on Saturday] but there is plenty of time to improve and bounce back.
“These players are amazing and they have done amazing things and I am confident that they will continue to do amazing things for the club.”
Mahe
Would like to see a midfield of Soro, Turnbull and Christie tomorrow. Frimpong and Laxalt as wing backs.
Pittodrie on Sunday has become our biggest game of the season.
Garry, I have thought Turnbull and Ryan are very similar so that would leave Soro with too much work.
I would have Soro, Turnbull, Calmac tbh same wingbacks.
Sunday is huge. Will November spawn a monster?
Hail Hail
Calm before the storm or the eye of the storm?
MAHE
Great article. I’ve written on here before about the Project Big Picture released ten days ago,and how it was all a smokescreen to improve their share of the pot and also open the way to expanded European competition. IMO,the big clubs have seriously overplayed their hand on this,as even the current European competitions are boring the nipples off the audiences.
BT must be tearing their hair out at the viewing figures for the coverage for which they pay handsomely. And a closed shop of a number of clubs from the more powerful countries playing each other week in week out,without the potential for excitement of relegation battles or teams making a late push for a European place,as happens in the current domestic set ups worldwide,would be the biggest turn off since New Formula Coke.
I can honestly see UEFA looking at how these plans have been received and reminding the clubs for once who is the boss here,that the tail doesn’t wag the dog.
As for our own problems,well,I’m covering some of that in tomorrow’s article. But put simply,not only must Saturday never happen again,the last two months or so must never happen again either. The players and management are highly paid,and we should be able to expect a level of professional pride in their performances. I’m not sure that many can honestly say that they are content with their contributions to date.
I know that the fans aren’t.
Those performances though have happened and there’s nothing we can do about them now-except to learn from them and to make sure that they don’t happen again.
Mahe
I have seen David Turnbull play in a few different positions for Motherwell. I think he is a very flexible player, able to adapt to playing different roles in midfield. Would have no problem with him, Christie and Soro in the same midfield.
HI Bobby,
Thanks for the compliments.
Like I say I see big problems ahead for next season already.
On project big picture and superleague, as usual I have my own take.
FFP was introduced 20 years too late when the giants had already become giants and it basically locks the established hierarchy in place.
It has good intentions but because of loopholes and timing it has failed, Covid hasnt helped.
What this means essentially is that there has never been a fair league, they have always been skewed by either the giant clubs or the Champs league money.
However what Superleague proposes is totally different.
Basically because they are all ‘ Super’ hence the name, they all begin on pretty much an even keel. Theres no giants or Euro money to skew it.
As such it will be the first time since TV money hit the game that we have a real even Stephen competition.
I mean sitting here right now with the list of names I couldn’t tell who would win it. Certainly think Bayern and the Pool would be there or thereabouts and the fact they aren’t the biggest teams on the planet but well run giant clubs on the cusp of a wave kinda proves my point that we could see the game move away from biggest club wins all the time everywhere.
That would be refreshing. Especially for those clubs who seen there silverware ambitions stymied by monied peers, clubs like Leeds, Everton and Leicester would fancy the Prem title, great for their fans surely.
It will also concentrate the globes finest players into one elite competition, never seen before, and when that happens, why would we not expect the standard of football to increase?
There is a risk that the fear of not losing brings many unexciting stalemates, sure. That could be a huge downfall I admit, perhaps there are ways to mitigate that such as more cash for higher rankings? Of course the club could just hire an attacking coach or demand attacking play from their current gaffer.
Would we as a club benefit from the giants going alone? I think so.
Whatever European competition we end up in we have a better shot at success without them surely.
Im for Superleague, totally, and see it as the future of the game. It will be a global hit, the advertising will be ridiculous, as well as the total cost of seeing all the games,
Howeva it has the potential to really nail it, smash it out of the park, lift the beautiful game to a new level altogether, and whilst doing so rejuvenate the leagues those clubs left behind where little separates the middle to lower tier, and fans that didnt dare dream of glory not have a real shot at it.
