Celtic Underground

SPFL TO RFC - WTF?

 

It’s here, the dossier that everyone (well everyone in scottish football) was waiting for.  The evidence, the whistle blower, the reports of bullying, the substantiation, the smoking guns, deep throat, the bombshells that would lead to the resignation of the CEO were all…well NOT there.

 

Unfortunately RFC seem to confuse questions with evidence and fact with opinion.

 

Following it’s publication, their CEO (who sits on the SPFL board that is so useless) appeared on Radio Clyde.  after his appearance I’m even more confused as to what it is they want an inquiry into.

 

Anyway, we set about trying to disect it the whole mess.  I am joined by Anthony Murray and David Low to look at this as objectively as Celtic fans can.

 

Enjoy…

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecelticunderground.substack.com/subscribe

SPFL TO RFC - WTF?
It’s here, the dossier that everyone (well everyone in scottish football) was waiting for.  The evidence, the whistle blower, the reports of bullying, the substantiation, the smoking guns, deep throat, the bombshells that would lead to the resignation of the CEO were all…well NOT there.
Unfortunately RFC seem to confuse questions with evidence and fact with opinion.
Following it’s publication, their CEO (who sits on the SPFL board that is so useless) appeared on Radio Clyde.  after his appearance I’m even more confused as to what it is they want an inquiry into.
Anyway, we set about trying to disect it the whole mess.  I am joined by Anthony Murray and David Low to look at this as objectively as Celtic fans can.
Enjoy…

The 9iar Chronicles - Season Seven, 1971/72

 

A Blend of Old and New

 

• League Position – 1st - Seventh League title in a row - a record
  
• League Cup – Losing Finalists
  
• Scottish Cup – Winners
  
• Glasgow Cup - Not played this season
• Drybrough Cup - Losing Finalists
  
• European Cup - Semi Finalists
  

 

Season 1971-72 was a significant season as it really marked the start of a new chapter for the club, of players that had begun to appear the previous season but made their true marks this season. It also marked in truth the end of the Lisbon Lions era (but not the memory of that great team) with the departure of so many that had made up that team. The Main Stand had been substantially rebuilt and upgraded during the closed season and was formally opened by Jimmy McGrory on the 1st September 1971 with a game against South American Champions Nacional of Uruguay, Celtic running out 3-0 winners.

 

By this point Celtic had already lost the inaugural Drybrough Cup to Aberdeen. This was an interesting competition historically as it marked the first time that outside private sponsorship was seen in the professional game in Scotland. In the League Cup, Celtic qualified from the Group stage of Rangers, Morton and Ayr Utd. with resounding wins over Rangers home and away. The 'home' leg which was actually played at Ibrox because of the final work on the new Main Stand at Celtic Park, was significant in marking Kenny Dalglish's first first team goal. There would be many more. In the away game Celtic thoroughly demoralised a Rangers team that thought they had the beating of Celtic after an even first half. Quarter final and Semi final wins over Clydebank (marked by Brian McLaughlin's debut) and St Mirren followed to give a final at Hampden against a newly promoted and envigorated Partick Thistle. The result was not expected. With Billy McNeill absent, the Jags went 4-0 up by half time. Thistle were on fire and the 4-1 result and loss would mark a turn at Celtic and bring about arrivals and departures.

The days of the Lions were gone. The emerging talent was the Quality Street Gang and the prime examples were Kenny Dalglish, Lou Macari, Davie Hay, George Connelly and Danny McGrain. Out had gone John Clark - a crisp and reliant reader and thinker of the game who had become the sweeper - and Steve Chalmers at 35 years old. After the League Cup Final loss they would be followed by John Hughes and Willie Wallace to Crystal Palace and Tommy Gemmell in December with John Fallon going to Motherwell in 1972 and Jim Craig heading for South Africa at the end of the season. In came new buys Dixie Deans, regarded as a steal of a buy from Motherwell at £17,500, and for the perpetual blind-spot of goalkeeper came Denis Connaghan from St Mirren. But it was the young gang, recruited and developed through the lean years who Sir Robert Kelly had asked the fans to be patient for who took on the new mantle of Celtic and won the Double of League and Scottish Cup this season.

