67 Fanzine - Issue Zero by Celtic Fanzine

67 April 2011

Issue #0

faithful through and through www.67fanzine.com

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NEIL LENNON: 11 YEARS OF ABUSE

Contents

3. Editorial

Welcome to the First Issue of 67

4. Scars of Oppression A Poem by DavidTrihy

5. Jock Stein: Celtic’s Chosen One

Tony McHugh takes a look at the legendary Jock Stein and what happened before he returned to Paradise.

7. Laptop Loyal

Harper launches into the mainstream media in Scotland

"He has been a catalyst for a resurgent Celtic side who have taken the sword to Rangers."

The Commons Denominator p9

9. The Commons

Denominator

The former Derby winger has become one of Celtic’s top stars after only a few months.

10. An Old Firm or just a Rangers problem?

Total Celtic looks at the recent trouble surrounding the Scottish Cup clash and why Celtic should not be held accountable.

11. From Albert, with Love....

Paul Larkin gives us an insight into his latest book and gives away three signed copies of the book.

13. You’ll Never Wok Alone

Alan K looks at the 1979 friendly match against the Chinese National side.

14. League Cup Final Preview

Michael Gunn previews Sunday’s clash against the Huns.

16. Neil Lennon: 11 Years of Abuse

Phil Mac Giolla Bhain looks at the vile abuse and threats Neil Lennon has had to put up with since his move to Celtic 11 years ago.

18. Remember the First Time

Sparrow Thirteen talks about the first time his Celtic ‘cherry’ was popped,and has never looked back since.

Featured Article

Jock Stein: Celticâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Chosen One

Text | Tony McHugh

AS the crowd huddled together on a dull Saturday afternoon in front of the main stand at Celtic park many might have been forgiven for thinking “why oh why are we here?” However those that were present before the Hamilton Accies game to see the unveiling of the fantastic Jock Stein statue were not there to see the Lisbon lions or wee Fergus but to honour a Celtic hero. A man who single handily changed not only Celtic FC but the whole of Scottish football, a man who won a European cup with a team full of Scottish players ( Craig Levein struggles to find 11 Scots to beat Liechtenstein). The man and truly Celtic’s chosen 1 was Jock Stein. All Celtic fans know how Mr Stein turned Celtic into first of all a force in Scotland (He won the cup 6 weeks after becoming the manager) and then turning us into 1 of the best teams in the world during the late 60’s and mid 70’s. However not many fans now remember what sort of condition Celtic were in before they won the Scottish Cup in 1965 beating Stein’s former team Dunfermline Athletic at Hampden . Celtic had beat Rangers in the final of the League cup famously 7-1 in 1957 and were expected to be challenging for trophies and dominating Scotland under the guidance of anther Celtic legend Jimmy McGrory. That was the theory, what did happen was that Celtic went 8 years without winning a trophy. Now when you hear Celtic did not win a trophy in 8 years you automatically think that Rangers were dominating like they did during the bad years of the late 80’s & 90’s.... wrong!! The poor Celtic fan had to watch the likes of Dundee, Kilmarnock and worse of all Hearts win the old Division 1, with Rangers winning it 4 times. On top of this your average Celtic fan had to watch Frank Haffey be our first choice goalkeeper. For any Celtic fans who have never heard of Frank Haffey he was a mixture of Gordon Marshall and Rab Douglas but 10 times as worse. Haffey actually got some Scotland caps but after he played in Scotland’s 9-3 defeat to England he never got capped again. Celtic’s performance between 57 & 65 were nothing short of shocking, in season 59/60 that bastion of total football Hearts somehow managed to win the league, where did we finish I hear you cry??? We finished in glorious 9th position, 21 points behind the Jambos and what is more amazing Jimmy McGrory kept his job as manager!! During McGrory’s last years in charge we never finished 2nd in the league, we finished 3rd 3 times, but also finished as low as 8th and 9th in the early 60’s. The Scottish cup in this period were no better if you were a Celtic fan during this dark period , losing 2 cup final replays first to Jock Stein’s Dunfermline in 1961 and then to our great friends from

the south side of Glasgow in 1963. Mc Grory’s Celtic could play they had Pat Crerand, John Divers , Charlie Gallagher but similarly to Tommy Burns team of the mid 90’s they always seemed not strong enough to cope with the pressure of playing for a winning Celtic. This was shown in 61/62 when they were beaten heavily by St Mirren 3-1 in the SemiFinal when they were favourites to get to the final, however the worst was yet to come for Celtic fans. In season 63/64 Celtic entered into the European Cup Winners cup as a result of Rangers winning the league and Celtic being the beaten finalists. In the 1st round we knocked out Basle 10-1 0n aggregate and then defeated Dynamo Kiev & Slovan Bratislava in the Quarter Final. In the Semi – Final Celtic were drawn against MTK Budapest of Hungary. Hungarian football was on the decline from its heyday of the 50’s and again Celtic was expected to get to the final. The first leg went according to plan at Celtic Park were we won 3-0. Now to be 3-0 up in a 1st leg of a semi final you would be quietly confident, well the Celtic board at the time thought so too as they apparently booked flights to Brussels where the Final was to be played. Sadly this was Celtic before Stein & before a crowd of 100,000 partisan Hungarian fans Celtic crashed to a 4-0 defeat and lost 4-3 in aggregate to MTK. So by the 9th March 1965 enough was enough for the Celtic board and Jock Stein became manager of Celtic. The Celtic board at this time was run by Sir Bob Kelly who initially wanted Stein’s number 2 Sean Fallon to be the manager with Stein and Kelly having input into team selections. Stein said no straight away and at this point our clubs history could have been so very different but Kelly knowing how good a tactician Stein was offered full reigns to his new manager. Stein was only Celtic’s 4th manager since 1888 and the 1st Protestant to manage the hoops. Unlike Rangers in the 1960’s who would not sign any Catholics, Celtic FC had the attitude that no mater your race, colour or background if you were good enough then you could be successful at Celtic Park which now in the 21st century is even more so as we have players from Honduras, Israel and South Korea . The 8 seasons after Stein’s arrival were certainly different to the 8 previously, before we won 1 League Cup & 1 Scottish Cup. The 8 seasons after we won 1 European Cup, 8 League Titles, 5 League Cups and 4 Scottish Cups. The man was simply a genius and he truly was Celtic’s chosen 1.

