We had a plan, we had Fergus, we had McStay, Collins, Boyd, they have 10 goal Miller

My brother made the point to me on Saturday, even during our mid-table era in the 90s, we had players like McStay, Collins and Boyd, who would get into any team in the country. We usually had a striker who could boast a better return than 10 goals in all competitions by this stage of the season (the mark Newco’s PotY Kenny Miller has reached), and the Celtic manager would send his team onto the field with some battle in their bellies.

What’s more, Celtic fans had a plan. We had Fergus, he had money, or at least access to money, and the inch of personality he possessed was enough to convince 10,000 to buy shares and put us on the way to several dozen in a row.  Some of us also knew David Murray’s speculate to accumulate strategy would inevitably crash.  So despite the dark decade between Big Billy and Wim the Tim, the forward path was clear.

The Great Anniversary

We are now in May and three weeks away from the Great Anniversary.  Hundreds will travel to Lisbon, thousands will gather at The Hydro.  Television documentaries will air and we will all drink-in the experience.  I truly believe that without Jock Stein and the Lisbon Lions catapulting Celtic from four decades of mediocrity to international fame, very little of what we have achieved since would be possible.  Our modern club was built on their shoulders.

Stein and the Lions stood on the land worked on by volunteers, who 70-odd years earlier leveled ground to create a football field, so that funds could be raised to feed the city’s poorest children.  Without that unique creation story, the Lions would never have happened.

Two weeks ago I decided I would run the Stirling Marathon on 21st of this month, in aid of the Celtic Foundation.  I’ve done ‘the half’ twice before but never gone beyond that.  I suspect the decision was part midlife crisis (story for another day), but I needed to mark one of the biggest influences in all our lives with a  significant act.  This is it.  It will put me in touch with why I’m a Celtic supporter, why I started this blog and mark a turn in my life.

Use this Great Anniversary to get in touch with lots of things we take for granted.  We will never have another opportunity like it.  And if you can’t run a marathon, you can support the Foundation at the page I’ve setup for this purpose, as well as putting some bounce in my shoes on the day.

Thank you.