The Scotland Epistles Football Magazine

Whilst looking for a photo of Ian Wallace the other day I came across these two Scotland and Coventry connected photos but there was something off about the two of them, something just not right.
The first one was titled Coventry’s Tartan Army and fair enough all the players centred around Manager Gordon Milne are Scottish but for some there may have been a tinge of sadness as their days of International football were over. I think the photo is probably taken in early 1978, I have used extensive Math to work this out; spending my days creating Venn Diagrams for all the players involved and this is the only date that makes sense other than 1977, 1979 and even 1980.
By this time, however Tommy Hutchison and Jim Holton’s Scotland careers are both over. Some would argue though that Hutchison was playing the best football of his career at this time though. Tommy won 17 caps between 1973 and ’75 and was most notably a member of the 1974 World Cup Squad. Although not Coventry teammates at the time, Jim Holton played alongside Tommy in the Scotland team. Jim played 15 times for Scotland in the years 73 and 74 and was with Manchester United at the time.
The main reason I reckon 1978 is that Ian Wallace and goalkeeper Jim Blyth were both capped that year and indeed Blyth would travel to Argentina with the World Cup Squad. Ian and Jim would win 3 and 2 caps respectively.
The final player is Bobby MacDonald. Aberdeen born Bobby was a full back with Coventry from 1976-1981 and although occasionally touted as a possible Scotland player, Danny McGrain would be the first choice throughout this period making it nigh impossible for anyone else to be given a chance. Bobby is probably typical of a lot of Scottish players in the 70’s, who were well-loved at their clubs but never reached the International stage.

Jump forward over thirty years later and it’s a Scottish legends day at Coventry and again there is something not quite right. Starting from left to right, we have the ginger nutted Willie Carr, who gained six Scotland caps from 1970-72 and was unbeaten in all his games.
Next to Willie was a fellow ginger, Ian Wallace already mentioned in the above paragraphs. Then comes the man, whose record Steven Fletcher finally, finally laid to rest after 46 years when he scored a hat-trick. Yep, it’s Rangers legend Colin Stein who until Steven’s intervention was the last Scot to score a hat-trick. Colin played 21 times for Scotland scoring 10 goals, his last four caps were as a Coventry player.
And so we get to the non-Scot, Scot. It’s the late Gerry Baker who died in August 2013. If Gerry had been born a decade or so later, he would have been eligible to play for Scotland as both his parents were Scottish and indeed he spent most of his childhood living in Scotland. Gerry played for St. Mirren and indeed scored in their 1959 Scottish Cup Final triumph. He also played for Hibs, Ipswich and of course Coventry among others. The quirk of fate that saw Gerry born in the USA also allowed him late in his career to play in World Cup Qualifiers for the country of his birth as they attempted to reach the 1970 World Cup. Gerry’s brother was of course Joe Baker, who similarly due to family relocation to Liverpool for six months before returning to Lanarkshire to live was also not eligible for Scotland. However, Joe was such a goalscoring machine that he did play for England eight times, five of these were earned as a Hibs player.
Next to Gerry having a laugh is of course Tommy Hutchison. Is it possible that he’s laughing at Quinton ‘Cutty’ Young’s expense, as his name has been called out and no one can remember who he is? Quinton, only played for Coventry in 26 League games. Quinton had played for Ayr United before moving to Coventry in 1971 but by ’73 he was back up the road again to play for Rangers for a few seasons. Quinton was capped for the Under – 23’S on one occasion in 1971.

