Homeless World Cup 2012: Scotland in Mexico

Day four of the 2012 Homeless World Cup in Mexico yesterday and the tournament entered the second group stage.

After mixed results in the opening group Scotland moved on to face Ireland, Brazil, Portugal, Ukraine and South Africa in the second phase.

Which means facing some traditionally doughty Homeless World Cup opponents.

Yesterday's match against Portugal looked particularly tough.

The Portuguese won all four of their opening games, scoring 34 goals and conceding just eight.

Scotland, defending champions, lost their first two games 6-5 to Lithuania and Indonesia before recovering to beat Greece 4-2 and rounding the group off with a 6-3 win over Peru.

And tough it proved with the Portuguese running out 6-2 winners.

So a difficult opening to the second stage but still a long way to go.

This is one tournament where it doesn't feel trite to say that the taking part is a victory in itself.

Scotland coach David Duke - whose involvement with the tournament began when he was selected for the Scotland team in 2004 - estimates that some 700 players were involved in the selection process for this tournament.

One of the eight chosen for the final squad was Mark Stack, a 35 year old for Coatbridge who has battled heroin addiction and lived through years of homelessness:

"Without that, I wouldn’t be able to reintegrate with people. I’ve went through my life without really having anything, so even to be selected is a massive achievement."

Such stories are repeated globally. The tournament organisers estimate 250,000 people have been involved in Homeless World Cup related projects around the world.

Football is often bombastic in championing itself as a unifying lingua franca.

Every year the Homeless World Cup proves that football really can offer something overwhelmingly positive to the lives it touches.

Having been involved when the tournament was staged in Edinburgh back in 2005 it's also remarkable to see the scale of the event in Mexico City - over 50,000 spectators turned out on the opening weekend alone.

That's not a bad way to celebrate the unique work of the Homeless World Cup throughout the rest of the year - a network of football projects covering 73 nations and giving men and women of all ages the chance to rebuild their lives.

And, with four second group stage games left to play, Scotland's new squad will be keen that the sun doesn't set on our reign as champions just yet.

Visit www.homelessworldcup.org for the latest news, stories and live coverage.

(Source: The Big Issue)

Scotland at the Homeless World Cup today

A couple more big asks for Scotland today.

First up Ireland who started with a defeat to Costa Rica in their opening game but recovered to win their next four.

Yesterday in their opening second round game they drew 4-4 with South Africa.

Later the Scots take on Brazil whose 9-3 win over Ukraine yesterday build on some impressive form that saw them win their opening group games with 49 goals scored and just 12 conceded.

The Ireland game kicks off around 5.50 pm our time with the Brazil match scheduled for around 7.30 pm.

All games can be watched here: www.homelessworldcup.org/mexico-2012

SPL: Inverness v Ross County

As one derby door closes, so another opens.

A Highland derby in the SPL for the first time.

Scottish football is dull, parochial, stagnating. Often it is.

But tonight offers something more positive.

A game that represents a geographic expansion that those with power in the central belt long resisted, it's about two clubs making steady rather than spectacular progress through the leagues and it shows that opening the league structure to new blood can result in different clubs being successfully integrated into the game. A game that is a sell out, despite the TV coverage and the Friday night kick off time.

Despite even ESPN's promotional dip into stereotypes.

These are good things at time when we're too often browbeaten by the bad things.

Of course it might still be dull, this remains the SPL.

But perhaps even fears of dullness should be allayed: both teams come into tonight's game after scoring four goals last weekend, Inverness beating Dundee United 4-0 and Ross County scoring four but conceding five to St Mirren.

A strange one that for County. As they carried their unbeaten league run into the opening SPL fixtures they looked like they'd be nothing if not resolute.

Now, after 40 games undefeated, they've lost two on the bounce and couldn't even salvage a point after scoring four goals.

A freak result? Or a sign that they're experiencing delayed issues in acclimatising to the top flight.

They might find comfort in the familiar tonight. Many Ross County players are veterans of lower league derbies, four of them have crossed the divide from Inverness.

