SPL
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A certain Scouser asked me to post this for any Arsenal fan feeling aggrieved over yesterday’s draw after a two-goal lead. It’s just a reminder that things could always be worse.
Kilmarnock started out today’s game at Hibernian on fire. Two goals in the first 12 minutes, and they looked set to cruise. Then it all fell apart between the 35th and 37th minute. Killie gave up two penalties, the second one bringing a red card for the keeper, and let Hibernian come level.
There’s still a half to go. Down to 10 men, on the road, and missing their starting keeper, is there any hope for Killie whatsoever?
Written by Darkvader on December 27th, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on Hibernian and Kilmarnock and SPL and red cards and ü75.
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?
Written by Darkvader on November 19th, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on Dodgy Refs and SPL and Scotland and ü75.
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.
Written by Darkvader on November 3rd, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on Highland League and SFL and SPL and Scotland and ü75.
Thanks to a 1-0 away win, this column comes back. Inside, a look at the weekend that was in Scotland.
The weekend started out on Saturday with a 12.30 kickoff in Inverness. Just over 7000 fans showed up to see Caley Thistle host Celtic. Boruc was the early hero for Celtic, as his shot stopping kept the hosts without a goal in a frenetic, home-dominated, first half. Things quickly changed after the break. In the 48th minute, Lee Naylor crossed the ball in, and Scott Brown put it away. Less than 20 minutes later, Celtic struck again as Glenn Loovens redirected a Barry Robson cross. Caley Thistle replied quickly, but were unable to overcome the two goal deficit.
Inverness Caley Thistle 1-2 Celtic
The day’s 3 o’clock kickoffs had no real top of the table implications, but plenty of bottom feeders looking to put some distance between themselves and relegation.
Hamilton hosted St Mirren, and for all the talk of their status as worst team in the league, the Buddies acquitted themselves well, scoring three times. Though not all for the same team. St Mirren took the lead in the 17th minute through Franco Miranda whose blistering shot came from outside the 18. Hamilton levelled 10 minutes later, when Jack Ross knocked a cross into his own net. St Mirren retook the lead before halftime, when Billy Mehmet headed home. The second half produced no more goals.
Hamilton Academical 1-2 St Mirren
Aberdeen took to the road at Falkirk and, as should be no surprise, took home all three points. Coming into the match, Aberdeen had two things going for them. First, they had taken wins in two of three previous away matches this season. Second, they have not lost to Falkirk in league in a dog’s age. Still, it took Lee Miller heading in from Andrew Considine’s cross on Aberdeen’s only real chance to secure the win. The goal came in the 48th minute.
Falkirk 0-1 Aberdeen
The last of the three mid-afternoon kick offs seemed to be heading for a nil draw until Craig Bryson scored late into injury time. Motherwell had looked a good bet to hold on for a point despite being a man down for 25 minutes until Bryson slotted home a deflected shot from Jamie Hamill.
Kilmarnock 1-0 Motherwell
Sunday’s game was an Edinburgh derby, as Hibs hosted Hearts. Hibernian started the game off brightest, and only needed 90 seconds to go in front. Steven Fletcher was the early goal scorer. Hearts replied five minuted before the break when Bruno Aguiar beat both the wall and the keeper. This was a spirited contest, with five yellow cards handed out, though no more goals were to come.
Hibernian 1-1 Hearts
There was one more match to be played, but Rangers-Dundee United was postponed on the news of the death of Eddie Thompson, United’s chairman. The game has been rescheduled for November 4. United’s next home match will be a tribute to Thompson. All seats for the match against St Mirren will be £5.
As far as the table goes, Celtic take advantage of Rangers’ weekend off to build a three point lead at the top. Kilmarnock consolidate their third position, and Falkirk fall to the bottom, two points adrift of Hamilton. As for Aberdeen, 10th and climbing!
Written by Darkvader on October 21st, 2008 with no comments.
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Due to an outpouring of support (one guy at least), I’ll be reviving my once-a-week look at fitba from the league to the north of the EPL. Skip ahead if you like, but know this is the only post for at least half an hour.
