Celtic v Porto
9:15 am on the 22nd of May, 2003I didn’t want to fall to the temptation of writing about football again but, here I am…
I was in a tough position. I didn’t know who to support. I am a Rangers fan as you may know. I wanted the Scottish team to do well. I didn’t want Celtic to win - my logic including that if Celtic won then they would definitely win the league as well, on adrenalin. Now that they’ve lost they might still win, but hopefully they’ll be tired and a bit pathetic and will just rollover at Rugby Park in Sunday.
But then again I did want them to win (if I ignored my argument about the league), because it’s good for Scottish football. And then once the match had started I was supporting the team who were waving Saltires (Porto) and wanting the Irish team to lose. It was based on many things but mostly these two:
- The commentary was incredibly biased - Dougie ‘very red in the face, very blonde on top, very green at heart’ Donnelly, Rob ‘I hate Rangers therefore Celtic are great’ McLean and Sandy ‘I used to play for Rangers so I’ll hide my bias by supporting Celtic’ Clarke - It was a bit like how I always try to support England before the game but as soon as it starts I hate them because of the commentary.
- Because Celtic are a horrible team to watch. To put it mildly they are a team full of cheating f***s. Bobo Balde should by rights have been locked up by now. Chris Sutton and Neil Lennon are both stupid, arrogant, antagonistic twats. As it Alan Thompson for that matter. And I defy anyone to find someone who is as obviously useless yet somehow effective as Didier Agathe - all he does is run fast down the flank and hit it off a defender for a corner, push him inside and he’s lost.
So I went through the match cheering Porto but still feeling slightly guilty for it. In the end I think it was a fair result, the better team won however much time they wasted. Everyone went on about how they were cheating but all they did was waste time and that all got added on to the end anyway, their rolling around didn’t cloud the judgement of the ref in anyway just showed he isn’t to hot at controlling players in off the ball incidents.
Have a go at me if you like but I won’t change my mind because I haven’t really made it up yet.
May 22nd, 2003 at 9:29 am on the 22nd of May, 2003
Ya big bluenose!
I think, over the whole (in the morning after) that Porto deserved to win, and I’m not denying that the fouls were fouls but the reaction of the Porto players was atrocious, and the referee could’ve been a lot stronger.
Ohh and I’m neutral (well I support Dumbarton if that counts)… and it’s the morning after and it’s only a game!
May 22nd, 2003 at 1:53 pm on the 22nd of May, 2003
Well I wanted Porto to win. Celtic fans I know go all misty eyed over the Lisbon Lions, and they weren’t even born. I don’t know how good they were (I know, I know they won the European Cup, but here me out), but all we hear now is how magnificent they were, because they beat an understreangth Inter team 2-1. But I’m not belittling them.
My point is that hides the weaknesses of teams, they’re forgotten. glossed over. If Celtic had won last night, in five, years time, Lennon would have been remembered as one of the finest midfielders ever (if you think I’m wrong, I saw someone say that out Burns in print the other day, and he was McStay’s hodcarrier). Ten years, the fact he’d have been creative, fifteen years, a lithe athletic graceful player, who could place a pass on a six pence, with a shot like a thunderbolt (copyright Bob Crampsey). And Larson apart, not one deserves that.
And yes Porto playacted, but Rob Maclean and Sandy Clark are atrocious. Thomson half rugby tackled one of their players in extra-time, knocking him onto the running track. I was waiting for the red, or a second yellow card. Rob Maclean complained about playacting. Sandy Clark pointed out he did land on his head on the running track, then said he thought it should have been a drop ball. They’d be more credible if they could at least only complain about the obvious ones.
April 17th, 2004 at 6:28 pm on the 17th of April, 2004
u toss celtic are a great team at least they can last in europe and fukin dunfermiline lay down to da gers and celtic played there heart and got fuk all.
April 19th, 2004 at 8:59 am on the 19th of April, 2004
Bitter? Personally ‘Chrsis’, I feel your sentiments, grammar, spelling perfectly elucidate the mentality of the average celtic ‘fan’.
While your response is as late as the average neil Lennon tackle.
April 21st, 2004 at 3:03 pm on the 21st of April, 2004
I can’t believe a year on, there is a stupid Old Firm debate going on. You’re both wrong. The Old Firm are bad. Evil, even.
Both of them.
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