The latest football book from the ever expanding CQN publishing stable is a long awaited blast from one of the many world class players who were part of the Lisbon Lions of 1967. Celtic’s best ever left back has collaborated with Alex Gordon, a vastly experienced sports writer, to produce a rollicking tale from a football life that was full of adventure, just like Tommy’s own playing style and that of the team that made him famous.
Entitled “All The Best”, the title reflects the fact that Tommy offers these wishes to all his readers, that he is giving of his best in the writing of the book just as he did on the field, with candid comment and surprising views, but, mostly, because Tommy has taken the stable diet of the football memoir- “Who were the best players that you played with and against?”, and taken this to another level
He has listed nine “Best Of” teams in the course of the book: the Lions (of course), Tommy’s best Scotland teammates, the best Celtic players apart from the Lions, a World Football 11 Tommy’s played against, his best teammates from both Nottingham Forest and Dundee, as well as two generations of great Celtic players Tommy has watched as a spectator. There’s even a nod to his time as Albion Rovers’ manager.
Now, those of you used to the lazy format of a football book where not much thought, insight or honesty goes into the exercise, will be very surprised at the level of honesty, brutal in some cases, that goes into the pen pictures of those selected and some who just missed out. Tommy turns an honest spotlight on himself, you find yourself nodding your head in agreement, once you’ve recovered your breath, that is.
For this is a breathless read of a football life lived to the full. The forthright opinions on managers, even those he admired, are very revealing about the amount of dishonesty involved in football. You will be astounded at how these world class football players conducted themselves. If you are expecting to find tales of clean living, utmost professionalism on and off the field, and modern collegiate management, you will be very disappointed in this book. However, if you are looking for searing honesty, interspersed with several hilarious tales, then this is the book for you
It is not the polite memoir of a senior citizen glossing over the bad behaviour of his younger days, it is the “warts and all” tales of a more innocent time, when despite the absence of modern techniques, Scotland managed to rule the world and produce a Golden generation, for a brief period of time. Some of the opinions expressed are candid to the point of scurrilous-ness but the humour that is present in every chapter and every pen picture takes the edge of some of the more boorish behaviour which is recounted. There is no hiding place in sport. Everyone has an opinion and is keen to share it. Add booze to the picture and bad behaviour will inevitably follow,
It is fair to say that, even though I thought I was well acquainted with the details of Tommy’s life and career, there were many incidents that I was hearing about for the first time. Tommy’s description of one of his early team mates at Celtic who made life difficult for him will, first of all, shock you and then have you biting the carpet with laughter. His tale of transfer negotiations with the legendary Jim McLean and with a Ranger’s Director will also have you smiling broadly as Tommy does not miss and hit the wall.
From the Foreword by fellow Lisbon Lion, Bertie Auld, through to the final section, where Tommy fields some cheeky questions from the posters on the Celtic Quick News site, genuine laugh out loud humour is not far from the surface. This is a very funny book and captures the banter that still flows between these football legends.
It is a difficult task to combine such humour with frank honesty and then to maintain readability. In the 12 chapters of the book, you will find details which surprise, shock and amuse you. If you are a Celtic fan of a certain age, you will smile in reminiscence as long forgotten events are re-lived from an insider’s perspective. If you are a football fan at all, you will get an insight into the world of football from the 50s to the 80s from a practitioner and into modern football of the past 3 decades from an informed observer. If you just like to read a good book, this one will make you laugh out loud at many points.
Tommy Gemmell gave all his best for Celtic and Scotland while he played there. He continues to give us all his best in this publication. This is the best football memoir I’ve read in a long time. I am still remembering pieces and chuckling as I type this.
For a short period only you can add to the bundle Tommy is dedicating and signing (below) from the button at the bottom of the page.
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My friends in Celtic,
I think there will be another EPL vacancy up for grabs soon. If NFL has a birthday soon let us sign up Clair Grogan for a chorus.
