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Champions Again! Celtic’s “house of cards” stands tall and strong.

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Today is history. Today is history, in a very real sense. Today will pass into tomorrow, and the events we’re celebrating now are already behind us.

We should be looking to the future. Because today isn’t just another title—this is the one. The one that, even more than the League Cup final win that put us ahead of their phoney trophy count, truly sets us apart.

Today is history in deeper ways than what the books will record. They say history is written by the winners. And we’re damn well going to make sure future generations know that this wasn’t just a league title—this was domination.

This was the final reckoning. This was the destruction of the most notorious figure in the modern game here. A man who still imagines his legacy will be fondly remembered, or somehow restored.

As I said yesterday, the whole “55” thing is just a number to us.

If it means anything, it’s because our rivals—and one man in particular—tried to give it significance it never deserved. And that backfired.

It reflects our success in a way he never intended. Because yes, today is history. It’s the day we made Dave King and his boasts, his arrogance, his egotism… history. It’s the day we smashed his grand delusion to bits.

Because this was the title that was never supposed to happen. Not if you believed him. Not if you believed the media. Not if you believed the hysterical hype surrounding the only league title the current Ibrox outfit has ever won.

That was “55.” This is four in a row. And they were meant to be heading for 60 by now—not stuck in the mud. So today doesn’t just smash an old myth. It also wrecks their fantasy about the future.

Today isn’t about them. It’s about us. But they never realised that. When King made his infamous House of Cards speech, all he saw was the destruction of Celtic. That title win wasn’t about victory for its own sake—it was about what it would do to us. It was always about Celtic. They never saw their own success in any other way. “It’s broken them,” they chanted. But it didn’t break us.

This title race, though? This broke them.

Whatever emerges from the wreckage across the city—it won’t be the same club. What we’ve destroyed here was King’s Ibrox operation, his vision, his so-called revolution. And like every other one of his delusions, it wasn’t built on truth.

It came from arrogance, from ego, and from a total failure to understand Celtic. A failure to understand our strength. Our power. Our ability to recover—even from wounds we inflict on ourselves.

King’s revolution only happened because of the power of Celtic. This new revolution they think is coming? Same delusion. It’s all about knocking us off the throne. But they’re making the same mistakes King made when he predicted our collapse. They still don’t get how strong we are.

There was never going to be a 56 or 57 or 58 or 59 for them while we faded away. That was fantasy. The “missed opportunity” they think they had after Seville? That opportunity didn’t exist. Because ultimately, today’s triumph isn’t built on Ange Postecoglou or Brendan Rodgers or Neil Lennon or Peter Lawwell. It’s not built on anyone currently at the club.

This success was inevitable.

From the moment Fergus McCann walked through the doors at Celtic Park and started his revolution, it was inevitable. That was the only takeover that matters in Scottish football history. The only one that will echo into the future. Because that was the moment that changed everything. The seeds of every collapse, every calamity across the city—they were sown back then.

From that moment on, Celtic were on the rise. The natural consequence was that we’d eventually reach and surpass whatever title count they had—or claimed to have. That we’d pass them in total honours, regardless of what fake numbers they put out. Fergus McCann changed the game.

This triumph is his, yes. But it’s ours too.

Because while Fergus supplied the plan, we—the fans—supplied the money. Everything you see at Celtic Park was built, in no small part, with your hands. My hands. Your family’s. Your friends’. We don’t have a sugar daddy. We don’t have faceless billionaires. We pay the bills. We buy the tickets. We fund the club.

And that’s why days like this never get old. That’s why trebles never become boring.

Because when you think of the time, the effort, the money, the work, the sheer graft that goes into following this club—this is the payoff. Days like today are why it’s all worth it.

Without us, none of this happens. And because of that, this means more to us than it ever could to a fan of a club with rich owners who bankroll the show. This is ours. We built it. We sustain it. And that’s why it’s built to last. The fundamentals of Celtic are strong. And those fundamentals are exactly why King’s prediction of a collapse—his House of Cards—was always nonsense.

Because our foundation is you. Me. All of us.

That’s what they never understood. As long as we are solid, Celtic is solid. Because we buy the season books. We buy the match tickets. The Champions League packages. The Celtic TV subscriptions. The merchandise. All of it. We power this club. We make Celtic the powerhouse of Scottish football.

And because our foundation is rock solid, because we are rock solid, this house stands strong. King never had a chance. He was building on rot. A decayed foundation he should have known was unsound. One that their fans still don’t realise is crumbling, even as they rip up the floorboards to prepare for the next set of builders. Morons. The same fate awaits anyone who buys that company to pour money into the black hole.

They think they missed an opportunity. They don’t realise that opportunity never existed—because of the strength of Celtic.

So yes, this is “55.” That number they claimed. The number that was supposed to break us. The number that was supposed to destroy us.

And yet—here we are. Here we stand. Already the most successful club in Scotland, bar none—even with their lies counted. And by this time next year? We’ll be on 56. And another of the big lies will be rendered redundant.

That, too, wasn’t supposed to happen.

So celebrate it. Enjoy it. Be proud of it. Proud of it above all else—because we’re not just the supporters of Celtic. We are Celtic. Celtic is us. We built it. We own it. We maintain it. And we keep it strong.

