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Scotty

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  1. Across The Pond - 6 days to go

    World Cup 2026 · Scotty · 06/05/2026 10:17 PM

    So here we go (here we go, here we go) ... The competition starts in 6 days time and Scotland are firmly ensconced the USA preparing for their World Cup return in 8 days, albeit without Billy Gilmour, which is a big loss to the side, but we are nonetheless at our first World Cup since France '98 and the Tartan Army will be there in force, tickets or not.
    I remember France 98, we got beaten by both Brazil and Morocco enroute to a bottom of the group finish. Let's hope history does not repeat itself. We have been drawn against Brazil in 1974 (0-0), 1982 (1-4), 1990 (0-1), and 1998 (1-2) so 1 draw, 3 defeats across 4 games in a total of 7 world cups we've been to since 1974. I'd take a repeat of the 1974 result against them if you offered it right now! If we can avoid slip-ups then the current squad surely has a chance to make a name for itself as the first Scotland team to get out of the group stage, something that is statistically easier this time around with 48 teams instead of 32, but we all know Scotland don't do things the easy way ... its like watching ICT (or Toronto FC).
    Another possibility is for there to be a new Scottish top scorer at the tournament, not the golden boot for the tournament itself (although that would be really nice) but just the top Scot. Joe Jordan has the most goals for Scotland at the World Cup, with 4 in total having scored 2 in '74 and 1 each in '78 and '82. Three other players have two World Cup goals total, Archie Gemmill got two in 1978, both in the same game, and I think we all remember only one of them ❤️. John Wark was our top scorer in 1982 with two in the game against New Zealand and Kenny Dalglish has two as well, but spread across two tournaments with one each in 78 and 82. If McTominay, McGinn or Shankland can bag two goals in total then they would join the three players who have scored more than once at a World Cup, and if by chance anyone got three or more, they would be our all-time top scorer in a single World Cup tournament ... but let's not get ahead of ourselves, I think we would all take an 89th minute sclaff in the box deflecting of Grant Hanley's right erse cheek if it got us three points.
    ESPN had a decent article this week about the World Cup predictions and for Group C it predicted - as many have - Scotland to finish third but noted a 67% chance of advancing. The simulation, performed 1000s of times has this averaging out as a low scoring group and shows Scotland ending up with 4 points and a 1-1-1 record. According to the Supercomputer we are going to beat Haiti 2-1, draw 0-0 with Morocco and lose 1-0 to Brazil before crashing out 1-0 to Mexico in the round of 32. I guess that sounds plausible and also puts the kybosh on us hoping for a new top scorer for Scotland at a world cup. (source: https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/48962628/world-cup-predictions-picking-winner-every-game-entire-tournament)
    On a personal level I thought long and hard before deciding not to cross the border into USA and go to Boston. There were just too many factors conspiring against me personally, professionally and it has to be said, financially, with tickets, travel and accommodation costs putting it well out of reach of most 'normal' people this time around. The cherry on top of it is that my son's football team will be playing in a tournament close to Niagara Falls next weekend on the very day that Scotland kick off against Haiti. So instead, we have a group of around 40 parents who are all going to the pub to eat loads of fried food, drink loads of beer, and hopefully be converted into Tartan Army members, although I don't think this will work on the Haitian family who are part of our group nor those with Spanish or French connections. Should make for some interesting banter however ... and yes, full Tartan Army uniform will be in force. The kilt is being dusted down, the Scotland top is already in hand, and I have my (really comfortable) Adidas World Cup trainers, courtesy of FIFA.
    Anyone following the blog will have seen I was unsuccessful in getting tickets for any of the games in Toronto, and although prices are now coming down slowly, they are still pretty high and may eventually sell out before reaching my comfort zone. I will keep my eye out just in case things improve. However, what started as 'Plan B' to try and get a role inside the stadium on matchdays by volunteering my services, has instead seen me get a role that is called "Host City Management" and I will be based at the Volunteer Centre that is located in the heart of the Fan Fest area near the stadium.
    The title sounds high falutin' but it's basically checking in other volunteers and telling them where they need to be and being kept in reserve in case, we are needed elsewhere. The description of this new role, notes that we need to be flexible, adaptable, and capable of performing many different roles, so I'll take that as a compliment. The training we are receiving is comprehensive and things, while perhaps looking chaotic on the surface, which is not unexpected given the sheer quantity of applications received, is actually very well organised, and smooth. I went to pick up my accreditation and uniform the other week and was in and out of the place I had to go in about 20 minutes with all my gear. During training it was confirmed to us that there were more than 250,000 applications for volunteer positions in Toronto alone, of which a total of about 3200 volunteers were selected in total, and in the role I have been given, only a total of around 60 people. The same is true of other roles where it was whittled down from that initial 250K to just a few. As the tournament draws closer, I am actually looking forward to this quite a lot and after signing up for the required 8 shifts the other week, I actually went into the volunteer portal and added 4 more today although none when Scotland are due to play! Wherever I end up on any given day, the atmosphere is going to be electric around Toronto and it's time to breathe it all in. If I ever experience this again, it's unlikely I will be able to go home to my own bed at the end of the evening and that's kind of a surreal feeling.
    And so to a little final comment about the "Toronto Stadium". I am going to say it now. I think the smallest stadium in the tournament might actually be very popular with fans and players alike. The temporary stands are not exactly attractive from the outside, but on the inside of the stadium it does not look too bad, the fans are really close to the field (like 10-15 feet at the front row) and there is no running track or other barrier distancing the field from the players. They WILL hear you if you are close enough to the action. I know that much from TFC games.
    They tried a dry run at the recent TFC -V- Inter Miami game and because Messi and co. were in town, they managed to pretty much sell out the stadium. They also implemented World Cup travel schedules on public transit and put the proposed entry procedures into effect to test it, and it has to be said, it all seemed to go pretty smoothly considering there were twice as many people as normal in the stadium. The atmosphere was pretty good with 45K in the stands, although with World Cup crowds I think it will be more raucous and louder than the Messi-hunters. Despite the result, a 4-2 defeat with Messi and Luis Suarez both on the scoresheet, the experience felt good. I looked around and wished the Tartan Army would have been drawn here. I think any team as loud and as passionate as the TA will make this stadium rock.
    No Scotland No Party !

