Episode 17 of the Secret Archives of the Vatican Podcast, Sheikh Some Action, is now available from HERE and from iTunes.

Tracks

The Tale of the Exploding Fist
16 Bit
Release SSDUBSTARS023
http://www.myspace.com/16bitmusic

Who’s King?
DJ Antix
http://soundcloud.com/djantix1200/10-7-09-whos-king-320-new-edits

Flute Shot
Mycho Pan Cocoa
Release Low Frequency Highlife
http://http://mallabelmusic.com/

Light Up Light Up feat. Jah Cure
Aruba Red
http://www.myspace.com/arubaredmusic

His Fully Automatic Wheelbarrow
Liquid Stranger
http://www.interchill.com/index2.php
http://soundcloud.com/liquid-stranger

Hermetico (Dub Gabriel/Kush Arora Remix)
Balkan Beat Box
http://soundcloud.com/destroy-all-concepts/balkan-beat-box-hermetico-dub-gabriel-kush-arora-remix

Gangs of New Earth
Secret Archives of the Vatican
Release Remembering Machine
http://www.brokendrumrecords.com

A State of Mind
infraBuse
Release A State of Mind EP (pre)
http://music.infrabuse.com/

Revolution
SPL & Noah D
Release Revolution/HAARP
http://www.myspace.com/soundpressurelevels
http://www.myspace.com/noahd
http://www.lostsoulrecordings.com/

All tunes played with permission of the artists or labels or they are available as free downloads anyway from sites such as SoundCloud.

My first thought is what the heck does “Push to Talk” mean? Then I realize the blog’s title has been lifted from what looks like a decal on the interior of the central library’s elevator door.

I’m not taken with the title or the image. Check out the jarring colors and distracting Braille, seismic and fire buttons. And is it just me, or do you look at this image and immediately think it looks like an upside-down face of a shoddily constructed Muppet?

And I really can’t quite figure out the title. It seems to agressively imply teens need forceful prompting to express themselves.

Maybe I’m being too harsh. This is, after all, the teen blog for the Seattle Public Library. And teens oftentimes are not known for their reverence or restraint. But I can safely say that my teenage self (read: 90210 and puffy Adidas jackets followed by a “Courtney Love” and Manic-Panic phase) would not be impressed. Which gets to an essential problem with public library teen sections, at least as far as I can tell. Should teen librarian reach out to non-nerds? (I’m being blunt here, but let’s face it – if you are a teenager hanging out at the library, chances are you are considered a nerd in your high school. Yes, yes … a vast generalization, it’s true, but probably fairly accurate.) Or should they focus their outreach efforts on the demographic they know will appreciate their programming and services and participate like respectable young adults? Maybe the answer is to offer several blogs for teens appealing to each different high school clique? I don’t think so.

This is too large of a concept to focus on here, so let’s discuss the Push to Talk blog further. Despite the image, the blogging itself is great. Unlike SPL’s adult blog, Push to Talk doesn’t seem to have a cohesive them, which is fun and also a bit disorienting. Various teenage bloggers write about online comics, movie reviews, skiing at Crystal Mountain, how to get good grades, a vegetarian experience at Thanksgiving, book reviews and posts about library databases helpful for homework. The blog’s sidebar has a text widget that reads, endearingly: “WE HEREBY SWEAR that this blog for teens, written by teens and the librarians who serve them, shall be interesting, worthwhile, entertaining, and peppered with pictures of animal babies.”

Like the adult blog, this one is also not accessible from the library’s homepage, which is somewhat disappointing. You can find it through the teen page. Its layout is a bit scattered and chaotic (hmmm…kind of like a teenager’s bedroom, eh?) and it seems to want to be many things at once.

As a teen, I unfortunately felt like I was too cool to be into the kinds of things these teens are. Having nerdy librarian parents didn’t help.  But I wish I had been, because the reality is, nerd is the new cool.

When it comes to this weekends live matches, Skybets slogan “it matters more when there’s money on” sums it up nicely for me! Whilst it’s great to back the winner between Elgin versus Peterhead, it’s not gonna be too exciting during that final 20mins as your waiting for sky sports news to update your result…………

This weekend live matches should provide us with both entertainment and value! Get the fridge stocked, pack the wife and kids off to the shops, and plank yourself infront of the box- cos this should be a good one!

Aberdeen v’s Rangers (12.45 sky sports 3)

Ok, when I said that we were going to be entertained, we might have to wait until this one is over! Aberdeen always raise their game against Rangers, especially at Pittodrie, with the Gers only managing one win in the last eight trips up north- and I don’t see that stat improving much once this games over!

Like I mentioned earlier in the week, I have no faith in the old firm whatsoever- against anyone! So I don’t see any value in the 8/11 being offered on a blue win. In fact, I’m quite attracted to Aberdeen & the Draw double chance @10/11.

There will most likely be bookings-a-plenty in this one, so the  bookies won’t be offering up anything worth having on the bookings index.

My Tip: Under 2.5 goals @4/5

Aston Villa v’s Tottenham (17.30 ESPN)

This is the game of the day, and possibly one of the afternoons hardest results to pick! What I do expect to see are plenty goals, so the 3/5 being offered about over 2.5 goals leaps off the coupon at me!

