Barr wins Player of the Month
By: Ian Rose |
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Congratulations to Falkirk central defender Darren Barr on winning the Player of the Month award in the SPL for March. Much has been made this season of young Hearts captain Christophe Berra, but Barr is just as young and also captains an SPL side, one that happens to be a point ahead of Berra’s Hearts going into the final match before the SPL split. March was a fantastic month, defensively, for the Bairns, who conceded not a single goal in four matches. Unfortunately, they were only able to score one, a Billy Clarke strike against Inverness. Still, the job that Barr’s back line did last month, keeping Caley Thistle, Kilmarnock, Hearts and Motherwell scoreless, is an impressive one. With something resembling an offense to match that strength at the back, it could well have been manager John Hughes lifting hardware as well.
Now, the two young captains of Hearts and Falkirk have one round of matches to decide which will end the season in the top half of the league, playing lucrative fixtures against the Old Firm, and who will finish off their year in the bottom half, playing Gretna and St. Mirren. Falkirk sits in sixth now, but will have to defend that spot against Aberdeen on Monday. The Dons need the win to have a chance at the top 6, and so it will be a hard-fought battle. Hearts go Saturday to Kilmarnock, who have been tough opponents for the Jambos for the past few years. Hearts know that only a win, combined with a loss or draw for Falkirk, will put them into 6th place.
Category: Scottish Premier League
Tags: SPL Month in Review: March 2008
By: Ian Rose | Add Comments
Well, another month is in the books for the Scottish Premier League, and it might well have been the decisive one in both the race for the SPL title and the race for UEFA Cup qualification. Here’s a look at the overall standings, and the league table for March alone:
The * next to Gretna’s 6 points is just as a reminder that they earned 16, but lost ten because of going into administration.
So, to my mind, the big stories of the month were:
Rangers get comfortable
Going into March, Rangers had a four-point lead at the top of the table, but with Celtic’s inexcusable home draw with Dundee United, and the 1-0 Rangers win in the second Old Firm derby of the season, it’s now six points and a game in hand, so as many as nine. Celtic are now in a clear must-win position, and even with wins in both remaining derbies, they’ll need Rangers to drop more points as well. It’s not over, but the fat lady is tuning up.
Resurgence at Tynecastle
After one of the most inconsistent seasons in recent Scottish football memory, when they both beat Celtic and drew Gretna, Hearts seem to have settled down into pretty good form. They made up ground on their rivals for sixth place this month, and now stand only a point behind Falkirk for that coveted last spot in the top half. On two occasions, draws could easily have been wins for Hearts, but it’s still been a much better run for the Jambos.
Gretna finally relegated
It hasn’t been in serious question for a while, and certainly became that much more inevitable when the team went into administration, but now it’s in the books - Gretna will not be in the SPL next season. The only question now is whether the club will exist at all after this season.
Inverness is limping into the split
My beloved Caley Thistle, pride and joy of the Highlands, has been absolutely atrocious in 2008. March was, like February, a complete disaster for Caley, and only Gretna was worse this month. Not much worse at that. Like Killie earlier in the season, Inverness fans are thanking the saints for Gretna, and the free pass into another season of SPL play, because frankly, since the fantastic December that saw Craig Brewster and Marius Niculae win SPL monthly awards, we haven’t played like we belong in the top flight at all. They can at least prove themselves to be second-worst on form this Saturday, when they head to Fir Park to take on Gretna.
Hibs come back to Earth
As if Hearts fans needed another reason to be satisfied with the month of March, they saw hated crosstown rivals Hibs fall of the great form they had found in February, and fall behind in the race for the UEFA Cup. Hibs lost three of five, though they did have arguably the hardest schedule of any SPL team this month, with trips to both Celtic Park and Ibrox. Their loss to Motherwell made Europe a tough target.
Aberdeen all but out of European chase
After their great run in the UEFA Cup this season, a run that brought back distant memories of the European glory days of old, it now seems increasingly unlikely that the Dons will have a chance at a repeat performance, at least next year. Before thinking about third place, they need to survive the split, and they have only one game to do so. They need to beat Falkirk next Monday, plus hope for a Hearts loss to Killie this weekend. It’s a tall order, especially given Hearts’ form.
Then again, Killie …
Once struggling with Gretna for bottom spot, Kilmarnock managed to nick seven points from four matches in March. They have no hope of the top six, but can play spoiler and help out Aberdeen if they can add to that result and beat Hearts this weekend. A matchup that would have looked dire in the beginning of the season might now be the game of the week.
