Putting something together: Scotland vs England, May '74
While England endured walk-outs, Scotland's players were sailing away. Winger Jimmy Johnstone made the most of a champagne reception after their 2-0 win over Wales, and at dawn next day he had to be rescued from the sea.
In the build up to the Home Championship decider at Hampden in May 1974, it seemed like nobody could trust anybody.
Despite scoring against Wales, England's flamboyant forward Stan Bowles was substituted just after half-time of the next game, against Northern Ireland at Wembley. Humiliated, angry with manager Joe Mercer's restricting tactics, and sensing persecution from the boss who'd let him go from Manchester City, Bowles walked out. Two journalists who tried to ask him about it at a dog track were 'thumped' by two protectors, much to Bowles' regret; Mercer said he would never play for England again, and Bowles said that was the point: he didn't want to.
While England endured walk-outs, Scotland's players were sailing away. Winger Jimmy Johnstone made the most of a champagne reception after their 2-0 win over Wales, and at dawn next day he had to be rescued from the sea, where he'd taken a boat for what he claimed was a quiet spot of fishing. With the World Cup in West Germany just weeks away, Scotland's players were being warned that if they didn't behave, they wouldn't be going.