Football for good

Football for good

Today I’m asking Celtic supporters and others who like to read good football related stories to support the launch of the book ‘The Green Angel.’ The book has been created to raise funds for charities and in that sense is in keeping with the best traditions of Celtic Football Club and their supporters. You will all of course know that Celtic was founded to help feed an impoverished community struggling to survive in the harsh conditions of Victorian Scotland. We may have eradicated the disease and squalor which saw thousands of children die each year before their first birthday but even today many in our country struggle to get by.

The rise of food banks is a symbol of the failings of our society and one can argue that they shouldn’t exist in the fifth richest country on Earth. However they do exist and as Mhairi Black, a young Scottish MP said in Parliament, ‘Food banks are not part of the welfare state, they are symbol that the welfare state is failing.’ In that she is correct but until we create a society where they are unnecessary, then it is our duty to help those struggling in any way we can. There is a busy food bank just a corner kick from Celtic Park and one wonders what Brother Walfrid would think to see such things still being required 128 years after he founded Celtic to help feed the poor? That food bank near Celtic Park is one of the charities sales of ‘The Green Angel’ aims to support.

The book I’d ask you to purchase today is a collection of stories about the incredible football club which for many of us is a way of life. You’ll find the book to be excellent value and can rest assured that every penny of profit raised by the sale of the book and accompanying e-book will be given to charity. I have never written about the club I hold dear for profit or praise, I write about Celtic because it has been such a huge part of my life. Celtic inspires me, enthrals me and is simply a part of my life I couldn’t envisage being without. I like to think the passion and humour in my tales resonates with others who feel the same about Celtic and nothing gives me greater pleasure when fellow fans tell me they enjoyed my stories.

The Celtic story is a story like no other. Billy McNeil once said, ‘There is a fairy tale quality about this club’ and I think he was right. To rise from such humble origins to become the pre-eminent club in Scotland and eventually the finest side in Europe was a remarkable feat. The book celebrates great players, Managers and achievements but much of what Celtic has achieved over the past 128 years would have been impossible without the support of their remarkable fans. Many of the stories in the book reflect on the lives and experiences of those ordinary supporters who are the life blood of the club. Without them there would be no Celtic. It was written of the Celtic supporters as early as 1891…

‘Celtic are blessed with having a following that simply defy the elements, whose enthusiasm for the club is never lukewarm.’

That enthusiasm is of course geared to backing the team and driving them on to victory but it is also important to those fans that the club continues its laudable history of supporting those less fortunate. Today I ask you to continue that tradition by buying a copy of ‘The Green Angel.’ With Christmas on the horizon you may want to purchase a few copies for friends and family. In doing so you will be continuing to support Walfrid’s legacy and demonstrating that football can be a force for good in society.

Click the link below to place your order and spread the word as the more books and E-Books we sell the more money we will be able to donate to charity.  You have my heartfelt thanks as I know from previous experience that the Celtic support and others who like a good football story will support these good causes. I hope you enjoy the book but more than that I hope we raise lots of money to help those less fortunate than ourselves.

Hail Hail

Click this link to order your copy of The Green Angel and thank you for continuing a fine tradition: http://thegreenangelbook.co.uk/