Scottish Football Club Dumbarton F.C. suffered a great loss over the weekend as its skipper, Gordon Lennon, was killed in an off-road crash. Lennon had just led Dumbarton to promotion to the Second Division.
Read more on "Quick Throw: Scottish Tragedy"...
Showing posts with label Scotland. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Scotland. Show all posts
Monday, June 8, 2009
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
This is why I don't ride the bus
Rangers may have pulled off the Scottish double this year, but some fans probably wish they had missed out on the SPL-clinching game at Dundee United. In a story that seems so last month here in the US, 13 fans from Dunoon took a bus to watch their team play, and now all 13 have swine flu. Or, if you prefer (as I do), Pig AIDS. Either way, all 13 are now scary statistics for the media to throw at you.
So, yeah, stay off the bus if you can. Especially three hour trips with lousy, drunken Scots with poor hygiene and poorer taste in teams. This advice alone is proven to add three years to your life expectancy.
Monday, June 1, 2009
England! Scotland! Excitement!
Feeling a bit bored today? Fancy a matchup between England and Scotland? If both of your answers are yes, then Hallelujah! do I have something for you. In the first meeting between the neighbors at any (male) level in 10 years, the two will play today at 2 EDT in a U-19 Euro qualifier. To add a little spice, the winner of the match goes on to the full tournament. It's too bad the British press doesn't care.
Looking for any information on this match, I went to all of the usual haunts. Nary a word anywhere. Heck, even the sites I use for keeping up with scores--the sites that claim to give you all of a day's fixtures and scores--did not have anything on the competition at all. A Google News search for England Scotland Euro brings only two hits from the last twenty-four hours. The original article I found, and the FA website.
I have no link for it, but I do remember reading a FourFourTwo article a couple of years back which highlighted England's problems with youth tournaments. Namely--they ignored them because they weren't as good as the continental teams at that time. The article implied that this was partly to blame for the current state of the England squad (missing out on Euro 2008 and all that). Is the lack of coverage, then, an intentional head in the sand effort by the press? Probably not, I know, but I would still think it merited at least some ink.
Anyway, the game breaks down like this: if England win or draw, then they advance. Otherwise the Scots will head to Ukraine in July for the finals with a win. Both team have beaten their other two group opponents, Slovakia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, already. England enjoy a one goal better differential.
The game is at Sheffield United's Bramall Lane tonight. The FA website says that Setanta will be showing the match, so keep an eye out for a feed. Otherwise, the UEFA page for updates on the match is here.
Here's hoping for a Scottish win. I'm going to go put on one of my hideous Scotland shirts now.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
I don't even know where to start
It's the last week of the season in the SPL. Can you feel the excitement? I can, but I know there is one guy who will not. That man is Stuart Dougal who, as of yesterday, has retired as a referee in Scotland. Judging from the reactions from both sides after his last match--Rangers-Aberdeen on Saturday--he waited one game too long to do so.
Dougal had a bit of a 'mare in that match, sending off a player from each side, but missing the call in both cases. Below you can see the replay of the incident that left the Dons a man down in the 18th minute.
Fine, fine acting there by Kyle Lafferty. Did you catch the wink to a teammate at the end? Dougal did end up evening up the sides in the 40th minute when he sent off Gers' Madjid Bougherra for kicking Aberdeen keeper Jamie Langfield in the head. I have found no video of the incident, but I do have this picture:
To be fair, the red card was apparently given on the insistence of the lineman, but no contact was made on Langfield by Bougherra's boot. Oops #2.
Obviously, these decisions rankled both sides. I, as an Aberdeen fan, am not going to say that they changed the outcome of the game. I will only say that the losses hurt both teams and the red card suspensions will hurt them some more.
But wait! The SFA has reviewed the evidence and, backed up by an admission for Dougal that he was wrong on both counts, look likely to drop the bans on Charlie Mulgrew and Bougherra. Further, the SFA are said to be mulling a ban on shameless diver Lafferty, though any ban will not take effect until next season. Rangers have also taken a stand on Lafferty, fining him an undisclosed amount and were also likely that catalysts for his public apology.
Also big on the public apology is referee Dougal. As noted above, he announced that he would retire a week earlier than previously expected. A fairly deflating end for a man who just last year got the plum assignment on the Scottish schedule--the SFA Cup Final. Dougal had also reffed two Intertoto finals and had been selected as a fourth official at both Euro 2004 and the 2002 Super Cup. However, this season had been particularly tough for him because of some injury concerns. Earlier in the month it seemed that he was destined to finish up his career with lower division matches until the SFA decided to give him the referee's equivalent of the testimonial. Of course, I don't think anyone involved in the selection will be sanctioned, only the referee who has admitted he was out of his element.
Finally, since I have your ear (or eyes), a word or two on the final weekend in the SPL. There are essentially three races to look out for on the final weekend. On Saturday, Inverness CT will host Falkirk in a last ditch relegation fight. Anything less than a win, and Falkirk will go down. ICT will likely go down with a loss, but can be saved if St Mirren pull a Norwich on the last day (lose by a bunch with everything on the line) while hosting Hamilton.
The Top Six finish up on Saturday. Rangers and Celtic, of course, are vying for the top spot. Celtic handed the reins back to Rangers with a draw against Hibs last week. Rangers will take the title with a win or a draw and Celtic draw or loss. Celtic host Hearts, who have nothing to play for, while Rangers travel to Dundee United who do. United need a single point to secure European play. Should they fail to produce that point, then the door is open for Aberdeen to sneak into the last European slot with a win. Aberdeen will have to defeat a suddenly in-form Hibernian squad at Pittodrie to even have a hope. The games will kick off at 8.00 AM EDT, so say a little prayer the night before for my beloved Dons, won't you?
Friday, May 8, 2009
Hearts Fans Do Not Appreciate You Celebrating Your Goal
Your good thoughts for Aberdeen, though appreciated by me, did not work. A 1-1 draw isn't the end of a challenge for Europe, but it does make the prospect very unlikely. However, there is a new possible team to overtake for a Europa League spot. Hearts, which looked comfortable in third at the time of the split, are a team adrift. They are scoreless in 338 minutes and winless in a month.
The latest setback occurred last night when hosting Edinburgh rivals Hibernian. The accounts I have seen have said the game was a dour affair hurt by a gusting wind and low visiting attendance. The play was pretty bad as well, apparently. The lone goal went to the visitors, of course, courtesy of a 79th minute penalty by Derek Riordan. That's when the match really came to life, though not in the usual way.
