To win the Scottish Premier Football League your team has to meet several requirements. Firstly, you have to have good players in your squad, they have to be really fit and well coached, they have to have the mental strength to play for a “Massive Football Club” they have to be ambitious and determined to win every game, you have to have an “Elite Manager” who takes big decisions in his stride, and who has the same determination and aspirations to win every game they play, and sometimes you need a slice of luck when you’re not at your best. I think we had them all in Paisley on Saturday evening against St Mirren, including the slice of luck.
I was confident going into the game, but I also knew we don’t get any easy games against the Paisley Saints, or should that be the Paisley Globetrotters, they have some big players in their squad, big as in height, and they are well coached and have had some decent results lately. They worked really hard in the first half to press our defenders, and through that press they managed to get a couple of decent opportunities to score, but once again Big Kasper did his job. Their first goal was a very well taken free kick, which I didn’t think was a free kick, I thought Liam Scales made a good challenge, and both players ran into each other. Their second goal was a bit of a fluke, with big Phillips hitting his shot into the ground and bouncing over Kasper.
From then on in we took control of the game and deserved to win, maybe not by 5-2, we escaped a good penalty shout when AJ made the tackle in the box, but referee Mathew Mc Dermid made a few calls against us as well. Winning league’s as I said is down to your playing squad, you have to be able to make substitutions when required, and those subs need to improve the team, that was achieved on Saturday. I thought Scales, Mc Cowan, Jota, and Yang especially, made good contributions, Johnny Kenny didn’t get enough time to shine. I think we all knew there was a player there in Yang, the Bhoy just needed game-time, and a cuddle, he is getting his game-time now, and according to Brendan he’s getting his cuddle at home from his girlfriend.
It was no surprise when the KMI committee decided that our goal at Easter Road should have stood, we are still waiting on Willie Collum commenting on the incident. That decision by Alan Muir cost a point, and the opportunity to get three points, there has to be consequences for the action, it’s alright taking it on the chin when you are thirteen points ahead, what if we were only two or three points ahead? These type of decisions have cost people their jobs, who knows how many trophies we have been cheated out of in our history, there are a few ex-referees making money on the after-dinner speaking circuit, telling their Sevco/Masonic audience about how many goals and penalties they cheated Celtic out of, well not any more. We should now be demanding the pictures and audio from the Hibs game, and we should be demanding a punishment that sends a message out to the officials that says “No more Cheating”.
I want to take this opportunity to wish Jackie Dow a Hoopy 100th Birthday on Wednesday, March 5th. Jackie has been a member of Port Glasgow No 1 Branch CSC all his life. Jackie still has his season ticket, and goes to every home game, and to Hampden when he gets a ticket. He is still as sharp as a tack, although a bit slower nowadays. Jackie and some of his Family will be guests of the club this weekend for the Hibs cup-tie, let’s make sure the wee man gets the victory his magnificent support deserves. If you happen to see Jackie around the stadium, go over and say hello, he would love that.
Glasgow’s still Green & White
