I drove home from Limoges v Trelissac last night thinking about Doug Rougvie.  What I hear you ask has a French Regional 1 – 6^th tier – game to do with the stalwart of Alex Ferguson’s Aberdeen side?

Rougvie won the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup & Super Cup, two SPL titles and three Scottish Cup medals. He played a hundred games for Chelsea, moved to Brighton, Fulham and Shrewsbury before heading north joining Dunfermline then had a player manager stint at Montrose.  Younger readers will be thinking this is a decent career and wondering what sort of player he was.  Wikipedia says “A hard-tackling and committed defender”, he was the first recipient of a red card in a Scottish League Cup Final and didn’t last ten minutes in a game v Wimbledon when he punched keeper Dave Beasant and headbutted Carlton Fairweather!

I saw him at Links Park Montrose where he had lost a yard more than the one he never had but read the game well.  Rougvie committed what remains the best foul I have seen in 37 years of watching football.  Sliding in on Raith’s Jock McStay hitting him with his boot, knee and a clenched fist.  As we looked to the referee he pointed indicating a corner as McStay lay dazed in the six yard box.  It was for all the wrong reasons majestic, supreme in how it smashed the laws of the game into their base elements but utterly perfect considering the angle the referee was watching from.  It was so cynical, so calculated, so bad, so superbly timed it bent the flat scale measuring good from bad almost into a circle so very, very close was it to genius.

In the nineties fans expected some players, some sides to play that way.  Whether it be Graeme Souness, Razor Ruddock, Vinnie Jones or Julian Dicks they knew that these guys would fight for the points.  It was how the game was sides had their hard man, their enforcer, hit man and more often than not they got away with it cos that was who they were.  Dining out on their reputation and convincing the match officials they’d miss-timed a tackle or slipped.  Worse were the sides who were brimming over with players who clattered first and never bothered asking questions.  The most obvious in Scotland were of course the pre-Bankies Airdrieonians – Kenny Black, Jimmy’s Boyle and Sanderson et al – it wasn’t pretty as they tried to get the ball forward to Andy Smith and wrestle the points from the opposition.  It sort of worked with the side spending a couple seasons kicking around the bottom of the Premier League and losing two Cup Finals as they struck fear into opposing sides and probably nightclub bouncers.

The modern game is very different, faster, more technical, dripping with analysis and sports science as millionaires wear softer, flexible boots.  There is less dirty, physical play but some insist on pushing the boundaries in other ways…  Instead of Alpha males, before the term existed, using elbows, knees and fists some are the opposite, delicate wee flowers hitting the turf in ways that convince the referee they have been the victim of a serious assault.  Clenched fist beating the turf to underline the colossal pain they are facing due to the life changing damage inflicted on them by their opponent. There’s little evidence Tom Daley is helping hone these skills but we can certainly rule out the involvement of ex-diver Jason Statham!   Attending as I do smaller games nowadays rare tucks and pikes are accompanied by cries akin to that of a scalded cat.  I don’t know if at the top level coaches drill into players, “Use yer diaphragm tae maximise volume!”  I’m 99% sure no opera coaches have been involved but not 100%…

The win at all costs attitude of the Scottish game is something I’ve not missed in seven years watching amateur and semi-pro in France.  Defeats are handled better and good play of which there is plenty enjoyed.  There is less pace but the technique good and attitude better.

What does all this have to do with Limoges Trelissac?  Last week Limoges were away,  too far away for a evening kickoff in December.  I however had spotted Trelissac were hosting FC Bressuire.  Bressuire are captained by ex-Limoges man Cedric Leandro who spent time at what became Caledonia Braves.  Unfortunately for him he is a friend of mine.  An hour away I went there instead meaning I saw Trelissac twice in a week.  The hosts were relegated from the National 3 last season and were flying having won all 10 league games so far, Cedric’s side in second.  Trelissac won an even match 2:1 coming back after Bressuire somehow missed two golden opportunities to go 0:2 up.  That however belies the fact that two hosts could easily have been red carded and a heavy foul on the visitors number 7 went unpunished.  The young lad had caused real problems until then and cut a desolate figure as he hobbled to the dressing room at full time.  A sub caught my attention number 13 playing on the left of defence was not a bad player but his squeal falling as if poleaxed after minimal contact showed his true colours…  The fact his startled “assailant” was rather smaller than him made it all the more remarkable and ridiculous.  The situation was not dangerous but his default action was to go down…  He did it again, twice more in the last twenty minutes during which Trelissac scored a brace.  The third time he lay after an even louder scream befitting the days prior to anaesthesia and received lengthy treatment as his opponent was wrongly booked.  By the time the free kick was taken somehow he was fine, 100% A-Ok and continued unhindered as his team mates gained three points they frankly did not deserve which left a bad taste in the mouth.

I hoped that the lad was a fringe player not normally involved so was disappointed to see his cameo had been rewarded by a starting place last night.  Unhindered by any “injuries” he did not see much of the ball but did manage to hurl himself down to win another non-free kick early on.  Twice in the first half Trelissac players saw yellows when either could have been a red.  This week it is the pacey and dangerous Diambou and playmaker Bisson who will be nursing bruises.  The low point was when a fifty fifty was contested by a big defender and Diarrassouba, the lunge from the larger lad was desperate and both stayed down as home players ran to the spot.  The Trelissac man acted like he needed an ambulance not the magic spray and the referee showed a red card to the Limoges man despite him showing the stud marks he’d received from the foul.  A Christmas miracle followed as the visitor was fine before Lamine had left the field…

It was all so unnecessary and unusual in my experience of the French game.  Time wasting,  clattering the better players, their Manager was spoken to by the referee and remarkably the world’s best physio booked when his side were winning 0:3 v ten!  Trelissac will win the league, their budget meant they were favourites before a ball was kicked.  They will soon be back in the National 3 sitting as the do with 12 wins out of 12 but could easily have garnered only one or two points from the last two games.  They have some very good players and could win fair and square but choose another way.  It is needless, not how it should be and I for one will not miss them next season when they will no doubt find such tactics less fruitful.  I sincerely hope that this attitude does not permeate down tainting their youth and kids teams as it would be a disservice to those younger players.

What would Doug Rougvie have made of it?  Apart from regularly shouting “Get up!” I’m pretty sure he would be disappointed but may say over a post-match drink, “They got the points”.
My reply would be, “I prefer football…”