Scottish Hillforts collage, Mug
Scottish Hillforts collage, Mug
by cooldudeproducts
FIFA 21 [PC]
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Scottish football team of the decades

I created a Youtube video with slides doing this. So here are all the slides on this page  It includes, the Scottish Cup, Scottish League Cup, Scottish Premier Division, SPFL, Scottish Division A, Tennent's Sixes, World Club Championship,, European Cup, Uefa Cup, European Cup Winners Cup, Fairs Cup, FA Cup, Charity Sheild, British League Cup, Anglo Scottish Cup, Coronation Cup, and much more, The 1880s, the 1870s, the 1890s, the 1900s, the 1910s, the 1920s, the 1930s, the 1940s, the 1950s, the 1960s, the 1970s, the 1980s, the 1990s, the 2000s, the 2010s,

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Big correction Also Alex Fegusson is spelt Alex Ferguson, maybe even Sir Alex Ferguson

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There have been many friendlies played by Scottish club sides across the years, and those in the 19th Century would surely have been the equivalent of tests matches, the best challenges of Scottish v English teams, with in later decades Scottish v all sorts of nation's teams. By the late 20th Century a friendly even with a mini tourmey could not always be seen as a genuine competitive fixture, but some then, could be seen as fun cllalanges, but some in earlier 20th century as I say were like test matches. Well Motherwell claim the greatest friendly tour in Scottish football history. The tour of South America where they lost to a number of sides, but also beat some, including a weakened Argentinian select, and a weakened Argentina, Uruguay, a number of league selects, and Penarol. This in the 1920s, and just after a tour of Spain saw a draw with Barcelona, and a win over Real Madrid, in a match over a unofficial copa del rey. With all those triumphs you could say they should at least be above all the teams who won 1 Scottish Cup that decade. Though Aberdeen also beat South Africa that decade in a tour of there.

The other most notable results would be Celtic twice and Rangers once winning unofficial British champions friendlies with English champions in the late 1980s, in Dubai, though you can not take pre season friendlies seriously and even the name did not claim that honour. Indeed for a few years in the 1990s such pre season games occurred not even with a unofficial cup. The most proper version of that in the late 20th Century were European Cup matches, such as when Celtic beat Leeds, in the European Cup Semi Final, 2 1 home and 1 0 away, Scottish v English champs, and then in 1992 Rangers beat Leeds 2 1 twice, to win the battles of Britain. There have been many times Scottish and English teams played each other in other Euro Tourneys, but rarely when both were champions  of their league, the previous season. This was before the champions league, started having more than  just the winners of each league, and the previous season's competition winner, in the trophy, not that any of those makes the tourney superior to the other competition, but after that, it was not regarded so much as the battle of Britain, when the 2 best would play each other, specially as now it was often not a knock out match, but more likely a group stage match, that was not at all all or nothing in terms of reaching the next round, specially as the EPL got so much richer, from TV money, but there was still fun competition, when the teams from each nation met. Such as Liverpool v Celtic at the turn of the century and such. By then though it became common for teams from the same country, when from the big 5 leagues to play each other, so English v English, or Spanish v Spanish, never mind Scottish v English. 

So most notable results in late 20th Century were Celtic beat China six one in 1979, Then also in seventy six, New Zealand lost 3 0 to Hearts, at home, and in 1979 Dundee beat New Zealand 8 1 at home.

Also Hearts drew with South Africa, 3 all in the late fifties, then in the last year as well of that decade, beat Australia, in that land, 7 1, then 7 1, then 8 2, 9 1, and six nil. and 9 0, and New South Wales six one, and also beat Victoria five nil, and Tasmania ten nil, and Western Aus, ten 1, maybe club friendlies no matter but they beat Torpedo Moscow six 1 in 3 years later,

Some say those Aussie matches were just B teams or selects but they could be said to be a team in a way.

