Another Week At Billy And Sean's Punch And Judy Show

ANOTHER week on Planet Fitba, and, as is usually the case, the Bigot Brothers have claimed most of the headlines. Plus ca change and all that.

 

First up, we had that Europa League game, between Celtic and Ajax, at Celtic Park. This was a clear case of: "How are the mighty fallen", as two teams, whose closest resemblance to the great teams of yore in both clubs was the crests on the jerseys, and, in Celtic's case, the actual jerseys.

 

We know this current Celtic squad is a pale imitation of the real thing - almost, but not quite, a Celtic Tribute Act. If we hadn't known that, Thursday night's terrible display just might have convinced us. But, we didn't know, how badly standards at Ajax had fallen, until we saw that lot on Thursday night. Nae wonder the great Johan Cruyff has decided he wants nothing more to do with the club, allegedly.

 

However, poor though the Dutch were, they were still a good bit ahead of Celtic both technically and in terms of team spirit, and, they deserved to win.

 

Leigh Griffiths has blamed himself for Celtic losing. I think the boy is being unduly harsh on himself. It is all very well opting to play with only one guy up front, but, he needs at least one midfielder to arrive in the box to help him. Leigh seldom had any team mates close to him when he got the ball in the Ajax "red zone", so, he had to try to do it alone.

 

OK, his frustrations were all-too-obvious when he missed that one-v-one chance against the 'keeper, a chance set-up by a glorious through ball from Scott Allen. I can understand his frustration at missing the chance, but, as a former goalkeeper, can I say, the Ajax back-stop was given no credit whatsoever for a brilliant piece of goalkeeping to make the save. Griffiths did everything right, but, the keeper trumped him - remember, shit happens.

 

By the way, a wee observation here. Celtic, going with only one man up front, AT HOME, in a Must-win European game. Aye Right!!

 

 

 

THAT Celtic defeat, condemning them to be out of Europe before Christmas, was an early Christmas present to the baser instincts of Ra Peepul, and was a late night bonus, coming as it did on top of the news that their club would not be required to pay Charlie Green's legan fees in whichever of the miriad cases swirling around Ibrox, he is involved in (I've lost track).

 

The Rangers Tribute Act has now been dragged into a real promotion battle. A return to the top flight as Champions is no longer a given, so, they needed a wee bost. Of course, on Friday, their cheer-leaders in the media tried their best to talk-up events at Ibrox following a brilliantly stage-managed agm at the Armadillo.

 

The choice of venue is, in some ways a metaphor for the club, a hard shell covering lots of internal turmoil.

 

The club and their paid helpers in the Lap Top Loyal can spin it all the want. They can make all sorts of predictions of an early return to the good times, but, with all the writs and legal briefs flying around the club, I fear the RTA is in far from rude health.

 

However, they did score one "goal" over the other half of the BB, by announcing they were playing the living wage to all employees - something which the Celtic board's failure to do earned them some flak from the Family at the recent Celtic agm.

 

The Donegal-based font of all knowledge on matters Ibroxian is convinced the club remains a basket case, and, as he has shown over the past five years or so, he is seldom far off the money.

 

However, I find his current obsession with the Blue Bigot Brother somewhat strange. Considering how things are unravelling somewhat around Celtic Park, I would have thought a Celtic Fanatic might have been turning his forensic skills on the travials of his club, but, no, the bold PMGB continues to obsess with the enemy, while all is not well among his friends.

 

Mind you, there is something sort of Scottish in that attitude.  

Quick Lads - We Need A Diversion, Announce The New Kit

ALL this controversy about youth development programmes, professional academies and so-forth; not to forget the flak which continues to come their way in the fall-out from The Big Tax Case, has clearly got under the hitherto cast-iron skin of the blazers on Hampden's sixth floor.

 

So, reverting to the old Roman Empire trick of giving the proles bread and circuses - they rush out, nicely-timed for Christmas, new home and away kits for Scotland. Of course, the main body of the Tartan Army, that dedicated band who travel around the world, more in hope than expectation in the wake of our A team, will have to wait until September next year, before they get a chance to wear the new kit for real, in a meaningful international.

 

Why, by then, we might even hav replaced the new kit with an even newer one, nothing decided at Hampden surprises me any more.

