The Celtic Underground

World football was yesterday shocked by the tragic death of Spanish footballer Jesus de Miguel.
Over the years, Celtic have sadly had numerous connections with footballing deaths. This latest podcast tells the story of these awful events.
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 in the Celtic Shop and on Amazon as hardback, paperback and Kindle. You can get it here: https://amzn.eu/d/0bZ3rJYi
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Andrew and Stephen gather for what begins with the wonderfully reassuring theme of “we’re shite and we know we are” and somehow manages to become an hour-long attempt to work out exactly how shite Celtic are, whether the manager can fix it, whether the players can fix it, whether anyone at the club knows who should fix it.
Along the way there’s Falkirk frustration, managerial rumours, old taxi-driver transfer tales reborn for the social-media age, Martin O’Neill nostalgia, Fergus McCann memories, boardroom communication, Kieran McKenna hope and the recurring suspicion that Celtic might want to stop doing the same thing over and over again while expecting a different result.
Remarkably, despite all that, they finish on something approaching optimism: Celtic still have good players, Europe needn’t be surrendered before kick-off and, with the right mindset, maybe things aren’t quite as bad as everyone thinks. Well… maybe.
Enjoy…
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This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecelticunderground.substack.com/subscribe

Over the years – although perhaps not this season – Celtic have enjoyed significant success in the League Cup.
The Bhoys first celebrated in this competition 70 years ago this week.
This latest podcast tells the full story of the 1956 League Cup Final.
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



This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecelticunderground.substack.com/subscribe

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.
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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.



This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecelticunderground.substack.com/subscribe