Scotland 2009/10: How was it for you?

SO, there it is. The Scottish Cup final notwithstanding, the curtain comes down on season 2009/10, the 113th since that sunny day in August 1890, when Rangers defeated Heart of Midlothian 5-2.

Funny how history has a habit of (nearly) repeating itself. While this season Rangers kicked off against Falkirk and not Hearts, the end result was pretty much the same – Rangers champions (albeit joint champions with Dumbarton), Celtic several points behind them, St Mirren somewhere near the bottom. Taking the role of Falkirk in that first season where Cowlairs, a team currently residing in the “where are they now?” files.

Hopefully Falkirk won’t go the same way as Cowlairs, a team beset by financial and administrative problems and which eventually went out of business in 1896, but there’s many a nervous Bairns fan out there, wondering what the summer will bring.

But how was the season for you and yours?

You can’t say it’s not been exciting. Celtic, Dundee United, Falkirk, Hearts, Kilmarnock and Motherwell all changed managers at some point during the season. History tells us that changing horses in midstream is generally not a good idea, but with the exception of Falkirk, for the most part it’s worked out.

In the end, Rangers deserved their title. Despite all their problems, they won the league at a canter. A League Cup would have been matched by a Scottish Cup had it not been for United, and the less said about the European adventures the better, but worthy champions they are. The won the league against a backdrop of financial woes, but with every day bringing news of tax demands, a will-he-wont-he buyer and a bank-induced “buy one, get one free” players sale, it might not all be such plain sailing next season.

About the only team for who Rangers’ impending implosion is relevant is Celtic. Even with Lennon in charge had no chance of catching up with Rangers, but you have to credit the Northern Irish international for at least giving it a go. Unbeaten in the league since taking over from Mowbray, Lennon has made a good case for becoming permanent manager of the Hoops over the summer. Something tells me he’ll get the job, and you know what – why not? He’s a Celtic man through and through, he’s done a remarkable job in turning around a squad that just wasn’t performing particularly well and, if nothing else, at least he did something only two other teams did this season: beat Rangers.

Peter Houston, the initially reluctant Dundee United manager got off to a slow start, including a goalless draw with Killie, a 7-1 thrashing by Rangers and an away defeat at New Firm rivals Aberdeen, but he stuck it out to put together a series of results that kept them in the top half of the table (they never dropped lower than fifth) and got them into the Scottish Cup final.

Craig Brown and Jim Jefferies, two veterans of our game had seasons of differing fortunes. Appointed to their new positions within a month of eachother (Brown at the end of December, Jefferies at the end of January) both managers steered a steady course to keep their sides from straying too far down the table – though by a strange quirk brought about by the league split, seventh placed Accies actually finished the season with more points than sixth placed Hearts.

No one said Scottish football was perfect.

Fans of St Johnstone can look back on a solid campaign that, given a repeat performance next season, could well be the start of a lengthy SPL stay, if only they’d stop conceding so many goals. Jimmy Calderwood did was he was asked, keep Killie up, but his future, not to mention that of Killie remains in doubt.

Hamilton Accies did well to improve on their final finishing position from season 2008/09, finishing two places higher, and all that without their prize asset, Master James McCarthy. Whether they’ll do as well without James McArthur remains to be seen…

St Mirren managed to avoid the final day heart attacks of last season, but only just. A vital win at home to Kilmarnock and draws against Falkirk and Hamilton in the final weeks of the season kept the Buddies up, meaning SPL football will be played in their brand new stadium for another year.

Which leaves Aberdeen, easily the most disappointing team of the season. Picking holes in Aberdeen’s season is like shooting fish in a barrel, there was simply so much that went wrong. Terrible players, terrible results and a manager whose early-season PR with his own fans left many wondering about his sanity, not to mention longevity, all made up not so much a roller-coaster season as a fairly pacey downhill slalom.

Another highlight of the season has been the progress that Raith Rovers and Ross County made in this years domestic Cup competitions. Raith Rovers, somewhere below mid-table in the First Division made it as far as the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup, beating Aberdeen and Dundee along the way, before coming unstuck against Dundee United. Ross County made it one game further. They took two big SPL scalps, those of Hibernian and Celtic (providing Neil Lennon’s only copybook blot). They also put nine past Second Division champions Stirling Albion in an earlier round.

They’ll play Dundee United next Saturday at Hampden.

And I couldn’t fail to mention an old favourite, Fort William. The Fort, once Britain’s worst football team, possibly, went from a team without a win last season to winning no less than 5 games during this campaign. They finished five points above the bottom spot, the wooden porridge spoon this year going to Rothes. Despite their success, The Fort still set two records this season: the biggest home win (champions Buckie Thistle won 8-0) and the longest run without recording a win (11).

There have been some disappointments too.

The national side once again failed spectacularly on the international stage. Failure to qualify for South Africa was one thing, but friendly defeats in Japan and Wales proved too much for the SFA who fired Burley, who had won just three of his 14 games in charge. The SFA moved quickly to poach Craig Levein from Dundee United, who got his tenure off to a winning start (a 1-0 win over Euro 2012 group-mates the Czech Republic). While the start looks promising, it may not last: Levein is one of the names in the frame for the Celtic job.

The other disappointment has been the McLeish report, the much awaited inquest into past, present and future of the Scottish game. Released without any fanfare whatsoever somewhere last month (I forget when, go Google) the report made some minor waves in the national media and the blogosphere, but most of us who care about the game stopped reading after we saw the line about needing £500m in investment to get things to where they should be. Quite where that amount of money is going to come from in this day and age is a mystery to me, and McLeish for that matter.

What follows on from this first installment (there are three in total) is completely irrelevant now, because by coming up with such ludicrous amounts, McLeish has made a mockery of his own report, and any further insights or recommendations – no matter how clever – will be met with even less hoo-la than I would have ever imagined.

So that’s it. A quick summary of my Scottish football season. We’ve still got a few games to go (a Cup final and the First and Second division play-off Finals), and before the next season kicks off there will be more talk of league reconstruction and league splits. While the format may change, the football remains the same and despite all I’ve had to put up with as an Aberdeen fan, I’m already looking forward to August.

Are you?

The Dundee Dilemma

There is perhaps some comfort to be had for Tony Mowbray as his Celtic side continues their at-first-glance pointless chase of runaway leaders Rangers.

Most pundits will have told him that trailing the Ibrox side by 10 points and with 10 more games till the end of the season, the chances of overhauling that lead is nigh-on impossible. But Mowbray - and indeed Walter Smith - need only look 90-odd miles east to see that sometimes even the largest leads have a habit of disappearing like snow before the sun.

Depending on results, we could have a new leader in the Scottish First Division as long time front runners Dundee have somehow managed to fritter away an 11 point lead. In a story laced with irony, the Dens Park outfit have led the table since the beginning of December, when a 1-0 win over Ross County in faraway Dingwall saw Jocky Scott's men overtake Queen of the South (ironic moment #1) to take up pole position. It's a lead they hung on to through an amazing 13-game unbeaten streak, and which saw many blogs declaring the First Division race well and truly over.

Dundee seemed unstoppable, both on and off the park. Supported by the millions of club director Calum Melville, Scott was able to bring some of the top talent to Tayside, talent such as Gary Harkins and Leigh Griffiths (between them good for some 21 goals between them this season), Richie Hart, Bob Malcolm and Maros Klimpl.

The club won the Challenge Cup in November (beating Inverness Caley in the Final) and managed to make it to the quarter final of the Scottish League Cup where they were knocked out by Rangers, but having beaten SPL side Aberdeen along the way (ironic moment #2, director Melville being an Aberdeen fan and ironic moment #3, Jocky Scott a former Aberdeen co-manager).

But by the time Dundee had been knocked out of the Scottish Cup by fellow First Division side Raith Rovers, the wheels had started to come off the wagon. Their blistering form deserted them from the beginning of the new year where they picked up only 8 points from a possible eighteen, beginning and ending with (irony #4) defeats against bottom side Airdrie United. Having only managed to lose 1 game in 19 and looking certain for promotion, it was suddenly losing three games in eight and the possibility of SPL football next season that led to the club stepping in and sacking of Jocky Scott.

The club wasted no time in appointing Scott's replacement. Having flirted with Partick Thistle manager Ian McCall, who demanded a £200,000 compensation deal, Dundee turned to Queen of the South manager Gordon Chisholm, who as a player won promotion with Dundee back in 1992 and will be the first man ever to manage both Dundee clubs during his career. He'll be assisted by Billy Dodds.

