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00:01The greatest show on earth is about to begin.
00:07That is outrageous!
00:09And it goes!
00:21Oh dear, oh dear.
00:35That's a howler!
00:40Is this what Scottish people is about?
00:43Delicious!
00:44Oh, what!
00:49Champions!
00:52This has been an absolute burnstormer!
01:01Hello and welcome to A View from the Terrace,
01:04the show that celebrates Scottish football
01:06from the very top to the very bottom,
01:08from one side to the next,
01:09from back to front,
01:10and all the way around once more for good measure.
01:13My name is Craig Telfer,
01:15and I have the Party Poppers with me
01:17and two very excited guests
01:19to get the fun going.
01:20Up first, this person was described online
01:22as sounding like Steven Presley's daughter.
01:25And who am I to argue with an online troll?
01:27Not shame you can't have in.
01:28Hello, Craig.
01:31And up next, it's the man who puts the awe
01:34into Kirkawdy.
01:36It's Sean McGuigan.
01:37Hello!
01:38Now Sean, it is great to get the chance
01:40to spend some time with you again,
01:41but joining us for the first time this season
01:43is Amy Canavan.
01:45Amy, what have you been up to
01:46since you and I last locked horns?
01:48I have travelled away with Scotland,
01:51both men's and women's,
01:51Denmark and Hungary and Morocco.
01:54Yeah, excellent.
01:55And now you've travelled the world
01:56and then you're back here hanging out with me and Sean.
01:59Where did it all go wrong?
02:00I ask myself that every night.
02:02Enjoy the show.
02:07It's been a very large seven days in Scottish football
02:10and we are kicking off with some very large opinions
02:13and bringing you the winners and the losers
02:15from the past week.
02:17And Amy Canavan, we will go to Celtic Football Club
02:20and talk about the big loser,
02:22Brendan Rodgers.
02:24What a night on Monday night at quarter to ten.
02:27Not only one bombshell of Brendan Rodgers' resignation,
02:30the appointment or the interim appointment
02:32of Martin O'Neill and Sean Maloney
02:34and then 15 minutes later,
02:36just when you're just about coming to terms with those.
02:40Dermot Desmond blasts out a statement of that nature.
02:43Definitely, there is a lot to unpack from Celtic
02:45from earlier in the week.
02:46I think it's hard to say that you absolutely saw it coming
02:49just on the basis of losing back-to-back games
02:52and losing to Hearts.
02:53The manner they lost to Hearts wasn't great.
02:55The surprise comes because of the way
02:57that things have been bubbling on for a little while now
02:59at Celtic.
03:00Probably since the summer really,
03:01Rodgers has not missed in press conferences
03:04and interviews.
03:05He's slammed the lack of backing that he's had at the club,
03:08the transfer window,
03:10the lack of Champions League football.
03:11He's always made those little digs.
03:13There's also been little things in the last few weeks,
03:15Honda Civics,
03:16having interviews with English media,
03:18all these little things all pieced together
03:20that you do start to go,
03:21there's something wasn't right at the club.
03:23It feels as though that his time in Scottish football
03:26as two spells as Celtic manager
03:28have been virtually friction-free.
03:30You know, he hasn't had an obvious challenger
03:31for the Championship
03:32and he's been able to win by quite a large number of points.
03:36This season, however, at Heart and Midlothian,
03:38they look in really good shape.
03:41And this feels like it's where managers earn their corn,
03:44where the chips are down, you know,
03:45you don't necessarily have the squad of players that you want to work with.
03:48You've got injuries, you've got to find a strategy
03:50to try and overcome these obstacles.
03:52He hasn't been able to do that and he's walked away.
03:55I almost got the impression that he was concerned
03:57about how this would look on his CV,
03:59potentially losing a league as a manager of Celtic to Hearts.
04:03But I think the best thing about Monday
04:05is with each new piece of information that dropped,
04:09the scenario got curiouser and curiouser and funnier.
04:12Yes.
04:13I mean, I think appointing Mark O'Neill as interim manager
04:16just seven or eight hours after he does a radio interview
04:19saying that Hearts are going to win the league
04:21was maybe the best bit about it.
04:23The best bit of fact is that he doubled then down on it
04:25in the press conference on the Tuesday.
04:26He went, yeah, no, I stand by it.
04:28I stand by it.
04:28Maybe we're looking this the wrong way round.
04:30Maybe it's not Brendan Rodgers who's losing,
04:32maybe it's the rest of Scottish Routable
04:33who are the winners that we can revel in moments like this.
04:37And we'll stick with winners, Sean,
04:38and the big winners, Aberdeen's PR department.
04:40Yeah, the only downside to Celtic's shenanigans on Monday evening
04:45was that they kind of overshadowed the new appointment at Aberdeen
04:48that the sporting director of Lutz Fanningstiel.
04:51Now, I am thoroughly looking forward to getting to know more about him
04:55because he has had the most extraordinary backstory
04:58in all of Scottish football now.
04:59I think it was described on the STV article as uniquely eventful
05:03and I think that really understates what this guy's done
05:05because he has played on all six continents.
05:08He was the first player to play on all six continents.
05:11He was jailed for 101 days while he was playing in the Far East
05:14for match-fixing, something that he denies.
05:16He died on the pitch.
05:18Yeah, that was when a spell in England had to be resuscitated on the pitch.
05:22And he kidnapped and stole a penguin for a couple of days.
05:25As you do.
05:25He kept it in his bath during that time,
05:29which also makes me wonder, like, where did he have a shower?
05:32How did he wash himself for that two-day period?
05:34Maybe he just got into the bath and just towed the penguin to one side
05:38and just stood under the shower.
05:40And the crazy thing was, under normal circumstances,
05:42that would be front-page news.