Then in the 1970s, Dundee beat Australia B team 2 1,

Rangers beat the Auatralia B team 2 1 in the seventy five, and 4 2 and 2 1 in 84 , and 2 1

Hearts beat Barbados 3 1 in the mid 80s, and drew with a Canada select in 1919 Plus they won and lost to South Africa in fifty four,

Also in 1979 Dundee e United beat a Japanese League select 2 0, and Burma 4 0, and Hibs beat Gibraltar 3 1 in 2013, and Rangers beat NZ five without return in the eighties.

It can also be said there were a lot of Scottish clubs touring Europe in the 1900s and 1910s winning by big totals against club sides that have big names now, From Norway to Denmark, to Poland, to Germany to southern Europe, but that is as they had not got started as clubs as early as Britain. But also beat a Sweden and a Denmark select in the 1910s, Plus Rangers beat a Germany select four times out of five in 1933. Plus St Mirren beat a North Spain select  in the 1920s, Plus Third Lanark beat Porto select and Lisbon select in the 1910s, and a Argentina select in the 1920s, and a South Argentina select. Plus a Uruguay select.

Orkney once played Hearts and lost, so a pan Scottish match in the 1970s,

CORRECTIONS HERE FOR YOU 2023

You could also call Queen's Park, the club of the 1860s, as they were founded then, and though there were other clubs, such as Thistle FC, it seems Queens Park, were regarded as the special club of the time..

I must add, Aberdeen and their sixties runner up in the USA position, was along with it a situation where they were top of the so called Eastern Division, they then played Los Angeles Wolves really Wolves and lost six five, aet

Also in 1940 Rangers won a mildly diminished 16 team pan Scottish War time national emergency cup, with Dundee United Runners up, but could this be classed as more important than the other war tournaments that were split as 2 regional Scottish leagues and Cup set ups,

Also Rangers finished top of the league national leagiue of the 1939 to 40 top tier after a few games, but that is barely even a minor trophy as it was not finished, but you could count it, and when the leagues were split in 2, Rangers won the western Division, and Falkirk the east, and Rangers won that play off. So that play off is a other minor trophy in a away, but war completely interupted football, with all sorts of players playing all over the place but I dont really even count those other war trophies as even minor. Bur Rangers won 5 of the southern leauges (it had most of the big teams), when it was just the south, and Clyde, Hibs, and Morton and Celtic had Runner up spots, Partick, Hibs, Rangers, St Mirren and Motherwell won Summer cups of the south, while Rangers won 4 southern league cups before it became national, and Hibs won 1, While for the North Eastern League, Aberdeen won 4, and Rangers 1, with their league cup, Aberdeen won 5, Dundee Unted 1, and Rangers 2.  You could count that as extra minor trophies but I say no, as war disrupted it all so much, and really that was a regional trophy on paper a bit above the Highland League which Aberdeen won once, but not a truly national trophy. I would count the 3 39-40 things Rangers won as 3 extra minor trophies (A incomplete league, not like the 2020 one, where the league was almost finished, and is a major trophy, but this was a barely started one, but I count that as a minor trophy for the sake of it)  as so put them further ahead, and say that the very much less than minor trophies, wartime trophies combined may be equivalent of 1 minor trophy, and if so put Aberdeen and Hibs a bit higher, but mostly push Rangers even higher. There is no doubt the southern league even before it became national was superior but it was not properly national, and massively disrupted by war, in terms of players. Hearts were 3rd in the cancelled 1939-40 season, so maybe that counts as a minor trophy 3rd place, or not.

Also Dumbarton won a proclaimed Championship of the UK match in the 1880s. 1883 v Blackburn Olympic 6 - 1. Beating the FA Cup holders. 

Plus when Dundee won the Tennents Sixes Nottingham Forrest were also in it, and Man City did, one of  the seasons Aberdeen won it as well too also, and Rangers 1990s Semi Final EC status, also gets a QF status as it was 2 groups of 4. 

