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Hibby Bairn
16-02-2015, 04:19 PM
Just a youngster when the Tornadoes were strutting their stuff. My first game to see Hibs was 1973 aged 6.

So for the real oldies out there....what formation did Turnbull play?...was a straightforward 442?.....did Duncan and Edwards play as traditional wingers hugging the touchline?....what was the general mode of attacking play...through the midfield...down the wings...load of crosses?....Did Gordon and O'Rourke play as a front two or one playing off the other???

Feel free to elaborate on any aspect. :agree:

HoboHarry
16-02-2015, 04:29 PM
Just a youngster when the Tornadoes were strutting their stuff. My first game to see Hibs was 1973 aged 6.

So for the real oldies out there....what formation did Turnbull play?...was a straightforward 442?.....did Duncan and Edwards play as traditional wingers hugging the touchline?....what was the general mode of attacking play...through the midfield...down the wings...load of crosses?....Did Gordon and O'Rourke play as a front two or one playing off the other???

Feel free to elaborate on any aspect. :agree:
0-0-11 when attacking and it was down to Erich and Sloop to fill in anyone who wandered into our box.......

That's what I like to recall anyway........:greengrin

--------
16-02-2015, 04:29 PM
Just a youngster when the Tornadoes were strutting their stuff. My first game to see Hibs was 1973 aged 6.

So for the real oldies out there....what formation did Turnbull play?...was a straightforward 442?.....did Duncan and Edwards play as traditional wingers hugging the touchline?....what was the general mode of attacking play...through the midfield...down the wings...load of crosses?....Did Gordon and O'Rourke play as a front two or one playing off the other???

Feel free to elaborate on any aspect. :agree:


They kept it simple - if the opposition scored 3, they scored 5, or 6, or even 7 ...

And less of the "real" oldies, kiddo.

HoboHarry
16-02-2015, 04:32 PM
They kept it simple - if the opposition scored 3, they scored 5, or 6, or even 7 ...

And less of the "real" oldies, kiddo.
A man's only as old as the woman he feels.......

ancient hibee
16-02-2015, 06:49 PM
There was a lot of interchanging.Duncan would be on either wing-Edwards all over the park-I remember in his first game which we were winning he ran 25 yards to hook away a ball that was sailing into our net.Brownlie and Schaedler had terrific stamina and Stanton and Cropley could control the centre of the set up.O'Rourke would often drop back and of course had a ferocious shot.

CentreLine
16-02-2015, 07:02 PM
And of course Eddie Turnbull introduced the sweeper in Sloop John B. John Brownlie on the right and Shades on the left could certainly bomb forward although Shades was less inclined to. His weapon, apart from being an accomplished defender, was his huge throw in.

Stantons Angel
16-02-2015, 07:39 PM
They kept it simple - if the opposition scored 3, they scored 5, or 6, or even 7 ...

And less of the "real" oldies, kiddo.



Aye less of the "real" oldies, you dont have to be that old to remember how football is really meant to be played.

Anyone of my generation will talk all night about Turnbulls Tornadoes, systems mattered nowt to this team it just played football.

Stanton was the link pin in this team the sight of him running with the ball at his feet and the rest of the team moving with him was a sight to behold! (Obviously my favorite player ever!)

Edwards could place a ball anywhere he wanted too and Cropley could tackle a wall and come out with the ball at his feet.

Arthur was always a surprise packet, he was so quick i think he frightened himself!! Jimmy would trudge through mud to get to the ball and left half the opposing defence lying in the mud! a real powerhouse! Alan Gordon was as elegant a player as you could ever want to see. he had such quick feet and could change direction in seconds, a perfect foil for wee Jimmy.

At the back we had Brownlie and Schaedler buzzing down those wings supporting the forwards and when in defence NO ONE got passed either of them. Erich had a great long throw in technique that looked as if his back would break. The middle of the defence was steady and resourceful Jim Black was a completely underrated player in the fact that every week he went out and played his game and hardly ever made a mistake his timing in the tackle was spot on at all times. Sweeping up was John Blackley (JB or Sloop to his pals) what a reader of the game that guy was. Many a last ditch tackle he performed and often left the opposing player with a few nasty bruises. He was so elegant but hard as nails and would always give his all.
Jim Herriot when called upon did his job well and was never complimented enough. He used to rub dirt under his eyes during a night game to deflect the glare from the floodlights. A good steady keeper with a great defence in front of him.

As another poster says you went along on a Saturday home and away wondering not if we were going to score but how many? If the opposition scored a goal we would score 1 or 2 more.

This team should have done a lot better but unfortunately came accross a very good Celtic team of that era who beat us in everything! Great time to be a Hibs Supporter and the memories linger on.

