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.
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.
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