Site news: I'm now on Facebook, get involved!

There is now a community 'like' page on Facebook for the blog.

There will be regular updates and an oppurtunity to interact with myself and other readers of the website.

I've posted a poll to get the ball rolling, about Sunday's game.

As is common sense, remember to use Facebook wisely and set your privacy settings to a level you're comfortable with, though no-one will see your details/name in the list of 'likes'.

You can 'like' the page here: Facebook page.

If Facebook is not your thing then you can find me on Twitter as always:  http://twitter.com/fritzagrandold

I returned to blogging a month ago and I'd like to thank everyone checking out the posts, there's been a good response and number of readers and I'm looking to get a proper domain name and blogging template sorted as soon as time allows.

News: A chance to see next generation on TV

Yesterday the SFA announced their squad for the first match in the annual Victory Shield tournament. The tournament is a home nations style event featuring Scotland, England, Wales & N. Ireland. Scotland's first game is against Wales on 30th September and five Celtic youth players have been included in the 18-body squad. Jordan Hart (GK), Calum Waters (DF), Liam Henderson (MF), Jaison McGrath (FW) & Paul McMullan (FW) were all selected by Ross Mathie to travel to The Airfield in Broughton and have a chance of representing the junior side.

In the last ten years the tournament has become something of a procession for the England U-16s with established Premiership players such as Aaron Lennon, Jack Rodwell, Wayne Rooney & Jack Wilshere all contributing to success that has ensured another nation hasn't become outright winners since 2000, when N. Ireland saw off Wales to clinch the trophy.

However, it's a good challenge for the young Celtic players who will be provided with another outlet to pit their skills against the best youth in the Isles. It's also a great chance for fans to check out rising stars coming through the club. In the past the Scottish Victory Shield team has included club legends like Kenny Dalglish & Paul McStay. Sky Sports will shine their regular spotlight on the action with Scotland's first match being shown live at 7.35pm on Friday 30th September. Further squads to face N.Ireland on 4th November & England on 25th will be announced in due course.

Good luck bhoys.

Conquering Atlético Madrid

When I was growing up Celtic weren't the trophy winning Goliath they had once been in the past or would be in the future. It was very much normal that Rangers would win everything, be on TV midweek against far flung names and be the big team in Scotland. It was the mid-nineties and things were bleak for the green half of Glasgow. As I grew older I began to understand that in this period Celtic fans were just happy to have a club that existed. Even when it looked likely that I'd get to strut around the playground gloating after going to my first cup final vs. Raith Rovers my favourite player, Paul McStay, missed a penalty to send the dark blue Fifers into a heavy opposite stand roar that I'll never forget.

Of course, I wasn't a hard done by little guy. The glories of the past were so great and so majestic that I steeped myself in that instead. I would watch old Celtic videos of sweeping victories, clever goals, two-arms-in-the-air manic celebrations, 'CELTIC O.K.' banners and a guy lifting a big, hulking silver trophy. It was this sense of mystical history along with the voices of my brother, my father, cousins, uncles and Granda that bonded me to the club more than anything that was going on in the Celtic team of the time. I watched all the videos kicking about the house I could find, usually in the wrong box and even some with Hugh Keevins of all people presenting. There are two images that I remember being fascinated by, utterly transfixed, replaying them in my head and on the VHS machine. One was the celebration of the players and fans who had just won the European Cup and the other was a wee guy, Jimmy Johnstone, jinking past players, pushing to the byline and being scythed down brutally and unfairly by a defender in a red shirt and blue shorts.

I now know and understand better who that team were and under what circumstances this challenge happened. In 1974, Celtic were a massive force at home and on the continent having won the European Cup, reaching another final and a semi-final in the previous seven years. The notorious Juan Carlos Lorenzo brought his Atlético Madrid team to Celtic Park on the 10th of April in the first leg of the European Cup Semi-Final. England World Cup winning manager Alf Ramsay once denounced Lorenzo's Argentina squad of 1966 as 'animals' and anyone who was at the game that night or has since seen snippets will understand where he was coming from. The Madrid team, chock full of Spaniards and Argentinians, set out to bring the hotly tipped favourites Celtic down, with brutality and violence, not football. They succeeded in escaping Celtic Park with a 0-0 draw despite having three men sent off. Jimmy Johnstone was black and blue from the waist down. Winning the second leg 1-0, they dumped the Celts out of the competition to go through to the final. The tie is now part of Celtic and Scottish football folklore.