This weekend saw the seventh round of matches take place. Rangers entered the weekend with a three point lead over Celtic. No surprises there, then. Hearts were one more point back. Hibs, Killie and Hamilton filled out the Top Six.
Saturday saw a slate of five games, with the big one being Celtic hosting Aberdeen. Early season from has not been kind to the Dons, at least at home. They nicked a point off of Rangers, but lost their other three home matches. On the other hand, Aberdeen came in perfect on the road, and, at one point, looked to be keeping that intact.
Celtic had the much better start, putting pressure on the Aberdeen backline early. It paid off in the 14th minute when Aberdeen failed to clear their lines, and Jan Vennegoor of Hessleink (now and forever to be referred to as JVoH on this site) slammed home from 10 yards out. Aberdeen upped their game for the rest of the half, and looked the better squad at the break.
That continued into the second half. In the 57th minute, a run down the right produced a cross that Lee Miller flicked on. All the Celtic defenders had run to the near post, leaving Charlie Mulgrew alone at the back from 15 yards. His volley found the back of the net. Twelve minutes later, Mulgrew took a blistering free kick from 30+ yards and beat both the wall and Boruc to the near post. Celtic should have immediately replied, but a open header from three yards out was bounced over the crossbar. No matter, Celtic would break my heart soon enough. Substitute Scott McDonald scored seven minutes after his introduction, and JVoH scored when the ball squeaked under Aberdeen keeper Jamie Langfield and off the post in the 90th. In a game where the teams were pretty even, it was one heck of a letdown for the struggling Dons. 3-2 Celtic.
The other Saturday games, i.e. the ones I did not watch, were home wins as well and went like this:
Dundee United slaughtered Heart of Midlothian 3-0. As the BBC guy said, this was a shoot on sight from 30 yards game for the Terrors. A couple of those went in, courtesy of Conway, Daly and Robertson.
Falkirk scored five against Hamilton Academical, but only four of them were in the correct goal. Scott Arfield scored a brace for the Bairns. Hamilton, which started their SPL campaign brightly, did not look good at all, and only a 90th minute own goal spared them sole honors for the worst defeat of the week. 4-1
Motherwell edged out St Mirren 2-1, reversing a 0-1 deficit from halftime. St Mirren felt hard done by in the 70th when the assistant referee signaled that Franco Miranda had elbowed his opponent while jostling for a throw in. The referee produced a straight red for the offense. To be fair, though, Motherwell had already taken the lead by that point.
Finally, Inverness CT continued their fine early season run by defeating Kilmarnock 3-1. Killie scored early, but Caley scored two in the first half and finished the game off in the 81st, shortly after Kilmarnock had Fowler sent off.
On Sunday, Hibernian hosted Rangers, and Rangers were not very nice. Hibernian had the early chances, with two clear efforts being saved. Rangers scored on the half hour, as Kenny Miller headed home against his former team. Miller scored again 10 minutes later and Madjid Bougherra produced the final goal of the match on the 73rd. The scoreline flattered the visitors, as Hibs had many chances. But,as we know, chances don’t count unless converted. Rangers retain the top spot 0-3.
Updated table (team, points, goal differential)
Rangers, 19, +10
Celtic, 16, +7
Hearts, 12, -2
Inverness CT, 10, +2
———————-
Kilmarnock, 10, -1
Hibernian, 10, -2
———————-
Hamilton Academical, 9, -2
Dundee United, 8, -1
Falkirk, 7, -2
Motherwell, 7, -3
Aberdeen (sigh), 7, -3
———————
St Mirren, 5, -3
Written by Darkvader on September 29th, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on SPL and Scotland and just for joe. and ü75.
Maurice Edu, fresh off of getting his work permit and visas in line for his move to Rangers, got caught with another problem on his way to Glasgow. It seems his chosen airline ceased operations, leaving him unable to get to Scotland when he intended.
