On this day - a look back at the history of Celtic

Sent that video on to my Granda and a few of his pals on the WhatsApp.

One of them replies with: "I still remember that game like it was yesterday...Celtic 6 - 0 Clyde....Stein didn't want the Lisbon Lions being beat, so he never played them together again until that game"

I text him back saying "You're memory must be * then....Clyde got a goal "

 

On this day...

2 May 1891

10 Men Celtic defeat R****** for the first time in the league, winning the match 2-1 at Ipox. It was just the second league meeting between the sides, who had previously played out a 2-2 draw at old Celtic Park earlier that season. Celtic had previously beaten them in 'friendlies' as well as in various Cup competitions, but 1890/91 was the first season where the League existed.

The 2 scorers that day were Peter Dowds & Johnny Madden. Dowds capitalized after a Willie Maley shot from distance came back from off of the crossbar, and Maddens struck in the second half to set up the win. It was all the more remarkable, as Celtic played the entire second half with just 10 men after fullback Thomas Dunbar had hobbled off with a twisted leg injury in the first half, and could not return after the interval.

Dowds sadly died just a few years later, aged just 24 and no less a figure than Willie Maley was quoted as saying "To the present generation Peter Dowds is not even a name, but to old-timers he was the greatest-ever, at home in any and every position."

In his all too brief Celtic career, Dowds played 49 times, scoring 21 goals.

As for Maddens, he was Celtic's first ever centre-forward and lead the forward line, before being repositioned so as to accomodate the legendary Sandy MacMahon. In all, he still managed to net 49 times in 118 league and Scottish Cup games between 1888 - 1897.

Following his exit from Parkhead, Maddens found his way across the Continent to eastern Europe, where he is widely remembered as the 'Father of Czech Football', in recognition of his achievements as manager of Slavia Prague for more than 25 years, and the influence he had on the embrionic game as a whole in Czechoslovakia.

 

On this day...

3 May 1986

Happy Albert Kidd Day!

(Copied from something I'd put together on here a few years ago for a SQ comp)

1985/86

Love Street and The Goal 'Heard' Across Scotland


Celtic are blessed with any number of truly worldwide renowned fans. One such is Billy Connelly. On the other side of the world and far from Scotland, the 'Big Yin' was standing waiting for an elevator in an Adelaide hotel when it opened. The lift had a single passenger, who instantly recognised the comedian. As the doors closed, the man spoke with an accent that stood out in the Australian city.
​

"Big Man."
Connelly replied, out of politeness as much as anything. "You're Scottish?"
As the lift descended the 2 men chatted when Connelly asked the man what he did for a living.
"Oh, am involved in fitba here."
"Oh, did yer play back home?"
"Aye, I did a bit."
"Oh, were yer any good?"
"Oh, I don't know about that, but played a bit for Motherwell and Dun..."

The man never got to finish what he was saying. Suddenly it was Connelly who was star struck!

"ALBERT KIDD! You're Albert Kidd!!!"​

Kidd never even laced a boot, much less ever got to kick a ball for Celtic, but he was and remains a Celtic fan to this day. And for his contribution on one wet, windy and wild early May day, his name will forever be celebrated by many among the Hoops' faithful.

It was 4.39pm in the afternoon of 3rd May, 1986. At Dens' Park, Kidd was about to etch his name into Scottish Football folklore.

A corner, which Kidd had won incidently, was sent over into the box. It would result in the goal 'heard' across Scotland.

Yes.

Heard.

​

​

The Scottish game was riding high in the 1980's. Not only was the game flush with personalities but it was a time when Aberdeen, Dundee United and Hearts were all challenging for league honours, along with Celtic, while the blue half of Glasgow looked on with envy and midtable anonimity once again, although Murray and Souness arriving that year the landscape of the game was soon to change. However, for now, all that still lay in the future.

Such had it been in 1985/86, when Celtic had wobbled through the season. Although the Bhoys had finished league Runner Up in the previous 2 seasons, to Dundee United and Aberdeen respectfully, the pressure was already being felt by manager Davie Hay. The Scottish Cup success of the previous season had bought with it more time, but with the Hoops making an early exit in both Cup competitions the pressure was surely on what they could do in the Premier Division, more than ever now.

The biggest concern of all was Celtic's defence could charitably be described as iffy, at best that season.

Despite the obvious quality of Paul McStay, Tommy Burns and Murdo MacLeod in midfield, with Brian McClair and the golden bhoy, Mo Johnston (in his pre-Judas days) up front delivering the goals, the constant worry was that they could not always provide enough to cover for the all too commonly recurring errors at the back, which had resulted in 58 goals that campaign in league and Cup competitions being conceded.

Hard to win anything with a defence that leaky and only served to add even more pressure to the under fire Hay. On 7 seperate occasions in domestic competition, opponants had scored at least 3 goals against the Hoops.

Not exactly the stuff of Champions.

The Glasgow derby in March at Ipox is the perfect case in point. Despite going 2-0 up early on through goals from Johnston and McClair, and following the sending off of Willie McStay, the Bhoys would have to see the game out for an hour with 10 men. Within a minute of his departure, R****** had pulled one back. Tommy Burns then restored the 2 goal cushion just 2 minutes after the break, but 3 unanswered goals in 11 minutes had the Hoops trailing 4-3 with 20 minutes to go, when MacLeod delivered another wonderstrike, this time a 30yrd piledriver to level the scores, 4-4!



