First the clenched right fist punched the air. Then it was both arms raised aloft as this legend in red wheeled away from the penalty box and charged back towards the halfway line. It did look as if he was about to launch into a solo, impromptu lap of honour. But, as his jubilant team-mates caught up with him, the distinctively-moustachioed skipper lost his balance, then his footing and tumbled on the turf.
It wasn’t a goal celebration which had spent much time on the drawing board or in the planning phase. It was, though, the greatest goal Willie Miller ever scored, clinching the last Scottish title won by neither Celtic nor Rangers. Sheepish is maybe the wrong word to describe Miller’s reaction to me bringing up the aftermath of that momentous equaliser against Celtic at Pittodrie in late April 1985. But the former Aberdeen captain would clearly have preferred that classic Dons goal to have been followed by something a little more stylish.
The Unforgettable Goal and Celebration
Miller laughs: 'I wasn’t exactly used to celebrating goals. If I could rewind the moment I would have been much calmer with my celebration. But it was just raw emotion. It was something special. As a defender you don’t rehearse things like that. I certainly look back and think I could have come up with something a little bit more impressive.'
Mighty impressive, though, was that successful Aberdeen title defence which, on the back of Dundee United’s league win in 1983, made it a three-year Old Firm shutout in the battle to pick up Scottish football’s big prize. And, although some imaginative number crunchers had still clung on to faint arithmetical hope that Davie Hay’s Celtic could catch Aberdeen at the top of the Premier Division, as it was at the time, that 1-1 Pittodrie draw, with two league matchdays to go, effectively sealed the deal.
As Ian Porteous swung in a 62nd minute free kick, the Celtic defence turned most of their attention to red-headed Alex McLeish and central defensive partner Miller made the most of his penalty box freedom to angle an equalising header past goalkeeper Pat Bonner.
Miller says: 'I treasure that moment. I sit beside Pat Bonner quite often, when we’re working as pundits on the BBC, and I like to bring the goal up, now and again, just to wind him up. My career was built on defending, tackling, dealing with strikers. I wasn’t particularly noted as a goalscorer apart from my loan spell at Peterhead when I was seventeen and played up front. So that was obviously an important one against Celtic that virtually wins us the league. It was the biggest goal I ever scored and it was definitely unusual for me to hit the back of the net. But it was history in the making. Back-to-back title wins and a third in six seasons.'
The New Firm Era and Financial Disparity
The success of the New Firm, as Alex Ferguson’s Aberdeen and Jim McLean’s Dundee United were known back in the Eighties, was a new chapter in the Scottish game. The football landscape had changed. Never before, and never since, had the title been kept out of the clutches of the Old Firm for three successive seasons.
'Unlike the way it is nowadays,' says Miller, 'it was close, financially, between the Old Firm and the other top teams in terms of what the players were getting paid. I had the opportunity in the early Eighties to go to Rangers and there was virtually no difference in the financial package I would have got compared to what I was already earning. It’s obviously changed dramatically since then. There’s a huge gulf now.'
That’s clearly what makes the Hearts story this season, and their bid today to boldly go where no Scottish team has gone since that Aberdeen triumph 41 years ago, a tale of the unexpected. When the Dons did the business in 1985 there was no element of surprise.
Aberdeen’s Dominance and Key Departures
'From the first title win under Fergie’s management, in 1980, through the next five years or so, we were looking to win the title, Celtic were chasing it and so were Dundee United. Remember, in 1983, after winning the European Cup Winners Cup against Real Madrid, Aberdeen were ranked the best team in Europe. So we were expected to, at least, challenge at the very top but, more than that, we were expected to win it because of where we were in the pecking order.'
What made the ‘85 win all the more impressive was the absence of key Aberdeen players. Gordon Strachan had been signed the previous summer by Manchester United, Mark McGhee had gone to Hamburg and Doug Rougvie had made the move to Chelsea. They also kicked off the campaign without injured pair Neale Cooper and Peter Weir. So that was half a team missing.
'When you lose important players it does have a big impact. But we still had the manager who was the most important person at the club and who’d turned the whole mentality around. He also quite liked changing players. He did it at Aberdeen, he did at Old Trafford where he made a lot of big calls. He had the belief that he could handle the changes no matter what anyone else thought about it. Fergie was still able to conjure up the magic and that went a long way towards winning that title.'
The Miller-McLeish Partnership
Another vital element in that success story was the biggest double act in club history. The Miller and McLeish rock-solid foundation on which Aberdeen’s greatest successes were built. And, with the likes of Strachan and McGhee gone, never were they more influential.
“Alex came in as a youngster when I was team captain and he just became more and more important. He became more vocal and more influential and eventually it became an equal partnership and, of course, an international partnership. Fergie knew he could trust us to be the mainstay of the team. And it stayed that way for a long time. The understanding we had was almost telepathic.”
Miller and McLeish are reuniting for a new podcast and putting on two live shows in Aberdeen this month to make their first recordings. 'I’m looking forward to catching up with the big man and taking a walk down memory lane. Some of the stories are incredible and there are plenty of them.'
Hearts’ Chance to Break the Old Firm Duopoly
One subject for discussion could be Hearts becoming the first team since the Dons of ‘85 to emerge from the shadow of the Old Firm and become Scottish champions. When Miller lifted the old trophy more than four decades ago could he have contemplated it would take so long for a follow-up?
'You would have thought that would be hugely unlikely and we probably thought those times would continue. But things changed. Fergie left Aberdeen for Manchester United in 1986 and Graeme Souness kicked off the Rangers revolution. Celtic eventually emerged from the troubles they were having. But I wouldn’t have imagined we would have waited this long for the prospect of another team interrupting the Old Firm domination.'
Whether it happens or not will depend on today’s showdown at Celtic Park. Hearts hope their title charge hasn’t been derailed by Wednesday night’s late, late penalty award to Celtic at Fir Park. Are there parallels between the Derek McInnes reaction to that big blow and how Miller’s old gaffer Fergie would have handled it?
'I think it’s important that your manager is strong on these occasions. You can’t get too wrapped up in the VAR controversy where you’re out of control because that has a negative effect in the dressing room. What you’re projecting is really important. Derek feels the world is against him and he has every right to feel that way. It was a hotly-contested decision in Celtic’s favour at Motherwell. The way to deal with it is to use it as a tool. You’re not getting any decisions from referees. I’ve heard it all before but it’s a good weapon to use and Derek is using it very effectively and hoping it has a big impact in the dressing room today.'
'I know it’s possible from my own experience. Use that siege mentality. You’ve got to be better than Celtic. Not just being as good as them even though a draw would do. You’ve got to be better. And if they are, they’ll rewrite the record books.'
Episodes of Miller & McLeish – The Podcast will be recorded at Aura in Aberdeen on the 26th and 27th of May. Tickets available at www.b4films.com/events
