Consider this list of the great and the good: Police Chiefs; UEFA bureaucrats; Pub landlords; The Krankies.
What do they have in common?
All of them in recent times* have had their say on when games in Scotland should be kicking off and now the SPL – in their wisdom – has decided to reward the fans with an announcement on kick-off times for rearranged fixtures. Fans of the Rangers face two shocks: firstly, it seems that the St. Mirren game at Ibrox will be on a Saturday at three in the afternoon (Checks to see if that is right... Yup.)
Secondly, the trip to Perth to play St. Johnstone on Tuesday April 5th will result in a kick off at 6pm.
Yes, 6pm. It will also be live on ESPN.
For some this may be handy but the great majority of Bears living and working in Glasgow and surrounding areas are going to struggle, to say nothing of those living further south. If you’re unable to leave before 5pm then you can forget it. The attendance is likely to be lower than expected – so St. Johnstone will suffer. So a big slow golf clap is in order. The live coverage would not be permitted were the game to kick off at a normal time (due to UEFA fines for clashing with CL/Europa competitions) so, as usual, the fans are shafted without so much as a preliminary kiss and bunch of flowers.
All hilarity aside, the wishes and the needs of those who go to games has long since disappeared from the top of the agenda.
So how do we push it back up the list?
*it’s possible The Krankies may have been too busy talking to the Record about Scottish comedy but we must assume they have an opinion on everything.