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Two months after the Edinburgh revolution, one could feel the buzz around Tynecastle. Under the guidance of Stuart Redmond, Hearts had won their opening three games in the First Division, and thrashed Reading 6-0 in the League Cup. Even though they had lost their final game of August at yo-yo club Ipswich, Hearts were in third place, and Redmond was named manager of the month.
Behind the scenes, he and O’Mao had worked tirelessly to rebuild the club’s squad. Almost three quarters of the contracted players were transfer-listed, many of them sold to the first bidder. And the new manager had wasted little time in spending a fair bit of the money the Raptor Group had invested. Nottingham Forest, well on their way to becoming a stable mid-table BPL side, were raided first. Forwards Michael Chopra (£5m) and Irish super talent Stephen Dunlop (£11m) were brought to Gorgie, and not much later, midfielder Peter Preece made it a hattrick of signings from Forest, when he signed on the dotted line to complete an £8m transfer.
Romanian defender Radoi was a £4m arrival from Ajax, and Derby provided two further defensive solutions for a combined fee of £2.5m. Ironically, Stephen Dunlop would play up front with fellow summer arrival Tony Sullivan, who finally left Wimbledon permanently. Two seasons ago, they were involved in a bitter war of words in the build-up to a Belfast Celtic v Carrick Rangers game.
O’Mao promised the Hearts faithful more signings in due course, but first allocated several million pounds to much needed ground maintenance and development. Before the end of October, an upgraded Tynecastle would be able to host 30,172 fans, and the new chairman announced plans to move to a new stadium altogether, though he didn’t say when.
And as if all that good news wasn’t enough for the Maroon half of Edinburgh, they witnessed what they saw as the end of the Hibs era, as their rivals were thrashed by Celtic in the Charity Shield, and found themselves in the relegation zone at the end of August, without a win in three League games.
04-08-2003, 08:12 PM
When the Belfast Celts sing again... Part III - Back in Belfast Post #14
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> thrashed Reading 6-0 in the League Cup <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Unrealistic, totally and utterly unrealistic
04-08-2003, 08:20 PM
When the Belfast Celts sing again... Part III - Back in Belfast Post #15
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by ReadingFC are going up:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> thrashed Reading 6-0 in the League Cup <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Unrealistic, totally and utterly unrealistic <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Yeah should have been 12 :p That manager is superb \o/
04-09-2003, 02:13 AM
When the Belfast Celts sing again... Part III - Back in Belfast Post #16
It’s the morning after Belfast Celtic’s unfortunate exit from the European stage. Having matched Dutch, European and (newly crowned) Intercontinental champions Feyenoord for 174 minutes, weathering the Rotterdam storm at Easter Road, before arguably proving slightly stronger in De Kuip, Ebi Smolarek proceeds to break Irish hearts with a stunning low drive in the 84th minute of the second leg. The only goal of the tie, it was enough to see Feyenoord through. It was one of those nights where destiny, fate, and several connections met. After all, Feyenoord were now managed by Jan van Dijk, Belfast Celtic’s defensive coach for almost a decade. Also, Celtic had matured further in Europe. In the CL qualifiers, they had made a false start, losing 3-0 at “home” to Polish champions Wisla in the first leg. Two weeks later, they were prepared better, but despite a heroic fightback, were condemned to a UEFA Cup campaign after a 3-2 aggregate defeat.
In the UEFA Cup, the Irish champions won 1-0 in Sarajevo, before taking a quick 2-0 lead in the second leg. It should’ve been game over, but George Best’s side let the Bosnians back in it. Twelve minutes from time, they appeared to have completed an amazing turnaround, going 3-2 up on the night, taking the lead on away goals. A minute later, Ronaldo squashed their hopes. Even though the Brazilian was now well past his best, and incapable of playing more than a select number of games (Best knew exactly which ones he wanted to spare his assistant for), the former World Player of the Year delivered when he had to.
