When you're struggling, nothing matters more than a result. With last week dominated by stories of supporter disquiet at both Rangers and Hibs, both clubs badly needed a win this weekend.
Rangers got a nervy win over Falkirk (and their mood was further improved by Aberdeen's victory over Celtic), helping the fans to forget for a moment that someone needs to be sold by the end of the month - possibly still Saturday's match winner, Kris Boyd.
And Hibs beat St Mirren 2-0 at Easter Road, keeping them in touch with the usual suspects for 3rd place. Skipper Rob Jones had by all accounts a perfect afternoon, with a commanding performance in defence and the opening goal, while Hibee enigma Derek Riordan scored the second with a trademark finish from the edge of the box.
A much needed 3 points then, but this has been a pretty gloomy season for Hibs so far. Yes there in the top 6 but so they damn well should be, given their financial advantage over St Mirren, Falkirk and the rest. Memories of disappointments - like the toothless defeat against Hearts in the Scottish Cup - linger long.
Hibs simply can't put a decent run together, and although they have enough front to score goals, they rarely dominate games.
Mixu Paatelainen has been in the job a year now, and although he claims to have a clear plan about the team he's trying to build, it's not always obvious. He doesn't so much chop and change formations as pick one for a few games, then swap it for another for a while.
He's a former player and Hibs fan, which does endear him to the support, but unfortunately during matchdays he often behaves like a fan rather than a manager. Jumping around, shouting and jabbing his finger, he looks as if he'd be more at home on the East terracing than in the dug out.
Hibs are on their 6th manager since 2000, but they tend to leave rather than get sacked and there's little appetite for another change now. The board won't sack him so long as results don't dive. But now would be a good time to show what he's all about.
Plenty of fans just don't think he's up to the job.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Friday, January 16, 2009
Rangers fans want better, but Murray ain't listening
If you're a club running 2nd in the race for a title you've craved for years, what's worse than selling your leading striker? How about trying to sell your striker and failing - leaving you with one potentially grumpy player, the same pressing debts that obliged you to accept a bid in the first place, and exposing a massive rift between the club and its fans?
David Murray doesn't have his problems to seek at the moment, but he's coming out fighting. After the launch of a Rangers Supporters Trust campaign called "We deserve better", Murray dismissed them as "not exactly captains of industry".
Yup, the faithful ain't happy, but their chairman isn't listening. Unless Murray manages to sell the club (which looks less and less likely by the day), Rangers are stuck with him, and he'll run the club as he sees fit, thanks very much. After all, he's a successful businessman, while they... are not.
Fine, but there's a couple of flaws in this argument. Firstly, it's not hard to pick holes in the way Rangers have been managed by Murray, not least the disastruous spending spree under Dick Advocaat that saddled the club with debt it just can't shake off.
Then there's his other businesses. Murray International Holdings is held up in the Scottish press as one of the country's most successful private companies, but increasingly, questions are being asked about just how successful it is. It's main areas of operation apart from Rangers are commodities and property development - neither of which look sound investments right now. Because it's private, of course, it's impossible to get a really accurate idea of the company's state of health. One thing for sure is that things will only get tougher in the year ahead.
It's fair to say that not all Rangers fans are behind the "We deserve better" campaign, perhaps in part because they realise there is no new investor waiting to pour money into the club. But at a time when a sizeable proportion of the support are demanding more, Murray is trying to lessen Rangers' dependence on him.
If Kris Boyd keeps digging his heels in over a move, someone else will have to go. It could get fraught.
David Murray doesn't have his problems to seek at the moment, but he's coming out fighting. After the launch of a Rangers Supporters Trust campaign called "We deserve better", Murray dismissed them as "not exactly captains of industry".
Yup, the faithful ain't happy, but their chairman isn't listening. Unless Murray manages to sell the club (which looks less and less likely by the day), Rangers are stuck with him, and he'll run the club as he sees fit, thanks very much. After all, he's a successful businessman, while they... are not.
