When St Johnstone beat Hibs 5-1 in mid-February, it was the Hibees' John Hughes who came under pressure. After a promising start to the season, the wheels had come off and they had been hammered by a newly promoted team who many had expected to be fighting for SPL survival this season.
What to say now, after the Perth side beat Rangers 4-1 last night?
Well, firstly, credit where it's due. Let's not talk about Rangers, but rather how the home team once again turned in an energetic and astute performance, and thoroughly deserved their win.
They were helped on their way by an outrageous strike from on-loan Cillian Sheridan (who has generally disappointed) and a deflected shot that wrong-footed Alan MacGregor. But Rangers got a goal back to make the scoreline 2-1 after just 16 minutes. Surely enough time for the Champions Elect to mount a comeback? Clearly not.
But we also have to mention that, as with his predecessor Owen Coyle, manager Derek McInnes will be attracting a lot of interest from other clubs now. Saints have probably managed to fend off any would-be new employers until the summer, but may struggle to hold on to their gaffer for next season.
Mind you, if they can keep finding people like him and Coyle to run the club, there won't be much to worry about.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Mowbray loses job he never understood
When we posted yesterday about this lacklustre Scottish football season, it was assuming there were few surprises left to maintain interest this season.
But St Mirren thumping Celtic 4-0 is one of the biggest surprises you could hope for. Especially when the Buddies were supposedly licking their wounds after blowing a great chance to win the League Cup, while Celtic were supposedly in fighting form.
St Mirren were slick and incisive last night, but the best footage came from off the field. Tony Mowbray held his head in his hands, while Sellick chief Peter Lawwell thought about which plate he'd use to serve the gaffer's head on.
So that's it - the inventor of the Celtic huddle and man to bring expansive, attacking football back to Parkhead is gone, along with his backroom team, with Neil Lennon appointed caretaker.
The fresh, enthusiastic young coach who had got his first management job at Hibs had never returned to Scotland. Instead, the Tony Mowbray who came back to Celtic was surly and defensive in public, and seemed to lack authority.
His final comments as Celtic manager were as mealy-mouthed as many of his press conferences: "Maybe it isn't a league for trying to force the game and being expansive - maybe it's a league for playing defensive, negative football, and having the quality upfront to counter-attack."
Hmm, Tony. Maybe, if one of your players earns more than your opponent's entire squad, then the onus is on you to try and break them down. And maybe, just maybe, good managers rebuild their team while still getting results on the field, rather than rip up the entire backline mid-season and then wonder why you are leaking goals.
Walter Smith - a man with his own problems - has made Mowbray look like a rookie this season, not a man with two previous jobs in his cv and a supposedly strong conviction about how the game should be played.
Ultimately, Mowbray looked out of his depth, unable to handle the expectations that go with the job.
But St Mirren thumping Celtic 4-0 is one of the biggest surprises you could hope for. Especially when the Buddies were supposedly licking their wounds after blowing a great chance to win the League Cup, while Celtic were supposedly in fighting form.
St Mirren were slick and incisive last night, but the best footage came from off the field. Tony Mowbray held his head in his hands, while Sellick chief Peter Lawwell thought about which plate he'd use to serve the gaffer's head on.
So that's it - the inventor of the Celtic huddle and man to bring expansive, attacking football back to Parkhead is gone, along with his backroom team, with Neil Lennon appointed caretaker.
The fresh, enthusiastic young coach who had got his first management job at Hibs had never returned to Scotland. Instead, the Tony Mowbray who came back to Celtic was surly and defensive in public, and seemed to lack authority.
His final comments as Celtic manager were as mealy-mouthed as many of his press conferences: "Maybe it isn't a league for trying to force the game and being expansive - maybe it's a league for playing defensive, negative football, and having the quality upfront to counter-attack."
Hmm, Tony. Maybe, if one of your players earns more than your opponent's entire squad, then the onus is on you to try and break them down. And maybe, just maybe, good managers rebuild their team while still getting results on the field, rather than rip up the entire backline mid-season and then wonder why you are leaking goals.
Walter Smith - a man with his own problems - has made Mowbray look like a rookie this season, not a man with two previous jobs in his cv and a supposedly strong conviction about how the game should be played.
Ultimately, Mowbray looked out of his depth, unable to handle the expectations that go with the job.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Hopes rest on Ross County
Not been a vintage season, has it?
It started with Livingston's demotion to Division Three, and the usual rank rotten contributions by Scottish clubs in Europe. And now, for many fans, it's over before the end of March.
