HAVING spent the best part of a decade on Paisley's own wee daily paper, I have a soft spot for St Mirren. The daily walk from the office down to Love Street and back kept me relatively fit, Cathy and the administrative staff were never less than welcoming and helpful, big Campbell Kennedy, their commercial manager is a true fan, and, for all our occasional fall outs, I have huge respect for what "The Fat Controller" - Chairman Stewart Gilmour has done during his term in office.
So, yes, I enjoyed watching the Buddies beat Celtic yesterday. This defeat proves, yet again that, while Neil Lennon has put together a good Celtic squad, they are not yet a great team, far less a great Celtic team. Sure, Celtic might yet achieve a domestic double, if they believe, they are capable of beating Juventus, but, failing to beat the side 11th in the SPL, in a one-off game, is a serious blot on the current Celtic squad's escutcheon.
What most struck me in watching the League Cup semi-final was, after Saints went in front from the penalty spot, and even more-so after Stevie Thompson's superb third St Mirren goal, where was Scott Brown?
At times like that, 2-1, then 3-1down, that's when Old Firm captains earn their place in the pantheon. I never saw Jock Stein actually play, so cannot comment on him; but, the likes of Bertie Peacock, Billy McNeill, Kenny Dalglish, Danny McGrain, Roy Aitken and Paul Lambert, when the going got tough - they got going. Across Glasgow, the same reaction was obvious from George Young, Eric Caldow, John Greig, Baxter, Sandy Jardine, Terry Butcher and Richard Gough; and is seen today, albeit in reduced circumstances, from Lee McCulloch.
Yesterday, at Hampden, Brown was a peripheral figure, when he ought to have been centre stage, the main man, in a Celtic fight-back. In an interview this week, Craig Levein intimated that he had had to "talk-up" the talent and attributes of several of his Scotland squad - methinks Brown was one such player.
But, enough about Celtic, back to St Mirren. I now fancy a small wager on Hearts to win the League Cup; after all, how often have we seen the side which wins a semi-final after being written-off, then fail to see it through in the final. Mind you, this time I wouldn't mind being wrong, should the Saints march in at Hampden next month.
Finally, on this subject, as a former goalkeeper I was delighted when big Craig Samson saved that penalty. Craig has had a chequered career since emerging from the Kilmarnock goalkeeper factory over a decade ago. He's done the rounds of wee clubs and now, an SPL regular, he was back in Scotland contention and could yet be capped - well done son.
PROBABLY the most-explosive article to appear on any Scottish sports page this century was in Saturday's Scotsman - so it passed most people bye.
Get onto scotsman.com and have a read, it's in the sports section and was penned by advocate Eoghainn Maclean, a specialist in commercial law who operates out of Edinburgh's Ampersand Stable of advocates.
Now I have a basic mistrust of people who adopt Gaelic names - what's wrong with Iain Maclean ffs? But, I welcome Mr Maclean's opinion that - should Charles Green sue the SFA and FA on the grounds that denying Rangers a place in the English Premiership is a breach of t6he EU's anti-competiton laws - he would win.
I have been saying this for years, to much abuse from that highly-respected "brains trust' the mainstream football media in Scotland. So, it's good to have some backing from a guy who is an expert in the field of competition law.
As Mr Maclean suggests, were Charles Green to go down the legal route, it would be a Bosman for clubs.
That said, I feel for this to happen, Charlie boy would have to make peace with Peter Lawwell and Celtic, which might be difficult. Then there would be the fall-out from Switzerland, after all, when it comes to saying "No" to earth-shattering change, Sepp Blatter, Michel Platini and Co make Ian "Dr No" Paisley seem like an enlightened advocate for modernisation and the sweeping away of the old order.
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Better by far for the Old Firm to get together, along with clubs such as Ajax and PSV in Holland, Anderlecht in Belgium, Porto and Benfica in Portugal, Red Star Belgrade, Rapid Vienna, the big Russian and Ukranian clubs and, through the Suropean Clubs Association, introduce a European NFL.
The various conferences in North American sport are nothing more than cross-border leagues; it would work and with far-less fall-out than would happen if they went down the legal challenge route.
I bet if the "big clubs in little leagues" got together and presented a united front, the "small clubs in big leagues" would fall into line and we would have change.
And, with Celtic's and Rangers' first teams fully-occupied in a European League, they just might give young Scots a chance in the possibly Under-23 teams they would keep in the Scottish League, win-win all round I think.
FINALLY, finally - this will be the last fresh post on here for a month. 'Management' and I are off to see the world and escape the Scottish winter. Be good till I get back at the start of March.
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