If you met a former Celtic player before a game, it was most likely John Fallon. Of the thousands of players who have worn the jersey over the last 137 years, surely none has paid their way to see his former team more than John. This was never more evident than the last time the Lisbon Lions were celebrated at Celtic Park, John was absent, announced that he was unable to be at the game, which was a surprise to our former keeper, as he was watching from the stands.
He sat on the bench alongside Jock Stein and Sean Fallon that day in Lisbon, beneficiary of a medal he waited too long to collect, but it gave him an insight into what you and I hold precious. His stories will be told forever, but never again in the first person.
There was an authenticity about John’s retelling of his time in the game which is seldom heard these days. Stein? Well, John’s not here to tell you, and I’m not sure I recall. Personally, I will give you my stories of Celtic in the way I want you to hear them, John shot straight from the hip.
He loved nothing more than talking about Celtic, whether it was during his time, or discussing the current edition. Few players on this island took home a signed Cruyff jersey after a European Cup game. Fewer still saw it in the cleaned laundry basket a few days later, ink stain removed.
He loved his family, his Blantyre community, he absolutely loved a good moan, but he had a special love for the thing that binds you and me together. There are 10,000 roads to stop being a Celtic player, but John found the most faithful. Our love to BlantyreTim and the rest of the family. Rest in Peace, John, a truly great Celt.
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Celtic, Celtic that’s the team for me,
Celtic, Celtic on to victory,
They’re the finest team in Scotland, I’m sure you will agree,
We’ll never give up till we’ve won the cup and the Scottish football league.#
#They come from bonnie Scotland, they come from county Cork,
They come from dear old Donegal and even from New York,
From every street in Glasgow they proudly make their way,
To a place called dear old paradise and this is what they say.#
#Celtic, Celtic that’s the team for me,
Celtic, Celtic on to victory,
They’re the finest team in Scotland, I’m sure you will agree,
We’ll never give up till we’ve won the cup and the Scottish football league.#
#There’s Fallon, Young and Gemmell who proudly wear the green,
There’s Clark, McNeill and Kennedy the best there’s ever been,
Jim Johnstone, Murdoch, Chalmers, John Divers and John Hughes,
And sixty thousand Celtic fans who proudly shout the news.#
#Celtic, Celtic that’s the team for me,
Celtic, Celtic on to victory,
They’re the finest team in Scotland, I’m sure you will agree,
We’ll never give up till we’ve won the cup and the Scottish football league
V
Lisbon Lion John Fallon Y.N.W.A.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR 2025-26
Good morning, friends
So, here we are with only 11 more sleeps until Celtic’s first competitive game of the 2025-26 season. And, persuaded by the various messages of encouragement received since last season ended, I’m happy to facilitate another season of Player Of The Year fun!
*Job Opportunity*
One thing that I’ve always meant to address was the complete lack of continuity planning on my part. And halfway through last season that thought was very much to the fore with the sudden and sad news of our friend Tony, SFTB who ran the Superbru event. So this time around I’m keen to enrol one or two helpers, mostly to sit on the bench, but ready to step in should I manage to escape on holiday or a cheeky wee weekend break. A knowledge of Excel is not necessary! Access to the email address, paper and pen and basic arithmetic would get you by for an individual game! So, if anyone is interested in helping please let me know by email to sencelpoty@gmail.com .
*Changes to the scoring system*
As for the competition itself, I’m planning on making just one change from previous years by altering the scoring system. This won’t affect what individual voters have to do – it’ll still be the usual 3 nominations by email following each game. But after I tally up the total votes for each player then this is where I’m thinking of making a wee change.
In previous seasons, it was only the top 5 players who were rewarded with points (5 for the MOTM, next best getting 4 etc). What I’m now proposing is that every player who takes part in a matchday squad gets at least 1 point. The new proposed scoring system (subject to any better suggestions) is as follows –
Man Of the Match – 25 points
2nd to 5th places – 22, 19, 16 and 14 points respectively
6th place to 16th place – 12, 11, 10……. 2 points respectively
Unused substitutes – 1 point
The driver behind this idea arose after considering the plight of Tony Ralston. A defender of limited ability but who always gives 100%, Tony appeared in 23 games last season but only made the ‘top 5’ once and so ended the season with just 1 solitary point. I’m not suggesting that Ralston was anywhere near player of the year but equally his contribution surely merited more than one point? Over the season he amassed 77 votes. 4 other players got far less votes, but more points (e.g.Stephen Welsh played 2, votes 23, points 3!), highlighting the wee flaw in my long established scoring system….
