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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KK,
I should have added that teams at that time usually had a Bertie type to protect the likes of wee Jinky (at least to a degree) by doling out retribution, although doing Davie Provan was the wrong person to pick on as he played wee Jinky fairly, unlike the likes of Greig.
MWD:
I’m not asking anybody not to post, but if I had to pick a name of a fellow Celtic Supporter who would be first to join us, you’re name would’ve been way up there. As it is, you were the first to join us.
It is only a little to give between us but a little is better than nothing.
CQN Saturday Naps Competition
Lads, for those who are in the CQN Saturday Naps competition, please go back and post your selection at the end of the previous article :
“Sensational Celtic remains sound business plan”
Alternatively, if you cannot access the previous article for any reason, then you can send me an email message with your selection to : fleagle29 at gmail.com
All the best, fleagle1888
CQN Saturday Naps Competition – Week 19 Results & Standings
No winners in Week 19…
+£16.25 green T (7)
+£11.00 Rockon Neil Lennon (7)
+£ 3.50 Sixteen roads to Golgotha (3)
+£ 2.00 Valentine’s Day (3)
+£ 0.50 BULL67 (3)
+£ 0.50 fleagle1888 (3)
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-£ 3.50 Bada Bing (2)
-£ 4.50 What is the Stars (3)
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-£16.00 Glen (1)
-£19.00 bobbymurdoch’s winklepickers
-£19.00 gourockbhoy
-£19.00 Raymac
*No selections – Bada Bing, Raymac, Sixteen Roads to Golgotha, TheBarcaMole
Non-Runners –
Cheers, fleagle1888
Kitalba
I will match your financial contribution as a sponsor of your actions
20 degrees high, overcast in Denia today. I’m still smiling after meeting Phillipe Gilbert, the current cycling road race World Champion, last night. He sat and talked with us and posed for photos with my 4-month-old boy which delighted the missus who has a soft spot for the Belgian :)
Off now for a 4 hr bike ride to meet the coach’s orders. 15th Dec and still not had a mince pie, how long can I resist?
Kit,
Wonder how much I would make, do you think many would sponsor me
Kit,
I will also sponsor you but can you try and get TSD to take part please :))
Bruce Curdy. Did you have to make me go through six minutes of that sh…. Before we got to jg being offside. Aye well to me it was just one of many ‘honest mistakes’ !!!!
Bazzabhoy
A moronic Hun wind up merchant ……12 yr old girls have more sense
I see the former quiz show host is talking more bs about Naysmith and others now plying their trade away from Ibrox.
McCoist said that he could never leave Rangers. Really? So he is still employed by the club that is in liquidation? I don’t think so.
All of the employees, including the players, left Rangers. Every one of them. But some used their legal right not to be transferred to The Rangers while others moved to the new club.
kitalba
09:17 on 15 December, 2012
………..
I’m in Kitalba but like my pal MWD only until 17th March.
Fathers ashes travelling to Derry, that occasion merits a pint of the black stuff, I’m sure you’ll understand.
£1 a day for Kano’s 125 Celtic appeal.
Gordon j…,
You reckon he is sending out the message for someone to sort it away from the legal route ?
neil canamalar lennon hunskelper extrordinaire
09:57 on 15 December, 2012
……….
I’ll sponsor ye? Pound a day.
Kit,
I will sponsor you £125 for not posting and £125 for not drinking. I sent an email on 7th Dec to your Gmail account, not sure if you’re still using it.
bazzabhoyhas worked
“Kev jungle is either :
A a wind up merchant
B a Hun
C a moron
D a 12 year old girl”
Thanks for narrowing it down.
Good morning all from a fairly damp and drizzly EK. Another visit to The Park today, woo-hoo!
Good morning everyone.
Going off the bevvy for 125 days
FFS…after a few weeks family and employees would be paying me to start again :-))
Neil can are you taking up that “invite” to lunch?
“nip out and get me a cheeseburger” – if you regard that as an invite to lunch you must have led one very hard life. On that basis I’ve decided to lay off you for a couple of days and see what effect “lunch” and socialising with some Celts has on you.
….pfayr
10:04 on 15 December, 2012
Bazzabhoy
A moronic Hun wind up merchant ……12 yr old girls have more sense
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Spot on …… I posted, a few days ago, that I couldn’t understand why we even respond t kev
Does anyone know if the protest in George Square is going ahead?
