McGeady exposes Celtic rift

Hmm... it's been a bad fornight for wee Gordy Strachan, eh? 1 point from 2 matches with the Edinburgh duo, a pointless victory over Villareal, and now a "bust-up" with Aiden McGeady has re-opened the perrenial debate about his future with the club.

This is Strachan's future we're talking about, by the way, not McGeady's. The winger's agent may be desperately trying to repair his client's relationship with the club (Aiden is 110% Celtic, apparently, if less than 50% Scottish), but the chatter seems to be that either he goes or Strachan goes in January. Of course, there are plenty of Celtic fans hoping it will be the latter, and that the manager will walk, Paul Le Guen-style, soon after the New Year.

However, the Celtic board seemingly remain committed to Strachan, and why not? He's brought the club consistent success and profits, which to the owners counts for more than the team's often turgid and uninspiring play.

There are seemingly a number of English Premiership sides tracking McGeady, so if Celtic can agree a fee (it seems impossible anyone will pay more than £5m in these financially troubled times) then he will be on his way.

Of course, with Sunderland rumoured to be interested in Strachan, this row could have come at very convenient time for the Celtic gaffer. Rather than leave in the manner of Paul Le Guen, Strachan could instead emulate John Collins, and announce his resignation with the words that he has taken the club "as far as it can go". After all, Celtic are out of Europe, and with 3 titles in a row in the bag, history will record Strachan's tenure at Parkhead as a massive success, no matter what happens now.

The fans who've never taken to Strachan want him out - especially if the alternative is watching McGeady, one of their favourites, head for the exit instead. But they should be careful what they wish for... the wee ginger man who has brought them so much silverware over the past few seasons may just throw in the towel.

ADDED: Celtic-watchers are seeing the announcement today of the signing of winger Niall McGinn from Derry City as anything but coincidental. He apparently can play on either flank and likes to "get at" defenders... which reads like Aiden McGeady's job description. McGinn is highly rated in Northern Ireland and reputedly cost Celtic £200k.

Celtic's less than champion week

Celtic host Villareal in the Champions League tonight... but this is not destined to be one of those "legendary European nights" that the club are so fond of - as they are already out of the competition, it's more likely to be a damp squib. While the visitors hope to finish top of the group above Manchester Utd, Gordon Strachan was left talking about keeping Celtic's good home record going. In other words, they are playing for nothing more than pride.

After Sunday's 2-0 loss to Hibs, this has not been a great week for the champions. Most of the fall-out from that game has focused on the terrible blunder by Artur Boric which allowed Hibs to take the lead. While Strachan has backed his keeper in public, he'd have to be an exceptionally stubborn man in private not to accept that Boruc's stock has fallen like HBOS over the past year.

It would be churlish, though, not to give Hibs some credit for an excellent result. In the same way that Argentinians express bemusement that English people still go on about Maradona's "Hand of God", because his 2nd goal was the one that really decided the game, Hibs' 2nd was the result of a quality counter-attack that deserved to win the match. Celtic did have more possession, as Strachan somewhat desperately pointed out after the match, but they lacked the killer touch.

There's no need for them to panic, though. Still 4 points above a Rangers team who look desperately out of sorts themselves, Celtic are still in a strong position to claim their 4th title in a row. As they proved last season, Celtic have more than enough resourcefulness to come back from a trailing position, if required.

Still, their exit from Europe does add to the feeling that, after a couple of seasons where Scottish football's stock has risen, its reputation may well be on the slide again. We may now be reliant on the national team to do something special to rescue us - after all, they will be providing the only European action we'll see for the rest of this season.

Hearts get a reminder of what might have been

Result of the weekend, without a doubt, was Hearts' 2-1 win over Rangers. It wasn't a pretty game of football, with Hearts scoring 2 from goal mouth scrambles and then conceding an own goal all before holding on for over an hour, but the home team will hardly care about that - this was their fifth win in a row, cementing Heart's grip on 3rd place. Given they spent most of last season bumping around nearer the bottom of the table, this is some turnaround.

Can they push on from here? More optimistic Jambos will be remembering the first season under Vladimir Romanov, when Hearts elbowed Rangers into 3rd place and earnt a chance at qualifying for the Champions League.

But things are very different now, compared to those heady days. Hearts are up to their eye-balls in debt, with MD Campbell Ogilvie admitting that the priority is to cut the wage bill, rather than invest further in the squad. Further problems with paying the wages hint at cash flow difficulties at Hearts, making it more likely that players will be going rather than arriving in January.

All this means that, rather than a spring board to greater success, the weekend's win over Rangers may well be the highlight of the season for Hearts. If players are sold in January, it seems inconceivable that they can continue as they have done. Impressive though recent results have been, Hearts have not been steam-rollering opponents into submission, but winning by one goal margins. Take any key players out of the equation, and - regardless of the fine job that manager Csaba Laszlo is doing - it may be difficult to keep things going.

As for Rangers, they are now 7 points behind Celtic, and if they slip any further the title race could be over by New Year. It's not looking good for them at all.

We love fitba: sorry for the long break

Apologies there hasn't been much blogging recently - work, personal commitments and technical issues have all got in the way. We're back again now, though, and the most recent post is published tonight.



Thanks for your patience and understanding.

20 years and still got something to prove

In case you missed it, Sir David Murray celebrated twenty years at the helm of Rangers Football Club last weekend. Being unaware of this anniversary would almost certainly require you to be living outside Scotland, because various arms of the media at home have ensured that this is recognised as a BIG STORY.

On the face of it, this is strange, because Rangers are palpably a club in decline, and simply not the best anymore, on any level. Murray's legacy is hardly unambiguous, either... the transformation of Rangers into a big spending, "modern" club started before he bought in, and while the stamping out of any unofficial "no Catholics" signing policy can only be positive, this remains an institution with sectarian demons left to slay.

Why, then, is some coverage of Sir David Murray, Sir, so fawning? Well, there's old journalistic traditions - a defiantly Establishment profession, which naturally gravitated towards the Establishment's club. There was also the success in the 1980s and 1990s, which attracted followers like moths to a flame. No doubt, Rangers benefit from partisan media coverage, and this anniversary has given all the usual suspects a chance to celebrate their favoured club.

Sir David Murray, Sir, Dear Sir, never wanted to reach this milestone. He's been keen to sell the club for some time, if only someone would buy it. But it hasn't happened, and it won't happen in the forseeable future... this is a club with significant debts, and a toxic brand damaged by, amongst other things, the yobbishness of the fans in Manchester at the UEFA Cup Final. An event that should have been a great showcase for the club, win or lose (just look how Celtic exploited their defeat at the same stage a few years ago), instead became a reminder why no new investor should get involved.

So, for the meantime, Rangers and Murray are stuck with each other, the big spending days of the past now long gone. They really, really need to win something significant to turn their fortunes around, but that looks more difficult than ever this season.

