Socrates MacSporran

Socrates MacSporran
No I am not Chick Young, but I can remember when Scottish football was good

Wednesday 21 November 2018

We Could Do With Someone To Cut Through The Bullshit And Tell It Like It Really Is

WHEN the European Nations League was first suggested, I had a notion it would be good for Scotland. This was based on the little-known or appreciated fact, at least in Scotland, we always do better in competitive games.

One of the best of the many pro-independence websites is one entitled: “Talking Up Scotland,” it is run by Professor John Robertson, a former senior teacher at the University of the West of Scotland. The good professor has been waging, ever since he was “retired early” - apparently for not singing of the British Establishment hymn book – a one-man campaign to counter-act the many lies, items of misinformation and downright shite published by our rabid right-wing mainstream media.

Professor John Robertson - we coud do with someone in Scottish Football doing his job

Maybe, given the way the Lap Top Loyal, the Celtic-Minded and the Hingers-Oan of our football media have been anti every Scotland manager since Craig Brown, we need a Prof. Robertson type, to cut through the bullshit and tell it like it is.

The caveat is, as always – there are three ways of doing anything in sport: the easy way, the hard way and the Scottish way. We are the absolute masters of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. No victory is ever greater than a Scottish one, and no defeat is ever as ignoble as a Scottish loss.

But, given the lack of cash in our game, the lack of administrative talent, the lack of foresight and forward planning our game, you know, we are not in as bad a place as we perhaps believe ourselves to be.

Of course we have this long, long history weighing us down. After all, while you can credit England with codifying and organising the game, it was the Scots who adapted the basic English method and made it work – we invented the passing game, every early advance had a Scot or two. Then we allowed the SFA blazers to have too-big a say, we allowed a couple of clubs founded on sectarianism and bigotry to become too-powerful, and we stagnated.

Today, we see ourselves as too wee, too poor and too stupid to get back to where we think we ought to be, well, I concede, there isn't a lot of cash slopping around in the Scottish game, but, if we make the best of what we have got – we can surely live with the wealthy and have as good a quality of football.

We have been playing international football for almost 150 years, we are in our 15th decade as an international-playing country. Here is our record over these 15 decades:

1870s – played 12 – won 8 – 66.7% wins
1880s – played 26 – won 22 – 84.6% wins
1890s – played 30 – won 19 – 63.3% wins
1900s – played 30 – won 15 – 50.0% wins
1910s – played 15 – won 7 – 46.7% wins
1920s – played 33 – won 23 – 69.7% wins
1930s – played 42 – won 22 – 52.4% wins
1940s – played 17 – won 7 – 41.2% wins
1950s – played 67 – won 32 – 47.8% wins
1960s – played 63 – won 29 – 46.0% wins
1970s – played 88 – won 37 – 42.1% wins
1980s – played 88 – won 35 – 39.8% wins
1990s – played 89 – won 37 – 41.6% wins
2000s – played 85 – won 33 – 38.8% wins
2010s – played 80 – won 34 – 42.5% wins

These figures give us an overall record since 1872 of having played 766 games, of which we have won 362, or 47.3%. Of these games, 226 have been friendlies, while the other 540 have been competitive – in the sense there were league points or a trophy at stake. If we separate the two types of games we find:

Friendlies – played 226 – won 100 – 44.6% wins
Competitive – played 540 – won 262 – 48.5% wins.

We tend to disparage today's players, as being not as good as the ones we once had. We long for a new Dalglish or Law, we wonder if we will ever see another Johnstone, or Baxter, Souness or McGrain. Just have a look at these figures above, our present bunch of no-hopers are actually doing better than our star-studded sides of blessed memory.

The current crop of players and managers are actually doing better than the giants of the past. For instance, our Teams of the Decades for those “great years” of the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, when Scotland were near ever-presents at the World Cup finals are:

Team of the 1970s: Rough; Jardine, McGrain; Bremner, McQueen, Buchan; Dalglish, Gemmill, Jordan, Hartford, Morgan.

Team of the 1980s: Leighton; Gough, Malpas, Souness, McLeish, Miller; Dalglish, McStay, Archibald, M Johnston, Strachan.

Team of the 1990s: Leighton; McKimmie, Boyd, McCall, Hendry, Calderwood; Gallacher, McStay, McCoist, McAllister, Collins.

