Fitba' Focus

Scotland not yet feeling particularly 'Olympic'

Craig Anderson — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 13:56:00 GMT

You may remember one scene from Cool Runnings in which one of the Jamaican bobsleigh teams declared he was feeling 'very Olympic today', only to be met by strange looks from those around him.

If you said the same thing in parts of Scotland this summer, you would more than likely be met with a similar response.

It’s fair to say the thought of the Olympic Games coming to the UK, specifically London, hasn’t exactly got the juices flowing in Scotland, and this indifference has been reflected in the meagre ticket sales for the football matches being held at Hampden Park.

Up to last month, it’s believed as many as two thirds of tickets for the eight matches in Glasgow were still unsold. This week’s confirmation that thousands of school children will receive free tickets speaks volumes for the apathy.

The build-up to the Games is coming to a crescendo, with the biggest sporting event the UK has ever seen now just days away. Scots, however, appear to be uninterested in the whole spectacle.

One factor could be the absence of the hugely controversial Team GB football team from the fixtures taking place north of the border. However, the hugely successful USA women’s team - current World Cup holders - are playing in Scotland twice.

Spain are also playing in Glasgow, with three members of the Euro 2012-winning team - Jordi Alba, Juan Mata and Javi Martinez - all involved, as well as Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea. Yet the fans aren’t interested.

The selection of Scots for Team GB has been a huge bone of contention, with only two players from north of the border – both women – considered for either team.

Stuart Pearce, the men’s coach, didn’t pick any at all, but Kim Little and Ifeoma Dieke have been selected for Hope Powell’s side.

The Scottish FA made it clear from the outset they were opposed to Team GB and wouldn’t encourage any player to become involved, fearing it would jeopardise their own identity within world football.

Some players would have viewed it as a chance to play in a major international tournament, and with Scotland failing to qualify for one since the 1998 World Cup, chances like this don’t look like coming around too often.

Perhaps this is the thinking of Welsh veterans Craig Bellamy and Ryan Giggs, who, like the current Scottish crop, haven’t qualified for a major tournament themselves and would see this as their one and only chance.

However you look at it, it almost seems Hampden has become a reluctant host, with many locals point blank refusing to enter the Olympic spirit, yet the crowds to see the Olympic torch when it came to Scotland indicated there is at least some interest.

But for many Scots, and possibly even the SFA, the sooner it’s out of the way the better.

Scottish football needs to learn from Rangers

Craig Anderson — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 14:24:00 GMT

Fallen giants' triple demotion is right, says Craig Anderson – now let teams learn from this situation, and stop relying on money yet to be made

In a week that saw Rangers demoted to Division Three for their liquidation and financial misdemeanours, the SPL has made more U-turns than a confused driver on a retail park.

After the top flight voted them out, the fallen Glasgow giants have been voted into the SFL’s Third Division, the country's fourth tier. However, it seems the rest of the SPL were under the impression that the newco were going to be allowed into Division One – the second tier.

Panic is now setting in among at least five other top-flight teams at the realisation that the Gers won't be back in the SPL after a mere year.

St Mirren chairman Stewart Gilmour said at the weekend that five clubs could be set for administration “within weeks” if Rangers are to proceed in Division Three, with talk that Sky and ESPN could be set to renegotiate their TV deals on the back of the SFL’s vote.

Gilmour claimed his own club, as well as Motherwell, Dundee United, Inverness Caley Thistle and Kilmarnock, could be plunged into administration if money from the TV companies – thought to be around £650,000 due to be paid in early August – might not be forthcoming.

Stewart Gilmour: nervous

While it would be terrible that any clubs face that kind of financial pressure, what does it say about the reality of many teams' financial management? There's no argument that Rangers' absence from the SPL means clubs take a hit, but to be so reliant on future income is a bad case of putting all your financial eggs in one basket.

It seems that the SPL sides voting Ally McCoist’s side out were relying on the SFL to "do the right thing" and put Rangers into Division One, the quicker to bring their revenue-generation back to the top flight. It's an assumption that smacks of naivety, even more so considering clubs throughout the SFL had publicly indicated prior to Friday's meeting that they would vote to put the Gers into Division Three.

As for the position of the SFA, whose chief executive Stewart Regan had made no secret of the preferred option of having Rangers in the second tier, his role in this has been highly questionable.

Especially when a tabloid paper revealed an email sent by Regan ordered secret meetings between newco owner Charles Green and the SFA vice-president (and Hibs chairman) Rod Petrie to keep Green in the loop from the governing body’s perspective, confident the Ibrox side would be admitted into the First Division.

A 25-5 vote for the Gers to start from the bottom comprehensively scuppered those plans – and a vote of no confidence against beleaguered SFA chief Regan was motioned, although it was stopped in its tracks by Airdrie chairman Jim Ballantyne, who combines his SFL presidency with serving on the SFA board.

Stewart Regan: nervous

The summer of discontent continues, but surely it’s the ideal time for Scottish football to enter a transitional phase and start to learn how to live within their means. The SPL clubs can learn a lesson from the SFL outfits; the teams in the lower three leagues have managed without the Old Firm and TV money for long enough.

There was a time when Scottish football was one big happy family, with sponsorship money divided proportionally. No one worried about what the Old Firm were bringing in, let alone what Sky TV were thinking about paying for coverage.

Then the top clubs got greedy and broke away, kickstarting arguably the worst period in Scottish football history. Put it this way: since the SPL formed in 1998 we’ve seen five clubs all go into administration, all of whom were playing in the top flight at the time.

That’s not to blame the SPL for those clubs' financial peril, but it’s no longer a coincidence that this is happening and if any good can come from this, it’s that realisation dawns and Scottish football can get together to face its problems.

Ultimately, no one wants to see more clubs enter administration or go to the wall, but for the game to recover there’s likely to be collateral damage. If there is, then so be it and let it rest on the heads of the custodians.

What those in charge fail to see in the long term is that some good can come of this. Clubs can use the lesson of Rangers to see what overspending can do, especially in such a meagre financial climate.

However, at this moment in time, it seems too far away to even get remotely excited about.

The SPL: More of a hindrance than a help

Craig Anderson — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 13:35:00 GMT

So the vote was finally carried, and a Rangers ‘newco’ are not to play in the SPL next season. Sporting integrity has been restored and everyone can be thoroughly pleased with themselves.

Sorry: afraid not.

This whole sorry saga hasn’t finished yet as the Ibrox club contemplate life in the lower divisions and it’s just another shameful episode in the history of Scotland’s newest football governing body.

Since the SPL came into being back in 1998, they’ve presided over episode after episode of catastrophic incidents of self interest and have been accused of making the rules up as they go along. The whole Rangers farce is another example of that.

In a time when more and more clubs are falling into financial hardships, the SPL have failed to react accordingly and while they implemented a 10-point penalty as the fallen Glasgow giants went into administration, the fact their return was even up for discussion was astounding.

One thing that’s become clearer in recent days is the fact that a decent majority of Rangers fans are happy to play in Division Three this season. Basically the club starts again from the bottom and that’s the end of it.

No place like home: What division will Ibrox host games in?

It’s a view shared by the Rangers’ Supporters Association general secretary John McMillan, who told a tabloid newspaper earlier this week: “I have some sympathy for some of the chairmen as they are in an impossible position. However, at the start of this they said they would listen to their fans and their fans said they wanted to put Rangers into the Third Division.

“All the SPL clubs said that they wanted to protect ‘sporting integrity’. Where is their ‘sporting integrity’ when they are trying to do a deal to put Rangers into the First Division and why are they not listening to their fans?

“It appears to me that they want to suck the blood out of Rangers while continuing to suck the money out of Rangers. I think that some of the chairmen who have been speaking publicly have been very hypocritical.”

PREMIER PRESSURE
However the SPL don’t see it that way. Panic set in as they started fearing for their own self-interest with the prospect that Sky TV would walk away without one of the Old Firm there to provide some level of audience.

So instead of letting things run their course, the SPL tried to influence the SFL, who govern Divisions One, Two and Three to try and get the Gers into the highest division possible. It has since emerged that the SFA also backs the idea, with chief exec Stewart Regan warning Scottish football faces a "slow, lingering death" if they make the newco start in the third tier.

Stewart Regan: Insert "turns his back" jibe

The document – sent out to all 30 clubs – tries to cajole the clubs to vote Rangers into Division One, help push through league reconstruction and even merge with the SFL. The stark warning is that if they don’t, the top flight would seek to breakaway with a second tier (SPL 2) and leave the lower clubs with even less money.

This unveiled threat has enraged football people across Scotland – perhaps none more so than Raith Rovers chairman Turnbull Hutton, who delivered this venomous verdict: “In essence, the SPL is like a dead parrot. It’s financially unsustainable. It hasn’t worked for the past 14 years, it has been a FAILURE. It’s all gone belly-up.

“There are rules we feel should be followed. They should apply for the Third Division. We are being bullied, railroaded and lied to. We are also being lied to by the Scottish FA and the SPL and being threatened and intimidated.

“It was a ridiculous document which came out last week whereby the threat was there that if you don’t vote for an acceptance into the First Division, a breakaway SPL2 will come along. Those who didn’t vote wouldn’t be invited.

"What kind of game are we running here? It is corrupt. My view is that there are rules in place and that’s the view I’ve stuck to rigidly.”

But with Rangers having been denied a place in the top flight, it’s now up to the SFL to decide their fate after all, with accusations of buck-passing levelled at the top 12.

DONCASTER: ALL CHANGE?
There will be claim and counter-claim but SPL chief exec Neil Doncaster has certainly not come out of this situation well – and while he can still try and talk up his organisation, the feeling remains that it serves nothing but its members' own interest.

Even his claims on a radio station questioning the “viability” of Rangers going into Division Three are laughable. The reality is that it looks more viable now that the SPL vote has kicked them out of the top flight.

Facing the music: Neil Doncaster this week

But from the ludicrous (and eventually binned) 10,000-seater rule to the maligned SPL TV idea to this current reconstruction rush-job, Scotland’s top flight has overseen one disaster after another.

Whether Doncaster survives this latest episode remains to be seen, but the SPL’s original vision of emulating the English Premier League's wealth creation simply hasn’t materialised, leaving the league in tatters with one of their biggest members now out of it.

The fact is that with less than a month until the start of the season, no proposal was put in place to replace Rangers – whether it be with Dundee, who finished second in Division One but have had their own financial problems recently, or Dunfermline, relegated from the SPL in May.

There’s every chance this whole shameful time could spell the beginning of the end of Doncaster’s tenure and perhaps even the SPL. As for Scottish football as a whole, the after-effects could be felt for a while yet.

The fall and rise of Stephen Dobbie

Craig Anderson — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 11:05:00 GMT

Swansea's Stephen Dobbie is now a Premier League player, but five years ago this week he was hitting rock-bottom in Scotland, as Craig Anderson reports...

As Stephen Dobbie prepares for Swansea City’s opening Premier League game at Manchester City, he may cast his mind back to his days playing in Scotland’s Third Division.

Dobbie and Swansea gained promotion at Wembley, and the one-time Rangers prospect has also played at Hampden – with Queen of the South in the 2008 Scottish Cup Final, but in somewhat less exalted circumstances two years before that.

Having left Hibs and struggled to hold down a place at the then second-tier side St Johnstone, Dobbie had been farmed out for a loan spell at Dumbarton in Scotland's basement division. His debut, on 19 August 2006 – five years ago to the week – was a 1-0 loss against Queen's Park at the national stadium in front of 884 fans.

It's fair to say he's come a long way. His last competitive match for Swansea was in front of 86,581 and now he’s about to embark on a tour of England with his current Welsh employers, set to take in glamorous destinations such as Anfield, Old Trafford, the Emirates and Stamford Bridge.

Dobbie’s journey is very different from the one made by countryman Charlie Adam, who found himself surplus to requirements at Rangers and turned up at Blackpool to help their promotion to the top flight two seasons ago – funnily enough alongside Dobbie, who was again on loan, this time from Swansea.

The striker's road to the Premier League started at Rangers, like Adam, but he didn’t even get as far as the Ibrox first team under Alex McLeish and was soon freed. He was snapped up by Hibs, but a lack of opportunities led to him being moved on to St Johnstone and then to his spell in the bottom division.

Missed opportunities at Hibs

If Dobbie was downhearted after that Dumbarton debut – losing to amateurs in a near-deserted stadium – he didn't let it show. He scored on his second appearance and over the next few months racked up 11 goals in 18 games.

That was enough to earn a move to second-tier side Queen of the South in January 2007, and Dobbie's career took off. He was part of the Dumfries side’s success story, reaching the 2008 Scottish Cup Final and qualifying for the following season's UEFA Cup. In 2008/09 the striker scored 23 goals in 32 league games, prompting Roberto Martinez to sign him for Swansea.

Dobbie credits former Queens boss Ian McCall, who signed him for the Palmerston Park club, as the man who gave him the boot up the backside his career needed.

“At the very start the then manager Ian McCall told me in no uncertain terms that it was my 'last-chance saloon’," Dobbie recently told the Queens club website. “So I buckled down and worked hard, but never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I’d be playing in the Premiership itself."

Cup glory with Queens

It might not have happened. His Swansea career didn’t start off too well, with Martinez moving to Wigan and his replacement Paulo Sousa only granting Dobbie nine appearances in his first six months.

As he had before, Dobbie reinvigorated his career with a loan move. To the anger of Swans fans, Sousa allowed promotion rivals Blackpool to loan the striker with a view to a permanent move. Dobbie repaid Ian Holloway's faith by scoring on his debut, then his full debut, and grabbing a vital goal in the play-off semi-final against Nottingham Forest.

The striker played his part in the final, coming off the bench for the last half-hour as Blackpool beat Cardiff 3-2. It seemed he would reach the English top flight with Pool, but when Sousa left Swansea for Leicester and was replaced by Brendan Rodgers, Dobbie was convinced to give it another go.

His faith in the new manager paid off and Dobbie enjoyed another successful play-off campaign, again beating Nottingham Forest in the semi-finals (and again scoring) and then scoring one and making another as the Swans swept aside Reading 4-2.

Wembley ecstasy with Swansea

Now the sky’s the limit and, having adapted his game last season and played as an attacking midfielder in Rodgers' favoured 4-2-3-1 formation, he's willing to play anywhere to keep his place in a strengthened Swansea side.

“I played a lot in attacking midfield last season, but I am sure the gaffer will be looking at all his options. That keeps you on your toes,” said Dobbie after scoring against Celtic in pre-season.

“I don’t mind playing down the left, it’s a position I have played before and, as I’ve said in the past, I will play anywhere. But it’s good to get back into the central [attacking] midfield and get a goal.”

If he continues to impress, as Adam did at Blackpool, a Scotland call-up may not be too far away. Perhaps returning to Hampden may pass through his mind as he prepares for the game at Manchester City.

Dons and Bankies stand up against the franchises

Craig Anderson — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 13:17:00 GMT

AFC Wimbledon's elevation to the Football League wasn’t just a victory for the club – for many it was a victory for football as well.

The minnows from south-west London won the FA Cup in 1988 – beating the mighty Liverpool at Wembley – and played in the first few years of the Premier League before being sold off and relocated to the new town of Milton Keynes as their identity was stripped from them. It's a story that's famous in England, but not completely unfamiliar north of the border.

In Scotland this weekend, Clydebank FC will kick off the season as newly-promoted protagonists in the West Region’s Super League Premier Division, nine years after their extinction as a club operating in the Scottish Football League and eight since reforming as a junior side under the auspices of the Scottish Junior Football Association.

Their story holds many parallels with AFC Wimbledon as to how they got their clubs back from the dead after being rolled over by what became Milton Keynes Dons and Airdrie United respectively. It's certainly one in the eye for the franchised clubs that now operate in their place.

In the case of the Bankies, they can take great heart and inspiration from Wimbledon’s story and, like the “Crazy Gang”, can boast a list of top players that donned their colours in their career, such as Davie Cooper, Darren Jackson, Tommy Coyne and current Bolton manager Owen Coyle. Even pop group Wet Wet Wet once had their name emblazoned across the jerseys in a unique sponsorship deal.

1993: not a good year for fashion

Between having to move grounds, proposed moves to Dublin, shadowy owners, crowds dwindling and financial problems, both teams have seen it all over the last decade and are very much enjoying a renaissance in their current guises operating in their respective levels.

Clydebank chairman Gordon Robertson has been there, done it and bought the T-shirt in his years with the club. He admits AFC Wimbledon’s story has been a magnificent one and believes their tale in many ways encapsulates what football should be about.

“As a football fan, what the guys at AFC Wimbledon have done is absolutely fantastic and I was delighted when I heard they beat Luton in the play-offs," Robertson tells FourFourTwo. "I have to admit I was a keen follower of their results and their progress. For me it was a triumph for what football should be about, in terms of the community aspect of things and being motivated to be involved.

“Hearing about the club’s history, they care about where they are and what they want to achieve within their community. They don’t want it treated like a toy that’s passed round and they see that it’s worth nurturing. That’s football at its very best. The guys at Wimbledon have more than exemplified that.”

DECLINE BY THE CLYDE
The road to the end for Clydebank in the senior ranks began in 1996 with the sale of their ground, New Kilbowie, by owners the Steedman family. Homeless, the club became nomadic, playing at Morton’s Cappielow and Boghead Park, the former ground of local rivals Dumbarton.

Boghead Park in 1996: hardly inspiring

The Bankies were sold to Bermudan-based businessman Dr John Hall and the idea was floated of the club moving to Dublin yet still playing in their home league – not unlike Sam Hammam's notion of basing Wimbledon in the Irish capital – but logistics and regulations put paid to that. It didn’t stop attempts to move Clydebank to Galashiels, in the Scottish borders, or even Carlisle.

As these attempts to relocate continued, the club were slowly dying. Failure to achieve what he wanted saw Hall sell up to David McGhie, an associate of agent John Viola, in 2001. But despite loading the team with experienced names, Clydebank missed out on promotion from Division Two in their final season.

With Airdrieonians already in liquidation, businessman Jim Ballantyne looked to get the newly-branded Airdrie United into the Scottish League, but after missing out on the Scottish League place vacated by Airdrieonians’ demise – which went to Gretna, who themselves went bust in 2008 – he trained his sights on the fragile Bankies.

A deal was made and soon Clydebank were named Airdrie United and relocated, while Bankies fans were left angry and upset that their once-proud club had been taken over and taken away almost in the blink of an eye. A year later they had regrouped and were accepted into the juniors’ fold.

While AFC Wimbledon have used the non-league pyramid system to climb 'back' into the English Football League, Clydebank’s route back to the senior game in Scotland is more prohibitive. Having reached the Premier Division of the western region, they have now gone as far as they can: there's no nationwide junior division above them and no relegation from Scottish Football League into the non-league ranks. However, junior clubs can qualify for the Scottish Cup if they win either of the three regionalised Super Leagues or the Scottish Junior Cup.

MOVING ON (UP?)
Robertson admits there is still huge animosity towards Airdrie United, but prefers to look to the future rather than dwell on the past – and for that matter Clydebank's current circumstances.

“Airdrie United are the embodiment of our final blow and a lot of people cannot forgive that," says the chairman. "I would go so far as to say they loathe Airdrie. In my opinion, they are right, but only so far as they were the team that put the nail in the coffin. As a team, they mean nothing to me. They are just another club.

“But who knows, if we had survived that takeover bid and carried on, we could have gone into liquidation ourselves if the money from United Clydebank Supporters’ Trust [UCS] hadn’t come through. Put it this way, we didn’t have a ground and could have folded regardless. There were no guarantees at that time.

“The UCS bid to buy the club was solid – not a pie-in-the-sky, ambitious, hope-for-the-best sort of bid – and my own belief is that while there was a bid on the table by the Trust, Airdrie should morally have taken a back seat and allowed us first refusal on it.

“There’s a lot of antipathy towards Airdrie by Clydebank fans and I’m sure some of the Airdrie support would understand why. If we were to meet them in a competitive match again, without question, the supporters would love to beat them. They wish them nothing.

Airdrie United replace Clydebank in 2002

“It’s important to remember this is all ancient history now and our aim is to be the best club we can be under the flag of the SJFA and look at the fact that the progression we’ve made in being promoted to the top flight in the West Region reflects this. We’ve done it in eight years and reached the final of the Scottish Junior Cup [in 2009] and will continue to progress.

“Everything that happened eight, nine, even 10 years ago is not to be dwelled on any more and while supporters still hold a level of animosity towards Airdrie and the part they played in our demise, it only brings a destructive and negative edge and doesn’t fully reflect the so many positives that have come from what happened.”

Clydebank’s promotion to the West Region Super Premier League is as far as they can go in Scotland’s somewhat misshapen football ladder – you can't call it a pyramid, with four entirely separate systems (seniors, juniors, amateurs and welfarers). While AFC Wimbledon could theoretically find their way to the Premier League one day, as fanciful a notion as it is for the time being, the Bankies’ progression will be halted unless serious changes are made to the league structure north of the border.

Robertson would never rule out a return to the senior ranks if a route back into the Scottish League were to become available, but acknowledges it’s a story football romanticists would revel in if it were to ever happen.

“Our aim at Clydebank is to bring the club to a logical conclusion, i.e. to be the best club we can possibly be. If an opportunity ever arose where that could be achieved, we would have to look at it in the best interests of the club. It can’t happen under the current structure, but we would never completely rule it out.

“Of course there is the notion that a club killed off by a combination of neglect, self-interest and greed then resurrected by people who don’t have any of those things on any agenda and re-establish it in the senior ranks would be a great thing, but we’re not in England and that system doesn’t apply here.”

MEANWHILE IN SOUTH-WEST LONDON
For AFC Wimbledon, the long road back is in some way completed – and ahead of schedule, going by the Dons Trust Aims on the club’s official website. There, the stated ambition for the club is “To get AFC Wimbledon promoted as high up the pyramid as possible with an aim of achieving league status in 10 years, i.e. for season 2013/14.” They’ve done it two years earlier than planned.

Dons players celebrate their play-off shoot-out victory

Their first Football League game last weekend kicked off a whole new chapter in the club’s history and a chance to go on the sort of ladder-climbing their previous incarnation enjoyed in the late '70s and 80s, culminating in winning the FA Cup in 1988.

In achieving what they have, chief executive Erik Samuelson has opted for a similar attitude of that of his Clydebank counterpart: rather than get bogged down in bitterness and recrimination, he's used the energy to work at something they would see as ethically better.

