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Decentralisation of Scotland fixtures

I used to believe [selfish Glaswegian that I was] that all of Scotland’s home matches should be played at Hampden Park. Eventually I recognised the fairness and pragmatism associated with playing certain matches outwith Glasgow and in truth I’ve always enjoyed my international ‘away days’ at Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Kilmarnock.

I think it’s a real shame however that the city of Dundee does not have a stadium that is currently deemed fit/large enough to host a full international.As such, I’m pleased that the Scotland-Qatar match will go ahead at Easter Road – a venue where I’ve seen Scotland ‘humble’ both Canada and Australia 3-1[October 2002 and August 2012] as well as succumb 1-4 to Sweden [November 2004].

Alas I missed the historic occasion in May 2004 when we defeated Trinidad AND Tobago on the same day! Scotland have also played Finland and Wales at the Leith San Siro as it is sometimes affectionately referred to.Returning to the Scotland v Canada match and bearing in mind this was during the somewhat painful Berti Vogts era I was initially delighted when my loyalty was rewarded with a seat with a restricted view as the attached photograph demonstrates!

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Robert Marshall

First posted on Facebook, April 16th 2015

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On This Day – April 6th.

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Happy Anniversary

I’m always on the lookout for a ‘Happy Anniversary’ to celebrate and so 6th April offers up the opportunity to remember a fine 2-1 victory against England at Wembley in 1963 which meant that Scotland were British Champions with a 100% record for the second successive season.

Incidently, this was a time when only Scotland from the four home nations chose not to take part in the qualifying campaign for the 1964 European Nations Cup.Anyway, two goals from Jim Baxter were enough to defeat an England side which included Gordon Banks, Bobby Moore, Jimmy Greaves and Bobby Charlton. Eric Caldow was the Scottish Skipper that day however he was stretchered off with a broken leg after only six minutes and so in the days before substitutes ten men clinched the Championship.1963 was also the English Football Association’s centenary year however a decade later when it was our centenary they would get their revenge in a St. Valentine’s day massacre at Hampden. We always hurt the ones we love so let’s just concentrate on the 1963 game shall we. Slanj.

Robert Marshall

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Happy Birthday Ally

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I’m not a religious man and so my favourite prophet remains the late, former Scotland manager Ally MacLeod.

OK so some of his prophecies may have went a bit awry but the hype etc was good fun whilst it lasted.

With MacLeod at the helm we won the 1977 British Championship [the last occasion in which Scotland were outright winners]. Alright so we didn’t win the World Cup in Argentina the following year but looking back it might have been better if 1978 had been a Euro Championships Finals year instead. That way we wouldn’t have had to worry about Asian superpowers [Iran] or South American jet-propelled pensioners [Peru].Don’t forget that in qualifying for Argentina, Scotland had to eliminate the then European Champions, Czechoslovakia.

26th February 2015 would have been Super-Ally’s eighty-fourth birthday. Here’s to you Alistair Reid MacLeod wherever you are.

Robert Marshall

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Second Best not good enough; Peter Marinello

