Author: David Faulds

Celtic started the new campaign with familiar expectations, but success in the Scottish Premiership cannot be taken for granted… Rangers remain their most obvious rivals, while Hearts have shown that the gap between the traditional Glasgow powers and the rest can be challenged when a side finds the consistency to stay in contention. That added competition means Celtic’s recruitment and squad planning ahead of the January transfer window could carry even greater importance this time around. The emergence of another credible challenger has changed the wider discussion around this season’s title picture. Rather than preparing solely for another prolonged head-to-head…

Celtic v Norway: Every European Tie With Rosenborg, Molde and Bodø/Glimt, and the Norwegians Who Wore the Hoops… Short answer: Celtic have played Norwegian clubs 14 times in European competition. Rosenborg account for ten of those games, and Celtic won seven of them, drew two and lost one. The other four went badly: two defeats to Molde in the 2015–16 Europa League and two to Bodø/Glimt in the 2022 Conference League play-off. Add it all up and it comes to seven wins, two draws, five defeats and 15 goals each way. Off the pitch, Norway has given Celtic a manager…

Stephen McGowan has described the Saturday night statement released on the official Celtic FC website as a PR own goal for both Dermot Desmond and also the club itself… It was an angry reaction to a small group of Celtic supporters throwing a bagful of tennis balls, each with an image of a red line running across Dermot Desmond’s face added to make the point that the Irish Billionaire’s time at Celtic is up. A video of the protest was quickly shared by the Celtic Fans Collective and they were heavily criticised in the latest club statement believed once again…

Joe Ledley was one of the Celtic heroes last night, helping the Hoops win the Tennent’s Sixes with a 5-4 win over the Rangers in the final… That was a surprise result left the Rangers players fuming in their changing area with a video on social media showing the extent of their anger. The latest Ibrox club appear to have taken the tournament for former players of the 12 Scottish Premiership clubs more seriously than everyone else. Apparently they had their players staying in a hotel over the weekend, had the team bus, massages were taken between matches and their…

Following on from the late Saturday night statement from Celtic, that looked very much like another Dermot Desmond rant, this time against the Celtic Fans Collective, the fans organisation has posted an initial response on social media earlier today… As the shareholder with by far the biggest say in how Celtic is run, we can expect the club on Desmond’s instructions to carry out the threats that were made last night against the Collective and any individuals or groups that were involved in the tennis ball throwing on Saturday afternoon as the Irish billionaire took part in the Alfred Dunhill…

Celtic’s response to the tennis ball protest aimed at Celtic largest minority shareholder Dermot Desmond at St Andrews Old Course yesterday afternoon was shift and hard hitting… A long and angry statement was posted last night on the official Celtic FC website presumably with the involvement of Dermot Desmond. A year ago an angry rant was directed at Brendan Rodgers with the Irish Billionaire putting his name to that statement which was also posted late at night on the official Celtic website. Then when Ross Desmond read out that statement at the Celtic AGM shortly after Rodgers resigned he made…

Celtic fans love to ‘know the history’. And it’s easy to name the club’s biggest successes. But how many people know about the Celts’ other achievements?… Introducing ‘Green, white and silverware’ by Matthew Marr  A new book series aims to fill in these gaps. ‘Green, white and silverware’ takes an in-depth look at different triumphs that have shaped Celtic’s story across the decades. This book – which focuses on the era from 1889 to 1902 – is the first in a two-part series with the second part (1914-1977) out next year. Numerous anecdotes fill the pages, including the mystery of…

Will Martin O’Neill be the Celtic manager by the time the team takes on Motherwell at Fir Park next Sunday lunchtime? While there’s plenty of attention today around what Box-Office Brendan may or may not say when he speaks to ACSOM at the Royal Concert Hall next summer, there’s a more immediate matter still to be clarified… That of course is whether the current Celtic manager will take the team to Fir Park a week on Sunday as the Hoops get back to work after the extended international break. You will need no reminding that Martin O’Neill spoke about considering…

Box-office Brendan Rodgers sells out Royal Concert hall for Celtic fan media event next June. Here’s what might happen… Yesterday morning ACSOM host Paul John Dykes announced that his Celtic fan media outlet would be staging an evening with the former Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers. It is certainly a major achievement for the popular Celtic podcast and events company and one that reflects well on the entire Celtic fan media. The size of the venue, the Royal Concert Hall at the top of Buchanan Street in Glasgow, with a capacity of around 2000 may well have been seen as daunting…

Let’s try to find some positivity around Celtic as we get closer to a return to action next Sunday for the Scottish Premiership leaders… The Mika Baur dream international debut, making a little piece of history by becoming the 1000th player to play for Germany, will see him return to Lennoxtown in a better frame of mind than he left to join up with Jurgen Klopp’s squad. ‘The toughest league in the world’ returns next weekend Celtic is going to need all the positivity we can muster inside the club over the next week as we look towards the return…

