Lambert joy as Norwich move into third place

Paul Lambert was the happiest former Celt after today's action with Norwich moving into third place in League One with an impressive 3-0 home win over Huddersfield.

The on-loan Celts are disappearing fast with Simon Ferry helping Swindon Town to a 2-1 home win over Brighton that takes Danny Wilson's side into a play-off place.

Ben Hutchison failed to make the bench for Swindon as did Darren O'Dea at Reading and Cillian Sheridan with Plymouth.

There is risk and understanding in all loan deals but only Ferry has benefited from regular football during his loan spell. Hutchison's 'chance' at Celtic has probably come and gone but both O'Dea and Sheridan have hopes of a Celtic career which hasn't been advanced by their loan deals.

At Carrow Road Lambert seems to be getting on top of things despite taking over after the season had started.

Haunting him through the season will be Norwich's 7-1 home defeat from Colchester when he was in charge of the visitors, although that result clearly put him in the frame for the Norwich gig Colchester are just three points behind with a game and hand and the threat of action from the Football League hanging over Lambert's departure to Norwich.

In midweek Norwich had lost out on penalties to Southampton in the Johnston's Paints trophy with today's match goal-less at the interval before goals from Wes Hoolahan, Chris Martin and Gary Docherty earned the points in front of 25,000 fans.

After today's win the former Celtic captain said: "I thought the players were extraordinary. Particularly after Southampton. To go out there; the long journey back and everything. I thought they were extraordinary.

"What was said in the dressing room stays there, but I wasn't too disappointed. Sometimes you have to ride a storm before you can come through it. But it's not about me... it's the lads that have to do it, they have to come through it.

"They're the ones that have done it, they're the ones that have given the club back that winning feeling."

Sheridan poised to return

Cillian Sheridan is on his way back to Celtic but it's likely to be a short term return.

The 20-year-old has started just five matches for Plymouth Argyle and failed to find the net for the Championship outfit.

Despite Paul Mariner replacing Paul Sturrock as manager Sheridan has decided that he won't be extending his loan deal at Home Park.

The striker said: "I'll go back to Celtic Park when I am finished up here and see what happens. I don't know what the club have planned for me but my plan is still to try and get into the first team at Celtic.

"It will be up to Celtic what I do next so it's out of my hands, but whatever happens I need to get some games in. I haven't been playing for a good while now. It's a while since I started a game and I have only been playing bits and pieces as a sub for Plymouth, so the move hasn't gone as well as I hoped.

"When I came down here first it was going well. I was getting games and playing well, but I lost my place after a while and things fizzled out for me then.

"I have 18 months left on my contract at Celtic so it's up to them what happens next. They may want to send me out on loan again next month, maybe to another SPL club, I don't know for sure, or I could end up staying at Parkhead.

"It looks like players will be coming and going at Celtic when the window opens next month. If players do leave it could open up the door for me to get back into the first-team squad, but they might also bring players in so it's hard to know what the manager will decide to do with me."

Sheridan spent the second half of last season on loan at Motherwell after scoring four goals during a brief spell in the first team.

Another loan deal seems more likely than staying on at Celtic with no competitive reserve matches to retain fitness and sharpness.

The u-21 rule, not Tony Mowbray's favourite rule, could help Sheridan out with the SPL demanding that club's list three players under 21 in their match day squads.

Evening Herald interview

Will 'golfing trip' drive Robbie to hoops?

Will an undercover, unwelcome, unofficial Spurs Christmas party spell the end of the road for Robbie Keane at White Hart Lane?

There will be merry hell today at Tottenham's training after Harry Redknapp spits out the Corn Flakes after reading The Sun's blow by blow account of his players 'golfing trip' to Dublin last week.

I'd be amazed if a cunning old fox like 'Arry didn't have a minder or two keeping tabs on things as the Robbie Keane inspired event unfolded.

But will it force open the door to take Keane to Celtic and finally end the longest running rumour in football?

When The Sun does these stories they do them very well, there is no kite flying with dates times and venues given in detail as the Golfing Hotspurs chased birdies with concentration that would impress Tiger Woods.

