Shaun Maloney after scoring for Celtic:

Steven Fletcher after scoring (two) for Hibs:



Kris Boyd after scoring (also two) for Rangers:

James Morrison after netting for West Brom:

Do a little more of this for Scotland, boys, and I’ll be right there with you, grinning ear to ear. Nice to see you all in form, but I’d like to see it expressed a bit more in your national shirt. Well done.

Scotland v. England. It was the first international game. In fact, it was the fixture for the first five international matches, before we let the Welsh play, and it’s all been downhill since then. Just kidding. Still, all of the nations that claim to have rivalries with England (France, Germany, Argentina, etc) have to get in line, because we were here first, and Scotland will always lay claim to the oldest rivalry – that of the so-called “Auld enemies”.

If Rangers win the UEFA Cup, whether by a sudden explosion of offense or their tried-and-true (and incredibly dull) defensive lockdown, it will not only mean the first European trophy for Scotland since Aberdeen’s 1983 Cup Winners’ Cup. It will also mean that Rangers will get a chance to take on the Champions League winner, either Manchester United or Chelsea, in this year’s UEFA Super Cup.

Of course, the rivalry would be better represented by a team with a bit less Unionist of a fan base. All those Union Jacks in the crowd will just confuse the Mancunians or Londonites. But it will still, at least on paper, be Scotland and England, and our long sad rivalry drought will get a wee drip of rain, just enough to keep us going.

We are now two matches away from arguably the greatest year of football in the Fergusson clan’s history. (That’s the proper spelling, by the way – double ’s’) Sir Alex, of course, is the manager of Manchester United, and will take his side to Moscow to face Chelsea, in a match that is interesting only for the trophy awarded at the end. His distant kinsman Barry Ferguson is captain of both Rangers and Scotland, and today guided his club to their first UEFA Cup final. I say guided, but I could equally well say “stumbled his way” to it, since he missed the opening penalty.

So, here we sit, 180 minutes from the total domination of European football by the clan Fergusson. Lord Galloway would be proud.

Craigie and Bardsley, Cleaning up the sheets
For a second match in a row, Sunderland failed to score, but they were saved by their strength at the back (or, by the fact that they were playing Derby. Boosh.) as Scotland #1 Craig Gordon and Phil “Man Without a Country” Bardsley recorded a clean sheet against the lowly Rams. Bardsley still hasn’t made up his mind whether he’s English, Scottish, or Irish. Maybe he’s going to emulate Samuel Eto’o and surprise us all by registering for Ghana.

Celts win ugly, but win nonetheless
The midweek matches in the SPL seemed a little backwards. One Old Firm team dominated their opponents, scoring freely and never looking in any danger at all. The other had no finishing ability whatsoever and almost blew a halftime lead. Nine times out of ten, Rangers are the ones that win ugly, but this week it was Celtic, who just barely got past my beloved Inverness Caledonian Thistle 2-1. The defensive Scots, Gary Caldwell, Steven McManus and Lee Naylor did well, but the Inverness goal was down to a horrible error by Scott Brown, who looked shaky all game. Happens to everyone time and again. Celtic was more comfortable on the weekend, beating Hibernian at Easter Road 2-0.

Rangers still rolling
The SPL leaders have had no room for error the past two months, with Celtic winning their last ten league matches, but Rangers have been up to the task, going eleven straight themselves and making sure that it’s the Old Firm matches and not some banana peel that decides the SPL crown. On Wednesday, they went down to Edinburgh and absolutely demolished Hearts, 4-0. The weekend was a little trickier, having to come from behind against Aberdeen, but three goals from three Scots, Christian Dailly, Charlie Adam and Kris Boyd, were enough to take the match 3-1. One goal allowed in two matches for Scotland backup keeper Allan McGregor.

Hutton’s Carling Cup hangover
With all those pictures of Spurs players falling out of nightclubs after their Carling Cup win, there had to be a bit of a hangover on the pitch, and Alex McLeish’s Birmingham City were the proud recipients, beating Spurs 4-1. Scotland striker Gary McFadden didn’t get his name on the scoreline, but he was creative and troublesome the whole match, while Spurs and Scotland right back Alan Hutton might have still had a drink or two in at the starting whistle. He had a terrible match.

