Tichy_Blacks_Back

The Dons loan deal for Lowe has fallen through due to the number of injuries at Blackburn

Not bad odds still - I went each way at 50/1 at the start of the season - was the same odds as for a League Cup victory but that didn't turn out so well

An interesting read - a more detailed report from Al Jazeera.... Al Jazeera Report

Below is an article from this morning's Gulf Times. There were rumours going around the stadium last night that there were fans with tickets locked out. The same thing happened to me at the Emir Cup Final (equivalent to the Scottish Cup Final) last season but my solution has been to turn up early for any big game now. It looked like this problem had been mostly resolved through new electronic ticketing and seat allocation etc throughout these finals but it looks like it hasn't gone away. The stewarding last night (although they were there in numbers) was weak and many spectators were just sitting where they wanted and eventually in the section where I was the stewards just gave up trying to get people to move. The problem is once you have a large amount of people in the stadium who don't have a ticket or the correct tickets (not sure how that has happened with the new controls in place but it has) then you are always going to have a problem controlling this type of thing. Can you imagine the kind of problems you would get if this happened at a major World Cup match or even worse at the Final. It appears last night the solution again was to just close the gates and call out the riot police to quell anybody looking to cause any trouble because they can't get in. I am in fact surprised this has even made the news as it is usually just hushed up - I suspect because of the magnitude of last night's game it is something that couldn't be ignored this time. I wonder what Mr Platini and Blatter made of it from their comfortable seats in the VVIP area. Ticket problems disappoint fans Thousands of football fans were disappointed at being prevented from entering to watch the Asian Cup final between Japan and Australia at Khalifa Stadium last night despite having purchased tickets prior to the game. Ticket-holders expressed their disbelief at the situation and made clear their anger at officials who claimed that ?it is full inside?. Fans could not contain themselves as they could view spare seats from outside the stadium. ?We were some of the first to arrive when the gates were shut -- no-one had a clue what was going on,? said one angry British fan, ?it was utter chaos and I feel really sorry for the Australian and Japanese families trying to get in as this is one of the biggest games they would ever get to see their teams play in.? ?That was horrendous,? said another fan. Fans clad in Australian and Japanese shirts and flags waved their tickets in frustration, visibly upset at being turned away despite arriving more than half an hour before the kickoff. ?If you arrive with plenty of time before the match, you expect to be allowed in,? said one Australian fan, ?I was really looking forward to watching this game live, and now I am really angry.?

Woops I meant 2015.... 2015 AFC Asian Cup Finals

Japan beat Australia 1-0 aet at Khalifa International stadium in the Final in front of a crowd of over 37,000. Australia had several chances to win this match but several good saves from the Japanese keeper and misses from Harry Kewell meant a well executed 108th minute left foot volley from Lee sealed it for Japan. Japan have now won a record 4 titles - in fact more incredible when you see that it is also 4 out of the last 6. In Friday's match at Al Sadd stadium South Korea beat Uzbekistan 3-2 to claim 3rd spot. Final Placings: 1st - Japan 2nd - Australia 3rd - South Korea Fair Play Trophy - South Korea Those three have all qualified for the next tournament which will be held in Australia in 2005. Well done Japan in what has been a good tournament.

Celtic sign some common bloke

According to the rumour mill this morning they are on their way out here to Al Jazeera Sports. This has been the basis of a joke doing the rounds since this story broke but who knows it could actually happen. Life mimicking comedy now that would be a change.

Potentially good signing - hopefully one (or even two) may follow :biggrin:

The semi-finals were played yesterday: Al Gahrafa Stadium - Japan 2 South Korea 2 (aet) - Japan won 3-0 on penalties - att. 16,171 In a close game it looked like Japan had edged it until South Korea snatched a last minute equalizer in extra time. Japan then won comfortably in the penalty shoot out to deny South Korea the opportunity to win the tournament for a third time. Celtic's Cha Du-Ri has been playing in this tournament and hasn't looked too bad a player. With the rebuilding planned for the South Korean team the 3rd/4th play-off on Friday may possibly be Park Ji-Sung's last game for the national side. Last night's game was his 100th international appearance. Khalifa Stadium - Uzbekistan 0 Australia 6 - att. 24,826 This was a surprise result with Australia running out winners by such a big margin as Uzbekistan had played well throughout the tournament but injuries to two players in their quarter-final match appeared to hamper the teams performance. Kewell scored for the second match in a row (this time in the 5th minute) to settle Australia and they went in at half time 2-0 up. Australia got a third half way through the second half and following that Uzbekistan went down to 10 men effectively ending the game. Saturday will be Australia's first Asian Cup Final appearance. Their first appearance 4 years ago ended in defeat to Saturday's opponent Japan at the Quarter Final stage. The final between Japan and Australia is to be played on Saturday 29th January at Kahalifa International Stadium - hopefully it will be a good match with a lot of goals.

Hibs sign two also: Matt Thornhill (Notts Forest) Defender Richie Towell (Celtic) Midfielder - Loan

Hamilton pick up two: James Chambers (Shamrock Rovers) Midfielder Aaron Wildig (Cardiff City) Midfielder -Loan

Item on BBC site - states undisclosed fee.... BBC Football

Latest YB article quotes them as saying they are looking at Rooney as a potential player for next season not transfer in winter window. Also states that they were at Ibrox mid-week to look at Rooney and another player (not named) but are currently assessing a number of players as potential new signings.

QF3 Iraq 0 Australia 1 (aet) - a Harry Kewell goal with 2 mins of et left settled it. Have to say it was one of the best football matches I have seen in a long time. Both teams went for it and I was impressed by Iraq who played really well. In QF4 South Korea beat Iran 1-0 also after et. Semi-Final line up is: Japan v South Korea Uzbekistan v Australia

Nice strip - obviously just couldn't wait to wear the green and white hoops again

Seemingly he was being watched by YB at Ibrox in mid week. Not sure they would have taken much from the game though.

Weather has been not too bad - quite cold (and wet) for some of the evening games though. Off to the Australia game this afternoon and the South Korean game this evening - one hour dash between the stadiums to make the second kick-off Japan do have a good chance to win this and expect to see them joined by Australia and South Korea in the Semis - sad thing is those 3 teams and Uzbekistan I am afraid would be too good for the current Scotland team :angry:

In QF2 at Khalifa Stadium Uzbekistan beat Jordan 2-1

10 man Japan come back from 1-2 down to beat hosts Qatar 3-2 in QF1 at Al Gharafa Stadium (Att. 19,479)

Yeh - it was the photo of Murray's sending off after fighting with his own player that I saw that raised my curiosity - East Stirling play Brechin next so will have to up their game if they are to get into the next round

Ta - thought it looked a bit weird

Anybody know why Buckie wore a blue and red striped ICT style top for their Scottish Cup game in mid-week - is that their away strip as they still had green shorts?

Sehr gut :biggrin: If he did end up going to YB would he be legible to play in the Europa League v Zenit in February?

Qatar's first goal from win against China - not a bad strike Qatar v China 1-0 (Yousef Ahmed)