However,
My tip: Spurs (draw no bet) @ Evns

Everton V’s Liverpool (13:00 Sky sports 1)

If there’s something I hate, it’s trying to deciede how two out of form teams are going to react when they go head to head. Add to the fact that it’s a Mersyside derby, and I expect a tense and free scoring affair. Both of these teams are decidability suspect to me, and fancy niether side to keep a clean sheet. The value bet might be Everton (draw no bet) @6/4, buti f Torres is fit and plays, then I might just fancy Liverpool to edge it. But as we won’t know about his fitness until tomorrow:

My tip: Both teams to score @3/4

Arsenal v’s Chelsea (16:00 Sky Sports 1)

There’s been a lot of talk coming from Arsenal camp that this game may define their season, which I see as just a bit of paper talk, as although it’s a massive tie- it’s nowhere near do or die yet! Is another tough one to call, but i really like the way that Chelsea are playing at the moment, and believe that they have the quality and depth to win out this season. As always, looking for near evens to keep the bankroll building:

My tip: Chelsea (draw no bet) @4/5

This is without a doubt the worst Rangers and Celtic squads that I have seen in the entirety of the time that I have been old enough to have an opinion that counted! (at 30, that’s 15-20 years in case your wondering)

Gone are the days of who’s best. The winner of the SPL is now determined by who is worst! With the glory times over, Gone are the days of high profile signings and big big money getting thrown about for average players (Flo, Rothental, Bratback). The old firm can no longer even afford to simply buy out all the best players from their lesser competitors in order to maintain the gap (Caldwell, Brown, Boyd, Whittaker, Naismith, Hartley……….. This list could go on a while!).

In fact, during this time when both Rangers and Celtic are struggling domestically, and in Europe- I find the fact that they feel hard done by because of their Premiership rejection absolutely hilarious!

A successful strategy that I have enjoyed this year is to oppose whom ever is play the old firm in Europe – home or away!

We’re now more that a quarter of the way through the Scottish season, and we have 3 points separating the top four teams.

Rangers will struggle to dominate an Aberdeen side, who shall be up for this one (why can’t they raise their game against every other team? – this must frustrate reds fans!). Celtic would normally have their match against St Mirren in the books before kick-off, but such outcomes can no longer be banked upon! Neither side shall be on my coupon this weekend! Gone are the days that I am willing to take odds of 1/3, just to boost the winnings- NO THANK YOU! The bookies must be killing themselves laughing this season!

I fancy Hibs to stuff Falkirk this weekend, & the match up between Dundee Utd and Motherwell will keep both sides in touch of the Glasgow giants, regardless of the outcome. But can any of the teams outside the top 2 sustain a run that we are still talking about in May?

Will this be the year of the underdog- probably not. But my top tip in Scotland for the foreseeable future, is to keep clear of the old firm, because their opposition no longer fear them!!!

By Michael MacLeod

A FOOTBALL steward has been banned from every ground in Britain for a year after throwing a flare onto a pitch.

The court order means Michael Smith, 21, will lose his pitch-side security job with SPL side Falkirk.

He was arrested at a high-tempered derby match between rivals Linlithgow Rose and Bo’ness United when cops spotted the smoke bomb being hurled onto the pitch.

It wasn’t hard for officers to trace the arc smoke back to Smith, who was fined £1,000 and branded “mindless” by a Sheriff today (Thurs).

A Falkirk insider said last night: “This is exactly the kind of thing we employ stewards to stop other people doing, never mind doing it themselves.

“It’s completely stupid, but stewards are never the brightest anyway.

“We’ll be speaking to police, but it will be an instant dismissal.”

Smith’s antics forced last month’s game at Prestonfield Park to be delayed while police cleared the 15-inch long flare from the field.

Fiscal Depute Alastair Learmonth told Livingston Sheriff Court that Smith had been seen in the ground’s away end among the Bo’ness supporters.

Culpable and reckless

He said: “The ground was mainly made up of adults with young children.

“The flair appeared to come from over a wall and landed on the pitch.

“The game was delayed while a police officer went on to the pitch to retrieve the flare.

“Mr Smith was traced and made a full admission to throwing the flare.”

Smith, of Stewart Avenue in Bo’ness, Falkirk, pled guilty to culpable and reckless conduct and breach of the peace by throwing a flare into Prestonfield Park on October 10 in court yesterday.

He got the flare from a paintball centre, according to defence agent Darryl Lovie.

Mr Lovie said: “If anyone should know better, it is Mr Smith as he is, somewhat ironically, employed at Falkirk football stadium on Saturdays as a steward.

“Whether or not this conviction will affect his ability to do so remains to be seen.

“As I understand it, this device can only give off a plume of smoke; there was no fire, and if this item were to strike someone, it wouldn’t cause injury.

“It is normally used for paintballing, and while paintballing is a controlled environment, this is not a dangerous device or explosive.

“That’s not to take away from the fact that clearly this occurred in a largely populated football match.”

“Mindless behaviour”

He also said Smith had just left a full-time job with Scottish Widows, with the aim of going to college to become an engineer.

