I’ve resisted temptation to comment on the comical over-reaction to another below-par league performance by Celtic. Most of us realise where we are as a club (champions, champions-elect, post-Christmas in Europe, perhaps Champions League knockout, improving young squad, improving young manager), so the troughs between the peaks are to be anticipated, even if you can’t enjoy them.
Not that I’ve any hostility towards those who cannot find joy in our current situation; football can be beautiful but it will always involve sweat and snotters. Stand up for the Snotters, but definitely not on the 12th minute, there is no 12th-man redeeming feature involved here!
Even if you cannot enjoy football if you’re not turning over Barcelona, you’ll enjoy this:
WeeOscar4Life Campaign Raises £27K at Race Night and Auction
On the evening of Saturday 17th November 2012, around 400 people descended on the Kerrydale Suite at Celtic Park to raise funds for the WeeOscar4Life campaign at an entertaining Race Night & Auction. The event was also attended by Wee Oscar’s dad Stephen Knox, and an astonishing £27,350.00 was raised to directly support Wee Oscar and his family during his continued treatment and fight against neuroblastoma.
This campaign was launched by supporters of Celtic Football Club (the Celtic Family) to raise money for Oscar Knox, a four year old boy who was diagnosed in November 2011 with high risk neuroblastoma – a rare form of cancer which mainly affects children.
On the race night, the campaign team were delighted to be joined by supporters of many other Clubs and Oscar’s dad Stephen flew over from Northern Ireland. Also in attendance we’re former Celtic Players Tom Boyd, Bobby Petta and Frank McAvennie as well as current Players partners and great supporters of the campaign Lisa Hague (Partner of Kris Commons and Patron of the WeeOscar4Life campaign), Ruby May Ridgeway (Partner of Joe Ledley) and Lucy Parmenter (Partner of Gary Hooper).
The evening’s entertainment included moving, yet truly inspiring videos of Wee Oscar and his incredibly brave family’s journey, which generated an energy and fun loving atmosphere comparable only to Wee Oscars outgoing and fun loving nature. There was a ‘buzz about the place’ and cheers went up as winning horses went over the finishing line.
The auction and raffle, strewn with kindly donated items, including a Celtic 125th Anniversary top signed by the entire first team kindly donated by Celtic FC, sparked a flood of generosity and excitement as friendly rivalry saw items being auctioned for literally thousands of pounds.
Wee Oscar’s dad Stephen commented: “What an amazing night! I am delighted that I was able to be here to support the event; there are just so many people to thank that I could be here all night! Oscars fight goes on and we will continue to take advice from Oscars Doctors regarding future treatment paths; we are delighted that Oscar came home from Hospital on Thursday and maybe we can get a little bit of normality into our lives at least for a while. Thank you all.”
Stephen was pleased to meet so many of the campaign team on the night: “It was fantastic to have the opportunity to come over to meet and personally thank the people who have been helping out so much with the WeeOscar4Life campaign. We will be eternally grateful to everyone involved for all their efforts!”
Oscars mum Leona was unable to travel and stayed at home to look after Oscar and Oscar’s little sister Izzie however, through Twitter Leona said “I’m short of words, for once! What you have done for my family can never be repaid, saying thanks just isn’t enough.”
Wee Oscar and his family flew to Philadelphia on the 6th October 2012 to start Wee Oscar’s potentially lifesaving Immunotherapy treatment, but unfortunately due to health complications, Wee Oscar was rushed into Intensive Care. It appears that these complications have shattered the prospect of him receiving this immunotherapy treatment in Philadelphia.
Thankfully, Wee Oscar is a fighter and he gained enough strength to return home on Saturday 27th October 2012. However, the events of the last couple of months – and the news that it could cost an enormous £400,000 for the treatment Oscar had while he was in hospital in Philadelphia – have strengthened the WeeOscar4Life Campaign’s resolve to ensure maximum support for Wee Oscar and his family throughout Oscar’s on-going treatment.
Lisa Hague who works so hard to promote the cause (despite being heavily pregnant) commented on the race night: “What an amazing selection of people, brought together for one reason: to continue the support for Wee Oscar. This is just another event that confirms what the Celtic family is all about; kindness, support and generosity. I thought the night was so well organised and a credit to the whole WeeOscar4Life team! My personal reward was speaking on the phone to Wee Oscar on the night. It is a pleasure to be Patron and a pleasure to be part of the Celtic family.”
