WE'RE ON OUR WAY TO PARADISE

Aria 81 begins her month-by-month Review of Celtic's season, 2003/04, and recalls the journey that would begin in far and distant places such as Sweden, London and Seattle and end, ultimately, in triumph at Celtic Park, Rugby Park and Hampden for the Double-winning Bhoys.

The Season In Review

By Aria 81

DOUBLE-WINNING BHOYS

Aria 81 completes her Review of Celtic's Double-winning season of 2003/04, with a look back to the marvellous month of May 2004 – a month in which the SPL trophy was presented to Champions Celtic, the Under 19s and Under 21s won their respective leagues thereby making for an unprecedented Treble for Celtic, the Scottish Cup was won in the most emotional and memorable fashion for one particular Celtic Legend and, of course, The Faithful wished a tearful ‘bon voyage' to Our King Of Kings!

A MUST READ FOR TIMDOM!

The Season in Review.

May 2004

By Aria 81

May opened in the best possible way with a title party at Celtic Park , as the team was finally presented with the SPL trophy as Champions. Before the trophy could be presented, there was the little matter of playing a game, and the opposition for that game was Celtic's fellow Scottish Cup finalists, Dunfermline . Dunfermline won the game 2-1, which took a little gloss off the occasion, but any disappointment soon dissipated when the trophy was presented as it proved that results at this time of year didn't matter, since the team did all the hard work earlier in the year.

The presentation of the trophy saw all the Celtic team, minus John Hartson (who didn't feel right going out to collect the trophy) and John Kennedy (still in Colorado) appear, including Shaun Maloney, who came onto the pitch on crutches to collect his medal.

The U19s were eager to follow in the full team's and the U21s' footsteps and win their league and they got the chance when Rangers were beaten 3-0 by Hearts. A draw against Aberdeen would be enough for Celtic to clinch the league due to their vastly superior goal difference. A draw was, of course, of no interest to any Celtic side and the youngsters were no different as they went out to win the game. They got their wish as they beat Aberdeen 4-2, with Kirk Hudson scoring the opener after just 3 minutes. Charlie Mugrew added a second from the spot before Michael McGlinchey and an Aberdeen OG finished the scoring.

The U19s' league title win meant that Celtic became the first team, since the Scottish Premier League came into being, to win a clean sweep of titles with the youth team, the U21s and the full team all winning their respective leagues.

This wasn't the only record Celtic were interested in though, as the full team eyed a domestic whitewash over Rangers. Martin O'Neill spoke before the game of how he wanted to get back to winning ways, but for 90 minutes at Celtic Park it looked like it wouldn't happen as Rangers played for a draw. The thinking behind this was that a draw would be as good as a win (strange logic, but they were desperate not to get turned over).

Prior to the match, the Rangers supporters decided it would be ‘funny' to throw potatoes onto the pitch. Some people would think it was offensive to make fun of a famine that killed hundreds of thousands of people, and forced emigration of hundreds of thousands more such was the horror and desperation of the Irish's plight, but not the Scottish press who let the incident pass almost without comment (and what comment there was, was apologist). Likewise the disgraceful racist chanting at Bobo Balde and Didier Agathe was not commented on. Wouldn't want to point an accusing finger at only one side after all, so if they can't accuse both sides of being racist degenerates, then they'll just pretend it's not happening!

Rangers very nearly got something from the match, despite the fact that Celtic were dominant in the second half as tempers began to rise on both sides. That was until Chris Sutton linked well with Larsson to score a truly memorable goal, as he chipped Stefan Klos from all of 25 yards in injury time to win the game. The goal was appreciated by all, none more so that Alan Thompson who took the opportunity to celebrate the goal with his former neighbour, Fernando Ricksen. The Green and Whitewash was complete - 5 played, 5 victories, eight goals scored and with only one goal conceded in the five games.

The aftermath of the match involved some ludicrous claims that Alan Thompson had viciously slapped Fernando Ricksen after Sutton had scored. The ‘vicious slap' was actually a tap on Ricksen's face, followed by a gesture reminiscent of someone knocking a door. Needless to say, the ‘vicious slap' wasn't mentioned in the referee's report, and as such, no action was going to be taken against the Celtic midfielder.

Marcio Amoroso, the Brazilian striker, trained with Celtic before the season ended as thoughts began to turn on who could be brought in to replace the goal-scoring prowess of Henrik Larsson. The injury prone Brazilian was not offered a deal, though, as Celtic invited him to join them on their American tour so they could have a closer look at the player before offering him a contract.

Up next was the trip to Motherwell. The team was minus some big hitters, most notably Henrik Larsson, as Martin O'Neill refused to risk the Swede getting a booking and missing the last league game of the season at Parkhead. The game ended 1-1, with Craig Beattie cancelling out David Clarkson's opening goal.

Neil Lennon was named the Celtic Fans' Player of the Year in recognition of the Irishman's outstanding contribution to the Club.

Many supporters perhaps felt the day wouldn't come when they would be forced to admit that Henrik Larsson was leaving the Club, but as the next league match rolled around it was time for Larsson's last league match at Celtic Park. The opponents were Dundee United, as The Legend attempted to bow out in style. For 80 odd minutes it looked like it wasn't going to happen, as he fluffed half a dozen good chances to open the scoring. Just when it seemed that the fates had conspired against The King Of Kings, he finally got his deserved goal and it was just a matter of how many he would get after that. He added his second soon after and the tears began to fall even before Mark Wilson scored a consolation penalty and the final whistle was blown.

As the final whistle went the floodgates opened for Larsson, and for the capacity crowd who bid their hero farewell through their tears. The striker was inconsolable as he walked off, and was still inconsolable when he came back on to the hallowed turf to pay tribute to the Celtic fans who had made him an idol.

“The fans have been tremendous and it is great to have been part of something so special like this."

The league campaign over, all that was left to look forward to was the Scottish Cup Final, and Larsson's farewell match against Sevilla.

Neil Lennon suffered yet another sectarian threat - this time, threats were daubed outside his home in paint.

Prior to the Scottish Cup Final, the team was given a boost, as Stanislav Varga agreed a new two-year deal at the Club.

Celtic completed the domestic Double as they won the Scottish Cup, 3-1, against Dunfermline. Dunfermline took the lead in dubious circumstances when they scored after fouling David Marshall on the goal-line. Nine times out of ten, the goal would have been disallowed, but not in this game. But, proving that these things sometimes even themselves out, Dunfermline missed out on going two goals up, after Bobo Balde punched the ball away in the box, and from that incident, Chris Sutton played a long pass to Larsson, who stuck it away. Henke bagged another goal, before Stilian Petrov secured green and white ribbons on Scotland's old trophy.

Game over and the team reclaimed another trophy that had been taken from them the year before. The competitive season was now over with only one more match to be played before the team would split up.

That match was a friendly against Seville. The money from the match was going to pay the final instalment of Larsson's wages and it was a tribute to the depth of feeling for the striker that the match was a sell out. John Hartson made his comeback in the match as the team bid their star goodbye. The game ended 1-0 with Chris Sutton bagging the only goal.

The end of the game signalled the end of an era, with the knowledge that the coming season would see new players coming to the fore to pick up where Larsson left off.

The season had ended with a domestic Double, a clean sweep of all available Player Of The Year awards, a clean sweep of all domestic league titles, a white wash of Rangers and another fine showing in the UEFA Cup.

All that was left to do was to say goodbye to the players that were leaving and to recharge our batteries in anticipation of the excitement of the coming season with hopefully more domestic domination and further progress in Europe.

HAIL! HAIL! Aria 81.

CHAMPIONEES, CHAMPIONEES!

Aria 81 looks back fondly on the penultimate month of Celtic's Double-winning 2003/04 season, as April heralds Celtic as SPL Champions. However, there is also very sad news for the worldwide Celtic Family.

April began with the Club waiting on news about the extent of John Kennedy's horrendous injury. The news wasn't good, as Martin O'Neill confirmed that Celtic's doctors had warned him that the young defender would miss a year (at best) due to the extent of the injury. The Club sent Kennedy to Colorado to see a world-renowned specialist called Professor Richard Steadman (the same doctor who had successfully operated on Shaun Maloney), in an attempt to save the youngster's career. The manager voiced his unhappiness with Vio Ganea's ‘apology' (told to the papers incidentally, not to his victim) and said that it wasn't good enough to apologise after such a woeful tackle.

The mood around the Club was sombre as we prepared for the visit of Hearts onto the newly re-laid pitch. The team fell two goals behind before mounting an awe-inspiring comeback in the last five minutes of the match. Kevin McKenna scored first, followed by Mark De Vries, before Chris Sutton and Didier Agathe scored the equalising goals in a pulsating and thrilling match enjoyed by everyone inside the stadium. Even the arrival of Liam Miller back in the team didn't dampen anyone's enjoyment of a match that was as enjoyable as non-wins could ever be.

After the game Stan Varga spoke about the atmosphere during the game.

"When you have 60,000 supporters cheering for you and encouraging you in a stadium like Celtic Park, how can you not be inspired? On Saturday, the fans were always behind us, even when it went to 2-0, and for me that just proved that they are the best in the world.”

Up next was the UEFA Cup quarter final against the Spanish side, Villarreal. Villarreal were the surprise package of the competition after qualifying through the Inter Toto Cup route. Despite this, they had still managed to beat Galatasaray and Roma to get to this stage in the tournament and as such everyone knew they would be no walkovers. There was a degree of confidence though, as Villarreal were clearly not on the same level as Barcelona.

The game arrived and Celtic could only manage a 1-1 draw. Josico put the Spaniards ahead before Larsson equalised. Alan Thompson got himself a silly booking that meant he would miss the return leg to Spain. The hope was that the team would go to Spain and score the goal that would take them through, as they had against Boavista the year previously.

All thoughts of the return leg would have to wait, though, as our attentions turned to the Scottish Cup semi-final against Livingston. The team won very comfortably, 3-1, with Sutton grabbing two goals and Larsson getting the other. The result was overshadowed, however, as the injury plague struck again, when Chris Sutton had to be subbed after he tweaked an existing groin injury.

The news wasn't good as Sutton was ruled out of the return game against Villarreal. The task was daunting: go to Spain minus Thompson, minus Sutton and with only one established striker and score at least one goal to progress. As it turned out, the task was too daunting for the patchwork side, as Sonny Anderson and Roger scored the two goals that put Villarreal into the semi-final in a 2-0 (3-1) defeat for The Hoops. The dream of getting to the UEFA Cup Final in Gothenburg, Sweden, for Larsson's last European match for the Club, was over. But, on the night, the better team had gone through, and they didn't have to cheat and dive about to win it, which made a difference from the events in Seville the year before.

