Scottish Football Forums

In our second podcast this week, Good John speaks to Berwick Rangers Director and Glasgow City’s Head of Football Operations Dave Buglass. From our perspective, it was good to get an insight into the Lowland League and Women’s game, and Dave answers all questions very honestly. Born in Berwick, Dave talks about the pride of being asked to help out in January this year as Berwick struggled in adapting to life in the Lowland League following their relegation from the SPFL set up last season. He talks openly about the hours he and his fellow Directors put into restructure the business in order to stop the club from folding at the end of the season, and how they engaged with the local community to bring people back to Shielfield and get the club back on track off the pitch. Even with the problems that have arisen from Covid-19 pandemic, the club are, thankfully, in a better position than they were six months ago. Being a Lowland League side, Berwick have aspirations to work their way back to the SPFL, so Dave gi

It’s the two John’s on for this episode and we’re joined by co Falkirk manager David McCracken. David talks us through his playing days with the likes of Dundee United, Wycombe, MK Dons, St Johnstone and Falkirk. We don’t focus quite as much on Brentford. We kick off by talking about how David has been busy during lockdown and his thoughts on how the season ended. This leads on to the disappointment of reconstruction not happening and a lack of information about when football will return in League One. There are some terrific stories of his playing career with learning his trade at Dundee United and the fear that players had of Jim McLean. David is brutally honest about how his time at Dundee United came to an end and how a move south helped rejuvenate his career. His time in England saw him under a Martin O’Neill clone and the man they call The Guvnor. David speaks highly though with regards to another manager who he says has played a significant part in how he is as a manager now. We speak about him re

The regular trio of the two John’s and Krys are joined by Famous Tartan Army Magazine Editor Iain Emmerson. It’s another throwback Thursday theme as the guys revisit Euro ‘92 and Euro ‘96, the two Finals that Scotland have played at. The ‘92 Finals saw Scotland, led by Andy Roxburgh, come away with plaudits following impressive performances in defeat to European Champions Holland and World Champions Germany, before comprehensively beating CIS. At Euro ‘96, Craig Brown’s side wrote the latest chapter of the ever growing Glorious Failure novel by going out on goal difference. If only Gary McAllister hadn’t missed at Wembley and Patrick Kluivert not scored a consolation for the Dutch. Let’s just blame David Seaman! The podcast rounds up with the lads wishing for a return to tournament football and Iain promoting future editions of the magazine, which Good John has contributed to. We will send the link when it’s out.

The two John’s are joined by ex Aberdeen, Rangers and Leeds player. He’s the current Real Kashmir manager which some of our younger listeners may be more familiar with. We start off by talking about his time in India and his difficult journey to get home during lockdown. David talks about how he got in to football with the 1976 Scottish Cup final that perked his interest. He talks fondly about his time playing for his boyhood club and in particular the successful 1989/90 season when Aberdeen won the cup double. There was the disappointment of his last game at the club in the league decider against Rangers who he moved on to the summer after. This led to a successful time at Rangers where he played a significant role in helping Rangers win 9 in a row, played in the Champions League and won domestic cups. He talks about who helped him settle in and shares his regret at not going out the night Rangers clinched 9 in a row. David moved on to Leeds but unfortunately his playing time was cut short by injury. He

Regulars Good John and Krys are joined by Director of Podcasting Craig, who returns after a two year absence. Welcome back boss! The guys go back in time to season 2007/08, one which their respective club sides feature prominently, particularly in Europe. To summarise, it was a season that gave renewed hope for our game. The Scotland National Team were punching well above their weight, winning in France and comprehensively swept Ukraine aside at Hampden and looked good for qualifying for Euro 2008. Ultimately, it ended in glorious failure once more after a cruel defeat by World Champions Italy in the final minute. Our domestic sides were performing well on the continent too, with THREE sides still in Europe after Christmas. Aberdeen thumped Copenhagen to reach the UEFA Cup last 32, and gave Bayern Munich a scare at Pittodrie before going out. Celtic reached the last 16 of the Champions League, defeating defending Champions AC Milan on their way. Rangers had the disappointment of dropping into the UEFA Cup,

The two John’s are on for this episode are joined by man of many clubs Ally Graham. We kick off the show by talking about what’s been going on recently and the hope that Scottish football is back soon in some way. Ally talks about his coaching career and how much he enjoys being involved in the game. There are career highlights from his time at the likes of Albion Rovers, Ayr United, Raith Rovers and Stirling Albion. We hear some interesting negotiating tactics from a certain manager who paid for Ally’s summer holiday. Some fantastic stories from winning a major trophy with Raith and playing against the legendary Bayern Munich. The quickfire stuff is terrific but we’re a bit concerned by poogate. Ally picks a best eleven of some top players that has some top internationals in it. All in all, he’s a great guest and we hope to have him back on in the future.

