Ground 37: Celtic Park

'Paradise' in the sunshine

Game: Celtic 4 v 1 Inverness Caledonian Thistle

Date: Sunday 21^st April

Competition: Scottish Premier League

Attendance: 55,000

Admission: £17

Programme: £3

This was only my second ever visit to Celtic Park. My first was in 1997 to watch Scotland defeat Austria 2-0 (back in a period of time when Scotland won by scoring more than one goal and qualified for international tournaments. Halcyon days). Back then Celtic Park was still undergoing redevelopment and the ground had just three stands (the old main stand and the redeveloped north and east).

I was here for Celtic’s penultimate home game of the season and one, that if they picked up a single point, then they would retain their SPL champions title and win their 44^th league championship.

The Lisbon Lions Stand

I was coming to the game from Elgin, which meant an early start for me so I could get to Glasgow’s east end for the lunchtime kick-off. Fortunately, I timed by journey well and arrived with plenty of time to allow me to get parked and mill around the ground. One thing is for sure is that Celtic Park is not set up for people visiting by car – there’s little signage or help for drivers who have never been to the ground before. And, as a fan experience, getting out from around the ground was not the easiest either. I accept that there are serious infrastructural and logistical issues in getting 50,000+ people away and out of an area, but it’s definitely something that the club and local authority should be looking at together.

The Emirates Arena

As I mentioned, I arrived in plenty of time after parking near the brand new Emirates Arena. The arena will be a key venue in next year’s Commonwealth Games and also houses the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome. From the arena it’s a two minute walk to Celtic Park, which dominates the surrounding areas.  I took some time to buy my programme and take pictures of the main entrance to the ground and the famous red brick façade. When I was growing up, it was Celtic that were Glasgow’s ‘club in crisis’ and almost every Friday night Sportscene featuring coverage from outside the ground as the latest takeover/stadium plan/boycott was taking place. There were loads of folk hanging around and getting their photograph taken in front of the statutes of Jimmy Johnstone, Jock Stein and Brother Walfrid (soon to be immortalised in a film starring Daniel Day-Lewis if the rumours are to be believed) that sit in front of the entrance. Most Scottish clubs have great histories and it would be great to see recognition of that through statues and other artefacts at grounds.

My £17 seat

I headed into the ground to take my seat in the upper tier of the North Stand and I soon discovered why I’d paid just £17 for my seat. This is what greeted me:

Actually it wasn’t too bad and I had plenty of legroom, so I wasn’t too perturbed by it. It didn’t really affect my enjoyment of the game and didn’t block my view.

What was noticeable when I first got in was the slick pre-game production that Celtic put on for the fans via the two big video screens behind each goal. The show featured footage of the team arriving, interviews with assistant manager Johan Mjällby and captain for the day, Joe Ledley, highlights from other games as well as information, adverts and song choices chosen by fans. I’ve seen the use of video screens work exceptionally well in American sports and Celtic have done a cracking job with their effort too (despite a slightly stutter-y matchday presenter).

What Celtic do not do better than their Old Firm rivals is pre-match music. Both clubs are guilty of crimes against humanity for some of the tunes they play. They may be ‘traditional’ but to a neutral the quality and twee-ness of the songs are just appalling! Granted, it’s different from hearing the latest chart hits, but different is not necessarily better…

For about an hour before kick-off we were treated to rain and a lot of wind which made the upper tier just a little bit chilly, even in April. Then with 15 minutes to go until kick-off the sun came out. It was almost a sign.

Celtic crowds over the season have been probably a bit disappointing for the club, but today was an exception, with 55,000 fans turning up. What was noticeable for me after many games this season in grounds with lots of empty seats is that a full ground, and one that is full of 55,000 people can make a heck of a lot of noise. Especially if they’re in party mood. And that was definitely the case for Celtic fans. The game was only five second old when the first “We’re going to win the league” chant went around the stadium. That was followed for the next ten minutes by “Here we go, 10 in a row”. The almost monastic singing was led by the Green Brigade, a group of Celtic ultras, who sang the entire game and created a great atmosphere, despite some tasteless moments (songs associating Rangers with Thatcher).

