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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AYRSHIRTIM 1440
BMCUW
It’s just a shame you’re no as quick up to the bar mate as you are to thon podium. I’ll be putting you through your paces soon. Get some training in.
~~~~~~~~~~~++~~~~~~~~~~~
Haw you,that’s bang outa order!
The whole point of monikers on here is anonymity.
You’ve just identified me to everyone who knows me.
Looong time lurker since the beginning.
Congrats on the first ten years from sunny Norway.
BTW: We got the game vs Dresden yesterday on norwegian television. What a difference a Ron makes…
HH from Oslo
Paul 67
Congratulations, Paul.
Hail, hail to CQN.
Sir Paul
Frum. collie:
“Some talk o’ Alexander n.. some o’ Hercules,
O’ Will Maley n .. The Immortal… Jock..
n Such Great Men.. as THESE..
But..
O’ Awe the Celtic Heroes.
There’s Nain that Kin Compere..
Wi
The One who Tells It Straight.. like a Good Man Aughter..
and….Who Lives n Luvs .. Near…. Carfin’s Grotto!”
No bad. fur a wee Black n Whit Dug?
Right?
Kojo
Still,Laughin’
KOJO
For years we’ve been trying to identify you,but I finally claim my five pounds.
http://www.electricscotland.com/poetry/donachie/mcgonnigal.htm
Dublin battering Meath at the moment
Dublin 2-16
Meath 0-7
Paul 67 Congrats on your 10 year milestone.Looking at the comments
today I think it’s fair to say,
A Blog Like No Other…………. To borrow a phrase.
H.H.
Happy Birthday, I got onto this site 8 yrs ago as the old ETims was slowly sinking, I had time on my hands due to being redunant at the time and used to post more often.
I still seek this site out everyday and whilst I do not agree with every lead article, in the main they are on the side of the angels. So, well done for that and for helping raise all the money for worthy causes, that’s a proper legacy, more powerful than a bunch of dafties falling out over mere football.
Hail! Hail!
Thanks Paul67 and the CQN community :-)
I discovered CQN through a Canadian clubs website “Windsor CSC”, (which scoured the World Wide Web for anything Celtic, for our NACSC family), after visiting my own family there in 2007,then heading to our Lisbon Lions 40th anniversary in Vegas, with a full plane of Canadian Celts, my nephew used that website everyday to get info on our beloved Hoops.
I looked in through the window for a couple of years, before posting, and have now met many Great Celtic fans, with huge hearts & who will now be friends for life.
Need my daily fix of CQN.
Hail Hail
As someone who has followed CQN since it’s inception, but doesn’t post very often, congrats Paul and all you bhoys who have been constants as well. CQN keeps me updated here in the south, and the crack at times is hilarious.
Great work everyone.
Hail hail,
Sean
Paul67
Superb Article
Hail Hail
Martin Oneill should have won 5 in a row..
He remained too loyal to a central core of players.
And in my opinion, he lacked flexibility in his tactics. One dimensional…. he has had great short term impact at every club he has managed, essentially because he commands respect, promotes high levels of motivation, great man management.
But you can only go to the well so often before you need a bit more substance, to have prolonged success.
Paul67
Happy 10th birthday and thank you for the blog.
CQN – what would we do without it??
Can you publish the article Paul?
Congrats, Paul67. CQN is my first stop online every morning … :-)
Congrats Paul. 10 good years indeed.
GAA Ulster Final today….
C’mon Monaghan!!!
HH
Paul, I have another Paul to thank for letting me know about your terrific site, Paul Ford, a former work colleague.
It was enlightening reading fellow Celtic fans’ views and information other than the laptop loyal’s truth.
Defunct club fans thought I was a troublemaker when I let them know what was in store for them.
So thanks Paul, your bluenose chum for pitching the idea for the site and Paul Ford for letting me know eight years ago about it.
Congrats Paul on CQN’s Decade of Domination.
An unbelievable catalogue of achievements has emerged under the blog’s banner.
It has been good to see some of the lapsed posters returning over the last few days.
