{"id":7164,"date":"2015-06-02T16:22:55","date_gmt":"2015-06-02T15:22:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/etims.net\/?p=7164"},"modified":"2015-06-02T16:22:55","modified_gmt":"2015-06-02T15:22:55","slug":"celtic-take-five","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/etims.net\/?p=7164","title":{"rendered":"Celtic – Take Five!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Well that was the Season that was!<\/p>\n

It came, it farted about for a while, then it finally learned the right dance steps and before you know it had swept almost all of us off our feet.<\/p>\n

Here are\u00a0my 5 Highs and its such a fun time to be a Tim that Im not gonna bother with an 5 Lows ( or 5 Hughs if Mr Keevins is reading).<\/p>\n

So in no order, bar the order they sprung into my mind..here goes:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

5 HIGHS<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

1: Ronnie Ronnie Ronnie\"2837C64400000578-0-Celtic_boss_Ronny_Deila_hopes_his_side_will_be_crowned_champions-a-198_1430606749993\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

This one is for Ralph.\u00a0I love you mate but\u00a0you\u00a0know what you did!
\nHow I\u00a0used to love the early Diary entries at the start of the season, such doom and gloom.<\/p>\n

Such wailing to the Walls, such gnashing\u00a0of the teeth as the club lurched from one disaster to another. And who was to blame, some f***** unknown Norwegian,\u00a0a \u00a0f****** Norwegian!, thats who!<\/p>\n

\u00a0Some of us would comment in the Diary that patience was needed and resistance to change was human but self defeating. This strangely named guy ( im still no sure if its Deel-ya or Dial-a or something else) had a plan. He had a vision. He had ideas.<\/p>\n

Some of us had a feeling Celtic could play the curve ball, I remember writing<\/a> :\u00a0<\/p>\n

International Bright Young Thing<\/span><\/strong>
\nIts a new dawn in the manager world, Klopp, Simeone and Rodgers are showing that new young ideas might just be the way forward. Could Celtic look to recruit some young buck with fresh new ideas and a Powerpoint Diploma? Could we see Lawwell hop over to La Liga and bring back the next Mauricio Pochettino..wait hold on.why can\u2019t we just go get him instead?<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Imagine if the dreaded Roy Keane hadnt said “Shove it up yir arse” to Peter Lawwell when Lawwell told him “You will have this visionary Norwegian as your number 2”.<\/p>\n

Many thought\u00a0Ronnies ideas were above his station and early results suggested they may be right. But some of us said “Wait a second…Rome wasnt built in a day and all that..watch and see”.<\/p>\n

And so did the players..(eventually – ED)..you know the rest.<\/p>\n

Now we all see the fruits of Ronnies Labours. A fitter, quicker,\u00a0both\u00a0in speed of movement and of thought, and a leaner side which is also attempting true strength in depth with a fresh trasnfer policy. The panic stricken “Lets take it purely\u00a0one season at a time” attitude is abating and patience buy-in from everyone is now almost attained.<\/p>\n

This summers signings will be very interesting and we all cant wait on the Champions League qualifiers. The buzz is about the place\u00a0and rather than fans hoping for a Treble next year, we, and Ronnie, will be demanding it, regardless of how many honest mistakes the officials throw at us.<\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

2: Well done John Hughes<\/strong><\/p>\n

Gaun yirself big Yogi!\"yogi\"<\/p>\n

Ive always had a soft spot for the Inverness Caley manager ever since he used to play his heart out when wearing the Hoops (\u00a0I mind jumping for joy when he scored against Hearts when\u00a0I was stuck in a crappy wee bedsit down South just about getting a Radio Scotland signal on the tranny).<\/p>\n

Despite being a Hibbee, John, like Gordon Strachan, has always had pride being linked with Celtic and has always spoken out well for us since leaving. Its only fair we do the same.<\/p>\n

My liking for John Hughes even went as far as the 2014 nominee list<\/a> for next Celtic Manager..<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

John Hughes<\/span><\/strong>
\nHey, we\u2019re having every other former Celt who is a manager so why not Big Yogi. Doing okay at Caley and got them to the League Cup final before falling to Aberdeen at the last hurdle. Not a sexy enough signing for fans or sponsors sadly but still deserves a bookies rating nonetheless.<\/span><\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Now I\u00a0wasnt saying he should get it, more he should get the same if not more respect than others like Jackie Mac who seem to be beloved for not entirely convincing reasons, at least to me.<\/p>\n

I remember being angry at Graham Speirs for damning the Inverness Caley board for letting Terry Butcher slip away to be replaced by John Hughes. Well a place in Europe and a Scottish Cup is heaidng northwards Mr Speirs, how’d you like them apples?<\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\"BigHeroKris\"
Ronnie meets BigHeroKris<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

3: Kris Commons&off&on again
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

