More than 90 Minutes Celtic Fanzine Issue 137 is now on sale in both print and digital format.
Order your copy by clicking the image of the Maeda inspired cover as he continues his great form up front or on the wing. He has scored over 30 goals this season can he hit the 40 mark before the end of the season?
Things are settling down now at More than 90 Minutes HQ as we head into the business end of the season after a hectic period of travelling to two games a week following Celtic throughout Scotland and Europe. The crew also travelled to Thailand to host the Celtic Supporters festival in Bangkok and Hua Hin.
Inside another packed 48 page issue of the fanzine. Paddy McMenamin looks back at the recent rangers game and celebrating St. Patricks Day in Glasgow. Paddy pays tribute to former Celtic goalkeeper Evan Williams who sadly passed away earlier this year and looks at the recent treatment the Green Brigade received before the rangers game by the Police.
Eoin Coyne reflects back on recent performances the good and the bad. Liam Kelly writes about the atmosphere at the recent away trip to St. Johnstone. Martin Donaldson reviews “And if you know your History’ the latest comic play from Jim Orr at a sold out Websters Theatre in Glasgow.
Regulars Rachel Lynch, Tim Molloy and Lisbon Lion John Fallon give their opinion on all things Celtic and guest columnist Dr. David Murray looks back at the career of Celtic hero Ronnie Simpson. Michael Pringle pens his away day to Birmingham for Celtic’s Champions League clash against Aston Villa.
Former Celtic Player Didier Agathe joins Andrew Milne on the Celtic Soul Podcast to chat about his Football Academy in Bangkok, his faith after being told he would never play football again and the journey he took which would lead him to Glasgow.
He talks about training on his own for 3 months in a park and sleeping in his car before finally getting Celtic to offer him a permanent contract after stints at Raith Rovers and Hibs. After he signed Martin O’Neill asked him to sit in an empty Celtic Park on his own for half an hour while Eyal Berkovic told him he would never play for Celtic.
Martin O’Neill knew better and he became a big part of that famous team that won a treble in his first season, gave us some memorable nights in the Champions League and took us on the road to Seville.
What a difference a week makes in football. Celtic bounced back last Saturday from the shock defeat away at St. Johnstone with a dominant 5-1 win over Kilmarnock at Celtic Park. The Celtic players have been accused of starting too slow in recent games but they came out of the traps quickly in the lunchtime kick off.
As expected Brendan Rodgers shuffled the pack and dropped a number of players who had under performed in Perth v St. Johnstone in came Idah, Scales, Forest and Taylor and out went Jota, Kuhn, Trusty and Schlup. We had plenty to cheer about in the stands Maeda, CCV, Hatate (Twice) and substitute Ralston had us off our seats on 5 occasions.
Kasper was back at Celtic Park in the main stand watching the team take another giant step towards title number 55 and 4IAR. Reo’s first goal & CCV goal could be contenders for goal of the season. Both were crackers and were talked about later that night as we hosted the More than 90 Minutes Annual Charity Dinner in Glasgow. A big shout out to everyone who joined us on the night.
At half time it was 4-1 and the job was done the second half failed to live up to the excitement of the first half but it was great to see Tony Ralston getting a late goal to put the cherry on the top of the cake after a very pleasant early afternoon in the East End of the city.
The split fixtures should were announced earlier in the week and the champagne is on ice for the celebrations in the green half of Glasgow and throughout the Celtic supporting World. The rangers getting knocked out of the Europa League to our Basque friends in Bilboa brought a smile to all our faces. The Blue room is bare cause there are no trophies there!
This weekend however it is mission revenge when we head to Hampden Park on Sunday to take on St. Johnstone in the Scottish Cup semi-final a win will go some way to banish the memory of the shock defeat in the League and keep us dreaming of another treble.
Andrew Milne is Editor of More than 90 Minutes & Host of the Celtic Soul Podcast
Matt McGlone from the Alternative View joined Milish to talk about the impact Maeda has had this season at Celtic and to talk all things Celtic including looking back at the recent Hearts and the rangers games and preview the weekends game in Perth v St. Johnstone and the welcome away ticket allocation.
Matt always shares a few gems from his time supporting Celtic on the podcast and this episode is no different when he tells the tale of a chance meeting with Rangers captain Richard Gough at Selhurst Park in London with the League Trophy after Celtic stopped the blue half of Glasgow doing 10IAR.
The Bhoys also share stories about club legend Billy McNeill and remember Evan Williams who sadly passed away recently.
Celtic’s young goalkeeper Viljami Sinisalo chats to us about his SPFL debut and being patient waiting for his first team opportunity as understudy to Kasper Schmeichel which came last weekend when he kept a clean sheet against Hearts. He was called into action early in the game on three occasions.
He made his Celtic debut earlier in the season in the League Cup v Raith Rovers in the 5-0 win but has had to patiently wait for his chance since then. Brendan Rodgers said earlier this week that first choice goalkeeper Schmeichel could be out for up to five or six weeks after getting injured on international duty for Denmark.
