An amazing Celtic year

 

What an amazing year, glorious and tragic in equal measures as we enter 2009 with 4-in-a-row in sight and our city rivals on the brink of more upheaval as we strengthen our domestic dominance.

HAPPY NEW YEAR VIDEO

Winning at Ibrox was the perfect way to end the year, a win that meant much much more than three points, welcome as they were.

Earlier this year we were way behind Rangers, back-to-back defeats at Ibrox and at home to ten man Motherwell seemed to be the end of the road and a long painful close season in the shadow of a Rangers treble win and a possible UEFA Cup triumph to eclipse the joys of Seville held dear by a generation of Celtic fans.

How could that happen?

Thankfully it never came to pass, Rangers drew away to Dundee United, the door opened a little, we hammered Motherwell at Fir Park, beat Rangers back to back and after the horrible death of Tommy Burns and his uplifting funeral we were partying from Tannadice to Paradice and beyond as an unlikely championship was warmly greeted.

Perhaps you need to stare despair in the face to fully appreciate triumph but I wouldn't recommend it.

Again this season we've had our trials, watching Rangers win 4-2 at Celtic Park, a flattering scoreline on the day, was grim and scary as even Arthur Boruc lost his edge and a testing season loomed ahead whilst Rangers concentrated on the SPL as we faced the additional challenge of the Champions League.

The manager, the team and the squad have answered the challenge, 3-in-a-row hasn't made them complacent, it's made them hungry and the desire to avoid dark days is fresh enough to keep the team winning.

Twelve SPL wins on the bounce through autumn was a great achievement but there was still one question lurking over most of the present team... can they win at Ibrox?

Despite the title wins and Champions League qualifications there was still a cloud over the side cast by three straight defeats at Ibrox without even a goal scored.

Walter Smith's derby day record had taken a jolt in April with back-to-back defeats at Celtic Park but that 4-2 win gave legitimate grounds for concern and questions to be asked of the current team.

Did they have it in them to win at Ibrox against Rangers?

Were Hartley, Brown, McDonald, Caldwell, Robson and Samaras capable of winning at Ibrox, especially when the side is depleted?

Without Aiden McGeady, Shunsuke Nakamura, Shaun Maloney and Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink fit only for the bench Celtic emerged winners, deserved winners with the players reputations enhanced by the result.

It wasn't pretty but the team held firm, limited Rangers chances and when the moment came Scott McDonald showed class in his finish to join that elite group of Celts to have scored the winner at Ibrox.

The new year promises much, a squad hopefully returning towards full strength homing in on the title and perhaps domestic silverware as well to cushion the blow of no European football.

JANUARY

Begins tragically with the death of Phil O'Donnell, never the greatest of Celtic players but a local boy that lived the dream, wore the hoops and refused to buckle despite the constant injuries that hampered his Celtic career. On 9 May 1998 Phil played his part on a great Celtic day as St Johnstone were beaten 2-0 to secure 1-in-a-row and end a near decade of misery. Barry Robson and Georgios Samaras join the club after the earlier signing of Andreas Hinkel from Seville.

FEBRUARY

Two impressive 5-1 away wins to begin the month away to Kilmarnock and Aberdeen with some special magic from Aiden McGeady the highlight at Pittodrie. Barcelona called and truth be told they wiped the floor with us, after six straight Champions League wins at home Lionel Messi, Thierry Henry and the rest give us the runaround despite the 3-2 scoreline.

MARCH

I'd rather forget. Out of the Champions League after a 0-1 in the Camp Nou is more acceptable than losing a Scottish Cup replay at home to Aberdeen after snatching a draw right at the death of the first match. A miserable month ends with a 1-0 defeat at Ibrox as the SPL slips almost out of sight.

APRIL

More misery as Motherwell win 1-0 at Celtic Park but two wins over Rangers keep the SPL race alive although help is required from elsewhere... assuming that we're capable of winning our remaining matches. Nakamura and big Jan score wonderful and contrasting goals in the 2-1 victory with McDonald and Robson the matchwinners in the 3-2 game.

MAY

Sadness and shock as Tommy Burns loses his fight with cancer just months after being part of the dug-out, an incredible turn out in Glasgow's East End mourn the loss just two days before the league is won at Tannadice with Jan the man again as the celebrations kick-off. Tannadice was a great setting to win the league, the United supporters concerned only with football matters and perhaps a little appreciative of Celtic's win after some rough decisions against Rangers in recent months.

