As Gretna seem to be heading toinevitable liquidation, there are many non-league clubs drawing up their application to take their place in the SFL. Gretna’s future has been in doubt ever since former owner Brooks Mileson withdrew his financial backing and the club were exposed as being an unsustainable business.
Teams from the Highland League, East of Scotland Premier League and the South of Scotland Football League have all been linked to the position. There is a desirability about the SFL from prospective clubs, with higher profile matches – including promotion deciders and play-offs to be played if they have a successful season. They will also be entered into the Challenge Cup and the League Cup and the first round of the Scottish Cup which offers increased revenues for clubs. Every match is also covered by the national media which raises the profile of the club and may increase attendances with larger home and away supports.
Spartans FC is an Edinburgh based club and was founded in 1951 as a club for university and college students. The East of Scotland Premier League side will be moving to a new floodlit 4,000 capacity stadium next season. They have been one of the most successful clubs in the league since the 1970s and their Scottish Cup runs have proved they can compete with SFL sides. The most notable run in 2003/2004 saw them defeat second division sides Alloa and Arbroath as they reached the fourth round against then SPL side Livingston but eventually succumbed to a 4-0 defeat.
Huntly FC is another contender for the SFL. The Aberdeenshire club was accepted into the Highland League in 1928 but it wasn’t until the 1990s that Huntly were a real force, winning five Highland League titles in a row. A title has followed in 2005, but since form has proved poor with finishes of no higher than 5th place. A Scottish Cup run to the fourth round this season may bode well for them, defeating Fraserburgh, Annan Athletic and Culter on the way, before they went out 3-1 to first division side Dundee.
Whitehill Welfare, based in Rosewell, Midlothian will be looking to make the step up to league football. Formed in 1953, Whitehill Welfare, like Huntly, became a force in their league in the 1990s. They won 6 East of Scotland Premier League titles in 7 years. However their success has not been replicated in the 2000s, with only two titles, most recently in 2008. One thing that may not represent the Midlothian side well is the state of their ground with poor facilities and only 400 capacity under shelter. They have also not set the heather on fire in the Scottish Cup defeating only one league side (Albion Rovers) in their history.
Annan Athletic will a front-runner to replace Gretna FC in the SFL, having just missed out on the two spaces available in 2000 (ironically one of them was to Gretna). With a respectable ground and a location in the South of Scotland, the SFL will look approvingly on the East of Scotland Premier League side. With only Berwick, Stranraer and Queen of the South representing Southern Scotland, the SFL may want their leagues associated across the length and breadth of Scotland. Also, since entering the East of Scotland Premier League in 1987, they have won the title 4 times, most recently in 2007.
Gordon Shedden will continue his British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) title challenge at Thruxton this weekend after a promising start to his campaign. Rounds 10, 11 and 12 will take place at the Hampshire cuircit on Sunday, May 18th which is also live on ITV 4.
Shedden started his senior racing career in 2001 where he raced at Knockhill in the BTCC Production Class. He was the Production Class winner in Round 14 of the championship, which was a big achievement as he only raced in rounds 13 and 14 of the championship.
He then moved to SEAT Cupra Championship in 2003 and 2004 and finished a successful 2nd and 4th over the two seasons. He moved on in 2005 and raced in a one-off in the Porsche Carrera Cup at Knockhill. He has also had a spell of working as Business Development Manager for his home track at Knockhill.
This is Shedden’s third season in the BTCC, and he is still with the Halfords Team as he aims to improve on his previous seasons. On his debut season in 2006 he managed a 4th placed finish in the championship thanks to wins at Oulten Park, Thruxton and two wins at Donington Park.
This year, the 29-year-old has managed a win at Rockingham and is currently sitting in 4th place in the championship. However he still has his favourite circuits to race so he will be confident in making up ground to Matt Neal, Jason Plato and Frabrizio Giovanardi. He still needs 29 points to catch championship leader Giovanardi, but with seven racing weekends still to go Shedden will be looking to close the gap and improve on his 3rd place finish of last season.
