Rangers still favourites?

Firstly, may I offer apologies to those who take the time to browse my blog for the lack of activity over the past few weeks, but my internet connection has been down and I’ve had a hell of a rime trying to get it back up and running. Don’t get me started on Virgin Media. Although, amidst my offline purgatory, imagine my delight when I see the architect of all my troubles, Richard ‘Bee Gee’ Branson, crashing into a wall and ripping the arse clean out his trousers while attempting to bungee off a hotel for some publicity stunt. That’s Karma for you, Richard.

Anyway, back to the football. It’s been an astonishing few weeks for the Scottish game but I feel nothing I say regarding the national side will enlighten anybody so let’s just say it’s going to be a cracker at Hampden against the Italians and it seems the whole nation can’t wait.

On the domestic front, the league is shaping up nicely and Rangers’ 3-0 steamrolling of an impotent Celtic side last weekend must have left Hoops fans disgusted. Their lack of invention allied to an unforgivable lack of fight poses a number of questions, and I don’t think Rangers will have as easy an Old Firm win for a long time.

Strachan’s big names are not performing when it matters. Nakamura, Donatti, Hesselink and Brown have, for me, been largely disappointing. I know it seems odd to be writing this when Celtic sit top of the league, but I suspect there’s a lack of confidence at Parkhead at the moment. Whereas, over in Govan, Rangers seem to be growing as a team and look capable of going on a decent run.

I think the run-up to Christmas will prove decisive in the outcome of the league this year. Celtic, as they have shown in recent years, may respond to the Old Firm and Euro defeat in the best way possible and go five games unbeaten. Rangers, conversely, have been known to follow up great Euro nights with lacklustre domestic form. Only time will tell. However, on current form and confidence, I stick to my original prediction that Rangers will win the league.

Random Irritations:

The absence of Derek Riordan in the Scottish game, particularly when it’s patently obvious he is good enough to be involved at Parkhead.

The refusal of the Scottish press to pursue Strachan on this matter.

Mark Hateley’s inane and embarrassingly partisan column in the Daily Record.

We're on top of the world...

Has there been a better time to be a football fan in Scotland over the past twenty years or so than now?
Tonight, Celtic completed a remarkable treble which has seen the national team beat France, Rangers humble Lyon and Celtic beat AC Milan.
There's now a belief in the country that we can compete with the best at both national and club level. If we can maintain that mentality then we may just end up at the Euros next year. I'm loving every minute of it and the games can't come quick enough. Bring on Barcelona, Benfica, Italia et al. The sooner the better.

And another thing...
I hope one drunken nutter doesn't get Celtic hammered by UEFA. What more can the Old Firm do to contain individuals hell-bent on causing trouble?
Rangers were fined for a similar incident last year, let's hope Celtc only get the same.
As for Dida, he should be banned for life. Feigning serious injury in light of recent deaths on football pitches is despicable. I wonder what guys like Gattuso think about him. Not a lot, presumably.

Fortune favours the brave?

Celtic's dismal away form in Europe continued this week as they were humbled by the excellent Shakhtar Donetsk. The blame on this occasion must lie with Strachan whose starting formation suggested he had never seen the Ukranians play before. By starting with two wide men and just two in the middle of the park, his team were flooded by the diamond formation employed by Shakhtar, and it was only when Hartley was moved into a holding role that the tide was partially stemmed. This sort of naivety is inexcusable at Champions League level, particularly when Strachan's been culpable before, as in Benfica, Artmedia, Copenhagen. Interesting to note this was a point not put to Strachan by any Scottish journalists after the match. Yet again they seem reluctant to ask the difficult questions, for fear of falling foul of Strachan's particularly precious nature. This is surely doing the readers/listeners/viewers/fans a dis-service?
While Strachan's tactics could be considered bold while ultimately foolish, over at Ibrox, Walter Smith's starting line-up against Stutgart was met with with groans of disappointment by the home support who viewed it as negative in the extreme. A 4-5-1 formation at home in the opening match of the Champions League, with no recognised wide men and very little pace, did little to instill excitement. I was actually at the match and the delight of hearing the Champions theme was soon replaced with exasperation as Rangers failed to do anything for the first hour. Then Stuttgart scored and Rangers finally came to life. Some inspiration from a few individuals, notably Hutton, earned Rangers the win and I would say the victory was earned despite Smith's defensive tactics. Stuttgart were poor and if Rangers had a second striker I'm sure they would have scored earlier. I can't imagine any team at home in the Champions League on opening week went out so defensively, but some would argue that Smith's ploy was vindicated with the win. Again, the media went predictably overboard, citing this as a night of glory at Ibrox. Certainly the result and its nature were exhilarating and Rangers are off to a great start, but for two thirds of this match they looked devoid of ideas, mainly due to the manager's methods.

