The 2013/14 SPFL Thread

[Kay Fabe]

First topic message reminder :

Don't know how many fans of Scottish Football are on here but thought I'd create a thread to keep it updated throughout the Season to keep anyone interested in the loop.

With rebranding of our game this is a thread to post or ask about certain teams results from the Scottish Premiership, Championship or League 1 & 2

I'm really looking forward to this season, with Play-Offs introduced between the Premiership and the Championship it really opens up competition at both the bottom of the Premiership and from mid table upward in thr Championship.

News that 7 of the 12 Premiership clubs have already posted higher season book sales than last season is encouraging, 3 clubs remain at the same level and only 2 have reported a deficit,  one of those clubs is Dundee Utd who are at similar levels of an average top flight season, their season tickets spiked last year due to the return of the Tayside Derby

I think its safe to say Celtic will win the Premiership but I think the race for 2nd could be very interesting, I expect 3/4 clubs to be genuine contenders for that, the relegation battle will also be very interesting this year, Hearts thanks to Adminstration will start on -15 so they're favourites for the drop, especially considering how depleted their squad is but with the Relegation Play-Off spot introduced this season 2nd 3rd and possibly 4th bottom teams wont be entirely safe and Hearts despite being depleted still have a very decent core 13/14 players who if they stay fit could climb the league.


Similarly the Championship will be intriguing this year, Dundee have to be favourites, they've made some good signings, Morton lost their best player from last season in Tidser but with the Play-Offs now introduced they'll feel a top 4 finish is the least they'll aim for, Falkirk have a really talented group of boys but having sold Lyle Taylor to Sheffield Utd for £250k they'll need a goalscorer if they want to be contenders, I really like Livingstone, great little club, lovely stadium, excellent playing surface too, have brought through some very decent players in recent seasons, got some cracking boys there at the moment, finally Alloa for me will be worth the watching, Paul Hartley went there 2 years ago and they won the 3rd Division, last season they won the 2nd Division Play-Offs...Hartley has built a solid team that likes playing attack minded direct football, it'd be a major shock if Hartley leads Alloa to the Premiership but I'd not be overly shocked to see him lead his team to the Play-Offs.


Top Goalscorers

32 - Kris Commons
27 - Stevie May
22 - Billy McKay; John Sutton; Kris Boyd
21 - Anthony Stokes
20 - Leigh Griffiths (13 for Wolves)
17 - Nadir Ciftći
16 - Steven Thompson; Adam Rooney (7 for Swindon)
14 - Niall McGinn
11 - Stuart Armstrong; Kris Doolan; Lionel Ainsworth; Calum Paterson; Georgios Samaras
10 - Steven MacLean; Gary MacKay-Steven
9 - Liam Craig;  Henri Anier, Jamie Hamill; Scott Vernon; Melvin De Leuuw
8 - Ryan Gauld; Aaron Doran; Ryan Stevenson; Richard Brittain; Kallum Higgingbotham
7 - Peter Pawlett; Kenny McLean; Brian Graham; Teemu Pukki; Lyle Taylor
6 - James Forrest; Charlie Mulgrew; Nigel Hasselbaink; Filip Kiss; James Collins
5 - Andrew Robertson; Steven Lawless; Johnny Hayes; Virgil Van Dijk; Dale Carrick



Attendances

Every week I'll post the combined attendances for SPFL matches and we can see if there is a spike or decrease at certain times of the season

Week 1 - 85,300 (SPFL Premiership matches only)
Week 2 - 95,204  (minus Celtic who weren't playing SPFL fixture this weekend)
Week 3 - 100,479 (Celtic & Rangers both playing away)
Week 4 - 101,966
Week 5 - 104,712
Week 6 - 93,530
Week 7 - 98,614
Week 8 - 95,595
Week 9 - 99,083 (no SPFL League 2 games)
Week 10 - 62,177 (Celtic & Rangers both played away)
Week 11 - 56,051
Week 12 - 81,319 (SPFL Premiership matches only)
Week 13 - 99,340
Week 14 - 98,408 (SPFL Premiership 80,307)
Week 15 - 95,646
Week 16 - 77,953 (SPFL Premiership only)
Week 17 - 44,262 (SPFL Premiership only) Boxing Day
Week 18 - 70,428 (Celtic Rangers & Hearts all away from home)
Week 19 - 114,623 (SPFL Premiership 98,773 - Season highest) New Year Fixtures
Week 20 - 34,781 (5 SPFL Premiership matches - Celtic/Aberdeen/Hibs all away)
Week 21 - 94,761 (minus Celtic home game for winter shutdown)
Week 22 - 92,470 (SPFL Premiership 80,216 )
Week 23 - 81,215 + 56,693  (137,808 including two Celtic fixtures)
Week 24 - 137,381 SPFL & 2 League Cup Semi Finals
Week 25 -  92,124
Week 26 - 37,227
Week 27 - 103,983
Week 28 - 62,542
Week 29 - 126,694 (SPFL & League Cup Final) * Season 2nd Highest
Week 30 - 101,250 (SPFL Premiership 84,739)
Week 31 - 36,170 (SPFL Premiership only)
Week 32 - 109,515 (SPFL Premiership 91,313)
Week 33 - 37,091 (SPFL Premiership only)
Week 34 - 57,377 (SPFL Premiership 39,999)
Week 35 - 147,708 (SPFL Premiership 86,276) * Season Highest
Week 36 - 120,629 (SPFL Premiership 86,907)
Week 37 - 46,938 (SPFL Premiership 40,603)
Week 38 - 110,110 (SPFL Premiership 98,295)

[Kay Fabe]

To be fair that was probably the first time Biton has took the game by the scruff of the neck in a game since he signed, he's always been tidy but I was yet to see the player Mancini tried to sign for Man City last January until last night.

