Posts Tagged: Forres Mechanics

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27
Nov 09

Scottish Football’s Four to Follow

Inside Left highlights the four games in this weekends Scottish fixture card that you need to keep your eye on. This week we feature a tough fixture for both teams at Pittodrie, a bottom-of-the-table clash in Granton, a mid-table affair in the First division and lastly, the pick of the Scottish Cup games taking place this weekend as Clyde take on Livingston.

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4
Oct 09

Special Edition: Fort William win!

Regular readers of Inside Left will know of our fondness for Highland League outfit Fort William.

Easily, and we mean easily one of the worst sides ever to grace a football field, The Fort have not won a game since September 2007 in a 4-2 win over Rothes on the opening day of the 2006/2007 season. In the intervening times they’ve notched up an 11-0, several 7-0 and 6-0 defeats and even a 10-0 drubbing from Junior side Banks O’Dee in the Cup. Having scored just 3 goals (all away) and conceded 26 in only 7 games played so far, it looked like being another long, long season. Continue reading →

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2
Oct 09

Scottish Football Weekend Preview

In the SPL, Hamilton and St Johnstone battle it out at the bottom of the league for the wooden spoon. Aye, we know, it’s very early in the season for that kind of talk but there’s been very little from either of these two sides to inspire any degree of confidence in their long term survival prospects.  Hamilton fought hard to get something out of the game against Hearts last week, and where unlucky to lose 2 goals in a minute. St Johnstone are scoring at least, but until they start scoring more than the opposition, their stay in the SPL will be mercifully short. They lost 3-2 to Dundee United last week.

Hibs and Dundee United meet in what would have been one of our games to follow, had it not been for the Old Firm derby on Sunday. Hibs won some silverware this week in the shape of a Manager of the Month for John Hughes, and a Player of the Month award for Derek Riordan. The Hibee’s are third in the league, level on points with Rangers. Dundee United find themselves in fourth spot after that win against St Johnstone.

Aberdeen travel to another one of they bogey teams, Kilmarnock. Killie inflicted a lot of pain on the Dons last season, something Mark McGhee will no doubt want to put right. Their performance against Rangers on Saturday showed some of the fighting spirit that’s been  lacking in many Dons performances this season, and McGhee’s faith in the youth in showing some signs of being rewarded. If only the older players in the squad would do the same.

Killie drew 0-0 with Falkirk at the weekend in a game that’s just not worth wasting any more pixels on.

What else? Motherwell against Falkirk and St Mirren against Hearts complete the SPL action on Saturday. Falkirk are finally off the bottom of the league, while Motherwell will have been disappointed with that 1-3 defeat to Hibs on Saturday. Both of these sides had been unbeaten going into the game, so something had to give. Hearts picked up three ,aluable points as their season continues to cough and splutter to get going. They meet St Mirren tomorrow, a team still looking for their first league win since moving to their new ground.

The semi-finals of the Alba Challenge Cup takes place on Sunday. Dundee take on Third Division new boys Annan Athletic, and Inverness Caley are given a chance to avenge the 3-1 defeat inflicted upon them by the boys from Dingwall earlier on in the season.

Annan Athletic chairman Henry McClelland has been busy this week telling everyone just why his side will beat the second biggest spending club in Scotland this week. Nothing to do with events on the pitch, but rather events of it. Allow Mr McClelland to explain:

“There is a primary school in Annan called Elmvale and in 2005, Brooks Mileson presented their end of year school certificates and within 12 months he was in a national final. In 2007, David Rae of Queen of the South did the honours and he was at Hampden within a year. I presented them in June this year so I reckon our place in the Final may just be around the corner.”

Right ….

Elsewhere, the Active Nations Scottish Cup continues with a series of replays.

Bonnyrigg Rose v Fraserburgh
Forres Mechanics v Buckie Thistle
Wick Academy v Clachnacuddin
Wigtown & Bladnoch v Whitehill Welfare

and there’s a nearly full fixture list in both Division 2 and Division 3.

