Decision time for Dallas and the SFA: Miller v Collum

Will the SFA, Hugh Dallas and referee Willie Collum stand firm on the red card shown to Kenny Miller against Dundee United?

Every football club works the system as much as possible to gain advantage with the right of appeal open to Rangers since the ordering off was for violent conduct.

Overturning the decision or delaying a decision has obvious consequences with Miller facing a one match ban which would be against Celtic on Sunday.

Referee Collum had a perfect uninterupted view of the incident, if on reviewing the incident he changes his mind it must put a massive question mark over his ability to officiate at the top level.

Collum was widely praised for his split second judgement that resulted in Gary Caldwell being sent off against Hearts, a much harder call bearing in mind his position and the quickness of the incident.

The incident was typical of many in the game where players collide with arms and legs 'accidentally' hitting each other as they fall or get up off the ground.

Aberdeen defender Jerel Ifil was sent off for a similar incident with Georgios Samaras in the recent Celtic-Aberdeen match.

The timing and circumstances of the incident and appeal couldn't have been worse for the SFA with a decision, or non decision, having implications for the Celtic-Rangers fixture.

It would be easy to draw comparisions to the case of Glenn Loovens where an appeal against a suspension allowed Loovens to play on with his suspension subject to appeal.

That case however was different because Loovens wasn't disciplined during a match, his offence was highlighted by the Review Panel who have undefined powers to look into cases at a whim.

With referees under severe pressure this season the Miller/Collum incident has far reaching consequences.

If a top level referee can't get a case of violent conduct right from 10 yards away it will be open season for clubs to appeal and criticise referees at will.

BBC highlights of Miller sending off

Top ten Celtic players of the decade

Basically picking my top ten Celts of the decade boiled down to who could improve on the Seville side.

Another season from Lubo Moravcik would have been great, Artur Boruc (2005-2008 form) would walk into the team and I think that there would be a place for Aiden McGeady.

The top ten players wouldn't make up a team (assuming someone had been sent off) with a decision having to be made on whether Chris Sutton or John Hartson partnered Henrik Larsson in attack.

It's unlikely than any manager would play McGeady and Moravcik in the same team but it wouldn't half be enjoyable to see what carnage they could inflict.

It was enjoyable thinking through the players we've watched over the decade strong cases could be made for others with Paul Lambert, Stan Petrov and Bobo Balde (pre-2005) the closest contenders for inclusion.


1.Henrik Larsson- no contest really. Words don't do the great man justice, I never thought that I'd see better than Paul McStay but Henrik was on a different level and played in a side that was regularly winning honours. Overlooking too many missed penalties, he was faultless; a striker, a poacher, team-player. Never hid from anything on the park, took the kicks, bounced back for more and was responsible for most of the happiest memories of the decade. The Swedish Kris Boyd to some.

2.Chris Sutton- the King Maker. Spending £6m on a striker that had scored once and flopped spectacularly at Chelsea was a massive risk but quickly repaid. Sutton scored the winner on his debut at Dundee United and wasn't prepared to be second best to anyone- an infectious attitude. In three positions he was outstanding but none more so than creating havoc with Larsson

3.Shunsuke Nakamura. Like Sutton there was genuine concerns about the outlay- especially arriving two days after the Artmedia disaster. His touch on the ball was remarkable, his dedication incredible with a collection of remarkable free-kicks to savour. He performed on the European stage, none more so than with goals home and away against Manchester United

4.Neil Lennon. This is getting repetitive but why would Celtic spend £6m on a defensive midfielder? Lennon was essential to the success of Martin O'Neill's team and bridged the handover to Gordon Strachan. Attitude matched to ability he won more honours than any Celt during the decade.

5.Alan Thompson. Another project of O'Neill whose attitude was as important as his ability. A winner first of all but capable of brilliance from left midfield with a stack of assists for Larsson. Thommo was a goalscorer as well with Rangers and Barcelona amongst his favourite victims.

6.Johan Mjallby. Another with winner at the top of his cv. He worked his way into O'Neill's plans after being initially overlooked. His attacking tendancies were curbed into becoming a disciplined defender where he excelled alongside Bobo Balde and Joos Valgaeren.

7.Artur Boruc. At last a keeper! Originally signed on loan for a season a £1m transfer fee was quickly arranged for the most controversial Celt of the decade. Three season's of undisputed brilliance have given way to more erratic performances, and headlines but without doubt a matchwinner on his day

8.John Hartson. Fantastic striker who connected with the supporters in a way that very few modern players manage to achieve. For goals, brutality and aggression he was second to no-one. After failing a Rangers medical he found his home from home with Celtic with over 100 goals and as many memories highlighting his hoops career.

9.Lubo Moravcik. Was never a regular at any time but despite his advancing years he was a valued and entertaining part of O'Neill's successes. In midfield or further forward he added the unexpected with a range of skills and tricks.

10.Aiden McGeady. The most naturally talented player to come through the ranks, a talent that is still evolving. Flashes and bursts of brilliance have been matched with frustrations but watching the club over the last four years would have been much duller without him

Feel free to add players, comments and your own suggestions below

The bursting bubble of the Premiership- winding up notice served on Portsmouth

by Joe McHugh Reports are breaking that a winding up order has been issued on Portsmouth due to unpaid tax debts.

