SAY WHAT you like about the Green Brigade, and I have to admit, following their demonstration at St Mirren's park on Saturday, these bhoys are not at the top of anyone's popularity list, I have a sneaking admiration for them. I would suggest, somewhere within that loose organisation there are some clever guys, who, as one Editorial Director once said of me: “If you'd been caught and tamed early enough, you'd have been some operator.”
I may be a Scottish Nationalist – albeit one who has nae time for the hooks, crooks and comic singers currently masquerading as the leadership of the SNP, but, I am fairly ambivalent about the Royal Family and whether or not we should retain the Monarchy once we have extricated ourselves from England's vice-like grip. I am ambivalent, in a slightly-different manner about Celtic FC and those who follow them – I don't give a fuck who beats them.
But, I will, if necessary, man the barricades to defend the Green Brigade's right to protest as they see fit. We cannot have a list of subjects one is allowed to protest against, with everything else off-limits. For the simple reason, when you go down that road, you get to the point where the state of mind is: “quis custodiet ipsos custodes”. If you were not fortunate enough to obtain a classical education at a Scottish Senior Secondary school, back when the Scottish education system was the envy of the world, that translates as: “Who guards the guards?”
Whoever came up with that: “If you hate the Royal Family – clap your hands” banner was touched by genius.
I can just imagine the conversation, in the back bar of The Sean South Arms, Croy: “Right bhoys – they're gonnae hiv a minute's silence for Queenie. But, they ken fine ye cannae hae that at a Sellick gemme, since we're no gonnae shut up fur that long. Minute's applause then, so, here's whit we dae.” As I said – evil genius at work and the fitba establishment embarrassed again.
One wonders what level of retribution and response is being planned across the city, by the followers of the club we must now refer to as: “The King's XI.” Scottish football would be healthier if the followers of our top two sides spent more time asking: “Why are we shite in Europe?” and less time re-fighting 17th century Irish battles and the lasting effects of the potato famine.
Mind you, while fitba plays its part, much of the blight of sectarianism in Scotland is caused in the home and in life in general – after all, at his Accession Council, our new King was required to reassert his support for the primacy of the Protestant religion. Tough luck if you are a loyal, Roman Catholic, Jew, Hindu, Mormon, Muslim, Buddhist, Humanist, Jedi Knight, follower of the Church of Elvis, or whatever other religion one professes in today's multi-cultural, multi-faith Scotland.
I'm with the new King, by the way, in his oft-professed desire to be: “Defender of Faiths” rather than one particular faith. And god luck to His Majesty in getting that wee change to the Coronation Oath past the vested interests of the various Protestant Churches, between now and the day the Archbishop of Caterbury slaps the bejewelled, velvet and ermine bunnet on his head, as he sits in yon big wooden chair, above the sink plug to Scone Abbey.
The Green Brigade's wee demonstration was a handy diversion for the mighty intellects of the SWFA (that's the Scottish Football Writers Association). They could have a go at the GB and thus have fewer words to expend on just how this expensively-acquired Celtic team couldn't beat a team, put together at much-less cost and supposedly lucky to be allowed on the same pitch as Celtic.
Some reasoned that Celtic had lost because they wore a change strip – an excuse first coined by Sir Alex Ferguson, back in season 1995-96, when he consigned Manchester United's grey change strip to the bin at half-time in an away defeat to Southampton. I'm still wondering why – other than taking the chance to show case a strip they want their fans to buy, Celtic chose to ditch the hoops for a visit to Paisley. I mean, green and white hoops v black and white vertical stripes – where's the colour clash? More-importantly: why?
I've long thought, a lot of our Scottish clubs are beaten before they start against the Old Firm. All week leading-up to the game, they get it into their heads: “Well, we're playing 14 men on Saturday – the officials will give them every break going, and they're better than us, any way.”
Pish, I firmly believe if their managers could convince their players to go out there and have a go at the Old Firm, particularly at home, the “diddy” teams would produce better results against the Bigot Brothers. The lessons are there to be seen when they are in Europe, facing teams – not always “European Giants” - who have a go at them.
But, maybe as, in politics, so-many of us Scots are programmed to believe we are inferior, in football the same lie has got to our other teams.
I CERTAINLY hope we see an old-fashioned Scotland performance when we take on Ukraine at Hampden tonight. Thanks to Mad Vlad and his daft invasion, the Ukrainians are suddenly everyone's second-favourite international team.
Of course we must have sympathy for that blighted nation, but, we must remember, while guys they went to school with and grew-up with are putting their lives on the line for their country, the Ukrainians we face are out of that front line and kicking a ball about for the greater glory of their nation.
They are just another team, wanting to beat us and there to, in turn be beaten by us. A fair few of them didn't look that special against what is, by Celtic standards a fairly-average Hoops team in Europe last week.
This Scotland team is better than Celtic, so, I suggest we roll up our sleeves and get stuck-in. We are, admittedly, minus one or two of our main men, but, I still feel, there is enough class in whichever XI Stevie Clarke sends out, to get the job done and post a victory – if our heads are right.
No comments:
Post a Comment