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.

SPL final weekend

The 2006/7 SPL season finally came to a close at the weekend, split along class lines. On Saturday the bottom six played, and showed us once again all the problems this league faces. The biggest crowd of the day – 6,000 – saw Dundee Utd and Motherwell play out a 0-0 draw and wonder if either of these clubs can push on next season. Optimists could find encouraging signs at both clubs, but the fact is that they have contributed very little of note this term. Meanwhile, even smaller crowds witnessed Inverness Caley Thistle beat St Mirren and an already relegated Dunfermline capitulated to Falkirk.

ICT have firmly established top-level football in the Highlands, and that is a notable achievement, even if it took the amalgamation of two existing clubs to do it. And fans of Falkirk and St. Mirren are of course entitled to look forward to next season with confidence and hope for the continued progress of their teams. But with such limited gates, it’s really tough for them to grow much further and hold onto their best players – Rangers have cherry-picked one from each for next term on pre-contracts. Both have said they will rebuild over the summer, but SPL survival will probably be the limit of their ambitions next season as well.

At least Sunday provided better entertainment, most notably up North, where it turned out to be a very good day indeed for Aberdeen. Firstly, and most importantly, they secured third place in the league at long last, meaning best of the rest status behind the Old Firm and an entry into the UEFA Cup next season. Secondly, they achieved this by beating Rangers 2-0. The visitors were below par, but nonetheless, this was Aberdeen’s first points off the Old Firm all season, earning a bit of legitimacy to go with that 3rd place. Their failure to take so much as a point off them prior to the weekend had become an increasing embarrassment.

And thirdly, they won in front of a healthy home crowd of 20,000. Aberdeen’s trouble with attendances have been well documented this season, and Jimmy Calderwood has often expressed his frustration on the issue – because, unless more punters start coming turning up on a regular basis, the Dons are going to struggle to put any kind of sustained challenge together.

It is expected that they will sell Pittodrie and move to a new home within the next few years in order to pay the debts off. They will then have a clean slate – but the size of that new ground, and therefore the size of the ambitions of the Dons – will probably be defined between now and then.

In the end, it didn’t matter what Hearts did on the pitch, because it was all in Aberdeen’s hands. But a 1-0 defeat at Kilmarnock was not how they wanted to finish the season. The assistant coach, Stephen Frail, was justified when saying that the damage had been done earlier in the season. Since the Soviet-era clown Eduoard Maloveef left, Hearts really have been more consistent and more reliable, and the points have piled up as a consequence. But that doesn’t change the fact that, in the high stakes game that Vladimir Romanov is playing, entry into the Champions League again represented a minimum achievement for this season. To miss out not only on that competition but the UEFA Cup as well is nothing short of disastrous. The financial results will come out later, but it’s certain that this season of utter non-achievement will have come at another heavy loss.

And finally, the Champions turned up at Easter Road, with neither Hibs nor Celtic having anything left to play for. Well, except that Hibs really needed to sign off with a win, and end the run of 9 games without victory. And win they did, as both sets of fans sat back and enjoyed the Scott Brown show. He scored with a header, bossed the game, and generally showed why Celtic have just spent £4.4m to acquire him, a record fee between Scottish clubs.

It’s an ominous development for everyone else, Rangers especially. Celtic have just made themselves favourites to win the title next season too.

Dunfermline drop through the floor

Imagine being a Pars fan.

Relegation looked nailed on months ago. There simply was no way back. The season would be remembered for a great, improbable run in the Scottish Cup, but there was no chance of staying in the SPL.

And then they went on a run, becoming the SPL's form team as the two clubs above them, St Mirren and Motherwell, went into freefall. Victories over both those teams had dragged the Pars back to within a point of St Mirren, and suddenly survival looked possible. Maybe, even probable. On Saturday, Dunfermline were 1-0 away to Inverness, while St Mirren were 2-0 down to Motherwell. If those scorelines remained the same, Dunfermline would have leapfrogged St Mirren at the bottom of the table, with just one more game left to play.

But then it all went wrong. Dorus De Vries, the goalkeeper who has been in heroic form since January, made a blunder and allowed Caley back into the game. Then he was defeated by a wicked deflection in the 89th minute. Meanwhile, the Buddies found 3 goals to snatch all the points from Motherwell. Dunfermline, finally, are relegated, and their fans are distraught. As John Cleese said in Clockwise:

"It's not the despair...I can TAKE the despair. It's the HOPE....."

