Book Review – Celtic in the Eighties by David Potter

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The Celtic Star

·10 November 2025

Book Review – Celtic in the Eighties by David Potter

Celtic in the Eighties by David Potter – Book reviewed by James McDevitt

Celtic 3-0 St Mirren, Scottish Premier League, Celtic Park, 15 May 1982.Celtic captain Danny McGrain collects the championship trophy as Roy Aitken looks on. Photo The Celtic Wiki

For Celtic fans, the 1980s included the fairytale of the Centenary Year Double, the near-miraculous title win at Love Street in 1986, and two dramatic Scottish Cup wins in 1985 and 1989.

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The period also included the sickening lows of trophyless years in 1984, 1987 and 1990, as well as the loss of star players like Charlie Nicholas, Mo Johnston and Brian McClair. Despite some near-misses (and being cheated by Rapid Vienna), Celtic also failed to stay in European football beyond Christmas. Renowned Celtic historian, David Potter, brilliantly takes us through the main events of that period in “Celtic in the Eighties”, his final book before his untimely death in July 2023.

David Potter, Celtic Historian and Author.

The book covers the ten seasons from 1980/81 to 1989/90 in a chronological narrative which is always very readable, informative and written in David’s inimitable style. Whilst many books of this type can become bogged down in the details of wins, draws and losses, Potter avoids this by enriching his account with personal memories, reflections, observations and anecdotes. Humour is present throughout the book and David uses it skillfully to place events in context and to illuminate the point being made.

David writes unashamedly as a Celtic fan, but he is always scrupulously fair in his assessments of Celtic’s performances, those of their rivals and even of the much-maligned referees. Whilst always writing with a clear love of Celtic, he is never slow to criticise the Celtic players, managers or indeed his fellow supporters when this is merited.

A sobering statistic is that Celtic won a total of only EIGHT domestic trophies out of a possible THIRTY. This is compared to TEN for Rangers (six of which came from 1987-1990) and NINE for Aberdeen during the same period. Four League Championships, three Scottish Cups and one League Cup represent a disappointing return from a Celtic side which, for most of the years discussed, contained several players of real quality such as Danny McGrain, Roy Aitken, Murdo MacLeod, Paul McStay, Davie Provan and Tommy Burns.

Tommy Burns makes an emotional last appearance in the hoops on a freezing cold night on 6 December 1989. Photo The Celtic Wiki

Celtic sides of the Eighties produced some brilliant performances, notably in Europe against Juventus, Ajax, Sporting Lisbon and Rapid Vienna. The skill and ability of these players was not in doubt. Why then, David therefore asks, could such a talented group of players not produce top performances on a more regular basis?

He identifies several reasons which help to answer this. One was the basic unpredictability of performances, even in seasons when Celtic won the Championship. Excellent and, on occasion, brilliant displays were often followed inexplicably with truly dreadful performances, which sometimes continued for several matches.

Paul McStay and Roy Aitken celebrate Celtic winning the 1988 Scottish Cup Final on 14 May, against Dundee United at Hampden. Photo Imago/ Colorsport.

Celtic teams of the 1980s often displayed a Jekyll and Hyde nature, both from match to match and even within a single match. Potter notes a common pattern of Celtic taking the lead, relaxing and then losing the lead, which led to many points being squandered. He recalls a joke from 1982 which expresses this well: “If anyone had a dog called Celtic, he would despair because it kept losing its lead.”

Defensive frailties were obvious under McNeill and continued under David Hay. Under both managers, the loss of goals late in the game happened on a regular basis, more often due to lapses in concentration rather than to any attacking brilliance by opponents. Potter also notes that Celtic tended to place too much emphasis on a “swashbuckling style of attack” without paying due attention to the defensive side of the game.

06.04.1985 Photo imago/ColorsportFrank McDougall (Aberdeen) with Celtic’s Murdo MacLeod and Tom McAdam

Another crucial reason explaining Celtic’s relative under-achievement is the consistent lack of ambition on the part of the Celtic Board. This was most obvious in their continued unwillingness to invest in the squad. Each time Celtic won the League, there was no serious attempt to improve the squad from a position of strength. It was also clear in the indecent haste with which Chairman Desmond White rushed to sell Charlie Nicholas, and in the appalling treatment of Billy McNeill when he asked for a contract.

Unsettled players like Charlie Nicholas, Brian McClair, Mo Johnston, Alan McInally, Murdo MacLeod and Frank McAvennie undoubtedly undermined team spirit and cohesion. David exempts MacLeod on the grounds of his consummate professionalism but is very clear that the ongoing discontent caused by each of the others had a detrimental effect on the form of the side. Again, Potter slates the Board for its indecision in dealing with these players.

April 1990: Mo Johnston of Rangers celebrates victory after the Premier League match against Dundee at Tannadice Park in Dundee. Photo Russell Cheyne/Allsport

The arrival of Graeme Souness at Ibrox in 1986 would transform Scottish football for the remainder of the Eighties and for the whole of the following decade. He proved that English international players would move to Scottish football if they were paid enough money and could play in European competitions. In contrast, Celtic did not even attempt to match Rangers but rather continued as if it was business as normal.

David covers the signing of Mo Johnston by Rangers in July 1989 in some detail, noting that, at a stroke, Souness “recaptured the moral high ground and sentenced a catatonic Celtic to helpless inactivity, while more or less guaranteeing that Rangers would win the league for several more years in the future.” The Eighties end with Rangers in total ascendancy and Celtic in utter disarray, both on and off the park.

1989: Pat Bonner (centre) of Celtic celebrates with his team mates after the Scottish Cup Final match against Rangers at Hampden Park in Glasgow, Scotland. Celtic won the match 1-0. Photo Allsport UK /Allsport

While the story concludes on a low note, the book overall is an excellent celebration of an eventful and memorable period in Celtic’s history. In May 2024, David Potter was posthumously honoured with the club’s Special Recognition Award for his writings about all things Celtic. He was indeed an exceptional man, and “Celtic in the Eighties” is a fitting testimony to his talents.

James McDevitt

Celtic in the Eighties by David Potter was published in September 2025 by Celtic Star Books. David’s widow Rosemary has written a special message of thanks to the Celtic support and Danny McGrain has contributed his own piece to the book which is a great read. And Danny has gone further by signing all remaining copies of the book which is available now from our bookstore – celticstarbooks.com

Please note that as we celebrate the life and the Celtic writing of David Potter we are happy to include a free copy of David’s wonderful Willie Fernie biography that only could be titled ‘Putting on the Style’ a release that helped bring that old Celtic song back into the current songbook.

Celtic in the Eighties by David Potter. Order now and you’ll receive a copy personally signed by Danny McGrain PLUS a free gift! Click on image to order now.