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00:01The greatest show on earth is about to begin.
00:07That is outrageous!
00:09And it goes!
00:28Oh dear, oh dear!
00:35That's a howler!
00:40Is this what Scottish football is about?
00:43Delicious!
00:44Oh, what!
00:49Champions!
00:52This has been an absolute barnstormer!
01:00Hello and welcome to A View from the Terrace,
01:04the show that puts Scottish football in the oven,
01:06turns the temperature up to 1000 and cooks it until it is crispy and delicious.
01:12My name is Craig Telfer and I am back for the first time in 2026
01:16to make a spectacle of myself all over again.
01:20But I am not alone and I am joined by two very cool customers.
01:24Up first, he is the heart-breaking, record-making,
01:27earth-quaking, booty-shaking son of a gun
01:30who has travelled all the way here today from Gorgie.
01:33It's Robert Borthwick.
01:34Hello Craig.
01:35And next is a man of distinction, a mogul, a magnate and face finest.
01:40It's Sean McGuigan.
01:42Hello!
01:43Gentlemen.
01:44It is fantastic to be back for the first time in 2026
01:48and it's fantastic to get the chance to hang out with you two all over again.
01:52How are you both doing?
01:53Brilliant.
01:53Good to see you again.
01:54I must admit I had no idea that you had some kind of eyesight issues in the past
01:59so good to see you've had that rectified.
02:01Specky.
02:02I'll be holding the cards like this in front of my face otherwise
02:06but listen, I can read the cards better, I can see you two better
02:09and I can see you better as well.
02:11Enjoy the show.
02:17Gentlemen, it has been a good three months since we were last on the air
02:21and I think it's fair to say there is plenty for us to catch up on
02:25and we have to start with the biggest story in Scottish football
02:29and that is the title race at the top of the Premiership.
02:32We have three, maybe even four teams vying out for the Championship
02:37and Robert Borthick, a Heart of Midlothian fan, you are leading the division.
02:42Tell us, how does it feel to know that the world is watching your team?
02:46It is absolutely class and it's terrifying but it's absolutely class.
02:49It's so good.
02:50Hearts fans always look of my generation at two seasons, 97, 98 and 05, 06.
02:55We are kind of finding out what they could have been this season.
02:58Going to Tyne Castle every week is so exciting, going away games is great
03:01but in March, how has this happened?
03:04Then you are getting to that sort of like, quite scared but in that very night
03:07like holding a tarantula.
03:08You know, it might bite you but it's not going to have any venom in it
03:11because they wouldn't allow you to hold it otherwise.
03:12It's just quite scary but a lot of fun and like you say, the world is watching as well.
03:17There is so much coverage coming from across the world for Hart of Midlothian Football Club
03:22and Motherwell to an extent as well but seeing like Claudio Braga was on
03:26CBS Galazzo in the United States.
03:28But it's become this like worldwide talking point and I think if Hearts go on and win it,
03:33it will be worldwide huge news.
03:36You know something, I think for a long time I was suspected that Hearts could win the title
03:41but now I think Hearts will win the title and the moment for me was actually last Sunday
03:45when Raiders and Celtic were playing each other when Rio Hattati scored,
03:49took them three efforts to actually hack the ball over the line to equalise in that 2-2 draw
03:54and you just felt at that moment that everything is coming together for Hart of Midlothian.
03:59The fact that those two teams were cancelled one another out and you're seeing the games now.
04:03You're seeing like Alex Ferguson pitching up at Tyne Castle, Alex Ferguson popping the boys with his maroon tie there.
04:08As good as Hearts have been this season and they've been fantastic,
04:11they've still required Rangers and Celtic to be poor and my goodness,
04:16Celtic and Rangers have been poor, they've been wretched at points this season.
04:19I suppose Nadir might have been Wilfred Nancy's eight game tenure as Celtic boss.
04:25You say that Nadir, I think it was absolutely classic.
04:27Yeah, really, I'm honest.
04:29I mean he managed to lose six games despite only being in charge of eight.
04:34Celtic sometimes don't lose six games in an entire season.
04:37He managed it in just a couple of months.
04:39I have never known anybody to be so out of their depth since.
04:43Remember that guy that rocked up at the BBC studio to get interviewed for a job in IT?
04:47In a case of mistaken identity he then got interviewed live on the news.
04:50That's how out of depth he was and yet you've got MLS fanboys that are chipping in and saying that
04:55he didn't get enough time
04:56and there was no chance it was ever going to work out.
04:58If anything, he had too much time.
05:00When you look at the teams that he was playing against and the teams that he lost to,
05:03he lost to Hearts, he lost to Rangers, he lost to Motherwell.
05:05So that's three of your direct challengers.
05:07He lost a League Cup final and he lost two games in Europe.
05:10The biggest disappointment I think of this entire campaign is we never got to see Russell Martin's Rangers
05:15taking on Wilfred Nancy's Celtic.
05:17Certainly in the top flight this feels like the most exciting title race my entire lifetime.
05:20I don't think there's any doubt whatsoever.
05:23In reality you've got Hearts and Motherwell.
05:25Motherwell should never be counted out of this.
05:27They really shouldn't.
05:28They've got a game in hand that would take them to win seven points of Hearts
05:30and they play Hearts twice before the end of the season.
05:32Motherwell are very much a part of this.
05:34To have four teams up there.
05:37I think the League and people who support the League should be absolutely delighted by how this is going.
05:41What you said there, I completely agree with you.
05:43You know a lot of the time the title race between Rangers and Celtic a lot of the time,
05:46it's quite interesting but it feels like a psycho drama that just involves those two clubs
05:51and no one else can really enjoy it or appreciate it.
05:53That's not the case this year.
05:54I am hoovering up every single piece of available content to do with the Scottish Premiership.
05:59It's fascinating.
06:00I kind of take my eyes off it.
06:02Right, this is the one billion dollar question.
06:05What do you want to happen at the end of the season?
06:08I wonder.
06:09I wonder what I want to happen.
