"It's not potential civil war. It's on."
So threatened an unnamed SPL chairman on Wednesday.
The spark of our latest top flight conflagration is a move by the SPL's non-Old Firm teams to flex their muscles.
They want changes to the leagues voting structure which, with an 11-1 mechanism kicking in on certain issues, has long been seen by many as a way of allowing the Old Firm to exert a degree of control over the rest of the clubs.
With Rangers currently stricken, the remaining clubs are also pushing for a more even distribution of revenues and the creation of an SPL2 to act as a safety mat for relegated clubs.
Apparently this hasn't gone down too well at Celtic.
Their chief executive Peter Lawell is quoted as describing the non-Glasgow cartel as "potentially divisive," saying:
"We were disappointed and we feel it disrespectful that what Celtic and Rangers bring to the game that we were excluded, having spent nearly two years and a lot of time helping to develop a strategy."
Arguably ten teams acting together and one team being unhappy while another team suffocates in a Greek-style financial crisis might be seen by some as being more democratic than divisive.
But that's not how Scottish football tends to work.And it's difficult to see how vote to abolish the 11-1 voting system would be passed, depending as it would on Celtic and Rangers being split on this. And they won't be.
When The Proclaimers ask "What do you do when minority means you?" it seems Mr Lawwell replies "go in the huff and seek succour in the company of a team I said we could live without a few weeks ago."
Intriguingly he also seems to have given us a tantalising glimpse of where Celtic might be about to head in upcoming negotiations:
"We were actually then convinced for a 14, Martin [Bain] and I, through this group because the top six would play 36 games. We would go with 14 and a top six.
"We were persuaded to go back to the ten for the greater good because the majority around the table wanted the ten. We said 10, 12 or 14, it doesn’t really matter, other than the number of games you play."
Is the hardy perennial of league reconstruction about to flower once more in the spring sunshine?
It might well be. A clever move from Lawwell if that's the case because it's sure to put the other 10 clubs on the back foot.
If they want a more even distribution of cash and power then why not go further and spread it around a 14 team league?
Largely, one suspects, the other ten clubs want the money to be shared more equally but only among themselves. All animals are created equal but some animals get to live in the SPL.
And those clubs agitating for an SPL2 would also face a dilemma. Their dream is probably two leagues of ten. A 14 team top flight would mean a minimum of 24 teams in any dual SPL structure. The share of the pie diminishes ever further.
The beauty for Celtic is that it leaves them largely unaffected in either the status quo or with two fewer games in a 14 team league. A nice bit of politicking.
All of this could very well be academic anyway, ignoring as it does the elephant in the room.
How do you solve a problem like Rangers?
The chairmen of the other 10 clubs might have found it less disrepectful than Peter Lawwell did to jettison the Ibrox administrators from a discussion on the future of the game.
But the smog of uncertainty clinging to Ibrox makes it difficult to see how long term changes can be planned while the possibility of Rangers not being in the SPL remains.
You might feel a Rangers-free SPL is a good thing, you might feel it's a bad thing. But most would probably agree that it would represent a seismic shift that would raise issues that would need to be urgently addressed.
Are the 11 clubs and Rangers' administrators set fair to address those issues at the moment?
It's unlikely that they are.
And that will probably mean that this latest SPL tit-for-tat fizzles out.
Civil war? Probably not. Just a lot of talk over a little local difficulty.
Sources:
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Friday, March 23, 2012
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Enemies reunited: Jim Jefferies returns
Hibs fans aren't supposed to like Jim Jefferies.
The walking personification of Hearts, he wasn't put on this earth for us to hold him dear.
And largely we don't like him.
But there's something about Jim.
Maybe it's because, in the constantly evolving modern game, the nostalgic sight of a Wallyford curmudgeon prowling SPL technical areas will likely become ever rarer.
Maybe it's simply that, like an ageing aunt you don't particularly care for, Jim is always there for the big moments.
The most famous result in Hibs history, that Tynecastle walloping that's echoed down the decades? There was Jim playing for Hearts.
When Hibs got relegated in 1998? There was JJ delivering a Scottish Cup to Tynecastle, adding the cyanide icing to that particularly bitter sponge.
When Alex McLeish and Franck Sauzee let Hibs fans dream again? There was Jim in the Hearts dugout, looking like a basset hound chewing a mosquito.
When Hibs ran rampant against Kilmarnock at Hampden? There was a miserable Jim providing inspiration for the massed choirs.
If nothing else Jim has been a totem, a rallying point for our ridicule and our wrath. And there's always a certain comfort in such constants.
The relationship might have changed of late. At half time during Sunday's derby, after the latest insipid display in Hibernian's comatose season, I was treated to some fine invective about the trick Hibs had missed in plumping for Pat Fenlon instead of Jefferies when Colin Calderwood took his leave.
That's very far from being a majority view. But a minority, in Sunday's case a vocal minority with a vocabulary that would make Dave Allen blush, saw him as the best man to do a short term job in another moment of Leith crisis.
Hibs chose a different path. Jumping from the SPL managerial carousel they opted for Fenlon and gave him the dual task of plotting a long term future for a club that's been rocked by a series of botched quick fixes while at the same time finding an immediate formula to keep Hibs in the SPL.
The latter job seemed tricky but also oddly simple. Turn a team without heart into a team that could fight for points. That was never going to be easy.
Create a team that, at a bare minimum, remained a touch better off than Dunfermline. Not so difficult.
Hibs have been poor this season. Very poor. But Dunfermline's weaknesses have saved Hibs from the relegation spot. Hibs own weaknesses have, in turn, ensured Dunfermline have not been cut adrift.
The story of the bottom six was set, a last waltz between Hibs and Dunfermline.
There was, I think, a satisfaction among some at Easter Road that the winter transfer window represented a job well done. A skin of the teeth job, maybe, but enough to outlast Dunfermline.
And then patient Dunfermline finally reached the end of the line with Jim McIntyre.
No time for a novice? Send for the time served gaffer.
Enter Jim Jefferies at East End Park.
If Fenlon's immediate remit has been to stay ahead of Dunfermline so Jefferies will have been given a clear instruction: reel Hibs in.
Both managers might eye St Mirren (without a win in 2012) or Inverness (six points from 21) and ponder the benefits of spreading the relegation load.
But for now it's boiled down to Hibs v Dunfermline. To, yet again, Hibs v Jim Jefferies.