Text | Padraig Whelan

Jock Stein statue unveiled

Celtic’s game at home to Hamilton on the 5th of March may have seemed like your average run of the mill league fixture but it was a very important one for the club. It was the day that the club unveiled a beautiful bronze statue of Jock Stein. The statue is a fitting tribute to the man who brought the European Cup to Paradise with his brand of “pure, beautiful, inventive football.” The statue, which depicts Stein holding the European Cup, has gone down wonderfully with the Celtic support and takes pride of place outside the front entrance of the stadium. It was sculpted by John McKenna and weighs roughly 450 kg. Speaking at the unveiling, Celtic chairman John Reid said the club was extremely proud to have honoured the great man in such a way. “It gives us immense pleasure to unveil this statue,” Reid said. “Jock will undoubtedly be remembered as one of world football’s greatest managers – a man of immense stature who gave so much to Celtic, Scotland and football in general.” The new memorial is not the first time that the club have acknowledged the ex-Scotland manager in such a way with a stand at Parkhead already baring the name of the Lanarkshire-born man. Stein’s captain for much of his Celtic career, Billy McNeill, was also in attendance at the unveiling and said he was happy that the statue allowed the Hoops faithful to pay tribute to him. “Every Celtic supporter held Jock Stein in high esteem and Jock knew exactly what they contributed to the club, that they were and are, the lifeblood of Celtic,” he said. “I know our fans will be delighted that he now stands at Celtic Park and is remembered in this way.”

Text | Harper www.LostBhoys.com

Opinion

Laptop Loyal

WHEN I was first contacted about this the new 67 fanzine the first thought that crossed my mind was - is there a market for another Celtic publication? My view is yes there most definitely is. Let me tell you why I think so. The events this season surrounding the club and the reporting of it by the Scottish media has been nothing short of shameful. From the Dougie Dougie affair, Hugh Dallas and his bigoted ‘banter’ emails and the utterly unbelievable misrepresentation of Celtic Football Club and in particular Neil Lennon following the recent derbies. Only in Scotland would such biased rubbish be passed by editors to make the next days headlines and it’s not only the red tops that are it, STV and the BBC have been no less compliant. Let’s deal with the newspapers first and foremost and the utterly irresponsible reporting of the threats that have and are being made against Neil Lennon and his

RIP family. Anywhere else in the modern world these criminal acts would be vilified by all and sundry but in Scotland we read things like ‘Lennon needs to reign it in’, ‘was a volatile player’ etc. etc. We are led to believe by these peddlers of lies that Neil Lennon brings these things on himself. Of course we know this is in fact true, he does, but for very different reasons than the Scottish hacks would have you think. Neil Lennon brings these attacks on himself and his family for being a Northern Irish catholic in charge of Celtic, no more no less. Unless you take into the account the added hurt for the Rangers support of seeing such a man orchestrate Celtic to outplay and out maneuver Walter Smith and Ally McCoist at every turn. Rangers as a club are getting desperate, their fans know it and the only way out they can see is to try and break the will of the Celtic manager. The threats are disgusting and no less outrageous was the campaign to try and further

smear Lennon with the race card. The media reported with glee as to how Lennon would be investigated by the police over alleged racist comments directed at Huns new anti-hero El Hadji Diouf. Once more they alluded to Lennon in a negative manner and did nothing more than encourage the putrid elements of the Rangers support. Four days later and the claims were rubbished by the player and his agent but it beggars belief that the police can take seriously a crime that is reported to them by people claiming to have lip-read their televisions. A quick check on some of the Rangers forums would have gotten to the root of the campaign very quickly. Like I said earlier - only in Scotland. Sticking with the newspapers for now and isn’t it convenient that all they seem to want to show picturewise is Neil Lennon snarling in the face of Ally McCoist. The O** F*** need to get their houses in order, the O** F*** players need to show more composure, the O** F*** fans

are out of control with alcohol and bigotry leading to many arrests and a rise in domestic violence. Sorry but you can just go ahead and replace the words O** F*** with the word RANGERS. Celtic do not have a disciplinary problem either on the pitch or in the stands, likewise Celtic do not need Alex Salmond to step in and tell us what we need to be doing to fix societies ill’s. What everyone NEEDS to do is stop poking things with kids gloves here and just admit this is a Rangers problem. Yes I accept Celtic have some idiots in amongst our support but so do every other club, there is only one club (ok maybe two with Hearts close on the path) that has a majority of supporters who have an elitist attitude with bigotry at it’s core. Deal with them and you deal with I’d say (at least) 75% of the problems the ‘summit on the hill’ identified. This then takes us on to the STV and BBC sports reporters who can only ever show other teams scoring against Celtic in their news summaries of other clubs to start with. Who also recently managed to point the finger of blame subtly in the direction of Neil Lennon and Celtic rather than the Rangers hooligans that kicked the Celtic players off the park and the ones that ripped the seats out of the stand and destroyed the toilet facilities. Even on the night the ‘summit’ was the main news on STV they twice played the video in slow motion of Lennon reacting to McCoist and no other clips from the night in question. No clips of McCoist being dragged away from the Celtic technical area, no clips of Rangers players man-handling the referee, no clips of Diouf inciting the Rangers supporters at the end or elbowing the Celtic physio and most certainly no clips of the ‘people’ belting out their banned and criminal anthems of hate. No lip-reading required there... The Scottish media therefore are complicit while they ignore the real problem and deflect the blame towards us. We even had the comedy moment on Twitter when STVGerry claimed there was an agenda against the media (stop laughing). I asked him - if the media have no agenda then why did the English edition of the Sun carry a true reflection of what had went on in the cup tie and the Scottish edition was completely different...I’m still waiting on an answer... So what can we do? Well the first thing we can do is strangle them financially. It really is as simple as not buying any of the newspapers or visiting their websites that rely on hits for advertising. If you are a reader of the Daily Record