Riordan celebrated his goal (he also earned the penalty) not by running to visiting Hibs fans behind the goal on the right side, but to the left of the goal in front of Hearts fans. He then made two gestures that are seen worldwide after a goal. First, he put his fingers to his lips to shush the home crowd. Then, Riordan kissed the badge on his shirt. For at least a couple of Hearts fans, this was too much.
Hibernian defender Ian Murray was hit by a coin thrown from the stands seconds later as he was celebrating alongside Riordan. That wasn't the end of it, however. Immediately after the coin hit Murray (which was caught by Setanta cameras, by the way) Riordan turns around and finds an angry Hearts fan bearing down on him. The fan probably would have been able to hit Riordan at full speed, if not for referee Steve Conroy stepping in at the last second. The fan is then escorted off the field by a Hearts player, and is seen reaching for his mouth, feigning as if he had been hit. That's right, the fan was playacting for a card on Riordan. The camera then cuts to a steward wrestling another incensed Hearts fan off of the pitch.
Hibs gaffer Mixu Paatelanien had the run of the presser afterwards and let the assembled newsmen know exactly what he thought. He thought that Tynecastle had too few stewards present both by his bench and in the corner where the post-goal incident happened. He got in some good one-liners too. When asked about the apparent danger to Riordan, Paatelanien quipped "I wasn't really worried. I always trust that our players are a bit quicker and fitter than their supporters. Maybe not braver." Then, in response to the coin hitting his captain, the manager replied "He's fine - the coin is in his pocket now, knowing him." Great stuff.
Oh, it almost slipped my mind. We have video of the entire incident--the penalty call, the goal, the celebration and the mini pitch invasion. Aren't we just swell to you? The penalty call is at 0:07, the resultant kick is at 1:14 and the celebrations kick off from there. You can see Murray flinch from the coin at 1:33 and the fan runs up on Riordan immediately after. Enjoy!
Great stuff. Conroy jumping in to save Riordan is reminiscent of the last great drunken pitch invasion that I recall. That was Denmark-Sweden in a Euro 2008 qualifier. There, referee Herbert Fandel had just sent off a Dane when a fan jumped out of the stands to confront the ref. As for the rest, just watch the video. That's a lucky, lucky man.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Hey, look! Non-CL stuff!
Please, please, please don't blow it tonightI'm sure you all know this, but it's a pretty big weekend in the SPL. So big, in fact, that it starts tonight with not just one, but two matches. The rest of the weekend's slate finishes on the actual weekend. Weekend.
First of all, let's talk about the scheduling oddity that in no way was planned. Basically, there are three derbies this round, two natural and one media created. Tonight, Hearts and Hibernian take part in an Edinburgh derby while Dundee United and Aberdeen contest the so-called New Firm derby. That leaves--which those of you playing your scorecard at home already know--the Old Firm derby between Rangers and Celtic for Saturday.
Why oh why are there two matches on a Thursday night, you ask. Well, that's apparently down to the SPL not paying attention. Dundee United's main rival, Dundee FC, play in Scotland's First Division. Dundee FC's park is right across the street from United's. Dundee FC has had a home match scheduled for Saturday since the fixture list came out last summer. Even though United claim to have told the league about this conflict, no one seemed to note the clash until one day after the post-split schedule came out. That was the day the tie was rescheduled for the preceding Thursday, or tonight to you and me. The downside, for me at least, is that tonight's game--possibly the most important this season for Aberdeen--will not be televised (and therefore not streamed) since the Edinburgh tilt is the initially scheduled game for TV tonight.
So, yeah, it's a big game tonight for Aberdeen. They currently sit four points and three goals in differential behind tonight's opponent for the last Europa League spot from Scotland. A win tonight for the Dons could propel them into Europe. A draw or a loss and the hope is basically gone. United still have both Rangers and Celtic to play as well as a match against a Hearts club looking to hold onto third place. Aberdeen also have Rangers and Hearts left, but could--with a win tonight--leapfrog United with a further win over a playing-out-the-string Hibs side. It's a longshot, but it's there. Just wish I could watch it.
As for why Rangers and Celtic, the two clubs vying for the SPL title once again, play each other this early when a final day showdown could easily be scheduled--think Liverpool-Arsenal from Fever Pitch--well, it comes down to nervousness. Since the split has become part of the SPL schedule, the two clubs have routinely asked the league to refrain from making them play each other on the last day of the season. Oh, and the Glasgow police request the same, since a title-deciding, one-off match could incite some mayhem in the city.
Saturday's match will most likely decide the title. A win for Celtic would almost certainly wrap things up, as a four point lead with three games remaining should make them uncatchable. A draw or a Rangers win would keep the title race closer, but, honestly, whoever is in front after this weekend will probably win the title with only a few worrisome moments.
Anyway, at 3 PM EDT, Dundee United and Aberdeen kick off. I ask all of those who don't have a proverbial dog in the fight to help me out and say a little "Mon the Dons" to yourself during the game. Every little bit helps, yeah? Also, if you'd like, you can follow along here, assuming the page updates by then.
Read more on "Hey, look! Non-CL stuff!"...
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Quick Throw: Schadenfreude in Scotland
Oh, Barry Ferguson. You get banned from the national team 4 LYFE, then your club manager demotes you, and then less than 120 seconds into your return to action for the reserves, you injure yourself in a tackle.
Disgraced NFLers normally head to the CFL after shit like this. Perhaps you could try the Irish League?
[Guardian Sport]
Monday, April 20, 2009
Doin' the SPLit
You. Out there on the right. Get out.It has been a tough season to follow the SPL. One year after three Scottish clubs remained in Europe after Christmas (a record), and a half-decent domestic race, this season has been positively painful. Hibs gave an early hint of what Europe would look like for the Scottish clubs, falling 4-0 on aggregate to Elfsborg in the Intertoto Cup (RIP) way back in July. Rangers famously fell to Kaunas in the Champions League's Second Qualifying Round. Motherwell also fell at the first hurdle, losing to AS Nancy in the UEFA Cup (RIP). Celtic were the lone Scottish team to notch a win this European campaign, defeating an already-qualified Villareal squad on the last day of the Champions League group stage.
Domestically, the play has not been any more inspiring. As expected, Rangers and Celtic took early control of the first and second spots while everyone filtered to about where I expected. Currently, I put the breakdown of the SPL as two huge clubs, five medium clubs and five small clubs. The seven "big" clubs occupy the top seven spots in the league. That's the SPL in a nutshell this season. There has just been no spark, nothing to note and nothing to watch. If you liked Ligue 1 a couple of seasons ago (no goals, lots of draws), then this is the league for you.