The narrative has got more interesting: the back story stuffed with history, ancient and modern. Jefferies in a survival battle with Fenlon's assistant Billy Brown, for so long the Shirlie to his Pepsi.
Enough to cause a collective shudder in Leith, enough to set moustaches trembling in the Easter Road boardroom?
Probably.
Hearts fans have taken a glee that is quite unbecoming in pointing out to me that Hibs are now most certainly doomed.
Piffle. That might happen. But there are few guarantees.
Jefferies is far from universally lauded in Kilmarnock and, despite the surprise at his eventual dismissal, his record in his final few months at Hearts wasn't great.
He inherits a team that must be low on confidence, someone else's squad - a thin one at that - and players who haven't managed a home win this season.
Curing those ills won't be easy.
Can Jefferies do it?
Undoubtedly. He's a sound manager, knows what's needed in the SPL and he wouldn't have taken the job if he didn't think he could pull it off.
Maybe he'll be able to galvanise and cajole where McIntyre couldn't. A home game against St Mirren that looks winnable would give him the perfect start on Saturday.
Then he needs to negotiate Hearts and Dundee United before the league split. After that he'll relish the battle of the bottom six. And anything will be possible.
This is not mission impossible. The relegation battle wasn't over when Dunfermline elected to jettison McIntyre. The arrival of Jefferies will almost certainly ensure there are even more twists and turns ahead.
Two poor teams searching for enough inspiration to get them over the line.
Jim Jefferies and Hibs.
Hibs and Jim Jefferies.
It's game on yet again in this most enduring Scottish football duel.
> The Daily Mail reports this morning that Leigh Griffiths has left Hibs after sticking the heid on Pat Fenlon and punching Billy Brown. There, allegedly, is a twist and a turn right there. Surely not even Jim Jefferies is powerful enough to have that sort of influence. (Mail Online)
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The walking personification of Hearts, he wasn't put on this earth for us to hold him dear.
And largely we don't like him.
But there's something about Jim.
Maybe it's because, in the constantly evolving modern game, the nostalgic sight of a Wallyford curmudgeon prowling SPL technical areas will likely become ever rarer.
Maybe it's simply that, like an ageing aunt you don't particularly care for, Jim is always there for the big moments.
The most famous result in Hibs history, that Tynecastle walloping that's echoed down the decades? There was Jim playing for Hearts.
When Hibs got relegated in 1998? There was JJ delivering a Scottish Cup to Tynecastle, adding the cyanide icing to that particularly bitter sponge.
When Alex McLeish and Franck Sauzee let Hibs fans dream again? There was Jim in the Hearts dugout, looking like a basset hound chewing a mosquito.
When Hibs ran rampant against Kilmarnock at Hampden? There was a miserable Jim providing inspiration for the massed choirs.
If nothing else Jim has been a totem, a rallying point for our ridicule and our wrath. And there's always a certain comfort in such constants.
The relationship might have changed of late. At half time during Sunday's derby, after the latest insipid display in Hibernian's comatose season, I was treated to some fine invective about the trick Hibs had missed in plumping for Pat Fenlon instead of Jefferies when Colin Calderwood took his leave.
That's very far from being a majority view. But a minority, in Sunday's case a vocal minority with a vocabulary that would make Dave Allen blush, saw him as the best man to do a short term job in another moment of Leith crisis.
Hibs chose a different path. Jumping from the SPL managerial carousel they opted for Fenlon and gave him the dual task of plotting a long term future for a club that's been rocked by a series of botched quick fixes while at the same time finding an immediate formula to keep Hibs in the SPL.
The latter job seemed tricky but also oddly simple. Turn a team without heart into a team that could fight for points. That was never going to be easy.
Create a team that, at a bare minimum, remained a touch better off than Dunfermline. Not so difficult.
Hibs have been poor this season. Very poor. But Dunfermline's weaknesses have saved Hibs from the relegation spot. Hibs own weaknesses have, in turn, ensured Dunfermline have not been cut adrift.
The story of the bottom six was set, a last waltz between Hibs and Dunfermline.
There was, I think, a satisfaction among some at Easter Road that the winter transfer window represented a job well done. A skin of the teeth job, maybe, but enough to outlast Dunfermline.
And then patient Dunfermline finally reached the end of the line with Jim McIntyre.
No time for a novice? Send for the time served gaffer.
Enter Jim Jefferies at East End Park.
If Fenlon's immediate remit has been to stay ahead of Dunfermline so Jefferies will have been given a clear instruction: reel Hibs in.
Both managers might eye St Mirren (without a win in 2012) or Inverness (six points from 21) and ponder the benefits of spreading the relegation load.
But for now it's boiled down to Hibs v Dunfermline. To, yet again, Hibs v Jim Jefferies.
The narrative has got more interesting: the back story stuffed with history, ancient and modern. Jefferies in a survival battle with Fenlon's assistant Billy Brown, for so long the Shirlie to his Pepsi.
Enough to cause a collective shudder in Leith, enough to set moustaches trembling in the Easter Road boardroom?
Probably.
Hearts fans have taken a glee that is quite unbecoming in pointing out to me that Hibs are now most certainly doomed.
Piffle. That might happen. But there are few guarantees.
Jefferies is far from universally lauded in Kilmarnock and, despite the surprise at his eventual dismissal, his record in his final few months at Hearts wasn't great.
He inherits a team that must be low on confidence, someone else's squad - a thin one at that - and players who haven't managed a home win this season.
Curing those ills won't be easy.
Can Jefferies do it?
Undoubtedly. He's a sound manager, knows what's needed in the SPL and he wouldn't have taken the job if he didn't think he could pull it off.
Maybe he'll be able to galvanise and cajole where McIntyre couldn't. A home game against St Mirren that looks winnable would give him the perfect start on Saturday.
Then he needs to negotiate Hearts and Dundee United before the league split. After that he'll relish the battle of the bottom six. And anything will be possible.
This is not mission impossible. The relegation battle wasn't over when Dunfermline elected to jettison McIntyre. The arrival of Jefferies will almost certainly ensure there are even more twists and turns ahead.
Two poor teams searching for enough inspiration to get them over the line.
Jim Jefferies and Hibs.
Hibs and Jim Jefferies.
It's game on yet again in this most enduring Scottish football duel.