  2. Across The Pond - World Cup Approaching: Part 2

    World Cup 2026 · Scotty · 04/07/2026 04:49 PM

    And now for the promised part 2 of the World Cup Approaching blog. For this part, I am going to review the Toronto Stadium now that I have had a chance to sit in the finished article for the world cup and also pass some good news (for me) on at the end.
    Thanks to my son's youth team, I was able to secure tickets for us to go along to Canada -Vs- Iceland as I mentioned in part 1. This was my first international game in 30+ years. My last time was at Hampden Park in the early 90s I seem to recall so this was a bit of an adventure. It was also my son (and my wife's) first ever international game.
    The game itself was a disappointing 2-2 draw in freezing temperatures, with both of Canada's goals coming on Jonathan David penalties in the second half. Prior to that Iceland had led 2-0 at HT courtesy of sloppy and shoddy defending from Canada in the first half that gave away goals that should never have happened, albeit with a largely second or even third string defence on the field. Do that in the World Cup and the result will not be as forgiving.
    If I am honest, I had to admit, as a regular visitor to BMO Field, my focus was more on the stadium itself as it is officially classed as completed ahead of the world cup with any tweaks to be largely cosmetic or fixing, covering or 'prettifying' certain things. Personal opinion is that I hope they do tart it up a bit as some of it is still a bit underwhelming or even embarrassing. We spent $146m on what appears to be North America's largest stockpile of scaffolding poles and only a small portion of it will be left behind as any legacy of the World Cup. The scaffold poles are apparently all being shipped out to Los Angeles for the 2028 Olympics once FIFA leaves town.
    The picture in the header of this article can be clicked for an entire panorama of the stadium, but here are the individual stands with a little commentary about the changes that have taken place and what if anything will be left behind.
    South Stand

    The south stand is traditionally the supporters' section at BMO Field and has been there since the stadium was opened in 2007. The portion where the current crowd is located is the normal home for the noisiest and most raucous TFC fans and holds maybe 3500-4000. In the graphic you can see an all-new section above this that will hold about the same as well as what appears to be a hospitality area - likely for some people in the regular seats as it seems to be too far away from the actual pitch to be a viewing box. Despite the BMO Field canopy (not really a roof), the sightlines from all seats have been checked and there is no issue.
    The entire upper section (grey seats) will be removed and disposed of at the end of the World Cup which is a bit of a shame. The reality however is that Toronto FC do not need 45,000 seats or even 35,000. The current capacity of just under 30,000 will be sufficient for all but the most popular of games (currently Miami and LAFC with Messrs Messi and Son)
    Main Stand

    The Main Stand has been left untouched from the Toronto FC layout with any tweaks and upgrades being cosmetic or not associated with the actual capacity. The dugouts have been replaced, some of the main stand hospitality suites have been upgraded or merged and upgrades are pretty much all behind the scenes. You can also see two of the massive 4 screens that are in each corner. They dont look much in the picture, but when you get up close and personal they are pretty huge. These will stay after the World Cup.
    East Stand

    The East Stand, opposite the main stand is another with little to no adjustments apparent for the World Cup. This is a normal 2-tier stand and the view from the top level is as shown in the blog header at the top of the page. Again, there are the big screens now in each corner which will remain after the World Cup.
    North Stand

    I left the North Stand until last as the entire structure was not there before. It is nestled between the end of the playing field and a building nearby called the 'Food Building' which is used during the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) each year to serve up weird and wacky food combinations. Google the CNE if you want more info - or perhaps that's an idea for a blog entry in August since there is usually one or two matches during the CNE. Another reason there is typically not a stand or anything other than casual standing at the at end during the normal season is that BMO Field is shared with the Toronto Argonauts, a CFL team that uses a longer field so needs more space for the endzones. (CFL is like the NFL but with less downs, lower wages, smaller crowds, and less brand recognition).
    After the World Cup the bottom seats and the top seats will all be removed, but the structure holding the hospitality boxes, as well as a rooftop patio will remain. Not quite sure how that will look, but I guess we will see in August/September. The angle of the upper tier seats appears to be very steep and again its like a huge Meccano set at the back of it. I really hope the scaffolding is covered up with some form of FIFA supported branding during the tournament.
    Scaffold Poles
    Apparently, it has passed all structural design and safety checks, but the sheer quantity of scaffolding poles joined in every conceivable direction just has to be seen to be believed. What also blows my mind - working for an engineering company - is that each and every one of these poles would have been mapped out in a 3D modelling program and subjected not only to design review but also risk analysis and various simulations. It is not just a haphazard joining of scaffold poles to one another. The time it would have taken to do this has to be acknowledged as impressive (and likely tedious for the engineers).
    A couple of pictures here, taken outside the South Stand really do fail to do it justice. Again, I hope they cover this up with something for the games to at least prettify it!