There have been many proposals put forward by Scottish football fans as to how to help Scottish football attract larger crowds. Each proposal put forward aims to make leagues more competitive and exciting. One of the most frequent ideas put forward is a 16-team SPL.
There are only a few national leagues across Europe which currently have 16-teams in their top league including Portugal, Russia, Greece, Sweden and the Czech Republic. Most Football Associations prefer to have 18 or 20 teams in their top league.
With a sixteen team league structure, it would mean that teams would only play 30 games per season. This situation may mean the SPL would not have the current problem of extending the season and a winter break could also be incorporated into the season so there wouldn’t be situations like the debacle at Fir Park and its pitch. Domestic cup competitions should also be given more importance, as they could be played at weekends rather than midweek nights to give them a higher profile.
On the footballing side of things, an added freshness would also be introduced and most argue that the league would be more competitive. Most claim the league would be less boring, as teams will only have to play each other twice. Pitches should be in better condition promoting a more exciting brand of football due to less games played.
However, it is the chairmen of the SPL who vote on changes and proposals, so the best interests for their respective clubs are key to every decision made. Decisions taken are usually income based so on this basis most chairmen would be against a 16-team SPL due to less matches and TV revenue shared around more clubs.
There have been suggestions on fans messageboards that the split could still be in operation in a 16-team SPL. It is their view that it would provide the league with a similar amount of games as is currently in operation. It is also seen as a way of avoiding meaningless games in the middle of the table. The split, however, could pose problems, with an uneven amount of home and away ties for all 16 teams (i.e. 37 games). It has also been widely condemned due to the simple fact that at the end of the season 7th place in the current SPL can have more points than the team finishing in 6th.
The debate will rage on for years until something is changed. SFA Chief Executive Gordon Smith has not yet made any moves to restructure the league but stated his own preference of two 12 team leagues which split into three 8 team leagues at the halfway point. Theories will continue to come from fans, pundits and officials alike, but one thing is certain – the appetite for change is across the board.
Stephen Maguire and Stephen Hendry have filled two of the eight quarter final spots at the 2008 World Snooker Championship. However, former World Champions John Higgins and Graeme Dott have both crashed out.
Stephen Hendry turned back the clock to make his way into his 17th World Snooker Championship Quarter Final. After coming through his 1st round match 10-9 against Northern Irishman Mark Allan which has been dubbed “the best match of the tournament so far”, Hendry then went on to demolish China’s Ding Junhui13-7. The 39-year-old, who is bidding for a record 8th World Title, is now 3rd favourite to win the tournament and will face Welshman Ryan Day in the quarter finals.
Defending champion and World Number 1 John Higgins went out to Welshman Ryan Day in the second round, going down 13-9. Higgins had defeated another Welshman – Matthew Stevens10-5 in the first round, but was subject to the shock of the tournament so far. His victor Ryan Day will hope to repeat his victory against Stephen Hendry in the quarter finals.
Graeme Dott, who decided at the last minute to compete in the World Championship was knocked out in the first round. The 2006 World Champion is suffering from depression but decided to participate despite experts’ advice not to. However, there was some hope for the future in Dott’s performance despite losing 10-7 to Englishman Joe Perry.
Hamilton Accies won the 1st division title and promotion to the SPL on Saturday with a 2-0 victory over Clyde. The victory was just the climax of a fantastic season for the club, who were in the 3rd Division as recently as the 2000-2001 season. The club have spent just four seasons in the 1st Division, as the Accies established themselves as a 1st Division club with 7th, 3rd and 4th placed finishes in the first three seasons.
This season, manager Billy Reid has put a squad together which has been full of mainly youth players and only a few old heads to guide the youngsters to the title. Richard Offiong has been in inspired form this season for the Accies contributing 19 league goals along with two young midfielders James McCarthy and James McArthur, who have each scored 6 and 5 league goals respectively.
