IN THE turmoil following last week's General Election, with Prime Minister David Cameron pledging to govern "One Nation", the general retort, at least in Scotland, was: Aye Right!!
Then, yesterday, The Herald ran a story about some people in the North of England expressing an interest in joining Scotland, in an anti-London new country. Again, my first thought was: Aye Right!!
Jocks, Geordies, Scousers, Mancs and Tykes united - that would really worry the cheps in the City of London. Mind you, I reckon, if it ever does happen - the new nation of North Britain, or Greater Caledonia, would have one helluva of a top football league.
Imagine, if the Border was moved south of Manchester and Sheffield - we might well have a Premiership comprising, in no particular order: Everton, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Leeds United, Sheffield United, Sheffield Wednesday, Hull City, Middlesbrough, Sunderland, Newcastle United, Celtic, Aberdeen, Dundee United, Inverness Caledonian Thistle and St Johnstone.
The Championship would be a strong league too: the seven remaining Scottish Premiership clubs plus the top four in the Championship, along with the likes of Blackburn Rovers, Burnley and the north of England clubs in the Championship down south.
Aye, it would be a great league - I can think of at least two stadiums in Glasgow where, regardless of existing presumed political allegiances, North Britain/Greater Caledonia, would be embraced, warmly.
Not perhaps as warmly as it would be greeted in certain parts of London.
I NOTE turmoil has again broken-out in our favourite, long-running football soap opera: Edmiston Drive.
Mike Ashley, apparently, wants his £5 million back and is prepared to call an egm to get it - I think. Quite frankly, I am fed-up to the back teeth with the in-fighting and machinations around the Rangers Tribute Act.
I just wish the SFA would grow a pair and tell the warring ludges - either sort-out your differences and unify, of fuck off and leave the rest of us in peace.
We have all enjoyed a laugh at the RTA's expense, but, enough is enough.
LONG John Hewie died earlier this week, aged 87. The big Springbok is largely forgotten today, hardly surprising, given his Scotland career was played-out in the black and white prehistoric days between 1956 and 1960.
He won 19 caps then, which is probably equivalent to 50-plus today; gaining most of them when his club was in the second tier in England, and there were more than a few Scottish-qualified left-backs plying their trade in the top-flight in England back then.
Hewie, born in Pretoria, of parents from Selkirk, had never set foot in Scotland until called-up into the Scotland B team, in March, 1953.
By all accounts, he had a stinker that afternoon, but, he recovered and, after a stand-out performance for a "South African XI", against a "Scotland XI" at Ibrox, in March, 1956 - during which he apparently: "Reduced (Gordon) Smith to the level of an ordinary player, he was capped against England, at Hampden, in April, 1956.
Once in the national team, he took a bit of shifting, playing in the 1958 World Cup Finals in Switzerland, where our four full-backs were: Hewie, Alex Parker, Eric Caldow and Harry Haddock, we could do with a quartet of such quality today.
Hewie was an all-rounder, playing every sport well, and winning England caps at Baseball, as well as being picked for FA representative XIs, even after being capped for Scotland.
With Charlton Athletic, he played over 500 games, in all 11 positions. He even had a four-game spell as first-choice goalkeeper, after first pick Willie Duff and the reserve 'keeper were both injured. Duff, who won the Scottish Cup with Hearts in 1956, used to joke that he was lucky to get his place back, so well had Hewie played.
Like so-many of his contemporaries, Hewie's last days were blighted by dementia Rest in Peace big man.
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