Even with these two in the side, we didn't do as-well as the current squad

There are some sterling names in there, but, their under-rated modern-day successors are actually a marginally more-successful outfit. We may not be featuring on the big stage, as we were back then, but, we are winning more games.

Of course, it is always difficult to compare eras, perhaps it is a case of while we have made marginal gains, other countries have simply got better, had better coaching and player development strategies in place, made better use of the available talent.

Maybe we should try to be a wee bit less Scottish. The wind is not always in our faces; perhaps good things are for the likes of us. He might not, for now, be getting credit fot it, but, I would like to hope, by delivering those last two results, perhaps Big Eck has started us of on the upward staircase again.

We might never get back to where we were in the 19th century, but, perhaps, in the remainder of the 21st, we can get closer to where we want to be – and, the last two wins were a good place to start from.





Friday 9 November 2018

Sorry Ladies, But, I Don't Think You're Quite Ready

MEDIA manipulation is now so ingrained in society in this AD 2018, I sometimes think we don't notice we are being manipulated. The mainstream media does not help – it was the social media platforms who spotted the White House's cack-handed and ridiculous efforts to doctor video tape, to try to make CNN look bad, for instance.

We are not immune to media manipulation here in Scotland – even without going into the tsnumai of “SNP Bad” stories which have caused the news and comment pages of The Herald and The Scotsman to become comic pages, unworthy of these organs' great history, while the way the Scottish “sports” pages have virtually become advertising for the Old Firm is another shaming indictment of the poor management in the msm today.

The great Hugh Dan will hopefully be back for the BBC Alba coverage of women's rugby

Yesterday, we saw further evidence of media manipulation, with the news that BBC Alba is going to start showing Women's Rugby. Now I loved Alba's coverage of the PRO14, although I could follow little of what the excellent Hugh Dan McLelland ever said. But, it got Edinburgh and Glasgow covered, and they were covered well.

But, Women's Rugby, shakes head sorrowfully.

I have nothing against women playing rugby, I would not stop them, but, I am old school, it just doesn't seem right. Nothing against women playing football either, in fact, I have fewer objections to women playing with a round ball than an oval one. This may come down to the lesser potential for injury, and, having played in a couple of mixed hockey matches, I know fine well, old Rudyard Kipling knew what he was talking about when he wrote: “the female of the species is more-deadly than the male.”

I simply feel, Women's Rugby in Scotland is not yet ready for regular TV exposure. I know the girls, plus big Shade Munro and his coaching team work bloody hard. I appreciate they need encouragement, but, they simply are not yet good enough to be showcased regularly on TV – even on a “fringe” station such as BBC Alba, and it could back-fire, badly.

For me, the standard is not high enough, the depth of talent too-shallow. Women's rugby in Scotland's time is not, for me, here yet.

There is a suggestion, only a whisper as yet, that the Alba deal for the women might be the forerunner of a similar deal for Super-6. Let's hope so, the standard will certainly be higher, but, at the end of the day, I feel showcasing women's rugby is nothing more than a spot of box-ticking by someone inside Pacific Quay.

Now, the Scottish rugby community is perceived as being politically “conservative.” In fact, a large percentage, given their upbringing – the right type of Edinburgh school, followed by one of the older universities, will certainly be “Conservative and Unionist,” they might want to start thinking Independently.

Because, once Scotland is again Independent, and it is coming – the clammy, dead hand of BBC Scotland, the last outpost of the imperial broadcasting service - will be removed. We can hope, indeed, we must demand, that the post-independence Scottish Broadcasting Corporation will be encouraged to positively support Scottish sport, with better coverage of our national teams and our top exponents in more sports. And they ought to be telt, in no uncertain terms: in Scotland, we have more than one sport played, and more than two teams playing.

Have any of you noticed, by the way, what happens on Premier Sports, when they cover a Cheetahs or Kings game? Just before the match starts, up on the screens will flash the names of the commentators – you have an Afrikaans commentary, an English one and a Xhosa one. Why cannot we have this choice on BBC Scotland? Scott Hastings or John Beattie could do the English one, Hugh Dan the Gaelic one, it would be up to the viewer which commentary he or she listened to. I know, we occasionally had a choice of English language commentary on BBC Alba last season – this is worth expanding with the new coverage.



I AM told, as part of their preparations for the Fiji game, tomorrow, the Scotland management team had one of the young, up and coming club coaches do his homework on the Pacific Islanders.

And Hoggy's back too - hooray!

