October 2005

Saturday 1st Celtic record their biggest winning margin yet under WGS, who in turn is delighted with his players' performance in the 5:0 victory at Pleasantville: 'For total football it was our best performance of the season. We started very well but I asked for more from certain players and I got that. We scored goals at the right times and that was handy. I don't think there were any weaknesses at all. We had a lot of good movement and we managed to entertain as well as pick up the points.'

Sunday 2nd The Sunday Herald's turn for an exclusive today as Natasha Woods reveals that: 'Bobo Balde is determined to see out the remaining four years of his new Celtic contract... 'I've always said I will honour my contracts and now I've got four years left and I don't have any more clauses in my contact so if something is going to happen, it will only be because Celtic want something to happen to me,' said the 29-year-old... The deal will cost Celtic almost £6 million in wages between now and the summer of 2009, by which time Balde will be 34 years old. The centre-half told the Sunday Herald that money was not the prime factor in his decision-making process, although his deal does make him one of the highest paid players at Parkhead. 'It wasn't about money because in January I had the opportunity to go to a club in the Premiership and that club offered me more money than I accepted from Celtic... It was about more than that. But now I am delighted to stay. I have got a good contract and I'm not going to complain about it. If the offers from the others clubs had been a little bit bigger or smaller it wouldn't have made any difference.'

Monday 3rd Neil Lennon finally gives his reaction to the suspension handed down to him by the SFA: 'The furore was just so over the top. Now it's been done, a lot of people have been left with egg on their faces. At the end of the day, the SFA took the case on its merits and punished me accordingly. I didn't want to be in that position in the first place. I didn't want to put the club or the manager or any of the board or the chief executive through any of that, but I have to say the support was fantastic from day one. I'm just pleased to put it all behind me and I'm looking forward to getting back playing.'

Tuesday 4th Celtic have appointed Ray Clarke as the new head of international scouting, which came as a surprise to me because I didn't actually realise that we had an old head of international scouting. The former Tottenham, Ajax and Bruges player joins the Hoops from Newcastle where was chief scout. Clarke will be involved in restructuring the club's entire operation throughout Britain, Europe and beyond in a role which have overall responsibility for all professional scouting. He previously worked with WGS at Coventry and Southampton. Strachan said: 'It is a big job to reconstruct the club's scouting operation, but Ray will be more than capable of doing this. His experience and footballing contacts throughout the world will ensure he will be a great asset to Celtic both in the present and the future.'

Friday 7th At the Celtic PLC AGM Celtic chairman Brian Quinn insists the club are still looking to a future outside the Scottish Premier League: 'I don't think it's imminent but the ice is beginning to crack. Are thing capable of changing? Yes. Are forces at work to bring about change? Yes. Are Celtic keeping an eye on these developments? Most certainly.'

Quinn went on to dismiss suggestions that manager Gordon Strachan has received more finance than his predecessor, Martin O'Neill, for squad strengthening: 'That is one of the myths. Martin was here five years and, during those years, he had the same money at his disposal as Gordon has had. People concentrate on transfer fees, but it is up to the manager how he wants to spend it. Martin wanted to maintain the tried and trusted players and Gordon has gone down a different road and has had to make big changes by bringing new people in and moving people out. But it is wrong for people to think Gordon has had more money to spend.'

Celtic also announced plans for a new training complex in Lennoxtown. The club have applied for planning permission for the development and hope to have it ready in time for the 2007/08 season.

Monday 10th After the summer signings of Shunsuke Nakamura and Du Wei, Celtic have announced that they will visit the players' home countries next summer. The dates and details have yet to be confirmed but the club are eager to make the most of the exposure that they have received in Japan after signing Nakamura. 'Me? I'd rather stay at home,' said Gordon Strachan. 'If I had a big enough garden I'd get everyone round to training there. But I understand the club needs finances to run and we have to sacrifice a bit for the bigger picture. I've no problem with that. Man United do it, Liverpool do it, Chelsea do it. And they've got billions. But they still go around the world to collect extra revenue.'

Tuesday 11th In the midst of an ever-deepening crisis at the Death Star, David Murray addresses the burning questions being asked by the Orcs. As increasing numbers of them contemplate alternative forms of masochism of a Saturday afternoon Murray turns his attention to, er, increasing the capacity of Ibrox: 'It is something that we are currently considering,' Murray told Rangers World about plans to seat 4,000 extra fans. 'There is a feasibility study being carried out... We would need to enlarge the ground in certain areas, create some additional revenue streams and have bars, seating and disabled areas.' Murray also provided an update on Ibrox Sands, the super casino with the football pitch on the roof: 'We have not given up on that. We've not shouted about it, but we are ahead of the pack now... We wouldn't actually build or run the casino - we would use our ground for the casino to operate on and they would pay us. But let's not get carried away, there is a long way to go before we can shout from the rooftops.' While standing in the middle of the pitch, presumably.

