On the morning of the 5th sectional match for Celtic in the League Cup, the big headlines in every paper were from Ibrox ;-
Willie Henderson Shock for Rangers
I WANT AWAY
‘Rangers manager Scot Symon confirmed that the Scottish international had asked for a transfer and that his case would be dealt with by the Board as quickly as possible’.
Among other incidents to catch the attention was ;
A Dream Could Come True
Crackshot Willie Wallace of Hearts was given a job yesterday which may lead to his dream of World Cup fame coming true. He was named as centre-forward in the Scottish League team to face the Irish League at Ibrox next week.
At Parkhead, once again Jock Stein had some problems to consider when picking his team, although, compared to other managers, his problems were slight. The team had now won two consecutive matches, scoring 7 goals while losing none, so major tinkering was out. The defence at the time was picking itself – Fallon, Young, Gemmell, Murdoch, McNeill, Clark – and in the forward line, there appeared to be, unlike other clubs, more than enough talented challengers to fill the jerseys.
Jimmy Johnstone and Stevie Chalmers were vying for the outside-right position; it was John Divers or Charlie Gallagher at inside-right; Chalmers, Hughes or Joe McBride were the possibles at centre-forward; and for the forward positions on the left, Bobby Lennox, Bertie Auld and Big Yogi were all in the frame.
To make his final choice, Jock Stein, like any other manager, would have taken into account a number of factors, like the state of the pitch ( like racehorses, some players do better on soft ground, others like it firm), the weather (some players do not like the rain etc), current form, who plays best with whom, whether anyone, while ostensibly fit, was also carrying a slight knock and even their performances in the past against the players in the opposition side.
The Boss would have been well aware that he and his players were under some pressure. The fans had been delighted when the team had lifted the Scottish Cup the previous season but that had merely tickled their appetite for more success. The League Cup had not been seen in the Celtic Park boardroom since 1957, when that wonderful win over Rangers at Hampden had sent Celtic supporters everywhere into raptures. Now, they would like to see it back again and were relying on Jock Stein and his players to do the necessary. And, in that era, when contact between player and fan was much more prevalent, the support was not slow in putting that message across!
The Brazilians In Action?
On the morning of the match – and this was a rare event – the reserve team game on this day in 1965, also against Motherwell, nearly received as much attention. The reason, of course, was the possibility of seeing the Brazilians in action for the first time.
The reserve team match was also against Motherwell, this time at Celtic Park but whether Inacio and di Sousa played was up to whoever picked the side. The good news was that the required permits for the players had come though. The final message in the papers from Celtic Park merely said that the two Brazilians ‘were available’.
An Unhappy Man
Doug Millward, St Mirren’s new manager, was an angry man. At his pre-match press conference, he told journalists “I think it is extremely odd that I am banned from playing my Brazilian – Fernando Avezado – when he arrived not only on the same day but on the same aircraft as the Celtic players!”
Also in the news today;
A Scot Slides Sideways
Spectators gasped in shock as Jim Clark’s car went out of control three times in the main race at Brand’s Hatch yesterday.
Trouble in the Cow Palace
Some girls were injured and a special guard was knocked cold yesterday as the Beatles performed in the Cow Palace, San Francisco. Paul McCartney pleaded with the audience to calm down. “Things are getting dangerous, he warned.
Number One
The Beatles record ‘Help’ climbed to number 1 position in the poll of the show-business ‘Variety’ this week.