Looking out for shirt number 01

Yeah, I know he won three titles in a row and I'm not going to get on his case for Sunday's bad result, but it's a crying bastard shame that Strachan could not have made more use of Derek Riordan's obvious talents in the two bit years the bloke was at the club. Riordan is a class act on the pitch and he could have been a great in the hoops.

I'd have been happier if Riordan had gone to somewhere like West Brom (if only because it's easier to download Match of the Day off the internet), but I hope, in returning to Hibs, it's more a Mark Hughes than an Ian Rush return to former pastures. (Can't be arsed to spell that analogy out. You either get it or you don't.)

According to the BBC Sports website, Hibs will next be playing Celtic (at Parkhead) on Saturday, October 25th. I have to be honest that I'd raise a smile if Riordan had the opportunity to turn it on against Celtic, scoring a goal and maybe having a Proustian moment by running over the Celtic bench and momentarily touching one of the plastic seats that he parked his arse on for those lost Parkhead years.

And it would be a 'raise a smile' moment rather than a raise my voice moment. The latter would probably guarantee a Manhattan transfer down the wooden stairs of the Jack Demsey pub.

Thanks for the memories, Derek. Now, please just sod off and get a decent haircut before I tear up.

Friendlies, Flutes and Riordan's Dutch Auction

July 18th 2008 Southampton 0-2 Celtic

From the Herald match report:

" . . . Tommy Kaland was afforded a late run-out for the home side after winning his place in an auction . . . "

Could that be the solution to Riordan getting a game for Celtic?

More over at Kerrydale Street.

July 19th 2008 Fulham 3-1 Celtic

According to the BBC, David Healy disappoints. I like him as well. I'd like him to do well in the EPL.
101 Goals blog has the lowlights, and Kerrydale Street has more info on the game. Nice goal by Zamora.

That makes sense (staccato style)

Player gets crocked. Strachan wants to sign him. Derek Riordan last seen throwing himself under a parked Celtic bus.

Do Something. Do Anything

Does Strachs finally realise that he is some quality on the bench or is he just trying to eke out a few more quid from Owen Coyle?

Celtic need a wee bit of extra quality if they are to retain the Championship this season, and he's already in place at Parkhead. Phuk it . . . I hope Keegan buys him.

This Blogger Looks Skeptical

Does late December qualify as the 'funny season'?

Just asking, 'cos I'm not sure how I feel about the rumours that Celtic are looking to sign James McFadden on loan for the rest of the season.

Strachan took a player - yep, I'm banging on about him again - who was the leading scorer for his previous club three seasons in a row and who also won the Scottish PFA Young Player of the Year during that time, and by virtue of never giving him a decent run in the side has now ensured that the said player has unfairly been saddled him with the tag of 'mercurial'.

But what's really mercurial is that somehow Strachan can waste such a free flowing talent as Riordan these past two years, to the extent that sooner rather than later Riordan will be playing football at Filbert Street the Walkers Stadium, Carrow Street and Ashton Gate week in and week out, and then proceed to seek to sign on loan a player who is having to head north because of his current club manager's inability to give him decent run in the team because, in spite of his obvious free flowing footballing talent, he is seen as too mercurial a player for his workmanlike team.

Work that one out!

Tangerine Robbo

Depressing to read in tomorrow's Guardian that Celtic are looking to sign Barry Robson in the New Year.

One of the more heartening developments about this year's SPL has been the strong early showing of Motherwell and Dundee Utd, and it pisses me off that once more Celtic and R*ngers will cherry pick the better performers in the SPL to be little more than squad members for the next twelve months, until the signed player either gets shunted back to the club they came from or, the more likely scenario, is sold onto some middling Championship League club in England, who just happen to have a Scottish manager that particular month.

You can't really blame Robson for being tempted by the possibility of a decent wedge so late in his career, but when one thinks how Riordan's career has stalled these last two years, you just wish sometimes that the likes of Strachan and Walter Smith would just do well to leave matters the fuck alone. Promising careers go awol, promising teams outside of the dance of the ugly sisters go southwards tablewise in the second half of the season and, come May, another year has passed since the 1984/85 season.