Building on their youth development reputation, Hamilton Accies has had the lowest age squad in the division, helped especially by regular starters: 17-year-old James McCarthy, 19-year-old Tony Stevenson, 20-year-old James McArthur and 20-year-old Brian Easton. McCarthy caused controversy when he decided to play for the Republic of Ireland instead of Scotland. The midfielder has recently attracted interest from Chelsea and was subject to a £1m bid from Liverpool in the summer of 2007.
Chairman Ronnie McDonald has vowed to carry on their youth development programme in the SPL, and replace outgoing stars (potentially McCarthy and McArthur) with players from the Under-17 squad. He has also declared to the fans that he will not follow some SPL club’s methods in signing old pros who are looking for their final career pay-packet and instead concentrate on bringing through their own young players.
Accies will however, be counting the cost of being promoted to the SPL. A new stand will need to be in place by the start of the season to comply with the SPL’s minimum requirement of a 6,000 seater stadium. The Lanarkshire club will also need to replace their current AstroTurf pitch with grass and an undersoil heating system, again to comply SPL rules. The chairman and the board will be hoping however that TV revenue, increased attendances at games and increased sales in merchandise will balance out the expenditure for next season.
It has been Hamilton Acidemicals’ first 1st division title in 20 years and their first ever season in the newly formed SPL and they will be looking to make the most of it, following clubs such as St. Mirren, Inverness CT and Falkirk in establishing themselves as an SPL side. They will also be trying to avoid the situation which Gretna got themselves into, by getting their stadium ready on time and not lavishly spending out on contracts for ‘old-pros’. With Hamilton’s stadium, New Douglas Park, accomodating office space for local businesses, there is already an income flowing in even when there is no football on.
Accies will be confident of emulating the success of smaller SPL clubs, especially if they are able to keep a hold of their young stars. Most SPL clubs will welcome the freshness they will bring to the league and will also be happy with the current financial situation which Hamilton are in.
The Scottish Men’s Curling Team lost out on a gold medal at the World Championships in North Dakota on Sunday night to a strong Canadian team. Canada won 6-3 in a nail biting encounter which was close throughout with only one shot in it by the end of the eighth end.
David Murdoch and his team had earlier beaten favourites Canada in the play-offs but had also lost to the them in the round robin clash. Canada, who are ranked World Number 1 by some distance, had to come through a second playoff match, this time against Norway to reach the final.
In the early round robin matches, it looked as though the Scots would fail to even qualify for the playoffs after three defeats in five games to the Czech Republic, USA and Canada. However the 2006 World Champs won their six remaining matches to qualify in 2nd with eight wins and three defeats. Canada managed to qualify 1st with ten victories and a solitary loss against China – the lowest ranked team in the tournament.
The Scots victory in the playoff match against the Canadians came somewhat as a shock especially after going 6-2 behind after the fourth end. However, the Scots showed superb resilience to comeback and win 7-6 after stealing three of the last four ends.
Murdoch and his team took a days rest as Canada defeated Norway in the final playoff match to set-up a rematch with the Scots, and they took their revenge with a 6-3 win.
Scotland will rise to 2nd place in the World Rankings after their silver medal – adding to their European Championship title success, which was gained in 2007.
This is a stark contrast to the start of Forsyth’s 2008 season after missing the cut at his first 5 tournaments. After amassing a grand total of €0 in prize money for his first 5 tournaments of the season, Forsyth has turned it all around, now sitting 28th in the European Tour Order of Merit, with his prize fund sitting at €235,025 for just 3 tournaments.
Forsyth now seems to be hitting the best form of his career and he will be hoping to gain his best finish in the Order of Merit at the end of the year. His best year on the European Tour was in 2003 where he finished 19th, thanks to €850,180 in prize-money.