How you feeling about the League Cup Final? If the game was this weekend I'd say it'd be a no-brainer, Adam Rooney has been superb hasn't he, always rated him.

[Sand]

Im looking forward to the League Cup Final, over 30k Supporters at least, just hope its a good day! If we play like we did against St Johnstone and Celtic in the Cup then id say we should win, but then there is a possibility we could play like we did against Partick on Saturday!

Rooney has been superb, and made a massive difference to the team, none of our other strikers would have scored that goal yesterday and 5 goals in 6 games is a great record. Should have been 6 in 6 really when you think back to the sitter he missed in the Cup.

In a way shows how well we were doing first half of the the season without a main striker in some respects. Great bit of business by McInnes getting him for free.

[Kay Fabe]

Week 27 Results (Midweek)


Aberdeen 2-1 Celtic (Hayes, Rooney - Forrest)
Att: 16,634


Ross County 0-3 Inverness C.T (Raven , McKay, Watkins)        
Att: 4,805


St Johnstone 3-0 Motherwell (MacLean 2, Millar)  
Att: 1,892

[Kay Fabe]

Week 27 Results (Weekend)

Aberdeen 1-0 St Johnstone] (Jack)
Att: 11,487


Celtic 5-0 Inverness C.T (Griffiths 3, Mulgrew, Commons)
Att: 46,552


Hibernian 1-3 Dundee Utd (Forster - Ciftci, Gunning, El Auguli)
Att: 9,608


Motherwell 4-1 Hearts (Vigurs, Ainsworth, Sutton, McFadden - Paterson)
Att: 4,914


Ross County 1-1Partick Thistle (Brittain - Higginbotham)
Att: 3,441


St Mirren 2-0 Kilmarnock (Newton, Wylde)
Att: 4,650

[Kay Fabe]

Week 28 Results

Hibernian 3-3 Motherwell (Forster, Nelson, Heffernan - Sutton 2, Aisnworth)
Att: 8,277


Kilmarnock 4-2 Hearts (Wilson OG, Boyd 2, Gardyne - Carrick, Nicholson)
Att: 3,510


SCOTTISH CUP QUARTER FINALS


Aberdeen 1-0 Dumbarton (Rooney)
Att: 10,600


Inverness C.T 0-5 Dundee Utd (Ciftci 2, Gunning, Mackay-Steven, Armstrong )
Att: 3,164


Raith Rovers 1-3 St Johnstone (Cardle - McDonald, Hasselbaink, Anderson
Att: 3,767


Rangers 1-1 Albian Rovers (Moshni - Donnelly)
Att: 23,967


Midweek SPFL

Dundee Utd 0-1 St Johnstone (May)
Att: 6,720


Inverness C.T 0-0 Hibernian
Att: 2,537

[Kay Fabe]

Week 29 Results


Dundee Utd 3-2 St Mirren (Graham, Armstrong, Ciftci - McGowan, Thompson)    
Att: 6,524


Kilmarnock 0-3 Celtic (Commons 2)  
Att: 7,485


Partick Thistle 3-1 Hibernian (Erskine, Mair, Higginbotham - Watmore)    
Att: 4,448


St Johnstone 0-1 Ross County (De Leeuw) 
Att: 2,213


SCOTTISH LEAGUE CUP FINAL

Aberdeen 0-0 Inverness C.T    
Aberdeen win 4-2 on penalties
Att: 51,143

[Fernando]

A social media campaign by Aberdeen FC fans has propelled a 1980s hit by The Human League into the iTunes top 5.

Dons fans have embraced Don't You Want Me - a number one in 1981 - by changing the lyrics to "Peter Pawlett Baby".

Campaigns on Facebook and Twitter to get the song to the top of the charts have snowballed since the club won the Scottish League Cup on Sunday - with the song echoing in the background.

The Human League have now joined in with the effort

[Kay Fabe]

Motherwell 2-0 Inverness C.T (Ainsworth, Sutton)
Att: 3,432

[Kay Fabe]

Week 30 Results

Aberdeen 2-1 Kilmarnock (Rooney, Jack - Boyd)
Att: 14,029


Celtic 3-0 St Mirren (Johansen, Griffiths, Stokes)
Att: 46,536


Hearts 1-2 Dundee Utd (Wilson - Graham, Ciftci)
Att: 13,448


Inverness C.T 1-0 Partick Thistle (McKay)
Att: 3,093


Mothetwell 2-1 Ross County (McFadden, Sutton - Songo'o)
Att: 4,080


St Johnstone 2-0 Hibernian (MacLean, McGivern OG)
Att: 3,553

[Kay Fabe]

Read this on the BBC website and I must admit, while it is obviously looking with the glads half full I completely gree with the sentiment of the article


Debt-Free Scottish Clubs can shine!

There are still challenges to overcome, not least the continuing lack of a title sponsor for the Scottish Professional Football League, but individual clubs can still thrive.

The level of debt being carried by top-flight teams is falling, and that presents an opportunity.

Dundee United and Kilmarnock recently secured debt-reduction deals with Lloyds Bank. Two clubs whose financial priority had to be servicing seven-figure debts can now maximise the worth of their incomes.

Celtic's interim results for the financial year to 31 December showed a surplus in the bank, while Motherwell, St Mirren, St Johnstone and Inverness Caledonian Thistle are all free of long-term debt.

Hearts are due to emerge from administration with the Foundation of Hearts having taken over a debt-free club that will eventually be turned over to full supporter ownership when the purchase price is paid back through fan subscriptions.

Ross County's rise up the leagues has been enabled by the largesse of Roy MacGregor. Hibernian and Aberdeen are still carrying debt, around £5m and around £9m respectively, but there is an appetite within Lloyds Bank to seek an outcome that protects the community aspect of football clubs, as seen in the deals struck with Dundee United and Kilmarnock.

The effect is to present Scottish football with a chance to redraw its priorities and establish a time of financial stability.

