Can any club compete with Celtic, ever again?

[throbber]

4 minutes ago, Ross. said:

Most of the guys I grew up with are Celtic fans. We are all in our early to mid 30's and grew up watching a Celtic side that finished 4th and 5th in the league and won nothing in the early to mid 90's while Rangers spent small fortunes and cleaned up. Everyone single one of them is delighted right now, mostly because of that period. They took it tight from all the Rangers fans they knew and are now able to give it back and then some. I'm not sure it will ever got old or get boring for them.

I just find that madness - Celtic were still a massive club then though and they must have been very young kids when Celtic were finishing 4th and 5th. After Rangers didn't get 10 in a row they still  were the better team for most of the 00's and despite being a bit behind before Rangers went into administration they were still miles ahead of the rest of Scotland and were definitely going to stroll it for the next few years in Scotland. They have had 4 years without Rangers to get used to this in the SPL and even now that Rangers are back they are still nowhere near where they were before administration, you would have thought your mates would have had plenty of time to get used to this by now. 

[Ross.]

2 minutes ago, throbber said:

I just find that madness - Celtic were still a massive club then though and they must have been very young kids when Celtic were finishing 4th and 5th. After Rangers didn't get 10 in a row they still  were the better team for most of the 00's and despite being a bit behind before Rangers went into administration they were still miles ahead of the rest of Scotland and were definitely going to stroll it for the next few years in Scotland. They have had 4 years without Rangers to get used to this in the SPL and even now that Rangers are back they are still nowhere near where they were before administration, you would have thought your mates would have had plenty of time to get used to this by now. 

I'm 34. I don't really remember the 87-88 season when Celtic won the double, or the following season when they won the Scottish cup. I remember 1990 and losing in that final to Aberdeen, and between then and the 97-98 season there was the Scottish Cup win in '95 and not a lot else to celebrate, with regular humpings in Europe, Rangers winning what seemed like everything and the few Rangers fans at our school constantly winding the majority up about the football. It wasn't really until O'Neill took over that Celtic were regularly successful, by which point the psychological damage would have been done to most who lived through that period. There is definitely a generation of Celtic fans out there who would be delighted with the status quo until the end of time.

[Northboy]

33 minutes ago, throbber said:

I'm saying that supporting the largest team, with the greatest resources and the ability to buy and lure the better players from rival teams at the drop of hat would get quite boring after a while considering no other team can mount a serious challenge against them. 

Maybe you don't agree but to me that would feel like a rather hollow victory.

In appreciate your point but I see and hear nothing from Celtic (or other big club) supporters which suggest they consider their success as a hollow victory.

[Greenlantern]

There's really no such thing as a 'hollow victory' in football.

There's always history or an edge to every game. Whether that be a final or domestic competition.

[tarapoa]

As long as Celtic have an astute manager, no-one will touch them.

They were poor the last couple of seasons, and it was most certainly a missed opportunity for AFC.  If Liverpool hadn't recalled Danny Ward, and Rooney hadn't been injured who knows how close we could have got - but the uncertainty of loans and being able to cover for injuries are part of fitba - and Celtic have a replacement for every position that would likely walk into most other Prem clubs first XI.

Sunday was a disappointment - if the 38-league season is a busted flush for everyone else, a one-off cup final should not have been.  However, Real just beat Atletico 3-0, so these things can go either way when the biggest clubs face a challenge from the pretenders - they can up their own game in a way they don't when they get caught cold by an ICT or Ross County.

I think the way football is these days - it's designed for the big fish to get even bigger.  A lot of stars aligned to give Leicester the title down south - but that is maybe a sign of the depth of resources in that league now.  

Sometimes though I find myself saying 'so what?' - why do I attend matches in a league we have had no prospect of winning in over 25 years?  Fans up and down the country go each week to watch their team - a lot of whom will never see their team win any major honour.

So Celtic end up winning 15-in-a-row?  Big deal really - I'm sure Aberdeen could have entered the Highland League and done that (unless McGhee was put in back in charge) - and we could have lorded it over those Forres and Fraserburgh types, they way that the nice people of the Dumfries CSC or the Montrose Emerald do to the rest of us now.

[SilverWolfe]

I'm 34. I don't really remember the 87-88 season when Celtic won the double, or the following season when they won the Scottish cup. I remember 1990 and losing in that final to Aberdeen, and between then and the 97-98 season there was the Scottish Cup win in '95 and not a lot else to celebrate, with regular humpings in Europe, Rangers winning what seemed like everything and the few Rangers fans at our school constantly winding the majority up about the football. It wasn't really until O'Neill took over that Celtic were regularly successful, by which point the psychological damage would have been done to most who lived through that period. There is definitely a generation of Celtic fans out there who would be delighted with the status quo until the end of time.

Absolutely this!

I am 32 and don't remember much before that Aberdeen final. I was nearly 14 before I seen us win the league and used to hear stories from my dad about us winning the league in 86 and the double in 88 and remember dreaming that maybe one day I would see us win the league.

I think people also forget that during rangers 9 in a row, we only finished 2nd for the last 2 titles. We were basically the equivalent of the current day St Johnstone, regularly finishing outside the top 3 with the odd 3rd place finish in the league. Those days were when mine and others love of Celtic grew and believe me I remember it like it was yesterday. I remember thinking Rangers were untouchable and Aberdeen, Dundee Utd and Motherwell were brilliant football teams.

9th May 1998 is still to this day the best football experience of my life and although it may not feel quite as amazing as that day it still feels pretty damn good having this level of success right now. I know it won't last forever so I'm going to enjoy it as much as I can while it does last.

