Billy McNeill & John Greig

Forums New posts
Smurf

Smurf

Private Member
Joined
May 15, 2003
Can any slightly older Bouncers comment on how these two were as players? Did they play in a similar position? Who was the better player? Any stories of us at Hibs getting one over them?

I hate both sides of the so called Old Firm but these two seem to their clubs what Pat Stanton is to ours.
 
Smurf said:
Can any slightly older Bouncers comment on how these two were as players? Did they play in a similar position? Who was the better player? Any stories of us at Hibs getting one over them?

I hate both sides of the so called Old Firm but these two seem to their clubs what Pat Stanton is to ours.
Click to expand...

I was young but can remember them all.

John Greig was a thug. Make no mistake. A great man to have in your team, and an absoloute 100%er but he was a nasty piece of work.

McNeil I didn't see a lot off, but was a great leader of men. And a decent centre half Not sure he could play much football.

Pat Stanton was majestic. Not unlike mr Sauzee IMO .
His lack of caps goes to show that the west of Scotland bias has been around for a very very long time.
 
I was a wee laddie when I saw both play, so can only assess through childhood memory..

Billy McNeil was a fantastic captain for Celtic.
100% a Celtic man and led the club through its greatest ever era.
A decent enough centre-half although had a bit of a nasty streak about him, and apparently struggled badly when up against Alan Gordon.

John Greig as hard as nails and a total Rangers man through and through.
I remember him when I was a kid though being a dirty aggressive player....no surprise then that the Rangers fans voted him
the greatest ever Rangers player, ahead of the likes of Baxter, Henderson, Waddell, Young, Gascoigne, McCoist, Laudrop and Cooper.
That says everything you need to know about the mentality at that club.

Stanton was my hero when I was a bairn, so I only saw him in his last 4 or 5 years at Easter Road....total class act.
Everything that is great about Hibernian is embodied in Pat Stanton.
I only wish he had won more honours with Hibs in his 13 years with the club.
 
John Grieg lived in Edinburgh must have been close to the Braid Hills Hotel as he was a regular there in the Buckstone Lounge.

Grieg was well known as a more industrial type of player, always pushing a shoving to the point were me and my mates, in a push and shove situation would shout out 'Who the fucks the John Grieg?'.

We were regulars in the Buckstone too in the early 1980s. I remember the night I was buying a round. It might have been the last round I bought ;-) Anyway I was at the bar and getting close up and personal shoving and pushing attention. Without looking round and thinking it was one of my mates I give it back a bit jostling at a corner style and shouts out 'Who the fucks the John Grieg?'. Aye, you've already guessed when I turned round it was him and my mates are poorless.

I'm not sure who was the most surprised.

I've never met the other one.

Both were decent players for their day. Every team had players with a nasty streak, even a few of the Tornadoes!
 
I worked as a barman at the Buckstone for a short while.
John Greig and Sandy Jardine were both regulars. Greig used to get a few cans to take away at closing time. One Sunday night he was winding me up as Hibs were at home to the Huns the following week. When I got his usual carry out I accidentally knocked them off the bar onto his ankle.

He didn't play next week.*

Incidentally the Worlds Best Hun was/is a confirmed Gunt.



*I didn't work again either.
 
Sunday night aye? Didn't you have to be a traveller to get a beer on a Sunday night then?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I played one-on-one against John Greig in training at 'Crossroads Boys Club' (he was an ex-Crossroads boy) and he kicked f**k out of me - I was 9/10 !!. He was the same on the big pitch, nothing but a dirty, Hun bastard. As someone else has said, it's no wonder he was voted their 'Greatest ever Hun' - he typifies everything they love about football - brute force !!. Historically, they don't like good footballers as to be a good footballer it involves some thinking but Hun supporters want players who they can associate with, players who represent their views, their way of life - in other words - IQ-Challenged thugs !

Never played against McNeil so he never got the chance to kick f**ck out of me but seen him do it on the big pitch. Yes, he was a great player for them but I care as much for Septic as much as I care for the Hun. Both McNeil and Greig, for me, represent two cheeks of the one a**e - an a**e called the 'Old S**m' - a footballing (business more like !!) partnership that has done SFA for Scottish Football but plenty for sectarian bigotry !
 