 

Actually, for me, it's not the worst Scotland kit I have seen; I even like the pink number which is the new "away" kit. It is certainly an improvement on the last away kit. But, I sometimes feel designing a new Scotland kit is some sort of final exam for would-be kit designers at whichever company is our supplier at any given time. Over the years we have one or two which deserve the accolade, first given I think to the Clydebank away kit, which resembled an explosion in a paint factory and was described by one wag as a product of "Stevie Wonder Designs Ltd".

 

 

 

CELTIC apparently copped a bit of flak from sections of "The Family" at their agm last week. Lord Livingston in particular was the target of some abuse from the self-styled "Greatest Fans In The World", because, in the House of Lords, he voted to support the Tories' cuts to the welfare budget.

 

Then, there was the continuing campaign to get the club to pay The Living Wage. Now, maybe TGFITW missed it, but, I am certain I read, in the report of the agm, that Celtic were, in fact, paying all their full-time staff,  The Living Wage. 

 

That, to me, is commendable, and as it should be. I would suggest that there is every chance the club's part-time staff, usually only seen on match-days, are probably topping-up their income from other sources, by working for the club, therefore, there is no great need to pay them a higher rate for so-doing. I might be wrong, but, that's how I feel.

 

One thing of which I am equally sure is, Celtic, indeed every other Scottish  club is perhaps paying most of their players too-much. There is, I would suggest, some scope for significant savings there, money which could perhaps be diverted towards better spectator facilities and higher wages for the lower-paid non-playing staff.

 

 

 

 

I Despair Of Where We Go From Here

I HAVE not posted for a wee while, mainly because, I am in despair about Scottish fitba. Maybe it was the international break which did for me; the simple fact, England, Northern Ireland and Wales could all relax, they had already secured their places in Euro 2016.

 

The Republic Of Ireland had other fish to fry, beating Bosnia-Herzegovina to clinch their place at the tournament finals. OK, (cue for a song), it should have been us; but, in typically Scottish fashion, we blew it, big time.

 

It might be, Wee Gordon Strachan got it right, when he decided, we would not play a meaningless friendly during the November international week. On the other hand, when you fall off a horse, received wisdom is, you get back up there as soon as possible.

 

With no real games to report, therefore, the intellectual dinosaurs of the Scottish Football Writers decided to look for a convenient "squirrel" - a diversion, so, we had all sorts of stuff about our youth development programme, such as it is, in Scottish fitba.

 

We had a great debate - okay, a lot of shite was written - about the road forward; suggestions we should scrap football academies and go back to basics. Aye Right.

 

For a start, you cannot go back to fitba in the streets, too-much traffic. Schools fitba is out too, the teachers struck back in the 1980s and, having discovered there is life beyond non-paid extra-curriculum work supervising fitba (and other sports) teams, they will not go back in the numbers needed. The uniformed youth organisations - BB, Scouts, armed forces cadet companies have enough problems under child protection legislation to take on the extra responsibilities of running fitba teams. Ditto the boys clubs, who have the added drawback to overcome, of leaders/coaches whose enthusiasm out-runs their abilities.

 

Then there is the fact, a lot of today's kids, and I speak with the authority of a grand-father with five grand-sons, none of whom plays in an organised team, but, all of whom are wizards on a keyboard, or games console. In many ways, sitting in front of a computer screen is a more-inviting prospect than freezing in horizontal Scottish rain on a pock-marked blaise pitch, being screamed at by a nutter who is re-living his own failed fitba career as the coach of a youth team.

 

How do we improve things?

 

Well for a start, we have to realise, the will is not evident within Hampden's sixth floor corridors of power, to make the necessary changes. As I have said time and again on here, Scotland is, in sporting terms, a staunch conservative nation (note to political students - the c is deliberately left small). 

 

The default Scottish position when it comes to making changes is: (sharp intake of breath and sucking of teeth) "Naw son, wullnae happen, ye see son, it's aye been done this way"; end of conversation.

 

It suits the majority of our so-called senior clubs to guddle along with out-dated stadiums, treating the customers like shite, hoping to discover a youngster they can sell-on, praying to get a good cup draw against either the forces of blue/orange darkness or the forces of green-and-white darkness.

 

They know, it is cheaper to work with so-called "experienced journeymen" than to put the cash into a properly-functioning grass-roots development programme.

 

It suits us to have third-rate facilities, it goes with our third-rate football.

 

Our legislators, whether at Westminster, Holyrood, or in local councils, by and large have no interest in sport. They do not get the benefits of a population being fit, and involved in a sporting life-style, so, very little public money is ever invested in things like covered pitches, or more and better access to top-quality sports facilities.

