This week we're particularly glad that the weekend brings sense to bear, as this has not been a great seven days for the game north of the border. But then again, what week is these days ...
The continuing problems at Rangers seem to be no nearer a satisfactory conclusion, with the lights at the end of the dark tunnel being those of the oncoming train, in this case Donald Muir and his employers at the Lloyds Banking Group.
The bank are keen to recoup its debt, estimated to be around £30m and seem pretty intent on getting their money back, by fair means or foul. The entire squad is still up for sale but the phone is not exactly ringing off the hook (except for Boyd, but he turned down the offer of a move to Turkey). Whether this is because the current fare at Ibrox is not worth the effort or the vultures circling Ibrox are waiting until the summer when the players can be picked up (or off) for free remains to be seen.
Walter Smith, the whistle blower who opened the can of worms after the 1-1 draw with Hibs last week, remains coy about his plans to stay or go, but our money is on him walking, bringing to a rather unsatisfactory end the illustrious career of one of Rangers' most successful managers. We're not fans of Rangers by any stretch of the imagination here at Inside Left, but we'd have Walter managing Aberdeen any day of the week.
The only person interested in purchasing the club is Dave King, a Glasgow-born South African businessman who, to put it mildly, is facing a few financial problems of his own. A demand from the South African Revenue Service for £180m in unpaid taxes was followed by 322 criminal charges, an asset freeze and the removal of his passport.
King denies all charges, obviously, but his case has still to come to court and no matter what financial jigery-pokery King may perform to protect his assets (including Rangers, if he does buy the club), his ownership of the club will always have a nervous Board looking up at the sky to see whether the dark clouds are going to blow over, or pour down from the heavens.
Across the river in East Glasgow, Celtic's Tony Mowbray is having problems of his own. His side lost out to another troubled club, Hearts (of whom more later) in the League Cup in midweek, adding another 'L' in the Home form sequence: LDWDW (or LLDDWDWLL if you include the European games). It's not the sort of form that's going to win you a league any time soon, and the concept of 'Fortress Parkhead' is certainly being put to the test, along with the patience of the supporters, who, judging by the vast tracks of empty terracing at Parkhead on Wednesday are none to happy with the Mowbray Revolution.
Still, what fickle fans eh? A glance at the league table shows Celtic sitting proudly, if not comfortably at the top of the pile. A single point separates them from Rangers (always a good thing if you're a Celtic manager). But look further down and you'll see a trio of teams within touching distance of the Old Firm, ready to pounce at the first slip-up.
Hibernian, the team in third, are the current pretenders to the throne. Undefeated in their last five league games, the Hibees and new manager John Hughes are on a good run of form. Their scoring rate that saw them score 6 goals in two games has dried up somewhat, with only three goals in their last three games but they're adding to the 'Pts' column. And as long as they're doing that and the Old Firm continue to struggle, then Hibs are ideally positioned to challenge for second spot or, heaven help us, even a title challenge.
Alas poor Hearts.
The team that finished third last year, and for whom Inside Left had high hopes again this season are rapidly approaching that part of the season when it's just all going to fall apart. Like Rangers, Hearts are having a few problems of their own. Finance (lack thereof) is always a hot potato at Tynecastle as is the often tense relationship with owner Vladimir Romanov.
As we saw last season, when Romanov leaves footballing matters to those who know what they're doing (Graham Rix excepted) things go well. When he sticks his nose in, things tend to go badly wrong. Manager Csaba Lazslo has taken a leaf from Walter Smith's book and expressed his frustration at the lack of funds available to him for transfers and has hinted at leaving the club should he get no answer to his continued pleas for more money.
Romanov, never one to let subtle criticism get the better of him responded by saying it's really all Lazslo's fault, going so far as to come over to Edinburgh to give the team a piece of his mind, further denting dressing room harmony. Romanov then put a new Director of Football in place, Ivan Svabovic, a man with previous coaching experience and "trusted associate" of Romanov, according to the Scotsman.
It's always been a mystery to Inside Left quite what a 'Director of Football' does - enquiries as to a job description directed to one William Miller esq, c/o Aberdeen FC, Pittodrie Street, Aberdeen, AB24 5QH have gone unanswered - but that term, in the context of Heart of Midlothian FC generally equates to 'Manager in Waiting'.
