crumbling Setanta ready to drop on SPL

With Irish broadcaster Setanta tumbling into deep financial crisis, all Scottish Premier League clubs are facing some highly turbulent days. At present Setanta owes the SPL its final £3m installment but given the companies crumbling business, unless it works out an arrangement with another broadcaster or receives an inflow of capital not only is the final payment for the 2008/2009 campaign in jeopardy but next years £25m fee as well.

Setanta has until next Monday to pay the amounts owing before going into formal default. Should this occur, each SPL will be faced with some highly problematic cash flow situations and financing credit lines are likely to be tightened considerably.

While this problem is shared by all Scottish Premier League sides, the Gers face a number of balance sheet woes that must be dealt with. Should the existing broadcasting contract go into default the Rangers will likely need to expedite cost cutting measures.

Scottish Premier League week 20 summary

Week Twenty of the Scottish Premier League with Celtic reaffirming a strangle-hold on the title race with a 1-0 defeat of Rangers at Ibrox (match review Celtic - Rangers). With the victory Gordon Strachan's club now has a seven point lead and showing little signs of letting up.

Elsewhere Aberdeen defeated Hearts 1-0 with recently Scottish capped Lee Miller volleyed the lone goal to the back of the net at the thirty-six minute mark. With the victory The Dons move to within a point of fourth-place Hearts.

Dundee United maintained its strong third place position with a close 1-0 victory over Falkirk as Scott Robertson provided the lone goal nine minutes before the half hour mark as he jumped on a poor clearance and slammed the ball home from the edge of the area.

In one of the most thrilling matches of the day Kilmarnock overcame Hibernian 4-2. Danny Invincibile gave Killie the lead only five minutes in with a professional vision from close range as Jamie Hamill fed him a perfect pass to the back post. Only six minutes later Allan Russell doubled the margin as he got on the end of corner and drove the ball past Hibs 'keeper Yves Ma-Kalambay. In a strange twist of events Dean Shiels scored twice from the spot at the thirty-sixth and fortieth minute to bring the match level, with the second penalty seeing off Killie 'keeper Alan Combe. Down a man, Killie found the net two minutes after the restart with the Aussie Danny Invincibile heading home his second of the day. Hibs came close to evening the match but with sixteen minutes remaining Garry Hay returned Killie's two goal lead.

Motherwell defeated Inverness Caley Thistle 3-2 with Chris Porter proving why many clubs are looking towards him this transfer season as he netted three goals on the way to the victory. (Caley Thistle review)

Finally St Mirren edged Hamilton Academical 1-0 as veteran Craig Dargo gave off the bench to net the winner with only twelve minutes remaining. The loss leaves the Accies laying in the dreaded relegation spot ahead of next weeks match against Aberdeen.

Please stop by for expanded coverage of the SPL next week as the action continues with the following matches:

Dundee United @ Celtic
Hibernian @ Hearts
Aberdeen @ Hamilton Academical
Motherwell @ St Mirren
Kilmarnock @ Falkirk
Rangers @ Inverness Caldeonian Thistle (Sunday)

	P	W	D	L	GS	GA	Pts
Celtic	20	16	2	2	45	18	50
Rangers	20	13	4	3	45	17	43
Dundee United	20	9	7	4	28	20	34
Hearts	19	9	4	6	20	21	31
Aberdeen	19	9	3	7	23	19	30
Hibernian	20	7	5	8	26	28	26
Kilmarnock	19	8	1	10	20	25	25
St Mirren	20	7	3	10	16	22	24
Motherwell	19	6	2	11	20	31	20
Falkirk	20	4	5	11	21	30	17
Caley Thistle	20	5	2	13	20	34	17
Hamilton Academical	20	5	2	13	17	36	17

Rangers v Hearts preview

Rangers face Hearts later today at Tynecastle with the Gers needing to maintain pace with Celtic who have a solid four point lead. With Celtic nearly perfect on league level, Walter Smith's club cannot afford to drop points but Hearts are a particularly challenging squad and looking to enact revenge for their 2-0 loss to the Gers at Ibrox in the second week of the campaign. Hearts are however a particularly challenging squad at home and have won four straight since dropping to Celtic at the start of November. The Rangers defeated Hearts 2-0 at Ibrox in the second match of the season in a very close match.

On the injury front Hearts will be boosted with the return of Laryea Kingston and Deividas Česnauskis but missing Mike Tullberg and Saulius Mikoliūnas to injury with Michael Stewart in the sin-bin. The Rangers have Saša Papac and Madjid Bougherra back but still are without Steven Davis and Kenny Miller.

I will report on the match as it concludes.

Scottish Premier League week 15

Week 15 of the Scottish Premier League concluded with Celtic proudly holding the top spot with a 3-1 victory over St Mirren 3-1. Goals by international stars Georgios Samaras (Greece) and Shunsuke Nakamura (Japan) led the charge with Irish teenager Cillian Sheridan finishing off for good measure (full report here).

