The harder I work - the luckier I get

THE dignified response to Hearts' narrow loss to Liverpool in Thursday night's Europa League game is to say: "Well done Hearts, hard luck". Bad enough to lose, but, to lose to an own goal, so late in the game was unfortunate.

 

However, I don't think Andy Webster, one of the hardest-nosed professionals in the game today will be feeling hard-done-by and cursing his bad luck, as the man who conceded the og. More-likely big Andy will have gone home last night, kicked the cat and will generally be like a bear with a sore head until he can get back on the pitch this weekend and put the matter behind him.

 

I will not be saying: "Hard luck" to Hearts, although I will feel thus. For, in the harsh reality of modern-day football, this was a chance lost. Of course, they could still go to Anfield and win, but, having been fore-warned of the danger than Hearts could pose them, I expect Liverpool to re-introduce the big guns,not least Steven Gerrard, to ensure victory at home in the second leg.

 

In the pre-amble to the game, there were fears of another Tottenham white-wash for the Jambos, similar to last season's heavy defeat from the London club. However, most people forget, the second leg was amuch-closer affair. The plain fact is, as has so-often been the case in Anglo-Scottish match-ups: if the English team doesn't treat the Scots as country bumpkins, leave out their class acts and take it too-casually, regardless of what the Scots do - the English side, with their greater resources and greater depth of quality in their squad, will win at least nine out of ten matches.

 

However, if the English side's attitude is wrong, if they go in with the: "We're only playing a bunch of thick Jocks" attitude and if the Scots side then play at the top of their game - a "surprise" win will follow for the Scots side.

 

The truth is, while there are some wonderful individuals sprinkled across the English Premiership, on the whole they are not a world apart from their SPL counter-parts. Most of this "Greatest League In The Wolrd" nonsense and the obscene sums of money being squandered down there is flannel and bullshit. All 20 Premiership teams are not better teams than all 12 SPL teams.

 

We have perhaps bought-into the media hype about the Premiership, as similarly, I think many of us have bought-into the hype and spin to the effect that Celtic will win the SPL by Christmas. Scottish footballers and teams have always liked nothing better than knocking down icons, so, maybe with a wee bit of that age-old Scottish belief, allied to the traditional Scottish Presbityrian work ethic, Hearts can go to Anfield and win, and that perhaps they, and one or two other SPL teams can make life awkward in the league for a Celtic team which is, in truth, a pale shadow of the Lisbon Lions.

 

OK, suppose Hearts were "unlucky" on Thursday night, time to change that luck - in which case I can only re-itterate the sage words of the great Gary Player, he who said: "The harder I work - the luckier I get".

 

 

 

I NOTE Stewart Regan, in a media briefing this week, announced that plans are already afoot for the much-needed league reconstruction in Scotland. This worries me.

 

We all know the decision to kick Rangers out of the SPL was driven by chairmen's fear of a fans backlash, should "the Cheats", as Rangers were known at the time, be allowed to remain in the SPL. We then had the horse-trading with the SFL, geared to ensure the SPL kept a hold of at least some of the TV money which the Rangers name brings.

 

Reconstruction is necessary, however, I feel the driving force for change now is the SPL's need to have Rangers back inside their tent, bringing in the cash from their loyal fans. On the basis of it is better to have someone inside the tent pissing out, rather than outside pissing in, clearly the SPL chairmen should have stuck with their default position and kept them there, while flashing the Vicky at their indignant fans. Then they could have more-easily punished Rangers for their "still only alleged" misdeeds.

 

Now they will be loudly castigated when, as they will, they gerrymander change to get Rangers back in the SPL earlier than even successive promotions would have ensured.

 

Hurried change in structures is always bad change - prepare for more carnage.