That resilience, character and never give up spirit, however, IS the stuff of Champions.

While that scoreline stood out, that match also served as a catalyst for the Hoops, who proceeded to win the next 7 games heading into the last day of the season. Close, it seemed. But would it all be in vain, as the league went into the final day. Hearts held a 2 point lead on the table and not only that a superior goal difference.

Celtic would need to win the last game of the season by at least 3 clear goals and hope that Hearts could slip up. It didn't look good, as really it didn't matter what Celtic did, when a simple draw for the Jambos would have sufficed, without having to worry about goal difference.

As it was, Celtic didn't have far to travel that day; a trip across Glasgow to Love Street. St Mirren didn't really have anything to play for apart from professional pride, but the Hoops had nothing to lose by going all out.

Which was precisely what they did, racking up a 4-0 lead before the break, thanks to 2 goals from Johnston, and one each from McClair and Paul McStay. Johnston's second goal in particular had been a thing of beauty, and a late contender for goal of the year, with an exceptional flowing movement that had Danny McGrain very much as the driving force of it, but slick interplay with Roy Aitken, Paul McStay and MacLeod before a clever McClair nutmeg set up Johnston for a neat side foot finish.




Yet despite all this, with the score still 0-0 at Dens Park, Hearts were still firmly in control, and the title still seemed to be bound for Tynecastle.

Meanwhile, Hibs fans, all too well aware of the bragging rights that their Edinburgh rivals would no doubt want to rub into them, as they had for much of the season were hoping for Dundee to cause an upset. At Ipox, despite the recent arrival of Souness and being in a battle of their own to qualify for Europe with Dundee, the home support were likewise as much interested in seeing the Jambos lift the trophy and so to deny Celtic, as much as it was about the Dark Blues losing, so to secure their own European place.

At Easter Road, every ear was glued to a news crackling over transistor and pocket radios. Up and down the divisions and all across the country everyone was now tuning in to news from Dens Park. Everywhere players were getting regular updates of the scores from the terraces, fans more preoccupied with what was happening at Dens than in front of them. It was the same everywhere.

At Love Street as the second half continued, with McClair adding yet another in a season that saw him finish the season as the top goalscorer, but would it be scant consolation if Hearts closed out their game at Dens Park? In the terraces it was the same for the Hoops' faithful. Had they really come so far to fall so agonizingly short? As the minutes ticked away the sense of depression was matched by the grey skies above, and the heavy rain was pouring to dampen the remaining embers of hope among the fans and players alike.

With just 7 minutes remaining however, Albert Kidd, the Dundee substitute, made his mark that will forever be remembered in Celtic folklore. after first winning a corner for his side. Hearts had dominated a match but had failed to provide any real penetration, while they had managed to keep Dundee at bay. As the corner was floated over, the ball found Kidd, who thumped the ball into the back of the net.

Pandemonium!

It was everywhere. All across the country and the news spread like wildfire!

At Dens, while the home support were celebrating the goal, the estimated 10,000 travelling supporters that had followed Hearts up from Edinburgh slumped where they stood, against supports, in the terraces, against the bars, crush barriers and rails.

As the pocket radios crackled across Scotland, far and wide, the reactions to the news was stark and immediate. At Easter Road, Hib's Joe Tortolano looked around in amazement for the cheer that rose from his apparent simple throw in. At Ipox the cheers went up when the news that 'Kidd had scored' broke. mistakenly believing it had been Walter Kidd of Hearts who had broken the deadlock. Suffice to say it didn't take long for the reality to sink in however.

But all of this served as a backdrop to what was happening at Love Street. As Jim Stewart, the St Mirren goalie picked up the ball a massive cheer erupted from behind him. The news was coming through, the Hoops fans were suddenly in a very serious party mode. Nothing that the Scottish weather could throw could dampen the spirits now.


The Party gets underway!

As the minutes once again agonizingly ticked away, this time it was the Celtic faithful with fingers crossed that Dundee could hold on to prevent a Hearts equalizer. At Easter Road, it is widely believed that a number of their players switched off at the news, which had provided the opportunity for Dundee United to score. At Ipox and at Dens it was all about hope that the Jambos could break down the Dark Blues.



Kidd wheels away to celebrate his second strike

The matter was settled for all time though, when that man again, Albert Kidd, who had scored just 10 goals in 114 appearances for Dundee before that day, put the contest to bed with a senational second, picking the ball up on the halfway line, and drove at the Hearts defence down the right wing, to the edge of the goal area, before getting on the end of a slick one-two, to slot home to make it 2-0, and finish the game as a contest, and secured the title for the Bhoys in lime green that day.

Once again euphoria greeted the news when it crackled through at Love Street, and the scenes that followed as fans ran onto the pitch to celebrate with the players. The Hoops were champions for the 34th time!


Getting the message across

After what would prove to be his final appearance for Dundee that day, Kidd moved to Falkirk before moving to Australia, where he has often been toasted by both Celtic and Hibs fans alike. Indeed, it is said that the Hibs Supporters voted Kidd their Player of the Year for the 1985/86 season and has since been dubbed 'Sir Alby of Dens Park' by the Easter Road faithful, for his feat that day.

Not bad for someone who never kicked a ball for them!

The names of Celtic greats and the good that featured that day are plentiful: McStay, McGrain, Aitken, Burns, Bonner, Grant, McClair and the golden bhoy, Mo Johnston were all celebrated that day and all were the toast of Celtic fans, far and wide. But amongst all those names is one that stands apart. A Celtic fan at heart, who had done his part for bringing the title back to Paradise as anyone.