I am however very open to hear what you think of this. Or, indeed, whether there’s a better system (but not time consuming!) that I’ve not thought of?
*And finally*
Finally, if anyone is also a contributor on any other Celtic sites and would like to publicise this wee venture on there, I’ve no problem at all with the old cut n paste job! The game by game results are only ever posted on Sentinel Celts but, again, no permission required for anyone wanting to copy them elsewhere.
Looking forward to your responses and to kicking everything off in early August.
Hail Hail!
Jobo Baldie
A lion on and off the park.
Condolences to Stephen, Thomas and all the family at this sad time.
Hail Hail John Fallon.
Lovely tribute Paul 67 .
🍀🍀💚🍀🍀
Nice tribute P67
John Fallon
Lisbon Lion R.I.P.
Thoughts and prayers with BT and all the Fallon family.
Fine Tribute Paul67.
May John Fallon R.I.P.
Hail Hail
RIP John Fallon.
Paul67
A fine tribute to a great Celtic player.
Just realised that “The Holy Goalie” was the last of the team immortalised in the song to pass away. RIP John.
por cierto
RIP John Fallon
Loving thoughts to BlantyreTim and family
Back to Basics – Glass Half Full @ 11:22 am,
“Chairbhoy at dawn this morning – cheers.
I too was tongue-in-cheek with my status quo post.
Essentially schoolboy stuff.
“We’re up here, you’re down there. Ha ha”
Your point about our need to evolve and improve is a good one.
I see signs we’ve started that journey to becoming a regular, credible CL competitor.
Big challenge to that though – and I am being serious here – is the national coefficient paradox.
As we are getting more “credible” at CL level our country ranking is dropping.
Auto qualification becomes Play Off round
Then Play Off becomes 3 qualifiers
… which puts “regular” at greater risk.”
Yes, it is absolutely a paradox.
Us getting better and the co-eff going down, means our challenge is exponentially more difficult..
The running harder to stand still similie.
So we have to look at how we managed that.
BR&CO Mk1 got us to a level where we could qualify for the UCL through the play-offs.
Scotland’s automatic qualification place meant we have had three years of UCL competition, during that time we improved incrementally.
We now have play-off experience and UCL experience.
However that should never be taken for granted.
It is a real challenge and Celtic’s policy of selling HVPs to keep the Club sustainable, means the challenge is much harder for us than the richer Clubs.
Hail Hail
One of my fondest childhood memories is the day John Fallon gave me and a couple of pals a lift back to East Kilbride after my Primary school ( St. Hillary’s EK) had been to Blantyre to play St. Blanes. I don’t know if John coached their team or was a teacher, but he probably never had a quieter journey in his car with us three wee bams in the back, absolutely dumbstruck, in the presence of a Celtic hero. Rest in peace John Fallon
Ahem!
https://x.com/LucienWolfe111/status/1947970861346013405#m
Another day.Another blank on the players in plan.If we have such a thing.
Plenty going out.Plenty £s being saved on wages,and £ 20 million of them banked.
Cue a WBC ” Yawn”.
We’ll never have better than John Fallon. A life well lived. Condolences to Fallon family, wider family circle and friends. Celtic fans the world over have lost a true Celt.
I still remember standing at the front of the enclosure as a 10 year-old at my first European game — Celtic v Slovan Bratislava in the ECWC quarter-final first leg.
I was in line with the penalty spot at the Celtic end and my sight-line was level with the turf which made the players look like green and white giants.
Well into the second half, with Celtic leading 1-0 through a Bobby Murdoch penalty, a Czech player fired in a superb shot from 25 yards. The ball was heading for the top left corner of the goal, until goalkeeper John Fallon leapt through the air and with his fingertips, diverted the ball beyond the junction of post and crossbar and Celtic went on to record a famous victory.
