You and I know how fans of other Scottish clubs feel about their performances in Europe; at best, it is a source of national frustration. Everyone else is cleared out of Europe in the qualifiers by teams who themselves seldom reach the Europa League proper.
All of this matches the Scotland national team, who only this year started to look competitive. A malaise has crept in, everyone comes to expect failure and copes without undue distress (for the most part).
In this respect, we have nothing to lecture Belgian football on. The Belgian national team is one of their nation’s best ever, a decent outside shout for next year’s World Cup. But domestically, Belgian football has rapidly fallen apart.
Anderlecht, like Celtic, are their country’s last remaining competitor in European football. Brugge were bumped from the Champions League qualifiers by Basaksehir, then the Europa’s by AEK Athens. Oostende lost to Marseille, no particular surprise there, but Gent exited the Europa qualifiers to Altach, currently seventh in the Austrian table after nine games.
The pain of humiliation in European club football is being felt acutely right now in Belgium, while their most successful club, Anderlecht, acts as the flag bearer.
Anderlecht’s fall from grace has been steep. On the way to winning the domestic title, they produced one of the greatest wins in their European history last season, 1-6 away to German club FSV Mainz on the way to a 3-2 aggregate quarter-final defeat to eventual Europa League winners Manchester United.
Now they sit seventh in the table, nine points adrift from Brugge, having sold their top talent from last season, and sacked their manager this month. This is a dysfunctional team in a newly-dysfunctional league. They fear Celtic.
So far, so encouraging, but you and I have seen this movie before. Larsson, Sutton and Hartson had Anderlecht on the canvass in 2003. Dominating possession in Brussels with the home team down to 10 men, but we still contrived to lose the game to a team we would sweep aside with ease at Celtic Park.
There are reasons to be hopeful. Our previous two away games in the group stage, (Manchester City and Borussia Monchengladbach), produced highly credible draws, we looked like a team who knew how to survive in this environment, but you and I would be delighted with a draw tomorrow night.
Notwithstanding the fact that a draw would be a satisfactory result, this is a game we should look to win. Anderlecht’s deficiencies are many and evident. They cannot buy a performance right now. If Brendan and his players secure three points, they will take a huge step towards European maturity. Don’t bet against them.
Celtic FC Foundation, Great Scottish Run
A number of us will be treading the streets of Glasgow in Celtic FC Foundation regalia on Sunday with the Great Scottish Run. I am doing the 10k (either because I fancied the shorter distance, or because I forgot to register for the Half in time…. hopeless).
Being able to do things for the Foundation is a significant part of my Celtic relationship. It is appropriate to follow in the footsteps of those who 130 years ago decided to form a football club to help those in need.
What the Foundation does will never grab the headlines of what the football team does, but it is difficult to imagine a football result having as profound an impact on people’s lives as the work of the Foundation, when it feeds the hungry, or provides respect to the downtrodden.
If you are able to support the work, please do so at this MyDonate page.
Thank you.
——–
The CQN Podcast: A Celtic State of Mind (EP14) Champions League Special
A Celtic State of Mind offers an insight into the culture of Celtic Football Club, the city of Glasgow, and fans of the reigning invincible Scottish champions.
Each episode includes interviews with ‘Celtic-minded’ figures from the world of sport, music, film, art, broadcasting, literature or politics.
Ahead of the crucial Champions League match against Anderlecht, ‘A Celtic State of Mind’ goes behind the Champions League curtain for Celtic’s opening match against PSG.
Kevin Graham provides pre and post-match discussion with members of his CSC, as well as in-match analysis in what will be a regular Celtic State of Mind feature.
Enjoy!
277 Comments- Pages:
- «
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- »
Probably the Irish Centre in Leeds if it’s still open
Ernie, I’d love for them to just go away. Maybe they will. Until they do I’ll enjoy ripping the p out of them.