for example, what is it that this newspaper offers you in objective reporting when it comes to Celtic? It offers me nothing. I don’t buy any of them now and I know without fear of contradiction I’m not missing out on any amazing writing or editorials. As more and more people get smart phones, iPads and the like the need for print newspapers are coming to an end. I get all my Celtic news online via twitter links and the various Celtic websites. I myself am an admin on www.LostBhoys.com and I can promise you this you will get a fairer preview and review of a Celtic game on our site than you will in any of the rags. And I mean by that you will read an honest point of view at all times whether it be critical or gushing praise and I don’t think the standard of the written word is in any way inferior by timternet writers than those being paid to put us down. Celtic fan driven media is the only place I need to hear the opinion of anyone on any Celtic related matters, the rest simply don’t matter anymore. The mainstream media has lost what little credibility it did or might have had in these last few months in my opinion. There are so many good quality Celtic bloggers and commentators why does anyone bother with a Laptop

Loyal that will never report matters involving Celtic Football Club fairly. The time is now at hand when the Celtic support is really beginning to rally as one and we are telling our detractors ‘enough is enough’. Pick up the Celtic fanzines to read in work and have in your van for your teabreaks, get the LostBhoys and Celtic Underground podcasts on your iPods and listen to real Celtic fans discuss real Celtic issues. Get online and read honest and witty accounts that are of a standard the red tops could only dream about. Tune into the HomeBhoys live Celtic phonein on a Tuesday night broadcasting on Ustream instead of Radio Snyde and give Housey your support on his Over And Over show also on Ustream every Friday night. We have a plethora of Celtic media out there at your fingertips and it is growing all the time. So good luck to the new 67 fanzine/ezine and all the rest of the Celtic outlets. The Laptop Loyal are nothing but a poison - we don’t need them anymore.

Opinion

The Commons Denominator

Text | David Trihy

MUCH has been said about Celtic’s recent form. The three nil thrashing of Rangers, the competent win over Dundee United on a pitch that can only be described by comparing it to the beach you see in the opening scenes in “Saving Private Ryan” and the ease in which Celtic beat Aberdeen three games on the trot. To give credit to one player would be unjust but one player stands out for not only great individual performances but also great contributions to the team. That player’s name is Kris Commons.

grumble or say a bad word against his subbing at Ibrox when Neil Lennon decided he needed to take him off so early. When it was clear he was going to have a big say in the outcome of the match. He has certainly taken the fans by storm, it feels like he was always there in the famous jersey and not a just January addition. The left side of Celtic’s team has been a major problem for the last few years but with Commons and the much loved and lauded Emilio Izaguirre bossing it Celtic have two players who would be the envy of most teams.

He has been a catalyst for a resurgent Celtic side who have taken the sword to Rangers. His record in the mighty hoops stands at five goals in eight appearances which is an amazing tally considering his position is left midfielder. Couple that with his impressive chip over Jamie Langfield seven minutes into his Celtic debut and the equaliser at Ibrox nothing seems to faze the bhoy. His scoring record with Derby County was also very impressive.

The midfield at Celtic has always been traditionally a strong point and we’ve seen in recent times Shunsuke Nakamure, Stilian Petrov, Paul Lambert, Alan Thompson among others come and go through the Parkhead doors. And not since the aforementioned Thompson have Celtic had a natural left sided midfielder with so much quality. He really is the complete package. He reminds me of Thompson in regards to his set pieces and shooting, but a little quicker.

With all due respect, how this guy never made it past NPower Championship level I will never know. He has undoubted quality. He brings so much to the team. A wicked shot; great set pieces. For once this season Celtic finally look capable of scoring from corners and indirect free kicks. Good link up play with the strikers and a good professional. He didn’t

Surely Celtic paid three million maybe even four million plus for this player I describe. Nope a mere three hundred thousand British pounds. A steal? Yes, for a combined fee of eight hundred and eighty thousand Celtic have the best left sided players in the country. Neil Lennon has proved to be an astute

manager in the transfer market. Kris Commons, Joe Ledley, Biram Kayal and Scott Brown have cost less to assemble than the equivalent midfield of our cross town rivals and no doubt they have more than double the quality. Kris Commons has chipped in with some spectacular goals, his debut goal and the recent wonder strike against Hamilton spring to mind but the goal at Ibrox was vital to our treble hopes and the third against Rangers at Parkhead was just the cherry on top of a wonderful day. He may well have a big part to play in deciding where the Scottish Premier League ends up this season and hopefully come the twentieth of march we’ll all be saluting that Bhoy Commons for another wonder strike to keep the treble dream alive. Commons has contributed much to the cause so far and has more than justified his fee ten times over. So from all the Celtic fans the world over, we give you a big Hail! Hail!

Opinion

Text | Total Celtic

An Old Firm or just a Rangers problem?

Celtic also have to fight with the SFA to get a fair hearing for our manager. Sent off against a game with Hearts he was given a unprecedented 6 match dug-out ban. George Peat even calling Celtic “Tiresome” for appealing. Celtic had to hire a criminal defense lawyer to get this cut down to 4 matches. This also stems from the past, after the SFA demanded in the 50’s that Celtic stop flying an Irish flag above Celtic Park, and issue that Celtic won. And recent issues with the strange decisions referees gave to opposing teams & the Dallas email bigotry.