"Banks are taking more of a pragmatic view, which says that what we really want is out of this situation, so we will do a deal, if that makes sense, and if the club can sustain itself," says Charles Barnett, the professional sports group partner at BDO, whose annual review of football finances will be published at the beginning of next season.

"There's been one or two clubs recently, like Motherwell, who since they got out of their [financial] troubles have regularly reported a break-even type model. That doesn't mean breaking even every year, but over a period of time, so a small profit one year and a small loss the next.

"We have less sponsorship income in general around the country, TV revenues aren't going anywhere at the moment and attendances at some clubs are doing well and falling away a bit at others. It's an incredibly challenging environment. But this is an opportunity."

The removal of debt burdens allows clubs to focus on reinvesting in sporting performance. Dundee United offer a prime example, since the club's youth development programme has delivered a regular supply of promising young talent into the first-team squad.

Transfer fees were inevitably required for the likes of David Goodwillie - £2m to Blackburn Rovers - and Johnny Russell - £750,000 to Derby County - since United had debt payments to service.

The Tannadice club can drive a harder bargain now that agroup of fan investors have contributed to the wiping of £4m in debt. Clubs will covet the likes of Stuart Armstrong, Ryan Gauld, John Souttar and Andrew Robertson, but United are under no pressure to sell.

This allows Scottish clubs more leeway in attempting to keep young talent in the country for longer before the financial pull of the English game eventually draws them south.

Aberdeen are among those who have suffered from losing players before they establish themselves in the first team, with Jack Grimmer leaving for Fulham when he was 17 and Ryan Fraser leaving for Bournemouth at 18.

Hibernian and Hearts have established a strong reputation for developing young talent, and Scottish clubs can exploit the worth of that reputation. English teams will always be able to offer higher wages, but many young Scots, like Goodwillie and Grimmer, have travelled south and seen their careers stall.

To keep young talent in the country for longer, and to the benefit of Scottish football, players need to be certain that their game will develop further through regular first-team experience. That will enable them to become better and so still attract a future transfer, but clubs needs to be financially stable enough to make decisions based on sporting rather than income merits.

"The stronger the club's financial position, the stronger they can be in the transfer market," says Ross Wilson, formerly head of football development at Falkirk and now head of football operations at Huddersfield Town.

"But also, the stronger the club's brand becomes in terms of being regularly capable of producing young players, so they can eventually leave at a premium.

"For example, Crewe Alexandria are a League One club, but when they sell players it's at a premium compared to clubs around them, because historically they have a reputation for being a strong developer and seller of players.

"That could be replicated in Scotland, with clubs consistently producing players for the first team."

Most clubs will have no option but to live within their means, so the ideal is to improve those circumstances.

The benefactor model has been undermined following the financial collapses of Hearts, Rangers and Motherwell, while supporters are less inclined to welcome investment for the purpose of making a return because sporting performance needs to be the priority.

There is also little wealth to be made in the Scottish game when external revenue streams are so modest.

"No bank is prepared to lend new money into the sector in Scotland," says Barnett. "Therefore clubs have to learn to live within their means. And what's the purpose of a football club?

"In my view, the objective should be to operate a balanced budget over a period of time, not making big or regular small profits."

Youth development, smart player trading, all from a stable financial basis, offers Scottish football clubs an opportunity to build a sense of optimism.

Supporters also tend to bond with home-grown talent, while the national team will benefit from a growing emphasis not only on academy graduates, but finding a way to keep them in Scottish football for longer so that if they eventually leave for England, they are better able to thrive at a higher level.

"I'm struggling to think of a club that has made significant investment in its youth academy and not managed to produce players," says Wilson.

"If you're making proper investment in it, in terms of the structure and the people you bring in, then it reaps the rewards of players being produced and being sold."

[Kay Fabe]

Week 31

Dundee Utd 2-1 Inverness C.T  (Gauld, Dow - Polworth)    
Att: 6,750


Hearts 1-1 Aberdeen (Hamill - Flood)
Att: 13,913


Inverness C.T  1-2 Motherwell (Christie - Anier, Vigurs)    
Att; 2,366


Partick Thistle 1-5 Celtic  (Elliott - Stokes 2, Henderson, Johansen, Commons)      
Att: 7,549


Ross County 1-1 Aberdeen  (De Lueew - Rooney)      
Att: 3,775


St Mirren 0-1 St Johnstone  (MacLean)  
Att: 2,817

[Kay Fabe]

Week 32 Results


Aberdeen 1-1 Dundee Utd (McGinn - Paton)    
Att: 14,672


Celtic 1-1 Ross County (Commons - De Lueew)      
Att: 49,270


Hearts 2-0 Hibernian (Carrick, King)  
Att: 16,873


Inverness C.T 2-2 St Mirren (Draper, Tansey - Naismith, Kelly)        
Att: 3,032


Motherwell 1-2 Kilmarnock Vigurs - McKenzie, Slater)    
Att: 4,467


St Johnstone 1-1 Partick Thistle (May - Doolan)
Att: 2,999

[Kay Fabe]

Week 33 Results

Dundee Utd 0-2 Celtic (Samaras, Stokes)    
Att: 11,033


Hibernian 0-2 Aberdeen (McGinn 2)
Att: 9,321


Kilmarnock 1-2 St Johnstone (Muirhead - Wright, Anderson)
Att: 3,665


Partick Thistle 2-4 Hearts (Doolan, McMillan - Carrick, King, Stevenson 2)  
Att: 4,262


Ross County 1-2 Inverness C.T (Kiss - Doran, McKay)
Att: 4,433


St Mirren 3-2 Motherwell (Thompson 2, McLean - Anier, Sutton)
Att: 4,377

[Hero]

Will the loss of Hearts to the Premier League be another blow to it's appeal?

[The Special Juan]

Will the loss of Hearts to the Premier League be another blow to it's appeal?

