Alan spent a year trying to play with a broken ankle
Clubs will take part in the now traditional rush to get players signed before the transfer window closes tomorrow night.
These days they’re all very careful to make sure the new recruits pass a stringent medical.
It was a lot more informal when Alan Munro was on the move in 1972.
The lack of a proper examination led to him playing only three matches in just over a year for three different clubs.
He recalled: “I was going well with Clydebank when Rangers manager Willie Waddell came to look at me.
“Unfortunately, that was the day I suffered an ankle injury and had to be substituted.
“That seemed to kill off any move to Ibrox, but Partick Thistle manager Davie Mcparland came in with an offer.
“I was Thistle’s most-expensive signing at the time when they paid £10,000 for me.
“They said I had torn ligaments at the time, and it would only take a little time to get fit.
“But things dragged on for months. I played one game and was then out for an extended spell.
“I was eventually sent to a specialist, and he showed me an X-ray of the ankle.
“It was obvious there was a big crack right through it. I’d been trying to regain my fitness by training on a broken ankle for six months.
“By the time it healed, Bertie Auld was manager and started bringing in his own men. “I think he thought: ‘ This guy never plays.’. Alan then had an extremely short spell at Dundee United, and recalled: “I signed for United on a Saturday morning in September, 1974, and played in a Dundee derby later that day.
“The game didn’t kick- off until 6.30pm to avoid clashing with the Leuchars Air Show.
“I was up front with Andy Gray and got the opening goal in a 3-0 win. Andy scored two.
“I only played one more game, a 3- 0 defeat at Hibs. Two months later, Alex Ferguson was signing me for St Mirren.
“Alex told me he couldn’t offer me a full-time contract, but he would get me a job and I could go full-time if they made it to the First Division.
“I was promised a job at Chrysler at Linwood but they then went on to a three-day week.
“I also had to wait for a house. Jim Mclean had insisted I move to Dundee and I was stuck there until St Mirren sorted me somewhere to live.
“They eventually got me a job with the local council, and Alex Ferguson got the team going.
“I had a couple of good seasons there, but Frank Mcgarvey then took over at centreforward and I was moved on.”
Clydebank was where it all started for Alan, and football was fun at Kilbowie.
He said: “Unknown to me, Tommy Docherty came up to Glasgow and tried to persuade my father to let me sign for Chelsea.
“But he didn’t want me going to London. He wanted me to get a trade.
“A lot of us were the same age coming through at the Bankies, and formed a great bond.
“Owner Jack Steedman didn’t know much about football tactics, but he tried to have an input into the team.
“One of his favourites was: ‘Keep the high balls high and the low balls low.’.
“Every penny was a prisoner at the club. “I remember a debate about a win bonus, and I suggested that instead of money, we should be allowed to dump the club blazer and flannels.
“Nobody wanted to be let off the bus in Clydebank and go for a night out wearing a blazer.
“Jack liked the idea, and after the game people started throwing the blazers in the bath. We then wondered what we were going to wear on the way home.
“When players turned up wearing jeans and wild T-shirts the next week, it didn’t go down well.”
Alan had a second stint with Clydebank, a spell with Queen of the South, and a season at Pollok Juniors before retiring.
Now 70, he works inspecting buses for MOTS.