All time heroes

[Dinamo Baden]

http://t.co/RVXIQvmE

[netzer14]

AULD SAYS CELTIC CAN WIN CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/322311

[McCeltic]

[Celtic Frost]

AULD SAYS CELTIC CAN WIN CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/322311

Sehe ich auch so: Wir haben einen tollen Kader, werden von allen unterschätzt und sind sowieso wieder mal an der Reihe. Zeigen wir doch mal den Bayern wie man Chelski schlägt

[McCeltic]

Ich bin froh, wenn wir die Gruppenphase erreichen. Das wĂĽrde uns ganz sicher einen Geldsegen bescheren.

[Celtic Frost]

CL Teilnahme ist GARANTIERTER Geldsegen. Wobei: Egal wie hoch unser Budget zukĂĽnftig auch sein wird, dasjenige der Huns wird es allemal Faktor 10 ĂĽbertreffen

[netzer14]

Celtic supporters' thoughts are very much with the legendary Joe McBride, who is currently seriously ill in hospital with a stroke.

Read more: http://www.celtic.vitalfootball.co.uk/a ... z208p1WVEj

[McCeltic]

R.I.P. Joe McBride

[Gollum]

Celtic legend Joe McBride passes away

CELTIC legend, Joe McBride, sadly passed away late last night after his short battle with illness following a stroke.
Joe, of course, was a much valued member of the Lisbon Lions’ squad and his truly amazing goals-per-game ratio during Celtic’s greatest ever season was a key component of the team’s unrivalled success in 1966/67.
Despite an injury picked up on Christmas Eve 1966 keeping him out for the rest of the season, the striker had still scored 35 goals in the 26 games he had played up until that point.
That was the sort of striking acumen that had Joe only behind the great Jimmy McGrory in goal-scoring prowess or, to put it in more modern terms, his goal-scoring record on a game-to-game ratio was even better than that of Henrik Larsson.
Joe joined his Bhoyhood heroes from Motherwell on June 5, 1965 following spells with Kilmarnock, Wolves, Luton Town and Partick Thistle.
That injury picked up against Aberdeen on December 24, eventually saw him lose his place in the side and he moved to Hibernian on November 5, 1968 only for his goalscoring touch to return and haunt the Hoops when he played against them.
So much so that the great Jock Stein had to admit to the player himself that he probably let him go a bit early.
His relatively short stint at the club came in the Hoops’ greatest and most silver-laden period and in his 94 games he scored an amazing 86 goals.
Given that he challenged Jimmy McGrory for the title of Celtic’s most precocious striker, it’s no surprise that McGrory himself described Joe McBride as the best goalscorer he had seen at the club – no mean compliment from the best of all and a man who had been watching Celtic score goals for the best part of half-a-century.
Following his stint with Hibernian, Joe also had spells with Dunfermline and Clyde before retiring on April 29, 1972.
Joe won two league championships and two League Cups with Celtic as well as picking up two Scotland caps – in the second of those, against Northern Ireland, he lined up alongside five other Celtic team-mates in the Scotland side.
He will forever be known as Joe McBride of Celtic, though, and was a more than popular member of the squad of former players who still wore the club colours as part of the matchday hospitality team of legends who meet and greet the fans.
Celtic Chief Executive Peter Lawwell said: “The passing of Joe McBride is tragic news.
"Joe was a very fine man, an absolute gentleman and someone who gave tremendous service to the club over a number of years.
"It was a privilege to know Joe and it was fantastic that someone who gave so much to Celtic was still involved with the club in a number of ways - he will truly be sadly missed by everyone at Celtic.
"The thoughts of everyone at the club are very much with Joe’s family at this very difficult time.”
Celtic manager Neil Lennon added: "The loss of Joe is terrible news. It was a pleasure to be in Joe’s company and on a personal level, Joe was someone who was always very supportive to myself.
"I know Joe Jnr well too and on behalf of the whole management and backroom team, and the players, we offer our sincere condolences to Joe’s family, we know this will be a very difficult time for them all.”
He will be sadly missed by all and the thoughts and prayers of everyone at Celtic Football Club and the extended Celtic family are with Joe’s family at this very sad time.


