Tony Shepherd made his Celtic debut at the age of 19 on 15 February 1986 in a 2-1 win over Queen’s Park in the Scottish Cup tie at Celtic Park, making an instant impression as he created both Celtic goals which were scored by Brian McClair and Roy Aitken…
This led to the fair haired midfielder, who had skippered Scotland at youth level being tipped to go far in the game. He wasn’t long in making his league debut as he appeared as a sub in a 1-1 draw with Hearts at Celtic Park.
It wasn’t until the following campaign that Tony Shepherd made his breakthrough as a regular in the first team squad, when he appeared in back to back 2-0 wins over St Mirren, and Hearts respectively, and then played the biggest game of his career to date when he featured in a 2-1 loss against Rangers in the League Cup final.
Tony became a victim of one of the most bizarre red cards ever, when he was ordered off in the aftermath of Mo Johnston’s red card, with referee David Syme mistook an object that hit him from the crowd to have been inflicted by Tony!
Syme somehow believed Tony hit him with a ball, but upon discovering the truth, he rescinded his decision.
Tony would then play against Dynamo Kiev in Ukraine in front of 100,000 plus spectators, just shy of 60 miles from the then recent Chernobyl disaster, in spite of the foreign office advising no one traveled unless absolutely necessary! The Celtic fans were there too and they made light of the situation by chanting: “Here we Glow, Here we Glow here we Glow…”
Despite being on the end of a 3-1 defeat, Tony gave a terrific account of himself, and earned plaudits for a display that was described by many as one of great maturity, despite his tender years.
Tony would soon drift in and out of the side, before somewhat disappearing off the radar completely, as he found it hard to compete in a midfield that contained Billy Stark, Paul McStay and Peter Grant.
He left the club he supported all his life in 1989, when he decided to join English side Carlisle United after a loan spell with Bristol City the previous year whetted his appetite for first team football.
Tony would soon be back in Scotland two years later with Motherwell, before heading across the water to play for Irish side Portadown.
Tony would go on to appear for numerous clubs back in his homeland including Albion Rovers, the club he ended his playing days in 1998, before embarking on a career outside football when he joined the fire service.
All in all, Tony Shepherd played 22 times for Celtic, scoring twice.
Just an Ordinary Bhoy
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