For those 7 minutes alone, Albert Kidd left a mark that will not ever be forgotten by anyone of a Celtic persuasion.


Tommy Burns with scarf in hand


​

 

Yes @Taz

* yes

 

The roar when the Dundee goal goes in I've watched so many time's. Unreal how good that must've been filtering through..

10 men won the league and Love Street have to be 2 of our best ever title winning game's in history..

The fact Albert Kidd was a Tim makes the latter that much sweeter. I genuinely never knew he was a Tim and thought he must dined off it after .....Class..

 

On this Day...

4 May 1974

Almost 76,000 flocked to Hampden Park to witness Celtic defeat Dundee United to the tune of 3-0, courtesy of early strikes in the space of 4 minutes. The first when Kenny Dalglish played the ball over the top for Harry Hood to nod home, and shortly thereafter Hood combined with 'Dixie' Deans down the left, before playing in Jinky Johnstone who laid it off for Steve Murray to fire home. This had the Bhoys crusing to a 2-0 lead at the interval. After the break Denis Connaghan was required to make a number of quality saves to preserve the clean sheet from an onslaught of United attacks, before Deans provided the icing on the cake with a third goal late on in the dying minutes of the contest to secure the Scottish Cup.

It was the 6th Scottish Cup (and would go on to add a 7th the next season) under the stewardship of Jock Stein and 23rd such triumph overall. However, this one was significant in that it secured another Double for the Hoops, while also signalled the end of a era, as this co-incided with the last of the original 91AR run of League Championships.

 

On this day...

6 May 1905

'Winner Takes All'​

After the completion of the league fictures for the season, Celtic & R****** were level on 41 points from the 26 games played. In those days there was no mechanism to use Goal Difference or Goal Scored to break the tie (which in fairness was probably a little unfair on 'that other team', as they had a GD of 55 compared to Celtic's 37... but bollocks to them... I wanted a feelgood story after the crap we've endured this season, so bollocks to them, lol), so it was decided that there would be a winner take all one off game to decide the fate of the League Championship to be held at Hampden Park.

​

Tensions were high in the build up to the game. About 6 weeks prior the sides had met in a bitter Scottish Cup tie that had to be abandoned 10 min from the end, after Celtic's star player, Jimmy Quinn, had been sent off for supposedly 'deliberate, intentional and savage kicking of an opposition player'. Despite this, the tie was awarded to R******, but the controvery did not end there.

Quinn was handed a month's suspension by the SFA, but appealed the decision. In fact, R****** players Alec Craig (the man he had been accused of kicking) & Jimmy Stark both wrote a letter in support of Quinn's case, stating that there had been no 'deliberate kicking', but Quinn was denied by the governing body the presentation of this letter as evidence!

The Mighty Quinn​

By the time the league season ended and this one off winner take all match was set for a showdown, anticipation was at near fever pitch from both sets of supporters, so much so that an English referee was brought north to officiate the match, so that there could be no claim of bias. Even still, Celtic went into the match considered as outsiders.

It was a close game, which had remained 0-0, however the R****** 'keeper was the busier of the two, but there had been chances at both ends. And that is how it remained until the hour mark when there was a flurry of goal scoring all in the space of just a few minutes.

Jimmy McMenemy was the one to break the deadlock, when he saw his tame effort slip through the keeper's grasp and into the net, putting the Bhoys up 1-0. This was doubled barely a minute later, when Celtic winger, Davie 'the Dancer' Hamilton, swung in a half cross-half shot from an extremely tight angle out near the corner flag on the left, which managed to crash from the inside of the far post and rebound off the keeper and into the net, to make it 2-0 for the Hoops!

The Goal Heroes - McMenemy & Hamilton​

Just 4 minutes later, R****** were able to drag one back, but thereafter the Bhoys took control and maintained their advantage til the final whistle. By all accounts, the Hoops' game management was in full effect, playing for time, kicking the ball out of play etc - in fact Hamilton was repremanded by the referee for repeated instances of this, but it did the job and ensured that the club's first League Championship since 1898 would be heading to Paradise.

Significantly, this was also the first of SIX consecutive League titles that the Hoops won, and the second of 16 that would be won under the direction of manager, Willie Maley.

The 1904/05 League Champions​

 

Also... on this day

6 May 1913

Charlie Shaw's Debut

​

Some days there is just too many goodness to choose from for what happened, and May 6 happens to be one of them, for in addition to the above, this day marks the anniversary of the legendary Charlie Shaw making his debut for Celtic.

Shaw had made his league debut for Port Glasgow Athletic in 1906, where he made 37 appearances, including being part of the side that knocked out R****** in the Scottish Cup QF stage that year, before falling to the eventual Cup winners, Hearts in the Semi-Final. As the custodian for the * Port Glasgow Athletic competing against the professional sides in the top flight of Scottish Football at that time, meant that the club was usually in the lower reaches of the top flight. All the more remarkable as he was working as a miner at this time also, but his performances were already catching the attention of scouts.

