McNeill phones Gough.

Robbie Wilson

Robbie Wilson

Well-Known Member
Just reading that he phoned our captain the day after we did 9iar and congratulated him and the club as he thought it would never be repeated.
Good God what a gentelman doing that.
Even Mcstay & Burns conducted themselves in his manner with respect.

Look at the fuking prick they have now. A shitstain of a human!?
 
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There were and are very few of his ilk left that carry that respect in football circles…
As much as he was a true ‘Celtic man’ through and through he still respected our club and our traditions and always acted with dignity.

I remember watching him in the ‘press box’ in the 90’s during our 9-IA-R era… I think he wrote a column for one of the Sunday tabloids?
Anyway at half time he looked might uncomfortable being surrounded by Bears in the Main stand.There maybe was a couple of half witted comments very ocassionally but most people either ignored him because he looked so uncomfortable or went up to shake his hand briefly and have a quick chat.

At all times like I said he behaved respectfully and showed dignity not only to our club but the supporters as well.I don’t think there are many left that would or could do that nowadays …cross that ‘great divide’ and yet still be respected for who you are/were…… by both camps.

‘Hail Caesar’ …indeed!
 
Laudrup11Cooper said:
There were and are very few of his ilk left that carry that respect in football circles…
As much as he was a true ‘Celtic man’ through and through he still respected our club and our traditions and always acted with dignity.

I remember watching him in the ‘press box’ in the 90’s during our 9-IA-R era… I think he wrote a column for one of the Sunday tabloids?
Anyway at half time he looked might uncomfortable being surrounded by Bears in the Main stand.There maybe was a couple of half witted comments very ocassionally but most people either ignored him because he looked so uncomfortable or went up to shake his hand briefly and have a quick chat.

At all times like I said he behaved respectfully and showed dignity not only to our club but the supporters as well.I don’t think there are many left that would or could do that nowadays …cross that ‘great divide’ and yet still be respected for who you are/were…… by both camps.

‘Hail Caesar’ …indeed!
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Ardoyne RSC said:
He kicked the shit out of our players for 90 minutes, and was friendly respectful and dignified to them the rest of the time. Football as it should be.
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Cannot see anyone like him ever being at celtc again.

There is certainly no one at celtc now who you could say would behave like that and you have to wonder what was the catalyst.

Reid or liewell or both as it started from the top.

I have spoke with celtc fans and they cannot stand liewell they think he is there just for him and his bonus. One said he was the highest paid individual at celtc with bonuses and shares but no idea if that’s true.

If liewell left surely their control on Scottish football would be weaker.
 
That doesn't really surprise me tbh.

Look, he was no saint but, compare him to the current manager and captain.........

The hatred has just got worse and worse in the social media age. Well, maybe not so much the hatred - but, there is a total loss of respect.

I still remember, we went to the Piggery after winning at Elland Road - and there was a small piece in their programme congratulating us. That would simply never, ever happen now.

They can't even refer to us as Rangers FFS! And that is from the top of their club.
 
Weetoonblue said:
Cannot see anyone like him ever being at celtc again.

There is certainly no one at celtc now who you could say would behave like that and you have to wonder what was the catalyst.

Reid or liewell or both as it started from the top.

I have spoke with celtc fans and they cannot stand liewell they think he is there just for him and his bonus. One said he was the highest paid individual at celtc with bonuses and shares but no idea if that’s true.

If liewell left surely their control on Scottish football would be weaker.
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It started with O'Neil.
 
Robbie Wilson said:
Just reading that he phoned our captain the day after we did 9iar and congratulated him and the club as he thought it would never be repeated.
Good God what a gentelman doing that.
Even Mcstay & Burns conducted themselves in his manner with respect.

Look at the fuking prick they have now. A shitstain of human!?
Click to expand...

John Greig went into their dressing room after they beat us 4-2 to win the league and congratulate them iirc. Two giants of Scottish football who know/knew how to conduct themselves.
 
As I posted on the other thread, McNeill had Lithuanian grandparents so didn't grow up with the WoS chip on the shoulder like 95% of their support.
 
Laudrup11Cooper said:
There were and are very few of his ilk left that carry that respect in football circles…
As much as he was a true ‘Celtic man’ through and through he still respected our club and our traditions and always acted with dignity.

I remember watching him in the ‘press box’ in the 90’s during our 9-IA-R era… I think he wrote a column for one of the Sunday tabloids?
Anyway at half time he looked might uncomfortable being surrounded by Bears in the Main stand.There maybe was a couple of half witted comments very ocassionally but most people either ignored him because he looked so uncomfortable or went up to shake his hand briefly and have a quick chat.

