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.
Kris Boyd was given a senior contract by Kilmarnock on 25th August 1999, and he debuted in the first team as a sub in the last game of the 2000-1 season against Celtic. Boyd won the SPL Young Player of the Month for August 2002. He also finished the 2002-3 season with 12 goals, earning…
On 2 January 1988 Mark Walters’ first match in Rangers colours, at Celtic Park, was marred by vile racism from the home support, with bananas and other assorted fruit items thrown onto the pitch as supporters made monkey noises and gestures any time he collected a pass or ran down the wing with the ball….
Scott Crabbe left Tynecastle Boys Club to join Hearts in 1986 and made his league debut against Clydebank in January 1987. He established himself at Tynecastle, earned selection for the Scotland under‑21 team and was voted SPFA Young Player of the Year in 1990. Linked with a move to Dundee United in the summer of…
Ivan Golac arrived at Dundee United in the summer of 1993 as the first new manager in 22 years, succeeding Jim McLean. He came with a continental record, having won the Yugoslav Cup 6–1 in his first season at Partizan Belgrade and having been considered for the Celtic job in 1992. United appointed him amid…
Sir Alex Ferguson’s pursuit of Alex McLeish finally broke down in the late 1980s, when a £1.75 million bid from Manchester United was rejected by the Aberdeen Board. That figure represented a new club record transfer fee; however, the Board of Directors were unwilling to part with a player who had become an integral member…
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…