Fine, but there's a couple of flaws in this argument. Firstly, it's not hard to pick holes in the way Rangers have been managed by Murray, not least the disastruous spending spree under Dick Advocaat that saddled the club with debt it just can't shake off.
Then there's his other businesses. Murray International Holdings is held up in the Scottish press as one of the country's most successful private companies, but increasingly, questions are being asked about just how successful it is. It's main areas of operation apart from Rangers are commodities and property development - neither of which look sound investments right now. Because it's private, of course, it's impossible to get a really accurate idea of the company's state of health. One thing for sure is that things will only get tougher in the year ahead.
It's fair to say that not all Rangers fans are behind the "We deserve better" campaign, perhaps in part because they realise there is no new investor waiting to pour money into the club. But at a time when a sizeable proportion of the support are demanding more, Murray is trying to lessen Rangers' dependence on him.
If Kris Boyd keeps digging his heels in over a move, someone else will have to go. It could get fraught.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Hearts deflect the flak by smashing Hibs
They say the sign of a good manager is pulling results out of the bag when it really matters, and Hearts boss Csaba Laszlo certainly pulled one out of the bag on Sunday by beating Hibs 2-0 in the 4th round of the Scottish Cup.
His team hadn't scored a goal since sometime last year, rumours are growing about imminent sales of players, and they performed miserably against Motherwell on Wednesday. Yet Hibs proved the perfect hosts, giving their opponents a much-needed victory.
The match turned just after the half hour mark, when Steven Fletcher got sent off for a dangerous foul, Hibs lost the plot, and Christian Nade scored. After that, there was only going to be one winner of this tie.
Hibs boss Mixu Paatelainen felt the sending off was wrong (he had a point) and that it changed the game. He was right here, too, because nothing he did after this moment had any impact. Down to 10 men, Hibs could not find a way back into the game. Derek Riordan - the player whose return from Celtic last August was described as a "statement of intent" by the club - was utterly anonymous right up until his substitution on the 65th minute, when he made an abusive guesture towards the Hearts fans and got booked for his trouble.
Forced to throw caution to the wind, defender Rob Jones went up front, leaving Hibs open to the counter attack which was smartly finished by Gary Glen.
Hearts have now won a 5th round tie at home to Falkirk, which is at least another matchday to bring in some cash.
As for Hibs, it's hard to see where they can go from here. They really need to finish 3rd if this season is not to be seen as a failure. That looks like a very slim hope.
More 4th round results here.
His team hadn't scored a goal since sometime last year, rumours are growing about imminent sales of players, and they performed miserably against Motherwell on Wednesday. Yet Hibs proved the perfect hosts, giving their opponents a much-needed victory.
The match turned just after the half hour mark, when Steven Fletcher got sent off for a dangerous foul, Hibs lost the plot, and Christian Nade scored. After that, there was only going to be one winner of this tie.
Hibs boss Mixu Paatelainen felt the sending off was wrong (he had a point) and that it changed the game. He was right here, too, because nothing he did after this moment had any impact. Down to 10 men, Hibs could not find a way back into the game. Derek Riordan - the player whose return from Celtic last August was described as a "statement of intent" by the club - was utterly anonymous right up until his substitution on the 65th minute, when he made an abusive guesture towards the Hearts fans and got booked for his trouble.
Forced to throw caution to the wind, defender Rob Jones went up front, leaving Hibs open to the counter attack which was smartly finished by Gary Glen.
Hearts have now won a 5th round tie at home to Falkirk, which is at least another matchday to bring in some cash.
As for Hibs, it's hard to see where they can go from here. They really need to finish 3rd if this season is not to be seen as a failure. That looks like a very slim hope.
More 4th round results here.
Friday, January 09, 2009
Hearts crisis overdue but still forecast
Csaba Laszlo has been one of the surprises of the SPL season. The man currently known as "Hearts manager" picked up a squad who had played miserably all of last season, and managed to at least get them back towards the top end of the table. In fact, in the run up to Christmas, the Jambos were starting to threaten a sustained push for 3rd.
