Glasgow Celtic

[salty]

I agree. We will struggle for goals. Badly need a good hitman someone like Pat Garrett.

[CelticBhoy]

We are sitting pretty for that 3rd place

you wanted, Salty old son . . . . .

[salty]

The Celtic journal well worth a read a day or two after big games especially. Good analysis with no sugar coating of the team's display.

http://celticjournal.org/3074/when-will-we-see-a-playmaker-celtic/

[salty]

A 2-1 win at home to St. Johnstone. Hardly likely to cause any sleepless nights in Barcelona or Amsterdam.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/24089866

[CelticBhoy]

Aberdeen did us a good turn by taking the points away from ICT though.

We'll be top soon enough with our game in hand.

[CelticBhoy]

We are turning profits according to this report:

Celtic have reported a pre-tax profit of £9.74m in their preliminary financial results, up from a £7.37m loss in 2012.

Group revenue increased by 47.7% to £75.82m compared with £51.34m in 2012 and the club report cash at the bank of £3.76m against £2.77m debt in 2012.

Income was boosted by Champions League participation last season and Ki Sung-Yeung's £6.1m transfer to Swansea City.

Operating expenses at the club also increased by 15.2% to £62.71m.

The Plc's figures, reported to the Stock Exchange, cover the year ending June 2013 and include the club's Scottish Premier League championship win and Scottish Cup final victory against Hibernian.

Celtic also participated in six home European matches, four in the Champions League, after reaching the last 16 of the tournament for the first time since 2008.

South Korea midfielder Ki Sung-Yeung was sold during the summer 2012 transfer window to Premier League club Swansea for more than £6m.

However, Celtic spent £9.66m on new signings, including a permanent deal for goalkeeper Fraser Forster on his arrival from Newcastle United, and the transfer of midfielder Tomas Rogic from Central Coast Mariners.

Celtic also signed a new three-year shirt sponsorship contract with Magners and celebrated their 125th anniversary with a historic victory over Spanish club Barcelona in the group stages of the Champions League.

[salty]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/241221829

Before you choke on your porridge CB have a look at the statistics 27 corners to 2, 25 shots to 3 and twice the possession. But its all about putting it in the net and Celtic failed to do this. Good luck to Morton they took their chance and the "mighty" Celtic are out.

Meanwhile in other news Gary Hooper rescued Norwich at Watford with a last minute equalizer and scored the winner in extra time. I was watching Barcelona beat Real Sociedad 4-1 at the Nou Camp to maintain their 100% record in La Liga. I bet they are quaking in their boots at the thought of coming to Parkhead next week.

[CelticBhoy]

Greenock Morton . . . . . I'm keeping my head down today.

[CelticBhoy]

CELTIC manager Neil Lennon was banned from driving yesterday after being found guilty of speeding at an A9 accident blackspot.

He branded the verdict “nonsense” after he was disqualified for six months under the totting-up procedure.

Lennon, 42, added: “You saw it for yourself. I do want to say something about it.”

He was then told not to make any further comment and was ushered away from Perth Sheriff Court by his lawyer.

Lennon already had nine points on his licence when he was caught speeding at 83mph in his Audi Q7 near Blackford in Perthshire on October 6 last year.

[CelticBhoy]

A 5-2 humping of Killy yesterday.

Samaras with a hattrick.

Where's our report, Salty old son!?!?

[salty]

CB, Mea Culpa. I have to confess the game was of low priority to me yesterday due to the replay of the All Ireland Hurling Final. With so much other football on TV I just was unable to tear myself away to give my usual concise observations.

It was a strange game in many ways. Killie were far more dangerous in the opening stages until Celtic grabbed the lead in the 19th minute. Killie goalie fisted away a centre but it went straight to Commons who attempted to volley it back. It went into the ground bounced up over the defense and into an empty net. Within a further 7 minutes it was 3-0. Samaras made it 2 with a well placed cushioned instep into the far corner and then after Commons gave him an excellent return pass he had an easy task to make it 3 from about 6 yards out. Killies defense looked wide open at this stage, But Killie pulled one back after 35 minutes from a well taken free kick helped by a Killie player at the end of the wall barging a few Celtic players out of the way. Clohessy made it 3-2 near half time playing a 1-2 and firing into the far corner. Dreadful defending by Izaguirre who completely switched off.

