Not guilty – Scottish football’s darkest day

As it’s the end of the transfer window most football managers in the UK will be huddling with their chairmen and chief executives or whispering into mobile phones as the last transfer deals of the day are put to bed. For Neil Lennon, however, today has a different significance.

May 11, the darkest day of world football of last season when the Celtic football manager was physically attacked by a fan while standing in the dugout at Hearts Football Club while carrying out his professional duty, has cast its dark shadow on this transfer window finale.

For today the Hearts fan that the whole world saw attack the Celtic manager live on Sky TV has been cleared of assaulting Neil Lennon after an Edinburgh Sheriff Court jury found the case against him not proven. The attacker was found guilty of breach of the peace by running onto the pitch at Tynecastle and shouting and swearing at Mr Lennon, but the actual assault, along with the aggravated by religious prejudice element, has been thrown out.

Once again the world is being asked not to believe their own eyes when dealing with attacks on Neil Lennon and the wider Celtic Football Club. The justice system is telling us that the incident was a mere breach of the peace and that we should all go about our business as if it never happened.

This denial of the truth, this attack on human intelligence, this attack on the basic human rights of Neil Lennon and this attack on all right thinking and fair minded people is a much darker day for Scotland, for Scottish football and for world football than the original offence itself. It is a mockery of natural justice and renders ridiculous any notion of a fair and just society for all. This is, in essence, a football story but it echoes the kind of justice that was used by now thankfully extinct or near extinct eras such as the apartheid system in South Africa and the Unionist totalitarian state in Northern Ireland.

This is a football story but it bring shame to the Scottish judicial system, to Scottish society as a whole and to the administrators of Scottish football and especially to Neil Doncaster who had quickly sought to exonerate Hearts Football Club even when the attack happened in their stadium and was incontrovertibly committed by their support.

Today is a much darker day for Scottish football even than last Thursday when both Hearts and Rangers crashed ignominiously out of Europe before the end of August. As Celtic Football Club said in a statement tonight: 

‘We find the accused's acquittal of the charge of assault difficult to comprehend bearing in mind our knowledge of the incident.’

‘One thing is clear - this was a disgraceful incident involving Neil Lennon, seen by the world - the sort of incident which should not have happened in any football stadium and one which embarrassed Scottish football.’

Both Hearts and Rangers are both tettering on the brink of financial disaster. Their football methods and the nefarious activities of their fans have brought Scottish football almost to its knees and in recent years has become the laughing stock of world football. Today that reputation has fallen even deeper into the darkness.

Celtic Football Club was born out of oppression and the dark aftermath of famine and political adversity. Neil Lennon, Celtic and the Celtic supporters will overcome days like these and grow stronger because of them. Celtic will still survive long after Hearts, Rangers and Scottish football itself have all long become extinct.

On days like these we become stronger.

@the_eriugena chief reporter on Celtic and the media for @SixtySevenLive

Team Samaras - Explained

Written by @Chibchenko

Last night, I spent a highly amusing few hours encouraging people to join Team Samaras. Obviously, this was started as a bit of a laugh, however inevitably I did get some comments from those who were astounded that anyone could actually appreciate him as a football player. I promised an explanation, and this is it.

Giorgios Samaras is a highly frustrating player, of that there is absolutely no doubt. The reason for this frustration, for me at least, is down to the fact that, under that mess of hair, there is a player of some ability struggling to get out. When he signed initially on loan, he scored that fantastic debut goal in the 5-1 pumpfest at Rugby Park, darting down the wing and casually finishing. I immediately thought to myself "here, we could have a player here." Sadly, as we all know, it hasn't quite worked out like that. His talent has flickered here and there, but all too often he, for want of a better phrase, makes an absolute arse of it.

And here, we get to the crux of my Samaras defence. If you were to take someone who knew nothing of football and played an audio of some of the abuse Samaras takes from his own fans, I'm sure at times you'd think he played for our biggest rivals. Errors that other players may get away with are just not acceptable when it comes to Samaras. And for me, the reason he is always so noticeable on the field is because, and I must apologise profusely for this cliché, he always gives his all. He is always looking to get on the ball and never hides on the football pitch, which is something he should be admired, not pilloried, for. The likes of Hooper and Stokes can go missing completely at times, which - some may say unfortunately - Samaras very rarely does.

Yes, Samaras makes aimless runs into players, refuses to release the ball, and is very often the definition of the "forward's challenge." However, let us not forget that with his frustration, at times comes genius. His delayed pass to Izaguirre to set up Hooper's second in the 3-0 game against Rangers at Parkhead last season. His entire performance in that game was outstanding, despite not troubling the scorers. And of course, who will ever forget the New Year game at Ibrox when we were all expecting a trouncing. The latter game showed Sammy at his best - up front on his own, with McCourt playing just behind him. Samaras is a forward who does not work well with other strikers. This has been evident on several occasions, most recently against Sion. And who do fans blame for this? Samaras, for the most part. The question I pose is this - does Samaras really deserve the blame for tactical decisions which don't allow him to perform in his preferred way?

