Scottish Football

I saw three matches on my trip to Scotland. Motherwrll v Kilmarnock was a pretty dire match. Naismith apart Killie looked terrible, but somehow nicked all three points in injury time thanks to Colin Nish - whom some Killie fans dubbed Colin van Nistelrooy. The crowd was sparse and there was no atmosphere to speak of.

Celtic v Motherwell was interesting. I have never heard almost 60,000 people be so quiet. Strachan seems very reluctant to give Riordan playing time, yet Nakamura rates him as a special talent. Celtic were the better team, but they still seem to be suffering from their Champion's League exit. Strachan admitted this performance was below par. He also let rip at half time.

Rangers have finally decided to act against sectarianism as a self-policing initiative was announced last week where fans are encouraged to report sectarian conduct. The atmosphere was a bit subdued, but less than 8000 fans at Saint Mirren made more noise than almost 60,000 at Celtic. The match was thhe best of three, but it also ended 1-0. It wasn't a great match.

Apparently the initiative against sectarianism is because Rangers believe that their future and that of Celtic is in a European super-league. They think they cannot progress in Scottish leagues. From what I saw the biggest threat to their participation in any European leagues isn't sectarianism, but form and quality. Neither Celtic nor Rangers are good enough - last 16 of Champions League notwithstanding.

I can't say that I watch much Scottish football mainly due to the fact that I don't think it comes up to the standard of most European second divisions other than the old firm (+ Hearts last season). Have Celtic actually clinched the title yet? I knew that they were getting close.

Since Peter Grant has become our manager I have looked around the league a little bit as he seems to be trying to increase Scottish immigration to East Anglia. Norwich have recently poached Simon Lappin from St Mirren and from what I have heard he was their main man. Is a quality player. We really need to make the signing of David Marshall stick for next season but there is a definite chance that he would make it into the Celtic team. We have also been linked to Riordan - so what do you make of him?

Celtic haven't clinched the title yet. They are 13 points clear of Rangers with five matches to play, so they will probably win it at Kilmarnock in their next match. Riordan is a good player. He won man of the match after coming on as a sub. The signing of Motherwell's Scott McDonald means that Celtic have too many strikers. Strachan reckons that Riordan isn't a centre forward, but he looked like one against Motherwell. If Strachan decides that he is surplus to requirements or available on loan, he is worth a go. The next big thing at Motherwell is Mark Reynolds.

Hey EMP im glad you enjoyed your trip even if the football was terrible. What were the Rangers fan like ? how did rangers play ?

The Rangers fans were interesting. They were quieter than usual, but still made far more noise than Celtic fans did. Rangers were the best side on display in the three matches that I saw, but the league table doesn't lie. They weren't great and Saint Mirren didn't look like they should be battling against relegation, but Rangers certainly deserved their win. Kirk Broadfoot - Rangers bound - looked a skillful player. Rangers can play better and will probably get second place.

Their fans were a bit confused on what they could sing and chant due to the new tough stance on sectarianism. There was the odd sectarian song, but to be fair Saint Mirren fans joined in. There was a chant of 'If you hate Neil Lennon, clap your hands.' The whole stadium seemed to join in. Rule Britania and God Save the Queen replaced the Sash. The Scottish FA seem serious on cracking down on both racism and sectarianism. Good for them. It will be interesting to see how this policy works in practice in Europe. Still can't believe they got away with 'the Red Hand of Ulster' nonsense in Israel.

Glad you had a good time.

Scottish football isn't exactly regarded for its technical ingenuity but the hard grit and determination can make it quite interesting and in amongst the dross there are a few real gemes (like Naismith).

Where are you from EMP?

Scottish football has gone down the toilet, I haven't been to a game for 12 years.

Has someone already made the compulsory : "this thread's title is a contradictio in termine" remark ?

@Murray. After the three games I saw, I can fully understand that view.

@Axe. To be fair there are some good players. They just try to nip it in the bud before it infects the others.

@ Tweed. I'm from London. Like you say, Naismith looks a good player. Didn't Arsenal have him on loan last season? Broadfoot is a good player - the best Saint Mirren had. It was a bit hoof and run. I prefer fluid passing football and always want to see skillful football, so why go to Scotland? Well it wasn't for the football. I was there for work and had the opportunity to see some football (insert sarcastic comment here) while there.

We had him on trial, but decided against it at that time - probably because of Lupoli and Bendtner in the wings

The big problem is the lack of skill. To try & compensate for this, teams play at 100mph which just makes it worse. Every game is a battle and terrible to watch.

What is Scottish football?

Murray wrote:The big problem is the lack of skill. To try & compensate for this, teams play at 100mph which just makes it worse. Every game is a battle and terrible to watch.

EPL anybody??

The funny thing is that the tempo in all three matches wasn't fast. It was walking pace.

