Club Information Aberdeen Pittodrie Stadium (Capacity: 22,199) Manager: Mark McGhee Captain: Mark Kerr Last Season's Finish: 4th Celtic Celtic Park (Capacity: 60,832) Manager: Tony Mowbray Captain: Stephen McManus Last Season's Finish: 2nd Dundee Utd Tannadice (Capacity: 14,209) Manager: Craig Levein Captain: Lee Wilkie Last Season's Finish: 5th Falkirk Falkirk Stadium (Capacity: 6,935) Manager: Eddie May Captain: TBC Last Season's Finish: 10th Hamilton New Douglas Park (Capacity: 6,000) Manager: Billy Reid Captain: TBC Last Season's Finish: 9th Hearts Tynecastle (Capacity: 17,420) Manager: Csaba Laszlo Captain: Michael Stewart Last Season's Finish: 3rd Hibernian Easter Road Stadium (Capacity: 17,500) Manager: John Hughes Captain: Chris Hogg Last Season's Finish: 6th Kilmarnock Rugby Park (Capacity: 18,128) Manager: Jim Jefferies Captain Kevin Kyle Last Season's Finish: 8th Motherwell Fir Park (Capacity: 13,742) Manager: Jim Gannon Captain: Stephen Craigan Last Season's Finish: 7th Rangers Ibrox (Capacity: 51,444) Manager: Walter Smith Captain: David Weir Last Season's Finish:1st St Johnstone McDiarmid Park (Capacity: 10,673) Manager: Derek McInnes Captain: TBC Last Season's Finish: 1st (First Division) St Mirren New St Mirren Park (Capacity: 8,016) Manager: Gus McPherson Captain: TBC Last Season's Finish: 11th
Last Season's Table: P PTS C Rangers 37 86 CLQ Celtic 37 82 ------------------------------------ EL Hearts 37 58 EL Aberdeen 37 1 53 ------------------------------------ 5 Dundee Utd 37 -3 53 6 Hibernian 37 47 ------------------------------------ 7 Motherwell 38 48 8 Kilmarnock 38 44 9 Hamilton 38 41 EL 10 Falkirk 38 38 11 St Mirren 38 -19 37 ------------------------------------ R 12 Inverness CT 38 -21 37
MANAGERIAL CHANGES; Aberdeen OUT: Jimmy Calderwood IN: Mark McGhee Celtic OUT: Gordon Strachan IN: Tony Mowbray Falkirk OUT: John Hughes IN: Eddie May Hibernian OUT: Mixu Paatelainen IN: John Hughes Motherwell OUT: Mark McGhee IN: Jim Gannon
TRANSFERS; Aberdeen IN: Stuart Nelson (Norwich City); OUT: Lee Mair (St Mirren), Scott Severin (Watford), Jamie Smith (Out of Contract) Celtic IN: Lukasz Zaluska (Dundee United), Marc-Antoine Fortune (Nancy) Landry N'Guemo, (Nancy - loan), Daniel Fox (Coventry City) OUT: Paul Hartley (Out of Contract - Bristol City), Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink (Out of Contract), Shunsuke Nakamura (Espanyol), Bobo Balde (Out of Contract), Scott Cuthbert (Swindon), Kevin Cawley (Ayr United), Ryan Strachan (Peterhead), Ryan Marshall (Stranraer), Simon Ferry, Ben Hutchinson (Both Swindon, loan), Darren O'Dea (Reading, loan), Mark Brown, (Kilmarnock, loan) Dundee Utd IN: Steve Banks (Hearts), Danny Cadamarteri (Huddersfield Town), Jennison Myrie-Williams (Bristol City) Dusan Pernison (MSK Zilina) Andy Webster (Rangers - Loan), Damian Casalinuovo (Platense), Nicky Weaver (Out of Contract) OUT: Euan McLean (St Johnstone) Lukasz Zaluska (Celtic), Sean Fleming, Gordon Pope, Fraser Milligan (All Montrose), Michael McGovern (Ross County), Danny Grainger (St Johnstone), Damian Casalinuovo (Raith Rovers, loan). Falkirk IN: Brian McLean (Motherwell), Ryan Flynn (Liverpool - Loan), Marc Twaddle (Partick Thistle), Alex MacDonald (Burnley - Loan), Danijel Marceta (Partizan Belgrade, loan), Vitor Lima (Ethnikos Piraeus), OUT: Michael Higdon (St Mirren), Dean Holden (Shrewsbury Town), Steven Pressley (Retired - Now Assistant Manager), Kevin McBride (Hibernian) Dani Mallo, Steve Lovell (Both Out of Contract), Patrick Cregg (Hibernian), Paul McLean (Brechin City), Jay Lang, (Clyde), Mark Staunton (East Fife), Hamilton IN: Marvin Andrews (Raith Rovers), Izzy Iriekpen (Bristol City), James Wesolowski (Leicester City), David Louhoungou (Stade Rennais), Marco Paixao (Cultural y Deportiva Leonesa), Flavio Paixao (Benidorm), John Paul Kissock (Everton), Luis Rubiales, (Alicante), Kevin