Scottish Third Division
Alloa v East Fife
Arbroath v Clyde
Dumbarton v Stirling
Peterhead v Brechin
Stenhousemuir v Cowdenbeath

Scottish Third Division
Albion v East Stirling
Berwick v Forfar
Montrose v Queens Park
Stranraer v Elgin

Lastly, no round-up would be complete without mentioning the UK’s highest scoring league, the Scot-Ads Highland League. We’ve a derby game on our hands which we’ll feature in our Four to Follow piece soon, but the legendary Fort William take to the field again, fresh from their 7-0 demolition at the hands of ace Junior side Auchinleck Talbot; they take on Turriff United.  Strathspey Thistle, a Fort William in-waiting take on Lossiemouth. Banff side Deveronvale travel up the road to Nairn, and Huntly’s game against Brora completes the action.

Phew.

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4
Sep 09

2009/10 Scottish Cup First Round draw

This round sees teams from the three leagues underneath the Scottish Third Division (the Highland League, the East of Scotland and the South of Scotland football leagues) begin their Cup run. Although none of these teams will get close to reaching the final, a few of these did make it to the Fourth round last year.

Highland League side Forres Mechanics eased their way past Wigtown & Bladnoch, Keith and Dalbeattie Star, before they finally succumbed 6-1 to Third Division side Forfar.

Another Highland League side made it to the Fourth round. Of all the teams that made it this far, Inverurie Loco Works where rewarded for their progress against Deveronvale, Banks O’ Dee (who earlier knocked out Fort William 10-0) and Vale of Leithen in the previous rounds with a game against SPL side Motherwell. It took five re-scheduled dates before this game finally took place with Motherwell emerging, somewhat unsurprisingly, 3-0 winners.

The final side to make it to the Fourth round where Edinburgh-based Spartans. Their road to their Fourth Round exit was a little more rocky than most. Having dispatched Pollok and Annan Athletic (to which they’d lost their application to join the Third Division), their Third Round fixture against Elgin City was ordered to be replayed after it was discovered that Elgin had fielded an ineligible player, Joe Malin, a loanee from Ross County.

Elgin City where not amused – they won the original game 2-1!

Despite appeals, the game was replayed and this time it was Spartans who emerged as winners. Somewhat ironically, it was later discovered that Spartans had also fielded an ineligible player, Dean Hoskins, in the first game against Elgin City after what Spartans called ‘an administrative error’.

Spartans got their come-uppance in the next round however – they where knocked out by First Division side Airdrie United.

Scottish Cup First Round

Saturday 26 September 2009

Selkirk v Preston Athletic
Clachnacuddin v Wick Academy
Auchinleck Talbot v Fort William
Nairn County v Golspie Sutherland
Edinburgh University v Vale of Leithen
Inverurie Loco Works v St Cuthbert Wanderers
Coldstream v Edinburgh City
Brora Rangers v Irvine Meadow
Buckie Thistle v Forres Mechanics
Whitehill Welfare v Wigtown & Bladnoch
Fraserburgh v Bonnyrigg Rose
Glasgow University v Girvan
Lossiemouth v Newton Stewart
Rothes v Banks O Dee
Civil Service Strollers v Gala Fairydean
Hawick Royal Albert v Huntly
Dalbeattie Star v Keith

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28
Aug 09

The Scottish Football Four to Follow

Welcome to another weekend of football in Scotland. As always there’s a few cracking fixtures on the cards right across the country, but we pick out the best four for you to keep your eye on.

St Johnstone v Hearts

(Sunday)
An exciting game between two sides looking to get their season on track.

While Hearts still have to put points on the board, St Johnstone at least have that one point thanks to the draw against Motherwell on the opening day. A good start, but they where brought back to earth with a bump the next week when Celtic, still smarting from the first leg Champions League defeat against Arsenal stung the Saints 5-2.

