Celtic’s first league cup success

Celtic get the three points at Easter Road, but not before battling Hibs, the wind and (at times) themselves. Andrew, Stephen and Ross pick through another performance from a team still looking suspiciously like a collection of decent jigsaw pieces from several different boxes: the midfield doesn’t quite connect, Kasper Høgh still can’t buy a goal, Alistair Johnston’s hamstring causes another wobble and Europe remains the place where Celtic’s shortcomings are brutally exposed. There’s also time for Grant Hanley causing actual laughter by appearing up front, a referee apparently wrestling with his own whistle, Dane Murray wondering whether he’s really allowed to invert into midfield, the mystery of Oxlade-Chamberlain’s disappearing game-time and Ross taking an impressively scenic route to the answer “I don’t know”. Ultimately it’s three points, micro layers recommended, and up the road. Apple podcasts Spotify Amazon Player.fm Spreaker Audioboom Youtube Thanks for listening to The Celtic Underground Substack! This post is public so feel free to share it.

In this week’s Celtic Underground In Conversation, Andrew is joined by former Celtic youth player, professional footballer and now PhD graduate Mark McGuigan, who spent four and a half years inside Celtic researching one of the club’s biggest challenges - turning promising youngsters into first-team players. Drawing on his own experience of being released by Celtic and his subsequent work with the Academy, B team and first-team coaching staff, Mark explains why talent alone isn’t enough, why mentality matters just as much as ability, and why the right loan move might teach a youngster more than another season of youth football. They discuss the future of B teams, the threat of English clubs poaching Scotland’s best youngsters, and whether Celtic really have a functioning pathway to the first team. There’s also a fascinating glimpse behind the scenes at Lennoxtown, with insights into the meticulous standards of Brendan Rodgers, the motivational powers of Ange Postecoglou, the quiet authority of John Kennedy and the extraordinary dedication of Celtic’s senior players. An entertaining and illuminating conversation about football, academia and why producing the next Callum McGregor is rather more complicated than simply telling youngsters to be good enough. Available to members of the CU Community from Sunday (as usual) this podcast is also available to all from Thursday as the content is so pertinent to so many current criticisms of the club.

After Celtic’s magnificent seven-goal demolition of Hearts, Harry is joined by Stephen who is in unusually cheerful territory as they pick over a performance that had everything - goals, pace, excitement and Hearts fans heading for the exits before the half-time pies had gone cold. There’s praise for Dane Murray, a debate about giving youngsters a proper chance, and the ongoing search for a midfield enforcer who apparently needs the physique of Virgil van Dijk and the passing range of Andrea Pirlo. We also revisit the Hearts documentary, ponder the remarkable ability of pundits to be right both before and after getting everything wrong, and ask whether Martin O’Neill’s comments are tactical genius or just a man getting older and losing his filter. Finally, attention turns to Celta Vigo and the Europa League, with Stephen confidently predicting a 3-1 Celtic victory based on the most scientific of footballing methods… a good feeling. After seven against Hearts, who are we to argue? Enjoy… Apple podcasts Spotify Amazon Player.fm Spreaker Audioboom Youtube The Celtic Underground Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

This month, Glasgow’s George Square will finally reopen after extensive refurbishment work. Over the decades, Celtic have had many links with Glasgow’s main civic space. This latest podcast tells the full story of this. Every week, you can listen for free to more tales from Celtic’s past, as told by Matthew Marr (Hail Hail History). You can also buy his new book ‘Green, white and silverware – Part 1’, describing Celtic’s less well-known trophy wins. It is available now on Amazon as hardback, paperback and Kindle. You can get it here: https://amzn.eu/d/0bZ3rJYi Enjoy… Apple podcasts Spotify Amazon Player.fm Spreaker Audioboom Youtube

A big part of any Celtic home game is the sound of Glen Daly singing the Celtic Song as the teams enter the field. 65 years ago, this was first heard at Celtic Park. This latest podcast tells the full story of this. Every week, you can listen for free to more tales from Celtic’s past, as told by Matthew Marr (Hail Hail History). You can also buy his new book ‘Green, white and silverware – Part 1’, describing Celtic’s less well-known trophy wins. It is available now on Amazon as hardback, paperback and Kindle. You can get it here: https://amzn.eu/d/0bZ3rJYi