> The Daily Mail reports this morning that Leigh Griffiths has left Hibs after sticking the heid on Pat Fenlon and punching Billy Brown. There, allegedly, is a twist and a turn right there. Surely not even Jim Jefferies is powerful enough to have that sort of influence. (Mail Online)
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Sunday, March 18, 2012
League Cup: Winners and losers
Celtic win the league cup. Quite a lot.
Kilmarnock don't win the leage cup. Not at all.
That, basically, is the backstory to a game that pitches the 14 times winners against a team that have lost on their five previous visits to the Scottish League Cup final.
This season Kilmarnock have blown hot and cold as their manager has blown mildly entertaining hot air.
Celtic are greedily eyeing up a treble and don't look like fluffing their lines.
Game over, then, before we've even begun?
No.
I expect Celtic to win this and I'd be surprised if they don't.
But Kilmarnock can spring surprises and, as much as the side has weaknesses and Kenny Shiels is not immune to mistakes, they've got players who can compete, entertain and impress.
Dundee United showed in the initial skirmishes of their cup tie last week that there are occasions when Celtic can look rattled.
The trick when that happens is to take advantage and not do anything stupid. Dundee United failed on both counts last week. Kilmarnock would do well to learn from United's mistakes.
That's if Kilmarnock can spring a surprise. The resources at Neil Lennon's disposal and his willingness to ring the changes means he's perfectly capable of bowling the odd googly his own.
It's not fatalistic to gift Celtic the favourites tag. It's simply common sense.
Celtic are better than Kilmarnock. And they should prove that today.
They might not and that's one of the reasons that cup games can still grab our attention.
But they probably will.
Still, hope springs eternal. And for Kilmarnock there is hope in the very statistics that might appear to condemn them.
Yes, Kilmarnock have lost five league cup finals and yes, Celtic have won 14 league cup finals.
But Celtic have also lost 14 league cup finals.
If they lose a fifteenth today then Kenny Shiels will be able to conclusively prove that Celtic are actually three times worse in the Scottish League Cup than Kilmarnock are.
Or something.
Prediction: Celtic 3 v Kilmarnock 1
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Kilmarnock don't win the leage cup. Not at all.
That, basically, is the backstory to a game that pitches the 14 times winners against a team that have lost on their five previous visits to the Scottish League Cup final.
This season Kilmarnock have blown hot and cold as their manager has blown mildly entertaining hot air.
Celtic are greedily eyeing up a treble and don't look like fluffing their lines.
Game over, then, before we've even begun?
No.
I expect Celtic to win this and I'd be surprised if they don't.
But Kilmarnock can spring surprises and, as much as the side has weaknesses and Kenny Shiels is not immune to mistakes, they've got players who can compete, entertain and impress.
Dundee United showed in the initial skirmishes of their cup tie last week that there are occasions when Celtic can look rattled.
The trick when that happens is to take advantage and not do anything stupid. Dundee United failed on both counts last week. Kilmarnock would do well to learn from United's mistakes.
That's if Kilmarnock can spring a surprise. The resources at Neil Lennon's disposal and his willingness to ring the changes means he's perfectly capable of bowling the odd googly his own.
It's not fatalistic to gift Celtic the favourites tag. It's simply common sense.
Celtic are better than Kilmarnock. And they should prove that today.
They might not and that's one of the reasons that cup games can still grab our attention.
But they probably will.
Still, hope springs eternal. And for Kilmarnock there is hope in the very statistics that might appear to condemn them.
Yes, Kilmarnock have lost five league cup finals and yes, Celtic have won 14 league cup finals.
But Celtic have also lost 14 league cup finals.
If they lose a fifteenth today then Kenny Shiels will be able to conclusively prove that Celtic are actually three times worse in the Scottish League Cup than Kilmarnock are.
Or something.
Prediction: Celtic 3 v Kilmarnock 1
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Saturday, March 17, 2012
SPL: Capital gains
Moan out of the way first: I'm not sure Scottish football is playing to those strengths it still has by scheduling a cup final and an Edinburgh derby on the same day.
But that's just the way it is.
So we get on with it.
Before the blood pressure starts to rise in Auld Reekie, Saturday sees an abbreviated SPL schedule.
Rangers, still actually a football club with fixtures to fulfil rather than just a business basketcase, travel to Tannadice.
It's a fortnight now since Hearts overcame a half time deficit to beat Rangers at Ibrox.
How will the squad have reacted since then? It's difficult to say. What we do know is that this was far from a vintage Rangers side before the off the pitch implosion. The financial collapse looks to have weakened them further.
That's why Dundee United's odds have been shortened and why many people will fancy them to enjoy back-to-back wins over Rangers for the first time in a decade.
The outcome will be pored over by those looking to gauge the extent of Rangers footballing decline and by those waiting to see if the champions will be beaten to second place by Motherwell.
If United can win and Motherwell can beat Aberdeen then Stuart McCall's team will be level with Rangers on points, although trailing by a massive goal difference discrepancy.
Strange times these, on and off the pitch. Chastened but defiant in their defeat to Celtic last week, I'd not be surprised to see a bullish United performance tomorrow.
Do Rangers have the spirit left to match them?
They certainly look they might struggle at the back. Dorin Goian, Carlos Bocanegra, Steven Whittaker, Kyle Bartley, Kirk Broadfoot and Sasa Papac are all missing. Finding a defence looks like being yet another headache for Ally McCoist.
For their part Motherwell couldn't beat Aberdeen in the cup last week as Mr Brown's boys continued their thrawn 2012 unbeaten record.
Christmas Eve was the last time Aberdeen tasted defeat. Last week they showed that they have some ruthlessness as well as a commendable obstinancy. This now is very much the team that Craig Brown built.
Second place within Motherwell's grasp and the top six not completely beyond Aberdeen. This could be another interesting game at Fir Park.
Finally today, all the saints go marching on Paisley as St Mirren host St Johnstone.
Seven of St Mirren's last eight games have been drawn. That makes St Johnstone's effort in drawing three of their last six look like a fairly pathetic attempt to steal the crown of league stalemate specialists.
It also suggests that the two sides fighting out a draw wouldn't surprise many people.
And so we move on to Sunday.
It's been so long ago since Hibs beat Hearts that I can't even remember who the victorious manager was that day.
No, no. I jest. It was me old mucker Mixu Paatelainen back in May 2009.
There's been little joy for Hibs in these games since then. There's been little joy for Hibs at all since then.