AUGUST

Back for more but no big name signings, Shaun Maloney returns, Samaras's loan becomes permanent but a 4-2 loss from Rangers wasn't predicted whilst the Champions League draw pairs us with Manchester United, again, Villarreal, again and Aalborg.

SEPTEMBER

The start of a recovery, a devastating first half at Motherwell with four goals scored, another convincing win away to Kilmarnock but just one point from six in the Champions League ahead of the double header with Manchester United.

OCTOBER

Another clean sweep of SPL wins but nothing yet in the Champions League as we lose 3-0 to Manchester United at Old Trafford. Striking situation getting very concerning with McDonald left on his own at Old Trafford although Cillian Sheridan emerges from virtually nowhere to score in his first SPL start against Hibs.

NOVEMBER

Champions League, and European exit, after losing disastrously away to Aalborg after taking the lead. Six minutes from a home win over Manchester United thanks to a brilliant Scott McDonald goal but deep down most of us knew that we weren't equipped for the Champions League, however a UEFA Cup run would have been a decent consolation. Another clean sweep of SPL wins.

DECEMBER

Arthur has a wobbler at Hibs, Aiden and Gordon go bonkers against Hearts, Koki Mizuno scores on his debut at Falkirk and delight as Scott McDonald's goal beats Rangers to spark a flurry of text and emails involving McDonalds and 7up.

A wonderful Christmas time

How good was that?

Skippy's Christmas special video

As a game it was woeful, barely anything of note, hardly any goalmouth incidents, not many outstanding performances and little excitement or controversy.

But we all know that it's not just a game, it's not 90 minutes and three points. Winning at Ibrox is simply wonderful, in the mid eighties we had a regular run of it and again in the first half of this decade the wins came fairly regularly as well, even inspiring the stat the Neil Lennon won more SPL games at Ibrox than the messiah known as Paul le Guen.

Lenny was back at Ibrox again yesterday but a new generation of Celts added the label of 'Won at Ibrox' line to their cv.

SPL winners, some two or three times over, Champions League qualifiers, again achieved twice by some of the players.

Last season's title triumph was awesome and we're still feeding off it. The dark scary days that followed that home defeat from Motherwell are history as seven wins on the bounce, two over UEFA Cup finalists Rangers gave us a fantastic and unexpected league win on that strange, glorious and emotional night at Tannadice as our dreams came true.

Those league winners are now getting cocky, strutting their stuff and even a 2-4 loss to Rangers in August hasn't dented their confidence. A punishing Champions League campaign saw them bounce back domestically to overtake Rangers who had the benefits of a full week to prepare for SPL action as Gordon Strachan attempted success on two fronts against an injury list that almost became overwhelming.

The build up to Ibrox was dominated by who wouldn't be playing, no Shaun Maloney or suspended Aiden McGeady, Marc Crossas still short of match fitness, Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink missing for three months and doubts over the match fitness of Barry Robson and Paul Hartley.

Pre-match and Shunsuke Nakamura is also out of the picture with flu and by half-time Andreas Hinkel had been kicked off the park. Despite those circumstances the resolve was solid stemming from a battle hardened core of Stephen McManus and Gary Caldwell through Hartley, Robson and Scott Brown to the magnificent Scott McDonald.

Our moany faced goal machine wasn't getting much support from Georgios Samaras whose going through an infuriating spell of almost always making the wrong decisions whatever the situation.

Remaining on the ball too long, passing when he shouldn't, beating one man too many and losing possession are all features of Sammy's play recently and they were in evidence again at Ibrox.

Until, until until the 57th minute when he got in a header in front of Davie Weir; with his back to goal McDonald knew exactly what he was doing.

With one touch on his chest to tame the ball, McDonald teed things up as he turned around to leave Kirk Broadfoot catching flies before skelping the ball over Allan McGregor into the net from 18 yards out before spinning away to celebrate in front of the Celtic support.

It was a moment of class and composure and richly deserved for McDonald who quickly corrected his scoring record against Rangers to 'three in two' from 'three in five' when he was interviewed on Setanta after the match.

Darren O'Dea was ready to come on before the goal was scored, Strachan stuck with his convictions and sent the Dubliner on in place of Koki Mizuno with O'Dea moving to left back pushing Lee Naylor further forward.

There was little threat from Rangers, although fraught with tension and fear of an equaliser there was no real panic with the central defenders dealing easily with Rangers crosses into the box and protecting the still shaky Artur Boruc.