06:10I want Hearts to win the League as easily and as quickly as possible, please.
06:13I've got to say the same thing as well.
06:15I know it's trite but I think it's good for Scottish football if we have a new winner
06:19and I want that to be Hearts.
06:20I want to live vicariously through Robert Borthwick.
06:24Imagine being John Malkovich but instead it was being Robert Borthwick
06:27and going to the trophy day.
06:29That would be absolutely fantastic.
06:31What about you Sean?
06:32If it's between Hearts, Celtic Rangers and yes, Hearts would be my preferred choice.
06:38However, as with all things, I just want the funniest outcome to occur.
06:42And there is a bit of me that thinks Hearts blowing the league on the last day of the season.
06:48Lauren Shanklin missing a penalty, something like that.
06:51That would be very, very funny.
06:52So I think that's actually my preferred option.
06:54I don't think you're the only one as well because there will be Hibernian fans
06:57that don't want Hearts to win the league.
06:58There will be Aberdeen fans that don't want Hearts to win the league.
07:01Rangers and Celtic.
07:02For athletic and an athletic fans that don't want Hearts to win the league.
07:07So yeah, I suppose Lauren Shanklin is a last minute penalty and the ball,
07:10he kicks off the post and it comes back to him and he shoots.
07:13He thinks he scored but he's double kicked the ball.
07:15He's away celebrating.
07:16He's been caught with his trousers down.
07:18It's embarrassing.
07:20Celtic go and score a last minute winner to clinch the championship.
07:23Something along those lines.
07:25And I know it wouldn't be nice to see Robert and Joel upset,
07:29but also Schadenfreude is just good fun.
07:32So I'd be okay with that scenario as well.
07:33Could you imagine a tearful Joel Sked sitting there trying to explain what he's just seen?
07:39Just gasping and his hair's coming out in clumps even more.
07:43I think that's maybe the sort of thing that people want to see.
07:47That would be good TV.
07:49I'm glad we have found some degree of consensus.
07:52But Sean, if the Scottish Premiership title challenge is perhaps the most important thing that's happened,
07:57there's something that isn't far behind and something that involves the national team.
08:00Yes.
08:00This is a World Cup draw in December.
08:02I don't know if I've been so excited about anything for a long, long time.
08:07Now, let's be honest here.
08:08The event itself is rubbish.
08:10It went on forever and I hope Leo Ferdinand never hosts anything ever again.
08:14Even a party.
08:16He just ran off.
08:17However, the draw itself was really cool when it eventually started.
08:21And of course, Scotland will draw against Haiti and Morocco.
08:24Those two games will take place in Boston.
08:26And then they play Brazil in the third game in Florida.
08:29And it's just such an exciting thing.
08:30I cannot wait.
08:31You know, putting geopolitics to one side.
08:33I'm really excited.
08:34I can't wait for it to all kick off.
08:36I think it's going to be brilliant.
08:37Obviously, the 2am bar times and all that kind of stuff, Scotland's going to be in ruin.
08:42But thankfully, I will be in Boston for that first game as well.
08:46You're both going out to the tournament, aren't you?
08:48Yes.
08:48So, you know, I've always kicked myself that I didn't go to France 98.
08:53But in those days, Scotland qualified for everything.
08:56If I realised that we were going to be absolutely hopeless for the best part of a quarter of a
08:59century.
08:59Only you knew.
08:59I might have made more of an effort to go.
09:01So, I've kicked myself to that.
09:02So, yes, heading across for the first two games.
09:04So, I'll be there for Haiti and Morocco.
09:07And then I'll be back home to watch us advance through the rest of the tournament.
09:10You kind of have to do it.
09:11What are you doing for it?
09:12It's unlikely that I'm going to be heading out to the United States.
09:15So, I think I'll probably be watching the games in the house.
09:17You know, it's the idea of going out to the pub at 2 o'clock in the morning.
09:21It sounds like a lot of fun.
09:23But then, I mean, who wants to drink a lager at like 3 at half-time?
09:28It's just that the idea seems absolutely berserk to me.
09:30So, I think I'll just have a timer set.
09:31I'll just have a glass of nice warm milk.
09:33I'll watch the game in my dressing gown.
09:34And I'll just be cheering them on from there in my own unique, peculiar little way.
09:39And we now have the blueprint for how to beat Morocco.
09:41And that is walking off the pitch for 15 to 20 minutes.
09:44As soon as that decision goes against you,
09:46just like Senegal in the final of the African Cup of Nations.
09:49Listen, we've talked about the title race.
09:51We've talked about Scotland's prospects at the World Cup.
09:53Let's get back into the mud and look at all the other interesting things
09:57that have happened domestically.
09:59And speaking of mud,
10:00there is one team who have really ascended to the stars
10:04and fallen back down with quite a big bump, hasn't they?
10:06They certainly have.
10:07I think it's remiss not to talk about St Mirren winning the League Cup.
10:10That happened since we were last on air.
10:13Phenomenal victory.
10:14Blue Wilfred Nuncys, Celtic away.
10:16Great goals towards the end of the game.
10:18And then you see the scenes, the celebrations.
10:19Obviously, with St Mirren, they only get the corner of Hampden,
10:23but it felt like the whole of Paisley was there.
10:25It looked phenomenal.
10:26Great achievement.
10:27Since then, they have looked horrendous.
10:31You talk about a hangover from victory,
10:33and it happens to teams quite often.
10:35It's never happened in Scottish football
10:37that that hangover takes you to the Scottish Championship.
10:39And it's a real possibility.
10:42They're just ahead of Kilmarnock now who look.
10:45Small improvements under Neil McCann since he came in.
10:48It honestly looks like they could get clawed right down,
10:50which would be, I think it is literally,
10:52would be a first no team has won a cup
10:54and then got relegated from the top flight in Scottish football.
10:56So in this season of seasons, why not?
10:58The St Mirren should be worried.
10:59They're still actually within a shout of winning the cup double as well.
11:02They've got Partick Thistle in the quarterfinal of Scottish Cup.
