ROY IS KEANE ON SCOTTISH CAPITAL
EDINBURGH is often called Auld Reekie because of its blackened buildings due to coal and peat burning in previous centuries. Auld Reekie shouldn’t be confused with the late Duke of Edinburgh’s nickname, Auld Greekie, an allusion to his birthplace in Corfu — he started off life as Prince Philip of Greece before taking the immigrant’s route and lodging with a British family.
Roy Keane, left, should be made aware of this, as he might be heading to the Scottish capital very soon. The Corkman, it has emerged, could well become the next manager of Edinburgh club Hibernian.
As a player, Keane was superb. He managed to hit exactly the same spot every time. Quite simply he was — probably still is — a wizard of accuracy, a sort of super marksman. But you have to ask yourself: if he could manage that when he was spitting, why didn’t he do it with the ball every time?
You can now get odds on Hibs winning the Champions League if Roy Keane takes over. The odds are, in fact 750/1. Which means that if you bet a fiver, well, you’ll only lose a fiver.
Meanwhile, the club has announced that its all-access stadium tours of its home ground Easter Road have restarted, but there will be a lay-off during the summer months. The tours are hosted by club historian Tom Wright, who talks guests through the story of Hibs. And it’s a gripping one. Based in the Leith area of Edinburgh, the club was founded in 1875 by Edinburgh’s Irish community, mostly living in the Cowgate.
The team’s strip was chosen to be green and white, the Celtic harp the symbol, and the Irish phrase Erin Go Bragh became the motto.
James Connolly, born in Edinburgh was a Hibs fan, and the club was often associated with the Irish Home Rule Movement during the 19th century. There was some sectarian resistance initially to an Irish club participating in Scottish football, but Hibs established themselves as a force in Scottish football in the 1880s.
Today the Irish influence has weakened, with Glasgow Celtic emerging as the major Irish-supported club in Scottish football — so much so that it’s often billed as ‘the soccer club that thinks it’s a GAA club’.
Still with football, Diego Maradona’s ‘Hand of God’ shirt — the one he was wearing when he put England out of the World Cup with a miraculous goal — has sold for £7million. To be honest, I was surprised that anybody in Scotland had that kind of money.