Ultimately, his chairmanship is looking less succcessful the longer it goes on.

More trouble for Burley

As if Saturday's 0-0 draw against Norway hadn't done enough to make it a miserable weekend for George Burley, Kris Boyd's graceless announcement that he won't put himself forward for another squad while the current manager is in charge has added to his woes.

Boyd has never been a critical member of the Scotland team. Previous managers have shared Burley's concerns about his work rate and general contribution to the team. But sport is often about moments, and you know - just know - that he would have buried the chance that Chris Iwelumo scaffed horribly wide with the goal begging. Instead, Boyd was left on the bench while the Wolves striker came on to make a debut that nightmares are made of.

Burley's a strong character and will shrug this latest bit of bad news off. But he's now under even more pressure than before.

Aberdeen hit the floor

So far this season, Aberdeen have performed as well as banking stocks. The most recent shock - a 2-1 home defeat to Hibs - sent them tumbling to the foot of the SPL. It's still early days, of course, and everyone expects them to recover sooner or later. But, as with Spurs in England, it's never too early in football for the word "crisis" to be dusted off again. We just love it.

How bad things get depends on how Aberdeen respond, of course, and the reaction from the weekend suggests that the current set up at Pittodrie still has it within themselves to pull away from the foot of the table. They were certainly unlucky to lose, with Hibs needing a hugely debatable goal to take the points.

But plenty of the fans aren't happy. There's no love lost between Jimmy Calderwood and a sizeable section of the support, sick with the "tactical tombola" and what's perceived as his moaning ways. Not to mention his tango tan, of course. We love fitba's got a lot of time for Calderwood to be honest - he did fine things at Dunfermline and has broadly done a good job at Aberdeen - but his undisguised ambition can, at times, come across as arrogance.

Mostly though, Calderwood seems to get the blame for the "sleeping giant" status of Aberdeen football club. They fans may claim they've stopped going on about the 1980s, but the club's achievements will be measured against the Alex Ferguson era for a while yet. Nowadays, Aberdeen are heavily in debt, and wondering whether or not to move out of their half-full stadium. Given the current state of the economy, this stasis will probably remain for a while yet.

It's a great shame, because if this one-city club re-established itself as a credible force, Scottish football would be much richer for it.

Schadenfreude across Scotland as Celtic come home empty handed again

It's been nearly 4 years since Celtic picked up a point away from home in the Champions League (a draw against Barcelona in November 2004), and they'll have a wait still longer after the 1-0 defeat to Villareal on Tuesday night.

It's fair to say that the reaction across Scotland has been less than sympathetic. Of course the Huns are even more envious of their sister's success this season after being dumped out of Europe at the first hurdle.

For the rest of the SPL, angry at what they see as continued bias towards the Old Firm who always seem to get the decisions during matches, there was amusement to be had that Celtic were undone by a free kick that was very softly awarded to their opponents. Certain Celtic players - stand up Aiden McGeady and Shunsuke Nakamura, please stand up - are hardly shy about going to ground under the lightest of challenges.

Villareal were better overall, but Celtic played a decently, if not lethally. It may, however, already be too late to salvage this Champions League campaign.

Back on track

Well, it may have been overshadowed by England's shredding of Croatia, but no matter - Scotland's 2-1 win away in Iceland has got the World Cup qualifying campaign up and running, and suddenly the mood is much brighter!


After 2 games Scotland has 3 points and has got 2 away fixtures out of the way. It was still a mistake to start with a match against Macedonia in searing late summer heat, but what's done is done. The main thing is that we are firmly in contention in a group that will see plenty of ups and downs along the way.

The Macedonia result also has to be put into perspective. Results for the first round of qualifying games have been surprising all across Europe - yesterday, for example, Denmark beat Portugal, Luxembourg (!) beat Switzerland, and Germany had to come back 3 times against Finland to earn a point.

Meanwhile, Macedonia lost to Holland, which leaves runners-up spot in Group 9 well and truly up for grabs. And that was always the target anyhow.

So, let's not panic. Some very silly things have been said about George Burley over the past few days, and there is probably some truth in the theory that his face just does not fit amongst the "Largs mafia" who control the Scottish game. Having spent almost his entire career in England (apart from a very brief, but successful, time at Hearts, of course), he doesn't seem to fit easily into the cosy West coast club, where friendship counts for more than ability.

It all changed this morning, with even Keith Jackson, a man who thinks Scottish football begins and ends with Rangers, singing his praises in the Daily Record. He does seem to have adopted a prose style uncannily similar to Chick Young, however.

Or take Lee McCulloch's retirement from international football. On Monday, BBC Scotland were happy to insinuate that he had problems with Burley, forcing the manager to defend himself in the press when he should have been concentrating on the Iceland game. By Thursday, they published a story that looks very much like a retraction, and carrying quotes from Craig Brown that criticised McCulloch instead.

The end of McCulloch's international career is, in fact, not that interesting a story. Scotland always need options, but there are plenty of alternatives to him. Far more important is that Burley is trying to introduce a more positive, attacking philosophy - something that McLeish promised, but didn't carry through. The previous backs-to-the-wall approach was effective, but ultimately a failure, and Burley deserves credit for not taking the easy option.

Let's hope that, as with Fabio Capello, a positive result has given the manager some more leeway in the media. Because there is no doubt that qualification from this group will not be easy, and Burley will need all the support he can get.

Goalfest in League Cup leaves Hibs with a headache

An exciting night in Scottish football, with the 2nd round of the CIS League Cup leading to plenty of goals. It seems that the players are still getting used to regular football, so mid-week fixtures are a treat rather than a chore. Well, a treat for most anyhow.

Most of the fixtures went according to the book, with the bigger club dominating - Dundee Utd beat Cowdenbeath 5-1, Falkirk beat Raith 3-1, and St Mirren put 7 (SEVEN) past Dumbarton. But Hibs hosted Morton and crashed out.

The home team was 2 nil down, pulled back to level terms, went ahead in extra time, and then conceded twice more. Not good, and you can't help but wonder if this might define Hibs' season.

The Edinburgh club had a terrible pre-season, but seemed to be knitting it together slowly this season. But they remain a fragile team, seemingly quick to lose confidence and with a shaky defence. They were missing captain Rob Jones at the back tonight, but it they really should have closed out this match in normal time, let alone concede the tie in extra time.

Motherwell await on Saturday, and it should be a fascinating game. It's still August, but both Hibs and Motherwell could do with a result.

As for the League Cup, let's hope there's as many goals in the second half of the draw on Wednesday night.

Murray comes out fighting

We all know Rangers have been in the spotlight once again this week, as their humiliating exit from Europe was followed by the sale of Carlos Cuellar to Aston Villa. Both events have caused enormous anger amongst "the people", but yesterday chairman David Murray came out fighting.

Blaming the internet for causing a culture of unfounded gossip which created "mayhem" around the club, Murray took time to remind everyone how much cash he has pumped into the club, much of which he has no hope of recouping.

