flyingrodent

Not as good as when he signed Emilson Cribari IMO, although that was easily beaten by his decision to repeatedly select Cribari to play.

Given recent form, I suspect Celtic would win comfortably even if Lennon took a holiday and they put Hoopy the Huddle Hound in the dugout as manager.

Maybe so - complacency has long been a Celtic trait, to the extent that the team once went into a European Cup final expecting to win easily, just by showing up, and lost as a result. Nonetheless, I'd fall off my seat if New Rangers could even compete, let alone win. They were murder last season, and I see no signs that McCoist has the savvy to turn them into world-beaters over the summer.

Whatever words we use to describe the first game between Celtic and New Rangers, I'm pretty confident that "competitive" won't be one of them.

Although if it's relaxation music you're looking for, this is the finest piece of music ever written by a human being.

If you like cello, then this is Purple Haze for the cello...

Good stuff, but I have to say I really do hate flutes. It's got nothing to do with football or sectarianism, I just think it's a horrible, twittery, flappy, annoying instrument. Guitars are cool; Cellos are cool; bass guitars are cool; a double bass is the coolest of all. I love the low notes. Treble as lead is always and has always been shite. Sorry if I'm breaking up the flute-love.

I'm very relaxed - just relating a story I thought was funny, about a family member of mine.

I'm no fan of flutes, but I was once in a pub up the Gallowgate where some bunch of total fannies were playing rebel songs. I have no time for that shit myself and I'd rather not have to put up with it, but on this occasion we were accompanied by my brother's brother-in-law, who's one of those f**k-awful EDL types from down south. Never shuts up about the Pakistanis and the Muslims and Abu Hamza, not because he has a clue what's going on in the UK, but because he's a bigot and an idiot. So this dipshit English nationalist has to stand in a bar full of dipshit Irish nationalists, listening to their songs about how the English are b*****ds. He had to leave his pint and go and stand outside, talking to the kind of person who stands outside Celtic bars on matchday. Well, I laughed. Myself, I can't stand nationalists or nationalism, but I do greatly enjoy what happens when opposing nationalisms clash, like Nigel Farage meeting the SNP folk on the Royal Mile. The lesson they should learn is that nationalism is utter pish, and nationalists are all bawbags. Sadly, the lesson they do learn is that foreigners are horrible. At least it gives us a good laugh, though.

Fair enough, you're perfectly entitled to. Me, I think that if you allow that the men who run Celtic may well be opportunistic, and grasping, and selfish, but are also basically half-decent human beings, then there's no compelling reason to presume that they took a glorious opportunity to exploit a man's tragic death in order to move a difficult game. I think doing so is pretty petty and mean-spirited.

The immediate difference is surely that Phil was a young, healthy man and while Tommy's death was shocking and sudden, we all knew that he'd been very unwell. Phil just dropped down dead for what looked like no apparent reason. Surely most people can see why the sudden, unexpected death of a young man can be different to an older man with a serious form of cancer suddenly deteriorating. But it shows how foul a topic this is, that it's necessary to point this out. It's difficult to explain how ridiculous this argument that Phil's death was exploited Celtic to steal the title is, on so many levels. - It was years ago and even though Rangers lost, they still got to a UEFA Cup final - the kind of thing that other fans would bite your hand off for and celebrate even today, rather than stand around years later beeling because the SFA didn't bend over far enough backwards for Rangers; - Celtic's actions can only be seen as vaguely problematic if you leap to the worst possible interpretation of Celtic's actions, when even the slightest hint of charity towards the folk who run the club, e.g. imagining that they're human beings rather than reptilian masterminds, reveals just how small-minded and nasty the entire claim is; and - Even if you accept that Celtic were taking advantage, for the sake of argument, it's still totally insignificant when compared to, say, a club intentionally breaking the rules for ten years in order to field players that they couldn't otherwise afford. It's absolutely ridiculous that folk are still blazing about this non-issue. It's dirty-minded, deliberately nasty and crass as fvck.