And dont forget that smaller EPL will need new members to make up the numbers and in order to stop the hemorrhage of subscribers defecting to this new bling bling setup,, so targeting Scottish (and Irish) households through the inclusion of the Glasgow giants in a new British league actually makes a lot of sense.
Superleague amigo.
It will herald a new era for the game we love so much.
Times they are a changin
Garry, wee bit too attacking for me and I think Soro is best paired with another defensive minded player for a while. Just him may hang him out to dry. I would have a triple screen with two attackers from a five man midfield but could understand a double screen with a trio of attack minded midfielders.
A one man shield with the rest attacking would put me in an early grave 😉
Please keep that formation to yourself 😉
Hail Hail
Mahe
Hahaha. OK 😊
Finally calmed down enough to venture back onto the blog. Read through yesterday’s posts, and saw that the Threetowners site was linked. There’s a very old picture of me aged 12 in there, if you take the time to look for it.
Why couldn’t Glasgow be in the Super League. Take a look at the richest League in the World the NFL ,there are no promotions ,demotions. The League has regional representation, playoffs in your Division leading to an Annual Championship game. If it works in N America it can work in Europe There is less travel distance in Europe ,and Teams do not take fans to away games when they play games it is 99.9% home fans in attendance . The same team rarely wins two years in a row
we have to think outside the box There is a combined fan base in Glasgow big enough to make it work unless we are too bound to our allegiances to Celtic and Hurts me to say it but,Them to Rangers
Instead of mopping about the new proposed set up get lobbying and be included Better to be in tent pissing out than in tent getting pissed on
Mahe,
I don’t think the Euro super league proponents intend to leave their national leagues. No more Merseyside derbies ? North London derbies ? Bayern not playing any German teams at all ever again unless in the SL ?
All the clubs that would participate in it and only it would very soon become irrelevant without national competition and a promotion/relegation mechanism.
It’s announcement is effectively a negotiating tool.
These clubs are ran by the elite and they quite simply they want to maximise revenue and more importantly
reduce risk at every opportunity. That means having your cake and eat it as we all know
1) no more league cup . No money in it and it would free up the calendar. How many dates would that free ?
2) reduce the size of their top leagues. So they don’t have to play the likes of Brentford, Bournemouth, Crotona , Bielefeld, Bielefield etc,. How many dates would that free ?
3) Elite teams only entering national cup competitions at the lucrative latter stages
4) Put pressure on UEFA to make their participation to the CL by invite. Reduces risk and guarantees income
To do this they need to generate more money to placate themselves and to compensate those that will lose out AND grease the palms of those that will allow it to happen in the first place.
Any pie in the sky notions that we would get an invite to such a league should not be made publicly in case the wee yelly van with square wheels comes visiting. That somehow an opening could be made in the EPL for Celtic and Rangers due to this I cannot envisage due to them not leaving their national leagues or associations.
Garry, I have to get this off my chest and it’s a coincidence you are here 😉
The neighbour is killing me, his missus actually.
On Sunday he almost came to tears about how she is treating him, basically bossing him around totally wearing the trousers.
Sunday he wasn’t allowed to have a couple beers with me even though he wanted to and it’s kinda a standing date, was sent out to dig a big hole for her in garden and so I waltzed over thinking I’ll just chat and sip couple beers myself.
Five text messages in five minutes presumably saying don’t even think of drinking, or maybe stay away from him.
He was almost in tears, walked around back where she couldn’t she and slammed a beer, gets another text, looks browbeaten and says you better go.
This chick doesn’t work, he sorted out her finances, bought her a new car, gives her spending money, she doesn’t grocery shop, had her mate move in for a month when she was stuck and his friends/family aren’t visiting no more.
I’m thinking of breaking my don’t get involved rule.
What have I to lose? Wife wants to move anyway.
Anyway, how’s the single life? 😉
They cant have it both ways AweNaw.
A 30 game Superleague then playoffs alongside the regular league is too much even with no cups.
I believe the best should just gather and leave the rest behind.
Hail Hail
Mahe
Your neebor sounds like me in a past life.
I am happier single now, than I was married.
Mahe
They cant have it both ways AweNaw.
When haven´t they in the past ?