This is at best disingenuous. The "unfounded gossip" held that, having failed to qualify for the Champions League, Cuellar would go before the end of August. And oh look what's happened. The allegations of asset-stripping are much less easy to justify, but Murray himself must take some responsibility for the disappointment being felt by fans now following the hyperbole that he himself created about the club in happier times. Never shy to boast when things are going well, he must now own up when things are not.

You would have thought he'd have learnt his lesson by now about making promises that he can't keep, but David Murray has now promised that Rangers will win the league this season. Ouch.

Still, the Cuellar money gives a handy boost to Walter Smith's transfer kitty, and if Celtic have beaten them to Glenn Loovens, the signing of Pedro Mendes would be a good one. Without any distractions, Rangers can concentrate on one goal alone this season, rather than stretching their resources across many different competitions.

Any early slip ups, though, and it will be meltdown at Ibrox

Back to school craziness

1st week back for the SPL, and it's all a little crazy. New boys Hamilton, predicted by most (but not we love fitba) to be heading straight back down to Division 1 at the end of the season, are top of the league!

Alright, it won't last, but it's worth having a look anyhow. It's exactly the start they needed... nothing will ease those early nerves better than stringing a few results together.

Meanwhile, Walter Smith says he's "surprised and disappointed" after Carlos Cuellar transferred to Aston Villa.

Hmm, that statement is only half-true, isn't it Watty? No doubt you are disappointed to be losing your best player, but surprised? Speculation was rife that Cuellar would go after Rangers' humiliating exit from Europe in order to help balance the books. And that was before we found out about the release clause in his contract.

The "people" are not at all happy, with talk of demonstrations at the next home game. Possibly led by the you tube radge? (see previous post for link).

Finally, Celtic got another lucky win over St Mirren after JVH fouled his marker yet got awarded a penalty anyhow. The referees campaigned over the summer for better pay - fair enough, but do you think in return we might get them to do their jobs properly?

SPL predictions 08/09

The 08/09 SPL season starts tomorrow, so it's time for we love fitba to stick it's neck out again. No comprehensive preview here - just opinion - but if it's facts you're after, the Beeb have come up with a pretty comprehensive preview this time around

Alternatively, Inside Left have previewed all the weekend's games, and have got more predictions on their site too.

So here's how its' gonna pan out:

1. Celtic, obviously. 3 in a row, and although they were very, very lucky last time, they should have enough in the tank to make it 4. Strachan has won over more of the doubters with that last-gasp title clincher, by proving that even if some of the fans don't believe in him, his players surely do. Holding onto McGeady and Boruc will help, as will the form of Hartley and Robson at the end of last season. Surely Celtic will have a more coherent midfield this season?

The only doubts might arise if Celtic get into a European final, and become as distracted as Rangers did. But it's looking good for the team in green.

2. Rangers. What is Watty Smith up to? He had lots of strikers, so he's gone and bought 3 more, yet forgotten about his midfield entirely. Madjid Bougherra is presumably a replacement for Cuellar. It may all make sense come the end of August (will Real Madrid panic buy Lee McCulloch for £30m to get over being jilted by Ronaldo) but it doesn't right now.

3. Dundee Utd. Craig Levein is not just the manager at Tannadice, but he sits on the board too. The trust he enjoys there seems to be transmitted to his players, and he's done well in the transfer market, getting Willo Flood to return for another season's loan and strengthening upfront to make up for Noel Hunt's departure. Good work.

4. Hibs. Everyone's written off Hibs, who have had a shocking pre-season. Yet radgy manager Mixu Paatelainen has already shown he can mix it in the SPL, with decent results if not performances. Now he needs to step up, by proving he can beat the Old Firm occasionally as well, and get the team playing better football. He's not a great tactician, mind.

5. Motherwell. Did brilliantly by finishing 3rd last season, but the squad looks weaker without Ross McCormack, and manager Mark McGhee is not known for his consistency.

6. Falkirk. Slowly, slowly inching their way up the League, and play decent football too. This could be their season to break into the top 6. Their worry will be that another club finally realises what a fine job John Hughes is doing, and nicks the gaffer.

7. Aberdeen. Some characteristic wheeling and dealing from Jimmy Calderwood this season, but hard to say if the squad is any better. And the fans really don't like him at all, despite the UEFA Cup heroics last season. The wheels might be about to come off.

8. Hearts. They might have a manager at long last, but they've only made one signing so far, and that's just not enough. All the talk of unity and togetherness just rings a little hollow, too... this is Hearts we're talking about, after all. Expect the next crisis sometime before November, as Vlad re-asserts his authority and starts faxing through the team sheets again. Jambos believing that they are going to finish 3rd are living in dreamland.

9. Kilmarnock. Shocking last season, but the shock should jolt them into a (slight) improvement this time around.

10. St Mirren. Steady as she goes at Love St. Wait, not Love St, that'll be a building site come the end of the season.

11. Hamilton. They're young, untested at this level, and should go straight back down again. But that's no fun! Let's go crazy and predict a stirring start for the new boys, until reality and injuries kick in and they sink to a still-respectable finish.

12. Inverness Caley Thistle. Really not great last season, and with Niculae gone, it can only get worse. Will be hoping that Hamilton get put in their place early on.

Here we go again!

Euro 2008 was entertaining, the summer holidays are fun... but what we've really been waiting for is back. Yup, Scottish football is back!

The SFL are already up and running, the SPL's new season starts on Saturday. Both will no doubt provide plenty of fun over the next 9 months, but we haven't had to wait long for the first big story of the season:

Rangers have embarassed themselves in Europe yet again!

This time, it was nothing to do with the behaviour of their fans, but a terrible performance against a frankly mediocre Kaunas team. You could spend a while analysing the reasons for the defeat - overly cautious tactics, strikers that can finish the job as well as the contractors who built the Scottish parliament, or a complacent attitude amongst the squad, but why bother when this loyal fan has already summed up the problem so eloquently

The cute twist to the story, of course, is that Kaunus are owned by Vladimir Romanov, and the Hearts owner gave a wide-ranging interview to the BBC after the game. Dear old Vlad is looking tanned and relaxed these days, and - apart from other things - now seems to have decided that Hearts will never win the SPL, apparently because Scottish football is run by the mafia. All the old promises about becoming champions have now been binned?

What does this mean for the SPL? Well, Rangers could justifiably argue that the UEFA Cup run derailed their title challenge last season, and so without the distraction this time around they should be better placed to win the championship.

On the other hand, Celtic could spend a bit more money between now and the end of the month to further strengthen their squad. Rangers have no more money to spend.

Expect to see some wheeler-dealing from Smith over the next few weeks, as he needs to sell before he can buy. Somehow, he needs to get Rangers' season back on track.

Rangers blow it again

Ah well, they've got the Scottish Cup final against Queen of the South on Saturday to look forward to. Surely they won't mess that one up... will they?

