Championship

• Hibs' title odds plummet with the mercury

  HIBS' LADBROKES Championship odds are falling as fast as the temperature according to the league sponsors.
  
  An avalanche of bets on the Hibees to land the title has forced the bookies to take evasive action, cutting the side to 9/2 from the 16/1 chalked up three weeks ago.
  
  Following the weekend results a whopping 87% of bets on the Championship winner are for the Boys in Green, leaving Rangers to drift to 1/8 from the certain-looking 1/100 offered last month.
  
  Fans who think Jason Cummings will fire his team to glory while landing the division's Golden Boot gong can take 16/1 he gets that double up this season.
  
  David Macdonald of Ladbrokes said:"Only a few weeks ago we had punters pleading with us to pay out on Rangers but we're glad we kept the book open. Hibs are certainly heating things up while temperatures plummet and the betting suggests the Championship will go to the wire."

  Ladbrokes latest betting
  
  Ladbrokes Championship winner
   
  Rangers 1/8
  Hibernian 9/2
  Falkirk 50/1
  
  Martyn Waghorn to finish top goalscorer and Rangers to win the Championship 4/11
  Jason Cummings to finish top goalscorer and Hibs to win the Championship 16/1

• #InsideInfo with Lee Wallace

  SPFL sponsors Ladbrokes stopped in with Rangers skipper Lee Wallace to give fans of the Glasgow giants a revealing snapshot into life at Ibrox.
  
  Each week Labrokes will be giving one lucky player the chance to name and shame their team-mates be it the worst trainer, worst dancer or the most vain man in the dressing room.
  
  It’s not all berating though as there’s also plenty of chance for praise to levels things up.
  
  See who Gers defender Wallace singles out as the most skillful member of Mark Warburton’s squad below, as he dishes out the #InsideInfo.
  
  Nicky Clark might just be too busy in front of the mirror to tune in though…

   

  For more SPFL news and articles check out Ladbrokes' fantastic dedicated site at www.ladbrokes.com/spfl

   

• Ex-Hibs loanee Duncan Watmore graduates from Uni with first-class honours Economics degree

  If football ever doesn’t quite work out for Duncan Watmore, at least he can fall back on his impressive university degree.

  The 21-year-old Sunderland youngster has just qualified from university with a first class honours degree in economics and business management from Newcastle University.

  Former Sheffield Wednesday, Leeds and Bradford player David Wetherall, is the only other footballer in the hostory of the Premier League to achieve a first from university.

  Hibs fans will remember Watmore from his short spell on loan at the club.

  He scored one goal in 10 appearances as then boss Terry Butcher failed to keep the Hibees in the Scottish Premiership.

  Read the rest of this article via talkingbaws.com.

• Famous Five Screening This Sunday

  It was a forward-line that struck fear into the hearts of opposition defenders, but rolled off the tongue for a generation of Scottish football fans: Smith, Johnstone, Reilly, Turnbull and Ormond.
  
  Now, BBC ALBA looks at the magical story of Hibernian’s Famous Five who helped catapult the Leith club to a host of trophies in the post-war period.
  
  Produced by purpleTV, the creators of a series of BBC ALBA sports documentaries including Jim Baxter and the award-winning Jock Stein, the programme examines how the Famous Five were revered at home and abroad and continue to live on in Scottish football folklore.
  
  Speaking to family members, fellow players, historians, broadcasters and acclaimed author and Hibs’ fan Irvine Welsh, we hear the influence the quintet had upon the game, leading Hibs to break the stranglehold of the Old Firm in the early 1950s.
  
  Alastair Alexander, football commentator, said: “The fact that they won three titles was just unbelievable because up until then, the titles had never really escaped from the clutches of Rangers or Celtic. There were other teams from time to time but it was significant for the dominance of the Old Firm to be broken at that time - and be broken by playing good football. The quality of their play, it really was remarkable and everybody really enjoyed it.”
  
  Alastair watched the Famous Five play when he was a youngster and they were appreciated no matter which team in Scotland you supported.
  
  He continued: “Every schoolboy in Scotland knew Hibs’ Famous Five: Smith, Johnstone, Reilly, Turnbull and Ormond. It just tripped of the tongue and no matter what team you supported, you looked to this forward line that was magical. They played in the W formation. With two wingers wide, Lawrie Reilly in the centre and Bobby Johnstone and Eddie Turnbull advancing wing halves or centre forwards. All in all they were a marvellous team!”
  