Big Sam will tell them to poke it. A tutor at his age ? CQN has taught me that everyday is a school day but this is surely an insult to a veteran manager and an offer he must refuse
HH.
Awe-naw
Sorry mate, read it earlier on and forgot who posted it. Came back to mind and I didn’t scroll back .
Obviously, if I’d realised it was your good self who posted i would never have questioned it.
I would never question your integrity on any such matter!!!
Hail Hail bud
bada bing…
money spinning fixtures v the dead ones ASAP.. for PL I think
burghbhoy
21:09 on20 May, 2014
You forgot my Birthday you sweet talker ;-)
HH
Awe-Naw
Happy birthday buddy , didn’t realise.
Hope you have had a great day.
May all your Celtic dreams come true!
Hail Hail bud
Martin “Doco” Doherty (11 July 1958 – 21 May 1994)
RIP
And Thanks
Greenpinata
21:08 on
20 May, 2014
Fair point. The lamb was delicious though. On the same walk today, I saw an SSPCA officer (lovely looking girl) carrying an injured seagull in a plastic box the usual reserve of cats and dogs. They are all God’s creatures, but come on.
In big Yaya’s defence, look what this guy got!
http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=marilyn%20monroe%20at%20president%20kennedy's%20birthday&source=web&cd=7&ved=0CEIQtwIwBg&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dk4SLSlSmW74&ei=Q7h7U_C9H47gsASXsYKQCA&usg=AFQjCNEpw5K5o7oGJ_G8U8BNJ77lWefj4A&bvm=bv.67229260,d.cWc
Burgbhoy
I was pretending I was yaya its not my birthday ;-)
HH
LIGHTBULB moment somebody has finally used their brain
Written by – John McIntosh
Statement number 158 of the season was made in the past few days where the board dismissed any idea that they had in principle agreed to a legally binding contract to not sale/leaseback Ibrox nor use Ibrox as a security over a loan during their meeting with the Union of Fans – even though the media and UOF were claiming great progress had been made.
If it’s a case of choosing a side to believe – then I have to side with Union of Fans; although they have received criticism in some quarters and in some cases deserved the criticism. They are Rangers fans at the end of the day who have the clubs best interests at heart – which can’t be said of certain current board members/hedge funds. They simply want assurances that our beloved home will not be sold and leased back to us – this is a frightening, but possible scenario.
Ibrox is our home, the place with so many memories good and bad of great triumphs and of our worst time when we sadly lost 66 bluenoses. This should be untouchable and there are ways fans can act now to protect our home. The fans currently hold a 12% shareholding in the company and 25% would be enough to block any move to sale/leaseback major assets such as Ibrox.
Now to look at what hedge funds do, hedge funds are…
“An aggressively managed portfolio of investments that uses advanced investment strategies such as leveraged, long, short and derivative positions in both domestic and international markets with the goal of generating high returns.”
So it’s quite clear they will do whatever it takes to bring maximum returns. Hedge funds are bad news for football clubs – just ask Coventry City fans who currently don’t play their home games in their home ground. Meanwhile Leeds United had to do a sale and leaseback deal around a decade ago and have paid multi-millions simply in rental costs in recent years that has stifled their ability to progress as a club.
Sandy Easdale & Graham Wallace, courtesy of SNS
There has been talk that Graham Wallace is being limited in what he can do with the Union of Fans – commenting that Wallace had offered the legally binding contract proposal where no sale and leaseback or security over Ibrox could be used. Graham Wallace, Sandy Easdale and Norman Crichton were present and very for it…so this seemed a formality. Also during the meeting the Union of Fans commented that they wished the same deal for Murray Park which the three board members agreed to discuss with the rest of the PLC board. After initial resistance from Norman Crighton (Laxey puppet) and Sandy Easdale (Charles Green puppet) they now “wished to retain flexibility over Murray Park.” Isn’t that interesting and worrying.