The challenge facing the dream-team of Chisholm and Dodds is turning around a bad run of form to secure promotion to the SPL. With a pretty tricky schedule and under fire from the Dundee support, the task will certainly not be easy. And what better way to start the final push than a home game against (ironic moment #5) Queen of the South! The Doonhamers, lying 10 points behind Dundee are probably out of the running for promotion, but given the fixture list to come and with all the possible permutations, every point can have a pivotal outcome on the league.

With the First Division being as tight as it is, who are the main challengers, and how do we see this going?

Dundee
The current league leaders are struggling of late. They're under new management which can have both good and bad effects, but you've got to question the timing. If nothing else, sacking Scott at this stage of the season may well be moment at which they secured First Division football next season. Chisholm is an experienced SFL manager. If he can get the team scoring again in the way they did earlier on in the season, they'll be fine. If not, the Dee are in trouble.
Key games: Tonight's game against Queen of the South. A must-win game to get the season back on track. Other than that, their next two games see them taking to the road as they face two of their main challengers in a short three day period: Ross County (27.03) and Dunfermline (30.03). Depending on results, the final game of the season sees them up in Inverness for what could well be the title decider.
Final Position: 2nd. I think the managerial change was a mistake, one which will cost them.

Inverness Caley Thistle
Caley are battling hard to get back into the SPL, hoping to overcome the disappointment of relegation on the final day of the season. Terry Butcher's men are unbeaten in the First Division since last December and in the Irish trio of Rooney, Jonny Hayes and Richie Foran they've one of the most exciting teams in the Division.
Key games: Dundee on the final day, obviously. Otherwise, another derby against Ross County at home at the end of this month could be a potential banana skin considering the last encounter between the two sides.
Final Position: League winners. I think they'll pip Dundee at the final post, probably (sorry, hopefully) on the final day, just to keep the interest going. Imagine if Celtic do what Caley did and bring the season down to the final game on the final day? Who says Scottish football is not exciting?

Dunfermline Athletic
Dunfermline have moved themselves back into promotion contention following their fifth victory in six games when they beat Scottish Cup quarter-finalist Raith Rovers at the weekend. Results elsewhere helped them get there (Thistle losing, and Caley and Ross County sharing the points), but nevertheless, they've as good a chance as any of the other teams at the top.
Key games: The Pars are well positioned to keep up the challenge, but having played more games than the other teams around them, there's not enough games, plus too much depends on the other teams around them.
Final Position: 3rd.

Ross County
Ross County might well be distracted by the Scottish Cup campaign. For Derek Adams, he's got a decision to make. They're in with a reasonable chance of getting past Hibs, but you can't see them getting past Celtic to reach the final. On the other hand, they're in with an outside chance of making promotion, so which competition to do you focus on. Over 6,000 attended Saturday's derby with Caley Thistle, suggesting interest in SPL football is in abundance, so perhaps that is where the short-term focus should lie.
Key games: The game against Hibernian tonight in the Scottish Cup replay. A victory there will set up another money-spinning but distracting fixture against Celtic. County will play all top-four sides in the next four weeks, but after that it's a reasonably doable run-in.
Final Position: 4th. Much as though I'd like to have Ross County in the SPL to fly the flag for the north of Scotland, I can't help but feel they'll struggle there. They've enough games to make up the difference, including two games in hand over Caley and Dundee and three over Dunfermline, so who knows.

Outside chances go to Queen of the South, who, like Ross County have quite a few games in hand, most of those against bottom half opposition. They're only 10 points behind Dundee, but I think the gap is too far to bridge. They're under new management also, a shocked Kenny Brannigan taking over. One point behind them is Partick Thistle - early challenges who fell away - are another side for whom the gap is too far. They've got eight games left this season, five of which are against the top-half of the table.

So, all in all plenty to keep us entertained. What do you lot think? Do let us know!

The SFA and the search for the next manager of Scotland

Now that the bunting has been torn down from between the tenements and the houses, and the last of the party revellers bundled into a taxi for the long ride home, the mandarins at the SFA find themselves in a situation that gets less unique with every tournament that passes Scottish football by.

Like many other blogs and newspapers, we published our own list of candidates yesterday over at Inside Left. Our list is fairly standard in that it contains the same names that appear on most other lists, and when we published it yesterday, we felt confident that whoever takes over at the helm will probably feature on our hit parade.

But the SFA should take a long, hard look in the mirror before they take a look at the CV’s.

In an ideal world, and in a recession when finding a job is not the easiest of challenges, the Scotland job should be one of those ‘once in a lifetime’ opportunities. It comes with a few perks. There’s a nice compensation package, travel to exotic locations and the opportunity to work with some of the brightest talents (sic) in the Scottish game.

In reality however, finding someone who is prepared to work with a limited talent pool and a governing body whose organisational skills couldn’t arrange a ride in a brothel is like the search for a piece of hay in a giant stack of needles.

Between Berti Vogts and now George Burley, the position of national manager has become, if you’ll excuse the oft-quoted cliche these last few days, a poisoned chalice. Constantly pilloried by the press and often left in the dark or the lurch by the SFA, who’d want to take this job on?

The job requires someone who can take on the suits at the SFA and who is willing to deal with the politics and Machiavellian machinations all the way up the greasy pole. Someone with a big gob and a tough skin. Unfortunately, the only candidate we can think of with the balls to pull that off, Graeme Souness, has put himself out of the running.

At a time when Scottish football is at a crossroads, the new manager needs to be an individual who has the vision and the clout to force the SFA to make changes needed to get the national team back on the road to respectability. And that is something that goes beyond picking the 22-man squad for every tournament – it’s about changing the youth setup, it’s about training and supporting a raft of new coaches to be deployed in schools and clubs around the country, it’s about getting the funds to improve the facilities at every club to foster a culture of ambition and success.

Does such a candidate exist? And would we be able to afford them?

The SFA is not a rich organisation, so the salary on offer to the lucky candidate is going to discount most of the names who currently ply their trade south of the border and who have appeared on some lists of successors: David Moyes, Roy Hodgson, Billie Davies, Alan Irvine and Steve Clarke, to name but a few.

Aside from the fact that none of these people would ever give up a relatively successful career in leagues that offer more challenge than the Scotland job would ever do, the amount of money we’d have to pay them to even join up would be prohibitive. The biscuit tin at the SFA is still very much in existence.

So where does that leave us?

It leaves us with candidates who certainly carry a degree of gravitas, and who, more importantly wont ask for too much money. Jim Jefferies can’t be on a whole lot, John Collins, Darren Ferguson and Jimmy Calderwood are all on the dole, so could be brought in relatively cheaply. Walter Smith probably doesn’t need the money anyway.

You then have to ask the question “would I want these people managing my squad?“.

Jim Jefferies has operated for years at a club with little funds or talent yet he’s been able to keep Kilmarnock in the league (just, on some occasions). Like Walter Smith, he’s a safe pair of hands, someone to steady the ship without really setting the heather alight.

John Collins would certainly keep the team fit, but his management skills leave a lot to be desired. He survived a mutiny during his time at Easter Road (they where not too happy with his constant team and formation changes), suggesting perhaps that his tactical nous and man-management qualities are open to question.

Jimmy Calderwood is a man who is often derided for his appearance and questionable media skill, but underneath the orange exterior you’ll find a canny manager who, like Jefferies, has a long track record of getting the best out of a pool of players with limited ability.

Darren ’son of Alex’ Ferguson is, was, an up-and-coming manager who also has experience with crappy squads. He led Peterborough to the Championship before leaving earlier this month after a run of poor results. He clearly has talent, but given the amount of work needed to get the national squad into shape, is he really up to it, even if he has the auldyin on the end of the phone. And would he want to be tainted with the Scotland post at the risk of putting him out of contention for any future English club management jobs?

Mind you, that could also be said for a candidate we see that can fulfill our requirements – Craig Levein.

The Dundee United manager has expressed an interest in the job and is currently doing the sort of thing at Tannadice that, on a broader scale, the Scotland setup requires: investment in youth and an overhaul of the youth academy and total control over all football-related activities. He’s getting results on the pitch with a largely Scottish squad, but would he want to risk the massive kudos he’s built up at United? He’s the bookies favourite, but we see him staying at United for a few more years to finish what he started.

Having thought about the situation for a few days now, I’ve come to the conclusion that while the quality of manager is important, the other issue facing the country is the august body of people who ultimately make the final hire or fire decision.

The Scottish Football Association, an 11-man strong board of cronies and hangers-on are aware changes needs to be made, but are unwilling to give up the cosy lifestyle or to invest the time in changing the very structure that keeps them in power.

This means that whichever candidate we get will more than likely be another meek and mild character, like Burley, who won’t rock the establishment boat too much. This is why you’ll never see Craig Levein get the job, no matter how much he says he wants it, because he would simply demand too much, too soon.

