Jump to content

Nutmeg Magazine

Nutmeg
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    44

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Posts posted by Nutmeg Magazine

    Got your wee boy or girl into a team yet?

    in Nutmeg

    Posted

    If not, it might already be too late. 

    A child's chance of becoming a football player may already be decided by the time they are just 5 or 6. 

    But what about the late developers? Steve Archibald, Brian McClair and John Collins are just three examples of players who didn't start to break through until their teens. All went on to become international stars.

    Do we really want to write off the smaller ball players, and the communities who have always provided some of Scottish football's most exciting players?

    In this preview from Issue 31, Graeme McDowall warns of the legends we might never know as a result of Scottish football's rush to judge kids. 

    📖 Read: https://bit.ly/4bYNo5i
    🛒 Pre-order: http://bit.ly/3SWV3tz

    0

    Nutmeg Issue 31: Pre-order now

    in Nutmeg

    Posted

    We're pleased to say Issue 31 of Nutmeg has rolled through the presses and is available to pre-order now. 

    It's our first edition to feature a front-page photo. Inside, you'll find the same mix of humour, analysis, history and opinion from every part and level of the game.

    Here's the full rundown:

     

    The uniformity of uniforms
    By Daniel Gray

    The Fitbatweets Diaries

    The Nutmeg Interview: Alex Smith
    Alex Smith won two Scottish Cups and a Scottish League Cup, and came within one match of pipping Rangers to the title. But trophies don’t tell the story of his deep love of the game.
    By Teddy Jamieson

    Ian Murray’s joy division
    Having faced pariah status two years ago, Raith Rovers are now emerging as the fastest-growing club in the country, propelled by the success of ‘Murrayball’ and a raft of late victories. Could this signal the dawn of a new golden age in Kirkcaldy?
    By Scott Fleming

    Mountain to climb for late starters
    Elite youth football is based on fallacies about talent and takes no account of how children mature. Would Archibald, Collins or McClair have made it today?
    By Graeme McDowall

    Inside the topsy-turvy world of Old Firm AGMs
    At the Glasgow duo’s latest shareholder meetings, Rangers got an easy ride for poor performance and Celtic were lambasted despite success, on and off the field. What can other clubs learn? By Maurice Smith

    Open Goal Broomhill’s brush with big time
    A media company’s plan to give the Lowland League ‘mass exposure’ via YouTube did not quite go as planned for the nomadic club.
    By Andy Ross

    Behind The Lens: Inside Scottish football’s quiet TV revolution
    The production company behind most Premiership coverage proved its mettle during the Covid season and hasn’t looked back.
    By Alex Marr

    From Mopeds to Messi
    In 2013, footballers Steven Robb and Mark Corcoran traded their boots for a new venture. Today, their clothing brand stands among the world’s most popular. Here Robb recounts the label’s humble beginnings, and the famous faces who helped make its name.
    By Kenny Millar

    Photo essay: The Nutmeg Match Report
    This season, Alan McCredie and Daniel Gray are documenting the Scottish Cup in its 150th year. Their journey continues amidst the briny air of Balmoor Stadium, where Peterhead host Ayr United.

    The Girvan Lighthouse wore a flat cap
    In 1968, Ayresome Park hosted England’s Football League XI v Scottish League XI. Legends from both sides of the border graced that hallowed North-East turf, yet it was Peter McCloy who left an indelible mark on my young mind.
    By Harry Pearson

    Love at first byte
    Ever since I put the ‘Kick Off 2’ disc into the drive at the age of nine, I’ve been in thrall to the sights and sounds of computerised match action, lost classics and all.
    By Mark Holmes

    Fitba, my father-in-law and me
    We bonded over a shared love of the Doonhamers. After about a quarter of a century of attending games together, I am still not used to his absence from the matchday rituals.
    By Giancarlo Rinaldi

    Midnight train from Georgia
    Catching the Tartan Army’s Euro 2024 qualifier in Tbilisi was an enthralling experience, inside and outside the brutalist behemoth of an old Soviet stadium. And I’m not even Scottish.
    By Ffion Thomas