At all times like I said he behaved respectfully and showed dignity not only to our club but the supporters as well.I don’t think there are many left that would or could do that nowadays …cross that ‘great divide’ and yet still be respected for who you are/were…… by both camps.

‘Hail Caesar’ …indeed!
Click to expand...
Didn’t he write for a Saturday paper? Seem to recall every week during our 9iar he’d say we’d struggle and they’d win our respective games that day.
 
Having met Billy McNeil a number of times I believe the likes of Brown and Lennon embarrassed him....My only gripe with McNeil was he supposedly said Celtc were cheated for 50 years..I would leave loved to have said to him like I have said to other Tim's.how the phuck to did you win all your leagues and trophies then?
 
The Canny Man said:
Certainly can’t imagine big McNeill or even Burns standing smirking and laughing at the side of the pitch after goading an opponent into getting sent off the way that retarded fuckwit of a captain they’ve got now did.
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Burns defended a Paedophile.

I know which one between him and Brown I consider worse.
 
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Davy Young said:
Having met Billy McNeil a number of times I believe the likes of Brown and Lennon embarrassed him....My only gripe with McNeil was he supposedly said Celtc were cheated for 50 years..I would leave loved to have said to him like I have said to other Tim's.how the phuck to did you win all your leagues and trophies then?
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I'm the exact same with his 50 years of refs favouring us comment. Had loads of respect for him up until he said that.
 
alba73 said:
Didn’t he write for a Saturday paper? Seem to recall every week during our 9iar he’d say we’d struggle and they’d win our respective games that day.
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A Saturday paper?
That could only be the Evening Times then?
The Citizen was gone by then…
I always thought it was the Sunday Mail but you could be right!
 
Bribrox said:
It started with O'Neil.
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By the early 1990s there wasn’t so much animosity in the fixture or around the clubs - they coexisted and we had a situation where the likes of Butcher and Aitken played for opposing sides but were friends from previously playing against each other internationally and recognising that as opposing captains they ought to have a reasonable relationship.

Even the local guys like McCoist, Durrant, Grant, Whyte were able to be competitive without it spilling over and while they might not have been best mates and hanging around together, they were able to be around each other without any issues.

The Celtic support on the other hand were determined that they were downtrodden and cheated by referees and the cheerleader of this in the media, like Gerry McNee and Paul Cooney, were delighted to make that the conversation as they took control of the airwaves.
We had the nonsense of Paulo Di Canio arriving in Scotland and suddenly spouting about Masonry and Celtic being cheated... there was an agenda being pushed by Celtic people and once it really took hold in the mainstream by the mid to late 1990s, you found Celtic suddenly churned out a marketing strategy that was very aggressively Irish & Catholic.

The Rangers support, drunk on success and NIAR just didn’t recognise the battle being waged, far less compete in it.

Add O’Neill and then Lennon into the mix in 2000 then the whole rivalry has taken on an intensity that is unhealthy for many in it or around it.

And it is all the backdrop for the Sectarian Industry and the use of the sport and the clubs as a political football by the SNP.


The times of McNeill and Greig being competitive but respectful to each other and their clubs seem like a different world entirely.
 
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People need to read something like 'The Old Firm' by Bill Murray if they really believe the rivalry was respectful up until Martin O'Neill arrived.

The coverage of the club in the media changed from the late 1960's onwards and, it could be argued, the club has never fully adapted to it.

I do agree that Celtic, from Fergus McCann onwards, pursued a more overt Irish/Catholic marketing identity than they had done for some time.
 
Laudrup11Cooper said:
A Saturday paper?
That could only be the Evening Times then?
The Citizen was gone by then…
I always thought it was the Sunday Mail but you could be right!
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I thought it was the Sunday Mail initially, now I’m not so sure.

Billy McNeill on ...... was the name of the column.
 
RabSpackman said:
By the early 1990s there wasn’t so much animosity in the fixture or around the clubs - they coexisted and we had a situation where the likes of Butcher and Aitken played for opposing sides but were friends from previously playing against each other internationally and recognising that as opposing captains they ought to have a reasonable relationship.

Even the local guys like McCoist, Durrant, Grant, Whyte were able to be competitive without it spilling over and while they might not have been best mates and hanging around together, they were able to be around each other without any issues.

