On the morning of the League Cup Final in 1965, the headline writers had gone to some lengths to catch the attention of their readers ;-

100,000 Old Firm Fans Go on Trial

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Injuries?

George McLean won’t make final – Courtesy Daily Record

‘No problems’ seemed to be the news coming out of Parkhead that day and in his chats to the press, Jock Stein seemed to be quite happy with this squad’s progress, although his comments were fairly brief.

On the other hand, one star from Ibrox had a headline all to himself in the papers ;-

McLean is Losing Battle for Fitness

‘Despite a slight improvement in his ankle injury, George McLean has still not been able to kick a ball in training’.

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Willie Henderson fit for final – Daily Record

In the papers on the eve of the final, the headlines caught the eye;-

Willie Henderson Will Play

The good news for Rangers fans was that their right-winger had recovered from his muscle injury and would definitely play in the final. The not so good news was that George McLean was still having pain from his ankle and would miss out.

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Training

The Celtic players reported back for normal training today and everyone seemed to be fit and raring to go. There would have been a ‘buzz’ around the place and everyone would have felt buoyed up by the club’s appearance in the forthcoming League Cup final.

Certainly, that was the case in the evening, when the part-timers came in. As we had a match on the Friday night, the evening before the Cup Final, this would have been the only training session that week and I can still recall the lively debate, when, as soon as the coaching staff was out of the dressing-room, the players discussed the game and picked the eleven they would have chosen. Dare I say some catty comments were made about certain players…..and would it surprise you if I mentioned that the players in question played in the same positions as the ones making the comments!

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Praise

Both the morning and evening papers praised Celtic for the way they had risen to the challenge against Hibs the previous evening at Ibrox in the League Cup semi-final replay. I have already covered most of these comments in my report for the game. However, I could not resist showing one last headline which would have been very much to the liking of the management and players ;-

 Stein’s Boys Find the Killer Touch

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Another Night in the Stand

I had only been with the club for 8 months but I was getting used to big matches – or at least watching such games from the comfort of the stand. In the previous season of 1964-65, I had been at the semi-final and final of the Scottish Cup; now, in this season, I had already watched the semi-final of the League Cup and on this particular evening, I was at Ibrox for the replay. Thanks to the generosity of the club, I had a ticket for the South Stand, so if it rained, it would not bother me.

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There had been so much off-field drama about this match – should it be played at Ibrox or was Hampden a better choice? – that probably everyone involved with the two clubs was delighted when the day of the game dawned and the teams could get down to some action.

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The Birch before Christmas

A society dedicated to bringing back the birch has been formed in Scotland.

The Society for the Protection and Safety of the Public has been formed in Glasgow. A spokesman said: ‘The birch might make some of our more savage delinquents think again’.

‘Wrong Man’ Muddle at Cremation.

Only a few hours before she was due to attend his cremation yesterday, a widow was told: “Your husband was cremated four days ago…..in mistake for another man!”

50 mourners lined up for the funeral at Northwich, Cheshire but were told by the priest: “There has been a large mix-up. There will be no funeral service; just a short memorial service”

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The Man in the Middle

The Scottish League Management Committee announced that Hugh Phillips of Wishaw would referee the League Cup final on Saturday week between Celtic and Rangers.

Celtic’s next game was not till the 16^th October 1965, when the team would be heading for Falkirk, traditionally a place where the home side always rose to the occasion. In the days leading up to that match, however, quite a number of events caught the eye, both on the pitch and off it;- Continue reading →

Changes in the Scotland Team

In his other role as manager of the Scottish international side, Jock Stein announced that he would make four changes in the side to face Poland in a World Cup sectional qualifying tie at Hampden the following week. Only one involved a Celt, John Hughes being dropped in favour of Willie Johnston. Billy McNeill would captain the side from the centre-half position.

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