I’ve been pretty chilled about tonight’s game in Trondheim since last week, but the reality is beginning to dawn. You and I have watch so many of these occasions go wrong; the Basel game in 2002, in particular, comes to mind. 3-1 up from the home leg, we were 2-0 down within minutes and heading out of the ‘lucrative’ Champions League. Not that that European season was a disappointment.
On the road, Celtic in Europe is a bit of a lottery. While this has been true from Zagreb to Gibraltar, there are points in our favour. Brendan was new in the job against Lincoln Red Imps. He put men on the field that night who would not get near his team now. We have scored nine for the loss of one in our three games so far and, by any measure, we are ready for the task in Trondheim.
Get the job done, Celtic.
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PINTAGUINNESS
Jee-zoh. It’s really a quite disorganised place,always has been.
I’d say it’s worth turning up,becauseThe Sportsman is only about 400 yards away. And they’re a good crowd.
Bestaluck!!!
Paul The Tim tweets Broonie is fine for tonight.
Hail Hail
The Blogger Formerly Known As GM,
Just informed my mate about your info. He’s delighted (and with the price of the cold San Miguel too). So, thank you.
“Tell him I was never a zero”
Lubomir Moravcik through an interpreter to a Scotland On Sunday journalist who after the 5-1 game asked him “How does it feel to go from being a zero to a hero?”
Jamesie Forrest, the King of the Qualifiers, will be our main man – yet again – tonight. Methinks.
Prem Sports 2 on Virgin as of today.
You’ll need to power down your Virgin box then power it back up. It will resync channels. Then ch 552 for prem sports 2z
MWD
MWD,
Thanks for the info!
On another note, how are you doing big fella? Been a while.
HAIL! HAIL!
Token
Long time barely even lurking, but as I’ve been awoken from my summer slumber by the ever earlier qualifying games for the Rich Teams’ Cup, I’ll chip in (as, hopefully, will McGregor tonight).
I read that Celtic are due to play in their shocking third kit tonight, which fills me with dread. There have been more than a few horrific results in the past when Celtic have worn change colours, so this should never be done unless absolutely necessary.
So, as the away top is the same colour as that of Rosenborg, then Celtic should be wearing The Hoops. There is no way that green & white hoops with white shirts are difficult to distinguish from the Rosenborg kit, shown here:
https://goo.gl/images/nzGX3M
Come on Celtic, wear The Hoops and strut your stuff. An early goal for us and they’ll need to score four.
MULLET AND CO 2 on 1ST AUGUST 2018 1:28 PM
There are 139 pages dedicated to John McGinn signing on the Talk Celtic forum and probably not 1 mention of another player we are almost over the line with.
Why does McGinn raise folks hackles more than any other player?
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I think that the McGinn “ signing” has been about for so long that we are fed up discussing it. There is also a perception that the player is being targeted for who he is and where he comes from , rather than what should be the only reason; ability.
Anyway, COYBIG tonight. A massive game for us . While I’m confident I must admit to being nervous.
HH.
MULLET AND CO 2 on 1ST AUGUST 2018 1:28 PM
We certainly don’t have cover for Brown or at least a player who could come in and do part of what Brown does and integrate with other players to be effective alongside him.
IMO Eboue Kouassi is the ready replacement , or at least give him a run in the team so that we can make a call.
“ The Celtic third kit does not shrink to fit inferior players “
Brendan Rodgers
Mon the Hoops
HH
Second name on the team-sheet is……?
In Brendan’s 3rd season at Liverpool he bought quite a few players in response to losing Suarez and it never worked and ultimately he lost his job by October/November.
Is Brendan being cautious by trying not to bring in too many players in his 3rd season and feels that continuity in the squad could be more important this year rather than new additions?
Just a thought…
Anyone have any recommendations where I should watch the game tonight?
In the front room, in the back room or doon the pub?
European night again. Off to watch with my old man as soon as my work is done.
He’s in his eighth decade of watching Celtic. Hope folk don’t mind me clogging up the blog with a shameless repost of my dad’s experience meeting the Lions. Imagine Rodgers could create even one quarter of this !!