A mixed week for mini-captain Berra
Jambo captain Christophe Berra’s quest for his first senior cap had a mixed week, first taking a blow at the hands of Rangers. Allowing four goals as a captain is one thing, but if you’re a defender as well, you can’t get out of some liability. Things were quite different on the weekend, as Berra got another clean sheet in Hearts’ 3-0 win over Inverness.

Pilgrims hit a rock
Plymouth’s two new Scots, Gary Teale and Russell Anderson added nothing to their bid for George Burley’s affections, as Argyle went down to West Brom, 3-0.

Burnley boys hold Watford
Burnley defensive duo Steven Caldwell and Graham Alexander were anything but perfect this weekend, allowing two goals to Watford, but managed to hold onto a point in the tricky fixture. Their best shot at international attention will come with a promotion playoff spot, something they can almost taste, as they lie only a point behind 6th-place Ipswitch. Caldwell at least feels a run coming on.

The match was strange for Hutton not only in facing his old manager. Three years ago, he suffered a similar break to Eduardo’s, and watching last week’s match brought it all back. Regardless of what the latest Arsenal press release says, it is Hutton’s informed opinion that Eduardo is looking at a two-year process of returning to his best football.

Press your shirt, James (You’ll be needing it)
Your Scotland shirt, that is. James McFadden, best known for his strike against France in the Euro qualifiers, netted two against Arsenal on Saturday, in a match that will be remembered for little other than the horrific injury to Eduardo. Still, a brilliant free kick and a penalty for Fads, and against the best competition in England. Not too shabby.

Three goals for three Rangers
Just in case George Burley ever feels like playing a 4-4-2 (God willing), we certainly have a few options up top. Rangers’ Kris Boyd and Steven Naismith both scored this weekend from the striker position, while Chris Burke netted from midfield. Granted, they were playing Gretna, which is Scottish for “Derby County”.

Two uncapped Hibs … okay … we have enough strikers
It’s a good thing Naismith can play midfield and striker, because the crowd of talent at the pure striker position is getting pretty thick for Scotland. Hibs’ Colin Nish and Steven Fletcher are both looking for their first callups, and both scored on Inverness this weekend.

Berra strong for Hearts
Ridiculously young Hearts captain Christophe Berra (23), though still waiting for his first cap, might not have to wait much longer. The aging Scotland back line could use some speed and agility, and that’s just what Berra could add. A clean sheet against Motherwell this week for Berra and 1-cap teammate Robbie Neilson won’t hurt at all.

Hutton gets a medal, but I give him a “meh”-dal
Sorry. I’m a huge Alan Hutton fan, and I have all belief that he’ll adjust to the speed and technical nature of the Premier League, but he was a bit off of his game in this weekend’s Carling Cup final. He looked nervous with the ball, understandable for a young man at Wembley. Once he does adjust, watch out England. Congrats anyway to Hutton and Spurs on the first major trophy of the season.

Craigie keeps it mostly clean
I call it a dusty sheet. That’s a clean sheet, with one penalty. Scotland #1 Craig Gordon kept strong in goal for Sunderland, allowing only a Jermaine Defoe penalty to cross his path. Rangers’ keeper and regular Scotland back-up Allan McGregor was less successful, as two went past him from Kenny “The Good Doctor” Deuchar, aka the entire Gretna offense. If Dr. Kenny wants to be considered for Scotland, he needs to stay in the top flight, which Gretna will not do.

Green wing Teale does the job for Plymouth
In his first match with Plymouth Argyle after a month of doing not much more than sitting for Derby, Gary Teale performed pretty decently in Plymouth’s 3-1 win over Burnley. He doesn’t look like the rest hurt him too badly, which is good to see. His fellow Scots on the other side of the pitch, Burnley defenders Graham Alexander (32 caps) and Stephen Caldwell (9 caps) had no excuse of too much rest, and allowing three goals is no way to impress the new national coach.

Celts sputter
Scott Brown should have been rested after missing the Barcelona match on suspension, and Barry Robson should have been confident after scoring on the Spanish giants. But both were anonymous on the pitch during Sunday’s lucky 1-0 win over lowly St. Mirren. Gary Caldwell, Steven McManus and Lee Naylor all technically got clean sheets for Celtic, but it was really their keeper Artur Boruc that did most of the heavy lifting. An unconvincing performance after the impressive midweek spirit from Celtic.