Last edited:
Jack said:
John Grieg lived in Edinburgh must have been close to the Braid Hills Hotel as he was a regular there in the Buckstone Lounge.

Grieg was well known as a more industrial type of player, always pushing a shoving to the point were me and my mates, in a push and shove situation would shout out 'Who the fucks the John Grieg?'.

We were regulars in the Buckstone too in the early 1980s. I remember the night I was buying a round. It might have been the last round I bought ;-) Anyway I was at the bar and getting close up and personal shoving and pushing attention. Without looking round and thinking it was one of my mates I give it back a bit jostling at a corner style and shouts out 'Who the fucks the John Grieg?'. Aye, you've already guessed when I turned round it was him and my mates are poorless.

I'm not sure who was the most surprised.

I've never met the other one.

Both were decent players for their day. Every team had players with a nasty streak, even a few of the Tornadoes!
Click to expand...

He lived in Little Road, number 40. Directly over my maws back garden wall. I think I have telt the story before but, myself and 2 others climbed over the afore mentioned garden wall after coming home from Easter Road after a 1-3 defeat, we pulled about 20 odd terry nappies of the washing line, rubbed them in the mud and hung them back up again.
Childish I know but much fun when your a 13 year auld laddie
 
The thing about that period is that however well or badly the Edinburgh and Glasgow clubs were playing during that time, all the captains are easily remembered...not something I can recite easily from any other period since. So whatever we thought of those 2, Donald Ford and Stanton, they all became greats at their respective clubs, all getting international honours and some measure of European success. Ford had less than the others as Hearts were rubbish during this period, but he himself gave a good account. Interesting none of them were particularly successful as managers
 
John Grieg was a hard man right enough.

Some weren't frightened of him though...

JohnGreigvJohnBlackley.jpg
 
He and Sandy Jardine both lived in Liberton - as has been said further up the thread. I remember both from my early childhood. Greig was part of an industrial, horrible Rangers side that also contained the likes of Tam Forsyth. Brutal stuff. He was voted Orc In Command by their hordes I suspect because he was a one man club, he led them to many titles and trophies and he danced to their flute...sorry, tune. I'm sure he had many qualities to be appreciated but he didn't have the ability of the likes of Jardine and he didn't have the glamour of some of their other players. But then the Gunts voted their greatest player as Walter Kidd...so what do I know?

McNeill was a better player, created UK football history, also a one man club...from what I remember he was better than Greig but also played in a better football team than Greig.
 
I suppose the Huns loved 'Captain John' due to his one-club status, seven hundred-odd appearances and die-hard attitude. Nevertheless, you think that they might have picked someone like Jimmy Baxter who was a total magician on the park and seldom lost against Celtic.

Greig was an exceedingly tough and robustly built, midfield player who latterly moved back to left-back, in my memory. He could be a dominating and inspirational figure on the park but yes, he was a dirty bastard for sure and quite cynical.

'Big Ceasar' McNeill was a commanding centre-half who was fortunate enough to play in one of the greatest club sides I have seen, it has to be said. He contributed greatly to the cause but I'm not so convinced he would have been so highly rated in a lesser team. A very good traditional stopper centre-half though and good in the air. Again, he was a leader on the park.

I did think there were better centre-backs around at the time who were overlooked for Scotland due to the Old Firm bias. He was effective at what he did though.
 
Thanks for the responses folks. Sounds like both were effective players in their time but far from footballing greats.
 
Smurf said:
Thanks for the responses folks. Sounds like both were effective players in their time but far from footballing greats.
Click to expand...

I think its fair to say that both were massive figures in the game, particularly north of the border at that time, K. Neither were 'footballers' in the sense that Paddy Stanton was. Pat was imperious and multi-talented - a complete and naturally gifted player and athlete who had all the time in the world on the pitch - a sign of any truly class player. He also read the game expertly too to that end. He was exciting, inspirational and led his team by example.

The Glasgow hordes will talk up their much-vaunted former captains but really, comparing either of them with Pat Stanton is like comparing a Transit van with a Bentley Continental.
 
McNeill had a very impressive medal haul but played in some awful Celtic teams and didn't win a trophy until he was 25.