Celtic were never under any great pressure in the 2nd half and Pukki rattled the bar. Celtic made it safe 4 minutes from the end when Samaras headed in a terrific free kick from Mulgrew for his hat trick. Replays showed he was just offside. In the last minute Balde on a sub for the last 10 minutes made it 5 when he broke up field ignored a far better placed Stokes and fired it home from a tight angle through the legs of a defender.

Latest news is that Messi was injured last evening in La Liga and will not be lining out on Tuesday.

[CelticBhoy]

Fine report. And interesting last sentence.

[salty]

Celtic 0 Barcelona 1

Barcelona avenged their defeat last year with a narrow win at Parkhead. Celtic made them work for it with a disciplined defensive performance. But they were not helped when Brown was sent off after an hour after another monumental piece of stupidity. Chasing back after Neymar he pushed him to the ground and then with the Brazilian on the ground he kicked him on the arm. Neymar made the most of it but you could not argue with the red card. I have never been a fan of Brown, and quite frankly I think Celtic will be better off in the next game without a loose cannon.

As expected Barca had far more possession but carried little threat up front in the first half. Van Dyck made a good block early on for a corner and then Stokes played in Samaras but the angle was always getting more tight and Valdes was easily able to block for a corner. Iniesta had a good effort just over and Neymar had a 1/2 volley just wide. Just before 1/2 time Forster looked uncertain from a dangerous free kick but it flew just wide.

Celtic had a bit more of the play early in the 2nd half . Brown shot high and well wide before the sending off in the 59th minute. Forster made good saves from Bartra and Fabregas. With 20 minutes to go Kayal and Forrest replaced Lustig and Stokes. Within a few minutes Forrest controlled a long throw in in the box turned and had a terrific effort which produced a wonder save form Valdes. From the resulting corner Mulgrew headed just wide with Valdes nowhere. It should have been the lead. Within 2 minutes Barca finally broke through. Neymar with a suberb ball out wide to Alexis had the Celtic defence for once back pedalling. A excellent centre found Fabregas who had peeled off at the back post and he headed it back across goal and in. It was a superb goal. Celtic tried to push for an equalizer and inevitably left gaps behind. Forster made a terrific double save from Neymar and Alexis and followed up with another terrific block from Neymar. But Celtic never looked likely to save the game.

So 2 decent performances but no points and very unlikely to qualify. With Ajax and Milan drawing 3rd place is not out of the question but we have not scored and I would not be confident of that. Barcelona for all their possession did not create much until the last 20 minutes when they had the man advantage. Messi of course was a huge loss but I think they are now way below the form of 2 seasons ago.

[smokie36]

Poor decision that by the ref and very bad luck.

Yhe Bhoys did themselves proud.

[Billy The Kid]

Neymar is a <deleted>.. Made a meal of it last night.

[salty]

Interesting piece re Fraser Forster especially with Joe Hart having such a bad night against Bayern Munich.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1794695-celtic-0-1-barcelona-6-things-we-learned-from-the-champions-league-clash/page/4

[CelticBhoy]

Nice 2-0 over Motherwell to put us top.

ICT lost big style to make the day even better.

No report from Salty, I see. Is it curling that

has you engrossed this weekend old chum?

[salty]

I would point out to my learned colleague CB that the game was a 3pm KO in the UK and therefore not live on television. I was hoping CB might have got himself to a neighborhood bar where he probably would have been able to watch it live and regale me with a comprehensive review of the game.

As for other sports I will leave the curling and other Scottish pastimes like tossing the caber to your expert eyes. I am now also engrossed in the baseball playoffs which lead to the World Series towards the end of the month as well as watching the Bhoys when on the box.