Now jobless, Smith claims he wants to start a racing car business when he finishes studying.

Sheriff Douglas Kinloch told him: “What you did was reckless and caused disruption.

“This is the kind of mindless behaviour that spoils the enjoyment of people who like to spend an afternoon being entertained at the football.

“It is very sad that this was carried out by someone who works as a football steward and should therefore have known better.

“There will be a substantial fine, but I also consider it an appropriate and just punishment to impose a football banning order.

“You will be banned from attending any football matches for one year.”

A Falkirk FC spokesman said: “I can confirm that Mr Smith is employed by the club as a security guard.

“Once we get confirmation from the police, we will be dealing with this internally.”

See more of our pictures at our Flickr site and videos at our dedicated channel,  Deadline TV.

Normally when I blog after a Celtic defeat, I try to look at the positives from the performance. I also do my best to remind people that Mowbray needs time in his new role, and that the squad he is using is still that of the former manager. However, after yesterday’s collapse at Dundee United, even I’m becoming fed up with reading and writing that.

For the first time since he took over, I’m questioning whether Mowbray is actually up to the job. Yes, there were periods of the game where we were well on top. Mogga is probably right in his post-match assessment that the ‘best team lost’, and I’m sure he has stats to back himself up. However, football matches are won with goals, not statistics. And when I think about our defence, quite frankly I despair.

Once again, two basic goals conceded because of a lack of a commanding centre half. Who was organising the defence at the two corners? Why were there two free headers from 5 yards out? Why didn’t we learn from the chance they had earlier in the half when they hit our crossbar? All of these questions need to be addressed, and very, very quickly.

As an ex centre-half himself, Mowbray must be tearing his hair out. We are quite possibly the worst defensively that I can ever remember us being, and some of the goals scored against us are so simple I wouldn’t fancy us to keep a clean sheet against my nephew’s under 10s side.

Before I begin to rant, I’m going to try and look for any positives yesterday. Well, that’s that done because as far as I’m concerned there weren’t any. (Actually, that’s a bit harsh. Hinkel played ok, as did N’Guemo and McGeady was decent first half, whilst Robson was decent second) But let’s be honest, we can’t have an entire team of passengers and expect to win silverware. it just isn’t going to happen. However, the biggest problems at the moment are certainly at the back.

It’s clear to me that Gary Caldwell’s contract demands have got to him, and they are affecting his performance. Unusually, I’m with the board on this one. Gary Caldwell does not deserve a new contract. I’m certain we can find a better defender than him for the kind of money he’s after. He’s been shocking for both Celtic and Scotland this season, and I’d suggest we get him out in January. Then we have McManus, who is also a liability in my opinion, and I’m yet to be convinced by Loovens. Even Darren O’Dea looks a better bet than any of these three, so it’s clear to see we need at least two central defenders in January.

That being said, if we carry on leaking goals the way we are, the title will be out our grasp by January, so we need to do something now. The first thing is work on playing a man-to-man marking system, the next is to switch away from 4-4-2 to a 4-3-3, playing an anchorman in the centre to offer the defence more cover, and allowing McGeady to get further forward. The third is to dropkick Marc-Antoine Fortune as far out of Celtic Park as possible.

His attitude absolutely stank yesterday. It was summed up by McGeady’s run and inch perfect through ball, to which Fortune lost and then blamed Aiden for his pass! He just doesn’t look interested to me, and whilst poor form can be excused, lack of effort cannot.

Mowbray needs to make urgent changes for the game on Saturday, and his players need to start taking responsibility. With a few more results like the Dundee United one before Christmas, Mowbray may find himself looking for a new job come the new year.

For his, and the club’s sake, I genuinely hope it doesn’t come to that. Particularly as John Barnes is out of work…

An embarrassment. A shambles. Simply unacceptable. All phrases I have heard to describe Scotland’s abysmal performance on Saturday (plus many others which I will not print in a family friendly blog.) The SFA are set to meet today to discuss the future of manager George Burley, a discussion which simply MUST bring his tenure as Scotland manager to an end.

Quite simply, Scotland are as bad now as they were under Berti Vogts. Yes, there hasn’t been the draw with the Faroes, but the way the side simply rolled over against a Wales side with an average age of 22 showed just how badly they have fallen under Burley. Only a couple of years ago, the nation was celebrating a James McFadden wonder strike which beat the French in Paris, so expecting a performance in Cardiff is surely not asking too much.

So the question we should be asking now is not does he stay or go, but simply who replaces him? However, I think we should open this up even further, and tackle Scottish football as a whole. I say this quite simply because these are dark times for football north of the border. Both Old Firm sides are in decline, the SPL is boring the pants off people, playing the same teams four times a year, and the lower leagues are cash strapped. That’s not even to mention the fact that ALL of Scottish football’s representatives will be knocked out of European competition before Christmas.

So I’ll start with the national team.

Under Smith and McLeish, the players clearly had a level of self belief. Indeed, if it wasn’t for a miss by McFadden and a last-minute header by Christian Pannuci, there’s a fair chance Scotland would have qualified for Euro 2008. There was a belief on-and-off the field that Scotland had it in them to get results against anybody in the world. Now, we’re in two minds as to whether a win against Macedonia is achievable.

