29^th August

Two days after Celtic had beaten Hearts and Rangers had lost 2-3 to Hibs, this announcement – or perhaps proclamation would be a better word – appeared in the Scottish press ;-

‘Training methods at Ibrox Stadium are to be completely overhauled and certain players may now have to work both morning and afternoon to stand up to the full 90 minutes of every match and still be full of energy’

This promise to the thousands of disappointed Rangers fans was given by Mr John Lawrence, Chairman of the club, in one of the most outspoken interviews he has given since he took over the role.

30^th August

Both yesterday and today, the players went through the usual training routines at Barrowfield, finishing with a game of two-touch involving the whole squad. All through my life since then, people have asked me what it was like to play against Jimmy Johnstone and the honest answer was that I did not know. The whole idea behind two-touch football is that everyone gets involved and there is a lot of passing. The one thing you don’t get is someone dribbling with the ball. So, when I was playing with Jimmy, placed in one of the best viewing areas in the stadium – right behind him – I could see that he put the fear of God into his opponents. But I was never in that category myself and could never answer that question of what it was like to play against the Wee Man!

The Scottish League team chosen to play against the League of Ireland at Parkhead ten days hence was announced that day. It was ;-

McCloy (Motherwell), Gemmell (Celtic), McCallum (Motherwell), Murdoch ( Celtic), McKinnon (Rangers), Clark (Celtic), McLean ( Kilmarnock), McBride, Chalmers, Lennox (all Celtic), Cormack (Hibs).

The journalists were rather surprised by the composition of the team, pointing out that there was only one player from Rangers and that Tommy McLean had been preferred to both Jimmy Johnstone and Willie Henderson.

I had obviously trained in the morning then went to see patients at the Dental Hospital in the afternoon. When I got home, though, Mum was in a bit of a panic. The Parish Priest had come round, hoping to find me home and when he found out that I was still at the hospital, he explained to Mum that he would like me to do something for him in a couple of months..

Mum was not good when confronted by authority; I knew that already. But she was really uptight that the Canon had asked me to do something for the church and kept asking me would I be able to do it and could I find the date into my diary? So far, she had not told me what this special thing was and when I eventually got the news out of her, I burst out laughing.

The Canon wanted me to judge the fancy-dress competition at the Womens’ Guild Halloween Party. Aye, Mum….I think I should be able to do that!

Disaster

Seven members of a Shettleston family – including two grandchildren – were burned to death today in Glasgow’s worst-ever house blaze.

Four other members of the family, trapped in the inferno at 12 Cobinshaw Street were rushed to the Royal Infirmary after leaping through shattered windows.

A senior Glasgow fireman wept as the bodies were carried out, saying “this is the worst family disaster I have seen in all my years in the service. It is heart-breaking!”

Less Smoke

With another major extension of a smoke-free zone planned for Glasgow, the Medical Officer of Health reported that the city is already a cleaner and more healthy place.

The Corporation’s Health and Welfare committee has agreed to bring Knightswood, Drumchapel and Blairdardie into the zone, adding another 150,000 houses.

Talent

Irene Tsu Bursts onto the silver screen

A new star and a new sex symbol has appeared on the Hollywood horizon. Her name is Irene Tsu and she plays the 2^nd female lead in the Fox production of ‘Caprice’, with Doris Day and Richard Harris.

The delectable Miss Tsu comes from Shanghai, which she hastily left at the Communist take-over in 1948, when she went to Taipei, on Formosa, with her parents.

Irene Tsu is warm and feminine, blessed with the looks of an exquisite Oriental porcelain doll. And a very sexy doll at that.

Morning of the Match
I arrived early at the ground, hopeful that I might make the role of substitute for the match and found very few there. Gradually, one by one, all the others came in, including the reserves, who had a Combined Reserve League match against Jordanhill College that afternoon.

The management must have been keen to give some guys a run-out, as it was a strong side which boarded the bus for the trip to the college’s ground in the west end of the city.

The chosen side was John Kennedy, Ian Young, Frank McCarron, Davie Cattenach, John Cushley, John Gorman, John Taggart, ‘Newman’, Jim Clarke, Lou Macari and John Hughes. Continue reading →

24^th August

Between the headlines in the press and the comments from the manager, the Rangers players took a bit of a pasting in the day following their 0-4 defeat at the hands of Celtic;

‘Rangers Failure’

 and

 ‘We Paid for Our Errors – Scot Symon’

Continue reading →

Pre-match

For those not listed among the 12 names for the Glasgow Cup tie, it was a case of training as usual on the Tuesday morning at Barrowfield. There was definitely a tension in the air among the coaching staff and it began to rub off on us too. We were all aware that, no matter how well Celtic did in the major competitions, a lot of fans put a victory over Rangers well up on the agenda. So, even though it was, in the eyes of many supporters, merely a Glasgow Cup tie, there were a number of others who just wanted a victory over the old enemy at any time.

Continue reading →

22^nd August 1966

The Glasgow Cup

The League Cup campaign was going well for Celtic and they were receiving good press for their efforts yet it was noticeable over the weekend that the prospect of an Old Firm contest – in this case a first round tie in the Glasgow Cup – brought on a definite edge to the coverage of the match in the press. The reporting was as unbiased as you ever get at a time like that but the main difference was the extent of the coverage, page after page of comment, features, assessments and possible outcomes. Continue reading →

Match Report

The Side

As expected, Jock Stein announced the same side as beat Clyde in midweek. One difference, though, was that Davie Cattenach was listed as the substitute instead of Charlie Gallagher. Continue reading →

Bertie-Bully Wee-ed!

18^th August 1966

The guys who played the night before against Clyde did a light session, the rest of us put in a full shift. And a full shift it was, with shooting the main subject of the morning. Although both first team and reserves had been winning, perhaps the number of goals scored was below the expectations of the management?

The papers said that Bertie Auld was carrying a slight injury from the Clyde match but it would appear that everyone would be fit for the next match. And the team for the Reserve League Cup tie against St Mirren at Love Street the following evening went up on the board. I notice that I have been moved back to fullback for this match. Continue reading →

The Opposition
Clyde had finished 11th in the league table the previous season with a record of

P    W     D    L     F    A.
34  13    4    17    62   64 Continue reading →

15th August 1966
Jimmy Johnstone had received an ankle injury in the first 50 seconds of the match against Hearts and had come in Sunday for some treatment. By Monday, he was feeling much better.
After training, Jock Stein said Continue reading →

The Morning of the Match

I reported early for the Reserve League Cup match at Parkhead, as I was feeling a little strained in a thigh muscle and I thought I would go out early and loosen it up.

Unfortunately – at least for me – as I arrived the first team squad was leaving for Tynecastle. It was always nice to see the lads, of course, but being about them and listening to the chat and so on just brought it home to me that I was not in the first team at that time. It was what they call in fiction a ‘bittersweet moment’ and it did not help my mood.

Continue reading →