That, my friends, is essentially it. I recognise Samaras is average as a football player, who often runs up blind alleys and borderline refuses to score goals. However, he's also a player that thrives on confidence. Is it any wonder he struggles when the fans are on his back for the slightest error? Jump on the bandwagon. Support Team Samaras.

Bangura Bangs Them In

T-1 Day. The last day of the transfer window looms.

What an interesting transfer window it has been. Celtic have to date brought in some real talent. First we had Kelvin Wilson who looks very much the defender we have needed for a good while and Adam Matthews was brought in and looks like a real player too and, given his age, could be a great player in the future. To bring in players such as K Wilson and Matthews on a free transfer shows a deft touch in the over inflated English market. Credit to Celtic for this.

Victor Wanyama came in a little after that for £900,000 and though his chances have been limited he looks another player for the future. Fraser Forster then made a reappearance on loan after more than three keepers were invited to Celtic to train. Today has seen Mo Bangura join for £2,200,000. Bangura was  touted as a good player by none other than king Henrik Larsson himself, so I'm willing to believe he could be a great player for Celtic.

So far Neil Lennon has been recruiting a very young, physical team. And with 30 players registered in the first team at the moment things look promising. No doubt there will be more twists and turns tomorrow. As always we shall see what happens.

We have also seen 20 players leave Celtic in this transfer window. Most noticeably Freddie Ljungberg, Andreas Hinkel, Niall McGinn, Efraín Juárez and Daryl Murphy. Out of those seven are season long loans. I would be surprised if the likes of Morten Rasmussen and Jos Hooiveld stay at the club beyond the 1 September.

There are also notable rumours that Georgios Samaras and Shaun Maloney may be leaving. Sammy has been linked with a move to either Saint-Étienne or Sunderland. It seems Wigan have definite interest in Maloney and we will see what develops on that during the course of tomorrow.

I have been very impressed with the tactics used so far by Celtic in the transfer window. Firstly with the goalkeepers being invited in and even playing in friendly matches while all along our target was Fraser Forster. This was also evident in the use of targeting Baba Diawara while going after Mo Bangura. As soon as the transfer of Bangura went through Celtic pulled out of the transfer citing ‘permit issues’ just after a meeting with the SFA.

I will be reporting live from 12 noon tomorrow on all the comings and goings on transfer deadline day. It looks to be fun packed and full of interesting rumours and other fabrications by the mainstream media. Today I even saw a BBC reporter claiming David Trezeguet had been a target for Celtic. All I can say to these license fee thieves is they are destroying their own reputation and fan run media is now leaving them far, far behind.

Hail Hail

Total Celtic

Win for Celtic but Scottish football’s still enslaved

It reads as a comfortable 2-0 scoreline over St Mirren, but for Celtic it was a strangely uncomfortable win.

Daniel Majstorovic started while Ledley and Commons were on the bench with Hooper and Stokes restored up front as the attacking force. Stokes and particularly Hooper looked very sharp right from the start. Hooper took his chances well and seems to be back to his best form, which was fortunate as otherwise this could have been another one of ‘those’ games we have occasionally seen from Celtic in the past twelve months.

For this match became the curious case of the St Mirren team that suddenly started to play as if they were 2-0 up and lot losing by two well taken Gary Hooper goals. Yet Celtic should have one by a lot more. The myopic Willie Collum chopped off an absolutely fine goal by Anthony Stokes, while Ki Seung-Yeung was particularly wasteful when through on goal in the second half when it would have been much easier for him to score.

Celtic are missing the width of Izaguirre and Mark Wilson which was an important element of the team’s great performances from last season. Cha has oodles of energy on the right side, but very little precision and while Charlie Mulgrew has many other assets he doesn’t have Izaguirre’s pace and attacking threat on the left wing. Mulgrew would be an effective and more assured centre back partner for Kelvin Wilson and he can pass quickly with assurance turning defence into attack.

Once again Majstorovic’s jittery approach to pretty much every situation seemed to infect the rest of the defence like a virus, and a remedy for this before the end of the transfer window is devoutly to be wished.

It’s a bit of a cliché but stars are made at Celtic rather than imported and Ki Seung-Yeung is proving to be one of those Celtic-made stars who has been reborn this season. However he seemed out of sorts against St Mirren that also accounted for their periods of sustained dominance.

Post match rumours of a move away by Ki were quickly shot down by Alan Thompson saying, ‘We don't want any of our better players leaving,’ while there is still time for a few much needed reinforcements if the team are to improve on the successes of last term.

Celtic did win of course and did begin to put some of the disappointment of the Europa League behind them. The ineptitude of Uefa and Fifa in not banning FC Sion for fielding ineligible players could still mean that Celtic are only provisionally out of Europe. No matter how embarrassing any reinstatement would be the fact is Sion cheated and should rightly face the consequences.

But what are the consequences for Scottish football after last week’s European failures by Rangers and Hearts as well as Celtic?

It seems apparent that the Scottish football media and the SFA in slavishly promoting the anti-football of Rangers and Hearts, the two establishment teams, have helped create a downward spiral for Scottish football.

