I arrived home in the early hours of Saturday morning from Spain, I would not have been out of the airport too long when my mates from St. Margaret’s CSC would have been arriving to check in for the short red eye flight to Glasgow to support the bhoys at lunchtime in Motherwell.
I have no doubt that the big talking point of the morning as they travelled to the game would be the transfer of Kieran Tierney. Celtic fans come in all shapes and sizes, from different back grounds, worship different religions and some have no interest in religion but one thing that binds us all together is our love for the team the famous Glasgow Celtic. A love that is no different than the love that KT has for Celtic.
Celtic Fans have a difference of opinion on the KT transfer and everyone is entitled to their own opinion but I find it strange that anyone would question his love of Celtic. Here is a bhoy who realised his dream when after joining the club as a schoolboy he worked his ass off, lived his life correctly and became a regular in the first team. He was loved by the fans and had a great relationship with both Ultra groups (Green Brigade & Bhoys) the same type of relationship he had with the kids who waited with their parents ( and Paul the Tim) outside Celtic Park to catch a glimpse of their hero, to get his signature and the much sought after selfie. KT never let the fans down on or off the park and always had time after each game to meet the fans. Woman loved him, Babies were called after him and even family pets.
A few seasons back when he became a first team regular, I was speaking about him to Willie McStay, who knows a thing or two about youth development at Celtic and he talked about that the day would come when a top club from one of the bigger leagues would come knocking but thankfully we got to keep him and see him grow into the player he is during the treble-treble seasons.
We also got to see him standing on the terraces at away games shoulder to shoulder with the fans when he was injured. The same fans who regularly sang his name. He opted to watch Celtic with his mates rather than choose the comfort of the main stand and hospitality that goes with being a celebrity.
KT is Celtic through and through, his relationship with the fans is real and like me this morning he would have been waiting for the team sheet, checking out the bench and jumping for joy when every time the ball hit the back of the net. The Celtic players are his mates, Celtic is his team. What Arsenal fans should realise is that Arsenal are his employers but Celtic is his team, it’s in his soul, it’s who he is. It’s who we are. KT knows the story and he wrote himself into it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kF9os3f6axE
KT along with his family would have done plenty of soul searching before committing to sign for Arsenal. There would have been plenty of conversations weighing up the pros and cons but in the end KT has made the move and I wish him well. It’s a move he feels is the right move for him and it’s a great bit of business for Celtic PLC. Our poor neighbours across the city can only dream of selling a player of such value.
I wish KT would have stayed but he didn’t and I wish him well and I have no doubt I will be standing beside him on the terraces somewhere cheering on the bhoys again and I have no doubt that fans will be queuing up for a selfie and who knows maybe one day he will pull on the hoops again. If he does I will be there to cheer him on and sing his name. Thanks for the memories kid.
Best of luck KT, Once a Tim, Always a Tim.
Andrew Milne started More than 90 Minutes in 2001. He has written for numerous publications and online about Celtic. One of his essays featured in Celtic Minded 2 and he is a former newspaper columnist with the Daily Ireland and the man behind celticfanzine.com. He is host of Celtic AM pre-match events at Malone’s in Glasgow on match days and follows Celtic Home & Away. He is a season ticket holder for Celtic FC and the Republic of Ireland. He is also P.R.O. of St. Margaret’s CSC, a member of the Celtic Trust and the Celtic Graves Association.
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