Do you want me to prove that Celtic - club, supporters etc. - were genuinely upset and didn't exploit this or that? How would you like me to do that? Leaked video footage of the board looking gutted and crying? Psychic powers? There is no "substance" to refute here, MT. 8's claim is a free-standing, unverifiable assertion. He might as well have said that God won the league for Celtic, for all that it can be proven or disproven.

I've drafted and redrafted a response; researched far and wide, and wracked by brains, but I've had to conclude that it's impossible for me to explain how many fvcks I don't give about this. Boohoo for you about this dull non-issue that you're inexplicably working yourself up into a blazing seethe about. I mean, the season Celtic made it to the UEFA Cup final, we didn't win a single trophy. But I wouldn't swap you that cup final for a domestic treble, even though we lost, because I enjoyed seeing us get there so much. Folk on this thread, however... Jesus. Forever gnawing on some old bone of resentment about some invented non-slight done to you and your club* that most of us barely remember, even after you've been caught deliberately breaking the rules for ten years. Wacky, mental stuff. *The old, dead club, that is. Not the new one.

Poor, poor, poor. Even if we assume that your zoom-tastic claims are true, for the sake of argument... Then on the scale of relative unfairness, I'd say that deliberately breaking the rules for a decade in order to sign players you couldn't otherwise afford, and then stiffing everyone you owe money to, would put everything you're beeling about in the shade. And that's even if we assume that your point is real, rather than a load of irrelevant, made up, boo-hoo woe-is-us aren't we so very hard-done-by balls.

Reminds me of that old gem from Roger's Profanisaurus: "Tearful w**k": When confronted with an individual who is filled with self-pity, to rub ones hand near one's eye while saying "Boohoohoo" and making masturbation gestures with the other hand. Example: First man: Celtic,The SPL and the SFAs behaviour that season should never be forgotten. Second man: (Mock-crying, masturbating gestures) Aw, boohoohoohoo.

Still greetin' about it years later. Dignity, eh?

I take it Rangers lost because they were tired, then?

Well, the man who spent Rangers into oblivion is obviously the right man to spend them out of the arse end of the league with nothing other than the power of his amazing charisma. Surely, nothing can go wrong now. They are the people, after all. Edit to add: I agree with Sir Walter - "now is the time for unity". All Rangers fans should get behind the current board, because they are totally legit and trustworthy. I strongly advise all Rangers fans to fork over as much money as they can, and possibly take out loans against their houses. Rangers FC looks like an incredibly sound investment.

I suspect Broxi Bear knows more about running a company than Smith. If he follows the Jim McLean school of chairmanship, he'll be punching John Barnes any day now. Now I come to think of it, Broxi Bear probably knows more about managing a football team than McCoist does as well. Great opportunity to trim the wage bill, there.

Sounds like the board has realised that New Rangers can't be polished, and have now decided to roll it in glitter.

Is that some kind of code? Seen them loads of times, though. Was surprised they don't play in their pants, but I suppose league rules don't allow it.

Well, their Twitter account retwat me when I said they should give it a bash. I'd love to see Spartans in the SFL.

Salaam alaikum, brother. Hope next year is as entertaining as this one was, Insha'Allah.

Well, what would Platini know about Rangers? He's only the man tasked by UEFA to stamp out financial jiggery-pokery, after all. Although of course, the idea of UEFA stamping out any jiggery-pokery of any kind is kind of hilarious in itself. Still, I'd say that the most excellent thing about this Platini chat is that Rangers fans appear to be blissfully unaware of the reason why they were bombed down to Division Three. It's almost as if they think they're being punished for being successful, without giving any thought to why they were so successful, and why they've just spent the season in the bottom tier..

Same reason why they thought being found guilty of deliberately breaking the rules for a decade was a monumental victory - because they're considerably more interested in pisspoor GIRUY patter than they are in the Benny Hill farce in their boardroom. Long may it continue, I say.