When called upon the keeper was up to the challenge, blocking purposefully from Kris Boyd early in the second half when the striker was sent through on goal.

After the match the reaction from Celtic was sensible and restrained but after turning around a seven point deficit last season the same group of players are unlikely to throw away a seven point advantage on the back of a win at Ibrox.

The depth and determination of the squad has been tested and came out on top with a seven point advantage through the trickiest of circumstances.

The Aiden McGeady incident has strengthened the hand of a manager who will never please a large section of the Celtic support but his stubborn desire to succeed can never be doubted.

The next game with Rangers is only five SPL games away. The gap between the top two is more likely to be extended rather than trimmed, if that is the case Celtic have the ideal opportunity on February 15 to put the SPL beyond Rangers.

Having fought and scrapped their way into this position it's highly unlikely that complacency will be an issue, especially with a squad of 20 players all capable of playing their part and entitled to think of themselves as first team starters.

Happy Christmas Hoops.

A grand wee read

At this time of year there is never a shortage of books about the hoops, inevitably of varying quality.

VIDEO REVIEW

Histories of the club tend to be rehashed versions of previous books with little original content aimed at the Christmas market where an easy present can be bought.

There are a few exceptions of course and The Celtic Miscellany is certainly that- exceptional.

There is no real theme to the book but there's something worth reading on every page, some new information, an explanation or a reminder of issues from the past.

Almost everything is in the book but it's random nature and meandering style gives the book a character of it's own.

All the main personalities in Celtic's fantastic history are covered, Murdoch, Johnstone, Tully, Auld and Hay etc, Brother Walfrid through to Larsson, Boruc and Nakamura, the supporters, the strips and the events that shape the club and as you read it and get thinking there is without doubt other areas of the club that a follow-up book could drift into.

The content isn't all sanitised, controversies are looked at refreshingly and honestly... I could go on.

If Santa doesn't drop The Celtic Miscellany your way then treat yourself to it and enjoy a grand wee read.

11-in-a-row Celts set for Europe

Another good solid team performance in the 3-1 win over St Mirren continued Celtic's domestic dominance as attention turns towards Europe.

VIDEO REPORT

Tuesday's game in Aalborg is huge, we could be on course for the Champions League or out of Europe altogether by the end of the game but I'll settle for the middle option of being on course for a UEFA Cup spot.

I can't see beyond a 0-0 draw between Villarreal and Manchester United which suits both teams and gives them a relaxing matchday 6.

Meanwhile Celtic have as good a chance as they are likely to get for a number of years to finally win away in the Champions League.

The regular pattern of three home wins and three away defeats has been broken this season and while the away record is poor there are very few teams that can match our home record and NO-ONE comes to Celtic Park in the Champions League full of confidence.

An interesting point that I've picked up is that we've rarely had 'must-win' away games in the Champions League. With our home record losing away has never been a disaster and there's no shame in losing to AC Milan, Barcelona, Manchester United or Benfica... FC Kopenhagen and Anderlecht however surely come into the winnable category.

The team looks to have the measure and maturity to see off the domestic challenge with 20 wins from the last 22 SPL fixtures as they again demonstrated in the 3-1 win over St Mirren.

It was scrappy at times but after having players involved in all sort of international games during the week they still had enough in the tank to hold off St Mirren in a lunchtime Saturday kick-off, two days after returning from international duty.

St Mirren had a few chances and near things but when you bring on Shaun Maloney as a substitute and have a German internationalist crossing to a Greek internationalist to find the net you always stand a chance.

The magic of Shunsuke Nakamura put the game beyond St Mirren before Cillian Sheridan scored his fourth goal of the season with the type of chance that strikers thrive on.

There's no time to rest before Tuesday's game in Aalborg but hopefully the importance of the match against a manager-less side in the bottom half of the Danish league should see our expensive talents rise to the occasion.

Getting a win in Denmark will give everyone a lift and guarantee European football after Christmas for the third year running, a tremendous achievement.

Put together the impressive domestic form and the confidence of being able to compete with the best in Europe and we should set ourselves up nicely for the challenges ahead knowing that our squad has the depth to cope and the experience of knowing what it takes to be domestically dominant.

Solskjaer set for Airdrie

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is heading for Airdrie with his Manchester United reserve side to take on the 9-in-a-row chasing Celtic reserves.