Wednesday 12th Fulham are being linked in the chip wrappers with a move for Artur Boruc. Agent Radoslaw Osuch is reported as claiming that two Premiership clubs are interested in his services. Boruc said: 'I cannot guarantee I will be at Celtic next season. Celtic have the right of first refusal but it could always happen that I don't agree to the contract.'

Defender John Kennedy has signs a one-year contract extension with Celtic following his return to training. A statement from his agent said: 'With the nightmare of the last fifteen months nearly behind him, John is now looking forward to once again pulling on the famous green and white hoops.' The player himself was eager to get back to playing and thanked Celtic for renewing his contract: 'Obviously I am delighted that the club are standing by me. They have done everything possible to help me get back to fitness and I would like to place on record my thanks to all the doctors and physios involved in my recovery. My team mates have also kept my spirits up and I cannot wait to get back to playing again. There is no target, I am just working hard every day and waiting to see how the knee progresses. Hopefully I will be able to play some part in this season though, that is a realistic aim.'

Another of big Eck's summer transfer deadline-day signings, Filippo Maniero, has left Rangers 'by mutual consent' ('You're shite, son'. 'I agree.'). Games played 0; goals scored 0; laughs raised, quite a few. 'We had a reciprocal agreement that, if either party felt it would be better to go our separate ways, then that would be the case,' said a statement from Mordor.

Friday 14th John Kennedy suffers a relapse in his rehabilitation from his cruciate injury just a couple of days after signing a contract extension. It seems that the player broke down in training on Thursday, although Gordon Strachan was hoping the problem is not too serious.: 'John has suffered a reaction and I just hope it is nothing back to where it was. When I looked at it, I just thought it was a kick and John thought it was more of a twist. So he's going to be tested. John was hoping he was on his way back. I hope it is something that is not as serious as some thought it was yesterday.'

With his return to the side imminent following suspension for the Stuart Dougal incident, Neil Lennon gives a lengthy interview to Glenn Gibbons which appears in today's Scotsman. Talking of his treatment by the press following Dougalgate Lennon is quoted as saying: 'No matter how thick-skinned you become, it does get to you a wee bit. I'm certain that if it had been any other player - and I don't just mean a Rangers player, but a Scottish player - the reaction would have been nothing like as bad. I do get an unfair press up here. I'm sure that, for the last four-and-a-half years, they've been trying to get me out of the team, for one reason or another... There's no doubt that what I did at Ibrox was totally wrong, but it was so out of character for me. I've been here for five years and when they found out my disciplinary record was so good, a lot of people were surprised by it. The only reason for that was the way I've been portrayed in certain quarters of the media, there is no doubt about that... It's totally personal, I'm certain of it. There's got to be another reason - an agenda - why they write these things. And I think it's an easy get-out for these guys, or lazy journalism, just to say that I wind the crowd up. Basically, they're hiding behind that kind of nonsense because none of them has the guts to come out and say what the real reason is for their hostility... Since the incident at Ibrox, I've seen other incidents where players have laid hands on both referees and linesmen and nothing was said about it. The referee hasn't even deemed it to be a yellow card, never mind a red.'

Lennon was equally candid on the subject of the night he and his girlfriend were attacked by two students: 'A woman came running over and said she had seen everything and she was willing to testify to the police. These were two university kids, one studying law, the other medicine and the father of one of them was a judge. I thought, well, if that's the background they're coming from, bigotry is alive and well and all over the place.'

Saturday 15th In the top of the table clash at Celtic Park Hearts manage to hold out for a 1:1 draw, the Maroon Balloons' goal coming as a result of a mix up between Telfer and Boruc. 'Their defending was Italian-like at times,' said WGS after the match, a remark that goes up there with the best of his jokes. 'It was a decent game. It was intense, physical, it had chances and will have kept the fans happy. Hearts fans will have been happier, but ours will have appreciated the performance and effort we showed.'

With the chance to make up some ground on the leaders in the offing, the Rangers players gear up for their visit to Tannadice tomorrow by watching Barry Ferguson and Olivier Bernard and Barry Ferguson having a morale-boosting square go at Murray Mark. As reported by Billy Paterson in the Mason, 'There were jackets and shirts and ties flying everywhere.'

Sunday 16th Front page exclusive in this morning's News of the Screws by John McGarry is that 'Celtic are still paying martin O'Neill a huge £500,000 salary - to advise on football matters.'

Didier Agathe has also been making headlines in the Sunday Mason with Swoop Guidi reporting that he'll be asking for a move if he doesn't get a game soon. 'A lot of people have been asking me if I am still injured, but I would like to clarify that I am not. I have been fit for five weeks now,' says Agathe. 'I felt maybe, because of what I've done during five seasons at Celtic, he (Strachan) would take this into consideration when it comes to playing me. But it seems no... I don't want to be seen as a troublemaker, but this is my last season and you need to ask the manager why he is not picking me.'