The bias of the media and the incestuous affiliations of those who control both the SFA and the SPL are malignant growths on the game. These forces are always there enslaving the game at every turn and at every level of performance. They drag the game down to the lowest common denominator. Kick your opponent. Rush the ball. Cheat whenever you can. All applauded by drum beating hacks. That’s the establishment way. So that too has become Scottish football’s way.

This undying love for the negative approach is the reason Scottish football is enslaved in a dark depression, compounded by the further negativity of Sky, the BBC and other mainstream broadcasters. As long as these dark forces seek to make a living from the game and take against those teams playing more positive, less Scottish style football, then Scottish football will continue to decline.

A neutral media would be celebrating the attacking football that Celtic have been known to play under Neil Lennon in recent times. Instead, corruption has clouded their vision and their judgement. They can only see what they are told to see and hear what they are told to hear. Objectivity and truth have been poisoned along with the game itself.

Celtic are a team with Irish roots who play in Scotland and when at their best don’t play the Scottish way. The Celtic way is more European, more skilful and has had much more style and passion since long before the Jock Stein era.

A decline in Scottish football should not necessarily mean a decline for Celtic, even though it looks ever more unlikely that Celtic will escape the quicksand of the SPL any time soon. As with the Europa League itself, there may be little hope for Scotland but there is still hope for Celtic as long as the team and Neil Lennon are allowed to play the Celtic way and have the support from all levels to do so.

This is my first of many blogs for SixtySevenLive one of the brightest new sites in the Celtic media, created by like minded people who simply want to report the truth at a time when the truth is very rarely reported.

SSL is a collective and has an open policy that does not attempt to impose a particular viewpoint on the Celtic support. SSL tries to unite and heal rather than divide and rule. In this we applaud the great work of other sites, most notably the very professionally produced new additions to the CQN family.

This is a time for all right minded people to come together and speak plainly and clearly. It could still be a long and difficult season.

@the_eriugena chief reporter on Celtic and the media for @SixtySevenLive

You Learn More in Defeat Than In Victory!

Celtic 0-1 St Johnstone  21/08/11

"I heartily recommend this very sane report from Shipmate Sunblest live from the stormy seas" AnonymosCSC

It’s all over folks, rip up your season tickets, burn your tops, sack the board, sack Lennon, blame Samaras!!!!

We, yes we Glasgow Celtic Football Club Est 1888 lost a game of football today!!!!

Hmmm doesn’t seem as dramatic when you type it out, compared to when you experience the feeling when witnessing it either at the game or on Channel 67.

We need to take a step back and look at it calmly, yes we lost, yes we were wasteful in front of goal, yes we need to practise penalties more but performance wise we created almost the same amount of opportunities as we did when we put five past Dundee Utd our passing before we conceded was crisp, our movement off the ball was exemplary, for this old reporter it boils down to some days you score eight, some days you miss a penalty, hit the post twice and make the keeper pull of a string of great saves then suffer the humiliation of the Scottish press falling over themselves to question Neil Lennon, which in turn leads to the support questioning each other on who should go, who should stay, who should play, who shouldn’t and who is the more committed supporter, all because we lost 1-0 at home to St Johnstone.

So let’s quickly run through the team then see what we can learn from the defeat!

GK: Fraser Forster   Largely untroubled throughout the match, pulled off a great save prior to the winning strike, effective and seems to have improved his kicking.

Defence:  Young Matthews was in at RB and in the opening 45mins really was a standout with his willingness to get down the right hand side, faded a little in the second half as he experienced for the 1^st time the loneliest place on planet earth for any footballer, Celtic Park with the fans voicing their opinions at an disappointing performance.

Chico started at LB, proving again how versatile a player he is, he didn’t have one of his best games and either by injury or by performance was benched at half time. His replacement was Mark Wilson who unfortunately didn’t fare much better as St Johnstone adopted the tactic of pinning back both full backs with diagonal balls into the channel thus ensuring Mark couldn’t affect the play as I presume Lennon had intended.

Dan and Victor the unrepentant Kenyan b*****d, in fairness did little wrong. It seems only after the goal went in did the crowd voice their unhappiness at their display, primarily at Dan, this affected him and he began to make silly mistakes which seemed to only incense the support more.

Midfield:   Broony was back starting on the right and with Matthews tearing down on the overlap in the first half this allowed Broony room to cut inside and roam into space effectively, again in the second half he seemed to lose focus after the goal but still tried to drive the team forward at every opportunity.

Ledley and Ki were in the middle again and retained possession very well though it is more than fair to state that we miss Kayal as neither of them really marshalled the troops after we conceded which led to Ledley being subbed in the later stages.

Commons was back on the left and unfortunately failed to convert his penalty. After this it was clearly evident that his confidence took an almighty knock, however suggestions that he is not the same player are well wide of the mark as his almost technically perfect FK rebounded back off the St Johnstone post, a superb effort, I hope Kris overcomes this little blip in confidence as he is a pivotal cog in Lennon’s green and white machine.

Forwards:  Maloney and Stokes both at times today looked excellent their link up play especially! Unfortunately today for both front men they were very wasteful in front of goal.