    Ticket Woes
    With the Italians failing to qualify for the world cup in the playoffs, Canada will now face Bosnia & Herzegovina at the stadium on June 12th. There was apparently a surge in the number of resale tickets offered up on Ticketmaster and StubHub after the Italians didn't progress. However, with an estimated 162 different nations represented in Toronto, and with the city being acknowledged as one of the most diverse on the planet, there is also a somewhat healthy Bosnian diaspora as well. According to the last census in 2021, there were around 36,000 people who listed Bosnia & Herzegovina as their country of origin, with roughly 1/3 of these living in the Greater Toronto Area.
    The games are still expected to sell-out and tickets for the game on June 12th first priced at around $500 are still on the market for about $5000, with the most expensive pitch side seat apparently listed at over $100,000 !!! Most normal fans simply cannot afford it.
    And now for the good news! After exhausting all avenues to get a ticket from official sources, and giving up hope of hearing anything from FIFA about the volunteer position I applied for last year, which was supposed to be notified by February, an email dropped quietly into my email inbox a couple of weeks ago ... its official, I am now a Host City Ambassador. I have a vague idea of what that is, but FIFA preparation is very thorough and training for the position starts tonight!
    I hope to bring some insight into the journey in future blog postings and am starting to make my way through a 50+ page manual that details all the do's and don'ts, which so far do seem pretty normal and sensible. Wont post any more about it until I have read it completely as one of the first things I noted as part of this, is that FIFA asks you to make it clear your social media posts reflect your personal opinion, not that of FIFA or the Competition. all pretty standard disclaimer type wording. So be aware, everything I post (and everything I have ever posted to be honest) is my own opinion, and may not reflect the opinions or policies of the organisers, sponsors or anyone else associated with FIFA.
    Ok, so with all that being said, its time to wrap up this post and prepare for the training. You do get FIFA branded uniforms/gear as part of this, which will be a pretty nice souvenir to go in my football cabinet. Over the cold and snowy winter, I have (finally) been able to set things up in my home office with all the various Caley Thistle and TFC memorabilia I have amassed over the years instead of it sitting around in plastic storage containers in the basement.
    Will have to create some space for the World Cup memorabilia that I will either purchase myself or be given as part of my role in this World Cup. Really pleased to have been selected. Onwards and Upwards.
  3. Well my last AI generated blog header aged well didn't it! Shows what can happen when you make assumptions. The World Cup playoffs yesterday certainly brought some surprises not least of which was Bosnia & Herzegovina deservedly beating out the Azzurri to reach the finals of the World Cup.
    I watched the match yesterday and have to say that this was a deserved victory for Bosnia & Herzegovina. They fought hard for every ball, looked like scoring on multiple occasions and deservedly equalised when they did. Was very impressed with them and they will now be in Canada's group for the World Cup alongside Qatar and Switzerland. They will be Canada's opening game opponent here in Toronto on June 12th and at the risk of looking foolish by making another assumption, I suspect there will be a lot of tickets made available in the coming days on the resale market. There is a huge Italian diaspora in Toronto and around Toronto and Ontario and many of them are now likely to try and offload the tickets they paid so dearly for. Still not going to be cheap but if the Italians had qualified then the existing tickets would have increased in value even more.
    This defeat for the Italians also sets an enviable new record for them and for the World Cup. Apparently, this is the first time that any previous winner has failed to qualify for the tournament three times in a row.
    Elsewhere, the stage is now set as the final six nations in the World Cup are now decided. As mentioned, Bosnia will now go into Canada's group alongside Qatar and Switzerland. Sweden beat Poland 3-2 and will join Netherlands, Japan and Tunisia in group F. Turkey beat Kosovo 1-0 and get slotted into group D alongside USA, Paraguay and Australia while the final European qualifier Czechia, who beat Denmark on penalties last night go into Mexico's group with South Africa and South Korea. I am just glad that Scotland somehow got the job done against Denmark at Hampden and could watch this from the sidelines. We would have undoubtedly found some way not to qualify if we had needed to face some of the nations in these playoffs.
    The South American, Caribbean, Africa and Middle East playoffs also took place yesterday to decide the final two teams that will make up the 48 teams at WC 2026. Iraq triumphed over Bolivia to secure a spot in group I with France, Senegal and Norway. The final spot went - perhaps controversially - to DR Congo who will face off with Portugal, Uzbekistan and Colombia after defeating Jamaica 1-0 in extra time. Why controversial you ask? The Congolese progress in the competition was beset by complaints from the Nigerian federation that DRC had illegally played a number of players in their match against them and should have the scoreline revoked. This would have put Nigeria in the playoffs against Jamaica and potentially got them to the World Cup. The complaint noted that under Congolese law dual citizenship is not allowed and that between 6 and 9 of their players had played during the playoff match against them. You can read more about it here but FIFA eventually threw the complaint out and after last night it seems there is no way back, even under an appeal for the Super Eagles. https://www.withinnigeria.com/2026/03/27/nigeria-2026-world-cup-qualification-can-the-super-eagles-still-make-it-through-the-fifa-case/
    For now, my attention now turns to the games in Toronto with of course an extremely watchful eye on at least three games in Boston and Miami!
    Canada -V- Bosnia & Herzegovina (June 12)
    Ghana -V- Panama (June 18)
    Germany -V- Ivory Coast (June 20)
    Panama -V- Croatia (June 24)
    Senegal -V- Iraq (June 26)
    2nd Round game (July 3) - runners up group K -V- runners up Group L (Portugal/DRC/Uzbekistan/Colombia -V- England/Croatia/Ghana/Panama) - I predict Colombia -V- Croatia
    Didn't think I would have to write a blog admitting to getting it so wrong about the Italians failing to qualify, but as Greavsie used to say about footy .... "It's a funny old game". That is why this is labelled as part 1a. Part 2 is still to come :)


