It remains a possibility that Atletico Madrid will lose today’s league decider against Barcelona and next week’s Champions League final against Real Madrid (vernacular: ‘do a Hearts), but I hope not. The fact that they have pushed the two most celebrated football clubs on the planet to the limit, across two tournaments, is already remarkable. Should they deliver on two fronts, it will be the most stunning achievement in European football in 47 years.
There was a healthy amount of bloodlust for the Uefa Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules to fine the life out of the likes of Manchester City and Paris St Germain, before banning them from Uefa competition. This was never the point.
What Uefa have done is bring Europe’s two most freely spending clubs into line. FFP will restrict City and PSG’s expenditure, transfer market activity and squad selection. This is a result.
It’s a pity we’re not at Celtic Park to lift the Scottish Cup today. *!*!
Enormous thanks to Tommy Gemmell and everyone who participated in the entertainment here yesterday. Tommy thoroughly enjoyed the banter and will be back on the blog below this article early this afternoon to catch up with the questions he didn’t have time for yesterday.
You can buy a signed copy of his new autobiography, which he can add a personalised message to, by ordering below:
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CFC
Pub time.
HH.
God Bless you Tommy Gemmell. Along with a group of like minded men you provided us with the stature that Celtic Football Club is today. We will never forget that.
Hail Hail
Hamiltontim is praying for Oscar,
“God Bless you Tommy Gemmell. Along with a group of like minded men you provided us with the stature that Celtic Football Club is today. We will never forget that.
Hail Hail”
———————————————–
That is indisputable and hopefully speaks for us all.
HH.
7 weeks ago today I pulled my calf muscle and haven’t been able to run since.
Wish me luck (medical update around 12.45….)
Jobo
PS Drizzly…..
Nearly
Ht
Your dead leg assists in a podium ;)
Anyone remind me please of Paul’s e-mail?
greenpinata
12:05 on 17 May, 2014
Hear hear
Regards to Mr Gemmell, no questions from me but enjoying the blether:D
Shameless repost from last page, TG!
Hail hail Tommy!
Can I repeat my question from yesterday? Of the top 4 or 5 clubs presently on the continent, and the EPL top 4 this season, which would be most-suited to your style of play?
tommy gemmell
12:05 on17 May, 2014
jude2005
Yes, I heardWillie Hendersonmake that remark, but I stillthink he might be confusingme with another Celtic player. Jim Kennedy, forinstance,wasnever shy in giving opponents a wee dig. Me?Never!
tommy gemmell
12:07 on17 May, 2014
beatbhoy
Ithink I couldhave fitted into any team that liked to encourage attacking play. Irevealin the book that Barcelona once wanted to signme,so I think I could have done a job there. Basically, I wouldliketo think I could have fitted in at most clubs.
From Tommy on the previous thread
HH
greenpinata
12:05 on 17 May, 2014
Anyone who would dispute it isn’t a Tim.
I’ve yet to see a post that criticised Tommy but I’ve seen some posts that I thought were well constructed and simply asking questions that many of us were thinking.
I feel slightly compromised because of a well intentioned email I received yesterday and as a consequence I’ve stood back from the debate.
Tommy
You’re a Lanarkshire man and it’s a Saturday morning.
Sure it’s “sliced” sausage, not square?
(It’s not square anyway. It’s an isosceles trapezium, right?)
Tommy Gemmell, Legend of this Parish!
I will save my question for later, you never know I might bump into you later…:)
Keep the Faith!
Hail Hail!
TBJ
Ha ha it indeed does :-)
Passed multitudes of Arab buses there travelling from Cumbernauld to Hamilton, I hope you’ve got your Yaser Arafat costume looked out :-)
Enjoy your day my friend.
tommy gemmell
12:10 on17 May, 2014
justafan
It’s taken me 70years to become a Super hero! Wee Jinky was an absolute dream to play alongside. Hecouldtake the ball for awalk and give us allthe chance to catch our breath. WhenI played at right-back I hadn’t a clue what he was going to do next. Mind you,Jinky probably didn’t know himself! But he wasdifferent class. I lovedthat wee Man.
From Tommy on the other thread
HH
derbyshirebhoy
12:08 on 17 May, 2014
celticquicknews@gmail.com
Keep the Faith!
Hail Hail!
Lennybhoy
Many thanks. Old brain cells dying unfortunately :>))
Awe Naw
Thanks. A bit star-struck. Silly really, for a late middle-aged man with a monicker!
I made the pilgrimage to the EN in 1976, and I remember taking a tram to the terminus and then walking through woodland to get to the stadium. The whole time I was thinking “how did all those thousands of bevvied Tims manage to find this?”
Was it more accessible when you were there in 2004?
Hi Tommy
St Johnstone or Dundee United today ?
