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The 9iar Chronicles - Season Eight 1972-73

Celticunderground:The Celtic Football Fan Podcast

Release Date: 05/13/2020

Working at Celtic During McCann Revolution show art Working at Celtic During McCann Revolution

Celticunderground:The Celtic Football Fan Podcast

Working at Celtic During the McCann Revolution   Fergus McCann came into Celtic Park and changed everything.  He changed the board and replaced family inheritance with business acumen.  He changed the ground from seats on Terracing to a 60,000 seated stadium.  He built all the foundations that have now established Celtic as THE premier club in Scotland.  He is one of the greatest Celts in history.   The transformation in Celtic pre and post March 1994 was incredible and one of the few people with a front row seat both before and after was Andrew Smith. ...

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Cup Final Preview Audio show art Cup Final Preview Audio

Celticunderground:The Celtic Football Fan Podcast

In the past week we've had the league secured at Rugby Park, a title party at Celtic Park rounded all off with the Cup Final at Hampden on the iconic date of 25th May.  Who else could I ask to discuss this than full-kit Jow Hart love-in man Remy McSwain. Remy and I review everything and jump all over the place because an easy verbal ramble through the past 10 days became a rushed preview and review because the IT set up/wifi crashed. The audio is good because the crap bits are editted out. Enjoy...

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Charity begins at home show art Charity begins at home

Celticunderground:The Celtic Football Fan Podcast

Following securing the league, Andrew Smith met with Celtic FC Foundation CEO Tony Hamilton to ask about the work of the Foundation and discuss the forthcoming charity game against the Dortmund Legends. Andrew asks searching questions such as - aren't all chairtie just a tax on the poor?  But Tony robustly defends the work of the Foundation and the input of the club who are by far the biggest contributors to The Foundation. To get tickets for the game, which takes place after the cup final, log on here https://www.celticfc.com/tickets/celtic-legends-v-borussia-dortmund-legends/ ...

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Winners...again.again show art Winners...again.again

Celticunderground:The Celtic Football Fan Podcast

Winners…again   This Saturday saw the final Glasgow Derby of the league campaign and for listeners to last week’s podcast the result will have come as no surprise.  Despite the comments of pundits, this is a game where form does not go out of the window.  It is a game that the form team (or more appropriately the better team) nearly always win.   Celtic are the better team.  Celtic won.   Whilst the league is not mathematically secured, we’re almost there being 6 points clear with just 2 games remaining.  We therefore got two boys to discuss with Harry...

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Fun Bhoys Three show art Fun Bhoys Three

Celticunderground:The Celtic Football Fan Podcast

Fun Bhoys Three   We have the final Glasgow Derby of season 2023/24 coming up this weekend and so we have organised some experienced heads to discuss the prospects with @Paul1888 joining Andrew & Harry to discuss the game.   We roll out the metaphors and the cliches to preview the game in the context of our performance on last weekend when Brendan finally had his full first choice 16 to field.   As Andrew H says - use your testicular metaphor of choice when previewing the game and have some fun.   Enjoy…

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Smith and Brady Dundee review and Hearts preview show art Smith and Brady Dundee review and Hearts preview

Celticunderground:The Celtic Football Fan Podcast

Smith and Brady - Dundee review and Hearts preview   This week Andrew H Smith joins Harry to review the performance and result at Dens Park.  The chat takes a meandering turn as the bhoys discuss the events at Dens almost 34 years ago to the day when Celtic really blew the 1979/80 season by losing 5-1 to Dundee during the title run in.  Andrew was there and experienced the vitriol.   When they get on to the 21st Century tie they get on to discuss how brilliant James Forrest is and anyone who disagrees will go on Wolfie Smith’s list.   Finally, the bhoys get to the...

