M | Player Pics | A-Z of Players

Personal

Fullname: Thomas Ian McAdam
aka: Tom McAdam, Tam McAdam
Born: 9 April 1954
Birthplace: Glasgow, Scotland
Signed: 9 September 1977 (from Dundee United
Left: 26 Feb 1986 (free); 13 Oct 1986 (to Motherwell)
Position: Striker - later converted to Defender in May 1979
First game : Rangers away league (sub) 2-3 10 September 1977
Last game : Queens Park home scottish cup 15 February 1986
First goal : Clydebank home 1-0 league 24 September 1977
Last goal : Dundee home 3-0 league 24 April 1984
Internationals: none

Biog

Signed from Dundee United in September 1977 for a fee of £60,000, Tom McAdam was a boyhood Rangers fan whose brother Colin played for the Ibrox club (1980-84)!

Tom made his name as a noted striker with Dumbarton and Dundee United. When he signed for Celtic he had scored seven times against the Celts so the Parkhead fans knew what he was capable of in advance.

Originally signed as a striker, McAdam made his Bhoys debut against their rivals from Ibrox when he came on as a sub in a 3-2 away defeat on September 10th on the day when Celtic had blown a 2-0 lead at half time.

Between September 1977 and December 1978 Tom scored a respectable 25 goals in all competions although by March 1979 he had lost his striker's position to a young George McCluskey. With four games left of the 78/79 season Billy McNeill was faced with a defensive crisis and on May 7th 1979 he tried Tom as an experiment at centre half against Thistle at Firhill. It was not a great start as Doug Somner scored against a hesitant Celtic defence after only three minutes but the Celts fought back strongly to win 2-1. Celtic won their remaining fixtures including the legendary 4-2 Rangers victory on May 21rst to become champions and Tom would stay at the back for the remainder of his career.

In 1979/80 he had an impressive season as sweeper, mainly behind Roddy MacDonald. He was now an established Celtic player although he was bitterly dissapointed at being booked against Partick on 26th April 1980 as it suspended him from the Scottish Cup Final victory against Rangers 14 days later.

He developed a good partnership with Roy Aitken from August 1980 as Aitken settled into a more defensive role. Tom was instrumental in the title wins of 1981 and 1982 although he was an under rated player who tended to face the brunt of any criticism after a defeat as some fans still viewed him as a striker. During this period Tom turned out aginst his brother Colin who was signed by Rangers in 1980. Tom generally came out in top of their confrontations although it was difficult to believe they were brothers, Tom an elegant fair headed player, and Colin a lumbering powerhouse forward with dark curly hair.

Tom was an under rated striker during his spell with Celtic and tends to be more fondly remembered by the fans for his time as a defender as this was during a more successful period. He had a wonderful game against Motherwell at Fir Park in October 1978 when he led Celtic to a 4-1 win with two goals, the first a flashing header and the second a crashing volley from distance.

On 10th April 1982 Tom was thrown up front again as make shift striker and scored in Celtic's 2-1 win. He had a wonderful scoring record against Rangers and scored aginst them on November 12th 1977 (1-1), September 9th 1978 (3-1), December 13th 1978 (2-3), September 19th 1981 (2-0), November 21rst 1981 (3-3), April 10th 1982 (2-1) and May 14th 1983 (4-2).

He had a magnificent game against Sporting Lisbon in November 1983, playing splendidly in defence and contributing the vital second goal in Celtic's memorable 5-0 victory.

By the 1984/85 season Tom was still centre half and had seen off challenges from Davie Moyes, Willie Garner and Pierce O'Leary for his position in the team. On May 18th 1985 he was centre half in Celtic's gutsy 2-1 victory over Dundee United and a few weeks later a packed Kelvin Hall roared it's approval as an emotional Tom took the stage as guest of honour of the Celtic Supporter's Association.

By late 1985 he had finally lost his place as the young defenders Paul McGugan and Derek Whyte came on the scene. He suffered criticism after Celtic's exit to Hibs in the League cup on penalties (after a 4-4 draw at the end of extra time) and, as Davie Hay began to look to his younger defenders, Tom eventually left Celtic Park in February 1986 when he was released on a free transfer. He had made 354 starts for Celtic and scored 48 goals.

He returned to Parkhead in June 1993 when he became a coach and during his time as coach his son, Steven, was on the books of Rangers as a striker. During Frank Connor's brief but successful run as interim manager between the departure of Liam Brady and the arrival of Lou Macari, Tom McAdam stepped up from the reserve team coaching to work alongside Frank Connor. The unbeaten run in that time is something he should be proud of.

Tom McAdam served Celtic well during his spell at Parkhead in both defence and attack and was a popular player in the successful late 70's-early 80's Celtic side.

Playing Career

Honours with Celtic

Scottish Premier Division

• 1978-79, 1980-81, 1981-82
  

Scottish Cup

• 1985

League Cup

• 1982-83

Pictures

• Player Pics