The 2002 Malaysian Open winner is now only the 2nd Scot in the top 100 of the World Rankings alongside Colin Montgomerie, who is 73rd in the World Rankings. Golf in Scotland looks to be heading to an era where Monty will not be the top Scot, and with only 18 places separating the pair it is looking increasingly likely.
Forsyth now takes a well earned break as the Masters in Augusta commences, although he will be looking to qualify for next year’s tournament as one of the top 50 ranked players in the world.
The win moved Maguire closer to the Official World Number 1 title after already winning the Northern Ireland Trophy in November. As long as the 27-year-old progresses further in the World Championship than Ronnie O’Sullivan and Shaun Murphy then he will take top spot.
In the Beijing Students University Stadium, Maguire overcame Fergal O’Brien 5-3 in the first round, Barry Hawkins 5-2 in the second round, Nigel Bond 5-0 in the quarter final, and Ryan Day 6-5 in the semi final. In the 6-5 win over Day, Maguire potted a maximum 147, which was only the second in his career – his first being made in 2000. It was the first in an Asian tournament which was televised and also the first in an Asian ranking event.
That maximum break of 147 gave the former World Amateur Champion £22,000 in prize-money, along with the £48,000 for winning the tournament. £70,000 for a week’s work is pretty good if you can earn it.
According to the Provisional World Rankings, Maguire has been the most successful player in the 2007/2008 season by racking up 20,975 points, compared with nearest rival Ronnie O’Sullivan who has amassed 20,400. The rankings are calculated over 2 years, and because Murphy and O’Sullivan had more successful seasons in 2006/2007, then Maguire must progress further than them in the final tournament of the season to claim the title of World Number 1.
Maguire is currently joint 3rd favourite with the bookmakers (Coral) for the World Championship at 8-1, but will be hoping to defy the odds and win his first World Championship and become Number 1 in the World.
Scottish football fans have reason to be optimistic as their young guns came through the Elite Round to be one of eight nations to qualify for the European Championships in May. The squad has come through two rounds of qualifying to make it, winning five games and losing just one on the way to qualification.
Their journey started on the 19th of September 2007, at in Kirkcaldy at Starks Park (Raith Rovers FC’s ground) where they were convincingly defeated 4-0 by Slovakia. After the game, journalists and supporters alike were dismissing the youngsters’ chances. However, the young Scots defied the critics by beating Liechtenstein 8-0 at Almondvale (Livingston FC’s ground) and Belarus 5-1 at Broadwood (Clyde FC’s ground). These two wins took them through to the Elite Round of the competition, to determine if they would qualify for the Euro Championships in Turkey.
The squad then travelled to Northern Ireland for three games which would decide their future in the competition. At Belfast they faced hosts Northern Ireland and ripped up the script and won 3-1 with a double from captain John Fleck and a Robert McHugh goal.
The squad then moved on to Newry where they had a double header against Wales and Slovenia. A 1-0 victory over Wales, with a goal from Archie Campbell which sent the Scots to the top, and they only needed a draw going into their final match with Slovenia.
They accomplished their aim, and more. A solitary John Fleck goal was enough to win 1-0 and send the Scots through to as they now turn their focus to the May tournament in Turkey. They will aim to emulate the Scotland Under 19 side which made it all the way to the European Championship final in 2006.
Tartan Army fans will be on the lookout for future heroes, as many players look to make the step up. One player to do that is Steven Fletcher who was in that Under 19 side of 2006. The Hibs frontman was called up to the senior side this week and is expected to get his first cap in the friendly against Croatia on Wednesday night.
More and more of the Tartan Army are now increasingly aware of the success of the younger teams and attendances at these games are increasing because of the higher standard of the young sides. Many see the young Scotland international teams as the overall standard of Scottish football and success in the younger sides seem to be making their way to the top as the senior side continue their success – ‘Long May It Continue’ is the cry from the Tartan Army.
