In desperation, Brady tried a new double-act with Brian O’Neil partnering Mike Galloway for an October 19 meeting with Falkirk at Brockville. The new pairing misfired with disastrous consequences as Celtic lost 4-3. Barry Smith, an untested seventeen year old, was introduced for the first time as the Celtic manager shuffled his defence, still searching for a settled formula. Clearly, the debutant wasn’t the answer to even a fraction of the problem. Smith, in fact, made only twenty appearances in four years at the club before being released. Midfielders Paul McStay, with two, and John Collins took on the mantle of scorers while their opponents gleefully bundled the goals behind Pat Bonner.
Tony Cascarino’s performance against the Swiss defied description. A 6ft 3in, thirteen-stone striker being pushed and bullied by the opposition was not what Brady expected when he broke the transfer record to sign him in the summer. The flop frontman put it this way. ‘When I wasn’t giving the ball away, I was tripping over myself. Liam pulled me off in the second-half. The fans had a real go as we walked off the pitch. Liam was incensed in the dressing room. His team had played shamefully. His first managerial signing was making a mockery of him. “What the fuck is going on, Tony? You were a disaster. I’ve never seen you play so badly.”‘
Cascarino uttered the immortal retort, ‘Yeah, I dunno. I was just crap.’ No-one bothered to argue.
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Brady would regularly scoff at the lack of the traditional luck of the Irish when he needed it most and he did deserve some sympathy after a 3-1 defeat on this occasion. Rangers were in the enviable situation of being able to field a team with seven players costing £1million or more while Celtic still had the awful Cascarino lumbering around up front, basically getting in his team-mates’ way…
….With thirteen minutes to go, Cascarino made his only genuine telling contribution to the game. Unfortunately, it was Rangers who benefited. He sent a reckless pass inside which was intercepted by John Brown who switched it in front of McCoist.
…Cascarino never started another game for the club and was swapped for Chelsea left-back Tommy Boyd in February.
*From THE WINDS OF CHANGE, Managing Celtic FC 1991-2005 available now from www.cqnbookstore.com for only £13.99
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