No, everyone hates Hearts.

[Kay Fabe]

Will the loss of Hearts to the Premier League be another blow to it's appeal?

As a current football team no but as a historical club then Definitely, they've got the second highest average attendance in the Premiership, just ahead of Aberdeen, going to Tyncastle is one of the highlights of the season, its usually packed, the atmosphere is always electric too, for me its a huge loss, they've been so weakened though this term that they haven't been at the races, that being said if they didn't start on minys 15 points I'd have still fancied them to stay up, manybare saying that if you gave them their 15 points back now they'd still be bottom which is true but I dont feel that would be the case if they started on level terms.

It's not all doom and gloom though, they have some brilliant kids and hopefully they'll be out of Administration by the end of this coming week, with Rangers also in the Championship next season with a few other good clubs which haven't yet been determined it'll definitely be an interesting League next season but with teams 2-4 qualifying for the Play-Off's with the second bottom of thr Premiership then hopefully they will bounce back instantly, add to that Rangers in their new guise hopefully being promoted to the Premiership next year then the league could maybe start looking stronger visually again and more attractive to broadcasters and sponsors etc...

[Kay Fabe]

Congratulations to Raith Rovers for their 1-0 Ramsdens Cup Final victory over Rangers

[JAS]

I see Atletico Madrid are in the semis for the first time since 1974. Anyone remember when they faced Celtic in the semis back then?? Even as a young Rangers fan I was utterly shocked and disgusted at their blatant cheating and have always detested them ever since.
This incarnation however do look like they can play a bit without resorting to the disgusting tactics used in '74

[Kay Fabe]

My dad has hated them with a passion ever since that night Jas, unlike him I dont hold a grudge, probably coz it was before my time, I quite like them, although their entire management team and backroom staff look like they're Columbian drug barons

[Kay Fabe]

Scottish Cup Semi-Final Weekend


Rangers 1-3 Dundee Utd (Smith - Armstrong, MacKay-Steven, Ciftci)
Att: 41,059


St Johnstone 2-1 Aberdeen (May 2 - McGinn)
Att: 19,059

[Kay Fabe]

The average attendances so far at the point of the split in the inaugural SPFL Premiership is as follows...

Aberdeen Average Attendance 2013/14: 12,844 - up 3,234 from 2012/13
Non Celtic Average Attendance 2013/14: 12,061 - up 2,919 from 2012/13

Celtic Average Attendance 2013/14: 46,807 - down 109 from 2012/13

Dundee Utd Average Attendance 2013/14: 7,608 - up 61 from 2012/13
Non Celtic Average Attendance 2013/14: 7,181 - up 522 from 2012/13

Hibernian Average Attendance 2013/14: 10,068 - down 421 from 2012/13
Non Hearts/Celtic Average Attendance 2013/14: 8,878 - down 1,428 from 2012/13

Hearts Average Attendance 2013/14: 14,187 - up 1,026 from 2012/13
Non Hibs/Celtic Average Attendance 2013/14: 13947 - up 1,336 from 2012/13

Inverness C.T Average Attendance 2013/14: 3,567 - down 471 from 2012/13
Non R.County/Celtic Average Attendance 2013/14: 3,319 - 143 from 2012/13

Kilmarnock Average Attendance 2013/14: 4,168 - down 478 from 2012/13
Non Celtic Average Attendance 2013/14: 3,814 - down 731 from 2012/13

Motherwell Average Attendance 2013/14: 4,947 - up 415 from 2012/13
Non Celtic Average Attendance 2013/14: 4,669 - down 33 from 2012/13

Partick Thistle Average Attendance 2013/14: 4,980 - up 1,367 from 2012/13
Non Celtic Average Attendance 2013/14: 4,607 - N/A

Ross County Average Attendance 2013/14: 3,573 - down 856 from 2012/13
Non ICT/Celtic Average Attendance 2013/14: 3,422 - down 458 from 2012/13

St Johnstone Average Attendance 2013/14: 3,704 - down 8 from 2012/13
Non Celtic Average Attendance 2013/14: 3,496 - up 56 from 2012/13

St Mirren Average Attendance 2013/14: 4,336 - down 63 from 2012/13
Non Celtic Average Attendance 2013/14: 4,240 - up 45 from 2012/13

[Kay Fabe]

SPFL Premiership Attendance League:

1. Celtic 46,807
2. Hearts 14,187
3. Aberdeen 12,844
4. Hibernian 10,068
5. Dundee Utd 7,608
6. Partick Thistle 4,980
7. Motherwell 4,947
8. St Mirren 4,336
9. Kilmarnock 4,168
10. St Johnstone 3,704
11. Ross County 3,573
12. Inverness C.T 3,567

[Kay Fabe]

Great news filtering through from Lithuania that Hearts creditors have agreed to transfer their shares of the club over to the 'Foundation of Hearts' and Hearts will be coming out of Administration, this was the Hail Mary for the club, if this didn't go through they were likely going to be Liquidated and reformed as a Newco and apply to start in the bottom tier of Scottish Football.

Delighted for the club and the fans, the fans have been excellent throughout this whole saga and have really dealt with it with dignity, I'm not the biggest fan of Hearts fans for things they've said and done through the years but the good of Scottish Football is when the biggest clubs in the Country are in a decent position and while they'll be in the SPFL Championship next season at least they'll be in a position to challenge for Promotion either through Automatic promotion of via the SPFL Play-Off's.