  4. Across The Pond - World Cup Approaching: Part 1

    World Cup 2026 · Scotty · 03/27/2026 11:16 PM

    Doesn't seem like several months since my last post in this blog, but apparently it is! That means its longer since I last posted than it is until the first game at the Toronto Stadium in the World Cup.
    77 days from now, on June 12th Canada will open the Canadian portion of the FIFA World Cup when they take on that famous team of "TBD". (that's apparently what it says on the electronic ticket - for those lucky enough to secure one). Yesterday morning, the identity of 'TBD' was between Northern Ireland, Italy, Wales and Bosnia & Herzegovina but after some horrible results for the home nations the final qualifying match next Tuesday in this group will see Bosnia & Herzegovina take on the Italians for a spot in the World Cup. The game will take place in Zenica rather than in the capital of Sarajevo. The Italians did something similar last night and dispatched Northern Ireland in Bergamo, home of Atalanta, rather than playing in vast stadiums in Rome, Milan or Naples.
    There is a huge Italian diaspora in Toronto and the surrounding area (known as the GTA [Greater Toronto Area]) who are holding their breath hoping that the Azzurri can make it to the finals after failing to qualify for the last two World Cups and in danger of becoming the first previous winner to fail to qualify for the competition three times in a row. If they do qualify, that could see face value tickets that averaged around $1200 for the Canada game surge to 3 or 4 times that cost. The Ontario government is however trying to expedite a new law for the province that would make selling tickets for any event above face value illegal - they hope to have it in place before the World Cup.
    This past week, the Toronto Stadium as it will be called for the World Cup (or BMO Field to those of us who have Toronto FC tickets) was finally completed with only minor tweaks to happen so apparently, we are ready to host that first game and 5 more after that. The video of the mayor unveiling a plaque circulated online this week and showed a good view of the seats. It looks absolutely "fugly" from the outside, like a Meccano set of scaffold poles. The sheer quantity of poles looks incredible but we are told it is safe and it is similar to temporary expansions put in place before for the Grey Cup and the MLS Cup finals in 2016/2017. Much of it will be torn down after the world cup but the new screens and the new hospitality suites will remain.
    I will get my chance to see it in person tomorrow, as Canada take on Iceland in one of their last friendlies before the World Cup proper. I will be in a different seat to my normal Toronto FC tickets so that too will be an experience. Hopefully lots of photos and maybe a video or two to come after that if my fingers are warm enough to take some footage! It’s -8 here today and forecast to be 0c tomorrow at 1pm when the game kicks off. This will be my first Canada game and also my first international in probably 30 years Would need to do some research but I know it was at Hampden last time I saw Scotland play
    The new stands will not be operational tomorrow unfortunately. The first outing - I think - for the new stands is in May when Toronto face Inter Miami FC in TFC's last MLS game before the world cup. That will be the final home game of a set of 9 consecutive home games!
    More to follow in part 2 - and some interesting news.

  5. Across The Pond - World Cup Edition

    World Cup 2026 · Scotty · 07/09/2025 06:56 PM

    Toying with the idea of reinstating this blog, not just as a Toronto FC blog for anyone interested but perhaps more relevant (assuming Scotland can qualify) a blog about the pre-World Cup 2026 preparations in Toronto where BMO Field will host several group stage games
    The current field is undergoing in-place upgrades as the MLS season continues and the new stadium will go from this ....


    to the images below with the addition of temporary seating. The stands on the left (West/Main) and right (East) will remain largely unchanged. The South End (supporters' section) will have a second tier added and the entire North End that is currently open (to accommodate the longer pitch required for CFL games) will be built (and torn down after the WC).
    More info and musings to follow if there is interest?

    Looking North [click to view full size]


    Looking South


    Looking across the South End (area on left is pre-existing, the seats on the right will be new)


