You Couldn't Make It Up!

by Jack Little

Not many Thistle players make history but Colin McAdam did. Having already been transferred to Rangers on 3/6/1980 under freedom of contract, both clubs disputed the transfer value of the player. Rangers (reportedly) had offered around £70,00. On the other hand (again reportedly) Thistle valued the player at £500,000. The SFL established a transfer arbitration panel to adjudicate on such disputes. It comprised the President of the SFL, the Secretary of the SPFL (the players' union) and it was chaired by Lord Wheatly, a high-ranking Scottish Supreme Court judge. Colin became the first ever player to have his transfer fee set by this tribunal. Their deliberations must have disappointed Thistle more than Rangers. They were obliged to come up with £160,000 - double what they had offered - but it was still well below Thistle's valuation.

Publishing date An original Thistle Archive publication, 05-Mar-2021.
Latest edit date Latest edit version 04-Mar-2021.

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