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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GG:
Can you remember the millions upon millions NTL paid Rangers? 1 less than all of Ireland’s counties. I think.
rwe
Prayers and best wishes for your son.
I have given up on trying to leave comments on his blog.
They continually disappear into virtual oblivion despite my best efforts.
The Bethesda Fountain in Central Park is a wee haven of peace on a warm day.
Its been a while since I have been down that way. In fact over a year.
Manhattan is a place I only visit when family are here from UK.
GG
I have the top respect for you, and (as you know well Kitalba too).
The bottom line though has become the bottom line….. I understand that… I cannot help be frustrated by the duplicity….
That is becoming more and more evident…..
RWE
Please convey my best wishes to Tony,and to all who love him.
He has enough on his plate without this latest setback.
The Bunnet has Landed (1) – Celtic Takeover
The Bunnet has Landed (2) – Celtic Takeover
The Bunnet has Landed (3) – Celtic Takeover
kitalba
NTL and Rangers
On the one road
singing the one song
On the road to bankruptcy.
I don’t remember their agreement in particular. No doubt it was inflated and bloated to satisfy Murray’s ego.
I still have a white strip with NTL emblazoned across it. I think from 2001 that I bought on a trip home during the MON era.
PJ
I agree that we have unnecessarily sacrificed integrity to sustain Scottish football.
We are the only lifeboat
and I wouldn’t mind so much if we had used this opportunity to drive home reforms and clear the rotten deadwood from our game.
As I said before, that ship has sailed and we will be sullied as opportunists instead of reformers.
That will not blunt my loyalty but it will jaundice my perception and push me into, no towards, the neganon view of the board’s position.
Good night and KTF
GG
‘Unnecessarily sacrificed integrity…’
Thank you.
G’Night.
£134m – Jim Whyte spewing
‘GG:
I remember the figure 31,000,000.
Now you all know why the world hates Neil Lennon, it’s because…
Willamina
Kit
I think that wee wummin has series issues with chewing gum
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21 comments Have your say!
The Scottish Professional Football League is paying broadcaster BT Sport up to £250,000 per season to show live matches involving Rangers, it was claimed last night.
STV reported that when Rangers were liquidated and removed from the old SPL and the newco club placed in the Third Division a renegotiated broadcasting deal contained a clause making the league – then the Scottish Premier League – liable for any increased production costs which came with broadcasting from lower-league stadiums, capped at £250,000 per season.
The SPL paid the Scottish Football League £800,000 for rights to show Rangers games for one season, but when the league bodies merged last year to form the SPFL, the deal was absorbed into the new organisation.
In a statement issued to STV last night, SPFL chief executive Neil Doncaster said: “The support given to Scottish football by our broadcast partners, in 2012 and since, has been fundamental to the ongoing health of the game in this country.”
BT Sport said in a statement: “[We] were delighted to inherit the SPFL rights from ESPN at the beginning of this season. However we cannot comment on contractual details.”
http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/spfl/lisbon-lion-john-clark-gets-set-to-roar-once-more-1-3417568
Discussion the other day ref Celtics youth system, it is a long road when you have to spend far too much time on fitness as well as improving technique
by LYNDSAY BUCKLAND
Published on the
21 May
2014
Video game-obsessed children in Scotland are among the least active in the world, research suggests.
A study ranking 15 countries on indicators of physical activity found Scotland came bottom in both overall exercise levels and also performed badly for the amount of time spent in front of TV and computer screens.
But the nation did better in areas such as having policies and strategies to boost activity and also for having facilities and outdoor areas available for exercise.
Findings of the “Global Matrix” of children’s physical activity study, which involved researchers at Strathclyde University in Glasgow, were presented at a conference in Toronto, Canada.
The researchers awarded each of the 15 countries which were included in the study a grade from A to F based on their performance in nine different categories.
Scotland was awarded an F for its performance against targets on overall physical activity. In the UK, experts recommend children get at least 60 minutes of exercise a day, but previous research has shown few achieve this.
Scotland was also awarded an F grade for its levels of sedentary behaviour, such as children spending long periods in front of the TV or computer. Canada, Nigeria and South Africa were also awarded F grades.
But when it came to the strategies and investments in place to support physical activity, Scotland earned a B grade.
It also received a B for having facilities, such as parks and playgrounds, to support physical activity in children and young people.
As well as Scotland, the other countries which submitted data to the matrix, published in the Journal of Physical Activity and Health, were Australia, Canada, Colombia, England, Finland, Ghana, Ireland, Kenya, Mexico, Mozambique, New Zealand, Nigeria, South Africa and the United States.
Professor John Reilly, from Strathclyde’s School of Psychological Sciences and Health, said the research had shown wide variation around the world.
While some countries scored well in some areas, they did badly in others, suggesting countries could learn from each other, he said.
Prof Reilly said: “There is a stark mismatch between the very good national level policies we have and the reality of the ‘headline’ behaviours of very low levels of physical activity and very high levels of screen-based sedentary behaviour.
