Leave Lenny Alone Answering Abuse With Levity Is No Crime

NEIL LENNON is not the Messiah, but, he delights in playing the very-naughty boy at every opportunity. I hope against hope, but fear these hopes will be dashed on the altar of SFA stupidity, he escapes punishment for his wee “aeroplane” run across the Easter Road turf on Sunday. Some bosses might get away with such levity, but, not Lenny.

 

Neil Lennon coming in to land - probably in trouble, yesterday

Give the abuse he suffers at the hands of the wilder elements of Ra Peepul, I think we can forgive him his wee jaunt onto the park on Sunday. This, after all, is a man who has suffered real physical pain at the hands of that wilder element – how better to get his own back than by winding them up in return. Cut the guy some slack Hampden.

OK, the defending would perhaps have driven Alan Hansen to a seizure, but, that game was fantastic entertainment – ten goals, the fans cannot complain they were short-changed. Can I make one small observation, however. I don't think referee Andrew Dallas's esteemed Dad, the great Hugh, would have missed that clear “red card” tackle from Scott Allen, or that hand-ball by Paul Hanlon. He might have missed them at the other end, however.

WELL DONE the Scottish Football Writers Association. I have my moments when I despair of the future of football writing in Scotland. Sure, there are one or two of the good guys left, but, rather like most of the current squad at Murray Park are “Not Rangers Class”, a lot of the by-lined guys in today's papers are a long way short of Alex Cameron, Gerry McNee, Brian Scott, Mike Aitken Doug Baillie and of course “Dan” Archer class when it comes to picking a SFWA XI.

However, in selecting Stevie Clarke as their Manager of the Year, the SFWA showed an intelligence which I feared was lacking from the overall group. What the man has done, in turning around the fortunes of a club which seemed to be heading for relegation when he took over, has been miraculous.

Of course, fifth out of twelve is little more than a pass mark. I am sure Billy Bowie and the Rugby Park board will be looking to see the club even higher up the table at this point net year – dare we Killie fans dream of European football in season 2019-2020? Let's hope so.

I TRIED Walking Football once - it wasn't for me. However, I am absolutely delighted at how this coffin dodgers-friendly form of the game has taken off and grown in Scotland.

 Ready when you are Big Eck - our World Champion Walking Footballers

Gary McLaughlin, Super Snapper of this parish, is the current Chairman of the SWFA and he is like a dug wi' twa tails these days, after Scotland won the Walking Football World Cup at the weekend.

As yet, I don't think FIFA has managed to get their claws into Walking Football, but, that day will surely come, however, imagine, Scotland on top of the world in one form of the game – how appropriate the nation which gave the game George “Stroller” Graham and Jim Baxter, who seldom deigned to break into a run, should be on tops when it comes to the walking variant of the game.

SFA - Get wee Gazza and his team onto that sixth-floor corridor at Hampden, they know how to win.

AS REGULAR readers are aware, this blog likes to keep an eye on events in the world of real fitba – the Juniors. NO, this will not be another song of praise to the mighty Auchinleck Talbot – I want to speak first of another junior institution.

That institution is ROYAL ALBERT JFC, who, after more years in the doldrums than any Ancient Mariner, are celebrating winning the McBookie.com Central Second Division league title and promotion to the Central First Division.

The Albert have sent a few very good players to the senior ranks. Rangers legend of the Edwardian era, Neil Gibson – whose son Jimmy was a 1928 Wembley Wizard, began with the Albert, as, in more recent times, did Motherwell and Scotland centre-half John Martis and former Rangers and Dundee boss Davie White.

Moving out of their traditional Larkhall home, to take over Tileworks Park from the now defunct Stonehouse Violet – albeit their stay there has been bedevilled by pitch drainage issues, seems to have worked wonders for the Albert. Let's hope they can keep on rising.

That part of Lanarkshire used to be one of the hotbeds of Scottish football, with a regular supply of good players going senior from the Lanarkshire coalfields. Sadly today, Royal Albert apart, it's a wee bit of a disaster zone. On Saturday, for instance, LESMAHAGOW shipped 13 goals without reply in a game against BENBURB.

Speaking of Auchinleck Talbot, by the way. On Friday I had cause to use my bus pass to get to Kilmarnock, and the bus I was on went round the Back Rogerton housing scheme in Auchinleck. It was good to see so-many houses already decorated in celebration of another Junior Cup Final appearance by the 'Bot. I particularly liked the house in Back Rogerton Drive which bore a massive banner declaring: “We bleed black and gold.” I have long thought that about the Talbot fanatics.

JOHN MOTSON retired at the weekend, and was ushered off into the sunset with a BAFTA special award – that's the awards season's equivalent of a Perfect Attendance prize at school. You know: “You were never top class, but, you kept turning up, so, have this and thank you.”

Motty accepts his BAFTA

I never rated Motson – ok, he knew his brief, he wasn't totally “Engerlund, Engerlund Engerlund”, but, he was a long way off being (albeit in a different game) Bill McLaren class. He was a tier below Kenneth Wolstenholme or Brian Moore, a sort of English Archie Macpherson if you like. But, a BAFTA – are they giving them away this year?

Still, he's better than any of the current lot down south – I think I shall give the World Cup a miss this year, I've got a garden badly needing my attentions.