Somehow, they are going to have to lift themselves for the Scottish Cup final in a fortnight, but you can't imagine it being much of a party now.

There now remains just one issue to be decided... who is going to finish third and grab the UEFA Cup spot? Aberdeen now lead Hearts by just a point, after their defeat to Celtic and Hearts' victory in the Edinburgh derby. Aberdeen's claim to be the third best team in Scotland is undermined somewhat by their failure to take a single point off the Old Firm this season, but if they are to guarantee that 3rd place, they will need to beat Rangers this coming weekend, because Hearts will surely fancy a win against Kilmarnock, who have nothing left to play for.

Aberdeen's season is about to be defined by one match.

McManus makes himself a hero

Tam McManus might be only 26, but he already has something of the journeyman about him. He was a Hibs kid (he came through around the same time as Kenny Miller) and went out on loan a couple of times before breaking through into the first team. He looked a bright player for the Easter Road side, too, but when Tony Mowbray took over, it was clear he had no future at the club. He went on loan to Boston, but returned to Scotland before gaining a free transfer to Dundee.

Their subsequent relegation to Division One necessitated strigent cost-cutting, and McManus was eventually moved on, this time to Falkirk. That didn't work out, and he was released in January. A trial at Hibs didn't result in an offer of a return to his first club, and so, as a free agent, he pitched up at Dunfermline.

After such a stop-start career over the past few seasons, it's no surprise that McManus was desperate to resume playing regularly. But he was in for a shock. Despite his lack of appearances for Falkirk, the fact that he was an unused substitute in an earlier round of the Scottish Cup meant that he was cup-tied for the rest of the competition. With Dunfermline heading to Hampden to play Hibernian in the semi-finals, McManus would have to watch from the stands. Of course, he's going to miss the final now, too.

Perhaps that was why he played with such vigour last night. Dunfermline travelled to Love St knowing that only a victory would give them any chance of avoiding the drop into Division One. A predictably tense relegation six-pointer, the game was very low on quality in the first half. After the break, though, Dunfermline started to get the upper hand. Perhaps inspired by the perpetual motion of their striker, they realised that if they started to actually pass a bit and play some football, the game was there for the taking. McManus was always going to be the one to profit: he had one effort blocked and another ruled out for offside before finally netting the only goal of the game.

The Pars are now just a point off St. Mirren at the bottom, and in a much better run of form. For all their Scottish Cup heroics, manager Stephen Kenny always stressed that staying in the SPL was his over-riding priority. If they do survive, McManus will feel a great sense of satisfaction at the way his season ended, even if he misses out on a Cup final appearance.

Gretna are promoted, but is it good news for the SPL?

As with the top flight, the Scottish Football League Division One took a surprisingly long time to declare a winner this season. Twelve points clear at the top at the turn of the year, and scoring for fun, Gretna looked a shoe-in for the title and their third successive promotion. But their subsequent wobble, coupled with St. Johnstone's great run of form (they were fighting in both cup competitions, too, remember) made for a thrilling last day of the season.

It's heart-breaking for the Perth team, who have ended up with nothing after a season that promised so much. They got to the semi-finals of both the League and Scottish Cups, and pushed Hibernian and Celtic hard in both games, but eventually the better resourced teams came through. On Saturday, they got even closer - they beat Hamilton 4-3 in a pulsating game, and for 5 minutes were Division One Champions as it stood. But then the news came through from Dingwall - Gretna had scored again to go 3-2 up against Ross County, and back above the Saints in the table. They held on and took the title by a single point.

Gretna's rise has been meteoric. The former English non-League team have risen from Division Three to the SPL inside 5 seasons, and became the darlings of many last season when the got to the Scottish Cup Final, and only lost out to Hearts on penalties. Those same observers will now be hailing the romance of this small-town club earning its chance to play against the giants of the Scottish game next season. Eccentric owner Brooks Mileson has promised he will invest more of his fortune to ensure that Gretna will be able to hold their own in the SPL.