 

Jock Stein had the team playing a fluid system this season with as ever, everyone ready to both attack and defend so that players could switch and everyone to a greater or lesser extent could be a 'utility' player. No one exemplified this so much as Davie Hay and Dalglish. Both could play anywhere on the park, were elegant and confident on the ball, could pass accurately over distance to supply the killer ball and could shoot and score goals. Davie Hay had emerged earlier and would play anywhere in the team. Dalglish really became THE player this season, at home up front or supporting in a withdrawn midfield role. To be able to release an international full back of the stature of Tommy Gemmell meant that Jock Stein was confident in the resources that he had at Celtic Park. Jim Brogan continued to play well and was a veteran giving advice and support. Jim Craig's final season saw him make 28 first team starts and he would probably have continued to be picked for the first team had he chosen to stay. Furthering his career in dentistry, the warmer climate of South Africa and new challenges called, however. Jimmy Quinn had been at the club since he was 16 and had first been used as an out-and-out striker but the previous season had seen him turned into a fast overlapping defender and this was further developed this season. He did well. Danny McGrain looked like he was ready to step up and but for an unfortunate clash of heads and the resulting fractured skull would have become a stand out this season. He had to wait but he was clearly going to be the business.

 

The two supreme veterans that held it together were Billy McNeill and Bobby Murdoch. Cesar impressed so much this season that he won his Scotland place back under the new international manager Tommy Docherty. His cool head in the centre of defense and his power were rarely beaten and if he did have an off-day then the team suffered. Bobby Murdoch was as important as a playmaker as McNeill was as a defender. These two knitted the younger players into a unit and continued the Celtic tradition built up over seven League titles of what was required from a Celtic team and a Celtic player.

 

Worth mentioning too is Tommy Callaghan. He had probably his best ever season for the club in 1971-72 and ran his heart out as a water carrier and attacker as well as being a tireless midfield player. Never a fans favourite, he sometimes found himself the brunt of the terraces' ire but his performances this season were collosal and his hard work allowed the finesse of Dalglish, Macari, Hood, Lennox and Johnstone to shine.

 

In the goalkeeping stakes things were still as obscure as ever in the blind-spotted Stein's mind. Not since the glory days of Ronnie Simpson had he felt so uncertain about the feller in front of the onion bag. Evan Williams had started as first choice, but Gordon Marshall and Denis Connaghan were brought in to challenge, and rejected. A young keeper Tom Lally had been brought over from Sligo Rovers but had played more games for Morton on loan than at Celtic. Lally would leave the following season. Both Marshall and John Fallon left to fill spots at Aberdeen and Motherwell when those teams experienced injury crises. Added to these can be the youths that were picked up during the season. - Neil Carr from Maryhill Juniors; Stefan Gryzska from Whitehill Welfare; Leif Neilsen - an experienced Danish keeper who was in dispute with Morton and released by them on a free; and Tom Livingstone who had been a youth international keeper and was released when he lost his first team spot with Cumbernauld Utd. To these would be added more and it would remain a troublesome position for some time - till the Big Man made his final club signing.

 

This was a very interesting season - the blend of youth and vigour and experience; A Double Season; so nearly into another European Cup Final; players competing for positions and keen to show what they could do; a wealth of talent that had been developed by hard training who were fit, confident, competent and keen.

It would be interesting to see how the club would develop.