HH
TJ
A Joyful Lament to a Different Game
Celtic fans around the world spent last season commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Lisbon Lions European Cup success. The current team played their part with an unbeaten campaign that culminated in a treble. But amid the joyful nostalgia there is the recognition that that the game has changed beyond all measure in the intervening period.
It is a Saturday afternoon in Paisley, just outside Glasgow. The year is 1967 and a 28 year old man with a whimsical idea in mind is dialling a number in a telephone box, more in hope than expectation. A gruff sounding Irishman receives the call. A speculative request is made, and is granted after brief consideration. The necessary arrangements are agreed. The players of St Charles Boys Club should report to the stadium the next day at 10am for a tour of the ground. Some of the Celtic players – newly crowned European champions – are in for a light training session and will be happy to say hello. The man placing the call – my father – thanks the gentlemen on the other end, the Celtic assistant manager, Sean Fallon. A hectic evening ensues convincing disbelieving kids and parents alike that the proposed outing is not a hoax.
On the Sunday morning, Fallon was true to his word and a dozen or so wide eyed Paisley youngsters were greeted by the man from Sligo, who warmly introduced them to legendary manager Jock Stein and club icon Jimmy McGrory, along with a clutch of first team players who willingly had a kickabout with them at the ground, followed by a full tour of the stadium.
I’ve lost count how many times I’ve been told this story, both by my old man and by those who made the 10 mile trip to Glasgow’s east end with him. As I sat with my dad watching Brendan Rogers’ current Celtic team honour the 50th anniversary of the Lisbon Lions triumph with an undefeated treble in May this year, we reflected again on that impromptu encounter, laughing at the notion that a man in the street would have such direct, immediate and unfettered access to senior players and management at the home of the reigning European champions, while remembering that this was also a time when star midfielder Bobby Murdoch would take the bus to training on a daily basis and legendary winger Jimmy Johnstone borrowed money from the ball boys for a fish supper on the way home. Simpler times undoubtedly, when players and managers were still deeply embedded in their communities and were talented representatives and extensions of the wider support
In football as in life, the generations elapse and things change, but these anecdotes – now half a century old and heavily laden with nostalgia – form the basis of a lament to the modern game, where elite players are for the most part, fiercely protected from their fans. The story of the Lisbon Lions has been split into tens of thousands of narratives but it remains eternal and special largely because eleven men, all from within thirty miles of Glasgow, conquered Europe with an earthy, gallus swagger which is entirely different to the pretentious conceit we often see at the top level of football today.
I often argue with my dad that nostalgia can contaminate the memory when it comes to football but in the case of the Lions, the evidence pointing towards true greatness is overwhelming. Some might also argue, and not without reason, that Celtic fans have an inclination towards the sentimental but it’s important to acknowledge the club would not have the history and romance it has now, had those players not had the courage and ability they had then, but the magnitude of their unique achievements were not always recognised in some quarters. From the UK media, national team selectors and even from within the boardroom at Celtic Park they received contemporary applause, followed by oblivion, with the odd moment of rediscovery. Chief executive Peter Lawell and Martin O’Neill raised their profile greatly again around the millennium, though the fans had never allowed these ordinary heroes to be forgotten.
When Jock Stein arrived as manager in 1965 there was no drum roll to accompany him. Trumpets did not play. His limited playing career and plain speaking offered no hint of his visionary attitude to the game. He was an ex miner whose values of modesty, humility and teamwork were forged in the pits, a man who in the words of Hugh McIllvanney was “educated below his intelligence”. His impact on the club and on his players was seismic. Victory over the mighty Inter Milan in Lisbon was as one sided as a 2-1 victory could possibly be, where Celtic dominated proceedings entirely, despite the oppressive heat and the concession of an early goal. It is unlikely that there has ever been a more fruitful or historic collaboration between two full backs than Jim Craig’s perfectly timed cutback for Tommy Gemmell to hammer in the equaliser from the edge of the box, a combination which epitomised the relentlessly attacking nature of the Celtic performance. When Stevie Chalmers diverted Gemmells strike beyond the one man barricade of Giuliano Sarti, the Italians had long since abandoned any pretence of attempting to win the game.