My awards picks
Manager of the Month: Walter Smith, Rangers
Player of the Month: Allan McGregor, Rangers
Young Player of the Month: Calum Elliot, Hearts
Category: Scottish Premier LeagueThe Derby and the run in
By: Ian Rose | 1 Comment
It’s that time again, time for the one Derby that really requires the capital D, the Old Firm Derby in Glasgow. Tomorrow marks the 378th time that Celtic have played Rangers in competitive matches, going back to 1888. Rangers hold the record in the series, with 150 wins to Celtic’s 135, but over the past decade, Celtic has begun to come back, and we may see in our lifetimes a dead-even Old Firm historical record, which would be pretty incredible. In league matches, Rangers have won 111 to Celtic’s 93. More importantly, Rangers have won the last three derbies, including one at Celtic Park, and it has been four without a win for Celtic.
The two enter this match in a situation that Celtic doesn’t see often in the league, a must-win. The Bhoys trail their hated cross-town rivals by three points, but Rangers have a game in hand, and with 12 wins in a row in the league, they have to be expected to take those three as well. So, it’s essentially a six-point lead for Rangers, a lead that the Bhoys in hoops will have to start eroding right about … now.
There are just four matches left until the split, when the top six in the SPL play each other once, and the bottom six play each other once as well. (That’s four for Celtic, five for Rangers). Two of these matches are derbies, this one at Ibrox and April 16th at Parkhead. Their run into the split is similar. The Bhoys have two matches with Rangers and two with Motherwell before the split, and though Motherwell have fallen off of their early season form, they are still a good side with the ability to take points. Rangers play Celtic twice and Dundee United once, before making up two matches later … no word on when.
As a side note, of the mysteriously injured players before Scotland’s 1-1 draw with Croatia this week, miraculous recoveries abound. Celtic’s Barry Robson looks to be fit for play for his club, while Rangers’ Barry Ferguson, Lee McCulloch, Christian Dailly and Allan McGregor, who all missed their national duties, are all on the roster for their clubs. Ferguson and Dailly are both hurt, the other two are suspect … but it’s interesting that they value an Old Firm derby more than a match for their country. McGregor and Ferguson are important to the squad, and Lee McCulloch would be a nice option for George Burley to have … Dailly is just about done for Scotland anyway.
Tomorrow at this time, the SPL title race will either be blown wide open by a Celtic win, much more comfortable with a Rangers win, or in the same place as before with a draw. My money is on the last.
Category: Scottish Premier LeagueRangers buy their fans UEFA Cup tickets
By: Ian Rose | Add Comments
As Rangers try to continue Scotland’s impressive year in Europe, they will travel to Lisbon to take on Sporting CP on April 10th, after a home leg at Ibrox on April 3. Now, Rangers have decided to reward their fans, who have watched a near-record number of matches due to their long runs both in Europe and the domestic cups, with free tickets to the away leg. The team bought up the entire ticket allocation, 2500 tickets, and will be offering them free to Rangers supporters, with preference given to those who have traveled to away matches before.
I’m no Rangers fan, and have special issues with many of their traveling supporters. I was in Inverness for the season opener in August, and the Rangers fans were an absolute travesty. Still, I like this move from the front office. With 50 matches already played this season for Rangers, the hardcore fans have had to shell out a lot to keep Ibrox relatively full. It’s nice to see the club shelling out for away tickets, especially considering the cost of traveling to Portugal, hotel rooms, etc. Some of that money that Walter Smith decided not to spend on players should be going to taking care of the loyal fans, and it looks like it is.
Category: EuropeVennegor and Niculae represent SPL with goals
By: Ian Rose | 2 Comments
In today’s crazy international action, most Scottish eyes were on the 1-1 draw with Croatia. But SPL club fans could look to a few other matches to see their favorite players as well. Ghana once again capped Hearts midfielder Laryea Kingston, despite complaints from Tynecastle. But it was Inverness Caley Thistle’s Marius Niculae (for Romania) and Celtic’s Jan Vennegor of Hesselink (for Holland) that made the biggest individual splashes. Niculae, in his first Romanian appearance since May 2006, scored his 13th international goal on a nice glancing header. Vennegor, meanwhile, showed the same kind of late explosion that has frustrated so many SPL sides, scoring the equalizer on 83 minutes, part of an incredible Holland comeback win over Austria. Here are links to the goals.
