Leaderboard

Clean sweep. Yogi, Drapes and Ryan. Well done.

The hat-trick award winners

Off topic I know but, until the clubs and SPFL wake up and realise that playing the same teams 3,4,5 and even 6 times a season is not going to attract more people through the turnstyles. Even games against Celtic, Aberdeen and even worse C*unty are not pulling in the punters anymore. People are fed up of the same old same old.

There are aspects of independence that I think are fundamentally good in principle, but for me the biggest single issue is the economy and for me that paragraph sums it up very well. The economic plan which underpins the white paper and our ability to maintain our public services is based on fantasy economics. I like footballing analogies, so here goes. ICT aren't doing well enough these days, we just aren't winning any trophies. So here's what we'll do. Borrow heavily to sign up a load of top international stars and build a better stadium to accommodate the bigger crowds we're going to get. Success on the pitch will lead to Champions League football every year, and the debts will be repaid from all the prize money and the improved crowds we will get, with people coming not just from the local area but from far and wide to see us play and be part of the miracle. What could possibly go wrong?! And you have just described the UK economy, Yngwie. ICT (UK in your analogy) is doing well enough these days, but still borrowing more than they are getting in income and racking up increasing debt. And they are borrowing heavily to sign up a load of top international stars and build a better stadium to accommodate the bigger crowds we're going to get, adding to that debt. Success on the pitch will lead to Champions League football every year, and the debts will be repaid from all the prize money and the improved crowds we will get, with people coming not just from the local area but from far and wide to see us play and be part of the miracle. What could possibly go wrong?!...bar that the people from far and wide don't give a toss about keeping ICT afloat. So what could possibly go wrong is that the punters could decide to support Clach (Scotland) instead and take their presence, and their money to Grant Street..and the sponsors(Scotland's oil) could do the same....and ICT(UK) could then find it difficult to repay its borrowing and meet its wages and running costs on the reduced income, and as the stadium is owned by private (oil) companies, it cannot be used to guarantee that the borrowing is safe and cannot, therefore, if push comes to shove, be repaid by selling the stadium and leasing it back. And wee Clach, with the influx of income, decides that it is not an imperative to be at the top of the table competing with the big players, because it is more important to make the club a community effort, with no expectations other than good football,(society cohesion) and because they don't feel a need to buy importance in the footballing world to attempt to get the money which comes with that, make the decision to use their income sensibly(no Trident, no pee-heeing to the financial fraudsters, no gravy train funding for 1350 wastes of space) , to gradually improve their ground and their squad, over time, while staying well within their income, (balanced budgets) as they know they have debt from the past to repay and want to ensure they meet all their obligations.(only sensible) If they get sponsors coming in from businesses (oil licence/tax income), that would improve their income, certainly enable them, initially, to set up good insurance schemes to ensure that players injured while playing are adequately compensated for the time they are injured and the treatment they need to get back to full fitness (NHS)...and even maybe allow them to increase the squad more quickly,(job creation) increase wages,(living wage) and keep entrance fees(taxes) at a sensible level. And bringing the punters with them at every stage, by setting up the Clach Trust to give them a real say in how it all works (a written constitution), it becomes partly a fans club, shaped by both fan and club representatives, controlled by both fan and club representatives, and will be a democratic entity. Most of us who will vote YES on 18th September, are not voting for ourselves....for example, I'm fine in the UK regarding income, it really wouldn't bother me one way or another whether it was a NO or a YES vote, if my only consideration was what was best for me.......because, in my case, it won't make a heck of a lot of difference, either way. But I have children, grandchildren, a great grand-daughter and a great grand child on the way..and Westminster is going to trash all of them, whoever gets in in 2015, as the children are all in public service jobs, the grandchildren are all under 25...and they are going to be trashed in the cuts to come in order to ensure the rich, big business and the bankers aren't all in this together with the easy PAYE/Benefit marks. And I do rather think, when looking at what is happening in this America-lite society which Westminster, under all its party colours, is promoting...that I really can't believe that Thatcher has done her job so well that there are now a lot of people in Scotland who can no longer think "there, but for the grace of God go I", but believe that they will never lose their job, become sick or disabled, become homeless or be hit by any other circumstance which will make them one of the UK's "undeserving poor" and reliant, if only for a time, on benefits. And if I have offended people by the above, I am sorry, but I have honestly never come across, in my months in the YES shop in Elgin, any person who is determined to vote NO (and who come in specially to tell us so), who can give any other reason but worry about the possible effect on their personal circumstances in the short term. I accept that I don't meet all NO voters, and I do know that there are NO voters who feel British first (like my cousins), and I can accept that, even though I don't understand it.....but I do really struggle to understand why people, worried about the economy side would prefer the absolute certainty of cuts to the Scottish budget, whoever is in power in the UK, which will result in possible cuts to the NHS,(and possible privatisation) and in other devolved areas, or increased taxes only in Scotland.....to the uncertainty of having all our income to disburse as we see fit, to meet our aspirations, with full control of all the fiscal levers which allow us to promote Scottish values instead of labouring under Westminster monetarism. Anyone care to tell me how much we ordinary punters have benefited from the monetarist "trickle down" theories, given the big businesses and the rich have removed out of our grasp, mostly legally, the income/profit we have provided to them, which were (theoretically) meant to trickle down to us in tax receipts, into offshore facilities which has meant they don't trickle anywhere but into the pockets of the rich/big company shareholders/management?

