Gordon Strachan is not a believer in the benefits of a rotation policy, but he has faith that his squad can adapt to the different challenges they face at home and abroad
GORDON STRACHAN believes the most effective kind of rotation policy is not to have one. The Celtic manager insists he doesn’t systematically rest any of his players, although he did refer to this afternoon’s away SPL match at Kilmarnock and...
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As Rangers prepare for the visit of Maccabi Haifa on Thursday, Natasha Woods asks: Is Paul Le Guen’s side more suited to the slower pace of European style football?
ALTHOUGH coverage of Maccabi Haifa’s visit to Anfield earlier this season is already part of Paul Le Guen’s extensive video collection, the Rangers manager admits he might still be tempted to call Rafa Benitez ahead of Thursday night’s match against...
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Natasha Woods discovers why the SFA are concerned about criticisms of referees
IT may have been a coincidence, but it was an apposite one. On the day the Scottish Football Association fined Hearts £10,000 after Vladimir Romanov criticised the country’s referees, Donald McVicar was warning about the dire consequences if the current...
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Alan Campbell looks back at yet another astonishing twist in the tale of Hearts, and wonders what happens now for Vladimir Romanov, the club and the players
THE car park at Riccarton was crammed full on Friday lunchtime, prompting the wry observation that a few more Eastern European coaches must have arrived at Hearts. Did, for example, the adviser to the consultant need an adviser himself? Such...
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THE Red Passport application form has lain forlornly in one corner of my study for some months now, accumulating so much dust and cobwebs that arachnophobic guests are directed to proceed with caution whenever they enter the room. I often...
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It is unlikely that Tommy Docherty will be fazed by any unfavourable comment in the public prints on the subject of his latest book. One of his many witticisms is: “There is a place for the press in football –...
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By Natasha Woods, Alan Campbell, and Richard Winton
THERE were no sackings last night, despite a day of managerial turmoil in Scotland, but Craig Brewster delivered the sort of frank assessment which could easily have been mistaken for a resignation statement. On a day in which Valdas Ivanauskas’...
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Celtic’s display against Benfica in midweek put their previous European results in the shade. Michael Grant examines how Gordon Strachan built a mature team out of young talents
WHENEVER Martin O’Neill used to meander into an anecdote about Brian Clough during a press conference, it was time to put the pens down. Entertaining as these yarns could be, they were a journalistic no-man’s-land which O’Neill would use to...
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Paul le Guen may have a blueprint for the future, but will he be given the time to implement it by the fans? Alan Campbell reports
THOSE Rangers fans who climbed the leaning tower of Pisa on Thursday must still be recovering from vertigo. As if a visit to Italy’s freakish bell-tower wasn’t enough, in the space of five days they witnessed two of the most...
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Scotland’s bid to do the impossible and qualify for Euro 2008 is being made all the more difficult by their tendency to pick up cautions galore, says Michael Grant
THE atmosphere surrounding Scotland games is usually so good-natured and unthreatening that it was jolting to witness the repercussions of the sporadic violence that accompanied the midweek visit to Ukraine. Those of us who flew back from Kyiv with supporters...
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Tom Shields' Sports Diary
A Raith Rovers supporter gets in touch to say that he hopes Marvin Andrews will be the architect of a major revival at the club. He says the Andrews effect can go beyond the big man’s defensive skills or even...
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Graham Hunter assesses the chances for Barcelona as the club come to terms with the loss of their Cameroonian striker
You can bet that his scout, Andre Villas, has already filled pages of presentation notes on the subject, but Jose Mourinho will nonetheless have found it interesting to hear no less than Johan Cruyff pointing out how poorly Barcelona are...
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Falkirk 1 - St Mirren 1
Richard Moore at The Falkirk Stadium
THERE was little danger of John Hughes getting into trouble for smiling during this match, which was Falkirk’s first home draw of the season, and what might be seen as a salvaged point after Hughes’ side rallied but there were...
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Kilmarnock 1 - Aberdeen 0
Stewart Fisher at Rugby Park
JIMMY Calderwood has spent the past few days asking Scott Severin to assume greater responsibility due to the absence of Russell Anderson through a hip injury, but this wasn’t exactly what he had in mind. His club’s stand-in skipper was...
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Motherwell 2 - Dunfermline 1
Dave Hammond at Fir Park
MOTHERWELL lifted themselves of the foot of the table with a win that, had it not been for the size of Dundee United’s earlier defeat against Celtic, would also have pushed Jim Leishman’s Dunfermline into that all too familiar position....
