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Fullname: Peter William Latchford
aka: Peter Latchford, ‘Gas Meter’ (slang for Peter), ‘The Cat’.
Born: 27 September 1952
Birthplace: Kings Heath, Birmingham, England
Signed: 17 February 1975 (loan); 14 July 1975 (permanent from WBA)
Left: June 1987 (free); 18 July 1987 (Clyde)
Position: Goalkeeper
First game : Hibernian away league 1-2 22 February 1975
Last game : Clydebank home league 6-0 29 October 1986
Internationals: England U23 (2caps)
Biog
| “My God! The original overlapping goalkeeper!” (an unattributed quote from the Press Box after the St Johnstone game in 1975) |
Signed initially on loan, the keeper made his debut in a 2-1 league loss at Hibernian on February 22nd and by July he had agreed a permanent switch to Parkhead. A likeable and athletic character Peter Latchford was prone to conceding the odd soft goal but for the most part he was a solid last line of defence who was capable of pulling off some truly astounding saves.
In March 1975 he lost a howler of a goal to Danny Kellachan of Partick Thistle and the fans wondered what had possessed Jock Stein to sign him but in May he was Celtic’s keeper in the 3-1 win against Airdrie in the 1975 Scottish Cup Final and by the end of that year he was well established as Celtic’s number one, seeing off the challenges of both Ally Hunter and Denis Connaghan in the process.
He established himself as the Celtic number one during the 1975/76 season and although Celtic did not win any silverware the big Englishman had a fine season. In October 1975 he saved a penalty from Alves when Celtic grabbed a great 0-0 draw in Oporto against Boavista in the ECWC.
In the 1976/77 season Peter Latchford was excellent, bolstered by the superb Pat Stanton-Roddy MacDonald central defensive partnership in front of him. He had a magnificent game in the 2-2 draw at Ibrox in March 1977 which all but guaranteed the league. With minutes remaining Peter Latchford, who was limping because of injury, hurled himself across goal to turn away an Alex MacDonald shot much to the approval of the Celtic fans jammed behind his goal.
In 1978 he was named as the Celtic Supporters Association Player of the Year because of his heroics throughout the disastrous 1977/78 which would have been a lot worse had it not been for Latchford’s consistent displays. Sadly the defence in front of him was an unmitigated disaster. In March 1978 against Hearts at Hampden in a League Cup semi final he made a breathtaking save, throwing himself at the feet of Malcolm Robertson as he looked set to score, helping Celtic to a 2-0 win.
In late 1978 he lost his place for a short period to Roy Baines but regained his spot and on May 21st 1979 he was a hero in the 4-2 title winning game against Rangers though he had contributed greatly earlier in the season by saving a penalty from Rangers’ Alex Miller in a 3-1 Celtic derby victory in September.
In March 1980 he was controversially fouled in the Bernabeau stadium against Real Madrid and could do nothing to prevent the 3-0 defeat that night. On May 10th 1980 he was a solid presence in an inexperienced Celtic defence when he won his third Scottish Cup Final medal when Celtic defeated Rangers 1-0. On the stroke of full time, after 120 minutes, Peter clutched not only a high ball but Mike Conroy also, and as the two of them disentangled the referee blew for full time with a happy Peter Latchford posing happily, still retaining the ball in his arms.
In the summer of 1980, Peter Latchford suffered a hand injury and Pat Bonner took over the keeper’s role and would be Celtic’s first choice until 1995. Peter surprisingly stayed until 1987 much to the detriment of his career as he could have been a first choice elsewhere, but he remained loyal to Celtic.
He had a rare appearance on October 1st 1980 against Politechnica of Rumania and was again controversially fouled, causing the goal which eliminated Celtic.
In January 1986, he answered the call and helped the Hoops during an uncomfortable period when Bonner was injured. On January 11th 1986, ever the character, he chased Eric Black outside the area and performed a spectacular sliding tackle. It was well loved by all who saw the incident (see match report). He helped to stabilise the defence although Bonner returned in March and the title was won again in May.
Peter Latchford had a wonderful rapport with the Celtic fans and before each game they would chant – ‘Peter Latchford, give us a wave’ – to which Peter Latchford would wave and the fans would roar their approval. He was a likable character and hugely popular with the fans throughout his Celtic days.