And another thing....
Aberdeen fans are a disgrace. I may be biased, but the fact the club had to cancel a chatered flght for the vital away game in Ukraine against Dnipro due to lack of interest from the so-called Red Army, gives me justification. They think they deserve better than third or fourth place each year in the SPL yet can't even fill a plane for a rare European adventure. Pathetic.

Let the games begin....

Tonight sees the start of this year's Champions League and Celtic have a tough game in Donetsk. I had a dream last night that they would lose 4-1 and, as unrealistic as this sounds, I had to put a wager on it as the dream was so vivid. The bookies must love it when folk like me dream about football.
As for Rangers tomorrow, Ferguson's fitness is crucial as the team look devoid of ideas without him, as Saturday's embarrassing defeat to Hearts showed. The Old Firm need to win their home games if they are to progress to the last 16 so Rangers need to go out and be positive as anything less than a victory will be met with disappointment.
For anyone who was wondering, the reason I haven't blogged in a fortnight or so is that I've been in France on holiday. It felt gloriously surreal to be sat in a Brittany gite with my old man watching Scotland beat France on their equivalent of BBC 1. Magnifique.
What made it even sweeter for me was that days earlier I had stumbled into a pub in the village I was staying in to buy pizzas and was met with the Gallic glare of about ten seriously pished Frenchmen of various ages. There were two boys who looked about 16 slumped over a table with goblets of luminous green liquid in front of them. I thought for a minute I was back in East Kilbride.
Anyway, the pub soon ascertained I was Ecosse and were only too happy to tell me how France would destroy us and laughed mockingly as I hastily left with pizzas in hand.
Oh what a grin I had on my face on the Thursday night walking by that same pub.

Glasgow awaits...

What a game that was.
If tonight's match was a sample of what's to come at Celtic Park on Champions League nights this season then the fans are in for a treat.
End to end action, fighting players, goals, missed penalties, sending-offs and a penalty shoot-out. What more could you ask for? Well, a victory, that's what, and Celtic deserved it for me tonight. They had the better chances and McDonald and Nakamura alone could have bagged a double. Spartak were better technically but you need more than skill to cope at this level, as Rangers also showed last night.
It's been a fantastic week for the Old Firm and I think the excitement will continue in the next couple of days with last-minute transfer activity. Both squads still need strengthening to make a real impact in the CL and now the playing staff have done their bit, the chairmen should honour their own role.
It's only hours now until the draw and this is what football's all about. Bring on your Barcelona, Manchester United, AC Milan, Chelsea et al.
Glasgow awaits.

One down, one to go ...

So Rangers are back where they should be following a brave defensive display in an extremely hostile atmosphere. It certainly wasn't pretty, but nobody attached to the club will care about that.
Red Star flattered to deceive and deserved to go out. Unfortunately for them, they don't have a team to match their support.
Undoubtedly Rangers will need to improve if they want to make an impact in the group stages, but this result should allow Walter Smith to strengthen further, with a creative attacking midfielder the priority in my opinion.
Celtic, too, should be playing Champions League football every season and tomorrow's return leg against Spartak promises to be a cracker. I think both teams are capable of scoring goals and Celtic's defence will need to be at their best.
What an achievement it would be for both the Old Firm to reach the Champions League. Just picture it - Tuesday night: Rangers v Man U at Ibrox. Wednesday night: Celtic v Liverpool at Celtic Park. And so on for the whole of the winter.
I anticipate many great mid-week trips to the pub. Bring it on.

