It was great to catch up with Derek Whyte at the Tommy Burns match.
CLICK HERE for full interview
Derek spent six eventful years at Celtic, winning two championships and two Scottish Cups before moving on to Middlesboro and Aberdeen before finishing his career at Partick Thistle where he had a spell as joint manager alongside Gerry Britton.
Seventeen years after leaving Celtic he still loves the club as much as ever, the bond is there amongst players past and present and the lure of playing again at Celtic Park as strong as ever, even in the tragic circumstances of a match to commemorate the life of a former team-mate.
Tommy Burns played in front of Derek when he broke into the first-team but before then Tommy and Danny McGrain had already been working with him, showing him the ropes and preparing for the unique demands of playing for Celtic.
Derek went on to make over 200 appearances for Celtic under Davie Hay, Billy McNeill and Liam Brady before moving on to Middlesbrough where he spent five seasons playing in the Premiership and First Division.
"When you play at this club it's almost like a tattoo on your skin, it never leaves you, it's with you for life and that's a great feeling," sums up Derek's views on playing for Celtic.
CLICK HERE for full interview, the sound quality isn't quite the best but I'm working on that
Tuesday, 2 June 2009
Sunday, 31 May 2009
Celtic reach final of Hong Kong 7's
Celtic face Rangers at 6.45pm Hong Kong time in the final of the annual 7 a side tournament.
Ryan Conroy's goal against the Australian national team in the semi-finals earned Celtic their final place while Rangers beat Aston Villa in the other semi final.
The Celtic side, coached by Willie McStay, beat a Hong Kong select, under the name of Citizen, 3-1 in the last eight thanks to a double from Mark Millar and another goal from Conroy.
In their previous match Celtic beat local side Kitchee 2-0 with Millar and Paul McGowan the goalscorers.
Celtic are making their tenth appearance in the tournament which covers all levels of football from under-16's through to veterans.
Included in the Celtic squad is Cillian Sheridan, Niall McGinn and Milan Misun.
Details on the tournament aren't easy to find but this site seems to be covering it
Ryan Conroy's goal against the Australian national team in the semi-finals earned Celtic their final place while Rangers beat Aston Villa in the other semi final.
The Celtic side, coached by Willie McStay, beat a Hong Kong select, under the name of Citizen, 3-1 in the last eight thanks to a double from Mark Millar and another goal from Conroy.
In their previous match Celtic beat local side Kitchee 2-0 with Millar and Paul McGowan the goalscorers.
Celtic are making their tenth appearance in the tournament which covers all levels of football from under-16's through to veterans.
Included in the Celtic squad is Cillian Sheridan, Niall McGinn and Milan Misun.
Details on the tournament aren't easy to find but this site seems to be covering it
Managerial merry-go-round madness
Thankfully the recent pain of watching Celtic throwing away the title to a woefully inept Rangers side has been eased by the departure of Gordon Strachan.
What happens next is the big guessing game, and guessing game it surely is with internet message boards as likely to come up with the answer as any old fashioned traditional media.
Without doubt only Dermot Desmond decides on who manages Celtic, Peter Lawwell gets on with the legwork and John Reid delivers soundbites for reassurance.
On past evidence Desmond prefers to recruit from England which makes Davie Moyes, Tony Mowbray and Owen Coyle the obvious contenders with Roy Keane a very interesting dark horse.
The sounding out process will have been underway for a while, no one ruling themselves in or out and knowing that being linked with Celtic won't do them any harm in future contract negotiations.
Personally I think that Mowbray is the favourite but there are similar cases to be put up for most candidates with three of those four being former Celtic players and Coyle a very obvious Celtic fan if not quite in the Chic Charnley mould!
A new direction is urgently required at Celtic but curiously I think that just three first-team signings are required to create a team capable of winning next season's SPL with some ease.
Those signings start at left-back, the position Celtic have been screaming out for for two years or four transfer windows in real money.
A competent, steady-eddie type would do nicely, shouldn't burst the bank and provide some welcome stability to the defence with enough central defenders to pick a solid combination from to complement Andreas Hinkel on the right.
Two strikers to compete with Scott McDonald and a fully fit, and confident, Shaun Maloney would make a world of difference while Scott Brown and Aiden McGeady can form the basis of a strong midfield backed up by others such as Marc Crossas, Barry Robson and Paul Hartley with hopefully Mark Millar and Simon Ferry making first team inroads.
