When season 2007/08 came to a close for Morton I decided to use a couple of my free Saturdays to take in some lower league matches in England. I watched Carlisle United v Bournemouth and Darlington v Rochdale. I was distinctly underwhelmed by the quality of football played and discussed this with my pals. We came to the concluson that there were plenty of teams in the Scottish First Division who could cope in Coca Cola League 1. Carlisle were still in with a chance of promotion to the Coca Cola Championship on the day we watched them and ended up in the play-offs. However, they were no better than the Hamilton Accies or Dundee sides I'd watched play against Morton. In fact, I'd go as far as to say they weren't as good.I've often read pundits and players suggesting that the Scottish First division is, in terms of the standard of play, the equivalent of the English Conference (now rebranded the Blue Square Premier). So it was refreshing to read Morton defender Dominic Shimmin (pictured, above left) suggest that this was not the case and, in doing so, support the assessment I made after watching the matches mentioned previously. In Saturday's Scottish Sun an article by Gareth Law (pictured, below) quotes Shimmin as saying: "I played at a few levels in England and I'd say the First Division isn't too different to League One or League Two - I didn't think it would be as high. But people don't give it as much credit as it's due. There is a lot of talent here - and it is only going to benefit me by playing in Scotland."
Dominic might be impressed with the Scottish First Division but I can't help but feeling that he won't be plying his trade at this level for too long.
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