Author Archives: celticfanzine

No Invite for Celtic Fan Media to Wilfried Nancy Press Conference

By the time we landed back in Dublin yesterday morning after watching Celtic beat Dundee at Paradise Martin O’Neill had left the Celtic Park building and a new era is now underway at Celtic as Wilfried Nancy is in Glasgow.

Celtic’s social media had the Frenchman on the official channels as he arrived at Lennoxtown and not Celtic Park where I would have expected him to meet the media and take the usual picture on the pitch. It was a very low key arrival.

He was greeted by under pressure Celtic board members Michael Nicholson and Chris McKay before doing a walk around and chatting to James Forest and Alistair Johnston.

He then sat down with Celtic TV for an interview. No press conference, no questions and no invite for members of MSM or Celtic Fan Media.

He will meet the media at the pre match press conference (scheduled for 13:30) for the first time but Fan Media will not be present. Fan media outlets have attended pre and post match press conferences since Ange Postecoglou was manager. Celtic are currently reviewing access arrangements for fan media.

There was not a lot to take from the interview but one quote that caught my ear was “I think the connection, with my background and the story of Celtic, fits perfectly with the person that I am and what I want to become.”

He also touched on the relationship with the players and the fans. He can rest assured the Celtic Fans will be 100% behind him and the Celtic players when the referee blows for the start of the game on Sunday. I am sure he has been briefed on the Celtic Fans Collective Protest March ahead of the Hearts game.

His second in command has an Irish contact. Getting off the plane yesterday a Dublin Celtic fan told me our New assistant manager of Patrick Kwame Ampadu was born in Bradford to Irish and Ghanaian parents. He was brought up in North Inner City Dublin. He went to O’Connell’s School

Martin O’Neill will be a hard act to follow but follow he must. Hopefully Wilfried Nancy can kick off life at Celtic with 3 points and top the table on day 1.

Andrew Milne is Editor of More than 90 Minutes & Host of the Celtic Soul Podcast

The Changing of the Guard

We head back over the Irish sea for a few days after saying a fond farewell to Martin O’Neill. He arrived to steady the ship after Brendan Rodgers left. His departure after a damming personal attack on him by Dermot Desmond, the man who brought him back to the club.

Last night Celtic dominated the game and after Maeda opened the scoring and picking up an injury in the process. I thought we would score a few more goals but failure to do so made for a nervy last 5 or 10 minutes. Kilmarnock’s late goal at Tynecastle also added to the shine of the evening.

Football is a results business and Martin certainly delivered them, 100% win record in Scotland. Celtic were 8 points behind Hearts when he arrived we are now level at the top of the league with a game in hand going into Sundays game with them. The highlight for me has to be last Thursday night in Rotterdam. European away wins don’t come too often for Celtic. Wins like that make all the time and expense travelling to support the team worth it.

As we travelled to the ground last night Wilfried Nancy was finally announced as the new Celtic manager. I think his appointment is a gamble but he will need time, but time does not come easy in Glasgow for football managers. A top of the table clash with Hearts, a Europa home game v Roma and a Cup Final v St. Mirren in his first competitive week is no easy task.

Sadly he arrives at a time when the divide has never been greater since the 1990’s between those charged with running the club and a large section of the Celtic support.

The Green Brigade have had their ban extended and the front section of the North Curve was covered over. There were also plenty of empty seats scattered around the stadium but I expect all of them to be filled on Sunday.

The noise last night came from the opposite corner of the stadium with the Bhoys Ultras section backing the team but also making their feelings known towards the board. From my view in the main stand I could see the Parasites banner and when the chants of Sack the Board started in that corner the Celtic board did not look happy as their heads turned to look over their left shoulders and seemed to be caught a little by surprise.

A protest march is now planned by the Celtic Fan Collective for Sunday before the game. Celtic fans will gather at St Mary’s in the Calton at 1.15pm and march to Celtic Park.

The Green Brigade will also have a Foodbank Collection point, where supporters are encouraged to donate non-perishable food or toiletries to those in need this Christmas.

Another sad point last night was I was not allowed meet friends at my regular meeting spot at the Brother Walfrid statue. Barriers are always there but Celtic fans from around the globe have always moved freely between the statues at the front of the main entrance. Fans gather to view the paving stones, many dedicated to Celtic fans who have passed away and also taking pictures in front of the statues of club legends.

Mediation is much needed between the Celtic board and the Celtic Fans Collective even if it starts with a back channel. For today we have the changing from the old guard and safe pair of hands to a new era and with every new manger coming to Celtic it can bring risks and rewards. Let’s hope its a new era of success.

Andrew Milne is Editor of More than 90 Minutes & Host of the Celtic Soul Podcast

VOICES FROM INSIDE The hidden journals of Long Kesh / Celtic Soul Podcast

While much has been written on the experience of republican prisoners during the conflict from 1969 onwards there has been comparatively less attention paid to writing produced by the prisoners themselves. There was a vibrant culture of education and debate inside the cages of Long Kesh, but while we have many second-hand accounts of this, relatively few copies of journals produced by the prisoners have survived.

