History will record that season 2012-13 was more successful for Celtic than season 2013-14 but the champions’ league performances this season have been comparable only to those of season 2003-04, when the club completed a 25 game winning streak.
With seven games to go we have already collected five points more than the team which reached the knock out stages of the Champions League last season, and this season we have had a worthy competitor for second place, who are favourites to complete the domestic treble of League Cup, Scottish Cup and Best of the Rest titles.
Kris Commons, Virgil van Dijk and Fraser Forster have correctly gained enormous plaudits throughout the season but the story of Celtic’s success is more nuanced. We don’t just have a great keeper and a great central defender, we have a central defensive partnership which is better than either of the two partnerships I watched in the Manchester derby on Tuesday night.
In other times the story of our season would be the injuries at right back, but the standard of cover there, with Lustig, Matthews and Fisher, is such that no one really noticed.
The strikers didn’t really get going until Leigh Griffiths arrived in January, and much of our player investment over the summer missed the target. This had consequences on the autumn, when we came up short of last season’s (over) achievements in the Champions League, but we have a plentiful squad of players, including Forster, Lustig, Matthews, Izaguirre, Ambrose, van Dijk, Brown, Johansen and Commons who are more than capable at Champions League level, with others knocking at the door.
Congratulations to Neil, his technical team, the many who work to keep the ship pointing in the right direction, some behind the scenes and some front of house, and to each of the players who left their mark in the history books.
On the equivalent day six years ago, we recorded that Gordon Strachan had joined Willie Maley and Jock Stein as the only Celtic managers to have won three consecutive titles. Neil Lennon’s name is now added to that list.
With all this championship coverage, did the phrase ‘Good day to bury bad news’ slip into anyone’s mind? “There is a reasonable expectation that the Company has adequate resources to continue in operational existence”.
You know when your chairman tells you he has a reasonable expectation the company will continue in existence that there’s nothing to worry about. All the doubters have been put in their place.
Seville – The Celtic Movement, is out now:
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The Goalie his name I cant remember. at ST Mirren is ok.
I should add that I was placed on the powerbox for a better view since I was aged 5 at the time….
67Heaven … I am Neil Lennon, supporting WEE OSCAR..!!.. Ibrox belongs to the creditors 16:04 on 27 March, 2014
“It’s coming close to the time now, though, where we need to start ‘hitting back’……. Hard…..”
The MSM no longer pretends to hide their bias. It’s a futile exercise to try and chance their agenda.
Neil Lennon told the alleged journalists he no longer wished to speak about the club in liquidation or their shabby replacement.
But they still ask. And they ask because they are hurting badly.
It is a good thing actually. There is comfort for us as we rack up the titles.
Rioskorrie
I think you should give up the football tipping mate! :P
GlassTwoThirdsFull 16:12 on 27 March, 2014
“I’m almost looking forward to Sevco in the Premiership. Just to find out what the MSM say when we are still winning the league by 20 points. And they’re probably struggling to make the top three or four……”
The Dundee United match should provide a reality check on their standing in Scottish football.
Setting Free The Bears
I agree with your rational analysis
Van Dyck is a very good prospect but at this moment in time that’s all he is
I hope he goes on to fulfil his potential and enjoys a great career (at Celtic hopefully)
Maureen O’Hara raises her once pretty head on the old CQN today
Don’t know how or why but as a Ranelagh (Dublin ) girl ,she and her family were big supporters of her local team Shamrock Rovers (who played in nearby Milltown) and of course played and still do in the green and white hoops
Rioskorrie
It was me that posted (I think)
Not knowing the full facts of the skullduggery that was going on with them:)) I was living in hope that the appeal would highlight the absurdity of the Sandy Bryson evidenceto LNS.
alas not, seems the brothers have came to some sort of agreement.
itsallinthename :))
anyone else see this – from last night , main stand.
they have a fekkin cheak complainin, they got £200 quid from the tickets i bought –
and they knew damn well who they were selling them to.
having said that, an absolute honey in their ticket office, she could have sold me anythin.