This week, Billy McNeill, the legendary captain of the Celtic team that Spring night re-opened these old wounds by labelling Atlético Madrid as 'scum' in a newspaper column. It didn't take long for these sentiments to find their way to Spain. The Madrid defender Filipe Luis stated; "I read what their former captain said. In fact we all did because we have talked a lot about it and I don't think it was a very nice thing to say. That's his opinion but this was a long time ago. We are only talking about the game this week, not what happened all those years ago. He has called our club scum and that motivates me and the players. We don't want any violence, we are not like that. We are just going out to play football like we normally do. We know Celtic will be a tough game but we think we are a better team." And boy are they a better team. In fact, on paper, it could barely be a worse time for a Celtic team to try and enact revenge on Madrid. This Summer the Spaniards spent at least £55m on new players. Celtic spent £3m. It's just as well football isn't played on paper. Have no doubt about it, Celtic have a fighting chance of taking something in Estadio Vicente Calderón this Thursday. 

In the Europa League 2010-11 the Spanish side lost to Aris Thessaloniki at home and drew with Bayer Leverkusen at home, exiting the competition in the group stages. It was arguably a stronger Madrid team as they recently lost three of their best players in Diego Forlan, Sergio Aguero and David De Gea to English and Italian teams. The players they have brought in however do not seem like average replacements for the superstars they lost. Falcao, the Europa League's highest scorer last season for winners Porto, signed for the club in a £35m deal. Other experienced, high class internationals have followed such as Diego from Wolfsburg, Arda Turan from Galatasaray and Miranda from Sao Paulo. Because of this though, they are a team in transition, also changing managers by bringing back previous coach Gregorio Manzano after a disappointing season under Quique Sanchez Flores. They've yet to hit their stride in La Liga, taking only one point from their first two games. All the pressure is on Madrid to put in a performance and Falcao himself highlighted a complacency when he said in an interview this weekend; "We play Celtic next and that gives us a chance to get some goals and get some confidence."

After this talk of a positive result on Thursday don't get me wrong, it's obviously a tough task for this Celtic side to do anything. However with the right team selection, the right tactics and with belief, concentration and unity I firmly believe a new Celtic folklore can be written. The squad is riding high again after their surprise re-entry into the competition and go to Spain with absolutely nothing to lose. At the weekend they displayed a renewed confidence and swagger. After overcoming high flying Motherwell so easily, they will be eager to prove themselves at a higher level.  As much as the fans are keeping an eye on the past and thinking of revenge, the team should not and will not be focused on events in 1974. We've spent too long as a club recounting past glories and it's time for this young, ambitious squad to become heroes to a new generation so that the little boys don't have to go onto Youtube and watch Henrik Larsson chipping Klos or Chalmers putting one past Inter Milan to feel proud about the club. For me though, this one's for Jinky's legs.

Match preview: Celtic vs. Motherwell

In the vacuum of space that accompanies your typical international week, where interesting footballing stories usually exist, a circus popped up across town at our greatest rivals. A night hasn't gone by where Twitter feeds, Facebook walls and various green & blue messageboards aren't awash with news of impending financial doom at Rangers FC. It's easy for a Celtic fan's head to go into a cloud of outstanding photoshops, quips and general hilarity. Thankfully lessons have been learned by the support this year, knowing that despite whatever goes on in Govan, winning leagues isn't easy. Still, there is often a complacency that we
will or should win every home SPL game with ease. Motherwell tomorrow will have very different ideas about that, having had their best start to a season for years and years. Celtic though should be focused and rejuvenated with a number of key players not taking part in their nation's matches recently, desperate to right the wrongs of St.Johnstone and Sion, the last action at Parkhead.

I'm often guilty of neglecting the state of every other SPL team and papering over this lack of knowledge with bluster and cliché. So in an effort to be as accurate as possible I've asked fellow blogger Graeme Thewliss (Graeme is found at http://theeaststand.wordpress.com & @thisGraeme) to give an insight into how a Motherwell fan thinks their season is going so far and what kind of a team we can expect to face at Parkhead tomorrow.

"Six games, thirteen points and a stint at the top of the league has given Motherwell as exciting a start as I can remember. Not since Mark McGhee's first season in charge at Fir Park has there been such a buzz around the club. Stuart McCall's insistence on bringing quality over quantity to Fir Park over the summer has brought Michael Higdon and Nicky Law into the fold. While it leaves the squad paper-thin, watching Law drift inside, outside, his ability to make space all over the park and his desire to take on players has been a joy to watch and is paying dividends. The lightening of Jamie Murphy's load as the creative outlet of the team in particular has had a marked effect on his confidence and performances.

McCall's risk looked to have backfired as impressive young defender Steven Saunders was ruled out for the rest of the season with an achillies injury, but former Kilmarnock man Tim Clancy arrived in time to make his debut against Dunfermline in a 4-2 victory two weeks ago. Despite this rip-roaring start to the season Motherwell have made, McCall's inexperience and naievety was once again shown against Rangers at Fir Park. Fullbacks roaming the length of the touchline is exciting and effective against teams without the quality to counteract it, but Rangers picked Motherwell's defensive frailties apart, a trait shown far too often last year against both sides of the Old Firm. A plan-B is required in order to attempt to match the Old Firm, hopefully starting tomorrow."

