Scottish Premier League 07/08

[bertifrew]

Celtic'll win again, rangers will be runners up and i think either aberdeen or hearts will be third.

so the same as last season pretty much.

Both of the old firm will do shite in europe again. celtic will maybe have a couple of results at celtic park, but will continue to be crap away in europe. Rangers? well i watched their game in mid week and they looked poor. Ok it was esentialy a pre season game, and the new players need time to gell but they looked bad.

finaly a mention for the lions......fucksake that was dire the day!

no chance of going up, oh well the games are cheeper i suppose.

 

[heinous seamus]

OH dear... not looking good for Gretna so far

 

[bertifrew]

OH dear... not looking good for Gretna so far

and they stopped Rowan Alexander from getting into their stadium...sorry fir park so there's problems.

 

[pagan]

Oh dear, not looking good for Celtic...so much for snapping up all the other SPL team's players......0-0 against Killie. Not many positives to be drawn there.
C'mon the Hertz!

 

[Chorlton]

celtic were pish and have been since Milan away

 

[Red Faction]

seem to have had a fair few chances though

but like last season JVoH + MZ look a little off the pace

 

[lights.out.london]

Oh dear, not looking good for Celtic...so much for snapping up all the other SPL team's players......0-0 against Killie. Not many positives to be drawn there.
C'mon the Hertz!

Aye. V.poor. Could have been out there till midnight and not scored.

Rangers fans singing their songs again and in trouble again. Bless em. Do they only have that one song?!

Rangers should settle for a draw George Rae
Rangers may have to settle for a draw when they visit Montenegro to tackle FK Zeta in the second leg of their Champions League qualifier on Tuesday evening. Betfred are best at 11-4 about a stalemate in a match which will be shown live on BBC Scotland.

Rangers travel with a 2-0 advantage from the first leg, which gives them plenty of incentive to tread warily but not so much to run any unnecessary risks.

Their opponents showed enough at Ibrox to suggest they could pose problems on their own ground, and in the end it was an unconvincing Rangers display that finally put the match to bed.

Perhaps the biggest problem for Rangers is the possible loss of striker Kris Boyd, who limped out of their 3-0 win league win at Inverness over the weekend. Boyd’s absence would be a big loss to Rangers, and manager Walter Smith will wait until close to the kick-off before making a decision on his participation.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/betting/article2210359.ece

Owls won't pay Celtic £1M for Deek



Sheffield Wednesday will not sign Celtic's Derek Riordan after baulking at the £1million asking price, according to reports.

There were claims this morning that the English outfit were prepared to offer £400,000 for the former Hibs man who, for whatever reason, does not appear to be part of Celtic boss Gordon Strachan's plans.

However, Skysports.com have claimed that Celtic demanded £1million for the one-capped 24-year-old Scotland international and Wednesday were unable to meet that valuation.

Sheffield Wednesday boss Brian Laws is now expected to switch his attention to former Arsenal striker Francis Jeffers as he looks to bolster his squad before his club's first game of the season at the weekend.

Riordan's Celtic future, meanwhile, is debatable. If the club did indeed sanction the transfer of the player after such a short amount of time at Parkhead and after just a handful of chances to prove himself, then it seems likely he will move before the transfer window closes at the end of the month.

Related article

http://www.celtic.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=76777

Gordon urged to take Prem chance
Scotland manager Alex McLeish has urged Craig Gordon to grab a "chance of lifetime" by quitting Hearts for a move to the Premier League.

http://www.teamtalk.com/football/story/0,16368,2483_2643864,00.html

SPL round-up

http://football.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/0,,2142364,00.html

HAIL! HAIL!

 

[quimcunx]

Slightly off topic but Scotland won the Homeless World Cup in Copenhagen on Saturday. they beat Poland 9-3.

 

[lights.out.london]

^ Let's hope they get picked for the next FIFA qualifiers, Papingo.

 

[lights.out.london]

Well done the Hibees!