SOLSKJAER VIDEO

Unlike some supporters Celtic fans aren't short of big matches to enjoy at the moment with the Champions League in full swing alongwith the SPL.

The game at Airdrie's Shyberry Stadium kicks-off at 3pm on Wednedsay November 5

A reserve team clash between Celtic and Manchester United should be a game to savour with both clubs fielding teams comprising of players brought through their academies from basically worldwide scouting networks.

Solskjaer himself was spotted as a teenager by United to add to the intake that included David Beckham, Paul Scholes, the Nevilles and Ryan Giggs whilst Celtic have brought through Stephen McManus, Shaun Maloney and Aiden McGeady in recent years with Cillian Sheridan, Darren O'Dea and Paul Caddis await the chance to impress.

A fortnight ago Celtic drew 2-2 with Spurs reserves at Lennoxtown with the 'London' club fielding a couple of million pound youngsters.

With supporters travelling from far and wide for the big match in the evening a trip to Airdrie wouldn't really be recommended but there are exceptions.

VIDEO PREVIEW

CELTIC 4-2 HAMILTON, first win of the week for the Celts

One of the youngest, and certainly one of the smallest, Celtic sides eased their way past Hamilton Accies tonight at Airdrie.

VIDEO REPORT

Willie McStay's side were three goals up after an hour and although they lost two goals in the last ten minutes that won't distract too much away from the quality of their performance.

Only Paul McGowan and Ryan Conroy had any real experience whilst Koki Mizuno looked lively and inventive joining McGowan in attack.

With Cillian Sheridan and Ben Hutchison with the first team squad in Manchester it was a case of keeping the ball on the deck as the midfielders fed McGowan and Mizuno.

From left to right we had Mario Conti, Richie Towell, Mark Millar and Kevin Cawley across the centre of the park and it was from a 5th minute cross from Conti that Celtic took the lead with Trent McLenahan deflecting the shot past his own keeper who wasn't shy at letting McLenahan know what he thought of things.

The unfortunate Trent almost added a second own goal shortly afterwards before McGowan showed his class to put Celtic two in front.

Jason Marr's perfectly weighted pass tempted Hamilton 'keeper Sean Murdoch off his line but McGowan lifted the ball over the advancing keeper then volleyed home before the retreating defender had the chance to intercept.

It was a classy strike from Gowser who was a cut above the rest of the players on the park but finds himself in limbo in being too good for reserve team football but unlikely to get even a chance of first team football.

Just before the half hour mark, with no other options open the impressive Conti decided to try his luck at goal and found the net with a well struck 25 yard drive.

After the break Celtic tended to play one or two passes too many but that's forgiveable in young players keen to impress and all clearly comfortable on the ball.

Marr popped up in attack in the 65th minute to knock home the rebound from a McGowan shot.

McStay used the remainder of the game to give three substitutes a run out with Graham Carey making a welcome return to action after eight months out through injury.

Hamilton scored twice in the last ten minutes taking advantage of some slack defending but the result and performance again demonstrated the depth of talent that Celtic have at all age levels.

VIDEO REPORT

TEAM: Fox, Marr (Gardner 71 min) Gaughan, Lafferty, Conroy, Cawley, Millar, Towell (Gallagher 85min), Conti (Carey 73min), Mizuno, McGowan

51 years on and 7-1 still has a special magic to it

Oh Hampden in the sun... 7-1!!!

Fifty one years ago, on October 19 at Hampden, the Celtic-Rangers derby match produced an incredible scoreline as the teams served up an eight goal thriller in the League Cup Final.

VIDEO OF THE GOALS (well 7 of them anyway)

Thankfully Celtic banged in seven of them with Billy McPhail leading the way with a hat-trick.

The Celtic team contains many legendary names, Charlie Tully, Bobby Evans, Bertie Peacock, Sean Fallon and Neilly Mochan are all still fondly remembered by older supporters but amazingly it was to be the last Celtic trophy win for all of them.

The celebrations must have been special but it was to be a long eight years before Celtic lifted another trophy which perhaps adds to the charm and mystique of the 7-1 match... not to mention the BBC 'losing' footage of the match before it resurfaced about 30 years later!

Bertie Auld had played for Celtic in both legs of the quarter-final win over Third Lanark as well as the semi final win over Clyde but wasn't selected for the final.

Bertie's story is great enough, signed three times by Celtic, a Fairs Cup Final appearance for Birmingham but nothing would have topped playing in Lisbon and also the 7-1 game... although Bertie is hardly short on talking points.