His research brought-up the amazing statistic – the Fijians score over 60% of their tries off breakdown ball. Apparently, this is a very high figure. So, the Scottish game plan is  to stifle them at source.

I might have thought, Hamish Watson, one of our very best breakdown “jackals” should have played as an antidote to this, but, maybe Toony, who has a far-better tactical brain than I, has something up his sleeve.

They are all big men up front, so maybe the bulked-up Scotland pack is designed to tie the Fijians down – as much as you can tie-down a free spirit like big Leone – to deny them turnover opportunities.

I suspect we might see Greig and Finn kicking more often than normal, to try to turn them. I am however, quietly confident the side Toony has picked can avoid what is definitely a potential and too-obvious banana skin game.

With four internationals in as many weeks, squad rotation will be key, hence the one or two unexpected selections for tomorrow, in a squad which reads (in 1-23 order):

Allan Dell, Fraser Brown, Willem Ne, Sam Skinner, Grant Gilchrist, Ryan Wilson, Jamie Ritchie, Matt Personage; Greig Laid law (captain), Finn Russell; Sean Mainland, Peter Horne, Alex Dunbar, Tommy Seymour. Replacements: Stuart McNally, Alex Allan, Simon Bergman, Jonny Gray, Josh Strauss; George Horne, Adam Hastings, Chris Harris.

Hogg coming back so quickly was something of a surprise, but, we need to have our few X-factor guys playing as much as possible. He will be ready.




Wednesday 7 November 2018

Eck Has Chosen, Let's Get Behind Him And His Squad

YESTERDAY, to a somewhat muted fanfare, Big Eck announced his Scotland squad for the upcoming two crucial European Nations League games. The details are:

UEFA Nations League: Albania v Scotland, Saturday, 17 November, kick-off 7.45pm
Loro Borici Stadium, Shkoder
UEFA Nations League: Scotland v Israel, Tuesday, 20 November, kick-off 7.45pm
Hampden Park, Glasgow


Goalkeepers: Craig Gordon (Celtic), Allan McGregor (Rangers), Jon McLaughlin (Sunderland).
Defenders: Michael Devlin, Scott McKenna (both Aberdeen), Charlie Mulgrew, (Blackburn Rovers), Stephen O’Donnell (Kilmarnock), Andrew Robertson (Liverpool), Graeme Shinnie (Aberdeen), Kieran Tierney (Celtic).
Midfielders: Stuart Armstrong (Southampton), Ryan Christie, James Forrest (both Celtic), Ryan Fraser (Bournemouth), Gary Mackay-Steven, (Aberdeen), Kevin McDonald (Fulham), John McGinn (Aston Villa), Callum McGregor (Celtic), Callum Paterson (Cardiff City).
Forwards: Steven Fletcher (Sheffield Wednesday), Oliver McBurnie (Swansea City), Matt Phillips (West Bromwich Albion), Johnny Russell (Sporting Kansas City).

These are crucial games for Eck. He may not have “lost the dressing room,” but, he, has perhaps lost most, if not all of the press box. The Lap Top Loyal and the Celtic-Minded are not enamoured of his selections, tactics or results to date, and, if you lose them, then your jaiket is immediately on a shoogly nail.

To be fair to Eck, he has been fairly consistent in his selections; 13 of the 23 men he has named have appeared in at least 4 of the 8 squads he has picked. You could also add Kieran Tierney to that list, since he was voluntarily excluded from the squad which travelled to Peru and Mexico.

No player has been an ever-present during Eck's second term in the “impossible” Scotland job, but, he is at least doing the basics of team-building, in establish a core “spine” to the side: either Allan McGregor or Craig Gordon in goal, Scott McKenna (five starts in eight games and Charlie Mulgrew (6/8) in central defence, John McGinn (6/8), Calum McGregor (5/8 + 1 sub) and Kevin McDonald (4/8 + 1 sub) in the centre of midfield; and if he has yet to find two strikers to operate together, Ollie McBurnie (2/8 + 3 sub) and Jonny Russell (3/8 + 1 sub) have been consistent picks.

Stephen O'Donnell has also come in and pretty-much established himself as first-choice at right back, which gives McLeish a “first-choice” starting XI (in 4-4-2 formation) of:

A. McGregor; O'Donnell, McKenna, Mulgrew, Robertson; McGregor, McDonald, McGinn, Armstrong; McBurnie and Russell.

Immediately you look at that side, McLeish's media problems become obvious – where's Kieran Tierney? Well, KT, great player though he is, is victim to an age-old Scotland problem. Right from the early days, we have had a history of maybe being short of class in one position, while having an embarrassment of riches in another.