Fixtures
Tuesday August 07, 2007 Zeta v Rangers Champions League second qualifying round, second leg

http://www.uefa.com/competitions/ucl/news/kind=1/newsid=567722.html

C'mon, Zeta!

Hibs' derby joy deepens Hearts misery
STUART BATHGATE
AT TYNECASTLE
Hearts 0

Hibs 1
Kerr (2)

HEARTS lost their captain and best player yesterday, when Craig Gordon said goodbye to his team-mates and headed south for signing talks with Sunderland and Aston Villa. The Tynecastle club's supporters then suffered the double whammy of seeing their team lose the Edinburgh derby, when an early goal from Brian Kerr was enough to give Hibernian three points in what was both teams' first league match of the season.

http://sport.scotsman.com/football.cfm?id=1234592007

Gretna may take action against Alexander
ALAN PATTULLO

ROWAN Alexander has been warned by Gretna that he could face legal action after his attempt to gatecrash the club's opening SPL game against Falkirk on Saturday.

A statement released yesterday onto the Gretna website refuted claims made by Alexander that they have blocked repeated attempts to reach a severance agreement after he was replaced in the manager's post by Davie Irons last month.

Alexander responded with a statement of his own which detailed his further attempts to contact club officials yesterday, but without success.

http://sport.scotsman.com/football_spl.cfm?id=1234352007

McCoist fears ban on Rangers' travelling fans


Ewan Murray
Tuesday August 7, 2007
The Guardian


Ally McCoist yesterday expressed his fear that Rangers will have to play away games with none of their supporters present after some of them indulged in sectarian chanting once again during the Scottish Premier League match in Inverness on Saturday.
The singing is expected to be included in a report submitted to the SPL today by Alan Dick, the match delegate, in line with new rules aimed at eliminating discriminatory behaviour at Scottish grounds.

http://football.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/0,,2143017,00.html
personally, I wouldn't let the fuckers leave Govan, but there you have it.

I can't and won't wish the Gers goodluck tonight. I hope they lose. But y'all knew I'd write that anyway, eh?

Hail! Hail!

 

[ziconess]

Can the season end now please

We were poor after a decent 20 mins. The goal was probably the most perfect start to a season i've ever had, hard to think what could have been better. A second after 3 mins maybe

They were fuckin awful

Hail the messiah!!

 

[lights.out.london]

Soccer-Rangers ease into Champions League third qualifying round
(makes clear in para seven that Copenhagen advanced 2-1 on aggregate and not on away goals)
By Julien Pretot

PARIS, Aug 7 (Reuters) - Scottish runners-up Glasgow Rangers eased into the Champions League qualifying third round with a 1-0 win away to Montenegro's Zeta on Tuesday.
Rangers, who won the first leg 2-0 last week at Ibrox Park, advanced with a 3-0 aggregate win courtesy of a late DaMarcus Beasley goal.
The American international, who joined Rangers from PSV Eindhoven during the close season, struck nine minutes from time for his first goal in his new colours.

Beasley, who had missed the best chance in an uneventful first half when he fired just wide of the far post from a good position in the 11th minute, drove in a crisp shot from 16 metres to put the contest behind dispute.
Rangers next face either Red Star Belgrade or Estonian side Levadia Tallinn, the Serbian champions holding a 1-0 advantage from the first leg.

http://football.guardian.co.uk/breakingnews/feedstory/0,,-6833590,00.html

 

[lights.out.london]

£9m Gordon hails Sunderland but hopes to return to Hearts one day
ALAN PATTULLO

CRAIG Gordon admits the chance to join Sunderland as the most expensive British goalkeeper of all time is one he could not turn down but the Scotland No 1 insists he hopes to one day return to Hearts for a second spell at Tynecastle.

