Welcome to Issue 5
Sold out
The home front stoics
By Daniel Gray
The Boy in the Plastic Bag
My part in helping dreams come true – for Qatar’s football lovers, and for a boy from Afghanistan By Michael Tierney
The club that Colonel Gaddafi couldn’t kill
Martin Geissler heard many stories during his time in Libya as an ITV foreign correspondent reporting on the country’s revolution, but few as compelling as that of the Benghazi club Al-Ahly, otherwise known as ‘Rebel FC’.
Postcard to myself
Three footballing mementoes are fragments of childhood as well as nostalgic snapshots of Libya’s heritage. By Barry Didcock
Stewart Regan means business
When Leigh Griffiths’ scored that second free kick against England, the CEO of the SFA admits he “nearly jumped off the balcony of the directors’ box”. But don’t go thinking it was the passion of a fan – it was strictly business for a very determined executive. By Heather McKinlay
Hamish McAlpine: The goal-scoring goalie
The long-serving keeper is cherished for his shot-stopping, his charisma – and for scoring more goals than any other Scottish goalie By Graeme Webster
Tony Green: A supreme talent curtailed
His playing career was ended shatteringly early, but decades on the diminutive midfielder is still revered at the clubs he played for. By Maurice Smith
The watcher in the park
Growing up playing boys’ club matches in north Edinburgh, every spectator was somebody’s relative. Apart from one – who just happened to be a living legend. By Daniel Shields
Scotland’s lost warrior
Few people know the name Findlay ‘Junior’ McGillivray. Those that do are convinced that had he been playing today rather than in the 1960s, he would have many Scotland caps to his name. By Jordan Campbell
‘A scandalous enterprise’
Football is a game for everyone, and women have always played it whether men liked it or not. Words by Dan Gray. Photographs by Alan McCredie
Home truths
The biggest day in Aberdeen’s recent history will come in October when the decision on where to relocate the club will be announced. In reality, many fans said farewell to the real Pittodrie back in 1992. By Andrew Southwick
A cycle of stability and success
Derek McInnes has overseen a remarkable transformation at Aberdeen. But if Pedro Caixinha is right about football going in cycles, where does the club now stand? By Craig Fowler
Scotland’s best manager you’ve never heard of
Martin Rennie has achieved success in the US, Canada and South Korea at clubs with high expectations and significant resources. Why is he now helping coach a Michigan high school team as a favour to a friend? By Adrian Searle
A new chapter for Dave Mackay
Three years on from the day he was ensured legendary status in Perth when he lifted the Scottish Cup, the former St Johnstone captain is looking forward to a new season as Stirling Albion manager. Life is very different, but he is relishing the challenges. By Ed Hodge
Why Scandi living suits Kevin Nicol
Bad luck led to the former Hibs player seeking salvation in Norway. Ten years on, he is happy to call it home – and in no hurry to return. By Martin Domin
The middlemen
Scott Brown v Barry Ferguson: the similarities, the differences, the careers, the personalities. And the verdict. By Craig Fowler
The making of ‘young Andrew’
Andy Robertson’s success comes as no surprise when you know his upbringing By Kenny Millar
A perfect fit
When Stephen Dobbie talks about the bond he feels with Queen of the South it is no throwaway cliché By Chris Tait
How Derek Rae became the voice of Scottish football
It began when he was seven with a home recorder, a microphone and some blank cassettes at home in 1974. It ended in May this year with a Greg Docherty goal at New Douglas Park. And throughout his stellar career Rae has never lost his passion for Scottish football. By Joel Sked
‘You need to keep viewers entertained when they’re passing along the back four’
The new voice of BT Sport’s SPFL coverage on the challenges of commentating – and why he never wants to cover Scotland games. By Craig Cairns
The crowd-sourcing con trick
Why do clubs increasingly embellish the number of people attending their games? By Ian Thomson
Time for some truth and reconciliation
If the South Africans can manage it, if loyalists and republicans can bring a halt to violence in Northern Ireland, then football fans in Scotland can surely learn to move on. By Maurice Smith
Positive thinking
In the four decades since Willie Johnston was sent home from the 1978 World Cup after testing positive for a stimulant, Scottish football has seen very few doping scandals. Does that mean our game is clean? By Paul Dimeo
Is insularity our biggest problem?
When young Scottish players leave the country and report that the coaching they’re receiving elsewhere is superior, they are likely to face a backlash at home. What does that tell us?. By Craig Cairns
A game underwater, and everybody drowning
This is it. This is how it felt to play against Rangers. By Thomas Clark
He’ll take more care of you, Archigoles
Steve Archibald’s short but extraordinarily productive spell at Barcelona marks him out as perhaps the greatest Scottish player to grace the leagues of the European mainland By Mike Gibbons
When the Dons, the Hibees and the Tangerines took American citizenship
In 1967 the US wanted a soccer league – immediately. What better way than to import wholesale 12 of the ‘best teams in the world’. By Gordon Cairns
‘We hadn’t got a bloody clue what we were letting ourselves in for’
The story of Scotland’s ill-fated 1967 tour. By Jon Spurling
A Champions League debut to remember
1992 was the first time that the Champions League name featured in Europe’s premier club competition. And a cold, wet November night in Glasgow that year provided another memorable first. By Greig Cameron
126 dreich years later
Everything came together for Stranraer on a bleak day in Cumbernauld, a day that was 126 years in the making. By Craig Shields
The birth of tiki-taka – the replay
Was Jonathan Wilson correct to claim in Issue One of Nutmeg that the playing style made famous by Barcelona was born in Glasgow in 1872? There is evidence to suggest that he could be slightly wide of the mark. By Iain Campbell Whittle
When Sunderland met hearts in the first ever ‘Champions League’ match
The champions of England versus the champions of Scotland, 1895. At stake, the right to be regarded as world champions. By Alexis James
The real history of fitba
Forget the myth about football being introduced by posh boys from the public schools of England. In truth, almost as soon as a country called Scotland began to appear, fitba came along to liven it up. By Alistair Andrew Heather
A tense encounter
Uppin FC’s manager Paul Deacon knows how crucial it is to get a good start to the season. It’s important that nothing detracts from getting results. Somebody, it seems, has a different agenda.
By Colin McPherson
The volunteers
By Duncan McCoshan
Formation dancing: what’s wrong with 2-3-5, anyway?
Enough with dull midfield struggles, backward passing and rigid defences. This system can be resurrected to the advantage of all. By Rab MacWilliam
Poetry
The Hampden Roar by Kevin Graham
The Big Shop by Jim Mackintosh