Off The Ball - The Weekender

Aye aye, fit like? Welcome to the Saturday Weekender, Inside Left's look back at the week in Scottish football. The pre-season games are really getting started now with games in every division across Scotland. Hibernian where in action again in Europe (however briefly) while Dundee United and Rangers hit the road as they play their first games since May.

Round-Up		Fort William - Reality TV?
Hibernian now have extra time to prepare for the start of the new season without having to worry about pesky European games. Yes, the Easter Road side tanked out of the Intertoto Cup this afternoon when they lost 2-0 to IF Elfsborg. That's 4-0 on aggregate folks, and another class showing by a Scottish team in Europe. And the Hearts managerial saga finally ends with the appointment of Romanian coach Csaba Laszlo. Time will tell how long this one will last, but given that owner Vladimir Romanov had to shell out 120k to get the former Ugandan national coach to Tynecastle, perhaps he'll give this one a little longer.  Csaba has already been in the papers this week stating he "wants to stay as long as possible" which, when read by the sort of cynical hacks that we are, sounds almost like a plea, not a statement.  Six months, we reckon, or roughly mid-season when the Jambos find themselves fifteen points of the pace, which ever comes first, that's how long we'll give him. Hearts are not the only team this week with a new manager. Albion Rovers have appointed Paul Martin as new head-coach. Martin takes over from John McCormack, who leaves for life in the Scottish Premier League with Hamilton. Rangers will start the season without captain Barry Ferguson who is laid up with ankle problems. He's expected to be out for around three months. Inverness Caley have rejected two offers for highly rated Romanian striker Marius Niculae. The offers, believed to be from Romanian side Dynamo Bucharest and German team Karlsruhe, are said to be substantial but the club believe that Niculae is worth more than the offers on the table. Now that the whole fuss around the election of  a new team into the league has died down, there are rumblings around the lower leagues as the teams who didn't get in this time around, Edinburgh City, Spartans, Preston Athletic and Cove Rangers have re-opened an age-old can of worms: the introduction of a pyramid scheme that would see relegation from, and promotion to the Third Division from the leagues that sit immediately below them.  Inside Left has always supported such a move and continues to do so, providing the entire Scottish Football League takes part, and any plans, however tentative for an "SPL-2",  are abandoned. We mention it because we truly think that a league restructuring has to be on the way soon, because we cannot carry on with a league structure that is as patently unfair and uncompetitive as this one is: a league where a team can finish bottom year after year without fear of relegation, and where three teams can finish top of their league year after year without any chance of promotion.		Regular readers of Inside Left might have spotted that being marginally cheuchterish we're particularly fond of the teams in the lower leagues of the varied tableaux that is Scottish football. And we're especially fond of Fort William FC, a side whose exploits we've profiled in previous postings on Inside Left. You see, Fort William where pure gash last season, and the one before that, and in fact most seasons before that. Last season, they finished bottom once again, managing one win in twenty-eight, scoring 16 and conceding a whopping 158 goals. Now, that's the kind of form that gets you noticed! It turns out that Fort William may soon be taking part in their own reality TV show as American Paul McDonald, a die-hard Scottish football fan, has decided to make the struggling Highland League team the subject of his new revolutionary idea. Basically, it breaks down like this: the entire current squad is sacked and replaced by a bunch of American players. The viewers then get to decide every move the club makes. The somewhat bemused Fort William officials claim that all they've agreed to was a sponsorship deal with Mr McDonalds company and are unaware of the further implications. Mr McDonald claims that under the deal: "Members who pay a fee will be entitled to 'manage' a diverse group of young, dynamic Americans to go and represent our country in one of the world's most beautiful but difficult locations for Americans to play – the Highlands of Scotland. Millions will be glued to the competition and rally around the team that is against the odds." Inside Left likes the way McDonald says that Fort William is a difficult place to play for Americans. Well, it was difficult for Fort Williamonians to play there, why would it be different for Americans? And millions will be glued to the competition? Dream on, ye trumpet.  If the experiment proves to be a success, McDonald plans to do the same thing to a team in England. I wouldn't bother waiting around for that to happen. Once the novelty has worn off and Fort William find themselves in the place they've so successfully made their own over the years - only this time with players called Chad and Troy instead of Ruarigh and Hamish - interest in the US for Scottish league football will soon disappear, along, we hope, with Paul McDonald and his idiotic idea.
Upcoming Fixtures		Results
Friendlies		Intertoto Cup 2nd Leg
Sunday 13th July Preussen v  Rangers Rangers travel to Germany for this friendly. How will they cope without influential captain Barry Ferguson who is out for three months with ankle problems? Monday 14th July Dublin City v Dundee Utd Glentoran v Hearts Hearts finally have a new manager: will the team rise to the occasion?		Saturday 12th July IF Elfsborg 2 Hibernian 0 Hibernian's participation in this years Intertoto Cup - and the prospect of UEFA Cup football ended in Sweden as the Hibee's went down 2-0 to a strong IF Elfsborg side in front of a meager 3,500 supporters. Mathias Floren and Emir Bajrami got the goals. Friendlies Aberdeen 0 Manchester United 2 Man United completely bollock up Aberdeen's gala day by unsportingly winning 2-0. Wayne Rooney and Michael Carrick get the goals either side of half time while Aberdeen gave debuts to new signings Bossu, Kerr and Paton. Alex Ferguson brought a strong team north that included Scholes, Giggs, Brown, Neville, Vidic and John O'Shea. Forfar 0 Buckie Thistle 0 A goalless draw kicks of the pre-season fun for these two sides. Buckie should have taken the lead when they where awarded a penalty on 38 minutes, but Macrae saw his spot kick saved. Forfar's best chance came in the last minute of the game when a 35 yard drive by David Dunn was tipped over the bar by Kevin Main in the Buckie goal. Brechin City 1 Partick Thistle 0 A win for The Hedgemen against Division One opposition. Charlie King got the goal just after half-time in what was an exciting end-to-end game that saw both teams create chances to score, but excellent goalkeeping from John Tuffey in the Thistle goal kept Brechin at bay. Morton 0 Ayr United 1 Ayr United snatch a win away to Morton, with Alex Williams, who scored 18 goals in 33 appearances for The Honest Men last season getting the goal. Berwick Rangers 4 Airdrie United 3 A good win in Berwick's first game of the pre-season, beating First Division Airdrie United. Jim Lister, Steven Bonar, Ryan McGurk, Jamie Ewart, Darren Gribben and John Dillon all made their debuts for the Borders.