Coming three days before the surprise home defeat from Wolves the timing couldn't be worse with Redknapp stating repeatedly his dislike for the boozing culture within football.

Days after the event Redknapp was spelling out exactly his thoughts on the great no-no of Christmas parties for footballers.

He said: “The only advise that I have about Christmas parties is don't have one.

“I don't see the point because they are nothing but aggravation for everybody.

“Everyone's waiting for you to trip up, go out and get drunk and act silly. You don't need that.

“This is a busy period, a working period. Why should we have Christmas parties? Every year there is aggro at every football club that has one.

“If they (the players) tell me that they are having one I'll tell them that they're not having one.”

There is no suggestion of anything untoward at the 'golfing trip' but with their manager stating publicly his opposition the players involved, and organiser in particular, will have some explaining to do.

An old fox like Redknapp probably knows more details about the event than The Sun reporter but being challenged publicly will be the issue for the Spurs boss.

The 'Keane for Celtic' rumour failed to surface last year but has been gaining momentum over the last few weeks with a loan deal suggested as a solution for all three parties, pardon the pun.

Speculation will intensify over the next few days but with Paul McGowan on the goal trail Robbie could find himself as fifth choice striker should he get the green light to wear the hoops!
The Sun story

Nice one Gowser- the forgotten Celt

It may be the night that someone scored two goals at once- his first and last for Celtic- but it was great to see Paul Gowser McGowan become a goalscorer.

Adored by Morton fans after a season long loan spell the little striker has found it impossible to break through the lengthy list of strikers that have barred his route to the first team.

Scott McDonald, Georgios Samaras, Marco Fortune, Chris Killen, Cillian Sheridan, Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink, Maciej Zurawski, Kenny Miller and even Ben Hutchison have been in front of McGowan for a place in the affections of Gordon Strachan and Tony Mowbray.

Tonight however he joined that fairly exclusive band to have found the net for Celtic in Europe and the first to score an equaliser after being three goals down within 20 minutes!

McGowan has got lots about him but it's difficult to get away from the impression that he's just too small to make it at the top level.

He has an eye for goal, a poachers instinct and can drop deep, link up and play passes but without a real career path into the Celtic first team it's just not happened for him.

After his Morton loan season he needed to step up a grade but found season 2007/2008 ruined by injury.

The virtual demise of reserve football saw him spend the second half of last season at Hamilton but played out wide on the right rather than through the middle.

Resurrecting his Celtic career at the age of 22 seems unlikely but wherever he moves on to he'll do so as a Celtic goalscorer having played in the Champions League (at home to Vilareal) and after scoring in the Europa League.

The so-called meaningless Europa League tie with Rapid turned out to be quite explosive with a happy-ish ending as the gloating cheats of Rapid took a sore one as a spirited comeback from the inexperienced hoops silenced 40,000 in the Ernest Happel Stadium.

All across the defence Celtic were ropey throughout the first half as they made an average Austrian side- the nation that launched the career of Filip Sebo- look like Brazil 1970.

I'll not go over the goals lost, needless to say it was like a compilation of this season's howlers featuring the worst of Ibrox, Falkirk Stadium, Tannadice and Fir Park.

It could have got worse, Artmedia and Neuchatel were coming to mind but Niall McGinn was on form on the left then Marco Fortune turned a defender and buried the chance like the predator we're told that he isn't!

Big Mick frightened their defence with a powering towering header that served notice of our intent even if the referee decided to award a free kick.

McGinn could have helped himself to a hat-trick with a bit of luck on his finishing but suddenly the anticipated mauling had been halted and a text arrived asking if a Liverpool-AC Milan turn around was possible.

The second half was all Celtic with the main threat coming from McGinn now on the right with some pretty sinister and agricultural challenges coming in on the former Derry City winger.

Midway through the second half McGinn's low pass across goal was driven in by Fortune from within the six yard box and suddenly the world wasn't such a bad place as Celtic woke up and shrugged off their early nightmare.

