1/1/2002

HAPPY 2002

1/1/2002

HAPPY NEW YEAR

All at the Affiliation would like to wish Celtic supporters around the world all the best for a happy and champion 2002.

12/31/2001

HARTSON FIT FOR WELL GAME

John Hartson has declared himself fit to face Motherwell at Celtic Park on Wednesday.

12/30/2001

MORAVCIK WANTS TO BOSS CELTIC

Lubo Moravcik wants to return to Celtic as manager in the future.

O'NEILL CONCERN OVER CROCKED CRAINEY

Martin O'Neill hopes Celtic's injury problems do not turn into a crisis after Stephen Crainey was stretchered off against Dundee United.

CELTIC HAVE STRENGTH IN DEPTH - THOMPSON

Celtic midfielder Alan Thompson felt the Hoops' 4-0 win at Dundee United proves the strength in depth the club has this season.

12/28/2001

O'Neill to spend way out of Celtic injury crisis?

Martin O'Neill has hinted that Celtic are about to re-enter the transfer market after losing Chris Sutton for six weeks with ankle-ligament damage. "I am always actively looking because, if some crisis does arise, we might be able to do something," he said.

12/27/2001

Sutton to miss United clash.

Chris Sutton looks certain to be missing for Celtic for a few weeks after suffering ankle ligament damage in the Boxing Day win over Livingston.

12/24/2001

HOOPS BOSS IN FURY AT LEICESTER CITY CHAIRMAN.

Martin O'Neill has hit out at Leicester's chairman who's said he'll leave Parkhead if he doesn't get the resources he needs. O'Neill insists he will see out the rest of his Celtic contract which has eighteen months left.

12/24/2001

Martin O'Neill - Title race far from over

Celtic boss Martin O'Neill believes Saturday's 2-0 defeat by Aberdeen proves this season's title race is far from over. O'Neill also confirmed that the Dons' 59th minute penalty, which was awarded for a John Hartson hand-ball, was probably correct.

He said: "I asked John Hartson in the dressing room and he suggested that it could have been a penalty. I'm not disagreeing with that. Some of the boys thought we could have had a penalty at the other end but we didn't.

"That is immaterial. We got beaten in the game and we have accepted that.

"What it does illustrate is that the league is far from over. We have only just reached the halfway stage.

"We have been beaten and that can happen to any team.

"Eventually, it was inevitable because you cannot just keep winning. We will go home and think about it and try to come back for Boxing Day.

"We had a number of chances to equalise in the game but we didn't take them and, overall, Aberdeen played very strongly."

12/22/2001

VALENCIA FINED BY UEFA

Valencia have been fined £4,500 by UEFA for the conduct of their 'keeper Canizares during the penalty shoot-out at Celtic Park.

12/21/2001

O'NEILL CONCERNED ABOUT 'LIMITED' FUNDS AT CELTIC

Martin O'Neill showed his displeasure with Celtic chairman Brian Quinn, who said O'Neill had "limited" cash to spend.

12/21/2001

Lubo voted Slovakia player of the year

Celtic star Lubomir Moravcik was named as Slovakia's footballer of the year on Wednesday. "Maybe I deserved it earlier than at the age of 36," he joked.

The Slovakian playmaker came out top in a poll of journalists and coaches conducted by Slovakian newspaper Pravda.

12/18/2001

CELTIC TARGET SUPPORTERS' CLUBS WITH 'SECTARIAN NAMES'

Celtic are asking supporters' clubs whose names have sectarian or political links to change their titles.

The club has written to supporters' groups with unfamiliar names, asking members to explain the meaning.

Celtic says the new checks are part of the football club's anti-sectarian social charter.

Groups with names associated to sectarianism or terrorism will be asked to change names, or cut links with the club, reports the Glasgow Evening Times.

A Celtic spokeswoman said: "This is not a finger-pointing exercise and we don't want to identify any particular clubs we may have been in contact with.

"We have written to those whose names may be unfamiliar to us and asked them to explain the names."

One supporters' club chairman told the newspaper most fans believe the campaign is "over-zealous".

Campaign group Nil By Mouth, formed after the murder of a Celtic fan, says the move is a step in the right direction.

12/18/2001

KING OF KINGS 14th in WORLD PLAYER OF THE YEAR RATINGS

Henrik Larsson was the only SPL player in the FIFA World Player of the Year award rankings coming in 14th place. Luis Figo won the prize with David Beckham back in second place.