When the board released a strong statement basically calling Union of Fans liars. They said no sale and leaseback would happen with Ibrox over the next twelve months whilst also not mentioning Murray Park which set alarm bells ringing for me on two levels – a worry that Murray Park could soon be used as an asset for hedge funds to disarm our club for years to come and that Ibrox is certainly not safe after this twelve month period and that due to the nature of the board’s lies and incompetence this time-frame could easily be another lie.
So, you need to ask why the Union of Fans and the board members came out with such staggering differences. You have to ask – what does each party gain from lying? The Union of Fans gains nothing by reporting a deal seems likely whilst the board get a great deal from lying. They appear to be working with fans’ concerns as the season ticket deadline was reaching its climax thus many fans will have renewed on this basis. Then when this didn’t work out as well as they hoped, they reverted back to emotional blackmail calling on all “loyal fans” to back the team and renew – utterly pathetic.
I do not support this board and I certainly don’t support the major shareholders/hedge funds who appear to be pulling the strings behind the scenes. I believe Charles Green is still heavily involved and whilst hedge funds have a grip of our club – there is always a worry over our club’s major assets but what can we as fans do?
Heavily flood to RangersFirst and BuyRangers so we can block any move to do with our major assets by reaching a 25% shareholding in our club.
will they act on this, doubt it as they have been warned on numerous occasions?
KTF
Awe-naw
Bit slow on the uptake tonight bud!
Man City owners deny disrespecting Ya Ya
Is anyone surprised that Yaya Tory is a money grabbing bassa
An Tearmann
21:08 on
20 May, 2014
Sorry glen hit post there quickly
Top moniker btw.i have yet to impersonate
Glen daly without loosing my voice :-))
HH
A pair of very tight troosers and a Vicks inhaler up each nostril is all you need for a passable impression!
Re the ‘accepted’ Sevco……you are right of course about what happened in that whole twisted fiasco. I just find it amusing, them being accepted in when the whole thing is so laughingly UN acceptable
So Brines is retiring? In any other trade or profession he wd have booted out years ago?
Twatt of a man!!
beatbhoy
21:20 on 20 May, 2014
That footage turns my stomach
Knowing what that pair of degenerates were up to and the state they left her in.
What are the chances of Brines being replaced by a fair and impartial referee?
Answers on a (Sevco) postcard.
glendalystonsils
Only if they bring in foreign referees :-)))
Don’t know if anyone else has been watching ‘Happy Valley’ but OMG!!!
Tense hardly covers it…
Minneapolis wins the 2018 Super Bowl. Awarded due to the $1bn they are spending on a new stadium for the Vikings, $500m of which comes from public funds.
We have the Ryder Cup in 2016 as well. Could be a 100deg F swing in temperature between the two events.
UEFA 2014 -2015 CL PDF :
http://www.uefa.com/MultimediaFiles/Download/Regulations/uefaorg/Regulations/02/09/88/17/2098817_DOWNLOAD.pdf
Pages 50, 51 and 52 give breakdown of seeds and competition dates. The SFA should hang their head in shame for allowing the game in Scotland to nosedive to the level it is now, for the benefit of one (now dead) club. FFS Cyprus are now 10 places above Scotland and have TWO teams in the CL qualifiers!
glendalystonsils
Re Brines, probably one of the Dallas Cowboys, no matter who takes his place, must be an improvement, as he without trying was so incompetent,a blind Mason will do a better job.Haudoan thats on all there CVs.
Awerabest PJ
mncelt
Are you a Vikings/NFL follower?
A mate of mines is banging on about the ridiculously hard schedule they have this year and fancies them to have a dreadful year – any thoughts??
Justafan
Where and when is it on?? (virgin)
Eyes Wide Open
20:36 on 20 May, 2014
Guys,
I’m not a massive Lawwell fan, but surely we can all acknowledge whatever the final deal which is agreed following these negotiations – the outcome will be reasonably and possibly significantly better with Lawwell, probably assuming the role of chief negotiator.
