Defining Cruyff is not easy but there are some objective facts to assist: three times European Champion, three times Ballon d’Or winner, voted Europe’s Player of the Century in 1999, and third place in the World’s Player of the Century at the same time.
On the field, the most damming criticism of him is that he wasn’t Pele or Maradona, both of whom won World Cups, but neither changed the direction of travel in the game as Cruyff did. Pele’s Brazil seemed out of sight as they strutted their stuff at the 1970 World Cup. By 1974 the Dutch, with Cruyff pulling all the strings, had tactically moved the game on a generation. It would be decades before Brazil won the tournament again.
The Dutch know all this and, rightly, place Johan at the pinnacle of the game, but there was more going on in the Netherlands at the time. Feyenoord beat Cruyff and Ajax to the European Cup by 12 months as a generation of players matured together.
While the Netherlands took hosts Argentina to extra time in the 1978 World Cup final, Cruyff was watching on TV. Of course they would have won had he played, but that they came so close without him is a testament to the rest of his Dutch generation, forever in his shadow, but great nonetheless.
So would the Dutch revolution have happened without him? Something would have happened, Luxemburg would not have beaten the Netherlands in the 1970s, as they did in the 60s, but it would have been a revolution you might not have noticed. Ajax’ European Cup adventures may have ended with the 1-3 home defeat to Benfica in the 1969 quarter final. Feyenoord may not have edged extra time in the final the following season.
Allied to his skill, speed and strength, Cruyff opened the eyes of all who played with and against him. After Cruyff, opponents knew the old rules didn’t apply anymore.
Yesterday’s story in the Guardian, citing “sources at a major Premier League club” would signal the end of the last pretence of meritocracy in football, where the most wealthy will only play each other in European competition.
Resist of wither like Miss Havisham.
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Volunteer Point won 1:40 at Lingfield.
Hopefully paying for a few drinks over the weekend.
Oh lordy Lord.
I’ve actually not cursed one of wits nags.
16’s at bet365 this morning.
Sumbdy get him a jar and I’ll square ye up.
HH
The lack of fish n chip shops in America is a serious blight on the culinary and dining scene here.
There used to be three fish n chip shops in Kearny main street but there’s only one left now.
And it fails to rise to the level even of mediocrity.
I’ve eaten fish in many corners of the planet, but I think my favourite is the fish suppers I had as a much younger man from Morganti’s in Nairn.
Was it the romance of the clean, salty, highland air and the soft glow of the late northern twilight?
Or the warmth and friendliness of the post pub closing queue? You know you’re going to have a good supper when the queue is outside the door.
Or was it simply the result of hunger after a long drive in Glasgow fair traffic?
This years tomatoes:
San Marzano
Super Marmande
Cuore di Bue
Rosella
Gg,
Is that where you’re based? Kearny?
HH
Here’s a sample of whats on show on RTE1 on Monday evening.
Amazing,from the daughter,niece and nephew of Frances Black
http://lovindublin.com/video/watch-the-coronas-frontman-sing-with-r%C3%B3is%C3%ADn-o-and-aoife-scott-in-kilmainham-gaol
Many thanks WITS
Got it 16/1
HH
BRTH
Get the fastest internet connection available.
You will need it to stream on desktops, tablets and mobile devices.
You will need it to view films, tv shows and, whisper it, football streams which bypass the Sky or BP dualopolies. Made up word.
You will also need it to make use of FaceTime to all your far flung friends and relatives.
Or colleagues using work related comference calls if you work from home.
If you have younger family members using Kimdls to download reading materials or do whatever kids do online these days.
GEORDIE
Same state but in the bucolic counties closer to Pennsylvania,
I used to watch the games in the CSC but Celtic TV and an extra hour in bed lured me away from the near 50 mile drive especially in the winter snows.
The long road from Resolution 12
Posted by Phil Mac Giolla Bhain
As regular readers here will know I have been a willing conduit for the Resolution 12 chaps.
When they started their journey, I fully supported their case and I still do.
I believe in the essential veracity of their proposition that Resolution 12 was necessary.
The Requisitioners are convinced that Rangers (1872-2012) should not in June 2011 have retained their licence to play in UEFA competitions in season 2011-2012.
This was because the Ibrox club had ‘overdue payables to a taxing authority’.
I am of the opinion that it was a major victory that the board and the major shareholders at Celtic did not vote down the Resolution when it was put before the club’s AGM on November 15th, 2013.
The Resolution 12 chaps then entered into a series of meetings and discussions with senior figures at the club.
They have worked diligently and engaged appropriately with the senior employees of the club on this matter.
I stated to them at the time that it would, in my opinion, be a grave error if they did not enter into these consultations with a degree of caution.
Quite simply I was not convinced of the bona fides of the club to push this issue forcibly enough.
However, I was willing to be proven wrong.
Moreover, if my suspicions were groundless, then I would be delighted.
In the meantime, I was a willing publisher of the Resolution 12 updates.
Their statements appeared here without any amendment by myself as the Requisitioners themselves will attest.
