Gallus Scotland demand to be taken seriously

What a week! An morally satisfying victory over Lithuania on Saturday was followed on Wednesday night by a stunning win in Paris that leaves Scotland as very serious contenders for Euro 2008 qualification. If the chances of participating in the first major competition since the 1998 World Cup still seemed slightly fancifal a week ago, they now look very, very real.

Lithuania were eventually dispatched with goals from Kris Boyd, Stephen McManus and James McFadden, but not before Lithuania had scored a penalty to level the match at 1-1. Lithuania means mostly one thing to Scottish fans these days - it's the country which runs Hearts - and suitably it was a Hearts player, Saulius Mikoliunas, who conned the referee into giving the penalty, by falling over Darren Fletcher's non-challenge. Typically, this injustice rattled Scotland, but made the eventual win all the sweeter.

Not half as sweet as beating France, though. Scotland are now top of the group on 21 points. With Italy on 20 and France on 19, the job is far from complete, but the fact that Ukraine are now out of the picture on 13 is measure of just what Scotland have achieved so far. Most pundits predicted us finishing no higher than 4th.

Of course, beating France was no easy matter, with Scotland desperately hanging on at times against wave after wave of attack. But, as at Hampden last October, France could not find a way through. Scotland held their own in midfield, forcing their opponents to attack from the flanks, and then threw everything in the way of the ball. When all else failed, Craig Gordon furthered his own claim as one of the best emerging goalkeepers in the world with a number of breathtaking saves. Having given themselves a platform, McFadden then popped up to score the only goal of the game.

Last month, McLeish had talked about the gallus nature of players like McFadden and Scott Brown - a self-confidence, even cockiness, in their natures that allows them to ignore the natural order of things and refuse to accept that anyone is better than them. But the suspicion was that he was really talking about himself, and the attitude and belief now bursting out of the Scotland team. They may line up in a defensive 4-5-1 formation against the big teams in this group, but there is no sense of inferiority amongst the players once on the park.

Scotland now believe they can qualify for Euro 2008. Cocky? Maybe. But France and Italy now know they have a real fight on their hands.

Taking stock of the season ahead

It's early September, it's international week, and in the days ahead Scotland will be taking the next vital steps in their improbable campaign towards Euro 2008. Meanwhile, the SPL takes a break for 10 days, the transfer window is firmly shut, and the time is right to reflect on the past month and see how 2007/8 is panning out.

On the last day of August, the long running transfer saga of the summer finally ended with Steven Naismith joining Rangers for a little less than two million quid. Meanwhile, Kenny Miller, who six summers ago made a similar move, but from Hibs instead of Killie, left Celtic for Derby Country in search of first team football. He is not the only footballer to have played for both sides of the Old Firm, but he's possibly the first to have failed to fulfil his potential at either.

It will be fascinating to see if Naismith can avoid the same fate. His age practically guarantees a place in the matchday squad (3 of the 18 must be under 21) but getting regular games will be tougher. Rangers now have lots of choices upfront, and between them have scored lots of goals this season.

That Rangers suddenly have choices all over the park (their weakest position looks to be left back) is thanks to heavy spending in the summer. The owner, David Murray, took plenty of stick from the fans after a second season without a trophy, but he has backed his manager, no question. In fact, Walter Smith admitted that they had spent over-budget, and that was before the fee for Naismith. If Rangers had failed to get through to the group stages of the Champions League, and the honey pot that comes with it, the accounts would be looking even worse this year.

As it is, the gamble has paid off, and they look well placed to challenge Celtic for the title this season. It is just a challenge, mind... Celtic might have had a slower start, but they have since started to get their game together. The Old Firm clashes are going to regain their customary spice this season, and should make compelling spectactles.

Certainly, Celtic and Rangers look able to swat aside the rest of the League this year. It's very, very hard to see where a challenge might come from. Aberdeen have started slowly, aren't as strong as last season, and Jimmy Calderwood has doubts over how much his board is prepared to back him. Hearts, despite their win against Motherwell, can already forget any notion of a challenge for second place, let alone the title. Hibs are far too callow, although remain unbeaten. And Motherwell, Kilmarnock and Dundee Utd have their ambitions set on a top-six finish, no higher.

In fact, Monday night's game between Motherwell and Hearts highlighted many of the problems in the SPL. The scheduling of the game, and live tv coverage, might be cited as mitigating circumstances for the low attendance, but 5,000 is still a pitiful crowd for a match between one team who is resurgent under a new manager, and another with pretensions of greatness.

Just a few years ago, Motherwell declared their aim to become the "third force" in Scottish football, before mounting debts forced them into administration without really achieving very much. 2006 Scottish Cup win aside, will people be saying the same thing about Hearts in a few years time?