At the end of the 1906/07 season, Shaw turned professional and signed on with QPR, heading down south to play with the London club. There he enjoyed continued success, helping that club to win the Southern League in his first season (which at the time was just below the Football League but there was no promotion and relegation) and did so again in 1911-12. In all he would make 232 appearances for QPR, missing just 2 games in the 6 years he spent there, until Celtic payed a trasnfer fee of £250 (approx £30,000 today) to QPR for his services and he returned north of the border to signed with Celtic on 2 May 1913, following the end of the 1912/13 season down south.

It would prove to be among the best spent money in the history of the club.

Shaw would not have long to wait before he was able to make an impression on the Celtic faithful, making his debut just 4 days later, on the 6th May 1913, in a 2-1 Glasgow Charity Cup victory over Third Lanark. It was the beginning of what would become arguably the greatest tenure of any goalkeeper in the history of the club.

Standing just 5'6, his diminutive stature belied the fact that Shaw was blessed with exceptional reflexes and leaping ability, was noted for his first class communication and organizational skills, as well as having a great read of the game and the bravery and resilliance in a time when goalkeepers enjoyed few of the protections that their modern day counterparts benefit from (it was just a few years after Shaw departed that John Thomson died as a result of a challenge during a match), nor the benefit of substitutes on the bench.

In fact, Shaw'a impact on the side had a remarkable and immediate effect. The season before (1912/13) the Bhoys conceded 38 goals in all competitions (28 in the league), but with Shaw now between the sticks, in1913/14 saw the Hoops concede a measly 16 goals in the entire season and just 14 in the league!

In fact, after Raith Rovers scored a goal in the 24th minute of a match on 13 December 1913 until the 66th minute of a match against Falkirk on 28 Febuary 1914, Shaw set a long standing British record of 1287 minutes without conceding a single goal in any competition!

A record, it should be noted, that stood for nearly a century, until Edwin van der Sar (Manchester United) set a new mark at 1311 minutes in 2008/09 - although Fraser Forster's 2013/14 effort also came incredibly close (Forster did however break Shaw's Scottish records of consecutive league clean sheets (13) & league minutes (1256) though), but Shaw still holds the overall Scottish record for most minutes across all competitions.

The 'Holy Trinity': Joe Dodds, Charlie Shaw & Alec McNair​

Part of Shaw's remarkable success was the understanding that he shared with Joe Dodds and Alec McNair. In fact, the three were to be dubbed 'The Holy Trinity', because of their near telepathic understanding, which manager Willie Maley would later characterize:

"Shaw, McNair and Dodds understood one another so well that they developed the pass-back into a scientific move of which there have been many imitators but none to equal the originators. It was indeed a spectacle to see either McNair or Dodds passing, with unerring accuracy and cheeky coolness, the ball to Shaw, with the opposing forwards almost on top of them."

An indication of Shaw's popularity came when confounded newspaper reporter expressed their disbelief and stated that it was an 'extraordinary stupid idea' that the Celtic support would sing the praises and chant the name of a goalkeeper! Really does underline how rare it must have been for 'keepers to be treated as heroes back then.

Shaw, McNair and Dodds continued to be the bedrock of the Celtic defence as the Hoops proceeded to win 5 of the next 6 League Championships. Yet despite all this, Shaw was never selected to play for Scotland, such injustices were sadly not that uncommon back then, even though did manage 3 Scottish League XI appearances.

Shaw's working class background also enhanced his popularity and his comments about low wages and conditions resonated with the support, much to the ire of Willie Maley and those in the Director's Box at Celtic Park. This was especially true in the last few seasons of his lauded career at Parkhead. By late 1924 the Board had enough and had brought in Peter Shevlin in to take over from Shaw, despite Shaw still being the club captain, and was released at the end of that season, when he emigrated to America.

In all, between 1913-1924 Shaw kept 240 clean sheets in 436 League and Scottish Cup matches. That number rises even more when taking into account Glasgow Cup and assorted charity matches that were held throughout WWI, etc. No doubt had the Scottish Cup not been suspended for the duration of WWI, between 1914-19, he would've added far more to that also, as he only ever played just 16 Scottish Cup games - 13 of which kept clean sheets in.

To put this in context, Packy Bonner's club record of 254 clean sheets was spread over 632 games - which meant having to play almost 200 more times to accumulate just 14 more! And as if it needed to be reaffirmed, but from his debut until the board forced Willie Maley's hand in 1924, Shaw only missed 12 League and Scottish Cup games in all that time.

Shaw's clean sheet percentage sits at over 55%. In comparison, both in his era and all time, all the goalkeepers that have played at least 20 times for Celtic, only Magnus Hedman's cleansheet percentage is better - 23 from just 37 games (62.16%) from a relatively small sample size, and he never had the pressure of being the number 1 choice, game in, game out, let alone doing it for over a decade. Rab Douglas record of 88 clean sheets in 161 games (54.66%) is comparible, with other recent custodians Forster (49.17%), Gordon 47.74%, Boruc 39.19%.

In all, Shaw won 6 League titles including 4 on the trot (1913/14-1916/17, 1918/19 & 1921/22) as well as the Scottish Cup in 1914 & again in 1923.

Shaw passed away in New York on 27 March 1938, aged 53. Gone but never forgotten.

1913/14 League & Cup Double Champions ​

 

On this day...

1892/93

The Very First League Title


The 1893 Celtic Team​

In front of approximately 3-5000 people, wrapped up their first ever League title with a game to spare, following a 3-1 victory over Leith Athletic. The Hoops went ahead early in the first half through Jimmy Davidson. As it happens, Davidson had joined Celtic from Leith Athletic earlier in the season (September 1892), and he would come back to haunt his old club again in the second half, rounding out the scoring after Johnny Madden had fired in the second goal of the day, to put the Hoops 3-0 up overall. Leith Athletic would go on to pull one goal back but that was as close as they got.

