Scotland boss Levein gets scout wish
January 8, 2010
Scotland’s new manager, Craig Levein, will have a scout to assist him after the Scottish Football Association (SFA) announced his former club colleague Michael Oliver had been appointed to the post.
For the past two years Oliver has worked at Scottish Premier League side Dundee United, where Levein was the manager until he was installed as Scotland boss last month in succession to the sacked George Burley.
“Hopefully I can have a good impact on the squad’s preparations and have a real go at creating a good picture for Craig of the teams he will face,” Oliver, who has also scouted for English Premier League sides Birmingham and Wigan, told www.scottishfa.co.uk following Thursday’s announcement by the SFA.
He added: “More often than not I’ll be watching club matches where a percentage of players involved are eligible for an international opponent.
“That is where you’ll see a player perform to their full potential and learn most about them, as opposed to an international friendly where not a lot is at stake,” explained Oliver, likely to be Levein’s only full-time member of staff.
Levein, whose first game in charge is the international friendly against the Czech Republic in March, said: “When I was working at club level I didn’t like it if I sent out my team and the opposition brought on a player who I hadn’t briefed my players about.
“When I was offered the job here I made it clear from the start that I wanted a full-time scout.
“Michael fits the role perfectly,” added Levein, who first met Oliver as a 19-year-old when he played alongside him at Scottish lower league side Cowdenbeath.
“He already has a lot of experience in a similar role, he is used to travelling around Europe watching players, and he has made a lot of good contacts along the way.
“For the past two years he was my scout at Dundee United. For me the most important thing is that Michael always gives me a definitive opinion about a player,” Levein explained.
Scotland have not qualified for the finals of a major tournament since the 1998 World Cup in France and Levein’s primary task is to get the team through to the 2012 European Championship finals in Poland and the Ukraine.
GLASGOW (AFP)
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Exploding egg just the first of Broadfoot’s troubles
May 22, 2009
Rangers defender Kirk Broadfoot is an unlucky man.
Earlier this month, the 25-year-old Scotland international was taken to hospital after an egg he was microwaving exploded. He was trying to poach the egg but hot liquid squirted out when he opened the microwave door, burning his cheek.
There followed lots of newspaper headlines about him having “egg on his face”.
The player was already ruled out for the rest of the season because of a series of niggles.
Now he has been told he won’t play again until November following surgery on his left foot.
It seems he isn’t a broad foot after all…
PHOTO: Scotland’s Kirk Broadfoot celebrates scoring against Iceland during their World Cup 2010 Group 9 qualifying soccer match in Reykjavik September 10, 2008. REUTERS/David Moir
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Irish, Scottish players eat ´rubbish´, says Keane
November 22, 2008
LONDON (AFP) – Sunderland manager Roy Keane has attacked footballers from Ireland and Scotland for eating and drinking "rubbish".
The former Republic of Ireland captain warned them that they must clean up their lives if they are to match their counterparts from other countries.
The Sunderland boss said on Friday: "The English lads don’t seem to be too bad – obviously, the French and the Spanish are good.
"But the players with the biggest problem in terms of changing their mentality are certainly the Irish and the Scottish players, because that’s the way they have been brought up.
"That’s the way I was brought up. I was brought up eating rubbish, drinking rubbish, so it is trying to change that mentality.
"You have to try to remind the players and provide these dieticians and speak to the players and eventually, you hope the penny will drop.
"You hope – sometimes it doesn’t.
"I will go back to the game a few weeks ago, the United and Arsenal game.
"You have got to be able to sprint to people, you have got to play for 90 minutes.
"You can’t be tiring after 45, 50 minutes, not in the Premier League. You can’t do it."
Keane’s squad is packed with Irish players – Paul McShane and Anthony Stokes, currently out on loan, as well as Liam Miller and Daryl Murphy, were away with the Republic this week, while Andy Reid has been a regular, and Scotland keeper Craig Gordon is also on the books at the Stadium of Light, although currently injured.
The Black Cats have worked hard on educating their current crop, but Keane said: "You can provide everything for them in terms of fitness coaches, the right foods, the right hotels or whatever it might be.
"But of course, you cannot follow players, you cannot follow players when they leave your training ground.
"I think a lot of players in the Premier League can be fitter. A lot of players have the excuse that they are not playing – yeah, but you can still get fitter, you can still do extra, still do swimming, still do more weights, get your body-fat down.
"I did it both ways. I was able to get away with it when I was younger, having high body-fat and not leading the right lifestyle.
"But the last six, seven, eight years of my career, you certainly wanted to be as fit as you possibly could."
Written by: AFP
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Liverpool floor Rangers in Ibrox friendly
August 7, 2008
GLASGOW (AFP) – A classy Liverpool comprehensively swatted Rangers 4-0 in a pre-season friendly at Ibrox on Saturday.
The English Premiership giants cruised to victory with a first-half strike from Fernando Torres followed by second-half goals from David Ngog, Yossi Benayoun and Xabi Alonso.
Both teams had fielded strong line-ups with Liverpool coach Rafael Benitz opting to try out his new strike partnership of Torres and Robbie Keane for the first time and Rangers manager Walter Smith had to admit he had no complaints about the result.
“We didn’t take a lot from the game apart from the fact we were well beaten. There are no excuses from our point of view.
“Overall Liverpool were better and I have no complaints about the result.”
Benitez agreed his side controlled the match.
“From the start of the game we wanted to press and we wanted to win against a good team.