It’s fair to say that the first half was a bit of a damp squid. I noticed that the trackside boardings were advertising an SPL trophy with the strapline “We’re having a party” ahead of the match against St Johnstone. It felt a little presumptuous and I noticed it didn’t appear again. The fact I was noticing the trackside advertising probably gives you an indication of how riveting the first half action was. It seemed as if the home side were treating the game as a formality and they didn’t play with any sense of energy. They had a few chances in the first half, but Inverness looked comfortable, with Gary Warren looking particularly comfortable at centre back. Celtic had plenty of possession but lacked a final ball that could clinch the title for the Bhoys.

Celtic shuffled the pack at half-time when Emilio Izaguirre replacing James Forrest, which saw Charlie Mulgrew move into midfield. Gary Warren went off due to injury after 50 minutes and then ten minutes later Celtic broke the deadlock with a threaded ball from Kris Commons (who was really quite excellent in the second half as he was able to float further forward) played into Gary Hooper who poked the ball into the far corner. That got the party started at Celtic Park.

The Green Brigade

Celtic doubled their lead just five minutes later when Ledley found himself unmarked just inside the box, He fired a shot away and killed off the game. After the second goal, Celtic found another gear – they were sharper, faster and stronger than they’d been earlier. Celtic’s third and Hooper’s second goal of the day was superb – Commons drove the ball low and Hooper directed the ball into the net with a backheel. It was both nonchalant and superb.

With ten minutes to go, the party was in full flow – all the home fans did their version of the Poznan, called the huddle. Then the Green Brigade would sing one line of a song and the rest of the stadium would repeat it back to them. It sounded superb and it was good fun, although I couldn’t help but feel like a tourist at this match.

Celtic got their fourth of the day when substitute, the mercurial Georgios Samaras dribbled down the left wing and into the box and thrashed the ball against the bar and into the net. It was a peach of a goal.

The Green Brigade protest the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Act 2012 

Inverness grabbed a consolation in the final minute with a well-worked goal from Aaron Dorans. But by that point, there weren’t many Celtic fans who cared.

Final whistle

At full-time we had the farcical episode of a countdown clock appearing on the big screen as Neil Lennon wouldn’t be allowed onto the pitch until 15 minutes after the final whistle due to the fact he is currently serving a three-game touchline ban. It was a clever move from Celtic to poke fun at the nonsense. The players went down the tunnel to get changed into their title winning t-shirts (as is de rigueur these days) and then came back out for a lap of honour. The club also decided to not play music and let the fans sing, which was a good move.

After Neil Lennon’s speech the fans vacated the stadium. Whilst inside there was a happy delirium, by the time everyone was outside it felt quite muted. Perhaps because there was a sense of inevitability all season about it? There was no real danger of Celtic not winning the league and from November onwards there was little drama in the title race, only a creeping inevitability as Celtic slowly steamrollered their way into the record books.

Ground 26: Tulloch Caledonian Stadium

The Main Stand at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium

Game: Inverness Caledonian Thistle 1 v 3 Celtic

Date: Saturday 9^th February

Competition: Scottish Premier League

Admission: £25

Programme: £3

After the issue of getting the tickets sorted, I was really looking forward to the clash between the teams placed 1^st and 2^nd in the SPL. I was also grateful that this game was going to be warmer than my last visit to the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium. That game was on Boxing Day 2009, where Caley Thistle entertained Dundee in another top of the table clash (this time in the SFL1) which finished 1-1. An unmemorable game, but the temperatures in which it took place, -8°C was enough to leave an imprint on my mind.

No such fears on this day as the only weather conditions to be concerned with was the overcast grey skies that looked like fog.

The Tulloch Caledonian Stadium sits right next to the Kessock Bridge on the Moray Firth and has been home to Inverness Caledonian Thistle since 1996. The club itself only formed in 1994 when Inverness Thistle and Caledonian merged to create the Caledonian Thistle FC when applying for Scottish Football League membership. Both clubs had been playing in the Highland League, where city rivals, Clachnacuddin still play. A condition of part public funding for the new Caledonian Stadium was for the club to include Inverness in the club name, hence the arrival at Inverness Caledonian Thistle or the Caley Jags for short.

