Scottish Premier League News 2003/04

[Captain Shamrock]

Bucky, Bucky, Bucky.....

Did you see anything in my post that said it was a good thing or bad thing? Didn't think so. Me thinks Blue Nose Bucky should think before he types.

In other news, Celtic have chosen not to sign anyone this season because they know they'll win the league with the current crew. And just for you, Bucky.



Rangers sign Italian defender Vanoli


Rangers completed the signing of Italian defender Paolo Vanoli on Monday night.

The former Parma and Bologna full-back passed a medical earlier today but is not expected to play in tomorrow's high-profile friendly against Arsenal.

Rangers' director of football business Martin Bain told the club's website: 'We are delighted to reach an agreement with Paolo and his representatives, and I know (our manager) Alex McLeish is looking forward to working with him.

'He has signed a two-year contract, and I know he is looking forward to a fresh challenge in Scotland.'

Rangers' latest acquisiton has been bought to fill the void left by Arthur Numan.

The Dutchman left Ibrox at the end of last season after refusing a wage cut to stay with the Scottish champions - and even though Michael Ball has finally overcome his lengthy injury problem, McLeish sees the left-back position as a priority.

McLeish said: 'We tried to get him at the start of last season because we were aware that if anything happened to Arthur we could have a problem in that area.

'We didn't quite manage to secure him that time. Many times last season we had to use right-footers in the left-back position, so I think he will be a good player for Rangers.

'Michael Ball, at the moment, is the number one contender - now he has competition there.'

McLeish has denied, meanwhile, that the potential signing of Henning Berg is a last-ditch attempt to bolster his central defence before the Champions League deadline.


The Manager

 

[Jinky]

Which of Paolo Vanoli's knees is the injured one?

 

[Captain Shamrock]

Liar, liar, pants on fire.....

NO LATE ADDITIONS SAYS O'NEILL
Tuesday 5th August 2003



O'Neill: Powder dry



Related stories:

Champions stroll for Celtic
It's time to splash the cash - Roy
Pars tell Sutton to stay away

More Football stories:

Chelsea agree £6.6m fee for Cole
Domi joins Leeds on year's loan




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Fixtures





Celtic v Kaunas

Wednesday Aug 6 2003 19.45
CL Second qualifying round second leg

Celtic manager Martin O'Neill has said that he will be making no new signings before this week's Champions League deadline.
O'Neill is putting together the finishing touches to his squad for Wednesday night's Champions League qualifier against Kaunas, and with the SPL side holding a 4-0 advantage, the manager's thoughts are turning elsewhere.

He said: "I am still tracking players. I am still having a look and as I've said before, getting decent quality in for the money is indeed a very difficult task as a lot of managers up and down the country are finding out.

"For us to get someone in before Thursday, I would say, is nigh on impossible."

O'Neill is keen to make the trip to Finland to watch Helsinki play Budapest on Wednesday - the Hungarians lead 3-1 from the first leg - to run the rule over possible third qualifying round opponents.

He said: "Making the trip is something I have been thinking about over the last four or five days and it's something I would like to do.

"There will be a board meeting the following day, which will require my attendance. The meeting is likely to go on for much of the day so I would have to be back for the afternoon."



Larsson: Time to rest?
A calf injury means John Hartson misses out against Kaunas and Henrik Larsson is unlikely to play a part either.

The Swede has just resumed training following a hamstring strain picked up in Lithuania but could make Saturday's SPL fixture against Dunfermline.

Chris Sutton, banned for the first five games of the season, will play a part after recovering from an ankle knock but a question mark hangs over Alan Thompson's involvement after he picked up a booking in the first leg.



The fcuking guy promises at least one/two signings last week and now he is fcuking pulling this. Di-a-bol-i-cal. The Champions League campaign looks to be short and sweet again, and we can't fall back on the UEFA Cup like last year. Jinky, what happened to McFadden. At least it is something.


Captain

 

[steve1234]

Rangers vs Arsenal.

Anyone have any idea how this game ended? Scottish champs vs the second best team in England.

 

[Captain Shamrock]

other thread....

STeve1234,

You can check the Friendlies-Not that they mean anything thread.


For the record, the second best team in England STUFFED the best team in Scotland 3 - 0.

 

[ParkHead]

The fcuking guy promises at least one/two signings last week and now he is fcuking pulling this. Di-a-bol-i-cal.

Simply can't trust those Irishmen!!



