Who will have the biggest and noisiest support when Celtic meet Liverpool in Dublin on August 10?
Details about the match will be confirmed at the Aviva Stadium this afternoon with both clubs able to call upon vast support from throughout Ireland.
Over the last 50 years the links between Celtic and Liverpool have been numerous with three epic clashes in European competitions and supporters stealing and borrowing songs from each other.
While You’ll Never Walk Alone was almost certainly first heard at Anfield the Celtic support can claim to be the first to sing The Fields of Athenry and Just Can’t Get Enough before they were adopted and adapted by the Kop.
Dublin seems to be the natural middle ground for both clubs with Celtic represented by supporters clubs in every county of Ireland and able to call upon large numbers of fans from Dublin and Belfast.
The Liverpool support in Ireland has been in decline during the past decade with Premiership success elusive and the once strong Irish presence of Ray Houghton, Ronnie Whelan and John Aldridge no longer turning out in green or red.
In marketing terms the Anfield club seem to have been more interested in chasing the Asian market but with the finances now involved in football the days of Celtic or Liverpool popping over to face Bohemians, Shamrock Rovers or Shelbourne are trapped in the past.
While Celtic have cast eyes to the far east the club has never taken it’s eye of Ireland which continues to provide the club with support and players with Robbie and Roy Keane, Cillian Sheridan, Darren O’Dea and currently Anthony Stokes featuring in the frst team.
The organisers of the match at the Aviva will have did their sums and learned the lessons of the Dublin Super Cup which saw Celtic playing an Airtricity XI at lunchtime on a Sunday with fans required to pay top dollar with a match between Manchester City and Inter Milan also  thrown in.
A one off match, Saturday at 3pm will give the game an edge that will attract fans from Scotland and England as well as calling on the emotions of armchair fans throughout the island.
Once the scarves come down from the pre-match You’ll Never Walk Alone it’s likely that the Celtic fans will out number and out sing their opponents.
Converting that emotion support onto the balance sheet and retaining Victor Wanyama, Gary Hooper and Fraser Forster will be a tougher task but in a one-off match in Ireland Celtic will never be second best to any club side.
Celtic v cliftonville would be magic
As a Dub Celtic fan I am so disappointed to be missing the game against Liverpool. I was at the last game between the two clubs in Hartford, Connecticut in 2004. We got well and truly beaten but that can happen in friendlies.
As mentioned before, Celtic have neglected and taken their fans in Ireland for granted over the past decade or so. It is a real shame as it is our club as much as Glasgows.
The game will be a fantastic advertisement for football with the two of the best supported clubs in Europe…what a day it will be.
Hail Hail
Tommo and BBJ as guests of honour shoorly!;0)
YNWA .. Was first heard at Old Trafford!
I have been to all Celtic v man utd games home and away. Let me make my point very clear, there is zero afinity for man utd or their fans. They have no historical or cultural connection to Celtic and in all the games man utd fans showed aggression and hatred towards Celtic fans. I don’t want to hear any bull shit about man utd and Celtic unity there is none and never has been. So, Dublin man utd etc stay in doors and Dont come out the woodwork with some I follow Celtic also crap. Anyone in Dublin who follows man utd over Celtic should be sent packing to Salford! Celtic man utd friendship, bollocks!!!
Not true ..I was st Lou macari testimonial and the rapid Vienna rematch at old Trafford …Celtic and Man U fans have had a strong affinity for decades !!
Celtic PLC have neglected there fans all over the world for years All they want is our money They don’t give a fix about us
Can’t wait for you’ll never walk alone
Be buzzing atmosphere be jumping
Comon the hoops
i think it will be 50/50 when it comes to support as each team got 10.000 tickets and the rest went to ticket masters, just depends who picked up the phone quickest… anyway its going to be a great weekend in dublin with lots of drinking and singing in the city. im most looking forward to the drinking part myself but the YNWA will be something else.
ps …no mancs allowed.
ynwa
Sorry Brendan I don’t know where you get delusions from because at yesterday game in the aviva it was very much Liverpool fans all over the stadium except for behind one the goals were celtic fans had the bottom and top tier and Liverpool had the middle tier and all the rest of the stadium mate,so it was actually Liverpool fans who out number Celtic by at least 3-1 if not more that said the Celtic fans were amazing brilliant stuff from them all day. YNWA
Liverpool fans outnumbered us prob @ 5 to 1. We (Celtic fans) outsung the unusually quiet Pool fans. Noticeable their were a lot of young Liverpool fans which may go to show the influence SKY has on games these days. Hail hail
if the celts did sing ynwa in the 50s the its between them and man utd because it was definately sung around the time of the munich disaster to which there are many testamonies regarding the event. sorry liverpool you lose this arguement.
1958 YNWA sung at Old Trafford by Unted fans at the time of the Munich disaster and has been written about confirmed and documented by reliable witnesses. Any young Celts doubting the affinity between our great clubs, read about us or ask about your elders and you will find the real truth. The same kind of shit stirrers are at work who would have it said that there are not many United fans in Manchester and City rule the roost, anyone with half o’ brain will isten to and actually believe both these nonsenses. So young Celts come to Manc in your droves where we will match you in revelry. Come and enjoy a red welcome.