 

Does Rangers FA Cup semis in 19th C count as a minor achievement, maybe, and Queens Park's, of 19th C as well also Patrick Thistle a 5th Round. Well they were no better than Scottish Cup semi finals, surely as National Cups, but then again, they were multi national with Northern Irish and Welsh teams some years. So maybe, as its unusual. 

Plus in 1901 Rangers FC beat Celtic FC in the Scottish only 8 best sides in the league, Glasgow International Exhibition Trophy, so that counts as a extra minor trophy. Like a Scottish Super cup. 

Rangers also were top a abandoned Inter City Mid week League in 1912, abandoned as of low attendances, Dundee were second at the time.

Plus in the 1900s, there was a Scottish Cup final, whose 3rd replay between Rangers and Celtic was not played as of a riot, so that could be 2 Runner ups in a away. Or do Clyde and Falkirk get it as they were the beaten Semi Finalists. 

Also Dundee won 1 more Inter City League in the 1900s, 

Also St Mirren won a Anglo Scottish Challenge match against Nottingham Forrest in 1959 for the Scottish Cup v Fa Cup winners, not classed as a friendly as there was a trophy about it, and also half won one v Coventry City in 1987, drawing the 1st game away 1 all, with no home leg played as of a lack of sponsorships for these 2 clubs, of which the English side had little interest , despite not being in Europe. So advantage, away goals rule Paisley.

 

You could also add the Tennents Sixes Runner ups , and add Motherwell 2 Runner ups, and Dundee, St Mirren and Morton, and Hearts the others for the 1980s, then St Mirren, Hearts St Johnstone, and Airdieonians, for the   1990s, 

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In the 2020s, up to mid 2024, its 1 Celtic 2 Rangers, 3 St J, 4 Hearts 5 , Hibs 6 Aberdeen 7 Caley Thistle. 8 Livingston, 9 Motherwell, 

Play offs, Scottish Challenge Cup, and much more are mentioned

It can be said that Queens Park also reached 2 other FA Cup Semi Finals in the 1870s, though barely played a game to get there, and Rangers reached a FA Cup Semi final in the 1880s, before the sporadic involvement of Scottish teams, other than Gretna in later years,  ended in the mid 1880s. Gretna got into the FA Cup as a border team, the only in Scotland to plau iNS cEngland in the late 20th Century before joining the Scottish league. Also Penzance once in 1988 hosted Scottish champions Celtic and lost six to 0, it was a friendly. But that is my nod to Cornish football, ai have a nod to Manx on the next page.

Aberdeen
Airdrieonians
Albion Rovers
Ayr United
Cambuslang
Celtic
Clyde
Clydesdale
Dumbarton
Dundee
Dundee United
Dunfermline Athletic
East Fife
Falkirk
Greenock Morton
Gretna
Hamilton Academical
Heart of Midlothian
Hibernian
Inverness CT
Kilmarnock
Livingston
Motherwell
Partick Thistle
Queen of the South
Queen's Park
Raith Rovers
Rangers
Renton
Ross County
St Bernard's
St Johnstone
St Mirren
Third Lanark
Thornliebank
Vale of Leven

Extra interesting football, fact the 1992, European Championships, saw Scotland in the last 8, as there were only 8 teams, kind of the furthest Scotland have been in any competition up to now of such note. I cant find if anybody considered the Home International Championship a world trophy, but anyhow that Comp, had Scotland and England, 2 countries part of one, so not separate UN members, it had CIS, which had qualified as USSR, it had Yugoslavia thrown out and replaced by the team that won, Denmark, and it had Germany which had been West Germany at the last tournament which East Germany merged into,. With the other competitors being the Dutch, Swedes, and French, one of whom was the hosts. 1 the Dutch qualified as hosts, and France were not in the previous tournament despite having won in 1984. Some even thought Wales should replace Yugoslavia, Spain had wanted to host it but did not. Instead Spain had the 1992 Olympics, of Freddie Mercury and such. Brazil won the next world Cup as in 1970, in 1994. 

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