Jimmy McGrory for instance, scored goals for fun for Celtic, while at the same time Hughie Gallacher was doing the same for Newcastle, Chelsea and about four other English clubs – and we could only ever play one of them, with Gallacher, for all his discipline problems, usually getting the nod. (And you think Leigh Griffiths was the first “problem” player around a Scotland squad).

Then there was the Reilly or Bauld debate, the Smith or Waddell one, Henderson/Johnstone, Ure or McNeill, Forsyth or Buchan, Leighton or Goram, the list goes on. You have the likes of wee Alex Troup, an absolute star in providing so-many of the crosses from which Everton's Dixie Dean scored his plethora of goals, but, unfortunate to be a contemporary of Alan Morton. Or what about Ralph Brand, a member of the elite goal-a-game at international level club, but, only ever a stand-in for the absent Denis Law.

 Ralph Brand - eight caps, eight goals, but only ever a stand-in for Denis Law
(thanks to Andy the Photo Doctor for this colourised image)

In the old days of the selection committee, the lights would burn into the night while such debates were concluded, usually via an element of horse-trading; today, it's Eck's call, and, even if we disagree with him, we have to back him.

It's not as if he has the power Gregor Townsend, his contemporary across at Murrayfield has. The SRU is run on the basis that, the national side is the one that makes the money and drives the interest, therefore, the National Coach gets everything he wants within reason. He can ask Glasgow or Edinburgh to maybe try-out a Scotland squad member in a new position, or to rest a player who is maybe looking jaded. He can suggest these clubs play in a certain way, to aid the national side.

Scotland Rugby Coach Gregor Townsend, has a power to influence things Eck can only dream of

Eck does not have that control. In fact, it often seems as if some clubs – two in particular - view the Scotland team as a nuisance and a hindrance to their club objectives. Eck is being asked to operate with one hand tied behind his back. His job truly is a poisoned chalice.

Some are already seeing Eck's second spell as Scotland boss as a disaster. However, we have won 9 of the 18 games in which he has led the country. And, this time round, he has a 50% winning record in the competitive games we have played.

But, we cannot overlook the monkey on every Scotland boss's back: this age-old history of “Scotland expects.” We haven't been “World Class” for over 40 years. (I am taking “World Class” to be in the top ten in the World), we haven't reached the finals of a major tournament for 20 years, mediocrity is our normal.

We expect Eck to preside over a win in our European Nations League group; nay we DEMAND he leads us to glory – while at the same time, placing every obstacle we can in his way to getting us there.

But, hey, what's new – that's the Scottish way of working. And I do not see it changing any time soon.



Friday 2 November 2018

For His and Public Safety's Sake, Is It Not Time To Put Neil Lennon In A Coaching Box?

RELUCTANTLY, I return this morning to an ongoing and seemingly unfixable blot on the landscape of Scottish football – the case of Neil Francis Lennon. In the wake of the turmoil which was Tynecastle on Wednesday night, we have seen wee Neil's supporters and detractors coming out of the undergrowth with their theories.

Martin Reilly, Neil's agent, is quoted in this morning's papers, putting-in his twopence worth, to the effect: “Neil only gets abuse because he is an Irish Catholic.”

Sadly, and what an indictment of 21st century Scotland that such thinking should still be abroad, but, there is an element of truth in that. There are parties within our country whose politics is religion-based and whose body clock is permanently stuck around July, 1690. Conversely, there are those on the other side of the religious/political divide whose body clocks are either still in the mid-19th century, or the third decade of the 20th.

You might hope a century or so of evolution might eradicate this, but, no, I fear, in some parts of fair Caledonia the Dibs and the Dobs, as Andy Cameron dubbed them, will still be at each other's throats, even as the Sun implodes in the sky.

When I see Neil Lennon “enjoying some banter with” or “winding-up” opposition fans, I consider how football managers go about their match-day business, in comparison to their counterparts in other sports.

I should also say, I reckon Neil Lennon only, to a degree, gets abuse because he's Neil Lennon, and, at football matches he is, to use James May's wonderful phrase: "a cock."

The British and Irish Lions coaching team at work. Maybe Hibs shoud put Neil Lennon in a coaching box

Have you ever watched a telecast of a top rugby match, either in the PRO14 or at international level? The Head Coach of each competing team is seated, at the highest point of the grandstand, often isolated in a glass-fronted box. He is surrounded by his most-important staff members, each with an active lap top in front of them.

