Today is going to be good. Today is, in actual fact, going to be great. Remind yourself at various intervals in the course of it that this is the day we were never meant to have. Remind yourselves of that in particular if you were born in the 90’s.
I’m going to tell you something; I was born in 1976.
I was alive for Celtic titles but I don’t remember a lot of those early titles. The most vivid one I have a frame or reference for was 1986 at Love Street. I remember being with my mother and my grandmother and hearing that we’d won the league standing in a butcher’s shop in Westmuir Street not far from where The Forge now stands.
The butcher, clearly a mad Tim, was spraying champagne all over the customers.
I remember being in a bar on a Saturday afternoon, drinking cokes, and listening to the Scottish Cup semi final of 1988 when Hearts were a goal to the good going into injury time and we came back and scored twice to win that.
Those were a handful of memories of not being at games back when you didn’t have mobiles or the internet and you listened to it all on the radio.
I went to nearly every game growing up. The year before the 1986 decider, I was nine, and at Hampden to watch us beat Dundee Utd 2-1 courtesy of a sublime Davie Provan freekick late in the game, and a Frank McGarvey winner at the last knockings.
I remember Dundee at home the following year for what I am sure was the centenary title league decider but might not have been; it might just have been the day they got relegated, the week after we won the league. I remember it because our fans sung “We’ll meet again, don’t know where, don’t know when …”
I was at the cup final at Hampden, again against Dundee Utd, shortly thereafter; as before they had a 1-0 lead late in the game, this time in the closing minutes, and we repeated the semi-final feat we’d pulled off against Hearts to win 2-1 … Frank McAvennie got the winner that day. I never thought those glory days would end.
We didn’t win the league the following year, but we were at Hampden again where Joe Miller put the ball in the net to give us a win over Rangers … and that might have been the last time I remember seeing my dad properly drunk, and dancing down the street.
You know how many years I would have to wait to see us win another trophy? Not a league, a trophy. Six. Pierre Van Hooijdonk with the only goal of the game, against Airdrie, at Hampden, in 1995. The following season, Rangers beat Hearts 5-1 there to put the cherry on eight titles in a row. Did we look like we could mount a comeback? We lived in hope.
The season they won the eight in row title we lost one game in the league. We went 31 league games unbeaten in that campaign, and lost the title with 83 points. The problem was that we drew 11 matches and couldn’t seem to break that habit.
And oh, how Rangers rubbed it in.
Let me tell you; you really have no frame of reference for what hard times look like unless you were there in that era, and you really have no way to comprehend how awful it was in a landscape dominated by a handful of media outlets which Murray and Rangers had bent completely to their will, and where they flaunted their success every chance they got. The awfulness of it cannot be adequately conveyed to you unless you were there.
To people who look back on the last three titles Rangers won before falling into eternal darkness – between Gordon Strachan and Neil Lennon – as though they were a whispered voice in a distant room, those long-ago days before and during Fergus’ revolution must seem like something from ancient history. But to have lived it is different.
When I read them online talking about bringing back the glory days and putting us back in our box, those are the days they mean. And the gutter dweller supremacy complex they show off in the here and now is at least partly a carryover from that time.
I was on one of their forums the other day and they had an entire thread devoted to reliving those years.
They won titles after that long run of nine titles ended with Henrik Larsson and Harald Brattbakk scoring goals against St Johnstone. But they never again had it all their own way, they never again were without a serious challenger. They won the next two titles and then it was our turn again, with the Martin O’Neill treble, and this is where you see their mentality most clearly.
They hate O’Neill. Murray loathed O’Neill. And the reason they hated him is that Martin O’Neill symbolised the change in our fortunes, but also the change in our mentality. It was at that point that we really got off our knees and started slugging these people right back.
I know John Reid is hated by many in the Celtic support, but I’m on record as having never agreed with that at all, and I will tell you why right now.
Last night, I attended the Celtic Supporters Association annual rally, and it was a pleasure to do so, and I got to speak for a while with Tom Boyd, and to shake hands and talk albeit more briefly than I’d have liked – cause he’s an amazing man – with the great Jim Craig. It was a special night. I got my picture taken with the two of them and with the championship trophy … I’ll treasure that a long time. It was my first rally in many years.
But during the course of the evening, the guy on stage announced that amongst the guests were the CEO, Michael Nicholson, and the chairman Peter Lawwell. I saw Nicholson floating around at the other end of the room, but I didn’t see Lawwell at all.