The Celtic support on the other hand were determined that they were downtrodden and cheated by referees and the cheerleader of this in the media, like Gerry McNee and Paul Cooney, were delighted to make that the conversation as they took control of the airwaves.
We had the nonsense of Paulo Di Canio arriving in Scotland and suddenly spouting about Masonry and Celtic being cheated... there was an agenda being pushed by Celtic people and once it really took hold in the mainstream by the mid to late 1990s, you found Celtic suddenly churned out a marketing strategy that was very aggressively Irish & Catholic.

The Rangers support, drunk on success and NIAR just didn’t recognise the battle being waged, far less compete in it.

Add O’Neill and then Lennon into the mix in 2000 then the whole rivalry has taken on an intensity that is unhealthy for many in it or around it.

And it is all the backdrop for the Sectarian Industry and the use of the sport and the clubs as a political football by the SNP.


The times of McNeill and Greig being competitive but respectful to each other and their clubs seem like a different world entirely.
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Our signing of MJ certainly riled their fans and they’ve never recovered
 
alba73 said:
Our signing of MJ certainly riled their fans and they’ve never recovered
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If they were seeking to be downtrodden and second rate citizens then Rangers buying the hero that they thought was returning to them from under their noses certainly confirmed that :cool:
 
Taki said:
People need to read something like 'The Old Firm' by Bill Murray if they really believe the rivalry was respectful up until Martin O'Neill arrived.

The coverage of the club in the media changed from the late 1960's onwards and, it could be argued, the club has never fully adapted to it.

I do agree that Celtic, from Fergus McCann onwards, pursued a more overt Irish/Catholic marketing identity than they had done for some time.
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The whole paranoia angle was ramped up ten fold by Tommy Burns in the mid 90's IMO. Three years of incessant whining, greeting, accusations, not so subtle digs and outright hostility culminated in St Thomas of the Chipped Shoulder mentally breaking down as it slowly dawned on him he wasn't stopping NIAR. Burns had whipped himself into such a frenzy over NIAR that he became obsessed by us. We utterly broke that man and destroyed his managerial career.

The idea that Di Canio came to Scotland and decided himself within 10 minutes the referees were Proddy masons out to cheat them is just laughable. He was clearly being fed this crap by certain people(no prizes for guessing the chief duo) in that dressing room.
 
SDF said:
The whole paranoia angle was ramped up ten fold by Tommy Burns in the mid 90's IMO. Three years of incessant whining, greeting, accusations, not so subtle digs and outright hostility culminated in St Thomas of the Chipped Shoulder mentally breaking down as it slowly dawned on him he wasn't stopping NIAR. Burns had whipped himself into such a frenzy over NIAR that he became obsessed by us. We utterly broke that man and destroyed his managerial career.

The idea that Di Canio came to Scotland and decided himself within 10 minutes the referees were Proddy masons out to cheat them is just laughable. He was clearly being fed this crap by certain people(no prizes for guessing the chief duo) in that dressing room.
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He was fed that crap from people like Peter Grant who was open that his bigoted old granny had told him stories of the Rangers/SFA/BBC/Church of Scotland oppressing the Yahoo. I imagine every West of Scotland Yahoo gets told the same myths so it's part of the DNA.

This is a club whose supporters association hired a private detective to follow the referee before a cup final against us in 1990. This is a club that wanted to apply to play in England because they lost a cup final to us in 1986.

People need to get away from the idea that the Yahoos suddenly went mental when O'Neill arrived or in the 1990's. They've always been mental.
 
I tend to agree this notion that Celtic got bitter and twisted in the modern era is a bit of a load of shite.

Many examples across the years of pretty unsavoury comments and underhand tactics etc.
People are also maybe misunderstanding how it was back in the day-in the 70's Glasgow was a war zone around OF games and yes overall the players acted with more respected but even then there was bitterness amongst their club and let's not kid ourselves we gave no quarter at times.

It was subtly different then but all that's happened in the modern era is they've managed to find some total cunts on another level of bitterness and their regime under Liewell has been one of nothing to do with us.

Idiots like Spiers managed to make the situation worse and cemented this myth Celtic had a really cuddly ethos and nothing to hide in the cupboard.
Anyone believing it is either a Tim or a retard. There are a lot of both in Scotland.

McNeill was to be respected 100% but we are starting to rewrite history.....
 
The hatred has always been there. But, in the past you had players from both sides socialising after booting lumps out of each other. You had joint sponsorship deals meaning players from both sides spending time with each other. You had players from.both sides bonding.in Scotland squads.

None of that happens.now.

Just because you despise someone, doesn't mean you can't have some respect for them. When I first started going I hated Aitken, Bonner, Burns, Grant for example but had a certain respect for them being Celtic through and through like I was/am Rangers through and through.