The SPL title race has been run, and only protocol prevents the handing of the trophy to Rangers now. Discounting the Scottish Cup, the Old Firm have little left to play for this season.
Hibs' season finished last night, when they were dumped out of that competition by Ross County. It's amazing to think that in late January, with Sol Bamba returning from the African Cup of Nations, many commentators were suggesting Hibs could finish above Celtic in the league and maybe - just maybe - end their 108 year hurt in the Cup.
Instead, after making hard work of the easiest possible draw all the way through, they are licking their wounds again, and wondering where the next win might come from. Hibs' traditional post-New Year slump has been more brutal than usual this year.
Dundee Utd and Motherwell may well be duking it out from 3rd spot til the last game of the season, but given our nation's woeful record in Europe, will it really matter?
And Hearts, having all but secured the top six and won a derby, will probably consider their business done for the season. They've nothing else to play for.
Falkirk, meanwhile, ain't dead and buried yet, but they still look odds-on for relegation. Unless they actually haul themselves off the bottom of the table, we'll struggle to get interested in this one too.
So well done to Ross County. Their victory over Hibs in the Scottish Cup has been described as the biggest result in the club's history, and was celebrated with a proper old-fashioned pitch invasion. Their prize is a semi-final against Celtic at Hampden.
Please, oh please, let them win that one as well.
It started with Livingston's demotion to Division Three, and the usual rank rotten contributions by Scottish clubs in Europe. And now, for many fans, it's over before the end of March.
The SPL title race has been run, and only protocol prevents the handing of the trophy to Rangers now. Discounting the Scottish Cup, the Old Firm have little left to play for this season.
Hibs' season finished last night, when they were dumped out of that competition by Ross County. It's amazing to think that in late January, with Sol Bamba returning from the African Cup of Nations, many commentators were suggesting Hibs could finish above Celtic in the league and maybe - just maybe - end their 108 year hurt in the Cup.
Instead, after making hard work of the easiest possible draw all the way through, they are licking their wounds again, and wondering where the next win might come from. Hibs' traditional post-New Year slump has been more brutal than usual this year.
Dundee Utd and Motherwell may well be duking it out from 3rd spot til the last game of the season, but given our nation's woeful record in Europe, will it really matter?
And Hearts, having all but secured the top six and won a derby, will probably consider their business done for the season. They've nothing else to play for.
Falkirk, meanwhile, ain't dead and buried yet, but they still look odds-on for relegation. Unless they actually haul themselves off the bottom of the table, we'll struggle to get interested in this one too.
So well done to Ross County. Their victory over Hibs in the Scottish Cup has been described as the biggest result in the club's history, and was celebrated with a proper old-fashioned pitch invasion. Their prize is a semi-final against Celtic at Hampden.
Please, oh please, let them win that one as well.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Stumbles of the also-rans
The SPL split has not been universally liked since its introduction, but it does add interest as the clubs move towards the end of the season.
If the first half of this campaign was all about the narrowing of the gap between the Old Firm and the rest, the second half has asked some serious questions about those pretenders to the crown. And in most cases, they are falling flat.
Hibs boss John Hughes made 3rd place an explicit target - and they are now in 5th.
Aberdeen have been inconsistent all season, so it was no surprise that just as Mark McGhee expressed the opinion that the top six was still possible, they lost to St Johnstone to make that target look very remote.
And Hearts continue in the same vein - returning Jambo Jim Jefferies was bold enough to tell us all that Mister Romanov was very happy with progress so far... and his club celebrated by capitulating to Motherwell.
Ah, Motherwell, who are now fourth, on the back of an impressive run masterminded by wily pensioner Craig Brown. Unlikely as it seemed a few months ago, you can't now rule them out for third spot.
That depends on Dundee Utd, of course, who alone amongst this gang have shown consistency all season - all the more impressive given that Craig Levein left half way through.
To really shake up the SPL, it needs not only the Old Firm to reign in their previous excesses, but at least a couple of the others to shake off previous bad habits and put a sustained challenge together. If Motherwell and the Arabs are fighting for third, then you have to say that better-resourced clubs like Hibs and Aberdeen are falling short.
If the first half of this campaign was all about the narrowing of the gap between the Old Firm and the rest, the second half has asked some serious questions about those pretenders to the crown. And in most cases, they are falling flat.
Hibs boss John Hughes made 3rd place an explicit target - and they are now in 5th.
