| Matches: 1959 – 1960 | 1959-1960 Pictures | League Table | Statistics |
Not one trophy.
- League Position – 9th
- League Cup – Failed to qualify from group sections
- Scottish Cup – Semi Final losers
- Others: Glasgow Cup – First Round Losers
- Charities Cup – Semi Final losers.
Pretty much a rock bottom season.
Even the management and Board were of the opinion that the Celtic support should go away and come back in two years when the team had matured. There seemed to be little reason in both forward policy, training and team tactics and selection. Quite clearly the Celtic Board and management had gone for a policy of developing youth and bringing them through to the first team. That these youths were raw and in some cases, not ready was all too apparent to the support at times. There still remained a nub of the old veterans who could set an example and encourage the youngsters, but by the end of the season two more of these had departed.
The season started as ever with the League Cup and Celtic started particularly badly this season losing the first three games and giving themselves no chance of further progression. They finished third in their group behind Raith Rovers and Airdrie.
The most successful run was in the Scottish Cup. They reached the semi-final losing to Rangers after a replay. The first round tie against Cup holders St Mirren went to two replays. The first two games were very evenly contested but Celtic overcame a re-jigged St Mirren conclusively in the third game to win a second round tie against Elgin City. There followed almost a disaster and cup upset and it took Celtic right up to the last six minutes to find the goals that gave them a 2-1 escape and a quarter final against Partick Thistle. This they won easily with Bobby Evans giving an exhibition performance. So the semi final was set up against Rangers. Celtic should have won the first game in the first half but let Rangers back into it and eventually had to hold on at the end. The replay showed the other side of Bobby Evans and he was given a torrid time – as he had been in most of the Celtic – Rangers games – by Rangers' centre forward Jimmy Millar. After an even first half Rangers took control against the wind in the second, and were even able to go a man down and look the better side.
In the League the key word was INCONSISTENCY. In fact that might sum up the complete season. One game they might look like world beaters and in the next it might as well have seemed that the eleven players on the field had never met before. Added to this was the chop-and-change nature of team selections. It was not until the end of October that the same side was played in two successive games. Some players failed to be given any chance on selection and the slightest error saw them dropped for the next game, whilst others appeared to be sacrosanct and part of the Board Select XI who could do no wrong. This was the biggest complaint from the Celtic support and it saw many thousands leave Celtic Park and fail to come back the next week.
It took till December to find the combination of full backs that would last the season out. Jim Kennedy and Duncan MacKay played 31 games in succession once they had been paired up. In MacKay, Celtic had found a real winner and he was still young enough to play for Scotland U23's as well as the full international team. Jim Kennedy over on the left could be inconsistent at times but he could also be a strong uncompromising full back with the ability to overlap, something that was now starting to creep into the game.
The other young players who really shone out this season were Billy McNeill and Stevie Chalmers. McNeill, not long out of the Reserves and only a few years out of Our Lady's High School seemed to be the natural centre half replacement for Bobby Evans, but with the Celtic captain ever present big Billy played most of the season at right half with Evans, the Scotland captain at centre and the Celtic captain Bertie Peacock at left half. This should have been a winning half back line, but Evans could go from peerless games to shameful games and at 32 he must have seen the writing on the wall at Celtic. Come the end of the season and re-contract time he asked to be released and sought a transfer, Chelsea taking him to London. Bertie Peacock still kept the captaincy ( even against calls for Evans to be reinstated) but even he found it difficult to motivate the youth element in the team and it was on his shoulders that the organisation of the team and game tactics fell. This to a degree is an indictment of the untouchable manager in Jimmy McGrory who basically let chairman Bob Kelly pick the team and the captain pick the tactics and training consisted of fitness' and running laps of the track.
In the forwards, Celtic used over 15 different players in the forward line. When it was clear that the youths needed an old head around them then first Eric Smith was moved up followed by Neil Mochan who had started the season (and played the whole of the previous season) as a left back and found himself promoted forward to centre forward and penalty taker. This helped but there was still far too much reticence in front of goal and at times the shooting and passing could be woeful. Even Bertie Peacock was pushed up to inside left to try to find some consistency. There just did not seem to be any cohesion. It wasn't as if the players were poor. John Divers was turning into a player; Stevie Chalmers from mid season onwards started to look like a real find. There was a constant battle between Colrain and Conway which never seemed to be resolved. And out on the wing was Bertie Auld, someone that failed to endear himself to Robert Kelly as not possessing the 'corinthian gentleman spirit' indicative of a Celtic player.
There were debuts this season for Tommy Mackle, Bobby Carroll, Dan O'Hara, Charlie Gallacher, John Fallon, John Curran and John Clark. And at the end of the season a youth called John Hughes made his first appearance in a representative team whilst on the short tour of Ireland. At the start and during the season, first Charlie Tully had left without fuss followed by Dick Beattie transferred to Portsmouth and Matt McVittie to St Johnstone, and at the end of the season Bobby Evans left for Chelsea and Eric Smith to Leeds Utd.. Newcomers were Johnny Kelly from Crewe Alexandra signed as an experienced player and a young goalkeeper Frank Connor from Blantyre Celtic. The Reserves won the Reserve League for the second season in succession and the Reserve League Cup even after their trainer Jock Stein had left to start his management career with Dunfermiline.
Too much was heaped onto this youthful team. At the end of the season when Bobby Evans and Eric Smith were sold it was clear that the following season would see either the team fall apart or some of these young men would need to be stepping into the boots of the veterans.