AS we prepare to raise a glass and look forward to a fresh start in the New Year, now’s the chance to pause for a moment and reflect on the events of these past 12 months.
Even by the standards of a Scottish game which throws up all manner of bonkers storylines, 2025 will be hard to beat.
It was a year which saw Aberdeen win the Scottish Cup for the first time since 1990, Hearts launch an assault on the title, and Scotland finally qualify for a World Cup.
And that wasn’t even the half of it. Both Old Firm clubs have been engulfed by their own crises at various points, managers have been slaughtered on their own club’s websites, while another needed a police escort away from a stadium.
Can you ever remember a year quite like it? Here are ten of my most remarkable moments.
Russell Martin had to be escorted out of Falkirk’s stadium to avoid angry Rangers fans
Desmond filleting Rodgers
It was the night of the long knives, as Dermot Desmond effectively used the Celtic website to publicly eviscerate Brendan Rodgers. The Irishman’s statement was a character assassination, plain and simple. It accused Rodgers of being ‘divisive, misleading and self-serving’. This was Desmond pressing the big red button and going nuclear after his relationship with Rodgers had reached breaking point. It painted him as some kind of Machiavellian mastermind who had been up to no good behind the scenes and pushing his own agenda. Only Rodgers and Desmond will know to what extent that was true. But the whole episode ranks as the most spectacular attempt to slaughter a manager you will ever see.
Brendan Rodgers raised eyebrows by likening his Parkhead squad to a Honda Civic
Rodgers’ Honda Civic … and the return of Martin O’Neill
It was in October that Brendan Rodgers spoke in such disparaging terms about his Celtic players and likened them to a clapped-out Honda Civic. On the back of Celtic crashing to a 2-0 defeat at Dens Park, that was the moment Rodgers effectively signed his own death warrant as manager. There was no way back from that. With fans in revolt against the board over a lack of investment, Rodgers probably felt he was bulletproof and could say whatever he liked. In his own mind, the plan was to see out his contract until the end of the season. That was until Desmond decided he would no longer put up with such insubordination and called Rodgers’ bluff. Another defeat against Hearts the following weekend proved to be the final act, with Rodgers leaving and Desmond issuing an SOS call to Martin O’Neill…
Dermot Desmond launched a verbal attack on Rodgers after he quit as Celtic manager
Celtic AGM chaos
Trouble had been brewing in Paradise all season, but this was the day the full extent of the civil war at Celtic became clear to see. Ross Desmond, speaking on behalf of his absentee father Dermot, accused some of the dissenters of being ‘bullies’ and ‘anti-establishment’ during an impassioned, pre-prepared speech. Peter Lawwell then told the unruly mob to ‘behave’, as though he was a school teacher speaking to some naughty children. The whole episode turned into a total farce, with fans and shareholders brandishing red cards and chanting ‘sack the board’. The meeting eventually had to be adjourned, but not before Celtic had made a complete show of themselves as a club.
New Celtic boss Wilfried Nancy tries to get his message across to Celtic skipper McGregor
Nancy’s geography gaffe
As he spoke in the aftermath of a 2-1 loss at Dundee United, Wilfried Nancy was facing chants from Celtic fans that he should be sacked with immediate effect. He had just presided over a fourth straight defeat and had made the worst start of any manager in the club’s history. His comments in the post-match media conference did not help his cause. Nancy claimed that he knew all about the demands of Scottish football because he had, in fact, almost signed for Carlisle during his playing career. There isn’t really a whole lot more you can say about that. Oh dear.
Queen’s Park celebrate their astonishing win over Rangers in the Scottish Cup
Rangers and the Queen’s Park debacle
Philippe Clement was finished as Rangers manager long before the club actually sacked him. He should have been relieved of his duties immediately after the club were dumped out of the Scottish Cup by Queen’s Park in February, the most humiliating result in the club’s history. He was allowed to carry on for another couple of weeks before Rangers finally put him out of his misery. Incredibly, Clement had received the public backing of Ibrox chief executive Patrick Stewart even after the defeat to the Spiders. Even more remarkable was the fact Stewart was allowed to continue in his own position for another nine months before he, too, was eventually axed.
Time was up for Kevin Thelwell after a tough time at Rangers for sporting director
Thelwell’s 25-8 declaration
Kevin Thelwell was already fighting a losing battle to convince people he could cut it as Rangers’ sporting director. He squandered eye-watering sums of money in the summer on players who are, for the most part, duds. Perhaps his most incredible act was to hire his son, Robbie, as the club’s new head of recruitment. Thelwell rejected any suggestion of nepotism, insisting that the whole process had been transparent and that it had the full support and approval of the club’s American owners. Young Robbie would ‘work 25-8’ to bring success to Rangers. Not only does he have an eye for a player, he can bend the laws of time. Marvellous.
Scott McTominay leads celebrations after Scots beat Danes to reach the World Cup
Scotland destroy the Danes
A game that simply defied all logic. The greatest Scotland match of all-time? You would certainly be hard pushed to beat it. It was also a night when the national team effectively held their own private goal of the season contest, with Scott McTominay, Kieran Tierney and Kenny McLean all scoring goals that would be worthy of top billing in any highlights reel. The game will forever be remembered as the night that Scotland finally qualified for a World Cup after nearly 30 years of failure. More than a few tears were shed, but this time they were tears of joy rather than sadness.
Steven Pressley hardly set the pulses racing with his opening address to Dundee fans
Steven Pressley’s rousing speech
It’s fair to say that Dundee fans were none too enamoured with the appointment of Steven Presley last summer. There were clips doing the rounds on social media of furious supporters insisting they would not be renewing their season tickets due to the fact Elvis was now in the building. Pressley did nothing to win over the critics when he made a quite astonishing remark at his unveiling. ‘If you are looking for a manager with a history of winning trophies and titles, then I’m not your man,’ he said. Already an unpopular appointment from the outset, it was the sort of comment that would have caused a spike in the sales of pitchforks around the Dundee area.
Russell Martin is interviewed following 1-1 draw at Falkirk, before having to receive a police escort to escape fans
Russell Martin’s police escort
The writing had been on the wall for Martin for quite some time. Even as far back as his Rangers team being booed off at half-time during their first pre-season friendly against Club Brugge. By the time they were hammered 9-1 on aggregate by the Belgians a few weeks later in the Champions League qualifiers, he should have been sacked there and then. When he finally claimed his first league win with a last-minute goal at Livingston, Rangers fans responded with chants of ‘Martin, Martin, get to f***’. It was surreal. But nothing will top the madness of fans forming a human barricade to block the team bus after a 1-1 draw at Falkirk. Martin needed a police escort to leave the stadium and was sacked later that night.
Jack MacKenzie is wheeled away after being struck by a chair thrown by one of his team’s supporters
MacKenzie’s misery
The most disgraceful moment of the year was in May, when Aberdeen defender Jack MacKenzie needed lengthy medical treatment at the end of his team’s 2-1 loss at Dundee United. As home fans invaded the pitch to celebrate European qualification, a broken chair was hurled from the section of Tannadice housing Dons supporters and struck MacKenzie. Left with a nasty head wound and visibly distressed, he was wheeled away on a medical trolley.