Scotland the modern European nation

First Minister Alec Salmond unveiled his own plan for turning Scotland into a modern European nation this week - the launch of a "national conversation" which he hopes will have people discussing what a good idea it would be to become an independent country again.

He might have found, though, that many minds were instead contemplating the chances of Scotland achieving something of note in European football this season. Crunch time for the Euro 2008 qualifiers is still a little way off, but this week the clubs were back in action.

Dunfermline begin their UEFA Cup campaign on Thursday, but let's be honest - this adventure will be diversion from their campaign to get back into the SPL this season, and little more. The real stories this week concerned the Old Firm in the Champions League qualifiers.

Much has been said about the high stakes Rangers are playing for. Last season they could only look on with envy as Celtic prospered in the Champions League. Rangers participation in the Uefa Cup left them at least £10m worse off, making this summer's crucial squad rebuilding much more difficult. To their credit, Rangers have brought in a lot of players, despite the high profile targets that got away, such as Steven Naismith and Scott Brown. But this has raised the stakes even further... Rangers are spending money they don't have, and if they fail to make it to the group stages this year, the financial consequences will be dire.

The good news is that they have a 1 goal lead following the first leg against Red Star Belgrade, who didn't really look that threatening. The bad news is that Rangers were pretty poor, and the game could easily have finished goalless were it not for Nacho Novo's late, late intervention.

This is, perhaps, to be expected. Rangers are trying to integrate a lot of new players, and an unbalanced squad mean injuries are particularly destabilising - Kris Broadfoot had to fill in at left-back on Tuesday, and not surprisingly looked nervous and unsure of himself. If they can just get through the second leg unscathed, Ibrox will be hugely relieved.

Celtic have had a pretty lacklustre start to the season, but a 1-1 draw against Spartak Moscow on Wednesday was a great result. They will fancy their chances back in Glasgow for the return leg, but need to be wary.

Where now, Gretna?

Just 2 games into the season, and Gretna are confirming most pundits' predictions that they are going to go straight back down come May. Having shipped 4 goals each against Falkirk and then Hibs, Gretna are sitting in bottom place in the SPL table.

Despite the heavy losses, it's not a completely hopeless situation. Gretna were at one stage 2-0 up against Hibs before sliding to defeat, and they created chances if not end product against Falkirk. In neither game were they totally outplayed, and can perhaps count themselves unlucky not to have at least a point on the board by now. Furthermore, both Hibs and Falkirk play a similar brand of football, and were able to unstitch Gretna's defence through slick passing and movement. It could be that the new boys will fair better against more typically direct, physical sides.

But they will need to get some results soon, because there simply isn't the time for the team to learn how to play in this division. While St Mirren and Inverness are also still waiting on their first points of the season, these two clubs have much more experience of the division and know what it takes to survive. If Gretna get cut adrift at the bottom by the end of the first two months, there will probably be no way back... as Dunfermline proved last season.

The truth is, though, that Gretna look short of quality. They are certainly looking to bring in some more players before the end of August, but whether it will be enough is highly debatable. At exactly the time when the team needs some investment the most, owner Brooks Mileson seems to have turned off the taps.

It's been a bizarre 2007 so far, after several years in which everything seemed to land butter side up for the club. Gretna breezed through the lower two leagues (no surprise really, with a squad budget the envy of several SPL clubs), and cantered into a 12-point lead in Division One, too. The club had enjoyed huge publicity from its run to the Scottish Cup final in 2006, and had not been shy in milking the attention. But then Mileson became sick and - whether related or not - cuts started to be made to the playing staff, cuts that have continued this summer. Then in March this year Rowan Alexander, the manager throughout the rampage through the Scottish leagues, went on sick leave, rumoured to be suffering from a stress-related condition. The team then stumbled, and almost blew promotion altogether, before finally winning the Division One title on the last day of last season.

Suddenly, "plucky" little Gretna don't seem such a good news story anymore. Mileson is now keeping a low media profile, which is a shame because it would be nice for him to explain the continuing shambles surrounding Alexander, who seems to think he is still the gaffer, despite being replaced by Davey Irons. There are legitimate grumbles surrounding Gretna's plans for stadium redevelopment - a mandatory requirement for the SPL, but still to get started. And Gretna's fairytale story is not what it seems - the club has done so well solely because of the cash pumped in by a wealthy owner, not some sort of David v. Goliath heroics. They are a tiny club that bought their way to the top.

