The Scottish PL discussion thread

Eirebear

Celtic V Motherwell has been arranged for the 15th March.
They were due to play Dundee Utd that day but since Dundee Utd are in a final the game has been re-arranged.
A final, wonder who theyre playing?;):p

Blackjack

Just spotted this now.

Hibs sign Nish and Zarabi.

Happy about Nish, always liked him as a player, we could do with the additional strength up front. Know nothing about Zarabi, but we need a bit of strenght at the back too to replace Murphy. Hopefully he'll be a suitable replacement.

PauloMN

Eirebear wrote: »

Celtic V Motherwell has been arranged for the 15th March.
They were due to play Dundee Utd that day but since Dundee Utd are in a final the game has been re-arranged.
A final, wonder who theyre playing?;):p

Must be nice to finally get a sniff of silverware, eh EB? Even if it is only the diddy cu... sorry the CIS Cup.

Nunu

I was just on liveonsat.com browsing the live games schedule for the weekend and this note accompanies Saturdays Rangers v Falkirk game:

Rangers may block all coverage. Practically all channels have pulled this game from official schedules

Does anyone know what that's all about?

...All channels listed earlier in the week have pulled it from their schedules (except the Business Channel which never corrects errors on their web site)

Eirebear

PauloMN wrote: »

Must be nice to finally get a sniff of silverware, eh EB? Even if it is only the diddy cu... sorry the CIS Cup.

Its been a long time paul, im excited!
As for it only being the CIS cup, that may be true....but its part one of the treble you see

Nunu wrote: »

I was just on liveonsat.com browsing the live games schedule for the weekend and this note accompanies Saturdays Rangers v Falkirk game:



Does anyone know what that's all about?

...All channels listed earlier in the week have pulled it from their schedules (except the Business Channel which never corrects errors on their web site)

Rangers have been fighting legal battles since last season with regards to internet coverage nunu, probably something to do with that.
At the start of this season many of the chanels where showing games involving "Glasgow Blues" so as to make use of a loophole.

Blackjack

Eirebear wrote: »

Its been a long time paul, im excited!
As for it only being the CIS cup, that may be true....but its part one of the treble you see



Rangers have been fighting legal battles since last season with regards to internet coverage nunu, probably something to do with that.
At the start of this season many of the chanels where showing games involving "Glasgow Blues" so as to make use of a loophole.

Pfft - show the games involving the mighty Hibees - otherwise it just proves how scared you really are.
You are quite scared of the the Hibees - they have been a bogey team for you in fairness over they years!.

Eirebear

Blackjack wrote: »

Pfft - show the games involving the mighty Hibees - otherwise it just proves how scared you really are.
You are quite scared of the the Hibees - they have been a bogey team for you in fairness over they years!.

In all honesty Easter road has been a nightmare trip for us over the past few years...and youve skelped us at Ibrox too.
But i reckon youve missed the boat in the scottish cup, we were there for the beating and you didnt....well win comfortably at ibrox.

Blackjack

Eirebear wrote: »

But i reckon youve missed the boat in the scottish cup, we were there for the beating and you didnt....well win comfortably at ibrox.

Sadly I think you may be right there. A longer wait for the cup for us again.

Eirebear

2-0 against a decent Falkirk side for Rangers today.
once again, Boyd starts = Boyd scores...will you ever learn walter?

Eirebear

From todays sunday Mail :eek::eek:

Exclusive Madrid On Trail Of Hibs Striker

REAL MADRID are planning a sensational s4million swoop for Hibs striker Steven Fletcher.

Incredibly, the Spanish giants rate the 20-year-old as one of the 10 hottest prospects in European football.

MailSport understands the La Liga title holders have already watched the Scotland Under-21 star at least twice and will visit Easter Road again before the end of the season.

Real's former super scout Jeff Vetere, who joined Newcastle United last week, was so impressed by Fletcher he sent glowing reports to Bernabeu sporting director Predrag Mijatovic.

The Spanish champs arranged to watch the youngster last week in Portugal at the Vale Do Tejo tournament but he pulled out of Billy Stark's Under-21 squad through injury.

