MONDAY THE JURY
1
SHOULD the Premiership grant the SFA’s request to postpone the full card of fixtures before Scotland’s Euro 2020 play-off clash with Israel?
IN an ideal world it would seem like a no-brainer but since when was Scottish football an ideal world? TV contracts have been signed and need to be honoured so unless the broadcasters are happy to help out it’s difficult to see any wriggle room for the SPFL.
ABSOLUTELY. If either or both the Old Firm get to the Europa League last 16 they’ll be playing on the Sunday before. They’ll need a rest/recovery on the Monday, meaning only two days of proper work with potentially half the team. The Israelis are off that weekend and we should be too.
IT’S a no-brainer. It’s the biggest Scotland fixture in a generation. The March 21 fixture can be split over the April 8 midweek and weekend of April 11/12 for those not involved in the Scottish Cup semi-finals.
THE national side needs all the help they can get and the league should move heaven and earth to lend a hand. This is Scotland’s best chance of qualifying in a generation and it would be criminal to not give ourselves the best possible chance.
2
RYAN CHRISTIE is facing a ban today while Alfredo Morelos is still sweating on his Parkhead gesture. How should the SFA handle the Old Firm fallout?
THEY’VE already added to the pantywetting hysteria by citing Christie in the first place. Punishing Morelos for reacting to abuse would be another monumental misjudgment.
THE argument will be how can the SFA prove Christie meant to grab Morelos’ groin – and if the Colombian gets done for his throat-slit gesture, how can they prove in his head he wasn’t signalling the game is over? It wouldn’t surprise me if both are cleared on not-proven verdicts.
STEVEN MacLEAN accepted a two-match for grabbing Eboue Kouassi so a precedent has been set. Celtic will point to Christie being the victim of a similar offence a year ago. Morelos’ gesture was hardly offensive and footage suggests it means the game was done, so he should escape punishment.
LET the pair off. The Morelos gesture is a mountain out of a molehill. The sectarian abuse from both sides is far more offensive. With Christie it was a wee grab of the goolies in the middle of a tussle. There was no damage done so put the issue to bed and concentrate on an epic title race.
3
IS Kyle Lafferty the man to lead the Hearts fightback?
THAT’S a tricky one, Lafferty is a huge asset when his mind is focused and his body is fit. But it’s been a long time since that was the case. If Hearts can get the best out of him again then it’s probably a risk worth taking.
IF Hearts were to get a motivated Lafferty desperate to prove he’s not finished then he would do a job for them. It’s all about this player’s attitude, as it has been throughout his career.
YES, he’s a player for the big occasion and better than anything they have and could be the difference in their fight against the drop. But it’s understandable some fans will feel he is a target linked to the Craig Levein-Austin MacPhee regime and want to make a clean break.
HEARTS need something to spark their season and Lafferty would certainly have an impact. He was superb in his first spell at Tynecastle and while it’s not quite happened for him at Rangers and in Norway he’s better than anything they’ve got right now.
4
ARE St Johnstone right to hand three stands to the Old Firm?
ABSOLUTELY. If their own fans won’t fill the seats then why lock thousands of paying punters out of a halfempty stadium? Also, packed-out stands make for a far better spectacle for the broadcasters.
FROM a business point of view it makes total sense and if the income generated allows Tommy Wright to bring in a couple of players he couldn’t afford otherwise why not? Saints don’t have enough fans to fill the seats so to leave them empty when they can be filled at £30 a pop would be plain daft.
YES – and not before time. Nobody wins out of having empty seats at a Scottish football fixture. Extra fans now get to see their team, St Johnstone are boosted by extra revenue that can be invested back into the game and it looks better for our game if the TV cameras show a full stadium.
IT’S understandable but sad they have felt the need to give away seats usually reserved for home supporters. Saints want to make a few quid but they could also do it by dipping in to this £2m they tell us they have in the bank and putting a winning team on the pitch.