relied upon for an endless stream of quotes, which can of course be played
back against them at any time. I'll give you a wee for instance. Last Friday
in his scribble in 'The Express', Davie Provan, talking about the prospect
of Gazza coming back to play in a lower league started with the following;
'However cerebrally challenged Paul Gascoigne may be'.
Nothing too controversial in that you may say. Well my question is this. How
clever can a guy who equates nano seconds of invisible flute concertos with
unhinging Ulster peace processes, actually be? And furthermore, does this
intellectual heavyweight actually have the right to question the intelligence of others? Y'see, this yahoo watching really is an easy game to play.
I see Rangers are drawing up plans to give us our own Radio Station. Why?
After all, the official website ain't exactly a rip roaring success, so how
is a radio station going to succeed where the website has failed? I mean, is
'Radio Teddies' going to discuss the important issues of the day. I phone
up for example and ask what stance the Club is going to take against morons
like Ewing Grahame who last Monday virtually accused the club of murder
because of our Orange strip? Are they going to go 'live' with these kind of
questions? The Prosecution rests its case, M'Lud.
Apart from that, just who are the club going to rope in to do the needful.
Don't tell me it will be cowards like Derek Johnstone? If that is the case
then someone pass me the sick bucket. The fans are now completely and
utterly sick at the Club's pathetic efforts in dealing with the media and
until the incompetents and ne'erdowells who are haemorrhaging money out of
the club at all levels are weeded out then concepts like websites and radio
stations are just not going to work.
Let's get back to the, 'Let's ask Timmy instead' game. I couldn't believe my
ears on Saturday when someone standing alongside me in the queue for the
Copland, (This was in Corals on Paisley Rd West round about 3:30) said that
Hugh Keevins had taken new Rangers Chairman, John McClelland, to task over
the Orange away strip in a pre match interview.
Now let's see if I'm getting this one straight here. A guy who came out in
his weekly column for the Sunday Mail in Mar/April 2000 and told us that
there were 4 priests officiating at his daughter's wedding, just so as to
keep in with the Celtic support is now questioning the concept of
religion/sectarianism in west of Scotland footballing circles?
I'm sorry, but this is one Bear that refuses to participate in our yahoo
meeja's game. It is also very depressing to think that a wee nyaff in the
grand scheme of things from Govanhill has the wherewithal to instinctively
know what answers you should be giving in these instances, yet the people
running the club obviously do not.
Let's keep with the queues last Saturday. Without doubt it was a major blip
in the system and a real embarrassment for the club. But for the life of
me, I cannot begin to fathom out why the Club did not open up the gates
earlier? What obviously was bothering the club was that perhaps a couple of
hundred of interlopers would have got in Scot-free. The bottom line is,
they had to open the gates and let us in anyway. So would it not have saved
the club a wee bit of face if they had opened up sooner? PS, Yes it was
nice of them to have been on the phone to the Ferry Companies for our Ulster
brethren. But surely that is what our PR and club should be about anyway?
Getting on to the game itself. All round it was an acceptable performance
and no more. That being said, I think Arteta does look the part and it is
pleasing to note already, how both he and Bazza are on the same wavelength.
What was also particularly apparent on Saturday was their desire to press
and harry opponents at every opportunity. As my wee bud from Cumbernauld has always maintained - if we match inferior teams like for like attitude wise,
then we should always carry the day.
I can't let Saturday go without giving a mention to the incident in the 10th
minute when the Dundee goalie was allowed to kick the ball out of play
because his laces had became unravelled. To me this political correctness
gone mad. I'm going to be upfront here. The way I see it, a goalie that
loses an arm, or even a finger or two, in a tussle for the ball deserves a
good ten minutes' break. On the other hand, a goalie, which takes liberties
and pleads for a wee break in proceedings because of his bootlaces, deserves
all the hassle and unsporting play that comes his way. It is cheating and
gives us sportsmen out here a bad name.