Tom Boyd was asked “How proud do you feel being regarded as a legend amongst the Celtic fans?” he replied “Myself and other Celtic greats won trophies and medals, but it’s on a night like tonight that you realise what a real legend is….. Wee Oscar is a true legend.”
Future planned events include: Glasgow to Belfast Cycle Ride
WeeOscar4Life organisers are planning a cycle from Glasgow to Belfast for St Patrick’s weekend in March 2013 and will be looking for cyclists to take part in this event. Interested parties should email weeoscar4life@gmail.com quoting ‘Cycle’ in the subject field and the organisers will get back to you with more details.
For more information please contact the WeeOscar4Life campaign team by emailing WeeOscar4Life@gmail.com. Alternatively contact the WeeOscar4Life team on: 07595015203.
The first ever CQN Annual is now shipping direct from the UK. Order yours here.
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The barca game was horrible to watch, it was the ’12th man’ who made it the occassion it was.
Oh well, we will see how well the Snotters get on against Arbroath under the gaze of a crowd that will not reach 10,000.
ASonOfDan
Hope your wrong re under 10,000 can just imagine the World Record breaking headlines if sevco get a bigger cup crowd than us…………..
Thanks for the welcome Corkcelt.
We wouldn’t need the Green Brigade if all the Happy Clappers actually went to the games.
Why not go to the games and drown out the nasty Boo Bhoys.
Europe is the icing on the cake. Season tickets are the lifeblood of the club.
We are heading towards the crowds of the 70’s and 80’s . This kind of revenue will not sustain a challenge in Europe in the years to come.
We have to play good attractive football every week to entice the supporters who crave entertainment .
At the moment most people who were regular attenders wouldn’t go near a league game but somehow manage to get cup final tickets and travel to Champs league matches.
Ignoring this now will lead to perpetual downsizing.
A E
NEILYBHOY
That works for me,bud.
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neilybhoy
11:50 on
27 November, 2012
bmcuwp
8th for the killie game in flans good enough for me
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Anyone else in the Bath area,the more the merrier.
mick11
spot on mate.
glendalystonsils is pure given me the boak,iv’e got two grandchildren
HH
STV Sport @STVSport
Dundee United chairman Stephen Thompson resigns from SPL board, citing “professional differences”. http://sport.stv.tv
Retweeted by Grant Russell
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If Elgin get points docked off, will Servo’s first trophy be tainted?
It often amazes my how oftn I agree and disagree with Paul. I disagree with the last two articles.
On the Moscow game – a lesson we should have learned from Craig Levien’s overly cautious approach that sometime you need to go for it. Moscow, while a dangerous opponent, have little to play for and the reputation of a CL Celtic home crowd will not appeal to them.
To use Paul’s wording in his later article – a classic case for a full throttle, blood n snotters attaching performance is what is called for.
As for this latest article. Well calling our home league form “another below par” performance is hardly a reasonable description. Celtic have been nothing short of appalling at home in the league this season. They are short changing the support with their attitude and it needs sorted.
Sounds like complacency to me.
BMCW
“Bath area the more the merrier”.
You didnt go to San Francisco A lot in 70’s or 80’s ?
: > )
Been struggling with cold / flu symptons since last Monday, stuck in bed past two days
How appropriate the word snotters is
Thankfully you can wipe the screens on iPads these days lol
I did a light rescue course many years ago and the bits of rope that dangled from the knotts that secured a person to a wooden stretcher were called snotters, I remember the old instrctor used to say “tie away the snotters”.
Strange the things that come back to you.
NegAnon2 – 13:11 on 27 November, 2012
I’m disappointed as much as anyone in our home form recently but one thing is clear to me. In seasons past we would have concentrated on the SPL, and hoped for some decent performances in the CL. This season we have been able to turn it around and focus on the CL, and look what that has done for us, confident that we won’t slip too far in the league.
We are top with a game in hand. At some point we will no longer have European football to glorify in, and expect us to open a very wide gap at that point.
Fantastic opening article Paul, makes you so proud at one level and so humble at another to be part of this wonderful Celtic Family. Everyone has a part to play in making Celtic a success and one of the problems now is falling attendances. The Green Brigade issues need to be worked out as a matter of urgency, we don’t need this distraction and the rank & file supporters (and here I am talking to myself) need to get up from the Telly and start making the trek over to Celtic Park more often. Its no good waiting for others to do it, do it yourself. Last night I telephoned a few pals who I used to regularly travel to Glasgow with, we met up and plans are in hand for a pilgrimage in the New Year. In the past we regularly brought over groups of 50 and had 70 on one trip. However in recent years due to recession etc. numbers have fallen dramatically, can’t say we will ever get it back to previous levels but we are going to give it a good try.
