So one of Scotland’s national tabloids has a backpage with the headline and sub-headline that reads…

‘SHOW-OFF – Alloa rival: Don’t come up here and take the P***’

The story is referring to a moment that happened towards the end of the second half in the Championship fixture between Alloa Athletic and Rangers.

Tricky forward Nathan Oduwa picked up the ball and went towards the Alloa defence. The young loanee signing from Tottenham Hotspur then flicked the ball over his own head and then over his opponents. He then tried to out run the opposing defender to get to the ball in the box. It didn’t quite work-out as he was adjudged to have pulled back his opposite number and gave away a free-kick.

In that moment he became an instant fan favourite to a legion of Rangers fans. But to be fair to the nineteen year old he gave us a warning that he was here to offer the Gers supporters some exciting times:

“I’m very tricky, and have a lot of pace, as many people have been saying about me. I’ll bring a lot of entertainment. I’ll get the Rangers fans on their feet quite often,”

Yet his tricks didn’t go down too well with Alloa defender Colin Hamilton, who said:

“He’s come up here and he’s trying to show off, trying to make a name for himself. What can you do? I felt as if he was taking the p***.”

There is also talk about having a lack of respect for his opponents and Hamilton stating that other opponents might dish out their own kind of punishment to young Oduwa if he tries it again.

What a load of old rubbish.

Seriously is this what it’s like in Scottish football now? We can’t have a player entertain the crowd? The move was designed to beat the opponent and it nearly worked out.

Yes Oduwa was playing up to the crowd but he was doing it to the right audience. Rangers fans love a player that can showboat. Andrei Kanchelskis is still celebrated in Govan due to his silky moves and has lots of Youtube clips to prove it.

I have never seen it as being disrespectful of the opponent as much as appreciative of the supporters.

As for the line on the backpage of The Sun that suggests Nathan is coming up to Scotland to take the piss.

Well I think there was this another footballer who played for Rangers who went by the name of Jim Baxter. Well as Scotland were beating world champions England at Wembley in 1967, the Fife native started to do keepie-ups in the middle of the pitch!

That story and the footage has become Scottish football folklore and is celebrated to this day. He was taking the piss and it was ok because it was against the ‘Auld Enemy’.

Also wasn’t Cristiano Ronaldo a bit of a show-pony when he was younger? Plus didn’t Jay-Jay Okocha make a name for himself with audacious pieces of skill in the English Premier League and at World Cups? Are these players disrespectful too?

As a nation we should embrace, cherish and celebrate initiative and sublime pieces of skill. We shouldn’t threaten young forwards for having a wee trick here or there.

At the end of the day it’s deflected away from a superb Rangers win and a poor Alloa performance. Which is a shame because Mark Warburton’s men are showing real signs of improvement this season and have been exciting to watch.

At the end of the day I hope Nathan Oduwa continues to pull the tricks out of his bag. I am sure he’ll love his surroundings at Ibrox and the Gers faithful will adore his skilful repertoire. I will watch on with interest to see how Scottish Championship defences decide on what the best policy is when trying to stop him!

Posted on August 17th, 2015 by scott
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