Books – Andy Lynch – Hoops, Stars & Stripes (2016)

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It was in Scotland’s capital that Andy Lynch made his first tentative steps as a professional footballer at Tynecastle in 1969, when Johnny Harvey plucked the exciting outside-left from Kirkintilloch Rob Roy, and almost immediately threw him into the Hearts first team. Andy soon caught the eye of Jock Stein, who eventually splashed out £35,000 to take the life-long Celtic fan to Paradise in 1973.

It is undoubtedly in the green-and-white hoops that Andy Lynch is most fondly remembered. An unexpected switch in position to left-back resulted in him picking up a Scottish Cup winner’s medal in 1975. Two years later and he won another, when he famously scored the winning goal against Rangers from the penalty spot. His 1977 Scottish Cup triumph completed a memorable League and Scottish Cup double, but it was to be Jock Stein’s swansong as Celtic’s orchestrator of success.

Billy McNeill’s first season as Celtic’s manager in 1978/79 culminated in him leading his ten men to a winner-takes-all victory over Rangers in a match that is known simply as ‘The 4-2 Game’. After Celtic Andy moved to the flamboyant world of the North American Soccer League, where he starred for Philadelphia Fury, before managing the Montreal Manic until the league’s untimely demise in the early 1980s.
Fast forward to 2010, when the former Celtic captain made global news as he headed an Arabian consortium’s multi-million pound bid to buy into the English Premier League. Andy has never told his side of that astonishing takeover story, until now.

Hoops, Stars & Stripes is the insightful life story of former Celtic captain Andy Lynch, that will intrigue and surprise football fans in equal measure.

(​Review by David Potter)

​This is an excellent book and well worth spending £14.99 on at Xmas especially for someone who was alive and followed Celtic in the 1970s. It is well written, always interesting, and the story reads well. Paul John Dykes is a fine Celtic writer these days and those of us who have memories of his Neil Mochan book will not be disappointed that he teamed up with Andy to write this one.

​Andy comes across as one of the good guys, a little unfortunate with injuries and not always one of Jock Stein’s favourites (did Big Jock have any?), but very proud of his days with Celtic and in particular that famous penalty kick and that famous 4-2 win one Monday night in May. Both are well deal with in the book, and in between them of course comes that awful, still painful 1977/78 season when the loss of Dalglish was the catalyst for woes that we had not suffered since the early 1960s. You can sense the hurt in Lynch’s descriptions of that season, for he is a real Celt. ​

The book is agreeably free from rancour, spite and the self-justification which sometimes spoils football biographies. There is none of the constant sniping at Rangers, for example. Indeed there is a deep respect for Jock Wallace whom Andy served under at Hearts, and although the sectarian aspect is ever present (Jock Stein more or less told Andy he would never be a Manager in Scotland because of his background, and his father always realised that there were limits to his promotion in the Police), there is no bitterness. As I say, Andy comes across as a nice guy.

Mind you, he once told Jock Stein to ram Celtic where the sun didn’t shine (and lived to tell the tale!) and once spat on the other Stein, Colin of Rangers – something that he regretted, apologised for and was forgiven by Colin Stein! He is more than a little contemptuous of the Celtic Directorate of the 1970s (who isn’t?), but stressed that this does not lessen his love for the green and white. Even Lisbon Lions feel their hair going all funny when they pull the jersey over their head, he tells us!

​It was “Flax” – the famous supporter who doubled as a secret agent for Jock Stein – who organised his transfer at Queen Street Station when Lynch was going to Edinburgh to train for Hearts and Flax was selling his newspapers. It sounds incredible, but we are prepared to believe it. And what would old Flax made of things today? I hope he is watching from his own Paradise!

