News

1975 | All change in Scottish football

19 March 2020

Author Malcolm Panton (Red Matchday Editor), Kevin Stirling.

Estimated Reading Time: 23 minutes

It was all change in Scottish football as the most radical move in the history of our game saw a new three-league set up came into force. Not since the enforced changes after World War II had there been such a shake-up of the league system.

The new ‘elite’ Premier League came into force with the top ten sides from season 1974.75 forming the new top division as efforts to enhance the game in Scotland were made.

The very first season of the new Premier League was greeted with much scepticism but the old two league system was deemed outdated and a new competitive 10-team ‘super league’ was going to change the face of our game.

With two teams falling out of that elite group, the casualty rate was high and what followed was certainly not in the script as a survival instinct kicked in and the quality that was promised never fully materialised.

And it did not work out too favourably for the Dons in their first season, as the Red Matchday look back at 1975/76 …

(Back row from left) Eddie Thomson, Arthur Graham, Willie Young, Bobby Clark, Ian Hair, Chic McLelland, Willie Miller, Billy Pirie.
(Front row) Jocky Scott, John McMaster, Billy Williamson, Joe Smith, Dave Robb.

Background

Ever since their Scottish Cup win in 1970 the Dons had looked well enough equipped to hang around the top of the game in Scotland and continue to pick up the honours, but that situation gradually eroded as the club were criticised for selling their top players including the likes of Martin Buchan and Joe Harper.

From the relative lofty heights of second place in 1972, the Dons had slumped to battling it out for a European place and never came close to collecting the winners’ medals. Eddie Turnbull had gone and his replacement Jim Bonthrone presided over a club that was beginning to decline.

The Dons struggled with the new set up and found themselves near the foot of the new league early on. The signs were not good as they played their first ever Premier League game at Dundee on 30th August 1975. Within two minutes Aberdeen conceded the first goal scored in the league when Bobby Ford netted for the Dens park side.

By September 1975 it all came to a head — crowds at Pittodrie had fallen drastically and during a home defeat to Dundee United, Willie Young, the Dons centre half was substituted. That left the big man in a fury and as his jersey came off and he hurled it towards the Dons dug out it was clear that all was not well.

Weeks after, and with Aberdeen only being kept off bottom spot by a hapless St Johnstone, both Young and Bonthrone departed.

Jim Bonthrone

Jim Bonthrone was certainly one of the nice guys in the game.

Those who suggest that there is no place in the modern era for manager that adopted a more genial approach would ever point the finger at Jim Bonthrone.

The former Aberdeen boss commanded respect and did not have to resort to hysterical outburst on the touch line. Certainly Jim was from the ‘old school’ of football management but he was perhaps never afforded enough credit for his coaching abilities.

Inside the game Jim was highly respected as a coach and it was no surprise when he was made Aberdeen manager in his own right in the wake of Eddie Turnbull’s sudden departure to Hibernian in 1971.

Born in Kinglassie, Fife in 1929, Jim joined East Fife as a 19-year-old in 1947. He went on to make 282 appearances for the Methil side over 11 years, scoring an impressive 112 goals in the process, making him the fifth highest scorer in East Fife history.

After initially signing for Partick as a youngster, he was freed by Thistle after the end of the war when most of the older Partick players returned from active service. His early days with East Fife were broken by a spell in the National Service before Bonthrone finally made his East Fife debut in November 1949.

Bonthrone went on to score many important goals for the Fifers; none more so than an incredible five in one match against St Mirren in the final game of the 1956.57 season. Jim bagged all five goals in a 5-2 win that secured East Fife’s status in the top flight.

The Methil club enjoyed their most productive period in their history in the 1950’s and Bonthrone was part of the East Fife side that won the League Cup while they were still a Second Division side. The highlight of his career came in the 1953 League Cup Final after the Methil side defeated Partick 3-2, however as was normal back then all the players received was a £10 bonus with no winners medals.

Later that year Jim was selected to play for Scotland against the Army at Hampden and then he played for Scotland ‘B’ against England at Easter Road. Later that season his wedding plans meant he could not fulfil an obligation to play for the Scottish league and his international prospects ended. In 1958 he moved to Dundee where a short spell at dens ended with a £1,500 transfer to Stirling Albion in January 1960.

Although Albion were relegated that season, Jim was part of the side that returned to the top flight a year later, with a Second division championship medal and a hatful of goals behind him, Jim was wanted by Queen of the South who snapped him up in August 1961. After a short spell in Dumfries, Jim asked for his contract to be terminated so he could retire and move into coaching. It was then that the Aberdeen connection began.