Heart’s season continues to disappoint. The team that finished third last year is struggling to get their season started. Glimpses of the Hearts of last season where on show last night in the 2-0 win over Dinamo Zagreb. A good score by any means, but unfortunately the four goals Dinamo scored in the first leg put the tie beyond salvation. In the league, Hearts lost out to Dundee United on the opening day but where unlucky – very unlucky – to not salvage a point against Rangers last week. Kris Boyd’s contentious injury time penalty after Naismith was fouled, seemingly, outside the area meant maximum points for Rangers and another poor return for Hearts’ efforts.

We said before that one of the reasons why Hearts did so well last season was that majority shareholder Vladimir Romanov kept his mucky fingers out of running the club’s affairs. Manager Csaba Laszlo was left to do the things that most of his predecesors where not allowed to do, namely pick the team. The difference was there to be seen as Hearts ran a cracking season last year, finishing third and qualifying for Europe.

Unfortunately, things this season have not been that easy. A poor start caused Laszlo to voice his frustration at not being able to bring on more players, saying that it was up to Romanov to provide the funds. He went on further to suggest he may well leave the club if those additional funds where not made available. Statements like that will of course only infuriate your owners, particularly one as volatile as Vladimir Romanov.

Today, the Lithuanian banker lashed out, saying that it is not the lack of funds which are the problem, rather it’s his manager Csaba Laszlo who is to blame for Hearts’ failure to sign more than one striker for the new season.

All this does not bode well for anyone involved at Hearts. Csaba has been courted by German Bundesliga side Hannover lately, and may well chose to jump ship if things come to a head. For the fans it means another potentially chaotic season lies in store – a pity considering the progress made last season.

It remains to be seen how both these sides react to the situation in which they find themselves. St Johnstone banged 6 past a hapless Arbroath in the Scottish League Cup in midweek; the question is whether they can put that superb win to good use against a Hearts side looking to get over the disappointment of midweek. We think that Hearts are just a bit too strong for them, but we expect The Saints to give them a close game.

A win for Hearts.

Inverness CT v Ross County

Two former Highland League sides meet up again in the league for the first time since 2004, when Caley won 1-0 thanks to a goal by former Ross County player Barry Wilson. Caley are adjusting to life in the First Division, with a sluggish start to the season. An opening day win over Dunfermline was followed by two drawn games against Ayr and Dundee, though they got their scoring touch back with a 4-0 win in the League Cup over Albion Rovers in midweek.

Ross County claimed an SPL scalp in the League Cup when they beat Hamilton Accies 2-1 up in Dingwall. That win should put them in good stead going into this fixture, while three points on Saturday will put their league campaign back on track. The Staggies have only one win this season, that coming against relegated, and then repromoted Airdrie United.

The win against Hamilton will fill Ross County with confidence, but we tip Caley to win this game.

East Fife v Cowdenbeath

Methil versus Cowdenbeath. The Fife Derby. East Fife are no doubt surprised to be playing this fixture at all. Cowdenbeath lost out in the Division Two play-off final last season to Stenhousemuir, but the Blue Brazil won an unlikely promotion when Livingston where relegated to the Third Division. These two sides have not played in the same division since 2006, when two wins each out of four games played in the Third Division against each other was how it ended.

This season, Cowdenbeath are taking their time getting started. Knocked out of the League Cup by Dundee in midweek, they’ve yet to win a league game this season, their only points so far coming from a 1-1 draw with Alloa. East Fife have fared a little better: undefeated so far, but only one win in three games to show for their efforts.

We’ve always had a soft spot for Cowdenbeath, the team being one of our regular Football Manager sides. For that ill-researched and totally baseless bias, we go for a Cowdenbeath win.

Albion v Livingston

It’s the second week we feature Livingston in our four-to-follow selection. By all rights, Livi should be cruising their way to promotion. In the Third Division with a First Division squad, you’d think that getting out of the division would be a walk in the park. When the team finally agreed to play a fixture (they’d refused to play their first game against East Stirlingshire until their appeal against their demotion was heard by the SFA), they won 2-0 against Montrose.

