We had dared to dream. Again. We snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. Again. We have failed to qualify for a major tournament. Again. Sounds familiar, and you are left wondering how much more of this the tartan army, indeed the Scottish nation, can stomach.
Now the summer break's long gone, opportunity knocks for experiencing some more 1st time visits to football grounds. And with the season only a couple of weeks old, my very own stag weekend meant that a trip to Prenton Park would herald an early 'football away day', to witness Tranmere Rovers vs Sutton United. You may ask why my friends and I had ended up opting for an afternoon of action from the Vanarama National League, and that would be a fair question!
The 2017/18 season will be the 26th of the Premier League era, and as with every summer break, the football news has been focused upon the transfer market. But now the world of football is about to explode, with the revelation that PSG have indeed paid Barcelona an absurd £200M, to secure the services of Neymar. The game we love is in danger of going over the cliff, and perhaps it already has. Working class fans, and their loyalty, helped football clubs to survive before the boom of the modern era, but they're increasingly being cast adrift by an industry that doesn't appear to fear the bubble bursting at any point.
And some people thought that Brendan Rodgers’ honeymoon period at Celtic wouldn’t last. Well, to paraphrase a certain muppet-looking, muppet-brained politician, they’re not laughing now. But this isn’t Brexit, thank goodness. This is far more important than that – this is Scottish football.
I've been watching football for years, decades even, but am well aware of my failings when it comes to visiting enough football grounds. With that in mind I decided to be proactive and change this, starting with a trip to Griffin Park, home of Brentford FC. I have to admit that my initial motivation for this football away day was the claim to fame the ground has for being the only one in the football league with a pub on every corner. Sadly one of these is currently closed but me and my cohorts still managed to have a drink at all four corners of Griffin Park, following the game against Bristol City on April 1st...