Charlie McCaig was the Dons trainer in the 1950’s and was seen as a revolutionary through his training techniques. Charlie invited Jim to scout for East Fife as McCaig was manager at Methil at that time. A year later Charlie moved on and that allowed Jim Bonthrone to take over as manager in his own right.

In his six seasons as manager he had to contend with a change in fortunes as the heady days of the 50’s were long gone. Despite a decent spell in Methil, Jim could not lead East fife to promotion and in April 1969 he announced he was joining Eddie Turnbull at Aberdeen. The irony was that Jimmy first had trials with the Dons in 1946, but in those chaotic post war days, he was overlooked by Aberdeen.

Jim would take over as Aberdeen first team coach and assistant to Turnbull. Bonthrone was highly regarded within the game and he was also coach to the Scotland international side under Bobby Brown. He was also manager of the Scotland U-23 side at that time.

After accepting the Aberdeen job it was believed that Bonthrone was the perfect foil for the more forthright Eddie Turnbull. Results certainly backed that up as the Dons won the Scottish Cup in 1970 and then went very close a year later by missing out in the league at the final hurdle.

As Aberdeen prepared to start the 1971.72 season there was a shock when Turnbull announced that he was leaving and returning to his Easter Road roots at Hibernian.

The Aberdeen board moved swiftly to appoint Jim Bonthrone as manager in his own right. Just over 24 hours after the announcement was made, the Dons completed their pre season with a Drybrough Cup win over Celtic at Pittodrie in a 2-1 win.

Not many managers can achieve success so quickly after being appointed in what has to be some sort of record, but there was no doubt his career as Aberdeen manager was off to a flier.

Bonthrone could still call on a squad that was capable of challenging the very best with some of the finest players in Scotland at his disposal. Only Celtic, who were creating their Jock Stein dynasty at Parkhead, would be seen as equals of the Dons back then.

Aberdeen had come a long way in such a short period and they had a lot to live up to as they became the only serious challengers to Celtic and he put his tactical nous to good use. However it was perhaps events out with his control that proved crucial for Aberdeen under his spell as manager.

When Martin Buchan was sold to Manchester United in February 1972 for a £125,000 fee, the great Aberdeen side of that period began to break up. With limited funds to bring in replacements, Bonthrone was forced to tap into the lower leagues in Scotland to strengthen his squad.

While the likes of Drew Jarvie and Zoltan Varga were a success, players like Barrie Mitchell failed to establish themselves and that ultimately piled the pressure on Bonthrone.

In 1975 after Aberdeen had reached the top ten for what was to be the new Premier League, qualification for Europe eluded Aberdeen for the second the second year in a row.

And after a disastrous start to the 1975.76 season Jim Bonthrone eventually resigned his post in September 1975. His six year spell in charge was perhaps not the most successful, but there was no doubt that Aberdeen played with a style and flair under Jim Bonthrone that had eluded them in the past.

After leaving Aberdeen he returned to Fife where he took over as General Manager at Methil. In August 1995, Alex Ferguson took his Manchester Utd side north to honour Jim in his testimonial match.

Jimmy Bonthrone died on the 7 June 2008, aged 78.

Willie Young

Hailed by many within the game as one of the most promising defenders to emerge in Scotland for a generation, the expectations that big Willie Young would succeed were high. After joining the Dons in 1969 from Seton Athletic, Young was another in the long line of players who had been spotted by legendary Aberdeen scout Bobby Calder. At that time Aberdeen had boasted of having the best defensive record in Britain and it was not until 1971 that Young eventually established himself in the Aberdeen first team. Young was the proverbial giant of a player who towered over many centre forwards, but despite his imposing frame he possessed a deft touch that suggested he had all the attributes to becoming a great centre half in the Aberdeen tradition. Young made his Aberdeen debut against Dundee at Dens Park in a 2-1 win on 5th September 1970, the first of 187 appearances for the Dons.

It is fair to suggest that his debut was far removed from his final game for the club; an inglorious exit in a game against Dundee Utd at Pittodrie in September 1975. With the Dons losing at home in the game, manager Jim Bonthrone took Willie off as he was having a torrid time of it. Young strode off, head bowed and then took his shirt off before throwing it at the Aberdeen dugout as he made his way down the tunnel. Young never played for the club again and was soon on his way to Tottenham in a £125,000 transfer. This was not the first occasion that Young had been substituted in a game. In a UEFA Cup tie against Juventus in Turin in 1971, Young was up against some of the best players in the world and he found himself being taken off before he was facing a certain expulsion from the game after a series of fouls.

