Scottish Football Forums

It's the second installment of the Women's Edinburgh Derby as Good John speaks to Hibernian Women player, and current Scotland International, Rachael Boyle, wife of Martin Boyle who, of course, plays for the Mens side at Hibs. The night before our podcast, Rachael played in Scotland's disappointing 1-0 defeat to Finland, a loss that rules the Scots out of a place at the delayed Euro 2021 Finals. She speaks about that disappointment and her International career overall, where she has won 37 caps so far. Having missed out on the 2019 World Cup due to giving birth to her daughter Amelia Grace, Rachael is determined to help Scotland reach the 2023 Finals in Australia and New Zealand. Rachael's early career was spent with two spells at the old Aberdeen Ladies side, with a spell at Forfar Farmington in between. She joined Hibs in 2016, around the same time as her husband, and has enjoyed a trophy laden career as Hibs have been the Cup Queens of the Women's game, although the League title still eludes them due to

It's Edinburgh derby week in the SWPL as Hearts entertain Hibs on Sunday. In Part One of our guest specials leading up to the match, Good John is joined by Hearts centre forward Lia Tweedie, who joined them this season from their arch rivals. Lia talks about the reasons for joining Hearts and the difficult start they've had to their first season in the top flight after last season's promotion. Being a Hearts fan, she talks about the determination for the club to improve and establish themselves in the top flight. We go over Lia's Scotland career at Under 17 and Under 19 level, the latter of which she scored three goals in consecutive games against Ukraine, Albania and Austria, and how she knew Erin Cuthbert was going to be a star in the game. Lia talks fondly about her time with Hibs, where they won seven Cup competitions since 2016 but have been runners up to Glasgow City in each of the last five seasons. Naturally, she is looking forward to coming up against her old team and describes what the derby means

This week on the podcast, we have John and Tony discussing what has been going on in Scottish football. We kick off by talking once again about Celtic's current form with them exiting Europe and getting knocked out of the League Cup. Sunday saw protests and we discuss whether Lennon will be given a chance to turn around their season or if a new man is required. Things continue to go well on the other side of Glasgow with only slight concern being losing a two goal lead against Benfica. It isn't a massive issue as they look on course to progress to knockout stages. It was a weekend of shocks in the cup as Aberdeen and Hearts both went out too. Tony asks John if he is concerned about recent results. We discuss the mixed fortunes of St Johnstone and Motherwell thanks to fans of their respective clubs. In the Lower League predictions game we are now back to 3-3 with Iain getting the win for us at the weekend. This week it is the turn of Tony to represent the podcast. We finish off the podcast by paying tribu

Scotland's memorable playoff victory over Serbia, which sealed a first qualification for a major finals since 1998, missed just one thing - the Tartan Army. Whilst no fans were allowed to travel to Belgrade, one lucky paid up member of the Scotland Supporters Club was able to be there in his work capacity to witness the penalty shootout win which secured a spot at the delayed Euro 2020. Sky Sports reporter Luke Shanley was the man who made every Scotland fan jealous by being in Serbia for the match. He shared his experience with Good John in what it was like to report on the build up to the game, watch from the sidelines in the rain as Scotland put us all through the emotional turmoil to get the job done, and giving the immediate post-match interviews, including one with a rather emotional Ryan Christie who summed up just what it was like to end more than two decades of pain. As a result of being in Serbia, Luke has had to quarantine for 14 days, but it was well worth it. He's now looking forward to the Eur

Good John's education into Women's Football continues as he is joined by Aberdeen Women's Co-Manager Emma Hunter. It was an unfortunate week for Emma to be on as the Dons Ladies went down to a 5-1 win to Partick Thistle, their first defeat and dropped points from the first seven games of SWPL2 this season. She starts by talking about learning from this experience and hopes to put things right against Kilmarnock on Sunday as they aim to get their promotion push back on track. Emma talks openly about the challenges the Women's game faces in terms of gaining more exposure from the media and how Covid has affected plans to get more fans to games. She also talks about the work she does with the Community Trust and behind the scenes at Cormack Park. We chat a bit about the Scotland Women's National Team who have a crucial Euro 2021 Qualifying double header in Portugal and at home to Finland this weekend. We round off with Emma's hopes for Aberdeen going forward and a round of quick fire questions, and what she r