Sky Sports are carrying the story with a statement expected shortly from the club who play Arsenal tonight.

Breaking news

The 2008 FA Cup winners have been dicing with trouble for some time and are currently banned from transfer activity due to continued financial problems.

Over £50m of players have been sold by the club this year but despite that incoming cash players wages have twice been paid late this season.

The possible demise of any club is unfortunate but equally unfortunate for Celtic supporters has been the constant frustration of seeing clubs like Portsmouth, Bolton, Hull City and others inflate the transfer market as they blow their Premiership Golden Ticket.

Earlier today Chelsea seemed to be pleased to announce losses of 'only' £44.4m on a turnover of £206.4m.

Losses are continuing to be reduced with the previous years figure being £65.7m.

Without being a captain of industry it's hard to pass comment but any business that spends £250m in a year on a turnover of £206.4m requires a serious and committed sugar-daddy which Chelsea have with Roman Abramovich.

The Chelsea financial model sees a popular one in the Premiership with Manchester United and Liverpool having a combined debt close to £900m under the guidance of their American owners.

Despite the record money flooding into the Premiership the clubs have never been in more debt with relegation an almost certain one-way ticket to administration with clubs like Leeds United and Southampton suffering points losses as they plunge down the divisions.

Joining the Premiership- or more accurately getting their hands on television millions- is the unmistakable goal of the Celtic board.

While that would be very welcome on the football field the financial problems that Portsmouth are experiencing seems almost to be part of the Premiership package.

A new footballing environment would be a fantastic boost for the new year but digging a financial hole as players, agents and dubious owners cash in is as welcome as a freezing night out in Kilmarnock.

I've no doubt that there are other potential Portsmouth's out there, hopefully Celtic can be beneficiaries somewhere along the line if common sense returns to the footballing markets.

SPL Chief Doncaster rejects summer football

SPL Chief Executive Neil Doncaster has opened up the annual debate about summer football.

With tonight's match at Kilmarnock a victim of pavement conditions and under 40,000 turning up to watch the home match with Hamilton the merits of summer football are worth discussing.

In itself 'summer football' is a bit of a misnomer, avoiding winter football would probably be a more appropriate term.

The prospect of summer football is as far away as ever according to Doncaster but it is encouraging to see that the SPL are actively looking at ways of improving the game.

In summary the SPL Chief believes that tradition mixed with the demands of European competitions and international commitments make it impossible for anything other than tweaking the current August-May schedule.

Doncaster said: “Football is a game where tradition and custom are extremely powerful influencers. Just try persuading supporters to change their favoured pre-match routine.

“For generations supporters have got used to a diet of winter football, culminating in a season finale in the spring.

“Certainly, if we were to experiment with summer football, we would have a job to change people’s habits. But, if summer football proved not to be a hit with the paying public, we would then undoubtedly lose supporters during the process of changing back.

“Breaking habits is difficult. But trying to reverse the change when those habits have been broken is a risky business.”
The complications and demands of Uefa and Fifa are equally problematic as Doncaster explained.

He added: “UEFA’s rules forbidding top leagues from scheduling domestic fixture cards against Champions League or Europa League matches and FIFA’s rules over call-up periods for international fixtures and tournaments create intense fixture congestion.

“And all this makes the task of fitting all of our domestic football into the current season challenging enough already.”

'Summer football' would inevitably clash with the World Cup and European Championships leaving clubs to fulfill fixtures without international players or shuffling the schedule around to avoid the high profile competition.

A summer season this year could see Celtic without upto half a dozen players with Scott McDonald, Georgios Samaras, Chris Killen, Landry N'Guemo, Ki Sung Yeung and Glenn Loovens all aiming to be involved in South Africa.

Creating a break in the season for the World Cup or European Championships is a complete no-no as Doncaster explained: “ It is unrealistic to schedule a domestic league head-to-head against either tournament – which would mean that every two years summer football would involve starting in say, February, stopping in May, re-starting in August and then finishing in December.

“Such a prospect is totally unattractive, not least of all because it would mean the climax to our domestic season taking place during the depths of winter.”

It looks like a case of better the devil you know with the season running along traditional lines despite the current glut of postponements.

Personally a three or four week break from the Saturday before Christmas would make most sense as recent attendances and the virtual wipe out of the SFL card last weekend highlighted.

It would mean the loss of so-called traditional new year derby matches but resuming with a card including Celtic-Rangers and Hearts-Hibs late in January followed by the Scottish Cup would certainly retain supporter interest.

If that allowed Celtic to jet off to Japan, South Korea or wherever then that is the clubs decision, other clubs are capable of doing as they please.

Football clubs survive a freeze on cash-flow from May to August, if they are viable businesses they should be able to cope with a three or four week break when attendances are traditionally at their lowest.

Neil Doncaster's SPL blog

'War of Words' breaks out over Kilmarnock postponement

In tabloid terms a 'war of words' has broken out between Kilmarnock and Celtic over the postponement of tomorrow night's match scheduled for Rugby Park.

The decision was taken by local police on account of the condition of the streets around Rugby Park which may be of more interest to local Council Tax payers than visiting football fans.

The forecast for Kilmarnock over the next few days isn't too bad compared to elsewhere in the country with Rugby Park fairly central in the town and easily reached using surrounding dual-carriageways.