Subs:  Young James Forrest made a good impact when coming on as he stretched the game by staying out wide and committing the fullback though was guilty of snatching at a glorious opportunity when the ball rebounded back into his path after McCourt’s dribble.

Paddy came on to a chorus of cheers, with the hopes and expectations of millions on his shoulders and bhoy did he give it a try, he almost tried too much some might say! For this reporter I believe it’s too much pressure to put on one man’s shoulders, granted he is a eye catching, truly gifted dribbler but to assume he will come on and walk the ball into the net is naive as in reality the efforts Paddy puts in, disrupts the fluidity of the teams tactics which was clear to see today. To make matters worse is that when he doesn’t score that goal of the season and saves the day, the man gets criticised. Paddy deserves credit for his efforts today but should also himself realise sometimes making the goal is better than scoring the goal!

So overall what can we learn from today?

For me three things are blindingly obvious!

1)    We are too complacent against so called lesser opponents! (Ross County, ICT,FC Sion, St Johnstone) Why? Is it arrogance, over confidence, ego?  Quick answer is NO to all three! We have a very motivated coaching team who would never ever allow that to creep in and a squad of players with a good work ethic about them. The reason we are complacent is because we lack patience, the patience to stick to the game plan when things aren’t going our way, the patience exhibited by all the great teams like Barcelona, Man Utd, the players are too quick to take it upon themselves to be the ‘hero’ but this will rectify itself in time as the team evolve together and learn that when in times of trouble don’t go gung-ho, just trust the man beside you!

2)    Secondary Phase Play!  Our reaction to any situation in the second phase of play today was poor and in truth it has been our Achilles heel as a unit since the Lennon era began, we are not anticipating what will happen next in the way a Neil Lennon, Paul Lambert, Johann Mjallby used to under O’Neil, this is crucial for any team who desire to dominate a domestic league competition and make inroads in Europe, if you don’t anticipate a follow up clearance or a follow up chance to score, it will inevitably lead to trouble.

3)    You can’t take £50 Million Pound worth of talent out a team and expect the same quality to come in! Not an excuse being formulated but rather facts! Gary Hooper is a predatory finisher who makes incisive runs that Stokes and others thrive off, he also is a proven top level goal scorer purchased for 2.5Million even though he outscored the most expensive English forward today whilst in the championship Andy Carroll at £35million. Value now £12-£15million......Emilio Izziguire  Scottish player of the year and in truth, the most exciting left back in Europe Est Value £15-£20 Million...... Beram Kayal, The most coveted player in the squad, interest from Man Utd, Liverpool, Valencia and rumblings of interest from AC Milan why? He bosses a game, rarely wastes possession and has an eye for a defence splitting pass! Est Value £15-£25Million!

The good news is they are all injured and likely to be at Celtic until next summer and hopefully beyond, the point being when you list what we have against what we don’t have it paints a very different picture.

I urge all Celtic fans to look at this result as what it is! A chance early on in the season to look at our shortcomings and fix any problems, better it come now than in the run in as experienced last season. So let’s put it into perspective and rally round like only Celtic Supporters can and get 110% behind Neil Lennon and the bhoys as we head out to Switzerland to face FC Sion in the biggest game of the season!

I’m Angus Sunblest reporting for Total Celtic onboard the good ship @sixtysevenlive

Until next time me mateys

Hail Hail 

I ate too much Toblerone last night! Celtic v FC Sion 0-0

"Below is Angus Sunblest’s latest match report. I would like to add that before the game we were discussing the five illegal players that FC Sion named in their squad. After the game we can report that they played four of them. This constitutes blatant cheating in sport, not just a minor bending of the rules. It is to be expected that Scion will be dealt with accordingly by the football authorities. 

When I learned that Croatian Marijo Strahonja would be refereeing the game I expected a fair and impartial official. Even today I still can’t believe that the Croatian made so many blatantly biased decisions that would have left even the SFA with embarrassed faces. The referee’s performance was simply incredulous. So with no Fifa decision until after the second leg last night may still prove irrelevant. However it was the first European night in Celtic Park of the season and everyone, including the manager, expected more." AnonymousCSC

Ar me be feeling a little glum me hearty’s this morning L. Perhaps I did over indulge in one too many bars of sweet, nutty Swiss chocolate pre match, our maybe it was that feeling you get every time things don’t turn out as you anticipated or planned. You know the feeling. It’s different for all of us, frustration, anger, contempt for some, sympathy, reflection and contemplation for others.  Overall the pain is the same. ‘WE DIDNT GUB THE CHEATING INELIGABLE FIELDING BASSAS’ 

No matter how any of us feel the @sixtysevenlive captain and first mate @AnonymousCSC and @AnonActionCelt want to get the message out that win lose or draw, be you angry, upset or hopeful, they are here for you and will never divide the support in times of perceived trouble. So tweet them for a remedy to your ails (lashings of rum is always advised), seek them out on twitter onboard the good ship @sixtysevenlive and let them bring a great big Timmy smile back on to your face.