Ahead of this game I hear that Hearts are the more experienced derby team, that they're determined to complete a derby clean sweep this season (there might be another game if Hearts don't qualify for the top six), that they have played better when the players haven't been paid.
So the result should be a foregone conclusion.
It might well be. I don't predict such things anymore.
Hibs are improving and they have better players. They're certainly a very different proposition now: of the team that I expect Pat Fenlon to field only four starters from the New Year defeat at Easter Road will remain.
Do the new players understand the significance of the fixture? That question seems to make a supposition: that the old players did understand the significance of the game.
Fat lot of good it did them.
But these players will know. They don't live in complete isolation and there remains Hibs fans in and around the squad. I surmise that Fenlon - no stranger to local grudge matches in his career - has also come through a crash course in the history of Hibs.
Does any of that matter? It might be a completely unquantifiable variable, although it is one that offers succour to the fans.
Hibs mini revival has coincided with fluctuations in Hearts' form. That means the two sides actually have similar recent records despite a 16 point gap quite correctly illustrating their different fortunes across the season.
Hearts still look to me to have more match winners at their disposal. But that might make a victorious team effort all the sweeter for Hibs. It could be a close one.
Someone will win and gloat and dance and be merry and crack unfunny jokes about the losers who will in turn moan and cry and drink and then start singing again.
Unless it's a draw. Then Hearts will sing and dance and gloat about ten games undefeated and Hibs will sing and dance and think "at least the buggers didn't beat us."
And so, winners or losers, the circle of capital football life will continue.
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But that's just the way it is.
So we get on with it.
Before the blood pressure starts to rise in Auld Reekie, Saturday sees an abbreviated SPL schedule.
Rangers, still actually a football club with fixtures to fulfil rather than just a business basketcase, travel to Tannadice.
It's a fortnight now since Hearts overcame a half time deficit to beat Rangers at Ibrox.
How will the squad have reacted since then? It's difficult to say. What we do know is that this was far from a vintage Rangers side before the off the pitch implosion. The financial collapse looks to have weakened them further.
That's why Dundee United's odds have been shortened and why many people will fancy them to enjoy back-to-back wins over Rangers for the first time in a decade.
The outcome will be pored over by those looking to gauge the extent of Rangers footballing decline and by those waiting to see if the champions will be beaten to second place by Motherwell.
If United can win and Motherwell can beat Aberdeen then Stuart McCall's team will be level with Rangers on points, although trailing by a massive goal difference discrepancy.
Strange times these, on and off the pitch. Chastened but defiant in their defeat to Celtic last week, I'd not be surprised to see a bullish United performance tomorrow.
Do Rangers have the spirit left to match them?
They certainly look they might struggle at the back. Dorin Goian, Carlos Bocanegra, Steven Whittaker, Kyle Bartley, Kirk Broadfoot and Sasa Papac are all missing. Finding a defence looks like being yet another headache for Ally McCoist.
For their part Motherwell couldn't beat Aberdeen in the cup last week as Mr Brown's boys continued their thrawn 2012 unbeaten record.
Christmas Eve was the last time Aberdeen tasted defeat. Last week they showed that they have some ruthlessness as well as a commendable obstinancy. This now is very much the team that Craig Brown built.
Second place within Motherwell's grasp and the top six not completely beyond Aberdeen. This could be another interesting game at Fir Park.
Finally today, all the saints go marching on Paisley as St Mirren host St Johnstone.
Seven of St Mirren's last eight games have been drawn. That makes St Johnstone's effort in drawing three of their last six look like a fairly pathetic attempt to steal the crown of league stalemate specialists.
It also suggests that the two sides fighting out a draw wouldn't surprise many people.
And so we move on to Sunday.
It's been so long ago since Hibs beat Hearts that I can't even remember who the victorious manager was that day.
No, no. I jest. It was me old mucker Mixu Paatelainen back in May 2009.
There's been little joy for Hibs in these games since then. There's been little joy for Hibs at all since then.
Ahead of this game I hear that Hearts are the more experienced derby team, that they're determined to complete a derby clean sweep this season (there might be another game if Hearts don't qualify for the top six), that they have played better when the players haven't been paid.
So the result should be a foregone conclusion.
It might well be. I don't predict such things anymore.
Hibs are improving and they have better players. They're certainly a very different proposition now: of the team that I expect Pat Fenlon to field only four starters from the New Year defeat at Easter Road will remain.
Do the new players understand the significance of the fixture? That question seems to make a supposition: that the old players did understand the significance of the game.
Fat lot of good it did them.
But these players will know. They don't live in complete isolation and there remains Hibs fans in and around the squad. I surmise that Fenlon - no stranger to local grudge matches in his career - has also come through a crash course in the history of Hibs.
Does any of that matter? It might be a completely unquantifiable variable, although it is one that offers succour to the fans.
Hibs mini revival has coincided with fluctuations in Hearts' form. That means the two sides actually have similar recent records despite a 16 point gap quite correctly illustrating their different fortunes across the season.
Hearts still look to me to have more match winners at their disposal. But that might make a victorious team effort all the sweeter for Hibs. It could be a close one.
Someone will win and gloat and dance and be merry and crack unfunny jokes about the losers who will in turn moan and cry and drink and then start singing again.
Unless it's a draw. Then Hearts will sing and dance and gloat about ten games undefeated and Hibs will sing and dance and think "at least the buggers didn't beat us."
And so, winners or losers, the circle of capital football life will continue.
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Thursday, March 15, 2012
Rangers: The questions continue
The now traditional Thursday night Rangers post.
Have we moved on? Or are we descending further into farce?
Nodody seems to know exactly what's happening. The lunatics have taken over the asylum. But who actually owns the asylum? And will another group of lunatics be happy to take over in the next few weeks?
We've even discovered that a legal glitch means Rangers might not actually have been in administration after all.
Ticketus and the adminstrators are arguing in court over money at the same time as Ticketus are publicly backing the consortium led by Blue Knight Paul Murray.
HMRC continue to circle with a grim determination. They won't go away.
Craig Whyte is gone for now, but is surely not yet the irrelevance the administrators are trying to paint him as.
Brian Kennedy, owner of rugby's Sale Sharks, one time suitor of Hibs and Stockport County's bête noire, has said he'll reluctantly buy Rangers if nobody else will.
That's the sort of commitment you get from the vicar at a parish jumble sale when trade is slow at the cake stall.
