Post-Tornadoes/late 70s Hibs players

Came across this footage of our home Uefa Cup win over Norrkoping in 1978 (a game I'd forgotten all about. I remember getting beaten on aggregate by Strasbourg in the next round so we must have at least drawn the away leg in Sweden?) and it's very much a post-Tornadoes Hibs line-up. There are some stalwarts in there (McDonald, Higgins, Duncan, Smith, Rae, MacLeod and McNamara) but a smattering of players who really kind of summed up the decline in quality of the squad. Or am I being too harsh on the likes of Willie Murray, Pat Carroll, Willie Temperley (scores the winning goal in this footage), Rikki Fleming and Bobby Hutchinson?

Hibs 3 IFK Norkkoping 2 - 1978 UEFA Cup - YouTube

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Originally Posted by He's here!

Came across this footage of our home Uefa Cup win over Norrkoping in 1978 (a game I'd forgotten all about. I remember getting beaten on aggregate by Strasbourg in the next round so we must have at least drawn the away leg in Sweden?) and it's very much a post-Tornadoes Hibs line-up. There are some stalwarts in there (McDonald, Higgins, Duncan, Smith, Rae, MacLeod and McNamara) but a smattering of players who really kind of summed up the decline in quality of the squad. Or am I being too harsh on the likes of Willie Murray, Pat Carroll, Willie Temperley (scores the winning goal in this footage), Rikki Fleming and Bobby Hutchinson?

Hibs 3 IFK Norkkoping 2 - 1978 UEFA Cup - YouTube

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In the space of a few years we went from Stanton Cropley Edwards Blackley and Brownlie to Pat Carroll, Willie Temperley Tony Higgins and Willie Murray :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by blackpoolhibs

In the space of a few years we went from Stanton Cropley Edwards Blackley and Brownlie to Pat Carroll, Willie Temperley Tony Higgins and Willie Murray :rolleyes:

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I was too wee at the time to appreciate the Tornadoes and as a kid it seemed to me Tony Higgins scored a fair few goals. Ally McLeod was the striking talent then though. Could he have cut it with the early 70s side? He never seemed the most energetic of players.

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Originally Posted by He's here!

I was too wee at the time to appreciate the Tornadoes and as a kid it seemed to me Tony Higgins scored a fair few goals. Ally McLeod was the striking talent then though. Could he have cut it with the early 70s side? He never seemed the most energetic of players.

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No imo

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Originally Posted by He's here!

I was too wee at the time to appreciate the Tornadoes and as a kid it seemed to me Tony Higgins scored a fair few goals. Ally McLeod was the striking talent then though. Could he have cut it with the early 70s side? He never seemed the most energetic of players.

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Mcleod would not have got into that team imho. They were an exceptional team sadly without the trophies to show for it. Only Black, Edwards, O'Rourke and Gordon i think weren't internationals and out of them Jimmy O and Gordon scored about 60 goals between them in 72/72 and Edwards was a wee genius. Only the very best of players since that team would have broke into that 11.

0-0 in the away leg

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Originally Posted by He's here!

I was too wee at the time to appreciate the Tornadoes and as a kid it seemed to me Tony Higgins scored a fair few goals. Ally McLeod was the striking talent then though. Could he have cut it with the early 70s side? He never seemed the most energetic of players.

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My memory of McLeod is that he took a few seasons to establish himself as first pick at Hibs.

He was a classy player, but very economical on the hopeless causes effort levels.

Always capable of making a telling pass or firing in spectacular shot, Ally took dogs abuse from some fans, usually due to perceived lack of effort. He made Kevin Nisbet look like a terrier on steroids by comparison

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Originally Posted by He's here!

I was too wee at the time to appreciate the Tornadoes and as a kid it seemed to me Tony Higgins scored a fair few goals. Ally McLeod was the striking talent then though. Could he have cut it with the early 70s side? He never seemed the most energetic of players.

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Super Ally Macleod was an intelligent cultured player always conserving energy and no slouch himself once scoring four goals for St Mirren at Ibrox

In 1972/73 Alan Gordon and Jimmy O’Rourke scored 76 goals in 56 appearances between them were imperious and a total joy to behold

Super Ally would have a fight on his hands for only two places on the bench with Johnny Hamilton John Hazel Iain Munro and Des Bremner

The best brand of football the world’s ever seen

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Originally Posted by BILLYHIBS

Super Ally Macleod was an intelligent cultured player always conserving energy and no slouch himself once scoring four goals for St Mirren at Ibrox

In 1972/73 Alan Gordon and Jimmy O’Rourke scored 76 goals in 56 appearances between them were imperious and a total joy to behold

Super Ally would have a fight on his hands for only two places on the bench with Johnny Hamilton John Hazel Iain Munro and Des Bremner

The best brand of football the world’s ever seen

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Did Duncan O'Rourke and Gordon not get 100 goals between them that season? Totally unthinkable nowadays. Out top 3 this season might get about 30:confused:

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Originally Posted by DIXIHIBS

Did Duncan O'Rourke and Gordon not get 100 goals between them that season? Totally unthinkable nowadays. Out top 3 this season might get about 30:confused:

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98

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Originally Posted by blackpoolhibs

In the space of a few years we went from Stanton Cropley Edwards Blackley and Brownlie to Pat Carroll, Willie Temperley Tony Higgins and Willie Murray :rolleyes:

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That's a bit harsh on Tony H. He was very much a Tornado starting 17 games as a teenager in the halcyon 72/73 season. He was also one of the 3 H bomb subs in many of the huge games that season, Johnny Hamilton and John Hazel being the others. I also remember him destroying Leeds at Elland Rd though I still haven't forgiven him for missing the free header!!

