PARDON me if I do not
join in the wailing, gnashing of teeth and rending of garments at the
news Scott Brown has retired from international football.
The four men in central
midfield in my first live Scotland international were Ian McColl,
Tommy Docherty, Bobby Collins and Sammy Baird. I was a Tartan Army
foot soldier through the years of Bremner, Baxter, Bobby Murdoch,
John White, Archie Gemill, Asa Hartford, Masson and Rioch, Souness,
Strachan, McStay, McAllister, Lambert and Burley, not forgetting John
Greig in his early days as a midfielder, plus, the magnificent Dave
Mackay, or Eddie Turnbull in his last, glorious swan-song during the
1958 World Cup, I also rate Darren Fletcher way above Broonie.
There you have it, 22
better Scotland central midfielders I have seen than Broonie – ok,
21, I will give you Sammy Baird. But, the fact is, in no other age in
Scottish football would Broonie have got anywhere close to winning 50
caps, he is a very lucky boy to have got into the SFA's Hall of Fame,
or whatever they are calling the 50 caps club these days.
I give you, he has been
a very good player in a series of winning, but still, by Celtic
standards, mediocre teams – but, Scotland class – not for me.
The best summing-up of
Broonie I have seen was posted by a Herald journalist, in a piece
praising Andy Murray's Olympic gold medal. It read: “You will never
see Andy pictured, lying on an Edinburgh pavement, clutching a kebab,
at 2am.” That for me, said it all about why Broonie can never be a
Scotland great.
I SEE Big Sam Allardyce
would like to see Team GB enter football teams in the 2020 Olympics.
Well, pro-independence though I am, I am with you on this one Sam.
BUT, it will never happen, UNLESS – the (English) Football
Association sets-up a proper UKFA purely for the purposes of running
the Olympic programme, and genuinely gives the Northern Irish,
Scottish and Welsh FA each a say in how the programme is run; the
three Celtic associations get a written, binding deal from FIFA to
say, such an Olympic programme will not threaten their international
independence.
Of course, the best
outcome would be an independent Scotland having its own Olympic Games
programme, but, we might have to wait until the 2024 Games for that.
HAVING been given
permission to sell alcohol inside Meadow Park during the annual
Marymass game against Irvine Vics, the Meadow had a change of mind,
and no drink was sold on the night. This, however, did not prevent
one spectator, presumably a Meadow fan, from invading the park and
spitting on a Vics player who had just scored from the penalty spot.
And that, Ladies and
Gentlemen is the great conundrum of Scottish football. We have
arguably, more bams per square foot of terracing than any other
nation on earth; these bams are going to get fuelled-up and
misbehave; should we allow our clubs to profit from their bamness by
selling them drink inside the ground, or, should we continue to allow
them to fuel-up outside the ground, before coming in to misbehave?
Decisions, decisions.
Of course, as our
opposition politicians tell us, we do not need an Offensive Behaviour
At Football Act – aye right.
SOME salient facts
around why Brian McClair resigned from his Player Development role
with the SFA, have emerged. It appears Brian told the sixth floor
blazers a few home truths, then suggested one or two wee changes
which might be made, which would help us produce better players.
Only the blazers kent
better than Brian, his suggestions were not taken up, obstacles were,
apparently, put in his way, so, he left. I have said it before, and
will go on saying it – though doubtless nothing will happen –
but, the biggest drawback to Scotland progressing as a football
nation is, we seem to have some of the stupidest and worse
administrators in football. And, by that, I do not mean the paid guys
(although, it's fair to say some of them could not get elected dog
catcher in a one-horse race), I refer to the club officials who make
the final decisions.
No comments:
Post a Comment