It took 14 seasons for Celtic to win 11 titles in the 60s and 70s, 13 under Jock Stein and one under Billy McNeill. Although Celtic were utterly dominant through the early parts of that period, they never had a structural advantage, success came through having better management and players. That alignment of the stars was always going to end.
Rangers won 11 titles in 12 seasons, as David Murray could apparently do no wrong. To the untrained eye, they looked uncatchable. They had a stadium which was compliant with the new post-Taylor Report rules and a player squad that generated income. By contrast, Celtic had 40% less income, were seldom able to generate cash from player sales and needed to build a new stadium.
Had Murray more sense, Rangers would have dominated the 21st century, but he always wanted what he couldn’t have – Celtic’s European Cup triumph – and he drove the club into the dirt. To any Celtic fan who followed their team through the 1990s, having utter ownership of this century would seem ridiculous. We were a marginalised minority on our own streets, people stopped caring, the endless pain was too much.
Martin O’Neill came in 2000 and from that moment onwards, you fancied Celtic to win every tournament. Still, despite the success at home and in Europe, we lost millions each year Martin was in charge, locked in a game of chicken with Murray’s Rangers. Chairman Brian Quinn took the brave steps of calling time on the losses. He predicted that failure to live within our means would be calamitous, more so than merely losing the odd title. Across the city, Murray doubled down. Disguised renumeration was a strategy that initially brought success, then led to liquidation, and much hilarity.
As early as January 2005, seven years before Rangers went into administration, the signs were obvious, we would lose the odd title, but this would be our Generation of Domination (some of us bought the domain name back then to put down a marker). I don’t think we can be complacent, in fact, I can see a scenario when the good times stop, but it is more likely our dominant period will extend well into its second generation.
Appreciate these days. Appreciate what we do for Scottish football, giving an edge to the cup competitions they never had, and taking truly great champions to every corner of the country.
Congratulations to Ange, Callum and the rest of the players, heroes to a man. And to the board that put the strategy in place, the outstanding recruitment, commercial, medical and research teams – success has many fathers.
136 Comments- Pages:
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- »
Celtic Glasgow!
HH to all we have lost in the past season and are not here to celebrate with us and to those that helped me take my Loovul lover to the Hearts game earlier in the season.
…..success has many fathers.
and failure was once an orphan, however over the river, failure has many escape goats, that certainly seems to be Beale’s strategy, I assume the entire squad will be under the team coach before season end…
scullybhoy on 8th May 2023 12:05 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBmKq-13OPA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddzlmqL-1E4
Tom English has proven to be cowardly and compliant when it comes to issues of Scottish football but this article shows that the guy can write decent stuff and it is a pity that he chooses not to do so more often
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/65509996
Well, in spite of the unfounded panic that took hold in December after the mighty Sevco jammed their way to a win against a team that would lose to Darvel a few weeks later to cut “the gap”, the “challenge” (ahem) from our “rivals” (ahem) in the “title race” (ahem) never quite materialised. Who’d have thought!
As I said at the time, we were well on course for 100+ points and no other team would get near that.
Congratulations to Ange, Callum and all the bhoys for an outstanding season – commitment, relentlessness and some cracking football.
And all the more incredible that we managed to do it even after having to overcome the loss of Christopher Jullien…….
Fantastic to hear the captain talking about pushing the barrier. Need to develop further from here, keep improving, have a vision that extends beyond the city, make an impact in Europe and be all we can be!
BBC online has another great article on an athlete I had never heard of before, Lengthy but well worth a read.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/triathlon/65351405
Sorry if this has already been posted, a younger Ange.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1655454196827828224
D :)
Big Jimmy
I hope to call in on Friday but it is another non-drinking day as I have to drive on Friday evenings.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTs0-GsEt-o
SFTB
That is an excellent article on Ange. We are so lucky to have such an excellent human being as our manager.
Ange Postecoglu the perfect fit for blah, blah, blah.
I was reminded by a friend in conversation Jock Stein they said, was perfect for anywhere but Celtic season after season, and for more than a decade in SMSM. We’ll be lucky if Ange develops a love of Celtic to rival Stein where it’s always still cold in his shadow.
