My friends in Celtic, pause for a few moments and peruse your domain. On the field of play your favourites matured into accomplished football players. 2011 ended with an acclaimed Joe Ledley header confirming what we already knew, Celtic were the best team in the land.
Despite ‘losing’ the previous three league titles Celtic held firm in the January transfer window; a difficult decision. We needed to win the league – at any credible cost – but without jeopardising the financial stability of the club. More than sporting form was under debate on these pages at the turn of the year, continents were shifting.
Since 2004 readers of Celtic Quick News have read the gospel of financial responsibility. Bills need to be paid, debt cannot be allowed to rise year after year without enormous consequences. Back then we asserted that Rangers would crash and burn. By 2008 we predicted they were on course to go out of business. This message was not always welcome among our own. It was mocked by some, who demanded ever-higher spending to match the Murray Millions, but on 1 January 2012 there was scarcely a Celtic fan alive who didn’t think Rangers were going out of business. It was only a question of when.
When the crash was confirmed, on St Valentine’s Day, Scottish football embarked on a remarkable period of soul-searching. Rangers last owner, Craig Whyte, had a plan, which we explained in some detail in 2011. Whyte subsequently revealed he met with SPL directors, Neil Doncaster and Ralph Topping in October 2011, told them the likelihood that Rangers would go into liquidation, and asked them to back a plan to catapult a Newco-Rangers into the SPL.
The plan was nonsense. Whyte should have been sent away with told to pay his bills but Doncaster was oceans out of his depth. A fait-accompli would be presented to the SPL clubs, vote to change the rules and elect a Newco into the top flight, or deal with “Armageddon”.
Football eventually did the right thing, as many, perhaps most, Rangers fans wanted all along, but hundreds of scribes attached themselves to Whyte’s Cunning Plan, which was presented as a bastion of responsibility, not the work of deception it was. The fight-back started on these pages. Soon it encompassed fans of every club in Scotland and the SPL clubs have no choice but to stick with the established rules.
Rangers creditors voted against a CVA and liquidators were appointed. Pop, and they were gone! Football fans of every colour, who has endured defeat to Rangers but still asserted that expenditure must be limited to income, enjoyed three seconds of glory as they turned to the bling-addicts beside them and said, “Told you”.
A man from Yorkshire with a group of partially-known investors nipped in ahead of various groups of Rangers fans to secure the assets of the club. Evidence suggests he believed the club would achieve a CVA (the assertion that “the history, the tradition, everything that’s great about this club is swept aside” if they were to be liquidated confirms this), but he bid more than any group of Rangers fans for the liquidated assets so ended up with an opportunity to issue himself with 5 million shares worth 70p each a few months later. Beautiful.
We’re on our own.
Celtic began as the solitary voice at SPL meetings speaking against Whyte’s plan. They were not responsible for the demise of Rangers, but let the record show, when the moment of reckoning arrived, the Celtic board liquidated the Old Firm.
On the field of play we were a well-oiled machine. Our first league title in four seasons arrived with consummate ease. Kilmarnock showed what a well-drilled team could do in the League Cup final, with a little help from a last minute blind-spot when Anthony Stokes had his legs whipped from him in the box, but let’s be generous, you know it, I know it, we would have missed the penalty anyway.
Last minute Hampden penalty decisions would crop up again in the Scottish Cup, when the whole Deliberate Handball rule was cast asunder, but refereeing is always been an emerging art in these parts.
The new season, our first ever as the only superpower in the Scottish game, held one major challenge – qualify for the Champions League. Four wins in four qualifying games was better than expected, so the team who were slapped by Sion, attacked by Atletico and usurped by Udinese a year earlier, were in the Champions League.
Be generous to those who dismissed our chances. One poor guy writing the ITVFootball tweets wrote “Bye bye Celtic” on the day we were drawn against Spartak Moscow, Benfica and Barcelona. Based on the evidence available, it was a fair call.
It is nothing short of fantastic, in the literal sense, that we qualified out of that group. Even now, halfway through the season, Barcelona have lost only one competitive game, when Victor Wanyama, Tony Watt and their pals ripped up the form book. It took Barca until the 93rd minute to secure a win over Celtic in the Camp Nou, or they would have three competitive draws on their record for this season, one to Real Madrid in the league, and a meaningless draw against Benfica being the only two.
I honestly thing we have overachieved in Europe this season. Neil Lennon and his players got everything right. The corner and free kicks from Charlie were immense. No one in Europe does better (some supporting evidence here). Forget the more fancied thoroughbreds, Charlie Mulgrew is our Moneyball player, a team full of them and we’ll win the Big Cup.
