The Boss in a Rage
24 hours after the 1-0 win against Go-Ahead Deventer, Celtic manager Jock Stein, according to the papers, was still in a foul mood, as this headline might suggest;-
Stein Lashes Out As Celts Flop
While, in his other role, as manager of the Scottish national football side, he had even bigger problems;-
Disaster Night For Scots Caps
Crerand
Carried off (Man U v Helsinki)
Collins
Broken Leg (Torino v Leeds)
Up High
Britain’s tallest (and ugliest) building, the 620-feet Post Office Tower, which was inaugurated by the Prime Minister today, appears as a kind of exclamation mark against the London sky.
Leaving
Mr Ian Smith, Prime Minister of Rhodesia, left the cabinet room at number 10 Downing Street yesterday, shook hands with Mr Harold Wilson and Mr Arthur Bottomley, Commonwealth Secretary and turning to face reporters outside said “We have agreed to differ”.
Feeling Better
President Johnson of the USA yesterday underwent successful surgery for the removal of his gall bladder and within two hours of the operation, praised his doctors for doing a ‘splendid job’.
Visitors from the Capital
Next up in the league was Hearts, only a few days later. Frankly, the Jam Tarts were not good travellers, like many sides much better at home than away. At that time of the season, they were only a few points adrift of Celtic, yet they had good players – including future Celts in Chris Shevlane and Willie Wallace – and it was something of a mystery why they did not do better.
Obviously, the manager had not been happy with the performance against our Dutch visitors but would he regard that night as just a case of a side not fully rising to the challenge or one that needed some changes? To be perfectly honest, when a side is playing a two-legged European tie and is 6-0 up from the first leg – away – it is hard for the players to be truly up for the second game. They have already proved that they are the superior side; even on grounds of not belittling fellow professionals, it would not be surprising if they took their feet off the gas in any return.
Non-commital
Well, at the press conferences the day before the match against Hearts, Mr Stein was saying nothing, merely acknowledging that the chosen eleven would be announced shortly before kick-off.
However, one announcement that had us all wondering was when, as there was no second-team match on that day, all the reserve players were told to report to Celtic Park before the game. Were big changes in the pipeline? Or was it just an exercise designed to improve morale?
Change of Venue?
Neither Celtic – nor Hibs for that matter – had been totally enamoured with the choice of Ibrox for the League Cup semi-final tie. Naturally, as Rangers played in the other semi, favouritism had to be avoided and that match had to be at a venue away from the Light Blues home ground. However, both the Celtic and Hibs boards believed that that clash between their clubs should also have taken place at the national stadium, as it would give their players an exposure to the ground where they might have play in a final. Moreover, they argued, even on the grounds of equality, surely all the four clubs involved in the semi-finals should be treated equally.
So, Celtic put forward a proposal to the Scottish League that the venue for the semi-final replay should be switched to Hampden. They then had to wait………..