Celtic and good managers have a short shelf life even if you write for The Guardian it seems, we’re lucky to have Ange who was trashed by the same media on his appointment. Billy McNeill, Martin O’Neill, Brendan Rodgers please go anywhere but Celtic.
It’s the hope that kills them.
SETTING FREE THE BEARS FOR RES. 12 & OSCAR KNOX on 8TH MAY 2023 12:15 PM
Big Jimmy
I hope to call in on Friday but it is another non-drinking day as I have to drive on Friday evenings.
……………
Okay Mate, but IF you cant make it on Friday, we can organise a wee Beer drinking day next week BEFORE the St Mirren game obviously ?
See you soon.
HH mate.
Good afternoon all from the Victoria Bar. Celebrations continue, football and racing on TV and having a good laugh at the huns. Not many in here, mind you. 🤔
God bless Peter Lawwell. Keeping the green flag flying despite the malcontents naysayers and begrudgers.
If it wasn’t for his steady hand on the rudder,none of this would be possible!!!
I can’t remember a Celtic squad with the team spirit,and togetherness of this one.
Martin O’Neill came in 2000 and from that moment onwards, you fancied Celtic to win every tournament.
——————
Fergus McCann took control in 1994, promising to rebuild the club over 5 years. He did that. But what he also did was built the foundations to harness what is the biggest club in Scotland. It’s a structural fact. The domination of today all leads back to Fergus.
The administrators since then have been a mixture of competent and incompetent. Nobody has yet excelled and taken the club to its potential. This is the challenge for Michael Nicholson and co. He is doing well, certainly better than his predecessor. The next steps are relative success in Europe and to command the transfer fees that other countries get from the big 5 leagues. Succeed with that and it becomes harder to fail at home.
The top players of the Rodgers era are all bit part players at their respective clubs. Nobody has really excelled. Kyogo and Hatate can’t get in the Japanese squad. CCV can’t get in the USA squad. Etc etc. youth development has stalled at best, at worst it’s failing to produce. What this tells us is that there are levels and levels to our potential yet.
It’s time to move on from ‘we had it bad in the 90s so enjoy today’.
A wee bit more on Big ANGE.
Personal life
Postecoglou grew up in Melbourne, Victoria.[4] From an early age he started playing Australian rules football[73] and became a lifelong supporter of the Carlton Football Club in the Australian Football League.[74]
Postecoglou is married to Georgia, who worked at South Melbourne as a marketing manager when he served as manager of the club.[75] Together they have three sons, James, Max and Alexi.[76] Their oldest son, James, currently serves with the Hellenic Armed Forces and is based in Lemnos.[77]
He said in a 2018 interview that his father, who died the very same year, worked hard every day of his life: “People say they go to another country for a better life. My parents did not have a better life, they went to Australia to provide opportunities for me to have a better life.” Father and son had time together only during their outings together to association football games, from where young Ange got a life-long “fascination” with the sport. He said of his management “My motivation is always to produce teams [my] dad would enjoy watching.”[78] Postecoglou also grew up supporting Liverpool and AEK Athens.[79][80]
In November 2022, Postecoglou was inducted into the Football Australia Hall of Fame for his outstanding contribution to Australian football on and off the field as a player and as a coach.[81]
Excellent stuff Paul.
Combine mass with strategic intelligence AND humility …
…. and catch a break or two.
…. You’re on to a winner.
A great time to be a Celt.
I hope our fans from ages 3 to 103 savour every minute.
Yes but have you registered the Thirdgenerationofdomination domain yet?
I have to admit I felt uneasy with the Generation of Domination predictions at the time as I felt that it was a hunnish thing to boast about accomplishments before they have happened. I’m glad they have come to fruition though and hope I’m still here for the 10 in a row GOD. I might manage to hang on till 4, 5 at a push.
As the domination solidifies so will increase the desperation of those trying to stop it.
It won’t be enough … if we stay humble and focused.
Great article, Paul
We ARE in a special place right now, let us all enjoy it.
Fantastic being a Tim
Thanks to everyone involved.
My player of the year , after a lot of head scratching, and splinters under my nails, Is Hatate, and a fag paper behind is CCV
BTW an interesting (at least I thought so) little stat before I head out.
This season …..