“It was wrong what happened to us," Samuelson tells FourFourTwo. "Of course it was and it’s something we cannot change. What we chose to do was channel our frustration into something positive and instead of watching the results and league tables and hoping MK Dons would lose, we decided to work to create a football club starting from the bottom and achieve promotion the proper way.

“Instead of taking over another club’s membership and transporting it, we’ve started from scratch and proved we can achieve promotion to the Football League – on a fraction of the money, interestingly. Milton Keynes are entitled to have a team of their own, but they should have done it correctly.”

While Clydebank vs Airdrie United is unlikely to happen in the immediate future, the prospect of AFC Wimbledon vs MK Dons grows closer with every season. With the Wombles’ rise through the English non-league pyramid – they've enjoyed five promotions in nine seasons – only one division separates the two sides now.

They almost met in the FA Cup last season, when the second round draw meant Wimbledon had to beat Ebbsfleet United while MK Dons had to knock out Stevenage. ITV snapped up the potential game for live coverage, only to see Stevenage knock out the Milton Keynes men on penalties. AFC Wimbledon made it through, the first time they'd gone further in the Cup than the 'franchised' version.

However, Samuelson knows the day will come when his side will lock horns with the Dons of the new town and has vowed to deal with it in the correct fashion – even if it means ignoring the elephant in the room.

“When the time comes, we will deal with it in a professional way and play them because you have to," he pledges. "It won’t be something we’ll enjoy, if I’m honest, but it will be something to look forward to.”

AFC Wimbledon’s rise and story is certainly one an inspiration in turning adversity into something positive. While Clydebank supporters can only dream of a return to the Scottish Football League one day, chairman Robertson is hopeful that their story can already inspire others.

“The story of AFC Wimbledon is, no doubt, an inspirational story and I hope people in Scotland can take that from us and the fact that we’ve put Clydebank back on the football map," says Robertson. "Any football supporter in this country knows we exist and we’re doing well at our level.

“It would be nice to think that our progress can be recognised in a similar way to Wimbledon’s and be used as motivation and show that a club representing a community can survive amidst adverse circumstances. It also gives people a chance to keep supporting them and provide reassurance they will always be there and not let egomaniacs take over and use it as their plaything.”

Hearts' "Family" as dysfunctional as any other

Craig Anderson — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 10:14:00 GMT

Vladmimir Romanov has given us a laugh down the years with some of his rants and moans about Scottish football.

However, his handling over the rather unpleasant Craig Thomson affair is causing a rather nasty split within Heart of Midlothian FC, a self-titled "family club", with fans bickering among themselves.

On Tuesday morning, an almost snappily short statement revealed Thomson had been suspended by the club after being charged with indecent behaviour of a lewd and libidinous nature towards two young girls. Perhaps by internal pressure within Tynecastle's corridors, or the threat of further sponsorship withdrawals – who knows?

To say the full-back's initial punishment, or lack of it, had caused a stir among Tynecastle fans would be a massive understatement. Whether suspending him now is enough is still to be seen.

While Thomson apologised for his actions, the fact the club kept the player rather than sacked him over such a serious offence has ignited one hell of a row, involving children's charities and even one of the Jambos' sponsors, water company MacB, who have ripped up a deal with them.

The most unbelievable part of this affair was the statement put up on the club's website over the weekend after the decision to keep Thomson, attempting to deflect away from the storm. If anything, it only served to keep the Edinburgh side in a bad light.

Romanov

The statement said: "What's happening with the club today is not a new thing. For almost seven years we have been fighting to shield the club from crooks, criminals and thieves. Many of the top players at the club have felt the bitter results of the swindles that have been carried out with them on their own skin.

"[Rudi] Skacel and [Andy] Webster have returned to the club after realising where these 'football patriots' have led them.

"Taking into account the facts that have been omitted by the media it can be presumed that each of these cases is not a coincidence, but the result of targeted actions of a mafia that wants to manipulate the club and the results.

"Every year Hearts fights to be in the top three, but even last season in the last 12 games of the season it was almost like someone replaced the team with a different one. Whose fault is that? Players? Managers? Or is it mafia. Stealing players, bad games, problems with the law – all of that on top of record SFA fines. Problems are just shifted to another level."

The last part of the statement refers to the whopping £100,000 fine imposed on Hearts by the SFA for their poor discipline on the park, the sixth successive year they have been sanctioned.

While Romanov may look to outside influences to blame for indiscipline, the fact remains that recent cases involving Thomson and midfielder Ian Black (arrested, charged and released over possession of class-A drugs) can only be attributed to the players themselves.

In a way, it's sad that the focus of a big club preparing for the new season, having signed experienced SPL campaigners John Sutton (from Motherwell), Danny Grainger (St Johnstone) and ex-Kilmarnock pair Jamie Hamill and Mehdi Taouil, has been overshadowed by this latest episode.

One can only imagine what manager Jim Jefferies makes of the whole affair. After all, he'll have to deal with the fall-out, particularly if there's a dressing room split over Thomson's crimes. Jefferies' comments have been closely guarded thus far, although he has conceded it is "the worst thing I've ever had to deal with." But with Romanov reminding us he's still around displaying his eccentricities, the manager has to just muddle on and try and ignore the circus going on around him.

Thomson

Hard to do at this moment in time and as the team train in Tuscany, it could be the best thing for them escaping Scotland as the storm rages. It's worth noting Thomson was left behind to train at the club's Riccarton training base.

Despite his suspension, the clamour for his sacking continues with more and more voices adding to the row, with pundits, councillors and children's charities among those urging Hearts' Lithuanian owner to rethink his decision to retain him.

While some fans have argued that Thomson made a mistake and agree with the decision to keep him, a crime as shocking as this would see anyone else dismissed from their job in any other walk of life.

Is Thomson different because he's young and is a footballer? That argument won't wash with those seeking his sacking from the club – and if he is shown the door, the club's image of a "family club" will remain tarnished for a while yet.

Rangers' great Whyte hope still has to impress

Craig Anderson — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 12:36:00 GMT

New Rangers owner Craig Whyte finally spoke publicly about his plans and hopes for the SPL champions. However it looks like new season, new owner, same mantra.

With the David Murray era now consigned to history, there is hope Whyte will bring an unfeasibly large chequebook to attract the sort of signings that made Walter Smith's team of the mid-90s so successful. So far we're still waiting to be amazed.

Whyte spoke exclusively to a popular tabloid newspaper at great length and gave good insight into what he hopes to do at Ibrox. While it’s clear he’s a man that wants to continue the success achieved by predecessor Murray, the rhetoric seemed more about saying what the fans wanted to hear. Still lingering in the room is the parting shot from the previous board – including former chairman Alistair Johnston and chief executive Martin Bain, who resigned his post last week – casting severe doubt over Whyte’s credibility as the new owner. Whether fans are keeping these comments in mind remains to be seen.

Whyte spoke about his passion for the club and the part he played in the takeover, firstly as the money man for Andrew Ellis before stepping up and being the face of the bid himself. He also spoke about his frustration that the process took more than six months before it was finally sorted in May.

All perfectly salient points for a man that had to play the most tedious of waiting games as the previous board dragged their heels, mulling over the bid like an overprotective father trying to ascertain the intentions of a beau towards his daughter.

Whyte’s perseverance won through in the end and his charm offensive to win over those still sceptical of his motives is well and truly begun. Lifelong Rangers fan. Check. Huge words of support for the new manager. Check. A pledge to defend the club, particularly in the ongoing sectarianism row. Check.

"So, which one's mine?"

It all looks good so far, but there was no declaration of how the club would continue the fight against sectarianism other than meetings with the Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond. There wasn’t even a condemnation of the sort of behaviour that has landed Rangers in hot water with UEFA, resulting in a hefty fine and the fans being banned for an away game.

Also Whyte has reignited talk of a potential switch to the English Premier League along with Old Firm rivals Celtic, an issue that has become if anything even more tiresome than the protracted takeover, under the auspices of the financial rewards that the English clubs enjoy from their lucrative contract with the broadcasting companies.

It’s no secret Scotland’s revenue by comparison is paltry, but the excuse to jump ship and walk away from 125 years of history in your native land cannot be allowed and under UEFA rules, it isn’t. After all, we would have seen Ajax and PSV Eindhoven competing in the Bundesliga or Porto and Benfica in the Spanish League by now.

There’s also the little issue of the English clubs, particularly those regularly involved in the bottom third of the top flight, not willing to vote to allow two Scottish teams in without them having to play their way up through the leagues, in the way Swansea City and Hull City have in recent years.

Whyte would do well to leave this sort of talk alone and concentrate on preserving the club’s interests in Scotland first. After all, has he even realised that if they flit south of the border they wouldn’t win silverware every year and European involvement may not be a given? That’s before you even get to added travelling costs for fans.

In the short term though, as the club go through their transition, there has to be concern over their performance in the transfer market so far. With the season just under four weeks away, new manager Ally McCoist has yet to bring in a single new face, with two targets already snubbing the SPL champions in favour of seemingly lucrative offers elsewhere.

Israeli striker Tomer Hemed favoured Real Mallorca over Rangers, while Craig Conway, a free agent from Dundee United, pitched up with Cardiff City earlier this week. Further moves to bring Conway’s former Tannadice team-mate David Goodwillie and Hearts full-back Lee Wallace to Glasgow have also been unsuccessful.

"Goodwillie?" "No thanks, I've just had lunch"

Whyte is still, in many ways, still getting his feet under his Ibrox desk, but being a fan, he should also be fully aware of the level of expectation demanded from any of the figureheads at the club.

Bringing in former SFA Chief Executive Gordon Smith as Director of Football – not only to assist McCoist in the transfer market, but also to oversee a proper youth structure from Murray Park – is a good move, given Smith’s experience in the political side of the game... not to mention his wealth of contacts. This may benefit Rangers in the long term, but most fans of the club cannot fathom the bigger picture and will look for McCoist to hit the ground running when they start their SPL campaign at home to Hearts on 23 July.

For that to happen, Whyte has to wisen up fast and his honeymoon period will come to an end soon. It’s all very well pandering to the masses and saying the right things. Actually backing them up will go a long way for fans with high expectations and low patience.

Review of 2010/11: Retirement, Raith & Reinvigoration

Craig Anderson — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 10:28:00 GMT

While a lot of what went on in Scottish football during the course of the last season was perhaps enough to have you reaching for some heavy medication, it really wasn’t all that bad. Really, it wasn’t.

Off-field problems aside, Neil Lennon really made his mark on Celtic in his first full season as manager, walking away with the Scottish Cup after their 3-0 win over Motherwell in the Final.

Across Glasgow, Walter Smith guided Rangers to a third consecutive SPL title, in what was his last season in the Ibrox dugout. In many ways, he seemed to right the wrongs of his first departure back in 1998, when his final season ended trophy-less, after failing in his quest to land a historic tenth league title in a row. This season he had two, adding the League Cup to the Ibrox trophy cabinet after slugging it out with Celtic in a rocking Hamden Park.

The tributes poured in from far and wide for the retiring Smith, with Graeme Souness, David Moyes and Sir Alex Ferguson just some of the many to praise the career of Lanark born manager after his years with Rangers, Everton and Scotland and his stints as assistant manager at Dundee United and Manchester United.

Although he has never fully ruled out coming back into the game in some capacity or another, quite where he will turn up is as easy to guess as how the current series of Doctor Who will end.

Another manager being showered with praise was John McGlynn, whose Raith Rovers side achieved an unlikely second place in the First Division title race, beaten only by a stronger Dunfermline side. It was a massive achievement for a club that were still stuck in the Second Division two years ago.

The Kirkcaldy side were in fact top of the league for the first three months of 2011, but a stuttering finish, coupled with Dunfermline’s 12-game unbeaten run - including six wins on the spin at the end of the season – swung it the ‘Pars’ way.

It was a 2-1win over Rovers that helped clinch Dunfermline’s return to the SPL, while Raith’s fans could only wonder at what might have been as their Fife rivals celebrated. The fact they had run Dunfermline so close was enough to see fellow bosses award McGlynn the “Manager of the Year” crown.

If McGlynn can emulate or better what he achieved last season in the next campaign, greater riches will be afforded to him - namely the chance to manage an SPL side. Rovers fans hope it’ll be with them. However with the bar set a little higher and 15 players being released from Stark’s Park, including front two Gregory Tade and John Baird, there’ll be some rebuilding to do first.

It certainly has the makings of a challenging season ahead for McGlynn, and one can only hope the Raith faithful get behind them next season should results not transpire as they did in the season just gone; despite performing above their expectations, fans were more than willing to voice their displeasure at underperforming players.

While Raith looked to enter the SPL, Kilmarnock were considered among the favourites to be relegated out of it, having gone close the previous year. But the appointment of Mixu Paatelainen and some significant signings resulted in a change in footballing style, and fortune, as they finished in the top six.

Alexei Eremenko in particular was a massive signing for them (on a year’s loan from Metalist Kharkiv) and came close to winning the Player of the Year award, narrowly missing out to Celtic’s Emilio Izaguirre. However Paatelainen did not last the season, answering his country’s call to take over the Finnish national side, leaving Kilmarnock in March.

Albion Rovers, a side marooned in the Third Division for so long, deserve a special mention for winning promotion for the first time in 22 years after beating Annan Athletic in the play-off final to take their place in Division Two.

While their stay in the old Division One in the 1989-90 season lasted only a year, they’ll certainly fancy their chances of consolidating next season. Credit to the work done by manager Paul Martin, who has reaped the rewards of three years hard work at the Coatbridge club.

Another tantalising prospect for Albion fans is the prospect of four local derbies with Airdrie United in the Second Division next season. Given that they’ve never played Airdrie United in their current guise in league football (they last played Airdrieonians in their ill-fated 89-90 campaign in Division One) this is a fixture that has been 22 years in the making.

A season of reinvigoration for Scottish football was no more evident that in the national team, who seem to be displaying something tantamount to progress under Craig Levein.

After a precarious start to the Euro 2012 campaign, including the narrowest of narrow wins over Liechtenstein and some little hoo-haa about a formation in Prague, Scotland produced a brilliant, yet ultimately futile display against World Champions Spain, losing 3-2 despite fighting back to draw level from 2-0 down.

Levein, without a major qualifier to play until September, used Carling Nations Cup in Dublin to blood new players, young and old(er), in matches against Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

Clinical displays resulted in 3-0 victories over both the Faroe Islands 3-0 and Northern Irieland in Pittordrie and Dublin, respectively. A 2-0 defeat at the hands of Brazil in Wembley was no disgrace (banana wielding German aside), but further decent performances in the remainder of the Carling Nations Cup matches – beating Wales 3-1,but losing 1-0 to the Republic – paints a promising picture for the future.

Who says Scottish football is all bad after a season of such wonderful positives?

Five other points to cheerfully remember...

1) While Dundee’s plight of administration cast a heavy cloud over the club off the pitch, they were a joy to behold on it, as the squad rallied together and surged on a new club record of 23 matches unbeaten under new manager Barry Smith. Had they not been given a 25-point deduction, they would have finished second, a point behind champions Dunfermline Athletic.

2) Livingston secured their return to the First Division after winning the Second Division the most comfortably of any of the four league winners. This two years after being demoted to Division Three, after financial problems saw them enter administration. Gary Bollan and his squad will feel confident they can compete well in Division One.

3) One of the more bizarre revelations of the year came from Dundee’s Sean Higgins’ who revealed he played in a match against Queen of the South with a steak strapped around his foot to protect an injury. It worked, and then some, as Higgins actually netted in the 2-1 win. There’s a joke here, somewhere; meat… meaty shot?

4) Stuart McCall’s arrival as Motherwell replacing Craig Brown, who left for Aberdeen, raised a few eyebrows in the North Lanarkshire town, but any doubts over what he could do were quickly answered when he led the club to a top six finish and a place in the Scottish Cup Final. Defeat to Celtic denied the Steelmen what would have been a fourth consecutive season in Europe.

5) The emergence of a managerial Tartan Army in England’s top flight shows that this country can develop some excellent bosses, particularly from the Glasgow area. Paul Lambert, promoted with Norwich City, Kenny Dalglish, parachuted back in at Liverpool and Steve Kean, taking over mid-season at Blackburn, joined the Glaswegian movement, alongside established campaigners such as Ferguson, Moyes, Coyle and Championship-bound McLeish.

SPL 2010/11 review: Striking refs, parcel bombs & scrapping coaches

Craig Anderson — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 12:29:00 GMT

If any observer of Scottish football tells you it's been just another season, they're lying. Put it this way - what other league in Europe, nay, the world has had to put up with what we've had to?

We’ve had match officials lying, referees going on strike, seven Old Firm games, a manager who has been sent parcel bombs and then been victim of an attempted assault on the touchline. Throw in a passionate affair and you'd have yourself a bestseller.

Rumour has it there was also some football in amongst the chaos, however if you ask anyone what the one most memorable episode of the season was, they'd reply - without thinking - the referees going on strike.

It was certainly as surreal a moment as I have ever encountered in my years watching and writing about Scottish football and even now it’s hard to believe it all actually happened.

Whistle-blowers across the country downed their cards and watches in protest at the constant and at times vitriolic criticism they received. It was probably more about making a bold statement than demanding any major change.

What did undermine them, it has to be said, was the actions of Dougie McDonald, the referee of the match between Dundee United and Celtic in October, who lied over who denied Celtic's Gary Hooper a penalty.

After initially awarding the spot kick, he immediately changed his mind, but sought the opinion of linesman Steven Craven.

Instead of coming clean to Celtic manager Neil Lennon in admitting his own uncertainties over the incident, he claimed Craven heavily influenced the call and the confusion soon led to Craven quitting after claiming the SFA were hanging him out to dry.

McDonald returned, but with his admission that he indeed lied hanging over him, soon retired as well, while referee's boss Hugh Dallas was sacked over a separate incident involving an offensive email.

As if it wasn't bizarre enough seeing foreign refs taking charge of Scottish top-flight matches, there was the apparent persecution of Lennon as the subject of bullets sent in the post and more worryingly, a parcel bomb.

It certainly heightened sectarianism in the West of Scotland as fans of the Old Firm became more aggravated during the course of the season.

Lennon wasn’t the only target in this hate campaign, with fellow Northern Irishmen Niall McGinn and Paddy McCourt also sent bullets in the mail, while top QC Paul McBride - who defended Celtic and Lennon in a row over a touchline ban, and former MSP Trish Godman were also sent parcel bombs.

This sort of disgraceful behaviour and the sectarianism that the Old Firm have tried to control in recent years came back with a vengeance this season, as the unsavoury songs that had been all but silenced returned and almost seemed to get noticeably louder with every game.

Certain sections of the media in Scotland may have tried to ignore it like an unwanted guest at a wedding, and it wasn’t until UEFA punished Rangers for sectarian offences during the two legs of their Europa League match with PSV Eindhoven that the issue was widely discussed.

To some, Rangers’ punishment of an away match ban for fans with the threat of another on a probationary period of three years as well as a fine of €40,000 (over £35,500) wasn’t enough considering their previous when it comes to such offences.

The club claimed they were being persecuted and accused FARE (Football Against Racism Europe) of having some kind of agenda, questioning the evidence supplied to UEFA. The bottom line is the inherent problem Rangers have are still there and still need dealing with.

This season has also been blighted by the constant meddling of the SPL, who have been trying to tell Scottish football how the game should be run from the top down. Ideas bandied included a ten-team SPL, a British League Cup, and the curious prospect of a Winter Tournament in Dubai – all of which were highly imaginative, but not entirely popular.

It followed hot on the heels of a two-part proposed reform by former First Minister Henry McLeish, commissioned by the SFA to try and improve the game from the grassroots up, which proposed heavy funding from the Scottish Government be invested in youth initiatives.

The SPL were prioritising their own financial gain and hoping everybody else would fall in line. A fans’ survey revealed 88% were dead against a ten-team top flight, yet chief executive Neil Doncaster continued to try and sell it as “the only viable option” - code for “we still need four Old Firm and Edinburgh derbies to sell to the TV companies.”

As crowds fell in the top flight, Doncaster was trying to tell us the league will double its broadcasting revenue in the next five years and brandished the sort of figures that would make Carol Vorderman’s head throb.

The move for change has stalled for now, with clubs against the proposed ten-team set-up so there will have to be some kind of rethink in terms of how Scottish football can move forward.

Five other things to forget

1) This was also the season of the touchline rammy, with two incidents in particular making headlines for the wrong reasons. There was Neil Lennon vs Ally McCoist at Celtic Park after a Scottish Cup replay, which was only resolved following a summit involving politicians, police and the clubs. Then there was Motherwell chairman John Boyle versus former manager Craig Brown at Fir Park. As yet, there’s still no date for the summit for that one…

2) Craig Levein took Scotland into his first ever qualifying campaign looked set to start in humiliation, with Scotland being held by Liechtenstein until Stephen McManus scored a dramatic winner seven minutes into injury time. Then there was the infamous 4-6-0 formation debacle as Scotland lost 1-0 to the Czech Republic in Prague. Bizarrely Levein still claimed the formation “worked”.

3) The Tartan Army invaded London in March as Scotland lined up to play Brazil in a friendly at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium. The party atmosphere was soured when Brazilian striker Neymar - who scored both goals in the 2-0 victory for the South Americans - claimed he was a victim of racism after a banana was thrown on to the pitch and he was booed by the Scots fans. It soon transpired the banana had, in fact, been thrown by an over-excited German student and the fans were booing the player due to his annoying habit of throwing himself to the ground theatrically.

4) Dundee going into administration for a second time was another dark moment for Scottish football as they were hammered with a 25-point deduction while players and staff saw their contracts ripped up, including those of manager Gordon Chisholm and assistant boss Billy Dodds, just months after leaving Queen of the South to take charge at Dens Park.

5) Craig Whyte’s protracted takeover of Rangers after months of legal negotiations dragged on more than a week’s run of Eastenders. It was six months before the cheque was written and the paperwork was finally signed, with the fans having lost interest in the saga long before time.

Return to FourFourTwo.com tomorrow for the second part of our review of the Scottish season

Motherwell hero Kirk hoping history repeats itself 20 years on

Craig Anderson — Fri, 20 May 2011 11:11:00 GMT

The word “legend” is banded about an awful lot these days. But ex-Motherwell striker Steve Kirk is a living one, at least in one Lanarkshire town anyway.

