Looking back it’s easy to spot; that moment when an imperious manager peaks before tumbling over the edge, but at the time this moment is almost impossible to see. The moment Jock Stein peered over the mountain was absolutely impossible to identify at the time.
Celtic qualified for the 1970 European Cup final by beating English champions, Leeds United, home and away, and were hot favourites to lift the trophy for the second time in four seasons. They were about to win their fifth consecutive league title and would go on to make record a world record nine-in-a-row, meaning there was a mountain of ‘evidence’ obscuring the peak from view.
We were the most feared side in football in April 1970 but that team’s time as a European heavyweight was over. Stein remained a further eight seasons but he never beat another team from one of the large European leagues. A 1975 win over a relatively obscure Boavista was his best result* in the period before he was replaced in 1978.
The reverence Jock is rightly held in by all Celtic fans now was tested during the 70s when I remember tactics and even minor decisions, like substitutions, were being questioned by large sections of the support. It all ended in ignominy in 1978, fifth in the league and sacked in a clumsy and misleading fashion.
Jock was still a good manager and did well with Scotland but he should have moved on from Celtic years earlier.
Fans of other clubs will always see the moment of inflection before those too close to the event, but even Arsenal fans are now politely making the case that their once-supreme manager is no longer suitable for purpose. Anyone suggesting that Arsene Wenger was finished in 2004 would have been certified. His team had just won the league undefeated, the first team to do so since the 19th century. They won the FA Cup on penalties the following season and reached the Champions League final a year after that, but they have not lifted a trophy since 2005. Wenger was a fine 2004 vintage but has disappointed since.
After a slow start at Manchester United, Alex Ferguson has managed to remain at the top for 20 years. His most important ability appears to be to know when to change coaches, players and tactics. It has long been said that the best managers were not great players as they needed to acquire a conscious insight on the game which gifted players inherently knew. Perhaps enduringly great managers are not even tactical geniuses, it’s more important that they can just spot a few.
Ordered the CQN Annual yet? Get it here in time for Christmas!
Remember being a teenager?** The excitement of waiting for news of the latest pop charts was big news for some. You can relive your youth buy BUYING ROD STEWART’S single before Sunday.
* In European competition, between beating Leeds and when Jock left in 1978, Celtic eliminated Kokkola, Waterford, B1903 Copenhagen, Sliema Wanderers, Ujpest Doza, Rosenborg, Turku, Vejle, Basel, Valur, Boavista and Jeunesse d’Esch. They lost to Ajax, Inter Milan, Ujpest Doza, Atletico Madrid, Olympiakos, Sachsenring Zwickau and Wisla Krakow. And Feyenoord, of course.
** CQN demographics suggest for most of you, your teenage years are now a distant memory.
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kikin
Mrs TET was over the moon with her hoover, seriously, a happy bunny so she is.
I know the wife well, massive brownie points for me :>)))
She wouldn’t thank me for jewelry or anything like that.
Bt
You remember … Im mondons minder so take care if her ;)
So….orange zombies to lurch around in central Glasgow tomorrow….another retrograde step….
…or two.
What is the story with Kenny Shiels?
I seen him being interviewed earlier on SkySports News. I’ve always liked the guy as I think he is honest and spoke up for Neil Lennon when noone else did.
The SFA in its current guise must be disbanded totally, it has been found to be totally inept and corrupt.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAbZzdalZh4
TSOAL
Minecraft
What a load of gish.
Chop chop build build burn burn chop chop. Addictively boring.
MWD
What kind of society allows this kind of atrocity
to happen again and again.
I quite like the look of Charlize Theron.
MWD
I’ve heard she is a good actress but honestly I couldn’t tell you one way tort oter
MWD
nakas
brandy shandy for the ole yin remember.. o))
jinks
she knows who to turn to when she needs help..
BTW
she say a pick of young Mulgrew and felt proud of the work she did in helping him in his younger years, she thanks dbbia for that..
The boy jinky.
Got labeled with the nickname before i even started in the job. drank in the same pub as minky he new i went home and away to see the hoops.
The hun boot went in before i crossed the door.
Just aswel i no my job unlike the huns that are allowed to hide.
Gordon64
The same kind of society that bombs other countries with total impunity.
MWD
did you get in touch?
Hamiltontim
I will be in lounge Number 1 from 1230 tomorrow hope to see you and have a beer with you and a soft drink for your young lady
Kano
Happy Birthday to you
Hail Hail
malorbhoy
you could do worse than meet the bhoy in KSC ya bam ye..
calpol time for min BT.. back soon.. (other childrens remedies are welcome also..)
