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.”
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DD,
If they completely destroy what’s left of Der Hun, maybe we should allow them to operate all the buses in Clydebank…………as long as they paint them in traditional Glasgow Corporation colours!
glasgow corporation buses photos (this one’s for TD67) hope the link works
AR
St Stivs.
Kilmarnock hurt me more than Seville.
As did many other losses to the huns.
Black Sunday was in a league of its own hurt-wise.
Barring a man utd/man city (Aguerrooooooooooooooooo) scenario, i would imagine that day at Fir Park will be the worst day of my life ever as a Celtic Supporter.
HAIL! HAIL!
Token
Petec.
Poor excuse.
Some one here postponed his only child’s christening and used the money to get to Seville.
My wife doesnt mention it much now.
Well twice a day.
The kid is called ,baby h,
We will get her baptised once she can pay for it herself
http://www.photo-transport.co.uk/buses/ggpte/la1345-lsu402v.JPG
Try again!
Tom M
Enjoy your Toastit Cheese :)
Fred C. Dobbs
00:52 on 8 March, 2014
petec,
These are the best times of our lives.
They don’t know they are dead…but they are :O).
____________________________________________
I’m a 72 child, I did miss the Lions, you are so right, football wise, Celtic are doing alright.
Thebhoyfromoz……
Possibly a chance of a Europa League final again,in my lifetime,but that means failure in the Champions League unfortunately…..whatever way you look at it.
Would far rather MON’s team had beaten Basle that season than UEFA Cup run and sure most of the players would have preferred to compete for the big Gold really.
Playing in Scotland we have no chance of getting past last 16 in CL.
Move to a bigger league Celtic would be potential winners of CL.
Delaneys Dunky
00:50 on
8 March, 2014
FCD
The naval gazers, we call them. Since 2012 Huns canny look Tims in the eye at work act must have been passed! Funny as feck that huns hate fitba noo. :))
Their shame and demise is another psychological scar for them. Like Mr Stein’s triumph (see my user name), it’ll grate and gnaw at them. The more they brag, the more they cheat the more it hurts them.
Love it.
Night Bhoys.
Forever and ever.
Researcher
That’s some mortgage you’ve got.
AR
More to do wae sniff n jag than bus routes.
Fritz song……,
It was some mortgage…
Unlike the Huns I’ve paid most of it now.
petec,
Best times as in no huns :O)
I did see the Lions…heaven.
Saint Stivs
00:58 on 8 March, 2014
Petec.
Poor excuse.
Some one here postponed his only child’s christening and used the money to get to Seville.
My wife doesnt mention it much now.
Well twice a day.
The kid is called ,baby h,
We will get her baptised once she can pay for it herself
______________________________________________
The Partick Thistle supporting Husband, is a very good person despite a lot of things going against him, he has “percy vered.”
Seriously, I’m lucky to have such an amazing Oldest Sister.
Ryecatcher
I agree with you that at the moment we stand a better chance of a europa league rather than the champions league final.
Also agree that playing our football outwith Scotland would significantly enhance our chances of being champions of Europe again, ( if feel sure our day will come sgain).
Where I would disagrre with you is the run to Seville.
That is now part of Celtic folklore a oppossed to even our best efforts in the champions that soon fade in the memory, Barcelona excepted.
Petec.
God bless sisters.
BCW
A love it too. For the first time in our lives, Tims truly run the show. Bravo Catholic education.
DD,
Put them on a wee unhappy bus and dispatch back over the bridge!
AR
Saint Stivs
01:11 on 8 March, 2014
Petec.
God bless sisters.
—–
And brothers, Mothers and Fathers.
ThebhoyfromOz….,
The Champions League is where any professional footballer will want to strut his stuff.
It is the peak and absolute Zenith of professional club football.
Just my opinion…but Europa League is a consolation prize.
Can name the last 10 winners of CL but couldn’t do the same for UEFA Cup / EL.
It is where Celtic need to be…..,Champions League is the tournament that brings our magnificent stadium to life.
Betting on Bayern Munich to be first club ever to defend it successfully this season.it is that difficult to win!!
Seville on the other hand,
Im certain there are not enough adjectives in the English language to describe all our various experiences of Seville.
For me possibly the greatest moment regarding Seville, was when the final whistle blew in Boavista!
I had actually taken the chance and booked my flights (to Malaga from Manchester £60 rtn!!!) and hotel in Seville itself, the morning after we beat Liverpool.
I knew then and there I was going, along with 2 of my 3 brothers (the 3rd and youngest had his Higher Maths exam day of the Final and so wouldnt go) to Seville and as I already had tickets secured (or so i thought, but thats for another day!) it was an amazing feeling.