David Stuart

First posted on July 4th, 2015

Lee Erwin’s move to Leeds last week reminded me of the relationship the Scotland team has had with Leeds in the past and maybe if things go well for Lee, the future too.
One of the surprising things about Scots being capped whilst playing for Leeds is that the first player to do so was Bobby Collins in 1965. When you think of all the players in the early years of football who practiced their craft down South it is strange that it took so long. Don Revie ironically a future England manager would bring about an era of success for Leeds and ultimately Scotland, which would see Leeds provide five players for the 1974 World Cup Squad. One of his first signings was Bobby Collins. Bobby had been previously capped for Scotland 28 times first as a Celtic and then Everton player and had last been capped in 1959. His return to the International scene came in the same year he won the Football writers Player of the Year, although he would only win 3 more caps, he played alongside fellow Leeds and Scotland legend Billy Bremner when he made his debut in the dark blue of Scotland on 8th May 1965. Scotland drew 0-0 with Spain at Hampden. Billy would go on to win 54 caps in total.
The next Leeds player to become involved was not a Revie signing and is perhaps the least known of the Leeds Scotland players at this time. Full back Willie Bell had been at Leeds since 1960 joining from Queens Park, he would play over two hundred times for his club but only twice for his country. He played against Portugal in 1-0 defeat and a 1-1 draw with Brazil in June 1966.
Eddie Gray, perhaps the most skilful player of Revie’s era first played for Scotland on May 10th, 1969, sadly Scotland got beat 4-1 by rivals England at Hampden that day. Eddie would only win 12 caps for Scotland, which is rather surprising given his talent, however competition for a place on the wing was always competitive with Jimmy Johnstone, Charlie Cooke and Tommy Hutchison latterly among the contenders. Eddie was voted the third greatest Leeds player of all time with Billy Bremner and John Charles in taking 1st and 2nd place respectively. Eddie would be left out of the Scotland squad for the 1974 World Cup.

In Scotland’s last game of the 1960’s Peter Lorimer made his International bow coming on as a sub in the second half in 2-0 defeat to Austria in Vienna. Peter was well renowned for his thunderbolt of a shot, as can be seen in the World Cup game against Zaire in 1974. Peter would play over 700 times for Leeds and 21 times for Scotland.
The final two players to make up the five for World Cup ’74 were Revie signings from Scottish clubs. Joe Jordan was bought from Morton for £15,000 in 1970 and would make his Scotland debut as a sub against England in May 19th, 1973, which we lost one nil. However, his fourth appearance in the blue of Scotland would be his most memorable, coming on for Kenny Dalglish at Hampden in September, 1973 to score the winning goal against Czechoslovakia to send us to the World Cup in 1974. Joe would win 52 caps altogether, scoring 11 goals along the way.
Gordon McQueen was a bargain buy from St. Mirren in 1972 for £30,000 made his Scotland debut against Belgium, on June 1st, 1974 a fortnight before our opening game on the World Cup. Scotland lost this World Cup warm up one 2-1. Gordon would win 30 caps in total.
By the time of the 1978 World Cup, Revie had left Leeds as had Jordan and McQueen to Manchester United, which meant there was no Leeds player in the squad for Argentina. Over the years there have been quite a few Leeds players representing Scotland including Frank Gray, Gordon Strachan, Gary McAllister and even in recent years Snodgrass, Bannan and McCormack but sadly the days of Leeds supplying the backbone of a Scotland squad have long gone.

David Stuart

First posted on Facebook July 3rd, 2015

I see that in for the World Cup qualifying draw which takes place on 25 July, Scotland are in Pot 3 along with Northern Ireland, Poland, Ukraine, Sweden, Hungary, Albania, Serbia and Greece. Scotland have never played Albania [I’m sure the missus would have loved a wee romantic trip to Tirana] and we have yet to play Hungary in a competitive match so I am a bit disappointed that a visit to Budapest has been ruled out as far as the 2018 World Cup is concerned. Whisper it – maybe the Euro play-offs?

Don’t ye just love gettin yer Scotland tickets? I used to love queuing up for them, especially overnight for the really big games, and getting my hands on them and reading every word printed on them (see issue 1 of the fanzine for the full story). Now the process of buying them isn’t quite as much fun. You don’t get the chance to meet like minded supporters and swap tales. There isn’t that party atmosphere for the first hour followed by hours of boredom while you wait for the ticket office to open, then the rush of excitement again as the queue starts moving. Now it’s just clicking a wee button and typing in numbers. But when that envelope hits the doormat a few days later I just can’t wait to rip it open and read every word on the tickets, even though I know exactly what it’s going to say. It’s just like being twelve again. The fitbaw keeps us young at heart (and also ages us prematurely at the same time). Roll on September.