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Originally Posted by brog

That's a bit harsh on Tony H. He was very much a Tornado starting 17 games as a teenager in the halcyon 72/73 season. He was also one of the 3 H bomb subs in many of the huge games that season, Johnny Hamilton and John Hazel being the others. I also remember him destroying Leeds at Elland Rd though I still haven't forgiven him for missing the free header!!

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Higgins was ok, but he was a big downgrade from Alan Gordon or Jimmy O'rourke, and yes that miss at Elland Rd was shocking, we should have won that game.:boo hoo:

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Originally Posted by DIXIHIBS

Did Duncan O'Rourke and Gordon not get 100 goals between them that season? Totally unthinkable nowadays. Out top 3 this season might get about 30:confused:

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When Jimmy, Alan and Arthur all scored braces on 1/1/73 it was respectively their 33rd, 28th and 19th goals of the season, quite astonishing! Don't forget King Pat was also into double figures by that stage!

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Originally Posted by blackpoolhibs

Higgins was ok, but he was a big downgrade from Alan Gordon or Jimmy O'rourke, and yes that miss at Elland Rd was shocking, we should have won that game.:boo hoo:

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I agree but Tony was a kid when he broke through and suffered a number of injuries in next few seasons as the Tornadoes broke up.

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Originally Posted by brog

I agree but Tony was a kid when he broke through and suffered a number of injuries in next few seasons as the Tornadoes broke up.

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Still that miss down at Elland Road, we were just behind the goal and we had started celebrating but the big man just did not connect right.
6ft 5 or so and struggled to jump over a fag packet, but he still managed a few goals for us, and he represented the players union for many years.

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Originally Posted by A Hi-Bee

Still that miss down at Elland Road, we were just behind the goal and we had started celebrating but the big man just did not connect right.
6ft 5 or so and struggled to jump over a fag packet, but he still managed a few goals for us, and he represented the players union for many years.

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The first eleven were a phenomenal team, and as said they didn’t for whatever reason gather the trophies you’d have hoped for from such great players. I suppose though the glasgow pair had some good players too at the time unfortunately. It was Ferguson and Mclean who managed the challenge better in the 80s. Higgins is to me like Ally Brazil, a legend of a, ehm, different type shall we say.

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Originally Posted by BILLYHIBS

Super Ally Macleod was an intelligent cultured player always conserving energy and no slouch himself once scoring four goals for St Mirren at Ibrox

In 1972/73 Alan Gordon and Jimmy O’Rourke scored 76 goals in 56 appearances between them were imperious and a total joy to behold

Super Ally would have a fight on his hands for only two places on the bench with Johnny Hamilton John Hazel Iain Munro and Des Bremner

The best brand of football the world’s ever seen

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Interview: Hibs hero Ally MacLeod on the final that got away | The Scotsman

According to this Ally scored 99 goals for Hibs. Not bad going as part of a fairly mediocre side if true.

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Originally Posted by BILLYHIBS

Super Ally Macleod was an intelligent cultured player always conserving energy and no slouch himself once scoring four goals for St Mirren at Ibrox

In 1972/73 Alan Gordon and Jimmy O’Rourke scored 76 goals in 56 appearances between them were imperious and a total joy to behold

Super Ally would have a fight on his hands for only two places on the bench with Johnny Hamilton John Hazel Iain Munro and Des Bremner

The best brand of football the world’s ever seen

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Those were truely great days, I remember them with so much affection.

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Originally Posted by He's here!

Interview: Hibs hero Ally MacLeod on the final that got away | The Scotsman

According to this Ally scored 99 goals for Hibs. Not bad going as part of a fairly mediocre side if true.

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Yip I did say he was no slouch 99:276

Ally was a class act

‘ George Best could’nae lace ma boots ‘

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Originally Posted by BILLYHIBS

Yip I did say he was no slouch 99:276

Ally was a class act

‘ George Best could’nae lace ma boots ‘

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My main memory of him was scoring direct from a free kick (v Dundee I think) and then having to retake it due to some infringement and scoring again (but this time putting it to the other side of the goal). I remember coming home and raving about it to my Dad who had lost interest a bit by then (understandable if you grew up watching the Famous Five) and him admitting it was quite impressive when it got shown on Sportscene.

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Originally Posted by He's here!

My main memory of him was scoring direct from a free kick (v Dundee I think) and then having to retake it due to some infringement and scoring again (but this time putting it to the other side of the goal). I remember coming home and raving about it to my Dad who had lost interest a bit by then (understandable if you grew up watching the Famous Five) and him admitting it was quite impressive when it got shown on Sportscene.

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Was class that pure quality

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Originally Posted by BILLYHIBS

Was class that pure quality

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Originally Posted by He's here!

My main memory of him was scoring direct from a free kick (v Dundee I think) and then having to retake it due to some infringement and scoring again (but this time putting it to the other side of the goal). I remember coming home and raving about it to my Dad who had lost interest a bit by then (understandable if you grew up watching the Famous Five) and him admitting it was quite impressive when it got shown on Sportscene.

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Ally was class. Remember his late, late goal at Tynie.
Re the twice taken free kick Jim O did exact same thing against Falkirk a few seasons earlier. The best part was Jimmy's cousin Dennis Devlin, a huge Hibby, was in goal for Falkirk!

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Originally Posted by A Hi-Bee

Still that miss down at Elland Road, we were just behind the goal and we had started celebrating but the big man just did not connect right.
6ft 5 or so and struggled to jump over a fag packet, but he still managed a few goals for us, and he represented the players union for many years.

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I quite often see this said of tall players, Steven Tweed being another example. Why would it be the case that they struggle to jump?

Some good footage of Tony in goalscoring action here. Not many headers right enough:

Tony Higgins Hibernian FC - YouTube