Paul Wilson Born: 23 November 1950 Birthplace: Bangalore, India Height: 5 9 Signed: 19 December 1967 Left: 20 September 1978 (to Motherwell) Position: Striker, winger First game: v Dundee home 5-2 league cup 23 September 1970 Last game Dundee United home 1-0 league cup 2 September 1978 First goal : Dundee home 5-2 league cup 23 September 1970 Last goal: Saint Mirren home 2-0 league cup 16 November 1977 Internationals: Scotland International Caps: 1 cap v Spain 1-1 Valencia February 1975 International Goals: 0 Quick and elegant Paul Wilson was a fine player who spent more than a decade with Celtic. He was born in India to a Irish/Scottish father and Dutch/Portugese mother who were working there at the time, but was brought up in Glasgow, his family having moved back when he was a year old. He signed for the Hoops in December 1967 as a 17-year-old from St Ninian’s High School and the left-sided midfielder was initially farmed out to Maryhill Juniors. He eventually made his Celtic debut in September 1970 when he came off the bench to score in a 5-0 League Cup victory at home to Dundee. On his game he was a wonderful talent and his pace and ability to beat a man was a joy to watch and he was certainly deserving of the international recognition he received from Scotland in 1975. Paul made sporadic appearances until August 1973 when he became a first team regular. He scored on the opening league game of the sesaon at East End Park in a 3-2 win and managed to build on that platform. He had a magnificent game in the 1973 League Cup Semi final against Rangers. Celtic won 3-1 in atrocious conditions as Harry Hood scored a hat trick but Wilson was Celtics best attacker. In February 1974 he scored at Easter Road in a 4-2 win on the day that Celtic killed off Hibs league hopes in front of an incredible 48,000 crowd. A few weeks later, in March 1974 he scored a tremendous volley in Switzerland against Basle and although Celtic lost 3-2 they would win 6-5 in aggregate. In 1974/75 Paul had his best season and finished top scorer with 23 goals, ahead of Dalglish and Deans. He created an unusual record in being the only Celtic player to score in four Hampden finals in one season - August - Drybrough Cup Rangers 2-2, October - League Cup Hibs 6-3, May - Scottish Cup Airdrie 3-1, May - Glasgow Cup Rangers 2-2. He showed great courage in the Airdrie final as his Mother had died in the lead up to the final. On January 4th 1975 he gave a tremendous performance at Ibrox in muddy conditions. Although Celtic lost 3-0, Rangers had scored two late goals to give a misleading scoreline, as Wilson had carved open the Rangers defence on several occasions only for the Celtic strikers, and Dalglish in particular who had a stinker, to waste his good work. Without Jock Steins leadership Celtic struggled in 1975/76 but the big man was back in charge in the summer of 1976. On September 4th Paul led a magnificent Celtic fightback at Parkhead against Rangers. With Celtic 0-2 down Paul scored to bring Celts back into the game and with minutes left Parkhead exploded when he scored a magnificent solo effort. Paul was a regular as Celtic won the title, only to lose his place to Alfie Conn after he joined from Spurs in March. He could be notoriously inconsistent but was recalled for the Scottish Cup final on May 7th 1977 as Stein knew he could be relied upon in the heat of an Old Firm game and was a thorn in the flesh of the Rangers defence. Paul did not let him down as Celtic won 1-0 with Paul giving an impressive showing. He was impressive in Celtics successful tour of the Far East in the summer of 1977 although this was a false dawn as Celtic slumped to a catastrophic 5th place in the Premier league in the following campaign. Paul was no longer a regular now and when Billy McNeill took over as manager in 1978 Paul was required to move on as McNeill built a side with younger players. Paul Wilson could on occasion try to over-complicate matters and consistency was a problem and because of this tendency to blow hot or cold he was never the first team fixture his undoubted talent warranted. Possibly showed a likely lack of confidence in himself. Jock Stein believed in him and pushed his career but it just always was below the level he could have reached. Despite this there is no denying Wilson’s significant contribution to the many Celtic triumphs of the early 70s. Paul Wilson left Celtic for Motherwell in September 1978 after 214 appearances and a respectable 52 goals in the Hoops. On November 4th 1978 Paul returned to Celtic Park in Motherwell colours. Murdo MacLeod made his Celtic debut that day and before the start of the game Paul ran over to shake Murdos hand to wish him all the best in his future Celtic career. It was a magnificent gesture from a real Celt. Incidentally Motherwell won 2-1 with Wilson giving a fine display. He remains a fondly remembered talent for those who saw him in the Hoops.
Posted on: Mon, 08 Sep 2014 18:41:20 +0000
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