Celtic Soccer Crew
Celtic Soccer Crew

Author: John O'Kane

Publisher: Kings Road Publishing

Published: 2012-04-19

Total Pages: 256

ISBN-13: 1857827546

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John O'Kane delivers a gripping tale of a life dedicated to football violence and gives an unparalled insight into the reality of being a career hooligan. With 33 criminal convictions against him, plus a further 33 cases either dropped or with a not guilty verdict, O'Kane has been remanded nine times including one charge of attempted murder when he was aged just 18. He became rapidly embroiled in a life of violence and was in and out of prison just as many times as he was in and out of a hospital bed.His was a life dedicated to the gang he founded, the Celtic Soccer Crew. O'Kane describes the extraordinary struggle of a gang of football hooligans to survive, despite discovering an unexpected enemy: the indomitable Celtic support - a support that guarded its reputation and good name with a passion O'Kane hadn't reckoned with, even as a Celtic supporter himself. But out on the streets and causing mayhem, the Celtic Soccer Crew, including, incredibly, their girlfriends, showed they were not taking grief from anyone.

The Celtic FC Miscellany
The Celtic FC Miscellany

Author: David W Potter

Publisher: The History Press

Published: 2011-09-01

Total Pages: 196

ISBN-13: 0752490591

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Celtic is an unusual football club, inspiring strong feelings in almost everyone. It is of course virtually impossible to chronicle all that has happened in the history of the club, but this little gem draws together some of the most interesting, quirky and downright odd events that have taken place over their long and auspicious existence. Packed with facts, stats, trivia, stories and legend, the reader will delve deep to find out all about the events and people who have shaped the club into what it is today. Featured here are a plethora of stories on this charismatic football club ranging from how the club was formed, to little-known facts about players and managers. Here you will find player feats, individual records and plenty of amusing quotes. Rivalry with Rangers, favourite managers and cult heroes from yesteryear – a book no true Celtic fan should be without.

The Express Years
The Express Years

Author: Jack Webster

Publisher: Black & White Publishing

Published: 1994-06-15

Total Pages: 303

ISBN-13: 1845028740

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Contains a selection of articles that were written for the "Scottish Daily Express" during the 1960s and 1970s. Covering a wide range of subjects and experiences - from trips to Moscow to meetings with Charlie Chaplin and Mohammed Ali, this book is a companion to Webster's volumes of autobiography.

Anyone but Celtic: Inside the culture that created the Lanarkshire Referees Association
Anyone but Celtic: Inside the culture that created the Lanarkshire Referees Association

Author: Paul Larkin

Publisher: Lulu.com

Published: 2015-07-20

Total Pages: 260

ISBN-13: 1326128159

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"Can you keep a secret? Will you be loyal? How old is your Granny? If you can answer these questions positively, you may be ready for the Lanarkshire Referees Association. Don't worry about things like ability, athleticism or experience, they are already in your report..." Why have the Lanarkshire Referees Association been allowed to act however they like in Scottish football, with impunity, since at least 1960? What sort of culture allows institutional bias to go on for decades? Probably the sort that allows the Lanarkshire Referees Association to have a policy of recruitment designed to ensure anyone but Celtic win football matches. Welcome to Scotland...