Stadler and Waldorf?

Was Gordon Strachan right to challenge an over-zealous official for accusing one of his staff of alleged gesture-making?
Over the past few days we’ve had people falling over themselves to voice their view on the ‘disturbing scenes’ (that’s how the Record put it). And, as is usual with these things, very little sense has broken out.
We’ve heard rumblings of ten match bans; we’ve had every manager in Scotland, it seems, claiming fans need to look at themselves; columnists are bemoaning the ‘state of our game/nation’ and anyone who has ever worked with Strachan in any capacity has been dragged out to talk of his fiery nature. Nothing new there, then.
Then today Strachan breaks his silence on the issue and in doing so delivers his most scathing criticism yet of some of the Celtic support.
“Most people I meet are encouraging and pleasant but when it comes to some of the criticism I have to say to myself, 'Is it Hugh Keevins? Is it Jim Traynor? Or is it Stadler and Waldorf sitting behind a goal somewhere?”
Firstly, this is yet another example of Strachan’s assumption that anyone critical of his tactics/managerial ability/attitude could only ever be a drunken yob or a blubbering buffoon who knows nothing about the game. It couldn’t possibly be a decent, intelligent fan with genuine concerns.
However, the most disturbing aspect of this quote is that fans are being judged against the twin zeniths of critique that are Hugh Keevins and Jim Traynor! Don’t make me laugh. Simply becauise these two happen to write for the Daily Record their opinion has greater merit than the thousands of fans who eloquently debate football every day at work, at home or, whisper it, in the pub!
I think Strachan should realise it’s the fans who pay his wages, it’s the fans who will carry on longer than him and it’s the fans who can decide his fate. Nobody should put up with vile personal abuse but I believe that to be the minority. If Strachan believes it’s only drunken yobs who criticise him then I believe that’s a particularly misguided and dangerous delusion.

Tell it like it is...

The Roy Keane quote below articulates perfectly the growing absurdity of the supposed top players in English football.
The England national team is peppered with players whose celebrity profile in Britain takes precedence over their worldwide status as footballers.
From Keane’s comments, I presume much of his disgust is aimed at Beckham, Rooney and Gerrard, whose partners lead the odious tribe that is the WAGs. Any suggestions on the fourth person he indicates?
Worryingly, this is a development not restricted to England. The money in the game – a weary point, I know, but still inescapable – allows average players to live the lives of playboys from a very early age. This removes the hunger, focus and grip on reality and, as a result, standards fall.
In England, this may explain the drop in ticket sales for a league hyped as the best in the world. To people watching in, say, Japan or China, this may be the case, but try telling that to fans of Tottenham Hostspur and Newcastle for example, who have witnessed ticket prices being hiked as players’ wages skyrocket. And all for a return of mediocrity.

Over to you, Keano:

'These so-called big stars are people we are supposed to be looking up to. Well they are weak and soft.
'Priorities have changed for footballers and they are being dictated to by their wives and girlfriends.
'We had a player this summer who didn't even ring us back because his wife wanted to move to London; he didn't even have the courtesy to pick the phone up to us and shopping was mentioned.
'I can understand the attraction of London if you go to Arsenal, Chelsea, maybe Spurs, but there are players just going there because it's London and to me that's wrong, clubs with half the crowds and less attention.
'It's not a football move, it's a lifestyle move, and they're the type you don't want at your club anyway. It tells me the player is weak and his wife runs his life.'
'You have to sign for a club for football reasons. A couple of years ago I nearly went to Juventus and people spoke to me about Turin saying it's this and it's that and that Milan would be nicer, and I said I'm not going for the bloody shops, I'm going because it's Juventus.
'Football must be your priority. You don't need to live in London or Manchester to be happy; you don't need to be surrounded by expensive shops or fancy cafes. What's your priority - your wife and her shopping or your football? Or money?
'Retire at 35 or 36, you can live wherever you bloody well like - London, Monaco, wherever - and any half-decent footballer will be a multi-millionaire anyway. Why is there such a big attraction with London?
'If a player doesn't want to come to Sunderland because his wife wants to go shopping in London it's a sad state of affairs.'