McGinn was replaced by debutant Graham Carey 10 minutes later before in added time Marc Crosas picked out McGowan in the box with the striker tucking his first time shot past the Rapid keeper to the delight of the 800 hoops at the match and to the astonishment of television viewers.

In the era of betting in motion it would have been possible to back a Celtic win or draw, at 0-3 you'd have needed treatment, at 1-3 it was worth a punt.

Tonight's match showed that there's fight and character around the squad as well as ability.

The fightback tonight or at Motherwell on Saturday probably wouldn't have happened last season although it was a strong feature of Strachan's first seasons at the club.

Earlier in the season after the 5-2 home win over St Johnstone Shaun Maloney was asked if supporters could expect results like that throughout the season due to the managers commitment to attack.

Even then Maloney highlighted Mowbray's determination to cut out sloppy defending, the January transfer window offers a real chance to get something sorted after trying out various options so far this season.

Sorting out the defence must be a priority- doing so would reduce the need for dramatic comebacks which is something that we could happily do without.

PS Apparently Gowsers goal will do wonders for the co-efficient of Scottish football and earn him the eternal gratitude of the nation...

Daja-vu for Mackay as Graham Taylor moves in at Watford

Watford's financial stalemate must seem like a worrying case of deja-vu for Malky Mackay.

The Watford boss was a Celtic player in 1994 when the power struggle that ousted the bad guys was completed with Fergus McCann coming to power after a long drawn out saga that put the club on it's knees.

Mackay has worked wonders at Watford, putting the club in contention for a play-off spot against a board room battle that last night saw Jimmy Russo resign as chairman in anticipation of being voted off at the club's AGM.

Shades of Brian Dempsey, 'the pact' and the other shenanigans that was a feature of the Celtic boardroom in the early nineties.

It was Russo that appointed Mackay as manager in the summer and provided the club with funding to remain in business although a further £5m is required to keep the club in afloat until the end of the season.

Russo was about to be ousted by some former directors but clearly still has a major role to play at the club having guaranteed £4.88m since returning as chairman in March 2009.

Despite a recent season in the Premiership and having Elton John as a club patron Watford seem totally unable to balance the books.

Former England manager Graham Taylor has once again become involved, taking over as chairman last night, and will hopefully broker a deal to keep all parties happy.

Taylor was the manager that took Watford to the 1984 FA Cup Final after climbing the divisions but unless their current problems are resolved they could follow local rivals Luton Town out of the Football League.

“We are at a very crucial time in this club's future, it goes without saying,” Taylor admitted.

“We have to face up to it, we are threatened with administration and the demand from Jimmy and Vince (the Russo brothers) for their money to be returned will put us into administration.

“I make no bones about saying that because that is a reality. They did put the money into the club and they will have their side of the argument but at the present time, by demanding their secured loans, unless somebody comes to our rescue, Watford will go into administration.”

In the meantime Mackay must get on with managing the club without the chairman that appointed him.

The sale of players that he undertook during the summer will be continued next month with goalkeeper Scott Loach, an England u-21 international, expected to fetch £3m.

CLICK HERE for official Watford club statement.

Online newspapers fall-out with NewsNow

There can be little doubt that NewsNow is a favourite of the on-line Celtic community and to most football fans.

NEWSNOW STATEMENT (a bit heavy going!)

Collecting news from various sources, with the sites vetted in advance, NewsNow Celtic brings rolling news 24/7 to supporters around the world. At home or at work we get upto date news on transfers, injuries and 101 other matters, relevant or not, to the hoops.

The NewsNow family covers a broad church giving independent supporter websites and blogs, such as this one, equal prominence alongside media giants like the BBC and SKY as well as newspapers and club sites.

Behind the scenes a bit of a stramash has been going on with a group of newspapers called the Newspaper Licensing Agency who wish to charge NewsNow to be linked to their precious titles.

As most folk are aware newspapers are facing a desperate battle for survival as they face competition from the online delivery of news and the migration of advertising budgets following readers online.

