Bathed, but unscathed.
'Ach, wee Fleck never got into the game; it basically passed him by' - that is the common consensus by all and sundry when thinking back to the draw at the Ratzi Ritz, in the middle of February.
To be fair, the game did pass him by; but at what cost, I do have to ask? Did we lose the game, fall further behind in the title race, give Timbo the bragging rights etc, etc? The answer is a resounding no on all fronts.
What we did gain, was, a young man getting an invaluable OF lesson, in an away fixture into the bargain. I might not have been impressed by Walter's tactics on the day but playing John Fleck was the waistcoat's Trump card as far as I'm concerned. You all should know the drill here: baptism of fire etc, etc. Well, we've all come through it smelling of Roses, if anything can smell nice at 'Putrid Place'.
At time of writing the manager has also sought to nudge gently into the first team proceedings a young Spaniard named Aaron (that's what I'll call him; I'm not into what Spaniards would) and from what I've seen he has passed this easing in period, with flying colours.
So, as I see it, the manager is now on the horns of a dilemma as the season comes, pardon the pun, to the money shot. And when I say horns, this pair belong to a Pamplona Bull wanting to get a hold of Richard Hammond who is taking the piss for a TV advert.
The stakes are high as both OF clubs spring into springtime on the cusp of a domestic treble. Off the top of my head I don't know if this has occurred before. Two months coming up, when we have the chance to offend west of Scotland Mopery like never before.
Can we do it? And if we can, should the manager take the chance that these two young men, bursting to make their way into the game, can help our aims? I'd love the answer to be a resounding yes, this time, and history will back me up.
Keeping to Rangers players in the last half a century, we have the likes of Alex Scott to remind us of young men who have scored goals against you know who. He was a couple of months shy of his nineteenth birthday when he scored against them at Ibrox. He would score against them again before he was twenty. He did not a bad job thereafter, either.
Moving on into the next decade, Willie Henderson was terrorising the Celtic defence, as a teenager, scoring against them, even at the tender age of 18 at 'the Ritz.
By the time, Jim Forrest was 20, he had already bagged three goals and would score another three goals against them in the following four months.
Willie Johnston was just 18 when he had a League Cup winner's medal tucked in his long trousers, again, versus Timbo.
Another few years on, and the most spectacular Old Firm debut in history ended with a young man from Dundee netting the winner in another League Cup final. Derek Johnstone ended up that season just 18 years of age and he remains the only player in history to have scored in League Cup and Scottish Cup, Old Firm, finals in one season.
A couple of years later, Derek Parlane, scored on his twentieth birthday against Celtic in the Centenary Scottish Cup final. A few months earlier, he had also scored against them in the Ne'erday game at Ibrox.
I think what I'm trying to say here is, yup, we need experience as we scrap into this last vital part of the season, but hey, we have every reason to think that this pair of unknown quantities might just be our wee elements of surprise.
Here's to the memory of 'the light and speedy blues'.
The Govanhill Gub
'Ach, wee Fleck never got into the game; it basically passed him by' - that is the common consensus by all and sundry when thinking back to the draw at the Ratzi Ritz, in the middle of February.
To be fair, the game did pass him by; but at what cost, I do have to ask? Did we lose the game, fall further behind in the title race, give Timbo the bragging rights etc, etc? The answer is a resounding no on all fronts.
What we did gain, was, a young man getting an invaluable OF lesson, in an away fixture into the bargain. I might not have been impressed by Walter's tactics on the day but playing John Fleck was the waistcoat's Trump card as far as I'm concerned. You all should know the drill here: baptism of fire etc, etc. Well, we've all come through it smelling of Roses, if anything can smell nice at 'Putrid Place'.
At time of writing the manager has also sought to nudge gently into the first team proceedings a young Spaniard named Aaron (that's what I'll call him; I'm not into what Spaniards would) and from what I've seen he has passed this easing in period, with flying colours.
So, as I see it, the manager is now on the horns of a dilemma as the season comes, pardon the pun, to the money shot. And when I say horns, this pair belong to a Pamplona Bull wanting to get a hold of Richard Hammond who is taking the piss for a TV advert.
The stakes are high as both OF clubs spring into springtime on the cusp of a domestic treble. Off the top of my head I don't know if this has occurred before. Two months coming up, when we have the chance to offend west of Scotland Mopery like never before.
Can we do it? And if we can, should the manager take the chance that these two young men, bursting to make their way into the game, can help our aims? I'd love the answer to be a resounding yes, this time, and history will back me up.
Keeping to Rangers players in the last half a century, we have the likes of Alex Scott to remind us of young men who have scored goals against you know who. He was a couple of months shy of his nineteenth birthday when he scored against them at Ibrox. He would score against them again before he was twenty. He did not a bad job thereafter, either.
Moving on into the next decade, Willie Henderson was terrorising the Celtic defence, as a teenager, scoring against them, even at the tender age of 18 at 'the Ritz.
By the time, Jim Forrest was 20, he had already bagged three goals and would score another three goals against them in the following four months.
Willie Johnston was just 18 when he had a League Cup winner's medal tucked in his long trousers, again, versus Timbo.
Another few years on, and the most spectacular Old Firm debut in history ended with a young man from Dundee netting the winner in another League Cup final. Derek Johnstone ended up that season just 18 years of age and he remains the only player in history to have scored in League Cup and Scottish Cup, Old Firm, finals in one season.
A couple of years later, Derek Parlane, scored on his twentieth birthday against Celtic in the Centenary Scottish Cup final. A few months earlier, he had also scored against them in the Ne'erday game at Ibrox.
I think what I'm trying to say here is, yup, we need experience as we scrap into this last vital part of the season, but hey, we have every reason to think that this pair of unknown quantities might just be our wee elements of surprise.
Here's to the memory of 'the light and speedy blues'.
The Govanhill Gub