Celtic cinched the title with this 14th win in 17 games, and although Celtic would go on to lose the final league fixture of the season, they had already done enough to ensure they'd finish one point ahead of their nearest competitors on the table.

As it turns out, this season could very nearly have been the first League and Cup 'Double', had it not been for a disputed goal allowed (because of the absence of goal nets) for Queen's Park in the Scottish Cup Final, who at the time were much more who Celtic were more fierce rivals with.

Indeed, the same evening as Celtic secured the League title, there was a meeting of the SFA, where John McLaughlin, one of the most important figures in the formative history of Celtic, raised both the issue of professionalism in the Scottish game (which was defeated 20-4 and further continued the age of 'shamateurism'), but also the need for nets to be added to the goals, to prevent further instances of disputed goals being allowed, which was carried, despite the objections of some. Had this been in place just a few weeks earlier, Celtic may well have been celebrating their first ever League and Cup double.

Celtic would however go on to add a second piece of silverware for the season, with an emphatic 5-0 hammering of R****** in the Glasgow Charity Cup Final, held a few weeks later. Not quite the same prestige as the Scottish Cup, but underlines the emerging dominance of Celtic, who would go on to win the League crown again the following season.​

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Not only is today the anniversary of that first ever league title, but it's importance for another signficant season also...

(The below is copy of something I put together for a SQ comp a few years ago on here...)

1997/98

Stopping the Ten!​

For so many reasons the 1997/98 season really was a true watershed one. While 'Stopping the Ten', while historically significant, th titl won that sason was not so much simply about preventing our former city rivals from claiming a 10th conscutive title, it was about how Celtic was transforming. But to really understand why 1997/98 was so important, it is essential to consider where the club had been, what it had been going through and what it ended culminating in.

Even though Fergus McCann had taken over control of Celtic in March 1994, on the park it was still an old school approach to the game for the team and for the club as a whole. These were the years of growing pains. Dragging the culture from how it was and had effectively always been done dating back to the ways of the Old Board, and while the 'Biscuit Tin' mentality was becoming a thing of the past, the Club was not quite there yet, to what it would evolve into.

The proceeding season had finished on a disappointing note. Tommy Burns tenure had come to an ignamonious end in the aftermath of the Hoops having been bundled out by 1st Division Falkirk in the Scottish Cup Semi-Final. The contract disputes were increasingly taking centre stage, as Di Canio and Cadete, who were still ostensibly Celtic players as the new season kicked off, would soon follow their fellow 'Three Amigo' van Hooijdonk out the door.

Perhaps most cruelly of all, the Hoops faithful bade a sad farewell to the man who had been the heart and soul of the football club for so long, Paul McStay, drawing a premature close to his playing career at the age of just 32. Had it not been for that ankle injury, the Maestro still had more years left to offer and who knows what could have been had be been able to blend his midfield magic with the likes of Lubo and Henrik in the years that would follow? One can only imagine. Football can be cruel, as the legendary skipper, who had been a beckon of hope and inspiration at a time when Celtic were surely lacking in both, had lead the way through the darkest days and never got to savour the taste of what would have been a deserved league truimph.

Celtic Park was still in the midst of being rebuilt, but the protracted contract disputes, the hard nosed McCann forcing his will, not only on Scottish Football by tackling the SFA and it's Chief xecutive, Jim Farry, but a constantly hositle press. Few of those hacks then could understand the extent of the cultural change McCann was implementing. But with the depature of Burns came a new structure. A new youth and academy system, a change to the culture of sponsorship and business, increased TV revenues, a General Manager who would have more knowledge of contract law than football, and perhaps equally as important, the decision was taken to cast the net wider, beyond the traditional source of recruiting a manager. Gone were the days of it being the province of those who had previous ties to the club or at least to the Irish heritage in the case of Liam Brady.


Jansen & McCann - the faces of the Celtic Evolution

As the new season began under the watchful eye of new Head Bhoy, Wim Jensen, the Hoops got off to another rocky start, losing the first 2 games of the season. But Celtic had been busy recruiting new players to fit with the new model that McCann was constructing. But McCann was not the only one who was ruffling feathers, as the prickly Jock Brown began to increasingly consume more and more column inches in the newspapers, with the straned working relationships with Jensen and former manager and now head scout, Davie Hay.

Suffice to say the process was going through an ugly, but ultimately necessary growing pains. Whether fans and the 'meeja' were conscious of it or not, the Club was being transformed, at every level and in every way. This was clearly evident also, in the continued recruitment process, as the Club signed Craig Burley. Jonathan Gould, Stephane Mahe, Regi Blinker and Marc Rieper and as the seaosn progressed, further strengthened by the likes of Champions League winner, Paul Lambert and the enigmatic Harold Brattbakk.

But without doubt the single most significant addition to the squad was the signing of dreadlocked striker, Henrik Larsson from Feynoord for $650,000. Jansen had been the manager of the Dutch club when Larsson had first signed for them, and despite time apart and never really being utilized properly in the Eredivisie by the subsequent management there, Jensen had not forgotten the Swede. It would prove to be money very well spend in the years to come.

