GLF 71 : More from GB in the box.
MORE VIEWS FROM THE PRESS BOX
INVERURIE LOCOS GAME - I have written this on the day the second attempt was made to play the Scottish Cup game and don't know when it was actually played, if it has!
I know we have to try to maintain the romance of the Cup there must be a better way of putting games like this on. This is not only in light of our postponements, as we have got off lightly, but for the likes of Vale of Leithen who actually travelled to Inverurie twice and saw the game called off.In the third round we also saw the Forres v Dalbeattie Star game called off with the South of Scotland side already in the Highlands. I believe they had even booked a hotel and had to cancel.The part-time teams also see players having to take time off work, and potentially lose wages to take part in these games.
Could it not be possible to move the games to grounds that might be able to put the game on after a couple of failed attempts, eg Inverurie move to Pittodrie on the third try or Forres to Inverness. This has been the most frustrating wait for a game I can remember, trying not to piss my boss off too much by mucking him about with requests for time off.
Without doubt we need to think about whether grounds are capable of holding Cup ties against SPL sides from the fourth round onwards. This does not only include non-league sides but also lower league sides. Having been at Cliftonhill recently I would dread the day the Rovers are drawn at home to a top side, or even a decent first division side.
We have criteria that needs met for entry into the SPL and the First Division, isn't it time we had similar for the Scottish Cup??
KAKA - when I first heard the transfer fee for the Brazilian's proposed move to Manchester City was being quoted as £100 million I was taken aback. Then I heard he was being offered a salary of £500k/week I was lost for words!
I have been through the first £100,000 transfer, to £500,000 and then £1 million before we got Zidane's £45 million move to Real Madrid. There almost always seemed a logical progression between all of these but the jump to £100 million seems a step too far, particularly in a time of financial crisis.This type of transfer could throw the whole economy of the game out, does it mean Man Utd will be forced to offer Ronaldo something similar to keep him at Old Trafford or to keep Messi at Barcelona.
It could also cause the English game to implode if Sky or Setanta can't come up with the money to match all of this. Although this may be a good thing as it may force the English clubs to go back to their roots and remember where they came from - the working class game not the game for the Prawn Sandwich brigade and men with more money than sense.It will be interesting to watch things at Chelsea as it appear Abramovich has lost interest in the game as his fortune dissipates with trouble in the Russian oil and gas fields….
One final sobering thought, two months of Kaka's proposed wages would have equalled one year for our total turnover!
Graham Barnstaple
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