The Eddie Turnbull Diaries
Part I
Welcome to a captivating journey through the pages of The Rise and Eventual Fall of Turnbull's Tornadoes by Tom Wright, where the spotlight falls on the remarkable life of Eddie Turnbull—a legendary figure in the world of football.
In this two part blog series we will be highlighting some of the fascinating stories from Eddie Turnbull.
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When Eddie Turnbull left Aberdeen after moulding them into League Champions, shock reverberated throughout the league. He would be the man who would lead Hibs into a new revolution, declaring: “I am ambitious and want the Hibs players to be the same.” He began to change his mentality into robustness and resilience, watching games from up in the stand, with a connection to the dugout, where he would be able to better tactically watch the game.
He gave players and staff respect by overhauling the strip system, older, shabby tracksuits replaced with personalised training kits and tracksuits, bearing a squad number. There was also an initiation of discipline, training now a chance for trainer Tom McNiven to vary the warm-ups and training sessions that were being put on, a world away from the repetitive sessions players were used to.
Season tickets had doubled with the announcement of his arrival, with results improving all the time, Hibs putting up a fight at Tynecastle for what could have been described as a drab and lacklustre derby, with few chances for either side.
However, late on in the game, Alex Cropley fired in a shot from 25 yards and Hearts keeper Jim Cruikshank turned inside out. Sub, Johnny Hamilton put the ball past the keeper once more, deep into the second half, securing a 2-0 victory. This was another part of the manager’s game, being able to make tactical changes, six of seven games seeing Hibs level at the half-time break, but pursuing a determined, hard-fought victory with wins in the second half.
At this time too, Turnbull had transitioned the team into an entertaining team to watch, catching the eye of the Scotland manager, six Hibs players now winning full International honours.
During this period, Hibs were described as ‘The Most Improved Side’, scoring 45 goals in the League and League Cup compared to the year before, of which they scored 41. Yet, the biggest change was in Hibs’ defensive record, only conceding 19 goals compared to the previous season's 36 goals.
Turnbull was setting in motion his key team, a set-up of Alan Gordon, alongside his strike partner Jimmy O’Rourke, with the wing prowess of Arthur Duncan on the left and Alex Edwards running down the right. Dominating the midfield was Hibs legend in the making, Pat Stanton with famed star Alex Cropley. Defensively with Herriot, Black, Blackley, Schaedler and right-back Brownlie, Turnbull’s team was about to become even more formidable…
Stephanie Centola
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Read more from Eddie Turnbull’s story in The Rise and Eventual Fall of Turnbull’s Tornadoes