It was 20 years ago almost to the day that his winner started the biggest party the area had seen for quite some time as the Steelmen sealed an incredible and emotional 4-3 victory over Dundee United to lift the Scottish Cup.

Move on two decades and while it’s the might of Celtic standing between ‘Well and possibly another party when both teams meet in this Saturday’s Scottish Cup Final at Hampden, Kirk at least has his place in the pantheon of legends within Fir Park.

“Aren’t legends supposed to be dead?” laughs Kirk, now a Community Coach with the club.

“Being a living one is funny and while it’s a term I don’t particularly like, for me, it’s an honour to be remembered in that way, especially having won the Scottish Cup. The last 20 years have been great and I have to admit, it’s been a while since I bought a drink in Motherwell.”

It’s a YouTube favourite and a game widely regarded as one of the finest Scottish Cup finals of all time as Tommy McLean’s Motherwell side met big brother Jim’s Dundee United outfit, with the game slightly overshadowed by the sad death of their father earlier that week.

The game, which Motherwell won in extra-time thanks to supersub Kirk’s winner, is now tinged with sadness. Four of the squad involved with the club have since sadly passed away, including Davie Cooper and Phil O’Donnell, who both played that day.

It is for that reason, along with the fact that the club ended a 39-year trophy drought, that the day is remembered so vividly and fondly by the club and its fans.

Iain Ferguson scored Motherwell’s opener with a header before keeper Ally Maxwell collided with John Clark and suffered two broken ribs. With no goalie on the bench, the Fir Park keeper had to play on. And what a performance he gave.

Dave Bowman pulled United level before O’Donnell headed Motherwell ahead again, with Ian Angus adding a third. At 3-1 up, the cup looked as though it was destined for Fir Park. No one told Jim McLean though as the Tayside club produced a comeback with John O’Neil then Darren Jackson netting in the last minute to send the game into extra time.

Out on their feet and with their keeper wincing in pain every time he kicked the ball, it seemed as though it could prove to be half an hour too far for Motherwell. But that proved not to be the case, as Kirk converted a free header from a Cooper cross to send the Claret and Amber army into wild celebration.

It was a truly amazing game and a superb performance, the likes of which current Well manager Stuart McCall – no stranger to cup finals, himself – must emulate if those sort of celebrations are to be seen in the town again. There’s no doubt it’s a huge test for Motherwell, but Kirk sees similarities between the team he played in and the club’s current crop.

He said: “First of all, Darren Randolph is an outstanding goalkeeper, then you have a back four - including Stephen Craigan - that can always put the fear of God into strikers, much like our defence did back then.

“The midfield is also similar. The two guys out wide get into space and ping balls into the middle and the two guys in the centre just work their socks off - I think Steve Jennings and Keith Lasley are like Phil O’Donnell and Ian Angus in that respect.

“We had good hard-working strikers in Iain Ferguson and Dougie Arnott and it’s the same up front now, whether it’s John Sutton, Franny Jeffers or Steve Jones that play. Like us, this team doesn’t have any superstars and will just go about their business.”

For Motherwell, it’s only about winning a major trophy, but it’s qualifying for Europe - and having done so in the last three seasons, there is certainly a taste for the continental. As for Celtic, missing out on the SPL title to Rangers last week will still hurt. This is the ideal way to ease that pain.

In many way it’s been a torturous season for Neil Lennon, and to win his first piece of silverware since taking over from Tony Mowbray would be considerable consolation.

Nerves are another aspect of such a big day and how the affect the players as they enter the cauldron of noise and sound that a stadium like Hampden can bring and Kirk himself admits the occasion got to some of his team-mates in 1991.

He said: “I think there are nerves before every big game and people can show it in different ways. I don’t know about the current squad and their pre-match routines, but in our day we had Colin O’Neill throwing up in the toilets while everyone just got their boots and got on with it.

“There’s no doubt the nerves will be involved. It’s a cup final and you’ll find players worried about making a mistake and what the cost of an error would be. But I think the team on Saturday will be confident, having already beaten Celtic earlier this season. On the day, Motherwell will go in as underdogs with Celtic as firm favourites, but it will be close.”

Kirk believes it is time for a new generation of legends to emerge from the club and the cup winner would be happy to see the current team be mentioned in the same breath as the team of two decades ago.

“This may be the time now for the club to win another honour and it’s been 20 years. These guys have got it on their shoulders now and it’s up to them to change history. I certainly wish them the best of luck and if they do it, it would be fantastic.”

Smith makes the perfect exit 13 years after Rangers 'sacking'

Craig Anderson — Mon, 16 May 2011 12:41:00 GMT

Over the last week, the SPL’s final weekend was regularly billed as ‘dramatic’ as Rangers and Celtic were to scrap it out to the death for the title – but it seems nobody told Rangers.

Within eight minutes, the Ibrox men were 3-0 up and cruising against Kilmarnock and all the pre-match nerves – from fans of both Old Firm sides – had evaporated, with one set starting the party early, while the others were forced to grin and bear what seemed more like a wake.

Walter Smith bows out of Rangers with his tenth league title in total over his two spells and exits in a much happier fashion than he did first time round, when he suffered the disappointment of missing out on ten-in-a-row before losing the Scottish Cup final to Hearts in 1998.

What was a little startling was Smith’s revelation in the build-up to the Kilmarnock game that he had been sacked “in a nice way” by then chairman David Murray at the end of his first spell at Ibrox, although he insisted he was leaving on his own terms this time.

He said: “This is my decision to go. It wasn’t my decision alone to leave in 1998: Sir David [Murray] always sacks you quite nicely! This time it was my decision. It has been made by me and I go into my last game hoping we are going to win it to keep our run going.”

As many have recalled, it seemed his initial decision to leave 13 years ago was his as Celtic were galvanised under Wim Jansen and with Henrik Larsson in the side to prevent what would have been an historic ten titles on the spin.

In 2011, it may be only three titles on the trot, but this is arguably Walter Smith’s greatest triumph in the face of ever decreasing money and constant sales of top performers. They say you should never go back. Walter has more than bucked that trend.

The last manager to “go back” was Jock Wallace, who won three league titles, three Scottish Cups and two League Cups in his first Ibrox spell between 1972 and 1978. He returned in 1983 with the club very much in the shadow of Celtic and Alex Ferguson’s Aberdeen and could only add another League Cup to his roll of honour, before being moved on in favour of Graeme Souness in 1986.

It can be argued when Walter was brought back in the wake of the disastrous Paul Le Guen “era”, Rangers were already at their lowest ebb. But he soon started putting the pride back into the side, not only culminating in the side winning three in a row, but he’s won two further Scottish Cups and three League Cups, not to mention reached the UEFA Cup Final in 2008.

This latest success will be the best of all and after all the build-up and talk of “Helicopter Sunday” – as the broadcast media tend to label the SPL’s final day – Rangers seemed to stroll it in running out 5-1 winners over Kilmarnock.

This season in particular he had to get the very best out of every player at his disposal. Kenny Miller weighed in with 21 goals, left for Turkey in January and still ended up SPL’s top scorer, Nikica Jelavic suffered a bad injury and missed parts of the season, but still scored his fair share and Allan McGregor was again outstanding in goal.

That’s before you even get to 41-year-old captain David Weir, Steven Davis and a much improved Kyle Lafferty and he deserves great credit in dragging these guys over the line and on to another title party. He wouldn’t say whether this one was the best of all, but privately, you’d think it would be.

Now he leaves the club as a winner and the feeling the toil and the stress of it all has been worth it in the end. It’s been widely assumed Walter will now step into retirement. But don’t rule a managerial return in some capacity any time soon.

Who knows, he may fancy a return to England and finish whatever business he started at Everton.

Scottish football's dark day

Craig Anderson — Fri, 13 May 2011 13:30:00 GMT

We Scots complain that our league doesn’t get the headlines its English counterpart gets so regularly in the national media outlets – and when we do get headlines, it’s usually something negative. And so it goes again. After seeing our referees go out on strike or a manager be sent parcel bombs in the post, now we watch that same manager have to deal with a thug running into the technical area and attacking him.

How much is too much for Neil Lennon? The decent-minded are grateful he’s not only managed to keep his sanity, but that he hasn’t been harmed, physically at least. God only knows how he’s feeling mentally, but where does this madness end? The attack has been widely condemned by many within and outwith the football world, but as the threats continue – with a suspicious package, thought to contain a bullet, arriving at Celtic Park just this week – what is the end-game to all this?

Do the perpetrators simply want to scare Lennon out of Celtic, or do they want something far more sinister? The death threats suggest they do and it may come as some small relief that two men were arrested for their part in the nail-bomb that was addressed to the Celtic boss at the Lennoxtown training complex last month.

The result of that package was improved security for Lennon and his family – security which was worryingly late as assailant John Wilson leapt over advertising hoardings at Tynecastle to lay into the Celtic manager. As many have asked, what if he was carrying a weapon, or a knife?

If the absolute worst-case scenario had unravelled in front of a watching television audience, where would that have left the game – not just in Scotland but worldwide? It brings a new dynamic to this campaign of hatred that someone managed to evade stewards and police and stand face-to-face with Lennon.

What has the man himself done to provoke such a reaction? To borrow a recent John Terry quote, Lennon isn’t “everyone’s cup of tea” – but he’s managing the team he supported as a boy growing up in Lurgan in Northern Ireland. It’s bad enough he had to quit international football as a player due to death threats; does he now have to walk out on Celtic too?

If Lennon walked out on Celtic due to the escalating campaign and concerns over his safety, no one would blame him. But by the same token, in that event we should all just give up and go home. Football is meant to be an escape from work and family commitments, but too many bring religion and sectarianism into it. It’s important to remember football is just a game.

Some say he doesn’t help himself with his conduct. I don't buy into that. How do you justify death threats and parcel bombs because someone is passionate about their football team? Maybe Lennon does play to the crowd to an extent, certainly more than his Parkhead predecessors. But then so does Jose Mourinho, wherever he’s gone.

In that respect, Lennon is no different to the Real Madrid coach and like his Portuguese counterpart, should be allowed to get on with his job. But some seem to have a problem with him being there and until that element is eradicated, Lennon has to find ever more inner strength for himself, for his family, for his players and for Celtic Football Club.

It’s disappointing that in a week filled with tributes and testimonials for an Old Firm manager who leaves his post after years of service to the club, his rival on the other side of the city can't enjoy the same sort of reverence – even if Lennon’s a comparative rookie.

This nasty affair will continue on for days and may even overshadow the culmination of whoever wins the league following this weekend’s programme of matches. But in truth, when this season’s over, we’ll be glad to see the back of it. Not least of all Neil Lennon.

Humiliating Old Firm defeat leaves Smith & Rangers staring down the barrel

Craig Anderson — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 09:30:00 GMT

Celtic’s utter domination of Sunday’s Old Firm match will have left many impressed, with Neil Lennon’s side finally looking capable of winning the SPL. But where does that leave Rangers?

Walter Smith’s side have been gradually faltering and stumbling in recent weeks, and the weekend’s 3-0 drubbing leaves Rangers facing a nadir with three more daunting meetings with Celtic yet to come.

Arguably the Gers’ greatest ever manager faces the very real prospect of ending his tenure at Ibrox, not celebrating on an open-topped bus as was hoped when he decided last summer that this season would be his last, but rather trophyless again, similar to scenario that saw him leave the first time round in 1998.

While Smith had an aging team back then, he has a small squad this time and the volume of games this season is throwing at them is taking its toll. Sunday’s match gave an alarming testament to that.

David Weir, for a long time a rock in Rangers’ defence, is now looking his 41 years while Madjid Bougherra - once a million pound prospect for teams in the English top flight - currently looks anything but.

The absence of Lee McCulloch’s combative style is a glaring loss, while the sale of Kenny Miller to Bursaspor is now looking to be a disastrous one as far as Rangers are concerned.

With Rangers most likely needing to win in Lisbon to progress in the Europa League and facing a massive eight point deficit in the title race - although with two games in hand - the unravelling of the Ibrox club’s season could well have started before our very eyes.

Most Gers fans won’t accept it, because those two games in hand would take the Ibrox side to within two points of the Bhoys, should they yield the full six points. But the most honest of Rangers supporters will – even if not publicly – admit it’s all over for them now.

By comparison, Celtic have finally gelled as a unit and in particular the contributions of Gary Hooper - with his two goals yesterday taking his tally for the season to 15 - left back Emilio Izaguirre and central midfielder Beram Kayal have been priceless.

The signing of Kris Commons from Derby County has also given them another attacking option and although he’s only played a handful of matches for the Parkhead side, he’s looking like another great piece of business by Neil Lennon.

Celtic’s strength in depth has perhaps been their biggest advantage over Rangers in this title race - you only have to look at the likes of Efrain Juarez, Paddy McCourt and Niall McGinn - all of whom weren’t involved on Sunday.

With Rangers’ financial problems hampering Walter Smith‘s running of the club, it’s hard to see just when or how things can improve any time soon. Unless Craig Whyte’s much discussed takeover can be ratified; the Gers are stuck in a rut.

Ally McCoist is due to take over for next season and even he must be privately wondering what he’s going to be working with if his side finish the season without a trophy and the likelihood of funds being further slashed.

The reality is that Rangers, in their current form, are unlikely to catch Celtic, who will need to suffer the mother of all collapses in order to allow their neighbours and rivals a sniff of any silverware. The cold hard truth is the Celts are way out in front at the moment.

Maybe a harsh assessment considering there’s a League Cup Final coming up, not to mention a Scottish Cup replay involving both teams. But if the two sides perform at anywhere near the levels they did on Sunday, there will only be one winner - and Rangers will be left facing-up to a fruitless season.

Is this 'Junior' rivalry more heated than the Old Firm?

Craig Anderson — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 13:24:00 GMT

Move aside Rangers and Celtic, here is a rivalry and hatred arguably much more fierce than the two Glasgow giants.

Ayrshire sides Cumnock and Auchinleck Talbot played each other on Saturday for a place in the last 16 of the Emirates Scottish Junior Cup and in amongst the bottle throwing, fist fighting and police on horseback, some football broke out.

Auchinleck won the battle 3-0 to progress in the tournament, but it will be a game long remembered for the ugly scenes that forced the game to be halted ten minutes from the end as Strathclyde's finest restored some order before the match could be completed.

Unfortunately this sort of image has for quite some time tarnished junior football - a level which can produce some excellent entertainment it has to be said – and this was just one in a serious of incidents that have made this particular fixture such a powderkeg.

The Old Firm go head to head again this weekend and the security is so stringent nowadays that violence in and immediately around the stadium is a rarity. That said it, doesn't stop the mindless elements of both supports getting involved in trouble in various other areas of Glasgow later in the day.

But the scenes from Townhead Park on Saturday are very much a throwback to the infamous 1980 Scottish Cup Final between Rangers and Celtic when police on horses were deployed on to the Hampden turf to restore order (pictured above).

The roots of the Glasgow rivalry are deep, sectarian and a religious one. In the case of Cumnock and Auchinleck, it appears to purely be down to their geographical proximity to each other.

Both towns are less than two miles apart and have both enjoyed relative success down the years, adding more fuel to an already volatile and competitive rivalry so the fact the police were even there shows just fiery the atmosphere is at either Townhead Park, Cumnock’s home ground, or at Auchinleck’s Beechwood Park base.

The pictures in Sunday's newspapers were there for all to see, but some fans believe police were heavy handed in their reaction – despite the aforementioned hurling of bottles and fists. However you look at it, it’s a poor advert for a part of the Scottish game that has worked hard to attract sponsorship.

For some it backs up the view that the juniors in full of thugs, particularly in the case of certain sections of the media and this latest incident will do nothing to dissuade that sort of thinking. It’s a harsh assessment of what is a mostly friendly environment full of decent hard working people.

The Scottish Junior FA will no doubt launch a probe into this latest shame, but fans from both sides have been pointing the finger at each other on message boards and supporters’ websites. The bottom line is there’s nothing wrong with rivalry, but when it manifests itself in such a violent way, there is clearly a problem.

The great divide - just 1.2 miles lies between Cumnock and Auchinleck

It’s also hard to blame either club for this. While segregation can been applied and policed accordingly for Rangers and Celtic, irrespective of where they play, it’s not so easy to do at a much smaller ground like Cumnock or Auchinleck’s.

The distance between the two towns is less than the distance between the Old Firm’s respective ‘patches’ too, which also makes it difficult.

Even banning away fans could be tricky to pull off due to the club’s close proximity, so other than a bigger police presence, it’s hard to see just how this kind of thing is prevented again.

In the meantime the police can breathe a sigh of relief over what was undoubtedly a tough shift on the beat in Ayrshire on Saturday. The bad news however is they are due to face each other in a West Region Premier League match before the end of the season.

If there’s to be a plan to stop violence like this occurring again, it had better be implemented pretty quickly.

El Hadji Diouf - Scotland's Public Enemy No.1?

Craig Anderson — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 16:14:00 GMT

The closing of the January transfer window is starting to be one of those great days in the football calendar, especially in Scotland after the fun and games of the last two years.

Robbie Keane's arrival at Celtic on loan from Tottenham exactly 12 months ago saw fans gathering outside the Parkhead stadium late into the night to welcome their exciting new signing, as Tony Mowbray briefly won the fans over with a shrewd, if temporary, piece of transfer business.

Fast forward 12 months and it's the Rangers' signing of El-Hadji Diouf from Blackburn Rovers on a short-term loan that has everyone talking...and not in quite the same way Keane's arrival in the SPL did.

What the Irishman brought to Celtic in a short space of time was plenty of goals as the Bhoys tried to salvage what had up until that point been a terrible SPL campaign. Keane may have scored 16 goals in 19 appearances, but Celtic fell to pieces in the last months of the 2009/10 season, typified by a 4-0 thumping by St Mirren that saw Mowbray sacked and Neil Lennon replacing him as manager. However you cannot argue his contribution regardless.

Rangers on the other hand have brought to Scotland a man so disliked in England after a string of misdemeanours and acts of sheer stupidity that you have to wonder just what Walter Smith is thinking of in his final months as Rangers manager before he leaves in the summer.

To say Diouf is a colourful character would be a huge understatement. Since arriving on these shores with Liverpool in 2001, he's been accused of spitting incidents at, not only fellow professionals, but an 11-year-old boy, and has also felt the long arm of the law by being collared over driving offences.

How could anybody hate that face? Oh, right - yeah...

And just last month was subject to a stinging attack by QPR boss Neil Warnock after being accused of shouting abuse at Jamie Mackie, while the Hoops star writhed in agony on the ground after suffering a leg break in an FA Cup tie with Blackburn.

It seems that he goes out of his way to court controversy and his move to Rangers, despite him having not kicked a ball yet, has done that already.

Some Rangers fans will be pleased at his arrival, with some of the mindset that he spat on a Celtic fan so that's already good enough. Sad, yet true. Others though are split on the Senegal international's move to the SPL.

Pundit Craig Burley voiced his strong opinion on ESPN the day after Diouf arrived, saying that he's not the kind of player wanted in Scotland, going to say he won't be happy commentating on matches he's involved with. If you hear his rant all the way, it's hard to argue with some of the points he makes.

As for his all round football ability, he is a player that is competitive and at times can do good with the ball. But in ten years south of the border, what has he actually achieved with Liverpool, Bolton, Sunderland and Blackburn? A big, fat zero is the answer to that.

Speaking personally, I've always believed him to be the epitomy of everything wrong with English football. An overpaid, mediocre and often foolish individual with money often seeming his only motivation and no interest in adding medals or achievements to his game.

The main arguments appear to be about his behavioural issues in the past and going by his charge sheet, it's hard to disagree. However the point should be taken that it's what he does in Scotland, however long he's here for, is what he should be judged on.

Diouf himself won't care. On the pitch he seems to revel in winding people up. In Scotland, he's already done that and he's not even graced a football pitch yet.

One thing's for sure though. Sunday's Scottish Cup tie between Rangers and Celtic will be much more fascinating if Diouf plays.

SPL Round-up: Hearts juggernaut rolls on as Celtic open up a lead

Craig Anderson — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 14:43:00 GMT

It’s all going really well for Hearts now. After taking Celtic’s scalp earlier in the season, they’ve only gone and done the same to Rangers to elevate their chances of challenging for the SPL title. What could possibly go wrong?

The fans must be dreading when their absentee owner, Vladimir Romanov, will remind everybody he’s still around as the Edinburgh club start to look like title contenders. After all it wouldn’t be the first time the eccentric Lithuanian will make a sudden reappearance to dampen the mood.

For the Hearts’ supporter’s sakes, he’d better not at a time when they took a massive leap to coming between the Old Firm duopoly this season as they moved to within two points of second placed Rangers by beating Walter Smith’s men 1-0.

After years of no stability and in influx of often poor players loaned in from Romanov’s other football interest, FBK Kaunas in Lithuania, it looks as though he’s finally left things to get on, with Jim Jefferies enjoying his second spell as Jambos boss.

He’s been back a year and already the former Kilmarnock and Bradford boss has restored the Scottish backbone that the club badly missed. So when Ryan Stevenson poked home Hearts’ winner 13 minutes from time, it affirmed Hearts’ intentions and now having gone 11 league games unbeaten, the Old Firm are looking over their shoulders.

As for Rangers, who dominated much of this game, it would be too easy to pin their profligacy on the absence of Kenny Miller, who left for Turkish champs Bursaspor during the week, but Walter Smith’s side need a goalscorer to step up to the plate and quickly.

As Hearts storm up the SPL table, it appears Hibernian are falling down the league almost as quickly. An eighth game without a win for the Easter Road men as Motherwell cruised to a 2-0 win at Fir Park, saw Colin Calderwood’s men plunge to second bottom and now the knives are out, somewhat unfairly it must be said, for the manager.

The former Nottingham Forest boss hasn’t had the best of starts since taking over from John Hughes in October, as two wins in 15 matches will back-up, but losing to Motherwell, courtesy of goals from Jamie Murphy and Steven Saunders, following on from the Scottish Cup exit at the hands of Second Division Ayr United in midweek means the knives are out.

In Glasgow, Aberdeen were back on the very ground where their worst ever defeat was inflicted just over two months ago. Demons had to be exorcised and if you compare the Dons’ 9-0 defeat to Celtic at Celtic Park to the slender 1-0 loss on Saturday then you can make the assumption Craig Brown as manager is improving things.

Anthony Stokes’ solitary first half strike gave Neil Lennon’s side the advantage as Rangers slipped up in Edinburgh, while Aberdeen fans were just glad not to be witnessing another massacre. What Mark McGhee’s side didn’t do in that horrible November day, Craig Brown’s men did on Saturday.