Niculae vs. Russia
Vennegor vs. Austria
(Note: JVofH scores at about 1:11 in, but it’s really worth watching the whole clip to see the Dutch comeback)
Nice to see SPL players out there scoring in international matches. It’s good for the prestige of the league, which has taken quite a few hits this season despite our successes in Europe. For every Celtic and Rangers story, there are two about Gretna, so it’s good to see SPL strikers out there doing well. Let’s hope we see them doing it on a larger stage come Euro 2008.
Category: Other NewsGutsy Partick force cup replay with Rangers
By: Ian Rose | Add Comments
It really has been the year of the cupset in Britain. First the English FA Cup goes into the semifinals without a big four side. Then Celtic is tossed from the Scottish Cup by Aberdeen. Now, it took a late Kris Boyd goal for Rangers to avoid a similar fate today, as a completely fearless Partick Thistle side came to Ibrox and did what no one in the SPL has been able to accomplish in months now, a draw with the league leaders.
The first half was a cagey affair, with neither side getting many clear looks. Damon Grey of Partick probably had the best chance of the half with an early shot that could only be parried away by Allan McGregor. After a scoreless first half, it was Partick Thistle that got on the board first, with Grey taking a ball in from Grant Harkins and chipping it perfectly over McGregor. However, the celebration didn’t last long, as it was only a few minutes later when Boyd continued his recent scoring run in classic Kris Boyd form, taking advantage of a defensive mistake to slot in a winner. He’s a true poacher, that one. I only hope he still has that eye for goal in one week when Scotland take on Croatia.
Now, the replay will head back to Firhill, where Partick will feel even more confident, but if Rangers get back some of their ailing players, like Chris Burke and Lee McCulloch, it might be that much harder.
Category: Scottish CupAberdeen might be Europe bound, after all
By: Ian Rose | Add Comments
It’s been a really remarkably weird season for Aberdeen Football Club. On one hand, they had a great run in Europe, their first good run in Europe in a long time. Getting to the knockout rounds of the UEFA Cup was no small accomplishment for a club of relatively modest financial means, and it was made more meaningful by the fact that their run has contributed to one of Scotland’s best ever years in Europe. The SPL’s current league coefficient for the season is 8.5, the highest since 1984, when Sir Alex Ferguson’s Aberdeen went to the semifinals of the European Cup.
On the other hand, the Dons’ league performances have been mediocre, and sometimes much worse than that. After finishing last season in third, their route to that UEFA Cup run, they now sit in eighth place in the SPL, ten points below third place Hibernian with eight league matches remaining, and that’s been after a fairly good run of play in March. Still, realistically, their one route back to Europe this season looked to be the Scottish Cup, and after drawing with Celtic and forcing a replay at Celtic Park, it seemed a long route indeed. But, as Celtic Offside’s Matt sadly reported today, Darren Mackie’s second-half strike was enough to get the Dons past Celtic, 1-0, to book a place in the semis.
A look at the five teams left in the Scottish Cup invites some comparisons to the English FA Cup this season, with names like Queen of the South and Partick Thistle subbing in for Barnsley and Cardiff. Aberdeen and Rangers are the only two top flight teams left, and they are separated until the final. That means that if Aberdeen beat Queen of the South to reach the final, and if Rangers make it past Partick and then St. Johnstone, Aberdeen will get back to the UEFA Cup, regardless of the outcome of the match.
I’ve been a big opponent of this policy, and of UEFA’s insistence at its continuation, for a long time. The SFA has appealed to be able to award its second UEFA Cup spot to the fourth team in the league if a Champions League bound team wins the Cup, rather than to the Cup runner up. However, for now, that’s the rule, and Aberdeen might be the beneficiaries of it. I’m personally hoping they are, not only because I like the Dons and their chances to do well in Europe, but also because I don’t want to see another second-tier team represent Scotland in the UEFA Cup, as Gretna did a few years ago.
If Hibs can hold on to third in the league, I’m actually pretty happy with the potential SPL entry into Europe next season. Celtic, Rangers, Hibs and Aberdeen. That’s a strong foursome. Still a long way to go before then, though. Stay tuned.
