December Rants

HOGMANAY 2000

OLD STORY DOING THE ROUNDS

CELTIC WANTED TO SELL LARSSON - CHIEF

Out-going Celtic chief executive Allan MacDonald insists that the club were prepared to sell Henrik Larsson to the giants of the English Premiership in 1999. MacDonald claims that he thwarted the plans of the Celtic board to offload the Swede to either Highbury or Old Trafford. ''The board had already decided to sell Henrik Larsson when I arrived on the scene,'' MacDonald told the Scottish Mail on Sunday.

The Affiliation & The Association were privy to this information well over a year ago, in fact we attended a meeting with the outgoing chief executive on the night Celtic played Hapoel Tel Aviv at Celtic Park in LAST SEASON'S UEFA CUP when Mr MacDonald revealed this information to us. News certainly does not travel fast where this tabloid is concerned.

HOGMANAY 2000

TUESDAY'S GAME LOOKING IN DOUBT

As the West of Scotland is once again under several inches of snow, the game against Kimarnock scheduled for Tuesday 02nd January 2001 is looking in serious doubt. We will keep you posted on any further updates as we receive them.

HOGMANAY (NEW YEARS EVE) 2000

O'Neill urges Slovak to stay

Martin O’Neill will try to tempt our Slovakian maestro Lubo Moravcik to stay with the club when this season ends.

Lubo has already stated his desire to give up the game at the end of this term, but Martin O’Neill will have talks during the winter shutdown in the hope that he can persuade Lubo to stay on longer at the club.

SATURDAY 30th DECEMBER 2000

SPL ROUND-UP

HIBS CLOSE GAP

With Celtic’s game against Motherwell falling victim to the weather conditions Hibs had the chance to narrow the gap at the top of the SPL, they did so with a controversial goal deep into injury time.

It was well into time added on when Hibs were awarded a penalty that was duly converted by Russell Lapaty, after this however all hell broke loose. Dundee United keeper Alan Combe was yellow carded after the final whistle after an alleged bust up with an official. More to follow on this one I’m sure.

Final Score Hibs 1 Dundee United 0.

In the other game to beat the weather St Johnstone and Hearts drew 2-2.

FRIDAY 29TH DECEMBER 2000

EX CELT ON WAY TO ITALY?

DI CANIO READY TO RETURN HOME

Paolo Di Canio has fuelled speculation that he could return to Italy and former club Lazio in the new year by telling a radio station in Rome that "wearing a Lazio shirt again would be fantastic for me".

FRIDAY 29th DECEMBER 2000

OOPS SORRY

The notice posted yesterday with regard to the pay per view games should have read St Mirren at home on Saturday 7th April 2001 and not April 4th, sorry for the mix up.

THURSDAY 28th DECEMBER 2000

WEATHER UPDATE

The SPL will meet early tomorrow to decide if this week’s games will go ahead, with the forecast looking extremely grim over the next few days a few games are bound to fall by the wayside. We will keep you posted on any future updates throughout Friday.

CELTS ON PAY PER VIEW

Sky TV have announced their pay per view games and it comes as no surprise that both halves of the Old Firm are involved.

Celtic will play St Johnstone on Wednesday 31st January 2001 at Perth with an 8.00pm kick off. Celtic will also play the other Saints in the Premier League, St Mirren on Saturday 04th April 2001, this game will start at 12.55pm.

Fans not attending these games will have to pay £7.95 per game to watch the hoops in action.

Rangers will feature in a home match against Dunfermline and an away game against Dundee

THURSDAY 28TH DECEMBER 2000

GAME RE-ARRANGED

Celtic will now meet St Johnstone at Perth on Wednesday 31st January 2001.

The game will kick off at 8.00pm.

WEDNESDAY 27th DECEMBER 2000

BANTAMS BOSS EYING BURCHILL

Former Hearts boss Jim Jefferies may well try to temp Celtic's want away striker Mark Burchill to join him at Bradford over the next few days.

