“Football is a funny old game” is a cliche that is used constantly throughout the football world, even more especially at Ibrox when transfers are mentioned.
It seems the blue half of glasgow will try anything to coax players into signing for their team even by going as far as trying to give the club a more warming and homely outlook by  bringing a player into the fold with the name ‘Welcome’, but sadly so far the rangers P.R. have failed and are yet to welcome any ‘major’ signings at all.
Names have only been touted, such behemoths of world football as Pompys goal shy hitman John Utaka, Rapid Vienna striker Jelavic, Cillit Bangs Barry Scott (to clean up the midfield), the moose from the wine gums current campaign (Seen as a perfect foil for Kenny Miller) and the pavarotti-esque opera singer from the go compare advert as possible backup for current number one, Two Fingers McGregor.
Meanwhile at Paradise:-
With Joe Ledley, Efrain Juarez and Gary Hooper all signed up and James Forrest now being brought more into Lennons first team plans it can point simply to progression.
To put this in comparison with rangers is a tough one with the only comparison being the combined ages of Joe Ledley, Efrain Juarez, Gary Hooper and James Forrest all equal up to David Weirs current age. (…and that is not yet known with rangers backroom staff having to turn to their plan ‘B’ of chopping off one of Weirs legs and counting the rings.)
This youthful exhuberance with Lennons added mixture of the experienced Cha Du Ri, Samaras and Scotty Brown all head into a first league fixture against I.C.T.
For those of you in the know about football acronyms and don’t want to know the result of this next patronising outburst please look away and scroll down……………..now.
Football for dummies – Â Education for the day
“I.C.T. Isn’t that something to do with Information Computer Technology?” some new football fans or un-knowledgeable readers may quip.
Well no that stands for Inverness Caledonian Thistle. This exert was brought to you by the letters I.C.T. and the number 1.
As we all know it is certainly a tough fixture to kick off with. On paper we should be looking for the win and beating them comfortably but as we all know away days at Inverness can be very frustrating as well as gail force blustery with more wind than Vanessa Feltz after a night on Vindaloo and Guiness.
Coincidently with this fixture coming up it is suffice to endevour into one of my elaborate true tales.  I once spent a night on the lash with ex-celt Liam Keogh in Nairn, which is a couple of miles up the road from Inverness, It was a strange old night, we arrived at a pub down a sidestreet in Nairn round the corner from the beach, we were meeting my mrs’ cousin and when we went in sat beside my mrs’ cousin was Liam Keogh. Me being the knowledgeable Celt noticed him straight away and my mrs’ cousin introduced us.
We sat and had pints, with the talking initially not being about football at all. Then I spotted a gap in the conversation and I started to ask Liam about Celtic. I obviously picked his brain about his days at Celtic and spoke about the good times that he witnessed whilst at Paradise. He had nothing but nice things to say about Mark Viduka and that some of the things Viduka did in training was nothing short of mercurial. He even quipped about how he set up Henrik for a goal in a match.
Sadly Mr Keogh, who had a spell at Caley himself, had to retire due to consistant niggling injuries. It was a shame that he was not at Celtic for any longer as from what I remember in person he was a great guy to speak to and more than welcoming. He could have been at the celts for a longtime had it not been to injuries preventing him from heading towards his full potential.
I woke up the morning after sat at the breakfast table with my family. I was feeling a bit surreal from what I had not expected the night before, that I got a first person perspective insight into Celtic and the football life.
What Liam said and how his career tailed off changed my views in a way that a lot of footballers do not have a long shelf life at all. People always complain about how much they get paid but when you are a professional in touching distance of being a possible mainstay for one of the biggest clubs in the world and you are struck down with injuries well before your prime, I cannot complain anymore about the massive wages they are on. Out of the hundreds of thousands trying to makke it as pro’s only a select few actually make it to the top level. It seems more like a lottery style rollercoaster where only in some cases the ‘lucky ones prevail’.
Football is definately a funny old game and as our lads head to Inverness this coming weekend we need to remember that all what matters is now.
So come forth Browny, Sammy, Juarez, Ledley, Loovens, Zaluska, Cha, Mulgrew and the rest. If you have a chance to see this Celts XI remember for what you have in body and time may not last long but it is what you do now that will be forever remembered by us, so go out there in every match this season and become the league champions once again.