They just want to replace games that generate no money with games that do
Hopefully, the wheels coming off the Spanish huns wagon 3-0 down at home at half time.
HH
EVENING ALL and JIM, my team for tomorrow night is, simpson craig and gemmell murdoch mcneil and clark johnstone wallace chalmers auld and lennox ,come on milan we beat you before and will beat you again..nostalgia .com,. that team is our team, jim and myself growing up, he is not well at the moment but is getting better, im not asking for a win neil, but please play better than we did on saturday, that would make 2 old tims very happy..H,H.
McCaff,
Thanks for the link to the three towns site. Looks as though the pictures are too old for a youngster like me to feature. Phew. I did see a pic of my uncle though, he looked crabbit then too.
Garry,
Now that the dust has settled can you explain why you felt we could beat sevco 4-0 on Saturday. I’m interested in how I get some of your faith in this manager and players. I see Neil thinks they are amazing. In fact he said amazing there times in one sentence, I certainly hope he is saying something a good bit different behind closed doors.
MAHE
Jee-zoh,stay out of that one!
ATHINGOFBEAUTY
Small world,eh? If you go to the Ardeer factory heading on the home page,there’s an article written,I think,by your pal’s Dad from 1974. Could be wrong…
SOLKITTS
Glad I’m not in it! Though there’s some fun stuff about chippies of yore,took me back a bit.
CALTONTONGUES
That’ll be a few coupons scuppered!
Drat, 3-2 now.
ATOB
I was very confident last week that we would set down a marker and trounce the huns on Saturday. I can say how shocked I was on witnessing the total opposite. Can honestly say that I have never seen us play poorer than we did on Saturday. Neil Lennon is a fighter, and I fully expect him to turn this slump around. We were in a similar place last December. I expect a similar team reaction now.
Mahe, re your neebor’s attendant problems with his missus. Sometimes it’s just better to leave things to sort themselves, by all means have a chat with him but good God, be careful!
In other news California has sold over 100,000 extra guns since lockdown began…another reason to keep your nose oota it, Mahe!!
🤐😨😉
ATOB…I like finding old sites like that, they’ve usually got wee snippets that appeal. When I first found it I was looking for my old Auntie’s house and it led me to a description of the old dynamite factory etc. I had no idea that was what the site used to be!
ATOB
I agree Lenny saying he thinks the players are amazing! Head scratching moment for me was he referring to past glories or simply trying to quell alleged dressing room disquiet. Me thinks he doth protest too much
Garry
Lenny has had all season to ‘turn things around’ Saturday was not an isolated incident as we have, for the majority of the season thus far, been a very poor team. Would we have been any less surprised if Aberdeen had beaten us rather than Sevco? The only surprise for me was the abject lack of fight in a Celtic team and anger from the bench at what was being witnessed on the pitch. I am amongst those who stand by the assertion that any half decent organised team will beat this current Celtic team. Thankfully most of the SPFL don’t fall into that category.
I hope Lenny leads us to the 10 but at the moment he has 2 perhaps 3 games to save his Celtic career. The question is are the team willing to bust a gut to help him?
Sol,
I’ve been right through those pictures again. Can’t spot you anywhere. Gies a clue!!
Oglach,
I just hate the fact that he’s not being true to himself. He needs to be the boss. The tail can’t wag the dog.
Garry,
That to me is hope more than anything else. Again I hope I’m wrong but I worry the players are not playing for him. One minute he’s saying they want to leave and can basically GTF, the next they’re amazing. Weird.
Oglach & ATOB
I agree that logic dictates that we are a dysfunctional team at this time. I have hope and faith in our manager and players that they can turn this slump around. Two victories in the next four days would kick start us.
Auldheid,
looking forward to the new Resolution news to get my teeth into but in the meanwhile I thought I would follow up on your fascinating piece called Sectarianism Sells which I think everyone should read.
Far be it for me to critique your work but I thought you would like the feedback tbh.
Regarding the sole issue of Sectarianism, I dont think you mention the north of Ireland in your piece, perhaps a mistake perhaps deliberately but in my mind it fully deserves involvement.
Strangely, events in Glasgow between the two sides of the divide end up having a direct impact on community relations in certain pockets of the north.
