Many fans clung to those claims and were unable or unwilling to see that the club itself was being
dismantled. As we all now know, this story ends with a once mighty club languishing at the bottom
of the Scottish football pyramid.
It’s not just the ‘soul’ of football that winning corrupts but the spectacle as well. How many times
after a truly turgid encounter do you hear the victorious manager spout something along the lines of
“we got the result, that’s the most important thing”? The answer you’re looking for is, almost every
bloody time.
Football is meant to be entertaining; it is after all, a form of entertainment. And whilst it is arguably
acceptable to occasionally ‘grind out’ a win this is not an ideal to aspire to. The idea that the end
result trumps the means of achieving it is a dangerous fallacy. Take this as a lesson in life my friends;
the end never justifies the means. Securing whatever shiny trinket that is currently the object of
your desires by playing ‘percentage football’ (which comes in many guises) is the very definition of a
hollow victory, win that same prize (or even fail gloriously) by playing unburdened, uninhibited,
joyful football however, and you will, quite rightly, be remembered as heroes in the annals of the
‘beautiful game’.
If winning was the only thing that mattered, even if it was the most important thing, then most of us
would have given up on football long ago.
Here’s final thought to send you on your way. Next time your team suffers a soul crushing defeat
take a moment to remember; it could be worse, you could be winning.
ALLY MONCRIEFF