Thankfully, the split is upon us (so I don't have to type it, an explanation is here). No longer do we really have to pay attention to half of the league. There are five more matchdays and then we get to regroup and pray for a better year next time. First, though, we have to survive those last five rounds. Inside, a quick breakdown of the season so far.
1 & 1A Celtic (74 points) and Rangers (73 points)
Here is how non-competitive the league as a whole has been. Neither one of these teams faces the threat of being pipped for second. Rangers are 19 points clear of third-placed Hearts with five games to play. The showdown for these two will be surprisingly early, May 9, in the second of five rounds. Both clubs traditionally ask to avoid playing each other on the last match day, and the SPL agrees. Rangers will host that last derby of the season, and then both clubs hope to not draw a game the rest of the way. Fun, huh?
Celtic should have salted the league away back around the new year, but seemed to get distracted by their large lead at the time and let points slip away. Rangers, of course, are still feeling the ill-effects of the antics of former captain Barry Ferguson and starting keeper Allan McGregor, but word is that gaffer Walter Smith now feels he was hasty in banning the two and will welcome them back to the fold. For a club that seriously needs money, an automatic spot in the group round of the Champions League is something to lose your morals over.
3 Heart of Midlothian (54 points)
I thought this team was done for. I thought that all of the drama that followed this club around would just do them in. It did last season, and this season was shaping up to be no better. Instead, this is a team that overachieved and paid no attention to the multiple times the players went without pay and didn't even flinch when their captain was sold in January. Hearts just kept, well, beating. The club is on a six game unbeaten run in league and could well have that run until the end of the season. Not bad for a club whose leading card-getter (seven yellows) outpaces its leading scorer (six goals). Almost a lock for a European slot, since they would have to drop at least six points to fall to fifth.
4 Dundee United (49 points)
Now this is a team that did not finish the pre-split slate well. United have only won two of their ten matches since the new year and have effectively ceded third place to Hearts. Of course, they had a pretty phenomenal run early in the year. After five matches, United were at the bottom of the table on two points. They took 20 of the next 24 points available to rocket up to third, a position that has been theirs most of the season. It's not too late to move back up, especially if Hearts lose both of their matches to the Old Firm. But they cannot wait until they face the Jambos on May 16 to do so, for that will be too late.
5 Aberdeen (48 points)
It has been a terribly up and down season for the Dons. Twice the club has occupied last place in the league, the last time coming in October with the culmination of a four game losing streak. Then came the steady climb. By mid-January, when Aberdeen stuffed Celtic 4-2 at home (yes, I'm biased), the club was up to third spot. Since then, fifth spot has been home. A home of incredibly frustrating draws. Aberdeen have drawn six of 11 games since that win over Celtic. The Dons do have the bonus of three home games in this five game sprint, but if they don't make Europe (with a top four finish) expect Jimmy Calderwood to be let go, or pushed under a bus by one of the many disgruntled fans in the north.
6 Hibernian (42 points)
Hibernian were gifted a sixth-place finish when Motherwell lost 2-0 at home on the next to last day. Suddenly, yesterday's match against Rangers no longer had any significance for the Easter Road outfit. Think of that when you look at Hibs' results from here on out. There is no way they are going to move up into Europe and will likely play out the string rather lifelessly.
7 Motherwell (41 points)
If not for two St Mirren goals in the last 15 minutes on Saturday (and maybe scoring one of their own), Motherwell would have been in the Top Six. Instead they are likely to pull 11 to 15 points at the end of the season and end up with a point total higher than Hibs, even if the Well cannot pass them in the standings. A slight consolation, I'm sure.
8 Kilmarnock
9 St Mirren
10 Hamilton (all 34 points)
Hamilton seem to have done just enough to survive, as all three of these clubs are six points clear of the bottom. However, the Academicals, as well as St Mirren, should be wary as their goal differential does leave them slightly open to danger.
11 Inverness CT (32 points)
12 Falkirk (28 points)
ICT looked to be in great danger at the end of January. Seemingly locked in last place, the club fired Craig Brewster as manager and eventually hired former bloody England star Terry Butcher. Since then the clubs has done just enough to distance themselves from last-placed Falkirk, a 4-0 March loss notwithstanding. Unfortunately for Falkirk, that's the last game the team scored in. It was also only their second win in league since mid-November, a streak of 15 matches. These two teams will meet on the last day of the season, but Inverness should be safe from relegation by then.
Read more on "Doin' the SPLit"...
Friday, April 3, 2009
Scottish players shamed and suspended **Updated**
So it has come to this. If you are Scottish and a football player, you are not allowed to binge drink after getting outclassed on the pitch. Well, at least not if you play for Rangers.
Last Saturday, Scotland lost at Netherlands 3-0 and were pretty much run off the pitch. Barry Ferguson was the team captain and Allan McGregor started in the goal, deputizing for the normal number 1, Craig Gordon. The team reconvened that night at their usual Scottish haunt, Cameron House on Loch Lomond. Here's a picture, it's pretty swell. It's supposed to be an out of the way place where the Scots can relax while preparing for upcoming home games. Unfortunately, a Scot's way of relaxing is consuming alcohol in copious amounts, something manager George Burley took exception to.
The story that leaked out of camp was that Ferguson and McGregor had gone too far and had been kicked off the team by Wednesday morning. By afternoon, however, Burley had relented and had only relegated the duo to the bench. A bruising blow to the ego for the two in question, but nothing with long-term implications, or so it seemed.
The Scottish FA wedged itself into the mix yesterday, saying that it did not back Burley's decision to bench the two and that it would have to perform its own investigation into the mess before it was decided what should have been done. Great job there fellas.
Then some other news started to make the rounds, as much as you can trust The Sun to be actual news, at least. Now there were seven players said to be involved in the late night to early morning booze up. Perhaps the inequity in punishment got to Mr. Ferguson, because at the Iceland game, he gave the press an indication of what he thought about them. 
As the above article mentions, Walter Smith--previous manager of Scotland and current Rangers boss--was livid at the actions of his players and especially ticked off with that picture making the rounds. Apparently, making such a gesture in Scotland colors really sent Smith off the deep end. How deep is pretty amazing. Rangers have suspended both players, fined them two weeks' wages, stripped Ferguson of his captaincy, and some are reporting that both have been transfer-listed.
The SFA seems to have made up its mind as well. Today the association announced that Ferguson and McGregor will no longer be considered for a Scotland call up.