 

Enjoy the GOALS

How unlucky is Simon Ferry?

 

Is Simon Ferry the unluckiest player at Celtic or is it his mate Charlie Grant?

VIDEO REPORT

Simon has barely played a game in the last two years but was in the reserve side that started against Aberdeen last night.

Typical of his luck he was sent off after 25 minutes from a dubious decision from the referee with a 'last man' call as it's known but in reality it's preventing a goal scoring opportunity.

Not only did he miss out on last night's match but he's suspended for the reserves next game, at home to Hamilton Accies on Monday October 20!

I suppose on the bright side it'll only be a one match ban since he hasn't had the chance to build up a longer ban since he's missed so much football over the last two season's.

Ferry can be a great player, a box to box midfielder that knows how to tackle, how to pass and to break beyond the strikers to find the net.

He was the youngest player on the park, and man-of-the-match, when Celtic won the 2005 SFA Youth Cup Final against St Mirren thanks to two goals from Jim O'Brien and was at his best the following year as Celtic retained the trophy beating Hearts 3-1.

With a four year contract signed the future looked assured before ankle problems kicked in denying him the chance to move up.

Hopefully this suspension will be his last hurdle towards recovery and we'll soon get the chance to see him develop from youth team player into first teamer, he's up there with Liam Miller and Aiden McGeady in terms of ability shown at youth team level.

VIDEO MESSAGE

Crosas leads Celtic squad to Derry

Crosas leads Celtic squad to Derry

New bhoy Marc Crosas will lead a strong looking Celtic XI into Tuesday night's friendly with Derry City.

The former Barcelona midfielder is included in the Celtic squad as well as Glenn Loovens, Massimo Donati and Paul Caddis who've all played first team football this season.

Adding an Irish dimension to the squad is Darren O'Dea and Cillian Sheridan while Pat McCourt makes a return to the Brandywell after his summer transfer.

After the match O'Dea will travel to Dublin to meet up with international manager Giovanni Trapattoni for Thursday's night's challenge match in Dublin against Notts Forest in a match arranged to give the Italian a look at the players on the fringes of his international squad.

Tuesday's match is to celebrate Derry's 80th anniversary and it's certainly been a colourful history with the club leaving the Belfast based Irish league in the early 70s before making a spectacular return to football with the League of Ireland in the mid 80s.

Crossas made another telling contribution in the 4-0 win over Hamilton Accies that took Celtic to the top of the league ahead of Rangers defeat at St Mirren.

The young Spaniard has missed out on both Champions League games this season but could well be in the team that faces Manchester United at Old Trafford on October 21.

VIDEO REPORT on the weekend action.

MATCH REPORT on the Hamilton Accies game

Celtic reserves streets ahead of Rangers

The young hoops continue to dominate with a very well deserved 3-1 win over Rangers today.

VIDEO REPORT

Despite falling a goal behind on the stroke of half time Willie McStay's side stuck to playing football and deservedly got their rewards with a double from Paul McGowan and Ben Hutchison winning the points.

First half injuries to Michael McGlinchey and Joe Doumbe disrupted Celtic's style with only some touches from Paddy McCourt and bursts from Hutchison threatening the Rangers defence.

In the centre of the park Mark Millar and Kevin Cawley put in a great shift with their natural flare and style being compromised for a more workmanlike approach.

At the back Darren O'Dea was commanding and assured while putting in some meaningful challenges and helping to steer Danny Lafferty through the game.

Rangers took the lead on half time with a header from a corner but after the break Celtic dominated.

McGowan should have levelled after 61 minutes when he was put through on goal by McCourt but shot at the keeper before making amends 4 minutes later by heading home from a Koki Mizuno cross.

In the 77th minute a great passing move involving McCourt and Cawley set up McGowan to tuck the ball away with Hutchison showing a great strikers instinct to lob Rangers keeper Graeme Smith from an angle to seal a well deserved win.

VIDEO REPORT

GOALS GOALS GOALS: compilation video of goals against Rangers

Don't we just love it when the ball hits the back of the Rangers net?