Obviously unlike Graeme, Celtic fans will not be hoping for any kind of progress from Motherwell tomorrow but it's likely to be a fast paced, exciting game with both teams looking to link play with one or two touch passing. Players in both sides are blessed with pace and a spark in the final third and Celtic will need a strong start to ease those post-25 minute blues you often see in the stands at Celtic Park at 0-0. This Motherwell team definitely has the ability to sting us as the match progresses.

It's a great relief that the majority of the Celtic team comes back unscathed from international duty, with only a minor Cha Du-Ri injury to report. The squad is also boosted by two possible debutants in Mohamed Bangura and Badr El Kaddouri who both trained today and who Neil Lennon confirms will be in contention tomorrow. While the likes of Beram Kayal and Joe Ledley played midweek, other key players such as Kris Commons, Gary Hooper and Scott Brown didn't. The latter was suspended after Scotland's draw with Czech Republic. Hooper and Commons took the oppurtunity to have a long golfing weekend in Marbella, updating us often through the medium of Twitter. Craig Levein dropped Commons from his Scotland squad due to lack of form and it'll be interesting to see if Kris takes this as motivation to improve on his poor start to the season. In fact, he commented on Twitter that he was desperate to play after the holiday so perhaps we'll see an appetite for football from him tomorrow that's been lacking of late. Beram Kayal had a tough time away, falling out with media in Israel who used him as a scapegoat in their defeat against Greece which effectively ended their chances of qualifying for Euro 2012, he will find solace in the adoring fans that have looked to him as a leader of excellence. While Bangura might not start tomorrow, his very presence might be a kick up the proverbial backside of both Anthony Stokes and Hooper who will be looking to impress the manager going into a crucial series of big games. Most of all the fans will be seeking the passion and urgency of last season to match a renewed vigour for the season ahead in light of Sion being kicked out of the Europa League.

It's very important for Celtic to build momentum and optimism going into our toughest tests of the season so far next Thursday in Madrid and next Sunday at Ibrox. The international break was something of a blessing as a bad feeling seemed to be spreading throughout both the team and the supporters. Since the last game we are back in Europe, have signed two useful looking players and have a squad close to full fitness. It will all be undone if points are dropped tomorrow and while the European and derby games are looming, full focus from the players and management must be on producing a confident and ruthless performance tomorrow because an inform team are ready to burst our flight-booking, tax-laughing bubble.

Transfer Deadline Day Preview: Cool heads in the chaos

Today, Tuesday 30th August, has been a whirlwind of rumours, bids, done deals and more rumours in the world of football. Celtic haven't been immune to this, the day beginning with the prospect of four changes to the squad before day's end. As it turned out there was only one, Mohammed Bangura joined the club from AIK in Sweden for a reported fee of £2.2m on a four-year deal. It's the type of distraction most managers hate even if they manage to pick up a bargain or get rid of players clogging up overburdened squads. In fact, there have been calls recently from managers in the Scottish Leagues to the top of the English Leagues to ensure the transfer window shuts before competitive action begins and it's likely the subject will come up at a meeting of top coaches in Nyon later this week. For the fan its a fairly exciting and fairly frustrating time that can bring knots to stomachs or good moods to the fore.

Overnight it was reported in The Scottish Sun that Georgios Samaras and Shaun Maloney were moving on, to be replaced by two strikers, one of them was Bangura. The other was Maritimo striker Baba Diawara who appeared to be on the verge of joining until early afternoon when word came through from Portugal that he wouldn't be signing for Celtic in this window due to 'visa issues'. At face value it seemed to be just too late to sign the Senegalese player but STV later reported that Celtic hadn't even applied for a working visa for Diawara which suggests that only one striker was ever going to come in. Celtic apparently had two deals running simultaneously, if the Bangura fell through, Diawara would have signed. It's a pretty smooth way to operate in what can be a frantic and unpredictable couple of days. Neither Samaras or Maloney have left the club but Wigan chairman Dave Whelan has spoken in the media confirming talks will continue over a Maloney move tomorrow. Samaras looks likely to join a new club as well with Sunderland and St.Etienne sniffing about the Greek today, though nothing more than rumour has been reported at the moment.

This is the current situation as of 18:39 but new rumours and developments are happening on an almost hourly basis and going into tomorrow anything can happen. It's my belief that Celtic are still actively trying to sign a player or two, hopefully defenders. As I'm typing this Liam Ridgewell has handed in a transfer request to Birmingham which has been rejected, Celtic have been linked with the versatile defender for a number of weeks. No more news has emerged about taking Paul Dixon, a left back, from Dundee United who have said tonight there's been no approach from Celtic. There has also been messageboard rumour of Dynamo Kiev left back Badr El Kaddouri joining. Alongside this there's always the prospect of a shock 'big name' arriving at Celtic Park, most likely on loan. As tiresome as this particular rumour can be, as long as Craig Bellamy hasn't found a club for the season, speculation will be rife among the Celtic community about where he will end up. All the names aside, we need defenders now as a priority even if another attacking option would be a nice luxury.

