Only one winner this weekend in the SPL and it was WHO?
After the long international break that saw Scotland break my heart, we’re back to the regular league season, so Inverness can break my heart instead. But first, a look at the big boys of the SPL.
In a Saturday sure to have excited absolutely no one, we had three SPL matches, and three SPL draws. Rangers started the sharefest with their scoreless trip to Motherwell. Celtic, surely licking their chops with 2 points on the table to be stolen from their bitter rivals, were unable to do the job, and finished 1-1 at home to Dundee United. And in the battle of the fightin’ saints, St. Mirren managed only a point at home in their new creatively-named park hosting promoted side St. Johnstone, 1-1.
The other Saturday match, Killie at Hearts, was postponed due to a lorry fire on the highway which prevented Killie’s traveling support, and incidentally their squad bus, from reaching Edinburgh in time. Tynecastle will still be there on Wednesday.
On Sunday, utterly pointless early strugglers Hamilton (seriously, they had zero points) hosted the capital city Hibees. It’s been a rough start for the Accies, but they did the job and took the match 2-0, on an early penalty from Mensing and another from Antoine-Courier. Hibs man Colin Nish certainly didn’t help anything with two yellows in the final 10 minutes, getting himself taken off with barely enough time to get a wash before the final whistle. By the way, if you picked Hamilton to be the only winner in the entire league this week, hats off to you – that took some guessing.
Monday saw Falkirk taking on Aberdeen, and once again, Scottish fans were rewarded with very, very little to watch, as the two went scoreless.
So far, things look familiar at the top, with the Old Firm tied on 10 points from 4 matches and a two-point lead on United. The surprise is at the bottom, where Hearts sit on just a single point from their first three times out. They must have been looking forward to hosting the inconsistent Kilmarnock this weekend, and will hope for those points on Wednesday. If they are not taken, count on escalating talk about change at Tynecastle.
Meanwhile, Celtic and Rangers both start their European group stages this week, with Rangers going to Stuttgart on Wednesday and Celtic to Israel to face Hapoel Tel Aviv. Both are tough trips, but those of us not embroiled in the unending pissing contest that is Glasgow football wish them both well. Good luck lads.
Scotland in danger of losing lucky 13th place
By: Ian Rose |
4 Comments
Scotland entered six teams into European competition this season – Celtic, Rangers, Aberdeen, Motherwell, Hearts, and Falkirk. After a dismal start that saw Aberdeen dismantled over two legs and Hearts, Falkirk and Motherwell fail to reach the Europa League group stage, it’s down to the Old Firm. As much as our European hopes [...]
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Celtic Slays the Saints, and more from Saturday
By: Ian Rose | Add Comments
It was a lively Saturday in Scottish football, and as we all look to the domestic game for some of the quality we’ve so famously lacked in Europe, there were some very good matches to keep us entertained and help us forget about that nasty little word “coefficient”.
SPL: Celtic 5-2 St. Johnstone
With two consecutive [...]
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SFL Kickoff: It’s the most wonderful time of the year
By: Ian Rose | Add Comments
Ladies and Gentlemen, the wait is over. League football is back across Scotland, with every team in the SFL kicking off Saturday. Scratch that – every team has fixtures. Livingston, the saddening trainwreck of the league, has decided not to show up to their Third Division match with East Stirling as part [...]
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Livingston double relegation shuffles the SFL
By: Ian Rose | 1 Comment
It just gets worse and worse for Livingston Football Club. On the edge of administration for months, the cash-strapped club can’t pay its staff, its players, or its rent. The rest of the First Division was understandably worried about Livvie keeping its commitment to play all of its league fixtures, and now, the [...]
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One comeback down. Can there be another?
By: Ian Rose | 1 Comment
Congratulations to Celtic today, who came back from a 1-0 opening leg deficit to beat Dinamo Moscow, on the road 2-0, and move on to the Champions League Playoff Round. After last week’s series of debacles, it’s great to see the league’s coefficient picking up some points, as well as to see one of [...]
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League Cup First Round Results
By: Ian Rose | Add Comments
The first round of the Scottish league cup is in the books, and there were not a lot of surprises, but certainly a lot of goals. Only three matches were settled by less than a two-goal difference, and only one went to penalties. Overall, those that made it out to the grounds this [...]