The season though got off to a truly rotten start to the league campaign. As fate would have it, it was a Larsson errant pass which directly lead to the Hibees' second goal as the Celts went down, 2-1 at Easter Road on the opening day. Things didnt improve at Parkhead in the next match either, when the Bhoys went down to an identical scoreline to Dunfermline. And the troubles continued off the pitch also, as the Swede was acclimatizing to the Scottish game, where even on the training pitch, he was involved in a highly publicized bust up with Tosh McKinlay.

However, it wasn't long before the Hoops began to hit their stride, winning their next 8 consecutive league fixtures, and a credible but short lived European adventure that had seen the Hoops go out to Liverpool only on the basis of away goals, after the two sides had drawn both legs of their UEFA Cup tie. Going into the first Glasgow derby of the season the Hoops held a slender 1 point lead over the Ipox outfit, and level wth Hearts at the top of the table. But to underline just how transformative a process Celtic were undergoing, they went into this match with 7 Celts making their Glasgow derby debut. That experience would be telling though, as the Hoops would go down twice in the space of a couple of weeks to their fierce rivals.

As it transpired, it was yet another story of frustration, like so many deerbies of the time. Suffering a 1-0 loss. Having only won a solitary Cup tie and not having defeated the Ipox outfit since May 1995, it was very much going to have to be a gorilla that they would have to shake from their backs if there was to be any hope to truly challenging for the title.

The loss though, while a slight wobble to their league aspirations did not dent the Bhoys momentum. Just 11 days later - and an international break in between, Jeansen was able to get the team up to earn a draw at Parkhead against the visiting shower of *.

Less than 2 weeke later the Bhoys lined up at Hampden for the Coca-Cola League Cup Final. In a competition in which the Hoops had seen off Berwick, St Johnstone, Motherwell and Dunfermline without conceding a single goal on route to the Final, Jansen's charges were able to dispose of Dundee United 3-0. It would be the first of many prizes Larsson would capture in his time in the Hoops but it was a monumental moment for the club, capturing just their second piece of silverware in almost a decade, following on from the 1995 Scottish Cup.



The Cup success breeds confidence and the confidence in turn showed up in the successful results, as Celtic won 6 of their next 7 games, heafing into the new year.

The visit of the Govan visitors on January 2 1998 had a lot riding on it. With the Hoops sititng in 3rd on the table and 4 points adrift of their city rivals, a loss would have opened up a sizeable gap and could have well proved to be fatal to their title aspirations. On top of this, the Bhoys had not managed to win a league fixture against their old adversaries since 1995. The visitors were clearly also well up for this one, full of confidence and keen to needle to Celtic faithful. Goram's armband and Gascoigne's flute were evidence enough of that.

It is no understatement to say that this match would prove to be not only a key match in the season, but it would be hard to beat it as the single most important derby win of the 1990's for the Hoops, and in a match that deserved something special, the Bhoys duly delivered 2 wonderful strikes. The first was all about Jackie McNamara's driving run and a wonderful reverse pass for Burley to fire home. The second was the unstoppable piledriver by Lambert from outside of the area. The 2 goals that were scored that day have earned themselvws a place in the all time Celtic highlight reel, and with good reason, which must have been shown hundreds of times in the years since.



The Hoops would go the next 11 games undefeated, and while there was frustration at the occasion dropped points, the defending Champions were also having their own share of difficulties as the title race escalated. The Bhoys were knocked out by their city neighbours in the Scottish Cup Semi-Final, and 2 weeks later, suffered another diappointment, losing 2-0, despite dominating the match for long periods, reminiscent of many such derby matches of the times, when Burns had been the manager.

But with 4 games to play, the title was still up for grabs. The 'meeja' were playing their part in applying the pressure also, twisting Harold Brattbakk's words, that it would not be a failure to finish second. Celtic by this point were well accustomed to these manipulations, and refused all their players and management from talking to the press in a move of solidarity with Brattbakk.

With the season coming to a head on the field, things continued to be far from settled off from it. The highly unpopular Jock Brown was imbroiled in an unfair dismissal case raised by former Celtic boss and Chief scout, Davie Hay, mwanwhile Jansen and McCann's working relationship continues to be increasingly strained, with Jansen's contract coming up for renewal but was not being discussed. On top of this was the continued contractual issues involving a number of high profile players unhappy with the terms offered by the notoriously hardball McCann. But the players were not doing themselves any favours on that front either, acting petualantly to negative, but legitimate, criticism.

Could it really all be put aside long enough to get over the line on the park? With R****** continuing to drop points, it opened the door for the Hoops into the last few weeks of the season. Failing to defeat Hibs and then with two games to play, Killie had sprung a 1-0 upset over R******, there was an opportunity to clinch the title away at Dunfermline. Over 9000 Celtic fans packed into Parkhead to watch the game on the big screen, only to be left frustrated once again, conceding a late equalizer to the Pars, and managing to only secure a 1-1 draw. Celtic are no strangers to leaving it late or doing it the hard way. It was all leading to the last day dramas once again.

In the midst of all this, Jackie McNamara had been named the SPFA Player of the Year, Larsson had 18 goals to his name for the campaign to date. Lambert, Burley, O'Donnell and Donnelly were all in contention for player awards, but it would have all felt hollow if there was not the Premiership title to go with it.


The King of Kings - Larsson has arrived!


One last chance to to stop 10 in a Row.