The league starting blocks at Inverness await you.
Great first blog, Sean I choked on my toast at the Barry Scott quip.
Though, some, well me are struggling to grasp progress with Luka, Broony, Glenn and Sammy still around
That’s before I think about Mulgrew.
Too many unanswered questions.
Fitba is a funny old game?
You’re joking surely?
It’s only Tuesday, mind you.
At about 12:00 on Saturday, it will be back to being a matter of life and death (or worser even…).
As for comparing the relative merits of the Tic/huns squads, it hard to judge.
Both teams are weaker, but by how much?
We wll miss Keane as much as they will miss MonsterMunch.
The HG & Aiden will be missed.
Wattie knows how to set out a team, that’s for sure.
Lennie – well we don’t know do we? Although he IS unbeaten in the SPL…
The CL will take its toll on the hun, that’s for sure: they will get humped even worse that last year.
Hopefully for us the EL will be a welcome diversion from the hum-drum SPL crap.
At the end of the day, a lot depends how wisely we spend the Aiden money..
You can drop the names but inspiration is the key.
Lenny and the squad will produce no matter what the critics say about Sammy, Big Glen et al lets hope Lenny will have sponged up some of MONs ways of turning team players into world beaters again. Believe lads believe…and they shall win.
Love your positivity, Sean. These guys are living the dream of so many. Saturday is huge on so many levels for us. Butcher will have Information Computer Technology right wound up for it. It will no doubt be a day for rolling the sleeves up and getting stuck right in. While I hope our eleven on Saturday do us, and themselves, proud (bearing in mind this international break is a fecker), I’d like to think that some of them will be gracing pastures new by the end of August.
As for comparing the sqauds – they are settled and know each other whereas we are getting used to each other but hopefully more talented. So, it may well come down to Lenny doing what he promised – bringing back the fight, the heart and the THUNDER!! To be honest, that’s all we ask for (apart from the treble:))
Lenny and the Bhoys, it’s over to you. C’mon!!!!
@ sixtaeseven
How will we spend the Aiden money? It seems that we are looking through John Parks book of margins and hoping a Spanish team on a pre season tour in Scotland can give us a lucky break.
Wise? A word not heard since 2000
@ cheifinkorea
I reckon we have had a more talented squad on paper than any of the r@ngers championship winning side in the last 10 years.
We are hoping Lenny has a handle on the dark arts.
@ Sean
Inspiration is the key? Bon Jovi? Unlike Jon I’m not living on a prayer.
Heh, enough. Seems your Tuesday positivity has went down like a lie detector edition of Jeremy Kyle.
Il return to being the grumpy auld walrus
Well the lie detector results have come in your end but the matter of the outcome of the DNA test is that I am the father of a very good point.
Is it bad to be a positive Celtic fan? Or do I have to be one of the ‘sheep’ invasion of paradise whinge bags that are leaking into celtic park (and in the celtic pubs) who get on the players backs as soon as one pass goes astray.
The fact of the matter is we are not Arsenal and we are not Barca, who score a sensational goal after 30 passes, we are Celtic and like Lenny wants us to do, get behind the lads and who knows what the future holds?
Encouragement makes pathways open and the players feel ten feet tall when they know we are with them whereas jeering and sniping creates psychological cul de sacs and bad form follows.
Dont be grumpy, lighten up man, and as you should be aware there are other things that can be positive other than H.I.V. you know.
Try one of these 😀
@ Sean
I blame Tony Mowbray. Regular readers will know that I saw the value in Paul Telfer. Last year I was blinded by the lights this year I’m blindfolded by pragmatism.
So if I feel preseason has left us I’l prepared and with questions then I will.
You saw the value in Paul Telfer and not Mo Camara? 😀
Well as the season un-folds I hope your viewpoint changes.
hopefully, I will fully back the players but I reserve the right to call them useless. we just can’t be all sweetness and light when major questions need to be answered.
mo camara? his valued dropped one day at east end park when while running down the wing he ran right out the park. i thought they had opened the gates to let him out.
PMSL I think Mo took off that day and is still running, particular sources state he was last spotted sprinting through alaska scaring the bejaysus out of some bears.
Well LOTW all I can say is keep the faith and hopefully the next month of football will answer your questions.
alaska? is that code for paisley?