So as of Monday morning, the anvil came down on Rangers woeful attempts to stop us winning our rightful ninth consecutive league title and 9-in-a-row became official.
No surprise then that yesterday morning it was announced that the SFA have decided not to pursue a European licence breach by Rangers for the 2011/12 season.
Anyway, that’s another story in itself but at least the title has ended up in its rightful place once again.
They will all complain and talk about asterisks and tainted titles etc but it’s all front.
The title was heading back to Celtic Park no matter how you slice it and they know it.
We came out of the blocks fast after the season kicked-off on August 3rd hammering St.Johnstone 7-0 on flag day and in total won six straight league games which also included a resounding 2-0 win at Ibrox via goals from Odsonne Edouard and Jonny Hayes.
Over that period we scored 21 goals and conceded only three.
We then encountered our only real blip of the season in regards to the consecutive loss of points as we were held to a 1-1 draw at Easter Road by Hibs followed by a shock 2-0 loss at The Tony Macaroni Arena vs Livingston.
In the latter game we never really showed up but Ryan Christie receiving his marching orders on 25 mins with the game still tied at 0-0 really was the death blow.
We rebounded back like champions though winning eleven straight league games, scoring 32 goals whilst conceding only four in the process.
Magic.
But across the city Rangers were for once putting up an actual title challenge and going into a vital ‘Old Firm’ meeting with them at Celtic Park on December 29th they had lost only one of their 19 league fixtures up to that point – the 2-0 defeat against us at Ibrox – with sixteen wins and two draws.
The game would be the last competitive fixture before the three-week winter shutdown and it would be advantage big time in the title race to whoever won it.
Safe to say it was a blow then when the light blues emerged 2-1 winners.
In truth, we were second best all-day and they deserved their victory.
Of course, the inevitable hubris was insufferable.
Despite having won nothing of significance in the past eight years as well as losing thirteen of the previous seventeen fixtures against us and with half the season still to go not to mention the fact they were actually still two points behind Celtic in the table it was lift-off time in Govan.
Going by the celebrations, title 55* was more or less in the bag and was apparently “just a matter of time”.
Both sides squads departed to Dubai in the New Year to prepare for the second half of the season.
Celtic knuckled down and switched their play to include a second striker with Patryk Klimala and Ismaila Soro added to the squad and Leigh Griffiths returning from a long period out with personal problems.
Upon their return and up until the league was suspended in early March the men in hoops won nine games and drew only one from ten, smashing in an incredible 34 goals with only six going in at the other end.
The post-winter break form was like a freight train as Celtic hurtled over the opposition with Livingston via a hard-fought 2-2 draw at the Tony Macaroni being the only team who could deny us three points.
Meanwhile over at Ibrox the wheels well and truly came off as it transpired that Rangers, their staff, players and fans had got the cigars and brandy out a tad early.
Over that same period that we hurtled forward, they crashed and burned as they lost three, drew two and could win only five of their ten league games scoring only eleven goals and conceding eight.
The two-point deficit increased to thirteen with the goal difference gap widening from being even to 25 goals in the Bhoys favour.
Their talismanic striker Alfredo Morelos couldn’t hit a barn door with his last league goal coming on the 26th of December.
Meanwhile, Odsonne Edouard just couldn’t stop scoring with nine league strikes and the re-energised Griffiths pitched in with seven proving that he was well and truly back.
Some of the team’s Rangers lost to included bottom side Hearts away (2-1) at Tynecastle as well as second-bottom Hamilton Accies at home (1-0) and they also came a cropper at eighth-placed Kilmarnock (2-1).
They completely capitulated and a large section of their own fans even wanted Steven Gerrard gone by late February after they tumbled out of the Scottish Cup against Hearts once again at Tynecastle.
Indeed probably the only thing that likely kept him in his job was a surprise Europa League run to the Last 16 after a come from behind win over Braga.
Thems are the facts and they don’t lie.
Rangers fans spin an unconvincing yarn that they were going to suddenly win all of their final nine games – two of which were against us – whilst we would lose a minimum of three, draw at least one and win no more than four of our final eight matches.
It sounds fanciful.
That’s because it is.
No one wanted the league ended prematurely. No one is happy about the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
But it’s a reality that football here has been off for nearly three months and won’t be back anytime soon as infection numbers continue to rise and with no vaccine in sight.
And you don’t null and void a season where over three-quarters of the games have already been played.
I could see an argument from their end if they had any realistic chance of catching us but they didn’t, they weren’t and they wouldn’t have.
It just wasn’t happening and they had already admitted it before the pandemic shutdown gave them a glimpse of a possible get out of jail card which is exactly what it was.
Of course, it’s not the way we wanted to win but it’s legitimate, the record books will show it and for the second time in the club’s history………..
‘WE’VE WON 9-IN-A-ROW!’
Alas, the ongoing lockdown precludes any real celebrations and God only knows when and if we’ll actually get awarded the trophy.
Though of course, it’s not like we actually need to be awarded it as it’s been sitting in the same place for the last eight years now anyway.
But I hope everyone who supports the club has taken some time to have a glass of something nice to celebrate and I’m sure there will be a few lively socially distanced family barbecues in the coming days.
Hopefully, in the not too distant future, some semblance of normality returns and we can then get excited about another season and of course doing 10-in-a-row.
As for Rangers what with them not actually acknowledging this title I’m sure they won’t be in a great panic stop that.
Aye, right.
I bet they won’t.
Anyway here are the highlights of Celtic’s last official match from the 2019/20 campaign.
The game which I guess technically secured 9-in-row.
....Always A Tim! 