IT'S JANUARY, and you know what that means? The bright, shimmering stars of the Scottish mainstream media can now get down to their favourite part of the job – thinking-up transfer gossip, which just might be true.
For the next three and a bit weeks, we will be regaled with stories of which players will be arriving at Celtic Park and Ibrox, and who will be leaving. We will see unbelievable transfer fees quoted, for some hugely-over-rated and under-talented players, while the chat rooms and fans' forums on social media will be awash with – well with mostly pish.
Add the current managerial vacancy at Motherwell, to keep the pot boiling, allied to the attempts of several journalists to get Neil Lennon sacked at Celtic, and it's going to be a busy month on the periphery of the game.
Meanwhile, the fans are still locked out of the grounds because of this bloody pandemic, the kids – the game's future, cannot play and Scottish fitba, with the speed of a glacier, edges closer to going down the stank completely. I despair.
AS I mentioned in my last post, I have given up writing obituaries for the mainstream media, although I will continue to write them for this blog. So, at the dawn of a New Year, I thought it timely to look back on those we lost in 2020, including some stellar names from Scottish football.
The year 2020 had barely began when we lost the Grand Old Man of Scottish football, with the death, aged 96, of Bobby Brown. At the time of his death, Bobby was the oldest Scottish internationalist, a wonderful goalkeeper, the manager who master-minded the 1967 Wembley triumph and, a thorough gentleman.
We then, in short order, lost former Celtic and Scotland full-back Dunky McKay, who passed away in his Australian home, another great full-back, who sadly was never capped – John “Spud” Murphy of Ayr United, and another uncapped cult figure, with the Honest Men and Clyde, Muirkirk's own Danny Masterton.
Sunderland and Scotland hero Billy Hughes was another loss early in the year, while 2020 also saw us saying good bye to two of the brilliant Motherwell “ancell Babes” of the early 1960s, Scotland caps Pat Quinn and Willie Hunter.
Down here in the heartland of Junior Football, we lost a couple of class acts in 2020. First to go was Glenafton Athletic legend Danny “Puskas” McCulloch – a man who made goal-scoring seem easy, while, right at the end of the year, wee Davie McIlroy, a legend with Kilbirnie Ladeside and Ardrossan Winton Rovers and a well-respected school teacher, also heard his final whistle.
Aberdeen-born, Hull-raised Alex Dawson, a prolific goal-scorer with the post-Busby Babes Manchester United, then the legendary “Black Prince of Deepdale” with Preston North End was another to go in 2020, as did another Aberdonian recruit to Old Trafford, John Fitzpatrick, who passed away days before Christmas.
David Hagen, one of the legendary “Lost Boys,” from the Junior World Cup in 1989, lost his battle against MND in 2020. We also lost two great defenders from either side of the Old Firm divide, with the passing of former Scotland hero Tam Forsyth and the uncapped Celtic “fan on the park' Pat McCluskey.
Former Headmaster Tom O'Malley, whose love for Hibernian took him to the Chairmanship of his club, also passed away last year, as did Kilmarnock and Scotland goalkeeper Campbell Forsyth.
Finally, in December, we said farewell to a brilliant but uncapped convert from rugby, Bobby Wishart, a Herioter, a Scottish League winner with Aberdeen and Dundee and a member of the first Scotland Under-23 team. Above all, however, Bobby was a total gentleman.
The year ended on a real low note with the passing of two absolute managerial legends – Dundee United's Jim McLean and the man who managed more clubs than Jack Nicklaus – the legend that is Tommy Docherty, the first man to play-for, captain and manage Scotland, and a man who left a legacy of one-liners and quips.
As if Covid wasn't bad enough, to lose so-many greats in one year made 2020 a really hard one.
FALTERING and failing they may be, but, you have to admire the Scottish media's ability to come up with gratuitous shite to divert the public's gaze from real scandals.
I give you, “The Celtic Dubai Stooshie,” with Scottish politics' “Mr Angry,” Deputy First Minister John Swinney perhaps trying to undermine Tory Murdo Fraser's core orange-tinted support, by having a go at Celtic for flying out to Dubai for a few days.
In normal circumstances, say we had a mid-season shut-down, I would have no problems whatsoever with any Scottish team buggering off to Dubai or indeed anywhere for some warm-weather training. But, this trip, in the midst of a pandemic – well it makes no sense whatsoever.
I feel it is yet another instance of Wee Peter showing his disdain for everyone else, by sanctioning this unnecessary trip – merely because he can. In this instance, I'm with Wee Liam – the “Token Tim” in our backward Ayrshire village – where 1690 of the population of 1700 fly Union Flags outside their doors and participate fully in “The Marching Season.”
Liam thinks, rather than going off to Dubai, the squad should be made to dig ditches around Lennoxtown as punishment for their less-than-stellar form this season.
FINALLY, can I wish Darren Fletcher well in his new role with the first-team squad at Manchester United. Having cut his coaching teeth with United's Under-16s, the 80-times capped former Scotland captain has now been promoted to work with the big boys. I feel Fletch could have a big future in management.
Scotland could get an early bonus from this, since Fletch will be working on a daily basis with Scott McTominay, who can only benefit from Fletcher's great experience.
I sadly missed the passing of Campbell Forsyth. He was a genuinely funny bloke and I can still see and hear him laughing. I worked alongside Campbell at Drybroughs Brewery in Edinburgh. A very good golfer and rich in stories. When he was playing against Leeds for Southhampton Peter Lorimer fired a shot which hit off the bar bouncing back to Peter who smashed it again and Campbell caught it on the full up to his left hand side. Campbell used to tell the story that he saved it but was going for the first shot. I miss him, a great character that lit up any room.
ReplyDeleteI interviewed Campbell a couple of times when at the Paisley Daily Express, about his time with St Mirren. I also spoke to him later re his Kilmarnock years.
DeleteAs you say, a very funny bloke, with a wealth of great stories. He still holds the record for the longest gap between age group cap and full cap - seven years, two months, from February 1957 (Under-23 cap) and April, 1964 (full debut).