SCOTTISHLEAGUE.NET SFAQS

Q Three queries from Frank McManus: "Is Glasgow the only city in Europe to have two teams playing in two European Finals in the same year ie 1967 Celtic v Inter Milan and Rangers v Bayern Munich?"

A Glasgow isn’t even the first let alone the only city to have two teams in European finals in the same year. In 1962 Atletico Madrid won the Cup-Winners Cup and Real lost in the European Cup Final. Next up were Celtic and Rangers in 1967.

In 1985 Liverpool lost the European Cup Final following the Heysel tragedy and Everton won the Cup-Winners Cup.

One year later and Madrid again had two Finalists, Real winning the UEFA Cup and Atletico losing in the CWC.

Milan outdid everywhere else in 1994 when AC Milan won the European Cup and Inter triumphed in the UEFA Cup.

Of course with only two trophies to contest nowadays it is a lot harder than ever for one city to provide two Finalists.

Q "Is there a statue in Prague to a John Fadden or McFadden and was he of the famous "Scotch Professors?"

A The player in question is John MADDEN, born in Dumbarton in 1865 and who died in Prague in 1948. He played for many clubs including Dumbarton, Celtic, Dundee, Tottenham Hotspur and Slavia Prague. He later coached the Czech club and they erected a statue to his memory.

The 'Scotch Professors' is a term usually applied to Scottish players who headed to England in the late 19th century. As Madden played for just a season and a half in English football and no League games at all I would hesitate to apply that description to him.

Q According to a Real Madrid website a John Fox Watson of Hamilton and Fulham FC played for Real Madrid in 1948 to 1949. Is this correct? Did he play for Hamilton Accies, and was he the only Scot ever to play for Real Madrid?

A John Fox Watson is the full name of Jack Watson who was born in Hamilton on Hogmanay in 1917. He started out with local teams Waterthistle and Douglas Juniors then turned pro with Bury where he played a few games before World War Two.

Post-war he joined Fulham then signed for Real Madrid in 1948-49 when they were coached by former Southampton and Fulham player Mike Keeping.

By the start of 1949-50 he was back in the UK with Crystal Palace where he spent two seasons before dropping down to non-league level with Canterbury City.

He died in 1976. I can’t find any record of him playing for the Accies and can’t say for sure that he was the only Scot to play for Real though there certainly can’t have been many.

Q John Anderson asks: "What was the date of the 5-1 defeat by England at Hampden, when Stewart Kennedy (I think) let in some of the softest goals I've ever seen (I'm older than I look, I promise!). I remember shivering away in despair, early on a cold night, so I think it was a midweek game?"

A It was May 24th 1975 and while Kennedy was indeed the goalkeeper it was an absolutely horrific Saturday afternoon and it was at Wembley. Though it is perfectly understandable for you not to recall all the details!

There was an horrific defeat by England at Hampden on a freezing cold night but it was Feb 14th 1973, the result was 5-0 and the keeper was Bobby Clark. Maybe John is doing the sensible thing and consolidating two nightmares into one!

From great games to the game's greats. If you have a query concerning Scottish football, this is the place to send it to. We'll answer as many as we can but regret that we cannot respond individually to requests. So bookmark this site and look in regularly as questions and answers are frequently updated.

Q Why SFAQs? What does that mean?

A FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) can be found on many websites, mostly relating to technical matters and SFA stands for (amongst other things) Scottish Football Association. So a neat amalgamation of acronyms gives us SFAQs which means Scottish Football Answers (to) Questions.

The SFA is constructing a Hall of Fame. Here's a few of the all-time greats we'd like to see in it.

JIMMY McGRORY in typical goalscoring fashion. British football's most prolific striker is a contender for the Hall of Fame