Woe Flowers of Scotland

by William Heaney

Scottish football is in crisis. With Scottish clubs exiting European competition even earlier than usual, fans and the media are mourning the latest ‘death’ of the national sport. Newspapers and radio phone-ins are leading the now annual debate asking “where do we go from here?”

There’s no disputing that change is required. League reconstruction (discussed here previously) and a massive shift in attitudes and approach are long overdue, but that’s a conversation for another time.

As it stands, Celtic will remain in Europe as a result of FC Sion’s expulsion from the Europa League for fielding ineligible players. However, a 3-1 aggregate defeat to the Swiss side, along with the failure of Hearts and Rangers to go beyond the Europa League qualifiers, is hardly surprising when considering the domestic performances of three of Scotland’s leading clubs in the opening weeks of the season.

It all looked so promising for Hearts. The Edinburgh club were the pre-season favourites to match last season’s 3rd place and manager Jim Jefferies had bought well, bringing in experienced SPL players including John Sutton and Jamie Hamill. A 1-1 at Ibrox on the opening day of the season heightened expectations and another draw, this time in Hungary against Paks in their opening Europa League qualifier, meant a positive start to the new campaign.

However, three days after that European tie, Hearts lost 1-0 at home to Dundee United in the league and club owner Vladimir Romanov didn’t hang about. Jefferies, a former Hearts player and manager of the 1998 Scottish Cup winning side, was dismissed. His removal was something of a surprise, even when considering Romanov’s track managers. While the club’s hierarchy could point to a record of only one win in ten league games, most of those results were at the tail-end of last season – the Jambos had eased off as they were well clear in third place, but had no chance of challenging the top two.

New boss Paulo Sergio has worked with Romanov before (at FB Kaunus in Lithuania), suggesting one of two things. Either the Portuguese is one of the strongest characters in the game and is ready to stand up to his dictatorial employer, or more likely, he accepts that the club owner will interfere in team affairs whenever he feels it is appropriate.

As well as the 5-0 European home reverse against Spurs, Sergio has also seen his new side lose at Motherwell, who could well be the Hearts’ main rivals for third place. However, a 2-0 victory over Hibs in the Edinburgh derby should buy the new boss some time as he tries to stamp his own authority on the team.

Celtic started the new season as title favourites but despite winning their first three games, they looked far from convincing, particularly in their single goal victory at Aberdeen. The wheels then came off with two poor performances against Sion. Between the two legs of the European tie, Celtic also slipped to a home defeat against St Johnstone, the Perth side scoring their first goal and collecting their first win of the season.

Three of last season’s key men, Emilio Izaguirre, Beram Kayal and Gary Hooper have all collected injuries early in the campaign, with the Honduran full-back set for months on the sidelines due to a broken ankle. Kris Commons’ poor start to the season hasn’t helped either and defensively, Neil Lennon’s side still have work to do – Kelvin Wilson has made a sound start to life in the SPL but he lacks a reliable defensive partner.

Across the city, the pressure was on Rangers before a ball had been kicked. Many fans remain sceptical about new owner Craig Whyte’s abillty to supply Ally McCoist with the necessary funds to build a successful side. Most of the champions’ summer signing targets chose other clubs, with most embarrassing of all being the David Goodwillie saga – the young Dundee United striker eventually joining Blackburn Rovers despite Rangers making seven separate bids to secure his services.

On the field, the new gaffer hasn’t had the kind of start he would have hoped for either. Malmo and Maribor have denied the Ibrox club entry to the Champions League and Europa league respectively, while that opening day draw with Hearts drew fierce criticism. The visitors led at half-time and could have been further ahead by the time Steven Naismith’s goal claimed a point for Rangers. McCoist didn’t help himself by playing his most influential midfielder, Steven Davis, wide right while starting with the unimaginative pairing of Lee McCulloch and Maurice Edu in the middle.

They have responded though, and an impressive 3-0 win at Motherwell sent Rangers to the top of the table. McCoist has also eventually managed to strengthen the side, bringing in a number of new faces including Romanian defender Dorin Goian, and Americans Carlos Bocanegra and Alejandro Bedoya. Doubts remain though, as to how Rangers would cope should they lose Davis or striker Nikica Jelavic to injury.

So while the focus of many is on how Scottish teams can once more become competitive in European club competition, Hearts, Celtic and Rangers will be aware that they have enough to contend with at home.

William Heaney is a Scottish football correspondent for Just Football and can also be found at his own blog Football Futbol Fitba.

Glasgow Celtic, Glasgow Rangers, Heart of Midlothian, Scotland, Scottish Premier League