Heightened tensions surrounding derby clashes often manifest in physical clashes in both countries it must be said, and for a region on ceasefire that has always been a political and cultural powderkeg, sometimes the very last thing needed are derby games.
Both sides of the community will cling to their Glasgow counterpart proudly and display its colours loudly, which only serves to reinforce the view that theres us and them, a terrible mindset when we are all just folk who want a happy life.
Ive heard it said that members of our boards have flinched in shame when they see scenes of a Belfast riot showing numerous hooped Celtic tops, and they may have been right but did they ever stop and consider the lesson there?
That the club is seen as a symbol, a focal point, as ‘us’ ?
Admitting or recognising that they are very much a focal point of that community and that the temperature in Alba can affect levels of violence elsewhere would leave the PLC with a big moral quandary.
Considering the north is a political, professional, and potentially harmful minefield it comes as no surprise to me that the club doesn’t not get involved, especially when one looks at the demographic of our board of directors.
However, on a personal level, I believe that the club has more of a moral responsibility in this instance, unintentional or not, to act correctly and at all times try to heal not enhance the community divide that has turned deadly far too many times in the past.
The north’s peace was very hard won, it’s imperative it is kept and both clubs should be mindful their actions and words can carry very big consequences.
I would like every single board member to be crystal clear on that.
More than a club is very correct in this case, that should be recognised and factored into decisions surrounding club and fans.
With that in mind I would approach your main point and title that sectarianism sells.
I personally feel sectarianism sold, not sells, and I will explain my rationale.
I believe I would be correct in stating the attendees at Celtic Park are of an aging demographic, and regular readers will know of McCaff telling how his young ones aren’t very interested in the actual games plus talk about football in playstation terms. Thats it in a nutshell.
Generation X (those born after 2000) are simply different than us and those before us.
They are the first breed to grow up online and the cultural norms we grew with no longer apply in the slightest. I could write a book on this, how the internet has changed the planet, but GenX are the prime beneficiaries of being members of a non binary interconnected globe that offers access in nanoseconds to different views and cultures which may be interacted with live and direct.
As such Malleys old saying ‘judge the man himself not the creed or nationality’ becomes the norm, not the ideal and although it was our practise at the time we know damn fine it wasnt everywhere so therefore it was an ideal not a way of life.
In the above conditions sectarianism fails to take a hold, and is essentially shunned as incompatible with the current way of life.
A racist online is called out in seconds, the same for sectarianism.
For a youth seeking acceptance, and when online is your primary pastime or way of life, its personal and professional suicide to be involved in such, and it will heavily impact the quality of your online time through getting barred from platforms, shunned when your history is thrown back at you, maybe close career avenues or lead to a knock at the door in extreme circumstances etc etc
Sectarianism and GenX arent mixing is my point.
Whilst only teens and/or young adults now, bringing that attitude forward with them into adulthood and becoming the mainstay of the planet, which they will be, should help see a different world emerge. Those offering tainted goods (the sectarian Old Firm) may as well not waste their breath, as the latest FIFA game has ten times as many options online including playing as much more glamorous clubs than Celtic, and all their mates are playing it.
There’s no bent refs or songs of hate penetrating young impressionable ears online, its exactly what it says on the tin time and time again with zero questions asked and or risk of harm through association.
A computer game is also colourblind, and those they play against come from every corner of the globe, showing that not only do teenagers everywhere just want the same thing (to have fun) but being face to face (you often see each other in a corner of the screen) helps teach that we are all connected and basically the same at heart. Experiencing interaction with different cultures online is an accidental by product of many computer games, but its benefits cannot be understated.
Even in the north, every minute that goes past relegates the troubles to history and spawns another child who wont grow up as a target or one or the other. Every minute without a riot, or spent in a mixed workplace is a step towards a normalised society, and in a normalised society the conditions that allow sectarianism to thrive just aren’t there, it can’t get a foothold on the masses and faces slow eradication.
This will have a bearing on Glasgow Celtic and its rival have no doubt about it.