AFTER Celtic’s magnificent result against Rangers in the Scottish Cup I was absolutely delighted. We had knocked out our City rivals out, a massive result another blow to Rangers, who are defending an SPL crown.

man who has serious issues. This moment started the indiscipline of the rest of the Ranger team. 3 Sending offs 9 Yellow Cards and McCoist whispering god knows what into Lennons ear at Full time to provoke a reaction.

The game itself was marred in a few incidents im sure you have heard. First we had the Rangers fans singing the banned song about the death of millions of people (famine Song), then about the sectarian bile of being “up to their knees in Fenian blood” (Billy Boys). After this came the Nazi salutes (pictured above) and the destruction of seats and toilets inside Celtic Park, video widely available (that Rangers FC have to pay for incidentally).

What came next was stunning from the Scottish press. The term “Old Firm” used to describe Celtic & Rangers was quickly wheeled by most of the tabloids to admonish blame from Rangers FC & dish out some to Celtic FC (Celtic with 3 bookings). This even went as far as the First Minister coming out with the same sort of blame game. Even odd comments from the head of the SFA saying Celtic’s players were as much to blame as ranger’s (Even as Rangers players grabbed the arm of the referee).

Rangers played to a new tactic, frustrate and anger Celtic and try to capitalise on it. The system did not work as Neil Lennon had seen the similar system that Rangers had used on Sporting Lisbon last week and had set up the team for it. Celtic played football “the Glasgow Celtic Way” and out fought and beat Rangers. The solitary goal coming from our prolific right back Mark Wilson. Rangers player El Hadji Douif shouldered Celtic’s physio as they ran passed each other on the pitch, resulting in Celtic’s management team asking why he had done it, this was met with verbal abuse from the

Shocking from the press who refused to blame the one side whom the stats stacked up against. I believe this is because the Scottish Press know many Celtic fans do not read the tabloids due to the incidents in the 70’s onward with the Scottish press and Celtic (Google Blue Peter Jock Stein) and many of them have to keep the Rangers fans onside to make ends meet. Tired English press who never witnessed the game following the lead of their Scottish counterparts, with comments such as “Just one side of the Sectarian Old Firm Coin”

So seemingly Celtic have to battle against both the SFA & Scottish Press for anything resembling fairness! This comes at the same time that our manager has had bullets and parcel bombs sent to him, as well as death threats and getting attacked in the streets of Glasgow. No wonder Neil Lennon is shouting at officials to get a fair match of what is JUST A FOOTBALL GAME! With the coming of the New Media (Twitter, Blogging & Facebook) Celtic fans have banded together in the 1000’s to right the wrongs of injustice against our famous club. The Sacking of Hugh Dallas being a feather in our cap already! Along with the breaking of Rangers Financial difficulties. I urge Celtic fans around the globe to unite and make Celtic Cyberspace 2nd to none! Hail! Hail! We will never walk alone!

Text | Paul Larkin

Review & Competition

From Albert, with Love....

FROM Albert, With Love is a look back on the dramatic events from season 1985/86 from author Paul Larkin’s point of view. He takes us on his own journey to May 3rd 1986 then opens up to hear the view of many of the main players that day as well as many of the spectators. With seven minutes to go, the title was heading to Tynecastle... Why only 56 pages we hear you say? Well, it’s 80s fanzine style, they are big pages, no pics and 43,000 words, ok! Contributors include Paul Brennan, Graeme Sharp, Tosh McKinlay, Phil Mac Giolla Bhain, John Paul Taylor and Albert Kidd. Artwork by Average Joe Miller. 20% of the proceeds from this book will go to the Good Child Foundation(Thai Tims).

Book Excerpt Here we go again. The opening day of the season, you’re always that bit more keen than most weeks. I was even more eager than that as, for the first time in my life, I was getting a train to a football match. Ok, so it was only from Edinburgh Waverley to Edinburgh Haymarket but still. I went with my big cousin Kevin and his mate, both of whom worked for the railways and on the train we encountered some huns who were on their way to Ibrox. There was abuse towards us but, being 11, most of it went over my head. I do though distinctly remember stepping off the train to the

song “No Pope of Rome”, from the Huns like, it wasn’t being played over the tannoy system of the train or station. We left them a finger each and walked along Gorgie Road towards Tynecastle, it was a searingly hot day in Edinburgh that August and any thoughts of us getting into the ground in good time were banished as we stopped in the Balmoral pub for a soothing half or six. I say “We”, I stood outside of course. Bastards. Leaving the pub around five minutes before kick off meant gaining access to the traditional Celtic end behind the goals was impossible unless you didn’t mind only seeing the second half of the game. So we took a right on McLeod Street and headed for the enclosure under the main stand. The enclosure was like an unofficial Celtic part of the stadium for the day, if you want an explanation, I guess it was where your less rabid Jambo bastards and your more clued in drunk Tims went to watch the game.

before the rise of the internet(maybe), everyone was either called “Wee Man” or Big Man” depending on their size. A few years later I was at Hampden for a Scotland v Poland game and was there when the Scotland team bus arrived, Alan McInally got off the bus and was universally ignored. Except by me. As he walked past me I said “Good luck Rambo” and he turned round and said “Thanks Big Man”.

John Colquhoun was making his debut for Hearts and I must admit to having a wee soft spot for him when he was at Celtic, primarily because I saw him scoring against Hearts at Celtic Park, which clearly caught the eye of the watching Jambos too. He left Celtic that summer for £50,000 to sign for Hearts(that makes it sound like we had to pay him, which when you think about it, you should have to make someone sign for Hearts) as he wasn’t able to displace Davie Provan who, in true Celtic style, retired about four months later. Even with my young eyes it was obvious that Colquhoun was having a great game and opened the scoring in 28 minutes right in front of us in the enclosure. To my right Jambos jumped about like lunatics, as opposed to before where they stood about like lunatics, and my cousin and his mate scowled. It looked like Colquhoun was going to run all over the top of us until around 40 minutes where all he had to do was run onto a ball, with our goalie Pat Bonner down, and tap it into an empty net. I say all, he did have Roy “The Bear” Aitken bearing down him and, for wont of a better phrase, Colquhoun shat himself as Big Roy put in the kind of tackle that created the kind of spectacle that you normally only see when a wrecking ball is launched into a building. Colquhoun drifted out the game after that.