  6. Across The Pond - World Cup Preparation

    World Cup 2026 · Scotty · 07/11/2025 12:59 PM

    Seems my first blog on the World Cup was timely ... Earlier this week, FIFA announced the World Cup schedule of games for each venue and in Toronto it will kick off on day two of the competition with the Canadian National Team game at BMO Field. BMO Field is to be renamed Toronto Stadium for the duration of the World Cup due to sponsorship rights / FIFA
    No idea who Canada will be playing yet, what group it will be, or who makes up that group (fingers crossed for Scotland) but it's the World Cup so it's not going to matter ... If I get tickets, then I am at the game regardless. Double-checked the FIFA site and yes, I am still registered for the World Cup Lottery. Also hoping that my 18 years as a season ticket holder at Toronto FC and BMO Field might count for something but won't hold my breath on that one.
    It has been previously announced that the City of Toronto would host six matches. We now know that this will kick off on day 2 of the World Cup on June 12, 2026, with the first-ever men’s FIFA World Cup match on Canadian soil and featuring Canada’s Men’s National Team. Toronto is also hosting a second round match on July 2, 2026 but nothing after that unfortunately.
    Toronto Schedule:
    June 12, 2026, Group Stage, Canadian Men’s National Team opener
    June 17, 2026, Group Stage
    June 20, 2026, Group Stage
    June 23, 2026, Group Stage
    June 26, 2026, Group Stage
    July 2, 2026, Round of 32
    Not much hype around the city just yet, not even in football circles. It's talked about, but not with any sense of urgency. I am sure that will change over the course of the remainder of 2025.
    Toronto is such a diverse city, so any time the World Cup is on elsewhere, we see clips on TV from "Little Italy", Little Portugal", and various other enclaves around the city where certain supporters congregate due to the ethnic makeup of the neighbourhood. Have never encountered a little Scotland, little England or even little Spain, but I am sure they exist somewhere in the City. If not, the Tartan Army and other supporters groups will, I am sure, setup camp somewhere!
    The City is doing its best to start promoting the event and now has two websites dedicated to it. The main city website section: https://www.toronto.ca/explore-enjoy/festivals-events/fifa-world-cup-26/ and a separate World Cup site: https://torontofwc26.ca/game. Looks like the marketers have really airbrushed the descriptions of some of the neighbourhoods around the downtown and failed to mention the dark side of some of them! More on that later perhaps.
    I will leave you with a small video to whet the appetite for Toronto.


  7. Across the Pond - Just the Ticket!

    World Cup 2026 · Scotty · 09/10/2025 05:51 PM

    Its Ticket Time !!
    Almost there ... as the graphic says: 11mins and 50 seconds until I can officially apply for tickets for the 2026 World Cup courtesy of FIFA partner VISA's presale window.
    Having said that, all of this was after well over 90 minutes of the spinning dots tantalisingly telling me I was almost there, and then the countdown timer starting at 30 minutes! All the while while I was keeping my fingers crossed that my browser didnt crash or I had some other IT failure happen!
    The actual process of applying for the tickets after the window opened up and gave me FIVE MINUTES to complete my info after waiting two hours was pretty simple. Fill in a little extra data from your FIFA profile, add your credit card number and off you go ...
    So thats that then, I am on the list to try and get tickets for either Scotland (if we qualify) or for any game in Toronto which might include one Canada game and whoever else might be drawn here.
    So whats next?
    According to the site, thats all there is for now. I now wait until 29th September to find out if I was lucky enough to get something in the draw and if so I believe I can score up to 4 tickets.

    If nothing awarded for this then I am keeping the eyes peeled for any and all other opportunities to get an order in. FIFA dropped the news last week that "dynamic pricing" would be in effect. This is basically the same type of surge pricing that Uber uses for their services when busy and can see the cost rise two or three fold or more! It can however also work in reverse and dynamic pricing for the Club World Cup recently held in the USA as a pre-cursor to the main tournament saw tickets drop as low os USD$4 per ticket !!! FIFA have however said that no tickets will drop below the absolute minimum cost of USD$60 per ticket.
    Personally, I don't care who it is playing the game, although I would obviously like it to be Scotland -V- Canada or some other meaningful game for me personally, but I just want to be able to take my son and wife to a game so we can say we experienced the World Cup!! I think that is something my son will remember long after I am dead and gone!
    Plan B?
    Oh yes, one must always have a plan B. Not sure it will work for the family, but I also submitted an entry last month to be a World Cup volunteer in Toronto. If I cant pay to get in the stadium, then maybe I can volunteer to get in for 'free'.

    Its a bit of a longshot, and you could find yourself based anywhere from the airport to a hotel, to some random street in downtown Toronto, or if you are really lucky then maybe you could be an 'ambassador' greeting players or VIPs to the stadium, escorting them to the expensive seats and hoping to not only soak in the atmosphere but also get a glimpse of the game. The list of positions seems daunting and the application process did seem like a bit of a psychological test to see if you had the warm and fuzzies required for dealing with thousands of well-oiled fans ... We will see
    Plan C?
    Guess I will have to watch it on telly like the rest of us ...
    Fingers crossed I dont need a new Telly !