[Kay Fabe]

Hearts 2-0 Ross County (Hamill, Carrick)  
Att: 13,692


Inverness C.T 0-0 Aberdeen
Att: 4,224


Kilmarnock 1-2 Partick Thistle (Maksimenko - Higgingbotham, Taylor-Sinclair)
Att: 4,980


Motherwell 3-3 Celtic (Sutton 2, Francios-Angol - Stokes, Samaras, Griffiths)      
Att: 7,493


St Johnstone 2-0 Dundee Utd (Anderson, May)
Att: 5,223


St Mirren 2-0 Hibernian (McLean, McGowan)
Att: 5,287

[Kay Fabe]

SPFL Premiership Player of the Year Nominations

Frazer Forster - Celtic
Kris Commons - Celtic
Virgil Van Dijk - Celtic
Kris Boyd - Kilmarnock


SPFL Prwmiership Young Player of the Year Nominations

Stuart Armstrong - Dundee Utd
Andrew Robertson - Dundee Utd
Ryan Gauld - Dundee Utd
Stevie May - St Johnstone


SPFL Manager of the Year Nominations

Derek McIness - Aberdeen
Neil Lennon - Celtic
Stuart McCall - Motherwell
Tommy Wright - St Johnstone

[Kay Fabe]

It’s that time of the year again when nominations are handed out to the players and managers considered to be the most consistent over the course of the Season, this always leads to debate over who should get the nod.

 
You’ll be hard pressed to ever pick a team that anyone let alone everyone will be 100% in agreement with, I’ve had  

a few goes at it myself via Twitter, I believe I’ve finally settled on the players who I believed make up the SPFL Premiership Team of the Season.

 
GK. Fraser Forster - I initially toyed with the idea of putting Jamie Mcadonald or Jamie Langfield in this position both have had good seasons by their own standards but after thinking about it a lot I felt I was possibly being unfair on Forster, yes he hasn’t had as much to do as other keepers but what henhas had to do he has done very well and after breaking the Shut out record he had some moments of brilliance during that period, the Spanish press don’t call him the Great Wall for nothing, after much debate I feel he ia truly deserving of his spot in the team.

 

RB. Stephen O’Donnell - This might be a shock inclusion, I’ve really rated O’Donnell’s performances for Partick Thistle this season,  Thistle have tried to play good attacking football and their fullbacks have been pivotal to this, David Raven and Dave MacKay are the other candidates, Adam Matthews has obviously impressed when fit but hasn’t featured enough,  Shaelum Logan is another, he has been brilliant since joining Aberdeen on loan but hasn’t featured enough to qualify.

 

LB. Andrew Robertson - Robertson has been a revelation this season, to think he was playing 4th tier football 12 months ago is amazing, the leap in standards has been seemless for this talented kid, hhe’s had some major competition for this spot in my opinion, Emilio Izaguirre has been excellent for Celtic this season, often overlooked,  finally over his broken leg and is at the level of his first season, also, Aaron Taylor-Sinclair has been very consistant for Partick Thistle, much like the man on the oppositie side of his defence which makes my RB spot, Robertson though pips them both, his delivery, his energy and his goal threat along with his defensive work make him the only choice, the best Scottish left back in the Country for me.

 
CB. Virgil Van Dijk - What a talent this boy is, Celtic signed him for £2.6m and his first Season in Scottish Football has been eventful, he’s extremely comfortable on the ball and is good in the air, is a good talker too and has improved Efe Ambrose no end in his short time with Celtic, I would urge fans to enjoy him while they can, it maybe not be this Summer but I’m sure Celtic will recieve a big fee in the Wanyama region for this guy sometime soon



CB. Mark Reynolds - He has been a colossus for Aberdeen this Season, a rock at the heart of the Dons defence, Aberdeen have rebuilt themselves based on a strong spine and Reynolds is king pin of it. Dominant in the are and his reading of the game has been excellent, he always showed signs of promise at a young age at Motherwell, he’s really coming of age this season.

 
CM. Scott Brown - The Celtic skipper has been superb in the SPFL Premiership all Season, after missing a lot of games last season he is in course for a perfect season in the League attendance wise, with the loss of Ki, Wanyama and then Joe Ledley and the injury woes of Beram Kayal, Brown has been charged with overseeing a transitional period in the Celtic midfield and I feel he has shown great maturity in doing so, his performances have been as good as at any time in his Celtic career.

 
CM. Stuart Armstrong - has been one of the main stand-outs in a season which to it’s credit has been full of stand out performers, he has great vision, a wonderful touch, plenty of pace and power and his timing is impeccable,  he is the Heart of the Dundee Utd team and in my opinion the jewel in a very talented crown at Tannadice, he has it all and I’m sure he’ll get a big move within the next 18 months, I don’t know how but I’d love to see him staying in Scotland for as long as we can hold onto him.

 

AM.  Peter Pawlett - Pawlett is another player who has been vital to the resurgence of Aberdeen, 12 months ago on loan at St Johnstone, no-one was quite sure what the future held for Pawlett, while no-one was in doubt of his potential we all wondered if he’d ever realise it at Pittodrie, Derek McInnes has slotted him into his system and with a higher standard of team-mate around him, Pawlett has flourished, possibly the fastest player in the SPFL Premiership.

 

AM. Kris Commons - Commons has had the season of his life in 2013/14, with the loss of Gary Hooper without Celtic signing anyone with any proven goalscoring track record, Commons was always going to be vital this season,.after hitting 19 goals last season he was desperate to hit 20 this term, he smashed that and is only two shy of 30, a phenomomal record for a player who isn’t a striker, he has been at the heart of most of the good things Celtic have did creatively this season, for me he is the stand out candidate for Scotland’s Player of the Year.

 

CF. Stevie May - This is a no-brainer of a selection, for the past 3 years Stevie May has been a goalscoring machine, 2 years ago he went to Alloa in SFL3 and scored 19 goals in 19 games, last year he went the old First Division (The Championship) and bagged 26 goals 25 in the League, there was a lot of pressure and expectation on his shoulders at the beginning of the Season and he has duly delivered 26 goals for the Season so far and his deadly Double at Ibrox fired St Johnstone into their first ever Scottish Cup Final.