I was simply their publisher.
They wanted to reach the widest number of Celtic supporters and I was happy to assist them in that matter.
However, I was always concerned that there might be another agenda in play and I told them so at the time.
I think it is fair to say that at least one of the Requisitioners now is heading in the direction of my analysis.
We are in regular correspondence and he has shared many items of information in an Off the Record basis.
Consequently, I have to protect his identity.
In preserving his anonymity, I believe that I can allow him to speak in his own words here.
I recently asked him to check back through his papers and provide me with the facts of Resolution 12 as he understood them.
It is fair to say that he has been living in this issue for several years.
Consequently, he has the sort of encyclopaedic knowledge of the material that one used to find in old school journalism. There was a time when a newspaper reporter would have burrowed into a major story of public interest.
Sadly, those days are gone and forever Off The Radar.
He checked the facts and here is what he sent me:
“It was right that resolution 12 was adjourned. The responses by the SFA to questions asked by Celtic themselves late in 2011 related only to the granting of the licence in March and not its retention in June 2011, just six weeks before Sherriff Officers called in early August to start collection proceedings on an overdue unpaid tax bill of £2.8m, dated 20th May 2011.
Whilst the SFA responded factually to Celtic in terms of granting, I believe they were disingenuous in not addressing the tax overdue payable aspect at the retention point in June 2011 especially given the public nature of the collection process in August.”
His view of the role of the Scottish Football Association in all of this does not paint a good picture of these world class administrators.
“…the SFA have prevaricated and avoided answering specific questions put to them by the Requisitioners’ solicitor in July 2015 and when the SFA finally did reply this month, it was not to the Requisitioners’ solicitor but to Celtic. I understand that the SFA reply:
Failed to address the specific questions put to them in respect of UEFA FFP Articles covering the responsibilities of the licensee (RFC) and the licensor (SFA).
Repeated more or less what they had told Celtic in late 2011 in respect of granting the licence in March 2011.
Dismissed the evidence of the arrival of the tax bill in May 2011 presented to them in the solicitor’s letter of July as not significant to the granting of the licence in March which was not in dispute, but again avoided the point that it was the retention of the licence in June 2011 that was being questioned.
Refused to deal with the Requisitioners solicitor because the shareholders were unidentified despite Celtic having already vouched for them when in dialogue with the SFA since early 2014.
In my opinion the long-delayed SFA reply above, given the time and effort put in by the Requisitioners, not only supports my belief that they were being played for time, but in doing so is an insult not just to the Requisitioners, not just to the signatories to the resolution but to all Celtic shareholders and the Celtic support at large and has to be dealt with in that light by the Celtic Board by whatever means necessary.
Resolution 12 started on the basis that there were questions to be answered by the SFA about their processing of the RFC UEFA Licence submissions from March to Sept 2011.
However by their failure to deal with solid evidence of wrongdoing presented to them by bona fide shareholders in a member club in 2014,
I believe that what did happen in 2011 is just another example of the consequences of a culture of arrogant governance pervasive in an organisation lacking proper accountability to their ultimate paying customer.
I believe that The Celtic Board, led by Peter Lawwell, will never have a greater opportunity to use events from 2011 until now to bring about the necessary culture change at the SFA.
I believe that this will encourage many Celtic supporters with reservations about the game’s honesty to buy season tickets next season. The corollary is that inaction will lose the club supporters.
I believe that a culture change at the SFA will in the long term benefit all Scottish football clubs.
This morning he told me that:
“Up until Jan I had nothing but the possibility that although the Comp Sec [Company Secretary] had been helpful to us since 2013, behind the scenes we just weren’t sure if PL [Peter Lawwell] wanted what we did.”
I think it is now fair to say that this Requisitioner believes that it might just be possible that Mr Lawwell might want something very different indeed.
For the avoidance of doubt, I am not privy to the inner thoughts of the Celtic Chief Executive.
I have met him on several occasions and found him to be pleasant and personable.
The last time we met was in the foyer of the Hyatt Hotel in Philadelphia.
Celtic was there to play a friendly against Real Madrid and Rangers had just died.
His statement to me there, in the presence of several Philly-based Celtic supporters, was that:
“…this [i.e. the liquidation of Rangers] has cost us five million…”
It was the response of a businessman and I respect that.
However, outside the hotel, there were some local chaps with a makeshift coffin with “Rangers” written on it.
For them it wasn’t business, it was strictly personal.
I do not know if Peter Lawwell the businessman grieves for the ‘Old Firm’ and the lost revenue from those derby matches.
Moreover, I am not privy to his private thoughts on the issues raised by Resolution 12.
However, one source that is very close to Dermot Desmond recently stated that Mr Lawwell’s view is that “…as soon as the first Old Firm is played then they’ll forget all about this Resolution 12 stuff…”
An excellently placed source has also informed me that the entire issue was recently discussed by the New Regime at Sevco.
Although Resolution 12 is apropos the original Rangers, it does have an impact on the emotional wellbeing of the notoriously fragile Ibrox clientele.