To those who think you can keep Craig Brewster's side down, guess again as Caley Thistle fought hard for a 2-1 victory over Kilmarnock, despite last minute heroics by Killie thrown aside with Mehdi Taouil's dreadful penalty miss as time wound down. (full report here)

Aberdeen played a brilliant match but succumbed to the Rangers 2-0 (Aberdeen report here)(Rangers report here)

Hamilton was heartbroken with 1-1 against Dundee Utd as a unfortunate own goal deep into added time. The match will be remembered for highly questionable referring as it the visiting Accies were a man down for the final ten minutes with Simon Mensing sent off for an altercation away from the ball.

Finally Hearts defeated Falkirk 2-1 and Hibernian roared back to the win column with a 4-1 drubbing of Motherwell.


And don't forget next Saturday when the SPL returns with

Inverness CT @ Celtic
Motherwell @ Aberdeen
Rangers @ Hearts
Dundee Utd @ St Mirren
Kilmarnock @ Hamilton
Hibernian @ Falkirk

	P	W	D	L	GS	GA	Pts
Celtic	15	13	1	1	39	15	40
Rangers	15	11	3	1	34	11	36
Hearts	15	8	2	5	17	18	26
Dundee Utd	15	6	5	4	20	17	23
Hibernian	15	5	4	6	19	22	19
Kilmarnock	15	6	1	8	14	21	19
Aberdeen	15	5	3	7	15	18	18
Inverness Caley Thistle	15	5	2	8	17	22	17
Motherwell	15	5	2	8	17	23	17
Falkirk	15	4	4	7	18	21	16
St Mirren	15	3	3	9	10	19	12
Hamilton	15	3	2	10	13	26	11

big test ahead for Rangers as they face Motherwell

Rangers travel to Fir Park today to face Motherwell in one of the toughest tests of the year. Sitting sixth place in the table, only three points behind Dundee Utd, the 'Well consistently prove out to be a difficult club to tangle with.

Motherwell will face the match without David Clarkson while the Rangers have no new injuries excluding Kevin Thomson who is out for the balance of the campaign.

Prior to the match, Walter Smith commented:

"We now go into a tough match at Fir Park. We had very difficult games against them last season and tonight should be a very good match too.

"I think Motherwell are aggressive side wherever they play. That's one thing that Mark McGhee can take credit for since he has been there.

"They were in a situation before where they looked upon themselves as relegation candidates and had to battle in that respect.

"But Mark has given them a more positive outlook and that has proven to be a good thing for them.

"Hopefully we can continue to create the same amount of opportunities in the matches coming up."

I will report on the match as it concludes.

Rangers roll over Kilmarnock 4-0

Rangers rolled to a strong 4-0 victory over Kilmarnock at Rugby Park today. However the match was definitely the tale of two different halves as prior to the break, the home side had performed admirably, kept the Gers off the score-sheet and put forth a series of aggressive challenges. Just before the half-hour mark Kris Boyd was awarded a penalty and choosing to take it himself, he was denied with a splendid stop by the Killie 'keeper Allan Combe.

With the score level at that half, the second act of the match began as the Rangers acted with a flourish. Five minutes after the restart David Weir headed in a Kevin Thomson corner and only four minutes later Kenny Miller provided Kris Boyd the perfect set-up with the embattled striker doubling the lead. The spirit of the match slowed with the two goal margin and the Gers added two late goals to skew the result. With three minutes remaining Kenny Miller added his name to the score-sheet, heading in a Steven Davis cross and Steven Whittaker added a highlight film goal, volleying-in Kirk Broadfoot as time wound down.

The Gers have a short-week and face Motherwell on Wednesday.

Highlight match of the day in Scotland!!!

The Gers face Kilmarnock at Rugby Park on Sunday in the lone Scottish Premier League match of the day. Following the mid-week draw with Dundee Utd, the Rangers are faced with the task of keeping pace with top of the table Celtic. While the Gers are at full strength, Jim Jefferies Killie will be missing Simon Ford, Garry Hay,Danny Invincibile, Allan Johnston, Ryan O'Leary and Allan Russell to injury along with Manuel Pascali to injury. Killie put up a spirited fight at Ibrox in September narrowly losing 2-1 with Kris Boyd scoring two unanswered goals after the break. The Rangers can expect a very stingy defense and will need to be at their best to break through.

Prior to the match, Walter Smith commented:

"There is no doubt Kilmarnock are doing well this season. A lot of people had them down as relegation candidates but Jim has pulled them together again and continues to a remarkable job down there. It will be a difficult one for us this Sunday but it's a game we are looking forward to. When we played them in September at Ibrox they showed they are tighter as a unit than they were the previous year. This has brought them a level of success so I would expect them to set their stall out again this weekend and make it as difficult as possible for us. When you look at how tight the league is out with the Old Firm there is not a lot between the teams. Some have good spells and then have to endure a couple of losses and then get back on track again. Killie have endured a rough patch recently but Jim has enough experience to get them through that and I am sure they will raise their game when we come to town on Sunday."

