UEFA Cup Final- Football forgotten

It wasn’t supposed to end this way. Rangers‘ run to the UEFA Cup final in Manchester had the whole of Britain talking, as well as the rest of the continent watching. Just one step away from their first European triumph in 36 years. An tantalising tactical battle between two of the game’s mature students, Walter Smith and Dick Advocaat.

It promised to be a game that would be talked about for a long time. Sadly, it would not be for the football as much as it was about the fans. Rangers lost the match 2-0 to Zenit St Petersburg, and the Russian champions were able to celebrate their first European trophy. It left the 100,000+ Rangers supporters who had descended on Manchester devastated.

But the attention would be on them and, in the build up, it was good coverage. The fans had been partying in the Manchester sunshine, building up to the game of their lives. A city divided by Red and Blue had been transformed into one which amalgamated red and blue with a bit of white. The specially set up fanzones were full by early afternoon as countdown to the game began.

But, as Rangers’ night of destiny got underway, it all started to go wrong. A screen at the fanzone in Piccadily Gardens lost its signal and failed. Engineers tried to fix the problem but advised fans to head to another fanzone near the stadium to catch the action. Incensed and fuelled with drink consumed all day, Gers fans started throwing bottles at the engineers who quickly gave up. And this started a night of rioting, bringing shame on the whole of Scotland.

The tales and videos of what went on were absolutely frightening. One youtube video shows Rangers fans fighting with the police and each other to the extent one was knocked unconcious, while Rangers fans are seen smashing up a car and in one sickening clip released by Greater Manchester Police, a mob of 200 or so are seen chasing police officers down the street. One of the fans trips one up and a large number start to lay into him with seige of kicks. He suffered a broken arm.

Even outside the stadium, a Russian fan was stabbed in the back. These were scenes which Scotland and British football have worked hard to eradicate. Shops were smashed and looted as fans and police fought running battles for up to five hours during and after the game. I have read tales on the internet of fans running along railway tracks and causing trains to be cancelled due to violence and intimidation towards train staff, as well as vandalising trains.

Rangers moved quickly to suggest that a lot of these people had nothing to do with the club. Now, while I accept this was a minority in a massive Rangers following, it was a large minority and the clips I have seen show a lot of people in Rangers colours involved. There may have been individuals there who don’t normally associate with them, but try telling that to the police, Manchester locals and families who travelled with children and were caught up in the mayhem. They will tar Rangers fans with the same brush and Scotland’s reputation will be damaged.

The scenes I have watched and reports I have read have been nothing short of shameful and was a real throwback to the dark ages. Manchester City Centre looked like a war zone yesterday morning, with thousands of tonnes of rubbish strewn across the streets and buildings smashed up.

As I have said, it was a minority and there was little Rangers FC could do. Fans were quick to blame the police and the council but my view is this. The council have to take some blame for the screen not working and the packed fanzones, but that is no excuse to start fights and cause mayhem. If the police are being attacked, then they have to react. All day drinking undoubtedly played a part, but I believe there were some there itching for some trouble.

I feel really sorry for the many thousands of innocents caught up in this incident. It has ruined what could be a once in a lifetime opportunity for them and completely overshadowed the terrific achievement the Rangers team had of reaching the final.

Celtic legend Burns passes away

Rangers defeat last night in the UEFA Cup and subsequent violence which followed was going to be the main discussion topic today, and I will no doubt post about that later, but this morning I have learned the shocking news that Celtic legend Tommy Burns has died at the age of 51.

Tommy, who was working as first team coach at Celtic Park, has had a long running battle with cancer after first being diagnosed with skin cancer in 2006. He responded well to treatment and was back to work with Celtic but it returned earlier this year, and Tommy passed away in the early hours of this morning.

