My friends in Celtic, here we go, for nine-in-a-row! The consequences of what lies ahead are almost unbearable to contemplate. Win, and we match the proud record of Jock Stein’s team from the 60s and 70s and equalled by Rangers in the 90s. Lose, and until the end of time, Celtic fans will point to this season and wonder what went wrong.
In the mid-90s I attended a function with Billy McNeill and Tommy Burns the guest speakers. Billy looked at Tommy, who was then manager, and implored him to stop Rangers taking the record he and his team-mates won. It was an era with indignity piled on indignity. We were able to endure many setbacks – SIX YEARS without a trophy, but it was the feeling that our historical record could be violated that concerned us most.
History matters, records matter and in Scotland, no record matters as much as this one.
If it was all about the desire and money, SPFL chief exec. Neil Doncaster would be as well bringing the trophy along with him tomorrow, but football does not work like that and we have an example from relatively recent history to give cause for concern.
Having watched Rangers win nine-in-a-row, Fergus McCann sacked Tommy Burns, but he had not reckoned on spending two months trying to recruit a replacement. The players were back training two weeks before Wim Jansen, “the second worst thing to hit Japan” was unveiled.
Wim was a gift from God, but if he walked through Glasgow Airport on the morning of 3 July 1997 wearing a “New Celtic Manager” T-shirt, no one would have paid him any attention.
Rangers had every reason to expect the Holy Grail, 10-in-a-row, would be theirs, but in true David Murray style, they spent a fortune in an attempt to leave nothing to chance. Amoruso, Gattuso, Vidmar, Johansson, Porrini, Thern and, of course, Marco Negri, arrived in a show of financial muscle Scotland had not previously witnessed.
We took a first half lead in our opening league game of the season against Hibs, then lost. We held a halftime lead at home to Dunfermline in our next league game, but lost that one too. What had Fergus done? Meanwhile, inspired by Marco Negri, who was breaking scoring records, Rangers swept all before them.
It took a while, but Wim slowly steadied the ship, aided by a certain Swede and a large number of players recruited on the say of Jock Brown. David Murray, Walter Smith and all the filthy lucre they could put their hands on, could not stop Celtic winning the most cherished title in Scottish football history. Not only did we win the league after a decade, we preserved our name on the record books.
Why should we remember this today? Apart from the fact that any excuse is a good excuse to recall that season, we need to know that we have no divine right to win the league this or any season. Rangers spent lots of money, signed several excellent players, but things happened at Celtic which we had no right to expect. In the summer of ’97 we lost Pierre van Hooijdonk, Jorge Cadete and Paolo Di Canio. What happened made no sense, even today, I cannot explain how it happened, but Rangers would be stopped.
You and I have become immune to “The Rangers (sic.) are coming” mantra every summer. We know corporate Newco don’t really believe it, but it serves to put bums on seats better than “Come along and watch Celtic win xxx-in-a-row, we’ll try to keep Leigh Griffiths away from the goalposts.” It is pantomime, and we are right to not take it seriously, but there is an existential threat.
It goes like this. Steven Gerrard did better than expected in his first season in management and will do even better with the experience in his locker. They retained the bulk of their squad and spent a year scouting players who have arrived this summer.
By contrast, Celtic lost their managerial totem and appointed Neil Lennon, who has to deal with the pressure of sky-high expectation. We lost Boyata and Benkovic. The shadow of Moussa Dembele is still evident, with Arsenal sniffing around our prized prodigy. Scott Brown is a year older and all of our new arrivals are as-yet untested. Lose at Ibrox on 1 September, and the weight of the world will descent on the Comments pages here, as well as at Celtic Park.
There is a key difference between the Celtic of 2019 and the Rangers of 1997. Celtic are a thoroughly professional operation, with skilled operators at every level. The board know there is a chance, however slim, that Newco could turn up their own version of Larsson, Jansen and, erm, Blinker. They know that this cannot be a ‘Best endeavours’ season. Neil Lennon is planning for the unlikely, in order to prevent the unthinkable.
The cold facts are, we have better players than anyone else in the country. We have a manager who knows how to win leagues, “has an eye for a player”, and who slipped back into successful ways better than many expected.
We have already spent £12m this summer and will continue to spend, without the need to bring money in, or qualify for the Champions League. The manager will also have funds to fill gaps which emerge in January.
