MJC

Hang on….

Of course, it’s a personal choice. Wear one, don’t wear one, that’s nobody’s business except the individual concerned. But it’s the nasty, aggressive and confrontational tone that the Celtic support take that gets people’s backs up about this. And people would be more accepting of this, I think anyway, if they weren’t so downright hypocritical and sanctimonious about the aggressive “anti-poppy/British/establishment” position that they like to use. Celtic and their support love to shove their agendas in everyone else’s faces and scream and whinge about “free speech” when anyone challenges them but they don’t want to afford the same right to anyone who has an opinion which goes against their narrative.

But, but b b b b b b b b b b b b b but, but!……Rangers fans are every bit as bad if not worse! Come on now! You’ll be giving people strong suspicions that Rangers are the big team you really support with talk like that.* The Old Firm are just as bad as each other (well Rangers are worse, it’s okay to say that) but you can’t say anything about Celtic unless you qualify it by saying that you hate Rangers equally or more. *I’m being sarcastic and having a veiled dig at those who would genuinely come out with nonsense like that.

I can only echo what has already been said, yesterday was a poor performance and a big missed opportunity to reach a Cup Final. Again our poor recruitment and Kettlewell’s inability to spot a proper forward player came back to bite us. The defence had absolutely no protection from the midfield and there was nothing working between the middle and the front. Robinson is gash, Stam looks out of his depth and you wonder why we brought Watt back on loan if he’s not going to play or isn’t fit enough to contribute. As I said, poor recruitment. The only upside to yesterday was the support we had at Hampden. 7.5-8k and vocal from start to finish and shows that our core support does have the potential to be a lot better than it is. Unfortunately though over half of them won’t be near another game until we reach a Semi Final again*. Talk about Glory Hunters. *And for clarity, I am not referring to people who can’t go to games regularly for whatever reason. I know these games are special and you will get a bigger support than normal with people travelling from greater distances etc. I am referring to people who absolutely could go to the games but choose not to go.

Our support were magnificent today. That’s the only positive to take from that.

Gordon & Halliday back in the team.

It’s Semi Final Day After our dismal cup efforts over the years it’s great to finally be able to say that! 🍻

That was during the Covid/no crowds season when Celtic absolutely imploded. That was a unique season and Celtic have won almost every available trophy outwith that particular year. The circumstances then are nowhere near what they are now. They will almost certainly win the treble this season and there’s a fair chance that they’ll do it unbeaten in all competitions again.

We probably won’t make the final anyway, so that won’t be an issue. But if we do then I’ll buy a ticket as us getting to a Cup Final is a rare occurrence and there’s always that ‘just in case’ thought even though in reality you know it’s not going to happen. Oh dear! Thirty three years ago when football was different and Celtic were nowhere near the force they are nowadays. That is irrelevant. You’d be as well saying it’s okay to smoke inside the ground because it was legal to do so in 1991.

Definitely and it’s not any different to 2017 in that we know that if we do beat Rangers then that’s essentially our ‘final’ and will be a result which is treasured and looked back on for years to come. But as far as our chances of actually winning the trophy go….like I said it’s ominous because we’re not going to beat Celtic in a final.

They’d need to be able to get near Celtics players before they can start “taking bodies”. This is ominous for us as before we even kick a ball tomorrow it’s pretty clear that if we do win then we’re setting ourselves up for a pasting in the final. But that’s just the way Scottish football is now, no one can get anywhere near Celtic. They’re just on a different level.

The Celtic v Aberdeen game is currently delayed due to “poor visibility” caused by PYRO smoke. Let’s hope the ‘Well Bois’ aren’t watching on in awe and taking notes ahead of tomorrow.

Aye I’d feel more comfortable if there was the usual smugness and expectancy coming from Rangers. Wins over them are few and far between but for as long as I can remember where ever we’ve beaten them it’s been when it’s been unexpected. When we beat them back in March they were on a good winning run and thought they were shoe-ins for the league. Then there was the playoffs where they were favourites and even when we beat them in the 2017 Semi the sponsors and the tv companies built the two semis up as preceding an Old Firm final with their two badges blown up in the foreground and ours and Hibs badges small and in the background like an afterthought. The fact that they are getting a hounding by the media and their fans and there is almost a belief that we will beat them from certain quarters doesn’t sit well with me. Im looking forward to tomorrow but can’t help but think it’s going to be a sickener for us.

Our last five games against Rangers at Hampden have been tight affairs with the obvious exception of the 2005 LCF. Unlike when we play Celtic there we always seem to manage to at the very least score against Rangers at Hampden so there are reasons for optimism. 02/03 SCSF L3-4 04/05 LCF L1-5 10/11 LCSF L1-2 17/18 LCSF W2-0 24/25 Scot Prem L1-2 The Scottish Cup Semi in 2003 still grates at me as we had them that day and Clarkson missed that sitter when we were 2-1 up and we end up losing.

A fair assessment even if he does have an extremely annoying accent and a doofus bunnet.

Us getting to Hampden for a Semi Final/Final is huge for us as a club. The number of tickets sold alone is a clear pointer to that. It’s a big occasion that doesn’t come around often and when it does then it’s something to look forward to and gets the mood around the club and the support fired right up. As for the game itself, Rangers aren’t on the same level as Celtic, who we did okay against in the early stages last week, but they are still man for man a stronger side than we are and we are second favourites going into this one. We do have a chance but as I’ve said before when we are facing them when they are coming off a bad run and all the pressure is on them then it usually ends badly for us.

Always a risk for young players when they play so often at a young age. Hopefully Miller avoids this.

Can see this being a “brave effort” type of game on Sunday as we lose narrowly. Rangers losing a game right before we are due to play them never ends well for us and I think we’d need to score at least twice to have any chance as we will concede as well. Going for a ‘gallant’ 2-1 loss and their winner to come from a late penalty.

His surname is Maswanhise. I had to look that up to make sure I spelt that correctly. Easier to just spell his first name. He’s played about five games so far this season.

Seddon, Casey and Tawanda start. Halliday benched Stam starts up front

Respect everyone’s opinions but for me the Semi Final is the bigger game out of the next two by some distance. If I was offered a choice between winning against Dundee Utd and winning the Semi Final then I’d pick the Semi every single time. We’ve got a chance to get to a Cup Final, they don’t come around very often atall.

Nope, another defeat here I reckon. Without Gordon at the back that leaves us light and we will struggle. SO’D and Halliday will start again and offer nothing as usual and Miller will be our main hope of getting something. 2-0 home win

A very good summary of the game.

Of course. But Steelboy seems to be fair game for a lot of posters on here and that’s why I’m highlighting this. I don’t agree with everything he says and sometimes I even think he can be a bit harsh on certain players and coaching staff but he clearly loves the club and wants the best for us. Suggesting that because “he’s constantly criticising players and management” (which isn’t accurate) suggests that he doesn’t support the club or supports someone else is absolute nonsense. He is clearly very passionate about the club and wants us to succeed as much as we can. It appears though that it’s been ‘decided’ that he’s the main villain on here and anything he says is fair game to be pounced upon.

Pretty much as expected. Well beaten by a much stronger side and no complaints. Had either of Millers efforts which hit the post early on gone in then we might have had a foothold and a chance but they didn’t and as soon as Celtic scored that was that. It’s a shite state of affairs but Celtic are just on a different level to every other side in Scotland and the only chance you have against them is if the breaks go your way and when you hit the woodwork twice in the first half at 0-0 then you’re not getting those breaks and you’re not going to get anything. All that said we have some serious deadweight in our squad in Halliday, SO’D and Robinson and this needs to be addressed if we are to make any progress.