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Dundee United 1 - Celtic 4
Michael Grant at Tannadice
USUALLY some sympathy is required for the handful of Japanese journalists who traipse around Scotland behind Shunsuke Nakamura and report his every move back to newspapers in Asia. There must be far more cash in the Japanese media industry than...
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Rangers 0 - Inverness CT 1
Natasha Woods at Ibrox
QUESTIONS hung heavy over Ibrox last night after Rangers all but threw away what little chance they still had of mounting a serious title challenge. That it was a goalkeeping error which contributed to their defeat heaped even more pressure...
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SIR ALEX Ferguson will head a unique summit meeting involving all of Scotland’s leading managers at the Gleneagles resort next weekend. Ferguson will be joined by all 12 SPL managers as well as prominent Scottish bosses working in England –...
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Ian Bell on Wenger's shared ethos
Reminiscing last week over his difficult early days as a unknown foreign pioneer in the Premiership, Arsene Wenger overlooked, perhaps forgivably, a previous wave of invading immigrants. There are fewer of them now. They no longer lead the line at...
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Natasha Woods finds the assistant coach optimistic ahead of two vital games that could relieve the pressure on Valdas Ivanauskas
THE Ryder Cup is on television in the coaches’ room at Riccarton, which is appropriate given John McGlynn is expounding on the psychology of match play. For just as a one-hole swing could change the dynamics at the K Club,...
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Football’s Dirty Secrets failed to live up to the hype but it has highlighted the bung culture and may make the greedy think twice, says Natasha Woods
THE morning after Panorama had uncovered “Football’s Dirty Secrets” I found myself in conversation with Raymond Sparkes. Now, as far as I’m aware, he doesn’t have cloven feet or a tail. But he is a football agent, a breed regarded...
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Romanov should accept blame for stench of manure on ‘his crops’ says Ian Bell
The meaning of this strange remark will become clear momentarily, but let us spread a little manure over Vladimir Romanov’s crops this autumn morning. The owner of Hearts may find the whiff of truth unpleasant, but it is this: proprietors...
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He ruled over Rangers for 30 years and brought unprecented success. On the weekend of the 50th anniversary of his death, Archie MacPherson looks back at Bill Struth’s time in charge and the legacy he left the club
From his room at the top of the marble staircase, Bill Struth, for 34 years, ensured that Rangers Football Club, whatever the prevailing social conditions, lived off the fat of the land. Struth rose from an apprenticeship as a stonemason...
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Ian Bell on corruption in football
In an ideal world – a world absent of lawyers, at least – you would now be reading a sneak preview of Undercover: Football’s Dirty Secret, BBC1’s Tuesday night documentary. Sorry, can’t be done. The programme and its contents are...
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HIBS appear to have invented their very own kind of capitalism. The Easter Road club’s focus on exploiting emerging global markets for their footballers has made them the model for many SPL clubs to the extent that they jealously guard...
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Despite the positivity after their defeat at Old Trafford, Celtic have now taken just one point from a possible 30 on their travels in the Champions League. That simply has to be addressed, says Michael Grant
AFTER a single round of fixtures the Champions League is at such an embryonic stage there hardly seems any point in the newspapers publishing the group tables. For what it is worth, Celtic are at the bottom of Group F...
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Arsenal are facing their third defeat of the season, says Gabriele Marcotti, but there’s still time to turn things around
Seasons are not supposed to be decided in September, but that’s exactly where Arsenal find themselves as they step out at Old Trafford this afternoon against Manchester United. A defeat would be their third of the season and, depending on...
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Old Firm games can make or break reputations but the Rangers manager has no fear, writes Natasha Woods
THE first time there was talk of a revolution at Ibrox, the new manager won his debut Old Firm game only to immediately play down its significance, insisting it was a league game just like any other. It took Graeme...
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Stewart Fisher reports on the growing pressure on Ivanauskas, despite Romanov picking the team
JOHN McGlynn must be getting that feeling again. Tynecastle’s career caretaker, who has officially filled a vacancy in the dug-out after a managerial departure at Hearts on no fewer than four occasions, may just have eased himself back on to...
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Celtic 1 / Dunfermline 0
Michael Grant at Celtic Park
NARROW wins usually include an alarm bell or two for the victors but there was nothing from Dunfermline to prevent Celtic from sleepwalking to four points clear at the top of the SPL yesterday. Gordon Strachan had correctly anticipated a...
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Falkirk 0 / Aberdeen 2
Stewart Fisher at The Falkirk Stadium
ABERDEEN used some amateur dramatics as they put in a professional performance to move up to third spot in the SPL table. A pair of second-half goals from Gary Dempsey, who spent last season as an amateur while Dunfermline held...