To be fair to Hearts, they were defending well and looked like they might be good for two points until the 91st minute where Celtic got a free kick at the Gorgie Road end, just outside the box and towards our side of the enclosure. I remember the disbelief around me as it looked like Peter Grant was going to take it and folk screamed at Davie Hay to tell him to leave it(or words to that effect). Just as it looked like he was placing it, he touched it to Paul McStay who rifled it into the bottom corner off the post and grown men around me embraced like they had just been told they were leaving Death Row for the Playboy Mansion.

Half time came and I remember sub Alan McInally running past us to us singing “Rambo, Rambo, Rambo, Rambo”, he looked right at me and said “Thanks Wee Man”. In Scotland,

Second half came and at last Celtic started to get into the game, you could tell that with amount of abuse we were getting alone. Paul McStay had started to make an impact. The Maestro to everyone except himself, you’d be hard pushed to find a Celtic supporter, post Danny pre Henrik, that didn’t list Paul as their all time favourite player. He just had everything and anyone who lists “Celtic Reserves” as their other favourite team is ok in my book, which means he’s ok here, get it?

There was no time for anything else and the sheer dejection around us from the Jambos was very apparent. We walked all the way along towards Princes St after the game and I met my Mum at the Grosvenor Hotel. That night I went back to play football and talk about the game with my mates. Very few people supported Hearts in the area and there was a large Hibs support around from the generation above me. There were a few Tims and a few Huns too. I always known as Celtic to everyone who knew me, people fluctuated between teams, some didn’t go at all but I always was Celtic, always wore the colours, never hid. It was around this time I got my first Celtic Supporters Club jumper. It was a forest green v neck with the club crest and my name on it and I loved it. One day I was up town with a mate, Stebo, and was in John Menzies in Princes St. Stebo was elsewhere in the shop and as I

looked at the records, someone punched me in the mouth. As I looked, shocked, I realised right away it was because of the jumper. So twice within in a couple of weeks I got a taste of what you’re up against when you support Celtic and it wasn’t nice, nor should anyone have to suffer that because of they support. It was, however, preferable though to the broken jaw the guy got when Stebo, at 12 years old a towering 6 ft 2, caught him as he tried to leave the shop and hit him harder than Mike Tyson could.

We will pick three entries with the right answer and contact the winners to get their details to send their prizes off. Send your answer to 67fanzine@gmail. com with the Subject title: Competition. We shall announce the winners in next month’s issue, and have another competition lined up also.

Years later I found out that this game had been listed in the programme of events for the Edinburgh Festival. I wonder if any tourists trotted along and, if so, what had they made of it all? Did they know, for example, just how important that McStay goal would turn out to be...

Competition Time

EDITORIAL

The Author of ‘From, Albert with Love’ Paul Larkin has kindly donated three signed copies of his book for our first competition.

Tel 07780873536 E-mail 67fanzine@gmail.com Editor: Padraig Fitzgerald Sub-Editor: Andrew Lamont Design & Layout: Andy M

All you need to do is answer this simple question:

Thanks to: David Trihy, Harper, Paul Larkin, Total Celtic, Joe O’Rourke, tinsoldier.

Who did Albert Kidd score against on the final day of the 1985-86 season?

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If You Know Your History

Text | Alan K

You’ll Never Wok Alone!

crowd of 18,000 didn’t see anymore goals until the 69th minute and it didn’t come from the home team. Pacy Yang Yumin managed to find the head of teacher Xu Yonglai to give the visitors a lifeline. However, Celtic had no intention of letting them back into the game. Provan was involved again when his corner led to Murdo McLeod shooting low into the opposition’s net. McLeod added to the scoreline and his own tally in the 73rd minute when he slammed the ball into the net from 20 yards out. McCluskey matched McLeod when he met a Provan cross to put Celtic 5-1 up. McCluskey went looking for his hat-trick in the 87th minute only to find himself being hauled to the ground in the box. McCleod quickly snapped up the ball and slipped it past Xu Jainping, leaving the keeper to pick the ball out of his net for the sixth time.

NOT many Chinese footballers have played on the hallowed turf of Celtic Park. The unforgettable (for all the wrong reasons) Du Wei didn’t manage an appearance at Paradise in his spell with the club. September signing Zheng Zhi became the second Chinaman to don the famous green and white hoops and has racked up a few appearances since joining Celtic. Other than them the only Chinese footballers to set foot on our hallowed turf have come with visiting teams. This may be a surprise to some, but one of those teams was China itself. They came to Britain for a tour in 1979, taking in games against Middlesborough, West Brom and Chelsea as well as ourserlves. They also brought a young squad, their oldest player was only 26. One of their main attacking threats was Yang Yumin, a striker who could cover 100 metres in 11.3 seconds, and another was a teacher, which would have come in handy as they also had several students in their squad. However, running out against Celtic and into the atmosphere of Celtic Park was unlikely to phase

them as they were used to playing in front of 100,000 fans back in China. The club were excited at the thought of playing the Chinese, with the official programme proclaiming, “Our visitors are reported to play an attacking game. That is a prospect which pleases Celtic. It is how we approach football. It is the way to win.” Their game against Celtic kicked off at 7:30pm on the 8th of August. Celtic had lost 3-1 to Rangers in the Dryburgh Cup final 4 days earlier and the then Champions were looking to get back to winning ways against their far travelled opponents. They couldn’t have got off to a better start. With only 16 minutes on the clock Davie Provan fired the Hoops ahead. The move had started through a typical run upfield from Danny McGrain who adorned the front cover of the programme for the friendly. A powerful header put Celtic 2-0 up in the 21st minute through George McCluskey after Davie Provan followed his goal with a great assist from a free-kick. The

In the end, as they were expected to do so, Celtic ran out convincing winners. They went on to win the Scottish Cup against Rangers in the infamous Riot Final as Aberdeen were crowned champions. China failed to get out of their group in the 1980 Asian Games, yet found themselves runners up 4 years later. The game between Celtic and China wasn’t the biggest in the club has ever participated in, but it added another interesting tale to our fantastic history. If you are interested in writing a piece looking at the History of Celtic FC then email us at 67fanzine@ gmail.com with an article summary and idea.