Divisional Commander Chief Superintendent Bill Fitzpatrick of Strathclyde Police said: "Having examined the stadium and its immediate environments on each of the previous 2 days, Strathclyde Police cannot guarantee that the football match scheduled for Wednesday night (30th December 2009) could be held without considerable and unacceptable risk to spectators and others attending the match.

"Extreme weather conditions have resulted in thick compacted ice covering large areas of the approaches to the stadium, this has proved resistant to mitigation.

"The prospect of continued low temperatures offers no prospect of an improvement in the situation and therefore a reduction in the risk to spectators. We have advised Kilmarnock F C of our view."

Kilmarnock Chairman, Michael Johnston, stated that he fully supported the decision made: "Spectator safety is a priority and we must ensure a safe environment for all those attending Rugby Park. We’ll now make arrangements to re-schedule this match and a further announcement will be made in due course."
The weather forecast around Kilmarnock doesn't look too bad for the next 48 hours with Celtic frustrated and angry by today's decision.

Celtic chief Peter Lawwell said: "Clearly, we are extremely disappointed that the match has been postponed.

"We have been told that the pitch is perfectly playable, but we have also been informed that the match cannot proceed due to the stadium footprint (area surrounding the stadium) not being cleared - Naturally this is very frustrating for the club and its supporters.

"As is always the case, it is the responsibility of home clubs to ensure that their own footprint or locality is safe and obviously in this case, this has not been achieved."

Kilmarnock match off

UPDATE- MATCH OFF
An early decision on whether tomorrow's match at Kilmarnock will go ahead is expected with the club in discussions with Strathclyde Police.

Three midweek SPL fixtures have already been postponed due to conditions on approach roads rather than the condition of the pitches.

Tonight's Aberdeen-Falkirk game has been postponed as have tomorrow's matches between Hamilton and St Mirren and the St Johnstone-Hibs clash.

A postponement could be very damaging to Celtic giving Rangers the opportunity to go seven points ahead with a win tomorrow against Dundee United before the derby match on January 3.

The forecast for the next two days isn't too bad for Kilmarnock but if the roads around Rugby Park are troublesome it could be the dreaded GAME OFF sign that goes up.

BBC weather forecast for Kilmarnock

Mark Burchill- Spanning the Celtic decade

A decade on how are Celtic prepared for the two-tens or whatever the next decade will be known as?

Are we in better shape than we were approaching the millennium, will the next decade match the highlights of the decade just finished?

Will we see another Henrik Larsson type player or an event to approach Seville?

No one can disguise the fact that supporter morale, with a few exceptions, is at a low just now. Recent highs are too recent to be forgotten and over the last few years the memorable matches have become rarer and excitement rationed.

It would be easy to mump and moan for the days of Larsson, Lubo, Sutton and Hartson or more recent delights such as back-to-back qualifications for the last 16 of the Champions League- a competition that Celtic hadn't even competed in a decade ago.

Ten years ago the bright young hope at Celtic was Mark Burchill- on Wednesday night he'll feature in our last match of the decade just as he did in the first match at a cold and wintry Rugby Park.

In the stands tomorrow night it wouldn't be a surprise to find Tom Boyd and Burchill's mate Jim Lauchlan carrying out another spying mission on Celtic- what a dossier big Jim must have by now.

Entering the new year at Kilmarnock- after a winter break spent in the Algarve where Rafael Sheidt was collected- the following Celtic team were held to a 1-1 draw with manager John Barnes three games away from his P45.

Jonathan Gould; Vidar Riseth, Johan Mjallby, Tom Boyd; Jackie McNamara, Stan Petrov, Colin Healy, Regi Blinker (Ian Wright), Eyal Berkovic (Tommy Johnson); Lubo Moravcik, Mark Viduka.

Viduka scored the first goal of the decade that night with more than a few of those players going onto play significant parts in the successes ahead..

The first part of 2000 was a testing time for Celtic as, largely pre-internet, our despair was matched by the grand plans coming from Rangers where inter-galactic domination was surely just around the corner under their own dream-team of David and Dick.

Finally, after the club's longest managerial hunt, Martin O'Neill was secured as manager and an unprecedented period of spending and success co-incided with the return to fitness of the Magnificent Seven.

Before we knew it a treble was secured, we were winning regularly at Ibrox, the Champions League arrived at Celtic Park and at last the potential that had been discussed throughout the nineties was realised in front of us.

The San Siro and Nou Camp became regular away days, budget airlines helped take 80,000 to Seville and it's difficult not to feel a strange glow of affection for those days.

We knew that they were great days, unprecedented and unexpected, but magical all the same after twenty years that saw European football over with before Christmas.

The new decade has a lot to live up to. Expectations are fuelled by memories, supporters are educated and know more than ever what's happening in England and the continent.

There is realism as well; players from the Premiership are out of bounds but there's no reason why a team of Boruc's, Petrov's and Nakamura's mixed with McGeady's and Maloney's can be put together to bring success and excitement.

Starting at Kilmarnock and carried into Sunday lets hope that the turning of the decade brings a new era of success and excitement... but it'll need to go some to match the decade ending...

Has McGinn's time arrived?

Is Niall McGinn at the stage in his Celtic career where he has to become a regular starter?

Other than Landry N'Guemo and Aiden McGeady, the former Derry City winger looks to be the only Celtic player currently on top of his game and playing with confidence.