I remember being utterly mesmerised by the sheer athleticism of that marvellous save. As I lay in bed that night I replayed the scene in my head time and time again.
In fact, I don’t even remember Bobby’s penalty. John Fallon’s magnificent save is my only memory of that night’s action.
I can still see it today, 60 years later. During those 6 decades, every time I heard his name I relived that moment of brilliance. Indeed, the moment I heard of John’s passing, that wonderful save went through my mind.
I met John once in Malone’s in Glasgow pre-match and he was happy to pose for a picture with my late father and me.
RIP John Fallon 🍀
Am I right in thinking that John Fallon was our goalie on the day that I think is the most important day in our post-war history: the 65 Cup Final. As I’ve said more than once on here, if we hadn’t won that day, the rest might well not be history.
PARKHEADCUMSALFORD
John Fallon was indeed Celtic goalkeeper on that glorious day.
Kwon to Nantes,3 year deal
Hear hear. The ultimate Celtic man.
Lovely tribute Paul.
!!Bada Bing!! on 23rd July 2025 1:47 pm
Kwon to Nantes,3 year deal
BB, could i trouble you to name the source each time you poast these.
I reckon the rumours are now around 50 names,
https://x.com/gffn/status/1947981457365823951?s=46
A Celtic statement read: “Everyone at Celtic Football Club is deeply saddened at the news that former Celtic goalkeeper and Lisbon Lion, John Fallon, has passed away at the age of 84.
“John joined Celtic in 1958 and went on to make almost 200 appearances for the club over a 14-year period.
“He was part of the [[Celtic]] side that clinched the 1965 Scottish Cup, Jock Stein’s first trophy win as manager, and he is well remembered for his acrobatic and joyous celebration that day as Billy McNeill’s late winner ended an eight-year trophy drought for the Celts.
“Throughout his time with Celtic, John helped the club to six league titles, five League Cups, two Scottish Cups and the European Cup, which was won in the heat of Lisbon in 1967.
“John was Celtic’s only substitute on that famous May evening in Portugal, when he and his team-mates entered in to football folklore by reaching the pinnacle of European football.
“After leaving Celtic, John went on to play for Motherwell and Greenock Morton before retiring from the sport in the mid-1970s.
“His love for Celtic, however, was a constant throughout the years, and he followed the club at home and away for the rest of life.
“His passing comes as a great sadness to us all, and the thoughts and prayers of everyone connected with Celtic Football Club are with his family and friends at this sad time.”
https://thecelticstar.com/lisbon-lion-john-fallons-lifelong-unshakeable-passion-for-celtic/
brilliant tribute, and several great pictures, well done the celtic star.
https://icdn.thecelticstar.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/image-92.jpeg.webp
John speaking at the Lions event Greenock Celtic 2017
Almost all of the players who have gone this summer were already out on loan or were fringe players.
Only Kuhn was a genuine starter.
We have a better back up keeper and, going by the early signs, better cover in defence as well as a genuine improvement at LB. We haven’t seen CCV or AJ in the friendlies yet but Dane Murray has been excellent and Trusty looks the part.
Midfield has been improved with the introduction of Nygren. The only real question mark here is whether we hold onto Reo or not.
The big concern is the front line and if Maeda is sold . . .
The clock is ticking.
Just dropped in to say RIP to the wonderful John Fallon. Sincere condolences to his family and friends.
Lovely words, Paul.
Tá laoch ar lár
Chairbhoy @ 12:21 – cheers.
Good points made.
I’m generally supportive of the sustainable trading model but, IMHO, it has its weaknesses.
First, I’m not sure enough credit is given to the manager and coaching team for turning £3m players into £15m players in just 18-24 months.
Maybe they do get that appreciation and we just don’t see it.
Second, we need to be careful of too many £3m players arriving simultaneously. The manager has finite capacity and trophies to win.
Third, I’m fine with Celtic signing the Kwons of this world for a song – but their has to be a clear understanding that they’ll need to get to a certain level before the first team manager will grace them with his presence and their inclusion in our first team training group.
