Our enormous thanks to John Hughes for spending time on the blog this morning. He was at Celtic throughout a very special time, making his anecdotes and stories all the more valuable.
Here’s an extract from his book, Yogi Bare, which is due out soon:
“Jock Stein and I didn’t always see eye-to-eye. I recall receiving a ferocious verbal volley after a game against Hibs at Easter Road in January 1968. My offence? I went to offer my condolences to their right-back Bobby Duncan in their dressing room.
Unfortunately, Bobby had suffered a broken leg when I slid it to try to block the ball. His ankle got caught up in my outstretched leg and he collapsed to the turf in obvious pain. It was a complete accident, I hasten to add. The conditions were slippy that afternoon and we just collided with neither of us able to pull out.
Unhappily, the defender had to be stretchered off and I felt sick. I never went out to injure an opponent; not once. Frankly, I wouldn’t have known how to, but I did know some players who were well versed in the black arts. No names. No pack drills. No lawyer’s letters! It just wasn’t the right-back’s day because he had also sliced a clearance into his net to give us a second minute lead.
Bobby Lennox added a second shortly afterwards and it was game over. But Bobby Duncan’s game, unfortunately, didn’t last until the ninetieth minute and I headed for the home dressing room as soon as the referee blew for time-up. I was concerned for the player who, although he was a gritty campaigner, was never dirty.
I mixed with the Hibs players and told Bobby I genuinely hoped he would make a fast recovery. He accepted my good wishes and I thought that was the end of it.
Suddenly, though, Colin Stein, who would later join Rangers, barged through his team-mates to have a go at me. He accused me of deliberately trying to injure Bobby. I wasn’t having any of that and told him to get lost. I didn’t stop to think I was actually in the Hibs dressing room.
The usual pushing and shoving ensued before I was thrown out into the corridor. Jock wanted to know what all the commotion was about. I gave him my version of events and he blew up.
‘What do you want to do that for?’ he bellowed. ‘It’s bad enough the boy’s got a broken leg, but you’ve got to go and make it worse!’ I protested my innocence, by which time he was in full flow. ‘What a daft thing to do.’ And so on.
I thought it had been a meaningful gesture from one professional to another, but Jock, clearly, disagreed. Sometimes you couldn’t win with that man.
Please don’t get me wrong. This is not a Big Yogi versus Big Jock chapter in my life story. I just want the supporters to be aware of the facts. For a start, I think he did me an enormous favour by pushing me out from centre-forward to the left wing.
I was happy enough in the central role, but Jock thought I could be more effective when I was taking passes on the half-turn. I would be off and running within seconds of the pass arriving at my feet. In the main striker’s role, though, I would often have my back to goal. Controlling the ball in those circumstances would add vital seconds onto the manoeuvre. A centre-half could be breathing down my neck, forcing me to push the ball back for a midfielder. At outside-left, though, I could skin a right-back if he got too close. And once I was away, there was no stopping me.”
You can order a signed copy of the book by clicking on the graphic to the right of the page.
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Good evening friends.
My, that was a looooooong mass there Ted….
Sooo whos everyones choice for player of the year?
KC?
VvD?
FF?
…or Kris boyd?
B-)
Candles lit for our Wee Hero. God bless Him. :-))
Weefra HH supporting and praying for Wee Oscar.
doc- it would have been easy for Paolo to repeat his first album,but 3 totally different records,an original artist ,and not too many of them about.HH
Bada Bing, yep, clever bhoy, good music all trough each album, and all different.
Kris Boyd has done really well this season and is worthy of a mention in the POTY list.
He has improved as a player and comes over quite well on the TV as well. He is being dismissed on here because he used to play for Rangers.
My own non-Celtic favourite is Gary MacKay-Stevens; a genuine talent but, like most wingers, inconsistent.
Celtic POTY? Hmmm…a very difficult choice.Probably Fraser Forster but I can`t see why Broonie has been excluded. The heart of the Celtic team and a much improved player.
JJ
Jungle Jim, Kris Boyd has improved, but in the best 4 players in the League?
I don’t think he is even close to that.
Agree about Paolo Nutini . A brilliant entertainer. He sings like a Tim 0:-)
JJ
Thoughts with Oscar….please have a happy Easter
THE EXILED TIM
19:51 on
17 April, 2014
RWE
I agree, I can’t for the life of me think that many would have voted for Boyd.
I will be very surprised if he doesn’t win it.
HH
TET,as the one and only Captain Mainwaring used to say”I think we are entering into the realms of fantasy here,Jones”.
All things said,he has had a decent season,but will not be in the first 3.
I think FF is a stick on,second choice Commons.
Doc
I genuinely think the best ten players have all been Celts but I think Boyd`s scoring record with a bottom six team justifies his inclusion.
JJ
PS Did Roy C find Yogi et al today?
Has to be kris commons surely
Jungle Jim, John Sutton at Motherwell has scored the same amount of goals, Niall McGinn at Aberdeen has had a good season.
KB has had a decent season, just don’t see him as a player who has played himself into that shortlist, but there you go, opinions.