————————————————————————————-
Saint Stivs
00:05 on
27 March, 2014
so here we go, its 3 in a row.
another magical night to be one of us, its parked in the memory banks with all the others.
i went up to firhill at three to pick up my tickets, 12 of them in an envelope. main stand turnstyle 19, section 5. that went ok, no hassle.
on way in, met a guy by the name of NEILLY WYLIE, of maryhill tried to buy a ticket for his celtic grand daughter , and turned away, cant sell to you once you tell us your not a jag.
i watched him go down the road, then followed him, then passed on a ticket.
nice old guy.
my tickets got passed onto 4 of the joanstoon McGinns. at the match quietest ive ever heard old john.
only 3 of my family could go, unbelievable, but you forget how busy most peoples lifes are now, getting to a game aint easy.
so Stiv O, Suzy Larkin and me headed on up, me with 4 spares.
within minutes of getting out the car , had passed on an adult and youth set.
two £5 kids tickets left. some real tough looking bhoy, man about 40 says here, i will take them and chance it.
got up to the gate, huge number of police, seriously, why they trebled up on each gate. we got searched, we got quizzed, …………… we got turned away.
your no gettin in.
mr £5 ticker, breezed on by, straight through , no worries, good on him.
hang around for twenty minutes, with several dozen others in the same boat.
get in the ground 15 minutes late. mr £5 ticket is in row behind me, gives a knowing nod.
in our row, fair mix of obvious quiet tims, and some wags , ho ho ho,. smart they are not.
jags fans, cuddly my arse.
lennon should sit down or go home. yes in that why dont you go home context.
efe is an effin bombscare terrorist (i know wtf)
stokes is a bog dweller.
giros, druggies, paedos, it was all there.
to be fair, didnt hear the f word at all.
Neilly comes down and says hello, and says ive came here many times, but tonight they are out of order.
so the 2nd goes in, bhoys raise a cheer, bit of an aggresive reaction from the jags.
demanding stweards and police move in. bhoys just laugh.
3rd goes in.
some total twat , 40 odds man runs down the stairs and charges into the £5 celt.
sends him hurtling down the stairs and he cracks his heid on a chair.
mayhem.
our man reacts, turns and charges back up, in a rage though, falls forward and cracks his heid again. but then rugby tackles the twat, gets him in a grip and proceeds to strangle and mangle him, 1 steward ignores it all, but it gets really ugly really quick.
the tims now take sides and want to batter the jag.
it settles, but now its heated .
police turn up, celtic fans picked out and pushed across the stand to other section, leaving some of us a bit more exposed, but hey ho feck them.
the mood got uglier, a lots of them with choice language about being in their stand, wouldnt happen anywhere else,
i aint for budging.
the jags twat comes down and apoligies to our £5 man.
personally i wanted to do him in, he was a coward, and shit it.
they score, and celebrate a none event.
we run over them and score more.
game over.
before the end a few nasties from the thistle section decide to go challenge the celtic end of the stand. they backtrack , not because the police intervene, but because the celts left in the stand stood up and looked back at them, they left with a “no watching these cnuts celebratin, paeodos”.
we wlaked over a wee bit,
happy we were there, happy we won so well, enjoyed them bhoys performance
the invation, no big deal , why the fuss, was i right in thinking the stewards took several attemopted kicks at the rolly polly bhoy.
bastards.
so a nice day out spoiled by the actions of police, stewards, and jag fan bigots.
but we did three in a row, and i was there.
by the way, mr£5 man was from yoker, and i spoke to him after the game. nice fella, bit mental, he could have taken them all,
keep it lit.
billy bhoy 05
Do you know anything about the licensing laws in Italy?
SFTB
“The truth, as usual, lies somewhere between two extremes.”
That is not my experience in life. I have found that the `truth ` is usually very close to one of the so called extremes but the other one is that of the Establishment hence the promotion of the view you have expounded. Anyway, re Celtic.
There is good reason to start dreaming with the players we have now and how they might develop. For the moment, I`ll imagine they will all be with us for a while yet. So:
Forster,
Lustig, Ambrose, van Djik, Izaguirre.
Brown ,Henderson, Biton, Johansen.
Commons, Griffiths .
(sorry Anton. You had your best game for us last night but I see a goal machine in Griff).