In the latest of the Guest Specials, Good John is joined by Scots Abroad Podcast host and Rangers fan John Walker. John talks about how the concept of Scots Abroad Podcast came about and some of the guests he's had on such as Fiona Brown, Rachel Corsie, Barry Smith and Graham Hunter. With Scotland qualifying for the delayed Euro 2020, he talks about the chances some of our overseas based players such as Ryan Gauld, Lewis Morgan and Aaron Hickey have of breaking into Steve Clarke's plans in time for the Finals. We then move onto John's love for Rangers Football Club and some of his favourite memories following them, including supporting them through the 9 in a row years and being in Manchester for the 2008 UEFA Cup Final. He gives his thoughts on the current Rangers side and their chances of ending Celtic's quest for 10 in a row. We round off with the usual quick fire questions including John's Best Rangers XI. Tweet us @sffpodcast Facebook - Scottish Football Forums Instagram - sffpodcast

John is joined by Scott from The Footy Blog Net and Iain from The Famous Tartan Army Magazine. To kick off we discuss the disappointment of how our Nations League campaign ended for the World Cup campaign. There is agreement though that massive progress has been made after qualifying for the Euros next year and that remaining in group B will help us. We then go on to discuss the impact of what occurred with the under 21 squad with players contracting COVID and others having to self isolate. This has also impacted the Women's team as Shelley Kerr will have to self isolate and miss their Euro 22 qualifying double header against Portugal and Finland. It's a well done to Glasgow City as they advanced in their Champions League qualifying tie against Valur to make the group stages again. Let's hope they can do as well as last season or even better. The chat moves on to the Premiership as Celtic continue to wobble, is a new manager on the way? Can they arrest the slump? They've only actually lost one game in the

In the latest installment of our guest specials, Good John is joined by former Scottish Sun Sports Editor and ex-Airdrie CEO Iain King, who is now coaching at North Toronto Nitros in Canada. After covering off more reflection on Scotland's qualification to Euro 2020, Iain talks about how he worked his way up the journalism ladder before joining The Scottish Sun in 2000. During his 15 years at the paper, he became Chief Football Writer then became Sports Editor in 2007. Iain was honest when asked about defending the papers reputation in comparison to its English version and how they overtook the Daily Record to become the most sold paper in Scotland. Iain also won Football Writer of the Year for three consecutive years thanks to scoops like Barry Ferguson's return to Rangers and Roy Keane signing for Celtic. Following a decision to take redundancy from the Scottish Sun in 2015, Iain became CEO at Airdrie and he goes through the challenges of the role, none bigger than when Manager, and good friend, Eddie Wol

John is joined by regular Tony and Iain from The Famous Tartan Army Magazine. We've waited a long time but Scotland have finally qualified for a tournament for the first time since 1998. The guys are obviously delighted and can't quite believe it. It's a great achievement and welcome respite with regards to current COVID situation. There is a bit of chat about the game and the ups and downs that occurred. Thankfully David Marshall saved the day and left us to party like it was 1998. We discuss the turnaround of events and how the Nations League has changed our fortunes. Can we beat Israel and get promoted to Group A? This leads us to trying to explain how it can benefit us in the future. The boost to the economy should be significant with merchandise sales and hopefully fans allowed to attend games. We discuss whether we can get past the group stage for the first time at a tournament. We finish off by taking a nostalgic look at our favourite kits. Tweet us @sffpodcast Facebook - Scottish Football Forums

In the latest installment of our Guest Specials, Good John is joined by fellow Aberdeen fan Erin Grieve. Erin was brought up a Dons fan by her father, who took her to her first game at the age of 5, and she talks in great detail about life supporting her beloved Dons. There is an interesting discussion about the Derek McInnes era, something that often divides fans on social media, and the desperation to end the 30 year Scottish Cup curse (Erin wasn't born when the Dons last won the trophy). We also discuss the Aberdeen Women's side, who are off to a six game winning start in SWPL2, and how much effort is being put into make the Women's team successful. The chat ends with the usual quickfire questions including Erin's best Aberdeen XI. Erin turns 30 today and she explains that she is making the most of her celebrations, which she hopes is capped off with a win over Rangers on Sunday. We wish Erin a happy 30th birthday. Tweet us @sffpodcast Facebook - Scottish Football Forums Instagram - sffpodcast