Let’s begin the report

GK  I think the GK debate ended last night once and for all, unfair as it seems for Zaluska and we all have sympathy for him. Neil Lennon has an obligation as Celtic manager to field his perceived strongest team and rightly or wrongly he sees Fraser Forster as his No 1 and in fairness the defence did seem collectively calmer with the big man between the sticks. He was rarely called into action last night and handled his first competitive appearance of the season well.

Defence The Terminator Cha was in from the start and was immense. His recovery speed, willingness to get forward was great to see. ‘Charnie’ really did himself no harm in his quest to go back in time and eliminate John Connor; I mean stake his claim for a starting berth in the first team at the weekend.

Dan and Chico were back together in the heart of the defence, reunited like lost lovers due to Kelvin ‘Sexual Chocolate’ Wilson’s dead leg and enjoyed a fairly comfortable night’s work. Dan looked commanding throughout while Chico helped to try engineer build up play from the back.

The ambassador Mark Wilson was shifted to left back to accommodate Chico’s move inside to centre half and as always Mark gave it his all, though in truth his impact on the game was limited as he favours hugging the touchline and found this hard to achieve last night as he was switching inside a lot. All in all Mark and the whole defensive unit performed well and rarely looked worried by the attacking threat of the Toblerones.

Midfield  Kris ‘Puff’ Commons was placed out on the right hand side for last night’s match to accommodate for El Capitan taking up a central position. He seems to be coming in for some stick from a section of the support and as much as their opinion is valued and respected, surely they can see that ‘Puff’ is proving to be a very versatile and hardworking member of the squad. I can only surmise that his electric start to his Celtic career was expected to continue unabated with Kris shooting thunderbolts out his arse into the net every time he receives the ball regardless of what position or tactical job he has been assigned.

Super Joe Ledley gave yet another tireless performance throughout, his ball retention and calmness under pressure last night did not go unnoticed neither did his constant tracking back to help out in defence.

The Seoul bhoy playmaker Ki started in the centre of midfield but was then pushed further forward to play just off the striker, this isn’t his normal role, as for me Dave is much more of a deep lying playmaker but as it seems that he is currently the most creative player in Scotland it was to be expected that he would be tasked with playing just off the striker. Later in the game as Celtic brought on more natural wide men Ki was able to drop back into his more natural role and began to dictate the game which created a few more opportunities.

Broony was brought back into the centre of midfield to play the Kayal role (god how we miss him) and did his job admirably. Scott will always give his all, though you can see even he seems to no longer favour a central position as he understands he can give more to the team out wide. A solid performance by the man who does this \0/

Forwards Stokes started up front but was moved out to the left wing in a tactical change to combat the ball being freely played forward into dangerous areas early on by Sion’s right back. Again as with Commons this in this reporters mind shouldn’t be criticised it should be applauded as the bhoy is fulfilling a duty. He wants to score goals but until you win the tactical battle in any match you are unlikely to create the chances to score. As for the penalty claim I’ve seen them given and like last night I’ve seen them rejected.

The Greek Gazelle: love or hate Sammy he must have one helluva pair of broad shoulders to take the criticism heaped on him. The fall guy for some, the ace in the pack for others, I can only say he was willing to play the lone striker role due to the formation change and won his fair share of headers, ran the channels and took the knocks required to play that role. For me quite simply Giorgios of Samaras has all the attributes of a modern day front man but needs to simplify his finishing technique. In essence he thinks too much when a chance arises and ends up snatching at the opportunity.

Subs: McCourt, Maloney, Forrest all came on to try and change the game. They all applied themselves well, though in fairness the tactics employed by the opposition to kick any Celtic player within a 40 yard radius of the goal proved troublesome in their quests to turn the tide.

Overall Summary We were without an estimated  (lower end valuation) £30 million pounds worth of talent last night in the form of absentees Emilio, Beram and Hoops add to this Sexual Chocolate missing and the change of natural position for Commons, M Wilson, Brown, Stokes and Joe Ledley coupled with a change of tactics early on from an attacking interchangeable 4-4-2 to a containment based 4-2-3-1/ 4-5-1 to counteract Sion getting at us down the flanks. You can see why it may have came across as a bit of a disjointed performance. These aren’t excuses I’m offering these are facts though in all honesty I believed we played well against a team set up to play in effect with 6 at the back. This is European football, teams park the bus away from home in the hope of scoring a sucker punch away goal or to lose by just one and to their credit Sion defended albeit robustly (hacking) and, with the help of some dubious refereeing, admirably. I for one would be delighted to see Celtic adopt their tactics in the second leg as I firmly believe we are better than Sion in every department. People will argue about not getting a valuable goal but in reality if Sammy had scored with that header, had he managed to poke home his sliding effort to give us a slender lead, what we have done with it in Switzerland? We would have tried to sit in and defend what we have and mostly likely end up being beaten.

Now we go to Switzerland with the knowledge that we have to play, we have to score and that is what makes Celtic tick. That is the Celtic way!

