Buy This Book - It Is A Cracker

I HAVE long held The Scotsman's Alan Pattullo to be: "The future of Scottish football-writing". No longer, "Young Alan", as I refer to him, is now the present, as well as the future for soccer scribbling in this country.

 

I say this after completing his book: 'In Search of Duncan Ferguson', which my eldest grand-son gave me for Christmas.

 

This book is a terrific read, which I cannot endorse highly-enough. Buy it, you will not be disappointed.

 

 

 

FROM the future of Scottish football-writing, we turn to the future of the Rangers Tribute Act. It is often said: "The darkest hour is just before the dawn". In the case of RTA, let's home so - I shudder to think what might befall us if 2015 is as bad for "Ra Peepul", as 2012, 2013 and 2014 have been.

 

I can only hope the RTA's tame capitulation to Hibs on Saturday was a case of bottoming-out and that things will improve in 2015.

 

Scottish football NEEDS the RTA to be back there, in the top-flight, offering an alternative to permanent Celtic domination of the league; particularly since, the current Celtic squad is, by the standards by which that club is measured, a fairly-average one.

 

Losing at Dundee United, then being held to a draw at home by lowly Ross County is not real Celtic form. Sadly, the inability of the non-Old Firm clubs to sustain a high enough level of performance probably means Celtic will still win the league with a bit to spare.

 

Maybe Dundee United rode their luck somewhat in winning over Celtic at Tannadice, that they should follow-up that morale-boosting win by losing at St Johnstone shows how the rest's ability to routinely cut each other's throat whilst by and large failing to injure Celtic (or Rangers in the Old Days) has always given the Ugly Sisters an advantage.

 

I have long felt, it would pay one of the non-Glasgow challengers to adopt a mind-set of ignoring the Old Firm and concentrating on winning every other game - that way, anything they got in Glasgow would be a bonus and, just maybe enough of a bonus to win the league.

 

IF Aberdeen can see-off Inverness today, they will take themselves to a mere two points adrift of Celtic. Hold the gap there, by beating the rest, then, when they next face the Hoops, they would have a real chance of leap-frogging them, after which, anything can happen.

 

Football is often a case of mind games, it is the confidence which the OF has long got from winning the tough games - because victory is demanded, by their clubs and their fans, which has been their advantage.

 

If Aberdeen can find that confidence - which they last had in the days of the young Sir Alex Ferguson, then this fairly average Celtic team can be beaten.

 

As for  the RTA, they now face a real uphill battle to get the best-possible place in the play-offs pecking order. It seems to me, the automatic promotion place is now Hearts' to lose.

 

 

What next For the Rangers Tribute Act?

At a time when the great city of Glasgow is, for the second straight Christmas, mourning the tragic deaths of innocent people in a freak accident, it might seem flippant to concentrate on the travails of that city's foremost sporting institution, but, such is the lot of the football philosopher.

 

I am delighted to see Kenny McDowall named as interim manager of the Rangers Tribute Act, following Ally McCoist being handed the keys to his garden shed. I have long had a lot of respect for "Kojak", since his days as player-coach under Jimmy Bone at St Mirren.

 

He did sterling work there, then in a brief spell with the SFA, before joining Celtic, where he again did well as a coach to the Reserve and Under-20 teams. This saw him cross the great divide to Ibrox, where, sadly, he had to take a back seat to "Real Rangers Men" McCoist and Durrant, neith of whom is anything like as good a coach as Kenny.

 

I would like to think he will turn things around at RTA and that the club will begin to cut into Hearts' impressive lead at the top of the Championship table. Winning that league might not be possible, given Hearts' advantage, but, I reckjon, under McDowall, RTA has a better chance of gaining promotion via the play-offs than they had under McCoist.

 

Ian Durrant now has a big decision to make. Does he meekly accept demotion, or, does he seek a severance deal to pursue his coaching ambitions elsewhere? There again, he might feel happier working with the Under-20s, while "Juke Box" Gordon Durie and Lee McCulloch assist McDowall.