11:04You say it's unprecedented to win a cup and be relegated.
11:07What would we do a cup double and get relegated?
11:10That's even more unprecedented.
11:12And then Wraith Rovers could win the KDM Evolution Trophy
11:15and get relegated for the Championship.
11:17Could be a hat trick.
11:18That's a big one.
11:19That's the trophy that's on everybody's lips.
11:21For me it is.
11:23Now listen, let's get to the moment of the show
11:25that everyone's been looking forward to talking about
11:27and that is Stenhousemuir Football Club.
11:30Yes, my boys are having an absolute romper-stomper of a season.
11:34The Chief Architect is the manager, Gary Naismith.
11:37You must be going to Stenhousemuir Football Club every weekend just now,
11:41seeing them pick up positive results and you have done for 18 months or so now.
11:45I'm wondering how on earth is Gary Naismith still the manager of Stenhousemuir Football Club?
11:49But what a job he's doing.
11:50He's been at the club over three years now and basically Stenhousemuir's progress has been almost a vertical line.
11:55And I think that people who watch the lower leagues of Scottish football have appreciated how good a job he's
12:00doing
12:00and the journey that he's taking Stenhousemuir on.
12:02But I think people really stood up and took notice when they beat Greenup Morton 4-0 in the Scottish
12:08Cup fourth round.
12:09I mean, to beat Championship opposition so convincingly and in such an effusive manner,
12:15people are thinking, what a result. Why is he still at Stenhousemuir?
12:19And I don't know if it's perhaps that he's maybe unfashionable that he's in part-time football
12:24and there's not really a pathway for part-time football into full-time football in Scotland.
12:28I don't care. You know, I hope he's at Stenhousemuir indefinitely.
12:32And while I enjoy the idea of, look how great my manager is, everyone, come to Stenhousemuir and see how
12:37good Gary Naismith is.
12:39But don't talk about him.
12:41He's my precious manager and no one else is allowed to come near him.
12:44It's interesting that you're talking about you don't want anybody to know about him,
12:47but you're literally talking about him on a television show.
12:50Yeah.
12:50I wish I had a sort of Men in Black style memory removal device.
12:53I could say to him, listen, Gary Naismith's an amazing manager.
12:57So no one knows about it.
12:59And the great Morton result is erased from everyone's mind.
13:02But Sean McGuigan, something that grounds your gears involved plastic pitches, am I right in saying?
13:08Yes.
13:09This is the fact that some grass pitches in Scotland are so poor they're having to move the games to
13:155G surfaces,
13:16which are all going to get ripped up in the future.
13:18This really annoyed me.
13:19This is the KDM Evolution quarter final tie between St Johnson and Air United.
13:24It was supposed to be played at McDermott Park.
13:26It was postponed a number of times because of the poor surface.
13:28So they moved it to Falkirk's ground, who, by the way, play in a plastic pitch,
13:32which, by the way, St Johnson voted to abolish from the top flight of Scottish football.
13:37Thank you very much.
13:38Yeah, I mean, I think getting with the 5G surfaces in a top flight was a foolish decision,
13:42especially when we spend six months of the year absolutely freezing and being soaked by sleep and rain.
13:50Now, I'm no lawn expert, but that doesn't sound like conducive conditions to grow grass.
13:56Not a green firm yourself?
13:58No.
13:59And I think this was just the perfect example of why it is such folly.
14:03Now, it had been raining on the east coast of Scotland for about four weeks.
14:06Therefore, it was no surprise that St Johnson couldn't get that game on three times.
14:10It was cancelled.
14:11Had to get moved to Falkirk.
14:13And so you have this weird situation where the SPFL are saying, right, well, you can't have these pitches in
14:19the top flight,
14:19but at the same time saying, by the way, these 5G surfaces are really handy.
14:24Those two things don't really go together.
14:26You know what?
14:27I see when St Johnson came to Falkirk and said, oh, please, can we play any pitch?
14:30Falkirk said, yeah, you can.
14:31For a million pounds.
14:33Beat it.
14:34We have a situation at Tyler's where it looks like they're playing on a swamp.
14:37And, like, the worst job in Scotland at this moment, they must be their kit person,
14:42who, like, on a Saturday evening just gets all these strips.
14:46The low light of players have been rolling about in slurry for 90 minutes,
14:49and he has to get the stains out.
14:51Horrible.
14:52One of the big talking points was David Martindale, who was sacked at Livingston,
14:57but then suddenly found himself in a more senior position.
15:01Hello, is that David?
15:02Yes, David, it is.
15:03You're sacked?
15:04Oh, God, that's a shame.
15:05Can I get another job?
15:06Aye, that's absolutely fine.
15:07You can be sporting director.
15:08Phone Marvin.
15:08Hi, is that Marvin?
15:09No, it's still David.
15:10Oh, I've phoned the real number.
15:12Yeah, it is big news.
15:14I don't think, even with Livingston going through the turmoil and poor results
15:19that we're going through, no one really expected David Martindale to not be in the dugout
15:23forever from this moment on.
15:25But he made the decision to remove himself.
15:27He was unemployed for five minutes before he gave himself the sporting director's job
15:30and he brought Marvin Bartley in.
15:31And he's done a decent enough job.
15:33You can see there is a difference there between what Bartley is offering to what Martindale
15:37was serving up.
15:38Livingston needed a change.
15:40Obviously, it's not a huge change because Martindale is still there.
15:43It's still the first team coach, Marvin Bartley, who has now taken over.
15:45But they're getting draws where they were getting losses before.
15:48And if they can turn those draws into wins, they'll still get relegated.
15:53They'll still go down, but they'll do it with a bit more pride in their pocket.
15:56Their heads held high.
15:57A bit more pride in their pocket.
15:58The most important thing.
15:59Exactly.
16:00Now, Sean McGuigan, I'm going to trigger you.
16:02Sha-la-la-la-la-la-la-la- Falkirk.
16:05Sha-la-la-la-la-la-la-la- Falkirk.