The broadsheets report Rangers chief executive Martin Bain saying that Alex McLeish may be able to strengthen his squad in the January transfer window... as long as he doesn't spend any money. 'We'll look at where we are (financially) and where Alex thinks we might be weak.' Could be a long meeting that one. Bain also said that progress in Europe was not budgeted for, but tadditional revenue created by a European run would not necessarily go towards new players. 'We have to manage the club as prudently as possible but if there was cash coming in through Europe we may look to release some, but certainly not all of it.' Bain backed McLeish as the right man to take Rangers forward (good) and defended recent changes to the Death Star's staff that led to George Adams being removed from his role as Head of Youth Development and Campbell Ogilvie ceasing to be involved in an executive role on the club board.

In the afternoon's battle for a top six place plucky cash-strapped Rangers manage a battling away point at Tannadice in a hugely unentertaining 0:0 draw. 'We were as good as we've been for some time,' said the Eckmeister. 'We've got to be positive in our outlook. With performances like that we will win more than we lose.'

New Hearts kit: get it before
it bursts

Monday 17th Artur Boruc puts an end to the speculation surrounding his immediate future by signing a three-and-a-half year deal which will cost Celtic around £4.5 million. Boruc is now under contract with Celtic until at least the summer of 2009. 'It doesn't make a difference whether it was Arsenal or Juventus who were interested in him, we were blinkered and wanted Artur here,' said Gordon Strachan. 'We brought Artur to the club and, once he was here, we knew he would like it.' Don't be dangling by your toes waiting for the 'Celtic beat off Arsenal...' headlines in the next few days.

Strachan is also unconcerned about the weekend's reports that Martin O'Neill is still somehow employed by the club: 'It's not affecting me one little bit. The support I have had from the directors has been magnificent, and I can't thank them enough. They have given me control of everything and it doesn't happen at every club, I can assure you. It is absolutely fantastic to get that full control. Training, buying players, players' contracts just like Artur Boruc today. The final decision was down to me so it's great. It's up to the directors what they do with their cash. I'm sure Martin wouldn't want to step on my toes in any way. If they give me cash to spend, then I will probably use it, but, if not, I'm quite happy to work with the players I've got here. Martin is more than happy to get in touch with me any time he wants. But that's a deal - if it's true - which was set up between the directors and Martin and that's fine. As a matter of fact, up until a couple of months ago, I was still getting looked after by Coventry and, after I left Southampton, I got looked after by them for a year and that's what happens. I wasn't helping Harry Redknapp and I definitely wasn't helping Gary McAllister or the rest of the boys at Coventry. That's the way it happens sometimes when your contract is up and there are some things you have to tidy up and Celtic have tidied that up with Martin.'

Elsewhere today David Murray is quoted in the press admitting there is still a problem with bigots at Mordor. 'In my first season here, we averaged of over 120 to 130 arrests at a Rangers-Celtic game. On many occasions, you can actually get more arrests at a Hibernian or Aberdeen game for a variety of reasons.'

Wednesday 19th Neil Lennon tells the hacks he was delighted to get a warm welcome back from the fans last Saturday. Supporters in the Jock Stein Stand marked Lennon's return by holding aloft cards which spelled out 'Lennon 18: 'I've never seen anything like that before and I can't thank them enough for doing that. Without a doubt the fans' support has been invaluable because there seems to be a growing campaign amongst some people to stick the boot in. So coming back to that it doesn't half give you a lift and makes you still feel part of it.'

Thursday 20th Celtic are optimistic John Kennedy will make a complete recovery after the big defender underwent a fourth operation on his damaged left knee. A spokesman is quoted on the official website as saying: 'John has undergone some surgery which we had hoped to avoid - but which could have been needed in any case. Dr. Steadman is hopeful of him making a full recovery and playing long-term.'

Friday 21st At the Friday press conference Gordon Strachan insists Du Wei is close to making his first team debut. 'He is not looking like a foreigner any more, he looks more like a Celtic player all the time so that's a good thing. He is not far away. What he's doing is more than enough to play in quite a few sides, I'd imagine. Du Wei is a joy. He's always got a smile on his face. He's a joy and a radiator.'

Because of the warmth of his personality perhaps. Maybe all the other players gather round him for a heat and leave socks on top of him to dry.

'He radiates when he walks onto the training field. Some are drainers and some are radiators and he is definitely a radiator.'

Let's hope he's filled up with antifreeze before the really bad weather sets in.