Aberdeen have been inconsistent all season, so it was no surprise that just as Mark McGhee expressed the opinion that the top six was still possible, they lost to St Johnstone to make that target look very remote.
And Hearts continue in the same vein - returning Jambo Jim Jefferies was bold enough to tell us all that Mister Romanov was very happy with progress so far... and his club celebrated by capitulating to Motherwell.
Ah, Motherwell, who are now fourth, on the back of an impressive run masterminded by wily pensioner Craig Brown. Unlikely as it seemed a few months ago, you can't now rule them out for third spot.
That depends on Dundee Utd, of course, who alone amongst this gang have shown consistency all season - all the more impressive given that Craig Levein left half way through.
To really shake up the SPL, it needs not only the Old Firm to reign in their previous excesses, but at least a couple of the others to shake off previous bad habits and put a sustained challenge together. If Motherwell and the Arabs are fighting for third, then you have to say that better-resourced clubs like Hibs and Aberdeen are falling short.
Wednesday, March 03, 2010
Levein hopes for a fresh start
Scotland kick off under another new manager tonight, as Craig Levein appears in the dug out for the first time for the friendly against the Czech Republic.
As the Czech Republic are also in Scotland's qualifying group for Euro 2012, both sides will put a little more importance on this knock about than usual.
The build up has, of course, been all about Levein's willingness to invite the Rangers bad boys back into the fold. He's extended invites to all of them, but only Kris Boyd will be involved this evening - Barry Ferguson apparently has a bye until next season, Lee McCulloch is injured, and Alan McGregor is helping the police with their inquiries / injured too.
And Boyd will be starting on the bench, both because Kenny Miller is the designated man for the "run about on your own up front and see if anything happens" role, and probably because there's a little public penance he has to pay before being inevitably summoned to take to the field.
We're pretty pragmatic about all this - it's true that Scotland have a limited pool of talent to choose from, so can't afford to exclude people for past misdemeanours.
But we'd distinguish between these four. Ferguson has been in fine form for Birmingham this season, and if he was as willing to play the holding midfield role for Scotland - rather than start strutting around the park like a cockerel - then he could definitely play a role. Boyd, meanwhile, is Scotland's best finisher, and has shown a little more to his game this season.
But McCulloch and MacGregor are both liabilities, and there are better players in their positions. Levein should move on.
As the Czech Republic are also in Scotland's qualifying group for Euro 2012, both sides will put a little more importance on this knock about than usual.
The build up has, of course, been all about Levein's willingness to invite the Rangers bad boys back into the fold. He's extended invites to all of them, but only Kris Boyd will be involved this evening - Barry Ferguson apparently has a bye until next season, Lee McCulloch is injured, and Alan McGregor is helping the police with their inquiries / injured too.
And Boyd will be starting on the bench, both because Kenny Miller is the designated man for the "run about on your own up front and see if anything happens" role, and probably because there's a little public penance he has to pay before being inevitably summoned to take to the field.
We're pretty pragmatic about all this - it's true that Scotland have a limited pool of talent to choose from, so can't afford to exclude people for past misdemeanours.
But we'd distinguish between these four. Ferguson has been in fine form for Birmingham this season, and if he was as willing to play the holding midfield role for Scotland - rather than start strutting around the park like a cockerel - then he could definitely play a role. Boyd, meanwhile, is Scotland's best finisher, and has shown a little more to his game this season.
But McCulloch and MacGregor are both liabilities, and there are better players in their positions. Levein should move on.
Tuesday, March 02, 2010
Lost in Sectarianism
And so to one of our irregular features on We Love Fitba, which we'll call Lost in Sectarianism in a nod to the Marina Hyde blog in the Guardian.
It's Sunday, and we're at Ibrox, for the third Old Firm match of the season, one that Celtic had to win to maintain any hope of winning the title. But it was off the field where the other battle for (moral) superiority in Glasgow was waged.
Here's the developments so far, but don't feel guilty if you feel like nodding off at any point. Falling asleep with boredom is far preferable to contemplating the depressing reality of Old Firm sectarian hand-wringing in the 21st century.
Rangers elected to begin the afternoon's proceedings with a minute's silence for Gerry Neef. Gerry who? you might say, but obscurity is no barrier to sanctimony these days, especially if your next game is against your hated rivals and you'd just love an opportunity to try and show them up.
Truth be told, if you found 10 Rangers fans who claimed detailed knowledge of Gerry Neef's career at the club, at least nine of them would be lying (he made a total of 48 appearances in the late 60s / early 70s). Nontheless, they all now demanded a minute's silence so that they could pay their respects to a man most had never heard of.
