A Photographic History Of Scottish Football

[Archie McSquackle]

Accies v Arabs 1993. Pretty sure the gentleman known as Fergie was standing a couple of rows in front of me at this game, unless everyfuckingbody in Hamilfuckington swore at every second fuckingword.

Guessing Fergie is long dead.
First noticed him at Hamilton Accies v Aberdeen Scottish Cup tie round about January 1979. There was 12,000 there that day. Same fixture same month 5 years later the crowd was down to 5000.
Fergie was at both games. Back then i thought he was just howling at the moon.
Now in my later years i realise he was a passionate eccentric who wore his first love on his sleeve.

Yeah, Fergie (Ian Russell) died a good while ago. I grew up in Hamilton and the old Douglas Park was a great traditional ground to visit. Hamilton (like most places in the west of Scotland) suffers greatly from many locals supporting other teams (and I appreciate the irony of me speaking as a Motherwell supporter) but in those days, when football was more affordable, a group of us (Accies, Motherwell, Rangers and Celtic supporters alike) would go to games ( Cup games, midweek etc) just to enjoy going to the football. I don't think it's as easy or as affordable now, particularly with seating.

[bluearmyfaction]

43 minutes ago, parsforlife said:

Different time and all but f**k me looking at some of those adds and articles are utterly mental. 

I like the typographical tricks that some use in an era before photographs.   Some of those old ads are basically one line like SMITHS LIVER PILLS repeated a dozen times.  Certainly attracting the eye.

[PossilYM]

6 hours ago, Archie McSquackle said:

Yeah, Fergie (Ian Russell) died a good while ago. I grew up in Hamilton and the old Douglas Park was a great traditional ground to visit. Hamilton (like most places in the west of Scotland) suffers greatly from many locals supporting other teams (and I appreciate the irony of me speaking as a Motherwell supporter) but in those days, when football was more affordable, a group of us (Accies, Motherwell, Rangers and Celtic supporters alike) would go to games ( Cup games, midweek etc) just to enjoy going to the football. I don't think it's as easy or as affordable now, particularly with seating.

Going by where i was living at the time (1980?) i went along to a midweek last game of the season, Partick Thistle v St Mirren, usual dire meaningless 0-0. A crowd of say 3000 which i don't think today would be that bad. I remember paying £2.50 to get in.

So it was possible to go along to the average game anywhere and not really consider the cost of admission.

Plus you just turned up and paid at the gate.

Luckily i still have the choice of present day non league for a tenner or less. With new ambitious clubs like Drumchapel Utd or St Cadoc's breaking through.

I wouldn't pay above a tenner to watch Accies, Clyde, Albion Rovers etc. Then again maybe when they drop into the Lowland League or below that may very well change.

Tick Tock.

[Jacksgranda]

9 hours ago, bluearmyfaction said:

I hope these two pages are legible btw.  A remarkable bit of detail.  Queen of the South Wanderers (nothing to do with QoS today) were expelled from the game in 1889 for illegal professionalism.  The whole thing came about because a new chairman was suspicious that the books were not accurate and sued the treasurer.  Big mistake; the treasurer claimed in court that the club committee had told him to fake the accounts to hide payments to players.  And the upshot was the SFA banned the club, every committee member, and some of the players.

 

But the Dumfries & Galloway Standard had some indepth records of the testimonies, which give details of just how the football economy worked in Scotland back then.  And also how the game was doomed as an amateur enterprise - the Wanderers were slung out for paying some players £1 per month when some English clubs were paying them £6 per week...

 

Nobody knew nothing! 

[HeWhoWalksBehindTheRows]

On 31/10/2022 at 11:21, Jimmain said:

It's a fucking shocker. Used to take my nephew through sometimes when he was visiting from Hingerlund and it was embarrassing how shit it was/is. Not that he cared of course, just excited to be at a game.

Compared with the compact and bijou RC ground over the bridge it's grim. I sometimes look around the Continent at smaller countries newer stadiums holding 4 to 6 thousand, and above, and the excellent and inclusive way that the stands are built with excellent views and facilities for the public, and wonder why these simple but very important things haven't filtered through to stadium designers/builders here? 

