The changes over the last decade have been so profound, and are now so established, it’s difficult to recall how different the balance of power was back then. In 2004, a small handful of people had complete control over the Celtic media narrative.
Was Martin O’Neill going to Leeds United? He was, you were told he was, live on the country’s most listened to radio programme. By a former Celtic player, too. Objectivity and the opportunity to challenge was controlled by the very people who were writing the headlines.
For years, this was the way it was, and it was poisoning Celtic. The ‘old board’ were worthy of little better, but Fergus McCann was brutally attacked. He was the man who would bring equality and respect to our club and fans, but he was demonised by lazy hacks who cared little for truth. So much so, he was booed by the very people who celebrated the league title his vision brought. It was a bitter experience for many.
Martin O’Neill, in some respects, like The Man 35 years before him, brought a force of personality so strong, the gaggle of critics could only stand back in awe, but the system had a flaw. Stein brought unimaginable success with little more than unimaginable brilliance. O’Neill used money, lots of it. More than Celtic were earning. His whirlwind high-spending start at Celtic ended with the £6m signing of John Hartson in 2001, little over a year after he took the job.
Martin would spend another four years working within a budget; not one that brought expenditure into line with income, we continued to lose millions each year, but one which limited signings to a fraction of what was spent on Hartson, Lennon and Sutton.
While those four years were among the most exciting in our history, it was an unhappy era.
Put yourself back in time for a moment. Celtic are champions and have beaten Ajax to qualify for the Champions League for the first time. We were imperious, had beaten Rangers 6-2 and took to a field in Turin to final take part in a tournament which for so long appeared out of our reach.
Juventus went 2-0 up but back came Celtic. I worked with a Rangers fan who was at a lower league game that night. When we equalised, his friend text “I don’t think I can take this anymore”. We had come from nowhere, an irrelevance in Scottish football, but here we were, champions of Scotland and level against Juventus.
At that moment, anything was possible. For the first time in decades, we thought, maybe just…
We soon learned that it takes more than honest endeavour to win in Italy, and visits to Portugal and Norway provided a rude awakening. This was not ’67 all over again, there was a lot of work to do, we just needed to keep the pedal to the metal.
Two years after that defeat in Turin we came close to winning our second European trophy in Seville, with a team which had, pretty much, been in place for three years. We were getting the hang of European football, but the team was aging.
For reasons that defy logic, history records the Seville season as the highlight of that team, but the achievements of season 2003-04, with 25 consecutive league wins, and eliminating Barcelona from Europe, were vastly greater.
Then the party was over. The Great Swede left, we’d lost £35m in a few short years, and reality was acknowledged; all clubs need to live within their means, or face liquidation. The climb-down was necessary, but I’m not going to tell you it wasn’t hard.
Back then few people read football clubs accounts, even though Celtic posted copies to over 20,000 shareholders, but all the clues were there, Celtic had to stem the flow. We lost £7m in the Seville season alone; wages to players and coaches were unsustainable.
Despite this, Celtic were regarded as cautious. We lost £35m over five years; Ranger lost £35m in a single season. If they could pump debt up to £80m and survive, why wouldn’t Celtic? We would learn the answer to this question in 2012, but think back to 2004, thoughts that one of Scotland’s major clubs could be liquidated were ridiculed – often, on CQN.
So how did the media deal with our club in 2004? I was driving to work one morning and had heard “What the Celtic fans want to know, is where is all the Seville money?” once too often. “Where is all the Seville money?” was a toxic question. There was no Seville money, only higher debts.
When I arrived at work I ranted about such lazy reporting. This was calculated reporting of the most pernicious type. A Rangers supporting friend suggested, “Why don’t you start a blog and challenge what they’re saying?” I’d never heard of a blog, but he sat me down and got me going.
The first CQN article, written 10 years ago today, was a modest call to “Ignore the Press”, but just before I pressed publish, I had to select, ‘Allow comments: Yes or No’. I’d no views either way but ‘Yes’ was default, so I left it.
The whole thing, the millions of comments, the hundreds of thousands of pounds raised for those in need, the friendships made, the golfers, the slimmers, those helped in bereavement, the thousands of kids attending our school kitchens each day in Malawi and the countless hours of enjoyment we’ve had, are all down to a default position on Blogger. And a Rangers fan telling me to start the fight back online. Who’d have thought it?
Now, people stop me in the street to talk about Celtic. Can there be a greater joy in life? Thanks for all the help and support.
Celtic yesterday, today, forever.
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Don’t post as often as once but I’ve been here for about 7 or 8 years of the decade of CQN.
Great site Paul, many thanks and huge congratulations on setting up an iconic place…
If the caption hadn’t said “Italy”, I would have assumed it was Fir Park …
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=dc0_1405549018
3 words.
Well done Paul.
Barcabhoy
Thanks for a great summary of the role played by the internet bampots in general, and CQN in particular, in exposing the cheating and corruption in Scottish football over the past 25-30 years.
As Celtic fans, we have always been aware of the inherent bias of the MSM towards Rangers and we tended to be sceptical of much of their output. CQN and other sites have proved that we were not sceptical (paranoid?) enough.
The exceptional journalists you mention have been emboldened by the internet sites to publish the limited criticism they have. The powers that be know that their game is almost up, yet they are still clinging to their blazers and trappings of office wildly hoping that the new breed of real journalists will somehow disappear or be frightened off.
CQN is playing a major role in ensuring this will not happen.
Hail, hail CQN.
http://tirnaog09.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/fools-gold-big-archie-campbell-wasnt.html
I don’t post much these days Paul, but I do log on for my daily fix.
