Page 14, April 1, 1979.- Sunday News

_

‘Willie Johnston is in Vancouver, the Whitecaps
have him and, from Willie, we have the official,
authorized (by Johnston) version of ‘what hap-_

Yes, he took a couple of

tablets of something called
Reactivan. because he had a

- cold and was feeling low.

The. product is freely
available. on drugstore (that
is, chemists’ shops) shelves
in the UK for use, he said, “if
you're feeling low from from
‘flu or other illness...

“I played the: game—or at
least I was on the park—and
when ‘it was -over Kenny

-Dalglish and I had to take
the drug test. I failed it, was

suspended and sent home.” —

_ "He says he’ took the tablets. “His,

sulting ~ the “team. " medical -

staff. “However, from: other...

sources’ ‘one learns that he .
‘took ‘them -only- after a-
doctor accompanying | the
Scottish international side to
the World Cup competition,
but not .a member of the
medical staff, told him it
would be alright.

As a result Johnston
caught all the flak and

_ pened last June in Argentina.

became. the virtual
metaphor, not to mention
scapegoat, for Scotland's
spectacular failure -in

The Scottish Football

Association suspended him
for life from further in-

ternational competition.

- This was more cosmetic than
real, for at 32 he didn't figure

‘to play again for Scotland i in

any case.

- And he was suspended for
one year, the season: now
ending, from play iif Europe: as

_ Engiish .League:

last season ‘by the English -

‘Football . Association for’.

inclusion in 1978-79 EUFA

{European Union of Football

Associations) Cup play.
decided to phase him out in
favor of more youthful help
on left wing.

- Why use Johnston
regularly in league play, if he
had to be dropped every,

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‘by Jim Kearney

‘club,..
West ‘Bromwich; having”
-been nominated af the end of |

ie Johnston version

time the. team went ‘into
-Europe? Again his age, 32,
was a factor. As it happened,
West Brom reached the
quarter-final. and was
knocked out by Red Star of
Belgrade, just a few days ago.

Because he was spending
much of his time in the
reserves and playing only
occasionally on. the (first
team, Johnston had been
seeking a transfer for most of
the season. And for most of
-the season West Brom
declined to accomodate

-But last" month, with the
, the.team -

“and: with: Httlechance “of? ~ He certainiy should be oue-=.

; unlikely hero: ‘Aian Hinton.

‘Johnston | “opted | for
‘Vantouver, he says, largely

-"because of the unfortunate

Argentina business and
because the money was

right. .

Unlike. North, American .

pro sport, in UK soccer the
player involved in a pending

trade must become part of

the negotiations. He sits at,
the table, too, and becomes
part of the bargaining.

He -can't be arbitrarily
assigned to a team he doesn’t

_ wish to play for. Neither can

his contract. be assigned.

Once a transfer to another
team has be¢n made, his new
employer°must hammer out
a new deal with him. In
other words, the player is
regarded asa Person, not a

commodity. ©

Undoubdtedly, there’ s
another reason he chose to

leave the UK. The North -

American League may be

- improving every season, but

it’s still not up to the level of
Division One play in

England. A 32-year-old who .

may have lost half-a step-

~ figuresto exténd his career a.

‘from third” to” “NASe, ‘better ‘players-in the -

‘ moving: up.
overhaul :. first = ‘place ~N

Liverpool, "he. ‘became.
available:. =

facing relegation
hopeful that Johnston could
be the means of preventing
the slide into Division Two;
and the Whitecaps, seriously
_in need of an experienced

ATHLETIC
FOOTWEAR

L. this: season; “a: fiesty, -
clever’ little guy -wito in “10° -

; ' Sway”. will: remind you. of a
The contenders | “soon

into the. penalty area. Willie
challenges the fullbacks and
tries to take the ball around
them before making the
play.

If he has a big season here,
part of the crédit should

ATHLETIC FOOTWEAR

1454 Marine Orive, West Van

926-4612

(across from McDonald's)

‘two -
_Championship tournaments,

World Cup bid in such a-

- casual, if not downright

careless, manner.

By all accounts, it was
very much a _ looseleaf
operation, doomed to failure
from the start. Nobody even

bothered to scout the hotel ©

accomodation (it was poor)
ahead of time, let alone with
opposition. .
‘With proper preparation,
the Scots likely: would have
had a much better World

Cup run and Johnstoa would ©
-have had it impreSsed, in-

delibly, on his consciousness
by the team medical staff
that
absolutely verboten..

Your agent accompanied

the Canadian team to the last |
World Hockey

where the same list of 400
forbidden
plied. The team doctors had
the players so brainwashed
they wouldn't take as much

- asan aspirin before checking

it out.

‘go to- . the “pegple ws
who: -organized - Scotland's ;

self-medication was |

substances ap--

“Phe: ‘tutf he took certainly —
_ wasn’t designed to help him. .
‘jump 10 feet into the air or
run. the’ length of the pitch in
eight. ' seconds. flat.. Its
stimulative power was the |
equal of about four Cups: of .
coffee.

A pharmaceutical manual
lists Reactivan as a relief for .
fatigue and depression
following debilitating illness.
Its principal in, ts are-
Vitamins B 1,B6 and B 12.

However, . there. ‘also. is. a-
-minute amount of something
called fancamfanim, -which
is described as a. central
nervous system stimulant.
That's what turned up in the
urine test and earned Willie
headlines around the world.

“I didn’t feel it would be
difficult to get Willie for the:
Whitecaps,’’- winked.
manager Tony Waiters at
Johnston’s first mecting with
the media here, “once I told
him that: Vancouver is - the
drug centre of Canada.”

Not only does Willie have
talent, he has a pretty. good .
sense of humor. He woke
out a big smile.

” Seymour Golf, Country. ¢ club

. Still has a few memberships .
available i in Men’s Full Play category.

For information please phone:

. The Pro
929-2611

For

_ The Office
929-5491

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