There was some good news on that night in that Rangers had lost 2-0 to Livingston. David Fernandez spoke after the match about how he had heard the Rangers fans cheering when they'd heard Celtic were losing the game and it had inspired him to play well and shut them up. This result meant that Celtic could clinch the league at Kilmarnock at the weekend in what would be fitting venue, Rugby Park, since that was where we had lost the league on the last day of last season.

The game went as scripted as Celtic wrapped up the league with minimum fuss, thanks to Stilian Petrov's goal. It wasn't a pretty performance, but the result was all that mattered, as Celtic became SPL Champions once more – for the third time in the four seasons under O'Neill's guidance. After the match Martin O'Neill said that this Championship was perhaps the sweetest one of them all because of the events of last season.

It wasn't just the full team who were enjoying a fine vein of form as the Under-21s moved to within three points of winning three in a row, after beating Aberdeen, 3-2. Their title win was secured almost immediately as Rangers lost against Partick Thistle meaning that it would take a minor miracle for Celtic to lose the league.

There was sad news for the Club as Celtic Legend, Ronnie Simpson, the Lisbon Lion goalie, sadly passed away after suffering a heart attack at the age of 73. The Celtic Family mourned the loss of a favourite son.

Tribute was paid to the Celtic Legend at the following league match, as Celtic welcomed Aberdeen to Celtic Park. A minute's silence was kept in tribute to Ronnie before the team began playing. The result wasn't one that anyone would have predicted as a young Aberdeen side managed to come from behind and beat Celtic at home - a feat that had not been achieved in 76 games (which included games against the likes of Juventus, Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Porto and Valencia - to name but a few). Larsson put Celtic ahead in 16 minutes before Aberdeen mounted their comeback with Bryan Prunty scoring the equaliser. Celtic, rather than being happy with a draw, threw caution to the wind and decided to play everyone forward looking for the winning goal. Unfortunately, when you play the formation 1-3-6 (it may have just looked like that), it leaves you a little vulnerable at the back and David Zdrilic took advantage by scoring the winner.

It was only the third league game lost at Celtic Park in four years and all the defeats had happened after the league had been won, but it was a disappointment for the Club and management.

Chris Sutton's brilliant season was rewarded as he won the Players' Player Of The Year award, beating his team-mates Henrik Larsson and Stilian Petrov and the token Rangers player, Stefan Klos. Stephen Pearson made it a double for Celtic, as his fine form at both Motherwell and Celtic saw him rewarded by winning the Young Player Of The Year award ahead of Craig Gordon of Hearts, Derek Riordan of Hibs and David Clarkson of Motherwell.

Up next was the away game to Tynecastle. The game ended 1-1, but was notable for one reason above all, and that was the introduction of Aiden McGeady. The youngster scored the goal and showed flashes of the skills that proved why he was one of the most highly sought after young players in Britain. The 18-year old fulfilled a personal ambition in the game as he played with his boyhood idol, Henrik Larsson, before The King Of Kings jetted off for pastures new.

Jackie McNamara signed a contract extension that would give him ten years service to the Club. The contract was just reward after such a consistent display from the versatile defender. Jackie would soon be awarded the Sports Writers' Player Of The Year award, and justifiably so.

The Under-19s refused to give up on their league as they gave themselves a fighting chance of completing a domestic treble of league titles for Celtic. Michael Gardyne scored the goal against Hearts that meant that the title race would go down to the last day of the season. If Celtic won, and Rangers failed to beat Hearts, then Celtic would win the title, making it a clean sweep for the Club – an unprecedented Treble!

There was news from Henrik Larsson, who announced that he had changed his mind. Sadly, the change of heart wasn't about leaving Celtic at the end of the season, and was instead about not playing again for Sweden. He announced that he would make himself available for international selection after having a discussion with his son about it. Sadly, Jordan's powers of persuasion didn't extend to convincing his dad to stick with Celtic for a few more years, and Henrik himself quickly (perhaps mercifully) clarified his situation in regards to Celtic.

“I know I'm turning back on a decision I made two years ago, but I'm sure that I'll be leaving Celtic after this season.”

So, as April came to a close, the team and the fans prepared to welcome the SPL trophy to Celtic Park (at last), while attempting to complete the green and whitewash against Rangers, and the clean sweep of domestic league titles through the levels.

There was also the small matter of the Scottish Cup Final to come, and a final farewell to the legendary Number Seven. As the great man would say himself - it would be emotional.

 

HOOPINESS IS HUMPING THE RECORD'S FAVOURITES TWICE!

Aria 81 continues her journey through Celtic's Double-winning season of 2003/04 by looking back on March – a month in which there were TWO ritual humpings of the Orcs AND a titanic struggle with Barcelona!

March began with an air of caution as Martin O'Neill warned the buoyant Celtic support, perhaps justifiably, that he felt it would be impossible for the team to go through the league campaign undefeated.

This statement was backed up a few days later when it emerged that the squad would be without the firepower of John Hartson, after it was confirmed he would need further surgery on his back. The injury was separate from the one he suffered last year, but it required the same treatment. The surgery would mean that Hartson would miss the remainder of the season and that Celtic would be left with just the two established strikers, Chris Sutton and Henrik Larsson, with the youngster, Craig Beattie, in reserve.

The March madness that had been talked about reared its head as Hearts made the strangest offer of the season to Celtic. They wanted to play a match against Celtic in the league in the coming season at a different venue. The venue in question wasn't Murrayfield, instead it would require a wee jaunt half way around the world to Australia. The offer from the Edinburgh club was of course not purely financial, and I'm sure they would obviously have preferred playing their Edinburgh rivals in this glamour match, but instead they decided to ask Celtic first. It obviously had nothing to do with the large numbers of Celtic supporters in that part of the world, or the fact that Hearts, as the ‘home' team, would collect the majority of the gate generated. It was a selfless offer from Hearts and one that I'm sure pained Celtic to turn down. Of course, the pain was caused when trying to stop laughing long enough to tell Hearts where to go, but let's not nit-pick.

Back to the important business of European competition, and it was time to play the return leg against Teplice. We lost 1-0 on the night, but still managed to progress after the 3-1 aggregate score. The defeat wasn't the sore point of the night, though. That was caused by the injury to Chris Sutton who had to be subbed during the game. The Club and the supporters hoped for the best from the injury as it was a tie with Barcelona that awaited The Hoops, and a strong Celtic would be necessary to beat the form team of the La Liga.

Stilian Petrov spoke about the prospect of playing the Catalan giants after the tie was announced.

"They are a great club with a big reputation, but so do Celtic. It is two massive clubs going against one another and I am really excited about it. It will be a great occasion for Celtic and as players we have to be confident going into the game .”

It was refreshing to hear the players so confident going into a tie that would provide sterner opposition than any of the opponents the Club had faced in the past two years of European competition.

The fans were eager to get to the Barca game, but before it arrived there was a small game to distract the team, as Celtic played host to Rangers in the Scottish Cup quarter-final. The Scottish Cup was the only trophy that Rangers could win, so it was important for Celtic to finish their season early. As it happened, despite the distraction of playing Barcelona a few days later, the team still managed to win the game, 1-0. Larsson scored the goal and then celebrated as though he had won the Cup (nice to see that ruining Rangers' season is as enjoyable for the players as it is for the fans). It would be forgivable for thinking that Celtic were the team that needed the win more, as Rangers only managed a shot on target after 89 minutes! That shot gave them an average of about one shot on Celtic's goal for every three games they had played against The Hoops this season.

The victory meant that Celtic would play Livingston in the semi-final of the Scottish Cup.

Domestic matters out the way, it was now time to prepare for the visit of Barcelona. The preparation for the match was hampered by the news that Chris Sutton would be unable to play. This meant that Celtic could either play with one striker, or introduce Craig Beattie into the European arena in an atmosphere that would make some established professionals wilt.

On the morning of the match, though, there came tragic news from Spain as terrorist bombings occurred in Madrid. The atrocity claimed the lives of 191 people and, as a mark of respect and to allow their fans time to come to terms with the awful events of the day, the Spanish clubs asked UEFA to postpone the evening's European matches. Celtic supported Barcelona's request in the hope that they would recognise that the games were ill-timed and that it would lack sensitivity to expect the Spanish teams and supporters to care about a mere football match after such an horrific event. UEFA, not renowned for their sensitivity, demonstrated, yet again, that they need to get their priorities straight, as they insisted that the games went ahead as planned.

It was a sombre occasion as the players and supporters tried to prepare for the match. The players wore black armbands in respect of the 191 people who were killed and a minute's silence was called, which would have been impeccably kept had it not been for one or two members of the away support. The truly memorable moment of the night was the wonderfully moving tribute by the Celtic support, as they joined together to pay tribute to the victims of the attacks by singing a spine-tingling rendition of You'll Never Walk Alone. The emotional sound of 60 000 supporters raising their voices, in memory of the souls who had lost their lives earlier in the day, brought tears to the eyes of many of the gathered Spanish press and was greatly appreciated by everyone connected to Barcelona.

Then there was the matter of the game itself. Although the consensus was that it shouldn't have been played, it was played, and as a result, the teams had to play for a win. It was, in a lot of ways, an ugly game, with tempers flaring on both sides and tackles flying in all over the place. The friendly relationship between the clubs and fans didn't extend to the players on the pitch, as the game saw three red cards. Thiago Motta and Rab Douglas were sent off after brawling in the tunnel, which meant that 19-year old David Marshall was welcomed into the fray at the start of the second half at the expense of 20-year old Craig Beattie. Michael Reizeger was fortunate not to be sent off for his challenges on Stephen Pearson (the Dutchman was replaced to prevent this happening), but Saviola was not so lucky as he was sent off for a challenge on Alan Thompson. Alan Thompson scored the only goal of the game as Celtic won the match 1-0, but there was bad news for the return leg as Bobo Balde picked up a meaningless booking, meaning that he would be missing (along with Douglas) for the trip to the Nou Camp.

