DAD’S HONOUR-ONE HELLUVA WEEK TO BE A CELT!…
The celebrations are still ongoing in a week in which Celtic have become back-to-back Title Champions in Scotland. The scenes outside Celtic Park as Ange Postecoglou led out his masterful squad to the acclaim of thousands will live in the memory for some time to come, for more reasons than one.
Sunday 7 May was the day Celtic could make it mathematically impossible to be caught by an Ibrox verbal eleven across the city, and on a day my father, Ted, would have been 90 years young. I was desperately hoping that his beloved Bhoys would, on his landmark birthday, deliver what he had come to expect over the years I trotted along to Paradise with him – the Glory Years.
Old Big Ears, Stein, The Lions, King Kenny, Harry, Connolly, Hay, Dixie, Danny, The Maestro, Lubo, Sutton, Hartson and Larsson; all great names synonymous with green and white ribbons around various Cups, all worthy of our fanatical adoration, and then some.
However, as a nervy, leggy first half at Tynecastle had cast up all sorts of doubts about the main piece of seasonal silverware finally re-establishing itself in the Parkhead trophy room by 4pm, Kyogo, and then Oh struck in remarkably similar fashion, the first, fittingly, on minute ‘67 and all that’, denying us the chance to gloat over our newly formed rivals in their own backyard the following Saturday by taking the title in front of a staunch but grieving sea of blue.
The gloating will still take place regardless of the result in this dead rubber -of sorts- as the Championship Trophy is already being engraved and polished, as it should be. Right Ted? Even without our vital cogs, Carter-Vickers and Johnston, and possibly Kyogo, Celtic have enough in reserve to hammer the final nail into theRangers’ coffin which should be currently making its lamentable way down the marble staircase of Ibrox.
When said coffin departs the old stadium ‘what John Brown played for’, it may be accompanied by one or two others containing the remains of the Ibrox careers of Ryan Kent and Alfredo Morelos, possibly accompanied by a dirge flautist lamenting the backdoor exits of Steve Davis, Allan McGregor and Malik Tillman, Jon McLaughlin, Scott Arfield, maybe Glen Kamara? Sad, innit?
Compare them to Joe Hart, Callum McGregor, Reo Hatate, Jota on the Wing, Kyogo Furuhashi etc, etc. You can’t, neither can they and that’s why their flying squadron will be winging their scuttling way out of Glasgow come the summer of ’23, one in which we are already dancing around the League and League Cup with delight and champing at the bit to restore their erstwhile sibling, the Scottish Cup to its rightful resting place, completing the coveted Treble.
If and when we do, with all due respect to Inverness Caledonian Thistle who will bust their bahookies in a bid to stop us, there will be champagne, there will be singing, there will be dancing with flags, banners and smoky flares.
And personally… there will be a moment or two when I raise my eyes and my heart to Heaven in thanks for my dad, Ted, and my ever-faithful mum, Kate for taking this small boy’s hand, walking me through Parkhead’s Gates to savour the most joyous days of my life. They will be with me, as will those of your loved ones who saw the Celtic vision and led us into Paradise.
God bless them all.
Eddie Murray
UPDATE…Last week Celtic Under 19s won the Scottish Youth Cup Final, beating theRangers Under 19s 6-5 in the Final at Hampden and last night our Celtic B Team returned the Glasgow Cup to Celtic Park’s Trophy Cabinet, beating theRangers B Team in a penalty shoot-out at Ibrox after a 3-3 draw.
😁🏆#RANCEL | #GlasgowCup | #COYBIG🍀 pic.twitter.com/mS3FPdC0Hd
— Celtic FC B (@CelticFCB) May 10, 2023
🏆 @CelticFCB are the #GlasgowCup Winners after beating Rangers tonight at Ibrox!
Congratulations to the Young Celts 💚#CelticFC🍀 pic.twitter.com/PAP8UdK5e7
— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) May 10, 2023
Tonight Fran Alonso’s Celtic FC Women side can take a step closer to winning the SWPL1 title when they play Glasgow City in front of a record breaking crowd at Celtic Park and the Ghirls also have the Women’s Scottish Cup Final at Hampden on Sunday 28 May against theRangers to look forward to. COYGIG.
Latest batch of orders for “Glory to their name” posted earlier today. Very fitting that the 130th anniversary of @CelticFC’s first-ever League title win should fall in the week we claimed our latest. The more things change…
Signed copies available at https://t.co/amaUidjFbG pic.twitter.com/HIr82R27yn
— Matt Corr (@Boola_vogue) May 10, 2023
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