Young joined Spurs when they were struggling in the league but did enough to suggest that he would add to his Scotland U-23 honours gained during his spell at Pittodrie. However he was soon on his way to join Spurs’ great rivals Arsenal and Young confesses he was the first player to be jeered by both sets of north London fans!

Young struggled to establish himself in the Arsenal side but when he eventually won the fans over, he enjoyed three successive FA Cup Finals in 1978, 1979 and 1980. Young was inspired in the 1979 final as Arsenal won a sensational final 3-2 against Manchester United. A year later Young was in the spotlight again; in the days before the professional foul, big Willie did not think twice about scything down Trevor Brooking of West Ham as he made his way through to a certain goal.

Willie was never shy in coming forward and his fiery temperament often got him in a lot of bother with his managers. On one particular occasion, his manager Terry Neill brought in an aerobics expert, expecting the players to join in. Young promptly refused and told his manager to ‘get stuffed’. That incurred a weeks’ wage fine in the process before Young eventually making a mockery of the whole set up and began dancing his way around to the delight of his fellow team mates. He was one of the unfortunate ‘Copenhagen Five’ who were banned from international football after an incident in a Copenhagen night club in 1975 while he was away with the Scottish national squad. He like the other four players involved were harshly treated. Young went on to play 237 games for Arsenal before moving to Nottingham Forest, Norwich, Brighton and Darlington before retiring in 1984. Young still stays in the Nottingham area.

A real character and a maverick, of which there were many in 70s, but also a very good player who went on to have a great career after leaving Pittodrie.

Ally Arrives

The departure of Bonthrone paved the way for Ally MacLeod to join and he set about changing things in his own infectious way.

MacLeod’s first task was to spark some enthusiasm about the place.

While he may never be remembered for his tactical nous, Pittodrie patrons were bemused at the Dons kick-off routine that would see a clutch of players converge out wide before the ball was launched towards their direction. It was a move you would more likely find on a rugby field. While the Dons’ ended the year in sensational style with back to back wins over the Old Firm, they eventually struggled.

Dark Days

The authorities had suggested that it would cut out the long list of meaningless games towards the end of the season.

In fact it made the competition more desperate in nature as the relative comfort zone that an 18-team league gave, was gone. St Johnstone had been sadly out of their depth and became the first team in Britain to be relegated that season, so far adrift were they at the bottom. With two teams going down it became a strictly east coast affair with Aberdeen and the two Dundee clubs in an unfamiliar battle for survival. Even before teams got used to playing each other four times a season, many had overlooked the survival issue until the frantic closing weeks of the season.

The Dons enjoyed an unbeaten spell during January with wins over Dundee United, Dundee and Ayr. In an apparently comfortable 6th place, there was never any real talk of demotion given that the Dons were not that far away from a European position. That all changed when Aberdeen lost seven of their next eight games, leaving them perilously close to the trap door. The final straw for the support came on 7th April when Hearts came to Pittodrie and eased through in a 3-0 win that had the Aberdeen support in a fury.

There seemed no way back for MacLeod and his side — despite the Aberdeen manager attempting to be positive, there were not that many who were listening. Aberdeen were a struggling side, playing with little confidence.

Aberdeen were in freefall and the closing sequence of games was to have a bearing on the very future of Aberdeen, a club that had never been relegated in the past.

Following the Hearts defeat the Dons were now in a dogfight but they at least managed to snatch a 1-1 draw at Ayr.

With back-to-back games coming up against Celtic and Rangers, it was going to take a huge effort from the Dons to survive. In fairness, few could have complained that the Dons were not battling at that stage — in the games against Ayr and the Old Firm they had a player sent off on each occasion.

Despite that, consecutive draws against the big two offered hope and at that point it looked as though one of the Dundee clubs would go down. But Aberdeen’s inconsistency came back to haunt them on 21st April 1976, a black night for Aberdeen as they went down 2-0 at St Johnstone, giving the Perth club its first win of the year.

Three days later, the final day of the league season it was all decided.

Final day nerves

After going through the whole of March and April without winning a game, the Dons’ final League match of the 1975-76 season was to all intents and purposes a relegation play-off in Aberdeen’s eyes.

