The Scotland Epistles Football Magazine

I purchased the two Swedish postcards in 2000 but I suspect the images pre-date the Euros. Interesting to note that on the reverse of the Gothenburg card there is a list of the record attendances for sports events held there including boxing,ice hockey, speedway and speed-skating as well as football. This is also the stadium that held mixed fortunes for Aberdeen and Dundee United in their European Finals. In 2009 a new football-only stadium opened in Gothenburg – I expect the track at the old stadium had something to do with it.

Way down south – in Birmingham – 34,363 and then 34,926 of us piled into Villa Park to see Scotland draw 0-0 with our friends the Netherlands and then beat Switzerland 1-0 at Euro 96.The famous Holte End is nearest the camera and from there I clearly saw John Collins handle the ball in the far away penalty box against the Dutch but fortunately for us the referee, who was much closer, missed it completely. In between these two games a crowd of 76,864 were at Old Wembley [aka the most famous greyhound stadium in the world] to see a tragicomedy involving Scotland and England. When they rebuilt Wembley it too ditched the perimeter track. They also got rid of the external drainpipes which ticket-less Scots fans scaled to gain entry to the stadium in the 1970s. In case you didn’t know, Peter Parker was a Scotland supporter.

And so to France 2016 – hopefully. There the ten stadia have a capacity range of 33,000 to 81,000. Bring it on – please…

Robert Marshall

First posted on Facebook May 9th, 2015

For a more serious suggestion maybe we can draw inspiration from our old World Cup Mascots. Roary Superscot was the Bremneresque mascot from 1974 complete with the letter S on the front of his shirt.[I foolishly thought it was a number 5 and that he had put his shirt on back to front]. In 1978 I think we went with a Thistle-like emblem rather than a mascot and in 1982 we had the rather glaikit-looking Sandy. This young lad sported a Scotland strip and a Tartan Bunnet but if it was supposed to be some sort of homage to the legendary Scotland defender Sandy Jardine then it failed miserably.

For the Mexico 86 world cup we roared back [sort of] in the shape of McMex – a pished-looking lion in a sombrero. I think we lost the plot altogether though with ‘Scoticus’ our mascot for Italia 90. Scoticus was a tartan-clad Roman centurion who looked disturbingly like Kenneth Williams in the film ‘Carry on Cleo’. I couldn’t find anything for France 98 [or indeed Euro 92 and 96] but surely there was something? I don’t believe that the marketing men failed to try and exploit the situation.

Back to the future then and learning from history I propose a tough but funny, Chic Murray inspired, lion mascot called Roary MacLeod – in deference to two of Scotland’s greatest Champions – the aforementioned Roary Superscot and former manager Ally MacLeod. I’d also have Roary clad in a ‘loud but proud’ sports jacket in honour of the late, great Arthur Montford. I think we’re on a winner here.Fritz , the Editor of the Partick Thistle fanzine ‘Sick in the Basin’ is also no mean artist so if he can cobble this image together we can split the royalties 50/50 and help fund a one hundred page Scotland Epistles Summer 2016 Special. As David Cassidy used to sing ‘ I’m just a daydreamer, walking in the rain…..’

Robert Marshall

First posted on Facebook May 8th, 2015

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

Souness had a reputation for being a hard, sometimes brutal tackler, however he was creative as well as destructive but like his Liverpool team-mate Alan Hansen, his commitment to the Scotland squad was sometimes called into question by the press and supporters alike. Conversely, he has often been touted as a potential Scotland Manager and I for one would have preferred him to messrs Vogts, Burley and Levein. Perhaps the problem with Souness was his good looks. I think a lot of Scotland supporters had trouble getting used to having a Tom Selleck lookalike in midfield let alone as captain. I think we sometimes prefer the terrier looks and attributes of Billy Bremner, Archie Gemmill and Scott Brown. That said, Souness probably makes it into a lot of Scotland Dream Teams.

So Happy Birthday Graeme Souness and don’t forget that no matter what, Jonathan Watson will always love you.

Robert Marshall

First posted on Facebook May 5th, 2015

Hampden then got to stage the 2002 Champions League Final [Real Madrid v. Bayer Leverkusen] and the UEFA Cup Final in 2007 [Seville v. Espanyol]. Come 2020 Hampden will host four matches from the finals of the European Championships – but we were lucky to get them, with our Executive box and hospitality facilities struggling to meet the requirements of UEFA’s 21st century ‘Pigs snouts in trough’ criteria.

The Commonwealth Games athletics events of 2014 were a success but the blunt truth is that we neither need nor want a running track at our National Football Stadium with the resultant viewing distance and gradient from behind each goal being unacceptable. I believe ‘Shit-poor Sightlines’ is the technical term.

If we can’t afford to re-build and re-shape Hampden post 2020 then we might want to think about lowering the pitch to get additional seating closer to the playing area. Trouble is, it occasionally rains in Mount Florida and even the current roof doesn’t do its job properly. Then again, old Hampden was about 60% uncovered – although we were a lot tougher/younger/dafter [delete as appropriate] back then.

Anyway, the postcard dates from 1999 whilst the photographs showing the construction of the new south stand and the soon to be demolished west stand/terracing [with seating and roof having already been removed] are from February 1998.

Robert Marshall

First posted on Facebook May 4th, 2015

The mate says, “Willie Scotland.”

“Willie Scotland? Whit ye oan aboot ya big diddy, it’s Willie Ormond, the manager. ”

“Oh right, ” says the big diddy, “I thought it was a bit ay a daft chant.”

It’s funny the things that stick in yer memory, but I’ve always said that for me the actual game is only a small part of being a fan. I love all aspects of it. Daft chants included. So here’s to Willie Scotland.

Alan Nelson

First posted on Facebook May 4th, 2015

In my opinion the bulldozing of the South Stand [which dated from 1914] with its two brick towers featuring medieval castle style motifs was an act of vandalism that was right up there with the demolition of Glasgow’s St.Enoch Railway Hotel and the Empire Theatre. Progress my arse! Surely the facades could have been saved somehow?

Another fascinating feature of the old south stand was the two-layered pressbox which leaned forward on the sloping roof so percariously that you sometimes worried for the safety of its occupants – but only sometimes.

Robert Marshall

First posted on Facebook May 4th, 2015

They are quite a nice wee set and generally don’t cost too much as single cards on ebay, although I haven’t seen a full set on sale. As for the cards shown. Jackie Husband was well known for his long throws for Thistle and so it is suitable that he is shown in that pose, although why team mate Hugh Brown is shown like that also I don’t know (Is that all we were good for). The other player is the great Gordon Smith who surely must be ranked among the best we have ever produced in this country. Gordon not only won the League title with Hibs three times as part of the ‘Famous Five’ but then at the twilight of his career won the League with Both Hearts and Dundee. A truly remarkable man and I recommend that you read his biography ‘Gordon Smith’ by his son Tony.

David Stuart

First posted on Facebook May 1st, 2015