From the publisher:
Chime scene
By Daniel Gray
A unique take on transfers.
Fitbatweets
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The transfer issue
“They talked about the football as if they were going to watch the opera. We thought: Let’s go to Bologna.”
Aaron Hickey’s move to Serie A in 2020 opened the floodgates for an influx of Scottish talent. This is the anatomy of that transfer, told through the eyes of the player, his family, agents, coaches and scouts. By Stephen McGowan
The battle for the back page
Back in the 1990s, journalists chased down transfer exclusives that could make a career. On one occasion it meant being present as football history changed forever.
By Graham Hunter
Baby and the beast: How Calvin Bassey became a £20m record breaker
The defender’s Rangers career was almost over before it started, but an astonishing turnaround inside 18 months saw him sold to Ajax for a club-record fee.
By Jordan Campbell
The Scottish voice of deadline day
Although perhaps eclipsed by year-round tittle-tattle on social media, transfer deadline night remains a totem in the football calendar. The Glaswegian who made it so explains how television coverage helped change everything.
By Paul Forsyth
After the gold rush: the weird world of transfer announcements
Over the past decade Scottish football clubs have turned tongue-in-cheek transfer announcements into an artform and a cottage industry. But has it all gone too far?
By Scott Fleming
Saturday swap shop
Not all transfers break the bank. When there’s no money to spend, the savvy manager turns to the trade-in.
By Gordon Waddell
Bosman v Ballon d’Or
After one of the most audacious transfers in Scottish football history, Paul Lambert’s sole season at Borussia Dortmund ended with an imperious performance against Zinedine Zidane in the 1997 Champions League final. A rewatching of the game reveals one of the greatest man-marking jobs of all time.
By Adam Clery
“How do you fancy a stint in the German second division?”
Having left Dundee United in August 2024, I spent weeks waiting for the phone to ring and another playing opportunity to arise. When it did, a life-changing decision followed.
By Liam Grimshaw
Roy of the clovers
Roy Keane turned down Real Madrid to fulfil a romantic ambition and sign for Celtic. From an infamous debut against Clyde to a towering display against Rangers, the Irishman’s 179-day spell at Parkhead may not have been a fairytale, but it was packed with drama.
By David Friel
Changing the record
How and why Scottish and English transfer spends diverged dramatically from the turn of the century.
By Nick Harris
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Kozlova’s season of extremes
The Glasgow City and Ukraine striker was flying for club and country until her knee went early on in a World Cup qualifier against England. PFA Scotland’s Player of The Year talks about the long road back. By Alison McConnell
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World Cup stories
Scotland v Brazil – drawn together through fate and farce
Unlikely forces usually pair us against the South Americans but the chaos and shenanigans of the Spain ’82 lottery were on a different level.
By Mark Poole
Haiti fixture sparks riotous memories for Hibs class of ’81
In the fearful days of ‘Baby Doc’ Duvalier, Bertie Auld’s side made an ill-advised visit to the Caribbean island and played the national team twice. They were relieved to get out in one piece.
By Colin Leslie
Cape Verde’s very own Celtic keep it in the family
In 1972 a teacher in the Atlantic islands founded a club that took its name and hoops from the Glasgow giants. Today the Ribeiros are still at the helm.
By Alasdair Howorth
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Football focus: Belgium
Belgian beauties
Football tourists tend to overlook this neighbour of Germany, France and Holland but its grounds are havens of authentic charm and raucous song.
Words by Daniel Gray Photographs by Marco Magielse
Scandal on the Schelde
How a nimble centre-forward from Arbroath defied international turmoil and led Belgium to their only ever major honour.
By Harry Pearson
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The Fans
It’s in the water!
New images from the man who has been capturing our homes of football for 40 years.
Photographs by Stuart Roy Clarke
Expected Magic (xM)
The spontaneous, unplanned beauty of football is increasingly being lost. It is time to relegate ingrained cliche and over-reliance on numbers, and embrace the game’s wondrous alchemy.
By Terence Graham
After we’re gone
Football clubs’ tributes to recently deceased supporters are a poignant phenomenon in a sometimes cynical sport. Seeing my own father on Hibs’ version was profoundly emotional.
By Andrew Downie
Are we as fanatical as we think?
People in Scotland attend more matches per capita than anywhere else in Europe, according to a recent news report. But dig a bit deeper and the picture is more nuanced.
By Jon Davey
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Beyond the game
How exit trials can lead to a new opening
Many players endure the pain of being released by their clubs, but a PFA Scotland event has helped the likes of Stephen O’Donnell and Finn Yeats find success.
By Andy Ross
Clyde dare to home in on new era
The Bully Wee are hoping to end decades of rootlessness and financial pain by returning to Glasgow in time for their 150th birthday.
By Kevin McAllion
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Opinion
When it comes to talent, don’t trust the process
How modern football’s quest for certainty risks filtering out the very players it claims to find.
By Greg Gordon
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Innovator who did the business with Bankies
Jack Steedman oversaw both East Stirlingshire and Clydebank’s rise to the top tier, signed Davie Cooper and wowed Jock Stein. But fans do not widely appreciate his legacy.
By Tom Brogan
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The Players
How Zero won over Dons with his abundance
More than 20 years after his death, the Moroccan Hicham Zerouali retains his place in Aberdeen fans’ hearts after a brief but scintillating stay at the club. By Sean Cole
Twisting the lion’s tail
Tipped for the top and backed by Bruce Rioch, John McGlashan’s career was on the rise before a devastating injury halted his momentum. More than 25 years later, he is still remembered by fans for his grit and brilliance at The Den.
By Neil Andrews
Baillie’s big impact on pitch and Post
‘Big Doogie’ might have made more of his gifts as a player but the former Rangers defender became a star writer for one of Scotland’s best loved newspapers and reported on his son’s games for Celtic.
By Craig Millar
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Five at the back
1. Kits
Clean-cut kit
Fancy tailoring was out of fashion in 2011/12 – it was all about getting back to a more pared-down style.
By John Devlin
2. Record appearances
This is his story 1986 version of Hearts Song given new life 40 years on.
By David Pollock
3. By the way…
After 40 issues of this magazine, political events prompt consideration of what a nutmeg truly means. By Liam Kirkaldy
4. What’s in a name?
Unlikely influence of a Wiltshire town on one
half of the Old Firm. By Mark Poole
5. Poetry
Auld Acquaintance by Attila the Stockbroker
Gie an Gan by Craig Aitchison
The Art of Not Winning by Alan Stevenson
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