But I’m not crying tears for Big Jimmy – he had an uncanny knack of taking a lot of limelight when things went well, but foisting it back on the players when it got embarrassing.

T should be for TV DEAL. The collapse of the Setanta deal has held obvious, serious repercussions for the Scottish game.

Winter Break – Nothing makes me more jealous of Scots / Englishmen than the opportunity to hook up at the local with the lads and roll on to the Boxing Day match. No doubt clubs notice the increase at the gate, as many tix get shoved in stockings. I bet a lot of lads were rueing the cancellation against St. Mirren – or at least that they heard about it before they got out the door. That said, one of my mates descried a New Year’s fixture at Pittodrie as the coldest he’s ever been in his life. Considering the quality of Dons play this year, that combination could do a lot more harm than good for return sales!

The SPL went with a winter break a few years ago; surely the clubs have statistics from the games played after the traditional end date to compare to the Christmas fixture lists.

SB