JC2
A shocking example of taking a few words-and a comma-out of context,if I may say so.
Nicely done…….
Two (at least) interesting discussions on the go here……..
And, for perhaps the first time ever, I find myself in agreement with Neganon. Fans have every right to voice concern over these performances. They are not a ‘blip’. They are the norm with regards to post-CL games. If a certain ex-team were still in our division, we’d be going mental about all these dropped points.
Instead it seems that fans and players have the same attitude. ‘It’s only the SPL’. “We’ll win loads of games once we are done with the interesting stuff’.
And it shows in our performances.
Neil, I believe will go on to become a truly great manager. Right now, he is on a steep learning curve. I think that the management team has allowed the players to settle in to the wrong mindset.
On top of that, we have become a decent team without the ball. However, put is in front of a middle level SPL team at Celtic Park, 10 men behind the ball, tons of possession – and we don’t know what to do with it. It is not as if we are making and wasting tons of chances…..
So, yes, we have a right (or responsibility) to have an opinion, and to share it.
Second discussion…..falling crowds. It is stunning how dramatically they have fallen.
JimmyQuinnsBits
23:13 on 26 November, 2012
Jimmy, don’t know if your about today, however I saw your post on slide guitar last night. I suggest tuning your guitar to Open E or D (same tuning 2 semitones lower). Get a hold of Elmore James’s “Dust my Broom”, and have a blast!
Best of luck.
weeron – 13:22 on 27 November, 2012
I really don’t think it’s a case of it ‘only’ being the SPL, but we have been able to shift our priorities for the time being.
If the dead team had still been with us, do you think we’d have beaten Barcelona? I don’t.
As it is we have, and we’re top of the league.
I’m backing Lennie, and I’m well satisfied that we are still in four tournaments and even if we lose vs Spartak, still feel that we have had a good European campaign and exorcised a few demons in the process. Progress.
There were tens of thousands of fans at Saturdays game, which probably equates to tens of thousands different opinions about the game. (Most of them though have the same opinion about Celtic in general and that’s why they pay their money week in, week out.)
Me personally I cant see why anyone would give Scott Brown a game but there are loads who throw their arms in the air and chant his name. I certainly dont want to fight any of them about it, they are celtic fhans and we all want the same end result. On the one road…
If you only watched celtics home league games this season in isolation, then you may well conclude that what you are seeing, so far is sub (celtic) standard, but the huns are deid and we don’t need to win every single game. We have the luxury to rest a player now and again or to try a new format, or ease a few players back in. We might as well use it.
I have seen Jock Stein take it in the neck from sections of the fans and Im sure I even rubbished a certain dreadlocked debutee at easter road after his first game.Lenny was not the first nor will he be the last celtic man to take criticism. If he was to react to every individual comments he wouldn’t have any time to manage. Lenny would probably do best to ignore the excesses of occasional vocal critics and hopefully prove them wrong, (like the dreadlocked debutee at easter road did to me )
MurdochauldandHay – Sadly the “Snotter” has disapeared from the modern game to be replaced, by namby pamby leggings ,gloves and neck scarves
I blame these overpaid foreigners, with their fancy hair and their fancy foreign nasal mucus.
Save our Scottish snotters.
And while we’re at it: only sailors and ladies of ill repute should be sporting tattoos, so it should be made clear to our illustrated players that inking one’s skin is not appropriate for a servant of Celtic Football Club.
It is a well known fact that Brother Walfrid did not have a sleeve of faux-ethnic “tribal” tattoos and neither should our present-day bhoys.
We were made in the image and likeness of God and tattoos have no place in Our Lord’s plan. (thumbsup)
snotters —-brilliant.
came across that word the other day.
me and Mrs shades were looking after a 3yr last week to give his mum a rest.
took him and my wee dug up to calderglen park to throw stones in the river for the dog to chase.
after a while(it was freezing).we decided to head back up the hill.
half way up the wee man said something .and my good lady replied thinking he had said water.no no its to cold wee have been to the water.
i then pointed out he had said snotters as his nose was running.
should have seen the mrs face.
out of the mouths of babes right enough.
snotters .
well thats made my day .
HH
Lenny just on Sky with a conciliatory approach to the lads he had a spat with. Stand up for Neil Lennon, he is Celtic to the core.