05:44That would be on the 6 o'clock news, all the news bulletins across the country.
05:48It's now just a wee nib there because of all the action that's going on at Celtic Park.
05:52But we'll move on to the Scottish Cup second round,
05:55and Sean, give me one of the big winners.
05:57Ben Burb.
05:58Yes, excellent from Ben Burb.
05:59Yeah, I thought this was a great story.
06:00I mean, going into the second round,
06:01they were the lowest ranked team still in the competition.
06:04They also had the longest journey,
06:06and they were paired with Wick Academy,
06:08an arduous 15-hour round trip.
06:10However, they did get a helping hand from a certain Sir Alex Ferguson.
06:14Of course, Sir Alex Ferguson,
06:16he watched Ben Burb with his father when he was a boy,
06:19so he's got an affinity to the club.
06:20He had visited the club in the build-up to the game,
06:23and he paid for the team's travel and for the hotel stay.
06:26Yeah, and it looked like the extra couple of hours in their bed came in very handy.
06:29Went to extra time against Wick Academy.
06:31The game finished 1-0.
06:32They won 8-7 on penalties.
06:34The vital sport kick was kept out by Callum Watt.
06:36He was ultimately the hero.
06:38And the celebrations as the players kind of rush over to the fans,
06:42literally just two fans of what I can tell you.
06:44Maybe there was more fans behind them, I don't know.
06:45But they're kind of like screaming like banshees
06:48as they run towards the touchline,
06:49and then after the game as well,
06:51they were all singing a song as a kind of tribute to Alex Ferguson.
06:54It was brilliant scenes.
06:54Berkey, Berkey, Berkey, Berkey,
06:56na-na-na-na-na!
06:57Oh Berkey, Berkey, Berkey, Berkey,
06:59na-na-na-na-na-na!
07:01I'm going to stick with the Scottish Cup second round,
07:03and for me, the big winner is an athletics player manager,
07:06Willie Gibson.
07:07A 41-year-old scored a stunning goal in the 93rd minute
07:10to achieve a 3-2 win over Clyde.
07:13It might have been a bit of a difficult season for him,
07:15but if your players can't do it for you,
07:17you do it yourself.
07:18And what a way to send the Gallabankies through.
07:20It's that pitch as well, isn't it?
07:22It's a fantastic goal.
07:23Just the way he cuts in from the left-hand side of the pitch
07:25onto his right foot, curls it into the top corner,
07:28it's an absolutely superb goal.
07:30And the celebrations, I think he runs towards the fans
07:32and sort of does a flower celebration or a heart celebration.
07:35It's hard to tell.
07:37I presume he was trying to do a heart,
07:38but just wasn't very good at it.
07:39Amy, let's talk up the Ballon d'Or nominees
07:42and their exploits out on the continent and the world stage.
07:46Yeah, very much so.
07:46They're showing why they were the best of the bunch
07:49in the country, weren't they?
07:50Let's start with Scott McTominay, isn't it?
07:52That is an absolutely scrumptious strike.
07:55I remember a couple of weeks ago there was that,
07:57oh, are we going to have to have a chat about
07:59Kevin De Bruyne's entrance into Napoli
08:01and what sort of impact is that having on Scott McTominay?
08:04I think it is fair to say that there was a little dip
08:06given the high standards that McTominay set last season,
08:10but in the last few weeks that's three goals
08:11in his last four games for clubbing country
08:14and this one against Inter Milan,
08:15a really crucial one actually against Inter Milan,
08:17is just a thing of beauty.
08:18It's definitely a pick of the bunch
08:20because it's a great pass out to him in the first instance.
08:23He puts the laces through it,
08:24an angled shot across the goal,
08:26keeper's got absolutely no chance,
08:28absolutely phenomenal strike in that 3-1 win.
08:37Anything Scott McTominay can do,
08:39Caroline Weir can do,
08:40slightly similarly better-ish.
08:43I like that, I like that.
08:44It's a lovely individual moment of brilliance,
08:46Caroline Weir has ever really quick to think
08:48and sees the keeper a little bit off her line
08:50and just let's rip really from 35 years.
08:53It's still a lot to do.
08:54It's an absolutely tremendous wonder goal
08:56and yeah, delivered Scotland's first victory in almost a year.
09:01Now Sean, let's stick with Scotland players
09:04who are doing the business out of these borders.
09:07Robbie McCrory, big winner this weekend as well.
09:10I think back to last season,
09:11McCrory had a kind of underwhelming spell at Kilmarnock.
09:15He was in and out of the team,
09:15his form was kind of up and down.
09:17It felt like he needed a change of scenery.
09:19He's very much got that now.
09:20He's in the Danish second tier with Esbjerg
09:23and judging by the highlights on the weekend,
09:25it looks like he is having an absolute ball.
09:28He had a really big save towards the end of their 1-0 win over Arhus,
09:31getting down, left, big hand on the ball,
09:35tipping it onto the post and in a way keeping the clean sheet.
09:37It was celebrations afterwards that were even more notable, I suppose.
09:41It looks as though the fans have really embraced him,
09:43getting to see him sink that big pint of lager
09:45and then do the dancing, come bounding up and cuddling with the fans.
09:49It's great to see that they've really taken to him.
09:51Absolutely tremendous to watch.
09:52You can't begrudge anyone thoroughly enjoying themselves like that.
09:59Moving back from the continent,
10:01the two big winners of the weekend were the SPFL teams
10:04who got their first victories of the campaign.
10:06Cove Rangers in League One and Airdrie Onions in the Championship.
10:10We'll start by looking at Cove Rangers first of all.
10:12They beat Montrose 3-0 at Lynx Park.
10:14A vital three points for Paul Hartley's team.