It's not, perhaps, the kind of commitment you want from the potential saviour of a stricken company.
Send in the clowns.
Or, following an email error with the launch of a new fans fund, send the clowns your money.
Another week and it's still a mess. The prospect of a quick resolution looks ever further away.
The longer it drags on the more important questions about the future go unanswered. And the more uncertain that future looks for Rangers.
The SPL seem to think announcing an investigation has bought them the right to stay silent.
They'll need to start speaking soon.
Maybe chief executive Neil Doncaster could share his past experiences of financial uncertainty. Like the time he was on the English Football League board that allowed the Leeds United phoenix company to keep their league place.
My uncharitable impression is that Doncaster is an expert in few things. But this is one of his specialist subjects: why isn't he sharing?
Across the Hampden corridor the SFA, fresh from the less than surprising discovery that Craig Whyte had shown their fit and proper person procedures to be unfit and improper, have announced a range of charges against both Whyte and the club.
Whyte is accused of breaching two disciplinary rules while Rangers face five accusations.
Fines, suspensions and expulsion could all be on the table when a Judicial Panel meets on 29th March.
At the same time the SFA have found themselves dragged into the mess thanks to president Campbell Ogilivie's previous involvement at Ibrox.
Well, stone the crows! Who on earth would have predicted that Ogilvie's career history would soon embroil the SFA in this whole sorry mess?
As I said the other week, Ogilvie might be totally innocent of any wrongdoing - Rangers, we should remember, have not yet been found guilty in the "big tax case" - and that means any hounding he has had or is set to suffer in the future could be grossly unfair.
But perception counts for a lot. And perceptions are currently tarnishing him.
Crucially that means the SFA, who should be providing leadership in this situation, look to be suffering yet another lame duck presidency. One that allegedly forced someone in the organisation to call an award winning Channel 4 journalist "pig headed" and accuse him of "lying" this week.
I'm one of those hardy souls who'll say that the SFA have done some good work in the past few months. The Ogilvie controversy will put that at risk.
Politicians are often forced to resign and fight to clear their names outside the cabinet. Ogilvie will do more harm than good if he chooses to try and clear his while wearing an SFA blazer.
Chick Young pointed out during the week that Ogilvie gave up a well paid job at Hearts to take on this unpaid labour of love at Hampden. That, we were left to infer, is how much he cares about Scottish football.
If he really cared he wouldn't want to see the SFA compromised by his continued presence. Innocent people were always going to suffer in this affair, Ogilvie at least has it in his power to reduce some of the damage to the game.
Did someone mention Chick Young?
Ah, Chick. On Tuesday night Chick used Radio Scotland's Sportsound to defend Ogilvie. Defend him as if his life depended on it.
An SFA statement the next day quite comprehensively contradicted the gospel according to Chick.
That's not unusual.
For Chick the story of Rangers and their administration has been a tour de force in wrongness, an era defining performance in barking up the wrong tree.
Maybe it's time the BBC did some liquidating of their own.
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Have we moved on? Or are we descending further into farce?
Nodody seems to know exactly what's happening. The lunatics have taken over the asylum. But who actually owns the asylum? And will another group of lunatics be happy to take over in the next few weeks?
We've even discovered that a legal glitch means Rangers might not actually have been in administration after all.
Ticketus and the adminstrators are arguing in court over money at the same time as Ticketus are publicly backing the consortium led by Blue Knight Paul Murray.
HMRC continue to circle with a grim determination. They won't go away.
Craig Whyte is gone for now, but is surely not yet the irrelevance the administrators are trying to paint him as.
Brian Kennedy, owner of rugby's Sale Sharks, one time suitor of Hibs and Stockport County's bête noire, has said he'll reluctantly buy Rangers if nobody else will.
That's the sort of commitment you get from the vicar at a parish jumble sale when trade is slow at the cake stall.
It's not, perhaps, the kind of commitment you want from the potential saviour of a stricken company.
Send in the clowns.
Or, following an email error with the launch of a new fans fund, send the clowns your money.
Another week and it's still a mess. The prospect of a quick resolution looks ever further away.
The longer it drags on the more important questions about the future go unanswered. And the more uncertain that future looks for Rangers.
The SPL seem to think announcing an investigation has bought them the right to stay silent.
They'll need to start speaking soon.
Maybe chief executive Neil Doncaster could share his past experiences of financial uncertainty. Like the time he was on the English Football League board that allowed the Leeds United phoenix company to keep their league place.
My uncharitable impression is that Doncaster is an expert in few things. But this is one of his specialist subjects: why isn't he sharing?
Across the Hampden corridor the SFA, fresh from the less than surprising discovery that Craig Whyte had shown their fit and proper person procedures to be unfit and improper, have announced a range of charges against both Whyte and the club.
Whyte is accused of breaching two disciplinary rules while Rangers face five accusations.
Fines, suspensions and expulsion could all be on the table when a Judicial Panel meets on 29th March.
At the same time the SFA have found themselves dragged into the mess thanks to president Campbell Ogilivie's previous involvement at Ibrox.
Well, stone the crows! Who on earth would have predicted that Ogilvie's career history would soon embroil the SFA in this whole sorry mess?
As I said the other week, Ogilvie might be totally innocent of any wrongdoing - Rangers, we should remember, have not yet been found guilty in the "big tax case" - and that means any hounding he has had or is set to suffer in the future could be grossly unfair.
But perception counts for a lot. And perceptions are currently tarnishing him.
Crucially that means the SFA, who should be providing leadership in this situation, look to be suffering yet another lame duck presidency. One that allegedly forced someone in the organisation to call an award winning Channel 4 journalist "pig headed" and accuse him of "lying" this week.
I'm one of those hardy souls who'll say that the SFA have done some good work in the past few months. The Ogilvie controversy will put that at risk.
Politicians are often forced to resign and fight to clear their names outside the cabinet. Ogilvie will do more harm than good if he chooses to try and clear his while wearing an SFA blazer.
Chick Young pointed out during the week that Ogilvie gave up a well paid job at Hearts to take on this unpaid labour of love at Hampden. That, we were left to infer, is how much he cares about Scottish football.
If he really cared he wouldn't want to see the SFA compromised by his continued presence. Innocent people were always going to suffer in this affair, Ogilvie at least has it in his power to reduce some of the damage to the game.
Did someone mention Chick Young?
Ah, Chick. On Tuesday night Chick used Radio Scotland's Sportsound to defend Ogilvie. Defend him as if his life depended on it.
