“The Scottish Premier League kicks off its fifteenth – and conceivably its last – season this weekend, after a summer when off-field issues have dominated, and the repercussions of which may yet have major consequences on the season ahead. It makes it similtaneously the most predictable, and in other respects the most unpredictable, season in the SPL’s history.” twohundredpercent

“The Miseducation of Claudio Reyna ended abruptly in late April. Reyna, the U.S. soccer team captain, had just joined the Scottish powerhouse Glasgow Rangers, and one chilly afternoon he wore a green sweatshirt to practice. That’s all it was, a simple green sweatshirt. To Glaswegians, though, the sport they call fitba is never simple, and if you’re on Rangers turf, donning green—the color of hated rival Glasgow Celtic—is like wearing a yarmulke in Gaza or a Bulls jersey in a Crips hood. ‘What are you doing, Claudio?’ said teammate Ian Ferguson. ‘Get that off you!'” SI: Holy War

Rangers make history out of chaos
“Rangers created history by winning the title at Celtic Park in a stormy Old Firm game which saw referee Hugh Dallas injured by a missile thrown from the pitch. One of the game’s few homegrown stars, Neil McCann scored two of the goals to give Rangers a first championship win in their rivals’ ground. But his contribution is probably the only consolation to the country’s football authorities after disgraceful scenes inside the ground. Television pictures beamed around the world showed referee Hugh Dallas with blood seeping down his forehead after being struck by a missile thrown from the crowd.” BBC

YouTube: Video Highlights Old Firm May 1999, Celtic Rangers May 1999

“Vice.com produce fantastic, well-made documentaries, and their latest product has been to shine a light on the bitter rivalry between Celtic and Rangers. With all the commotion engulfing the blue half of Glasgow at present, the documentary enables viewers to peek through the looking-glass at one of the oldest hatreds in world football: a hatred that could well be a thing of the past should Rangers collapse amidst their current turmoil.” 101 Great Goals – Football’s Most Dangerous Rivalry (Video)

Old Firm
“The Old Firm was the collective name for the Glasgow football clubs Celtic and Rangers. The origin of the term is unclear but may derive from the commercial benefits of the two clubs’ rivalry. The two clubs are the most successful in Scotland, between them having won 97 Scottish League championships, 68 Scottish Cups and 41 Scottish League Cups. Interruptions to their ascendancy have occurred infrequently, most recently with the challenge of the New Firm of Aberdeen and Dundee United in the first half of the 1980s. Since the 1985–86 season one half of the Old Firm has won the Scottish League and since the 2005–06 season the Old Firm have finished in the top two places.” W – Old Firm

“You can say what you like about Scottish media coverage of Rangers’ financial crisis but you’re certainly spoilt for choice. Unfortunately, that choice is all-too-often between parallel universes, with a tangential universe thrown in every time club owner Craig Whyte is within range of a microphone (Whyte’s common criticism of HMRC as “living on a different planet to the rest of us” is top-of-the-range irony, I’m sure you’ll agree. The announcement of the shortlist of Rangers’ bidders and the administrators’ report to creditors on consecutive days last week provided plenty of scope for media sources to reveal their contrasting takes on affairs, and their common ignorance.” twohundredpercent

“There will surely never be another Old Firm occasion as curious as this. Five goals and three sendings-off almost seemed like minor details. Celtic crossed Glasgow looking to take the victory which would confirm their status as the champions of Scotland. By full-time, the Rangers support celebrated as if they had secured the league flag and the visiting contingent bounced around while pointing out the wider reality. In this city, one-upmanship takes on an altogether new meaning. Supporters of the two city rivals simply love any opportunity to hurl abuse at each other, and most certainly to gloat.” Guardian

The Joy of Six: the Old Firm
“Six classic Glasgow derbies, including a title decider, two cup finals, 31 goals, a riot – and four players being charged by the police” Guardian

