At any rate, that was the plan until my suspicions at the lack of league action got the better of me and I suddenly find out that the Scottish Cup is on this weekend which means like, loads more games and stuff for me to have to write about. Marvellous.So yes, the Scottish Premier League.
With the race for first and second pretty much over, all eyes are on the bottom half of the table this weekend where, with the exception of Kilmarnock and Aberdeen, all the teams are in action.
Basement boys (and there's the first cliché of this article) Falkirk (12th»LLWLLW) take on the surprise team of the SPL this season, St Johnstone (8th»LDWLDW). For both sides this is a crunch game, more so perhaps for the Bairns who have done well to keep the gap between themselves and 10th-placed safety as small as possible. Under new manager Steven Pressley the team have found a little more confidence and now only three points separate them from Hamilton. Though there's still plenty of games left in which to save their league status, it'd be nice to get themselves off the bottom of the table, if only for the morale it will bring. Falkirk are without former Celtic and Aberdeen defender Jackie McNamara who broke his leg while out on loan to First division side Partick Thistle. A top-half finish looks beyond them at this stage, but St Johnstone's SPL status seems secure enough. As the league's third-most prolific attacking team, St Johnstone have been exciting to watch this season, a real breath of fresh air like Falkirk last season for example. It's a pity their defensive record (the worst in the league) lets them down - if McInnes could just balance the two, St Johnstone would be pure deadly.
Apart from Aberdeen and Hearts, Hamilton (11th»LDLLWD) are this season's disappointments for me. The loss of some key personnel over the summer has hit them harder than expected, with the team struggling to retain some of the form that saw them to safety last season. They're in a relegation scrap with both Falkirk and their opponents tomorrow afternoon, St Mirren (10th»LDDDLD). The Buddies are one of four teams fighting it out for survival this year, and they'll be hoping to avoid the drama of the final day of last season. They've at least got a League Cup final to look forward to, and having been knocked out of the Scottish Cup they've really only got the league to focus on.
Motherwell (5th»WDWWDD) have been a reborn side under the steady stewardship of Craig Brown. Safely in the top half of the table and only two points of another European adventure, they take on Hearts (6th»WDLLLW), another team that has somehow managed to keep the pace despite some pretty inconsistent form. Jim Jefferies did not get off to the best of starts since his return to Tynecastle, but three wins-in-a-row later, Hearts are looking safe for a top-half finish - at least as long as Aberdeen continue to implode.
Worryingly, in a recent interview with the Daily Record, Jefferies insists his 'vision' is the same as trigger-happy owner Romanov which is not the sort of thing you want to hear coming from your manager so soon into his reign. With any other club you wouldn't read too much into it, but this is not just any other club: it's Heart of Midlothian FC, a club with a record of hiring and firing managers that would make even Real Madrid blush.
Scottish Cup
Kilmarnock v Celtic - That Jimmy Calderwood eh? It's a credit to the man that he's managed to turn Killie's fortunes around in a few short weeks from near-certain relegation to near-midtable-safety and an "in it to win it" Cup run. They're still in financial trouble, but if Calderwood can at least keep them in the SPL, the clubs long term survival looks a little more rosy.
There have been reports in the press (admittedly all of them emanating from Lubomir Moravcik) that Tony Mowbray's nuts are on the chopping block if they lose tomorrow to Killie. Mowbray himself insists that nothing could be further from the truth, but really, you've got to wonder. Personally I think Mowbray's job is safe enough, the mercurial Yorkshireman insisting that this season is all about rebuilding (which is, incidentally, the same argument used by Mark McGhee at Aberdeen and look how he's doing..).
Dundee v Raith, the all First Division tie of the round. I'd have liked to have kept these two teams apart for at least one more round to at least give us a chance to see First Division sides getting further into the competition. Although we've had teams from the the lower echelons in the finals before (Queen of the South and Dunfermline in recent years being two examples) I can't remember a team from the lower divisions ever actually winning the damned thing, though I'm happy to be proved wrong.
Dundee are interesting to watch, a real powerhouse (financially and professionally) in their division and a team for which we have high hopes when (indeed, if) they make it to the SPL. Raith we all know about, having knocked out Aberdeen in the previous round. It's only the third time this season the teams have met, with Dundee just having the edge in terms of wins. Nevertheless, they can expect a tough challenge from Raith.
Hibernian v Ross County - Along with Inverness, Ross County are the main challengers to Dundee's pole-position at the top of the First Division. The team from Dingwall have had their ups and downs recently, but they're a decent wee side who on their day can give most teams a run for their money. The 3-3 draw with Dunfermline last week has seen them drop their first points following a three-in-a-row winning run and which has left them six points behind Dundee - but with a game in hand. The gamble is to go for Cup glory or to go for promotion. If I was manager Derek Adams, I'd field the reserves tomorrow in order to secure promotion, but that's just me.
Hibs, eh, what can you say about them? Well, I cant think of much to be honest, so moving swiftly along...
Sunday's gala fixture sees Champions elect Rangers take on Dundee United. As we said yesterday, Rangers are simply cruising, leading the top of the table by a country mile (or 13 points to be exact), in a sure-fire win Cup Final and with new ownership and lots of lovely lolly on the horizon. All the right ingredients then - if I was cynically and negatively disposed - for something to go horribly wrong. And you know what: I think United might do something here, if only because Rangers cannot possibly have it all their own way this season. Statistically speaking, the wheels have to come off the wagon at some point and I firmly believe the wheels will come a'flyin' themurra. Or thesunda to be more exact.
United have overhauled Hibs into third place and are certainly a different team to the one that was turned over 7-1 by Rangers earlier on in the season. Peter Houston, the reluctant United manager has managed to pull it all together at the right time and United look set for European football for the first time in years.
Elsewhere in divisions untroubled by dreams of Cup glory
Scottish Division One
Airdrie Utd v Ayr
Dunfermline v Queen of South
Inverness CT v Morton
Scottish Division Two
Brechin v Arbroath
Clyde v Cowdenbeath
East Fife v Peterhead
Stenhousemuir v Dumbarton
Stirling v Alloa
Scottish Division Three
Albion v Montrose
Elgin v Livingston
Forfar v Annan Athletic
Queens Park v East Stirling
Stranraer v Berwick
After drawing Dundee away and beating Queens at home, Morton actually frightens me a bit this week. At home against an opponent we should beat - that's the ultimate recipe for a Caley meltdown.
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