Luckily, Paddy McMenamin not only edited one of these journals for a period, but managed, with the help of his family, to smuggle several issues out. Reproduced here, they provide a fascinating snapshot of the debates taking place amongst just one group of Provisional IRA prisoners in cages 10/18 between 1974 & 1976. There is politics of course, global and local, but also history, culture, sport and craic.

Despite the official narrative of the time, it is clear these young men were neither ‘mindless terrorists’ nor ‘criminals’! The author has done all those interested in our history a service by keeping the journals safe. His commentary reminds us not only of the horror and tragedy of the time, but also that these young men were grappling with how to make sense of the conflict they had been thrown into. This book is an important contribution to understanding the politics of modern republicanism.

We’ve got Harry Hood!”

Harry Hood Tribute

Text David Potter

It was with great sadness that I learned of the death of Harry Hood. He was one of my favourites, at a time when I had many favourites and he was certainly one of Celtic’s better goalscorers. Fast, direct and prolific, he was itching to get to Celtic long before he ever got there, and I cannot help feeling that if the McGrory regime had gone for him in 1964, things might have been different.

As it happened, he went to Sunderland instead – that graveyard of many players – returned to Clyde and it was March 1969 before he first donned the Hoops, scoring a vital goal at St Johnstone late in the game to give Celtic a victory.

Of course the competition for the role of the striker was stiff. But Stein knew a good goalscorer when he saw one, and Harry fitted that role to perfection. Several great moments spring to mind. One was the taking of the penalty kick in the replayed final of the Scottish Cup of 1971, another goal in the 1974 Scottish Cup final against Dundee United in 1974, his hat-trick in a League Cup semi-final against Rangers in 1973 – a rare phenomenon – but the best of all was surely the goal in September 1969 at Ibrox which earned us a 1-0 victory over Rangers.

The rain was heavy, the ground was wet, but Harry’s swivel and shot was a thing of exquisite beauty, leading to the birth of the “Hare Krishna” chant – except that the Celtic version ended up with “Harry Hood”. There was also the “We don’t need your Colin Stein, We don’t need your Alan Gilzean, We’ve got someone twice as good, We’ve got Harry Hood!”

Celtic AM Tribute to Billy & Stevie

Celtic AM

Sun. 19 May Malone’s Glasgow

Billy McNeill & Stevie Chalmers Tribute

John Fallon (Billy & Stevie Team mate & fellow Lion)

Joe Miller ( Signed by Billy McNeill in his second stint as Celtic Manager)

Tommy Stevenson ( Watched both players from the Jungle to Lisbon)

Doors 11
Music 11:30
Kick off 12:00
Final Whistle 1:45
Bus to CP 2:00
Celtic v Hearts 3:00

Free Bacon Rolls Free Admission Family Friendly Event

More than 90 Minutes Issue 104

Print onsale Sunday
Digital Download below
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In issue 104 of More than 90 Minutes we pay tribute to Billy McNeill and Stevie Chalmers both heroes of Celtic greatest ever side and conquerors of Europe. Billy graces the front-cover and we have a tribute centre page poster of both Lisbon Lions.

Tributes

Editor Andrew Milne, Team mate John Fallon, Socialist politician Tommy Sheridan all pay personal tributes to King Billy, David Potter describes Billy McNeill as “A CELTIC GOD”. Student journalist Declan McConville also pays tribute to Billy.

Michael Pringle tells us why Billy McNeill and Stevie Chalmers names will live forever and David Potter pays a tribute to Stevie’s time at Celtic.

History

Celtic Historian David Potter looks back on our Scottish Cup history v Hearts. He also heralded Frank Murphy as this editions Unsung Heroes and tells us how Billy McNeill started it all off in 1965 and he also pens a piece on the two players Billy kept out of the team. All Our Yesterdays look back at what happened in the month of May over the years.

Brendan Rodgers/ Neil Lennon

Lisbon Lion John Fallon looks at Brendan Rodgers departure and the arrival back of Neil Lennon. Dublin journalist Rachel Lynch asks the question where do we go from here? Celtic Minded Author Dr. Joseph Bradley looks at Brendan Rodgers Celtic ‘betrayal’ and reveals just what football means in Scotland. David Potter tells us why we must keep Neil Lennon. Glasgow’s John Molloy tells us How Brendan broke his heart (well almost) and Dublin journalist Eoin Coyne tells us that the End is just the Beginning. Tim Molloy bids Farwell to Brendan and welcomes Neil back in our native tongue.

In Conversation

The editor catches up with Donegal Bhoy & Glasgow based musician Danny Kelly to discuss Football and Music.

Features

Paddy McMenamin once again tells is of recent travels and shares many memories from over the years about Paradise, Rangers, Donegal and Cesar.

Dublin based Shamrock Rovers & Celtic fan Jason Maloney looks back in his own unique way at his experiences of the May Madness 20 years ago in 1999 when Rangers won the league at Celtic Park and Hugh Dallas got new windows.

