I'm not justifying Rangers not quite so mysterious tax affairs reference the payments of players however we do have a tendency to castigate ourselves as the only nation that suffers scandals,mishaps, disasters and stramashes.
The world's self proclaimed biggest club Barcelona were nobbled by the Spanish Government in 1987 for tax evasion in paying the players. A club so big that they claimed the money back from the players. This resulted in a players strike.
An oft heard phrase in phone - ins is 'We must be the laughing stock of the world!' If only anybody cared!!
Gretna, Airdrie and the shenanigans of 3 football authorities are not news in Burnley never mind Berlin.
Belgium and Austria have seen their share of clubs going bust.
I can only imagine that when we play abroad, club or country we are not respected, despite what their Manager may claim in media interviews.
We are now a nation with one well known player, & he is injured. We are in a not disimilar position like all the wee diddy nations who have one or 2 players in the Bundesliga, of which we have none. The French League? they may distantly remember Mo Johnstone!
I long for the day when we are mentioned as a nation of skillful, technical players.
Barcelona have used St Andrews as a training camp, Largs is still used as source of coaching courses.
Other than that, not a lot.
Shame!
Wednesday 28 March 2012
Tuesday 27 March 2012
Did the ball move?
What an atmosphere! 8000 Scots in Wembley, outnumbered for once and to be honest we travelled with a modicum of hope & yet, & yet. We had a better record at Wembley than at Hampden. This was Euro '96 & football was coming home. Not home that is to the home of the first international, that home was a cricket ground in Glasgow.
But at half-time we were the better team & almost as important we had the better half-time sing song.
England had a brief period of good play in the 2nd period & scored courtesy of Shearer.
We were back in the game. The board was up to get Gazza off, & to be honest he was rubbish that day.
Penalty. Score this & we would get another, surely.
Mcallister as captain takes the spot kick *+& the ball moves. It shimmers and shakes. I saw it, I was in the front row behind the goals. We miss & Gazza scores a beauty one minute later.
Uri Geller claims the credit for moving the ball. I blame God & he / she does us another disservice a few days later at Wembley, a Dutch goal through Seaman's legs.
The ball moved, I saw it.
England 2 - Scotland 0.
But at half-time we were the better team & almost as important we had the better half-time sing song.
England had a brief period of good play in the 2nd period & scored courtesy of Shearer.
We were back in the game. The board was up to get Gazza off, & to be honest he was rubbish that day.
Penalty. Score this & we would get another, surely.
Mcallister as captain takes the spot kick *+& the ball moves. It shimmers and shakes. I saw it, I was in the front row behind the goals. We miss & Gazza scores a beauty one minute later.
Uri Geller claims the credit for moving the ball. I blame God & he / she does us another disservice a few days later at Wembley, a Dutch goal through Seaman's legs.
The ball moved, I saw it.
England 2 - Scotland 0.
Monday 26 March 2012
In these days of austerity, days when a Scotland team plays, probably more than once, and probably again no doubt, with no forwards, it is hard to believe that we used to give such abuse to some really good players. Really good ones that is!
Take for example Stevie Archibald. 27 caps, 4 goals. Star of Aberdeen, a really good Aberdeen team that is. Star of Tottenham Hotspur of the London variety, which included Ossie Ardilies, Hoddle etc.
And to top it all he played for Barcelona in a European Cup Final.
Many a time he was given pelters from the terracing. He played in 2 world cups for goodness sake.
He got a right good shiriking from the tartan beclad fans.
I bet you he is still fit. If he has boots he could still get a game, maybe not for Scotland that is as we don't play centre forwards anymore.
But Stevie we are often short on Fridays in Alloway. Astro turf boots mind you.
See you there. 7.00 sharp for a 7.15 kick off, mostly.
Take for example Stevie Archibald. 27 caps, 4 goals. Star of Aberdeen, a really good Aberdeen team that is. Star of Tottenham Hotspur of the London variety, which included Ossie Ardilies, Hoddle etc.
And to top it all he played for Barcelona in a European Cup Final.
Many a time he was given pelters from the terracing. He played in 2 world cups for goodness sake.
He got a right good shiriking from the tartan beclad fans.
I bet you he is still fit. If he has boots he could still get a game, maybe not for Scotland that is as we don't play centre forwards anymore.
But Stevie we are often short on Fridays in Alloway. Astro turf boots mind you.
See you there. 7.00 sharp for a 7.15 kick off, mostly.
A discussion yesterday just before the Friday evening 7's, or 7 against 6 as it is occasionally and sometimes 7 against 8. Which game did Jim Baxter nutmeg Jimmy Armfield of England? Peter got it wrong I fear, not the 1964 1-0 game in which Alan Gilzean scored a headed winner, no it was the glorious 1962 2-0 victory. Davie Wilson scored the first in the 13 min. and the great Eric Caldow clinched it with a penalty with 2 minutes remaining on the clock. A crowd of 132,000 went mad celebrating Scotland's first home win against the Auld Enemy for 25 years.
The annual home internationals were the high point of the international season and a victory against England was sweet especially as we had the misfortune of losing 9-3 the year before. An old friend of mine who was at Wembley that day blames the hapless and hopless Frank Haffey only for the first 8 as he is to this day convinced that Robert Smith's unjust 9th goal for England was not only offside, not over the goal-line and followed a foul throw in 55 minutes earlier in the game.
The 1962 squad was possibly the best ever to play for Scotland and lost to the great Czechoslovakia team in the World Cup Qualifiers in a play off in Brusselles after extra-time. They were a year later to reach the final of the World Cup losing to Brazil and we were to rue the best chance we had of doing something.
