The Agony & Ecstasy

I was looking through some family pictures for my daughter's birthday recently and during the search I found a photo from the first Celtic match I took her to, it was a league match at Celtic Park against Motherwell.

The 2007/2008 season was coming to close & the result the previous week suggested it was going to be a difficult end to the season for us.     A 1-0 defeat at Ibrox had left Celtic trailing in the title race & our rivals had games in hand.   The match against Motherwell was a must win if we were to mount any challenge.

My daughter & I left the house early  so we could make our way to Paradise before it got too busy.   As it was the first match we had to make a trip to the superstore to pick up a new scarf that almost smothered her as I draped it round her neck & shoulders.

We made our way to the Lisbon Lions stand & took our seat ready for the players warm up.   The stadium slowly filled up before kick-off.

As far as first games go, it wasn't a classic, it wasn't even a victory.   Another 1-0 defeat looked to have ended our season.   We walked back to car, I drove home & tried to convince my daughter we were better than that & myself we still had a chance to win the league.

The league campaign moved on to another match against Motherwell a week later and  a 4-1 win kept us involved in the fight for the title & with two games coming up against the league leaders at Celtic Park, we could still hope.

My brother & I made our way along to the midweek match at Celtic Park against our city rivals.    A must win game.    As usual the atmosphere was electric, the Celtic players were energised by the backing from the home support & put in a blistering first half performance, but only had a spectacular Nakamura goal to show for it.

During half time the cheers from the home fans grew as a huge banner was unveiled in the north east corner, Scotland's Shame pointed towards the visiting fans from Ibrox.

Into the second half the match flowed from end to end, an equaliser came for the visitors & the nerves in the home support began to show.    There was still  plenty of time for a winner & when Cuellar was shown a red card for his one handed save on the line from a netbound shot from Nakamura, we had a penalty to take the lead.

Scott MacDonald stepped up only to have his penalty saved & perhaps our chance of a winner gone.

With time running out, I hate to admit, my brother left his seat & made his way to the exit and I followed him out.

We were two of only about 20 people on Janefield Street as a roar came from behind us, Celtic had scored a late late winner thanks to Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink.   A late winner, a crucial last minute winner against our title rivals & we had missed it.    Joined by some other early leavers we celebrated in Janefield Street & quickly made our way to the pub for a few beers & to see the winning goal.

I was raging we missed the goal, but to be back in with a shout for the title I was willing to let my brother off.

Up next were Aberdeen, another below par performance, but we managed to get a much needed win thanks to goal from Samaras. 

All roads led to Celtic Park for the final Glasgow derby of the season the following week.

I picked up the keys to our new family house on the Friday, got settled in & then made my way to the match on the Sunday, bumped in to my new neighbours on Springfield Road not exactly hiding my colours much to their delight.

Another pulsating match had everyone in the stadium on the edge of their seats.    Celtic ahead early & then behind just as quick.     A second goal from MacDonald levelled it before half-time.    Thankfully the second half slowed down.    We were awarded a penalty & with MacDonald on course for a hat-trick he passed the ball to Barry Robson to score & give us the victory.     

Now it was time to believe, in a short space of time we had turned the league around, it wasn't quite in our hands but we had momentum.

A 2-0 victory away to Hibs kept the pressure on at the top, but we still needed a favour from another team if we were to win the league.

4 days after the Hibs match a true hero of Celtic lost his battle with cancer.    The front entrance to Celtic Park became a shrine to Tommy Burns as Celtic fans & fans of other clubs came to lay tributes to a player & manager who had served Celtic for so long.

Fans, players directors & club officials took time together together to remember the great Tommy Burns in the days to come as he was laid to rest on the 20th May.

By the time the last league match was to be played the destiny of the title was pretty much in our own hands.    Win & we should be champions.     With no chance of a ticket for the trip to tannadice, I decided the next best thing would be to watch it with family & friends at the Kerrydale suite at Celtic Park.

There with my heavily pregnant wife & daughter we watched on, nervous as to how the night would play out.

The atmosphere was fantastic, but the longer the match went at 0-0 the more nervous we became.    Then, with about 20 minutes to go Celtic win a corner, Hartley crossed it into the box for Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink to power a header into the net.

