tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125237999223639219Tue, 10 Nov 2009 09:00:05 +0000Scottish football and nothing less. Although sometimes maybe a bit more.http://www.scottishfootballblog.co.uk/noreply@blogger.com (the scottish football blogger)Blogger254125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125237999223639219.post-5036916260446146290Tue, 10 Nov 2009 09:00:00 +00002009-11-10T09:00:05.161ZScottish FootballcharityMovemberYou may have noticed that some of our footballers have been sporting moustaches recently.This is not some bizarre tribute to the perfectly groomed Graeme Souness but part of Movember, an annual campaign to raise awareness and funds for prostate cancer.Danny Fox, Gary Caldwell, Paddy McCourt, Kris Boyd and Allan McGreggor have already signed up. So to, with the backing of the Scottish Sun, have http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheScottishFootballBlog/~3/y62Xia3aHyA/movember.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (the scottish football blogger)0http://www.scottishfootballblog.co.uk/2009/11/movember.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125237999223639219.post-299395334582385411Mon, 09 Nov 2009 02:15:00 +00002009-11-09T13:02:40.954ZScottish FootballGeorge BurleyKevin ThomsonI remember when I was young.I remember it always being sunny with quick witted street urchins running happily on the car free streets performing footballing miracles with tennis balls.Actually, I don't.I do, however, remember our old sage Craig Brown. How he would puff his chest out with pride when talking about the sudden availability of “young Alistair” or “young Paul.” He looked just like the http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheScottishFootballBlog/~3/COxuSmJRcFw/age-old-problem.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (the scottish football blogger)0http://www.scottishfootballblog.co.uk/2009/11/age-old-problem.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125237999223639219.post-151983775082430587Sun, 08 Nov 2009 23:58:00 +00002009-11-09T00:12:00.963Zrangers supportersCelticCeltic supportersRangersThey hate being lumped together. Which is as good a reason as any for writing about them together.And, yet again, it's an article that I don't really want to write. Another article about how the sections of idiots that both Rangers and Celtic have in their support are making numpties of us all.On Wednesday night Rangers fans got involved with police in Romania. The club are walking a tightrope ofhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheScottishFootballBlog/~3/vvDcH_dPZh4/another-day-of-pride.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (the scottish football blogger)0http://www.scottishfootballblog.co.uk/2009/11/another-day-of-pride.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125237999223639219.post-6286209970413882077Sun, 08 Nov 2009 18:26:00 +00002009-11-08T18:35:38.394ZEngland v Scotlandsir alf ramseyReading Leo McKinstry's excellent biography of Sir Alf Ramsey (of which more later) I've been struck by Ramsey's long standing loathing of the Scots.It's not unusual to hear ex-Scottish internationals talk about how much beating the Auld Enemy meant to them, with Denis Law and Pat Crerand both lingering on this in their autobiographies.And England players often talk about how much the annual http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheScottishFootballBlog/~3/xWEqNGDsrN4/lifelong-hatred.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (the scottish football blogger)0http://www.scottishfootballblog.co.uk/2009/11/lifelong-hatred.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125237999223639219.post-176496527732506514Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:24:00 +00002009-11-07T01:05:12.988ZSPL predictionsSPL 2009/2010SPL fixturesRushed this week as I prepare to host a dinner party. Middle class excess and all that. Still I hold on to the fact that I'll always be more Morrison's Value than Bullingdon Bertie. Such small moral victories keep us on the side of the righteous.On football matters I have been a bit detached this week. That two draws on the road is some kind of European triumph says all that needs to be said http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheScottishFootballBlog/~3/C8PtZYzKTKk/weekend-ahead.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (the scottish football blogger)0http://www.scottishfootballblog.co.uk/2009/11/weekend-ahead.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125237999223639219.post-3045431532340633466Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:29:00 +00002009-11-04T11:37:00.729ZChampions League 2009/10Rangers v UnireaUnirea v RangersWalter SmithRangers4-1, 4-1. Not only Walter Smith’s most likely formation for tonight but also the defeats Rangers have suffered in their last two European games. The perceived wisdom is that it’s a formation that works better away from home. As it’s the formation that will be in use against Unirea Urziceni you’ve really got to hope that’s the case.Do Rangers go into tonight’s game in crisis? Domestically they’re http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheScottishFootballBlog/~3/zV11_WJtn3Q/champions-league-chumps.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (the scottish football blogger)0http://www.scottishfootballblog.co.uk/2009/11/champions-league-chumps.