Hail the Fifers, 3rd division champs
By: Ian Rose | 5 Comments
It might not be making the cover of any major football magazines anytime soon, but the fact is that this past weekend, the first league title of the year in Britain, probably in Europe, was decided. East Fife wrapped up their first league championship in 60 years on Saturday with their 3-0 win over East Stirling and taking home the Scottish Third Division (actually the fourth tier) title. The last time the Fifers raised a major trophy, it was the 1954 league cup. It’s been a long wait for the fans in Leven, and they deserve it. Congratulations to the all-Scottish Fifers.
The other end of that fixture was just as interesting. East Stirling has been at the bottom of the Third Division five years in a row, and thus, at the bottom of the entire SFL system. Scotland lacks an organized pyramid system for promotion and relegation beyond the top four levels, but under new rules, such a consistently underachieving team has to reapply for league membership, and it looks like they’ll be out at the end of this season unless major changes happen. That leaves the door open for an applicant from the Highland League or one of the other regional leagues to throw in their hat. For my own self, I’d like to see Cove Rangers from the Highland League get a shot (even though my personal loyalties lie with Nairn County in the HL). Cove has done well in cup competitions, and has a reasonably large fan base, for a local side. Wouldn’t be too bad to see another side from Aberdeen in the league either. We’ll see how it pans out. With Gretna falling apart, there may actually be two open spots in the league.
Category: Scottish LeagueRangers win league cup on penalties
By: Ian Rose | 3 Comments
Rangers are the most trophied football club on the planet, going into this season with 107 major trophies (51 league championships, 31 Scottish Cups, 24 league cups, and 1 European Cup Winners’ Cup), but it’s been a bit of a dry spell for the blue half of Glasgow the past few years. The last trophy that came their way was in 2005, when they won both the SPL and league cup. Now that drought has come to an end, and that ridiculous hardware count is up to 108, after Rangers today won the league cup final over Dundee United, but just barely.
Coming off of their 0-0 draw at Celtic Park, United had to feel like they were in with a very good chance at this cup. They’ve waited 14 years since their last trophy, the 1994 Scottish Cup, and with Rangers down a few key players and distracted by three other competitions, this was a great chance. In the 18th minute, the Terrors took a deserved lead when Noel Hunt drove home a poorly cleared ball from the Rangers defense. United would hold onto that lead for almost the entire match, despite some close chances both ways, until six minutes from full time, when Mark Kerr’s terrible backpass opened the door for Kris Boyd, who slotted home the equalizer, and it was extra time for the cup final.
Just into extra time, United kept the pressure on, with the best team goal of this year’s cup, a great flowing attack that ended in a Prince Buaben pass and a Mark de Vries goal. But Rangers would not be denied, and another United defensive mistake led to another late equalizer from, guess who, Kris Boyd. Boyd headed in after a poor clearance in the 113th minute, forcing the game to penalties.
All match, United keeper Lukasz Zaluska held up very well, and the penalties were no exception. He saved penalties from Jean-Claude Darcheville and Lee McCulloch, but that would not be enough, as three United misses left it down to Kris Boyd from the spot, and he confidently scored the winner to end the penalties at 3-2 and make sure the trophy would stay in Glasgow city limits.
That’s one down and three to go for Rangers. The UEFA Cup is going to be a tall order, considering their results so far, but the league is very possible this year, with Celtic three points behind with one more game played, and the Scottish Cup is quite possibly going to be an Old Firm final. Cup action continues in Scotland on Tuesday, as Celtic and Aberdeen replay their Scottish Cup quarterfinal tie.
Category: League CupAnybody want to play for Gretna?
By: Ian Rose | Add Comments
Things just keep getting worse for the SPL’s bottom side. First, their millionaire owner took ill, forcing paychecks to go unpaid. Then, they were forced into administration, dooming what little chance they had of staying up in Scotland’s top flight. Now, it’s not even certain whether or not Gretna FC will be able to field a side on Saturday against Aberdeen, because only 10 players have committed to taking the pitch. Administration has led to a question of whether Gretna’s remaining players will be paid, and if so, when, and it seems that several of them are just unwilling to take the field.
One can’t blame these guys for wanting to get paid for their jobs, but I do sincerely hope Gretna can finish out the season. They’ve had a great rise through the Scottish League system, and though I was always rooting against them for survival in the SPL, I hate to see everything fall apart like this. To add insult to injury, apparently someone broke into the team’s home park and stole boots and other equipment. Bad form to the thieves … way to kick them when they’re down.
Category: Gretna
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