This however doesn't mean he will not still sign McFadden or anyone for that matter. It just means they can not play in the first couple of rounds of qualifying. Yes it would be nice but I still have to think that if everyone is healthy we should be able to qualify.


Parkheadstilllikesthe3-0scorelineeventhoughitmeansabsolutelysquat

 

[ParkHead]

Agathe hints at leaving

Didier Agathe's days at Celtic could be numbered after he admitted he wants a new challenge - and manager Martin O'Neill is unlikely to stand in his way.

The pacy Frenchman says the Bank of Scotland Premier League no longer holds any excitement for him and he would like to try his luck in England or Spain.

Agathe told France Football: "Celtic is a great club but, at 28 years of age, I would like to discover new horizons.

"The league is not very exciting. Fortunately there is Europe - Europe motivates us the most."

O'Neill says he understands the desire of his players to play against the top teams on the continent - a hunger which has intensified since last year's progression to the UEFA Cup final.

But the Celtic boss insists there is no room at Parkhead for any player who has lost his appetite for the league battle, which kicks off against Dunfermline.

O'Neill said: "I would not want to go into the SPL with any player who feels it no longer excites him.

The pacy Frenchman says the Bank of Scotland Premier League no longer holds any excitement for him and he would like to try his luck in England or Spain.

Surely Agathe is taking the piss. He might be able to run really fast but to play in either of those leagues you would atleast have to get 1 cross in out of the 10 he attempts per game. Please get rid of him after you sign someone else first. Finally they might get rid of the guy that frustrates me the most.


Parkhead

 

[Captain Shamrock]

I was going to post the same article, Bigyun. I can't believe he is serious. He is fcuking rubbish and can't be serious about playing in either league. Who the fcuk would take him? The sooner we get rid of that poof, the better off we'll be.

Hail! Hail!


Early prediction Dunfermline 0 Celtic 3
Rangers 1 Killy 2



Captain

 

[Captain Shamrock]

Real prediction:


Dunfermline 0 Celtic 0

Rangers 4 Kilmarnock 0


For it's a grand ole' team to play for........


Yes, there are plenty of games to go and it is not time to hit the panic button but once again it shows the lack of depth. Actually, it was a great result to steal a point from Dunfermline on the road. Well done, Bhoys.

 

[JAGS]

Jags above the Hoops......

Captain,

Not often I can say the Jags are above the Hoops in the table. The mighty Harry Wrags are only two points off the top and a European spot.

Celtics slow start can always be attributed to jet lag. That excuse usually lasts at least a month and then who knows what they can use.

JR ........... arms getting ready to hoist the league title.

 

[steve1234]

For two mars bars.

Celtic are prepared to allow winger Bobby Petta to join any interested club on a year's loan. (Sunday Express).
For a couple of packs of Walkers they can have Agathe as well.

 

[Captain Shamrock]

Fcuking crap....

No Scottish Football on FOX Sports World or FOX Sports World Canada this
season. The Celtic and Rangers supporters clubs demanded and received
exclusive TV rights in order to protect membership sales.


Bollocks.

 

[steve1234]

O'Neil hints at signings.

O'Neill seeks new faces

Celtic boss Martin O'Neill saw his side take a giant stride towards the group stages of the Champions League in Budapest - then admitted he is searching for new players.
O'Neill's men easily disposed of MTK Hungaria in the first leg of the final qualifier, with Henrik Larsson, Didier Agathe, Stilian Petrov and Chris Sutton netting in the 4-0 win.

And with his side all but assured of their place in the money-spinning league table phase of the tournament, O'Neill would like to strengthen his hand against Europe's top sides.

"I think if we are going into what is effectively the best football competition in the world then we would like, if possible, to add quality to the team," said O'Neill.


Martin O'Neill
Celtic manager
"I am not going to go into what players or what positions but it is something we would like to do.

 

[ParkHead]

Great result for the bhoys. Good to see we are finally going about this the easy way for a change.

Henrik continues to rewrite the record book along the way. With his goal today he becomes the alltime leading goal scorer in European competitions from a British club.





Parkhead

 

[Captain Shamrock]

Rangers count cost of failure


McLeish may be forced to sell
Rangers are running the risk of becoming also-rans in Scotland if Celtic continue to out-perform them on the European stage.
That is the stark warning to the Ibrox club from leading football analyst David Glen, on the day BBC Scotland revealed that Rangers knocked back a £10m bid from Blackburn Rovers for Barry Ferguson.

