calscot

Looks like Red Star won't be much better than Zeta...

I would like to see Sparta beat Arsenal. Ajax looked poor in the preseason friendlies... Seville have a tough one. Benfica and Lazio won't find it easy.

PS If we don't sign Naismith, it won't be the end of the world and we'll just have to let it go.

This is the first signing that I don't have much hope for and don't really know why we're in for him for a largish fee. If he was free, I'd be more circumspect. Regarding the Naismith deal, I don't think Rangers can save face if they pay 2M now. It would encourage all Scottish clubs to hold out for inflated fees knowing that a Rangers final offer is just a complete bluff. We've made a stand on that one and can't really back down unless Kilmarnock are willing to compromise too. Anything more than 1.75M will look very weak.

With all the ambiguity about the word, why not choose a more specific one? We hate Celtic, IRA bastards? We hate Celtic, unwashed bastards? We hate Celtic, dirty bastards? We hate Celtic, whiny bastards? We hate Celtic, stupid bastards? Or just: We hate Celtic, they are bastards? Not that hard really, and can only be opposed to those who are too stupid to see the big picture.

Well, you wear you work clothes to the qualifiers and save your smart clothes for the CL itself. Job, very well done.

I would not be tempted by a 1M offer and doubt we could replace him for that money. We don't have that many options in the middle of the field with only Fergie, Hemdani and Thomson naturals in the that area. To me it would be folly to sell one of our most consistent players at a time when we're trying to build a winning squad. A silly offer is another matter, but 1M is hardly silly money. I don't think he's really worth 3M but that should be the MINIMUM to start thinking about letting him go.

Assender, it's those that continue to sing songs that harm Rangers that are showing they don't and never have supported Rangers. They support what they sing about and are using Rangers as a vehicle. I think it's pretty obvious logic that people who sing Rangers songs are Rangers fans, people who sing Sash songs are OO fans, people who sing *** are fans of bashing catholics. The latter, even if they sing Rangers songs, do not have Rangers interests at heart, and are bigger enemies of Rangers than any Celtic fan.

Yeah I really like the Doors.

I think it was at home. I also think Sochaux are one of those middling teams who are full of French colonials, especially from Senegal.

Good post BC2, I totally agree with you. I think there would be no need for any debate if both sides sang about football. Surely we have enough sense of humour to slag each other off with football related songs, than having to wind each other up with the same old boring and irrelevant nonsense. The trouble with those who sing these songs, is that they don't know what a wind up actually is, and don't know when to draw the line. It seems the same mentality to me to those boys who think, "Wouldn't it be funny if we pissed in the bowsers?" The answer is: no it's not, it's just the twisted mentality of a moron.

There are a couple of grammatical errors that are now glaring at me... as well as a couple of words I should have deleted.

0-0 with Sochaux. Not the most auspicious start by PSG. I wonder if he's still watching the Rangers results?

Hi Barry, I was alluding to the fact that someone singing about their father's sash for the OO seems little different to me than someone in another sect singing about one of their own religious "things". A statue of Mary was the first thing I thought of that fitted the bill for Catholics. Shit, looking at it again I see why it needed editing... doh!

I've emailed the sports editor of the Sunday Mail as I was highly offended by their sectarian story on their back page which demonised the Orange Order. Dear Sir, Sectarianism reared its ugly head at the weekend - and weââ?¬â?¢re not just talking about at Inverness. It was the highly offensive news story on the back of the Sunday Mail that took bigotry that took me by surprise. A number of Rangers fans did indeed abuse the name of the Pope; however, the Mail added fuel to the fire with retaliatory bigotry towards another sect, that of the Orange Order. Your reporter did this by implying that two of the Orderââ?¬â?¢s completely innocent songs were somehow unacceptable behaviour that they should be eradicated. I have no interest in the Orange Order myself, and think their songs are completely irrelevant to Rangers FC and would prefer them not to be sung at football matches: but I abhor bigotry and while I also regularly condemn the bigoted minority of Rangers fans for their *** chants, I deplore it even more, when bigotry is institutionalised by a national newspaper, which peddles its shocking propaganda on their back page. I challenge your paper to either publish an explanation of the offensive lyrics in The Sash or Derryââ?¬â?¢s walls, or to publish an apology to the Orange Order and the singers who have been so badly slandered and abused. The reporter in question should also be educated in impartiality and how to control his own bigotry. The words that I have heard for the Sash would be akin to Catholics singing about their fatherââ?¬â?¢s statue of Mary ââ?¬â?? would that be sectarian? Derryââ?¬â?¢s Walls is about apprentice boys defending their city against an attack by a ruthless aggressor who wanted to overthrow Ireland and then the British mainland in the name of French expansionism. Defending against an aggressor is never bigoted in any way which is why Flower of Scotland is not a song against England, but of overcoming overwhelming odds to keep your own identity and freedom, as well as your lives. It seems any contrived slight against the Catholic Church by Rangers fans is condemned across our nation (quite rightly so when it is justified) but sectarianism and bigotry towards sympathisers and members of the Orange Order is, unbelievably, actively encouraged. If your newspaper is against bigotry at all and reported this in ignorance, then surely you can see that attacking innocent songs of a legitimate religious group is highly counter productive as well as hypocritical. I am hoping you can show that your newspaper has some decency and impartiality; that sectarianism is not rife throughout your company.