 

IF football and other sports came together, and really pressured our politicians to improve the facilities, while at the same time improving the number and qualities of their coaches. If, at the same time, the "professional" clubs - and I have to say many of them are far from professional, sorted their clubs out - we might have a chance. But, it will call for long-term effort, long-term investment, real commitment, and a realisation, it will be a long-term job. But, someday, and, closer to 70 than 60 I doubt if I will see it, Scotland will get back to where we want it to be in football, but, we may never get back to where we used to be, back in the early days, when Scotland gave the beautiful game to the world.         

International Week - But Not For Us, Of Course

THIS is "an international week" - a period in the football calendar set-aside by FIFA for the playing of international matches. In Europe, this means, essentially, the play-off games, which will settle the final tranche of nations who will play in the 2016 European Championship finals, in France, at the end of this season.

As we already know, Scotland will not be one of these nations. Twenty-four of UEFA's member nations, 44% of the total membership, will be involved in these finals - Scotland, the nation which invented the passing game - is not one of these.

Put it another way, Scotland, one of the "foundng fathers" of football, a nation whose contribution to the game is so special it has guaranteed us a place on IFAB - the International Football Associations Board - the game's supreme laws-making body, is no longer good enough to qualify for even an outrageously bloated pool of finalists in a pan-continental championship.

Not that this is concerning the powers-that-be on the sixth floor corridor at the National Stadium. No, the likes of Stuart Regan, whichever invisible man is President at the moment, some guy McRae from a wee Highland League team if memory serves me correctly, and maybe a couple of other "blazers" will be despatched to France to observe proceedings.

Wee Gordon Strachan will pick-up a nice wee close-season earner as a media pundit, not that I grudge the wee man his paid holiday. I am confident he will take the opportunity, when there, to run the rule over our 2018 World Cup qualifiers opponents who are in France.

As for the rest of us, we will just adopt our familiar pose: noses pressed against the window, outside, looking in.

But, that is ahead. What is happening this week? Not a lot in truth. We should, perhaps, have arranged a wee friendly, given us a chance to begin blooding new and exciting young players for the qualifiers to come - except, in Scottish football there are no new and exciting young players emerging.

OK, the Under-21s do have a game against Ukraine, at St Mirren Park, tomorrow night, for which the following squad was named:

Scotland Under-21 squad

Goalkeepers
Ryan Fulton (Liverpool)
Jack Hamilton (Heart of Midlothian)
Liam Kelly (Rangers)

Defenders
Stuart Findlay (Celtic, on loan to Kilmarnock)
Marcus Fraser (Ross County)
Dominic Hyam (Reading)
Donald Love (Manchester United, on loan to Wigan Athletic)
Callum McFadzean (Sheffield United)
Jordan McGhee (Heart of Midlothian)
Callum Paterson (Heart of Midlothian)
Andrew Robertson (Hull City)

Midfielders
Jay Fulton (Swansea City, on loan to Oldham Athletic)
Liam Henderson (Celtic, on loan to Hibernian)
John McGinn (Hibernian)
Craig Slater (Kilmarnock)
John Souttar (Dundee United)

Forwards
Ryan Christie (Celtic, on loan to Inverness Caledonian Thistle)
Jason Cummings (Hibernian)
Billy King (Heart of Midlothian)
Stephen Mallan (St Mirren)
Oliver McBurnie (Swansea City)
Barrie McKay (Rangers)
Sam Nicholson (Heart of Midlothian)

Now, I have to admit, one or two of that group - Callum Paterson, LIam Henderson, Ryan Christie, Jason Cummings and Barrie McKay, for instance, are starting to be noticed in the domestic game. Certainly, Andrew Robertson has already broken into the full Scotland squad, but, can we honestly say any of the above, Robertson excepted, of course, is ready to push for a place in the big team?

Right now, if your caps tally is in double figures, well, you are fairly certain of being named in most, if not every Scotland squad for the net round of tournament qualifying.

We no longer have the depth of quality we had 50 or 40 years ago - and, more importantly, the way Scottish football is currently organised, this situation is unlikely to change.

Craig Brown, this week revealed he had planned to make the playing of younger Scottish players compulsory in the Scottish League, but, this plan was vetoed by the combined might of Celtic and Rangers. Why does this not surprise me?

We are told, repeatedly, that Scottish clubs cannot be forced to field a majority of Scottish-qualified players in their match-day squads. The reason given is that European Law will not allow it.