 

I am pleased for McCulloch. He is not, never has been, a great player, but, rather like John Greig - another player whose talents didn't quite take him onto the top shelf of Scottish players, but, whose spirit and never-say-die attitude did - McCulloch has been damned to lead his club at a low point in its history (assuming you hold that history to go back to 1872).

 

McCulloch has displayed the character expected of "Real Rangers Men" and, as such, he deserves his appointment as a player-coach. I know times are different, but, this move has echoes of the tried and trusted Rangers approach from the relationship between Bill Struth and Davie Meiklejohn, Tiger Shaw and Geordie Young, or Scot Symon and Greig, whereby: the manager laid down a broad outline of what was wanted and the on-field gaffer made sure the players responded.

 

Now we turn to the other matter surrounding the RTA, the board's lack of friends among Ra Peepul. The support does not have a unifying or unified rallying point against an unpopular board - that is the board's strength and the supporters' weakness.

 

I canno speak for the Easdales, but, they appear to be the only "Rangers-type Men" on a board who represent syndicates and groups who know, a well-run and successful "Rangers" makes money.

 

The fans can either, I feel, forge alliances with the Easdales and embark on a long-term, and expensive, strategy to wrench control from those shareholders who are in it for profit rather than for love of the club, or, they can ignore the Easdales and organise themselves properly, for an even-longer-term, probably even-more-expensive campaign to buy back their club.

 

But, they will have to make compromises and alliances, and forget petty squabbles. Some of the in-fighting between fans' groups is of the Popular Front for Judea - Judean Popular Front variety.

 

They ought all forget about: "The King Over The Water", he never has been and never will be the answer, by the way. 

You Don't Do Much Gardening At This Time Of Year

SO, the greatest goalscorer in the history of football has been placed on "gardening leave". FFS, he's going to be paid £750,000-plus for the next 12 months; for that, he could hire Alan Titsmarch and have the best garden in Scotland - then charge admission and clean-up.

 

I dare say, Mr McCoist will, sooner or later, turn-up at the home for retired Old Firm stars who have failed in management - the broadcast media; I see a frantic bidding war between BBC, Radio Clyde and, maybe Sky, who might wish to put Ally up against Souness.

 

A return to management, not any time soon.

 

Now there is the big question: who takes over?

 

Well, the usual suspects will be in the frame - Butcher, McColl, Billy Davies, for starters. All are: "Good Rangers Men", all will be punted as possibles. Butcher, however, is reportedly: "finished with Scottish football", while - let's be honest, Davies is a "selling plater" where a Group One thoroughbred is called-for. I reckon, McColl might be the man, assuming someone acceptable to: "Ra Peepul", has to be appointed.

 

Mike Ashley will, however, be the most-likely man to make the appointment, so, we could well see a somewhat left-field Englishman installed. Quite what the Bears make of this is another matter.

 

A wee detour here. The SFA is, apparently, somewhat perturbed that Mr Ashley, already the owner of Newcastle United, might be having an influence at Ibrox which is contrary to football's rules of governance. These, apparently do not allow an individual to have control of two different football clubs.

 

I would suggest, if the SFA tried to enforce this, Ashley could take them to court for "restraint of trade". After all, Rangers (as we must refer to the Tribute Act here) and Newcastle United, compete in different leagues, under different league jurisdiction. I reckon, if the SFA tried it on, Ashley could take them to court and clean-up.

 

At this stage of the season, it will take a massive collapse by Hearts to get the Tribute Act into first place in the Championship. For sure, between: The new boss bounce" and installing a manager with a bit more tactical nouse and motivational skills than McCoist had, a nine-point gap is not insurmountable, but, realistically - the Ibrox concern's best hope of getting back to the top-flight is via the play-offs.

 

This will require the players to show a bit more smeddum than they have hitherto this season.