Since then, though, the wheels have come off a bit. Hearts haven't scored a goal in around 5 hours of playing time, and there are signs that Laszlo has rinsed the maximum out of his squad already. His rigid 4-5-1 is hard to beat but hardly the most creative formation, and they created practically nothing against Motherwell on Wednesday.
It wasn't primarily the tactics that let them down, however, but the players' work rate, and Laszlo teared into them after the match. At least we think he did - the man likes to talk so much that it's quite easy to get bored long before he's done talking.
Hearts desperately need a striker, as big-boned Nade clearly doesn't cut it, Tulberg is perma-knacked, and the kids aren't considered good enough. Will Vlad cough up for one? Not if the persistent bad news about his business interests in accurate. They have signed Ian Black from Inverness on a pre-contract for next season, but he's the only addition so far.
It's very likely that Hearts will finish January with a weaker squad rather than a stronger one, as the club tries to get some big earners off the unreliable wage bill and cash in on any saleable assets.
Then we will really see what Laszlo is made of. In many ways, he seems similar to Valdas Ivanauskas - a decent coach, but who became more and more visibly stressed by the week and eventually had to be removed from his duties by Vlad for his own health.
Things have been unusually calm at Hearts for months, now, and this simply won't do while Romanov is still in control. Another meltdown is long overdue.
Since then, though, the wheels have come off a bit. Hearts haven't scored a goal in around 5 hours of playing time, and there are signs that Laszlo has rinsed the maximum out of his squad already. His rigid 4-5-1 is hard to beat but hardly the most creative formation, and they created practically nothing against Motherwell on Wednesday.
It wasn't primarily the tactics that let them down, however, but the players' work rate, and Laszlo teared into them after the match. At least we think he did - the man likes to talk so much that it's quite easy to get bored long before he's done talking.
Hearts desperately need a striker, as big-boned Nade clearly doesn't cut it, Tulberg is perma-knacked, and the kids aren't considered good enough. Will Vlad cough up for one? Not if the persistent bad news about his business interests in accurate. They have signed Ian Black from Inverness on a pre-contract for next season, but he's the only addition so far.
It's very likely that Hearts will finish January with a weaker squad rather than a stronger one, as the club tries to get some big earners off the unreliable wage bill and cash in on any saleable assets.
Then we will really see what Laszlo is made of. In many ways, he seems similar to Valdas Ivanauskas - a decent coach, but who became more and more visibly stressed by the week and eventually had to be removed from his duties by Vlad for his own health.
Things have been unusually calm at Hearts for months, now, and this simply won't do while Romanov is still in control. Another meltdown is long overdue.
Transfer windae update
It seems Kris Boyd's move to Birmingham is off, after failure to agree personal terms. This means one of two things - either Boyd is a greedy bastard who simply asked for too much money; or Boyd doesn't want to leave Rangers, and so set his wage demands unreasonably high so that Birmingham were compelled to reject them.
Alan Hutton was similarly reluctant to move to Spurs last January, until Rangers sweetened the deal to encourage him on his way. With a total of £4m on the table from the Midlands, though, and Killie due a reputed 15% of any transfer due to a selling-on clause, Rangers have much less cash to play with this time around.
Chairman Murray was on the offensive yesterday, saying it was "ridiculous" to suggest Rangers were a selling club. Well, obviously they are (Hutton and Carlos Cuellar being 2 sales in the past 12 months from the first team) and we're about to find out just how much they need some money this month. Chris Burke has gone on a free to Cardiff, but Alan Gow's £250,000 move to Wolves has broken down after he failed a medical. All this after Murray claimed that no one else would be sold apart from Boyd.
Rangers: skint, and looking increasingly desperate.
Alan Hutton was similarly reluctant to move to Spurs last January, until Rangers sweetened the deal to encourage him on his way. With a total of £4m on the table from the Midlands, though, and Killie due a reputed 15% of any transfer due to a selling-on clause, Rangers have much less cash to play with this time around.