Welcome, SerbianLoyal and thanks for the interesting information.

It would be as good for Scottish football if Celtic lose, go into the UEFA cup and have a good run.

Red Star in Europe last two seasons: 2005 CL 2Q Beat Cork twice CL 3Q Lost twice to Milan UC 1 Lost twice to Slovan Liberec Out 2004 UC 2Q Beat Inter Zapresic twice UC 1 Drew twice with Sporting Braga - through on AGR UC GP Lost to Basel UC GP Lost to Tromso UC GP Beat Roma! UC GP Draw with Strasbourg Out

FH HafnarfjÃ?¶rdur (ISL) / FC BATE Borisov (BLR) v FC Steaua Bucuresti (ROU) Fancy Steaua to go through there. Tampere United (FIN) / PFC Levski Sofia (BUL) v FC Astana (KAZ) / Rosenborg BK (NOR) Rosernborg FC Spartak Moskva (RUS) v Celtic FC (SCO) Tough draw for Celtic but should get through. Werder Bremen (GER) v NK DomÃ?¾ale (SVN) / NK Dinamo Zagreb (CRO) Werder Bremen should do it. FK Ventspils (LVA) / FC Salzburg (AUT) v FC Pyunik (ARM) / FC Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR) I fancy Shakhtar Donetsk as I think their recent record is reasonable although Salzburg might throw a spanner in the works. AFC Ajax (NED) v MÃ? K Ã?½ilina (SVK) / SK Slavia Praha (CZE) Tough one for Axax if they get Slavia Prague but should still march through. Valencia CF (ESP) v Debreceni VSC (HUN) / IF Elfsborg (SWE) Valencia no contest. KRC Genk (BEL) / FK Sarajevo (BIH) v FC Dynamo Kyiv (UKR) Got to be Dynamo Kiev. FenerbahÃ?§e SK (TUR) v RSC Anderlecht (BEL) Tough to call but I would bet on the Turks. Rangers FC (SCO) / FK Zeta (MNE) v FK Crvena Zvezda (SRB) / FC Levadia Tallinn (EST) Red Star aren't the team they were but it won't be easy to exact revenge for twenty odd years ago. Toulouse FC (FRA) v Liverpool FC (ENG) Not completely easy for Liverpool but after their recent spending it would be a shock if they didn't win. SL Benfica (POR) v FC KÃ?¸benhavn (DEN) / Beitar Jerusalem FC (ISR) Tough three teams, but I fancy Benfica. S.S. Lazio (ITA) v FC Dinamo 1948 Bucuresti (ROU) This is very tough to call; all three Bucharest teams have a fantastic recent record in Europe and Lazio have had a bad few years. I fancy Dynamo. AC Sparta Praha (CZE) v Arsenal FC (ENG) Tough one for Arsenal but money talks. FC ZÃ?¼rich (SUI) v FC Sheriff (MDA) / Beşiktaş JK (TUR) The Turks couldn't have had an easier draw. Sevilla FC (ESP) v AEK Athens FC (GRE) Another tough draw but you would expect a team that can win the UEFA cup to go through.

Double post.

If we go through we will get Red Star Belgrade or some Estonian team from Tallin.

Bazza just lacks an incisive pass at the moment. He doesn't really create that many chances.

Having read the first half of your post, the results show that Celtic did not have a better squad and in fact goals scored, goals conceded and goal difference were pretty comparable. The chalk and cheese nature of the season with the two managers showed that what we lacked in the first half was a manager who could do a job in Scotland and a decent central defence. Walter came in, sorted the defence and put together the best run of any team that season. So either we had a better squad with a worse manager to start with and then a comparable manager or more likely an equivalent squad with a poorer manager, then a better manager. Either way, our early synopsis wasn't wrong, it's just that we assumed wrongly that a manager with such a reputation would be able to hack it.

I picked Novo. If the rest played with his energy it would be some team...

We must have some biscuit tin by the way...