  For Pat Stanton, who watched as a boy from the terraces and went on to become a legend at Easter Road in his own right, their magic left an indelible mark.
  
  Pat said: “I stood on the terrace watching these players. I was in awe of them.
  
  “Gordon Smith: an outside right, a terrific footballer, very quick, elegant; Bobby Johnstone: my dad’s favourite. A great player and a real thinker. He added the craft.
  
  “Lawrie Reilly: centre forward, just an absolute terrier of a man, very quick, strong, great eye for the goal. Inside that you had Eddie Turnbull: a really good player with a terrific shot. He was a great foil for Smith. Outside left: Willie Ormond. Very quick, tremendous left foot and a great goal scorer. They could all score goals.”
  
  Tom Wright, Hibernian historian, said: “They would have been one of the first forward lines to have interchanged positions. In those days you usually stuck to your position and your defender would be sticking against you. But it wouldn’t be unusual for Gordon Smith to be on the left wing and Eddie Turnbull on the right.”
  
  Using beautifully shot archive footage commissioned by the club in the late 1940s as a backdrop to the story, The Famous Five celebrates Hibernian’s post-war decade and also uses drama reconstruction to recreate some of the most famous moments in their story.
  
  The programme also travels to Chicago to hear from Trainspotting writer Irvine Welsh, who praises the lasting influence the Five had on the Leith club for decades. And, as the celebrity Hibbee explains, despite never seeing them on the park, he did get to meet some of them in later life…
  
  Welsh said: “I met Lawrie Reilly, Eddie Turnbull and Willie Ormond and I actually got barred from all three of their pubs.
  
  “I remember Lawrie Reilly who had the Bowlers’ Rest pub and he didn’t want any young whipper snappers getting up to their shenanigans. So I was flung out of that one by Lawrie. And Eddie Turnbull had Fox’s in Junction Street, and me and my uncle Jimmy had been on the p**s and we were making a bit of a pest of ourselves. Eddie told us to get lost basically and he said: ‘you should know better, Jimmy, and take that wee dipstick of a nephew with you.’
  
  “Willie Ormond had a pub in Musselburgh and it was quite a rowdy day out. Eventually he said we had to get out of there. But that’s quite a nice hat-trick; it’s like Willie Ormond’s hat-trick of broken legs, my hat-trick of getting banned from three of the Famous Five pubs.”

  Produced for BBC ALBA by award-winning production company purpleTV, The Famous Five is presented by sport broadcaster Alex O’Henley and is produced and directed by Margot McCuaig. The same team produced Jock Stein, the factual entertainment documentary that won the Royal Television Society Scotland award for Best Sport Documentary in 2015. The Famous Five will be shown on BBC ALBA on Sunday 24th January at 9.00pm until 10.00pm.

   

• SFSA Urges Supporters to "Have Their Say"

  Scotland’s largest, independent football supporters’ organisation, The Scottish Football Supporters Association (SFSA), is urging Scottish fans to contribute to the Scottish Government’s consultation or risk losing the chance for a generation.
  
  The recently launched ‘Consultation on Supporter Involvement in Scottish Football Clubs’ by the Scottish Government is seeking views on a range of options in relation to supporter involvement in its various guises – Right to Influence; Right to Govern; Right to Bid; and Right to Buy.
  
  The SFSA has also launched its own visual campaign to encourage fans to participate in the consultation which will be posted across fans’ forums and social over the next month. It has been created by Gerry Farrell Ink. the award winning creative team behind some of Scotland's most iconic advertising.
  
  Simon Barrow  from the SFSA said: “The Minister for Sport’s call for wider consultation on supporter involvement is welcomed.  Finding out more about supporters’ views is critical to shape the future of the game; fans’ opinions are at the heart of that."
  
  “Fans are asking searching questions more often these days, ranging from anything from ticket pricing, fixture scheduling, right through to the prices of pies.  These concerns are not limited to the game north of the border as the recent ‘Twenty’s Plenty’ ticket campaign down south and the Bayern Munich’s fans’ protest at the cost of their recent game against Arsenal clearly show."
  