Until next time me matey’s 

#keepthefaith

I’m Angus Sunblest reporting for Total Celtic onboard the good ship @sixtysevenlive

Neil Lennon Q&A @ Celtic Park 15/08/11

Neil Lennon, Celtic Fan. Celtic Player. Celtic Captain. Celtic Coach. Celtic Manager. I was privileged enough yesterday to be in the same room as him, Scot Brown & Tony Stokes. There was a brief 10 minutes Q&A session that raised many answers transfer wise.

A question was raised about the goalkeeper situation. NL confirmed that talks between Celtic and the Polish Keeper, Grzegorz Sandomierski had broken down due to the money involved. NL did not see value for money and had walked away from the situation.

Another question was raised about the current situation in the transfer market. NL said that 3 players were currently being tracked. A Goalkeeper, a Left back & a Striker were needed. He also said that he would be brining in some "older heads" as he feels the squad is a little young. Lenny also sited Thursday to be the day (18th August) that he wanted these 3 positions filled. Failing that by that weekend.

Another question was asked about Islam Feruz and if the rumours of him leaving for Chelsea were true. NL did say that Celtic were fighting with some unscrupulous agents trying to unsettle him and Celtic were fighting a losing battle. But he is still a Celtic player.

I have a video of the Q&A session, unfortunately the sound is very muffled in parts.

This is @TotalCeltic reporting from paradise. For now Hail! Hail!

Celtic FC 5 Dundee Utd 1 – Isn’t it great to peal open a Tangerine!

Below is the latest from Angus Sunblest our match reporter form the Celtic seas. To look at the copy filed by some of the mainstream media after the game you would think this was a close thing for Celtic. As usual the media are adrift on a sea of self-delusion. As anyone with eyes could see this was an almost perfect performance. AnonymousCSC

Ahoy me mateys, I’m back and bhoy o bhoy am I a happy completely biased match reporter tonight. Five yes FIVE goals from our bhoys in green, not only that but two of them came from set pieces, corners to be precise. Two other goals were the rewards of great intricate passing and movement and then we had THAT goal, under pressure in our own box one minute then less than thirty seconds later thanks to two world class passes from Broony and Commons, the ball arrives in big Dave’s path who with some pleasure drilled the ball high and at pace into the top corner of Utd’s net, absolute perfection in terms of counter attacking football and very reassuring with the Europa League qualifier next week.

Ok I accept the talk will be about Hooper’s injury but this reporting has a feeling the treatment was cautionary and Hoops will be back in no time, plus I’m forever the optimist ;-)

So let’s have a run through the team units

GK Zaluska Very much a game of two halves for the current number one. In the first half we witnessed a player desperately trying to impress and as we all know sometimes this can back fire on you and unfortunately for Zaluska this was the case on more than one occasion during the opening 45mins, my heart sinks when I see any keeper chasing balls down and fumbling shots and I feared a disaster was imminent. Then he strode out for the second half and I would love to say a different man but in reality he was still shaky up until he made a great finger tip save to divert a looping header past the post. Players feed off of confidence and that save was the catalyst for Zaluska to grow in confidence, he pulled off another two or three good saves and started to become vocal, organising the defence better. It was heart warming to hear the faithful chant his name and you just never know perhaps now he may give Lenny food for thought regardless of who he brings in?

Defence The ambassador Mark Wilson was back in the starting eleven and again showed why he is our number one right back, his work ethic and link up play with Broony is exceptional and although people will rightly lay blame at his door for ball watching during Utd’s goal. I feel one switch off in concentration from a man who has shown great consistency and passion during the Lenny era is allowed, any more though and the sixtysevenlive bhoys and ghirls will make him walk the plank! (only kidding)

Chico was assured and rarely wasteful in possession it would be unfair of me or any other to expect him to fulfil the Izzy role as Izzy is a one of a kind player and would be greatly missed in any team. Solid performance from the man who can.

Dan and Sexual Chocolate (K.Wilson) again looked solid and although Utd enjoyed periods of possession they mostly played in front of the back four and rarely turned the central two, which was pleasing to see as this most likely would have been the tactics deployed by Amnoahun Houston. Obviously Dan’s poor headed clearance and equally poor decision making in chasing after his own mistake led to Utd exploiting the space left behind to score in truth a well constructed goal and he will now inevitably be subject to criticism but this match reporter will leave that for you guys to do as I’m a lover not a hater and as stated previously I’m proudly and unashamedly bias towards all things Celtic.

Midfield Lets all do the Broony was back and bhoy did he show today why he is needed, love him or have a slight dislike for him, Broony gives us what we need, not just in the usual ‘he gives us dig’ sense but in the way his role in the team helps to carry out the tactics Lenny employs. We play with two touchline hugging attacking fullbacks with our two wide midfield men cutting inside to allow for the overlaps to occur. Broony and the ambassador have this down to a tee on the right hand side and I feel this was missing from our first two games but back with a bang today. Top marks for el capitano

Commons looked much more at home out on his favoured left flank. He hasn’t hit the heights of last season just yet in goal scoring terms although he came agonisingly close after a tremendous move resulting in his low drive rebounding back off the post. His pass for the third goal will be replaying over and over in my head tonight as it was simply superb, to lay a ball like that into Ki’s path while Ki was running at full pace was genuinely world class from Kris and deserves to be added to his ever growing showcase reel. Tremendous!

