Keeping Quiet By Donald C Stewart

Date: 9th October 2026

Keeping Quiet

By Donald C Stewart

A sketchy and humorous look at the outpourings of the great, the good and the not so good of Scottish fitba’ by Donald C Stewart. Readers are warned that if they take this seriously then therapy is available – just let us know where you find it so we can pass it on to others…

If you’re a fan of podcasts and interviews with players, then over last few weeks, the Sky Sports podcast with Roy Keane, Ian Wright and the most famous right back in Manchester United history who believes he wasn’t as good as the players they played with, yon Dragon’s Den fella, then you will have noticed that a couple of appearances of Scottish players who got mentions by Roy Keane have dropped by to have a chat.

Baby Andy Robertson and pub player John McGinn have been in his most recent company.

What struck me was the humility with which both players appeared and took no issue with any criticism that was levelled at them. And perhaps the level-headed nature and humility of both players is something that makes them as popular now as they were when they first burst on the scene.

(Please note, Micah Richards did not appear nor burst onto the scene during any of these podcasts.)

So, when Tom English in his BBC column, suggested that John McGinn had been too quiet for too long, I wondered who else had been too quiet for too long within Scottish football or beyond.

I wondered if the people who supported Greenock Morton and provided their finance have been quiet for too long leading to Morton being left languishing at the bottom of the Championship struggling to find a win never mind find a future.

I wonder if the SFA have been too, too quiet for too long about how the progress of their pathway for young footballers since the splash over the last months when they said it was nearing a crisis. They don’t seem to be able to gather all the right people round a table with an interest in youth fitba and a broad spectrum of stakeholders.

I wonder if too many people have become too quiet, again, for too long, once more, about a regulator, remember them, within Scottish football and whether we should follow the English model. The English are maybe too engaged with the furore and scandal over sham contracts given out by Manchester City.

I wonder if people have been too quiet for too long over VAR and whether we should revisit it and whether it has provided the things promised.

I know that for the majority of those, we have not been too quiet for too long.

The fractious debate about all of these tends to be debated on a regular basis on for a and on the airwaves such as Sportsound. They, unlike the SFA, have revisited their desire to engage with supporters – even the awkward squads – on a Saturday afternoon to allow them to chunter away and talk over the important points relating to their clubs. Yes, THEIR clubs.

Sportsound has also had debates over youth football which have been interesting to hear not least of course following Hearts B getting humped 14-0 by Ross County in the Scottish Challenge Cup. Just exactly what that does for the confidence has perhaps been shown in Tony Docherty’s first two competitive games in charge; two games, two wins. The Doc for full adult Scotland boss?

Docherty went into these two games saying he was going to mimic the way in which Pocognoli was setting out his team. And so therefore, despite the first four games raising questions over the appointment of Pocognoli, perhaps Docherty has ironically saved his boss’s bacon.

Of course, John McGinn at the weekend played his 92nd and 93rd cap for Scotland, beforehand saying that he was not undroppable and that if he ended up being on the bench that he would be the biggest Scotland supporter on that bench. There was also in that podcast evidence of his humility when he told Roy Keane to his face that he had no problem being called a pub player and that is something we treasure. Of course, it is the reason why we chant his name on the terraces.

An all-firing John McGinn as well as an influential Andy Robertson on and off the park is somebody our people need for Pocognoli and our future, especially after shipping two goals and a game to Slovenia at Hampden. I am only now beginning to emerge… Therapy beckons…

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Tags: oor Donald, Scottish football, SFA