Haunted by my chat with boss
Former SFA chief executive Gordon Smith is haunted by a conversation he had with Billy McNeill about heading the ball.
Ex-Rangers midfielder Smith played under Billy when the Lisbon Lions legend managed Manchester City in the 80s.
He was devastated to be told by Billy’s wife Liz of his old boss’s dementia diagnosis – and he believes heading the ball could be to blame.
Smith, 62, said: “I saw it coming on him about three or four years ago.
“Then I met him and Liz one day and she told me. She said he was getting worse and worse. It’s such a shame.
“He is Celtic’s greatest captain and he’ll always be held in the highest regard.
“His place in Scottish football history is guaranteed.
“When I was at Manchester City, Billy was my manager.
“I always remember him telling me, ‘Heading was a special part of my game. I used to practice every day getting the ball kicked down the field 50 or 100 times and I used to head it as hard as I could up the park’.
“Seeing Billy now, it haunts me a little him telling me that.”
Smith believes football has to pump money into dementia research. He said: “There’s definitely a link to the older players who have suffered from it on the basis that the balls were heavier in the old days.
“I’ve no doubt that a lot of the guys who played the game have suffered greatly, like Billy.
“There will be younger guys, even with the change of ball, who could be affected but I don’t think there’s any doubt that football had a big impact on the older generation.
“Some research is going into it at the moment – but not enough. I think we should be funding more.
“Football has a duty of care.”