    Good people, good things
    Too often we hear how football has lost its soul. But Scottish clubs, big and small, are doing a huge amount for their communities.
    By Hugh MacDonald

    Senior moments to savour
    Playing for Scotland at the over-50s Masters in Thailand, alongside former pros and Junior internationals, was an experience to treasure. We even beat England on our way to the final
    By Colin Leslie

    Double Don makes his mark far from the Granite City
    Graham Hunter fell in love with the game at Pittodrie. Then, a trip to World Cup ‘82 – under the guidance of one Alex Ferguson – saw him fall for Spain. It was an adoration he would later spread via the revolutionary TV show Revista De La Liga.
    By Liam Grimshaw

    Peerless chronicler
    Hughie Taylor did not only produce the legendary football annual, he was a witty, astute and kind observer of Scottish football across more than five decades in journalism.
    By David Allan

    Another night in Turin
    In 1990, a Turin councillor lobbied to have ‘Flower of Scotland’ played before Scotland’s World Cup game in the Italian city. Despite losing to Brazil, that small victory over FIFA provided a rare moment of brightness.
    By John Irving

    …First as tragedy, second as farce
    In Seville in 2022 I experienced a triumph in defeat, glimpsed immortality, and bore witness to the heartbreaking unfinished chapter in Rangers’ pursuit of history.
    By Ross Hutton

    Holy trinity of one-club Scots who worked their magic down south
    Billy Liddell at Liverpool, Bob McKinlay at Nottingham Forest and Eddie Gray at Leeds United were in a league of their own when it comes to longevity and loyalty in England.
    By Ronnie McCluskey

    The quiet man of Ibrox
    Rangers’ great Willie Mathieson has inspired a fan-led campaign to honour him and his team-mate
    Willie Johnston. Both are small-town heroes of Cardenden who left an indelible mark on their club.
    By Craig Millar

    Chance was a fine thing on epic Greek adventure
    When Alan Strachan went to Athens to visit his aunt 30 years ago, he had no idea he’d end up training with Panathinaikos for six weeks.
    By James Morgan

    Hibs hero who lined up with the world’s best
    A Scotland cap may have eluded Hibernian’s Alan Gordon, but 50 years ago he appeared in a star-studded match in Hamburg alongside some of the world’s greatest players.
    By Craig Stephen

    McAllister’s golden Liverpool sunset
    When the midfield maestro joined the Reds at the age of 35, few backed him to make much impression. Five trophies later, he was a club legend.
    By Sean Cole

    Thistle Tea lady who blesses her cup of fortune
    Fiona McConachie joined Thistle as a teenage volunteer and has loved every minute of her varied role. Now her seven-year-old daughter is getting in on the act.
    By Brian Welsh

    Heart and soul of Montrose
    Eilidh Reid not only founded the women’s club but has played for, coached and driven – in every sense – the Angus outfit to the top tier of the game. She is still intent on giving opportunities to more girls.
    By Chris Marshall

    Tynecastle hath a pleasant seat
    With the support of Hearts, Two Halves Productions are revolutionising storytelling in football with a unique series of plays which both challenge convention and enrich the club’s cultural narratives.
    By Richard Purden

    Heady fuel of my Airdrie love affair
    When Texaco Cup fever gripped Airdrie in 1971/72, one boy’s love of football was ignited by the sounds, and reflection of floodlights, through his bedroom window.
    By Andy Bollen

    Grand Tour
    Almost 40 years ago, my father, brother and I journeyed north from our native Lincolnshire to visit every Scottish league ground. Many of these venues no longer exist, which makes our pilgrimage even more special.
    By Dominic Picksley

    On a bing and a prayer
    For a brief spell 100 years ago, West Lothian could boast not one but four professional clubs. Where did it all go wrong?
    By Callum McCormack

    International class
    In the first of a new series we look at memorable Scotland kits through the years: from wing collars and V-necks to temperature-triggered colour changes.
    By John Devlin
    186
    From the Chairman to the Tea Lady…
    Helmsman’s Netherdale nirvana

    Dramatic last days: Scottish First Division 1988/89
    When Killie’s goal glut had Bully Wee worried

