Socrates MacSporran

Socrates MacSporran
No I am not Chick Young, but I can remember when Scottish football was good

Tuesday 6 March 2018

Charlie - Engage Brain Before Opening Mouth

POOR old Charlie Nicholas – he could have been a contender. He burst onto the football scene like a young Denis Law – scoring goals for fun, seemingly set for a lengthy and prolific spell in the national side.

Charlie Nicholas

He went on to win 20 caps, but, today, he is seen as yet another example of a good kid who never realised his potential. Sure, he has been inducted into the Scottish Football Hall of Fame, but, induction into that august body is by means of a selection panel – it's the opinion of the induction committee which counts. And, in my view, that panel has long shown a pro-Celtic bias which has seen a few Celtic players who were probably not worthy of inclusion getting in – Nicholas being one.

Not that my opinion will concern Charlie too much. He still has a nice wee earner as a Sky pundit and occasional football columnist, although, if you ask the ordinary fan, they tend today to see him as something of a figure of fun, mangling the English language and talking and writing pish. Still, that will not worry Charlie, as he checks his bank balance.

His latest cry for attention came this morning, with his much-publicised criticism of Scott McTominay, for opting to play for Scotland rather than his birth nation, England. Aye Charlie, in an ideal world we would love to see enough Scots-born, home-grown talent in the domestic Scottish league, but, in Scotland, in 2018, that aint gonna happen.

Our domestic game is a mess, and, anyway, since Scotland's biggest and some say greatest export since about 1600, has been people – why should we not tap into the great Caledonian Diaspora to recruit talent?

We have been doing this for about as long as we've been playing international football. The Scotland shirt has been worn, with distinction, by guys born in South Africa, North America, not to mention the other countries of the British Isles – so, why pick on McTominay?

My advice to Charlie – stop trying to be Chris Sutton, you were a better striker anyway.



I SEE the Trust which owns and runs Clydebank FC has decided, with 86% of the members backing the proposal, to attempt to return the Bankies to senior football.

Good luck and I hope you make it work guys. Sadly, they will not be going back to Kilbowie, but, I would love to see the Bankies back in the top flight. After all, any club which could discover and hone the talents of Davie Cooper has to be worth supporting.

Davie Cooper - Clydebank's greatest player

Speaking of the late and much-lamented “Coop”, I remember, many years ago, at Rugby Park, in a post-match press conference, hearing Bill Munro, the manager who nurtured Cooper's talents, waxing lyrical about him.

It was a joy to go into training, or on match days, because you just knew he would do something wonderful, and I couldn't wait to see what he would pull out,” said Munro of Cooper.

For the Bankies to get back to these brief high-summer days will not be easy. They have done well in the junior ranks, but will need to satisfy the entry requirements and be accepted into the Lowland League, then repeat their junior football feat of rising through the divisions to the top flight.

But, I think they can do it, and look forward to watching their progress. Good luck guys, but, you will need it.



I REMEMBER, some 40-years ago, seeing, for the first time, the late Bobby Knutt, doing his stand-up turn at Batley Variety Club. A proud Sheffield man, wee Knutty's opening joke was: “Football in Sheffield, yes, it could catch on.”

I think I have used that gag before on here, and, probably in the same context, but, I honestly believe football could catch-on in the crisis-hit city of Dundee. Over the weekend, the Daily Record was banned from Dens Park, for daring to suggest Dundee were on the brink of closure – given the way their circulation has plummeted, and the paucity of their writing, particularly in sport, I reckon Dundee just might last longer than the Record.

Former Dundee United Chairman Stephen Thompson (image courtesy of SNS)

Dundee, apparently, in their last financial year, made a £350,000 loss – which in Scottish football terms is almost cause for a lap of honour. And things are no better at the other end of Tannadice Street, where the much-maligned Stephen Thompson has just stepped down as Chairman of Dundee United, with the team struggling to find any rhythm in their pursuit of St Mirren for the single automatic promotion sport from Championship to Premiership.

Maybe it is time for Dundee's footballing public to think the unthinkable – merge the 'Dee and the Arabs into a new, single club, sell Dens and Tannadice and relocate the new club to a new stadium and become a genuine single-club city, better able to take on the rest of Scottish football.

I know, that's a radical notion, the die-hards would rather die than support a single Dundee team, and, it goes against the central pillar of Scottish football, indeed, much of Scottish sport, which is:

Naw son, it's aye been din the weay it is the noo, and it aye wull be.

And that, ladies and gentlemen is why, the true Golden Age of Scottish football was in the 1870s and 1880s.



I CANNOT help feeling, the continued overkill of Scottish football on our newspaper sports pages (surely another example of: Naw son, it's aye been din the weay it is the noo, and it aye wull be) is the perfect example of selling rubbish cheaply.

Our national side hasn't appeared on the biggest stages for 20-years, our leading football clubs are similarly off the pace in Europe, yet, per capita, we have the largest attendances in Europe. Do we Scots enjoy watching shite?

Yet, look elsewhere. Andy Murray has forced a reluctant nation to enjoy tennis, while Chris Hoy did the same for track cycling.

 Katie Archibald - a genuine world-class sporting Scot

In the last few days, cyclist Katie Archibald became, at just 23, a World Champion for the fifth time, to add to her two Olympic Games gold medals, while at only 20, Jack Carlin finished second in the World Championship sprint race. Then we had Laura Muir doing exceptionally well in the World Indoor Athletics

But, these are individual sports. OK, look at how well the Scottish rugby team is doing, fifth in the world rankings – the football team is ranked 31st. And, in that most-Scottish of world sports – Curling, we have two rinks (or teams), the Kyle Smith rink which competed in the Winter Olympics and the youthful Team Mouat, who will represent Scotland in next month's World Championships, ranked in the world rankings Top 20.

Team Mouat could be the next big Scottish thing on the world sporting stage

In the UEFA club rankings, Celtic are at number 46, with Aberdeen at 236, St Johnstone at 264, Rangers at 265, Hibs, Hearts, Inverness CT and Motherwell at positions 267 to 270, the only Scottish clubs ranked among 442 clubs.

We're not very good at football, are we? Yet the papers continue to treat our game as something special, to the detriment of other Scottish sports and teams which really are special.

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