12/17/2001

Youngsters remain in Denmark.

Celtic have agreed to allow AGF Aarhus to keep their on-loan youngsters Mick Doyle and Liam Miller until the end of the season. Former Celtic defender Marc Rieper is currently assistant boss at the Danish club and despite the youngsters' loan spell coming to an end a few days ago, he has spoken with Martin O'Neill regarding their availability for a few more months and has been given the go-ahead to keep them. Clearly the players, who are getting first-team football, will gain more experience in Denmark than having to battle it out with regular first-team stars for a place in any Under-21 game.

12/16/2001

WIM THE TIM RETURNS TO FOOTBALL

Wim Jansen is back in football after being appointed head-coach of Urawa Reds in the Japanese J-League.

Jansens role at the club will be similar to that he had at Celtic as he will be working under fellow Dutchman Hanz Ooft who is the clubs General Manager.

It is Jansens second spell in Japan after managing Hiroshima between 1995 and 1997 and is his first job after leaving Celtic Park.

12/13/2001

PETROV HAPPY AT PARKHEAD

Stilian Petrov insists he will not turn his back on Celtic for a crack at the English Premier League.

12/13/2001

Celtic's Chief Executive Ian McLeod questions SFA 'logic'

Celtic chief executive Ian McLeod has launched a scathing attack on the Scottish Football Association following their decision to stage their Tennent's Cup clash Alloa at Falkirk.

The SFA emergency committee decided Brockville would host the third round tie after the police ruled out playing the match at Alloa's Recreation Park ground.

But McLeod says the decision lacks "common sense and logic".

Alloa were hoping to play the game at Motherwell where they would have been guaranteed a bumper pay-day against the holders.

But both McLeod and Alloa manager Terry Christie have been left baffled by the decision.

McLeod said: "I'm extremely disappointed at the decision of the SFA to move the tie with Alloa to Brockville.

"The lack of facilities, including a lack of undersoil heating, means both sets of supporters are in great risk of disappointment.

"If the game had to be moved why not move it to an all-seater stadium rather than have 6,000 people standing on terracing for two hours in early January?

"One such ground was available within an hour's drive of Alloa.

"On this occasion, common sense and logic did not appear particularly high in the SFA decision-making process."

Alloa boss Christie also blasted the SFA which could cost the Second Division club crucial revenue.

"We are disappointed because, obviously, we are trying to maximise our income from the game," said Christie.

12/12/2001

RANGERS DROP TWO MORE POINTS AT HOME

FULL TIME FROM IBROX

RANGERS 1 HIBS 1

Rangers have dropped two points at home tonight in a 1-1 draw with Hibs.

In Dick Advocatt's last game in charge they failed to close the gap by the three points expected. Celtic now lead the SPL by eleven points with a game in hand over their Old Firm rivals.

12/12/2001

Petrov ready to commit future to Celtic

Bulgaria midfielder Stilian Petrov has handed Celtic a major boost by revealing that he is ready to commit his long-term future to the Glasgow club.

Petrov's recent performances for Celtic in the Champions' League have enhanced the 22-year-old's reputation throughout Europe, but he insisted on Wednesday that he is happy to continue his career in Scotland.

"A few months ago Celtic asked me about a new contract," explained Petrov. "It was not important for me then - but if they came back and asked me to extend my contract, I'd be really happy."

Petrov has been keen to dampen speculation that he was set to follow in the footsteps of the former Rangers midfielder Claudio Reyna in moving South of the border.

"Scottish football can give me what I need just now. Reyna clearly felt his time in Scotland was over, but if I stay for another four years it would be absolutely great for me," he told the Scottish Daily Mail.

Petrov, who was voted Scotland's young player of the year, spent the early part of this season on the sidelines recovering from a double leg fracture, but he has been in excellent form since returning to the Celtic starting line-up.

12/12/2001

Old Firm told "no" to Premiership

The Premier League has rejected the arrival of Celtic and Rangers into a newly structured Premiership, and has also dismissed speculation of a second Prejmiership division.

In an unofficial poll Premier League club officials voted 19-1 against the proposed formation of a new "Phoenix" league which would have seen a restructured game in the UK, giving the Old Firm rivals access to a new source of football revenue.