And now for something completely different. An excellent article on the Celtic Journal re the Barcelona game and the sending off of Scott Brown. Have to say I agree with it. Brown incredibly stupid Neymar made a meal of it and Lenny should stop talking <deleted> about it.

http://celticjournal.org/3167/scott-brown-lets-move/

[CelticBhoy]

Baseball! World Series! This is on telly in

Ireland instead of fitba? No wonder you

spend so much time paddling in Pattaya.

[salty]

As well as CB not instead of. Its a global village now. Among other "offerings" on ESPN this morning as I checked the schedule was about 5 hours or 6 hours of Nascar racing. No doubt you will heave a sigh of relief when I tell you I have little or no interest in Car Racing.

You may recall a segment on Mock the Week "Things a Sports Commentator would never say". "Over to Silverstone where there has been a tragedy already. 2 people have died of boredom"

[salty]

Scott Brown has been banned for 3 games as a result of his sending off against Barcelona. There is no question it was justified but 3 games seems harsh. Celtic will appeal and maybe get it reduced to 2 games. Wayne Rooney was in the same situation before Euro 2012 but an appeal got a reduction from 3 to 2 games. With Matthews and possibly Lustig out it will make the Ajax game even more formidable looking. Celtic are lucky in the sense that Ajax were robbed against Milan and should have 3 points already instead of 1.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/24570964

[salty]

Hibernian 1 Celtic 1

Hibs held Celtic to a draw at Easter Road. A lacklustre opening 15 minutes had only a shot from Commons of note. Out of the blue Hibs went ahead. An ill advised pass by Van Dyjk out of defense to Brown saw Thomson in quickly to tackle. The ball broke forward to Heffernan who in the clear beat Forster who got a hand to it but was unable to keep it out. Replays showed that Heffernan was clearly offside but the goal stood and Celtic were behind. Stung by this Celtic began to have the lion's share of possession and Commons through tried to lob Williams but was narrowly over. In the 26th minute Commons went off injured with a hamstring and must be doubtful for Tuesday night. He was replaced by Forrest, Celtic kept forcing the pace although Hibs were defending in numbers. Williams made a good block from Samaras and just before halftime the lively Forrest beat Williams to the ball but was forced wide. His cutback to Pukki was blocked by a posse of defenders though the Finn didn't help by taking a touch before he shot.

Celtic resumed in the sane vein. Williams having a good game in the Hibs goal blocked a good drive from Kayal and the defence were vigilant to deny Samaras from the rebound. Celtic forced several corners but Hibs were still coping with some comfort and in a few breakaways Forster has to make a few decent saves. Stokes fired over when he had a decent chance. Celtic finally equalised when Forrest cut in from the right wing into the box and curled a superb effort into the far corner. Williams made an excellent block from him a few minutes later and Hibs held out for a draw.

[CelticBhoy]

We were looking pretty good most of the match so I don't

know where the draw came from. Still it doesn't matter as

Thistle beat ICT on Sunday which puts us four points clear

with a game in hand. Roll on Tuesday.

[salty]

Celtic 2 Ajax 1

Celtic got off the mark by beating Ajax at Parkhead. The first half had very little to excite but Celtic were lucky when Poulsen volleyed against the post from a tight angle on 29 minutes Celtic had created little but then in the 42 minute after a corner was cleared and headed back Stokes was taken down in the area by a rash challenge. It was a definite penalty. Forrest had to wait while the goalie went walkabout and we had the unique occurrence of the referee and the official behind the goal actually talking to one another. Surely a collector's item. Despite the lengthy delay Forrest showed admirable composure scoring with a well placed shot.