The more match time he gets the more effective he becomes. Despite missing a few chances today he kept on making himself available and worked the ball well from his left side onto his favoured right before scoring with conviction.

With N'Guemo about to leave for the African Nations Cup there will have to be some changes to the midfield with McGinn as a starter becoming a serious option.

The main obstacle to McGinn becoming a regular would appear to be McGeady, or more accurately, McGeady's role in the team. Starting with both players on the wings would give the side more of a 4-2-4 formation that 4-4-2 but with N'Guemo missing for most of January perhaps it might be an option to give Aiden a more central role, or his Co-Operative Cup Final role as he successfully defined it.

After his goal against Hamilton McGinn said: "There was a bit of nervousness and so it was important to get our second goal.


"Hopefully that will make the manager think about his team over the next couple of weeks. I feel I am getting fitter, becoming a better player and my confidence is on a high.

"So far my season has been unbelievable and hopefully soon I will be in the starting eleven, week-in, week-out."

The debate between the glass half-full and half-empty camps after today's display will be lively but it depends on your starting point as to the view that you take.

Not surprisingly the defence remains a major concern. After some promising early season signs Artur Boruc is back looking unpredicatable and was badly caught out at the disallowed Hamilton goal while no central defensive partnership has looked convincing.

The Georgios Samaras debate could go on forever. There's no doubt that he has great skill and has moments of inspiration but in his current role he's as much a wide player that pushes forward as he is a striker. Against Hamilton Accies at home Celtic need as many strikers as possible with Scott McDonald looking isolated and frustrated in equal measures.

Marco Fortune was much more like the striker we've been hoping for. He's more direct than Samaras, playing on the shoulders of defenders and after hitting the woodwork again today he looks capable of going on a serious scoring run.

Everything about the season hinges on January 3, providing that Kilmarnock are safely negotiated on Wednesday.

Two wins from our next SPL fixtures before the break for the Scottish Cup would give time for any January signings to be settled in for the less testing home match with Falkirk on January 16.

The Rangers game is the priority with McGinn hopeful that his performance today has edged him closer to his first big match start.
He added: "My only low point was not being involved in the Rangers game at Ibrox.

"If I get a start against Rangers on January 3 I will be more than ready. It's another challenge I relish and even if I'm on the bench I can come on and make an impact."

He added: "But it was important to get the three points today to close the gap on Rangers, so hopefully Hibs can do us a favour by pulling off a win or by getting a draw, which will also be a good result.

"We also need to win on Wednesday night against Kilmarnock to make sure we go in the Rangers game on a high."

Boogy panto time- Oh yes he is? Oh no he's not...

Is he, or isn't he, and who really cares?

'Rangers boost as Madjid Bougherra gets OK for Old Firm clash' screams the Daily Record today before going on to admit that the story hasn't been confirmed by the Algerian FA and comes from local 'sources'.

Over on the Rangers website yesterday, the club were giving their supporters the truth on the matter: 'The defender will leave for Angloa after the game,' referring to tomorrow's match with Hibs.
Bougherra or not the January 3 game is a must win for Celtic, anything less is going to make January a very long and testing month.

It's only one game at a time etc etc but come kick-off time on January 3 Celtic must be going into the match on the back of two solid wins against Hamilton and Kilmarnock regardless of what happens to Rangers against Hibs and Dundee United.

Celtic's season to date has been testing and troubling, hints of promise mixed with plenty of scary moments not helped by several refereeing decisions which seem to have consistently gone against us.

Off the top of my head have any marginal decisions gone Celtic's way this season?

After Santa what can we expect from January?

Christmas lasts for a full month for football agents with the action getting underway next week.

How many players have already been linked with a move to Celtic?

Looking at the recent record of the club I think it's fair to say that the players and agents that make the most noise are the least likely to be signing for the club.

Of the five players that Tony Mowbray has brought to the club only the deal to bring Marco Fortune has been played out in public.

All of the other deals have been carried out quietly with minimum publicity until they have been virtually signed and delivered.

The loan deal for Landry N'Guemo came to light from the Nancy website with a very matter of fact announcement, Danny Fox's arrival was highlighted as he underwent a medical the day before his debut against Al Ahly at the Wembley Cup.

With speculation flying around all over the place on the final day of the August transfer window Zheng Zhi was brought on board with the deal to bring Ki Sung Yueng to the club becoming public with the negotiations well under way ahead of the request for a work permit.

Most clubs prefer to keep their transfer business low key, most agents like to slip out information about their players to increase their profile and stimulate demand.

Unless Dermot Desmond intends dipping into his personal fortune I think it's pretty safe to write off any transfers from the Premiership; the Championship seems to be the limit of Celtic's transfer interest in England.

This month alone there has probably been in excess of 20 players brought in to Lennoxtown to be assessed, very few of those players are likely to be first team material which is clearly the area of most concern for supporters and the clubs management.

January is mostly a month of letdowns, none more so than last season, when the addition of Willo Flood did nothing for Celtic's ambitions and gave hope to a Rangers side desperate to offload players.

The previous January, the arrivals of Barry Robson, Georgios Samaras and Andreas Hinkel gave Celtic a badly needed boost and even if the season didn't run to script it did have a particularly happy ending as three-in-a-row was celebrated at Tannadice despite the season being extended to accommodate others.

