Scottish Football Books

My Father and Other Working Class Football Heroes Stewart Imlach was an ordinary neighbourhood soccer star of his time. A brilliant winger who thrilled the crowd on Saturdays, then worked alongside them in the off-season; who represented Scotland in the 1958 World Cup and never received a cap for his efforts; who was Man of the Match for Nottingham Forest in the 1959 FA Cup Final, and was rewarded with the standard offer, GBP20 a week, take it or leave it. Gary Imlach grew up a privileged insider at Goodison Park when Stewart moved into coaching. He knew the highlights of his father's career by heart. But when his dad died he realised they were all he knew. He began to realise, too, that he'd lost the passion for football that his father had passed down to him. In this book he faces his growing alienation from the game he was born into, as he revisits key periods in his father's career to build up a picture of his football life, and through him a whole era. Stewart Imlach travelled a long way from the tiny Scottish fishing community of Lossiemouth to the World Cup in Sweden. But in one sense he didn't move at all. He played in the last days of the maximum wage, when footballers were serfs, owned by their clubs. Scottish Football Books.

Gordon Ramsay's Football Hell TV’s foul mouthed celebrity chef comes out of the kitchen and into the terraces with the ultimate compendium of footballing foul-ups, soccer slip-ups and all around balls ups. With clips from the archives right up to the present day, Gordon proves he’s just as much of an expert on the pitch as he is in the kitchen. He’s also just about as intolerant of mistakes, which makes watching this carnival of the terminally stupid even funnier. You’ll never look at your Premiership favourites the same way again after you get to laugh at their darkest moments again and again.

Archie Gemmill: Both Sides of the Border Archie Gemmill is synonymous with Scottish football. Scorer of one of the greatest goals in World Cup history, Gemmill looks back at a hugely successful career in England, Scotland and on the international scene, in his long-awaited autobiography. Archie Gemmill's autobiography is the story of a spiky 70s football hero, who rose to captain Scotland, scored one of the greatest ever World Cup goals against Holland in Argentina in 1978 and won the title at Derby and Nottingham Forest under the late Brian Clough. Archie never shied away from a tackle in his twenty-year professional career and he is just as forthright when remembering his bitter clashes with characters such as Jock Stein, Ally MacLeod and Tommy Docherty. In his fast-moving story, he reveals for the first time the truth behind his ommission from Forest's European Cup-winning team; how sticking up for Alan Hansen and Graeme Souness cost him his Scotland job; how Ally MacLeod stripped him of the Scotland captaincy; and details his long-running feud with Tommy Docherty, who made him a scapegoat for defeat by England and led to a three-year exile from the Scotland team. Featuring a foreword by his great friend, the late Brian Clough, this is a compelling story highlighting the glory and agony of a lifetime spent in football.

John Greig Football Nicknamed 'the Ledge' on account of his legendary status, John Greig has been voted the greatest Ranger of all time by the fans and his statue stands outside lbrox. He is regarded as a truly inspirational captain whose achievements speak for themselves; numerous Scottish Championships and Cups, captain of the successful European Cup Winners' Cup side of 1972 and the only player to play in three Treble-winning sides. He also captained his country, winning 44 caps for Scotland. He went on to enjoy a turbulent time as manager of Rangers and he was never able to match the success he found as a player. The highs and lows of his career are told with great humour and insight as he relives classic moments on the pitch, and hllarious off-the-pitch antics with both club and country. John Greig also reveals how he very nearly never played football at all, having been left for dead as a teenager after a dramatic accident. Scottish Football Books.

Gordon Strachan In recent years, Gordon Strachan has become best known among football fans for his realistic and often witty assessments of his teams' performances and football matters in general. From his time as a young player at Dundee via Aberdeen, where he was nurtured by the then fledgling manager Alex Ferguson and became an integral part of the team which won the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1983; to the dizzy heights of life at Manchester United and Leeds and an international career involving two World Cups, Gordon Strachan showed not just his flair as a wily central midfielder but also strong leadership abilities. They provided him with the cornerstone of his management career that began at Coventry as he moved from player to player/manager before finally hanging up his boots and led to his most recent stint at Southampton. Scottish Football Books.

Pointless The inside, in-depth and possibly indiscreet story of a season with Britain's worst football club - East Stirlingshire. Scottish Football Books.

