So Far So Good At Ibrox, But, Motherwell Will Be No Push-Overs

SO, it has come down to Nightmare on Fir Park, with Motherwell facing ex-boss Stuart McCall and his re-born Rangers Tribute Act in the Premiership play-off final.

The fact that Rangers did the professional job they needed to, to finish off Hibs at Easter Road yesterday has now set-up the scenario which few, with McCall the most-prominent advocate against, wanted.

I tend to believe that these sorts of winner takes all play-offs tend to favour the side looking to come up more than they do the side fighting to stay up. It is not as if there is a huge gap in class between the Scottish Premiership and Championship, so, you might expect the RTA, having hit form at the right time, to hold the aces against a Motherwell side which has struggled all season.

Therefore, for reasons other than the long and mainly successful history  of the "Rangers brand", the RTA will start as favourites. I, however, do not think this one is cut and dried. McCall and the hugely-under-rated Kenny Black have began the long job of turning the Rangers Tribute Act into "Rangers". However, that road is far from a straight, flat one; and Motherwell might yet prove to be a major hump to be got over.

I recall, back in the early sixties, being inside Ibrox when an unrated Motherwell side put five past a good Rangers team. Now, Ian Barraclough's men are by no means the "Ancell Babes" who won that night; but, the RTA is an even-longer way from being the beaten Scot Symon team of lang syne.

However, the message for Motherwell is, they can win this one - it will be interesting to see if they can. This one is hard to call, however, I think, tight now, the odds are stacked more on the side of the RTA.

By the way, good to see John Greig back at Ibrox as Honorary Life President of Rangers International FC. But, it will take more than bringing back a legend for the new King of Ibrox to win over the doubters.

Yes, the Bears see King and his court as; "Real Rangers Men", this has and will, in 
the short-term, cut them some slack, however, while this recall of Greig was a good popular move, there will be much-more-difficult decisions to be made and King and his court face  a testing close season - beginning with perhaps their most-difficult choice: who will the manager be for the start of the new season?

How King handles the short-term issues will go a long way towards establishing is he is the longer-term answer to the institution's many problems.

ACROSS the city, the Celtic Family will be in full celebratory mode this afternoon, as they celebrate another League Championship. Celtic were expected to win the league, they have matched expectations, but, they have to build on this.

I like the way manager Ronnie has started. He has gradually, as the season has progressed, got his players to buy into what he wants, but, totally winning over the fans will be harder.

The Celtic Family now expects to dominate in Scotland, but, their dominance in season 2014-15 has not been total. I am not sorry that Celtic did not win a domestic Treble - I don't think the current squad is special enough for that.

However, anything less than two out of the three trophies next season will be a lack of progress, and, with Hearts and perhaps the RTA back in the Premiership, things might be tougher in the Premiership next season.

However, what the Celtic Family REALLY REALLY wants is to see their club back amongst the European big boys. Getting there might not be a one-season job. At the very least, they will want to see Celtic, in season 2015-16, doing a lot better in Europe.

I like what Deila has done, in buying the likes of the two kids from Dundee United, and the way he has got Leigh Griffiths scoring. A good Celtic team needs a solid backbone of Scottish players. If Deila does this and they progress, brilliant.

And, if they can be assured of a stronger challenge in the league, it will help them in Europe, and, help Scotland too.

We live in interesting times.

HIbs and the RTA - Their Only Consistency Is Their Inconsistency

THE upcoming Scottish Premiership Play-Off semi-final between Hibs and Rangers Tribute Act is a really difficult one to call. Hibs have been idle, while Rangers got past Queen of the South - will Alan Stubbs' men be rested and ready, or will they be ring rusty and vulnerable.

Then there is the unavoidable fact about the RTA, they are about as consistent as the old-time Partick Thistle of legend. The semi-final will be all about which of four possible teams turns-up, in which order, over the two legs.