In the second part of our Women's Football Special's, Good John is joined by Glasgow Women's FC Head Coach, and host of 6, 8 and 10 podcast. Craig talks us through his coaching career and how chance meeting's led to him getting involved with Women's Football in the first place. He talks about earlier roles within Glasgow Uni Under 19's, Glasgow City Under 13's and Rangers Under 14's before he went back to City as Head Coach of the Development squad. Craig talks about the pride of seeing players from his group go onto make it into the City first team and other clubs and why City ultimately have been so dominant in Women's Football. Last December, Craig took up the Head Coach position at Glasgow Women FC of SWPL2. One of his first tasks was to adapt to life after the Coronavirus outbreak and he talks about how he helped keep the girls in good shape physically and, more importantly, mentally. Now that the football has started, he talks about the hopes for Glasgow Women for the season and the challenges they fa

We are focussing on Women's Football in this weeks guest specials and in the first part Good John is joined by Spartans Women's Manager Debbi McCulloch. Debbi joined Spartans in 2008 after Community Coaching roles at Dundee United and Ross County, starting off as Shelley Kerr's assistant before taking the reigns in 2010 and, bar an 18 month break a couple of years ago, she has been at the helm ever since. In addition, Debbi is the Business and Operations Manager at the Spartans Academy. She talks about the enjoyment of the job, a regret in not winning a trophy despite reaching four Premier League Cup Finals and the 2014 Scottish Women's Cup Final. She also talks about the start to the season, where Spartans have began with narrow defeats to Hibs, Rangers and Celtic, and previews the weekends game against Forfar Farmington. Debbi also covers the lack of coaching opportunities for Women in the Men's game and the barriers that need to be broken down. There is also a good section on Mental Health, which is pro

John is joined by Scott from The Footy Blog Net and Donald who makes his first appearance on the podcast. Donald is a keen follower of non league football and is a reporter for what is now the West of Scotland Football League. We kick off the podcast by asking Donald what his thoughts are with regards to the change to professional status and the impact this may have on Scottish football. The chat moves on to Europe where once again Rangers and Celtic had mixed results. Once again we discuss what the issues are at Celtic and whether the blame is with the manager. The weekend saw Rangers maintain their lead at the top of the table and we focus on the improvement in terms of goals conceded. We try to pinpoint what is different. The other games are covered though it's a bit difficult with a couple due to the poor weather. It's the week of the Nations League playoff as we look to reach Euro 2020. The excitement is building with the uneasy feeling of being optimistic for just now. We discuss what the lineup is

This Thursday, Scotland play in their biggest match for 13 years (when they faced Italy at Hampden) as they take on Serbia in the Euro 2020 playoff. As part of our preview special, Good John was joined by THREE special guests over the course of the past week. First up was commentator Paul Mitchell, the voice of BBC Scotland's coverage of Scotland Internationals from 2004 until 2010. Paul recalls that period where, despite not witnessing qualification, there were some special moments, notably Paris though he very nearly missed the game as he explains. Losing the number one commentators role at the BBC was a large contributory factor to Paul's interest in the National team waining over the years. However, he still points out he wants to see Scotland do well and that ending the 22 year wait for tournament football will get him interested again. Next up was a fans contributor in Gordon Sheach, blogger for Tartan Scarf. Gordon has been going to games regularly since 2007 and shares some of his favourite experien

John is joined this week by Tony and Scott from The Footy Blog Net. We kick off with discussing the European action where Celtic and Rangers continued their Europa League campaign. Was it a missed opportunity for Celtic or a good point? There is discussion around what Celtic need to do in order to qualify. Rangers should face their toughest test against Benfica, however as we are recording we find out they are losing in domestic action. There were only three Premiership fixtures so we discussed them and the need for teams to improve in front of goal. Tony and Scott disagree with how well Dundee United are doing which makes for an interesting debate. The Scottish Cup semi finals were played at the weekend so we review the games and pay tribute to Mariusz Zaliukus who sadly passed away at the weekend. Can Hearts end Celtic's domestic dominance in terms of winning trophies? Ally Graham won the weekend prediction game so it's now 2-1 to the podcast team. Tony picks the games for the upcoming weekend with John