It ended the Dons’ brief revival when they won three out of four since Brown’s appointment, but they’ll get the chance to get back to winning ways at Inverness this midweek. Celtic though have the chance to stop the Hearts juggernaut as it heads to Parkhead.

Kilmarnock are still feeding the fish over at Rugby Park and despite Conor Sammon’s 14th league goal of the season, they’ll feel disappointed as Dundee United nicked a point courtesy of Garry Kenneth’s wonder strike in the last minute. Yes, you read that correctly!

It’s hard to know if he was as surprised that his well-struck 35-yard effort went in as I am even writing the sentence, but United need to start turning the draws into wins. Saturday’s was their seventh in eight games, counting the two Scottish Cup stalemates with Ross County, but they have games in hand so there’s no panic yet.

Hamilton Accies need goals though, and fast, if they want to stop what could be a slow road back to Division One. Mickael Antoine-Curier scored from the spot just before half time to cancel out Dani Sanchez’s opener for Inverness, but it was only their third goal in ten SPL matches. Now the man that calls himself 'Rockstar', for some reason, will need to get his team-mates in tune.

And the less said about St Johnstone’s 0-0 draw with St Mirren the better, by all accounts.

TALKING POINTS:

Hearts’ surge has obviously caught the eye of some and there is genuine hope that there could be a challenge to the Old Firm. Cynics are quick to point out that like many before them, they’ll peter out. Celtic, who host them on Tuesday, could be the team to do it.

Stuart McCall is also impressing those in the media, but not for the steady job he’s done in his short spell at Motherwell so far. The fact that the Yorkshire born Scotsman can be seen cutting about in sub-zero temperatures wearing shorts has raised eyebrows. Now that’s proper hard!

And finally, Sol Campbell, if the papers are to be believed, has now decided he wants a move to Celtic now after snubbing them for Newcastle in the summer. Surely the last thing Celtic need is an ex-Arsenal veteran receiving a high wage for a short term contract. Oh, wait! Never mind...

WEEK 23 RESULTS Sat 22 Jan Hearts 1-0 Rangers, Celtic 1-0 Aberdeen, Inverness CT 1-1 Hamilton, Kilmarnock 1-1 Dundee United, Motherwell 2-0 Hibernian, St Johnstone 0-0 St Mirren.

The self preservation league and the fans who want their say

Craig Anderson — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 12:30:00 GMT

The SPL have taken it upon themselves to invoke some badly needed change - but instead of giving us something new, something fresh and something to get excited about, they’ve only gone and proposed to go back to an old format.

To replace the 12-team league and split format - which hasn’t been a success from the off, it must be said - the SPL want to reduce the number of top flight clubs to ten, a format the SPL actually started with in its inception in 1998, before switching to the 12-team system in 2000.

Not only that, they want to increase their hold on the game by bringing in ten First Division clubs in a 12-team “Championship”, playing each other four times, giving them a whopping 44 matches.

The money men of the clubs have somehow more or less agreed this will be the way forward when it finally comes to a vote at the end of January, but they have overlooked one crucial factor in all this, which will bite them on the bum…the fans.

The fans - How on earth can you ignore this lot...?

Scottish football fans have repeatedly made the point in forums and in the media that they don’t want a 10-team set-up. That playing the same teams over and over again has become dull, repetitive and a reason why people aren’t stumping up cash to watch the game anymore.To back that view up, Supporters Direct ran a survey of around 5,000 fans asking them about a 10 team top flight and the result was categorical in its findings. 88% said they did not want a smaller top flight, highlighting the repetition of playing the same teams.

On the back of that the SPL Chief Executive Neil Doncaster set about on a charm offensive to persuade to ever-disgruntled punter through a series of radio shows and newspaper interviews that this was progress in a way to improve Scottish football and it was in everyone’s best interests, not just the SPL.

However his arguments kept pointing towards the financial aspect, with Doncaster quoted as saying: “This is not just looking after our own. It's about the best interests of all 42 clubs.”

“If the vote goes against two SPL leagues of 10 then we have the status-quo, but that's something that everyone accepts should not be the case. I think those who want 16 teams in the top flight are deluding themselves.”

"That would take a lot of money out of the game, because clubs would play each other just twice. If you take away half of the big games, you're talking about half of the value being lost - around £7million.

"If you have more of the big games, with play-offs, then there is more attraction and value in the TV rights. That money will help ease the burden of relegation, as well as give us a chance to hold on to our better players who, at the moment, are drifting away to England because there's more money there."

Rangers v Celtic - one of the bigger games, apparently...

Those quotes came on January 5th when it was announced a league shake-up was on the agenda. But on the back of the McLeish Review, when former Scottish First Minister Henry McLeish identified ways of improving Scottish football as a whole, there was nothing from Doncaster or the SPL about how the game in a widespread sense would benefit.

All the supporters heard was about how it will affect the members clubs financially, showing the “I’m alright, Jack!” attitude the SPL have been accused of showing other teams in the Scottish League for a number of years now.

Another factor has been how the TV companies would view these changes and it appears obvious this move is designed to appease Sky, ESPN and the BBC in preserving four Old Firm matches and four Edinburgh derbies. The rumoured feeling is they wouldn’t be too happy at seeing the two big derbies halved and this, again, leads the motives behind the proposed move back to money and how the clubs would be affected financially.

However, the possible delivery of a 10-12 league set-up has its plus points, but not many it must be said. The abolition of the split is a welcome move, meaning sides have the same number of home and away fixtures against every other side, unlike now when the split creates an imbalance.

The addition of a 12-team SPL 2 could also help to bridge the financial imbalance that currently lies between the SPL and the First Division. For too long now teams that have been relegated from the top flight have found the financial gulf a tough one to cross, so if it’s done in the right way it is workable.

The other positive to take is the introduction of a play-off system to the top flight, which should give the end of the season some much needed drama. It’s proved it has worked in the lower leagues, which has ran it for a few seasons so the time to implement it in the top level is long overdue.

Motherwell fans support the changes - wait, hang on...

But the issue of playing the same teams over and over again is still very much an elephant in the room in terms of how this could work and if the fans aren’t happy, the SPL have to be warned. At the end of the day and as has been seen already, the spectators are losing interest and fast.

If the strength of feeling over these proposals haven’t alarmed them, the loss of the gate and season ticket money, if it happens, will be. The SPL try and supplement that with TV money from Sky and ESPN, but there’s nothing to stop them from pulling the plug at any time.

But they have to make it more attractive for fans to want to come to the matches. Lowering prices would help, after all, are you getting value for money for paying £24 for a game like Kilmarnock vs St Mirren?

Perhaps reducing the amount of matches on TV wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing either. If people are getting to see the same game from the comfort of their home for the price of their Sky subscription rather than spend £20+ and sit in a cold stand in December, we know what a lot of people’s preference will be.

The top clubs have chased the buck and forgotten about the fans and how integral they are to the whole thing. We are reminded that without the fans the game wouldn’t be anything, yet why are the very people that put so much into Scottish football not having their views on the league system heard?

Alienating the real stakeholders, and I don’t mean the businessmen, would be a bad move and they’ll do well to remember that. After all you only need to see how Dundee had to turn to their fans to help them survive following their return to administration a couple of months ago.

If this vote goes ahead and the changes are implemented, the powers that be that insist they are doing it in the best interests of Scottish football could really find out what fan power in Scotland would be all about.

'Throwback' winger McCourt has the talent, but does he have the time?

Guest Writer — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 12:04:00 GMT

Celtic's Paddy McCourt has impressed in flashes this season, William Heaney ponders whether the former Rochdale and Shamrock Rovers wide-man will ever get the chance to become a key figure for the Hoops...

The SPL isn’t exactly awash with gifted players who are capable of taking on opposing defenders and producing something just a wee bit different.

That’s why watching Celtic and Northern Ireland winger Paddy McCourt in full flow is a sight to behold.

The ‘Derry Pele’ has become something of a cult-hero with Celtic fans since joining the club from Derry City in 2008, producing a series of stunning individual goals during his time in Scotland. While not blessed with lightning speed, he is nevertheless able to glide past players with his effortless, almost lazy, running style

A player with McCourt’s ability should be the fulcrum of a side – the guy you pin your hopes on to deliver on the big occasion. Instead, he settles most weeks for a late run from the bench and while he’s often effective, you can’t help but think that a player who is able to leave three, four or five opposition players in his wake, should be capable of so much more.

The number of minor injuries picked up by the player during his Celtic career has certainly not helped his cause. Already this season he has been sidelined by neck and shoulder problems and his issues with fitness and stamina appear to be ongoing concerns.

McCourt’s contribution when he isn’t in possession of the ball has also been questioned. He does his best work in the final third with the ball at his feet, but isn’t quite so keen on tracking back.

Perhaps most telling is that most of McCourt’s magic moments have come against weaker opposition, or when the game is already won.

His goal at Falkirk last season, compared by one Scottish journalist to John Barnes’ for England against Brazil at the Maracana, was the third in a comfortable 4-0 win.

Similarly, the waltz round three Hearts defenders in September, which culminated in McCourt dinking the ball over the keeper into the net, was scored in the final minutes of the match with Celtic already two goals ahead.

Contrast that with McCourt’s record in Old Firm matches – just two appearances as a sub where he has made little or no impact. Whether that’s down to a lack of confidence, the occasion getting to him, or simply not yet having a proper chance to show what he can do on the big stage, remains to be seen.

McCourt’s international career mirrors his current situation at Celtic. With just four caps for Northern Ireland over an eight-year period, he was left out of the squad for the opening Euro 2012 qualifier against Slovenia. Manager Nigel Worthington explained his decision: "With all the craft that Paddy has, if he can get the graft side, the work ethic, what a great player he would be for us."

Whether Worthington’s comments say more about the player’s abilities or are a reflection of the modern game is debatable. While he has since returned to the squad, watching McCourt try to play a more disciplined central midfield role in the recent friendly against Morocco was a strange experience.

For anybody thinking that’s he’s a young guy with time on his side, well, he’s not. McCourt turns 27 this week, and rather than being a naive kid, it’s more a case of him being in last chance saloon.

The early promise shown by McCourt at Rochdale led to him being linked with Manchester City and Blackburn Rovers, but a move never materialised and he ended back in the League of Ireland. While trials with Norwich

City, Crewe and Motherwell failed to produce a contract, West Brom were ready to offer the player another shot at English football until Gordon Strachan stepped in at the last minute to take him to Celtic Park.

In order to become a first-team regular, it’s not just personal challenges that McCourt has to overcome. While Celtic have defensive problems, they are not short of options in the wide areas: fellow countryman Niall McGinn is younger, faster and more direct than McCourt, and seemingly preferred by Nigel Worthington at international level.

Shaun Maloney meanwhile, is producing his best form since returning to the club, and young James Forrest was arguably Celtic’s top performer in the opening weeks of the season before injury struck.

There’s not much he can do about it, but McCourt was probably born 30-40 years too late. Described by Neil Lennon as a 'throwback', he is a player who would have thrived in the 1960’s or 70’s, when ability was everything and less emphasis was placed on athleticism and conditioning – he even has the hairstyle.

Tragedy is too strong a word, but it would be a real shame if McCourt fails to progress from bit-part player to centre stage. In his defence, he conjured up the only goal at Inverness on the opening day of the season, and assists which led to last minute winners at Dundee United and St Mirren, but he has to consistently produce when it really counts.

With a manager and a fanbase who clearly believe in him, McCourt may yet prove he was worth the wait.

Scottish football baffled as Brown seeks last hurrah at Aberdeen

Craig Anderson — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 10:56:00 GMT

If you were in the Motherwell area around 5pm on Saturday night and heard some loud, raucous laughter, chances are it may well have been that of chairman John Boyle on hearing the Aberdeen result.

The Dons were stuffed 5-0 by Hearts at Tynecastle and plunged to the bottom of the SPL. If new manager Craig Brown, who controversially walked out on the Fir Park club at the end of last week, didn't fully know the size of job on his hands, he does now on the back of Saturday's showing.

Brown’s decision to leave a young Motherwell squad with plenty of potential and scaling the upper echelons of the SPL for an Aberdeen side with too many underachieving players and staring at the cold abyss of Division One has baffled many in Scotland.

Motherwell fans are understandably upset. Not only is Brown the second manager they've lost to Aberdeen within 18 months, following in the footsteps of Mark McGhee, but he had also proven to be extremely popular since rescuing the club from the disastrous six-month tenure of Jim Gannon, who seemed more hell bent on falling out with everyone in Scottish football.

Perhaps the most disappointing aspect of the whole scenario is that Brown had always come across, firstly as the sort of jolly uncle you'd like to see at Christmas, but also as an honest guy with integrity and morals in a football sense - but it appears he's let his head get turned easily by whatever Aberdeen have offered. The move cannot be borne out of financial gain, principally as the Dons don't have any money, but whatever incentives they've have offered have somehow persuaded him.

Brown won't find many friends on his next return to Fir Park

He wasn't under contract at Motherwell, so was technically able to walk away for nothing. The Fir Park side though are upset at the Dons' conduct in recruiting their manager and intend to report them to the SPL over their perceived actions.

The statement issued by Motherwell after Craig Brown's resignation read: "We wish to make clear that, as a Board, we believe that the conduct of Aberdeen in this matter has been wholly inappropriate and in breach of SPL rules as well as basic courtesy.

"At no point did they inform us or seek our permission to speak to critical employees of our club and to seek to entice them to leave our employment." Strong words, and Motherwell have since made formal their complaints to the SPL over Aberdeen's approach.

But in many ways, Aberdeen are like Newcastle in so far as they are a one club city, with demanding fans, some of whom believe they should be in far loftier positions than those they generally, and usually deservedly, occupy. In this way Brown could feel a bit like the Toon Army's new boss Alan Pardew.

From Aberdeen's point of view, it's a decent appointment and the fans may well be pleased with it. Here they've got a manager with a good track record, not only at Motherwell, but with Scotland as well and at the very least could bring some much stability. But then Mark McGhee had a decent record as a manager before he turned up at Pittodrie.

This could be a last hurrah for Brown and assistant Archie Knox, who is back at Pittodrie where he enjoyed much success during the club's golden period in the 80's as the right hand man of Alex Ferguson. They also look set to keep the old guard going in the SPL.

Affectionately known as Jack and Victor, named after the two OAP characters from BBC Scotland sitcom "Still Game", they are laughing in the faces of age jokes and proving there is life in the old dogs yet. Unlike Walter Smith, who has decided he wants to shuffle off to the managerial retirement home at the end of the season when he leaves Rangers, Brown and Knox are keen to keep on scrapping away. But there's no doubt Brown’s reputation will have been dented by this whole episode.

Stories were circulated on Friday afternoon that former Dundee pair Gordon Chisholm and Billy Dodds were in talks to become the new management team at Fir Park. These rumours proved to be untrue, but ideally, if Motherwell can get a quick resolution to the situation, then that can only be a positive.

But the potential new men won't be afforded the sort of trust Craig Brown and Archie Knox had in terms of contracts, particularly if they both continue or even improve on what their predecessors did.

Referees: a strike for change, or a big hissy fit?

Craig Anderson — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 12:31:00 GMT

With Scotland's referees set to strike over their grievances, Craig Anderson wonders who's to blame – and what the endgame is

So it appears the referees in Scotland have finally had enough of all the flak that's come their way and are set to strike. But what will it achieve in the long run?

Weeks and weeks of relentless criticism have come to a head and all Category One officials have declared their intention to go on strike ahead of this weekend's schedule of games, which could decimate SPL, SFL and Scottish Cup fixtures as a consequence. Even Sunday's Challenge Cup Final between Ross County and Queen of the South is in serious doubt.

On one hand, you have to look at it and say "fair enough". When you get that level of criticism for doing what is effectively a paid hobby then you start to question if it's worth it. It's easy to forget referees love the game as well.

The public safety of officials has been cited as a reason and, as hard as it is to admit it, it can only be a matter of time before one of these refs meet the wrong kind of individual then it all gets very nasty. No job is worth that, nor is it worth risking the safety of your family.

However – and this is what many are struggling to get their heads round – what will be its ultimate achievement? Managers and players will still criticise in post-match comments and newspapers will still run critiques of referee's performances – something this writer did recently for a national tabloid when Dougie McDonald returned to action at Falkirk vs Ross County.

If anyone can spell out the benefits, please do. Don't get me wrong, I have great sympathy and respect for the officials and the job they do, but I can't see how strike action is a good thing.

I'd go as far as to say change is definitely required somewhere – starting with the referees' fraternity themselves. Where I would start is with the resignation of the man who indirectly caused all this kerfuffle, Dougie McDonald.

That's nothing personal; he is, in the main, a decent referee. But as soon as he confessed to lying over that decision at Tannadice in October, his position became utterly untenable. The football decision was 100% correct, but concocting a story with linesman Steven Craven over how it was reached wasn't clever – and wasn't necessary.

Craven and McDonald get their story straight

Complete honesty may not be written explicitly in the criteria, but it's surely a given for a referee, who is meant to be above all the divisions. McDonald's clumsy lack of judgement has taken away his integrity as an official and the sooner he realises that the better.

For the record, he shouldn't be sacked – and he won't be: he was judged by a committee of ex-referees (another error) and all he got was slapped wrists. He should be big enough to walk away himself. And whatever the press say, whether it was a "little white lie" or not is irrelevant to the argument. He lied, and lost trust and credibility – not just for him, but by extension for all his colleagues.

END THE DALLAS SOAP OPERA
Next up would be Head of Referee Development, Hugh Dallas, who has overseen this entire farce and in every passing week has seen his jacket get that little bit more shaky on that dodgy peg. There's no questioning his ability in his days as a referee, but his patriarchal behaviour towards his successors is nothing more than sheer arrogance.

It's been suggested that "The Whistleblower" section of the SFA website, where refs were given a platform to explain decisions, was taken down at his instruction. His failure to acknowledge any refereeing mistakes has upset many and with the news that 80% of refs failed a test relating to the Laws of the Game, something's going wrong somewhere.

It's been well documented that Dallas's work in helping refs obtain optimum fitness has been superb, but has this come at the cost of what should be basic knowledge of the game? Some argue this point by asking how many drivers would fail if forced to retake their driving test, but the Highway Code isn't amended every year.

Dallas: Gamekeeper turned gamekeepers' gamekeeper

Under Dallas, there appears to be a siege mentality in place and this feeling of non-accountability for errors and poor decision-making only adds to the bad feeling between the clubs and referees. After all, if he allowed refs to explain decisions by any medium necessary, people may not agree, but at least there is some level of understanding about the decision-making process.

The removal of Dallas would lead to more transparency, and looking to get him binned over a dodgy email is like jailing murderous gangster Al Capone over a tax fiddle – the right result by the wrong means. It doesn't make his other actions right by any stretch, but there are bigger footballing issues to deal with in his department.

CLUBBED TO DEATH
Referees don't operate in a vacuum and clubs have their part to play. Celtic's behaviour since the Dougie McDonald affair has been questionable to say the least; the SFA would have been justified in charging them for bringing the game into disrepute. By failing to act, they've declared open season and Celtic have taken full advantage, whether it's been manager Neil Lennon or chairman Dr John Reid venting their spleen.

Many can understand why they were angry over what happened at Tannadice, especially since McDonald revealed he lied to Lennon over the penalty incident. But since then, Celtic lost to Rangers and Hearts – and the Hoops boss has blamed the officials both times.

Against Rangers, Kirk Broadfoot was awarded a penalty when he clearly dived, but ref Willie Collum had his back to it and only gave it based on what he saw out of the corner of his eye. Instead of slaughtering Broadfoot for diving in the first place, Lennon pointedly fumed at Collum's decision.

Against Hearts, Joe Ledley was correctly sent off for a scissors-style challenge on Ian Black. That angered Lennon, as did Celtic not getting a penalty for Ryan Stevenson's handball, but it was the manager's reaction to that got him sent to the stand. While he was well within his rights to be unhappy, his behaviour was ridiculous.

What made it even more ludicrous was Lennon blaming the officials at Tynecastle, while his captain Shaun Maloney made clear it was Celtic's poor performance that cost them, not the refs.

John Reid's comments at the club's AGM last week are believed to have been the final straw for refs considering strike action. At a time when they need support, they were kicked in the teeth by club officials happy to peddle some misguided notion that the SFA have some conspiracy against them.

Reid and Lennon in chirpier times

Dealing with angry managers is one thing for referees, but club chairmen are a different matter – especially ones that are former MPs who have the audacity to lecture on "integrity" despite having claimed parliamentary expenses for a pouffe and a black glitter toilet seat.

The SFA set a precedent when they hammered Hearts owner Vladimir Romanov over comments made about officials, so why is Romanov (slightly) lighter in the pocket while Reid remains unpunished?

REF JUSTICE
The question though still stands: what would refs get from a strike, beside an impromptu weekend off? If it's purely to make a stand then fair enough, but nothing will have changed. Sadly it may just come out as the refs collectively taking their ball home and refusing to play because they're in a huff.

Their endgame has to be something positive and if it comes out of such a turgid mess then most people will welcome it with open arms. Until then, we can only hope common sense prevails and a last-gasp agreement is worked out in the ever-decreasing time before the weekend.

No matter what the outcome, this whole sorry episode will leave a foul stench around Scottish football for a while to come.

Juniors set to grow up in the big games

Craig Anderson — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 15:34:00 GMT

It's FA Cup weekend in Scotland too, with the lower-leaguers joined by junior teams who can't get in the league. Craig Anderson looks at Scotland's rather quirky parallel system...

Down the years, non-league teams have enjoyed many an FA Cup success in England. Now, in Scotland, sides of equal stature are starting to make themselves known to the senior ranks.

The Scottish Cup Third Round takes place this weekend. That's the round where all the Second Division teams and six from Division One join in the party – and if it's been anything like the tournament so far, it'll be a very exciting weekend.

Taking four of those third-round berths are so-called "junior" teams – basically non-league teams that operate and work within their own association (the SJFA) separate to the SFA, who themselves have non-leagues in operation such as the Highland League, East of Scotland League and the South of Scotland League.

But don't for one second be confused by the term. Juniors is not a kids' league. Ask anyone that's ever watched it, let alone played in it. It's a level of the game where some of the country's best-ever footballers have played to toughen up. For example Billy McNeill, Kenny Dalglish and Danny McGrain were all farmed out to junior teams in the early stages of their career – and look what they achieved.