Fourth – and this one connects back to your post AND is my biggest concern in the model …
We sell these HVPs as you call them at the exact time we need them most (Summer transfer window ➡️ leading into CL qualifiers)
BTW – I get that their heads can be turned in June and so are not fully up for it in mid-August before leaving us in late August
We sell these HVPs as you call them at the exact time we need them most (Summer transfer window ➡️ leading into CL qualifiers)
———————-
how many players want to stay for the qualifier once their agent tells them of interest from another big paying club ?
Celtic dont do it in isolation.
As to turning £m players into £15m players, well, doesnt the scoting and analytics teams get at least some praise for identifying real diamonds in the rough ? Moussa, Matt. Kuhn himself.
As for how we navigate 3 qualifiers from next season (and almost certainly at least a couple of seasons beyond) ?
My suggestion is simple to the point of being simplistic.
Have a squad with 22 players who can be trusted to deal with 80% of our fixtures.
Gradually raise the quality …
… In part by good trading and coaching but also using the 2,000 to 4,000 minutes playing time model across the 22 players.
Target playing the cream in the big games always.
But everyone in the squad is of sufficient quality, and battle ready from genuine amounts of playing time to step in.
E.g.
2nd qualifier – the second 11 take care of it
3rd qualifier – a mix of first and second eleven depending on who (based on a plan) is available
Play off – the first 11.
With the season being so long, we equally trust the “second 11” with sufficient frequency to take care of domestic games across October to December.
We can play 25 games in 3 calendar months.
Ridiculous. No wonder players are knackered.
Final point if I may – we’ve been smart this summer by signing players who are in midseason, Nygren, Yamada, Inamura.
They’re fit and raring to go.
Preseason cobwebs are not a factor.
Play them to death across July to September then rest them.
Saint Stivs – good point, yes, agreed.
That success belongs to the entire football operation including scouting and recruitment.
On Wednesday January 5, 1966, we had a medal presentation at St Kessogs hall in Balloch, we were advised that 2 Celtic players courtesy of wee Father O’Rourke who had been a curate at St Michaels Parkhead prior to his transfer to the Bonnie Bonnie Banks, now 2 Celtic players is exciting enough, but this was 2 days after we had thumped the huns 5-1 at home on the misty day.
It was a similar foggy night as we waited in anticipation for the players arrival, in the came to a Celtic End roar and the blasting out of “Hail Hail” that must have been heard all over the Vale of Leven, Renton and Dumbarton, John Fallon and Billy McNeill, they were both magnificent and so affable that night to a bunch of lads who were speechless at their heroes being down in Balloch in the flesh.
What made this so special was they had travelled down from deepest darkest Lanarkshire on a foggy night, and home again, when we finally let them go lol, at a time when the motorways of the A82 were non-existent so it would be the proverbial country roads.
God Bless Big Billy and John Fallon
Thank you Paul and all for the words re my dad’s passing. He was taken into hospital on Sunday and we were told to expect the worst on Monday morning.
We were all with him when he fell away peacefully last night .
He will be buried from his beloved St Joseph’s parish Church in Blantyre but we have no details as yet .
God bless and thanks 💚💚🧤🧤
BT,
condolences. keep strong.
I turned up late at Father Charlies burial. Your dad was sitting on a bench at that Lennoxtown church, and it looked down over the service.
I hobbled to the side as my knees are giving real gip on what was a roasting day.
Someone said to John, are you wanting a wee help to get down there,
he replied ” its not going down there, i am worried i just wont get back up”,
quite funny with a wee smirk, and i said “me neither”
even 30 years younger.
cheers.
I was at the graveside Stevo. We had been at another funeral that morning and he wanted to be at graveside for Mnr Charlie . The heat was unbearable for him
Tontine Tim,
Fr O’Rourke returned to St Michael’s and eventually retired there. On his 60th anniversary of ordination, Celtic presented him with a lifesize painting of himself with Jimmy Johnstone in the background. He had a couple of small ones made and presented 1 to my Dad, whom he had known since he was first appointed to St Michael’s about 1956. I have inherited it.