| Matches: 1953 – 1954 | 1953-1954 Pictures | League Table | Statistics |
From a humble start to a rousing finish – Success and the Double!
- League Position – 1st – League Champions – the first since 1938
- League Cup – Failed to qualify from group section
- Scottish Cup – Winners
- Glasgow Cup – Semi-Finalists
- Glasgow Charities Cup – First Round
Finally – a season to remember and a Double season at that. Celtic finished the season winning the League, the first League title since 1938, and completing the double with the Scottish Cup win over Aberdeen. A memorable season with Celtic finally acknowledged as a team of players with individual skill and the ability to pull together as a team when the going got tough, and furthermore a team that could play entertaining football as well as grinding out a result when they had to.
Following the success in the Coronation Cup at the end of the previous season, and the wonderful football that Celtic had displayed to overcome the best in Britain, much was expected of the Celtic team. The season started off as ever with the League Cup competition. Celtic were drawn in a group with East Fife, Aberdeen and Airdrieonians. The first game at home to Aberdeen was lost despite having made all the pressure and running. Away to East Fife the team managed a draw in an even contest. The humiliation in League Cup games continued in the next match, a 2-1 loss to Airdrie away. This left Celtic bottom of the group with no chance of progressing after 3 games.
With no pressure to qualify the remaining three games could be used to experiment and find a team and shape before the League kicked off for real. The next game resulted in a dire 5-2 loss to Aberdeen away. Experimentation continued with a further loss to East Fife at home and culminated in a selection that looked like names drawn from a hat but which secured a win! Celtic’s appalling form in the League Cup continued for yet another year. The problem, yet again appeared to be scoring goals. Overwhelming positional and tactical superiority, attractive football on the eye meant nothing unless it was translated into goals and wins.
Onto the League proper. And the first game saw a defeat to newly promoted Hamilton Academicals. This came as a shock and deeply disillusioned the Celtic faithful from the highs of the Coronation Cup at the end of the previous season. However it could be seen as part a parcel of tinkering and amateurism that plagued Celtic at this time. The team was predominantly picked by Robert Kelly. Few tactics were discussed. It was left up to the players. In Kelly’s mind it was more a question of the team playing the right ‘form’ and for the players to be ‘gentlemen’. Jimmy McGrory was little more than a figurehead. The outcome was that Celtic stumbled through the early months of the league with a mixed set of results. It wasn’t until mid-November that a team started to emerge and spirit started to be shown.
By that time the core was established: Bonnar in goal was back to playing at the top of his game; Frank Meechan and Mike Haughney were to become the dependable full backs with Haughney taking over penalty duties (which he did with aplomb, missing only one throughout the season, usually lashing them down the middle). The half backs were absolutely solid and reliable. Bobby Evans now made the right half position his own and was without doubt the best in Scotland at the time. At centre half was captain Jock Stein, and it was Bertie Peacock who, having found himself at left half, a position that had been trouble for Celtic in previous seasons, and who played the position like a natural.
Up front it was a case of finding a place for all the available talent. Young John Higgins came in at outside right and did so well he won himself a call up to the national side. At outside left was Smiler Mochan, the attempt to make him a centre forward having been dropped for his ability to cut in from the left and his devastating shot. The centre forward position was again sometimes difficult with McPhail, Hemple, Walsh and Mochan all being tried before Sean Fallon stood the position well. That left the inside forwards and for that you had the pick of the superb Willie Fernie, Jimmy Walsh, Bobby Collins, Charlie Tully as well as others. Willie Fernie pretty much occupied the inside right slot and could you leave Charlie Tully out? Or Jimmy Walsh? Or Bobby Collins? In the end it was probably Bobby Collins who missed out the most.
What emerged from November onwards was a spirit and a settled team where people knew where others would be, what their strengths were and what they had to do. From mid November to the end of the season they lost only three games – to Stirling Albion away (always a bogie ground at that time), to Aberdeen away in January and narrowly (and disputably) to Hearts in February. At Celtic Park the team went all season winning all but one game, a 2-2 drawn game with Hibs. But it wasn’t until March ’54 that people started to look at this being Celtic’s League and in fact the run in was tight with Hearts, Aberdeen, Clyde and Dundee and Rangers all having runs. But it was Celtic that prevailed and the League title was won with a game left of the season to play.
In the Scottish Cup, the early rounds were all hard games against Falkirk, Stirling Albion and the Accies. The semi final against Motherwell went to a replay, and once in the final there was no doubting what the result would be.
So what was the difference between this Double winning season and the under-achieving years between the end of the war and this? The main difference was that Celtic found a settled team and so much talent that somebody at some point had to be left out, which left those on the sidelines eager and keen and desperate for their chance to get back into the team. The ‘fiddling’ with positions was less evident. In Bobby Evans they had THE outstanding half back in the country. In Jock Stein they had not only the reliability of a class centre half but the steadfastness and resoluteness of a captain that saw Celtic as the top and their rightful place was leading everyone.