Chief executive Richard Scudamore revealed: "There has been overwhelming dismissal of a Premier League Two. By definition there can be only one Premier League. We don't envisage any circumstances in which Celtic and Rangers would be parachuted into the Premier League."

12/11/2001

ALMONDVALE OR FIR PARK FOR CUP-TIE?

It now looks as though Almondvale the home of Livingston FC may be preferred to Fir Park, Motherwell for Celtic’s Scottish Cup-Tie away to Alloa Athletic.

A decision on the venue may be announced later today.

12/11/2001

FIR PARK EMERGING AS FAVOURITE

It's expected that Alloa will announce today that the Scottish Cup tie against Celtic will now take place at Fir Park Motherwell, this will ease the worries Celtic supporters may have had with regard to tickets for this game.

Alloa had requested that the game be put back 24 hours but this has been rejected by the SFA.

12/11/2001

FERGUSON BANNED FOR THREE MATCHES

Dunfermline midfielder Ian Ferguson has been banned for three matches after being booked in the 4-0 thrashing by Celtic at East End Park on Sunday.

12/8/2001

HAMPDEN PARK TO STAGE CIS INSURANCE CUP SEMI-FINALS

The Scottish Football League have confirmed that both CIS Cup semi-finals will be played at Hampden Park in February.

12/8/2001

VALGAEREN REFLECTS ON WORST CAREER MOMENT

Joos Valgaeren admitted his penalty miss was the worst experience of his career.

12/5/2001

Hopes boosted for UEFA Cup Tie

Celtic's hopes of UEFA Cup glory have been boosted by an injury to Valencia winger Kily Gonzalez. The Argentinian, who missed the first leg in Spain after a bust-up with his coach, was hurt in training and is out of the clash at Parkhead. Valencia have already been hit with injuries to influential midfield duo David Albelda and Miguel Angel Angulo.

12/4/2001

Keane moves to deny Celtic rumours.

Roy Keane has quashed rumours that he is set to join Celtic by saying he has never been happier at Manchester United.

Newspaper reports suggested Keane was annoyed at being asked to play centre-half against Chelsea on Saturday and has distanced himself from the other players - by not even telling them about a change of phone number.

Keane has a long-stated desire to play for Celtic some time before he retires and it has been suggested he could move to Parkhead as early as next summer.

However the United skipper has dismissed the reports, claiming he is perfectly content with life at Old Trafford.

12/4/2001

KICK OFF TIMES REMINDER

Supporters are reminded that Thursday’s UEFA Cup Tie against Valencia kick’s off at 7.30pm and Sunday’s SPL match against Dunfermline has a 2.50pm start.

Both match times have been adjusted to fit in with BBC TV schedules.

12/4/2001

KJAER BACKS DONS TO DOWN CELTIC

Aberdeen keeper Peter Kjaer insists the Pittodrie side can equal the club's record of nine home wins in a row, even although they will have to beat Celtic to achieve it. "When we're at home anything can happen," the Dane said.

12/4/2001

ANGULO BLOW FOR VALENCIA

Valencia midfielder Miguel Angel Angulo will miss the Uefa Cup clash with Celtic on Thursday after suffering a thigh injury. He could be sidelined for three weeks and is also likely to miss Spanish League games against Deportivo, Espanyol and Malaga.

12/3/2001

Celtic boss wins libel damages

Celtic manager Martin O'Neill has accepted substantial undisclosed libel damages over an article which said that his representatives had been involved in secret talks about succeeding Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson.

O'Neill's solicitor, Paul Hackney, told Mr Justice Gray at the High Court in London that before the story appeared in The Observer in May, there was much speculation in the media that O'Neill would take over from Ferguson on his retirement next summer. There followed further publication of O'Neill's express denial of any intention of wishing to become United's manager or of leaving Celtic before the end of his three-year contract in 2003.

The front page Observer story, headed Revealed: Plot To Oust Ferguson, mentioned secret informal talks between United's chief executive and O'Neill's representatives. The allegation was repeated in the sports section and it was stated that an informal agreement had been reached to avoid a breach of Football League rules by United.

12/2/2001

VALENCIA WARM UP FOR CELTIC WITH HOME DRAW.

Valencia were booed off following their 1-1 draw with Mallorca as their fickle supporters expressed their unhappiness again at coach Rafa Benitez.

Albert Luque put the visitors ahead after 13 minutes and the home fans' growing impatience was not settled even when Mista levelled ten minutes from time for El Che.