Good luck Killen, 7am GMT kick off for New Zealand qualifier

Chris Killen will lead the attack for New Zealand as they play Bahrain in the second leg of their World Cup play-off.

The Kiwi striker hasn't had the best of luck as a Celtic player bit has shown his worth at international level as a regular scorer for the all whites.

Also included in the squad is former Celt Michael McGlinchey who was born in New Zealand before returning to Scotland with his family.

The first leg in Bahrain was drawn 0-0 with NZ needing any type of win to qualify for their first World Cup Finals since 1982 where they lost 5-2 to Scotland.

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Youths 1pm date with Killie, Kiwis success

Celtic's youth side are in action today against Kilmarnock at Barrafield with a 1pm kick-off.

Stevie Frail's side have scored four goals in each of their last three matches and are sitting unbeaten at the top of the SPL table.

The u-19 league is very competitive with predictions difficult to make as recent results show.

Over the last month Frail has been able to pick a fairly settled side and has been pleased by the progress being made in performances and results.

With no first team action for over a week today's match against Kilmarnock will hopefully benefit from a larger than usual crowd with Barrafield being easier to reach than Lennoxtown.

Already this morning Chris Killen and Michael McGlinchey have been celebrating with New Zealand qualifying for the World Cup Finals in South Africa.

A 1-0 win over Bahrain this morning saw the Kiwis go through with Killen and McGlinchey both in the staring eleven.

'He was a colossus' Willie McStay on John Kennedy

“John can look back with a lot of fondness on what he did achieve in the game and I'm sure will have lots more to look forward to in his life.”

Those were the words of Willie McStay this evening as he returned from the Hungary-Italy u-21 match after hearing the sad news of John Kennedy's retirement.

McStay fought off interest from Manchester United to sign the schoolboy defender and was delighted to see Kennedy make his first team debut before his seventeenth birthday.

Sadly a decade later the glittering career predicted and hinted at failed to materialise with his career virtually ended by a brutal assault from Romanian thug Ioan Ganea just 14 minutes into his international debut.

Five years and various operations later Kennedy has had to give up on the dream of returning to top level football and has announced his retirement from the game.

McStay was as close as anyone to Kennedy throughout his career and was devastated to hear the news that his long battle to return to football was over.

“It's terrible news for an awful lot of people, it must be very difficult for John and his family because they are all very close,” the Ujpest Dozsa boss said.

COLOSSUS
“He has a strong family that will help him through this stage and whatever he turns to in future I'm sure that he'll be a success. He has been a colossus the way that he has worked hard and did everything possible to get back to full fitness.

“It's a real tragedy for John and everyone that knows him. Hugh McGovern was the scout that brought John to our attention and I know he'll be devastated by this news.”

Despite the horrific injury Kennedy returned to play for Celtic in the Champions League making his first team comeback away to Kilmarnock on April 2007 when the SPL title was won.

Last season he made 15 first team appearances on loan at Norwich City before returning injured to Celtic with his final competitive match a 2-0 defeat at Reading on 13 December 2008.

After his initial burst of first team football Kennedy had to go back to the reserve and youth sides to develop his game as Martin O'Neill's Celtic side dominated the domestic game and made advances into Europe.

NOU CAMP
Seville and Boavista are two of the greatest highlights for most Celtic supporters but up there in the same bracket was the night in March 2004 when Barcelona were held at bay in the Nou Camp as Celtic progressed into the last eight of the Uefa Cup.

That night an old song was heard around La Ramblas with some extra meaning: 'Barcelona, Real Madrid, they will make a gallant bid' with Kennedy a giant in defence alongside Stan Varga in front of David Marshall on a never-to-be-forgotten night.

A week later Kennedy's career was virtually over as he lay on the Hampden turf, football has rarely been so cruel as to have robbed one of it's good guys so soon after he had announced that he was more than just another prospect.

“Straight away when Kenny Dalglish came to the club he identified John as a special talent and he was promoted to the reserves and first team,”McStay added.

INFLUENCE
“There was much more to John than just his physique and stature. He had an influence over other players and was an organiser.

“A lot of young players stand out physically at 14 and 15 but fail to develop when other players catch up with them in terms of size.