For what it’s worth the rest of my life is not taken up by talking, thinking and writing about them. They are already an irrelevance in that way. But when it comes to Football, one of my distractions from this harsh world, I take what enjoyment I can from it, win, lose or draw.
I bring my kids up not to be bigots or racists. They don’t get why I shout a wee bit louder when we beat them than I do when we beat Aberdeen. I’ve tried explaining how they will never ever have to endure the 90’s as Celtic supporters or anything like it. They just don’t see it. That’s a good thing.
For what it’s worth, I’ll enjoy a win in the CL a lot more than Saturday. It means more. The joy lasts longer. I hope that makes me a more righteous person but I don’t think so really! It just means that I know the order of things these days.
Back to work for me.
Mrs and Mr thomthethim for Oscar OK
Very happy 47th anniversary to y’all!!
Quite an achievement, I hope you both have a fantastic day!!
HH
TC45
Paul, I wouldn’t be too down on Belgian club football. Two teams reaching the last 8 in the Europa League was pretty good.
Other reams like Genk and Gent have also got further in that competition than Celtic in recent years.
ERNIE LYNCH on 26TH SEPTEMBER 2017 12:17 PM
Beating the huns seems to be the ultimate ambition for some Celtic fans, the highlight of the season for them.
How pathetic is that?
===========================================================
When I had a seat in the North Stand, almost every game there were two seats in front of me empty every week….until the unwashed came to town.
It’s true that you like to beat the thing that hates you the most, because it gives you the satisfaction with the biggest pleasure.
For me, it’s always nice to beat them, but their hatred is becoming old and predictable and the fact we’re beating them with ease is beginning to ensure that the keen-ness with which I used to look forward to the game is on the wane.
Rangers are dead and their ancient hatred is the life support continuing to run after all is lost. Sooner or later, it will be switched off.
We need new hatred thrust upon us and I firmly believe that the right wing element of a large portion of the English fanbase could provide us with the momentum we need to fuel things and take things forward.
B
ROBERTTRESS/GLENDALYS…
Thanks for the replies fhellas.
My personal wish is that they didn’t exist at all,in any form,as they are a blight on the game and society but as long as they do I will enjoy the schadenfraude of any hurt they endure.And if they did jump as one to another club i’d have some satisfaction in seeing that team take beatings (results not shoeings) as well.In the grand scheme of things though it’d be a minor satisfaction compared to (relative) European success and dominating ALL teams in Scotland.
There’s definitely truth in the idea that they live off the attention being associated with us affords them though.Without the ‘Old Firm’ hype they’d just be Motherwell with a bigger stadium.
Anywho,enough about thems,tomorrow’s the type of game our support should genuinely get excited about.Making a name for ourselves on the European stage will see our star soar quicker and loftier than a thousand pumpings of the hun or any domestic opponent will ever do.And we have a chance of getting a result instead of relying on hope a la PSG and Bayern.Anticipation at the max for this one.
COYBIG
https://mobile.twitter.com/eirebhoy/status/912648706457038848/photo/1
;)))
HAPPY HOOOOOPY BIRTHDAY to
JIMTIM!!!!
I reckon you were just old enough to celebrate THE NINE from just about old enough to drink.
I also reckon you may joooost have sneaked in after Big Billy’s header anaw!
Hope you have a smashing day,mate. I just about remember enough of my Dad’s 70th to piece it together for him.
His 50th is a different matter…
TURKEYBHOY
Great player,but I’m sure he was sent off that night.
For some bizarre reason that I cannot explain to myself I have taken to watching Celtic games from days of old, nothing odd in that I hear you say. But I am increasingly drawn to 84, 85, 86 at the moment. Perhaps it is because it was my formative years as a Celtic supporter, or the particular type of kit that is heavily nostalgic to me.
Not sure.
Either way, what a front line McClair and Johnston were. The latter made his bed and disrespected the club but what a striker he was in his prime.
