The SPL - A Sinking Ship?

So last night all Scottish clubs were emliminated from European competitions meaning we will see no one playing in Europe this season, What will become of this disaster?

Well for starters reaching the Champions League group stage is worth an estimated £10 million. This season we only had one participant in the Champions League qualifying, Rangers who were eliminated by Malmo. In the past Scotland has had two participants in it but due to years of failures in competitions the co-efficient has slipped meaning the loss of places.

The Europa league, The lesser of European competitions has also been a disaster for Scotland, First Dundee United went out, Followed by Hearts Rangers and Celtic last night.

The financial side isn't the only problem though, the loss of the attraction to come to Scotland and play against some of the best sides in Europe is often a big selling point, Well not anymore meaning it will be harder to attract players of higher quality.

This might have a nock on effect, Who wants to sponser a league that is continuing to fail? Current partners of the SPL include SKY ESPN, BBC, Clydesdale Bank, Mitre, Football gambling sites William Hill and The Football Pools, Gaming companies, EA Sports and Sega, UK travel company Thomas Cook and Coca Cola with various other media outlets also being partnered with the SPL.

So do all these companies wish to keep giving money to a league which is considered to be dropping in standard, Ticket price increases with living costs increasing meaning it is pricing some families out of going to games.

The SPL and SFA need to get together and develop plans to save the Scottish game before its too late. What they can do now when the damage has been done last night is unknown but by building for the future then they can help get the game on track and up to where it once was.

Weekend Results.

Just a quick post of this weekends results.

Aberdeen 2-1 Inverness
Dundee Utd 0-1 Dunfermline
Hibs 1-2 St Mirren
Motherwell 0-3 Rangers
Kilmarnock 0-0 Hearts
Celtic 0-1 St Johnstone

A European Disaster?

Three Scottish clubs were in Europa League action on Thursday with none of them picking up a win.

Hearts were hammered 5-0 by English,Tottenham Hotspur, Celtic were unable to break the deadlock at home against Sion but may go into the next round no matter the result in the second leg after Sion played inneligable players. Rangers suffered a late defeat to Maribor when they conceded in injury time after being 1-0 up at half time.

So all in a dissapointing midweek but hopefully the sides can get decent results in the second leg.

Hearts In European Action.

Hearts tonight take on Paks in Hungry in the Europa League qualifying stage.

The Jambos are full with confidence after drawing 1-1 with Rangers at Ibrox on Saturday and will look to continue their good start to the season by getting a good result in Hungry.

If they come back with a decent result then they will have a great chance of making the next round with the second leg at Tynecastle, A place where many teams go and struggle.

Midfielder David Obua has finally joined up with the Hearts squad in Hungary after his passport expired and he had to secure a new one.

Andy Webster and Mehdi Taouil haven't travelled with the squad after picking up injuries at the weekend.

I hope Hearts can get a good result and use full advantage of the second leg being at home.

Fancy a bet on the match?. Hearts are 8/5 to win the game, Paks 6/4 and the draw at 2/1 at William Hill. I cant look past the Hearts win and will be investing some money on it

Lee Wallace Signs For Rangers.

Rangers have completed the signing of Hearts left-back Lee Wallace on a five year contract.

Gers had a £1.5million bid accepted earlier on Thursday and the Scottish champions acted swiftly to tie up the move to beat the European deadline of 11pm so he can play in the next round of the Champions league.

Rangers had been after Wallace for a few weeks and had 2 bids rejected but finally got an offer worth £1.5m accepted early on Thursday morning.

Craig Thomson Suspended By Hearts.

Hearts have suspended defender Craig Thomson after being convicted of indecent behaviour regarding underage girls on the internet.

Thomson was also placed on the sex offenders register for his actions which have sparked outrage throughout Scottish football.

The Hearts board came to a decision to keep Thomson employed by the club despite his conviction but after various complaints were made by fans the board moved and quickly suspended him which will most likely see the end of his career in Edinburgh.


The club will be able to terminate the players contract if they wish because I think there is a sort of insurance policy in there that prevents the players getting money for the termination of contracts in events of convictions.


Sponsers have also terminated their deals with the club after their decision to defend Thomson.


I personally see this as the right move by the club despite it coming too late. The abuse he would get from the fans would be unreal aswell.


So,would you be happy to see a registered sex offender playing for your club or in your league?

SPL Fixtures Released!

Who will emerge victorious this season?

Today the SPL fixtures for the new season have been released with the season to start on 23rd July.

These are the games to be played for the first 2 weeks.

Saturday July 23, 2011
Aberdeen v St Johnstone
Dunfermline v St Mirren
Hibernian v Celtic
Motherwell v Inverness CT
Rangers v Hearts

Sunday July 24, 2011
Dundee United v Kilmarnock

Saturday July 30, 2011
Celtic P-P Dunfermline
Inverness CT v Hibernian
Kilmarnock v Motherwell
St Johnstone v Rangers
St Mirren v Aberdeen

Sunday July 31, 2011
Hearts v Dundee United


Rangers kickoff their defence of the title with a game against Hearts who finished in 3rd last season so it will be interesting to see that game.

This was just a quick post and I will bring you more news later.!

Neil Lennon Attacked Again.

Celtic's 3-0 win away to Hearts was overshadowed last night over an attack on manager Neil Lennon.

Lennon was organising tactics on the touchline shortly after his side had taken a 2-0 lead against the Edinburgh side when a fan raced towards him.

The attacker was quickly taken away by security staff.He is currently being held by police.

Keep an eye on the top of this video to see what happens: