´óÏó´«Ã½

Sometimes in life there is an undeserved stigma attached to working in a certain profession.

In football terms, it seems that being part-time is a tag that some in the game would prefer to avoid.

For example, in a season where more clubs are suffering severe financial problems there is often a quote from someone within the respective club announcing that the situation is so bad that they may have to go part-time.

Furthermore, makes promotion more unlikely, they could have arrived in the SPL with - to the horror of a few - some part time players!

Read the rest of this entry

I will always remember this season.

It won't simply be for the reason that it was the last time I played the game professionally but for the fact it has been, without any doubt, a horrible season in Scottish football.

The on-the-pitch talking points of performances, tactics and team selections have been overtaken and overshadowed by , , political summits and legal wrangling.

Read the rest of this entry

In the midst of endless talk of takeovers and tax bills, one recent announcement from Ibrox made little headlines but could, over the course of time prove to be one of the most important decisions made by the manger in waiting Ally McCoist.

The news I am referring to is the appointments of Neil Murray and John Brown to significant roles within the scouting setup at Rangers.

At a time when more and more clubs are unable to pay excessive transfer fees for new recruits the ability to unearth players from all levels and countries is becoming of paramount importance.

Read the rest of this entry

The ever increasing media coverage given to football means that the post-playing career path of football punditry is becoming a more popular and accessible choice for players. With the definition of a pundit being 'a source of opinion' and 'an expert', is a successful playing career enough to qualify an individual for a position in broadcasting?

It is agreed that being a great player does not guarantee being a great manager, and the same logic is applied to a career in the media in that top players do not always make top pundits. The reasons for this are varied but can include a difficulty in articulating views in a coherent manner to being one of those players who took no interest in the tactical side of the game and who only focused on their own individual role within a team.

There are of course several players who are able to make the transition from controlling the ball to mastering the microphone and what therefore is expected in the analysis offered by such former professionals? Do the viewers or listeners prefer run of the mill clichéd opinion, banter and in-house jokes or valuable insight into why teams and players perform in a certain way?

Read the rest of this entry