Glendalystonsils likes a mr whippy with his lime green jelly
12:50 on
27 November, 2012
Snotters? My wee 1 year old granddaughter has had a streaming nose for weeks now and every jumper I own is covered in the stuff.
Don’t talk to me about snotters!
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Just make sure the last part of your moniker is what it says it is……..
Philvis – “ladies of ill repute sporting tattoos” – this reminds me of a story “a friend” told me about from his time in Bangkok. A young lady was entertaining the crowd by playing darts in a bar, albeit with an unusual throwing style. As we listened to his tale with astonishment someone (a regular darts player) asked my friend if the lady was “throwing from the womens’ oche?”
It’s not the first question you might think of asking given the circumstances.
BBC Sportsound @bbcsportsound
Thompson resigns from SPL board: Dundee United chairman Stephen Thompson resigns from the SPL board, citing “pro… http://bbc.in/UT6s8i
Here is 2 of the videos, Paul67 mentioned, shown at the WeeOscar4Life Race Night;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfHGCB9X8jM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnmFfs9JXBY
The 2nd is the bucket collection and other fundraising events and many CQNers make an appearance (apart from BundoranBhoy – unsure where he was that day)
hh
bjmac
PS You can still donate or help, email WeeOscar4Life@gmail.com and our team of volunteers (CRC) will answer any questions ;-))
Mouldy
Get some chillies into you …clear your airways
Useless information corner: (Irish Language Branch):
Smug = Snotter
Smug roin (snotter of a seal) = Jellyfish.
*retreats back to lurkdom*
Árd Macha
tomtheleedstim – Indeed it is not. :) (thumbsup)
Árd Macha – So what’s the Irish for smug? (thumbsup)
Paul67 excellent article as usual, thanks for all the support thru our campaign for my wee HERO Oscar.
BJMac yer a funny man lol selective video editing (editing me out lol)
HH #TeamOscar
Neganon
I think the missing element is a sense of perspective.
The small points are not any less true for being small but when put into the overall perspective they are just a part of the bigger picture Paul painted.
Apparently the Irish word for smug is “Bono”. (thumbsup)
philvis, direct translation perhaps would just be smug, a lot of words don’t have direct opposites, perhaps something like “Sasta le fein” i.e. satisfied with himself might be used to describe a smug guy.
Looks like Steven Thompson doesn’t like the look of what lays ahead…….
philvisreturns,
I cannot improve on the above. Excellent.
Maith thú
Árd Macha
Is the BBC’s African Footballer of the Year 2012 contest racist?
I’ve looked at the shortlist and there’s not a single snotter between those players. They probably don’t even know what a jobby is. (thumbsup)
Steven Thompson had been an ardent critic of not allowing SevCo to jump straight into the SPL
I sincerely hope his resignation from the SPL board is not a sign that the clubs are preparing a SevCo parachute
Regarding attendances, in my opinion, demand has been falling since around 2005. Probably initially due to our own downsizing policy, followed the economic crunch and more recently compounded by the demise of the zombies. The likelihood of any of the root causes changing in the short term are slim. If we do nothing the crowds will continue to drop.
60,000 fans think its worth paying £30 to see a game v Barca, but only 10,000 would pay a tenner to see a game vs abroath (this problem will be increased when the likes of Morton, raith and the jags are included in the SPL)
The problem facing celtic might be:
should we have 30,000 fans at £500 a season ticket or 50,000 fans at £300 a season ticket. The nightmare of course would be if we dropped the ST price and didn’t increase to 50,000 fans.
During this talk of fake league reconstruction (otherwise known as “how many teams in the SPL” and no other single change) we should encourage an open book atmosphere where anything can be put on the table and many changes other than the simple “number of teams” should be considered
Howabout behind the goals standing sections where season tickets cost say £300 or £15 pay in (currently £28 to see celtic v st Mirren and co is just too dear, but a fan might pay £15 to stand instead)
Howabout giving supporters buses a quick exit in preference to cars after matches.
Howabout priority cup final tickets for fans with season tickets instead of giving 20,000 tickets to folks who have not attended a game all season (ie killie fans etc)
Howabout the dreaded 12 noon kick offs in the highlands
Howabout a beer in a plastic cup in the foyer instead of folks coming in from the pub at 3.15 (has CP even got a foyer?)
Howabout an early start to the season to prepare for Europe
There must be more than just 10, 12 or 16 teams, surely…
10men
They couldn’t, the supporters will revolt, nothing surer.