Welsh (Harestanes), Kyle Wilkie (Stockport), Mickael Antoine-Curier (Dundee, loan), Richard Hastings (Inverness). OUT: Chris Swailes (Gateshead), Kenny Deuchar (St Johnstone), Rocco Quinn (Queen of the South), Derek Asamoah, Stephen Ettien (Out of Contract), Brian Easton (Burnley), James McCarthy (Wigan Athletic, £1.2m), Joel Thomas (Colchester United), Marc Corcoran (Partick Thistle), Richard Offiong (Carlisle), Luis Rubiales & Izzy Iriekpen (Released) Hearts IN: Jesus Manuel Santana Abreu (Tenerife) Dawid Kucharski (Lech Poznan), Ian Black (Inverness CT), Ismael Bouzid (Ankaragucu), David Witteveen (Red Bull Salzburg) OUT: Steve Banks (Dundee Utd), Robbie Neilson (Leicester), Christos Karapidis & Bruno Aguiar (Both Omonia Nicosia), Jonathon Fisher (Clyde), Denis McLaughlin, (Dumbarton), Hibernian IN: Patrick Cregg (Falkirk), Daniel Galbraith (Manchester United), Kevin McBride (Falkirk), Thomas McCready (Everton), Graham Stack (Plymouth), Anthony Stokes (Sunderland) OUT: Steven Fletcher (Burnley), Alan O'Brien (released), Rob Jones (Scun thorpe) Grzegorz Szamotulski, Denes Rosa, Damon Gray, forward; Andrew McNeil, goalkeeper (All Out of Contract) Fabian Yantorno (Chester), Ally Park (Clyde), Oliver Russell, (Berwick Rangers), Ross Campbell (Ostersunds FK), Jordan Cropley Joe Keenan, Patrick Deane, David van Zanten, Jonatan Johansson (Released), Jack Wilson (Doncaster Rovers); Kilmarnock IN: Graeme Owens (Middlesbrough), Mark Burchill (Rotherham), Mark Brown (Kilmarnock). OUT: Allan Johnston (Out of Contract) David Lilley (Queen of the South), Willie Gibson, (Dunfermline), Grant Murray (Raith Rovers), Scott Anson, (Annan Athletic) Motherwell IN: Steven Jennings (Tranmere Rovers) Michael Fraser (Inverness), Chris Humphrey (Shrewsbury), Giles Coke,(Northampton Town), John Ruddy (Everton - Loan), Tom Hateley (Reading), Yassin Moutaouakil (Charlton, loan). OUT: Graeme Smith (Brighton), Brian McLean (Falkirk) Paul Quinn (Cardiff) Stephen Hughes (Out of Contract) Bob Malcolm (Brisbane Roar), David Clarkson (Bristol City), Steven Coutts (Montrose) Rangers IN: Jerome Rothen (Paris St Germain - Loan). OUT: Graeme Smith (St Johnstone), Barry Ferguson (Birmingham City) Christian Dailly, Brahim Hemdani (Both Out of Contract), Dean Furman, midfielder (Oldham), Andy Webster, (Dundee Utd, loan), Charlie Adam, (Blackpool); Chris Craig, (Dumbarton), Alan Gow (Plymouth) St Johnstone IN: Euan McLean (St Johnstone), Collin Samuel (Toronto FC), Gavin Swankie (Dundee), Graham Gartland, Graeme Smith (Rangers) Kenny Deuchar (Hamilton); Dave MacKay, Murray Davidson (Both Livingston), Danny Grainger, (Dundee Utd), Filipe Morais (Inverness Caledonian Thistle), OUT: Steven Doris (Arbroath), Kevin James (Ayr United), Derek Holmes (Queen of the South), St Mirren IN: Lee Mair (Aberdeen), Michael Higdon (Falkirk), Paul Gallacher (Dunfermline), Chris Innes (Livingston), OUT: Franco Miranda (Loan Expired) Jim Hamilton (Partick Thistle); Marc McAusland (Queen of the South), Ryan McCay, Will Haining, Gary Mason, (All Out of Contract), Scott Gair (Clyde), Sean Crighton (Montrose),
SCOTTISH CLUBS IN EUROPE; Rangers - Champions League group stages. OUT: GROUP STAGES: Celtic - Champions League, Second Qualifying Round. OUT: THIRD QUALIFYING ROUND Hearts - Europa League OUT: FOURTH QUALIFYING ROUND Aberdeen - Europa League - OUT: THIRD QUALIFYING ROUND Falkirk - Europa League - OUT: SECOND QUALIFYING ROUND Motherwell - Europa League - OUT: THIRD QUALIFYING ROUND Celtic - Europa League (Moved in after being eliminated from Champions League) - OUT - GROUP STAGES