16:09That has triggered me a bit.
16:11We've been hearing it a lot lately, haven't we?
16:12Yeah, too much.
16:14Too much for my liking.
16:15This isn't anything against Falkirk.
16:17I mean, there's been a lot of success stories in the top fly.
16:20Harps, Motherwell, and Falkirk going for a European spot.
16:23Brilliant achievement so far for them.
16:25And playing a style of football that is brilliant to watch.
16:27The thing I am struggling with when it comes to watching Falkirk
16:30is that we're having to listen to their goal music far too often for my liking.
16:35I'm not particularly keen on goal music at the best of times.
16:37Just let fans celebrate organically.
16:40They can create an atmosphere.
16:41But when the goal celebration music is Amarillo by Tony Christie,
16:45then my goodness, please make it stop.
16:48Take the 5-1 win over Kilmarnock.
16:50If you're watching a five or six minute highlight reel
16:53where they score five goals,
16:55you're essentially just listening to Amarillo by Tony Christie for five or six minutes.
16:58It's just on a repeat loop over and over again.
17:06I'm fully with Sean on this. I hate that song.
17:08I am absolutely fine with Falkirk continuing their good form.
17:11If they qualify for Europe, that's great.
17:13But I must insist that they start winning games
17:15by one goal to nil.
17:16Then you keep Tony Christie to add to a bare minimum.
17:19Or just like draw nil-nil at home all the time.
17:22Win over your away games.
17:23That is fine.
17:23That is fine.
17:24That is something we can all get on board with.
17:27And finally, we'll talk about a manager
17:28who has been describing his teams using scatological terms.
17:33Stephen Presley.
17:34Stephen Presley, I think he's been a wee bit of a breath of fresh.
17:38He's like the most honest man in Scottish football.
17:40He can't tell a lie.
17:41And when they beat Aberdeen up at Patoggi recently,
17:44he was asked, you know, how do you feel about coming here
17:47and getting results and, you know,
17:49picking the pockets of bigger teams than you?
17:51I've said it time and time again.
17:53For a jobby team, we broke some good records this season.
17:58So, well done to the players.
18:01I think it's the little giggle.
18:03The little giggle after he says it.
18:04I think Stephen Presley has been class.
18:06You know, when he came in at Dundee, he was very maligned.
18:08I think a lot of people expected his team to finish
18:10bottom of the division and get relegated into the Championship.
18:13But I think that, particularly over the last couple of months,
18:15you're beginning to understand what he's trying to do.
18:18You're beginning to see how Dundee can play.
18:20They gave Celtic a really good game in the Scottish Cup,
18:22for instance, scored one of the goals of the season.
18:25I think they'll be fine.
18:26You know, he's a seer.
18:28No one should be a seer.
18:29The idea to come in, when he first joined Dundee and said,
18:32if you want a manager who's going to win you trophies,
18:34I'm not that guy.
18:35Don't say it.
18:36You know, everyone knows that's the case.
18:38Everyone knows that Dundee aren't going to win the title.
18:41Everyone knows that Dundee probably aren't going to win
18:43the Scottish Cup, the League Cup.
18:44Don't say it, though.
18:53I've been here with my fiancée.
18:55It's lovely, but it's quite rare to get a Sunday off.
18:59Yes, I suppose.
19:02My name's Ben Ganondock, and I play for AFC Bournemouth.
19:07So anything you're wearing around your neck, does that mean anything?
19:10It's the Archangel St Michael.
19:13You're the Archangel of protection, basically.
19:15It keeps all evil away from you.
19:19I was brought up like a Catholic.
19:20I got baptised and got my communion and stuff like that.
19:24But as I grew up, I was just kind of straight away from it.
19:29Being away from home, when I first moved, that was tough.
19:32I was only 16 when I left.
19:35People, they think it's all luxury.
19:38It's not.
19:39It's actually quite boring.
19:41Wake up, train, go home.
19:42Wake up, train, go home.
19:44You can get quite lonely at times.
19:47And I just felt God calling me.
20:01This is brand new.
20:02They only got this just before the end of last season.
20:05It's brilliant.
20:08I've only been in like half of the building,
20:10and I've been here since August.
20:12You'll no find any better in the country, to be honest.
20:18It's fine in August.
20:20Last couple of weeks of the window.
20:22Just seen it as a really good opportunity
20:23to go and get some more games in the Premier League.
20:26Obviously, it's nowhere to plan how I thought it was going to go.
20:32I've had three operations in three years.
20:36Tore my meniscus.
20:38And then done my quad.
20:42No, I just done a grade 3C on my hamstring.
20:46So that's just like where the guy cut off in.
20:50I've actually got the pictures on my phone there.
20:53Disgusting.
20:55We were 1-0 up against Denmark in the World Cup qualifiers.
21:00One of the biggest games in Scotland's history.
21:03So I was devastated.
21:06I went under the ice the next morning.
21:08And then that was that.
21:09Just the start of rehab again.
21:15A million things are going through your mind.
21:16It's, why is this happening?
21:21When I had done my knee as a 17-year-old boy,
21:26it was just a lot of anger.
21:27Just like, is this ever going to end?
21:30Am I ever going to get back playing again?
21:35When I came to God,
21:37I started to feel a bit better
21:39and started to feel stronger
21:40and started coping better with things.
21:43He's never going to abandon you.
21:45So it was kind of,
21:47it was a good way to look at things positively
21:50and know that something positive is going to come out.
21:56There's a lot of stuff in everyday life
21:58that can pull you away from God.
22:01Especially the higher the levels you go up
22:03and the more money you start to earn.
22:06Trying to be flash and all that stuff.
22:08It's very easy for it to go to your head.
22:11And I think God just keeps you grounded.
22:13It keeps you humble.
22:16I heavily rely on God
22:18to not fall into doing the wrong things.
22:22So a candle is a sign of sacrifice.
22:25It gives up its life
22:27in order to give light and joy to people.
22:30So it's like the sacrifice of Christ on the cross.