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecelticunderground.substack.com/subscribe

The 9iar Chronicles - Season Seven, 1971/72
A Blend of Old and New

League Cup – Losing Finalists
 

Season 1971-72 was a significant season as it really marked the start of a new chapter for the club, of players that had begun to appear the previous season but made their true marks this season. It also marked in truth the end of the Lisbon Lions era (but not the memory of that great team) with the departure of so many that had made up that team. The Main Stand had been substantially rebuilt and upgraded during the closed season and was formally opened by Jimmy McGrory on the 1st September 1971 with a game against South American Champions Nacional of Uruguay, Celtic running out 3-0 winners.
By this point Celtic had already lost the inaugural Drybrough Cup to Aberdeen. This was an interesting competition historically as it marked the first time that outside private sponsorship was seen in the professional game in Scotland. In the League Cup, Celtic qualified from the Group stage of Rangers, Morton and Ayr Utd. with resounding wins over Rangers home and away. The 'home' leg which was actually played at Ibrox because of the final work on the new Main Stand at Celtic Park, was significant in marking Kenny Dalglish's first first team goal. There would be many more. In the away game Celtic thoroughly demoralised a Rangers team that thought they had the beating of Celtic after an even first half. Quarter final and Semi final wins over Clydebank (marked by Brian McLaughlin's debut) and St Mirren followed to give a final at Hampden against a newly promoted and envigorated Partick Thistle. The result was not expected. With Billy McNeill absent, the Jags went 4-0 up by half time. Thistle were on fire and the 4-1 result and loss would mark a turn at Celtic and bring about arrivals and departures.The days of the Lions were gone. The emerging talent was the Quality Street Gang and the prime examples were Kenny Dalglish, Lou Macari, Davie Hay, George Connelly and Danny McGrain. Out had gone John Clark - a crisp and reliant reader and thinker of the game who had become the sweeper - and Steve Chalmers at 35 years old. After the League Cup Final loss they would be followed by John Hughes and Willie Wallace to Crystal Palace and Tommy Gemmell in December with John Fallon going to Motherwell in 1972 and Jim Craig heading for South Africa at the end of the season. In came new buys Dixie Deans, regarded as a steal of a buy from Motherwell at £17,500, and for the perpetual blind-spot of goalkeeper came Denis Connaghan from St Mirren. But it was the young gang, recruited and developed through the lean years who Sir Robert Kelly had asked the fans to be patient for who took on the new mantle of Celtic and won the Double of League and Scottish Cup this season.
Jock Stein had the team playing a fluid system this season with as ever, everyone ready to both attack and defend so that players could switch and everyone to a greater or lesser extent could be a 'utility' player. No one exemplified this so much as Davie Hay and Dalglish. Both could play anywhere on the park, were elegant and confident on the ball, could pass accurately over distance to supply the killer ball and could shoot and score goals. Davie Hay had emerged earlier and would play anywhere in the team. Dalglish really became THE player this season, at home up front or supporting in a withdrawn midfield role. To be able to release an international full back of the stature of Tommy Gemmell meant that Jock Stein was confident in the resources that he had at Celtic Park. Jim Brogan continued to play well and was a veteran giving advice and support. Jim Craig's final season saw him make 28 first team starts and he would probably have continued to be picked for the first team had he chosen to stay. Furthering his career in dentistry, the warmer climate of South Africa and new challenges called, however. Jimmy Quinn had been at the club since he was 16 and had first been used as an out-and-out striker but the previous season had seen him turned into a fast overlapping defender and this was further developed this season. He did well. Danny McGrain looked like he was ready to step up and but for an unfortunate clash of heads and the resulting fractured skull would have become a stand out this season. He had to wait but he was clearly going to be the business.
The two supreme veterans that held it together were Billy McNeill and Bobby Murdoch. Cesar impressed so much this season that he won his Scotland place back under the new international manager Tommy Docherty. His cool head in the centre of defense and his power were rarely beaten and if he did have an off-day then the team suffered. Bobby Murdoch was as important as a playmaker as McNeill was as a defender. These two knitted the younger players into a unit and continued the Celtic tradition built up over seven League titles of what was required from a Celtic team and a Celtic player.
Worth mentioning too is Tommy Callaghan. He had probably his best ever season for the club in 1971-72 and ran his heart out as a water carrier and attacker as well as being a tireless midfield player. Never a fans favourite, he sometimes found himself the brunt of the terraces' ire but his performances this season were collosal and his hard work allowed the finesse of Dalglish, Macari, Hood, Lennox and Johnstone to shine.
In the goalkeeping stakes things were still as obscure as ever in the blind-spotted Stein's mind. Not since the glory days of Ronnie Simpson had he felt so uncertain about the feller in front of the onion bag. Evan Williams had started as first choice, but Gordon Marshall and Denis Connaghan were brought in to challenge, and rejected. A young keeper Tom Lally had been brought over from Sligo Rovers but had played more games for Morton on loan than at Celtic. Lally would leave the following season. Both Marshall and John Fallon left to fill spots at Aberdeen and Motherwell when those teams experienced injury crises. Added to these can be the youths that were picked up during the season. - Neil Carr from Maryhill Juniors; Stefan Gryzska from Whitehill Welfare; Leif Neilsen - an experienced Danish keeper who was in dispute with Morton and released by them on a free; and Tom Livingstone who had been a youth international keeper and was released when he lost his first team spot with Cumbernauld Utd. To these would be added more and it would remain a troublesome position for some time - till the Big Man made his final club signing.
This was a very interesting season - the blend of youth and vigour and experience; A Double Season; so nearly into another European Cup Final; players competing for positions and keen to show what they could do; a wealth of talent that had been developed by hard training who were fit, confident, competent and keen.It would be interesting to see how the club would develop.