Green shoots of recovery for Scotland?
“Spanish-born Jack Harper, a midfield star in Real Madrid’s illustrious academy, and Chelsea Under-18 forward Islam Feruz, are two players at the forefront of a new wave of gifted Scottish youngsters that also includes West Bromwich Albion’s Scott Allan, Falkirk’s Craig Sibbald and Celtic’s James Keatings.” World Soccer

“It is one of the most commonly recurring stories of modern football. Should Celtic and Rangers be allowed to leave the Scottish league system and join the English football league system instead? It’s an emotive subject, for sure, and it’s one that seems to divide both supporters and administrators, with the only people that are certain of which way they would like to go being those that run Glasgow’s two giant clubs, who would like to utilise the vaster resources that would be open to them as a result of being in the more lucrative English system than they would get from remaining in England.” twohundredpercent

“The second Glasgow derby of the season saw Neil Lennon’s Celtic side take all three points as they beat Rangers 1-0 to leapfrog them into top spot, after turning around a 15 point deficit from the 5th November to go two points clear. Welshman Joe Ledley scored the only goal of the game in what was a deserved win for the Parkhead side.” Scotzine

“This week, Celtic start to show their credentials and there is a further recurrence of the depressing violence directed at Old Firm personnel.” ESPN

“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.” Just Football

“Until his death in 2008 after a long illness, Eddie Thompson ensured Dundee United were competitive at the top of the group of teams below the Old Firm in the SPL. A supporter of the club, financially as well as in the stands of Tannadice even before he took control, he used his personal fortune to stretch the budget of United. It is a model of ownership and investment that relates to dozens of club in UK football and hundreds around the world.” ESPN

“The whole of Europe is eagerly awaiting the new Scottish Premier League season which kicks-off on 23rd July. Well – no, actually they’re not. Not surprising really, given that the last campaign turned out to be a truly horrible affair for so many reasons. Hopefully this year will be more about players, teams and results, rather than referees, politics and death threats. Here’s a look ahead to 2011/12…” Just Football

“Neil Lennon picked up his first trophy as Celtic manager with a comfortable Scottish Cup final win over Motherwell at Hampden Park. Ki Sung-yueng opened the scoring in the 32nd minute with a wonderful drive and Mark Wilson’s shot in the 75th minute, which deflected off Well skipper Stephen Craigan, put the Parkhead men into an unassailable lead. Charlie Mulgrew’s wonderful free-kick with two minutes remaining brought an even more positive end to the Irishman’s first season as permanent boss – which, to say the least, has been troubled.” ESPN

“For the second time in a month, Scottish football is making headlines around the world. Unfortunately, the first time was because ‘viable’ explosive devices were posted to Celtic manager Neil Lennon and high-profile Celtic fans. The second occurred when Lennon was assaulted by a Hearts fan on the Tynecastle pitch on Wednesday night, as if in a deliberate attempt to prove that this level of football hatred is not unique to the west coast, and that, in terms of football, Scotland is not a civilised country.” WSC

“The Seventh and final Glasgow Derby of the season ended in a stalemate. Chances were few and far between, but Celtic had a glorious opportunity to secure all three points late on as they awarded a penalty. However Greek International Georgios Samaras was denied by a great save from Rangers keeper Allan McGregor. Despite the game ending all square, the league title is Celtic’s to lose. Rangers may be a point ahead, but Celtic have a game in hand against Terry Butcher’s Inverness Caley and even if they take a draw from that game, the Parkhead side would go top on goal difference. If a win was secured then Celtic would lead by two points with four games left remaining of the season.” Scotzine

“The Celtic fans showed their support to the team by a Green and White display before kick off, that spanned the whole East Stand of Hampden. There was banter aplenty also as legends from both sides took to the touchline with each group of fans booing the other side and vice versa.” Scotzine

Celtic 1-2 Rangers – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – Scottish League Cup
The 90th Minute

“You’ve probably heard of the Bermuda Triangle. It’s a patch of water in the North Atlantic Ocean where scores of ships and planes have mysteriously vanished. Some put it down to the area’s unpredictable weather. Others say that it’s magnetic variations meddling with navigation equipment. While some, the genuine believers, say that it’s a supernatural phenomenon. But what’s this got to do with football? Well, Scottish football has its own Bermuda Triangle, a sequence of mysterious events that are hard to explain.” In Bed With Maradona