And as such both sides best come up with a new method to begin enticing the next generation because a smoke and mirrors bent game based on monetising community tensions has been sussed by us after many a year, and will be sussed by them in a nanosecond. And quickly rejected.
I see problems ahead in this regard for we are not led by modern thinkers yet change is needed for the club to step into the modern world, and that’s before even thinking of enticing the cyberkids into the real world to part with actual money.
Sectarianism will not only fail to sell, it will drag us under unless we cast it aside, and that goes for the entire league.
Hail Hail
Auldheids Sectarianism Sells piece
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1U67wwk2nPBuWLnooJsikvskBVxodlAs2/view
Mahe,
I normally post the Awe Naw Guide to harmonious relationships about once a year.
I will now post it again.
Print it off and hand it to your neighbour
#####################################################
never say I never warned you !!!
IT IS SATURDAY, a crisp spring afternoon, and you’re exactly where you should be: stretched out on the couch in front of the television, just about to watch all your favourite TV programmes that you’ve recorded over the last few weeks. Opening beer number two, relaxed in the knowledge that the pizza you ordered is even now on its way. Nothing could improve this moment, except maybe a bigger television. Suddenly your girlfriend enters the room and says, “What exactly do you think you’re doing?”
Is this a trick question or what?
Yes, it is. The trick is that no matter how you answer it, you will immediately find yourself driving down to your nearest home improvement centre, where you will spend the rest of the afternoon trying to decide the type of curtain rod that’s right for you.
How does this work?
It has as much to do with the nature of the question itself as with anything else. Women are expert at posing questions that seem to have no right answer. Here’s a common example.
Do I look fat?
There is no answer to this question that won’t be interpreted “yes.” “No” means yes. “Yes” means yes. “I don’t know” means yes. “It doesn’t matter” means yes. The briefest hint of a pause before speaking means yes, yes, yes. Most of us would rather go to the dentist than field this one, yet it may well come up several times a week. Your only real choice is to say “no,” clearly and immediately, leaving no possibility for any subtext, and making it sound like a widely acknowledged fact and not simply your opinion. This doesn’t work, but all the other options are worse.
There are several other questions for which “no” is the only answer, and several more that call for an emphatic and unqualified yes. In all of these cases, elaboration, justification or any attempt to be funny is unlikely to pay off.
Consult this handy chart:
JUST SAY NO
Is there someone else?
Do you still fantasize about her?
Are you tired of me?
JUST SAY YES
Do you still love me?
Do you ever fantasize about me?
Do you like my hair this way?
Unfortunately, many female inquiries require more than a simple yes or no response. Some of them are more like riddles. Such as this one:
Which shoes look better?
Typically you’re already late for dinner when your girlfriend confronts you, with one pair of shoes on and another alongside them. This is no ordinary choice. It’s a devious chicken/egg puzzler, the sort of choice that would lead even Hobson to say to Mrs. Hobson, “Whichever, you old trout!” If you pick the shoes she already has on, she’ll think you’re trying to hurry her. If you pick the other pair, she’ll think it’s because you know you can’t pick the ones she has on. Some men try a nonlinear approach and opt for a third, unoffered pair of shoes, but this is inevitably taken as either an attack on her judgment or an opportunity for her to attack yours. On no account suggest another dress. You might as well say, “You’re fat.”
This raises the question of why she’s asking you at all. She knows you don’t know which shoes look better, and she knows you don’t care, so why is she trying to elicit your opinion? This is part of an ongoing campaign to domesticate you. As part of the same campaign, she will occasionally consult you about alternative table settings or new towels. In these two cases a disdainful and dismissive “beats me” should do the trick, but don’t try that with the shoe dilemma, or you’ll miss your reservation. Instead, suggest that she try on the other shoes, then tell her the first ones look better. This lets you more or less off the hook, as long as you don’t raise a fuss when she decides that the second pair are better after all.
Where do you see this relationship going?
This could be described as an essay question, since you’re obviously not going to get away with snappy little answers such as “forward” or “upstairs” or “I dunno.” Another problem is that you and your girlfriend are operating at cross purposes here. She wants a heartfelt expression of your feelings and an honest assessment of your future together, and you want an easier question. There is certainly no point in answering a toe-curling query like this one without at least a rough idea of precisely what it is she wants to hear. Questions such as this one are a category unto themselves, i.e., Questions that should be answered with another question. See how easily some of the more difficult leading inquiries can be parried through the simple deployment of reflexive interrogation.
