Football: 'Dons' steward was out of line'

Aug 26 2007 JOHN HILLCOAT

EVERY so often a situation arises in football that makes me love the game even more than I already do.

The game we all adore was made all the more special for me thanks to the fiasco up in Aberdeen during Celtic's 3-1 win over The Dons.

Celtic manager Gordon Strachan's exchange of views with a Pittodrie steward saw all hell breaking loose in the dugout area.

It was handbags at dawn with the reek of Hi Karate aftershave and Brut talc singeing the nasal hairs of onlookers as voices were raised and fingers wagged as if arguing was going out of fashion.

But situations like last Sunday's never cease to enthral me and I nearly peed myself laughing when the officials sent Strachan to the stand for his part in the barney.

I thought decisions like that were supposed to DEFUSE potential situations but instead the Celtic gaffer was ordered to take his pew even CLOSER to where the guy was giving him pelters!

Nothing like throwing the Christian into the lions' den, eh!

And what about the steward who started the whole fracas?

His behaviour was bang out of order and he should be thrown to the Aberdeen sheep, who can have their wicked way with him.

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate fans pay good money to watch football and that gives them a certain amount of scope to air their views from the stand.

But the way the guy approached the Celtic dugout was way out of line.

Would the same guy shout and bawl like a banshee at the manager of his local supermarket after finding out he was short-changed at the checkout?

I realise watching a football match is totally different from watching any other sport and tempers run high to the point they can turn supporters into Tasmanian Devils.

But what fans must remember is managers and players are also really passionate about what happens in a game and that potent concoction can lead to absolute chaos.

Remember the famous Eric Cantona kung fu kick?

The crazy Frenchman had taken enough abuse from the sidelines and eventually cracked.

That moment left a lasting impression on me and I can vividly remember standing in Carnegies pub in Paisley drinking a pint and nearly choking on it due to the utter madness of the situation.

Don't get me wrong, I don't condone violence but a part of me absolutely loved it as the guy who received Cantona's wrath felt he had the God-given right to stand behind a two-foot wall and scream venomous abuse at someone just because he had paid his admission fee.

That's why Strachan should be commended for the way he dealt with the situation instead of being punished by the SFA.

Let's face it, we all have a breaking point and Strachan did extremely well not to do something he would have undoubtedly regretted later.

I know some of the managers I have had the privilege of working under during the past 20 years or so would have gladly bopped that steward on the nose and then faced the consequences.

I'd have loved to have seen the reactions of former gaffers Jocky Scott, Billy MacLaren and present boss Campbell Money if someone had charged at them the way that steward did.

A square go in the centre circle with the loser being slung over the victor's shoulder with his bare butt in the air and the shout of "penny a skelp" ringing round the ground would have been the outcome.

And the loser would NOT have been Jocky, Billy or big Campbell - I can assure you of that.

Meanwhile, what the hell are our young professionals made of these days?

The youth of today are as hard as melted ice cream as the queue outside Stenhousemuir's physio Alan Davidson's room will testify.

Alan is forced to deal with a line of young men complaining of sore eyelashes and demanding treatment for their ripped fishnet stockings.

Take our midfielder Tam Murdoch for instance.

The big man found himself leaving the pitch against Albion Rovers last week due to a poked eye.

Didn't he realise he has two of them!

But the final straw came on Thursday night when Robert Forde ran screaming into the treatment room demanding first aid because his feet had pins and needles.

The wee man's panic was short-lived however when his tootsies turned from an unhealthy shade of blue back to pink after he realised he had tightened his boots too much!

They weren't like that in my day, that's for sure!