Chelsea and Manchester United have both indicated that they won't be involved in the January transfer scene, even Harry Redknapp has distanced himself from involving Spurs but you'll get generous odds from any booky on 'arry being able to resist a bit of trading throughout next month.

If there's no money circulating around the top end of the game there's unlikely to be much circulating elsewhere with the obvious exception of Manchester City.

Even clubs involved in the relegation battle are likely to continue without reinforcements with Portsmouth banned from signing players and others like West Ham trying their best to stay afloat.

Offloading players is probably the most likely activity at most clubs, it's fair to say that there may be upto a dozen players that Mowbray wouldn't mind losing.

With Gary Caldwell, Lee Naylor, Barry Robson, Mark Brown and Chris Killen becoming free agents at the end of the season it wouldn't be a surprise to see any of them departing next month with others such as Koki Mizuno and Mark Wilson also likely to be moving on.

The transfer window will be more infuriating and frustrating than pleasing but we've become used to that, with Santa out of the way for another year perhaps the Herald may get around to revealing details of their secret Florida based billionaire...

Santa arrives in Watford as Malky's lot avoid administration

Christmas came early to Malky Mackay as a cheque for almost £5m from Lord Ashcroft saved Watford from going into administration.

Internal politics are part and parcel of football with Liverpool the classic example where even the joint owners of the club are at war with each other as the club plunges down the Premiership.

The sums involved at Watford are much smaller but after nine months in charge Jimmy Russo demanded the return of a £4.88m loan after stepping down from the board ahead of the club's recent AGM.

The threat of administration was very real with a ten point penalty likely to drop Watford in at the deep end of a relegation scrap.

With the dark cloud of administration removed Mackay needs his players to rediscover their form after a worrying run of one win in five games.

The festive period is non-stop in England with Watford facing Nottingham Forest and Bristol City on the 26th and 28th of this month before starting the new year away to Chelsea in the FA Cup.

Casting a Scrooge-like professional eye at the fixtures coming up Mackay has issued a business as usual message to his players over the festive period.

He said: "The players have a game Boxing Day so they will be in training Christmas morning.

"Then we are in all the way through as we have a game Boxing Day and then another game again two days later.

“We are travelling down there to Bristol so we have to make sure we are in all the time now.

“Christmas is a busy time for footballers and it is not a time of the year for taking time off. Martyn Pert (head of conditioning) gauges the rest they need and the recovery they need but, in the main, they just work all the way through."

The first six months in management have taught the former Celtic centre-half all that he'll ever need to know in terms of crisis management- the areas of the game that aren't covered in coaching courses or licenses.

Watford have been unable to pay a transfer fee for any players this year whilst trying to shift out the highest earners sometimes to rivals within their own division.

Throw in the resignation of the chairman that appointed him, the return of legendary manager Graham Taylor onto the board and the threat of administration and it all adds up to far from boring introduction to management.

Mackay however will be judged by results on the park, and sounding quite like Tony Mowbray, believes that Watford aren't far away from achieving the results that their play deserves.

He added: "We have got to make sure we get back to winning ways. I would be concerned if we weren’t actually playing well in games and creating chances.

"We are doing that and looking still as if we are in games and will win more than we lose. I think for the players to be where they are at the moment with so much going on is great credit to the boys.

"But we need to get back to winning ways and making sure we do not get beat, especially away from home.

"We have got to make sure we turn the defeats away from home into something better than that."

Watford Observor article

The day Craig Levein went tonto

As he was unveiled as the new Scotland manager at Hampden tonight it's hard to forget the most dramatic time of Craig Levein's management career.

May 10, 2008, just over 18 months ago, was the day that the then Dundee United managed exploded in rage with a number of his new colleagues in the firing line.

An abysmal display by former referee Mike McCurry was the source of Levein's anger as Dundee United's UEFA Cup hopes took a savage blow, whilst Rangers prepared for the UEFA Cup final and an unprecedented quadruple.

After watching his side denied a clear penalty and have a perfectly good own goal disallowed for reasons known only to the officials Levein couldn't contain his anger as he was interviewed afterwards.

About Mc Curry at the penalty incident the new Scotland manager said said: "We had a blatant penalty and he bottled it.

"If it's not a level playing field and, if we don't get the decisions, blatant, important decisions then what is the point of turning up?"

"I thought Mike McCurry had the balls to stand up and give these decisions. Not only is it a penalty kick, but it's a sending off for Davie Weir. But he didn't want to do it because this game meant so much to Rangers."

Levein continued: "Anybody who is of a fair mind watching that today would see that we had no chance of winning that.

"We get a perfectly good goal chalked off and a blatant penalty, with not even a decision to make, and it should've been a sending off."

The SFA were quick to defend McCurry against Levein's allegations but he was never allowed to referee another Rangers match before retiring early because he was being overlooked for high profile matches.

Levein picked up a £5,000 fine for his outburst but would have had to pay much more than that for the publicity that his comments generated.

Tomorrow he'll be rubbing shoulders with many of the committee men that his comments upset.

The controversy rumbled on throughout the summer with SFA President George Peat claiming that Levein's comments were criminal, United were far from happy with this since Peat would be part of the committee that judged the 'offence'.

BBC match report including Levein interview.

