St Mirren's last match at Love St was dull . . . until Dundee United's two goals gave me something to cheer ho-ho

YES, this is me, Chick Young and I wish I had a pound for every time this week someone had come up to me and said, well, Chico, what are your thoughts on Love Street'?

Let me say right here and now that my thoughts on Love Street are this - I couldn't give a toss about the place. Square deal for Barry? The Barry-Ferguson-for-Newcastle story only went into overdrive this week when a famous Geordie butcher was seen taking delivery of a truckful of square sausage. Good news for Scott McDonald that he's been voted 11th best player on the planet by the Football Federation of History and Statistics. Georgios Samaras, on the other hand, has been voted No.1 by the Clangers and the Soup Dragon on planet monsterego. After Hamilton narrowed the pitch at New Douglas Park at the weekend, Hearts' striker Christian Nade has requested that Tynecastle be shortened too so that he doesn't get too knackered. Steven Pressley for Caley Thistle? On Sunday, Craig Brewster proclaimed his team needed new faces. Surely, new, old faces isn't quite the same thing? There was much talk of a Baltic hero making a comeback at the weekend, however turns out this was David Tennant in his role as Hamlet and not Andrius Velicka in a Rangers jersey. Vasilis Torosidis at Celtic Park? Ridiculous. Surely at the first sign of a virus every player should be sent home?

The pies are rotten, the facilities are rotten, the team is rotten and no, wait, hold on, I've just remembered.

Do you mean the Love Street in Paisley, the one where St Mirren play? Oh THAT Love Street, I thought you meant the other one, the one in err somewhere else.

Yes, well, good old Love Street, what can I say that has not already been said although not by me? The West End of Paisley was awash with emulsion on Saturday as every true blue St Mirren fan bade a sad farewell to the field of dreams that has witnessed so many night- mares.

And can I just say, it was an honour to see all those ex-players, legends all, parading about the pitch wrapped up in their big coats in case they caught the cold and had snotters blinding them until Easter.

Campbell Bone, Jimmy Money, Billy Fitzpatrick, Tony Stark, they were all there, all with tears in eyes, all asking me, what are you doing here'?

The final match was fitting for such a magnificent stadium - dull and boring, but there was still plenty to cheer, like, for example, Dundee United's two goals at Celtic Park. The tranny and headphones combination really is a wonderful invention.

So, leaving aside St Mirren, its glorious past, its glorious future and its fairly average present, as 2009 begins to start, the big question that must surely be asked is - what about the state of Scottish football?

If you had asked me on Saturday night, I would have said Scottish football was doomed.

However, if you had asked me on Sunday evening after the glorious Glasgow Rangers had swept aside the cheuchterish Caley pretenders to pull ever closer to Strachan's bottlers, then I would have said our game has never been better.

Make no mistake, it would be bad not just for the beautiful game, but for the economy and the credit crunch if Celtic were to fluke four in a row. So, it would be better if someone else won it - like Rangers.

If, however, by some twist of fate or just biased anti-Gers refereeing, the glor-ious Rangers were not to be crowned championys this season then I foresee dark days ahead. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, though, and that light is the Scottish Cup.

Just look at some of the mouthwatering ties coming up - Forfar versus Forres Mechanics, Peterhead versus Queen's Park, Inver-urie Locos versus Mother-well and the tie of the round, the thrilla in Auld Reek-a, Hibs versus Hearts.

Everyone who saw the totally magnificent spec-tacle these two teams served up for the nation last Saturday will not want to miss this one. Haud me back!

I happen to think that it is appropriate that the dear old Scottish Cup is known as the Homecoming Scottish Cup because my prediction is that this magnificent old trophy will be coming home to its rightful home, Ibrox Stadium, and there it will stay for years to come.

Of course, I would have said St Mirren for the cup, but unfortunately when building their new stadium, they forgot to add a trophy room.

Mind you, you can see their point, can't you? Pull pin on Tyne bomb

AFTER being torn to shreds by fans following the weekend's events in Glasgow and Inverness, all is forgiven - the title race is back on and once again everything in the Rangers garden is rosy. Can you be loyal and fickle?

Okay, Rangers' first-half performance at the cauldest stadium in Scotland was about as watchable as an STV Hogmanay show.

But once Pedro Mendes scudded home that brammer the result was never in doubt. It was a formality that Kris Boyd would find the onion bag, too, given the diddiness of the opposition. However, right away thoughts turned to a link between Barry Ferguson and Newcastle.

This news has sent a tsunami of indifference skittering through the Rangers' support. Not so, though, the news that a deal is being mooted between Rangers and Birmingham for Kris Boyd.

The terms are said to be £3m now plus £1m in six months' time, then six months after that Rangers to pay Birmingham £2m to get Boyd back after he is unable to settle. If it wisnae for wallies...

THE atmosphere in the first half at Celtic Park on Saturday ranged from wildly complacent to insufferably smug.

True, when Georgios Samaras scored his first there was a cheer, but it was a cheer lacking raise-the-roof enthusiasm.

After beating Rangers the previous week, some Hoops fans thought a win was a foregone conclusion and when big Sami nodded in number two, it did look like three points in the pokey.

But the Arabs pulled one back thanks to what we've heard described as an unsaveable free kick.

Unsaveable? Well, yes, if your keeper looks like a man who had eaten too much cake and shortie after the bells.

Meanwhile, Aiden McGeady has announced he won't appeal the penalties imposed upon him by Celtic. He has instead decided to maintain a dignified silence while persevering with his poor wee soul' face.

And finally, did you see the photos of Billy Connolly in the stand, sporting a long, white beard. We just wonder if the Big Yin had the beard when he arrived or if this was a result of watching Celtic?