My friends in Celtic, a year ago I signed off on 2010 by saying, “I have never spoken to less confident Celtic fans ahead of a game against Rangers than I have this week”. Celtic had won only five of their previous 10 league games, seven of which were at home, but with a squad ravaged by injury, they found a formation which over several games dominated Rangers.
After three defeats and an Ibrox draw against 10-man Celtic, Walter Smith eventually got it right and beat Celtic at Hampden. The league challenge floundered in a scrappy defeat at Inverness, the home team fought for everything and found some vulnerabilities in Celtic but the season ended on a high with the first trophy of the Neil Lennon era as the Scottish Cup was won at rain-soaked Hampden against Motherwell.
Neil Lennon, Paddy McCourt and Niall McGinn all had to deal with more serious events than football in the first half of the year. Bombs and bullets were sent to Celtic’s three Irish stars, prosecutions are pending. These events put Scotland on the international news circuit in a very unwelcome light. First Minister, Alex Salmond, promised to take action but instead of tackling a century-old anti-Catholic, anti-Irish tradition, his government passed a law which criminalised all sorts of non-sectarian, non-racist activity.
Despite this initiative taking on flagship status for the Scottish Government, Salmond has steadfastly refused to re-gather and publish information on sectarian attacks in recent years. Policy has been made without reference to facts.
The new season brought great promise. Neil Lennon had a year under his belt and was no longer up against Rangers’ most successful manager, instead he would face rookie Ally McCoist, but a humbling by Sion, ultimately neutralised by Uefa, and poor early season league form saw the manager consider his position.
A home defeat to St Johnstone and an utter collapse at Ibrox set the tone, but it was Kilmarnock’s three goal lead which caused Neil Lennon most concern. The story of the second half comeback at Rugby Park is likely to take on legendary status in years to come, but as with much in life, it contained prosaic events. Celtic came out of the dressing room like a condemned team and failed to register a genuine attempt on the Kilmarnock goal for 25 minutes. Anthony Stokes struck a free kick which would have been stopped by most defensive walls but the Kilmarnock version was made of butter and Celtic had a platform to stage a comeback. Killie’s reserve keeper, Jaakkola, failed to reach Anthony’s shot a few minutes later and Celtic were level six minutes after they realised they had a game of football to play.
In their next game Celtic failed to score at home to then-bottom Hibernian, allowing Rangers to open up a 15 point gap over their rivals, who by then were in third place, although with two games in hand over Rangers. Celtic then went to Motherwell and promptly fell behind, our season hung by a thread, but it was that guy Stokes who again had the stomach for the fight. Anthony equalised within minutes and Gary Hooper scored a late winner.
Celtic have not dropped a point since, while Ally McCoist and his boss, Craig Whyte, now look like the rookies they are. They have lost three of their last six games, completing a collapse at Celtic Park on Wednesday night.
A year ago I reflected on the 46 players who played for Celtic during 2010 and suggested we would be better starting with a blank sheet of paper. The league challenge ended in failure but 2011 didn’t. This year ends with a coherent team strategy which could deliver the first sustainable and successful Celtic team in 40 years. We have a young squad, on wages the club can afford, with a scouting and management team that have delivered a clutch of players destined to achieve an enormous amount in the game.
Despite the energy and excitement around Celtic Park, attendances are down. Football is not as fashionable as it was three or four years ago. For much of the season, we play in a cold, wet, environment against well-organised but defensive teams; it’s a hard sell. We all know fans who have drifted from the stands, large areas of the stadium are now scarcely populated unless Rangers are visiting, which will impact income and subsequent expenditure.
Still, the shambles of 2010 has gone, Celtic look like a club with purpose and the tools to move forward with confidence. A two point lead at this stage of the season is largely symbolic but it’s a deserved honour that your team deserves.
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BRTH –
I’ve been following those tweets. The Baldies and inlaws are soon to be treated to the traditional (eh?) take-aways, financed by the best mother-in-law on planet earth!
Jobo
BRTH
And all his doughnuts turn out like ………..
Fannys!
Happy New Year, to one and all.
Can’t wait for the game tomorrow. Here’s my line-up for the parts.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Forster ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Matthews ::::: Wanyama ::::::::: Mulgrew :::::: Izaguirre
Cha :::::::::::::::: Ki :::::::::::::: Ledley ::::::::: Forrest
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::: McCourt ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Samaras :::::::::::::::::::::::::::
There’s still a corener of CQN
That is forever Paddy
Just sobered up long enough to post my Best Wishes to all on CQN for a good New Year and a good 2012.