What is needed then is the type of appointment who will galvanise the players. A manager who the players will all respect and want to play for (and that includes Kris Boyd, despite many fans’ distaste at his attitude) and there are a few out there. Many people in the press have called for Walter Smith to take the post again, especially as his future at Rangers looks in doubt. Right now, he’s the last person many of the Tartan Army want to see after his previous betrayal. I think it is fair to say many Scotland fans will never forgive him for walking out on his country when qualification was in sight.

However, there are other options. Graeme Souness appears to be another popular one, and he ticks many boxes. If I was on the board and had to name an experienced manager for the job I’d go for Kenny Dalglish. If the players can’t be motivated by these two then they shouldn’t be playing for Scotland.

Then there’s a younger man currently out of work who’d be perfect for the job. That man is John Collins, who although is inexperienced, he’d make an exciting appointment.

But there are other issues we should consider here. This should be the time we bang the heads of the SFA, the SPL and the SFL together. Why are there three governing bodies anyway? And why do they not work together? Indeed, the SPL did the SFA no favours with its fixture list, with a game coming just before an international qualifier earlier in the season. Surely the priority here should be Scotland qualifying for a major tournament, so every aid should be given to this end.

As a result, it is time to strip the three bodies down and ensure they are all pulling in the same direction.

Then there is the league structure. Quite simply, with a total of 42 teams, having 4 divisions makes no sense at all, and it is further compounded by the lack of a pyramid structure. I’ll start with the SPL.

It is now time to end the experiment of 12 teams, and that’s before I even start on the ’split’. Instead, I think we should expand the league up to 16 teams, playing each other twice with two relegation spots. I think it is noticeable that the intensity of Scottish derby matches has slipped over the last few years. One of the reasons I’d suggest for this is that the games are now so regular that they are no longer special. Indeed, even the Old Firm derby has lost it’s edge. The same would happen in England if Liverpool and Manchester United had to play each other at least 4 times a year too.

This would once again make every match an event, and would also allow for a winter break as there would only be 30 matches a season. Not only this, but the debacle Rangers suffered when they were going for the UEFA Cup would never be repeated. On top of this, the new Scotland manager would be able to call more training sessions with his players as they’d have less matches to play.

I’d also suggest this would increase both attendances and TV interest as matches would be rarer. Indeed, a friend of mine doesn’t mind missing Old Firm matches quite simply because ‘there’s another one in a few weeks’, and there will be many others who feel the same way. At the other end of the scale, having two relegation spots will boost interest as clubs fight to survive. After all, now if the bottom club get marooned by Christmas, the bottom of the table becomes irrelevant. Having two clubs go down at least promotes interest.

That then leaves us with the football league, and the 26 other teams. Now I’m not going to pretend I have the perfect solution here, but at least one of the divisions needs to be clipped. I’d probably suggest another league of 16 and a third division of 10, but then also open a relegation spot in the third division to allow the Junior sides entry into the league.

Then of course there are the lack of youth academies in the country. I think it is time for the SFA to build regional football academies, much like the one currently being built in Burton by the English Football Association. Whether these are built without affiliation to clubs is open to debate, but without these academies there is little chance of further progression for the Scotland team.

I think we all want to see Scotland qualifying for tournaments again, but we need to demand action from the powers-that-be.

Following these changes at least provides Scotland with a fighting chance, and really that’s all we ask for.

Viva La Revolution!

By Michael MacLeod

A MAN has appeared in court charged with attacking Celtic midfielder Scott Brown.

Mark Richardson, 22, is said to have chased after the 24 year-old in Edinburgh on Saturday and punched him “repeatedly” on the head.

Mr Richardson, of Edinburgh, appeared from custody at the capital’s Sheriff Court today (Mon) and denied beach of the peace and assault charges.

He also denied that he had breached a bail condition imposed on October 19.

The Scotland football international is said to have been chased and hit in the city’s Grindlay Street.

His defence agent Nigel Beaumont said: “The man named, Scott Brown, is a player for the Celtic football team.

“He is not a person known to Mr Richardson.”

Sheriff Roderick MacLeod granted him bail and a trial was scheduled for May next year.

See more of our pictures at our Flickr site and videos at our dedicated channel,  Deadline TV.

Ok maybe not relegated but they would come very close.

Aiden McGeady: Outstanding SPL player but would never cut it at the top

Scottish football, tragically, has been on the decline for over 10 years

and shows very little sign of recovery. The national team has only one decent player, as have a lot teams but Darren Fletcher is not a match winner, and the SPL standards are continuing to slip. Celtic were outclassed in the Champions League qualifiers and Rangers have become the whipping boys in the weakest group. At least it is making the SPL more competitive.

But what if the Old Firm joined the Premier League? I would love it. As long as they stayed in the division , it could have a rejuvenating effect on Scotland’s disillusioned footballing youth, but staying in the division would be easier said than done particluarly if they played with their current squad.

Sure if they came to England they would be able to attract a better calibre of player but currently the Old Firm’s squad are made up of substandard youth teamers, ageing mediocre foreign players, Championship level fodder and mid table Premier League cast offs.