Celtic fans thought their European adventure would come to an early end when they were drawn to play Mallorca in the second round. Two-and-a-half years before, the Spanish side had denied Celtic a place in the semi finals of the UEFA Cup, and they were still a much feared team, which they underlined with a 2-0 half time lead in Palma de Mallorca. Michael Foley Sheridan got the vital away goal in the second half though, and in the return leg, Tommy Costello converted a penalty on the hour to send the Belfast side through to round three.
There, they had to play Feyenoord, another side who had got the better of Celtic midway through the previous decade. But it wasn’t August 2005 anymore, it was November 2010, and Celtic had improved massively.
Still, over the course of two legs, while possibly the better side, they weren’t the most effective of the two teams, and paid the price. It was extra sour to see Smolarek grab the the goal though, as he should’ve been playing for Hearts now. Stuart Redmond had agreed a £4m fee for the Polish winger, but saw the DoE refuse to issue a work permit.
All of that was on the minds of Celtic’s managerial team that Friday morning, when two men entered Ted Locke’s office without knocking…
TL I said we were in a meeting, and couldn’t be dist…
Locke’s objection is cut off sharply by the smaller of the two men who just entered…
SO’M Disturbed yeah. Well, I’ll disturb you whenever the hell I see fit Locke. But actually, I’m here to tell you I won’t do that again. I’m here to save you a lot of time and energy.
George Best, just discussing future transfers with Locke, is not amused with the showing up of the man who technically became his new boss when taking over at the Raptor Group…
GB What’s this all about O’Mao? We’re busy planning Celtic’s future y’know…
SO’M Be quiet Best. I have something to say to you a little later. First things first though. Locke: you’re fired.
TL What the fück?! Are you out of your mind AGAIN?!
SO’M You add very little to the club Locke. Both as a Director of Football, and as caretaker of the club’s financial situation, you do not produce the right results.
TL Care to explain?
SO’M You’re out of Europe, despite spending big money on Ronaldo, and you don’t bring in enough money to keep the Raptor Group happy.
TL One player doesn’t make a team. We need TIME to build a squad capable of real European success.
SO’M Yeah right. Even that lanky Dutch gibbon managed to take a team of pub league players to the last eight of a European competition. You brought in a World Player of the Year and fail. And Best here has to take his share of the blame too, he picks the team. But YOU, Locke, are the one supplying him with the player pool to pick from.
TL O’Mao, you know NOTHING about football.
SO’M I’d like to think I do. Then there’s the financial sitation.
TL What about it?! Last season brought Celtic a profit of £5.4m, the second highest financial result the club’s ever had.
SO’M Indeed. SECOND highest. Your ground’s almost three times as big as when Celtic had their best result ever. TV money is a lot better too now. Also, your operating result is only your third best ever, and only marginally better than last year.
TL Still doing better than the rest of the League put together I imagine. And you forget we have more expensive players now.
SO’M Who don’t deliver where in matters: in Europe.
TL Don’t be thick O’Mao.
SO’M Don’t talk to me like that Locke. You were a failure at Edinburgh Hibs, a failure at Boston Hibs, and a failure at Belfast Celtic. You’re fired, and that’s final. As for the financial situation, it’s clouded by the fact that the Raptor Group has been kind enough not to demand dividends be paid.
TL Until they asked for the £500,000 over last season.
SO’M Which they’re easily entitled to. Haven’t seen a penny in return for the £2m they pumped in almost ten years ago. Not to mention the free-of-charge stadium they build…
TL That was the agreement Frost had with the company.
SO’M Well, Frost’s dead. And I didn’t have such an agreement in place. I’m on the Raptor Group’s payroll, and have to keep an eye on their interests.
TL So you’ll suck this club empty?
SO’M I think we’ll settle for about 25% of the club’s profits from now on.
TL You’re money-grabbing **** O’Mao.
SO’M And you’re on the dole Locke. Again.
TL I take it your sidekick Johnson here will take over from me?
SO’M Marcus has become my trusted personal assistant. He’s proved himself a financial genius. Save from that silly bet between him and me of course. And he knows a thing or two about football too now.
