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Other than a couple of clearances when under pressure at the back, I don't recall a single "hoof" being played in the match versus Keith. Even with the grass being a bit on the long side and holding up the ball on occasion, we (and Keith) played everything on the deck. Good mixture of direct play (carrying the ball into the box) and spreading it wide and then whipping in balls with pace...both high and low...with a bit of pace and not just floating them in. What was most notable, especially as it was the first pre-season match, was the pace we were playing at. We kept the ball moving and there was lots of overlapping play...which is what Keith really struggled to cope with. Was also pleasing to see us able to make 7 subs without needing to alter the formation or play players out of position....something we wouldn't have been able to do last season. First game so not going to get carried away. Still a few guys to get up to speed fitness wise, but saw nothing to give any cause for concern ahead of the new season...quite the opposite.

Very best of luck with your eye op. Scarlet. You are two ahead of me. The incredible images though ........are you sure that's not the weed or the drams !! ?? Just think you will be able to read all the glowing ICT reports all the better when its done. Fingers crossed for you ,I know what you are going through.

I like Florence. I've only been to Florence, not Dougal. Maybe one day they'll merge.

I wish that was true, but politics is about winning, not about the truth, and the no camp is pulling out everything it has to 'win ugly'. Calling in favours from anybody from rich American politicians to dear old clueless Ken Clarke, as long as they have no interest in Scotland at all, but can come up with an 'authoritative' quote. The McCrone report shows that we have been cynically lied to before in the interests of preserving the UK, so why should it be any different now? As licence payers we should expect the BBC to be impartial, but a quick search will show you that it is not. I have to agree with TheMantis on this one. Look at the success of UKIP in the English local elections yesterday as evidence of this. Their cynical policy was simply to tell the voters that they were in favour of what the voters wanted to hear - more schools better council services, more road repairs etc etc and all for no increase in the Council Tax. Interviewed on the radio today Farage said their manifesto was aspirational and the voters needed to know what UKIP wanted to achieve. Does he really think that other parties want to close schools and have worse services and worse roads! The voters should be looking for prioritised plans consistent with the available and increasingly limited local authority budgets - but unfortunately, far too many of them don't. Instead it is a combination of punishing parties for their perceived performance at a totally different level of government and going along with a party that promises to deliver what they want to hear without a thought of how that might be achieved. The independence vote will be little different. The SNP will imply that independence must be a good idea because the SNP have been good for Scotland in Government whilst the "no" campaign will imply it is a bad idea because the SNP have been bad for Scotland in Government. Both sides will claim we will be more likely to be far better off if we do as they say and they will pander to wants and play on our fears. A few valiant souls on both sides will try to make rational arguments for their positions but, sadly, will be largely ignored. On this forum, the quality of argument for the "Yes" camp has been streets ahead of the largely unevidenced rants of the "no" camp. But come election day the verdict of the people will not be based on a mature analysis of the argument, it will be based on a conservative fear of the unknown. For all PullMyFinger's thoughtful and passionate arguments it will the rants of Laurence and co that win the day. Whatever the sound arguments against independence may be (and there are many), it is actually not in the interests of the "no" campaign to use them. Too many voters are simply not going to balance the argument of one side against that of the other and it is far easier to frighten these voters than to influence them by reasoned debate. I am afraid that this analysis is as bleak as the weather, but I firmly believe it is why Scotland will not vote for independence.