Celtic hosted St Johnstone on that fateful final day. R****** won their final game of the season, so Celtic had to win for the title to be secured. There was no room for any slip up. Thanks to an early Henrik Larsson goal - his 19th of the season - which helped to settle the nerves, although St Johnstone certainly had their opportunities, going close - too close for comfort - a couple of times. But the Hoops were able to hold on, before Harold Brattbakk slotted home a late goal and put it beyond doubt, signalling the party could start, and putting an end to the R****** dreams of 10!



Just days later, Wim Jansen left the club. He had arrived at the start of the season, had delivered 2 trophies, equalling in that one season the total haul of silverware that the Hoops had won since the Centenary, under a cloud. Didnt help matters that the relationship with McCann had deteriorated to the point that the Chairman claimed that if Jansen hadn't have walked, he would have been pushed.

Celtic had won the league. Although we had not managed to preserve the record of Jock Stein's 9IAR, but that record would still stand. The turmoil and growing pains of the evolution of the football club was far from over and would continue for the next few seasons. It wouldnt always be fun, wouldnt always be easy and unfortunately it could get a bit ugly at times, and in an era in which precious little had been cause for celebration, it was a campaign that long remembered, and we'll never forget the Bhoys that stopped the 10!

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On this day, 9th May 1998:
Almost 50,000 witness the return of the title to Celtic Park after a decade. Celtic beat St. Johnstone 2-0 with goals from Larsson and Brattbakk.

 

On this day...

1980

The Battle of Hampden Park

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"This is like a scene now out of Apocalypse Now... We've got the equivalent of Passchendaele and that says nothing for Scottish football. At the end of the day, let's not kid ourselves. These supporters hate each other." - Archie MacPherson

Scottish Cup Final Day, 1980. A bright, warm Spring day greeted the more than 70,000 that came to witness the showcase event, which turned into a PR disaster for the Scottish game.

It is a day that would see some of the worst scenes of football violence in more than 70 years in Scotland. It was a publicity disaster for Scottish Football, and the game in general during an era in which hooliganism was running amok.

There had been a number of similiar riots and running battles in the early part of the 20th Century when Celtic fans clashed with their city rivals on the occasion of a Scottish Cup Finals, so this was not a unique incident.

The game itself was reasonably entertaining with opportunities and near misses at both ends, as the match still in a stalemate after 90 minutes. But finally , early in the second half of extra time the decisive moment came, when an off-target Danny McGrain shot was redirected by George McCluskey and found the back of the net. Shortly after, manager Billy McNeill sent on Bobby Lennox to use all of his experience to guide the Hoops to the final whistle. It was to be his final appearance for the club, securing his 26th winner's medal overall and brought to an end, one of the most celebrated and decorated careers in the history of Celtic.

And while Danny McGrain lead his team up the steps to lift the Cup, the two sets of supporters set about battling with each other on the Hampden Park turf - and both sets of supporters carrying out charges at each other, in scenes of complete chaos and anarchy.

Following the 1-0 victory by the Hoops, there proceeded to be a running battle on the Hampden Park pitch, resulting in more than 200 arrests, hundreds of injuries, including police. As it happened, the police had only a dozen officers in attendance inside the stadium. They had anticipated the trouble would be after the game once the fans had left Hampden Park, and had deployed accordingly, which as events unfolded contributed to the delay in being able to restore order. Indeed, order was not restored until repeated charges were made by mounted police in an effort to seperate the warring factions.



As a result of this match alcohol was banned from football venues in Scotland - which has remained in effect ever since. Ironic as the match itself was actually sponsored by a beer company. But that was only the tip of the iceberg in the aftermath of what was to become the blame game.


The Police blamed Celtic for their fans celebrating on the pitch. This wasn't exactly unheard of - indeed, Aberdeen fans had been doing the very same thing the previous week when they had secured the League title, to edge it by 1 point over the Hoops, and no action had been taken against the Dons.

It should be noted that the Celtic fans that originally took to the field were there to celebrate the team's success, but the sight of the Hoops' support was enough to trigger a stampede of R****** support from the other end, leading to the chaotic scenes, with charges and counter charges, the running battle that ensued.

Celtic and even those in the media, such as match commentator, Archie MacPherson, rightfully questioned the lack of policing that was present, and there is a fair point to be made. After all, there had always been incidents on derby day, so even with resources deployed elsewhere, why was there such a paltry presence actually in the stadium?

Unsurprisingly, R****** put the blame entirely on Celtic, without looking to condemn their own, who had badly overreacted to the sight of the Celtic support celebrating on the pitch. The politicians and officials blamed sectarianism and hooligans.

In defence of these attacks the Celtic Chairman, Desmond White, noted that there were 'six Catholic players and five Protestants in the Celtic starting team', the inference being that if sectarianism was to blame for these scenes that were broadcast across the UK and beyond, then it was not Celtic that is or was responsible for that, but could the other club be able to say the same?

Somewhere amid all of this lays the truth. There is room enough for everyone to share blame for the events of that day - police, politicians, SFA officials, the clubs, hooligans and booze all contributing to the scenes that dominated headlines with the contraversy for days and weeks afterward.

A day that should've been all about celebration and a fitting end to a glorious career, that will be remembered as much for the events after the final whistle perhaps more than for what happened during the match itself.

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You are some man @Taz

 

1889

Celtic's First Silverware



Back in the era before League play came into existence, clubs played either in friendlies or a variety of Cup competitions. One such was the Glasgow North-Eastern Cup. And in 1889, less than a year after Celtic played their first ever game, the Hoops lifted their first ever competitive piece of silverware.