As it happens, the silence was fairly well observed, even though it was reported as "disrupted" in most media reports. Whether it was really disrupted by a handful of Celtic morons, or a larger mob of Rangers fans just itching to shout "scummy bastards!" as soon as they heard a pin drop, is open to debate.
But this episode was just the warm-up to the afternoon's main show piece. Rangers Community Foundation had chosen this match as the ideal event to honour Falkland's vet Simon Weston, who'd given a talk to the Foundation the day before.
Hmm, the Falkland Islands? Haven't they been in the news recently? Surely Rangers wouldn't co-opt one man's terrible injuries and inspirational recovery to make a political point? Are we really that cynical these days?
Sure enough, as Simon Weston was presented with his royal blue shirt at half time, the cameras scanned the Celtic enclosure, seeking any sign of disrespect. The headline just waiting for a story? Rangers support Our Boys. Fenian "scummy bastards" don't.
They found a Celtic fan waving an Argentina shirt around, Scotland's second favourite strip since 1986. This, it was deemed by the Sun, was enough to run the story about how a "twisted Celtic fan" taunted a war hero.
Spurred on by faux outrage, there's now a facebook page where you can register your own disgust at his behaviour, and help to track the offending tim down.
Of course, it is almost too easy to point out that cheap finger-pointing like this is all the more embarassing when it involves a man who met and befriended the Argentinian pilot who dropped the bomb that injured him so badly.
In other words, Simon Weston demonstrates forgiveness and understanding, and a mature world view that our two bigot brothers could barely comprehend, let alone emulate. If Rangers wanted to "honour" this man, maybe trying to build bridges with their neighbour, rather than perpetually wind them up, might be more appropriate?
It might also be stated that - at a time when the prospective next Foreign Secretary of the UK has recently tried to reprise the jingoistic fervour of the Falklands conflict - there has never been a better time to dig out our Argentina shirts and show that we, as a people, have moved on.
But no, Rangers have been declared winners in this round, so we must direct our anger as appropriate. Exploiting charitably-minded war heroes for cheap stunts is fine. Holding a national shirt of another country should be a criminal offence.
It's Sunday, and we're at Ibrox, for the third Old Firm match of the season, one that Celtic had to win to maintain any hope of winning the title. But it was off the field where the other battle for (moral) superiority in Glasgow was waged.
Here's the developments so far, but don't feel guilty if you feel like nodding off at any point. Falling asleep with boredom is far preferable to contemplating the depressing reality of Old Firm sectarian hand-wringing in the 21st century.
Rangers elected to begin the afternoon's proceedings with a minute's silence for Gerry Neef. Gerry who? you might say, but obscurity is no barrier to sanctimony these days, especially if your next game is against your hated rivals and you'd just love an opportunity to try and show them up.
Truth be told, if you found 10 Rangers fans who claimed detailed knowledge of Gerry Neef's career at the club, at least nine of them would be lying (he made a total of 48 appearances in the late 60s / early 70s). Nontheless, they all now demanded a minute's silence so that they could pay their respects to a man most had never heard of.
As it happens, the silence was fairly well observed, even though it was reported as "disrupted" in most media reports. Whether it was really disrupted by a handful of Celtic morons, or a larger mob of Rangers fans just itching to shout "scummy bastards!" as soon as they heard a pin drop, is open to debate.
But this episode was just the warm-up to the afternoon's main show piece. Rangers Community Foundation had chosen this match as the ideal event to honour Falkland's vet Simon Weston, who'd given a talk to the Foundation the day before.
Hmm, the Falkland Islands? Haven't they been in the news recently? Surely Rangers wouldn't co-opt one man's terrible injuries and inspirational recovery to make a political point? Are we really that cynical these days?
Sure enough, as Simon Weston was presented with his royal blue shirt at half time, the cameras scanned the Celtic enclosure, seeking any sign of disrespect. The headline just waiting for a story? Rangers support Our Boys. Fenian "scummy bastards" don't.
They found a Celtic fan waving an Argentina shirt around, Scotland's second favourite strip since 1986. This, it was deemed by the Sun, was enough to run the story about how a "twisted Celtic fan" taunted a war hero.
Spurred on by faux outrage, there's now a facebook page where you can register your own disgust at his behaviour, and help to track the offending tim down.
Of course, it is almost too easy to point out that cheap finger-pointing like this is all the more embarassing when it involves a man who met and befriended the Argentinian pilot who dropped the bomb that injured him so badly.
