Rangers shell-shocked by Hearts

No debate about the match of the weekend in the SPL. While the rest of the results favoured the punter by coming in broadly as predicted, Hearts 4-2 humiliation of the would-be contenders would have destroyed their hopes of a payout. Even at tempting odds of 4-1, few would have put money on a Hearts win.

The real surprise performance was from the home side. Hearts, uniquely, had managed to attract critical headlines even during the international break, with those not called up for their countries packed off for a training camp in Lithuania, at the same time that Lithuania were playing Scotland at Hampden. Yet they tore out of the blocks, establishing a 2-0 lead before Rangers had got into the game.

The visitors were poor, though. Walter Smith elected to leave Barry Ferguson on the bench, but David Weir, who probably needed a rest, had to play - somehow, he and Cuellar were the only fit centre backs, despite Rangers having a wealth of options in this position. And why no Steven Naismith? He would have relished this big fixture early in his Rangers' career. Pretty toothless up front, at the back Cuellar had a nightmare, and Alan Hutton relapsed to old form with an erratic display.

Probably not the result they wanted ahead of their Champions League game against Stuttgart on Wednesday night, but then again, the real work in Europe has already been done this season. Having secured a spot in the lucrative group stages, Rangers probably don't much care what happens in Europe now. Winning the SPL is everything for the Ibrox club... but on this showing, the title is some way off.


Results and table: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/scot_prem/default.stm

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?