Thetownend.com

suprised there was nothing on here about the antics of Barry Ferguson and Alan McGreggor over the weekend.

Anyway, Lastest news is both players were sent home from training for Rangers today and transfer listed! :eek:

Is it because no-one cares about the Scottish national team? ;)

I know that, but I thought the issues would be interesting enough to comment on.

Makes englands trip to the dentist chair look like going for a cup of coffee at starbucks!

I sthere a report with pics out there?

First i heard of anything, what happened then?

All I heard on 5live is that a couple of players were on the bench becase they had a drink in the hotel bar!

They were allegedly told they could have a couple of drinks by Burley after the Holland game, and were found still at the bar at Sunday lunchtime. Scotland played a game Wednesday, they were demoted to the bench.

Although Sunday lunchtime may be a bit of press exaggeration :)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/apr/02/barry-ferguson-allan-mcgregor-scottish-football-association

Apparantly not. They were still sat there at around 11:30/12noon.

Basically, the story is, the Scotland team got to their hotel at Loch Lomond at around 3am sunday morning after getting a doing in Amsterdam. Burley gave them permission to havea drink and some players took the piss a bit and got trolleyed. Also, it appears that Ferguson and McGreggor werent the only ones. reports saying that Teale, Hutton, Stephen Fletcher and Scott Brown were also involved but they had already left the bar by the time Stephen Pressley had arrived down to investigate complaints.

I think they were up till Sunday morning and Burley caught them still in the bar then.  Pretty shocking behaviour considering the biggest game of Scotlands international fixture list was on Wednesday.  

You would of thought Ferguson the countrys captain would know better and you would of thought McGregor would of wanted to create a better impression having only got his first start against Holland.

I am a Rangers fan but there players have done nothing but shame the national team this season from Boyd and McCulloch's tantrums at not getting picked to McGregor and Ferguson getting beered up.  Rangers need to have a big look at the club in the summer and make some big changes.

George Burley for me has done well and stayed strong on some big decisions, just wish the SFA would defend him more.

Don't see what the issue is. Some Jocks get drunk leaving them incapable of doing their job. I don't see an unusual angle here.

I've seen they've been sent home but surely they won't transfer list them now?

Quite. England's players are slated for being out of touch with the normal England supporter.

Scotland's players should be applauded for this.

depends on which report you read. Fergie has also been stripped of the captaincy. Fergie has already been linked with a move to Zenit st Petersburg so being transfer listed may not make much difference anyway. I think Newcastle were also linekd previosuly with McGreggor.

didn't the SFA bigwig refuse to back Burley over this when asked by the press and said it would be dealt with later leaving questions over Burley's job ?

Yes they did, why you would not back him 100% straight away I have no idea.

I've got to say the antics of Ferguson and McGregor on Wednesday night reminds me of 8 year old kids that don't get their own way.

They fully deserve their punishment coming to them.

Exactly. Fergie and McGreggor think they are big shots, but you wouldnt get John Terry or Frank Lampard acting like twats like that on international duty. Thats what pisses me off even more. I'm all for team bonding and even having a few beers after getting back, but what they did between games in a double header is well out of order.

Both have been banned from playing for Scotland...

ever again.

Ace.

On the international players being naughty front, according to wikipedia Gerrard's trial is today. Although the charge been dropped down to affray instead of assault.

He entered a not guilty plea and the trial was adjourned till July 20th.

I bet they're both very relieved.

ahh fair enough

Surely that's increased isn't it? Very rare to get anything more than a fine for assault, but you can do time for affray. Unless it was ABH, rather than common assault originally

Don't get me wrong I'm no hun, or Barry Ferguson lover but that is a gross over reaction typical of the SFA.  Fucking hell whilst what they did on Saturday night/Sunday morning was stupid and what they did on Wednesday was pathetic bordering on childish the whole thing is a huge over reaction.

Think the SFA have made Scotland look a joke.  So Boyd, Ferguson, Mcgregor all unavailable, effin crazy.

The only good thing to come out of it is perhaps Scottie Brown and Darren Fletcher can be given a decent go in the middle now, although a couple of injuries and a must win match v Holland and maybe Burley will be asking the SFA to reduce Bazza's ban?

Sam Parkin must be nearing a recall for Scotland by now.

There might be more to it though. Rangers have joined in too which is interesting.

They'll find medicore Premiership clubs.

Ferguson did, but he wasn't good enough for Blackburn. Wolves might be interested.

Ferguson's off to Russia with Dickie Advocaat isn't he?

McGregor will be more interesting, could see him ending up at Newcastle, he'd fit right in.

Who is Rangers' back up goalkeeper by the way?