An SFA statement the next day quite comprehensively contradicted the gospel according to Chick.
That's not unusual.
For Chick the story of Rangers and their administration has been a tour de force in wrongness, an era defining performance in barking up the wrong tree.
Maybe it's time the BBC did some liquidating of their own.
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Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Fixtures and flittings
Update: By the season's end Hibs will have endured 16 different kick off times. Here's a fresher look at the situation from 4th April - Hibs: That's Fife
Confirmation that Hibs and Aberdeen will contest the Scottish Cup semi final at 12.15 on Saturday 14th April brought forth a predictable reaction.
Another chance to join the gnashing of teeth over badly chosen kick off times for semi finals. And should we really be playing this game at Hampden anyway?
Such complaints are now traditions, entwined with the venerable trophy.
Agree with them or not, it's a Scottish Cup semi final. (Some) people would go if it was played on a wet Wednesday morning at the Basingstoke Bowl.
The resurfacing of this annual argy-bargy did get me thinking though: Hibs face five different kick off times in their next five games.
At the end of that run they will, by my reckoning, have kicked off at 13 different times this season.
13.
Unlucky for some.
Here's the dirty baker's dozen:
There are many reasons why crowds at Easter Road have been dwindling in recent seasons.
Build all the nice facilities your prudent housekeeping will stretch to but you still need to give people something half decent to watch when they're there.
Hibs have failed the fit and proper person test for football's crucial raison d'etre: they've been a bit rubbish at playing football.
But the scheduling can't help.
Supporting a football team can be a labour of love and it can be a financial drain.
It can also be a habit. A habit that, once broken, might never return.
So why are we making it so difficult for supporters to support their clubs?
Lives are getting busier. There's a world of competition for the leisure time of a populace that is quite unrecognisable to the one that powered Scottish football's post Second World War boom.
Yet the scheduling of home games in the SPL is all over the place. Away games have become a test of endurance for those with time and cash to spare.
That can't be right.
Football, we're told, is a business now. Businesses shouldn't treat consumers like this and expect to thrive.
TV is the major culprit. I think most of us now accept that we can't roll back the influence of the broadcasters.
But even here Scotland looks to be losing out. We don't have the consistency of coverage that we need to build our brand.
Treated like filler, thought of as filler. And given no platform to grow.
We're the Diagnosis Murder of TV football. We might never be a Sherlock or a Downton Abbey. But it would be nice to try and prove ourselves as a Countryfile or a One Show.
Instead we've got TV deals that don't really deliver the way it should but which dictates a schedule that sickens fans.
So, as the fans lose out, Scottish football proudly straddles the worst of both worlds.
That has to change.
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Confirmation that Hibs and Aberdeen will contest the Scottish Cup semi final at 12.15 on Saturday 14th April brought forth a predictable reaction.
Another chance to join the gnashing of teeth over badly chosen kick off times for semi finals. And should we really be playing this game at Hampden anyway?
Such complaints are now traditions, entwined with the venerable trophy.
Agree with them or not, it's a Scottish Cup semi final. (Some) people would go if it was played on a wet Wednesday morning at the Basingstoke Bowl.
The resurfacing of this annual argy-bargy did get me thinking though: Hibs face five different kick off times in their next five games.
At the end of that run they will, by my reckoning, have kicked off at 13 different times this season.
13.
Unlucky for some.
Here's the dirty baker's dozen:
- Tuesday - 7.45 pm
- Wednesday - 7.15 pm
- Wednesday - 7.45 pm
- Friday - 7.45 pm
- Saturday - 12.15 pm
- Saturday - 12.30 pm
- Saturday - 1.30 pm
- Saturday - 3 pm
- Sunday - 12 pm
- Sunday - 12.15 pm
- Sunday - 12.30 pm
- Sunday - 3 pm
- Sunday - 3.45 pm
There are many reasons why crowds at Easter Road have been dwindling in recent seasons.
Build all the nice facilities your prudent housekeeping will stretch to but you still need to give people something half decent to watch when they're there.
Hibs have failed the fit and proper person test for football's crucial raison d'etre: they've been a bit rubbish at playing football.
But the scheduling can't help.
Supporting a football team can be a labour of love and it can be a financial drain.
It can also be a habit. A habit that, once broken, might never return.
So why are we making it so difficult for supporters to support their clubs?
Lives are getting busier. There's a world of competition for the leisure time of a populace that is quite unrecognisable to the one that powered Scottish football's post Second World War boom.
Yet the scheduling of home games in the SPL is all over the place. Away games have become a test of endurance for those with time and cash to spare.
That can't be right.
Football, we're told, is a business now. Businesses shouldn't treat consumers like this and expect to thrive.
TV is the major culprit. I think most of us now accept that we can't roll back the influence of the broadcasters.
But even here Scotland looks to be losing out. We don't have the consistency of coverage that we need to build our brand.
Treated like filler, thought of as filler. And given no platform to grow.
We're the Diagnosis Murder of TV football. We might never be a Sherlock or a Downton Abbey. But it would be nice to try and prove ourselves as a Countryfile or a One Show.
Instead we've got TV deals that don't really deliver the way it should but which dictates a schedule that sickens fans.
So, as the fans lose out, Scottish football proudly straddles the worst of both worlds.
That has to change.
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Tuesday, March 13, 2012
UEFA: TV or not TV
Remember this:
"Old Firm fans last night reacted furiously after the SPL scheduled 6pm midweek kick-offs away to St Johnstone for both Rangers and Celtic."
Furious they were.
Or this:
"UEFA have robbed St Johnstone and Hearts of a £165,000 windfall after refusing to allow their Scottish Cup replay to be shown live on TV next Thursday.
"They told the SFA they would not allow Sky coverage because it clashed with European ties and the game will now go ahead in its original Tuesday night slot."
Totally robbed.
The scenario: last season Rangers and Celtic had to play midweek away games at teatime to satisfy both the SPL's TV deal and UEFA's rule that no televised game can threaten the purity of the Champions League.
This season St Johnstone and Hearts were denied a TV bonanza because it was decided that their Scottish Cup replay could have threatened to purity of the Europa League.
We need, I think, to stop chuckling at the idea of UEFA's current strumpetish tournaments having any purity and ask what games through yonder European window breaks?