 

Truly, we live in interesting times.

 

 

 

I WATCHED the Celtic v Dundee United game on Sunday. This demonstrated, this is not a good Celtic team. Yet, that said, United rode their luck somewhat. However, this win was good for Scottish football. It keeps things interesting.

 

One aspect of the match did concern me. For much of the second half, the game by-passed Scott Brown. This is the Celtic and Scotland captain, as such, he is almost duty-bound to have a major influence on matches such as this - he didn't.

 

I feel Brown is a far-better player when he has Charlie Mulgrew beside him. Mulgrew was absent on Sunday. Maybe, just maybe, he and not the skipper is now the main man at Celtic Park.

 

 

 

 

Wee Team's Manager Resigns - So What

I note that events concerning the tribute act, currently ranked the 14th most-successful club in Scotland are hugely concerning my esteemed friends in the Scottish Football Writers Association.

A Mr Alistair McCoist, the manager of the tribute act has tendered his resignation, and is embarking on working his 12-months notice period. This development has driven the SFWA and the other so-called sports writers and commentators in the mainstream media in Scotland into a frothing lather of speculation, as to: what is happening; what is really happening; who will take-over; when that take-over will occur.

As a result of this frenzied speculation, several huge Scandinavian forests will shortly bite the dust to produce the newsprint, the internet above Scotland will go into melt-down - and the tribute act will continue to embarrass all those who believe it to be the continuing Glasgow Rangers FC. These believers, apparently now include the movers and shakers within the SFA, who have "fined" the tribute act £250,000, in respect of the somewhat dubious Employee Benefits Trusts which were run by the former Rangers FC (1872-2012).

Now, since received wisdom has it that Mr Peter Lawwell, CEO of Celtic FC is also in fact, if not in positions, The Honcho within Hampden, this seems to indicate Celtic FC believes the tribute act to be the continuation of Rangers. Quite how Mr Lawwell sells this to the more-exciteable members of the Celtic Family, is another matter.

This, alas, is what the football world in this tiny corner of the planet has become. In the real world, had Mr McCoist been judged on his stewardship of a garage, or a shop, rather than a football club - he would have, lang syne, been shown the door. His business plan has been totally flawed, his signings have, by and large, not worked; yes, he has guided his team to back-to-back league titles, but, given the fact in those two leagues, he was in charge of a highly-paid FULL TIME squad of players, facing part-time opponents, can he honestly say: "We won these leagues as convincingly as we should have".

Of course, the entire farago around the tribute act is not soley of McCoist's doing. If the supervision from the technical area has been adject in its poverty, it is a beacon of excellence compared to the oversight from the board room.

The entire shambolic tribute act is a blight on Scottish football. "Rangers" got lucky in being allowed to continue after the mismanagement of the Murray Years and the alleged criminal activity of the subsequent owner(s). 

Maybe the glorious past of "REAL" Rangers should have been laid to rest back in 2012. I fear for the future - if indeed there is a future for what was once the leading institution in Scottish football.



SADLY, there is no show without Punch, and, the Punch and Judy nature of Scottish football demands - if Rangers (or the tribute act) is hogging the headlines, the Celtic has to come-up with a response.

This response has seen the misbehaviour of a small section of "The Greatest Fans in the World" causing Celtic some trouble with UEFA, something to do with flares or fire crackers being let-off at the club's last European tie.

The Celtic support's holier than thou stance has become somewhat tarnished, this is at least the fifth time in recent years that Celtic's following has embarrassed the club. Of course, the cry is always: "It wis jist wan guy, so it wis". Poor Juan Guy, the abuse he has had to take from the well-mannered, reasonable, great sports in the rest of the Celtic Family. Still, every family needs its black sheep.

However, after this latest call to face the beaks, Celtic officials have mounted a damage limitation exercise, claiming: "99% of our fans behave, it's that tiny one per-cent which lets us down".

