Plenty of Nothing

Fifth Beatles: Sheila Bromberg

Sheila Bromberg played the harp on "She's Leaving Home". Source.

Marie Tharp

Marie Tharp, who discovered the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, was born on this date in 1920. Source.

Engei Greenock

The only Japanese garden in Inverclyde. Source.

It's matchday five of the League Cup group stage. Morton host Edinburgh City. These two met on matchday five of the 2017-18 League Cup group stage: Morton won 5 - 0.

Edinburgh City were known as FC Edinburgh last season, but the fans weren't buying it so the name is Edinburgh City once more.

Edinburgh's goalkeeper is Sam Ramsbottom, who played goal for Morton in 2019-20. Kyle Jacobs (2019-22), at one time Morton's captain, is also a Citizen.

The last Morton player to score on Edinburgh was Bob McHugh.

The situation:

Edinburgh City have 0 points in three starts and no possibility of advancement. Stranraer are also out the running. Ross County need only 1 point to win the group. If Kelty can beat County before penalty kicks and Morton also win before penalties they'll all have 9 points and it'll come down to goal difference. Only two will advance, or maybe only one, depending on what happens in the other groups. Since 2016 twenty-eight teams have ended the group stage with 9 points, and all but three of them advanced to Round Two.

The final sixteen won't be known for sure until the Dundee/ICT Group E match is played tomorrow.

The other match: Ross County [3 - 3] Kelty Hearts [Kelty win on PK]

This is their first ever match.

[Morton win 4 - 1 on goals by Broadfoot, Crawford, King and Blues. Morton make the second round.]

Final Group D standings:

Ross County       4    3    0    1    0  13    6    +7   10

Morton                4    3    0    0    1   11    4    +7    9

Kelty Hearts        4    2    1    0    1   11    9    +2    8

Stranraer             4    1    0    0    3    3   11    -8    3

Edinburgh City    4    0    0    0    4    6   14    -8    0

Other matches:

NPL2 Vic: Preston Lions 1 - 2 Bulleen Lions (yesterday)

Bohemians 2 - 0 UCD (yesterday)

Tokyo Verdy [0 - 0] Mito HollyHock

Honda FC [2 - 0] Veertien Mie

Vonds Ichihara [1 - 1] Tokyo 23 FC

York United [0 - 2] HFX Wanderers (tomorrow)

All five of the Wanderers' wins this season have come at home [till now]. Five of York's wins have come away from home.

[HFX goals by Fernandez and Morelli.]

North Toronto Nitros [1 - 2] Scrosoppi

Morioka Zebra [3 - 3] Ganju Iwate

Gretna 2008 [2 - 9] Linlithgow Rose

Burntisland Shipyard [2 - 3] Peebles Rovers

East Craigie [3 - 2] Arbroath Victoria

NWCFL Premier Division: FC Isle of Man [2 - 0] Wythenshawe Town

BSC Glasgow [1 - 8] Morton Women (friendly) (tomorrow)

The Argos and Roughriders play at SMU today. [Toronto 31 - 13 Saskatchewan]

The Highland League starts today. Let's follow Banks o' Dee FC:

Banks o' Dee [4 - 0] Wick Academy

The West of Scotland League starts too:

Gartcairn [1 - 1] Largs Thistle

Carluke Rovers [0 - 1] Eglinton

2023-24 UEFA Europa Conference League, 2QR, first leg (July 27):

Inter Club d'Escaldes 2 - 1 Hibs

The New Saints 1 - 1 Swift Hesperange (July 25)

B36 2 - 1 Haverfordwest County

Linfield 2 - 5 Pogon Szczecin

Crusaders 2 - 2 Rosenborg

Ballkani 3 - 0 Larne (July 25)

KA 3 - 1 Dundalk

Derry City 2 - 1 KuPS

Ferencváros 4 - 0 Shamrock Rovers

2023 Concacaf Leagues Cup:

LA Galaxy [1 - 2] Vancouver Whitecaps (tomorrow)

Atlas [1 - 0] Toronto FC (tomorrow)

[Vancouver Whitecaps advance. Montréal and Toronto are out.]

Scotland's UEFA coefficient year by year:

2023-24        36.900          9th

2022-23        33.375        11th

2021-22        27.875        14th

2020-21        22.125        20th

2019-20        18.625        26th

2018-19        18.925        23rd

2017-18        17.300        25th

2016-17        17.900        23rd

2015-16        16.566        23rd

2014-15        15.191        24th

Video: Rescuing a Half Dead Juniper.

Six Boules de Pétanque en Bronze

Source.

The Cube

The Cube, a featureless white 14-storey cranberry refrigeration facility, was built in the east end of Sackville NB in 2019. Source.

Miss Collins, 1924

W. B. McInnes' portrait of Gladys Neville Collins won the 1924 Archibald Prize. Source.

Matchday Four

Annfield was home to Stirling Albion from 1945 to 1993. It is not to be confused with Anfield, which is where Liverpool play. Did Liverpool ever visit Annfield, or Stirling Albion Anfield? No. Source.

It's Matchday Four in the League Cup group stage. Morton are off.

