The Twelve Days of Scottish Football

OK, we’re a bit late starting this and no doubt a wee bit early finishing it, but  we’re running out of time: at the end of this week Inside Left is off to Ireland for the festive period and a well earned break.

Scottish football gets such a rough deal on the Internet we feel it’s our duty to put on a Santa hat and get you all into the spirit with some Scottish Football statistics of the season so far. This advent list was inspired by Chris over at Some People Are On The Pitch who is also running a footie-themed advent countdown (with graphs) - go check it out.

Everyone, from the top …

On the 12th Day of Christmas…

Twelve is the number of games Celtic won in a row this season before it all went wrong against Hearts and, more recently Hibernian. Starting with the win over Motherwell in September, Celtic went unbeaten until they lost to Hibernian earlier this month.  Twelve is also the number of weeks Third Division Stenhousemuir have remained at the top of the table. One of only four teams in Scotland to not have lost at home this season (Second division sides Raith, Ayr and Brechin being the others), Stennie recorded two back-to-back 5-0 wins in the Scottish Cup (Threave Rovers and Clachnacuddin). Nice!

On the 11th Day of Christmas..

Eleven stands for the 11th season of the Scottish Premier League. The current incarnation of Scotland’s top football league came into being in time for the 1992/93 season. Of the 10 teams which made up the founding members, only seven still play in today’s SPL - Aberdeen, Celtic, Dundee United, Hearts, Kilmarnock, Motherwell and Rangers. The other three, Dunfermline, St. Johnstone and Dunfermline all play in the First Division now. Needless to say, since the league was formed only two teams have won the competition, with Celtic winning 6 and Rangers winning 4. The SPL has come in for much criticism (Old Firm dominance, strict entrance criteria for teams promoted from the First division and a frankly bizarre league split after the 33rd game) but it’s here to stay for now.

On the 10th Day of Christmas..

Ten points are what separate the team in second in the SPL, Rangers, from the team in third,  Hearts. The gulf between the Old Firm and the rest of the unwashed masses is larger than ever - consider that at this stage last season the difference was only 2 points, though admittedly Rangers had played 3 games fewer than leaders Celtic and the team in third, Dundee United. But while it’s done and dusted at the top of the league (Celtic or Rangers, take your pick for champion), further down eight points separate fourth from seventh while only four points separate eighth from twelfth. All the ingredients then from an exciting middle to the season.

Ten could also represents the largest league win this season in senior football when Deveronvale beat Fort William (who else) 10-0 in their Highland League encounter on the 22nd November.

On the 9th Day of Christmas..

Nine is the total number of own goals scored in the Scottish Football league this season. The first one was scored by Stirling’s David White in his sides 2-1 defeat away at Brechin on the opening day of the season in the Second division, while the last one was scored by Airdrie’s Scott McLaughlin against Partick Thistle last Saturday; his blunder (he turned a Mark Twaddle cross into his own net) lost Airdrie the game.

On the 8th Day of Christmas..

The referee gave to me, eight red cards! Yes, eight is the number of red cards dished out in the most indisciplined league in Scotland - the Third Division. Chris McLeod (Montrose, two weeks in succession!), Gary Wilson (Dumbarton) and Kenny Gilbert (Elgin City) have all been sent off to an early bath twice this season. Derek Ure (East Stirling) and Steven Ferguson (Stenhousemuir) make up the rest. The Third division also has the worst yellow card record this season, 52, a record it shares with the SPL.

On the 7th Day of Christmas..

We could have mentioned the Scotland squad in the number 3 position (number of games drawn and lost) or at number 1 (number of games won) but we had other candidates for those places. Instead, here at number seven is where you will find George Burley to represent the number of games Scotland have played under his flaccid reign. A win against Iceland aside, the national squad are not exactly setting the heather alight. Defeat in Macedonia kicked off the WC2010 campaign, followed by a draw with Norway at Hampden, a game memorable for a miss by Chris Uwelumo (making his debut in the dark blue shirt) in front of goal that my 7 year-old daughter could have put away.  Thankfully other results conspired to keep George Burley’s barmy army in second place, but a game against the Netherlands beckons..

On the 6th Day of Christmas..

The number of managerial changes since the start of the season can best be summarized by the number 6. Since August, Livingston, Dundee, Brechin, Berwick, Montrose and Albion Rovers have all seen changes on the bench. From that list, three where fired, two left for bigger teams and one was deposed by the fans. The betting slips are out for the next managerial casualty, and we’ve got a cheeky fiver on Walter Smith, come the end of the season.

On the 5th Day of Christmas..

My true love sent to me, fiiiiivvvee leaagguee winnnnnns …

Annan Athletic where elected to the Third Division to take the place of fallen Gretna. The Galabankies started well but have faltered lately. Five then, represents the number of games Annan Athletic  have won this season so far. Expectations where not high to be honest - we had them finishing bottom of the league in our pre-season predictions - but in fairness they’ve done better than a lot of people had predicted. An opening day thrashing of Cowdenbeath saw them off to a good start, but heavy defeats to Albion Rovers, Dumbarton, Forfar and Berwick followed. Thank goodness though for Elgin, truly terrible this year, who prop up the bottom of the table, many points behind Annan. Of course, Annan are not in any danger of relegation - yet. Talk of substantial changes to the league structure (the ‘pyramid’) could mean that the glass bottom that protects teams in the Third division from even more lower league obscurity may well disappear soon. Watch out Elgin!

On the 4th Day of Christmas..

Four represents the number of home games Aberdeen have now won in a row! Saturdays win against Falkirk followed home wins against Motherwell, St. Mirren and Kilmarnock. All bottom half stuff, true, but remember that at one point this season, AFC had the worst league record on the entire British Isles. Unable to buy a win at home, the pressure on Jimmy Calderwood was even greater than it normally is - the Aberdeen faithful have never warmed to a man they call ‘Tango’. Still, they’d be wise to remember that he’s the clubs most successful manager since the Big Yin, Alex Ferguson.

On the 3rd Day of Christmas..

Three is the number of SPL teams knocked out by lower league opposition in this years  Scottish League Cup. Hearts and Hibs where knocked out by Airdrie and Morton respectively, while St. Mirren lost out to Dunfermline. Quite an achievement, all things considered. Sadly, the euphoria of success would not last long; Airdrie and Morton both lost out to SPL sides (Dundee United and Inverness) in the next round, while Dunfermline managed to make it to the Quarter Finals, where a single goal from Dundee United’s Scott Robertson ended their participation.

On the 2nd Day of Christmas..

Two is the number of hat-tricks Kris Boyd has scored since taking himself, his toys and his handbag from the Scotland squad. In a good two-fingered salute aimed at Scotland manager George Burley (and probably club manager Walter Smith), Boyd has gone on a scoring spree to prove to all and sundry just how good he is and how wrong Burley was not to play Boyd in his Scotland team. If there where 15 days of Xmas, then Boyd would be there too, 15 being the number of goals the former Kilmarnock player has scored this season.

On the 1st Day of Christmas..

One. That’s the number of points Inside Left favourite Fort William have accumulated so far. That sole point came in the 1-1 draw with Wick Academy back in September. So far the Fort have played 9, drawn 1 and lost the rest and boast a goal difference of -32 with only half the season gone. In some ways it’s an improvement on last season when they didn’t draw any games, but of the 28 they played, Fort William lost 27 and won one. The goal difference they reached last season, -142, seems out of reach for this season (it’s just soooo high) but you never know.

Right, that is our ‘12 days of Scottish Football’. Care to submit your own? Drop us an email via our contact page with the title “12 Days of Scottish Football” and we’ll put your list up on the site.