Something as precious as this has to be protected, even from ourselves, therefore we should all be wary of intolerance to those whose view differ from our own or the perceived majority.
Well done and Happy Birthday, CQN.
Paul 67
You know that you have created something really special.
I am not sure even now you realise just how special.
For all kinds of reasons we all know there could never be a ‘Rangers Quick News’ !
If only they knew you had been in their midst in that Blue Room when the wheels were beginning to fall off vs Kaunas !!!
Thanks paul for a great go to site that’s
Informative humouros
Satirical
Investigative and charitable
( not forgetting the sea bream recipes! )
Well done and thanks to you and yours hh
The putts are dropping from all over the place at Hoylake. Great golf and Rory is still 6 shots clear of the field.
Happy birthday CQN. Congratulations to the proud father Paul67.
Wait till the terrible teens though…..,
Special congratulations to all CQN’rs and the magnificent charity work.
Hail, hail.
call me gerry
I’m watching the Dublin v Meath match at the moment mate , bit of a mismatch so far .
Hope the Donegal v Monaghan match is a cracker BUT with a Donegal victory :-)
Boabby Murdoch’s etc..
Yes.. The Mighty McGonnigal..
He wiz a Hero o’ Mine..
remember THIS .. Wee Parcel… o’ Deathless Prose .. frum HIM??
“Yesterday.. Upoan the Stair,
Ah met A Man..
Who Wiznae .. THERE!
He wiznae There.. Again.. The Day..
Ah wish he’d Jin the ‘Gers..
n..
Go Away!!”
Nice. Huh?
Kojo
Still,Laughin’
Dublin 3-19
Meath 0:8
Dublin 3-19
Meath 1-08
Fight
Paul 67 et al,
A magnificent achievement and another cracking article.
The time, dedication and sheer effort you have invested is most appreciated and has resulted in the Rolls Royce of blogs. The envy of many.
You have collated the most amazing, knowledgeable and humorous Celtic supporters on the planet and I have learned so much.
To the next ten.
HH, always in Celtic.
Thom,
An excellent point about tolerance of ‘minority’ opinions. Some should follow Paul’s example.
Kojo,
Still enjoy reading your work. Keep posting.
Seville – The Huddle
Wee bit of boxing in the Dublin v Meath match
Regarding what happened to the Seville money, I know what happened to a pal’s & mine, it ended up in the hands of a pickpocket on the Madrid underground. Worse for my pal, his match ticket was in his wallet.
He did get into the game with the help of Jim Murphy MP. My pal’s wife knew one of his staff and arranged for my pal to meet the MP who by chance had a spare ticket.
Congratulations to Paul67 and CQN on their tenth anniversary.
CQN. Mas que un blog.
Four Green Fields, the Donegal v Monaghan match is on Sky channel 972 at 3.30
Paul, this is the only blog I read or contribute to. Since discovering it, I’ve been able to inform and enlighten my “friends” from the other side, of the goings-on over Ibrox way. So much so, that the subject is now rarely discussed.
However, I really must voice my dismay at the subsequent changes in my sartorial elegance since my epiphany brought about by this very blog!
To cut a long story short, I’ve had to throw out 2 pairs of perfectly good brown brogues!!
My “Slater’s Own-Brand, Yellow label” suit, doesn’t quite suit a pair of Adidas Samba(s), but, the relief is palpable now, to think what I used to look like!!
Congratulations, and here’s to the next 10 years!
HH
I remember drifting into CQN and Etims from Keep The Faith (or was it called something else. Anybody remember a site w a similar name at that time?). It went down shortly after.
Lurking on a daily basis but don’t post too much as I’m here to read, listen (thanks to the Youtube nightshift) and learn.
Thanks for the ride!
StillHangingOnCSCN
Paul
Thank You and thank you a hundred times over. I do not post too often nowadays but I visit the Blog everyday. One last Thank You. Cheers mate
dallas dallas where the heck is dallas
Watching the Dublin v Meath match on Premier Sports sky 428 at the moment with the Donegal v Monaghan match to follow .
Cheers .