Good luck to the long-standing Gretna fans, who will follow their team across Scotland this season and enjoy an experience that seemed impossible 5 years ago. But the rest of us are entitled to wonder just what has been proved by plucking an obscure non-League club and dropping them in the SPL, and where they go from here.

Lessons from opening weekend of the 07/08 SPL season

Everybody hopes - and expects - that the SPL title race will be a more closely contested affair this time around. The season previews were remarkably consistent, but the Guardian and the Beeb both summed it up pretty well... Rangers should push Celtic a lot harder than in the past 2 years.

While excitement and unpredictability are always welcome, there a couple of specific reasons why the SPL needs to put on a good show this season. For one, Celtic are chasing their 3-in-a-row, and it would be a tragedy if it was handed to them on a plate. Such an achievement should remain special and rare, and if Celtic get the hat-trick with ease it will confirm all the stereotypes about an uncompetitive, dull league. Hopefully, the 9-in-a-row achievements of both Old Firm clubs will remain in the history books for the same reason.

Secondly, Setanta is helping the SPL to access a potentially huge new audience. Their deal to screen live English Premiership football is attracting a lot of subscribers down south, who will be getting SPL matches as well by default. Scottish football can win some of these "accidental" viewers over - but only if the product is good enough. While the EPL has been very good at exploiting other markets as lucrative additional income streams, the SPL has not... but the opportunity now exists to market the competition more widely.

The opening fixtures suggest that things will, indeed, be closer between the top two. Rangers have surprised by doing a lot of business in the summer - in fact Walter Smith admits that they are now "over-budget". The chairman will be having kittens at the mounting losses, but the result is a squad that looks much more resilient. Lee McCulloch is exactly the sort of player who should thrive in the SPL, while there is now more competition for places across the team. Their first match was a decent marker to throw down, even if Inverness Caley Thistle were punchless.
Celtic have also strengthened over the summer, but a poor pre-season has been followed by a poor goalless draw against Kilmarnock. The squad looks strangely unbalanced, too... they now have about 40 strikers on the books, but little cover at full-back, for example. They remain favourites, of course, but need to improve, especially up front.

It would be nice to think a fresh challenge might come from somewhere else in the league, but that looks as unikely as ever. Aberdeen, drowning in debt, will be doing well to repeat last season's third place. The supposed arrival of Hearts as a major new force still looks more hype than reality, while Hibs' determination to rebrand themselves as the East Scotland Football Academy will rule out any thoughts of a sustained title challenge coming from Easter Road. Selling your best players to your rivals is not the way to win a championship. They will probably maintain their reputation for being the most watchable football team in the division, however.

Dundee Utd are probably the most likely candidates to join the top six, with Kilmarnock reliant on Steven Naismith staying if they are going to stay in the top half of the table. Motherwell should also do better under Mark McGee.

St Mirren and Falkirk should continue to establish themselves as SPL clubs, ICT might find themselves drifting closer to the bottom of the table, but they won't fear relegation because Gretna are surely going right back down. The fairytale is over.

If one more good thing comes out of this season, it might be the year that Scottish football finally, and decisively, gets to grips with the problem of sectarian chanting and singing. Rangers' first match was marred by the "Fuck the Pope" brigade - much more of that, and the authorities will be forced to act. It's about time.

The waiting is nearly over

Summer, and the sun is shining. No? Oh well, we'll be started again soon. In a little over 2 weeks, another Scottish football season will be under way.

This used to be a time when football disappeared from the papers completely, and only the most die-hard fans, desperate to follow their team to a pre-season friendly to get a first glimpse of their team's new signings, were following what was going on.

But now, with pre-season seen as much as a marketing opportunity and additional source of revenue as preparation for the challenge ahead, and the explosion in media coverage, we can all keep up to date with what the various clubs are up to.

Austria has proved a popular destination for training, while Celtic have embarked on their inevitable American tour. But Hearts have managed to grab the attention again, with this bizarre gem, stuck on their own website:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_b13aH-vk_E

It's supposed to be, one assumes, a bit of playful sparring between Roman Bednar and Vladimir Romanov. But Bednar looks like he's not having fun anymore after Vlad catches him with a left hook. Cue shocked laughter and uncertainty, before Vlad is declared "the winner" and the fight is broken up.

Does anyone else suspect Vlad might be an only child?

Review of the 06/07 season

So, another Scottish football season has finally drawn to a close. Celtic's almost total dominance made sure 06/07 won't be remembered as a vintage campaign, but there were highlights. In particular, Scotland's refusal to crumble in a Euro 2008 qualifying group containing both World Cup Finalists gave the entire nation room to hope that things are on the up again.

Anyhow, here's the review...


