Scottish Football Books

Star Turns

The classless appeal of football has produced some great characters over the years, including players, managers and other important figures. Both Sides of the Border by Archie Gemmill is the autobiography of the Scot who scored, arguably, the best ever World Cup goal. The Real Mackay by Dave Mackay charts the legendary Hearts and Tottenham Hotspur stopper from his playing days through to his management career and his role in building Middle East football. Engineering Archie by Simon Inglis offers an insight to one of the game's unsung heroes, Archie Leitch, who designed some of the greatest football grounds in Britain.

No list of football titles would be complete without the definitive histories and the fabulous performances of the clubs that comprise the leagues. Bonetti’s Blues by Jim Wilkie follows the trials of Dundee FC through the Bonetti years. Heartfelt by Aiden Smith is a year in the life of a diehard Hibs fan supporting the sworn enemy, Hearts, for a season. And Walking Down the Somerset Road by Duncan Carmichael provides the complete history of Ayr United.

Beyond this wealth of historical and social information is a range of books devoted to statistics and quizzes that will inform and test the most knowledgeable enthusiast. Fitba Gallimaufry by Adam Scott is billed as ‘Essential and Obscure Facts from the World of Football’. Football in Scotland by Alexander Graham provides an account, in figures, of Scottish football from 1873 to 2005. Test this new found knowledge with Ewen and Roughie’s Football Quiz. Alistair Findlay's poetry collection tackles the three issues closest to many a Scotman's heart - Sex, Death, and Football - for what else is there?

Off The Ball

A spectator sport like football lends itself well to illustrated titles like Football in Our Time by Stuart Clark or Inside Scottish Football by Tom Purdie, which features photographs from the Jim Rodger Collection. With a rather tenuous link to the game itself there is Labanotation by Alec Finlay, which covers the greatest goal ever scored, Archie Gemmill’s ’78 stunner, being transformed into a dance by Scottish contemporary dancer Andy Howitt and performed at the Sadler’s Wells theatre in London.

From the sublime to the ridiculous could describe the state of Scottish football at any given time and a good sense of humour goes hand in hand with being a fan. Hampden Babylon by Stuart Cosgrove is a fine example of not taking things too seriously by one of Scotland’s most petty and ill-informed football broadcasters. The grounds have their fair share of happy banter in the form of songs.

The heroes of the Scottish game are lauded in We’ll Support You Ever More, and great Scots playing in England are highlighted in McFootball by Norman Giller.

If that’s not enough information, celebration or agony then perhaps The Hope That Kills Us will offer enough football fiction to satisfy.

The Old Firm

Last but by no means least is the considerable publishing effort put into the Goliaths of Scottish Football – Rangers and Celtic of Glasgow. There are a number of titles covering all areas of concern to the Old Firm and their followers. Fans favourites like Terry Butcher of Rangers and Tommy Gemmell of Celtic are celebrated along with great managers of the past, like Jock Stein and Dick Advocaat. Famous teams and their achievements are recorded in titles such as To Barcelona and Beyond and Celtic in Europe and the fans are not forgotten in Voices of the Old Firm, which captures the views from both sides of the divide. Some of the issues relating to the clubs and the influence they have are also set down in Bhoys, Bears and Bigotry, which depicts the history of the clubs in the city. Des Dillon has taken a different perspective on the old firm, in his play Singin' I'm No A Billy, He's a Tim.

The roots of modern football are in Scotland. Find out why the game is so important culturally and economically, how it is coping with the issues facing it, and why it will never die.