    Record appearances
    ‘Hamish – The Goalie’ (1983) by Michael Marra
    By David Pollock

    Poetry
    Waiting for Daddy by Heather Meldrum
    Goat Goal by Mark Coverdale
    Goals by Celia Donovan
    Restricted View by David Forrest

    Nutmeg31.Cover_.Pre-order.webp

    0

    Nutmeg magazine - Dugmeat Days: The Championship season 22/23

    in Scottish Championship General Chatter

    Posted

    The first Nutmeg Gazette is out now in print and as a digital download. 
    Dugmeat Days is a 64-page collection of our writer Scott Fleming's outstanding reportage pieces about bonkers Championship season 2022/23, with new words and pictures added.
    Buy the print edition here
    Buy the digital edition here

    (Published every three months Nutmeg is a high-class home for quality articles about Scottish football’s past, present and future. It offers opinion, reflection, interviews, insight, illustration, photography and poetry. It is a unique blend between 196 uniquely elegant pages. Read more here) 

    Dugmeat.Days1.png

    0

    Nutmeg Magazine: Issue 29

    in Nutmeg

    Posted

    On 19/08/2023 at 17:21, Willie adie said:

    Been a subscriber since day one.

    Id love to see you do a series on the best uncapped Scottish players

    Thanks Willie. Great to have your support. We really appreciate it. 

    And thanks for the suggestion. We'll give that some thought. It's come up in a few articles already but definitely has more potential. 

    Who would be on your list of best uncapped players? 

    0

    Motherwell FC - A Thread For All Seasons

    in Scottish Premiership General Chatter

    Posted

    Michael Higdon scored his first goal for Motherwell on this day in 2011.

    He went on to take the SPL by storm in season 2012/13, scoring 26 goals and outdoing the Old Firm in the individual awards.

    The big Englishman ended 23 years of dominance by Old Firm players to achieve the status of being named Players’ Player of the Year – the first since time Aberdeen’s Jim Bett scooped the award in 1990 that a Celtic or Rangers player did not pick up the prize.

    To celebrate one of Scottish football's genuine cult heroes, from Nutmeg 28 and now online for the first time we bring you Andy Ross's profile of big Higgy:

    MICHAEL HIGDON AT MOTHERWELL: HOW STRIKER BECAME STEELMEN’S MR BIG

     

    5

    Nutmeg Magazine: Issue 29

    in Nutmeg

    Posted

    Issue 29 is now at the printers

    Includes The Nutmeg Interview: Pat Nevin on the importance of not being earnest
    By Teddy Jamieson

    Pre-order it now ➡️ bit.ly/44oN3nP
    Better still, subscribe before 1 September and start with this issue ➡️ https://bit.ly/2HLeyhx

     

    Full content:

    A faithful translation
    By Daniel Gray

    Dropping the Saint Patrick act
    In his latest memoir, Pat Nevin covers his days playing for Tranmere Rovers, Kilmarnock and Motherwell in the 1990s. He speaks to us about his own self-image and why he is so concerned with coming across as “earnest”.
    By Teddy Jamieson

    Hungry like the bairns
    For the last five years, Falkirk have been unwilling participants in one of Scottish football’s biggest pantomimes. But could their fortunes be about to change?
    By Scott Fleming

    Swim when you’re winning
    Scotland’s Euro 2024 qualifier against Georgia was suspended for over 90 minutes after torrential rain at Hampden flooded the pitch. Behind the scenes, a collective will and determination eventually got the game going again. By Maurice Smith

    Caput Mundi corruption comes to Caledonia
    When AS Roma arrived on Scottish soil for the first leg of the 1984 European Cup semi-final, Jim McLean’s Dundee United found themselves unwittingly caught up in an international scandal: a sordid tale of drugs, bribery and lies.
    By John Irving

    Something is novel in the state of Denmark
    Denmark’s FC Nordsjælland have become a world leader in the production of fresh young talent. As head of the Danish side’s Right to Dream academy, Scottish coach Gareth Henderby is at the very heart of their success.
    By Kenny Millar