The 9iar Chronciles - Season Six 1970/71

 

Merely Champions? Merely a Double? The End of an Era?

 

• League Position – 1st - Sixth League title in a row
  
• League Cup – Losing Finalists
  
• Scottish Cup – Winners
  
• Glasgow Cup - Semi-Final
  
• European Cup - Quarter Final

 

Celtic won their sixth successive League Championship and the League and Scottish Cup Double - the 7th time they had achieved this. But many folk were now shaking their heads and saying that the team was not what it was. The problem appeared to be less in what was on display but how the team achieved it's wins and the manner of those wins.

 

Celtic had invested heavily in youth in the past and in the development of players through from youths and Juniors through to first team players. Sir Robert Kelly had warned Celtic supporters in the fallow years to be patient and to wait for the youngsters coming through. That wait had resulted in the Lisbon Lions and the years of fat which preceded this season. Further investment in youth saw the emergence of the Kelly Kids and the Quality Street Gang and these were the players that were breaking through throughout this season and who would take the club forward. The problem was that these young players were seen in performance against the ageing Lisbon Lions squad and the games were judged by Lisbon Lions standards. Time had not stood still for the Lions. Though Ronnie Simpson, the oldest of the Lisbon Lions, had retired at the end of the previous season, it was at the end of this season that the major departures of the Lions began. Bertie Auld, Stevie Chalmers and John Clark all moved on - a situation that would have been thought impossible back two seasons past - and they would soon be joined by others. But their time had come they needed to and had to move on for the team's sake. Jock Stein realised this and throughout the season he carefully assessed all the playing staff at the club - who was in, who was available, who was coming through. And change was inevitable to preserve the talent of the club and to continue to move forward and to challenge for glory.

 

Enjoy…

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecelticunderground.substack.com/subscribe

The 9iar Chronciles - Season Six 1970/71
Merely Champions? Merely a Double? The End of an Era?

