I DO not "do" Twitter, or Facebook, or Instagram or any form of "social media" other than blogging. Maybe I ought to post on here the identities of those other blogs which I follow regularly - except, this blog is about sport, and I don't follow any sporting blogs regularly; although I am somewhat addicted to that excellent blog on Scottish politics and current affairs: Wings Over Scotland.
Wingers, as we regulars term ourselves, have been getting somewhat agitated of late by a couple of interesting cases of hidden identity - just who is 'Brian Spanner QC' and which Rangers Tribute Act director told Graham Spiers he rather liked 'The Billy Boys'.
As to M'learned friend Mr Spanner - he/she or it will be outed soon enough. I mean, if the massed ranks of the British Establishment, could not, back in the deferential 1930s, keep the fact "The King of England" was playing "Hide the Sausage" with a woman who was, not only a divorcee, but a damned colonial, an American no less, hidden from the view of the common herd - then I don't see how a bunch of anal retentive Edinburgh media types can protect whoever is behind Mr Spanner.
I will admit, the Lap Top Loyal ought to be able to protect the identity of the as yet unknown RTA High Heid Yin for a wee while yet, but, he too will, in time, be identified.
I have never hidden my liking for "Britney" Spiers; the number of awards the bar steward has won indicates, he is a master of his craft, but, in the 20-years or more that I have known and worked with him, I have identified one wee fault in Graham - he just occasionally fails to realise when to draw the line.
I remember, some 15-years ago now, I fed him a nice wee juicy morsel about Ayrshire Junior Football, but, I warned him to not take it beyond where I had gone, to leave well alone. But no, Graham decided to take my item, which I admit I had spun as far as I thought it could be, and gave it a couple of extra revolutions.
Spierso was ok, some 40-miles from the action. I was lucky to escape with my head still on my shoulders when I was outed as Spiers's "Ayrshire Correspondent". So, Graham, occasionally takes things too-far.
I think he has done this in the instance of BillyBoysgate. Now, let me say, at its highest level, the Orange Order has men who sincerely believe in the Order's duty to uphold the status quo, whereby the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland has a Protestant monarch. But, personally, I would rather not travel with some of the LOL's camp followers.
I find the whole atmosphere around an Orange Walk, intimidating and unsettling. That said, like the Devil, they have the best tunes. I defy any West-Central Scottish raised Protestant not to tap their feet at The Sash, or any of the other "party songs", when a well-rehearsed flute band gies it laldy during the "Marching Season".
There is, of course, a well-established cross-over or synergie between Orangism and Rangers. The Billy Boys is not an official Orange anthem, but, it is in the Ibrox song book, and, again, when the massed choir (sorry, the small minority) gie it laldy on match days, well, even otherwise sensible business-men, lawyers and accountants and fellow professionals, have been known to join in.
As such, it is a good, catchy tune, so, yes, I can see where the RTA director is coming from. But, that does not mean he is a bigot. Silly, easily-led, engaging mouth before brain when speaking to a journalist perhaps; however, the jury is out on if he is a bigot.
That said, the reaction of the RTA's hierarchy to Graham's Herald piece - to demand, figuratively, his head on a plate, was over-reaction, while the craven way the Herald's management caved-in to the threats from Ibrox, well, that simply indicates how far and how fast the Herald is going down the stank.
Then, to sack Angela Haggerty for tweeting her support for Graham, well, that was another bum move from the guys in the expensive suits at the top of Renfield Street. Had they sacked Ms Haggerty for professional incompetence, well, I would have struggled to object, I am sorry, I dinnae rate the lassie at all, but, sacked for supporting a colleague who had been hung out to dry - nope.
I FOUND myself shaking my head indisbelief at another of the better Scottish-based sports writers: BBC Scotland's Tom English, this morning.
Irish Tom used to be my boss at the Sunday Times Scotland, and a colleague on Scotland on Sunday - he is an excellent, first-class operator. However, this weekend, in a piece on the BBC Scotland Sport website, he had me shaking my head in disbelief at the line he took.
Tom was wondering why Jordan Rhodes, who seems to score goals for fun in the English Championship, has never been given a chance in the Premiership down South. I'll answer that for you Tom - because he isn't good enough.
Football history is riddled with examples of guys who scored goals for fun in the lower leagues, but, couldn't cut it at the highest level. A lot of Scots, for instance, have left provincial teams up here, where they have been hitting the net every week, gone down South, failed to make an impression and been back up the road, and back among the goals, in jig time.
Tom's argument re Rhodes seemed to be that Craig Levein and Gordon Strachan have not given him enough of a chance with Scotland. Now, scoring goals for fun in the second tier in England is not an indication that the same player could deliver at international level. Rhodes, in his Scotland appearances, has never convinced me he might develop into a new Law, Dalglish or Reilly.
He is now 26, therefore, he has been in a full-time professional football environment for a decade, his father, albeit as a goalkeeper, had a long football career before him, so, Rhodes ought to know what is needed to reach the very top.
If Levein and Strachan could, in the short time they spend actually hands-on with the players they select for Scotland duty, identify flaws in his game, short-comings he needs to address if he is to take that next step - to Scotland regular and perhaps Premieship player - then surely the various managers he has worked with at Huddersfield and Blackburn could see them too.
I would assume these managers and these clubs, have suggsted he work on his deficiencies in training. If they have, and he hasn't - hell mend him, he doesn't deserve to go any further than he has. If they have told him: "work on this, this and this" and he has, but still has not convinced others he has what it takes to reach the top, well, he is being cushioned by earning some big money, so, at least, when he begins to slide down the divisions, he at least has something behind him.
He also, has played for Scotland, and I am not alone in wishing I could say: "Aye, I played fitba for Scotland". When Scotland meets England in the qualifying group for the next World Cup, there will be around 50,000 of us inside Hampden, either wishing we could have had the experience of playing in such a game, or dreaming that we some day might.
Rhodes has worn the Scotland jersey - maybe if he had worked harder, or if he somehow, at 26, buckles down and does work harder - he may wear it again.
No comments:
Post a Comment