In other words, Simon Weston demonstrates forgiveness and understanding, and a mature world view that our two bigot brothers could barely comprehend, let alone emulate. If Rangers wanted to "honour" this man, maybe trying to build bridges with their neighbour, rather than perpetually wind them up, might be more appropriate?
It might also be stated that - at a time when the prospective next Foreign Secretary of the UK has recently tried to reprise the jingoistic fervour of the Falklands conflict - there has never been a better time to dig out our Argentina shirts and show that we, as a people, have moved on.
But no, Rangers have been declared winners in this round, so we must direct our anger as appropriate. Exploiting charitably-minded war heroes for cheap stunts is fine. Holding a national shirt of another country should be a criminal offence.
Monday, March 01, 2010
Dons adrift
If it's now a certainty that Celtic have blown the SPL this season, it's almost as certain that Aberdeen won't even make the top six. Mark McGhee has said as much himself. They are now eight points adrift of sixth place Hearts, and surely won't make up that deficit before the split.
The Dons were simply awful on Saturday. For periods of the game their players were absolutely static, neither closing down Hearts when defending, or showing any invention or energy when in possession.
The goal that decided the match - an overhead effort from Eggert Jonsson - really had no place in such a drab encounter, but then Aberdeen can have no complaints. And considering that Hearts weren't all that good, and had Larry Kingston sent off after an hour, that is a damning verdict on their performance.
Where do Aberdeen go from here? Fewer than 9,000 bothered turning up for this one, and the gate will probably drop even further for the rest of the season. Yet the support's indifference is more than matched by the club - they have a manager who openly covets the Celtic job, and an owner who won't or can't outline a plan to take Aberdeen forward.
Instead, they just drift, like a supply ship that's run out of diesel on the North Sea. It's not doing Aberdeen, or Scottish football, any favours at all.
The Dons were simply awful on Saturday. For periods of the game their players were absolutely static, neither closing down Hearts when defending, or showing any invention or energy when in possession.
The goal that decided the match - an overhead effort from Eggert Jonsson - really had no place in such a drab encounter, but then Aberdeen can have no complaints. And considering that Hearts weren't all that good, and had Larry Kingston sent off after an hour, that is a damning verdict on their performance.
Where do Aberdeen go from here? Fewer than 9,000 bothered turning up for this one, and the gate will probably drop even further for the rest of the season. Yet the support's indifference is more than matched by the club - they have a manager who openly covets the Celtic job, and an owner who won't or can't outline a plan to take Aberdeen forward.
Instead, they just drift, like a supply ship that's run out of diesel on the North Sea. It's not doing Aberdeen, or Scottish football, any favours at all.
Rangers win the SPL
Well, it's all over now, isn't it? Rangers won the Old Firm derby yesterday and are now 10 points clear - there's no way Celtic are coming back from there.
Tony Mowbray could point out that the match was very even, that maybe a few decisions went against them (fuelling the current sense of injustice at Celtic) - and he'd be right.
But then everyone else could point out that truly clever managers find a way to keep getting results while changing their team. Instead, Celtic have dropped far too many points while Mowbray has tried to get to grips with the job. Walter Smith - a man with his own problems to deal with - has basically mugged him this season.
It means the title race has basically been decided before the split, not what the SPL needs to maintain interest in the rest of the season.
Any consolations? Well, we probably already know the make-up of the top six (Aberdeen look out of it) and Dundee Utd, Hibs, Hearts and Motherwell could yet give us some twists and turns in the battle for two qualifying spots in the Europa League.
And maybe, just maybe, Falkirk will pick themselves up and make a real fight of staying in the Division.
Tony Mowbray could point out that the match was very even, that maybe a few decisions went against them (fuelling the current sense of injustice at Celtic) - and he'd be right.
But then everyone else could point out that truly clever managers find a way to keep getting results while changing their team. Instead, Celtic have dropped far too many points while Mowbray has tried to get to grips with the job. Walter Smith - a man with his own problems to deal with - has basically mugged him this season.
It means the title race has basically been decided before the split, not what the SPL needs to maintain interest in the rest of the season.
Any consolations? Well, we probably already know the make-up of the top six (Aberdeen look out of it) and Dundee Utd, Hibs, Hearts and Motherwell could yet give us some twists and turns in the battle for two qualifying spots in the Europa League.
And maybe, just maybe, Falkirk will pick themselves up and make a real fight of staying in the Division.
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