No matter what happens elsewhere, the fundamentals of Celtic are solid. And if we give our full strength, there is nothing—absolutely nothing—they can do to catch us.

Enjoy the day. You, me, and everyone else in this family—we earned it.

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James Forrest has been the editor of The CelticBlog for 13 years. Prior to that, he was the editor of several digital magazines on subjects as diverse as Scottish music, true crime, politics and football. He ran the Scottish football site On Fields of Green and, during the independence referendum, the Scottish politics site Comment Isn't Free. He's the author of one novel, one book of short stories and one novella. He lives in Glasgow.

15 comments

  • TonyB says:

    King never actually said ” house of cards “, although if he wasn’t so fucking stupid and ignorant, he would have.

    What the imbecile actually said was that Celtic would collapse like ” a pack of cards “.

    And how the fuck does a pack of cards collapse?

    Huns are soooooooo fucking stupid. They are the dumbest fans in football.

    • JTT says:

      TBF he meant to say house of cards but was so used telling a pack of lies, it’s easy to see where the Freudian slip was made. ?

  • Johnny Green says:

    How tedious was that today. 🙂

    I suppose I better go and eat my jelly and ice cream now.

  • daviebhoy54 says:

    James I hope you are not amongst those vile Celtic fans who are about to party in the Merchant City area. According to the residents’ councils there will be a tsunami of urination, a plague of defacation, a mountain of litter and complete defacing of all buildings with vile graffiti from thug Celtic fans. We would fear for your safety.

    Rather than hail the most successful team in Scotland for an unbelievable demonstration of football, the rags have thankfully adopted a social conscience and alerted us immediately to these hordes of vandals.

    Yasssssss get it right up yeeezzzzzz. Championeees championeees oh way oh way oh way. Cant wait to get them next week

  • eldraco says:

    IF this fakeover goes through I hope the first question to the consortium or spac 49nrs will be what have you actually bought? 51% of the 2012 club? ( which we all know).

    And if they answer yes as they must the follow up question must be what titles and trophies came with that 51% buyin of 2012.

    They cant buy titles and trophies BEFORE 2012 because thats not only im.possible as that club has liquidated but it also opens up a legal nightmare that the SPFL could not let stand.

    Finally i would hope the blogsphere would crowdfund a legal battering down of the doors of the sfa if the consortium having no choice but to buy into 2012 must therefore be unable to aquire titles belonging to an entirely differnt club PRIOR to 2012.

    You know it makes sense. And we welcome the chase.

  • Brattbakk says:

    Why is it so difficult for the press to celebrate Scotland’s leading light and talk of a promising future? They can do it with the tribute act no matter what state they’re in. Although we’ve made it look easy, it’s a terrific achievement and there is a reasonable chance of a bright future, one the country could be proud of. I don’t care what they say to be honest but it affects the general discourse. We done it in style, bring on the treble.

    • briancavanagh says:

      Why indeed! But I think you know the answer. Their reluctance to acknowledge a professional achievement by a well run club diminishes the whole of Scottish football and the fans that subsidise and support

      It also fits a Scotland more comfortable cutting down ‘tall poppies’ especially if they happen to green and white hoops. Sad but true

  • JimmyR says:

    The party’s on. Meanwhile, across the city:
    “Having declared that nothing less than 15 points would be acceptable over the final five post-split matches, Ferguson watched his charges fall at the first hurdle. . .” (Scotsman)
    So having brought “standards” back to ibrox, Bazza & Co can only watch as sevco slip further behind us. What did they expect? It is “standard” practice for sevco to finish behind us. I sincerely hope that they maintain those standards for decades to come.

  • LubosBoots says:

    Thoroughly enjoyed with the cherry on the Paisley cake later.

    Enjoy your evenings.

  • Kevcelt59 says:

    Great article. Their support eagerly soaked in everythin that crooked bastard told them. A guy who’s that crooked, even his eyes are in two different postcodes. Same person, who was branded a ‘glib and shameless liar’ and even banned from London for his reputation. That king statement, is up there with the murray ‘ they spend a fiver, we’ll spend a tenner’ brag. It’s great tae see the arrogance rammed down their necks in such a devastatin manner. Champions again. HH.

  • johnnybhoy says:

    Time for a statue for Fergus McCann without him this part of Celtic history would never have happened and a bit controversial part the continuation history without Dermot Desmond wouldn’t have continued so let’s be thankful 2 both But the Bennett deserve a statue now. HH

  • Johnny Green says:

    Naw, naw, naw, please naw, nae mare ice cream and jelly, FFS! Mercy 🙂

  • shaunkeenan says:

    What a time to be alive James??

  • daviebhoy54 says:

    Hope we are still gonny see a Fear and Loathing article after another dismal showing wi that mob yesterday plus wee Barry’s latest meltdown.

    Just cos we have the title wrapped up doesnt mean bloggers can ger complacent and take the foot off the gas. Even Brendan is refusing to party and us straight back on the ball planning revenge against them.

    So we demand Fear and Loathing articles right up til the end of the season ha ha ha ha ha. You know I am in jest but I do love them articles

  • Clachnacuddin and the Hoops says:

    Fuck King (And Queens) – Celtic are ACE again !!!

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