https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBZ7NMfsjZg
On this day 4 years ago, at around about this time, Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink was scoring a 93rd minute winner against the huns that launched one of the most unlikely title winning comeback runs.
I was in the Jock Stein Stand with my good pal Rocko. Where do the years go?
[quote=“Bandage, post: 543716”]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBZ7NMfsjZg
On this day 4 years ago, at around about this time, Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink was scoring a 93rd minute winner against the huns that launched one of the most unlikely title winning comeback runs.
I was in the Jock Stein Stand with my good pal Rocko. Where do the years go?[/quote]
Nakamuras opening wonder strike in the same game was amazing!
On this day 14 years ago Celtic stopped Rangers from winning 10 league titles in a row.
THE late 1960s and early ‘70s were truly memorable and, indeed, were the golden years of Celtic Football Club.
The nine championships in a row bear witness to that fact but those years were also about so much more than claiming the title at the end of every season.
There was the small matter of winning the European Cup in 1967 and reaching the final again three years later as well as another couple of semi-final appearances thrown in for good measure.
Not that the other silverware up for grabs in the shape of the Scottish and League Cups were being neglected as domestic final after domestic final were reached.
Indeed, season 1967/68 when the Celts suffered an early exit from the Scottish Cup to Dunfermline was the ONLY season during that period when the Celts weren’t on the verge of claiming the Treble – in all other nine seasons they won the title and reached both domestic finals.
The lynchpin of the whole triumphant period, though, was winning nine-in-a-row. That was the axis around which everything else revolved and created the greatest team in Celtic’s history.
It was a source of great pride at the time and as much as we wanted to do the nice round double figure thing and make it 10-in-a-row, it wasn’t to be.
The nine-in-a-row run had bridged two generations of Celtic players and now this tired mixture of old and new was coming to the end of its existence.
There wasn’t the same verve and, some said to stop Celtic’s monopoly at the top of the tree, the Premier Division was introduced to replace the old Division One and Celtic’s golden years faded.
One aspect that didn’t fade, though, was the pride of all Celtic supporters in the achievement and, like the 7-1 game and the Lisbon final, even those who weren’t around at the time to witness and enjoy the proceedings lapped up all the reminiscing pouring form the pages of the history books.
Come the 1990s, history was being rewritten, though, and this wasn’t making for a rattling good read either – the other side of Glasgow’s footballing divide were starting to rack up the titles in a spend, spend, spend policy.
In fact, they had started to stockpile the championship wins immediately after Celtic’s wonderful Centenary Year of ‘87/88 when we all thought we had gained a foothold to mount a challenge on Rangers’ new spending and import policies.
The club didn’t build on the success of the 100-year milestone, though, and slowly but surely, a couple of titles for Rangers turned to four, then six then….
You get the picture, a succession of Celtic managers tried and failed to stop the end-of-season parties along Edminston Drive and there seemed no end in sight – Rangers had reached nine and, horror of horrors, were homing in on the dreaded 10 in season 1997/98.
In a last toss of the dice, Dutchman Wim Jansen was drafted in to pull his finger out of the dam that was harnessing all the championship silverware on the south side of Glasgow.
The Celts rallied and showed they were at least able to put up some fight when they lifted the League Cup in November of that season, but would that instil enough belief to wrench the title from the hands of Rangers?
To say it was tight would be an understatement but the Ibrox side had the upper hand in the big derby meetings that season with two wins to Celtic’s one, with the other game being drawn.
That final Rangers win was clocked up with four games to go for each team, both teams were on 66 points and the Ibrox side were ahead by one goal in the GD column.
The following Saturday, Celtic saw off Motherwell by 4-1 while, 24 hours later, Rangers fell 1-0 to Aberdeen at Pittodrie thanks to a Stephen Glass goal – the Celts were three points ahead and three goals better off – the atmosphere was heating up.
The following Saturday both teams were in action but the day didn’t go exactly the way Celtic wanted it as they could only muster a 0-0 draw with Hibernian while Rangers rocked Hearts 3-0 – Celtic were one point ahead and goal difference was equal with two games to go – the atmosphere was reaching boiling point.
On the coming Saturday, Rangers were at home to Kilmarnock while Celtic would visit Dunfermline the following day so the Ibrox side had the opportunity to move two points ahead of the Celts and put pressure on the challengers.
However, the game at Ibrox was frittering to a 0-0 draw which would at least put Rangers level with Celtic but there was a twist in the tale.
In the 95th minute, Killie’s Ally Mitchell scored to stun Ibrox into silence and send thousands of Celtic fans with their ears glued to radios into realms of ecstasy – the title could be won at East End Park the following day and the mercury went off the top off the scale.
All the Celts had to do was win on a gloriously sunny day in Dunfermline and not only would the title be theirs – but the dreaded 10 would be stopped.
Everything was going to plan when Simon Donnelly fired Celtic in front in the 35th minute and it looked like the 10 was finally put to rest.
Just seven minutes from time, though, tragedy struck when a looping header from Craig Faulconbridge unbelievably managed to end up in the back of the net – Celtic were still two points and a goal ahead but the spectre of the 10 was back on and the mercury dropped like a stone.
The following Saturday was May 9, 14 years ago today, and Scottish football came to a virtual standstill as all eyes focused on Celtic Park where the Bhoys entertained St Johnstone and Tannadice where Dundee United took on Rangers.
Thousands more packed Ibrox where their game was beamed to a big screen and a helicopter was booked to fly their team back to Glasgow to celebrate 10-in-a-row!
That all depended on Celtic slipping up, but Henrik Larsson fired the Celts into the lead right at the start of the game and that settled the nerves – NOT!
We needed another goal to cement the title and stop the 10 as news was coming through from Tayside that Rangers were leading and still we hadn’t scored that elusive goal.
Our hearts were in our mouths when George O’Boyle went perilously close for St Johnstone but with the clock approaching 4.28pm, Harald Brattbakk scooped home the goal that stopped the 10.
Nerves were shattered and frayed but nigh on a decade of misery was all but wiped out when the final whistle went and Celtic’s nine-in-a-row accomplishment, thankfully, wasn’t bettered or beaten.
Wrong thread mate.
How did Brattbakk’s goal stop the 10 if they were already leading at the time?
Francis Hughes, never forgotten.
Tommy Burns passed away this day four years ago.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRiAQNz1E4g
YNWA Tommy.
4 years - fuckin hell, where have they gone ?
Tommy Twists
Tommy Turns
Tommy Burns
RIP Tommy…YNWA
21 years ago today
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rc-l2dAdw-o
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20 years ago today FC Barcelona won its first European Cup.
Four years ago today
Raymond McCreesh and Patsy O’Hara died 31 years ago today - never forgotten.
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10 years ago today the Walker’s Leprechaun called his manager an English cunt and walked out on his country.
I genuinely can’t understand anyone who takes Roy Keane’s side in the Saipan incident. Genuinely now.
Incorrect. There’s no debate about what happened. Keane walked out. He admits this. Which makes the protestations of people like you even more pathetic.
http://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/keane-why-i-walked-out-192756.html
he walked out, he admitted it a few weeks abck