I have put the following question to various people in Scottish football, none can, or is willing to try to, answer it.

The question: How can Premiership Rugby in Englan bring in a rule whereby 76% of each club's match-day squad must be "England-qualified", yet the Scottish Football Premiership, governed by the same employment law as their English Rugby equivalent cannot?

In the Ladbrokes Premiership, each team can name an 18-man squad, 11 starters, plus seven substitutes, of whom they can use three. If the English Rugby ruling was introduced, this would mean, 14 of the 18 named players would have to be Scottish.

Now, I accept, immediate implementation of the 76% rule would in the short term impact on those clubs, such as Celtic, with a large number of non-Scots, but, if the measure was phased-in, it could be workable.

Yes, it would hurt some of the big clubs, but, not some of the smaller outfits - so, why are they not shouting for it, if only to level the playing field.

Craig Brown, when he tried to get the youngsters playing more, says the reason given was: "It would hurt us in Europe". Given how bad we have become, could fielding a team of young Scots hold us back that much?

Remember how, back when Rangers had delusions of being a force in Europe, particularly back when they lost what was effectively a semi-final against Marseilles, the three-foreigners rule was in use, and the likes of Steven Pressley, Scott NIsbet and Neil Murray gained game time they would never be near today.

The Scottish clubs are, by their short-sightedness, their determination not to trust the kids and their probable fear of offending the Old Firm, hurting Scottish football. It is time this was stopped.

AND another thing. I see MIke Ashley is asking the SFA to explain how Dave King managed to pass their fit and proper person criteria. I have been wondering about this myself.

As I have repeatedly said on here, the whole Rangers saga, ever since David Murray put the club up for sale, has been a long-running soap opera, and, at the same time, a wonderful earner for m'learned friends the lawyers.

I wonder if Donald Finlay ever regrets specialising in criminal law rather than the drier and more-boring commercial side of his profession. With events around Rangers, Fife's finest would surely have been in-line for a huge pay-out, if he had decided to specialise elsewhere.

The notion of Donald Finlay, who is, of course purely a defence advocate, leading for  the prosecution against Craig Whyte, Chuck Green & Co is surely one which would have enabled the Scottish Courts Service to make the public benches all-ticket and charge a fortune for these tickets. What a killing they could have made.

     

Silly Buggers Behave Stupidly - Shock, Horror

ANOTHER weekend of Scottish football and, what is the big issue this Monday morning? Why it's the fact that a number of Celtic fans failed to properly observe the one-minute's silence prior to the kick-off in their club's match at Dingwall.

Two things: that a small number of Celtic fans should interrupt a one-minute's silence is nothing new; it has become a hardy annual. And, poppy "fascism" (wear one or else) is a growing trend in 21st century UK.

The comments section in the Herald website this morning is fairly representative of what passes for comment in this once excellent newspaper. The thread regarding the loonies' wee pre-match outburst is yet another example of the rampant Whitabootery which surrounds the Bigot Brothers.

The names of the posters are familiar too, all the hardy regulars, ever ready to offend and be offended in the name of their clubs. Great clickbait for the Herald however. The Herald management can ignore the way their print edition circulation is going down the stank and point-out how many "hits" their website receives.

The fact that most of these hitters who choose to comment are green-whitea-nd gold or orange nutters is neither here nor there. I long for the day when the Herald, and other sites, instigate proper moderation of their website comment threads and the nutters and trolls are diverted straight to the trash bin.

Or, how about a spam filter to automatically zap into oblivion the pish and shite - now, inventing that is a guaranteed way to become a millionaire. I encourage this thought to all IT students in Scotland.

The politics and religious differences of the island of Ireland have no place in Scottish football. I just wish the blazers on the sixth floor at Hampden could all, overnight, be supplied with a pair of cojones, so they would tell the two offensive and offending supports - "Enough, no more. Stop it NOW, or we start deducting points".

If they then did as threatened and did deduct points - it would not be long before the Bigot Brothers realised, bigotry does not sell, and started cleaning out their byres. Scottish football would be better for this.

SPEAKING of what would be better for Scottish football. This week is a designated "International Week". It is the week when, at worst, Scotland should have been playing a Euro'16 play-off match. Only, it didn't happen.

It is too late now, but, even though we did not reach the play-offs, it might have been a good idea for us to have a wee international friendly or something, to help Gordon Strachan prepare for the start of the World Cup 1018 qualifying campaign. But, our internationalists will be idle this week.