  8. Well, that headline is a bit of a mouthful isn't it! What does it mean? Well, it's the mascot names for next year's World Cup!
    For World Cup 2026, you get three mascots for the price of one since the event is being held across three countries.
    In a caricature of Canadians that would make our late great friend the @IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER proud, and give him many moments to wind me up, Canada gets Maple the Moose. Only thing better would have been Louie the Lumberjack or Bob the Beaver!
    According to the FIFA website, "Maple the Moose was born to roam, journeying across all of Canada’s provinces and territories while connecting with people and embracing the country’s rich culture. A street style-loving artist, music enthusiast and dedicated goalkeeper, Maple found purpose through creativity, resilience and unapologetic individuality. With a knack for making legendary saves and a heart full of strength and leadership, Maple combines endless stories and unstoppable flair."
    Meanwhile, Mexican mascot, "Zayu the Jaguar is from the jungles of southern Mexico, embodies the rich heritage and vibrant spirit of the country. With a name inspired by unity, strength and joy, Zayu transforms on the pitch as a striker, showcasing exceptional ingenuity and agility that intimidates defenders. Off the pitch, Zayu embraces Mexican culture through dance, food and tradition, uniting people across borders with passion and pride. More than an athlete, Zayu is a symbol of cultural celebration and connection, carrying the heart of Mexico with pride".
    Finally, the USA of course have a bald eagle as their mascot: "Clutch the Bald Eagle possesses an unquenchable thirst for adventure, soaring across the United States and embracing every culture, game and moment with boundless curiosity and optimism. Fearless on the pitch and uplifting off it, Clutch leads by action — rallying teammates, lifting spirits and turning every challenge into an opportunity to rise higher. A social spark and sports fanatic, Clutch, like all great midfielders, unites people wherever they go, proving that true flight is about purpose, passion and play."
    All joking aside, I am sure it will be big business for FIFA and you can already buy these on the FIFA website for £30 or CAD$50.00.
    The video for the unveil also looks more like the start of an animated series than a simple unveil. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QR52cerl0CQ

  9. Across The Pond: Ticketless (for now)

    World Cup 2026 · Scotty · 10/09/2025 04:35 PM

    Ok, so September 30th came and went without an email from FIFA, unless you count the numerous emails offering a guaranteed ticket if I spend hundreds of dollars on some card pack or other. It was a longshot of course, but I was definitely hoping to be one of the lucky ones in the estimated 4.5m people who registered for the VISA presale for tickets for World Cup 2026.
    Alas it was not meant to be, probably also in part due to the fact that I restricted myself to only the games taking place in Toronto, which only has 6 games overall, or just 270,000 tickets. Many of these will be part of hospitality packages starting at $2500 per ticket, or allocations yet to be released or held for teams and officials. A cat in hell definitely had a better chance than me! But we stay positive and wait for the next round of ticketing in phase 2.
    Why only Toronto you ask? Well quite apart from the geography involved that means I can get to Glasgow quicker (and cheaper) than I can take a domestic flight to Vancouver, Canadians for the most part are avoiding travel to our nearest Southern neighbours. Recent reports are showing a 20-30% downturn in cross border travel since the administration there announced a desire to make Canada the 51st state and imposed huge trade tariffs on exports from Canada. End result is that popular destinations like Las Vegas, Florida, Texas, and northern border cities like Buffalo, Detroit and Seattle are all reporting economic impacts from lower-than-normal visitor numbers.
    With the Iranian delegation also being denied entry visas to even watch the World Cup draw in December now that they have qualified, and other immigration policies coming into force, including a new pricey "visa integrity fee" for anyone not in the Visa Waiver program this tournament is shaping up to have a lot of geo-political under-currents that might affect attendance. I am going to make a prediction that FIFA will somehow make sure that Iran is drawn to play in either Mexico or in Canada and hope they don't qualify for the last 32. Group L seems a good bet, with two group stage matches in Toronto although the other is in the USA.
    Overall, this turmoil could make demand for tickets in Mexico and Canada a lot higher and chances of getting a ticket a lot lower. The UK is part of the visa waiver program so no visa issues there (for now) but anyone planning the World Cup would do well to start checking the visa situation now as these things are notoriously slow ... I read online this week that the current visa situation for those requiring them (mostly Asia, Africa and South America) is something like 186 days so it's cutting it quite fine!
    On the plus side, the cheapest prices in Toronto did seem to start at an affordable USD$60 cost when I looked. Admittedly this was tucked high in the stands in the corner, but still in the stadium nonetheless ... We will see how dynamic pricing affects this. The secondary market (stubhub and others) already has that huge matchup between TBD and TBD on Jun 17th selling for anywhere from US$750 to $1000 per ticket but once more tickets hit the market, and the teams are known that could rise or fall ...
    In my last blog I mentioned that Toronto would get an infrastructure dry run on a big crowd attending BMO Field (sorry Toronto Stadium) when the Lionel Messi and his Inter Miami entourage came to town. I was ready to head down and watch the game with my son until I got the proverbial "offer I could not refuse".
    Despite me constantly telling him it should be Ross Tokely, my son has CR7 as his "GOAT" so was not overly bothered about seeing Messi again. He saw the game in-person last year and that was good enough for him, so I put my tickets up for sale on Ticketmaster for a hefty price with us agreeing to go if they did not sell and to stay home if they did. The price was higher than I expected to get as I was secretly hoping they would not sell. Surprisingly, someone wanted my tickets so desperately that they paid the asking price, so we sat down to watch it on TV on Saturday afternoon. Although Messi, Suarez, Busquets, De Paul, and Alba all started, the game itself was a bit of a snoozefest. Messi played well but was no match for man-of-the-match Sean Johnson, the Toronto FC goalkeeper who thwarted him at every turn. As with last year, half the stadium was sporting crisp new Argentina or Miami shirts and there were several pitch incursions, so it was indeed a bit of a circus. At least last year we got to see Messi's bodyguard prowl the sidelines like a panther stalking anyone who dared to try and reach him, but he got told by the league towards the end of last season last year that he was no longer permitted to do that on a match day so that element of fun was removed. By the end of the game, Lionel Messi's appearance in the 1-1 draw pretty much paid about 50% of my 2026 season ticket cost. A pretty good day all around. Sergio Busquets announced before the game that he would retire at the end of the season and now Jordi Alba has said the same thing. It would not surprise me if Luis Suarez was next as the man looks in agony every time he runs. Have to be honest in saying that they were all good to watch in their time in MLS. They may not have been in their prime, but skill does not fade, only pace and fitness (and Suarez's knees).
    Unfortunately, this dry run may be closer to how the world Cup will go for me too ... 20 miles north of BMO Field, but so near yet so far if the next round of ticketing is not kind.
    Keeping fingers crossed and keeping my eyes open for other avenues