Krys and Good John are joined by John Hughes, aka Yogi, a man of many clubs as both player and manager. We start off by talking about Ann Budge’s proposal for a 14-14-14. Is this prospect doomed with a number of clubs publicly objecting before discussions take place next week? Yogi then talks us through his playing career, which began at the humble surroundings of Newtongrange Star and Berwick Rangers. After a brief stint at Swansea, he made his name with Falkirk under Jim Jeffries in a five year spell that saw two promotions and a Challenge Cup success. His performances earned him a move to Celtic under Tommy Burns for just under 18 months before moving onto boyhood team Hibs then Ayr United. As he was winding his playing career back at Falkirk, Yogi then became Manager at the club, taking them into a five year stay in the top flight and a Scottish Cup Final in 2009. He then had just over a year at Hibs and then short stints at Livingston and Hartlepool before moving to Inverness in 2014. It was in the Hi

The two John’s are joined by Grant from Campbell’s Football Podcast. Grant discusses how his podcast came about and some of the favourite guests he has had on. We get Grant to talk about his early memories from going to football and who his footballing idols are. We finish off with some quickfire stuff and the showstopper of a best eleven from guests he has had on his podcast.

We’re delighted to have a returning guest on as Aaron Connolly of St Rochs is on for his fourth appearance. To begin with we have a chat about adapting during lockdown and talking about his Time to Tackle project. He talks us through his career from being at Hibs as a young player and how he ended up leaving. There are career highlights like from his time at Glenafton but also lows of times of falling out of love with football in his younger days. Going forward we speak about what his hopes are for the rest of his career. We finish off with some quickfire stuff and the best eleven of players he has played with as well as his favourite Celtic eleven.

The regular trio are reunited for the first time in what seems like ages as the two John’s and Krys are on. We’re delighted to have current Glasgow City and Scotland International player Leanne Crichton on. Leanne talks us through her career as a player and her involvement as a pundit. She also chats about her memories growing up and how she got involved playing in girls football. We talk about the highlight of playing at the World Cup last year and how more needs to be done in order to capitalise on the exposure it brought to Women’s football. Other highlights include the success she has had with Glasgow City domestically and the big European nights. This week is Mental Health Week so we discuss the importance of this and how more needs to done. We finish up with some fun quickfire stuff and get Leanne to pick her best eleven of players she has played with.

The two John’s are joined by ex professional footballer Alan Lawrence and Scott who runs the Amoruso Let’s It Run account on YouTube. There’s plenty of banter throughout as Alan talks about his playing career at Meadowbank, Dundee, Airdrie and Hearts. He doesn’t know what day it is though which we’ll put down to all the top defenders he played against knocking lumps out of him. He talks about his battles with mental health and how more needs to be done to support players coming to end of their playing career. There is great interaction between Alan and Scott as they talk about Alan’s time at Hearts and his record of being successful against them when with Airdrie. Scott provides one of the funniest moments we’ve had on the podcast in a while as he provides his best and worst Hearts five a side teams. The podcast concludes with Alan picking his best eleven of players he played with and some chat about Craig Levein.

The regular trio are joined by SFA Head of Community Development Paul McNeill. We start off by talking about the reconstruction in West of Scotland Football League with the announcement of the conferences and a 20 team league at tier 6. There is brief chat about what might be happening in the top four divisions though there is still a fair bit of uncertainty. Paul then talks about his job and what it entails. His passion shines through in terms of how sport can make a difference in the community. We then get him to take us through his memories of being a St Mirren fan and the highs and lows it brings. To conclude we get Paul to name a best eleven of players he has seen in a St Mirren jersey.

The two John’s are joined by ex Hibs, Derby, Portsmouth, Stoke and Dunfermline player Kevin Harper. Kevin is the current manager of Albion Rovers so we start off by talking about reconstruction talks and what his views are on this. He goes on to talk about signing for Hibs, the highs and lows of scoring winners in Edinburgh derbies and relegation in his last full season. We talk about racism in football and how things haven’t really improved since then 1990s which is when Kevin started his career. He believes more needs to be done to get BAME involved particularly in management. Kevin moved on to Derby who were in the English Premier League and had a successful first season before moving on to Portsmouth a couple seasons later. This led to playing with some great players and characters such as Prosinecki, Crouch and Merson. This leads on to his best season in football where they got promoted to the top flight in England. Unfortunately things didn’t work out as well then with a couple of loan spells and e

The two John’s are joined by Clydebank legend and all time top scorer Ken Eadie. He joins us from Florida so we discuss how moving there came about and what life is like there. We start off with some chat about the current reconstruction talk in terms of what may happen. Ken talks us through his career which includes some terrific stories including hanging out with Wet Wet Wet and jumping in a taxi to Glasgow with team mates after Scottish Cup semi in 1990. He talks about his thoughts on coaching in Scottish football, his playing career which includes being inducted in to Hall of Fame at Clydebank and some fun stuff such as his desire for a Scotch Pie.