Tommy served Celtic as a player for 15 years between 1974 and 1989 before signing for Kilmarnock. He went on to become player manager of Killie and took them to First Division promotion in 1993. He moved to Celtic in 1994 and in his first season they defeated Airdrieonians to lift the Scottish Cup, but they lost the League Cup final to Raith Rovers. It proved to be his only trophy as Celtic boss and left in 1997. He coached at Newcastle and had a spell with Reading before being appointed assistant to then Scotland boss Berti Vogts in 2002.

When Vogts was sacked and Walter Smith assumed charge, Tommy was retained as his assistant but after Smith left and the SFA overlooked him to take the top job, Tommy left the SFA. By now, he was working as head of Celtic’s youth development and Gordon Strachan also elevated him to be his first team coach.

This has come as an absolute shock, especially at such a young age. Celtic will release a statement later but my deepest thoughts and sympathy go out to Tommy’s wife and family.

A sad, sad loss to Scottish football.

Robins flying high as Palace lose their gleam

If it had not been for the success of Tony Mowbray guiding West Bromwich Albion to the Championship title in his first full season in charge, then surely Bristol City gaffer Gary Johnson would surely have been a shoe-in for the divisional manager of the year award.

Having led the Robins to promotion from League One, a season of consolidation would have been deemed a success at Ashton Gate. But Johnson has masterminded a remarkable campaign, where they have spent their time challenging at the top of the league. They had spent time in the top two but eventually had to settle for a place in the play offs, which is no mean feat when you consider clubs such as Wolverhampton Wanderers, Ipswich Town and Charlton Athletic, who were relegated from the Premiership last term, missed out.

On Saturday, they travelled to London to take on Neil Warnock’s Crystal Palace side in their play off semi final first leg, and returned with a crucial 2-1 victory. A last gasp strike from David Noble sealed it for the Robins, and Warnock was not happy at the end of the match.

“”I think you could see from their celebrations that they were already at Wembley,” he commented. Warnock is always forthright in his views and he cranked up the tension ahead of last night’s second meeting. 

And Palace gave as good as they got. Ben Watson opened the scoring for the visitors after 24 minutes, but had a second half penalty saved which would have sent them through. So the score was level at 2-2 on aggregate, so it went to extra time and City went in front through former Swansea man Lee Trundle, with a beautiful curling shot into the top corner.

Palace had to go for it but a free-kick 10 minutes from the end of extra time from Scot Michael McIndone ended Warnock’s dreams as he suffered his first play off semi final defeat and sent Johnson’s team to Wembley.

They have an excellent chance of going up again and it is ample reward for a fine season. There, they will meet the winner of tonight’s second semi final between Hull and Watford at the KC Stadium, with Hull 2-0 up from the first leg. I’d tip Hull to go through to meet Bristol City, with one of them earning Premier League football for the first time.

If Johnson’s team go up, then he deserves a lot of recognition.

Dundee United 0-1 Dunfermline Athletic, April 1996

This was huge. A whole season’s work could be won or lost on the outcome of this match. Dundee United and Dunfermline went into it battling it out at the top of the First Division to see who could win promotion to the Premier League.

Going into the penultimate day, United were top by a point from the second placed Pars. Victory for the home side would see them clinch the championship. Victory for Bert Paton’s team though would see them claim top spot going into the final day of what had been an unbelievable season.

The match at Tannadice began in front of a 12,000 capacity crowd and an indication of its meaning could be heard via BBC Radio Scotland covering it live. United had moved the Dunfermline support from behind the goal to the dingy main stand in an attempt to swing the atmosphere their way, but the 2,000 black and white shirted hordes made their voices heard. And they got louder just 7 minutes in.

A foul by Maurice Malpas gave Dunfermline a free-kick just inside United’s half. A high hopeful ball was flicked on by Allan Moore (the smallest man on the park incidentally) into the box. United keeper Ally Maxwell raced out to collect but he and United defender Grant Johnson got in each other’s way and Stewart Petrie gleefully nipped in to poke the ball home for the opener. As Jock Brown famously proclaimed on Sportscene later that night, “Its a dream start for Dunfermline.”