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After posting an article on the Under 16’s from 1998 and their collective failure to become established Scotland stars here’s a player who had the world at his feet and never gained a full international cap. Peter Marinello had only played around 50 matches for Hibernian when Arsenal broke their transfer record to splash out £100,000 for Peter in January 1970. Peter with his long hair and boyish good looks was very quickly a pin up star and touted to be the next George Best. His career at Arsenal got off to a great start with a goal at Old Trafford against Manchester United. However, the playboy life including two Top of the Pops appearances, soon took it’s toll and Peter’s Arsenal career was almost over as quickly as it begun. He would go on to play for Portsmouth and then return to Scotland and Motherwell for a few years before become a nomad in playing in Australia, United States, with Fulham, Hearts and finally with Partick Thistle.
            As stated Peter never gained a full cap for Scotland but has two Under 23 caps to his name as well as representing the Scottish League when with Motherwell.
             The magazine is Goal from February 1970. Also featured in it is a poster of Tommy Craig, Britain’s first teenage £100,000 transfer from Aberdeen to Sheffield Wednesday and one cap to his name. Dundee United’s Andy Rolland is resplendent in the bright Tangerine of Dundee United as well.
                  There is an article on Andy Lochhead, who is probably one of those players who perhaps should’ve been given his chance for the national team in the early 60’s, when he was banging in the goals for fun for Burnley including four against Manchester United in one game. Andy is a bit of legend down Turf Moor way and also over at Villa Park.
                 In another piece, Scotland manager Bobby Brown in his search to find a top-class goalkeeper has taken in a game at Aldershot to watch Carlisle goalkeeper Allan Ross. Wonder what ever happened to him?
                Finally there is a piece from a Brazilian newspaper on their worlds “Best Team of 1970”. The Goal mentions there is not a single England player in the team but Scotland’s Tommy Gemmell is picked, unlike most of the others Tommy would not be going to Mexico for the World Cup later in the year.
         The full line-up was: Mazurciewicz (Uruguay), Gemmell (Scotland), Perfumo (Argentina), Chesterniev (Russia), Faccetti (Italy), Beckenbauer (W. Germany), Rivera (Italy), Baylon (Peru), Tostao (Brazil), Pele (Brazil) and Riva (Italy). You were in some good company there Tommy.
First posted on Facebook on May 2nd, 2015
David Stuart
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Why the hell are we wearing an England strip?

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First published on Facebook 29th April, 2015
Its quite sad but some nights recently I have broken out in cold sweats thinking about what I can produce next for the Epistles page, even sadder I lie awake and night and wonder what Robert’s going to write about and will he steal my thunder. I mean seriously did we really need two articles on Willie (only six caps) Carr on the same day? And it wasn’t even his birthday.
Anyway I know Robert doesn’t have this, in fact he was surprised to know that Scotland wore a strip like this. This is another from Shoot magazine dated 30th June, 1973. This is of course a photo of Colin Stein and I assume it’s from the Home International game against Wales at the Racecourse, Wrexham. This would be Willie Ormond’s second game in charge, but we won’t mention the first nor dwell on his next four in charge. As he did get it right at Hampden later in the year against the Czechs. George Graham must be really pissed though, he scored the two goals for Scotland in a fine 2 nil win over the Welsh, but it’s Stein who only played for the last ten minutes that gets the front page.
               Inside the magazine there is a picture of Willie Morgan, no doubt on the wing, in Manchester United colours. A black and white photo of Sunderland’s Billy Hughes, (brother of Celtic’s John) who gained a solitary cap for Scotland against Sweden in 1975. There is also an article on Ted McDougall, who would also make his debut for Scotland that night, indeed scoring Scotland’s goal in the one all draw in Gothenburg.
             However, the question still remains why the hell are we wearing an England strip?
After this was published Neil Emslie commented at the time that “Billy Hughes had a shoe shop in Sunderland called you guessed it ……Billys Shoes”.
David Stuart
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Every Picture Tells A Story

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First published on Facebook on April 27th, 2015
Here’s a postcard of the 1998 under 16 squad, which means by now most of them are in their mid thirties and should be established players. Wrong. Although some are familiar faces, the story of failure to reach their potential is familiar. There are some who made it to the full squad but only managed a handful of games. If you have read the second issue of the Scotland Epistles magazine, you will know that some players succumbed to the Curse of Berti Vogts and seemed to have careers plagued with injury, illness or just bad luck, in this team are Ian Murray, Brian Kerr. Maurice Ross all mentioned in the article. Stephen Crainey who’s had a decent career including twelve caps is also pictured.
                 Mark Brown continues to play, currently with Ross County as does Burton O’Brien with Livingston. I’m not sure about some of the others, but in among them is Stephen McConologue who by the time he came to Firhill was a few stone heavier but still had some great touches about him.
           The players are;
Back Row – Chris Doig, Ian Murray, Mark Brown, Gary Hamilton, Barry J Corr, Darren Goldie, Stephen Crainey.
Middle Row – Joe McAlpine, Steven McAdam, Paul McHale, Marc Coccozza, Ryan McCann, Billy Gibson
Since article was written Mark Brown left County for Dumbarton and Burton O’Brien has gone to Alloa
Front Row – Kevin MacDonald, Maurice Ross, Stephen McConologue, Brian Kerr, Burton O’Brien and Liam Keogh.
David Stuart
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Hornet Top Cup Teams – Scotland