There are no Premiership matches scheduled for Saturday, because of internationals. I was unaware that this league was awash with international-class players, by the way.

Scottish domestic football has now sunk to such depths, unless a Scottish-qualified player is with Celtic, he is unlikely to ever get more than 180 minutes per season exposure to, admittedly pretty low-quality continental opposition.

Even if a Scottish-qualified player is playing in the FA Premier League, he will, most-probably, be playing for one of the perennial strugglers, and unlikely to see continental opposition anywhere other than full-scale practice matches in training.

So, how does the SFA bridge this skills gap between our honest triers and the more-technically-gifted Europeans?

How about bringing back inter-League games: a Scottish League XI against Danish, Swedish, Norwegian or Dutch League selects. Such competitive games might also help these fellow smaller European countries bring younger players through to international standard.

I know, it might be difficult to organise, but, we have to give Scottish players greater exposure outwith domestic football.

Another idea which came to me was, why doesn't Scotland get involved with the Scandinavian countries in a revamping of the Royal Cup tournament? This would give more clubs exposure to European games, and, in the long run help us back up through the pots in championship qualifying draws.

FINALLY, I thoroughly enjoyed 'Class of '92 Out of Their League', the excellent two-part documentary on the efforts of the Neville brothers, Paul Scholes Ryan Giggs and Nicky Butt to get Salford City into the Football League.

I caught up with part two on Sunday night, two nights after City beat Notts County in the first round of the FA Cup. It was very good.

The Nevilles are definitely the stars of the show, but, Scholes does come away with some good one-liners. The five principals are clearly learning more about football than they did in their illustrious careers and it will be interesting to see how the Salford City story unfolds.

I wonder, what will happen, if City get through Round Two of the FA Cup and draw Manchester United in the third round. Conflict of interest for Giggs and Butt for one thing.

I also hope the young full-back whom Phil Neville referred to United makes the grade - what a great story. 

This Wasn't Just Disaster For Celtic, It Was Disaster For Scotland

I AM somewhat ambivalent when it comes to Celtic FC - I don't care who beats them, IN SCOTLAND. I hold similar feelings when it comes to the Rangers Tribute Act; however, when, as now, Celtic are carrying the Saltire into the European arena, then, I am a Celtic fan - as I hope also is every other Scottish fitba fan.

 

So, while it maybe did not hurt me as much as it did the legendary 'Only an Excuse' creation, Sean South from Croy - the way Celtic were put to the sword by Molde last night hurt.

 

My bigotted Uncles and Father used to revel in tales of Jim Baxter extracting the urine from Celtic in the years immediately before the return of Jock Stein to Celtic Park. They would tell of Baxter, John Greig and Ronnie McKinnon playing "keep ball", simply passing the ball around between themselves, making no effort to score further goals - the game being already won, while the Jungle emptied and the remaining Celtic fans howled their anguish to the heavens.

 

That sort of embarrassment has not befallen Celtic since, until, in the final 15 minutes of last night's game, when Molde indulged themselves.

 

Molde FFS, not Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich or Juventus - but Molde, the sixth-best team, currently, in the Norwegian League. How have the mighty fallen.

 

But still, come next May, the Scottish League Championship trophy will be proudly paraded round Celtic Park. Just about the only bet you can get on the Premiership outcome these days is - by how many points will Celtic win the league?

 

They will be back in the Champions League next season; but, can we even contemplate a better outcome than the continuing disaster this season's European campaign has become.

 

The question is - what can Celtic do to mitigate against another embarrassing disaster? Should they stick or twist when it comes to the managerial team? Would fielding a team with a greater number of Scots, particularly "Celtic fans", fare any better? I ask this, given the outstanding display from the youngest Celt, Kieran Tierney. This 18-year-old kid, who has come through the same coaching regime as produced the bulk of the Lisbon Lions, and the Quality Street Gang, showed more than more-experienced foreign mercenaries, recruited at great cost from abroad.

 

Might there be a case for trying to produce a second squad of 21st century LIsbon Lions - a team recruited from within 40-miles of Celtic Park.

 

Buying to sell-on hasn't worked, maybe breeding to keep and possibly sell-on might.

 

One thing is certain, unless there is a sea-change in attitudes within Scottish football, and, most-importantly, on the Sixth floor at Hampden - then we are all doomed, doomed ah tell ye.

 

 

 

I MAY have mentioned before; I live in one of these former East Ayrshire mining villages which is slowly dying. The sort of place where once, allegedly, when a young couple was handed the keys to their first coonsil hoose, the welcome pack also included a picture of King Billy on his white horse - to hang above the fireplace.