  “Many fans don’t feel that it is their game anymore and they are being further pushed out of the game that relies on them at every stage.  This consultation from the Scottish Government is really important for fans and it is vital that everyone contributes to it.  Not contributing could see that chance to express your opinion lost for a generation.”
  
  The consultation is available online for people to complete, and the Scottish Government is working with fans’ representatives, football bodies and MSPs to ensure all views are heard.
  
  The consultation timeline is longer than usual and will run until 15 January 2016 to specifically allow for the widest and most representative range of responses.
  
  The SFSA, which has almost 50,000 members from across Scotland, is a not-for-profit, members’ body open to everyone, whether they are individuals, supporters groups or affiliates.  Its first ambassador is former Scotland captain Gary McAllister.  It is a full member of Fans Europe, sitting alongside fan groups from 45 countries across the continent.
  
  The SFSA was set up with a national advisory group with experts on football and governance matters including Henry McLeish (author of the McLeish Report), Maureen McGonigle (founder of Scottish Women in Sport and former executive of Scottish Women’s Football) and senior politicians from Scotland’s main political parties. 

  >> To take part in the online survey click here <<

   

  Here are some of the campaign posters that will be appearing in social media and across various platforms in the coming days and weeks encouraging involvement;

  

   

  

  

   

• SPFL TV Games This Weekend 18th to 20th September 2015

  A quick round up to all your SPFL TV options for the weekend.

  The action starts this evening (Friday) in Paisley as St.Mirren take on Raith Rovers in the Championship. It's live on BBC Alba from 1935 (1945 kick off).

  The BBC Alba Saturday night highlights are from Hamilton v Motherwell at New Douglas Park. Enjoy an hour of action from the Lanarkshire Derby from 2200 Sat evening.

  Table toppers Aberdeen travel to Edinburgh on Sunday to take on Hearts. Should be an absolute cracker. It's live on Sky Sports 5 from 1400 with a 1415 kick off.

  The Alba Sunday night highlights are from Rugby Park as Kilmarnock take on St.Johnstone at 2200.

  Sportscene has been sacked off to BBC 2 for reasons best known to Auntie Beeb. It's on from 2200 as well.

  Enjoy your game wherever you are headed this weekend!

• SPFL TV Games This Weekend 25th to 27th September 2015

  A quick round up to all your SPFL TV options for the weekend.

  The action starts this evening (Friday) in Falkirk as the Bairns look to bounce back from a horrific midweek pumping in Dingwall as they host Queen of the South. It's live on BBC Alba from 1935 (1945 kick off).

  The BBC Alba Saturday night highlights are from Dundee v Ross County at Dens Park. Enjoy an hour of action from that one from 2200 Sat evening.

  Sunday sees more Championship action as Rangers travel the short distance down the M8 to take on a Morton side buoyed by a terrific midweek cup win over Motherwell. That one is live on BT Sport 1 from noon (1230 kick off)

  The Alba Sunday night highlights are from McDiarmid Park as St.Johnstone host Dundee Utd at 2200.

  Sportscene his back on BBC 1 Scotland this weekend, it's on from 2230 on Sunday evening.

  Enjoy your game wherever you are headed this weekend!

  ps; Couldn't find a decent image of Morton playing Rangers, so I just used a random Rangers image that I liked :-)

• Telly Action Weekend 24/25 Oct 2015

  There are no live SPFL TV games on Friday or Saturday this week so the tellybox action begins on Saturday night on BBC Alba with an hour of highlights from Pittodrie as Aberdeen host Motherwell. Steelmen boss Mark McGhee is sure of a warm reception at Pittodrie from the Red Army despite his pretty abysmal stint as manager up there.

  Sunday lunchtime sees the only live TV game of the weekend and it's from the Championship as struggling St.Mirren host runaway leaders Rangers. The Gers will be looking to make it 11 league wins on the spin whilst the Buddies have yet to win a home league game this season. It's live on BT Sport 1 from noon and it's a 1230 kick off in Paisley.

  The BBC Alba Sunday night action comes from Tynecastle as Hearts entertain Ross County, you can see an hour from that one from 2200 on Sunday.

  Sportscene is also on at 2200 this weekend, but note that it's been moved over to BBC 2 Scotland this week for some reason.

  Enjoy your game wherever you are headed.