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Smith and Brady The Scottish Cup Semi Final show art Smith and Brady The Scottish Cup Semi Final

Celticunderground:The Celtic Football Fan Podcast

Smith & Brady - The Scottish Cup Semi Final   Following the dramtic 3-3 draw and subsequent penalty shoot-out victory, Harry Brady and Andrew H Smith review the cup semi and discuss all of the action.   There’s a review of the defensive short-comings and like every discussion by Celtic fans of a certain age, 20+ year old Hampden games are shoehorned in.   Enjoy…

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Whats Going On show art Whats Going On

Celticunderground:The Celtic Football Fan Podcast

What’s Going On?   There’s hasn’t been a podcast in ages and then, in usual style, two come along at once.  If you’ve not listened, then get your ears around St Anthony’s Recollections podcast out earlier in the week.  It was a short sharp pod all about Paul McStay.   For the longer form podcast (and it’s very long) we have Remy, Lawrence & me asking (and attempting to answer) the simple question - what’s going on?   The answer seems to be Dermot with everything flowing from that!   It’s nearly two hours long so you’ll maybe listen in...

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Recollections - Paul McStay show art Recollections - Paul McStay

Celticunderground:The Celtic Football Fan Podcast

Recollections - Paul McStay   Paul McStay was born on 22nd October 1964 in Hamilton, Lanarkshire. Grand-nephew of former Celtic team captain and manager Jimmy McStay, playing for Celtic was in the family blood. A hotly tipped youth prospect Paul McStay was a member of Celtic Boys Club who burst onto the football scene in remarkable style when he hit two goals and was man of the match as Scotland schoolboys defeated their English counterparts at Wembley in front of a live TV audience in June 1980. He signed for Celtic aged seventeen and made his senior Celtic debut in a 4-0 home Scottish...

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Are we at the end of the road show art Are we at the end of the road

Celticunderground:The Celtic Football Fan Podcast

Are we at the end of the road   The Green Brigade - ostensibly a small group of fanatical “ultra” supporters below the age of 30 so who better to discuss their behaviours than a group of aging middle aged fans…?   Hullbhoy, Lawrence, Eddie & I appreciate that none of us share the likely demographic of the supporters group that we discuss, but Celtic is a broad church with fans from 1-100 and all within that spectrum are entitled to their views.  Online is principally in one place on the GBand so one element that we discuss is whether the wider fan base are broadly...

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More Episodes

The 9iar Chronicles - Season 8 1972/73

 

(Courtesy of The Celtic Wiki)

 

The New to the Fore.

  • League Position – 1st - Eighth League title in a row - a record
  • League Cup – Losing Finalists
  • Scottish Cup – Losing Finalists
  • Glasgow Cup - Not played this season
  • Drybrough Cup - Losing Finalists
  • European Cup - Second Round

So close to being a Double; so close to being a Treble! And in the end a record consecutive eighth League Championship title. Season 1972-73 should have been the season when the club-developed players of the Quality Street Gang became the new Lions. It was the best season so far for them, with Kenny Dalglish showing himself as the most exciting footballer in Scotland at the age of 22; where George Connelly had it all and was very nearly an ever present in the side; where Davie Hay showed what a great utility player he could be,the emergence of Danny McGrain as a great overlapping full back.

 

But it was also the season of the wayward youth, with Lou Macari - spotted and developed by the club - demanding more and then heading south when he didn't get his way. Suppoprters opinions of Macari tend to be tainted by the later period when he returned to the club as manager between 1993 to 1994. As a player for Celtic, Macari was a superb goal scorer and poacher. But he was a very different kind of beast from players of the Lions era. Macari had not only quickly endeared himself to the Celtic support but had made the full Scotland international team early and had been on international tour to the States and to Brazil. He had married in St Patrick's Cathedral, New York, and it was very clear he did not like the fishbowl life of football in Scotland. In the closed season he had played in Brazil for Scotland with Tommy Docherty as Scotland manager and Docherty had woven him tales of football south of the border. At the start of the season when he returned to Celtic he began or continued to make demands for better terms. As the season wore on towards 1973 these demands continued and unrest began to ferment in the dressing room. Finally Jock Stein and the Board had enough in December. He'd been injured through much of November and came back for the away game against Dumbarton in early December and then he was out with 'flu and a 'stomach upset' and out over the Christmas period. This coincided with a crisis period at the club with Jock Stein taken into hospital with a cardiac scare. By the New Year Macari was on the transfer list. It was no longer a question of 'if' he would go but 'when' and 'where' and 'for how much'. Would it be Liverpool where he was a guest at their home match after inspecting the club facilities. But it was to team up again with Tommy Docherty, now manager at Manchester Utd, that he always wanted and there he went for £200,000. (There is a very good appraisal by St Anthony of Macari's playing time at Celtic here.)