Starting with Celtic, they bust a gut to hire either the manager of relegated West Brom or promoted Burnley, neither of which would have been worthy to manage Celtic 10-20 years ago. Let’s have a closer look at where their players have come from and where they have gone after being sold. The most prestigious club that sold Celtic a player this Summer was AS Nancy, who flogged them the enthusiastically ineffective Marc-Antione Fortune, a player who made no impact in his one shot at the Premier League with relegated West Brom. Other clubs selling them players included Coventry, Stockport and Alloa, at least half of which players a first team regulars.

Transfers in isn’t maybe the best way of telling their pedigree as the Scottish League is unattractive and there are bargain players in England’s football league who have gone on to be top pros and internationals.

So where have they sold their players to, where have their players gone to better themselves after cutting their teeth in the SPL? Jan Vennegor of Hesselink, Paul Hartley, Shunsuke Nakamura, Massimo Donati and Bobo Balde (who I am aware is well past it) have been the spine of the Celtic for the last couple of seasons and all were sold to, historically, smaller clubs. Hull City, Bristol City, Espanyol, Bari and Valeniennes. Nakamura is a good player and has had his reputation enhanced by being at Celtic but the others have all moved to privincial clubs at bigger leagues, two of which will be in the Championship next season. A far cry from the Paul Lamberts, Henrik Larssons and err Neil Lennons of yore. Aiden McGeady is currently their outstanding player and he would struggle to get a game for any team in the Premiership’s top seven clubs.

On to Rangers, who were recently thumped by Seville and Unirea Urziceni, have had a history of some exotic signings and have consistently got their hands on good internationals near the peak of their careers. 20 years ago, under the mentally crippled Graeme Souness and beyond, Rangers boasted top internationals like Terry Butcher, Paul Gascoigne, Brian Laudrup, Ray Wilkins and Ally McCoist before evolving into the Ronald De Boer, Albertz, Van Bronkhorst, Arthur Numan and Michael Mols team of the late 90’s. All of those players were bought and sold to top clubs like AC Milan, Arsenal, Lazio, Chelsea and Barcelona. Now lets look at the current crop that encompass the word mediocrity.

Would be spinning in his grave if he knew what toss fill up the Celtic squad

Their most important players are largely mid to lower Premier League cast offs, players such as Pedro Mendes, Lee McCulloch, Steven Davis, DaMarcus Beasley and David Weir were deemed not good enough to take mid table Premiership clubs to the next level. It’s fairly safe to say Rangers have a more glamorous team than Celtic but not one of their players could lay a finger on Brian Laudrup or Paul Gascoigne. They have bought well from the SPL with effective practitioners such as Steven Whittaker and Kris Boyd as well as having decent youth team graduates like Allan McGregor and John Fleck. Nonetheless they are still managed by Walter Smith who stunk out Goodison Park in his time in the Premiership.

They would both grow in the Premiership and I’m sure after 5-10 years in the top division, they would be challenging for Europe but as it stands, their squads just do not match up, look at their individuals and ask who would get a game  at a Premiership club, I’ll answer it now for you; not many.

Something tells me that this post would be long.

I spent the whole Friday in downtown alone. The first few hours were nice because sometimes you’d just like to be alone and ponder about things. It’s not that I don’t have enough alone-time, as a matter of fact, I have too much. But the things you think of vary sometimes depending on where you are. The place you are affects the way you think too.
For some awkward reason I’m starting to like online shopping more than ‘real life’ shopping. Being 16 only and not even looking like you are 16 doesn’t help at all. I’ve come to the conclusion that no one will treat you seriously unless you’re 30 with a paycheck.

Sometime’s I do think that I’m quite proud. I think the majority of people here are shallow, they haven’t seen as much as I have; and even if they had, they didn’t understand (stuff). People here are like sheeps, they follow everything. No sense of individuality to be seen just because they are scared once they go against the flow they will be judged. I believe everyone judges, some are just better at putting up a facade. I judge all the time and I don’t treat it as one of my shortcomings.

Oh well back to my Friday events. I spent the afternoon reading in various places. Barnes&Noble’s and the Library. The library part was quite interesting. One thing you have to know about downtown Seattle is that there’s a lot of homeless people hovering around. They’re all very nice I reckon. People who have nothing are nicer, and People who have everything are plain fuckers. I sat down for a while, looking at words but not really reading, fiddled with my iPod and tried to call my mum. None of that worked out well for me. I became bored soon. Then there was this guy with a lot of piercings who came and asked if he can borrow my phone for a minute. I was more than happy to help him because I know how it is when no one’s there to help you. It seems like he just moved to Seattle and hasn’t taken care of his phone bill yet. We didn’t talk at all but I eavesdropped his conversation with his friend. This silly little thing that happened on Friday somehow enlightened me in many ways.

Now I’m off to old Skins episodes and The Great Gatsby.

The Edinburgh derby ends goalless, the Lanarkshire tussle between Hamilton and Motherwell finishes 2-2, while Rangers, Aberdeen and Dundee United enjoy wins…. From BBC News. Full story

This site may contain information about: english football tables. For a different topic see here. The blog is also related to: english footbal.