Match Preview

League Cup Final Preview

Celtic Vs Rangers Insurance Cup Final

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CIS could easily be described as fortunate.

Kick Off:- 15:00 GMT, Sunday 20 March 2011-Hampden Park, Glasgow. CELTIC face Rangers on Sunday for only the 6th time this season, this time at neutral venue Hampden Park in the CIS Insurance Cup Final. The Hoops are chasing their 15th League Cup, having last won it under Gordon Strachan in the 2008-09 season, while Rangers hope to add to their collection.

Season Record But it won’t be easy for Walter Smith’s side, not only the more fatigued finalist having been knocked out of the Europa League on Thursday night in a gruelling encounter against PSV Eindhoven, but this season’s Old Firm matches have in the main been dominated by Celtic.

You’d have to go back to October last year for the previous time Rangers came away with victory, and even the draw they scraped in the Scottish Cup

Smith also possesses a much smaller squad, with rookies Salim Kerkar, Gregg Wylde, Jamie Ness and Kyle Hutton cobbling together a group of 23 “firstteam” players (with flop James Beattie out on loan.) By comparison Celtic have 25 first teamers plus 7 out on loan, albeit including long term absentee Andreas Hinkel. Aside from the form and fitness, the problems don’t stop there. Off the field a gigantic, unheeded tax bill looms over Govan. The midterm accounts remain ominously unpublished. Are the ghosts of the 90’s rattling at the door? A difficult time for Rangers, heaping pressure on an already momentous occasion.

Celtic possible lineup The selection causing Neil Lennon the biggest headache will surely be the replacement of Daniel Majstorovic. His experience and strength have been vital since his arrival, if a little clumsy at times. But alongside Charlie Mulgrew recently he has been faultless against Rangers. Glen Loovens will be expected to play having had a solid game against Inverness Caley mid-week despite giving away a penalty, which was arguably Frazer Forster’s fault. Although Thomas

Text | Michael Gunn

Rogne has been a more consistent performer in recent times, his lack of match sharpness and niggling thigh injury works against him. In midfield Lennon will consider Baram Kayal and Scott Brown irreplaceable – particularly in the rough and tumble of the Old Firm, so it’s between Ki SungYeung and Joe Ledley for the third midfield slot. It would be tempting to select the industry and strength in the tackle of the latter, but with Celtic likely to boss possession once again (especially if Rangers go 5-4-1), the technique and vision of Ki along with his superior ball-retention may be the more daring choice. Kris Commons has had a wonderful start to his Celtic career scoring twice now against Rangers since signing, and will surely start in his more familiar role high up (and free-ish) on the left. Georgios Samaras, who captained the side in Brown and Majstorovic’s absence, will likely get the nod ahead of Anthony Stokes – the Greek’s pace and unpredictability so often the bane to David Weir’s back-line.

Rangers possible lineup In the biggest games this season Walter Smith has generally opted for a superdefensive 5-4-1 formation, choosing defensive solidity over attack. Brazenly giving up swathes of possession, goals are sought either through long and direct counters or swinging in set-pieces from practically anywhere on the park. But the most significant development is Kyle Bartley’s removal from the squad due to injury. The Arsenal loanee suffered medial knee ligament damage on Thursday and therefore Smith’s hand is forced to depend on Madjid Bougherra and the ageing David Weir. With Bartley’s ability also to play in a holding midfield role, Smith’s options are limited. The second loanee - Ricky Foster is cup-tied, and this again stifles Smith’s options. Having played the past 2 matches at right-back, it’s likely that Steven Whittaker will be forced to drop into this position. Meaning Steven Naismith could make his starting return from injury on the right with Greg Wydle continuing on the left. El Hadji-Diouf, yet another loan signing when not engaging in embarrassing pantomime antics has had an underwhelming spell at Rangers and was dropped on Thursday, possibly with the Cup Final in mind. And while it may be suspected that Diouf’s presence is merely to cause trouble (keeping in mind Scottish referee’s tendency to make “honest” mistakes) there is still a good technical player in there somewhere, someone who has performed at the highest level. With Steven Davis and Maurice Edu sure to start in the centre, it’s down to how

cautiously Smith will approach the tie. The temptation will be to augment the midfield with Kyle Hutton, shielding the burden of Weir at the back. But Smith has more strength in depth in the forward positions, with Diouf, Lafferty and Weiss vying to play alongside Nikica Jelavic up front. However, the smart money could be on a 5 man midfield hell-bent on clogging up the centre of the park. A slightly more ambitious approach could be a 4-4-1-1, as played in the second half against PSV. On Thursday night. On that occasion Naismith provided support from midfield to first Lafferty and then Diouf. Evidence that even when chasing 2 goals, a 5 man midfield is still preferred.

