Back in the 80s I had a soft spot for Porto. Their 2-1 1987 European Cup final win over Bayern Munich, coming from behind in the last 15 minutes and scoring with a back-heel, against a vastly better resourced opponent, was something Celtic fans could relate to.
A decade later I followed Porto’s tribulations as they tried to recapture those heights in the Champions League with a new team. They remained an engaging team but when it came to the big clubs there was always one who would wipe the floor with them. Manchester United scored four without reply in the 1997 quarter finals. The following season Real Madrid hit six over two games without conceding as Porto exited at the group stage.
It was a group stage exit the next season, before Bayern Munich took them in the 2000 quarter final. Then what looked like a significant reversal as they failed to qualify for Europe’s top tournament, settling for Uefa Cup football instead in season 2000-01. They eliminated Celtic from the group stage in 2001-02 but were taken home and away by Real Madrid in the last sixteen.
All this time they were fine-tuning player development and recruitment strategy; buying marginally better players and selling for ever-increasing money. Real Madrid may have wiped the floor with them but Porto’s business model was fine-tuned by 2002. Real won their last European trophy that season but the gap with Porto was closed in an instant.
Celtic are less than two years into their current strategy and we’re miles ahead of where we should be. It will be extremely difficult to match this season’s on-field achievements next season, but the stage you exit the Champions League is only one yardstick available. It took Porto years of slow and meandering progress to learn what it took to reach the highest level. This is our task.
On Friday 1 March the Lisbon Lions will be at the Kerrydale Suite providing commentary and answering questions on their magnificent European Cup final win in 1967. This has never happened in 46 years since that game, to say it is a unique opportunity fails to tell the whole story.
The event is part of our 125 4 125 campaign – central to reinvigorating the charitable spirit which is part of the club we love. It will be a family occasions, tickets are available at £10 for adults and £5 for children. The night has been organised by several fans working in conjunction with the people at Celtic Charity, so please do your best to support this great occasion. Individual tickets or tables are available, details here.
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Vmhan,
Take care back in Derry and enjoy your pint in Tracey’s.
Been a while since I got one there myself but hopefully soon.
I’m sure your old man will be looking down on you.
Best if luck and safe journey.
Mucker
Chairbhoy – yesterday’s blog.
Sorry for the delay in replying but I log on mostly in the morning for a quick review and post the odd comment. On Friday I have more time as I’m in a fortunate position to end my working week on a Thursday afternoon.
I wouldn’t argue with you on the need to perform well at set pieces. I should clarify the point I was making was that when we meet teams who allow us to come onto them, we rely too much on corners as an attacking ploy due to our lack of penetration.
Antonio Conte has shown others how to nullify a large percentage of our goal scoring threat, albeit with the aid of spineless officials, and I’m sure other managers will have taken notice.
*****
Manchester United
The Premier League club said pre-tax profits for the last six months of the year were £22.3m.
The Old Trafford club still has debts of £366.6m and staff costs rose by more than 10% to £84.5m, mainly thanks to new player signings and player wage increases.
Celtic
Interim financial results show the club made a pre-tax profit of £14.94m, up from £0.18m on the previous year.
Turnover increased by 71% to £50.06m and Celtic reduced net bank debt from £7.05m to £0.13m.
Financial fair play? All I’ll say is fair play to Celtic.
Abmucker, I’ll be in with Coorslad on Sat afternoon and Sunday if your around.
HH
A Ceiler Gonof Rust
02:03 on 15 February, 2013
Petec, I hope you’re wrong on the Efe captaincy point. He’s not our captain. There’s no room for sentiment here. Scott Brown is our captain and he played like one on Tuesday.
Lets keep it real.
I agree with many though who said commons should have kept his gub shut in his criticism of his team mate. I’ve no issue with commons having an issue, I just don’t want to see our team publicly denouncing our team.
FFS, and he sounds like a very intelligent young bloke too. I hope Neil Lennon has had a quite word in his wee lug.
_____________________________________________________________________
Efe is home at Celtic, it is so obvious. Celtics policy is to bring in exceptional youngsters and move them on at a massive profit. We all realise that and are braced for exits of our Best players, at massive prices.
There is no bigger supporter of Scott Brown on here than me, I include Kitalba in that quick summary, Scott would be rested and Joe Deadly will play. It is intelligent man management, that has been a hallmark of Neil’s tenure as manager.
Vmhan,
Thanks for the invite Mucker.
Wish it was possible but I’ll be in Aberdeen working away.
I usually get a pint in Tracy’s and Peadar’s when I’m back. In fact don’t feel like I’m home til I have gone in.
Enjoy yerself and hopefully I’ll manage to take you up on that offer sometime soon.
Mucker
Just read Paul McConville’s blog about the BBC dropping him from their broadcast, the word cowards comes to mind.
He is also described on one of the Rabid Rabid sites as being ” a rhabid papish, Rangers-hating Protestant-hating, British-hating fenian b@st*rd”. The last word is not edited on that site.
Q. Will the police, who seem infatuated with the GB, pursue the person who posted this under their anti-sectarianism legislation? I think not :-(
16 roads – Neil Lennon walks on water.
02:12 on 15 February, 2013
Ye dinnae need to apologise to me for anything. Your posts are essential reading IMO.
Amazon and their ilk should though. They are less likely though as they are getting bigger and WORSE.
Just dropped in to say…..
Zbyszek and Googybhoy
Thought and Prayers
To both yer families at this sad time
YNWA KTF
Is the BBC’s decision to drop Paul McConville just another instance of editorial power there being deferred to the dead club and its followers. They were happy to employ that clubs main cheerleader without censoring him.