 

CF. Kris Boyd - This selection is bound to cause discussion, is Boyd the best player? No but has he been most influential to his team? I’d say yes, Nadir Ciftći seems to be the popular choice in these selections and while I’ve been a big fan of some of his performances this season, over the course of the Premiership Season with just 9 goals, he just hasn’t done as much as Kris Boyd, the other big candidate for me would be Anthony Stokes, I think he’s done well this season, his link up play is underrated and many Celtic goals have came from either the space he creates or his vision, he didn’t score anywhere near enough but a late burst has him on course for 20 for the Season which should be a minimum requirement for a Celtic striker. Back to Boyd, his work-rate and link up play has been an eye opener this season, he has been the old man of the Kilmarnock team and he has relished it, he looks a better player than the one who left Rangers in 2010 and his 19 goals in 31 Premiership games for a Club who could easily have crumbled this season is just far to impressive.

 

That’s my Premiership Team of the Year for 2013/14

[Kay Fabe]

KILMARNOCK could be plunged into crisis with the SPFL set to probe a claim that a staff member forged a player’s signature in order to play him against Celtic.

Record Sport can reveal the league’s top brass have ordered an urgent investigation into the alleged rule breach which relates to the champions’ 3-0 win at Rugby Park last month. And, if 
found guilty, Killie could be hammered with a range of sanctions including a possible points deduction which could condemn Allan Johnston’s team to a nerve shredding relegation play-off.

It could also provide a Premiership lifeline to 
St Mirren, Ross County, Hibs and Partick Thistle and save them from going down.

SPFL chief executive Neil Doncaster refused to comment last night when Record Sport contacted him about the dramatic developments.

But we can confirm Doncaster has been briefed about the accusations of 
foul play and has personally ordered a 
full-scale inquiry.

The SPFL have not yet established which player is at the centre of the allegations.

It’s understood 
the SPFL probe will 
consider a claim that a Kilmarnock office worker witnessed another staff member forging the player’s signature in the lead up to a game against Celtic last month that the champions won 3-0.

It is alleged that 
the SPFL contacted Kilmarnock to alert them to the fact that a player’s signature was missing from a page of paperwork and that, unless it was submitted, the player could not be registered in time for the game in question.

It’s then claimed 
the missing signature was added but not by the player.

And – if this accusation is proven to be correct – then Kilmarnock could face the prospect of a points penalty which would almost certainly tip Johnston’s team into the dreaded play-offs.

The SPFL’s rule book demands that member clubs act in the utmost good faith at all times.

But Doncaster’s team will also investigate whether a more specific rule break, relating to registration of player’s regulation 72 which states: “Any Club which, in the opinion of the Board, unfairly traffics or deals in the Registration of any Player or otherwise abuses in any way the Registration, transfer, or Compensation systems shall be dealt with as the Board may determine.”

A source told us: “A wide range of sanctions, ranging from a slap on the wrist to expulsion, would be open to the SPFL board if these allegations are found to be true. But in this instance a points deduction would be 
one of the more likely outcomes.

“Points deductions would normally be considered if a club played an ineligible player – even if it was simply down to an honest mistake with paperwork.

“But in this case, it could be argued that the club not only fielded an ineligible player but also that a deliberate attempt was made to deceive the SPFL office bearers. If that were to be the case then it would be treated as a very serious matter.”

It’s understood the complaint was also made to club chairman Michael Johnston who pledged to carry out an internal investigation.

Record Sport attempted to contact a spokesperson for Kilmarnock but no-one from the club was available to comment.

[Kay Fabe]

Aberdeen 1-1St Johnstone (Rooney - May)   
Att: 10,003


Celtic 6-0 Inverness C.T (Stokes 3, Griffiths, Ambrose, Pukki)    
Att: 45,712


Dundee Utd 5-1 Motherwell (Ciftći 2, Armstrong, Dow, Graham - Ainsworth)  
Att: 6,383


Hibernian 1-2 Hearts (Forster - Paterson 2)    
Att: 14,806


Partick Thistle 1-1 St Mirren (Doolan - McLean)    
Att: 5,971


Ross County 2-1 Kilmarnock (Kiss, Brittain - Boyd)    
Att: 3,401

[Kay Fabe]

Scottish Manager of the Year - Derek McInnes

Scottish Footballer of the Year - Kris Commons

Scottish Young Player of the Year - Andrew Robertson

All winners are well deserved

[Kay Fabe]

Week 36 Preview


Celtic vs Aberdeen: Scotland's top two teams, Aberdeen have won the last two fixtures between these clubs but they've went off the boil lately, there is still 2nd place to secure though and the differencd is about £500,000 between 2nd place and 3rd, Celtic have been playing well for the last 6 weeks or so, they know they need to win all remaining games if they're going to break the 100 point barrier, Stokes and Griffiths are scoring freely at the moment too, I can see a very open game. Prediction - Celtic 3-1 Aberdeen


Hearts vs Kilmarnock: Hearts are on their best run of the season, they've won 4 and drawn 1 of their last 5 games, Kilmarnock have only won once in their last 6 games losing the other 5, Killie have fallen into the Relegation Play-Off spot although there's only 2 points separating five clubs, in Kris Boyd they've got someone who has 20 League goals and will probably keep them up, Kilmarnock have won all 3 of their previous games against Hearts this season and the last time they faced off at Tyncastle Kilmarnock won 4-0...that being said Hearts are on a great run while Killie are the opposite. Prediction - Hearts 2-1 Kilmarnock


Hibernian vs Partick Thistle: Hibs are on a horrendous run, the worst run of any of the bottom 6 in 2014 and don't look like scoring while they cant keep a clean sheet, Thistle on the other hand have played some very nice football and dobt have a problem scoring goals, they also don't seem to have a problem losing them either, a win for either club will almost guarantee them safety but I think both would take a draw. Prediction - Hibs 1-1 Partick Thistle


