Nicholas, Charlie

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Personal

Fullname: Charles Nicholas
aka: Charlie Nicholas, Champagne Charlie
Born: 30 December 1961
Birthplace: Glasgow, Scotland
Signed: 18 June 1979 (1st stint), 6 July 1990 (2nd stint); 20 July 1994 (re-signed)
Left: 22 June 1983 (to Arsenal); 17 May 1994 (free); 31 May 1995 (to Clyde)
Position: Forward, Striker
First game (first spell): Kilmarnock away 3-0, 16 August 1980
Last game (first spell): Rangers away 4-2 14 May 1983
First goal (first spell): : Stirling Albion home 6-1 30 August 1980 league cup
Last goal (first spell): Rangers away 4-2 14 May 1983 league
First game (second spell) : Aberdeen home 0-3 1 September 1990 league
Last game (second spell): Dundee United away 1-0 13 May 1995 league
First goal (second spell): Hibernian away 3-0 1 December 1990
Last goal (second spell): Raith Rovers Ibrox 2-2 27 November 1994 league cup final
Internationals: Scotland
International Caps: 20 caps
International Goals: 5 goals

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Biog

“Charlie Nicholas – The kid with goal-dust in his boots.” Allan Herron (journalist, 18 Apr 1981)

Charlie Nicholas at his best was a goal-scoring sensation whose goals and style made him the darling of the Celtic support in the early days, but it was a career that never reached the greater heights it could have.

Celtic: First Stint – The Young Talent
Born in Cowcaddens (Glasgow) and brought up in Maryhill, Charlie’s next door neighbour as a youngster was another future Celt Jim Duffy. Charlie was a Celtic-daft youngster who had been at the club since a youth and finally fulfilled a dream by signing professional terms in June 1979. His talent in front of goal was obvious and it wasn’t long before he was knocking on the door of the first team.

At the close of the 1979/80 season Charlie was on the bench several times after excellent reviews in a successful Celtic reserve side under Frank Connor. However, Billy McNeill refrained from throwing him in at a time when the team were struggling for goals and was criticised because of this by some Celtic fans as the league championship slipped away from Parkhead and ended up in Aberdeen in May 1980.

His first team debut as an 18-year-old prodigy came as a substitute on 16th August 1980 when he made an appearance in a 3-0 league victory over Kilmarnock hitting the post twice. His first goals came against Stirling Albion a week later in the League Cup, and he was to have a sensational start of 13 goals in his first 12 Celtic games between August and October.

Frank McGarvey had recently joined Celtic from Liverpool and he developed a magnificent partnership with Nicholas. The busy, hard working McGarvey was the perfect foil for the delicate flicks and touches Charlie possessed but he also had a rocket shot with either foot and was a top class finisher. In the 1980/81 season, McGarvey scored 29 goals to Nicholas’ 28 as Celtic romped home to the title. The highlight of the season was the 3-1 win over Rangers at Parkhead with Charlie scoring twice but he also scored the winner at Ibrox in a 1-0 win on 18th April 1981 on the day that Celtic all but clinched the title. As well as McGarvey and Nicholas, Celtic also boasted George McCluskey’s exceptional talents, and despite his best efforts Billy McNeill could not find a design to his team to accommodate all three.

Seldom has a young aspiring player made such an immediate impact in Scottish football than Charlie Nicholas in 1980, and he was a headline writers’ dream. ‘The Cannonball Kid’, ‘Charles De Goal’, ‘Charlie Bubbles’ and ‘Champagne Charlie‘ were some of the nicknames bestowed on him by the Scottish press.

He started in the side in 1981/82 but lost his place in September to George McCluskey. The bad winter weather meant that Celtic did not play much in December, and by January Celtic arranged a friendly against Morton at Cappielow where Charlie suffered a serious leg fracture after a tackle by Joe McLaughlin; with that Charlie’s season was over. It had been a total contrast to his first season as a Celt.

He worked hard to regain his fitness and had a sensational season in 1982/83 when he scored 48 goals becoming the most wanted talent in Britain in the process. In September 1982, he scored a brilliant hat trick against Motherwell at Fir Park in a 7-0 win. Shortly after that match, he scored a magnificent goal against Johan Cruyff’s Ajax in Amsterdam on a dramatic night in which Celtic won 2-1 in the European Cup. In November he scored a last minute winner in the 1982 League Cup semi-final second leg at Tannadice, and in the final he helped inspire Celtic to a 2-1 win over Rangers at Hampden when the scoreline did not truly reflect Celtic’s superiority on the day. On New Years day 1983, Nicholas scored another spectacular effort at Ibrox in a memorable 2-1 win which incredibly gave Celtic their first new year win at Ibrox since the days of Jimmy McGrory. He had by then re-established the fine partnership he had with the under rated Frank McGarvey.