Ps Did you take advantage of yesterday’s tip, Dawn Commander ?
tommy gemmell
12:12 on17 May, 2014
dan
Good question. Jock’s influence was everywhere at the club and not just out on the pitch. He changed things in training and, basically, made us all more professional. I think he took our old traininggear away and burned it! He made us into winners, too. Ibelieve the likes ofJinky, Bobby Murdoch, Billy McNeil et al would have all made animpact,but it wasJock who pulled it alltogether.
tommy gemmell
12:14 on17 May, 2014
livibhoy
You would have to ask theproducers of the shows. That’s their call. I’ve done radio work inthe past andquite enjoyed it, but I could never have made a career in that sphere. I’ll leave that to the likes of Lineker, Hansen, Shearer etc.
tommy gemmell
12:15 on17 May, 2014
henry clarson
Thanks forthat wonderfulditty.I wonder why The Who never thought about releasing it. It would have beena surefireNo.1!
More from Tommy.
HH
Itv +1 at 12.30 has a champions league final preview. A piece about Lisbon 67 along with interviews with John Clark and Sandro Mazzolla.
beatbhoy
12:17 on17 May, 2014
I was extremely hungover but I can’t recall such a walk or woodlands
HH
I am a fan of Barca. BUT I want Atletico to win. Barca are also a debt fuelled behemoth who need to be brought in to line.
There could, potentially, be a trickle down effect if FFP does genuinely kick in. Better players available at more realistic wages for clubs like ours.
And by the way, I wish we were in the Scottiash Cup final, but for the greater good of the Scottish game I think we should in some ways be grateful that we are not. When others win things their attendances go up and in Scotland bums on seats is still the main income for football clubs. If other clubs can buy or keep better players they can give us a game now and then, keep a bit closer to us in the league, increase the competitiveness of the league which in turn will put more bodies through the gates of Paradise-on-Clyde.
I’m hoping DUFC win it. Because I really think that is best for Celtic.
Anyhoo, things to do, people to see, places to go. Hoose tae clean!
tommy gemmell
12:19 on17 May, 2014
yogihughes
The St Mirrengame youtalk about was actually played on November 51966 and I remember it well. Iplayed centre-halfthat afternoon as Big Billy wasinjured.I think that was the only game he missed all season. The Saintsmade it tough for usin that game and Iremember Denis Connaghanhaving a blinder. Yes, I did scorewith a long-range shot ina 1-1 draw, but time certainly lends enchantment, doesn’t it?Deniswasn’t taken into the net with the ball. In fact, he never got near it! And, ofcourse,Denis became a team-mate at Celtic later in his career.
:…………… No stopping the man once he has started. No surprises there.
I have a problem with cut and pasting. Anyone else with a working cut and paste function willing to volunteer moving Tommys current posts to the current thread.
HH
Good Morning Champs. Utd for me today. Jackie Mac. Have a good day Bhoys.
KLV
tommy gemmell
12:21 on17 May, 2014
mcbhoy
Football agents appearto be a necessary evil, but some do great work for their clients. It would have beenhandy to havehad an agent whenI was playing. Iwonder how BigJock would havetreatedthem, though!
tommy gemmell
12:22 on17 May, 2014
sirenbhoy
Thanks forthe kind wordsand ten out of ten for your memory. IfI made you happy, thenI’m chuffed,too. Allthe best.
HH
TOMMY GEMMELL
Thanks very much for answering, Tommy. You’d have been a sensation in some of those teams nowadays, just as you were for us.
I suppose you have a tight itinerary for your Lisbon trip, but if you and the other Legends are out and about in Lisbon, this is a great place for a bite to eat and a beer.
http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=cervejaria%20trindade%20lisboa&source=web&cd=8&ved=0CE4QFjAH&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.golisbon.com%2Ffood%2Frestaurants%2FCervejaria-Trindade.html&ei=QUB2U7LcNca1PNTIgLgC&usg=AFQjCNFSwwWN6Nt1FCk7sj5osZfHhAu6fg&bvm=bv.66699033,d.ZWU
lionroars67
12:18 on
17 May, 2014
Many thanks Mr Gemmell for chatting with us all, good luck with the book, the chapter that you and your fellow lions wrote in the history of Celtic football club will IMO never be equalled in its achievement and for the manner it was achieved, pure beautiful inventive football
It may have been advisable for CQN to have given brief details to the blog on the makeup of CQN books, what its aims were and a back of a fag packet accounts outlining where the money would go, as is clearly the case no information creates a vacuum where questions are raised with no information, we have all seen the results in the last 24 hours, it is not necessary to know to the last penny what someone earns through CQN books, but information that they are getting some money for quite clearly a lot of work maybe should have been shared at the beginning,
It is a broad church of a blog housing a wide spectrum of sporting, political and religious opinion as long as you don’t break the house rules (language) then the blog has to be allowed to breathe with the oxygen of free speech, expect your views and opinions to be challenged no matter who you are should be accepted, its the Celtic way
This blog has been for me at times a wonderful education and fantastic entertainment especially the moonhowlers (love them) but most of all i have loved the charitable side of the blog, been very fortunate met some terrific CQN’s at various charity events where i was able to participate and make a small contribution in keeping with the clubs founding ethos, very proud of the blogs charitable side, it sets us apart
With a blog name Lionroars its no surprise that i love that team the lisbon lions, i was 9 when we won that cup they were my boyhood heroes every member of that squad was and still is idolised by me, so no criticism of TG from me, its his book!
