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Gary Warren said that Butcher wouldn't go to Hibs. He was wrong. Bet Butcher now wishes that Warren was right...

I think Rednapp is one of the most over hyped managers ever, the media like him because he gives them what they want.

Ignoring the irony, people in the Press & Journal area were quite familiar with the "merger controversy". Not so in the majority of the wider areas served by the Telegraph and so this might be seen as an informative article, probably without the "Banner" headlines. I never fail to be amused by the extreme reaction by certain posters on here every time the M-word is mentioned. Most however see it as an essential part of the club's history and are able to discuss it sensibly without throwing their toys out of the pram! MERGER! Oops, here we go again!

Forget 7 points a minimum of 13 or its Hughes out time

Ach, Bughtmaster, all you are trying to do is wind-up old Scarlet.Is that a wind-ow into how you think? But you do say it with gust-ow, though, so keep up the good work.

Get back in your cage now

Getting a tingle of anticipation looking at the fixtures! As much as I enjoy the World Cup, nothing beats the weekly gamut of emotions of following your league club - for me anyway! Those games will soon be here. We've a full month of pre-season friendlies coming up, starting in just a fortnight. Looking at our fixtures, we start with a bang, playing 3 games in 8 days, followed by two home matches, taking us up to the end of August. Then there's an International break and we don't resume until mid-September. Those 5 games could be viewed as the first 'checkpoint' - I hope we'll be on at least 7 points.

Note to self. Don't believe social media.

Happy with the fixtures especially the fact we will have two home games vs Ross County and two vs Celtic. The January schedule does seem extreme considering last two seasons we've had 2 week breaks in January.

7 fixtures in January seems a bit extreme when weather for fans etc is never usually great at that time of year

Two home games pre split against each of Celtic and County. The fixture computer has been kind to us from a financial point of view. Not so good that our first two games are against the newly promoted sides who will be fired up and full of enthusiasm for the season ahead.

....and then home to Hibs in their second for the first derby of the season

If given the opportunity to re sign Reguero, I wouldn't have taken it IMO. I will always be thankful for his efforts in the season he was on our books but there's something unappealing about signing someone who hasn't played first team football for over a period of a whole year. In all honesty I am perfectly happy with having Dean Brill as No1 goalkeeper and I would have Cammy MacKay as No2 allowing Ryan Esson to focus on his coaching and play as an emergency keeper if needed. We desperately need a centre forward and then we are set for the new season to be honest.

If we are going into film mode then it looks as though Germany's Muller will be getting the lead role as he is clearly the best actor around. Back on topic on a serious side I am disappointed in how little condemnation there has been of Muller. Most of the pundits seem to be agreed that whilst Muller over-reacted, Pepe only has himself to blame for getting sent off. Whilst he didn't actually head butt Muller he should know that touching heads in an aggressive manner like that was a no no and should have simply walked away. Whatever the current laws of the game may say about such incidents my sympathies are entirely with Pepe. Muller cheated in that he acted in a way which suggested that Pepe had committed an offence which might have warranted a red card. Pepe was legitimately angry but was unable to contain his anger and got sent of for his reaction. Then sending off may not have had a bearing on the result but may impact on Portugal's chances of progression both because of Pepe's absence in the next two games and the possibility of the 2nd place being decided on goal; difference. Meanwhile Muller did not even get a booking and went on to get a hat-trick. Within the current laws of the game or at any rate in the light of the way referees are told to interpret them, it pays to cheat. It is sad that there is so much acceptance of cheating. It then seems quite bizarre that there should also be some kind of self righteous condemnation of those who react against those who are doing the cheating. In my view Muller should have got the red card for his shameful cheating whilst Pepe should have got a yellow for his reaction. One of the features of the world cup so far is the level of commitment of the players and the spirit it is being played in (in general). There are some strong tackles flying in but the fact that this is passion and commitment and not malice is accepted. I would love to see some kind of video referee who could adjudicate on such incidents and instruct the referee to take the appropriate action. As it is, we have a player who shamed the beautiful game and yet is basking in the glory of a hat-trick. It is simply wrong and taints what has been an excellent tournament so far.

You think Laurence is from Arabia?

We did want him. He turned down a new deal.

...from one of Drogba's trademark flicks no doubt.

Let's hope it's Ivory Coast then. Defeating a film studio could be a very tall order

Who cares? Jamie_ictfc obviously !

ha ha - that's so funny Ehm....not sure what you found so funny? Hodgson has a good record all over Europe and has managed clubs like Copenhagen, Inter Milan (twice if you count his time as caretaker) and Udinese. He also did well at Fulham and West Brom (Liverpool not so great). Redknapp doesn't really have a particularly good record at all. Hodgson also has international managerial experience with the UAE and Finland and also managed Switzerland at USA 94. Would be nice as well if you could make a point by backing it up like a normal person and not by coming across as a patronising arrogant ignoranus.

You're not married, are you...

Thirded. He never stopped making the runs or looking for the ball, but kept getting played in far too deep. In part, maybe just other teams adapting to us - might have happened under Butcher and Malpas.