Reviews

Glasgow Journalist Michael Pringle is at the theatre to review Bend it like Brattbakk for us. Celtic fan Martin Donaldson reviews our annual dinner at the No. 10 hotel in Glasgow where our Editor was in conversation with fans favourite Alan Thompson. Declan McConville reviews An Evening with John Hartson at Malone’s when our Editor was once again In Conversation with a Hoops Hero.

The Fans

LA based Exiled Celtic fan Joe Cook & Teresa Gallagher from Glasgow share their memories of their First & Favourite Celtic games.

Charity

Football Memories, Celtic FC Foundation and the Kano Foundation are all featured in the current edition.

Player of the Year

Our team of contributors’ nominate their Celtic player of the year.

CELTIC AM

The last CELTIC AM of the season will take place at Malones next Sunday before Celtic lift the 8IAR Trophy at Celtic Park Full list of guests will be annnouced early next week. Enjoy the weekend and stay safe if your attending the game tomorrow.

OH THE BLUE ROOM IS BARE

I thought Neil Lennon was edgy yesterday at his press conference. He was short with a number of the journalists in the search for FAKE NEWS.

The players are ready to do battle with Sevco tomorrow as we warm up to the Cup Final with the League and League Cup trophy secured for another year and on display in the Celtic trophy room while the Blue room remains bare.

Scott Brown will once again lead us in to battle against the team with disciplinary problems on the pitch and a club with no class as they break from tradition in giving the Champions a guard of honour. But we all knew they were classless.

The MSM are trying to make something out of nothing as Tim Weah leaves the club after a short loan spell to join the USA under 20 team in Poland. A player with a bright future and all of us here at More than 90 Minutes HQ would like to wish him all the best for the future. I’ll leave the final words to the kid.

“To you the fans, I will never forget you for all the love, support and kindness you have shown me. I don’t know as yet what the future holds but I wish to one day come back to this great club to be with you all. I will forever miss you chanting my name and hearing the beautiful song you have created for me.

“I also want to take this time to thank my wonderful team-mates for supporting me every step of the way. It was really great playing with you all and sharing some really amazing moments that I’ll never forget. Thanks so much to Celtic FC and to you the fans for accepting me. God bless.”

Darren O Dea Pays Tribute to Tommy Burns

“One special person I want to mention is Tommy Burns,” added O’Dea. “The man signed me at Celtic and started the whole dream off. He might have left us in body but he’s never left in spirit. I thought about him every day as a player and you can guarantee he’ll be on my mind every day as a coach.”

Darren O Dea pays tribute to TB as he retires from playing to take up coaching

Frank Murphy Celtic Unsung Hero

The Second World War did loads of bad things, not least in the case of Frank Murphy Celtic Unsung Hero that it prevented the career of Frank Murphy from flowering to its full potential. The other thing that Frank suffered from was that he kept being compared with Jimmy Delaney on the opposite wing. Delaney on the right wing was of course, a superb player, the stuff of legend, but Frank Murphy on the left was almost his equal. He was a little less flamboyant than Delaney and did not do so many unexpected things, but he could do the basics of beating a man, charging down his wing and crossing for McGrory or Crum to do the needful.

Frank was born in Gartcosh in 1915 and joined Celtic in 1934, but it was the start of the epic season 1935/36 that he broke into the first team. Celtic had lacked a left-winger since the great days of Adam McLean with Charlie Napier not really living up to expectations, and Hugh O’Donnell disappointing more often than not. But Trainer and de facto Manager Jimmy McMenemy saw a great deal in Murphy, and his belief in the youngster was paid back. 1935/36 was the season where goals rained in from McGrory, so many of them coming from the fine wing play of Delaney and Murphy.

Murphy looked like a man of the 1930’s with his center parting, so characteristic of that age. His comparatively slight frame was deceptive for he was strong enough to hold off sturdy challenges from over-zealous right backs. He was fast, direct and skillful with the ability to evade tackles. He could take a goal himself, one at Easter Road described by Napoleon (Jimmy McMenemy) as the best he had ever seen – and that was from a man who had played alongside Jimmy Quinn and Patsy Gallacher and he was particularly adept at scoring from free kicks with his powerful left foot. He was a reliable taker of penalty kicks as well.

He won League medals in 1936 and 1938, a Scottish Cup medal in 1937 before Europe’s biggest ever crowd against Aberdeen in the final, and of course the Empire Exhibition Trophy in 1938. Celtic shaded a little in 1938/39 but Murphy didn’t. He was still old Mr. Reliable, and much loved by the Celtic fans. He possibly deserved more than one Scottish cap – against Holland in Amsterdam in 1938 in which he scored a great goal – but there was stiff competition for the left wing spot. He made 243 appearances and scored 77 goals for Celtic, the only team he really played for.

The Second World War changed everything – and for the worse. Murphy served in the RAF, and by 1946 was probably too old, his best years having been lost to the unfortunate necessity of beating the Nazis. In later years he got a job at Celtic Park on match days, reading out the teams over the loudspeaker! He was a fine Celt and he passed away in 1984, which was considered a great loss by everyone at Celtic Park.

David Potter