 The United crowd were silenced and, in truth, they really struggled to get going. Perhaps the expactation of the big crowd got to them, but a Gary McSwegan snap shot on the turn, comfortably held by Pars keeper Ian Westwater, was about all they could muster in the first half. Indeed, Petrie went through on goal again and although he appeared to be held back inside the box by Mark Perry, he got his shot away which was beaten around the post by Maxwell.

So, half the job done then but two minutes into the second half the Pars had a huge escape. A United free-kick from Dave Bowman found the head of Christian Dailly, whose header crashed off the crossbar. The United fans found their voice again.

Pars though always looked dangerous on the break and superb play between Andy Smith and Moore carved out a chance. Smith touched the ball over the head of Malpas, and a Moore head flick was met by Smith whose first time shot on the turn fizzed just wide of the post.

But then, controversy. Petrie, already on a yellow card, made a challenge on Malpas on the near side. Malpas made a meal of it, and referee Alan Freeland duly sent him off. Down to 10 men, the Pars would have to battle even harder. And they did.

They restricted United to very few clean efforts at goal, and even Andy Tod had an effort at goal for the Pars. As time wore on, Dunfermline had to defend and United forced a series of corners and, from one, Craig Brewster’s delivery was met again by Dailly and, unbelievably, he hit the bar again.

The luck was out on United and when Westwater caught another cross ball, it was all over and Dunfermline went to the top of the First Division. An outstanding victory and an outstanding performance- one full of battling qualities and a never say die attitude. The title was won the following week, but this was the big result. The reaction in the video below is a joy.

Rejoice!

Dunfermline Athletic: Westwater, Miller, Millar, Tod, Den Bieman, Fleming, French, Robertson, Moore, Smith, Petrie.

Focus on Manchester- Zenit St Petersberg V Rangers

Ever since their semi final shoot-out victory over Fiorentina in Florence, all the talk from those connected to Rangers has been Manchester, Manchester, Manchester. Well, that and the fixture congestion, which I had my say about earlier on this blog.

However, the night that Gers fans, and especially the players, have been waiting for is almost upon them. Tonight they go head to head with former Ibrox boss Dick Advocaat’s Zenit side in the UEFA Cup final in what is easily Rangers’ biggest game in their recent history.

The chance is there for Walter Smith’s side to become the second Rangers team to win a European trophy but Zenit are a damn good side. Any team that destroys pre-tournament favourites Bayern Munich 5-1 over 2 legs has to be decent, despite the drawback of having Fernando Ricksen.

Advocaat has done a great job there. He’s led Zenit to their first ever Russian title and now could lead a Russian club to UEFA Cup glory for the 2nd time in 3 years, with CSKA Moscow having become the first Russian club to win a European trophy in 2005.

The game is one which will be tight. Zenit, like Rangers under Advocaat, like to play expansive football while Smith’s success has been built around a solid defence and a counter attacking system, using one striker.

So there will be key battles over the pitch tonight. And I believe that the big battle will be in midfield between the captains, Barry Ferguson and Anatolyi Tymoschuk. The duo will have an idea of each other’s game having played against each other for Scotland and Ukraine in the Euro 2008 qualification campaign.

Ferguson is key to Rangers, all their play goes through him. If he’s on song, they stand a good chance and he will be flanked by Kevin Thomson and Steven Davis as part of a midfield five. They will have to track the Zenit midfield and close them down quickly to prevent the Russians breaking quickly. And Tymoschuk will be key to that. A classy player, he has a terrific range of passing ability and if given room and time on the pitch, he will dictate the pace of the game for Zenit.

At the back for Smith, David Weir and Carlos Cuellar will have to continue their excellent partnership to prevent Zenit scoring, as losing the opening goal could prove critical. It would force Rangers to be more attacking, which could leave them exposed defensively.