“Rangers, Celtic, Rangers, Celtic. Is it time for serious structural reform in Scottish football? William Heaney takes us through the options.” Just Football

“Scottish football needs to change & IBWM’s latest debutant feels the recent Old Firm derby was symptomatic of exactly that. Welcome Graeme Crawford” In Bed With Maradona

“Barely had the dust settled from another round of SPL fixtures when news came in that Celtic had completed the signing of a new midfielder. Freddie Ljungberg the ex-Arsenal and Seattle Sounders player had signed on a free transfer. The timing of the move meant the possibility of a debut in Sunday’s Old Firm game.” gib football show

“It’s time for another video, and tonight we return again to the 1985 BBC documentary series ‘Only A Game – The Story Of Scottish Football’. For the third part of this series, the focus is upon the player. The development of the player himself is particularly key to the growth of the game in Scotland. During the 1880s, many of the the first professional players to come into the new powerhouses of the English game were brought south from Scotland on account of their superior technical ability, and throughout the entire history of the game in the British Isles we have been fortunate to see such great players as Jim Baxter, Kenny Dalglish and Jimmy Johnstone, amongst many, many others. This video is divided into five parts, and our thanks go to the original uploader.” twohundredpercent

“After a week of chaos in the world of Scottish football, and with an enforced rest coming up due to the weather, it’s time for all parties to take a step back and take stock of the situation. On the SFA’s side, the two men at the centre of the controversy have now gone – one sacked and one resigned, although in the latter case it’s difficult to see that referee Dougie McDonald had much option, the only issue was about the timing. Opinions varied on how serious was his offence in telling his “white lie” to both Neil Lennon and to the refereeing supervisor. I’ve give my own opinion in previous articles and don’t intend to go through it again; but whatever the initial rights and wrongs, it was clear that his continued presence, and the continued media focus that would accompany his every match and his every mistake, was becoming a hindrance to the cause of his colleagues.” twohundredpercent

“Time for a few brief updates on stories that we’ve been covering recently. These are all ongoing stories but there have been developments of varying degrees of seriousness lately. Firstly, the Scottish refereeing debates, following the saga which I refuse to call Cravengate. Just over a week ago, Celtic called the dogs off, with a statement from John Reid welcoming and agreeing to wait for the review to be carried out by the SFA under their new Chief Executive Stewart Regan. What this will involve, and whether Celtic will be happy with it, we’ll just have to wait and see.” (twohundredpercent)

“So here we are after 11 games, all the SPL teams have now played each other, and it’s time to reflect on the early season title race, ahead of Wednesday’s big match on ESPN – Hearts v Celtic. It should be a cracker. Right, let’s start at the top – Rangers. Things could hardly have gone any better for Walter Smith’s side and Sunday’s victory at St Mirren Park on ESPN put the Gers back on top of the table. Only one slip up to date (a home draw with Inverness) has Rangers ahead of Celtic by one point. The question remains though – do Rangers have the stamina to stay there?” (ESPN)

Ref or end ‘em: Scottish football shrouded in refereeing controversy
“Nani’s recent goal for Manchester United against Tottenham caused a frisson of controversy in England. But you think Mark Clattenburg has it bad? Try refereeing Celtic or Rangers in Scotland. Making his debut for Just Football we welcome William Heaney who has more…” (Just Football)

“Celtic have started the league season well. We’ve played eight, we’ve won eight. But there’s a familiar problem: Rangers have won all eight too. Something’s got to give today, when Lionel Messi’s favourite blue immovable object meets what was – until Tony Mowbray arrived in the East End – also an immovable object. By Scottish standards, at least. Who will win is as hard to predict as the league title. Celtic have the resources, but Walter Smith has steered a remarkably steady course through Rangers’ financial maelstrom. Neil Lennon’s side won the final derby of last season, but there was little to play for then, and his Celtic side are still unpredictable.” (WSC)