Hence, it was a pertinent topic of discussion for the men currently in charge of Sevco.
I understand that recently a senior member of the New Regime soothed the others in the Blue Room by opining that the chaps in Hampden and indeed Mr Lawwell would ensure that nothing untoward would come out of this pesky Resolution 12 stuff.
Of course, Celtic can answer these concerns by taking the issues raised in Resolution 12 formally to UEFA.
If they did that, then I am sure that the Resolution 12 Requisitioners and all of the wider Celtic family will acknowledge that leadership when season ticket renewal time comes around.
For the avoidance of doubt, if the club wishes to clarify their position on how they currently view Resolution 12 then I will be happy to publish it here.
The Olde 16 Roads get yersel doon to Dublin.
I Believe in Ronny D as being The Man to bring through so many Young Starlets.
It’s our Future…. oh yes it is, it’s our past….. 2000s.
Awex-Future.csc
Sweet Child of mine
I’m so Thankful for what I have. The Forefathers done the hard work.
At St Kevin’s in Dublin to watch the young Bhoys take on barca.
COYBIG!!
Met WITS, the horse whisperer!
Nae petition in sight. Yet!!
HH jamesgang
Cathedral View
So many varieties but so little space for us suburbanites.
I’d love to have a more ground to indulge my love of tomatoes.
Space to grow new potatoes, onions, syboes (green onions for those outside Lanarkshire), peppers, zucchini, carrots, etc.
The addition of a few lemon bushes, maybe an avocado tree would have me in heaven here on earth.
We can dream.
Havishsham makes me picture Lawwell and the board. The death of their beloved one has increased their desire to open up the worst relationship ever.
Gg,
Ah OK.
I had a guy in my work a few years back who lived there. Big Tim polis man.
I think he’s a big character in the area. A few guys I’ve mentioned him to knew him.:)
HH
Baby Hoops 1 up!!
HH jamesgang
1-1
One of the many advantages of having spent more than 6 decades on the planet is the freedom from fasting on Good Friday.
So it’s lunch time for me.
Some muesli with blackberries, strawberries and blueberries on top.
Followed by multi grain bread with tuna salad, a super market sourced tomato, some guacamole, all washed own with Adam’s ale and a copious amount of prescribed medication.
It’s not all positives growing old gracelessly.
Never seen WITS tip…..;[
!!Bada Bing!!…
Same, can’t lurk in work anymore…grrr
Back fae Mass,missed Wits tip….again,yees
shouldn’t be gambling on Good Friday anyways.
opusdeiCSC.
Hope the celebrations in Dublin go well.
A fitting tribute to some very brave people.
Sipsini- can’t remember when I haven’t bet one of his tips…
‘GG,
I could do with a couple of acres myself. There’s never enough space.
!!Bada Bing!!,
The tip from WITS was on yesterdays blog.
cv
GG. When I was a kid, in Glasgow, Spring Onions were always called “sybies” and sold as syboes in the greengrocers shops.
Don’t know why you thought it was a Lanarkshire thing.
BRTH,
Firestick over chromecast. Chromecast is easier to use but you can do way more with a firestick,,ie put kodi on it which is a no go with chromecast. You can still cast stuff to a firestick by downloading an app. Go with firestick.
Hail Hail and happy Good Friday to all. Oh, mild and sunny in central California
Ray when you were a kid Glasgow was in Lanarkshire ! :-)
CATHEDRAL VIEW…
That really made me feel better :(
I try to catch up when I get home, lazy reading then from me :)
Bada & sips,
He posted it last night/evening.
I stopped betting them as I thought I was jinxing them :)
My auld man said it was the best looking horse in the race. Braw grey thing.
HH
What mahe said.
Sept the California bit.
HH
Good Afternoon
Following Phil’s latest piece I have written something about Resolution 12… What on earth is the board up to?
https://theclumpany.wordpress.com/2016/03/25/the-extremely-hidden-hand/
Clumps – three things
1. Chill
2. Love it when Celtic win
3. Same Club
Hope that is all clear….
Winning Captains
Did you forget
3] Same club [nonsense]
Enjoyed the walk today from Kilmainham to Arbour Hill and visit to Glasnevin on a fine Spring day in Dublin and looking forward to the other commemorative events. Managed to get a ticket for the match at Aviva.
However, Phil Mac Giolla Bhain’s latest and I trust his sources is returning. If Mr. Gladwell thinks he can make a monkey out of the Resolution 12 proponents and that only a few season ticket sales will be lost by chicanery in stringing them along then he is sadly mistaken, For evil to succeed it only takes good men to do nothing. HH
Winning Captains
You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?
Someone going after them for Oldclub debts?
I hope the Bhoys over in the Free State switch their connection off from here and enjoy what will be a fantastic weekend.
Although if yiv got some spare time why no travel down to the REAL Capital i’m sure Cork Celt will be able to give directions :)
spannerintheworksCSC
CV-GM-was working and in and out of blog yesterday…..he digs out some crackers