And yet... while the management team obviously deserve credit for organising things on the park, Gretna's turbocharged ascent has been entirely down to Mileson's cash. In Division Two, they assembled a squad more costly than many SPL clubs' wage bills. Their crowds at Raydale Park have hovered around 2,000, and while they can expect their SPL status to attract more fans, the fact that they will be playing their "home" games at Fir Park next season (Raydale Park doesn't meet the SPL's minimum criteria) means a 250 mile round trip will probably dissuade many of them from travelling. And the SPL needs more empty seats like the Scottish Labour Party needs the Iraq issue.

Given the limited catchment area, it's genuinely hard to see how the support can grow significantly in the longer term. Gretna are a small town club, propped up by a wealthy benefactor, not a genuine new force in Scottish football. If Mileson ever turns off the taps, it's hard to see how they can sustain their position.

Compare this with St. Johnstone. While Gretna took 500 fans to Dingwall on Saturday (admittedly, a tough journey), the Saints took 3,000 to Hamilton. They have built a team under an astute young manager, Owen Coyle, with the experience of players such as Derick McInnes and Jason Scotland, who desperately wanted to test themselves in the SPL again, week in, week out. McDiarmid Park would love to welcome the Perthshire crowds back to watch the big boys come to town, and dream of the days when their club took on SV Hamburg or Monaco in European competition. At the end of the day, they couldn't quite do enough to get promotion, but romance is not the preserve of the wedding specialists from near the Border.

As it is, they will have to bide their time. Gretna are up, and time will tell how much further they can go.

Dunfermline daring to dream as Hibs blow it again...

Celtic are on for the double this season. Having secured the SPL title last Sunday, they now look forward to the Scottish Cup Final on 26 May. If they lift the trophy, it will be a dream ending to the season, particularly for captain Neil Lennon who will be playing his last game for the club.

But if you think that would taste sweet, just think what the double would mean to your average Pars fan. Not winning the League and Cup, of course, but winning the Cup and avoiding relegation. They are already in Europe next season, thanks to Celtic qualifying for the Champions League and thus offering up the UEFA Cup place that comes with the Scottish Cup. To go into that competition as an SPL team, rather than one in Division One, would not just be good for Dunfermline, it would be good for Scottish football as a whole. After all, a club living on even further reduced means will probably find Continental competition even more of a stretch.

Of course, Celtic are overwhelming favourites to lift the Cup, and, 4 points adrift at the bottom of the SPL with just 4 games to play, avoiding relegation doesn't look all that likely either. But it's worthwhile remembering what Dunfermline have already achieved this season. When Stephen Kenny came in as manager in November, Dunfermline were simply hopeless, miles adrift at the bottom of the League and unable to score goals.

That haven't scored many goals since, to be fair, but what Kenny did was work on the things he could improve. He tightened up the system, getting Dunfermline to play in a tight, compact formation that's hard to break down, and he instilled belief in his players. They might still be bottom of the SPL, but the players work for each other, and their manager. Finally, he did what he could to augment the squad, bringing in Adam Hammill on loan from Liverpool and Stephen Glass on loan from Hibs in January, and signing Tam McManus as a free agent. All players that could give either creativity or an attacking outlet to the side.

They were outplayed for long periods of Tuesday night's replay, but they are no longer easy to score against, and when they won a penalty in the 85th minute Jim McIntyre grabbed the opportunity to take the lead. They have now knocked Rangers, Hearts and Hibs out of the Cup.

Where now for Hibs? This was the 3rd Semi-Final in a row for them in the competition they haven't won for 105 years, and the curse remains for another year at least. They haven't been the same side since the CIS Cup Final, and the dressing-room bust up / player revolt that followed has clearly damaged them. For a club that doesn't win silverware very often, they took very little time in taking the shine off the trophy. The manager's job is safe, though, despite the stories of unrest, and he will look to rebuild his squad in the summer and see what he can do with his own team next season. The remaining league games this term are of little consequence now.

Meanwhile, Dunfermline have an absolutely crucial game against St Mirren this weekend. Mathematically, Motherwell aren't quite safe yet either, but the reality of the situation is that only St Mirren or Dunfermline can go down this season. So Saturday's game is the classic six-pointer.

If Stephen Kenny does pull this off, he deserves to be hailed as Manager of the Season, without doubt. And remember, he has some European pedigree too - it was his Derry team who gubbed Gretna in the UEFA Cup at the beginning of the season, before drawing 0-0 with PSG.

And he's still someway off his 40th birthday. He really could become some manager.