TJ
BAWSMAN 1226
There’s a secret to gambling. Don’t bet what you can’t afford to lose.
The Hooped Crusader
My Nephew said SHOOTers if in city center.
Knowing him he has mis spelt HOOTERS.
Just a general sports bar with lots of tv’s.
He says there are no real Celtic pubs in Leeds any more
and when questioned about Irish Center says its in a part of town
he has been advised to avoid.
Anyone advise my Nephew otherwise grateful.
think there is an irish pub on york road in leeds but not sure.
PAUL67
I take your point,Belgium have a great national team,but they’re all playing abroad.
But…
From my reading of the article,they had TWO teams in CL qualifiers. Now,that doesn’t make them twice as good,but it suggests that they are rated higher than us in the food chain.
I could cry,thinking of that.
The celt45,
Cheers, going good so far.
Just finished collecting the cuttings from the hedge I cut yesterday.
That’s enough excitement for one day!
Bobby
Thanks for the birthday wishes, unless it’s JimTim’s as well
Paul67 et al
Let me get this straight, we are playing the champions of a nation that have qualified for next years World Cup finals with two games to spare, a team unlucky to have been beaten by Man Utd last season, a team who had to play Munich with ten men, a team who have won their last two domestic matches. You mean that team! What’s next? Bayern on the ropes!
Or, from my point of view, we’re playing a team with “Royal” in their name. It shouldn’t be allowed! Grrrrr
bonnyprincecharliecsc
Big Joe from the CSA summing it up perfectly for me,
I never like going to Snake Mountain, mostly because of the bile and hatred that pours down from the Sevco sections, and it was no different on Saturday. But there is no better place to win a football match and watch those who are a stain on society going away with their tail between their legs, humiliated once again.
TIMJIM
Aw,f…
That’s the cake ruined.
!!BADA BING!! on 26TH SEPTEMBER 2017 12:38 PM
I don’t think we can afford to go with LG, Sinclair and Paddy from the start.A wee bit tighter to start the game with 4-5-1 IMO.Our away record is poor, and not great CL experience in the ranks.Play ourselves into the game, then settle down into the game.
Total agreement.Pass them off the park.
Bobby
Very Sharp :0)
A Joyful Lament to a Different Game
Celtic fans around the world spent last season commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Lisbon Lions European Cup success. The current team played their part with an unbeaten campaign that culminated in a treble. But amid the joyful nostalgia there is the recognition that that the game has changed beyond all measure in the intervening period.
It is a Saturday afternoon in Paisley, just outside Glasgow. The year is 1967 and a 28 year old man with a whimsical idea in mind is dialling a number in a telephone box, more in hope than expectation. A gruff sounding Irishman receives the call. A speculative request is made, and is granted after brief consideration. The necessary arrangements are agreed. The players of St Charles Boys Club should report to the stadium the next day at 10am for a tour of the ground. Some of the Celtic players – newly crowned European champions – are in for a light training session and will be happy to say hello. The man placing the call – my father – thanks the gentlemen on the other end, the Celtic assistant manager, Sean Fallon. A hectic evening ensues convincing disbelieving kids and parents alike that the proposed outing is not a hoax.
On the Sunday morning, Fallon was true to his word and a dozen or so wide eyed Paisley youngsters were greeted by the man from Sligo, who warmly introduced them to legendary manager Jock Stein and club icon Jimmy McGrory, along with a clutch of first team players who willingly had a kickabout with them at the ground, followed by a full tour of the stadium.
