The Fog Match. The Birth of Total Football

Forty five years ago this month an extraordinary match took place in extraordinary circumstances. As Amsterdam was gripped by a thick “pea souper” fog that enveloped the city there appeared little chance that a game of football could take place within it. A postponement or cancellation would have been a huge disappointment to the players and supporters of Ajax who had been fervently [...]

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Was It Really A Dark Day For Scottish Football?

As the financial storm clouds gather over Ibrox, the appointed administrators of Duff and Phelps are already starting to make inroads into making sense of the mess that Rangers have found themselves in. Whilst the BBC, STV and Sky line up pundits, former players and board members both past and present to broadcast their opinions there seems uniformity amongst [...]

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Why 2012 Is So Important to Craig Levein

While the early months of 2012 will see sixteen of the continents international coaches busily preparing for this summers European Championships, Scotland coach Craig Levein’s next few months, although slightly more prosaic, are no less important.  If the last unsuccessful qualifying campaign was his attempt to learn on the job then the push for World Cup qualification, which begins [...]

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Is King Kenny’s Crown Slipping?

No-one can seemingly make up their mind about Liverpool this season. Virtually every aspect of the club has been analysed and opined on over the last 12 months but the views expressed on each seem to change from month to month. Andy Carroll has went from being an extortionate, ridiculous signing, to a natural England legend and back [...]

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From Manager Of The Year to “McGlynn Out” in 6 Months

There wasnt too much angst from Raith Rovers fans at the beginning of May when John McGlynn received his PFA Manager of the Year trophy. It was mostly just pride they felt when their manager was selected to receive the trophy ahead of the Dundee boss Barry Smith and former Kilmarnock manager Mixu Paatelainen. It seemed [...]

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Whisper It Quietly. I Quite Like Gary Neville

When Andy Gray and Richard Keys departed Sky under a dark cloud of sexism and boorishness a year ago this month it created far more questions than it solved problems. While the public debated attitudes to women and whether or not the furore warranted such a reaction or as Richard Keys claimed, that “dark forces” [...]

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Supporting Raith Rovers Is No Laughing Matter

I can still recall my primary classmates reaction when I first told him I was a Raith Rovers fan. His laugh was so loud that everyone else in the class presumed I’d just come up with a ridiculously funny joke. Of course once they got to know me a bit better they soon realised my jokes [...]

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Scotland, Despair and the World Cup Final

Sport, and perhaps most predominantly football, is one of the few facets of society where men can be unabashedly emotional and not be frowned upon for being so. The TV cameras love identifying a fan showing their feelings at the end of a big game. Whether it’s the ecstatic character celebrating a title win or a weeping child commiserating  relegation, [...]

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McGeady and McCarthy, The Missing Link Men

While Craig Levein was sifting through the bones of the damaging draw with the Czech Republic last weekend his mind must have wandered over where his team had been lacking. Yes the referee was poor and the last-minute penalty had crippled them but the Scots as a whole had struggled to cope with the Czech midfield on the day [...]

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Haven’t We Met Before? The Repetition Of The Champions League

While watching Tuesday nights champion leagues play off matches you couldn’t help but feel a whiff of nostalgia for the competition this behemoth used to be. The straight knock out format of the preliminary stages provided an unlikely victory for Cypriots Apoel Nicosia and a thrilling penalty victory for Belgian side Genk. Perhaps most poignant [...]

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