International Week Gubbings and A Nostalgic Blether
When writing a club-based blog an international week is the equivalent of how Deeky Rioirdon must be feeling every other Saturday at the moment. Wondering what to do with my spare time- as it has been busy over the last few weeks- but unlike Deeky I won’t be wasting it in the pub, allegedly, no sir.
But trying to find things to blether about from a Celtic point of view is hard in an international week filled with such non stories as Nigel “survvvveeee London” Quashie being injured, Barry “Bothwell Young Team” Fergie not getting his 20 tickets and Wally “The Cardie” Smith getting a contract extension.
Also the radio moan in’s this week have been going on aboot a GB football team; in the words of Catherine Tate I am boverred? No. Question of the week has to be though is how many of the Scottish Meeja actually watches football? How many saw Patrick Cregg’s assault on Lee Naylor? Well judging by their subject matter this week none. Not one saw it, not even on highlights of the game.
Do these guys actually research their jobs and watch games? Do they not know that on football moan in’s punters call up to talk about incident’s that happened in the weekend games? Do they not earn enough to afford a year’s subscription to Setanta?
The story about them across the river going to the SPL, SFA and Scottish Executive with a plan to make all Scottish clubs follow their “Pride over Prejudice” charter and to award a benchmark charter to the clubs in the fight against racism, sectarianism and anti social behaviour at football grounds made me chuckle though.
This reeks of the bad boy going to the headmaster, please sir look I’ve changed my ways and now I’m as good as soapy Souter and the other swots. Please don’t punish us again as we want to go to the end of term dance with Helga from Easterhoose.
Never heard us jumping up and down like a hyperactive wean going look at me look at me when we launched “Bhoys against Bigotry”. We never went running to the bigwigs saying all clubs should implement this and get a nice we kite to put on their heided paper.
Hopefully Celtic will tell them to stuff it as we are getting our own hoose in order and don’t need other initiatives especially one that stole it’s name from Millwall’s anti racism campaign.
So thank god for a load of over weight, slightly out of shape, red faced and massively egotistical men running around trying to recapture their youth in a game that was loosely termed “The Legends”. I thought the scheduling of this game was sheer folly, in between a run of home games, CL games, season book repayments and guys planning jollies to foreign climes in the name of Celtic.
But I think the 15,000 that turned up is a cracking turnout in the circumstances. I mean, it was never to reach the 40,000 that turned out for the 1st one of these charity events, at ipox a few years back, but then this was not in a midwinter break when people were desperate to watch any kind of football.
The team line up does though make you wonder how they define a legend nowadays. The Celtic team was made up of such luminaries as Lex Baillie, Tony Shepard, Owen Archdeacon and Darren Jackson and I’m sure they even themselves will laugh at the tag Celtic Legend when it is associated with their name.
Had to laugh, when the biased commentator was talking about where players had went after CP. Clubs such as Barnsley, Carlisle and Reading were mentioned along with others that made us sound like a feeder club for the Coca Cola league 2.
Now ALL of the players playing for Celtic had the distinction of winning a championship medal with us. Makes last seasons championship winners of Telfer and Camara seem like Maldini and Carlos compared to Baillie and Shepard. But no matter what our memories of these guys they played for the hoops and all will dine out on this fact until the end of their days.
The reason, these attract and players dine out is we love nostalgia. We love talking about the good old days when players were players, pies were pies and stadiums were slums. When peshing down the punter in front of you leg was a sport. These games will always draw crowds as da’s take their weans to see their heroes the heroes the wean is sick hearing of, when they are watching Scooby Doo.
Makes you wonder if any da last night said the immortal words “I remember oor Oweny crossing the ball at Love Street 85, what a player he looked in that lime green top, and son you think Aiden is good…”
I thought it was great to see the basis of the “Legend” hoop team made up from the Centenary Double winners. That team was the 1st Celtic team to call my own. 1st team I really loved with my own eyes. Right, I had been at Love Street in 85, but at 9 was still a bit to young to appreciate the quality of McClair, McLeod, McStay, Burns and Archdeacon.
But by the 87/88 season I was ready to embrace a team of my own and one that would represent Celtic in their most important year since their formation. A team that even though was of dubious quality had Celtic spirit running through its veins. It was the spirit of that team that made me this mad obsessive that I am now.
It was great to see wee Josey Miller still looking like a ball bhoy who had stolen a top, a pair of shorts and boots and snuck onto the park. The partnership of Walker and McAvennie reunited, Packie in the goals, Derek Whyte still looking like he had stepped out of a littlewoods catalogue and Peter Grant still pointing in the midfield.
