Cesar Billy McNeill - Rest In Peace Cesar.

Awful and devastating news, our captain,our manager,our leader and inspiration to all. RIP Billy forever a Celt

 

Gutting

A giant of a man. A great..

Epitomises everything good about this club and will never be forgotten..

Only one king Billy. No more suffering, rest easy sir

 

Cant believe it

 

Rest in Peace big man

 

SCOTT Brown spoke of the sadness within the Celtic squad at the news of Billy McNeill’s passing, and he also described the honour he feels in following in the footsteps of Celtic’s greatest ever captain.

The current Celtic captain said: “Wearing the captain’s armband at Celtic is a great honour and privilege and it’s something that I’ve been lucky enough to have done over the past few years. However, there will only be one greatest ever Celtic captain and that is Billy McNeill.

"All of the players at the club are deeply saddened to hear of Billy’s passing, and our thoughts are with his family and friends at this time.

"Billy set the benchmark as a Celtic player and captain, and that’s something everyone who pulls on the jersey has to aspire to. He won every honour in the game with Celtic including, of course, the European Cup, and I can only imagine how he must have felt when he lifted that trophy in Lisbon back in 1967.

"He and his team-mates created history with their success, both in Scotland and in Europe, and every successive Celtic team since then have always strived to emulate that. It is only right that at a massive club like Celtic we have the highest targets to try and achieve, and those were set by Billy McNeill and that team who achieved such incredible things.

"It was also great to see Billy here on a matchday when he would come to Celtic Park to cheer on the team, and it was always good to know that, even after they retired, legends such as Billy and his team-mates from that era, were still cheering on the team as supporters.

"John Clark has always been an integral part of things here at the club, and I know this will be a tough time for him and his fellow Lisbon Lions. You can see that the bond they had as players has remained throughout the rest of their lives, and our thoughts are with them too.

"I also know that Celtic supporters throughout the world will be devastated at this news. Billy McNeill has been a hero to every fan, and it is fitting that his statue is the first thing that greets us all at the start of The Celtic Way. He will always be remembered as a true Celtic legend and one of our greatest ever players.”

 

In today's culture the word "legend" is thrown around like confetti to give some sort of status to mediocrity people.
Sadly we haven't invented a word to describe the true reflection and stature of a person like Billy Mc Neil.

R.I.P

 

He was a colossus. May he rest in peace.

 

Rip Big Man

 

Gutted.

 

Cup final on 25th May takes on a greater significance now imo

 

Horrible news.

Our greatest ever captain, and always will be.

RIP Billy

 

Just this r.i.p big man

 

Such a shame.

RIP Cesar

 

Former City manager Billy McNeill MBE, has sadly passed away aged 79.
McNeill became City boss in June 1983 after leaving Celtic where he was considered a legend as both manager and player.

His pedigree could hardly have been higher, but he arrived at Maine Road at a difficult time with the Blues still reeling for relegation from the top flight for the first time in 17 years.

After bringing former Oldham Athletic manager Jimmy Frizzell in as his No.2. McNeill set about rebuilding City as best he could.

He was given a small budget to work with, but immediately identified strikers Jim Tolmie and Derek Parlane for a combined fee of just £30,000 and both Scots helped City to a fourth-place finish, just missing out on promotion.

McNeill brought in David Phillips, Mick McCarthy, Neil McNab and Jim Melrose for the 1984–85 campaign and this time the Blues regained their top-flight status on the final day of the season with a 5-1win over Charlton Athletic in front of more than 47,000 fans at Maine Road.

It had been an enjoyable campaign and McNeill looked set for a long stay in the manager’s hot seat.

However, City could only finish in 16th place on our return to Division One after struggling for much of the season.

Frustrated at not being able to build the team he believed the City fans deserved, McNeill quit the Blues for Aston Villa in September 1986 and later returned to Celtic after Villa lost their top-flight status.

In Scotland, McNeill, MBE, was a hero.

The former Celtic star had collected 23 winning medals from major competitions, including the famous ‘Lisbon Lions’ European Cup triumph in 1967.

With nine championships, six League Cup victories and a further seven Scottish Cup successes and 29 full caps for the national side, it is understandable why he was considered as an icon to the supporters at Celtic Park.

He was awarded an MBE in 1974 after playing a quite incredible 831 games for Celtic and then moved into management, first with Clyde and then Aberdeen.

The thoughts of everybody at Manchester City are with Billy’s family at this difficult time.

https://www.mancity.com/news/first-...city-billy-mcneill-celtic-manager-passes-away









The very sad news that Billy McNeill had passed away late last night (Monday 22nd April 2019) was announced by his family and Celtic FC this morning. The Red Matchday team pay tribute to the former Aberdeen manager Billy McNeill.



Billy McNeill was one of the most well-known and respected figures in Scottish football history.

Billy enjoyed a distinguished career as a player and manager and served Scottish football with distinction over many years. A man of immense stature he was a born leader on and off the field.

During an 18 year spell as a player, he made 790 competitive appearances for Celtic and would return to manage the club.