"Snooker me, would ye? Off tae the juniors..."

Now, four of the juniors are rubbing shoulders with some of the more conventional names in Scottish football when West Region League champions Beith visit Airdrie United, North Region champs Sunnybank go to Ayr United, East Region equivalents Bo'ness United host the Highland League champions Buckie Thistle, while Girvan have something of a local derby with Stranraer.

Girvan's involvement is somewhat unique, as a team that hold memberships to both the SFA and SJFA, making them eligible for all junior tournaments and the Scottish Cup. As an SFA member, they are included in the cup regardless of their success in the league. The others have to win their respective regional league or the Scottish Junior Cup.

But the fact that four of them are there this year is not only a huge success for the junior game as a whole, it's the first time it's ever happened and shows how right the SFA were to allow them to take part when they restructured the tournament in 2007.

Bo'ness and Sunnybank have already eliminated league opposition to reach this stage, beating Third Division sides Queen's Park and Albion Rovers respectively, so they're no million-to-one shots to reach the utopia of the Fourth Round - at which point the SPL clubs enter the fray.

Irvine Meadow were the first such club to be drawn to face a top-flight side when they met Hibernian in last year's Fourth Round and, somewhat inevitably, were beaten 3-0 in the end. It was a truly memorable experience for fans and players alike; those who went to Easter Road that day will tell you Irvine really gave a good account of themselves.

Meadow fans enjoy the big day out in the capital

Had Meadow pulled off an unlikely result, it would have been arguably the competition's greatest ever cup shock. Never mind Berwick beating Rangers in 1967, or Celtic being outclassed by Inverness Caley Thistle in 2000, this would surely have been the daddy of them all. That's how big a shock it could have been.

Plus it was Meadow that became the first junior to beat a senior counterpart in a competitive game when they beat Arbroath 1-0 in last season's third round to earn that tie at Hibs so there is a huge incentive for the quartet still involved to earn some cash as well as lock horns with an SPL side.

If you were to compare the juniors with their other non-league counterparts, it's probably fair to say that on the football pitch, they are undoubtedly on an equal standing.

However, their inclusion in the cup is not welcomed by all, with one newspaper columnist last season claiming Irvine Meadow were taking money “out of the game” when they were facing Hibs. They haven’t always been popular for whatever reason, but their success and contribution to the tournament in recent years surely mean they are here to stay.

There’s no doubt the juniors' somewhat staggered entrance into the senior game has been a success in the last three years. But it's another argument entirely as to whether it should lead to the adoption of a “pyramid” system similar to that in England, which would allow through promotions and relegation for teams like these to play in the senior ranks.

It seems there is an unwillingness to change things that much any time soon. This reluctance to really open things up appears to come from the SJFA and the SFA, not to mention the clubs themselves.

Until someone with big ideas comes along, the junior sides will have to make do with their token gesture and keep shocking the institutionalised clubs in the Scottish Cup – hopefully starting this weekend.

Are England turning into Scotland?

Craig Anderson — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 14:57:00 GMT

If England fans can hear a rustling from north of the border, it may be Scotland fans rubbing their hands, says Craig Anderson...

Fabio Capello has drafted some new faces into his England squad for their friendly with France this week, with the selection of Cardiff City's Jay Bothroyd raising the most eyebrows. While Capello fancies trying something new with his squad, could this be indicative of England's gradual decline?

With so many foreign players arriving to play in the cash-laden Premier League, young English players are finding their route to stardom in the top flight blocked as chairmen always look abroad for a quicker, cheaper fix instead of giving local youngsters a chance to be blooded; even when clubs give kids a chance, they often tend to be recruited from a global network.

Capello's most recent selection has caused much debate and it's important to remember that the game with France is only a friendly, so there is certainly licence to experiment and add new faces with minimal risk. However could this be the start of a new and perhaps somewhat troubling route for the English team?

You only need to look north of the border to see how an overkill of foreign players has hampered the development of young players – something which has taken the Scots years to even begin to recover from. Years of cheap foreign imports have ultimately proved detrimental to the national side and Scotland have now gone 12 years without gracing the finals of an international tournament.

Scotland's first XI: Open to all-comers

When Craig Levein picks a squad, outwith the SPL and a few faces playing in the English Premier League, a lot of those selected play in the Championship. Long gone are the days when players that played for the top clubs south of the border were picked and became cornerstones of the team.

It’s early days yet, but what’s happening with the England team is exactly what happened to Scotland over the last two decades, and as the cost of English players continues to rocket in a way totally out of kilter with the rest of Europe, clubs in the Premier League will continue to be forced into shopping abroad.

Regardless of this, Bothroyd is in the squad on merit, having already scored 13 goals in the Championship this season, but England fans should worry that there is evidently so little emerging talent in the Premier League ready to burst on to the international scene.

There are a few that have stepped up, with Jordan Henderson, Kieran Gibbs and Andy Carroll all set to start against France tomorrow, but a steady progression has been few and far between. Bear in mind, England’s squad at the World Cup in South Africa was the oldest of the 32 squads, with an average age of 28.7 years.

Since the summer, Jack Wilshere’s good early-season form for Arsenal has seen him come through into the senior ranks, although he will miss tomorrow's match through injury; Milner has made the transition well, while Adam Johnson looks an exciting prospect, but has had little game time of late for Manchester City. Other than that, Capello has still been reliant on the old guard when it comes to the qualifiers.

That said, giving younger players like Chris Smalling and Jordan Henderson call-ups is interesting, particularly when Newcastle’s Kevin Nolan and Matthew Jarvis of Wolves have been outstanding for their respective clubs and are arguably more worthy of a shout. Of course, it’s always difficult to understand Capello’s thinking.

But including Championship players, while merely experimental for the time being, is a road England may be forced to go down more regularly as long as the decent English talent is being pushed down the leagues at the expense of players brought in from overseas. Bothroyd, for example, found his chances at his first club Arsenal restricted by the likes of Christopher Wreh.

Bothroyd: In fine form, if not in the top flight

The FA are trying to identify the internationals of tomorrow, finally getting behind the Burton centre of excellence. But the clubs are constantly looking at the short-term option and not enough English players are coming through, stifling the progress of the national team.

Unfortunately this leaves Capello’s hands tied. It’s a precarious time for the England coach as he tries to bounce back from the disappointment of the World Cup, so every move he makes is being scrutinised in the run-up to Euro 2012.

He's not being helped by the clubs, who are naturally putting their own short-term interests way ahead of the development of the national game. Money is the root of all evil, they say, so England will do well to realise that as long as the Premier League continues to spend its way to world domination, it’s doing so at the expense of a national team already failing to meet its absurdly high expectations.

While Bothroyd is likely to be merely a short-term option, it’s very possible he won’t be the last England squad member to be called from the below the top flight.

The curious case of Giovanni di Stefano

Craig Anderson — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 11:35:00 GMT

When someone raises their head above the parapet in wanting to buy a football club, the first question usually raised is "what are they in it for?" It's a question currently being asked of Giovanni di Stefano and his interest in crisis-hit Dundee.

The Italian-born businessman and lawyer reportedly contacted the Dens Park club's administrator to find out the true nature of the financially stricken side's debt and problems with a view to taking over control and bring them back from the brink.

That was, at least, until the Scottish Football League last week handed down a 25-point penalty and player registration embargo. Whether his interest in acquiring the club has cooled in light of these sanctions is unknown, but at the very least, he has offered to defend them for free as they appeal the penalty.

All that's missing is the cavalry charge and the white horse, but one has to wonder about the motives of Di Stefano. It's a question asked by the Scottish media, not to mention Dundee fans, who have seen enough rogue owners and imposters in their time.

Bear in mind this is a man who can count Iraqi tyrant Saddam Hussein, pop star turned paedophile Gary Glitter, serial killer Dr Harold Shipman and Serbian warlord Zeljko 'Arkan' Raznatovic among clients he's defended in the courtroom.

Di Stefano, representing Jonathan King in court

This sort of client list has led to him being dubbed "The Devil's Advocate", so what sort of attraction does the 55-year-old see in a struggling second-tier, perhaps soon to be third-tier, Scottish football team?

It's a fair question to ask. After all, what affiliation with the club or the city is there for him? It's like me willing to pour my earnings into a Welsh amateur team from a town I've never visited. In fact I've never even been to Wales. [You should, it's very nice - Ed.]

Firstly it's been reported in the past that his son, Michele, started following the Dark Blues when he was schooled at top private school Gordonstoun.

Another reason is perhaps a more obvious one. Di Stefano sees it as a chance to complete some "unfinished business" with the Scottish First Division side, after bearing the brunt of the fans' anger following their administration in 2003, when he joined the board and was soon plunged into helping the ailing club.

Fast-forward seven years and that experience doesn't seem to have scared him away. After attempts to put money into Norwich City and Irish side Shelbourne, it appears he's happy to return to Tayside and help the club in their hour of need.

When he was first involved, they were an SPL side who had spent big to qualify for Europe and reached the top six. When they went into administration, there were debts of £23 million. Now, they're stuck in Division One, reportedly £2m in the red, with the threat of liquidation by Christmas if an unpaid tax bill is not settled.

On entering administration, they shed nine players as well as the management team of Gordon Chisholm and Billy Dodds in an attempt to slash costs in the face of the crippling debt. Initially keen to fund them until at least the end of the season, Di Stefano seems to desperately want to put right the supposed wrongs he was accused of being involved in.

Di Stefano in the Dens Park directors' box, 2003

"I took a lot of stick unnecessarily in 2003," he said in recent interview. "The situation was not my fault. I was only there for a few weeks. I was misled."

Whatever his motives are, his announcement will be greeted by many Dundee fans with mistrust and suspicion, given his perceived part in the administration of 2003. But there may come a point that if he's the only one willing to help out, they may need to turn to him.

Di Stefano claims the fans don't have the business expertise to be able to run the club, which may be doing those willing to put themselves forward a disservice, but he'll need the help of the supporters to get the club back on board.

Given their recent experiences of owners and benefactors who promise so much yet deliver so, Di Stefano should understand the suspicions they'll have. After all, the last thing they need is another jaunt up another garden path.

Mark McGhee on shoogly peg as Aberdeen prepare the sack

Craig Anderson — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 11:16:00 GMT

It's been over 27 years since Aberdeen upset the European apple cart and beat Real Madrid to win the European Cup Winners' Cup. Now they're getting beaten 9-0 by one of the Old Firm. You really would love to know what a certain Manchester-based manager makes of it all.

Such has been the Dons' decline over the past three decades that you have to wonder what their most successful manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, thought after their latest SPL catastrophe at Celtic. Bear in mind, this is a man who brought Aberdeen three Premier League titles, four Scottish Cups, a League Cup and a European Super Cup on top of the Cup Winners' Cup success.

Although current manager Mark McGhee was one of Fergie's squad on that 1983 night in Gothenburg, he hasn't won over the Aberdeen support since taking over from Jimmy Calderwood in the summer of 2009 – especially after admitting in a press conference that he would have preferred the then-vacant Celtic post.

Calderwood was sacked despite getting Aberdeen back into Europe in 2007/08 and keeping them there past Christmas. They were eventually knocked out by Bayern Munich, but Calderwood's card had been marked by far more humiliating defeats in the domestic cup competitions, notably to Queen's Park and Queen of the South.

Now they have bigger fish to fry with McGhee incurring the wrath of his understandably furious support after their 9-0 collapse to Celtic. The loss leaves them (ironically) ninth, nine points off third place and just two above the drop zone.

Alone: McGhee surveys the wreckage at Celtic Park

To use a Scottish colloquialism, his jacket is on a shoogly peg. Reports suggest anything less than a home win on Tuesday night against Inverness Caley Thistle – who haven't lost away for year – would see McGhee and assistant Scott Leitch sacked.

While Aberdeen were being torn a new one, Ferguson was celebrating a last-minute win against Wolves at Old Trafford. As fate would have it, it's 24 years ago this week that Sir Alex, or just plain Alex as he was back then, left Pittodrie to replace Ron Atkinson at Old Trafford.

The team he left behind were still very much a force in Scotland with Jim Leighton, Willie Miller, Alex McLeish, McGhee & Co. – regularly getting in amongst the Old Firm (they finished in the top two for each of the first six seasons in the 1980s), reaching cup finals and travelling Europe on a regular basis.

The decline has been a slow painful one. McGhee is the 11th manager since Ferguson headed south, and the second of that 1983 team (after skipper Willie Miller) to try the manager's seat. If anything, the result at Celtic Park will have brought back horrible memories of the Ebbe Skovdahl era, when Celtic would rack up scorelines of 5-0, 6-0 and even 7-0 with unerring ease.

But this is a new low altogether. You're talking about a team that last won the Scottish Cup 20 years ago and only made one final in 17 (a 4-0 pasting by Rangers a decade ago), while their League Cup record shows the last success 15 years ago and again a decade since the last final appearance. Expectation may not be what it once was, but that barren spell is simply unacceptable. Maybe McGhee would agree with that.

McGhee rubs Miller's head on that night in Gothenburg

It's certainly a record that would have been unthinkable in Ferguson's era. But that's not to say that he would still have been successful in Scottish football today, which has changed to a completely unrecognisable level since Sir Alex left.

McGhee has bleated over the last year or so about a lack of finances for squad rebuilding, but he's no different to any other manager in the SPL. The squad he has simply is not good enough and even the youngsters coming through may not be the answer in the long term. That may be doing them a disservice at this early stage of their career, but the Celtic Park massacre should, if anything, force them to grow up.

In the meantime, Sir Alex may have privately offered some support to his former player. McGhee could do with it: the net is closing in on the Dons boss and even the words of his former mentor may not be enough.

Whatever is said off the field - by Ferguson, McGhee, fans or the board - the manager will only be saved by a successful run on the pitch to get them back into contention for third place – starting with Inverness.

Dundee show deep spirit in the face of adversity

Guest Writer — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 14:39:00 GMT

Docked points, deep in debt and with a very uncertain future, Dundee deserve plaudits for Saturday's win, says William Heaney

The weekend headlines in Scotland have been claimed by Celtic after their nine-goal-fest against Aberdeen, along with Motherwell and Kilmarnock who recorded impressive away wins. There was also the mayhem of the Edinburgh derby. However, arguably the best performance of the lot was Dundee’s 2-1 win over Partick Thistle in the First Division.

The scoreline may not have sent shockwaves around the football world, but given the week the Dens Park club have endured, they deserve credit for achieving any kind of result.

With the future of the club already in serious doubt due to a £365,000 tax bill owed to Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, the Scottish Football League have deducted 25 points from the Dark Blues after they entered administration for the second time in seven years. They have also banned the club from signing any new players until they emerge from administration.

These penalties are merely the latest nails in Dundee’s coffin, having already had to make management team Gordon Chisholm and Billy Dodds redundant, along with nine players. The club have the right to appeal against the penalties imposed, but if unsuccessful, they are looking at the prospect of being stranded at the bottom of the table with a minus points total.

The current financial situation is a direct consequence of businessman Calum Melville joining the board in early 2009. His investment meant that suddenly Dundee had money to spend and, in Scottish terms, were big players in the transfer market. During the summer months prior to the 2009/10 campaign, only Celtic invested more in players.

With expensive signings like Gary Harkins and Leigh Griffiths within their ranks, there could only be one aim: promotion to the SPL. Initially, it was all going to plan, but a poor run saw boss Jocky Scott axed despite Dundee still being top of the table. And in the second half of the season Inverness Caley Thistle overtook the Dark Blues to clinch the title, and a place in the top flight.

Trying to buy the First Division crown had backfired in spectacular fashion, and this failure was compounded by Melville’s seeming reluctance to put as much money into the club as he had done initially. Whether he had lost interest or had financial worries of his own is unclear, but Melville has now left the board of directors.

"Two careless previous owners..."

Now, Dundee can only dream of challenging at the top of the table. While they still have a side capable of competing with the best the First Division has to offer, they could be forgiven for lacking somewhat in motivation, given the likely points deficit they will face.

However, Saturday’s display showed that the players who remain have the stomach for the fight, clinching victory with a Jamie Adams strike just four minutes from time. Thistle had levelled the game after a long-range opener from Griffiths, who looks likely to be sold in the January transfer window to raise some much-needed funds.

It’s hard not to feel some sympathy for Dundee’s players: they’ve done nothing wrong, yet their livelihoods are at risk. They do at least have the option of moving to another club, unlike the long-suffering fans who are the real victims.

For the second time in a decade, Dundee supporters have been promised the earth by ‘millionaire businessmen’, only to see their club almost run into the ground on two separate occasions by patter merchants unable to back up their big talk. Back in 2003, James and Peter Marr ran up debts of over £20 million, signing the likes of Claudio Cannigia and Fabrizio Ravanelli. This time it’s Melville.

Dee4Life, the Dundee supporters trust, will continue to carry on the fight, but there are real concerns for the future of Dundee FC. A club with such a proud history, including semi-final appearances in the European Cup and Fairs-Cities Cup back in the 60s, will now do well to be in business at the start of next season. Though it wasn’t required, we now have yet another example of the perils of football clubs chasing the dream.

William Heaney edits Scottish football blog FootballFutbalFitba.

Who'd be a Scottish referee?

FourFourTwo Team — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 17:13:00 GMT

Although it's been largely drowned out by the clatter of Clattenburg's clanger, there's been a rather more interesting refereeing controversy north of the border, as Craig Anderson reveals...

It just doesn’t feel like a scandal unless the word “gate” is attached at the end, so thank goodness we’ve had “Refereegate” to keep us going in Scotland.

We’ve had columns upon columns of what went on in that now infamous match between Dundee United and Celtic – and THAT penalty, which led to the resignation of linesman Steven Craven and severely questioned the credibility of Dougie McDonald, the game’s referee.

Further to that, the role of Hugh Dallas as Head of Referee Development within the SFA has also been questioned, not only on the back of what happened at Tannadice, but amidst allegations of bullying by Craven in a Sunday newspaper.

Dallas, who was once a fourth official at a World Cup final, is a highly respected figure in the Scottish game, but Craven’s claims that the former ref insisted on going with the lie has also put him under scrutiny.

Of course those that know him and work with him, including the SFA, have rallied in support. However, Dallas will always back his referees irrespective of any bad decisions they may have made.

But there is no system in place to punish referees if they do make bad calls. They only get “marked down”. Now I’m not for a minute suggesting having them out in stocks with people throwing rotten fruit, but there should be at least some level of culpability on the part of Dallas, as well as the referees themselves, to help the fans try to understand their way of thinking.

As this rumbles on, newspapers are getting opinions from anyone willing to talk. One person who gave a view on the state of Scottish refereeing as a whole was Celtic striker Gary Hooper.

Hooper and Lennon celebrate, Dillon cogitates

Although the former Scunthorpe player was “fouled” in the incident, a lot of what he said could, in fairness, be easily dismissed as a hard-done-by attitude; Celtic players are somewhat suspicious of refs now.

However, one quote leapt out and could resonate with a lot of fair-minded fans over how refs seem to have it easy. If you ignore that he’s having a pop at the beleaguered McDonald in particular, in general terms he said: “If players don't perform we're out the door. Surely the same applies to referees? If he's told the papers he lied to the gaffer then I don't think he can stay in his position.”

It was the one thing Hooper said that actually sounded sensible. Despite his short time in Scotland he’s already identified that there's a problem with referees. If you wind the clock back 12 months, Motherwell manager Jim Gannon went on a one-man crusade against Hugh Dallas and the SFA last year.

The former Stockport manager commented after an Old Firm game: “Dallas had to defend the referee because the result of the game might have been different if he'd got his decisions correct at Ibrox.

"Celtic might look back on that result at the end of the season and decide that Ibrox in October is when they lost the league championship. There's a question mark over the standard of refereeing in Scotland and the mistakes that are being made are having an effect on the league table."

Many dismissed Gannon's comments as a guy new to Scottish football who didn't know what he was talking about. But a year on, with the current feeling about referees in general and Dallas in particular, was Gannon on to something?

Gannon vs Referees: There could only be one winner

Gannon was soon dismissed by Motherwell, and in fairness he had only highlighted a problem that we’ve all known about. But instead of giving officials a hard time, there should be more to help them.

There used to be a part of the SFA website called “The Whistleblower”, which gave refs a platform to explain a contentious decision. For some reason it was taken down – at Dallas’s instruction, it’s been suggested – but it served a purpose in giving referees a voice in explaining their thinking. You may not have agreed with it, but at least you had an idea why.

What hasn’t helped referees is, naturally, TV coverage. If anything, it's guilty of humanising the officials. Yes, they make mistakes and always have, but the world can see from a dozen different angles that you made a boo-boo and straight away you’re cannon fodder.

To use the old line, everyone makes mistakes, but the fact that there appears to be a lack of transparency only frustrates people, particularly if they see the same referees making errors over and over again.

I certainly don’t buy into the conspiracy and paranoia that’s being peddled around, so taking that way of thinking serves no purpose other than to deflect any negative attention from your team or their deficiencies.

In lying about the incident, Dougie McDonald has made people in the game doubt him. What can’t be forgotten is the fact that in the context of the game, he got his decision right. How he went about it is where he went badly wrong.

But as “Refereegate” continues to dominate Scotland’s back pages, Dallas and his colleagues are still very much in the limelight for a game that happened three weeks ago. Maybe it would be nice for some football to break out and take the heat off them. At least for a little while.

Will McGhee's transfer gamble pay off?

Danny Law — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 10:15:00 GMT

Unless we count Celtic's cherry picking of Anthony Stokes from Hibernian, there was no marquee deadline day transfer signing north of the border that really caught the imagination.

However the bizarre swap of Aberdeen full back Richard Foster for Rangers' Lithuanian misfit Andrius Velicka did raise a few eyebrows, particularly in the Granite City.

At first glance this deal appeared to be a better exchange for Rangers than the Dons - Foster is a decent full back blessed with fantastic pace. He is far from the finished article but can operate effectively on the right or left of defence and can also be trusted to fulfill a tireless man-marking shift in the centre of midfield when required.

On the other hand, the enigmatic Velicka is a striker that has spent far more time on the treatment table than in the penalty box of opponents since moving to Ibrox from Hearts. He undoubtedly possesses a predatory instinct in front of goal - he scored five times in his nine games for Rangers - but he has rarely featured since joining from Tynecastle. He was loaned to Bristol City a year ago but his season lasted only 11 minutes after rupturing his cruciate ligament.