It's grim up North....

The worst job in Scottish football surely has to be Aberdeen manager.
I blame Sir Alex.
Ever since he managed to break the Old Firm's dominance for a brief spell twenty-odd years ago, the Dons' supporters seem to think they deserve success.
The current incumbent, Jimmy Calderwood, is only ever one substitution away from a chorus of boos from the Pittodrie faithful. It would be unfair to tarnish the whole support, but a sizeable chunk of the crowd always seem eager to vent their anger should things not go their way.
Aberdeen, under Jimmy Calderwood, have spent next to nothing in the transfer market, yet he managed to guide them into Europe last season. Does the man get the credit he deserves? Not a chance. Two games into this season and already the boos are ringing out.
Instead of booing every manager who comes along, you'd think the fans would take their ire to the chairman. Despite being one of Scotland's richest men, he stubbornly refuses to provide funds to take Aberdeen to the next level. This is where those who bother to turn up at Pittodrie should direct their boos, not at Jimmy Calderwood.
Unless it's to do with his tan, of course.

Random Irritations:
Old Firm players talking to the press every day. Serial offenders include Barry Ferguson, Kris Boyd, Stephen McManus and Aiden McGeady. Just get on with your job.

Player of the season (so far)
I would have to say Barry Ferguson. His three goals and impressive overall displays have outshone the young pretender, Scott Brown. Long way to go, though.

Football versus Crufts.....

THE BBC’s contempt for Scottish licence payers is never more evident than when it comes to football.
The latest show of disdain is the Wednesday highlights package on BBC2 at 10pm. It promises to show ‘all the action from every SPL match’. Yes, the show lasts for a full 30 minutes. Presumably the same time it takes Dougie Donnelly to coiffeur his blonde rinse.
I never thought I’d put the following in print but I think Wednesday night Sportscene has the potential to rival Scotsport for worst football show on telly. At least Scotsport’s bad in a good sort of way. Sportscene, on the other hand, is a perfect example of how disgracefully Scottish football fans are treated by programmers at the Beeb.
What real football fan in Scotland, in this era of modern technology, hasn’t seen their team’s goals by a Wednesday night? And then to afford it only half an hour just adds salt to the wounds. I wonder if there was a rigged phone-in competition involved it would be a prime time 90 minute show?
While we're on this point, I remember a Rangers European game last season had the first half on BBC2 and then had to switch over to BBC1 for the second. Why? Because Crufts was on. We should know our place.

Random irritations

The player ratings in the papers - DaMarcus Beasley was given a 9 the other day. I mean, come on, it was a goal against a bunch of nobodys, not a hat-trick in the world cup final.

'Big' Sam Allardyce

Back with a bang...

