All part of the Cup final excitement

As neither Celtic or Rangers are in the Scottish Cup final, we’ve decided to ignore the final and are taking a big summer break – enjoy your summer everyone!

No, of course not, a final without the big two is the perfect finish for so many football fans in Scotland and we’re starting our build-up to Saturday’s game now. However, in our usual style…and because everyone else is looking at the same things, we’ll do it a little bit differently.

We’ve already looked at Dundee United, so now it’s the turn of Ross County and their ‘musical’ fans.

As you’d expect, everyone involved with Ross County are massively excited about the track and there are a few songs to choose from.

First up is the official track, ‘We’re On Our Way’ by Torridon. The best thing about this track is that the proceeds from it are going to The Highland Disability Sports Football Team, so good luck to them for that.

Here is a wee snippet of the song:

You will know this song is based around a track by The Proclaimers, which means if Ross County win the cup, this will be the first time a Hibees anthem will be heard in celebration after a Scottish Cup final. Well, in 109 years at least…

There are other songs being flighted but the Ross County fans but to be honest, the next one we heard was a complete dirge and put us off searching for more. We’ll leave it at that and not embarrass or upset the people behind that song but it’s terrible.

The thing is, these songs aren’t the ones that are sung by the fans in celebration so if the day goes the way of Ross County, you wont be hearing them anywhere apart from maybe over the PA. The Hampden terraces would be rocking with the songs of the fans instead.

Either way, lets hope that all the Ross County fans coming down to Glasgow enjoy their big day and maybe it can act as a springboard for next season!

Are you up for the Cup on Saturday?

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Can’t keep him out of the headlines

It’s maybe not unusual to see an Alan McGregor story in the Daily Mail. However, when the story refers purely to footballing matters, it might shock you!

The paper is running with the story that Rangers boss Walter Smith is set to pick back-up goalkeeper Neil Alexander for the League Cup final against St Mirren.

In one way, this is an extremely big decision and one that Neil Alexander deserves. He has played in every round of the League Cup so far so if he was to be dumped out of the final, he would have every reason to feel aggrieved. In that respect, fair play to Walter Smith if he makes a big decision.

A few weeks back, McGregor was having the week from hell in the build up to the Rangers v Celtic match at Ibrox but Smith stuck by him and was rewarded with a clean sheet and three points that all but sealed the title.

Given the amount of finals that Rangers have got to, it is perhaps surprising to read that McGregor has only played in three cup finals and one of them was for Dunfermline. McGregor has tasted defeat to Celtic in two league cup finals whereas he earned a winners medal when Rangers defeated Dundee United on penalty kicks in 2008 in the same competition.

The thing about this decision is, most Rangers fans have every confidence in Neil Alexander. He has never let the club down when he has been called upon and has a number of cup final appearances and winners medal to his name.

McGregor is the better shot stopper and will make more outrageously good saves but Alexander is extremely consistent and many think he has a better command of his area.

Will it make a difference who Rangers play in goals?

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Extra tickets for Rangers fans

With the excitement really starting to build for this weekend’s League Cup final at Hampden Park, the fans going on Sunday will be starting to prepare for a fun day out.

Whether it is funny hats, huge wigs or getting the pre-match carry out sorted, the vast majority of fans heading for Hampden will know if they have a brief or not.

Some Rangers fans will be lucky late recipients with the news that St Mirren have been unable to sell out their initial 14,000 allocation. This means that the 3,000 additional tickets that were being held back in case of high demand have been allocated to Rangers.

Considering the average gate that St Mirren usually have for home games, to sell close to 14,000 tickets is still an achievement. Don’t think for a second that we are criticising any of the Buddies.

However, when the ticket split was announced, there was the inevitable jeers and moans about Rangers automatically being given the lions-share of match tickets.

As it stands, there will be 2 Rangers fan for every St Mirren fan in Hampden Park on Sunday.

In a cup final, there is a strong argument to say that there should be a 50:50 split for fans as this will create the best atmosphere. In an ideal world, this would be the case.

However, the reality is somewhat very different and the demand that some claimed just isn’t there. That’s fair enough, money is very tight for a lot of people and some people just can’t make games.

Then again, we do believe that ticket splits should make some sort of consideration to season ticket numbers.

No harm to the casual fan wanting to support their local team on a big occasion but when season book holders of some clubs are not going to get the opportunity to make the final, we think there is something wrong.

That’s just our take on matters, if you agree or disagree; feel free to tell us what you think. And of course, with the capacity of Hampden, it would be impossible to fully meet the demand of both clubs, so some people will always miss out.

That’s life….thats what all the people say!

When it comes to kick-off, we hope that the one game every few years people have as much fun and enjoyment as those who go every week. Cup finals are meant to be enjoyed….even though one set of fans will inevitably be disappointed with the result.

Are you going to Hampden? Are you up for the cup?

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Interesting plan for sale of tickets

St Mirren have been told they can have an initial 14,000 tickets for the League Cup final at Hampden against Rangers with the possibility of getting more if they sell these tickets.

This should ensure that every regular St Mirren who wants to be at the final can be and then let’s face it, a whole load more beside.

This can be summed up with the plans that St Mirren have to sell their cup final ticket allocation.

The tickets go on sale this Thursday on the club website and season ticket holders can buy 5 tickets each!

5 tickets, ha!

However, it doesn’t stop there.

After the St Mirren season book holders have had the rights to buy theirs, from Monday the 8th of March, people who hold a stub from the semi-final have a right to buy up to 4 tickets.

And then a period of time after that, any tickets left will be put on general sale, again with four tickets per sale.

And yet, you can still expect St Mirren fans to moan about the split of tickets for the cup final and how it is all so unfair that Rangers will get almost double their allocation.

You do want a good mix of fans for the final, it creates a better atmosphere and no club should be given a clear advantage with regards to backing but in another respect, St Mirren fans do not deserve the same amount of tickets as Rangers fans.

No offence to the family members who probably haven’t been at Hampden since May 1987, they will hopefully have a great day out when it comes but surely people who pay season book money up front to back their team should be guaranteed a ticket?

St Mirren can do this, Rangers cant!

Your opinion on this is likely to be determined by which team you support and there is never going to be a split that appeals to everyone. And if St Mirren fans want to show they are deserving of more Hampden tickets, they should snap them up quickly and get the additional tickets up for grabs.

Are you heading to Hampden for the League Cup final?

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