This weekend, 18 Scottish golfers will be teeing off at 4 different venues as they all look to find some winning form on the highest stage. The Madeira Islands, Portugal, will stage the European Tour as 13 Scots will be trying to vie for the title and pick up a €116,660 cheque and win exemption for all of the 2009 European Tour tournaments. Leading the Scottish charge at the tournament will be former Open winner Paul Lawrie, Alastair Forsyth, Andrew Oldcorn and Andrew Coltart. Most of the rest of the Scottish players are from the Challenge Tour but are able to play at the tournament because the top European Tour players taking part in the CA Championship in Doral, Florida.
One of those players who is competing in CA Championship in Florida is Colin Montgomerie. The 44-year old needs a fourth placed finish or higher if he is to qualify for the first Major of the season – The Masters at Augusta. The CA Championship is part of the World Golf Championship series as they bid to pull in the world’s top golfers in an attempt to increase global competition. Monty missed the cut last week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Florida, and will be looking to get back to form, although he will have to compete with the world’s best and may need to beat the likes of Tiger Woods, Phil Mikelson, Ernie Els and Vijay Singh if he wants to participate at The Masters.
Also in Florida this week is the PGA Tour’s Puerto Rico Open. One Scotsman who is a unknown figure in Scotland is Martin Laird. Glasgow born Laird graduated from the Nationwide Tour last year after finishing in 13th place on the money rank list and he is now bidding to consolidate his place on the PGA Tour so he can continue his career on its upward trend. Most of the PGA Tour’s top players are at the CA Championshipso it is seen as a chance for all the players playing at the Puerto Rico Open to get a victory and keep their place on the PGA Tour for the 2009 season.
Finally, there is 3 Scots competing in the Asian TourInternational in Thailand. Dubai based Ross Bain, Simon Dunn and former Walker Cup player Lloyd Saltman are competing to win the tournament and collect their first win of the season on the Asian Tour. Special attention will be paid to Saltman after he put in a brilliant performance for the Walker Cup team and then turned professional in 2007. After missing out on European Tour qualification, he turned to the Asian Tour for the 2008 season in aim to establish himself in professional golf.
As Gretna seem to be heading toinevitable liquidation, there are many non-league clubs drawing up their application to take their place in the SFL. Gretna’s future has been in doubt ever since former owner Brooks Mileson withdrew his financial backing and the club were exposed as being an unsustainable business.
Spartans FC is an Edinburgh based club and was founded in 1951 as a club for university and college students. The East of Scotland Premier League side will be moving to a new floodlit 4,000 capacity stadium next season. They have been one of the most successful clubs in the league since the 1970s and their Scottish Cup runs have proved they can compete with SFL sides. The most notable run in 2003/2004 saw them defeat second division sides Alloa and Arbroath as they reached the fourth round against then SPL side Livingston but eventually succumbed to a 4-0 defeat.
Huntly FC is another contender for the SFL. The Aberdeenshire club was accepted into the Highland League in 1928 but it wasn’t until the 1990s that Huntly were a real force, winning five Highland League titles in a row. A title has followed in 2005, but since form has proved poor with finishes of no higher than 5th place. A Scottish Cup run to the fourth round this season may bode well for them, defeating Fraserburgh, Annan Athletic and Culter on the way, before they went out 3-1 to first division side Dundee.
Annan Athletic will a front-runner to replace Gretna FC in the SFL, having just missed out on the two spaces available in 2000 (ironically one of them was to Gretna). With a respectable ground and a location in the South of Scotland, the SFL will look approvingly on the East of Scotland Premier League side. With only Berwick, Stranraer and Queen of the South representing Southern Scotland, the SFL may want their leagues associated across the length and breadth of Scotland. Also, since entering the East of Scotland Premier League in 1987, they have won the title 4 times, most recently in 2007.
There have been many proposals put forward by Scottish football fans as to how to help Scottish football attract larger crowds. Each proposal put forward aims to make leagues more competitive and exciting. One of the most frequent ideas put forward is a 16-team SPL.
Stephen Maguire
Lion Rampant Sports 