Lawwell, whether he was within the football industry or not – is a CEO in his own right and would command a 6 figure salary wherever he went.
It must gall him to have to sit within a ‘steering group’ with Neil Doncaster (SPL CEO), Duncan Fraser (Aberdeen FC CEO), Peter Lawwell (Celtic FC CEO) and Kenny Cameron (Inverness Caledonian Thistle Chairman) as his negotiation team.
I mean for anyone else listed within that group, how many could you say the same for?
Surely an initial indication of what negotiations would have been like prior to Peter, is the fact THEY have to travel as a group to the media broadcasters HQ.
Who wants to do what, who is asking who for something and who has the thing to sell??
You can imagine the inferiority complex of the other guys when negotiating with the professional commercial teams within Sky / BT.
Peter is the only one likely to have the chest puffed out and turn the negotiations on their head – because hes the only one proud of the Celtic ‘product’.
He could spin a hundred facts about the pulling and selling factor of Celtic the other guys wouldnt have dreamed of.
Celtic is the only show in town.
All other clubs are there simply be default.
Negotiations will therefore transpire in the only manner they should – but previous never will have.
I for one and glad Peter is in there on this one.
—————————————————————————————————–
Mate while I do agree with part of what you say re PL’s negoiating skills etc, without the other teams in Scotland there isn’t any show, in your town or any other town. Celtic need the other clubs just as much as they need us.
This country has a proud footballing history that has evolved over 100 years, who’s to say what state we’ll be in with the passing of years.
Your post contains an arogance that is reminiscent of the supporters of another club who also once thought they were the only show in town.
Squire Danaher
Sorry if this (in)famous footage upset you.
The intention though was to mock Yaya Toure, and his petulance, not Marilyn Monroe.
pogmathonyahun aka laird of the smiles
22:08 on 20 May, 2014
UEFA 2014 -2015 CL PDF :
http://www.uefa.com/MultimediaFiles/Download/Regulations/uefaorg/Regulations/02/09/88/17/2098817_DOWNLOAD.pdf
Pages 50, 51 and 52 give breakdown of seeds and competition dates. The SFA should hang their head in shame for allowing the game in Scotland to nosedive to the level it is now, for the benefit of one (now dead) club. FFS Cyprus are now 10 places above Scotland and have TWO teams in the CL qualifiers!
——
Apoel Nicosia got to CL QF in 2012 (?) qualifying from average group and beating Lyon on pens in last 16
Check co-efficient they got for that.
Evening Timland from a very warm hun free mountain valley.
As each day passes, more and more revelations about them, the sfa, the spfl etc come to light.
The lack of action from the governing bodies is frankly a feckin joke, and to compound it, they are paying TV broadcasters to show thems games.
That is so, so wrong on so many levels.
A blind man can see that they are nigh on trading while insolvent, and yet no bond has been asked for, nothing from the sfa, spfl re thems being able to fulfill their forthcoming fixtures, as I said a feckin joke.
I said many years ago that they would be looked after, they will be, little things like the TV deal only goes to reinforce that view.
I have swithered for some time re giving it up, and this latest sham has pushed me to the brink, do I jump ?
I am enjoying their pain for sure, but….but…but….there are 41 other clubs in scotland, seems that the powers only have eyes for one.
It’s supposed to be sport, a game that is enjoyable, a game that all have a fair crack of the whip, WTF is the point ?
If someone wants to give me a little shove, I will be gone forever, had it.
HH
squire danaher
“beatbhoy
21:20 on 20 May, 2014
That footage turns my stomach
Knowing what that pair of degenerates were up to and the state they left her in”
————————————————————-
Agreed. Never mind conspiracy theories. The truth will out.
HH.
Brines should have been sacked after the 4 all game V Aberdeen
TBJ
Listened to the farcical interview with YaYa’s agent.
