Posts Tagged: St Johnstone


5
Feb 10

The Scottish Cup Cavalcade!

Back in the day when an Aberdeen appearance in a Scottish Cup final was a reasonably regular occurrence, the prospect of playing some lower Division canon-fodder was generally greeted in the same manner that the owner of an abattoir welcomes another delivery of mangy cows and sheep to his premises. We’d hack and slice our way through our hapless opponents in a determined, if not always pretty fashion, to emerge victorious and quite often blood stained at the end of it all. Yes, football was a man’s game in them days…

But oh, how the ravages of time have made a seemingly innocuous game against a team that’s fourth from the bottom of the First division the sort of affair that would have you watching the highlights from behind the sofa through the fingers of your hands, your buttocks clenched so tight that not even the most perfectly formed gaseous excretions could get out, and cramp sets in after the first five minutes.

I realise I am being rather hard on my beloved AFC of late (ref: our previous posting), but fuck it, I feel like a right spanner walking around IKEA on a Saturday morning in my replica top being pointed and laughed at by small children; the parents are generally not much better either. Things have got to change, starting tomorrow. So, back the meat wagon up against the doorway at Stark’s Park and herd those Raith Rovers players into the whirling knives of our killer attack.

Oh, there are some other games on as well, by the way. Continue reading →


25
Jan 10

Damn you Andrew Little! (or: “The Scottish Fitba Review”)

In a remarkable weekend of Scottish fitba in which the league leaders across all four divisions either saved or dropped valuable points in injury time, Inside Left comes out smelling of roses, as the predictions we made on Friday turn out to be almost correct.

I was actually a minute or so away from cleaning up at the bookies until Rangers youngster Andrew Little scored to earn the defending champions a point, and deny Hearts their win at Ibrox in six years. The potential winnings would not have meant retiring to a life of golf and international jet travel, but it would have meant an upgrade from the usual “6 small margueritas” to the more decadent “3 medium margueritas” down at our local Dominos.

T’was not to be however, all of which means that this will be the last time I’ll be bemoaning the failure of “the emergence of young talent coming through the ranks” and all that bollocks. I mean, the 91st minute. At Ibrox. I ask you.. Continue reading →


22
Jan 10

Scottish Fitba Weekender

Thank goodness all that Cup nonsense is out of the way.  It’s Saturday, meaning there’s nae work, only good ‘ole League Football. This weekend sees a full fixture list across all four divisions, which given recent meteorological events is a rare occurance indeed. Is this perhaps the first signs of the Second Coming? Well, quite possibly, given our first fixture this weekend.. Continue reading →


19
Jan 10

Scottish Cup Fourth Round (Part 2)

The Fourth round of this year’s Scottish Cup continues tonight with both Celtic and Rangers in action. Division One’s runaway leaders Dundee also take to the field. We had one upset in yesterday’s games as Motherwell where knocked out by Inverness Caley.

With the games at Raith Rovers and Livingston postponed,  is there still a chance of another upset on the cards this evening…? Continue reading →


16
Jan 10

New Manager Syndrome

Jimmy Calderwood didn’t get off to the best of starts as he tries to rekindle his managerial career – his Kilmarnock side went down 3-0 at home to Motherwell.

We often hear about the effect that a change of manager has on a side. For many trigger-happy chairmen, it’s the main reason why they sack their current gaffer. The theory is that a new manager supposedly propels a side to new heights of motivation and victory. So, did you ever wonder if there really is such a thing as “New Manager Syndrome”? How did the current crop of SPL managers fare in their first games in charge?

Well, wonder no more. Continue reading →


15
Jan 10

The Scottish Fitba Weekender

It’s been a while, but at last we’ve a full set of games on a Saturday. Send the kids to the neighbours, the wife down the shops and yourself down the stadium, as we look forward to another weekender full of top (well, ok-ish) footballing skills, thrills and dodgy refereeing decisions!

We’ve no time this week for our preview of Scottish Football League fixtures, so today’s weekender will be confined purely to the SPL. Beginning, in perfect alphabetical order with .. Continue reading →


18
Dec 09

The Scottish season so far: the national side

As we begin the run up to the end of 2009, Inside Left looks back on an interesting season so far in Scottish football. This season can best be summarized as ‘troublesome’, as our clubs struggle in European competition and our chairmen and directors struggle in the boardroom. And with financial trouble never off the radar, what is the future for Scottish football?

We begin though, with a look back at the national side’s efforts this year, and look forward to a difficult, but hopefully rosy (tartan?) future.

Continue reading →


11
Dec 09

Scottish Football SPL Preview

It’s a bit of a rum selection this weekend, with no games really sticking out of the fixture list to give us just cause to get out of the Xmas shopping crusade up the town. But aye well, never mind – you’ve got to work with what you’re given, so here we go.

In this weeks pure barrel-scrapping preview, there’s a sight for sore eyes when the tangerines take on the maroons, with everyone hoping there’s not going to be too much red and yellow mixed in.

See? Very, very rum.

Continue reading →