Csaba, along with much-maligned club captain Michael Stewart, may have gotten a reprieve from the axe with that win against Celtic in the League Cup, but once Romanov starts putting his own people in place, you just know what's coming next.
Aberdeen continue to be totally shit.
Their 2-0 loss to Dundee United, a loss particularly hard to take for your Editor is the latest in a line of dire performances (or 'LDDDWDDWL', in form-guide speak). It's those draws that keep the Dons in mid-table, but Jesus wept, we are pure rank. We don't care much for Mark McGhee and we care even less for his 4-3-3 nonsense, a tactic that requires fast, skilful players, a commodity sadly lacking at Pittodrie at the moment. Without the Holy Grail of investment, Aberdeen can look forward to a few more years of decline and mid-table stagnation.
Motherwell, along with Hibernian are continuing to impress, despite recent results against St Mirren, another team performing somewhat against our season predictions. They two teams played two entertaining games within 4 days of each other, scoring 9 goals in the process. Motherwell have so far frustrated the Old Firm twice (holding them to 0-0 draws), while St Mirren are doing exactly what teams of their stature should be doing, namely getting points from teams below them in the league. Their 3 wins this season against Falkirk, Hearts and Kilmarnock, together with creditable draws against Dundee United and St Johnstone are offset by defeats to teams in the upper-half of the table, Aberdeen, Hibs and Celtic.
Gus McPherson needs to make hay while the sun shines, because, the game on Saturday against Hamilton aside, they next face trips to the top-half of the league: Rangers, Hibs, Celtic and Dundee United are all to come between now and the start of December.
St Johnstone, Hamilton and Falkirk are pretty much where everyone expects them to be this season. Falkirk, for all their fancy play and poor defending continue to make bottom spot their own, while Hamilton are finding their second season tough going. We've not seen St Johnstone play this season, but we're told they're a good side to watch, and a tough side at home.
We're hoping St Johnstone stay up this season and praying for Dundee to get promoted from the First, as this sets up a veritable smorgasbord or derby games (and it's nice to have some mid and east Scotland teams represented at the top level of Scottish football).
Elsewhere this week, we've seen that Rangers and Hearts are not the only clubs facing an uncertain future.
In the Highland League, Clachnacuddin, the behemoths of Highland League football, are in administration following a hike in debt repayments (ironically enough to the "Common Good Fund") forced upon them by the Highland Council. The club owe about £46k and have been paying £400 per month, but the council want the money back a little quicker, i.e. within 12 months, and have demanded a slight rise in monthly repayments to £3800.
With no way of paying such a large amount in the time frames given, the club have gone into administration and face a real threat of going out of business unless an investor is found to clear the debt and move the club forward. The move by the council has shocked the club who point out that should the club go under, the Council will not receive any of the money owed to them as they're unsecured creditors.
Which is a bit of an own goal really ...
And as we're writing this, we hear that Stirling Albion, already saved once from administration are now facing a second demand for unpaid taxes. The Beanos have 8 days to pay the outstanding amount, approximately £48k to HM Revenue and Customs or face going out of business. Again. Efforts from the BuyStirlingAlbion campaign to buy the club where thwarted when owner Peter McKenzie raised the price he wanted for the club, despite the campaign group offering the asking price.
In the light of the new situation, you'd wonder how long McKenzie is prepared to keep the club (and shelling out his own money, hopefully) when there's a perfectly decent offer on the table. Stirling Albion are currently top of Division Two by some margin and it would be a terrible shame to shut the club down when there is clearly a demand for football in the town.
Och, like we said, thank goodness there's some football to take our minds of all the misery rife in our game at the minute.
If you've read this far (well done!), you'll be happy to know this post is almost over.
We've no Four to Follow this week, but if you're wanting predictions, you can read up all about it over at The Scottish Football Blog, or via the BBC and Billie Dodds.
For the record, here's how we see the results going. As you know, standard disclaimers apply. Enjoy the games if you're going.
Celtic 2 v 0 Kilmarnock
Hibernian 3 v 1 Aberdeen
Motherwell 1 v 2 Hearts
St Johnstone 2 v 0 Falkirk
St Mirren 1 v 0 Hamilton
Dundee Utd 1 v 2 Rangers
http://www.scottishfootballblog.co.uk/2009/10/life-is-roller-coaster.html
Any good news to be reported after aberdeen suffered another defeat. They are fast approaching the relegation zone.
ReplyDelete