Yup, he can stumble around St. Petersburg with Fernando Ricksen... who was last seen in a poor state at a local mine.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RJXP1tfSBM&feature=PlayList&p=192C6FD1CFAC5712&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=4

If there is, then it should be known, because at the moment the SFA are looking the idiots, although a lot of supporters are siding with them, not Barry and Alan.

to be honest all footballers go on the piss. Don't really see what the problem is.

I would have thought it's more about the bad grace with which they accepted a throughly just punishment.

... what players do on a weekend is their employers problem. When you do it while on International duty for World Cup (££££) qualifiers then it becomes an issue for the Football Association.

Roddy Forsyth's article in the Telegraph shows the difference between Souness and Barry Ferguson
as a leader of men.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/international/scotland/5096660/Graeme-Souness-example-shows-Barry-Ferguson-how-to-be-a-leader-of-men.html

I think the issue is also they were caught on camera throwing v signs to the TV audience during the game.  Heard on 5 live about half five that both have been banned from playing for Scotland for life by the SFA.

Just seen the other thread already highlighting this.  Apologies.

 I read it and thought I must have missed something as it seemed a bit of an overreaction. I'm all for players getting called out on acting like knobs, but sacked from international duty for a night out and a few childish gestures seems a bit much.

Would I be right in saying that there's quite a problem with over-boozing in Scottish football? Derek Riordian springs to mind.

The Scottish F.A. have probably had enough and need to make an example of these two. Again, I wouldn't be suprised if there was more to this. The fact that Rangers have punished them too is most interesting to me - Imagine Alex Ferguson doing that! He'd probably give them a pay rise for essentially retiring from international football :)

Oh come on, they're a couple of pissed up fucking jock idiots - they are just represrnting the nation of fucking pissed up jock idiots. Despite being the best the jocks have got to offer neither is good enough for the Prem. Gordon £9m - what a fucking joke.
As for the Scottish FA making a joke of themselves then surely thats their job - represtning their country. Scotland = international O*ford. A fucking great big joke.   

Back up keeper is Neil Alexander, he is a very good deputy.

Its a good point about the maturity of the two players.

I do wonder whether, in the bubble that footballers live in today, whether they really grow up properly?

Doing V signs on the bench is something I would expect a 12 year to find amusing.

I keep thinking that maybe they were doing the "V Signs" accidently and genuinely resting their faces on their fingers. I do it all the time at work.

Wait, so the scots are complaining because they were still in the bar Sunday morning, when they had a game on WEDNESDAY?!

Wow, talk about over reacting.

Completely disagree, it was the biggest game so far in the international calendar on Wednesday for Scotland, I am sorry but 8 or 9 hours drinking in the build up to a huge game is a joke. 

Yes it may have been a few days before but a footballers job involves them being in good physical condition and plus it sets an awful example get beat 3-0 then just get hammered and enjoy yourselves.

The difference these days is Barry Ferguson isn't as irreplacable for both club and country anymore, as Jan mentioned Fletcher and Brown are a great pairing for Scotland and Mendes and Thomson for Rangers are good.  They had a chance to rectify the situation Wednesday night by apologising but instead they chose to swear at the cameras, IMO they have got what they deserved.

Yawn.

So you'll be on the orange juice in Leeds on the Friday night then? ;)

nah, McGreggor was doing the old middle finger scratching forehead thing as well. Couple of prize wankers. If they had accepted their punishment with good grace there wouldnt have been a problem. However their attitude showed disrespect tothe manager as well as the SFA. Fuck em. Better off without them

This just rumbles on and on... according to two papers today the booze brothers were confronted by Stephen pressley at midday and he got verbals from them. They were also unfit to take part in training that afternoon.

If the rumours are to believed there were around 6 players on the piss Saturday night, early Sunday morn, they got to the hotel bar at 2am ish.  The players were acting like drunken fools, and Elvis (Steven Pressley - ex jambo bastard) was called for, to sort them out.  4 of the six decided it was time to go and get some shut eye before he got to the bar, leaving Bazza and AM down in the bar.  One of the remaining two couldn't walk, the other had pissed in the hotel swimming pool. 

Like I say just rumours, which may have even been discredited by now.

Still think the lifetime bans are OTT, but to here people saying what's the problem with getting plastered whilst away on international duty is unbelievable, how far behind the times are you?  These men are meant to be athletes at the top of their game, not on some lads weekend away. 

It's because nobody cares if Scotland do shit

its not they dont care si, they have just got used to it.

Fuck me I used to roll in at 5am on a Sunday then be up for a 10.30 kick off, and that was a higher standard FFS


Complete and utter over reaction

I am with the Sweaties on this one.

I think it is fucking disgusting.

I reckon there were several drunken choruses of 'Don't Come Home Too Soon' in that bar. Only two of them managed it.