 

So, last night, as he waited the arrival of the supporters' bus to take him to Celtic Park, I had a brief chat with the village's "Token Tim". He was not looking forward to the game, travelling more in hope than expectation.

 

His take was: "I am wondering who will sell the jerseys tonight - will it be Amrose or Izzy? All I know is, our defence is shite".

 

If he can see that, how come Ronnie Deila and his cohorts cannot.

 

"We're ok in Scotland, but hey, I could play in defence for us in the Scottish League", my mate continued.

 

"But, in Europe, we keep getting found out".

 

As I say, the fans know this is a poor Celtic team, but, still they turn-up, albeit in fewer and fewer numbers.

 

 

 

AND FINALLY, the English MSM will continue to try to spin it as: "The Greatest and Best League In The World", but, after Bayern's humping of Arsenal this week, how much longer can they keep it up?

 

As the Tartan Army proudly sang, back at Wembley in 1996: "We're shite, but, we know we are."

 

When will this reality hit the apologists for the over-hyped nonsense which is the FA Premiership?

Dancing In The Streets Of Croy, But, The Tainted Titles Will Remain At Ibrox

THEY were dancing in the streets of Croy (and the other identified Celtic enclaves across Scotland) last night, when the news emerged that HMRC had finally got a "Guilty" verdict over on Rangers in The Big Tax Case.

 

Cue strident calls for league titles and cups won to be struck from the record, and, of course, as far as the self-confessed "Greatest Fans In The World" are concerned, these trophies and titles should now be added to their club's escutcheon.

 

Aye Right.

 

Even if the tainted trophies were to be struck from the record, given precedence in sport, there is no guarantee the record would be adjusted to show Celtic, or any other club for that matter as the new "winners".

 

As evidence of this, I cite the case of the lovely Sharron Davies, whose once-every-four-years appearances, pool side, in a skimpy halter-neck top, sans bra, is the only reason certain dirty old men of my generation can find for watching Olympic Games swimming.

 

Big Shazza has a shelf-load of silver and bronze medals from Olympic Games, World Championship and European Championship finals - in which she finished behind swimmers from the Deutsche Democratic Republic (DDR) - the former East Germany. That DDR government and sports officials, over many years indulged in systemic state-sponsored doping is beyond doubt.

 

Many of those individual athletes singled-out as proven dopers won gold medals, at Shazza's expense. Not a single medal has been withdrawn and given to Sharron.

 

Given that example, I do not see Celtic, or Aberdeen, or Hearts, or any other club which finished second in any competition to the money-doped Rangers, being retrospectively awarded the prize Rangers' cheating denied them.

 

Mind you, it might be worth taking a case to the International Sports Court, just to see what happened.

 

Also, when Rangers went down the road of Employee Benefits Trusts, they were not, as such illegal. I don't know too-much about the minutiae of the matter, but, I am led to believe Rangers' problem stemmed from the way they managed and administered the EBTs - had they made some different decisions, they might well have got away with it, even after HMRC decided they were a no-no.

 

And, another thing, for those Rangers people who feel their club was and still is being picked-on. Rangers were never HMRC's main target - they are after bigger corporate fish, based in the south - Rangers were the fall guys chosen to be made an example of - it was nothing personal.

 

Also, can I return to something I have pointed-out several times in the past. I first got to know David Murray and his way of working when he was heavily involved in the Murray International Metals basketball team.

 

He flung money at the club, imported American players of a standard never before seen in Scotland, his aim, to be a big name in Europe.

 

This proved beyond him, so, he pulled the plug on MIM, but, not before he had driven one or two smaller Scottish basketball clubs to the wall, after they over-reached themselves in trying to compete with him.

 

He left Scottish basketball poorer than he found it. Also, his club vanished without trace, falling even faster than it had risen.

 

The same might have happened to Scottish football, had Rangers not been considered too-big and too-important to be allowed to vanish.

 

Had Rangers been allowed to disappear, like Third Lanark, or Clydebank/Airdrieonians (delete as per prejudice), or Gretna, it might have been better for Scottish football. But, the truth is, there is too-much money tied-up in the Rangers brand, and, if Rangers went, the bigggest losers would be Celtic - that disappearance could never be allowed to happen.

 

That is why the Rangers Tribute Act is allowed to play. Money doesn't so-much speak as shout, and, like the "Grey £", the "Pink £" and the several other sub-species of £ sterling now identified, the "Bigotted £" is an important currency, which has to be protected.

