Monthly Archives: February 2014

I can’t forgive UEFA and FIFA for destroying the game that I love[d]. Having the Eight Champions League Second round ties spread over a Fortnight is the height of nonsense.Of course,it’s all about money,now, and sponsors and TV – common sense has taken a back seat and it looks like it’ll stay in the back seat for a long time to come.The last Sixteen of the ‘Champions’ League has Four teams each from England and Germany and Three from Spain-that’s almost Three Quarters of the draw from just Three countries.Why don’t they re-name it the ‘We’re no’really interested unless you’re a big team from an elite League in Europe with a Billionaire chairman’ League. If you go back to March 1984 you’ll find that Dundee United were preparing to meet Rapid Vienna in the Quarter Final of the old ‘European Champion Clubs Cup'[Thankfully, from day One, it was known simply as ‘The European Cup’]-not Two of Europe’s richest or most glamourous clubs by any means,but Two clubs that had earned the right to compete in the Champions cup by winning their respective domestic League titles. In those days,the UEFA Cup would have Four clubs from England,Spain Italy and West Germany-making it like the Champions League of today.It would have made more sense to play the Super Cup between the winners of the European Cup and the UEFA Cup-the Cup Winners Cup was always thought of as being a poor mans European Cup-alot of the bigger Countries either didn’t take their Cup competition seriously or never had One at all and if you look at the Finals down the years you’ll notice that the bigger clubs of today, or back then, never dominated the trophy. Sadly,since the formation of the Champions League, the oldest Cup competition in the World[the FA Cup],has become a pale shadow of it’s former self.Gone are the days when a lower or non League team could draw one of the Giants and expect to see all the top players in action-now,a non League side drawing Man City or Chelsea or Arsenal would be lucky to see a couple of First team regulars on the opposite side-and all because The Champions League has become so lucrative.An FA Cup win pales into insignificance beside a top Four League finish-changed days indeed.

Celtic were Champions this season-after an indifferent opening Quarter they lost only Two of the next Twenty Seven matches.They were top by mid December and never looked like losing the League.They scored a record number of Premier League goals[79] and failed to score in only Three matches.Glavin,19[5 pens],craig,16,Dalglish,14[2 pens] were their top scorers.Thirteen different players scored their goals and One opponent scored for them.They also set a new points record[55] Rangers battled it out for the Runner up spot for most of the season with Aberdeen,before pulling away in the last few weeks of the season,finishing on 46 points,Three ahead of The Dons.Rangers scored 62 times in the League[12 different scorers],including Seven pens.Parlane,16 and Johnstone, 15 were the top scorers. Aberdeen scored 56 times in the League[14 different scorers],with Joe Harper their only player to hit Double figures,18,including Three pens. Dundee Utd scored 54 League goals[scored by 11 Utd players and 1 Hearts player],including Two pens by Goalie Hamish MacAlpine.Sturrock,15 and Wallace,13 were there double figures goalscorers.They finished on Forty One points,Two behind The Dons. Partick Thistle’s great form at home certainly helped them to a comfortable 5th place[35 pts]-only relegated Hearts and Killie and Motherwell had poorer away records.Losing only Four of Eighteen home matches,however,kept them safe from the threat of relegation.They lost 1-5 v 4th placed Dundee Utd, 2-4 v Champs Celtic and strangely Twice 0-1 and 0-2 v Ayr Utd.They won both Home matches against Rangers 4-3 and 2-1.They scored 40 goals[scored by 11 players]including an og.Four were pens-Two scored by Alan Hansen.Doug Somner netted Eleven goals[2 pens]. Hibs finished in 6th place on Thirty Four pts.They won Eight,lost Ten and drew Eighteen matches,scored 34 goals and conceded 35.Ten different players scored the goals and One og made it 34. Motherwell finished Two points behind Hibs on 34 and ,like Partick Thistle, had their fine home form to thank for keeping them safe from the drop.They lost only Three of Eighteen Home matches-2-4 v A yr Utd 0-2 v Rangers and 1-3 v Aberdeen.They scored 57 League goals[Nine different scorers],including Two by Celtics Andy Lynch in one match[3-0 Motherwell] and another og scored by Hearts.Willie Pettigrew scored 21 goals and former Hibs legend Jimmy o’Rourke,who was relegated St Johnstone’s top scorer the previous season with Eight goals was ‘wells 2nd top scorer this season with Nine goals. Ayr United finished in 8th place on Thirty points and in contrast to Partick and Motherwell it was their Away form which saved them from relegation-only Champions Celtic and Runners up Rangers won more points away from Home than Ayr.Ten players scored their 44 League goals[Three pens]McCall was their top scorer with 16 goals. Two wins in their last Fifteen matches helped to relegate Hearts-they finished on 27 points-Three behind Ayr.They scored 49 League goals,Willie Gibson scoring 15 times. Killie finished bottom on 17 points and failed to win a match away from home.They only managed 32 goals[Ten different scorers] but Fallis did score Ten of them.