10:17And something that they badly acquired,
10:19considering they were only sitting on two points going into this one.
10:21It's been a nightmare season for Cove Rangers.
10:23They've been downsizing.
10:24There's a lack of resources.
10:26They've got a small squad that's got loads of injuries.
10:28And on top of that, their key players are aging.
10:31I bet it's the same players they've been relying on
10:33since they came into the SPFL.
10:34They took on Montrose.
10:36Some pretty generous defending,
10:38some generous goalkeeping from the Moe.
10:39But massive three points.
10:41And they've reeled in Kelty Hearts.
10:43And Montrose are just within touch and distance with them.
10:46And that could set them up for the rest of the season.
10:47But I think it's a win that Paul Hartley really, really needed.
10:51Very good week for Airdrie Onions as well.
10:52Yeah, finally, everyone is at long last off the mark.
10:55And this was vitally needed as well.
10:57Exactly like Cove Rangers.
10:58But in different vein,
11:00Cove have stuck by Paul Hartley during these really tough times.
11:03Throughout the years, really.
11:04Not even just the start of this season.
11:06Airdrie absolutely not on to manager number three of the campaign already.
11:09Rhys McCabe, Danny Lennon be gone.
11:11Aaron Taylor Sinclair will back in again in interim management.
11:14And he gets that much needed victory for the Diamonds.
11:17Do you think this could be the catalyst for Airdrie?
11:19They'll finish both.
11:20I don't know.
11:21Try to be a bit positive here.
11:22I don't know.
11:22A bit of intrigue.
11:23Maybe there's something to be said just about sacking your manager every three weeks.
11:28Maybe Airdrie are on to something here.
11:30Sticking with Airdrie Onions,
11:32they actually represent a wider trend of clubs whose seasons have been saved
11:36because of punishments and sanctions that have been dished out to others.
11:40They would have been relegated from the Championship last season
11:43but because of Hamilton Academico receiving a 15-point deduction
11:46for incorrectly registering players,
11:49that allowed them to finish in ninth place and survive via the playoffs.
11:53I don't know about you guys, but it feels to me that clubs are being punished quite readily at the
11:57moment.
11:58We've got a number of teams.
11:59Inverness, Caledrone, Thistle, Dumbarton, Edinburgh City,
12:02Hamilton Academico, again, who have all been sanctioned this season with points deductions.
12:07And we'll get a lie of the land, Sean.
12:08Can you set the scene?
12:09We mentioned a couple of the clubs here,
12:10but can you go into a wee bit more detail with them?
12:12Yes, I mean, it's only October,
12:14but we already have four clubs that have had points deducted this season.
12:17Now, we knew about two of them before the season started.
12:19Dumbarton and Inverness were always going to start on minus five due to their administrations last season.
12:24However, Edinburgh were given a 15-point deduction for having a winding-up order granted against them.
12:30And also, recently, Hamilton had a six-point deduction for what would appear to be registration issues
12:36when it comes to amateurs and trialists.
12:39So, yeah, it's not a great look when you have so many asterisks next to the league tables.
12:43And I think it was best summed up by Edinburgh City manager Michael McIndoe.
12:46He was interviewed by the club's TV channel after the first one of the season against Srinra,
12:50and he spoke about the frustrations of that 15-point deduction.
12:54Yeah, listen, it's been an emotional week.
12:56And there's been anger.
12:58A wee bit of bitterness.
13:00And the players are upset in there.
13:03Because, again, we've been punished for no fault of our own.
13:08So, what we're looking at is a simple situation.
13:10We're not privy to what goes on in the boardroom at this football club.
13:13It's not a job.
13:14And we get paid to win football matches.
13:16Sean, this seems to be happening more and more in Scottish football.
13:19Why?
13:20OK, don't laugh, but I actually think partly it's because the authorities have become so much better at trying to
13:26drive up standards.
13:28So, the kind of licensing system that we have in place now, it kind of covers every facet of a
13:34football club behind the scenes,
13:35from the facilities that we use on a Saturday to the finances of clubs.
13:39And it very much puts the onus on them to keep their house in order.
13:43And if they're unable to do that, then they're very much repercussions.
13:46And that's what we're starting to see all too often.
13:48I'm going to look at my own team.
13:49Why not?
13:50I often look at Stennis Muir.
13:51But, I mean, we're top of League One at the moment.
13:54And if you take them to the true table based on points accrued, we'd actually be in third,
13:58behind Inverness, Caledonian, Thistle, and behind Hamilton Academico.
14:01But, touch wood, if Stennis Muir finished the season at top of the table,
14:05I'm not going to look back and think, oh my goodness, that's a tainted title, that one.
14:09Oh, I mean, I'm delighted to have won, but it really shouldn't be ours.
14:12The rest of us will, but.
14:14But it's my team, my club has behaved with integrity.
14:17We have followed the rules.
14:18We have done everything the governing bodies have asked of us.
14:21And I think that, I don't like seeing other clubs being given certain advantages
14:26because they have bent the rules.
14:28We've done things the right way, and that's why we are in the position that we're in.
14:32But, Amy, I'm going to bring on, it's a bit of a sensitive topic.
14:35Your team, Bonnie Rig Rose, last season, they were deducted six points
14:38because of the slope in their pitch.
14:40It didn't meet the SPFL's licensing criteria.
14:43The club finished bottom of League Two, subsequently relegated into the Lowland League.
14:48How would you sum up what that felt like at the time?
14:50It was the worst time I've ever had as a football fan.
14:53It was everything that Michael McIndoe has just said there.
14:56There was the bitterness, there was the anger, there was the sadness.
14:59There's that initial, he's speaking after that first win there,
15:02there is that initial rallying round and you sort of go like,
15:04well, we're going to stick it to the big boys.