A couple of weeks back I did an article on the players that Tommy Docherty gave their first cap too. This time it’s Ally MacLeod’s turn as both had a similar period in charge although Docherty never had a World Cup to contend with but both had tours of South America.In total Tommy was in charge for 12 games and gave caps to 16 players. Ally was in charge for 17 games and gave debuts to 7 players, three of which were goalkeepers and only two reached double figures in caps. I think for me this sets one of the fundamental flaws in Ally’s reign; he never had a player who could be described as one of Ally’s men. Most of the team that played in Argentina had been capped first by Willie Ormond and some even by Docherty.
Ally’s first game in charge was against Wales in the Home Internationals and Don Masson was the least experienced member of the starting line-up with 6 caps. Scotland drew nil nil but followed up with wins against Northern Ireland and England to win the British Championship but no new players were blooded at this point.

Then came the tour of South America and finally with Scotland cruising 3 nil at half time Ally brought on goalkeeper Jim Stewart of Kilmarnock for his 1st cap. The game ended 4-2 to Scotland. Jim’s second and last cap was under Jock Stein, in his first game in charge.

And that was it for the South America tour which went quite well for Scotland but with no new caps, Ally had not found anyone new who could supplement his experienced squad.

Game number 7 in charge, a friendly against East Germany in September 1977 and with Alan Rough having been dropped by Bertie Auld for Partick Thistle the week before, it’s no surprise that another goalkeeper is blooded. This time it’s David Stewart of Leeds who by all accounts had a good game; saving a penalty in a one nil defeat. This would be his only cap.

Arthur Graham of Leeds also came on as a sub during the game as he would do to win his next cap for Scotland in Ally’s last game in charge against Austria. Jock Stein would give Arthur his other nine caps.
Ally, maybe rightly stuck by the tried and tested for the next two games. The World Cup Qualifiers against Czechoslovakia and Wales, both of which we won and saw us head to Argentina that year.
A friendly against Bulgaria in February 1978 was the most adventurous Ally got. Not only did he give a cap to 3 players, he also recalled a few from the footballing hinterland. Another goalkeeper was tried. This time it was Coventry City’s Jim Blyth. Jim’s only other cap came against Wales later that year but his susceptibility to letting in goals from back passes was his undoing. Prior to the Welsh qualifier Danny McGrain had suffered an injury that put him out of not only that game but also the World Cup Finals. Ally had played Sandy Jardine in his place for the Wales game but for most of his remaining tenure Aberdeen’s Stuart Kennedy was drafted in. Although Stuart’s time with Scotland was short, lasting only 8 games, 7 of which were in 1978, he would have to go down as a good find for Ally.

Ian Wallace would be introduced late in the game to score the winner as Scotland won 2-1 but would not play again for Ally and would only make two more appearances for Scotland. Another pub quiz one; Q. which player was transferred for £1.25 million, was his clubs’ top goalscorer for three seasons and was only ever capped with his previous club. A. Ian Wallace. Ally did reinstate three players; Willie Miller won his first cap in three years and would have to wait a year for his next one. Graeme Souness also won his first cap in three years but his first as a Liverpool player. Souness would miss the next game against Ireland and then play versus Wales and come on as a sub against England. It would not be ‘til the third game in the World Cup against the Dutch would he play.

Also coming out of the International wilderness was DJ. Derek Johnstone, possibly the only player who could be described as on form during the forthcoming Home Internationals scoring two goals in dull draws against Northern Ireland and Wales but as we cried out “bring on Johnstone” to our tv’s during that woeful game against Iran in Cordoba, Ally confounded us all by bringing on Joe Harper!
There was time for one more player make his International debut; John Robertson of Nottingham Forest. John would become a vital part of Jock Stein’s team for the 1982 World Cup. Ally played him first against Northern Ireland in a 1-1 draw, followed by a subs appearance against Wales in a game with a similar score line. John’s third cap came against Iran in Cordoba as Willie Johnston had by this time been sent home. Suffice to say, nobody played well against Iran. John’s fourth cap would be under Jock Stein in November 1978.
Ally had one more game in charge after Argentina, a Euro Qualifier against Austria where he finally played Andy Gray in a line-up that included a front three of Andy, Joe Jordan and Kenny Dalglish. Scotland were beaten 3-2 and it was goodnight Ally.
In fairness to Ally, it’s hard to say who else he could have picked; John Wark, Alan Hansen, Davie Cooper and Paul Hegarty were all given debuts over the next year or so but Argentina may have been too soon for them. The loss of Danny McGrain and Gordon McQueen who were both at their peak at that time, was significant too but I do wonder if maybe having a few of his own players in the team may have made the difference.