The coach therefore, has instant access to TV replays, he is also looped into the refereeing team's radio circuit, while his assistant coaches are constantly monitoring the sports science and GPS data being fed back from the transponders each player wears.

This means, they can spot when a particular player's performance begins to drop-off from pre-planned settings, and can immediately get a substitute on. The coach immediately knows why a decision was given, he can replay incidents and perhaps adjust his team's formation.

He is in direct two-way contact with his pitch-side team, and can get instructions and tactical changes done – he is not caught-up in the tsunami of emotions pitch-side, but, sits above most of the clamour, and is able to think rationally.

Compare that with the pandemonium of the front-line action, where most football managers operate, at ground level, where it is impossible to get an overview of what is happening.

There is a slightly different system in place in American sport, where, even when the Head Coach is pitch-side, he is wired-up to a bunch of specialists, high in the stands, able to take a strategic overview of what is happening, and keep him abreast of events which he cannot properly see from his lowly position.

Given all the money splashing around in the game, you might think football would have caught-up by now. But, certainly in Scotland, it has aye been, that the manager screams from the dug out.

Suppose Neil Lennon was placed in a coach's box, at the back of the stand, but in two-way communication with the dug-out, he might be able to assess the match and coach it, free from the distractions of having to banter with the opposition fans behind him. And, if Neil Lennon is the sane, sensible person he is reputed to be away from matches – he might be the better for it.

Or does he, like my Ayrshire Junior manager/banker about whom I blogged yesterday, have a normal head and a football one – or maybe a case of football-induced bi-polarism?



I DON'T know about you, but, I would assume, centre stand seats, behind the dug-outs are fairly-high up the scale of “good seats” at a ground, and therefore liable to attract perhaps a premium when it comes to a club's pricing policy. In fact, I would suggest such seats would be very attractive to potential season ticket holders.

I would also suggest, given how the capacities of today's all-seated stadia have shrunk from the old days of sweeping terraces, the away team should have a good idea about exactly which of their fans is getting a ticket for an away derby against their biggest rivals.

So, hopefully, if the Hibs' clown who punched the Hearts' goalkeeper, and the Hearts' half-wit who flung that coin at Neil Lennon are not already among the handful of fans who have been arrested for misbehaviour on Wednesday night – then they will very soon be getting the dawn knock from Police Scotland and, after the legal process has been completed – assuming guilty verdicts – they are banned for life from Scottish football.

All of which has got me back on one of my hobby horses. Some day, and hopefully soon, the SFA will need to grow a pair and initiate the process of “Strict Liability” on the member clubs as regards their fans' (mis)behaviour.

Obviously, the clubs do not want to go there. It seems to me, they would far rather treat the fans like shit and keep them at arm' length, rather than bring them on-board, try to offer them better deals, perhaps even a voice in how a club is run.

I have long held, brining-in membership schemes, with perks for those fans who take-up such a deal, will, in the long run, benefit both clubs and supporters. But, again, it has “aye been” done differently.

A final thought, is it just me, or has anyone else felt fan misbehaviour has increased since our lunatic politicians decided to score cheap political points against the SNP government, by getting shot of OBFA, the Offensive Behaviour At Football Act?

Strange how, we seem more-concerned about Rangers fans wading through Fenian blood, or Celtic fans singing in support of the IRA, than about Hearts fans chucking coins at Neil Lennon, or Hibs fans punching a Hearts player.

Welcome to 21st century Scotland.




Thursday 1 November 2018

King Willie Or King John Would Have Made All The Difference Last Night

WATCHING the Edinburgh Derby from Tynecastle on TV last night I could not help thinking: what might the likes of Willie Bauld or John Robertson have made of all that possession Hearts enjoyed.


"King" Willie Bauld - would have made a difference to Hearts last night

With a half-decent natural striker in their team, the Jambos would surely, notwithstanding Derek McGregor's defensive excellence, have won at a canter. They played some lovely outfield football, but, when they got into the “red zone” - cow's rear ends and banjos came to mind.

Sadly, however, last night's game will more-likely be remembered for all the wrong reasons, after some members of the crowd became a bit too-involved. But, hey, that's Scottish football for you. Their lunatic fringes might be a bit bigger, but, as was shown last night – every team has its half-wits in its following.