Gordon, 24, supported Hearts as a boy and came through the youth ranks at the club to establish himself in the first team. His £9 million move to Sunderland was formalised yesterday and is made up of a £7 million initial fee plus additional payments of up to £2 million conditional on performance.

http://sport.scotsman.com/football.cfm?id=1248292007

UEFA will take hard line on Zeta's racist taunts
STEPHEN HALLIDAY

WILLIAM Gaillard yesterday delivered the rapid response called for by DaMarcus Beasley in dealing with the racist abuse suffered by the Rangers winger and his team-mate Jean-Claude Darcheville during Tuesday night's Champions League second-qualifying-round match in Montenegro.

UEFA's director of communications instigated an immediate investigation into the conduct of some Zeta supporters who directed monkey chants towards Beasley and Darcheville during Rangers' 1-0 win over the Montenegrin champions in Podgorica.

http://sport.scotsman.com/football.cfm?id=1247572007

Niculae is awarded permit and vows to repay Inverness
ALASDAIR FRASER

JUBILANT Marius Niculae has vowed to repay Inverness Caledonian Thistle with goals after winning an appeal to play in Scotland. The Romania international will be free for selection at Motherwell on Saturday after succeeding at his work permit hearing at Hampden Park.

http://sport.scotsman.com/football.cfm?id=1246152007

FIFA SET TO PROBE DUNDEE TRANSFER
By Euan Mcarthur
FIFA are set to investigate Milan Palenik's transfer after Dundee were bribed for his international clearance.

Palenik joined the Dens Park club from Slovak outfit Banska Bystrica in the summer but became embroiled in a longrunning battle to kick off his Dens Park career.

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/...objectid=19598681&siteid=66633-name_page.html

Hail! Hail!

 

[heinous seamus]

Went to see Man U v Dunfermline last night. Man united were playing with them as you might expect.

 

[lights.out.london]

Was this the testimonial for Thomson? What was the score (not that it means anything)?

 

[heinous seamus]

4-0 to Man U. Hargreaves made his debut. Sol Bamba looked alright for the pars, but apparently he only plays when the camera's are there.

 

[lights.out.london]

but apparently he only plays when the camera's are there.

^

Any thoughts on Hargreaves? Or too early/too tame a game?

 

[heinous seamus]

^

Any thoughts on Hargreaves? Or too early/too tame a game?

Both too early and too tame a game I think!

My predictions this week:

Falkirk 1 - 1 Celtic
Hibs 6 - 0 Gretna
Motherwell 2 - 1 Caley
Rangers 3 - 1 St. Mirren
Aberdeen 1 - 1 Hearts
Kilmarnock 1 - 2 Dundee United

 

[lights.out.london]

One each at Falkirk! Get ta fuck!

3-1 the Hoops. An inevitable last minute goal gifted.

Falkirk 1 - 3 Celtic
Hibs 2 - 1 Gretna
Motherwell 0 - 2 Caley
Rangers 4 - 0 St. Mirren
Aberdeen 1 - 1 Hearts
Kilmarnock 0 - 0 Dundee United

Collins snaps up French midfielder
DAVID HARDIE

HIBS boss John Collins today revealed he's made his eighth summer signing, snapping up French midfielder Patrick Noubissie on a two-year contract.

But the 24-year-old will immediately go out on loan for three months to Livingston after Collins stole him from under the nose of Almondvale manager Mark Proctor.

http://sport.scotsman.com/football.cfm?id=1257232007

Pospisil to quit Hearts as Velicka returns
BARRY ANDERSON

MICHAL POSPISIL could have played his last game for Hearts after flying out of Edinburgh to enter contract talks with Dutch club NEC Nijmegen.

However, last season's top scorer Andrius Velicka appears to have resolved his differences with the Tynecastle hierarchy.

http://sport.scotsman.com/football_spl.cfm?id=1257802007

Shame of derby loss will spur Hearts
COLLEEN PATERSON
([email protected])
SAUL MIKOLIUNAS admits that the only thing which will shake off the "embarrassment" of Monday night's defeat to Hibs is bringing all three points home from Pittodrie this weekend. The Lithuanian revealed that humiliation was the over-riding emotion spinning around his head when the final whistle blew on the first Edinburgh derby of the season, a match Hearts lost to a Brian Kerr goal.

http://sport.scotsman.com/football_spl.cfm?id=1258182007

EXCLUSIVE: Celts look to stregthen defence for Europe
By James Traynor
SCOTTISH CUP hero Jean-Joel Perrier-Doumbe will clinch his dream move to Celtic over the weekend.