Worth a re-post. The Happy End of los Ranqueros.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91K5oBAzW6M&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Stairheedrammy
08:40 on 15 February, 2013
_______________________
The only way to sort out the BBC
is to ban them, imo
HH
It truly is remarkable that a blogger like Paul mcConville can be dropped by the MSM but that Graham guy who spread lies about Celtic fans singing songs that never took place all over twitter to massive mockery gets on regularly.
Orwellian indeed.
petec
__________
Love as always M8
UR my very own – Mr Miyagi :o)
HH
I see there was debate around pro IRA songs on the blog over the past few days and while I dont want to reignite it I wondered if the song “Roll of Honour” was considered one- as Salmonds security force has rearrested a 17 year old for apparently singing it- and did this by classifying it as promoting a terrorist organisation. My view is that it comments on the struggle against Thatchers promotion of state sponsored terrorism on one community in the North of Ireland
There’s just no satisfying some people. How many times have all of us said ” I’m starving, I could eat a horse”? Now we are all feckin moaning about it!
http://img715.imageshack.us/img715/1076/1360917808807.jpg
Kev- a ban is a tad extreme for a first salvo- I’d start by complaining
Stairheedrammy
08:46 on 15 February, 2013
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Well said M8
HH
As regards Paul McC and our “friends” from across the city, somebody needs to invent a massive, one-way time machine and drop them and the Fleg protesters somewhere in the 17th century, circa 1690 should do the trick.
Apologies if posted already. No great lover of the Herald these days, but this is reasonably balanced….
http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/football/tie-might-be-over-but-celtic-can-derive-value-from-defeat.20209955
Stairheedrammy
08:49 on 15 February, 2013
________________________
As far as I know…Celtic FC/PLC sent a letter of complaint to the BBC about
Rob McLean and Pat Nevins derisory comments about the Celtic support
singing -Pro IRA songs at the SCF 2005. I don’t know the outcome of that but,
I would have thought that the iron was hot enough on that occasion for a ban ?
Only saying.
HH
SCF 2005 = 2010
typo
sorry
Pog- I think you will find that they are already in 1690
KevinJungle – Murdo Macleod – 4-2 – Cheerio 10 iar :o)
08:46 on 15 February, 2013
Thank You……
Here is a tract that visually says it all about things. This isn’t quite the Papal dove being attacked by the seagull.
You keep talking and rocking Kevin and let no human silence you.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDmK_r8p1_M
Kev J
Are you the Kev Bungle character on twitter that was so scathingly dismissed by Neil Lennon after commenting on Tuesday’s match?
setting free the bears
08:58 on 15 February, 2013
_________________________
Sorry – Wrong ghuy.
P.S. An old fogie like me…dizny even know how
to get on to twitter !!!
P.P.S. I think oor Neil will have to start looking at
himself….instead of blaming everybody else !!!
petec
_____
Thanks for the choon M8
I feel terrible cause…I don’t
know how to play ye one back :o(((
Sorry
HH
Least we should forget.
The four horsemen of the Tescopalypse:
http://img690.imageshack.us/img690/8443/1360918879975.jpg
Kev- I cant argue with your logic
Pogmathonyahun aka Laird of the Smiles
09:07 on 15 February, 2013
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Heh, heh, heh !!!
Superb
HH
miki67
08:41 on 15 February, 2013
—————————————-
Thanks for posting that, I hadn’t seen that one. Something new for my FB page.
Kev
Somebody is reproducing your knee-jerk blunderbusss style on twitter under the name KevBungle.
A bit like that tribute act in the 3rd division.
Funny that your pal Shug uses the same excuse about Twitter. Does Shug write all the DR letters calling for Neil to be sacked or is it just yours? :-)
greendreamz
My old man was on that trip to Milan with Fr Cairns. he saidf he dragged them round every chapel in Milan.
He still has a photo up in his living room of him and the Bhoys with Fr Cairns in a white roll neck sweater in his kitchen.
LB
Stairheedrammy
09:09 on 15 February, 2013
Kev- I cant argue with your logic
___________________________
Hmmmm – You must be a unique type of
breed on here ? :o)
P.S. Just watch ye don’t get cast aside as a – Troll :o)
HH
setting free the bears
09:09 on 15 February, 2013
________________________
Ah – I knew ye would try another angle…
Naw – Nothing to do with Shug
And, Aye it’s me who phones in and says
Neil should be sacked !!!
And guess what…I’ll say it again – Neil should be SACKED !!!
How’s that for ye ?
Sorry for breaking the blog
So…Off oot.
Morning from a cold but dry Manc
Goggybhoy sorry for your loss keep the faith bud
Any “official “explanation on Paul mcC removal from radio prog?
Any news on LNS?
Cheers in advance for any info
Hail hail
KevJ
As usual
I’m devastated :-)
You’ll have quite a few lining up behind you with that rallying cry :-)
You’re a man who wants to ban the BBC but whines when Shug gets a ban
You want Celtic to ban the Record but you buy it and phone it daily and consider it more of a friend than Celtic is to you.
You used Neil Lennon’s name (in praise) on your log in name here and now that he has guided us to a CL last 16 you want him sacked.
You advocate packing the team with Celtic minded players but rail over the history of Peter Grant whilst praising Murdo.
I can see how your logic and consistency of opinion can win admirers :-)
Before I go.
No matter how much turd polishing the MSM and Sevco apologists did yesterday Sevco are still deep in the do do.