Zoom Airlines, based out of Ottawa, shut down yesterday without warning. To say people were caught off guard is an understatement. Now it seems that the delay is likely to cost Edu his start in Scottish football, a debut that would have come against Celtic, Rangers’ greatest rival.
So let this be a lesson to all of you. When traveling abroad, don’t choose the low-cost Canadian alternative.
Written by Darkvader on August 29th, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on Bad Starts and Maurice Edu and SPL and Scotland and ü75.
The SPL kicks off this weekend, one week before England launch their top league. Inside, we’ll take a quick look at the ins and outs of all the SPL squads, and make rudimentary, and probably laughable, guesses of where the teams will finish.
Also, I will wax rhapsodically about Aberdeen and their chances this season. It’s what I do, deal with it.
As the BBC so helpfully points out, no team other than Rangers or Celtic have won the league title in 23 years. That’s not likely to change this time around. The so-called New Firm teams, Aberdeen and Dundee United, would seem to have the best shot at pulling any surprise, but don’t count on it. You can get odds of 200 to 1 for Aberdeen and 250 to 1 for Dundee United. Those are both wasted bets. 500 to 1 for either, I would take. Unfortunately for those who follow Kevin Malone’s advice for life, there are no 10,000 to 1 shots out there.
Aberdeen
Aberdeen are a team of two minds this offseason. The Dons unloaded a full XI of talent (if one were to play a 6-2-3), but also brought in five new players to fill in the emptying spots. Since Jimmy Calderwood has been in charge, Aberdeen have been frustratingly consistent. Consistent that there will be an inexplicable slump somewhere in between October and March that will force the fans to reassess their expectations for the team’s finish.
Last season, Aberdeen had that slump from the time they qualified for the knockout rounds of the UEFA Cup until they needed to scrape together a couple of results in a row to make the Top 6 split. The season was capped nicely for Dons fans by getting a win against Rangers to knock the hated Huns out of any chance of winning the league title. Expect a similar campaign this year with a thinner, but more finely tuned, squad.
Prediction: 4th
Celtic
Celtic didn’t fuss much with the squad that won their third consecutive SPL title last season. The big addition is Giorgios Samaras from Manchester City. Their losses of personnel are minimal as well, though Bigus will have a keen interest in one of their loan-aways, John Kennedy, who will ply his trade in Norwich next season.
Wee Gordon Strachan has a magic touch with the Hoops. In three seasons at the helm, he has delivered three SPL titles. Celtic tend to start slowly in the league, then win everything at the end of the season. I think this season will mimic the ‘06-’07 campaign when Celtic won the league by 13 points. The biggest obstacle may be team chemistry, as there are a lot of players rumored to want out.
Prediction: 1st
Dundee United
United may rue the loss of Mark Kerr to Aberdeen, but many pundits who know better than I seem to think that the Tangerines offseason signings will more than make up for their admittedly large losses. Look for Craig Levein to keep up his club’s impressive home defensive form, while trying to improve on their woeful overall away form. They should do so, and, given some luck, could pluck away second spot from Rangers.
Prediction: 3rd
Falkirk
Falkirk were the busy bees on the offseason signing front, apparently offering contracts to anyone who seemed likely to sign. The net result is a team that could finally break into the top 6 of the SPL. This is a team on the rise, and is problably the only “smaller” team in the top flight that seems to be in good financial standing. They will approach the 33 game mark firmly on the bubble to make the Top 6, and I think this is the year they do so.
Prediction: 6th
Hamilton Academical
All the chatter I have seen seems to place Hamilton at the foot of the table. In a way, they seem to look a little like Gretna from last season. They are a team good enough to make the SPL, but not good enough to stay there. Unlike Gretna, this is a young team that got to the SPL. If the youngsters are still developing, they could pull off some late season surprises. Unfortunately, it may not be enough to get out of a presumed early season hole. Signings have been minimal and cosmetic, at best.
Prediction: 12th
Heart of Midlothian
Hearts have been a club full of promise since Lithuanian Vladimir Romanov took over in 2005. While Hearts supporters may have hoped this super-rich Eastern European businessman would do wonders for their club, it hasn’t panned out. Quite frankly, owning Hearts seems to be a business deal only, and as long as the investment is safe, there is no need to do anything further.