God bless you Joe! May you rest in peace.

[netzer14]

Joe McBride: Stalwart of Jock Stein's formidable 1960s Celtic side
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obitu ... 39615.html

[netzer14]

CELTS LEAD TRIBUTES TO LEGEND JOE MCBRIDE
http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/332527

[netzer14]

Goals and friendliness both came naturally to prolific Joe McBride
http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/ ... -1-2407976

[netzer14]

The Bhoy in the Picture - Bobby Lennox
http://celticunderground.net/index.php? ... &Itemid=60

[Gollum]

Anniversary of John Thomson's tragic death

IT was 81 years ago today (Wednesday), on Saturday, September 5, 1931, that Celtic goalkeeper John Thomson received a serious head injury while playing against Rangers at Ibrox. He died later in hospital, having never regained consciousness after the incident.
The death of a footballer in his prime is thankfully rare, and even rarer on the field of play. Even after this length of time, John Thomson´s untimely death at the age of just 22 remains one of football´s great tragedies. A young goalkeeper, already the first choice for his club and country, with a long and distinguished career seemingly ahead of him, dead as a result of an accident during a game.
Thomson was renowned for his bravery and fearlessness, and his dive at the feet of the Rangers forward Sam English as the player went to shoot was visible evidence of those virtues. As English shot, John Thomson´s head took the full impact of the Rangers player´s knee, leaving the goalkeeper unconscious and his head bleeding.
As the keeper was being stretchered off, a section of the home support were unaware of the seriousness of the injury and cheered until they were silenced by one of the Rangers players.
Thomson´s death stunned football, and was particularly hard-felt by everyone connected with Celtic. Some 40,000 people attended the funeral in Cardenden, including thousands who had travelled through from Glasgow, many walking the 55 miles to the Fife village, and Thomson´s coffin was carried by his devastated team-mates.
James Hanley, in his book The Celtic Story (1960) wrote: "It is hard for those who did not know him to appreciate the power of the spell he cast on all who watched him regularly in action. ´A man who has not read Homer,´ wrote Bagehot, ´is like a man who has not seen the ocean. There is a great object of which he has no idea.´
"In like manner, a generation that did not see John Thomson has missed a touch of greatness in sport, for which he was a brilliant virtuoso, as Gigli was and Menuhin is. One artiste employs the voice as his instrument, another the violin or cello. For Thomson it was a handful of leather. We shall not look upon his like again."
Thomson was born in the Fife town of Kirkcaldy before moving to the mining village of Cardenden, and like many of his contemporaries, had started his working life as a teenager down the pits.
He signed for Celtic in 1926 at the age of 17, having been spotted playing for Wellesley Juniors by Celtic scout Steve Callaghan, who had also alerted the club to the talents of a certain Jimmy McGrory.
Celtic paid ÂŁ10 for the young man who would go on to become known as the Prince of Goalkeepers, and by the age of 18 he had already made his first-team debut against Dundee at Dens Park in a 2-1 win for Celtic.
During his short time as Celtic goalkeeper, he won two Scottish Cup medals - in 1927 when East Fife were defeated 3-1 and in 1931, when Celtic beat Motherwell 4-2 in a replay, having drawn the first game 2-2.
International recognition followed on the back of his impressive displays for Celtic, and Thomson gained four caps for Scotland and four for the Scottish League.
A quiet and unassuming character off the park, once on the field of play Thomson had a natural athleticism aligned to a brave spirit and impressed all who had the privilege to see him play.
In his book, The Story of the Celtic; 1888-1938, Willie Maley, manager of the club from at the time of the tragedy, wrote: "Among the galaxy of talented goalkeepers whom Celtic have had, the late lamented John Thomson was the greatest. A Fifeshire friend recommended him to the club. We watched him play. We were impressed so much that we signed him when he was still in his teens. That was in 1926. Next year he became our regular goalkeeper, and was soon regarded as one of the finest goalkeepers in the country.
"But, alas, his career was to be short. In September, 1931, playing against Rangers at Ibrox Park, he met with a fatal accident. Yet he had played long enough to gain the highest honours football had to give. A most likeable lad, modest and unassuming, he was popular wherever he went.
"His merit as a goalkeeper shone superbly in his play. Never was there a keeper who caught and held the fastest shots with such grace and ease. In all he did there was the balance and beauty of movement wonderful to watch. Among the great Celts who have passed over, he has an honoured place."
Certainly the death of John Thomson hit the club - the officials, players and the supporters - hard and had an understandably adverse effect on subsequent performances over the next couple of seasons.
Indeed, further tragedy was to hit the club just two years later when Peter Scarff, who had played in that fateful game, died from tuberculosis at the age of just 24.
John Thomson´s memory has lived on with Celtic supporters, through the moving song whose words are printed opposite, and fans still visit his graveside in Fife to pay their own respects.
And the John Thomson Memorial Committee hold an annual football tournament when children of all denominations in the Cardenden and Kinglassie areas play for the 'The John Thomson Trophy'.
The final thought on the tragic events of September 1931 is to remember the epitaph on John Thomson´s gravestone, which reads:

'They never die who live in the hearts they leave behind.'

[McCeltic]

http://www.celticfc.net/newsstory?item=3058

[McCeltic]

[Gollum]

Der King of Kings feiert heute seinen 41. Geburtstag! Alles Gute!

[McCeltic]

All the best Henke.

[Big John]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNWYBmEipA4

[McCeltic]

Einer der ganz grossen Celts wäre heute 90 Jahre alt geworden: Jock Stein





Timeline
“If you know your history” is a line in the Celtic Song that Celtic supporters learn almost as soon as they can speak. It is a vitally important part of being a Celtic supporter and understanding what Celtic Football Club means to the support and why the history of our great club is something that must be learned to appreciate the importance of Celtic in our lives.

A great part of this learning is understanding some of the individuals who gave a great part of their lives to Celtic and without whom, Celtic Football Club and its supporters would certainly be a lot poorer today.

1922 – John Stein the only son of George and Jane Stein was born on October 5th at Burnbank, Hamilton in Lanarkshire. 1937 – Leaves Greenfield school in Hamilton and after a short time working in a carpet factory goes down the pits to
become a miner.

1938 – Joins Blantyre Victoria junior football club.

1942 – Takes his first steps into senior football when he joins Albion Rovers. Makes a name for himself as a no nonsense Centre-Half and goes on to make over 200 appearances for the Coatbridge club, which also includes a brief loan spell to Dundee United in 1943.

1948 – Rovers win promotion to the First Division. Stein described in a book to mark the occasion as “the best capture the club ever made”.

1950 – Signs for non-league Welsh club Llanelly (Llanelli) Town. For the first time in his career Stein becomes a full-time professional footballer on the princely sum of £12 per week.

1951 – Stein is desperate to come home to Scotland as he had left his wife and young daughter behind and his house had been broken into twice in his absence. His wish is granted when on the recommendation of Celtic reserve team trainer, Jimmy Gribben, Celtic buy Jock Stein from Llanelly for £1,200.

1951 – Makes his Celtic debut against St Mirren at Celtic Park on December 8th 1951.

1952 – Stein appointed vice-captain by current captain (that was the captain’s right in those days) Sean Fallon.

1952 – Sean Fallow breaks his arm and the full captaincy was passed to Stein. He would be club captain until his Celtic playing career ended due to injury in 1955/56.

1953 – Captain’s Celtic to Coronation Cup success when Celtic unexpectedly overcome Arsenal 1-0, Manchester United 2-1 and Hibernian 1-0 (in front of 117,000 at Hampden) to become unofficial champions of Britain.

1954 – Skippers Celtic to their first League championship since 1938 and first League and Scottish Cup double since 1914.