15:05And that was very much the feeling at Bonner and Gros,
15:07which I think has emulated the Edinburgh City that, you know,
15:10it's kind of the biggest bully in the playground is kicking the new kid, the wee one.
15:15That's the way that we felt last year.
15:16When you say that there, you know, Steny are operating with integrity,
15:20I don't think Bonner and Gros were not operating with integrity.
15:23Do I think that a draconian six point deduction for a club,
15:27a newly promoted club for a slight slope was bang out of order?
15:31Yeah, I do.
15:32I suppose, though, that the idea of licencing has been put in place to drive standards
15:37and Bonner and Gros didn't meet those standards
15:39and they were given plenty of opportunity to make sure the pitch was straightened out.
15:43It's not just teams in the SPFL that have faced sanctions.
15:46People's Rovers, who laterally played in the East of Scotland Second Division,
15:50their very existence is at stake because their ground which Stone Park doesn't meet the criteria.
15:55Yeah, it's quite an extreme case, this one.
15:57They're not even playing this year. They've had to pull out.
16:00And it's not due to anything financial.
16:01It's purely down to licensing reasons at their grounds.
16:04Due to land ownership, they cannot have fencing, effectively.
16:07There's no better way to put it.
16:09They cannot enforce any sort of restrainments around their pitch that would allow it to be an enclosure.
16:14It is effectively a public park and it's a concern for the community.
16:19We had Sam North, the football blogger, went down recently to speak to the troops down in the borders
16:25and really try to get a gauge as to what is going on.
16:28We took the very difficult decision to take a year out and concentrate on the off-field situation.
16:34So even World War II couldn't stop football being played here, but current regulations have in the modern day.
16:40Well, we are one for the start of a year without the support of what we call World War II.
16:44This is a club who have played in the senior leagues and they are getting canned effectively
16:49for just not having a bit of fencing.
16:52Yeah, it does. Particularly at that level, it does seem quite extreme
16:56because I imagine you're only getting smaller crowds that are going there
16:59that can just stand by the side of the pitch and be trusted to behave themselves.
17:03The thing though is, the further up the Scottish football pyramid you go,
17:05you do need to have these standards in place.
17:08I think you look at Hamilton Academical and their instance, they have gained a sporting advantage
17:12because they have tried to circumvent the transfer embargo.
17:16Yeah, I mean the fact that they keep getting points deductions over and over again,
17:19it feels at best there is a degree of ineptitude behind the scenes.
17:24I'd like to think that they weren't intentionally trying to cheat
17:26and they made an error rather than doing it on purpose.
17:29But there was a really fascinating interview with John Rankin earlier in the season.
17:33He was talking about the fact that he had submitted a team sheet
17:36in literally half an hour before kick-off.
17:38He realised that one of the players wasn't registered properly and so couldn't play.
17:41So he actually had to go out onto the pitch, explain to the player that actually he couldn't play in
17:46the game.
17:46And they spoke about the fact that it's having an impact on him.
17:49I think on a personal level, it's clearly impacting the players, it's impacting the club and the fans.
17:55It's a horrible situation for these people to be in.
17:57I think that's a massive point. You used the word ineptitude there.
18:00That is a club who have, you know, known how they're supposed to operate within the SPFL.
18:05I think it's fair to say there was a naivety with Bonnering Rose instead.
18:08Yeah.
18:09And that does come with newly promoted clubs, clubs out with the SPFL,
18:13because you're not used to operating with the big boys.
18:16It's interesting because I know, like, Bonnering would far rather have had a fine, for example,
18:21rather than a points deduction.
18:22But I sometimes wonder if a fine is a big enough deterrent.
18:26Because if a club breaks the rules, I'm not sure I stick a boot in Bonnering here,
18:29but if a club breaks the rules, there has to be a punishment.
18:31And the punishment should probably also be a deterrent as well.
18:34And I never get the impression that a fine is a deterrent.
18:37So I think I'm okay with points deductions.
18:39Quite like the idea of a team deliberately trying to put a slope onto their pitch.
18:42God, remember what happened to Bonnering? We better not do that.
18:45So what is the answer to this then?
18:47How do we stop clubs from facing sanction and stopping facing points deductions?
18:52They just need to behave themselves better.
18:54I don't know how else to explain it.
18:56It's like a headteacher.
18:57Every scenario so far has been different.
19:00So it's difficult to come up with one kind of one-size-fits-all solution.
19:04I don't think there is one.
19:10The one behind my bed there is the kit that I actually wore on my last ever game for Devran's
19:17side.
19:18So, I mean, that one holds a pretty special place in my heart.
19:22This is my last time playing football.
19:25And that was the boot I wore on my last ever game.
19:29And I kicked a ball for the last ever time on my left foot in that.
19:35I'm Adam Golombiecki.
19:38I wanted to become a professional footballer.
19:42I went to football.
19:44Up in there.
19:45I wasn't quite the first keeper yet, just because of my age.
19:50The other goalie was away.
19:52So I got the chance to play and I thought I played really well.
19:56We won the game 2-1.
19:59Everyone was so happy for me.
20:02We were celebrating when I went out with all the team and my mate Curtis.
20:08I was getting towards the end of the night.
20:10A boy that we went to school with turned around and was like,
20:14I'll jump in boys, I'll give yous a lift up the roads.
20:18Curtis went in the back of the car and then I came round and went into the passenger seat.
20:23He didn't know the driver was drunk.
20:27The car came through all that fence in here and hit right off of there.
20:33We cut this wall and we somehow ended up going all the way over there,
20:39between the for sale sign and the lamppost over there.
20:45So you can guess how fast it was going.
20:48Every time when we cross the bridge and we come along here,
20:51the first thing I think about is the crash.