The Cameroon international, who netted the Cup Final winner against Dunfermline in May, saw his chances of staying in Paradise scuppered when he refused a reduced deal.

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/...objectid=19604812&siteid=66633-name_page.html

UEFA COULD AXE RED STAR AND GERS


RANGERS and Red Star Belgrade face being kicked out of Europe if their fans turn the clubs' Champions League clash into a cauldron of hate.

The dire warning came last night from Cork City boss Damien Richardson who led his team to Serbia last season.

And the Irishman is in little doubt UEFA are waiting to banish either team if there is any repeat of racial or religious bigotry which has marred recent ties.

Richardson predicted Ibrox stars DaMarcus Beasley and Jean-Claude Darcheville will run another torrent of hate in Belgrade on August 28.

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/...objectid=19604759&siteid=66633-name_page.html

Good luck to everyone tomorrow, especially St. Mirren. Miracles can happen...Hail! Hail!

 

[lights.out.london]

Scottish Premierleague

12:30 Aug 11
FT Falkirk 1 - 4 Celtic

15:00 Aug 11
FT Motherwell 2 - 1 Inverness CT
FT Hibernian 4 - 2 Gretna
FT Rangers 2 - 0 St Mirren

Hail! Hail!

 

[Ich bin ein Mod]

Miller had a great game on Saturday, bodes well for us.

 

[lights.out.london]

Novo key to Rangers' hopes as he unlocks Red Star
STEPHEN HALLIDAY
AT IBROX
Rangers 1
Novo 90

Crvena Zvezda 0

NACHO Novo last night drew himself level in the Rangers' history books with one of the club's European legends to put Walter Smith's team in a favourable position to reach the lucrative group stage of the Champions League.

http://sport.scotsman.com/football.cfm?id=1288132007

Strachan vents fury over artificial Spartak pitch
GLENN GIBBONS
([email protected])
ON the eve of Celtic's crucial Champions League qualifier against Spartak here in Moscow, Gordon Strachan's deep misgivings about the artificial pitch on which the match will be played surfaced with the suddenness and the fall-out of a great whale rising from the water.

Having supervised his players in a full training and practice session at the Luzhniki Stadium yesterday morning, the Celtic manager deserted his previously fudged response to questions about the surface, voicing his concern and his dissatisfaction to Scottish reporters after the official media conference.

http://sport.scotsman.com/football.cfm?id=1287912007

Scots clubs on the road to financial recovery but Hearts out on a limb
ALAN PATTULLO

SCOTTISH football has been declared on the road to financial recovery although one club is revealed to have bucked the trend for bringing wages into line with turnover.

According to PricewaterhouseCoopers' annual review of the Scottish Premier League, for season 2005/06, Hearts remain out on a limb. The club's wage bill more than doubled to £10 million, a figure which represents a hazardous ratio of 97 per cent of turnover. However, the Tynecastle club has seen its turnover increase by £1.8 million, although the net debt has risen by nearly £7 million to £28 million. The report also revealed that Hearts' wage bill was £10,013,000 for last year, a massive increase of 121 per cent on the year previous figure of £4,541,000.

http://sport.scotsman.com/football.cfm?id=1287602007

Falkirk appeal Milne red card
ED HODGE

FALKIRK yesterday lodged their appeal against Kenny Milne's red card against Celtic on Saturday.

A club official arrived at Hampden yesterday morning to submit their case to the SFA based on mistaken identity. Milne appeared to be wrongly sent off by referee Dougie McDonald for a tug on Celtic striker Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink during the visitors 4-1 win at Westfield.

