The Immortals is a passionate love letter to Celtic FC, by turns ecstatic and distressed, angry and joyous, but always obsessed. After the disappointment in 2021 of failing to complete the fabled ten-in-a-row league titles, the author took solace in researching causes for celebration from Celtic’s proud past.
His starting point was the rallying cry that ‘two nines are better than one’, and the book’s centrepieces are stories of both of Celtic’s nine-in-a-row triumphs. On his journey he discovered darkness and despair as well as derring-do and delight, the extremes of emotion inevitable in all love affairs.
He uncovered the evils of the Irish Holocaust and the poverty of Glasgow’s East End that preceded Celtic’s foundation, the dubious conduct of Celtic’s money-men, as well as the ‘miracles’ of the immortals among the club’s founding fathers, its dynasties, managers and players. The book takes us on a pilgrimage through time with faithful hope for the future.
The original cover, as shown on Amazon, features Jock Stein, Neil Lennon and Scott Brown but it looks like Broony has dropped out in favour of Ange Postecoglou, so the finalised version of the cover looks like the version shown below, to recognise the achievements last season from the current Celtic manager.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Phillip Vine divides his time between writing fiction and books about sport. He is the author of Visionary: Manchester United, Michael Knighton and the Football Revolution 1989-2019, and has another book, Crossing the Lines: Milestone Moments in Modern Sport, due for release by Pitch. He is currently writing a novel, White Horse, about a group of friends who make a pilgrimage to watch the inaugural FA Cup Final at Wembley in 1923.
📢 OUT TODAY: "THE IMMORTALS – Two Nines and Other Celtic Stories" by Phillip Vine is a passionate love letter to Celtic FC. The book takes us on a pilgrimage through time with faithful hope for the future. #NewRelease #CelticFC ⚽️📗 Visit ➡️ https://t.co/TnO1hqBMPg pic.twitter.com/e5FYCbnfv0
— My Football Books (@myfootballbooks) August 8, 2022
“THE IMMORTALS – Two Nines and Other Celtic Stories” by Phillip Vine was published yesterday and is available now on Amazon on Kindle and hardback (352 pages).