 

The fall-out from this week's Appeal Court decision will not affect the RTA, they will stumble on, because, they have their own financial problems, as was seen by the announcement of their £7.5 million loss. Sorting out the fall-out from the BTC is now a matter for what remains of Murray's once-extensive business empire.

 

Just as well, because, as PMGB over there in Donegal keeps telling us, such is the financial hole into which the RTA, under its current chairman, the GSAL, that Liquidation 2 might be coming our way, perhaps in 2016.

 

At least - we have learned some new acronyms since 2010, when it all began.

 

 

Oh To Be A Lawyer - With A Client With A Rangers Connection

THIS blog has long held that the only winners to emerge - and several years down the line at that - from the fall-out from the events of 2011 and 2012, when David Murray accepted Craig Whyte's £1 coin for Rangers, will be the lawyers.

Mr Whyte is now one of several former big players at Ibrox who will stand in the dock in Edinburgh shortly to face the full might of the law.

He, Charlie Green and the others may well, when the case concludes, find themselves, some time next year, in rather closer proximity to some angry "Bears" than they would wish to be.

Or, there again, they main emerge exonerated, but, either way, the legal profession will find some way of extracting further income from the whole affair, as the tangled web of who owns which part of the entire Rangers edifice is untied.

Then we have today's news that the current "Rangers" Chairman, David Cunningham King, aka the GASL (Glib and shameless liar - copyright a South African judge) is apparently about to be taken to law by Mike Ashley, the Honcho of Sports Direct, and. in all probability THE MR BIG down Edmiston Drive way.

Ashley appears to hold, if not all, then most of the aces - I see further trouble ahead for the King.

Over in Donegal, the most-obsessive of the Rangers Watchers in the Celtic Family forecasts further death, famine, flood and pestilence is about to rain down on Ibrox, and, dismiss his warnings at your peril Peepul, PMGB has been well on the money since this whole affair started.

In truth, I am getting fairly fed-up with the whole business, and the way my ex-colleagues in Scotland's Mainstream Media are NOT exercising due diligence in adequately reporting (if it were possible to do so) on events surrounding this troubled club. Things have already gone on too-long.

The whole continuing Rangers Soap Opera is besmirching the once-proud name of Scottish Football. There may not be much they can do, but, surely it is past time that the "blazers" on Hampden's sixth floor did something to try to sort matters out.

Quite clearly, events surrounding this troubled club have brought Scottish Football into disrepute and are continuing to do so. What's more, it will all end badly, and, it will not end soon.

I NOTED two contrasting stories in today's papers. The first was the suggestion that, maybe, Kenny McDowall was on his way back to St Mirren, as assistant manager to Ian Murray. The second, was that Alex Miller would be the man to stand behind Murray at the club.

In the end, the McDowall story proved to be, yet more Level Five shite, with Miller being confirmed this morning as the man to help Murray.

I have no doubts, Alex is a better Number Two than Number One. I have no doubts that either, he is the ideal man to stand beside a young manager still finding his way.

I am sure Kenny would have been welcomed back by the St Mirren faithful; I am not so sure, however, Alex will get the same warmth of welcome.

 

Since 2000, St Mirren have parted company with: Tom Hendrie, John Coughlin, Gus Macpherson, Danny Lennon, Tommy Craig and Gary Teale plus various assistants. OK, Murray is the third Saints' boss in the past two seasons, but, on-average, Saints' managers this millennium have had 33 months to run the club, before they are sacked.

This might well be an average tenure with a Scottish club, but, if we allow one season for any new manager to get to know his squad and decide those he will be keeping and those he will be releasing; season two to recruit his new players and get the playing the way he wants; then a third season to see if they can win anything, or take the club forward - it could be argued, such a time-scale is not really adequate.

Let's take a look at the record of the man against whom every St Mirren manager is measured, Sir Alex Ferguson.

He was appointed on 19 October, 1974, when Saints lay sixth in the old Division 2. At the end of that first season, they finished sixth, so, no immediate improvement, other than they finished five places higher than they had the previous season.

With league re-organisation at the end of that season, Saints were placed in the new Division One, the top ten clubs in Scotland having formed the new Premier Division. They again finished sixth in their league. But, whereas under the former two-division set-up they had been the 24th-best team in Scotland in May, 1975; in May, 1976, they were the 16th-best.

