Business as usual at the Old Firm

Luis Suarez has apologized, Kenny Dalglish has apologized. Both have exhibited sociopathic behaviour for the last two months which has brought much opprobrium on them and the club. But at least their apologies should be taken in good faith.

Here we are not 24 hours later with Richard Williams still milking it for all its worth.

Saturday 15th October 2011.
Celtic, fresh from a defeat at Tynecastle, are 3-0 down at half time to Kilmarnock.
Winning the title looks a long way off, Neil Lennon's managerial coat seems to hang on an ever shooglier peg.
They came back to draw 3-3, three goals in a 10 minute burst from Anthony Stokes and Charlie Mulgrew salvaging a point.

Saturday 15th October 2011.
Celtic, fresh from a defeat at Tynecastle, are 3-0 down at half time to Kilmarnock.
Winning the title looks a long way off, Neil Lennon's managerial coat seems to hang on an ever shooglier peg.
They came back to draw 3-3, three goals in a 10 minute burst from Anthony Stokes and Charlie Mulgrew salvaging a point.

Today's SPL. All of our dirty dozen are in action. Here's a very quick look ahead.
St Mirren v Celtic
Ah, St Mirren. 2-1 up last week with their opponents down to ten men. They lost 5-2.
A season in 90 minutes. The promise, the impressive moments, the entertainment and the frequent disappointments.

Today's SPL. All of our dirty dozen are in action. Here's a very quick look ahead.
St Mirren v Celtic
Ah, St Mirren. 2-1 up last week with their opponents down to ten men. They lost 5-2.
A season in 90 minutes. The promise, the impressive moments, the entertainment and the frequent disappointments.

Sky: Lennon won't sell trio

Neil Lennon has dismissed speculation that he is prepared to sell Celtic trio Kris Commons, Gary Hooper and Adam Matthews.

View the full story here: Sky Sports

A news article on 2012-01-09 08:20:07 from: Sky Sports

This news item has been reproduced from today's media.

The SPL works off the turkey and mince pies with a full Wednesday evening fixture. The eyes of the world upon us once more. Or at least the eyes of those Sky viewers not tempted by the tungsten superheroes at the Ally Pally.
Celtic v Rangers
Apparently recent form has left some Celtic supporters confident about this one.

Day two of our Scottish football Advent calendar. Celtic lurk behind today's window.
Was it really just a few weeks ago that all hope was lost and Neil Lennon's job prospects looked bleaker by the match?
Celtic teetered as Rangers thrived, the SPL gap was getting bigger and the Parkhead title challenge was being written off.

Day two of our Scottish football Advent calendar. Celtic lurk behind today's window.
Was it really just a few weeks ago that all hope was lost and Neil Lennon's job prospects looked bleaker by the match?
Celtic teetered as Rangers thrived, the SPL gap was getting bigger and the Parkhead title challenge was being written off.

Agog today for the SPL's biggest game since the last big game.
Motherwell v Celtic.
If you'd said in July that third placed Celtic would need a November win to move ahead of second placed Motherwell on goal difference we probably wouldn't have believed you.
But such seismic events often only need the collision of one or two factors.

By Chris Wright

Kris Commons pulled a fast one on the photographers gathered outside the club's training ground, turning up in a neck brace and bandages after rumours spread on Twitter recently of a nasty, but sadly non-existent, bust-up in the Celtic ranks.

By Alan Duffy

Taxing times: Rangers' owner Craig Whyte

75 points is a fairly hefty points deduction, but according the the Daily Record, that's the kind of points haul that Rangers could be docked if they don't manage to sort out their financial mess.

Underfire managers and new beginnings... Bolton Wanderers Gary Megson and Sammy Lee were sacked for better starts to a season at the Reebok. Owen Coyle may have persuaded fans initially that he could be the eventual replacement for Sam Allardyce's success, but the wheels have come off rather spectacularly.

Liverpool have reportedly expressed an interest in Celtic youngster Ki Sung-Yeung who is said to be keen to leave Parkhead after a poor start to the campaign by the SPL side. The 23 year old was the subject of an £8m offer from Rubin Kazan but that was rejected by the Scottish side but Neil Lennon may struggle to prevent his talented attack minded midfielder from having his head turned by interest from Anfield.