LOADS OF GOALS ON VIDEO

How good was Naka's strike from 30 yards that had McGregor tied in knots, the elation of Jan Vennegoor's of Hesselink's injury-time winner, Barry Robson's straight down the middle penalty, Andy Thom's belter past 'the goalie', Paul McStay's in the Centenery season, Henrik's chip in the 6-2 game, Sutton's opener, Sutton's whitewash, Billy Stark's centenery strike, John Collins predator efforts, Lubo's double at Ibrox, Petrov's diving header that came off both posts behind Klos, Maloney's belter, Bobo frightening Klos into an own goal by smiling at him, Archdeacon's bonkers goal, Murdo's goals against Rangers (every one of them) big Roy silencing them at Ibrox in 77, Joe Craig's winner in 76, Joe Miller's cup final winner and add in unlikely scorer's like Rudi Vata, Paul Byrne, Brian O'Neill, Paul McGugan, Andy Peyton and it's all enough to get you all worked up for some more magic on Sunday.

We've been having a great time since the double win in April leading to the title, Kaunas and another Champions League campaign.

Until that double win in April it had been grim, four defeats without a single goal and of the team that started on April 16 only Aiden McGeady had experienced the joy of scoring against Rangers.

Now the players know what it's like, the despair of losing at Ibrox, the league being almost written off before that double win that transformed everything and gave us a dressing room full of winners.

It's not to be recommended but the hurt and pain, the fallout of losing makes players appreciate the wins over Rangers and the effect it creates on both winners and losers.

We're back on top just now but have to capitalise on our 3-in-a-row status, to put doubt back in the Rangers players minds, remind them that Kaunas can't be airbrushed away as we set the pace whilst also enjoying the Champions League.

Celtic are likely to be without last season's first choice strikers in Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink and Scott McDonald but that presents Shaun Maloney and Georgios Samaras with the perfect opportunity to become hero's.

It'll be tight, nervous, probably controversial and likely to be nasty in places but after battling back last season Celtic have to keep the upper hand.

International football will soon be taking the spotlight but let's hope that it's against the backdrop of the 4-in-a-row bid being well under way.

Dundee United 1-3 Celtic

Dundee United 1-3 Celtic

VIDEO REPORT

The names change but the results and style remains as Willie McStay gears Celtic's reserve side towards 8-in-a-row.

There was no Evander Sno, Bobo Balde or Scott Cuthbert in the side but with Paul Caddis and Mark Miller becoming increasingly prominent the show goes on.

Kevin Cawley, just promoted from the under-19 side opened the scoring and continues to mix great passing and positional play with confidence in front of goal.

Joe Doumbe, yes remember Hampden, put Celtic two up before half time and although Dundee United pulled a goal back with ten minutes left to play Ryan Conroy added a third before the end to ensure a second succesive win for the reserve side.

Pat McCourt looked increasingly comfortable showing the skill and touches that earned him his transfer from Derry City.

There's bound to be a few clubs looking at getting some of our reserves on loan before the transfer window closes but whoever moves on it's fairly certain that there'll be another young player itching to get their chance to prove their worth.

VIDEO REPORT

TOMORROW: Some interesting news about Billy 'Offside' Baxter and another lesser known controversial incident involving the controversial linesman, funny how this controversial incident didn't attract so much controversy... or maybe not.

Maloney magic, video highlights of the 2006 Player of the Year

 

Well we all make mistakes, some silly ones and some whoppers.

Some VIDEO CLIPS of Shaun from 2005/2006

Usually we don't get the chance to correct them and live in regret but Shaun Maloney is now back at Celtic and hopefully ready to develop into the player that he has threatened to become.

The baby face that emerged at Ibrox in April 2001 straight out of the youth team was never going to break up the Larsson/Sutton/Hartson axis of Martin O'Neill's team and was bound for Aberdeen or Livingston until thrown a proper chance by Gordon Strachan.

In the autumn of 2005 a brand new team emerged with Artur Boruc and Shunsuke Nakamura starring alongside some forgotton talents called Maloney, Stephen McManus and of course Aiden McGeady.

The title was won in a canter as Rangers crumbled into third place in a two horse race never recovering from back-to-back hammerings at Celtic Park in November when Maloney led the way with an amazing 25 yard effort that Stefan Klos is still trying to locate.

Not unusually for Celtic some contract issues were burning away in the background, the emergence of three prominent home grown players being a novelty as they expected hefty increases to match the wages of their illustrious team mates.

In the final year of his reserve team contract McManus was sorted out but Maloney's contract issue rumbled on ominously into the new season as Thomas Gravesen and Jan Venegoor of Hesselink joined on big bucks with even Derek Riordan taking home more than Player of the Year Maloney.