Jungle Jim
21:25 on
17 April, 2014
Agree about Paolo Nutini . A brilliant entertainer. He sings like a Tim 0:-)
JJ
———————-
The last time I saw him in person was in The Craig Dhu in Paisley the night we gave them the League up in Inverness. Like me he wisnae happy.
The last time
There isn’t a player close to the same ability as VVD in the Scottish league
Imperious in defence and has scored some cracking goals….most of which I’ve benefitted from financially
JJ
I’ve seen Boyd in various shops around the town ….he is always mobbed by the young lads..always seems to give them his time and is very patient …comes across well tbh
Doc
Going to the pub before the fives rather than after will never catch on.
And some of those guys are very creative accountants. They lose a goal lead after two quick fire goals by you know who and then claim to be one up!
All they did was replace the minus with a plus. Had Craigy boy thought of that one they could have been £135m in the black.
Thanks again for today.
Stuck out in Rotterdam over the Easter weekend. I will try to sneak oot for the game on Saturday. Anyone else over here?
Just about to read back the Yogi Q & A. I remember his image on the cover of Playing For Celtic no. 9 leaving defenders in his squiggly wake!
Keep on keeping on, wee Oscar!
CQNrs
Would it be correct to say that the number of YES voters who wish to be separate from England is matched equally by a similar number who just want to be separate from Northern Ireland ?
Winning Captains, it gets even worse when the accountant plays, he can make you believe he’s right, when a second before you knew you had scored.
I had a blast today, great stories from John and Alex.
Winning Captains, I also had my camera today, didn’t take a single photo!!!
caught up in what was going on and totally forgot.
I also sent you an email about one of the CQteN prizes.
E-tims is worth a wee peek the nicht…………..
….as for the Tarbolton Scowler……he’s found his level……but
………… I fully expect to see him pull the costume on for the next line-up of the tribute act as they”get back to where they belong”……
……wee chic will get the ‘exkwooziv’ (Aye!)
I’ve got a lot of time for Kris Boyd. I remember he gave Kilmarnock his signing on fee when he joined our former rivals, currently in liquidation.
I think he has had a good season with Kilmarnock. I would be surprised if he wins it though. Kris Commons will probably get it.
So, if you can’t vote for anyone in your own team, does that mean the entire Celtic squad will have to vote for Boyd? That’s 25 votes straight away. Brilliant…..
Doc – thanks
Just saying to Karen that our youngest – who was born in 2002 will be 65 when we celebrate the centenary of Lisbon and he will be able to say I met and shook hands with some of the Lions. Willie Wallace, Tommy Gemmell and John Yogi Hughes. It will be some claim to fame for him on CQN on 25th May 2067!
Thought I would throw my tuppence worth into the POTY debate.
For me, wee Izzy deserves a mention, and I think I am correct in saying he tops the SPFL assists table.
Very much an unsung hero, and comes across as a nice guy
Turkeybhoy
There is no way on god’s earth that he is in the top handful of the best players in scotland.
We have no idea who has voted for who, and the cynic in me reckons the hun need a feel good story to keep them onside, hence Boyd in the mix, and going to the hun [ in principal ]
It would be Kris Commons for me, with VvD a close 2nd, and big Fraser 3rd, and Broonie 4th.
HH
Stein…….
Big FF for me…………..but I’m surprised Broonie doesn’t get a look-in…..Nial McGinn????
EmbdaeButBoydy CSC
We should get Kris Boyd at Celtic Park to lace Kris Commons boots for him..
Winning Captains, I will only be 100 then, born April ’67, and fully intend to join in the celebrations;-)
Starry
That’d be a big job for him ….not sure he’d be up to it
Starry, he couldn’t;-)
Lionroars 67,
Sorry about the late reply, had to get a kip for the nightshift.
I’m doing grand especially after the surprise I got after getting up tonight…my son was helping my cousin maclaff with hit flitting today, he mentioned I have a wee Celtic gift for the wee man…only a framed, signed shirt from Seville.
My bhoy and ghirl demands it hangs up in the living room, who am I to disagree :)
bankiebhoy1 22:08 on 17 April, 2014
“Stein…….
“Big FF for me…………..but I’m surprised Broonie doesn’t get a look-in…..Nial McGinn????”
Any of the three Celtic players would be worthy of it. I just have a feeling it will be Kris.
….PFayr supports WeeOscar
KB back to the swamp, David Murray on his way back, is it season ticket time over at the asylum??
Kev Jungle will be climbing the Beanstalk soon!
Just watched the happening in Ukrane, I ask myself, do any of the population have jobs? This has been going on for months, surely the country’s economy can’t suffer the lack of production from the workers, or am I missing something? Just a thought.
Weefra HH supporting and praying for Wee Oscar.
Commons, not Boyd.
doc
I’ll be 121, see you there kiddo. :-)))
Weefra HH supporting and praying for Wee Oscar.
On a more serious football note, I thought Izzy was tremendous this season and although Big Virg got a lot of headlines that Efe was also a stand out this year but Kris had has his best season probably of his career, well played Kris son..