Top 100 Appearances for Celtic

Mental to think how far we must have actually been behind before the last 15-20 years

 

Stats for Deadco and Sevco as well as combined (updated to take off WW2 matches as they werent considered official competitions

Celtic v Deadco

P 507 W 186 D 120 L 201 GF 725 GA 744 GD -19 Clean sheets 121

Celtic v Sevco

P 42 W 25 D 7 L 10 GF 73 GA 42 GD+31 Clean Sheets 16

Combined Total
P 549 W 211 D 127 L 211 GF 798 GA 786 GD +12 Clean Sheets 137

 

Forrest is only 2 matches away from equalling the Celtic great and Maestro’s great great uncle and ex Celtic manager Jimmy McStay

 

What I will do is sort the stats to discount the war years and the other comps just to include Europe, league, SC and LC but only the matches not the trophies.

Edit: Just realised that Celtic’s record goal scoring feat of 196 goals in one season probably won’t count as that included goals in Glasgow Cup and that competition is no longer a major competition so doesn’t count.

 

Just compared scoring average for our very first season to our current .
First season was 4.625 goals a game
Current season is 2.708 goals a game.
We are on 65 goals but if we had original season average we would be on 111 goals so far.
Aw well.

 

That's mental. He could feasibly make it to 600 appearances by the time he retires.

 

I think he’ll get 700 easy!

 

Updated stats for Deadco and Sevco as well as combined (updated to take off WW2 matches as they werent considered official competitions and also only including League, League Cup, Scottish Cup and Europe.

Celtic v Deadco

P 400 W 146 D 96 L 158 GF 532 GA 561 GD - 29 Clean sheets 100

Celtic v Sevco

P 42 W 25 D 7 L 10 GF 70 GA 42 GD+28 Clean Sheets 15

Combined Total
P 442 W 171 D 103 L 168 GF 635 GA 603 GD + 22 Clean Sheets 116

 

Still 109 short of Cesar’s total.

 

Maximum Forrest and CalMac can achieve this season is 12th and 13th respectively.
That’s assuming they both play in every possible match remaining which means all league games and reach both Scottish Cup final and CL play offs.
CalMac can reach 600 by this time 2026.
Forrest can reach 600 by end of next season

 

1-10
809 Billy McNeill
718 Alec McNair
680 Paul McStay
675 Roy Aitken
673 Danny McGrain
647 Pat Bonner
619 Scott Brown
607 Bobby Lennox
605 Bobby Hogg
600 Bobby Evans

11-20
589 Jimmy McMenemy
526 Jimmy Johnstone
522 Patsy Gallacher
519 Jimmy McStay
518 James Forrest
513 Jim Young (1903)
511 Tommy Burns
501 Jimmy McGrory
498 Bobby Murdoch
497 Alec Thomson

21-30
497 Bertie Peacock
495 Charlie Shaw
492 Callum McGregor
486 Andy McAtee
480 Peter Grant
456 Adam McLean
440 Peter Wilson
434 Tommy Gemmell
427 Joe Dodds
426 Stevie Chalmers

31-40
424 John Hughes
405 Murdo McLeod
405 Tom Boyd
393 Jimmy Quinn
390 Willie McStay (1912)
381 Charlie Geatons
376 Malcolm MacDonald
367 Tom McAdam
361 Peter McGonagle
360 Willie Loney

41-50
355 Jackie McNamara
351 Charlie Tully
347 Bobby Collins
345 Jim Brogan
344 Jimmy Delaney
336 John McFarlane
335 John Clark
334 Paddy Connolly
332 Davie Adams
327 Kenny Dalglish

51-60
322 Joe Kennaway
321 George Paterson
316 Harry Hood
315 Henrik Larsson
310 Willie Fernie
310 Johnny Crum
309 Stiliyan Petrov
307 Johnny Campbell
305 Willie Miller
304 Neil Lennon

61-70
303 Sandy McMahon
303 Davie Provan
300 Davie Hamilton
298 James Hay
294 Neil Mochan
287 Bertie Auld
285 Peter Latchford
285 Tommy Callaghan
284 Davie Hay
275 Derek Whyte

71-80
274 John Collins
273 Paul Lambert
273 Mikael Lustig
273 Tom Rogic
271 Sean Fallon
271 Nir Bitton
271 Emilio Izaguirre
269 Peter Somers
264 Frank Murphy
261 Leigh Griffiths

81-90
260 Peter Johnstone
259 Mike Haughney
258 Roddy MacDonald
257 Jim Kennedy
256 George Connolly
252 Georgios Samaras
252 Aiden McGeady
249 Charlie Nicholas
248 Frank McGarvey
248 Duncan McKay

91-100
244 John Divers(1959)
242 Craig Gordon
241 Willie Cringan
240 John Browning
239 John McMaster
239 Willie Wallace
238 Tommy McInally
236 Jim Craig
236 Fraser Forster
234 Bobo Balde


Currently Forrest 15th on list with Cal Mac 23rd

Players below the top 100 to see the target on how close our current players need to reach except of course Forrest and CalMac

232 John Divers(1959)
232 Tommy McInally
231 Jim Craig
230 Davie Hay
227 Kris Commons
227 Alan Thompson
225 John Browning
221 Artur Boric

Closest to that is Greg Taylor on 196 so he needs to be here for rest of season plus play about a dozen matches next season to join main list

 

Forrest as long as he’s been here still feels mental how many appearances, for a long time his injuries felt like he was struggling for appearances in bulk for a good few seasons. In and out under Ronny who solved his injuries, 3 solid seasons BR first time round and in and out since.

15 seasons though isn’t it? Makes sense he is but fair play, every inch a legend.

 

This is Forrest's 16th season and CalMacs 12th season and CalMac is only 27 matches behind Forrest.
It shows how much Forrest has lost.
If he had actually played for full seasons that he missed he would be in top 3 on the list.

 

And Calmac is almost the opposite, absolute machine who for years on end just doesn’t need a break. 12th season though as well!? Doesn’t feel like it should be that long, but that’s me getting older that. I can remember thinking Stan Petrov was here forever with his 7 years

Henrik’s 7 all too fleeting though

 

McNeill’s record is truly unbelievable. Did he never really experience any injuries when playing that kept him out?

Calmac would have to play 6 more seasons playing 52 games a season to beat it. And at 31 currently that isn’t gonna happen. Don’t think we’ll ever see it beaten.

we’d need a player coming through now at a centre half, goalkeeper or centre mid position (less likely to be bought) that just never leaves or ever gets injured!

 

Not to mention if it were just starts that counted, considering not only the expanded use of the subs bench in more recent years, compared to the Stein era, when just 1 was permissable, or in Alec McNair's day when there were none at all.

Or if Paul McStay's ankle hadn't curtailed the last couple of seasons of his career and ultimately ended it only about a year older than CalMac is now. Had he played on as long as say, Scott Brown did, for instance, then the Maestro would've cracked Cesar's mark.

 

CalMac's also had his issues though, think he was about 21 when he came back from his Notts County loan and then got a serious injury not long into that season. Then took a few years to really establish himself as a first team regular. Definitely not inconceivable that a player breaks into the first team at 18, spends his whole career here relatively injury free and pushes Cesar's record.

Most impressive thing about Cesar's numbers for me is the comparatively few European games. Only would have played 9 games in 66/67, plenty of players in the modern era will have had 8 in a season just in qualifying!

 

CalMac should move up to 20th when Celtic play Kilmarnock in Scottish Cup 4th round.

 

What's more is that we never played nearly as much games a season back in the 60's and 70's. Players never seemed to have the same amount of lengthy time out injured unless it was a broken bone. Players are more athletic and muscularly toned nowadays which seem to cause more time out with strains

 

Billy McNeill's wikipedia page says he has 789 appearances for the club. Are the extra appearances that take him above 800 in competitions such as the Glasgow Cup?