We had a laugh about it in the office at the time, but the point made at the time was valid.
Forfar boss Dick Campbell is always good for a soundbite or two – many of them unrepeatable in a family paper I’ll grant you and I’ll remember one in particular he came out with at a media event to preview a Scottish Cup tie against Falkirk last season.
(In the interests of transparency, I was not actually present at this particular press call but the information was relayed from various guys and girls who were there..)
One journalist apparently casually asked if he was watching the Hibernian v Aberdeen tie on TV the day after his team played Falkirk, and Campbell in his own inimitable style cut them down by saying something along the lines of: “Why would I watch that? You wouldn’t go to the cinema to see the same film six or seven times.”
And the great man had a great point.
In the situation detailed above, the two sides had played each other in a drab 0-0 draw at Pittodrie just a week previously and fans were expected to fork out again seven days later to see the same teams meet at Easter Road.
Using the film analogy, I’ve probably seen ‘Commando’ about 35 times, ‘Die Hard’ more than 20 times, and my screenings of ‘Titanic’ probably now run into double figures.
But I own copies of all three, can get them all for free on TV from time to time, and I actually enjoy watching them.
I don’t have to fork out £20 to £30 a time to settle down and watch my favourites, I know exactly what I’m getting when I do, and I can sit in the comfort of my warm front room to enjoy them.
Unfortunately the same can’t be said for Scottish football.
Yes, you pays your money and you takes your choice when you go along to support your team, but that’s not my point.
The point I’m trying to make is that Scottish football clubs need as many punters through the turnstiles as possible, yet the current set-up particularly at lower levels where it arguably matters most – continues to dilute the product on offer.
Purely because teams – and fans – end up being sick of the sight of each other.
Take Forfar again, for example.
The Loons fans would have been eagerly anticipating their league clash away to Angus rivals Brechin City on August 24 when the competitive season was just three games old.
Fast forward to this weekend though and Forfar are facing what will be their SIXTH match against City of the season.
It’s almost taking the famous fans’ chant ‘Can we play you every week?’ too seriously.
And by the time the season is out, the Station Park side will also have played East Fife half a dozen times thanks to ties against the Fifers in the Ramsdens Cup and the Scottish Cup.
I suppose it’s a question of how much is too much, and I’m sure Celtic and Rangers fans wouldn’t have minded five or six Old Firm games this season.
But in this day and age, when money is tight and English Premiership games are often screened live on TV, it’s little wonder fans are choosing to stay at home.
The introduction of the SPFL and the introduction of play-offs for season 2013/14, in my book, can only be good for the game, but I fear a trick may have been missed.
I’ve always been an advocate of two big leagues of 20, purely because you would effectively have one home and one away game with all the other sides in the division.
That would automatically make a Forfar v Brechin match at Station Park, and by the same logic the return at Glebe Park, a wee bit extra special for the respective home and away fans.
Some would say four matches a season between teams is fine, but I’m afraid that with the real risk of teams meeting in the Ramsdens Cup, the League Cup or the Scottish Cup I have to disagree.