Speaking of cheats. West of Scotland yahoo Phil McGuire's comments in The
Sun last Friday on the eve of his club's match against his boyhood heroes,
must surely be deserving of an enquiry by the powers that be? For those of
you who are not aware, the heading kind of sets the mood; 'Hoops thumped us
6-0 but I was still smiling.' He then goes on a roll and gives us; 'My
debut for the club was in that 6-0 defeat to Celtic, but I think I was the
guy who came off the pitch that day with the biggest smile on my face.'
How any club or set of supporters can tolerate these sort of comments from a
professional footballer beggars belief. Yet on the very morning we
discussed McGuire's comments, there was Dolly on FF's message boards backing McGuire to the hilt. Back to McGuire, I see that both he and a colleague were involved in a punch up at the yahoos' third goal. No doubt McGuire was wanting the blame to be entirely his and not some sort of joint effort. Still you can just imagine the guff we can expect in the rags from McGuire and Co in the lead up to next week's match with the Sheep.
As for the yahoos. You can only stand back and admire them for the way they
treat Aberdeen with the contempt they so richly deserve and pummel them time after time after time. And if Dolly wants to use one solitary fluke last
season as a comfort blanket, then they are even more pitiful than I give
them credit for. I'll say it again. If Aberdeen were a racehorse there
would be a stewards enquiry into its performances.
The name Jock Stein conjures up a lot of images for Rangers fans. But after
reading a wee article about him in 'The Sunday Post' concerning him trying
to tackle religious bigotry at CP in the early 70s, I think that another
title must be bestowed upon him. I give you Jock Stein, Mr See No Evil. The
stoopidest man in Scottish sport.
I mean, let's look at the facts regards Stein and how he was treated at the
Cesspit at different times in his Septic career. He was told that he
couldn't become manager at CP in the late 50s because of the bigotry
permeating certain levels of that club at the time. By 1978, and despite
all that he had achieved for that club in the previous thirteen years, a
seat on the board was denied him because of the bigotry still remaining at
that club. Yet there he was in the early 70s believing that he could rid
that club of bigotry? Hell, when it came to being daft? Stein could've
gave Provan a run for his money.
This week's winner of the 'Ach, You Just Knew It Was Going To Happen' award
is one hands down. By the length of Afghanistan in fact, by those lovable
rogues stateside who scrawled over a wee memorial plaque, Rangers had left
in memory of the victims of the Sept 11th atrocity. The old adage that you
can never really take Celtic out of the man is proved conclusively here once
again.
Elsewhere, the word is Michael Mols will be allowed to go down to Sunderland
on trial for a few days. There's not a lot left to be said. His truly was a
star that shined all too briefly at Ibrox. People talk about legends. If not
for that freak injury we would be talking about the man with the magic
smile, in hushed and reverential tones, such is the impact he made in those
first three injury-free months.
It is also a strong rumour at time of writing that Flo could also be part of
this deal. Reality is whichever way you turn here the outcome does not look
good. This is a lose, lose, lose situation if ever there was one.
Anyone, who thinks we can hold out and get anything remotely near the
original £12m we paid for him, is way off the mark. So we have to accept
that we are going to take a massive hit if he leaves. But that has to be
measured against the fact that if we do allow him to leave, the money we
then have at our disposal cannot be guaranteed to buy you the services of a
guy who will match Flo's quota of goals.
If this sorry state of affairs doesn't once and for all give the Rangers
support an appreciation of the depreciation in Mr Murray and Mr Advocaat's
worth to us, then nothing will. The gangly figure of Tore Andre Flo single
handedly sums up David Murray's financial policy at Ibrox. A high risk,
short-term strategy that was always going to come unstuck and leave us high
and dry in the end up.
Anyway, it's an awayday to the Capital this weekend. Personally speaking I
always like a trip out east, especially at festival time. No doubt our
opponents will be trying extra hard if that is possible, after that quite
emphatic doing at the hands of their city rivals last weekend. (Make mine a
double Rambo) Still we should still have too much is store for them.
Shouldn't we?
Have a good one Bears,
THE GOVANHILL GUB
PS, if you're on the look out for trying something different. I recommend
'The Ghosts n Ghouls' Tours. Apparently at this time of the year the oldest
ghost in Embra always makes an appearance. That's the Hibs captain with the
Scottish Cup of course.
See yiz.