But last week the wheels came of the wagon, if only temporarily. The side went down 1-0 to Berwick Rangers, having been outplayed for most of the game until Allan Brazil scored – at the second time of asking – with 30 minutes left to play. It’s a wake-up call for Livi, one which will no doubt make them take this Division more seriously.

Against Albion Rovers we expect Livi to get their season back on track.

The full weekend fixture list is as follows

Clydesdale Bank Premier League
Aberdeen v Motherwell
Dundee Utd v Falkirk
Kilmarnock v St Mirren
Rangers v Hamilton
Hibernian v Celtic (Sunday)
St Johnstone v Hearts (Sunday)

The Scottish First Division
Airdrie Utd v Dundee
Dunfermline v Raith
Inverness CT v Ross County
Partick Thistle v Morton
Queen of South v Ayr

The Scottish Second Division
Brechin v Dumbarton
Clyde v Alloa
East Fife v Cowdenbeath
Stenhousemuir v Arbroath
Stirling v Peterhead

The Scottish Third Division
Albion v Livingston
Berwick v Queens Park
Elgin v Annan Athletic
Forfar v East Stirling
Stranraer v Montrose

Scot-Ads Highland Football League
Buckie Thistle v Rothes
Clachnacuddin v Deveronvale
Fort William v Brora
Fraserburgh v Strathspey Thistle
Huntly v Lossiemouth
Inverurie Locos v Forres Mechanics
Keith v Nairn County
Turriff United v Cove Rangers
Wick Academy v Formartine Utd

Asides — 2 Comments
21
Aug 09

The Ballbag’s Scottish Football Four to Follow

Despite the somewhat tepid performances of our teams in Europe this week which led to our total rant last night following the Hearts game against Dinamo, Scottish football, for all its faults, lives to play on another week.

It’s only really when Scottish teams play in Europe that Inside Left ends up hiding behind the sofa; when it comes to our domestic game, the thrill and excitement is still the same for us, whether or not we have TV rights, sponsorship or even a rosy future to look forward to.

There’s nothing to beat the feeling of walking down the road to the ground, sitting in the stands watching your team, and no amount of dodgy results against diddy teams from Europe (or even England) will change that.

So, with that said, let’s get on with our Four to Follow!

In the SPL, there’s a few games that stick out for various reasons. The fixture between champions Rangers and Hearts would probably have been the game of the weekend if Hearts had managed to not lose by quite so many goals. A 2-1 defeat for the Jambo’s would have set up a cracking tie, with two teams in good spirits going into this game. As it was, we all know what happened to Hearts, so I fear that this game is going to be another standard win for Rangers.

Another interesting fixture sees Celtic take on new boys St Johnstone at Parkhead. Celtic of course got off to that cracking start against a useless Aberdeen side, while the Saints more than acquitted themselves last week against Motherwell. Perhaps if they managed to hold on to their leads, then this might have been an interesting fixture.

Or there’s Aberdeen against Hamilton, two sides looking for their first win of the season following heavy defeats last week.

But the first of our Four to Follow matches is not one that would immediately grab your attention, but it’s made more interesting by the fact that both sides are under new management, and that both sides have a point to prove.

Falkirk v Hibernian

Falkirk are a bit of an oddity. A side that was noted for playing some excellent football, a side that reached the semi-final of the League Cup and the final of the Scottish Cup (losing to Rangers on both occasions), yet which only avoided relegation by the skin of their teeth. Most of last season Falkirk struggled to make much of an impact in terms of their league position, but manager John Hughes somehow managed to pull the results out of the bag when the going got tough, not least that nerve racking win over Caley on the last day of the season, which kept the Bairns up and that relegated Caley.

Of course, Hughes jumped ship over the summer, instead taking up the reins at the team with which he’ll return to Falkirk with tomorrow, Hibernian.

Hibs missed out on European football this season, finishing sixth, bringing to an end another distinctly average campaign that saw early exists from Europe and domestic Cup competitions. It cost Mixu Paateleinen his job, and the Hibs fans will be expecting much from Hughes. He’s already brought over a few of his old team mates from Falkirk, including Patrick Cregg and Kevin McBride and also some of the old playing style. Hibs had to fight for the win against 10-man St. Mirren last week, but a win’s a win, so they’re full of confidence going into this game.