We were all here for a top of the table clash, with ICT having their best ever season against Celtic, firm favourites for the SPL title. Celtic were a few days away from their Champions League match against Juventus and saw them ring the changes, with Neil Lennon changing 9 of the 11 players in the starting line-up.

We arrived with fifteen minutes to spare, which gave me the opportunity to grab a programme. ICT have an innovative idea: they have a monthly magazine (which is excellent, image driven and fan focused, one of the best I’ve seen this season) with an insert for individual games. The magazine costs £3 and includes the insert and subsequent inserts are 50p each. This is something I’ve seen in America for basketball and baseball and I think it works very well.

Something that doesn’t work very well is 12pm kick-offs. I’ve never been a fan of them, and so it proved on this occasion. An early kick-off combined with traffic works on the Kessock Bridge meant that many fans hadn’t made it into the ground by the first whistle. It also had an impact on the atmosphere which was a little subdued as we kicked off.

The atmosphere picked up quickly when ICT raced to a 1-0 lead with Nick Ross firing a shot from just inside the box that trundled into the net. There was a touch of fortune to the goal and the highly-rated Fraser Forster could have done better in his first game back from injury. In all honesty, I wasn’t particularly impressed by Forster, who looked sluggish and was not the commanding presence we in the SPL have been accustomed to.

“Champions League, you’re having a laugh” was the song ringing out from the ICT stands. Alongside “Juve! Juve!” it proved that the ICT fans were having a good time. Their mirth was short-lived as good work from Tom Rogic, the Australian international who was making his debut, found space in the box passed to Kris Commons who blasted the ball past Ryan Esson in the ICT goal. As you can see from the footage, he struck it fantastically well.

Celtic turned on the pressure with both Paddy McCourt and Dylan McGeouch both looking impressive, but neither side did enough to earn another goal in the first half. The only observation from the half that I had was that Craig Thomson continued in his quest to endear himself to nobody in Scottish football with a pernickety performance. If I were an ICT fan I’d be aggrieved that none of the 50/50 decisions seemed to go their way.

Celtic took the lead early in the second half with a header from Rami Gershon in the 48^th minute. ICT were guilty of poor defending as Gershon leaped above the centre halves to head past Esson, who like his counterpart in the Celtic goal looked underwhelming.

It was then the momentum swung to ICT who had a number of chances to equalise. They piled pressure on the makeshift Celtic defence, but almost inevitably broke away in the 82^nd minute to put the game beyond doubt. It was unfair as ICT deserved a goal.

Slightly before the third goal, an interesting event occurred in the North Stand were we were sitting. Goal scorer Nick Ross was taken off and replaced by Philip Roberts, whose arrival was greeted mainly with cheers but a minority of boos. What was interesting that it was fellow fans that took the booers to task. It demonstrates that self-policing sometimes works in football!

What I found most interesting in the following days was how the match was reported: that the rotation of the Celtic squad was a masterstroke and how it demonstrated the strength of depth in Neil Lennon’s team. Undoubtedly these players did well, but what if ICT had got that equaliser they deserved in the second half? It’s very interesting to see how that narrative developed in hindsight after the game. There’s no doubting Celtic’s quality and I suppose this game is demonstrative of the ‘winning mentality’ that players and pundits are always talking about.

Inverness Caledonian Thistle may not be in a rich vein of form at the moment, but I was delighted to see this game and personally, I’m hopeful that Inverness go from strength to strength. It’s imperative for this new dawn in Scottish football that we have different power bases, and Inverness certainly have the potential to be one of Scotland’s leading clubs. More power to them.

A celebration of Inverness Caledonian Thistle

This is an update to my last post.

When I blogged on Tuesday, it was a piece of writing that I didn't expect to go anywhere, I thought I would put it out into the ether of the internet and no more. I was wishful of something positive coming from it, but I thought it to be extremely unlikely.

So imagine my surprise when I logged into my account yesterday to find an e-mail from Kenny Cameron, the chairman of Inverness Caledonian Thistle.

Dear Duncan

 I have been passed a copy of your blog regarding the failure of our box office staff to return your voice message of last Thursday, regarding tickets for this Saturdays game.

