What was it Bill Shankly once said? "Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I am very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that." Something like that anyway.

I don’t know whether the man was a choob, or there are thousands of football fans out there who are choob enough to take him seriously.

Actualy I do. Shankly must have been gye fed up with Joe Punters offering their opinions on the game at every given opportunity. And that was before email, SMS texting and the Interweb. He probably just wanted a bit of peace and quiet for a while so gave folk something seemingly profound to think about.

It’s a game of opinions of course, and thankfully we all have slightly different ones. The only opinion that really matters at kick off time though is the manager’s.

The manager pick’s a team, gives them tactics and sends them out to defeat their opponents. It’s war make no mistake of that, it can be attrition more often than not, but like any war it always has it’s human casualties.

On all sides and from all ranks no prisoners are taken, just human suffering survives. Fans cry in pain, players are depleted of their confidence or forced to mercenary themselves elsewhere, managers are discharged whether or not there is anyone to assume command.

There are no victors in the War of Football. Battles are won but not the war. Someone else always comes along and steals your crown, before they in turn relinquish their glories to a new champion.

So few win even battles, that winning has not become the chief tactic anymore.

The Tartan Army has legions of men and woman, with thousands of new recruits volunteering every year for another tour of duty to a foreign campaign. They know they cannot win, but they can retreat with the best of them. They travel, they see, they sing, they cheer, they drink, they come home. Another "successful" campaign.

That is how football has to be. It’s not more important than life or death. Its not even more important than a few days away with the lads. In fact, it’ s not important at all really.

Shankly knew this. He worked down a mine. Worse, he lived in Lanarkshire. What else was there to know?

Football always has and always will be about entertainment. It’s an escape. Away from school, your mam, your wife, your job. It’s a couple of hours by yourself, or with your mates. It’s a few hours where you pay to play or pay to watch. You pay to enjoy yourself.

If you think Shankly meant what he said then you’re a choob. If you think folk who go to football don’t go there to be entertained then you’re a choob.

Lets face it, if it we were looking for some kind of inspiration. Some kind of meaning to life, something as important as life or death itself, well we’ d go to the pictures to see the new Star Wars film now, wouldn’t we?