“If you don’t read the newspaper, you’re uninformed. If you read the newspaper, you’re mis-informed.”
Mark Twain had a knack for overstatement, but you wonder if there was ever a golden age of the newspapers, and if so, what it looked like. In Scotland, it’s seldom looked like it has this week.
Some weeks ago, Graham Spiers, writing in The Herald, made reference to comments he claimed a Newco director made about the Billy Boys song. Spiers didn’t name the director, but questioned the club’s board’s willingness to tackle offensive behaviour.
The Billy Boys were a Glasgow razor gang from the 1920s and 30s, named after their leader, Billy Fullerton. Glasgow was one of the poorest cities in the industrial world, with high unemployment and mortality rates, squalid housing conditions and what we would now term disaffected young people who drifted into criminal gangs. The Billy Boys were known as a Protestant gang (there were similar Catholic gangs) and started going along to watch Rangers, and singing their signature tune, in the 20s.
So far, so anthropologic. The song, the gangs, the disaffected masses were a product of their time, but the song persisted through the decades, including the “up to our knees in Fenian blood” third line. It was the mood music to employment practices at Ibrox from the 20s until 1989.
Scotland has changed enormously since then. We are a genuinely plural society, not one scandalised by “mixed marriages”. The vast majority of people don’t care who or what you are, boundaries have been pushed back, there is a fairly level playing field, no matter your creed or colour. All of this change brought focus to the Billy Boys song, it’s not the mood music to modern Scotland, or to ANY Rangers fans I know.
I couldn’t care less about the song. For me, it is a millstone around the neck of Newco, as it was of Oldco. It drags them down to a place they can ill-afford to be. It offends (not alone in football), has a criminal legacy (not alone in football), but it’s unique quality is that third line. You can’t say that about any group of people anymore.
Spiers has put his neck on the block over sectarianism at Ibrox repeatedly over the years. He wrote about his recent experience at Ibrox, expressed an opinion, and submitted his copy.
The club complained. Football clubs complain lots about many things. There’s a set answer newspapers give to these complaints: “It was an opinion piece”. They never retract or apologise for “an opinion piece”.
I’m 100% certain The Herald’s first response to Newco was “it’s an opinion piece”. This would normally have been the end of it, but on Wednesday The Herald issued an apology.
Spiers then became a blogger to explain “My opinion – as expressed in my column – was based on a truthful account of my meeting with a Rangers director.”
Who you believe is irrelevant for this topic. The only relevance is that within a 24 hour period, The Herald and Evening Times group changed how they deal with criticisms of an opinion piece – and then used six degrees of separation to drag Celtic into a sectarian headline.
“Ex-Celtic player in dock for sectarianism”, screamed the Evening Times, using the Celtic badge into the bargain. A woman is on trial for allegedly making a sectarian comment on Facebook. She once played for Celtic under-19s, never the senior ladies team. She doesn’t play for Celtic Ladies under-19s (or any age group) anymore, and didn’t a year ago when she made this comment. She never held an employed position at the club.
An amateur, juvenile, registered with the club who are a member of the Women’s Association. Fill your boots, Evening Times. The apology will do them no favours with any constituency, it will cost them more readers in each than sticking to their guns would have. Reacting by grasping onto something so tenuous to drag Celtic into the murky waters was unconscionable.
They do not report in this manner elsewhere. Headlines for court appearances never lead with the person’s club memberships, “Prestwick Golf Club member in driving ban”? You’ll never read this.
One very good political journalist once told me “The football content pays my wages”. That being the case, The Herald’s already difficult job to survive has been enormously undermined. Spiers also explained “the pressure brought upon the newspaper became severe”. They can ill-afford to lose advertising revenue streams, or readers.
Napoleon once said, “‘Four hostile newspapers are more to be feared than a thousand bayonets”. He’s been dead a long time, though. Newspapers can now make themselves impotent in an afternoon.
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Cosy Corner Bhoy, at 7.30 pm,
just had a quick glance through earlier posts, was it Jim O Brien?
H H
evening all
if ever an imposter has made a good living out of football its elbows
Evening Timland from a cool hun free mountain valley.
Well at least this window we will live up to the promise of coming out of it stronger than we went into it.
Am happy, it could have been a lot worse so it could.
Well done Pedro.
Now, all I need is a last gasp winner from Sporting to replenish the pot, but they way this season has been going, I very much doubt it will happen.
No way should our loans play against us should we make the final, rules are rules, and as a club we play by them and we expect others to do the same, end of, no question.
The morra, the only way we will lose is by making stupid mistakes or by honest mistakes, the latter would be a better bet imo, but I do expect us to win with ease, is it on the box ?
Oh yes, cash out
TET
on the BBC
TET
BBC Scotland.