Kelty Hearts [2 - 0] Stranraer

Kelty swept Stranraer in 2021-22 in League Two.

Edinburgh City [1 - 3] Ross County (tomorrow)

Their first meeting ever.

Group D standings after these games:

Ross County       3    3    0    0    0  10    3    +7    9

Morton                3    2    0    0    1    7    3    +4    6

Kelty Hearts        3    2    0    0    1    8    6    +2    6

Stranraer             4    1    0    0    3    3   11    -8    3

Edinburgh City    3    0    0    0    3    5   10    -5    0

Other matches:

Inverness CT [2 - 3] Airdrieonians (Group E)

Kirriemuir Thistle [2 - 6] East Craigie (tomorrow)

Peel [0 - 5] FC Isle of Man (friendly)

Broomhill [2 - 0] Linlithgow Rose

Having loaded up on Japanese talent last year, Celtic are now mining the K League. They've signed Oh Hyeon-gyu of Suwon Samsung Bluewings, Kwon Hyeok-kyu of Busan IPark and Yang Hyun-jun of Gangwon.

[Efe Ambrose has signed with Queen of the South.]

2023-24 UEFA Champions League 2QR, first leg:

None of our teams are in this round.

2023 Concacaf Leagues Cup:

CF Montréal [0 - 1] D.C. United (tomorrow)

New York City FC [5 - 0] Toronto FC (tomorrow)

2023 Women's World Cup:

Group B: Canada [2 - 1] Ireland (tomorrow)

Group C: Japan [2 - 0] Costa Rica (tomorrow)

The Swiss Super League has adopted a 12-team format with a split season after game 33, like the Scottish Premiership.

Sort the 2023-24 Lowland League clubs by entry path into the league:

4 original members: East Kilbride, Gala Fairydean Rovers, Gretna 2008, University of Stirling

4 elected later: Broomhill, Civil Service Strollers, Cumbernauld Colts, Edinburgh University

4 relegated from the SPFL: Albion Rovers, Berwick Rangers, Cowdenbeath, East Stirlingshire

4 teams promoted via the pyramid: Bo'ness United, Caledonian Braves, Linlithgow Rose, Tranent Juniors

2 guest teams: Celtic B, Hearts B

The 2023-24 Plenty of Nothing Championship League Cup:

This is the fifth year for this made-up cup. It uses actual Championship results to fabricate a knock-out competition. The teams are seeded based on last year's Premiership, Championship and League One standings, so:

Dundee United (12th in the Premiership)

Ayr United (2nd in the Championship)

Queen's Park (3rd)

Partick Thistle (4th)

Morton (5th)

Inverness CT (6th)

Raith Rovers (7th)

Arbroath (8th)

Dunfermline (1st in League One)

Airdrieonians (3rd in League One)

Top seed plays bottom seed, second seed plays second bottom seed, etc. Round One involves only the bottom four teams. Each known fixture is played as soon as it comes up, even if the previous round is not finished. Reverse fixtures are acceptable. All actual league games, cup matches and playoffs are eligible, but our tournament's tie-breakers take precedence. Those are, in order: 1) fewer red cards; 2) fewer yellow cards; 3) more corner kicks; 4) visitor. Once the finalists are known, the other eight teams will embark on the Consolation Cup, which has three rounds and works by the same rules.

Round One and Two matches:

R1    Raith Rovers vs Airdrieonians

R1    Arbroath vs Dunfermline

R2    Queen's Park vs Inverness CT

R2    Partick Thistle vs Morton

R2    Dundee United vs x

R2    Ayr United vs y

6000

Burgundy 1983 Pontiac 6000 LE. Source.

This is Plenty of Nothing blog post #6000.

Mourner by Claus de Werve

An alabaster figure by Claus de Werve from the tomb of Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy. Source.

A Truncated Icosahedron

"Se gli inglesi hanno inventato il calcio, come mai Piero della Francesca è riuscito a disegnarne il pallone nel 1460?" Fonte.

Morton visit Dingwall for a League Cup group stage match against Ross County. This match should determine who wins Group D. So far Ross County have played one match, beating Stranraer 5 - 1. Morton have beaten both opponents. If you count the end of last season, Morton are on a five-game winning streak.

These two have only ever met in one League Cup match before:

1998/8/8    R2    Morton 0 - 1 Ross County

The last Morton player to score on Ross County was Kerr Waddell on January 4th, 2019, in a league match.

County's Alex Samuel played for Morton in the 2015-16 season. Nobody on the current Morton squad has played for Ross County.

[Ross County 2 - 1 Morton. Goal by Oakley.]

Also today: Stranraer [2 - 1] Edinburgh City

Kelty Hearts are off.

Group D standings after these matches:

Ross County       2    2    0    0    0    7    2    +5    6

Morton                3    2    0    0    1    7    3    +4    6

Kelty Hearts        2    1    0    0    1    6    6      0    3

Stranraer             3    1    0    0    2    3    9     -6    3

Edinburgh City    2    0    0    0    2    4    7     -3    0

Other matches:

HFX Wanderers vs Atletico Ottawa [postponed till tomorrow]

HFX Wanderers have signed 30-year-old Doneil Henry, formerly of Toronto FC, Apollon Limassol, West Ham United, Blackburn Rovers, AC Horsens, Vancouver Whitecaps, Ottawa Fury, Suwon Samsung Bluewings, Los Angeles FC, Minnesota United, and the Canadian national team. This is a major signing.