David Stuart

First posted on Facebook July 1st, 2015

As a thirteen year old in the summer of 1973 I was far removed from Bobby Goldsboro’s ‘Journey into manhood’ hit single that year. Football lit my fire and Brazil – The World Cup holders were coming to Hampden. Deep joy!

This was the second visit [of what is only three visits to date] to Hampden Park by the colourful South Americans and was match number 8 in their nine game tour of Europe and North Africa that June. The game was also the second of three SFA Centenary celebration fixtures [England and West Germany were our other honoured guests] and a healthy crowd of 78,181 turned up that sunny afternoon.

So here is a list of ten one goal wonders for Scotland. Not all are important, very few are spectacular and they might not even be the ten you would pick or indeed that I would pick tomorrow. I have kept it to a list of the late 60’s onwards as I realise sometimes when I go too far back i.e. 1949 maybe not everyone reads it. The only order is chronological. Please list others you think should be added. My apologies to Frank McAvennie, Stewart McKimmie among others who almost made the list. I do not apologise for Kevin Kyle, Dougie Freedman, Gary McSwegan and Ian Wallace although I believe someone should.

Jim McCalliog v England 15th April 1967. Jim scored the third goal in our famous 3-2 win over England at Wembley in 1967. This was also Jim’s debut match and indeed the pinnacle of his Scotland career that only lasted five games.

Joe Craig v Sweden 27th April 1977. Okay not a particularly important goal, it was in a friendly at Hampden which Scotland won 3-1. The reason it’s listed is because the quirk of fame that has made Joe a pub quiz legend. Which player scored a goal for Scotland before he even kicked the ball? Joe scored a goal in the 79th minute with his first touch; a header. This was Joe’s only game for Scotland.

Willie Miller v Wales 21st May 1980. Willie scored his only Scotland goal against Wales at Hampden in the Home Internationals. This was the only goal in a 1-0 win. It was his 4th International and he would never score in his other 61 games for Scotland. Mind you, his long time playing partner Alex McLeish never scored in 77 games!

David Narey v Brazil 18th June 1982. Probably the most famous and the most spectacular of all the goals. It doesn’t need much discussion, it was a golden moment and one that will live long in the memory.

Jim Bett v Iceland 28th May 1985. Having already lost to Spain away and Wales at home in the 1986 World Cup Qualifiers, Scotland couldn’t afford to drop anymore points. It took until the 86th minute for Scotland to break down a sturdy Icelandic defence in Reykjavik. Without this goal Davie Cooper’s penalty against Wales, the night Jock Stein died is of no consequence as harsh as that sounds.

Gary Mackay v Bulgaria 11th November 1987. Okay for Scotland not an important goal but for the Republic of Ireland, it was the vital. This goal saw them go through to the 1988 Euro Championships, their first major finals and the start of Jack Charlton mania, which saw them progress to the 1990 and 94 World Cup Finals and have other success.

Stuart McCall v Sweden 16th June 1990. After losing to Costa Rica in our opening game of Italia ’90, we had to beat Sweden to ensure we still had a chance to progress. McCall’s goal in the tenth minute raised the spirit of the nation.

David Weir v Latvia 6th October 2001. Again maybe not that important as David scored the second goal in a 2-0 win over Latvia at Hampden, when we were already out of the running to qualify for the 2002 World Cup. However, like Willie Miller, David played 69 times for his country and scored just this once. It makes you think how many times he, Miller and McLeish bolted forward for a corner or free kick in total.