Inverness started slowly - the goal fest against United was their first win - but have shown glimpses of their own stubborness.

They came from two behind to get a point at Tynecastle and repeated the trick a couple of weeks ago away to Hibs. In that game they were inspired by a commanding Richie Foran, who followed that up with a couple of goals against United.

Foran looks the man most likely for me - and for the bookies giving 5/1 on him to be the first goalscorer.

The form of the last two weeks justifies Inverness being favourites at 5/4 to win.

They rocked Hibs as they came from behind and left United in their wake. Ross County were always going to lose at some point and they encountered St Johnstone just as the Saint began to enjoy their September resurgence.

A 5-4 defeat is never a good thing though. So County are 11/5 to win, the same price as the draw.

The league table has the two sides clubs locked together. Eight points each and the same -1 goal difference.

Close, but that represents a mini revival for Inverness and a mini stumble for County.

Over the course of the season Inverness have looked more capable of scoring and more capable of conceding.

When you've just won 4-0 and your opponents have just lost 5-4, you're probably untroubled by longer term trends.

Where are we tonight?

I still like the look of that Richie Foran 5/1 first goalscorer bet.

But I also quite fancy a draw.

So a half time/full time flutter.

Inverness ahead at half time, Ross County to get the draw by full time: home/draw offers 14/1.

All odds from Ladbrokes

Always remembering www.gambleaware.co.uk

SPL: The Joy of Six

A Saturday Superstore tomorrow. With Neil Doncaster as Mike Read and a half time interview with Craig Brown filling in for a wacky live link with Cheggers.

A splendid SPL smorgasbord seeing out September. Alarming alliteration aside, we can sit back and enjoy six games in the top flight.

Aberdeen v Hibs

The good lord of scheduling giveth and he taketh away. Thus the joy of a Saturday game is diminished by a noon kick off.

Hibs are looking to make it seven games undefeated in the SPL, Aberdeen are looking to make it nine undefeated in all competitions.

Last week Hibs threw away a two goal lead, Aberdeen salvaged a point after being two goals behind.

They served up some fetid feasts of boredom last season but current form suggests this might be a darn good match up.

When they weren't being hauled back last week Hibs looked confident, aggressive, capable of playing a bit of football.

Far from the finished article and still lacking any real depth to the squad. But Pat Fenlon deserves praise for how his work in progress is, eh, progressing.

Fools and bairns shouldn't see unfinished jobs? A football manager doesn't have that luxury. Fenlon must work under the glare of a support still haunted by recent experiences.

He's making a decent fist of it. And that's more than his predecessor managed.

Aberdeen's start to the season - efficiently low key but lacking goals - was vintage Craig Brown but belied a summer spent assembling what looks to be a half decent squad.

A point salvaged last week and a late win against Dunfermline on Wednesday might just give them the burst of urgency they need.

This could be tight. Certainly a Hibs win at 23/10 or the draw at the same odds look better prices than an Aberdeen win at 6/5.

Regular readers will know I don't like publicly declaring Hibs predictions on the blog.

But at more than 2/1 I will be backing them.

Dundee v St Johnstone

All that time without a win, a bit of a Moaning Minnie harrumph when they lost to Hibs at Easter Road.

What a difference a month makes.

September has delivered seven SPL points from nine and a league cup win for St Johnstone.

It started equally well for Dundee but a win at Tynecastle has been followed by two defeats. Bottom of the league, four points from seven games.

Still early but it's form that makes you think of a long struggle ahead.

If they want to haul themselves out of their current fug then winning home games against St Johnstone would be the sensible way to start.

The home win is out at 23/10 though. So is the draw. St Johnstone are 6/5 to make it ten points out of 12. I suspect they'll do just that.

Hearts v Kilmarnock

Up and doon.

That's pretty much the season so far for both Hearts and Kilmarnock.

For a number of clubs actually. This could be an excitingly unpredictable season. It could also be a turgid affair with eight or nine clubs trapped together in a tedious waltz of shared mediocrity.

Depending on how full or empty your glass is.

Hearts vaulted past Dundee United last week to record their first SPL win since the opening day.