Celebrations kicked off at Tannadice & with us at the Kerrydale.     With results going our way in the other match at pittodrie.     Celtic were champions of Scotland when only 8 matches previously they had been written off.

For my daughter it was a quickfire baptism into life as a Celtic supporter, the lows of the loss to Motherwell to the incredible highs of the celebrations in the Kerrydale 7 weeks later.

Nights like that stay long in the memory & 10 years later that feeling continues as my daughter & I make our way to see Celtic home & away along with my 10 year old son.

x

Ghosts of Cathkin

Walking through the trees, catching a glimpse of the pitch with the lush green grass.    A few steps more & what's left of the steps of the old terracing come into view.

Cathkin Park was not a ground I had been to before, with Third Lanark going out of business before I was born, but something about the terracing steps & the barriers just made the trip worth it. The old wide spectator steps have been largely covered by trees, plants & weeds.    However, through some incredible commitment & hard work by volunteers some of the old terracing is starting to show once again.

11 Scottish Cup Finals were played here between 1885 & 1899, Renton winning the first of them against Vale of Leven & Celtic winning the last 2-0 against city rivals Rangers in front of 25,000 fans.

In May 1888, Scottish Cup holders Renton would be crowned the unofficial champions of the UK & the World at Cathkin Park after defeating English FA Cup holders West Bromwich Albion 4-1.

Many of the greats of the Scottish game played here at a time when a football match was a break away from the tough industrial life in the city.

James McGrory made his debut here in a 1 Nil defeat for Celtic.   McGrory would recover from the defeat to go on to cement his place as the greatest goalscorer in Celtics history. 

In the early 60s, thousands would make their way to watch a match here,  in 1962 Third Lanark would again inflict defeat against a Celtic team that included Billy McNeill & Stevie Chalmers.  However, the next 5 years would see fortunes for both clubs completely change.

In 1967, one club would be crowned champions of Europe & the other would play it's last match.

In those years a young Celtic team had a leader in Jock Stein.   Jock was able to harness the skills of a talented team & allowed them to reach the heights of European & world football, the Lisbon Lions squad knew the strengths of their team-mates & allowed each other to shine during a decade of dominance.

Jimmy Johnstone, the man later named as the greatest ever Celtic Player was the skillful winger & showman of the Lisbon Lions, he too had played on the pitch at Cathkin Park.

That sense of history about the surroundings at Cathkin Park as a Celtic fan grabbed me, but any football fan coming here would get that sense of falling back to a golden age.

Those days are gone & 50 years later a new set of players line up to claim victory in the atmospheric surroundings of the old ground.

Tucked away behind the corner flag are the new team breathing life back into Cathkin Park, but they are not forgetting the glorious past.

The coaches at the Jimmy Johnstone Academy live & breath for the development of young footballers, training players to be the best that they can.   There are stories of players from the glory days of Scottish football including tales of the Lisbon Lions, Tommy Burns & Jimmy Johnstone's good friend Willie Henderson.

It's an education in skills & teamwork but also an education in the talent Scotland produced & can hopefully produce again.   I am lucky I get to hear the the stories from the coaches at the academy on a regular basis & I see how much my son has developed under their training.

The Academy is part of the wider Jimmy Johnstone Charitable Trust, which is looking to create a legacy for one of the finest footballing talents the World has seen.

I had visited Hampden Park as a Celtic fan countless times over the years and never knew the old ground at Cathkin Park with all its history was still there & only a short walk away.

The next time you're in that area & if you have the time take a wee walk round, you wont be disappointed.

Cup Final Memories

I caught up with my brother & sister earlier this week we were talking about our first Cup Finals & watching Celtic winning the Scottish Cup at Hampden, strangely enough they were across 3 different decades, but are all etched in our minds forever.

1995 - Celtic 1 - Airdrie 0

My first Cup Scottish Cup Final & considering I was 16 it shows how long that barren spell was in the early 90s.

After a disappointing season playing at Hampden, Celtic had the chance to finish the season with a but of silverware, the first in 6 years.

The game was not a classic, but thanks to an early goal from Pierre Van Hooijdonk Celtic secured the Scottish Cup & gave Paul McStay his only trophy as captain & Tommy Burns his only success as Manager of the club they both served so well.