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St Mirren 0 / Kilmarnock 1
Ron McKay at St Mirren Park
It’s one of the game’s cliches that successful teams can win ugly when it counts. Kilmarnock could never be accused of scarring the face of the beautiful game; they are one of the league’s better-passing sides, some of their constructions...
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Inverness CT 0 / Dundee United 0
Frank Gilfeather at Caledonian Stadium
FORGET pretty, fluent, entertaining football. This was mediocrity at its best as neither side managed to stamp their authority on matters at a sun-drenched Caledonian Stadium, just a free-kick’s distance from the Moray Firth where the dolphin watchers would have...
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RANGERS fans are to be left in no doubt that the reputation of their club is in their hands this week as the side returns to European action for the first time since being fined over the sectarian chanting which...
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TONY Mowbray’s message to the Hibs supporters is succinct. Enjoy the journey. This season’s meander through Scotland, he acknowledges, is not going to deliver the Premierleague title. Instead, the Easter Road manager promises more entertaining, attacking football and perhaps a...
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Michael Grant finds Walter Smith is too long in the tooth to allow himself or his players to get carried away with Scotland’s six out of six points start to the Euro 2008 qualifying campaign.
THE offer of champagne was not accepted by as many passengers as the crew of Flight XLA7283 might have expected on the journey back from Kaunas to Glasgow on Wednesday evening. The SFA’s charter flight was well stocked with bubbly...
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Michael Grant spends an evening in the company of Vladimir Romanov, joining in the guessing game over the Hearts owner’s every enigmatic utterance
HAVING spent a couple of hours in the company of the Hearts owner in Lithuania the other night, it seems reasonable to suggest that Vladimir Romanov treats his guests better than his managers. Food, drink, smiles and handshakes were plentiful...
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After a rocky start to the season, Dundee United are benefiting from the manager’s changes, writes Michael Grant
THEY say life begins at 40, but since when has a Dundee United manager had the luxury of hanging around that long? Craig Brewster, who reaches that significant birthday in three months’ time, is almost ready to be pensioned off...
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Stewart Fisher draws comparisons between the Celtic of today and the early years of Martin O’Neill’s reign
ONCE upon a time a manager came to Celtic after making his name at a provincial club in England. Although this same manager had taken his team to unimaginable heights domestically, the fact he had been at provincial club for...
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Football thrives in the most hostile environments. There was an Asian Cup qualifying match on Thursday which ended in a 2-2 draw between Iraq and Palestine. It was a minor miracle the game took place at all. The Iraqis are...
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The jury is still out on the regime of Gordon Strachan. One of the bigger squads in Scottish football has performed well enough, of late, but there remains a strange air of hesitancy, of uncertainty. What sort of squad are...
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Aberdeen 0 / Celtic 1
Michael Grant at Pittodrie
JAN Vennegoor of Hesselink is quite a handle to crowbar into the newspaper headlines every week, yet he seems to have a knack for managing it. Pittodrie was invaded by a contingent of Danish journalists who had crossed the north...
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Rangers 4 / Falkirk 0
Alan Campbell at Ibrox
THE Bill Struth Main Stand was duly hanselled by Rangers’ biggest win of the season, but despite the handsome scoreline this was a lethargic performance by Paul Le Guen’s side. The Ibrox side were due a goal or two, and...
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Dunfermline 3 / Kilmarnock 2
Dave Hammond at East End Park
DUNFERMLINE rekindled its love affair with Stevie Crawford yesterday as the prodigal son returned to East End Park to score a spectacular winner as the home side fought for their first SPL win of the season. Crawford left it until...
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Hearts 0 / St Mirren 1
Stewart Fisher at Tynecastle
VLADIMIR Romanov may admit to picking the team these days but there remain other variables that he cannot control. A combination of some astonishing goalkeeping from Tony Bullock, at least one crucial and controversial intervention from referee Dougie McDonald, and...
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Motherwell 1 / Inverness CT 4
Ron McKay at Fir Park
Motherwell have never beaten Inverness Caley Thistle at Fir Park and here was the perfect illustration of why they repeatedly fail. The score may have flattered the away side – a series of schoolboy errors led to the goals, in...
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Manchester United 1 / Tottenham 0
Natasha Woods at Old Trafford
SIR Alex Ferguson said he could recall “half a million” games like this one, and while that was an exaggeration, you knew what he meant. Almost two decades of experience at Old Trafford has taught him these are the sort...
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Chelsea 2 / Charlton 1
Philip Dorward at Stamford Bridge
In keeping with a week where Chelsea washed their dirty linen in public this was a win for the Blues that degenerated into a grubby affair. Jose Mourinho praised the fight shown by his team but it wasn’t as feisty...
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