But this is not the place to talk about that. This is a Scotland blog, after all, and for a Scotland NT fan, everthing AFTER the third minute was very good to see. James McFadden, the hero of the Stade de France, once again donned a halo, this time for Birmingham City. He scored on a free kick and a penalty to even up with Arsenal at 2-2. I would have loved to post the free kick, but all examples of it seem to have been erased from the interwebs. Thanks again, copyright cops.

Fads may be a new hero at St. Andrews Park, but us Scotland fans, we’ve known him for years. Your place in the Scotland squad is waiting for you, James. No worries there.

Champions League: For Celtic against Barcelona
Steven McManus (DF)
Gary Caldwell (DF)
Paul Caddis (DF) – Played 61 minutes
Mark Wilson (DF) – Played 29 minutes
Paul Hartley (MF) – Played 65 minutes
Barry Robson (MF)

Man of the Match: Robson, with his lovely goal and a generally decent run of play. The four defenders fared decently, considering the team they were lined up against, but Caldwell in particular looked shaky. The aging Scotland backline is helped by young defenders Caddis and Wilson getting some European playing time.

UEFA Cup: For Rangers against Panathinaikos
Allan McGregor (GK)
Kirk Broadfoot (DF)
David Weir (DF)
Christian Dailly (DF) – Played 24 minutes
Barry Ferguson (MF)
Chris Burke (MF) – Played 21 minutes
Charlie Adam (MF) – Played 66 minutes
Kris Boyd (FW)
Steven Naismith (FW) – Played 24 minutes

Man of the match: McGregor, who kept Rangers alive over both legs with some brilliant saves. Was only beaten this match by a lovely strike from Ioannis Goumas. As seems to always be the case lately, it was the Rangers back line that saved them, not their attack. He gets little credit, and is unlikely to start over Craig Gordon, but in Allan McGregor, Scotland has one of the best international backup keepers in the world.

UEFA Cup: For Aberdeen against Bayern Munich
Jamie Langfield (GK)
Zander Diamond (DF)
Andrew Considine (DF)
Richard Foster (MF)
Barry Nicholson (MF)
Scott Severin (MF)
Chris Maguire (FW) – Played 28 minutes
Darren Mackie (FW) – Played 72 minutes

Man of the Match: Nicholson. To be honest, George Burley will have seen little to impress him about any of these boys in this match, though there was plenty in the first leg. Nicholson had some decent passes, and a late shot stopped only by a heroic save. He didn’t give up, and when you concede your fifth goal of the day, that in itself is impressive.

Thank you, Barry Robson, for proving me wrong.

3 matches for Celtic, 121 minutes on the pitch, 2 goals. And this one, the lob against Barca, is one for the ages. I’ve been on the fence before, but I have just fallen off, helped along by a combination of admiration and drink. Barry Robson for Scotland. Here’s the goal.

Champions League
Celtic
– (Capped) – Stephen McManus (DF), Paul Hartley (MF), Barry Robson (MF)
– (Uncapped) – Mark Brown (GK – backup), Paul Caddis (DF)
(Scott Brown is suspended and will miss the match)

UEFA Cup
Rangers
– (Capped) – Allan McGregor (GK), Neil Alexander (GK – backup), Christian Dailly (DF), David Weir (DF), Andy Webster (DF), Charlie Adam (MF), Chris Burke (MF), Barry Ferguson (MF), Lee McCulloch (MF/FW), Kris Boyd (FW), Steven Naismith (FW)
– (Uncapped) – Kirk Broadfoot (DF), Kevin Thomson (MF)

Aberdeen
– (Capped) – Scott Severin (MF), Barry Nicholson (MF), Lee Miller (FW)
– (Uncapped) – Jamie Langfield (GK), Zander Diamond (DF), Andrew Considine (DF), Lee Mair (DF), Darren Mackie (FW)

Tottenham
(Alan Hutton is cup-tied because of Champions League play with Rangers)

Good luck to all the Scots this week, and to Everton as well, for David Moyes’ sake.