In the offseason, Hearts offloaded a fair amount of players while bringing in only one player of note. Let’s face it, Romanov does not care about the feelings of the Hearts’ faithful, and the club’s results will continue to mirror this. As a coupled aside, Hearts could also be on the receiving end of some extra ire from Rangers this year, as Romanov also owns the club, FBK Kaunas, that knocked the Blues out of Europe.
Prediction: 9th
Hibernian
Hibernian went out of Europe even quicker than Rangers, losing 4-0 over two legs to Swedish club Elfsborg in the Intertoto Cup. The Intertoto Cup is a bit hard on Scottish clubs, as they are placed in a region with Scandinavian clubs who are in mid-season while the Scots are out of season. So, don’t read too much into Hibs looking awful last month.
Hibernian kept their core squad intact in the offseason, and should be a lock for a Top 6 showing. They do give the impression, at times, of a team falling apart at the seams. Mix in the fact that Mixu Paatelainen is not the most technically nuanced manager out there, and I foresee a little struggle for the top half finish, perhaps even being pipped by Falkirk for fifth.
Prediction: 5th
Inverness Caledonian Thistle
Inverness’ manager Craig Brewster pulled a few miracles out of the hat last season, and will need a few more this season to stay out of relegation troubles. This is consistently a thin squad to which Brewster will wish he could insert a slightly younger version of himself into, because goals will be hard to come by. They will likely escape the drop, but it won’t be by much.
Prediction: 11th
Kilmarnock
As anyone who read my SPL updates last season will know, I’m not too big on Kilmarnock in any fashion. An 11th place finish last season only helped fuel this distaste for the club further. Things should be a good bit more rosy this time around for Killie, as they strengthened their team in the offseason. This will be a team that puts together solid runs coupled with some surprising wins through the year, a la ICT last season. It won’t be enough to get into the Top 6, though.
Prediction: 7th
Motherwell
It has to happen, doesn’t it? Not to keep dredging up the sad days, but at some point this team has to be affected negatively by the passing of Phil O’Donnell last December. A spirited finish to last season sees Motherwell going to Europe this year, but I think that the team will suffer domestically for their European adventure.
The team remains largely unchanged from last season, and that should be a positive. They will, however, have to maintain their focus at all times. If something starts to go wrong, it could all fall apart very quickly for a team where nearly everyone still has a heavy heart. I see them just missing the Top 6 cutoff, and sliding down over the last five matches into their final placement.
Prediction: 8th
Rangers
Well, the shine is off this club, isn’t it? Losing at the first hurdle of the Champions League with the very same tactics that took them to last season’s UEFA Cup final sees Rangers without any further European dates to worry about. There are already grumblings out there about the status of Walter Smith’s job as well as fans unsure of Smith’s big offseason signing, Kenny Miller.
The problem with missing out on Europe is that Rangers are said to be losing $25 million from not making the group stages. That could turn the club into a major seller in January, especially if Celtic waltz away from them early. Second is likely for this club, if they keep their personnel. However, if they engage in a fire sale, Dundee United could overtake them.
Prediction: 2nd
St. Mirren
Finally, it’s the end. The Saints are a tough one to figure out. They have been very active in both buying and selling in the offseason, looking to improve on the 10th place finish from last time. Don’s count on it. It looks like they have been selling young and buying old. Maybe it is for a one or two season push up the ladder, but such wholesale changes will take time to gel, if they do so at all. The Buddies will frustratingly mimic last season’s finish in the end
Prediction: 10th
Written by Darkvader on August 8th, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on SPL and Scotland and WAGs (Wild Ass Guesses) and previews and ü75.
Because your internet access only goes so far, we are here to let you know exactly how things finished up in Scotland, and how that jibes with what we wrote at the
halfway point. The top and bottom picks look pretty good, but the middle gets kind of murky. Oh well, no one is perfect.