An odd thing happened to the prediction that Celtic would break the GI Joe kung-fu grip Rangers have had on the Scottish Premier League trophy the past three years. Quite simply, it appears to have been rather hastily determined based on deceptive appearances alone, or perhaps a notable disappearance from Ibrox.

Some time ago, a friend and I were discussing youth power in football and how an academy brings out talent time and again. I thought this would be an interesting topic to write on though it has been thrown around quite a bit in the blogosphere already. But, given that it's international weekend, Phil Jones has been prompted as a future England captain, and Jack Wilshere is causing people the age of his Dad sweat over him, it sounds appropriate to devote something to the Next Gen.

After an enthralling climax to last year's Scottish Premier League, which saw elder statesmen Walter Smith's Rangers side take the title over newcomer Neil Lennon's Celtic by just a solitary point, hopes were high that this year would also be a season to remember for the Old Firm.

Lennon is in his first full seasonsecond season as the manager at Parkhead, and long-time assistant Ally McCoist has finally taken over for Smith at the Govan club.

After an enthralling climax to last year's Scottish Premier League, which saw elder statesmen Walter Smith's Rangers side take the title over newcomer Neil Lennon's Celtic by just a solitary point, hopes were high that this year would also be a season to remember for the Old Firm.

Lennon is in his first full seasonsecond season as the manager at Parkhead, and long-time assistant Ally McCoist has finally taken over for Smith at the Govan club.

If Neil Lennon is to wrestle the Scottish Premier League title back from rivals Rangers, then a steady central defensive pairing has to be found.

That's the brutal reality that the Celtic boss now faces after watching Glenn Loovens and Dan Majstorovic's latest car crash "performance" in the 2-0 home win against Inverness on Saturday.

The Hearts thug who assaulted Celtic manager Neil Lennon at Thynecastle on May 11 has been handed a 9 month prison sentence by a Judge in Scotland.

John Wilson (26) was accused of a sectarian attack on Lennon During Celtic's SPL tie with Hearts on May 11, Wilson entered the pitch before striking Lennon on the head during an incident which could have been way worse but for Alan Thompson's timely intervention.

The Hearts thug who assaulted Celtic manager Neil Lennon at Thynecastle on May 11 has been handed a 9 month prison sentence by a Judge in Scotland.

John Wilson (26) was accused of a sectarian attack on Lennon During Celtic's SPL tie with Hearts on May 11, Wilson entered the pitch before striking Lennon on the head during an incident which could have been way worse but for Alan Thompson's timely intervention.

Photo: Earl Gardner

Union

In this week's power rankings roundup, the Philadelphia Union move up one spot to no. 10 at MLSsoccer.com ("They haven't won in a long time, their body language is not particularly good right now, they're inconsistent offensively and the defense is suddenly leaky.

Football fans label Coaches crap or brilliant.
Jose Mourinho used to be brilliant, now he's second he's well...less so.
Alex Ferguson is always brilliant - he always wins, whereas Neil Lennon is crap - he comes second - add in Vitaslev Lavicka - season 1 brilliant, season 2 crap.
Ange Postecoglou is now brilliant and despite losing heaps of players in Season 1 and beginning of Season 2 if he's not top of the league after three games he'll be.

By Alan Duffy

Neil Lennon's Celtic will be going to the ball after all. UEFA's decision to expel Sion from the Europa League means that the team the Swiss side beat in the play-off round, Celtic, now get a surprise entry into the competition proper.

Celtic will play in this seasons Europa League after UEFA chose to suspend FC Sion for fielding ineligible players. The result of UEFA's investigation process will be a huge relief to the hierarchy at Celtic, who faced a huge financial loss by not playing in Europe this season.

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- Further Photos from Wigan-QPR
- Throughout the day, the QPR Report Messageboard has news updates, comments and perspectives - even links to other board comments of interest re QPR matters (on and off the field) along with football (and ONLY football) topics in general.

Wales manager Gary Speed has welcomed reports linking striker Craig Bellamy with a return to Liverpool.
The 32-year-old appears surplus to requirements at Manchester City after being frozen out of manager Roberto Mancini's plans.
Reports claim Bellamy, who spent last season on loan at Cardiff, is being considered by Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish as back-up to first-choice strikers Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez.

