Celtic Diary Sunday May 18: The Future, and the History…

The Under 17 team face Ayr United today in their League cup final. The match is at Somerset Park, which isn’t in Somerset, but in Ayr. The youngsters beat Arbroath in the semi final 5-2 to book their place in the final.

And they are looking forward to it.

Jamie McCart, a defender in the team, told the club website;

“It would be an excellent season for us and something we couldn’t have dreamed of it at the start,” he said. “But with the way we have worked and played, it would be deserved.

 “The Arbroath game was very tough. We conceded two disappointing goals but in the end we came out on top with our quality and hard work, so hopefully we will have the same result again.

“We are feeling good as a team, performing really well and Tommy has us training well so we are looking forward to it.

“From our strikers all the way down, we all work together well and pass the ball well so we are just hoping it will be right on the day.

“We are very excited and we have been preparing a lot for the game. We are more focusing on ourselves rather than them and are confident going into it after the Glasgow Cup win in front of all the fans.

“We all want to perform well. It’s been a tough season and we had our highs and lows but the highs definitely outweigh the lows and hopefully we can go out with a bang. “

The Celts do have one or two worries though, as seven of the squad are away on international duty, and are involved in the European Championship semi final today against the Dutch. That game is on Eurosport at five thirty.

“They are a big miss the boys that are away, but we are happy at the younger ones coming in and we also have Luke Donnelly from the older group,” he said. They are all very good players, we have a good squad and we are feeling confident.”

“Their main strengths are probably their two strikers, they are strong at the back as well, and they work very hard.

“We won 2-1 and lost 1-0. They are a tough team, older and more experienced but we have confidence in the team that we can outplay and outwork them.”

So, for those who can, its the League cup final and then the Eurosport game, which should keep us ticking over until the friendlies start…

The Scottish Under 17s have recovered from a shaky start against Portugal in their opening group game to beat Germany and Switzerland, which set up the semi final against the Netherlands, and whisper it, a possible final against England, who face Portugal. The biggest surprise isn’t that the Scots could make the final, but that the English actually have an Under 17 set up.

I thought they bought their players in ready made from around the world.

The senior players might be away getting haircuts or rampaging through European nightclubs, but the kids are still in action. The under fifteens are competing in the Nike Cup, and the club website gets us up to date with the latest;

CELTIC Under-15s have started the prestigious Nike Cup with two terrific victories over top opposition to put them on the brink of reaching tomorrow’s final.

A second-half goal from Jack Aitchison sealed a 1-0 win over Arsenal in their opening game at St George’s Park – the FA’s national football centre.

And the Bhoys continued their fine form into their next game against Newcastle United, overcoming the Magpies 3-1 thanks to Broque Watson’s brace and a counter from Kyle Barr.

Leading the group on six points, the young Hoops only require a share of the spoils against Manchester City tomorrow (Sunday) to progress to the final of the competition.

 So theres football out there if you want it…

 The youths especially deserve a wee bit of support. When alex Ferguson and his enormous red nose moved to Old Trafford, he told the directors that he wanted to build a club, not just a team. arguably, he succeeded, and the club was built on the players that came through the Academy there.

 Back in the sixties and seventies, most of Celtics players were homegrown, and especially given the economic climate of the game in Scotland, thats the way forward now.

 Former manager Neil Lennon ( I say that in case he has resigned before you read this ) started the process, introducing James Forrest, Darnell Fisher and so on, and the new man ( insert name here ) will be encouraged to continue.

 There is nothing better, say when watching a European game outwith Glasgow, and a non Celtic supporting mate asks you where you got a certain player from, and you can reply

” He’s one of our own ” ,

 because its not something that happens a lot these days.

 Did I mention the sixties and seventies ?

 Theres Jimmy Johnstone, in glorious colour, getting into his car at Park circus, lovingly restored from the original monochrome by Barry McGonigle, who posts his work on his twitter line.

 And there are some belters amongst his work.

Johnstone again, this time at Ibrox

Jock Stein and Bill Shankly, presumably discussing the amount of empty beer bottles at anfield after the 66 Cup winner cup semi final

Some of the pictures go back further, and they hold the most fascination for me, because they were only ever in black and white…

John Thomson , this photo shows the thick jersey he wore in tremendous detail, while the great mans funeral becomes more poignant after these pictures are restored.

First, his coffin being passed through the window of his home..

and a few ladies at the cemetery..

The detail is extraordinary, almost as though recorded in high definition decades later.

Then theres this one, one we’ve all seen before, but not like this..

If you are on twitter, instead of watching re runs on the telly today, or desperately trying to find something interesting in the Sunday papers, have a look at Barry McGonigle. Theres a hell of a lot of work goes into this, and to me it looks like its worth every minute.

 Restoring old movies doesn’t work, the image and appeal of Laurel and Hardy , for instance, is ruined when they are coloured in. However, these photographs are enhanced by colour, and history leaps from the page and joins you in the room.

 Tommy Gemmell was the man who chased Helmut Haller up the park to extract revenge for the bombing of Clydeside during the war. He has a new book out, which is his second autobiography. I found a copy of his first one on my shelf, and to my delight noticed it was actually autographed by the author, or at least someone with the same name.

 For todays teaser, we are going back to Barry McGonigle, and this before and after picture. Who is it ?