Levein fined £5,000 but not apologising

Dundee United statement on George Peat

SPL handouts and cash breakdown

The SPL have today handed out almost £1m to it's member clubs with an £80,000 cheque arriving before Santa calls, or the tax man, Vat man or bank man.

Every penny counts in these difficult times but there are probably 30 or more players in the Premiership picking up that sort of sum on a weekly basis.

Accompanying the announcement there was an interesting breakdown of costs involved with the SPL and how they divide up their income.

The SPL pays out £1.7m a year to the SFL which was agreed when they broke away and includes parachute payments.

No amount is given for parachute payments but it's unlikely to be anywhere near the £1m guaranteed to clubs for playing in the SPL.

Once the costs and deductions are made 48% of the remaining 'profit' is spread evenly across all clubs with the remaining 52% given out based on league positions.

There are no direct payments for televised games with all of the money going in the pot for distribution.

With Celtic and Rangers appearing in 90% of the live televised matches, of which 90% are away from home there is no bonus or benefit paid to either club with the cash pooled.

This could be seen as unfair but an extra £500,000 to either club is hardly going to make much difference whilst £50,000 could cover the salary of a first team player at most clubs or go a long way to maintaining a youth programme.

SPL statement

HARTSON plans Celtic return- and the Barrowlands

John Hartson is looking forward to an emotional return to Celtic Park in the new year.

The fans favourite scored in the tribute match to Tommy Burns in May of this year just weeks before he was diagnosed with cancer.

Emergency brain surgery saved the life of the Welsh striker with a return visit to Celtic high on his wish list for the new year.

Speaking to the Celtic View he said: "I would have come up for the derby on January 3 but I had already accepted an invitation to cover the West Ham v Arsenal game between two of my former clubs.

"I'll be up over new year but will fly down for that match. Tony Mowbray and Mark Venus have been on the phone, so has Lenny so I'll be back soon. It's just a case of getting my health right and sorting it out.

"I love coming back up to Celtic. I haven't been up since my illness but I have a great relationship with Peter Lawwell and he is always inviting me up with my parents and family.

Hartson added: "I have had incredible support from everyone, the likes of Gordon Strachan, Martin O'Neill, Tony Mowbray, Bertie Auld, Billy McNeill and everyone at Celtic.

"Neil Lennon, Shaun Maloney, most of the players have got in touch to see how I am and wish me all the best. It's great when you have that kind of support behind you."

It's not just Celtic Park that the striker is looking to visit- some favoured watering holes along the Gallowgate are also in his recovery plans!

He added: "When I come up to Glasgow I will go to the Barrowlands, I will go to the Celtic bars and I will talk to the supporters and have a pint with them.

"Word then gets around and people realise that you are a nice guy and for all that's happened to me in football I am just a guy who was brought up on a council estate in Swansea."

Another away day, another defensive disaster

What on earth was that all about?

Where do you start with the defeat at Hearts and the season in general?

Can we get through an away match without needing to score three goals to win?

For the fourth consecutive away match in the SPL Celtic opened the scoring before going on to lose two goals.

Whatever the personnel involved, whatever the formation and tactics it seems that basic defending is a lost art.

Running through the eight goals lost over the last eight days would terrify any self respecting defender.

Every goal lost will be viewed as preventable- that's the nature of the game- but the goals conceded to Motherwell, Rapid Vienna and at Hearts were hardly the results of world class finishing.

Going through the goals would be far too painful but at Lennoxtown this week that's what Tony Mowbray will have to do even if his patience is wearing thin.

The Celtic manager has tried out all three pairings in central defence over the last three games without any partnership looking imposing or deserving of an extended run in the team while both full-backs have also been found lacking.

After the Hearts defeat Mowbray said: "It's something that we have tried hard to eradicate but we conceded in an all too familiar fashion.

"You change things on the training ground and we get back to work. It's a daily thing about working with all parts of the team. There were plenty of positives but the big negative is that there are no points.

"We were disappointed in the way that we lost the second goal. However, we had a lot of opportunities but didn't take them."

There were chances but sadly most of them fell to the unpredictable Georgios Samaras. Last week's goal at Motherwell was the work of an inspired striker but for the majority of the time Samaras can be infuriating.

In the SPL I guess you have to accept the good with the bad, if Samaras wasn't infuriating he'd have been a hit with Manchester City or been snapped up by another Premiership side rather than be sold to Celtic for a quarter of the fee paid for him.

Even allowing for the defensive howlers Celtic should have been home and dry with a bit more conviction in front of goal.

Had Samaras headed an early chance into the path of Scott McDonald or tucked away a virtual open goal from a chance created by the Australian the defensive mistakes could have been glossed over as they were last week at Motherwell.

January looks like being a momentous month but before then six points from Hamilton Accies and Kilmarnock, anything less can't be considered.

Big Mick gets the result as Wolves hit mid-table

Mick McCarthy had the last laugh on the amateur assassins that had been ready to pounce if Wolves had lost to Burnley.

A 2-0 win over Owen Coyle's side sent Wolves soaring up the table into 12th place just days after being slaughtered for his selection policy against Manchester United.

Making ten changes for the trip to Old Trafford had provided an instant talking point as the Wolves boss virtually handed over the points when he posted his team-lines.

McCarthy's logic was that he needed his main players fresh for the Burnley fixture which as today's result has proved was indeed a genuine six-pointer with Wolves ahead of Burnley on goal difference.

