When Celtic won their first 7-in-a-row by a 10-point margin in 1972, there was scarcely a cloud on the horizon. The also collected the Scottish Cup that season, lost the European Cup semi-final on penalties and, but for a mishap against Partick Thistle in the League Cup final, would have completed their third treble.
A year later, the league-winning margin was cut to a single point and although 9-in-a-row was famously achieved in 1974, the seventh consecutive title would be the last truly dominant Celtic league win for 16 years.
Jock Stein’s team of the mis-70s was vulnerable in ways your Celtic team of today is not. Stein was brilliant and changed everything about Scottish football when he arrived at Celtic in 1965, but the longer he stayed, the closer his rivals could ape his methods.
At Sean Fallon’s funeral Mass, Alex Ferguson mentioned that he and his wife would deliberately go to the same restaurant Jock and Sean dined at on a Saturday evening, so that the young Rangers player could quiz them both on the game. It was a school day for Ferguson. People watched Celtic, copied their tactics, scouting and preparations. By 1974 Stein’s advantage was gone.
This interpretation of Scottish football history was clear in 1997, when Rangers matched Celtic’s “9”. Their golden era was not the consequence of a radically different manager, but of sheer financial power, power that unlike Stein’s in 1974, remained in place as Rangers planned for 10-in-a-row.
There has been little consistency across our current 7-in-a-row. Three managers and countless players (not the 44 used in league campaigns between 1965 and 1974). If you were to try to match the current Celtic formula for success, you would attempt to replicate their scouting, sports science and maybe their playing style, but most of all, you would need a business plan that produces income which can, on occasion, reach £100m.
Like Rangers in 1997, Celtic today have a financial advantage over all others in Scottish football. Unlike Rangers in 1997, Celtic do not have anyone readying themselves to match their investment in the team. While Fergus McCann and Jock Brown were busy signing Henrik Larsson and the like, no one in Scotland can come close to matching Celtic’s £9m investment in Odsonne Eduard, or their £52m wage bill.
Nor should they. Under Fergus, Celtic worked their way close to Rangers turnover. By 1997 there was still a gap, but it was bridgeable without putting the club into peril. Even without Champions League football, other clubs are years away from getting to within striking distance of Celtic.
This position of strength is a consequence of professionalism throughout the club. Look around as you walk up Celtic Way tomorrow. Picture in your mind the next stage of the regeneration of the old place, with the hotel to your left, and a museum and visitor centre.
That Champions League income is important, but we have been busy in the background. The cumulative value of the Dafabet shirt sponsorship deal that was signed BEFORE Brendan Rodgers appointment and revolution in 2016 was worth as much as a Champions League group stage qualification. The renewal of Dafabet’s sponsorship for seven years, announced this morning, is worth an absolute fortune. Add to that, New Balance, the Magners sponsorship on the back and other key partnerships with Eden Mill, Intelligent Car Leasing and others, and you see a football club underpinned by strong finances, before it sells a season ticket or scores a goal.
One Saturday night In the early 1990s (not on a match day), at the Walfrid Restaurant, our table was served a main course without potatoes. The spuds duly appeared with the sweet.
This is an obscure observation to trouble you with today, but it encapsulated everything about Celtic of that era. We didn’t have the organisational knowledge to server potatoes with the chicken instead of the carrot cake. How could we hope to recruit, develop and tactically deliver success on the football field?
There are reasons why potatoes came with the carrot cake – it is not because the kitchen staff didn’t know better, just as there are reasons why we are ‘knocking it out the park’, on, and off, the park these days. Getting things right in any organisation is not quick, easy or cheap. It takes planning, training and several iterations of learning from mistakes. We were a shambles. We are now a thoroughly professional outfit in every area we operate. Look at what our commercial team are achieving in contrast to what happens elsewhere.
That is why we are going to win the league this season. It’s why we will win “10” and it is why we will continue to win successive titles for the rest of your life. This success is not built upon the wisdom of Jock Stein or Brendan Rodgers, it is a consequence of planning to win, and never lose again. Ever.
While Peter Lawwell is hugely important in the operation, it goes well beyond him now. You will find the same unforgiving demands at every corporate contact point. These commercial deals take the risk out of making expensive managerial appointments.
