Footballers who ARE nice people.

[The Saintee]

Let's hear about some heart warming stories. 

Did Kris Boyd save your granny from being mugged? 

Did Hans Gilhaus lend you bus fare?

 

Met Brian Easton at the Tesco petrol station beside McD park a few days before the Scottish Cup final. Lovely guy who definitely liked a chat. Think he was very excited about the final! 

Then I met Steven MacLean in St Andrews after the Scottish Cup final. Another genuine guy who was happy having a blether about Saints.

[ATLIS]

Shaun Byrne probably one of football's nicest guys. Been through so much losing both his parents but genuinely such a lovely guy

[Aidan]

As mentioned on the other thread, Sean Dillon. Might be a long one this.

I got a couple of tickets for a Montrose vs Airdrie game back in 2019 and took a guy I know with learning difficulties who loves football as I thought it might be a decent wee day out for him. The guy is a Dundee United fan and asked if he would get to meet Sean Dillon, I said yes and unbeknown to me he filled his wee bag with about 30 pictures and other assorted bits of memorabilia, mainly from Dundee United's Scottish Cup win and asked Sean Dillon to sign them.

I was a wee bit embarrassed and thought 1 or 2 would have been alright but this was a bit too much.

Dillon on the other hand stood there for a good 45 minutes talking about the final and going through each of the pictures indivually, talking about the players involved and since there was some of the pictures that were signed but some of the cup final squad but not all of them, he said to message him nearer to the time of the cup final reunion last year and he would try and arrange to have the signatures completed.

I fully believe that he would have stood there for hours knowing how much it meant to my pal but if I remember correctly, he had to head off to Brechin as he was going to visit an elderly Dundee United fan on his way home.

To some folk it might just be a few pictures getting signed but this guy got to spend a reasonable amount of time with one of his heroes and his been nipping my head asking when I'm taking him back to another game[emoji23]

TL;DR: Sean Dillon=Gid c**t

[chaps]

Chris Iwelumo, Mark Yardley, Tony Fitzpatrick, Barry Lavety, Tam McManus, John Harston, Marko Rajamaki, Derek McInnes are all very nice people indeed. 

[Coventry Saint]

15 minutes ago, Aidan said:

TL;DR: Sean Dillon=Gid c**t

That's brilliant.

Certainly haven't got anything to rival that. I've done bits and pieces of PR work with footballers who've been decent and happy to give way more time than they needed to. Trevor Brooking and Steve Ogrizovic were two examples.

I also had a great chat about St Mirren with Ally McCoist around the time we got promoted under Gus McP. McCoist was training with Saints at the time. Was very happy to talk to me about Stewart Kean.

[ATLIS]

30 minutes ago, djchapsticks said:

Chris Iwelumo, Mark Yardley, Tony Fitzpatrick, Barry Lavety, Tam McManus, John Harston, Marko Rajamaki, Derek McInnes are all very nice people indeed. 

John Hartson is an absolutely sour twat  From my experiences anyway 

[chaps]

4 minutes ago, ATLIS said:

John Hartson is an absolutely sour twat  From my experiences anyway 

He used to come into Linwood McDonald's regularly about 2001/2002 when I was working there during Uni. Was always very polite and courteous which was more than could be said for about 70% of folk I served. 

[ATLIS]

Just now, djchapsticks said:

He used to come into Linwood McDonald's regularly about 2001/2002 when I was working there during Uni. Was always very polite and courteous which was more than could be said for about 70% of folk I served. 

Hahaha maybe makes sense then. He came in as a strikers coach at Livi and taught them penalties and that was it. Went in a huff when we gave Miller the job over him

[chaps]

1 minute ago, ATLIS said:

Hahaha maybe makes sense then. He came in as a strikers coach at Livi and taught them penalties and that was it. Went in a huff when we gave Miller the job over him

Darren Jackson on the other hand, is a horrible person by many accounts. 

If someone who sees the good side of almost anyone such as Tony Fitzpatrick (who incidentally still speaks highly of Livi from his time there as head of youth development) even thinks you're an arsehole, then you're certainly doing something wrong. 

[Flybhoy]

He gets a bit of stick from certain people but a real heartwarming story I feel I should share about Leigh Griffiths.

Some of you may be aware I lost my 16 year old daughter last summer, a mate of mine knows Leigh Griffiths and his mum quite well and he, off his own back called LG up and told him about my families tragedy and the wee man gave my mate Chris a pair of signed boots by himself, a signed matchworn Celtic shirt signed by himself and a  couple of team mates and a pair of boots signed by Tom Rogic to pass on to me for us to sell or auction for charity in her name. 

I have these items at home and we are planning a charity fund raising night in her memory in our local once lockdown is over with monies raised probably going to the Mermaid foundation, a charity that helps children who are LGBT and have suffered and have additional mental health issues connected to this, will probably be a race night with a raffle etc and will likely auction these items on the night. 

Leigh Griffiths did this and donated these items off his own back when he heard of my families tragedy and, by all accounts has made similar gestures in the past without seeking publicity for it, it is something I was incredibly moved by and are eternally grateful for. 