Scotland striker Burchill was due to move to Birmingham after a successful loan spell at St Andrews, but the deal fell though over personal terms, and Jefferies may now step into to snap up the pacy front-man who has confirmed he wants to quit Parkhead

CHRISTMAS DAY 2000

O'Neill warns 'lazy' Celtic

Martin O'Neill watched his side stretch their lead at the top of the Scottish Premier League to ten points with victory at St Mirren on Saturday then told them that they are not good enough to land the title playing in second gear.

"There have been many matches last season when Manchester United felt they were only in second gear - and Manchester United are capable of being in second gear and winning matches," O’Neill said.

"I shouldn't make this comparison - far from it - but we aren't good enough to be in second gear. I genuinely believe that."

O'Neill returns to Dundee United - where he took charge of his first competitive Scottish game back in July and came away with a 2-1 win.

United held Rangers at Tannadice last weekend, and a victory over Celtic would put them in a great position with two home games coming up before the winter break on January 2.

O'Neill admitted: "This is a massive game for us because they showed last Sunday what they are capable of by holding Rangers."

United boss Alex Smith sees his defence as the key to taking more points off the Old Firm.

He said: "The Celtic game will be difficult for us, although if we defend as well as we can then we have a good chance of getting a result.

"Charlie Miller is definitely our best player at the moment because he is closing people down and against Hearts he looked like our most likely player.

SUNDAY 24th DECEMBER 2000Club

Representatives at supporters’ club functions

CELTIC have once again received a numerous requests from supporters’ clubs seeking a club representative at their annual functions. Any clubs that have not already applied should do so as soon as possible, as we are currently updating the list to include new applications.

Future cut-off dates for applying are as follows:

Dates between:Notice required:

23/01/01 and 11/03/01 15/01/01 {shutdown from 03/01/01 to 22/01/01;

12/03/01 and 12/05/00 23/02/01 players not available in this period}

An update of the guidelines for requesting a representative to attend:

It is not possible for representatives to attend events that take place on an evening when there is a first-team match the following day.

If a personal appearance has been confirmed and then a fixture is changed, for example if a match is moved from Saturday to Sunday, regrettably it will not be possible for the club to send a representative.

While every effort will be made to accommodate requests, it may not be possible to send the player requested. If this is the case every effort will be made to send a deputy. Due to the volume of requests we receive it is not usually possible to send more than one representative to an event.

Only one event per season per supporters’ club can be considered, because of the volume of requests we receive.

Each supporters’ club will be required to designate an individual to look after the club representative in attendance and ensure they are looked after courteously and professionally.

All functions this season must take place prior to May 13, 2001.

Players are not available to attend events during the winter shut-down or close-season break.

SATURDAY 23rd DECEMBER 2000

EARLY CHRISTMAS PRESENT?

Can King Henrik deliver an early Christmas present to the Parkhead faithful at Love Street today?

Some bookies are giving odds of 14/1 for King Henrik to repeat his hat-trick exploits of last week. I’ll certainly in for some of that. What is it they say, “lightning never strikes twice”.

BURCHILL ON THE BENCH

Will Mark Burchill be asked to warm the subs bench once again for the hoops in today’s match against St Mirren?

Early indications are that he will not be included in the squad, but knowing Martin O’Neill he might just sneak him onto the bench to gee up the forwards who will start the game.

THURSDAY 21st DECEMBER 2000

TIS THE SEASON TO BE SILLY BILLY BOY

RICKSEN - WE ARE STILL THE BEST

Rangers defender Fernando Ricksen has sent out a pre-Christmas message to arch-rivals Celtic that his side are ''still the best team in Scotland''. The astonishing claim comes as the Ibrox outfit enter the festive season 12 points behind the Parkhead side and five adrift of Hibernian. The pressure increased on Rangers following Sunday's 1-1 draw at rock-bottom Dundee United - but Ricksen insisted that they illustrated at Tannadice that they are still playing the best football in the Premier League.

THURSDAY 21st DECEMBER 2000

(from the Celtic's official web site)

ALAN STUBBS

Celtic FC

A spokesperson for Celtic Football Club comments, "Following repeat scans and the latest consultation with oncologists at the Beatson Oncology Unit, it has been decided that Alan Stubbs will not at this stage require further chemotherapy. He will now undergo abdominal surgery in mid - January as part of his treatment plan.