Darren Barr owned up to being the real culprit but he could be free for Saturday's trip to Ibrox to face Rangers along with Milne if the Bairns are successful in their appeal.

http://sport.scotsman.com/football.cfm?id=1287542007

SFA promises swift decision on Kalvenes
ANGUS WRIGHT

THE Scottish Football Association has promised Dundee United that it will decide by the end of the week whether the controversial red card Christian Kalvenes received against Kilmarnock should stand.

United defender Kalvenes was sent off after 77 minutes of Monday night's televised Clydesdale Bank Premier League clash at Rugby Park, when the visitors were leading 1-0.

Adjudged to have fouled Kilmarnock striker Steven Naismith, Norwegian Kalvenes was shown a straight red card by referee Brian Winter, and the decision turned the game as late goals from Willie Gibson and Colin Nish gave Kilmarnock a 2-1 victory and all three points.

http://sport.scotsman.com/football.cfm?id=1287572007

HAIL! HAIL!

C'mon the Hoops!

 

[heinous seamus]

Are celtic on the telly the night??

 

[lights.out.london]

Setanta 2, 5pm.

or Beeb Scotland

Champions League, third qualifying round, first leg
Date: Wednesday, 15 August
Kick-off: 1700 BST
Venue: Luzhniki Stadium
Listen: BBC Radio Scotland
Updates: BBC Sport website and mobile

 

[heinous seamus]

My predictions this week:

Motherwell 2 - 1 Caley
Aberdeen 1 - 1 Hearts

Just realised I got two scores perfect last week!

Next week:

Dundee Utd 1 v 1 Hibernian
Hearts 2 v 1 Gretna
Motherwell 2 v 2 Kilmarnock
Rangers 2 v 0 Falkirk
St Mirren 0 v 1 Inverness CT
Aberdeen 1 v 2 Celtic

 

[lights.out.london]

D'ye fancy doing my coupon for me?

Okay. My shot.

Dundee Utd 1 v 2 Hibernian
Hearts 3 v 0 Gretna
Motherwell 0 v 1 Kilmarnock
Rangers 3 v 0 Falkirk
St Mirren 1v 1 Inverness CT
Aberdeen 1 v 17 Celtic

 

[lights.out.london]

Blunder by goalkeeper leaves Pars on edge
ALAN PATTULLO
AT EAST END PARK
Dunfermline 1
Hamilton (1)

BK Hacken 1
Henriksson (57)

WHILE it looked as though Dunfermline might replicate their cup form of last season, the East End Park side were held at home last night by BK Hacken, and now face a daunting trip to Gothenburg at the end of the month.

http://sport.scotsman.com/football.cfm?id=1301892007

Collins warns Hibs players he won't be dictated to over team selection
ALAN PATTULLO
([email protected])
JOHN Collins, the Hibs manager, has already dealt with one high-profile conflict in the dressing-room so was never likely to shy away from making more tough decisions if it means benefiting his side. At the risk of encouraging further protest, he yesterday insisted his players must accept his team selections, no matter how firm is their belief they should start.

Collins is aware his policy of resting his principal strikers won't be met with universal acclaim, particularly in the case of those players being benched. Merouane Zemmama voiced his displeasure at being named on the substitutes' bench against Gretna on Saturday, while Steven Fletcher also expressed disquiet at not starting in the same match. Both felt they had proved a point with their second-half performances, each scoring in a 4-2 win after Hibs had trailed 2-0.

http://sport.scotsman.com/football.cfm?id=1301412007

SPARTAK MOSCOW: ONLY GOD CAN SAVE US FROM CELTS
Spartak hero Roman prays for second leg divine intervention
By James Traynor
SPARTAK MOSCOW'S star striker Roman Pavlyuchenko insists only God can save his side's European hopes.

Having failed to beat Celtic at home the Russians will be praying for a Champions League miracle.