Kilmarnock eased past St Mirren to record their second SPL win of the season.

Going into this game both have played seven, won two and amassed nine points with a goal difference of plus two.

Anything John McGlynn can do, Kenny Shiels can do pretty much the same.

Which will make this a tight one today?

Hearts don't look to offer much value at 10/11, Kilmarnock might be a tad generous at 3/1.

A draw for me though. 12/5.

Inverness v Dundee United

Inverness looked in danger of being overrun as Hibs went two ahead last Saturday.

There, laid bare, were their limitations.

From adversity, strength. With Richie Foran leading the line they hauled themselves back into it with a determination and resilience which makes you think they can again be more than the sum of their parts.

If anyone stumbles across the Dundee United side that were apparently best placed to challenge for the title could they please post it back to a Mr P Houston at Tannadice.

After winning their first two game 3-0, United are now four without a win and suffered a 3-0 defeat of their own at home to Hearts last week.

Injuries haven't helped of course. But there seems to be nobody ready to take responsibility when key players are missing.

It will be a worry for Peter Houston that they've also shipped three goals in losing to Kilmarnock and Hearts.

Not scoring and not always defending very well. 'Tis a bad combination.

I'm not sure if Inverness, still without a league win, will be able to capitalise though. They're certainly thrawn but I'm unconvinced by their ability to take the initiative.

So Inverness at 2/1? Don't fancy it. Dundee United at 13/10? Not sure.

The draw at 9/4. Go on then.

Motherwell v Celtic

In the last week Motherwell have lost a two goal lead against an Aberdeen side that couldn't score and been dispatched from the league cup by a Third Division side.

That's pish, frankly.

The manner of their defeat to Rangers - not just the lack of marking at the goals, but the stumbling, pedestrian ineptitude of much of their play - should be a cause for concern.

But they're top of the league so everything is rosy? Hmmm. They are both bad results.

I'd be astonished if Celtic don't win this game.

The most interesting thing about it is the kick off time: The first Saturday 3pm kick off for a Celtic away game in the SPL since October 2005 when Livingston were on the wrong end of a 5-0 drubbing.

A drubbing inspired by "youngsters Stephen McManus and Shaun Maloney."

Gary Hooper looks in the mood. The Motherwell defence looks generous. The Celtic win is likely but it's a low value 8/13.

St Mirren v Ross County

Kenny Shiels was ebullient in his praise of St Mirren last week. But his Kilmarnock side had just won the game.

Defeat too for Ross County, that lengthy unbeaten league run finally coming to an end against a rejuvenated St Johnstone.

So something for both teams to bounce back from tomorrow.

It took St Mirren until injury time to slide past Hamilton in the league cup on Tuesday.

That will please Derek Adams. County are nothing if not obstinate and he might well fancy their chances of rendering St Mirren pretty but ineffective - which is the praise Shiels faintly damned them with last week.

St Mirren go into this one as favourites at evens. The County win is 11/5.

I'd be more tempted by the draw at the same price.

Coupon crazy

OK, so where are we?

The tightness of many matches and the inconsistency of many sides is making calling SPL matches something of a challenge so far this season.

Tomorrow:

Hibs to win
St Johnstone to win
Hearts and Kilmarnock to draw
Inverness and Dundee United to draw
Celtic to win
St Mirren and Ross County to draw

An accumulator on that little lot comes in at 414.69/1. A daft bet. But this might just be a daft season.

All odds from Ladbrokes

Always remembering www.gambleaware.co.uk

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League Cup: Rangers v Motherwell

Order returned to the Scottish Communities League Cup last night with six SPL clubs beating lower league opposition.

Not a cakewalk for them all - Inverness needed penalties to get past Stenhousemuir, St Mirren waited until stoppage time to get the winner against Hamilton - and their efforts appear to have been met with a wave of apathy.

Apparently you could fit the combined attendance for the six games into Celtic Park and still have 30,000 empty seats.

Say what you like about the league cup but it's consistent. Every year the same:

A round where a few upsets are taken to prove the theory that there is so little to choose between the leagues that the SPL should be dramatically expanded forthwith.

