| Matches: 1950 – 1951 | 1950-1951 Pictures | League Table | Statistics |
Mixed bag Season of Two Halfs…. but the first major trophy since 1937.
- League Position – 7th
- League Cup – Quarter Finalists
- Scottish Cup – Winners
- Glasgow Cup – Winners
Celtic started the season with the League Cup and for once they were not drawn in a group with Rangers or Hibernian. They duly qualified from their group but drew Motherwell in the quarter final and lost out with an aggregate score of 4-2, both legs being won by the away side. Motherwell would go on to win the League Cup defeating Hibernian 3-0 in the final. It may have been bitter to fall at the first hurdle after failing to qualify from the group stages for so long but Celtic would go on to have their revenge against Motherwell.
When the Scottish Cup came round Celtic started badly against East Fife in the first round and needed a replay to overcome them. Amateur side Duns were put to the sword. The third round tie proved all together more difficult with Celtic drawing Hearts when the 'Terrible Trio' of Bauld, Wardhaugh and Alfie Conn Senior were coming into their best. Celtic prevailed however with John McPhail getting the winner and Sonny Hunter having a stupendous game in goal. They overcame Aberdeen 3-0 in the quarter final to take them to a semi against Raith Rovers at Hampden. This proved to be a real battle and the Kirkaldy side fought tooth and nail before losing to the odd goal in five. And so the team went to their first real final since 1937 against Motherwell – a team that they had previously met twice in 1931 and 1933 and defeated. The game was not a charmer but John McPhail produced a stunning goal and Celtic had their first major trophy since 1937.
The League was another matter and the difference in the team's performance between 1950 and 1951 was like chalk and cheese. Through 1950, gradually a steady team emerged with Bonnar behind Fallon and Milne as full backs, half backs of Evans, Mallan and Baillie and a front line of Weir, Collins, McPhail, Peacock and Tully. This cohesiveness and steadiness of the team gave results and 9 wins and 4 draws put them at their highest position at fourth in the League by the New Year. That proved to be the turning point. In 1951 rarely was there any continuity in team selection from game to game. The first five games were lost and it took till mid-February to find a win. Perhaps the strain of the Cup run placed the players on edge. Perhaps meddling Bob Kelly only got into his stride in the New Year. But the contrast between the two halfs of the season is stark. Prior to new Year they won 9, drew 4 and lost 3; after New Year (and before the Cup Final victory reinvigorated everybody) they won 2, drew 1 and lost 9.
The personnel did change through the season. The season started with the departures of McGuire, Cairney and Jimmy Docherty. However these could not be regarded as major players. The loss of Willie Miller as the No 1 goalkeeper was more serious. John Bonnar stepped up, but he too would be replaced by George Hunter after John had a howler against East Fife in the first round of the Scottish Cup. Chic Geatons resigned as coach at the start of the season, a position he had held since 1946. He was unhappy at the direction that the club was taking and tired of the meddling that was becoming more and more pervasive. Pat McAuley departed for Luton Town and Roy Milne played what would turn out to be his last game for the club. On the plus side there were debuts for Jackie Millsopp, and Alex Rollo, who had a fine first season with the senior side, and the last league game of the season saw a young tyro Jimmy Walsh introduced who would go on to have an excellent season through 1951-52. Bobby Collins, Bobby Evans and Charlie Tully were the veterans with bags of skill and captain John McPhail was still scoring at ease even though he saw less games and was out more. Bobby Collins had taken over penalty duties from captain McPhail.
So in conclusion, the League performance was mixed. Celtic still had a mixed team which could play together if it was allowed to. And there was some great skill there too. And no one could feel sad about the club's first proper trophy in what felt like an age. Most Celtic supporters looked forward to 1951-52.