“But I hear he (Hill) admitted to Brendan Rodgers it should have been a penalty, so top marks for being honest.”
The former right-back in Jock Stein’s all-conquering 1967 side added: “I don’t think Celtic played all that well yesterday.
In Scotland we take our football very seriously and after a disappointing result are never easy on our team. That is because we hold the players in such high regard and expect nothing less than the best from the players in every game.
Anyone who has been watching Celtic play this season has been both impressed and maybe a little surprised that we have only had two draws in domestic football, winning all the other games. Pundits can discuss whether Celtic can remain undefeated for the season but for the supporters, we know we are the luckiest fans in the country to have this team, playing so well and managed by Brendan Rodgers.
There’s absolutely not a hint of arrogance in that suggestion, although maybe some opposition teams are starting to ask, can anyone ever beat this Celtic team this season? They are asking are they truly the luckiest Scottish football team in history, or is it more about arrogance or are they just so much better than everyone else?
And it’s not just the players that are being lumped into this category of possible arrogance; it’s also our fans.
100 MAJOR HONOURS AND COUNTING
The simple fact is that Celtic is playing exceptionally well at this season. No-one can deny that. And last November Celtic won the Leaguer Cup, beating Aberdeen in the Final by 3-0, to record the club’s 100th major honour. With the Scottish premiership able to be won this weekend, if results go Celtic’s way, then honour number 101 is just around the corner.
If you were looking at luck, in terms of the countries that are most likely to win in competitions, the UK is rated #1 according to an infographic by 888poker. So, is it possible to then to state that Celtic is most successful team in Scottish football history?
Celtic has won the Scottish League Champions 47 times, while the old Rangers won it on 54 times before they went bust. Celtic has won the Scottish Cup 36 times, the League Cup 16 times, the European Cup in 1967 bringing in a total of 100 major honours.
No other club currently in existence can come anywhere near this tally in Scottish football.
EUROPEAN GLORY
Celtic is only Scottish club that has reached a European Cup Final and they did it twice, winning in Lisbon in 1067 but going down in Milan 3 years later. Celtic is also the only club from Scotland to play in an intercontinental competition, in those controversial 3 matches against Racing Club from Argentina.
Let’s not forget that in the first decade of the 20th century, Celtic managed to win six league titles in a row, which certainly helped them stand out, a record that Jock Stein equalled in the 1970s and one that Brendan Rodgers can equal this weekend. As far as the most successful period in Celtic’s history, it’s undoubtedly during the 1960s and 70s. It was at this time that they won the European Cup and became the first side to win nine league titles in a row.
Of course Celtic has a very strong and vocal fan base, not just in Scotland, but all around the world. It’s not unusual to find fans traveling from great distances just to catch a Celtic game. They are one of those “historic teams” as Barcelona noted earlier in the season. What started as a charitable venture in 1888 has now grown to be the most successful club in Scotland.
So while there is no black or white answer to give when it comes to whether or not Celtic FC is the luckiest team in Scottish football history, one can’t argue that they are wildly successful.