I will report on the match as it concludes.

SPL week 12

If you're debating what to do on a beautiful late fall afternoon, well look no further as week twelve of the Scottish Premier League heats up with a series of exciting matches. Possibly the match of the week is the Dons visit of Dundee Utd in an important match-up as wrestling early in the campaign for the spots behind Celtic and the Gers. Craig Levein's Dundee is coming off a tremendous 3-3 draw against the Rangers that they should have come out with three points and looking ready for the toughest of challenges.

Falkirk's visit to Hamilton is an intriguing match-up as the clubs appear to be going in the opposite direction with John Hughes' club scratching and clawing its way to tough points. The Accies need to find their early season form to halt the slide that have seen them winless in six matches. Falkirk shellacked Hamilton 4-1 in the final match of September and Billy Reid's club is searching for tactical alternatives to their stagnant attack.

Elsewhere in the SPL:

Inverness CT @ Hibernian
Motherwell @ Celtic
Hearts @ St Mirren
Rangers @ Kilmarnock (Sunday)

		W	D	L	GS	GA	Pts
Celtic	11	9	1	1	29	13	28
Rangers	11	8	2	1	26	10	26
Dundee Utd	11	4	4	3	15	13	16
Motherwell	11	5	1	5	16	16	16
Kilmarnock	11	5	1	5	11	12	16
Hibernian	11	4	3	4	12	15	15
Aberdeen	11	4	2	5	10	12	14
Hearts	11	4	2	5	12	17	14
St Mirren	11	3	3	5	8	11	12
Falkirk	11	3	2	6	14	17	11
Inverness CT	11	3	1	7	12	18	10
Hamilton	11	3	0	8	10	21	9

Dundee Utd visits Ibrox

Dundee Utd comes to Ibrox later today in the make-up match that was originally postponed with the passing of Eddie Thompson. After an early season slump Craig Levein's club is in the midst of a five match unbeaten string and slowly creeping up the table. For the match they will be without Roy O'Donovan who is in the sin-bin and top-scorer Jon Daly. The Gers are riding high after dismantling Caley Thistle on the weekend. They are fully-fit with the exception of Jean-Claude Darcheville who is out with an injury. Skipper Barry Ferguson is expected to be in the starting grid after a favourable second-half run-out on Saturday.

I will report on the match as it concludes.

Caley Thistle comes to Ibrox

Caley Thistle visit Ibrox Saturday morning to face the Rangers in a match that could mark the return of Gers captain Barry Ferguson to the lineup. Out due to an off-season ankle surgery, his recovery has went well and he will provide the club a major boost in a tough match.

As always Craig Brewster can expect inspired performances by Ross Tokely, Russell Duncan and Roy McBain as they wear the crest with pride and regardless of your allegiance they are impossible not to appreciate. In a sport where crests are traded as quickly as the bank-transfer clears, these men stand tall for Caley Thistle and will push them forward.

Both clubs are fully-fit with Rangers Steven Whittaker the only exception.

I will report on the match as it concludes.

SPL week 11

Leading into week eleven of the Scottish Premier League, Celtic has a firm three-point lead over the Rangers with the balance of the table packed firmly within only six points.

Of the many great story-lines this campaign the rise of Kilmarnock is one of the most exciting. Last year Jim Jefferies Killie stood only above Gretna, yet this year they have turned it around and now sit in third-place. This weekend they travel to to Aberdeen to face Jimmy Calderwood's Dons in a critically important match for both clubs. In the past Pittodrie Stadium has been a fortress for them but this year their normal stingy record at home has fallen.

Elsewhere on Saturday the Hamilton Accies visit Motherwell. The great start of Billy Reid's Accies' in a distant memory as they have dropped five straight matches and their promising offensive attack has lost pace and confidence. The 'Well are coming off a tough win over Caley Thistle and showing signs of returning to last years form. Young striker David Clarkson screams promise and looks capable of becoming a fixture for Scotland.

Don't miss out on these other exciting SPL matches this weekend:

Dundee Utd @ Falkirk
Inverness Caley Thistle @ Rangers
Hibernian @ St Mirren
Celtic @ Hearts

	P	W	D	L	GS	GA	Pts
Celtic	10	8	1	1	27	13	25
Rangers	9	7	1	1	18	7	22
Kilmarnock	10	5	1	4	11	11	16
Dundee Utd	9	4	2	3	12	10	14
Hearts	10	4	2	4	12	15	14
Hibernian	10	4	2	4	12	15	14
Motherwell	10	4	1	5	14	16	13
Aberdeen	10	3	2	5	9	12	11
St Mirren	10	3	2	5	8	11	11
Inverness Caley Thistle	10	3	1	6	12	13	10
Falkirk	10	3	1	6	14	17	10
Hamilton	10	3	0	7	10	19	9