The build up to Seville – Beachball Sunday anyone??? – the drive to manchester airport, drive up to Seville from malaga, the night before the game when bars literally didnt have enough glasses to serve their drink in – I remember being given a plastic 2 litre tub that shouldve held ice cream, but had beer in it!! – , the day of the game, the seething mass of Celtic humanity, the stunned, shocked and awed faces of the local population of Seville.
The bars running out of beer and alcohol in general, the walk to the ground, getting in with my ticket almost still complete, getting to our seats. realising i need a drink of water/juice. standing in a Q for water for 45 mins and missing a lot of the build up to the game. Las Ketchup. Celtic support everywhere in that ground. Our songs before KO.
Them scoring. Henrik. Twice. Bobo. Derlei…again. Shaun Maloney’s free kick.
5 mile or so walk back towards hotel eventually grabbing a taxi – 25 Euros for less than 5 min ride – bed and then up for journey home.
UNFORGETTABLE!
We may have lost, but we left our mark indelibly stained into the consciousness, not only to the people of Seville, but the football people of Europe.
Thats what makes Seville special.
HAIL! HAIL!
Token
Two worst defeats – 1961 to St Mirren in the semi at Ibrox and, even worse, that Sunday in Motherwell.
AR
The bottom of Loch Humphrey more likely. ;))
I spent a few hours playing CS:GO this week with my Brother in Switzerland alongside my own Son, who was in East Kilbride, what a great experience.
I see that acgr, the Dram Man, is a Gamer.
I just hope it is on the PC and not a console?
Star
The run to Seville, our Celtic beat
Lithuania, england, Spain, Germany, england, Portugal.
I cannae play fps games on a console ever since getting hooked into the keyboard and mouse conspiracy.
Not EMP but EMF
Saint Sivs …,
Unfortunately we didn’t beat Switzerland or Portugal once more.
Porto proved how good a side they were following season.
That annoys me more than anything about Seville.
They didn’t need to cheat the way they did but that’s probably a reflection on their manager.
An absolute arse of a man!!
Sean maloneys free kick.
The deflection on halftime.
Deco wasn’t brilliant, a feck in cheat.
Bobo immense until that tackle,
Douglas soils the ball.
We were the better team.
the token tim,
Excellently put, more or less sums up my experience. The Tuesday night as all the Bhoys were coming back from the concert, I was in a wee bar as they all passed by, guys I hadn’t seen for years looking at me thinking, how did you get here? I thought you were in Oz, I was but I wouldn’t have missed Seville for anything.
AR
Off ski.
Keep it lit.
Last wee comment.
Travelling with the job a lot just now, airports all the time.
The tartan army.
Middle class, moneyed bores.
No real cultural knowledge, no real politics. All generals. No rebels.
What a lot of white I hear them speaking.
One tick?…….. No huns amongst them.
Still twats.
Ryecatcher,
as someone else said earlier (WC or praecepta?) i know its totally subjective, but i remain convinced that had we went ahead of Porto we would definitely have won that night.
They were indeed a class team with some superb players – Deco especially – but as you say it was their antics that really stuck in the craw. Same with Mourinho – although he has been nothing less than respectful of both Celtic and the Celtic support ever since.
I have a sort of love/hate relationship with Jose in that ocassionally I find myself agreeing with things he does/says and then realise its him im agreeing with and almost feel obliged to be annoyed with him!
Anyhoo, its almost time for me to head for ma pit…..
HAIL! HAIL!
Token
THE TOKEN TIM
I had just started a new job,nae chance of time off.
Couldnae go,end of.
Your smashin’ wee tale filled in the blanks for me-cheers,bud!
TTT
I hated Jose till I heard him talk of Fatima. Then I heard him talk in superlatives about us. Jose wants to be a Tim!
Nae access to music, but its Friday night bhoy. Someone post something .
Pablo told us how.
PS.
Ukraine and Russia talks pending, hopeless situation.
They say until the kitalba v gold coast tom conflict is resolved the world crisis can wait.
BMCUW
Did you get my e mail?
Antipodean Red,
thanks!
But the real Thanks and doff oc cap must go to guys like you.
and there were plenty like you. Thats what made Seville so special.
The game whilst ultimately disappointing result-wise, was almost the side-show to the real deal which was the Celtic Support and our Mass Movement and overwhelming of Seville!
HAIL! HAIL!
Token
DELANEYS DUNKY
I’ll nip into the house in twenty minutes and have a look,bud.
i’ll either reply by mail or on here.
Cheers….