30 years ago today

[Heilandee]

Them were the days eh?

Now were concerned about a gemme against the Faroes!

[Guest donmac298]

I was there.

[chris123]

Them were the days eh?

Now were concerned about a gemme against the Faroes!

You must remember that for some of us, 77 is not something we have seen. Daglish, Law and Gemmil are just legends to us. With the exception of Hutchinsons goal at Wembley this campaign has been the highlight of a lot of peoples time following the national team, myself included. Although the half an hour or so after Collins penalty was pretty **** good. The best player I ever saw in a scotland top was Ally McCoist!

[The Mantis]

What memories. Never made it to that one but was there in 81 when we won 1-0. Also saw us beat them in 74 and 76, and losing in 72 and 78.

In 77 we all watched it at a mate's house and when Dalglish scored no 2 we just ended up in a heap on the carpet amongst all the beer.

I reckon we peaked later that year in qualifying for Argentina when we beat the Czechs and then Wales with a bit of luck. We've never had a team as good as that since.

[+Wanderer]

Similar memories Mantis. Although in my case we were in a heap along with the orangeade and cheese n onion crisps...  :023:

Those end of season home nation games were nerve-wracking. It's not just in recent times that following Scotland has been a bowel moving adventure.

The Scotsman managed one of its rare items of worthwhile reading on the topic

http://sport.scotsman.com/football.cfm?id=861292007

"Solid at the back, fluent in midfield and effective up front, MacLeod inherited a side from Willie Ormond which peaked in 1977.

Had the World Cup been staged in odd years rather than even, then Ally's outlandish prediction that Scotland would win a medal in Argentina might even have come true. Although calamity on an unprecedented scale beckoned in 1978, the previous year was about as good as it ever got to follow Scotland.

The midfield of Don Masson, Bruce Rioch and Asa Hartford was gifted enough to keep players of the calibre of Archie Gemmill and Lou Macari on the bench. Willie Johnston supplied the ingenuity of a coruscating winger on the left flank, while the partnership of Kenny Dalglish and Joe Jordan was among the most effective strike pairings fielded by Scotland in the past 30 years.

At the back, Rough was a superlative shot-stopper in goal; Danny McGrain was the best full-back in the world; Gordon McQueen was a charismatic centre-half; and Tom Forsyth and Willie Donachie (Martin Buchan, Kenny Burns and Sandy Jardine were challengers for their places) always offered solid, reliable service."

[The Mantis]

Spot on there Mr Banister. The frosty September night we blew away the Czechs 3-1 with a display of aggression, skill and pace was possibly the best I ever saw Scotland play. Right up there with the 2-0 against France and 3-1 v Spain.

[Kingsmills]

Sadly, we're unlikely ever to witness such a skillful and entertaining Scotland line up ever again. Those were indeed the days !