Celtic had earlier posted losses of £11m after tax for last year, despite a run in the Uefa Cup that took them to the final in Seville.

Rangers were knocked out of the same competition at the first hurdle and Glen expects them to post yearly losses of up to £15m.

The cycle could repeat itself with Celtic all but assured of collecting £10m from the lucrative Champions League group stages, while Rangers are struggling after being held 1-1 at home by FC Copenhagen.

Without a run in Europe, that debt would be likely to increase unless they cut the squad again.

David Glen

The consequences of such a scenario for the Ibrox club, whose debts are estimated as some £40m greater than their city rivals, would be far reaching, according to Glen.

"If Celtic continue to have successful runs in Europe and Rangers do not then a gap between the two is bound to develop," said Glen.

"Rangers would then have to make more drastic cuts to their squad."

Glen was adamant that Rangers' second leg at the end of the month was a crucial fixture for the Ibrox club.

"Rangers' debts were last posted at £52m and might be up to £60m now," he said.

"I think the game in two weeks' time is a very significant one for them.


Ferguson (right) is Rangers' most valuable player

"It will certainly influence whether players like Mikel Arteta will stay or not."

Celtic are certainly in a much healthier financial position, with debts under the £18m mark.

But Glen insisted it was unlikely the Parkhead club would start spending huge amounts on new players.

He said: "Getting into the Champions League brings in roughly the same amount as going all the way in the Uefa Cup.

"Celtic look to be heading there once again and that means they will probably break even as a result.

"But there are already noises coming out of Celtic that they need to sell before they buy, so I can't see a spending spree."


Jinky, where did you get those other figures?


Captain

 

[Captain Shamrock]

Fcuking bollocks....

How many times are we going to hear something fcuking different? Just two days ago, MON claimed he was going to add more quality to the squad before the final Aug. 31 deadline. Now this? Fcuking shite.


No new faces at Celtic


Celtic should qualify comfortably for the Champions League
Celtic manager Martin O'Neill has admitted he will not be bringing any new players to the club before the transfer window closes at the end of August.
Despite the fact that Celtic are certain to make a substantial sum from the Champions League, O'Neill will not get his hands on any funds for fresh faces.

Celtic announced losses in excess of £4m on Wednesday, shortly before they all but booked their place in the lucrative Champions League group phase with a 4-0 first-leg win away to MTK Hungaria.

O'Neill said after the game in Budapest that he would like to strengthen his squad in order to mount a serious challenge in Europe's premier competition.

Ideally, it would have been great to have added to the squad

Martin O'Neill
But on Friday O'Neill revealed he would be making do with the squad that played 60 competitive games last season - reaching the Uefa Cup final but ending up without a trophy.

"Ideally, it would have been great to have added to the squad," said O'Neill.

"Especially now that we are in a great position to get into the Champions League and play at least six games against top sides."

Celtic chairman Brian Quinn said earlier in the day that the club would have to move players on in order to make new signings and O'Neill indicated that was an unlikely scenario.

"The time-frame is against us," O'Neill continued.

"If players have to leave before others come in, then I don't think that's feasible before the August deadline.

"There's not much I can do about it.

"We could have done with it, but I'm not going to get disappointed. We'll just get on with it."


Brian Quinn is a fcuking plonker. After reading O'Neill's comments, it is pretty easy to say that he won't be back next year, especially if Celtic win fcuk all this year. He sounds like a beaten man by his last two comments. Hopefully, it doesn't rub off on the players, especially in the SPL because they can't seriously expect to progress past the first group stage, after they get by Budapest. I notice he mentioned that too by saying he was going to get 6 good games in.......


Hail!Hail!

 

[Jinky]

Relax Captain, I suspect that this is nothing more than a good cop bad cop deal. (much like the Canucks Quinn and McPhee act)

Brian Quinn (bad cop) is the former chairman of the Bank Of England. That means he doesn't give a fcuk what anyone thinks of him.

Martin O'Neill (good cop) will say all the things that the supporters want to hear.

O'Neill will claim the team needs 3 new quality players.
Quinn will say there is no money for players.

The two will compromise and O'Neill will get one quality player and one up and coming inexpensive squad player (after they get rid of Sylla and or Agathe and or Petta).

The supporters will forgive and forget when they see the Hoops progress to the second stage (which they will). Combine that with the fact that the Rangers will not make the group stages and will not be able to turn down a decent offer for Bazza (who knows it is time to leave) and Murray Park.