20:55And you think, oh, it's been over a year, you'll forget about it and all that.
20:59But as soon as I go over the turn over here, I just get like a feeling in my stomach.
21:04I actually feel sick knowing that we crashed into this wall.
21:10It was about twenty past six in the morning and I got a phone call.
21:16I thought he was upstairs in his bed.
21:19And he just says, oh, Mum, something bad's happened, I'm in hospital.
21:26I was lying there and I looked up.
21:28I could just see like big white bandages around my leg, like covered in blood.
21:35And the first thing I was thinking in my head was, I'm never going to play football again.
21:47And it was just, oh, that's it.
21:51Is it just disbelief or, I just don't know, I suppose I felt empty.
21:59And I know I just, I kept saying to myself, oh, he's still here.
22:03I've still got him. He's still here.
22:11Being seventeen and having to give up everything you've worked hard for
22:14until that point in your life has just been taken away from you.
22:19It was so, so difficult that everything could be gone.
22:27It was spoken about that I was getting prosthetics.
22:31And I think I was just filled with excitement more than anything else
22:35because I'd be able to stand up again.
22:38That's when, like, I really started getting up doing exercises.
23:01Keep it going. Keep it going, keep it going, push. All you've got, come on.
23:04Indeed.
23:20He was just so resilient.
23:23And that was just stories, his attitude.
23:25You've just got to get up and keep going.
23:32I got a message one Sunday morning asking if I was willing to come in and help at Banff Rovers.
23:41I was so excited to join and be a part of something.
23:50Some days I can really, really enjoy being involved with football.
23:55And the next day I struggled because I should be out there having fun, enjoying myself.
24:03He finds it hard watching, just even at training, watching.
24:11And he can't join in.
24:15Yeah, sometimes I do think, why did I get that Carly?
24:20His dreams maybe would have come true, but never get a no-no.
24:24I suppose the next best thing's coaching them, isn't it?
24:27I couldn't help reduce winners.
24:33Do you think a positive that's came out of this has really opened up my eyes?
24:40I feel like I've still got so much to give.
24:44If that's not playing, that's helping people.
24:55He's behind you.
24:57Oh, no, he isn't.
24:58Oh, yes, he is.
25:00Scottish football is the ultimate pantomime, and every good panto needs a good villain.
25:06You know, there are people we love to hate, and we might not admit it,
25:09but the game just wouldn't be as good without their presence.
25:12Just at the weekend there, we saw Cammie Devlin bamming up Callum McGregor,
25:16and it got me thinking, what makes the perfect Scottish football panto villain?
25:21What is it about pantomime villains that make the game better?
25:25They're brilliant, because I think, ultimately, they make you care more.
25:29Like, a win against that team, if they have a pantomime villain in it,
25:32it is always sweeter.
25:33I think it's even better if there is a pantomime villain that plays maybe for your local rival,
25:39because I think in that scenario, they become the embodiment of everything you dislike about that football team,
25:44but just distilled into one human.
25:46They're a brilliant thing.
25:47Yeah, definitely.
25:48I think that sport is great, but see, with an element of hate to it,
25:51sport really does transcend.
25:54One hairs on the channel, all that hatred to it as well.
25:56What more could you ask for?
25:57It's brilliant that, especially when you've beaten them,
25:59and they're walking off the pitch in the air, like...
26:03Getting it right up them.
26:05So who are, then, the current pantomime villains in Scottish football?
26:08We mentioned one in the introduction there.
26:10Ami Devlin.
26:11For me, he is the biggest one at this moment in time.
26:13There is something about him.
26:15Like, he's never going to be the best footballer in the world.
26:18However, he's very good at what he does,
26:20which is essentially give 100% every week.
26:24He never stops running.
26:25He kicks people, and he clearly just gets under the skin of his opponents.
26:29He certainly annoyed Callum McGregor at the weekend.
26:32Did he annoy you at the weekend?
26:34He always annoys me.
26:35I think we have a real shortage of pantomime villains within our game right now.
26:39I think we're too nice.
26:40But Cammy Devlin, I want him in my team
26:42purely because I do not want him up against me.
26:45He comes across as a gnaf.
26:46Yes.
26:46But in a good way.
26:48I'm going to drop down the levels,
26:49and I think the ultimate pantomime villain in the lower leagues,
26:53and I'm probably the only person that thinks this,
26:56but it's Spartans defender Ayrton Sonka.
26:58He is a player who gets right under my skin.
27:02I am with you.
27:03I didn't think we would ever agree on anything.
27:05What has he done that makes him so villainous to you?
27:09Right.
27:09And this is very much me.
27:11I know this is very much a me thing,
27:12and a slightly anary thing as well here.
27:14But you're going back to the League One playoff between Stennismure and Anathletic in 2019.
27:18Stennismure were looking to maintain their place in League One.
27:21Anand were looking to win promotion.
27:23Stennismure lost 2-0 at Gala Bank,
27:26and Ayrton Sonka scored the second goal.
27:28And when he celebrated,
27:29he ran sort of just not close to,
27:32but just nearby the travelling support,
27:34and he did a sort of calm down gesture like that.
27:37And ever since then,
27:39I just really haven't liked the guy.
27:41And I'm sure you know something,
27:42I'm sure he's a lovely guy away from the football pitch.
27:45I'm sure he and I,
27:45not after this,
27:46but I'm sure he and I,
27:47under different circumstances,
27:49could go for a pint together.
27:50But if Cammie Devlin and Ayrton Sonka
27:51are good examples of pantomime villains from the current era,
27:55what about going back a little bit,
27:57who is the ultimate pantomime villain from yesteryear?
27:59Scott Brown,
28:00I think is the obvious one.