It was a shame, that McStay, Burns and Feed the Bear were missing. The heart beat of that team. Celtic men through and through. And whose idea was it to play McGrain before Chris Morris and Tosh McKinlay before Anton Rogan.
Macca was my favourite player, and every 11 yearold Celtic’s fan favourite player, at that time. Frank had the talent but was probably, now looking back, not as good as the adulation he got. His ego and mystic was bigger than his talent but he was a personality. It was a shame that he became a parody of his personality in his later years.
His strike partner Walker scored more goals than Macca but never had that x factor about him. As an 11 year old with dreams of playing for the hoops you needed to have that x factor. Maybe Walker was never really accepted by the Celtic support and his meeja leanings now are a product of the treatment and bit part he was afforded at that time.
Hell, I’m calling for that centenary team to be reunited and to play Dundee Utd in a re-run of the 1988 Cup Final. I’ll pay to go to that.
Even though that team was not full of legends, they will go down in Celtic folklore and that, for me, is something worth dining out on for the rest of your life. Unlike the Liverpool team who had a certain Michael Thomas playing for them, who will dine out because of a goal he scored against Liverpool for the rest of his life……
Hail Hail
But trying to find things to blether about from a Celtic point of view is hard in an international week filled with such non stories as Nigel “survvvveeee London” Quashie being injured, Barry “Bothwell Young Team” Fergie not getting his 20 tickets and Wally “The Cardie” Smith getting a contract extension.
Also the radio moan in’s this week have been going on aboot a GB football team; in the words of Catherine Tate I am boverred? No. Question of the week has to be though is how many of the Scottish Meeja actually watches football? How many saw Patrick Cregg’s assault on Lee Naylor? Well judging by their subject matter this week none. Not one saw it, not even on highlights of the game.
Do these guys actually research their jobs and watch games? Do they not know that on football moan in’s punters call up to talk about incident’s that happened in the weekend games? Do they not earn enough to afford a year’s subscription to Setanta?
The story about them across the river going to the SPL, SFA and Scottish Executive with a plan to make all Scottish clubs follow their “Pride over Prejudice” charter and to award a benchmark charter to the clubs in the fight against racism, sectarianism and anti social behaviour at football grounds made me chuckle though.
This reeks of the bad boy going to the headmaster, please sir look I’ve changed my ways and now I’m as good as soapy Souter and the other swots. Please don’t punish us again as we want to go to the end of term dance with Helga from Easterhoose.
Never heard us jumping up and down like a hyperactive wean going look at me look at me when we launched “Bhoys against Bigotry”. We never went running to the bigwigs saying all clubs should implement this and get a nice we kite to put on their heided paper.
Hopefully Celtic will tell them to stuff it as we are getting our own hoose in order and don’t need other initiatives especially one that stole it’s name from Millwall’s anti racism campaign.
So thank god for a load of over weight, slightly out of shape, red faced and massively egotistical men running around trying to recapture their youth in a game that was loosely termed “The Legends”. I thought the scheduling of this game was sheer folly, in between a run of home games, CL games, season book repayments and guys planning jollies to foreign climes in the name of Celtic.
But I think the 15,000 that turned up is a cracking turnout in the circumstances. I mean, it was never to reach the 40,000 that turned out for the 1st one of these charity events, at ipox a few years back, but then this was not in a midwinter break when people were desperate to watch any kind of football.
The team line up does though make you wonder how they define a legend nowadays. The Celtic team was made up of such luminaries as Lex Baillie, Tony Shepard, Owen Archdeacon and Darren Jackson and I’m sure they even themselves will laugh at the tag Celtic Legend when it is associated with their name.
Had to laugh, when the biased commentator was talking about where players had went after CP. Clubs such as Barnsley, Carlisle and Reading were mentioned along with others that made us sound like a feeder club for the Coca Cola league 2.
Now ALL of the players playing for Celtic had the distinction of winning a championship medal with us. Makes last seasons championship winners of Telfer and Camara seem like Maldini and Carlos compared to Baillie and Shepard. But no matter what our memories of these guys they played for the hoops and all will dine out on this fact until the end of their days.
The reason, these attract and players dine out is we love nostalgia. We love talking about the good old days when players were players, pies were pies and stadiums were slums. When peshing down the punter in front of you leg was a sport. These games will always draw crowds as da’s take their weans to see their heroes the heroes the wean is sick hearing of, when they are watching Scooby Doo.