A few things stand out from that day, the relief on supporters faces as the ref blew the full time whistle, the emotion from players like Paul McStay & Peter Grant on the pitch at full time & the celebrations the lasted into the wee hours of the morning.    Celtic fans might not have had much to celebrate in the early 90s, but nobody had forgot how to celebrate & that we all did.


1985 Celtic 2 - Dundee United 1

The 100th Scottish cup final, was my sister's first taste of a Celtic Cup Final.    She went along to the match with one of my older brothers George & stood in the old Celtic end on a fairly overcast day at Hampden.

It was a late show from Celtic as they came from behind to grab a late winner & take the old trophy back to Celtic Park.

With a long history of success in this trophy, for Helen this would always be one that she would remember, with probably 2 of the most iconic goals in Cup Finals, Davie Provan scored direct from a free-kick to bring Celtic level in the match, then with 5 minutes remaining the will to win that has been part of Celtic since 1888 shone through as Roy Aitken crossed the ball to Frank McGarvey to score a wonderful, curling diving header. 

His stunned celebration showed what it meant to him & the scenes behind the goal showed what it meant to the huge Celtic support.


1974 Celtic 3 - Dundee United 0

Celtic made the trip to Hampden for the Scottish Cup Final for the 6 consecutive year, but for my older brother Benny it would be his first Cup Final.

A family friend took Benny along to Hampden that day as they sat in the main stand & watched Celtic run out convincing 3-0 winners.

With Celtic 2 nil up after 25 minutes from Dixie Deans & Steve Murray, Benny could enjoy his first visit to Hampden & savour a Cup victory.   Harry Hood would add a late 3rd to cap off another winning season.

With only 2 of the famous Lisbon Lions starting the match in McNeill & Johnstone, it was up to the team from the Quality Street Gang & some excellent additions like Dixie Deans & Harry Hood to secure the double for Celtic & their 23rd Scottish Cup victory.

I am sure Celtic fans the world over have great memories off these & other cup triumphs, & I doubt any of us will forget the ending to the 2017 Cup Final.

All 3 of us will be there again on Saturday hoping for another memorable trip to Hampden.

Celtic Graves - Promoting heritage & so much more

I took a trip out to Hamilton for the commemoration of Peter Somers, who although only 36 when he died had left his mark on Celtic & a number of other clubs during his short life.    The event was put together by the team at the Celtic Graves Society & by kind permission of the Somers family.

Peter was part of the first Celtic team to win 6 league titles in a row back in early 1900s & formed part of one of the most famous front 5 in Celtics history.   With over 200 appearances & 62 goals, Peter helped establish Celtic on the field in the clubs early years.

Parking the car at the Cemetery, I spoke with a few other people who had made their way from various parts of Scotland for the commemoration.    After a quick chat we all made our way to the grave side & newly cleaned headstone.

An introduction from our hosts at the Celtic Graves Society gave the tribute from the Somers family & set the scene for Peters career with Celtic, the honours won & anecdotes from  during his time at the club.  

David Potter then gave an account of that great Celtic team of the early 1900s, singing songs of the famous 5 of Bennett, McMenemy, Quinn, Somers & Hamilton.    I know that I won't ever sing this little piggy the same way again!!

We were then given more details on Peters life away from Celtic from the Hamilton Accies historian Peter McLeish, telling the story of Peter Somers quick graduation from Hamilton Accies to Celtic, to Blackburn back to Celtic & finally back to Hamilton.   Peters Iove of the game that kept him scouting for Hamilton after he stopped playing & ultimately his premature death in 1914.

Finally flowers were laid from a Celtic fan who had made the trip from across the Atlantic ocean.

Normally a visit to a cemetery can be a difficult, but the work of the members of the Celtic Graves Society & the guest speakers ensured everyone there left with a positive memory of a player who achieved so much in his career.

This is only the second CGS event I have been to & the work that the team put in to pull all this together is amazing.    If you get the chance, you should make the effort to get along to their events. 

How bout them Red Sox - A fan from Afar

In the Autumn of 1986 I received a gift of 2 baseball caps from my mums cousin.   One was for the New York Mets, the other was the Boston Red Sox.



