There's very little that surprises us here at Inside Left Towers these days. When we first heard SFA Chief Executive Gordon Smith blithely announce only days after he sacked his national team manager that those pariahs of the Scottish game, Alan McGregor, Barry Ferguson and Kris Boyd would be eligible for selection by any [. Click to continue reading...

It did not take Chick Young long. In his obituary of George Burley's reign as national team boss the great oracle of our game points out that a new manager means a new chance for Kris Boyd, Allan McGregor and Barry Ferguson.Fair enough. A new broom and new beginnings. No manager taking the job should have his hands tied. Click to continue reading...

Steven Gerrard's hotly-disputed second-half penalty rescued a point for Liverpool but did little to lift the pressure on boss Rafael Benitez.
It is just one win now in nine matches for the Reds and they must be grateful for the two-week international break which will allow the dust to settle on their faltering season. Click to continue reading...

Time to stand up and be counted.

Portsmouth Vs Liverpool Tickets Still Available!

Join Our Facebook Fan Page for the Latest News/Rumours/Forums/Videos/WAGS/Funny Stuff/Features!

Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez is hopeful Fernando Torres will be fit, and the striker has been in light training as he recovers from a groin injury.

Click to continue reading...

Image by Getty Images via Daylife In what seems to be becoming a habit, Manchester City drew their fourth successive Premier League match with a goalless encounter with Birmingham City. The hosts played some hard working football an created many chances, the best of them all being the penalty shot from James McFadden early in [. Click to continue reading...

With the commencement of the UEFA Champions League group stages this midweek, an important piece of news was relegated to the back of most reporting outlets. Perhaps another reason behind the lack of coverage for the story in question was the refusal, on part of most football lovers, to recollect any part of the uninspiring internationals break.

Click to continue reading...

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has said that UEFA were right in punishing Arsenal striker Eduardo da Silva for his dive in the Champions League game against Celtic. The Croatian international fell dramatically in the box in the second leg at a crucial juncture of the game, and referee Manuel Gonzalez pointed to the [. Click to continue reading...

Man United v Birmingham Live Streaming & Match Preview
Premier League - Man United vs Birmingham City Live Online - Click Here
Sunday, 16th August 2009
Kick Off : 13:30 GMT
Venue : Old Trafford, Manchester

Last seasons Premier League champions Manchester United will kick off their new season against the newly-promoted Birmingham City, with City manager Alex McCleish probably happy to get this one fixture out of the way, although he will be hoping for a positive start which the club can build on throughout the season.

Click to continue reading...

Alex McLeish strengthens his defence.

Birmingham City's hunt for a left back came to an end this afternoon, with the acquisition of trialist Gregory Vignal, formerly of Liverpool, Rangers, Portsmouth and Southampton. The 28 year old Frenchman joins the club on a 1 year contract from French side, Lens, and becomes Birmingham's 9th signing of the summer behind Stephen Carr, Lee Bowyer, Roger Johnson, Scott Dann, Christian Benitez, Giovanny Espinoza and Barry Ferguson.

Click to continue reading...

Written by Seb Gevers
When George Burley took over at the helm of the Scottish national side, he knew the scale of the task ahead of him. He knew, because history tells its own story. Scotland, a team forever on the edge of qualification. Scotland, a team forever on the edge of the next round. Click to continue reading...

Can Alex McLeish lead the Blues to long term Premier League survival?

Its hard to think of another team who have suffered relegation after relegation, followed by promotion after promotion, but thats what Alex McLeish and Birmingham City have once again gone through. Former Scotland manager McLeish, took over from former manager Steve Bruce in November 2007, who had already steered Birmingham through two promotions, and suffered one relegation, whilst heading for another.

Click to continue reading...

We preview Scotland's upcoming make-or-break game against Norway. A win would push us a long way to qualification, providing other teams do us a favour. A familiar story, no? Click to continue reading...

Birmingham City Biggest Ins: Christian Benitez from Santos Laguna is a proven goal scorer in Mexico. Barry Ferguson and Lee Bowyer should form a decent partnership as the spine of the midfield. Joe Hart coming in on loan should provide him plenty...
[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! Click to continue reading...