What an opening weekend!
Rangers' good victory overshadowed by alleged sectarian chants.
The champions being held by the team they dramatically beat to win the title last season.
An ego-maniac gatecrashing Gretna's proudest moment in their history and compounding a heavy defeat.
A last-minute winner at Pittodrie to leave Jimmy Calderwood red-faced (well, more red-faced than usual).
And the Edinburgh Derby is still to come.
Yes, Scottish football is back with a bang, banishing the last few weeks of friendlies, golf and tennis with one big punt up the park.
It's probably too early to make any serious observations but most people are agreeing it will likely be a closer title race this time round. Here's hoping.
As for Rowan Alexander, in the words of Barry Ferguson - "What a fud." His stage-managed stunt played out in front of the waiting photographers was a self-serving ego trip. What great preparation that would have been for the players. Had he got by the entrance, would he have walked into the changing room? I doubt it. In fact, the word coming out of Gretna would suggest he would have been kicked back to Dumfries. It's undoubtedly a messy situation, not helped in any way by Brooks Mileson's lack of leadership or clarity on the issue.
Regardless of Alexander's (lack of) personality traits, he did devote years of his life to a previously rudderless club who were going nowhere, and for this he deserves a show of respect and appropriate compensation from his employers.
Gretna's challenge this season is already mammoth and this nonsense will only add to their problems.
The following quote from club captain Chris Innes would suggest that Alexander will find no sanctuary with the club's players. "Are these the actions of a sane man? To come into an SPL team on a Saturday in the biggest game of our careers at two o'clock - what's that trying to achieve? Maybe a couple of columns in the paper. I'd advise him to stay well away from the club and not give us any more distractions. The last thing we need on a Saturday is him at the door."
One weekend in and already there's enough sub-plots in the SPL to keep us entertained. It's going to be an interesting season.

Quote of the weekend: "I have never seen a transsexual or transvestite at Celtic Park." Eamonn Dickson, of Uddingston, in response to the anti-discriminatory advice issues to clubs by the SPL.
Eamonn obviously didn't follow the Celts when big Pierre was mincing his way around Parkhead.

The Road to Europe...

It certainly wasn’t the draw Celtic fans would have wished for. A trip to Russia is never an enviable task and Spartak Moscow have a fair amount of quality in their team. However, as do Celtic and not many teams relish a night at Parkhead, either. Most worrying for Strachan may be the fact the Ruskis are top of their league and have 18 or so games under their belt already.
But, let’s face it, Celtic made the last 16 last time round, beating Manchester United, Benfica and holding the eventual champions, AC Milan, over two games. If they can’t beat Spartak Moscow over two legs then the simple fact is they don’t deserve to take their place among Europe’s best.
The same harsh reality applies to Rangers. It is unlikely they will deliver a performance as insipid as the first leg against FC Zeta and I do expect them to get a couple of away goals and seal the tie.
This, in all probability, will result in a contest with Red Star Belgrade, whose pedigree has been in freefall ever since they conquered Europe in 1991.
It would be a disaster for Walter Smith and his players if they fail to qualify, particularly as the draw has given them every chance.
I must also mention Dunfermline, who are in the ridiculous position of competing in Europe despite being the worst team in the country’s top flight last year. However, they don’t make the rules and I wish them all the best in their qualifier.
Let’s hope all Scottish teams make it through – great excuse for midweek trips to the boozer.

This week’s hero
New SFA chief Gordon Smith - let’s hope he takes his fight for video evidence all the way in an attempt to rid our game of cheating.

Sir David Murray's Antics

Interesting to note that Rangers think it entirely unreasonable for Kilmarnock to want £2m for Naismith, yet they are perfectly happy to shell out the same amount for Whittaker.
In terms of talent and future potential, I would argue these two are quite similar. Both have been stand-outs for their clubs over the past couple of seasons, they are both on the fringes of the Scotland squad and, at 20 or so, both have many good years ahead of them.
Why then was Sir David Murray so reluctant to pay the going rate for one, yet is happy to do so with another?
The simple answer should be that Walter Smith rates Whittaker more than Naismith and thinks his position and style of play is in greater need at Ibrox.
However, it strikes me that a clash of personalities and stubbornness between Murray and the Kilmarnock chairman scuppered any move for Naismith, even though he was probably higher up than Whittaker on Smith’s wanted list.
If this is the case it would be refreshing for Murray to simply say so rather than prevaricate and deride Kilmarnock for having the audacity to demand marker value for their prize asset.
Over the past couple of years David Murray has become a rather chaotic figure at Ibrox; sending out mixed messages regarding transfer moneys; attempting misguided PR exercises through the press which fans are now wise to; touting his shares in the club and making statements which make little sense and contradict previous comments (see this week’s tosh regarding Scott Brown and the Ibrox wage structure).
I’m certain Whittaker will be a good signing for Rangers and the chairman should be applauded for digging deep for what looks to be a quality player, but so far I don’t think Murray’s antics during the transfer window have earned him any new admirers.