The concept of ‘the buck stops here’ is not one that seems to apply to SFA. For them, the buck stops one level below them. The men responsible for Burley’s appointment, those responsible for keeping him in a job when clearly the man was failing and those responsible for so much of the challenges facing the Scottish game need to take a long, hard look in the mirror and question the value of their own contribution to the national game.

Neither Chairman of the SFA George Peat, whose outbursts about Chris Uwelumo’s miss against Norway where particularly sickening and uncalled for, nor Gordon Smith, our erstwhile Chief Executive whose only contribution has been to change the rules to give Islam Feruz a game for Scotland, have made any real difference to the game north of the border, and both have presided over a period when the national side has become an object of ridicule and embarrassment.

While Burley, his reputation forged at successful spells at Derby, Southampton and Hearts forever damaged by his sacking earlier this week, is busy signing on, the leading lights of the SFA return to work, looking for the next man to carry the can for the institutional failings of the people who run the game.

Good luck to him, whoever it is.

Norway v Scotland Preview (or 'The art of self-destruction')

Written by Seb Gevers

When George Burley took over at the helm of the Scottish national side, he knew the scale of the task ahead of him. He knew, because history tells its own story. Scotland, a team forever on the edge of qualification. Scotland, a team forever on the edge of the next round. Scotland, a team that somehow always contrives to mess it up at the final hurdle.

Last October at Hampden, against Norway coincedentally enough, we saw another example of Scotland in full self-destruct mode.

That game, you might remember, was memorable for several occasions. For one, there was Chris Iwelumo missing an absolute sitter from 5 yards out that your granny could have scored. The Wolves striker, making his debut, found himself in front of goal at the end of a Stephen Naysmith cross. Needing only the gentlest of tap-ins, he made contact with the ball but managed to put it wide of the post from close range.

The other notable event from that game is what followed after the events on the pitch. Or rather, what didn’t, according to Kris Boyd. The Rangers striker, at the time leading scorer in Scotland, frustrated at manager George Burley’s reluctance to play him ahead of Iwelumo, announced his resignation from the national side – while Burley was in charge at least anyway.

Whether or not Boyd would have played the next game against the Dutch is moot, for the end result, a 3-0 defeat, was never in doubt. Kenny Miller, looking lively in the opening exchanges and playing all alone up front in a 4-5-1 missed an early chance that perhaps a more in-form striker, like Boyd for example, might have put away.

But again, Scotland’s ability to push the self-destruct button needed only a few hours after the final whistle to make its appearance.

Following the side’s return to their Loch Lomond training base, several players, including Scott Brown, Alan Hutton, Gary Teale and Rangers trio Steven Whitttaker, Allan McGregor and Barry Ferguson indulged in an apparently sanctioned after-hours drinking session. When this drinking carried on into the early hours, and with guests arriving for breakfast and the players still at the bar, the Scotland management was informed: McGregor and Ferguson where caught propping up the bar, having run up a four-figure bar tab at the Cameron House leisure club, their drinking compatriots having made a dash for the exists when the raid came.

Although the pair eventually apologised for the drinking affair, matters took a turn for the worse when both players where seen to stick up two fingers – the classic ‘V’ sign – at photographers who had assembled around the pair during Scotland’s next game against Iceland. Both had been benched as part of their punishment following the Cameron house incident, but this act of sheer lunacy prompted the SFA to hand out life-bans to both players, meaning that they would not be eligible for selection again for future Scotland internationals, and their club, Rangers, to drop them for the rest of the season (and remember that at this stage, Rangers where still trailing Celtic by three points in the league). Worse for Ferguson was to follow when he was also stripped of the captaincy in favour of veteran defender David Weir.

Since the whole Iceland affair, thing have been quiet around the Scotland camp. There’s been no scandals, no gossip and no dressing room bust-ups. Barry Fergusson has left Scotland for other pastures blue at Birmingham, while Allan McGregor is still fighting to regain his Rangers and Scotland place – David Marshall will take his place between the sticks while Craig Gordon continues to recover from injury.

Tomorrow night, Burley and his merry men travel north to Oslo for another make-or-break tie against a side that, for once, we actually have a good record against. In the ten fixtures that have taken place against Norway – games stretching back to 1978 – Scotland have recorded more victories (4), or, to put it better, only 1 defeat, that coming via a Steffen Iversen’s penalty in 2004 that left Scotland with one point from two games.

With runaway group winners The Netherlands not playing until 9th September (against Scotland no less), it’s up to the remaining teams in the group to play catch-up and fight it out for that coveted second place, and a chance of qualifying for the World Cup as one of the eight best placed group runners-up.

While Scotland find themselves in pole position (for second place anyway), Norway currently lie bottom of the group on three points. They’ve not won a game so far, but have managed to draw 3 of their five games, suggesting perhaps that getting three points may well be a harder task than you might think. So far the Norwegians have lost both their games against The Netherlands and have drawn with Iceland, Macedonia and of course Scotland.

It’s a game that must be won by both sides. Scotland need a win to keep up the fight for that second place. A victory tomorrow would end Norway’s already fading hopes of qualification and set up the Scots for their next crucial game against Macedonia at Hampden, knowing that a win there would all but guarantee second-spot in the group, regardless of the outcome of their final group game against the Dutch at the end of September.

But this is Scotland we’re talking about of course.

A second place finish is all well and good, but our qualification then depends on the fortunes of others, like it did in 1974, when, despite not losing a single of our group games, we needed results elsewhere for us to progress. Back then it needed Zaire to hold off Brazil (they didn’t of course, the Brazilians going through on goal difference), while this year it’s down to Belarus, Kazakhstan and the Auld Enemy, England to give the Scots a chance.

Scotland are currently 8th in the ranking of second placed teams, 2 points ahead of nearest rivals, Group 6 chasers Croatia. The Croatians, who still have a fixture against England to come, and with England starting to blossom under Fabio Capello, it will be down to fellow Group sides Belarus and Kazakhstan to help us out. The omens don’t look good however – both Belarus and Kazakhstan are desperate sides, and should not provide much competition for the Croatians who also have the Ukraine, level on points, breathing down their necks.

For Burley and the boys, the most important result tomorrow is the one that sees them pick up possibly three of the most important points of their campaign, and for Burley only the second time in his 19 month stay as Scotland manager. It’ll be a tough game, but in terms of history in this particular fixture, Scotland have the upper hand. It’s just a shame that once again we’ll need a bit of luck from elsewhere to push us over the finishing line.

And when it comes down to luck, that’s where Scotland always seem to fail.

Scotland, from: Marshall; Hutton, G Caldwell, S Caldwell, Whittaker; Brown, Hartley, D Fletcher; McFadden, Miller, McCormack. Subs Marshall, Langfield, Barr, Berra, Davidson, Maloney, McAllister, G Alexander, Commons, Clarkson, S Fletcher, Naismith.

Venue: Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo Date: Wed, 12 August Kick-off: 1800 BST
Coverage: Live on BBC Two, BBC Radio Scotland, Radio 5 live and BBC Sport website.

For more great writing from Seb, visit insideleft.net...

The deal of the century?

The ink has only just dried on the contract, but already the fall-out from the deal that will save quite a few of the SPL clubs is starting to accumulate.

At a meeting held at Hampden yesterday afternoon, the 12 clubs that make up the SPL voted to accept a combined ESPN/Sky TV deal worth £65m which will see the broadcasters show 60 games between now and the end of the 2011/12 season. The deal also included an option to extend the contract for a further two years after that.

On the surface, it would be easy to think that all parties to the negotiations walked away from the table with broad smiles on their faces. In what looks like a win-win situation, member clubs get the security of a fixed income for the next few years, while ESPN/Sky adds more product to their already expansive portfolio of football goodness. And for the fans and the clubs, this means transfer money and the prospect of new signings, together with the ability to view their teams in glorious HD-O-vision.

But as the day wore on details started to emerge from the meeting - and it would appear that not everyone was overjoyed at the decision.

Quite simply, the SPL faced a tricky situation. Caught on the back foot and dealt a weak hand going into the negotiations - especially as Rangers and Celtic, the aces in the pack, where busy putting together their own deal - the league and its member teams had no alternative. Finding themselves looking for a deal that would assure the clubs of at least some income (reduced as it would be by some £60m), the league acquiesced.

The vote that required an 8-4 majority was carried in favour of acceptance, but according to St Mirren chairman Stewart Gilmour, it was not carried unanimously. Although the exact nature of the vote will not be released it is safe to assume that both halves of the Old Firm voted against the deal, with the rest voting in favour.