Team of the year

Picking a team of the season highlights some of Scottish football’s problems this term. For example, the closest either of the Old Firm have had to a consistent striker is Kris Boyd, but a Henrik Larsson or Brian Laudrup he ain’t. Meanwhile, the shenanigans at Hearts saw Craig Gordon dropped for a spell, and his form was clearly affected. But nonetheless, here it is… a team to tear up the SPL, in a trendy, fluid 4-5-1 formation.

Artuc Boruc (Celtic); Stephen Whittaker (Hibs), Russell Anderson (Aberdeen), Stephen McManus (Celtic), Lee Naylor (Celtic); Shunsuke Nakamura (Celtic), Scott Brown (Hibs), Russell Latapy (Falkirk), Barry Robson (Dundee Utd), Steven Naismith (Kilmarnock); Anthony Stokes (Falkirk - on loan from Arsenal).

Moments of the season

Nakamura swings his boot When Man Utd went to Celtic Park for a Champions League game the autumn, they were expected to give them a battering. And, for the first hour, they did batter them, without actually managing to score a goal. Then Jari Jarosik won a free-kick with a disgraceful dive, and up stepped Shunsuke Nakamura. The resultant goal was a thing of mesmerising beauty, utterly out of keeping with Celtic’s performance in the rest of the match.

Scotland 1-0 France Once again, the signs were ominous. The World Cup finalists were in town for a Euro 2008 qualifier, and Scotland were hoping for a draw. Again, they were battered, but somehow managed to not concede a goal. And then we scored! Scotland have taken the lead against France! The hero of the moment is… Gary Caldwell?! Cue a weekend of bafflement and celebration.

Player Revolt #1 After an indifferent start to the season, Vladimir Romanov threatened to sell the players to "Kilmarnock or whatever club would take them" if they didn’t beat Dunfermline. Cue a hijacked press conference, as Stephen Pressley, flanked by Paul Hartley and Craig Gordon, mumbled his way through a public criticism of the regime. Extraordinary television.

Player Revolt #2 Paul Le Guen and Barry Ferguson, it’s fair to say, did not get on. PLG wanted to impose his way of doing things on Rangers. Bazza responded by rampant indiscipline, both on the pitch (where he played like a man who’d missed the team talk) and off it, where he organised a piss-up in Newcastle. PLG, in a final test of his authority, dropped Ferguson and effectively put him on the transfer list. Ferguson complained to the chairman, and Le Guen resigned.

Player Revolt #3 Hibs won their first trophy for 16 years when they lifted the League Cup in March, but behind the scenes John Collins’ perfectionist management style was ruffling a few feathers. An unexpected defeat to Dunfermline led to a dressing room “bust-up”, and a delegation of players went to complain to the chairman. Unlike at Rangers, they lost, issuing a humbling apology and promising never to do anything like it again.

Player of the season

Scott Brown Quite simply, one of Scotland’s best prospects for a generation came of age this season. Back in July, he was still a Hibernian player, but the next 6 months saw plenty of upheaval. By Christmas had a new agent, was working under a new manager, and had handed in a transfer request. When Hibs made it clear he would not be leaving in January, he could have sulked. Instead, he got his head down and played. Really played. He won the League Cup with Hibs in March (not something that happens often at the Edinburgh club). He shed his previous hot temper. He established himself as a regular in the Scotland team on the strength of two performances. And, at the age of 21, he became the most expensive transfer between two Scottish Clubs when he moved from Hibs to Celtic for £4.4m. It’s not been flawless, but if he lives up to his potential, 2006/7 will go down as a pivotal season in his career.

Runners-up:

Shunsuke Nakamura Yes, he’s the most exciting player the Champions have. Yes he’s got a sweet left foot. And yes he’s a joy to watch at times. But he was all of this last season, too. Perhaps inevitably for a foreign flair player, he’s inconsistent, but the media hype around him seems to treat his every touch as golden. It’s not. The Japanese David Beckham indeed.

Russell Anderson Once again Aberdeen have their captain to thank for all that was good about their season. They clinched third place without really scoring enough goals, pointing to a tight defence as the reason for their success. Thanks to Anderson, it was. But successive Scotland managers have ignored the central defender, so We love fitba is hardly alone for ignoring him too.

Neil Lennon A controversial choice, given that the snarling, big-arsed provocateur has hardly had his best season with Celtic. He’s looked all of his 35 years when lumbering around the centre circle during matches, and even at his best he was never as good as Paul Lambert. Sadly, age hasn’t matured him either… he’s always been a hate figure to other fans, but this season he took the novel step of noising up his own supporters too. But now he’s left, it’s time to recognise his contribution to the Celtic cause. In the first half of this season, when Celtic could still be arsed, Strachan put their never-say-die attitude down to a fear of losing. In fact, the players probably had a fear of Lennon screaming at them. For all his more unpleasant traits, Lennon has a winner’s attitude. The Champions will miss him.