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Eastern Europe 3 – Scotland Nil
By: Ian Rose | 3 Comments
Last season was a tough one for Scottish football in Europe. Rangers dropped out of the big show early to Hearts’ feeder team (which frankly should get us at least half coefficient points), Celtic ended their run of Champions League knockout performances, and the UEFA Cup was a complete disaster. I thought things [...]
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Clyde are the anti-Galacticos
By: Ian Rose | Add Comments
It’s been a tough year for fans of many cash-strapped struggling Scottish clubs. But while Livvie fans are still waiting to find out if they have a team, Clyde FC has turned the corner, and done it in what I consider to be a very respectable way. They were forced to release 13 [...]
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Mixed day in Europe for Bairns and Well
By: Ian Rose | 4 Comments
Motherwell and Falkirk went to Europe, and all Scotland got was this lousy sixth of a coefficient point.
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Team News
Rangers: The will they, won't they, and should they?
So, firstly, hello. I've just taken over the writing of this blog and hopefully will be doing so for some time to come. It's my first blog so any comments, criticisms or passing thoughts as to how I'm doing would be great. As well as being a life-long Rangers fan ...
Nov 18, 2009 | Read this article...
In the Press : Steven Fletcher Moves Masses to Tears
Every so often, you come across that one story that just sends your heart soaring into the stratisphere, a real moment when you absolutely walk on sunshine and everything's gonna be alright. Or something to this effect.
A recent article in The Daily Record - Steven Fletcher: Moving to England has ...
Nov 13, 2009 | Read this article...
Presumptuous Old Firm gets faced by pretentious English Prem
The news is clear on this one. The Guardian and The Times Online are giving the business to Celtic and Rangers upon the outright rejection of a Old Firm inclusion into the English Football League. From the Daily Record: "The clubs welcomed the additional input into an ongoing process, however, ...
Nov 12, 2009 | Read this article...
Aiden McGeady has man-crush on Irish boss Trapattoni
It seems Aido is quite excited about this brief break from club duty for the Republic. In talking about Itallian-born/Ireland boss Johnny Trapattoni, "He tells me I have the ability to score and take a shot, because if I take a shot and even if I don't score, it might ...
Nov 12, 2009 | Read this article...
A Look Back - January 28, 2006
The date: January 28, 2006
Celtic v Dundee United.
A Celtic starting eleven of Artur Boruc, Mark Wilson, Adam Virgo, Stanislav Varga, Ross Wallace, Shunsuke Nakamura, Neil Lennon, Stiliyan Petrov, Shaun Maloney, Magic Zurawski, and Welshman John Hartson.
Of that line-up, John Hartson (now retired), Zurawski (now playing in Cyprus) and Petrov ...
Nov 09, 2009 | Read this article...
Hooligans on Film - Typical Ranger Behavior
In college, my Greek professor would often tell a story about about how, during the American Civil War, Union troops came on to our (Hampden-Sydney) College campus in rural south-central Virginia. They searched (for who knows what)throughout the grounds, harassing students and faculty alike, and even busted down the college's ...
Nov 09, 2009 | Read this article...
Hair of the Dog - Hamburger (and Benny) Hill
I feel we can skip the typical match report on this one. It would look something like this:
Hamburger SV nil, Celtic nil...
According to The Herald, both Scot McDonald and the keeper, who still isn't Artur Boruc, say Celtic can still qualify out of the Europa Cup Group Stage.
Scotty Mac, ...
Nov 05, 2009 | Read this article...
Don't forget to cheer on your fellow Scottish club tonight
Rangers play Unirea Urziceni this evening in Romania's Steaua Stadium. They already played two weeks ago, and I complete forgot to come on the 'gers that night. I think I had yoga or something.
Of course, a Scottish side should cheer on another Scottish side, as the folks from BBC Scotland ...
Nov 04, 2009 | Read this article...
Hair of the Dog - The Sunday Morning Report
The Sunday Morning Report
In the Scottish Premier League :
Celtic 3 - 0 Kilmarnock
- Two wins in a row find Celtic atop the Scottish Premier league. Two loses out of three find Killie ninth, tied on points with St Johnstone and Hearts.
Hibernian 2 - 0 Aberdeen
- With the best 6-game form ...
Match Report : Celtic 3 - 0 Kilmarnock
Scottish Premier League
Celtic 3 - 0 Kilmarnock
I'd like to say this was another day at the office, a good Celtic win, overpowering a struggling Kilmarnock side. And perhaps the struggling Killie part is true with only one (1) shot on target, three (3) corner opportunities, a load of fouls and ...
Oct 31, 2009 | Read this article...
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