Does that not excite you? And Forrest when he is fit?
JJ
JJ
They are a fine group of players and a good partnership.
However Victor Wanyama looked great up here last year and has done tolerably well for Southhampton but he is not on the radar for any top 6 EPL club as yet. Neither are Hooper or Wilson setting great fires, though they both had good experiences up here and with us at CL level. Someday, they may be but the clubs are unlikely to buy players direct from Celtic until our Euro competitiveness is less hit-and-miss than it is now.
Big teams in top leagues stockpile players in every position.
Man City have Kompany, Demichelis, Lescott, and Nastasic with some promising youngsters of their own coming through.
Man U have Smalling, Jones, Evans, Ferdinand and the departing Vidic. These are decent players in a struggling team. Their manager would not swop any of them for Efe Ambrose without a large cash payment in addition. At international level, Efe is still a right back.
Arsenal have Metersacker, Koscielny and Vermaelen. They are short of cover but neither Van Dijk or Efe would be rated by Wenger as anything other than 4th choice.
Liverpool have Agger, Skrtel, Toure, Sakho and Cissokho.
Spurs have Dawson, Vertongen,, Chiriches and Kaboul.
Everton have Jagielka, Distin, Stones and Alcaraz.
There is a depth of internationalists and fringe internationalists with big teams and under-21 set ups at all these clubs.
Even Aston Villa have a Dutchman who is rated, by most in The Netherlands, to be superior to Virgil.
We have good developing players and a good developing team. We place undue pressure on ourselves by feeling that we are close to breaking through the CL glass ceiling. We are not and neither are Ajax from a much larger country with an even prouder European history, or Anderlecht with their golden generation.
We need to be prepared to build slowly and seek to earn the finances which are essential to compete at that level.
We have some good promising players but 1967 is not just around the corner.
Gretnabhoy
Re BR, I have played golf with him a few times and concur with your sentiments entirely, he has also made himself available for charity golf do’s…fine fellow and good company..
Kikinthenakas
have a good night champions,
never been a better time to be a tim
Hail Hail one and all
:-))
Tallybhoy at 15.58
The problem with that post is that it is increasingly difficult to tell the difference between wind up and fact.
You may even have planted a seed for the hunterlopers.
Monaghan will soon spot this over on FF
lol
thebhoyfromoz
16:29 on 27 March, 2014
Have to laugh at Partick Thisle Staement about celtic fans obtaining tickets for areas designated for the home support.
They must be thick at the ticket office if they n’t think that the sudden upsurge in people registring as Thislte fans on their website after 9:30pm on Tueday evening were Celtic fans.
In my case my Irish sounding surname and password, Glasgowceltic88, may have been a clue to where my alligiances lay.
In truth they knew who they were selling tickets to and they were happy to take money.
I obtained tickets for what turned out to be an area of the main stand inhabited by the young thistle casuals and dare I say it hooligans.
Their songbook was vile and far from being intimiated by the presence of Tims amoung them, they were threaening and aggressive towards a small group of Celtic fans nearby.
I had spit and insults thrown at me by the poor wee didums.
Luckily the the ever helpful Plice were filming it all.
I am happy to accept responsibilty for choosing to buy a ticket in the Thistle area but for their management claiming that they were blamesless is frankly excrement .
You should have been in the Jackie Husband stand, the worse we got was “Ambrose, Ambrose your an effin pansy”
You obviously had the namby pamby casuals, we had the hardcore Equity Team
OhthebanterCSC
Big Pierre 16:52
…you’re startin to sound like Sra skorrie !!! :-)
leftclick 16:55
Fielding the young fellah probably was a “genuine mistake” (Brora were 3-0 and cruising wi minutes to go), but never let that get in the way of a bit of gamesmanship, especially when your “local” rivals have bought their way to success this season.
Or as one Brora fan said about last night’s game “Well we’ve bought the league, so why not tonight’s ref too”
Double GGrrrrrrrr……
If you had a delegation of International coaches where would you send them to see how to run a club properly?:))))
CelticFCCoach@CelticFCCoach·51 mins
International Coaches Convention delegates have a first look at Paradise! #CFCICC (JMcS) pic.twitter.com/WXkkT2uaVM
https://twitter.com/CelticFCCoach/status/449218115176787968/photo/1
Billy Bhoy 05
16:50 on
27 March, 2014
I’d refresh your knowledge of the Scottish licensing laws if I were you.