Areas to watch It’s slightly disappointing that Rangers are now unable to play 5-4-1 - it is the ideal situation for Emilio Izaguirre to assume complete control of his flank. As seen in the previous 1-0 victory, Izaguirre and Wilson on the other side had storming games, with the latter grabbing a goal. But without Bartley the landscape has changed and the resulting 4-1-4-1 or 4-4-1-1 offers much more protection to the Rangers full-backs. Glenn Loovens has nothing short of a horrible history against Rangers, and Charlie Mulgrew in the truest sense is not a centre-back – so Smith will be looking to heap pressure from the air into this area. The strength of Jelavic may be a requirement, but Diouf’s experience and Machiavellian sneak has to be watched closely. Finally, and pardon the cliché, the game will be won and lost in the midfield. The Rangers team will be well drilled – tackle hard, leave the boot in, stifle and congest by fair means or foul. They’ll be looking to provoke retaliation, cards and farce. But Lennon’s men have to stick to the gameplan – the Celtic way. Keep it on the deck with confidence, and get the ball to our most attacking players in good areas. Celtic (from): Forster, Wilson, Loovens, Mulgrew, Juarez, Izaguirre, Ledley, Brown, Kayal, Ki, Samaras, Commons, Forrest, Hooper, Stokes, Zaluska, McCourt, Rogne. Rangers (from): Alexander, Bougherra, Weir, Whittaker, Davis, Edu, Fleck, Healy, Diouf, Jelavic, Naismith, Papac, Wylde, Hutton, Lafferty, Weiss, Hemmings, McGregor. Author Michael Gunn runs the website http://www.tictactic.co.uk where you can find Tactical Analysis, Player Profiles, Match Previews and more, all to do with Celtic F.C.

“Weir has been dragging that defence down like an old, rusty anchor all season.”

Text | Phil Mac Giolla Bhain

Featured Article

Neil Lennon: 11 Years of Abuse

congregate to re-affirm their hate of Catholics, Popes, Priests and, of course, the Irish. Although the people in leadership positions at the Ibrox club are appalled at this behaviour many of those targeting Lennon affiliate themselves to Rangers. It does not overstate it to say that there is a campaign by some Rangers supporters to chase Neil Lennon out of Celtic and ipso facto out of Scotland. I spoke with an official of another SPL club recently. He commented on seeing the Lurgan man at Celtic park on match day that “Lennon looked drawn, haggard and no wonder!” The Celtic manager now lives in a world of body guards and Special Branch officers. He no longer resides in his family home. He and his family have been relocated to a “safe house.” WHEN social historians come to analyse the phenomenon of Scotland and the West of Scotland in particular is abnormalising itself with regards to the Irish and Irishness. Perhaps the most striking manifestations of this at the moment are the restrictions being placed on the current C e l t i c manager Neil Lennon and his y o u n g family. In the last few months he ,his partner that their five year old son have been moved at very short notice out of their home in Glasgow in the middle of the night on police advice on three separate occasions. Bullets have been sent to him from the North of Ireland and recently a

hoax bomb addressed to Lennon was intercepted at Post Office sorting office in the West of Scotland. In August 2008 Lennon was hospitalised after being attacked by two men. The two Rangers supporters were gaoled for the “brutal” attack on the former C e l t i c captain the following year. L e n n o n ticks all the hate boxes of a belief s y s t e m that hasn’t been called out in Scotland by politicians and commentators. Instead it has been allowed to grow wherever Rangers are playing and on internet forums where the Ibrox club’s more crazed supporters

The Lurgan man has had a meeting with the club’s Chief Executive Peter Lawwell about Lennon’s future at the club. The rumours surrounding Celtic Park is that Lennon will live in the security cocoon for the next ten weeks or so till the end of the league then will seriously consider his position. It seems that the price for an Irish catholic to manage Celtic is to live in a high risk high security environment. The plight of Lennon and his young family has made it onto the front pages of the major Scottish titles. It couldn’t fail to. However there has been very little, if any, analysis of the role of Lennon’s Irishness in his current situation. In the aftermath of a rowdy Celtic v Rangers Scottish cup replay that saw three Ibrox men sent off, the referee manhandled by one of them and another refuse to leave the field of play after being sent off. The main story, according to the sports pages, was that Lennon, already under

huge personal strain, had squared up to Rangers Assistant manager Ally McCoist after the final whistle. Lennon had approached McCoist at the end of the game offering his hand in friendship and put and arm round the former Rangers striker. McCoist whispered something into Lennon’s ear. The Lurgan man reacted angrily. Pointing and snarling at McCoist. No one other than these two knows what was said. Glasgow and the internet forums are awash with theories. At the recent Scottish government summit called by First Minister Alex Salmond at the urging of Strathclyde C h i e f Constable Stephen House in the press conference afterwards Rangers’ C h i e f Executive M a r t i n Bain admitted that he was “uncomfortable” over the threats being made to Lennon. The day before the summit BBC radio Scotland gave Stephen Smith of the Rangers Supporters Trust 15 minutes of largely uninterrupted airtime to call for an SFA investigation into Neil Lennon because ion the opinion of the RST the Celtic manager was “out of control”. In the interests of balance Paul McBride, a leading lawyer who has recently represented Celtic and Lennon in their legal spats with SFA, was asked to respond to Mr.Smith. The lawyer’s first retort on air was “is there a doctor in the house?” There isn’t anyone else in British football that is currently forced to live and work under the daily realities of Neil Lennon’s life. The reason for his safe house existence is that he is an Irish Catholic managing Celtic. His ethnicity and religious heritage are central to his bête noire status among supporters of Scotland’s establishment club. Despite the centrality of his background to this story it gets

scant mention if it is mentioned at all in the Scottish media. The motivation for those that persecute and threaten Lennon and his family is described in the media as “sectarianism”, this social scourge which has been described as “Scotland’s shame”. The increasingly vocal and organised Irish community In Scotland retort that the country’s real shame is, in fact, Anti-Irish racism. As the campaign steps up to “tick the box” for Irish ethnicity in the Scottish census on March 27th it is worth reminding ourselves that an Irish identity is still “verboten” on the streets of Glasgow.

“The reason for his safe house existence is that he is an Irish Catholic managing Celtic.”