The 31-year-old may turn out to be the man who scores the goals that take the Dons back to Europe or to a cup final but he heads to the Granite City with no guarantees, only question marks over his fitness. But if he can stay free from injury he would be expected to chip in with more than his fair share of goals.

The swap deal has, however, left Mark McGhee with an abundance of strikers at his disposal with summer signings Josh Magennis and Scott Vernon as well as Chris Maguire, Darren Mackie and Michael Paton all joining Velicka in the battle to start in attack.

While the Dons boss may be blessed with several striking options, his defensive cover is more questionable.

It is strange that McGhee allowed Foster and promising youngster Stirling Smith - on loan to Dumbarton - to leave Pittodrie while he was already short of defenders, particularly in the left back position.

The Rangers supporters probably won't be overly excited about the capture of Foster but he may prove to be a useful utility player for Walter Smith over the course of the season. The Dons supporters have a frosty relationship with their Rangers counterparts at the best of times so it will be interesting to see the reception Foster receives when he returns to Pittodrie with his new side later this month.

Elsewhere, Anthony Stokes' transfer from Hibernian to Celtic for a fee somewhere in the region of £1.2 million should be a good bit of business for both sides. The Irishman has a proven goalscoring record in the SPL, hitting the net 23 times for Hibs last term and netting 15 in 17 during his time at Falkirk. The money will also be a welcome boost for the Easter Road side in these perilous financial times.

Many Scottish football fans bemoan the Old Firm for 'stealing' their best players but, just as it is always better to gamble amongst your friends, it can only help football north of the border if that sort of money is spent within these shores rather than handed to foreign clubs from continental Europe.

Meanwhile, Scott Severin could prove a shrewd acquisition for Peter Houston's Dundee United. The Arabs have been leaking goals this term, including four to newly promoted Inverness Caledonian Thistle, and Severin's experience could help stem the tide.

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Celtic seal second as Rangers make it two in a row

Danny Law — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 13:26:00 GMT

The title race may have been over as a contest weeks ago, but Rangers completed the formalities of winning the championship with a 1-0 win over Hibernian on Sunday.

The much-maligned figure of Kyle Lafferty – criticised by a section of his own support for his failure to deliver after coming to Ibrox for a hefty price, and derided by opposition supporters for his ability to embellish a tumble – was the unlikely hero, scoring the only goal of the game to clinch the Scottish Premier League trophy.

Rangers manager Walter Smith must have enjoyed his ninth title win as much as any previous championship successes. With the club facing financial constraints amid the uncertainty search for a successor to owner David Murray, Smith has had to yield the absolute maximum from a small band of players. Indeed, Smith hasn't bought a player since signing Maurice Edu from Toronto in August 2008.

The lack of a challenge from struggling rivals Celtic may have made Rangers' 53rd title win appear one of their easier triumphs, but the backdrop to this success should make it all the sweeter for fans.

Smith and his backroom staff have been working without contracts since January and it's unclear whether the 62-year-old will be at the helm to defend the title next term. That will depend on the direction the club's next owner wants to take the club – but few managers would have been able to achieve as much as Smith did this term with such limited resources.

Earlier in the day, Celtic had temporarily postponed Rangers' title party with a 2-0 win over Dundee United at Tannadice. A Diomansy Kamara strike and a Robbie Keane penalty gave the Hoops victory in an ill-tempered match that saw United substitute Jennison Myrie-Williams sent-off for a second bookable offence.

It was Celtic's fifth league win in a row under caretaker boss Neil Lennon and ensured the Hoops would finish in the second and final Champions League spot.

At the opposite end of the table, a second-half Andy Dorman header was enough to give St Mirren a massive victory over Kilmarnock in a tense relegation battle. Gus MacPherson's men now enjoy a four-point cushion over bottom side Falkirk, who went down 1-0 at home to Hamilton Accies.

The Bairns, one point behind Killie, look favourites for relegation – although not according to boss Steven Pressley. In an extraordinary post-match press conference, a defiant Pressley took only one minute to tell a startled gathering of reporters his side would beat the dreaded drop.

“There's no way while I'm the manager of this team that we'll go under,” he roared, banging the table in front of him. “There's such a burning desire there and we'll pick ourselves up next week.” And with another bang on the table for good measure, the Falkirk manager stormed out of the press room.

Elsewhere, Aberdeen were denied a win over St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park when Andy Jackson netted in the final minute to cancel out Steve MacLean's opener.

Craig Brown's Motherwell moved into fourth position with a 2-0 win away at Hearts with goals from Steven Saunders and John Sutton. The Steelmen will do well to retain the services of Jim O'Brien, out of contract in the summer, after the talented Irish winger turned in another impressive display.

Scottish Football League Round Up

Inverness Caledonian Thistle celebrated their promotion to the Scottish Premier League in style with a 7-0 trouncing of Ayr United. Terry Butcher's side are undefeated in 20 matches, while Ayr are now precariously placed a point above bottom-dwellers Airdie United, who drew 2-2 with Queen of the South.

Ross County's poor form since their famous Scottish Cup semi-final victory over Celtic continued as they went down 2-1 at home to Partick Thistle. The Highlanders have failed to win any of their three away games since their Hampden triumph.

Stirling Albion seized the initiative in the Second Division with a 1-0 win over relegated Clyde as Alloa Athletic dropped into second place following a 2-0 defeat at Peterhead – their third loss on the trot.

In the Third Division champions Livingston put five past lowly Montrose, while Queen's Park suffered a blow to their hopes of reaching the play-offs as they went down 1-0 to Elgin City.

It's been a good week for... Walter Smith. The Rangers manager celebrated back-to-back titles this weekend but will he still be at Ibrox to lead the challenge for three-in-a-row?

It's been a bad week for... Steven Pressley. Elvis must be feeling the pressure as his side sit bottom of the SPL with only three games left to play.

Tensions rise as relegation fears mount

Danny Law — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 13:12:00 GMT

The enormous stress suffered by those trying to guide a club to Scottish Premier League safety is beginning to show on Messrs Pressley, MacPherson and Calderwood.

Aberdeen's dramatic descent down the table had left them facing the gloomy prospect of relegation for the first time in their 107-year history but Mark McGhee's men have virtually guaranteed their own survival by grinding out a 1-0 win over Falkirk at the weekend.

Bairns boss Steven Pressley was clearly irked after losing a game of such magnitude with his side rooted to the bottom of the table one point behind Killie and the Buddies.

Elvis, as he is known, was all shook up in the post-match press conference, lambasting Aberdeen for their “spoiling tactics” during a tense, scrappy 90 minutes.

“Aberdeen scored early on and proceeded to spoil the game and waste time at every opportunity,” he moaned. The Falkirk boss will, however, have taken some solace from the fact his team's relegation rivals also dropped points.

Gus MacPherson, the St Mirren manager, was left fuming after seeing his side throw away a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 with St Johnstone.

Referee Charlie Richmond won't be appearing on MacPherson's Christmas card list this year after awarding the Perth side a controversial penalty in injury time, coolly converted by Paul Sheerin.

Kilmarnock manager Jimmy Calderwood will also be enduring a few sleepless nights as his players continue to be plagued by their lack of firepower in attack as they slumped to a 3-0 defeat against Hamilton.

The Ayrshire side have won once in their last ten matches and need to discover some form in their four remaining matches if they are going to avoid the drop.

The game of the weekend saw Celtic comeback from 2-1 down to defeat Hibernian thanks to late strikes from Marc-Antoine Fortune and Morten Rasmussen.

The win for Neil Lennon's side denied Rangers the chance to wrap up the title during Sunday's visit of Hearts. The Gers ran out 2-0 victors thanks to a Kyle Lafferty header and a Kenny Miller penalty. Walter Smith's men can now secure the title if they beat Hibernian next Sunday – or without kicking a ball should Celtic fail to beat Dundee United earlier in the day.

Meanwhile, United booked their place in next season's Europa League with a 3-2 victory over Motherwell on the bobbly Fir Park pitch.

The Tangerines could still overtake Celtic to finish second and earn an even more lucrative Champions League spot but with an inferior goal difference and a seven-point gap it would take a massive collapse by the Hoops for this to happen.

Scottish Football League Round Up

Inverness Caledonian Thistle all but sealed the First Division title with a 2-0 home win over Dunfermline.

The Highlanders are nine points ahead of Dundee who have three games left to play and an inferior goal difference.

Terry Butcher's men should confirm their return to the top flight next Saturday when they travel to Ayr United and in so doing will become the first club in 11 seasons to win promotion back to the top flight at the first attempt.

In the Second Division, Willie Sawyers scored the fastest goal in British football this season as he took only nine seconds to open the scoring for Clyde as they went on to beat Peterhead 3-1.

Stirling Albion appear to have found form at the right time with a 3-1 defeat of Stenhousemuir as leaders Alloa suffered a second successive home defeat at the hands of Dumbarton.

Livingston were finally crowned Third Division champions thanks to a goalless draw with Berwick. Roddy McKenzie's late penalty save ensured the Almondvale side would not spurn a third opportunity to wrap up the title.

It's been a good week for... Steven MacLean. The on-loan Plymouth Argyle striker has failed to live up to expectations since joining Aberdeen but his winner against Falkirk should ensure the Dons remain in the top flight.

It's been a bad week for... Michael Fraser. The Motherwell goalkeeper made two blunders as his side went down 3-2 to Dundee United, although his efforts weren't helped by his club's patchy pitch.

Can Lennon survive after Celtic's Scottish Cup flop?

Danny Law — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 16:13:00 GMT

Reality may slowly be returning to Dingwall, the sleepy Highland town with a modest population of 5,000, after the frenzied excitement created by Ross County's shock semi-final victory over Glasgow giants Celtic at the weekend.

There will certainly have been more than a few locals nursing sore heads on Sunday morning after having woken from celebrating the most famous result in their club's short history.

The 2-0 win for County will also have left Celtic's interim manager Neil Lennon with a painful headache, wondering where it all went wrong. The Northern Irishman's chances of landing the Celtic post on a permanent basis have drastically diminished following the surprise defeat.

For Lennon, who as a player more than made up for his speed and skill deficiencies with buckets of passion and commitment, it must have been especially galling to see the lack of fight from his players as they exited the competition with hardly a whimper.

After seeing his side's last chance of winning some silverware disappear, Lennon said: “There was no desire. I'm sick of seeing our players fall over. I am sick of seeing strikers not wanting to go in where it hurts to score a goal for the team. We can't keep clean sheets either as we're too soft. We don't have enough winners.”

It was a damning, frank and accurate assessment. But while it may be the players who should take the blame for the defeat, it is more likely the cup upset will convince the Celtic board that a manager of more experience than rookie Lennon is required to bring success back to the east end of Glasgow.

Ross County, though, deserved their victory and their presence in next month's final provides further evidence for those in favour of an expanded 16-team SPL.

The weekend's other Scottish Cup semi-final between Dundee United and Raith Rovers would not provide a similar fairytale for the First Division side.

David Goodwillie's cool finish and Andy Webster's second half header ensured it would be Peter Houston's men who will return to Hampden on May 15 as favourites to lift the trophy.

Back in the SPL, life is becoming very intriguing at the bottom of the table. Only one point separates the bottom three sides following Falkirk's 2-1 win over St Mirren and Hearts' 1-0 victory over Kilmarnock.

Mark McGhee's Aberdeen also remain far from safe after another defeat – this time a 3-1 reverse at home to St Johnstone – and are now only six points ahead of bottom side Falkirk with the Bairns set to visit Pittodrie this Saturday.

Hamilton Accies, however, gave themselves some valuable breathing space with a magnificent 4-1 win over fourth-placed Hibernian who have now won only three matches in their previous 14.

It is hard to believe John Hughes' charges were at one stage being tipped to split the Old Firm. They may now be looking over their shoulder as Hearts and Motherwell bid to pip them for fourth spot.

Scottish Football League Round Up

Inverness Caledonian Thistle are two wins away from returning to the SPL after a 3-1 win at Palmerston Park over Queen of the South. Dundee, who defeated Partick Thistle 1-0, remain ready to pounce should the Highlanders slip up in their remaining three matches.

The champagne was put on ice at Almondvale where Livingston, only requiring a point to claim the Third Division title, were beaten 3-2 by Forfar. Alloa's Second Division title hopes were also dealt a blow with a similar 3-2 reverse at home to Brechin.

It's been a good week for... Derek Adams The young Ross County manager continues to enhance his growing reputation. It can surely only be a matter of time before he is prised away from Dingwall to take charge of an SPL side.

It's been a bad week for.. Neil Lennon. The Celtic caretaker boss may struggle to land the position on a permanent basis after Saturday's crushing cup exit.

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Aberdeen's top six dreams dashed by a familiar face

Danny Law — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 14:31:00 GMT

In football, fate often grants players and managers the opportunity to get one over their former employer.

Kilmarnock boss Jimmy Calderwood took full advantage of such an occasion by ending Aberdeen's slim hopes of reaching the top six.

Although Calderwood, who guided the Dons to the top six for five years in succession, will never publicly say so, his side's 2-0 victory must have brought a certain sense of satisfaction following his dismissal from Pittodrie last summer.

The Dons travelled to Rugby Park on Sunday knowing they required three wins to give themselves a faint chance of pipping St Johnstone and Hearts for the final place in the top half of the Scottish Premier League.

Yet there would be no three wins in a row. There wouldn't even be one. Davide Grassi, a defender who has a CV containing references from Parma and Espanyol, has struggled to acclimatise himself to this more honest and traditional footballing land.

When the Italian defender prodded the ball past his own goalkeeper after 25 minutes there would be no way back for Aberdeen, Allan Russell's looping header in the second half merely adding insult to injury.

This is a season that has never really started for Aberdeen and Mark McGhee, and they will be glad to see the back of it at Pittodrie, where there will be plenty of comings and goings during the summer.

Kilmarnock's win was bad news for bottom side Falkirk, who themselves picked up a rare victory over Motherwell.

St Mirren could have given themselves a bit of breathing space at the wrong end of the table after being one-up against Hearts but a second half strike by Maurius Zaliukas meant Gus MacPherson's side had to settle for one point rather than three.

Further up the table there were yet more refereeing controversies at Ibrox. It was the faithful of Hamilton Accies' turn to sample the grievances felt earlier this season by the supporters of Celtic and Dundee United, amongst others, at a decision going against them at the home of champions-elect Rangers.

Billy Reid's side thought they had earned a deserved share of the points when, already one down to a Maurice Edu goal, James McArthur slotted the ball home with 12 minutes remaining only for the strike to be contentiously chalked off for offside.

In Edinburgh, Celtic's caretaker boss Neil Lennon got his second win in a row thanks to Robbie Keane's 12th goal in 12 games that gave the Hoops a 1-0 win over Hibernian.

But forget about overturning Rangers' 10-point lead at the top of the table. Lennon's real mandate between now and the end of the season looks likely to be preventing Dundee United overtaking the Celts for the potentially lucrative second Champions League spot.

Peter Houston's men are now only five points behind Lennon's charges after beating St Johnstone 1-0 on Monday evening. Both sides have six games remaining and you wouldn't rule out United catching Celtic if they can continue their recent form.

Scottish Football League Round Up

A spectacular late overhead kick from Richie Foran gave Inverness Caledonian Thistle a battling 4-3 win over Raith Rovers.

In a few weeks' time this moment of brilliance from the Irishman may prove to have given Terry Butcher's side the impetus to claim the First Division title and promotion back to Scotland's top tier.

Dundee, however, remain in hot pursuit thanks to a 3-0 victory over Ayr United while Ross County, who defeated Dunfermline 2-1, could still make a late charge for the title if they manage to win their three games in hand.

Alloa Athletic defeated East Fife to remain top of the Second Division but Stirling Albion's promotion push was dealt a blow with a 2-1 home defeat to Dumbarton.

And in the Third Division, Livingston missed out on the opportunity to wrap up the title as they lost 2-0 to Annan Athletic.

It's been a good week for... Peter Houston. The United manager has done a superb job since Craig Levein's departure with his side now unbeaten in eight matches.

It's been a bad week for... Mark McGhee. The Dons will be scrapping for survival in the bottom six as their poor season continues.

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Lennon galvanises Hoops but Gers win again

Danny Law — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 10:24:00 GMT

The end of Tony Mowbray's brief and unsuccessful era at Celtic arguably began with a 1-0 defeat to Kilmarnock at the start of last month.

Robbie Keane was making his début for the Hoops following his loan move to his boyhood idols and the elated Celtic support began to believe that with the Republic of Ireland star in their ranks they could catch league leaders Rangers.

However such hope was short-lived with the match ending in disappointment for Keane and the Celtic faithful as another on-loan débutant Chris Maguire scored the only goal of the match for Kilmarnock to further dent the title aspirations of Mowbray's side.

With Mowbray handed his jotters following the crushing 4-0 midweek defeat to St Mirren, it seemed apt that Killie would provide the opposition for interim manager Neil Lennon in his first game in charge of the Hoops.

This time Keane's presence would not be overshadowed as the striker netted his 10th and 11th goals in 11 games to lead his side to victory. Scott Brown added a third before Craig Bryson grabbed a late and meaningless consolation for the Ayrshire outfit.

The Celts appeared galvanised by Lennon's presence in the dug-out, with his Killie counterpart Jimmy Calderwood admitting afterwards that he felt his side were “lucky to get away with 3-1.” However next week's trip to Easter Road to face Hibernian will prove a much sterner challenge for the inexperienced Celtic manager.

"Oi! Over there!"

Elsewhere, Rangers were out to rubbish the accusations that they play defensive, negative football with an all-out attacking display as they ran out 4-1 winners over Hearts. Steven Naismith continued his recent run of good form by scoring twice for the Gers, who remain 10 points ahead with two games in hand.

The performance of the day, however, could be credited to Peter Houston's Dundee United. Despite being reduced to 10 men after only 16 minutes when full-back Paul Dixon saw red, United scored three without reply against a Motherwell defence that had been breached only three times in their previous 11 matches.

Hibernian recovered from their midweek Scottish Cup exit to Ross County by running out 3-1 victors over bottom side Falkirk, while Aberdeen clung onto their faint hopes of reaching the top six with their first win in 12 matches against a jaded St Mirren.

Hamilton Accies, meanwhile, took a gigantic step towards SPL safety with a 1-0 win over St Johnstone thanks to James Wesolowski's strike to move Billy Reid's men 11 points clear of Falkirk.

Scottish Football League Round Up
Inverness Caledonian Thistle claimed top spot in the First Division with a fine 1-0 win over Partick Thistle. Ross County did their Highland neighbours a favour by scoring a late equaliser against Dundee, who are now a point behind Terry Butcher's pacesetters.

Stirling Albion got themselves back into the Second Division promotion race by handing Cowdenbeath their first defeat in eight games. League leaders Alloa Athletic also stumbled at Gayfield Park with a goalless draw against Arbroath.

Livingston's march towards the Third Division title continued with a 1-0 win over Queen's Park. The Livi Lions only need six points from their remaining eight matches to secure the title.

It's been a good week for... Terry Butcher. Not so long ago it looked like nobody could catch Dundee in the First Division title race but Inverness have toppled the Dens Park side as the league draws to an exciting climax.

It's been a bad week for... Tony Mowbray, obviously. A disastrous 4-0 defeat to St Mirren ended Mowbray's time in charge at Celtic Park and it is now up to interim boss Neil Lennon to rouse the Hoops.

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The runners and riders to replace Mowbray

Danny Law — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 13:34:00 GMT

When St Mirren's Steven Thomson smashed the ball past Lukasz Zaluska to net his side's fourth and cap a famous victory over a woeful Celtic, Tony Mowbray must have known his time was up.

The 4-0 defeat to the Buddies was Celtic's worst in Scotland, outside Old Firm derbies, for 30 years. And it only added insult to injury to recall that rivals Rangers had just beaten Gus MacPherson's side with only nine men in a cup final.

FEATURE: Buddies' cup dreams shattered by nine-man Gers

The Mowbray experiment has been a massive failure at a huge cost to Celtic. West Brom were paid £2million compensation when he joined the club last year and a further £12million was handed to Mowbray to build a team capable of winning the SPL and competing in Europe.

The Hoops missed out on the £15million Champions League pot of gold when they crashed out of the competition during the qualification stages to a slick Arsenal side and with Rangers destined to retain their title, the Hoops look set to miss out on the financial benefits of playing in Europe's premier club competition once again. Even the arrival of Spurs striker Robbie Keane, reportedly on wages of £65,000 per week, was not enough to stem the tide.

Mowbray won only 17 of his 30 league games and departs with the side trailing league leaders Rangers by 10 points having played two games more. Admittedly, luck was rarely on Mowbray's side during his brief spell but the SPL is an unforgiving environment for an underachieving Old Firm manager.

"Oh no..."

Former players Neil Lennon and Johan Mjallby have been enlisted as the caretaker team to bring some pride back to a calamitous season on a game-by-game basis.

But who will be the permanent successor to Tony Mowbray?

The Likely Lads
Should Neil Lennon and Johan Mjallby manage to galvanise the Celtic players then there is no reason why they couldn't be handed a longer term deal. The likelihood is the pair will be given until the end of the season and winning the Scottish Cup will be their ultimate aim. The Celtic board may be willing to look past their lack of managerial experience if they manage a cup win and a decent run of results in the league.

Paul Lambert has worked wonders at Norwich City but has already said he would not be interested in replacing Mowbray. However, the former captain may find the opportunity too much to resist should Celtic come calling.

Willie McStay, currently in charge of Hungarian side Ujpest Dozsa, also has very close links with the club and is likely to be in the thoughts of the Celtic board. Former players Roy Keane and John Collins would also be expected to appear on any shortlist.

Worth a Flutter
Mark Hughes would be a relatively popular choice amongst the Celtic faithful. The former Manchester United star played his testimonial match against the Hoops 16 years ago but he would perhaps prefer to take the reins at West Ham should under-fire manager Gianfranco Zola be given the boot.

The more likely Hughes to get the Celtic job could be Hibernian's John Hughes, although his stock has plummeted following his club's recent poor run of form that culminated in a Scottish Cup exit to First Division Ross County earlier this week.

With Portsmouth destined for Premier League relegation, Avram Grant is another manager who may fancy a change of scenery north of the border. He would be an intriguing appointment, although what the Israeli's knowledge and opinion of Scottish football is remains to be seen.

