Let Gers keep titles... but they should come with an *
THE SPFL statement issued yesterday may well have stated that there will be no further action taken against Rangers over their use of EBTs, but it would be naive in the extreme to think that the issue has now been settled in the minds of fans.
No matter what the SPFL said, whether that was to move forward with stripping titles or not, they were never going to please everyone.
There was always going to be a section on one side of the argument who will not easily move on, and an independent review is unlikely to appease supporters who feel wronged.
I can understand the point of view of those fans who feel uneasy about the decision not to take any further action. But from the SPFL’s point of view, it was clearly a case of being damned if they did, and damned if they didn’t.
It seems clear to me that there should be an asterisk placed beside the years in question where Rangers were artificially inflated by their use of EBTs. And to deny that, I think, would be churlish.
I’ve covered football in Italy and Turkey when they had I AM currently in the USA covering the Champions’ Cup, the pre-season tournament featuring the likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid, Juventus, Manchester City and United.
I am always on the lookout for a Scottish connection, although unfortunately at this level they’ve become few and far between in recent years.
Thankfully, young Scott McTominay, who has been getting decent game-time in the tournament for Jose Mourinho’s side, is pushing his way into the limelight.
He has really caught the eye, and looks every inch the competent defensive midfield player that United have been looking for. This may not be the United of the Sir Alex Ferguson era, but you still have to be extremely talented to get near Jose Mourinho’s side, and the youngster hasn’t looked out of place.
The 20-year-old has been their own cases of serious financial mismanagement at some of their biggest clubs, and there is no easy way of resolving these issues.
But whether title-stripping is the answer or not, the one thing that is for sure is that this is an extremely difficult period for Scottish football.
Being in America now, it has allowed me to look at the whole situation in Scottish football with something of an outsider’s perspective, and I do think that the game really does need all of the clubs to now come together.
I can certainly see the point that Stewart Milne made when the Aberdeen chairman said last week that everyone involved in the game has to move on, even though as a fan I can see why other supporters might not feel that is so easy.
But I truly believe the only way we can plot a course forward for our national sport is to work together.
Rmentioned with regards to a call-up to the Scotland Under-21 side in the past, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he was to receive a full cap in the near future.
And I would urge Gordon Strachan to make sure he does. Although McTominay is on the record saying that he feels more Scottish than anything else, he could still play for England having been born in Lancashire.
I understand McTominay is short on first-team experience and he may go out on loan this season to get that under his belt. But he is already 20 – not that young when compared to players getting their chance with other countries.
It is an area of the pitch where we may be pretty well served right now, but surely Scotland cannot afford to let someone who can hold his own in the Manchester United team slip from their grasp? ANGERS have to buy back into Scottish football and play an active role in moving the game forward.
And by the same token, the other clubs have to accept that they are very much part of it. I increasingly found last season as I covered the Scottish Premiership that the game in our country has become rather po-faced at the top level. It isn’t life or death.
We’re supposed to be enjoying a sport that we all love, but with the bigger clubs I found one-upmanship on a scale I’d never encountered before. The constant grandstanding does become tiresome.
When I think about Scottish football, what I really care about is what goes in between those white lines, and I’m sure the majority of supporters up and down the country feel the same.
But we are pretty peculiar in our country that we spend so much time talking about all the other stuff that goes on around the football.
Unfortunately this debate will rumble on for years to come. One can only hope some day, a consensus can be found. Trafford in May 2016, highlighted by the £89m and £75m captures of Paul Pogba and Romelu Lukaku respectively.
But Mourinho does not like the excessive transfer fees that are currently being paid for players that do not fall into the world-class category.
He said “I always thought the problem is not what you pay for these kind of [top] players. I don’t think the problem is what you pay for Pogba, I don’t think the problem is going to pay crazy for Neymar.
“I think the problem is with the other group – which is a big group.
“Now we speak about £30m, £40m, £50m in such an easy way.”