I was a teenager when I looked back at the record books and saw Celtic won five consecutive League Cups in Jock Stein’s first five seasons as manager. This extraordinary achievement was less prominent that it otherwise would have been, due to the nine-in-a-row league title wins and that business in Lisbon.
Those five seasons, from 1965-66 to 1969-70 stood out from the tail-end of Stein’s then record breaking winning run of league titles. The European finals and two semi-finals, five leagues, five League Cups and two Scottish Cups; the rest of Scottish football had to scrap their joy from three Scottish Cups, as Celtic ended their long drought in spectacular fashion.
The current Celtic team are bidding for eight-in-a-row league titles, but this era also splits between the first six and the last two and a half years, where the trophy acquisition rate has become metronomic: cup, league, cup, cup, league, cup, cup…
Celtic players looked tired at times during yesterday’s Hampden final. Aberdeen looked far better than a team beaten 3-0 by Motherwell a week earlier, but the result was never in doubt. No amount of rest and recuperation while Celtic toured Europe midweek prepared Aberdeen for a cup final against the champions.
Ryan Christie will remember this League Cup competition for the rest of his life. Whatever he achieves in the game from this point forward can be traced to his halftime substitute appearance in the semi-final against Hearts at Murayfield five weeks ago. His goals settled both games and his performances marked him out as a pivotal player at the business end of the field. He also has an appropriate amount of aggression in him, which will take him places in the game meeker men will not see.
For much of the final play was squashed into a 30 yard area in the middle of the field. Aberdeen held a high line, compressing space, inhibiting Celtic from exploiting their traditional passing style. The compromise from this approach from Aberdeen was to leaving space behind the defensive line for the right ball over the top.
The goal came when Odsonne Eduard dropped to open a gap at the top of the field for Dedryck Boyata to ping a pass which the sprinting Christie controlled with his first touch. It was one run too many for Aberdeen to cover. After the initial shot rebounded off Lewis, Christie found the net with the rebound. Once ahead, Celtic were never going to be denied.
The award of a ludicrous penalty kick should have settled the matter early in the second half, but justice was served when Aberdeen keeper Joe Lewis rushed off his line before Sinclair’s kick was taken to make the save functionary. We left Hampden thinking ‘Scottish referees can do better’, then watched television pictures from elsewhere to remember they can also do worse.
Gary Mackay-Steven’s head clash with Dedryck Boyata knocked the Aberdeen player unconscious before he hit the pitch. Players seemed untutored on how to react. Mackay-Steven was flipped onto his back with his neck unsupported, an act which would have had potentially fatal consequences if the injury was different. Then, realising the seriousness of the situation, Aberdeen captain, Graeme Shinnie, berated medical staff for not having a stretcher on the field sooner, despite the fact that the player was already receiving treatment and not yet ready to be moved. Some simple head injury training is needed before another player is flipped while motionless.
What does this this trophy mean for Celtic?
For you and me, we have celebrated the seventh consecutive trophy – an achievement no Celtic fan has experienced before and a joint Scottish record. I’m not going to tell you this one was up there with the 1997 League Cup win over Dundee United, but it easily eclipsed the 2000 win over Aberdeen, when we got to enjoy a trophy, but endured a hollow season. This one means so much because it is a measure of how good a Celtic team this is.
What does it mean for the rest of Scottish football?
Sport thrives on great champions. It slumps with mediocrity. Right now, every trophy, every cup game, in Scottish football has enormous importance. When (or if) Celtic lose a cup game, every club remaining in the competition will think, ‘Maybe this year!’ Similarly, every other aspirational club knows that with Celtic just so imperious, they have to make every chance at a cup count.
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Fan a tic 6.33pm
Am a great lover of lumping the ball up the park and getting defenders turning ….
Just wish that Brendan The Boss felt the same …. trust me I hate (dislike) tippy tappy fitba …. GET the ball up the park :-)
Good to hear that GMS is on the mend; any news of Boyatta?
Sevco have gone to the top of the SPL for the first time ever.
Just saw a video of the Hun dugout celebrating after their win, outrageous and not a word mentioned anywhere about it
PRESTONPANS BHOYS
Was it the fact that Bobby Madden and the linesman where in the dugout for the celebration that made it outrageous?
Sevco are so toxic that openly admitting in a court of law they have links to crime, can’t even damage their reputation.
TopoftheleaguetillWednesday csc
BOURNESOUPRECIPE
It probably enhanced their reputation.
PCS 6.56pm
Think Boyata is ok if his hamstring had gone am sure he would have had the ice pack on and not joining in the celebrations
BSR 7.00pm
Did the bread man not have the Sevs too in 2014 … I could be incorrect as it happens quite frequently
Fan
Surprised they weren’t !
If you want a laugh read the DR part where a “Rangers blogger” holds court over the wonders of moreorless , what planet are they goons on
What happened to the Boabby Madden season ticket money?