And up front, Jean Claude Darchveville will have a big job. As Rangers lone front man, he will have to be able to gather the ball, hold it and wait for support when Rangers are counter-attacking. If Darcheville is given service, he has shown this season he can deliver on the big stage.

So, how do I think it’ll go? Undoubtedly, the presence of so many Rangers fans (no doubt millions, having borrowed the Celtic Seville calculator) will help inspire. And there is no doubt Rangers have been excellent in Europe this season, with their defensive tactics working well. But this is a one off game, so I think Rangers will find it much more difficult as there will be more emphasis on attack. And Zenit are a very good side who will attack Rangers from the outset.

Its a hard one to predict, so I won’t. However, it wouldn’t surprise me if it went all the way to extra time and penalties. Will it be a memorable night for Rangers, or heartbreak like their neighbours sufferred in Seville in 2003? We’ll see later on tonight.

Rangers V Zenit is live on STV and ITV 1 tonight from 7pm on STV and 7.30pm on ITV 1.

“The Bunnet” is back

It is always pleasing to see former players or managers of Dunfermline Athletic who I liked and respected do well within the game despite moving on from East End Park. I’ve had a number of those down the years (don’t worry, I’m not going to list them- at least not today).

And one of those men is Dick Campbell, who returned to football last Thursday with Third Division outfit Forfar Athletic. Campbell, or the man with “the bunnet”, had been out of football since being sacked by Second Division champions Ross County in October, despite leading them to the top of the table.

Campbell was certainly a hero of mine at East End Park. He had a spell with the club in his playing career, but it was when he returned to be Bert Paton’s assistant manager in 1993 that he helped carve his own little niche in the history and shaping of the Pars.

There were 2 successive last day failures to win the First Division, to fierce rivals Falkirk and Raith Rovers, as well as play off disappointment against Aberdeen. But in 95/96 the hugely popular management team finally led the club back to the Premier League, despite having to deal with the death of skipper Norrie McCathie.

After 5th and 8th placed finishes in the Premier, Paton resigned in January 1998 with the club bottom of the league. Dick took over and although results improved, he could do nothing to prevent relegation as draws cost the Athletic.

He began our First Division campaign of 1999/2000 but after a 3-1 defeat to St Mirren at Love Street in October of that season, he resigned as Pars manager, having won 5 out of 12 games in that early part of the season.

He then pitched up at Brechin City, where he had spent time as a player. He led them from the Third Division all the way to the First Division in consecutive seasons. Although he couldn’t prevent instant relegation, he led City to the top of the Second before leaving towards the end of the season to join Partick Thistle.

His stay though at Firhill was an unhappy one and he was sacked in 2007 before joining Ross County last summer.

Forfar vice-chairman Mike McEwan was delighted to get his man.

“We had a very good response to the job, and the caliber of candidate was very high, however Dick was the outstanding candidate, with good experience and a track record that speaks for itself.”

His record in the lower leagues has been excellent and the Loons will hope he can haul them towards a promotion bid next season, instead of occupying bottom spot in the Scottish Football League.

Good luck to Dick and the Loons!

Eck gets Brum rush as Premiership concludes (part two)

Rollercoaster. A word which is used so much in football its well on the way to becoming a footballing cliche, in that “its been a rollercoaster ride.” I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve heard managers, players, fans and pundits trot it out in relation to a particular team’s performance, or that of the league season. At the end of the day, these cliches can become quite tiresome.

However, rollercoaster is one which could describe the season that Birmingham City manager Alex McLeish has had. It started with the Scotland team, leading us to victory over Lithuania, France and Ukraine (goals below) as a nation hoped for the miracle of Euro 2008 qualification. A final game defeat to Italy put paid to that, but Scotland, and McLeish, were rightly lauded. National heroes if you like.

But despite saying he would be loyal to Scotland for the 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign, he was off 10 days after the Italy match to take over as Birmingham boss, following Steve Bruce’s departure to Wigan. It started well enough for him, with his new charges winning 3-2 at Tottenham in his first game in charge.