Real have a global scouting network but MailSport can reveal Fletcher has passed the first stage of their recruitment policy and is now on a 10-man list of young targets.

Madrid's director of youth football Miguel Angel Portugal will assess the Hibs hitman again before making a final decision.

And he would have been impressed yesterday had he seen Fletcher come close to scoring with a spectacular overhead kick in the televised 1-1 against Dundee United.

A Bernabeu source said last night: "It's true Fletcher is in the second phase now. We will watch him again before making a definite decision."

Real scouting chief Julen Lopetegui, who received the first reports, added: "He is now one of 10 young players we are watching across Europe. It's a complicated process and we know it will be a hard choice."

Fletcher's cause has been helped by input from Spain's Under-20 coach Juan Santisteban and Under-21 gaffer Inaki Saez.

Saez is a huge fan after watching Fletch help Scotland reach the final at the Under-19 European Championships in Poland two years ago.

Spain beat the young Scots in the final and Saez was also impressed by Fletcher at the Under-20 World Cup in Canada last summer. He said: "During the last couple of years the level of young players in Scotland has increased.

"Fletcher is proof of it. He has a big future and I can't understand why he isn't playing for Celtic or Rangers."

Sky Sports Spanish pundit Guillem Balague reckons Real value the Easter Road starlet at around s4m.

He said: "I know the scout who watched Fletcher and he sent favourable reports to Mijatovic."

Fletcher signed a new five-year deal at Hibs in December, making him the club's highest-paid player.

The Old Firm and Blackburn Rovers have also been linked with the hitman who has scored 34 times in 133 appearances.

And Fletch proved his worth last season when he bagged a double in the 5-1 CIS Cup Final thumping of Kilmarnock

eirebhoy

hahaha.

eirebhoy

McGeady's 8th goal and 10th assist of the season. Should really be 12 assists after those crosses for Brown and Vennegoor.

Eirebear

3-0 looks like the sheepshagers are living up to the 4 times a season rule...

eirebhoy

Barry Robson looks a player. Always moving into positions to receieve a pass and was extremely confident. What a way to start your Celtic career.

estebancambias

Does anyone have a link to the goals?

Blackjack

Eirebear wrote: »

From todays sunday Mail :eek::eek:

Exclusive Madrid On Trail Of Hibs Striker

REAL MADRID are planning a sensational s4million swoop for Hibs striker Steven Fletcher.

Fletcher is a good player, but I'd be surprised if that's true to be honest.

eirebhoy

estebancambias wrote: »

Does anyone have a link to the goals?

Not great quality.

1-0 Nakamura (McGeady)
2-0 McGeady (Brown)
3-0 McDonald
4-0 McDonald (McGeady)
4-1 Miller (Young)
5-1 Robson

McGeady Interview

Eirebear

Blackjack wrote: »

Fletcher is a good player, but I'd be surprised if that's true to be honest.

Thats pretty much how i see it.
He is a good player and would do a job for either of the Old firm or down south, but i dont see him as being Real Madrid quality.
Still only 20 though so i suppose you never know.

estebancambias

Wow, we have a damn good player there.

eirebhoy

Better quality video of the 4th goal:
http://media.putfile.com/scottys-second-goal

eirebhoy

eirebhoy wrote: »

Celtic are 6/5 to win the league. I'm gonna wait til Rangers play their next 2 games and lump on Celtic. The bookies don't understand the Naka influence.

*cough, cough*. 12 starts this season, 11 wins. I got us at 6/4.

PauloMN

Brilliant performance yesterday, was especially delighted as it was under the pressure of being 7 point adrift of the dark side. Really good to see good football being played, not sure what exactly has given the players this injection of energy, but I think the new signings have definitely created an urgency in the squad.

McGeady's trickery for Skippy's 2nd was simply sublime, and what a peach of a cross. I thought he and Naka were really excellent, and Naylor looks to be getting his old form back again also.

Happy for Robson, a Naka-esque free kick if ever I saw one. As with Samaras last week, great seeing him score on his debut to ease the settling-in pressure.