In the 1978/79 season, Peter Latchford played in opposition to his brother Dave Latchford who was Motherwell’s goalkeeper during several Celtic-Motherwell games that season. His other brother was Bob Latchford, a hugely successful England international, who is mainly remembered for his period at Everton between 1974 and 1981 and who had a fine partnership with Kevin Keegan for England.
His last game was as a losing finalist to Rangers in the Glasgow Cup on 7th May, 1987 when the young makeshift Celtic team was beaten by a Lex Baillie own-goal. On leaving Celtic he had two seasons with Clyde before retiring from playing at the age of 35.
Post-Playing Career
He went into Goalkeeper coaching and had spells with Forfar, Clyde and Hearts. He rejoined Celtic as Goalkeeping coach at the start of the 1997-98 season, when Pat Bonner left. He was sacked from that position by David Kells on the day that Kenny Dalglish and John Barnes were appointed, on 10th June 1999.
Peter Latchford remains a popular figure among the Celtic support and he has been a pundit on Celtic TV where he made no attempt to hide his continuing love for the Hoops. At his very best Peter Latchford was undoubtedly a first class keeper and there were several games that Celtic won or in the worst case had the points saved by him – the other side of the coin was that at his worst Peter Latchford could give the support nightmares with some shocking mistakes but over the piece he was a real character and well liked by the fans.
At time of writing, he is still a goalkeeping coach with Queen of the South and was coaching youth goalkeepers at Celtic too. He was part of the Queen of the South setup that against all the odds incredibly reached the Scottish Cup final in 2007/08 season but lost 3-2 to Rangers.
Playing Career
| APPEARANCES | LEAGUE | SCOTTISH CUP | LEAGUE CUP | EUROPE | TOTAL |
| 1975-87 | 187 | 27 | 39 | 19 | 272 |
| Shut-outs: | 52 | 9 | 15 | 6 | 82 (30%) |
Honours with Celtic
Scottish League
Scottish Cup
Pictures
Articles
The Bhoy In The Picture: Peter Latchford
Written by St Anthony (Celtic Underground)
Sunday, 25 September 2011 08:52
Peter Latchford signed for Celtic on loan in February 1975 and I can still vividly recall a game against Partick Thistle shortly after. It was a horrible wet and windy day and the conditions on the Parkhead pitch were terrible. A Partick Thistle defender, by the name of Danny Kellachan, sent a high free kick into the Celtic penalty area. He over hit it and Latchford misjudged that the ball was going over his bar and could only look on in horror as the ball dropped behind him and into the empty net. To say the Celtic fans were not impressed by their new goalie is putting it mildly.
It says a lot for the big genial Englishman that he had the strength of character to overcome such a setback and go on to be one of the most popular Celtic players of that era. It also says a lot for the patience of the Celtic fans that they did not turn on the big man and allowed him to find his feet (and his hands !) in due course in Scottish football. It’s said that England boss Don Revie, a close friend of Jock Stein, recommended Latchford when Stein was looking for a ‘keeper at a time when Denis Connaghan and Ally Hunter were failing to impress. He arrived at Parkhead from West Bromwich Albion at a difficult time when the great Celtic team of the 1970’s was going through a period of transition.
Peter’s biggest advantage was that he quickly established a brilliant rapport with the Celtic fans. Before each game, especially at Parkhead, the fans had their pre match ritual and would chant:
‘Peter Latchford, Peter Latchford, give us a waaaaave, give us a waaaaave !!!’
To which Peter would reply with a wave. The fans would then chant back:
‘Latchford !!!’…. ‘Latchford !!!’….. (or very occasionally) ‘Latchford for England !….Latchford for England !’
However much we loved the big man it was clearly a ridiculous proposition that he could compete with either the great Peter Shilton or Ray Clemence as England goalkeeper although he did revel in the nickname ‘The Cat’ which was a slightly double edged nickname some fans had bestowed on him.
At that time street vendors sold button badges with distasteful slogans outside Parkhead (one can still recall the likes of ‘I’ve got a soft spot for Rangers – quicksand’ or ‘1690 – we want a replay’) and there was one for Peter – ‘Latchford holds more balls than Britt Ekland.’ Wonder if Rod Stewart had one of them, the attractive Miss Ekland being a glamorous flame of Rod’s from that period.