Badly organised that squad certainly were. Talented no doubt about it.
Baxter did nutmeg Armfield and passed the ball to a Scottish player who did not break stride.
The annual home internationals were the high point of the international season and a victory against England was sweet especially as we had the misfortune of losing 9-3 the year before. An old friend of mine who was at Wembley that day blames the hapless and hopless Frank Haffey only for the first 8 as he is to this day convinced that Robert Smith's unjust 9th goal for England was not only offside, not over the goal-line and followed a foul throw in 55 minutes earlier in the game.
The 1962 squad was possibly the best ever to play for Scotland and lost to the great Czechoslovakia team in the World Cup Qualifiers in a play off in Brusselles after extra-time. They were a year later to reach the final of the World Cup losing to Brazil and we were to rue the best chance we had of doing something.
Badly organised that squad certainly were. Talented no doubt about it.
Baxter did nutmeg Armfield and passed the ball to a Scottish player who did not break stride.
Any mention of Jim Baxter & it is all too easy to conjure memories of the keepie up at Wembley 1967 & that short period of mastery over England, an all too brief spell as World Champions. A month later the crown passed to The USSR with a 2-0 defeat in a Hampden friendly. The England game itself was a qualifier for the 1968 Euros and our quest for glory was effectively ended that October in a 1- 0 defeat in Belfast. Slim Jim already passed his prime played only one more time for his country at home to Wales with a 3-2 victory.
A Fifer who started his career at East Fife he was quickly bought by Rangers after a starring performance against them. His class ,confidence and style along with arrogance quickly endeared him to the Scottish football public, Celtic fans included, except in Old Firm games I would guess. A classy left foot which sprayed the ball around the pitch he had joined a good Rangers team who were to win many trophies. He had of course an impish sense of humour and was so indispensable to the Gers that his bar tab was paid by the club at the St Enochs Hotel. It was indeed a legendary bar tab. His leg break in Europe was a turning point and he had a poor career in England.
A 1960 debut against N Ireland , 34 caps followed and 3 goals including 2 against The Auld Enemy. His greatest performance was however in the 1963 2-1 victory in London. The Wembley pitch was made for players such as Jim and there is a story that in the closing minutes he approached the goalie Bill Brown and advised him that:
A Scottish fitba hero & one we will never see again. We however won nothing with Jim nor with any of that great squad of players.
A Fifer who started his career at East Fife he was quickly bought by Rangers after a starring performance against them. His class ,confidence and style along with arrogance quickly endeared him to the Scottish football public, Celtic fans included, except in Old Firm games I would guess. A classy left foot which sprayed the ball around the pitch he had joined a good Rangers team who were to win many trophies. He had of course an impish sense of humour and was so indispensable to the Gers that his bar tab was paid by the club at the St Enochs Hotel. It was indeed a legendary bar tab. His leg break in Europe was a turning point and he had a poor career in England.
A 1960 debut against N Ireland , 34 caps followed and 3 goals including 2 against The Auld Enemy. His greatest performance was however in the 1963 2-1 victory in London. The Wembley pitch was made for players such as Jim and there is a story that in the closing minutes he approached the goalie Bill Brown and advised him that:
- He planned to score a hat-trick
- If in the final minute the score remained 2-0 he would score an own goal.
A Scottish fitba hero & one we will never see again. We however won nothing with Jim nor with any of that great squad of players.
Tartan Scarf
The trend for wearing kilts started in earnest not at Euro '96 but at France '98, the World Cup where we made our customary 3 game appearance and our early journey home was in no footballing way detrimental to the tournament.
Whether it was the prospect of opening the cup against Brazil and being for a short period the stars of the show, we wish or a sea change in nationalism we cannot be sure. However the first game following was an away trip to Lithuania and the kilt was de-rigeur, a must for all self disrespecting Tartan Army footsoldier. A centre of attraction in airports, railway stations, christenings and weddings of which the Scots were star players.
I am however not a kilt wearer, never have been and I have tried. I am a tartan scarf wearer, at present a Stuart tartan. We have been wearing scarves surely since 1872, 0-0 draw.
I do not claim to be an expert in tartan however 2 years ago I received a phone call from a guy also called Husband, an English chap living in Achiltibuie, well north of Scotland.
He was attending a wedding in Orkney & wanted to know which tartan to wear, I had half expected an invitation. His logic that I would know was puzzling and quite a compliment.
I checked with my Father & he said Husband can wear Macdonald.
If this is untrue, who would know.
When the new Scotland campaign starts I will be travelling with scarf, not quite sure of the tartan though.
Whether it was the prospect of opening the cup against Brazil and being for a short period the stars of the show, we wish or a sea change in nationalism we cannot be sure. However the first game following was an away trip to Lithuania and the kilt was de-rigeur, a must for all self disrespecting Tartan Army footsoldier. A centre of attraction in airports, railway stations, christenings and weddings of which the Scots were star players.
I am however not a kilt wearer, never have been and I have tried. I am a tartan scarf wearer, at present a Stuart tartan. We have been wearing scarves surely since 1872, 0-0 draw.
I do not claim to be an expert in tartan however 2 years ago I received a phone call from a guy also called Husband, an English chap living in Achiltibuie, well north of Scotland.
He was attending a wedding in Orkney & wanted to know which tartan to wear, I had half expected an invitation. His logic that I would know was puzzling and quite a compliment.
I checked with my Father & he said Husband can wear Macdonald.
If this is untrue, who would know.
When the new Scotland campaign starts I will be travelling with scarf, not quite sure of the tartan though.
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