Outside Chance
Henrik Larsson, currently managing Swedish side Landskrona, is idolised by the Celtic faithful and would be given a hero's return to Parkhead. However the former striker is still cutting his teeth as a manager and the board would probably prefer a safer pair of hands to steady the ship.

Out-of-work duo Alan Curbishley and David O'Leary may be considering dusting off their CVs, while Scotland manger Craig Levein and Wolves boss Mick McCarthy could be sounded out but are unlikely to leave their current posts.

Other names in the frame include Jose Mourinho's former assistant Steve Clarke (currently on Zola's coaching staff at West Ham), MK Dons boss Paul Ince and Twente manger Steve McClaren, who would certainly need to pack his brolly if he fancied making the switch to Glasgow.

Slim to None
Everton boss David Moyes, who played for Celtic once upon a time, would be the No.1 choice amongst the majority of the club's support but it would be astounding if he opted to risk his blossoming reputation by returning to his homeland.

Bolton manager Owen Coyle was offered the Celtic job before Mowbray but is also unlikely to fancy the unenviable task of restoring some pride back in the east end of Glasgow after a season of discontent.

Clearly there are no shortage of candidates and in the coming weeks expect everyone from Gerard Houllier to Phil Brown to throw their names forward. It will be an onerous task to find a suitable replacement that will appease the disenchanted Hoops support.

The Celtic board have failed once with Mowbray – they won't want to get the wrong man again.

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Buddies' cup dreams smashed by nine-man Gers

Danny Law — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 09:51:00 GMT

Who called it a Mickey Mouse Cup? The Co-operative Insurance Cup has dropped down the list of priorities for most clubs in recent times but Rangers and St Mirren conjured up an absorbing final packed full of passion and entertainment that brought a great degree of prestige back to this undervalued competition.

History will remember this as the final that St Mirren somehow contrived to lose but Rangers, who played the last 20 minutes with only nine men after Kevin Thomson and Danny Wilson were both sent off, deserve enormous credit for collecting a 1-0 win courtesy of Kenny Miller's late header.

WEEKEND RESULTS Sat Mar 20 SPL Aberdeen 2-2 Dundee United, Celtic 3-0 St Johnstone, Hamilton 2-2 Falkirk, Hearts 2-1 Hibernian Sun Mar 21 CIS Cup Final Rangers 1-0 St Mirren FFT.com's Scottish Stats Section

Walter Smith has bemoaned the fact that, in his eyes, Rangers have not received adequate plaudits and praise during their inexorable march towards the SPL title along with their pursuit of both domestic cups. The Rangers manager claims his team does much more than purely grind out victories but this cup triumph was the ultimate in patiently achieving a result against all odds.

St Mirren, the 10/1 pre-match underdogs, were simply sublime in the first half, with Billy Mehmet and Michael Higdon giving the Rangers central defensive pairing of David Weir and Danny Wilson a torrid time. The Buddies hit the bar and went close on a numerous occasions but their profligacy proved fatal.

The Gers looked jaded and jittery in the first period as St Mirren grafted to create an opening that was not forthcoming. Ultimately, it was the red cards that turned the game – but it was Rangers who were galvanised by their numerical handicap, while St Mirren struggled to adjust their game plan to capitalise on their two-man advantage.

Smith said afterwards that the cup win ranked alongside some of his finest achievements during his time in charge at Ibrox.

Ibrox backroom staff celebrate

It's difficult to criticise St Mirren after their plucky performance, but they'll know they threw away a fantastic chance to win their first major domestic cup trophy in 23 years. Gus MacPherson will be hoping the excruciating pain of falling at the final hurdle won't adversely impact his side's attempts to remain in the SPL.

On the league front, the Buddies will have been pleased to see fellow relegation candidates Hamilton Accies and Falkirk share the spoils in an action-packed 2-2 draw at New Douglas Park.

The game of the day saw Hearts manager Jim Jefferies mastermind a 2-1 victory over Edinburgh rivals Hibernian. Two goals in as many minutes from Andrew Driver and Gary Glen put the Jambos ahead before Derek Riordan pulled a goal back twelve minutes from time. An inspired Hearts could have easily scored five or six had their finishing been more clinical.

The result was bad news for Aberdeen's fading hopes of reaching the top six. The Dons equalled their worst run in the club's history, extending their winless sequence to 11 matches with a 2-2 home draw with Dundee United. Dons boss Mark McGhee will, however, be able to take some solace from the manner in which his side fought back from two goals down to earn a point.

Youngster Paul McGowan took full advantage of a surprise start for Celtic with a man-of-the-match performance as the Hoops defeated St Johnstone 3-0. Robbie Keane bagged his ninth in nine games in between Josh Thompson's opener and Georgios Samaras's late strike.

Scottish Football League Round Up
Dundee made the surprise decision to sack manager Jocky Scott following their 3-0 defeat to relegation strugglers Airdrie United. The Dens Park side are currently three points clear at the top of the table but it appears this capitulation combined with last weekend's Scottish Cup exit to Raith Rovers was the final straw for the Dundee board.

The club have acted swiftly to appoint Gordon Chisholm and his assistant Billy Dodds as the new management team, expected to take the club across the finishing line and into the SPL next term.

Elsewhere, Inverness Caley Thistle and Ross County had to settle for a point in a goalless Highland derby that helps neither team in their pursuit of leaders Dundee, while there was also wins for Ayr United, Morton and Dunfermline Athletic.

Alloa Athletic went five points clear at the top of the Second Division with a 2-1 win over Stenhousemuir, while Livingston edged even closer to the Third Division title with a 2-1 victory over Stranraer in front of a decent crowd of 1,136.

It's been a good week for... Kenny Miller. The former Celtic striker said he finally felt accepted by the Rangers supporters after they sang his name following his late Co-op Cup winner.

It's been a bad week for... Gus MacPherson. A heartbreaking end to a wonderful cup run. His side battled bravely but were to rue their missed chances. Attention will now turn back to their relegation dogfight.

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Fear the Raith of rampant Rovers

Danny Law — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 10:25:00 GMT

"They'll be dancing in the streets of Raith tonight." The immortal words broadcast on the BBC in the 1960s after a Raith Rovers victory may have been on the tip of a few commentators' tongues on Saturday after the Kirkcaldy side reached the last four of the Scottish Cup for the first time in 47 years.

RESULTS: SPL – Sat Mar 13 Falkirk 1-2 St Johnstone, Hamilton 1-0 St Mirren, Motherwell 3-1 Hearts. Scottish Cup Quarter-Finals – Sat Mar 13 Dundee 1-2 Raith, Hibernian 2-2 Ross County, Kilmarnock 0-3 Celtic Sun Mar 14 Rangers 3-3 Dundee United

Fortunately there was no such blunder on the airwaves this time around but those that follow the Stark's Park side will have undoubtedly celebrated their 2-1 quarter-final victory over Dundee long into the night.

John McGlynn's side chose the right game to come out of the traps flying, going two up within 10 minutes of the kick-off thanks to goals from Stephen Simmons and Laurie Ellis. Craig Forsyth pulled a goal back for Dundee but Raith heroically held on for a famous victory.

McGlynn shows a lot of bottle

The Fifers may not be the only Scottish Football League side in the competition's last four after Ross County's impressive 2-2 draw with Hibernian at Easter Road earned them a replay at Dingwall. The First Division side could easily have scored a third in the closing stages of the match, providing further evidence for those in favour of expanding the SPL.

FEATURE: How to save Scottish football

Dundee United also earned a replay after coming back from two goals behind to draw 3-3 with Rangers. The Arabs looked on course for another 7-1 humiliation at Ibrox when Nacho Novo put the Gers 3-1 ahead but Peter Houston's side showed their resilience and desire to remain in the cup with Mihael Kovacevic nodding home an equaliser 10 minutes from time.

Neither Rangers nor Hibernian will fancy their trips up north for their quarter-final re-runs and it wouldn't be a huge surprise if at least one of them exited the competition.

Elsewhere, Robbie Keane showed why he is sadly too good for Scottish football with a sublime hat-trick for Celtic to end Kilmarnock's cup hopes. The Irishman has now netted eight goals in eight games for the Hoops, for whom the Scottish Cup now appears the only genuine chance of silverware.

Celtic's hunt for silver focuses in one spot

In the SPL, it was a crucial day at the bottom of the table with Falkirk and St Mirren both losing ground in the fight for survival. A late Kenny Deuchar lob gave St Johnstone a 2-1 win at the Falkirk Stadium to keep the Bairns rooted to the foot of the SPL table.

Meanwhile, Portuguese striker Flavio Paixao scored a priceless injury-time winner for Hamilton in a 1-0 victory over the Buddies. St Mirren are now precariously placed only four points above Falkirk, while Hamilton know a win over the Bairns on Saturday will go a long way to ensuring their SPL safety.

In the only other SPL match it was another routine victory for Craig Brown's Motherwell over Hearts. Broony's men are yet to taste defeat in 2010 and are now up to fourth in the league.

Scottish Football League Round Up
You'd have been kicking yourself if you'd left the Excelsior Stadium early on Saturday. Both goals came in injury time as Airdrie United and Ayr United battled to a 1-1 draw in a dramatic First Division relegation battle.

Inverness Caley Thistle moved to within three points of league leaders Dundee with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Morton, while Dunfermline also kept their slim title hopes alive with a fine 3-1 win over Queen of the South.

In the Second Division, Brechin City lost their first home match in all competitions with a 2-0 defeat to local rivals Arbroath. Alloa and Cowdenbeath kept up their pursuit of the title with wins over Stirling and Clyde.

Livingston edged closer to the Third Division title with a 1-0 win at Elgin City, while Annan Athletic came from a goal behind to thrash Forfar Athletic 5-1.

It's been a good week for... John McGlynn. After masterminding the downfall of Aberdeen in the previous round, he watched his side run out worthy winners over Dundee on Saturday.

It's been a bad week for... Tam Scobbie. The Falkirk defender's dreadful error allowed Kenny Deuchar to net a late winner for St Johnstone. Scobbie will be desperate to make amends when his side face fellow SPL strugglers Hamilton next week.

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Even the Red Army can't stomach dreary Dons

Danny Law — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 12:15:00 GMT

SPL RESULTS Sat March 6: Hamilton 1-1 Aberdeen, Hibernian 1-0 Kilmarnock, Rangers 3-1 St Mirren, St Johnstone 1-2 Motherwell. Sun March 7: Dundee United 1-0 Hearts, Falkirk 0-2 Celtic.

The end of the season can't come quickly enough for everyone associated with Aberdeen Football Club.

A dreary 1-1 draw against Hamilton was a further dent to the Dons' slim hopes of making the top six.

The Pittodrie side, who have not won since January 27th, are currently on an ominous winless sequence stretching nine games that looks unlikely to end anytime soon.

Boss Mark McGhee has already admitted his squad needs an extensive clear-out when the transfer window reopens at the end of the season, and it appears the supporters have also given up on enjoying any success this term.

The Red Army usually travel in impressive numbers to Aberdeen's away matches around the country, but few could stomach the journey to Lanarkshire to watch a team currently lacking in form and inspiration.

They look less Russian than they do on the History Channel...

Before this weekend, when was the last time that every single match in the Irn Bru First Division drew a bigger crowd than an Aberdeen game?

It is a sad indication of the once-great Aberdeen's current toils that more people turned out to watch Ross County face Raith Rovers than were at New Douglas Park on Saturday.

McGhee's side now sit seven points behind sixth-placed Hearts, albeit with a game in hand and, perhaps more worryingly for the Dons manager, they are only ten points above bottom side Falkirk.

Fortunately for Aberdeen, none of the five teams below them managed to pick up three points this weekend, but McGhee is well aware that if his side fails to find a run of victories soon they could easily be drawn into a nervy relegation battle.

While the Dons continue to struggle, Motherwell can't stop winning. Despite conceding a rare goal to St Johnstone – only their second in 10 matches – Craig Brown's men went on to win 2-1 at McDiarmid Park. Brown's revolution at Fir Park continues to gather pace with their impressive run extended to ten matches without defeat.

A place in Europe is not beyond The Steelmen, but they will need the current pacesetters Dundee United and Hibernian to start dropping points – something neither of them did this weekend with hard-fought 1-0 wins over Hearts and Kilmarnock respectively.

And let's not forget that all-but-over title race. The Old Firm both overcame tricky obstacles to rack up another three points.

Nacho Novo: Footballer, Spaniard, enemy of flags worldwide

Rangers came back from a goal down to defeat plucky St Mirren 3-1 with refereeing controversies at Ibrox again providing the talking point after the match.

Saints boss Gus MacPherson was raging that Rangers captain David Weir went unpunished for tugging Michael Higdon's jersey in the opening minutes of the match.

Walter Smith, the Rangers manager, retorted: “Everyone wants people to get ordered off, everybody wants penalties against us, everybody wants everything against us.”

And while referee decisions again dominated discussions post-match, the talk in the terraces revolved around the news that London-based property developer Andrew Ellis is poised to launch a bid to take over the club, understood to be in the region of £33 million.

Challengers Celtic bounced back from last week's Old Firm defeat with a 2-0 win at Falkirk, with Robbie Keane showing why the Hoops are understood to be paying him £65,000 per week with a deadly double.

Talk before the match had centered on quotes from an Aiden McGeady interview in the Sunday Mail, in which he accused referee Dougie McDonald of lacking impartiality in last weekend’s match at Ibrox.

Celtic manager Tony Mowbray tried to deflect attention away from the Irishman, who could be asked to explain himself by the SFA's general purposes committee, by saying that McGeady probably didn't know what impartiality meant.

"Impartiality? I don't know the meaning of the word, sir..."

However McGeady bucks the trend of the stupid footballer stereotype having gained impressive Standard Grade results (seven ones and a two) before embarking on a career in football and probably won't have been best pleased with the way his gaffer attempted to protect him.

Scottish Football League Round-up

First Division leaders Dundee displayed their resilience by coming back from two goals down to Inverness Caledonian Thistle to salvage what could be a priceless point in the title race.

Ross County moved to within five points of the Dens Park side with a 1-0 win over Raith Rovers at Dingwall, while there were also home wins for Ayr United, Dunfermline and Queen of the South.

In the sexy world of the Second Division, the Blue Brazil (Cowdenbeath) turned on the samba style to move to within six points of Alloa with a stunning 6-2 success over East Fife.

However the result of the day came in the Third Division where bottom of the league Montrose picked up only their second win of the season with a 2-0 victory at Stranraer.

It's been a good week for... Jamie Murphy. Motherwell have won their last three games on the trot with the young Scot on target in each of the victories.

It's been a bad week for... Gordon Smith. The SFA chief executive apparently had a face like thunder after the International FA Board, comprising of FIFA and the four home associations, voted 6-2 to permanently outlaw the introduction of goal line technology.

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Levein's Scotland get back to basics

Danny Law — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 12:15:00 GMT

Craig Levein enjoyed a dream start to his Scotland managerial career with a hard-fought, if perhaps slightly fortuitous, 1-0 win over the Czech Republic.

After riding their luck in a first period dominated by an elegant passing side led by the classy Tomas Rosicky, Scotland steadily improved their performance with Scott Brown netting the winner after 61 minutes to give them their first victory in a friendly at Hampden since 1996.

The contrast between Levein's defensive approach and the more expansive tactics unsuccessfully adopted by his predecessor George Burley was clearly evident.

While Burley harboured grand ambitions of turning Scotland into an attacking force, Levein's strict 4-5-1 formation will pursue positive results on the basis of a solid defence.

The players, however, remain the same with not a single debutant on show against the Czechs.

It would be remiss to read too much into an international friendly but there are clear signs of hope and progress that the Tartan Army can cling onto with one eye on qualifying for Euro 2012.

Graham Dorrans, a player who has excelled for West Brom this season, looked completely at ease in the international arena and combined plenty of industry with a willingness to get on the ball.

Craig Gordon, undoubtedly the busier of the two goalkeepers, earned his clean sheet with a number of fine saves. If Scotland are going to pip the Czech Republic to second spot behind Spain in Group I of the Euro 2012 qualifiers, Gordon will have to be at his impeccable best throughout.

"Thanks pal, we'll have more of those please"

The engine room in central midfield of Darren Fletcher, Scott Brown and Kevin Thomson will ensure plenty of graft and an uncomfortable 90 minutes for their opponents.

With James McFadden – Scotland's one player who can conjure up a magic moment – missing with a groin injury, Kenny Miller was handed a starting berth as a lone striker before being replaced by his Rangers team-mate Kris Boyd, who made his national return after a self-imposed 16-month exile.

Boyd, who was booed by a few but applauded by the majority of the 26,000 present at Hampden, will surely provide goals during the qualifying campaign, particularly against the lesser obstacles of Lithuania and Liechtenstein.

However, it must not be forgotten that the Czechs were without their usual No.1 Petr Cech, who will prove a far greater obstacle than Hertha Berlin stopper Jaroslav Drobny did last night.

Scotland will have to raise their game considerably if they are to achieve a similar victory when the sides meet in the Czech Republic in October.

There were moments during the first half where the home supporters grew restless and frustrated with Levein's approach. But the Tartan Army will have to become quickly accustomed to such pragmatism as sparse resources dictate that Scotland sadly don't have the required talent to play attractive possession football.

Firm: Scott Brown and Kenny Miller point the way

But what the Scottish squad lacks in technique, it is duty-bound to compensate for with bucket-loads of effort and passion. This was lacking under Burley but Levein looks capable of stirring the beating hearts under those navy blue shirts.

The route to qualification success will come through soaking up pressure, sneaking a goal on the break and a whole lot of luck. Levein will be hoping Scotland's luck continues when the qualifiers kick-off next season.

Ray of hope Graham Dorrans grabbed his opportunity with both hands and showed why he could be an important player for the Scots during Craig Levein's reign.

The manager The former Dundee United boss will be glad to get off to a winning start. However the real work starts away to Lithuania on September 3 when the Euro 2012 Qualifying campaign kicks off.

The crowd Perhaps understandably, Hampden was far from full for a friendly that was being shown live on satellite television. However the Tartan Army gave Kris Boyd a forgiving welcome as he made his international comeback with the few jeers drowned out.

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Celts left fuming as Gers close in on title

Danny Law — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 11:30:00 GMT

SPL RESULTS Sat Feb 27 Aberdeen 0-1 Hearts, Dundee United 3-0 Falkirk, Hibernian 1-1 St Johnstone, Motherwell 1-0 Kilmarnock, St Mirren 0-0 Hamilton Sun Feb 28 Rangers 1-0 Celtic

Full Scottish results (and all tables) here

Celtic supporters have long felt their beloved Hoops are victims of biased refereeing decisions and Sunday's explosive Old Firm encounter provided additional fuel to feed this supposed paranoia.

Maurice Edu's injury-time winner means Rangers now enjoy the luxury of a 10-point lead at the top with a game in hand, but it was the key decisions made by referee Dougie McDonald that once again dominated the post-match discussions.

All eyes were on the whistler after an unnamed Celtic “source” had earlier in the week leaked the news that the Parkhead club had complained to the SFA about poor officiating in previous matches between the Glasgow rivals.

Controversial decisions were awarded in the favour of Rangers during both of this season's two previous Old Firm encounters. In the first, Celtic were denied what looked a certain penalty at Ibrox when Shaun Maloney was felled by David Weir in the box but referee Craig Thomson opted to caution the attacker for a dive; the Ibrox side went on to win the match 2-1.

Then in January, a Marc-Antoine Fortune goal at Parkhead was harshly chalked off for a foul on Gers keeper Allan McGregor; Lee McCulloch went on to earn Rangers a point.

And the green and white supporters were once again left fuming when referee McDonald had no hesitation in showing Celtic captain Scott Brown a straight red card after he clashed with Kyle Lafferty when a booking for both players involved would probably have provided a suitable punishment.

Lafferty, who last season was forced to issue a public apology after taking a theatrical tumble that led to Aberdeen defender Charlie Mulgrew being sent off, once again did not cover himself in glory after requiring little invitation to fall to the deck following his clash with Brown.

Lafferty and Brown clash, with terminal consqeuences

Sky Sports pundit Charlie Nicholas didn't pull any punches when he said after the match that “Lafferty constantly seems to have an influence in Old Firm games and I tell you, it's nothing to do with ability – because he doesn't have any.”

Rangers supporters will question Nicholas's impartiality and argue that they had a goal disallowed for handball and a strong penalty appeal turned down. But this will be another match that will be cited by Celtic fans as a further example of their team being forced to play against the proverbial 12th man.

Celtic have already appealed the decision but the possibility of Brown's red card being rescinded would appear slim. And come the end of the season, this match is likely to be looked back upon as the day when Rangers clinched the title.

The Celts were expected to go for broke in a bid to give themselves one final chance of rescuing their stuttering league campaign but Tony Mowbray's side offered little in attack at Ibrox, with the jaded Robbie Keane a peripheral figure for much of the contest.

Indeed, the fact that Celtic's best performers were goalkeeper Artur Boruc and defenders Andreas Hinkel and Josh Thompson was further evidence that the Hoops spent a large part of the game on the back foot. The champions have a massive cushion at the top of the league and only a dramatic collapse will stop them retaining the title.

Elsewhere, it was an unhappy weekend for Mark McGhee's Aberdeen, who extended their winless run to eight games with a 1-0 reverse at home to Hearts.

The Jambos played the majority of the second half with 10 men after midfielder Laryea Kingston was red-carded for a reckless tackle on Fraser Fyvie but they left the Granite City with all three points thanks to Eggert Jonsson's stunning overhead kick.

Hibernian waved goodbye to their East Stand and third place as they squandered a lead against St Johnstone: Liam Craig's 84th-minute penalty cancelled out Anthony Stokes' opener, which also came from the spot.

Stokes strokes home

This gave Dundee United the chance to leapfrog the Easter Road side if they could overcome Falkirk at home, which they duly did courtesy of a David Goodwillie penalty and a Morgaro Gomis double.

SPL strugglers St Mirren and Hamilton battled out a goalless draw in a dire match devoid of any real entertainment, while in-form Motherwell stretched their unbeaten run to eight games with a 1-0 win over Kilmarnock. Craig Brown's men have conceded only one goal in their past nine SPL matches and now look certain to grab one of the top six places.

In the First Division, Ross County's title challenge was dealt a massive blow with a 2-1 defeat at Partick Thistle.

League leaders Dundee had a weekend off after their match at Raith Rovers was postponed but they will have been delighted to see their other challengers Inverness Caledonian Thistle also drop points in an exciting 3-3 draw at home to Ayr United.