You know it's getting serious when the Scottish national team isn't allowed to drink.
(Is it? I dunno, but it sounds like an intriguing lead...)
Coach George Burley wants his team fit as a fiddle for next week's World Cup qualifier against Norway.

The national team boss is desperate to avoid a repeat of the early-hours drinking session indulged in by Barry Ferguson and Allan McGregor following March's Group Nine defeat in Holland.

Click to continue reading...

This year Rangers stole back the Scottish League title from Celtic on the last day of the season. Many Premiership fans will recognise the regulars in the Rangers side from the 2008-09 season which saw Rangers restore pride to the blue side of Glasgow. David Weir, Steven Davis, Pedro Mendes, Madjid Bougherra and Kenny Miller all player major roles for Rangers last season.

Click to continue reading...

They seemed as if they'd thrown it all away, but they pulled themselves together on the last match of the season to gain automatic promotion. Birmingham City always seem to do things the hard way and they just about squeezed over the line. The fact of the matter is that they should have never been relegated from the Premiership, but the board have continually refused to accept the blame for the Carson Yeung fiasco.

Click to continue reading...

UPDATE: According to Birmingham City's official website, Birmingham have completed the signing of Barry Ferguson. Ferguson signed a three-year deal with the club.

July 15th, 2009 According to Birmingham City's official website, Birmingham have agreed to a fee with Glasgow Rangers for midfielder Barry Ferguson.

Click to continue reading...

 Â

The Chicago Fire moved one step closer to silverware on Wednesday night, riding a Cuauhtemoc Blanco free kick to knock off the New England Revolution, 2-1, in the SuperLiga semifinals.

The victory means the Fire will now face Mexican side Tigres in the SuperLiga final. Tigres defeated Santos Laguna, 3-2, in the second semifinal at Gillette Stadium.

Click to continue reading...

 Â

The Chicago Fire moved one step closer to silverware on Wednesday night, riding a Cuauhtemoc Blanco free kick to knock off the New England Revolution, 2-1, in the SuperLiga semifinals.

The victory means the Fire will now face Mexican side Tigres in the SuperLiga final. Tigres defeated Santos Laguna, 3-2, in the second semifinal at Gillette Stadium.

Click to continue reading...

UPDATE: According to Birmingham City's official website, Birmingham have agreed to a fee with Glasgow Rangers for midfielder Barry Ferguson. Ferguson will travel to Birmingham to try and work out a personal deal.

June 18th, 2009 According to the Daily Mail, Birmingham are preparing a £1million bid for Rangers midfielder Barry Ferguson.

Click to continue reading...

1. Man City confirm they are in talks with Emmanuel Adebayor over a £25milliion move to Eastlands, after Arsenal gave permission to talk to the striker and agreed a fee with City. (Various) That'll make it 9 strikers at City apparently!
2. Birmingham City are tonight understood to be in advanced talks with the Rangers midfielder Barry Ferguson about a £1. Click to continue reading...

Michael Owen's transfer to Manchester United may not be the shock of the summer. Birmingham manager Alex McLeish is hitting the streets to find a new midfielder, and all rumors point to Joey Barton, Barry Ferguson, and... Patrick Vieira.

The former Arsenal captain has fallen hard and far from his days as a Premier League winner, and with his place in the Inter Milan squad all but gone, Vieira could be on the move this summer.

Click to continue reading...

According to the Daily Mail, Birmingham are preparing a £1million bid for Rangers midfielder Barry Ferguson.

Click to continue reading...

Newly promoted Birmingham City are apparently in the transfer market for experienced former Scotland midfielder Barry Ferguson. The 31 year old Rangers star has been the talk and indeed target of a large number of clubs south of the border including relegated West Bromwich Albion - especially following the controversial moments that occurred for the player earlier in the season. Click to continue reading...

The Scottish domestic season might be over, but the qualification campaign for World Cup 2010 goes on. Scotland are not action until August - a home game against Norway - but on the 6th and 10th June, Scotland's fellow Group 9 hopefuls will be wanting to edge a few points closer to making the finals.