No further chemotherapy will be required at the moment and Alan has made good progress. However, contrary to suggestions in press reports today, it is still far too premature to claim that he has received an ‘all clear’. In fact, Alan is still undergoing close monitoring as part of a continuing treatment plan."

Thursday, December 21, 2000

APRIL FOOLS DAY?

Former Celtic striker Mark Viduka stunned revellers by singing the club's anthem at Leeds United's Christmas party.

The Australian broke into a rendition of 'Hail, Hail the Celts are Here' before confessing he wants to return to Parkhead, but only after conquering Europe with Leeds.

The revealtions will come as a surprise to many Celtic fans who turned against the controversial striker when he made his £6million move to Yorkshire.

While many appreciated his goalscoring prowess while in Scotland, they grew increasingly angry over his off-field antics which questioned his commitment to the club.

But Viduka revealed: 'I'm still a Celtic fan and I always will be. I absolutely love the club and I really would like to go back eventually. It's in my blood and in my veins, just like any other football supporter.

'Unfortunately I felt I needed a new challenge in the summer and at the moment Leeds can offer some success in the Champions League. I never even spoke to Martin O'Neill in the summer because my mind was made up, but I was sorry to go in the end.

'It was a sad day when I left, having being a Bhoys fan since I was a kid, but one day I hope to go back.

'Henrik (Larsson) and the rest of the boys are having a good season so far and I hope they get the title because they've been the best team in Scotland this year.'

THURSDAY 21st DECEMBER 2000

MacDONALD BLASTS DALGLISH

KENNY DALGLISH has been blasted by outgoing Celtic chairman Allan MacDonald.

The Parkhead supremo delivered a damning verdict on the former Bhoys boss who was axed in the summer - and questioned King Kenny's ability to run a top club.

MacDonald, who quits on New Year's Eve after 18 months at the club, said: "I felt bringing in Kenny was something we needed to do because he was a Celtic man who had enjoyed success in the most competitive league in the world.

"With hindsight, I wish I had never done it."

The Hoops stuttered in the League after the winter break last season.

And they were dumped out of the Scottish Cup by Inverness Caley while caretaker chief Dalglish was in Spain, watching a youth tournament.

MacDonald claimed: "The next day Kenny wasn't on the first plane back from La Manga, as he had promised. That was the defining moment for me. Here was a crisis and those responsible for the football management side hadn't a grasp of it.

"In terms of Kenny the man I still have enormous respect for him. In terms of his ability to manage a top football team, I don't think that is his forte."

Dalglish, who won an £800,000 payout after his sacking, said: "If Allan wants to sing his songs that's up to him."

TUESDAY 19th DECEMBER 2000

Tampa Bay v Celtic

MLS outfit Tampa Bay Mutiny are believed to be close to securing a pre-season friendly with Scottish powerhouse Glasgow Celtic.

The match will be played in Florida on January 19th, when the Scottish Premier League is in it's winter break.

Celtic are in the midst of a great season, leading the Scottish top-flight by seven points over Hibernian, and have a full 13 point lead over old-firm rival's Glasgow Rangers.

It is unclear to the actual venue of the match, with the Raymond James Stadium a possible, albeit unconfirmed site for the glamour clash, with the smaller University of Tampa the other option available.

New Celtic boss Martin O'Neill will be expected to bring his multi-millionaire first team to Florida, taking advantage of Tampa's warm climate and excellent facilities.

We will bring you full confirmation as soon as we have it.

TUESDAY 19th DECEMBER 2000

BURCHILL TO SIGN FOR BLUES?

Birmingham have confirmed their desire to sign Celtic striker Mark Burchill on a permanant basis following the completion of his three-month loan spell.

The Scottish international striker made his final loan appearance for the Blues at Wolves on Sunday.

But Birmingham had already indicated their interested in making the move long-term and co-owner David Sullivan confirmed the club have now made an undisclosed offer to Celtic.

Sullivan said: "We have made an offer and now we have to wait and see whether Celtic find it acceptable.

"As to whether Mark will sign, who knows."

Celtic want £1.5m for Burchill, who scored four goals during his loan spell, but has also attracted interest from Preston and Derby County.