SFTB
I hope an opportunity arrises to discuss this with you over a pint or two. For the moment, let me just say that my point is that we have the best collection of players that I have seen since my return seven years ago and if they develop exponentially then who knows.
Hope to have that pint some time.
Cheerio for now,
JJ
Zaluska
Matthews O’Connell Mouyokolo Fisher
Mulgrew, Kayal, Rogic, Forrest
Pukki, Stokes
Not a bad reserve team Jungle Jim and that is assuming Sammi is offski.
Well done Celtic on another successful season. Championship in the sack in addition to a nice haul of millions for reaching the group stages of the Champions league and another haul of millions in transfer fees for four of our top players. All done and dusted and still seven games remaining. No more edge of the seat stuff and nervous twitching as we enter the business end of the season. Neil will now be able to give his fringe players a run and bring in some fresh faces with plenty of time to prepare for the Champions Lge and then we can all sit down relax and watch the cream of golfers as they do battle for the masters H H.
JJ
Of course I am excited by the players but not all reason has left me.
I know how hard these other big clubs, with monetary advantages we can only dream of, are working on recruitment.
We lost Islam Feruz for a pittance and he would have been a starter with us by now. We will lose Forster or Van Dijk and possibly, both this summer. If the progress of Lustig and Forrest continues, we will not be long in losing them too. Or any of our young players who can impress at Euro level with Celtic.
We cannot resist bids of £10 to £15 m because, if we do, these players will run down their contracts and go for much less 6 months or a year later.
Wanyama, Hooper and Wilson are not desperate to get back here. Middling and lower clubs in the EPL are willing to splash stupid cash in order to try and stay on that cash rich roundabout. That is why it was Southhampton and Norwich, not Liverpool and Man U, who stole last year’s best batch. And Hooper was not even Norwich’s top expenditure. They paid less for Gary than they did for a player who had only Europa league experience and was 6th choice striker for The Netherlands, basically their current JVOH.
I don’t want to dampen anyone’s enjoyment or optimism but I fear we are getting a wee bit away with ourselves.
Remember, 2 domestic cup early knock outs and only 1 CL Group match did not end in defeat this year.
We are a long way from either 1967 or 1990
I think we have a few great players, a few good players but we still have some who are not CL class….as much as I enjoyed the second half and ended up blootered, the first half was relatively poor as was the first half against St Mirren last week. The midfield seems a bit disjointed to me and the KC, Griffiths and Stokes front 3 combo doesn’t float my boat. In the CL if we qualify we need to be much more disciplined and I think Biton would stabilise the midfield. Stokes was mom last night but doesn’t perform against big teams.
Great to see the young guys getting a chance, FF Van Dijk, Lustig, Biton and Griffiths will be our big performers and maybe Forrest if we can keep him fit.
Enjoying our form at the moment and looking forward to see what Neil does in the next few games.
Hangover nearly away and just finished watching the game again.
Kikinthenakas
Celtic Football Club@celticfc·2 mins
Celtic Under-17s recorded an impressive 3-1 victory over a strong Queen of the South U19 side at Palmerston this afternoon
The Celtic goals came in the second-half from Theo Archibald and Mark Hill, who netted twice. Both Bhoys are Under-16 players.
till later all
Thistle fans on the main are fine.
Last night, in the main stand, only three cardboard gangsters, mouthing off, their wrath obviously nursed for many a year, not ignited by Anto’s second minute strike, quickly disappeared once they realised the silent, well behaved majority were Celtic fans.
Let no-one tell you that our title triumph and current domination is anyway diminished by the absence of a former club.
We all get what we deserve even Sevconians.
EC67
anyone else getting a wee minute vidjoe in the top right of a travel company i think, and the girl on the surf board.
Feck!
I’ve finally been rumbled as a hunterloper!
What took you so long?!
Looking forward to meeting some of you on the day oot on the 10th May.