[Andy_K_97]

Ally McCoist. At Kris Boyd's testimonial at RP McCoist was managing the Rangers XI and was brilliant with everyone. Went all the way along the disabled section close to the dugouts of his own accord and made time for everyone - was more than happy to do selfies and autographs with everyone. I remember him being the same when I was a kid and he was at Killie, just a smashing guy. 

[true fan]

Nice?

NICE?!?!?

he strangled my pet gerbil in 2008

 

[Stevo Fife]

Organised a charity golf event a few years back and managed to get a Celtic oldies team to take part.

Tom Boyd is one of the most genuine likeable men I've had the pleasure of meeting. A true gent.

Mark Wilson and Simon Donnelly are sound fellas as well.

John Rowbottom (ex referee) another worthy of a special mention. 

[anotherchance]

Andy Smith of Dunfermline fame is a topper of a guy.

[LIVIFOREVER]

Brian McPhee, total gentleman, made time for my daughter and her pal at a Livi open day when other Livi players ran away into the dressing room to avoid seeing the two young  fans, Brian saw what happened and came over and spoke to them, and myself, and posed for selfies with them. Also went to Africa as a teaching assistant and helped with work to install fresh running water in a village there, real good guy.

Marvin Andrews, loved the big guy for his time at Livi, one of our cup winning legends. Another real gent that shook everyone's hands and posed for selfies at McDiarmid park when we played Alloa in the Petrofac cup final, always a big smile on his face, lovely fella. Could header a ball from our box into the opposition half, hardly anyone even went in for a 50/50 challenge against him, saw Neil Lennon absolutely shit it against him and stopped going for the header when he looked up and saw Marv coming for it.

More recent player is Craig Sibbald, only a small thing but made a good impression with me, was walking round the stadium to the Almondvale suite when the players all came past, said hello to them in the passing and they just kept their heads down walking not looking in my direction, except Sibbs, who looked over and said hi back (2 seasons ago).

 

[tamthebam]

Brian McNaughton seems a good guy. He won the Junior Cup as Whitburn manager and I remember he took the cup up to a Fauldhouse game to let a young disabled Fauldhouse supporter have a look at it- if you've ever seen the Scottish Junior Cup it's a big b*****d.

Met Mixu Paateleinan twice. He was a good guy 

[Replays]

I attended training ran by East Fife goalie coach Lindsay Hamilton when I was younger. Granted I was only about 12 at the time but he always a nice guy and had a lot of time for all the youngsters.

[Highland Capital]

Neil McCann - Met him last year.  I didn't let on I knew who he was and he was a very nice man.  Didn't think he'd be managing my own club a few months later.

Ryan Christie - Nice guy.

John Hughes - Was buying tickets at the Caley Stadium (I think for the Scottish Cup semi) and he came up and shook my hand.  Exactly how you'd imagine - a guid honest laddie.

Also an honourable mention to the referee Steven McLean who I met at work years ago.  A really nice guy and was happy to have a chat.

[BFTD]

2 hours ago, Flybhoy said:

He gets a bit of stick from certain people but a real heartwarming story I feel I should share about Leigh Griffiths.

Some of you may be aware I lost my 16 year old daughter last summer, a mate of mine knows Leigh Griffiths and his mum quite well and he, off his own back called LG up and told him about my families tragedy and the wee man gave my mate Chris a pair of signed boots by himself, a signed matchworn Celtic shirt signed by himself and a  couple of team mates and a pair of boots signed by Tom Rogic to pass on to me for us to sell or auction for charity in her name. 

I have these items at home and we are planning a charity fund raising night in her memory in our local once lockdown is over with monies raised probably going to the Mermaid foundation, a charity that helps children who are LGBT and have suffered and have additional mental health issues connected to this, will probably be a race night with a raffle etc and will likely auction these items on the night. 

Leigh Griffiths did this and donated these items off his own back when he heard of my families tragedy and, by all accounts has made similar gestures in the past without seeking publicity for it, it is something I was incredibly moved by and are eternally grateful for. 

That's fucking awful and I'm really sorry to hear that. Not the thing about Leigh Griffiths...you know what I mean.

 

[BFTD]

Back in the Eighties, my mum helped to organise a charity fair for the school she worked at, and it snowballed into a bigger event thanks to the local branch of the Round Table. They approached an actress from Crossroads to make a guest appearance as she lived locally and, incredibly, there was a time when people actually gave a shit about Crossroads. She demanded a fee for coming along; apparently it was the first time that had happened, as most people were happy to donate an hour or two of their time to help handicapped kids, but she wanted money. They agreed to slip her the cash she wanted and advertised the fair with 'Special Appearance by <x>'.

Morning of the fair, the Round Table get a call from the actress' agent demanding a higher fee or she wouldn't turn up. Already fed up with her bullshit, they told her to get fucked and one of the Round Table guys called a friend to ask if he was free, as he lived nearby - Trevor Peake, who had won the FA Cup with Coventry City just a month or two prior. He made his way over, spent the whole day instead of just an hour or two, and everyone was thrilled as Coventry winning the cup was a massive deal in the West Midlands at the time. Also, he made a big deal out of meeting me and made out like my mum had arranged the whole day herself which, looking back as an adult, was a really classy touch for a man to do for a wee boy. Definitely a Good Guy.