SUNDAY 17th DECEMBER 2000

RANGERS LOSE GROUND

Rangers had to settle for a point tonight after drawing 1-1 with Dundee United at Tannadice, the league race looks more and more like a two horse race between Hibs and ourselves.

Rangers have still one game in hand over the hoops but they now sit a massive 12 points adrift in the chase for this season’s SPL championship.

FRIDAY 15th DECEMBER 2000

DALGLISH AWARDED £600,000 OVER CELTIC SACKING

Former Celtic director of football, Kenny Dalglish, has been awarded more than £600,000 after being sacked by the club last summer.

At the five-minute hearing in the Court of Session in Edinburgh Mr Dalglish's lawyers accepted the payout and in turn the club agreed to drop a counter claim against him.

Mr Dalglish had originally been seeking £950,000 along with £35,163 worth of pension contributions from Celtic after being sacked in June.

FRIDAY 15th DECEMBER 2000

HOME DEBUTS

Celtic may have two players making their home debuts in Saturday’s game against Aberdeen. Neil Lennon will of course make his debut, but watch out for a surprise inclusion if Ramon Vega is signed in time from Tottenham Hostpur. It’s been reported that Martin O’Neill met up with the player and his representatives to thrash out a short-term loan deal until the end of this season. More on this one as things unfold.

Thursday 14th December 2000

FRANCIS WANTS BURCHILL FOR KEEPS

Birmingham manager Trevor Francis wants to sign £1-5million-rated Celtic striker Mark Burchill on a permanent basis. Francis is keeping his fingers crossed that a proposed sponsorship deal will provide him with the funds to finance the deal for Burchill, whose three-month spell on loan from Celtic has two weeks to run. Burchill produced another impressive performance as City secured a place in the semi-finals of the Worthington Cup with Tuesday night's 2-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday.

THURSDAY 14th DECEMBER 2000

GAP CLOSES

Rangers closed the gap on Hibs to three points and on Celtic to ten points after beating Aberdeen 3-1 at Ibrox last night. Aberdeen are due at Celtic Park on Saturday and a repeat of last night’s score will go down nicely.

HUCKERBY LINKED

Darren Huckerby is once again being linked with a move to Celtic Park. It’s claimed that Martin O’Neill has watched the player personally and his about to confirm a serious bid.

WEDNESDAY 13th DECEMBER 2000

THOMPSON SUSPENDED

Alan Thompson will miss Celtic’s match on Boxing Day away to Dundee United, Thompson has gone through the points barrier after picking up another yellow card in Sunday’s match at Dens Park.

SELAKOVIC EYEING CELTIC SWITCH

Halmstad striker Stefan Selakovic has revealed that he would love the chance to link-up with compatriots Henrik Larsson and Johan Mjallby at Celtic.

HARTSON GOING NOWHERE, SAYS AGENT

The agent of Wimbledon striker John Hartson has rubbished speculation in the Scottish press linking the front man with a move to either Celtic or Newcastle.

SUNDAY 10th DECEMBER 2000

RESULTS FROM TODAY'S GAMES

DUNDEE 1 CELTIC 2

RANGERS 2 MOTHERWELL 0

FRIDAY 8th DECEMBER 2000

LENNON DEAL COMPLETED

(story from official club site)

The £5.75 million signing of Neil Lennon was completed just before 10am today (Friday December 8) when the Northern Ireland internationalist and Celtic financial director Eric Riley put their signatures on a four-and-a-half year contract for the player in the company of chief executive Allan MacDonald.

The 29-year-old then departed to prepare for his first training session with his new team-mates, while the process of de-registering him with the FA and registering him with the SFA was pursued by Celtic officials.

The FA closes for business at 12.30pm on Fridays, so the wheels had to be set in motion swiftly to ensure that the player is available to make his debut in the hoops in Sunday evening’s live Sky game against Dundee at Dens Park.

Friday 8th December 2000

NEIL LENNON GOES ON SHOW

Neil Lennon will be paraded later today at Celtic Park (if he passes his medical)as Martin O'Neill add's another piece to his hoops jigsaw. More updates on this to follow, if we don't hear Peter Taylor's name again for a few years it won't be a moment too soon.