Off the back of this energy sapping game, the team had to come back down to earth to play the league match against Motherwell at Celtic Park. The manager put out a virtual reserve side to try and allow the older players time to recover for the matches to come, but the youngsters were unable to continue the record of consecutive league wins, as they could only manage a draw. Larsson came off the bench to score the goal that cancelled out Derek Adams' first half strike. After the match, Martin O'Neill felt compelled to talk about the crowd at Celtic Park who proved why it must be difficult for young players to make the breakthrough at a Club like Celtic, as some voiced their displeasure at the result at the end of the match.

Jose Mourinho again proved why he's not Celtic's favourite person after he, allegedly, commented on how Celtic were obviously responsible for the Barca fracas, and how our style of play was ‘horrible' and ‘aggressive', as opposed to Porto's style of play which was ‘illegal' and ‘dishonest'!

Martin O'Neill took exception to Mourinho's ‘comments' and voiced his displeasure in the strongest way possible.

“Mourinho's comments are just unbelievable. I just treat them with the response they deserve. He's still to get over the embarrassment of Vitor Baia lying out on the turf for three or four days.

 

In fairness to Mourinho, he said in an interview later that he never even mentioned Celtic in any interview regarding Barca, but who to believe - Mourinho or the newspapers? Hard one to call - it's not like the Scottish press to make up a Celtic story after all.

Henrik Larsson equalled Stevie Chalmers record of 231 goals for the Club in the victory at Dens Park as Celtic won the match 2-1, with Stan Petrov scoring the first goal. Sebastien Kneissel scored Dundee's consolation.

Next match up was a trip to play Hibs in a match that Celtic won easily in regards to score line, but which was far from easy to play as the young Hibs side lost the plot. The score-line finished 4-0, with Larsson claiming sole possession of the third spot in the all-time Celtic goal-scoring records, after bagging a brace. Didier Agathe grabbed a couple of goals himself in the rout which saw the Hibs players begin to kick everything above ground, including a shocking challenge on Stilian Petrov who was only saved from serious injury because he saw it coming. The challenge was justifiably repaid by John Kennedy, who got retribution for the challenge on his team-mate by putting in a legal, but hard, challenge on the offender, thereby showing a prime example of the team spirit within this Celtic group of players. You kick one, and you kick them all. Kennedy spoke after the game about the attitude of The Bhoys and how it had helped him come through into the first team.

“Every game we play, no matter how tired the boys are feeling, we never give any less than 100 per cent. That's the same for every single player in this team, and it helps that people that come into the side always seem to produce and play with the same spirit. Personally, I'm loving it. It's a great team to play in, and I've been delighted to get this run of games.”

Up next was the return leg against Barcelona. The team was minus Rab Douglas (whose appeal against his red card had been turned down by UEFA) and Bobo Balde, but there was good news when Chris Sutton declared himself fit for the match.

The fear going into the encounter was that the youngsters, David Marshall and John Kennedy, would have problems performing in the daunting arena of the Nou Camp. As it was, these two players were the most accomplished and composed players on the pitch that night. Marshall proved that he had the makings of a class act as he produced one stunning save after another, including saves he had no right to make. Kennedy for his part, although over shadowed by the fantastic display by Marshall, was equally flawless as he defended with a composure that should have been impossible for a 20-year old to have. He combined with Stan Varga to produce a partnership that would be described in the Spanish press as a pairing harking back to the days of the vintage Italian central defenders. The team held out, against all the odds, for a 0-0 draw after a superb defensive performance from all involved. The scoreless draw meant that Celtic won the tie 1-0 on aggregate - and had knocked Barcelona out of the UEFA Cup in their own stadium! The team had won through and two new heroes were born.

After the amazing performance by David Marshall, the Club handed him a brand new four-year deal, obviously in an effort to warn off any potential suitors of the youngster.

It would have been easy to be swept up in the euphoria of the occasion, but there was still another important game to come the following weekend. Up next in the league was Rangers, as Celtic tried to beat them for the fourth time in the season.

Prior to the match, it became apparent that maybe Tord Grip's trips to Glasgow were actually used for something after all, as it was announced that the elusive England call-up for Thommo had finally come. He would be included in the England squad to play Sweden in a friendly international fixture, as part of their Euro 2004 build-up.

The team, despite the draining midweek display, still had enough in the tank to beat Rangers (again) at Ibrox. The Celtic fans tried to cheer up the stadium by bringing some beach balls to the game, though this didn't seem to be appreciated by the Rangers players. The balls were unmercifully slaughtered by the Rangers stewards, who took perhaps a little too much joy in bursting them - perhaps a little bitter that they didn't get any of their own on their very few away trips in Europe.

The result was 2-1 in Celtic's favour, with Steven Thompson scoring Rangers first goal against Celtic this season. Henrik Larsson and Alan Thompson got Celtic's goals, as an assured display saw the team take care of business with the minimum fuss. David Marshall and John Kennedy retained their places in the team and they continued where they had left off against Barca.

After the match, Martin O'Neill announced to a delighted Kennedy that he had earned himself a call-up to the Scotland side for the friendly against Romania. Kennedy wasn't the only youngster to earn himself an international call-up though, as it was announced that Liam Miller would be in the Republic of Ireland squad. Martin O'Neill also took the opportunity to confirm what a majority of the Celtic fans had hoped wouldn't happen, when he announced that Liam Miller would play again for Celtic, and in all probability, the day in question would occur when Celtic played Hearts at home.

The international week was not a good one for Celtic, as Thommo was made scapegoat for England's inability to beat Sweden, despite the fact that the ball was never played to him.

This though was nothing compared to what happened in the Scotland game, as John Kennedy's dream week ended on a cruel note after just 15 minutes of his Scotland debut. The youngster was cruelly and illegally hacked down by a disgusting challenge from the Romanian hatchet man, Vio Ganea. The thug lunged at Kennedy with his studs showing, AFTER the youngster had won the ball, and after the whistle had been blown, and with such a force that it mangled John's knee ligaments. The fact that the tackle was late, high, illegal and after the ball was out of play was not the worse thing about the incident - it was the fact that the thug managed to go into the tackle late, high, with his studs showing and with an intent to cause injury, yet was not red-carded. John was then forced to try and walk off the pitch (showing what a fine medical set-up they have in the Scotland camp where they couldn't see the lad needed a stretcher) while not ONE of his Scotland 'team-mates' said a word to the animal who could have ruined the youngster's career. In fact, Colin Cameron even came out after the game and defended Ganea, his Wolves team-mate.

The player and the manager would have to wait to see the extent of John Kennedy's injury, although everyone feared for the worst for the youngster.

April would bring with it news on the extent of Kennedy's injury, as well as Celtic's continued European adventures, while the team insured that this season they would end with at least one piece of silverware as they reclaimed what they lost the year befo

 

PLASTIC PIGS AND THE BATTLE OF TYNECASTLE

Aria 81 continues her fond remembrances of Celtic's 2003/04 Double-winning season, by looking back on the month of February – a month that included further domestic domination, a Scottish Cup ‘battle' with Hearts and Celtic's continuing adventures in Europe.

February opened with the team preparing for the potential powder keg Scottish Cup game against Hearts. In the lead up to the game Henrik Larsson announced that he, unlike one of his younger team-mates, had felt able to turn down the advances of Manchester United when they had come a-calling in the past.

Neil Lennon showed why he should sometimes think before he speaks as an article in the Herald quoted him as saying that Martin O'Neill ‘owed it to himself' to leave Celtic and go manage in the hallowed Premiership again. It's the best league in the world, didn't you know? The comments were perhaps strange coming from a Celtic fan like Lennon, but Martin O'Neill responded to them anyway with the familiar plea of ‘not guilty.' It was apparently a case of being misquoted, being taken out of context or simply, as O'Neill said, a case of the words 'stitched' and ‘up' being relevant.

The Scottish Cup tie came around and the Hearts team did their bit to ease the tensions, as they finished the match with nine men after they decided to go down kicking. Celtic hammered them 3-0. Stan Petrov scored two and Larsson added a third in injury time as the Celtic team ruthlessly took care of business. The reward was a match against Rangers at Celtic Park in the next round.

Bobo Balde made his long awaited return after Guinea were knocked out of the African Nations Cup by Mali.

In the league, it was an away trip to the plastic pitch of Dunfermline that was causing the worry. The result was routine, however, as Celtic won the game 4-1 (despite falling behind to an early goal), with Larsson scoring twice, while Varga and Thompson added one each in a game the team was just glad to get through. Petrov summed up the experience after the match.

“Everybody was sore after the game and in the last fifteen minutes we could hardly move because our legs were so stiff. All the players feel the same and I don't understand why FIFA are making players go through this.”

The answer of course is that FIFA were letting players go through it because they are idiots sitting in offices and don't actually play the game. Of course, their jobs are made that much easier with idiotic, publicity-seeking chairmen who only see pound signs and who agree to their nonsensical schemes. John Yorkston?

Danny Milosevic, the goalkeeper that was brought in for cover, decided that he needed time off to resolve ‘personal problems' so was granted leave. Little was it then known that the man had walked away never to be seen again at Celtic Park, as he proved that Celtic and Australian players don't seem to mix.

Job of the month for Martin O'Neill was at Spurs. The constant speculation seemed to be making the manager a bit angry, as he didn't candy-coat his reply to the question, ‘Are you going to be the next Spurs manager?

“Is that a serious question? Apparently David Pleat has made a comment that deal is done and dusted, and I think he's in a fair position to know. Well, it's not done and dusted with me – I can't be any clearer than that.”

The team was tired and aching after the exertions of playing on the Dunfermline pitch, and they left it late to beat Dundee United 2-1 at Celtic Park. The team was trailing 1-0 and looked to be losing their records of consecutive wins and games unbeaten in both the league and at Celtic Park, before Shaun Maloney came on the pitch and turned the game on it's head. The little striker scored the equalising goal in 81 minutes before Chris Sutton converted a penalty five minutes later, after Petrov was fouled in the box.

Ian McCall took the defeat well, as he proved that he was comfortable enough in his masculinity to call Stilian Petrov ‘cute'. Thousands of female Celtic fans agreed with the observation until it was revealed that, apparently, McCall wasn't commenting on Stan's physical appearance but insinuating he was a conniving, scheming, sly, little, diving cheat (but in a nice way). If in doubt over a decision, blame Petrov for diving. This would become a constant point of reference to managers who could of course see Petrov ‘dive', but who would suddenly be struck blind when it came to seeing their players kick him up and down the pitch for 90 minutes. No double standards there of course.