Wow. Just, wow. If you ever wanted to see an athlete's career go up in flames, here it is. Maurice Clarett is looking at these guys and saying "What the **** were they thinking?" On the upside, two more players with international experience just became available for MLS duty. As long as these Huns don't end up at DC United, I think I would be OK with that.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Some footballers are smart. Some footballers are only smrt
Football and brains do not go hand in hand, unless you are Lamps, apparently. Seriously, if you quizzed Wayne Rooney on heads of state, he would do worse than George Bush in a gotcha interview. Think David Beckham knows the significance of the Avogadro constant or what the number is? I'm guessing no. Heck, as we see on here nearly every day, footballers don't even have the common sense to shy away from things that you and I would never dream of doing. Which is why I always think that it is an odd match when athletes of any sort are called upon to highlight educational causes.
The people who are pushing to raise the rates of Scottish literacy (which is rather appalling, according to the article) had no qualms about asking for SPL representatives. Perhaps they should have.
Each team has one representative. Each player picked two books. One is suitable for children, while the second is more adult. There are some really good choices on the list. For the kids, St. Mirren's Jack Ross picked James and the Giant Peach, Falkirk's Tom Scobie picked Treasure Island, and Killie's awesomely-named Danny Invincible picked a personal favorite of mine: Lord of the Flies.
For adult reading, biographies ruled the day with two players each picking Roy Keane: The Autobiography and Lance Armstrong's It's Not About the Bike. The other double up for adults was The Count of Monte Cristo, picked by Jamie Smith and Joe Keenan of Aberdeen and Hibs, respectively. There was one oddity here, but I have to give it a pass. Tomas Černy, goalkeeper at Hamilton, picked a graphic novel. Truth be told, he picked a damn good one. Maus is a bit dated in its art, especially when the narrative moves away from the war stories and into the modern day, but damn if it doesn't bring me to tears every time I pick it up. Hence the pass.
There is one real howler here, and unfortunately it doesn't originate from one of the two Glasgow giants. David Goodwillie (ha) plays for Dundee United, and, I'm guessing, is not that much of a fan of reading. You see, he picked a book that is one step up from a Magic Eye book in terms of actual words. The British name may throw you, but the cover should be instantly recognizable.
Where is frickin' Waldo. Are you kidding me? If I remember correctly, the conceit is that on every two pages there is a small postcard with maybe two lines of info, and then you go look for the speccy gent with the striped hat. There is no reading there. Besides, as I only learned today, it's been out 22 years. How is it that Goodwillie (ha) has not found Wally yet? Just another dumb footballer, I guess.
Quick Throw: Scotland sure are desperate.
Spurs fans rejoice: Alan Hutton has been recalled to the Scotland squad for their upcoming WC qualifiers against The Netherlands and Iceland. Only thing is, he hasn't played for anyone since November thanks to some injuries.
Are Scotland that lacking in wing-backs?
To add a further joke to this hilarious nation, Chris Iwelumo made the squad.
[BBC Sport]
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
The Good, The Bad, The WTF
Last week's look at Watford's '90s stylings led Goat to ask if anyone had ever worn a flannel third shirt in the same time period. Amused by this, and armed with too much knowledge on the Scottish game, I answered that the closest we could get was Scotland's temporary plaid (for ease of reading, I am going to refer to all tartan patterns as plaid; I'm American that way) shirt rage. I even stated that a round up post would be nice. Since I figured that no one else was going to do it (because I am quite tight-fisted with these posts), I decided to take a look back.
None of these are good, some are quite bad, and one team earns WTF status for going to the well at least three times.
This is the best place to start. Yes, Scotland wore a plaid home shirt back in the '90s. I even own one. I pull it out for special occasions. You know--those days where I really don't care what I look like. No, I have no idea why they made the sleeves solid. I guess they were trying to keep away from overkill.
East Fife used plaid as a third jersey. Not too bad, it just looks like a golf pullover.
Kilmarnock also used a plaid pattern. This one looks more like a pair of boxer shorts I had in high school. Plus, I think those are buttons. A pair of suspenders and this shirt is great for a skinhead.
This was St. Johnstone's effort. The listing for this shirt implied it was used for a special occasion. I don't know about that, but I do know that this was from the time when the team manufactured its own shirts. Presumably because it could not find a decent sponsorship deal. It's liveable, considering.
It might be going a little too far to call this a plaid. The colors don't quite interplay correctly and it's terribly plain. Still, I do think Partick Thistle were trying to copy some other teams on the plaid bandwagon, and this is how it turned out. Bloody awful, especially with that sponsor logo.
The most dubious entry of the day, though, is Peterhead's. The rendering of this kit sure does look like it's meant to be plaid, but the one picture I saw, which purports to be from the same year, is definitely not. I will argue that the two shirts have enough differences in sleeve and collar style and color that the linked pic may be from the previous season. I'll put this one in the maybe column.
Raith Rovers get a special commendation for not following the herd. They did not put out their version of a plaid shirt until the new century. A bit dark, but possibly the most wearable of all of these.
But the real winner in the plaid sweepstakes is Greenock Morton (just Morton if you must). For a team that usually wears blue and white hoops, these are just odd.
See these? These are from the same season. The one on top was the home shirt. The second one was the third shirt. In between, a plain yellow shirt sufficed for the away games. My question is: which team could they have possibly played that would clash with both the blue plaid and bright yellow shirts enough to warrant a third shirt that season?
And this is where it got ridiculous. Somewhere along the way, Morton decided that they really missed that plaid home shirt from the '90s and decided that 2005 was the right time to bring back the look. Why, oh why?
While I'm guessing that this list is not definitive, I have not been able to find any other occurrences of Scottish teams wearing plaid. If you know of some, shoot us an answer in the comments or at the email address. Finally, I must thank both Historical Football Kits and Old Football Shirts (and the people who upload there). Without those two sites, This would have been a much shorter post.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
The invisible hand of football
This may be a little old, but we're a little slow out of the gates today, and the video just showed up online yesterday.
Last week, Kilmarnock hosted lower-league derby rival Ayr United in a SFA Cup replay match. You may remember that the first attempt ended in a 2-2 draw when, in extra time, Ayr's Alex Williams knotted the score. He then ran around hugging everyone, including the ref. Good times.
This time, the result went to Kilmarnock 3-1. The Ayr goal, though, was something special. Bryan Prunty runs on to a long ball, gets caught between a defender and the keeper, misses his attempt to head the ball, then slaps the ball into the net. The best part is that no one saw it. The referee and his assistant definitely missed it, but then, apparently, so did Killie. Unlike England in '86, no Kilmarnock player or coach even questioned the goal.
Be honest. You didn't see it until you got the replay, did you? I certainly did not. Now, Killie fans will tell you they saw it in the stands. Don't trust them. They're drunks.