  10. Across The Pond - Toronto Stadium

    World Cup 2026 · Scotty · 09/25/2025 12:56 PM

    A busy football week in Toronto!
    On Tuesday, the City of Toronto (owners of BMO Field) and Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (MLSE), the owners of Toronto FC and other franchises in the city, who are also the exclusive custodians of BMO Field, announced they had completed Phase 1 of the work for the upgrades to the stadium for next year's World Cup.
    Due to the continuing MLS football season as well as the Toronto Argonauts CFL season, Phase 1 was largely concentrated on unseen stuff other than 4 new video screens, measuring 30 feet x 50 feet with a resolution of more than 5 million pixels. Stuff like a new video control room, executive boxes in a currently under-utilised part of the stadium, and new kitchens for new and existing hospitality suites etc. There is also a new super lounge that was made by combining 4 current individual suites into one. They expect to use this for international delegations and world leaders who may visit to watch their teams during the World Cup. Now that Toronto FC are officially eliminated from the playoffs, and there are only two home games left, the second phase will begin in earnest next month.
    Phase two of the $146m upgrade will see 17,000 temporary seats added, 10,000 in the North part of the ground which is currently relatively open due to the requirements for the CFL Toronto Argonauts and 7000 in the South area which currently has a single tier stand and is known as the 'supporters' section'. The capacity for the stadium at the end of this will be 45,000 but these seats will almost all be removed after the world cup with the stadium reverting to a 30,000 capacity after that. Only the executive suites and some seating at the North end will be retained as they turn that north end into a general admission area with rooftop patio for TFC games.
    As part of phase two, the stadium will also get new dugouts, a new playing surface (thankfully) and the entire Wi-Fi, sound and lighting systems will all be upgraded to meet FIFA broadcast standards. Overall the city is on the hook for the lions share ($123m) but MLSE are also paying $23m and had previously ploughed $100m into renovations in 2015 after the original stadium was built in 2007 for a cost of around $62m. I will be honest, as nice as it is in some areas, it does not feel like you are sitting in a $160m stadium right now! Here's hoping that the additional $140m+, which is apparently still on-budget elevates the experience.
    As a resident of Toronto, my biggest fear is transportation to and from the events. The city is quoted as saying the expected bill for transit, increased policing, and emergency coverage for hospitals etc is expected to top $40m but it lacks specifics. They would only say they have a "fulsome mobility plan" when it comes to traffic. That makes me really nervous. Toronto traffic is a mess at the best of times and there are little to no details on how it's going to work. A stretch of the 401-highway running east to west across the northern suburbs of the city is officially the busiest highway in North America, even busier than the notorious LA traffic and it is a running joke in Toronto when driving is that you are always an hour away from Toronto. That is only going to get worse next year for the WC.
    One little snippet that also fills me with dread in the press release from the club and city said "Don't expect to find any parking near the venue" (which is not a surprise) but also that a new streetcar stop will unload passengers just east of the current stop. A streetcar, even the large double (articulated) ones, carry at most a couple of hundred people so if that's the braintrust at work it's going to be a cluster**** of epic proportions.
    Getting to BMO Field this weekend will be a good test of the current state of traffic and infrastructure. Lionel Messi is in town with the Miami FC circus of supporting acts, so the stadium will be filled to near capacity with thousands of fresh crisp new Argentina and Miami shirts, and I almost certainly guarantee that it will be a s***show!
    The TTC (our subway and bus operator) will undoubtedly have some lines closed and shuttle busses running. Streetcars will be overloaded and as for parking near the stadium, the touts will be wanting $50-$100 for a parking spot instead of the usual metered $5 charge. I will be attending with my son so for us (who live in the suburbs) its going to be a drive from home to the subway station and park there (15mins), then the subway downtown (35 mins), and depending on any scheduled closures which happen every weekend somewhere, we will either take a streetcar to the existing stop near the stadium (30mins) or may need to take a second subway line and bus to near the stadium (45mins).
    There are three new transit lines in various stages of completion around the city, but it is likely that only one of them might be operational next year and the most useful one - the Ontario line - which actually terminates near the stadium, is not slated to open until 5 years after the World Cup!
    On the ticket front, perhaps more movement next week ... We should begin to find out if volunteer applications have been accepted and the results of the ticket lottery for VISA customers should drop in the mailbox to tell us if successful or not. Fingers crossed.