The crowd, which had cheered on Hart, Idah, Scales and Brendan himself, who had all come to say a few words before the event started for real, didn’t make a sound for the directors. Not one. And I remember it being different years ago at prior events.
And it was during that spell when we traded trophies and titles with the club from Ibrox every other year that then chairman John Reid told a crowd which whooped and hollered and banged on the tables and cheered him to the rafters that Celtic would “no longer be at the back of the bus.” Guys from my generation loved that. We were all for that, we wanted to get militant and aggressive and in the faces of our enemies … and we’ve been doing it ever since.
Those are not the days Ibrox’s fans harken back to. Believe me when I tell you that. They lust for the days of total dominance, that’s what they want for their club, that’s what they want to do to us, to have their boot on our throat, just like Rangers once did.
They don’t accept that those days are over, that the club they followed, or thought they followed, was as much a lie, as much an illusion, as the one they follow now is. They think that dominating Celtic so completely like that is the natural order of things.
When they won the Covid title, they expected – because King had told them to – to win the next two or three or four or more leagues after that. And they believed it because they have bought into all this supremacy junk without questioning it at all.
When they got in front of us earlier in the campaign, they thought that was it, that their time had come, that this was their title and that it would confirm that they were “back.” Not just for one season but for the next few years and God knows what beyond that.
We weren’t supposed to win this. Everything looked set up to make sure we didn’t. From the hostility of the media to their decent run of form to our own self-inflicted wounds to the gross underestimation of the manager Brendan Rodgers … they looked at the signs and they drew every wrong conclusion that it was possible for them to draw.
We are the champions, my friends. And today when we are presented the trophy for winning this title, celebrate it long and hard and deep into the night and be proud of the achievement and of this club. Under those circumstances I will understand if you decide to focus your attention on that and on us and on the things we’ve just accomplished.
But if you’re from my generation, or just one that gets it, you’ll know what a pleasure is to be derived from thinking of what their pain is like, what they are going through, what they are feeling after seeing that hope snatched away. We have been through all of that and more … and at every stage we had to listen to their smug, arrogant gloating.
So on a day like today, don’t feel bad if you decide that they have to listen to yours.
The Real 55 is heading out way get the T Shirts made up now.
I am 7 years older than you, James. I think the Dundee game you are thinking of was actually Dunfermline. This was the centenary season, 87/88. Yes we beat Dundee to win the League, 3-0. But I don’t remember serenading their fans. In fact, I have no recollection of there being any Dundee fans there that day.
The following week we beat Motherwell 1-0 away and the last game of the season we played Dunfermline at home. They were already down but their fans brought a banner congratulating Celtic for winning the League. To join in on the good will the Celtic fans sang “You’ll be back”.
Also, I empathise with you describing Rangers rubbing it in when they dominated. Their master race mentality was cranked up to 11. They never missed one opportunity to stick the boot in. Their hatred was what defined them. It’s what defines Sevconia today.
So you are right about people considering that when they are out today. Some Celtic fans won’t get it because they only remember the O’Neill years onwards. Lucky them. I remember what happened. I get it.
Enjoy the day, lads.
Dunfermline 🙂 Spot on. It was the Pars we sang that song to 🙂
I was at Love St with my dad and the semi and final in’88 and the Dundee game also so I know exactly where you are coming from re living through those years they were dominant under Murray(with OPM). It was hard so these times are never taken for granted and are cherished. This one more than most I reckon as it didn’t look likely for large parts of the season.
Enjoy the party James HH!?
Magnificent article once again James – And yep – Being almost 54 I remember the bad times as well…
Makes the likes of today all the more far sweeter indeed…
Just off to Glasgow to join the party with all the rest of The Bould Bhoys and The Beautiful Ghirls…
Definitely not taking the iPad so hear ya again on Monday night…
Enjoy Enjoy – Two one and all !!!
Haha starting think we’re all the same age that read your blog James. Celtic Das or Grandas, I’m alright with that. Your Celtic memories are almost identical to mine. I remember their hatred when they had it good. That’s the problem with to much tic. The bills come due. I’ve told both my sons don’t ever be fooled. They and their acolytes don’t want a challenge, or different teams winning. They want everything and hopefully the new iteration copy their precursor to the grave and see us standing over them pissing ourselves laughing. COYBIG
I don’t buy newspapers now James but I can well remember the grovelling arse licking shite the laptop loyal you used to publish about that crook Murray.One hun I can remember especially was a prick called Roddy Thompson in the Daily Mail who never missed an opportunity to rub our noses in it.I hope that dirty hun and the rest of the laptop loyal are as sick tonight as I am over the moon COYBIG.
