SFA not caring enough. Morton, ooft.

What exactly went wrong at yesterday’s Scottish Cup draw? Plastic balls can break open, that wasn’t the problem. The rule which insists that when a ball breaks open the draw must be started again isn’t the problem either. It’s a perfectly reasonable rule, but the event still can the SFA in a dreadful light.

Imagine for a moment that you had a Cup draw to arrange live on international television. You would surely acquire the materials necessary (8 balls and a bowl), and test their effectiveness (mix the balls, pull them out, open), until you were satisfied the process was robust and not likely to embarrass the organisation.

Appropriate preparations were evidently not followed for the Scottish Cup quarter final draw.

Having got to the stage that the draw went wrong, the TV masses were then treated to the most cringe-worthy pregnant pause, as SFA president, Alan McRae completely failed to communicate, either to the watching TV audience, or to the event broadcaster SKY, why he pulled a ball out of the bowl and instead of announcing the tie, declared the draw invalid.

McRae knew the ball was opened before it was drawn, and that this invalidated the draw, but clearly the glaikit-looking TV presenter had no idea what was going on when McRae halted mid-process, neither did the TV audience. A simple explanation:

“This ball is open. Rules state the draw is invalid. We will need to start again.”

….was surely what any person possessing even remote people-awareness or communication skills would have said?

No explanation was given. We were treated instead to the site of a TV presenter trying in vain to figure out why a cup draw was scratched halfway through.

The role of SFA president requires a degree of communication skills, which Mr McRae was hugely bereft of yesterday.

As for the SFA itself, I went to their official site this morning to check the spelling of McRae’s name, only to find they still list Campbell Ogilvie as president, despite McRae’s appointment 8 months ago.

It beggars belief. They just don’t care enough to get the easy things right.

As for getting Morton at Celtic Park! Ooft.  After Ross County repeating their Hampden trick on us, Morton will fancy the same.

I know many of you have previously supported the fantastic efforts of Bundoran Bhoy. This year he is doing four runs for Solving Kids’ Cancer, in memory of Oscar Knox. His first is the Great Edinburgh (misnomer?) Run in April, the Edinburgh Marathon in May, Glasgow Men’s 10k in June and the Great Scottish Run Half Marathon in October.

He has just launched his 2016 fundraising efforts, so you can nip in here and encourage him along.