IF WE ever doubted that, in Scottish football, there is one rule for the Old Firm and a different rule for everyone else - the attitude of the punters to Rangers' winning of the SFL Third Division really demonstrates it.
Muted, single-handed applause; shrugged shoulders and: "So what", would seem to be the public's perception. Undeniably, Rangers, the full-time team in a part-time league HAD to win SFL3, it was always a case of when rather than if they tok the trophy and the fact they failed to stroll through the competition, winning every game at least 3-0 is being held against them.
I have no doubt that Ally McCoist, Kenny McDowall and Ian Durrant would have loved to have produced the wished-for scenario. I furthermore have no doubt that they, indeed everyone in the Ibrox management team has been disappointed by the level of performance this season, which has been uneven in the extreme - however, expectations have been realised and the desired promotion has been achieved well before season's end.
Yet, still the criticism is levelled, because, the performance hasn't been 'Rangers Class'.
Let's suppose another SPL team - maybe Motherwell, or Hearts or Kilmarnock had been guilty of Craig Whyte's blatant disregard for football's rules of governance and that other side had been cast out into SFL3, immediately losing a first team of international players, either full or age-group, then had to face a season with a team of youngsters and second-rate players. Yet, had that team battled through to win the division as well as Rangers have just done - they'd have been praised to the heavens for their resilience and fighting qualities. They would not have attracted the criticism which has come Rangers' way.
That said, Ally McCoist still has some way to go to join the managerial pantheon at Ibrox; the club's recruitment policy has been iffy and, to me, reeks a wee bit of the failed and discredited Murray management model. All is still far from well at Ibrox and NOT putting Rangers straight into the middle 12 of the proposed 12-12-18 governance model, will, in the long run, be better for the club.
That said: 12-12-18 is NOT the way ahead for Scottish football.
But, I digress, the public perception of Rangers' 55th league title clearly demonstrates - there is one rule for Rangers and Celtic, another for the other 40 senior clubs in Scotland.
I WAS interested in Neil Lennon's remarks this week about players' lack of passion and commitment to Scotland. Rather than saying: 'Butt out Paddy, it's none of your business", we should take cognisance of the Ginger Whinger's observations.
I am with Neil on this one. I accept we don't have players of the quality of Dalglish, Law, Mackay, Johnstone, Baxter, Bremner and so-on today, but, feel we should still be doing better than we have been of late.
Maybe players who earn a good living, for very little work, at club level, cannot accept the higher level of criticism and expectation they get with the national team. Let's be honest, the only Scottish players who are EXPECTED to win every game, and who know they will be heavily-criticised/slaughtered if they fail, are those playing for either half of the Old Firm.
Third Division football isn't going to get any Rangers players into the present Scotland squad, while Celtic, for all the consistent success of their age group sides, don't have a great record in getting Scots into the first team. So, with no Rangers men qualifying and Scott Brown and James Forrest injured Charlie Mulgrew was the only member of WGS's squad for Wales and Serbia with recent exposure to the Old Firm fans'/Tartan Army mentality/mind-set of " Not winning is not acceptable".
So yes, Neil Lennon hit the nail on the head - we have too-many players too-ready to settle for second-best - but, at least, if they are, they (the players) are a wee-bit more-ambitious than the Hampden 'blazers' who will settle for any old rubbish - provided they still get their junkets paid for.
I grimaced slightly at the "Paddy" remark, you know just how sensitive we common tattie munchers are about the names we get called these days, eh? However, Paddy should look at his own side before he throws rocks at the national squad. Today's performance and result were pure shite. For the first time in many a year, I left early before the final whistle had been blown by the Mason in black. Season tickets for Parkhead for the new term? Not on your Paddy!
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