Welcome to Issue 24
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You may celebrate but don’t get carried away
By Daniel Gray

Transfer of power
What Raith Rovers lost in the Goodwillie saga in terms of trust and community, McDermid Ladies gained. But forget the limelight, they just want to play.
By Dani Garavelli

Adventure of a lifetime
Two young Fife friends are leaving McDermid Ladies for Illinois on scholarships this summer. They look back with pride and forward with glee.
By Rebecca Murdoch and Scarlett Archer

Political nous aplenty
Aileen Campbell’s start at the helm of Scottish Women’s Football has taken in Covid, the Goodwillie scandal and the withdrawal of Forfar Farmington. But the former government minister remains optimistic.
By Kevin McAllion

Calderwood’s class act
Ambitious, Dutch-influenced and unconventional, Dunfermline were probably the best provincial side of the Noughties.
By Scott Fleming

All together now: da da da da dah dah dah
The unforgettable story of how Dunfermline became daytime TV music stars singing the theme from EastEnders.
By Liam Kirkaldy

Tune in, turn on, drop your objections
Yes the SPFL TV debate is 20 years old. But here is why – and how – it could still provide the way to ensure the prosperity of the Scottish game.
By Paul Macdonald

It’s the late goals, stupid
Arbroath’s stunning season has exposed the Scottish game’s obsession with systems, analysis and presentation. The key has always been how teams end matches.
By Greg Gordon

Football must tackle cost-of-living crisis
Fans and players alike are feeling the pressures of rising prices and uncertain income. Clubs need to up their game, and fast.
By Neil Cowan

The insight story of Croatia’s World Cup
Croatia surprised everybody by reaching the final in Moscow in 2018. A big chunk of the credit can go to Marc Rochon, the Scot who was providing all the data, analysis and insight.
By Rob Haywood

Little General’s giant impact
Bobby Collins flourished at Celtic and kick-started the Leeds revival under Revie. He was an inspirational and free-scoring figure who knew how to dish it out.
By Harry Pearson

Captain of industry and class
Martin Buchan is the only skipper to have lifted both the English and Scottish FA Cups. The model defender looks back on his outstanding career with Aberdeen and Manchester United.
By Craig Millar

O Twigg of Scotland, when shall we see your like again
Gary Twigg is so beloved by Shamrock Rovers fans that 10 years after his departure they still sing a version of the Scottish national anthem in his honour.
By Ryan Kilbane

The ‘Livi Three’
Raith Rovers may have gone out of business if Steve Tosh, Marvin Andrews and Alex Burns hadn’t been sold in 2000.
By Martin Domin

Vero rispetto per il Killie instinct
When Dario Del Fabro swapped Italy for Scotland he added toughness to tactical nous. The defender looks back with fondness on his bond with the fans.
By Franco Ficetola

Spellbound by a clacking beauty
I snapped up a cast iron turnstile from York City’s old ground and now it lives with us in Leith, a portal to vanished worlds. It’s probably the best £300 I’ve spent.
By Daniel Gray

Bankies bounce from farce to fandom
Clydebank’s rollercoaster has included administration and the threat of a move to Ireland. But these are happier times for the fan-owned club as it pursues its dreams with a dose of realism.
By Andy Ross

Rob Roy’s battle to come home
The Kirkintilloch club have spent the last eight years playing out of Cumbernauld. Now fans and manager are rallying to restore them to the heart of the community.
By Callum McCormack

Farewell to the Pavilion of Dreams
For decades Warriston was the ultimate venue for Edinburgh school teams. With a landmark building now demolished, Keith Wright, Eamonn Bannon and Ali McCann look back on cherished times.
By Colin Leslie

The greatest goal I never saw
Twenty years after Zidane scored his wonder goal in Glasgow, I am still trying to work out how I missed it in real time.
By Chris Collins

“It was special. And we were there”
How a Queen’s Park youth team player lucked out with his mates and saw Zidane score one of the greatest goals ever, anywhere. In their own stadium.
By David Weatherston

Broadcasting your misogyny is no joke
Scotland’s sportswriting industry not only scored an own goal with an ‘off-colour’ awards event, it also shone a light into the depths of its male prejudice.
By John Nicholson

How to save the programme
Matchday publications have become expensive, bland and unwieldy. Let’s honour these vessels of memory and cut them back to basics.
By Kenny Pieper

Football’s protest more united than class of ’68
Nations, governing bodies and clubs have reacted unanimously to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. When the Soviet Union attacked Czechoslovakia, the response was messier.
By Michael Gallagher

Danish goal still worth chasing
Denmark’s international success is the fruit of a community ethos and star players who have plied their trade overseas, including in Scotland. We still have much to learn but the respect is mutual.
By Maurice Smith

Vikings recall their happy invasion
Finn Døssing, Mogens Berg, Örjan Persson, Lennart Wing and Finn Seemann all lit up Tannadice in the mid to late 1960s. The four survivors tell of great European nights and lasting mutual affection
between them and their club.
By Mike Evans and Ian Roache

Pass and move
Football has become so adept at harnessing our personal and communal grief that it’s now almost as crucial to us in death as it is in life.
By Mark Holmes

Charity begins at home
Podcasters from Hearts’ This Is My Story have overseen a huge giveaway of tickets for fans who are priced out or otherwise excluded from games. And there’s more to come.
By Craig Cairns

My long-range effort with Alloa Athletic
My local team was Millwall but how I would have loved a replica kit of the Clackmannanshire team. More than four decades later I still keep a lookout for the Subbuteo set.
By Neil Andrews

Mariner of Kintyre
For a young boy from Campbeltown it took a move to Grimsby to experience the highs of senior league football.
By John McCallum

Diamond geezers and useful lessons
A trip to Millwall shocked but ultimately inspired me through the raw passion and community tribalism on display.
By Chris Sweeney

How Rangers were humbled at a packed Somerset Park
Well over 25,000 fans saw Ally MacLeod’s Ayr United on a momentous day for The Honest Men. I was lucky enough to be among them, with my dad.
By Mike Wilson

When Cruyff landed on Love Street
The Dutch wizard and his young apprentice Gullit graced St Mirren with their presence almost 40 years ago. An 11-year-old does not forget waiting for a game like that.
By Andrew McInnes

Heroes of the pitchside
It can be a tough, lonely business being a ball attendant. But it has its compensations – and occasionally it can be a match-winning role.
By Stephen Watt

Are we sitting comfortably?
Many say Scotland’s men have underperformed in terms of qualifying for major tournaments since 1998. But if you crunch the numbers and plot population against FIFA rankings, you get a rather different story.
By Jon Davey

The man who gave us penalties
William McCrum’s idea of creating fairness and drama from 12 yards changed the game forever, and was ratified in Glasgow.
By Andy Bollen

Passions of a Saint
After a lifetime of service to St Mirren Football Club, as player, manager and CEO, Tony Fitzpatrick is taking a well-earned retirement. He talked to Nutmeg about his career and his special relationship with Saints fans.
By Mark Brown

Rules of the road
A long process of evolution has led to the rules of the game being codified in the form that we know them today. Here are just a few of the stumbles in the darkness that led to our present harmony.
By Duncan McCoshan

Six of the best: Hamilton Academicals
Although they have often been consigned to the bottom of the kitbag, the club’s red and white hoops always seem to return and are synonymous with the South Lanarkshire side. Here are some of their more notable outfits.
By John Devlin

Poetry
How to properly market the cinch By Stuart Kenny
Barrels of veneer by By Jim Mackintosh
Vs Cove Rangers 29/01/2022 by By Stephen Watt