It would be easy for me to rustle up another blogpost on the main pieces of news from the SPL this week. But it would just be a bit depressing.
First up was another delay in the Rangers takeover saga, which looks increasingly like it could drag on longer than the Middle East peace process.
That was overshadowed by the revelation that the police are investigating an attempt to send nail bombs to Neil Lennon, his outspoken lawyer Paul McBride, and some Scottish MSP who apparently has done nothing wrong other than wear a Celtic top a few weeks ago.
Even amongst the other clubs in the top division, there was scarcely any positive news to be found: Dundee United and Kilmarnock, fourth and fifth in the table respectively, both suffered 4-0 hammerings at home to the Old Firm. United had three players sent off, all for professional fouls, against Rangers (who got three penalties in the process); the referee, Willie Collum had dismissed Aberdeen's Andy Considine in the same circumstances 2 days earlier, against Celtic.
Interesting observation - Collum rhymes with Gollum, which is particularly apt given this official's resemblance to the deranged hobbit from Lord of The Rings. A hobbit might have done a better job officiating at Tannadice; the first red card was a penalty but never a professional foul, the second was a professional foul but was outside the box, and the third was neither a foul nor a true goalscoring opportunity. Collum's incompetence, I would say, was equalled by the pillock who reffed Caley-Hearts last weekend, Crawford Allan; the only explanation for some of his decisions is that he underwent a lobotomy prior to kickoff.
Anyway, it seems like all my blogposts these days are turning into a rant against the Old Firm, the SPL, the SFA, refs, anything to do with the top tier of our league. So this week, I'm going to turn my attention to the most important match in Scotland this weekend.
No, I don't give a stuff about the Old Firm game on Sunday (all right, that's a lie, I'll be watching it as avidly as anyone else). But when was the last time 12,000 people went to a Scottish first division game? That'll be the case at East End Park tomorrow, as Dunfermline meet Raith in what may turn out to be title decider. The prize? Promotion to the SPL, and the relative riches on offer (think of it as the difference between living in the gutter and living in a poorhouse).
There are two matches left after tomorrow; Dunfermline lead Raith by a point, so a home win would give them an almost unassailable advantage. To cap it all, it's a local derby, with Rovers nipping 14 miles along the road from Kirkcaldy. It's a big enough derby that 7,000 attended the earlier meeting between the sides in November, a crowd bigger than many in the SPL. Now, with so much at stake, East End Park is sold out for the first time since god knows when. Neither were given much of a chance 8 months ago, but have taken centre stage as the pre-season favourites stumbled - Dundee got their points deduction, Falkirk have struggled to mount a challenge, and Ross County collapsed after the departure of Derek Adams. So these are the only two horses left.
To be honest, the nostalgic in me would love to see both these teams back in the top flight. Raith haven't been there since 1997; in fact, things got bad enough that they spent a short period in the second division before being revitalized by their current manager, John McGlynn, who has pushed on after a cup semi-final place last season. Dunfermline, meanwhile, were relegated from the SPL in 2007, and have downsized every year since; failure to go up this year will mean further cuts.
Hopefully it will be a great game and a great occasion; goodness knows Scottish football could do with some positive press. Even the first division couldn't produce that earlier this week, after floodlight failure caused the abandonment of Queen of the South's home game with Ross County. One of those things, you would say...except this match was abandoned in March as well, because of floodlight failure too. The original fixture in January was called off with the visitors more than halfway through their 225 mile journey south. And, to cap it all, County, battling against relegation, were 2-0 up on Tuesday night with only 20 minutes to go when play was stopped. It was an expensive night for them in more ways than one.
So next Tuesday they do it all again - if they do manage the full 90 minutes it will mean the sides have completed four league matches, with two abandoned and one postponed, plus the Challenge Cup Final, which was postponed originally as well. You don't have to be mad to watch football in Scotland, but it helps...
L.
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