Much underrated Scottish footballer, and Nottingham Forest legend, John Robertson died on Christmas Day.

He was never the most athletic looking of men (which probably led to that underrating) but he was described by Brian Clough, the manager who got the most out of him, as “the Picasso of our game” and by his Nottingham Forest teammate John McGovern as “having more ability than Ryan Giggs.” Forest coach Jimmy Gordon rated him as “a better player than Tom Finney and Stanley Matthews.”

He is one of the few Scotsmen to win two European Cups, providing the assist for the winning goal in his first in 1979 and scoring the winner himself in the second a year later.

He also scored a winner for Scotland against England at Wembley. In 1981: Scotland have only won once there since.

John Neilson Robertson: 20/1/1953 – 25/12/2025. So it goes.

I mentioned Furness Rovers FC in yesterday’s post. They have several teams in different age groups and play games at Wilkie Road which lies right beside Barrow AFC’s Holker Street ground.

Wilkie Road club house:-

Wilkie Road pitch from entrance:-

North End, Wilkie Road. Penalty shoot out in progress. Holker Street (Barrow AFC) in background:-

Hollker Street is to the left of this shot:-

As can be seen from this shot Wilkie Road is not completely fenced off:-

Holker Street is the home stadium of Barrow AFC, currently playing in the fourth tier of English football

This is the ground viewed from the west. A Furness Rovers game is in the foreground.

From west showing entrance building:-

Entrance to Holker Street (off Wilkie Road.) It seems to be sponsored as the SO Legal Stadium:-

Pitch viewed from northwest. Note temporary stand addition:-

Holker Street from northeast (stitch of two photos.) Again note temporary stand extension:-

A view of the stand from before these additions is here.

The ground from northeast:-

Mosset Park is home to Forres Mechanics FC, who play in the Highland League. The ground lies right by the A 95.

We happened to pass it on our trip up north in July 2024, so of course I had to stop to photograph it.  It looks tidy enough but I’ve not been inside.

Mosset Park, Forres:-

This football ground is home to Deveronvale Football Club who play in the Highland League.

It stands by the banks of the River Deveron, from which the club takes its name, where the river flows into the sea between the towns of Banff and Macduff.

View from the A 98:-

Closer view of stand:-

Princess Royal Park from south east:-

I missed photographing this when I visited Huntly before despite  it being very near Huntly’s War Memorial.

Christie Park is the home of Huntly FC, who play in the Highland League.

View of ground from Castle Street:-

Entrance gates/turnstiles. These have an Art Deco styling:-

Christie Park from southeast. I had to stand on a wall to get the photos from which I made this stitched picture:-

It’s a tidy ground.

In 1909 Sir Thomas Lipton, he of the tea company, organised a football tournament in Turin in thanks to the Italian Government for an honour he had been awarded. Top teams from Italy, Germany and Switzerland were invited but for some reason the invitation to a British team was given to West Auckland FC, an amateur side struggling in England’s Northern League.

I had heard of this in my youth but had forgotten about it till last June when I passed through West Auckland village in County Durham, where I stopped for a break and found this statue had been erected on the village’s green.

For, amazingly, West Auckland won the tournament, beating Switzerland’s Winterthur FC 2-0 in the final on 12/4/1909. The plaque mispells Winterthur as Winterhour.

Even more amazingly when the next tournament was played in 1911, West Auckland won it again and so got to keep the Trophy. This time they beat Juventus 6-1.

An information board at the bus stop tells the story.

Note: Renton FC have a prior claim to being the First World Football World Champions having beaten West Bromwich Albion 4-1 in 1888. Both were their domestic Cup winners at the time, the relevant national leagues not having been established yet. This was a World Championship by default as there was little football outside the UK then. Similarly, West Auckland can only really claim to have been European Champions.

UEFA Nations League Play-off, Hampden Park, 23/3/25.

After a sterling performance in Piraeus on Thursday Scotland came down to earth with a bump at Hampden in the second leg.

They never looked like matching Greece’s commitment or cohesion. In the end 0-3 rather flattered us.

I fear for the World Cup qualification campaign now. Only the group winners qualify directly – and on this evidence that may well be Greece. It looks like Scotland may have to finish above either Denmark or Portugal (whichever loses their Nations League quarter-final is in our group) even to get a play-off place.

So two relegations in two days for teams close to my heart.

Football is a cruel mistress.

It’s been some week.

Manchester City legend Tony Book left us on Monday, comedian Tony Slattery the day after, and news of the deaths of Joan Plowright and David Lynch came on Thursday.

Then, yesterday, we lost Kenny Wilson and Denis Law (see previous posts.)

Anthony Keith (Tony) Book: 4/9/1934 – 13/1/2025.  So it goes.

Tony Declan James Slattery: 9/11/1959 – 14/1/2025. So it goes.

Joan Ann Plowright: 28/10/1929 – 16/1/2025. So it goes.

David Keith Lynch:  20/1/1946 –15/1/2025. So it goes.

Denis Law died yesterday.

What can you say about the only Scottish footballer ever to win the Ballon d’Or? Simpy magnificent.

He is Scotland’s all time top goalscorer, a record held jointly with Kenny Dalglish.

He played club football for Huddersfield Town, Manchester City, Torino, Manchester United and City again.

He once scored six goals in an FA Cup tie for Manchester City against Luton Town. Sadly these goals do not appear on his record as the game was abandoned with twenty minutes left to play. City lost the rearranged game 3-1! Of course Denis got their goal.

It was with Manchester United that he made his greatest mark in club football, in that great triumvirate of Best, Law and Charlton.

Denis Law: 24/2/1940 – 17/1/2025. So it goes.