Anyone got anything to add to this???

greenginger
16-02-2015, 07:49 PM
They kept it simple - if the opposition scored 3, they scored 5, or 6, or even 7 ...

And less of the "real" oldies, kiddo.


There was another cunning plan at work as well.

Make sure we are playing down the slope in the second half.

We could have been piss poor and a goal down at half time , but everyone knew it would be a different game come the second half. :thumbsup:

eastterrace
16-02-2015, 08:14 PM
Aye less of the "real" oldies, you dont have to be that old to remember how football is really meant to be played.

Anyone of my generation will talk all night about Turnbulls Tornadoes, systems mattered nowt to this team it just played football.

Stanton was the link pin in this team the sight of him running with the ball at his feet and the rest of the team moving with him was a sight to behold! (Obviously my favorite player ever!)

Edwards could place a ball anywhere he wanted too and Cropley could tackle a wall and come out with the ball at his feet.

Arthur was always a surprise packet, he was so quick i think he frightened himself!! Jimmy would trudge through mud to get to the ball and left half the opposing defence lying in the mud! a real powerhouse! Alan Gordon was as elegant a player as you could ever want to see. he had such quick feet and could change direction in seconds, a perfect foil for wee Jimmy.

At the back we had Brownlie and Schaedler buzzing down those wings supporting the forwards and when in defence NO ONE got passed either of them. Erich had a great long throw in technique that looked as if his back would break. The middle of the defence was steady and resourceful Jim Black was a completely underrated player in the fact that every week he went out and played his game and hardly ever made a mistake his timing in the tackle was spot on at all times. Sweeping up was John Blackley (JB or Sloop to his pals) what a reader of the game that guy was. Many a last ditch tackle he performed and often left the opposing player with a few nasty bruises. He was so elegant but hard as nails and would always give his all.
Jim Herriot when called upon did his job well and was never complimented enough. He used to rub dirt under his eyes during a night game to deflect the glare from the floodlights. A good steady keeper with a great defence in front of him.

As another poster says you went along on a Saturday home and away wondering not if we were going to score but how many? If the opposition scored a goal we would score 1 or 2 more.

This team should have done a lot better but unfortunately came accross a very good Celtic team of that era who beat us in everything! Great time to be a Hibs Supporter and the memories linger on.

Anyone got anything to add to this???

not everything but nearly everything

blackpoolhibs
16-02-2015, 08:21 PM
The tornadoes were the best Hibs team i saw, we just lacked a decent centre forward someone in the Gerd Muller style maybe? :wink:

Seriously another centre half and another better quality Midfielder to cover for suspensions and injuries might have been enough for us to win the league, and we were 2nd and 3rd to a couple of very good sides with Celtic being one of the best in Europe too.

Kato
16-02-2015, 08:40 PM
another better quality Midfielder to cover for suspensions

..taking Alex Edwards out of that side was like taking the mainspring out of a pocket watch, it looked that same but didn't work at all as well.

ozhibs
16-02-2015, 08:43 PM
Aye less of the "real" oldies, you dont have to be that old to remember how football is really meant to be played.

Anyone of my generation will talk all night about Turnbulls Tornadoes, systems mattered nowt to this team it just played football.

Stanton was the link pin in this team the sight of him running with the ball at his feet and the rest of the team moving with him was a sight to behold! (Obviously my favorite player ever!)

Edwards could place a ball anywhere he wanted too and Cropley could tackle a wall and come out with the ball at his feet.

Arthur was always a surprise packet, he was so quick i think he frightened himself!! Jimmy would trudge through mud to get to the ball and left half the opposing defence lying in the mud! a real powerhouse! Alan Gordon was as elegant a player as you could ever want to see. he had such quick feet and could change direction in seconds, a perfect foil for wee Jimmy.

At the back we had Brownlie and Schaedler buzzing down those wings supporting the forwards and when in defence NO ONE got passed either of them. Erich had a great long throw in technique that looked as if his back would break. The middle of the defence was steady and resourceful Jim Black was a completely underrated player in the fact that every week he went out and played his game and hardly ever made a mistake his timing in the tackle was spot on at all times. Sweeping up was John Blackley (JB or Sloop to his pals) what a reader of the game that guy was. Many a last ditch tackle he performed and often left the opposing player with a few nasty bruises. He was so elegant but hard as nails and would always give his all.
Jim Herriot when called upon did his job well and was never complimented enough. He used to rub dirt under his eyes during a night game to deflect the glare from the floodlights. A good steady keeper with a great defence in front of him.