Our 2012 title campaign resumes against Dunfermline tomorrow and I must admit I am really looking forward to it.
One wee observation on why you should judge a player’s form rather than judge the man himself:-
Look at these two line ups:-
1) Forster; Cha, Majstorovic, Mulgrew, Matthews; Forrest, Ki, Kayal, Ledley; Hooper, Stokes
2) Forster; Matthews, Rogne, Mulgrew, Ledley; Brown, Kayal, Wanyama; Forrest; Hooper, Samaras
Apart from positional changes, we have 7 of the same players on the pitch in both games.
Rogne, Brown, Wanyama & Samaras replace Cha, Majstorovic, Ki and Stokes.
The first team had been abject for 70 minutes at Rugby Park in October and the second had gone top of the table by December.
The improvement was made without changes in personnel, new blood or transfers. The work was done on the coaching field and at the tactics board. The work was done on the treatment table, the sports science room and the physio’s room.
And that work was overseen by a restless wee fella from Lurgan who will not be satisfied with a temporary lead, and, because of that nature, I do not need to wish Neil Lennon a Happy New Year.
He will make damn sure that we all have a good 2012.
Happy New Year anyway Neil!
That really happened by the way…
No one believes me but
Start as you mean to go on
with a typo
up over goal
Some typo??
You picked Forster over Zaluska.
Brogan Rogan Trevino and Hogan supports Kano 1000 says:
1 January, 2012 at 14:53
“May all your donuts turn out like Fannys” has a better jocular ring to it than “May all your donuts turn out like Pauls.”
(I always thought Bill Tennant said the former on TV but on Googling it has been attribted to others. Any other auldwatchers remember the TV camera shaking when these words were uttered or has my imagination/memory ran off with the milkman?
SFTB
Great points and post among the mushy headed hangovers!
Enjoy your day Bhoys and Ghirls as our guests have just arrived….
Jobo
Auld Neil Lennon Heid
I am with you 100 percent, tho ma heid and memory are slightly opaque this morning and I am trying to clear them with champers and painkillers!
Auld Neil Lennon heid says:
1 January, 2012 at 15:10
Definitely Bill Tennant, my auld maw tells it over and over again, its ingrained in my memory and I still chuckle!
Auldheid
My memory has it as a quote from Bill Tennent too.
The funniest unintentional line I ever heard on TV was also a bit of schoolboy smut. In my defence, I was at school when it happened.
There was a lunchtime BBC kids show called “Teddy Edward”. It was a cheap show, even by cash strapped early 70’s standards. It consisted of posing a real (??) teddy bear against some hastily coloured backgrounds and narrating over the top of this. The narration was provided by posh straight-laced newsreader, Richard Baker.
Anyway, this particular episode opened with Teddy Edward posed against a non-descript background, seated in a corner with his head bowed, eyes half closed, legs opened and one hand racily placed between his two legs. The narration, from memory, was as follows:-
“Children, today we are visiting Teddy Edwards House.
I wonder when we will see him” (camera pans the room and finds him)
” Ah, there he is! Can you see him? I wonder what he is up to?”
(long pause while teenage sftb and pals are reduced to tears of laughter)
” Yes, that;s right! He is having a……..
NAP”
(you probably had to be there :-)
Monaghan1900 @ 11:20 – Thank you for your extract from Rangers Media.
For me the most telling thing from the long report was the fact that they discussed what Celtic fans were singing.
I don’t recall mention of any other clubs when Campbell Corrigan met the Celtic supporters.
As clear an example of whataboutery as you could wish for.
Hail Hail & Happy New Year
A very Happy New Year and a top of the league 2012 to you all :o)
Big Swee walks on with Neil Lennon says:
1 January, 2012 at 15:37
A very Happy New Year and a top of the league 2012 to you all :o)
Happy New Year to you in sunny Tottie.
Happy New Year to Paul67 and everyone on CQN .
This is a wonderful support network that allows us to laugh , cry and gain strength and comfort from similarly minded people.
It’s been a major part of my online life for the past 4 years now and I’m looking forward to an enjoyable e-2012 .
Hail Hail
Sanna
Badly Drawn Bhoy sounds like Hugh Cornwall of the Stranglers
Strange but true.
The Value of a Drink
“Sometimes when I reflect back on all the wine I drink
I feel shame. Then I look into the glass and think
about the workers in the vineyards and all of their hopes
and dreams . If I didn’t drink this wine, they might be out
of work and their dreams would be shattered.
Then I say to myself, “It is better that I drink this wine and let their
dreams come true than be selfish and worry about my liver.”
