Celticunderground:the Celtic Football Fan Podcast

This week Harry is joined by Mark Cooper from warm and humid Buenos Aires to discuss the state of play at Celtic and Scottish football.  Trying hard to not sound as sycophantic as Graham Hunter the bhoys meander through a discussion of the last two games, Brendan’s comments on the state of the pitch before somehow getting to discuss how good Maloney was/could have been!  Oh and they also find time to giggle at New Huns.   Prior to the bhoys chatting we have all the audio from the Brendan post Motherwell press conference and then we have the return of the Celtic Wiki with the tale of Jospeh Cullen who will be remembered at St Kentigerns Cemeterym Glasgow at noon on 25th February prior to the Hamilton Fixture.    It’s a bumper filled podcast so Enjoy… This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecelticunderground.substack.com/subscribe

This podcast contains audio first created as part of the Fergus 20 yr Anthology, covering the RFC omnishambles.  It also has audio from Brendan and Mousa after the ICT thumping. When consuming my football it's always through the optics of Celtic.  Even when reviewing the success or failure of Cathro at Hearts, McInnes at Aberdeen or Lennon at Hibs it's viewed through the spectrum of the impact on Celtic or Celtic people.   It is with this in mind that I approach the anniversary of RFC Administration Day.  They are no longer relevant to us except in one way.  Until we get the myth that they somehow survived death, I will always celebrate and remind others of their demise. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecelticunderground.substack.com/subscribe

This week it is St Anthony who is back on interview duties and his guest is a man well known to those listeners based in Scotland but may also be known to those further afield - STV Political Editor and big Celtic Man Bernard Ponsonby.   Bernard joined STV in 1990 and has gone on to be one of the heavyweights of political reporting in Scotland.  Journalist of the Year in 2015 he has covered some of the most momentous events in the last 100 years from the formation of a Scottish Parliament, the resignation of a sitting Speaker of the House of Commons and of course the Scottish and EU Referendum.  But is Bernard happiest of all when he’s watching the hoops…?   Enjoy. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecelticunderground.substack.com/subscribe

This week sees the return of a man of culture…oh sorry a man from the City of Culture, Hullbhoy. Hullbhoy joins Harry to discuss the marvellous football under Brendan and specifically to review the Hearts and Aberdeen games along with the sales that we didn’t make in the transfer window.   In the process of the meandering chat Harry & Hullbhoy also touch on the runners and riders for 2nd spot. How the Dons would be a better team with a better manager, has Cathro started getting the Jambos playing his way and do Rangers fans sit listening to their manager playing Football B******t Bingo?   Enjoy… This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecelticunderground.substack.com/subscribe

Last night Celtic continued their master class of dominance in Scottish football with a 1-0 win over the country’s second best side. This is despite Celtic being without 4 of the top 5 scorers this season and fielding no recognised striker. This on top of the fact that Aberdeen had played on Friday evening and Celtic on Sunday. This gap of days would mean that the Dons players could have a day off following their victory over Dundee and still have 3 days to prepare. Celtic on the other hand would have had one day (Monday) off and trained Tuesday and more than likely no-one who played Sunday would have trained Tuesday. In effect we had zero days prep.   We saw the consequences of this prep as the game unfolded. Aberdeen did NOTHING productive across the 90 minutes. Their tactic was to stop us playing – something they did well in the first half. We had changed our shape to a back three but they had 3 men press when Gordon had the ball to minimise our ability to play out easily from the back. Superior fitness to

This week Harry is joined by a guest from Ireland, living in Canada who loves Celtic.  The guest this week is journalist and one of the two stars of the new film Celtic Soul - Mr Eoin O'Callaghan. Celtic Soul follows Canadian actor and funny man Jay Baruchel on an epic road trip through Canada, Ireland and Scotland with his new friend, well-known Irish soccer journalist Eoin O’Callaghan. It’s a story that spans 200 years of colorful history and that will take the duo eastward from Montreal to Westport, Ireland – where Jay’s ancestors set sail for Canada, like so many others – and finally Glasgow, where Jay will fulfill a lifelong dream: to watch a match at Celtic Park, one of the wildest and most hallowed grounds in world football.   Enjoy... This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecelticunderground.substack.com/subscribe

This week St Anthony returns to the podcast to interview Celtic Non-executive Director Brian Wilson.   Brian is well known to all in Scottish society and Celtic fandom for his numerous high profile roles.  A famous Labour politician, Brian was an MP for over 20 years, serving as a Minister under Tony Blair and was a we ll kent voice during the independence referendum.  Brian is also known for his roles as a journalist and commentator in addition to his numerous business roles.  In Celtic land Brian has been a Non Executive Director for some time and is a well known Celtic historian.  It is his latter role as a historian that interested St Anthony the most.   Enjoy… This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecelticunderground.substack.com/subscribe