TL Well now Johnson, tell me then… What the fück do Americans know about football?! You didn’t even QUALIFY for the World Cup!
MJ That’s because the fücking Canucks screwed us! They laid down and died in Costa Rica after their 1-0 lead. The b@stards knew we needed them to take a point off them after we heroically beat Mexico!
TL Awww… Poor cruel world, everyone hates America… Now go on and invade them.
MJ We will, and then we’ll make your wonderful England our next state. Now get out of my office, I need to talk to Best.
TL What if I refuse?
MJ I’ll call in security.
Locke knows he can’t do a thing about O’Mao’s decision to sack him. Left with no choice, he leaves the office, and Belfast, promising the man who sacked him twice he’d get his revenge one day. Then, O’Mao and Johnson turn to Best…
MJ As for you Best… You haven’t delivered in Europe either.
GB Not in your small-minded view no. We were equal to the current Intercontinental Cup holders though, and lost to a scrappy late goal. If you knew anything about football, and that goes for O’Mao too, you would see we’ve made progress.
SO’M Nothing to show for though. But we’re not as blind as you think we are. You’re doing a great job in the Irish League. Unbeaten and ten points clear at the halfway mark is decent enough. You should’ve known better than to enter the League Cup for the first time in nine years though. That pointless competition cost you two points in the League, and injured Ronaldo ahead of the second leg against Feyenoord.
GB Football’s the only thing that takes people’s minds off the war nowadays. The more, the better. And we blood youngsters in the League Cup and Super Cup. They’ll need that opportunity now that we can’t play in the Co. Antrim Shield because it’s full of loyalist clubs.
MJ Don’t bore us with excuses Best. You made a mistake. Admit it.
GB It wasn’t a mistake. Anyway, what are you gonna do? Sack me? See if I care. I’m 64 years old, I wouldn’t be around forever anyway. The supporters though, they might respond in a less than friendly way. And you know what the Irish are like don’t you?
MJ You should be wiser than to threaten me Best.
GB Ooh, touchy. I was just warning you Johnson.
SO’M Calm down you two. We’re not gonna sack you Best. But we won’t leave you in total control either. You can complete the season as you please, and stay in charge after that too, at least if you continue to deliver domestically. But you will only be in charge of the team for domestic games. For Celtic’s European games, we will appoint a different head coach.
GB What the hell? Who? When?
MJ As of next season, Bruce Arena will take care of the club’s European fixtures. We agreed a deal with him already.
GB And I’m just gonna accept that?
SO’M With the alternative being retirement, I think you will.
GB I see. Well, I guess I have no choice then eh?
MJ No you don’t.
GB Right. Let’s get to work then.
It was a strange and unexpected end to the conversation. But both Best and O’Mao knew this wasn’t really the end of it. Best knew there was no point in resigning now. It would leave Celtic in turmoil, and Arena wouldn’t be here until the summer. Best was convinced he could rally enough support to make O’Mao think again before that time arrived. He also suspected managing Celtic in Europe only was Arena’s idea, probably related to the fact the civil war was still ongoing, and European games were played outside Ireland, and therefore safe enough. Then there was O’Mao. He KNEW this was true. He suspected Best might figure it out, but wasn’t sure. It didn’t matter to him either way. If Best would resign, O’Mao would find someone else to manage Celtic in what he still considered a pub league. For now, the Raptor Group man was just pleased to have pìssed off Ted Locke once more. He really didn’t rate him, and enjoyed sacking him for the second time. O’Mao couldn’t care less about Belfast Celtic in itself, so he let Johnson take care of them, while he concentrated on Hearts. They were still going strong, and while Sunderland looked too hot at the top of the table, second place in the First Division was still Hearts’. There was a realistic chance they’d go up this season. And while he didn’t think it would really happen, Hibs were still not out of trouble. How sweet it would be to see them go down on their own way up.
