Scotland – Glory, Tears & Souvenirs is an offbeat collection of memories, mementos, rants and aspirations relating to Scotland’s national football team. A ‘look back in hunger’ on the post-war era, with emphasis on the 1970s to date. A reminder of the way football was, the way it is now and the way we’d like it to be!

Here’s Switzerland 54, Denis Law, trading cards, match programmes, Archie Gemmill, Argentina 78, beermats, Kenny Dalglish, vinyl records, Spain 82, Ally McCoist, the Tartan Army, Italia 90, the Kirin Cup, Jimmy Hill, France 98, Panini stickers and James McFaddennn!

Nostalgia and a warped sense of humour are what gets Scotland supporters through in a nightmare world where all our near-neighbours now get to ‘go to the ball’ – France 2016, at least – while we await the arrival of a Fairy Godmother and a defence that doesn’t leak goals. There’s no room for wallowing in self-pity, though. Read this therapeutic comfort blanket of a book, cheer at the good bits and laugh at the bad. We shall overcome...

Nostalgic memories are evoked with Christmas annuals, vintage magazine photos and numerous images of our childhood heroes in the dark blue – and occasional other colours – of Scotland. Read Scotland: Glory, Tears and Souvenirs and you'll also discover:

• How to tell your ABCs from your FKSs and Paninis. Find out why we love the Chix, Monty Gum and Topps, too
• How we once strove to give the opposition a sporting chance by ensuring that some of our footballers who scored on their international debuts never played for Scotland again!
• Who only played 45 minutes for Scotland but is still immortalised in a World Cup card set
• How cream cakes and sandwiches contributed to a poor World Cup finals for the Scotland team decades before booze, birds and drugs got the blame
• Who are the real heroes in the famous dark blue jerseys and all their colourful variations... except perhaps the pink version
• Which player got on a World Cup beermat but not on a plane to Argentina
• What are the great Scotland matches which made life just wonderful despite the nation having to contend with the likes of an awful climate, an awful diet and Thatcherism
• Why the hunter-gatherer, collecting gene is particularly strong amongst supporters of Scotland's national football team – programmes, trading cards, annuals, badges, beermats, comics, magazines, stickers, ticket stubs, turf, goalposts, and so on...

Click here for more information, or to read a sample from Scotland...