A Taxing Issue

Only a fool wouldn’t acknowledge that the events this week at Ibrox has been the biggest story to have hit Scottish Football since, well, since forever to be perfectly honest. Equally only a fool wouldn’t realise that the implications of it extend well beyond the boundaries of G51 2XD.

It is understandable, therefore, that the odd column inch or two has been devoted to the remarkable story as it has unfolded over the course of the week. We are promised further revelations next week, and they too are bound to shock and grip in equal order.

I’ve been watching football in Scotland for 35 of my 43 years and in that time I’ve become used to the fact that two clubs, Fergie’s time at Pittodrie notwithstanding, have dominated the game almost entirely. I’ve got used to football writers desperately trying to shoe horn the ‘old firm angle’ into their reporting no matter how far removed the actual story is from either club. So used to it in fact that it now raises no more than a wry smile rather than my ire as it once did.

Until yesterday that is.

Yesterday found me, as usual if Thistle are at home, at Firhill. Morton were the visitors and while the goalless draw wasn’t a classic it was still a reasonably entertaining, if from a Thistle perspective frustrating, afternoon.

At the end of the game I trooped round the side of the pitch to hear what the two managers had thought of the 90 minutes.

On an afternoon where the icy wind cut you in half, the warmth of the new Firhill press room was most welcome. Morton manager Allan Moore was the first to speak and as usual he rabitted on at a fair old rate with a pretty accurate assessment of the game.

Next into the room to share his thoughts on the game was Morton’s Archie Campbell. Now you can understand the logic of wanting to speak to Campbell whose pace had troubled the Thistle back line all afternoon and it was Campbell after all who had blazed a penalty high into the sky.

(ex Ranger Archie Campbell sends a penalty over the bar - pic by Tommy Taylor)

Now Campbell, if you are unaware, had been on the books of Rangers until the end of last season though he had spent much of the season on loan at Cowdenbeath. Comment on the game he had just played in was pretty perfunctory before the press moved onto what they really wanted to hear; Campbell’s thoughts on what was happening at his old club and I don’t mean Cowdenbeath.

Next to speak was Thistle manager Jackie McNamara and like his Morton counterpart his assessment of the game was more or less spot on.

There was just one Thistle player left to speak before the press’ job was done for the afternoon.

Their choice? Darren Cole who is on loan at Firhill from, yes, you’ve got it – Rangers.

It could be that they wanted to hear what Cole thought about moving back to centre defence after playing left back the week before but I doubt it. At any rate I didn’t hang about to find out and headed off to the pub.

I’ve already acknowledged the significance of the situation at Ibrox but, and it is a pretty big but, these guys were at Firhill to report on Partick Thistle v Morton not Glasgow Rangers.

There were 2,500 or so people at Firhill yesterday and their primary interest was the fortunes of either Partick Thistle or Greenock Morton. Is it unreasonable of them to expect to open up their papers and read what their club representatives thought of the game they played in rather than at events elsewhere?

I’m aware that this has been nothing more than a rant but this ‘old firm at all costs’ sums up so much of what is wrong with Scottish Football and how it is reported on. I accept that both Rangers and Celtic are much bigger clubs than Partick Thistle. I accept that as a consequence of that they will dominate the media as much as they dominate the game itself. I’m not asking for a disproportionate amount of space to be devoted to Partick Thistle. I’m just expecting those sent to cover Partick Thistle v Morton to report on the game that took place in front of them.

Rant over.