No "Farce", This Was Serious

WELL, that was a turn-up for the book: the "farce" at Ibrox last night was on, rather than off the park. No, that's unfair; it is an easy out for hard-pressed reporters or sub-editors to write: "conditions were farcical" in a match report. The reality is, conditions were, as was surely the case at Ibrox, dangerous.

 

So fair play to Bobby Madden for calling a halt after 24 minutes. For once, the referee's decision was universally greeted as the correct one - a rare event in Scottish football.

 

Friday's weather conditions were bizarre. I spend my Friday's baby-sitting my three-year-old grandson, who lives 24 miles away. The snow was certainly falling when I handed him over to his parents and set-out for home; the road conditions persuaded me to stick to the main drag and not take my usual B road cross-country route home.

 

Nearly three hours later, I got home. OK, there were a couple of minor shunts, a couple of stretches of black ice and a couple of hilly sections, one up, t'other down, where I switched from being the Jamaican bob-sleigh team of "Cool Runnings" to Hilary on Everest. But, between my years of experience of winter driving, and the best of Stuttgart automotive technology, I made it unscathed.

 

Given that experience, I can well understand the problems 22 Scottish footballers faced, remaining upright at Ibrox.

 

 

 

MEANWHILE, as the players performed Bolero on the park, off the parks, the Bears were letting rip at the Board, as 'Edmiston Drive - the soap opera' continued. I can well understand the SFA rrefusing to get involved in the increasingly bizarre politics of the Rangers Tribute Act, but, enough is enough.

 

Surely, if only on the grounds of: "bringing Scottish football into disrepute", the governing body should get involved - dare I use the expression: "as honest brokers" - to try to bring peace and stability to this football institution.

 

 

 

DAVID Ginola standing for the FIFA presidency. Aye well, whatever. But, given the joke which old Sepp Blatter has turned this organisation into, we sjhould maybe find a comedian rather than a former footballing entertainer to stand against him.

 

I almost get the impression, only his death will rid football of the Blatter influence, and, even then, there is no guarantee, his successor will do any better. You know, maybe Sir George Graham and the old-time SFA officials, who, with their counterparts at the FA, resolutely refused to have anything to do with FIFA, were right.

 

 

 

INTERESTING piece by Aidan Smith in today's Scotsman; an interview with former Scotland 'keeper Bobby Clark, who has, these many years been Head Soccer Coach of the legendary "Fighting Irish" of Notre Dam College in Indiana.

 

Clark, one of that great body, along with Jack Harkness, Bobby Brown, Ronnie Simpson and Jim Cruickshanks, who emerged from Queen's Park to back-stop the full Scotland team, had an advantage over other footballers - he was a qualified PE teacher, so, he had a fully-functioning brain.

 

But, as Smith outlines, he also played outfield for Aberdeen, as an emergency centre-half. As such, he clearly had the game-reading skills which have, today, made Manuel Neuer, the outstanding sweeper-'keeper in the game.

 

Which begs the question - what would Clark be worth today? I can also think of another very good Scottish goalkeeper, the former Petershill 'keeper Allan Ross, who still holds the Carlisle United appearance record. Rossie, who came very close to a Scotland cap when with United, also made appearances for his club as an outfield player. See Scottish goalies, ahead of the curve, only, we didn't know it.