Re-watching the entire ninety minutes is an illuminating experience; Celtic were absolutely masterful.
Millions of words have been written about this special team so when the anniversary documentaries and articles began to be trailed it was hard to see where the fresh angle would come from. The new perspective on their achievements came with a heavy dose of melancholy and sadness, with news earlier in the year that team captain Billy McNeill was in advanced stages of Alzheimer’s disease, which was closely followed by the passing of Tommy Gemmell. These were hard blows for a group of men who are close as brothers and the anniversary celebrations were coloured by recent developments. The sight of Billy McNeill with the group in May this year prompted some throat clogging emotions for Celtic fans of all ages.
Jimmy Johnstone overcame the limitations of his genetic inheritance, not to mention some medieval tackling, to be voted the greatest Celt of all time. Bertie Auld epitomised the Glaswegian essence of the team with streetwise attitude and ability, while Bobby Murdoch held the compass every time the team advanced. But McNeill was the undisputed leader of the team. This son of a blackwatch soldier led the team out in Lisbon with the quiet nobility of a gladiator and ended it by ascending the concrete stairs alone, to be immortalised in the most famous photograph in the clubs history with the big cup. It must be difficult for family and ex-team mates to see a figure of such physical and mental fortitude in his current health.
Sporting icons, even the greatest, do not exist in a vacuum and the remaining Lisbon Lions are old men now. Even those St Charles Boys Club youngsters who attended Celtic Park on a bright Sunday morning are in their sixties. While all would acknowledge the incredible job Brendan Rogers has done in his maiden season to connect players, fans and management again, it would be an offence to most fans sensibilities to compare the two teams. It is equally futile to compare eras and traditions but one wonders what Jock Stein would have made of the corporate carnival of vanity that passes for the Champions League today, or what McNeill might think of the actions of Sergio Ramos in ensuring the dismissal of his opponent in the recent Champions League final.
The remembrance of the Lions was a season long celebration and they were commemorated brilliantly by supporters in the 67th minute of every game at home and away, in Scotland and abroad. For Celtic fans of my father’s generation, that Celtic team were men like themselves with the same daily concerns, who just happened to be sportsmen. Perhaps this is part of the reason why they continue to be so celebrated.
Sometimes it’s unhealthy to dismiss modern progress or to lapse into sentimentality for an extended period of time, but in the year of the Lisbon Lions 50th anniversary, it’s been entirely justified. There will never be another team like them.
BOURNESOUPRECIPE on 1ST AUGUST 2018 1:22 PM
“Garrincha is hung like a donkey, breeds like a rabbit, drinks like a fish. He’s a a walking menagerie
*Memories of 58 and 62 WC, especially the latter when Pele was out injured he took charge leading Brazil to a double triumph, he was actually sent off in the last 10 minutes of the semi against the host side Chile for retaliation but allowed to play in the final where again he starred and was named player of the tournament.
He played 50 games for Brazil losing only once in the WC at Goodison Park where without the injured Pele, who had been kicked off the park by Bulgaria, they lost 1-3 and had 2 goals disallowed.
He was a bit of a freak and I use that word cautiously, a series of birth defects left him with a deformed spine and a left leg that was six centimeters shorter than his right one he actually wore his boots on different feet i.e left on right etc.
He was also a late developer not playing the game seriously until he was in his teens and was married with a wean when he joined his first pro team.
A fabulous player who like a lot of greats enjoyed the fruits of life, he drank heavily married twice, the latter time to who was described at the time as The Dusty Springfield of Brazil, and had other significant affairs and is known to have fathered at least 14 children.
He died at the age of 49 of cirrhosis of the liver on January 20, 1983, in an alcoholic coma in Rio de Janeiro.
As I said a tremendous player and as a wee winger at the time one of my heroes along with Gento of Real Madrid.
TOMMY JOAD
The perfect day to repost that TJ if ye ask me:))
Mon The Hoops
Tontine Tim
Tommy Joad
Top Blogging
HH
Tommy Joad,
Smashing read there mate.
What an amazing experience that must have been for your old man and the boys.
As you say, it is almost beyond comprehension for a similar experience in this day and age.