To put things into a ‘commercial’ perspective – Premier Inns opened a new hotel in Glasgow today for £11M (build cost = one year’s YaYa wages). It will employ 65 people and provide 4 apprenticeships.
Which is better value?
Good nightime reading from JF?
http://www.onfieldsofgreen.com/the-age-of-unreality/
Jude2005…
Every Tuesday at 9pm but tonight was episode 3 of four.
BBC1 so you will probably be able to catch up via On Demand.
Episode one started slowly but it is now gripping!
Don’t know where the ? came from…better dig out the specks.
beatbhoy 22:10
Absolutely no offence taken and none was presumed. I understand the analogy re Y Toure entirely!
Nonetheless It literally makes me feel sick watching that clip
I am watching my terminology here as I am aware of kids reading. There is a school of opinion which argues Marilyn was a very intelligent woman who knew fine well how to exploit her image. With the gift of hindsight and distance, that clip shows a cornered vulnerable creature being torn apart by rabid dogs, and disproves that school of opinion. Either that or MM had no insight whatsoever.
The stench of testosterone drips from the screen with the audience behaving like a pack of 13 year old prep brats who’ve just been given their first ever scud book.
She was dead three months later.
TET
Don’t go Fhriend.
KTF and stay with us Bhoys!
StepAwayFromTheEdgeCSC
HH jamesgang
squire Danaher
Yes – I like following the Vikings because they are my local team. I wasn’t aware that the schedule was released already for next season. In any case it is going to be a challenging season. A new coach and no top class Quarterback. We rely heavily on Adrian Petersen who is maybe the best running back in the league. If he get’s hurt it is going to be a struggle. The other big issue is that the stadium has been demolished and they are playing at the outdoor Minnesota Gophers College stadium which I think holds about 35,000. This will be the case for the next 2 seasons.
So, your friend is right. Don’t expect too much from them this year,
Bada Bing
The deal was between the SPL and the TV Company. Not Celtic and the TV company. PL Is there to protect Celtic not help TRFC.
He is part of an SPL group, some of whom had real fears about the consequences for them of a reduction in TV income. There had to be that threat otherwise why re negotiate if the deal required the TV Co to stump up regardless of audience size?
If other clubs are telling Celtic that they have fears of surviving at all or at the required level then, because of the interdependent nature of the football business PL has to listen, for Celtic need enough opponents of a reasonable standard to play against.
It is the interdependent nature of the football industry which means that no matter how much you dislike or hate the opposition you depend on opposition to have a business.
If the TV Company have you over a barrel then keeping some TV money in the game even at a cost of keeping audiences high enough for the TV Co to want to play ball is a hard reality that the game, not Celtic , has to deal with.
So the objective is not to subsidise TRFC but to minimise the drop in income.In saving the ship you also save the rats that also pay the TV Co via subscriptions & advertising because the TV Co are dictating the terms of the deal.
That is a plausible narrative if the intent was to minimise the income loss to the game as a whole interdependent community.
The other narrative is that the fear of loss of TV money was a myth created by the clubs fronted by ND to help keep Rangers alive and in as high a tier as they could be placed into and there was no threat of the TV Co pulling out
or
ND lied to all the clubs that there was a threat to help keep TRFC alive and there was no threat of reduction of TV income.
Given that a team went to renegotiate a deal then it has to be a myth that it was all done to help TRFC as there would be no need to meet to negotiate based on a myth with the TV Comp wondering why a negotiating team had arrived from Scotland on their doorstep.
This is one where how it is viewed depends on an understanding of how the interdependent nature of football stops clubs acting too harshly against fellow clubs no matter how tasteless they are
or
that dependency has nothing to do with it and everybody in Scottish football including Celtic are huns at heart.
Viewed from the wider dependency prism of all clubs rather than the narrow 2 club prism gives a different perception of what took place.
I think we need to look through both to see which one makes the more sense.