As another poster says you went along on a Saturday home and away wondering not if we were going to score but how many? If the opposition scored a goal we would score 1 or 2 more.

This team should have done a lot better but unfortunately came accross a very good Celtic team of that era who beat us in everything! Great time to be a Hibs Supporter and the memories linger on.

Anyone got anything to add to this???

Not really says it all

snooky
16-02-2015, 08:55 PM
The Tornadoes beat Ayr United 8-1 at ER (72/73 season).
Aly McLeod the Ayr UTC manager said that Ayr had not played badly.
I was at the game and believe it or not, he was right.

Bostonhibby
16-02-2015, 09:10 PM
Aye less of the "real" oldies, you dont have to be that old to remember how football is really meant to be played.

Anyone of my generation will talk all night about Turnbulls Tornadoes, systems mattered nowt to this team it just played football.

Stanton was the link pin in this team the sight of him running with the ball at his feet and the rest of the team moving with him was a sight to behold! (Obviously my favorite player ever!)

Edwards could place a ball anywhere he wanted too and Cropley could tackle a wall and come out with the ball at his feet.

Arthur was always a surprise packet, he was so quick i think he frightened himself!! Jimmy would trudge through mud to get to the ball and left half the opposing defence lying in the mud! a real powerhouse! Alan Gordon was as elegant a player as you could ever want to see. he had such quick feet and could change direction in seconds, a perfect foil for wee Jimmy.

At the back we had Brownlie and Schaedler buzzing down those wings supporting the forwards and when in defence NO ONE got passed either of them. Erich had a great long throw in technique that looked as if his back would break. The middle of the defence was steady and resourceful Jim Black was a completely underrated player in the fact that every week he went out and played his game and hardly ever made a mistake his timing in the tackle was spot on at all times. Sweeping up was John Blackley (JB or Sloop to his pals) what a reader of the game that guy was. Many a last ditch tackle he performed and often left the opposing player with a few nasty bruises. He was so elegant but hard as nails and would always give his all.
Jim Herriot when called upon did his job well and was never complimented enough. He used to rub dirt under his eyes during a night game to deflect the glare from the floodlights. A good steady keeper with a great defence in front of him.

As another poster says you went along on a Saturday home and away wondering not if we were going to score but how many? If the opposition scored a goal we would score 1 or 2 more.

This team should have done a lot better but unfortunately came accross a very good Celtic team of that era who beat us in everything! Great time to be a Hibs Supporter and the memories linger on.

Anyone got anything to add to this???

Nope, that really is how it was - As someone else has said, you really only realised what a great player and influence Alex Edwards was when he was missing - some signing.

Bostonhibby
16-02-2015, 09:10 PM
The Tornadoes beat Ayr United 8-1 at ER (72/73 season).
Aly McLeod the Ayr UTC manager said that Ayr had not played badly.
I was at the game and believe it or not, he was right.

I was there, right behind the goals - still got the programme.

Jack
16-02-2015, 09:26 PM
The Tornadoes beat Ayr United 8-1 at ER (72/73 season).
Aly McLeod the Ayr UTC manager said that Ayr had not played badly.
I was at the game and believe it or not, he was right.

That was the League Cup souvenir programme and yours truly is prominent in the supporters photo outside the North British :-)

Green tinted specs look back at a consistent team whose consistency was probably more having the support on their toes in anticipation (rather than off their seats as most of the supporters stood, nae seats :-) rather than actual results. Playing the OF, or European giants, off the pitch was no guarantee we could beat East Fife, or whoever the following Saturday, although we mostly did!

The great thing for me at the time were the constant European nights, Europes elite at [a jammed packed] ER, big scores, under the lights and mostly (?) winning, I'll leave that to the stattos. Alex Edwards being able to play during a domestic suspension. That and the absolute desperation trying to find out about the away legs, no internet or mobile phones/texting these days!

Incidentally the best report on the Hajduk Split away leg was found in the Financial Times. They just happened to have a non reporter employee on holiday (might not be exactly that but they had someone there anyway) there who just happened to mossie along to the game and just happened to phone his pal back in London afterwards who thought it sounded like something worth a few column inches!

Bostonhibby
16-02-2015, 09:44 PM
That was the League Cup souvenir programme and yours truly is prominent in the supporters photo outside the North British :-)

Green tinted specs look back at a consistent team whose consistency was probably more having the support on their toes in anticipation (rather than off their seats as most of the supporters stood, nae seats :-) rather than actual results. Playing the OF, or European giants, off the pitch was no guarantee we could beat East Fife, or whoever the following Saturday, although we mostly did!

