Traynor, John

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Fullname: John Francis Traynor
aka: John Traynor
Born: 10 December 1966
Birthplace: Glasgow
Signed: January 1983
Left : 16 May 1989
Position: Right-back, Defence
First game: Motherwell 3-1 home League 28 September 1988
Last game: Motherwell 2-2 away League 12 April 1989
Goals: None
Internationals: Scotland
International Caps: Youth level only

Biog

A product of Celtic Boys Club John Traynor signed for Celtic in January 1983.

Capable of playing in midfield or defence Glasgow-born John Traynor had been a promising schoolboy and in season 1987/88, he helped Celtic to the Glasgow Cup final altough the team lost 1-0 to Rangers in the final.

He was tipped for the top by ex-Celt Jim Dobbin.

After impressing in the reserves at Celtic Park finally made his first team debut in a 3-1 league win over Motherwell at Celtic Park on September 28th 1988. Good victory but Celtic were already struggling and well behind in the league title challenge. Celtic had lost their three previous games in a row to this win v Motherwell.

He was selected again the next game, but Celtic went back into the red and were comprehensively defeated 3-1 by Hibs away, and then was back out the First Team.

He then stepped into the right-back berth for the ill Chris Morris but although solid enough he was not convincing enough to persuade manager Billy McNeill to give him a sustained run in the side.

He helped Celtic to a 2-1 victory over St Mirren, playing against a young future Celt (Paul Lambert).

It was a surprise when John Traynor – who made four first team appearances – was allowed to leave on a free transfer to Clydebank in the summer of 1989. However, Celtic had just gone through a poor season in 1988-89, a sharp contrast to the wonderful Centenary season previously. In the four games he had played in as a defender, Celtic lost seven goals, but this was little his fault. More a reflection of the poor state of the Celtic team that season.

Things had to change but really the hardest years (‘The Barren Years’) were just beginning. Celtic managed to win the Scottish Cup at the end of this season, but John Traynor unfortunately did not play any matches in that run. The club were not to win any further silverware till 1995.

Post-Celtic
He spent a long time out injured at Clydebank and was eventually transferred to Ayr Utd where he flourished and became a fans’ favourite.

He retired from professional football end of 1999/00 season and was awarded with a testimonial at Ayr on 23 March 2001 against Newcastle Utd. Around the same time (season 2000/01) Celtic were finally in their ascendency winning the domestic treble for the first time since 1968/69.

He subsequently played Junior football for a period with Kilwinning and Auchinleck Talbot.

Playing Career

Honours with Celtic

none

Pictures

• Player Pics

United defender David Beharall commented on the performance of Academy players Stephen Brennan and Joseph Kendrick:

“Neither Joe nor Steve looked out of place against Ayr and I think that shows what a good job they are doing at the Academy. There is a lot of competition for places even at reserves level and that can only be good for the club.
“This season I’ve seen a lot of players come up through the academy and that’s good to see, they are all challenging for places.”

Date: Friday 23rd March 2001, 8pmVenue: Somerset Park Conditions: “Bracing” especially round the trossachs…..

Report

With an International weekend leaving Newcastle with a few spare days in their calendar, a long-standing invitation to participate in a testimonial match for Ayr old boy John “snakey” Traynor was fulfilled on a chilly Friday Evening. The late withdrawal of Middlesbrough from a promised game at Barrow on the same evening had resulted in another invitation being issued, but the Ayr fixture was fulfilled.

The evening began with an Old Boys and young hopefuls match, with two teams made up of former Ayr players from the nine years that Snakey was a Somerset Park regular, plus a sprinkling of current youth players (to do the running around.)

For Newcastle fans, one or two familiar names were on show – Andy Walker, who had a brief and unsuccessful loan spell at the toon from Celtic in 1991, and Tommy Burns, one-time assistant to Kenny Dalglish at St.James’.

A neat flick by Walker brought the opening goal for the yellow shirts, scored by youngster Chris Foley. Burns himself equalised after the break from the penalty spot, being booed for his past associations with deadly local rivals Kilmarnock. In a neat facsimile of a famous Andy Walker effort at the same end of the ground in a memorable cup win over Killy, Burns delicately flighted his effort over the stranded keeper and into the net.

A fumble by the goalkeeper for the yellows, John Traynor’s brother, Colin, was pounced on by Ayr youngster Willie Lyle and he had the simple task of knocking the ball home for the winning goal. Mention must be made of the referee for this game, a sprightly gentleman in his mid 70’s who has been officiating for 56 years!

On to the main event, and a select gathering of around 150 toon fans assembled at the covered railway end of the ground, with a few seeking sanctuary in the stand, where it wasn’t much warmer.

The influence of drink meant that although small in number, the vocal support from the Magpie contingent was evident from the start, with some old favourites getting an airing, as well as more contemporary ditties such as “We will give you Foot & Mouth” and “there’s only seven Bob the Builders”, the latter a reference to the large number of brightly-helmeted paramedics standing adjacent to the Toon section…..

The game itself was no classic, as expected, but at least Newcastle managed to register their first ever goals on this ground at any level of competition, and one dedicated fan saw a toon victory on the occasion of his completing the double century of watching the lads on different grounds. Your correspondent also boosted his total to a comparatively meagre 150…..

Such a memorable achievement obviously required a swift return to licensed premises after the final whistle, via a quick meeting with the testimonial beneficiary, who was well chuffed with the funds raised for him, and very appreciative of his old Celtic chum Tommy Craig’s efforts to organise the fixture and provide a signed and framed Toon shirt to mark the occasion. Biffa

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