“This is partly because many of the very good policy initiatives are relatively new and will take time to have an impact.”
He said for Scotland to improve its performance it needed to focus on measures which can be taken at a local level to tackle areas such as lack of physical activity and too much screen time.
Tam Fry, of the Child Growth Foundation and National Obesity Forum, said: “We must ensure that the education system steps in as a last resort and ensures that physical activity is part of the curriculum.
“We are breeding a nation of couch potatoes. If it is just left to parents we’re not going to see it getting any better.”
Scottish Conservative health spokesman Jackson Carlaw said: “If we don’t change their [youngsters’] pattern of behaviour, we risk passing inactivity and obesity down through generations.”
Sports secretary Shona Robison said: “The Scottish Government is committed to increasing physical activity and we want to make Scotland a more active country by encouraging people, and in particular young people, to make physical activity a part of their everyday lives.
“This is why this year I launched a ten-year physical activity implementation plan which aligns with the gold standard Toronto Charter and outlines our legacy ambitions.
“A key strategy to encourage more activity and to cut obesity is to focus on early years, where evidence suggests the greatest impact can be made.”
Good morning CQN in keeping with the study below i am off oot enjoy your day
A study ranking 15 countries on indicators of physical activity found Scotland came bottom in both overall exercise levels and also performed badly for the amount of time spent in front of TV and computer screens.
Lion roars
Did you read that on teletext ;)
gold coast tom
03:24 on 21 May, 2014
A Ceiler Gonof Rust said:
Our liaison officer continually bats off any difficult questions about how the return of the new hun will be depicted when they reach Celtic Park. – See above. What is the point of having JPCT?
Taking a wild stab in the dark, my guess would be . . . he is concerning himself with important issues.
NOT FORGETTING- if they are deid and have never been before, how can it be a “return”…? I tend to agree with GCT, there really are far more important, and indeed interesting, things that could be talked about here and elsewhere…
TBJ –
She also said, as a shoolteacher, she would never dream of sitting down at a parents evening without shaving first.
Hard to believe Seville was 11 years ago 2day. An experience il never forget. With the way mega money rules football now we will probably never see another European final again.
TBJ says Wee Oscar Knox is in heaven with the angels
06:57 on
21 May, 2014
Off oot with Ipod and Android mobile phone, walking and surfing…………………………..:))))))))
Good morning friends from a dry, bright and sunny Coventry.
BMCUW
Will pass your caring on to him.
Catheter now installed at third venue.
HH & KTF
GCT
Did she mention which part of her body she shaves before parents evenings
Wummin is a total roaster … NFL has his mad moments ( less recently ) but to go onto a radio show and slag him off then compare him with sneaky ally shows that she is one school teacher you wouldn’t want educating your kids
Beatbhoy
12.10
Sorry about not replying fell a sleep, The Black Crowes Southern Harmony album was one of the best I’ve heard, also so them live at the Barriwlands at the time of the clip posted and have to say one of the best gigs I’ve ever been to and I’ve seen most bands
Lion roars
Multi tasking eh ;)
Don’t walk into any trees while your surfin
boab1888
07:28
I saw The Black Crowes at the same gig in the Barrowlands and I have to agree that it’s the best gig I’ve ever seen.
TBJ –
That would all have been round about the time NFL was being assulted and abused and having bombs and bullets sent to him, yet this woman, who claims to be a Celtic supporter, is on SSB attacking him and the worst she can come up with is that he attended a media conference while unshaven and chewing gum. Oh and wearing a tracksuit rather than a Saville Row number.
Hanging’s too good for Lenny obviously.
Whither the cash strapped scrofulous hillbillies the day?
Adrian Durham Thinks That Celtic Are A Joke Club
KITALBA 0516
Ffs,that is hilarious!
If she’s a Celtic fan,I’m The Queen of Sheba. What a silly woman,’one of the greatest managers ever in Walter Smith’
Canny think of any Celtic fans coming away wi that.
KITALBA
Durham once had a hun girlfriend.
Provide your own pic,but he was obviously so grateful that he became a hun too.
Infected wi hunnishness,and Lord knows what else.
I see ole Jobo’s in Coventry.
All together now:
This town is coming like a ghost town
All the clubs have been closed down
This place is coming like a ghost town
Bands won’t play no more
Too much fighting on the dance floor
Good morning CQNers,
I never thought I’d live to see the day when the unionist dominance of Northern Ireland politics would be neutralised. Slowly but surely things are changing.
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/politics/ni21-party-rejects-unionist-label-will-redesignate-in-assembly-30290713.html
Yesssss!
Morning all. Brightish down here at the moment. Cool too.
I imagine things aren’t too cool down Govan way. Overheated might be a better description of the ffers. Long may their anguish continue.
Boab1888
No problem. . . Battery on this device ran out anyway as I was trying to post ‘Remedy’ in return!
Chris Robinson is right up there with the best vocalists who’ve ever fronted a rock band.
The Black Crowes?
THe Black Crowes?
Gggrrr.