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I have tried to keep my TFC comments out of the main ICT threads, sometimes successfully, sometimes not .... but its time for a separate thread after last night .... TFC reached the MLS playoffs for the second year in a row a few weeks ago. Last year the adventure ended after a single game, a 3-0 defeat in Montreal where Didier Drogba marshalled his troops and TFC were played off the park. As they say over here it was "one and done" !! This year, TFC will actually play Montreal home and away for the right to challenge either Seattle or Colorado in the MLS Cup Final. This will be the first time a Canadian team will have reached the MLS Cup Final. TFC got this far after first dumping Philadelphia out of the playoffs 3-1 in the knockout round, then winning the two-legged conference semi-final against NYC FC by an aggregate score of 7-0 !!!! Last night was a 5-0 demolition of NYC - 1/2 owned by Manchester City and 1/2 owned by the New York Yankees - who boast Frank Lampard, David Villa and Andrea Pirlo in their ranks !!! They were no match for Sebastian Giovinco, Michael Bradley and Jozy Altidore who, along with the rest of the team ripped them apart ..... in their own stadium ! Looking forward to the Montreal tie ... Toronto/Montreal is a fierce rivalry in any sport and football is no different. This year Drogba is reduced to a bit part player although he did play on the weekend when they knocked out Bradley Wright-Phllips and the New York Red Bulls. The talisman for them this year is Argentinian Ignacio Piatti who can pop up and score seemingly from anywhere but Drogba can still be dangerous. Enough talk - here's the highlights reels !!! I was at both games in Toronto and the atmosphere was electric !!! Could not make it to New York yesterday as I wouldnt get back in time for work today but considering going to Montreal which is "only" a 6 hour drive and already bought my tickets for the 2nd leg in Toronto !!! If Seattle can beat Colorado and TFC can beat Montreal the final will be in Toronto !!! TFC 3-1 Philadelphia Eastern Conference Playoff 1st Rd TFC 2-0 New York City FC Eastern Conference Playoff Semi-Final 1st leg New York City FC 0-5 TFC Eastern Conference Playoff Semi-Final 2nd leg

Surfing on the Queen's Park website, I've found this : "This was the league table for the Under-16/17s league as of 1st November. In a league of sixteen teams Queen’s Park are sitting in second place with 27 points from 11 games, on the same number of points as leaders Inverness, who have a goal difference of +19 compared to our +18. We are ahead of St. Johnstone (who admittedly have played one game less), Dundee, Ross County, Celtic, Queen of the South, and Airdrieonians, to name but a few." http://www.queensparkfc.co.uk/?p=1823 While the U20 are last (but a lot are 18 years old), it seems we have a great group of younger players.

This is my video from the stands in the Philly game : and from the New York game All my photos in here too ..... (10 years worth) http://viewfromthesouthstands.com/

I certainly agree with all of the above, but it must be added that what has led to the election of Donald Trump is the very same passing phase of social lunacy throughout the West which has also led the politically illiterate towards kneejerk support for various other crank causes such as UKIP and the SNP. Were it not for this kind of political behaviour, which also manifested itself post-recession/depression in the 1930s, roasters of this kind would never have progressed past their natural status of comedy minorities.

So let me get this straight. Other places have naturally dodgy boltholes for politically illiterate cranks but not Scotland. Instead we have the squeaky clean, cuddly SNP. The only difference between the SNP and other crank political movements benefiting from the current global brainstorm is that, unlike Trump, UKIP, the French Front National etc, the SNP claims to be a left rather than a right wing pressure group. It expediently made the transition some years ago when it realised that, in Scotland, left wingery was more likely to assist its sole objective. Nothing to do with ideology - this was pure, cynical political opportunism but it still doesn't detract from well established historical parallels.