So, Celtic have got their 3 titles in a row, vindicating Gordon Strachan and catching out We Love Fitba, who called it for Rangers a month ago. Sorry about that...

In fact, this blog should have stayed with its predictions at the beginning of the season. Not totally accurate, but not wholly wrong either!

Rangers still hoping for a party

As things stand, Manchester Utd won't be allowed to parade the Champions League trophy from the top deck of a bus. The trouble in the streets following the UEFA Cup final has scuppered that idea. It would be ironic, no, if Rangers find themselves driving around Govan in the next few days, with potentially 3 domestic trophies to show off.

So to tonight's decider, with Rangers off to Aberdeen and Celtic at Tannadice. A helicopter will be hovering above the North East, ready to swoop down with the trophy as soon as the destination of the title is decided.

We love fitba declared for Rangers some weeks ago, back when they had a 7 point lead, 1 game in hand, and looked unassailable. This may have been premature. Their subsequent wobble (and Celtic's 6 wins in a row) has put the ugly sisters level on points, but Celtic's superior goal difference makes them favourites.

Of course, everyone's assuming Aberdeen and Dundee Utd will just roll over and get beat, but Craig Levein has been particularly outspoken on this issue. Jimmy Calderwood may struggle to motivate a squad he has publicly criticised more than once, but the Arabs are making all the right noises about putting up a fight.

If that happens, Celtic could find themselves with the trickier encounter this evening. And Rangers could still win the title. We've not got it wrong yet.

Violence in Manchester exposes Daily Record bias

It's been obvious for years that certain sections of the Scottish press bias their coverage in favour of the Old Firm. Not just in terms of coverage - you'd expect those 2 to dominate the headlines, much as the Big 4 do in England - but editorially as well. Rangers have had the Daily Record in their back pocket for as long as anyone can remember, always handy when you want to unsettle a player at another club or promote your interests.

Yet, you'd assume that there are limits. No matter how cosy the relationship, basic journalistic integrity would ensure that at least an attempt at impartiality remained. Nope, not so. The Daily Ranger has been exposed for the propaganda rag it truly is.

Most media outlets described last Wednesday's violence in Manchester thus: huge crowds, unfortunate technical hitch, question marks over the planning of the event, shocking violence. While there were clearly lessons to be learned for the organisers and the police, it was clear that the Rangers supporters had gone way over the top. End of story.

Well, not in the Record, which last week led an impassioned defence of the Rangers supporters, while also claiming that it wasn't even Rangers supporters who were causing the trouble (work that one out). No, according to their editorial, "almost none of the ringleaders wore club colours or spoke with a Scottish accent. There were, however, many English and Northern Irish accents."

You can spot the obvious flaws. One being that casuals don't wear colours. Another being - roughly half the population of Northern Ireland are Rangers fans. And you also have to ask - how did the Daily Ranger know this? I'm not sure the police have identified the ring leaders yet (although you can bet they are working on it). How did the paper know?

Read an excellent article in the Scotland on Sunday by Tom English about the Manchester violence here.

And to remind yourself what happened, watch this. Or this.

Belatedly, the Daily Ranger put up their own video of the events, handily contextualised with vox pops of supporters saying how bad the organisation was, and an interview with the chief copper in Manchester cut off just before she starts to describe the violence of the fans.

Throwback UEFA Cup Final proves match too far for Rangers

Last night's UEFA Cup Final was curiously reminiscent of the way European finals used to be. It harked back to a time before football was utterly dominated by money, with clubs from outside the biggest, richest Leagues able to get to the final. Of course, it's new money that is powering the resurgence of Russia's clubs, but Zenit St Petersburg lived up to the reputation of Eastern European clubs in the 80s and early 90s - mysterious, full of players unknown in Britain, and technically superior.

Interesting, too, that both clubs' line-ups would have qualified under Sepp Blatter's proposed 6+5 rule, designed to promote home-grown players instead of foreigners. Zenit, being owned by Gazprom and thus effecively a state-owned club, provide many of the players for the Russian national team, while Rangers have rediscovered how to buy Scottish after years of costly imports got them deeper and deeper into debt.

Rangers were also faithful to the traditional tactics employed by teams in finals - do everything not to lose a goal, and then try and win on penalties. In the old days, this was achieved through liberal use of the backpass to the keeper and cynical tackling from behind - both now outlawed.
Nowadays, it's done by giving one man the responsibility to attack, and instructing everyone else to defend in depth. Walter Smith - after teasing that he might employ a more adventurous line-up - was true to form, setting Rangers up to frustrate and disrupt at all costs.

This has been the plan throughout this campaign, and of course it has worked a treat - just so long as the opponents haven't scored. Last night, we got a chance to find out if there was a Plan B, and the answer was... no, not really.

Zenit finally made their breakthrough in the 72nd minute, and what followed next was bizarre. For the next 4 minutes, a suddenly silent stadium looked on as Smith made notes in his chair, deep in discussion with his assistants. The Rangers fans, who'd been so noisy throughout, had gone silent just when their team needed them most, but then they probably knew by then that the game was up. On the pitch, lacking any direction or encouragement from the dug out, the players looked very, very lost.

At long last, the reaction came, Smith sending on 3 strikers in quick succession to try and rescue the game. But he'd left it too late... Zenit, now full of confidence, mopped up everything with ease, and scored a decisive second goal in injury time. They deserved to win.

Sadly, the match was a reminder of earlier times for different reasons, too. As more and more footage comes out from last night's violence in Manchester city centre, it becomes less and less possible to blame the trouble on a few neds getting angry when one of the large tv screens failed. Hundreds of Rangers fans ran running battles with the coppers, throwing objects and doing much to undermine the "carnival" atmosphere that had been reported during the afternoon.

Few people in Scotland are surprised, sadly. The build up to the match had focused on the racist attitudes of the Russian fans, but the likelihood of trouble if Rangers lost was always there.

The truth, not often mentioned, is that not all Celtic fans behaved in exemplary fashion when they lost the UEFA Cup final in Seville in 2003. But, although there was some bad behaviour, there was little violence.

Today, Rangers should be basking in approval for their achievement in even reaching the final, if not the football they played to get there. Instead, the mindless thuggery of some fans is dominating the media attention.

Stuttering to a close

Gretna and Hearts' seasons ended tonight, with a 1-0 win for the "home" team at Fir Park. Just over 1,000 punters were watching... somewhat less than the 50,000 at Hampden Park exactly two years ago, when Hearts beat Gretna on penalties to win the Scottish Cup.

How times change. Back then, despite some clear danger signs, most Hearts supporters were still 100% behind Vladimir Romanov. His first season in charge of the club had seen trauma - such as the ridiculous sacking of George Burley - but winning that trophy and finishing 2nd in the League above Rangers was enough to appease the doubters.