Mind you, if the RTA is inconsistent, so too are Hibs. They threw away a winning position against Hamilton last season - ok, the current Hibs team is a different one from a year ago, but, when push comes to shove, which Hibs will turn-up?

Then, the winners will have to get past Motherwell in the final. IF it comes down to Motherwell v the RTA, I would fancy Motherwell, more-so, if Scott McDonald wins his appeal against his red card against St Mirren. Motherwell v Hibs will be far-harder to call.

One thing about having play-offs, they make for an exciting end to the season.



OF course, season 2014-2015 will not end with the Scottish Cup Final and the Premiership Play-Off Final. Our national squad will have to toil on into June, with the Qatar friendly at Easter Road and the Dublin trip on European Championship qualifying duty, before the players and management can head off to their chosen beach for some r and r.

WGS named his squad this week and I was pleased to see Leigh Griffiths named in it. Now, wee Leigh strikes me as one of those players who wears his IQ on his back. That said, some of the stunts he has pulled make me wonder if 18 isn't perhaps over-rating him.

But, ther can be no disputing, he knows where the goal is and has developed a nice habit of putting the ball there. It seemed, for a wee while, as if he was going down Riordan Road, getting the big move to Celtic, then pissing his opportunity away.

He might be a bit of a scally, but, he does his business on the park and let's not forget, Scotland and Celtic have long had heid-cases in their ranks who were loved by the fans, and who delivered for them.

In this, I am a great believer in my mentor, the wonderful Ian "Dan" Archer's dictum that the best Scotland teams need to have a nutter or two in the ranks.



ALAN Hutton might, or might not, be a Scottish Nationalist - that's entirely his business, but, I get the impression, English manager's, like English politicians when it comes to our 56 MPs at Westminster, don't really get Scots in general, and Hutton in particular.

He even had trouble persuading Paul Lambert of his usefulness to Aston Villa, before finally winning a regular slot. However, with Lambert gone, replacement Sherwood wasted little time in consigning Hutton to the reserves.

He was brought back on Saturday, at left-back; and was as culpable as the rest of a nearly non-existent back four, in Villa handing Southampton a five-goal first-half lead.

However, once he was moved across to his familiar right-back position, I though Hutton came onto a game.

We up here have been aware, since his early days in the Rangers team, Hutton isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer, but, given he would struggle to keep hens oot o' a close, it has to be admitted, going forward, he is excellent.

Or maybe I just like teams for whom the cry was no defenders, but whose creed is: you score three, we will score four. Not very professional, but, better fun.

  

The North British League Could Be A Cracker

IN THE turmoil following last week's General Election, with Prime Minister David Cameron pledging to govern "One Nation", the general retort, at least in Scotland, was: Aye Right!!

Then, yesterday, The Herald ran a story about some people in the North of England expressing an interest in joining Scotland, in an anti-London new country. Again, my first thought was: Aye Right!! 

Jocks, Geordies, Scousers, Mancs and Tykes united - that would really worry the cheps in the City of London. Mind you, I reckon, if it ever does happen - the new nation of North Britain, or Greater Caledonia, would have one helluva of a top football league.

Imagine, if the Border was moved south of Manchester and Sheffield - we might well have a Premiership comprising, in no particular order: Everton, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Leeds United, Sheffield United, Sheffield Wednesday, Hull City, Middlesbrough, Sunderland, Newcastle United, Celtic, Aberdeen, Dundee United, Inverness Caledonian Thistle and St Johnstone.

The Championship would be a strong league too: the seven remaining Scottish Premiership clubs plus the top four in the Championship, along with the likes of Blackburn Rovers, Burnley and the north of England clubs in the Championship down south.

Aye, it would be a great league - I can think of at least two stadiums in Glasgow where, regardless of existing presumed political allegiances, North Britain/Greater Caledonia, would be embraced, warmly.

Not perhaps as warmly as it would be greeted in certain parts of London.

I NOTE turmoil has again broken-out in our favourite, long-running football soap opera: Edmiston Drive.