But despite just one home defeat in 13, Birmingham have struggled. Games which should have been won were drawn (2-0 up on Liverpool, drew 2-2) while their away form was poor. The January signing of Scotland hero James McFadden couldn’t provide enough firepower and on the penultimate day, they slumped 2-0 at relegation rivals Fulham.

So Eck’s team went into the final day knowing they had to beat Blackburn and hope Fulham and Reading slipped up in their games to have any chance of survival. And City did their part, demolishing Rovers 4-1.

But the day didn’t go to plan. Reading, who started play outside the bottom three, romped to a 4-0 win over dismal Derby at Pride Park, who went down as officially the worst team in Premiership history. The Royals knew that if Fulham failed to win at Portsmouth, then they would stay up at the Cottagers expense.

But it was to be heartbreak for Reading along with Birmingham as Fulham completed a miraculous escape. Danny Murphy’s header 14 minutes from time from Jimmy Bullard’s free-kick sealed a 1-0 win and Fulham’s survival on goal difference.

And their manager Roy Hodgson deserves huge credit. After a 3-1 home loss to Sunderland, Fulham looked doomed with 5 games to go. But a 2-0 win at Reading, followed by a sensational 3-2 success at Manchester City having been 2-0 down and effectively relegated, breathed new life into their chances and in the end they accumulated 12 points from their final 5 games to preserve their status. A terrific effort.

So joy for the Londoners, but bitter disappointment for Reading and Birmingham. Steve Coppell is said to be considering his future at Reading despite his chairman and the fans hoping he’ll stay. Relegation is a bitter pill to swallow for the Royals after a superb 8th place finish last season, and it is reminiscent of Ipswich coming up to the Premiership under George Burley, finishing 5th then going down the next season.

As for McLeish and Birmingham, it was always going to be a struggle for the Blues. Their fans rounded on the board after the match, but now its up to them to prepare to attempt to bounce back immediately. McLeish is a good manager, but I said at the time he was mad to leave Scotland, a flying Scotland, for a struggling club like Birmingham. One wonders if that he wishes in part he was still at Hampden rather than St Andrews.

We’re all going on a European tour……

Newcastle United are becoming one of my favourite teams in the Premier League. Yesterday, Everton defeated the Geordies 3-1 to claim 5th spot and a UEFA Cup place, while in 2005 a 2-0 victory over the same opposition, at home, on the final day secured 4th spot and a shot at the Champions League. Yep, the Toon seem to be a lucky charm for the Toffees.

And its a deserved finish for David Moyes’ team and an achievement that fully merits its own post on my blog. As an Evertonian, I am absolutely thrilled that the Blues can dig the passports out once again and hopefully the team can go one further in Europe than they did this season, when they suffered penalty heartbreak against Fiorentina.

Overall its been a very good season for the People’s Club, but one which did have some low points. I’ll reflect on those shortly, but let us rejoice in the positivity reverberating around Goodison at the moment, which goes all the way back to the summer.

Thank you United as Premiership concludes (Part one)

Yep, I have to say it. To Sir Alex Ferguson. To Cristiano Ronaldo (with help from Emerson Boyce). To referee Steve Bennett and his inability to produce a second yellow card to Paul Scholes, or punishing a flailing Rio Ferdinand arm in the box. To Ryan Giggs, surely to become Manchester United’s record appearance holder at the Champions League final.

Thank you for winning the Premiership. Not because I’m a United fan, but because had Chelsea sneaked in and won it, I had a horrendous week of torment ahead. On this very blog after Wigan held Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, I confidently predicted the league was all over and United would claim it. Well, thank god they did, otherwise I may have been forced into my forfeit along Chambers Street in Edinburgh, which I will refrain from posting on a family blog.