King ‘we only need one, and then it’s a pack of cards’ unfortunately the pack of cards was his own house.
Celtic rattled out a double, a treble and on way to another double. Enjoy the day, cherish it Champions again!
I was in my 20s living in Aberdeen during the 1990s. One overriding memory was an advert on a billboard for, IIRC, Nike which simply said “9 out of 10 – must do better” and a picture of Walter Smith. I fucking hated it. Talk about rubbing salt into the wound.
On the plus side, there was a Sports bar – I forget its name – where the urinals had TV screens(!) in on which you could piss on the deidco until your heart’s content. Spent a lot more money in there than I probably should have… 🙂
Argh……that billboard really got on my goat !!!! They had one at the Loudon on Duke St so I used to see it on my way to Celtic Park. God, I hated it. I also remember they had 10 flag poles on the roof with their 9 title flags and one empty pole for the tenth …… I don’t know why but I ended up in a pub called Chandlers in Clydebank (I’m from Cumbernauld). At a point during the evening the barman hushed the crowd, phoned The Loudon and asked if he could buy their empty flag pole !!!!! Outstanding …… never would I have thought from that moment on that it would turn out like this .
Hail Hail
I
If sevco are feeling the pain now , they ain’t seen nothing yet , we can go on to dominate Scottish football for the foreseeable future.
Let’s see how they enjoy it now with the boot firmly on the other foot and we done it by winning , not cheating with EBT,s or the banks funding like Murray had , sevco suffering has just begun , HAIL, HAIL , enjoy today all fellow fans,
WE ARE CHAMPIONS AGAIN .
Jim hate to rain on your parade and you should be allowed to enjoy the moment but have we not had the reins in our hands for the last few years only for Lawwell to pull us up in case we get too far ahead? Can’t see this transfer window being any different.
Love reading your posts James – I very very rarely disagree with anything you have to say but today as always you are absolutely spot on.
I’ve gotta few years on you so the 90s were a real struggle for everyone of a Celtic persuasion so I love days like these cos they allow me to have a look back & remember all their hubris – a former work colleague of mine would always say he wanted a strong Celtic back to provide some sorta challenge to their dominance – I know furra fact he didn’t expect this sorta Celtic to be back…
My former BIL also commented about our plans to build a 60k all seater stadium – he cudnt believe we were gonna build this white elephant – wish I still saw him around just to ask him about that!!
Keep up the great writing
Brilliant Article,James ,thanks for these heartfelt Words…?????
Stopped buying newspapers years ago James but what I remember at the time was the fawning arse licking of that crook Murray by the laptop loyal.One guy in particular Roddy Thomson of the Daily Mail loved rubbing Celtic’s noses in it.I hope that dirty hun and the rest of them are pig sick today.On the train heading to Paradise just now for a great day COYBIG.
brilliant read james….i can so relate to every word…brilliant. thank you.
Remember those times very well indeed and bhoy did it hurt. To watch them claim honour after honour was gut churning and yet we fought back because we are Celtic!!. I have said it many times that to live and follow the Bhoys through those yrs was tough ( I’m 56yrs now) so I take every title and trophy and throughly enjoy every single minute . I cannot wait to put to bed that myth that they are the best in Scotland be it with the trophies and titles they had before they died or after. We will surpass all of these and take our rightful place on the throne and nobody will replace us. So enjoy Hoops family everywhere because I know I certainly will and many of mine and older generations who witnessed Our History. HH ?
I was born in 1970 and know exactly what your saying, in particular I remember when they thought we were going to lose our beloved club,that mob took real pleasure in the thought. Then Fergus appeared and laid the groundwork for our constant success n they hate it ,when they got sent down ?? we were told it’s not fair to laugh at a club that could lose everything for some reason we were ment to feel sorry for them But I totally love our success and will take every opportunity to rub it in …well done to the club and fans I truly love.Esspecialy when all the rest of my family are deluded blame everyone else for there clubs failures mob
Totally agree James. I was born in the early sixties and remember that time also. Their arrogance was extreme sometimes and very hard to swallow. The day Larsson and Brattbakk scored for us to stop their 10 was one of the greatest days to be Celtic supporter. Every title is great but this one is special. Enjoy every minute bhoys and ghirls. HH
I’m a bit older than James and I get it, totally. I cried when Jock Stein’s Pars won the cup final replay in 1960. I cried when Rangers won the ’63 cup final replay. I cried again in 1964 when I saw Jim Baxter jogging around Hampden twirling the three handled league cup in the air.
