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Twists and turns Tommy Burns

Discussion in 'Celtic Chat' started by jamiebhoy67, Aug 20, 2015.

Discuss Twists and turns Tommy Burns in the Celtic Chat area at TalkCeltic.net.

  1. Henrik 07 Gold Member Gold Member

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  2. Henrik 07 Gold Member Gold Member

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    PETER GRANT has told of the hilarious night that Celtic legend Tommy Burns was sent home early from a team night out – because he was too drunk.

    Grant hailed Burns and admits he was a special man who he still misses to this day.

    nd one of the fondest memories Grant has of the former Hoops gaffer was when he let off some steam at a festive party in Glasgow.

    Speaking to Si Ferry on Open Goal, Grant said: “We went the Christmas night out one year, it was the usual everyone goes away in the fancy dress.


    You go to a hotel somewhere, you would have private drinks all by yourself.

    “We would all go up with carryouts in a room.

    Within half an hour, baring in mind all the young lads had been out all day, Tommy was there.

    Tommy wasn’t a drinker in any shape or form.

    “We’ve all thought okay we’ve had a few drinks, we’re a wee bit giggly.

    “The next thing the seats are lined up for the old boat race.

    Then TB (Tommy Burns) is drinking pints of white wine.


    “I mean drinking them as if they were water.

    “I’m looking at him thinking he’s kidding on here.

    “Ten minutes later Tommy dives through all the chairs and I’m like what’s going on here.


    We got a taxi for him, baring in mind we had only been there half an hour.

    “The taxi takes him back to his house in Newton Mearns.

    The taxi driver chaps the door and his wife Rosemary opens the door.

    “The driver said: ‘Tommy Burns’ and she’s gone ‘sorry son his taxi has already been’.

    “He’s then gone ‘no I’m bringing him back’ and she’s gone ‘what, he only left half an hour ago’.”
     
  3. Henrik 07 Gold Member Gold Member

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  4. Henrik 07 Gold Member Gold Member

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  5. G0G

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    That is absolutely outstanding work.
     
  6. Henrik 07 Gold Member Gold Member

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  7. buchanbhoy

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    * * , where did the years go ?
     
  8. Henrik 07 Gold Member Gold Member

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  9. Henrik 07 Gold Member Gold Member

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  10. nudge1086 Gold Member

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    * sake 12 years already, seems like yesterday when he jumped on the top of the pile in the Spartak Moscow celebration. Just looked there an that was 2007, time really does fly.

    RIP:shamrock:
     
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  11. Henrik 07 Gold Member Gold Member

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    TWELVE years ago today, on May 15, 2008, Tommy Burns passed away. He was just 51-years-old. The loss was one felt by the whole Celtic family though, of course, the greatest loss belonged to his wife, Rosemary and his four children, Emma, Jenna, Michael and Jonathan. And on this anniversary, as always, our thoughts and prayers remain with them.

    Tommy Burns was a public figure, known and loved by Celtic supporters young and old, but he was a husband and father, and also a grandfather, and his family miss him in ways that we can’t begin to imagine or understand.

    In his all-too-short life, Tommy did extraordinary things for our football club. He spent 14 years as a player, making his debut against Dundee in April 1975 and bowing out in a friendly match at Celtic Park against Ajax in December 1989.

    The Celtic View interviewed him on many occasions over the years, and at one point he was asked what his greatest achievement had been as a player.

    As far as he was concerned, it was staying at the club for such a long time “because bad players don’t play for Celtic for 14 years.”

    That has always been the same at the club and it is testament to his ability that Tommy did manage to last so long. During that time he won six league championships, five Scottish Cups and one League Cup medal. It was an impressive tally for a player who made 503 appearances for his beloved green and white Hoops.

    Tommy Burns seemed fated to play for Celtic. The boy from the Calton, born almost in the shadow of Celtic Park, grew up following the club and progressed on to the hallowed turf.

    As he always said, he considered himself to be no more than a supporter who got lucky. It was always a way of reminding people, and perhaps himself, that he was one of them, and it offers a perfect illustration of his humility.

    Having left the club, he returned in 1994 as manager, and was instrumental in restoring our pride on the pitch. His team always tried to play football ‘the Celtic Way’, and everyone who watched the Hoops at that time still speak with great affection and enthusiasm about what they saw.

    While he did win the Scottish Cup in 1995 – Celtic’s first trophy in six years – a league title eluded him. It would have been a fitting reward for Tommy and his team but sadly it was not to be and he left in 1997.

    Thankfully, however, it wasn’t for long and when he returned, it was like he had come home. Our Youth Academy, which has produced a whole host of first-team players in recent seasons, is testament to his hard work in setting it up, while the Lennoxtown Training Centre is a great legacy.