Her: Where do you see this relationship going?
You: Where do *you* see this relationship going?
Her: Do you think she’s attractive?
You: Who?
Her: Will you marry me?
You: Where am I?
Her: What if I were pregnant?
You: Are you pregnant?
Her: Why? Do I look fat?
Whoops! We’re in a bit of trouble here. You should have seen that coming. Try a more surreal approach:
Her: What if I were pregnant?
You: What if *we* were pregnant? …. (Cool, huh?)
Some all-purpose question-answers include: How much is a lot? Why do you ask? Should I be? What are you saying? Does it matter? What’s love got to do with it? Are you talking to me? (Note: Are you having your period? is not one of these.)
Let’s try a math question. How many people have you slept with? Hmmmmm….Now, you can tell her the truth, unless the truth is more than 12, or you can have a guess at the number she’s more or less expecting. Like most arithmetic problems, the answer is a lot easier once you have a formula. This one should work as long as neither of you has sex for a living.
Number of people she’s slept with
+ Number of people she knows you’ve slept with
+ Number of people you actually have slept with.
Add these up and divide by 2. If you round up to the nearest whole person, you should end up with a realistically healthy but not particularly shocking number. If the result is greater than 12, then _say_ 12.
Why don’t you lighten up?
This rhetorical gem is used whenever you express your disapproval of shoplifting or speeding, or whenever you go to a nightclub and spend the whole time dancing to some unbelievable crap you’ve never heard and _then_ go out and _buy_ it! There is no good answer to this question. You could draw attention to her inconsistency in this matter, noting that she doesn’t like it when you act like a kid or when you act like your _dad_ (God forbid); then again, if you do that, she’s liable to see your point and break up with you. Speaking of breaking up, how about this one?
Are you saying you want to end it?
Women, like lawyers, rarely ask a direct question, unless they already know what the answer will be. As for women lawyers, I don’t know what they do, and I’m pretty sure I don’t want to know. The point is, when a woman asks you this question, she knows you’re going to say no. Even if you want to say yes, you’ll say no. You can’t turn the question back on her, because you have no idea what her answer is going to be. If you are trying to break up with her, you’ll have to say no and start the whole painful process again. If you aren’t trying to break up with her, then it’s best to change the subject. Let’s try something easier.
Notice anything different about me?
Well, slightly easier. This question is of a piece with two others: “Have you forgotten what today is?” and “Have you been listening to a word I’ve said?” Apart from being questions that are easier to answer wrong than right, they’re the kinds of things women say in sitcoms. They are best treated in an ironic postmodern context, i.e., just say what Ward Cleaver would say.
Her: Notice anything different about me?
You: New apron? … (Ouch!)
Her: Have you forgotten what today is?
You: Of course not. It’s Thursday.
Her: Have you been listening to a word I’ve said?
You: That’s nice, dear…
Funny, huh? Well, it’s not your fault if she doesn’t get it. If she wants a better answer, she’s going to have to start asking better questions. Questions such as:
Have you taken a look at yourself lately? This question and its cousin, the almost always uncalled for “Who do you think you are?” are ways of gently reminding you how much of a factor pity was in her original decision to go out with you, and how that decision could be rescinded if you behave in any way that cannot be described as abject. You probably brought this rebuke on yourself by mentioning that you reckon Brad Pitt is getting a little chubby or by speculating that Jack Nicholson doesn’t have to wait until his birthday for oral sex. You’re not really supposed to answer either of these questions. You’re just supposed to apologise for your wanton self-esteem-having. Instead of apologising, just smile. Your manifold inadequacies as a boyfriend – nay, as a man – are a kind of revenge all by themselves. Next!
Do you believe in fidelity?
Like most philosophical questions that seem to pop up out of the blue, this question doesn’t pop up out of the blue. This general query about fidelity is in fact a coded inquiry about the extent of your fidelity on a specific occasion or occasions. Your response will also have to be coded. Consult this translation chart before giving your answer:
YOU SAY – Yes
YOU MEAN – How much does she know?