Since announcing his team to face Manchester United the former Celtic centre half has been constantly questioned on the decision and even joked that he'd received text messages from Tiger Woods and Thierry Henry thanking him for deflecting attention. A contract from Gillette however is unlikely for big Mick.

Straight-talking is McCarthy's middle named as he confirmed after today's win.

He said: " Did the win justify my midweek team selection? I'm not looking for it at all, justification or vindication.

"It is all about results. People's opinions of my decisions, I'm not bothered with. One or two people's opinions of me, and my character, I might have trouble with but I'm not going to appease people just because we won. I'm not really bothered.

"I have to be able to manage the club, manage the players, maximise my resources, pick teams and be trusted with it by everyone concerned.

"The day I'm not trusted is the day I get out of the door, isn't it? So I have to be allowed to do that. We've had nine points out of 12 since the Birmingham game and people who were here when we played Birmingham would never have thought that.
"I am delighted but I kind of expected it because of the decisions I made. The nice part was the players believed in me and trusted me and let me get on with it.

"They were 100% behind the decisions I made and they played well today and won the game."

Anything less than a Burnley win and it would have been open season on McCarthy, especially after the way that Fulham turned over Manchester United.

In season 2005/2006 McCarthy was in charge of Sunderland who were relegated with a miserable 15 points breaking various Premiership records along the way.

The attention of the Premiership circus will move on from Wolves this week, leaving big Mick to get on with his job of establishing Wolves, and himself, in the top flight.

Lambert joy as Norwich move into third place

Paul Lambert was the happiest former Celt after today's action with Norwich moving into third place in League One with an impressive 3-0 home win over Huddersfield.

The on-loan Celts are disappearing fast with Simon Ferry helping Swindon Town to a 2-1 home win over Brighton that takes Danny Wilson's side into a play-off place.

Ben Hutchison failed to make the bench for Swindon as did Darren O'Dea at Reading and Cillian Sheridan with Plymouth.

There is risk and understanding in all loan deals but only Ferry has benefited from regular football during his loan spell. Hutchison's 'chance' at Celtic has probably come and gone but both O'Dea and Sheridan have hopes of a Celtic career which hasn't been advanced by their loan deals.

At Carrow Road Lambert seems to be getting on top of things despite taking over after the season had started.

Haunting him through the season will be Norwich's 7-1 home defeat from Colchester when he was in charge of the visitors, although that result clearly put him in the frame for the Norwich gig Colchester are just three points behind with a game and hand and the threat of action from the Football League hanging over Lambert's departure to Norwich.

In midweek Norwich had lost out on penalties to Southampton in the Johnston's Paints trophy with today's match goal-less at the interval before goals from Wes Hoolahan, Chris Martin and Gary Docherty earned the points in front of 25,000 fans.

After today's win the former Celtic captain said: "I thought the players were extraordinary. Particularly after Southampton. To go out there; the long journey back and everything. I thought they were extraordinary.

"What was said in the dressing room stays there, but I wasn't too disappointed. Sometimes you have to ride a storm before you can come through it. But it's not about me... it's the lads that have to do it, they have to come through it.

"They're the ones that have done it, they're the ones that have given the club back that winning feeling."

Sheridan poised to return

Cillian Sheridan is on his way back to Celtic but it's likely to be a short term return.

The 20-year-old has started just five matches for Plymouth Argyle and failed to find the net for the Championship outfit.

Despite Paul Mariner replacing Paul Sturrock as manager Sheridan has decided that he won't be extending his loan deal at Home Park.

The striker said: "I'll go back to Celtic Park when I am finished up here and see what happens. I don't know what the club have planned for me but my plan is still to try and get into the first team at Celtic.

"It will be up to Celtic what I do next so it's out of my hands, but whatever happens I need to get some games in. I haven't been playing for a good while now. It's a while since I started a game and I have only been playing bits and pieces as a sub for Plymouth, so the move hasn't gone as well as I hoped.

"When I came down here first it was going well. I was getting games and playing well, but I lost my place after a while and things fizzled out for me then.

"I have 18 months left on my contract at Celtic so it's up to them what happens next. They may want to send me out on loan again next month, maybe to another SPL club, I don't know for sure, or I could end up staying at Parkhead.

"It looks like players will be coming and going at Celtic when the window opens next month. If players do leave it could open up the door for me to get back into the first-team squad, but they might also bring players in so it's hard to know what the manager will decide to do with me."

Sheridan spent the second half of last season on loan at Motherwell after scoring four goals during a brief spell in the first team.

Another loan deal seems more likely than staying on at Celtic with no competitive reserve matches to retain fitness and sharpness.

The u-21 rule, not Tony Mowbray's favourite rule, could help Sheridan out with the SPL demanding that club's list three players under 21 in their match day squads.

Evening Herald interview

Will 'golfing trip' drive Robbie to hoops?

Will an undercover, unwelcome, unofficial Spurs Christmas party spell the end of the road for Robbie Keane at White Hart Lane?

There will be merry hell today at Tottenham's training after Harry Redknapp spits out the Corn Flakes after reading The Sun's blow by blow account of his players 'golfing trip' to Dublin last week.

I'd be amazed if a cunning old fox like 'Arry didn't have a minder or two keeping tabs on things as the Robbie Keane inspired event unfolded.