Apart from this Forrest had a very quiet 1st half but he was soon in action in the 2nd half with a good burst on the outside and a decent centre which created danger. Ajax were nearly level in the 52nd minute. A superb 1-2 put them in the clear but Forster advanced smartly to make a crucial block. Within a minute Celtic increased the lead. Samaras make a good break on the outside but tamely hit an Ajax defender with a cut back. The ball rebounded to Kayal whose relatively harmless shot deflected off Denswel and into the corner of the net. A bad night for the young man as he also gave away the penalty. Celtic were somewhat unfortunate in Milan and they were definitely fortunate here. Ajax really stepped up the pressure being 2-0 down and Celtic were anything but assured in the next few minutes. They survived more by luck than design. Forster was lucky not to concede a penalty when he made contact with an Ajax forward. Another Ajax shot just wide but the big man had it covered. Kayal made a good turn and got in a decent strike but too near the goalie. Anbrose lost the ball near the touchline but Van Dyck made a saving tackle. Ledley on 70 mintes for Kayal and Biton on 76 for Lustig. Ajax were still full of fight and playing good football but they were making poor use of openings and Forster had a few decent blocks. In the 87th minute another Celtic sending off. Biton made a reckless lunge with studs up and although he seemed not to catch the Ajax player who jumped in the air to avoid him he was sent off. An extremely foolish challenge and hopefully we will be spared the same debate as the Brown sending off. Forster made another decent save and Celtic saw out 4 minutes of injury time with Ajax scoring to reduce arrears in the dying seconds.

With Milan and Barcelona drawing in Milan Celtic can still qualify but they can hardly hope for such good fortune in Amsterdam in 2 weeks.

[CelticBhoy]

Great stuff. All smiles at this end Salty old son.

[CelticBhoy]

Deleted

[salty]

Partick Thistle 1 Celtic 2

Another 3 points today. It was anything but an easy ride. Celtic had most of the first half and went ahead from a corner in the 34th minute. Izaguire's corner was headed home by Samaras who had rather easily evaded the home defense in front of goal. Pukki had 2 good chances shortly afterwards but was foiled twice by the home goalie.

Thistle came much more into the game in the 2nd half. Celtic could have had a penalty when Brown was tugged in the area but an offside flag saved Thistle. Thistle were pressing Celtic and the single goal lead looked anything but comfortable. Halfway through Thistle's persistence was rewarded when Doolan hit the bar and when the ball was returned into the area he controlled and scored from close range. Celtic defense did not cover themselves in glory in this instance. Thistle were continuing to be lively and another goal for them was not out of the question. Balde replaced Kayal straight away and in the 75th minute after Thistle lost possession he broke from the halfway line held off a defender and beat the advancing goalie with a shot that rolled into the corner of the net. When Izaguirre went off injured in the closing minutes Celtic had used 3 subs and had to finish with 10 men but they held out despite Thistle pressure.

[CelticBhoy]

Good report there Salty old son. We're pulling away from the minions

in the SPL table now. Aberdeen are second. Been a while since that

happened.

[onionluke]

Amazed I was , when my wife called me to the television with a shout of Celodik here in HK . Truly it was on ATV World live at 2045 HK time .

They have future games for broadcasting in the coming months and yous fellas may be able to pick up the games .

The game was tough and the Jags passed well and could have made a point . Celtic struggled ,but Hail Hail .

I spent formative years at Firhill , and I must admit I spent a fair bit of the game trying to see if the log was still there for clambering up at the east stand wall .

Up the Thistle !!

[CelticBhoy]

Today's Daily Record:

CELTIC striker Anthony Stokes has finally put pen to paper on a new three-year contract.

Stokes has been a key player for Celtic after returning from a lengthy injury lay-off towards the end of last season but contract negotiations have been protracted.

The 25-year-old Republic of Ireland striker was unhappy with the original deal put on the table and had admitted he was ready to talk to other clubs in January as his original Celtic contract ran out next summer.

But Parkhead chiefs have now persuaded Stokes to sign a new deal and the club announced on their official Twitter feed on Tuesday afternoon: "Celtic are delighted to announce that Anthony Stokes has today signed a new three-year contract."

Stokes said: "I’m absolutely delighted and I’m just looking forward to the next few seasons.

"I’m just glad to get it out of the way and I can concentrate on my football.

"I've been happy enough with the way it’s gone for me this season. I’d have liked a few more goals by now but that’ll come.

"We’re unbeaten in the league, we've been doing reasonably well in Europe and we need to get another couple of results now after that big win over Ajax.

"Overall, I've been delighted. I’m enjoying my football and I’m hoping this just helps me kick on."

Stokes has scored 52 goals in 121 appearances since arriving from Hibs in August 2010.