That’s why the Lions, Sean and Jock are Immortalised and worshipped by us. And I hope that continues generation after generation.
And that new players, especially those from outside Scotland and Ireland, continue to be told of their exploits and realise what it means to be fortunate enough to wear the Famous Green and White Hoops!
HAIL! HAIL!
Token
PS – Eddie to score tonight
I added Premier Sports to my Virgin Media package for one month thinking that I would get to see the first two qualifying rounds for Champions League away ties. Saw the first game but it now seems tonight’s game is being shown on Premier 2 which is not being shown via Virgin Media.Phoned both Virgin and Premier Sports and was fobbed off. (Was not aware at time of getting month’s rental that there were two channel’s involved)
Can anybody supply a link or advise how game can be viewed? Have read that a “live stream” on-line is showing the game on Premier Sports but don’t know how to access this. (Sad Old Duffer)
Tommy Joad RE. When Stevie Chalmers diverted Gemmells strike beyond the one man barricade of Giuliano Sarti, ,,,,, I pointed out this mistake the first time you posted your story , it is possibly the most important goal in Celtics history and therefor deserves in my opinion to be remembered accurately, the stike was by Bobby Murdoch not Gemmell , Please ,please edit your post for future reposts as it does my head in every time its repeated ;)
The Blogger Formerly Known As GM – We are heading to Alcudia next week so hopefully we will be playing AEK then there is the Mini Huns on the Saturday. Is there anywhere else to watch the games? Googled “The Smugglers” and was put off by the butchers aprons flying outside it. We have never been to Alcudia before, any tips/good places to go for a pint??? Cheers, CB
john Anthony Prem 2 is on virgin ch 552 you will have it mate :)
MULLET AND CO 2 on 1ST AUGUST 2018 1:28 PM
There are 139 pages dedicated to John McGinn signing on the Talk Celtic forum and probably not 1 mention of another player we are almost over the line with.
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Who is the player we are almost over the long be with (or is that a reference to a lack of transfer activity)?
Token Tim, Bournesouprecipe, starry plough – thanks !!
RPMCelticfan, wow that is an oversight, will amend, cheers.
TJ
John Anthony
See earlier Posts
Virgin channel 552 for Premier
Reboot box if it’s not there
Weebobbycollins
Wherever you watch it at least this time you dont need to watch it from behind the sofa, well not until we get to the group stages, and thats a big if at this juncture
ziggydoc1 I wondered about that too ??? For anyone worried about tonight’s game think of it this way , whos most likely to score Edsonne or Bentner ???
RPMCELTICFAN
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Just checked and YES it’s there. Did virgin just add this today or yesterday? As when I spoke to them on Monday they told me Premier 2 was not available. You are a gentleman,thanks again.
Hail Hail
BOURNESOUPRECIPE
Thank you.
Tommy Joad ;) thanks bud and as others have said its a great Celtic story so it deserves to be reposted often ;)
john Anthony No worries mate I was in the same boat as you , it only appeared at around midnight :)
if we get it right defensively tonight we will go through.keep the faith.
Brucie bonus
getting the game tonight on virgin 552, thank you for the heads up. :))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))).
No doubt our nerves will be shredded again before we win through.
CelticrollercoasterCSC
For those worried about tonight, that impartial chap, William Hill has Celtic at 1/14 to qualify. We are 1/10 to win the League.
Cheerio for now,
JJ
Talk about how things change,my dad went home to Scotland for a holiday from Canada and somehow ended up at Celtic preseason training and helped by making the players sandwiches. Those days are long gone I think it was early 80s
Paul67 et al
I read elsewhere that the SPFL overseas media partner MP & Silva is on the verge of collapse with the likelihood of leaving Scottish football without a broadcaster outside of Scotland/Great Britain. Turns out the present owners paid $1 billion for the company, an Italian concoction, just two years ago, in the belief that sports broadcasting is a licence to print money. They are going to have to print some of their own to continue in any way, shape or form. The SPFL has a contract until 2023, worth around £2 mill pa, small beer I know, but you miss it when it is gone.
‘New club with new manager fails to get worldwide coverage against Celtic rivals’
You read it here first!