Scottish football has produced some of the game’s greatest players, managers, moments and misfits. This is where we remember them properly; the legends, the nearly men, the characters, the nights that still get talked about in pubs decades later.
Ronaldinho’s almost‑transfer to St Mirren is arguably one of the most unlikely moments in Scottish football history. It began a day before transfer deadline day 2001, during a short window between Ronaldinho leaving Gremio and moving to Paris Saint‑Germain. Although Ronaldinho had already agreed a contract with PSG, he needed competitive football after finishing the…
Ikechi Anya always appeared in games as though somebody had hit fast‑forward on only one player. He had low shoulders, a slight stutter during runs, and the ball attached to his laces in such a manner that defenders began to back off unintentionally. Few in Scotland truly understood what to do with him initially. The…
Jim Duffy always seemed to walk back through the doors at Dens Park like a man answering a pull he couldn’t quite explain. You think of him first as that centre half Archie Knox pinched from Morton in 1985, the Scottish Players’ Player of the Year turning up in dark blue and instantly looking like…
Gordon Dalziel’s whole story turns on a knock at the door. A Sunday afternoon in 1987, him sitting at home after a rough spell at East Stirlingshire, wondering what came next, when Frank Connor turned up and refused to leave until he agreed to give Raith Rovers a month of his time. Dalziel wasn’t even…
In May 1990, Alex Ferguson made the coldest decision of his managerial career. His goalkeeper had just conceded three goals in an FA Cup Final draw against Crystal Palace at Wembley. Ferguson dropped him for the replay. Les Sealey played. United won 1-0. The goalkeeper he discarded was Jim Leighton. What followed was one of…
