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Full Name: Robert Sime 'Roy' Aitken
aka: Roy Aitken
Nickname: The Bear, Shirley (because of his curly hair when he was a teenager)
Born: November 24, 1958
Birthplace: Irvine
Position: Defender
Internationals: Scotland, 57 games

Biog

Robert Sime 'Roy' Aitken (born November 24, 1958) had a glowing playing career with Celtic and played 57 games for the Scotland national football team. An uncompromising defender, he was easily a favourite with the fans and was a stalwart in the Celtic side throughout the 80s, and later a captain. His most memorable season was by far the Centenary season, where he more than played the captain's part.
His style was hard but fair, and even his harshest critics would concede that he is a difficult man to dislike at all. Some though found him a bit clumsy, and pace was not his strong point but he more than made up for it with his other qualities. He always led by example, and pushed everyone around him to give that bit more than they thought they could.

Always a down to earth guy, he used to spend one-two days a week in the the summer breaks at Butlins where he helped to coach and play football with the youngsters! Can't imagine players doing that now at all.

Roy made his debut on September 10th 1975 against Stenhousemuir in the League Cup but it was not until February 21rst 1976 that he made his league debut at centre half at Pittodrie in Celtic's 1-0 victory, after Roddy MacDonald had lost form, and from that day onwards Roy Aitken was a Celtic regular.

In March 1976 Celtic had to 'adopt' Roy in order for him to gain entry into communist East Germany to play against Sachsenring Zwickau in a ECWC quarter final game as he was only 17 years old and not considered an adult by the East German authorities..

Sean Fallon had initially given Roy his break in Jock Stein's absence but when Stein returned to the helm in the summer of 1976 Roy was pushed into a midfield role which suited his strength, pace and enthusiasm. This gave Ronnie Glavin and Kenny Dalglish more scope to attack and Celtic had an enormously successful season winning the League and Cup double. On March 19th he memorably scored both Celtic's goals in the 2-2 draw at Ibrox, the second a spectacular volley from a John Doyle free kick.

The 1977/78 was a disaster for Celtic and due to a plague of injuries Roy was played at right back, left back, sweeper, centre half and midfield. In spite of constantly changing positions Roy was one of the few Celtic successes that season and the experience was to serve him well in the future.

Billy McNeill took over in the summer of 1978 and made Roy the mainstay of the centre of the Celtic midfield. Roy responded to his new responsibility and he was instrumental in Celtic's dramatic league title win on the 21rst of May 1979 when Celtic's ten men beat Rangers 4-2. Aitken scored Celtic's first goal that night and was arguably the best man on the park. From that day on Roy Aitken was a Celtic legend in the eyes of the fans.

At this point in his career the fans were undecided about Roy's best position, some preferring him in a rampaging midfield role and others preferring him in a central defensive role. Because of his versatility his game sometimes suffered although he made his Scotland debut against Peru in September 1979 in a midfield role. In May 1980 he was a tower of strength in the Celtic defence in the Scottish Cup final against Rangers and played a huge part in Celtic's 1-0 win, being a great assistance to the inexperienced Mike Conroy alongside him at centre half.

In August 1980 McNeill decided to keep Aitken in a sweeper role alongside either McAdam or MacDonald at centre half. He settled well into this role and played a huge part in the 1981 title win and was playing the best football of his career. On February 21rst 1981 he scored a spectacular goal in the vital 3-1 win over Rangers when he ran from his own half and brushed several Rangers defenders away before scoring. At this stage Roy displayed a tremendous level of consistency and performed to a remarkably high level week after week.

Celtic regained the their title in 1982 and Roy Aitken was again to the fore. Along with Danny McGrain and Tommy Burns Roy was one of Celtic's most experienced players and deputised for Danny McGrain as captain in his absence. Despite playing in defence Roy was always keen to come forward and was always a threat at corners and free kicks. He had become a huge favourite with the Celtic fans who fondly nicknamed him 'The Bear' and would constantly chant 'Feed the Bear' in praise of their favourite.

In September 1982 he scored two spectacular goals at Fir Park against Jock Wallace's Motherwell in Celtic's fine 7-0 victory, both goals being thrilling, powerful runs straight through the centre of the Motherwell defence. On December 4th 1982 he had a fine game in Celtic's League Cup final victory over Rangers at Hampden in the driving rain and awful conditions.

