PASSING Celtic stories down through the generations is one of the most enjoyable aspects of editing a site like The Celtic Star. This evening @jamiebhoy2009 posted these two gems which are just wonderful little supporter snippets, genuine and priceless little pieces of Celtic history, right there on Twitter.
“Published the week before Lisbon, the Evening Times Gair Henderson had asked readers to write in giving their best Celtic team of the past 20 years. First prize went to Mr Monagle of Blantyre. His sub was Willie Fernie,” Jamie tweeted. “Runners up choice to follow.”
So who did Mr Monagle select as his best Celtic team from 1947 to 1967? Let’s find out…
1. JOHN BONNAR – for his tigerish determination and lightning reflexes.
2. DUNCAN MACKAY – an ideal defender and polished footballer.
3. TOMMY GEMMELL – for his tremendous strength and ability to score goals.
4. BOBBY EVANS – the human dynamo.
5. BILLY McNEILL – the perfect pivot to any team.
6. GEORGE PATERSON – for his reading of a game and outstanding sportsmanship.
7. JIMMY JOHNSTONE – elusive, clever, an expert at the goal-line cross.
8. BOBBY COLLINS – the great grafter with the thunderbolt shot.
9. JOE McBRIDE – the man who can put the ball in the net with half a chance.
10. BERTIE AULD – the expert at keeping a grip on any game and keeping his team on attack.
11. CHARLIE TULLY – the one and only – the entertainer supreme.
Published the week before Lisbon, the Evening Times Gair Henderson had asked readers to write in giving their best @CelticFC team of the past 20 years. 1st prize went to Mr Monagle of Blantyre. His sub was Willie Fernie.
Runners up choice to follow. pic.twitter.com/UOHs9BbNXL
— jamief (@jamiebhoy2009) November 20, 2019
And the runner up provided perhaps an even better insight for the Celtic support looking back to that era and the best Celtic team from the previous twenty years.
“A special consolation prize of £1 1s goes to Mr Thomas O’Hagan of 25 Nelson Avenue, Coatbridge, for this well reasoned letter,” – the Evening Times journalist in May 1967 wrote. So here’s what Thomas O’Hagan wrote…
This in my opinion, is the best XI Celtic could have turned out over the last 20 years – Miller; MacKay and Gemmell; Evans, McNeill and Peacock; Johnstone and Collins; John McPhail; Tully and Hughes.
Miller, in my view, was second only to the late John Thomson. If he had been lucky enough play in a great Celtic team, he might even have come to rival that outstanding goalkeeper.
MacKay and Gemmell are full backs of international class – and I place them above all others in the past 20 years.
Evans gets my vote, over Crerand and Murdoch; only because he proved his ability so consistently over 15 years. McNeill and Peacock are automatic choices, as are Johnstone, Collins and John McPhail.
Charlie Tully is a must, but I place him as inside left to make room for John Hughes – a controversial figure but on form a standout. I can picture him creating havoc, with Tully doing the feeding and Collins spending those long passes.
I have followed Celtic for 50 years – but I would back this team to beat any other Celts 11 of the last half century.
Thomas O’Hagan
What a brilliant wee read that was!
“Brilliant player descriptions – quality captions of a standard you just don’t see any more. Succinct and concrete. Great writing,” Mark McSherry replied to Jamie this evening, while Jim Cunningham observed that there was “no Bobby Murdoch” in the team.
Maybe after his performance a week later in Lisbon both Mr Monagle of Blantyre and Thomas O’Hagan of Coatbridge might have chanced their minds on that and they probably would have been delighted to do so!
— jamief (@jamiebhoy2009) November 20, 2019