    The damned United?
    The Tangerines, arguably Scotland’s sixth-largest club, are challenged financially and languishing in the Championship. Ongoing success cannot be assumed, but can they turn it all around and take back their rightful place in the top tier?
    By Maurice Smith

    System failure
    The Scottish Player Development system is extremely tough on up-and-coming talent, with the annual SPFA Exit Trials representing the end of the road for many young hopefuls. But what can be done to make the system fairer on the next generation? And how can we better prepare them for potential heartbreak?
    By Greg Gordon

    The climate crisis: waist deep into extra time
    Although football clubs and governing bodies are adopting more sustainable practices towards energy, waste, and biodiversity, are they acknowledging the immediate threat climate change poses to the sustainability of the game?
    By Ginny Clark

    It was good to talk
    BT Sport has been widely popular for its humorous, often relaxed SPFL coverage. Recently retired in favour of TNT Sports, we take a retrospective look back at the broadcaster’s many innovations.
    By Alex Marr

    Flipping Figos: Is it the future?
    Several Portuguese sides have perfected a buy, develop, sell-for-profit model for their players that has kept them competitive both domestically, and in Europe. Is it time that Scottish clubs developed a similar structure?
    By Paul Grech

    Back where we belong
    As the summer break drew to a damp, soggy close, the sounds of chatter and music filled our grounds once more. Though for many the action was consigned to the background, a group of young fans proved enthusiasm for the sport remains ripe. Football was back, and it felt good.
    Words by Daniel Gray.
    Photographs by Alan McCredie.

    Remembering Craig Brown
    June 26, 2023, marked the sad loss of one of Scotland’s most successful managers. I knew him to be a generous, kind-hearted, and encouraging man of significant footballing aptitude.
    By Graham Spiers

    First among guv’nors
    How a walrus-moustached, bowler-hatted joiner from Edinburgh made a ramshackle English club into a giant.
    By Harry Pearson

    All together now
    Though his departure from Anfield was complex, Bill Shankly is still regarded as a hero by thousands of Liverpudlians. Peter Hooton, member of the band The Farm, considers himself fortunate to have met Shankly and still finds motivation from the Glenbuck-born legend’s life principles.
    By Richard Purden

    Loving thy neighbour
    Frank Connor was a Celtic legend, a true football man who enjoyed success as both player and manager at numerous Scottish clubs. To me, though, he will always be the kind-hearted, good-humoured and hard-working neighbour we knew simply as ‘Mr Connor’.
    By Andy Bollen

    A learning game in South-East Asia
    For Christopher Grant, the path from academy coach to running a football club opened up since he moved from Scotland to Cambodia.
    By Danny Lewis

    Built on shifting sands
    As a player, he was an often-controversial firebrand. Now, as Fleetwood Town manager, Scott Brown is emerging against type as a surprisingly calm, thoughtful and astute footballing tactician.
    By Chris Sweeney

    Pars, punks and pirates
    Historic St Pauli is a bohemian district of Hamburg now best known for its football club and their left-wing politics. A team visit to Fife offers occasion to reflect on their worldwide popularity.
    By Hugh MacDonald
    Photographs by Reece Mullen

    Kindred spirits, fierce rivals
    Some players stick with one club for their entire career, beloved of fans and synonymous with the team’s name. In a new series, we will be highlighting the stories of these one-club players, starting with Billy McNeill and John Greig, two Old Firm rivals who faced off against each other for the best part of 20 years.
    By Ronnie McCluskey

    From Calcutta to Clydeside, barefoot
    In 1936, Mohammed Salim became the first Indian footballer to play in Europe when he made his debut for Celtic. At that time, in Britain, Indians were often treated as second class citizens. But the Hoops held a different set of values, where dignity did not depend on colour or creed.
    By Andrew McFadyen

    One cap wonders of the world stage
    A place in the national team is a significant achievement for any player, but often the experience can be short-lived. For those players with just a single appearance, is a cap a gift or a curse?
    By Sean Cole

    Living life to the dullest
    Friendly games are usually low on thrills and excitement, but sometimes the boredom can present a rare opportunity to disconnect from technology, to live slowly, let your mind wander, and immerse yourself in the pace of a dull 90-minutes.
    By Mark Holmes