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125237999223639219.post-5644037931239255336Sat, 31 Oct 2009 14:24:00 +00002009-10-31T15:22:19.219ZLondon 20122012 OlympicsScotland 2012 OlympicsCultural OlympiadScotland will be tenuously linked to football at the 2012 Olympic Games after artist Craig Coulthard won a commission as part of the Cultural Olympiad.Coulthard's work is called Forest Pitch and according to the Highlands and Islands Arts website:Craig Coulthard’s Forest Pitch involves a football pitch hidden within a forest. Trees are felled to make way for a football pitch and used to create a http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheScottishFootballBlog/~3/zytztVm43AU/london-calling_31.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (the scottish football blogger)0http://www.scottishfootballblog.co.uk/2009/10/london-calling_31.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125237999223639219.post-6134155622139755228Fri, 30 Oct 2009 01:17:00 +00002009-10-30T01:37:54.649ZSPL predictionsSPL 2009/2010SPL fixtures Monday morning and you find yourself reflecting on a Lehman Brothers style financial armageddon at Ibrox and the Tynecastle faithful turning on their own captain.But by the end of the week Rangers are looking odds on for the first silverware of the season and Csabo Lazlo is touting himself as the successor to Sir Alex Ferguson.The season so far has been a bit mental. If you're struggling to http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheScottishFootballBlog/~3/FbbXBn53Qsg/life-is-roller-coaster.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (the scottish football blogger)0http://www.scottishfootballblog.co.uk/2009/10/life-is-roller-coaster.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125237999223639219.post-2925302672908433930Thu, 29 Oct 2009 01:32:00 +00002009-10-29T10:13:09.268ZScottish FootballGordon StrachanCelticTony MowbraySir Alex FergusonMiddlesbroughGordon Strachan has not lost his fan club in the English press if Kevin Mitchell's column in today's Guardian is anything to go by.His quick wit and popular side career as a pundit have given birth to a "Cult of Wee Gordon" amongst sections of the English media. His perceived differences to another famous Scottish manager have helped in this. Perhaps unwittingly he has gone along with the idea http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheScottishFootballBlog/~3/jXKF2ZplA9o/whole-different-country.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (the scottish football blogger)2http://www.scottishfootballblog.co.uk/2009/10/whole-different-country.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125237999223639219.post-2913571208327776928Wed, 28 Oct 2009 20:47:00 +00002009-10-28T21:28:12.843ZVladimir RomanovCsabo LazloHeartsVladimir Romanov. Lock up your managers. The giant of Lithuanian football once more walks among the gnomes that populate the cradle of the game.I thought we'd lost him. First there was the lure of the televised dance floor and then the threats to his not quite global banking empire caused by the worldwide recession.The Edinburgh branch of the Ukio Bankas remained unopened. Hearts seemed http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheScottishFootballBlog/~3/OfVuIQYeORs/and-so-youre-back-from-outer-space.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (the scottish football blogger)2http://www.scottishfootballblog.co.uk/2009/10/and-so-youre-back-from-outer-space.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125237999223639219.post-1771841936553448175Tue, 27 Oct 2009 17:00:00 +00002009-10-27T18:34:18.949ZOld Firm leaving Scotlandrangers crisisMartin BainChick YoungDave KingWalter SmithRangersDavid MurraySuch has been the forensic focus on Ranger’s perilous finances over the last couple of days that following Scottish football has been like studying for an accountancy degree. Not so much fans with typewriters as fans with calculators.To save everybody the hassle of crawling into every nook and cranny of the internet in the search for news about the country’s most bombastic football club http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheScottishFootballBlog/~3/iDKCH99OhIM/in-rich-mans-world.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (the scottish football blogger)0http://www.scottishfootballblog.co.uk/2009/10/in-rich-mans-world.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125237999223639219.post-3114121143243963916Tue, 27 Oct 2009 05:00:00 +00002009-10-27T05:00:04.442ZScottish League Cup 2009/10Scottish football predictionsScottish football fixturesA midweek prediction special as Scottish football's least revered competition reaches the quarter final stage.Dundee v RangersRangers rediscovered some vim on Saturday but, crucially, still couldn't overcome Hibs. This is a poor Rangers side further distracted by off the field disasters. Quite a contrast to Dundee who are flying high and luxuriating in new found riches. Walter Smith will be keen http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheScottishFootballBlog/~3/TeTPsCEaWk0/whats-in-store-co-op-cup.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (the scottish football blogger)0http://www.scottishfootballblog.co.uk/2009/10/whats-in-store-co-op-cup.