I witnessed recurring Celtic Remembrance Sunday embarrassment but Green Brigade act commended
Disrupted ‘moments’ silence cut short as Celtic man returns from purdah
Despite some rocky results, Celtic have made it to another international break still in front of Rangers. They are four points clear of the second-placed Ibrox side, who have a game in hand, after a narrow 1-0 Remembrance Sunday win over Kilmarnock.
Disrupted "moments' silence":
Parkhead is unlike most places in the United Kingdom on Remembrance Sunday. Before kick-off, as fans milled around outside the stadium, there was barely a single poppy visible.
This was the 13th time since 1974, when Celtic first played a Sunday fixture, that they have been in action on Remembrance Sunday itself, the fifth time at home.
People wondered beforehand what would happen and whether a period of silence would be attempted at all. After all, when Celtic published their Kilmarnock matchday guide, including “everything you need to know about the game”, there was no mention of the day’s significance. All it advised was that supporters should be in their seat for the 4pm kick-off – put back due to Remembrance Sunday activities in Glasgow - to “make some noise for the Bhoys”. Well, many certainly managed this.
The Tannoy announcer stated there would be “some moments” of silence to commemorate the war dead. The Green Brigade opted to stay outside, which is to be commended. They clearly took the view that if others wished to take part in the tribute, then they could.
However, so many elsewhere in the stadium reacted by booing and jeering once John Beaton had blown his whistle to signal the start of the tribute that the referee swiftly ended. The ‘tribute’ was timed at just 13 seconds, which is some way short of the minute that is the norm on such occasions.
To be fair, the announcer had said the plan was for a "few moments’ silence" rather than a full minute. But there was barely even a few moments’ worth.
One wonders if Beaton had been given a recommendation by the authorities to wrap things up as quickly as possible if the booing started, because he did so almost immediately. Although it was an ugly cacophony, maybe it might have been better if he had just stood his ground and let it play out.
Others might argue it would have been better if the silence had not been scheduled – or attempted – at all. Everyone knew what was going to happen.
But then what about the Celtic fans who do wish to pay their respects – and there were plenty. And the Kilmarnock fans, small group though they were, had every right to expect to be able to stand and remember relatives who had made the greatest sacrifice.
The Green Brigade stayed away, which was fair enough. But many inside the ground, according to testimonies on Facebook and elsewhere, explained that they had wanted to observe a silence. The Celtic board have enough on their plate without seeking more aggravation. They are probably just happy that it's all over for another year. However, the vexed question of war remembrance is a recurring issue that embarrasses the club annually.
The return – again - of Luke McCowan
The issue of Kasper Hogh’s Parkhead goal drought dominated the post-match debate as did Mika Baur’s worrying ankle injury. So focus was not necessarily on the Parkhead return of Luke McCowan, whom many once wondered if they might ever see in a Celtic shirt again.
He was sent on in the dying minutes against Falkirk last weekend when Celtic were in dire straits. The stakes were higher this time. He replaced Benjamin Nygren with eight minutes left, and with Celtic desperate to hold on to a 1-0 lead. It was his first home appearance for Celtic since being taken off at half-time against Rangers on 20 September. You just can’t keep a good (Celtic) man down.
Some questioned whether he could ever recover from his disastrous cameo appearance against LASK in August as Celtic tumbled out of Champions League qualifying at the hands of their Austrian opponents.
After a few weeks in purdah, he started the league clash against Rangers just before the last international break. It didn’t go well. The midfielder was replaced at half time with Celtic trailing 1-0.
Might this stand as McCowan’s last appearance? Again, many assumed so. Tony Docherty, his former Dundee manager and now in charge of the Scotland Under-21s, recently mentioned on a podcast that the player was “having a tough time” having been bombed out of the squad completely.
However, the boyhood Celtic fan isn’t giving up on his Celtic career, that’s clear. Just as Hogh received warm applause when he left the field after 70 minutes, McCowan was greeted with similar when he was announced as coming on.
Admittedly, you feared for him slightly. Celtic were still hanging on to a 1-0 lead and it was getting increasingly nervy. One misplaced pass could have had dire consequence. But he was tidy and busy, and he even saw an effort slip through Nico Mantl’s fingers and into the net, although the whistle had already blown for a foul. Fans cheered, possibly slightly cruelly.
Who knows what it means for his Celtic future? Martin O’Neill didn’t broach the subject of McCowan specifically afterwards but he was asked about an unusual looking squad, which featured just one- goalkeeper Sam Johnstone - of the six late summer transfer deadline day acquisitions. Haissem Hassan, meanwhile, was a glaring omission. On this subject, O’Neill explained, slightly mysteriously, that it was all to do with squad “manoeuvring”.
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