After the match Thompson and Sutton waited to see if they had impressed the visiting England scouts (well, Tord Grip) to warrant a call up to the England side. Surprise, surprise, neither player made it into the squad to face Portugal.

Next up in the league campaign was the away trip to Partick Thistle, which made the team record breakers as they won their 24th consecutive league game. Chris Sutton and Stan Varga bagged a brace each as the team won 4-1.

Disaster struck as Shaun Maloney suffered a horrific injury during an Under-21 match. The youngster had played against Partick for the full team, but had requested permission to play in the Under-21 match to maintain his fitness in preparation for the Teplice game. His professionalism and enthusiasm to help the team meant he was in a position to suffer the injury to his cruciate knee ligaments, which would end his season and keep him out the team for nine months. The Club maintained that the contract on offer would not be changed, as they looked to keep the youngster at Celtic.

Celtic had a duty to keep focused despite the injury to Maloney, as they welcomed Teplice to Celtic Park for our UEFA Cup tie. Sepp Blatter came to present the FIFA Fair Play Award to the Celtic fans before the game and took the opportunity to say how highly he considered the stadium and how they would be willing to give us a major final at the ground.

The game itself wasn't that impressive, as Celtic showed two different faces in a game that should have been a stroll in the park. It started as such with the team being two up after just 12 minutes and looking like they could score at will. After the second goal went in though, the team looked like they had gone into reverse as they invited Teplice back into the game. It was only after Teplice threatened to take an away goal that Celtic decided to play again and scored the third, as Larsson (with two) and Sutton scored the goals that kept us in the driving seat.

After the stodgy performance against Teplice, the team got back into the groove as they hammered Livingston 5-1 at home. Stephen Pearson, Chris Sutton, Alan Thompson (with a brace) and Larsson scored the goals in a victory that was made all the sweeter by the knowledge that Rangers had lost 2-0 against Dundee United. The gap at the top of the table was now an almost insurmountable 16 points in Celtic's favour.

The team closed the month in jovial mood, but it was to be nothing compared to what March would bring. European competition would bring two giants of Europe together while domestically Celtic would play Rangers twice in an attempt to heap more misery on their closest domestic rivals.

HUMPING RANGERS AT THE NEW YEAR – HOOPINESS!

North Sea Bhoy remembers his and Celtic's January 2003, and the “biblical humping” of Rangers, 3-0, by The Hoops. Then, there was elbow-gate, and Craig Levein not knowing his a**e from his elbow – ALLEGEDLY! 

First footers are supposed to be tall, dark and handsome. Ours were short, dank and ugly. Really ugly. The Ranjurs came calling on the 3 rd January and left with nothing except pieces of the “Lisbon Lions” stand. The 3-0 scoreline didn't even come close to reflecting the gulf between the two sides. Celtic took them apart.

Petrov and Varga both scored with their heads and Alan Thompson curled a fantastic free-kick past the helpless Klos for the third. Only the efforts of Klos kept the score from becoming truly biblical. The lead in the league, even at this stage, was now eleven points. The Hooped Faithfull taunted the visiting Orcs with chants of “Championees”, and deep down they knew that it was true.

After a short break, we were back at Paradise for the first ever visit of Ross County - in the Scottish Cup 3 rd round. It turned out to be a difficult afternoon. The Celts weren't firing on all cylinders and County were defending really well. The longer the game went on, the more the visitors' hopes of emulating their near neighbours Inverness ' feats grew. County held on for seventy-four minutes, before John Hartson struck and the majority of the crowd started breathing again. Paul Lambert added a second four minutes later and we stumbled through to round four. A subsitute appearance from the newly signed Pearson was about the only plus point for the afternoon, apart from the win.

All hell broke loose the following week, when we visited Hearts in that family friendly stadium that is Tynecastle. Celtic won the game, with a single Petrov goal, but it was after the game that the trouble kicked off. John Hartson had tussled with Webster in the centre of the pitch and Webster had gone down like a White House internee. Hearts had claimed that BBJ had used an elbow, BBJ clamed he hadn't and MON backed his player. On the following Monday, Craig Levein called a Press Conference and showed the salivating Hacks video “evidence” to back up his claim. Bizarrely, all the video showed was that Hartson hadn't used his elbow and that Levein was talking out of his…..well, not his elbow.

Another away game followed, this time up at Aberdeen to face the sheepies. This was the second of two “tricky” away games that had the media hoping that we'd drop a couple of points. Three goals, including a first for new Bhoy Pearson, for the Hoops, and one against, tied up another win. Pearson was already showing why MON had been on his trail for so long and his early promise was easing the pain of Liam Miller's defection to Manchester United.

Kilmarnock were the next visitors to Celtic Park , hoping to improve on their 5-0 humping back in November. As it turns out, they did just that. A goalless first half had Jim Jefferies smelling a surprise result. We were just teasing the miserable old git. A much improved second half performance from the Hoops dished out a 5-1 dicking. And there was much rejoicing, though not from Jim, whose face was tripping him in the post match interview. Bonus.

HUMPINGS, ELBOWS, HERESY AND A NEW BHOY IN PARADISE!

By Aria 81

Aria 81 continues her Review of Season 2003/04 with a look back to the New Year and the month of January – a month that contained drama and controversy aplenty for Celtic and Timdom.

Celtic welcomed in the New Year with preparation for the game against Rangers at Celtic Park. Martin O'Neill would have a full squad to choose from, with the exception of Johan Mjallby, who was carrying an injury.

Prior to the game, Martin O'Neill chose to respond to yet another rumour about him leaving. This time the destination was Liverpool (again) and he denied it in terms that would leave anyone with a shred of sense in no doubt as to where he stood. You would think after he said the rumours were ‘totally and utterly untrue' that the story would die a death, but unfortunately it would rumble on all season in the media.

Celtic played Rangers and thrashed them in no uncertain terms. The score-line didn't reflect the total dominance that Celtic had over an inadequate and embarrassingly poor Rangers side. In fact, the visitors only managed their first shot on target after 86 minutes! The final score was 3-0, with Stilian Petrov, Stan Varga and Alan Thompson all scoring the goals that sent Celtic eleven points clear, gave the team their 18th straight victory in the league and their 67th game unbeaten at Celtic Park.

England were again apparently watching Alan Thompson and Chris Sutton, and Sven's dogsbody, Tord Grip, rolled out the usual England line after a good performance from the two Bhoys in question. He gave the hollow praise, the condescending line about how they were impressed with the two of them when they played in Europe and how he was sure they would get their chance in the next England set up. Of course, the constancy of them toying with Sutton and Thommo just signalled that either they were opening their mouth to pretend they weren't blind to anywhere north of Newcastle, or that Tord Grip was actually out the loop with Sven. It seemed more likely though that Tord just liked a wee jaunt north of the Border every few weeks and felt the excuse ‘I'm watching two English players' was a good enough reason to get the FA to pay for his flight.

Celtic agreed a fee with Motherwell for the services of Stephen Pearson. The final fee would be £350k - a sum gratefully received by the cash-strapped club, especially considering every other club interested in the youngster was only interested in signing him on a Bosman. Celtic, showing the integrity that we would all expect, paying the Fir Park club for the player that they had nurtured and brought through.

Before Pearson could be confirmed as a Celtic player, though, another player stole his headlines in a way that no one would have expected. The day after the fee had been agreed with Motherwell for Pearson, Liam Miller asked for the day off training. The request was duly granted by the management. Of course, the request may have been turned down had they known what was happening. As it happened, Sky Sports News ran a breaking news story to announce that Liam Miller, the future wonder Bhoy, the fans favourite, the lad who had sworn he wanted to play for Celtic, the man who had rewarded the fans loyalty with four-months service, had signed a pre-contract agreement with Manchester United.

The Club didn't know anything and a statement on the website confirmed the fact that they were entirely in the dark until the following day when Miller and his agent showed up at training and confirmed that he had signed for United. Manchester United's website released the statement and the picture of the grinning Ferguson embracing Miller as he signed his contract - the contract he had asked for the day off training to sign.

“As a young boy I only ever supported two clubs, Celtic and Manchester United. I am honoured to have played for Celtic for six years and now I look forward to joining Manchester United. It's very exciting and is going to be a challenge to play for one of the biggest clubs in the world.”

Of course, the cynics would point out that he hadn't played for Celtic for six years: he had played for four months, due to the persistent and constant injuries, and that those four months meant he hadn't exactly repaid the Club with the loyalty they had shown him. Martin O'Neill defended the Club from some, quite remarkable, criticism which seemed to try and place the blame on them. He highlighted that negotiations with the player had been opened in August and that the deal on the table would have made him one of the best players at the Club - rumoured to be up to £20k a week. But, with no accounting for a player's greed and lack of ambition, when the player would be willing to sit on a bench for £5k more a week, the Club was blameless.

But, in the spirit of the New Year, it was the Club's duty to take a pragmatic view of ‘out with the old and in with the new.' Out went an injury ridden, money grabbing turncoat (in some people's eyes) and in came an eager, died in the wool, Celtic fan, who would have crawled over hot coals to wear The Hoops, as Stephen Pearson signed a four and a half year contract. For this youngster there was no doubt where he wanted his future to lie, as he turned down the approaches of Premiership clubs to sign for HIS team.

“When I found out that Celtic were interested, my mind was made up that this was the place I wanted to go. There was no doubt about that whatsoever.”

With the transfer activity still on people's minds, the team still had a job to do - in the guise of a Scottish Cup tie against Ross County at Celtic Park. With the memory of one early exit in that competition as being too many against Highland opposition, it was important to get a good result. As it stood, Ross County were good opposition and had some good chances against a lethargic and poor Celtic side. The end result flattered the home side, as they won 2-0, with a slightly controversial goal from John Hartson proving to be the turning point. Paul Lambert added the second and it was with some relief that Celtic took their place in the fourth round, where they would play Hearts.

Up next was a league game against Hearts. The team knew they would have to play better than they did in the Cup game as they travelled to Tynecastle. The infamous ‘elbow-gate' incident occurred in this game, which confirmed that this was one of the worst away grounds in Scotland, as two Celtic players were hit with coins and others were abused incessantly from the stands. The game ended 1-0, with Stan Petrov scoring, but this was to be of almost no consequence as the events within the game dictated the headlines.