The 2 caps represented the teams appearing in the 1986 Fall Classic, the two best teams in baseball who would slug it out to be crowned the World Champions in the World Series.

Something struck me about the Red Sox cap, the team logo was bold, it almost had a Christmas feel to it like two Christmas stockings hanging on a tree. 

At the time, I didn't follow many sports other than football - as a boy from the east end of Glasgow the only sport that mattered was football & the only team was Celtic, but something in those hats buried an interest in me that would be ignited in later life.

Six years later one of my older brothers made a trip to the east coast of America to visit family in & around New York & Boston.     He brought me home stories of a former player called "Babe" Ruth, who played for the Red Sox from 1914 & helped make them the best team in America, but then in 1919 he moved to the New York Yankees.

In that one trade the period of sporting greatness had come to an end for the Red Sox & signalled the rise of New York Yankees.

Between 1919 & 1985 the Red Sox would appear in 3 World Series & lose them all.   In contrast the Yankees would make more than 30 appearances & win 22 of them.

Talk of a "Curse" on the Red Sox & stories of continuous near misses in made me pay more attention to their fortunes from the other side of the Atlantic - Did Babe Ruth leave a curse on the Red Sox when he was forced to move to the Yankees in 1919?

In 1986 with the long awaited title within grasp, the Red Sox were one "out" from winning the biggest prize.    With the series at 3-2 in favour of the Red Sox, one more play was all that was needed to erase the memory of the 68 years of pain & mark up the win against the Mets.

True to form the Red Sox could not make that play & in a cruel run of events lost the 6th & 7th games of the series to the Mets.

Making a further 4 appearances in the playoffs between 1988 & 1999 gave nothing in return for Red Sox fans & the wait for the World Series would continue.

In 2003 The Yankees & the Red Sox would battle it out in the Championship series to decide who would appear in the World Series - In another heart-breaking loss.   The Sox would lose the best of 7 series by 4 games to 3.    Losing the deciding games by one run in extra innings.

17 years had now passed since the last World Series appearance & 85 years since their last triumph.

12 Months later, both teams met again in the Championship series, the best of 7 series could not have started any worse for the Sox - the Yankees raced into a 3-0 leads    The dream was all but over for another year.    All the Yankees had to do was win one more match to put the Sox Nation out of the misery.   The only question was - Who will the Yankees play in the World Series?

In the 4th game, the Yankees needed 3 outs to end the match up.   In the final inning the Red Sox scored a run to tie the match & then scored 2 more runs in the 12th to keep the series alive.

Game 5 also went to extra innings at Fenway park - Another win that brought the series to 3-2 in favour of the Yankees.

Game 6 & 7 would be played at Yankee stadium.    4 early hits for the Red Sox & a huge pitching effort from Curt Shilling ensured the series would go to a deciding match.    3-3 going into the decider.

Game 7 at Yankee stadium saw the Red Sox shake off the burden of living in the shadow of their greatest rivals for 86 years. 

Scoring almost at will the Red Sox won game 7 by 10 runs to 3 & become the first team to win a play off series after losing the 1st 3 matches.    More importantly they also progressed to the World Series to play against St Louis.

ESPN made a 30 for 30 programme 4 Days in October charting the comeback from the Red Sox, a must see for any sports fan.

In the space of 4 matches against St Louis the weight of history, past achievements & even the Curse of the Bambino were lifted & consigned to history.

Sweeping St Louis over four matches in late October 2004 saw the Red Sox claim their first World Series in 86 years.   A night that many members of the Sox Nation the world over will remember for ever.

So, that hat I received in 1986 opened up a new world of sporting pain, despair & enjoyment - but that's what you sign up for when you are a Red Sox fan.



BHF Supporter Journey

I started fundraising for the British Heart Foundation with my family March 2015, but my story with BHF goes much further back than that.

 

I was born in 1978 with a congenital heart disorder called Tetralogy of Fallots, which is a condition with 4 separate defects of the heart.   The condition is commonly known as blue baby syndrome, as most of the children who suffer from it generally have bluish lips.

 

The doctors identified my condition very early & within the first 9 months of my life I had undergone 2 operations to help restore the flow of oxygenated from my heart to the rest of my body.

