JINGS, crivvens, help ma Boab - as they apparently say in Dundee; that was some game at Tannadice yesterday. There was enough incident to keep the mainstream football press going for a week, and, with another three games between yesterday's warring factions coming-up in the next week or three, we may have to deploy UN peace-keepers by the end of the run.
The game wasn't the best afternoon the refereeing team on duty has had. Leaving aside the blindingly-obvious case of mistaken identity at the double sending-off, the "Was it or was it not a dive" debate around the United penalty was enough to keep the public bar lawyers debating until the series of games between the sides reconvenes on Sunday.
Leaving aside all the debatable points, my overwhelming view of the match was this: if ever a single football match demonstrated the need for football to embrace TV technology, it was this one. However, in saying this, I hope, when TV match officials and-or tennis/cricket-style challenges are introduced, and that day is surely coming, I do hope they take one idea from American Football, where TV referrals have been used for years. That is - the review is carried-out in real time, rather than, as happens in rugby, by multi-angle super-slo-mo. These sorts of forensic reviews, in my view, cause as much bother as they defuse.
Coming as it did so-soon after St Johnstone's win at Celtic Park, this result demonstrates, yet again, this Celtic team isn't a great one. It would be marvellous for Ronnie Deila and his men, were they to win a domestic Treble this season, but, in my view they are not a squad worthy of such recognition.
THE Tannadice game certainly came close to spiking the guns of the other half of the Bigot Brothers, who were looking for some good headlines, on the back of the King Over The Water's triumphant return to claim the throne, even if, he may yet be forced to accept a regency, once the SFA's "Great and Good" debate his fitness to run things at Ibrox.
It didn't help the feel-good factor down Edmiston Drive way that the Rangers Tribute Act couldn't even buy a goal at Central Park. I can just see Donald Findlay and Jimmy Nicholl, like Dick Dastardly and Muttley, sneaking away sniggering on Saturday night.
King & Co are quite right to be attempting to play down the expectations of Ra Peepul. So, their club is now back in the hands of "Real Rangers Men", for perhaps the first time in half a century - I was never that convinced of the credentials of the Lawrences - but, the current squad is so-poor, a longer period in the Championship to get the team better equipped to mount a real Premiership challenge might be no bad thing.
One thing is certain, if they do things: "The Rangers Way" and throw good money after bad, there will be more and maybe greater pain some ways down the track. The re-building process may be long and difficult, but, if it is not done correctly, further catastrophe lies ahead.
I noticed an interesting wee story in the papers this morning. Apparently, the idea of making Rangers a "feeder" side for Newcastle United has been discussed. Now Newcastle has been a sleeping giant in England for yonks. They haven't won the English League since 1927 - when Hughie Gallacher was their main man; the FA Cup since 1955 - when "Wor Jackie" Milburn was their icon, and their only European trophy, The Inter-Cities Fairs Cup was harvested in 1969, with Bobby Moncur as skipper.
Sorry, United are a big English club; they have, for my money, the most-loyal and put-upon fans in the UK. Right now, Newcastle United, backed as they are by the English Premiership's billions, are a bigger club than the Rangers Tribute Act. But, a well-run Rangers, winning the Scottish Premiership and competing regularly in Europe, would be, notwithstanding the obscene cash-generating imbalance of the Premiership, a bigger club than United.
I AM delighted to see Brian McClair back in Scotland as the new SFA Youth Development Chief. He has done sterling work over many years, at Manchester United, he is a footballer whose brains are in his head, he has the medals and caps to show when needed. I wish him well.
I first saw McClair play in his Motherwell days, and I recall one afternoon at Ibrox, during John Greig's unhappy tenure as manager there. Things were so-bad for Rangers then (though not as bad as what is happening with the RTA today), that Andy Cameron was telling a joke about a severe design fault in what was then the newly re-developed Ibrox. The design fault was: "They had the seats facing the pitch".
Any way, Rangers had limped to an unconvincing 1-0 win over a Jock Wallace-managed 'Well team, which deserved, at the very least, to have gone away from Ibrox with a draw. The ineptitude of the Rangers team had been brilliantly summed-up by an exasperated Doug Baillie, throwing down his pen and declaiming, as the latest "Next Big Rangers Thing" fluffed yet-another open-goal chance: "See him, he'll still be a proamising boay when he's 30".
We trotted down from the old roof-top Ibrox press box and into the media room - it was actually a room, dominated by a full-size table tennis table, groaning under the weight of drink which Rangers thoughtfully provided for the thirsty press corps.
Big Greig, worn-down by the cares of management, came in, mumbled his plea in mitigation then left, leaving the floor to Wallace.
I remarked on the quality of "young McClair's" performance and asked Big Jock what he had thought of it.
"Wur ye a centre furrit yersel son?" He enquired.
"No, a goalie", I replied.
"Guid son, so wis Ah", said Wallace.
"I know Mr Wallace, I saw you play, I wasn't impressed", I foolishly retorted.
"Ya cheeky bastard", he spluttered, before punching me, playfully on the shoulder. Then, seeing the rest of the press corps laughing, he smiled, ascertained which paper I was representing and told me.
"Keep saying things like that and you'll go far son".
I always had a lot of time for Jock Wallace after that. He was also correct, when he did answer my question, by forecasting a very big future for "Young McClair".
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