More Than a Club

More Than a Club

Season 2010-11 is one that will stick in the minds of most associated with Scottish football. For those of us of a Celtic persuasion however it is one that, due to some scarcely believable occurrences, will resonate within our club for many years to come.

Events on the pitch were mixed. Some wonderful football was played, a swagger that had been missing for too long showed signs of re-emergence. We had new heroes to embrace from as far afield as Honduras and Israel, closer to home a diamond of a striker was unearthed from the rough of the English Championship. In May we once again celebrated in the Hampden sun. However the crushing blow of European failure before the season was properly under way was a tough one to take, and of course on that ill-fated evening on a sodden Inverness pitch it became clear that the Championship flag would fly in the West for another 12 months.

It was matters off the pitch however where attention focused and the media glare was brightest. Our manager was lied to by one of this country’s “top” officials after a penalty bungle at Tannadice. The mainstream media missed no opportunity to deride Lennon as a “rookie” manager, and the portrayal of him as some snarling beast, barely able to contain himself was as appalling as it was inaccurate. Then of course we had the two events that made the blood of any ‘right minded’ individual run cold. It is a flawed society indeed that is no-longer shocked by mere death threats, but that is the situation we find ourselves in, it was only upon learning that we lived in a world where our manager had been the target of a viable explosive device that we experienced true shock. The image of a tracksuited Heart of Midlothian fan storming the Tynecastle technical area, with PC plod trailing in his wake, to launch a physical attack upon Lennon was beamed around the world. We now feared for our mangers safety and his sanity.

However when I look back on the season past it is not bullets or bombs, goals or defeats that stick in my mind. The moments I will take from 2010-11 are the ones that reminded me that as a Glasgow Celtic fan I really am privileged to support ‘more than a club’.

In a Scottish Cup tie we witnessed our ‘boy captain’ grow into a leader of men. With a swing of his left boot, McGregor was left clawing at thin air and the bhoys and ghirls in the Broomloan stand were sent into raptures, he then turned, raised his arms, and with barely a flicker of emotion stared down king rat himself. In one moment the armband around his bicep became a perfect fit and Celtic fans all around the globe rejoiced in doing ‘the Broony’.

Then on the last day of the season, with the title was gone, and with helicopter Sunday effectively a non-event, something extra-ordinary happened. Like the Tynecastle attack these pictures were shown by the worlds media, these were not images of hate however, what the world saw and heard was 60,000 people ‘doing the huddle’. Despite the fact that our great rivals had beaten us to the prize we all crave the most, the Celtic support rejoiced. It was breath-taking and it was unique.

People who do not share our allegiances mock us when we talk of ‘the Celtic way’, our insistence that winning is not the be all and end all, that it should be done in a certain style is derided by those out with the Celtic family. One of the reasons Gordon Strachan was never universally accepted by the support was his failure to grasp this, he was convinced we only cared about winning. Last season proved him wrong. Strachan’s reign may have been trophy laden but it lacked soul, the Lennon era has not yet yielded great silverware, though it will surely come, but the connection between club and supporter is back.

 Heavyweight (in all senses) hacks like James Traynor pour scorn on us when we ask that our manager is ‘Celtic minded’, but even deep down they must realise that our club is different. The normal rules don’t apply. Last season we reaffirmed our uniqueness.

It is unlikely that any of us will ever know if it’s a ‘grand old team to play for’, but we can be damn well sure that it is indeed a ‘grand old team to see’.

Follow @allymonc

Football and the Fight Against Depression

Depression and Football

Depression amongst sportsmen has been a topic of some debate recently. The case of the England cricketer Michael Yardy who had to return home from the Cricket World Cup because of his depression brought the issue to the fore. Unfortunately the reaction of Geoffrey Boycott (who joked that Yardy’s depression may be as a result of his below par bowling performance) showed that there is still a real ignorance in the world of sport toward a very serious, and increasingly common problem.

There are a number of professional footballers who have admitted to suffering from depression in some form or another throughout their careers. The most high profile of these cases was of course the tragic suicide of German international Robert Enke. Top level players such as Neil Lennon and Stan Collymore have also spoken about their battles with depression. Despite these players being well known and highly visible their “revelations” have not sparked any meaningful re-action from the footballing community.

Depression in the macho world of football is still a taboo subject. The general opinion seems to run along the same lines as that of the misguided Boycott, that depression is something you can just shake off with a few good performances or a team bonding session down the pub. When the culture of bravado that surrounds football is ingrained in you, it must be incredibly difficult to admit that you are in the grip of an overwhelming and all-consuming illness. When that admission is then treated as a weakness and very probably dismissed, it makes it all the harder to speak up.

Attitudes in football must change, and admittedly there has been some progress in England’s lower leagues, with all players being issued with information regarding depression. This of course is to be welcomed, but football clubs and the footballing authorities can, and should go further.

Football is in the unique position of being a social reference point for many of the people who are considered the most vulnerable to depression. As the effects of the recession continue to reverberate around the country, young men from working class backgrounds are increasingly likely to suffer from depression. They are also the least likely to seek help, the consequence being, that they are also the most likely to take their own lives. This socio-economic group has been the traditional supplier of footballs players and supporters and I believe football has a moral duty to help them.

One of the most valuable things that football can do is break the stigma surrounding depression. It is still seen as something that only happens to people who are down on their luck, people who have nothing going for them, however Lennon and Collymore were highly regarded, well paid Premier League players and Robert Enke was going to the World Cup to represent Germany. Anyone, at any time can be affected.

Depression is at its most destructive when it is ignored and allowed to fester. People who suffer from depression need professional help, they cannot just “pull themselves together”. Football needs to encourage a frank discussion of the facts surrounding what is a very serious illness. Whether we think they are suitable or not, footballers are role models for many young people, if high profile footballing personalities are prepared to talk openly about depression without fear of reprisal then the subject becomes normalised in the minds of the general public. This can only help those affected to seek help instead of attempting to suppress and in many cases ignore this damaging affliction.

Depression at its more advanced stages leaves the sufferer in no doubt as to its presence. However in its infancy it can easily be missed or disregarded, there is an ignorance amongst many (especially young men) as to the symptoms of depression. This is where the footballing community (clubs and associations) can step in and use their positions of influence, to educate the people that enable and justify their existence.

Depression is measurably easier to treat and manage if it is recognised before it reaches its all-consuming stage. If clubs at all levels were encouraged to talk to their players from youth to first team, if associations and clubs could combine to reach out to the masses and explain the early signs and triggers of depression then what a difference that could make.

Education about all aspects of health, physical and mental should be at the core of football. There is a real chance for football to re-assert itself as a force for social wellbeing and tolerance within its support structure, many of our greatest clubs were in fact formed with these grand ideals at their heart. With all the negativity that currently surrounds football and footballers now can be the time for a return to those ideals.

Ignorance, a lack of dialogue and therefore the stigma surrounding it, are the factors that more than any other, allow depression to fester and subsequently ruin lives. Football is in a unique position where it can address all these factors. This is a chance that cannot be missed. Football has a moral obligation to help those who have allowed it to grow, from its humble roots, to the global behemoth it has become.

Follow @allymonc