I HAVE, of late, been involved in a wee on-line spat on a football "anoraks'" website. Other regular posters, including some guys who I know put a great deal of unpaid time and work into keeping their favourite "diddy team" functioning.
The contentious point was my belief that the SFA is guilty of discrimination against Scotland's women footballers. It seems to me, if a male player plays 50 times for the full Scotland men's team, he gets onto the SFA Roll of Honour and into the SFA Hall of Fame - this by the way should not be confused with the Scottish Football Hall of Fame. A Scottish woman internationalist, who plays 50-times for the national team, does not get the same recognition.
To be fair to the SFA, they have started to recognise the several Scottish women internationalists, who have played over 100 internationals. It should be pointed-out, however, that this is in response to a UEFA initiative to have these girls' achievements recognised.
It seems, however, the SFA has quietly put the "Roll of Honour" and the "SFA Hall of Fame" on the back burner. They no longer mention 50th caps etc. Therefore, my stance on the matter of equality seems now somewhat spurious.
Taking the wider view, however, I wonder why it has never got through to the "blazers" on Hampden's sixth floor, that, just maybe the way the Scottish Women's FA organises their fiefdom, in particular the way they have made the national team the main focus of their work, is a superior work model to the "clubs come first" mantra which has held sway in the men's game for at least the past 100-years, and, in particular, the way two Glasgow-based clubs seem to be far more important than the national side.
Has it never struck them - Scotland's wome's team is more-higly-rated than the men's team, while we have more women playing at a higher level in England and abroad, than we have men.
But, no mind: "Fitba's no a gemme fur lassies, hen".
I WATCHED the opening episode of the documentary series featuring Salford City, the non-league, semi-professional club bought by Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs, Gary and Phil Neville and Paul Scholes, five of the legendary: "Boys of '92".
If the remaining episodes are as fascinating and interesting as the opener, then BBC has a hit on their hands.
Gary Neville, as ever, wears his heart on his sleeve, but, you could see in last night's episode - he is well out of his comfort zone. Meanwhile, younger brother Phil is clearly itching to get in there and sort out a dressing room in disarray.
This one will run and run. I await the arrival of Sir Alex Ferguson as a special consultant to sort things out.
THIS has been a sad week in Ayrshire fitba, with the passing of an Ayr United legend, and a player of similar standing at Kilmarnock.
First to pass on was Peter Price, the Ayr United centre forward of the 1950s and early 1960s who literally did score goals for fun. Price is the only United player to score over 200 goals for the club, and not all in the old Division B.
Such was his influence at Somerset Park, the years when he wore the number nine shirt are known as: The Price Era".
The Killie player to hear the final whistle was Matt Watson; for my money, the best full-back NEVER to be capped by Scotland. A Paisley Buddie, Watson was unfortunate in that his career was contemporanious with that of the great Eric Caldow at Rangers - believe me, ability-wise, there was little or nothing between the two men.
Watson signed for Kilmarnock in 1954, just as the club returned to the first division and he was a fixture in the team right through the Willie Waddell years. He, Jackie McInally, Bertie Black and skipper Frank Beattie, having come all the way through the Waddell years together, were all there on that unforgettable day, 24 April, 1965, when Killie went to Tynecastle and beat Hearts 2-0 to win the league for the only time.
Two marvellous servants of their clubs - they will be sadly missed.
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