We are entering the Yuletide season, when everyone is allowed a pang of nostalgia. When I was a kid in the 1970s, football was everything, the entire universe — and vivid moments were plentiful. Here are some of my favourites:
● The unadorned strips
You see these pictures of Scottish footballers from the period: what strikes you is the neat, crisp, unfussy strips, unbesmirched by flashes or logos. Look at the classic Celtic top of the early 1970s: crew neck, no numbers, not even a club badge. Aberdeen introduced that odd white flash down one side and then “Bukta” suddenly appeared writ large on a Hibs top. The desecration had started.
● Football on the TV
Saturday night Sportscene — originally Sportsreel — with Archie Macpherson at 10.20pm. Just the two-game highlights package: one Scottish, one English. One evening back then Archie announced that, while the film of the Scottish game was intact, the audio had been lost, and so he was going to do the commentary there and then from his studio chair over the highlights. And off he went. “So Hibs kick off here at Easter Road … ”
● The old Ibrox
What a magnificent arena: the smell, the atmosphere, the green, green grass in August. The very sight of it filled you with excitement. Tommy McLean’s crosses weren’t arrowed or spear-like as in modern football; they wafted over in great high arcs, to be met by Derek Johnstone, Derek Parlane or even Ally Scott at the far post. 2-0 to Rangers.
● The exotic foreign clubs
This was an eye-opener, almost mind-bending for a wee kid. Aberdeen played a club called Honved of Budapest. Rangers played Ankaragucu, and Ajax, and someone called Torino. In 1972 Celtic played Ujpest Dozsa, when the blinky STV feed went down. These were memorable European adventures, when a wee boy’s geography didn’t happen at school, but at the football.
Advertisement
● The newspaper back pages
In the early 1970s, if your family took the Glasgow Herald, the sports page — yes, one page — was on page 4. As that bell-bottomed decade unfolded the football news gravitated to the back and, in the Glasgow Herald’s case, to two or maybe three pages. The paucity of the coverage back then is found even in the Daily Record. What did the sports hacks do in those days? They must have had long lunches.
● Our world-class footballers
They grew on trees. By the age of 12 I could reel off a list of Scotland players — Billy Bremner, Joe Jordan, Jimmy Johnstone, Willie Johnston, Martin Buchan, Danny McGrain, Kenny Dalglish, Sandy Jardine and reams more — who would not have embarrassed themselves playing for any team in Europe. I almost weep about it today.
● The Hampden mudslopes
I hared up the Hampden steps with my father — late as usual — to take in the 1976 Scottish Cup Final between Rangers and Hearts. It was a grey day, the Hampden mud and ash congealed under your feet, and men peed into bottles or empty cans behind you and sometimes sprayed the back of your legs. Glorious days.
● The big English games
You became painfully aware of this — but it was still brilliant. Once Sportscene or Scotsport had relayed the sometimes sparsely-seated dramas of places like Pittodrie or Tynecastle, the big English games came on and, wow, the noise and the size of the crowds. The first seeds of “the little Scotlander” were planted. It was the first hint of “we know our place”.
● Alan Rough at Firhill
Forever an amazing sight. Rough, ahead of his time, had a love of pastel shades: he would trot out in goalie tops of red, bright blue, sometimes even a hint of pink. Playing in front of 4,000 for Thistle one week, then before 80,000 for Scotland the next. Phil Parkes-style, with a beautiful mane of brown hair, surely coiffed-up by Cossack Hairspray.
Advertisement
● Sam Leitch’s Football Focus
A must for a 70s football kid, with all the big English clips from Old Trafford, Highbury or Goodison, and with a bit of Scottish football chucked in at the end. It finished, too, just in time to flick over for On The Ball with Brian Moore. By this point, 1pm, your excitement about going to the game was brewing, with your dad yelling at you to get ready.
Mackay is stronger and wiser
The more these last few days unfolded, the more sympathetic I came to the notion of Malky Mackay becoming the SFA’s new performance director.
I never realised that the world of Scottish football was the last bastion of hellfire and brimstone in our society. It has taken this episode to reveal the pungent, relentless, righteous fury that still exists among some football fans.
No-one is diminishing what Mackay did four years ago. A number of his text messages were vile. Back then he displayed what is often the ugliest type of prejudice: that which is “bantering” and carefree. As driven and vengeful a man as Vincent Tan is at Cardiff City in having it in for Mackay, the fact remains that the latter sent texts and held these attitudes. But he got hauled up for it and he has shown contrition. Genuine — in my book — contrition.
In the years since Mackay has re-educated himself, thought about the issues, and realised the folly of his ways. He has admitted time and again to the wickedness of those texts and said sorry. And he looks to me a far, far better man for it.
Advertisement
Mackay spoke well in front of the media last Thursday. He also seemed to have a sure grasp of his remit as the new performance director. This talented football man, has lived through public shame and held himself together and emerged stronger and wiser.
I’ve hesitated to endorse Mackay for his new SFA role. Like many, I’ve been mired in doubt over it. But I’ve also had it up to here with the whipping boys. They can take their moral indignation and wafting hot air and find some other cause to dump them on.
World No 1 is unloved no more
What chance Andy Murray landing an unprecedented third BBC Sports Personality of the Year award in Birmingham tomorrow night? A very good one, I’d say. Of the 16 nominees, some — Gareth Bale, Jamie Vardy, Nick Skelton, Nicola Adams — can be all but ruled out. But Murray, a Wimbledon champion once more, is decidedly in the running. Do you remember when this guy was unloved: boring, monotoned, “the dour Scot”? Now Britain adores Andy Murray, and quite rightly so. Have your vino and chocs ready for SPOTY tomorrow night, it is a great evening of telly.
Sad twist to the child-abuse scandal
The child abuse scandal continues apace in football. In total, 80 potential suspects involving 98 clubs are being investigated by UK police. Police Scotland has said it has received 109 allegations of possible abuse. This gruesome story is by no means finished yet. A repellent by-product of the saga has been the sight of numbers of Rangers and Celtic fans actually hoping for sex-abuse scandals to emerge from their rival club, purely for gloating purposes. As one colleague stated last week: “There are certain fans actually praying for new cases to emerge”. I’ve seen quite a lot of demeaning stuff in my time. But I never thought I’d see the day when football fans hoped for new sex-abuse stories to emerge, as ammunition for some point-scoring. What sad people we have around us.