The great thing for me at the time were the constant European nights, Europes elite at [a jammed packed] ER, big scores, under the lights and mostly (?) winning, I'll leave that to the stattos. Alex Edwards being able to play during a domestic suspension. That and the absolute desperation trying to find out about the away legs, no internet or mobile phones/texting these days!

Incidentally the best report on the Hajduk Split away leg was found in the Financial Times. They just happened to have a non reporter employee on holiday (might not be exactly that but they had someone there anyway) there who just happened to mossie along to the game and just happened to phone his pal back in London afterwards who thought it sounded like something worth a few column inches!

In here anywhere jack?:greengrin

brog
16-02-2015, 09:51 PM
One thing which hasn't been touched on is Hibs really played in 4 separate pods rather than as a straight 4-4-2. We had the right sided triangle, Brownlie, Stanton & Edwards, the left side, Schaedler, Cropley & Duncan, the 2 centre backs Black & Blackley & the 2 up front, Gordon & O'Rourke. Both Mickey & Crops also had the wonderful ability to hit 50 yard crossfield passes so after drawing the opposition in they could switch play in a second to where the space was. Of course that's an over simplification, the whole team had such fluidity that Brownlie could end up as striker with Mickey or Arthur filling in at full back. Great team, great times!

Jack
16-02-2015, 10:05 PM
In here anywhere jack?:greengrin

This one I hope (first time I've tried to upload a photo on my tab). If it doesn't work I'll maybe try on the PC tomorrow.

Bostonhibby
16-02-2015, 10:16 PM
This one I hope (first time I've tried to upload a photo on my tab). If it doesn't work I'll maybe try on the PC tomorrow.

Opened ok - nae sign of me though :greengrin

hibby6270
16-02-2015, 11:08 PM
One thing which hasn't been touched on is Hibs really played in 4 separate pods rather than as a straight 4-4-2. We had the right sided triangle, Brownlie, Stanton & Edwards, the left side, Schaedler, Cropley & Duncan, the 2 centre backs Black & Blackley & the 2 up front, Gordon & O'Rourke. Both Mickey & Crops also had the wonderful ability to hit 50 yard crossfield passes so after drawing the opposition in they could switch play in a second to where the space was. Of course that's an over simplification, the whole team had such fluidity that Brownlie could end up as striker with Mickey or Arthur filling in at full back. Great team, great times!

Sums the formation of the team up pretty well.

I always thought 4-2-4 was closer to the mark. Here's my brief summing up:

Herriot - vastly underrated keeper.
Brownlie - brilliant right back in defence, equally as brilliant overlapping on right wing
Schaedler - ditto Brownlie but on the left
Stanton - captain and king of the midfield on the right (still the greatest I've seen for Hibs)
Black - no nonsense centre half. Didn't let much get past him.
Blackley - supreme elegant defender. Swept most things up.
Edwards - classy, right leg like a wand. Could magically play the ball on to a sixpence with ease. Bit of a hothead though.
O'Rourke - expert penalty box striker. Could score a goal out of nothing. Great foil for Gordon's knock downs.
Gordon - tall, elegant striker. Great with his head and knew where the goals were. Perfect foil for O'Rourke.
Cropley - pretty much the same as Edwards but leg leg like a magic wand. Pinpoint passing accuracy. Perfect left sided partner for Stanton. Could ghost past players with ease. Nowt of em but tough as old boots.
Duncan - where do I start? Electrifying pace. Great crosser on the run. Could score goals - BUT - was equally at home hitting the corner flag with some of his shots. Infuriating but we loved home more because of it :greengrin

That sums them up very quickly but there was a lot more to it. A joy to watch.

snooky
16-02-2015, 11:31 PM
The Tornados had flair in abundance. Each player contributing a special individual skill that knitted perfectly into the pattern.
The one thing lacking was a depth of pool. This is why the old firm have the dominated.
When Edwards got suspended, or in the event of major injuries (eg Onion's leg break) there was no real quality cover.
I will concede that some younger players did develop to quality players, e.g. Des Bremner.
A green & white "Paul Madeley" sub would have been a godsend back then.

Deansy
17-02-2015, 01:29 AM
As I get older (55) I really, really appreciate that I witnessed 'Turnbull's Tornadoes'- they were just an absolute joy to witness !!

PeeJay
17-02-2015, 08:00 AM
The team actually had everything a team needs to win trophies and league titles, but it didn't - it always seemed to fail at the final hurdle for some reason. It wasn't because Celtic were better team, they were just more consistent over the course IMO - maybe the larger squad helped them make up for our difficulties when players were missing (Edwards in his suspended periods, Brownlie when injured?) never really understood why Turnbull didn't sort that ... A team of that quality and talent really should have achieved so much more. It's been a wee while now, and many true things are said about the team and its abilities, but what I really enjoyed about them was that they seemed to really enjoy their football on the park: something I haven't seen at ER for quite sometime ...

