Here we go again!

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

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

Rangers have embarassed themselves in Europe yet again!

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

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

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

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

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