In 1976-76, "Fergie's Furies" as they were named, won Division One to be promoted, that season they were the 11th-best team in Scotland. In 1977-78, they finished eighth in the Premier Division, but, Fergie was sacked at the end of that season. So, over his tenure, Fergie's season-by-season record was: = : +8 : +5 : +3; so, on-average, the club improved by four places each season under him. But, Fergie was a very special manager.

Obviously, Ian Murray, having taken over a relegated side, cannot be expected to immediately improve their position. He has to get, from his board, an indication of what is the minimum they would accept at the end of the season - probably a place in the end-of-season promotion play-offs.

Right now, they are eighth in the Championship table, four places and nine points off a place in the play-offs. This is not, with 24 fixtures remaining, an impossible position to be in, but, a near-immediate and lasting improvement is called for if the club is to reach the position which the Board probably expects them to be in by the end of the season.

Miller will bring a wealth of coaching experience from a very high level - this man, remember, was on the bench as a coach when Liverpool pulled-off  one of the great European Cup wins.

As St Mirren boss in his own right, Alex Miller took over a team lying eighth in the Premier Division. His tenure began with a 5-0 scudding from Aberdeen, but, at the end of his first less than full season in-charge, he had lifted the team to sixth place, a rise of two spots. He took them to fifth in his first full season, slipped back to sixth in his next and they were still a mid-table side, but, on their way to eventual Scottish Cup victory that season, when he left Love Street - having done the ground work which Alex Smith and Jimmy Bone would continue all the way to Hampden.

Yes, getting Alex Miller back, just might turn out to be a good bit of business by Ian Murray.  Miller in now 65, he has been there, done it and got the t-shirts and DVDs. Putting an old, experienced hand like that in to help a young manager, in his first full-time post, may catch-on.

  

RTA Remain Promotion Favourites, But Doubts Will Now Creep In

SO, the Rangers Tribute Act is not about to stroll, unbeaten through the Scottish Championship season 2015-16. That league will not be won by Christmas after all. Cue celebrations in the East End of Glasgow, where children who have yet to make their first offer to: "Watch your motor Mister", believe: "Rangers" died in 2012, and their elders are the Greatest Fans In The World.

It never ceases to amaze me, the obsession some of the GFITW have with this "new club" which has yet to play in the Premier League. You can almost smell the fear of what this new club might become.

Ra Peepul will, of course, put Sunday's defeat at Easter Road down to being one of these occasional stumbles, which every team makes. However, I don't think Mark Warburton will be unconcerned about the result.

St Johnstone, and now Hibs, have demonstrated, while the RTA look good going forward, when a team has a go at them, their rearguard is not exactly Iron Curtain standard. One hopes some other Championship teams have taken note and are maybe prepared to back themselves more.

Yes, the RTA will remain as favourites for promotion, but, Sunday has shown, if the rest believe, it need not be the stroll it is expected to be.

Meanwhile, in the top division - the title is now, surely, Celtic's to lose. If they cannot kick-on from their current position to tie the title up before the end-of-season split, then, yes, Ronnie Deila has to go.

But, they have more-urgent matters to attend to, such as a must-not-lose European game on Thursday night. 

Elsewhere, big Mixu got his first win, but, the Tannadice transition might take more than that one win. Oh! and in the world of real fitba, Talbot went to Tranent and won 2-0 in the Scottish Cup, panic over.

I mentioned, in my last post, the death of Ayr United legend Peter Price. I was at Ayr Rugby Club's Millbrae ground on Saturday, for Ayr v Hawick and, during the game, I was chatting to my late wife's old boss.

Now retired, he was Managing Partner of maybe the most-prestigious legal firm in Ayr. This chap, has absolutely no interest in football. he was a rugby "Blue" at university, is a member of the Royal & Ancient Golf Club and the Royal Yacht Squadron.

Football, to him, is a game for the oiks, but, he did admit: "Even I have heard of Peter Price; went to see him play once, exciting player".

When your name is recognised by such a pillar of the Deep Establishment, you must have been a good player.

 I SEE Jenni Beattie will be swapping Manchester for Melbourne shortly, where she will link-up with Kim Little, who has also been loaned to the Melbourne Ladies team during the North American off-season.

Funny how, we have girls in our Scotland Women's A squad who are in-demand from big teams across the globe, yet our top men's so-called stars are either over-hyped Celtic players, or fringe guys with middling English clubs.

What does that say about the attitude to player development of our men's and women's football in Scotland?