… being a supporter of the Scottish football team, but what can you do?

You are born where you are born and there’s not a lot you can do about it, but if that place is in Scotland then be prepared to be on pills for high blood pressure by the time you are 35.

If there’s a team which is going to struggle it’s way through a group of “easy” opponents you can rest assured it’ll be Scotland.

If there’s a team which is going to throw away a seemingly easy victory, it’ll be Scotland.

Portsmouth Football Club lost their manager, Harry Redknapp over the weekend when he was lured away to another job.  This obviously caused a bit of a headache for Portsmouth’s Chief Executive, Peter Storrie, who was tasked with finding a replacement manager.

Of course, it’s not easy to decide on the right man - and to find one that is available etc, so Mr Storrie was taking a sensible view on things.  This is what he had to say on Sunday :

We won’t rush into appointing a new manager.     Peter Storrie, Portsmouth FC Chief Executive

Manchester United are probably one of the best known football clubs in the world - this is mainly due to the fact that they are one of the richest and most successful.

Of course they aren’t the only football team in Manchester, with Manchester City also playing in the Barclays Premiership - so why are they less well known than their neighbours?

Well, mainly due to luck and money I would think but they haven’t ended a season at the top of the table since 1967/68 and of course it’s trophies which ultimately attract not only the best players and managers but also the financial backing which is critical in progressing the club.

In last night’s Old Firm match, Celtic were denied a clear goal when Carlos Cuellar blocked a Shunsuke Nakamura shot with his hand right on the goal-line.  There was no way the shot was going to miss without his intervention and he was rightly redcarded and his team were reduced to ten men.

Celtic were then awarded a penalty, which they contrived to miss.

Is the sending off of one player and the award of a penalty punishment enough to a team in Rangers position?

Unbelievable, totally unbelievable!

Sport never fails to surprise me, and today’s FA Cup match between Manchester United and Portsmouth didn’t disappoint on that score.

Both are Premiership teams so I suppose we should have expected a close match, but most would have anticipated a Manchester United victory.  And this is the outcome that was most likely in the early action with the home team having the majority of posession and therefore most of the early chances.  They would rue their inability to take any of them though as the game entered the second half still goalless.