A round where pitifully low attendances are taken to prove the theory that the competition has run its course and should continue only after extreme surgery.

Quite comforting in its own way.

Combining the two, reworking the league cup as part of the (hopefully) impending reworking of the league structure, might be a good place to start.

But those are questions for another day, to be chewed over by the great and good of the Scottish game.

In the meantime we can enjoy another fun game of cross-division "my attendance is bigger than yours" as Rangers host Motherwell at Ibrox.

When the dust settled after the summer's soul searching it always seemed likely that Rangers would face SPL opposition at some point this season.

The league cup draw was kind enough to throw up this peculiar spectacle relatively early.

The last time Rangers and Motherwell met in this competition Rangers won a 2010/11 semi final 2-1 en route to the trophy.

Less than two years later Motherwell sit top of the SPL - a Champions League qualifying appearance behind them - and Rangers lie second in the Third Division.

At times I think we're maybe too close to recent events, too drained by the tedium of the ever decreasing circles of vitriol and conspiracy theorising that surrounds it, to properly appreciate how spectacularly the game has been turned on its head.

All of which adds another level of intrigue to tonight's game.

It's hard to imagine any other set of circumstance that would see a team that hasn't won away from home in the fourth tier enter a game against a side unbeaten in the top flight as favourites.

But there we have it. Rangers are 6/4 to win. Motherwell are 7/4 to win.

This is Scottish football and normality has been suspended for the duration.

For all that their away form has been laboured, Rangers have scored 17 goals in five home games.

But there's only one clean sheet in that run and they were shunted out of the Challenge Cup by Queen of the South.

Motherwell will be their biggest test so far. And I'm still struggling to see how this one will go.

If Ally McCoist can't motivate his players tonight then his position deserves to be questioned.

And Motherwell's record against Rangers can't be ignored. The last time they won at Ibrox Tony Blair had only been Prime Minister for four days. He wasn't even bathing in creosote back then.

A tricky one.

Rangers to start strongly, maybe nick a lead and Motherwell to eventually prevail? A half-time/full-time home/away combo at 20-1 looks generous.

In a game that would seem to promise goals you can get the same price for either side to win 3-2.

I fancy it will be close and Motherwell might just nick it. I'd not be shocked if they don't though.

Elsewhere this evening Aberdeen travel to Dunfermline as favourites - a label they've not always worn comfortably against lower league opposition.

Dunfermline manager Jim Jefferies has apparently promised to "have a right good go."

In seven games this season his side have lost only one, scored 18 and conceded just three goals. They look equipped for the job of right good going.

Aberdeen have beaten only St Johnstone in the SPL and required extra time to get past Morton in the last round.

I feel I should be more confident about Dunfermline's chances of pulling this off than I am.

Perhaps I'm being persuaded by Aberdeen's resilience in saving a last gasp point in their 3-3 draw with Motherwell at the weekend.

A nice simple 2-0 win for the SPL side? 9/1.

Tempting. But would a lower league shock actually shock me? 2-1 to Dunfermline? 10/1.

I might just settle for a Motherwell - Dunfermline double at 8.80/1.

It's going to be an interesting night.

All odds from Ladbrokes

Always remembering www.gambleaware.co.uk

Book Review: Budgie

A Twitter correspondent was reminding me yesterday of the time I saved two penalties in one game.

As my personal sporting achievements go that remains right up there with winning the Longniddry Gala Primary 4 Short Tennis Open (Doubles) and clinching the runners-up spot in the Hawkhill Hibs Supporters' Club Bowls Day Oot.

I also like to think it's bestowed on me honorary life membership of the "goalkeeper's union."

Goalkeepers, they say, are crazy.

The charge sheet for the crime of craziness is probably quite long.

But you'd guess John Burridge would feature extensively. Probably appearing as his own character witness.

His eccentricities are laid bare in Budgie - The Autobiography of Goalkeeping Legend John Burridge.

The japes, the capers and misadventures are recounted with glee.

