“Charlie Gallagher? What a Player!” – Celtic’s “Seven Year Itch”

One good thing that happened, however, was that Willie Fernie was brought back from Middlesbrough. Why he was allowed to go in the first place remains a mystery, but there was little doubt that some maturity and stability was needed in the forward line. (It is surely significant, incidentally, that although Willie Fernie was at Middlesbrough for less than two years, he is still hailed on Teeside as a “legend” with his photograph on the walls of pubs alongside his team mate Brian Clough! The word “halcyon” is frequently used to describe the Fernie era in North Yorkshire.)

The chopping and changing of the youngsters was something that did few favours to anyone, not least a fringe player like Charlie. Fernie and Gallagher immediately struck up a rapport. Both good ball players and both detecting in each other a kindred spirit, they became friends with Fernie taking the young Gallagher under his wing and nursing him with words of advice and encouragement – something that that not necessarily been forthcoming from other areas of Celtic Park. Gallagher would begin to flourish with Fernie around.

The last day of 1960 saw Charlie, at last, get a game in the first team. A complicated combination of injuries in the forward line saw Charlie invited to play at inside left for the visit of the strong going Kilmarnock to Celtic
Park. A good crowd of 30,000 thus saw Charlie play brilliantly and score the winning goal in the 3-2 victory, even though Kilmarnock had opened the scoring before most of the crowd got in. It was one of Celtic’s better performances, and Gallagher played superbly as Steve Chalmers scored twice, before Charlie himself picked up a ball halfway inside the Celtic half, then ran on and scored to give himself and the Celtic fans a happier New Year than they had had for some time.

The only fly in the ointment was that this result had actually helped Rangers, for Kilmarnock were one of the very few realistic challengers for the title in season 1960/61! Celtic “challenge” had never even started!

Charlie might have expected, in these circumstances, to be given a game in the 2 January game against Rangers at Ibrox. Sadly he would be disappointed. It was a game, in some ways typical of Old Firm games at that time, in which Celtic were the better team… but Rangers won 2-1. The question was asked however why young Gallagher who had done so well against Kilmarnock was not given a game. The answer was that it was all to “protect” him from the rigours of an Old Firm game!

But opportunity knocked by the end of the week. Third Lanark came to Celtic Park in a snow storm and played a game of sorts before a miserable crowd of 10,000. Charlie found himself on the right wing with Steve Chalmers now at inside left. Thirds won 3-2, but it was difficult to judge or condemn anyone in such conditions, and he was given another chance. He would seize this chance, and would retain the outside right position until the end of the season. It was hardly accidental that the form of the team improved from now on.

One of the great things about a Scottish season is that, for the big clubs at least, the Scottish Cup does not usually start until January. This gives them a fresh start, as it were, and a chance to redeem themselves after
failures in the early part of the season. Added spice comes from the fact that there has never been any attempt to “seed” the draw of the Scottish Cup or to “doctor” things for a Celtic v Rangers final, for example. Celtic had won the Scottish Cup 17 times in 1961, twice more than Rangers, and it had always been looked upon as Celtic’s special tournament with epic finals recalled from as early as 1892 and including those of 1914, 1925, 1931 and 1937 passed down to the younger generations who were seeking to emulate these feats.

But seven years had now passed since the last victory in 1954, the same amount of years as had passed between 1892 and 1899, as well as the more recent years 1937 – 1951 when, (if one ignores the war years when
the Scottish Cup was not contested), another seven seasons had passed without the Scottish Cup being decked with green and white ribbons.

So the “Seven Year Itch”, a famous 1955 film starring Marilyn Monroe, meant something quite significant to the eager Celtic fans of 1961. In truth, although no-one could really say that Celtic’s record since 1954 in the Scottish Cup had been a failure, the intervening six years had brought more than their fair share of heartbreak. There had been two defeats in the final, both brought about by a faulty team selection and one of them in 1955 after a crazy last minute goalkeeping error in the last minute of the first game before a narrow defeat in the replay. There had been three other appearances in semi-finals. Two of them had seen total collapses to St Mirren in 1959 and Rangers in 1960, and the other in 1957 a replay against Kilmarnock in which serious questions were asked
about Celtic’s defence, the serious questions, shall we say, being directed at their integrity as well as their competence!

So it was a love-hate relationship with the Scottish Cup and Celtic found themselves paired, at the end of January, with Falkirk at Brockville. This was a ground that was looked upon as something of a bogey ground for Celtic, even though it had been the scene of Charlie Tully’s twice taken corner kick goal in 1953.

But before Celtic went to Falkirk, Charlie played in two League games, both of which might have gone badly wrong but which in fact showed that this fast improving team was winning well and playing some nice football. A Scottish Cup run was already being predicted by the optimistic.

The distant field of Pittodrie, for example, in mid-January, saw a 3-1 victory with 3 fine goals from Gallagher, Chalmers and Divers. A forward line of Gallagher, Divers, Hughes, Chalmers and Auld combined well on the bone hard surface, so that the 3-1 scoreline in no way flattered the visitors whose large travelling support were in ecstasy at it all while the home support (Aberdeen were not doing well at this time in their history) had turned on their own team and were reluctantly applauding some of the good Celtic play. It was noticeable and much commented upon that this forward line in particular was playing as a unit, passing to one another and reading each other’s intentions rather than the more rustic, “hope for the best” stuff that had been seen earlier in the season.

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About Author

The Celtic Star founder and editor, who has edited numerous Celtic books over the past decade or so including several from Lisbon Lions, Willie Wallace, Tommy Gemmell and Jim Craig. Earliest Celtic memories include a win over East Fife at Celtic Park and the 4-1 League Cup loss to Partick Thistle as a 6 year old. Best game? Easy 4-2, 1979 when Ten Men Won the League. Email editor@thecelticstar.co.uk

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