THURSDAY 7TH DECEMBER 2000

RANGERS CRASH OUT

Rangers crashed out of Europe today losing 3-0 to the German outfit Kaiserslautern. The score over the two legs was Kaiserslautern 3 Rangers 1

WEDNESDAY 6th DECEMBER 2000

LENNON FARCE CONTINUES

The Neil Lennon transfer saga continues to roll on with the player’s agent Mel Stein saying that the deal is not dead and that the two clubs are still negotiating. All I can say is I wish they would get on with the deal or I will be putting in for a WHITE FINGER claim with the amount of bull**** that’s flying about with this particular deal.

WEDNESDAY 6th DECEMBER 2000

BHOYS REACH TOP 20

In a league table announced earlier this week Celtic have come in as the twentieth richest club in the world. This just goes to show that the sooner both of the Old Firm get out of Scottish soccer the better for both clubs. Supporters are continuing to be fleeced when paying at the turnstiles, last Wednesday’s match at Easter Road for instance cost fans upwards of £21, things will only get worse the longer we stay in Scotland. For the record the top twenty richest clubs are as follows:

1. Man Utd (£110.9million) 2. Bayern Munich (£83.5million) 3. Real Madrid (£76.1million) 4. Chelsea (£59.1million) 5. Juventus (£58.5million) 6. Barcelona (£55.7million) 7. AC Milan (£54.1million) 8. Lazio (£50million) 9. Inter Milan (£49.1million) 10. Arsenal (£48.6million) 11. Liverpool (£45.3million) 12. Newcastle Utd (£44.7million) 13. Parma (£44.4million) 14. Borussia Dortmund (£43.9million) 15. Tottenham (£42.6million) 16. AS Roma (£39.4million) 17. Leeds Utd (£37million) 18. Rangers (£36.5million) 19. Aston Villa (£34.9million) 20. Celtic (£33.8million)

TUESDAY 5th DECEMBER 2000

LATEST ON LENNON SAGA

CELTIC BLAME LEICESTER FOR COLLAPSE OF LENNON DEAL

Celtic have blamed Leicester for the collapse in the transfer of Neil Lennon to Celtic. Foxes boss Peter Taylor had given the Bhoys until 5pm on Tuesday to come up with an improved offer for the Northern Ireland midfielder, after a £5million bid was rejected last week. Leicester wanted £5.7million for the 29-year-old - with England caretaker coach Taylor wanting the extra £700,000 owed to Crewe as a sell-on clause as part of the deal which took Lennon to Filbert Street four-and-a-half years ago. The deadline passed with no new offer having been made by Celtic's former Leicester manager Martin O'Neill - and no agreement having been reached between the two clubs. And a Celtic spokesman believed the reason no deal has been done is down to Leicester. The spokesman said: "Celtic is disappointed that Leicester has rejected an offer which gave them an opportunity to receive a transfer fee in excess of all of their demands." The collapse of the move will be a shattering blow to Lennon, given his weekend comments about wanting to move to Parkhead and work again with O'Neill. Taylor said earlier today: "We have put this time limit on things because it is not doing anyone any good. "It's a difficult situation for Neil and us and I'm surprised it's taken so long but then I'm not the buying club. "If their manager wants Lennon so much then my attitude is 'come and get him - and don't mess about any more.' "We have made it clear that we want a clear £5million plus a percentage to go to Crewe which Celtic have to take care of." Taylor is confident that Lennon will put the disappointment of Celtic failing to come up with the right financial offer for his services behind him. He said: "Neil knows the score. He knows there was a deadline and fully accepts it. Everything I have done in this matter has been done with Neil Lennon. I've kept him in touch with everything. "The last thing I want to do is lose Neil and it would be very hard for certain supporters to appreciate. "If it doesn't go through then I've got a very good professional on my hands in Neil Lennon who will get on with it and do superb things again for Leicester City."

TUESDAY 5th DECEMBER 2000

Lennon’s Bhoys dream shattered?

Neil Lennon’s dream move to Celtic looks to have collapsed as the Glasgow club has failed to meet Leicester City’s £5.7million fee. Foxes boss Peter Taylor imposed a deadline of 5pm on Tuesday for a deal to be struck but Celtic have not increased their offer of £5m made last week.