Lex Gold, chairman of the SPL, said: "We are pleased that in just over three weeks we have been able to strike this deal".

The statement would imply that furious behind-the-scenes negotiations where taking place to secure an even better deal for the SPL, but the harsh reality is that ESPN/Sky where holding all the cards. The league had been under pressure for some weeks now to secure funding for the upcoming season, in a climate in which Scottish sport generally has been taking a battering from all sides. Earlier on this month, the kit suppliers to the Scottish national side, Diadora, went into liquidation, as did Canterbury, a New Zealand company that supplied kits to the Scottish Rugby Union.

The biggest critics of this new TV deal have been the Old Firm. Both clubs have issued statements in the last few hours voicing their opposition to the deal, but have agreed to go along with the wishes of the other teams. The question though is for how long they're prepared to continue letting the tail wag the dog.

Both Rangers and Celtic, along with Aberdeen, had been against signing up with Setanta in the first place, citing their concern over the future financial viability of Setanta. The three teams preferred to enter into the deal offered by BSkyB, which, though worth less money, they felt provided more security. The other nine SPL teams however thought the risk was worth it, especially when taking into account the enormous sums of money on offer at the time. And so, the SPL entered into the now infamous deal with Setanta, valued at approximately £31 million a season, and which is to this date still the most lucrative TV contract in Scottish football history.

We all know what happened next. Setanta overstretched themselves with the various packages they purchased and failed to meet already ambitious subscriber targets, targets which looked even more unrealistic when Setanta won only one of the six big EPL football packages on offer. The Irish broadcaster went into liquidation at the beginning of June, an outstanding payment of £3m to the SPL being paid by the SPL themselves in order - it has been reported - to save some senior clubs from financial ruin.

It emerged in recent days that both Rangers and Celtic had been in private negotiations to launch a bid to purchase the TV rights themselves, given the combined ESPN/Sky deal was very low (£60m less than the previous Setanta deal). But whether the Old Firm would have been able to put together not just the financial package but also the infrastructure to broadcast the games was remains doubtful.

Some saw the move as an attempt to force ESPN/Sky into increasing their offer, using the four Old Firm games as leverage, as these are undoubtedly the biggest draw to any broadcaster looking to show Scottish games. If this was indeed the strategy behind the Old Firm move, then it was one always doomed to fail: both ESPN/Sky make enough money from the EPL rights they have picked up following Setanta's demise that the additional SPL revenue would be a mere drop in the ocean.

Simply put, ESPN/Sky could take it, or they could leave it.

Perhaps in a move to save the deal before ESPN/Sky walked away, the SPL met at Hampden and held a vote on accepting the deal, foregoing its own rule that member clubs must be given two weeks advance notice ahead of any vote on such issues. This didn't go down well with the Old Firm who felt they where not given enough time to put together an alternative offer. But while both clubs have stated that they'll comply with the wishes of the SPL (they have little choice), Celtic chairman John Reid has said he's bitter at having been locked into a deal that will cost his club some £70m over the terms of the contract.

The armchair fans can now look forward to watching 60 games a season, split between Sky and ESPN. For those lucky enough to already have Sky, the games will be free, but those games shown on ESPN, they'll have to pay an extra £9 (if already a Sky subscriber) or £12.99 on a pay-per-view basis.

That neither Rangers or Celtic are happy with the new deal means that while peace reigns for now, don't expect this to continue. John Reid has said that both his club Celtic and Rangers would "continue to consider alternative plans for the future", meaning that at the end of 2011/12 season, another debate will no doubt rage the future of televised Scottish football and who owns it, and who is going to be showing it.

And they're right to force the discussion.

We have already seen that putting all your eggs in one commercial basket, no matter how large that basket may be, carries with it a big risk. We've seen in the days and weeks following the collapse of Setanta just how many clubs counted their chickens before they hatched. We are currently in the middle of an global recession the world had not seen for a long time, and while ESPN and Sky are both thriving now, what guarantee is there that this state of affairs will continue into the future?

Both ESPN and Sky have bet heavily on the continuing appeal of the EPL, but the balance of power seems to be shifting away from the English leagues, and over to La Liga. Spain, reigning European Champions and tipped by many for a glittering World Cup 2010 campaign would appear to be the place to be.

Real Madrid have spent more money on three players than the entire Setanta deal would have paid out over the duration of their deal with the SPL had they survived. With Barcelona installed as the current Champions League winners, it is to Spain that the big guns are heading - no doubt lured by big money, a lovely climate, away from the top clubs in England, with its 50% tax rate and overly physical play, if Andrei Arshavin and Ronaldo are to be believed.

If the appeal of the EPL is indeed declining (evidenced by the lack of activity in the transfer window of players coming to play in the EPL), it's not unreasonable to expect both ESPN and Sky to be looking to renegotiate their deals in years to come. And if that happens, you only need to look at the debacle in Scotland to see what that would mean.

Perhaps the SPL should have given the Old Firm more time to put together an alternative. Perhaps this alternative could have seen the clubs take ownership of their own TV rights, removing the dangers of tying themselves to deals with companies as much at risk as any other in this fragile economic climate. We'll never know.

In the boardrooms of the clubs outside of Glasgow, sighs of relief can be heard. In the medium-to-short term, Scottish football can continue. Perhaps not with the grand plans it had a year ago when the Setanta deal was signed, but continue it will.

For now.

For more articles about Scottish football, please visit Inside Left.

By the numbers - the 2008/09 Scottish Football season

The Scottish football season finally came to a halt as Rangers win the Scottish Cup following their 1-0 victory over Falkirk last Saturday.

The promotion and relegation fixtures have been played; St Johnstone, Raith Rovers, Ayr United, Stenhousemuir and Dumbarton are all preparing for life in a higher division following their promotions, while for Inverness Caley Thistle, Clyde, Airdrie United, Queens Park and Stranraer next season will mean having to adjust to life in a lower league.

So what better time to conclude the 2008/09 season in Scotland than with some tasty statistics, lovingly hand-compiled and fact-checked, sort of.

11

is the number of seasons in the SPL since its inception in 1998. Celtic lead the winners table, with 6 wins. This years champions Rangers trail the Parkhead with 5 wins.

27 is the number of goals scored by Scotland's top scorer, Rangers' Kris Boyd. He´s scored 11 more than Scott McDonald of Celtic, his nearest rival for the Tartan Boot (if such a thing exists). Boyd also leads the table for number of hattricks scored this season, 2.

52 is the total number of domestic league wins for this years champions Rangers. In winning the league for the 52nd time since 1891 following their 3-0 win at Tannadice on the final day of the season, Rangers continue to hold the world record for the number of domestic league honours. Having also won the Scottish Cup last weekend, they will need only one more win to equal Celtic's total number of wins in the worlds second oldest Cup competition; the Hoops have won it 33 times.

15 stands for the number of managers who lost their job one way or the other over the course of the year. It began with John McCormack's resignation from Albion Rovers in July and ended with Mixu Paateleinen’s resignation from Hibs on the 28th May of this year. Other high profile departures included Jimmy Calderwood (Aberdeen, pictured left), Gordon Strachan (Celtic), Craig Brewster (Inverness Caley) and Roberto Landi (Livingston).

548 represents the number of goals scored this season in the SPL, down 62 from last season. The most goals scored in one game are the 8 racked up in the fixture between Rangers and Hamilton on the 6th December which the Ibrox side won 7-1. Across the other three senior leagues in Scotland, the most goals outside of the SPL where scored in the Third Division (497) and the lowest, 443, in the First Division. However, these totals are dwarfed by the total number of goals scored in the Highland League - a stunning 789!

Oh, and speaking of Highland League...

Zero is the number of games won by Highland League side Fort William this season. The Fort outdid themselves, scoring the same amount of goals (16) and conceding fewer (121), but last season they managed to win a game. Their one solitary point during the 2008/09 campaign came thanks to a 1-1 draw against Wick Academy.

23 is the number of points between second placed Celtic and third placed Hearts. Not so much a gulf as an ocean of difference when you consider that this gap is five more than the combined points gap between the second and third placed teams across Divisions One, Two and Three.

14 is for Manuel Pascali of Kilmarnock, who leads the yellow-card table having seen it produced 14 times this season, but somehow managing not to get sent off all year. In contrast, Marius Zaliukas (right) of Hearts received the most red cards this season - four.

Interestingly, had the Fair Play League not been restricted to the SPL it would be Brechin City, not Motherwell playing in the Europa League. The Angus side picked up only 37 yellow cards and 1 red card all season, which is a whopping 13 fewer than the team that finished top of the Fair Play league, Celtic.