Tonight they finished the 2007/8 season in 8th after another poor display. There has been no credible domestic challenge. They have made no impact in Europe at all. They have a bloated, disinterested squad led by caretaker Stevie Frail who is called "Shaggy" by his players and is palpably out of his depth. Neither are there any signs that things are going to get better. Some Jambos hang on to tenuous rumours that a credible manager - Mark McGhee or Billy Davies - is about to be parachuted in with a multi-million warchest to sort out the problems, but they are living in dreamland. Most of the supporters, however, just seem to shrug their shoulders and accept it... afraid that if Romanov walks, things could get much, much worse.

How much worse? Just ask Gretna. This wasn't just the end of the season - it could be the end of the club, full stop. When their sugar daddy turned off the taps, the whole house of cards collapsed, and while the administrators occasionally make positive noises about potential buyers, a rescue plan is looking less and less likely. Frankly, there isn't much to rescue - the youth system has already been dismantled, there are negligible player "assets", and their own stadium is partially demolished.

There is more to save at Hearts, should it come to that, but the scale of the debt is so much worse. What the supporters need to realise is that the "Romanov era" will come to an end at some point. It just depends how bad the situation is when it happens... and whether anyone will come to rescue their club.

Ugly anti-football reaches the UEFA Cup Final

Lionel Messi and Adrian Mutu are far from the only people to criticise the way Rangers play football this season, but they can't argue with its effectiveness. After a penalty shoot out in Tuscany last night, Rangers are in the final.

With respect to the rest of the team, at times it was Carlos Cuellar and Davie Weir against Fiorentina, as Rangers hung on and hung on against relentless pressure. Had Christian Vieri come on a little earlier, the chance that fell to him a couple of yards from goal might not have been his first touch and he might have buried it. Had Mutu gone down in the box later on when jostled by two Rangers players, Fiorentina could have had a penalty inside normal time. Ifs and buts, though... Fiorentina couldn't score in 3 and 1/2 hours of football, and Rangers came away with the prize.

Now things get really interesting. For the past few weeks, the European adventure has seemed like a distraction, allowing Celtic to win the past 2 Old Firm derbies and close the gap in the League. Without a doubt, stopping Celtic getting their third title in a row has been the priority for the blue half of Glasgow, and the narrowing race in the SPL - plus the injury list - has caused mounting anxiety.

However, Rangers have now emulated Celtic's achievement in 2003 in reaching the UEFA Cup Final. They came home from Seville empty-handed, save for the beginnings of a tale about how 4 million supporters (or something) created the best final atmosphere ever*.

It's unlikely Rangers will attempt to mythologise their own support in quite the same way. There have been enough distasteful scenes from their travelling support in the past couple of years to make such an attempt pointless. But they might just go to Manchester and win the damn cup. And that will be a far greater prize.

Hearts are falling apart - 2

A few hours after the chaotic AGM on Friday, Hearts published an interview with director Sergejus Fedotovas on their website. It's hard to say if this was pre-planned or not, but it had the look and feel of a rushed reaction to the hostility that swept the message boards and fansites following the meeting.

Fedotovas comes across as a much more reasoned, thoughtful character than idiot child Rodney Romanov, which makes the interview all the more fascinating. Here, in a supportive setting with a non-confrontational questioner, Fedotovas confirmed that either the hierachy don't know what they are doing, or that everything they have told the supporters is wrong.

In brief:

• Contrary to the New Year's statement, in which Hearts promised a "British-style" manager, they are apparently looking at a range of candidates. Despite Stevie Frail pushing his name forward for the job, he ain't on the shortlist. No, the shortlist can't be made public. They hope to have a manager in place by 30 June. No, they won't have full control over the squad but will make decisions "in co-operation" with Vlad. Oh dear.
• They are looking at restructuring the debt. Nope, no firm plans can be divulged, nor can they say how much of the debt will be restructured. Yes, Vlad promised the debt would be gone within months of his takeover, but let's not rake that up again - it's just cruel.
• There may be some plan to get "other" shareholders to contribute to the rebuilding of the main stand. Yes, those 400-odd people who own 20% are now going to be asked to dip in their pockets again. No, no further details, though this harks back to a previous appeal to local businesses to join them in funding the club. Nope, nothing came of that either.
• Fans who don't renew their season ticket and encourage others to refrain from renewing as well are not true supporters. So there.
• This is a very important time for the club. You don't say!

Hearts are falling apart

The Hearts Annual General Meeting is a must-see fixture on the Scottish football calendar these days, guaranteed to set off a few fireworks. Of course, unless you have the dubious pleasure of being a Hearts shareholder (and there are still around 400 of them, with less than 20% of the company between them), an invite can be hard to come by, but the stories of the meeting always tumble out into the open soon enough.

The official AGM business took 5 minutes - no great surprise, given that the majority shareholder is in such a dominant position - and then the meeting opened up to questions. And that's where things got spicy: Roman Romanov (with daddy again nowhere to be seen) was apparently belligerent and snippy from the off, and the answers tumbling from his mouth caused mounting anger and confusion. For example, while last year's AGM was told that a £40m level of debt was "no problem", now it seems cost-cutting was needed to bring down the debt to more manageable levels (it's currently around £32 - 37m, depending on who you believe).

On every issue from the appointment of a new manager to the redevelopment plans for the stadium, Romanov was confusing and contradictory, before launching into a familar rant against the "conspiracy" against Hearts.

None of this is new. Since George Burley was sacked back in 2005 it's been clear that the Romanov regime is rather less than it appears, or rather there is an agenda pushing the project that is not the one told to the fans. Equally, the paranoia - either genuine or contrived - has been apparent almost from the outset, with a whole host of villians, from the SFA to journalists, identified as the people who are keeping Hearts down.


What is new is the fans' reaction, and the feeling that the Romanov story really has reached a tipping point. As news of the meeting filtered out, there was undisguised fury across message boards and in pubs as Jambos digested this latest, crazy episode. It's clear that many fans were pinning their hopes on this meeting as a chance to find out what is happening at their club - instead they feel the people in charge are treating them with contempt.

Hearts seem to be in disarray. On the one hand, Romanov argued for the caretaker "coach", Stephen Frail, to be given a chance, but then later another director, Sergejus Fedotovas, said that the search for a new manager (announced in January) was continuing. When the huge cost of the proposed new stand was questioned, l'il Roman suggested that perhaps plans would be drawn up for a cheaper option - which would mean starting the planning consent process all over again, and adding the £1m or so already spent on the plans.

Of course, the Romanovs "saved Tynecastle", and for many fans, Hearts IS Tynecastle and wouldn't be the same club if it ever moved from there. This, and the fear of what could happen should they pull the plug, has encouraged many Jambos to keep the faith during an increasingly bizarre 3 years. Hearts' problems didn't begin with the Romanovs, either - the club has been mismanaged for at least a generation, always spending more money than they had in the belief that there would always be another pot of gold to dip into if necessary.

