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The good, the bad and the ugly: my memories of season 2012/13

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As the curtain comes down on another football season, it is perhaps time to pick out the good, the bad and the ugly from what we have just witnessed.

My selection for the good is a trip to Celtic Park on December 1, which was embarked upon with no great enthusiasm and even less expectation as far as a possible shock scoreline was concerned.

The Hoops were in the thick of their Champions League campaign as Arbroath visited on Scottish Cup fourth round duty and a steamrollering of the wee Angus club seemed inevitable.

Having seen umpteen matches at Parkhead when, once the first goal for Celtic goes in, it is watch from between the fingers stuff for the opposition, it seemed to be the same old story when an Alex Keddie own goal game them the lead.

However, with Arbroath manager Paul Sheerin matching home boss Neil Lennon tactic for tactic, up popped Steven Doris late on to level for the Lichties.

That draw was a remarkable achievement for the Second Division club and one that wasn’t diminished by the predictable defeat in the replay at Gayfield.

The bad is the relegation of Dunfermline to Division Two after a season that has exposed financial folly and ended up with the Pars in administration.

The supporters have been put through absolute agony but let’s hope a sense of togetherness, hard work and some good decisions will set them off on the long road to recovery.

The runaway winner in the ugly category is the night when I was “fortunate” enough to attend the Milan derby in Italy in February.

After being impressed by the way Inter and AC fans mixed and travelled together to the San Siro, things went downhill spectacularly once the action started.

The racism aimed at Milan striker Mario Balotelli from the Inter supporters was absolutely breathtaking.

There were monkey chants, hundreds of inflatable bananas getting waved and fans running down to the trackside to berate and hurl abuse at the former Manchester City man without any real action being taken by stewards or police.

The Italian authorities subsequently fined Inter a mere 50,000 euros for what was a shameful night and you were left with the view that, while football in Scotland and even England has its problems, we can be extremely grateful that scenes of such intense and widespread racism in the stands or on the terracing are a thing of the past on these shores.