Of phonemes and fullbacks

Spare a thought for Mr Alexander McLeish EBT.

The poor soul had to field a team of international footballers against a national side who have a linguistic connection to those tricky Brazilians.

I cannot confirm if this nonsense was challenged in the presser.

No doubt there would have been some in the Stenography Corps who think a diphthong is something that they furtively purchase online.

I suppose the Scottish lads had little chance, even in a friendly, given that their opponents had the same syntax as Edson Arantes do Nascimento and Jairzinho.

As a wee Bhoy at Celtic park one wintery night, the first foreign star that made me gasp at his ability was also a product of the Lusophone Commonwealth.

To see Eusébio da Silva Ferreira in the flesh was to instinctively understand jogo bonito.

Despite his brilliance, the Black Pearl left Parkhead on the end of a three-nil defeat.

Apparently, the linguistic idiosyncrasies of the visitors did not seem overly concern the big man from Burnbank.

My grandfather and I were right behind the goal that night when big Tam Gemmell accepted a kind invitation from Bertie Auld to give it the “terrible dunt”!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cpw4qZgr2KM

When football managers are floundering they often provide greater entertainment in pressers than their charges do on the field of play.

So the next time the stenography Corps find themselves in close proximity to Mr McLeish then they might want to get his views on Employee Benefit Trusts and “imperfectly registered” players.

That would be worth it just for the linguistic contortions that would come out of the Scotland manager’s mouth…

8 thoughts on “Of phonemes and fullbacks”

  1. I was at that Benfica game. My pal Eddie got tickets and we walked up fae Shettleston that evening fortified by a cup of coffee and a glass of grappa. Eddie’s dad owned a small restaurant in Shettleston, frequented by small businessmen with a great love of Celtic. We stood in the jungle; it’s so clear my memory. One guy beside us giving us a laugh with “we shall not, we shall not be true”.

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  2. And here was me thinking a dipthong was a tightly fitting garment best worn close to the cake hole…. tea stained for comic effect….!!!

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  3. The sad and quite angering fact about Big E(BT)ck getting the Big Job…. is that he’s ina win-win situation. If he runs the course OR gets the heave…. he has his cash to pay off HMRC , or not!

    I’ve actually been happy at the two defeats this week as it would be unacceptable to see the man succeed in any way.

    I am also very content that I have not contributed to HIS unjust wage or to the SFA coffers in any way whatsoever. I pity the mugs forking out to keep them all in office.

    Too young to have seen Eusebio play at Celtic Park or anywhere… but did get to see his revisit a few years ago ( Celtic v Benfica , Champions League , 2008? Ish. Strachan era I think) He was roundly applauded into the centre spot at half time.

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  4. Come on Phil, cut him some slack. He’s obviously unwell and should have never been given the gig in the first place.
    With HMRC also on his case what was the Hampden secret society thinking when offering him a job when no one else would.
    I suppose the McLeish situation is a welcome respite for the blazers as it takes the attention away from their many foibles.
    Stand by for Maxwell giving his full backing this week to the beleagured manager before pulling the trigger in November if winning the mini league is beyond McLeish and his charges.

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  5. Happy memories. I was behind the far goal and had just set my wee mate up on 4 beer cans so he could see the game. A couple of minutes in, Big Tam gives it that terrible dunt and mayem on the terraces. The only problem for Crob was that every beer can on the terrace had been flattened by the dancing. It was another 20 mins before he saw anything else. It was a great night.

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  6. McLeish said the result “Lifted his Spirits”
    Big Eck looks and sounds like he has been lifting too many spirits himself .

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  7. I was at that game too. Celtic lost the return leg 3-0 but got through on the toss of a coin which I believe was the last time a European tie would be decided that way.

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