I have concerns about our prospects against AEK Athens – a stronger opponent than we are capable of facing in the fourth qualification round. The chances of a third consecutive treble should also be given perspective. We have escaped ‘one of those days’ in two years of cup competitions, that does not mean we are immune from them.
Champions League football may or may not happen this season, but we will not collapse “like a pack (sic) of cards” if we miss out. The show will go on, because we have planned for such an eventuality. Average attendances will hover a touch below capacity, we will continue to improve.
If you are too young to know how special tomorrow’s Flag Day is, bore yourself talking to an auld yin’ for a while. This success has been worked on for decades. It is a result of denial and restraint, while lemmings were heading for the cliff. It is a milestone in history. It is a beacon that shines a green light far beyond Celtic Park. It is a wonderful thing.
Enjoy it.
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Who would win a fight between a biscuit tin and a rainy day?
TAL
young Seamus keeps me busy. Summer is flying by, but otherwise I’m keeping out of trouble.
Hope you are enjoying the weather, and otherwise all is good with you.
Bigbhoy,,,a small number of posters might have disagreed with the prism in which the club is presented by Paul67 but to say ignore and scroll by is not right sorry.
I believe by ignoring certain important elements that are affecting the club then report can be seen as flawed or propaganda if you wish. A few seem to be of that opinion.
That the club is doing well financially is not in the slightest bit of doubt. We wish other aspects analysed as thoroughly as the huns or finances are looked at. THeres nothing wrong with that by the way.
” a group of posters on here which do nothing but moan about you and about the themes in your article. ”
I see the lead articles getting trounced regular but not Paul himself personally taking flak so if/when this does happen would you point it out to me so I can tear them a new one as I wouldnt sit by and let that happen to anyone not just Paul.
” Celtic are steadily improving performance in all areas ”
I would posit communication, Celtic tv , the social charter , corner taking , protecting fans rights, and more if I think about it have all regressed not improved.
Many have legitimate concerns and are not trolling. I feel you just basically said ,,,its fine and if you dont agree your just a moaner. Thats a bad way to look at it.
” First they came for the mineshafters,,,,”
I sincerely hope this finds you in good health. Hail Hail
MM,,drop the heated driveway bit pls. It detracts from your argument and besides what a man spends his money on is his business. Keep on shafting my friend.
I caught briefly the policeman being interviewed on BBC Scotland lunchtime news. He made no mention of the fact that those attacked were Croatian. (At least, I don’t think he did.) He seemed intent on telling the local population that they had nothing to fear. Well, of course, they hadn’t last night. He made no mention either who did the attacking.
That’s Scotland for you. The powers that be always shying away from and/or underplaying (if they can’t avoid it) the condemning of Scotland’s Shame.
I wonder what they will say about us only being given 800 tickets for the shame game in Govan……
David 17
Thanks for your reply. Aye the great unknown and nobody wants to go there.
Who would win a fight between Celtic v Rangers in 2028?
MiT
GB always thought he was gonna be a rock star, plus doing his traineeship in Edinburgh would put you off anything
I would be surprised if the Croatian Embassy were not asking the first minister a few questions
Regarding the trouble last night , I remember the headlines and the dispatching of Renton of the BBC to cover the events in Amsterdam which seemed to blow up over nothing and had Celtic supporters condemned , nowadays as I have got older and more cynical I do not believe a word that comes out of the mouths of authorites on issues like this, look what happened with the Gallowgate incidents with Ajax [supposedly] fans attacking people and property, passed over to Van der Valke and case closed here.Stinking rotten .
Nicola
Give us $50k and we’ll bury your hun bigot street urchin videos?
Looks like the griff is available tomorrow
I remain amazed at the criticism this article engendered.
Triumphalist?? : defined as excessive exultation over one’s success and achievements.
Are we not allowed one article that says well done for 7iar?
Is that excessive?
Or was it the wee dig about it being achieved on “denial and restraint” that raised hackles? The truth can sting.
Well, I am not going to be humble about the fact that my club achieved this without Sugar Daddy financing, without a cosy relationship with the bank, and without resort to tax dodging and under the counter payments.