Fair enough, but, let's do the sums. A choc-a-bloc Celtic Park, something I'm old enough to remember, holds 60,000 fans. Subtract the usual "away" support, of 7,500 and you have a Celtic following of 52,500.

One per-cent of that figure comes to 525 fans. Therefore, even Celtic accepts they have over 500 heid-cases in their following.

Or, if you're a cynic whose football affiliations perhaps lie elsewhere in Glasgow, one per-cent of the 200,000 alleged GTFITW who travelled to Seville, some 2000 fans, are potential trouble-makers.

I would say that is a huge problem for Celtic. And that's before we go into their employment of a player who racially-abuses opponents.



BUT, much though the Glasgow branch of the MSM in Scotland would like it to be so, Scottish football isn't all about Ulster culture which has crossed the North Channel.

Paul Paton of Dundee United, who, sadly for such a talented player, has made a habit of generating the wrong headlines during the second half of 2014, has just been banned for two games for spitting at opponent Johnny Hayes of Aberdeen.

Paton's and his club's protestations of innocence, I must admit. have failed to convince me. On the evidence of the BBC footage of the incident, as I saw it - the boy spat.

Now, the camera can lie, but, to me, it looked as if he spat.

If he did, a two game ban is paltry, and, he got off lightly. 

The Day The Magyrs Came To Hampden

TODAY is a significant anniversary for Scottish football, being the 60th anniversary of the day Hungary, then the best team in the world, visited Hampden, to play Scotland in a friendly.

 

In those pre-floodlight days, the Magnificent Magyrs - Puskas, Kocsis, Hidegkuti, Boczsik and Co had the cachet of a pre-2014 World Cup Brazil, they were the team everyone wanted to play against. West Germany might have beaten them in the World Cup Final earlier in the year 1954, but, like Muhamad Ali, the Hungarians were: "The People's Champions". They attracted over 113,000 fans to Hampden, that Wednesday afternoon.

 

There was a sub-text to the game. In November, 1953, the Hungarians had, of course, thrashed England 6-3 at Wembley, following that win up with an even more emphatic 7-1 humbling of the men in white in a pre-World Cup meeting in Budapest. National honour demanded that, if the Scots couldn't beat their Iron Curtain visitors - a result which not even the most myopic of the Tartan Army would bet on - then, at least, they had to lose by less than England, and thereby claim a moral victory over the Auld Enemy.

 

If Hungary's World Cup had ended in final disappointment, Scotland's had been a disaster, bundled out on the wrong end of a 7-0 score-line against holders Uruguay in the group stages. After this, there were calls for a total re-think, calls which were, naturally, all but ignored by the SFA's ruling elite.

 

They did make one concession. The idea of a Team Manager had been toyed with in the build-up to and during the World Cup, but, Andy Beattie, the scapegoat, sorry, chosen one, sensibly bailed-out during the Swiss disaster and, the SFA committee hoped, that idea had been put to bed.

 

So, they didn't appoint a manager for the Hungarian game, but, they did appoint an: "official in charge", none other than the Chairman of the Selection Committee, George Brown one of the Rangers' directors.

 

Now, as a former Rangers and Scotland captain and Head Teacher at Bellahouston Academy, Brown brought a certain gravitas to the position; and, to be fair, the SFA did approach the game with a modicum of planning - arranging trial games against Kilmarnock, Hibs and Falkirk, during which 21 different players were given their chance to earn a cap in the big game.

 

The selectors duly met and named the following team for the big game: Fred Martin (Aberdeen), Willie Cunningham (Preston North End, captain) and Harry Haddock (Clyde), Tommy Docherty (Preston NE), Jimmy Davidson (Partick Thistle) and John Cumming (Hearts), Johnny Mackenzie (Partick Thistle), Bobby Johnstone and Lawrie Reilly (both Hibs), Jimmy Wardhaugh (Hearts) and Tommy Ring (Clyde).