    Confessions of a glory hunter
    Queen’s Park are now the third of the five Glasgow teams I have supported. But why is switching your alliance from one club to another such a target for ridicule?
    By Gordon Cairns

    A tartan army tale: We’re only here to watch the tennis
    In 2008, a group of friends ventured to Macedonia for George Burley’s first competitive game in charge of Scotland. The booze-fuelled trip led to two armed standoffs, with our band of travellers almost never making it back at all.
    By Stephen Watt

    The Welfare state of play
    This year marks a decade since the Lowland League was first formed, allowing ambitious clubs a route up the football pyramid and on to greater success. As this new age dawned, one club seemed primed to take full advantage of the opportunity: Whitehill Welfare. Words and photographs
    by Colin McPherson

    Learning from our losses
    When my partner suddenly died, my love for the game did too. But through my grief, football has taught me to cherish those moments shared in the stands.
    By Andy Ross

    A father’s journey through grief
    In January 2020, Liam Walsh’s 15-year-old son Patrick went to a football game at Tottenham Hotspur and never came home. Hurrying for the last train out of Marylebone, he collapsed and died, suddenly, unexpectedly and still, without cause. Two weeks later, Liam’s Dad, Mick, with his sense of purpose desperately unravelled, gently died too. Here, in an extract from his book, Red Balloons, Liam recalls a family pilgrimage to Leith following Patrick’s passing.

    The battle of Easter Road
    Graeme Souness’s debut as Rangers’ player-manager resulted in a vicious, bloodthirsty skirmish with John Blackley’s Hibernian. As the two sides locked horns, I watched over in childish wonder.
    By Colin Leslie

    “Fish suppers if we manage a point”
    Thanks to his sensational late winner, John Fletcher became the hero in one of Arbroath’s greatest ever victories. Footage of the feat was once feared lost, but the day remains indelibly stamped on the collective memory of the Lichties loyal.
    By Craig Millar

    Smells like team spirit
    There is no definitive blueprint for building a football team from the ground up. With my team, Edinburgh South Ladies, it was commitment, blind faith and a willingness to learn from our mistakes that finally made us a success.
    By John Greechan

    Park academia
    This June just gone, an international event of a different kind came to Hampden Park – The International Football History Conference. I was lucky enough to attend as a delegate, finding a welcoming, convivial assortment of people, all coming together to share their love of the game.
    By Michael Gallagher

    Lost and found
    More than 450 British football grounds, stands and terraces were demolished in Britain between 1970 and 1994, including dozens in Scotland. From Forres down to Stranraer, they feature in a new book and some are previewed here. By Paul Claydon

    Six of the best: Ross County
    Like so many of Scotland’s ‘smaller’ clubs, Ross County punch well above their weight when it comes to their kits.
    By John Devlin

    Not everything is black and white
    An increasingly unstable Gretna – locked in a thrilling two-way title race with St Johnstone – left it until the final minute of the season to clinch promotion to the SPL for the first, and last, time in their short history, consigning Ross County to the drop in the process.
    By Phil Rodger

    Poetry
    Mitoma’s Nipple by Attila the Stockbroker
    Not a Match by Spike Munro
    Euros Dreaming by Kevin Graham
    Command Performance by Sam Phipps

    1

    Hello from Nutmeg Magazine

    in Nutmeg

    Posted · Edited by Nutmeg Magazine

    Hi everyone

    We're grateful to the P&B crew to have been given a spot on this forum to share a little bit more of who we are and what we do at Nutmeg Magazine. 

    We've been producing our quarterly magazine since 2016 and work with the best football writers out there to celebrate Scottish football in all its maddening glory. 

    All we care about is telling great stories from wherever we find them. We cover all leagues and all teams. And all the years.

    We'll be sharing some of our best articles from past editions and also letting you know what's coming up.

    We're also here to listen. If there are stories or issues you think are going untold, let us know. 

    For now, why are we called "Nutmeg"? Editor Dan Gray explains...

    0
×
×
  • Create New...