Last week the Arsenal and Barcelona stages of the painfully elongated Champions League "round of 16" were subjected to stubborn competition from Chelsea and Tottenham in the English FA Cup.
Today Inter v Marseille and Bayern v Basel will run the risk of 1970s style devaluation in the face of a Merseyside derby.
It seems odd.
St Johnstone v Rangers could damage the Champions League.
St Johnstone v Hearts could cripple the Europa League.
But Birmingham v Chelsea and Liverpool v Everton wouldn't harm a UEFA fly.
Strange.
A number of people were pondering this perplexing UEFA peccadillo last week. It seemed to leave even the SFA and their chief executive, Stewart Regan, bemused.
An exasperated Laurie Dunsire over on Scottish Football Forums was forced to ask: "Do UEFA care about football?"
Maybe Laurie asked the wrong question:
"Do UEFA care about Scottish football?"
"No, couldn't give a flying fig."
That's just my opinion though. Right of reply is important.
Here's the answer I got when I asked the question of UEFA:
"In general top division matches cannot be on International Match Calendar dates, but exceptions are possible.
"There is a Memorandum of Understanding signed between UEFA and the EPFL (European Professional Football Leagues) which is also a basis for all national associations on the procedures and circumstances of use of UEFA dates.
"In this Memorandum the parties agree to abstain from jointly organising any supra-national sporting competitions, tournaments or football matches, and, with regard to the domestic league competitions, to respect the International Match Calendar and to ensure that all its member leagues abstain from scheduling matches in dates which are reserved for UEFA club competition matches in accordance with the official published UEFA Match Calendar, unless exceptional circumstances so justify and it is agreed with UEFA on a case-by-case basis following discussion of potential issues in specific working meetings to be held between UEFA and EPFL.
"UEFA has as well issued three circular letters to all national associations stating the procedure for exceptions due to force majeure."
What conclusions to draw from that?
Certainly I have a raging desire to see the term "Memorandum of Understanding" forcibly ejected from the language.
And I'm inclined to think that any answer containing a 100-plus word sentence is deliberately searching for obfuscation.
More particularly:
"Top division" and "domestic league competitions" would suggest that the televised Chelsea and Spurs games last week were, as cup games, actually perfectly acceptable under the terms of the UEFA agreement.
Does that mean the SFA made an assumption - wrongly - and didn't even ask the question of UEFA when considering the St Johnstone v Hearts game?
Surely not.
That doesn't explain why Liverpool v Everton is free to go ahead tonight.
"Force majeure" covers many an ill but an unpredictable Scottish winter, the reason for last season's early kick-offs, would seem to be a stronger negotiating hand than one of the Liverpool teams reaching the Carling Cup final, the reason for tonight's clash with the Champions League.
There's a chance that the authorities in England, more powerful and cash rich than their Scottish counterparts, just thought "hang it, we'll make more cash from these games than UEFA's going to fine us."
Or maybe I'm just being cynical.
It does seem that there is, for whatever reason, a double standard at play.
Predictably enough it looks like Scotland is losing out somewhere along the line.
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Friday, March 09, 2012
Scottish Cup: Dream on
That time of year when each paper has a riff on the same theme: "Hibs fans don't need reminding that it's been 110 years since their side won the Scottish Cup."
Well, no. We don't.
Yet everybody does remind us. Constantly.
The scraggy punchline of a 110 year joke. Mostly a joke that bludgeons you about the head with no attempt at subtlety. Or, largely, any attempt at humour.
But you can't point that out. Because it's been 110 years. And that, even in the hands of a bar room bore or a five year old in the playground, is indeed a joke.
1902 and all that. The journey continues.
2012 and all that. A season's journey of some discomfort. Tomorrow Ayr United and a shot at redemption in a tournament that so rarely offers Hibs any succour.
Ayr dumped Colin Calderwood's Hibs out of the cup last season. It's not that many years, but many a manager, since they dumped Franck Sauzee's sorry soldiers out of the league cup at Hampden.
Pat Fenlon will know that you don't need to beat Ayr to enjoy a fruitful reign at Easter Road. But it helps.
It won't be easy. An away tie against a lower division team that have already conquered Inverness, Hearts and St Mirren this season.
Cup assassins, stalking the Brylcreem boys of the SPL.
That's the chosen narrative.
Mind you, Ayr have only won four league games at home this season and lost to Annan Athletic, two divisions below them, at home in the Challenge Cup.
Lies, damned lies and peculiarly ambivalent statistics.
It won't be easy for Hibs. Partly because it's rarely ever easy for Hibs.
And partly because Ayr are a sound team who have been here before. They'll be lying in wait, ready to offer the hand of friendship with a traditional Somerset Park welcome.
Prediction?
Not on your nelly. I wouldn't want to jinx it.
Jinxing things is something I often do.
Last week I wrote a hagiographic appraisal of Celtic's season so far. The very next day they only managed a draw at Aberdeen.
That's the thing about football.
You build up your aura of invincibility, you look like you might finish the season undefeated. But there's always something lurking round the corner ready to bite you on the bum.
Often that something is shaped like a dogged Aberdeen, drilled to within an inch of their lives by a pair of unimpressed curmudgeons like Craig Brown and Archie Knox.
That's the way soccer's cookie crumbles.
But the treble chase is still on, a tricky quarter final trip to Tannadice notwithstanding.
Tricky? United are bubbling along quite the thing, Houdini Houston is fair putting the season's earlier struggles behind him. United are reaching for the European stars.
Unfortunately for United it's Celtic who have the better of these Tannadice tear-ups. And the last time somebody knocked both Rangers and Celtic out of the Scottish Cup Alex Ferguson was using Doug Rougvie as a human gargoyle.
Celtic's dominance at Tannadice has lasted slightly longer than Motherwell's over Aberdeen. It won't feel like that for Craig Brown and Archie Knox.
Since they hot-footed it to the greener pastures of Pittodrie our dynamic duo have seen their current side huff and puff against their former charges with little success.
On one occasion Brown even found time to have actual physical fisticuffs with John Boyle. Really.
Aberdeen look a different proposition now. It's taken longer than he'd have hoped but Brown has located a backbone in his team. They're much harder to beat, if still not exactly licensed purveyors of the beautiful game.
So a better Aberdeen. But Motherwell are better still.
A strange one this for Motherwell. They're now just a few games here and there away from consecutive Scottish Cup finals. And a Champion's League qualifier.