Gerry
Oops
Fanatic
Not a single comment never mind reaction in SMSM , how bizarre.
Murderwell will be the furst to try to knock us off our perch.
39 passes for the goal before Christie finds the net.
I‘m sorry but I can’t see Aberdeen doing anything other than an Aberdeen against sevco’s sons of Satan so I won’t be getting my hopes up.
I also think we’ll be booted all over the park on Wednesday with full approval of the MIB’s
From ‘Bomb scare’ to Andrea Pirlo.
Dedryck Boyata ?
Bsr
I saw only one reference where Maxwell said they didn’t have any remit when it comes down to general shareholders having criminal links. Gavin Berry didn’t even challenge it, remarkable journalism
PRESTONPANS BHOYS
Indeed only in Scotland.
What Glib actually meant to say was, he didn’t have the money to buy everybodys shares.
?1898: The first club ever to a full league season unbeaten. ✅
?1917: First team ever to go 62 domestic games unbeaten ✅
? 1937: Highest ever attendance for a club match played in Europe vs Aberdeen Scot Cup Final (148,000) ✅
?1957: First Club to win a cup final 7-1 ✅
?1967: first club in UK and First non Latin club to win the European Cup. ✅
?1967: First club ever to win the European Cup only using homegrown players ✅
?1967: First club ever to win a clean sweep of all domestic and European trophies ✅
? 1970: Biggest ever attendance for any match ever in European competition vs Leeds Utd European Cup semi-final (135,000) ✅
?1974: first club to win 9 league titles in a row ✅
?2001: First club in UK to win over 100 points in a league season ✅
?2017: First club in uk to go a full domestic season (including cups) unbeaten ✅
?2017: First club in the UK to go 69 domestic games unbeaten ✅
?2018: First club ever to win a double treble in Scotland in consecutive seasons ✅
? 2018: First club ever to win seven consecutive domestic trophies in two years -winning 23 cup games on the spin ✅
Celtic FC history makers again 2018/19 ?
via bada bing
GFTB
Cheers mate, thanks for the reply.
I see Griff tied a scarf to the post yesterday, fair enough if that’s your thing. Would expect to see the wee man get a start on Wednesday. Tying scarfs is for fun, doing the business on the pitch is for real. So let’s see it Sparky…
POGMATHONYAHUN AKA LAIRD OF THE SMILES on 3RD DECEMBER 2018 7:16 PM
Sevco wil beat Aberdeen on Wednesday, an absolute certainty.
First club to ever be presented with, mountains of, Supreme Court backed evidence, which proves collusion, between SFA and, Rangers FC, which constituted, years, maybe decades, of Celtic managers, players, and supporters, being cheated by a £140 million + swindle, which resulted in dozens of stolen, mibberied trophies, and then the comlicit PLC board, on receipt of this evidence, throw the messengers under the PLC bus at the AGM, knowing fine well, that Celtic’s non rebellious supporters would fall into line, without as much as a whimper.
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Kev J – “sponsored by commas”, All, 20 of them ;-)
Not a decent game in the whole of that FA cup draw
Wednesday’s MIB’s
?????????
Referee:Kevin Clancy
AR1
David Roome
AR2
Drew Kirkland
Fourth Official
John McKendrick
Der hun
Referee:Steven McLean
AR1
Dougie Potter
AR2
Graeme Leslie
Fourth Official
Don Robertson
Anyone disagree with what Kev said ?
Rock Tree Bhoy 7.41pm
Cheers for the advice … just wish I was young enough to change my ways :-)
David17
Not really but A few full stops would make it more readable ?
SETTING FREE THE BEARS FOR RES. 12 & OSCAR KNOX on 3RD DECEMBER 2018 6:06 PM
On the walk up to Hampden yesterday I heard a fella talking to 2 younger men. He said he was 88 years old and had first seen Celtic in 1938.
That’s some going!
—————–
That would have been ACGR, although he looks a couple of years younger.
thetimreaper 7.55pm
I certainly do
Why not blame the ones who cheated and not the ones who didn’t ?
Naw ?
Pog
Whenever I have seen Clancy referee a Celtic game, I have thought he was too keen to penalise us as though to show that, even though his name would suggest that he might be a Celtic supporter, he wouldn`t let that affect his judgement.Then again, maybe I am just biased.
JJ
Sipsini
I`ll be sure to tell him !
Sipsini 7.59pm
Missed your reply to me on last article, delighted you had a great day… many of us did :-)
https://twitter.com/gibbogibby1/status/1069671831039328256?s=08
PC Lustig telling McInnes to button it
HSJJ,
I am of a similar opinion re Clancy
BSR
King admitting in court that his club are linked to crime and money laundering. What else crimininal are they involved in, that may be worse, but must be kept concealed?Mmmmmm
DD
Are you going to Coia`s on Saturday?
JJ
GFTB…
No prob, glad all had a party, back to reality tomorrow.??☘☘