18th November 1968 The guys who had played against Raith Rovers on the Saturday were given the day off. The Reserve team full-timers were in because the Reserve side had a match on the Wednesday, a Reserve League cup tie against Falkirk at Brockville. Tommy Gemmell was unsuccessful with his appeal against a caution in …
Read more “23rd November 1968: Partick Thistle v Celtic – League”
24th November 1968 There had been a family do the previous evening and I spent most of it with the males of the species, all of whom wanted to ask questions about the goings-on at Celtic Park, like how did I get on with such-and-such a player, what was Jock Stein really like and did …
Read more “27th November 1968: Red Star Belgrade v Celtic – European Cup 2nd Round 2nd Leg”
28th November 1968 No Rest Celtic Prepare for Hibs Everyone in for training this morning and as you might imagine, the atmosphere in the camp was excellent. It was quite a tough session too, as the Boss was a great believer in getting any stiffness from the game and the flight straight after the match …
2nd December 1968 The whole squad had the day off today and the papers had to try and concentrate on other matters, one of which involved me. I had been included in the squad for the World Cup qualifying match against Cyprus in Nicosia.
9th December 1968 Some of the guys were involved with the Scottish party getting ready for the World Cup tie against Cyprus; three were getting treatment at Parkhead; and the rest of us got the day off.
16th December 1968 All the players got the day off from training but there was plenty for the fans to read about in the press- What Could Maldini Think?
23rd December In for training after the draw with Kilmarnock the previous Saturday and in spite of Christmas approaching, Parkhead was not the happiest of places at that time. Of the 10 matches played since the beginning of November, we had won 7 and drawn 3, a record that might have regarded as excellent for …
30th December 1968 The reports from all the matches on Saturday were clumped together under the headline Urgh! Those Frozen Pitches
Morning of the Match There had been some discussions beforehand apparently among the managerial and coaching staff about just what to do before this match.
3rd January 1969 It was a bunch of fairly disheartened players who came in for training the day after the Rangers match. We were not only feeling low but also seething over the penalty decision by the referee the previous afternoon.