Along with his legendary spell as leader of the Lisbon Lions at Celtic, McNeill also had an all but too brief spell as manager at Aberdeen in season 1977/78.

After finishing his playing career in 1975, McNeill moved into management and cut his teeth with Clyde before Aberdeen made a shock move for him after Ally MacLeod left Aberdeen to take up the Scotland manager’s role. Many observers were surprised that he was the first choice to replace MacLeod as he had yet to prove himself as a manager. While his reputation as a player and captain was unsurpassed, but many believed that taking on a big job like Aberdeen came too early in his coaching career.




However, Aberdeen took the view that a young emerging manager, keen to establish himself, was the ideal candidate. There would always be an element of risk, but the only real success as a manager at Pittodrie since the Dave Halliday era was a young Eddie Turnbull who had revolutionised the Pittodrie set up in the late 1960s. McNeill ticked all the Aberdeen boxes as a young manager with a burning desire to succeed – as did Alex Ferguson, who followed in his wake.

It is ironic that in his one and only season with the Dons, he took Aberdeen so near to success only to be thwarted by his great rivals from Ibrox. It all started so well in the opening game of the season when a new look Rangers came north with big money signing Davie Cooper making his debut. McNeill, mindful of his new role and the passion that went along with any Aberdeen – Rangers game, emerged from the tunnel resplendent in his shirt as he took a bow in front of the capacity crowd. It was a clever move as it immediately brought widespread satisfaction from the Aberdeen support and raised the noise levels, clearly having an impact on the visitors.

Despite the hype surrounding the new Rangers side, they were sent packing in an impressive 3-1 win that had Pittodrie warming to their new manager who had got off to the best possible start. It soon became clear that the league would develop into a straight battle between Aberdeen and Rangers as the Glasgow club set the early pace.





Aberdeen welcomed Rangers back to Pittodrie for the second league meeting on Christmas Eve 1977 and McNeill had encouraged his side to attack Rangers as he was convinced that if his players got to their defence early, they would have a good day.

He was spot on in that assessment as Aberdeen hammered Rangers 4-0 to close the gap at the top. Aberdeen could have done with a helping hand from elsewhere that season, but Rangers rarely slipped up against any other side and by the time Aberdeen inflicted a 3-0 defeat on Rangers at Ibrox in March, there was still a narrow gap at the top.

Eventually, Aberdeen lost out in the last game of the season and further disappointment followed when they did not really turn up at Hampden for the Scottish Cup final and Rangers won 2-1. On an extremely hot day at Hampden, tt was bitterly disappointing afternoon for Billy and the Dons and a sad way for his managerial spell at Pittodrie to end.



McNeill and his players were crestfallen and, not long after that final, his old club Celtic came calling as they were in need of their former captain to revive their fortunes.

Billy McNeill may only have been in charge at Pittodrie for a season, but he laid the foundations for further success with the signing of Steve Archibald and Gordon Strachan paving the way for Alex Ferguson to take over.

Archibald came to his attention as a part-time youngster with Clyde and the £20,000 fee paid by Aberdeen to the Shawfield side is one of the best transfer deals ever completed by the club – Craig Brown was the Clyde manager at that time. While Archibald’s signing was welcome, the deal that took Gordon Strachan to Pittodrie even topped that.



After the Dons were edged out by RWD Molenbeek in the UEFA Cup, McNeill had real concerns as to his team’s lack of creativity. In the domestic game it was less of an issue but on the European stage, it was clear that the Dons needed some guile and craft in the side. McNeill turned to Strachan, a young firebrand and tenacious player who was making his mark with Dundee in Division One. Aberdeen offloaded Jim Shirra along with £40,000 to take Strachan to Pittodrie. It was too late for Europe but it was clear that in the young midfielder Aberdeen had a player of huge potential. On reflection, the signing of Strachan was a significant event in Aberdeen FC history as the ‘wee man’ went on to play a starring role in the successes of the 1980s, both at home and abroad.

And he also signed a young midfielder by the name Neil Simpson. Neil was given a professional contract and was one of several very promising youngsters who were about to have a major impact on the side.

McNeill, who stayed in the Stonehaven area, openly admitted that he and his family loved life in the north east and that he regretted having to leave Aberdeen after only one season, but understandably the lure of Celtic was too strong. McNeill and Aberdeen both went on to enjoy future success, the Dons entering their golden era under Alex Ferguson.

No one should ever forget the contribution Billy made to Aberdeen.

Billy was an absolute gentleman and one of the nicest guys you could meet in football.

In 2003 he took part in an event to mark the century of AFC and recalled how much he enjoyed his spell at Pittodrie. In more recent years he would go out of his way to make the Aberdeen staff and directors feel welcome at Parkhead when the Dons faced Celtic in Glasgow.

He is someone who will always be regarded in the highest esteem at Pittodrie and across Scottish football.



https://www.afc.co.uk/2019/04/23/in-memoriam-billy-mcneill/

 

Thoughts are with his blood family and friends and for the Celtic Family and the Lions, we're all hurting today