Welcome to Issue 2
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The myth of Bert Slater
12-year-old fan runs away from home for the chance to see his hero, the Dundee goalkeeper, play for Scotland. Or does he?
By J. David Simons
Ron Yeats: the colossus from Aberdeen
The strength and iron will of Liverpool’s longest-serving captain was forged in the days when he rose at 3am on matchdays to do a shift in a north-east slaughterhouse before travelling 70 miles to play in Dundee.
By R. Lund Ansnes
‘Super’ Syd Puddefoot and the folly of Falkirk’s world-record gamble
The circumstances that led to Falkirk FC becoming the only Scottish team ever to hold the world football transfer record
By Euan Ferguson
Uruguay’s World Cup mastermind
Glaswegian railway worker John Harley moved to South America as a draughtsman, but became a football legend.
By Euan McTear
‘Long’ John Hewie: a genuine all-rounder
The much-respected Springbok played football for Scotland, baseball for England and 530 games for Charlton Athletic – including four games in goal.
By Paul Brown
The worst of times, the best of times
Unity, Togetherness, Deefiance…the story of how 25 points wasn’t enough
By Steven Reid
A sorry saga
Rumours, leaks, protests, conspiracy theories, personality clashes, fabrications, resignations: Dundee’s unhappy experiment with fan ownership
By Grant Hill
You’ll never beat Sauzee
It’s the chant with which Hibs fans celebrate the Frenchman’s unbeaten record against Hearts as player and manager. For grace and charisma, can any Hibs player ever beat ‘Le God’?
By Edd Norval
There’s only one Chic Charnley
The misfiring football genius seems to be a Scottish trait. And no-one has embodied those qualities more distinctively than the maverick Partick Thistle man.
By John Penman
Dougie Freedman: talisman, traitor, but a hero still
For fans of Crystal Palace, he embodied their club, as player and manager. Then he abruptly left for Bolton Wanderers. It hurt.
By Greg Lea
Under pressure
The 1989 Under-16 World Cup finals has gone down in Scottish football history as yet another chapter of glorious failure. For those who played in it, however, it was an unforgettable experience
By Richard Winton
Why Junior football should never grow up
Hidden away, unfashionable and occasionally quite scary, Scottish Junior football has a charm all of its own.
By Scott Fleming
The monkey gland mystery
Behind the throwaway phrase ‘he’s been on the monkey glands’ lies a story of stimulant abuse, a notorious Russian scientist, a shadowy Scottish chemist and strange goings-on in the farming villages of Perthshire.
By Stuart Cosgrove
Away days
Photographer Alan McCredie joins Hibs fans on their journey to Somerset Park to celebrate the unique charms of the away trip. Words by Daniel Gray
College soccer’s Godfather
Although he has never managed in the professional game, Bobby Clark deserves to be seen as one of Scotland’s great coaching figures.
By Ian Thomson
Oliver’s Army
A largely-forgotten Highland football club can trace its heritage – slightly tenuously – all the way back to Oliver Cromwell.
By Rab MacWilliam
Life after Borough Briggs
Adam Moffat departed Scottish football after finishing second from bottom in the third division with Elgin City. He went on to rub shoulders with David Beckham, Raul and Barack Obama.
By Chris Tait
The Italian invasion
They came in search of La Dolce Vita. And some even found it…
By Giancarlo Rinaldi
The new realism
Scottish football has survived the financial insanity that some predicted would lead to its demise. But how stable is it?
By Maurice Smith
The Making of Fergie Rises
The initial reaction was: ‘Another Ferguson book? Really?’ But this one is different. For many reasons.
By Michael Grant
The architect of 5-a-side
Do you play 5-a-side? If you do, you probably owe a debt of gratitude to one Keith Rogers
By Chris Bruce
The referees’ own goal
Much can be done to make the officials’ job easier and improve the game. So why don’t they speak up in support of progress?
By Neil Wilcock
Armageddon days are here again
This is meant to be the age of constant change, but not as far as the Scottish football authorities are concerned.
By Gerry Hassan
Trouble at the top
There will be no improving our dismal national performances unless there is a change in emphasis within the corridors of power, where self-preservation prevails over development.
By David Farrell
What’s wrong with Scottish youth development?
We are not producing enough talented young players. Why not? One ex-pro youth player gives his opinion on what has to be changed. By Craig Rodger
Healing the Hammarby heartbreak
The story of a legendary debacle and why it should be celebrated 30 years on
By Andrew Gray
‘Jocks. Piss on them. Summer. Full stop.’
Gazza’s goading, Three Lions, Fish from Marillion, Tosh McKinley, McAllister . . . and of course that goal.
By Mike Gibbons
Echoes from the past at Stark’s Park
The ghosts of the 1960s and 70s, when the ground was always full, the floodlights always on and the rain was always falling, can still be felt at the home of Raith Rovers.
By Willie Paul
Sons and Dons: Double- clubbing (1988-1998)
How is it possible to end up as a passionate supporter of two Scottish clubs? Here’s how…
By Stephen Watt
Dumbarton FC Poet-In-Residence
Pele’s Hampden nightmare
From Puskas to Zidane, many of the greats have shone at our national stadium. But not the greatest of all.
By Matt Vallance
The wrong decision?
I could have been a member of the Tartan Army, but I chose England.
By Heather McKinlay
Amateur hour
A short story. By Colin McPherson
They wore the primrose and pink – Lord Rosebery’s men
Potted biographies from the dim and distant past of Scottish football, the era of barrel chests and handlebar moustaches.
By Duncan McCoshan
An appreciation of Jonny Hayes
Why the Aberdeen midfielder deserves to be regarded as one of the best players in the country.
By John Maxwell
Does size matter?
Very few of Europe’s top goalscorers are less than 1.8 metres tall. So does bigger really mean better when it comes to strikers?
By Thom Watt
A black and white issue
The story behind a specially customized one-off Scotland jersey.
By John Devlin
Colour coordinated
Some will be cherished for years, some will never be worn. Here’s how this season’s Premiership shirts are being viewed by the fans of each club. By Craig Fowler
After The Ninety Before
By Jim Mackintosh
Five Hundred Miles
By Thomas Clark