[deej]

7 minutes ago, Tartantony said:

 

I think people also forget that during rangers 9 in a row, we only finished 2nd for the last 2 titles. We were basically the equivalent of the current day St Johnstone, regularly finishing outside the top 3 with the odd 3rd place finish in the league. 
 

 

So in 20 years we'll be in the CL and walking the league, buying up any promising players from the diddy clubs? Sounds good to me 

[RawB93]

Feel bad for these Celtic fans. Must be really hard with that one cup final from 26 years ago still fresh in your minds.

[topcat(The most tip top)]

If this protestant conspiracy finally gets it's collective arse in gear then the rest of us have a decent shot.

They've been doing a really shit job for the last 128 years

[SilverWolfe]

Feel bad for these Celtic fans. Must be really hard with that one cup final from 26 years ago still fresh in your minds.

Standard response to this so not surprised. We don't want you to feel bad for us, yes we know we are the biggest club in the country and should expect success but our point is that it wasn't always this way and we don't all support Celtic because we win trophies, if Celtic fans born into that era wanted to be glory hunters and support a team who won trophies we would all be rangers fans or Aberdeen fans.

I for one will continue to enjoy all the success we get and it won't feel hollow in the slightest

[Kneetrembler]

Someone will probably come close at some point, but Celtic will likely just end up winning it. Aberdeen made a right arse of challenging them last year and they're unlikely to be as shit as they were under Deila for some time. Quite frankly though, I don't care. It's of little relevance to me or most other supporters. The Premiership is one of the most competitive leagues in Europe, consistently, it isn't all about the title picture. Of course mouth-breathing, EPL fanboy simpletons wheel out the "1 horse race, pointless league!!!" drivel on social media, but, they're mouth-breathing simpletons.  

Also, I do wonder what a top flight consisting of all the er, "big guns" in Celtic, Rangers, Aberdeen, Hearts, Hibs, Dunfermline, Dundee United, Dundee, Kilmarnock, Motherwell, Falkirk & Morton (obviously) would look like, but, I highly doubt it'd be drastically different or would somehow foster a title challenge better than the current. 

This is pretty much how I feel. Our chance to win the league was last season and the Dons came up short. I also think there is plenty to play for away from the title. Getting into a European spot is the big one for me, as it enables trips abroad to follow Aberdeen.

Perhaps eventually someone will challenge Celtic, but if it doesn't happen, I would not be that bothered. A one horse race is no different to two horses, if your nag isn't in the running.

[sergie's no1 fan]

I think the real question is are Celtic able to compete with the likes of Stoke, West Brom, Sunderland, Crystal Palace when they next sack their manager?

 

[TheCelt67]

52 minutes ago, topcat(The most tip top) said:

If this protestant conspiracy finally gets it's collective arse in gear then the rest of us have a decent shot.

They've been doing a really shit job for the last 128 years

Ahem, I think you'll find we've had many a glorious triumph in spite of adverse treatment from the Protestants, the Orange Order, the Masons, Hugh Dallas, the SFA and the Moonies.  

[wastecoatwilly]

the team that Ronny deila built that Brendan Rodgers took to another level,interesting stat Brendan Rodgers 27 games in, won 18 drawn 4 and lost 5,Ronny deila first 27 games won 17 drawn 5 lost 5,perception is everything.

[irvine_buddie]

14 minutes ago, wastecoatwilly said:

the team that Ronny deila built that Brendan Rodgers took to another level,interesting stat Brendan Rodgers 27 games in, won 18 drawn 4 and lost 5,Ronny deila first 27 games won 17 drawn 5 lost 5,perception is everything.

True, but Rodgers 5 have been Barca (twice), Monchengladbach and Hapoel Beer Sheva and Red Imps both of which they won over 2 legs.

 

[Forever_blueco]

Realistically a strong us with our act together is probably the only ones capable of doing so , right now that looks years away right enough 

[wastecoatwilly]

11 minutes ago, irvine_buddie said:

True, but Rodgers 5 have been Barca (twice), Monchengladbach and Hapoel Beer Sheva and Red Imps both of which they won over 2 legs.

 

true the loses have came at a higher level but Brendan Rodgers has had no rebuilding of a defence or trying to find a goalscorer,very little surgery was needed,probably one of the best squads any manager has left for another one coming in.

[PrestersKTID]

Maybe not in the league but when it comes to cups any team can compete especially in the past 5/6 years.

League cup winners:

 Killie 11/12

St Mirren 12/13

Aberdeen 13/14

Ross county 15/16

Scottish cup winners

Hearts 11/12

St Johnstone 13/14

Inverness 14/15

Hibs 15/16

Most fans of the so called "smaller" clubs will go from season to season with not much to shout about...but every so often that 1 great season or cup final makes it all worth while. 

[HibeeJibee]

There is no question we're living in a golden period for sharing cups. Not only has the last 5 seasons seen more different winners than ever, but for the first time half of OF won none.

Number of different clubs winning cups during 5-season period (1947 = 1946-47 etc.)
1947-1951 ... 5 clubs
1952-1956 ... 8 clubs
1957-1961 ... 7 clubs
1962-1966 ... 3 clubs ... (5 clubs if include Summer Cup)
1967-1971 ... 4 clubs
1972-1976 ... 5 clubs
1977-1981 ... 4 clubs
1982-1986 ... 3 clubs
1987-1991 ... 5 clubs
1992-1996 ... 6 clubs
1997-2001 ... 4 clubs
2002-2006 ... 4 clubs
2007-2011 ... 4 clubs
2012-2016 ... 9 clubs

[SilverWolfe]

You should be thanking us for making it so good to be a fan of a diddy team. Without us you could be bored of winning trophies. At least when you do win one you can enjoy it more than any other football fan in world football [emoji106]