    And Tommy’s contribution to the club’s success under Gordon Strachan cannot be underestimated. The league triumph at Tannadice in 2008, which made it three-in-a-row, was dedicated to Tommy by a group of players still mourning the loss of an influential figure within their ranks.

    Throughout the battle he fought with skin cancer, Tommy showed great courage and fortitude, while taking great solace from the Catholic faith which had been a central tenet of his life.

    Supporters always loved Tommy Burns because he was one of us – a Celtic fan who was lucky enough to live the dream that we’ve all harboured at one time in our lives.

    And the sea of tributes which were laid outside the front of Celtic Park after Tommy’s passing, was the most visible sign of the unique place he held in the hearts of the entire Celtic family.

    So today, May 15, is a sad time for everyone. It’s still hard to believe that Tommy’s no longer with us, and every memory will be tinged with sadness.

    But we should also remember the great things he did for our club, the goals he scored, the trophies he lifted, the players he brought to the club and the example he set of what it means to be a good Celtic man.

    We believe that Celtic is more than a football club – our roots, our character and our ethos set us apart, and Tommy Burns embodied everything that is good about Celtic.

    He was one of the greats who passed through Parkhead’s gates and he will never be forgotten. Hail, Hail, Tommy Burns.
     
  12. Blochairnbhoy

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    Wow 12 years * me! 51 no age at all man!

    wish he was here to see us now.

    he will be smiling down

    HH and * Bless Tommy
     
  13. Henrik 07 Gold Member Gold Member

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  14. Blochairnbhoy

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    Aye fair * to him for that. Never forget him and Walter smith crying carrying his coffin!
     
  15. Henrik 07 Gold Member Gold Member

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    Despite the rivalry they were the best of pals.


    Sometimes that gets lost with people.
     
  16. Luis1967 Gold Member Gold Member

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    Listen to that noise man. Unreal.

    RIP TB
     
  17. Henrik 07 Gold Member Gold Member

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  19. Henrik 07 Gold Member Gold Member

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    The Story Of' is a web series dedicated to small but special tales from Celtic’s illustrious history. Here, Aiden McGeady reflects on Tommy Burns' influence on he and James Forrest's Celtic paths.

    AIDEN McGeady marked his debut in Celtic’s senior side with a goal. A product of the club’s coveted youth academy, the then 18-year-old announced his arrival with a first half strike in a 1-1 draw with Hearts at Tynecastle on April 25. 2004.

    Just over six years later, James Forrest would walk a similar path when, also aged 18, the winger made his first senior side appearance and also hit the target on May 1, 2010. That afternoon – during a 4-1 win over Motherwell at Paradise – Forrest replaced McGeady as a second half substitute.

    Getting your name on the scoresheet isn’t a pre-requisite for developing stars making their break at senior level at Celtic, but it does speak to a deep-seated hunger and desire that’s specially cultivated behind the scenes at the club’s Lennoxtown Training Facility, and Barrowfield before it.

    Not only did McGeady and James both blaze similar trails through the club’s junior ranks, they were both heavily inspired by Tommy Burns in their formative years.

    “When James replaced me that afternoon, I spoke to him in the dressing room and said congratulations – as you do when any young player makes their debut,” said McGeady, speaking in James Forrest’s Celtic biography, Homegrown Hero. “That’s a big moment for them, and I remember that same experience fondly myself six years earlier. For him to come on and score, that’s even better.

    “If we’re looking at Celtic Academy boys, I managed to score on my debut, James, of course, did the same, and Callum McGregor did the same a few years after that again. Every player that comes through the Celtic Academy wants to be a first-team player, it’s as simple as that, and scoring goals is a good way to help force that.”




    McGeady added: “There have also been so many players who have come through the academy, and who have gone on to play senior level professional football – at Celtic or elsewhere – that had a direct relationship with Tommy Burns. To me, that’s no coincidence. He played a huge part in so many developing players’ careers, James included.

    “Tommy lived for football. He lived for coaching and making players better. Everyone associates Lennoxtown with Tommy Burns and he had been Head of Youth at the club. But even at that, I didn’t really know what Tommy’s title was, simply because he did everything and he was never away from the training ground.

    “He never actually took any one team, he took so many, sometimes at once! He’d dive into the 19s’ training, do some work with the boys, then he’d be over doing drills with the 14s. Before he knew it, it was 8 o’clock at night, Tommy was still there, so he’d take the full session with the Under-15s.

    "Lennoxtown was formally opened in late 2007, and it wasn’t long after that the following year that Tommy passed away. The facility will always be associated with Tommy and long may that continue."
     
  20. Henrik 07 Gold Member Gold Member

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