Why Independent Observers Won't End the Hostilities Comment Michael Grant Argues That the Suggestion From Gordon Strachan for an 'Impartial' Official Reveals a Worrying Trend: Managers Just Want to Pass the Buck for Their Own Failures

Sunday Herald › August 14, 2006

Linked as:

Summary

RETIRED, relaxed, financially secure former footballers and managers required to leave their homes on Saturday afternoons and become "independent observers" in the technical area at SPL games. Job will involve verbal abuse, stress, accusations of bias and media criticism or ridicule. Also a risk of being spat on en route to the car afterwards. Salary negotiable and negligible. Would suit anyone friendly with Gordon Strachan.

The Celtic manager was at the windup, surely, when he floated his idea during last week. Strachan proposed independent observers who would be hauled out of their gardens and golf courses at the weekend to patrol technical areas and be friendly faces supposedly able to defuse tension and provide "impartial" eyes to adjudicate on controversies during matches. Strachan was talking during the fall- out from the angry verbal exchanges with John McGlynn, which resulted in both of them being sent to the stand during last weekend's Hearts-Celtic match by referee Stuart Dougal, pictured right, so it would be understandable if his thoughts were temporarily scrambled.

See the full content of this document

Extract

Why Independent Observers Won't End the Hostilities Comment Michael Grant Argues That the Suggestion From Gordon Strachan for an 'Impartial' Official Reveals a Worrying Trend: Managers Just Want to Pass the Buck for Their Own Failures

It would be hard to imagine a more unappealing job than the one envisaged by Strachan for Alex Smith - whom he mentioned as being ideal for it - and the other usual suspects who may seem suitable. If Strachan h...

See the full content of this document