7 is the number of times Perth-based St. Johnstone have won the First division title; they secured their latest promotion when they beat Morton 3-1 at McDiarmid Park on May 29th, putting the Saints back in the top flight for the first time since 1997 when they where founder members of the SPL the following year.

212 is the number of goals you would have missed if you left every Scottish Football League game 10 minutes early.

1286 represents the average attendance across the First, Second and Third divisions. This total is down 23 from last season, suggesting perhaps that football is as popular as ever (or not) despite the credit crunch. The best supported team this year outside the SPL was Dundee. Troubled Stranraer, relegated back to the Third Division and facing an uncertain future had the lowest average attendance, with only 303 paying punters coming through the turnstiles every week.

Right, that just about wraps it up for another year in Scottish football. We hope you enjoyed our coverage so far - we´ll be back over the summer with the latest transfer news, gossip and scandal. Until then, see ye efter!

The 2008/09 Scottish Season Review

Take down the nets, pull up the corner flags; fetch the stray balls from off the roof of the main stand and switch off the floodlights for the last time, for another season of football in Scotland has come to a close. 

A long time ago, on another web site all about the beautiful game north o' the border, I put together a season preview wherein, using nothing more than a league table, a blindfold and a sharp

implement I predicted the outcome of the 2008/09 season in Scotland. Looking back on it now I wasn't that far out in some cases, completely off the chart in others, and prophetic in others.

As usual, one half of the Old Firm won the league. 

Rangers' final day victory over Dundee United brought to an end Celtic's three-year long dominance of the SPL title. For Rangers, it marks the end of a season in which Walter Smith really pulled the irons out of the fire following a truly dreadful start to the season. After going down 2-1 on aggregate to FBK Kaunas in the qualifying rounds of the Champions League and the (some say forced) sale of Carlos Cuellar to Aston Villa, Rangers could focus on the League, doing what they do every season, namely chase and harass Celtic all the way.

 

Along the way we had ‘Boyd-gate’ (where Scotland’s top scorer and Rangers striker Kris Boyd walked out on the Scottish national side), ‘booze-gate’ and subsequently ‘vicky-gate’, where keeper Allan McGregor and club captain Barry Ferguson where caught  in an after-hours drinking session and then caught giving the world’s press the two-fingered salute from the bench. Both players where banned from ever playing for Scotland again and both where dropped by Rangers for the rest of the season.

 

Rangers kept up the chase however, twice clawing back huge Celtic leads and getting the results when it mattered, while Celtic spluttered along. Though not the best Rangers side we’ve seen for a while, they’re certainly worthy winners.  There's been much talk and speculation about the future of Walter Smith with many expecting him (and wanting him, in some quarters) to move upstairs in favour of his assistant Ally McCoist. The temptation of one more season in charge, particularly now that there’s Champions League football to look forward too may keep McCoist out of the hot seat for a bit longer.  The revenue that Champions League football will bring will also secure the club’s finances, the state of which has been a matter of much debate during the season.

 

Celtic finished second and will no doubt look back on this season and wonder how they  managed to lose the league when, at two points during the campaign, they where so far ahead of the Ibrox side that imagining anything other than Strachan's fourth title in a row would be considered an act of sheer lunacy.

 

But lose it they did, not at Parkhead last Sunday, but at Tynecastle, Tannadice and Easter Road, where all those drawn games would go on to make all the difference. When it was announced on Monday afternoon that Strachan had resigned from his post at Parkhead, there were few surprised faces around the country. The cheeky, razor-sharp wit that had made Strachan so popular and quotable over the years had disappeared, the pressure of high expectation that life at the helm of the Old Firm sides brings with it giving way to cynicism, indifference and apathy, an apathy that was very much on display in the lacklustre way in which Celtic ended their season.

Early favourites for the job include: Celtic fan Owen Coyle, recently promoted to the EPL with Burnley, former Celtic player and Hibs manager Tony Mowbray, currently facing life in the English Championship with West Bromwich Albion and Dundee United manager Craig Levein. The most likely candidate though is Motherwell manager Mark McGhee, another former Celtic player with considerable, if not exactly outstanding, experience in both England and Scotland.

Hearts greatly improved on last seasons display. Proof, if it where needed, that too much intervention from an over-zealous owner can only lead to disaster. Vladimir Romanov, no doubt preoccupied with the credit crunch kept his nose out of first team affairs and allowed new coach Csaba Laszlo to run the team. Hearts finished 8th last season, but a solid if unspectacular campaign (not including that terrible defeat in the League Cup at Airdrie) saw them climb the table, securing third spot by some 6 points from fourth placed Aberdeen and a return to European football for the first time since 2006.

For Aberdeen, a Scottish Cup quarter final exit at the hands of Dunfermline (Jimmy Calderwood's old club) and a League Cup exit to Kilmarnock in the 3rd round ended a domestic cup campaign that saw the Dons struggle past the mighty Ayr and Alloa in previous rounds. Though Aberdeen qualified for Europe again for the second time in three seasons, it was that failure to win a domestic trophy that ultimately spelled the end for boss Jimmy Calderwood, a manager that delivered top half finishes in 4 of his 5 seasons, a record only bettered by Sir Alex.  Whoever follows on from Calderwood has a good place from which to start: a good side, possibly the best for some time, though a central defender might be handy if captain Scott Severin leaves; a backup to Jamie Langfield in goal might also be top of the list. And with the lure of European football next season and a new stadium in the planning stages, it may well be easier than normal to attract a top manager to Pittodrie. Mark McGhee was favourite to take over, that is, until Gordon Strachan resigned as Celtic manager. Other possible contenders include Eric Black, Plymouth manager Paul Sturrock and former Aberdeen player Dean Windass.

Dundee United and Hibs, the other two sides to make up the top half of the league split failed to improve on last season’s campaign. Aberdeen's win over Hibs, coupled with United's own defeat at home to Rangers meant that Craig Levein’s men would miss out on European football, pipped to the post once again by Aberdeen. Dundee United's suffered the loss of their influential and much loved chairman Eddie Thompson in October, a loss that was felt deeply around Dundee. Thompson had invested heavily in the side despite much initial success and was a ruthless chairman who sacked five managers in his time, but his dedication and love of Dundee United was never beyond doubt.

Hibernian's season started badly as they where knocked out of the InterToto Cup by Swedish side Elfsborg before the other teams in the SPL had even kicked a ball in anger.  Exit from the League Cup at the hands of Morton (on the day before city rivals Hearts where knocked out of the same competition by Airdrie, thus ending Edinburgh interest in the League Cup) soon followed, along with an inconsistent run of form that saw the Hibees win only 7 games before the New Year break. Together with Dundee United, Hibs drew the most games this season (14), but made the top half before the League split in April, where only 1 win (against Hearts), three defeats and a draw saw them back in 6th place, same as last season.

Motherwell, for whom the 2007/08 season was a resounding success given the tragedy and misfortune that befell the Lanarkshire club, managed to hang on to manager Mark McGhee, despite the temptation on offer in the shape of Heart of Midlothian FC. A last minute change-of-mind kept McGhee at Fir Park, but, as we predicted at the start of the season, he failed to live up to the standards set last season, when the Steelmen finished third. Early exit from Europe came courtesy of French mid-table side AS Nancy set up a season with little to play for. Knocked out of the Scottish Cup by St. Mirren and the League Cup by newly promoted Hamilton, Motherwell struggled about in the bottom half of the table for most of the season, but pulled it together towards the end to eventualy finish 7th. The good news for Motherwell is that they'll play in the Europe again next season on account of their finish in the Scottish Fair Play League. The bad news: they'll need a new manager as we expect McGhee to be busy at Parkhead come August.

Hamilton, last seasons promoted side did better than I expected.  Top of the table for the first two weeks of the season following wins over Dundee United and Caley Thistle, Billy Reid suddenly found himself at the opposite end of the league by week 10, a position they held for an uncomfortable period of time. And just as we where all stroking our beards saying "ah, we knew they wouldn't last the pace", the team embarked on a series of results that saw them climb back up to 8th, before finally settling on 9th place. Survival then achieved, if only late in the season, but mission accomplished, it's fair to say. Young starlet James McCarthy delivered the performances we all expected, prompting offers from far (Middlesboro) and not so far (Celtic).

We had high hopes for Kilmarnock, given their yo-yo tendencies. The Rugby Park outfit certainly started well, winning six of their first 10 games, but the inevitable mid-season slump hit around October sending Jim Jefferies into the lower half of the table, where they'd stay, and eventually finishing 8th. We had Jefferies as the first casualty of the season, but he held on and remains popular down in Ayrshire. 