28:01Scott Brown's a very good example, yeah.
28:03There was just something about the way that he carried himself.
28:06There was a kind of swagger,
28:08an air of arrogance,
28:09the fact that he was the captain of Celtic.
28:12And then even from an international perspective,
28:15when he retired from international duty,
28:18but then came back a few months later,
28:19that seemed to ruffle a few people's feathers, I suppose.
28:22I quite like Scott Brown as a player.
28:24You know, he's combative.
28:25He was aggressive.
28:26I think he's the player that you would hate to be coming up against,
28:29but the sort of player you would love to have in your team.
28:31And I think on top of that as well,
28:32I think he's got quite a good sense of humour
28:34because, you know,
28:35it's just well documented that he grew up as a Rangers fan,
28:38but then went on to captain Celtic for so many years.
28:40So he has seen football from both sides of that old firm divide.
28:43And I think he perhaps realises how absurd
28:46and how daft they can be.
28:47So you can just have a laugh when you're doing it.
28:49And that's exactly what he did when he was out of the pitch.
28:51He is so in on it.
28:52And I know the whole point is everyone hates him.
28:55I loved him.
28:55It was absolutely tremendous growing up,
28:57supporting Celtic and having Scott Brown as that figurehead
29:00because he just knew how to wind everybody up.
29:03And I don't think there's an instant that encapsulates it better
29:06than when he was up at Pitoge
29:08and Sam Cosgrove attempted to rip into him.
29:12Shea Logan attempted to batter the ball off him
29:14and then he gets up, struts his stuff.
29:15He's like a small man syndrome sort of thing.
29:17He stands as if he's like seven foot tall,
29:19chest out, shoulders back sort of thing,
29:21shorts rolled all the way up and marches away.
29:23And that for me is just perfection.
29:25The fact that he was able to run games,
29:27that's something else that people didn't like about him.
29:29But if Scott Brown is a hard man,
29:31an aggressive combative midfielder,
29:33let's talk about wee shites.
29:34Let's talk about Salinas Mikolounas.
29:37I absolutely lost a run of myself in this scenario.
29:40This is September 2007 at Hamden.
29:44A massive game between Scotland and Lithuania.
29:47Scotland have had a very narrow 1-0 lead at this moment in time.
29:50And then Mikolounas dives in the penalty box.
29:53And I was absolutely livid.
29:55However, thankfully, cheats don't prosper
29:58and Scotland eventually went on to win 3-1.
30:00But when that penalty went in,
30:01it was panic stations at that moment.
30:04And it all felt as if essentially you'd been cheated out of it.
30:07I was furious.
30:08But what was great about it was in the aftermath
30:11when he came back to play for Harton Midlothian,
30:13he was mercilessly booed at every ground he played at.
30:16He wasn't booed by Joel Sked.
30:18I would say that, though.
30:19He actually embraced what he'd done at Hamden.
30:21In fact, they named his dog after him.
30:23Yeah, yeah.
30:24Sickening.
30:24And on top of that as well,
30:25Mikolounas loved being a pantomime villain.
30:28He refused to apologise for the dive.
30:29Yeah, he did say that he would apologise to Hartz fans,
30:32but he wouldn't apologise to anyone else.
30:34Mikolounas might have been a diver, but at least he owned it.
30:37You know?
30:37And I suppose that owning it is a real key trait
30:41of being a pantomime villain,
30:42and nobody owns it quite like Mr Neil Lennon.
30:46He just knows that he has the ability
30:48to annoy almost every single fan base in the country.
30:52The clip of him at Ibrox in 2017 cupping his ears
30:57with all these rangers' dads just from the comfort of their seats
31:00just shouting and pointing at them is absolutely fantastic.
31:02This is a man who just really knew
31:04how to push people's buttons and wind them up.
31:06I don't think anybody plays to the gallery better than Neil Lennon.
31:10I mean, he's been here for a couple of decades now.
31:12He's taking part in Glasgow derbies, Edinburgh derbies,
31:15but his ability to, again,
31:16get under the skin of opposition fans is amazing.
31:19In the summer, it was the League Cup group stage,
31:22and Dunfermline were drawn against Hartz, of course.
31:25They were playing all right, Hartz were up,
31:28and Dunfermline equalised Neil Lennon's celebration
31:30right in front of the Towncastle support.
31:33He just cannot help himself.
31:36Neil Lennon was excellent, particularly his time in the top flight,
31:39but I think John Gemmell.
31:40You want to talk about lower league football,
31:42John Gemmell was one of the great pantomime villains.
31:45Very talented striker on his day,
31:47you know, well-known for his spells,
31:48Albion Rovers, Stenhouse Muir, Cowdenbeath.
31:50And this was someone who really enjoyed bamming it right up the fans.
31:55You know, he was a big laddie as well.
31:57There was a great clip of him on the pitch at Clifton Hill at 2015
32:00after a game against Arbroath,
32:01but he actually leads the fans to a chant of,
32:04you fat bastard.
32:05He just...
32:06He, but the thing is, he loved it.
32:17He loved interacting with the support.
32:19He loved getting stick.
32:21He loved giving it back.
32:22And there's another great example from his time at Albion Rovers
32:25where he would take his throw-ins for the team
32:27because he had an absolute booming throw-in.
32:29And he was getting stick by someone that was right down by the fence,
32:32close to the pitch.
32:33The guy had a pie in his hand.
32:34Big John took a bite out of his pie
32:35and then went and went through the ball.
32:37You don't get that anywhere else.
32:39There's not many people that are bold enough to do that.
32:42But I think a number one rule of being a pantomime villain is,
32:46you know, don't give it out if you can't take it back.
32:49And I think the ultimate example from that is from 2018,
32:52a game between Aberdeen and Kilmarnock at Rugby Park.