04-09-2003, 09:10 AM
When the Belfast Celts sing again... Part III - Back in Belfast Post #18
It’s two years since the Frosts fled Ireland, and while still determined to return one day, they realised they had to build a new life in South America until that day arrived. Anyone in hiding knows it’s not wise to stay in the same place for too long, and on a damp morning in September 2010, Patrick O’Kelly had a bad feeling about a staying in their Colombian mountain hideout any longer. Over the years, Mark and Katie Frost had learned not to question intuition, but to act on it. Five days later, they crossed the border and moved into a temporary home on the outskirts of Manaus, deep in the Brazilian Amazon.
The family had some resources available to them in South America, through Colombian connections, and used them to get involved in daily life in Brazil. All while hiding their true identities of course, something made quite easy by the fact that this far into the middle of nowhere, no one had even heard of them.
A few months into their stay, Mark and Patrick decided to get involved in football again. Just waiting for things to calm down in Ireland was not for them. They felt they were wasting their lives, and wanted to get back in the game. With some of the money they had left (and I didn’t take much anyway), they “invested” in one of the local clubs, América Futebol Clube. The team didn’t play in the national league anymore, after it lost its place in the Third Division a few years before, and only acted in the top division of the Amazonas state championship. Well in the shadow of local rivals such as Nacional, Cliper and Rio Negro, Frost’s “no questions asked” investment saw him become the new club chairman. He couldn’t risk taking on the dual job he had in Ireland though. If América were to do well soon, that’d only attract attention, the last thing the Frosts wanted. It seemed sensible to appoint Patrick as the club’s manager. One day after reaching the halfway mark in the state championship, the family reflects on recent developments in their homeland over breakfast.
PO’K Celtic had a better season than América then…
MF Yeah. Quickest championship ever. March 8, a day earlier than when we took the Prem by storm in our debut season.
PO’K And unbeaten when they clinched it. That’s even more impressive in a warzone.
MF Aye. Shame the boys couldn’t take their unbeaten record past the finish line altogether.
PO’K Always happens though. As soon as the pressure’s off, things go downhill.
MF The pressure isn’t off though. I really hoped Best would pull it off, just to shut O’Mao up.
KF Next time you shoot him Patrick, do it properly. The arsehole’s ruining everything we built up.
MF If I understand things right, he managed to transfer ownership of Boston Hibs to himself, as sort of a Raptor Group bonus for selling Hibernian with so much profit.
PO’K Makes you wonder what he has in store for Celtic, doesn’t it?
MF He’ll know better than to fück up the club completely.
KF He better. No one will notice an extra death in the war.
PO’K Especially in the latest offensive. And aren’t the loyalists original? Taking the post office at Easter. I wonder what they want to achieve by symbolic warfare. There’s no strategic advantage to be gained.
KF They probably have something else lined up, and want to deflect attention from their main targets.
MF Which are army bases, police stations, bridges, railway stations and the like. It’s not like we don’t know that.
PO’K The war’s reached a stage were people are just going through the motions. But something has to give soon. Right now, it could go either way though, and the way they’re outnumbered, it shouldn’t have come this far.
KF There’s a growing number of people in favour of just giving them the North to end the conflict. I can’t believe anyone would even consider that. We’d turn back the clock 90 years!
PO’K Growing number, but still a small minority. I’m not worried about that.
MF Well, remember how the SDLP dug up that 1970s British plan to relocate people across Northern Ireland?
KF Yeah, they modified it to create a bit of a Protestant enclave in Antrim. Partly autonomous.
MF It might work…
PO’K No thank you. It’d put Belfast on the edge of the entire Protestant population of Ireland.
MF Belfast, or what’s left it… With most of the city in ruins, a large number of people will need to be relocated anyway.
KF We’d be like South Africa. Apartheid, Orange Free State…
MF It’s still the most sensible solution offered since war broke out. Frankly, I can’t see another way to end the conflict either. And it’s already killed 45,000 people, and caused another 150,000 to emigrate.
PO’K As long as both sides think they can clinch final victory, NO peace plan or ceasefire will work.
KF Patrick’s right. It will be a while yet before this war is over.
04-11-2003, 03:36 PM
When the Belfast Celts sing again... Part III - Back in Belfast Post #20
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