Now Sinisalo has a chance to impress as Celtic head towards another SPFL Trophy starting this weekend away to St. Johnstone. He will also be travelling across the city to Ibrox when the league splits and has also a Hampden Park Scottish Cup debut to look forward to against St. Johnstone.
Ahead of Sunday’s trip to Perth to play St. Johnstone, Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers spoke to Celtic TV to look ahead to the game. A win will be another giant step to regaining the SPFL trophy and a dress rehearsal for the Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden.
The manager hinted that Kasper Schmeichel may be available before the end of the season after picking up an injury while on international duty with Denmark but short term Viljami Sinisalo will be between the sticks and he was in a confident mood this morning when he spoke to us ahead of the St. Johnstone game.
The manager will be happy that James Forest and Paulo Bernardo are back in the squad but the game comes too early for Liam Scales who should be back in contention for selection for the Kilmarnock game at Celtic Park next weekend.
One player who will be starting on Sunday will be Daizen Maeda. 30 goals so far this season and who would bet against him not scoring on Sunday. No doubt he will be on a few peoples coupon to score the first goal like he did last weekend against Hearts. Since moving into the central strikers role from the wing in February he has scored 15 goals in 11 games which is an incredible return.
Add this to his incredible engine and we now have a player who is playing with more confidence than ever. In Brendan’s interview he described him as a phenomenal player which is high praise indeed to receive from your manager.
We will be on the road on Sunday early to cover the Celtic fans journey and all the match action at McDiarmid Park in Perth. Hopefully we will see some of our readers and listeners on route or at the game.
Andrew Milne is Editor of More than 90 Minutes & Host of the Celtic Soul Podcast
It was back to Paradise for me on Saturday after watching the Glasgow Derby on O’Shea’s Rooftop in Bangkok with Celtic fans attending the Thailand Celtic Supporters Festival. O’Shea’s is the home of Bangkok CSC and they were great hosts and we were also joined by former Celtic player Didier Agathe on what turned out to be a very disappointing evening for Hoops fans.
The conditions on the roof top for the 7:30pm kick off were very hot as day turned to night. The wind and rainy conditions in Glasgow on Saturday soon had me dreaming the Asian sunshine we had left on Monday.
After getting off the bus from Edinburgh in Glasgow I got my first soaking of the day as I walked from Buchanon bus station to McChuills. I had caught a mid morning flight to Edinburgh and there were plenty of Celtic fans on the flight as it was a cheaper option than the Glasgow flights.
Celtic bounced back from the disappointment of the rangers game with a positive 3-0 win although once again it was the visiting team this time Hearts who started quicker.
All eyes were on young goalkeeper, Sinisalo who came in for only his second start after Kasper picked up an injury on international duty for Denmark. He had big boots to fill and he was called into action early on three occasions but dealt with them and for the rest of the game he had little to do and he spoke confidently after the game alongside Daizen.
Daizen Maeda scored two and picked up another man of the match performance and Jota got the other. The scoreline read 3-0 at half time and the second half played out with Celtic dominating the play but questions may be asked of Kevin Clancy’s referee performance. He seemed to let the Hearts players away with a lot of fouls or is that just me being biased for my team?
His absence was noticed from the Glasgow Derby but Celtic’s returning captain Callum McGregor showed what he is all about with a brilliant ball through to Maeda for the opening goal to put our mind at ease after the slow start from the bhoys.
Maeda, making his 150th Celtic appearance is now sitting on 30 goals for the season with plenty of football still to come. One punter sitting behind me could not have been happier at full time as he had £100 on Maeda first goal and 3-0 at 40-1 odds. He banked a nice £4000 and bought us all a drink after the game. Nice touch!
Paulo Bernardo and James Forest made their return to first-team action, coming off of the bench in the second half. The SPFL title is getting closer and the champagne is on ice.
It was not champagne afterwards back in McChuills but pints of Stout to celebrate the win as we cheered on Dundee to a 3-1 lead only to see them collapse to the rangers and lose 3-4.
Thankfully we also had a great acoustic set from Brogeal front man Daniel Harkins who mixed it up playing a bit of folk, bit of Irish and a bit of indie. Class act. In the airport later I seen a few other familiar faces. CCV and Maeda were heading down south on flights and they posed for pics with two of our younger members of our supporters club. Meeting players is always great for the kids who travel a long way to see their footballing heroes.
All in all a great return to Glasgow after almost two brilliant weeks in Thailand. This weekend we will be back in Scotland and we will have an early start on the road to in Perth for the early kick off v St. Johnstone on Sunday.
Andrew Milne is Editor of More than 90 Minutes & Host of the Celtic Soul Podcast
We are delighted to have Peter Grant as our special guest at our annual charity dinner in aid of the Kano Foundation at the No. 10 Hotel in Glasgow on Saturday 12 April.