22:34Actually, I didn't know that before I came here.
22:40As I've grown into my faith,
22:41it's got a lot easier
22:42because I know what's important now.
22:46Football is not the be all and end all.
22:50I'm praying before games.
22:52I read the Bible.
22:55Well, if you're wondering,
22:56I'm not praying for a hat-trick or anything.
22:58That is not the important thing.
23:02It's got a lot easier to cope with setbacks
23:06and stuff like that
23:07because setbacks aren't really setbacks anymore.
23:10It's just part of the plan.
23:12It's plagued me, but it's made me who I am.
23:16We get to play football for a living.
23:18That's what everyone wants to do.
23:20It's brilliant.
23:22Pros definitely outweigh the cons.
23:25I think footballers who are religious
23:27are starting to see that we've been blessed with a platform
23:29to do the right things, to be good role models.
23:32I believe that it puts us where we are for a reason.
23:39It's the most important thing to me in my life, to be honest.
23:44It's made my mind stronger.
23:46And I just feel like that's part of God's plan
23:48to prepare me for something, what that is.
23:50I don't know what, but I can always
23:55take encouragement from knowing that.
24:05Since we were last in the air,
24:07the January transfer window has been and gone.
24:09Squads have been turned over.
24:11Hopeful jobbers have come in.
24:13Hapless jobbers have been shipped out.
24:15Hibernian got rid of their all-time record transfer fee.
24:18Serie A plucked some of our best players as usual.
24:21And Celtics recruitment, ha!
24:23So this is a great opportunity to talk about
24:26the weird and wonderful nature of the winter transfer window.
24:30And we'll start with yourself first, Robert.
24:31What does it mean to you?
24:33I think the January transfer window provides a bit of hope.
24:36Hope a second chance as well, because it gives you the opportunity
24:40to correct the mistakes that you have made in the summer.
24:42Say you signed two wingers and they're both absolute dumplings.
24:45This gives you the chance to get rid of these wingers.
24:48Let's get in new guys who might not be dumplings
24:50and we can really kick on.
24:52It feels different to the summer transfer window, doesn't it?
24:54For the summer transfer window, you kind of feel like
24:57sporting directors and agents are sitting by a pool
25:00getting cocktails delivered to them by roller skating waiters.
25:03On the phone, it's like, we need a centre-half.
25:05No worries, man, I'll get you a centre-half.
25:07And then the centre-half arrives and everything's quite relaxed
25:09and nice, everyone's got a tan.
25:11Whereas in January, it kind of feels like, you know,
25:13you're speed-smoking 40 cigarettes on the phone to some
25:16Eastern European agent being, I need a winger now.
25:18That one, right, we're going to have to.
25:20There's some sort of Ivan Drago-style medical going on.
25:23The signing.
25:24And it all feels chaotic.
25:26It feels mad because you're in the middle of a season.
25:28You've got fixtures to contend with.
25:30Everything just feels amped up.
25:31You talk about chaos, and I think there's an element of truth to that
25:35because, and I don't know if it's just perception,
25:37but there seems a lot more misses than there does hits
25:39in the transfer window.
25:40I suppose it's because a lot of things that happen
25:43in the January transfer window come from a position of panic.
25:46Teams are worried that they might get relegated.
25:48Teams are worried that they might miss out on the playoffs.
25:50If you had to create, like, the platonic ideal
25:52of a January transfer window signing, like, I'd probably say Craig Bellamy,
25:56who went from Newcastle United to Celtic in January of 2005.
26:02Now, Bellamy had fallen out of favour at Newcastle.
26:05He had fallen out with the manager, Graeme Souness.
26:07He had fallen out with Alan Shearer, their greatest player of all time.
26:10Who are you going to fall out with?
26:12I was just, him.
26:13Who's with me?
26:15Right, OK.
26:17Wake up in Glasgow.
26:19You've got to say, though, Bellamy was a fabulous player for Celtic.
26:23I remember when he pitched up there,
26:25he just looked faster than everyone else.
26:27He just looked a bit more intelligent than everyone else.
26:29He looked a bit stronger than everyone else.
26:30And perhaps the best example of all those qualities in short,
26:33where when he got a hat-trick and a 3-2 win over Dundee United,
26:36the calibre of the finishing is just extraordinary.
26:39And there was no other player in the park
26:40that could score the kind of goals that he did.
26:43When you think of the ultimate January transfer window signing in Scotland,
26:46it's someone like Craig Bellamy.
26:48It is something that Celtic have done quite a bit in the past.
26:52They've kind of dipped into the English Premier League market,
26:54or they've brought in a player who has had success in the Premier League.
26:58Roy Keane, Ian Wright, Carlton Cole.
27:00It doesn't always go according to plan.
27:02Bellamy, on the other hand, was sensational.
27:04What about Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain?
27:06He's perhaps someone in the same kind of bracket as Craig Bellamy.
27:10A big name, quite literally, in Oxlade-Chamberlain's case.
27:13But other than maybe scoring the winner in his debut against Livingston,
27:17he's not really shown that he can cut it in Scottish football yet.
27:20There's still plenty of time, but it's early days.
27:22Obviously, Chamberlain is suffering from his surroundings.
27:25Celtic as a whole aren't doing very well just now,
27:27which means that he's not just going to grab them by the scruff of the neck
27:30and take them for them.
27:31So, if the jury is still out on Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain,
27:34let's get to the flops and Robert Borthick.
27:36Talk to me about the Bosnian Bullet himself.
27:39You want a flop? I'll give you one.
27:42We have Sad Buzlija, January 2006,
27:45and I think that the fact that he had a pre-existing nickname is never good.
27:50The Bosnian Bullet, his agent, or maybe his mum,
27:52said he was the fastest player in Europe.
27:54Signed him from Genk for a club record.
27:57My lad, he's the fastest player in Europe.
27:58That's what it felt like.
28:00And all the Harris fans were like, that sounds great.
28:03We signed him from Genk, a club record transfer fee, £850,000.
