Blethering about football, from Scotland and across the world
During a recent Footballblether trip, sitting over a few birre in a Milanese bar, we discussed our current "Fantasy XI" based on the players who we feel would or could make up the best team in current world football. This discussion got me thinking about the best players I have ever seen (in the flesh)... Continue Reading →
A common theme in recent times has been for commentators, players and football fans to look back with nostalgia, through rose tinted glasses, to the days when we were all young, playing football with our friends on the street, round the park or on a proper football pitch - both informally and formally. Many lament... Continue Reading →
Saturday 10th November and we embarked on a trip to the seaside town of Arbroath on Scotland's North Sea coast for a match up between the home side, unbeaten this season, and their local rivals Montrose in a tasty Angus derby. Arbroath is located north of Dundee travelling up the east coast, it is well... Continue Reading →
A number 9. If nothing else, that otherwise simple number is personified by generations of goalscorers, strikers, poachers. There have been quite a few articles, recent discussions and opinions offered concerning the modern day absence of this type of player within top level football. There are examples around, Lewandowski of Bayern and Poland for example or... Continue Reading →
There have been a number of articles and publications over the past few years outlining the success and progression of British football coaches working in far flung corners of the globe, out of the spotlight of the UK Media but still managing to make some progression in the coaching world. Higher profile cases include Graham... Continue Reading →
When one thinks of the Scottish Highland League, images of big, robust footballers come to mind. Rough and ready, "agricultural" style football. I travelled to watch Cove Rangers play Buckie Thistle in Cove's new Balmoral Stadium on the edge of Aberdeen to find out how accurate the above stereotypes are. The Scottish Highland League is... Continue Reading →
As John McGinn completed his move from Hibs to Aston Villa towards the end of the summer 2018 transfer window, fans and media alike were full of praise for a player who had quickly become a favourite and one of the top Scottish Premiership performers and indeed an emerging important presence in the National Team.... Continue Reading →
While Scotland may not be heading to the World Cup in Russia this summer, they are playing their part in the preparations of both Peru and Mexico with a post season jaunt over to play in a couple of warm up games for both these successful qualifiers. In the early hours (GMT) of Wednesday morning... Continue Reading →
As the Scottish 2017/18 season draws to a crescendo, with Celtic looking for a second consecutive treble winning season, most fans with no allegiance to the Champions are beginning to focus on the race for second, European spots or to avoid relegation. Both "alternative" aspects are tightly contested, with at least 2, if not 3... Continue Reading →
Football trips and expeditions are immensely enjoyable - new cultures, different football styles, different atmospheres and a chance to appreciate football from a broader context, what's not to love? I've written before on expeditions to Prague, Berlin and Warsaw and the experiences enjoyed, the different elements of the football world experienced - be that great... Continue Reading →
Over the past year, I have travelled and paid to watch football at a variety of different levels. These include Scottish Championship, Scottish Premiership, Scotland International (and England International), English Premiership, Czech First league and the Second Tier of Czech Football. I have previously written about my Dilemma in terms of swapping regular attendance at... Continue Reading →
Amid yet more horrible weather conditions for this time of year, I travelled to Huddersfield for another football weekend involving catching up with friends but also taking in a game involving the local side. Huddersfield itself is a large scale town, home to approximately 160,000 inhabitants. Located roughly equidistant from the larger centres of Manchester... Continue Reading →
At the time of writing, it is almost 3 months since Gordon Strachan left his post as Scotland Manager after another failed attempt to qualify for a Major Tournament in October 2017. Since that point a small number of names and candidates have been mentioned with regard to potentially filling the vacant post, without very... Continue Reading →
For a number of years now, encompassing World Cup and European Championship qualifying campaigns where Scotland have failed to qualify, much focus or source of worry for fans has been the lack of any top quality, reliable centre backs within the Scotland team and even the Scotland squad. In the most recent qualifying campaign, Scotland's... Continue Reading →
Football fans need rivalries. Whether watching teams at the lower end of the league system such as Linlithgow Rose v Bo'Ness United or games at the very top such as Barcelona v Real Madrid; rivalries add to the fan's experience, add interest, add passion and add a point of reference as well. Scotland have England.... Continue Reading →