The new manager will also inherit Scott Cuthbert, Paul Caddis, Cillian Sheridan and Paul McGowan who have been spared the last five months at Celtic whilst enjoying regular first-team football in the SPL.
It's unrealistic to expect all five to make a first team impact next season but when Strachan arrived he couldn't have anticipated the contributions of McGeady, Maloney and Stephen McManus in his first season.
We have a more than capable squad for winning in Scotland for the new manager to inherit. Adding some variety to the style of play, some belief and new faces to that squad will work wonders.
Realistically the Champions League is unlikely next season, our main pleasure is likely to be watching a woeful Rangers side recreate the campaigns of the mid 90s when giants like Auxerre and Grasshoppers were assured of easy points with Christian Gross once famously describing Rangers as a team of holidaymakers.
Our concern however is Celtic and after the straightjacket approach of Strachan the support is crying out for some entertainment mixed with success, elements that can be achieved together.
The new appointment is eagerly anticipated with a new direction required, one that is successful and pleasing on the eye without having to be Brazil 1970ish.
Reaching out and communicating with supporters is a key element, there are enough channels available to the new manager through the club website, Celtic TV and the Celtic View for the manager to get his message across without digging a hole for himself with childish run-ins with the traditional forms of media.
All sorts of names have been guessed at in newspapers with some happy to cover five or six names in the one piece illustrating that outwith a very small circle, possibly consisting of only three men, no-one else really has any idea of how Celtic are going about the recruitment process.
Without any genuine leads some have turned to criticise the Celtic support with the old chestnut of 'Celtic-minded' coined by Jock Brown I believe, the favoured way to put in some sly digs at the support.
Celtic fans like people who understand the club, Henrik Larsson, Jock Stein, Wim Jansen and Danny McGrain weren't born and raised as Celtic supporters but quickly realised the unique importance of the club to thousands of supporters near and far and knew that being at Celtic was more than just a nice line on their cv.
Almost all of Martin O'Neill's players quickly realised that Celtic was a bit different and special, Alan Thompson is often seen at Celtic matches, I doubt if he holds Aston Villa or Bolton in the same regard.
Does Chris Sutton follow Chelsea and Blackburn as closely as Celtic? Does John Hartson keep tabs on Luton and Arsenal the way that he watches Celtic?
Celtic are different from others in a way that's hard to describe, impossible for the sceptical outsider to realise.
Some crucial decisions are coming soon at the club, a new leader and direction to emerge which will hopefully point the club back in the right direction giving the supporters the same feeling as the Larsson inspired O'Neill years or the highs of Champions League qualifications under Strachan.
What happens next is the big guessing game, and guessing game it surely is with internet message boards as likely to come up with the answer as any old fashioned traditional media.
Without doubt only Dermot Desmond decides on who manages Celtic, Peter Lawwell gets on with the legwork and John Reid delivers soundbites for reassurance.
On past evidence Desmond prefers to recruit from England which makes Davie Moyes, Tony Mowbray and Owen Coyle the obvious contenders with Roy Keane a very interesting dark horse.
The sounding out process will have been underway for a while, no one ruling themselves in or out and knowing that being linked with Celtic won't do them any harm in future contract negotiations.
Personally I think that Mowbray is the favourite but there are similar cases to be put up for most candidates with three of those four being former Celtic players and Coyle a very obvious Celtic fan if not quite in the Chic Charnley mould!
A new direction is urgently required at Celtic but curiously I think that just three first-team signings are required to create a team capable of winning next season's SPL with some ease.
Those signings start at left-back, the position Celtic have been screaming out for for two years or four transfer windows in real money.
A competent, steady-eddie type would do nicely, shouldn't burst the bank and provide some welcome stability to the defence with enough central defenders to pick a solid combination from to complement Andreas Hinkel on the right.
Two strikers to compete with Scott McDonald and a fully fit, and confident, Shaun Maloney would make a world of difference while Scott Brown and Aiden McGeady can form the basis of a strong midfield backed up by others such as Marc Crossas, Barry Robson and Paul Hartley with hopefully Mark Millar and Simon Ferry making first team inroads.
The new manager will also inherit Scott Cuthbert, Paul Caddis, Cillian Sheridan and Paul McGowan who have been spared the last five months at Celtic whilst enjoying regular first-team football in the SPL.