Without a doubt, though, dissenters are now far more vocal, no longer being shouted down by the ranks of "believers". Most would seem to want the Romanovs out of the club, but are unsure how to do it. With season ticket sales in full swing, it's a crucial time... will the fans put their money up again, or not renew their season tickets in protest? How much appetite do they have for a fight?

Celtic close the gap, but it's too late

It was a perfect night for Celtic - a first Old Firm win for 19 months (first for Gordon Strachan since the Uncle Watty n Super Ally show arrived back at Ibrox), an absolute belter from Nakamura and the last gasp goal from JvH closing the gap to just one point.

Strachan reckons the title isn't lost yet, and the equation's simple for Celtic now - win every remaining game in the SPL and they may, just may, win the title.

They won't, though. Rangers have got mounting problems with injuries, suspended players and a fair fixture backlog to negotiate, but they're not gonna mess it up now. Uncle Watty may claim he's not prioritising any competition over any other, but he knows without question it's the SPL title that Ibrox craves. Letting Celtic get 3-in-a-row would be simply unpalatable.

Katie Thomson and Bazza Ferguson are banned for the first leg against Fiorentina, making their selection in remaining league games a no-brainer. Rangers will have to cope without player of the year Carlos Cuellar after his sending off, and David Weir also misses a match for his handbags with Gary Caldwell at the end of last night's game (as does Caldwell). Injuries to Lee McCulloch, Charlie Adam and Allan McGregor don't help. But they've got a big enough squad... if Kris Boyd starts against St Johnstone in the Scottish Cup, it will be a clear indication that Uncle Watty is spreading resources in order to keep the League Title in sight.

So a thrilling match last night, full of competitive spice. But it doesn't really change anything.

If Celtic can win the next Old Firm game, though, then things really will get tight.

Fury as Aberdeen implode

What is it with the Scottish Cup? As soon as the authorities starting talking about taking away the automatic UEFA Cup place from the runners-up, as has been done when the winners have already qualified for Europe through the League, than the competition seems determined to throw lambs to the slaughter.

First off Gretna, who lost on penalties to Hearts in the 2006 final, and then were into the UEFA Cup, distracted (their minds were on a promotion push from Division 1) and quickly found out. Then Dunfermline, runners-up last year, went to Europe having been relegated from the SPL, and with the best will in the world, were not well prepared for it. And, come late summer, it's very possible that it will be Queen of the South who take up the mantle of representing Scottish football in Europe.

Yup, Queen of the South are through to their first Scottish Cup final. Congratulations to them - they deserve it - but it has to be said that Aberdeen threw it away. Calamity defending allowed QoS to score 3 times. Aberdeen hauled themselves level each time, but then QoS scored a 4th and Aberdeen had no reply.

Jimmy Calderwood, the Dons manager, is as passionate about the Scottish Cup as anyone, but he's also a brutally honest manager who calls it how he sees it. He was scathing about his team's performance after the game, almost lost for words as he attempted to explain how bad they were. Chick Young, the Beeb's man at Hampden, gave him a route to defend himself by reminding Calderwood that his team created further chances to level the match, but he wouldn't take them.

"We got what we deserved. Losing 4 goals... is a joke. We brought 14,000 people here. We let them down at Tynecastle in the CIS Cup and we've let them down again."

You could hear the man's hurt in his voice, but who knows if it will be enough to repair the damage. Much like Gordon Strachan at Celtic, Calderwood has plenty of critics on the terraces, and this latest blow has opened torrents of abuse across fans' messageboards. The fans have had enough of the "tactical tombola" (endless personnel changes) and reckon plenty of the signings just aren't good enough.

The strange truth is that Calderwood agrees with them, and the one certainty is that there will be a clear-out at Pittodrie this summer. Calderwood has said before that some players just aren't up to the task, and earlier in the season hinted that he might well leave if he doesn't get a big enough budget to rebuild the squad.

He was persuaded to stay, and Director of Football Willie Miller remains supportive in public, but the man who will decide the budget is chairman Stewart Milne, the construction mogul, and there are no guarantees he'll come up with the goods. Milne is seemingly filthy rich, but has so far been reluctant to pump more of his own cash into the side. To be fair, you can see why - the stadium issue remains unclear, the club is millions in the red, and the fans have, on the most part, been staying away. As an investment opportunity, the club hardly looks gilt-edged.

It would be tempting to describe Aberdeen as a sleeping giant, although it's hard to know if they qualify as being a giant anymore. The Alex Ferguson era is a very long time ago now, and it becomes harder and harder imagining Aberdeen ascending to those heights again.

Calderwood might decide he's taken the club as far as he can. Or that decision might be made for him. Either way, it will be a critical summer for AFC.

Are Rangers great or just fucking lucky?

Rangers are into a European semi-final for the first time since 1972 after their second leg win over Sporting Lisbon tonight. Ok, it's the UEFA Cup, not the big one, but still... nae bad for poor wee Scotland, eh?

For an outsider, it looks like a club from one of the poorer leagues in Europe heroically over-coming the odds and sticking it to the big boys. But to those of us who've actually watched them this season, its seems inexplicable. They eventually won 2-0 this evening, but for the first hour Rangers were being battered by a visibly superior team. Then Jean-Claude Darcheville scored an (admittedly fine) break-away goal, and the ITV commentary started talking about a famous mugging. Needing 2 goals, Sporting poured forward, created plenty of chances, but couldn't score. Then substitute Steven Whittaker danced through a tired defence and scored another.

So Rangers are lucky, and they've had their fair share of luck all season, from the last Old Firm game to countless other matches throughout the season. They've frequently played poorly and with little guile, yet managed to put away their chances and keep the opposition out. They turned in possibly their worst performance in 10 years at Easter Road in December, for example, yet had the fortune to face a leaderless Hibs who played even worse.

Yet there is more to it than that. Firstly, Walter Smith has built a big squad that has a bit of talent but a lot of experience. People like Barry Ferguson, David Weir and Christian Dailly have seen it all, while Carlos Cuellar really deserves to be Scottish Player of the Year. But there is also the Uncle Watty and Super Ally show - the managerial duo have got the magic ingredient to making Rangers tick, all right.

First of all, Uncle Watty employs his familiar tactics... five across midfield, centre backs at full back, that sort of thing. Rangers are hard to break down. And then there is the Rangers affect... the boss and his sidekick are both confirmed bluenoses, and they've ensured the rest of the squad are too. The players seem willing to run through walls for the cause... and as the results have come in, the commitment has increased, keeping the run going. It's been a virtuous circle of Proddy graft (that's not sectarian, by the way) and a sense of grievance that this club went for two seasons without a single trophy.

How long will it last? Well, thanks to their extended European and domestic cup adventures, plus a catalogue of postponed fixtures, Rangers now face an immense backlog of matches that will test that squad and those tactics to the limit.