But there's a more complex side to the 'keeper who once hoisted himself onto the crossbar and perched their - Budgie-like - when his side were in the ascendancy.

The extravagant warm up routines, the tales of his wife being asked to fling pieces of fruit at him as he sat watching the TV to test his reflexes. They all served a purpose.

They kept him in the game. Playing, coaching, managing. Without that what was there left of John Burridge?

It took an intervention and a spell in The Priory before he found the answer to that question. Many are the stories of football as a cause of addiction or the setting for addiction. This is different. This is football as the addiction.

The book begins with that episode. A dramatic opening to be sure but one that does colour what comes after.

Because there is darkness to some of his behaviour that goes beyond the light-hearted eccentricities that you can tell he'd love the reader to shower with unconditional love.

The constant battles with managers - recounted here as heroic Budgie against ignorant authority - point to a man burdened by the weighty chip on his shoulder.

(They're recounted with gusto though - Budgie crawling through a window after Derby manager Arthur Cox had locked him in his office to escape and sign for Sheffield United, a ruck with Ossie Ardiles in the tunnel after a Southampton game, Murdo McLeod hitting Budgie over the head with an early 1990s mobile phone as Budgie physically attacked Alex Miller.)

By the end of the book Budgie has turned from the lovable scamp of his imagination into a bitter ex-pat (albeit one who fell victim to a mysterious and serious road accident in the Middle East), pining for an England that probably never existed and certainly one that he'd not have known growing up in a Cumbrian colliery village.

You'd be waiting for a rant about political correctness if he hadn't already covered that with a typically sepia-tinged defence of his friend Andy Gray and Sky sexism furore.

Lost worlds are a theme.

It’s difficult to envisage any player in the modern era having a career to mirror Burridge’s. 30 clubs, the English and Scottish leagues from bottom to top and back again.

And difficult to imagine any player getting away with quite so many "antics" - the practical jokes, the repeated fall outs with coaches, the studs sharpened to "do" the metatarsal of an opposing centre forward - in Sky's brave new world.

Changes for the better or the worse? Budgie's not a dispassionate enough chronicler of his own life and times to answer those questions.

Including the word "legend" in the title of an autobiography, the mood of nostalgia and the residual bitterness (the lack of international recognition clearly still rankles) suggests a man that's already made up his mind about his place in the world.

He's just waiting for the rest of us to catch up with him.

Which is all a bit of a shame. Because this was a career that was extraordinary in its own way, a career marked by an ability to connect with fans that is beyond many a footballer.

And if you like your anecdotes unseasoned by subtlety there's much to enjoy here - you won't read a more self deprecating tale of a footballer losing his virginity, you might never read again of a Hibs goalkeeper riding his moped through the streets of Edinburgh, discovering too late that someone has deposited a "present" in his crash helmet.

All of that, much like a career taking in over 700 professional games but no England cap, doesn't quite satisfy.

The Budgie that's uncovered is much harder to warm to than the lovable scamp of a goalkeeper of popular memory. That might be because he's never quite learned to warm to himself.

Buy 'Budgie' at Amazon

SPL: Celtic v Dundee

Scottish football can be stultifying, it's been over a decade now since the SPL champions faced two promoted sides over the course of their title defence.

Celtic, already a part of Ross County's elongated unbeaten league run, welcome Dundee today.

A lot of people backed Dundee to return immediately from whence they came.

They'd finished a distant second in the First Division and then spent a strange summer as victims of the rancorous paralysis that stupefied the game.

Were Rangers in or out? Rangers were out. Were Dunfermline back in or were Dundee promoted? Dundee were up.

By the time we'd worked out what was happening it seemed like Dundee were to be rewarded with an SPL spot but punished by not having time to adequately prepare.

The BBC website even lists their opening day First Division fixture as being "postponed."

And there they sit, offering succour to the "told you so-ers," at the foot of the table.

An opening day draw at Kilmarnock and a 1-0 win at Hearts are the only points gained in six games.

Four points from three away games - they were well beaten in the derby at Tannadice - isn't a bad return.