During the match, Andy Webster fell to the ground after a tussle with John Hartson off the ball. He claimed Hartson had elbowed him, Hartson claimed he did no such thing. Craig Levein decided, in his good wisdom, that, rather than let the whole thing blow over so as not to fuel the fire prior to the rematch in the Cup, to call a press conference where he produced a video filmed by the Hearts club that he claimed proved Hartson had elbowed Webster. The same video conveniently didn't show the thugs who bounced coins off Douglas' head incidentally.

The media witch-hunt tried to slaughter Hartson, so Martin O'Neill responded to Levein's allegations as only a trained lawyer could, by showing frame-by-frame images as the farcical accusations continued.

Away from the ludicrous ‘elbow-gate', there was still a league to win and the next game was against Aberdeen at Pittodrie; Celtic won 3-1, with the red-hot Petrov scoring again, aided by goals from Larsson and Stephen Pearson, who scored his first goal for the Club.

Other than Liam Miller's departure, the Club said goodbye to a number of other players, including Michael Gray (who, somewhat shamefully, the Club didn't even mention their intentions to), Bryan Prunty (to Aberdeen), Steve Guppy (to Leicester), Stephen Crainey (to Southampton) and Magnus Hedman (on loan to Ancona), who all felt they would get more chances of first-team football elsewhere. Coming the other way was Danny Milosevic, an Australian goalkeeper who was signed on loan to the end of the season to give cover while Hedman was away.

The league run continued as Celtic beat Kilmarnock 5-1 at home to maintain their unbeaten run. All five goals came in the second half with Didier Agathe proving what a dangerous player he can be, as he made two goals and scored another in a match which saw him joined on the score sheet by John Hartson (with two goals), Henrik Larsson and Stephen Pearson, who scored his first goal at Celtic Park for his new Club.

January came to an end as the Club prepared to resume their European adventures against Teplice, as well as travel to Tynecastle to play Hearts in the Cup.

CELTIC CLOSE, BUT NO CIGAR

North Sea Bhoy is in festive mood as he remembers December 2003 - a month of domestic dominance in the SPL, a month of League Cup disappointment and a month of cruel fortune, courtesy of a referee called Urs Meier.

December 2003 

December started in the same way as November had ended, with a game against Partick Thistle. This time it was an away trip to Firhill for the third round of the League Cup. Martin O'Neill laid it on the line as to where his priorities were by sending out a reserve side. A goal in each half, one from Craig Beattie and one from Jamie Smith, put us comfortably through to the next round.

A mere two days later, The Hoops ran out at Almondvale to face a stuffy Livingston side. Celtic were clearly not firing on all cylinders and half time came with no goals for either team. These days that's not a problem, as we can always expect a Martin O'Neill inspired improvement in the second half. Three minutes after the break, Chris Sutton put us one up and that's how it stayed until Alan Thompson struck a fine shot past the Livvy ‘keeper with four minutes left. It was exactly the sort of result any prospective Champions need to grind out.

Next up was the big one. Away to Olympique Lyonnais in the final Champions League game. All we needed was a single point to become the first Scottish side in the history of that competition to progress to the next round. It turned out to be a difficult night, which, ultimately, ended in controversy and disappointment. In truth, the Lyon side were the stronger on the night, but we held in there. Goals were swapped between the sides - Hartson and Sutton scoring the goals that should have put us through. However, with three minutes left on the clock, a harmless ball into the box brushed the arm of Bobo Balde and the over-fussy referee, Urs Meier, awarded the home side a penalty. Lyon stuck the ball away, they went through and we were out - left only to shake our heads and fume at more refereeing incompetence.

At least we had a home game up next against Dundee to get the Champions League ghosts out of our heads. The Dens Park side have given us some real problems over the past couple of seasons but, in reality, this 3-2 victory was easier than the scoreline suggests. Sloppy defending towards the end of the game ensured that John Kennedy's first top-team goal turned out to be the winner. Another three points in the bag and signs that we'd learned from the previous season when we dropped stupid points after mid-week European games.

The games were coming thick and fast and the Celtic squad was being stretched to the limit. Another under-strength team was sent out at Easter Road on League Cup duty in a Channel 5 live game. Stan Varga, who headed us into the lead early in the second half, livened up a dull game. However, a wonder goal and a bizarre handball by Kennedy in the penalty area ended our involvement in the competition. It might be a crap competition, but it's still part of the Treble and the forces of Mordor rejoiced as they could see a clear run to silverware. Unfortunately, for them, they drew Hibs in the semi, and, as we all know now, one's called Ronald, one's called Frank, one misses penalties, the other one……..is always injured!

Back to League duty three days later, another away game, another live TV game and another three points in the bag. This time it was Motherwell put to the sword with Hartson and Thompson sharing the spoils.

Luxury - a full seven days between games! A rest that the weary Celtic side badly needed! Hibs were the visitors to Celtic Park for the last game of 2003. The League Cup win had given the Edinburgh side confidence and they had genuine hopes of stopping Celtic's ever growing winning run of League games. Their optimism was misplaced as a rampant Celtic ruthlessly took them apart. Sutton kicked off the post Christmas party in the fourth minute and, by the end of the game, he'd helped himself to another. BBJ bagged a brace with Henrik and Stan Petrov rounding off a fine win for The Hoops.

We were on a roll, and Rangers were next to come a' calling. Bring ‘em on!

DREAMS AND SONGS TO SING

December began with the sad news of Jim Kennedy's death. It was therefore a sombre occasion when the team began their CIS Cup campaign at Firhill against Partick Thistle. Martin O'Neill fielded a virtual reserve team, yet they were still more than good enough to make progress. The final result was 2-0 for Celtic, with Craig Beattie and Jamie Smith scoring the goals, both created by Momo Sylla. The team on the night also featured David Marshall in goal and John Kennedy in defence, and both youngsters acquitted themselves well in a fine team display by players desperate to make an impression on the manager. The victory on the night meant that Celtic would visit Hibs next in an effort to progress through the competition.

Another month and another Hack was trying to stir up more rumours, as the papers reported that Henrik Larsson would depart the Club for £3 million during the January transfer window, to go and play for Newcastle if Celtic didn't progress in the Champions League. Larsson, a man of few words, left it to his agent to quash the speculation as Rob Jansen stated, “The suggestion is completely ridiculous!” Of course, ridiculous and the British media tend to go hand in hand, so the story wasn't really surprising to anyone with a healthy suspicion of media intent.

The news came in the run-up to our Champions League clash with Lyon. The scenario was simple - get beaten and we were out. The pressure was immense, as it seemed every news show and paper delighted in mentioning how the team had never won a point away from home in the competition and no one outside the Club seemed to believe it was possible.

And unfortunately, it wasn't possible, as yet again the Club suffered the trait of being ‘glorious failures' when they fell to Lyon. The game ended 3-2 with Sutton and Hartson scoring the, in the end, meaningless goals. It could all have ended so differently though, as the killer blow was struck in controversial circumstances when a last gasp penalty was awarded to Lyon, after Bobo had jumped in the air with his arms flapping. The referee, Urs Meier (getting into training before his fine performance at the European Championships), had no hesitation as he blew the whistle and effectively ended Celtic's dreams of progress. In fairness, the ball did touch Balde's arm and, had the incident happened at the other end, we would probably have screamed for it. But it still hurt, as the players and the fans knew that, again, stupid mistakes (memorably Hedman being beaten from 40 yards by Lyon's Juninho, whose shot was fierce but straight at the centre of the goal) had cost us dear when it really mattered. Neil Lennon summed up the feelings within the Club best when he spoke after the game.

"We got into a position and we didn't see it through. But the first two goals we lost were a joke. Nobody followed in Giovane Elber at the free-kick for the first one and they scored the second from 40 yards out. The third goal just ripped our heart out. We were minutes from a place in the last 16 and now it is gone. I really don't know what else to say."

No one knew what to say - blame was flung around from corner to corner, from the referee, to the players, to the goalkeeper, to the management, but none of it made any difference as the simple fact was that we were out again. The knowledge that it took Arsenal, with all their superstars and money, six attempts to get out the group stages was forgotten as the painful truth seeped in. The blow was softened slightly by the knowledge that we would still enjoy European football in the UEFA Cup, playing the Czech side, Teplice, but it was now seen as a less than adequate consolation. The Celtic fans, however, received a boost when FIFA awarded the supporters the Fair Play Award. Officially we were what we always knew we were - the GREATEST FANS IN THE WORLD!

The team was down, the fans were down, but there was no time to dwell on it as SPL duty demanded attention. The opposition was Dundee and the game was tight, as Celtic eventually won 3-2 in a tremendous show of character to bounce back from the midweek disappointments. Henrik scored the first before Dundee equalised through a goal by the former Celtic player, Mark Fortheringham. Bobo atoned for his midweek blunder by adding a second before John Kennedy scored his first senior goal for the Club, after he had replaced the injured Mjallby. Rab Douglas was reinstalled in goal as Magnus Hedman was absent - not only from the starting eleven, but from the bench as well! David Marshall was the substitute goalie. The result was made all the sweeter as Rangers had dropped another three points - this time as they visited the plastic pitch of Dunfermline, where they lost the game, 2-0 (Vanoli's own goal in particular causing many a Celtic smile). In some way it was atonement by the Pars for the poor showing they made against Rangers on the last day of the season, but in all honesty, this Rangers team was so poor that we wouldn't need anyone else's help this season. Saying that, a further three point deficit between Celtic and the rest of the pack was gratefully received.

The high wasn't to last long as the disappointments came again. This time in the shape of the first domestic defeat of the season as we were knocked out of the CIS Cup by the youthful Hibs side. Stanislav Varga scored the opener with a crashing header, but a howler of a mistake by John Kennedy brought Hibs into the game, as he proved that he'd maybe been spending too much time training with Bobo when he handballed in the box. Hibs got the penalty and equalised before scoring the winner. The first domestic defeat of the season and it was one that knocked us out of a Cup - a disappointment! The entire team failed to perform well, and one of the worst offenders was Liam Miller, who seemed, at best, uninterested in slogging it out and mixing it up with the Hibs team on a cold December night in Edinburgh. Rumours abounded that this didn't go unnoticed by Martin O'Neill, who had a few choice words to say to the midfielder in the dressing room after the game, which hinted at, amongst other things, his below par recent performances and his dallying on signing a contract extension.

As is the way, when you think that things couldn't get any worse, they actually find a way of getting worse. In this case, the bad news came from the halls of UEFA as it transpired that Urs Meier, Celtic's new favourite man in black, was actually a sensitive soul who was less than thrilled that Neil Lennon had said some nasty things about him after the penalty award in Lyon. Apparently, Mr Meier was so upset by Lenny's words that he felt the need to report him to the governing body, who saw fit to dish out a 2-match ban in European competition, meaning Lenny would miss the two Teplice games.