More of the same please!!!

eirebhoy

See Celtic's fixture list for March? :eek:

01/03/2008 Clydesdale Bank Premier League Hibernian 12:30 Away
04/03/2008 UEFA Champions League Barcelona 19:45 Away
09/03/2008 Scottish Cup Aberdeen 12:45 Away
15/03/2008 Clydesdale Bank Premier League Motherwell 12:30 Away
23/03/2008 Clydesdale Bank Premier League Gretna 14:00 Away
29/03/2008 Clydesdale Bank Premier League Rangers 12:30 Away

kraggy

I know. What a balls. Was hoping to go to C.P in next few weeks.

redspider

A good win for Celtic over the weekend, very positive for an away fixture. There are a lot of away fixtures coming up but no doubt many home ones after that. Maybe the players will get used to being 'on the road' and will be able to raise their game on each occasion. The SPL games are clearly winnable, even the Rangers one. A draw there at least is needed to win the SPL I would think, the way things are going.

McGeady excellent again on the w/e ...... even Dumb-phy has admitted a mea culpa about him now.

Redspider

PauloMN

Does the missed home game against TFOD have to happen before the next away one? Like do the games have to follow a home/away/home/away sort of sequence?

More to the point, is there actually any free slot where us and them are free to play midweek before the scheduled game in Mordor?

eirebhoy

I'm just reading a thread about Pirlo on an Italian forum. A lot of it really sums up my feelings about Naka in Scotland. Obviously not as good as Pirlo but as I've said many times, they're incredibly similar.

The newspaper has hailed his ability to control the game, his tactical positioning, his incomparable passing and creativity, his shooting, and even his improved stamina, tackling and physical strength.

The Corriere dello Sport has labelled Italy star Andrea Pirlo as a “genius” and say that he is the “number one” player in the world.

The Corriere clearly feel that Pirlo is not getting the credit he deserves either for club or country. While the likes of Kaka, Alexandre Pato and Ronaldo are spoken of as Milan’s biggest stars

I believe Pirlo might be in 20 years by many to be regarded to most underrated player in Italian history. The guy does so much to add to a team is not even funny. His goal stats are not top notch and he doesn't have his name on the scoresheet often...BUT the things he does through the game are indescribable...by no means is he flashy...he doesn't get the fanbase he deserves

He truly is a legend, best Italian player by far (he already was at the world cup, imo), maybe underrated by media and casual fans, but highly regarded by players, coaches and true football fans. He'll go down as an absolute legend, probably the best pure midfielder Italy has ever had.

It's simple, he doesn't score a goal a game & isn't a cocky, loud mouth who starts trouble. It seems that's the only thing that gets attention anymore. Pirlo, IMHO, is the smartest player on the field every game he plays. Great vision, amazing touch, and is really a quarterback for the offensive attack. Not to mention, probably one of the best set-piece kickers in the game.

He may very well be the best Italian overall right now. Maybe one of the best payers in the WORLD overall.

He doesn't get the respect that others get because his style of play isn't flashy. If you compare Pirlo to someone like Totti, who is still one of the best players in the world so this is a good comparison, it is easy to see why Totti generally received more attention before the World Cup. Totti is flashy, fast, friendly with the media, and he has all the tricks to capture people's attention along with an absolute cannon. Then you come to Pirlo, there isn't this one single thing that he does that just JUMPS out at you. He's a free kick artist, but his free kicks are not all that flashy so people generally don't pay much attention to his abilities from set pieces. The difference between Pirlo and Totti is that Totti can control and dominate a game in attack while Pirlo can control an ENTIRE match.

eirebhoy

KOKI MIZUNO played his first game in a Celtic strip... and the Japanese new Bhoy hopes it might accelerate his debut in the first team.

The winger lined up against Dundee in a closed-doors game at Lennoxtown yesterday, and helped Celtic win 5-0 with another January signing, Ben Hutchinson, hitting two.

Derek Riordan also scored twice while Ryan Conroy, who has first-team game time this season, got the other.