Inverness C.T vs Dundee Utd: ICT have struggled since losing Terry Butcher, John Hugjes has come in and changed their philosophy and has them playing more football, they're a better team to watch but not as deadly, Dundee Utd have for me been the most entertaining side to watch this season, the boys they have are great, these clubs have met each other 5 times already, this will be the 4th time in Inverness, I think Utd with the hope of closing in on 2nd and 3rd place and with Armstrong and Ciftći in top form will win this one although I think it will be close. Prediction - Inverness C.T 2-3 Dundee Utd


Motherwell vs St Johnstone: Motherwell are 4 points off 2nd place and will probably believe a win will see the gap close to 1 point by tomorrow night, Motherwell have had another brilliant season, John Sutton has been a brilliant replacement dor Michael Higdon, he has managed 21 goals in the League, St Johnstone has had another very good season, they've got another top 6 finish and just qualified for their first ever Scottish Cup Final and in Stevie May they have a player who can win any hame for them. Prediction - Motherwell 3-1 St Johnstone


St Mirren vs Ross County: Only a point separates these clubs, St Mirren are currrently 'top' of the bottom 6 while County are smack bang in the middle of it only a point in front of the Play-Off position, StMirren have been decent at home and have hit a bit of form while Ross County haven't looked like buying a win until last weekend when they beat a poor Kilmarnock side, a win for St Mirren basically guarantees SPFL Premiership safety and with Steven Thompson and Kenny McLean in good form I can't see past them. Prediction: St Mirren 2-0 Ross County

[The Special Juan]

Excited about tomorrow's First Division (I'm old-fashioned) title matches. Dundee should do it but I wouldn't it past them to bugger it up. Hopefully the louts don't go about trashing the city centre.... again.

[Kay Fabe]

I'm hoping Dundee do it too, heard they've sold 11k tickets, I was reading that in their last 26 matches with Dumbarton they've won 23 and drawn 3, last time they lost was 100 years agoN I hope tomorrow isn't the 1 in 100

The Title race has been unbelievable, if Dundee win the title I'd like to see Falkirk beat Hamilton in the Play-Off to qualify for the Premiership Play-Off

[Kay Fabe]

Week 36 Results


Celtic 5-2 Aberdeen (Brown 2, Stokes, Commons - McGinn, Logan)
Att: 47,468


Hearts 5-0 Kilmarnock(Stevenson 3, King, Paterson)
Att: 13,656


Hibernian 1-1 Partick Thistle (Stanton - Doolan)
Att: 10,740


Inverness. C.T 1-1 Dundee Utd (Christie - El Alagui)
Att: 3,428


Motherwell 2-1 St Johnstone(Ainsworth, McManus - MacKay)
Att: 7,201


St Mirren 1-0 Ross County (Wylde)
Att: 4,414

[Kay Fabe]

b]SPFL Premiership Relegation Battle[/b]

Teams	Played --	Points --	Goal Diff
St Mirren	36	38	-18
Hibernian	36	35	-18
Partick Thistle	36	35	-20
Ross County	36	34	-20
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Kilmarnock	36	33	-23
_________________________________
Hearts	36	22*	-18

[The Special Juan]

I'm hoping Dundee do it too, heard they've sold 11k tickets, I was reading that in their last 26 matches with Dumbarton they've won 23 and drawn 3, last time they lost was 100 years agoN I hope tomorrow isn't the 1 in 100

The Title race has been unbelievable, if Dundee win the title I'd like to see Falkirk beat Hamilton in the Play-Off to qualify for the Premiership Play-Off

Well that was some finish to the title race!! I heard Dundee were holding on right at the end and if Dumbarton had scored.... Still, glad to see them back. Who doesn't love a Dundee derby*??


*Note: Only those in Dundee love a Dundee derby. No one else cares.

[Kay Fabe]

Something very dodgy about that Hamilton score, they needed Dundee to draw and they needed to win by 8 clear goals....boom a 10-2 win...very convenient.

Glad Dundee held on, almost 11,000 fans at Dens Park on Saturday

[The Special Juan]

I heard Morton had a penalty and the way they missed it was very suspicious.

[Kay Fabe]

Ahhh now that brings back memories...wouldn't be the first time with that mob

[Kay Fabe]

Week 37 Results


Dundee Utd 1-3 Aberdeen (Dillon - Vernon 3)    
Att: 8,677


Hearts 2-4 Partick Thistle (Paterson, Wilson - Taylor, Fraser, Mair, Higginbotham)  
Att: 14,059


Kilmarnock 1-0 St Mirren (Boyd)  
Att: 4,911


Motherwell 2-1Inverness C.T (Sutton, Warren OG - Shinnie)    
Att: 4,482


Ross County 1-0 Hibernian (Brittain)  
Att: 3,850


St Johnstone 3-3 Celtic (Clancy, Brown, O'Halloran - Commons, Pukki, Van Dijk)    
Att: 4,624



SPFL Premiership 1st Leg Play-Off's

Queen of the South 2-1 Falkirk (McHugh 2 - Alston)   
Att: 1,996



SPFL Championship 1st Leg Play-Off's

Ayr United 1-2 Cowdenbeath (Pope - Stewert )
Att: 1,495

Stranraer 2-1 Dunfermline (Graham, Bell - El Bakhtaoui)  
Att: 867



SPFL League One 1st Leg Play-Off's

Clyde 1-0 East Fife (Ferguson)  
Att: 1,005

Stirling Albion 3-1 Alloa Athletic (Weir, Weatherston 2 - Hopkirk) 
Att: 972

[Kay Fabe]

SPFL Premiership Relegation Battle

Teams	PLD -	+/-	- PTS
Partick Thistle	37	-18	38
St Mirren	37	-19	38
Ross County	37	-19	37
Kilmarnock	37	-22	36
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Hibernian	37	-19	35
_________________________________
Hearts	37	-20	22*

