| Matches: 1975 – 1976 | 1975-1976 Pictures | League Table | Statistics |
An empty Season – No Trophies
- League Position – 2nd – finishing 6pts behind Rangers who won the League and a Treble with the League Cup and Scottish Cup
- League Cup – Losing Finalist
- Scottish Cup – Third Round
- European Cup Winners Cup – Losing Quarter Finalist
- Glasgow Cup – would be played in August
This was a tough season to take and it didn't start well. Firstly there was the absence of Jock Stein following the car crash in which he very nearly lost his life. Sean Fallon took over the reins for the whole of the season, with the Big Man gradually feeding in behind the scenes as the effects of his injuries gradually abated. With Kenny Dalglish making a request to go on the transfer list, looking for better terms from the club, there was further bleak news. This had happened before, most recently with David Hay, and the club rarely backed down. The importance of Dalglish remaining was paramount. A deal and a compromise were thrashed out behind the scenes, which included Dalglish getting the captaincy and he stayed.
On top of that there had been significant departures at the end of the previous season with Jimmy Johnstone and Jim Brogan going. Add in the fact that Steve Murray, who had fitted into the team really well, decided to retire when it proved impossible to make a comeback from foot surgey, then it might be expected that new signings would be made. The one important signing at the start of the season was Johannes Edvaldsson. How Shuggie exactly came to Celtic does not appear to be known for certain, though there were rumours that he had been approached whilst playing in Denmark the previous season. He came straight from the end of the Danish season as a trialist on the pre-season games in Ireland, and was clearly someone that Celtic could not pass over. He was duly signed and went on to have an excellent season being able to play as a defensive or attacking midfielder or as a centre half and even as a sweeper if needed. Peter Latchford was also finally tied down as a player from the loan contract he had been on the previous season.
The pre-season came and went without any real incident. Shuggie was signed. Last season's English League winners were defeated. George Connelly was very much in the 'not-to-be-relied-on' camp, and before September was out he had walked out again and gone completely AWOL. This time it was for good. Jock Stein might have persuaded him back again but even this was uncertain and Fallon had a different sense of player understanding. The Board too no doubt had their part to play. He was out.
The League Cup saw Celtic in a group with Aberdeen, Hearts and Dumbarton. Dixie Deans, always a slow starter at the beginning of a season was out for the first two weeks suspended by the Referees Committe for offenses the previous season. The second game saw a shock with Hearts winning 2-0 in a game of two keepers. However Celtic managed to qualify from the Group stage with a game in hand due to sound work following the Hearts away game. The quarter finals saw Celtic take on Stenhousemuir and the debut of 16 y.o. Roy Aitken. A 3-0 aggregate win saw Partick Thistle managed by ex-Celt Bertie Auld and head of the the new Division One drawn as semi final opponents. A scrambled 1-0 win at Hampden saw Celtic through to the final against Rangers. An uninspiring game final followed with Celtic losing their 5th League Cup in six seasons and Rangers gain the first part of their treble.
Immediately following the Group stages of the League Cup Celtic faced their first real test with the away derby against Rangers. With the restructuring of Scottish football into the Premier Division of 10 teams Celtic would face Rangers at least 4 times this season in the League at least. Celtic performed well but lost to defensive mistakes in what was a riotous game off the field and saw Alex MacDonald of Rangers sent off. In 1975-76 football hooliganism was real and a reflection of the tensions within Scottish society at large. Though Rangers won the game both sides looked as bad as each other and the scene was set for a long battle for the League Championship. Rangers held that initial advantage till the beginning of November with the second derby at Celtic Park producing a one-apiece draw and Celtic went above Rangers ( a little fortuitously given a fog-abandoned game against Hibs when they led 2-0). What followed through November proved the point that both teams were as bad (or as good!) as each other with points dropped by both sides and the end of the month saw Celtic still holding the whip hand but by goal difference only. By the end of January Celtic were one point ahead despite losing the game at Ibrox to the single goal of the game from McLean.
Fixture congestion and weather now started to play a part. February saw Celtic steal a march(!) and they were three points ahead but with Rangers having a game in hand. And by the end of March it was back to the one point. What followed through April was disastrous with 8 points dropped in five games. The Ibrox club found some kind of form and failed to drop points. It was an April of fools' and team madness which by the Ayr Utd game Sean Fallon acknowledged that Celtic's chance was gone. As progress in the Scottish Cup had been halted at the first hurdle by Motherwell, and European progress thwarted by bad luck and an ultra defensive team at the quarter final stage, not only were Celtic looking at a trophyless season but Rangers were looking at a Treble. This they duly competed on the 1st May when Celtic were playing out the dowt of the season against Ayr Utd.
The tightness of the season and the reasons for failure perhaps deserve a closer analysis. Everybody was aware that this was alleged to be a team in transition. The days of the glorious players that the Celtic support had come to rightfully adore and lionise had passed. Now Kenny Dalglish carried the weight of the team on his back. By even stating that it was a transition period the weight of expectation must have been felt by the young players like Tommy Burns, Andy Ritchie, Jackie McNamara, Roddie MacDonald as well as the 'imports' like Glavin and Doyle. If they felt the expectations then the veterans Dixie Deans and Harry Hood must have felt trepidation.
Simply put Celtic had to a degree run out of luck. A return to a youth policy (whilst at the time completely revamping the scouting system admitting almost that it was inadequate), refraining from forking out large transfer sums (Celtic broke their transfer record this season with £90,000 for Johnny Doyle when players were changing hands to the south for £250,000), bad luck with the signings they had made and a failure to address or realise the enormous impact that losing players like Billy McNeill, David Hay and even George Connelly had not been addressed. They were lucky this season in picking up Johannes Edvaldsson on a virtual free and that in Kenny Dalglish they had the one true genius of Scottish football.
It remained to be seen if the return of the Big Man to the controls would change things.