This was a senior competition was open to teams from the north and east end of Glasgow, which ran from 1882 til 1895. Celtic's opponants in the Final were from Cowlairs, who had won this competition in 5 of the previous 6 years prior to 1889.

Celtic had defeated Clydesdale 5-1, and then eased past Northern 4-1, to set up a Final against Cowlairs. And so on the 11 May 1889 the two sides met at Barrowfield in front of somewhere between 5000 & 8000 spectators (depending on differing newspaper accounts.

The Irishmen (as they were often referred to at the time) took control of the match after 15 minutes, following a goal from left winger, John Coleman from close range, following a goal mouth scramble. A few minutes later and Coleman added a second and then Willie Maley added a third to put 'The Celtic' well in control of the match. Cowlairs then pulled one back before the break, and that is how the sides went in at half-time.

After the interval was probably Cowlairs best period but they were not able to convert a number of chances, before Celtic re-established their control of the match, with goals from Hugh Gallagher, Peter Dowds and Willie Groves, as The Bhoys ran out 6-1 victors.

Celtic would go on to successfully defend this the following season also.

Although not as prestigious as many other prizes and success that the club has enjoyed, and perhaps it was even a small measure of comfort at the time, having lost the Scottish Cup Final three months before, but even a waterfall begins with a single drop.

The 1888/89 Glasgow North Eastern Cup - a long extinct relic of a by-gone era was that first drop; the precursor for all that has followed in the years since.


This photo from October 1889 with 8 of the players that lifted the 1889 Glasgow North Eastern Cup​

 

On this day... ​

2004



Henke's Last Stand
2004 Scottish Cup Final

The 2003/04 season is one that will live long in the memory of every Celtic fan. Early in the season the talismatic Henrik Larsson had already made the decision to leave the club after 7 seasons, so it was a season that was was tinged with that little bit of bittersweetness, with that ever lingering.

But it was more than just that. Having come so close in virtually everything the previous season and coming off the back of a European run that had taken all the way to the UEFA Cup Final in Seville. So there was a feeling of needing to reclaim that domestic dominance.

Martin O'Neill's charges were absolutely peerless in the league, where, apart from a draw on the opening day of the campaign, did not drop even a single point until the middle of March. And while there was disappointment in the League Cup, the Bhoys once again did themselves proud in Europe, reaching the Quarter-Final stage of the UEFA Cup once again, including a memorable 1-0 victory over Frank Rijkaard's Barcelona and an epic backs to the wall defending effort at the Nou Camp, with youngsters David Marshall and John Kennedy alongside skipper Jackie McNamara putting in an outstanding shift.


The Green and White Wash 2003/04

So dominant had Celtic been in the league that after 26 consecutive wins, 105 league goals scored, and the title secured with 7 games to spare and a 'green and white' wash of every Glasgow derby, in the league and Scottish Cup, all the signs were for a glorious farewell for Larsson. But following clinching the league, the Bhoys suffered a serious late season wobble to the finish line, with a loss of form, dropping points and enduring a couple of defeats, including one against their Scottish Cup Final opponants, Dunfermline.

On the way to Hampden, the Hoops had seen off Ross County, Hearts, R****** & Livingston, but given the form in the last few weeks following the SF win and clinching the League title, which Celtic would turn up on the 22 May, 2004?

Celtic started off the match well, carving out a series of excellent opportunities to go ahead, even as early as the first minute through Chris Sutton, but chances would also fall to Alan Thompson and Sutton again, in addition to the referee not awarding a penalty for a foul on Sutton in the area, and the Hoops were further dismayed when Larsson had set up Stiliyan Petrov, only to see the goal chalked off.

Dunfermline were also creating a few opportunities with the limited amount of ball that they had, with chances from a Gary Dempsey free kick and a fierce Darren Young strike, which McNamara was able to get enough of a deflection on it for the ball to go wide. It was a brief reprieve though, as the Pars scored from the resulting corner, which saw Dunfermline go into the half time break holding a 1-0 lead.

Would it all end, for all the huffing and puffing, in tears?

Thankfully not, for the second half it was Dunfermline doing the huffing and puffing, as Celtic started to go through the gears. The first coming just before the hour mark, when Dunfermline had a corner, but the ball was cleared up the field with Sutton sparking a counter attack, sending Larsson clear, who cooly curling in a right foot shot into the far corner of the net for the equalizer.


Larsson scores goal #241

Thereafter Celtic just continued to dominate, and despite the fragility of the scoreline at the time, there was something inevitible about the next, with decent possession in the build up, before Thompson found Henke in the area, who expertly turned his marker to find that yard of space and this time using his left peg to dispatch his 242nd and final Celtic goal.

The Bhoys would add a third, seven minutes from the end, when Ross Wallace did well to collect a wayward Didier Agathe cross, before setting up Petrov to cap the comeback and the 3-1 final score for the Bhoys in green.

For the Celtic faithful there would be one last time to say farewell a few days later; a testimonial in the Swede's honour.

However, the 2OO4 Scottish Cup Final would be the last competitive match that Ghod, the King of Kings, the Magnificent 7, the £650,000 signing in 1997 (which must count among the best bits of business in the history of the club) would make the difference in a competitive match, going out the champion that he is, with 2 goals to sign off on a remarkable career in the Hoops.

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