Thanks to 101 Great Goals for doing the legwork to find the video.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Scotland Wrap Up
This past weekend saw the every team play their 22nd game of the season. Since that marks the point where every team has played each of its opponents both home and away, it seems like a good time to give you an update on the happenings in the SPL. Spoiler alert: Celtic and Rangers are top, and no team looks like catching them.
Team (Points; Goal Differential)
1. Celtic (51; +25)
Celtic lead the table, though it's not for lack of trying not to. The title looked all but wrapped up two days after Christmas. That day, Celtic had traveled to Rangers and come away 1-0 winners. The win put Celtic seven points ahead of their main title rivals. Since, though, Celtic have pulled one points out of two matches against Dundee United (1-1) at home and Aberdeen away (2-4). Their form seems to have seriously fallen off since the calendar clicked over. There is good news for Celtic. No matter how many times he flaps at crosses, Artur Boruc is better than Mark Brown. Today, the news of a feared long layoff was scuppered. So there's that.
2. Rangers (49; +33)
Things are suddenly looking up around Ibrox. From mid-November into mid-December, this team looked like they were going to fall off from the title challenge, because of consistently losing points on the road. During that time, Rangers lost at Hearts, while drawing both Dundee United and Motherwell. Throw in that rather devastating loss to Celtic, and the team looked done. Since the Celtic loss, the team has a couple of wins, unfortunately, they cannot be called quality wins, since Falkirk and Inverness sit 11th and 12th, respectively, in the table. Throw in the probability that the team will be selling off a portion of their bench, and this looks like a false dawn for Rangers. Still, momentum does some strange things to teams. Maybe a depleted Rangers squad can continue to ride this nice wave they are on.
3. Aberdeen (36; +5)
How's that for a gap? Even if Aberdeen had four games in hand, they could not catch up to the team ahead of them. Yuck. The short winter days in Aberdeen must seem pretty sunny to the club's fans right now. They are the form team of the SPL. Six out of seven wins overall, and six for the last six at home. Not bad for a team that started off 0-1-4 at home and was bottom of the table in October. Aberdeen's next game will be at home against Rangers. This marks the first time Aberdeen have hosted the Old Firm in back to back games since 1976. The dark clouds on the horizon are not to be ignored. Jimmy Calderwood has been mentioned by a couple of teams who are interested in him, Norwich and Utrecht. He says there has been no contact, but we'll see how long that holds.
4. Dundee United (35; +4)
Recipients of this week's What The Hell? Award, Dundee United took a 0-4 thumping at home at the hands of Motherwell on Sunday. That game was over by haltime, and the same could possibly be said of United's season. The Terrors are 1-3-1 in their last five. Although two of those matches were draws against the Old Firm, there must be some concern at Tannadice over the sudden loss of form. A month ago, this team looked fairly strong in fourth, now they seem shaky in the same position. All is well, though, as long as the team maintains a Top 6 position for 11 more matches.
5. Heart of Midlothian (35; 0)
Hearts are very much an up and down team of late. Nice away draws (Celtic) are tempered by an inability to score. Until Saturday's match against Kilmarnock, Hearts had been held scoreless in four straight SPL matches. The team is holding on, for now, on the strength of a wonderful run in November, when they won five straight league matches. Another team that looks to hold on to a Top 6 poition right now, and not much more.
6. Hibernian (30; 0)
Another maddeningly inconsistent mid-table team. Last month saw Hibs both beat Celtic and lose to Kilmarnock at home. They are strong enough to challenge for a European spot, though it's tough to say whether the support will be there. Attendances seem to be dropping at Easter Road as of late.
7-9
Motherwell (27; -6)
Kilmarnock (26; -8)
Saint Mirren (25; -8)
Nothing unexpected here.
10. Hamilton Academicals (23; -16)
Out of nowhere come the other form team of the SPL. Rooted to the bottom of the table only a month ago, Hamilton have won three out of four to drag themselves out of the basement. Now news comes out that Kenny Deuchar, unfairly relegated to the bench in Salt Lake City, has signed with the club. I'll go ahead and say that this is pretty big for the club. They had no real established striker before, and now they get one hungry to re-prove himself.
11. Falkirk (18; -11)
One draw in their last five sees them left one point ahead of:
12. Inverness Caledonian Thistle (17; -18)
The season started out so wonderfully for the Highlands club. They had their first ever win over Aberdeen to celebrate. Unfortunately, that was a long time ago. More currently, the club have lost seen straight and, following Saturday's loss to Hamilton, fired their manager. Not good times in the just-barely-a-city, then.
Finally, it is not too premature to go back and see what I predicted at the start of the season and compare, is it?
Predictions:
1. Celtic-Spot on so far.
2. Rangers-Ditto.
3. Dundee United-Close. I'll definitely take the swap with
4. Aberdeen-'Mon the Dons!
5. Hibs-Once again, just one off.
6. Falkirk-Oops. Guess this is not the year Falkirk break into the Top 6.
7. Kilmarnock-One off again.
8. Motherwell-Switched with Killie.
9. Hearts-Financial meltdown has not come yet, though not for lack of trying.
10. St. Mirren-Close, but no cigar.
11. Inverness CT-Look worse than they are
12. Hamilton-Hey, I'm surprised.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Homecoming Scottish Cup 4th Round
The Fourth Round of the SFA Cup is much like the Third Round of the English FA Cup, but without some of the magic. It is the round where the big boys (such as they are) enter the competition with their smaller counterparts. This post is slightly premature, as three Fourth Round games have yet to kick off, but, since the Fifth Round draw is done, and I have a cool link, I'm going to run with it anyway.
First off, the matches that have yet to be played. All kickoff later today:
Brechin-St. Mirren
Forfar-Forres Mechanics
St. Johnstone-Rangers
Rangers, Forfar and St. Mirren should move on, but the fun is watching them fail, right? On to the results so far.
Airdrie United 2-1 Spartans
Airdrie took out the non-leaguers from Edinburgh, though the result was shaky. Spartans advanced to the Fourth Round after a defeat to Elgin City. On review, it seems Elgin had used an ineligible player, so a replay was hastily scheduled. Spartans won 2-1, and got yet another away fixture. Airdrie welcomed the travelling fans and treated them with two first half goals. For Airdrie, not Spartans. Spartans pulled one back early in the second and put one more in the net, but that one was disallowed for a foul on the keeper.