Celtic led the league race from August until January, and looked certs for 3-in-a-row but it all fell apart after the New Year. Charlie was now into the last year of his contract, and as the weeks past it became obvious that he would depart although he refused to confirm or deny this in the media. A posse of media men followed his every move on and off the park, and his Celtic performances became a side attraction to his increasing commercial appearances.

In March 1983, he scored another spectacular goal in his Scotland debut against Switzerland, following which the big guns in England, Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United all made their interest known in him. Celtic had a dreadful April when they lost two league games, which ultimately cost them their title, and also a Scottish Cup semi-final to Aberdeen. The Celtic fans now felt that that the circus following Charlie was affecting the morale of the team. The club claimed they were desperate to keep him, and although Billy McNeill made a great personal effort, the feeling was that Desmond White and the Celtic board were happy with the income he would bring to the club, in an era when Celtic’s home gates had dropped to an average of under 20,000 per game.

The last game of the season was on 14 May 1983, and the title could have gone to Celtic, Aberdeen or Dundee United that day. Celtic were 2-0 down at Ibrox and roared back for a memorable 4-2 win with Charlie netting 2 penalties but Dundee United held on at Dens Park to nick the league by the narrowest of margins. After the final whistle at Ibrox, Charlie came over to salute the fans in what looked like his final farewell. He went on to win both the Scottish footballer of the year and the Scottish PFA player of the year awards shortly after.

At the end of May, he finally announced that he was departing to England. He had the choice of Liverpool, who were Europe’s finest side, Manchester United or Arsenal. He surprised everyone by going to Highbury, and it became clear that living in monied London and earning a higher wage far outstripped any footballing decision to be made. No one could understand it, and with that he was off to the lure of London’s bright lights.

His Celtic goal tally alone had been impressive enough but he showed so much more than the vital ability to put the ball in the net. He was quick off the mark, had great vision, a wonderful touch and above all personality. He played with a natural swagger but his self-confidence was fully justified. He was an entertainer and a goal-scorer supreme – and a home-grown one at that. No wonder the Celtic fans adored him. His departure was a terrible blow to Celtic and reminded the fans of Kenny Dalglish’s departure to Anfield six years previously. After only three seasons as a first team player the fans felt bitter at his leaving at only 21 years of age. It’s still felt to this day that he could have given the club more service but perhaps the thought of that broken leg in 1982 had swayed him into departing by realising that he had a short career.

In August 1984, he played for Arsenal in a friendly at Parkhead and was roundly booed by the hardcore Celtic fans in the Jungle who clearly had still not forgiven him for his ‘betrayal‘ in leaving a year earlier.

England beckons
Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal all wanted him. The Anfield club – now home to former Hoops hero Kenny Dalglish – seemed the natural choice. Champions of England on a seemingly almost permanent basis and among the very best club sides in Europe, Charlie’s skills would have found a natural home in Bob Paisley’s talented side.

But instead, and to the surprise of all, Charlie Nicholas headed to Highbury and Don Howe’s Arsenal. A transfer fee reportedly between £625,000 and £800,000 – headed to Parkhead. Had he not been out of contract then he would have commanded a fee of double that figure. Howe’s Gunners were a far cry from the ‘Double Winning’ Highbury side of 1971 and the glory and panache of Arsene Wenger’s cosmopolitan Arsenal was still a very long way off. Howe’s side were workmanlike but mediocre and they were far from a natural home for a flair player like Charlie Nicholas. But Charlie Nicholas did have the financial compensation of a £100,000 signing on fee and a £2,000-a-week contract (massive money for the time) as consolation. He also had the most glamorous nightclubs in the country on his doorstep.

Dress it up any way you want but it’s impossible to disguise the fact that Charlie’s years at Arsenal were wasted. There were many who said that he required a Frank McGarvey type as a partner to do the the hard work for him up front. However, he was appreciated by the Highbury support who recognised his undoubted ability and the touch of class his play brought to their side. But while his talent could have bloomed at Anfield – or even Celtic Park – into a truly world class player it was stifled at Highbury with “boring, boring Arsenal” as was their style in those days. In January 1988 – with just a League Cup winners medal to his name – he departed the Gunners.

Some reports claim that he missed out on a lucrative transfer to Toulon from Arsenal, after Toulon tried to restructure the fee with conditions depending on Charlie Nicholas’ lifestyle, in fear his ‘champagne’ lifestyle would derail his time at his new club. Arsenal refused the deal, and Nicholas lost out on what was big money back then for a footballer.

