Handicapping Celtic Wouldn't Help The Diddy Teams

ANYONE for handicapping Celtic, in an effort to make what's left of this season's Premiership campaign interesting? That's my take on the Hoops' win at Easter Road yesterday - 4-0 without getting into top gear. No contest, is it.

Not that you can blame Celtic for the current state of affairs. They are doing a professional job in a league which is still, in attitudes, if not in actuality, amateur.

OR, why doesn't the SPFL quickly re-introduce the old "Eight Diddies Rule", just for Celtic - who would be required to field eight Scots-qualified players in every match, to give the rest a chance. It might be the making of the Celtic youngsters, however, and further show-up the cowardice on the other side of the city, where having to field eight home-grown players every week might help set that club up better for their eventual return to the top flight.

WITH no live game to go to on Saturday - my match was called-off at lunchtime - I enjoyed the BT Sport coverage of the FA Cup.

I thought wee Naisie did well for Everton at Stevenage. In a rare start, he took his two goals well. However, I was impressed by the contribution of a far from fully-match-fit Aeden McGeady on his Everton debut.

Once he gets up to speed, he will make an impact in the English Premiership, of that I am certain.

STILL on BT Sport, I enjoyed their Sunday afternoon preview programme on the South American Liberators Cup competition.

In particular, I enjoyed their compilation of the top ten goals from last season's competition. The winner was an absolutely wonderful dink over an advancing goalkeeper from Ronaldinho. How I wish the proposed loan spell at St Mirren, which was mooted when he was a teenager with PSG all those years ago, had come to pass.

I noticed in the coverage, the effects of the white spray to mark the ten yards at free kicks, could be seen. I thought the referees had merely to mark where the defensive wall was to be set-up. But, from the coverage, I noticed the referees spray two lines, one to mark where the kick is to be taken from, the other to mark where the wall must stand. I think this will work when it comes in in next season's European games, and, in time surely, into domestic football.

This should work better than the "goal judges" experiment - the additional guy behind each goal in European games. My main complaint about these extra officials - apart from the fact, I have seen no evidence of them actually doing anything - is: for me, they stand at the wrong side of the goal at corners.

As things stand, the extra officials stand between the corner taker and the near post, when corners are being taken from the right. This means they are on the same side of the field as the linesmen.

Surely it would be better if they were at the other side of the goal. That way you would have a triangle of officials -a linesman covering from corner flag to the goal; the extra official looking at matters from beyond the back post and the referee around the penalty area looking from another angle. That way, all bases are covered and, assuming the officials were willing to make a possibly contentious call, a lot of the pushing, shoving, jersey-grabbing and so on SHOULD be seen and, in time, cut out.

WEARING my Killie bunnet, I would love to see Alexei Eremenko back at Rugby Park, making the bullets for Boydie.

STEVIE for Rangers. Why not, what's another overweight Scot who hasn't made the most of his talent between friends? Good luck to him if he gets the big-money offer, but, Ryan Stevenson is not the future for Rangers.