Think of it this way they agree to a CU and ask the EU / NATO to see if we would get in or not straight away and to agree to be the best possible partners whatever way we choose and they would lose by a large margin! We know Westminster doesn't like losing power and looks at Scotland leaving as some kind of embarrassing thing and they feel they would lose power on the world stage! If they really wanted us to stay they would offer devo-max after a no vote RIGHT NOW but they are trying to get away with giving us as little power as possible.... NEW POWERS! (WILL BE DETAILED AT A LATER DATE, AFTER YOU HAVE VOTED! )

Disappointing choice. Not enough seethe factor for my liking. Missing Deek already.

Finally.....http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/29164340

Still no mention on BBC website. Absolute disgrace

Wow! Fantastic achievement. Really glad for Draper: He'd be first on my team sheet every week, but the hard work he puts in is easy to overlook.

Delighted for all three, and richly deserved. Great that a provincial club like ourselves at last gets some recognition. Strachan, take note!

That would be Grimm

Excellent recognition for the hard work at the club and great start to the season. Lets hope the MoM curse doesnt strike now and we continue form into having another great month. Well done to Yogi too considering the stick he has had since arriving.

Hopefully more fans rather than more scouts!

Great news. Hope that encourages lots more more to come and watch the guys.

I agree, there's been some shocking mismanagement of the UK's finances and in recent years we've finally had to face up to that. I agree also that this could beour chance to do things different, but the plan on the table is just to repeat the same mistakes but to an even worse extent: spend spend spend, borrow borrow borrow, and then either hope that it all comes good in the long run, or just leave it for the next generation to sort out. An independent Scotland that was run sensibly and lived within its means would be far more appealing to me personally, but wouldn't be able to offer all the spending promises that the White Paper relies on to tempt voters.

I posted this on pie and bovril, if you want a vision of the future of Scotland then look no further than a guy I work with, whos daughter has decided not to go to university after gaining entry on academic merit. They have a fear of debt and tuition fees, choosing the safer option of joining the army, to play in their ******* band at 19k a year. Over the course of her lifetime that decision could be worth hundreds of thousands in lost income. I posted another story about a girl whos 2 year old daughter ate a bunch of tablets thinking they were sweets, who almost died because the nearest doctor was over 30 miles away with no ambulance to take her in. Our local clinic for emergencies was closed down in 2012 but lets face it, that couldve happened in Scotland with nationwide cutbacks hitting already. In Scotland you have free elderly care, free water, free child care, free prescriptions, free higher education, a bedroom tax rebate and probably a bunch of other things I cannot think of... if you vote No then we'll be able to play 'social bingo' as more and more of them are cut, not because there isnt enough money in the pool but rather the money is being spent on 2nd generation Trident, trains that go a little bit faster around London, bailing out banks and aircraft carriers with no planes that work on them. The collection of voices calling for a No vote should be signal enough to the people of Scotland in all walks of society that No is the wrong answer. Self regulating bankers issuing threats, ex etonian 'career' politicians, business leaders relying on an army of minimum wage employees and a media who are owned by wealthy men that don't give a sh1t about the truth on other matters (yet are trusted on independence?)... No voters are trusting these voices to have their best interests at heart? The old arguements might well be right, maybe Scotland isnt capable of running her own affairs.

If it's a "No" vote then rUK will turn into an anxious.............. rU OK ? ! Mr Cameron is a **** showing his desperation with blackmail and threats...." The independent Scots can't have the pound, it's mine, it's !" What an absolute hypocrite this guy is. He lives in an upscale, poncified part of England where poverty has probably never raised it's challenging head, with all mod cons at the ready. No rancorous, rebel Socialists there fer goodness sake; and he dares to travel all the way up to Scotland to wag his finger at us reminding us how awful it will be for us when we leave Daddy and the Southern Saxons.! At the risk of being " Modified" my take on him is that he is a dink that would turn on The Scots at the drop of a hat if it meant that he had to give up any of his privileges and wealth. When was the last time he came up to Scotland ? If the news is anything to go by, his visit may have stiffened the resolve of the great unwashed to shovel him and his flashy suited ilk out the door. Salmond may be this and may be that but we understand him with his down to earth approach and he doesn't have a fancy Southern accent to hide his country of birth either. And when was the last time you saw Cammy the Cute smile....eh? Believe me, when reality sinks in after a win for the " Yessies", meaning a devastating "NO" for the "Jessies", things will sort themselves out ..... the pound will stay and will rise in value as the years go by. Cammy the Cute is like King **** He tried and failed to stop the waves of Scottish changes that triggered the raves of joy from the committed kilties who were never afflicted by the English wilties.

Can't wait to witness Caley feckin the Jeggies again.

Wish I'd known they had been selling the stadium's naming rights for £1. I'd have outbid Mike Ashley, hell I'd have gone double what he paid, and could have had a lot of fun choosing the name!

No but if you offer them a few quid they will probably sell you the gate.

And their share of all the TV deals for SPFL games. Without sounding like I am backing K.O changes, without a League sponsor the TV money is the highest income the league has. The clubs have gate money but this alone is not enough to keep clubs afloat. The club would get that share even if they had no TV games during the season but chances are you would get bigger home attendances . So if we are on Tv it would be best if we were playing away So what you are saying is " Give us our share of the money but don't inconvenience us. Make all other teams change and not us." With the job I do changing K.O times makes it really difficult to get to some games, but without the TV money we probably could not survive as a club in the way that we do. Twenty years ago if you were asked if you would like to see a Highland Derby live on National TV, after you stopped laughing, you would have loved the idea. Instead of criticising TV companies for wanting to show us live, let's just think about what has been achieved in the last twenty years for this to happen.