Victor’s leap and Tony’s finish will be replayed in our minds for years. Despite leaving ample hints, the DVD didn’t materialise at Christmas. Georgios has scored in all of our five European away games, a record.
Expectations will rise as a result of these achievements but we got so many things absolutely right in this Champions League campaign the odds against doing so again next season are high. Celtic will need to start preparing for next season’s Champions League now if they are to have any chance of remaining in the tournament next Hogmanay. If we were operating at 90% capacity we would have finished bottom with one or two points. As for Juventus, bring them on.
These end-of-year reports are often a lot less encouraging. 2010 was far from easy reading, the distance we have travelled since 2010’s is incredible. Celtic end 2012 as one of the most admired clubs in the European game. We develop great players, compete against the best better than anyone else, and have a sense of purpose which will never be extinguished.
Take care and may 2013 bring you all that you hope for.
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DJBEE
Superb!!
Gave up on only an excuse a few years ago but hey ho what have I got to lose, If he cant get a laugh out of that old clubs antics last year he never will.
revjollycsc
Happy New Year CQN Faithful…
Only an excuse, written by them for them. Give Kevin Bridges, Danny Bhoy or Billy Connelly the gig n see how auld scotia reacts!
Family new year here – cross between ‘The Royle Family’ and ‘Meet the Fockers’ –
– what’s that honey wee Jools is starting
Hootannay CSC
The Lodge Gangnam Style….brilliant they will be raging.
RIP Tommy.
Also in my thoughts are Mum, Granny(s), Granda, Grampa. MrsDM’s Mum, Dad and Sister too – every year’s a struggle for us without you, kids miss you loads.
Gangnam Style takes on a new dimension.
Gangham – at last something funny on it
You have to explain to guys under 30 who Denis Law is anaw….
Brs….the royle fockers!
Happy new year to paul67 and all the CQNers this site has become an integral part of my life hail hail
B-)
So, 2013?
Another End of the World? An end of an era (but not the end of an era)?
Who cares?
Domestic treble and a girfuy to Platini is what I’m looking for, that is all :-)
Only an excuse so bad
Notthebus,
I had high hopes, but it has disappointed. Shame, opportunity missed.
Frantic07
(⊙_⊙)
Happy New Year to all and thanks to P67 for everything.
Got my glass of port in my hand, and Jools on the telly, so can I wish all CQNers everywhere the happpiest of New Years – if we get half the drama in 2013 that we’ve had this year I’lll be a happy man.
OAE so far Celtic- sly digs, conspiracy, smoke bombs, crowds, fans moaning.
Huns – light hearted soft soap, laughing at teuchters. Funny orangemen.
Happy New Year P67 and all CQNers especially BT and HT, hope to meet some more posters next year, hope wee Oscar has a good year, YNWA wee man ( thumbs up ), c’mon the Celtic, bring on the tally Nott’s County.
Just gettin the JD honey ready for the bells.
May you live as long as you want and never want as long as you live. Cheers
Jonny Watson and BBC wit a pile of shit.
Feckin joke of a show.
HH
/Bishop B
Happy New Year to you and yours, Paul. Highland Tim and masel still flying the flag in the Far East….
T.ex TIM.thanks but i don’t have sky.
notthebus
23:21 on
31 December, 2012
Take it back, laughed a few times now.
I thought it could be a Sevco special, but they have been even handed, and ripped it from all.
Over to Jools for the build up
Doc is Neil Lennon
Balancing act at the end re Gangman, looks as though he crapped it as you say missed it Big Time.
Awerabest PJ
How bad was that:((
Mental note to self dont forget next year how crap Only an excuse is
I promised to make Rangers history, and I did.
Quote from Only an Excuse, nice.
only a poor excuse for comedy
Happy new year to one and all
hh
leftclicktic
Ditto
Awerabest PJ
happy new year to all on cqn thanks for another great year Paul 67 hail hail
Very disapointed with that excuse for a prog, there was a chance there, but can’t upset the hoards.
Tis 2013 here, happy new year bhoys and ghirls.
HH
Only an excuse bottled it over Sevco .
Hope we don’t do the same next year.
Happy New Year to Paul67 and CQN Bhoys around the world , keep up the good fight and challenge the cheats at every opportunity .
HH
TET
I thought they had a go at everybody, from their perspective they can’t go all in on one club.
Good to see Adam Ant looking so welll…….
Only an excuse ….? …….same old
What a year for material for ‘only an excuse’ and they made a backside of it, opportunity missed but at least the guys who made it can sleep safe tonight.
Doc
I suppose it’s a fine line with the BBC in scotland, I liked the dancing, that will get a few of thems raging even more than normal, and the CW line was good, that apart it was dissapointing.
Papa John
Good to see you back on the blog again.
Happy new years to ye.
HH