When Billy McNeill signed Frank McAvennie, Charlie Nicholas in one interview later lamented that:

“I just wish I was in Frank’s boots”.

As much as he still retains links with Arsenal (it’s financially beneficial for him to do so) he has carried a sense of bitterness of how his career panned out, as he put it in 1993:

“I was blessed in those days, but Arsenal took it away from me”.

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Celtic: Second Stint – Back Home

“I just wish I was in Frank’s boots.”
When Billy McNeill signed Frank McAvennie (1988)

Now, at what should have been the peak years of his career, there were no longer any number of top clubs interested in him. Instead he moved to Aberdeen in a £400,000 move. His form with the Dons was good and he helped them to Scottish Cup glory in May 1990 when they defeated Celtic on penalties. Just a couple of months later he was back at Parkhead.

He was welcomed back with open arms by a support who hoped he could somehow recapture the talismanic form of old to help transform Celtic’s fortunes and stop a rampant Rangers. The vision and touch was still there, but Charlie Nicholas ‘Mark II’ lacked the speed, hunger and the youthful confidence of the younger model. He did have a new found maturity, and while his natural ability may not have been so potent it was significant enough to still make him a key stand-out performer. Although, it has to be said it was much easier to stand out in a Celtic side so much poorer than the one he left. He was portly and not as fast, yet even a poorer Charlie Nicholas was far better than a number of the players Celtic had at the time.

In this second spell at Parkhead, he did come up with some wonderful moments in what was an otherwise disappointing home coming. In March 1992, he summoned up two sublime goals which will forever be remembered by those who saw them. On 21st March, he opened the scoring at Ibrox in a 2-0 win, when he took a long ball from a Chris Morris free-kick and volleyed home a ferocious shot past Andy Goram in the Rangers goal, a spectacular effort hit with great technique. A week later on 28th March, he ran across the Dundee United defence 25 yards out with no danger apparent and suddenly chipped a glorious effort passed the bemused Alan Main who never moved an inch. They were both goals of the highest calibre and only a truly great player could have scored them. But these rays of light were few and far between.

Possibly his lowest point was in the return home leg against Neutchatel Xamax. Celtic had been humiliated away in Switzerland by 5-1, and despite that Celtic were good enough to hope that they could turn it around. An early penalty provided this chance, but Charlie Nicholas missed it and Celtic went on to win by just 1-0 which killed off the tie. If Charlie Nicholas had a moment to really recreate his reputation at Celtic, then this game could have been the catalyst for it, but the penalty miss as much as all else in the game, left a lot to be desired and maybe encapsulated his latter career in a moment.

Notably, he was seen by sections of the support & press as a spokesman for the demoralised players during the “Sack The Board” days (ahead of even captain Paul McStay who was more introvert), being the main man for quotes for the media. However, Charlie Nicholas was quite guarded himself naturally for contractual and job reasons, and ended up being criticised by both sides for their own ends/reasons. Pro-Celtic board sympathisers said that he was being traitorous when he was their employee, anti-Celtic board critics said that he should have made a stand against his employers publicly, citing John Robertson of Hearts who appeared in anti-Hibs/Hearts merger meetings.

Charlie Nicholas was a regular player in the side throughout much of the unsettled period of the early 1990’s, but when Tommy Burns arrived as manager in 1994, his days were unsurprisingly numbered and he couldn’t hide his disappointment at being left out of the 1995 Scottish Cup final against Airdrie. However, the previous League Cup final which saw Celtic lose to Raith Rovers should have already signalled to him that it was time up, but he seemed to be reluctant of this. After that League Cup final, he never played again for the first team until given a token match appearance in the final league match of the season, which Celtic won 1-0 away to Dundee Utd. As he was to reflect on the time:

In his complete Celtic career, Charlie Nicholas scored 125 goals in 249 appearances, and is fondly remembered as a player. Sadly, it will not be as one of the legends for which there was an inkling at one point that he had the potential to achieve that level.

Post-Celtic
The final curtain came down on Charlie Nicholas’ Celtic career when he departed for Clyde in 1996. His talent should have paid out so much more during a career which asks one question – “What if?“. That Charlie Nicholas left Celtic too soon (first stint) and to the wrong club now seems indisputable, and there is equally no doubt that in terms of talent Charlie Nicholas had everything to become one of the great forwards of his generation.

In later years Charlie Nicholas went on to carve out a very successful media career as a co-commentator, pundit and newspaper columnist (albeit ghost written with little of the commentary being of serious value).