SPL Final Standings
Celtic (89 points)
Right off the bat, here's one I got correct, and even for the reasons stated. Back in January, Rangers and Celtic were in a dead heat, and Rangers had two games in hand--aganst Gretna and St. Mirren. On the surface, it would look like Rangers had the advantage. Instead, as I astutely pointed out, Rangers were set to face some serious fixture congestion, and they did. As April and May unfolded, Celtic kept winning in the league, unburdened by cup runs. Rangers on the other hand were chasing an impossible quadruple. As Rangers were facing a need-to-win match seemingly every three days in the last month, they faltered, giving Celtic the title.
Rangers (86)
As mentioned above, Rangers were done in by their quadruple dreams. Back in January, they had just been knocked out of the Champions League into the UEFA Cup. I opined that they would go further in the UEFA Cup than Celtic in the Champions League, but I had no idea they would go so far. Rangers made it all the way to the final, where they lost 2-0 to Zenit St. Petersburg. What killed Rangers' ambition in the end was not the SFA, no matter what fans may think, but too many games in general. when the season ended on May 24 with a win over Queen of the South in the SFA Cup final, Rangers had not had a midweek without a game since March 22. From March 29 to May 24, Rangers played 18 matches. To their credit, Rangers were in every competition to the end, and could have pipped Celtic on the last day of league, if they had bettered Celtic's result. Celtic won, Rangers lost, and the dream was over. Rangers do finish with the cup double to hang their hats on.
Motherwell (60)
This is where the prediction start to look rather dodgy. In January, Motherwell had just lost their captain Phil O'Donnell after he collapsed and died on the pitch against Dundee United. I said that the death would cause Motherwell, at the time in third, to freefall in the standings and that a sixth place finish would be lucky. Boy was I wrong. Instead, all of the teams around them faltered and Motherwell turned out to be surprisingly resilient. For their season-long effort, the team will be rewarded with a UEFA Cup spot next season.
Aberdeen (53)
Sure, it was a homer pick, but it looked so good on paper. Based on their shock advancement in the UEFA Cup and their early activity in the January transfer window, I thought Aberdeen would easily end up third in the league. Instead they managed a pretty shocking fourth. I say a shocking fourth place because of how they got there. After Aberdeen was dumped out of the UEFA Cup by Bayern Munich, everything fell apart. Aberdeen was struggling with injuries at the time, with up to 9 first-teamers out of the lineup. The Bayern loss was in the middle of a 9-game non-winning streak where Aberdeen fell from fifth to ninth in the league with four games left before the split. Aberdeen got 9 of 12 available points, and pipped Falkirk into the top 6. From there, Aberdeen did well enough to overtake Hibs and Dundee United for fourth place. If only they had not met the beast that is Queen of the South in the Scottish Cup semis (after knocking out Celtic-away!).
Dundee United (52; +6GD)
First of all, for those of you who are not familiar with Scottish football, I have to say the following: This team is Dundee United, not Dundee. Dundee FC are another team entirely who actually play across the street from Dundee United. Dundee are currently in the First Division. Thank you for playing attention. Dundee United spent most of the season battling Motherwell for third spot. That is, until the split, when United decided winning was useless and pulled off two draws to go with three losses. All in all, a pretty good season for the Terrors, they just got done in by their poor run over the last third of the season. Ending the season pulling 14 points from 14 games is never going to get you into Europe.
Hibernian (52; +4GD)
Finishing sixth by way of goal differential was Hibernian. There is not much to say about Hibernian's season. Like Aberdeen, they had a good, early '08 run to get into the Top 6. Once the split occurred, they played as poorly as Dundee United. A perennial mid-table finisher finishes mid-table.
Alright, so I got the correct teams in the split, though I nearly dropped the ball on Motherwell. Let's speed through the bottom half, shall we?