This week I am re-joined by old favourite Lachie Mor.  Regular listeners may recall that Lachie was something of a doubting Thomas when it came to the appointment of Brendan…”what’s he won?” and “He’s not done anything in Europe” were two criticisms I recall.  With the halfway point of the first season under our belts I thought the season review and forward projections after the break would be the opportune time to revisit Lachie.  I don’t think I’m giving away too many spoilers when I say he’s changed his position on this.   Once this is established we review the Brendan first 11, discuss the window and the forthcoming 4 games.   Enjoy… This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecelticunderground.substack.com/subscribe

Happy New Year.  We cannot believe it’s 2017 and Mark Cooper and Harry Brady cannot believe that our terrestrial highlights on TV are not as good as they were 30 years ago.   Mark Cooper is now safely tucked up in Argentina with all the warmth that the southern hemisphere brings at this time of year however he is only just home having popped back up North for the festive season.  During that time he attended the Rangers game and gives us a perspective of a man who’s been away from this dear green place for most of the last 10 years.  He reviews the game, the atmosphere and the TV coverage.   After all this we touch on the continued development of the team by Brendan and what players may come next.   Enjoy… This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecelticunderground.substack.com/subscribe

Seasons Greetings to you one and old and speaking of  auld, if you’re a supporter with memories of the early to mid 70’s you will recall that it was a changing time for goalkeepers at Celtic.  Faither time Ronnie Simpson had retired and Jock was chopping and changing keepers more often than new Rangers change owners.  For me I can recall seeing Ally Hunter, Patrick Barclay, Roy Baines and Denis Connaghan all vying for the Number 1 jersey before Big Peter Latchford secured the first choice position and it’s Denis that we turn to for this Christmas Podcast edition.   Enjoy… This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecelticunderground.substack.com/subscribe

To quote Noddy Holder “It’s Christmaaaaaaasss!”  It’s the season of goodwill to all men and times when we all deserve a little treat so hopefully my treat to you is worthwhile and one you actually want.  I’ve had a chat with Lawrence Donegan and with his regular invites over to the @bytheminCeltic podcasts I thought it only right to return the favour so we have Lawrence and his regular guest Mr Remy McSwain nipping across to The Celtic Underground for a chat.   The bhoys review the Motherwell game, chat about how wonderful it is that even our worst domestic performance garners 3 points and then we turn our sights onto BBC Sportsound and the radio punditry in Scotland.   Enjoy… This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecelticunderground.substack.com/subscribe

The Celtic Underground - Kenny, Brendan and St Anthony of The Celtic   We pride ourselves on the quality of guests here on Celtic Underground and of late we’ve been to Australia and back with the world of Sport and Japan and back with music, but sometimes great guests can be found on your doorstep and this week we speak to someone of this Parish to discuss Celtic…our very own St Anthony and if you’re a fan of Celtic books you’ll know him as author of Kenny of The Celtic Mr Stephen Murray. Stephen and I start by having a brief review of our final Champions League game of this season, the 1-1 draw with Man City, before moving on to the meat and bones of the podcast which is his latest book on Kenny Dalglish. Stephen gives us some idea of what we may come across in the book before discussing the perfect Celtic team of the Kenny years and the “what could have been team” of the 10 years after he left.  After that trip down memory lane we then fast forwardto the Rodgers Revolution and discuss just how enjoyable tim

There are fewer games bigger in football than Champions League matches and in Glasgow these don't come much bigger than Celtic v Barca.  We are only in the embryonic stages of the Rodgers revolution but already we can all see that the club is taking it's first steps on what looks like it will be a wonderful journey and the podcast starts off with chat from Brendan giving an insight into his vision for this club.  He does this whilst interweaving chat about Barca and the forthcoming Cup Final.   After the Brendan chat Jack Lyons and I have a brief conversation about how the two teams may set up before the podcast returns to the main pre-Barca press conference with chat from Broony and more from the manager.  If you wonder why the main conference occasionally jumps from one topic to the next it's where I've chopped out the Spanish translation and just missed the start of the next question.   Enjoy... This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes,

Continuing our series of interviews with celebrity Hoops fans, this week we are joined by a man plying his trade in another form of "football", that is Rugby Football. This week we are joined by Leeds Rhino forward and MASSIVE Celtic fan Keith Galloway. Keith, son of a Dundonian, was born in Sydney and played for the Leeds Rhinos. A New South Wales State of Origin and Australian international representative forward, he previously played for the Wests Tigers and Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks. Keith is also an ambassador for 3 charities. Enjoy... This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecelticunderground.substack.com/subscribe