The Last Line: My Autobiography
The Last Line: My Autobiography

Author: Packie Bonner

Publisher: Random House

Published: 2015-10-01

Total Pages: 370

ISBN-13: 1473528615

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Irish national hero, a Celtic great and their most-capped player, Patrick 'Packie' Bonner is a goalkeeping legend. He was Jock Stein's last signing for the club when he left his native Donegal for the city of Glasgow in 1978, where Packie evolved from being a shy, homesick teenager into a confident, world-class talent and first-choice goalkeeper. Billy McNeill handed him a debut on St Patrick's Day in 1979, and Packie went on to provide the last line of defence a record 641 times for the club. A seasoned Irish internationalist, Packie was a vital component in the most-celebrated Irish national squad ever, playing in a golden era under the tutelage of the inimitable Jack Charlton. In The Last Line, Packie shares stories from his incredible career, including his greatest moment in front of a global audience during the Italia '90 World Cup tournament when he became the penalty shoot-out hero of the nation by saving a spot-kick that took the Irish to the quarter-finals stage in their very first World Cup adventure. It was an iconic moment that would change his life forever not least because, whilst in Italy, he, along with his teammates, had an audience with another goalkeeper, Pope John Paul II. Throughout his 80 cap international career, he competed against the very best in the world. Men such as Ruud Gullit, Marco Van Basten, Gheorghe Hagi, Roberto Baggio and Gary Lineker came to know the name Packie Bonner. Equally, in his glittering Celtic career that included the winning of four Scottish League titles, three Scottish Cups and one Scottish League Cup, Packie Bonner played alongside some great Celtic names like Tommy Burns, Paul McStay, and Murdo Macleod. Along the way, Packie had to endure a career-threatening back injury, as well as the devastation of a routine save going wrong and costing a goal on the world stage against Holland in 1994, ultimately leading to elimination from the World Cup in America. More than just the telling of trophies, titles and triumphs, this is the story of a Celtic legend and a true great of Irish International football.

The Accidental Footballer
The Accidental Footballer

Author: Pat Nevin

Publisher: Monoray

Published: 2021-05-20

Total Pages: 355

ISBN-13: 1913183394

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*** THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 'A heroic outsider - a pleasure to read.' - The Guardian 'A fulsome evocation of football before the Premier League.' - The i 'Such a good storyteller...joyous.' - Financial Times 'Honest, raw, revealing and very funny. How to live a life and career to the full. Insightful book about the most successful outsider inside football ever...' - Henry Winter, Chief Football Writer, The Times 'Pat is a wonderful one-off...and this is the story of why that is.' - John Murray, Chief Sports Correspondent, BBC Radio 5 Live 'Unusually vibrant and elegant with heroic doses of humour, insight and self-effacement, this is an absolute must-read for the football connoisseur.' - Omid Djalili 'The biggest influence of my professional career both on and off the pitch.' - Graeme Le Saux 'I grew up captivated by Pat Nevin the player. As a man he taught me even more about the beauty of the game. One of football's great mavericks, and Chelsea's greatest players. And he can spin a mean tune too.' - Sam Matterface 'I used to walk miles to see Pat Nevin play football and I'd do the same now to read his thoughts. Always challenging, always entertaining.' - Lord Sebastian Coe 'A refreshingly honest and thought-provoking autobiography. As deftly delivered as some of Pat's ball skills in his 1980's heyday.' - ToffeeWeb Pat Nevin never wanted to be a professional footballer. His future was clear, he'd become a teacher like his brothers. There was only one problem with this - Pat was far too good to avoid attention. Raised in Glasgow's East End, Pat loved the game, playing for hours and obsessively following Celtic. But as he grew up, he also loved Joy Division, wearing his Indie 'gloom boom' coat and going on marches - hardly typical footballer behaviour! Placed firmly in the 80s and 90s, before the advent of the Premier League, and often with racism and violence present, Pat Nevin writes with honesty, insight and wry humour. We are transported vividly to Chelsea and Everton, and colourfully diverted by John Peel, Morrissey and nights out at the Hacienda. The Accidental Footballer is a different kind of football memoir. Capturing all the joys of professional football as well as its contradictions and conflicts, it's about being defined by your actions, not your job, and is the perfect reminder of how life can throw you the most extraordinary surprises, when you least expect it.

The Lisbon Lions
The Lisbon Lions

Author: Billy McNeill

Publisher: Black & White Publishing

Published: 2007-05-03

Total Pages: 275

ISBN-13: 1845028708

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On May 25, 1967 Celtic Football Club made history by becoming the first British team to win the European Cup. Eleven players, all born within a 30-mile radius of Celtic Park, beat the Italian aristocrats of Inter Milan and took their place forever in the annals of fame. This is the story, four decades after that memorable triumph in the Portuguese capital, of each of the eight surviving Lisbon Lions, their own official take on exactly what happened before, during and after that never-to-be-forgotten encounter that shook the football world.Remarkably, the Lions have never sat down in the intervening 40 years and put their exclusive thoughts together in one book - this is that unique book. Billy McNeill, Jim Craig, Tommy Gemmell, John Clark, Willie Wallace, Stevie Chalmers, Bertie Auld and Bobby Lennox give their forthright views on the march towards Lisbon and a place in football history.Who was the Lisbon Lion who thought the European Cup Final was the easiest game of the season? Who now admits he made life difficult for Jock Stein? Who was the player who was conned by the Celtic manager? Which Lion had a running battle with his team-mates throughout the European Cup Final?And who thought Celtic had won the trophy before the kick-off? All is revealed!"The Lions" also give fascinating and thought-provoking insights to manager supreme Jock Stein, goalkeeper extraordinary Ronnie Simpson, midfield master Bobby Murdoch and the incomparable Jimmy Johnstone.Candid, frank and funny, "The Lisbon Lions: The Real Inside Story" reveals the secrets of Lisbon 1967, unlocked by the men who knew the inside track - the players themselves.

