Gers’ Scottish Cup drought is swearing thin
In the least surprising news of the week it was revealed Glasgow is the sweariest city in the UK.
No s***.
Glaswegians apparently average 109 naughty words in every 1000 to blow every other place in the country out of the effing water.
The only shock was the figure is so low as even the posh folk have potty mouths around these parts. It’s the only city where a sweary can be a term of endearment.
Not that there will be many of those in Glasgow today.
The swear jars will be overflowing this afternoon and one half of the city will be left cursing but it’s Rangers who need to turn Glasgow rather than the air blue.
A lot of folk think the heat is on their old pals Celtic in this Scottish Cup clash and that is understandable.
This is the last chance for the Parkhead side to get out of the season with some silverware.
Rangers have already bagged the big one with miles to spare and anything else is a bonus, right? Erm, no. Wrong.
Celtic have got absolutely nothing to lose at Ibrox today.
Their campaign is already over. They practically admitted it when Neil Lennon left and they decided against hiring a new manager straight away.
If the Scottish Cup was so important the new guy would have been hoisting a club scarf above his napper quick smart.
Instead the Hoops adopted a holding pattern and from that moment they were just seeing out time until the summer.
That’s the gameplan and if a cup should turn up then it’s a pleasant bit of respite.
But what about across the city? Rangers fans won’t lose much sleep if they don’t win this trophy as the quest for 55 has occupied every minute, waking or otherwise.
Yet they should care. You can bet your last buck Steven Gerrard does.
Winning the league was the be all and end all for Gers but you don’t get to sit back and stick the feet up in football.
The Rangers journey hasn’t reached its destination.
It’s left the winding road and should now be getting the foot down on the motorway.
Football empire building
means stockpiling silverware, it’s striking while the iron is hot because it can get cool just as quickly.
The Scottish Cup is long overdue a visit to Ibrox as well.
It’s been 12 years since the old trophy has been bedecked in red, white and blue ribbons and that shouldn’t sit well with anyone at the club.
It’s all very well writing off the wilderness years but in that time Hearts, Hibs, Aberdeen, St Johnstone (twice), Ross County, Inverness, St Mirren and Kilmarnock all picked up trophies.
None of them had anywhere near the budget of Rangers, even when they were in the lower leagues and being run by charlatans.
Rangers are the best team in the country right now – on or off their day – and need to prove it by piling up the prizes.
John Kennedy shouldn’t be slaughtered for talking up his team.
What was he meant to do? Admit they’ve been guff and the bookies are right to make Gers favourites? No chance of that.
But all of the on their day talk doesn’t wash. Celtic still couldn’t beat
Rangers when they were on their day the last couple of times. The all-conquering side of recent years is long gone.
Flaying Falkirk and lashing Livingston in the last couple of weeks can’t undo a bin fire of a season. If the Ibrox men can’t put them down at their worst it will set the scene for next season if the Hoops can get their act together.
Glasgow swears better but Rangers could be cursing if they fail to win the Scottish Cup.
Building an empire in football is all about stockpiling silverware