Riordan took advantage of circumstances just as Maloney 'suffered' from having signed a long term deal. Whether Celtic took him for granted or not we'll never know but in the January 2007 transfer window Maloney was off to Aston Villa for £1m while Paul Hartley avoided Ibrox to join the champions.

Villa was a very strange destination for Maloney, some games here and there, some great free-kicks scored and a double against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge showed promise but when push comes to shove O'Neill will always go for brute force in the shape of Carew/Hartson/Sutton over the craft of Maloney.

He gave it 18 months, was linked with a return in virtually every transfer window but is now thankfully back in hoops, ready to resume where he left off or perhaps an even better player after experiencing that the grass isn't always greener elsewhere.

Offering cover to both wide midfield positions, competition for Scott McDonald or creating a new role tucked behind two strikers Maloney is a welcome addition to the Celtic side and can hopefully spark some action into a team that has started the season looking as stale as they were for large spells of last season.

WELCOME BACK SHAUN.

Championship ceremony and singsong

The build up was great... but there was little to get excited about by the 90 minutes that followed as the season got underway in tired fashion.

CHAMPIONSHIP CEREMONY AND SINGSONG

No new faces in the team, not even a left-back, and an unbalanced midfield due to the injury to Shunsuke Nakamura saw the champions stutter and stumble to victory.

Barry Robson struggled badly out on the right wing, continually turning inside where Celtic already had Paul Hartley and Scott Brown as St Mirren retreated to stifle the play.

All of this put the onus onto Aiden McGeady to provide some magic but with little space to operate in and few team mates to provide him with options it was a tough afternoon all round.

Brown was possibly the best player but I couldn't help but feel that the balance of the team had been disrupted to accommodate the former Hibs midfielder.

On recent form, last season, Robson and Hartley provide the best central midfield pairing but maybe Gordon Strachan is taking a medium term view and trusting his judgement that Brown is going to raise his game to a level that Robson and Hartley can't match.

If you throw in new signing Marc Crosas and the return of Nakamura there should be enough options coming up to provide the spark and excitement missing from the win over St Mirren.

Paul Caddis belatedly got a run out yesterday, replacing Robson late on despite being ready to come on just as Celtic were awarded the decisive penalty.

Caddis had less space, and time, to operate in than he had enjoyed against Manchester City. I like Caddis a lot, he has loads to his game but is largely untried defensively. Going forward he has everything, he has pace, intelligence, tackles and passes well but isn't yet ready to displace Andreas Hinkel.

The return to Tannadice next Sunday should be interesting and testing, picking up all three points will set us up nicely for two home games including the eagerly anticipated visit from Rangers when we should have a great chance to inflict a Kaunas type blow to Rangers season by emphasising our superiority and putting some daylight into the two horse race that is the SPL.

Flan O'Briens's in Bath - a FAKE Celtic bar - Thank you Bunch o Grapes

As a founder member of a successful and dedicated Celtic Supporters' Club in Bristol, I found myself in Bath on business on Wednesday evening, unable to attend the free pre-season Friendly at Celtic park.

Both myself and my wife and another Tim accompanied by a Man City fan pitched up at the Bath "CSC" and Celtic bars listed pub Flan O'Briens's in Bath to watch the game on Setanta only to find Setanta was down and showing the unsunscribed screen. All well and good pre-season and all that but the punter who ran the bar (who was in there the whole day) refused to show the game and proceeded to have a go at me for offering to phone Setanta for him. No he was off duty and "The Celtic game won't be on end of story" he retorted.

Now the bugger was ADVERTYISING THE GAME!!!!!!

I live in Edinburgh again mow so there's no local rivalry. However when I frst took a job in Bristol and before I come across the hundreds of like minded Tims there I would call O'Brien's ask if they were showing a game get a positive answer only to take the train journey and find the EPL or worse the Championship on and a refusal to show our game.

THIS IS NOT THE ACTIONS OF A BAR LISTED ON CELTIC BARS . COM.

Finally thank God for a bar who would normally have the EPL on but showed the Man City game - The Bunch o Grapes you saved the night, we thank you.

As for Fake O'Brien's the train journey shall be made to the only home for Celtic fans in that region where CELTIC comes before anything else - The Foresters in Bristol.

Hail! Hail!

Have a look at the false shameful bar here

http://www.flanobriens.com/

21, Westgate StreetBath BA1 1EPTel: 01225 312914Fax: 01225 447435

mailto:landlords@flanobriens.com?Subject=Website%20Response