In the latest of our Guest Special series, Good John is joined by Radio Presenter and Dunfermline fan Steven Mill, currently with Bauer Media Group which has Clyde, Tay FM, Moray Firth, Northsound and West FM as part of their network. We begin by chatting about his current role, where he presents Monday to Friday from 4pm til 7pm, and on his new Big Football Saturday Show that he co-hosts with Ewen Cameron. After starting out at Kingdom FM in Fife, Steven got his big break when he landed the newsreaders role on the Capital Scotland Breakfast Show. He talks about the camaraderie he had with presenters Des Clarke and Jenny Black and how the success of the show drew in a higher audience age average than their target market. When Jenny left to start a family, Steven moved into the co-presenter role with Des, with Amy Irons moving into the newsreaders role. He talks about the natural progression and how the show continued to be a success until its axe in 2019, leading to him moving onto his current role. Steven

John is joined by Scott from The Footy Blog Net who returns after missing last week. There is plenty to discuss and we kick off with the mixed fortunes of Celtic and Rangers in Europe. Celtic continued to toil as they seem stuck between formations while Rangers continue their terrific record in Europe under Gerrard. The game between Standard and Rangers saw the best goal you'll possibly see all season from Roofe. We move on to domestic action and continue to discuss Celtic and their current form. They continued to have major issues defending though looked better in attack. Aberdeen will probably be slightly disappointed that they didn't win after putting in a strong performance. It leads us nicely in to their semi final from last season which takes place on Sunday. We cover the rest of the Premiership action and discuss whether Kevin Nisbet may be in for a Scotland call up. The lower league action is discussed as we give the results of our predictions game and this week it is the turn of Scott to represent

In the latest installments of our Guest Specials, Good John is joined by Paul Goodwin from fans group Scottish Football Supporters Association. Paul outlines the work that goes on within the organisation as they aim to give fans more of a say in the running of Scottish Football and to have more fans representation on club boards. He goes in depth with the work that they do to get supporters to buy into what they're doing and the progress they have made over the past five years. Paul also gives an interesting insight into the ongoing debates for the Scottish Government to let fans back into grounds after test events were halted, despite no linked positive Coronavirus cases to either event. He does acknowledge that our game is only a fraction of society, where many aspects have similar issues. If you are interested in getting involved, please go to their website for more information on how to join - https://scottishfsa.org/about-sfsa/ Tweet us @sffpodcast Facebook - Scottish Football Forums Instagram - sffp

John is joined by Tony as we discuss the current events in Scottish football. We kick off by reflecting on Scotland's game on Czech Republic and how it may be difficult for certain players to get back in the team. The Betfred Cup continues and we discuss whether it may have been better to make it a straight knock out tournament again for this season. The Premiership returned so we discussed the fallout from the Celtic and Rangers match. It looks like there is going to be a real title race this year though it is early days. Aberdeen have had a couple games since the international break and are next up for Celtic. John is hopeful that they will continue their positive approach that they've had in recent games. The lower leagues started and we get Tony to make some predictions for a game in each league in our new predictions contest against Ally Graham. The podcast concludes with some other chat about whats been happening in Scottish football and beyond. Tweet us @sffpodcast Facebook - Scottish Football Fo

In the latest installment of Good John's guest specials, he is joined by former SFA Grade 1 & FIFA Referee John Rowbotham. John talks openly about how he went from Junior and Amateur football to referee at the age of 29. Starting off at officiating Under 18's football, John progressed through the ranks to become one of Scotland's best known referees by the mid-nineties along with the likes of Willie Young, Hugh Dallas and Kenny Clark. He is perhaps best remembered for two games involving Paul Gascoigne. Firstly, a Rangers v Aberdeen game in 1995 where he admits he should've sent Gazza off in a match that affected his confidence, secondly in an Old Firm game two years later where he did produce a red card to the Geordie. John also oversaw 50 European club matches and five International matches before he hung up the whistle after the 2005 Scottish Cup Final between Celtic and Dundee United. John gives some great tales from his career, from a ballboy being disappointed at getting his autograph instead of P