Now then, my good friend Mr Mantle has recently posted a direct response to my latest blog about Scottish football on the European scene.

He makes some good points, it must be said. Scottish football is dying a death, and the squeeze the Old Firm have had on Scottish trophies does it no favours at all.  However, arguably the decline of the Old Firm has breathed some life into the game north of the border.

After all, the league is now genuinely competitive for the first time in a generation. Both Celtic and Rangers have deteriorated to such an extent that a trip to Motherwell is now tricky, not to mention a visit to Tynecastle or Easter Road. Last season, both clubs dropped points no fewer than 26 times between them. This is more or less unheard of in seasons gone by.

There are, of course, pros and cons to this. The biggest pro of all is that the league has some excitement, and both Celtic and Rangers have lost that aura of invincibility that they had previously had over the rest of the league. However, this is not because the rest of the league has improved, but because the Old Firm have declined drastically even since Martin O’Neill’s time in the Parkhead hotseat.

The figures are there to prove this. In Martin O’Neill’s first year, Celtic spent £18m on Sutton, Lennon and Hartson, and another £3 million on Alan Thompson. This kind of investment is now unheard of, and Celtic even struggle to compete with English Championship sides in the transfer market. Indeed, the latest TV deal means that Celtic earn roughly £3 million a year through Sky and ESPN. Compare this to Hull City’s £15 million and you’ll see where the problem lies.

However, Ross does have a point. The lack of prestige in the Scottish league makes it monumentally difficult to attract quality continental and home based players, partly because they don’t fancy a trip to St Mirren on a cold Tuesday evening, especially when their wage packet is significantly smaller than it would be in England.

A few years ago, the Old Firm were able to punch above their weight and compete on the European scene. Indeed, since 2003 both clubs have made the UEFA Cup Final, and qualified for the last 16 of the Champions League 3 times between them. However, this is not enough. Both clubs need a change of ethos, concentrating on youngsters and bringing the best coaches available to Glasgow.

Without this, the Old Firm will swim in a sea of mediocrity, on a slow journey to their death. The catch 22 is the more the two clubs decline, the better the SPL will become. On the flip side, Scotland will lose the automatic Champions League spot it currently enjoys, and yet more clubs will be thrown to the wolves.

What is needed is further investment, into clubs individually and Scottish football in general. However, one area where Ross and I do agree is an emergency Old Firm move is inevitable.

The question over whether they’ll survive the ambulance journey is open to debate.

Esse video super bem produzido foi feito pela galera da SPL e do site Dorifuto.com.br que estão trabalhando pesado na promoção do Drift como uma modalidade que veio pra ficar, estão ai os registros que mais marcaram a segunda etapa do campeonato, realizada em Londrina, show de bola!

Thiago Marinelli

By Rory Reynolds

HUNDREDS of mourners turned out to pay tribute to a Hibs fanatic who missed just one game in an incredible 55 years devoted to the club.

Friends and family flocked to the funeral at Mortonhall Crematorium in Edinburgh yesterday to bid farewell to Walter “Wattie” Robb, many of them wearing green and white, instead of black.

Wattie passed away at age 74, after supporting Hibernian all his life, he was laid to rest in his Hibs colours.

Although born in Grangemouth, he moved to Rossie Place, just off Easter Road, when he was young and lived there for 20 years.

Hibs manager John Hughes led the tributes to Wattie, one of the Easter Road sides best-known and most committed supporters, saying that he was the dictionary definition of a football fan.

He said: “The first time I met him he told me I was rubbish.

“Wattie was what you call a supporter – if were to have a definition of football supporter in a dictionary it would simply read ‘Wattie Robb’ – he will be sorely missed.”

Wattie’s favourite player was Famous Five legend Gordon Smith, with Derek Riordan being his favourite recent player.

And his greatest memory was Hibs’ 7-0 derby win at Tynecastle on New Year’s Day in 1973.

His younger brother Alan said: “When I was getting married Wattie warned me not to make it Saturday when Hibs were playing because he simply wouldn’t be coming.

“The only game Wattie missed, a friendly against Aston Villa, was on the day of our father’s funeral.”

His friend Willie McEwan told of a time when Wattie met his hero Gordon Smith.

He said: “They were having an awards ceremony for the Famous Five and Wattie didn’t know that he was going to be presenting Gordon Smith with a plaque.

“When he found out he was like a wee boy at Christmas.”

Frank Dougan, the Hibees Supporters Association treasurer, said that Wattie made sure he always made away game as well, even driving across Europe to make a friendly match.

He said: “One trip I remember well was going to a pre-season friendly in Austria two years ago.

“We’d left in plenty of time to catch our flight from Stansted Airport only to be caught in a five-hour delay because of an accident on the motorway.

“We just drove on to Dover, caught the ferry, and got there an hour before kick off.”

Mr Robb also passionately supported the club’s youth team, and a collection for donations at the funeral is to be given to the Hibernian youth academy.

Bring on the Jambos.  Managed from hell.

Gradually Petrie is being vindicated, as I have mostly supported. (He’s had some amazing transfer deals – Whittaker, Brown and Fletcher in particular.)