It's been a good week for... Walter Smith.

Although the Rangers manager would never publicly admit it, the SPL trophy looks like it will remain at Ibrox after their 1-0 win over rivals Celtic.

It's been a(nother) bad week for... Mark McGhee.

Once again the Dons manager was left fuming after his side failed to take anything against 10-man Hearts. The Dons boss admitted after the match that his players need to improve quickly if they want to avoid being dragged into a relegation battle.

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How to save Scottish football

Danny Law — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 17:00:00 GMT

“Can we play you every week?” is a favoured chant of the ebullient football fan everywhere.

Except possibly in the Isles of Scilly Football League, where there are only two teams. It must become tiresome for Garrison Gunners and Woolpack Wanderers to psyche themselves up for another weekly battle against the same set of players.

But it's beginning to look like their claim to fame as the world's smallest league could be under threat from the SPL. This weekend Aberdeen will take on Hearts for the third time in 2010 – and we haven't even made it into March.

After winning on both occasions so far – once in the Scottish Cup and once in the league – the underperforming Dons will be delighted to welcome the Jambos back to Pittodrie on league duty this weekend.

The arrival of such familiar opponents may not spark as much excitement in supporters and reporters alike, although we're becoming accustomed to these regular reunions.

Last Saturday Mark McGhee's men lost in the SPL for the second time this month to bottom of the league Falkirk. Maybe the Dons should start preparing to face the Bairns once more if they fail to make it into the top six, as their current form suggests.

However it isn't only Aberdeen that seems to be playing the same teams over and over again. Motherwell and Hamilton met twice in seven days earlier this month and with only one goal in a tedious 180 minutes it isn't surprising that only 3,133 fans bothered to turn up to watch the second of their meetings – a dire goalless draw.

Empty away-end seats at Tannadice – for the Rangers game

The reason behind this repetitive fixture schedule is the recent wintry weather, which has severely disrupted the SPL calendar this term. Frozen pitches cause numerous matches in Scotland's top division to be postponed around this time of year every season.

When the games do beat the weather, attendances are often noticeably down with many fans opting for a cosy afternoon in front of the box with Jeff Stelling rather than shivering to death in the freezing stands. Who can blame them?

Our annual debate of reverting to summer football comes and goes like the weather, only to be revisited the following December when the snowy showers recommence.

One good solution to this problem of repetitive fixtures and frequent postponements would be to create a 16-team league with the top four teams from the First Division given entry into Scotland's top flight to make up the numbers.

The likes of Dundee, Inverness, Partick Thistle and Ross County wouldn't diminish the standard of the SPL as these sides would be a decent match for many of the sides currently in the league.

Teams would play fewer matches in a 16-team league, where opponents would only meet each other home and away rather than the current three or four times depending on which half of the league you reach after 33 games.

The current 38-game season is too long, with the quality of matches suffering as a direct result. You can only expect so much entertainment from jaded players and squads stretched to the limit after being forced to play as many as three games per week. A shorter season, with room for a winter break, would also benefit the Scottish national team and hopefully the success of our clubs in European competitions.

However, few of the current SPL teams would welcome a 16-team league. For a start it would mean an even smaller share of the collective TV pot of gold. It would also represent fewer matches against the Old Firm – seen as vital for the survival of some smaller clubs.

The Old Firm are also keen to play as many of their showcase matches against each other as possible. Many Celtic and Rangers fans would be quite content to watch their sides battle it out every week, so the idea of meeting six times every year (four times in the league and twice in the cups) is counted by most in Glasgow as blessing rather than curse.

But to this writer, Scottish football should consider a change to the status quo. The current four divisions should be replaced with two 16-team leagues and a pyramid system to allow the ambitious junior and part-time clubs to make the leap up to the professional ranks.

A 16-team SPL would be more refreshing and would lessen the enormous fear of relegation into the First Division, with all the catastrophic consequences that can bring. In the current SPL no team except the top four appears safe and the dreaded R-word is even being mentioned around Aberdeen at present.

It would probably take a cataclysmic series of events before this idea would ever come close to fruition. Pity: our game has been on its knees for a long time and something has to be done to breathe some much needed life back into Scottish football.

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Redemption, a late postponement and an angry fan

Danny Law — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 11:00:00 GMT

SPL results: Sat Feb 20 Celtic 1-0 Dundee United, Falkirk 3-1 Aberdeen, Kilmarnock 1-1 St Mirren, Motherwell 1-0 Hibernian, St Johnstone P-P Rangers Sun Feb 21 Hearts 2-0 Hamilton

What a difference a week makes. After shipping four goals to Aberdeen last weekend, Celtic redeemed themselves with a hard-fought victory over in-form Dundee United.

The Hoops were handed a welcome boost before the match started when their title rivals Rangers' fixture at St Johnstone was called off an hour before kick-off. Instead of the Gers going 13 points clear, the Hoops now had the chance to move within seven points of the league leaders – which they duly did.

Robbie Keane netted his first home goal for his beloved Celtic to earn the Bhoys a nervy 1-0 win. Tony Mowbray's charges can now move within four points of the leaders if they win Sunday's eagerly-anticipated Old Firm derby at Ibrox.

And he's off: Keane settles in

The most eye-catching SPL result of the weekend saw Aberdeen's misery compounded with a 3-1 reverse at bottom of the league Falkirk. The Dons spurned the chance to answer their critics following their midweek capitulation at home to Raith Rovers in the Scottish Cup by throwing away an early lead.

Thu Feb 18: Cup woes continue for dismal Dons

Dead-ball specialist Charlie Mulgrew broke the deadlock from a free kick but goals from Pedro Moutinho, Darren Barr and former Leeds striker Enoch Showumni gave Steven Pressley his first win as Falkirk manager. The Dons, who have now gone seven games without a victory, will look to end their poor run of form at home to Hearts next weekend.

Hibernian, another team currently on the slide, suffered their third loss in succession with a 1-0 defeat to Motherwell. Jamie Murphy scored the only goal of the game on the hideous Fir Park pitch against 10-man Hibs, who had Liam Miller controversially sent off for a lunging tackle on Jim O'Brien.

Elsewhere, Kilmarnock stretched their unbeaten run to seven but threw away two points against St Mirren when Billy Mehmet's late strike cancelled out Chris Maguire's opener.

And the two Davids – Obua and Templeton – were on the scoresheet for Hearts as they ran out 2-0 winners over Hamilton Accies, who are are now precariously placed only a single point above Falkirk.

It's in the net: Templeton bags

In the Irn Bru First Division, Dundee took a massive step towards SPL promotion with a 1-0 win over Partick Thistle. Former Scotland international Jackie McNamara, making his Thistle debut, couldn't prevent the Glasgow side going down to Eric Paton's deflected winner after only six minutes.

Afterwards, Dundee boss Jocky Scott dedicated the victory to club legend Bobby Cox, who earlier in the day had lost his battle with cancer. Cox had led Dundee to the league title and the last four of the European Cup in the 1960s.

In the only other match to survive the freezing weather, Tam McManus gave Ayr United their first away win of the season against Dunfermline Athletic.

All Second Division matches were postponed but in the Third Division Livingston extended their lead at the top to seven points with a 2-0 win over second place East Stirling at Ochilview.

It's been a good weekend for... Tony Mowbray.

Robbie Keane's first goal at Celtic Park and the McDiarmid Park postponement helped ease the pressure on the beleaguered Hoops gaffer.

It's been a bad weekend for... Mark McGhee.

The Aberdeen boss held a “frank” hour-long discussion with his players after the Dons lost to bottom of the league Falkirk for the second time this month.

And finally...

Scottish football's angriest fan. Something which made me chuckle on the excellent ScottishFootballBlog.co.uk: an irate Greenock Morton supporter. Click the pic to watch.

Previous Scottish football features from Danny Law:
Thu Feb 18: Cup woes continue for dismal Dons
Mon Feb 15: Dons' McGhee vindicated, Accies' Jedward celebrated
Mon Feb 8: Why Scotland will reach Euro 2012... probably
Fri Feb 5: Management is wasted on the young

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Cup woes continue for dismal Dons

Danny Law — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 21:30:00 GMT

“A bunch of fairies.” That was the grim assessment of Aberdeen's current playing staff by club legend Joey Harper after the Dons crashed out of the Scottish Cup to lower league opposition once again.

Gregory Tade's goal gave First Division Raith Rovers a richly deserved replay win at Pittodrie over the sluggish Dons, who were roundly jeered by their own support on the full-time whistle.

To add insult to injury after the embarrassing defeat, an Aberdeen fan spat on club boss Mark McGhee.

In a tense press conference after the match a devastated McGhee described the walk back to the dressing room as the “most humiliating experience of his life.”

But the Dons boss said he was willing to accept the wrath of the fan who spat on him on this occasion as he “was only expressing his frustration”.

McGhee: Under a hail of phlegm and fire

Admittedly, the Dons really have no excuse for failing to progress against the Kirkcaldy side. McGhee's men had required a Gary McDonald equaliser in the fifth minute of injury time to force a replay at Stark's Park earlier this month.

But at Pittodrie there was to be no miraculous comeback. Instead the toothless Dons exited the competition with barely a whimper.

The odds had looked stacked against a depleted Raith before the match. Skipper Mark Campbell missed the match after being injured in a car accident. A further blow came when their other centre-back Dougie Hill limped out of the warm-up.

But despite coming up against a makeshift defence including midfielder Stephen Simmons, the Aberdeen attack that had looked so deadly when scoring four times against Celtic on Saturday never threatened to trouble Raith keeper David McGurn.

The First Division side's 1-0 victory will be described as a major cup shock but the Dons have been knocked out of competitions by lower league teams so often in recent times the real surprise would have been if they had progressed.

Former Dons boss Jimmy Calderwood will forever be haunted by his Scottish Cup quarter-final exit to Dunfermline on penalties last season, along with Aberdeen's painful 4-3 semi-final defeat to Queen of the South the year before.

Queens players Jamie MacDonald and Robert Harris celebrate their Cup win

This isn't even the first time this season that McGhee's Dons have been knocked out of a cup competition by a First Division side, with Dundee dumping them out of the League Cup back in September.

The general consensus in the press section before the game was that Aberdeen would progress relatively comfortably – particularly when Raith were forced to shuffle their pack minutes before kick-off.

But after about 20 minutes of play you sensed there was only going to be one winner and in the end Raith were good value for their victory.

There will be no knee-jerk reaction from the Aberdeen board and McGhee will be given time to continue his rebuilding process at Pittodrie but he will already be preparing for a major clear-out come the end of the season.

And going by Aberdeen's dreadful performance last night the summer transfer window can't open soon enough.

Previous Scottish football features from Danny Law:
Mon Feb 15: Dons' McGhee vindicated, Accies' Jedward celebrated
Mon Feb 8: Why Scotland will reach Euro 2012... probably
Fri Feb 5: Management is wasted on the young

Dons' McGhee vindicated, Accies' Jedward celebrated

Danny Law — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 09:00:00 GMT

FFT.com's Scotland correspondent on an action-packed weekend involving limping horses and dancing twins...

RESULTS: Sat Feb 13 Aberdeen 4-4 Celtic, Hamilton Academicals 0-0 Motherwell, Heart of Midlothian 3-2 Falkirk, Kilmarnock 3-2 St. Johnstone, St Mirren 1-2 Dundee United Sun Feb 14 Rangers 3-0 Hibernian

The SPL is supposed to be a two-horse race but it appears that one of the horses only has three legs and is limping the wrong way.

In an action-packed weekend north of the border with a healthy average of four goals per game in the top flight, Celtic dropped two vital points in the championship race to fall 10 behind runaway leaders Rangers.

The Celts came undone in a somewhat freakish game on Saturday at Pittodrie, where they shared the spoils with Aberdeen in an eight-goal thriller thanks to the type of defending that would have had Alan Hansen furiously tugging at his side parting.

Fortunately for the former Liverpool defender he has chosen to ply his punditry trade down south rather than witness the generous defending on offer in the Granite City.

The game could have finished 8-8 but for a few inspired stops from both keepers and some wasteful finishing in the final third.

But with Rangers defeating Hibernian 3-0 at Ibrox the following day, this proved to be two massive dropped points for Tony Mowbray's side who only have 13 games remaining to claw back Rangers' double-digit lead.

Celtic, bolstered by the presence of the lively Robbie Keane, look capable of scoring at any given moment but their zeal in attack is completely undermined by their defensive frailties.

If Mowbray's side are to mount a serious title challenge and prevent Rangers waltzing over the finishing line they will need to shore up their defence quickly.

Yellow! Shirtless Steven MacLean celebrates the Dons' fourth

If the match at Pittodrie had been explosive, the post-match press conference was equally fiery with Dons boss Mark McGhee hitting back at suggestions made earlier in the week that he would field a weakened side against the Hoops.

Tabloid newspapers reported that McGhee had said he would rest key players for the visit of Celtic ahead of his side's Scottish Cup replay with Raith Rovers on Tuesday.

In the end, the former Motherwell boss, named his strongest XI to take on the Hoops.

The Aberdeen manager, who has never hidden the fact he grew up as a Celtic supporter, said: “I feel I was betrayed. I have tried very hard to cultivate relationships with the press and I try to accommodate them as much as I can.

“I don't care, I still say it, I was brought up a Celtic supporter, that doesn't change, but at Motherwell I said I wanted to be able to walk down Byres Road [in Glasgow], look Rangers fans in the eye and they would know I was doing my job and trying to take points off Celtic as well as Rangers.”

A vindicated McGhee will now be praying his players have left enough in the tank for Tuesday's visit of Raith.

Elsewhere, Dundee United kept up the pressure on third-placed Hibernian by coming from behind to beat St Mirren thanks to two goals in the final seven minutes.

New Hearts manager Jim Jefferies made a winning return to Tynecastle with a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Falkirk in Steven Pressley's first game in charge of the Bairns following Eddie May's midweek exit.

Hamilton and Motherwell shared the spoils in a largely forgettable goalless draw, while Jimmy Calderwood's honeymoon period at Kilmarnock continued as they twice came from behind to beat St Johnstone 3-2.

But it will be Rangers who will be happiest with how results went.

After their midweek stutter in drawing at Motherwell, Walter Smith's side came through a testing visit of Hibernian unscathed.

John Hughes' men must be applauded for the way they took the game to the Ibrox side in the first half but second-half goals from Steven Whittaker, Kris Boyd and Kenny Miller ensured all three points for the hosts.

With Rangers facing St Johnstone in next Saturday's lunchtime kick-off the gap at the top could be 13 points before Celtic take on Dundee United later in the day.

Tony Mowbray will know his side cannot afford to concede any more ground to their rivals.

But with time quickly running out to close the gap at the top, only the bravest of punters will be backing Celtic to pip their city rivals and pull off an unlikely title win.

One other thing caught the eye last week.

I haven't reported on a World Cup final, a Milan derby or a Ryder Cup. Hopefully such wonderful assignments await one day.

However I was at Tannadice on Wednesday to witness the Paixao siblings becoming the first twins to score in the same SPL game.

Before the match I'd heard somebody speaking about the Portuguese twins. “They're like Jedward – one's no bad, the other's pish,” he evaluated.

When I received my teamsheet for the Dundee United-Hamilton match I was silently praying Marco and Flavio were on the bench.

But, after alerting myself to the possible dangers of accidentally omitting a letter from United keeper Dusan Pernis's surname, my heart sank when I noticed that Marco and Flavio were both starting for the Accies.

Paixao & Paixao: Marco's on the left. Probably

Thankfully for the reporters present Marco had opted for blue boots while Flavio was sporting a flashy yellow pair.

When Flavio – or “yellow boots” as one of my colleagues called him – opened the scoring the twins celebrated with a well-rehearsed dance routine – perhaps in tribute to their fellow duplicate double act Jedward.

The shapes they were throwing weren't particularly to my taste but the Portuguese pair are proving to be a handful for defences to deal with.

They were certainly a constant nuisance to Dundee United's rearguard as the Accies picked up their first victory at Tannadice for over 20 years.

The boots and celebrations may be naff but these Paixao twins could score the goals that keep Hamilton in Scotland's top flight.

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Why Scotland should reach Euro 2012

Danny Law — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:30:00 GMT

It was the 10th of June 1998; I was 13 years old and sprinting home from school as fast as my wee legs could carry me. Scotland were playing World Cup holders Brazil in France 98's curtain-raiser in Paris.

After going a goal down within the opening five minutes an unceremonious tanking seemed imminent. However the Brazilian onslaught never materialised and in the 37th minute John Collins was coolness personified as he neatly tucked away a penalty to restore parity.

I was ecstatic and, holding a massive saltire aloft, ran up and down the length of my street to the bemusement and cheers from a few of my neighbours.

That feeling of euphoria was short-lived. Scotland went on to lose 2-1 in what is now an all too familiar tale of glorious failure. A draw with Norway and a disastrous 3-0 defeat to Morocco ensured our traditional early exit.

Little did I know this failed foray at the World Cup in France almost 12 years ago would be the last time I would see my country in a major international tournament.

The summer of 98 may not feel that long ago for some people but it is far too long for the average Tartan Army member.

The major tournaments lose a certain degree of excitement when your country isn't there competing against the best in the world; just ask us Scots how we feel this summer when we watch on with envy as our neighbours south of the border take on the United States in South Africa on June 12.

Does Sunday's Euro 2012 draw give the Scots any chance of ending this dismal qualification run by reaching Poland and Ukraine in two years' time?

New national coach Craig Levein was in Warsaw to see the Scots drawn in Group I along with holders Spain, Czech Republic, Lithuania and Liechtenstein.

At first glance this group looks far from facile but the Tartan Army should not be overly alarmed by the presence of Spain as this is a reasonably favourable draw.

Providing the formidable Spanish steamroller everyone in the group as expected, the battle for second place should be between the Scots and a Czech side that's not quite as superior as it once was.

They may have beaten Scotland on both occasions in their two most recent meetings back in 1999 but the Czechs failed to reach the play-off stages for the 2010 World Cup after finishing behind Slovakia and Slovenia in a very poor qualifying campaign.

If Scotland can take maximum points from minnows Liechtenstein, the lowest-ranked of the pot five teams, and maintain our 100 percent record over Lithuania then it should be a head-to-head battle between us and the Czechs for second place.

But nothing is ever quite that simple for Scotland.

It's far more probable that the Scots will achieve a battling, backs-against-the-wall 1-0 win over Spain before a shameful defeat to lowly Liechtenstein four days later. That's how we roll.

But if we can overcome our troubles against the smaller nations in Europe and continue to fight tooth and nail against the more glamorous countries, Scotland will have a decent chance of qualifying for Euro 2012.

Levein will meet the other four nations in Spain to decide upon possible dates for the qualifiers and he will hopefully have learnt from the mistakes made by his predecessor George Burley.

This time Scotland must avoid playing crucial away qualifiers in the scorching summer sun before our season has even begun.

Levein would be wise to start with a couple of matches against the supposed easier teams when the qualifying campaign commences in September, to build up some points and momentum before taking on the big guns.

Scotland's pre-arranged friendly with the Czech Republic next month will now take on an added significance.

It will be Levein's first game in charge of the country and a useful insight into our Group I opponents.

The result in this fixture won't matter a jot come September when the Euro 2012 qualifiers officially get underway, but it will be our two group matches against the Czech Republic that will determine Scotland's possible progression.

If Scotland can get the better of the Czechs then they will give themselves a fantastic chance of reaching another major tournament.

And if they do, I'm sure I won't be the only person running around the streets waving a saltire.

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Management is wasted on the young

Danny Law — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 17:00:00 GMT

To open his new regular blog on Scottish football, Danny Law couldn't help himself penning this about a enthusiastic sexagenarian...

'Broony! Broony! Broony!' came the chants from the small band of Motherwell supporters who had battled their way north through the relentless snow to watch their team outclass Aberdeen by three goals to nil at Pittodrie.

As he made his way back to the dressing room with that familiar gait, a content Craig Brown saluted the fans and their cheers grew louder.

Such a display of adulation was hardly surprising given Brown's recent success in turning the Fir Park club's fortunes around.

Ten points from a possible 12 during January saw the former Scotland boss deservedly rewarded with the first manager of the month award for 2010.

His predecessor, the former Stockport County boss Jim Gannon, did his utmost to fall out with everyone involved in Scottish football including players, referees, fellow managers and club officials before being handed his jotters in late December when the club went on a dire run, taking a mere three points from seven matches.

With the fresh-faced 41-year-old Gannon sent back down the road to England with his tail between his legs, Well looked to experience to steady the ship by appointing 69-year-old Brown with fellow sexagenarian Archie Knox as his trusted assistant.

The decision has made an immediate impact, with the club currently sitting fifth in the table and Brown now dreaming of turning the Lanarkshire club into the “third force in Scottish football.”

After the impressive win at Aberdeen, Brown sauntered into the press room and before one of the reporters present had the chance to pose a question, the Well gaffer immediately began playing down the importance of the victory.

“Things are going well for us at the moment but it won't always be like this,” he warned.

Brown: Back in business

Listening to Brown speak, you instantly sensed his enormous passion for the game remains undiminished.

Unlike other managers who loathe their post-match press duties and want them over as quickly as possible, Brown would have happily chatted away all day.

How the hacks gathered around Brown that cold afternoon wished Mr Gannon had been as talkative during his brief six-month stint north of the border; the Englishman twice ignored SPL guidelines by failing to appear at post-match press conferences.

At the moment Brown is a winner for the Motherwell fans and the media.

And what a story it would be if Brown and Knox can prove that age really is no barrier by leading the Steelmen up the table.

With Aberdeen currently toiling under Mark McGhee and Hearts readjusting to life following the departure of the charismatic Csaba Laszlo, Well certainly have the opportunity to bag themselves a place in the top six.

There is a calm confidence about Brown these days and his partnership with Archie Knox is based on a complete faith in each other's abilities.

Brown will be 70 on the first of July this year but Well have already decided to give him until the end of the following season to mould a team equipped to challenge in the top half of the table.

Ageism may be rife in other professions where a man approaching the big seven-oh may be encouraged to seek the comforts of retirement.

But football is showing there is life in the old boys yet.

Even south of the border the Premier League's most celebrated manager Sir Alex Ferguson is 68 years young, while two of the more successful English managers of recent times - Roy Hodgson and Harry Redknapp - will both have 63 candles on their next birthday cake.

Perhaps when it comes to football management, there really is no substitute for experience.

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