A legend on and off pitch

Ian St John was many things to many people. For Motherwell fans of a certain age, he was a striker who scored an extraordinary 80 goals in 113 league games and, later, club manager. For supporters of Liverpool FC, he helped transform their club under another Scot, Bill Shankly, into a giant of European football.

And, for younger generations, the former Scotland international was a football pundit in a marvellously funny double act with his English counterpart Jimmy Greaves, first on ITV’S World of Sport and then – by popular demand after that show’s demise – in their own programme, Saint and Greavsie. They were among Britain’s finest footballers of the 20th century, blessed with many insights about the beautiful game, but what made their show really special was the good-humoured banter and camaraderie between them. For many years, it was, as ex-liverpool defender and current pundit Jamie Carragher rightly pointed out, “the best football show on TV”.

St John’s football skills delighted legions of fans, something that should not be underestimated – he was able to do things on the football field many can only dream of. But it is his other qualities – his “warmth, humour, knowledge, wisdom and joy”, to quote Liverpool and Scotland star Andy Robertson – that have cemented his place as a true great in Scottish sporting history.

In yesterday’s Scottish Perspective, Anas Sarwar used the phrase "Becoming leader of a political party...". He is not the leader of a political party as Scottish Labour is not represented in the Electoral Commission's list of registered parties. His true position is that he is leader of a local section of the Labour Party.

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