mcnpauls

I speak as a Stirling Albion fan whose brother used to play schoolboy football with Hansen, and an admirer of his Liverpool career, so i hope their is no perceived bias. It wasn't just that managers preferred the McLeish-Miller partnership, it's that Hansen frequently played badly for Scotland. I saw every home match he played for us in the flesh and he was frequently poor, as well as seeing him in the odd away game I got to and live TV matches. The McLeish Miller central defence was actually established AFTER years of Hansen being a first choice pick at the back, but letting us down consistently on the field, as well as pulling out of squads a lot, and not being prepared to help the team tactics against team-mates who played for other countries. Stein tried Hansen in partnership with various permutations, McLeish, Miller, Hegarty, Narey, Evans, etc, Roxburgh tried him with Gough. He did not thrive in any combination. Stein even kept trying him with Miller for a good while after their infamous bump against the U.S.S.R in the 82 World Cup. I think it was from about 83 onwards that Stein finally went for the Aberdeen axis, and the truth is that is when we became a formidable team at the back and for years to come. Lots of us at the time of the 82 World. Cup had wanted Leighton, McLeish and Miller to play, but Stein was not to be persuaded, more's the pity. It's actually hard to convey just how good we were in central defence from about 83 onwards, you had to see the central defenders game after game coping superbly with often constant pressure from opposing forwards of the highest calibre.

There's a lot to be said for having a pattern to the team, and concentrating on making it work. I've lived in Spain for a long time, and the lack of a system was what had stopped a country with great individual players from doing well, until Luis Aragones defined the system he wanted, then went for it and won the 2008 European Championship; del Bosque made some refinements and adjustments, but also knew what he wanted and won World Cup 2010 and Euro 2012. (Having said that, he blew it in 2014 by sticking to almost exactly the team from before.) In the 70s and 80s we were like the Spain sides for in the nineties and noughties: lots of great individual players, but lack of a coherent system. About the closest we came was probably in defence from the mid to late 80s. Leighton in goals, McLeish and Miller in the middle, Gough, Malpas on the flanks, with other people slotting in to a recognisable system that worked when needed: Steve Nicol, David Narey, etc. I think

I'm convinced in Alan Hansen's case it was mainly down to the fact he did not like, and was not great at, the kind of constant backs to the wall defending often required at international level from our men at the back. He was at his best in a team that was frequently dominant, which he of course helped to establish, but which gave him the chance to link well wit the people in front of him, while others concentrated on covering the defensive side. This was not the case with Scotland side of the time, and I think it may also explain his then questionable commitment. Nicholas was more a victim of the chopping and changing that used to go on up front, and even midfield, when he was at his peak: Stein rarely seemed to have a stable idea of what he wanted in those areas, and when Ferguson and Roxburgh took over, Nicholas' daft decision to go to a totally inappropriate for him Arsenal side meant he s no longer seen as a potentially key player. In McAllister's case, I think he achieved about as much as could have been expected as I don't think he had quite the international-level potential of the other two you mention, but made a good go of it.

I honestly think that Nicholas' main problem as a pundit is that he is simply not very intelligent. I also believe that was his downfall as a player when the bright lights of London lured him away from the chance to join Europe's best team. So instead of being slotted into a Liverpool system that would have suited his style and groomed him to be Dalglish's eventual successor, he went to a middling Arsenal side dominated by Don Howe's simplistic tactics, which really did not suit him. He probably still have had a few more Scotland caps than players like Steve Archibald. We should have done better in 82 and 86, but blame the managers. Stein's defensive decisions in 82 were really poor: loyalty to a past it Danny McGrain, parachuting in Allan Evans, not realising Leighton was better than Rough, McLeish on the bench, etc, etc. Fergie got the defence right in 86, but little else.

Paxman is just as much a part of the English establishment as Cameron: private school -Cambridge - BBC - brother's an ambassador, etc, etc. His abrasive reputation is just a schtick to distinguish him from other presenters.

I'd really, really recommend "The Shield" to everyone. It starts superbly and then each season is better than the one before. A three part mini-series called "The Lost Room" is one of the most intriguing I've ever seen.

Auld Lang Syne. The entire world knows the tune at least, which would make us one of those rare countries whose melody for their anthem is recognised everywhere. Lyrics are genuinely meaningful, and connected to our much loved national poet, who is himself admired worldwide. We even have a cool " move" we could do.

I don't dispute the poor level of Australia then, but that was a helluva tense match for us until Cooper scored. You'll also remember they gave us a hard time in the second leg Down Under. But you can't deny he scored with the penalty when we needed it. And let's not forget Masson and McAllister missing penalties in vital games when they were vice-captain and captain of the team respectively. Cooper's lazier style might well have worked better in Mexico, and he did have the skill to at least take the game to the opposition, unlike Archibald, Sharp, Nicol, etc.

What? All of it?

He was brilliant in the famous win against Spain, and so was pretty much everyone else that night. Sadly, that line-up never played together again. Souness waned over the next couple of years, McStay became inconsistent for Scotland, Bett dropped off the radar for the national team and neither Stein nor Ferguson came up with a stable formation midfield or up front. Cooper was there at the other vital moments of that 86 WC qualifying campaign: penalty against Wales most famously, but also the free kick that broke the stalemate in a very tense play-off against Australia at Hampden. Fergie blew it in Mexico by not giving him a proper chance to make a difference in the three matches. Having said all of that, Cooper could also be totally anonymous in other Scotland matches. Still, on form, he was a joy to watch, and had an amazing end to his career, too.

