GOING IT ALONE

SquareOne Sport

by Pere Fornes

In the run up to the Olympic games, arguments about whether to have a GB football team are being called into question by Scotland's SNP leadership who want a separate national team competing at the events.

But if Scotland participated as a independent sporting nation in the next Olympic games would it be the first time this has happened? The answer is no. 100 years ago a Scottish hockey squad played as a separate entry in the London Olympic Games and won a bronze medal.

Scottish hockey historian Ernie Wall said: “Scotland gained the honour of playing in the first-ever men’s hockey Olympic match on October 29 1908, and also recording the first Olympic goals and victory in defeating Germany by 4-0.”

The reason for the split was that if Britain had participated as one country, there would have been only two rivals - France and Germany, Wall added: “The British Olympic Committee suggested that, to make a proper tournament, the other three Home Countries should be asked to participate.”

Scotland lost the semi-finals against England 6-1 with Ireland getting to the final after beating Wales by 3-1. The Scottish squad refused to stay another night to play Wales for the third place and both teams shared the bronze medals at the official dinner. The gold was won by England who thrashed the Irish by 8-1 in the final.

Wall concluded: “To finish the story of Scotland’s one and only appearance in the Olympics as a separate nation, the S.H.A. Council, which met in late November 1908, made no mention at all of the event! In the report to the 1909 A.G.M., the event is curtly dismissed in one sentence. Such was the tenor of the times.”

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GRETNA'S MARRIAGE WITH DISASTER

by David Hynes

SquareOne Sport

Sometimes three clicks of the heel is all it ever needs. Sometimes the frog turns into Prince Charming and sometimes the ugly sisters are silenced into submission; but for Gretna FC all talk of fairytale endings is well and truly over. For the town most famous for its quick-fire wedding arrangements, their divorce from footballing success could not have been more pronounced.

The rise and fall of Gretna football club reads like a movie script. The tiny Dumfriesshire village, with a population of only 3,000 and famous only as the destination of choice for runaway lovers must now come to terms with its starring role in a tragic separation - that of fantasy and football.

Gretna won the hearts of so many football fans with their courageous efforts against Hearts in the 2006 Scottish Cup Final- cruelly losing in a tense penalty shoot-out. In doing so they became the smallest team ever to reach the final, in any cup in British football history. This was a truly staggering achievement which defied all expectations and flew in the face of conventional footballing wisdom. Gretna became the first team from the third tier of their domestic league to qualify for the UEFA Cup. Football’s minnows had done it, they’d competed with the big boys and the horizon looked rosy indeed.

Their rise from the Unibond League to the SPL was fuelled by cash injections from millionaire benefactor Brooks Mileson. With a sugar daddy seemingly hell-bent on making his footballing baby the pride of a nation, Gretna began to draw fans from around the country becoming everybody’s second favourite team.

But this season, things began to go wrong. Brooks Mileson fell seriously ill and a string of bad results on the field were matched by paltry attendances in their temporary Fir park home. In the midst of this chaos, the Mileson family withdrew all funding from the club.

On 12 March 2008, Gretna officially went into administration. The ten point deduction that this meant left them with just six points from 28 games and without hope of SPL survival.
The SPL will be relieved if the club can fulfil their obligations for the rest of the season. If Gretna goes into liquidation, which they still might, their results will be expunged from this season's record.

Such an outcome would have had a major impact on the SPL table, reducing leaders Rangers' advantage over Celtic from four points to just one. Fourth-placed Dundee United would leapfrog Motherwell and the make-up of the top six would also be affected.

Gretna lost 3-0 to Aberdeen in their last game, and they can only fulfil their SPL fixtures with financial support from the league. With only a handful of fixtures left, their fate has been sealed, though their future seems far from certain.

Can there be one last twist in the fairytale? I’d start kissing frogs if I was a Gretna fan and hope Mr Mileson can pull through and have a change of heart. A tragic ending to a tale which only last year seemed to promise so much.

STADIUM FUTURE DECIDED

by Karen Combe

SquareOne News

After a year of bitter wrangling, the future of Meadowbank Stadium in Edinburgh is to be decided today.

Campaigners who have battled to save the landmark sports facility fear that councillors will push for a sell off of a large chunk of the site at a full City of Edinburgh Council meeting today.

Aaron Lowe, spokesman for the 'Savemeadowbank Campaign', said: "Our understanding from our meetings on the latest working group is that the council will recommend that perhaps 50% of the site be sold off. Many people who thought their vote would save Meadowbank last May are disappointed that the new council administration seems equally determined to use Meadowbank as a council cash line."

In a final push to rally public support, campaigners, local residents, athletes and coaches gathered at a meeting on Monday evening at Holyrood Abbey Church.

The Edinburgh Cycling Club representatives said the loss of the velodrome at Meadowbank used for training by Olympic medallist champion Chris Hoy would jeopardise Scotland's medal chances in the future.

Local MSP and Justice Minister Kenny McAskill responded to criticisms from the hundreds of people at the meeting about the administration's decision to consider selling public land at Meadowbank. "There are some hard decisions to make", he said, and blamed the previous administration's £500 million pound tram project for a cash shortfall which has hindered projects such as the refurbishment of Meadowbank.

Senior Athletics coach Bill Walker said, "All we can hope for is that all councillors see sense on Meadowbank. If a wrong decision is taken, they will be denying future generations a fair chance."