Alloa Athletic 1-2 Aberdeen
Aberdeen also snuck through, playing on the plastic pitch at Recreation Park. Lee Miller scored early, redirecting a Chris Maguire shot into the net. Alloa equalized in the 43rd, scoring on a penalty after Scott Severin fouled in the box. Sone Aluko spared Aberdeen embarrassment in the 57th with a tap in.
Ayr United 2-2 Kilmarnock
The Southwest derby was poised to go to the SPL side until Ayr's Alex Williams volleyed home in extra time. That produced a wild celebration from the goal scorer where he took of his shirt, hugged the ref, accepted a yellow card, then hugged the ref again. There is poor quality video of the whole deal here. The replay is scheduled for January 20.
Celtic 2-1 Dundee
Artur Boruc produced a Gomes-esque display in allowing Dundee to go up early when Colin McMenamin put away Boruc's spilled cross. Aiden McGeady, fresh off his first-team ban by the club, was Celtic's hero, scoring the team's second just before halftime. Celtic squandered multiple chances on the day, but go through nonetheless.
Dunfermline Athletic 2-0 Clyde
I can't be expected to write up all of these can I?
Falkirk 4-2 Queen of the South
Take that, Euro failures. Two goals in the last 20 minutes sent the SPL club through. No more worries for Aberdeen, then.
Inverness Caley Thistle 3-0 Partick Thistle
There is no way this wasn't a faked draw, right? The two thistle squads meeting up and all. ICT was never threatened in this name-derby match.
Peterhead 2-2 Queen's Park
See Dunfermline-Clyde. Replay January 20.
Ross County 0-1 Hamilton Accies
Celtic loanee Paul McGowan sent in the corner that Chris Swailes headed home halfway through the first half. Other than that, well, this was a long road trip.
Stenhousemuir 0-1 East Fife
Pass.
East Stirlingshire 0-4 Dundee United
East Stirlingshire may no longer be the worst team in the SFL, but they didn't look very good against the visiting Tangerines. 0-3 at the half, and the scoring was completed after a 55th minute penalty. Unsurprisingly, the last half hour was written up to be rather dull.
Hibernian 0-2 Hearts
According to Hibs' manager Mixu Paatelanien, Hibs were done in by overzealous refereeing. According to all write-ups I've seen, Hibs were done in by an overzealous and clumsy tackle by Steven Fletcher in the 31st, which brought him a red card. Fletcher had started out brightly for the home side, but when he was sent off, the game changed entirely. Hearts scored seven minutes after the sending off, but waited until the 90th to ice the game with a second.
Inverurie Locos P-P Motherwell
Icy Pitch. Rescheduled for January 21.
Fifth Round Draw
To be played week of February 7.
Aberdeen-East Fife--the matchup of the two teams I am most drawn to in Scotland. Kind of like this year's DC United-Charleston Battery US Open Cup final.
Airdrie United-Dunfermline
Celtic-Peterhead/Queens Park
Forfar/Forres Mechanics-Rangers/St Johnstone
Hamilton-Dundee United
Hearts-Falkirk
ICT-Ayr/Killie
Inverurie Locos/Motherwell-Brechin/St Mirren
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
The saddest soccer crime ever.
Snake Eyes!Poor, poor Scotland. I realize that times are tough for the world economy, but with soccer players north of the border in the SPL pulling in a lean $2500 a week (sad, I know), it's no wonder they're lashing out in frustration.
Like Hibernian winger Filipe Morais (the haircut fanatic in the pic above). He's in trouble for using his kicking skills the wrong way at an Edinburgh casino.
From the Beeb:
"He [Morais] got into an argument with Robert Brown on a night out at Maxims casino in York Place on 26 September at about 0530 GMT. Morais, who earns £1,300 a week, has not played for the team since August. Witnesses saw Morais and his companions speaking to Mr Brown and an argument broke out at the casino. Mr Brown was punched in the face and knocked to the ground during a scuffle and Morais kicked his head as he lay on the ground. He suffered a burst nose and a split lip and was treated by the Scottish Ambulance Service."Not too good, is it? One wonders if it was part of his training while languishing in the reserves.
Seriously though, no good can come of this, although his lawyer, the wonderfully-named George More (the "More" presumably referring to the number of billable hours he's always pushing for), tries hard to spin the incident into something so distressing that heck, if any of us had been in Felipe's
"Young footballers are quite often harassed or picked on or spoken to when they go out and my client went out that evening for a drink with a friend. My client kicked out when he was down as an act of frustration because the last part of his evening had been utterly spoiled by these two men. He was immediately regretful that he had done it."Man, it ain't easy being a footballer. It's all gambling, drinking, and 90 minutes of weekend work. Maybe they were teasing him because his salary seems so tiny?
So, the former Chelsea/MK Dons/Millwall/St. Johnstone player is going to be punished in the wallet, losing $1000 in fines, a further $1600 to the club for being out the night before a match (not exactly the best way to get back into the team), and possibly another two weeks' wages for his off-hours casino kickabout.
No word yet on whether he'll be able to pay his electric bill next month.
Read more on "The saddest soccer crime ever."...
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
SPL Wrap
Welcome back to Scotland, where it's mighty cold out. How cold? So cold that the main story from this weekend isn't about Rangers scoring a touchdown on Hamilton, or Celtic thinking they were playing a Euro match. Instead the story is all about frozen pitches, and who screwed up more.
Motherwell and Kilmarnock both had matches called off on Saturday because part of their respective pitches were frozen. The SPL has launched an inquiry to find if either of these clubs is at fault. You see, SPL rules stipulate that clubs must have working undersoil heating to keep these kind of things from happening. Motherwell, at the very least, appear to be in the clear. Fir Park had their undersoil heat switched on overnight, and took the additional precaution of placing covers over the pitch as well. It wasn't good enough, though, as the referee decided that areas around one goal mouth were too hard to play.
Kilmarnock, on the other hand, did not turn the heating on at Rugby Park. Not willing to admit wrong-doing, they have affixed the blame to faulty long-term weather forecasts. Not that I am an expert, but I have watched the local news for decades now. If there is one thing I know, it's that the short-term forecasts are more accurate than the long-term ones. Perhaps Killie should put away the Scottish equivalent of the Farmer's Almanac and invest in a radio.
I will admit to a personal vendetta here against Kilmarnock. Now that Gretna has gone tits up, Kilmarnock-Aberdeen is the longest road trip in Scottish football. Killie and the SPL refused to run an Aberdeen request for an earlier pitch inspection, and, as a result, fans from Aberdeen had to already be on the road to make kick-off by the time the game was postponed. The team for Aberdeen was already in town, though, so at least there's that.