Well, it will if Celtic turn up for the final two Old Firm games. And if not them, surely Fiorentina will prove too much, with Barry Ferguson and Kevin Thomson (two thirds of the first choice midfield) suspended.

But then, who knows? If Rangers really are lucky, a quadruple is on the cards.

Game over - Rangers will take the title

Be in no doubt - Rangers will win the SPL this season. For Celtic to retain their title, Gordon Strachan will have to do what he has so far failed to do, and work out how to beat Uncle Watty's light blues. He'll then have to do the same again in the last Old Firm derby of the season. And then he'll have to hope that Rangers drop more points than them in their remaining 3 fixtures. Never gonna happen, in other words.

Only the most blinkered Rangers fan would deny that they've had a decent slice of luck this season, but that doesn't matter now. You could list at length the games in which Rangers have played poorly, but won because the opposition have been even worse, but it doesn't change the table. They are in driving seat, and that's all they will care about.

So Celtic's 3-in-a-row title aspirations are over, and the inquest will begin as to what went wrong, and whether Strachan is still the man to lead them. Celtic have - with the possible exception of the Champion's League - underperformed this season, after decent investment over the summer. Strachan strengthened the squad, but some of his acquisitions have disappointed - Donati, for instance - while others are forgotten already. The team has frequently been boring to watch, and ground out results against teams they should have steam-rollered.

This weekend, Derek Riordan went public on his "Celtic hell", accusing Strachan of refusing to play him now because he might do well, and therefore embarass the manager for having given him such limited opportunities up until now. Scott Brown - another ex-Hibee - looks a shadow of the player he was at Easter Road, arguably too restricted at Celtic to play his natural game.

It looks like a major re-build is required this summer, rather than some gentle tweaks. Will Strachan be the man to do it?

Dons dreaming of silverware

There isn't a happier man in Scotland today than Jimmy Calderwood. They say that to truly appreciate the highs, you have to experience the lows, and the Aberdeen manager can certainly claim to have had more than his fair share of bad days this season.

Consider this: after finishing 3rd and qualifying for the UEFA Cup last season, Calderwood lost some vital members of his squad and went hunting in the sales for some bargains. He had mixed results, and this term Aberdeen are currently languishing down in 8th place and struggling to make the top 6 before the split.

If Aberdeen do play out their final round of fixtures in the bottom half of the table, it will reduce the crowds still further, the fans already hacked off by lack of investment from the chairman, indifferent performances, and the "tactical tombola" which made it impossible to predict the line-up and system from week to week.

The criticism has hurt Calderwood, who has long felt under-appreciated in Scotland, aware that he is no longer a young, up and coming manager, but one whose career has not reached the heights he had hoped for. This season, he has felt let down by the board and let down by his squad. First he threatened to leave if not given certain assurances about his budget. More recently, he threatened a mass clear-out at the end of the season, saying that some of his players "weren't as good as they thought they were".

In contrast, the UEFA Cup campaign was generally regarded as a success, its high point coming when Aberdeen held Bayern Munich 2-2 at a rocking Pittodrie, reminding everyone of the passion the club can generate when circumstances are right. That evening was one to be cherished, though, because Aberdeen then got spanked in Munich, ending the adventure in no uncertain terms.

And then to the Scottish Cup, a competition that Calderwood reveres. Aberdeen were minutes from a shock win over Celtic, before a late equaliser took them to a replay in Glasgow. Calderwood seemed crushed - Aberdeen's chance had surely gone.

So it seemed last night, as the first half was pretty much one way traffic, with Celtic on the attack and Aberdeen on the rocks. Calderwood may be a passionate and animated character on the touchline, but this masks a surprisingly reflective and observant side to his personality, and he was honest enough to admit that Aberdeen "rode their luck at times". Yet the luck held out, and a rare attack in the 68th minute yielded the only goal of the game, as Darren Mackie put Celtic out.

Aberdeen's prize is a semi-final against 1st Division Queen of the South, who are combative but limited. Aberdeen are clear favourites to go through, probably to meet Rangers in the final, assuming they dispose of Partick Thistle and then St Johnstone.

To lift the Cup, then, Aberdeen will probably have to beat both sides of the Old Firm. Not easy. But what an opportunity.

European success undermines Old Firm's moaning

Rangers might have benefitted from goal-keeping errors last night, but the 2-0 result against Werder Bremen gives them a great chance to get through to the UEFA Cup quarter finals. Walter Smith will have been pleased by his team's defence, with Christian Dailly and Brahim Hemdani in midfield snuffing out the opponent's attack. Rangers have now gone 19 games unbeaten, with a big enough squad to challenge both in Europe and at home at the same time.

Meanwhile, Celtic were clearly second-best against Barcelona, but the club still saw signs of progress, with Chief Executive Peter Lawwell saying he saw "no reason" why Celtic could not go one better next season and get through to the last eight of the Champions League.

Of course, once you are in the quarter finals of a knock-out competition, anything can happen.

So if Celtic and Rangers both think that getting to the latter stages of the Champions League or UEFA Cup are now realistic rather than hopeful ambitions, what exactly have they been moaning about all this time. The argument was that the SPL was holding them back, that they would never be able to reach their potential while "forced" to compete in poor old Scotland. They lobbied and lobbied to be allowed to join the English Premiership so that they could provide the success that their huge fanbases deserved.

Of course, there is no chance of them doing that now, and it turns out that the SPL isn't all that bad after all. It's not the most exciting or richest league in Europe, but it doesn't seem to be doing too badly for the Old Firm at the moment.

Celtic's bootroom

So Celtic got comprehensively outplayed on Wednesday night, the 3-2 scoreline hardly reflecting Barcelona's dominance. An exclusive photo from the Celtic bootroom gives us all some valuable insight into what went wrong: http://i29.tinypic.com/33tqeqb.jpg


Copied without kind permission from some blogger or other.

This doesn't look like happy ever after

Ah, Gretna FC, the fairytale club with a place in all our hearts. Once bumping around in English non-League football, they got bought by charismatic uncle-figure Brooks Mileson, jumped ship into Scottish football, and powered their way up the divisions into the SPL.

Or a tiny provincial club that became the play thing of a multi-millionaire, who despite their delapitdated stadium and average attendances in the low hundreds, bullied their way to the top table simply through spending way more money than anyone else.

They may be fondly spoken of at Hearts, ever since their 2006 Scottish Cup final together, but most of Scottish football regards them with little affection. Once in the SPL, Gretna struggled, but rather than use the January transfer window to get in some more players, the club released most of their higher earners, leaving them pitifully ill-equipped for survival. As a result, the relegation "battle" is dead - Gretna are certainties to go back down, as they are currently 9 points below a surely uncatchable Kilmarnock.