28:07And from day one, you were like, I've got concerns about this.
28:12And then we saw him play and we're like, oh, right.
28:15Was he at least quick?
28:16No, he wasn't even that fast.
28:18It's everything that you don't want,
28:20but everything that you see all the time in a January transfer.
28:24Overpaid for him, overhyped, simply not good enough,
28:28and then binned.
28:29He was rubbish.
28:29But he did have one very, very good assist.
28:32The one thing he did for Hearts in a 4-0 win over Dundee United,
28:35he put in an assist for Juho McKellar.
28:36And I was like, right, that's the glimmer of hope we can have forever more.
28:39But he was punted.
28:40And no one can take that assist away from him.
28:43Nor should they.
28:45If you're talking about a player who arrived with a great deal of fanfare,
28:49can we talk about five players who pitched up unceremoniously
28:53in the back of a transit van?
28:56We're going to the January transfer window of 2015,
29:00where Rangers, in the Championship at that time,
29:03in a great degree of turmoil off the pitch,
29:05signed five players from Newcastle United.
29:08Harris Vucic, Remy Street, Gail Bigaramana,
29:13Shane Ferguson, Kevin Mbabu is here.
29:17And Kenny McDowell, who was the interim manager at the time,
29:20he said in a press conference he was ordered to play them
29:23by the Rangers hierarchy.
29:25Because other than that, they would never have been here.
29:28Now, out of the five players,
29:28Harris Vucic was pretty good.
29:30Yeah, he was.
29:30He was a Slovenian international
29:32and I think that he was a sort of a player who would play in the ten,
29:35quite a technical, quite a capable player.
29:37I think might have flourished in a better team.
29:39The other ones, however, let's go through them.
29:42So you've got Shane Ferguson, who made two appearances for the club.
29:45They were both in the playoff final games against Motherwell.
29:47Hmm, how did they work out?
29:49Then you had Remy Street made one appearance
29:51against Wraith Rovers in the Scottish Cup,
29:54substituted after 40 minutes.
29:56You had Kevin Mbabu didn't even feature off the bench for Rangers
30:00and Gail Bigger of Manor, who's Stuart McCall,
30:02who would subsequently come on to manage the club later on in the season,
30:05said we should never have been signed.
30:08You know, I picture it though, like Kenny McDowell
30:09sort of phoning up the pubbers of the beer.
30:11He's like, I need a player.
30:13And a minibus load turned off.
30:14Oh, I'll get you a player.
30:15He looks out the window, beeping the horn.
30:17Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da.
30:18He's like, five guys in Newcastle.
30:20I mean, the theory was sound.
30:22Like to take five players from Newcastle,
30:23you would think maybe at least two or three of them would be a success.
30:27The fact that one of them was a partial success.
30:30Yeah.
30:30The reality was less great.
30:32You know, anything can happen in January.
30:34Robert, you've already touched on this,
30:35but clubs can make snap decisions on players
30:38and perhaps one of the biggest what could have been stories
30:42involved St Mirren and an eventual Champions League winner.
30:45Yeah.
30:46So this is 2009 and this is a 19-year-old Riyad Mahrez
30:51who pitches up in Paisley for a trial.
30:54Now, bearing in mind, Mahrez won a Champions League.
30:57He won three English Premier League titles.
31:00He won two FA Cups.
31:02He won three English League Cups.
31:04He won the African Cup of Nations with Algeria.
31:08So the man was Gus McPherson.
31:09Was he too sure about it?
31:10Just could not make up his mind about him.
31:13And after a month-long trial
31:14and no contract put down in front of him at that point,
31:19Mahrez stole a bike and pedalled towards Glasgow Airport
31:22to make good his escape.
31:23He described the weather in Paisley as being like abuse.
31:29I've never...
31:29I've never heard weather described in such ways before.
31:34He did, in fairness, he did say that it made him toughen up.
31:38Maybe a real sliding doors moment for St Mirren there.
31:40Telling Gus McPherson,
31:41listen, I'm just dipping off to the toilet.
31:43Ah, it's fine.
31:4420 minutes later...
31:45Who's Riyad Mahrez?
31:46Pedalling as fast as his little legs can take him.
31:50I want to talk about one of the biggest rumours
31:52in Scottish football.
31:53I'm going to take you back over 20 years to 2003
31:57when the son of a footballing icon
32:00was linked with Scottish football clubs.
32:02Now, we have seen in the past
32:04that the relatives of world-class players
32:05don't necessarily work in Scotland.
32:08You know, we have seen Rodney Schneider,
32:09the brother of Wesley Schneider, flop at Dundee United.
32:12We have seen Matthias Pogba,
32:13the brother of Paul Pogba, flop at Partick Thistle.
32:16We've seen Willie Aubameyang,
32:18the brother of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, flop at Kilmarnock.
32:21So, with that in mind, eyebrows were raised
32:25when Diego Junior, the illegitimate son of Diego Maradona,
32:29who was a Napoli youth player at the time,
32:31was linked with lone moves to Dundee, Kilmarnock,
32:34and to Clyde.
32:35To Clyde.
32:36To Clyde, one of the greatest
32:38what-could-have-beens in the history of the game.
32:41There was a story on the BBC from 2003
32:44linking him to move to Scottish clubs.
32:46Alan Kernaghan, who was the Clyde manager at the time, said,
32:48we'll definitely take a look at him in the summer.
32:51And he kind of used the same tone
32:53that if you've been on a bad day
32:55and you just say to the person,
32:56yeah, I'll definitely text you afterwards.
32:57We'll definitely go out for a second pint.
32:59It was used in the same kind of way.
33:00And needless to say,
33:01Diego Junior's career never kicked off in Scotland.
33:03In fact, it never really kicked off at all.
33:05It spells in the lower reaches of Italian football.
33:08It went on to be capped by their beach soccer team.
33:11He was apparently offered a contract by Dunfermline.
33:15Really?
33:16But apparently the offer was described as derisory
33:20and so Dunfermline withdrew it.