Skysports are reporting that Championship side Peterborough United have tabled a bid for Dundalk star Daniel Kearns.
The Belfast born Ireland U21 international has been earning rave reviews for the Airtricity Premier League outfit and a number of clubs have been keeping tabs on his progress
Championship outfit Peterborough have held a long-term interest in Kearns and they have now firmed up their interest with a six-figure offer for the exciting attacking midfielder.

Liverpool and Tottenham are both reportedly keeping tabs on Celtic's highly-rated youngster James Forrest.
The 19-year-old winger was given his chance in the first-team towards the end of the 2009/10 season when Neil Lennon was in charge on a temporary basis. He became an important member of the team last season under Lennon's guidance and is entering his second full-season as a first-team regular.

What we learned this week... Barcelona's crush on Cesc Fabregas reaches a creepy new level

Their sickly sweet video of their new signing was the oddest thing of the week, while Jose Mourinho showed himself to be no better than Neil Lennon, as Robbie Keane lives the dream

View the full story here: Goal

A news article on 2011-08-19 07:35:00 from: Goal

This news item has been reproduced from today's media.

The return of European football. Scotland expects.
The worst, usually.
Dundee United have already shuffled off, cramming a qualifying defeat into the SPL's blink-and-you'll-miss-it summer holiday.
Three survive. Rangers reward for not winning their Champions League qualifier is a shot at the Europa League if they can negotiate past Slovenia's NK Maribor in the play off round.

Even as you enter the theatre, Singing 'I'm No A Billy, He's A Tim' begins to knock one prejudice on the head. The idea that "Edinburgh in August isnae for normal folk" takes a hell of beating in this tale of Old Firm supporters.
It's been estimated that 75 percent of audiences seeing Des Dillon's play have never been to the theatre before.

Colin Scalderwood Half-time is the traditional time for a football manager to chuck cups of tea around, but Hibs boss Colin Calderwood broke with tradition to drop a beverage in his lap during his side's opening game of the season against Celtic. Perhaps eager to keep up with opposite number Neil Lennon's penchant for getting [.

The first of Sunday's two SPL games as Celtic travel to Hibs to give a green tinge to the opening weekend.
The GameFor a variety of reasons, some of which are explored below, this is an away win for me. End of.*
HibsWell, what a swell summer it's been for Hibs. Managerial uncertainty has swirled, training ground punches have been hurled and transfer deals have unfurled.

What are the odds as the SPL's two-horse race gets under starter's orders? Derek McGovern's Bets of the Day

Competitive club football in July can mean only two things. The Europa League, where teams with silly names do battle before a handful of spectators, or the Scottish Premier League, where spectators with silly names do battle before a handful of teams.

Scottish Premier League 2011-12: Season Preview is a post from: Just Football

Barely has the dust settled on our 2010/11 SPL team of the season when Scotland is up and ready to do it all over again! William Heaney reports:

The whole of Europe is eagerly awaiting the new Scottish Premier League season which kicks-off on 23rd July.

Scottish Premier League 2011-12: Season Preview is a post from: Just Football

Barely has the dust settled on our 2010/11 SPL team of the season when Scotland is up and ready to do it all over again! William Heaney reports:

The whole of Europe is eagerly awaiting the new Scottish Premier League season which kicks-off on 23rd July.

Scottish Premier League 2011-12: Season Preview is a post from: Just Football

Barely has the dust settled on our 2010/11 SPL team of the season when Scotland is up and ready to do it all over again! William Heaney reports:

The whole of Europe is eagerly awaiting the new Scottish Premier League season which kicks-off on 23rd July.

Scottish Premier League 2011-12: Season Preview is a post from: Just Football

Barely has the dust settled on our 2010/11 SPL team of the season when Scotland is up and ready to do it all over again! William Heaney reports:

The whole of Europe is eagerly awaiting the new Scottish Premier League season which kicks-off on 23rd July.

Green and white... but mainly green Celtic manager Neil Lennon was caught picking his nose in the dugout at last night's friendly victory over Cardiff City. Did he treat himself to a tasty mid-match snack courtesy of his snozzle? Luckily for Lennon, a player walks in front of the camera and prevents conclusive evidence, but [.