Intake of breath…we have a team.  Have you seen Liam Miller?  Wotherspoon?  Zemmama (on form)?

It’s actually quite exciting.

… West Ham United das im Spiel gegen Arsenal ein 0:2 zur Halbzeit noch in ein 2:2 unentschieden verwandeln könnte und das mit einem Mann weniger auf den Platz. Die Tore für die Hammers schossen Cole 74min und Diamanti in der 80min. Die Zusammenfassung des Spieles gibt es hier.

… Celtic Glasgow das nach einem 2:1 auswärts Sieg gegen Hamilton die Tabellenführung übernehmen konnte. Hier gibt es die Zusammenfassung. Am Samstag 31.10 trifft Celtic zu hause auf Kilmarnock.

… Montreal Canadiens die nach 5 Sieglosen Spielen die letzten drei Partien Atlanta 2:1, Islander 5:1 und die Rangers 5:4 für sich entscheiden konnten. Für die Zusammenfassungen bitte jeweiliges Team anclicken. Am Montag 26. Okt. 7:30pm kommt es zum Rematch gegen die Islander aus dem Big Apple.

… ESPN America die zum 28. Oktober ihr Sendeformat auf 16:9 umstellen. Genau am diesem Tag beginnt auch die “World Series” in Baseball. Mit den Philadelphia Phillies steht bereits ein Team in den Finals. Der zweite Finalteilnehmer wird erst noch heute Nacht oder wenn notwendig am Montag zwischen den L.A. Angeles und den New York Yankees entschieden.

]]> http://talesinthekeyofc.wordpress.com/2009/10/25/day-forty-six-stuck-on-repeat/ Sun, 25 Oct 2009 19:41:30 +0000 talesinthekeyofc http://talesinthekeyofc.wordpress.com/2009/10/25/day-forty-six-stuck-on-repeat/

Every time I try, Every time I try, Every time I try to break free, Then something comes along, some thing comes along, something comes along to intervene

Another Groundhog Sunday…the SPL lead changes hands, Celtic were rather grim to watch, I cant get around to meeting folk because of clashing schedules, trying to force knowledge into my head through the Sunday papers doesn’t quite work and the realisation that I’m falling short of what I want yet again is the last thing you want to be thinking about on a Sunday night. Still, another week down and lets face it, a bundle of positives to take from it….so I had better start taking them.

Yesterday I met with my mum; today I was with my dad for the football. The funniest thing was how much their statements replicated each others, almost as if they were stating from the same press release. They weren’t though and I think that goes to show the bond between them. Yesterday, the biggest thing my mum was pleased about was the fact that “there was some colour in your dads face on Friday and he appeared to be a lot more at ease”, which was matched with my dad saying “your mum seemed a lot happier, you could see the difference in the colour of her face from Friday and she was really upbeat.”

So there you go peeps, over forty years of marriage and still enough love to put the other person first, regardless of what is going, it’s quite a nice thing to be honest.

Obviously, that’s kinda pointless to me as I’m not really in that situation, I could run through a list of reasons why women avoid me as if I was a coughing Mexican eating pork scratching (is that joke still topical…I don’t know, avoid me like a Windows XP user who hadn’t upgraded to Windows 7?) but frankly, I don’t want to take up everyone’s bandwidth with the longest list in the world.

Honestly, the list would be huge, a “call Norris McWhirter” type of list such are my evident failings, or at least, so it would appear. Of late, that’s been fine because I have had other aspects to worry and focus about but that’s taking a back seat for a little while now, meaning I can’t avoid the issue any longer. I hate it when that happens.

Anyways, less whinging about me, lets whinge about football.

Some light relief came before kickoff when the Sat-Nav guided our driver to Albion Rovers stadium, Cliftonhill, a lovely little stadium but one that was slightly quiet as there was no game going on in that stadium.

Still, with plenty of time to kick-off and the backseat driver (ie me) becoming more vocal, New Douglas Park was found in a relatively short time, allowing us to bask in the glorious sunshine of Hamilton…oh wait, it was greyer than a painting drawn by Alasdair Gray of two grey dogs using charcoal and….Im really crap at this type of stuff, it was very dull and grey okay?

You would hope that having the opportunity to go top of the league whilst playing a team struggling would be enough to gee your players up a bit. No, not really, doing enough to idle by and then leaving yourself holding on at the death. Poor show really. The players didn’t get it going, the manager made a few bizarre substitutions, the weather was horrendous, the traffic was a dirge….oh, did I mention we went back on top of the league. Yay, the race to be least rubbish in the league sees us nose in front again – huzzah! Long may being less rubbish that the rest run.

Still, the game was brightened up by the appearance of…well, she is still commonly known as Setanta girl but I will be extremely pedantic and say that has never been the case. For those who don’t know who I mean, she works alongside the moving cameraman for Scottish games that are being recorded for live coverage.

When games were on BBC, she worked then, she also works when games are on Sky and now that ESPN are showing the games, she is also then so why football fans still refer to her as the Setanta girl, I don’t know. Well, I do know, it’s because a lot of football fans aren’t very bright. She clearly works for the production company that undertakes the recording process for live football in Scotland, with the name of that firm being the proper prefix for her. I don’t know what the girl’s actual job title is but she appears to have some good credentials behind her.

