MY mind was taken back to yesteryear by Russell Leadbetter's amusing article ("When football memories are a loser," The Herald, November 12) as I was once one of those half-time scoreboard technicians he wrote about - the chaps who stuck up the scores matched to letters printed in the programme.

I was also a programme seller at Dundee United's ground, Tannadice Park, when I was at secondary school. The biggest pay day was a Fairs Cup tie against Newcastle United (the holders) in 1969.

When my Grandpa first took me to Tannadice in the mid-1960s, a new grandstand (The Jerry Kerr Stand) was being constructed and we stood on a temporary terrace beside the group of extremely vocal, visually-impaired fans who had two comment­ators describing the action. It was brilliant and hilarious at the same time, especially the comments questioni­ng the referee's ability - or inability - to spot fouls against the home side.

In my youth, televised football was such a rarity and I remember that BBC viewers down south saw slow-motion replays, but we didn't here in Scotland. Never mind: we did have Arthur Montford's sports jackets.

Mike Ritchie,

21 Fotheringay Road, Glasgow.