´óÏó´«Ã½

´óÏó´«Ã½ BLOGS - Jim Spence

Archives for September 2010

Dundee fans deserve better

Post categories:

Jim Spence | 18:25 UK time, Tuesday, 28 September 2010

Calum Melville talked a good game when he first cruised up to Dens Park in his Bentley.

The Aberdeen-supporting multi-millionaire talked the talk, but now he seems unwilling, or unable, to walk the walk.

Melville, who once phoned me to complain that he was worth £130m and not the mere £90m that I had reported, needs to provide just 0.35% of that fortune to meet the demands of the tax man, who some think is threatening the club with administration.

Do the sums. .

If you or I had ten grand in the bank, it would be like shelling out £350.

Not too much to ask surely after his brash promises about a three-to-five-year plan to restore Dundee's fortunes.

Melville answered a newspaper advertisement for an investor from the Dens Park board.

No one twisted his arm to join up, and for a long time he's enjoyed the kind of positive publicity that a PR firm would have charged him an arm and a leg for.

The players on the park may not have delivered, but now the major investor looks like he may not be keen to deliver either, and long before the game has ended.

Read the rest of this entry

Road to Hampden gets off to a cracking start

Post categories:

Jim Spence | 17:46 UK time, Sunday, 26 September 2010

With the rolling hills of Ayrshire as a backdrop, Beith Juniors' tree-lined Bellsdale Park was a magnificent setting for a Scottish Cup tie and the start of my annual pilgrimage on "Spencey's Road to Hampden".

The visit of East Superleague giants and Junior Cup holders Linlithgow Rose in round one, meant sadly that one Junior side would go out of the competition.

In the event, the Rosey Posey as they're known, succumbed to two top quality goals despite having battered Beith for the opening 25 minutes before the Ayrshiremen found the right gear.

But there was a terrific atmosphere and it lent further weight to the call to let ambitious juniors and others into a proper Scottish Football League structure.

Read the rest of this entry

Does the softly-softly coaching approach work?

Post categories:

Jim Spence | 14:11 UK time, Tuesday, 7 September 2010

Two parallel universes appear to have collided when Hamilton Accies and John McCormack got together.

Last week 'Cowboy' as he's known in the game, won his claim for wrongful dismissal against the Accies, having been sacked for allegedly bullying young players and sexually harassing a female colleague.

The case according to the judge appeared to represent a clear clash of football cultures, but it will not be a unique instance in the game.

Read the rest of this entry

Age is no barrier for Scotland's David Weir

Post categories:

Jim Spence | 16:53 UK time, Thursday, 2 September 2010

David Weir must be fed up to the back teeth with his age being paraded in public.

At 40, Weir may no longer be a boy, but we journalists should think twice before starting every interview with a question about the number of years on his birth certificate.

At 50, has just competed in the European Athletics Championships in Barcelona.

Her lifetime best, 10.74sec, for the 100 metres, set in Milan 14 years ago, was unlikely to be bettered, but she still has a current best time of 11.67sec.

played his final game for Stoke City on 6 February, 1965. He was 50 years and four days old.

I know the game has changed since then, but one thing hasn't altered.

Dedicated top athletes know how to look after their bodies, and Weir is a top athlete.

He knows the value of proper nutrition, rest, and the right kind of training for his body.

Every athlete is different and the bones of some and the legs of others give out at different stages.

Read the rest of this entry

´óÏó´«Ã½ iD

´óÏó´«Ã½ navigation

´óÏó´«Ã½ © 2014 The ´óÏó´«Ã½ is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more.

This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.