32:55And this is Chris Boyd's celebrations after converting a penalty.
32:59This is...
33:00This is brilliant.
33:01He scores this penalty, an absolute big booming shot of his,
33:04and then celebrates by doing the big belly.
33:20A number of people learned an important rule here.
33:22Aberdeen fans learned,
33:23don't give it out if you can't take it.
33:25And then Chris Boyd also learned,
33:27save your banter shots for the full-time whistle
33:30because his team lost that game 2-1.
33:32If we had to pull together the key ingredients
33:36to make the ultimate Scottish football pantomime villain,
33:39what are they?
33:40I'm midden.
33:41I'm midden?
33:42I am midden.
33:43And then, on top of that,
33:45probably pretty sound as well.
33:47I can imagine, like,
33:48if you meet a pantomime villain out in the pub,
33:50like these and after a game,
33:51you'd probably get chatting to him,
33:52and you'd come away and tell your mates like,
33:54he was actually all right.
33:55It annoys you even more.
33:56It annoys you even more knowing.
33:58The guy's just an arsehole when he's on the football pitch.
34:01He'd be better if he was just a fanny all the time.
34:03Now, there are plenty of games taking place
34:05across Scottish football this weekend.
34:07Some that might involve pantomime villains,
34:09some that might not.
34:10But really, the two big ones are the League Cup semi-finals.
34:14We've got Rangers and Celtic playing on Sunday,
34:17but prior to that is St Mirren versus Motherball.
34:19But we'll start with the old firm game, Amy.
34:22Danny Rule versus Martin O'Neill.
34:25Who'd have thunk it?
34:26Who would have thunk it?
34:27Not even in any sort of realms of any possibility.
34:31This time last week, if we went,
34:33that's who's going to be in charge at Hampden a week on Sunday.
34:35Eh, no.
34:36It's just...
34:37These games never need build-up, do they?
34:39Any excuse to watch.
34:41This is unmissable.
34:43Not for actually even any sort of, like, footballing reasons.
34:45To see Martin O'Neill and Danny Rule lining up in the dugout together.
34:50I wonder, is this perhaps the oldest age gap,
34:53the biggest age gap between two managers at Celtic and Rangers?
34:56It surely has to be.
34:57You take then away what's going on in the dugout,
35:00what's going on between both sets of fans.
35:03It could be toxic.
35:0450,000 people that absolutely hate their football team at this moment.
35:07And hate each other.
35:08Yeah.
35:10It feels like this is two of the poorest Rangers and Celtic teams
35:13coming up against one another as well.
35:14Wildly, it might actually be their best chance for Silverware this season.
35:18God, that's actually a really good point, in fact.
35:20But then, on top of that,
35:21I think the oppositions from the next NFL,
35:23they'll really fancy their chances in this one.
35:25There is no better time to face either Celtic or Rangers.
35:28Both St Mirren and Motherwell only need to look at hearts
35:31the way that they're capitalising on it in the league.
35:33Get through Saturday.
35:35Free hit.
35:37I think there's my line of thought
35:39that St Mirren and Motherwell might actually be the better of the two games.
35:42OK, show us your working then, Sean.
35:44To be fair, I think I might go down to the fact that when Celtic
35:47played Rangers at Ibrox in August,
35:49it was one of the worst games of football anybody has ever set eyes on.
35:53The only thing I would say is,
35:54St Mirren have played Motherwell already this season
35:56and that finished 0-0 as well back in August.
35:58That wasn't exactly a classic,
35:59so maybe we shouldn't get our hopes up too much.
36:01There's quite a lot of narrative around this game.
36:04It feels like they're very well matched.
36:06I think in terms of squad strength, it's probably broadly similar.
36:09Their fan bases feel like quite similar sizes.
36:12And in terms of the fact that Steven Robinson is coming up against his old side,
36:16there is a kind of clutch of players that are kind of coming up against their own team as well.
36:20And I think in maybe years gone by when we've had this scenario
36:23and there's Celtic and Rangers in one semi and two smaller sides in another,
36:29it almost feels like a bit of an irrelevance.
36:31It kind of feels like who's going to win this game to then lose the final.
36:34Yeah.
36:34But I don't think it feels like that this time around.
36:36It feels like there is a real opportunity here for St Mirren and Motherwell
36:39to genuinely win a trophy and that's exciting.
36:42Okay, well, let's get your predictions then.
36:43We'll start off with Rangers and Celtic, Amy.
36:45I can't believe in the year of 2025 I'm saying I'm going off to back Martin O'Neill's side.
36:50Neither can he, by the way.
36:51Or yourself, Sean?
36:52I think Rangers will win this one.
36:54Right, okay.
36:54And then what about St Mirren and Motherwell?
36:56I think Motherwell.
36:57I really like the workings of Jens Berthalasku.
37:01I really do like the way that he is trying to mould this Motherwell side in it
37:06and I do fancy them on the big pitch at Hamdam.
37:08Same.
37:08I think Motherwell will win this one.
37:10Excellent.
37:10Very good.
37:11Well, if you're not particularly interested in what is going on in the League Cup semi-famils,
37:15might I suggest that we take a trip to Beechwood for Auchinleck Talbot versus Largstissel
37:20and the reason I think this is really the connoisseur's choice, let's be honest,
37:25but it's because if you look through the entire Scottish football pyramid,
37:28the SPL, Lowland League, Highland League, East of Scotland Football League, West of Scotland Football League.
37:32How long did they take you to do that?
37:33Very long.
37:34Very long.
37:35There is only one team that have got a 100% record and that is Talbot
37:40and they are laying it on the line when they take on Largstissel.
37:43We saw Talbot recently.
37:44We did, yeah.