Celtic are as dominant as they have been in their 131 years. The stadium is sold out for most games and you have been unable to buy a season ticket for weeks (availability remains at ALL other grounds in Scotland, if you are looking for options). Our commercial deals are competitive with any similar club in Europe. Wages escalated alarmingly under Brendan but we are not over paying or at risk, there is money in the bank and talent on the field.
Having got into this position, we need to deliver this season and next, then build a monument to 10. Something big, that will serve as a tourist attraction for decades to come. And when we’re all in our old age, we can point to it and say to the kids, “I was there!”
Enjoy the season!
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TURKEYBHOY
Maybe KT is saying to himself ” why should i answer that shoite? the
Celtic fans know i’m going nowhere ”
Well thats my theory and if kieran goes then my faith in the love of
our club goes oot the windae.
Wait and see.
H.H Mick
Harry McGuire to Man Utd for £80m.
Show me the money!!
MELBOURNE MICK on 2ND AUGUST 2019 3:59 PM
Mate I get that its a tough one, but I think you need to be a bit less naive and see whats happening here – TurkeyBhoy summed it up succinctly for you.
HH
!!BADA BING!! on 2ND AUGUST 2019 3:58 PM
Mick- i hear you mate,market forces dictate a lot of situations, he needs to go to make himself a better player, playing in this league for too many seasons would make you stale IMO,unfortunately it’s the league we are in….
………………………………………………………….
& IMO thats part of the reason we cant get players in RB et al but some go on and on about it
Melbourne Mick
I think along the same lines as you about KT. I suppose what we want is that one of our heroes in the crazy, money-dripping world that is European football today, will step to one side and say: “Enough. I have more than enough to provide for me now and if I’m sensible and well-advised, in the future. I want to affirm that there is more to be valued than money and a luxurious lifestyle; that pulling at the club badge over my heart really means something; that Celtic is truly more than a football club and that I identify with all that it stands for, its unique history, its charitable foundation which still thrives; its rich history and the fascinating, complex, colourful community it is supported by.”
We can be accused of envy and of trying to keep people back by thinking this way but those people who do express some detachment from crude personal gain, no matter what their calling in life, are the ones who, in the long term, impress us the most and are the most influential and, I would argue, find greater personal contentment than others who have simply gone for the money.
I hope KT stays. He already has a foot in the door of Celtic’s Hall of Fame. If he stays, he can take a place on the dais.
Thank you Turkeybhoy for summing it up succinctly for me
and i promise i’ll be less naive in future.
Now ,got to read and believe what the msm have to say 8-)))))))
H.H Mick
Anywhere in Bilbao showing the game tomorrow, asking for a friend…
Sevco first British club to play in Luxembourg twice and not win.
MELBOURNE MICK on 2ND AUGUST 2019 4:17 PM
i promise i’ll be less naive in future.
====
Sadly its rarely a personal choice but good luck,
HH
Gumtree have distanced themselves from Sevco shirt deal rumours.
bournesouprecipe on 2nd August 2019 4:20 pm
Sevco first British club to play in Luxembourg twice and not win.
…………………………………..
;)))
I saw an article a couple of days ago that Arsenal are paying £72m for Nicolas Pepe but only £20m is up front with the rest over the next 3 years. It did not state if any of the subsequent payments were conditional in any way.
If that is their type of deal structure, Celtic are right to resist.
BSR,
A belter.Wont see that stat anywhere else.
Hrvatski
How you keeping?
I know that it is not uncommon (in fact, I would say it is fairly common) for these sorts of large payments to be made in three installments.
But, as for conditional payments, I have no information, other than what most of us have read in the papers, about what conditions there may be for the KT contract.
So Sevco beat Progres 0-0 last night… it’s not the first time they have managed this incredible feat
Remember they beat us 0-0 at Celtic Park in Rodgers first season
*2nd season
Jamesgang if your lurking at all today
A Big Hoopy Birthday , maybe see you tomorrow a the corner :-)))
HH
TIMBHOY 2,
I hope yer health issues are getting better Man.
Celtic is the 1.
Happy Birthday Big James.
MacJay and Hebcelt,
Small point if interest.
The word Gaelic when pronounced in English can be with a soft A or a hard A.
Highlanders, whether Gaelic speaking or not, generally use the soft A …. as used by the language itself.
The hard A is used more often outside of the highland area.
The spelling remains the same.
The word Gallic means “French”.