Newspapers are trying various schemes to monetise their online content but struggle with the concept that their copy can be read for free with no direct return. The prospect of extending their reach, and advertising opportunities, outwith their traditional circulation areas hasn't been fully grasped.

Any opportunity to bring in revenue is being chased but the battle with NewsNow looks a certain loser... for the newspapers. No longer will those titles benefit from surfers visiting their websites, attracted by the headlines appearing on NewsNow.

Most of the major UK newspapers are members of the NLA but News International, publishers of The Sun and The Times aren't which means that their stories will continue to appear on NewsNow.

On Celtic NewsNow I'd guess that newspapers feature in the top ten stories about 40% of the time, clearly there is an appetite and appeal for newspaper stories despite what the more hard-line supporters claim.

Just when they need as many visitors and numbers as possible the newspapers in the NLA are cutting themselves off from a great source of traffic, some supporters will still visit their site's but the casual visitor won't go near when their stories are no longer appearing on NewsNow.

This short sighted policy from the NLA will give further encouragement for new media to gain greater visitors and prominence.

In the decade just ending a number of names have emerged online to dominate their industry without any high street or physical presence, ebay and amazon being the most obvious.

Newspapers have a head start over others on the business of delivering news but due to attitudes from another age are unwilling to develop and grasp the online opportunity.

The delivery of news will continue to evolve, Wapping introduced new technology to the printed press and changed newspapers forever.

A fall out with NewsNow seems outdated and petty and likely to further detach newspapers from the emerging online generations that their advertisers want to connect with.

Newspaper sales over the decade

Current Scottish newspaper sales

Feel free to add your comments below.

Strachan scouting for married men, and bhoys?

Gordon Strachan is deadly serious about his persuit of married men with married Bhoys at the top of his wanted list.

Middlesbrough scouts are out in force looking to bring in new recruits to the Riverside with matrimonial status a key factor.

Despite the troubles that Tiger Woods is engulfed in the former Celtic boss seems to be a subscriber to the old fashioned view that married footballers are more stable, settled and reliable than batchelors and singletons.

The WAG generation doesn't seem to have altered Strachan's thoughts despite many current players being under instructions from their other half with no self respecting WAG likely to see a move to Teeside as a sensible step in their career.

Despite his due diligence before taking the Riverside job Strachan was dismayed to find just three married men in his Middlesbrough squad with one of them the reserve 'keeper!

Speaking to The Times he said: "There are only three people married here. You need a bit of responsibility in life. Three people married and one of them is the reserve goalkeeper, Danny Coyne.

"You need a certain amount of men in your team. When I say to the scouts I need men, they think somebody clattering into tackles, and I say, ‘no, calm down’, I mean ‘men’ who take responsibility and play when the pressure is on."

A number of the players that Strachan brought to Celtic are married, with two of them also out of contract at the end of the season.

Will Mrs Caldwell and Mrs Robson feature in transfer negotiations in the new year? Can married players expect to be paid more at 'Boro?

Strachan has plenty to get involved in during the transfer window on the back of home defeats from Blackpool and Cardiff City that sees the club lying in 11th place, nine points behind West Brom in the second automatic promotion place.

One win in seven since taking over from Gareth Southgate probably wasn't what chairman Steve Gibson was anticipating when he changed manager.

Middlesbrough require a quick return to the Premiership, not an overhaul of the club, if promotion isn't achieved this season they could join the long list of former Premiership clubs marooned outwith the top flight and cast adrift without the lifeboat of parachute payments.

Most managers return to their former clubs when the transfer window opens with Strachan quiet honest about his likely dealings with Celtic.

He admitted, again referring to men (ie married players) : "As long as you are honest, that’s all Dermot (Desmond) and Peter (Lawwell) ask.

"They know that fine well, they trust me implicitly, they know I would never be dishonest. I wouldn’t feel good about myself. Can I see myself going back (for players)? I am after men and if Celtic have men...”

Strachan's emphasis on men points towards the married types, scrappers and battlers- categories that Caldwell and Robson both score highly in.

TIMES interview with Gordon Strachan

EVENING HERALD report on Motherwell match