A Scottish Football Hall of Fame Those who have been football supporters all their lives can never forget the first match they ever saw, although they might not recall the result. This is because it is the players that stay in the memory and the magic moments they provided for millions of spectators in their time. Every generation throws up its own football field magicians and The Scottish Football Hall of Fame encapsulates the Saturday afternoon spell cast by fine footballers for ordinary working men who lived to cheer on their heroes every week. Fervour was passed down from father to son, and in this way the future of the clubs as well as the fame of a few golden greats was guaranteed. Players like R.S.McColl (Queen's Park), Bobby Walker (Hearts), Alan Morton (Rangers), Denis Law (Manchester United) and Kenny Dalglish (Celtic) are in this pantheon, and they span the arc of Scottish football from its earliest days till modern times. These, and more than a hundred like them, are the men you will read about in these pages. Men who were once household names are captured here in their sporting immortality and introduced to generations of football enthusiasts who never saw them play. The Scottish Football Hall of Fame. Scottish Football Books.

The Roar of the Crowd: Following... Scottish Football Down the Years. This is a comprehensive look at attendances at Scottish football games. From the very largest League crowd, 118,567 for Rangers against Celtic, in January 1939, to one of the lowest, 32 for East Stirling against Leith Athletic, just three months later, this book tells the stories behind the figures. Scottish Football Books.

Scottish Football Quotations A follow-up to the first volume of quotations about Scotland's national sport. Compiled by sports journalist Kenny MacDonald, it delves once more into the sweat-stained and liniment-soaked dressing-rooms of the country, visiting after-match conferences and interview situations. It emerges with a batch of statements which seek to be profound and amusing, acerbic and perceptive, argumentative and plain bizarre. There are sections on Euro '96 and France '98, on celebrities as diverse as Alex Ferguson, Duncan Ferguson, and Scottish football's most famous fan, Hamilton Accies' legendary Fergie. Ally McCoist, Craig Brown, Paul Gascoigne, Jim Farry and Walter Smith also have the microscope turned on them, while other sections focus on all the things that make the game great, from goalkeepers to girls, alcohol to the Auld Enemy, religion to referees. There are observations on Scotland's game from personalities such as Johann Cruyff, Chris Waddle, Ferenc Puskas, Rod Stewart and Prince Albert of Monaco. Scottish Football Books.

The Essential Scottish Football Fan: The... The Essential Scottish Football Fan is the most comprehensive guide to the Scottish football grounds currently available and is essential reading for fans traveling to away games.

McFootball: Great Scottish Heroes in the... English Game. This title examines the Scottish influence on the English football scene which contains colourful portraits of the managers who have monopolized major domestic prizes and a who's-who profile on every post-war footballer capped by Scotland while playing for an English club.

Wizards and Bravehearts: A History of... the Scottish National Side. This title reveals the history of Scotland's national football team from 1872 to 2004.

Peter Lorimer: Leeds and Scotland Hero They call him "Lash", after the velocity at which he was officially recorded as the hottest shot in football. Peter Lorimer's blistering 90mph strike left many a goalkeeper clutching thin air as he waltzed into the record books as a permanent member of the fantastic Leeds United team which, under the managership of Don Revie from 1961-74, carried all before them. In September 1962, he made his debut aged 15 years and 289 days. His first spell with the club lasted until 1979 and he then returned for a second period between 1983 and '86. He remains the only Leeds player to have scored over 200 goals, and won 21 caps for Scotland. The highlight of his international career was the 1974 World Cup in West Germany, although his country was eliminated despite having not lost a single game. Travelling throughout Europe with Leeds at the height of their success, Lorimer witnessed bribery and corruption as well as glory and failure. Telling his story with candour, humour, warmth and not a little controversy, Lorimer celebrates the 40th anniversary of his involvement with a club which have recently enjoyed a spectacular rebirth with successive appearances in European semi-finals.

Behind the Dream: The Story of a... Scottish Footballer. Joe Jordan grew up in a Lanarkshire pit village, and always viewed football as both a dream and the gateway to a better life. At the age of eighteen, he was spotted by Don Revie, the manager of Leeds United, who signed him to the club immediately. He won the league title with Leeds in 1974, then signed for Manchester United in 1978 for the record fee of £350,000. After the disappointment of losing the 1979 Cup final to Arsenal, Joe Jordan made the break to European football, starting a new life with AC Milan, then Verona. Then followed a successful managerial and coaching career.

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