Celtic now returned to Glasgow to play the in-form Partick Thistle, who had delighted their supporters and “set Maryhill alight” (as it was somewhat exuberantly described) by beating Hibs. A larger Thistle support than had been seen for a long time appeared at Celtic Park to support the Jags, their yellow and red colours mingling agreeably with the green and white to lighten what was a rather dull, typically November day in Glasgow.
This game was a disappointing 1-1 draw. It was the first bad game for a while, and possibly a timely reminder that you don’t always get all the breaks that you perhaps feel you deserve. The team was still the same (possibly a change or two might have been, to advantage, made) but today they came up against tough opposition.
It is tempting to assume that this was one of the “parking the team bus” sort of games that one sees so often at Celtic Park, but this was not the case. Thistle took the game to Celtic, might have scored twice but for Ronnie Simpson, and for long periods in the second half were clearly the better team. Once again, Joe McBride was the Celtic goalscorer, this time sweeping home a Bobby Lennox cross. That was just before half-time, but ex-Celt Jim Conway scored for Thistle early in the second half.
It was generally agreed by the Press as being a good game, and of course, Partick Thistle supporters were over the moon at the result, but Celtic fans were not at all happy. News that Rangers were beating Falkirk 3-0 did not help the mood, but it hardly excused the boos that were heard at the end with even men like Billy McNeill and Jimmy Johnstone not exempt from such criticism.
It did mean that Celtic were now three points behind Rangers, but with only nine games played out of 34, it was hardly a terminal decline. It was indeed one of these setbacks from which lessons can be learned and did not really justify the overwhelming mood of depression which hung over the fans.
One man exempt from criticism in the eyes of the supporters was Ronnie Simpson, whose career showed absolutely no sign of coming to an end. He had been a hero in the Scottish League Cup final a fortnight ago, and now he stayed a hero.
A letter to The Celtic View suggested that it might be a good idea for John Fallon and John Kennedy, the other two goalkeepers, to stand behind Ronnie’s goal and learn from him! Yet he was from an unlikely background for a Celtic hero. His father was of course Jimmy Simpson, who had played for Rangers in the 1930s but who was now as committed a Celtic fan as anyone and very proud of his son who now had a Scottish medal to add to his English ones.
Ronnie’s love for the game was infectious and it was for good reason that he was called “Faither,” for he was never reluctant to share his lifetime’s experiences in the game with the younger and sometimes wilder elements.
He was the confidant of Billy McNeill, and a great source of strength to the other defenders in the side.
He also had a surprising relationship with John Fallon, whom he had ousted from the side. Often in such circumstances, the dispossessed, aggrieved party takes umbrage and even plots against his replacement, trying to unsettle him. Not so in this case.
John Fallon, a man whose love of the club took precedence over everything else, went out of his way to become friends with Ronnie. They sat together on the bus for away trips, exchanging tips and talking about today’s opposition and aspects of the art of goalkeeping, like the way to save penalty kicks, where to stand at corner kicks, how to throw a ball out etc.
There was a lovely picture of them embracing each other at the end of the Scottish League Cup final and the bond was clearly strong. They both shared the view (possibly mistakenly) that Jock Stein didn’t like them.
Certainly, it could be argued that Stein as manager of Hibs had been quite keen to unload Ronnie to Celtic, and John always felt that perhaps Jock didn’t trust him. It may be of course that Jock did not trust goalkeepers generally.
He had been captain of Celtic that awful day of the Scottish Cup final of 1955 when John Bonnar misjudged a corner kick and gifted Clyde a late equaliser – and his subsequent dealings with goalkeepers in the transfer market were far from satisfactory, in contrast with his dealings with strikers, for example, where he made four excellent buys in Joe McBride, Willie Wallace, Harry Hood and Dixie Deans.
But here in 1965, Jock Stein now decided that the goalkeepers were a breed apart and that they should be allowed to get on with it.
David Potter
A short extract from The Celtic Rising ~ 1965: The Year Jock Stein Changed Everything, published by Celtic Star Books and signed copies are available now, links below…
THE CELTIC RISING ~ 1965: THE YEAR JOCK STEIN CHANGED EVERYTHING IS OUT NOW ON CELTIC STAR BOOKS…
The Celtic Rising ~ 1965: The Year Jock Stein Changed Everything is out now. Click on the image below or above to order a signed copy from Celtic Star Books. If you prefer, The Celtic Rising is also available on Kindle via your Amazon account.