1954 – Celtic chairman Bob Kelly takes the players to watch the 1954 World Cup Finals in Switzerland. While the rest of the Celtic party enjoyed the holiday and sympathised with the three Celtic players in the Scotland squad (Evans, Fernie and Mochan) who had been humiliated 7-0 by Uruguay, Jock Stein watched and learned. Firstly, about the shambles of Scotland’s preparations and secondly about the continentals tactics, particularly the hungarians who were revolutionising the game.

1956 – Stein forced to retire from football after persistent ankle injuries that would result in him having a permanent limp. In total Jock Stein played 148 games for Celtic and scored 2 goals. He was given the job of coaching the reserve and youth players and was responsible for persuading the board to purchase Barrowfield as a training ground.

1958 – Leads the reserves to the second XI Cup with an 8-2 aggregate triumph over Rangers. This was Stein’s first success as a manager.

1960 – Accepts the role of Dunfermline manager on March 14th 1960. After only 6 weeks in charge Stein leads the Pars clear of relegation.

1961 – Stein guides Dunfermline to the Scottish Cup for the first time in their history. Ironically this comes via a 2-0 replay victory over Celtic.

1962 – Defeats Everton in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup (now known as the UEFA Cup) and only loses to Valencia in a third game play-off after retrieving a four goal first leg deficit.

1964 – Becomes manager of Hibs on April 1st 1964. Within months of becoming manager he leads Hibs to Summer Cup success.

1964 – The testimony of his contemporaries is that he was already “miles” ahead of everyone else in his understanding of the game, and in studying how the investment of energy could be tailored to maximum effect. Stein was immersing himself in the structure of the game while the rest simply went out and played.

1965 – On January 12th the four Celtic directors meet in the North British Hotel. The minutes note that “all four have an agreed desire to secure the services of J Stein as manager. Mr Kelly was to approach Stein with the view to offering him the position. (Sean) Fallon was to be offered an increased salary with increased status if Stein was secured. McGrory (current manager) was to continue as public relations officer”.

1965 – On January 14th at the weekly board meeting Kelly states that “he had interviewed Stein and that he was willing to join the club as manager. He had asked however to be allowed to remain for a time with Hibs as they had a chance of winning the league, and that in any case he would require to give reasonable notice. This was agreed to”.

1965 – Due to the leakage of information the board announce a press conference on January 31st. At the press conference it is announced that Jock Stein will assume the role of team manager on March 9th 1965. A few days after Stein takes over his first game in charge is away to Airdrie with Celtic winning 6-0. Stein was also the clubs first non-Catholic manager.

1965 – On April 24th 1965, six weeks after becoming manager, Stein leads Celtic to Scottish Cup success after a 3-2 victory over Dunfermline. This was Celtic’s first silverware in over 7 years. The importance of this victory in the future success of Celtic was not lost upon Stein when he observed many years later, “It wouldn’t have gone as well for Celtic if they hadn’t won this game”.

1965 – A few days after the Scottish Cup success Stein presented to the board two lists of players. The first list, including the name of Joe McBride, was of a list of players Stein wished to buy. The second list contained those players Stein was willing to sell. Names on that list included John Hughes, Charlie Gallagher and Jimmy Johnstone! Fortunately, the sale of players was restricted to less obvious names otherwise the course of Celtic’s place in European football history may have dramatically changed. Celtic players from that era commented that Stein at that point must have been preoccupied with teamwork rather than giving individuals licence to do as they wish.

1966 – Celtic are crowned Scottish champions for the first time since 1954. They also reach the semi-finals of the Cup-Winners-Cup only to be knocked on away goals by Liverpool in controversial circumstances.

1967 – Stein wins THE LOT.
Manages first British team to be crowned Champions of Europe after beating Inter Milan 2-1 in Lisbon. It was also a triumph for attacking flair over an ultra-defensive Italian style that at the time, was threatening to suffocate the game on the Continent. Stein’s style of play changed football and inspired so many football fans that Silvio Berlusconi, owner of AC Milan was later to comment that AC’s great club side of Van Basten, Gullit, Rijkaard and Baresi was based on Celtic after watching Stein’s team pulverise Inter Milan to submission with the finest attacking football he had ever seen.