For decades I've been having a recurring dream about an entire area of Stirling that doesn't actually exist: a network of streets full of high sandstone buildings that, in the dream exist between Dumbarton Road and the Back Walk. It's so consistent I could draw it or map it, and it's so convincing that it feels as if it should exist, but can't.

Very good series and with top turns from John Cairney and Maurice Roeves. I'd love to see it again.

I was looking for this on Youtube to prove to a friend the song ever existed. It's there, but just with still photos accompanying it. Does anyone have a link to the official video, if it exists?

Train from Waverley to Dalmely, then ferry to Inchcolm is a brilliant outing. New Lanark.

Left backs Frank Gray and Maurice Malpas spring to mind, especially Malpas. Both were consistently superb for us against even the very best opposition yet they rarely get mentioned as Scotland greats. Malpas is our best ever left back. Roy Aitken has been mentioned and I agree with that - couldn't be bothered with him as a league centre half, but as a midfielder for us he was consistently dependable. Stein, Ferguson and Roxburgh all came to depend on him and Souness loved playing beside him. Martin Buchan has been forgotten as a great player for us. Both John Robertsons have been forgotten, too, although in the case of the Hearts striker, he barely got the chance to show what he could do for Scotland. The Peru game has made us forget Don Masson was amazing for us until about then.

Far, far too much on. My approach has always been follow my team, including reserve games, follow Scotland, play for my work team, watch my laddies' teams, watch my nephew's school team, watch the local lads playing at the weekend if i've got the time, and go to watch clubs I don't follow if I really fancy the match and it doesn't clash with my team's fixtures. With all of that, I'm happy watching highlights and the odd big game on TV.

Some of the young guys at work made me feel ancient by asking me which legendary foreigners I'd seen in the flesh. Mentioned, amongst others, Best at Hibs, Cruyff against Celtic in the early 80s, and Maradona at Hampden in 79 - who made a much bigger impression than the others. Missed Pele at Hampden in 66, although wee Billy Bremner kept him out if the match by all accounts.

Of course! That was it.thanks, Angus.

I'm convinced I saw him in the 70s in a match I went to with my dad. We're a Stirling Albion family, but would go to watch bigger sides if we wanted to see star players or famous teams. I could swear I saw the Kaiser play either in a European tie, or a friendly/testimonial in either Galsgow or Edinburgh at some point in the 70s yet cannot place it.

Totally agree, Black was superb already at Aberdeen, but I thought he got even better when he went abroad. The injury was a heartbreaker - I thought he was finally going to become the man who would lead the Scotland attack, his generation's Alan Gilzean. As a non-partisan football fanatic, I thought the late 80s early 90s could have been an amazing period for us. But Black and Ian Durrant were finished by injury. Roxburgh was a disappointment as Scotland manager. McStay stagnated at a. Hopeless Celtic. Gough abandoned the national side. Even with all the problems, we played magnificently in Euro 92.

Yes, I also recall the reports at the time of his throwing his boots into the crowd. He was an exceptional talent who badly needed to get away from the going downhill Premier League and what was fast becoming a dire Celtic team. I wonder, though, whether he was just too scared to come out of his comfort zone: as far as I recall, he was a shy, modest devoutly religious young family guy from Glasgow, and I wouldn't be surprised if the thought of moving to a foreign culture, language and climate with his wife and kids was just too daunting for him.Foreign moves worked wonders for Mo Johnston, Eric Black and Murdo MacLeod, as well as the aforementioned Paul Lambert, yet McStay did have even more talent than any of them.

Dixie Deans was top scorer in the old first division that season, but nobody really saw him as international class. Think Law was taken partly because of his vast experience and his personality. I suspect they also thought they'd beat Zaire so convincingly that the great man would get at least one World Cup goal to end his career. It didn't really work out like that. Arguably, Dalglish and Morgan were more the let-downs up front. Dalglish had a very quiet tournament, and Morgan did not produce the play we needed to beat Brazil or Yugoslavia to go through. Jimmy Johnstone was kept on the bench when he was the man who'd have provided the ammunition for Jordan or Lorimer to do some damage in the two big matches.

Think that might have happened with Dalglish, who'd had a great Indian Summer of his career. However, Fergie's decisions were frequently very poor in 86: starting Archibald and Sharp, respectively, in the matches against West Germany and Uruguay did not help. Souness was either unfit or off form, or both, at the heart of the team; Sturrock was out of his depth in his two games; Nicol was out of position; McAvennie and Cooper should both have been given genuine opportunities to do something significant; many of the players capitulated against Uruguay. Leighton and the defence came out of that tournament well, but were asked to hold the fort for vast periods while midfields and forwards did relatively little.

I've occasionally found specific books I've wanted at kickass torrents, but end of paying for them via Amazon most of the time if they're still under copyright.

Our 98 Squad was the weakest we've ever sent to a tournament in my memory (I'm too young to recall the 50s World Cups). Having said that, there weren't many contenders for places at the time amongst those left out. Never a Jackson fan, but I agree he'd been surprisingly effective in qualifying. There wee always some issues with any squad: 86 rankled with me as the utterly useless for us Archibald and Sharp nabbed strikers' places, while Mo Johnston, Andy Gray and Ally McCoist were left at home. The lack of Gray was also controversial in 82 and 78. In 90, I recall being angered by Nicholas having been left out, but Dumbo Alan McInally was taken along. Most of my gripes were with decisions taken from among those in the squads: McLeod was clearly being loyal to guys who were past it, off form or off their heads in 78, Stein bottled it when it came to decisions at the back in 82, Fergie made some really bizarre judgement calls in 86, as did Roxburgh in 90. Pa Broon, with the weakest pool ever, actually probably did as well as they were capable of with the people available.