I’ve lost count how many times I’ve been told this story, both by my old man and by those who made the 10 mile trip to Glasgow’s east end with him. As I sat with my dad watching Brendan Rogers’ current Celtic team honour the 50th anniversary of the Lisbon Lions triumph with an undefeated treble in May this year, we reflected again on that impromptu encounter, laughing at the notion that a man in the street would have such direct, immediate and unfettered access to senior players and management at the home of the reigning European champions, while remembering that this was also a time when star midfielder Bobby Murdoch would take the bus to training on a daily basis and legendary winger Jimmy Johnstone borrowed money from the ball boys for a fish supper on the way home. Simpler times undoubtedly, when players and managers were still deeply embedded in their communities and were talented representatives and extensions of the wider support
In football as in life, the generations elapse and things change, but these anecdotes – now half a century old and heavily laden with nostalgia – form the basis of a lament to the modern game, where elite players are for the most part, fiercely protected from their fans. The story of the Lisbon Lions has been split into tens of thousands of narratives but it remains eternal and special largely because eleven men, all from within thirty miles of Glasgow, conquered Europe with an earthy, gallus swagger which is entirely different to the pretentious conceit we often see at the top level of football today.
I often argue with my dad that nostalgia can contaminate the memory when it comes to football but in the case of the Lions, the evidence pointing towards true greatness is overwhelming. Some might also argue, and not without reason, that Celtic fans have an inclination towards the sentimental but it’s important to acknowledge the club would not have the history and romance it has now, had those players not had the courage and ability they had then, but the magnitude of their unique achievements were not always recognised in some quarters. From the UK media, national team selectors and even from within the boardroom at Celtic Park they received contemporary applause, followed by oblivion, with the odd moment of rediscovery. Chief executive Peter Lawell and Martin O’Neill raised their profile greatly again around the millennium, though the fans had never allowed these ordinary heroes to be forgotten.
When Jock Stein arrived as manager in 1965 there was no drum roll to accompany him. Trumpets did not play. His limited playing career and plain speaking offered no hint of his visionary attitude to the game. He was an ex miner whose values of modesty, humility and teamwork were forged in the pits, a man who in the words of Hugh McIllvanney was “educated below his intelligence”. His impact on the club and on his players was seismic. Victory over the mighty Inter Milan in Lisbon was as one sided as a 2-1 victory could possibly be, where Celtic dominated proceedings entirely, despite the oppressive heat and the concession of an early goal. It is unlikely that there has ever been a more fruitful or historic collaboration between two full backs than Jim Craig’s perfectly timed cutback for Tommy Gemmell to hammer in the equaliser from the edge of the box, a combination which epitomised the relentlessly attacking nature of the Celtic performance. When Stevie Chalmers diverted Gemmells strike beyond the one man barricade of Giuliano Sarti, the Italians had long since abandoned any pretence of attempting to win the game.
Re-watching the entire ninety minutes is an illuminating experience; Celtic were absolutely masterful.
Millions of words have been written about this special team so when the anniversary documentaries and articles began to be trailed it was hard to see where the fresh angle would come from. The new perspective on their achievements came with a heavy dose of melancholy and sadness, with news earlier in the year that team captain Billy McNeill was in advanced stages of Alzheimer’s disease, which was closely followed by the passing of Tommy Gemmell. These were hard blows for a group of men who are close as brothers and the anniversary celebrations were coloured by recent developments. The sight of Billy McNeill with the group in May this year prompted some throat clogging emotions for Celtic fans of all ages.
Jimmy Johnstone overcame the limitations of his genetic inheritance, not to mention some medieval tackling, to be voted the greatest Celt of all time. Bertie Auld epitomised the Glaswegian essence of the team with streetwise attitude and ability, while Bobby Murdoch held the compass every time the team advanced. But McNeill was the undisputed leader of the team. This son of a blackwatch soldier led the team out in Lisbon with the quiet nobility of a gladiator and ended it by ascending the concrete stairs alone, to be immortalised in the most famous photograph in the clubs history with the big cup. It must be difficult for family and ex-team mates to see a figure of such physical and mental fortitude in his current health.