“John had much more than just size to his game but worked very hard in the gym as well. The youth side switched to playing a back three so that when John moved up to the first team he was used to the system.

“John was in the centre of the three alongside David van Zanten and Stephen McManus.

“A few years later when I moved up to the reserve side it was funny to see John in the dressing room again, he was a great character and always liked a joke.

“In the reserve side he was a good example to the other young players coming through. He was totally dedicated and thoroughly professional at all times.

“I'm gutted for John that he has had to retire. He'll have lots of opportunities and offers and whatever he does in future I've no doubt that he will be very successful.”

SOME HIGHLIGHTS FROM JOHNS CAREER
CELTIC 4-0 MOTHERWELL 5.4.2000
Gould, McNamara, Mjallby, Crainey; Petrov, Lambert, Wieghorst, Berkovic (Moravcik 81), Blinker; Viduka (Burchill 81), Johnson (Kennedy 85)

BARCELONA 0-0 CELTIC 25.3.2004
Valdes, Reiziger (Overmars 53), Puyol (Marquez 34), Oleguer; Xavi, Cocu, Lopez, Enrique, Gabri (S Garcia 64); Ronaldinho, L Garcia
Marshall; McNamara (Miller 52) Kennedy, Varga, Pearson; Agathe, Lennon, Petrov, Thompson; Sutton, Larsson

KILMARNOCK 1-2 CELTIC 27.4.2007
Boruc; Kennedy, Pressley, Caldwell, ODea; Graevesen, Lennon, Hartley, Nakamura; Vennegoor of Hesselink, Riordan

The ultimate moonbeam?

With perfect timing, on the day that Rangers release their financial results for last season, and the result of a Uefa enquiry into crowd trouble in Romania, a 'Florida-based Scottish expatriate billionaire' has decided to whisper to The Herald about his take-over plans for Rangers.

The report does carry some credibility since it is in the business pages but after the big build up the eight paragraph report concludes with the news that Dave King is still the likeliest new owner of Rangers.

The timing of this moonbeam of information should be enough to alert the more level headed and sensible Rangers supporters.

'Jam Tomorrow' is a favoured meal for hungry football supporters, Celtic fans were given Cambuslang and other baloney during the early 90's but, outwith the incredibly gullible, the spin coming from the Kelly and White camp was laughed at.

Moonbeams has been the Rangers buzzword in recent years as deflection tactics have been put on red alert.

Concerns through the 2005/06 season as Rangers battled with Hearts for second place were eased with news of Scott Brown's 'done deal' to join Rangers.

Leaks about fantastic new stadium developments have appeared regularly over recent years despite Ibrox remaining virtually unaltered in the last 15 years.

With intense pressure from the banks mixed with the unwanted Uefa charge times are getting quite desperate around Rangers with the size of the financial black hole too big for any conventional West of Scotland businessmen to take over.

The recent example of Mike Ashley losing tens of millions at Newcastle has provided a reality check for most that might have considered buying Rangers leaving only the elusive Dave King as a possible saviour, should he manage to overcome over 300 tax charges from the South African authorities.

Today's Herald story simply seems to tick the boxes on the wishlist of many, the elusive private investor, Glasgow born of course, paving the way for the fans takeover.

Expatriate Scottish billionaires are thin on the ground and unlikely to remain in the background, despite various Rich Lists there has never been any mention of any Florida based Scot unless former Kilmarnock owner Bobby Fleeting has made a serious killing.

I suspect that today's story is unlikely to come to fruition, both strands seem too far fetched.

It does illustrate the extremely limited pool that Rangers have to find a saviour from, in the meantime it looks much more likely that they will limp along suffering severe financial cutbacks that will drastically effect their player pool and management team.

Celtic we hope are ignoring the fuss, planning their way ahead back to the recent times when we had a team competent of competing seriously in the group stages of the Champions League whilst being the driving force in Scottish football.

Given still not ruling out hoops move.

It's been running for even longer than 'Robbie for Celtic' but the idea of Shay Given returning to Celtic one day can't be ruled out.