Some people on here seem to have little or no sense of humour.
HH!!
I’m inclined towards JJ’s assessment of our defence.
FF is top quality
Lustig great basic skills and nous and positioning.
Efe. Fewer bomb scares (tho one cost CM a yellow last night)
Mathews. Great young player if injuries allow. Great linking with lustig.
Young Fisher. Barely put a foot wrong when called upon.
Issie. Finally getting back to his (great) best.
I really do hope the EPL don’t rate us or our players cos I want them in the Hoops.
VVD would never get in the arsenal defence. But that says more about wenger’s eye for a defender than anything else!
Arsene or JJ? ‘In JJ we trust!’
PS Kojo. At the risk of rumbling your anonymity how old are you?!? Your post about horse drawn carts sounded Victorian! Till it made me remember the horse and cart of the rag n bone man in Paisley in the 70s!!!
HH jamesgang
I think resident rocket but admittedly a good input on youngsters
on here likes Mark Hill “aloater”
Silent well behaved majority punching the air when Tony netted CSC
SHOCK NEWS
SFTB becomes mineshafter!!! :-)
HAs anybody seen anything by a duet called. The 2 cello’s.
Absolutely brilliant.
They do purple haze by jimmy Hendrix .
You shook me all night long by ac doc and thunderstruck by ac doc.
It’s absolutely brill and done on cello’s , amazing.
Watch the video’s on you tube.
Alo-Ha….Dearest Kojo..
Ain’t It Great Tae Be A TIM…!
We Need Oor CannonBall Kid Back NOW..!
Rather Than Hunting Aroon Fur Another Project Striker…..
Now That He Is Banished To The Reserves…..
And Two Other Belgian Clubs…..
Including Last Years Runners’-Up.
Zulte-Waregem Want Tae Sign Him Fur A Mere £ 650,000….
Didn’t He Cost Us £500,000 Fae. Airdrie..?
Greaat Tae See Leigh G. Chasing After Loose Balls And Pressurising Opposing Defenders When They Have The Ball….
Just Like Henrik And Stan Would Do…
Before Their Injuries……
Tony Chases And Harries In The same Way….
Get Him Back,NFL !
We Can Forget About Signing Yon Partick LB……
He Went ‘Missing’ For The First Goal..
~~~~~~
SFTB(Under New Ownership)….
Just Back Fae The Roon-A-Boots…
Dreams That He’s Visiting Gina Lollobrigida In Her Boudoir In Vegas..
He Scrapes Aff His Manky Simmet…
His Krusty Kegs Disintegrate…..
As He Stands In Front Of Voluptuous Gina….
In His ‘Full Glory’……
She Shrieks..” Say…Ain’t You MAX CLIFFORD ??
Get OUTTA HERE…!!!!
Ah’m Waitin’ Fur KOJO….!”
Wakes Up….Still In Cambuslang…!
Twinned Wi’ Dante’s Fifth Circle O’Hell
Oh Well !
Grateful thanks to the players and management team for a brilliant league campaign.
Champions of Scotland, again.
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Split my train journey home today to have a beer in Atlantis Bar and picked up a Daily Express.
Graham Clark is suggesting that Campbell Ogilvie is a shoo-in to be Scotland’s candidate for the election to decide a British FIFA Vice-President in 2015.
Is he having a laugh at our expense, Peter?
Watch oot, there are hunterlopers aboot!
Yes – on here!
HH!!
RobinBhoy
14:30 on
27 March, 2014
Cant stand those Geordie Huns.
Newcastle Mad website denigrating Forsters medal in “The worst league in the world”
Just as well no comments allowed or I would tell the Geordie Tw@t what I think of him.
I freaking hate Newcastle United and Alan Shearer!
The reason this cretin has got no comments section is that he is a hurting hun & 2 years ago when he began his Anti-Celtic posturing he would’ve got abused by disgruntled Celtic fans & Newcastle fans alike.
Would you believe this same fool was actually wrapping himself in glory at the prospect of a friendly with the deceased Govanoids?
Tallybhoy
You seem to have difficulty using our Managers christian name!
Any particular reason for this?
H.H.