Eddie May, who had the pleasure of leading Falkirk into Europe had to suffer the shame of losing to a team from Liechtenstein. Not the best start to your tenure, but it’s early days yet. Despite losing to Rangers 4-1 on the opening day of the season, Falkirk actually didn’t have a bad game, with some encouraging spells which may well work against non-Old Firm teams, such as Hibernian.

So, two teams with something to prove: Falkirk for proving they’re better than most people give them credit for, and for sticking it up John Hughes; and Hibernian for continuing their winning start and John Hughes for sticking it up Falkirk. Expect a passionate, committed game. We go for a Hibs win.

Dundee v Inverness CT

Dundee are many bookies candidates for promotion to the SPL. They drew 2-2 with Raith Rovers at the weekend, having to come from behind in the process to earn that draw. The opening day win against Morton was also a little more troublesome than you’d want really. Progress through the Cup competitions is on track, with convincing wins against Cowdenbeath and Stranraer along the way, but then you’d expect them to win those anyway.

Inverness, like Dundee have won one and drawn one game so far, but they’ve probably got the best chance of going straight back up. For one, they’re playing First Division football with an SPL division squad. Not only that, in Terry Butcher they’ve got a manager who, while not having one of the more illustrious managerial track records, is a real fighter and campaigner, the sort to get the fire in the belly that Caley need to ensure a rapid return to the SPL.

So, this game is between two sides we feel will be challenging for the title all the way. Although it might have been better to have the first meeting between the later on in the season to judge how good both sides are (or not), we may get an early indication here of how this battle for promotion might pan out.

East Stirlingshire v Elgin

For some reason, and this is completely the fault of my keyboard and not some kind of subliminal thought process, I keep mistyping ‘Stirlingshire’ into ‘Stirlingshite’. A few years ago this may well have been more appropriate but The Shire have really matured and grown into a solid enough side of late. Gone are the days when they where the subject of a book and BBC news crews, all wanting to see the worst side in Britain.

The team that took over that crown last year was Elgin City. The Borough Briggs outfit finished bottom of the table on 26 points having won only seven games all season. East Stirlingshire, in contrast, nearly made it to the Second Division, the side losing out to Cowdenbeath in the play-offs. That play-off game was also the cause for Jim McInally receiving a 16 game touchline ban from the SFA for “excessive misconduct”, along with a £1,000 fine. You’d wonder what he did or said to deserve such a ban; McInally has started an appeal process.

Both sides have had encouraging starts to the season, which should make for an entertaining game. We’ll go with an East Stirlingshire win.

Deveronvale v Inverurie Locos

Our final game today is between two of the top sides in the Highland League. Deveronvale are currently top of the league, with Inverurie Locos not far behind. Neither of these two sides ventured from top 5 last season. Past meetings between the sides have been high scoring games (although that’s no indication – most Highland League games are high scoring!), with the Banff side winning the last encounter 3-2 back in April, revenge for their 5-2 defeat in the Scottish Cup at the start of last season. Because of home advantage, We’ll go with a Deveronvale win.

Scottish Football Fixture List, 22nd August 2009

Clydesdale Bank Premier League
Celtic v St Johnstone
Falkirk v Hibernian
Hamilton v Aberdeen
Motherwell v Kilmarnock
St Mirren v Dundee Utd
Rangers v Hearts

The Irn-Bru First Division
Ayr v Morton
Dundee v Inverness CT
Dunfermline v Airdrie Utd
Queen of South v Partick Thistle
Ross County v Raith

The Irn-Bru Second Division
Cowdenbeath v Alloa
Dumbarton v Clyde
East Fife v Arbroath
Peterhead v Stenhousemuir
Stirling v Brechin

The Irn-Bru Third Division
Berwick v Livingston
East Stirling v Elgin
Montrose v Forfar
Queens Park v Albion
Stranraer v Annan Athletic