But three defeats at home will worry Barry Smith. Against Ross County and Motherwell they lost goals in the last twenty minutes of games that cost them the match.

Obviously it's far too early to discern any sort pattern. And if Dundee's start has been stuttery, they are far from alone.

Nine clubs are within five points of them in a league that is steadfastly refusing to be taken by the scruff of the neck.

Celtic find themselves among that batch after five league games when they've often looked bothered, sometimes bewildered but very rarely bewitched.

Five league games have delivered just eight points. That's far less than is expected of Celtic in seasons when they're predicted to be in a title fight, let alone a season touted as their great SPL walkover.

Maybe the players were expecting it to work out like that and are consequently lacking the focus they need.

There are injuries, of course, but also a lack of resolve and confidence in some of those who are fit.

A 0-0 draw with Benfica on in the Champions League on Wednesday featured an improved performance but hardly an inspiring one, particularly in a group where snaffling wins at home looks a minimum requirement.

All of which might mean that Dundee are less scared of a trip to Celtic Park than SPL new boys often are.

Manager Barry Smith will talk of keeping it tight at the back and starting well - although Hibs at Celtic Park and St Johnstone at home last week have shown that neither is a necessity to get some sort of result against the champions so far this season.

While one would expect Celtic to score - they've found the net in every SPL game so far - their defence is not without a certain largesse.

In five league games only Aberdeen have failed to score against them and Inverness, Hibs and St Johnstone have helped themselves to two apiece in the last three games.

The willing have found that there's goals for the taking. Which might set the Celtic Park stage for Colin Nish.

He broke his nose scoring his first Dundee goal last week but should play today. It was worth it though as it took him to joint eighth in the all-time SPL scoring charts. It will probably make him better looking into the bargain.

He's now on 63 goals, level with Chris Sutton and Stevie Crawford. Quietly effective.

I've liked Nish ever since I saw him in a corner shop after one of his less quietly - or indeed, noisily - effective performances for Hibs.

I still had my scarf on. He, rather touchingly, was still wearing his club tracksuit and looked just as miserable as me.

Our eyes met briefly, we both decided nothing needed said and so spent what seemed like an eternity staring at the floor as the girls at the front of the queue bought enough Lambrini to sink a gaggle of geese. Hibs fans don't always have more fun.

He's at 10/1 to score first tomorrow. Or, for the chicken-hearted, 10/3 to score anytime.

It could be that Celtic will be suffering what we're duty bound to call a Champions League hangover tomorrow.

Realistically though I expect them to start winning games like this. And I expect them to start winning them tomorrow.

Dundee's best hope: a 1-1 draw that you can back at 14/1.

Best hope? I think so. This looks the sort of game where Celtic can stop stuttering.

Neil Lennon has talked about freshening the team up to combat that European "hangover."

So Celtic to win 2-0 with Tony Watt as first scorer at 20/1. Or, if you prefer, 3-0 at the same price.

Mind you, if you fancy a crate of Lambrini, why not go crazy on a 3-1 Celtic win with Colin Nish as first scorer. 125/1.

All odds from Ladbrokes

Always remembering www.gambleaware.co.uk

Champions League: Celtic v Benfica

A foreign bloke in branded leisurewear having a smoke outside Glasgow's Radisson can only mean one thing.

There's a football team in town and one of the coaches is plotting the downfall of some of our brave boys while looking as effortlessly cool as it's possible to look while indulging in a pastime that runs the very real risk of setting his Adidas training gear alight.

The studied nonchalance on Argyle Street has belonged to Benfica this week as the Champions League group stages return to Celtic Park.

Celtic revel in nights like this: 18 home games in the group stages of this competition have seen them claim 13 wins and suffer just one defeat.

If their Champions League campaigns haven't always brought sustained success, achieving parity with the great and the good of the European game has rarely been a problem at home.

But Neil Lennon is facing something of a conundrum before this evening's match.

Celtic predicted canter in the one horse SPL has started groggily. A meek defeat to St Johnstone on Saturday confirmed the worst start to a league season for over a decade.

Why?