Anyhoos, the funniest part of the day was she was walking from one side of the ground to the other alongside her cameraman and as usual, the crowds attention was diverted away from the action and the whistles, cheers and catcalls rolled around the stadium.

At the same time, Hamilton scored and you know that a good number of the fans missed the goal going in as they were trailing her. As a fan behind me then shouted “eff sake Celtic, keep your eye on the ball and no that lassie” – haha! Of course, that then made the rest of the game quite tense, so I suppose it wasn’t funny at all. I hate it when that happens.

So away from that, some of my friends are heading through to Edinburgh tonight to see Little Boots but I just couldn’t be bothered with the thought of a Sunday night gig and as much as I love Vicky, I’ve been to two of her gigs and there’s not likely to be an abundance of new material at the show tonight.

As there was a lot of hype about her before her career took off, the backlash has been somewhat inevitable but I don’t think that’s called for. It’s a decent enough electro pop album with a lot of good melodies and twists. She also seems quite genuine about her music, as this video will hopefully go some towards showing.

Yes, you can’t really go wrong with the t-shirt as dress and tights combo in a girl…any excuse to use that video really.

What else, I’m loving the fact that the advert for Michael Jackson’s ‘This Is It’ film features the warning “contains scary images”….yeah, too easy a target.

And if there’s anything else to take from today, the fact that I’m still a bit bummed even though we have went top of the league will hopefully give some indication that I’m not the one dimensional cartoon character that I no doubt come across at times.

IN the words of the odious Simply Red, “money’s too tight to mention” – a statement that can very adequately be applied to the top division of Scottish football.

The close season saw the SPL become one of the biggest casualties of the collapse of the television company Setanta, at a time when all of the clubs, but most notably Rangers, are already suffering in the current financial climate.

Add a further sharp and swift kick to the nuts in the shape of Carling pulling out of their sponsorship deal with the Old Firm sides and it’s fair to say that these are far from happy times for the SPL clubs, and nowhere more so than at Ibrox and Parkhead.

In terms of Scottish football as a whole, where that financial uncertainty leads depends on whether the discussion about the Old Firm attempting to move into the English Premier League moves up a level.

I think the volume in that conversation will almost certainly increase as, with a huge reduction in the amount of TV money that the SPL receives this season, the rate at which they are falling financially behind their perceived competitors at Champions League level is set to increase still further.

Both Rangers and Celtic currently rate between the 880 and 900 mark in Outlook Index terms or, when compared to English sides, a similar level to the likes of Aston Villa or Tottenham.

If the Old Firm were to up sticks and sell out by stepping over Hadrian’s Wall, the immediate future would be the Europa League for both sides.

However, if they keep trying to make it work in the SPL without the domestic cash coming through, I think it’s a distinct possibility that one or both of the Old Firm could drop back into the pack – and that would end any possibility of a place in the English promised land.

I’m not here to write a column fit for the sports business pages but all this is massively relevant in how to play the SPL this season.

In fact, given the uncertainty, I’m tempted to have a pop at opposing the Old Firm for the SPL title.

The problem is that we’re not exactly spoilt for choice for genuine candidates to take advantage of what are clearly very difficult times for both sides, in particular the current champions, Rangers.

Of the two Old Firm clubs, Rangers are the weakest if viewed from a business perspective.

However, thinking back to last season’s back pages, the Gers gave Celtic a kicking to the degree that the Bhoys start the season with Gordon Strachan having resigned and Tony Mowbray back in the SPL as their manager.

It’s a complex picture, especially if you’re looking at a set of ratings that appear to have very little in common with the current situation.

In our favour, however, we’re talking largely about the same groups of players.

Take Rangers, for example, who look like starting the season with no new faces and without Barry Ferguson, who has gone to be reunited with former Gers boss Alex McLeish at Birmingham.

What that means to the +8 Index Trend figure that Rangers ended last season with is anyone’s guess, but I fail to see how they can improve with a weakened side this year.

In wouldn’t want to back them at 2.08.

Logically, then, it may be Celtic’s title to lose if we assume that Rangers are going to be counting out the coppers all year long.

However, odds of 1.95 and memories of the Bhoys playing out the latter days of Strachan’s reign in pretty dismal fashion doesn’t persuade me to put a single button down in support of them.

I’d love to be able to come up a club that will come through and break things up at the top of the SPL, but the gap between Rangers and Celtic and the rest is still large in Index terms and, on the evidence of last season, I can’t see that there is a side who can bridge that gap – particularly since they are all suffering Setanta pains.

Hearts were certainly best of the rest in last season’s competition and that in itself is perhaps slightly indicative of what a basketcase the competition is, given the way the Jambos have been run for the past few seasons.

A touch over 6-4 about them winning without the big two is hardly generous either.

While there is little in the way of outstanding sides looking to come through, I’m struggling to find an alternative.

In this case, the Index doesn’t help pull a side out unless you want to go down the food chain as far as Kilmarnock who, at 36 in the betting without the Old Firm, are in at a big price, come with a +8 Index Trend figure from the end of last season and are only 33 Index points away from Hearts’ figure.