Midsummer Murder Polis

THESE are sad days for the Scottish football fanatic - as the leaking, listing SS Scottish Fitba lies, becalmed in the midst of the close season doldrums. Those poor saps with the sair necks: the True Blues and Green White and Gold brigade who never take off their scarves, even when the mercury hits 30 degrees C are resorted to even pettier games of Whitabootery on their websites of choice.

The even sadder saps, the football writers of the red top tabloids are doing brazen Shane Warne impressions as they attempt to put a positive spin on transfer rumours which defy logic - if logic ever had anything to do with Scottish football, and in particular Old Firm transfer targets.

But, this close season 2011, there has been another topic to become agitated about, sadly, this was not one anyone of a sensitive disposition would want to discuss openly - we refer of course to the sad situation involving Hearts' Craig Thomson, who finds himself on the Sex Offenders register, following some stupid and unwanted attentions on two girls from his native Bonnyrigg.

Thomson, until the day his case hit court, was on the cusp of a potentially good career. Today, that career is in ruins - if he ever plays senior football again, it is unlikely to be in Scotland, where they abuse - verbal on match days, potentially physical at other times - would be intolerable.

Had he been in some other jobs, he might have survived and been able to carry on; however, in a branch of the entertainment industry, wherein youngsters are very important and in which there is media pressure for the top-flight performers to be good role models, there is no way he can possibly continue. This is sad for Thomson, but is reality.

Hopefully the girls will grow up with no lasting ill-effects from the incidents, hopefully Thomson can somehow put this sordid incident behind him and make amends, but the damage has been done to his career and he must pay a high price for his stupidity.

As for Hearts, a club once seen as a paragon of moral rectitude - the story is told of a former Hearts' manager, appearing in court as a witness on behalf of a pre-war Hearts' star, who was accused of spitting in public, assuring the sheriff that his player could not have committed the offence.

"Why?" asked the Sheriff.

"Because no Heart of Midlothian player could be so uncouth", was the response.

Sadly, these days are past. Hearts' image and halo has slipped in recdent years and, under the control of the current Lithuanian loose cannon, it is impossible to see the club's good name being recovered any time soon. The official club statement of last Friday was surely an all-time low for one of the great institutions of Scottish football.

A FINAL word for the moment on the on-going saga of the Team GB football squad for next year's London Olympics. I see the expectation is that, some day soon, England Under-21 coach Stuart Pearce will be named as coach of the men's team.

Well, if Psycho is given the gig, it pretty-well guarantees an early exit. His appointment should also do much to kill-off interest in augmenting the England squad by Northern Irish, Scots and Welsh players who are reportedly interested.