Oleguerisntthatgreat wrote:

Murray wrote:The big problem is the lack of skill. To try & compensate for this, teams play at 100mph which just makes it worse. Every game is a battle and terrible to watch.

EPL anybody??

The cheek! especially after last night!

Oleguerisntthatgreat wrote:

Murray wrote:The big problem is the lack of skill. To try & compensate for this, teams play at 100mph which just makes it worse. Every game is a battle and terrible to watch.

EPL anybody??

Which English competition is this? The domestic one or the European one?

Tweedle wrote:

Oleguerisntthatgreat wrote:

Murray wrote:The big problem is the lack of skill. To try & compensate for this, teams play at 100mph which just makes it worse. Every game is a battle and terrible to watch.

EPL anybody??

The cheek! especially after last night!

now now... just a little joke.. still looks funny when 90% of the premiership players try to dribble..

Not as funny as La liga players trying not to dive

Forget Celtic stuttering to the finish line, forget Rangers’ resurgence, and forget rabid Romanov; the real deal is John Collins versus his squad of lads on the lash!

The league is bereft of worthwhile talent, professionalism, and competitiveness this season…and the season before…and the season before that…and the season before that season, and….ad infinitum.

well i hate GS, when i went to watch arsenal and Celtic play the atmosphere was great, but i suppose martin O'Neil was there then

sorry you had to watch Celtic play crap, before last week we had only scored 1 goal in 4 games :slap:

Glad you enjoyed the trip EMP i've got to admit Killie were poor against Motherwell but we got the result. Celtic aren't playing too well just now but if they play Riordan they will get better.
btw Nish is pretty poor but for some reason seems to be in the right place 12 goals this season from the big man

Strachan tried to explain the stuttering to the title by saying 7 or 8 players had not won a title before. Lennon - who has - was one of the worst players on view versus Motherwell. The fans love Riordan. Kenny Miller looked daggers at Strachan when Riordan was brought on instead of him. Celtic supporters want Riordan to stay and play, but Strachan doesn't seem convinced. At least one striker will leave in the summer, possibly two.

I thought Killie were poor, but Motherwell just couldn't take their chances. Killie got the points and won't care how bad the football was. There were a few Killie fans who don't like Nish. One of them got so aninmated she left early. Almost as soon as she walked out Nish scored.

EMP wrote:Strachan tried to explain the stuttering to the title by saying 7 or 8 players had not won a title before. Lennon - who has - was one of the worst players on view versus Motherwell. The fans love Riordan. Kenny Miller looked daggers at Strachan when Riordan was brought on instead of him. Celtic supporters want Riordan to stay and play, but Strachan doesn't seem convinced. At least one striker will leave in the summer, possibly two.

It appears that Strachan doesn’t tolerate yobs. At a recent press conference he criticised a journalist for acting in a yobbish manner and then went on to decry yob culture in general.

Unfortunately for Riordan, he has a yobbish reputation. Perhaps Riordan isn’t congruent with the social mores Strachan is trying to foster at Celtic?

I’ve been underwhelmed by JVoH from the little I’ve seen of him. He seems quite cumbersome and reticent in terms of contributing to open play. Zurwaski is mediocre in almost every respect, apart from his pace and acceleration which are non-existent. I didn’t like Miller when he was at Rangers, and I still think he is technically deficient and lacks tactical discipline.

Celtic require a clutch of new strikers.

Vennegor of Hesselink was pretty ordinary to put it mildly against Motherwell. Zurawski went off injured. Strachan claimed e was kicked in the calf. He didn't look that good anyway. Riordan did, but apparently Strachan thinks he is better on the wing than in the centre. His goal was a centre forward's tap in that showed good positional sense. Strachan ust seems to think Riordan iksn't a centre forward. Heard nothing of yobbish reputation explaining it.

From what you say Scott MacDonald won't have many problems even though Strachan released him when he was at Southampton. Celtic could do with new strikers. Rangers looked in need of them as well.

MacDonald is another mediocre player. In saying that, Strachan seems to get good performances from players I would have expected to struggle: Lee Naylor, O’Dea, McManus, Beattie, Sno (even accounting for his extremely poor technical skills), etc.

Celtic

Surprised you haven't mentioned Scott Brown. For me he is the best player in the SPL by far, and if I'm being perfectly honest I think he is better than most English players. He has been linked with a host of clubs in England (Bolton, WBA, Tottenham, Everton, Charlton, Boro, Arsenal) and I hope he goes down south and proves his worth. Riordan is a talent as well, bit lightweight, but technically he is as good as anyone.

I don't think Scottish football is a high standard, but it's no where near as bad as some on here claim. Many the of the EPL games are hardly adorned with high quality football either.

Scott Brown looks quality from what I've seen. There certainly seems to be a lot of interest in him from the 2nd tier of the EPL.

IMO he'd be great for somone like Villa who will have European aspirations next year or West Ham if they stay up

I hope Dunfermline can avoid relegation.