The Scotsman’s Take On Last Night’s Game At Ibrox Was As Bizarre As It Was Ridiculous.

If you watched the game at Ibrox last night you’ll know that you saw two teams who were very poor in terms of their overall quality.

The Dutch surprised me on that score.

They could barely string three passes together, which for a technical nation like Holland should be a contradiction in terms. This was not Ibrox’s team pushing them either, these were mainly unforced errors.

Some commentators have wondered if either side was at their best. Which is why the take others had on the game is so bizarre. None was more bizarre than the one The Scotsman had when it was doing the ratings for the Ibrox players.

If you watched the game you know that there was not really a standout player on either side, although I thought Veerman at least showed flashes of what he’s allegedly capable of. His passing was notably better than many others in his team.

They thought Kent played really well, The Scotsman writer David Oliver in particular, who wrote that he “ran rings” round the Dutch right back. In what game? Not the one I watched.

At one point in the second half Kent did, in fact, beat a couple of players.

But he then ran straight into a defender.

I can take the Kent love-a-thon because they do think the sun shines out of this guy’s backside, and they need a hero in that area of the pitch whilst we’ve got Jota to boast about having in our ranks.

But stranger, by a distance, is the gush of praise for Steven Davis, of whom Oliver – who really ought to have been wearing a scarf in one of the stands – wrote this; “Deserves the Champions League, and the Champions League deserves Steven Davis.”

If you’re sitting there thinking, “What …?” you aren’t alone. I read that last night and burst out laughing. The greatest club football competition on Earth … and it won’t be complete without the ageing Ibrox midfielder. That the tournament “deserves” to see this plodder trying to get up and down the pitch. I mean, come on …

I know these people can’t be expected to write objectively and without bias but there’s that and there’s letting your inner gushing fan-boy take over.

Honestly, The Scotsman won’t win many football writing awards but I reckon, just based on this match report, that Oliver has a shot at doing comedy. He’d be good.