League Cup – Losing Finalists
 

Celtic won their sixth successive League Championship and the League and Scottish Cup Double - the 7th time they had achieved this. But many folk were now shaking their heads and saying that the team was not what it was. The problem appeared to be less in what was on display but how the team achieved it's wins and the manner of those wins.
Celtic had invested heavily in youth in the past and in the development of players through from youths and Juniors through to first team players. Sir Robert Kelly had warned Celtic supporters in the fallow years to be patient and to wait for the youngsters coming through. That wait had resulted in the Lisbon Lions and the years of fat which preceded this season. Further investment in youth saw the emergence of the Kelly Kids and the Quality Street Gang and these were the players that were breaking through throughout this season and who would take the club forward. The problem was that these young players were seen in performance against the ageing Lisbon Lions squad and the games were judged by Lisbon Lions standards. Time had not stood still for the Lions. Though Ronnie Simpson, the oldest of the Lisbon Lions, had retired at the end of the previous season, it was at the end of this season that the major departures of the Lions began. Bertie Auld, Stevie Chalmers and John Clark all moved on - a situation that would have been thought impossible back two seasons past - and they would soon be joined by others. But their time had come they needed to and had to move on for the team's sake. Jock Stein realised this and throughout the season he carefully assessed all the playing staff at the club - who was in, who was available, who was coming through. And change was inevitable to preserve the talent of the club and to continue to move forward and to challenge for glory.
Enjoy…

Covid or Novid

 

As you will hear, this is not our usual Celtic Underground guest - for a start she doesn’t go to games…  More importantly that attending Celtic games however, she is working to save lives.  Haley (my niece) is a nirse currently working in A&E, sometimes in general accodent & emergency, other times (liek this past week) on the Covid19 ward.  To use the hospital jargon, she is either Covd or Novid.

 

Don’t worry, the content won’t unnerve (it might even put your mind at rest) for example A&E’s are quieter than normal.

 

She talks through what you might find if you go to hospital for whatever reason, what some of the symptoms are to look out for, how here and her colleagues are coping and, of course, the situation with PPE.

 

Enjoy…

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecelticunderground.substack.com/subscribe

Covid or Novid
As you will hear, this is not our usual Celtic Underground guest - for a start she doesn’t go to games…  More importantly that attending Celtic games however, she is working to save lives.  Haley (my niece) is a nirse currently working in A&E, sometimes in general accodent & emergency, other times (liek this past week) on the Covid19 ward.  To use the hospital jargon, she is either Covd or Novid.
Don’t worry, the content won’t unnerve (it might even put your mind at rest) for example A&E’s are quieter than normal.
She talks through what you might find if you go to hospital for whatever reason, what some of the symptoms are to look out for, how here and her colleagues are coping and, of course, the situation with PPE.
Enjoy…

The 9iar Chronicles - Season Five 1969/70

 

A brilliant season that was nearly incredible!

 

 

• League Position – 1st - Fifth League title in a row
  
• League Cup – Winners
  
• Scottish Cup – Losing finalists
  
• Glasgow Cup -
  
• European Cup - Losing finalists

 

 

When you look at that list of season accomplishments above you would have to conclude that it was so close to being a very successful season. The Double was very nearly a treble and close to a European quadruple. The truth is in the detail.

 

The one word that many people use when describing this season is 'complacency' The League was won by a clear 12 points from second placed (again) Rangers. Four league games were lost, three of them at home to Hibernian, Hearts and Aberdeen with the one away loss to Dunfermiline. The team played for the most part 'within' themselves and this led a number of observers to state that at times the team were over-confident and complacent in their handling of the game.

 

However, as the podcast confirms, this was somewhat unfair

 

Enjoy…

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecelticunderground.substack.com/subscribe

The 9iar Chronicles - Season Five 1969/70
A brilliant season that was nearly incredible!

League Cup – Winners
 

When you look at that list of season accomplishments above you would have to conclude that it was so close to being a very successful season. The Double was very nearly a treble and close to a European quadruple. The truth is in the detail.
The one word that many people use when describing this season is 'complacency' The League was won by a clear 12 points from second placed (again) Rangers. Four league games were lost, three of them at home to Hibernian, Hearts and Aberdeen with the one away loss to Dunfermiline. The team played for the most part 'within' themselves and this led a number of observers to state that at times the team were over-confident and complacent in their handling of the game. 
However, as the podcast confirms, this was somewhat unfair
Enjoy…