Celtic supporters will be delighted for Mika Baur after he made his debut for Germany last night in the 2-0 victory over Serbia in the Nations League Group A match in Munich and interested in what Jurgen Klopp had to say afterwards… The new Germany manager Jurgen Klopp has clearly taken a shine to the Celtic summer signing, as the former Liverpool and Dortmund boss gave Baur a wee hug as he entered the field on the 76th minute to achieve the landmark of being the 1000th player to represent Germany in international football. Baur made an impact in the…

Kasper Schmeichel is beginning to adjust to life after his professional playing career came to an end last season after doctors told him that he faced a serious of operations on his shoulder… The former Celtic goalkeeper played on through the pain barrier but after landing awkwardly on his injured shoulder in the Europa League play-off round against Stuttgart at Celtic Park he had to call time on his playing days on medical advice. Now Kasper pops up on commentary duties, a role that Joe Hart also undertakes to great effect, and there are other duties Celtic’s former Great Dane…

Paulo Bernardo reckons that the decision by Brendan Rodgers to play him as as six rather than his natural position as an eight contributed to hm falling out of the picture at Celtic last season… That was a prelude to an inevitable Celtic exit this summer when the former Portugal u21 skipper signed on at Polish outfit Gornik Zabrze for a season long loan. But the former Benfica midfielder has NOT closed the door on a return to Celtic next season. In an interview with Newsquest outlet TCW, Paulo Bernardo, who was also rather unlucky with injuries while at Celtic,…

Celtic has appealed against the Scottish FA sanction ordering the club to play our next home game in the Scottish Cup behind closed doors with the £100k fine that the club has been order to pay the opponent in that game has also been appealed… Celtic has also been warned that they face a second punishment of another game being played behind closed doors if there is further unacceptable conduct for supporters. The appeal from the club argues that the punishment is disproportionate and points out that Celtic were NOT the home club in the Scottish Cup quarter final win…

Celtic winger Haissem Hassan has been ruled out of Egypt’s upcoming international fixtures, with Pharaohs boss Hossam Hassan confirming the Hoops attacker is currently receiving intensive treatment for an unspecified injury… Celtic hit with another injury concern as Hassan ruled out of Egypt matches  The news will come as a blow to Celtic, with Hassan having emerged as an important attacking option for Martin O’Neill since his summer arrival. The 24-year-old had been selected for the Egypt national squad but will now remain sidelined as he works on his recovery. Egypt manager Hossam Hassan confirmed (via a report in Scottish…

Stiliyan Petrov believes it would be a mistake for Celtic to remove Martin O’Neill from his position as Celtic manager but believes that his old club are in desperate need of a Director of Football to be appointed… Petrov played under Martin O’Neill at both Celtic and Aston Villa and feels that his old gaffer needs additional support when it comes to transfer dealing, with the late rush of signings arriving at the end of the window for the second time this year. In January Martin O’Neill was talking openly about imminent signing with specific players being name-checked yet in…

A Wee Idea or Two for Dermot Desmond from Para Handy… Dermot Desmond doesn’t need another article telling him Celtic has problems. He has people for that. What he might find more interesting is a suggestion about what he could do with the club’s rather considerable advantages. Celtic already has the support. It already has the stadium. It already has the brand. It already has a substantial cash reserve. How could Celtic make itself considerably more valuable over the next ten years?There’s a thought. Take the supporters. Celtic has a worldwide following, yet there is surely more to be made…

Former Celtic talisman Daizen Maeda has admitted the Premier League has hit him with an intensity he has “never experienced before” since swapping Celtic for Ipswich Town… The Japan international made the £10million move south during the summer, leaving behind a hugely successful spell in Glasgow where his blistering pace and relentless pressing became hallmarks of his game. But life in England has already presented Maeda with a very different challenge. And the 28-year-old has now conceded he is still trying to work out how to unleash the qualities that made him such a menace for Celtic. Speaking to Japanese…

Let’s have a look at the Celtic’s Chief Executive Michael Nicholson’s review which formed part of the Celtic PLC’s latest accounts that were released via the official Celtic FC website last night after being sent to the Stock Exchange… We’ve highlighted the main talking points from this rare communication from a CEO who prefers life in the shadows rather than being a leader who leads from the front. FYI, photos added by Celtic Shorts, not the club. Let’s hear your thoughts via the comments section below on this review from Michael Nicholson, particularly on the text we have highlighted…. CHIEF…

Colby Donovan was the only player who came out of last week’s 3-0 defeat at Ibrox with any credit among the Celtic supporters… It led to Martin O’Neill hailing him as an absolute ‘warrior’ for his never say die attitude in the melting pot of Ibrox, whilst the rest of his teammates let themselves down with their overall performance on the day. Fast forward a week, and after yet another Glasgow Derby defeat, this time in the home surroundings of Celtic Park, it’s once again only the 20 year old who can hold his head high in what was yet…