Click to continue reading...

The inaugural season of the SPL season ended 10 years ago. Rangers won the title again and Celtic finished second. Funny how things don't change eh?

In this weeks Meat Pie we round up all the players who played in that first season and who are still in playing in the SPL 10 years later ...

Aberdeen:
Jim Hamilton (St Mirren), Dennis Wyness (St Mirren), Derek Young (Aberdeen)

Celtic:
Jackie McNamara (Falkirk)

Dundee:
Jamie Langfield (Aberdeen)

Dundee United:
Alan Combe (Kilmarnock)

Dunfermline:
Colin Nish (Hibernian)

Hearts:
Jim Hamilton (St Mirren), Gary Locke (Kilmarnock), Grant Murray (Kilmarnock), Neil McCann (Falkirk), Scott Severin (Aberdeen), David Weir (Rangers)

Motherwell:
Stephen Craigan (Motherwell), Lee McCulloch (Rangers)

Rangers:
Barry Ferguson (Rangers), Neil McCann (Falkirk)

St Johnstone:
Darren Dods (Dundee United)

Click to continue reading...

The last weekend of the 2008/09 season finished with the domestic Cup titles up for grabs in Scotland and England. In the FA Cup Final, it was Everton facing Chelsea, while Rangers faced Falkirk in the Scottish Cup. Here's a full recap of both matches.

Chelsea v Everton - FA Cup Final - May 30, 2009 - A dream start for Everton as they scored in the first minute and had the lead.

Click to continue reading...

Take down the nets, pull up the corner flags; fetch the stray balls from off the roof of the main stand and switch off the floodlights for the last time, for another season of football in Scotland has come to a close.
A long time ago, on another web site all about the beautiful game north o' the border, I put together a season preview wherein, using nothing more than a league table, a blindfold and a sharp implement I predicted the outcome of the 2008/09 season in Scotland. Click to continue reading...

In the end it was easy. Goals from Lafferty, Mendes, and Boyd made it 3-0 against Dundee while Celtics ground out a goalless draw against Hearts.

Kyle Lafferty goes from a scapegoat to a hero in a week and Barry Ferguson makes an appearance after his drunken desecration of club spirit got him suspended.

Click to continue reading...

According to Sky Sports, West Bromwich are interested in Rangers captain Barry Ferguson. West Bromwich chairman Jeremy Peace said,

"Ferguson's a Rangers player but if he becomes available, I'm sure we'll have a chat."

Click to continue reading...

Thanks to Scotland's relationship with the demon drink the extra curricular activities that attached themselves to the legend of Walter Smith's first time at Rangers are now looked back on with a certain fondness by some:Ah, the drinking. What a laugh. Team bonding. The results proved that it worked. Click to continue reading...

Thanks to Scotland's relationship with the demon drink the extra curricular activities that attached themselves to the legend of Walter Smith's first time at Rangers are now looked back on with a certain fondness by some:Ah, the drinking. What a laugh. Team bonding. The results proved that it worked. Click to continue reading...

Thanks to Scotland's relationship with the demon drink the extra curricular activities that attached themselves to the legend of Walter Smith's first time at Rangers are now looked back on with a certain fondness by some:Ah, the drinking. What a laugh. Team bonding. The results proved that it worked. Click to continue reading...

Who's being linked with moves in today's transfer gossip pages? In today's transfer news and rumors roundup, we've got a little something from several top European leagues to get you over the Wednesday hump.

England

Manchester City Deny Messi Move

Manchester City are denying that they've made an approach for Barcelona star Lionel Messi, after reports that City had offered 150m to buy out the remainder of Messi's contract.

Click to continue reading...

The article below was forwarded on to me by Western Michigan University coach Stu Riddle, who found an Evening Times report by Thomas Jordan that references Maurice Edu paving the way for positive exposure of the American game over in Scotland.
ONE was reared in arguably the most famous footballing institution in the world, surrounded by the best players on the planet. Click to continue reading...