As the Club and the fans were no doubt just waiting for the disastrous month to end things, finally, began looking up again as Celtic visited Motherwell. The team usually struggled at Fir Park, so it was with some relief that we ran out with a comfortable 2-0 win. Hartson and Thommo made up the scoring in the game.

A few days after the match was played, Martin O'Neill confirmed that there had been contact between Celtic and Motherwell in an attempt to give Stephen Pearson his dream move to his boyhood idols. When asked about whether the fact the youngster was a Celtic supporter helped make up his mind, O'Neill responded with his usual humour.

"There are lots of Celtic supporters but I wouldn't necessarily like to sign them because I would have signed myself when I was two if that was the case."

That quote of course would shoot holes in the ‘Martin O'Neill was always a Spurs fan' argument that would raise its head later in the season as they attempted to pinch our manager.

Next up was the rematch against Hibs. The young Hibs side would have fancied their chances after beating the team in the League Cup match and would have been full of confidence coming to Celtic Park. What they wouldn't have been expecting would have been a harsh, brutal and ruthless lesson that maybe it wasn't a good idea to upset a team who passionately hated being beaten. Hibs learned their painful lesson as Celtic dismantled and demoralised the opposition, 6-0. Hibs didn't help their cause by going down to 10 men in the first half (after a reckless and dangerous lunge by Riordan on Jackie McNamara), but they could have had fifteen men on the pitch and still would not have changed the result, such was Celtic's dominance. The scoring was made up with (who else) Chris Sutton getting two, along with another two for Hartson whilst Henrik and Petrov each grabbed a goal in another fine team display.

The month came to a good end as Didier Agathe made his comeback from injury in an Under-21 match, and finally the pain of the Champions League exit faded as the team and supporters looked forward to the New Year and the new challenges that would bring.

What they weren't to know was that January would bring it's own blend of bitter disappointments and Hoopy delights, as the fans would be shocked when a favourite would betray the Club in the cruellest and sneakiest fashion, while at the same time, a young player would realise a life long dream and sign for the Club.

And, of course, Rangers were due to visit!

 

TINKERING WITH THOMMO

November 2003

November got off to a flying start as Celtic played Kilmarnock. The game was won easily with Chris Sutton scoring his first hat-trick as a Celtic player, as the team dismantled the opposition and ran up a 5-0 score line. Shaun Maloney and John Hartson made up the rest of the scoring as the team's fine form in the league continued unabated.

Next up was the ‘do or die' tie in the Champions League. Anything other than a victory against the Belgian champions, Anderlecht, at Celtic Park, would make progression beyond the group stages almost impossible. As it happened, when it really mattered, Celtic turned on the style as they produced one of the finest 45 minutes of play in recent times, and won the game, 3-1. This was sweetened with the news that Lyon had beaten Bayern, which meant a victory against Bayern at Celtic Park would guarantee a pass to the next round. Larsson, Sutton and Liam Miller scored the goals against Anderlecht in what was an excellent display. Liam Miller was the star of the show (again) and the Club took the unusual step of releasing a statement on the website to assure fans that they were already talking to Miller in regards to a contract extension. The papers rumbled on, though, about the fact that the visiting Manchester United manager, Alex Ferguson, had been impressed with the Irishman's performance against Anderlecht. In an effort to alleviate the fans concerns, Liam Miller's agent had a word or two to say about it.

“The club want to keep Liam and he wants to stay… He has not even thought about moving as there are not many bigger clubs than Celtic.”

It was a nice statement by the agent and, just to make sure the position was clear, Miller himself responded to the constant rumour mongering by the press later in the month.

“There's been a load of nonsense coming out in the papers, but this is the club I want to be at. Honestly, I wish I could say what I really think about the rubbish that's been printed recently, but all I can say is that I'm very happy here."

It was good to know and everyone relaxed in the knowledge that the nice, honest, young, Celtic-minded lad, who had come through the ranks, would be around for a good few years to help fill the void that was still empty after the departure of the great Lubo.

After the high of the Champions League, it was down to the less glamorous SPL business again as the team welcomed Dunfermline. The Pars had been the only team so far to take anything from Celtic domestically, so as the game toiled along at 1-0 for a time it looked a bit ominous. That was until another youngster was introduced into the fray and made an immediate impact. Ross Wallace came on with 20 minutes to go, and after that the Celtic team scored another 4 goals to win the game comfortably, 5-0. John Hartson got two, young Wallace got one as Stan Varga and Henrik Larsson also added their names to the score sheet. It was another good performance from another young Celt, which showed that the future was looking good for the Club.

November also saw the continuance of the England set-up's favourite game - ‘let's toy with Alan Thompson, pretend he has a chance and then kick him in the teeth at the first opportunity.' The man taking the pot shots this time was the assistant manager, Tord Grip, who spoke glowingly about how well Thommo had played and how, if he hadn't been (conveniently) injured, he was absolutely sure that Thompson would have featured in the England squad. Funnily enough, there was no mention from Mr Grip about why Alan Thompson, a player playing in the Champions League and with the experience playing in high pressure European games, was the only player expected to audition for the national side - especially considering the lack of left-sided players in the England set-up.

Stephen Crainey took some time out to talk about how pleased he was that Martin O'Neill was showing some uncharacteristic flexibility in his formation as, with the increased use of a four at the back, the fullback felt he had a better chance of continuing his career with Celtic.

While the Celtic full team had enjoyed a lot of success, the other teams in the Celtic set-up were not to be denied their own share of glory, with the under-19s in particularly fine form as they scored 5 against Dundee Utd before they smashed another 7 goals past their opposite numbers at Partick Thistle. The prodigious talent of Aiden McGeady scored one of the two hat-tricks in the Partick game and whispers abounded that it wouldn't be long before the potential superstar began making progress up through the ranks.

Prior to the Champions League match against Bayern, the team had to negotiate a game against Dundee Utd. The team didn't disappoint as they went about their job with deadly efficiency, winning the game 5-1, as Chris Sutton scored his second Celtic hat-trick whilst Larsson bagged a brace for his efforts.

Domestic duties dealt with again, it was time to prepare for the visit of the Germans. The scenario was simple: win and we were through, draw and we'd have to do something against Lyon and if we lost, we would be effectively out. The interviews of the players in the days preceding the match said it all: this would be no easy task but it wasn't impossible. Stilian Petrov said that although the players respected the Bayern team, the Celtic lads were looking forward to the match and would play their own game. Neil Lennon, not a man to mince his words, said that beating Bayern and qualifying to the second phase of the Champions League would be a bigger achievement than reaching the UEFA Cup Final. No pressure to get a result there then...

Unfortunately though, qualification to the second phase wouldn't come against Bayern Munich, as a stuffy and uninspiring visiting side came to Celtic Park with one aim - avoid defeat! Their method worked as Celtic toiled to break them down and we had to settle for a share of the spoils. It was a setback as it meant that, in order to guarantee progression, the team would have to do what they had never done before - go away from home in the Champions League and achieve a result. This would be made all the more difficult as Alan Thompson would serve a suspension in the match for a silly booking against the German side, and Didier Agathe was told that he would miss 4-6 weeks with injury. If Celtic were going to make progress, they were going to have to do it the hard way.

After the midweek exertions it was business as usual at the weekend, when the Bhoys beat Partick Thistle, 3-1, with Chris Sutton maintaining his outstanding form by scoring twice. Henrik Larsson bagged the other goal in the game, but neither striker was the main attraction, as Ross Wallace played another blinder in an effort to steal some of the limelight from his two older team-mates.

The latest chapter in the media's job hunt for Martin O'Neill was opened as the manager's name was linked with the vacant Northern Ireland job, which he would have apparently been able to take on a part-time basis, thus enabling him to stay as Celtic manager. Perhaps the fact that this job meant he would stay with Celtic was the reason this story didn't grow the legs some of the even more ridiculous suggestions would in the following months.

And November came to an end as the team tried to get ready for the trip to Lyon in the knowledge that a defeat would leave the Champions League dream in tatters for another year. There was also the small matter of a domestic cup competition beginning, and an early Christmas present from Dunfermline as they made slight amends for being so rubbish (putting it mildly) on the last day of last season.

 

REMEMBER, REMEMBER CELTIC'S NOVEMBER

Keep The Faith's Review Of The Season continues, with North Sea Bhoy looking back fondly to the month of November, several serious spankings of domestic opposition and two more thrilling Champions League encounters.

November 2003

BY NORTH SEA BHOY 

November kicked-off with the Green Machine travelling through lodge-infested Ayrshire to play Kilmarnock in the live BBC game. It was the first time we'd met Jim Jeffries' stormtroopers since the final day of the previous season. A serious spanking was in order. A serious spanking was dished out. A poetic hat-trick for Chris Sutton put smiles on the faces of the travelling support and that was topped up by BBJ and wee Shaun Maloney rounding off a five nil win. Jeffries' big sour coupon in the after match interview completed a fine day.

This result was a nice confidence booster for the visit of Anderlecht in the Champions League. This had turned into a must-win game after the poor performance in the away game two weeks previously. Alex Fergusson was in the Celtic Park crowd to cast an eye over the young Anderlecht centre half. He left with a different target in mind after an excellent, goal scoring performance from Liam Miller. The whole team was superb as big Joos' countrymen were blown away by a breathtaking Celtic performance. Larsson had set the game alight with a neat near post header before Miller and Sutton, with another header, had the game tied up before half time. The away side pulled one back after the break but another three Champions League points were in the bag.

Dunfermline were next to be hammered, 5-0 at home, after a slow start. At 70 minutes it was only 1-0 and Dunfermline had come close a couple of times, but Martin O'Neill turned the game on its head with the introduction of 18-year old Ross Wallace. He tormented the lumbering Pars defence, grabbing a goal for himself and playing a big part in the final result.

We had to wait a couple of weeks for the next five-goal romp, this time a 5-1 away win at Dundee United. Big Chris helped himself to another hat-trick and Henrik picked up the other two. A result that must have delighted the dozens of fans tuned into Setanta for the game.

