leezical Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 When I was at high school, the community coaches they referred to on the programme came to give us a training session. I remember one of them boasting they would be playing SPL football in 3 years time. We all laughed at the time but he was spot on. Doubt he ever thought they would have went bust soon after. Back where they belong in my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vince sinclair Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 Newcastleton.What a truly horrible place Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Distant Doonhamer Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 It`s a truly bizarre story in many ways. Totally understandable that people bought into the romance of it but it really was a house of cards. Many local businesses lost significant sums of money. Conversely Queens in some ways ultimately benefited when it started to go tits up being able to sign players like Tosh, McQuilken, Macfarlane and Aitken who all reached a cup final and Europe with us. Best of luck to those running Gretna 2008. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monkey Tennis Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 Not too bad a programme. Some parts obviously had me screaming at the TV, such as when Jim White played up the fairy tale element. However, there was actually some retrospective humility on show from Skelton and Mileson's son. I have very little time for Alexander, but I've sympathy for the humiliation he suffered and the damage it did him. As a Queens fan, I came to despise Gretna hugely. Ironically however, their stupid experiment actually did us a lot of good as we harvested players that would otherwise have been nowhere near this part of the world. There's also an interesting angle in how 'new' everyone regards Gretna 2008 to be, even though they wear black and white and play at Raydale. Rangers however, must be regarded as the same outfit as that which went tits up, largely on the basis of wearing blue and playing at Ibrox. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roverthemoon Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 Decent programme. The media may have been taken in by the whole fairy tale stuff but anyone with a brain could see it was just cold hard cash and completely unsustainable. Turns out it was just borrowed money that was being thrown at it. The level of debt left behind was horrific. £3m by the football club, £8m by Mileson himself. It's up there with Rangers level of financial doping and deserves to be viewed with the same contempt. Thank f**k they didn't win that Scottish Cup Final Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sergeant Wilson Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 Remember when it went tits up, the daft Morton supporter on here who was designing their new eco-stadium? What a roaster he was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sloop John B Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 It was always a morality thing with Queens and Gretna for me. They were gimmicky, arrogant and filled with some proper WUMs like Alexander, Main, Grady and Stevie Tosh. But they energized our support and gave us our only proper rival even if it was for 4 games. The one game we won is still one my favourite games, the significance of it in hindsight makes it even better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Distant Doonhamer Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 It was always a morality thing with Queens and Gretna for me. They were gimmicky, arrogant and filled with some proper WUMs like Alexander, Main, Grady and Stevie Tosh. But they energized our support and gave us our only proper rival even if it was for 4 games. The one game we won is still one my favourite games, the significance of it in hindsight makes it even better. I thought Grady came across as OK in the programme and Stevie Tosh remains one of my favourite QOS players. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WILLIEA Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 The original Gretna, before Mileson got his hands on them were a very well run wee club. Post Mileson it was a nightmare I came to despise. They did at one point pose a very real threat to Queens, especially when a ground share was being mooted. I remember talking to one ex Queens player on their staff and his eyes positively gleamed with evangelical zeal when he said what they were going to achieve. I rejoiced in their demise. Conversely, I wish Gretna 2008 all the best! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QosLoyal Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 Watching that just reminded me of how pleasing it was when the fairytale came to a brutal and comprehensive end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowdenbeath Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 Not too bad a programme. Some parts obviously had me screaming at the TV, such as when Jim White played up the fairy tale element. However, there was actually some retrospective humility on show from Skelton and Mileson's son. I have very little time for Alexander, but I've sympathy for the humiliation he suffered and the damage it did him. As a Queens fan, I came to despise Gretna hugely. Ironically however, their stupid experiment actually did us a lot of good as we harvested players that would otherwise have been nowhere near this part of the world. There's also an interesting angle in how 'new' everyone regards Gretna 2008 to be, even though they wear black and white and play at Raydale. Rangers however, must be regarded as the same outfit as that which went tits up, largely on the basis of wearing blue and playing at Ibrox. Skelton and Mileston junior I thought came across not too bad on the programme. I would have liked to visited Gretna pre Mileston as I heard it was quite a friendly wee club when they were in the English non league scene. To their credit the folk who are running the 2008 club seem to be doing their best to distance themselves from the old club which I think is a good thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sloop John B Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 I thought Grady came across as OK in the programme and Stevie Tosh remains one of my favourite QOS players. I hated Grady as a player, I love Tosh now, but he knew how to rub the opposition fans up. I remember him doing the money gesture in the first game at Raydale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welshbairn Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 Anyone know if this is going on SS News at some point? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sons Fan Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 Just watched it on catchup. Rose tinted glass to the MAX Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monkey Tennis Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 The original Gretna, before Mileson got his hands on them were a very well run wee club. Post Mileson it was a nightmare I came to despise. They did at one point pose a very real threat to Queens, especially when a ground share was being mooted. I remember talking to one ex Queens player on their staff and his eyes positively gleamed with evangelical zeal when he said what they were going to achieve. I rejoiced in their demise. Conversely, I wish Gretna 2008 all the best! The whole episode was decidedly odd.I too wished them well in their earlier days. I remember them visiting Bolton in the FA Cup at one point and giving them a Hell of a fright. When they got into the Scottish League and scored, nineteen seconds into their first match, it also represented a feel-good story. The trouble with the Mileson thing was the dishonesty of it all. This myth that they hadn't merely bought success was an absolute insult to the intelligence of each observer. In the BBC documentary of the time, the hubris was astonishing. It was weird, because several perfectly decent people were involved and I think the experience scarred them. When it blew up, it was actually less satisfying than I'd envisaged. There was something sad about the death of a little club that had spent most if its history serving its community. The glory hunters from the area that we scorned, would have been pretty unbruised by the demise of something they'd only fleetingly invested in. A really weird little story all round. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JessieField Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 There was a "Fly On The Wall" camera set up in the Gretna home dressing room during their First Division run. Somewhere, somebody must have the tape of the recording (after the Queens victory) of the dressing room aftermath where the shit hit the fan. I'd pay a goodly sum to see that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowdenbeath Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 There was a "Fly On The Wall" camera set up in the Gretna home dressing room during their First Division run. Somewhere, somebody must have the tape of the recording (after the Queens victory) of the dressing room aftermath where the shit hit the fan. I'd pay a goodly sum to see that! That would be TV gold. Remember that BBC documentary which was really boke inducing stuff which really had the rose tinted specs on. What ever happened to the guy who was general manager or what ever he didn't come across too well in that programme. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Distant Doonhamer Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 I hated Grady as a player, I love Tosh now, but he knew how to rub the opposition fans up. I remember him doing the money gesture in the first game at Raydale. I`ve always thought of Grady as a wee naff but as i say thought he came across OK on the programme. I met Tosh when he was at Gretna and he was great fun, absolutely up for a good laugh. Delighted when we signed him and thought he was superb for us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monkey Tennis Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 What ever happened to the guy who was general manager or what ever he didn't come across too well in that programme. He's a good guy actually who puts a lot into the community. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowdenbeath Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 He's a good guy actually who puts a lot into the community. Aye maybe that programme done him a disservice, he did seem to really get caught up in the 'living the dream thing'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.