Those are good things to be proud of and we are entitled to celebrate them without being accused of being on a level with Level 5 spin and lies. These are real not invented achievments.
When I go tomorrow to see the Celtic, I will see our 7th flag raised and I will see an increasingly well furbished stadium with the promise of more to come. And that is what I will applaud and give thanks for.
Now, I could go and cavil about a failure to improve in Europe. But I would be bemoaning the past 44 years if I did. Apart from 2003 when we achieved the same staus as Alaves, Middlesborough and the Huns, we have been only partially relevant as European contenders in 2007, 2008 and 2013 where we managed to get to a round in the CL which the Cypriots of Apoel surpassed in 2012 when the reached the quarters.
If we choose to beat ourselves up over no Euro impact, then 40 of the past 44 years should see us slagging Celtic.
More legitimately, I could go tomorrow (or boycott) for the club’s lack of impact, effort and interest in the events leading up to Ranger’s death in 2012. That includes our failures to protest adequately the LNS commision & the 5 way agreement and the failure to support the Res. 12 efforts wholeheartedly, or the belated attempts to seperate the club from the fevered activity around the OBaF Act and colluding against our own fans (BTW- great spoof from TGBS earlier). All of these, I could find some common cause with people to complain but I would still say, let’s be quiet about that today and tomorrow, Sunday will be time enough to get back on track with that.
We did not win 7iar because we failed to represent our fans’ and our club’s interest in LNS, the 5 way or Res. 12. We won those because we ran a financially sound club, developed the best players we could within our means, and paid for our own mistakes by learning lessons and going again. That’s the best way to triumph. No taint and no scandal.
So, tomorrow, I will be in good company with people who are unashamed to celebrrate that and who are prepared to appreciate their good fortune to be Celts and are content to park their reservations and keep the funereal gloom responses away from our Title Party.
Mind you, If kenny Miller’s Livi turnus over- all bets (even the Dafabet ones) are off :-)
i’ll wager the potatoes were served lukewarm in salted butter with chopped parsley, still will be to this day
Ate in it once
The food stank
The staff attitude stank
No Centerplate mediocrity in the Hotel, Celtic
Pint bye
Who would win in a fight between Croatian fans and ‘Old Firm fans’ ?
Gene
Would be great if the wee guy could stay fit for most of the season, we cant have too many regular scores and Griff is one. Hope his injury problems are over.
Celtic have stated that Policing arrangements for our fans at IBrokes will be subject to scrutiny before tickets would be sold.
Or words to that effect CSC
In ither news………
“Police are also still trying to determine which group started the violence.”
Shameful.
MIKE IN TORONTO, mike that explains it, when frankie and benny see a picture of Gerard butler on tv, they start wagging their tails, they think its uncle mike.lol.
@SETTING FREE THE BEARS FOR RES. 12 & OSCAR KNOX on 3RD AUGUST 2018 4:26 PM
A lot to agree with in your post, however, just want to note the following point:
“We won those because we ran a financially sound club, developed the best players we could within our means, and paid for our own mistakes by learning lessons and going again. That’s the best way to triumph. No taint and no scandal.”
Not sure we can say that we developed the best players we could within our means; that is to say we are already operating at the highest level on the pitch that we can but given the recent signings of Ntcham and Edouard and the manner in which improved the team, I think it is far to say that we can still improve and that past teams could have been better.
Gene/Mahe
Just some of the phrases
“strange article”
“not honest”
“sycophantic”
“shite”
Fair debate is one thing What is said on here goes beyond that
Have Chelsea issued a statement?
…at this rate the hunned-up Chelsea neds will need counselling and their ain emotional support dugs………..
Bankiebhoy
The Police and the state broadcaster have a lot to answer for
Investing every penny in players and their wages simply places greater pressure on the team to earn price money. Miss out and your in real trouble.
Investing in infustructure projects like the hotel etc… creates other more stable revenue sources than football result and the possibly prize money so is a better bet.
Celtic try to invest in both and both are interlinked. Success on the pitch equals success off the pitch and vic versa.
Celtic clearly have a growth agenda in place and our team and the envios of the stadium are proof of that. the more money celtic generate from non football related activity the more money they will have for the football.