Courtesy of the BBC - BBC SPORT | Football | Scottish Premier | SPL - Scotland's standard bearer By Clive Lindsay Responsibility weighs heavily on the Scottish Premier League as it begins a new season this weekend. Scottish football lies quivering under a cloud of despair after a summer of early European exits, the mess the Scottish Football League got itself into over Livingston and, as if that was not bad enough, Scotland's World Cup humiliation at the hands of Norway. The SPL itself has suffered its own trauma, the demise of Setanta forcing its 12 member clubs to accept a cut-price replacement television broadcasting deal with ESPN/Sky. It has meant the haemorrhaging of some players to the lower leagues in England - and, for some clubs, the inability to even compete in terms of wages and transfers with rivals from the Conference. Hibernian and Hamilton did well to cash in on the sale of bright young things like £3m-man Steven Fletcher, James McCarthy and Brian Easton. While that trio pursue their Barclays Premier League dream, having enriched their respective former clubs in the process, it has left the SPL the poorer in terms of quality. And those they left behind now have a major task on their hands to maintain the entertainment value of a league that belied its off-field difficulties in terms of excitement at both ends of the table last season. THE OLD FIRM The cold wind of economic depression has bitten particularly hard at Ibrox, where champions Rangers have failed to make a single signing during a summer in which seven first-team squad members have been sold or shown the door. While the other 10 clubs have scrambled round the bargain basement of free agents, runners-up Celtic are the only ones to have splashed a bit of significant cash, although the £3.8m paid for Marc-Antoine Fortune would itself be viewed as spare change in most of Europe's major leagues. That, the signing on loan of his former Nancy team-mate Landry N'Guemo and the purchase of Daniel Fox to fill the troublesome left-back spot, paid off with a victory over Dinamo Moscow that provided one of the few moments of summer joy for Scottish football fans. With Arsenal lying in wait, Celtic face an uphill task to go a stage further by qualifying for the Champions League group stages but at least are guaranteed a place in its little brother, the new Europa League. Money from there, together with purchases already made and the feel-good factor of having a new manager in Tony Mowbray, should mean Celtic start the season as favourites to regain the title. Rangers appear, as Celtic did last term, to be banking on the momentum of being champions carrying them to another table-top finish. But they must do so without one Barry Ferguson, the new Birmingham signing who, for all his off-field behavioural faults and diminishing on-field influence, was the embodiment of Ibrox determination and defiance against opponents of his beloved club. They must also hope that new captain David Weir's ageing legs last out the season. TOP SIX BATTLE AND NEW MANAGERS The world financial crisis appears to have starved Csaba Laszlo of the funds necessary to make Hearts the force that owner Vladimir Romanov and his Ukio Bankas hoped could challenge the Old Firm. Their chances of repeating a third-place finish may depend on an against-the-odds victory over Dinamo Zagreb and the cash from qualifying for the Europa League group stage. Dundee United look the best equipped to make ground this season should Craig Levein's signing of the likes of Danny Cadamarteri and Damian Casalinuovo prove as astute as they appeared during pre-season. The failure to invest any of the £3m Burnley paid for Fletcher in a new striker could mean John Hughes' Hibs will mirror John Hughes' Falkirk from last season, playing pretty patterns with no end product, although the return of Merouane Zemmama could make that particularly pleasing to the eye. Falkirk themselves, Aberdeen and Motherwell not only go into this weekend with new managers of their own but on the back of Europa Cup exits. Dons boss Mark McGhee has looked like he is about to explode with frustration and anger since his side suffered an 8-1 aggregate