We're All Celtic Fans Now

SO, it's situation normal as we go into the new season. It used to be Scotland's "diddy" teams in Europe were out before Christmas, now, they're out before the end of August, following last night's losses by Motherwell and St Johnstone.

 

Motherwell shot themselves in the foot by losing their home first leg tie, while Saints lost out on the lottery of penalties - doubly galling when you lose such a shoot-out at home.

 

So, once again we are all Celtic supporters when it comes to Europe this season. Let's hope they get a half-decent draw in the play-off round, when the ties are drawn later today.

 

 

 

MEANWHILE, there was a nothing piece, by Lindsay Herron, in this morning's Scotsman, which, in great detail, told us that Sandy Jardine will unfurl the last SFL Division Three championship flag at Ibrox tomorrow.

 

The last of the piece, telling us how much Ally McCoist loves Sandy and what a pillar he has been during the last year's troubles was, quite frankly puke-inducing crap, from a journalist who, if he hasn't already worked his notice at Rangers, where his role has been usurped by James Traynor, is all but out the door.

 

This was pure PR puff; one of the worst examples of "churnalism" I have seen. It's quite obvious that Scotsman sports supremo Colin Leslie is on holiday this week.

 

I bow to nobody in my respect for Jardine. great player, nice man, still living with and coming to terms with cancer. The last thing Sandy needs right now is to be dragged back into the cess-pool which is present-day Ibrox.

 

 

 

I WAS not impressed by the squad which Roy Hodgson announced yesterday for next week's England v Scotland bun fight at Wembley. That lot are takeable - if we believe.

 

And, speaking of Wembley; we have reached match seven in my run-down of Scotland's nine Wembley wins. This one is:

 

England 2 Scotland 3: 1951

 

TRADITION has it, when we win at Wembley, the victorious XI is hailed as the greatest one since the last victorious side under the twin towers - but not in this case, the single example of a winning Scotland side in London being slaughtered by those paragons of even-handed, informed criticism, the "Fans With Typewriters" of the Scottish Football Writers Association.

 

The criticism of the winning 1951 team: Jimmy Cowan, George Young and Sammy Cox, Bobby Evans, Willie Woodburn and Willie Redpath; Willie Waddell, Bobby Johnstone, Lawrie Reilly, Billy Steel and Billy Liddell came about because they apparently struggled to beat ten-men.

 

England's wonderful inside right, Wilf Mannion was carried-off with a fractured cheek bone, following a clash of heads with Liddell after just ten minutes, and, in these pre-substitute days, his departure ruined this show-piece occasion.

 

The Mannion injury was the start of what became known as the Wembley Jinx, every year from 1950 until the mid-1960s, either in the England v Scotland game or in the FA Cup final, one team would be handicapped by injury.

 

In this case, England got all the credit for making it so-hard for the Scots to win. Their least-experienced player, Huddersfield Town's Harold Hassall, was voted Man of the Match, for operating as a one-man left wing following Mannion's departure - Walter Winterbottom had switched Tom Finney to inside right, to form a priceless right wing with Stanley Matthews. Hassall even shot England in front in 26 minutes, before weight of numbers carried the day for Scotland.

 

Bobby Johnstone scored on his debut to equalise before the break, then the inevitable Lawrie Reilly in 47 minutes and Billy Liddell in 53 minutes scored further Scotland goals. The glorious Finney did cut the deficit to a single goal in 63 minutes, but, this was a last hurrah for ten men running on empty and the fact that Bert "The Cat" Williams had to be at his awesome best in the final half hour to deny Scotland more goals has perhaps been overlooked in the general sympathy for the ten men who gave so-much.

 

On paper, Scotland had perhaps the stronger team that afternoon; against ten men they ought to have won by more goals; but, that said, Williams - the man who is today, aged 93, the oldest-surviving England internationalist - at his best was a remarkable goalkeeper, who, like Cowan two years previously at the other end, gave a formidable display of goal-keeping.

 

Still, this win gave Scotland back-to-back Wembley victories, for the only time and only the narrowness of the margin sees it rated so low.