| Matches : 1979 – 1980 | 1979-80 Pictures | Players |
Celtic return to pre-seasion training, 1980
Sunday Times, The (London, England)
July 25, 2004
Author: Neil White
By 1980, Billy McNeill had stamped his mark on a Celtic team he had inherited from Jock Stein two years previously. McNeill's first two signings, Murdo McLeod and Davie Provan, had been instrumental in the championship-winning side of 1979. Alex Ferguson's Aberdeen took the title north the following year, though the Scottish Cup was firmly in McNeill's grasp.
Celtic were about to embark on back-to-back championship seasons, a feat that would not be matched at Parkhead until the arrival of Martin O'Neill. McNeill achieved this through a combination of shrewd acquisitions and the fruits of a scouting and youth system that would be the envy of any Premierleague side today.
Of the seven players pictured, only Dom Sullivan and Tom McAdam came from other clubs.
Mick Conroy, who was signed in the latter months of Stein's reign, remembers the impact that McNeill's arrival had on the squad. "He was a breath of fresh air, a young manager with big ideas and big ambition," said Conroy. "We had a great dressing room, with a lot of young, confident guys. It was a lot of fun. There was a group of them coming through the boys club, Charlie Nicholas, Willie McStay, later his brother Paul, and Danny Crainey. They cottoned on to the fact that I was the only senior player who wasn't married and knew they could get in to my flat if they pulled on a Saturday."
Despite a vibrant social life, this Celtic side were the dominant force in Scottish football in the years prior to the emergence of Aberdeen and Dundee United as the New Firm of the Premier Division.
1 Tommy Burns
Tommy twists, Tommy turns, Tommy Burns. So the song went, and it was a fairly accurate description of the strengths of a midfielder who, by 1980, had already been at Parkhead for six years. It would be another 10 before he would depart, to become player-assistant manager at Kilmarnock. A Stein signing in 1975, Burns played 353 times for Celtic, scoring 52 goals from midfield and receiving eight Scotland caps. At Rugby Park he succeeded Jim Fleeting as manager and impressed his former employers so much that he was enticed back to Parkhead in 1994. During Rangers' run of nine consecutive championships, he came as close as any Celtic manager to breaking that sequence, often losing crucial Old Firm games which led him to suggest "Andy Goram broke my heart" for his epitaph. He was sacked in 1997 and had an unsuccessful stint at Reading before returning to Celtic to head the club's youth development programme, a job he combined with his role as Scotland No2 when Berti Vogts invited him on board in 2003.
2 Dom Sullivan
McNeill's changes were not all made overnight, and it was not until over a year after his arrival that he looked to his former club, Aberdeen, for an addition to his midfield. "We needed a little boost in that area, Billy saw that and he knew Dom well from his time at Pittodrie," said Conroy. Sullivan started out at Clyde, where his promise on the right wing saw him capped for Scotland at under-23 level.
After 84games and 12 goals for Celtic, he left in 1983 to join Morton. He returned to Clyde for the last game played at their old Shawfield stadium, in 1986, as Alloa manager. He is now a publican in Stirlingshire.
3 Tom McAdam
If McNeill could not sign the players he needed, he could always re-train the ones he already had. McAdam was a burly centre forward when he arrived from Dundee United in 1977, but McNeill moved him to centre half. A total of 48 goals from 362 games is an impressive return for a player who spent most of his nine years at Parkhead at the back, before moving to Motherwell in 1986. Following a spell as player-coach at Airdrie, he returned to Celtic as youth and reserve team coach.
4 Charlie Nicholas
"You could tell he was something special straight away," recalls Conroy of the striker who was yet to break through at the start of 1980/81. It would be two years until Nicholas exploded on to the scene, scoring 48 goals as Celtic lost their title to Dundee United, yet Nicholas was allowed to leave by a Parkhead board unwilling to come close to the wages offered by Arsenal. He returned to Scotland with Aberdeen, before a second spell at Celtic left him with a record of 85 goals in 188games. He finished his playing career at Clyde and is now a pundit with Sky Sports.
5 George McCluskey
The forward formed a lethal partnership with Frank McGarvey during the early 1980s, often providing the chances for his more prolific teammate, although he averaged a goal every three games himself over an eight-year Celtic career. It was one such strike that won the Scottish Cup in 1980. McCluskey redirected a Danny McGrain volley past Rangers goalkeeper Peter McCloy for an extra-time winner. He went on to play for Leeds United, Hibs and Hamilton, and was capped seven times for Scotland. He is now a community coach for Celtic and is also part of their matchday hospitality team. He lives in Uddingston.
6 Billy McNeill
Stein's successor took Celtic to three league championships in five years but left in 1983 after a dispute over pay. He accepted an offer to return in 1987, but left four years later, as Rangers' stranglehold on the championship tightened. As well as Aberdeen, McNeill managed Clyde, Manchester City and Aston Villa, and had a short-lived spell as director of football at Hibs. He now works in the media in Scotland and Ireland.
7 Mike Conroy
Conroy was 20 when he was spotted playing for Port Glasgow. Spent five years at Parkhead from 1977, before joining Hibs. He finished his playing career in Ireland with Cork City while earning his coaching qualifications. He became assistant manager with Cork, but was sacked in 1993. Now settled in Ireland, he has developed a centre of excellence that produced Colin Healy and Liam Miller, who both played for Celtic. He also writes a football column for the Irish Sun and scouts for Blackburn Rovers.
8 Packie Bonner
Bonner notched up more than 600 appearances for Celtic in 17 years and picked up 80 caps for the Republic of Ireland. Was duelling with Englishman Peter Latchford for the No1 position at Celtic as the 1980/81 season kicked off. Bonner is now technical director and goalkeeping coach for the FAI in Ireland and was once singled out by Pope John Paul II after his penalty shoot-out heroics in the 1990 World Cup second-round match against Romania. "I know you are the goalkeeper," said the Pope to Packie when the two met. "I used to play in that position myself."