But will it force open the door to take Keane to Celtic and finally end the longest running rumour in football?

When The Sun does these stories they do them very well, there is no kite flying with dates times and venues given in detail as the Golfing Hotspurs chased birdies with concentration that would impress Tiger Woods.

Coming three days before the surprise home defeat from Wolves the timing couldn't be worse with Redknapp stating repeatedly his dislike for the boozing culture within football.

Days after the event Redknapp was spelling out exactly his thoughts on the great no-no of Christmas parties for footballers.

He said: “The only advise that I have about Christmas parties is don't have one.

“I don't see the point because they are nothing but aggravation for everybody.

“Everyone's waiting for you to trip up, go out and get drunk and act silly. You don't need that.

“This is a busy period, a working period. Why should we have Christmas parties? Every year there is aggro at every football club that has one.

“If they (the players) tell me that they are having one I'll tell them that they're not having one.”

There is no suggestion of anything untoward at the 'golfing trip' but with their manager stating publicly his opposition the players involved, and organiser in particular, will have some explaining to do.

An old fox like Redknapp probably knows more details about the event than The Sun reporter but being challenged publicly will be the issue for the Spurs boss.

The 'Keane for Celtic' rumour failed to surface last year but has been gaining momentum over the last few weeks with a loan deal suggested as a solution for all three parties, pardon the pun.

Speculation will intensify over the next few days but with Paul McGowan on the goal trail Robbie could find himself as fifth choice striker should he get the green light to wear the hoops!
The Sun story

Nice one Gowser- the forgotten Celt

It may be the night that someone scored two goals at once- his first and last for Celtic- but it was great to see Paul Gowser McGowan become a goalscorer.

Adored by Morton fans after a season long loan spell the little striker has found it impossible to break through the lengthy list of strikers that have barred his route to the first team.

Scott McDonald, Georgios Samaras, Marco Fortune, Chris Killen, Cillian Sheridan, Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink, Maciej Zurawski, Kenny Miller and even Ben Hutchison have been in front of McGowan for a place in the affections of Gordon Strachan and Tony Mowbray.

Tonight however he joined that fairly exclusive band to have found the net for Celtic in Europe and the first to score an equaliser after being three goals down within 20 minutes!

McGowan has got lots about him but it's difficult to get away from the impression that he's just too small to make it at the top level.

He has an eye for goal, a poachers instinct and can drop deep, link up and play passes but without a real career path into the Celtic first team it's just not happened for him.

After his Morton loan season he needed to step up a grade but found season 2007/2008 ruined by injury.

The virtual demise of reserve football saw him spend the second half of last season at Hamilton but played out wide on the right rather than through the middle.

Resurrecting his Celtic career at the age of 22 seems unlikely but wherever he moves on to he'll do so as a Celtic goalscorer having played in the Champions League (at home to Vilareal) and after scoring in the Europa League.

The so-called meaningless Europa League tie with Rapid turned out to be quite explosive with a happy-ish ending as the gloating cheats of Rapid took a sore one as a spirited comeback from the inexperienced hoops silenced 40,000 in the Ernest Happel Stadium.

All across the defence Celtic were ropey throughout the first half as they made an average Austrian side- the nation that launched the career of Filip Sebo- look like Brazil 1970.

I'll not go over the goals lost, needless to say it was like a compilation of this season's howlers featuring the worst of Ibrox, Falkirk Stadium, Tannadice and Fir Park.

It could have got worse, Artmedia and Neuchatel were coming to mind but Niall McGinn was on form on the left then Marco Fortune turned a defender and buried the chance like the predator we're told that he isn't!

Big Mick frightened their defence with a powering towering header that served notice of our intent even if the referee decided to award a free kick.

McGinn could have helped himself to a hat-trick with a bit of luck on his finishing but suddenly the anticipated mauling had been halted and a text arrived asking if a Liverpool-AC Milan turn around was possible.

The second half was all Celtic with the main threat coming from McGinn now on the right with some pretty sinister and agricultural challenges coming in on the former Derry City winger.

Midway through the second half McGinn's low pass across goal was driven in by Fortune from within the six yard box and suddenly the world wasn't such a bad place as Celtic woke up and shrugged off their early nightmare.

McGinn was replaced by debutant Graham Carey 10 minutes later before in added time Marc Crosas picked out McGowan in the box with the striker tucking his first time shot past the Rapid keeper to the delight of the 800 hoops at the match and to the astonishment of television viewers.

In the era of betting in motion it would have been possible to back a Celtic win or draw, at 0-3 you'd have needed treatment, at 1-3 it was worth a punt.

Tonight's match showed that there's fight and character around the squad as well as ability.

The fightback tonight or at Motherwell on Saturday probably wouldn't have happened last season although it was a strong feature of Strachan's first seasons at the club.

Earlier in the season after the 5-2 home win over St Johnstone Shaun Maloney was asked if supporters could expect results like that throughout the season due to the managers commitment to attack.

Even then Maloney highlighted Mowbray's determination to cut out sloppy defending, the January transfer window offers a real chance to get something sorted after trying out various options so far this season.

Sorting out the defence must be a priority- doing so would reduce the need for dramatic comebacks which is something that we could happily do without.

PS Apparently Gowsers goal will do wonders for the co-efficient of Scottish football and earn him the eternal gratitude of the nation...