Mike Ashley, apparently, wants his £5 million back and is prepared to call an egm to get it - I think. Quite frankly, I am fed-up to the back teeth with the in-fighting and machinations around the Rangers Tribute Act.

I just wish the SFA would grow a pair and tell the warring ludges - either sort-out your differences and unify, of fuck off and leave the rest of us in peace.

We have all enjoyed a laugh at the RTA's expense, but, enough is enough.

LONG John Hewie died earlier this week, aged 87. The big Springbok is largely forgotten today, hardly surprising, given his Scotland career was played-out in the black and white prehistoric days between 1956 and 1960.

He won 19 caps then, which is probably equivalent to 50-plus today; gaining most of them when his club was in the second tier in England, and there were more than a few Scottish-qualified left-backs plying their trade in the top-flight in England back then.

Hewie, born in Pretoria, of parents from Selkirk, had never set foot in Scotland until called-up into the Scotland B team, in March, 1953.

By all accounts, he had a stinker that afternoon, but, he recovered and, after a stand-out performance for a "South African XI", against a "Scotland XI" at Ibrox, in March, 1956 - during which he apparently: "Reduced (Gordon) Smith to the level of an ordinary player, he was capped against England, at Hampden, in April, 1956.

Once in the national team, he took a bit of shifting, playing in the 1958 World Cup Finals in Switzerland, where our four full-backs were: Hewie, Alex Parker, Eric Caldow and Harry Haddock, we could do with a quartet of such quality today.

Hewie was an all-rounder, playing every sport well, and winning England caps at Baseball, as well as being picked for FA representative XIs, even after being capped for Scotland.

With Charlton Athletic, he played over 500 games, in all 11 positions. He even had a four-game spell as first-choice goalkeeper, after first pick Willie Duff and the reserve 'keeper were both injured. Duff, who won the Scottish Cup with Hearts in 1956, used to joke that he was lucky to get his place back, so well had Hewie played.

Like so-many of his contemporaries, Hewie's last days were blighted by dementia Rest in Peace big man.

 

Still Much to Play For Over The Next Month

FORGIVE the silence these past few days - I was in General Election mode, but, with that little party out of the way, I can again put in my twopenceworth about Fitba.

Since last I opened up this blog, Celtic have secured the Scottish Premiership title, and fair play to them. We all know a lot of clubs which ought to win things, but don't. Celtic may have failed to win the Treble they so-desired, but, to quote the mighty Meatloaf: "Two out of three aint bad".

Now the attention switches to the possible return of the Prodigals (no, that is not a typo). The Rangers Tribute Act certainly gave themselves a boost last night, by finally winning on the artificial surface at Palmerston; they will start the second leg, back at Ibrox as the favourites to go on and face Hibs, then whichever Premiership team finishes second bottom.

OK, under Stuart McCall and Kenny Black, the RTA are a more-formidable lot than they were under the gardeners, but, there are still doubts about their ability to put together the six good performances they will need, if they are to get back into the top flight.

On reflection, another season in the Championship might be no bad thing for the RTA.



OF COURSE, the season isn't over. Below the Premiership/Championship, the other promotion/relegation play-offs continue; we have the Scottish Cup final still to play, while our international team will be in action into June, with the Qatar friendly and the crucial Euro'2016 qualifier against the Republic of Ireland.

This, most-certainly, is a "must-win" game - right at the end of a log and difficult season for the guys who will be in Gordon Strachan's squad. We can but hope - they have enough left in the tank for victory.



FINALLY, if ever football's importance to the nation was in doubt, this importance was shown by Ian Murray's feat in defending Labour's smallest Scottish majority - to return to Westminster as the only Scottish Labour MP.

Who would have thunked it. Nobody saw that one coming.

Apparently Murray's prominent role in the salvation of Hearts won him a lot of support within his constituency, which includes far from traditional Labour territory, such as Morningside.

Clearly, not many members of the Celtic Family in Jim Murphy's (now former) constituency then, if we use the fitba analysis.