Highland League
Brora v Buckie Thistle
Deveronvale v Inverurie Locos
Formartine Utd v Fort William
Forres Mechanics v Wick Academy
Keith v Turriff United
Lossiemouth v Clachnacuddin
Nairn County v Fraserburgh
Rothes v Cove Rangers
Strathspey Thistle v Huntly

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23
Jul 09

Pre-season friendly results roundup

ABERDEEN overcame their jinx against PETERHEAD with a win against Neale Cooper’s side up at the Balmoor Stadium last night, but the result was far from convincing. The Dons found themselves 2-0 down at half-time to the Division 2 side but recovered through goals from Lee Miller, Sone Aluko and Michael Paton to record a hard fought 3-2 win.

Aberdeen boss McGhee was in Paris last night to sign up defender Reda Johnson and he’ll no doubt be working extra hard to secure Johnson’s signature, as Aberdeen’s only other match-fit central defender Andrew Considine picked up a back injury. With a European qualifier coming up next week, McGhee will want to make sure he’s got a settled side with a settled formation in order to make progress in the competition. What is amazing however is the fact that for the second season in a row, Peterhead have given Aberdeen, their glamorous cousins from down the road a real fright. Neale Cooper’s side finished in the top half of the table last season, and based on last nights performance look set for another bumper season.

CELTIC held on for a 0-0 draw against CARDIFF. I a near full-strength lineup, new signings Fortune and N’Guemo looked impressive throughout, but chances where few and far between. In a game with little to separate the sides, Celtic certainly had the better first half, while Cardiff probably had the better second half.

Another side that failed to score was HAMILTON, away at DARLINGTON.  With James McCarthy watching from the stands, Accies had five trialists in the starting line up and Billy Reid made two triple substitutions in the second half as he looked at a variety of players and looked to give as many as he could a run out again. Richard Offiong had a chance to win the game at the end, but the game remained goalless. Accies will now travel to Ireland to complete their pre-season fixtures.

In a top-secret fixture which, as predicted, was not streamed live on the Internet, ST MIRREN got tanked 4-0 by Italian Serie A side CHIEVO. We’ve no idea who scored (does it matter, you’re not going to know them anyway or see them in a St Mirren strip anytime soon), but now that the official St Mirren site has officially recognised that a) the game took place and b) they lost, it’s enough to say that St Mirren only had 13 outfield players at their disposal in searing temperatures, so perhaps it’s not all bad.  Gaffer Gus McPherson was really delighted with the game, apparently.

Of all the SPL teams on show last night, ST JOHNSTONE had the best evening. They came back from a goal behind to kick off their tour of Northern Ireland with a victory over DISTILLERY last night. After conceding a soft opener after only seven minutes, Derek McInnnes’ men, looking forward to their first season back in the SPL for seven years recovered through goals from Gavin Swankie, Liam Craig and Chris Millar.

INVERNESS CALEY THISTLE completed their pre-season preparations by defeating an impressive FORRES MECHANICS side in a friendly at Mosset Park last night. The 2-0 scoreline flattered to deceive, Forres apparently putting in a sterling effort to test Caley all the way. Trialists Daniel Stratford and Slovakian forward Robert Ujcik scored for the Caley Jags in a far from comprehensive win. New signing Robert Eagle started in midfield, while trialists Narius Bulvitis, Stratford and Slovakian attackers Ujcik and Jaroslav Machovec also started for Caley.

In a one-sided affair, DUMBARTON lost 5-0 to Championship side MIDDLESBROUGH, the gap between the two sides clearly proving a bit too much. Actually, surprising there where not more goals. Anyway, Gary O’Neil, Justin Hoyte, Jeremie Aliadiere and Rhys Williams scored for the English side. Dumbarton next face Stirling Albion at the Forthbank, though in light of the news that STIRLING ALBION chairman Peter McKenzie not only turned down an offer from the ‘Buy Stirling Albion’ organisation, but then went and put up the price, you’d wonder if that game will go ahead. Stirling are being chased by the council for unpaid rent, said to be around £50,000 and face an uncertain future.