St Mirren where my tip for the drop last season. In the end, I wasn't far off, a superior goal difference over relegated Caley being just enough to keep them up. Together with Falkirk, St. Mirren where the only side in the SPL not to get out of the bottom six. Gus McPherson should be rightly proud of that win against Rangers in October, a good Scottish Cup ran into the semi-finals and their brand new stadium, because apart from that there was little else to celebrate this season.

Falkirk, together with Aberdeen, where the only side whose final position we correctly predicted. John Hughes' side played lovely football all season, but all that glitters is not gold, and the Bairns spent most of the season in the bottom quarter of the table. However, all is not lost: Falkirk are in with a chance of silverware this season as this Saturday they take on Rangers in the Scottish Cup final. Falkirk battled their way through Queen of the South (last years shock finalists), Hearts, Caley and Dunfermline to reach their day in the sun. And no matter what happens, Falkirk will play in the Europa League next season as their opponents Rangers have already qualified for the Champions League. So, Premier League survival, Cup finalists and European football - all in all not a bad season for John ‘Yogi’ Hughes.

Off the field

Our club side’s performances in European competitions was something best glossed over. The debate about whether or not the Famine Song - which had the Irish government complaining - is sectarian and/or racist continues on, but one thing is sadly very clear: bigotry and ignorance still exists in certain parts of the country.

This season has also seen the credit crunch hit Scottish Football. In April, reports in the press surfaced about troubled Irish broadcaster Setanta looking to renegotiate their deal with the SPL. Setanta had previously committed to a £125m deal to show live SPL football from 2010 onwards, but following a change in the terms of the contract with the English Premier League (which saw most of the revenue go to rivals Sky), Setanta wants to reduce the investment. For clubs like Celtic and Rangers, this reduction of income – should it come - wont make that much impact, but the likes of Motherwell, for whom the television deal amounts to a quarter of their income, the impact is potentially severe.

Financial problems also affected clubs in the lower divisions, with Livingston having trouble paying players, already relegated Clyde facing eviction from their stadium for unpaid rent, and Second Division sides Stranraer and Stirling Albion both in serious danger of folding under a mountain of debt and low attendances.

Over the course of the season, we also lost several great names from days that have passed. Bob Crampsey, broadcaster, Alfie Conn, Hearts legend and part of the 'Terrible Trio' along with Willie Bauld and Jimmy Wardhaugh,  Jamie Dolan, who tragically died at the age of 39 whilst out jogging, the third former Motherwell player to have died at a relatively young age in recent times and Brooks Mileson, former owner and major funder of Gretna, the fairytale story of a small provincial club that went from rags to riches to bankruptcy and ultimately complete extinction.

 

And finally...

As I look back over the last year, it strikes me how little progress we seem to have made. Scottish football continues to struggle, both technically and financially. 

Domestically, our league continues to be a two horse race, with a chasing pack of teams that will never win the league as long as you and I live. Consider that Celtic and Rangers have won over 100 league titles between them, more than 5 times the combined total of league wins of every other team ever to play senior football in Scotland since 1894.

In Europe, our clubs showed their limitations. Motherwell, Hibs and plucky Scottish Cup runners-up Queen of the South all went out in their respective first round fixtures to insignificant European sides.  Celtic won one game in their Champions League campaign (at home, to Villareal) and lost the rest, meaning they didn’t' make it out of their group. But it was Rangers' embarrassing defeat to Lithuanian powerhouse FBK Kaunas that stands out from the mediocrity. The defeat, over two legs, was a failure of such epic proportions that launched the Ibrox club and, on a wider level Scottish football as a proposition, into crisis mode.

Our national side is struggling with World Cup qualification, having so far only won 1 of their qualifying games, and that against a poor Iceland side. When you look at the the make-up of our team that lost 3-0 to The Netherlands in March, only 2 of the that took the field, Alan Hutton and Darren Fletcher, play at the highest levels in English football. The balance was made up of Championship and (mainly) Old Firm players.

As a proposition, Scottish football is simply not attractive. Outside of the Old Firm, there is no competition, no lucrative Champions League football to get your teeth into, no filled stadiums, little in the way of television revenue, small transfer budgets and even lower salary levels. And neither Rangers nor Celtic, for all their success are top sides. It's not a popular opinion, but too many years as big fish in a very small pond have brought fame and riches, but little in the way of progress. This fact is highlighted by the fact that Owen Coyle, manager of the Burnley side that won promotion to the EPL on Monday and a Celtic man through and through, considers the danger of getting pumped every week in EPL preferable to coming north to Celtic and guaranteed silverware and European football every season.

These facts have not gone unnoticed. Henry McLeish, former First Minister of Scotland and former professional footballer with East Fife has called for a review of the game in Scotland, in which boards and fans are invited to play an active role to help create a "national conversation" for Scottish football that will address some of the challenges facing Scottish football today. We can only hope that something constructive and tangible comes from that review, because football in Scotland desperately needs changing.

Next week we'll look at the Scottish Football League and the Highland League, and round off our season review with our wish list for next season. Until then, see ye efter!

ArenA Diary (Notes from Holland v Scotland)

It all started out so positively.

A lively start to the game saw our midfield dominate completely, with our two holding midfielders able to close down the opposition and steal the ball from under their feet. Given time on the ball to pause and look for our wingers getting into forward attacking positions, their defence-splitting passes found their target with consummate ease, like a hot knife through butter. With no answer to our incisive, relentless attacking play, it was no wonder that we were 5-0 up at half-time, cruising to a victory our stylish play deserved.

The second half promised more goals, but with another important 'must win' game next week, the manager decided to put the foot on the brake: the defence sat further back allowing the opposition to come forward more, hoping to catch our opponents on the break. But the trust that the manager placed in our two center-backs proved well founded. Apart from two scary moments at the end - a ball through the middle of the park was allowed to get through was followed shortly afterwards by a teasing cross that found its target, both expertly saved by the keeper who, despite the one-sidedness of the game, kept the concentration levels high - we deserved the win.

So that took care of my daughters hockey game. Later on that evening, I had the pleasure of sitting amongst 52,000 Dutch fans in a packed Amsterdam ArenA to watch Scotland get pumped 3-0 by Holland.

I'll not bore you with an intricate breakdown of the game because quite frankly, from my seat - section 117, row E, seat 36, roughly level with the corner flag - I was not up high enough to see the formation throughout the game. Instead, I'll share with you my thoughts as the game progressed.

• Scotland fans are the best in the world. Holland fans are pretty good too. The atmosphere outside the ground before the game was cracking. Lots of booze, lots of men in kilts, lots of men (and women) in orange. No hassle, no fighting, no segregation.
• I nearly cried three times during this game. The first time was when 'Flower of Scotland', the national anthem was played. If I hadn't torn my vocal chords to shreds singing along to '500 Miles' by The Proclaimers just 5 minutes before the anthem was played, you'd have heard me above everyone else.
• The second time I nearly cried was when I heard the Dutch starting eleven.
• Ross McCormack and Nigel de Jong are two of the 'chunkiest' players I've ever seen.
• Jings. That's Arjen Robben. And there's Dirk Kuyt. Klaas-Jan Huntelaar. Oh, and there's Wesley Sneijder and Mark van Bommel. And that's Robin van Persie walking 50 meters from where I'm sitting. I wonder if he can hear me. Robin! Robin! Robin! Roooobiinnn. You're a fanny! Naw, he didn't hear me. Most of row E to A did though. Flying the flag lads, flying the flag.
• Reading the papers after the game, every British paper said that Caldwell's goal should have stood, while every Dutch paper said the goal was rightly disallowed. So much for unbiased reporting.
• It was a poor game for the Dutch also. The result flattered them, the 2-0 coming through poor defending, not classy Dutch play. Aside from those goals, Holland had very few chances.
• I understand now when football pundits describe Dirk Kuyt as some kind of deranged labrador. The man runs around from left to right, up and down and back again chasing, and never quite getting, an imaginary stick.

You can forgive George Burley this game. A squad decimated by injury, patched together at short notice. Injuries to Stephen McManus left Gary Caldwell without his Celtic team-mate in the heart of the defence. Cristophe Berra, formerly of Hearts and now of the Wolves was brought in to replace him, a move fraught with danger as Berra had yet to start a competitive international for Scotland.

On the right, Graham Alexander had a torrid time against Robben and failed to act when Huntelaar got free to score, while Naymsith took over from where Alexander left off when Robben switched wings in the second half. Alan McGregor should have done better with the two goals conceded from open play. There are some that argue that McGregor was impeded for the second goal (I couldn't see from where I was sitting), but one wonders how well Craig Gordon would have dealt with the crosses that McGregor wouldn't come for.