I'm sure Stuart McCall has every confidence in his own ability as a manager but I suspect even he wouldn't have thought this season had the potential to turn out quite as well as it might.
The man with the ginger mane has become the man with the golden touch.
Which just about seamlessly segues to Hearts whose ginger touch in front of goal has hamstrung them in recent weeks.
A five game run that was unrivalled in the league for the paucity of points gathered was finally halted with victory at Ibrox last week.
Whatever the circumstances, victory in Govan should replenish and revitalise like a weekend spa. Hearts need to build on it.
Wins have proved even more elusive for St Mirren. Danny Lennon has built a side that concedes very little and scores not a lot.
The result is the current sequence of low scoring draws. Those of us of a certain age will recall that Lennon's first tentative footballing steps were taken at Easter Road under the dourly defensive tutelage of Alex Miller.
Nobody's ever rocked a sequence of dull draws like mid to late eighties vintage Lexo Miller. The apprentice is paying homage to the master.
St Mirren's last visit to Tynecastle was in January. They conceded in the first minute, were 2-1 up inside 20 and eventually lost 5-2.
The current run is perhaps an antidote - maybe not the most inspiring one - to that sort of result.
Will they be doughty but blunt again tomorrow? Will Hearts be enterprisingly comfortable but toothless?
Eight teams. 90 minutes (or 180 or 200 or 200 plus penalties) away from a Hampden semi-final.
Dreams used to be made of this. It would be nice if this weekend could go some way to proving that they still are.
Heart v St Mirren: Draw
Ayr United v Hibs: No comment
Dundee United v Celtic: Away win
Motherwell v Aberdeen: Home win
Well, no. We don't.
Yet everybody does remind us. Constantly.
The scraggy punchline of a 110 year joke. Mostly a joke that bludgeons you about the head with no attempt at subtlety. Or, largely, any attempt at humour.
But you can't point that out. Because it's been 110 years. And that, even in the hands of a bar room bore or a five year old in the playground, is indeed a joke.
1902 and all that. The journey continues.
2012 and all that. A season's journey of some discomfort. Tomorrow Ayr United and a shot at redemption in a tournament that so rarely offers Hibs any succour.
Ayr dumped Colin Calderwood's Hibs out of the cup last season. It's not that many years, but many a manager, since they dumped Franck Sauzee's sorry soldiers out of the league cup at Hampden.
Pat Fenlon will know that you don't need to beat Ayr to enjoy a fruitful reign at Easter Road. But it helps.
It won't be easy. An away tie against a lower division team that have already conquered Inverness, Hearts and St Mirren this season.
Cup assassins, stalking the Brylcreem boys of the SPL.
That's the chosen narrative.
Mind you, Ayr have only won four league games at home this season and lost to Annan Athletic, two divisions below them, at home in the Challenge Cup.
Lies, damned lies and peculiarly ambivalent statistics.
It won't be easy for Hibs. Partly because it's rarely ever easy for Hibs.
And partly because Ayr are a sound team who have been here before. They'll be lying in wait, ready to offer the hand of friendship with a traditional Somerset Park welcome.
Prediction?
Not on your nelly. I wouldn't want to jinx it.
Jinxing things is something I often do.
Last week I wrote a hagiographic appraisal of Celtic's season so far. The very next day they only managed a draw at Aberdeen.
That's the thing about football.
You build up your aura of invincibility, you look like you might finish the season undefeated. But there's always something lurking round the corner ready to bite you on the bum.
Often that something is shaped like a dogged Aberdeen, drilled to within an inch of their lives by a pair of unimpressed curmudgeons like Craig Brown and Archie Knox.
That's the way soccer's cookie crumbles.
But the treble chase is still on, a tricky quarter final trip to Tannadice notwithstanding.
Tricky? United are bubbling along quite the thing, Houdini Houston is fair putting the season's earlier struggles behind him. United are reaching for the European stars.
Unfortunately for United it's Celtic who have the better of these Tannadice tear-ups. And the last time somebody knocked both Rangers and Celtic out of the Scottish Cup Alex Ferguson was using Doug Rougvie as a human gargoyle.
Celtic's dominance at Tannadice has lasted slightly longer than Motherwell's over Aberdeen. It won't feel like that for Craig Brown and Archie Knox.
Since they hot-footed it to the greener pastures of Pittodrie our dynamic duo have seen their current side huff and puff against their former charges with little success.
On one occasion Brown even found time to have actual physical fisticuffs with John Boyle. Really.
Aberdeen look a different proposition now. It's taken longer than he'd have hoped but Brown has located a backbone in his team. They're much harder to beat, if still not exactly licensed purveyors of the beautiful game.
So a better Aberdeen. But Motherwell are better still.
A strange one this for Motherwell. They're now just a few games here and there away from consecutive Scottish Cup finals. And a Champion's League qualifier.
I'm sure Stuart McCall has every confidence in his own ability as a manager but I suspect even he wouldn't have thought this season had the potential to turn out quite as well as it might.
The man with the ginger mane has become the man with the golden touch.
Which just about seamlessly segues to Hearts whose ginger touch in front of goal has hamstrung them in recent weeks.
A five game run that was unrivalled in the league for the paucity of points gathered was finally halted with victory at Ibrox last week.
Whatever the circumstances, victory in Govan should replenish and revitalise like a weekend spa. Hearts need to build on it.
Wins have proved even more elusive for St Mirren. Danny Lennon has built a side that concedes very little and scores not a lot.
The result is the current sequence of low scoring draws. Those of us of a certain age will recall that Lennon's first tentative footballing steps were taken at Easter Road under the dourly defensive tutelage of Alex Miller.
Nobody's ever rocked a sequence of dull draws like mid to late eighties vintage Lexo Miller. The apprentice is paying homage to the master.
St Mirren's last visit to Tynecastle was in January. They conceded in the first minute, were 2-1 up inside 20 and eventually lost 5-2.
The current run is perhaps an antidote - maybe not the most inspiring one - to that sort of result.
Will they be doughty but blunt again tomorrow? Will Hearts be enterprisingly comfortable but toothless?
Eight teams. 90 minutes (or 180 or 200 or 200 plus penalties) away from a Hampden semi-final.
Dreams used to be made of this. It would be nice if this weekend could go some way to proving that they still are.
Heart v St Mirren: Draw
Ayr United v Hibs: No comment
Dundee United v Celtic: Away win
Motherwell v Aberdeen: Home win
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