Our Central pairing of Dave and Super Joe was interesting to watch as both men surely know in reality they are competing for the same place in the starting eleven. Joe took on the injured Kayal’s role and was as ever the hardest working player on the pitch as he aimed to marshal the midfield and direct play, when moved to the left this allowed him to join in more with attacks and Joe took full advantage of this by showing again just how savvy he is when it comes to awareness on the pitch by matching the run of his marker before zipping across the six yard box in anticipation of a delivery and was duly rewarded with a goal.

Dave Ki the man locksmiths hate because he just keeps opening them up. What can I say that others haven’t already, the Seoul bhoy playmaker is playing with a smile that lights up the world right now and long may that continue. He simply is faultless and flawless at this moment in time and the precision, power and accuracy in which he took his goal was greeted with a standing ovation here on the good ship 67. Marvellous Dave Bravo Bravo!

Forwards Hoops and Stokesy, Stokesy and Hoops the Starsky and Hutch of the Celtic family! Both were excellent today, as they played as a true partnership rather than as individuals and were rewarded with getting on the score sheet. Hooper’s link up play today at times was exceptional and more akin with what we all remembered from him last season. His goal although simplistic, still has to be highlighted as it showed his predatory instinct is back as he out jumped his marker to nod the ball home, the relief etched on his face was evident to see and this led to Hoops enjoying his football rather than being so pent up as he has been recently. His run that led to his injury was a thing of beauty and although injured as a result of a Utd player hacking him after the chance had gone, I feel today has marked a return to the old Hooper, the Super Hooper who battered defences up and down Scotland throughout last season. So heal quickly Gary lhad and use today as the catalyst you have been searching for.

That bhoy Anthony, is he still just a wee petulant bhoy or has he done a lot of soul searching over the summer and become the man we all hoped he would be? For me it’s the latter, his running off the ball, his willingness to track back, his link up play and temperament have all improved everything has improved and it now looks like we have on our hands a potential top drawer striker! He took his goal very well and from there on in hardly put a foot wrong the whole game. He seems to be thriving at the moment and as with Ki hopefully this form and willingness to improve continues for a very long time to come.

All the substitutes that came on also performed well, which was pleasing to see. Maloney’s runs off the ball at times left the Utd defence bemused, Forrest was constantly a thorn in the full backs side, he adds a new dimension when he comes on as he changes the tactics used by widening the play, staying out on the touchline, always looking to take on and beat his man and deliver the goods. And of sourse he got the fifth goal. The Derry Pele also deserves high praise for his world class defence splitting pass late on in the game, it just goes to show we have such a wealth of talent at the club and great depth in the squad!

Overall we were fantastic at times today our slick intricate passing coupled with our imaginative link up play and running off the ball was a joy to behold at times. For this old and decrepit match reporter the most enjoyable aspect was our counter attack as this with our European adventure about to begin needs to be top drawer and today we at times invited pressure on I feel deliberately so that we could utilise our counter attack strategy and the reward for our endeavour to do so was a goal that will live long in this reporter’s memory, a truly world class counter attacking goal! 30 seconds 3 passes and boom thank you very very much! Now bring on the Swiss Guard as I want to getter higher like a Lisboa lion against Sion!

I’m Angus Sunblest reporting for Total Celtic aboard the good ship SixtySevenLive.

I’m away to drink all the rum me mateys, don’t tell the Captain or 1^st mate though!

Hail Hail

How do you solve a problem like August / That was the game that was Aberdeen v Celtic 07/08/11

Quite simply you try not to upset anyone!

Neil Lennon as a man as a player and, as proven in some major games last season, has shown that he doesn’t shirk a call, though more to the point he has proven himself to be cute, shrewd and savvy when it comes to team selection. Today yet again he proved this once more. Think about it. Why was Commons playing at right mid and Super Joe on the left both decisions were undoubtedly going to disrupt the balance, fluidity and cohesion of the hoops surely. The reason? We can’t afford to lose any of our top guys in these next few weeks and believe me the vultures are circling looking for discontented players unhappy at not being picked each and every week, so for this reporter, before we start looking at the performance, I’d like to thank Lenny for once again showing just how clued up he is. #inlennonwetrust

In a rather bleak and rain drenched day in Aberdeen, our bhoys took to the Pittodrie pitch in the new away kit, which is rather nice on the eye and really displayed most of our hot players eyes off beautifully but I digress here so let’s move on.

So let’s run through the team in individual units

GK: Zaluska   Again not much for the man between the sticks to contend with. In truth his distribution was much improved and he controlled his area well under little pressure it must be added. He must be commended for keeping his composure under intense scrutiny from the media, the fans and the coaching team as it is no secret now that Zaluska is not Lenny’s number one.

Defence:  50p heed Dan and Mr Kelv Smooth looked very assured and comfortable together as a partnership, individually Kelvin looks like a great piece of business and didn’t put a foot wrong. Dan Maj was as strong as ever although he did look a little hesitant when facing balls over the top although with only two games in who is anybody to judge.

