Tuesday 27 November 2012

Why the poor atmosphere for Celtic domestically?


Why the poor atmosphere for Celtic domestically?

I, along with every other Celtic fan will remember the day we played Motherwell on the last day of the season and won 3-0. Despite losing the league, we celebrated like we had won it.

That game will live long in my memory. A packed Celtic Park sang for 90 minutes, took part in a full-stadium huddle, and this was after Rangers were 3-up after 15 minutes at Rugby Park, and won the league.
The roar after Neil Lennon declared “This isn't the end, this is just the beginning” made the hair on the back of my neck stand-up and there was a massive lump in my throat. What has happened to this kind of atmosphere and passion at Celtic Park, away from European nights?


Neil Lennon said he wanted to bring the thunder back to Celtic Park when he first arrived. He did this and then some.

In a season where sectarian bigots threatened the life of our manager and his family, the club united and stood right behind Lennon and the team.

After Mowbary’s tenure, the club needed a lift.

Even when it came to European nights (albeit Europa League) Celtic struggled to get 40,000.

Every single week when Lennon was first in charge, the atmosphere was electric. Didn’t matter if we were playing Rangers or anyone else in the league, Celtic Park would be full.

I do think the treatment of Lennon away from football played a part in this.This video sums up perfectly what I’m trying to say.

The SFA would be making "honest mistakes" against us every week and fans were being allowed to gain access to the dugout to attack Lennon.

Lennon reminded every single one of us what it was like to be a Celtic fan again. We lost that under Mowbary.

Lennon was a legend as a player and he was exactly what we needed.

Despite beating Barcelona and competing magnificently overall in the Champions League, when it comes to domestic form, the fans are just as a flat as the players. The Green Brigade try their best, but they alone can’t get the whole stadium going. Doesn't help when they aren't there, mind you.

It’s brilliant that our manager can now manage the club without fearing for his, and his family’s life. I do, however, feel this played a part in bringing the thunder back.

Money and no Rangers also play a part, but I won’t bore you by going into that.

If we do qualify for the last 16 of the Champions League, which I full believe we will do, I hope the players can gain some confidence and properly kick-off their league campaign. This would certainly go some way to bringing the punters back to Parkhead.

If you took the time to read this, thank you! I would appreciate your opinions on why you think the atmosphere is decreasing domestically and also what I could do to improve my blogging! Hail Hail. 

Thursday 22 November 2012

Does Scottish football need Rangers?

Does Scottish football need Rangers?

With Rangers plummeting to Scotland's lowest tier, is Scottish football coping?

Millions were spent on Flops
Well, for the purpose of this article (and a vague attempt to be balanced) I will refer to the recently deceased club as “Rangers”, as opposed to Newco, Sevco Franchise, the list could go on. See what I mean when I say vague?
 With the recent official liquidation of Rangers on Halloween, (fitting, I know) – how has Scottish football managed without the Glasgow giants, and how will it continue to?

 "We are Rangers, super Rangers, no one likes us, we don’t care”

A well-known line from a song often sang by the followers of Rangers. It seems they may have paid the price for this being  the case and not considered the possible ramifications.

When a Newco was turned down by a vast majority in the SPL, Rangers were demoted to the third division (or the new club was rejected entry to the top three flights.) Whatever way you choose to look at it, the “unthinkable” happened, the SPL would be facing a Rangers-less league for at least three seasons.
Cue the Armageddon.

Attendances would drop, Celtic wouldn’t be able to compete in Europe, there would be no competiveness in the league and Scottish football would effectively die.

Has this been the case?

First of all, attendances. There were cries that without Rangers in the league, there would be no competiveness and this would lead to poor attendances and lack of interest. I will start with Rangers’ main rivals Celtic.
Indeed, Celtic’s average attendance had dropped slightly from last year.
Celtic Park sees another small crowd
There are numerous factors to take into consideration when discussing Celtic’s attendances this year, compared to last.
I will start with money. If anyone hasn’t noticed, we are in the middle of a double-dip recession, with the possibility of a triple-dip, luring in the near future. Fans don’t have as much money as they previously did. Supporting your club is important, but surely putting food on your family’s table is more so.

When Celtic are playing the likes of Raith Rovers and Inverness on a Wednesday night, I cannot blame anyone for not paying the ludicrously high prices. No disrespect to Raith and Inverness, obviously.
Then there is the factor of Celtic’s European excursions. With four qualifying games, home and away, then six in the group stages – they are not cheap. They certainly are more expensive than playing Peterhead at home.
I will leave that at that.

Now to the clubs who are competing for that elusive second spot in Scotland’s top flight. Well, despite the economic crisis we are all embedded in, Hearts, Aberdeen, Hibernian and Dundee United have all see a rise in attendances, compared to this time last year. Aberdeen and Hearts both had sell-outs at their games against Celtic and St Mirren.


Competitiveness would also disappear if there was only one side of the Old Firm in the SPL. Has this, so far, been the case?
Here are the top five teams in the SPL and how many points they are on.

Celtic – 25
Hibs – 24
Aberdeen - 21
Motherwell – 20
St Johnstone - 20

Five points separate the top five teams after 14 games. It is early days, sure, but the league looks as competitive as it ever has, with anyone looking like they can grab second spot. Who knows, someone might even put a challenge in for the title.

With Celtic qualifying for the Champions League, beating Barcelona, winning their first ever away match in the competition and on the brink of qualification to the knock-out stages – I don’t think many fans would claim this to be an armageddon.  

There are of course down sides to a Rangers-less league.

Celtic playing Rangers was the biggest game of the footballing calendar around the world, it would be absurd to suggest this game isn’t missed.

The financial effect of no Rangers is still yet to be seen. I suggest some clubs will financially miss Rangers, even if they don’t just yet.

Sporting integrity has to be key. Despite Rangers’ massive plummet, which could only be matched by Felix Baumgartner – the league seems to be coping. Touch wood it continues to do so. 

Thursday 15 November 2012

Celtic get ideal birthday present

Celtic celebrate birthday with historic win.

The day after Celtic celebrated their 125th anniversary, the class of 2012 gave Neil Lennon, the fans and the whole club a magnificent birthday present.
The hours leading up to Celtic’s toughest task this season didn’t go exactly to plan. When you are playing Barcelona, you undeniably want to have your strongest team out on the pitch. Celtic did not.

Leading scoring Gary Hooper, club captain Scott Brown, speedy full-back Emilio Izaguirre and James Forrest were all deemed not fit to play, or even make the bench. 
Despite this, the side Neil Lennon put out were ruthless and displayed wonderful tenacity.

Celtic, against all odds, took the lead in the 21st minute when Victor Wanyama sent a towering header past Victor Valdes in the Barcelona goal.
The Celtic fans, who were all part of the pre-match full stadium display, raised the noise which would have intimidated even the most experienced players.  

From that point on, it was attack after attack from the Catalan giants. But as Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville put it, “It was controlled defending.”

Towards the end of the match, Barcelona turned to their bench and made three changes. Cue 60,000 gulps. Cesc Fabregas, David Villa and Gerard Pique all came on. But it was Celtic’s substitute, 18-year-old Tony Watt, who would make the headlines.
A long ball from Fraser Forster was mistimed by Xavi, and Watt ran through and finished like he had been doing it at this level for years.

Despite a late goal from Lionel Messi, Celtic held on to the result that will live long in the memory. This was a brilliant night for Celtic and the whole of Scottish football.

Well, maybe not if you’re from the blue half of Glasgow.