The fixture against Hibs took place on April 24th, 1976.

The Dons task was clear.

Aberdeen simply had to win and they knew that their superior goal difference would at least see off Dundee if not Dundee United in the battle against the drop.

St Johnstone had already been relegated. Eddie Thomson was sidelined with an ankle knock while Arthur Graham was ruled out by a back injury that had kept him out for the previous three weeks, which meant a continued run for Willie Garner alongside Willie Miller and a debut in the starting line-up for young striker Walker McCall.

The Dons looked fairly composed in an atmospheric opening quarter of an hour with only the midfield showing the real tension lying just under the surface with a series of over hit passes. Neither side could claim the upper hand at that stage. With 17 minutes gone there were gasps around the stadium as Bobby Clark and Willie Garner looked for the other to intercept a Duncan cross from the left, both left it but thankfully Hibs right winger Murray hurried his shot and pushed his harmless effort tamely wide of the target.

Four minutes later Pittodrie erupted. Walker McCall won a jump off for the ball in the Hibs box but the visitors right back Bobby Smith clearly handled the big fellow’s header and referee Bill Anderson pointed to the spot. Dave Robb came forward to take the crucial award but goalkeeper Mike MacDonald guessed correctly and diving to his right brought off a heartbreaking save in front of the Beach End.

The Dons could have crumbled after spurning their penalty lifeline but if anything, they picked up the tempo after poor Dave Robb’s miss, with the live wire midfield man obviously keen to make up for his lapse. Just on the half hour mark an Aberdeen spell of pressure forced Hibs to concede a free-kick. Chic McLelland pumped the ball into the box, Walker McCall again outjumped the visitors defence and Drew Jarvie forced the youngster’s knock back into the net to put the Dons 1-0 ahead.

With the 11,000 crowd roaring them on, Aberdeen went all out for a killer second goal. Four minutes after taking the lead the Dons opened up Hibs with a superb move that ended with a goal bound flashing header from Drew Jarvie but Mike MacDonald brought off another fine save to keep the visitors in it.

Just before half time Hibs enjoyed a little purple patch of their own and Bobby-Clark had to be on his toes to halt efforts from Pat Stanton and Bobby Smith. In the opening moments of the second half Willie Miller made a timely tackle to prevent Hibs sub Willie Paterson getting in a shot with his first touch of the ball as the Dons began the period a litde tentatively.

On the hour the Dons were reminded of the slender nature of their advantage when an Ally McLeod shot took a deflection off a home defender before squirting behind off a post on its way behind the goal for a corner kick. Then with 67 minutes on the clock came the moment that lifted the fear of relegation from the Dons.

McLelland sent in a hopeful cross and Joe Smith unleashed an incredible 20 yard volley to make it 2-0. With the fans still in raptures over Smith’s stunning strike Dave Robb stole in behind the right flank of the Hibs defence and squeezed home an amazing 3rd goal from a seemingly impossible angle.

As it turned out anything less than a win would have resulted in relegation for the Dons but their superior goal difference won the day, keeping Aberdeen above Dundee United while poor Dundee were the unlucky side that joined St Johnstone in the 1st Division.

Dundee’s draw at Fir Park was not enough to save them. Perhaps the biggest sigh of relief came from Joe Harper — brought back to Pittodrie by MacLeod in April but signed too late to play in those tense closing games.

It could have been all so different for the Dons had they gone down that year. Both Aberdeen and Dundee United then went from strength to strength in the new set up and flourished while Dundee were destined for a spell in the First Division.

Only four years later Aberdeen would beat Hibs in their penultimate league match to win the title but the victory in ‘76 was arguably the most important over Hibernian.

Aberdeen Teamsheet: Clark, Hair, McLelland, Smith, Garner, Miller, Robb, Williamson, Jarvie, Fleming, (Scott) McCall

Hibernian Teamsheet: McDonald, Smith, Schaedler, Stanton, Spalding, Blackley, Murray, Muir, McGhee, MacLeod, Duncan (Paterson)

THE STRIP

The traditional all red strip that Aberdeen adopted from 1966 remained through those years. While the ‘away’ kit changed from all white to all blue like the traditional Chelsea kit, the first team strip was only modified and arguably modernised. The white ‘V’ collar that was introduced in 1972 remained with the club until 1976. That style was derived from the popular Manchester Utd strip of the same era. For the start of the 1975.76 season the Dons all red kit did have the distinctive collar and cuffs, with a single white stripe down the shorts. The socks were complimented with white tops. The kit fell into line with some of the strip changes certainly down in England. However the lack of a club motif was perhaps a disappointment. Aberdeen introduced their new ‘A’ frame logo in 1972 and although the logo was widespread in club merchandise it was never seen on the shirts until 1979. The kit for the new Premier League did prove popular although there was nothing like the commercialism that we see today. If you wanted to buy a replica kit back then a trip to the splendid Peter Craigmyle Sports shop in King Street was required.

