Jungle Days: Supporting Celtic in the 1980s by John Wight – Review

By Karl Hornsey

There can be few more brutally honest and passionate football books than this offering by John Wight which, as the title suggests, is a deeply personal take on what life what like supporting Celtic during the turbulent decade of the 1980s. This is more than just another run through of season after season for one of the most known football clubs in the world, but an insight into the level of passion involved and the fact that, for Celtic fans, their club means everything, absolutely everything, to them.

Wight started the decade still a teenager, but a teenager growing up very quickly and surrounded by any number of characters, whom we get to know as he spares no details in describing their matchday experiences and how life in 1980s Edinburgh was for those involved, including having to make the regular journeys over to Glasgow for matches.

This is as much an account of a pivotal decade in which the whole of the UK, and Scotland particularly, changed so much, and Wight’s trenchant views on the Thatcher government and the establishment in general make reading this book worthwhile on their own. Turning from child to adult during the ‘80s left such a mark on the author that his views are still as strongly held to this day, and some of his opinions are not for the faint of heart.

“Great depth”

While Celtic were top dogs on occasion during the decade, it was also an interesting period for Scottish football as a whole. The national team, despite consistent failings in World Cup finals, featured several world-class players who contributed hugely to the success of their clubs both north and south of the border, but the emergence of Aberdeen, Dundee United and Hearts challenged the duopoly of the Old Firm that had existed for so long.

Throw in the fact that Rangers then started to build a team that would go on to dominate for so much of the following decade, then being a Celtic fan was a rollercoaster ride, and again, Wight doesn’t pull his punches when discussing those in charge behind the scenes at Parkhead.

The historical element of Celtic’s role in people’s lives is also examined in great depth, especially in the context of The Troubles that were such a defining and horrendous factor of the 1980s, and for those thinking that politics and sport shouldn’t mix, then this account demonstrates that sometimes that luxury cannot be afforded.

This is a fascinating book, even for the non-football follower or non-Celtic fan, because of the other societal areas it covers, and a sequel from the ‘90s would also be of interest, as Wight moves properly into adulthood and what would be another trying decade for Bhoys fans.

‘Jungle Days: Supporting Celtic in the 1980s’ by John Wight is published by Pitch Publishing

Karl Hornsey( Writer )

Karl’s love of writing was piqued at the age of eight, when he won a Blue Peter badge in an essay-writing competition. The location of said badge might be a mystery now, but the memory never fades. Hours spent writing about sport as a teenager, in pre-internet years when you had to make your entertainment, honed his skills, and Karl has worked in TV and radio listings at PA Media for 28 years, and the age of hybrid working means 50% of that can be at home listening to Classic FM and thinking about his next visit to his beloved Yorkshire Dales.
@KarlHornsey, hornskar

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