I loathe the MSM in general, language rules prevent me from saying what i feel about sporting tabloid hacks, i am with those who condemn the DR and its relentless attacks on all matters Celtic, what a dichotomy ? support TG and support those who have attacked the DR its the Celtic way to be a rebel is it not
Enjoy the blog, celebrate viva la difference, park the ego aside and blog your opinions
tommy gemmell
12:24 on17 May, 2014
just a fan
Yes, I’ll be out and about doing book signings, so keep youreye bon CQN for details. Don’t forget also that you can get a personalised signedmessage from WinningCaptains.The addressis: david@CQNmagazine.com.
HH
tommy gemmell
12:27 on17 May, 2014
jeg er neil
Irecall a few goals against Clyde in my career. However, I didn’t get on the scoresheet inthe last-ever appearance from the LisbonLions when we beat the Shawfieldside 6-1at Celtic Park. The goals that day were scored by Bobby Lennox (3),Willie Wallace (2)and StevieChalmers.
TBJ
Really sorry if I spoke to you last week — I genuinely can’t remember that as I am rubbish with names and CQN names for me personally are a nightmare!
I have no problem with you having an opinion at all — and no problem with you having a perception of where the blog is going or who does what.
I personally am very conscious of asking blog members for money for charity or for anything else — so much so that in relation to certain matters I simply never raise them on CQN at all as I don’t think it is fair or even proper to do so.
The point of my post was simply to say that your perception re money rolling in etc is simply not accurate — and to say that honestly if you really want to know about the money– please just ask me — I will tell you straight where it came from and where it has gone — though others will say I shouldn’t do so.
It is very very easy to take any internet site too seriously and I think in many respects that is a valid criticism from Big Wavy because CQN is meant to be fun, the blog is meant to be fun, the books are meant to be a bit of fun, CQ10 was hopefully fun.
It is hard work organising a lot of that but as long as it is fun then people are happy to do it– the effort that doc and Celticrollercoaster put into the badges and the dream team is huge but fun– by the way I bought one last week and an hour later they took it off me and resold it!,
I have only a couple of mottos in life one is that if it ain’t fun don’t do it.
I like writing, I have never made a tanner from it ( though I am about to enter a competition with a cash prize which I have never done before so you never know ) and even WC’s post earlier belies a truth because in real business terms he fails to take into account petrol expenses and all sorts of other things to balance against his £600 figure.
Anyway, enjoy the game — I have a sneaking suspicion for St Johnstone — they have scored 6 goals against the Arabs in their last meetings, though I have more friends who are Arabs than Saintees.
My apologies again for forgetting that we have spoken — I am just shite at remembering who I speak to and seriously if you want to know about the money stuff give me a shout.
As for back stabbers lol — I have spent most of my life working with people who could stab you in the front whilst standing below you on a ladder!
Paul,
Although NL and others will never admit to it, there is a reason why we are not at Celtic Park to lift the Scottish Cup today. And it the same reason why we were not liftuing the League Cup at Celtic Park a few weeks ago.
To put it at its simplest. When it comes to cup tie football, from Ross County throuugh to Morton, NL’s sides have generally been found wanting.
As I have pointed out here before, from a club point of view winning leagues, even bum one’s is important.
However it is winning cup finals that will stick in he fans memories.
tommy gemmell
12:31 on17 May, 2014
31003
BigJock would insist his keepers threw the ballto someone to start our attacks. It was rareto see a Celtic goalie simply blast the ball downthe park. Iremember talking to EvanWilliams after his debut andhe toldme he had never seen players like his new team-mates. “Everyone wants the ball!”he toldme. Wee Bertie evenshoutedat our new keeper when he threw the ball out to me once. “Hey,Evan,”he bellowed. “What’sthe matter with
HH
BRTH
Happy to sell you another badge. Never let it be said :-)
HH
CRC
Bhoys you would be better going onto the last blog for TG he mentioned he is on his own for first hour.
HH
tommy gemmell
12:36 on17 May, 2014
paddyturner
Yes, Frank Haffey was a bit of a character and I talk about him in thebook. He thought nothingof swingingfrom a crossbar from time to time. My heart would be in my mouth when he went through one of his imprompturoutines.Areall goalkeepers crazy?Big Frank providedthe answer to that question. Hugh Maxwell joined usfrom Falkirk, but didn’t evenlast a fullseasonbefore BigJock soldhim to St Johnstone. Paddy Turner came to us from Morton andI played a handful ofgamesalongside him in1963. He hada nice touch, but neverquite made the grade. I think he returned to Irish football after his briefspell at Celtic.
HH
tommy gemmell
12:40 on17 May, 2014
spirit of Arthur Lee
Era Baror King Lud?Two good wee pubs when I wasgrowingup inCraigneuk. Iwastoo young to drink.
HH