Craig Beattie v Georgia 24th March 2007. The qualifying games for the 2008 Euros was probably the biggest emotional rollercoaster ride of a series of games in a long time. The two wins against France were magnificent moments, the despair of the Italy game was heart-breaking and then there was Craig Beattie’s little nugget. The Georgia game looked at draw all the way until the 89th minute when Craig poked home from close range. Exaltation.

Craig Mackail-Smith v Liechtenstein 8th October 2011. Our first attempt at beating lowly Liechtenstein was pretty dismal with a 97th minute goal from Stephen McManus rescuing Scotland from humility. This time round it was Mackail-Smith, reality is though he kept Levein in a job for a bit longer. We all he should’ve sacked his sorry ass after results like this.

David Stuart

First posted on Facebook June 27th, 2015

It’s funny how we can look at players from the same era and categorise them as Hero and Villain. Gordon McQueen is a hero, I mean look at that leap to score against England in the photo in his birthday article.

As for Don Masson, well he’s the villain of the piece for missing that penalty in 1978 against Peru, which I fully get and even I find it hard to let that one go. However, I think it’s unfair on Don Masson, if you look at his record prior to 1978, it’s as good as anybody’s.
Willie Ormond first picked Don for the start of the 1976 Home Internationals. His debut came against Wales at Hampden in a 3-1 win, followed by a 3-0 win v Northern Ireland at home as well. Don scored his first goal for Scotland in this match which was quickly followed by another against England in a 2-1 win at Hampden. A six nil win against Finland at home in September saw Don score his first goal from the penalty spot.

Don would first taste defeat in Prague in a World Cup Qualifier against Czechoslovakia, which saw the Scots go down 2-0.
The following season saw wins against Northern Ireland and England at Wembley and a draw against Wales allowing us to regain the British Championship under Ally MacLeod. This was followed by a summer tour of South America which saw us beat Chile 4-2, draw one each with Argentina with Don scoring from the penalty spot again and then a 2-0 defeat to Brazil.
Don played in two more World Cup Qualifiers at home to Czechoslovakia winning 3-1 and the supposedly away to Wales at Anfield, where Don scored that famous penalty under immense pressure.
The interesting thing is that this was Don’s last appearance as a QPR player. He then moved on to Derby County under Tommy Docherty. Tommy’s a great manager if he likes you, if he doesn’t then he can be quite ruthless and make your life a misery. Don would only play 23 times for Derby before being punted to Notts County in the summer of ’78.
It makes you wonder if he turned up for 1978 Home Internationals lacking confidence and zip, which seemed to effect the whole team for that Championship, which saw Scotland draw with the Irish and Welsh and then get beat by England in a lacklustre performance. . . . and then came Peru.
So Don played 17 games for Scotland which we won 9, scoring 5 goals. Gordon McQueen played 30 in which we won 12, scoring 5 goals. In fairness to Gordon, Don never played in any Euro Qualifiers but then again Don didn’t play at Wembley in 1975.
Anyway, now to Don’s Focus on. Favourite player is Johnny Giles, other team is Aberdeen and most difficult opponent is Gerry Gow of Bristol City (go figure!). His favourite food is Scampi and of course steak. TV Shows are Kojak and Man Alive, sadly his actress is Glenda Jackson (sorry Lads, no photo this time round).

The biggest influence on his career is Nots County manager Jimmy Sirrel and if you have read the excellent David McVay’s ‘Steak Diana Ross’ you will not be surprised by this answer.

David Stuart

First posted on Facebook 26th June, 2015

The former Scotland centre-half is 63 on 26 June. The real ‘Big Yin’ [6 feet, 3 inches before natural shrinkage kicks in] won the first of his 30 caps in June 1974 in a world cup warm-up match in Brugge, Belgium. McQueen – then of Leeds United- travelled to West Germany as part of the World Cup squad but unfortunately didn’t see any match action.

Gordon was also in the 1978 World Cup Finals squad but did not play due to injury- indeed during the course of his career he would suffer his fair share of injuries. That said he did his bit for Scotland in some important matches such as the world cup qualifiers against Wales and Czechoslovakia.