I've been in the home (and away) ends at Tulloch too when up visiting and it's as shit a view as the Mainer. I had the same gripe on the Queen's Park thread about the objectionably bland looking thing going up at snails pace at Lesser...and the one Embra Council have just dropped on Meadowbank.

It's not the Tulloch stadium now, and it never fucking was to those who matter. 

[HeWhoWalksBehindTheRows]

On 31/10/2022 at 14:45, The Mantis said:

Hampden in 1997

Was that the game that Tokely scored on his birthday? I  sure I was at that game, won the bus sweep, queen's Park scored first?

[Monkey Tennis]

On 22/11/2022 at 20:14, Clown Job said:

Partick Thistle v Aberdeen 1992

Game was postponed if I’m right in thinking 

That game has come up a few times before on here.

I was in attendance for some reason.  The snow was making it unplayable well before it was stopped.

At half time, with Thistle losing, the groundstaff made a spectacularly feeble attempt to clear the lines, with one flimsy brush, the head of which, then fell off.

It was abandoned in the second half, with the score at, I think, 2-0 to Aberdeen, which is why their players are moaning in the picture.  When it did get played again, Aberdeen won by 7-0 or 7-1 or thereabouts.

[The Mantis]

39 minutes ago, HeWhoWalksBehindTheRows said:

Was that the game that Tokely scored on his birthday? I  sure I was at that game, won the bus sweep, queen's Park scored first?

Aye that’s the one. Romped div 3 , happy days. Could do with a time machine.

[Jacksgranda]

1 hour ago, Monkey Tennis said:

That game has come up a few times before on here.

I was in attendance for some reason.  The snow was making it unplayable well before it was stopped.

At half time, with Thistle losing, the groundstaff made a spectacularly feeble attempt to clear the lines, with one flimsy brush, the head of which, then fell off.

It was abandoned in the second half, with the score at, I think, 2-0 to Aberdeen, which is why their players are moaning in the picture.  When it did get played again, Aberdeen won by 7-0 or 7-1 or thereabouts.

https://afcheritage.org/matches/fixtures/mreport.cfm?fixture_id=11992&season=1992-93&squad=Senior

https://afcheritage.org/matches/fixtures/mreport.cfm?fixture_id=4076&season=1992-93&squad=Senior

[Dundee Hibernian]

On 03/12/2022 at 11:32, The Mantis said:

Accies v Arabs 1993. Pretty sure the gentleman known as Fergie was standing a couple of rows in front of me at this game, unless everyfuckingbody in Hamilfuckington swore at every second fuckingword.

That must have been the LC tie which United won in extra time: I'll be a wee dot in the enclosure in picture 2. The whole season was odd for the Tannadice club, in Ivan Golac's only full season in charge. The Scottish Cup win at the end of the season camouflaged erratic league performances whereby only two points separated them from the relegation spots, as three clubs went down. It was a portent for the following dismal campaign.

Think 1993-94 was the last season of two points being awarded for a win.

Ivan Golac was a Croat, but had been born in Yugoslavia, and was a bit of an odd character to land into Scottish football management in many ways. He possessed an easy going nature, and genuinely didn't give a f**k about pecking orders and authoritarian figures. I don't know why Jim McLean thought to give him a job, and as a manager/coach he failed on many fronts, but a little known tale concerns Golac's dealings with Jim Farry at the SFA.

Farry was a stickler for the rules, and when the Yugoslav Wars led to the FRY (basically the Serbia and Montenegro national side) being disqualified from Euro 92, a ban was placed on Serbian sports participation by world bodies. 

Even after the ban was lifted for a trial 100 days in 1994, Farry advised Scottish football sides not to associate with Serbian clubs: United received a letter warning them off playing against Partizan Belgrade in Serbia in November of that year. But Golac, styling himself as a Serb, pled for humility, and stated the club's visit would go ahead. It did, and saw a huge crowd attend, perhaps going some way towards, a year later, Serbia being allowed to take part in club and international football. 

