What is it about the festive season and Charlie Adam that don't go well? A missed penalty and an own goal blighted this year's celebrations, while 12 months ago his failed transfer attempt to Liverpool got the New Year off to a shaky start. And in January 2009 he was dealt a devastating blow to his career when Rangers let him go.

What is it about the festive season and Charlie Adam that don't go well? A missed penalty and an own goal blighted this year's celebrations, while 12 months ago his failed transfer attempt to Liverpool got the New Year off to a shaky start. And in January 2009 he was dealt a devastating blow to his career when Rangers let him go.

Got, Not Got: Mark Hateley magnetic marble refuses to play the game

Not only was Mark Hateley's dad the subject of the finest ever punk-rock football song "Where Have You Been Lately, Tony Hateley", by the Disco Zombies the towering, bemulleted centre-fireworks also carved quite a career in his own right.

There's no question in Charlie Adam's mind - Scottish footballers should see a move to England not as an exile but as an opportunity.
And he should know. A product of the Rangers youth system, he spent much of his early career on loan - to St Mirren and Ross County - before returning to the Ibrox first team in time for their Uefa Cup final appearance in Manchester.

Ireland U19 international Paul George made his first competitive Celtic appearance last night in the 2-0 victory over Ross County in the Communities League Cup.
George from Killough in County Down came on for the last few minutes of the game and only for an excellent close range save late on from County keeper Frazer, he could well have marked his debut with a first senior goal.

By FRANCO PANIZO

It took 15 years, but finally another member of the U.S. men's national team has started a Serie A match.

The man responsible for accomplishing that feat is Michael Bradley, who got the nod and went the distance in Chievo Verona's surprising 1-0 win over Napoli on Wednesday.

Charlie Adam: We have a squad at Liverpool that is able to challenge

Anfield's £7m summer signing from Blackpool has learned from the mistakes his father made as a player The Wikipedia entry for Charlie Adam covers every personal detail and statistic to be expected for a Liverpool and Scotland international football player.

Do our footballers ever ruminate on how a modern Scotland can persuade the rest of the world that it is embracing innovation and shifting away from our old "tartan and shortbread" image?
Probably not.
But at least one star of yesteryear is probably immensely relaxed about the nostalgic power of plaid and a unleavened biscuit phenomenon.

There's been controversy and drama at both ends of the table in the Scottish first division this week.

At the bottom end, with Stirling Albion already relegated, Ross County and Cowdenbeath now face a straight fight to avoid the play-off spot, and County took a three point advantage this week by winning their game in hand the twice abandoned game against Queen of the South which finally went ahead at a neutral venue.

And on the week Jens returns to the limelight, we shall have howlers.

This is a bit less Jens and his moments of madness and more a moment of lacking self-awareness. The awareness that the man at hand, David Hutton, is not aware of his abilities as an outfield player in that he doesn't have any.

Well, well, well. Going into this weekend's fixtures, I'd have been the last one to have predicted yet another managerial casualty. Hibs, about whom there's been plenty of paper talk pulled of a win and so kept Colin Calderwood's place in the Easter Road car park safe for another week. Clyde, well, they're fucked anyway but they've just appointed someone and besides, they pulled of a tremendous 3-3 against Elgin City.

The delays caused by the Scottish winter have really been hitting home these past few weeks. A long run of postponements that was started by a refereeing strike, continued by an early snowfall, then frost, then waterlogged pitches has left some clubs without a home match for almost three months, and that's going to be a struggle for even the most prudently run clubs in lower leagues.

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.

Dearie me. Just when you thought we'd all recovered our equilibrium along comes another furore, threatening to turn into a Scottish football civil war.
Celtic manager Neil Lennon has been hit with a six match ban for losing the rag at Tynecastle after his team were denied what appeared to be a fairly blatant penalty and Joe Ledley was sent off in a 2-0 defeat to Hearts.