37:45We saw Talbot in the Scottish Cup first round game against Cumnock.
37:49Got very, very impressed by them.
37:50You know, a big, strong team, very physical.
37:53They can play around you and if they can't play around you, they can go over the top of you.
37:57Or through you.
37:57Or through you, yeah.
37:59We're seeing that in the division at the moment because they're scoring goals on a really consistent basis,
38:04hammering sides, but they don't tend to concede very often as well, which is a big recipe for success.
38:09But the interesting wrinkle with this one is the fact that they played Largstissel twice in the league last season.
38:15Largstissel won one and they drew the other game.
38:17Ah.
38:18Now, I think that'll probably do us.
38:20We've all got games that we want to be going and seeing over the weekend.
38:23But, before we finish up, can I ask the two of you to take me on at a little game
38:28known as The Banker.
38:30Ho-ho!
38:31It's a very simple concept, but if you don't know how it works, I will explain the rules to you
38:35one more time.
38:36It's me versus the insane clown posse.
38:39Every week, we guess the outcome of Scottish football matches and we get points for every correct prediction we make.
38:45We are always, always competing for the Eamon Brophy Lone Wolf Trophy.
38:51Ho-ho!
38:52Now, let's take a look at the league table after last week.
38:56Robert Borthwaite correctly predicted that Auchinleck Talbot would beat Gretna 2008 in the Scottish Cup second round,
39:01which means I am on four points, your mob are on four points.
39:06Now, we've got a special Halloween-themed stipulation.
39:09You can pick from any game that's taking place in the SPFL, but you're only allowed to choose a team
39:16if you can first make a convincing Halloween pun out of their name.
39:21Amy, we'll let you go first. What are you going for?
39:24I'm going to go for Inverness, Kiladonian, Thistle.
39:29Kiladonian, I see what she's done.
39:30Kiladonian, thank you. Thank you.
39:32To defeat Montrose.
39:33They are at home, Inverness going great guns in League One.
39:39Could be top, but they aren't.
39:41I fancy them against the Mo this weekend.
39:43That's really annoying.
39:44I actually took a look at that game, but couldn't think of a decent pun.
39:47So, I'm really annoyed that it was such a simple one.
39:50Aye, fair play. Fair play.
39:51But, for my first pick, I am going into the Championship,
39:54and I am going for St John, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone versus Airdrionians.
40:01Now...
40:02Is that Halloween themed?
40:03Well, he's a witch, so there you go.
40:05So, yeah, witches are a Halloween theme.
40:07It's very simple.
40:08St John's on the top of the table, Airdrionians at the bottom of the table.
40:12St John's bounced back from that defeat against Arbroath
40:14with a very convincing win over Green at Morton.
40:17And even although Airdrionian's season is finally up and running with that win...
40:22Very difficult to see... Stretch.
40:24Very difficult to see past the Sainties.
40:25So, three points for them and one point for me.
40:28Sean, what is your pick?
40:29I am going to go to League Two, and I am going to go for East Kilbride of Frankenstein to
40:35beat the Spartans.
40:37Very, very good.
40:38Very good.
40:39He's had his kill bride.
40:40That's a very impressive noise.
40:42Added extra salt and pepper in there, so definitely...
40:44Double points.
40:45I'm interested to know what you're thinking for this one, because they met last week.
40:48The Spartans won that game 2-1.
40:50They actually met on the opening day of the League Two season.
40:53The Spartans won that game as well.
40:54What makes you think that East Kilbride will come out on top here?
40:56Honestly, I don't think they will.
40:57I just like the pun.
40:59I thought, I must use this whether or not I think East Kilbride will win regardless.
41:03Okay, fair enough.
41:04Fair enough.
41:04I mean, you know, he's got the puns.
41:06That's not what we need here, Sean.
41:07Playing by the rules.
41:08Now, I am going back into the championship for my second pick.
41:12And I'm going for Patrick Bateman Thistle to beat Queen's Park, of course.
41:18As a stretch, Patrick.
41:19Patrick Bateman, the villain from American Psycho, which a lot of people dress up as Halloween costumes.
41:25You can see the link.
41:27It's tenuous, but it's a link all the same.
41:28They're playing Queen's Park.
41:29Queen's Park just don't score goals at the moment.
41:32Queen's Park are going through a really barren spell up front.
41:35I know they've got a really impressive point against Air United at the weekend.
41:38They're having spent perhaps like 81 minutes of the game playing with ten men.
41:43And I know that Partick Thistle did lose unexpectedly against Raith Rovers.
41:46But prior to that, Thistle had been in an absolute tear.
41:48And I think this is the game where Mark Wilson's team can get back on track.
41:53So there you go.
41:54Three points for Thistle.
41:55And the second of the two points coming to me.
41:58This is Halloween.
41:59Either of you got any plans?
42:01Are you going to dress up?
42:02Going trick-or-treating?
42:03Anything like that?
42:03No, I'm just going to take in the football.
42:06I think that's scary enough this weekend.
42:09I've never been guising.
42:11I've never done it when I was wee.
42:11Really?
42:12Yeah, I never went guising when I was wee.
42:13I just didn't like the idea.
42:16Just chatting on a stranger's door and asking him for sweets.
42:18Well, no, you perform.
42:19You do a jig.
42:22Do you?
42:22Yeah, yeah.
42:23You don't just get candy for free.
42:24You've got to go up and you've got to give him a bit of razzle-dazzle.
42:26You get him to give a jig, though.
42:28You don't just carry a joke.
42:29That's where you went wrong.
42:30All those years through guising.
42:31I didn't get any sweets pitching up at strangers' doors.
42:36We've got nothing.
42:38Thank you, buddy.
42:48I'm all joking.
42:57No, I'm crazy!
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