Welcome to Kicking Off, the quick way of getting across the day’s Scottish sports agenda

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today

 

 

 

Dauba double

The Herald:

Newcomer Abiola Dauba makes his mark for Hearts with two goals in their defeat of Ross County

 

Happy in Highlands

The Herald:

Liam Boyce (left) has signed a new deal to keep him at Ross County

 

Superfan

The Herald:

Ex club captain Richard Gough is keen to demonstrate his on-going support by joining board of supporters group Rangers First

 

Quite the character

The Herald:

Colin Kazim-Richards (second from right) once sparked fury in Istanbul by switching clubs within the city but say he will not be doing the same in Glasgow

 

Where it all began

The Herald:

Former St Johnstone chairman Geoff Brown (right) remembers the advice that helped send Derek McInnes (left) on his way in management

 

Killie contender

The Herald:

Former Motherwell player Simo Valakari is reported to be a contender for the managerial vacancy at Kilmarnock in spite of having just agreed extended terms at Finnish club Seinäjoen Jalkapallokerho, along with former Scotland international Graham Alexander 

 

Bigot basher

The Herald:

Rangers goal-keeper Wes Foderingham lends his considerable presence to the 'Kick it Out' campaign bidding to tackle racism and discrimination

 

Deserving better

The Herald:

Some 385 Hearts supporters travelled to Dingwall to watch their team consolidate their place in the top three but a report suggests that supporters deserve better treatment

 

Seeing red

The Herald:

Sent off for his tackle on James Tavernier at the weekend Kallum Higginbotham has hit out at the Rangers player's social media reaction

 

Backing the badge

The Herald:

Motherwell's Keith Lasley is calling for everyone involved with the club to pull together

 

Fighting for improvement

The Herald:

Partick Thistle's Dan Seaborne is hoping that changing their set-up can help transform their fortunes against bogey team Hearts

 

I come to bury UnitedThe Herald:

 

Hamilton Accies boss Martin Canning is planning a third successive win over Dundee United which would kill the Premiership bottom side's bid to avoid the drop

 

 

Something stronger?The Herald:

Scotland centre Matt Scott gets a bit dry in the mouth as he recalls the horrors of the team's last Six Nations trip to Cardiff

 

 

Refusing to be intimidated

The Herald:

Jonny Gray says he will not be fazed by the intensity of the atmosphere in Cardiff's Millennium Stadium

 

Still awash

The Herald:

Glasgow Warriors have been forced to switch yet another fixture because of the state of their Scotstoun Stadium home

 

Paul to Paul

The Herald:

Paul Shields is the latest young golfer to receive backing from Paul Lawrie

 

 

 

 

06.05 Radio Scotland sports headlines

Kilmarnock plan to interview Graham Alexander about their vacant manager's job... Hearts win in Dingwall to pull further clear of Ross County in the race for a top three spot... Scotland team to face Wales in Six Nations to be named later today

 

06.35 Radio Five Live sports headlines

Liverpool owners backtrack on top ticket prices following fans' protests... West Brom through to fifth round of FA Cup after penalty shoot out win over Peterborough... Hearts win 3-0 against Ross County... Nicolas Anelka leads tributes to former Bolton Wanderers chairman Phil Gartside... Nestle become latest big company to ditch their deal with troubled athletics governing body the IAAF... weakened West Indies team could play at T20 World Cup due to pay dispute... Olympic gold medallist Anna Watkins withdraws from GB rowing programme ahead of Rio  

 

 

 

  

The Back Pages

A big day for big men as former Rangers captain Richard Gough features on the back of both The Herald and The Evening Times where he outlines his ambitions for their supporters group to be among the strongest in the UK as he bids to join the board, while The National leads on Glasgow Warriors captain Jonny Gray’s claim that he will not be intimidated by sampling the Cardiff Six Nations atmosphere for the first time this weekend.

The Herald:

 

The Herald:

 

 

 

The Herald:

 

 

 

Grandstanding – today’s sports comment

In The National the case for seeding the Scottish Cup draw to help alleviate the sort of problems that afflicted it this week are raised by The Kicker. Meanwhile, can any man have 147 times the value of another? That’s the question raised by last weekend’s meeting of English Premier League rivals Manchester City and Leicester and my weekly column discusses how that is very much a parable for our times with one per cent of the world’s population owning 50 per cent of its wealth.

 

 

 

 

Sporting Twitterati

 

News of Richard Gough's candidacy for the Rangers First board gets a mixed response:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Liverpool's submission to supporter pressure gets a high level welcome:

 

 

 

And that tweet from James Tavernier which got Kallum Higginbotham fired up again:

 

 

 

 

 

Behind the sporting headlines

With Liverpool fans having shown their capacity to influence the boardroom fan-power is increasingly on the agenda and Richard Gough's decision to stand for the board of supporters' group Rangers First looks to be evidence of the impact that is having.

The reality is that sports businesses are very different to any other because of the nature of the amotional attachment which means that those paying to spectate want to feel like part of the organisation rather than mere customers.

That they have managed to make their presence felt even in the English Premiership where gate money has seemed less and less relevant as commercial deals, particularly for broadcasting rights, have distorted clubs' spending power beyond recognition.

That looks to represent a clear opportunity in a country like Scotland, where there are nothing like the same income streams from clubs, for supporters to influence change at a time when a newly published report has suggested that Scottish fans are not getting the treatment they deserve.

Gough reckons the group he wants to join has the potential to become one of the most powerful groups of its type in the UK, while in Edinburgh the Hibernian Supporters Ltd, recently celebrated the anniversary of its formation and Hearts fans are being given ever more say in the running of their club.

Most obviously in Germany there are examples of the benefits supporter involvement can bring to ensuring that clubs retain their identities and getting well known former players involved can only strengthen that bond.

 

 

 

Thanks for reading. Back tomorrow Kicking Off another day in Scottish sport.