After Celtic v Kilmarnock at Celtic Park. The early kick off will give those attending some extra time to get ready as it can sometimes be a dash from Celtic Park to the hotel at full time for 7pm.
The Wakes front man, Paul Sheridan will warm up the guests before the meal is served. Followed by interview with Peter about his Celtic career followed by Q & A before Paul finishes off the night with a Celtic singsong.
Peter needs no introduction to Celtic fans for he is one of us and got to play for his bhoyhood heroes and always wore the jersey with pride.
He signed for Celtic in 1982 and made his debut at Ibrox at 18 years old. He will always be remembered for his part in the double winning centenary season alongside Paul McStay in the Celtic midfield and also winning the 1995 Cup Final under Tommy Burns on an emotional day at Hampden. Tickets are £45 and there are only 20 tickets left. Contact us here or on social media to book your ticket.
What a few weeks it has been in Thailand for the Trip to Thai part 3 but all good things come to an end and yesterday morning after 13 days away from home I finally climbed into my own bed after the long journey home. Happy in the knowledge that everyone had an enjoyable trip.
Celtic fans gathered from around the globe in Bangkok and Hua Hin. The rangers game may not have been the result we wanted but it did not dampen anyone’s spirits on the trip. There will be a full review of the trip in the next issue of More than 90 Minutes but for now I would just like to thank everybody who travelled and supported the official events and donated to our chosen charity the Mercy House Foundation in Hua Hin. I have plenty of videos and pictures to get through so keep and eye on our socials.
Special mention to our host venues and Celtic Supporters Club – O’Shea’s in Bangkok and Father Teds in Hua Hi, Bangkok CSC and Hua Hin CSC. Plus a big shout out to Ying our host for the boat party, Andy for decorating the boat, and to Charlie for his work with the charity, Gary Jamieson for entertaining us along with all the bands who performed for us and to our special guest Didier Agathe for sharing his memories with us from his time at Celtic.
Now we must decide where the next adventure will take us in 2027 and what is the best way to take the holiday forward in a way that is appealing to everyone and we can continue to deliver the fun and repeat the craic we had over the past few weeks from the excitement of the build up to the goodbye hugs and hand shakes.
In the meantime its back to the office today to start the next issue of the fanzine which had to be put on hold for the Trip to Thai, our next event is our charity dinner with special guest Peter Grant in Glasgow after the Kilmarnock game on Saturday 12 April and then it won’t be long till we are in Las Vegas for the North American Convention and of course Celtic have a treble to play for and we are back on the road on Saturday for the Hearts game at Celtic Park.
Andrew Milne is Editor of More than 90 Minutes, Host of the Celtic Soul Podcast & Organiser of the Trip to Thai.
Anyone at Celtic Park on Sunday will have witnessed the return of away fans across the Lisbon Lions Upper and Lower stands. Hibs took 7000 fans to support them in their quest for a place in the semi-final at Hampden over Easter weekend.
They created a great atmosphere and even when they went 2-0 down they raised the noise levels supporting their players who before the game had gone 15 games unbeaten including a 2-1 win at Easter Road against Celtic in the League.
Thankfully it was not Sunshine on Leith but instead it was Sunshine in Paradise as the weather heated up, the sun was shining over Celtic Park as the Winter weather gave way to some welcome Spring sun. It was Celtic who were singing at the end of the game and it was Daizen Maeda who once again shone the brightest with another Man of Match performance
He opened the scoring and second half sub Adam Idah added the second goal to finally wrap up the game. Celtic dominated the game and Hibs defended very well for long periods when they were under pressure.
After the game it was a quick dash to the airport to catch the 7:30pm flight home which was packed with happy Celtic fans unlike this weekend when I travelled home for the St. Mirren game in the company of some very disgruntled rangers fans.
Hopefully they will be just as annoyed next weekend after they leave Celtic Park. Their domestic form is terrible lately although their Europa League form may give them and their new manager Barry Ferguson some confidence ahead of the visit to the East End of Glasgow.
Celtic have only suffered a handful of defeats both domestically and in Europe this season. One of those defeats was at Ibrox when the Celtic players forgot to turn up. The Celtic fans are expecting a revenge performance as the team steam roll towards another League title and a Scottish Cup a semi-final v St. Johnstone at Hampden.
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Confidence is high at Celtic Park and fans are dreaming of another treble under Brendan Rodgers. Nothing beats being inside Celtic Park at kick off on match days and tickets for this one are in high demand with the rangers fans back in for the first time since they spit out the dummy.
I will not be in Celtic Park on Sunday instead I will be joining former Celtic player Didier Agathe on the roof top of O’ Shea’s bar in Bangkok to preview the game before watching with the members of Bangkok CSC and Celtis Fans who are joining us from around the globe for the Trip to Thai 3 Celtic Festival.