Across league football in England AND Scotland …
133 of 134 clubs have conceded penalties
🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔
P67
‘..I don’t think we can be complacent, in fact, I can see a scenario when the good times stop, but it is more likely our dominant period will extend well into its second generation…’
—————————————————-
That scenario is more than likely if we have another Lawwell type CEO who will micro manage way beyond his capabilities including appointing a Lennon type manager.
However continuing to be ambitious in employing modern managers who are thoroughly professional will see that scenario significantly reduce.
“And to the board that put the strategy in place.”
——————-
What strategy was that, Paul? Waiting for Neil Lennon to resign and then chasing Eddie Howe down a blind alley?
WHAT IS THE STARZ on 8TH MAY 2023 12:44 PM
God bless Peter Lawwell. Keeping the green flag flying despite the malcontents naysayers and begrudgers.
If it wasn’t for his steady hand on the rudder,none of this would be possible!!!
————————————-
Good banter mate.
A fishing expedition.
Where is the white text?
I hope the Celtic marketing team have tshirts already planned along with stadium banners for after the cup final which we all expect to win with ‘The worlds most successful club’ emblazoned.
An emotional Ange Postecoglou has struggled to hold back tears as he talked about his family and those close to him who have made sacrifices to help his career after guiding Celtic to a second Scottish title.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Not just a fabulous manager, but a lovely person as well.
https://twitter.com/ScotlandSky/status/1655236490778099714?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1655236490778099714%7Ctwgr%5Ea4519f4200e47590e83db6ad0c769662527a93c1%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailymail.co.uk%2Fsport%2Ffootball%2Farticle-12058259%2FEmotional-Ange-Postecoglou-breaks-Celtic-win-second-Scottish-title.html
Nope…Cant find I said at the time…..
Search bar missing…..:)
https://twitter.com/Zeshankenzo/status/1655279479902597123
1,329 days since the home team conceded a penalty at Ibrox…
Winning the league during a Public Holiday weekend isn’t the worst way to spend an idle Monday. We ought to mark our diaries to do it more often.
Congratulations, Celtic. Ange’s players and staff have done us proud.
What a pity there were so few hooped shirts worn among the 1,000 or so supporters at the game yesterday.
I say, the effective away game season ticket operation allowed by the club combined with artificially induced crowd numbers, brings to an end the idea of football as the people’s game.
—————————————————————————————————
Calling East Coast Celtic families
A reminder Celtic 18s, who won the Youth Cup 6-5 on bbc last week, are playing Hibs tonight at HTC, East Mains 7pm. Hibs are inviting both clubs’ supporters to attend the game at their Training Centre, free entry.
The results from the previous three games this season (Celtic first) have been 3-0, 1-2, 0-3. Give the bhoys a cheer.
Scullybhoy – I watched that this morning about big Ange getting emotional, he remembers what his parentwent through as immigrants and what his family go through on a daily basis with his sacrifices to Celtic.
Very humbling for us and him.
D :)
Paul,
I am loving Ange and all that he has brought to the club. Long may it continue. But when you talk about the Strategy that the Board put in place….are you speaking about the decision to hire Ange and all that has resulted? Or the longer term strategic approach put in place when rangers died?
WHATSINTHESTARZ,Peter Lawell has been well compensated over the years,on top of his salary,what he and others at Celtic have taken,we should have had better inside and outside facilities,but I suppose greed at the end of the day is what these care for,🤠🤠🤠
We may not always agree with what Peter Lawell has done while in a position of authority at Celtic Park, e.g. how he has handled Res 12. I DO think, however, he has generally acted in what he perceives as in the best interests of Celtic and he always acts as Dermot Desmond demands.
Well done Ange and all the players and staff. They’ve already given us a great season.
I dint see the financial gulf between us and them being bridged anytime soon. They overtake us by spending their money smarter or by us making bad decisions. Neither looks likely anytime soon.
David66 on 8th May 2023 1:48 pm
Scullybhoy – I watched that this morning about big Ange getting emotional, he remembers what his parentwent through as immigrants and what his family go through on a daily basis with his sacrifices to Celtic.
Very humbling for us and him.
D :)
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
He has lived the founding experiences of Celtic. He is heaven sent for Celtic. Such a gentleman, and I think his players reflect him, especially Jota.
Scullybhoy – Well said.
D :)