Steven Naismith Is he a striker? Is he a winger? Either way, he’s good. More than likely will be moving on from Kilmarnock this summer.

Flops of the season

Rangers Think back to last summer, and the optimistic mood music coming from the Rangers fans (a fair few journalists – the laptop loyalists – amongst them) was deafening. Paul Le Guen was going to revolutionise the club and reassert their dominance over Scottish football. Oops.

Hearts Think back to last season, and the bullishness of the Romanov Revolution was overwhelming. “2nd place is under-achievement” said Roman, the owner’s son. Oops.

Thomas Gravesen £40k a week might not raise eyebrows in the Premiership, but for the SPL that kind of salary - Gravesen's reputed earnings - represents a statement of intent. Celtic had bought a player simply unattainable to any of their rivals, a player with Real Madrid pedigree no less. In the League, the only question was how many man of the match awards he would win, because surely he would only really be tested in the Champions League. In fact, he struggled to hold down a regular place in the SPL and was frequently bullied out of those matches he did play, and started the pivotal 2nd leg against Milan on the bench. Oops.


Meteor Award

Gretna Their third consecutive promotion has made the rise of Livingston look pedestrian. They almost blew it after squandering a 12-point lead over St. Johnstone, but a win on the last day of the season clinched the title. And now they’re in the SPL.

Whether this is good news for the SPL or not is debatable. Gretna are still a tiny club, albeit propped up by a wealthy owner. They’ll probably attract a few more fans out of curiousity, but they’ll be playing their “home” games in Motherwell, which won’t do much for attendance figures. Like Livingston, they may find a seat at the top table hard to sustain.

Consolation Award

St Johnstone The Perth team reached the semi-finals of both cup competitions, and for 5 minutes or so were Division One Champions, with one foot in the SPL. They ended the season with nothing, and Jason Scotland – their inspirational striker – has already left.

Dunfermline So, so close, and yet so far. Improbably, they fought a way back into the survival dogfight, before defeat in their penultimate match confirmed relegation. In the Scottish Cup final they held Celtic for 85 minutes before losing to a scrappy goal scored by a defender. Life can be cruel sometimes. At least they have the UEFA Cup to look forward, a competition in which manager Stephen Kenny has previous - it was his Derry City who thumped Gretna last season, before getting a highly credible draw in their 1st leg with PSG.

Quotes of the season

“We are the only club in the history of football who can be the champions by 20 points and be under pressure in the first game of the season. So we just laughed at that pressure and produced some stunning football."
Gordon Strachan initiates smug mode after Celtic open their title defence with a 4-1 won over Kilmarnock.

"I'm very disappointed. This has all been done very quickly."
The SFL president, John Smith, struggles to cope with the pace of the modern world, as a proposal to create an SPL2 is launched, 5 years after first being discussed.

"Football is supposed to be what is happening on the field of play, not turned into a show thanks to the referee."
Vladimir Romanov blames the man in the middle for Hearts 3-0 defeat against AEK Athens in a Champions League qualifier.

“I can’t believe we just got beat by a fucking pub team.”
John Collins loses his cool after losing the Boxing Day Edinburgh Derby.

"Rangers are more important than Paul Le Guen. Even more important than Barry Ferguson."
Paul Le Guen ladles on the sarcasm when explaining his reasons for dropping his captain.

"I read it, ripped it up and put it in the bin."
John Collins carefully considers Scott Brown's written transfer request.

"Far too often Dundee Utd lose by scorelines that are unacceptable. People who don't want to do things properly, who don't want to fight to the end, are no good to me. I will just get rid of them." Craig Levein goes nuts after a 5-0 hammering from Rangers.

“Now it has become obvious to me why you, the Monkeys, were trying to ruin Hearts not only in the Championship, but in European competitions as well. I think it was not without your help that the ‘frozen’ referee from Russia was selected to officiate our match and that in the games against the Greek side we got three red cards.”
Vladimir can’t get that game against AEK Athens out of his head. Apparently, it was the fault of the journalists, who are all monkeys.

“A woman cheats herself and nature if she gives herself without love.”
Vlad also tries to do his bit for traditional values.

“Dunno.”
Scott Brown responds to a question about whether he was one of the Hibs players who complained to the chairman about the manager.

"See ya. Daft little ground, silly game, fuck off."
Richard Keys doesn't seem to think much of the key Faroe Isles v Scotland clash.