Of the midfield (McCormack, Fletcher, Brown, Ferguson, Teale), only McCormack got time and space, managing to make some progress going forward but the final ball - as always - too poor to be of any use. Teale, I'm ashamed to say, I've never heard of, Fletcher (the only 'top level' player in the squad, shown left) and Brown where both poor, and Kenny Miller should have done better with that chance he had in the opening minutes of the first half.

No-one expected Scotland to win this game. A 3-0 defeat is progress of sorts (it was 6-0 last time out), and the pressure is now on Burley and his men to get a win against Iceland on Wednesday night. Nothing short of victory will do now for Scotland and the hope is that Burley will at least put out an attacking 4-4-2 if he wants to get out of Hampden, let alone the qualifiers alive. The hope is that our defensive options are more plentiful, though you'd have hoped that the back four that lined up against Holland will have less trouble with Iceland.

The only question then is who to bring up front with Miller. McFadden is out, Kris Boyd is still sulking, leaving only Garry O'Connor (himself only just back from injury) or Chris Iwelumo (whose height we could have used on Saturday and whose shameful miss against Norway could mean the difference between getting out of this group or not ).

All is not lost, but we've got to pick up points from the remaining games. Iceland and Macedonia have still come to Hampden, as do Holland in the last game of the qualifiers. By that time we can only hope that there's enough distance between us and the team in third to make the final game against the Dutch a formality. We certainly would not want a repeat of Saturday night at Hampden, otherwise expect the tar and feathers to be out.

Oh, and the third time I nearly cried? That would be towards the end of the game, with 5 minutes to go, 3-0 down, and the stadium starting to empty. From high above me to the right, in amongst the Scotland support, a lone bagpipe could be heard playing 'Flower of Scotland'. It brought a lump to my throat, so it did.

And I make no apologies for that - football does that to you.

Who Are Ya? - The Scotland National Team

There's not many managers who enjoy an international break. Rafa Benitez for example, would be fuming at the temporary halt in league procedings that may at best disrupt Liverpool's cracking run of form or, at worst, give him an injury crisis to deal with. Sir Alex might have different views on this, perhaps using the time to restore calm and, above all, discipline back to Old Trafford. Either way, international breaks are like taxes: a necessary evil, best dealt with quickly and without fuss.

With Scotland due to play Holland in the latest round of 2010 World Cup qualifiers, we take a look at one of the sides in action in the Amsterdam Arena on Saturday as tonight, Matthew, we’re going to be: the Scotland national team.

So, who are ya?
Well, we’re Scotland and we are the oldest national football team in the world. We made our first appearance in a game against England in 1872, a game that ended in a 0-0 draw. Since then we’ve made eight World Cup appearances, qualifying for the first time in 1954 and again in 1958. After a wee absence, we managed to qualify for five World Cup Finals in a row, namely in 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986 and 1990. Although we didn’t qualify in 1994, we did make it to France in ‘98. We’ve also been at the European Championships in 1992 and 1996.

Just don’t ask how we did in all these competitions; Scotland have never qualified for the second round in any tournament they’ve entered.

Any past glories?
The 5-1 win in 1928 by a team later called the 'Wembley Wizards' is as good a place as any to start. There’s Scotland beating newly-crowned world champions England 2-3 at Wembley in 1967. Or how about being undefeated in the ‘74 World Cup, where we lost out on goal difference to Zaire? And beating World Cup winners France twice in last years unsuccessful Euro 2008 qualification rounds wasn’t exactly shabby either. Shame about those defeats to Georgia and Italy though...

Plenty of low points, surely?
Though some say the ‘78 campaign was bad (and it was), two words will sum up Scotland’s international misfortunes better than anything else: “Berti” and “Vogts”. With other national sides getting a foreign manager, Scotland got on the bandwagon and appointed former Germany World Cup-winning captain Berti Vogts as manager in 2002. He started off badly, a trend he continued during his tenure at the helm. Home defeats to Norway and Hungary are forgivable; coming from behind to draw 2-2 away to the Faroe Islands isn’t. Two years, a 1-1 draw to Moldova and a 27-point slide down the FIFA rankings after he became manager, he resigned; Walter Smith took over, results improved and all of Scotland held a party.

Obviously, disappointment at not making the Euro 2008 finals was massive. Good performances against France were offset against struggles with the Faroes, Ukraine and Georgia. No-one expected Scotland to beat Italy, but in the 2-1 defeat in the final game, Scotland showed that they can compete with the very best teams in the world.

However, Jock Stein's fatal heart attack at the end of the 1-1 draw against Wales on the 10th September 1985, a result that guaranteed qualification for the 1986 World Cup, is probably the lowest point in the Tartan Army’s history.

Have you heard of...
Henry Waugh Renny-Tailyour? No? Well, The Royal Engineers player scored Scotland’s first international goal (and also our first away goal) back on the 8th March 1872 in a friendly game against England. It wasn’t all good news though - Scotland lost 4-2.

Or how about Ally McLeod? He took Scotland to Argentina in 1978, whipping up enormous excitement by asserting that Scotland would come back with at least a medal. He started a wave of enthusiasm and pride for the Scottish team that included a UK Top 6 song, 'Ally’s Tartan Army'. Despite going with a strong team that included Kenny Dalglish, Archie Gemmill, Joe Jordan and a young player making his debut in the dark blue shirt, Graeme Souness, upon arriving in Argentina things went from bad to worse.

A 3-1 defeat to Peru in the opening game, followed by a 1-1 draw against Iran meant Scotland had to beat group leaders and 1974 finalists Holland by three clear goals to qualify. They scored three alright, including 'that' cracking solo goal by Archie Gemmill, but the Dutch scored twice, meaning Ally’s Tartan Army were on the first plane home to Prestwick. McLeod only lasted one more game, eventually being replaced by one John ‘Jock’ Stein.

Stand up if you hate...
England have always been our traditional enemies - the 'auld enemy', in fact. Over the years there's been some exciting and hard-fought encounters, but since the British Home Championship (and the annual Scotland versus England game) stopped in 1984, meetings between the two sides have been sporadic, with the last game back in 1999 when Scotland beat England 1-0 at Wembley through a Don Hutchinson goal.

So, what's happening now?
George Burley is Scotland’s 21st manager, taking over from Alex McLeish who left to become manager of then (and soon-to-be again) Premiership side Birmingham. His term as manager got off to a slow start with a 1-1 draw against a strong Croatia team, followed by a 3-1 loss to the Czech Republic. Two friendlies didn't exactly set the heather alight either: a dire 0-0 draw against Northern Ireland and a narrow 1-0 defeat to Argentina showed there was still much work to do.

Burley's focus is now on getting Scotland to qualify for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa - assuming it’s still held there by the time qualification is assured.

With three games played so far in the World Cup qualifying games, Scotland find themselves second in the qualifying group with one win (Iceland 2-1), one draw (Norway 0-0, a game more famous for the incredible miss by Wolves striker Chris Iwelumo from 20cm out) and one defeat (Macedonia 1-0). They take on Holland on Saturday - a team undefeated so far in the group.

What does the future hold?
Even if World Cup qualification is not achieved, Burely has a good squad on which to build. In Craig Gordon and Alan McGregor he’s got two great (and potentially the UK’s most expensive) keepers. If you’re looking for experience, Christian Dailly, Gary Naysmith, Darren Fletcher and Kenny Miller can provide you a backbone from defence to attack. If you’re looking to build on the younger players, Heart of Midlothian’s Christope Berra recently made his debut, as did Cardiff City's Ross McCormack. Birmingham’s James McFadden scored 13 times in his 37 appearances so far. Rangers FC Hall of Fame inductee Barry Ferguson MBE captains the side.

A hot prospect for the future is Hibernian's 21-year old Steven Fletcher, Scottish Football Writers’ Young Player of the Year and top scorer in the Scotland under-19 side which reached the 2006 UEFA Under-19 Football Championship. He’s been tracked by Real Madrid, but it's looking more likely that a move to England is on the cards.

Encouraging to note also is that of the 20 players currently in the U-21 or U-19 sides, only four play for either Celtic or Rangers, suggesting that perhaps the youth system is working at clubs outside of the Old Firm.

The only disappointment so far has been Kris Boyd, currently top scorer in the Scottish Premier League who has vowed never to play again for Scotland while George Burley is in charge.

