Celtic Chief exec Peter Lawwell has been in the news again making noises about his side leaving the Scottish setup to pursue riches and mid-table finishes in England. Stories of the Old Firm leaving have been doing the rounds for years, but this one is different in that the suggestion to move to England has come from an English club. Read the rest of this entry →
It’s been a while, but fear not dear reader(s), we’re still here. Inside Left has spent most of the last week with the fysio working on a nasty shoulder injury as well as trying to get his back, well, back in order. The ravages of old age on this otherwise athletic body are being to play their part and every day things like walking, bending, moving and so on sure ‘aint as easy as they used to be. Read the rest of this entry →
Following last night’s exit from the Champions League, we ease Celtic’s pain by reminding them that their team is actually quite good. On the 9th anniversary of the game, we look back at one of the finest Old Firm games ever.
Glasgow, August 27th, 2000. Four games into the new season, Martin O’Neill, the new manager of Celtic Football Club faces his first real challenge since taking over as manager from John Barnes: the first Old Firm game of the season.
Celtic had gotten off to a great start in the new 2000/01 season. Dundee United, Motherwell, Kilmarnock and Hearts had all been beaten, putting the Bhoys joint top of the table with Hibs, both teams on maximum points.
Rangers would travel across town to Parkhead as defending Champions. Under manager Dick Advocaat, they’d won the league the previous year -- their second consecutive league title -- with a record 21 point gap between them and Celtic. Although the League Cup eluded them, Rangers had won the Scottish Cup in May, beating Aberdeen 4-0 in the Final.
Despite the slow changing of the guard at Parkhead, Celtic managed to bring in two players who would have a dramatic impact in the months to come. Striker Chris Sutton joined from Chelsea for £6m, while Belgian defender Joos Valgaeren joined from Dutch side Roda JC for £3.8m. Heading out the door was Mark Viduka, sold to Leeds for £6m.
Rangers, no doubt influenced by the growing Dutch contingent at the club had brought in Bert Konterman and Fernando Ricksen from Feyenoord and AZ Alkmaar respectively to strengthen the squad, while a young Kenny Miller had also joined from Hibernian to start the first of his two spells at Ibrox.
Like Celtic, Rangers went into the Old Firm game with a solid start to the league behind them. St Johnstone, Kilmarnock, Dunfermline and St Mirren proved little in the way of a challenge. And like Celtic, Rangers had already begun their Champions League campaign, beginning with a 4-1 aggregate win against FBK Kaunas, a team they’d meet again a few years late. Three days before this game, Celtic warmed up with a resounding 7-0 win over Jeunesse Esch to complete an 11-0 aggregate win in that years UEFA Cup.
When the teams lined up on that Sunday afternoon, few had any idea of what they where about to witness. Old Firm games have a reputation for being volatile and passionate affairs, and this game certainly did not disappoint.
Three goals in an 11-minute period, including an opening goal from Chris Sutton after only 51 seconds got Celtic off to a blistering start from which Rangers never recovered. New boys Ricksen and Konterman in particular looked way out of their depth in the Rangers defence -- Ricksen would be substituted after only 20 minutes, when Celtic where already 3 goals to the good, Stillian Petrov and Paul Lambert getting their names on the score sheet.
Students of the Scottish game will know that no Old Firm game is without controversy. Rangers’ Claudio Reyna pulled one back for Rangers just before the break, but there where many inside the ground who doubted whether the ball had actually crossed the line or not. Rangers got the benefit of the doubt that time, but when Rod Wallace put the ball past Gould shortly afterward, the linesman incorrectly flagged for offside. Similarly, Chris Sutton’s opener looked suspiciously offside.
Billie Dodds reduced the deficit to only 1 goal after the restart from the penalty spot, but two sublime goals from Henrik Larrson, the first a wonderful chip over Klos in the Rangers goal, and a second from Chris Sutton sealed a memorable victory for Celtic and a forgettable day for Rangers, who also had Barry Ferguson sent off for batting the ball away out of frustration 7 minutes from time.
Following the game, Celtic would continue unbeaten until December, when they went down 5-1 to Rangers, of all teams, in the second of that seasons four Old Firm games: they’d win the other two. They would also go on to record two more high-scoring games, including the 6-0 demolitions of Aberdeen and Kilmarnock, as well as comprehensive wins against Dundee United and Hibs.
They would lose only two more games that season, to Dundee and Kilmarnock, both defeats coming in the last two games of the season, long after the title had been secured. Their eventual points tally of 93 put them a massive 15 points ahead of Rangers to secure their first league title since 1998.
O’Neill would also lead Celtic to two winning Cup finals that season. The League Cup was brought home thanks to an inspired Henrik Larsson hat-trick in the final against Kilmarnock (they beat Raith Rovers, Hearts and Rangers on the way), while the Scottish Cup Final in May of 2001 say Celtic victorious again -- Henrik Larsson scored twice, with Jackie McNamara adding a third as Hibs where swept aside.
Celtic’s Henrik Larrson would end the season as top scorer with 35 goals, more than twice his nearest rival, Aberdeen’s Arild Stavrum, with 17 goals and 24 more than Ranger’s top scorer, Tore Andre Flo, signed from Chelsea for £12m.
In a season where the SPL was increased in size from 10 to 12 teams, there where an unusually high number of high-scoring games. Together with Celtic’s 6-0 wins, Hearts and Rangers both scored seven goals in their wins over Dunfermline and St Mirren respectively.
Despite much criticism from managers, the 2000/2001 season was also the first season in which the new ‘league split’ was announced, following the expansion of the SPL from 10 to 12 teams. The split, after 33 games had the top-six and the bottom-six sides play eachother one more time to determine final placings.
At the end of the season, both Celtic and Rangers, together with third-placed Hibs and fourth-placed Kilmarnock qualified for Europe, with St Mirren, promoted from the First Division as champions relegated in a miserable season that saw them win only 8 games.
Two games aside, in todays 5th Round Scottish Cup games, the results pretty much went with our expectations. Ross County nearly reach double figures against Stirling Albion to reach the quarter finals. They´ll be joined there by Dundee, Dundee United, Hibernian and Kilmarnock.
Who needs an official winter break when the weather has pretty much taken care of that. More games are cancelled in Scotland as the snow melts, turning football pitches into swimming pools.
The Highland League attempts to sue David Smith, a 16-year old student who has been videoing matches at Highland League club Buckie Thistle and posting them onto YouTube. Sign the petition here!
Punditry