SOMEBODY TELL THE REF

I see that Ronny Deila has been told that there will be 'consequences' if any players cause trouble. Presumably Kenny McDowall has been given the same warning about his 'stars'. But what about the referee? Isn't it about time that the man in the middle was warned about his behaviour causing trouble? Neil McCann was in the Daily Record yesterday going on about the game in 1999 when Hugh Dallas was hit with a coin and Celtic supporters tried to run onto the pitch. I remember vividly watching the game on TV and Dallas couldn't have been any more obvious about his bias if he'd run onto the pitch wearing a Rangers top. Every time Celtic broke through and went on the attack, Dallas blew his whistle and called the players back to take a free kick for some foul that nobody else saw. On the other hand, any time a Rangers attack broke down they were handed a free kick in a dangerous area. They even got a penalty for an infringement that only Dallas saw. His behaviour that day was a disgrace; and yet nobody ever pointed the finger. Instead, the Daily Record printed an article on the Monday showing that Celtic got as many free kicks as Rangers, with no explanation, of course, of the circumstances surrounding them. Hopefully we don't get a re-run of this performance this coming Sunday.
 
The Daily Record, meanwhile, is still doing its best to rile up The Peeppul. We've had nothing but stories of Celtic players, and ex-players, saying how Bisto FC is going to get slaughtered. We even had Chris Sutton, who usually doesn't have a good word to say about Celtic these days, opining that Celtic could win the game comfortably with their eyes shut. The DR has also been making sure that the truth about the new team is kept uppermost in the minds of The Peeppul. Ex-Celtic captain Boyd proved that he's no Uncle Tom by agreeing with the advert in the Sunday Herald. It is obvious what the Daily Record's ploy is: they're desperate to cause trouble, hoping that The Peeppul get violent, which will then be blamed on the Celtic support for refusing to acknowledge this new club as 'stull Raynjurz.'
 
Speaking of new clubs, some of The Peeppul are still desperately clinging to that stupid story about Celtic changing its name. They just don't understand. There is a country in Africa that has been called the Belgian Congo, Zaire and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, among other things. It has always been the same country, with the same borders, the same people etc. Only the name has changed. On the other hand, right up until the 1990s, Russia was a synonymous term for the U.S.S.R. Mention of Russia on the news etc. meant the Soviet Union. After the collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe the U.S.S.R split into a multitude of nations. Russia nowadays refers to the Russian Federation. Any use of the name Russia in reference to the Soviet Union occurs only in History books. And the same goes for 'Rangers'. They might insist on calling their new club by the same name as a dead club but is not the same club. Celtic, on the other hand, despite slight name changes, has been the same club since 1888. A rose by any other name would smell as sweet! Spraying scent onto a shite, however, does not turn it into a fragrant flower, even if you name it after one!
 
And the Ashley saga goes on. Imagine there's a man that finally divorces his wife and marries his latest in a long string of mistresses, after his wife finds out about his philandering and throws him out. The new wife would have to be extremely dumb, or extremely besotted to imagine that her new husband will never stray again. This is what McMurdo and all the other supporters of Ashley remind me of. They can already see what he's done at Newcastle; what the hell makes them think that he'll treat their club any differently? They honestly believe that he's going to throw all his money at Bisto FC, getting to the top of the Premiership and into Europe. So why hasn't he done that with NUFC? The simple answer is that there's nothing in it for him. He's all about making money, not chucking it down the pan to keep a team's supporters happy. He has already shown that all he wants is folk to buy his merchandise and a large advertising hoarding. UEFA has strict rules about advertising at stadiums so why would Ashley want to get Bisto FC into Europe?

McMurdo and his disciples are constantly banging on about how our footballing authorities and our media are terrified of a real billionaire being in charge of Rangers (sic) but why should they be? Some NUFC supporters probably thought their team would be challenging for top spot again when Ashley took over at St. James's Park. It didn't turn out that way and it won't turn out that way at Ibrox either. In reality, the SFA and the media are desperately trying to save the club they call Rangers. Unfortunately, the alternative to Ashley doesn't look particularly attractive either; a bunch that can't raise the money they claim they can, led by a convicted crook. Whatever way things turn out, the new club is, to use the term utilised by accountants, fucked! Hopefully, however, it'll limp on in some shape or form; it's non-stop entertainment!

'Smear and Fear' should be available on Amazon in the next couple of days. My book has already been submitted and is in process of being reviewed, so it won't be long now!

 Available soon in paperback and kindle