Leicester demanded the extra £700,000 to cover the sell-on clause agreed with Crewe when the Northern Ireland international moved to Filbert Street four-and-a-half years ago.

TUESDAY 5TH DECEMBER 2000

BURCHILL'S FUTURE IN DOUBT?

Mark Burchill's future was again in doubt last night with Birmingham City manager Trevor Francis seeking talks with the club's owners to discuss the player's future.

Burchill's three-month loan spell at St Andrews comes to an end in a fortnight but, despite scoring five goals, he is unsure whether an agreed £1.5 million permanent move will go through.

'It is a really hard one for me,' he said. 'I don't know what will happen but Birmingham are high in my thoughts at the moment. If I wanted to sign and Birmingham did not want me, I'd be disappointed.'

MONDAY 4TH DECEMBER 2000

LENNON DEAL HITS NEW SNAG

Neil Lennon's proposed dream move to Paradise again lies in tatters tonight after Lecester City manager Peter Taylor once again moved the goalposts. It seems Taylor has now given Celtic a deadline of 5pm on Tuesday night to conclude the deal or it's off. The asking price has also risen to £5.75 millon with Celtic expected now to pay part of the cash owed to Crewe Alexandria in any future transfer of Lennon. Hopefully this one will be laid to rest once and for all on Tuesday.

MONDAY 4th DECEMBER 2000

LENNON ON HIS WAY AT LAST?

The long running Neil Lennon saga looks likely to draw to a close within the next 24 to 48 hours, it’s expected that Lennon will be paraded as Martin O’Neill’s latest signing after Lennon was finally given the all clear to join up with his former boss. Providing that there are no last minute hitches Lennon should make his debut on Sunday evening at Dens Park, Dundee.

Sunday, December 3, 2000

Celtic NTL's £30m Deal is on or is it?

Celtic will next week accept NTL's investment of over £30 million after the club's management committee recommended a deal should now be signed to swell Martin O'Neill's transfer war chest.

The club has rejected alternative cash injections with rival companies and is returning to an adjusted package with the joint Old Firm shirt sponsor before a timetabled Christmas deadline.

The money will enable Martin O'Neill to buy not only for the second half of his assault on the title, beginning with Neil Lennon's arrival next week, but also for the Champions League next season - assuming his side finish no worse than second in the SPL table come May.

While Celtic entertain Dunfermline, Lennon will play his last match for Leicester at home to Leeds after City manager Peter Taylor accepted his poker play over Crewe's cut of a £5.5 million fee was his last hand under the threat of open revolt by the want-away player.

The protracted negotiations for the Northern Ireland international were close to descending to personal insults between the two managers, but O'Neill said: 'I don't think managers can start getting personal in these dealings - eventually, you have to be able to do business with the same people at some stage down the line, one way or another.'

Meanwhile, John Hartson is under consideration for the second time this season by the Parkhead club.

The player was a signing option for O'Neill before Rangers' abortive Champions League deadline-day signing bid - one which ended in medical failure.

However, Wimbledon's refusal to allow the Wales international to go north on loan means a move for Eyal Berkovic's former West Ham bete noire is not seen as imminent.

One key broker on the deal revealed that 'the interest in August from Celtic was greater than it is now'.

The manager has Chris Sutton's toe as his biggest worry for today's game as Celtic return to Parkhead, with Bobby Petta also struggling after the heavy gash received in his leg at Hibs in midweek.

Petta last night refused to point the finger at Hibs' Franck Sauzee after the Frenchman left him needing eight stitches.

He said: 'It was a 50/50 ball and you've got to go into it. I felt okay until I looked at it and I saw it was a big wound and I could just see the bone - which wasn't very nice.'

Mystery groin injury victim Johan Mjallby will again try to soldier on until the winter break, with O'Neill stating that he has responded well to an injection taken prior to Easter Road clash. 'It has certainly helped settled him down,' he added.

There was some good news on the player front for Celtic with Robert Douglas' goalkeeping rival, Jonathan Gould, signing an improved contract which ties him to the club until 2003.

Saturday, December 2, 2000