The joys of this podcast are the many occasions when we get to chat with Celtic fans who are experts in another field and this week I had the pleasure to sit down and chat Celtic and music with the gentleman James Grant. Brought up in Bridgeton then Castlemilk, James was part of that group of Scottish musicians that was so prominent in the 1980's.  His career commenced with the band Friends Again but James really came into his own as the front man of Love & Money.  Hopefully you find this chat as fascinating as I did. Naturally the podcast makes reference to The Celtic FC Foundation Christmas appeal and there'll be links on the site.  Also St Anthony (Stephen Murray) has a new book coming out just in time for Christmas.  It follows on from his book about the 4-2 season Ten Men won The League and is about his (and many other's) first Celtic hero.  The book is Kenny of The Celtic and is launched this coming week; http://cqnbookstore.co.uk/shop.php?p=75   Enjoy... This is a public episode. If you’d like to d

This week on the podcast we have a respected journalist and a blast from the past. Harry is joined by Hugh MacDonald to discuss all things Celtic and journalistic. Hugh's discussion of his earliest games and heroes moves quickly to the the modern club and the job being done by Brendan. Following from this long ranging discussion we then have the return of an old favourite with the dusting down of the Tales From The Celtic Wiki. In conjunction with the Celtic Graves Society we bring you Patrick Gallacher. So don't forget; Sat 5th 12 Noon - St Kentigerns Balmore Rd Sat 5th pre game - GB Foodbank Collection Sun 6th 3pm - St Marys Mass Sun 6th all day - Founding Fathers Fast Enjoy... This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecelticunderground.substack.com/subscribe

This week Harry is joined by Matt Clark, manager of Australia's first world heavyweight champion...for 3 weeks. Matt is also a Celtic man and the podcast is a fascinating meander explaining a second generation Australian, who's Grandad questioned Rudolph Hess ('with Whiskey on his breath") came to be such an avid Celtic fan. It jumps from the Hess story to being his fighter being punched by the Chechen President, being secretly drugged and then cleared through to predictions for Celtic Playing in Aberdeen and Germany. A joyride of a podcast it also includes new music from Glasgow band The Snuts. Enjoy... This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecelticunderground.substack.com/subscribe

Oh Hampden in the Sun, Rodgers skelped Mark Warburton.. This week Harry is joined by Jack Lyons to discuss and dissect the League Cup Semi Final victory over the Zombies. The bhoys review the tactical changes both managers made before and during the game and decide the Brendan is of course best. The briefly touch on the performance of the clown Thompson before switching attention back to a brief review of the loss midweek to The German Team. Following ALL of this we get a quick prediction from Jack for the scoreline in the forthcoming Ross County and Aberdeen games which are the last bit of proper football before Scotland get beaten at Wembley and the media get all agnsty for a couple of days about the state of our game. Enjoy! This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecelticunderground.substack.com/subscribe

This week Mark Cooper joins Harry to discuss the fantastic coverage that the club received following the dramatic 3-3 draw with Manchester City in the Champions League. Following on from that the bhoys then have a preview of the forthcoming tia against the Germans and then the Cup Semi Final against the former Huns and in previewing realise that victory on Wednesday all but provides for European football beyond Christmas and victory on Sunday all but guarantees the resignation of a manager! It wouldn't be a South American podcast without discussion on why Celtic don't fish in that pond - an interesting debate considering the departure of John Park the day after this was recorded. There is new music as usual (links on the site) podcast recommendations and the Foundation. Enjoy. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecelticunderground.substack.com/subscribe

We are in the desert of international football and out of that desert comes the oasis of a Celtic Underground Podcast. Following on from the close season podcast with James Kelly MSP on his process of trying to repeal OBFA Harry has a catch up with Jeanette Findlay of Fans Against Criminalisation on the act, its consequences and how YOU can help with its repeal. Jeanette is joined by Jim to provide us with how this act is being implimented by the police and fiscal. If, like us, you find this act rediculous, illiberal and not fit for purpose then you can write to your MSP, attend a surgery or complete the Parliament survey; http://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/S/FootballActRepealBill/ http://fansagainstcriminalisation.com/ Also, sadly, a name familiar to many of us online, @Napoleon_Celtic died suddenly at the end of September. For those who'd been on The Big Lhist or just kicking around Celtic supporters groups will also have come across and know him by his real name of Iain Tarbet. Iain's funeral is this Friday (14t