| Matches: 1952 – 1953 | 1952-1953 Pictures | League Table | Statistics |
Good to Poor to Superb – What was Happening?
- League Position – 8th
- League Cup – Group Section – failed to qualify
- Scottish Cup – Quarter Finalists
- Glasgow Cup –
- Glasgow Charities Cup – Winners
- Coronation Cup – Winners
Celtic finished the 1952-53 season with two trophies – the Glasgow Charities Cup and the Coronation Cup – and finished playing wonderful football that everyone remarked on and showed them as an outstanding team in British football. What was obscured by the success of two trophies was how quite abject and poor Celtic were throughout the season and in particular their dire performance in the League in the latter half of the season.
They actually started the 1952-53 season reasonably well. As usual the season began with the League Cup and Celtic drawn in a group with Hibernian, who were THE outstanding team of the period, St Mirren and Partick Thistle. The two losses that occurred were to Partick Thistle at home, which was disappointing to say the least, and to Hibernian away. Going into the last game with Hibernian there was still the chance of qualifying but the team virtually collapsed. So another season and another failure in the League Cup competition.
Onto the League performance then, the real meat of the season. September and October were actually not that bad and the team showed a fairly settled full back and half back set up, in particular the half backs of Evans, Boden and Baillie performed exceptionally well and should have provided the basis for a good run and a sound platform from which to work. The forward line experienced a good deal of chopping around. McPhail started at centre forward but this proved to be the troublesome position, and McPhail himself had problems with his fitness. He broke his jaw in the second game against Raith Rovers and was out for 6 games, Fallon took the centre forward role, reverting to a plan first tried after the American tour of 1951. The centre forward positon was a clear problem and in total 8 players were tried throughout the season. As well as Fallon and McPhail, McDonald, Whyte, Lafferty, McIlroy, McGrory and Walsh were all tried with only a degree of success coming from McGrory.
The other position of real concern was at left half. Celtic used no fewer than 8 players here after Joe Baillie twisted his knee against Airdrie. It came to be the problem position and it was not until the inspired selection of John McPhail that things started to look up. Indeed it was the addition of McPhail to Stein and Evans that made the new half back line which was the key to success in the two Cup competitions art the end of the season, and which might indeed be the basis for a bright future.
It is fair to say that the second part of the season through 1953 was a disaster for Celtic, with only 3 wins. From challenging for the League, the position fell away through 1953 to finish a disappointing 8th in the League.
There were also serious injury problems through the season. Bobby Collins took a long time to come back from the arm break he picked up on the tour of Ireland at the end of the last season. Alec Boden and Joe Baillie picked up serious injuries. Sean Fallon broke his arm three times – once and then twice further for coming back too soon. McPhail broke his jaw and Tully was absent several times.
The Scottish Cup run in 1953 might have been expected to go the same way as the league had gone in 1953 – but here the magic of the one-off game kicked in. Amateurs Eyemouth were duly beaten with John McGrory scoring four. It took a replay to beat Stirling Albion and the Falkirk game was one of the highs of the season with Celtic having to show real fight to come back from two down at half time. And so on to the quarter final against Rangers where the team lost an early goal and despite pressure and shot and move and passion, a goal could not be bought and the team fell again.
The two cup competitions won were won in style, though they did need the 'win on the toss' to overcome Third Lanark who were about to be relegated from the League and the corinthian Queen's Park proved to be worthy opponents in the final of the Glasgow Charities Cup.
But the big saviour of the season was the team's performance in the one-off Coronation Cup playing with and against the best in Britain. Celtic's performance in this competition was stunning – no other word for it. Inspired by new signing Neil Mochan, every player was outstanding with McPhail and Evans finally recognised as the wing half back pairing that might do wonders in the future for Celtic.
Mochan's signing was a piece of real vision from Jimmy McGrory who recognised that the team was not as strong as it needed to be for the Coronation Cup. Smiler showed pace and style with not only the ability to poach goals but a shot with both feet that was a stinger and the ability to bring other players into the game.