 

You will note the lack of Old Firm representation. Where were George Young of Rangers and Bobby Evans of Celtic, Scotland's two most-capped players of the 1950s? Why no Gordon Smith?

 

Haddock, Cumming and Wardhaugh were all making their Scotland debut, while this was the only Scotland team between 1947 and 1957 from which a fit Young was omitted; the only time he was dropped in his 54-cap Scotland career.

 

Match reports tell of a Hungarian team, not at full-strength; Gyula Grosics, then seen as the best goalkeeper in the world, was left out for disciplinary reasons, and not perhaps as slick as they had been before that shock loss to the Germans. But, they were still too-good for the Scots, taking a 2-0 lead through Bozsik and Hidegkuti, before  Tommy Ring pulled one back in 36 minutes; only to see Sandor restore the visitors' two-goal lead just before the break.

 

Bobby Johnstone made it 3-2 early in the first half and, although the Scots showed real dogged determination to get on terms, the Hungarians had too-much pure football to be overhauled, and, in injury time, Kocsis scored a fourth goal for them which, maybe, slightly skewed the result.

 

No excuses, the better team won. The Scots' spirit and determination was lavishly praised, Puskas thought Johnny Mackenzie was outstanding on the right for Scotland, but, in the end, soccer science had overcome endeavour.

 

The Scots hadn't liked the Hungarian's body-checking, the visitors weren't impressed by the tackling of Docherty and Cumming, while Reilly's attentions on defenders and goalkeeper were even criticised by the Scottish press.

 

Still, the SFA got the result they wanted - Scotland had lost be less than England; notch it up as a moral victory.

 

The feel-good factor was back in Scottish football, but, it didn't last. Next time out, we lost 7-2 to England at Wembley.

Taxi For McCoist - After This I'd Make Him Hitch-Hike Home

WE HAVE a number of Ayrshire-specific phrases in common use in these sunny uplands of God's County. One in particular comes to my mind this morning: "He'll be takin tae the watter shortly" - meaning somebody is so close to despair he will shortly be found, floating face-down in one of our rivers, having ended it all. For, jumping from bridges and viaducts has long been the chosen method of ending it all around here.

 

Given the other time-honoured cliche around here - that you get a photograph of King Billy on his (mythical) white horse, to hang above the fireplace when you get the keys to your Council house - then, I can see a few of the many Rangers supporters around here, perhaps ending it all, after last night's diddy cup loss to Alloa Athletic.

 

Of course, it might well be - the Tribute Act cannot afford the severance deal to be shot of Ally McCoist, but, that any manager of any Ibrox outfit should NOT fall on his sword after his side surrendered a two-goal lead in the closing minutes of a game - that is not the way things were done, when real Rangers had Dignity.

 

It has been clear for yonks, good "Rangers Man" that he is, Alistair is way, way out of his depth as a manager. Still, he survives. It simply does not make sense.

 

But, does anything around what was once Scotland's premier club make sense these days?

 

 

 

AND speaking of Scotland's premier club. The current owners of that title didn't cover themselves in glory with their reaction to Anne Budge's comments re Sunday's Tynecastle cup tie.

 

Isn't it amazing how, even in the face of solid evidence of unacceptable behaviour from some of their fans, Celtic are seemingly unable to hold their hand up and say: "Fair cop gov' you've got me bang to rights".

 

It is never Celtic's fault, there is always some other reason why the GFITW misbehave.

 

Scottish football simply shrugs and says: "Aye, that's the Celtic way".

 

Face it, it hasn't changed since about 1909 and it will not change any time soon - the Celtic Family and Ra Peepul who follow the Tribute Act are two cheeks of the same erse and, until Scottish football really starts to hammer them, we are stuck with them.

 

Of course, the problem is not football's alone, but efforts to curb sectarianism keep failing, not least through the hurriedly-introduced bad law we now work under.