​Alcohol looms disturbingly largely in the book, but Andy was usually strict with himself. He is clearly very much a family man with a great love for his own parents and his own children, one of whom Simon also donned the green and white. His time in America is possibly less interesting for Celtic fans, but tells us a great deal about him as well, and the Chapter on the mega-rich tycoons attempt to buy Liverpool is in some ways alarming, and a warning of how the evils of capitalism are destroying the game, if we didn’t know it already. At the other end of the scale, East Stirlingshire conducted their interviews for their new Manager in a hotel bedroom! ​

A great insight into a player who was maybe not around long enough to be called “great” – but he did well enough. Buy this book. You won’t regret it.
CQN £14.99
David Potter

Review of Hoops stars and stripes by Celtic Underground

http://celticunderground.net/book-review-hoops-stars-and-stripes/

Hoops stars and stripes is the new autobiography of Andy Lynch, the popular Celtic player of the 1970’s. The book is written by the prominent Celtic writer, Paul John Dykes, whose previous efforts, The Quality Street Gang and Smiler (The Neil Mochan story) have been met with critical acclaim.

I was delighted to read that Andy Lynch was born in St Francis’ nursing home in Merryland Street in Govan, in the shadow of Ibrox Park. I was born there too and many a Celtic fan (and player) saw the first light of day courtesy of the good sisters of that establishment.

In his teens, Andy was fortunate enough to be a Hampden ball boy for big games and in the mid 1960’s he entertainingly tells of seeing Billy McNeill scoring the late, dramatic 1965 Scottish Cup final winner against Dunfermline which kick started Celtic’s modern era. One year later and Andy got close to Pele, as the great man played for Brazil against Scotland in a 1966 World Cup warm up in Glasgow.

Andy’s senior career started at Hearts and he was fortunate enough to go straight into first team football at Tynecastle, s a young man, and make a great impression. Jock Wallace was the Hearts coach at that time and he is described as a warm, humorous man, far from the image that Celtic fans portrayed when he later became Rangers manager in 1972.

When Wallace left for Ibrox, Andy’s Hearts career stalled and he got a long awaited move to Celtic in 1973. Interestingly, Andy’s last appearance for Hearts was the 7-0 thrashing from Hibs at Tynecastle on 1 January 1973, although he manages to conveniently avoid mentioning this in the book! Perhaps some things are best forgotten.

In August 1973, Jock Stein started the new season by experimenting with two new wingers – Brian McLaughlin on the right and Andy Lynch on the left. They made a great impression but injuries took their toll. McLaughlin’s well documented injury came against Clyde but Andy’s woes were of a more niggly nature and kept him out for long periods.

By 1975 it looked as if Andy was for the exit door at Parkhead but he was converted to a left back and after that his Celtic career took off. Around that time he was unlucky not to be capped with a high standard of full back keeping him out of the Scotland set up – Danny McGrain, Sandy Jardine and Willie Donachie.

If Andy is remembered for one thing in his career then it is the 1977 Scottish Cup final when he became a most unlikely hero with the winning goal from a penalty kick. Even Andy’s father was in total shock as he watched in the stand when his boy approached to take it. If there’s ever a way to find a place in the hearts of the Celtic support then it’s a cup final winner against Rangers.

After the cursed 1977-78 season, Andy played a major part in 1978-79 when Celtic won the league in the most dramatic fashion, when Celtic beat Rangers 4-2 with ten men, in their final league match. Surprisingly, within months, Andy was out of favour and his Celtic career ended quite abruptly in early 1980 when he still had a great deal of football in him.

Andy moved to America and Canada and became a successful coach, yet despite having an impressive CV he was never given an opportunity to coach or manage in Scotland. The book ends with the fascinating tale of how Andy came to be involved in a mega million pound take over attempt of Liverpool F.C.

Paul Dykes writes this book in a flowing, entertaining fashion and Andy is refreshingly blunt when describing certain aspects of his career. The story of Colin Stein and him in the heat of a Glasgow derby game is well worth a read.

This is the time of year when people consider buying stocking fillers for their friends and family. If you know someone who followed the Celts in 1970’s then get them this book. They won’t be disappointed.