Scotland Manager Travel Guide

History
Scotland was one of the first nations in the world to play football with Queen's Park being the first Scottish club and probably oldest outside England. Early Scottish football was played under the rules of the English FA before the Scottish Football Association (SFA) was set up in 1873, making it the second oldest association in the world.

Originally Scottish teams played their football against English teams in friendlies. They also competed in the FA Cup, with Queen's Park reaching the final twice. Then in 1887, the SFA declared that all clubs must withdraw from the FA as Scottish football was reluctant to move forward to the professional age. It was only in 1893 that the Scots went pro and this helped make the Scots First Division more competitive.

Having been established in 1890, The First Division was plagued with problems for its amateur years. A lot of teams paid their players illegitimately and this led to Queen's Park declining to enter. It was only once the SFA went pro in 1893 that Scottish Football really took off. Another division was added (division 2) and the league functioned this way all the way up to World War 1.

During the Great War, many teams were forced to give up their best players to the armed forces. Hearts, a founder member, found themselves with no team at all due to all of the footballers joining up. This led to them squandering a massive league lead at the top to Celtic in one season.

After the war it was decided that the many non-league clubs that had sprung up would fit nicely into three divisions with automatic promotion (previously the teams in the division above voted for which team that finished in the top three should be promoted)

The 1970/71 season saw the introduction of goal difference, making it almost impossible for teams to have to playoff.

The most successful teams in the Scottish game are Rangers and Celtic (more commonly referred to as the Old Firm) with Rangers being the club with the most trophies in the world. Depending on whom you speak to, Aberdeen or Hearts are most likely to be considered as the third most successful club. Other clubs that have been moderately successful include Hibernian (Hibs), Dundee United and Kilmarnock. The Current Scottish Cup (equivalent to FA Cup) holders are Hearts, although the Old Firm has also dominated this competition.

The League
There are 12 teams in the Scottish Premier League. Each team plays the other teams three times, a draw decides which team gets the extra home match against the other. After 33 matches the league splits in two, with the top six going into their own group, and the bottom six going in another group.

Each team in each group plays the other teams once; again a draw decides whether it is home or away. The winners of the league qualify automatically into the Champions League Proper, the runners-up get into the Second Qualifying Round of the Champions League and 3rd Place gets you in to the First Round of the Euro Cup.

In the lower leagues there are 10 teams in each division. They play each other four times (two home matches and two away.) The winner of the First Division goes into the SPL. The relegation in the lower leagues is then decided by playoffs. For the First Division: The club that finishes 9th in the First Division will play the club that finished 4th in the Second Division over two legs. The club finishing 2nd in Division Two will play the club that finished 3rd in Division Two. The winners of both ties will then play each other over two legs. This is the same for relegation from Division Two.

Who To Be?
You can find a challenge in Scotland anywhere outside the Old Firm (Rangers and Celtic.)

Starting in the Premiership there is quite literally a huge difference between top and bottom. Rangers and Celtic are by far the richest teams in the SPL and, although no competitors to the "Abramovich Era" at Chelsea, they stand out in Scotland. Automatic qualification into the Champions Cup proper gives you a free entry into Europe and a nice easy start to your reign at Celtic Park. Rangers come into this category too with free passage into the EURO Cup First Round and a good starting squad. Either of these teams are a nice way to introduce you to Scottish football and allows you a feel for the league before taking challenges elsewhere.

At the middle of the table you have Hearts, Hibernian, Aberdeen and Kilmarnock. These teams all start with good squads, although Hearts beat the others for finances hands down.. Hearts have a lot of players on loan in the first season and so, by the second season may find themselves short of a squad. They offer you entry to the Champions Cup Second Qualifying Round and are quite capable of making it to the Group Stages.

Out of the rest of the teams: Inverness CT, St. Mirren, Falkirk, Motherwell, Dundee United and Dunfermline each are a challenge in themselves however keeping Dunfermline, St Mirren or Falkirk in the division is a great challenge and failure to do so would most likely result in the loss of your job, and the club going into major debt.

Further down the league, Livingston in Division One are a good challenge: Finances very poor and expectations high, getting them into the SPL won't be easy. Gretna, also in Division One, allow you access to the Second Qualifying Round of the EURO Cup and keeping them in the EURO Cup would give you massive extra funding to get the team into the SPL where they feel they belong after their major success in the Scottish Cup last year.

A Good Challenge - Get Gretna out of Division One and into the SPL in your first season and turn them into European Champions.

Mission Impossible - Take one of Elgin or East Stirling from Division Three to the top tier in Scotland splitting the Old Firm in the process.

Top Players
Most top players in Scotland can be found at Celtic and Rangers. However, if your team comes up against any of these players you will want to watch them closely: Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink (Celtic), Kris Boyd (Rangers), Craig Gordon (Hearts), Paul Hartley (Hearts), Jamie Smith (Aberdeen), Shunsuke Nakamura (Celtic) and Barry Ferguson (Rangers.)

Most great players in Scotland are youngsters, so make sure you get your scouts searching for the new talent coming through. Hibs are the main example of this great youth, so it's worth monitoring their academy closely for the first few seasons at least.

Players To Watch
Currently Scotland boasts some very in-demand young players, and the two Edinburgh teams boast an impressive crop. Hibs have some sensational kids; the most significant of these young assets have to be Kevin Thomson and Scott Brown. Both midfielders, Thomson will cut you up and Brown will breeze through you. If you are lucky enough to find yourself with one of these players then you must try and hold onto them. Hearts also have some great youngsters with Scottish duo Calum Elliot and Lee Wallace right up there in terms of potential. It is also worth looking at the Under-19s for Branamir Kostadinov - a young striker that could become a world-beater.

In Steven Naismith Kilmarnock have a great player for the future. He can play on either wing or up front and has the pace and skill to pulverize SPL defences. Also, anyone managing Falkirk surely has to try and persuade young striker Anthony Stokes to extend his stay after a loan from Arsenal.

David Clarkson from Motherwell and Andrew Consodine from Aberdeen are also worth a mention; the former a pacey striker, and the latter a solid defender. Some players on less of a budget may wish to consider David Templeton from Stenhousemuir. He is a striker with great pace and may well become a wonderkid.

Moving onto the Old Firm, Alan Hutton and Steven Smith from Rangers will provide you with solidity in the full back area for many years to come. Celtic have such prospects as Aiden McGeady, a pacey winger capable of beating anyone. Young James Beattie is also capable of being a 30 goal a season striker.

So the future looks bright for Scottish football.

Author: Gavin Chapman