So United then are champions for the 10th time since the Premier League’s inception in 1992. And deservedly so. They have once again proved to be the most consistent team in the league, and to accumulate 87 points is an outstanding achievement. Credit though must go to Avram Grant’s Chelsea team, who provided an excellent run of form to take the title down to the wire. As well as those two, lets not forget Arsenal, whose scintilating early season form had them as genuine contenders until it all started to go wrong after the now infamous game at Birmingham.

But back to United, and Ferguson believes that this current United side is good enough to “beat that record” of arch enemy Liverpool’s 18 English league titles. Saturday’s victory gave the Reds their 17th, and Fergie’s 10th in charge.

His belief that “there are plenty of years left” in his team is one you can’t argue with. Defensive powerhouses Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic, more on whom later, at 29 and 26 have formed a formidable partnership and will surely form the bedrock of United for many years yet. Man Utd fans reading this would agree with me when I say that those two are of similar statue to Steve Bruce and Gary Pallister- Old Trafford stalwarts who had an incredible understanding as a defensive pairing.

While class acts Paul Scholes and Giggs are at the veteran stage of their careers, they are still hugely influential and you can see both still being around in the short to medium term. But it is in the attacking sense where United have flourished. Messers Rooney, Ronaldo and Tevez have between them contributed 57 goals to United’s cause this season, which is quite an astonishing total. Ronaldo has taken the plaudits and has been voted United’s player of the year, but Rooney and Tevez have been just as key.

Rooney as we all know is an exceptional footballer- pace to burn and a frightening ability on the ball. His link up play with Ronaldo has been a joy to watch this season and his presence is missed when he isn’t there. While the two “R’s” are elegant, then Tevez is the exact opposite. A rugged, fierce competitor, he will chase everything down for his team and has a great work ethic. Added to that, he has undoubted talent and the Argentinian’s 19 goals is a superb return for the season. A quick look at their ages reveals that Rooney is a mere 22, Ronaldo is only 23 while Tevez is just 24. Players not even at the peak of their power. Frightening for the rest of the Premier League.

This is where United have simply been better than Chelsea or Arsenal. Strength in depth, particularly in an attacking sense. Chelsea in Didier Drogba and Arsenal in Emmanuel Adebayor have terrific strikers but they don’t have enough depth to help them carry the mantle of knocking in the goals to win silverware like United do with Ronaldo, Rooney and Tevez.

Its been an enthralling campaign and Chelsea must now try to lift themselves for the Champions League final with United. Will they use missing out on the title as motivation, or will it affect them so much they can’t quite make it over the line? We will have to see, but with John Terry, injured yesterday and Drogba fighting to be fit, Grant’s men have a difficult task in stopping the Red machine.

Murdoch moves on

There was another move through the East End Park exit door today as Pars goalkeeper Sean Murdoch signed a two year contract with First Division champions Hamilton Accies for an unidisclosed fee.

After Bryn Halliwell turned down a new contract at New Douglas Park, Billy Reid moved to snap up Athletic’s reserve keeper, who had a loan spell there last season, making 11 appearances.

Sean signed for Dunfermline in 2003 from the Hearts youth set up, and was a regular in the Under 19 side. He was capped at Scottish schoolboy level and in 2005/2006 he went on loan to Forfar Athletic to gain first team experience. He appeared 13 times for the Loons and kept four clean sheets.

The following season he went back to Station Park for a second loan spell for the first half of the season. In February of that year, he then went on loan to Accies.

Sean made his senior debut for the club this season, coming on after 10 minutes as a substitute for the injured Roddy McKenzie in the UEFA Cup first leg clash with BK Hacken. Unfortunately, in the second half he was caught out as a long ball bounced over his head and gave the Swedes an easy goal, which didn’t help the Pars’ cause as they crashed out in the 2nd leg.

He made a further 3 top team appearances, against Livingston and Clyde in the league, as well as Clyde and Airdrie in the Challenge Cup. With Paul Gallacher making the number 1 spot his own and signing a 3 year deal to stay with the club, Murdoch’s chances were always going to be limited.

I wish Sean well with his new club.