- Manages first EVER team to be crowned Champions of Europe with 11 home-grown players.
- Manages the club to two League Championships in a row for the first time in 50 years.
- Manages the club to Scottish Cup success...
- Manages the club to two League Cups in a row for the first time in Celtic’s history.
- Manages the club to the domestic treble for the first time in Celtic’s history.
- Manages the club to Glasgow Cup success.
- Is the Manager of the First club in history to win ALL competitions entered in one season.


1968 – Wins the League for the third time in a row and the League Cup for the third time in a row.

1969 – Wins the domestic treble for the second time in three years.

1970 – European Champions Cup runners-up after losing 2-1 to Feyenoord after extra-time. Defeat heavily fancied English champions Leeds Utd in the semi-final both home and away. Wins both the League and League Cup for the fifth time in a row and finish runners-up in the Scottish Cup.

1970 – Stein starts to rebuild the team by bringing through a batch of home-developed players known as the quality street kids. These players included Davie Hay, George Connolly, Lou Macari, Kenny Dalglish and Danny McGrain.

1971 – Wins both the League for a record equalling sixth time and the Scottish Cup. Finish runners-up in the League Cup.

1972 – Reach the semi-finals of the Champions Cup before losing to old foes Inter Milan on penalties. Wins the Scottish League for a record seventh time in succession and also wins the Scottish Cup to complete the domestic double for the second year in a row. Finish runners-up in the League Cup.

1973 – In January he suffers a suspected heart attack and spends several weeks convalescing. During Stein’s absence Celtic slump in the league. Stein’s return invigorates the team and they go on to win the League championship for the eighth time in a row. Also finish runners-up in both the Scottish and League Cups.

1974 – Stein manages Celtic to the League Championship for a World-record Ninth successive time. Celtic also reach the European Cup semi-final but lose to the hatchet men of Atletico Madrid. Celtic win the Scottish Cup and domestic double for the fifth time in Stein’s tenure and also finish runners-up in the League Cup.

1975 – Win both the Scottish Cup and League Cup. Celtic’s League Cup Final appearance was their tenth successive appearance in the final.

1976 – In July seriously injured in a road accident after returning home from holiday in Menorca. Stein was rushed to hospital in Dumfries. Scarcely able to breathe, a condition which had not deterred a policeman from attempting to breathalyse him as he lay at the roadside. Stein did not return to Celtic Park that season and Celtic failed to win their first silverware since Stein became manager eleven seasons ago.

1977 – Stein returns and Celtic win both the League Championship and Scottish Cup to complete the sixth domestic double during Jock Stein’s twelve years in charge. Celtic also finish runners-up in the League Cup.

1978 – After twelve wonderful years, the greatest manger Scottish football and arguably British football has ever seen resigns from the position of club manager. The board of Kelly’s and Whites offer Stein a position in charge of fund-raising. A shameful act from a shameful group of people when he should have been made club chairman.

1978 – Jock Stein leaves Celtic and takes up the position of manager of Leeds United.

1978 – After 45 days in charge at Elland Road, Stein resigns and accepts the position of Scotland manager.

1982 – Leads Scotland to the World Cup Finals where they go out on goal difference to the Soviet Union.

1985 – On September 10th 1985 at Ninian Park, Cardiff, Jock Stein suffers a fatal heart-attack as Scotland equalise to gain the point needed to make qualification virtually certain to the 1986 World Cup Finals.

Jock Stein’s Roll of Honour:

European Club Champions: 1967

World Club runners-up: 1967

European Club runners-up: 1970

Scottish League Winners: (Ten times) 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1977.

Scottish Cup Winners: (Eight times) 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1977.

Scottish League Cup Winners: (Six times) 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970.
Jock Stein: 1922 – 1985.