EveningTimes

eirebhoy

Donati was excellent again today. Seems to be settling in.

Hearts played very well so 3-0 is excellent.

Nunu

eirebhoy wrote: »

*cough, cough*. 12 starts this season, 11 wins. I got us at 6/4.

Ye., I got them 11/8 3 weeks ago.

eirebhoy wrote: »

See Celtic's fixture list for March? :eek:

01/03/2008 Clydesdale Bank Premier League Hibernian 12:30 Away
04/03/2008 UEFA Champions League Barcelona 19:45 Away
09/03/2008 Scottish Cup Aberdeen 12:45 Away
15/03/2008 Clydesdale Bank Premier League Motherwell 12:30 Away
23/03/2008 Clydesdale Bank Premier League Gretna 14:00 Away
29/03/2008 Clydesdale Bank Premier League Rangers 12:30 Away

That's unreal! Surely a team has never had a month full of away games before?

eirebhoy

There's still no date set for the Rangers home game. That'll surely have to be before the away game so we'll see.

I see Milan have been scouting Boruc. Ancelotti:

“We have been watching Boruc very carefully for at least a year. He is one of the best goalkeepers in Europe.”

If he really does rate him highly £10-15m would probably be the fee. Take it and bid a few million for Fabianski.

eirebhoy

I see Nacho Novo was in the Spanish papers giving his opinion on the Celtic players.

Brown:
"He is very, very aggressive and runs many miles during the game - he can be a key player. But he has a very bad temper and if you are looking to annoy him, then you can."

Nakamura:
"Nakamura is their leader. A great player. He has also scored many incredible goals from set-pieces."

McDonald:
"Scott McDonald up front has scored many goals and is in good shape. He's small but he is a nightmare. He uses the ball very well and is not afraid of anything or anyone.”

Boruc:
"He is a very good keeper but it depends on what day it is. He has games where he is excellent but there are games where a very easy shot goes underneath him. He has saved them many times and got them into the Champions League but he can be peculiar."

eirebhoy

More from Ancelotti:

"We are looking at Artur Boruc very carefully and we've been doing it for at least a year.

"I want him in my team.

"Our management have made some moves to bring Boruc to Milan but it hasn't worked yet. But Boruc remains a tempting possibility in the future and we have him under close observation."

kraggy

Jaskellainen is gonna be the back-up should Boruc leave in the summer according to The Herald here in Scotland. And his agent said he'd be up for a move to Parkhead as long as he got regular starts.

Not a bad replacement considering he will come free (contract's up in May).

And if we can get 10 million+ for Boruc that's free up some cash for outfield players.

PauloMN

Unusually, Sky One (not Sky Sports 1) are showing Celtic v Barca tonight. I presume that's because Utd and Arsenal are on Sky Sports 1 and Sky Sports 2 respectively.

The Celtic game is also on Sky Sports Interactive, and on Setanta Ireland.

I can see lots of scraps in the pubs tonight.... "put on Utd", "no, put on Arsenal", "no, put on Celtic" etc..

Score predictions lads?

I'm going to be optimistic and go for 2-1 to Celtic. Samaras and Naka to score.

redspider

Its a big night for Celtic. A 2-0 win would be ideal. One from a Naka free kick perhaps and the other from McDonald with an assist by McGeady, but I would take anything that comes. I expect McGeady to run his socks off. The big question for Celtic though will be at the back, as an away-goal would give Barca a huge advantage.

Whatever happens its going to be a a game to watch, and its good to see Celtic in the CL at the business end of the competition. Mission accomplished, but let's see if we can go one step further.

redspider

PauloMN

Yeah can't wait. Hard to concentrate on work today!

An away goal for Barca will be hard to take but I can't see us keeping a clean sheet to be honest. I wonder who's going to slot in at right-back... I suspect it'll be Hartley but I'd rather see Caddis there TBH as at least it's his natural position regardless of his inexperience. We need to score tonight and I think Caddis would give us more attacking options than anyone else in there. What I'd hate to see is Caldwell moved across, it'd be crazy to jig the back 4 around any more than necessary.

