The story of the 2005/2006 season and the first of Gordon Strachan’s tenure. Hoops fans were still a bit shellshocked from the events of black Sunday (I could have done without the footage to remind me) and the appointment of Strachan wasn’t exactly welcomed wholeheartedly. Although Strachan had a few of the old guard around like Hartson, Petrov and Lennon he still had a bit of rebuilding to do and he brought in Boruc, Zurawski and Nakamura. Unfortunately he also brought in Virgo and Camara. Paul Telfer also came in and after an initial tough time settled down to become a solid if unspectacular right back.
It would be an understatement to say that Strachan didn’t have the best of starts losing 5-0 to Artmedia (thankfully no footage) this was followed by a Jekyll and Hyde performance in a return to Fir Park for the start of the league campaign. Having to rely on a last minute Beattie equaliser to gain a point in a 4-4 draw after a first half hat-trick from Hartson looked to have put Celtic in easy street. From that moment on the league was relentlessly pursued and Hearts were the only real challengers as Rangers fell apart under McLeish.
It was the season of:
the lime green away strip;
Thompson’s cupping of the ear after a great strike against Falkirk;
Sutton’s last Celtic goal against Dundee Utd;
Roy Keane signing for Celtic; and
Neil Lennon scoring, a video rairity.
Watching the highlights back there are a few things that stand out. The incredible strength of Hartson in holding off defenders and scoring vital goals. The contribution of Beattie in the early part of the season and the goals coming from midfield from Maloney and Petrov.
The DVD takes us on a journey though each month of the season and charts Celtic’s progress to the top of the league. Nakamura and Zurawski open their Celtic accounts in a 4-0 win in Fife against Dunfermline in August. For the early part of the season Celtic are chasing Hearts who are the surprise pace setters. Once Celtic hit their stride though the title becomes a romp. A 3-1 defeat at ibrox when Thompson and Lennon are sent off is a mere blip and the huns are duly skelped 3-0 in the 2nd derby game.
December is an historic month as Paul Telfer scores at Pittodrie and some guy called Roy Keane signs. 2006 stars with a top of the table clash at Tynecastle and who can forget the great Celtic fight back to win 3-2 after being 2-0 down after 8 mins. McManus’s goals still bring a huge smile even after all these years and it was the moment the title was secured. January also saw the arrival of Dion Dublin and Mark Wilson from Dundee Utd. Throughout the DVD I’m constantly reminded how many opposition players ended up in the hoops in the following seasons including Hartley, Pressley, Caldwell, Brown, Riordan and Robson.
Roy Keane’s debut at Clyde is conveniently overlooked and no mention is made of Du Wei’s 45 mins of infamy in the same game. Think we can be grateful for the lack of footage on this occasion.
We do get to see Keane’s one and only Hoops strike against Falkirk in February though and later on in the same month a four goal haul by Zurawski and a brilliant scissor kick goal from the edge of the box by Maloney are completely over shadowed by a trundler from Neil Lennon in an 8-1 win in Dunfermline as Celtic steamroller their way to the title. His first goal in over 4 years.
March brings Strachen his first Celtic trophy but it is tinged with sadness as on the Friday preceding the game the funeral cortege of Jimmy Johnstone took him on his last trip round Celtic Park. It was a poignant moment when Lennon appears to show the trophy to the crowds gathered outside amongst the shrine dedicated to Jinky’s memory. There is no footage on the disc of the final or of the preceding rounds which means you miss out on Maloney’s fantastic strike that caught Klos flat footed. You can get it on the ludicrous DVD release Remember Remember 2 wins in November which covers the League Cup game and the 3-0 win over the huns a few days later.
Early April sees the title wrapped up with 6 games to spare in a 1-0 home win against Hearts. This was the earliest the title had been secured by Celtic in 36 years. Watch out for a less than happy Petrov when the presentation of the trophy is carried out after the Hibs game.
Looking back on the highlights of this season I’m surprised at how good we looked at times. Clearly a highlights DVD gives you a skewed view but some of the goals we scored were top drawer. If only we had kept up this level of entertainment in the following seasons. To give Strachan his due he inherited a club and team that was at the lowest ebb after black Sunday and delivered 2 trophies in a time where downsizing started to become a too frequently used word.
The DVD is a standard straightforward review of the season with only a few interviews from Strachan, Lennon and Keane. Disappointed by the lack of footage from the League Cup but less disappointed about the lack of footage of the Scottish Cup although to ignore that game completely is a little petty.