At times lampooned for his rather inventive use of the English language, Charlie Nicholas had the last laugh by becoming one of the most prominent pundits on the box and became a key member of Sky’s Soccer Saturday show. Although, he was more one of the back-slapping happy-go-lucky type of football analysts which can nauseate anyone, and few paid attention to his analysis.

However, Charlie Nicholas dropped a faux pas on national television when he and the odious Jim White (journalist/presenter) were heard to make derogatory remarks against the ‘Fields of Athenry’ song in a TV studio, which was heard being played over the loudspeaker at Celtic Park before a big European game. So much for Charlie Nicholas the Celtic man, and a disappointing remark from an old great. Some may never wholly excuse Charlie Nicholas for those remarks after all the support had done for him.

At times outspoken (but never eloquent or thought-out), he was a fierce critic of Berti Vogts during his time as Scotland boss. His criticism of Celtic on occasions has seemed to some to be strangely vindictive and there are fans who have accused him of sticking the boot into the club just to please his media paymasters. You could say that he has a scattergun approach, never cerebral and little noted by others.

Charlie Nicholas insists that he remains and always will be a Celtic fan but ultimately Charlie Nicholas will likely be more remembered for his premature departure in 1983 from which his career never truly recovered. He has retained a certain bitterness on this against many targets it seems, but the choice ultimately was his to go. Time hasn’t healed the pain for him but maybe any ire should really be redirected towards Arsenal or his advisors. He was given a second chance at Celtic, rarely afforded to many, and if anything this helped both himself and the then club at a low-ebb, that he should be proud of.

He should be best remembered for the good memories, and there have been many on the field despite never having reached the heady heights his potential at once pointed towards.

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Playing Career

Honours with Celtic

Scottish Premier Division

• 1980-81, 1981-82

Scottish Cup

• 1995

Scottish League Cup

• 1982

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Quotes & Anecdote

“Charlie Nicholas – The kid with goal-dust in his boots”
Allan Herron (journalist, 18 Apr 1981)

“I regret that now… It was a gamble and it hasn’t worked out.”
Charlie Nicholas in an interview on his time at Arsenal

“I just wish I was in Frank’s boots.”
When Billy McNeill signed Frank McAvennie

“I was blessed in those days, but Arsenal took it away from me”.
Charlie Nicholas (1993)

“Ive been heavily involved in & around Celtic Park in one capacity or another since I moved to Scotland in 2001 and I haven’t seen Charlie Nicholas walk through that door once.”
Neil Lennon on Charlie Nicholas after another nonsense article by Charlie Nicholas in the tabloids (2019)

“If we had signed Messi and Ronaldo, Charlie still would have found fault with it. He’s been negative about the club for years. Charlie doesn’t think for me he doesn’t speak for me”
Neil Lennon on Charlie Nicholas who had criticised Celtic after the 2020 transfer window (2020)

“You can hardly hear each other breathe let alone speak.”
Charlie Nicholas on his past Celtic v Rangers experiences, a clear example of the muddled mess that Charlie Nicholas can come out with in his comments (2017)

1) The players were all in “Panama Jacks” after a game when Charlie was at the height of his press popularity, a player from another team who thought that Charlie was over-rated said to him.

“The papers make you out to be some sort of superstar, btw I can do anything you can do!”.

The bold Charlie takes a £20 note out his wallet tears it in half and throws it away and says to the guy “Can you do that?”.

After the guy disappears with his tail between his legs, Charlie is scouring the floor for the 2 bits of the £20.
(Source: Danny McGrain Biog(?))

2) 3. Arsenal v US Marines
Arch-disciplinarian George Graham took his Arsenal troops on a break to Portugal in the middle of the 1986-87 season, unwittingly setting the scene for the Battle of the Birds. Six Gunners marched into a local nightclub and soon found themselves arguing over girls with a gang of US Marines. The footballers were chucked out but the soldiers followed them in a car, almost running them off the road. Enraged striker Charlie Nicholas hurled a bottle of vodka, which he happened to have on his person, at the car, smashing the windscreen and causing the Americans to career off the road. After fleeing back to the team hotel, the players were awoken the next morning by the local constabulary and, according to Perry Groves, the following message was sent to Graham, who was on the 17th tee of a nearby golf course: “Mr Graham, half your team have been arrested for attempted murder.” A panic-stricken Graham pegged it to the police station and, after negotiations, the Marines eventually settled for £2,000.
(Source: https://www.theguardian.com/football/2007/feb/19/newsstory.sport6)

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