~ Jack Handy
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“I feel sorry for people who don’t drink. When they
wake up in the morning, that’s as good as they’re
going to feel all day. ”
~Frank Sinatra
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“When I read about the evils of drinking, I gave up reading.”
~ Henny Youngman
WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may lead you to think people are laughing WITH you.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“24 hours in a day, 24 beers in a case. Coincidence? I think not.”
~ Stephen Wright
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“When we drink, we get drunk. When we get drunk,
we fall asleep. When we fall asleep, we commit no sin.
When we commit no sin, we go to heaven. So, let’s all
get drunk and go to heaven!”
~ Brian O’Rourke
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.”
~ Benjamin Franklin
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Without question, the greatest invention in the
history of mankind is beer.Oh, I grant you that the
wheel was also a fine invention, but the wheel does
not go nearly as well with pizza.”
~ DaveBarry
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And saving the best for last, as explained by Cliff Clavin, of Cheers.
One afternoon at Cheers, Cliff Clavin was explaining the Buffalo Theory to his buddy Norm.
Here’s how it went:
“Well ya see, Norm, it’s like this. A herd of buffalo can only move as fast as the slowest buffalo. And when the herd is hunted, it is the slowest and weakest ones at the back that are killed first. This natural selection is good for the herd as a whole, because the general speed and health of the whole group keeps improving by the regular killing of the weakest members. In much the same way, the human brain can only operate as fast as the slowest brain cells. Excessive intake of alcohol, as we know, kills brain cells.. But naturally, it attacks the slowest and weakest brain cells first. In this way, regular consumption of beer eliminates the weaker brain cells, making the brain a faster and more efficient machine. That’s why you always feel smarter after a few beers.”
Happy new year
TAL
Celtic 2011-12 Champions
haha
Only An Excuse
Jim Spence
hair lotion
“Just For Scots Men”
C5
we’re off to see the wizard
Very good Teuchter!
Happy New Year to all CQNers.
QB
AR LA
I absolutely loved CHEERS,the lads and I would repair to my place for a few after shutting time to watch the latest episode on video.
The STEVIE NICKS video which,by popular acclaim,followed,was probably incidental.
A quality show,unsurpassed since,IMO.
Anyway,cot-time. Working tonight,which I believe is illegal in Scotland,but tolerated in Swindon.
Teuchter ár lá says:
1 January, 2012 at 15:43
The Value of a Drink
“I feel sorry for people who don’t drink. When they
wake up in the morning, that’s as good as they’re
going to feel all day. ”
~Frank Sinatra
________________________
Very good selection but I think Dean Martin has the copywrite for that one.
I would like to take the opportunity to wish Paul 67 and his family a happy new year, thanks once again Paul for a superb blog, it is much appreciated.
Happy new year to all who post on CQN, I hope everyone has a fantastic new year, hopefully Celtic will be crowned champions in 2012, the treble would be nice, but the league is top priority.
Last of all Happy New Year to Neil Lennon after all the crap he was put through last year, YNWA
A very happy new year to celts the world over
good health and prosperity to all in 2012
god bless and protect Neil Lennon from the worst of scottish society
Lets see what this year brings at the club
hopefully the title in 2012
maybe some EL progress into the later stages is not unrealistic
who will stay at the club, who will go?
major challenge for the board is to fill the empty seats again
how long will we continue to play against Rangers, they might not be around.
should be an interesting 12 months if nothing else
A happy, healthy and prosperous new year to all
Trying to plan ahead here – is the game on any tv channel tomorrow ?
This will decide which pub I need to visit
charles kickham says:
1 January, 2012 at 16:10
ESPN 3pm KO
Happy new year to all my CQN friends
May all our dreams come true
Hail Hail
fritzsong
I posted an Email I received so I bow to your knowledge sir……Imagine starting the year off in lazy journalistic mode……Dohhhhhh!
TAL
CliffclavenCSC
bonbhoy says:
1 January, 2012 at 16:18
I thank you
Happy New Year to all on CQN.
Thanks for the exerts from today’s papers indeed the Sunday Post one maybe the closer to the truth than Rangers FC may want us to know…….certainly anything less than £4m will be a loss!
I hope we close off a deal for another striker sooner rather than later in the transfer window.
I also hope that our Board rebuffed any approaches by Craig Whyte and Ali Russell for an international version of the Glasgow Derby……no way and make it clear that we are not going to support it.
Good luck to the team tomorrow……..no slip ups by the Hoops please.
Hail hail
What a finish 1-0 Sunderland
Last second goal for MON.
That goal was offside.
The EPL big teams have had a bad weekend.
Larsson-esque finish from yer man Ji, there