 

Such was the surfeit of riches at the club at the time that it could be argued that his departure was barely missed. And the £200,000 his transfer brought in allowed the purchase of Ally HunterAndy Lynch and Steve Murray.

 

The season had begun with the sterile competition that was the Drybrough Cup, with altered offside rules, with Celtic losing to Hibs in the final, the game going to extra time after Celtic pulled back three goals to level the match at the 90. But Hibs found the gaps in extra time and lifted the trophy.The League Cup also had changed format somewhat with teams now seeded in the Group stage and winners and runners up going through to a home-and-away second round before the quarter finals. Everything went well till Celtic met Dundee in the quarter finals. In the away leg Dundee had scored after 20 minutes and then withstood strong Celtic pressure to carry a single goal advantage to Celtic Park. There, a weak linesman and referee Bobby Davidson contrived a 3-2 scoreline which saw a replay on a Monday night at Hampden. The Bhoys made no mistake here and ran out 4-1 winners. A semi-final win over Aberdeen set up the final against Hibernian. And on the day Celtic ran up against Stanton in great form. Two Cups played. Losing finalists twice!

 

And the third Cup would go the same way. It began well with 4-1 and 4-0 wins against East Fife and Motherwell respectively. At the quarter final Celtic played Aberdeen who came to bore everybody to death. On top of that Jimmy Johnstone lost the place and was sent off. The replay at Pittodrie was nearly as boring - except on 86 minutes up came Big Billy and the ball was headed in the back of the net. Dundee, as in the League Cup but this time at semi final stage, and for some reason Aberdeen's defensive tactics caught on and Dundee bored everyone to death with a 0-0 draw. The replay saw a continuation of dull football but a tactical switch which saw Hay switched to defense and Connelly to midfield resulted in Jinky receiving the ball and scoring two good goals and Dalglish getting one. And so.... on to the final against the auld enemy in their centenary year. A cut-n-thrust game in which Connelly scored a penalty (in the light of a succession of missed penalties in previous games from other Celtic spot-kick takers) saw Forsyth on the goal line where Brogan, who had just been subbed, would normally have been, steal in and nip the ball into the net. Celtic tried to get back the goal but it was Rangers cup. Three Cups played. Losing finalists thrice!

 

The League was tighter than it had been for a while with Celtic topping out by just the one point but a huge goal difference margin.Throughout the season there were periods when the team played less well as a unit and that aweful sin of profligacy in front of goal raised it's ugly head again. All this contributed to the punditry and journos doubting Celtic's ability to take the title this season and continue with the Green Machine the following season.

 

In Europe, Celtic ran up against one of last season's teams - Ujpesti Dosza of Hungary. Last season they had met when the Hungarians were only starting their season. This time they were well warmed up and Celtic found them too good in Budapest. A 2-1 win at Celtic Park was countered by a 3-0 loss in Hungary and Celtic were out at the Second Round.

 

Dalglish, Hay, Connelly, McGrain and Macari have already been mentioned. The veterans also had their part to play. Big Billy was Captain Dependable as ever. Jim Brogan was missing more games through injury but when he was in he made the perfect left back to Danny McGrain's right. Bobby Lennox might see a good few sub spots this season but he still had lethal speed and his knowledge of the game was special in a forward. And Bobby Murdoch was noted when missing and his cool head made for reflection on the game when he played. The goalkeeper crisis was 'real' till the arrival of Ally Hunter from Kilmarnock who would have an outstanding first season between the sticks. His sureness inspired confidence in those in front of him. Jinky had off and on periods throughout the season and for his off periods he paid for by being dropped. The luxury of the team with so many good players was that it could and was tailored for conditions and teams.

 

At the end of the season there were those who asked if Celtic could go on and do it again the next season or if the newly resurgent Hibernian or Dundee or, god forbid, Rangers would make a serious challenge next season.

 

Enjoy…