I have read so much utter nonsense in our media over the last few years that there are times when I am convinced they have scraped the bottom of the barrel.
And then they surprise me.
Because our media can always go lower.
This is one of those times.
Yesterday, I was amazed to see and read some of the most ridiculous stuff ever to find its way into the Scottish press, about Bruno Alves “emerging from the shadow of Cristiano Ronaldo” as a free kick taker, because he scored against Dunfermline.
And it dawns on me; comparisons between one of the best footballers of all time and Sevco’s 36 year old journeyman defender are simply our media doing what it does.
They are now beyond embarrassment.
They have lost all sense of proportion, all sense of self-awareness.
They no longer care how widely mocked they are.
They routinely do stuff like this, stuff that must make their counterparts in England think they’ve lost the plot completely.
The comparison is ridiculous, of course, and I’m sure they realise that. But that they would even make it at all is instructive, and revealing of the desperate need they have to keep the Sevco bandwagon on the tracks. A couple of good results – one where they won a game via a dodgy refereeing decision and the other against a team which finished fifth in the second tier last season – have convinced them they are world beaters.
I watched the first game and I lost count during it of how many times Alves was caught out of position.
A better side than Motherwell would have beaten them.
Alves is a cut above what they had before; that would not be difficult considering we’re talking about dreck such as Hill and Kiernan. Five years ago he would have been an excellent signing, but it’s notable that Cagliari didn’t fight to hang onto him although they had the option of giving him a one-year extension. This guy is so over-hyped it’s ridiculous … but Cristiano Ronaldo? Because of a free kick in the Scottish League Cup?
Honestly, if the media had any sense of shame at all their necks would be as red as an Aberdeen shirt.
But they don’t.