Three days later, on the 25 th , the Bayern Munich juggernaut, often referred to as Hollywood FC, rolled into Glasgow for our penultimate Champions League game. It was a sign of how far we'd come in Europe that the Germans were the ones worried about the game. They were desperate for a draw, as they were under the real threat of going out of the competition. In truth, it was a dull affair, Celtic were the better team but, as usual, the Germans were well organised at the back and we found it difficult to play through them. When the final whistle went the Bayern team and fans celebrated the 0-0 draw as if they'd won the whole competition. A big compliment to Martin and his Celtic side!

Partick Thistle were the visitors for our final game during November on a soaking wet Glasgow day. A three o'clock Saturday kick-off no less! Partick hadn't read the script and four foot two Celtic supporter James Grady headed the Jags into a shock lead. By the half hour mark normality was restored by Henrik and Chris Sutton. A further Sutton goal after the break tied up the points in miserable conditions. When the final whistle blew, the rain soaked players and fans trooped away to count another three points towards the regaining of our trophy.

October 2003

October began with the team and supporters basking in the glory of the win against Lyon and the very real dream of progressing in the Champions League, but this was to prove to be merely the beginning of what was to be a very good week for Celtic. Nonetheless, it wouldn't be Celtic if the supporters were allowed to be too happy with themselves, and so it transpired again when, prior to the first Rangers game of the season, Brian Quinn decided to talk about why no money was spent and how the PLC really, truly, had only made £10.2 million from the UEFA Cup run, and that money couldn't be set aside for transfers or anything else. Basically the statement was to explain that he wasn't really a cheapskate, he was just misunderstood and no one else understood how the business of football worked - the intention was good, but no one believed a word of it.

The Rangers game came at a time that probably didn't suit Martin O'Neill due to the absences of Valgaeren, Balde, Mjallby, Crainey and Laursen - a defensive shortage in anyone's book. Instead the back line was of the more unorthodox variety, as Stan Varga and Jackie McNamara were joined in defence by Didier Agathe and Chris Sutton. Getting away from Ibrox with a draw would have been considered an achievement prior to the match, but this Celtic team wasn't interested in draws and won the game 1-0, with John Hartson scoring his fiftieth goal for The Hoops. As a result of the three points won at Ibrox, Celtic were back at the top of the table where they belonged, and they wouldn't budge from that position for the rest of the season.

After a week's break for international duty, where both the Scots and the Welsh insured they were in the play-offs for the European Championships, it was time to get back to business and prepare for the visit of Hearts. Any fears that the break would halt the team's momentum were abolished, as they thrashed Hearts 5-0 with Stamp (an own-goal by the Hearts player), Larsson, Varga and a Liam Miller brace making up the scoring. It was an exceptional team display, but an even better individual performance from Miller who looked every inch the star player the fans and management were hoping he would become.

The day got even better though when news filtered through about another result, as Rangers could only manage a draw away to the youthful Motherwell side. Celtic's lead at the top of the table was now four points.

Next up was a return to Champions League football against the Belgian side, Anderlecht. The hope was to build on the good result against Lyon at Celtic Park and get in the driving seat in the group before the second encounters with Bayern and Lyon. It seemed achievable, as the Belgians, although clearly a good side, didn't have as much to threaten Celtic with as the other teams in the group. In theory, if any away match in the group was a banker to get points in, this was it, and a performance on par with the Bayern away effort or Lyon at home should have seen Celtic return home with all three points.

As it happened - the performance in Belgium wasn't nearly good enough, especially considering Anderlecht had a man sent off after 25 minutes, and Celtic suffered another Champions League defeat away from home due to an avoidable error.

The delight of the Lyon result quickly faded as the realisation that we were sitting below Anderlecht in the group set in. The return leg would be vitally important if there was to be any hope of further progression into the next round of the Champions League.

As disappointed as the team and the supporters were, there was no time to dwell on it as they looked to bounce back quickly by maintaining their position in the League. Up next was a game against Aberdeen at Celtic Park, which brought with it Henrik Larsson's first hat-trick of the season as The Hoops won the match 4-0; Chris Sutton completed the scoring with a penalty. The result was even sweeter as Rangers only managed another draw as they played Livingston away. That result meant the gap at the top of the table was widening rapidly, as seven points now separated Celtic from the pack.

The game didn't come without a cost as Alan Thompson picked up an injury, which would rule him out of the next European game.

The draw for the League Cup was made and Celtic were to play Hibs in the fourth round at Easter Road, in what would hopefully be an entertaining and exciting clash, providing of course Celtic could first negotiate the tie with Partick Thistle at Firhill.

As the month ended, all the team's energy was focused on the task of winning against Anderlecht at Celtic Park, and getting in a good position to assault the Champions League again, whilst maintaining their domestic dominance.

September 2003.

September the first signalled the end of the transfer window and everyone waited to see if, despite the evidence to the contrary, the board would actually help the team out by making a signing or two. The rumours abounded that Celtic would sign the exciting James McFadden from Motherwell but, due to the cheque book and a healthy dose of realism being lost deep in the echelons of the Celtic Park board room, it turned out that the only bid we made for him was a deeply insulting one of £350 000. No one was surprised, therefore when Motherwell told us where to stick that offer and instead sold him to Everton for closer to £1.5 million. Never let it be said that the board weren’t willing to spend money - they just weren’t willing to spend enough of it.

As it stood, the board decided that no money would be spent on freshening the squad, although a new face was brought in on loan as Michael Gray came up from Sunderland on a four month loan deal. He’d fallen out of favour at Sunderland and was clearly a useful player if not really the type of player we needed at that time.

So one player in, but another was to find himself missing for eight weeks as Ulrik Laursen injured his knee during an U21 game - the injury was originally feared to be much worse, but thankfully the damage wasn’t as severe as first thought and the prognosis was for a relatively quick recovery.

There were no SPL games for the best part of two weeks as international games took precedence. As the Celtic players played their part for their respective countries it was the Scotland squad that provided the main talking point from a Celtic perspective, as Paul Lambert irritated an ankle injury in the match against Germany and came back from international duty injured. With less than a week to recover as Celtic prepared to begin their Champions League campaign, the injury was a worry, and even more so when it was revealed that the captain would miss up to six weeks due to the injury.

Before the first game in the Champions League could be considered there was the little matter of a visit to Dens Park to play Dundee. The game got off to a flying start as Bobo Balde scored in eight minutes. That was as easy is it got as Dundee did their best to get a share of the points and were helped in the attempt by Dougie McDonald sending Didier Agathe off after 25 minutes, for nothing more than being able to run faster than Nacho Novo. Another downside to the match came when Stephen Crainey was taken off injured after twenty minutes. He had stretched his knee ligaments and the injury plagued early season continued as another Celt was told he would be missing for up to six weeks.

Nonetheless the match ended 1-0 and, with three points in the bag, the team could begin preparing for their trip to Munich.

The preparation for the Bayern match though was not as straightforward as most people would have liked as Neil Lennon had the threat of a ban hanging over his head due to him gesturing to Dundee fans who had spent 90 minutes hurling abuse at him. Obviously these fans were easily shocked and as such were outraged when the subject of their sectarian vitriol actually reacted to them hence why Neil Lennon was painted as the thug. But, as the press say, it’s only because he’s combative that he gets that abuse.

The Bayern match came and the indications were good that the team would win their first points on away soil in the Champions League. The German side were excellent but there was a real feeling that they were still beatable and it proved to be the case as Celtic began the brighter of the two sides. Alan Thompson put the team ahead and there wasn’t much threat from the Bayern players. Then came the lapse in concentration and errors that would go on to typify much of our away performances in Europe over the season as Roy Makaay scored twice to win the match for Bayern.

Magnus Hedman took the blame (admirably accepting his part in the defeat) and, perhaps to give him a confidence boost, Martin O’Neill left him in for the Motherwell game. This game ended 3-0 in what was becoming a customary stroll at Celtic Park as Larsson, Sutton and Maloney made up the scoring. Not that the match was without incident as Larsson found himself booked for diving. Why the Swede would dive when there was an open goal in front of him is a question the referee would have asked himself - especially considering the Motherwell keeper himself admitted it was a penalty. Henrik, in typical form, didn’t mince his words when speaking of the incident, no doubt slightly aggrieved at his reputation being sullied.

"It was a stonewall penalty. I spoke to Gordon after the match and he admitted it. If there is no contact, no problem. There are people who dive and cheat referees, but I am not one of them."

September also brought the first of the new job vacancies for Martin O’Neill. As he had been linked from every job from Manchester United to Leeds, to Spurs, to Liverpool, to Newcastle and no doubt another 10 clubs (as long as the job was in England it would have been a step up according to the hacks) he took the unusual step of denying the story linking him to Spurs. Not known for giving reporters any column inches by denying a lie, he made sure his statement was emphatic as he spoke of how he hoped to manage the club for as long as possible and how speculation linking him with other jobs always went on and how he had no control over speculation. He also said how he wanted to talk about his own job instead of talking about rumours. The message was clear, and simple for even the most stupid reporter to grasp, yet the speculation would continue throughout the season. As the saying goes - who wants to let the truth get in the way of a good story?

And so to the match against the French champions, Lyon, at Celtic Park. The UEFA Fair Play award was awarded at the beginning of the match by Lennart Johansson and the team went on to prove that they were amongst the best in Europe as they took apart Lyon. The match ended 2-0 with Liam Miller and Chris Sutton scoring two wonderful goals. Alan Thompson missed a penalty and as such voluntarily removed himself from penalty kick duty, but despite this it was a wonderful team performance. The passing was good, the pace was high, and, for a pleasant change, the refereeing was to a high level. The match signalled that the team wasn’t out of its depth at the highest level and the hopes were high that they could put the disappointments of the Bayern game behind them and move on and make progress in the group.

Next up would be Anderlecht and the small matter of the first Rangers game of the season as the team looked to continue their form at European and domestic level.

August 2003.

With the job against Kaunas finished in the first leg after the 4-0 result, Celtic arrived home knowing that, barring a monumental collapse the tie was over even before a ball was kicked in the home leg. This allowed Martin O'Neill to prepare the team for the visit of Arsenal. Celtic, after the mauling they received against Manchester United in the US tour, were eager to get back to the form they enjoyed against English opposition previously, and as such it was somewhat surprising to see so many youngsters included in the line-up . The game finished 1-1 with Stilian Petrov producing a wonderful man of the match performance against the team (albeit weakened for this game) some ‘experts' would go on to suggest was one of the best teams ever. The goal was scored, again, by Liam Miller - the 22 year old finishing off his excellent pre-season with a flourish. The midfielder was rapidly becoming a fan favourite and, somewhat pleasingly, seemed to be a level-headed young man who was enjoying playing for the club as he mentioned in many interviews before the season started properly.