pld won Dr lost F–A won Dr lost F–A Pts RANGERS 36 15 2 1 38-12 8 6 4 21-12 54 CELTIC 36 10 5 3 35-18 11 1 6 36-24 48 HIBERNIAN 36 13 2 3 37-15 5 5 8 21-25 43 MOTHERWELL 36 11 4 3 29-18 5 4 9 28-31 40 HEARTS 36 7 5 6 23-19 6 4 8 16-25 35 AYR UTD 36 10 3 5 29-24 4 3 12 17-35 33 ABERDEEN 36 8 5 5 27-19 3 5 10 22-31 32 DUNDEE UTD 36 9 3 6 27-20 3 5 10 19-28 32 DUNDEE 36 8 5 5 31-26 3 5 10 18-36 32 ST JOHNSTONE 36 3 4 11 19-34 0 1 17 10-45 11 So ended the very First Premier League season in Scotland.Rangers,the last team to win the old League title in 1974/75 became the First team to win the new Premier League title in 1975/76.On August 30,1975 the Glasgow rivals began their League campaign against each other at Ibrox in front of a 69,000 crowd,which,to this day,is still the Premier Leagues biggest ever attendance.Rangers scored Fifty Nine goals[by Fifteen different players,Four were own goals-Two in One match and Two were Penalties.Two of their players reached Double figures in the League,Derek Johnstone,15 and willie Henderson,10.Twenty Three players were used that season. Celtic scored Seventy One goals[scored by Eleven different players],including Five penalties and Three players reached double figures with League goals-Kenny Dalglish,24,Dixie Deans,15 and Bobby Lennox,10.They used Twenty Four players that season. Hibs scored Fifty Five goals,Fourteen different scorers,including Two own goals and Five penalties[Four of them scored by ex Pumphy Juniors and Scotland legend John’Onions’ Brownlie].Arthur Duncan scored Thirteen League goals. Hibs used Twenty Three players. Motherwell scored Fifty Seven League goals[by Twelve different scorers],including One o.g and Five penalties.Willie Pettigrew scored 22 League goals and ‘Well used Nineteen players. Hearts scored Thirty Nine goals[Nine different scorers],including Two o.g’s,and Three penalties.They used Twenty One players. Ayr United scored Forty Six goals[Ten different scorers] including Five penalties-John Graham scored 16 league goals and was One of Twenty Two players Ayr used in the League. Aberdeen scored Forty Nine League goals[Nine different scorers]including Four penalties and One o.g.Jocky Scott was their top scorer with Fourteen goals they used Twenty Seven players. Dundee United scored Forty Six League goals[Twelve different scorers]including Four penalties-One scored by the Goalkeeper,Hamish McAlpine They used Twenty Four players.Top scorer Tom McAdam[12]. Dundee scored Forty Nine goals[scored by 14 players]including One o.g and Nine penalties[Gordon Strachan scored Three of them].Gordon Wallace was their top scorer with Twelve goals and they used Twenty Four players. St Johnstone scored Twenty Nine goals in the League[Ten different scorers] including One o.g.Top scorer was former Hibs legend Jimmy o’Rourke with Eight goals.They used Twenty Four players. At the end of the First Premier League season [1975-76] Two Hundred and Thirty One players were used and One Hundred and Sixteen of them scored Four Hundred and Ninety One goals.Forty Two penalties were scored, with Dundee scoring Nine and Twelve Own Goals were scored-Celtic and St Johnstone scoring Three each.The Top Five League Goalscorers were Dalglish[Celtic],24-Pettigrew[Motherwell],22-Graham[Ayr Utd]16-Johnstone[Rangers]15 and Scott[Dundee]14. Twice,in the course of the season Nine goals were scored in a match-Motherwell winning 6-3 at Dens Park and Celtic winning 7-2 at Somerset Park.In the Four League matches between Ayr and Celtic,Twenty Four goals were scored.Celtic winning 7-2 and 5-3 away from home,and winning,3-1 and losing,1-2 at home.The 1976-77 stats will follow soon.