Aberdeen's chances of holding on to young starlet, Ryan Fraser, look increasingly doubtful despite manager, Craig Brown, revealing that he hopes the midfielder will sign a new contract.
Fraser has been an ever-present force in the centre of Aberdeen's midfield this season with 15 games already under his belt.
A Saturday Superstore tomorrow. With Neil Doncaster as Mike Read and a half time interview with Craig Brown filling in for a wacky live link with Cheggers.
A splendid SPL smorgasbord seeing out September. Alarming alliteration aside, we can sit back and enjoy six games in the top flight.
When I was a slip of lad approaching drinking age Monday night football used to be a thing of
wonder.
(Drinking age, kids, used to be more of a general guide than a rule. Don't live as I lived. It's
bad for you.)
We'd gather around what we then thought were big screens and be stunned as Newcastle and Liverpool
served up seven goal thrillers and Sky's hype levels left our skies and bothered Martian moons.
Part one of an entirely prejudiced, unscientific look at 12 players I'll be keeping track of in the
SPL this season. Maybe not the biggest stars but a player from each team whose progress I'm
interested to follow.
Steven Naismith, Rangers
Steven Naismith turns 25 this September. No longer a kid bursting with potential but a senior
member of a championship winning squad with a five year contract under his belt.
Pittodrie. A cold (I suspect it was cold, it usually is) October afternoon in 1998. Scotland are
enduring one of their periodic clashes with the Faroe Islands.
A 2-0 lead, the goals from Craig Burley and Billy Dodds, had lasted from the cusp of half time
until the 79th minute.
At that stage Craig Brown chose to introduce our latest forgotten Scotland player.
Four games so far this season and Celtic have racked up an aggregate score of 17-1. They probably
just edge it as favourites today.
Coming into the weekend this was seen as the semi-final that would likely turn out the more one
sided affair. Then marvellous Motherwell led the sorry Saints on a first half dance at Hampden
yesterday.
Was it really only a couple of months ago that Aberdeen and Celtic met in Glasgow and produced the
SPL's most one sided result?
That 9-0 walloping seems a long time ago now.
It's hard to claim that Celtic have enjoyed a regal procession to the top of the league since then.
They haven't, there has been the odd faltering step along the way.
Snippets from a radio interview on Wednesday night seemed to offer a glimpse of the dualism of
Craig Brown's career.
First there was the promise of a new signing at the start of next week. An English Premier League
player no less, set to feature in the FA Cup this weekend before moving north on loan.
A famous five today, St Johnstone's clash with Rangers having already lost out to the weather.
Hamilton have a pitch inspection scheduled for this morning. If New Douglas Park isn't fit to stage
the match then the Accies will not have played a match this month.
Hamilton v Aberdeen
If this one goes ahead then it will be the only professional match in Britain kicking off this
afternoon.
After their weekend capitulation to Hearts, Craig Brown started his first official day as manager
of an Aberdeen side badly in need a lift on Monday.
What better way to mark the new era than to welcome back an old blogger? Seb Gevers, once of Inside
Left (maybe still of Inside Left, kind of) appears to have launched The Red And The White: A Year
In The Life Of Aberdeen FC.
As I said last night Craig Brown's departure is a right sair one for Motherwell.
And a sair one they are distinctly unchuffed about. The Motherwell official statement wishes Brown
and Archie Knox well. But.
"Separately we do wish to make clear that as a Board we believe that the conduct of the Board of
Aberdeen in this matter has been wholly inappropriate and in clear breach of SPL rules as well as
basic courtesy.
Not yet confirmed but it looks like Craig Brown is on his way to Aberdeen after all. After saying
"no" at first it now looks like persistence has paid off for Stewart Milne and the Aberdeen
board.
What you might call a ginormous kick in the nads for Motherwell, who lose a second manager to
Aberdeen in as many as years.
Having become the first Scotland manager to take the country to the European championships in 1992
the nation eagerly awaited Andy Roxburgh's encore.
Sadly his next trick was to bring to an end the proud World Cup qualification run.
He failed with a certain style. The campaign started with a 3-1 defeat away to Switzerland in a
match that saw Richard Gough sent off for catching the ball after being deceived by its flight.
Midnight. Halfway through. Normal people might be thinking about bed. Or working up to cutting some
moves. Or getting enough drink in them to make a mistimed, ill-judged and futile pass at someone
they've spotted across the bar.
And I'm gearing up for a night of football chat. If you've been out, got back and have some change
kicking about in your pockets it would be very, very gratefully received.
Day nine of the SPL Advent. Motherwell, the success story of the season so far.
What were we to expect from Motherwell this SPL season?
Stuart McCall's arrival to replace Craig Brown raised more of a shrug of the shoulders than a cheer
last season.
But he impressed in taking the team to the Scottish Cup final, an achievement that raised
intriguing possibilities about how he'd fare with a close season behind him.
The second of Saturday's three games and a look at what's in store for Aberdeen and St
Johnstone.
The game
I've a feeling both these sides will have been quite happy with the opening day's fixtures. A home
game for Aberdeen and an away trip that won't overly scare St Johnstone.
Opening games often have a tentative, feet finding atmosphere and this one seems set up to be
exactly that.
Derby day and the form book goes out the window. It's a cliche to even quote that cliche now. But
maybe it's true.
Hibs need it to be. Because right now Hearts look prohibitive favourites as the traditional New
Year's Day derby returns to Edinburgh for the first time in 13 years tomorrow lunchtime.
A full SPL card on Boxing Day to help you digest the turkey leftovers.
Well, maybe. Weather permitting. At the moment all the games are on. But that's subject to change.
Motherwell are working on a burst pipe but are apparently confident the TV game will go ahead. A
decision on the Hibs game and Aberdeen's ability to get to Edinburgh is being made tomorrow.
I am not really privy to such information but I believe that Queen's Don't Stop Me Now was a bit of
a favourite with Hearts fans as they celebrated winning the Scottish Cup in 2006.
They must be feeling something similar now with Jim Jefferies' side on a five match winning streak.
That includes a derby win and a win over Celtic.
Time for the 2010 Scottish Football Blog Awards. A meandering look back at the year Spain finally
delivered on the global stage, Lennon gave peace a chance at Celtic and Scotland managed not to
draw with Liechtenstein.
The Charles Foster Kane Money Can't Buy You Happiness Award: England's footballers.
Games are falling foul of the foul weather already.
No game for Celtic and Kilmarnock or Dundee United and Motherwell this weekend. Hamilton will find
out today if they are OK to host Hibs.
The SPL's Neil Doncaster is "slightly surprised" at the early call offs. The polis have decided
though and there's not much clubs or league can do in the face of that.
Craig Brown The Under-Appreciated Nice Man of Scottish football is a post from: Just
Football
It hasn't been the worst of seasons so far for Motherwell. Comfortably in the
top half of the Scottish Premier League, they should remain there for the rest of the campaign.
The Lanarkshire side won't make an impression on the title race, with other clubs still unable
to make a serious challenge to Celtic and Rangers.
Forgive the Tartan Army should they be slightly pessimistic about Scotland's chances of
qualification following the draw for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. While Three Lions supporters
expect to see England qualify, only to bow out in the quarterfinals or encounter heartache over
phantom goals and botched penalties, Scottish supporters have not seen Saint Andrew's Cross fly in
the World Cup since 1998.
Football seems to have a hold on those involved that many of us don't experience in our working
lives. It's not too much of an exaggeration to say that I've been daydreaming about my retirement
since about second year at school.
Football managers are different. They just keep going and going.