Celtic 1-3 Rangers: second half turnaround
“A typically fiery Old Firm derby saw Celtic lose their 100% record, and Rangers maintain theirs. Celtic were unchanged from their win last week at Dundee United, starting with a 4-4-2 system that saw Georgios Samaras dropping deep to the left.” (Zonal Marking)

Celtic 1-3 Rangers – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – SPL
(The 90th Minute)

East Stirling
“Plans to restructure the Scottish League are coming so thick and fast at the moment that it’s not necessary to have an article to discuss or to dissect each one separately, but the latest plan to be floated by the SPL contains some elements that are worse than most.” (twohundredpercent)

“Another nail was hammered into the coffin of Scottish football last week when all three of their remaining entrants failed to qualify for the Europa League, leaving only Rangers to fly the flag. Nowhere was the disappointment more keenly felt than among Celtic supporters, who saw their beloved Hoops unceremoniously dumped out 4-0 by mid-ranking Dutch side Utrecht, after squandering a 2-0 lead from the home leg. This followed Celtic’s elimination from the qualifying stages of the Champions League by Portuguese side Braga, and meant that another European adventure was cut short almost before it had started. Manager Neil Lennon probably spoke for all fans when he complained, ‘I’m fed up with coming back from Europe with my backside being smacked’.” (The Swiss Ramble)

“You’ll have noticed that we haven’t yet looked to Scotland on IBWM. Today is the day and, invariably, we must start in Glasgow with Celtic and Rangers. Just this once. IBWM welcomes Tom Hall.” (In Bed with Maradona)

“The sole Belgian fan who travelled to support his team in Armenia last September was both mocked and pitied in his home country. However, many of the roughly 1,000 Scotland fans who recently paid £50 to join or renew their membership of the Scotland Supporters Club only to be denied a ticket for the forthcoming Euro 2012 qualifier in Lithuania may regard him with envy.” (WSC)

“Celtic shifted their focus towards the Scottish Premier League, after a midweek loss in the Europa League, with an away match against Motherwell. The match highlights can be found here at Free Soccer Highlights.” (The 90th Minute)

“This weekend the News of the World reported that the Andrew Ellis takeover of Rangers was back on, this time with funding from the almost inevitable Russian tycoon, in the form of Vladimir Antonov. The ‘paper quoted a “source close to” Antonov who claimed the deal was ‘99% complete’. This apparently came as news to Rangers who immediately denied any knowledge, and indeed to Antonov who also denied that any contact had been made, though he didn’t deny an interest. At the moment it seems likely to be yet another red herring in the ongoing Rangers saga, but for all the denials there is some plausibility to the idea that Ellis and Antonov might have teamed up. Antonov has the cash and is searching actively for a football club in which to invest it.” (twohundredpercent)

“Hopes for the season: I have rarely felt as pessimistic about an impending season as I do about this one. Last month I would have said ‘to avoid embarrassing ourselves in the Champions League’, but we’ve already been knocked out of that particular competition before it’s even really started. I still expect us to win the title though, and a run in the Europa League would be nice, even if it does sound like a gay Bulgarian pop duo. I’m not holding my breath.” (Sabotage Times)

“He’s probably oblivious to it all, but Aiden McGeady might just be about to spark another Russian revolution. McGeady’s £9.5 million move to Spartak Moscow from Celtic might have raised more than a few eyebrows among Scotland’s football fraternity but others could soon follow his lead.” (ESPN)

“Just in time for the new season, kicking off at lunchtime today, here’s the last of twohundredpercent’s pre-season previews: the SPL. Daft as it might sound for a league with only twelve teams, there are four separate battles or mini-leagues going on within the SPL these days. The title race which has long since been restricted to the big two; the battle for third, which I almost think of as the real Scottish Championship; the chase for any remaining spots in the top six, which might sound pretty trivial but it’s about extra revenue post-split as well as the chance to chase a European spot; and lastly the struggle to avoid the single relegation spot. There is a fair amount of fluidity between these groups of course, particularly the bottom two, and a good run post-Christmas can alter the targets for the season. But by and large it’ll be reasonably clear which battle each team is fighting before we’re very far into the season.” (twohundredpercent)