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/...objectid=19650087&siteid=66633-name_page.html

RANGERS FANS: LEAVE THE BIGOTS TO US GERS
EXCLUSIVE RECORD SPECIAL ON THE HOTTEST TOPIC IN SCOTTISH FOOTBALL Fans chief Jim says they'll self-police away games to stop sectarian singing
By Craig Swan
RANGERS fans chief Jim Templeton has revealed he persuaded the club into a U-turn on their idea of banning supporters from away games.

And Templeton insists the good guys in the stands are close to cleansing the sectarian problems on their own.

The Ibrox club have fought to end any vile chanting among their followers and have enjoyed success within their own stadium.

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/...objectid=19650047&siteid=66633-name_page.html

Good luck to everyone tomorrow. Except for Rangers.

Hail! Hail!

 

[lights.out.london]

McLeish can reap Old Firm reward


THE irony could not have been lost on Alex McLeish this week when he named a Scotland squad intended to minimise demands on the Old Firm clubs in the middle of their respective attempts to reach the group stage of the Champions League.

Next Wednesday's friendly against South Africa at Pittodrie is sandwiched by the third qualifying round of Europe's elite club competition and it was testament to the radically altered make-up of the first-team squads at both Celtic and Rangers that the Scotland manager found himself omitting several of their players from his group.

McLeish recognises the potential benefits for Scottish football as a whole if both Old Firm sides make it to the Champions League in the same season for only the second time, giving so many of his current squad sustained exposure to a tournament now recognised as the ultimate stage for leading players.

http://sport.scotsman.com/football.cfm?id=1309202007

Hearts poised to capture versatile Hughes
DARREN JOHNSTONE

HEARTS are close to finalising a deal to bring former Rangers midfielder Stephen Hughes from Leicester City. Assistant head coach Stevie Frail revealed yesterday that the 24 year-old had undergone a medical, but it is unlikely a deal will be concluded in time for him to be in today's squad for the visit of Gretna.

http://sport.scotsman.com/football.cfm?id=1309232007

Celtic manager applauds Aberdeen counterpart as 'a great manager'
ANGUS WRIGHT

CELTIC manager Gordon Strachan has hailed Aberdeen boss Jimmy Calderwood as a "great manager" ahead of tomorrow's Clydesdale Bank Scottish Premier League clash at Pittodrie.

Calderwood was jeered by a section of his own fans last week when he substituted striker Steve Lovell during the 1-1 home draw with Hearts and there was loud booing at the final whistle.

http://sport.scotsman.com/football.cfm?id=1309192007

Revitalised Brewster keen to extend contract
SCOTT DAVIE

CRAIG Brewster is too old and too wise to knock on Jimmy Calderwood's door demanding a first-team start, but he could soon be visiting the manager's office in search of a contract extension.

Aberdeen's veteran striker celebrates his 41st birthday in December just days before his current deal comes to an end, and the prospect of an additional six months already looks appealing.

http://sport.scotsman.com/football.cfm?id=1308912007

Hail! Hail!

 

[pagan]

Fucking Hearts

It's getting to the stage that I actually want my team to lose....because at the moment, they are not my team. Run by a fucking madman and his monkeys.

One hamstrung assistant in the dugout playing Chinese whispers with two foreigners in the stand ?

Frail thinks about a sub, wakes up the translator, tells him he thinks player X should come off, he then phones Cervenkov who tells him not yet. Translator tells Frail it's too soon. Frail tells translator to ask Korobochka for his opinion. Translator asks for Cervenkov to put Korobochka on the phone. Cervenkov gets up from his seat and makes his way to the pie stall to get Korobochka. Korobochka takes the phone. The translator repeats his question. Korobochka says it's too soon as well. Translator hangs up. Translator tells Frail it's too soon. Frail sits back down again.

* 5 minutes later *

Frail wakes up translator.....

You couldnt make it up

 

[lights.out.london]

Could be worse...you could have been a Celt in the 80s...