As annoying as it is to see the board acting as tight as a gnat's chuff, you must remember that Celtic has been on the brink of bankruptcy before and never wants to be there again. It took 5 years to recover from that level of early 90's debt. They need only look across the city to see that the blue noses are in for a much much longer recuperation period.

 

[Jinky]

My oh My!!

 

[Captain Shamrock]

EEEEZZZZZZYYYYYYY

Celtic destroyed Dundee United today with a clinical display. The FOD struggled to a 3 - 2 win and picked up 3 injuries in the process; de Boer, Berg, and Moore. Following the Bhoys' write-up, is a photo of everybody's favorite person, Fernando Ricksen, taking a kicking from a spectator who obviously likes him as much as everyone else in Scotland,outside of Ibrox.


Five-star Celtic thrash United


Shaun Maloney started the scoring at Celtic Park
Celtic 5-0 Dundee United
Celtic eased Dundee United's rebuilt team aside as easily as they had marched into the Champions League group stages in midweek.

United had arrived promising to show that Ian McCall's revolution was no false dawn after last weekend's early promise was undone by a late capitulation at home to Hibernian.

But goals from Shaun Maloney, Didier Agathe and Alan Thompson before the break meant there was little to distinguish Saturday's performance from a similar scoreline when they visited Celtic Park last season.

Celtic may still lack great flair in midfield, but their victory - completed by further goals from Jackie McNamara and Henrik Larsson - was as clinical as it had been in midweek in Budapest.

Striker Chris Sutton dropped out through his continuing domestic suspension, but that did little to disturb the momentum gathered from a 4-0 win over MTK Hungaria that all but ensures their place in the money-spinning rounds of European football.

McNamara, Liam Miller and Shaun Maloney were handed starting places, while Magnus Hedman took over in goal from Rab Douglas, who had some nervous moments in midweek.

Barry Robson's red card during last week's defeat by Hibernian meant the United winger was out suspended and he was replaced in the starting line-up by Scotland Under-21 international David McCracken.

United should have taken the lead after just two minutes after Hedman lost his bearings.

Jim Paterson's cross found Collin Samuel free in the box, but the Trinidad and Tobago international's header did not have enough power to cross the goal-line before Stanislav Varga was able to clear off the line.

United's defence was disrupted after nine minutes, when Scott Paterson was stretchered off - with an injury that will keep him out of action for up to a month - and replaced by Craig Easton.

Celtic capitalised two minutes later, Maloney's back-heel fortuitously reaching Larsson, who played it back into the path of his unmarked striking partner to drive home from 16 yards.


Didier Agathe and Henrik Larsson were both on the scoresheet
A Larsson header struck the crossbar before Celtic eventually doubled their lead in the 27th minute.

Full-back Alan Archibald appeared to let a Thompson cross drift over his head at the back post, where Agathe diverted the ball home with the bridge of his nose.

Celtic went three up moments before the break, when Larsson was hauled down as he attempted to round goalkeeper Paul Gallacher and Thompson swept home the penalty kick.

United were more of an attacking force after the break without seriously threatening Hedman.

A Varga drive crashed off the United post before McNamara finished a fine passing movement between himself, Thompson and Larsson by driving the ball into the roof of the net from 20 yards.

Larsson adding the icing on the cake six minutes from the end when he broke clear before chipping over the stranded Gallacher.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Celtic: Hedman, Balde, Varga, Valgaeren, Agathe, Miller, McNamara, Petrov, Thompson, Larsson, Maloney.
Subs: Douglas, Sylla, Lennon, Beattie, Smith.

Dundee Utd: Gallacher, James Paterson, Archibald, McCracken, Scott Paterson, McInnes, Kerr, Miller, Griffin, Dodds, Samuel.
Subs: Bullock, Easton, McIntyre, Wilson, Coyle.

Referee: A Freeland

 

[ParkHead]

Fun to Watch

When Celtic play like they did today it is a treat to watch. 5 bagel was flattering for Dundee United which were absolutely no match for a Celtic team which went forward every chance they got. Miller and Jackie were brialliant in the center of the park today. Jackie was awarded man of the match which you can't really argue with except for maybe Henrik. Henrik put on a clinic today in all assests of the game. He simply tor the Dundee UTD defense apart with his moves and through balls.

Good to see Celtic have played three games this year and have yet to concede a goal.


Parkheadgladhegotupearlythismorningtogowatch.