HH
BOURNESOUPRECIPE on 3RD AUGUST 2018 4:58 PM
Have Chelsea issued a statement?
I joked earlier about Chelsea getting blamed for all violence Sevco, i wonder if Roman knows?
Bigbhoy,,
All in regards to the main article(s). If you write words on these pages you should be able to stand by them.
But like i say call out or point out personal attacks,,,if Im not around Turkeybhoy will deal with it. Lets promote debate.
The quiz is in doubt as we might be evacuating,,,Ive never seen anything like this,,75k acres on fire above us and visibility is down to couple thousand yards and the air is almost unbreathable. Will let yall know. Better safe than sorry. Especially with a wee one.
Hail Hail
MTM
And you are on CQN, get to a place of safety.
MAHE THE MADMAN. please keep safe. e-mail me please hh.
So, after two days of mass rioting, pubs damaged and visiting fans seriously injured in knife attacks. Have Scotland’s finest actually made any arrests as yet? Footage at both occasions show police present as fighting was raging around them.
I may be missing something, but so far I’ve only seen the old faithful “appealing for witnesses” (remember the stadium damage)
How much would the proposed hotel museum cafe contribute to the ability of the club to finance the football operations, I haven’t seen a figure for this, anyone have an idea 6 figures low 7 ?
The Hands
“that is to say we are already operating at the highest level on the pitch that we can but given the recent signings of Ntcham and Edouard and the manner in which improved the team, I think it is far to say that we can still improve and that past teams could have been better.”
Not sure that there is any contradiction here. We can always be better and we can always have been better in the past if we sign the right players. I don’t know if you picked Ntcham and Edouard because they were recent relatively expensive signings AND good, but I could just as equally cite McLair, Stark, Larsson, Moravcik, Boruc, Griffiths and Ajer as less expensive options that worked better than more expensive contemporaneous purchases. It is the quality of player, not the size of his fee, that improves the team. That is why, I emphasise buying within our means and not looking to the cheque book to fill every position.
I don’t know how we are to generate more luck in the transfer market or a higher level of guarantee. Of course, spending larger sums, tends to give you a better player but that is merely tendency not guarantee. People have and continue to spend large sums on players who are not worth what they command. And, for our club, in a peripheral league, the bigger spends have to be justified in terms of getting us outcomes we cannot hope for, without them being here.
As for those who say we are worse off- We own Edouard this year and we would not have him, it seems, if we had not bought him. We do not own Armstrong this year as we did last year. So, on that strict equation, I think we AR better off. Odsonne is a more valuable assett for us than Stuart Armstrong was (in terms of both sell-on value and in winning points and trophies for us). Of course we have lost the loanee Roberts too and only gained the potential of Morgan and Mikey Johnston, so, even if the latter 2 do really well this year, we are, in any fair measurement, down on last year’s team. Though we can add settled contracts for several players including Tom Rogic and, we hope soon, James Forrest, which must count as some element of strenghtening.
And there is still over 4 weeks to go in the transfer window, though some of our miserabilists want Brendan to say “No more buying” now so they can feel vindicated in their predictions.
MAHE
Get your family quickly to a place of safety. These events are so unpredictable that you have to err on the side of caution even if hte projections suggest it might miss out your area.
We can do without a quiz easily.
Thanks lads but Im waiting on the wife coming home,,,I wouldnt leave her ;)
Mahe
Be safe.
Don’t waste time on here.
Bail out
Bigbhoy
Just as well you included that last e in line 3
According to Phil, `Celtic are tracking seven players in the hope of signing three of them`.
Interesting.
MtM
Do the right ie safe,thing.
Cheerio for now
JJ
My friends in Celtic,
When you see the resources, surveillance and dedication to catch ” offenders ” breaching the OB act ,then you see the council and SG’s reaction to the >80k Orange petition you see the scale of the problem we face.
Police Scotland, Glasgow city council and the Scottish government have tolerated, possibly condoned the sinister overtones of the hun support and their masters at Grayskull.
HH.
Mahe
Please stay safe. Those fires are terrifying. I’ve been in your town before. Lovely place. I hope this comes to nothing and that lives and property remain safe.