Alan Hansen Westa Guest

All those years ago, when we were going through a bad patch The West of Scotland Tartan Army were approached by the BBC to take part in an TV special. Alan Hansen, former Partick Thistle Player would be investigating where it had all gone wrong for Scottish Fitba, he was not the first looking for the answer and as of 2107 he would not be the last.
The camera team arrived at our Sunday meeting, last Sunday in the month, all invited. A table was arranged upstairs in the Iron Horse, West Nile Street , Glasgow.
Our esteemed Chair, the late and most wonderful Tommy Madden asked that Alan in return would address our meeting, all Scotland fans by the way. He was approached by the director, we had not been deemed important enough at this stage to meet the great man. The answer came back...a big NAW.
Tommy said thanks very much and promptly went elsewhere for a pint.
Mr Hansen, late of Liverpool and Scotland eventually relented and agreed to say a few words to the lads & lasses, all Scotland fans by the way.
We were interviewed, asked our opinions. Filming ended. Looking back our views on Scotland,  ' The Failure Years' were incoherent and incomprehensible , not unlike our then team selection.
Mr Hansen did then address the assembled WESTA membership. He was excellent, funny, informative and I suspected a proud Scot, proud to have played for Scotland and as a lad proud to have travelled to Wembley.
Questioned on Graeme Souness, he was  also as  I suspected a proud Scot and was part of a grand assemblage of Scots playing for a superb Liverpool team, a team that ruled Europe.
However, we home Scots have always has a jaundiced view of the Scot having made it big down south, the dreaded 'Anglo'.
Famous 'Anglos'; Kenny Dalglish, Denis Law, Billy Bremner, Peter Lorimer, Joe Jordan. Bill Shankly, Matt Busby, jings loads of them and more, many more.
Alan , sorry Mr Hansen got so much stick playing at Hampden, for Scotland by the way he would warm up beside Graeme Souness, multiple European Cup winners by the way, World class by the way. Graeme got all the stick.
At the end of the meeting as stand in Chair I asked the assembled members, all Scotland fans by the way, to give Mr Alan Hansen the traditional Hampden greeting and boo him as he left the pub. Iwas joking of course and of course the WESTA memers booed him as he left.
Our garbled views on the demise of Scottish football was of course not used in the programme. A few months later Bertie Vogts got the Scotland job. I rest my case.
In 2004 Wales hammered Scotland 4-0 in Cardiff. Later in the Holiday Inn Express the highlights were on Match of the Day. The pundit was one Mr Alan Hansen who slaughtered the team and the defence (sic).
I laughed through tears of frustration and emotion.
1979 , Cardiff Home International. Wales 3 Scotland 0. Centre half covering John Toshack was a certain Alan (Mr) Hansen. At this stage in his excellent career John was slower than me, I am now 59, John scored a hat-trick.