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125237999223639219.post-5979130670559727798Mon, 26 Oct 2009 22:01:00 +00002009-10-27T10:22:30.173Zrangers crisisWalter SmithRangersDavid MurrayJohn Hughes described Walter Smith as the "godfather" of Scottish football managers the other day. In recent weeks, however, Smith's traditional taciturn gravitas has been replaced by a more haunted look, the look of a man who spends his long, sleepless nights wondering what went wrong.When he returned to Rangers he knew there would be hard work ahead. At times he must struggle to comprehend thathttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheScottishFootballBlog/~3/9N6sO-AnvPU/great-depression.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (the scottish football blogger)0http://www.scottishfootballblog.co.uk/2009/10/great-depression.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125237999223639219.post-6379497846502191828Sun, 25 Oct 2009 11:09:00 +00002009-10-25T12:42:15.718Zspl championsSPL Family ChampionsNeil DoncasterA bit of a tongue in cheek article on the ever busy Mirror football site the other day asking what football could learn from American football.Thankfully noses are turned up at cheerleaders and overseas games. Salary caps (some chance) make the cut along with referees explaining their decisions on the spot (unworkable and ridiculous) and instant replays (similar technology is inevitable in some http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheScottishFootballBlog/~3/gRPt5erero8/nfl-not-effing-likely.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (the scottish football blogger)1http://www.scottishfootballblog.co.uk/2009/10/nfl-not-effing-likely.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125237999223639219.post-3720197728804595056Sun, 25 Oct 2009 01:51:00 +00002009-10-25T02:14:58.536ZSPL resultsSunday PostSPL 2009/2010SPL roundupThe clocks have gone back. How did you spend the extra hour? This year I decided not to waste it squeezing in yet more alcopops or sleeping off the day's excess.Instead I've chosen to resurrect an old favourite. The Sunday Post of my childhood used to run a “What They Said” feature on the back page. This involved collating quotes from each of the Premier League managers about their team's http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheScottishFootballBlog/~3/CqvpjqVRjjQ/clocks-have-gone-back.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (the scottish football blogger)0http://www.scottishfootballblog.co.uk/2009/10/clocks-have-gone-back.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125237999223639219.post-1960282770234497881Sat, 24 Oct 2009 12:37:00 +00002009-10-24T12:44:22.449ZOld Firm dominanceRangers v HibsSPL 2009/2010Because a football league is such a protracted affair it poses problems in a society that continues to demand instant gratification.Football is not a game that lends itself to a Twenty:20 style abbreviation and leagues remain the most lucrative format for clubs and the media.This means that over the course of a forty week season the media feels the need to engineer a number of different http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheScottishFootballBlog/~3/biPCcpsxiVY/cracking-big-time.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (the scottish football blogger)0http://www.scottishfootballblog.co.uk/2009/10/cracking-big-time.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125237999223639219.post-5752302982331624585Fri, 23 Oct 2009 23:06:00 +00002009-10-23T23:27:24.559ZSPL predictionsSPL 2009/2010SPL fixturesAnother week bookended by European woes. Rangers abject on Tuesday, Celtic toothless on Thursday. Both rock bottom of groups that did not appear, at first glance, as the toughest in the competitions. The sound you can hear is our co-efficient crashing through the floor.The natives are getting restless and pressure is growing on both Old Firm managers. But take a look at the league table. Rangers http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheScottishFootballBlog/~3/Ogh5NGwjfNs/home-comforts.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (the scottish football blogger)3http://www.scottishfootballblog.co.uk/2009/10/home-comforts.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125237999223639219.post-4903003421781808022Thu, 22 Oct 2009 12:00:00 +00002009-10-22T12:00:09.530ZCeltic in EuropeGordon StrachanEuropa League 2009/10CelticTony MowbrayTony Mowbray was being as philosophical as ever yesterday when he spoke about being a “performance” coach. Leave it to others to judge his team on “results.”A jolly Corinthian approach for sure but one that doesn't quite answer his growing band of critics. Results matter and nowhere is that more keenly felt than in the east end of Glasgow.A solitary point from league games against Rangers and http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheScottishFootballBlog/~3/JkRkiQ6xTDY/time-to-deliver.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (the scottish football blogger)0http://www.scottishfootballblog.co.uk/2009/10/time-to-deliver.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125237999223639219.post-447335739220202910Wed, 21 Oct 2009 23:03:00 +00002009-10-21T23:23:11.770ZMaurice EduracismQuestion TimeRangersHow do you define a bad night? Your team, playing in Europe for the 286th time, getting beaten 4-1 at home by a team making their fifth European appearance. That's a bad night.It's not, as some people have said today, a shameful night. Football does this sometimes. No matter how much it hurts at the time, it's in the nature of the game. Highs follow lows follow highs. That's what keeps us http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheScottishFootballBlog/~3/JFVakgUyA14/theres-always-hope-but-no-room-for-hate.