33:21So again, another what might have been.
33:23How bad was the offer?
33:25A Napoli youth player being like, oh no.
33:27I think considering how his career panned out,
33:30I think all of the Scottish teams involved
33:32possibly had a fortunate escape.
33:34We've had a good laugh looking at the January transfer window,
33:36but who do you think is the most famous,
33:39the most infamous signing a club has ever made during that period?
33:43I think it probably has to be Aaron Ramsey
33:47going from Juventus to Rangers
33:49in the winter transfer window of 2022.
33:51Alan McCoy described it as Rangers' biggest signing
33:53since Paul Gascoigne.
33:55And to be fair,
33:55I don't think too many people disagreed with him at the time.
33:58Bearing in mind that the rumour was
33:59he was on £400,000 a week.
34:01At Juventus, this was a player who had performed
34:03fantastically well in the English Premier League
34:05and international tournaments with Wales.
34:08This felt like a signing that could take Rangers to the next level.
34:12It was like a GFK moment, wasn't it?
34:14Do you remember where you were when Aaron Ramsey signed for Rangers?
34:17I was in the house on the couch.
34:20I think it's safe to say that maybe it didn't go the way
34:23that most people thought it might.
34:24Well, listen, it started well.
34:26Yes, I mean, he took quite a good corner
34:30against Annan in the Scottish Cup
34:32that Philip Holander scored a header from.
34:35So, yes, it was a tentatively good start, I suppose.
34:37Showing his quality.
34:38And then it was just basically success, money and trophies.
34:42Hat tricks.
34:44Goals.
34:45Not quite.
34:46Not quite.
34:46I mean, Rangers did get to the Europa League final.
34:49Of course.
34:50And as extra time was coming to an end,
34:53it looked like it was going to go to penalties,
34:55but you'd think...
34:55He's ready for that.
34:56Rangers have the ideal man.
34:58This is why he was brought in.
34:59He's made for it.
34:59For these kind of moments.
35:01Yeah.
35:02He stepped up to take a penalty.
35:04Scored.
35:04No.
35:06Went straight down the middle
35:07and Kevin Trapp saved it with his ankle.
35:09It was a really, really bad penalty.
35:10Let's be honest.
35:11Aaron Ramsey was bought for big moments
35:13and that penalty against Eintracht-Fanfer
35:16arguably the biggest penalty of their modern history.
35:20He was the best placed person to take it
35:22and he boots it right off the goalkeeper's legs.
35:25Probably the last kick that mattered in his career as well.
35:28If we're being honest,
35:29you look at what he did afterwards,
35:30that was his chance to win a European trophy.
35:33He didn't play in the Scottish Cup final the week after.
35:36It was rubbish.
35:37Listen, it was bold.
35:38It was ambitious.
35:39And we'll always have that corner at Gallabank.
35:42Oh, listen, man.
35:43Me and my mates all still talk about it.
35:45We're just sitting around the pub talking about corner kicks.
35:47Just listening.
35:49I remember Aaron Ramsey's against that.
35:51Oh, that was one of the best ones, wasn't it?
35:52But listen, enough about the January transfer round though.
35:55Let's look at some of the big games that are taking place
35:58around the country this weekend.
36:00My Corsa has recently been serviced.
36:02I've put a full tank of petrol in it.
36:04So I want to know where I, and by proxy you,
36:07should be going this weekend.
36:09And if I may, can I make a suggestion?
36:11I suggest we head to the south-west of Glasgow
36:13to Ibrox for the Scottish Cup quarter-final
36:16between Rangers and Celtic early on Sunday afternoon.
36:20Such an interesting one.
36:21Last week's derby was fantastic.
36:23I loved it.
36:24It was a great game of football.
36:25I had the comeback element too.
36:26The Rangers played great stuff.
36:27Celtic didn't, but they managed to get the result.
36:30And this one feels massive because there's a real possibility
36:32that at the end of the season,
36:34one of those teams has won nothing.
36:36Robert, I feel like little Oliver Twist going up to the football gods
36:40and saying,
36:40please, sir, can I have some more?
36:42Because I thought that game last weekend was absolutely fantastic.
36:45We saw some world-class goals.
36:47We saw a brilliant comeback there.
36:49But most of all, it was just entertaining.
36:51It was loads of fun to watch as the neutral.
36:53And I want more of the same.
36:54What I think is most interesting out of this,
36:56it feels like this Scottish Cup,
36:59certainly off the top of my head,
37:00this feels like the most open Scottish Cup we have seen
37:03where every side still in the competition
37:05has a legitimate chance of winning it.
37:07I know you said that you want more of the same from this game
37:10and I appreciate where you're coming from.
37:12I hope we don't need Mark O'Neill
37:14wading into a big fight full-time again.
37:16I hope we do.
37:17I hope it starts with that.
37:18I was really worried that he was going to get hit
37:20by like a straight elbow and just knock his glasses off.
37:22He has to do the post-match interview with his glasses
37:24covered in sellotape.
37:25Why is that a bad thing?
37:26It was his 74th birthday.
37:28He was wearing his brand-new glasses.
37:32He got us a gift.
37:33But let's stick with the Scottish Cup.
37:35Are there any ties, Robert, that have perhaps caught you right?
37:38Any ones that we should be travelling to?
37:39Yeah, I think Dunfermline at home to Aberdeen.
37:42I think that's got the makings of a cup set.
37:46Dunfermline, they've already done it.
37:47They beat Hibs earlier on this season.
37:50Very, very late goal in that game.
37:53A hilarious goal.
37:54They've won them out.
37:54They beat Kelty in the last round.
37:56And they're coming up against an Aberdeen side
37:57who just cannot score goals away from home.
38:00The last time they scored away from home was 20-25.
38:01That was ages ago.
38:03So Dunfermline have a real chance to cause an upset.
38:06But also, they're coming into it in good form.
38:08They've won their last two.
38:09Neil Lennon, very, very good operator,
38:11especially against teams from the top flight.