drubbing by Sigma Oloumac and only being able to bolster his squad with a defender not wanted by his previous League One club. McGhee's former club, Motherwell, cashed in by selling David Clarkson and Paul Quinn in the summer and new manager Jim Gannon thought he could cover that by raiding some of his former rivals in that same division. However, it was Motherwell's existing young guns, like the exciting Paul Slane and Ross Forbes, who shone during the thrashing of Albanians Flamurtari and defeat by Steau Bucharest. There was little evidence of even youthful promise as Falkirk's first European venture ended at the first hurdle, although it has to be remembered that Liechtenstein outfit Vaduz had only just been relegated from the Swiss top flight. For new manager Eddie May, much will depend on whether striker Danijel Marceta, on loan from Partizan Belgrade, proves to be as exciting a talent as Falkirk's website suggests. THE RELEGATION ZONE Falkirk could face a repeat of last season's battle against relegation along with another shot-shy side, St Mirren, and cash-strapped Kilmarnock, who will need to keep ace striker Kevin Kyle clear of injury. Hamilton boss Billy Reid will hope that some left-field signings made with the £1.5m gathered via McCarthy and Easton prove their worth in the mainstream. Accies will hope to continue their steady evolution. But then they have God on their side, at least according to faith-healing new signing Marvin Andrews. Like Accies, promoted St Johnstone are not weighed down by the financial burden facing most other SPL clubs. Recent cup exploits showed they could already compete with the top-flight and, strengthened by the likes of doctor Kenny Deuchar this summer, look like heading for a healthy mid-table finish. With those five new managers, chances being taken on untested talent from sometimes obscure corners of the footballing globe and clubs teetering on the financial abyss, this could be one of the most unpredictable seasons yet. Just one thing is certain - the title will go to one of the two Glasgow giants.
They are placeholder posts so he can throw up more indo. He is just starting a new thread for next seasons SPL season, like this one last year: http://www.manutdtalk.com/forums/foreign-leagues/13517-spl-thread-08-09-rangers-champions.html Good job Jay!! and CMON CELTIC!!!!
Motherwell lost to Welsh part-timers Llanelli (sp?) 1-0 at home in the Europa League qualifying. They played the game at Airdrie, since the pitch at Fir Park is getting fixed after all their problems. They had quite a few young players in the squad since they lost 8 first-team players during the summer, but it's still a bad result. The second leg is on Thursday. After the game, Jim Gannon (who's famed for being open, honest and at times quite brutal) let rip at the team, and even criticised the captain (Stephen Craigan) when being interviewed, and he was apparently seeking talks with him about it, though I'm not sure how much of that was speculation.
Here's a story I came across which I found quite funny, so I'd thought I'd post it in here Club sues over Elton pitch battle Aberdeen Football Club is taking legal action over damage caused to its pitch during an Elton John concert five years ago. The SPL club claims the concert promoter Marshall Arts Ltd had said the cost of replacing the Pittodrie pitch would be covered by insurance. However, the club claims it has yet to be compensated for what is said to be a £36,000 bill after the 2004 concert. The club has lodged a claim at the Court of Session in Edinburgh.
Hibs selling two key players. One for a pathetic sum of money :thumbsdownsmileyani. I'm not really too optimstic going into the new season tbh, but we'll just have to wait and see how it all goes.
They sold Steven Fletcher for just £3m He's a good striker, wasn't he being tracked by Real at one point?
