Just the ticket

The world of Scottish football is endlessly fascinating. Where else in our national life would a bout of handbags between the heir to a grocery empire and a former male model provide headlines like "It's War?"

But tonight's clash between Dundee United and Rangers has provoked such a skirmish. It's hardly been an Ali-Foreman type bout but both Stephen Thompson and Martin Bain have been almost fierce in their prolonged game of "he said, she said."

For the record, and without delving too deep into the incident, I believe that most people would expect free entry to a game if they had already paid to watch an abandoned game. United's decision to charge half price for tonight is probably technically correct. After all it's one and a half game's for the price of one and half games.

But I'm guessing that this is not the kind of bargain that built a convenience store empire in Dundee.

In a brave attempt to distract attention from United's money grabbing, Thompson claimed Bain misrepresented the ticketing arrangements in a brave attempt to distract Rangers' shareholders from the Ibrox financial catastrophe.

Which would have been like Gordon Brown distracting attention from the banking bail-out by accusing David Cameron of leaving the toilet seat up after going for a piss.

An easily avoidable contretemps. Gentlemen, grow up.

Anyhow, to the business of the fitba.

Before we were so rudely interrupted I had this to say about the original fixture:

Enough has been written about Rangers this week. Suffice to say they can get reasonable domestic results in the bleakest of circumstances. But I'm going to back a home win here. United will be keen to make amends for their cup loss on Tuesday and I can seem them doing a number on Rangers.

So I predicted a home win. Normally when I do that the away team walks it.

Has anything changed in the meantime? Well, both clubs have continued to impress domestically with much talk in excitable quarters of United maintaining a title challenge.

They slipped up in that aim with a draw at Tynecastle on Saturday while Rangers continued with their almost freakish ability to follow European woe with domestic wins against St Johnstone.

United will take heart from the not inconsiderable scalp of Celtic that provided much hope for a Fortress Tannadice type creation.

I am tempted to back them again. But I won't. Draw.

My record: 34/83. More Chesney Hawkes than The Beatles.