And who could leave the club, Samaras and Maloney aside? Will Morten Rasmussen and Jos Hooiveld be reunited with Tony Mowbray at Middlesborough or find their back to mainland Europe? Is Paddy McCourt surplus to requirements or looking for regular starts? Will we manage to hang on to our better players such as Kayal, Hooper and Ki? As it stands we have a squad of 27 players, youngsters excluded. I expect us to have the same number at close of business tomorrow but there is still time for a turnaround of faces. Celtic appear to have been waiting until the last week of the window to do the majority of business, taking advantage of time running out to squeeze maximum value out of deals both out and in. Neil Lennon said Bangura was being tracked by the club for almost a year so you could conclude that panic doesn't seem to be setting in at Parkhead, deals will only be concluded for players we have done homework on. I for one am looking forward to a busy, ridiculous day of anything goes hearsay and action. Who could forget Robbie Keane getting on a plane to Glasgow in January 2010? It was one of the most dramatic transfers we've seen at the club and completely out of the blue. I say again, anything can happen.

You can follow my twitter account @fritzagrandold in the closing hours for live updates, retweets and rumours from all over the internet. I can't claim to have any insider info whatsoever but will helpfully collate anything going.

Match report: St.Mirren 0 - 2 Celtic - Redemption begins.

The last week and a half has been hard going as a Celtic fan. For many of us it was back to square one after such impressive form from the team since January. Celtic Football Club have a lot to do to convince the support that they are worthy of praise, adoration and indeed, the high wages. Today's match against St.Mirren was the beginning of that journey for Neil Lennon and his players and while not terribly convincing in terms of attractive, dominating football many will feel relief at picking up another three points.

The game began in a satisfying way for Celtic, in the sixth minute Stokes and Hooper combined with a clever one-two and Hooper slotted home to make it 1-0. Only a few minutes later Hooper capitalised on a St.Mirren defensive error to slip in one on one with keeper Craig Samson, placing the ball into the corner of the net. These goals were after a horrendous decision from referee Willie Collum, who ruled an Anthony Stokes goal invalid for a seemingly invisible foul on the St.Mirren defender he nicked the ball off, one for the Stokes first goal scorer betters to lose sleep over. So far, so good for Celtic however it wasn't to be plain sailing as the match grew older. Paul McGowan passed a flat footed Kelvin Wilson and forced a fantastic save from Fraser Forster shortly after. For a period St.Mirren controlled possession and looked to find joy in the final third of the pitch, fortunately though they failed to create another clear cut chance before half-time.

In the second half Nigel Hasselbaink continued to use his pace to give the Celtic defence problems but St.Mirren never really looked like scoring despite forcing a number of corners. Forster though was again brought into action when a low shot deflected off of Kayal and the Englishman impressed again with a reaction save. Kelvin Wilson almost had a horror moment when he misjudged a header back to Forster and the ball narrowly slipped wide of the post, he wasn't having a great game. At the other end Celtic managed to get in behind the defence on a few occasions with Ki, Forrest and Stokes all going close to finishing the game off, Craig Samson though was having an even better game than Forster. It was Forrest in fact who looked the most threatening Celtic player in the latter stages of the game as the game petered out to a welcome three points and clean sheet.

Substitutions were again lacking from Neil Lennon until very late into the game. In the second half the Celtic players, notably Scott Brown and Ki looked very tired and St.Mirren were consistently breaking past the midfield into the final third. It seemed at this point, around 60-70 minutes that substitutions were most definitely needed to see the game out more convincingly but a sub wasn't forthcoming until the 85th minute when Ledley replaced Ki. No damage was done but it again is a sign that Lennon is reluctant to change anything on the pitch in a pro-active way.

Three points and a clean sheet is a welcome result of any game Celtic play but even more so after such a dreadful week. How important it is to have Gary Hooper back, fit and looking sharp in a game where we were otherwise wasteful in front of goal. Celtic played 90 minutes with ten men away in Europe on Thursday night and most of those players played again this lunchtime. It was a good result under these circumstances and hopefully the impressive individual & team performances will follow later. There is now an international break with our next game not until 10th September against in form Motherwell at Celtic Park. By that time I hope we are energised further by one or two signings before the end of the transfer window. There is still insecurity that Celtic are not the finished product capable of taking the title off of Rangers.

Match report: FC Sion 3 - 1 Celtic - Brutal realities crush us again.