Wanderers need to ramp up the appearances by their U-21s if they plan to meet the league's 2000 minutes requirement. Source.

[HFX Wanderers win 1 - 0 on a goal by Collomb.]  

Scrosoppi [3 - 2] Sigma (tomorrow)

NPL2 Vic: Northcote City 2 - 0 Preston Lions (yesterday)

Mito HollyHock [0 - 0] Omiya Ardija (tomorrow)

Honda FC [1 - 0] Reilac Shiga

Tokyo 23 FC [4 - 0] Ryutsu Keizai Dragons

Tokai Gakuen University [1 - 1] Fujieda City Hall (tomorrow)

Cobaltore Onagawa [7 - 0] Morioka Zebra (tomorrow)

Gamba Osaka [0 - 1] Celtic (friendly)

Rangers [2 - 1] Hamburger SV (friendly)

Banks o' Dee [2 - 2] Hermes (friendly)

Largs Thistle [3 - 0] Kilbirnie Ladeside (friendly)

FC Isle of Man 0 - 5 Southport FC (friendly) (yesterday)

FC Isle of Man [9 - 1] Corinthians (friendly)

Carluke Rovers [3 - 3] Bonnyton Thistle (friendly)

Gartcairn vs Morton Women (closed door friendly) (tomorrow)

The Lowland League begins. Let's follow Linlithgow Rose:

Linlithgow Rose [3 - 1] University of Stirling

Why did the Lowland League need to wait until the SPFL fixtures were released before drawing up its own schedule? Because Broomhill groundshare with Dumbarton, Celtic B with Airdrieonians, East Stirlingshire with Falkirk, Hearts B with Edinburgh City and University of Stirling with Stirling Albion.

About the Midlands Football League

The Midlands Football League is a tier VI league immediately below the Highland League in the Scottish pyramid. (Its should not be confused with the Midland Football League which occupies tiers IX to XII of the English pyramid.) It's made up of 19 teams situated in Angus, Perth and Kinross, Dundee, and the northern tip of Fife. It's the northeast coast equivalent of the West of Scotland League Premiership. Let's follow one of the Dundee clubs, East Craigie.

East Craigie [0 - 1] Downfield

Both of these are Dundee clubs. East Craigie's park is on Old Craigie Road, Downfield's on Balgowan Avenue. East Craigie wear azure and white stripes, Downfield black and white hoops.

FAI Cup Round One:

UCD 3 - 2 Cobh Ramblers (yesterday)

Coupe de France, R2:

AS Saint Pierraise [3 - 0] AS Miquelonaisse

(Round One was played July 8th: AS Miquelonaisse 1 - 0 AS Illienne Amateur)

2023-24 UEFA Conference League 1QR, second leg (July 20):

Derry City 1 - 0 HB

Dundalk 3 - 1 Bruno's Magpies

St Patrick's 2 - 3 F91 Dudelange

Vllaznia 1 - 0 Linfield

Glentoran 1 - 1 Gżira United (Gżira won on PK)

Crusaders 1 - 0 Haka

Connah's Quay Nomads 0 - 2 KA

Santa Coloma 2 - 0 Penybont

Haverfordwest County 1 - 0 Shkëndija

Crusaders, Derry City, Dundalk, Haverfordwest County and Linfield advance. Connah's Quay Nomads, Glentoran, Penybont and St Patrick's are out.

It's the 2023 Leagues Cup, a tournament featuring all 47 teams of Major League Soccer and Liga MX. It begins with a group stage, from which the two league champions (Los Angeles FC and Pachuca) have a bye. The other 45 teams are divided into 15 groups of three teams each. The top two teams from each group advance to join LAFC and Pachuca in the round of 32, and from there it proceeds as a knockout tournament. The final will be played August 19th. The two finalists and the third-place team will advance to the 2024 Concacaf Champions League. Let's follow the Canadian teams.

Vancouver Whitecaps [2 - 2] León (yesterday) [León get the extra point in PK]

CF Montréal [2 - 2] UNAM (today) [Montréal get the extra point]

It's also the 2023 Women's World Cup. Let's follow Canada and Japan:

Group B: Nigeria 0 - 0 Canada (yesterday)

Group C: Zambia [0 - 5] Japan

The Japanese squad includes 4 players from Urawa Red Diamonds, 4 from INAC Kobe Leonessa, 2 from Tokyo Verdy Beleza, 1 each from Albirex Niigata, MyNavi Sendai and JEF United Chiba, 2 who play for Roma, 2 for West Ham United, and 1 each from Manchester City, Liverpool, Portland Thorns, Angel City FC and Hammarby. Saki Kumagai is captain. All of the Canadians play outside of the country except for two who are with the National Development Centre team in League1 Ontario.

Takoyaki. Source.