“I have one year left on my contract and this is where I want to stay and play.”

Level headed he may have been, although honesty would prove to be an entirely different thing later in the season.

Kaunas were eventually dispatched with a rather dull and uninspiring performance at Celtic Park which ended 1-0 to Celtic with a Kaunas own-goal the only difference between the sides on the night. The result meant that Celtic would face MTK Hungaria in their final qualifying round to get into the Champions League group stages.

Pre-season and European duties out the way, all thoughts turned to the bread and butter games of the SPL, and, in particular, the opening day game against Dunfermline. There was always going to be a little added bite to the game since the events on the closing day of the previous season but the Dunfermline chairman did his best to fan the flames anyway, when he made the audacious statement that Chris Sutton would not be welcome at East End Park and should stay away. Bold words coming from a man who was planning on ripping up his pitch and making his team play on carpet - he clearly had a keen footballing brain afterall. The statement did not go down well with Martin O'Neill who wasted no time in voicing his opinion on the matter and telling Yorkston, in no uncertain terms, to keep his nose out of business that didn't concern him. Clearly the Dunfermline chairman wanted a public flogging for Sutton in an attempt to deflect attention from his own problems - in particular, the flack he was getting for the proposed artificial pitch they were intending to put down.

The game itself didn't exactly go to plan as Celtic dropped points right away as they drew with Dunfermline. This wasn't the start that most fans had wanted after the disappointments of the previous season as they began the season trailing Rangers and some reporters were taking apparent delight in the 'ageing' Celtic team not making any signings to freshen the squad.

Not content with rubbing the lack of transfer activity in the Celtic fans faces, there were also reports in the papers regarding apparent quotes Didier Agathe made to a French newspaper saying he wanted a move away from Scotland. The flying Frenchman was quick to deny the story and was genuinely upset at the claims. He didn't shy away with explaining exactly what he did and didn't say on the issue and was strong in his denial that he had said anything untoward in the interview.

As the media continued their speculation, Celtic had far more pressing matters to deal with, namely the first leg of the MTK Hungaria match in Budapest. Not much was known about the side who had knocked Helsinki out of the previous round, other than the fact they were a physical side and no one knew how the tie would go. The hope was that this wouldn't prove to be another Basel so it was with slight apprehension the fans approached the game. As it happened, it couldn't have went better as Larsson, Agathe, Petrov and Sutton all scored as the hoops won 4-0.

The support and the players were delighted as they began to prepare for Champions League football. The board, not known to let the fans bask in the happiness for long decided that this would be the perfect opportunity to say that there would be no money available for squad additions. We were told that apparently the club had actually lost money in the earlier season - despite an increase in revenue through shirts, merchandise, European TV money, European ticket sales and increased season-ticket holders. Needless to say, the news didn't go down particularly well with anyone in particular the fans who felt the club would have to build from a position of strength to not only maintain the standards they had set earlier, but also to keep Martin O'Neill happy. Nonetheless, Brian Quinn was resolute in his refusal to spend money and maintained that Celtic would not fall deeper in debt, which is a nice sentiment in theory but not one that's practical in the climate of modern football.

As the manager came to grips with the news that his squad would have to do him, the Celtic players were doing their best to provide him with new options on the park. This was no more evident than when Celtic thrashed Dundee United 5-0 at Celtic Park with Shaun Maloney, Stan Varga, Liam Miller and Jackie McNamara the standouts in a great team-effort as Maloney, Thompson, Agathe, Larsson and McNamara found the back of the net.

Next up was Partick Thistle who were beaten a little less convincingly as Lambert and Thompson insured that Celtic won 2-1.

Up next was the final leg of the MTK Hungaria game. The job finished in the previous leg the performance didn't have to be a good one. Never the less, Chris Sutton, no doubt upset at missing so many games in the league continued his good European goal-scoring form as he got the goal that allowed Celtic to win on the night 1-0, and 5-0 on aggregate. The match was also notable in that we got to see the young defender, John Kennedy make an early European appearance as he came on as a sub in the second half. The job done and qualifying over, all that was left was to await the draw to see who would be in our group in the lucrative Champions League.

There was a shock around the place after this match as the rumour that Celtic were interested in a player began to circulate. The player in question was the Brazilian, Emerson. He didn't have a particularly good reputation but a signing was a signing, and the fans were happy that at long last, they would have a new face to support. That was somewhat fleeting though when it was announced that Celtic would not follow up their interest as the player wanted too much money and was not good enough. Not one to turn down an overpaid flop, Alex McLeish decided that Emerson was the man for him and signed him up (and again, like the Capucho deal - this had nothing to do with playing mind games with Celtic.)

Celtic fans made the news again in August as they were officially recognised as the ‘Greatest Fans in Europe' by UEFA who awarded them the Fair Play Award due to their outstanding behaviour in Seville.

The same fans of course hoped that they would get a chance to travel to many more places with Celtic this season and waited with baited breath to see who would be drawn in the team's Champions League group. Bayern Munich, Lyon and Anderlecht were to be our opponents in a group where we felt there was a real chance of progression into the knockout stages of the competition.

How best to celebrate the Champions League? How about smashing another five goals past Livingston at Celtic Park a couple of days later? Henrik Larsson got a hat-trick while Alan Thompson scored and Shaun Maloney scored another goal as he competently filled the large shoes of Chris Sutton and John Hartson in the league games.

After the match with Livi, it was announced that David Fernandez would be joining the side on a season long loan as the Spaniard attempted to regain the confidence and form that Martin O'Neill signed him for.

As September approached Celtic prepared to welcome in a new face (at long last) and also prepared to make a serious assault on the Champions league as games against Bayern and Lyon rapidly approached, as well as the little matter of continuing their impressive league form.

 

July 2003

As the pain of the previous season finally began to subside, Celtic began the arduous task of reclaiming the trophies that had ended up as part of the tainted treble belonging to Rangers.

Despite the team's superhuman efforts to reach the UEFA Cup Final and to come within a goal of winning the SPL, everyone knew what would be needed to capitalise on that success and that was investment on new players. Yet, for some reason, pre-season began with no new faces at training, while Rangers had added to their squad by bringing in the youthful Henning Berg and the Portuguese diving champion, Nuno Capucho.

The cynics amongst the Celtic support suggested that the buying of Capucho, a member of the Porto team, was an attempt to wind up Celtic. In fact, though, we were all wrong, as over the course of the season we realised that Rangers were actually just trying to cheer the Celtic supporters up by proving that not every player on the Porto team wasted their natural talent with diving, as Nuno would prove that he didn't have any natural talent to waste.

Nonetheless, Rangers were making signings (even if they were duff ones) and the Celtic support was eager to see new faces in our squad. Not to worry, we were told by anyone who would listen, there was still time to bring fresh legs into the team.

Instead, we began July by signing up some of our current players. Craig Beattie, the young striker who was smacking goals in for fun in the Under 21s and Under 19s, found himself to be the subject of Spurs attentions. Spurs, who are making a habit of coveting Celtic's goods, were told where to go and the lad signed a three-year deal with The Hoops. He, along with his U21 team-mate, Ross Wallace, got a promotion to the first team as Celtic began their pre-season tour of Sweden.

The tour began in pleasing fashion with Celtic scoring 7 against an amateur side, beating Gais (with the Swedish and Celtic hero, Larsson, on the score sheet, and a rare man of the match performance from Jamie Smith) and finally, the big one, beating Helsingborg, 3-2.

Next on the pre-season list was a friendly against Fulham at Loftus Road. Celtic were bidding to continue an unbeaten run of 12 games against English opposition, and they didn't disappoint as they beat the Premiership team, 2-1, with a certain Liam Miller the stand out performer of the night for The Hoops.

The games came thick and fast as Celtic moved from London to America on the lucrative Champions World Tour where we were scheduled to play Manchester United and AC Milan. Milan sadly cancelled and we were stuck with Boca Juniors (slightly less glamorous, and somewhat disappointingly depriving us of seeing Andriy Shevchenko in close proximity to a Celtic shirt). This was a chance for the large contingent of North American Celtic fans to show their support to the team, and they didn't disappoint with the first game completely sold out and the second with over 20,000 fans in attendance. Sadly, though, the team didn't get off to the best start and got hammered 4-0 by Man Utd in the first game. Alan Thompson missed a penalty in the game (which would have levelled the score at 1-1), but in the end, 4-0 was flattering to Celtic who probably should have stayed in the hotel.

The Boca Juniors game gave a little more encouragement as Celtic beat the hard tackling, constantly fouling, South Americans, 1-0 (I know, a cynical South American team - it's never heard of, is it?). The game wasn't particular eventful apart from one addition to the starting line-up. In goal, 18-year old David Marshall got his first start of the season. After the match the youngster showed typical maturity as he spoke about the game and his expectations of the season.

“If I'm called upon for any reason, I'll definitely be ready.”

Little did he know at that time how appropriate that statement would be, in relation to a few months later.

As the tour ended, Celtic headed back home for preparation for the season, and in particular, to prepare for the two European qualifiers they would have to negotiate prior to admission to the Champions League. First on the agenda was a trip to play Kaunas, a Lithuanian team, who sadly lost their leading goal scorer (Audrius Sleykis) after the striker was tragically killed in a car crash a couple of days before the match. UEFA, showing the compassion that they would become famous for over the season, decided, in their good judgement, not to ask for a postponement and the game was played with Celtic winning 4-0, as Larsson, Sutton, Maloney and Miller all made up the scoring.

With the job half done, Celtic travelled home ready to prepare for the second leg. On top of this there would be a friendly against Arsenal and the final preparations before the SPL campaign could get underway.

These preparations were hindered as the SFA announced that Chris Sutton would suffer a 5-match ban at the beginning of the season. The ban was for violent conduct and the ludicrous charge of bringing the game into disrepute due to his (some would argue justified) comments regarding Dunfermline helping Rangers out on the last day of the season. The SFA obviously don't accept that when you shove a microphone in someone's face after they have lost a European trophy and then the League within the space of four days, the response from the interviewee might be emotional.

Nonetheless, the Celtic team travelled back from Lithuania ready to begin the competitive season in an attempt to win back the trophies they had lost two months earlier.

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Editor Craig Burns McAughtrie