“In the second half, Rangers needed to go forward in front of their supporters and they left more spaces and we have the quality to play the counter attack,” said the Spaniard.
The home side had the better of the opening exchanges, with Lee McCulloch unlucky to see his low drive from the edge of the box go just wide of Liverpool keeper Diego Cavalieri’s left-hand post in the fourth minute before Scottish international Kenny Miller blasted a shot over the bar.
Liverpool soon settled and Euro 2008 hero Torres’ pace was soon causing problems for the home side.
The Spanish striker had a great opportunity in the 10th minute when Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard found him with a pass in the box. But Torres’ touch was heavy and Gers’ keeper Allan McGregor rushed out to save at his feet.
The Spaniard soon had the better of McGregor though, when he opened the scoring in the 23rd minute.
The Rangers keeper could only palm a powerful shot from 30 yards out from Frenchman Damien Plessis into the path of Torres, who tapped the ball in from six yards.
McGregor’s gloves were stung again in the 30th minute when Gerrard fired a shot at him.
But Rangers should have gone in at half-time level when Nacho Novo missed a chance to equalise.
The diminutive striker was played clear into the box by a clever ball from Kenny Miller, but after knocking the ball past Cavalieri his shot was somehow blocked on the line by Italian defender Andrea Dossena.
Both teams made five changes at the break but it made little difference to the pace of the game.
Rangers came close in the 50th minute when Jean-Claude Darcheville, on for Miller, played the ball across the box which Cavalieri did well to get to before the advancing Novo.
But it was another substitute, teenager Ngog, who increased Liverpool’s lead in the 57th minute.
The summer signing from Paris St Germain strolled past three Rangers players before slotting the ball in the bottom left-hand corner.
Liverpool soon made it three when McGregor could only palm a cross into the path of Israeli Benayoun, who tapped in from a couple of yards out.
Worse was to come for the home support in the 71st minute when Kirk Broadfoot conceded a penalty after fouling substitute Christian Meneth in the box.
Spanish international Alonso buried the ball low into the right-hand corner of the net with Alexander, who had replaced McGregor minutes earlier, getting close to it.
Writtend By :AFP
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Strachan issues warning over ´threadbare´ squad
August 7, 2008
GLASGOW, Scotland (AFP) – Celtic boss Gordon Strachan told fans not to expect big-name additions to his “threadbare” squad this season, adding that he does not have enough money to buy the leg of Tottenham’s David Bentley.
Speaking in the Scottish Daily Record newspaper after Celtic’s 2-0 pre-season friendly defeat at the hands of the London club, Strachan issued a stern transfer warning.
“Look at who they (Spurs) had tonight. Luka Modric, David Bentley, Dimitar Berbatov and then the left-back Gareth Bale comes on and he’s worth 12 million pounds,” he told the newspaper.
“We don’t have that money and we have to do our best with what we’ve got and make the players better. What are our limits? Do you get half a Bentley, a quarter of Bentley? Do we get a Bentley right leg?”
He added: “We’re about threadbare right now. But the players I have here are all I’ve got.
“One way or another we have to have passers on and then battlers on and we have to be ready for all sorts of games. It’s easy for them (Spurs) to progress when they have money to spend.”
Spurs’ two goals came from Darren Bent, a transfer target for Strachan, and 22 million euro (34 million dollar) debut boy Bentley, who only joined from Blackburn on Thursday.
“We learned that Spurs are top quality,” Strachan added, drawing attention to the widening financial gap between the two clubs.
Writtend By :AFP
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Friendly wins for Spurs and Borussia at Rotterdam Tournament
August 7, 2008
ROTTERDAM (SW) – Tottenham Hotspur beat Celtic 2-0 while hosts Feyenoord crashed to a 2-1 defeat by Borussia Dortmund at this year’s Rotterdam Tournament.
Feyenoord host this tournament to celebrate their one hundred year anniversary, and invited all of the teams against which the Dutch side won a European final in the past.
The tournament kicked off with the match between Celtic and Tottenham Hotspur, and the English proved to be the stronger side.
Bent opened the score after 24 minutes and Bentley doubled the lead with eleven minutes left to go.
Feyenoord meanwhile, did give Borussia some trouble but the Germans walked away with a 2-1 victory.
Only five minutes were played when Kuba put the visitors ahead and Wijnaldum’s equaliser in the 41st minute was cancelled out by Hille’s winning goal in minute 78.
The tournament will be concluded next Sunday with Feyenoord playing Celtic and the Spurs facing Borussia.
Written by: Jonathan Roorda
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Rangers Win Bougherra Sweepstakes
August 7, 2008
Glasgow Rangers logo
GLASGOW (SW) – Rangers have signed Algerian international defender Madjid Bougherra, paying a 2.5 million Pounds transfer fee to Charlton Athletic. Thursday’s announcement puts to rest rumors that Charlton had agreed a 2 million transfer with West Brom.
The 25 year old has been capped 22 times by Algeria since his debut in 2004. He began his professional career in 2002 with Ligue 2’s Guegnon before moving to England to play for Crew Alexandra, Sheffield Wednesday, and Charlton. The Latics 2.5 million sale of Bougherra balances the 2.5 million transfer fee paid to Sheffield Wednesday during the January 2007 transfer window.
Bougherra had been heavily targeted by English Premier League newcomers West Brom, also attracting interest from Sunderland, Middlesbrough, and Spanish side Real Betis. He joins fellow Algerian Brahim Hemdani at the Glasgow club.
Written by: Ryan McGrantham
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