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First published on Facebook on 25th April, 2015.
D.C. Thomson, producers of the Dandy and the Beano had quite a few comics on the go in the 60’s, one of them was the Hornet. In 1966, they gave away a set of twelve postcard size football cards. The set was called Top Cup Teams, all four nations were in the set, although I’m not sure which Cup they were prolific in, as well as Celtic, Rangers, Real Madrid, Liverpool etc,
           The Scotland one is quite interesting as the line-up is the same one that faced England on April 10th, 1965. The match ended up 2 all with Scotland goalscorers that day were St. John and Denis Law.I had listed details of the game on a front cover article last week. The line up is Willie McRae (coach), Alec Hamilton, Bill Brown, Pat Crerand, Billy McNeill, John Greig, Eddie McCreadie, Ian St.John, Willie Henderson, Bobby Collins, Billy Bremner, Denis Law and Davie Wilson.
                   It does ask the question when was the photo taken as this line up never played together again, so is it a training session the day before or maybe that morning? The other questions to ask is who designed the bloody horrible track suits and decided they had to be a sickly green?
David Stuart
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Billy Bremner and the Boys fae Brazil

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It’s another classic magazine cover and this time it’s from the 1974 World Cup from Scotland v Brazil in Frankfurt, Germany on 18th June 1974. In action is Billy Bremner with Jim Holton and Martin Buchan also in shot. The Brazilians are Jairzinho and Mirandhina. As we all know and as taught in History lessons at school (well it should be) the game ended nil nil. The game is remembered for Billy’s heartaching miss in the second half. Looking at the highlights on You Tube there were plenty of chances for both sides but for Scotland it was a missed opportunity as Brazil were there to be beaten. Who knows if Willie Ormond had introduced a sub at some point perhaps Tommy Hutchison or the criminally ignored Jimmy Johnstone, then maybe history would have a different tale to tell.

             As you can see on the cover, England were on tour that summer as they failed to make the finals. There is also an article on the rising prices of admission to the Scottish First Division for season 74-75, terracing prices are rising from 35p to 40p, what a rip-off.
David Stuart
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Colin Jackson – Record Holder?

First published on Facebook 21st April, 2015

The other day I was doing a wee bit of research on Willie Carr, the ex-Coventry player from the 70’s, famous for his banana kick and also capped for Scotland six times. It turns out Willie was undefeated representing his country with four victories over Northern Ireland, Peru and two against Denmark and then two draws against Wales and England. I thought that was pretty good and then I was perusing Derek Wilson’s Scotland on this day book for April 16th and it turns out that Colin Jackson of Rangers managed to play eight games without defeat and unlike Willie, he managed to score against Wales in May ’75 in a two all draw. Jackson also played in draws against Sweden, Romania and wins against Portugal and Denmark that year. In 1976 he would play his final three games for the national team as Scotland completed a grand slam in the Home Internationals as they romped to wins against Wales (3-1), Northern Ireland (3-0) and then a 2-1 defeat of England which included Ray Clemence’s famous howler. Colin was partnered by Tom Forsyth during these three games and then never played for Scotland again.
            Someone pointed out on the TAMB that Gordon Greer currently sits on seven games without defeat. Is Colin’s eight a record in the modern era and will Gordon Greer surpass Colin, here’s hoping so? If you know of someone else who beats this, please let us know.
          The cards of Willie and Colin are from the A&BC 1971 Purple back set and as they are from series two i.e. nos. 74 -144 they will probably cost you around a fiver each.
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David Stuart
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