Lennon suggested - and it was a chagrined suggestion - that thoughts of this Benfica clash might have played a part in Saturday's defeat.

Others have suggested that the players might be taking time to adjust to a league shorn of their rivals.

I might also question the wisdom of that Philadelphia friendly with Real Madrid after the league had started and when both the domestic season and the squad were already facing disruption for the last round of international fixtures.

More prosaically there have been injuries and what appears to be a collective loss of form among a few key players.

The manager will expect his squad to rise above that in the SPL but he'll also be concerned how this lacklustre start will translate into European performances.

In the parlance of such things he'll be looking for a reaction tonight. Without it Celtic could be in for a long evening.

The bookies would seem to concur. Celtic are 13/5 to win with Ladbrokes while Benfica are 11/10.

Domestic form, the depth of the two squads and Celtic's four years absence from this stage would certainly explain those odds. But they do seem to disregard the Celtic Park factor, the home advantage that so defines Celtic's European adventures.


The draw is quoted at 9/4 although the generosity of Celtic's defence so far this season would scare me off 0-0 at 6/1.

1-1 at 7/1 might well look the better bet.

I'm also happy to be influenced by the Craig Levein Equation: Craig Levein + Craig Levein questioning Player X's value to the Scotland squad = Player X doing something impressive.

In this case Kris Commons (Scotland's ninth best midfielder. Or is tenth best?) scoring first in a 1-1 draw comes in at 40/1.

Have a punt on that.

By the end of the night you might be just be singing Levein's praises.

All odds from Ladbrokes

Always remembering www.gambleaware.co.uk

Bad Korea move

It's become the vogue in Scottish football to declare the game - perhaps more accurately its administrators - as a "laughing stock."

That always seems a bit of stretch to me, this idea that people outside these shores care enough to chuckle. Care enough to even think about us that much, other than a feeling of mild relief when they draw one of our clubs in Europe.

No, we've probably slipped beyond being continental mirth makers. Even longer has passed since we were pioneers of the game.

Some have found that hard to accept. I recall in the early days of the SPL split various corporate evangelicals trying to sell an alien concept to fans with assurances that Scotland was blazing a trail.

Where we explored an unnatural breach in the league season so others would surely follow.

The avalanche never came. Scotland persevered but the world was unmoved. And still the English media struggled to get to grips with the essential contrivance of our league table as the post-split games threw up the odd anomaly.

But, like a reward for the most indefatigable of Victorian missionaries, distant converts have finally been delivered.

South Korea's K-League has adopted the "Scottish model" as part of a plan to revolutionise the domestic game.

Previously a 16-team league without relegation, the K-League was struggling along with a flabby belly of meaningless fixtures.

The result was supporter apathy and, rather more seriously, an open invitation to match fixers.

An investigation last year ended with 60 players and coaches being indicted for accepting money to fix games.

A desire to cleanse the game through revolution led a Korean delegation to Scotland - accusations of our own corruption have perhaps not carried across continents - and the adoption of a league split.

A different model though. 16 teams will play home and away before splitting into two groups of eight.

They'll play home and away again - the March to December season takes in 44 games - to decide the champions and sort out the newly introduced relegation places.

The architects of the plan hope this tartan tinge will spark a fightback against sports like baseball and defeat the nefarious influences with their bulging envelopes of bungs.

There have been some bumps in the road.

Military team Sangju Sangmu have announced that they will refuse to complete their final 14 fixtures after the league authorities decided they would be relegated at the end of the season.

The club uses players who are completing their national service. When their two years in the military are up the players return to their original teams.

That means they're not officially contracted to Sangju Sangmu. And that's against K-League rules.

Already Korean football is discovering that league splits and contractual complexities are not mutually exclusive. A further fact finding mission to Scotland might not have gone amiss.

But the split is in place. The K-League expects at least one team in every fixture to have something left to play for.

According to a league spokesman:

"The European league system is a little boring. Like capitalism, [the split] is not a perfect system but it works for us."

A sentiment that will surely be sympathetically echoed in the corridors of Hampden.

Sources:

• The Independent
• Supersport.com