| Matches: 1954 – 1955 | 1954-1955 Pictures | League Table | Statistics |
Trivia
- Celtic entered the season as cup & league double holders and come close to doing the same this season.
So close to the Double Double!!
- League Position – 2nd
- League Cup – Failed to qualify from group section
- Scottish Cup – Finalists
- Glasgow Cup – Semi Final
- Glasgow Charities Cup – First Round
Celtic finished the 1954-55 season as runners up in the League and losing Scottish Cup finalists. This was so close to being an unprecedented year of glory that it bears closer examination.
As ever Celtic started the season slowly. The League Cup, given it's position and format, played at the start of the season in a group format with only the winners of the group progressing, seemed fated to elude Celtic's grasp. The usual slow start to the season and the tight results which meant a draw or worse to less gifted teams saw Celtic yet again miss out on qualification to the latter stages of the competition. The 3-1 loss to Dundee showed the inconsistency of the team. The 2-1 loss to Hearts came via an own goal from Bertie Peacock. The 2-2 draw with Falkirk had Falkirk equalising in the 80th minute with Celtic playing poorly. And that was enough – no further action in the League Cup for another year.
The Glasgow Cup in September produced three games against Partick Thistle, two of which were excellent, before the Celts lost to the odd goal in a 9 goal game. What became evident through these early games was that Celtic had failed to address the pressing need for a true centre forward, a centre forward that could lead the line and pitch in with goals. The previous season had seen the same problem in the team and had eventually resulted in Sean Fallon being played up front. This season John McPhail spent a great deal of time out either unfit or with the reserves. Sean Fallon therefore started '54-'55 as the first choice centre forward but it was and had been clear that he was not a natural to the position, and this must have been realised by the Celtic management. Yes, his physical threat and his ability to challenge did cause opposition teams concerns in the 12 yard area but he failed to be a goal scorer. When it came to the first Glasgow derby against Rangers on 18th September, Fallon reverted to left back and Jimmy Walsh was centre forward.
The League started well with no losses until the game against Partick Thistle in November. This meant Celtic were up in the top ranks and challenging. However if Celtic started the league well, then Aberdeen started even better, with a niggardly defense from which goals had to be carved out. Celtic's 2-0 win at Pittodrie in September would be the only game at home that Aberdeen lost all season. If Aberdeen had a strong defense then what emerged throughout the season was just how good Celtic's defense was and the better for being backed up by a great set of half backs which had now played together for some time. The full back pairing of Mike Haughney and Frank Meechan played together 33 times throughout the season. Sean Fallon was also a good left back and behind those players was John Bonnar who rarely had a bad game despite a spell where he appears to have been dropped for Andrew Bell. But it was in the half backs that Celtic had the measure of all the other teams.
Evans and Peacock were simply wing halfs supreme – able to break up attacks, read the run of play, be in the right place at the right time, pass well to the forwards and generally run the game. Many eyebrows were raised when Evans name did not appear on the Scotland team sheet throughout the season until he was finally restored to the international set up. And then the final element was Jock Stein at centre half and captain. So many match reports mention his name as being outstanding and the resolute wall of the Celtic defense. He rarely made an error and when he did it became noteworthy. As captain he forced the other players into the never-give-up Celtic attitude and with Bobby Evans leading by example of work rate, the defense was good.
Of the forwards, perhaps the greatest change was in Willie Fernie. Always a great ball player and a demon dribbler, he now became more of a team player and this change must have been noted and pointed out to him during the season. The early reports all talk of his usual 'taking the ball for a walk' and 'taking on one opponent too many', but as the season progressed it was clear that Willie was addressing this in his game and he became a better player for it. He was second top scorer for Celtic with 15 goals. Top scorer was Jimmy Walsh with 24. Jimmy Walsh would play anywhere other than outside right, where his talents were wasted. John Higgins made the right wing his own until he was injured firstly breaking a toe followed by an ankle injury and his season was finally finished when he needed a cartilage op. With Neil Mochan, Bobby Collins, Charlie Tully, Fallon and McPhail these became the working unit. At times they failed to gel together particularly in the early part of the season. It needed the general in there and Tully was usually that man. When he was injured the team suffered. McPhail too, when he finally came back slimmed down to a trim 13 stone, added a great deal with his knowledge of the game and his ability to bring players in and to score.
With this combination Celtic went through the season losing only once at home and just twice away in the league. They ended three points behind Aberdeen in the league. So close!!
The Cup Final is perhaps a tale of Kelly tinkering. The first game against Clyde saw Celtic play outstandingly well with the majority of the play, only to see Clyde equalise three minutes from time in a rare Bonnar error when he misjudged a corner. Every Celtic player played well in that game and Celtic made everything but the winning goal. For the replay Sean Fallon was brought in at centre forward, Bobby Collins was dropped and the forward line re-jigged. Apart from Clyde having apparently transformed themselves into another team between the original game and the replay, there seemed little point in changing a Celtic team that had played so well in the first game. Despite hammering the Clyde goal, the game was lost 1-0 to give Clyde a second Scottish Cup in their history.
In the end it still has to go down as a very successful season, and the foundations of future teams had been laid with careful acquisitions of Beattie and Auld from the Junior ranks.