Like so many of his generation of players, Dixie Deans was always available to speak to Celtic fans. He recounted his hattricks in the 1972 Scottish Cup Final and the 1974 League Cup Final, both against Hibernian, the support he received from The Jungle throughout his time at the club and his unique foundation story as a Celtic player. He even smiled politely at every mention of that penalty kick.
The latter part of Jock Stein’s nine-in-a-row did not reach the levels of the first five seasons, but it had firepower in the shape of Deans and Dalglish. Kenny was king, with Dixie often the man who put the ball in the net. After two years of failing to win the league, Stein knew change was needed and he sold Dixie to Luton in 1976. Dixie was 32, old for a striker back then, his legacy assured in Glasgow.
Celtic were keen to acquire him from Motherwell before he eventually signed in 1971 but were rebuffed. Stein, who invented the Dark Arts of football, was not to be denied. A few months after his first attempt failed, Jock empowered a friendly journalist to have a word in Dixie’s ear. After a game at Fir Park, the journo invited Dixie to meet him at Carfin Grotto the following day.
Dixie was a fish out of water at the Grotto, but as they walked around, the idea was put to him that he should inform Motherwell of his intention to emigrate to South Africa, where a relative had secured him well-paid work as an electrician. Within days, Motherwell phoned Celtic to ask if they were still interested in signing their striker.
“Nine-in-a-row” was a call of the ages for a generation of Celtic fans. A world record we thought would never be achieved again. I heard Celtic used only 44 players during those nine league campaigns; Dixie has a place of honour among them.
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MAJESTIC HARTSON
I’ve forwarded your email to a mate who has a spare.
food for thought…
Chelsea lose away at Atalanta
Roma Manager was Atalanta manager when we played them
They totally outplayed Huns
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/live/cx2ppj24de0t#MatchStats
Nice tribute to Dixie Deans by P67
Tom McLaughlin on 11th December 2025 9:40 am
You sometimes come across as a tad acerbic in your posts ( which I genuinely like!) but that gesture more accurately reflects what I see as the `real` Tom McLaughlin).Good man.
Cup final tickets out yesterday afternoon
Infocfc
Ekbhoy
Great eh:-),hope you got one,I did,will take care of Roma tonight then look forward
HH
Good morning all.
Thanks Tom 👍🏻
AN TEARMANN on 11TH DECEMBER 2025 10:53 AM
Ekbhoy
Great eh:-),hope you got one,I did,will take care of Roma tonight then look forward
HH
….
Thanks yes got a ticket , chances boosted by the bhoycotters. Looking forward to the game , it would be nice to get to a game without being drenched.
HH
Roma 4th in the Italian League played 14 games won9 lost 5 , goals for 15 against 8.
So solid professional outfit but not unbeatable, goals look to be issue domestically. Remember the Hun game , they looked a step above the Hun and remember they missed an absolute sitter so could easily have been a 3-0 victory. Still the Hun had decent chances against them but they kept failing to their big dumpling up front.
We need a good fast start and the first goal , as the team beds in the Wilfried style. Front 3 Id expect changes , Benji will be dropped for not marking the Hearts bloke at the corner , there needs to be consequences for such rubbish defending. Defence and midfield unchanged , so I’d go with
KS
AT. LS. KT
Y. AE. CAL. RH
BAL. DM
JK
Johnny Kenny better option to sniff out a goal than Daizen although his hold up play is about the same as Daizen, poor. Balikwisha suspect has better ball control and passer than Benji ( limited sample size)
HH
new article posted.
I thought that Clunks made some very valid comments on Celtic TV. Given that I have no idea of the costs and logistics involved my own contribution is made from a position of ignorance. But the Celtic Channel could be improved.
In fact, it was better twenty years ago when the output wasn’t limited to match coverage. Mike Jackson used to compere a Friday evening fans’ forum. This was compulsive viewing for one of my daughters especially after 10.00 pm. That’s when the more inebriate fans chose to broadcast to the nation.
In any case, Celtic is missing a trick here. With a few innovations the Channel could be the club’s best means of communication.