Makes you wonder if any da last night said the immortal words “I remember oor Oweny crossing the ball at Love Street 85, what a player he looked in that lime green top, and son you think Aiden is good…”
I thought it was great to see the basis of the “Legend” hoop team made up from the Centenary Double winners. That team was the 1st Celtic team to call my own. 1st team I really loved with my own eyes. Right, I had been at Love Street in 85, but at 9 was still a bit to young to appreciate the quality of McClair, McLeod, McStay, Burns and Archdeacon.
But by the 87/88 season I was ready to embrace a team of my own and one that would represent Celtic in their most important year since their formation. A team that even though was of dubious quality had Celtic spirit running through its veins. It was the spirit of that team that made me this mad obsessive that I am now.
It was great to see wee Josey Miller still looking like a ball bhoy who had stolen a top, a pair of shorts and boots and snuck onto the park. The partnership of Walker and McAvennie reunited, Packie in the goals, Derek Whyte still looking like he had stepped out of a littlewoods catalogue and Peter Grant still pointing in the midfield.
It was a shame, that McStay, Burns and Feed the Bear were missing. The heart beat of that team. Celtic men through and through. And whose idea was it to play McGrain before Chris Morris and Tosh McKinlay before Anton Rogan.
Macca was my favourite player, and every 11 yearold Celtic’s fan favourite player, at that time. Frank had the talent but was probably, now looking back, not as good as the adulation he got. His ego and mystic was bigger than his talent but he was a personality. It was a shame that he became a parody of his personality in his later years.
His strike partner Walker scored more goals than Macca but never had that x factor about him. As an 11 year old with dreams of playing for the hoops you needed to have that x factor. Maybe Walker was never really accepted by the Celtic support and his meeja leanings now are a product of the treatment and bit part he was afforded at that time.
Hell, I’m calling for that centenary team to be reunited and to play Dundee Utd in a re-run of the 1988 Cup Final. I’ll pay to go to that.
Even though that team was not full of legends, they will go down in Celtic folklore and that, for me, is something worth dining out on for the rest of your life. Unlike the Liverpool team who had a certain Michael Thomas playing for them, who will dine out because of a goal he scored against Liverpool for the rest of his life……
Hail Hail
posted by Keving at Friday, October 06, 2006
6 Comments:
Interesting as ever!
Can I just say that I liked Tony Shepherd and would have had him in the team before Peter Grant 9 days out of 9. TS had been an outstanding schoolboy international captain and his display in a 0-0 match at Wembley was probably the finest that I`ve seen from a player in dark blue at that venue.
As for Chris Morris before Danny McGrain? To steal from Extras, are you having a laugh? :-)
I`m going tomorrow and I hope to see top football from the top players. I saw Patrick Vierra play at Celtic Park in a pre season match and he commanded the field like a colossus.
As far as pure footy goes, it`s Come on the team in republican blue!
No stats on TS except that he made his league debut in 1985-6. That`s where the Celtic Football Companion stops!
I think he played most in 86-7, davie Hay`s last season and played less often in 87-88. He scored a cracker against Dundee United in a 2-1 defeat. Unfulfilled promise!
I actually quite liked Chris Morris, I remember him and his wife visiting St James in Renfrew in the days when players would be sent out to meet the fans. I think I remember big BIlly talking about that during the centenary season. Changed days!
I was at the game and I said to my mate, who is a genuine Scotland supporter, `cheer up, no two halves are ever the same`
Even so, I didn`t see that one coming. Great result but I`m not too bothered about international football and I don`t feel euphoric.
At Hampden behaviour standards are well below that of people at Celtic Park. The guy beside me would have been tossed out if he behaved like that at CP. Maybe the crowd is mainly composed of people who have been banned by their clubs.
:-)
As for those idiots with flag sticks, how is a bottle of water not allowed but a flag with a bamboo cane is okay?
I reckon that a kilt makes the perps invisible to stewards and police.
Celtic, Celtic, Celtic!
(feel better now) :-)
Scotland, what a team!
Only 2 days until we go ballistic in Kiev!
Doh a deer a female deer......
Fah along long way....us back to doh...
:-)
I think I meant doe but I was thinking duh!
i remember that goal shepherd scored v dundee utd. he curled it into the top corner it was a cracker. i also remember syme sending him off in the skol cup final 1986 then allowing him to stay on when shepherd picked up the 50p and showed him it was that that had hit syme.
the 87/88 team were the same for me, my 1st proper celtic team i knew everything about and went to all the games.
mcavennie + mcstay were the best and i disagree i think mcavennie was as good as he was made out if not better.
billy stark scored a lot of important goals as well for that team.
i quite liked morris as well but he went downhill after that season.
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