If Naka and McGeady can give their best tonight and McManus and Caldwell keep cool heads, we can win. Sloppy defending will be punished - Celtic have played so well in CL games only to give cheap goals away, I really hope we don't see poor back passes or even worse - penalties - to throw the tie away.

2-0 would be fantastic, I just can't see it. Right now, I'd jump at the prospect of 2-1 with the hope that we could get an anti-football draw away .

Erin Go Brath

Should be a cracker. Pity Brown is suspended, but i think we can do it tonight. I'd be delighted if we could get a 1-0, and think its a real possibility too. Barca are not exactly setting the world on fire at the moment, we are probably playing our best stuff of the season at the moment. Because of these factors i think we can win.

Eirebear

best of luck tonight lads....cough splutter choke....;)

kraggy

I backed us to win 2-1.

Got 14/1 for it with William Hill.

PauloMN

kraggy wrote: »

I backed us to win 2-1.

Got 14/1 for it with William Hill.

Same here, but with Paddy Powers at 12/1.

Here's hoping!!

Thanks Eirebear... I know it's hard for you to wish us luck. :eek: What will you be watching?

Eirebear

PauloMN wrote: »

Thanks Eirebear... I know it's hard for you to wish us luck. :eek: What will you be watching?

Heh, luckily the Glasgow Film festival is on just now and im working as a photographer for them tonight...no bill for me!

Erin Go Brath

Oh dear. The 2nd half was utter humiliation!

3-2 in itself isn't a bad result against a quality team such as them, but we were under the kosh so much it was incredible.

Anway bring on the Huns. Cant wait till that game now.

Eirebear

I only saw the second half last night, if i was writing the headlines tomorrow it would go.
If It Wasnt For Artur....

ziggy

This post has been deleted.

PauloMN

Erin Go Brath wrote: »

Oh dear. The 2nd half was utter humiliation!

3-2 in itself isn't a bad result against a quality team such as them, but we were under the kosh so much it was incredible.

Anway bring on the Huns. Cant wait till that game now.

2nd half was awful, and surprising in that we were 2-1 up at half time. I thought we might have even sneaked another when I saw how Celtic upped the tempo towards the end of the 1st half, but Barca ripped us a new one 2nd half.

I wanted to strangle Gary Caldwell and then Pat Dolan in the Setanta studio afterwards. Imagine saying we should have played like Rangers. Fcuking joker, is he for real? What's the point in going for a 0-0 at home to a team like Barca? So we can end up in the UEFA Cup? Ridiculous talk.

Like I said above, it was crucial that 4 players in particular would play out of their skins, otherwise we'd be in deep ****. Those 4 were Naka, Aiden, McManus and Caldwell. 2 of them were dire, namely Naka and Caldwell. Caldwell was 100% responsible for the 2nd goal, absolutely shocking stuff and Naka was just not at the races from the kick off right until the end - I don't know what was wrong with him.

Credit to Robson, Samaras, JVoH, Hartley who I thought did us proud. McGeady had a good 1st half I thought but was a bit quiet in the 2nd. Felt for Caddis, rough for someone with so little first team experience to have to handle Ronaldihno all night. Wilson did ok also considering he's not played much. Naylor and Caldwell were utterly frustrating, and Naka seemed to be dosed up on pills or something.

Overall, getting to the last 16 again is a good achievement for us, especially for a second time in a row. Let's face it, playing in the SPL, the last 16 is really our top level - we need to be in a better league to do better in Europe.

PauloMN

Ziggy, you weren't in the Grasshopper in Clonee tonight per chance, were you? (I just noticed your location as Dunboyne hence I ask).

eirebhoy

ziggy wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

I'd let him off tbh. He didn't do it on purpose and he tried to do best.

Eirebear

PauloMN wrote: »

Overall, getting to the last 16 again is a good achievement for us, especially for a second time in a row. Let's face it, playing in the SPL, the last 16 is really our top level - we need to be in a better league to do better in Europe.

that is a point i cannot and will not argue with.

ziggy

This post has been deleted.