38:13And I just think it could be a cracking game of football.
38:15Yeah, definitely.
38:16I think there's not many grounds in Scottish football that rock.
38:21They vibrate quite as much as East End Park.
38:23We saw that at the Hibernian game
38:25when they knocked them out earlier in the competition.
38:27I think it's a cliche to say,
38:29but I think the home support, they know it's at stake.
38:32I think Dunfermline could actually see themselves winning this competition.
38:35That home support could get an extra 10-15% out of the players for this one.
38:39Like you're saying, every team in the competition
38:41has got to feel like they've got a great chance of winning it.
38:43They must do it.
38:44Dunfermline are no different.
38:45I think it'll be a cracking game of football.
38:47Now, if those are the big games in the Scottish Cup,
38:49Sean, is there anywhere we should be heading
38:51that's a little bit off the beaten track?
38:53I've got one for you.
38:54Let's go to Home Park, the Lowland League.
38:57It's second versus first.
38:58It's Clydebank versus Bonnie Rigg-Rose.
39:00Oof, this feels like a bit of a six pointer
39:03at the top of the Lowland League table.
39:04Yeah, very much so.
39:06Clydebank are eight points behind, albeit they do have a game in hand.
39:09I'm always a wee bit wary of saying a game must win,
39:13but it very much feels like the Bankies are in that situation right now.
39:16I would love to see Clydebank come back.
39:18This huge team from me growing up in Scottish football.
39:21One of my first arch games was against Clydebank.
39:23Beat them on the way to win the Scottish Cup.
39:25They were a team that were just always there.
39:27I'd love to see them come back up.
39:28It's the sort of team we want up there.
39:29The kind of team that have gone through such incredible turmoil
39:33since they were basically liquidating
39:34had to start again right in the very, very lowest reaches of the game.
39:38And the fact they're in touching distance with the SPFL,
39:41that's an absolutely fantastic story.
39:43But so too is Bonnie Rick Rose, relegated from League 2 last season,
39:47could be making an immediate return.
39:49Yeah, and as you say, we've never seen this happen before.
39:51We've often described the Lowland League as being like a lobster pot.
39:55Once you're in it, there is no getting out of it again.
39:57But Bonnie Rick Rose potentially could prove that that's a lot of nonsense.
40:01But you're right.
40:02I do think it is probably just a matter of time
40:04until Clydebank are into the SPFL.
40:07Whether or not it's the end of this season, I'm not entirely sure.
40:09Before we head off, I think it's very prudent
40:12that the three of us participate in a game known as The Banker.
40:17Yes, it's back once again.
40:18It's me versus The Clown College.
40:21Every week we guess the outcome of Scottish football matches
40:23and we get points for every correct prediction we make.
40:26We are competing for the Eamonn Brophy Lone Wolf Trophy.
40:31Just magnificent.
40:34And after our mid-season break,
40:36the league table was looking a little bit like this.
40:39You had seven points, but I was winning with ten points.
40:43And I am determined to keep that advantage
40:45between now and the end of the season.
40:48Now, this week's rule, it's ref.
40:51That's a vowel.
40:53You can only pick teams whose names begin or end in a vowel.
40:59A-E-I-O-U.
41:01With that in mind, Robert, I'll let you go first.
41:04Who do you want to pick?
41:06I will go into the Scottish Championship,
41:09and I will pick Arbroath to beat Ross County.
41:12That makes sense.
41:13It does.
41:14I think David Gold and Colton Hamilton have done a great job
41:17with Arbroath this season.
41:18Again, kind of punching moderately above their weight in the league.
41:22Ross County are punching below their weight.
41:23Is that such a thing?
41:24Can you punch below?
41:26They're getting punched down on.
41:27I'm not sure.
41:28They're terrible.
41:28They've been really, really bad, regardless of who's been in the dugout.
41:31Real possibility they're going to go down,
41:33and I just feel like home advantage for Arbroath in this one.
41:36They will get the three points, one point for us.
41:39For my first pick, I am going to the letter E.
41:42I am going to East Colbride, whose name begins and ends in a vowel.
41:46They are taking on Elgin City at Cave Park,
41:49and I am backing Kilby to win this one.
41:52It's very simple.
41:53Kilby are perhaps the most informed team in the country at the moment.
41:56They have won their last six matches,
41:58and on top of that they're coming up against a team
42:01who they have beaten four times already this season.
42:03Three times in the league and once in the League Cup.
42:06So, E is for East Colbride, E is for one point for me.
42:11Sean, what is the second pick for your mob?
42:14I will drop down to League One,
42:16and I'm going to go for a home win for Alloa against Kelty Hearts.
42:19I think Kelty have got better recently.
42:21I think they've recruited reasonably well in January.
42:23I think performance-wise they're getting better.
42:25Maybe even results.
42:26Maybe picking up some more draws rather than defeats.
42:28However, Alloa seem to have improved as well.
42:31They're on a really good run of form at the moment.
42:32Not a million miles away from the top of League One.
42:36Maybe it was a three-way title race in League One.
42:38Who knows?
42:39But yeah, as much as Kelty have got better,
42:42I still think Alloa will have too much for them.
42:43For my second pick, I am going to have another E,
42:46and I am going to pick Edinburgh City to beat Stranraa.
42:50Loy, Telfer, why are you backing City?
42:52They don't win games at home, but they're playing at Meadowbank.
42:55That's exactly why I'm picking them.
42:57The law of averages suggest that Edinburgh City are going to have
43:00to win a game at home at some point this season.
43:04I know they did it against Dumbarton a couple of months ago,
43:06but I think this is going to be the second win that is going to come against Stranraa,
43:09and it's a huge game for them.
43:10They need to win if they want to get off the bottom of the table.
43:13A win for Edinburgh City, and a second point coming to me.
43:17So there we go.
43:18First episode of the year done and dusted.
43:21That was keeping the vowel themes amazing, excellent, outrageous,
43:26understated at points, interesting, obvious at points.
43:51Here we go.
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