Daily Record Monday 31/10/1957
By WAVERLEY, The name that means football
When a team are humiliated as Rangers were at Hampden in the Scottish League Cup Final on Saturday by Celtic, there inevitably must be found a scapegoat.
On Saturday, as I left Hampden, Johnny Valentine was the man picked out chiefly to blame for the crushing defeat inflicted on the Light Blues.
Admittedly the ex Queens Parker had a poor game but the cold, irrefutable fact is that Rangers, individually and collectively, were vastly inferior to opposition that, so far as I am concerned played their most skilful football for many seasons.
SLOW OF THOUGHT
Rangers had no answer to it, and they appeared slow of thought and slovenly of movement in comparison with the quick-thinking fleet footed men of Parkhead.
In my pre match review I emphasised that Celtic possessed the better halfback line. They undoubtedly did and while Fernie, Evans and Peacock may claim to have laid the foundations of truly great victory there were other factors, not the least of which was the craft upfront of Tully.
He had the Rangers defence from first to last in a state of puzzlement. The Irishman may be a bit of a kidder, but here he was in deadly earnest, always serious minded and purposeful, never the jester.
A GREAT WING
His Cool calculation, his unflurried appreciation of circumstances, materially assisted in the Celtic frontline establishing themselves as a highly effective entity ready to take advantage of the urgings of the three men behind,
Tully, with Collins and Fernie formed a wing that took my mind back to some of those happy combinations of other days at Parkhead.
What a player this man Fernie is. He has no equal in all Scotland in ball control, which he employed frequently to make excursions upfield further to harry a Rangers already made to guess and chase in vain attempts to stem the McPhail led attack.
BRIEF THREAT
In only two brief periods in the proceedings did Rangers appear to me to be in with a chance of even living to fight another day. The first was after the opening quarter of an hour. For most of that time Celtic were the aggressors, but gave the impression that they were to fail through faulty finishing, which so often in recent years dissipated outfield superiority.
Rangers having survived those opening thrusts, I thought would turn the run of play.
NIVENS ERROR
But in the twenty third minute when Wilson rapped home the opening goal for Celtic to deservedly to take the lead and went on to maintain attack, it looked as though the Light Blues were booked for trouble.
It came almost on the interval when a bad piece of goalkeeping by Niven permitted Mochan to put on the second counter.
The keeper had only a couple of feet between himself and his right hand post to guard yet he failed to get his hands to the ball, shot by winger from almost the byline.
Eight minutes after the restart, which saw Murray limping at outside left, with Simpson at centre forward and Hubbard as inside support to Scott, McPhail got the first of his hat-trick. Five minutes afterward and Simpson reduced the leeway and Rangers bustled in as though they were to set about making a draw of it.
DOWN AND OUT
But the skill was not there to outwit a defence that refused to be flurried, and when McPhail again scored, the Ibrox fellows were down and out
Their last chance- an outside one had gone- and Celtic went on to outwit, out-general a team reduced to a ragged collection of mediocrities with additional goals from Mochan, McPhail and Fernie (Penalty), completing the most miserable afternoon experienced by a Light Blues eleven in the post-war years.
HH Rich
This was on the same page as the match report and also written by Waverley
Can Fernie be left out of World Cup party?
After Fernies grand game on Saturday, can the SFA selectors persist in leaving the Celt out of their World Cup speculations?
I most assuredly think not. I believe this master of ball control has improved in his play since going to right-half, and has learned to part with the ball more readily than was his wont when operating as an inside-forward.
I would like to see him again in the frontline, but Celtic cannot be expected to accommodate the selection committee by playing him there when he is one of such a splendid half back line that against Rangers proved itself as second to none in the country.
I wish it were an all Scottish line.
On Friday there will be chosen our 22 players, according to FIFA rule, which will be called upon for Sweden- if we qualify for the final stages of the global tournament.
If Fernie is not included, then the selectors don't know their business.