O “halloran,yes,he would be a great buy for us.Fantastic pace and positional awareness.He can also put the ball in the net.I cant see the drawbacks.If he was playing in England,he would be in the 10 million bracket,like Mc Cormack.
Think we are missing a trick here for very small money.
Think the Turkish story is crap!!!!!!!!!!!!!.
Turkey
Have you been watching the darts ?
I was thinking about challenging you to a duel on the dart board :-)
No idea where mind you, but I quite fancy it.
HH
Night Night all. HH.
Forget today with the huns.The hibees are on a fantastic role at the moment.The scum have to go to Easter Rd.The race is not over,not by a long shot.
HJ
Thanks, I will need to get a sausage then, can’t get the BBC in the daylight since they put a new sat up, I could if I got a bigger dish but no worth the bother.
HH
I’m not sure about Mick O but he’s worth a punt for small money. Could give them Nadir until the end of the season.
Turkeybhoy on 30th January 2016 10:06 pm
Yes, i’m loving the young team!
I think the young boy from man city has put an end to Michael O’hallarans chances though hope I’m wrong in
in = again
Leftclictic
The biggest imposter surely has to be …..Borrighter !!
Ha! we are talking about £500K being small money and the hun haven’t got £500, how the mighty have fallen to their rightful place, feckin scum.
I hope they burn in hell.
Marspapa
Amido balde ?
marspapa
nah elbows an alex rae by mile
Tbj
I truly felt sorry for Amido , watching him in the warm ups was an Eye-opener
Leftcliktic
What’s an Alex Rae ?
Leave Alex Rae alone
I stayed in his EBT villa in Portugal
What a surprise that was
Love
I’ll not have a word said against Amido!
Fine player.
Tomorrow is a big one, win and the Treble is on big time. I think we will do it no problem. I hope so for Ronny’s sake.
Ps. Average age of 10 outfield players last week was 23.7, the 3 subs were 20, 24 and 24.
Celtic youth graduates .
1. Fallon
2. Mcgrain.
3. Hay
4. Connelly
5. McNeill
6. Aitken
7. Johnstone
8. Mcstay
9. Nicholas
10. Macari
11. Mcgeady
TET
I agree.If i could think of something worse it would be that,so for now,burning in hell will have to do.
HH
Saint Stivs on 30th January 2016 11:08 pm
Would Kenny Dalglish not get in that team?
St Stivs, Emusanorphan,
Dalglish in for Lou?
Chalmers, Stevie – The Celtic Wiki
C | Player Pics | Lisbon Lions | A-Z of Players
PersonalChalmers, Stevie – Kerrydale Street
Fullname: Thomas Stephen Chalmers
aka: Steve Chalmers, Stevie Chalmers
Nickname: Di Steviano
Born: 26 December 1935
Birthplace: Garngad (Roystonhill)
Signed: 6 February 1959 (From Ashfield)
Left: 9 September 1971 (to Morton)
Position: Centre Forward
Debut: Airdrie away 1-2 League 10 March 1959
Last game: Clyde home 6-1 League 1 May 1971
First goal: Raith Rovers away 3-0 League 19 September 1959
Last goal: Clyde home 6-1 League 1 May 1971
Internationals: Scotland
International Caps: 5 games
International Goals: 3 goals
BiogChalmers, Stevie – Pic
The great Steve Chalmers will always be remembered as the man who scored the most important goal in the history of Celtic.
It was the talented striker who, with just five minutes remaining, hit the winner in the 1967 European Cup final against Inter Milan in Lisbon. That one moment ensured Chalmers and his team-mates would be immortalised as the Lisbon Lions for all eternity and it seemed fitting that this historic goal should be scored by such a great and faithful servant to the Celtic cause.
Stevie was born in 1935 and brought up in the Celtic stronghold of Garngad (Roystonhill) in Glasgow, as was another famous Celtic son, Jimmy McGrory. His dad has tried to make it at Celtic with no success and moved over to Clydebank instead, so Stevie’s success made up for his father’s lost chance.
He joined Celtic in February 1959 at the age of 23 and became one of ‘Kelly’s Kids’ along with others such as Jimmy Johnstone, Billy McNeill, John Hughes and Tommy Gemmell.
A junior internationalist Chalmers signed for the Bhoys from Ashfield in February 1959 and made his debut a month later in a 2-1 league defeat at home to Airdrie.
From his earliest days at Parkhead the raw talent of Chalmers was obvious. He had great pace, was a tireless runner and a clinical finisher. However some said there was a naivety about his play which meant that at times his ability was not always utilised as effectively as it could have been.
His talent though was undisputed. However playing in a Celtic side packed with ability but lacking real guidance the quest for silverware became an annually fruitless and frustrating task. All that would change in the most dramatic fashion with the arrival of Jock Stein as manager in early 1965.