Peter Latchford had many fine games for Celtic. He saved a penalty from Boavista’s Alves in Portugal in October 1975 which helped Celtic to the quarter finals of the old European Cup Winners Cup. He had another fine match against Real Madrid at Parkhead in 1980 but had a sorry experience in the second leg in the Bernabeau when he was impeded for Real’s first goal on the night when Celtic when down narrowly on aggregate.
Celtic fans will always take to their hearts players who excel in games against Rangers and Peter was most capable in that respect. In March 1977 he received a shoulder injury at Ibrox and bravely played on as there were no substitute goalkeepers in those days. With minutes to go and the game tied at 2-2 he threw himself across goal to palm away a goal bound header by Alex MacDonald much to his own discomfort but to the great appreciation of the Celtic fans massed on the terracing behind his goal.
In September 1978 he saved a penalty from Alex Miller to help Celtic to a 3-1 victory however his best performance against Rangers came at Ibrox in December 1979 in what was Celtic’s last game of that decade. The Ibrox pitch was frosty and rock solid and Celtic did not play well. Time and again Rangers threw balls into the box with ‘Gas Meter’ defying the Rangers forwards. Eventually he was only beaten by a Derek Johnstone header after he had lost his footing on the treacherous surface but, thankfully, Bobby Lennox equalised within 60 seconds.
In the summer of 1980 Peter suffered a hand injury and Pat Bonner took over the keeper’s role and would be Celtic’s first choice until 1995. Peter surprisingly stayed until 1987 much to the detriment of his career as he could have been a first choice elsewhere, but he remained loyal to Celtic.
In the 1978/79 season Peter played in opposition to his brother Dave Latchford who was Motherwell’s goalkeeper during several Celtic-Motherwell games that season. His other brother was Bob Latchford, a hugely successful England international, who is mainly remembered for his period at Everton between 1974 and 1981 and who had a fine partnership with Kevin Keegan for England in the 1970’s.
It has to be said that Peter had his flaws as a goalkeeper but he was generally forgiven by the fans who appreciated that the big man gave his all. A likable and athletic character Latchford was prone to conceding the odd soft goal but for the most part he was a solid last line of defence who was capable of pulling off some truly astounding saves.
My own favourite memory of Peter is at the end of the 1980 Scottish Cup final. After 120 minutes of play Celtic were hanging on to a 1-0 lead when Peter came out for a high ball on the penalty spot. He caught the ball but also grabbed team mate Mike Conroy round the neck and the two of them became caught up together. After disentangling the referee blew the final whistle and Peter, with ball still in hand, turned joyfully to salute the Celtic fans behind him at the Kings Park end of Hampden.
Peter Latchford was a genuine character in an era when players were encouraged to display their own distinctive personalities. For those of us who remember the big man we will always do so with happy memory.
Becoming A Bhoy: Peter Latchford
By: Laura Brannan on 21 Mar, 2012 09:32
Celticfc.net
Do you remember how the move to Celtic first came about?
Big Jock was having a problem with his goalkeepers, he had Ally Hunter and Denis Connaghan and I think Ally was having a crisis of confidence at the time. I played for West Brom against Leeds, I was maybe about 21 or 22, with the youth team. It was a wet and windy day and I had a blinder. Don Revie was there, I know that because I saw him, but I didn’t think anything of it. At that time I was out of the first-team and I had already said to my manager, Don Howe, that I didn’t want to play reserve football. That’s why I was in the youth team at that time, because I had asked to play. I didn’t want to sit around because in those days there was nobody on the bench. If you weren’t playing you were sitting in the stand and that was no good to me. To cut a long story short, it’s not what you know, it’s who you know and Jock Stein had phoned Don Revie asking: “I’m looking for a keeper, do you know any?” He replied; “I might have the very guy” – and the rest is history.
What did you think when you heard it was Celtic who were interested in signing you?
The gaffer called me up, it was a Friday morning and we were training. He asked if I wanted to go out on loan and I said yes. He asked if I wanted to know where I was going and I said it didn’t matter. I asked if it was for a first-team and he said yes so I said I would go. He smiled and he said; “It’s not in this country. It’s Celtic…up in Glasgow.” I went back out to training and got a hold of Bud Johnston, the ex-Rangers player. I told him I had a chance to go Scotland and when I said it was Celtic he couldn’t believe how lucky I was. He told me to go and then before I knew it the whole squad had heard about it within seconds and they were all telling me to go as well. Bud told me I would love it and then went on to tell me all the stories about Celtic and Rangers. I think it was the next day, or the Monday, I jumped in the car and drove up to Glasgow.
