Monumental Mason

Old Firm referee Dougie McDonald has opened a shop in Musselburgh,

All over bar the shouting

Betting without the most blinkered of Rangers supporters, you'd be very hard pushed indeed to find anyone, with a decent understanding of the game of association football, who thinks that Scott Broon's sending off in yesterday's Old Firm match was justified.

The referee, Dougie McDonald, was conned by Kyle Lafferty who, not for the first time, has succeeded in getting an opponent sent off through his "professional" dramatics. So is Lafferty to blame and McDonald guilty of nothing more than an "honest mistake"?

Actually it turns out that it wasn't a mistake, honest or otherwise, at all. McDonald will no doubt stand over his decision and former referee Kenny Clark went further and told BBC Scotland that McDonald had a "very good game".

A very good game!

Clark then went on to give us the benefit of his professional expertise and advise us that he "doesn't think (the sending off) was the turning point in the game". If I hadn't heard this kind of pathetic intransigence so many times before I'd be hard pushed to believe it. Quite what Kenny Clark's motivation for throwing fuel on the dying embers of our season is anyone's guess.

Exceptional Circumstances

Ex-FIFA vice president David Will believes that the Old Firm move into the English league would not be sanctioned except under "exceptional circumstances".

He believes that it would set a dangerous precedent which would see "the big Belgian clubs trying to get in the Dutch league, the Dutch ones trying to get in the Bundesliga".

I think he has a point. FIFA will not support this plan.

If they did, though, what would those exceptional circumstances be? Might it be that Scotland is technically no more than a region of the United Kingdom. This is a sad, but true, fact. It would certainly strengthen any case for a single British football team.

Independence anyone?

SPL feeder team?

I suppose I could be constructive here. I relation to the proposal to move my beloved Celtic to England. 

If, Decency Forfend!, this idea were to take root perhaps we might leave a team in the SPL. A reserve side, a feeder side, call it what you will. Not sure about the practicalities of this but perhaps players could be transferred from one squad to the other during the transfer window. 

If this ever happened surely that'd be the way to go. And I know which team I'd support. 

The Sky Shilling

Sure, there's plenty profits to be had by joining the EPL. Taking the 'Sky Shilling'. But remember they are all relative.

All this filthy lucre would have to be ploughed into the team. Simply to survive. Like virtually all the middling clubs currently fighting for EPL survival we'd have to take chances. Increase our debt. Take a punt on some billy bigshots.

We can forget our prudent business model. We can forget running a proper business.

Did I mention that I was against this proposal? 

SOS

Someone wise, I think it was Bruce Hornsby, once said: 

"What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?"

To me, this sums up the Celtic/EPL proposal. I don't care about Rangers. They are soulless. This doesn't apply to them.

Email to Phil Gartside

From: Musters

Sent: 23 April 2009 09:59

To: Phil Gartside

Subject: Celtic to join EPL

Hi Phil,

 

I'm very interested in your EPL2 idea. Like all Celtic fans I feel that it would be a great honour for a small club like ours to come and play in the "Best League in the World". We are touched by your concern for our welfare. The opportunity to come and play in England against, your club, Bolton, Ipswich and Crewe Alexandra has been a long held ambition. Anything to escape the mind-numbing repetition of Scottish football, not to mention the freezing sub-antarctic temperatures, would be most welcome.

 

Alas, I fear your idea may be ill-fated. I think that other clubs similar to your own would not be quite so welcoming. They may suspect that they'd get beaten on a regular basis by us. Protectionism will win the day. Not everyone is as forward thinking as yourself, Sir.

 

So, the reason for this correspondence, is to tell that when your idea is roundly rejected, as it surely will be, by all your peers, why not think about this. Why not consider bringing Bolton up North. Into the SPL. I mean obviously you'd have to start in, say, division 1, but I think within a couple of years you could easily achieve a top 6 position in the SPL. At least you'd have a better chance of qualifying for Europe.

 

Think about it.

 

Regards,

 

Musters