Football Without Fans: Leeds based Wim-the-Tim CSC | OneFootball

Wim the Tim CSC…

Founded in 1997, the season Celtic stopped ‘the ten.’ Wim Jansen was the manager, hence the name Wim-the-Tim.

The first people involved with the club were Ged, Nick, Tony, Neil, and Nigel. Several venues were looked at to run the CSC from, then a new bar called Maguires opened. The landlord, Benny Maguire, was a bit apprehensive at first, but following another visit to see him, he agreed, and it all took off from there.

Macguires Bar. Old home of Wim the Tim CSC years ago. Now in Leeds Irish Centre

Maguires ended up being a really well-known pub throughout the Celtic family and used to host many a good night, with Charlie and the Bhoys and Shebeen amongst the groups playing there. It helped lots of Irish, Scots, and students get acclimatised to Leeds and was a safe place to gather, watch games, and enjoy the craic.

They started off with a handful of fans going to games in cars, then minibuses, and eventually a 57-seater. The first bus was for Bolton Wanderers Jimmy Phillips testimonial in 1997. They once ran a bus to Gretna just to watch a game on TV because it was only being shown on STV.

Sadly, Maguires closed in 2011 and all the memorabilia was auctioned off for charity. Anyone who ever went into Maguires will know how much Celtic stuff there was all over the walls and ceilings.

Following the closure, they again had to start the search for a new home. After looking around and talking to people, they went to a nearby bar called The Harp, and landlords Martin and Noel were happy to have them. It was a great place to watch games and host occasional artists, namely Paddy Ryan and The Ryan’s Band and a guy called Swaggering Dan.

The Harp closed its doors in 2016, so they then approached the Leeds Irish Centre and they have been there since. They have been made very welcome, and it is a brilliant place to go to watch the games with like-minded people.

They now run a minibus to most home games. Throughout the club’s history, there have always been characters in the bars and on the buses, and it proves to be the same now. There have been many memorable European trips.

Seville obviously, but also a bus trip to Turin for a Juventus game, which included no sleep for five days. They have also done Paris, Munich, Amsterdam, Croatia, Copenhagen, Athens, Barcelona, Madrid, and Poland. John Cracknell and his family joined the club in 2003 and he became secretary in 2006 and still is. The chairman since 2016 is Alex McGeorge.

David McIntyre  – Celticbars.com

An extract from Football Without Fans – The History of Celtic Supporters Clubs by David McIntyre ( Celtic Bars). Football Without Fans – The History of Celtic Supporters Clubs is out now and available in print and kindle versions HERE. Watch the video in the Celtic World tweet below for some amazing facts on the Celtic support around the world.

Just before Christmas, The Celtic Star was at Celtic Park alongside David McIntyre from Celtic Bars as Celtic began a new approach, looking to engage with the club’s supporters and the various activities, events and undertakings that go on in and around the Celtic support on an ongoing basis.

Recognising the work done over two decades by Davy from Celtic Bars in assisting Celtic supporters reach out to fellow fans and get together all over the world to watch the team play, is a great place to start.

That’s why The Celtic Star was happy to advise and assist Davy to get Football Without Fans brought together and published, using our own book publishing experience to benefit the project which we’re delighted to report has been an overwhelming success so far.

Here’s the video on Celtic TV’s You Tube channel which has had 1500 views and rising. You can order a copy in print or kindle from Amazon regardless of where you are in the world. Order your copy HERE.

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