Lisbon Lion John Clark and Frank McGarvey’s Header that Finally Dried the Ink on his Celtic Contract

Tommy Sheridan and Frank McGarvey last week launched their new podcast “I’m Frank and He’s Tommy Podcast” and episode 2 is out today as the entertaining pair bounce off each other brilliantly as they marvel at the football Ange Postecoglou’s team has been playing but temper that with concerns about the defending that cost us two soft goals yesterday.

Sheridan reveals that he watches the games with a pen and notepad and marks positive actions by each player with a tick and negatives with a cross and there were plenty of x-ratings alongside Carl Starfelt name yesterday. He also noted that Hearts tried to target Greg Taylor with high balls down his channel being a deliberate tactic that seemed to pay off.

Hearts Aaron McEneff scores their side’s second goal of the game during the Premier Sports Cup match at Celtic Park, Photo: Steve Welsh

McGarvey talks of the the Celtic sides he played in and believes that while they could play exciting attacking football they were substandard defensively. He points out that the Celtic teams that reached European finals under Jock Stein (2) and Martin O’Neill both knew how to defend and he added the Dundee Utd and Aberdeen sides of the early 1980s into mix.

“The only thing that tempers my enthusiasm is the defence,” McGarvey notes, pointing out that the rewards in winning the league and gaining automatic entry to the Champions League Group Stages next season is worth around £40m to the club, according to Frank.

He tells the story of travelling to Madrid for the 1980 European Cup quarter final second leg with Celtic 2-0 up from the first leg at Parkhead. The defence was not good enough and Celtic lost 3-0 to Real Madrid with McGarvey unavailable (as he’d just signed ) and watching in the stands.

You will love the story about McGarvey’s arrival at Celtic in 1980 when Desmond Whyte wanted to get him into the side straight away after his £285,000 move from Liverpool as it would add two the size of the gate. McGarvey was perhaps ill-prepared for that debut against St Mirren and afterwards the then Assistant Manager, John Clark reminded him that the ink had not dried on his contract.

That, according to McGarvey was code for having a bad game. The next game, according to Frank, was against Hibs and Celtic won comfortably with McGarvey scoring but he admitted that he’d still not played very well. Sure enough the Lisbon Lion was waiting for him and to say that the ink was still not dry!

So the midweek game, at home against Rangers with Celtic under real pressure to win the match was still goalless on 88 minutes when McGarvey headed the ball downwards past the giant Rangers goalkeeper Peter McCloy (Stephen Welsh’s header yesterday reminded the former Celtic striker of this goal) and into the net. McGarvey describes running at full speed towards the Jungle (right where I was standing incidentally) to celebrate the winner!

Afterwards John Clark noted that the ink had now dried on that contract! Amazing what a winner against Rangers gets you. Here’s the 2nd edition of “I’m Frank and He’s Tommy Podcast” and below is a press cutting from that game on 2 April 1980…