Yeah, they were watching him at one point. The price varies from £3m to £3.5m. We probably could have got a bit more for him, but that's a decent price in the circumstances really. But, the price I was talking about was for Rob Jones. We just sold him for £350,000. :thumbsdownsmileyani
Motherwell recovered from their shocking first leg result at home to get through to the second qualifying round. The score finished 3-0 on the night, 3-1 on aggregate and they now have a tie against a team from Albania.
Another blow for Scottish football after the collapse of Setanta. New blow for Scottish football as kit maker Diadora goes bust SCOTTISH football was rocked by another body blow yesterday when national team kit manufacturer Diadora UK went bust. Already reeling from the failure of SPL broadcaster Setanta, the SFA learned Diadora had called in a receiver and axed all of their British employees. Their deal with Scotland had a year to run and the SFA are still due money for the final 12 months of the agreement which is tied in on the performance of shirt sales. If Scotland reach the World Cup finals, shirt sales could soar and if Diadora can’t supply, it could cost the SFA £1.5million. SFA spokesman Rob Shorthouse said: “We are speaking with their guys in Italy about the terms of our contract now that Diadora UK has gone into liquidation. We’re aware a receiver has been appointed so we’re now discussing the best way forward. “We are up to date with the money they were due us for the first two years but they have still to pay up for the final 12 months of the deal. “It was always the case that when we entered into the final year of the contract we were allowed either talk to Diadora about extending it or enter into discussions with other parties. “Clearly with what has happened we are in a position where we are now speaking with other companies.” The partnership between the national team and Diadora began in June, 2003 and a new Scotland away kit was launched in March before the World Cup qualifier against Holland in Amsterdam. But the company started to get into difficulties earlier this year and a hint of things to come came last week when Berwick were forced to change their kit supplier. Berwick director Callum Porteous said: “Diadora felt they weren’t able to fulfil our requirements and we’re delighted we were able to source a quality replacement in Hummel this late in the day.” SFA officials have begun talks in a bid to find a new kit manufacturer but Shorthouse confirmed the national team will continue to wear Diadora strips in the three remaining qualifiers against Norway in Oslo next month and Macedonia and Holland at Hampden in September. He added: “The crucial thing is that we still have plenty of kit available. “There’s no question the players will be forced to run out for matches in their own shorts and t-shirts.”
SPL agrees TV deal with Sky-ESPN Scottish Premier League has agreed a £65m deal with Sky and ESPN to screen 60 live matches each season until the end of season 2011-12. The SPL has an option for two more seasons with the new grouping. The 12 SPL clubs voted on the proposal at the league's annual meeting at Hampden Park on Thursday. Sky-ESPN's deal replaces the one agreed with collapsed broadcaster Setanta, but the clubs will earn about half what they would have earned under that deal. SPL chairman Lex Gold said: "We are pleased that in just over three weeks we have been able to strike this deal. "Sky and ESPN are two of the biggest names in sports broadcasting and they will bring first-class production standards and a wide audience to the table. "We are looking forward to working with both in the coming years to raise the profile of the SPL for our clubs, fans and partners." Meanwhile, St Mirren chairman Stewart Gilmour has been elected to the SPL board, replacing Campbell Christie, who has stepped down as chairman of Falkirk. Gold was elected unanimously for the eleventh time as chairman but indicated that he would stand down in the autumn. Hibernian's Rod Petrie, Aberdeen's Duncan Fraser and Rangers' Martin Bain were all re-elected by the clubs to complete the SPL board along with newly-appointed chief executive Neil Doncaster.
Sky Sports | Football | News | Wolves close on McCarthy Wolves are closing in on the signing of Hamilton wonderkid James McCarthy, skysports.com understands. The Premier League new boys are believed to have had a bid accepted by Hamilton for the talented teenager. McCarthy, who is regarded as one of the best young prospects in British football, has attracted the interest of host of clubs with Portsmouth, Celtic and Burnley all having bids turned down for the midfielder. Wolves are believed to have had their first offer for McCarthy rejected earlier this week, but Mick McCarthy's men have come back with a new improved offer of over £2million. Hamilton have reluctantly accepted the offer and McCarthy is thought to be on his way down to Molineux for talks. Should Wolves secure the Republic of Ireland Under 21 international's signature it would be a massive coup for the club, with McCarthy tipped for a big future in the game. Thank God that he is going to a Premiership team so his development doesnt slow down by playing in the SPL like McGeady. Great signing by Wolves