Vmhan,
That’s a lot of dough
Who else ?
I see
Someone flushed the toilet
Ntassoolla,
Liverpool supporters caused the hillsborough disaster, I take it you stand by that claim ?
The Bhoy from the Village:
Thank you. I’m glad you’re safe home; did you perchance get the opportunity to visit the Singapore Night Zoo?
Neil canamalar:
Your heart beats with the dame drive and pride as mine. I’m not looking for sponsorship mate, I’ll do what I’m going to do regardless. It is nothing compared to what Kano lives and he is quicker to smile than me and I smile a lot. If roles were reversed Kano would be beating charities biggest drum. Are you going to start a penny jar to support Kano’s contribution to Celtic’s 125th year of playing to the rules and giving?
I knew you would.
Estorilbhoy:
Like I said to Canamalar, I’m not looking for sponsorship per se (but I know it sort of looks like it), I’d love it if others would join us by putting away ten pence a day for each day from the first of January for each day I won’t post and for each day I won’t drink. That would be twenty pence a day for 125 days. Maybe at the end of it if enough guys and gals would join us and we can do Kano, and our CQN community, and Celtic Supporters in general, proud. I don’t think TSD likes me.
canamalar,
I think he is just part of Green’s sell the shares plan.
“See us? See loyal? We arra peepil.”
On a technical note.
Does anyone find the refresh routine on here a bit of a pain?
I’ve tried a Firefox add-on called Auto Refresh by Grizzly Ape and it works once you get used to it.
DeniaBhoy
09:56 on
15 December, 2012
20 degrees high, overcast in Denia today. I’m still smiling after meeting Phillipe Gilbert, the current cycling road race World Champion, last night. He sat and talked with us and posed for photos with my 4-month-old boy which delighted the missus who has a soft spot for the Belgian :)
Off now for a 4 hr bike ride to meet the coach’s orders. 15th Dec and still not had a mince pie, how long can I resist?
i’m jealous………theres talk of a prologue stage here in scotland for TDF
PS
i’m toying with doing a bit of bike touring in spain next year…maybe a bit of wild camping/ camping sites. start point madrid. any suggestions for a circular route?
If anyone’s interested let me know.
Gordon_j…,
But if something happened to discourage future disloyalty it wouldn’t be a shame, I mean he has form for letting the dogs out, innit
Ntassoolla,
Liverpool supporters caused the hillsborough disaster, I take it you stand by that claim ?
Trying to run away again ?
Gordon_J
I must admit to having a tad of admiration for speed with which Charles Green picked up on the underbelly of hatred and white protestant supremacy flooding from every sinue of the bigot dome. I can only assume however that the man has a deep rooted inherent belief system matching to that that he has been bating so readily. Or his hunger for money supersedes any moral compas he ever genuinely inherited from his parents. The lengths he is willing to go to and his use of language to ingratiate himself into the breast of the dark forces is extremely dangerous and worrying.
MWD
Kit,
‘ we can do Kano, and our CQN community, and Celtic Supporters in general, proud. I don’t think TSD likes me.’
Pity, I was hoping you could convince him not to post for 125 days.
I’ll do the 20p a day donation for 125 days then :))
Another home game but hopefully a new script. It probably won`t happen but I`d like to see Dylan McGeough play a more central position. St Mirren play a similar type of player in this position, Paul McGowan and more recently John McGinn.
Oh and white socks please. :-)
Moonbeams WD,
I think it’s the latter – he knows how to sell. It’s like orange shirts – anything for a buck
You better watch out
You better not cry
Better not pout
I’m telling you why
Santa Claus is coming to town
He’s making a list
And checking it twice;
Gonna find out Who’s naughty and nice
Santa Claus is coming to town
He sees you when you’re sleeping
He knows when you’re awake
He knows if you’ve been bad or good
So be good for goodness sake!
O! You better watch out!
You better not cry
Better not pout
I’m telling you why
Santa Claus is coming to town
Santa Claus is coming to town
Kitalba, I’m in. I will refrain from the demon drink for 125 days, pound a day.
Gotta go do some work, catch the details next week sometime..
HH
Ntassoolla,
Liverpool supporters caused the hillsborough disaster, I take it you stand by that claim ?
Run away run away run away