Boyhood dreams

Dazed and confused

Written by: Moxcowhite • Daniel Chapman
Artwork by: Eamonn Dalton
Two photos of Johnny Giles: on the left him smiling for the camera, on the right him showing off doing some kick-ups

Wednesday 1st April, 1970, was a disorienting day for everyone at Leeds United. Celtic were coming to town for the first leg of the European Cup semi-final, and for players like Billy Bremner, Eddie Gray and David Harvey, that was like a dream gone wrong. They were boyhood Celtic fans who, growing up and playing for Leeds, in another country and another league, had kept on being Celtic fans. And why not. The Lisbon Lions had won the European Cup in 1967, setting the standard that all British clubs had to follow. They had players like Jimmy Johnstone and Bobby Murdoch, and manager Jock Stein, who deserved admiration. It was the one club, and the one team, any of the Leeds players would have swapped for. Bremner and Gray never hid that never playing for Celtic was their one regret.

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