Inverness Caledonian Thistle 0 – 1 Celtic
“Paddy McCourt seized an early chance to prove he can fill Aiden McGeady’s boots as his superb strike earned Celtic a 1-0 winning start to their Clydesdale Bank Premier League campaign at Inverness.” (ESPN)

“Twelve months ago Celtic had a new manager who had gone on a summer spending spree. Across the city, Walter Smith hadn’t been able to supplement his Rangers squad at all due to financial restrictions. Funny how the more things change, the more they stay the same.” (Guardian)

Who will top the scoring charts in the SPL?
“Wanted: a new hired gun to be crowned the leading goalscorer in the Scottish Premier League. Since sharp-shooters Kris Boyd and Scott McDonald left to join Middlesbrough, a goal-scoring vacuum is waiting to be filled. Boyd, as the statistics show, was a goal machine during his time at Rangers as he terrorised opposition defences. He topped the goal-scoring charts in four of the five seasons he was at Ibrox, with former Celtic striker McDonald taking his crown in the 2007/08 season.” (BBC)

“It’s never too early to panic say some sceptics and in the case of our European results this week they may have a point. With Celtic and Hibs both hammered, and only Motherwell managing a creditable draw, all against teams coming from small countries, the alarm bells must finally ring the complacency out of our game’s rulers. These results come in the week that new SFA chief executive Stewart Regan correctly told Scots to forget past glories and look to the future.” (BBC)

“Ask anyone in Glasgow who they support and 99% of the time you will get one of two answers – Celtic or Rangers. Everything separates the pair. Their foundations, with Rangers formed in 1872 by an English rugby club and Celtic in 1888 to raise funds for Brother Walfrid’s Charity whom fed the poor Irish Catholic section of Glasgow. Religion, with Rangers’ support predominantly Protestant and Celtic’s support Catholic. Also on-field matters, with Celtic being the more multi-national side while Rangers possess a more Scottish based team. For all their differences though, they have one thing in common. They both have to win at all costs.” (Just Football)

Joe Ledley
“Another summer in Scotland, and another period where Celtic possess the money to strengthen their squad and Rangers are forced to sell their most bankable assets. These last few days have seen a whirl of activity surrounding the Old Firm, but once again, as during the past 18 months, the main questions seem to be: where is Rangers’ money? And why is there already a sense of deflation around the reigning SPL champions?” (ESPN)

Lennon confident on Juarez
“Celtic manager Neil Lennon believes he is close to making Mexico midfielder Efrain Juarez his latest summer signing. Lennon is confident of landing Pumas UNAM starlet Juarez, 22, and hopes he could even make his Celtic debut against Manchester United while on their pre-season tour of North America.” (ESPN)

Newlandsfield Park, Shawlands“With the Cup Final and the play-offs finishing at the weekend – and no Scottish involvement in any other football that may be taking place in the next few weeks – that’s another season over. It’s been a year that’s seen more nationl team failure, the depatures of George Burley and Gordon Smith, and even more soul-searching than usual about the future of the domestic game. So what’s been happening and where does it all go from here?” (twohundredpercent)

“Walter Smith almost overshadowed Rangers’ off-field trauma by winning the Scottish Premier League title. However, Celtic’s weakness must be taken into account as should the fact that Smith’s squad aren’t as low on quality, high earners or depth – compared with the rest of the league – as the manager might have you believe.” (Guardian)

“We know how you feel. We share your pain. It’s Monday morning, and you’re sitting in front of your monitor, bleary-eyed and holding a cup of coffee with the consistency of molasses in your shaky hands. With that in mind, every Monday morning from now on we’ll be bringing you six of the best football articles from the outside world over the last couple of weeks or so, to help you put off that first spreadsheet for a while. Just don’t blame us if your boss catches you, and if you happen to come across anything that you feel would be appropriate to be shared with the rest of the world, just email us from the ‘Contact’ page on the site.” (twohundredpercent)