 I have since checked with the staff and whilst they assure me they clear down the voice mails daily and they have no record of your call I do feel there may potentially have been an oversight at our end and your call may well have been deleted accidently.

 Going back to your blog you are correct in what you state regarding purchasing tickets online in our home stands for games given your status as a “new” customer but we operate this system for all games and not just because Celtic are at the stadium. We have a segregation policy that the staff try as far as possible to adhere to, to ensure the safety of all fans whilst attending Tulloch Caledonian Stadium.

 Given that you are travelling round 42 clubs in Scotland it goes without saying that I would not like to think you have been unable to attend a game at our ground due to any failing of ours, especially in these trying times for Scottish football and our need to entice fans back to the game not alienate them, as this is something I would be extremely disappointed in.

 If you have not yet purchased your tickets for Elgin City you can call the ticket office tomorrow after 10-30am 01463227451 (I have covered them in on this note and instructed them to provide you with two complimentary tickets for Saturday for the North Stand) and I am positive they will be only to glad to assist you and ensure you can make it along to our game on Saturday.

 I apologise for this unfortunate incident and can assure you it is not the norm for our club as we do pride ourselves in being a fan focused club and I look forward to you joining us on Saturday.

 Kind regards

 Kenny Cameron

Chairman

ICTFC

As far as I'm concerned that's a very impressive response from Mr Cameron and I'm very grateful for his intervention which will allow me, my brother and Dad to attend Saturday's game between Inverness and Celtic (I was able to purchase an additional ticket on the phone this morning).

I'm bowled over by the fact he would take the time to personally respond to me and it's pleasing to see that some clubs are prepared to take the time to explain their position and take a pride in what is being said about their club. In an interconnected world, it is imperative for businesses (and football clubs are businesses after all) to engage with their customers and I applaud Mr Cameron for doing so.

I'll be back in the next few days with a report of visit to the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium in the lovely city of Inverness. It's a ground and a game I'm very much looking forward to.

A moan about Inverness Caledonian Thistle

Scottish football isn’t helping itself.

If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you’ll know I’ve been almost constantly positive about Scottish football. There hasn’t been one of my 25 visits so far where I’ve had a bad time.

However, in the past week I’ve been very frustrated.

I’m up north this weekend to visit my grandmother with the rest of my family. As ever, I quickly checked the fixture list and was delighted to see Inverness Caledonian Thistle are at home to Celtic. That’s a fixture that should be entertaining, especially given their respective league positions.

About a month ago, I logged onto ICT’s website for find details for the game and how to purchase tickets for the match. There were no details online until last week. So I logged on, registered to purchase tickets for me, my Dad and my brother (who is just back from Australia). Three neutral spectators in search of some quality football. I added three tickets for the North Stand and proceeded to the checkout where I was informed “Unfortunately, one or more items in your basket is assigned to a newly registered client, which is not allowed.” I believe this may be to do with the fact that ICT are at home to Celtic, and like many clubs are concerned with Celtic fans obtaining tickets for the home end. This is just a hunch, as there’s nothing on the website to state this is the case, nor is there an opportunity to ask for help.

Unperturbed, I decided to call the ticket office to see if I could get this resolved, perhaps explain the 42 Grounds adventure and secure seats for the game. There was no answer at the box office, so I left a voicemail on Thursday lunchtime. As I write, it’s the following Tuesday and I’ve not yet received a call back and the three seats I’d wanted are still showing as available online.

This is systematic of how many fans are treated in Scottish football. Strange rules governing who can buy tickets (for example, during the world’s biggest arts festival in August, tourists were unable to get tickets for the Edinburgh derby at Easter Road), and the customer service really lets the clubs down.

Inverness Caledonian Thistle look like they are about to do themselves out of £75 worth of ticket money (plus programmes, parking and food).

Thankfully there’s a game on at Boroughbriggs which we’ll take in instead, but the next time I hear Inverness chairman Kenny Cameron make comments about attracting people to games, I’ll remember this moment.

At a time when most SPL clubs are urging their fans to buy season tickets, replica kits, hospitality, bricks in walls, why would they make it so difficult for fans and neutrals alike to attend games?