Anything you'd like to add?
Some interesting trivia for you. Did you know that:

• All the players in that first game against England back in 1872 came from one team, Queens Park?
• Or that up to 1909, Scotland used to play in pink, the colours of the honorary President of the Scottish Football Association, Lord Rosebery?
• Or that Kenny Dalglish is Scotland’s most capped player and is, together with Aberdeen-born Dennis Law, joint top scorer with 30 goals?
• 149,415 people crammed in to Hampden Park to watch Scotland take on England in 1937, an attendance which remains a British record to this date?
• Or that 147,365 people turned up the week before that to see Celtic beat Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup Final and that this is the record attendance for a club match in European and British football?

Lastly, George Burley is the third former Ipswich manager to manage his own country. Your trivia question - who are the other two?

Scottish Football Roundup

With only a few more rounds of games to go before the frankly absurd league split in April, Celtic and Rangers took some time off from putting even more points between them and the rest of the league by competing in this years Scottish League Cup final, also knowns as the 'Co-operative Insurance Cup'.

As always between these sides, it was a mighty stramash with the two goals that won it for Celtic coming late into extra-time. Darren O'Dea got proceedings off to a start when he looped a header over Alan McGregor in the 94th minute, and Aiden McGeady settled the matters from the penalty spot after he was brought down by Rangers' Kirk Broadfoot, who was also sent off for his troubles. The win earns Celtic their 14th League Cup (only 11 wins behind Rangers now in this competition) and some much needed good news for manager Gordon Strachan who had been on the receiving end of criticism from his own fans.

And while the cats are away, the mice do play. With neither of the Old Firm in league action, the teams chasing those all-important third and fourth places where having their day out. Of the teams that make up the top-half of the table, only Aberdeen won this weekend. They eased their way past Hamilton Accies, Chris Maguire getting on the scoresheet on the half-hour mark in a game played in blustery north-east conditions. Aberdeen remain undefeated at home since October of last year, while for the Accies their terrible away form continues - they've recorded only two wins on the road so far this season. They'll be wanting to get themselves into the top half of the table to assure themselves of survival in their first season back in the top flight, but their performances in the league so far have surprised many.

Third-placed Hearts lost out in the Edinburgh derby, going down 1-0 to a Hibernian side desperate to regain some form and remain in the running for that sixth spot come the league split. It was an exciting encounter, with both teams reduced to 10-men before the break. Hearts keeper Janos Balogh was first to the dressing room, if not the ball, as he slid in on Stephen Fletcher - missing him by as much as 30 feet if the Hibs forums are to be believed.

Not long afterwards the red card made its second appearance of the day as Hibs defender Souleymane Bamba was dismissed for bringing down Christian Nadé on the edge of the box. The winning goal for Hibs came courtesy of Stephen Fletcher; the Scotland international attempted a header but he only managed to get his shoulder to it, looping the ball over Balogh's head and into the net. Hearts remain in third place, while Mixu Paateleinen can enjoy his first ever Edinburgh-derby win since becoming manager of Hibs.

Elsewhere, Dundee United's slump continues as they lost 2-1 away to Motherwell. United's season had been going well, the Terrors recovering from a woefull start to the season to fight their way into third spot. But with only three wins from their last ten matches (and all of those coming against teams from the bottom half of the table), United have slipped back to fifth spot, level on poins with New Firm rivals Aberdeen.

For Motherwell, the season is finally beginning to pick up after a poor start and early elimination from European competition. John Sutton fired the Steelmen into the lead on the half-hour, Francisco Sandaza equalized for United after the restart, but the points where secured when Dave Clarkson, Motherwell's top scorer this season scored with a header from close range.

Terry Butcher continues to do what he does best, namely saving teams from impending relegation. Since taking over at Inverness Caley Thistle, he's steered the club out of the relegation spot with wins over Hibs, Rangers and, now for the second time, Kilmarnock. All the goals where scored in the first half; Foran and Black put Caley 2-0 up with only 20 minutes played. Simon Ford got a goal for Killie just before the break.

That's it for now, results and table are here.

If there's a topic about Scottish football you would like us to cover, whether it's a team or player profile, a season in review or just anything to do with the game north of the border, drop us a comment and we'll get right on it!

If You Know Your History - 1965 (and all that)

In this week's look at Scottish football down the years, we turn the clock back to 1965 as Kilmarnock take on Hearts at Tynecastle in a game that would decide the league championship, as well as mark an end to a period when Scottish football was (if only for a short time) a truly competitive league.

Scottish league football has been dominated by the Old Firm. Between the first competition in 1890 and the outbreak of World War 2, only five teams (Dumbarton in 1890 and 1892, Hearts in 1895 and 1897, Hibernian in 1903, Third Lanark in 1904 and Motherwell in 1932) managed to break the grip the two Glasgow giants had on the league. From 1905 to 1939, Celtic and Rangers divided the titles between them.

Such is the dominance of Rangers and Celtic in Scottish football that there has only been one season in Scottish football where neither of the Old Firm finished in the top three, and in the 111 years that the Scottish League has existed, there have only been 19 occasions where neither Celtic nor Rangers won the league.

In 1948, Hibernian where the first team to break this spell since Motherwell did it in 1932. This started a spell of 17 years when five different teams won the league: Hibernian (3 times), Hearts (twice). Aberdeen, Dundee and Kilmarnock would all record their first league win.

Hibernian won their two titles in the 50's on the back of a forward line of Smith, Johnstone, Reilly, Turnbull and Ormond (left), better known today as the "Famous Five". That line-up first played together in 1949 in a game against Nithsdale Wanderers and became the core of a team that would finish third in '49, then second in '50 before finally helping the Hibees to two league wins in 1951 and 1952.

Aberdeen won their first title in 1955, and when Hearts won the league in 1958, it was their first since 1897. For Dundee, their only league title to date came in 1962.

Kilmarnock's only title was won on the final day of the 1964/65 season. Tynecastle, April 24, 1965. History was in Kilmarnock's favour going into the game. They'd beaten Hearts 3-1 at Rugby Park back in December, but there was a lot more riding on today’s game than the mere two points on offer back then. For both sides it was a must-win game. For Hearts, the task was simple - don't lose! Going into that final Saturday, Hearts had a superior goal average (calculated as the total number of goals scored divided by the number of goals conceded) of 1.91, whilst that of Kilmarnock was 1.81. For Kilmarnock then, the task was a little bit harder: an away win by at least two clear goals was needed to push the goal average in their favour and take the league title back to the West.

Hearts, managed by Tommy Walker lined up with:

Cruickshank, Ferguson, Holt, Polland, Anderson, Higgins, Jensen, Barry, Wallace, Gordon, Hamilton.

Kilmarnock, who had finished second on four occasions in the past five seasons, were managed by Willie Waddell (right), the former Rangers player who'd made over 200 appearances for the Ibrox side between 1939 and 1955. On the day, they lined up with:

Ferguson, King, Watson, Murray, McGrory, Beattie, McLean, McInally, Black, Sneddon, McIlroy.

All the ingredients for an exciting game where in place. Kilmarnock, knowing they needed to score got off to a great start when David Sneddon scored in the 26th minute. As he recalled later:

"The ball went out to Tommy McLean on the wing. Tommy saw me at the far post and he put the cross over perfectly on to my head. To be honest, I thought I'd miss - I never scored many with my head. Big Jim Cruikshank came right back across the goal and threw himself at the ball. By the time it hit the net, he had dived beyond the post, so that shows how close he came to stopping it."

When Brian McIlroy fired home a left foot drive into the far corner of Cruikshank’s goal a few minutes later, Kilmarnock got the second goal they needed. A rear-guard action would now be required as Hearts went for the single goal it would take to tip the match in their favour. They pushed the Kilmarnock defence to the limit and it was only a brilliant save by Bobby Ferguson from Alan Gordon six minutes from time that kept the score at 2-0 to the visitors.

When the final whistle blew, the 37,000 spectators packed into Tynecastle had seen an exciting end-to-end game that saw Kilmarnock win the title by a mere 0.04 of a goal!

Kilmarnock were unable to repeat their championship winning form, finishing third the following season. They have not finished in the top 3 since that time. It would be another 21 years before Hearts finished second again. In the last game of that season, they lost 2-0 to Dundee. Despite the loss, had goal average and not goal difference been used to differentiate the teams, Hearts and not Celtic would have been champions (ironically, had goal difference and not goal average been used, Hearts would still have won the league in 1965; football is a cruel game!).

It would take another 13 years for another team outside the Old firm to win the league. Aberdeen won their second title and their first under new manager Alex Ferguson in 1979. They would also be the last non-Old Firm team to win the league in 1986. Since then, Rangers equalled the nine-in-a-row set by Celtic between 1989 and 1997 and Celtic have won the league on the last three occasions.

Both teams are now only 5 titles short of beating the record 26 titles they won - without interruption - between 1904 and 1931.