Unfinished Business
Unfinished Business

Author: Jack McCallum

Publisher: Diversion Books

Published: 2013-10-01

Total Pages: 388

ISBN-13: 1938120876

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NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author Jack McCallum (DREAM TEAM) gives an inside look at the legendary Boston Celtics during a season of change. “One of the five best NBA books ever written.” —Bill Simmons, ESPN In the 1990-91 basketball season, the Boston Celtics were a team in transition, both on and off the court. Jack McCallum, also the author of the critically-acclaimed SEVEN SECONDS OR LESS, chronicled this crucial year from the back-room planning on draft day to Larry Bird’s unforgettable effort in the postseason. With aging superstar Bird nearing the end of his career, the season was filled with glorious highs and devastating lows. McCallum gets up close and personal with the players and management from this storied franchise, showing the larger-than-life characters in a rarely-seen light. The day-to-day drama of Bird's aching back plays in concert with the drumbeat of banter from his frontcourt partner, Kevin McHale. The book reveals the deep bonds—and sometimes deeper rivalries—of the locker room, and also provides an inside look at a league that was entering its Golden Age.

Celtic's Lost Legend
Celtic's Lost Legend

Author: Bryan Cooney

Publisher: Black & White Publishing Ltd

Published: 2019-06-06

Total Pages: 235

ISBN-13: 1785302760

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The incredible truth behind the legend of George Connelly Hailed as the greatest Scottish talent of his generation, George Connelly made 254 appearances for Celtic and played in the Scotland team that qualified for the 1974 World Cup Finals. But at the age of 26 he walked away from football and the promise of a glittering career. So, what went wrong? George Connelly had a rare talent. He could pass long or short with unerring accuracy, could entertain crowds with his keepie-uppie skills and seemed to have the world at his feet. But with a troubled private life and the pressures of stardom weighing on his shoulders, the man behind the laidback exterior was falling apart. In Celtic's Lost Legend, George Connelly tells the remarkable story of why he walked away from his dreams and from the team he loved. Here, at last, he answers the question that has intrigued football fans for more than forty years. Whatever became of George Connelly?

Take Me to Your Paradise
Take Me to Your Paradise

Author: Liam Kelly

Publisher:

Published: 2019-10-15

Total Pages: 372

ISBN-13: 9781700120274

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When it comes to sporting history, Celtic Football Club is at the foremost of an elite list. Yet in all that has chronicled the unmatchable uniqueness of Celtic, little has focused exclusively on individual incidents and events. Take Me To Your Paradise seeks to redress matters by reliving the controversies, little known tales and unusual events throughout the annals of this grand old team. No time is wasted in capturing the reader's attention, with an astonishing opening incident relating to (Founding Father) Pat Welsh's daring escape, aided by a sympathetic soldier named Sargent Maley. This incident precedes the first event, in which Brother Walfrid holds his first charity football venture at Barrowfield Park in 1886. One could only imagine the impact that both stories would have on the establishment of Celtic Football Club.It's not all antiquity though, as readers are taken on an enthralling journey through the decades... from 1896 Irish Race Conventions to 1968 Soviet invasions, the Johnstone Vigilante Committee to the Jungle's last stand.There are stories of Paradise speedway meetings and other unusual uses of the stadium, Cappielow riots, British Cup champions, flag controversies, Tannadice U-turns, The Invincibles and everything in-between! With wild disorder, hysterical laughter and downright tragedy - this a different read from your usual book.Take Me To Your Paradise is ultimately an historical and contemporary record of the extraordinary Celtic story. It is told from a uniquely entertaining angle, which captivates the values, achievements and tribulations of the club both on and off the pitch.