The regular trio are reunited for the first time in a while and are joined by ex Celtic, Ross County and Motherwell player Paul Lawson. Paul is currently manager of Formartine United in the Highland League. We kick off by talking about potential reconstruction in the senior leagues and what it may look like. This leads on to what’s been going on in the non league setup with declarations of titles and East of Scotland Juniors season being declared null and void. Paul talks about his ambitions for Formartine United, how the job came about and his success so far at the club. We then move on to talk about his playing career from his time coming through at Celtic to the success he had at Ross County and finishing his senior career at Motherwell. The podcast concludes with some quick fire questions, Paul picks his best team of players he has played with and we finish off with some Football Manager chat.

Good John and Krys are joined by Statement League creator Lewis Cumming. As you can imagine, his phone has went into meltdown recently. We start off by chatting about the Government’s decision to extend the lockdown by three weeks. It is agreed that this is optimistic and we expect the lockdown will continue into the summer. We can only hope that the numbers come down as soon as possible so we can get back to normality. The conversation moves onto the controversial SPFL proposal to conclude the Championship, League One and League Two season, which needed a 75% vote from each division to be passed. After the mystery of Dundee’s alleged missing vote, the proposal went through to crown Dundee United, Raith Rovers and Cove Rangers Champions with Partick Thistle and Stranraer relegated. Brechin avoid a potential relegation playoff against Brora Rangers or Kelty Hearts. The Leagues decision means that Hearts and Hamilton will lead reconstruction talks. This requires an 11-1 majority. Will we see proper change to

Share The two John’s are joined by ex Aberdeen player and assistant manager Willie Garner. He talks us through his career as a player and the early success he had at Aberdeen. Willie was lucky to have played under Ally McLeod, Billy McNeill and Alex Ferguson so gives us an insight in to what they were like. Willie became a player manager of Alloa at the age of 27 and talks about how this came about. He then lets us know how assistant manager job came up at Aberdeen and how his time at the club ended. He has some great stories to tell from his time in football and his role as an ambassador at Aberdeen. We finish off with some fun questions and what his best 11 if of players he played with.

Welcome to the second installment of the Scottish Football Forums interview with former Falkirk, Aberdeen, Dundee, Ross County and Scotland centre half Brian Irvine. In the summer of 1995, Brian’s world came crashing down when he was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. He talks openly about how he came through that shock, how he learned how to manage the condition and fight his way back into the first team. He then discusses the hurt at being released by Roy Aitken in 1997 and how that spurred him onto have two impressive seasons with Dundee, including scoring in a Dundee Derby at Tannadice. Brian ended his career with four years at Ross County under Neale Cooper then Alex Smith before going into coaching and management. He speaks about the difficulties of his job with Elgin and coaching abroad. We round off the interview with a few quick-fire questions, including who the funniest personalities in the Aberdeen changing room were and why Eoin Jess left a pair of predators underneath his dressing room peg. We

Welcome to a special edition of the Scottish Football Forums Podcast with me Good John. This is a two-part special where I spoke to former Falkirk, Aberdeen, Dundee, Ross County and Scotland centre half Brian Irvine, one of my favourite players growing up as an Aberdeen fan. In the first of a two-part special, Brian talks about present day life as a key worker in two sectors with Marks and Spencer and as a Care Worker, which leads to an open discussion about the Coronavirus Pandemic and mental health in general. This leads to him talking briefly at his two jobs at the start of his career, working full time in a bank and part time with Falkirk for two years before joining boyhood hero’s Aberdeen. He goes onto speak about learning his trade at the Dons, being stand in for legendary centre back pairing Willie Miller and Alex McLeish and filling in as a right back, central midfielder and even goalkeeper. He became a regular in the 1989/90 season and wrote himself into Dons folklore by scoring the winning penalty

The two John's are joined by current Darvel Juniors manager Mick Kennedy. We're pleased to have him on especially in current situation where we're all desperate for any kind of football chat. Mick talks his through his career from his time playing in amateur football where he became a Scotland player at that level. He then leads on to his transition to management in the amateurs where he had tremendous success in a short space of time. He speaks about why Darvel were the right fit in terms of moving in to management in the Juniors. One of the main things that comes across is the professional approach he takes with Sports Science being a big part of things. There is some pyramid chat with all that is happening currently with that regard. We finish up with some fun questions and get Mick to pick a best eleven of players he has played with or managed. Tweet us @sffpodcast Facebook - Scottish Football Forums Instagram - sffpodcast