It's unrealistic to expect all five to make a first team impact next season but when Strachan arrived he couldn't have anticipated the contributions of McGeady, Maloney and Stephen McManus in his first season.
We have a more than capable squad for winning in Scotland for the new manager to inherit. Adding some variety to the style of play, some belief and new faces to that squad will work wonders.
Realistically the Champions League is unlikely next season, our main pleasure is likely to be watching a woeful Rangers side recreate the campaigns of the mid 90s when giants like Auxerre and Grasshoppers were assured of easy points with Christian Gross once famously describing Rangers as a team of holidaymakers.
Our concern however is Celtic and after the straightjacket approach of Strachan the support is crying out for some entertainment mixed with success, elements that can be achieved together.
The new appointment is eagerly anticipated with a new direction required, one that is successful and pleasing on the eye without having to be Brazil 1970ish.
Reaching out and communicating with supporters is a key element, there are enough channels available to the new manager through the club website, Celtic TV and the Celtic View for the manager to get his message across without digging a hole for himself with childish run-ins with the traditional forms of media.
All sorts of names have been guessed at in newspapers with some happy to cover five or six names in the one piece illustrating that outwith a very small circle, possibly consisting of only three men, no-one else really has any idea of how Celtic are going about the recruitment process.
Without any genuine leads some have turned to criticise the Celtic support with the old chestnut of 'Celtic-minded' coined by Jock Brown I believe, the favoured way to put in some sly digs at the support.
Celtic fans like people who understand the club, Henrik Larsson, Jock Stein, Wim Jansen and Danny McGrain weren't born and raised as Celtic supporters but quickly realised the unique importance of the club to thousands of supporters near and far and knew that being at Celtic was more than just a nice line on their cv.
Almost all of Martin O'Neill's players quickly realised that Celtic was a bit different and special, Alan Thompson is often seen at Celtic matches, I doubt if he holds Aston Villa or Bolton in the same regard.
Does Chris Sutton follow Chelsea and Blackburn as closely as Celtic? Does John Hartson keep tabs on Luton and Arsenal the way that he watches Celtic?
Celtic are different from others in a way that's hard to describe, impossible for the sceptical outsider to realise.
Some crucial decisions are coming soon at the club, a new leader and direction to emerge which will hopefully point the club back in the right direction giving the supporters the same feeling as the Larsson inspired O'Neill years or the highs of Champions League qualifications under Strachan.
Friday, 22 May 2009
No cull of u-19 side
Some Chinese whispers are going around suggesting a massive cull of youth team players at Celtic in particular the u-19 side.
Sweeping comments about every player being axed aren't correct, I don't have the full facts but believe that those players in their final year with the under-19's have been released.
Other players from the current u-19 side remain at Celtic, amongst them Richie Towell and Luca Santonicito.
James Forrest who played so well when he made his reserve debut against Dundee United is of course retained as is Andrew Kennedy who has played in goals for the last two matches.
Sadly it is the end of a brief Celtic career for many players but there are examples for them to follow all over the place.
Mick Doyle is captain of Coventry, John Potter is the St Mirren captain with various others making an impact throughout the game including James Goodwin at Huddesfield, Kevin McBride (Falkirk), Gary Irvine & Chris Millar (St Johnstone), David van Zanten (Hibs).
There are plenty of others littered around, development and progress comes at strange times, hopefully some of the released bhoys can find a level and platform to go on and make a career for themselves, always knowing that at one stage they were good enough to wear the hoops.
Sweeping comments about every player being axed aren't correct, I don't have the full facts but believe that those players in their final year with the under-19's have been released.
Other players from the current u-19 side remain at Celtic, amongst them Richie Towell and Luca Santonicito.
James Forrest who played so well when he made his reserve debut against Dundee United is of course retained as is Andrew Kennedy who has played in goals for the last two matches.
Sadly it is the end of a brief Celtic career for many players but there are examples for them to follow all over the place.
Mick Doyle is captain of Coventry, John Potter is the St Mirren captain with various others making an impact throughout the game including James Goodwin at Huddesfield, Kevin McBride (Falkirk), Gary Irvine & Chris Millar (St Johnstone), David van Zanten (Hibs).
There are plenty of others littered around, development and progress comes at strange times, hopefully some of the released bhoys can find a level and platform to go on and make a career for themselves, always knowing that at one stage they were good enough to wear the hoops.
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