News

Thursday 28th February

Semi-Final Dates Announced

(From CelticEnd.com)
The tie between Celtic and Dundee United or Ayr United will be shown live on Sky Sports and will kick off at 12.45 pm on Saturday, 23 March.
However, there is a possibility that match and television schedules on that day will be rearranged. If the FA Cup tie between Arsenal and Newcastle United on 9 March is a draw, the replay has been provisionally arranged for 12 noon on 23 March and will be shown live on Sky Sports. In that eventuality, the Tennent's Scottish Cup semi-final will be played at 5.35 pm, but will still be shown live on Sky Sports. This issue will be resolved before tickets go on sale.

Monday 26th February

Another easy Win Over Aberdeen, but...

Well that was a comfortable win, in the end, over an impressive Aberdeen side. A scoreline of 2-0 which so easily could have been 12 - 4 was marred by the presence of Scotland's No.1 whistler, Hugh Dallas. He did his best for the establishment in sending off John Hartson and awarding - justifiably - a penalty to Aberdeen, but all to no avail as the Celts romped home easy winners to set up a semi-final date with either Dundee United or CIS Finalists, Ayr United. Big bad John might now find himself sidelined for up to three games, (definitely the forthcomng fixture against Aberdeen,) and with Chris Sutton now looking a doubt and Henrik Larsson a no-show at tonight's game we could be faced with a few problems up front. Shaun Maloney looks a cert to start against the Dons at CP on Saturday.

Saturday 23rd February

No Game Today Because of the Huns!

We should have been playing Aberdeen tonight in Scottish Cup if the Rangers fans knew how to behave. Their last trip to Aberdeen which was shown live on TV was marred by scenes of violence and coin throwing. Subsequently our game was moved to Monday - following a recommendation by security chief George Douglas - a true Celtic fan, if ever there was one :)

Henrik Larsson is still thought to be a doubt for the match at Pittodrie - but he denies it.

Bobo is appealing against his ban and will be eligible to play against the Dons on Monday. Ian McLeod and Martin O'Neill have both backed him in his appeal as both consider that there were a few irregularities in the disciplinary committee hearing - not least of which was the timing of he whole thing.

North of England CSCs Annual 7-a-side competition will be 6-a-side this year. June 1st and 2nd are the dates for this year's entertainment. Watch out for a new N.O.E. website coming soon.

Thursday 21st February

A Fantastic Offer For Celtic Fans...

There's a very special offer on the go at the moment for all of you bhoys and ghirls wanting to start your own website which is Celtic related. Click on the image opposite or go to www.celticsc.com where you will find detail of their incredible offer. There's now no excuse, Wakefield or Halifax, Michael Davitt or Cleator Moor to get a web presence and more members for your club...

Sunday 17th February

And Three Points Nearer Our Goal...

Another clinical display by Martin's Bhoys today and 3 more goals to bring our tally for the season so far to 101. Henrik started the show, with follow-ups from Swedish team-mate, Johan Mjallby and Welsh-maestro,Big Bad John Hartson. Just 15 points needed to win the league and 6 of them can come from the one game in two weeks time when we take on Rangers at Ibrox. Henrik Larsson was taken off after suffering, what is thought to be, a hamstring injury. This, says Martin O'Neill, will not be confirmed until tests are done tomorrow. Let's hope it's not too serious as Henrik continues his quest to score more goals than he did last season... only 24 to go.

Friday 15th February

Lambert Signs Contract Extension

Paul Lambert, Celtic's inspirational Team Captain, today signed an extension to his contract which will see him finish his playing career at Celtic Park. The deal keeps Paul at the club until 2005, when he will be 35 years old. Martin O'Neill said, "Naturally, the whole football club is delighted with the news and I hope Paul is pleased as well. Obviously, I imagine that this will see him finish his career at Celtic." And with newly appointed Scotland coach, Berti McVogts, unveiled today and hinting at the lack of experienced players he has to choose from, we could well see young Paul donning the dark blue of his National team once again.

Monday 11th February

Can We Do It Before the Split?

Well, with just 18 points needed to retain the title, the big question is can we do it before the split? The answer to that is, of course, mibbees aye - mibbees naw! We obviously have to win all 5 games before the split - including a game against Rangers at Ibrox on March 10th. (A win there effectively gives us 6 points towards our goal.) The only trouble then, however, is that we are due to play Motherwell on the 23rd of March - which is also the date scheduled for the Scottish Cup Semi-Finals (if we beat Aberdeen in a couple of weeks time.) So, should we beat the Dons then we'd have to rely on Rangers slipping up in one of their remaining 5 fixtures - which is certainly not out-with the realms of possibility - in order to win before the split...

Sunday 10th February

That's The Way To Do It!

Celtic, and Henrik Larsson, yesterday showed us all just how to go about winning a game of football. After missing a penalty in the 4th minute, the king of kings went on to score a brilliant first-half hat-trick. The third of which, his 28th of the season, was a fantastic goal. Big bad John got an airing again, yesterday as Hartson netted his 16th goal of the season. Just the one goal in the second half and arguably the best of the match came from the boot of Didier Agathe - in just his second match back after injury and looking even faster than ever. Chris Sutton, once again showed how good a player he is with a fantastic performance at the back. If Hartson and Larsson are both fit, I think Chris should settle for this role full-time and venture forward, as he did in yesterday's match, when he is needed. 5-0 Celtic.

Tuesday 5th February

Oh Well. You Can't Beat Luck!

It just wasn't to be tonight at Hampden. Three clear-cut chances in the first 15 minutes - all missed - meant that Celtic eventually lost their winning run against Rangers. The winning goal - I have to admit - was brilliant and I'm just about glad that we went out to a cracker than a sneaked-over-the-line-offside-dodgy-goal. Celtic, once again, were the better team but, once again, we didn't capitalize on our domination and eventually paid the price. It's a bitter pill, but one which will be swallowed and remedies will be found from it.

Tuesday 5th February

D-DAY!!!

Well, tonight is the night to see just how good Rangers' recovery is under Big Eck! And of course it's our chance for an unprecedented 6th win in a row against Rangers. This game will be tighter than a CSC Secretary's purse, but I think we should come out just on top in a 5 goal thriller. The game will be shown on STV and can be viewed in England via SKY Digital if you know how to add channels. I'm sure you've seen how to do it already.

Monday 4th February

Lubo Not to Renew His Contract

Lubo Moravcik is hanging up his Celtic boots at the end of the season. We managed to wangle an extra year out of him, but at 37 this year, Lubo knows his limitations, and realistically we couldn't justify paying his wages for what might be about 20 minutes every now and again. That said, Lubo has been outstanding for Celtic and I'm sure we would all love him to stay on in a player/coach role to pass on some of his undoubted footballing wisdom to the youngsters. Unfortunately Lubo fancies a season or two in Japan with his (and our) former manager Jozef Venglos.

Saturday 2nd February

A Draw at Easter Road - The Title Looms!

In a fairly exciting and pretty tough game in the capital, tonight, Celtic came away with a point from low-lying Hibs. A goal from John Hartson gave us a share of the points in a game that was there for the winning - on paper at least. So we're now in exactly the same position as we were last week - 7 wins away from our 2nd successive title