A fool and his money are soon parted. To leaders suffering from hubris, such a proverb can prove to be gruesomely true. As a spectacle, the game of football continues to contain an innate ability to reduce sober-suited, profitable businessmen to regretful rags.

Sir Alan Sugar continues to be depicted as a wise old sage on television programmes such as The Apprentice, but the barrow boy from London's East End who discovered a  a beach of gold after founding the Electronics firm Amstrad in the 1960s, never managed to use his gumption in avoiding the unique pitfalls of football.

The world game

Neil Lennon and Celtic came across Sporting Lisbon at Fenway Park, the traditional home of baseball's Boston Red Sox, on their tour of the US last summer. Rangers opted out of the possibility of facing Celtic in a friendly at the home of the multiple World Series winners due to logistical reasons, but the Glasgow clubs suddenly find themselves involved in their own depiction of the 'World Series'.

The World Series in baseball can run to seven games. Celtic and Rangers will have met seven times in a season for the first time before this particular, panting campaign draws its final breath.

Blasts from the past can be discovered at various outposts these days. Flicking through the pages of The Times last weekend proved to be a worthwhile experience for those hankering after remnants of yesteryear. An interview with David Owen - now of course, Lord Owen - caught the eye, and made for compelling reading.

Owen is a politician who was once derided by the former Labour chancellor Denis Healey as "Mrs Thatcher in a trouser suit" during Owen's days as leader of the Social Democratic Party in the 1980s.

Speaking with some candour, Owen, once a Labour MP, fended off accusations that he

All's well that ends well. Celtic finally snagged three points at St Mirren when Gary Hooper prodded the ball into the net in injury time amid riotous celebrations. Neil Lennon ended his Sunday afternoon blowing a kiss to a loved one as his side gave the home team what must have felt like a Glasgow kiss deep into injury time.

Celtic remain one point behind Rangers in the Scottish Premier League, and all appears bright in their manager's world. For now, at least. 

Witnessing an afternoon pass off without the crackling Lenny involved in some sort of mischief was almost as astonishing as catching

The higher the hopes, the harder it hurts. Following England's spectacular failure to land the 2018 World Cup finals, images of Scotland and Ireland's doomed efforts to snare Euro 2008 came galloping back into mind.

Scotland and Ireland travelled to Switzerland eight years ago in high hope of returning with the keys to the door. Like England, there was complete disbelief as they went out as quickly as the Scotland national team at a World Cup finals.

Switzerland and Austria won the vote, Hungary were second and Greece and Turkey third. Scotland and Ireland went out in the first round of

Player of the year: David Weir (Rangers)

He's Weir, not weary. David Weir won the Scottish Premier League's player of the year, led Rangers to a second successive SPL title and became the oldest man to play for Scotland when he turned out against Lithuania in September. 2010 has been a vintage year for a vintage defender.

There is little doubt in this onlooker's opinion that Weir, a youthful 40, has been the most protruding player in the Scottish Premier League over the past 12 months.

Weir has been an inspired leader of Rangers, while he has also unearthed large dollops of patriotism by

Who remembers Geoffrey Richmond? Richmond was the owner of Bradford City in the late 1990s, an English businessman who followed a path well trodden in purchasing a football club before being left hamstrung by buying players the organisation could not afford.

Richmond ultimately capsized under a weight of debt last seen in the movie Brewster's Millions, but football has not learned from such dramatic failure.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Tasteless, classless owners of football clubs from India, the Middle East or the Home Counties remain all the rage in the English

Football management remains a
downright ghastly business. The writhing face, the pinched expression, the
wincing glances and the deathly pallor were only too visible at Hampden Park
last week.

The late Celtic and Scotland
manager Jock Stein was granted a minute's applause at Scotland's national
stadium to commemorate the 25th anniversary of his grim death during a World
Cup qualifying match in Wales.

Little did one suspect the
national side was about to embark on a mission to leave its present head coach
Craig Levein wrestling with his own ticker-stopping moments.

To say managing Scotland