TET prob in US is that is part of the constitution for citizens to have the right to bare arms. Im sure this constiutional right terrifies the US ruling elite…
bloody awful and tragic shooting today :(
i often wonder why it is deemed acceptable in hollywood films to have carefree shooting and violence in nearly every film, yet nudity and sex is seriously frowned upon.. the latter which is life creating and natural, the former the complete opposite!
BT
At the mercy of my supporters bus ,but one day
Moonbeams,
The wee man bought Minecraft (the full game) for £15, I was astonished as the graphics are very dated. It must be very addictive as I think I could bring back PC’s from over a decade to play the game. He said it ran much better on his full PC rather than his laptop at his Mum’s. I’m guessing that has something to do with it being a web browser game.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJ4b99-aujI
thomthethim
19:58 on
14 December, 2012
I suppose Kenny Shiels wil be the next Scotland manager now.
—————————————–
Just catching up and thought exactly the same (Craig Levein)when I heard Shiels expose their shennanigans.
Back to catching up :))
TET
Just watched the ‘Heroes’ award show.
I can see why you live in a cave.
There really is no hope.
BT
Got hebs no. called and left a message on his vm. My vm did not save a later message from ole Heb.
MWD
Malorbhoy
22:19 on
14 December, 2012
It’ll have to be 2 soft drinks as I’ll have the car :-(
I’ll look out for you though.
Hamiltontim
22:09 on 14 December, 2012
********
Probably best that I dont live in Scotlands british country (Its much more chilled south of the border), I would be on a counter demo …..
V
malorbhoy
after last week I can give your bus a reason for passing bye.. o))
I’m VM
petec
My Bhoy plays it on the Xbox more than any other game. As you can see by graphics it was designed by some guy in his room on a zx spectrum and he is now a millionaire. The room guy and millionaire bits are actually true. Best seller on PC Xbox and PS.
MWD
Mountain_Bhoy
Aye, their hypocracy is astounding, the porn industry in America is a massive money making empire.
But out of site etc…
I honestly think that America is such a mixed up race, it’s only just over 225 years old after all, they don’t have any identity, hence they are so fecked up.
I don’t mean that as a slight on them, it’s just the way I see them as a people.
Maybes if they hadn’t slaughtered the native Indians, who IMO, were a wonderfull people, and taken their beliefs on board, we wouldn’t be talking like this today.
Petec
Got that one “Flood”
Superb
Vm yip. U r defo voicemail.
MWD
MWD/Petec
Or 2100 Microsoft Points
Moonbeams,
The wee chap asked me what he should build his house with.
Some of the options were Diamond, Emerald and Stone amongst other things.
I initially responded with how would I know then realised he said Emerald. ;)) It’s not a bad game really.
His favourite track on the CD, because he has heard it before, a lot since we left Celtic Park. ;))
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfK-WX2pa8c
I like to post tunes with a bit of meaning…………much better than howling at the moon :¬)
This one goes out to the one I love.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7oQEPfe-O8
V
Vmhan
Think i told you how martin kane helped me find my faith again
Babbity bowfers .. A rag tag bunch heading to a cup game against dundee i think
And mind … Stevie reynolds … Our mate … God rest his soul. He was instrumental in it all .
Its a strange world mo chara …. Twists and turns so to speak
Someone mention Minecraft? I have no clue about gamers or gaming but 6 year old boy and 8 year old girl totally addicted, it looks like lego to me. Boy more interested right enough but do not let them sit there for too long, they might turn in to zombies! Can’t go tomorrow but wee girl going to her first game, pwoud vewy pwoud.
Tet.
How do you know their porn industry is massive ;-))
Here’s a funny thing. I posted about this event a few minutes ago, but it disappeared into the ether. It was probably my guardian angel trying to protect me from my own stupidity.
No matter.
The Bertie Auld assault on Davie Provan was the most cold-blooded attack I have ever seen in football.
I could not have been closer to it without being on the park.
Bertie dodged Provan’s tackle & deliberately snapped the big defenders extended leg like a twig. He then stepped over him like a big-game hunter over a ‘kill’.
I have said in all the years since that I have never seen a more cynical action.
Bertie was & is a lovely & a funny guy, but I think he was the nastiest wee guy I ever saw on a football field.
I know this will not go down well with some of our revisionists, but I can only tell the truth as I saw it & will always remember it.
We do ourselves no favours by telling lies.
Oh shucks Vmhan. Thanks.
Petec. Emerald city. Very reason the W of Oz is always in my top 100,000 movies.
MWD
Vmhan
In the face of all the horrors and absurdity in the world
howling at the moon is all we have left.
Sipsini
We always said that a feen yin would need to be good to rival the masons handshake in there.