HH Rich
By WAVERLEY, The name that means football
When a team are humiliated as Rangers were at Hampden in the Scottish League Cup Final on Saturday by Celtic, there inevitably must be found a scapegoat.
On Saturday, as I left Hampden, Johnny Valentine was the man picked out chiefly to blame for the crushing defeat inflicted on the Light Blues.
Admittedly the ex Queens Parker had a poor game but the cold, irrefutable fact is that Rangers, individually and collectively, were vastly inferior to opposition that, so far as I am concerned played their most skilful football for many seasons.
SLOW OF THOUGHT
Rangers had no answer to it, and they appeared slow of thought and slovenly of movement in comparison with the quick-thinking fleet footed men of Parkhead.
In my pre match review I emphasised that Celtic possessed the better halfback line. They undoubtedly did and while Fernie, Evans and Peacock may claim to have laid the foundations of truly great victory there were other factors, not the least of which was the craft upfront of Tully.
He had the Rangers defence from first to last in a state of puzzlement. The Irishman may be a bit of a kidder, but here he was in deadly earnest, always serious minded and purposeful, never the jester.
A GREAT WING
His Cool calculation, his unflurried appreciation of circumstances, materially assisted in the Celtic frontline establishing themselves as a highly effective entity ready to take advantage of the urgings of the three men behind,
Tully, with Collins and Fernie formed a wing that took my mind back to some of those happy combinations of other days at Parkhead.
What a player this man Fernie is. He has no equal in all Scotland in ball control, which he employed frequently to make excursions upfield further to harry a Rangers already made to guess and chase in vain attempts to stem the McPhail led attack.
BRIEF THREAT
In only two brief periods in the proceedings did Rangers appear to me to be in with a chance of even living to fight another day. The first was after the opening quarter of an hour. For most of that time Celtic were the aggressors, but gave the impression that they were to fail through faulty finishing, which so often in recent years dissipated outfield superiority.
Rangers having survived those opening thrusts, I thought would turn the run of play.
NIVENS ERROR
But in the twenty third minute when Wilson rapped home the opening goal for Celtic to deservedly to take the lead and went on to maintain attack, it looked as though the Light Blues were booked for trouble.
It came almost on the interval when a bad piece of goalkeeping by Niven permitted Mochan to put on the second counter.
The keeper had only a couple of feet between himself and his right hand post to guard yet he failed to get his hands to the ball, shot by winger from almost the byline.
Eight minutes after the restart, which saw Murray limping at outside left, with Simpson at centre forward and Hubbard as inside support to Scott, McPhail got the first of his hat-trick. Five minutes afterward and Simpson reduced the leeway and Rangers bustled in as though they were to set about making a draw of it.
DOWN AND OUT
But the skill was not there to outwit a defence that refused to be flurried, and when McPhail again scored, the Ibrox fellows were down and out
Their last chance- an outside one had gone- and Celtic went on to outwit, out-general a team reduced to a ragged collection of mediocrities with additional goals from Mochan, McPhail and Fernie (Penalty), completing the most miserable afternoon experienced by a Light Blues eleven in the post-war years.
HH Rich
This was on the same page as the match report and also written by Waverley
Can Fernie be left out of World Cup party?
After Fernies grand game on Saturday, can the SFA selectors persist in leaving the Celt out of their World Cup speculations?
I most assuredly think not. I believe this master of ball control has improved in his play since going to right-half, and has learned to part with the ball more readily than was his wont when operating as an inside-forward.
I would like to see him again in the frontline, but Celtic cannot be expected to accommodate the selection committee by playing him there when he is one of such a splendid half back line that against Rangers proved itself as second to none in the country.
I wish it were an all Scottish line.
On Friday there will be chosen our 22 players, according to FIFA rule, which will be called upon for Sweden- if we qualify for the final stages of the global tournament.
If Fernie is not included, then the selectors don't know their business.
HH Rich