What a strange wee year for Kris Commons.<\/p>\n

His mate Gary Hooper fecks off to Norwich so no fat inducing trips to Marbella end of season at least but whats this?\u00a0A new manager. “Oh a guy who loves a number 10?..ideal!” thinks Kris,,,”Oh a guy who wants a number 10 to run 15 KM a game and be able to shoot, pass and cross from anywhere on the pitch AND track back”…hmmm wait a sec thinks Kris…”A number 10 who wants to work his arse of in training and be really really fit with a Body fat ratio leaner than a Nandos Roulette Wheel of Chicken Wings”..hey thats taking it too far!…”Im out!” shrieks Kris.
\nAnd so it was off into the football wilderness, or Excelsior Stadium Airdrie where the weans play, for our Kris.<\/p>\n

Radio Clyde Superscoreboard was awash in the fake tears of Fraser, Gordon, Hugh and Derek as they wrestled with the idea of a stupid new\u00a0manager believing an all emcompassing\u00a0team approach\u00a0was more important than pursuing the preferences of\u00a0 one or a few players.<\/p>\n

Cue much expectation that the new Bolton Manager, a certain Mr Lennon would pop up in January to suggest Kris head south down the M8 to suck on some Uncle Joes minty balls ( look them up potty mouth!)<\/p>\n

And then it happened.
\nIt might have been an epiphany.<\/p>\n

It may have been kismet<\/p>\n

It may well according toRui Milla just have been his wife saying “Bolton?, feck off,\u00a0I have 400 charity gigs to organise here ya plum, get your fat arse in gear and get back tae work”<\/p>\n

Suddenly Ronnie was no longer sighing at Press conferences when he heard the words “What about Commons?”. Suddenly the spring was back in Kris’ step. Suddenly Ronnie was hugging him on the touchline and reminding him and everyone just how important Commons could be for the team, now and in the near future. Cue a begrudging Peter getting his pen out the safe.<\/p>\n

The new contract is signed..regular SPL goals and the place on the Euro bench and title of “Wise Counsel to Gary Mackay Stevens” awaits. Kris is happy, Ronnies happy and the fans are happy. Strangely the punters at Radio Clyde dont seem too happy but I suspect thats due to something other than our BigHero Kris.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

4: Gordons Alive\"imagesCAHWQB08\"!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Knock Knock<\/em><\/p>\n

Who’s there?<\/em><\/p>\n

Fraser\u00a0Forster\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Fraser Forster who?<\/em><\/p>\n

Exactly!<\/em><\/p>\n

From the man with marshmallow knees to true Celtic Hero. Its a bigger transformation than Bruce Jenner!<\/p>\n

Even the\u00a0people\u00a0who recall Gordons infamous run up for a corner for Hearts against us have been won over by the guys performances this season. A man of true stature who cajoles and directs his back four to excellent position and performance while providing a great final barrier to the opposition.<\/p>\n

All on a free transfer rememeber!<\/p>\n

The rewards – a pair of medals, a record low goals against, a Scottish recall, awards galore and best of all, he got to say “Allys talking utter shite” when McCoist tried to claim he offered Gordon terms before signing Butterfly punching cammy bell instead.<\/p>\n

Kudos to Stevie Woods for a great coaching role but just one complaint. I cant say the words Craig Gordon without singing the words to the tune of Adam and the Ants “Prince Charming” in my head. Youre doing it now arent you…sorry!<\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

Wee Gordon\"Gordon<\/strong><\/p>\n

Many remember Gordon Strachan back in his Aberdeen days. What a wee shite. A man we loved to hate. \u00a0Tenanacious, dogged and\u00a0rough, like a scottish terrier wae rabies. When that idiot ran on the park to attack him, a lot of folk prayed the idiots hand was okay.<\/p>\n

That as they say was way back\u00a0when!<\/p>\n

3 Titles and a new found love and respect ( from both Strachan and from Celtic fans) and we all love the wee guy. No bullshit, no bluff. Just\u00a0pure integrity ( no Sally gardening leave pay off when he left Middlesbrough..just a humble apology for letting the fans down!) and finally, the pathetic SFA couldnt hide anymore and eventually gave him the Scotland job.<\/p>\n

What a difference he has made. The country saw a harsh draw for the Euros and what wa sthe reaction?…”Bring it on!”. The performances are better, the points are mounting up, \u00a0the confidence exudes from everyone involved but as you would expect under Strachan, it is with humility and respect, brave but not bravado.<\/p>\n

The 1-0 defeat of Martin O’Neills Republic side was a great to-and-fro affair and Celtic Park was the perfect setting for a game given\u00a0our clubs links to the 2\u00a0managers\u00a0 as well as their deputies. The Celtic links were topped off\u00a0when\u00a0Charlie Mulgrew was crowned the\u00a0Man of the Match and Shaun Maloney scored the winner. Scotland now have the bit between their teeth and durty as it sounds, everyones dander truly is up!<\/p>\n

The replay over in Dublin could very well be the Game of the Summer and yes, that does even include Linfield vs Sevco.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

Whats your season highs, season lows or just season memories?….add them in comments below<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Well that was the Season that was! It came, it farted about for a while, then it finally learned the right dance steps and before…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":7180,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/etims.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/Looking-Back-Moving-Forward-001.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2J7If-1Ry","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7164"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7164"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7164\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7181,"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7164\/revisions\/7181"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7180"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7164"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7164"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7164"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}