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It pains me to say this but there are probably several grounds in Scotland where it is better to view a Scotland game than at Hampden. Celtic Park, Ibrox Stadium and Pittodrie have mostly better sightlines than the old lady of Mount Florida and when full of Scotland supporters [and we’re winning] the atmosphere can be fantastic…..but these Hampden-substitutes are just not ‘home’. You know you are a guest in someone elses’s hoose.

The Parkhead ‘Guesthouse’ has staged more Scotland internationals than any other guesthouse with Chez Ibrox next in line. The ‘Beachhouse’ at Aberdeen is also in double figures.When they rebuilt the two Glasgow grounds towards the end of the 20th century both Celtic and Rangers wisely decided to eliminate the running tracks despite them holding numerous records for both athletics and cycling at one time. No room for sentiment here, just get the crowd closer to the football action.All the postcards date from the late 1990s so there will be some changes since then – if not to the actual stadia then to their environs.

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Murrayfield Rugby Union Stadium in Edinburgh [with a capacity of just over 67,000 and which formed part of our joint bid with Ireland to stage Euro 2008 -remember that?] is arguably the best stadium in Scotland [and it hurt saying that as well]. What hurts most of all however is the fact that you can buy booze at Scotland rugby matches [albeit over-priced booze] although not in the actual stadium concourse but from caravans and kiosks within the boundary gates. By the way I don’t want you to think that I’ve got a drink problem but every now and then I’m partial to a wee glass of Bordeaux white – it was a world cup thing.

Robert Marshall

First posted on Facebook May 6th, 2015