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Headlines can be misleading and this is maybe at first not what it seems. Not quite what you were thinking about. The three negative quotes actually refer to ‘Andy’s Album of the Week’ which as normal I talk about at Sting’s sign off. This week it’s Iain Matthews, ‘Go For Broke’ and it is fair to say it ‘bombed’ in the press at release in 1976. Lousy overviews and stinging put-downs from all the ‘experts’. Why? Because Ian Macdonald, (real name), broke out from his Fairport-i

The events at Ibrox last season, when the fans of both clubs were on the pitch, seemingly not to exchange fraternal greetings but for other, less desirable purposes, has led to the football authorities issuing punishments (aka ‘sanctions’) to Rangers and Celtic. In addition, we’ve seen Motherwell fined not much under €100,000 for the various misdemeanours of their fans at home and in Europe. Aberdeen too have had ‘issues’ with their fans’ behaviour at Kilmarnock recently, le

Jim Eccleston has over 30 years’ experience designing and leading major consumer, customer and brand research programmes in the UK and internationally. In 2019, he co-founded 56 Degree Insight, an Edinburgh based Insights and Research Agency with clients across the tourism, travel, recreation and sports sectors. Before establishing 56 Degree Insight, Jim held senior leadership roles at Kantar, the world’s largest research agency, for more than two decades, including leading

None of us knows what will happen during the Sebastien Pocognoli reign. The history books tell us that with 25 managers since our very first in 1954 they last for an average of less than 3 years. Stevie Clarke had just 7, and statisticians and historians tell us he will be regarded as a success, albeit an unexciting one. I’ll always be a big Stevie fan. We were great as a team against Denmark at Hampden but even then and there, compared to the Danes we looked uneasy on the ba

Colin, who is neurodivergent, is the DAO at Livingston FC, a social care and disability activist who has an impressive track record of achievements in these areas. He’s also an accomplished public speaker and storyteller, a voice-coach and narrator of several audio-books. From a football standpoint, he is totally committed to advancing the agenda for disabled fans, helping to improve their matchday experiences and challenging clubs and authorities to step up to the mark i

On 16th September, the Scottish Football Union was incorporated as a Community Interest Company. Since then, we have been quite busy... SFU Activity to date (15th September 2026) Introduction: The SFU was incorporated on 16th September last year (2026). Our membership model is based on the TUC, in that organisations affiliating to us don’t necessarily have to agree with everything we do, but in general are supportive of our work to unify the various strands of Sc

Our doses of Uefa induced realism keep coming. Most observers would know Ferencvaros are no European patsies or mugs to be underestimated. Yes, their current League table might say they are a mediocre 5th in the Hungarian top Division but if they win their one game in hand they could be top and indeed they are the league’s only undefeated side. But we also collectively know the European fortress that was Parkhead should not fear them. So last night’s result was first for me a

Talking to a friend of mind who is half French, he told me that when he was growing up France and playing youth football, anyone who swore was immediately sent off. Given how I know this friend is more than capable of painting the air blue now he is grown to man's estate, this was a surprise. Admittedly, this was a long time ago and I don't know if this still happens, but it was fascinating to hear that it did. The same friend also told me that he was listening to TalkSport

We are delighted to welcome Peter Elder, the co-host of the brilliant Motherwell Daft podcast, to our Operations Team. Peter is, of course, a Motherwell fan, a season ticket holder and has been going to Fir Park since 1982. In that time he has done some stewarding and also been a matchday hospitality host. Over the years, he has had the pleasure of watching some amazing players in Claret and Amber, Davie Cooper and Tommy Coyne amongst his favourites. And, as he will remind

OK, that's a click-bait title, written to get you to read this. They don't hate the Old Firm. In fact, they are as inextricably linked to them as a baby in the womb by its umbilical cord to its mother. The screenshots above and below from the BBC website show the problem. They are dominated by stories/headlines about Celtic and Rangers, with other clubs only getting a look-in occasionally (often when there is a tangential link to an Old Firm club).. There are Facebook pa

A lousy expression because nothing is ever easy till it’s easy. We’re a week from last week’s St Andrews Summit and the Football team at the SFA are following up last week’s now public plans for changes to cup competitions as a major part of the answer of blooding kids. The big number they shared of £40M more into the Scottish game if we get our kids system right flew right over the chairmen I have spoken to so far. It’s a nice to listen to, but only a remote possibility for

Before: It’s no secret that the SFA called for a ‘42 Club Gathering’,. Firstly Shhh they don’t want it to ever be called a ‘Summit’. That word ‘Summit’, has previous. Just about all we do know is that as ‘Custodians of our Game, (run, they oft say when it suits, ‘for clubs by clubs’), they are trying to find and implement a better national pathway for young Scottish talent into our sides. We also now have a new team fighting the good fight from the 6th floor. Craig Mulholland

The SFU has been working to support the football authorities and help promote the women's game by bringing together women's clubs' fans from across Scotland. To that end, we’ve held a number of meetings with representatives of women’s fans’ groups and have also recorded a unique and inspiring, joint interview with both Celtic and Rangers’ supporters’ groups leaders. More recently, we've added more people - from all over the country - to our women's team and are working to g

After a ‘Bloody Awful’ week for Scottish football it’s easy to fall into the active, very much ongoing, and indeed all- consuming media trap of ‘blame games’. By ‘Bloody Awful’, I mean two things in particular. Firstly, our 5 failures in Europe preliminaries, some abject. But for me, even worse, our kids football nadir that has all its roots from what’s acceptable at the top of the game. Both are wake up calls. Kids’ Football is the future. It quite simply is the foundation s

There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified that a concern for one's own safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind. Orr was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions. Orr would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn't, but if he was sane, he had to fly them. If he flew them, he was crazy and didn

I know which floats my boat. I turned on the radio on Wednesday lunchtime-ish to hear Scottish Footballs very own ‘Reg from Life of Brian’, spouting forth about an announcement and plan announced that day by Craig Naylor HM’s Inspector of Constabulary in Scotland. Reg was railing against and casting dire, dark warnings about Polis Scotland’s plan to belatedly utilise ‘Facial Recognition’ technology to fight against things like mass fan disorder as witnessed recently by us all

The screenshot below contains the review of prolific Scottish football historian David Allan's latest book, subtitled, "A Brief History of Fife Junior Football and the Cowdenbeath Cup." It is reproduced by permission of John Litster, editor of the Scottish Football Historian, where it first appeared.

Three short weeks today, somewhere nice in St Andrews with good coffee and posh biscuits, the SFA will hold a meeting for and exclusive club. The 42 Scottish current SPFL members of the much larger Scottish Football Family. I’ve been told it’s a closed meeting, invited clubs only. Certainly no riff raff like fan groups of our ilk, and while I welcome the fact that Scottish Football seems once again to be thinking on a macro scale about its own future that alone raises so man

An optimistic prediction but for now, how on earth did we get to where we find ourselves? After what the Fifa beancounters and PR people are still trumpeting as their most financially successful World Cup ever we all viewed our dominant, omnipresent, media-savvy Fifa President relishing the quite amazing soapbox he has created for himself. In his world football is riding high and he, alone, is the main reason why. Sadly in reality football is at a crucial crossroads and what

Last Wednesday, the Scottish Football Union invited some of our members, with a few guests from our friends at ATAC and Supporters Direct Scotland, to meet with Willie Collum, the SFA Head of Refereeing, at Hampden Park. To be more accurate, it was Willie himself who issued the invitation, because, as he said, “We (that is the referees) want to engage with fans more than we have in the past and help them understand what we try to do, week-in, week-out, so they can enjoy t