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (the scottish football blogger)0http://www.scottishfootballblog.co.uk/2009/10/theres-always-hope-but-no-room-for-hate.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125237999223639219.post-6235567701493178705Tue, 20 Oct 2009 23:32:00 +00002009-10-20T23:59:24.319ZChampions League 2009/10Rangers v UnireaMotherwellEuropa League 2009/10CelticAberdeenScottish teams in EuropeRangersHeartsFalkirk21 games. Each with its own background, its own unique circumstances. The cumulative effect is a European nightmare for Scottish football. Since July we've appeared about as comfortable on the continent as Norman Tebbit at a Eurovision convention.21 games. In blogs, phone ins, forums and newspapers fans scream for change. It seems to fall on deaf ears. What else needs to happen for somebody, http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheScottishFootballBlog/~3/9nOyEfEASmo/21-steps-to-failure.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (the scottish football blogger)0http://www.scottishfootballblog.co.uk/2009/10/21-steps-to-failure.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125237999223639219.post-5163749501693780644Tue, 20 Oct 2009 17:50:00 +00002009-10-20T18:35:22.445ZHenrik Larsson retiresCelticHenrik LarssonAs an indication of what was to come Henrik Larsson’s first contribution in a Celtic shirt was misleading. It was his misplaced that Chic Charnley latched on to score the winning goal for Hibs in an early season game at Easter Road.That Hibs team would end up relegated while Celtic and Larsson would collect four league titles, four domestic cups and a UEFA Cup final appearance.The 174 goals in http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheScottishFootballBlog/~3/wYnNAckkGUs/larsson-retires.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (the scottish football blogger)0http://www.scottishfootballblog.co.uk/2009/10/larsson-retires.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125237999223639219.post-6150970156058920500Tue, 20 Oct 2009 16:30:00 +00002009-10-20T16:30:00.418ZChampions League PredictionsChampions League 2009/10Rangers v UnireaRangersAlthough you’d never find a UEFA marketing man who’d admit it, the Champion’s League is not always about glamour and glitz.Sometimes it’s dull and dismal. Ibrox might well be sprinkled with some of that old magic dust tonight but at first glance the meeting of Rangers and Romanian champions Unirea Urziceni has all the allure of a wet weekend in Cowdenbeath.Most people probably won’t even have http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheScottishFootballBlog/~3/WsvpmLKn2NY/bargain-basement-battle.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (the scottish football blogger)0http://www.scottishfootballblog.co.uk/2009/10/bargain-basement-battle.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125237999223639219.post-774322340211675783Mon, 19 Oct 2009 18:02:00 +00002009-10-19T19:10:33.189ZOld Firm leaving ScotlandScottish Footballfootball websitesSPL 2009/2010I've been suffering from a spot of writer's block over the weekend. The only way to get past it is to tackle it head on. So, with that in mind, I'm dragging myself away from The West Wing (Series 3) to take a meandering Monday look at some internet stuff that has caught my eye over the last couple of days.First up (and thanks to Inside Left for the heads up on this) is Two Hundred Percent with http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheScottishFootballBlog/~3/SDpwhD9pUyo/for-your-consideration.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (the scottish football blogger)0http://www.scottishfootballblog.co.uk/2009/10/for-your-consideration.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125237999223639219.post-8890401482262615426Thu, 15 Oct 2009 22:38:00 +00002009-10-15T22:45:04.707ZSPL predictionsRalph ToppingSPL 2009/2010SPL fixturesLex GoldThat's international week over with and fans of Scotland are scratching their heads as to what the point of our Japanese adventure was. All we really know is that George Burley is not scared to play replacement replacements if required. Probably didn't have to go all that way to find that out.In SPL world we are being buffeted by winds of change from across the border and over the north Atlantic.http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheScottishFootballBlog/~3/_Ri-eyOcZ9Y/choose-your-own-topping.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (the scottish football blogger)0http://www.scottishfootballblog.co.uk/2009/10/choose-your-own-topping.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125237999223639219.post-8048320657600452343Wed, 14 Oct 2009 22:28:00 +00002009-10-14T22:36:01.840ZScotland2010 World CupEnglandFabio CapelloAnd so it begins.A minor hiccup away to Ukraine apart (doesn't really count - nobody saw it), England have successfully negotiated their way to South Africa for the 2010 World Cup.Scotland, as we are so painfully aware, will not be joining them.So what can we look forward to now? Wall to wall coverage in the “British” media? Pundits predicting the first real chance at glory in over 40 years? Johnhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheScottishFootballBlog/~3/tkyGVHVxyaQ/england-expects-scotland-rejects.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (the scottish football blogger)2http://www.scottishfootballblog.co.uk/2009/10/england-expects-scotland-rejects.html