Greig also played in some poor rangers teams and his time coincided with Celtics nine in a row - if he hadn't been fortunate enough to gather two trebles in his last three seasons his career would be viewed differently I suspect.

Neither had outstanding Scotland careers istr, neither went to Germany 74 for the example.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Greig was hard and definitely not always fair.
I can remember sitting in the main stand at Ibrox in a cup game before segregation,think it was '72 or '73 & saw Greig chop down Sloop Blackley without any reaction from the ref. The natives were going wild with glee and we had to sit on our hands & sip up.
 
Purple & Green said:
McNeill had a very impressive medal haul but played in some awful Celtic teams and didn't win a trophy until he was 25.

Greig also played in some poor rangers teams and his time coincided with Celtics nine in a row - if he hadn't been fortunate enough to gather two trebles in his last three seasons his career would be viewed differently I suspect.

Neither had outstanding Scotland careers istr, neither went to Germany 74 for the example.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

In fairness to Greig, he did lift a European trophy in 1972 at the Nou camp in Barcelona..or rather he was presented with the trophy in the dressing room after the match as the pitch had been invaded by huns and they couldn't go ahead with the presentation ceremony because of this.
 
Greig was a dirty hun bastard in a long line of dirty hun bastards. He was originally a Gunt.

McNeil was a big strong player, decent sort and good captain at Celtic.

Pat was by far the best of the three though.
 
1875 said:
Greig was a dirty hun $#@! in a long line of dirty hun $#@!s. He was originally a Gunt.

McNeil was a big strong player, decent sort and good captain at Celtic.

Pat was by far the best of the three though.
Click to expand...

I'm sure i read an article about Billy McNeill saying that when he grew up in Motherwell, whenever Hibs were visiting Fir Park, he and his pals would sneak in, because they all idolised The Famous Five, especially Gordon Smith,even though they didn't support Hibs.

John Greig on the other hand was just an absolute Toly.

My Dad who was born in 1939 and watched Hibs from 1945 will confirm this at my house on Christmas day, aswell as these three very valid points:

1. Billy McNeill was a decent player who admitted to worshipping The Famous Five.
2. Pat Stanton was better than Billy and John.
3. John Greig was an utter Flange,and a blue nosed thug/twat.

- - - Updated - - -

Stu said:
John Grieg was a hard man right enough.

Some weren't frightened of him though...

JohnGreigvJohnBlackley.jpg
Click to expand...

Smashing Photo, Stu.

Nothing looks funnier than a CCB(Crippled Currant Bun)rolling about on a football field!:yas::applause::bbb:
 
Greenmachine said:
I was a wee laddie when I saw both play, so can only assess through childhood memory..

Billy McNeil was a fantastic captain for Celtic.
100% a Celtic man and led the club through its greatest ever era.
A decent enough centre-half although had a bit of a nasty streak about him, and apparently struggled badly when up against Alan Gordon.

John Greig as hard as nails and a total Rangers man through and through.
I remember him when I was a kid though being a dirty aggressive player....no surprise then that the Rangers fans voted him
the greatest ever Rangers player, ahead of the likes of Baxter, Henderson, Waddell, Young, Gascoigne, McCoist, Laudrop and Cooper.
That says everything you need to know about the mentality at that club.

Stanton was my hero when I was a bairn, so I only saw him in his last 4 or 5 years at Easter Road....total class act.
Everything that is great about Hibernian is embodied in Pat Stanton.
I only wish he had won more honours with Hibs in his 13 years with the club.
Click to expand...

This, to a word. I always had a grudging respect for McNeil whereas I had none whatsoever for Greig. I seem to remember Greig had a tie shop around Rose Street?
As a boy, my Dad once took me before a game to meet an old friend of his from wartime who was then manager of John Menzies on Princes Street. He gave me a couple of football books from the shop as a gift: "The History of Queens Park Football Club" and "Playing for Rangers", the latter by John Greig. I read the first one.
 
blue toon hibby said:
This, to a word. I always had a grudging respect for McNeil whereas I had none whatsoever for Greig. I seem to remember Greig had a tie shop around Rose Street?
As a boy, my Dad once took me before a game to meet an old friend of his from wartime who was then manager of John Menzies on Princes Street. He gave me a couple of football books from the shop as a gift: "The History of Queens Park Football Club" and "Playing for Rangers", the latter by John Greig. I read the first one.
Click to expand...
How to kill 2 books with 1 erm, book :glassraise:

51weGYKIaCL._AC_UL320_SR280,320_.jpg
 
Stu said:
John Grieg was a hard man right enough.