Chairman Murray was on the offensive yesterday, saying it was "ridiculous" to suggest Rangers were a selling club. Well, obviously they are (Hutton and Carlos Cuellar being 2 sales in the past 12 months from the first team) and we're about to find out just how much they need some money this month. Chris Burke has gone on a free to Cardiff, but Alan Gow's £250,000 move to Wolves has broken down after he failed a medical. All this after Murray claimed that no one else would be sold apart from Boyd.
Rangers: skint, and looking increasingly desperate.
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
2009 explodes into life
Aside from the falling-out between Gordon Strachan and Aiden McGeady, 2008 ended a little flat for Scottish football. With no clubs left in Europe, domestic competition is all the clubs have, but the SPL title race is more of a procession this season, and the qualifying campaign for the 2010 World Cup isn't going all that well.
But the opening of the transfer window has thrown some much needed chaos into the mix. Suddenly, it seems there's no hiding place for clubs with debts to pay.
Extraordinarily for a club chasing in the championship race, Rangers have accepted a bid from Birmingham for top scorer Kris Boyd, and seem determined to get him off their books. Extraordinary, that is, unless you remember the transfer of Alan Hutton this time last year, when Rangers practically bribed their full-back to reluctantly accept a transfer to Spurs.
Boyd doesn't seem to want to go either, and the BBC is reporting that talks on personal terms have broken down. It does look as if this transfer has gone too far to fall down now, however.
It's clear that Rangers are skint and need the money... but still not at all clear as to why Walter Smith bought all those forwards in the summer - Kyle Lafferty, Kenny Miller and Andy Velicka - only to now sell Boyd. The lack of Champions League income is really hurting Rangers this season, and another trophy-light season is going to empty the coffers even more. If Ferguson is sold as well, expect the supporters to well and truly lose it.
It's possible that McGeady and Strachan may still kiss and make up, but there's a good chance the winger might still leave by the end of the month. With Rangers imploding and no European football til next season, Strachan will probably calculate that he can sell his most valued asset - and probably Boruc as well, if he wants - and still wrap up 4 in a row.
Meanwhile, tonight Motherwell beat Hearts 1-0, thanks to a goal from Chris Porter - the striker Hearts' boss Csaba Laszlo identified as a signing target. Sod's law, eh? Might teach him not to engage in grubby attempts to unsettle players before playing against them... it's not an attractive trait.
But the opening of the transfer window has thrown some much needed chaos into the mix. Suddenly, it seems there's no hiding place for clubs with debts to pay.
Extraordinarily for a club chasing in the championship race, Rangers have accepted a bid from Birmingham for top scorer Kris Boyd, and seem determined to get him off their books. Extraordinary, that is, unless you remember the transfer of Alan Hutton this time last year, when Rangers practically bribed their full-back to reluctantly accept a transfer to Spurs.
Boyd doesn't seem to want to go either, and the BBC is reporting that talks on personal terms have broken down. It does look as if this transfer has gone too far to fall down now, however.
It's clear that Rangers are skint and need the money... but still not at all clear as to why Walter Smith bought all those forwards in the summer - Kyle Lafferty, Kenny Miller and Andy Velicka - only to now sell Boyd. The lack of Champions League income is really hurting Rangers this season, and another trophy-light season is going to empty the coffers even more. If Ferguson is sold as well, expect the supporters to well and truly lose it.
It's possible that McGeady and Strachan may still kiss and make up, but there's a good chance the winger might still leave by the end of the month. With Rangers imploding and no European football til next season, Strachan will probably calculate that he can sell his most valued asset - and probably Boruc as well, if he wants - and still wrap up 4 in a row.
Meanwhile, tonight Motherwell beat Hearts 1-0, thanks to a goal from Chris Porter - the striker Hearts' boss Csaba Laszlo identified as a signing target. Sod's law, eh? Might teach him not to engage in grubby attempts to unsettle players before playing against them... it's not an attractive trait.
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