What did you know about Celtic at that time?
Absolutely nothing. Well that’s not true, I knew who they were. I would watch the Scottish football on a Saturday as you do, but apart from that I didn’t know much. I just wanted to play football, that’s what it was all about. I was so naive at the time and I had no idea what I was letting myself in for.
You certainly know now though, have you since build a good affinity with the club?
Oh yes, of course, you can’t not have an affinity with a place you have been working at for so long. I’ve been with Celtic, on and off, for about 35 years now, either playing or coaching and it’s great, what else would I want to do.
Do you remember what the media reaction was to you signing for Celtic?
Disbelief I think. I had already played for the England U23s before I came up to Scotland and some people ask me if I felt coming up here enhanced my chances of a cap even more – but I say it killed them. They can’t look that far north, they’re struggling to get up to Newcastle, never mind over the wall. I had no chance, going to Scotland was going the back of beyond as far as folk in London were concerned. It’s different now, but even with that disadvantage at that time I still loved it.
How much of a change was Celtic compared to what you were used to down south?
I went from playing in front of about 12 people in a reserve game up to playing at Hampden in front of 80,000 in cup finals. It was scary but as I keep trying to explain to people, if you can’t go and enjoy that then you’re in the wrong job. If someone says there are 100,000 fans out there of course it’s going to be scary, as in what happens if you make a mistake? But they’re not going to actually jump on you on the pitch. You’ll get hell for it in the shops and on the street but if you can’t go out and enjoy that occasion, and look forward to it then you shouldn’t be playing football at the top level. You have to deal with that kind of pressure day in, day out at Celtic.
Was that the first time you had moved away from England and was it a daunting prospect?
I was just married and when the loan deal was first signed I told my wife I would be away the following week. She was really confused when I said I was going up to Scotland but when I explained why I reassured her I would only be there for three or four days then I would come home again. So that became my routine – I used to come up on a Tuesday morning and I would catch the first train back on the Saturday after the game. I would train on the Monday morning with West Brom and back up again the next day – unless there was a midweek game then I would just stay up.
At what stage did you know the move was going to be made permanent?
I didn’t because when I left after the cup final, Big Jock didn’t say anything, he just asked if I’d enjoyed my time. I said yes and he said: “That’s good.” He was then involved in that car crash so it was Sean Fallon who actually signed me and it was a while before Jock came back in.
So at the end of the season did you think everything was just going to go back to normal?
Yes, I was away back to West Brom, but I was absolutely delighted when Celtic came back for me. They asked if I wanted to sign and I said yes straight away. We had a change of manager at West Brom at that time and he had told me I could go because he was going to be changing things around so it was perfect for everyone.
Did much change when the move became permanent?
Yes, I got a house and I didn’t have to go up and down on the train anymore – there was a lot less travelling! It still took a good year to settle in before we got a house. It was okay for me but it took a while for my wife to settle down and make new friends. That part of your life takes a while. As far as the club was concerned though, it was back to the same old crowd for me, day in, day out, with the same lads.
Are you happy with what you went on to achieve at Celtic or do you have any regrets?
I’ve no regrets but I would still have liked to have won a lot more and gone further in Europe. The European games were one of these big factors that helped me decide to come back because I knew we would be in the Cup-Winners’ Cup. Apart from the money players get nowadays the only thing I’m jealous of is the number of times they get to play in Europe. If we lost that first tie that was it. Although we played a lot of friendlies against top European opposition at that time, the league system they have now is great. Even watching the youngsters playing that type of football in the NextGen Series is fantastic, I would have loved that.
And finally, what would you say was the highlight of your Celtic career?
Definitely the 4-2 game against Rangers, that was some atmosphere. I try to explain to folk the feelings when we went into the dressing room after the final whistle and then to come back out to what seemed about 90,000 fans. I tell the young boys I work with now and they don’t believe me, they say; “But the stadium only holds 60,000!” Not in my day son, they were all sitting around the track, it was great. Real Madrid away was a great game, even though we lost, so was the home tie as well. I had a great time at Celtic and worked with a great bunch of lads, we all enjoyed ourselves which is what I wanted to do.