Can I just add my sincere gratitude for all your efforts. It is much appreciated.
Keep walking ” the path”.
Hail Hail
This site has become part of my daily Medication, I would be in a Straight Jaeket with out my daily dose,it tells us how it really is, keep up the Great Work Paul.
Awerabest PJ
Hi Paul
I’m just back from a two week break and popped in to see the news.
I tend to mainly lurk but just wanted to say thank you for all you efforts over the past 10 years.
I’ve just informed the family of the significance of today. My wife said “how can we mark this special occasion?”.
When I replied that I was going to stay on the blog for the next 24 hours I got a very sarcastic response.
I’m sure that you can all guess what it was!
Hello hello
CQN’s had ten in a row
To paraphrase an old chant.
Happy birthday CQN. Double figures.
And they said it wouldn’t last.
Spare a we moment to remember Pablo and his family.
Just one of the early stalwarts no longer with us.
10 years of shining a light into the darkest of corners. Happy Birthday CQN and well done Paul.
How important this site is to me is gauged by the fact that I’m posting from Gort a choirce in the Donegal Gaeltacht.
joe filippis haircut
20:52 on 20 July, 2014
Can I have Rasberry. Have a look at News now Celtic and make up your own mind. H.H.
That’s a big mibee
TeasingusagainCSC
Paul67, I said my thanks earlier, but my daughter Laura has asked to say
Thanks from all at HCPT Group 77,
a lot will be aware, the fantastic Bhoys and Ghirls of CQN funded 2 kids in serious need for a trip to Lourdes at Easter, Paul was 100% behind us pushing this cause.
A Special place with so many special people
Hail Hail
Confession time!
It was around two months after my first daily reading of the blog that I noticed the “Comments” button! After that, it was all downhill!!!!
Happy 10th Anniversary best site ever ! look forward to 10 more years
Radio Scotland is tonight a feast of the very loveliest of Scottish music & song.
Well worth a listen.
Can I have Raspberry. You would not want to put your mortgage on it being true would you ? H.H.
Cognitive Dissonance – #236
Congratulations of 10 incredible years Paul & all the many contributors to CQN over those years.
A minor point on O’Neill possibly leaving for Leeds after only 1 year though – I actually believe the press / radio station were correct. In reading a book on Leeds covering the period, the chairman was adamant that O’Neill had already agreed terms then in his infamous way dithered and finally changed his mind deciding to stay.
I’m sure many players & indeed managers have changed their minds over massive decisions….so were made public others kept under wraps – such is football.
Seville is held as a great achievement, which it was but borne out of failure to beat Basel which was a major disappointment to all.
GG
I didn’t know Pablo, but at CQTeN dance, I met his daughter, she was at school with my daughter Laura
Doc, what’s the rumours on Stokes ?
Hail Hail
joe filippis haircut
21:31 on 20 July, 2014
Can I have Raspberry. You would not want to put your mortgage on it being true would you ? H.H.
No chance, usual media pash.
We would all be very much worse off without CQN. I get frustrated, I argue, and I correct others (because it’s always you others who are wrong), but I can’t imagine not reading bits of CQN every day. It’s a family, with the faults and blessings of a family, but a family nonetheless. Thanks Paul, but thanks also to all who make CQN what it is.
CowieBhoy, away to a Championship team according to reports.
Paul the Tim on FB, usually a decent source of info.
Just a rumour of course.
Well done to the under 17s on winning the Denis Law Tournament today.
HH!!
jude2005 is Neil Lennon \o/ @ 20.52 hrs.
Great news about the under 17’s achievement.
Cheers and HH.
Lennybhoy, not given that oot, so canny be true :-)
Doc, and yes the club mini bus going on Tues, drop John a text if seats required
Hail Hail
Barcabhoy, 20:34, pg 10
Great post. Inspirational, informative, and entertaining. As always. You have for years been one of the best posters on this site. Please keep it up.
HH
Evening Timland from a very warm hun free mountain valley.
Paul67
Mucho congrats on reaching 10 years.
A lot of water has passed under the bridge since you started, I have been here since you first started, only started posting about half way through.
As many others have said, it’s our daily source of info.
May I thank you and all the posters past and present for making CQN what it is……
The best blog on the web IMO.
And a special thanks and thoughts to all the posters who have left us for a better place.
Hopefully we have just embarked on another decade of CQN and it grows even stronger.
Thanks again Paul.
HH
Jeeso Paul, the day started slowly but since your header today, phew…magic.
I’ve read and read back, you should be proud of how many people you bring together and of course the information that you give regararding our club…
Ps, the heads up on the huns destruction and death from your goodself and others on here has put a price on my head at work….:)))
Happy 10th birthday CQN
Well done Paul thanks for all the good times
MT
HailHail
CowieBhoy, ta, text sent.
Paul,
Congratulations on 10 years of CQN. Much good work achieved.
Does anybody know if the Peoples Republic of Donetsk will be represented in European competition this year???
CowieBhoy,
already had a reply! Now that’s service:-)
Seats booked.
crowbhoy
Thank you so much for your comment. This blog has been so supportive and caring throughout our pain. How much the pain has been eased with this support, is immeasurable. A truly wonderful place.
Weefra HH praying to Wee Oscar.
Paul 67
Long time lurker, very infrequent poster, congratulations on reaching your tenth. This site is both a source of information and enlightenment.
Keep the fires burning for the next ten years
Qhere
10 years of negativity. 10 more can’t wait.
Here we go, ten in a row