Team News — 3 Comments
14
Jan 09

Football Shorts

Aberdeen inch another three points closer to third spot and what will no doubt be another short European campaign. The win over plucky Kilmarnock at Rugby Park last night involved a memorable come-back from a goal down, both goals (or ‘brace’ to use the correct terminology) coming from Reds top scorer Lee Miller. After Miller received his December Player of The Month Award, Aberdeen gaffer Jimmy Calderwood expressed his fears about losing his on-form striker but now seems resolved to hold on to Miller mainly, we suspect, because no offers have come in for him and because Aberdeen only have Darren Mackie up front to pose any kind of threat in up-ing the ‘GF’ column. Opposite number Jim Jefferies is pretty radge about the defeat but then again, I cant remember him not being radge about anything these days, he is turning into the Victor Meldrew of Scottish Football.

For plucky (or crap, depends on how rose tinted your view of Scottish lower-league football is) Foress Mechanics, their dream of playing European football next season is over. Their slender 6-1 defeat at Station Park last night in the Scottish Cup put an end to their ambitions. For Forfar, future financial fortunes favour the Angus side, for they get to play Rangers, who in turn beat Division One leaders St. Johnstone 2-1 at McDairmid Park. As we highlighted the other day, it was a case of ‘between the devil and the deep blue sea’ for The Loons who they faced: both the Saints and the Gers inflicted 6-0 defeats in recent years but who knows, on the day they might get the breaks, the run of the ball, the rub of the green, the luck of the Iri.. Fuck no, they’ll get thumped. Again.

For Rangers, the win was plain sailing, but the game was marred by a bunch of malcontents protesting at the way chairman and knight-of-the-realm David Murray was running the club. Well, we say running, but ‘Massive Clearance Sale’ seems more appropriate in light of recent reports. The on-going Boyd debacle – is he or is he not going to Birmingham - has called into question the financial stability of the club given the credit crunch and all that. While some at the club, notably manager Walter Smith and assistant manager Ally McCoist reckon they don’t need Boyd and will still win the league without him it has to be said that everything that seems to go wrong in Govan brings with it a plethora of ‘Rangers in Crisis’ stories. To wit, remember last year when Rangers got put out by FBK Kaunas? They got over that defeat and the subsequent loss of Carlos Cuellar (who clearly didn’t rate a good CIS Insurance Cup run as highly as a run-out in the Aston Vila first XI) pretty sharpish, buying in a few decent players and generally doing rather well in all competitions. Sure, the furore around the sanity/intergrity/blue-nosedness of David Murray and his cohorts are a distraction best resolved pretty damn quick, but lets take a long-term view here: the money that Boyd’s sale will bring in will ease the clubs debts, and hell, even without Boyd, Rangers will still trounce pretty much everyone anyway (except Celtic possibly). And it’s not as if they’re searching behind the sofa for effective strikers.

Love Street, Paisley is not dead yet! St Mirren yesterday overcame Brechin City (with the chrome-domed Jimmy Duffy in charge) meaning that they’ll play either one of Inverurie Locos or, more likely, Motherwell once that game eventually gets played.

Jesus lads, did ye see the deal Manchester City are putting together for Kaka? A bid of around 100m euros, with a weekly wage of £500,000! Can you imagine how many players Murray would have to sell if they put in an offer like that? Speaking of transfers, it’s been a pretty unspectacular transfer window so far in Scotland. We’re about halfway through this particular window, and what has happened so far? Lets see …

Steven Pressley, who must be nearly 70 by now has joined Falkirk, where he’s joins up with other senior citizens like Jackie McNamara and Lee Bullen. Richie Byrne, who up until a few seasons ago was to be found at the back with Aberdeen has gone to Inverness together with Filipe Morais who joins from Hibs. Talk about being sent into the wilderness, but then again, Morais does hang around casinos and kick seven shades out of doormen

That’s it. Got a good tip for a story? Leave us a comment!

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