 

I underwent Open Heart Surgery when I was 3 years old to try to repair the Tetrallogy of Fallots, & although very ill after the operation, I was eventually allowed home to recover with my family.  

Since then I have had 3 Pulmonary Valve replacement operations.   I had a mechanical valve implanted when I was 9 years old, a pig’s valve when I was 19 after a long illness & I went through my most recent valve replacement at the age of 32.

 

I have seen the changes in the medical care, operative techniques & post-operative care during my life & know that these improvements were made possible thanks to the research carried out by the BHF.

 

In 2014, our family was hit with the devastating news that our brother George had died of a heart attack at his home at the age of 46.   He had no medical history of heart problems & lived a very full & active life.   The shock of his death brought to light the fact that a heart attack can strike at any time and in any age group.    

 

My brother’s death made me think more about what can be done to raise awareness & highlight the importance of the research & developments in coronary care.

 

Since my brother’s death we have been raising funds & awareness on behalf of the British Heart Foundation including a 5-a-side tournament with teams from across the central belt taking part.    We were able to combine our fundraising efforts with learning CPR skills (Thanks to Save a Life for Scotland); in doing this we helped add more people to nation of life savers the charity is trying to create.

 

No matter if I am raising funds or awareness, it’s important to me to work with the BHF to fight for every heart beat.

 

My story was printed in the Daily Record in 2016

 

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/real-life/my-scars-make-feel-happy-9122470

Tonys Gift

During a visit to my in-laws with their first grand-daughter in 2002 my Father in Law pulled me aside & handed me a bag.   I wasn't sure what was in the bag, but he said "I know you & your brother are daft about collecting these kind of things, so you can add these to the collection".

I opened the bag & found a collection of Football Books, Celtic Programmes & Wee Green Books dating from the early 60s through to the mid seventies.   My Father in Law Tony had passed to me a historical timeline of the greatest era in Celtic Football Clubs history.

When I got home I took great care & pleasure as I started to read through the "Managers Report" from James McGrory for the 1961-62 season.   The mixed emotions of the season that had just passed & the confidence he had in the future of the team especially with the crop of youngsters coming through.

A half-share of the Charity Cup was the only honour from the previous season.   Although appearances in 3 cup finals gave more hope than expectation that things were improving.

Congratulations were offered to Jock Stein on his first management role & the success of his Dunfermline team securing the Scottish Cup against Celtic in the April of 1961.   Farewells were offered to great names like Bertie Peacock after 12 years service at the club.

Reading through the books you can't help but feel Mr McGrorys attachment to the club & the hope that he can get the team back on track.

In Contrast the first "Manager Report" from John Stein in the 1965-66 Wee Green Book you are immediately met with an ambitious message of success, European Football & League championship quest, an amazing turnaround in attitude in the space of 12 months.

As the years pass the managers report becomes more glowing as the club excel across Scotland & Europe.   The 67-68 book starts simply with :

 

 "Five Competitions.................five Victories!

That's the simple statistical way of summing-up Celtics incredible season of 1966-67"

 

 



Watching the squad grow year on year as some of the greatest names to grace the Scottish game take their place.

 

Simpson

Craig                     McNeill                   Clark                  Gemmell       

 

Murdoch                              Auld

Johnstone                                                                     Lennox

Chalmers           Wallace

 

As the confidence of the club grows the ambition of the supporters grows too.   Adverts changed over the years from local bars & builders merchants to travel companies offering services to help fans on their trips across Europe.

 

These small changes in advertising perhaps show the bigger changes in the development of Celtic the club & their fans from the clubs original inception in 1888.   The transition of a Club set up to help put food on the table for less fortunate souls in the late 19th century to a club & fan base conquering Europe 80 years later.

 

My father in law Tony passed away after a short battle with Cancer a few months after handing me the collection of memorabilia.   I put them away in the loft for safe keeping & hadn't looked at them for some time.

 

I started looking through them again last year sharing stories with my young family of the matches from 40-50 years ago.   The pictures preserved in these books & newspaper cuttings not only capture the memories of  the greatest Celtic team, but they also allowed Tony to pass his passion for the club he loved on to his grandchildren & to be enjoyed for many more years to come.