THE BISHOP'S CRYSTAL BALL WINS THE DAY

READING THE RUNES

Those who say you can't believe in soothsayers, fortune-tellers and clairvoyants could do worse than visit the Bishop's Chair in BTW.

There you could come across someone who not only predicts outcomes, but the actual score of the game itself.

On Saturday afternoon on a crowded platform at Falkirk High, the ecclesiastical one told all and sundry that The Bairns would win 2-0.

Expect crowds to flock to the local hostelry to ask about future scores, the outcome of major horse races, referendum results and the rise and fall of the bank rate.

ANSWERS

Last week's mystery player (not a Bairn) was Roy Barry who starred for Hearts and Dunfermline amongst others. Andy Nicol finished his senior career with Meadowbank Thistle.

THAT MATCH

Goodness knows what the world makes of that little local difficulty in the East End of Glasgow last Saturday.

The hype surrounding the fixture said it all. Never mind terrorism, environmental disasters, famines, migration crises, Brexit, child poverty and the like. All that mattered was what Joey Barton said, what Scott Brown said and so on.

It is totally out of proportion and took up pages and pages of newsprint. When will we ever learn?

In terms of world football and international success, the obsession with the outcome of a Rangers-Celtic match or for that matter an England-Scotland clash doesn't amount to a hill of beans as Humphrey Bogart once said.

TEASER

Which club signed Tommy Murray from Falkirk?

SCOTLAND'S GAME

It's not often that a football documentary catches the imagination like “Scotland's Game” has done. 
Years ago, the “Only A Game - the Story of Scottish Football” series did it and the current BBC series gives a great insight into the current problems of the 
game.

The stories behind financial collapse, media domination, international decline and supporter alienation are well-researched and presented in a non-sensational manner.

While there is no McIlvanney to lend gravitas to the soundtrack, the series has been the best sports programme to come out from BBC Scotland in a long, long time.

GONE- AND TOO OFTEN FORGOTTEN?

Many current players earn obscene amounts of money, run around in flash cars, live in mansions and enjoy a showbiz lifestyle. It must be great to be a former football star. Not always.

There is another side that we see in many Memories sessions. Many of those who played in the 40s, 50s and 60s were poorly paid, treated abysmally by their “masters”, bought and sold like cattle, and suffered at the hands of unscrupulous trainers and managers who gave them pain-killing injections and treatments which stored up problems in later life.

The constant heading of a heavy leather ball might have been a contributory factor to certain other problems.

These guys deserve better and maybe one day, there will be a better recognition of their contribution to the history of the game.

BENCHMARKS

Match rating: 7

Team rating: 8

Opposition: 6

Referee: Euan Anderson 6

Best Bairn: Mark Kerr