KILMARNOCK was reasonably quiet on Saturday night - there were one or two young gentlemen wandering the streets singing the praises of their heroes, but, realistically, we got the expected outcome and Killie will now face either Celtic or Falkirk in the League Cup Final - I post prior to kick-off in the second semi-final.
I expected the Ayrshire Derby to be a tight affair: I actually thought it might take penalties to separate the sides, but always felt, the game was Killie's to lose. To be fair to Kenny Shiels - he has worked wonders at the club and he and his players deserve their final appearance. The boss is trying to get the players to play an old-fashioned Scottish passing game, it doesn't always work as he and the players hope it will, but, to go to Rugby Park these days is to be entertained.
Ayr were, as I expected, well set-up by big Reidy, but, the breaks they needed to offset the difference between a full-time SPL side and a part-time SFL one never came their way. However, they went down with their pride intact.
Now we come to the disappointing bit - Kenny Shiels' post-match comments to BBC Radio Scotland. He is not the first manager to be caught-up in his immediate post-match comments by the adrenilin still coursing through his system. One famously remembers Alex Ferguson and Jim McLean, to name but two, coming out with instant reactions which continue to haunt them.
Perhaps we in the media should adopt a 15-minute or so black-out before we approach managers for post-match quotes - although I don't see that being too-popular with the radio and TV guys, deeply in-thrall as they are to instant reactions.
With that black-out, Mr Shiels might have been saved from himself and his injudicious comments on Ayr's performance. Maybe Ayr did set themselves up not to lose - silly tactics in a match which had to be decided on the day - more likely, Reidy's plan was to offer Killie few chances and be ready to take his own: and what's wrong with this approach when you are the under-dogs?
As my old mother used to say: "If you cannot speak well of someone - say nothing".
WHICH brings me nicely to something which has been bugging me for some time. Back in the old days before the internet and wall-to-wall 24/7 football on TV, only the true fanatics bothered writing to the sports letters pages of the papers. We all knew the saloon bar bores who were experts on all matters football and who had apparently limitless access to managers - but by and large we dismissed them as generally talking through an orifice other than their mouths.
Today, with broadband, twitter and blogs - we are all experts, while the papers now have their on-line boards and forums, which positively encourage debate. This, in many ways is a good thing; although I don't think we are as yet making the best use of modern technology and, in particular, I think the clubs could make more use of the internet for better-defining their relationship with their fans.
But, one down-side of this is the rise of the cyber-warrior - normally viewed as some kind of sad sack, spending all day, every day, debating issues on-line with similarly-afflicted followers of other teams. Nothing wrong with this, except in Scotland, where the age-old differences between followers of Celtic and Rangers, on on-line forums, rapidly descend into rampant whitabootery: "70-years of not signing Catholics" - aye right: "Big Jock knew". "Masonic conspiracy by referees" - come off it - "Compliance officers favouring Celtic at the expense of Rangers".
Maybe, as received wisdom has told us, Rangers have traditionally had most of Scotland's referees in their fan base; but, these days are apparently passed. If so, does the SFA's compliance officer (allegedly) being a Celtic fan move things on?
If it was wrong for Rangers to have friends and allies at court - is it suddenly right for Celtic to now apparently have undue influence?
The schism is apparently growing. Well, from my point of view, it is maybe time some of the men in power at the other clubs grew a pair and stood up to the big two. When push comes to shove, the Old Firm will stick together. Their notion is that they are bigger than the game as a whole, they are bullies and the only way to deal with bullies if to stand up to them.
Now, that is the most-pressing piece of whitabootery in Scottish football today.
Just what are they going to do about it?
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