Buoyed by the arrival of the new boss Celtic claimed the Scottish Cup soon afterwards. It was Chalmers’ first winners ‘medal as a Celt and the Bhoys’ first trophy in eight years. With Stein at the helm Chalmers and Celtic blossomed. The new manager not only recognised the talent of Chalmers he knew exactly how to get the best from the player.
The tactically astute Stein would often deploy Chalmers as a front runner knowing the immensely hard working and unselfish forward possessed the intelligence to create havoc for defences even when he wasn’t in possession of the ball. Chalmers excelled under Stein. Time after time his clever runs would draw defenders and create gaping holes for his grateful team-mates to exploit.
He was of course equally as capable of scoring goals as he was creating them. Great anticipation and awareness coupled with the ability of a natural finisher made him lethal in the penalty area. His pace meant that with the ball at his feet he could beat any defender and he posed a real goal threat with his considerable ability in the air.
Rangers were made painfully aware of the devastating prowess of Chalmers on January 3rd 1966 when he netted a second-half hat-trick as Celtic demolished their rivals 5-1 at Parkhead. That now iconic goal in Lisbon was typical of his uncanny ability to find space amongst even the very meanest of defences.
But as emphatically proved by his wonderful run and goal in the Bhoys 4-0 Scottish Cup final triumph over Rangers in 1969 there were so many strings to Chalmers’ bow.
A broken leg sustained in the 1969 League Cup final against St Johnstone all but ended Steve Chalmers’ Celtic career. He eventually left Parkhead in September 1971 to become player-coach at Morton. Indeed he was so successful there that Partick Thistle persuaded him to move to Firhill where he played a further two season before returning to Celtic Park in 1975 as a youth coach.
By then he had scored 228 goals in 405 games for Celtic, and won the European Cup, four league titles, three Scottish Cups and four League Cups. Stevie is the fourth highest goalscorer in Celtic’s history only Jimmy McGrory, Bobby Lennox and Henrik Larsson have been more prolific than him. His 228 goals was the record until Bobby Lennox overtook it (two incredible goal scorers in one side).
Incredibly, he was capped only five times for Scotland, where he scored 3 goals. It’s almost too unbelievable, and this is even though one of his goals was against Brazil (a first minute “blazing goal” (25th June 1966)). However, there were other fine strikers around like Dennis Law competing for similar roles, but regardless five caps is still derisorily low for someone of his record at club level, and is another indicator to the indifference many Celtic fans had to the national side.
Steve Chalmers was a courageous, unselfish and immensely talented footballer and remains a humble and courteous gentleman. Inducted into Celtic’s Hall of Fame in 2001 he was the complete centre forward. He is a Celtic great.
*A not so well known fact is that Stevie’s first name is actually “Thomas” – He was registered at birth and baptised as Thomas Stephen Chalmers but has always been known as Stevie Chalmers.This fact was confirmed by Stevie to Kerrydale Street Wiki member CaltonBhoy1967 who asked Stevie about it in person at the 2-1 victory over Motherwell at Celtic Park on 13th April 2010 and Stevie confirmed that Thomas is in fact his real name.
Playing Career
APPEARANCES(Subs) LEAGUE SCOTTISH CUP LEAGUE CUP EUROPE TOTAL
1959-71 253 (8) 45 (2) 57 (2) 38 (1) 393 (13)
Goals 155 29 31 13 228
Honours with Celticfinal goal
European Cup
1966-67
Scottish League
1965-66, 1966-67, 1967-68, 1968-69
Scottish Cup
1965, 1967, 1969
Scottish League Cup
1965-66, 1966-67, 1967-68, 1968-69
TET, Dixiedeans, something worse than Hell for themselves would be to play us every week for the next year without an SFA appointed Referee.
https://twitter.com/CelticQuote
Your right bhoys.
Dalglish for macari.
I thought is had king Kenny in already. My mistake.
Ta for actually reading.
St Stivs, Lou was a fine player.
But Dalglish was my boyhood hero.
Leftclicktic
Thats a magic twitter link.
The quotes are superb. Ta
St Stivs
I would have Tommy Burns in any Celtic team but I would support any team you pick
Cqn good night and God bless…..
I genuinely did think I had listed Kenny at 8. Then went no that’s mcstay. Then got to 10. And my eejit heid was struggling .
Anyways Kenny it is.
Bliddy hello missed Tommy.
No posting again.
Tommy in for aiden
St Stivs
The picture of young Kieran T is a keeper
1. Fallon 2. Mcgrain. 3. Hay 4. Connelly 5. McNeill 6. Aitken 7. Johnstone 8. Mcstay 9. Nicholas 10. Dalglish. 11. Burns