Exactly one year ago today, just after lunchtime, one of the pivotal moments in Celtic history occurred. Neil Lennon took his Celtic team to Kilmarnock, who had lost their three previous league games, and for 73 minutes looked like surrendering their league title chances just as Tony Mowbray’s team collapsed at St Mirren Park seven months earlier.
The manager later admitted to thoughts of resignation. 3-0 down at half time while already in heavy deficit to Rangers, who were riding a wave of positivity under the reinvigorating ownership of Craig Whyte, events looked to have escaped Neil’s grasp.
It is tempting to write the narrative that a half time talk or tactical change turned things around but turnaround was more difficult to explain. Celtic were awful for the opening 28 minutes of the second half; like condemned men waiting for the inevitable.
Anthony Stokes started the recovery by exploiting Kilmarnock’s weaknesses. A free kick drifted over a wall which didn’t jump and into the net. Had the wall jumped, would history have been different? Three minutes later Stokes fired into the corner of the net from distance, Jaakkola in the Killie goal was not equal to the challenge. Suddenly, we were back in the game, back in the title race.
Charlie Mulgrew, who erred to gift Kilmarnock their third, equalised with 11 minutes remaining, surely there was only one winner now? Not so, images of Heffernan’s last minute header from inside the Celtic six yard box gliding over remain vivid.
We escaped with a draw but it felt like a stay of execution, not a pivotal moment. Neil didn’t resign, he stayed, beat Stade Rennes in the Europa League and never looked back. The imperious positivity which surrounded Craig Whyte was ultimately proven to be a charade, those of us who told you Rangers were in peril were proven correct.
It is impossible to calculate just how much football has changed since Anthony hit that free kick, although imperious positivity still surrounds a charade which is doomed to fail, leaving a lot of football fans out of pocket. If only the football authorities had a warning from recent history that light-touch regulation is dangerous, or had the mechanism to order a financial audit. They do, of course, but despite the traumas of 2012 I doubt they have the appetite to head-off potential problems. It’s easier (in the short term) to hope everything will turn out well.
Not that you need worry about any of this, you can chill and enjoy the season.
Click here to read the fabulous CQN Magazine for free, or strain your eyes squinting below. You can also buy a hard copy of the magazine here from Magcloud.
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BT
Just sitting at Portsmouth docks having made the drive from Worcester and having a scroll back over this evening’s posts.
Completely agree, I never thought on a Celtic site I would be required to defend the Catholic Church.
Btw some really fantastic posts on here tonight ;-)
ItaliaBhoy
21:10 on 15 October, 2012
Appreciate the mathematical accuracy of your point, but in my opinion the OO are an irrelevance and personally I will not give them a second thought when making my mind up about how to vote in the referendum.
67 heaven – me too
BSR,
I was the barman for Packie’s Stag Night in Ireland.
It was the year of Aitken’s testimonial.
When he come up to the bar for a rake of pints, I asked him about Roy’s Celtic career.
He said that all Roy had done in ten years at CP, was to get ten years older. Meow!
As he was going away with the pints, I called after him, “Don’t drop them!”
Scottish OMD butchering them 80s classics?
::shudders::
Well papa go to bed now it’s getting late Nothing we can say is gonna change anything now Ill be leaving in the morning from st. marys gate We wouldn’t change this thing even if we could somehow `cause the darkness of this house has got the best of us There’s a darkness in this town that’s got us too But they can’t touch me now and you can’t touch me now They aint gonna do to me what I watched them do to you
So say goodbye it’s independence day Its independence day all down the line Just say goodbye it’s independence day Its independence day this time
Now I don’t know what it always was with us We chose the words and yeah we drew the lines There was just no way this house could hold the two of us I guess that we were just too much of the same kind
Well say goodbye it’s independence day All boys must run away come independence day So say goodbye it’s independence day All men must make their way come independence day
Now the rooms are all empty down at frankies joint And the highway she’s deserted down to breakers point There’s a lot of people leaving town now Leaving their friends their homes At night they walk that dark and dusty highway all alone
Well papa go to bed now it’s getting late Nothing we can say can change anything now Because there’s just different people coming down here now And they see things in different ways And soon everything weve known will just be swept away
So say goodbye it’s independence day Papa now I know the things you wanted that you could not say But wont you just say goodbye it’s independence day I swear I never meant to take those things away
HH
leftclicktic
22:07 on
15 October, 2012
ernie lynch
21:23 on
15 October, 2012
Salmond wouldn’t have let the huns go bust in an independent Scotland.
—————–
NAIL HEAD
Goodnight all
“Oscar Knox celtic warrior YNWA”
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
…and that’s for sure ……..he’s still working in the background, I’ll bet…!!!