Hibby Bairn
17-02-2015, 09:04 AM
Thanks all. I have watched a bit of Aberdeen and Dundee Utd from early 80s (although I saw a lot of them live you don't really appreciate what you see at 16 yrs old) on you tube.

Their play resonates with a lot of the comments on here. Great passing ability. Ability to ping longer passes with absolute accuracy. Brilliant crossing of the ball and a lot more headed goals than seems to be the case now.

Bring back seven byes :)

HIBERNIAN-0762
17-02-2015, 09:53 AM
I was lucky enough to have witnessed them home and away, they were simply outstanding and basically feared no one BUT I always felt they lacked a bit of hardness, we had the will to win any game but felt there was just that wee bit of toughness missing in the team, Turnbull built this great team up but knocked it down just as quick, Harper was in my opinion the cause of the demise but having said that he could put them away.

I remember the week after we won the League Cup against Celtic we played Ayr United at ER and can won 8-1, I can honestly say they were absolutely magnificent and unstoppable, Sporting Lisbon and "them" are of course just a few of the magnificent performances I saw but I always felt it wasn't going to last, we should have built on that team and been a real force in Scottish football but by the end of that decade we were relegated, such a sad state of affairs.

Still, the memories will never be forgotten.

oneone73
17-02-2015, 09:54 AM
As I get older (55) I really, really appreciate that I witnessed 'Turnbull's Tornadoes'- they were just an absolute joy to witness !!

I'm a year older, and this thread has almost had me greeting. RIP Shades, Big Alan, and Ned. Sigh.

J-C
17-02-2015, 10:01 AM
I grew up watching these guys, my heroes at the time with Jimmy O my all time favourite.

Biggest problem they had was not enough cover when suspensions or injuries kicked in, 1st 11 was good enough to beat anyone in Scotland at the time and their league positions proved that but depth was the problem and probably why they never won more than they did but a fantastic attacking team to watch and decent at the back too.

greenpaper55
17-02-2015, 10:07 AM
Signing George Stewart a couple of years earlier would have made a big difference, Black was the weak link in the team IMO and i always found it odd that John Hazel got a game in place of Crops for no apparent reason.

Deansy
17-02-2015, 10:29 AM
The team actually had everything a team needs to win trophies and league titles, but it didn't - it always seemed to fail at the final hurdle for some reason. It wasn't because Celtic were better team, they were just more consistent over the course IMO - maybe the larger squad helped them make up for our difficulties when players were missing (Edwards in his suspended periods, Brownlie when injured?) never really understood why Turnbull didn't sort that ... A team of that quality and talent really should have achieved so much more. It's been a wee while now, and many true things are said about the team and its abilities, but what I really enjoyed about them was that they seemed to really enjoy their football on the park: something I haven't seen at ER for quite sometime ...

IMHO, one of the main reasons we always seemed to 'falter' throughout that time was the referee, Bobby Davidson (Airdrie ?) - never seen such a blatant cheat for the Hun as that b*****d !! One SC (?) game at ER against them, played on a Wednesday-afternoon because of the power-cuts (1973 ?) teeming down with rain and the pitch was saturated. Shades caught that we'd-P***k Tommy MacClean a beauty as be cut in from the wing - it WAS a foul but Davidson waited until MacClean's momentum - sliding over the mud - carried him to just on the edge of the penalty-box ............ and awarded them a PENALTY !!. Unbelievable but just one of the endless outrageous decisions Davidson was notorious for in our games against them !!


Iirc, Chairman Tom Hart got a fine (£400 ?) from the SFA fof calling them 'Cheats' after that game ??

Bostonhibby
17-02-2015, 12:02 PM
IMHO, one of the main reasons we always seemed to 'falter' throughout that time was the referee, Bobby Davidson (Airdrie ?) - never seen such a blatant cheat for the Hun as that b*****d !! One SC (?) game at ER against them, played on a Wednesday-afternoon because of the power-cuts (1973 ?) teeming down with rain and the pitch was saturated. Shades caught that we'd-P***k Tommy MacClean a beauty as be cut in from the wing - it WAS a foul but Davidson waited until MacClean's momentum - sliding over the mud - carried him to just on the edge of the penalty-box ............ and awarded them a PENALTY !!. Unbelievable but just one of the endless outrageous decisions Davidson was notorious for in our games against them !!


Iirc, Chairman Tom Hart got a fine (£400 ?) from the SFA fof calling them 'Cheats' after that game ??

:agree: 100%