Stats announced by UEFA today confirm that Rangers are the dirtiest team in the Champions League so far this season. In their three games they have committed a total of 75 fouls - nine more than anyone else in the tournament. Dildo Prso heads the list of competition fouls after 270 minutes of play. The forward has committed 15 offences.

Saturday 22nd The Eckmeister has been telling the press that he has received the dreaded vote of confidence again from David Murray after Hearts and George Burley parted company: 'I heard what was said and I spoke to the chairman before the game. He had been bombarded with calls and we can't help the speculation but it's a load of rubbish.'

Sunday 22nd On the morning of an away game at Rugby Park BBC Scotland's website reports that Birmingham and West Ham may make offers for John Hartson when the January transfer window opens. The story suggests that Celtic will accept a bid in the region of £5m. 'Everyone is for sale at a price,' was Gordon Strachan's comment. Hartson has recently split from his wife and the story has attracted tabloid newspaper headlines. 'We take that into consideration with everybody,' Said WGS. 'Some people, whose personal life is not the best, can handle it, but some find it more difficult. We just need to keep an eye on people - not just John - who have off-the-field problems.'

The game is decided by a smart Stilian Petrov goal, although WGS - like most of us - wasn't too thrilled by the performance: 'The only thing I'm happy about is the three points. Only five players played to a standard, the rest fell below that. If we want to progress, that level of performance is not enough for me.'

Wednesday 26th Gordon Strachan was spotted at a recent Champions League game between Rapid Vienna and Club Bruges which has prompted more kite flying among the red tops that he is interested in buying Austrian captain Andreas Ivanschitz in January. The boss himself was unimpressed with the Laptop Loyal's inside knowledge: 'Apologies to Andreas, but I have not seen him play and I don't really know his name, so that kind of answers the question.'

In the evening's SPL match Celtic easily swat aside Motherwell by 5:0, a result hailed by the manager as the best home performance of the season so far: 'I was delighted to get five goals and the manner in which we got them was very pleasing. We started slowly but our imagination and variation of play was excellent. Everyone played their part.'

Terry Butcher was also impressed: 'I'm just happy it was only 5-0, because it could have been a lot more. Celtic on that form were fantastic and if everybody allows them to play the way we did then they are going to run riot, which they did.'

At Livingston, plucky cash-strapped Rangers earned themselves another precious away point in their quest for a top six place with a 2:2 draw (the first time Livi have scored two against anybody this season).

Friday 28th CELTIC announce a £15 million share issue after revealing majority shareholder Dermot Desmond has agreed to underwrite up to £10million. The funds are going to be used for a purpose-built training facility incorporating a youth academy, football development as well as balance-sheet strengthening. Subject to shareholder approvals being obtained, 50 million new ordinary shares will be available to existing shareholders and new investors, priced at 30p per share. Brian Quinn said: 'If Celtic is to remain competitive in Scotland and Europe, it must give a high priority to finding, developing and training high quality Celtic players of the future. Therefore, the board believes that, as well as continuing to retain and attract experienced players, we must build upon the already excellent results of the club's youth development programme. The first team is already seeing the enormous benefit of the country's most successful youth development programme, with players such as Ross Wallace, Craig Beattie, Shaun Maloney, David Marshall, Paul Lawson, Stephen McManus, Aiden McGeady and John Kennedy already coming through. A key objective of this fundraising activity is the establishment of a training facility incorporating a state-of-the-art youth academy. This, together with planned major investment in coaching, scouting and player development programmes would account for £10million of the potential £15million sought. The remainder would enable Celtic to strengthen its balance sheet for commercial purposes, including debt reduction.'

Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell thanked Desmond for his gesture. He added: 'We are, of course, extremely grateful to Mr. Desmond for his offer to underwrite up to £10million of the share offer, a measure of his long-standing and continuing commitment to the club.'

Saturday 29th A good day results-wise for Celtic as Hearts' unbeaten run comes to an end at Easter Road. At Castle Greyskull, plucky cash-strapped Rangers go a goal down to mighty Inverness - with Ronald Wattereus at last beginning to show exactly why he had made the reserve keeper's position his very own at Maine Road - before staging a dramatic second half comeback and finally leaving the pitch to a resounding chorus of the new club song, 'Boooooooooo!!'

'If I was a fan I'd feel the same way,' said McLeish after the game, a remark bound to endear him with the Orcs.

Sunday 30th Celtic go top of the league thanks to a 4:2 win at Tannadice. To put the lid on a good afternoon's work for the manager the fans chant his name for the first time this season: 'I'm not here to be loved. I'm here to make Celtic into a Championship-winning side again. I've got enough people who love me. My sister-in-law comes to the games, my brother-in-law comes to games, as does my sister. I'm sure they've tried to start the chanting now and then, but have been subdued a couple of times. But it's a nice feeling.'

Diary compiled by SAMUEL PEPYS-SHOW and HACKWATCHER

back to top