Falkirk (49)
Poor Falkirk. Done in on the last day of the pre-split season by way of losing to Aberdeen 2-1 when only a draw was necessary. Though they had slim European ambitions, such a loss hits a team hard financially, as you miss out on a likely home tie against either Rangers or Celtic, or both, depending on how the regular season broke down. I must say, this was a pretty strong season for Falkirk. They challenged for a Top 6 spot until the last day and looked fairly dangerous all season long. If they keep it up, I would look for a fourth place finish out of them next season.
Heart of Midlothian (48)
Here is a team that did much better over the second half of the season, but still never got over the hump. Back in January, this team fell all the way to 11th place after five straight losses. Things looked bleak for the Lithuanian-backed club. However, they found some form and started to alternate wins with losses and climbed up the table. An eighth place finish flatters their mid-season form.
Inverness CT (43)
ICT never jumped out of the Bottom 6 all season, despite having ample opportunity to do so around the mid-season mark. A horrible run in February and March saw them take two points off of nine matches. Unfortunately, given their location and ambition, this is probably as high as we will see them finish in the next souple of years. Look for their manager, Craig Brewster, to move on to great things over the next decade.
St. Mirren (41)
St Mirren was another team that never got out of the Bottom 6. A big reason for that was their stunning inability to score goals. They scored 26 in 38 games, less than relegated Gretna. If not for Gretna's troubles, this would have been one hell of a lucky team to escape relegation.
Kilmarnock (40)
The team I bag on for being boring finishes 11th. Back in November, they had reached up to fifth place and looked to be doing very well. By the time January rolled around, Kilmarnock had already slipped to ninth and were sinking fast. Will be part of the relegation battle again next year.
Gretna (13)
What can I say about Gretna that I have not said already? Well, this: the team no longer exists as of today, June 3. Things started off rocky in the south and never got better. Their point total is artificially low because of a 10-point deduction for going into administration, but Gretna never were going to threaten to stay up. A sad end for a club that made a pretty fun run up the leagues, all the while engendering hatred from the rest of teams in the country.
Hamilton Academical take the lone promotion spot into the SPL, besting Dundee (remember what I said above?) by seven points in the First Division. It will be their first time in the Scottish top flight in 20 years. At the bottom of the First Division, Stirling Albion was relegated, while Clyde fought off Second Division challenges for their First Division place. However, since Gretna was demoted to the Third Division (and now out of the SFL entirely), playoff losers Airdrie United were promoted into the First Division, joining automatic promotees Ross County.
In the Second Division, Berwick Rangers were left for dead at the middle of the season, and Cowdenbeath joined them in going down. Arbroath won the playoff into the Second Division, with Stranraer taking the "Gretna back door" promotion. Those two join East Fife, who won the Third Division by a whopping 23 points, securing their promotion in March.
Finally, now that Gretna is out of the league entirely, who will be invited to the SFL? There have been four names bandied about, and I'll give them to you in the order of the likelihood they will get the invitation.
Spartans FC - This was the team who tried to buy their way into the league by taking over the debts for Gretna. They have a nice size stadium with all of the necessary trimmings to be allowed into the Third Division, though some may have taken offense to their gambit to buy their way in.
Cove Rangers - My pick for inclusion would be Cove Rangers. Scottish football has always suffered for too much congregation around the forty mile wide belt between Edinburgh and Glasgow. Cove Rangers are situated just south of Aberdeen, Scotland's third largest city. If the three East of Scotland League teams split votes, Cove Rangers may just slide in.
Preston Athletic - Word is they will change their name if admitted to the SFL. Don't hold your collective breath. Their stadium still needs expensive updating to get up to SFL standards, and with that being part of the reason for Gretna's demise, I think the SFL will be loathe to go down that path again so soon.
Annan Athletic - Truly on the list as a sentimental choice, as this team's home is rather close to Gretna. Stadium is up to snuff, I believe, but their election to the SFL is highly unlikely.
You need to go to the excellent billsportsmaps.com for the image at the top. He does some great work there.
Written by Darkvader on June 3rd, 2008 with no comments.
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A certain Scouser asked me to post this for any Arsenal fan feeling aggrieved over yesterday’s draw after a two-goal lead. It’s just a reminder that things could always be worse.