Quote of the week: ”That's Sean Bean, the tough guy actor. Some kind of tough guy, eh, reducing a five-year-old kid and his mum to tears.”
Neil Warnock on Sean Bean.

Random irritations:
West Ham’s obscene wages for distinctly average players
Rubbish columnists – see Rob McLean of Setanta fame and Willie Young. He’s an ex-ref, you know

It's that time again...

It was the mad genius Gazza who boldly proclaimed "I never make predictions, and I never will", so with that in mind here goes.

Pre-season offers the chance to see the latest additions to Scottish football and both Celtic and Rangers have made significant additions to their squads. For the current champions, Scott Brown and Massimo Donatti look the most impressive and will surely form the heart of Celtic's midfield this season. Chris Killen and Scott McDonald haven't really been given a chance to show their worth yet, but the first-choice strikeforce at Parkhead next season is still anybody's guess. Presumably Hesselink will be partnered by one other from Miller, Zurawski, Riordan, McDonald or Killen. Although there's an abundance of choice, I still don't think there's as much class up front as Celtic fans would like.

At the back, Pressley seems the likeliest choice to partner McManus and I've got a feeling strikers throughout the country will be relishing the chance to take on Pressley, whose pace and positioning has looked suspect for some time now. However, it must be noted there's plenty of quality in Kennedy, Caldwell, Balde and O'Dea to step in should the need arise.
Wilson at right back is still unproven and perhaps that could be a problem area.

For me, Celtic's greatest asset this season is the number of players they have who are able to do that 'something' different to win a game. Nakamura, Brown, McGeady and Riordan are all match winners and Strachan will be hoping his strikers can put away the chances these players create, while the centre halves stay solid at the back.

Across the city, Rangers are unrecognisable from the team that started last season. New signings Cuellar, McCulloch and Darcheville look to be heading straight for the first team and, on what they've shown so far, should be good additions.

Broadfoot looks no better or worse than, say, Ian Murray, while Beasley and Gow haven't really been given their chance. Andy Webster will perhaps need to spend time on the bench but looks a good addition to the squad.

Rangers look solid and organised throughout, but are still lacking a creative edge. Ferguson apart, there doesn't appear to be anyone else in midfield who can pick a killer pass, although more creativity may come from the flanks through wide players such as Burke, Adam, Beasley and McCulloch.

With more signings undoubtedly on the way for both of the Old Firm, it's an extremely hard call to predict next season's champions. Rangers look good at the back and have a striker in Boyd who will score 20-plus goals every season. Celtic look strong in midfield and have more options from the bench.

I think it will go right to the wire and Rangers will win the league.

Elsewhere, I think Hearts and Hibs will take third and fourth, with Gretna being relegated.
Bring on season 07/08.

Random irritations:
The Steven Naismith saga
Jimmy Calderwood
David Murray's annual PR piece in today's papers

Please allow me to introduce myself...

Hello people and welcome.
The world of Scottish football is a fantastic place brimming with great characters, fierce rivalry, passionate fans, unbelievable drama and a healthy side portion of humour and bampottery.
Forget the cash-fuelled excess of the Premiership or the scintillating skills of La Liga, if you’re looking for last-minute title deciders, fairytale progression through the leagues and enough conspiracy theories to satisfy him off the X-Files, Scottish football’s the place to be.
Hopefully this blog will capture some of the above and provide topics for debate, and although the main focus is on Scotland, I’ll no doubt have a few things to say on the goings-on south of the border as well as further afield.
Here’s hoping for a good season.