1975/1976 George Campbell.

THE PROGRAMME

“The Pittodrie Review” v Arsenal 1975.

Aberdeen had produced an excellent match programme since 1970 and received many plaudits for their efforts. However the programme had slipped by their usual high standards so for the start of the 1975.76 season the issue was given a new look. The new Pittodrie Review was produced by local printers Scottapress and was put together by the then secretary Jim Rust. The 16-page issue was sadly lacking in colour and design but the content was gradually improved upon as the ‘Review’ evolved. For the visit of Arsenal several pages were not surprisingly given to the visitors. A new series of ‘Meet the Players’ featured Eddie Thomson who declared that the person he would most like to meet was Mohammed Ali no less. Other club news during the summer saw coach George Murray and players Drew Jarvie and Eddie Thomson turn their hand to cricket in local Aberdeenshire circles. Groundsman Charlie Ferries was in demand as he was off to Orkney to advise the local association on improving their pitches. Several other new features offered some fascinating reading with a new quiz and a new “You Ask-We Answer”. Some of adverts of the time provided a good insight of the times; Thistle Television in Ashvale Place provided all of the “Records You Are Listening To Today”, while some things never change as the Grill Bar claimed it was “Where Sportsmen Meet”. Round the corner in Bridge Street Simpsons “Sports Emporium” was regarded back then as the best sports shop in the city. For the princely sum of 10p the new-look Aberdeen programme was certainly back amongst the best in Scotland.

At Pittodrie a seat in Main Stand would cost you £1.

In the news

Hampden played host to two huge occasions in three days at the end of the 1975.76 season. The European Cup Final involved seasoned campaigners Bayern Munich with surprise packages St Etienne reaching the final in Glasgow. The neutrals were all supporting the French side and in a disappointing final it took a Franz Roth free kick to win the title for the Germans. That final was remembered by the French and their bad luck with the ‘square posts’ at Hampden. Their belief remains that they would have won the cup had it not been for the Hampden goal posts. In 2013 the French club bought the old posts from Hampden for 20,000 euros to house them in their club museum.

For England it was an historic occasion as their visit to Hampden for the Home International match was their 500th International. However the game will always be remembered for a howler from England keeper Ray Clemence. The Liverpool keeper let a week Kenny Dalglish shot slip through his legs in what proved to be the winning goal. That win gave Scotland the Home International title amid incredible scenes at the old stadium.

In Aberdeen city there was a change in the council set up as the new Grampian Regional Council came into being. It was also in 1975 that the first oil arrived in Aberdeen, changing the economic climate in the area to this day. If you fancied a new four-bedroom detached house in the new schemes at Westhill then that would have cost you £20,000. Meanwhile the first women were served in The Grill in 1975.

Odds & ends

Double wins: Home: (2) Ayr Utd, St Johnstone. Away: (0).
Double losses: Home: (1) Celtic. Away: (3) Hibernian, Motherwell, Rangers.

High spots:
Willie Miller earns his first cap playing against Romania in Bucharest.
Arrival of Ally McLeod sparks mini-revival with consecutive wins over Old Firm.
Pittodrie win over Rangers in December was first for ten years over Ibrox club.
Return of Joe Harper but he can’t help in Dons struggle, being signed after deadline.
Last-day win over Hibernian saves ignominy of relegation from first Premier League.
Aberdeen ’A’ win the Scottish 2ndXI Cup for the fourth time.

Low points:
Double losses against Hearts and Celtic in League Cup section.
Dons concede the first ever goal in the Premier League v Dundee in the 2nd minute as Bobby Ford scored in League opener at Dens Park.
Infamous incident as Willie Young throws his jersey at dug-out after being subbed.
Jim Bonthrone resigns after (2-5) defeat from Middlesbrough in Anglo-Scottish Cup.
Three Dons sent off in seven days as the Dons battle to stay in the Premier.

Ever-presents:
(1) Willie Miller.
Hat-tricks:
(1) Jocky Scott.