In 1983 McNeill departed for Manchester City and David Hay replaced him as manager. Celtic were now under pressure from Aberdeen and Dundee United for Scottish honours and their defence was weak and this put a huge pressure on Aitken who at times seemed to do the work of two men. On May 19th he was sensationally sent off in the Scottish Cup final against Aberdeen and the behaviour of several Aberdeen players in influencing the referee, including Gordon Strachan and Mark McGhee, leaves a bad taste with Celtic fans to this very day.

Roy recovered from the experience and scored a vital first goal against Motherwell in the 1985 Scottish Cup semi final replay to ensure Celtic made it to another final against Dundee United. With Celtic 1-0 down and playing poorly with twenty minutes remaining, David Hay gambled by throwing Roy forward into midfield. It was an inspirational move and was perhaps Roy's finest moment as a Celtic player as he almost single handedly dragged Celtic to victory. It was from Roy's determined run and cross that Frank McGarvey scored Celtic's spectacular winner with a diving header. Almost a year to the day after his disappointment at being ordered off Roy Aitken was the man of the match on Celtic's glory day.

Exactly a week after that cup final win Roy helped to create Richard Gough's winning goal against England at Hampden Park, giving Scotland their first home win over England since 1976.

Celtic had another dramatic title win in 1986 when they won it at Love Street on the final day of the season with Roy again being a mainstay in the side. By this time Roy had become Celtic captain as Danny McGrain was phased out of the side. He played for Scotland in the 1986 World Cup finals and played well in the Scottish midfield despite Scotland not winning a game.

In 1987 Hay was sacked and McNeill returned as manager. He quickly regrouped the Celtic team and Roy led Celts to a richly deserved league and cup double. In February 1988 he assumed a captain's responsibility by scoring a 90th minute penalty against Mrton at Parkhead to give Celtic a 1-0 win and two vital league points. Dundee United were gain defeated 2-1 in the Scottish Cup final and Aitken made history as Celtic's captain in their centenary season.

In 1989 he captained Celtic to victory against Rangers in the Scottish Cup final but by this time it was clear that all was not well at Parkhead. By the Autumn of 1989 he was receiving huge criticism in the press for his Scotland performances for which he was now captain. Despite Scotland qualifying for the 1990 World Cup finals the criticism continued much of it vitriolic and personal especially from Gerry McNee. Despite huge backing from the Celtic support Roy asked for a transfer and was sold to second division Newcastle United for £500,000 in early January of 1990. Despite his huge successes as a Cetic player a great number of Celtic fans felt betrayed by his departure and his absence left a huge void for many years that Celtic struggled to fill.

Roy Aitken is a Celtic great who when in full flow, charging forward through the centre of the field, was a spectacular sight. He was the rock in Celtic's defence in many successes from 1977 until 1989 and a fine Celtic captain. An inspirational player, he was always able to motivate those around him and Roy Aitken's true value to Celtic was never fully appreciated until he left.

After his playing career he had a short unsuccessful spell in management at Aberdeen, before turning his attention to coaching. He went on to become a highly respected coach with Leeds United before rejoining former Leeds coach David O'Leary at Aston Villa and later Birmingham under ex-Rangers manager Alex McLeish.

He is and always will be a fondly remembered and respected Celtic man.

Celtic Career Stats

Articles

• Big Interview (2006)

Pictures

• Picture Gallery

Forum Threads

• How good was Roy Aitken? (March 2007)

Quotes

"As someone who went through secondary school with him and consider myself a friend of the big man's here's my opinion. "He was approached to go and play for Celtic Boys Club when he was 14. He played for our school team on Saturday mornings and then rushed off to Glasgow or wherever to play for the boys club. He trained with them at least two nights a week and we started to see a difference in his play as a result. "At 16 he made his first team debut against Stenhousemuir. He basically nevre looked back from there. To say he was slow is ridiculous. To say he lost Celtic "big" games is even more ridiculous. His abilities technically as a football player were good, his drive and passion for Celtic Football Club, unquestioned. "There was not one game that he came off the park where he could have offered any more than he gave. Legend..of course. "
(TorCelt of KStreet forum)

'I only know the first two lines of 'The Sash' because after that we've usually scored.'
Roy Aitken on Celtic v Rangers games in the 1980s