Some weren't frightened of him though...

JohnGreigvJohnBlackley.jpg
Click to expand...

I absolutely love this photo, it's on the front of my 'Favourite Hibees' album !

The way Blackley's trotting off it's like he's in a hurry to get the next Hun !!
 
Deansy said:
I absolutely love this photo, it's on the front of my 'Favourite Hibees' album !

The way Blackley's trotting off it's like he's in a hurry to get the next Hun !!
Click to expand...

It looks to me like he is strolling away thinking "I thought that **** was meant to be hard"
 
Greig was technically very ordinary. He had a awkward, actually quite comical way of running, with his arms held in front of him, his hands balled into fists and little, short hen toed steps. He actually tried to play, but he just wasn't very good. He got a game because, I assume, he was a leader but mainly because the authorities turned a blind eye (to the point of collusion) to his thuggery. In fairness, he wasn't the only fairly inept hammer thrower ... ahem ... kicking about in those days, except not many of them got 40 odd caps for Scotland. McNeil had tremendous leadership qualities, invaluable in a team full of street urchins and widoes. As for comparing either with Stanton ... don't even go there.
 
I have a pic somewhere of me receiving a medal from Greig.

I don't know which part is most shameful.

1. Greig presenting
2. Me wearing a Celtc strip
3. My haircut.

I won't be posting the pic for all the reasons above.
 
Greig I served in Dolcis in Princes St as a part-timer, didn't realise it till half way in, already had brogues on that were a good few tenners worth more than our most expensive in range.

Was a pretty average Embra man as far as I could make oot, rep as a clogger preceded him. Only thing his wee legs were good at was gettin a centre of gravity no too far off the ground.

But I will say this for McNeil: in his day there was a romantic thing in the press and media for the centre-half who came up for the corner at the other end and scored. I think that is probs what the Celtc fans remember him for most (apart fae being part of a team that won the effin European Cup only with a fomer Hibs manager).

He did put away a fair few for a defender. But maybe real stats will negate my memories? Whatever.

Stanton was real class, gave me his autograph at the bus-stop at the bottom of Leith Walk after a game once, his car must've been off for a MOT? No doubt in my mind though as far as football skills go, Stanton was the pick of the bunch but McNeil traded on his Euro Cup win wi the press.
 
Sir Shrink said:
I have a pic somewhere of me receiving a medal from Greig.

I don't know which part is most shameful.

1. Greig presenting
2. Me wearing a Celtc strip
3. My haircut.

I won't be posting the pic for all the reasons above.
Click to expand...
How's about a pic o' yer Mrs then instead? :popcorn3:
 
HaarlemShuffler said:
Greig I served in Dolcis in Princes St as a part-timer, didn't realise it till half way in, already had brogues on that were a good few tenners worth more than our most expensive in range.

Was a pretty average Embra man as far as I could make oot, rep as a clogger preceded him. Only thing his wee legs were good at was gettin a centre of gravity no too far off the ground.

But I will say this for McNeil: in his day there was a romantic thing in the press and media for the centre-half who came up for the corner at the other end and scored. I think that is probs what the Celtc fans remember him for most (apart fae being part of a team that won the effin European Cup only with a fomer Hibs manager).

He did put away a fair few for a defender. But maybe real stats will negate my memories? Whatever.

Stanton was real class, gave me his autograph at the bus-stop at the bottom of Leith Walk after a game once, his car must've been off for a MOT? No doubt in my mind though as far as football skills go, Stanton was the pick of the bunch but McNeil traded on his Euro Cup win wi the press.
Click to expand...

In summary then:

Greig: Nae class
McNeil: Class
Stanton: Hibs class
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
  • Menu
  • Home
  • Hibs Chat
  • New Posts
  • Just Back
  • Chatroom