So now there is two, Survival Saturday, its all down to what happens at Easter Road, Hibs vs Kilmarnock, Hibs must win to avoid falling into the Premiership Play-Off

[Kay Fabe]

Week 38 Results - Part 1 - Bottom Six

Hibs 0-1 Kilmarnock (Boyd)      
Att: 15,057


Partick Thistle 2-3 Ross County (Taylor, Craigen - Slew, Arquin, De Lueew)    
Att: 4,390


St Mirren 1-1 Hearts (Newton - Carrick)    
Att: 6,311



SPFL Premiership Play-Off 1/4 Final 2nd Leg

Falkirk 3-1 Queen of the South (Loy, Sibbald, Alston  - McHugh)
*Falkirk win 4-3 on aggregate after extra time
Att: 4,427


Week 38 - Part 2 - Top 6


Aberdeen 0-1 Motherwell (Reid)  
Att: 17,016


Celtic 3-1 Dundee Utd (Stokes, Samaras, Commons - Twardzik OG)  
Att: 52,400


Inverness C.T 2-0 St Johnstone (Christie, Tansy)  
Att: 3,121

[Kay Fabe]

Teams	PLD -	+/-	- PTS
Ross County	38	-18	40
St Mirren	38	-19	39
Kilmarnock	38	-21	39
Partick Thistle	38	-19	38
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Hibernian	38	-20	35
_________________________________
Hearts	38	-20	23*

[AberdeenSteve]

Please can we say goodbye to Hibernian, not much to ask

  

[Kay Fabe]

Hibs have offered absolutely nothing to the League for years but I'll be hoping beyond hope they stay up, I want to see our biggest clubs in the top tier.

[Lowlandbrit]

You've got to admire Hibs' commitment to continuing their rivalry with Hearts though.

[Kay Fabe]

Could face each other 10 times next season, hilarious really

[Kay Fabe]

626 goals scored in the inaugural SPFL Premiership this season, the second highest total since restructuring the top flight to 12 teams back in the 2000/01 Season.

[Kay Fabe]

Big News coming from the SPFL

Hearts sack Gary Locke and St Mirren will not re-new Danny Lennon's contract.

Hearts have brought in Craig Levein as their new Director of Football and he'll oversee every Football decision, Robbie Nielson will be the new First Team Coach.

[Lowlandbrit]

What are the chances the Championship gets a higher average attendance than the Premiership next season?

[Kay Fabe]

No chance in my opinion, lots of people are suggesting it but it wont happen

For Celtic in the Prem you've got Rangers in the Champipnship
For Aberdeen in the Premiership you've got Hearts in the Ch'ship
For Dundee in the Premiership you've got Hibs in the Championship
the  you've got Dundee Utd who averaged big this year without .Dundee Derby, you have solid 4.5k-5k sides like Motherwell/Kilmarnock/St Mirren/Partick

then you have the under 3k-4k's in Ross County/ICT/St Johnstone

then you're left with Hamilton who'll probably be in the under 3k mark

it'll be closer than its ever been in terms of attendance but come next May the Premiership will have a superior average




Celtic. 53k
rangers 41.5k
hearts 14k
hibs 13.5k
aberdeen 11k
dundee 3.5k
motherwell 3.2k
thistle 1.8k
kilmarnock 3k
ross county 2k
st johnstone 1.8k
hamilton 700



16 team league

Celtic              - Rangers Hibs, Hearts, Aberdeen, Dundee Utd
Rangers         - Celtic, Hibs, Hearts, Aberdeen, Dundee Utd
Aberdeen      - Celtic, Rangers, Hibs, Dundee Utd, Hearts
Hibs                - Celtic, Rangers, Hearts, Aberdeen, Falkirk
Hearts            - Hibs, Celtic, Rangers, Aberdeen, Dundee
Motherwell    - Hamilton, Celtic, Rangers, Dundee Utd, Aberdeen
Thistle            - St Mirren, Celtic, Rangers, Kilmarnock, Motherwell
Kilmarnock    - Celtic, Rangers, St Mirren, Partick Thistle, Aberdeen
Dundee           - Dundee Utd, Hibs, Hearts, Rangers, Celtic
R.County         - Hibs, Hearts, Aberdeen, Dundee Utd, Dunfermline
St Johnstone - Dundee Utd, Dundee, Aberdeen, Falkirk, Hibs
Hamilton         - Motherwell, Kilmarnock, Partick Thistle, St Mirren
St Mirren         -  P.Thistle, Kilmarnock, Hibs, Hearts, Aberdeen
Dundee Utd     - Dundee, Celtic, Rangers, Aberdeen, Motherwell
Dunfermline    - Falkirk, St Mirren, Celtic, Hearts, Motherwell
Falkirk               - Dunfermline, Hibs, Rangers, Celtic, Hearts



Celtic 15
Rangers 15
Aberdeen 14
Hibs 14
Hearts 13
Dundee Utd 12
St Mirren 9
Thistle 8
Kilmarnock 8
Falkirk 8
Motherwell 8
Dundee 7
Dunfermline 7
Hamilton 5
R.County 5
St Johnstone 5


64 games a season
30 matchdays
Friday       7:45pm
Saturday  7:15pm
Sunday     2:00pm


30 Main Event Fixtures
Celtic/Rangers 2
Hearts/Hibs 2
Dundee/Dundee Utd 2
Aberdeen/Rangers 2
Celtic/Hearts 2
Celtic/Hibs 2
Hibs/Rangers 2
Rangers/Hearts 2
Aberdeen/Celtic 2
Hibs/Aberdeen 2
Dundee Utd/Celtic 2
Dundee Utd/Rangers 2
Hearts/Aberdeen  2
Motherwell/Hamilton 2
Thistle vs Celtic/Rangers (away only) 2

[Sponsored content]