The teenager that moved to Glasgow from Donegal certainly made a big impression on those that saw him play for the reserves or youth team although sadly that didn't include Lou Macari who allowed Kenny Dalglish to take Given to Blackburn Rovers in 1994 before new manager Tommy Burns could intervene.

Now after more than a decade at Newcastle, which must have seemed like a lifetime, Given is at a club serious about winning honours and is viewed by many to have been Mark Hughes best signing for Manchester City.

If Ireland are to overcome France and reach the World Cup Finals in South Africa it will require brilliance from Given to keep the French at bay.

Like Roy Keane through the 2002 qualifying campaign Given has been a man on a mission, desperate to repeat the experiences of Japan and South Korea to make up for the lack of domestic success in his career.

As a regular visitor to Celtic Park Given knows more about Celtic than most and despite his happiness at Manchester City he wouldn't rule out a possible move to Celtic before he hangs up his gloves.

Speaking to fifa.com about finishing his career with Manchester City he said: "I'd love to finish my career here. I haven't been here long, but I already feel at home and love the club.

"I grew up a Celtic supporter and they have a big place in my heart, but I really hope I can finish my career here. You can never say never, but I'd like to think I will. "

It wasn't quite a 'come and get me plea to Celts' but despite the obvious difference in finances and indeed prospects between Celtic and Manchester City the lure of an offer from Celtic at some stage would be hard to resist.

The interview with fifa.com was in a Question and Answer style so rather than add some spin and pad it out into something that it's not I've copied through some of the interview below.

FIFA.COM How did you feel when you drew France?

SG We knew it was going to be tough, no matter who we drew. Some people would say that France are the best team in the play-offs, but we're just focusing on going out there and playing our own game.
FIFA.COM Do you think the absence of Franck Ribery will be a big advantage?

SG Yeah, he's a top player. But his replacement will be another quality player - France simply don't have weak players.

FIFA.COM What will the atmosphere be like at Croke Park for the first leg on Saturday? Do you think this will be a big advantage to the Irish?

SG It's going to be a very special occasion. It will be sold out and the atmosphere will be absolutely electric, so I think this will work in our favour. The Irish supporters are very, very passionate and their support will give us a big lift.

FIFA.COM What would it mean to you and the people of Ireland to play at South Africa 2010?

SG It would mean a hell of a lot to the people of Ireland to qualify. There's a lot of doom and gloom about with the recession, so it would be good to give the people something to look forward to. I played at the World Cup in 2002 and it was a great experience, the pinnacle of my career so far. I'd love to do that again.

FIFA.COM Finally, do you believe Republic of Ireland will beat France and reach South Africa 2010?

SG We have to believe. We know France are the favourites but that's fine with us, it means there's more pressure on them. We need to just play our own game and give it everything. We have two massive games in front of us, but I think we're in with great chance of reaching the World Cup.

Sutton to face hoops in the FA Cup

Fresh from steering Lincoln City into the second round of the FA Cup at Telford manager Chris Sutton now finds himself up against the super hoops of giantkillers Northwich Victoria.

The Conference North side are currently in administration, a terrible fate for any football club, but put that behind them to beat Division One pacesetters Charlton 1-0 today.

The game against Lincoln is again likely to attract television coverage giving Northwich another financial boost with both clubs looking to make the next round when the Premiership clubs (pay-days) enter the competition.

Lincoln qualified for the 2nd Round of the FA Cup for the first time since 2003 thanks to a 3-1 win at Telford with Sergio Torres amongst the scorers for the visitors.

Elsewhere in the FA Cup Paul Lambert's Norwich City have an away tie at Morecombe or Carlisle United while Swindon Town will be away from home to Conference side Wrexham.

WATFORD

Amongst the loan Celts and former Celts dotted around the game there wasn't much to cheer about over the weekend with Malky Mackay's Watford continuing their yo-yo season with a 2-0 home win Preston.

Following last week's 5-0 defeat at West Brom Mackay will be pleased to see his side back to winning ways and sitting comfortably in mid-table.

Loan Celts Darren O'Dea and Cillian Sheridan again had to make do with viewing from the bench as Reading drew at home with Roy Keane's Ipswich and Plymouth's revival continued with a 2-1 home win over Doncaster Rovers.

