| Synopsis: |
Exploring the history of the home of Celtic, this title includes details of famous players and managers. It re-lives the stories of the greatest games and tells the tales of the club's struggles and desperate days. "The Dear Old Paradise" is the first book ever to be written about the world-famous stadium of Celtic Park. Exploring the history through a variety of photographs, maps, diagrams and advertisements, some previously unpublished, this book gives an idea as to why Celtic fans all over the world call the ground 'Paradise'. But a history of a ground on its own would be nothing without mentioning all the greats that have passed through it. There are details of star players and managers and of games played at Celtic Park. It includes accounts of the first Celtic Park (1888- 1892) a few hundred yards from the present ground, the story of Parkhead's greatest day when the European Cup came home in 1967, the prolonged struggle of the club to be allowed to fly the Irish flag in the 1950s and the desperate days when incompetent stewardship almost destroyed the club altogether in the 1990s.There are also details of match day at Parkhead in the current era, and a few suggestions as to how the stadium can be made better in the future. Above all, it tries to explain what the word 'Celtic' means to so many people, and why it is so important. "The Dear Old Paradise" is a must-have for all Celtic fans and for lovers of the beautiful game everywhere. |