25^th October 1966

There were contrasting reports about the form of the League Cup Final combatants

after their Monday night matches.

The Rangers one was in the big headlines;-

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17^th October

The morning papers quite rightly stressed that on the previous Saturday it had been a case of Celtic successfully dealing with an Airdrie defence determined to hold them out ;-

Celts Beat Airdrie Curtain

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The Opposition

Airdrie were doing well this particular season. They were sitting second in the league and would be up against Celtic twice in a few days, on this Saturday –in the league – and again on the Monday evening in the League Cup semi-final. Manager Archie Wright had put together a good squad – in spite of the players having reverted to part-time status – and they would have been fired up to face the league leaders.

The Teams

I was a bit disappointed when I saw the team sheet. Bobby Murdoch had dropped out and the Boss had re-shuffled things by giving Ian Young a run out at right-back, with Tam moving to left-back and Willie O’Neill in midfield. It was a sign that I had dropped down the pecking order a bit and was also a kick up the backside that I would need to get my fitness back again and push for a place.

Celtic:  Simpson, Young, Gemmell, Clark, McNeill, O’Neill, Chalmers, Lennox, McBride, Gallagher, Hughes.  Sub: Johnstone

Airdrie: McKenzie, Jonquin, Keenan, Goodwin, Black, Ramsay, Ferguson, McPheat, Marshall, Murray, Phillips.   Sub: Irvine

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11^th October

As the first team prepared for the first of two games in quick succession against Airdrie, first in the league at Celtic Park and then in the semi-final of the League Cup, reflections in the press were about how comfortable the win over Queen’s Park in the Glasgow Cup semi-final had been, with two-goal Joe McBride getting a special mention;-

 McBride ‘Double’ Caps it for Celtic

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Pre-match

This was a difficult match for the Airdrie manager to assess, particularly in his choice of tactics. On the previous Saturday, when the teams had met in a league match at Parkhead, Archie Wright had set up his team to play a defensive set-up, trying to frustrate Celtic and hoping to catch them out with the occasional quick breakaway.

This ploy had been only partially successful, as the scoreline of 3-0 might suggest. The Diamonds did make some chances but did not take any of them and eventually, their defence was broken by the Celtic attacks. The decision for Archie on the Monday night was should he ask for a repeat of the same tactics or, considering that the match was a League Cup semi-final, should he set up his side to be more attack-minded. The Airdrie fans would like to see a more attacking style but unfortunately, such a system does leave a team more open at the back. The great difficulty for any side is balancing the two requirements. Continue reading →

There were 17,000 at Celtic Park on a Monday night for this semi-final of the Glasgow Cup. The Boss had asked all the first-team pool to report for the match – we did not get fed on such a night- but in the end, he made very few changes to the side which had beaten Hibs so convincingly on the Saturday, only bringing in Ian Young at right –back and Bent Martin in goal. Charlie Gallagher also got a start.

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10^th October

This match was played only two days after Celtic had thrashed Hibs in the league at Easter Road, a feat recognised in the headlines and acknowledged in the reports ;-

Celtic Take Clear Lead in League

 Celtic’s Superb Display

You Have to Hand it to Stein

‘This was magnificent Celtic – a Celtic obviously intent on crushing the Hibs challenge with sheer football played at tremendous speed. But, in my opinion, most of the credit for the wonder display goes to Jock Stein. 

Before the game, Jock appeared on the Easter Road pitch and prodded practically every yard of it with his feet. Then he decided it was ready-made for the type of play Joe McBride can provide and straightaway McBride, out of the team against Zurich, was back in’.

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Morning of the Match

Celtic Park was a busy place that morning. The first-team with the manager, coach and physio were all getting ready to leave for Edinburgh and they would have a bite for lunch somewhere on the outskirts of the capital, like the Norton Hotel just along from the airport. Their bus would have left around 11am.

Then, two hours later, another group of players arrived. This was the Combined Reserve team which had a fixture against Jordanhill College. This would normally have been played at Barrowfield but surprisingly, the match was to go ahead on the main pitch at Celtic Park. Nice one! It is always a good surface to play on.

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6^th October

The Celtic party returned from Switzerland with only Bertie and Chopper carrying injuries, although they seemed to be slight ones. The press were keen to carry on with the story about Jock Stein’s 43^rd birthday present, with one paper describing it as –

Stein’s Super Present

While those who had travelled for the second leg of the tie got the day off, the rest of us were training as usual, as there were two matches for the reserve squad coming up over the weekend and everyone – including me – was keen to get a chance to show what they could do Continue reading →

3^rd October

Five players were called to Celtic Park for a special training session today before setting off for Zurich – Hughes, Murdoch, O’Neill, McBride and Clark.

They were not injured, as manager Jock Stein told the press at the airport : Continue reading →