Motherwell for the title.

"We should have won . . . "

. . . but you didn't. And Brewster wasn't even playing.

Motherwell for the league.

Get In There

Riordan does the honours.

Two Words: Graeme Souness

Looks like Big Eck is being a little man by doing a Walter Smith.

So much for Scottish football being on the up. At least with Smith - and Docherty before him - they left the Scottish manager's position for sizeable jobs, but Birmingham City? If he says the words 'sleeping giant', feel free to scream with hysterical laughter. Bet the swine goes and signs Derek Riordan.

Next manager for Scotland? My fear is stated above. Especially fearful 'cos who in their right mind will head hunt Souness at a later date? Chris Hutchings has got a better chance of being head-hunted.

How many times do I have to mention Derek Riordan's name on this blog?

Travesty.

The Twelfth Man

Apologies for the last post being so garbled. (I've since polished it up a bit.) I wrote it in a bit of a rush as I was heading out to catch the Celtic/Rangers game at Jack Demsey's in Manhattan.

The game was a bit of travesty and, in truth, Celtic didn't deserve anything out of the game. Brown seemed to disappear in the second half, with Jarosik and Sno being nothing more than the squad players that they are. The first goal from Novo - Phil Neville lookalike with a suntan, anyone? - was a gift via keystone cops defending, and apart from a couple of long range Jarosik shots and Donati's header in the second half Celtic never looked like scoring.

However, despite the fact that Celtic didn't deserve anything out of the game, there was no excuse for the partial, biased and bullshit referring from McCurry. Until the handbags at four paces in the last few minutes of the game between the players, their agents, their extended families and their classmates from primary school, it would have taken a Rangers player to headbutt Dame Judi Dench whilst simulataneously stealing a crust of the bread from the mouth of a blind orphan before it would have even crossed McCurry's mind to possibly book a Rangers player. And even then he would have taken it under advisement from the Rangers bench. Shocking that the bloke's piss poor performance pushes me in the direction of being one of those paranoic Celtic fans who thinks that everyone is out to get them.

I'm away for a lie down.

Why Not Blame Alan Hansen?

Didn't see the game (US versus Switzerland anyone?), not even seen the goals yet but I won't let that stop me from venturing an opinion on the result minutes after end of the game. Now is not the time for considered analysis.

Maybe the Scottish Patient had a point, and Scotland have fallen victim to the curse of the dodgy kit. I'm sure the tops looks great atop a pair of jeans, but when have a football team ever won an important game looking like Hearts of Midlothian? (Sit back, and drink in the media campaign to ensure that Scotland never wear that kit ever again.)

No doubt the post mortems in the press will play on the matter of Scottish football perhaps getting ahead of itself in recent weeks, and point to the fact that despite the rennaissance of the Scotland team in recent years, it's only ever a few injuries and suspensions away from slipping up on a Georgia Peach. But, one can only wonder if on a different day, a Scotland team that had Scott Brown, Paul Hartley, Alan Hutton and whathisname* available, might have been able to squeeze out a result.

Anyway, irrational ranting getting the better of me, I'll be blaming Italy and Alan Hansen for this debacle. If it weren't for the Italians beating a woeful Georgia on Saturday, the Georgian coach, Klaus Toppmoller, wouldn't have gone ahead and blooded a 17 year old goalkeeper (Georgi Makaridze), and played a 16 year old central midfielder (Levan Kenia), and a goalscoring 17 year old (Levan Mchedlidze) in the team that faced Scotland tonight.

"You don't win anything with kids"? Fuck you Hansen. I knew that line would come back to haunt the rest of us eventually.

Only upside is that the 'Ninety-Minute-Nationalism' has been put in perspective, and I don't have to attend that meeting of the New York branch of the SNP next Tuesday.

*My blogging campaign on behalf of Derek Riordan knows no limits. D.R should simultaneously get a game for both Celtic and Scotland.

I'll Never Forget Where I Was . . .

. . . the day I heard that Derek Riordan started a game for Celtic.

'Derek . . . DEREK . . . the pitch is that way son.'