The fact that Trumps mother speaks Gaelic …. well, what difference does that make to anything? The man is still a complete dick!
In my mind anyway.
:)
AN Tearmann /WDH
Thanks for the food steers.
Alasdair MacLean,
C’mon the Staggies – Starting to recover after the wrang thang to release ma pal frae school. I’m Biased obviously but that wisnae a good move.
I hope yer Team gets off to a good start the morra.
I was taking to a Gooner at work today and he reckons the deals are tripartite, guarantor type deals
I think it works this way:-
Arsenal pay a chunk up front to the seller
They pay the remainder through debt they draw down from a loan facility over time
They pay the loan off as they pay the seller; means less interest in a straight loan to pay up front
The lender has security, hence can step in and own the player if Arsenal don’t pay
Potential rule breaking? I don’t think so as there is only ever one owner
I surmised most of this (the only facts are that they are using finance, installments and 3rd party ownership) but it is an interesting investment model. Very common in other industries but not Football
Cash is king rule is key in Arsenal and Spurs but not so much in Man U and Liverpool who have the comfort of much higher confidence in future cash flows (mad mental fan all over the world)
For us,?
We have very secure cash flow which can scale(like Man U and Liverpool) but have a risk averse (cash is king) model like Arsenal and Spurs
Sorry, gone a bit boring and worky here but in summary: we can handle a bit of debt and still sit on cash; hence buy a top RB and CM Peter😎☘️
I hope KT is destroying the Sevco Right Hand Flank in their midden – Twice this Season. If not, I hope he does it once, assuming Sevco get to the group stages.
Donald Trump is the grandson of a German Brothel owner in Alaska
& the son of a German-American slum landlord.
& the son of a Wee Free Exile from Stornaway
All that avarice, amorality and rigidity helped make him the man he is
The inconvenience of immigrants
TBut the fight back has started
America is a big Country- Trump is a small man
Alistair MacLean
A high percentage of American boys are circumcised; so you could be wrong in a literal sense on The Donald 😎 . Metaphorically, I agree👍
SFTB – Pray for the Leaders.
They are just puppets.
we wrestle not against Flesh and Blood…….
Melbourne Mick..,
Last interview I heard NFL answer the KT question his response was
KT wants to stay
NFL wants KT to stay
If any suitors meet the clubs asking price they will take it from there.
However the mail and express have labeled KT a want away player, I know who I believe.
Fergus Sings The Blues
Cheers Petec,
I’m going to miss it as away on hols … but the team are looking not too bad – touch wood.
End of October I think before we see you guys in Dingwall.
I think (along with some others I know) that CFC should have a specific plan to get the 10, a fixed and blinkered 2 year plan with the one goal, 10 in a row. I was hoping that this may have been the case behind the scenes but Neil has already confirmed that Champions League qualification (more cash) is his number 1 priority.
That being the case I can’t see us treating this season, or next, any differently from previous seasons. I would go as far as to say that there is sizeable gap from what we the fans see as a priority and what CFC see as a priority. Yeah sure they would like to get to the 10, but they are not desperate for it like we are. Fasten your seat belts, it could be a bumpy ride.
Alasdair,
Njoi yer Holiday and I hope ye take the 3 points aff the Accies.
I have a feeling the Sevco might slip up up away there.
Scumbags then, scumbags now, scumbags forever.
https://twitter.com/pmacgiollabhain/status/1157308254030094337?s=21
Bayo, Shved, Abd Elhamed … all in squad for tomorrow’s game.
Just had my son e-mail me the tickets for Wednesday’s game. 50 RON – just under ten quid.
In among the Cludgies but right next to the Celtic support. 😄
Pogmathonyahun aka Laird of the Smiles,
Magic – Gie it laldy to help the Bhoys on the park.
KT & others might leave more players might leave. & we may get in more new recruite, Either way it’s speculation, I prefer to deal in facts.
Comparing present squad to last years we have lost 3 players that were an integral part of first team squad Boyata, Benkovic & Lustig.
We have brought in Boli, Julien, Elhamed, Shved & Luca.
We also have long time injured players like Griff, Bayo & Arzani back. We have Christie who was missing for last couple of months last season back & we have, Morgan & Mikey stepping up to the plate big time giving us more options.
Overall I feel just now our squad has improved on last year, I hope I can say the same when the window closes.
The Goal threat from the Celtic midfield now is Frightening.
SHOOT.csc