SHE THINKS – He’s hiding something.
YOU SAY – It depends
YOU MEAN – How much does she know?
SHE THINKS – I knew it!
YOU SAY – Why do you ask
YOU MEAN – How much does she know?
SHE THINKS – Bastard!
YOU SAY – I dunno. Do you?
YOU MEAN – How much does she know?
SHE THINKS – How much does he know?
There are several more variations, but they’re not worth going into. By the time she asks you this question, you’re already in deep trouble. It doesn’t really matter what you say, as long as you don’t blush when you answer.
Let’s look at an example that u calls for more straightforward lying.
What are you looking at?
She means, “You were looking at that girl, weren’t you?” And you thought you’d perfected that trick of keeping your neck still and just letting your eyes swivel. Obviously, the truth is not the best answer here. We all know that the truth can set you free, sometimes before you’ve found somewhere else to stay. It may seem easy enough to answer this question with a cunning lie, but when men are caught offguard, their ability to deceive is impaired.
Here are a few of the more common mistakes men make when asked, “What are you looking at?”
Too specific: The rust around the bolts on the handle on the flap of that mailbox on the northwest corner.”
Not specific enough: “That thing.”
Too good to be true: “A diamond necklace in that window back there that would be perfect on you.”
Too true to be good: “A see through nightie in that window back there that would be perfect on you.”
Too obvious: “Nothing.”
Way too obvious: “That blonde babe over there with the big…I mean nothing.”
Here’s one that requires a little interpretation.
What are we going to do now?
This one often crops up whenever some kind of emergency or seemingly unsolvable problem arises. The part that requires interpretation is the mysterious “we” in the middle. This means two things: In one sense, “we” clearly means “you,” as in, “What are you going to do now,” but there is also a sense of “we’re in this together,” implying that you bear equal responsibility for the fact that she’s just dropped her keys down a grate, or that she stores her jack and spare tire in her garage so they won’t get stolen.
In such situations you’ll probably find that the only answer to “What are we going to do now?” that you can think of is “We are going to break up. Goodbye.” Most likely you’ll decide not to say anything. After which she will probably let loose with the rather ill-advised:
Why don’t you say something?
Whether you answer this one is up to you. There is only one question that you should never, ever answer. Keep silent, cower behind your Fifth Amendment rights, pretend you didn’t hear, run away, whatever, but don’t say anything when she asks:
Should I get all of my hair cut off?
If you say anything, then when she does get all her hair cut off (and let’s face it, she’s already made up her mind) and she hates it (and she will hate it), it will be your fault. Even if you say absolutely nothing, the best you can hope for is that she will come home with all her hair cut off, stare you straight in the eye and say:
Does it make me look fat!!?
…..You’re on your own…..
AweNaw, cheers. It’s an option I guess.
I guess I betta do something today. Back l8r
ATOB
Search for Winton Primary, photo’s on page 5. You’ll struggle to work out which one’s me, though. I’m much better looking these days 😎😎
AWENAW
A veritable minefield!
(And with too much truth to be funny.)
Garry,
Fair enough, let’s hope you’re right. I did hear some interesting thoughts on a Celtic state of mind podcast from Tuesday. The guys were pointing out that we only get players of any pedigree because they have been out of the picture elsewhere – elyanoussi, Duffy Ajeti and on Saturday we started without probably four of our best goals threats – Eddie, griff, Christie and Ajeti. Now those could be viewed as mitigating circumstances but they do not excuse a performance so gutless its the worst a lot of us have actually witnessed against the ibrox mob. Also, how long does it take for us to get players fit and how come we have players who are out injured for months and they have players who are hardly ever injured?. I’m sure there’s something in the water at lennoxtown.
Sol,
I’m away for a look just now. I’ll spot you.
Sol,
Was your maw one of the teachers and pregnant with you when this picture as taken because the latest picture I can see is from the Early 60s. Unless of course I just assumed you were the same age as bmcuwp when actually you were kept back a year 10 times!!