Hamiltontim
22:09 on
15 October, 2012
I take it you are on holiday, enjoy :-)
67Heaven … I am Neil Lennon..!!.. Ibrox belongs to the creditors
22:09 on 15 October, 2012
well said ……. Wonder what God thinks of the bigots..?
+++++
That would largely depend on which of the same God, but different religion, you were asking and about whom.
Prestonpans
Taking my dear mother to France until Saturday.
WantingspoiledCSC
HT
Get me a couple of photos of the Mary Rose and HMS Victory
LOve
Any updates on Wee Oscar?
A67
Soal
just you finish that bottle of Bezique(sp)
Cold Turkey has CQN on the run.
HH
BT
Dont worry it will get tanked at some point
Has Ernie Left?
If he/she has not can we ask what his work experience is?
What age he/she is?
What experience he/she has to be in Poltitics?
These are all questions he has posed today for others
And he is the poster guy for unionism on the blog…in hopefully his own mind…
Celtic u’15s v St Johnstone match report from the u’20 league fixture.
Seriously, why was this match played?
dirtymac
experiance….?
I’m undecided about independence though I’m definitely in the camp of not wanting under Salmond or the current SNP.
What I do know is that we have little to fear from bigots and racists should it come to pass.
There are good people in Scotland, people of integrity, moral fortitude, decency, compassion, intelligence and with a sense of justice.
Heck, you all even know them.
You see them in your mirror every day.
The Prince of Goalkeepers – if they are such an irrelevance, then why are they allowed to march anywhere in Scotland when they feel like it, at great cost to the taxpayer? You are being very naive if you think that they will not have a powerful lobby within an independent Scotland.
ht – talking of naive! The church has left itself open to criticism on many fronts and as you stated, this is a Celtic site not a Catholic Church website.
I won’t criticise the church on here, as I know how much their faith means to my friends on here and I wouldn’t want to insult them. I will leave that to others….
T4
Andrew67
http://twitter.com/Wee_Oscar
Just heard on the news about the wee Pakistani girl who was shot by the Taliban ……… What a World we live in ……God bless you, Malala ……… Your ideals / resistance is truly humbling …Please God, guide the surgeon’s hand…
No
Possibly, BT, possibly, and not too bad an experience either, if they’ve managed such a credible performance as reported against a St Johnstone side who presumably weren’t bereft nigh on their whole team (to various international youth squads).
Soal
I’ve already taken them, saddo that I am.
TTTT
You miss my point but then address it unconsciously in your last sentence.
I didn’t say that the Catholic Church isn’t open to criticism. I just never expected it to be so vitriolic on a Celtic site.
67Heaven – Inshallah. Well said.
T4
BT
How is wee Marco doing?
MWD
hamiltontim
22:20 on
15 October, 2012
Good point …..but we need to be careful, after salmond’s pathetic intervention, which proved to be lacking in integrity…..
Hamiltontim
22:20 on 15 October, 2012
Welll said that Man.
67Heaven
Yep hence my refusal to support a campaign that has him at the helm.
Moonbeams.
Thanks for those stats.
Having 2 sisters that are headmistresses of catholic primary schools I might be biased.
I continually get the catholic schools argument thrown at me from huns trying take the moral high ground.
I personally was taught to love thy neighbour and show respect were it be due by my teachers.
I’m sure the same could be said for non denomination schools.
The bigotry is taught by the parents.sadly.hh
HT
Say Hello to Mo Camara and Mo Sylla if you are in Le Harve
Amour
MWD
back at school.. needs a few more ops but being as strong as ever..
I need to stop stalking those Emirates ghirls they don’t believe I only want then to meet my brave wee nephew… o))
neilbhoy
Just glad that you are a Tim like everyone else on here – except for the occasional Hunterloper :-)
Off to bed now, before Ernie returns…..
It would appear there is more than the one referendum question to be answered.
Independence: Yes/No
Alex Salmond: Yes/No
SNP: Yes/No
There seems to be some justifiable trust issues to be resolved with both Alex Salmond and the SNP before the independence debate can move forward.
It would be warming to see the nation engage in a intelligent debate on this issue without resorting to anti English rhetoric and ‘Braveheart’ politics.
I keenly await the ‘Yes to Independence’ campaigns answers to the excellent questions put forward on CQN tonight regarding how this will all actually work.
My mind is still open.
The Celtic family is a broad church.
cv
Soal
I am indeed going there.
Don’t think I’ll bother saying hello though.
ht – easy way to wind people up on here, if someone wanted to do that!
Enjoy your (long) trip….
T4