A n y attempt to analyse why Celtic’s Irish manager has to live as a high risk VIP needing a Close Protection team must focus on the key factor of his ethnicity and its low prestige within Scottish society. Lennon’s ethnicity is central to the dangers he is exposed to and the strain upon which he and his young family are currently living under. I do not expect sports journalists in Scotland (or anywhere else) to be expert in social science. However their inability to recognise the race hate that is staring them in the face leads me to the conclusion that they are active participants in their own ignorance. In doing so they are part of the problem and part of Scotland’s shame. To read more of Phil’s works, buy ‘A Rebel Journalist’ from: http://www. lulu.com/product/paperback/arebel-journalist/14686433

“Lennon will live in the security cocoon for the next ten weeks or so till the end of the league then will seriously consider his position.”

Text | Sparrow Thirteen

Fan Memories

Remember the First Time LIKE a poetic rite of passage, your first football match can trigger a plethora of emotions that will stay with you forever, in the same way that losing your virginity or passing your driving test can. There may have been a huge build up, only for the reality to bear no resemblance to the thoughts that had permeated the brain for years. As youthful naivety is consumed by time and education, the realisation kicks in that football, especially Celtic, cannot simply restricted to what happens on the park. Rightly or wrongly, Celtic will always be that often overused expression, more than a football club. Yet here is the time when my personal losing of the Celtic virginity cannot merely be stated without a warning, a disclaimer, and admittance of fact. I am not a Celtic supporter. Not in the conventional sense, anyway. Growing up in England, I was taken to see the local team in 1989 and stayed with them through thin, thinner and borderline eating disorder since. They could always be relied on to provide great comfort, like being 4-0 down at home to Crystal Palace after twenty minutes on one of my birthdays, or managing to finish outside the top six of any league since 1970. The Celtic connection appeared like a mystical creature, hiding away from the world until the time to pounce upon my teenage consciousness. Whilst I may have foolishly decided to support Coventry City due to location, Celtic grabbed me and refused to let go. My Mum’s side of the family would at least ensure that I had a ‘second’ team, as much as that notion can be scorned at. In 1997, I lost my second footballing virginity, being taken to the land of my parents for the first time, and to a three quarters built Paradise. At this stage in my albeit football obsessed existence, I was aware of a rivalry of sorts between this Old Firm, but only knew the other side to be called Fucking Rangers, as that what family members referred to them every May as they clocked up nine painful league titles in a row. The opponents were Dunfermline Athletic, substandard cannon fodder I assumed, on this Wim Jansen’s first league game in charge. The previous week’s defeat at Hibs was just a mere blip, and surely this was to be a routine victory, to give the 13 year old kid with an English accent a memorable trip to reflect upon. The day didn’t start off well, however, as I saw a pie seemingly in slow motion dive through the air before depositing its scolding contents all over my new Celtic T-shirt (a horrible Umbro piece of

leisurewear that my Mum turned pink days later). Turning to my uncle, I saw him clutching his face that had obviously been hit. Thoughts flashed through my brain. Is this that Old Firm anger that I had been hearing about? Had we been infiltrated by the huns who wanted to punch kind uncles in the face and throw pies over teenage kids? Were the 43 Dunfermline fans actually a bunch of crazy, pie hating folk? It wasn’t until I saw a dread locked fellow strolling over that the pieces slowly came together, revealing a less sinister story.

Henrik Larsson, in perhaps one of his first acts at Celtic Park, had misplaced a short during the warm up straight at my Uncle’s face. Thankfully, this was not a prophecy of his Celtic career, but the pie being left on my lap was sadly a metaphor of my Celtic career, as the Celts’ were left with egg on their faces, losing 2-1 to the Pars. Larsson came over to apologise and shook my hand, and it was only whilst watching him, as a 20 year old in the 2004 cup final, that I realised that, if I had been less blasé about meeting a footballer, I could have been his strike partner that day and we could have been buddies. Sadly for me but not for Celtic, this never came to fruition. I just remember being overawed by a stadium, which although not completed was far beyond the noise capacity that Highfield Road could ever produce, and I knew that I had found a team that I could proud to have a lifetime fling with. I never returned to Celtic Park until 2005, where I finally saw Celtic win in a drab game against Motherwell. Due to my obsessed love of my own football team, I rarely make more than four or five games a season, ensuring that I do not miss any City games in the process.

The childlike naivety gave way to someone who Irish politics at university, using the Old Firm as the basis of study, perplexing many down here who weren’t used to the inextricable political and social aspect of Celtic. Whether this last part is agreed with, I am delighted that my family never gave up on me, merely allowing me to trudge along the Championship, finishing 17th every season, and introduced me to a club that can capture the heart and soul of those whose first allegiance may be elsewhere. Just to prove that God does have a sense of humour, there has been a connection in recent years, with Hartson, Keane, Bellamy, Dublin, Telfer and Strachan’s managerial team all having had a foot in both camps. To top it all off, Neil Lennon made a name for himself at our main rivals, Leicester City. At this moment in time, I have never felt as much love for Celtic as I currently do. This is largely down to the aforementioned Lennon, and the way that he has the team playing. Having been at the Scottish Cup game against Rangers, I was astounded, shocked, and dismayed by the media smear campaign against the manager. No longer the naïve teenager who was aware of the huns only by name, I wasn’t surprised that Lennon was targeted. He stands for everything that the establishment hate, but the repulsion that I felt as I listened to callers on Radio Clyde argue in a pathetic manner that he somehow brings it on himself due to his actions is akin to arguing that victims on domestic violence somehow deserve it because they acted in a manner that the fist happy scumbag took a dislike to. This argument defies logic and intelligence, and yet lunatic ramblings such as the Rangers Supporters Trust are somehow given top billing on national radio stations. They may not be first in my affections, but I was led to Celtic in 1997, and I am proud to say I am a Celtic fan, even if there is a slight disclaimer next to that statement. If you have memories of when you watched Celtic, please email us your story and you could see your Fan Memories in the next issue of 67. And in return you will receive a free copy of the fanzine. Email your story to 67fanzine@gmail. com with the subject header - Fan Memories.