TODAY is a very special occasion.

Not only a Cup Final … but a Cup Final that will be played against a highly emotional backdrop.  Phil O’Donnell has a special place in the hearts and minds of both finalists and their respective fans.  Hopefully, today’s spectacle will be played in a true spirit of mutual respect, as befits the memory of the man who looms large over the event.

Let us hope the 2017 Scottish League Cup Final will be truly memorable for all the right reasons – and may the best team on the day win …

… as long as it’s Celtic, that is … COYBIG!!!

“Uncle Phil”

The cynics say the nice guys never win;
but Phil O’Donnell put that one to bed –
against him not a word was ever said,
no cruel jibe:
respect personified
the standard vibe.

Dubbed “Uncle”, in his second stint at ’Well
… a place where he’d become a club mainstay …
his nephew scored twice on that fateful day
that cast a pall:
a football tragedy
that stunned us all.

At Celtic, though by injury restrained,
Phil carved his niche in Parkhead folklore, when
he lined up in the side that stopped the ‘Ten’
we held in dread:
transformed our fears to
ecstasy instead.

A stalwart ‘Tim’, then, when the chips were down,
Phil did the double in the Scottish Cup:
heroic Steelman … still a first-team pup …
with a scoring dive –
a super Celtic sub
in ninety-five.

With a mighty engine and a sweet left foot,
O’Donnell was the ideal midfield foil –
the type who’d fetch and carry, sweat and toil
… a real workhorse:
a man to get behind –
a dreadful loss!

Copyright © 25thMay1967