You remember Celtic manager, Gordon Stachan, third manager in our history to win three-in-a-row? Took us to the Champions League knock out stages for the first time, did much of this while comparative economics were moving against us, remember him? Is he the same Gordon Strachan who has transformed the Scotland national team’s results?
Gordon is unequivocally a successful manager but his Scotland team is performing far better than I thought possible when he took over what looked like a poisoned chalice. The most stunning fact of his record there is that they have not conceded a goal in three successive away games. Gordon’s Celtic covered 15 months, across two championship winning seasons, without keeping a single clean sheet away from home, no matter how lowly or distressed the opponent. Even good, experienced, managers learn, especially from their earlier troubles.
Jock Stein is viewed mostly through the prism of 1967 but during his final season as Celtic manager, 1977-78, the sentiment among many in the support was decidedly downbeat. Rangers (remember them, played in blue, I think?) would win their third title in four seasons, with two trebles thrown in for good measure. Celtic finished fifth in the league, Jock’s judgement was widely called into question.
At the time Leeds United were a top club in England and after Celtic sacked Jock they moved to secure him. Leeds had no doubts as to his abilities. A little over a month later the SFA offered him the Scotland job, which he took and excelled at, twice succeeding in World Cup qualifying campaigns. His talents were without question but stood in sharp contrast to how many in the support viewed him a few years earlier.
I don’t know if Jock was a better manager in 1982 and beyond than he was in 1978 but there’s a decent chance his football education didn’t stop when the trophies dried up at Celtic. Gordon Strachan is, like Jock was until the end, a student of the game. Neil Lennon is too, he is also receiving some of the reviews his illustrious predecessors would recognise. Gordon was an excellent Celtic manager but he’s better now, perhaps as a result of life’s experiences along the way.
It’ll be really interesting to see how Euro qualifiers reflect on the comparative progress of Gordon and Martin O’Neill, who for my money was a better manager than Mourinho when the latter deployed some of the best players in the world against Celtic in Seville, and needed to deploy every underhand trick in the book to come out on top.
I was blown away by the stunning contributions to our Mary’s Meals campaign yesterday. First in was an incredible £200 + £50 gift aid donation, followed by others, large and small, every one appreciated. Ignore those who would tell you society is dead. You can get involved here.
Seville, The Celtic Movement, launches this month.
“Porto were favourites and would go on to prove how good a team they were by winning the Champions League 12 months later. Their players would demonstrate their prowess across the world for the next decade. They had fabulous talent, so much so, that they should have aspired to better than the gamesmanship used during their run to the UEFA Cup and Champions League wins.”
Order yours below:
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Sneddon
Jackson
Klos
Awww feck!
Mrs Token chooses the time to ask me to top up her vino and get myself a beer!
Missed the Question!
Sneddon
Jackson
Dunno….nae relation to earlier dunnos
The Token Tim
still time to answer…….
Sneddon
Jackson
Klos
BIG-CUP-WINNERS
21:23 on
7 March, 2014
Lostinbonnybridge
You answering mate ?
Sorry, got caught up….. fell asleep!
Sneddon, Jackson, ?
Doc!
Correct – came out of M&S (with my dinner) and am just home.
Way to scroll back and figure out what to eat at this time of night.
OT = OT!
Whit a bloody time for the Minx tae phone, missed the blinkin question!!!! :-)
Not that I’m complaining darling :-)
hahahaha
a. ALAN SNEDDON!!!!
b. colin jackson
c. Klos
HAIL! HAIL!
Token
While we’re waiting. I know CJ.
He tells me that when Murdo made it 4-2 he went over to him and said that he was on his Christmas card for life!
pass, sorry missed question.
MAH,
haha nae probs my good man!
Look forward to it myself.
HAIL! HAIL!
Token
Answer Q
A) The 1979 Partizan Tirana 4-1 victory at Celtic Park – Alan Sneddon
B) The 1979 “10 MEN WON THE LEAGUE” 4-2 win – Colin Jackson
C) The 2-0 LEAGUE CUP win in 2005 –Stefan Klos
THE full extent of Rangers’ excesses during Sir David Murray’s reign were laid bare last night.
Record Sport can reveal documentation which shows Stefan Klos was paid more than £8million over four and half years at Ibrox.
The keeper received a basic salary of £4.5m, a loyalty bonus of £1m, win and appearance money totalling £500,000 and raked in £2m from the EBT scheme making him one of the world’s highest-paid footballers at that time.
The German’s pay packet was almost on a par with those of David Beckham, Steve McManaman and Brazilian superstar Ronaldo.
Klos is back in the spotlight as the astonishing scale of the tax avoidance scheme which has brought the club to the brink of collapse was exposed.
The Ibrox hero, who made more than 200 appearances for the club between 1998 and 2007, was one of the biggest beneficiaries of the Employee Benefit Trusts which are threatening to destroy the club’s 140-year history.
HT,
aye right luvvie!
:-)
HT
Your power of recovery there, was impressive. :))
DD
Silver tongued devil is ole HT :-)
“threatening to destroy the club’s 140-year history.”…geez they missed a bullet then!..oh wait?
Q8 Deadclub Remembrance Round:
a) Who is Scotland’s Sport journalist of 2012 (!!!!) writer describing:
“X was already Scotland’s youngest self-made millionaire. Now, 13 years on, and in charge of a vast business empire, his wealth is off the radar. It is said that, by the time he left school, he had more cash in his bank than many of his teachers”.
b) Which favourite sugar daddy is Barry Ferguson describing:
“he even took me down to see his wine cellar. I never plucked up the courage to ask him how much some of those bottles were worth but he could probably have bought and sold Charles Green and Craig Whyte combined with the contents of one of his cabinets. And even though he had something like 10 chefs and 14 servants and a small lake in his back garden, he struck me as just a normal, down-to-earth guy. Deep down he’s still a Rangers fan from Castlemilk”.
c) Who in 1998 said:
“Bring on the next 10 years, there’s more to come for Rangers. “Understand that I care passionately about what I’m doing with Rangers and believe that in 10 years time we will still be setting the pace. “Too many of us have put too much into this club and we won’t let someone come along and take it all away. “What I’m saying here is that no matter who buys Celtic from Fergus, they will need to have the deepest of pockets imaginable”.
2 points for each.
Whyte
Murray
Murray
Jangle Jackson
Dave king
David murray
a. Keech Jakshun
b. Minty
c. Minty
Should have read the question, doh!
Oor hero Craigy White
Jim MCColl
Murray
Isn’t Qu1 who Jangle is describing?!
Hamiltontim
Yip
kayal,
moi aussi.
thats twice in the one quiz ive done that.
Deserve to get erchie booted for that.
HAIL! HAIL!
Token
#MustPayMoreAttention
Mind you I should have read qu2 properly!!!
jimmci
21:22 on 7 March, 2014
I sold papers and very 2nd Sat I was at Ibrox. Willie Henderson was fantastic and the only fullback that sorted him was Tommy Gemmell. He would have got a thousand caps if wee Jinky had not. came on the scene. Many times he acknowledged Jinky as The Man, sorry but modern parlance
Jackshun
Mintyhun
Sounesshun
whyte murray traynor
Praecepta, telt ye.
Craig T Whyte who helped like liquidate the hun
Jim mccoll who helped liquidate the hun
David Murray who helped liquidate the hun.
Billy Bhoy
Good answer !
can i change 2 for dave king?
Doc
Baled out when the karaoke started but – did mention the 4 tables.
Think its some toast and semi-cremated cheese for me (don’t want to start another culinary debate) – back in 15 all being well with the grill. :-)