Sporting icons, even the greatest, do not exist in a vacuum and the remaining Lisbon Lions are old men now. Even those St Charles Boys Club youngsters who attended Celtic Park on a bright Sunday morning are in their sixties. While all would acknowledge the incredible job Brendan Rogers has done in his maiden season to connect players, fans and management again, it would be an offence to most fans sensibilities to compare the two teams. It is equally futile to compare eras and traditions but one wonders what Jock Stein would have made of the corporate carnival of vanity that passes for the Champions League today, or what McNeill might think of the actions of Sergio Ramos in ensuring the dismissal of his opponent in the recent Champions League final.
The remembrance of the Lions was a season long celebration and they were commemorated brilliantly by supporters in the 67th minute of every game at home and away, in Scotland and abroad. For Celtic fans of my father’s generation, that Celtic team were men like themselves with the same daily concerns, who just happened to be sportsmen. Perhaps this is part of the reason why they continue to be so celebrated.
Sometimes it’s unhealthy to dismiss modern progress or to lapse into sentimentality for an extended period of time, but in the year of the Lisbon Lions 50th anniversary, it’s been entirely justified. There will never be another team like them.
Travelling to Munich with the missus
We are planning to go to the ticket office on the Tuesday is that a good idea?
Mrs and Mr thomthethim
Hooooooooooooooooopy anniversary.
TIMJIM
Hoooooooooooooooooooopy Birthday
ThomtheTim for Oscar OK on 26th September 2017 1:05PM
Commiserations to Mrs ThomtheTim. September weekend 1970, giving you six months tax rebate when the married couples allowance kicked in to add a bit of spending power on the honeymoon. That’s the kind of prudent financial planning which could yet give you a welcome seat in the Celtic boardroom.
Your bhoy on the tv is looking dapper for forty six. Here’s to 3pts tomorrow.
Tommy Joad on 26th September 2017 2:23 pm
Thank you for a brilliant post Sir.
Till later all
With regards the International team, I, if I was Celtic manager, would ask the selected players how much playing for Scotland means to them. Personally, I would ban all said players from taking part in that circus.
Bottom line is, what can anyone tell me, has Scottish football done for Celtic. yeah, the answer is SFA.
I understand the “honour” thing, but it is Celtic who play the players wages.
so, stuff the SFa and stuff their shitty team. Why on earth should we dig them out their hole.
Off to lie doon
KINGLuBO
Leftclicktic I agree a fine post by Tommy Joad wish I had such an eloquent way with words, more power to your keyboard Tommy. Hail Hail Hebcelt
Every now and again when I have time for a quick scroll back I read a post that is quite brilliant and which reminds me why I’ve not yet given up on CQN. (stopping my morning weather reports was stage 1 of my gradual withdrawal plan!)
TOMMY JOAD @ 2.23 – simply fantastic! Thank you, sincerely.
Hail Hail.
TOMMY JOAD on 26TH SEPTEMBER 2017 2:23 PM
A Joyful Lament to a Different Game
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Truly wonderful post, one that deserves to be shared further as an article in it’s own right.
P67 / WINNING CAPTAINS – how about it?
HH
Tommy Joad
Superbly written
CQN at its finest
HH
Tommy Joad
Thanks for that great post. It had me holding back the tears. Where have the years gone. That day I was only 20 years old heading for the big 21. I thank God for my life and think about those who are no longer with us.
Have I lost my mind or is there not a glaring error in tommy joads great post ?
When Stevie Chalmers diverted Gemmells strike beyond the one man barricade of Giuliano Sarti Was it not Murdochs shot Stevie touched into the net ?
☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
Happy Anniversary to the thomthethims
☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
Tommy Joad – wonderful story.
HH
Unrealistic to expect Celtic players to refuse to play for Scotland despite the SFA’s discriminatory behavior against our players.
Scotland would have had a far better chance of qualification if not for such.
Playing for your country has the benefit of you pitting your talents against some of the worlds best and increases your value for your agent to capitalize on.
I never watch or support Scotland but i respect why the players do it.
Thomthethim – Happy Anniversary to you and your wife.
HH