In 1965, I cheered when (to quote Hugh Taylor of the Daily Record – Today’s journos are an inferior breed.) “Billy MacNeil arrived like a flying angel of destruction to emphatically thump a header beyond Heriot.” I cheered when a late Lennox effort eventually beat Peter McCloy at Fir Park to clinch the league in 1966. There was a lot more cheering over the next nine seasons. Losing again came hard, especially when I started in a new job after celebrating the centenary double in 1988. In a department of five, I was the sole Tim. The other four were very staunch. Enduring their 9iar was far from easy. I was reduced to token gestures such as baking and bringing in jam tarts one Monday morning. The guys were really enjoying them until one asked “What’s the occasion?” The delicious jam-tarts seemed to lose much of their flavour when I told them I was celebrating Hearts victory at Ibrox.
On the field we were a mess as the board got their comeuppance and then wee Fergus concentrated on the stadium. Stopping their attempt at ten was a relief. Wee Fergus’ reception at the flag unveiling still puzzles me to this day. That was the catalyst for change. After 36 league titles in 112 years of our existence in the 19th and 20th centuries, we have won 18 league titles in the first 24 years of the 21st century. That is quite an acceleration.
When I think of what I went through in our lean times, it can be as nothing compared to the current fans from the other side of the city. They cling to their lies and ill gotten honours in the face of our onslaught, which means that they don’t even have integrity to fall back on to give them some real self-esteem. No wonder they are howling at the moon. They have been fed a diet of lies and comfort food since forever. So now, faced with the brutal reality of our dominance, they are at a complete loss. Their very identity as “The people” has been exposed as a fraud. Where now for them? They haven’t a clue. Long may that continue.
That’s a fantastic post, Jimmy R. I was born in the mid 60s, attending my first game in the August of ’71. What I remember about the Huns’ NIAR, was that even though our fitba for the most part was pure pish, the craic at the games was brilliant. I stood near the floodlight at Gate 1. The away games were even better. Getting tickets, for some reason, was never a problem. Which is why, I never take any league flag or cup triumph, for granted.
Hail Hail.
Spot on James.
Remembering the bad times during the 90s just makes it so much sweeter now.
I remember taking my dad up for the 1989 cup final as a 60th birthday present. [I was born and bred in nottingham]
Not knowing that this would be the last time that he went back home, as he died a couple of years later.
I don’t think that he would have believed how poor we were going to be in the 90s.
Makes you wonder what would have happened without Fergus.
Wonderful piece James. My first game was Feb 1964 against Falkirk in the cup -I was 9. I lived through that period just before the glory years and saw my Father crying at Hampden in 65 after the long drought – lived through all these wonderful years -and the hopes that the early eighties brought but 89 -97 were awful times- and you were right – it was a case of ‘croppies lie down, the masters are back. I am so glad that today is another day where Celtic and all we stand for has put that bigotry and triumphalism where is belongs in the history books. Re John Reid -first and foremost he was a Celtic fan and knew what the lean teams were like. Lets celebrate with dignity, pride and respect -leave the hubris and the triumphalism to others
James, when you talk about Murray and the media.
Ask Anthony Haggerty about the phone call he received from David Murray when he was just starting at The Record.
I remember being on the M8 heading to a game on a supporters bus, as we passed a rangers bus they were all waving £20 notes as us!! Sometimes the only enjoyment you got at some of those games was meeting up with mates. Souness was perfect for that club, his arrogance knew no bounds, and their chairmans arrogance killed them. Thanks to the advantage Fergus left us, that mob are now desperately trying to add seats to their stadium. God bless you Fersus!!
My first memory of football is listening to the 7-1 game on the “wireless” with my father and two brothers,I was eight. I was a Celtic supporter from then on. I never saw them win anything until I was sixteen.My grandfather had arrived from Ireland just as Celtic were formed.My father as a wee boy followed the Brake Club,with his father in the Brake and him running along side to paradise. He in turn took me. I went to games with my brothers and then when I became a Dad I took my daughter. The next thread in this continuous line of following Celtic is being passed to my Irish grandchildren.
This is a blessed time for Celtic. Celebrate but don,t forget the hard times or Fergus. As always the really great ones are humble. Never let us have a sense of entitlement that others claim.
YNWA.