Author: Jim Craig

6th January 1969 This was a nice day for all the troops, neatly summed up in one of the evening papers –

13th January 1969 The headline and comment in one of Monday’s dailies after the Aberdeen match was right on the button –    That Celtic Gold -Mine! ‘This was a triumph of teamwork by a Celtic side confident in their own ability and that of their colleagues’.

20th January 1969 For most of the guys in the squad, this was a week of some light training which meant, at this time of year, some sprints, some shooting practice and some tactical innovations. The hard work to get fit had all been done already; from now till the end of the season, it …

Read more “25th January 1969: Partick Thistle v Celtic – Scottish Cup 3rd Round”

27th January 1969 The draw for the next round of the Scottish Cup came out as – Motherwell/Clyde v Celtic/Partick Thistle              Rangers v Hearts Dundee United v Ayr United                                        Stranraer v Morton East Stirling v St Johnstone                                          Airdrie v St Mirren Aberdeen v Dunfermline                                              Montrose v Kilmarnock

30th January 1969 We were all in for training that morning but the session was a very limited one, really designed to take the stiffness out of our legs rather than anything else. Naturally, after an 8-1 victory the previous evening, everyone was in a good mood but when I bought a copy of one …

Read more “1st February 1969: Celtic v Hearts – League”

3rd February 1969 Nine of the squad – including myself – were in the Scotland pool of players who had undergone a day of light training down at the Centre on the Clyde coast on Sunday 2nd February. The session was based mainly on organisation – both in defence and in attack – and some …

Read more “12th February 1969: Clyde v Celtic – Scottish Cup”

13th February 1969 After a 0-0 draw against Clyde in the Scottish Cup, all of us might have thought that we would receive a bit of criticism in the press but, in actual fact, the opposite was the case. We were actually praised for our play on what was admittedly a very frosty and rutted …

Read more “19th February 1969: A.C. Milan v Celtic – European Cup QF”

20th February 1969 It was a pretty satisfied Celtic party that made the trip back to Glasgow the day after the match against A.C. Milan – apart from me! I had taken a heavy blow to my right knee in the second half and although I was able to finish the match, it stiffened up …

Read more “24th February 1969: Celtic v Clyde – Scottish Cup Replay”

25th February 1969 The reports in the press informed us that Jinky had volunteered to play against Clyde in last night’s Scottish Cup replay at Parkhead although he was suffering from an ear infection.

3rd March 1969 There was an eye-catching headline in one of the morning dailies –   Stein  Fixed Cup    Saints Before Match