The game wasn’t great last night, was it ?
But it got me thinking, what if players of yesteryear had been given the benefits of sports science ?
What if they had an improved diet ?
Instead of the usual all time best eleven, usually a four four two, how would it look if it was a 4-2-3-1 ?
And who would have been in the side ?
Makes a change from just picking the Lions with Danny McGrain at right back.
Though lets keep it to players you have seen “live”, either on television or at the game. That way, we should get a bit of variation.
For me, a fit and healthy Artur Boruc would be in goal, with McGrain, Roy Aitken, Billy McNeill and Tommy Gemmell as the back line. Aitken could move forward with the ball, and would have been immense in this set up.
It gets a little trickier with the midfield two.
My first game was in 1972, and I cannot remember seeing Auld or Murdoch, so I’m going with Paul McStay and Paul Lambert.
The next three would be Bobby Lennox, Kenny Dalglish and Jimmy Johnstone.
Speed, guile, trickery and goals.
With Henrik Larsson up front .
No doubt you’d have your own thoughts. While away a minute or two putting them down.
John CLark beside big Billy in centre of defence. Bobby “when he plays, Celtic play” Muurdoch and Paul McStay in midfield. The rest is very good. Can I have Lubo as a sub?
OFT
swap Hay for Aitken and Murdoch for the maestro ,agree with the rest.
If you’re too young to have seen Jinky et al in the flesh it makes it impossible to pick a team as you can’t have a greatest XI without them. Still here goes:
Boruc
McGrain Mjallby Elliot Boyd
McStay Petrov
Nakamura Lubo Thom
King of Kings
Agree with Ralph Malph but I would put Forster in goals instead of Boruc! Murdoch with McStay. Maybe Ronnie Simpson in goals? Hard to say. At 65, too young to have seen McGrory!
What a team!
Went to first game in 1980 so this is my take on it:
Gordon
McGrain Denayer. Wanyama Boyd
McStay. Collins
Di Canio. Nicholas Moravcik
Larsson
Big Victor was the business, but I always felt he was better in midfield.
Forster
McGrain, Elliot, Stubbs, Boyd
McStay, Lambert
Lubo, Henrik, TB
Sutton
Boruc
McGrain Reiper Mjallby Gemmell
McStay Murdoch
Lennox Dalglish Johnstone
Larsson
Forster
Mcnamara,majallby,rieper, boyd
Mcstay, petrov
Dicanio, Sutton, lubo
The king of kings
Any of these teams would be wonderful in my book. I always regret not hanging onto Paul Elliot just a bit longer. We’ve had some great players at Celtic Park. There are a lot in this current crop who will be remembered too.
Big Paul was simply immense in his second season. Loved how he had Attila the Ugly Hun in his back pocket every game. We should never have let him go for a few more pennies.
LISBON LIONS WITH HENRIK AS A SUB
Ralph
Nothing could change the Lions for me. With the names being suggested we could have had three first teams and ended up trying to beat each other for the nine in a row. When you see them all listed like that and think on those gone before, MCGrory, Quinn, Gallagher, Tully, Crerand etc., etc. and many others long before even my time (some I have named were too, by the way), then most of the football greats DID pass through Parkhead’s gates.
H H
Ralph
Post lost but no matter. It will always be the Lions for me no matter the formations.
H H
At age 62, I grew up watching the Lions. Tinkering with that sacred eleven is like painting a moustache on the Mona Lisa – it should not be done.
However, for the sake of argument, I would replace Jim Craig with Danny McGrain, John Clark with either Davie Hay or George Connelly (probably Davie, given George’s lack of pace), Stevie Chalmers with Henrik Larsson, and my own favorite, Willie Wallace, with Kenny Dalglish. That team would have been nigh-on invincible!!
Henrik in the commons/johansen role wouls have been inmense, the goals he would have scored veibg so much more difficult to pick up and man mark!
Holy Goalie
McGrain Elliot Connelly Gemmell
Maestro Murdoch
Jinky Kenny Lennox
Henke
Players I’ve actually physically seen play in the hoops:
Boruc
McGrain Reiper Elliott Boyd
Lambert Wanyama
Moravcik McClair Thompson
Henrik
The best I’ve ever seen wearing the hoops
Boruc
McGrain Mc Neill Connelly Gemmell
Murdoch McStay Moravcik
Johnstone Dalglish Larsson
McGrain, Murdoch, McStay. Moravcik, Johnstone, Dalglish & Larsson are the greatest footballers to wear the hoops in my lifetime, so they need to be in the team.
McNeill, may not have been the best centre half, but he was the best captain.
That’s 8 – the other 3 places are up for grabs.
Boruc, Forster, Simpson, Bonner or Gordon – not a lot in it, but Boruc just shades it.
Gemmell or Boyd – Gemmell to me was very under rated.
Connelly, Reiper, Mjalby, Aitken, Hay, Clark or Elliot – Connelly had the potential to have been a legend at CP and to have been spoken about in the same company as the others if it hadn’t been for his fragile mental state.
The subs would be another whole thread
Andrews
Sinclair-McGugan-Baillie-Annoni
Shepherd-Melrose
Aliadiere-Kapo-Donati
Stokes