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John Clark’s legacy

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By on CQN BLOG & Comments

Former Dunfermline manager Jock Stein was in the town at a supporters’ function just months before he died in 1985.  An audience member asked about the greatest players he worked with.  He mentioned a few, including John Clark, who Stein thought indispensable to his greatest team, and told the audience most fans did not realise how great a player Clark was.

What Jock didn’t know, was that John, who was then manager of Cowdenbeath, just a few miles up the road in Fife, had discretely slipped into the hall.  It brought an unexpectedly prominent moment to a man who was all about anticipation and being prepared.

John came from Chapelhall in Lanarkshire but lived a few miles away in Holytown (where I grew up) when he won the European Cup.  The impact he and a few of his teammates made on our community is difficult to relay.  Jimmy Johnstone came from Viewpark, Billy McNeill from Bellshill (our high school was spread across both towns), while Tommy Gemmell was just as close in Craigneuk.  Bobby Murdoch, from Rutherglen, was at Our Lady’s High School in Motherwell at the same time as Billy, John and Jimmy.

My Dad’s generation of Celtic fans all went to school with at least one of them, you would see them in the street.  They inspired their own generation and taught us that we too could achieve in life.  You cannot be what you cannot see, and we saw people from our community who went to the very top.  Countless wee boys (and some girls) kicked on in life.

I was too young to know John as a player, but I saw his courtesy, kindness and intelligence last well into his later years.  As did his memories of Holytown back in the day.  How lucky we were to have him.  Rest in Peace, John.

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  1. mncelt on

    Very sad to see the news this morning about John Clarke. Another one gone. What a servant to his Glasgow Celtic. Rest in Peace.

  2. Turkeybhoy on

    According to the Daily Beano,the ” TRANSFER BOFFINS” at Transfermarket,value Kuhn at 12 million Euros.

     

    Transfer market,FFS.

  3. Turkeybhoy on

    Bonnar,Sutton,talking down the price of Kuhn.WTF.If he does go,I would expect Celtic to be looking for £25 million.What is it with these ex plzyers?.Never get this from ex Hun.Keep your fekin traps shut.

  8. leftclicktic on

    John Clark. R.I.P.

     

     

    Seen him at the unveiling of Billy McNeils statue in

     

    Bellshill.

  9. Big Jimmy on

    I’ve just seen the sad news about JOHN CLARK.

     

     

    A great player and a true Celt.

     

    We have lost another Lisbon Legend, but John will be in Heaven.

     

     

    YNWA John.

  13. dessybhoy on

    All who work in the media and take their shilling bend to the media’s way of thinking, these 2 boffins who in the past played for Celtic should be asked what is the difference between a 6m player and a 12m player, Bonner in particular in the pay of BBC scotland sport knows exactly what he is saying and the impact it will have. Celtic will know what they will sell at and if anyone is kicking the door down wanting a move .These 2 are not privy to that information.

  18. Celtic Mac on

    Probably the best reader of the game in that great Celtic side. A consummate professional in everything he did at and for Celtic. One of our greatest servants.

     

    BBC Scotland made a great documentary on the 50th Anniversary of our victory in Lisbon;

     

    ‘Glasgow 1967: The Lisbon Lions – Football Documentary’ available on youtube.com

     

    John Clark features, and if I remember rightly talked of the hardships his family faced in his early years. And I mean really difficult times. It takes real fortitude to develop successfully that from kind of background…

     

    Now, (as Harvey Keitel said in Pulp Fiction) “Just because you are a character doesn’t mean you have character”

     

    The Lisbon Lions had both. John Clark in particular had character….

     

     

    RIP John the Lisbon Lion

  25. bognorbhoy on

    John Clark Lisbon Lion , and so much more , Rest in Peace.

     

    Condolences to family and friends .

  26. !!Bada Bing!! on

    John worked for the fire service for a few years, a more humble man you couldn’t meet,very happy to show off his Lisbon medal when he was asked.

  29. TommytheTim on

    John Clark RIP,

     

     

    I am of the same vintage as the Lions, Therefore I was blessed to witness and enjoy the glorious chapter of our club.

     

    My earliest memory of JC was at a mudweek game with my father, where John was fielded at inside left, which he normally was. In those days, the Inside forwards was an attacking positon and he wasn’t suited to it.

     

    Why that game stands out is because my dad said to me, “that boy Clark will never be a Celtic player”

     

    I reminded him of that until he passed away in 1978.

     

    John’s transformation occured, of course when Jock adopted 4-2-4, which elevated Clark and Murdoch to another level.

     

    I remember a game at Parkhead, as it was known, where I decided to concentrate on John and how he moved. His reading of the game and his anticipation was uncanny. The nearest I can find for a Celtic player is Neil Lennon, who also compensatedfor a lack of pace, with exceptional anticipation.

     

    Rest in Peace, The Brush.

     

     

    (Apologies for the selective faulty capital keys on my laptop)

  33. Madra Rua on

    I met John Clark some years ago in Lisbon when we were on a trip to play Benfica.

     

    He was doing a meet and greet with the fans in the Estádio Nacional.

     

    Lovely gentleman. Chatted with everyone who approached him.

     

    He told us about the year or so he lived in Limerick as a child and asked after schoolpals he remembered.

     

    Whilst there he attended the Christian Brothers national school and in a total understatement he said “they were not very nice people.”

  34. Back to Basics - Glass Half Full on

    Sad news.

     

     

    A great player.

     

     

    Before my time but I (along with many others) have seen the games (and not the silly youtube clips that could make anyone look good either).

     

     

    We often hear the phrase “reading the game”.

     

     

    I’m sure most understand the concept but few have a clue what it takes in reality.

     

     

    Personally I genuinely love the John Clark style of defending.

     

     

    See it first, set off first, get there first.

     

     

    Compare and contrast with the modern day idiotic effusion for the John Terry approach.

     

     

    Despairing, last ditch, body on the line lunges.

     

     

    Performance bonus for how dirty your shorts are.

     

     

    Brainless.

     

     

    On John Clark’s greatness …

     

     

    That Lisbon Lions team had attacking midfielders and marauding full backs.

     

     

    No libero, no catenaccio, no holding midfielder, no sweeper keeper, no full backs “tucked in”.

     

     

    His only insurance was Billy on high balls.

     

     

    That he covered such a large beat with such apparent ease despite “a lack of pace” (©️ eejits everywhere) … tells you everything.

     

     

    Rest In Peace, Mr Clark.

  37. rimtimtim on

    So sad to hear about John Clark R I P

     

     

    Billy McNeill’s lieutenant in so many ways and as Paul refers to, those close links to the Lanarkshire football tradition helped the pair to weather all kinds of storms, whether that be stopping the opposition attack or managing the club itself. However I will remember him for his dedication to Celtic most of all, proud to be the Celtic kit man because his love of Celtic and their welfare was so important to him.

     

     

    I use this term sparingly but John Clark was class…on and off the pitch…top class. Rest in Peace Luggy

  41. mncelt on

    Are there any pictures of John where he has dirt on his shorts? What a classy player he was.

  42. KevJungle on

    𝗖𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗲 🦁💚

     

    @anybodyclarex

     

    3h

     

    “A Legend to Many, But to Me… Just Gangan

     

     

    To the world, he may have been a legend, remembered for his days on the football pitch, for the games he played and the history he made. But to me, he was simply my Gangan. The one who took me to feed the ducks when I was little.”

     

    Jun 23, 2025 · 10:51 AM UTC

     

    https://x.com/anybodyclarex/status/1937101125775212580#m

     

    RIP John Clark – Legend

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