I don't suppose he will ever grow-up, and saying that should not mitigate the fact, nobody deserves to be hit in the face with a coin, but, as regards Neil Lennon – I must agree with Gary Caldwell, he does bring a lot of his troubles on himself.

I am assured by other journalists who know him, and who socialised with Neil in the West End of Glasgow, he is a charming man – away from football; he is erudite, witty and is not a football obsessive.

We used to have a successful Junior Football manager down here in Ayrshire, who won several trophies, including the big one, the Scottish Junior Cup, with a few good teams. From Monday to Friday, 9-5, he had a very-important job with one of our major banks. If you wanted to borrow upwards of £1 million, it was to him you made your case.

But, on a Saturday, he was a foul-mouthed, snarling, pent-up bundle of aggression, bawling at his players and the officials from the technical area. One evening, as we shared a bottle of wine on the train journey from Glasgow to Ayrshire, I asked him about his split personality.

Simple – I've got two heads. At the moment I am wearing my banker's head. I will get home tonight, have my tea, take off my banker's head, put on my football manager's one and go to the training. So long as I don't get the two heads mixed-up, I will be fine.”

I think maybe Neil Lennon also has a normal head and a football manager one.

 Neil Lennon, wearing his football head

By the way Neil, you were risking a booking for simulation, the way you went down in slow-motion stages. OK, being hit by a coin isn't funny, but, the delayed reaction, then the ever so slow fall – not fully convincing.

Same censure applies to Heart's goalkeeper Zdenek Zlamal, who made a bit of a pig's ear of things after he was punched by a Hibs' fan behind the goals. Certainly this, like the Lennon one, was something we don't want to see.

Lennon, naturally, has been playing the victim card ever since – what's that about, once a Celt, always a Celt. I am not having his: “I did nothing wrong, I was only paying them back for the abuse I had to stand for 90 minutes.”

Neil, as a manager, your focus should be on what;s happening in front of you, not behind you. Forget the fans, ignore them, it's safer.



THESE last few seasons, I have been mainly covering rugby, and the difference between how their players interact with referees, and how footballers do, it's not so much night and day as Mercury v Pluto.

Of course, if rugby players don't immediately accept the referee's decision as final – they can be marched backwards ten metres until the learn to shut-up. Such dissent can and occasionally does, turn a harmless penalty into a points-scoring opportunity, so rugby players quickly learn to accept the referee's verdict.

Also, if you get a yellow card in rugby, you're off the park for ten minutes; in football, you carry-on regardless. Also, in rugby, there is the protocol – only the team captain can speak to the referee. From the referee's perspective, he will, as a matter of course, when yellow-carding a player and sending him off for ten minutes, or worse, if he is issuing a red card, the match official will call the team captain over, with the miscreant, and tell them both why the bad guy is going off.

If Messrs Owen and Barnes refereed football, players' behaviour would soon improve

You very-seldom see a rugby referee such as Nigel Owens or Wayne Barnes being surrounded by a mob of angry players, they know it could prove messy if they did.

A rugby player, as he prepares to take the field, knows he is going to hit people, and be hit in return, but he accepts the physical danger. In theory, a footballer does not face the same risks of injury. However, he also knows, particularly if he is perhaps a fast, trick forward, there will be times when he will be hit, and it will hurt. So, why the “handbags” after a bad tackle?

Watching that game last night, I could make a case for stiffer penalties for bad tackles, and for mass hectoring of referees. I have said before, and will say again doubtless, to get the best experience out of football, we must eliminate the cynical challenges, the bad tackle and get the players and coaches to behave better.

How we do this, I don't completely know, but, more cards might be the answer. Sure, there would be pandemonium for a time, but, the sensible players and coaches would soon get the message, while the numpties would be driven from the game – which would be better for their going.

But, for this to happen, the will would need to be there, and, at present, I do not see this.



IT SAYS much about the mountain Women's football still has to climb in Scotland, that Glasgow City's magnificent achievement in winning their 12th straight Scottish Women's Premier League title has attracted such small praise.

Imagine the media overkill if either one of Bigot Enterprises Scotland's two men's sides had done this. And, it's not as if City are competing in a one-team league. Hibs are running them very close, and, I will be amazed if the great Eddie Wolecki Black perhaps the only man in Scotland who really understands Scotswomen, does not soon have Celtic Ladies offering City genuine competition within the city.

Women's football, that's where the game is at in Scotland just now.