Golac perhaps came out of the whole affair as a better diplomat than football manager, as United lost 3-0.                   

 

[The Mantis]

10 minutes ago, Dundee Hibernian said:

That must have been the LC tie which United won in extra time: I'll be a wee dot in the enclosure in picture 2. The whole season was odd for the Tannadice club, in Ivan Golac's only full season in charge. The Scottish Cup win at the end of the season camouflaged erratic league performances whereby only two points separated them from the relegation spots, as three clubs went down. It was a portent for the following dismal campaign.

Think 1993-94 was the last season of two points being awarded for a win.

Ivan Golac was a Croat, but had been born in Yugoslavia, and was a bit of an odd character to land into Scottish football management in many ways. He possessed an easy going nature, and genuinely didn't give a f**k about pecking orders and authoritarian figures. I don't know why Jim McLean thought to give him a job, and as a manager/coach he failed on many fronts, but a little known tale concerns Golac's dealings with Jim Farry at the SFA.

Farry was a stickler for the rules, and when the Yugoslav Wars led to the FRY (basically the Serbia and Montenegro national side) being disqualified from Euro 92, a ban was placed on Serbian sports participation by world bodies. 

Even after the ban was lifted for a trial 100 days in 1994, Farry advised Scottish football sides not to associate with Serbian clubs: United received a letter warning them off playing against Partizan Belgrade in Serbia in November of that year. But Golac, styling himself as a Serb, pled for humility, and stated the club's visit would go ahead. It did, and saw a huge crowd attend, perhaps going some way towards, a year later, Serbia being allowed to take part in club and international football. 

Golac perhaps came out of the whole affair as a better diplomat than football manager, as United lost 3-0.                   

 

That’s the one, 10th August. 1-0 Paddy Connolly. 2793. Apparently Christian Dailly missed a pen too. Can’t remember anything about the game tbh.

[Monkey Tennis]

7 hours ago, Dundee Hibernian said:

 

Even after the ban was lifted for a trial 100 days in 1994, Farry advised Scottish football sides not to associate with Serbian clubs: United received a letter warning them off playing against Partizan Belgrade in Serbia in November of that year. But Golac, styling himself as a Serb, pled for humility, and stated the club's visit would go ahead. It did, and saw a huge crowd attend, perhaps going some way towards, a year later, Serbia being allowed to take part in club and international football. 

Golac perhaps came out of the whole affair as a better diplomat than football manager, as United lost 3-0.                   

Partizan Belgrade came over here that December.  They played Queens at a very icy Palmerston just before Christmas.

[Dundee Hibernian]

9 hours ago, Monkey Tennis said:

Partizan Belgrade came over here that December.  They played Queens at a very icy Palmerston just before Christmas.

Aye, I think it was 4-0 to Partizan, in a game following a rematch at Tannadice which they won 1-0.

[GNU_Linux]

[Flybhoy]

Dundee United v Hearts from 1968, older posters able to name the players?

[Eednud]

1 hour ago, Flybhoy said:

Dundee United v Hearts from 1968, older posters able to name the players?

Doug Smith in tangerine? No idea about the others. Great to see no change strips.

[Dundee Hibernian]

1 hour ago, Flybhoy said:

Dundee United v Hearts from 1968, older posters able to name the players?

Plenty older than me on here I hope! Anyway, this picture was probably from 1969, not '68: United didn't change to tangerine until the start of 69-70 season.

The United player is Doug Smith, a fantastic centre half who went through his career of over 600 games never being booked. He later owned a pub in the city (The Athletic, I think), and was a club director for almost 20 years. Ernie Winchester may be the Hearts striker. Both these players were from Aberdeen, born several years apart, and both died within months of each other around 10 years ago.

 

[HibeeJibee]

60yrs ago:

[Big Chief Toffee Teeth]

 

Not George Fleming, later of United?

[Mr. X]

2 hours ago, Flybhoy said:

Dundee United v Hearts from 1968, older posters able to name the players?

Rene Moller at left of pic.