Rangers 7-1 Hamilton Academical
Hamilton went up early at Ibrox, then sat down, apparently. Hamilton came out in an unwise 4-3-3, determined to play their hosts with attacking football, instead of sitting back. The visitors went ahead through James McArthur in the 2nd minute after keeper Allan McGregor misplayed a cross. After that, it got ugly. The only thing that broke the monotony of Rangers' scoring was a red card for the Accies' Martin Canning in the 51st. Kris Boyd, who almost quit Rangers over the summer like he quit Scotland, had a hat-trick for the Blues.
Hibernian 2-0 Celtic
Hopefully, you have seen the video of Artur Boruc woefully misplaying a shot from the center circle. If you have not, it's here. That was the first of two goals for Hibs on Sunday, who put an end to Celtic's 12-game SPL win streak. John Rankin was the longshot hero for Hibs, while Colin Nish got in the way of Rankin's volley to claim the other. Methinks this will be the last time Wee Gordon Strachan decides to sit Samaras and Nakamura in the same game.
Inverness CT 1-3 Dundee United
SPL's northern-most club had no problem with a frozen pitch, though they may have wished that they did. The Tangerines were always on the attack, though it did not pay off until the second half. Jon Daly was the United man to break through, breaking the deadlock on 51 minutes. Craig Conway claimed the second and David Robertson got the third for the visitors with 19 minutes remaining. Caley pulled one back two minutes later, scored by Adam Rooney, but could not find thier way back into the match. United's win move them level on points with a Hearts squad who could not play their match against Motherwell. Dundee United do get sole claim of third place by goal differential.
Falkirk 1-2 St Mirren
St Mirren move off the bottom with the away win. Even with only four matches to cover, I can't bring myself to say anything nice about the lower-half clash.
The Table through 17 rounds (Team; Points; GD)
Celtic; 43; +23
Rangers; 39; +28
Dundee United; 29; +7
Hearts*; 29; 0
Hibernian; 23; -1
Aberdeen*; 21; -1
----------------
Kilmarnock*; 19. -8
Falkirk; 18; -4
Inverness CT; 17; -8
Motherwell*; 17; -8
St Mirren; 15; -10
----------------
Hamilton; 14; -18
teams with an asterisk have a game in hand
It should be noted that this is the de facto halfway point of the season before the SPL split. The split occurs after 33 games, when each team has played the others three times each. The top six teams then meet each other in a round robin to determine European slots, while the bottom six do the same to figure the lone relegation spot. Points are cumulative from throughout the season, and no club from the bottom six can move up into the top half, regardless of how many points they have.
It's a headache. Just let me think about it, okay?
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Flasher Flasher Flasher
There once was a young lad at Hearts
Who enjoyed showing off his man parts
He disturbed several women
Now jail time is loomin'
His BP must be high off the charts
Alan Lithgow, like many men at the age of 20, is seriously horny. However, instead of chasing the readily-available tail that might be there for a soccer player who's been capped by the Scottish U-19s and has a promising future in the sport, he gets his jollies the wrong way: exposing himself to women and performing sex acts on himself, and now Alan's facing some jail time for his, ahem, efforts.
From the Scottish Daily Record: Pervert Lithgow, 20, pleaded guilty to exposing himself in his home town of Airdrie, Lanarkshire, and in Edinburgh on four occasions last year.
In a brilliant PR move, the director at his new club, Clyde, who signed him last month after Hearts released him in the summer, was swift to distance the club from Lithgow's actions, making note that he was a flasher before he joined.
The first offence took place on August 27 last year when he exposed himself and performed a sex act in front of a woman in Airdrie's Petersburn Road. His next offences took place on October 15 when he flashed three different women on the same day.
The first was in Lady Ann Crescent in his home town. The second took place in Balerno, Edinburgh and the third in Gogar in the city, where he also performed a sex act in front of the victim.
Lithgow will be sentenced nextmonth at Airdrie Sheriff Court.
To add to the pile-on, the Record's quote from a "soccer insider" reckons that Lithgow will never kick a ball professionally again, unless perhaps he's coaching the prison team in a Longest Yard spin-off: "Lithgow has been trying to cover this up and even Clyde were unaware until now. It is hard to believe that someone like Lithgow, who is meant to be a role model, would do something so disgusting. It is such a waste of talent and his career is over. No football club in their right mind would want him now. He is a disgrace to the profession."
Tell us how you really feel, insider.
Lithgow received a deferred sentence until a full investigation concludes, but he does go on the registered sex offenders list while also facing the likelihood of being released by his new club.
To recap: soccer exposure good, dick exposure bad. The more you know.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Scotland Wrap
An article popped up in my inbox the other day that made me contemplate that which I would rather not think about. I would think it rather obvious that anyone who goes into officiating a sport, especially professionally, is a fan of the sport. And, summarily, when one grows up as a fan of the sport, they have teams that they support. In a country like Scotland, which has half of its population centered around a city with two major teams, that support is likely to go to one of those clubs. Hence, it is entirely possible that a large portion of Scotland's referees support either Celtic or Rangers and that, subconsciously (one hopes, at best) decisions are made that support these clubs.
I bring this up, and tacitly accept it as something that does occasionally happen, because of this past weekend's Hamilton-Celtic match. Right before halftime, with Celtic down 1-0, a Hamilton defender gets beaten by a long ball and lets his mark in behind him. The defender clips the attacker's heels and, last man back being what it is, gets a red card. That's not the problem. The problem is that the foul occured about 2 yards outside of the box, and Celtic were awarded a penalty kick. In the video below, you can catch the foul at about 3:25 and see the replays thereafter (also, check out Hamilton's early goal. Quite impressive).
Either the referee or the linesman is at serious fault here. Was one of them wearing green-hooped glasses when deciding to award a PK?
Celtic, to their credit, took full advantage of the call to even the match before halftime. In the waning minutes of the second half, Paul Hartley scored (7:20 of the video) and Celtic secured all three points in a scrappy match. That's ten wins on the trot for Celtic, who look very much in control of the league.
Since the last Scotland update on here, three rounds of fixtures have been played. Rangers, of course, are fighting to keep up with Celtic, and did well the Saturday previous to destroy Kilmarnock away 4-0. However, in a midweek tussle last Wednesday, Rangers failed to score and drew Motherwell away 0-0. Saturday, with their team sitting four points back of Celtic (who were to play on Sunday), Rangers needed three points and got them with a 2-1 win over St. Mirren. Rangers appeared to ice the game pretty early, scoring twice in the first 10 minutes in front of the home crowd. St. Mirren pulled the one back in the 81st minute, but were unable to get any more.