Matthews had a superb game more so because of the positional discipline he had to display due to the lack of support he had all day down the right hand side, he really does look a terrific signing and once the balance of the team aligns again I expect more to come from this young fellow.

Izzy Izzy Izzy! You Emilio reduced this matchday reporter to damn near tears when you went over on your foot and no one but no one (expect obviously the twittercsc medical counsel) will know the extent of your injury until later this evening but I for one would like to take a moment, raise my hands to the skies and pray like you do Emilio for a speedy recover as your star deserves to shine brightest in the Celtic sky. In truth you have a worthy deputy in Chico who look composed, calm and collected in possession and for the majority looked for a pass rather than a punt downfield. Even in our darkest hour we still have options folks, though as always #inlennonwetrust

Midfield:  Kayal seemed to be not enjoying the rain as I’ve never seen a player use his sleeve so much to wipe his face but as ever the Trojan that is Beram hustled, harried, broke up attacks and distributed the ball wisely, he seems to get stronger as the game goes on and Celtic would be wise to offer this man top dollar now before the last week in August!

Dave Ki, perhaps he is on twitter too much as after the Hibs games he received god status for never mislaying a pass and possessing the best shot in Scottish football but today Dave wait for it… 4 OR 5 MISPLACED PASSES. I know I too was up in arms and the fact he never scored at least 10 goals from his long shots also disappointed me greatly. In truth he drove forward kept working and his yards run and retention of ball was again top of the class, another great performance.

Have I told you Ledley put in another great shift, his crisp passing and interchange in position with Ki was faultless and really was something to be admired.  Super Joe was always the most likely to be hooked in the game as he has featured heavily in friendlies recently and after his injury at the tail end of last season it is to be expected he will be sacrificed until full fitness is gained.

Kris Commons I had my reservations before kickoff about him playing on the right but as stated previously ‘how do you solve a problem like August’.  Kris no matter what position he plays is pivotal to the majority of Celtic attacks this is because of his uncanny ability to slow a game down in full flow and pick a pass as witnessed by the goal. Not his best game but effective none the less.

Forwards:  Hooper: Gary did his assignment well today, which was to run the line and turn his marker allowing for space to be created for through balls and runs beyond, this isn’t his natural game and with Gary sometimes his frustration can be seen as petulance or dare I say it arrogance. In time Hoops will gain from learning this side of the game with Celtic and his career will only benefit.

Stokesy ah young Anthony what a bhoy. He has very broad shoulders that young man as he takes sometimes unfairly the criticism thrown at him for just doing the job he’s asked to do, he started upfront, then went out wide left to give natural balance as Celtic reverted back to wingers that cut inside, then after 70 mins he came into the middle and low and behold after 73minutes when given a clear sight of goal he clinically found the net. This all in a week where his family have had to endure a robbery and fire, for me it speaks volumes of the young Irish lad.

Tactics used: 4-4-2.... 4-2-3-1... 4-3-3

Overall: TOP OF THE LEAGUE, 2 POINTS CLEAR, CATCH US IF YOU CAN, WE WELCOME THE CHASE #HH

We all know we could have played better but given the positional disruption, the undoubted sadness that surrounded and affected the team after Izzy’s injury it has to be said that the bhoys in green and white and today light silver really did knuckle down and grind out a well deserved win. We are all gutted about Izzy but one man doesn’t make a team and whether we give a chance to someone or buy in cover, let us not forget that the Mighty Green and White are Top of the Table tonight.

This is Angus Sunblest reporting for Total Celtic aboard the @SixtySevenLive Pirate Ship.

Until next time Ahoy me mateys!

Hail Hail

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Here is the latest @TotalCeltic transfer news. Enjoy.

@AnonymousCSC




Total Celtic transfer news now on 67Live

In: Total £900,000

First Team

Adam Matthews (RDef) – Pre-Contract, Cardiff City

Kelvin Wilson (CBack) – Pre-Contract, Nttm Forest

Victor Wanyama (CMid/ CBack) (£900,000)
Fraser Forster (Gk) - Loan, Newcastle United

Academy

Dylan McGeouch (CMid) – Pre-Contract, Rangers

Rhys Murrell-Williamson (LWinger) – Free

Darnell Fisher (CMid) – Undisclosed

Rumour In:

Craig Bellamy (Fwd)
Mo Idrissou (Fwd)

Out: Total £0

Kieran Brennan – Free

Stephen O'Donnell – Free

Michael Ordish – Free

Jordan Lowdon – Free

Matty Hughes – Free

Sean Fitzharris – Morton (Free)

Ryan Conroy – Dundee (Free)

Paul McGowan – St Mirren (Free)

Fraser Forster – Newcastle (Loan Return)

Freddie Ljungberg – Free

Andreas Hinkel – Free

Ben Hutchinson – Free

Graham Carey – St. Mirren (Free)
Declan Gallagher - Clyde (Free)

Out on loan:

Niall McGinn – Brentford (Season Long)
Efrain Juarez - Zaragoza (Season Long)
Darren O'Dea - Leeds (Season Long)
Josh Thompson - Peterborough (Season Long)

Rumour out

@TotalCeltic