You could reasonably ask what the point of it all was, but events took a dramatic twist when the players weren't paid on Monday. Gretna implied this was merely because Mileson is in hospital and unable to sign the cheque, which at the very least shows how utterly dependent the club is on one man. But it also suggests that things could be much, much worse than that... if Mileson either won't or can't prop them up anymore, the club will be in serious financial shit. Chief exec Graham Muir today admitted that administration is a possibility.

To their credit, the players said they were more worried about the sick boss than their wages. Somewhat charmlessly, the management team - Davie Irons and Derek Collins - jumped ship to Morton.

Mileson seemed to think he could buy his way into the big time, but it's a lot more complicated than that. Ambitious clubs need to grow organically, attracting bigger crowds and building the infrastructure as they do so. Clubs like Falkirk show it can be done.

But the SPL is no place for village pub teams.

Rangers fundraising is second to none

4 points clear in the SPL, after two seasons in which their bitter, bitter rivals have taken the title with ease, domestic treble still on, and the latter stages of the UEFA Cup to look forward to... Rangers have a lot still to play for this season. So what do they do? Why, try and sell some players of course.

Daniel Cousin may still move to Fulham before the transfer window shuts, although it will take dispensation from UEFA as he has already played for 2 clubs this season. If he does, the reputed £3m fee will be a healthy profit on the £1m or so paid for him in August - good business you might say.

But that deal is dwarfed by the one that got Alan Hutton to Tottenham yesterday. Rangers are getting £9m for a player from their youth system, who little over a year ago might have been going out on loan elsewhere in Scotland rather than down to the bright lights of the English Premiership.

Why are they selling now? It's simple - Rangers need the money. The debt is hard to measure, but generally estimated at around £50m. Hence the panic when Hutton initially turned the Spurs move down... he was called into the chairman's offices in Edinburgh for a friendly chat, the end result of which was a £1m sweetener from Rangers to add to the fairly compelling £30k + weekly wages he'll be picking up in England.

Of course, it's also an astonishing lump of cash. Hibs sold a full back to the Premiership this month, too, when David Murphy went to Birmingham for £2m. He was widely recognised as the best full back in Scotland (although left rather than right), so why the massive discrepancy in price. Well, Hutton has (some) European experience - so double the fee. And he's a full international - so double the fee again? It seems crazy, but Spurs were happy to pay even more than that.

So there you have it - Scotland's record transfer is a full back. Crazy stuff.

Now it's Burley's turn to fulfil the promise

According to the BBC and everyone else, the Scottish Football Association will announce tomorrow morning that George Burley is the new manager. They've taken their time over the appointment, and they've made a good decision.

Burley electrified Scottish football in 2005 when he put took charge at Hearts, put together a new team very quickly, and took the club on an unbeaten run to the top of the SPL, before being sacked by Vladimir Romanov for his impudence.

But he's got more than that to his bow... he's been doing a decent job with limited resources at Southampton, and previously took Ipswich into Europe. Of course, he also got Ipswich relegated too, but he's hardly the first coach to suffer from 2nd Season Syndrome at a club that's been recently promoted.

He's a tracksuit manager, keen to get involved in training sessions, and is used to working with relatively unheralded players and getting them to perform. His man-management and motivational skills will be needed if Scotland are going to build on their progress over the past few years. The squad is improving all the time, but still needs careful attention.

The timing's as good as it gets for an international coach, though... he'll have the home nation championship to practise in before the World Cup qualifying starts in the autumn.

The only other serious option was Mark McGhee, but given what's happened at Motherwell this season it's no shame for him to stay where he is and put his energies into that job.

Good luck to Burley and Scotland. He's the right choice.

Hibs look to the future as Mixu Paatelainen signs on for the 3rd time

Hibernian filled their managerial vacancy today after 3 long weeks, with Mixu Paatelainen the chosen man. After two spells as a player, and interviewed for the post last year before losing out to John Collins, Paatelainen now has the chance to succeed in the job he has openly coveted for some time.

He is an enormously popular figure at Easter Road, and just the appointment to lift the despondency of the past 2 months, following Hibs' horrendous slump in form and Collins' resignation.

Mixu Paatelainen played at a number of clubs during a long career, including Aberdeen and St Johnstone, but he really made a lasting impression at two. He is still a cult hero at Bolton, and secured a place in the affections of Hibs fans when he scored a hat trick in their rampaging win an Edinburgh derby in 2000. He was never the most technically able striker, but he played with his heart on his sleeve, and his trademark cartwheel celebration was quite something from such a chunky, well-built man.

He then left for Strasbourg, but returned to Edinburgh after just a season. Famously, he then resigned for Hibs after bumping into then manager Bobby Williamson during a training run around Arthur's Seat.

He has now served a manager's apprentice at Cowdenbeath and TPS Turku, which is more experience than Tony Mowbray and John Collins had.

It's now time to see if that experience can be put to good use.

How is Alec McLeish getting on down in England?

As one of the highest profile Scottish managers, and one who was desperate to test himself in the Premiership, it's worth checking in to see just how Big Eck is getting on at Birmingham.

Well, losing to Huddersfield in the FA Cup last weekend wasn't clever, but he knows he will be judged at the end of the season on whether Birmingham manage to avoid relegation or not, and nothing else really matters. In that regard, he seems to have improved performances and shown himself to be a more shrewd operator than Steve Bruce, although that isn't hard.

Having taken time to assess the squad, though, he has decided that he needs new signings in January in order to keep the club away from the Premiership trap door. The players aren't good enough and, in his own words, "the Birmingham fans deserve better".

Here he's been very consistent - when he joined the club he praised the wonderful fans, took time out to do the same in his first post-match press conference, and again doffed his gap to the magnificent support he and his coaching team received during their first home game.

Say what you like about him, but he knows how important it is to ingratiate himself with the people who pay his wages.

Sober start to the year as Scottish football mourns

The past week has, of course, been overshadowed by the death of Phil O'Donnell last Saturday. Suddenly, football has not seemed so important.

This funeral today was a mark of the respect held for the man in the game, with hundreds of mourners paying their respects. Now life will go on, but the repercussions from his death will continue for some time.

Firstly, Phil O'Donnell is not the first footballer to die from sudden heart failure, and while the player's union has advocated mandatory screening for players, others, such as Gary Caldwell, have asked for research into the food supplements and additives that are now widespread in the professional game.

Yet the truth is that, if a athletic young man dies suddenly, and the cause isn't suicide, violence or and accident, heart failure is often considered as the next alternative. It's rare, but not unheard of. It would seem it will take significantly more research to find out why.

Secondly, the authorities need to look at themselves, and ask why they accepted Celtic's request to postpone their game this week, but refused Dundee Utd's. While there were valid arguments for carrying on with the fixtures, or postponing them all, the compromise reached was disgraceful. It seemed to say that Celtic's grief for an ex-player was more important than that of the Dundee Utd team, who had watched a fellow player drop down dead in front of them 4 days earlier.

Motherwell won't play this weekend, either, but for the rest of the SPL, it's back to business.