Before Saturday's match, Dundee United seemed to be sitting well in third place, while on a good run of form. Unfortunately for them, they crashed out against Kilmarnock 2-0. One would not have guessed the result considering that Killie had lost five straight, but that's why they play the games, right? A goal on either side of halftime sent United down a spot into fourth.
Hearts were the beneficiary of the Terrors loss. Hearts took the long trip up to Inverness on Saturday and came away with a lackluster, but important 1-0 win. Bruno Aguiar scored the lone goal for the visitors, who now lead Dundee United by one point.
The match of the weekend, yes I'm biased, was Hibernian hosting Aberdeen. Hibernian had a stranglehold on the offense for most of the game, but Aberdeen stymied them time and again. In the 40th minute, Aberdeen took advantage of a mistake on a free kick to score. Hibs defender and captain Rob Jones ducked out of the way to allow his keeper to collect the ball. Darren Mackie nipped in behind him and nodded the ball past Andrew McNeil. Zander Diamond doubled the Dons' lead in the 53rd, freely heading in a Sone Aluko corner. Hibs continued to attack, something they have done a lot os this year while playing a 4-3-3, and broke through in the 62nd. Rob Jones, he of the earlier mistake, knocked in a corner from close range. Hibernian, who outshot Aberdeen 18-6, continued to press for an eqaulizer and got one with the last kick of the game. Steven Fletcher proved the point-saving hero when he squeezed the ball into the net after a goal mouth scramble. It was a wild game where both teams could feel aggrieved for not taking all three points.
In the remaining game for the weekend, Falkirk defeated Motherwell 1-0, bringing the home side's unbeaten streak to six in all competitions. The goal was scored by Michael Higdon, his third in the last three games, and came in the 37th minute. For Motherwell, it was the end of a week that saw the high of drawing Rangers diluted by two losses.
Current table (Team, points, goal differential)
Celtic, 37, +22
Rangers, 33, +21
Hearts, 23, -2
Dundee United, 22, +3
Kilmarnock, 19, -6
Aberdeen, 18, -1
-------------------
Motherwall, 17, -3
Falkirk 16, -2
Hibernian, 16, -6
Inverness CT, 14, -6
St. Mirren, 12, -7
-------------------
Hamilton, 10 -13
If there is anything surprising in this table, it's that the gap from second to third is less than that of the EPL. Maybe Scotland's southern neighbors should work on getting a league that isn't so Top 2 heavy, huh? < /sarcasm >
Monday, November 3, 2008
Scotland Update
Apparently, I find it too difficult to do this on a weekly basis. So, in order not to cheat those who actually click the link for a Scotland post, I'll expand the one I do. SPL, SFL, Highland League, and whatever else I can fit in after the break.
As per usual in the SPL, it was a six game slate this weekend.
Rangers 5-0 Inverness CT
Rangers won the fast start award, knocking in five first half goals against Inverness Caley Thistle. The home fans were undoubtedly thrilled to see a hat trick from Kris Boyd in between the opener from never-to-be-a-Scot-international Nacho Novo and the final goal from Kenny Miller. For the American readers, Beasley came in on 74 minutes, while Edu did not leave the subs' bench.
Aberdeen 1-0 Kilmarnock
Sone Aluko fired home for the Dons to earn the team's first home win in six tries this season. Aberdeen had a flurry of chances around the half-hour mark, but wouldn't find the net until shortly after half-time. Aluko peeled in from the left and blasted a shot from a rather tight angle in the 50th minute. Killie had some late chances after Aberdeen failed to expand their lead, but (thankfully) Aberdeen held on with a nervous win.
Motherwell 2-0 Hamilton Academical
Chris Porter scored once in each half for the home side as Hamilton fell further behind at the foot of the table. Porter's first half goal was a redirect of a Bob Malcolm free kick. His second came at the expense of the offside rule, apparently. Still, the goal counted, and Hamilton had no reply. On the back of Porter's brace, Motherwell move up to third in the table. Hamilton have lost six straight and eight out of nine.
Falkirk 0-0 Dundee United
St Mirren 0-0 Hibernian
*yawn* What is this, Ligue 1 from two seasons back? Score some goals, you tossers. That's right, on Saturday 10 teams played, and eight goals were scored by three teams. I'm not even going to attempt to find something to talk about from these matches.
Hearts 0-2 Celtic
Hey, an away team scored goals! On Sunday, Celtic took over Tynecastle. In a surprise to none, Celtic had already put the game out of reach on twenty minutes, when Gary Caldwell scored Celtic's second. Hearts went a man down early in the second, but acquitted themselves well in not collapsing completely. In fact, they had some attempts on goal, but Boruc was always equal to the task.
Celtic top the SPL table on 28 points from 11 games. Rangers are on 25 points, but have a game in hand and, thanks to those five goals, are even on GD with Celtic. Motherwell lead a pack of six who are on between 14 and 16 points, while Hamilton are starting to drift off the back.
In other SPL news, UEFA announced that next season, should Rangers blow it again in CL qualifying, they will go directly into the Europa League instead of being dumped out of Europe entirely. (Yes, that means Rangers are finishing second. Got a problem with that?)
St Johnstone lead the First Division by two points over Queen of the South. The Johnnies picked up first place by defeating Dunfermline over the weekend, while QotS lost to Partick Thistle. Morton are propping up the table, two points behind Clyde.
Raith currently top the Second Division on goal difference over Brechin City. Brechin lost first place on Saturday after a humiliating 5-1 loss to fifth-place Peterhead. Ratih took over the top spot after a twelve minute flurry of three second-half goals to defeat Alloa. Arbroath sit at the bottom with six points from twelve game, three points below Straraer.
Stenhousemuir maintained their Third Division lead over Dumbarton with 3-0 away win over fifth-placed Montrose. Dumbarton kept pace on points, though, by defeating struggling Berwick Rangers 5-2. Berwick are in ninth place, right above Elgin City, but still behind the fading newbies Annan Athletic
In the Highland League, Inverurie Locos are unbeaten in seven to start the season and beat Rothes on Saturday 5-2. Cove Rangers and Deveronvale are also off to hot starts this season with both teams sitting just two points back of the league leaders. Rothes are one of the two bottom teams, joined by the always-woeful Fort William FC on one point.
Finally, in the second round of the Scottish Cup, Spartans of Edinburgh were able to extract some revenge on Annan Athletic, who beat them out for the offseason's SFL spot, by winning 2-1 on the road. Of course, it's small consolation when the team that finished five spots below you in competition last season gets picked to jump ahead of you in league status, but they will take what they can get.
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