Over in Hungary Willie McStay would have been disappointed by his side's 1-0 defeat at home to league leaders Videoton which allowed the visitors to double their lead at the top of the table.

Celtic Youths go through away at Threave Rovers

Celtic won 4-0 away to Threave Rovers in the SFA Youth Cup this afternoon.

Haydn Cochrane scored twice with James Keatings and Declan Gallagher also on target for Stevie Frail's side.

After the match Frail said: "I was pleased with the performance, the surface was a bit heavy, there was an inspection on the pitch but we came through in the end.

"We changed the team around a bit and although they never hit the same heights as they have shown in their last two games it was a good win.

"Haydn Cochrane came in and showed that he has an eye for goal.

"There was a crowd of over 300 at the match including a good number of local Celtic supporters. Threave have got a good set up and put up a decent showing."

CELTIC Kennedy; Towell, Gallagher, Gallagher, Brennan; Cochrane, Bagshaw, Lowden; Keatings, Spence, P Twardzik

Strachan wary of Boro Batchelor Boys

Gordon Strachan has revealed that he prefers his players to be married!

After back-to-back defeats in his opening matches in charge of Middlesboro Strachan has plenty of work to do on the training ground but appears distracted by the amount of unmarried players in his squad.

Now that he is no longer at Celtic Strachan can be viewed in a different light as he entertains the media that he dislikes and fires off signs of his own insecurities.

Finding a goalscorer or two amongst his new squad should be more of a priority than getting players down the aisle with the arrival of Marcus Bent on loan from Birmingham raising a few eyebrows.

MARRIAGE

He said: "There are only three players in the squad that are married which is quite unbelievable, in a world that should be for men.

"I have never come across that in my life. That’s how young we are. I’m not saying you have to be married to be a good footballer.

"I’m just saying it felt strange to come to a club where there are only three members of the first team squad that are married.

"You need responsibility in life. I’m not going about finding wives for them, it was just a shock to me."

The early signs of Strachan's reign should be worrying for Middlesboro fans although not as worrying as his first two games in charge of Celtic when nine goals were lost.

SACKED

The Championship is a brutally competitive league with 'Boro dropping down to tenth place on the back of three defeats since Gareth Southgate was sacked with the club in second place.

Strachan arrived on the back of some controversy having claimed that he would never speak to a club who still have a manager only for Southgate to reveal that he had been in discussions for the 'Boro job two weeks before he received his P45

There is no runaway side in this season's Championship but against that more than a dozen clubs have genuine aspirations of reaching the play-off's or better.

On the pitch Strachan has plenty to think about through the international break with Middlesboro losing to Plymouth and Crystal Palace in his first two games in charge.

Two one-nil wins in his final games in charge of Celtic would have seen him lift the title for the fourth year running but an inability to find the net seems to have followed him to 'Boro.

Speaking after yesterday's defeat he said: "When you have chances like that and you don't take them you have a problem, luck has nothing to do with it.
"It's frustrating, just like last week against Plymouth when our best player Adam Johnson missed a penalty.

"It's frustrating for me, it's frustrating for the players who work so hard and it's frustrating for the fans."

Article from the Northern Echo

Scott Brown faces second ankle operation

Scott Brown is facing a second ankle operation and could be out of action for the remainder of the month.

The midfielder is due to return to see a London specialist this week about the injury that has dogged his season.

Despite a summer ankle operation Brown returned to the specialist last month with Tony Mowbray admitting that another visit, and possible operation, is scheduled.

The Celtic boss said: "I am now resigned to not having Scott available for the next few weeks. His problem has not gone away, and every time he gets a heavy challenge on his ankle, we are back to square one.

“As I have always said, the bottom line has to be the player’s welfare, and we will leave it in the hands of the experts.

“Whether Scott needs a small operation, further injections or simply time away from matches, they will decide.

“The important thing is having him fit for the long term. We don’t want to be in a situation where we play him for a few games and then have to rest him for a few.

“That has been the case this time. But to be fair to ourselves, he said he felt absolutely fine after his last trip to the specialist.It is very frustrating for us all."

Brown has played 13 times for Celtic this season plus three games for Scotland but has failed to recapture the form of last season.