It doesn't help for example there is no bears in Scotland squad. Remember when Barry and shagger were being hung out to dry it was McManus who went to Burley in their defence.
 
TNT said:
The hatred has always been there. But, in the past you had players from both sides socialising after booting lumps out of each other. You had joint sponsorship deals meaning players from both sides spending time with each other. You had players from.both sides bonding.in Scotland squads.

None of that happens.now.

Just because you despise someone, doesn't mean you can't have some respect for them. When I first started going I hated Aitken, Bonner, Burns, Grant for example but had a certain respect for them being Celtic through and through like I was/am Rangers through and through.

It doesn't help for example there is no bears in Scotland squad. Remember when Barry and shagger were being hung out to dry it was McManus who went to Burley in their defence.
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I don't think the players ever really socialised after that generation of McNeill/Greig retired. There might have been the odd anomaly such as Gio and Larsson who knew each other from before but in the main it's been dead for over 40 years. It might even have been slightly overstated from that era anyway....
 
RabSpackman said:
By the early 1990s there wasn’t so much animosity in the fixture or around the clubs - they coexisted and we had a situation where the likes of Butcher and Aitken played for opposing sides but were friends from previously playing against each other internationally and recognising that as opposing captains they ought to have a reasonable relationship.

Even the local guys like McCoist, Durrant, Grant, Whyte were able to be competitive without it spilling over and while they might not have been best mates and hanging around together, they were able to be around each other without any issues.

The Celtic support on the other hand were determined that they were downtrodden and cheated by referees and the cheerleader of this in the media, like Gerry McNee and Paul Cooney, were delighted to make that the conversation as they took control of the airwaves.
We had the nonsense of Paulo Di Canio arriving in Scotland and suddenly spouting about Masonry and Celtic being cheated... there was an agenda being pushed by Celtic people and once it really took hold in the mainstream by the mid to late 1990s, you found Celtic suddenly churned out a marketing strategy that was very aggressively Irish & Catholic.

The Rangers support, drunk on success and NIAR just didn’t recognise the battle being waged, far less compete in it.

Add O’Neill and then Lennon into the mix in 2000 then the whole rivalry has taken on an intensity that is unhealthy for many in it or around it.

And it is all the backdrop for the Sectarian Industry and the use of the sport and the clubs as a political football by the SNP.


The times of McNeill and Greig being competitive but respectful to each other and their clubs seem like a different world entirely.
Click to expand...
Great post
 
Taki said:
People need to read something like 'The Old Firm' by Bill Murray if they really believe the rivalry was respectful up until Martin O'Neill arrived.

The coverage of the club in the media changed from the late 1960's onwards and, it could be argued, the club has never fully adapted to it.

I do agree that Celtic, from Fergus McCann onwards, pursued a more overt Irish/Catholic marketing identity than they had done for some time.
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I remember this book at the time ( late 80’s iirc) and was slaughtered by the FF fanzine at the time as being very one sided, I also think he had a slot in Scotsport to plug the book.
Anyway I tried getting this book some years ago but I think its out of print
 
That's was a nice gesture from Billy McNeill. That he and John Grieg formed a great friendship was obviously born out of mutual respect that didn't make them any less competitive, but once the match was over then it was over.
 
bluetonic said:
I remember this book at the time ( late 80’s iirc) and was slaughtered by the FF fanzine at the time as being very one sided, I also think he had a slot in Scotsport to plug the book.
Anyway I tried getting this book some years ago but I think its out of print
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There were 3 versions - the original one published in 1984, a follow up in 1988 and I think the last one was in 1997. It is true that Murray became close to Celtic historian, Pat Woods, and this influenced his work heavily but the original book is worth reading for the history of both clubs and the reporting of the rise in media hostility towards Rangers from the 1960's onwards.
 
90minsofmadness said:
I think social media has been the poison of society. Has changed everything to black and white and it's just constant arguing.
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Very true. Years ago you would have to convince an editor that your opinion was worth publishing. There were barriers to entry and although not always perfect - there was always the occasional bigot or nutjob in the letters pages - it at least prevented much of the 'green ink' stuff reaching the public domain. Now any idiot with Internet access can pollute the public space with their views. The bigots and nutjobs have always been there. We just hear more from them now.
 
sheddensbear said:
As I posted on the other thread, McNeill had Lithuanian grandparents so didn't grow up with the WoS chip on the shoulder like 95% of their support.
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That is true, otherwise he would not not have said in court that child abuse at CBC was an "open secret" at Porkhead
 
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