  11. Across The Pond: Perseverance

    World Cup 2026 · Scotty · 11/14/2025 06:50 PM

    Oh well, as one door closes another opens as they say ... not sure who actually said that but that's what we all say that someone said isn't it.
    In my case, the door that closed was yet another advanced World Cup ticket window which ran until October 31st and should have seen those lucky enough to get selected receive a purchase time and date by November 7th.
    Having said that, this comes with a huge caveat in that there is actually no guarantee that even with a purchase time and date you will get a ticket! The only guarantee is that you will be able to login and see what - if any - tickets are available for the venue you want, and if there are tickets you would be able to purchase up to 4 tickets for your chosen game if available. Lots of ifs, buts, and maybes in here.
    Its all irrelevant though as my email didn't arrive, so now, a week after the deadline, I am pretty certain I will not be able to login and see if there are any tickets for that exciting match up between TBD and TBD at BMO Field The Toronto Stadium, If it follows the last timeline, I will likely get confirmation of this in about a weeks' time, nearly two weeks after the purchase window has closed.
    After this window then it's about to get opened up to the public in general and getting a ticket is going to be nigh on impossible although I do have some hope through 'Canada Reds' the organisation for supporters of the Canadian National Team and I still hold out hope that somehow and some way, Toronto FC will also offer some form of ticketing given that they claimed part of the reason for a 25% hike in season ticket prices for next year were because of the $162m cost of upgrades to the stadium for the world cup that they have agreed to partially fund. The rest of the cost will come from the city and I will be on the hook for my share of that through municipal taxes as well ....
    And now to the door that opened ...
    I applied way back before even the first ticket window opened to see if I could be a volunteer at the World Cup in Toronto. I heard nothing for a while, but last week just as I realised I was not going to be selected for the next ticketing phase, an email dropped into my inbox saying I had been successful in passing the first test to be a volunteer!
    You fill in a sizeable application survey that asks you a lot of questions and also gives some scenarios and asks how you would handle specific situations and also state which positions you are interested in. It was clearly designed to screen out those who might not be suitable for one reason or another. I guess my application was empathetic and sensible enough as I have made it past that first hurdle.
    No idea just how many hurdles there are to overcome, or how many applicants there are (10s or even 100s of thousands I am sure) but my 'Volunteer Team Tryout' is scheduled for tonight. You get a 90-minute tryout window and there are literally hundreds of windows open to choose from in the next few weeks. No idea what they will ask or what they will need us to do, but I've got my ICTFC top and hoodie with me, and my Toronto FC baseball hat and jacket. Hopefully these bring me good luck on my quest for some involvement in the World Cup atmosphere as a volunteer. If not, we keep trying for the tickets until the games themselves are over.
    I still worry about the infrastructure in Toronto being able to cope ... I mentioned in my last entry that I didn't go to the TFC -V- Miami match as someone made me an offer too good to refuse on my tickets. That offer helped soften the blow of the 25% price hike of the season tickets, but I was determined to make it down to the last game of the season against the other team from Florida (Orlando) on October 18th. My journey down to the stadium was pretty mundane, dropped off at the nearest subway station by my wife, then a 60-minute journey across two subway lines to the main rail station and a 20-minute journey to the stadium on the streetcar. These are absolutely going to be choke points when there are 45,000 people in the stadium. getting from subway to streetcar has a really narrow corridor which looks busy with 100 people in it, let alone several thousand and streetcars themselves, even the double-car articulated ones don't hold as many people as a normal train or a subway car.
    Toronto won the game comfortably with a final score of 4-2. Canadian international and TFC team captain Jonathon Osorio opened the scoring and goals followed from Djordje Mihailovic (2) and Deandre Kerr, neither of whom are going to be on the radar of anyone reading this blog as far as I know. Mihailovic is of Serbian and Macedonian descent but born in USA and played for the national team 11 times, scoring 3 goals. He is the man TFC turned to when they terminated the contracts of high priced Italian designated players Federico Bernardeschi and Lorenzo Insigne during the season. Still finding his feet in Toronto, he is more workmanlike than the Italians but looks like he will work hard and add some grit to the midfield instead of flash. I do have to say I did like Bernardeschi at TFC. He worked really hard, but with a nearly $7m per year salary, the return was just not enough for the execs of the club. Deandre Kerr is a local lad and at 22 is probably getting to the stage where he needs what they call over here a 'breakout season'. He has popped up with some well needed goals from time to time but needs to do it more regularly if he wants to claim a regular starting spot. If not, then he may just fade.
    Anyway, back to the infrastructure ... Getting home after the game was a far more challenging affair! Toronto's subway system is definitely what you might call rudimentary. Although there are technically 4 lines, really that is just two main lines supplemented with a couple of shorter ones, one of which is permanently closed before its replacement is in place. You then have streetcar or bus routes above ground in the downtown core. The main system itself looks like a big (crooked) letter U with a line through it. (There is also a commuter train system for cities outside Toronto but that's a different beast).
    On the map here, to get home, I have to retrace my steps and travel to the bottom of the U from the red streetcar line that's hanging below it like a tail pointing to the left, then all the way up the yellow line until it turns into the purple one, across the purple one to the end, then either a bus or my car north from there for about 10-15 mins. All told, about 90 minutes or so. On this particular day, I made it part way up the yellow line without incident, to one station below the green line, then the whole system was shut down. After sitting on the train, underground, for about 20 minutes, they said get off the train, its out of service and heading back south. Everything north of us was shut down due to an incident at a station 7 stations north of us. This is a common occurrence on the Toronto Transit Commission system (TTC) given the U shape design, trains cannot loop back or bypass stations where an incident happens so the controllers have to reposition them as best they can when problems happen. I ended up having to walk from one station, north to the station where it intersects with the green line, then take it east 4 stops to another station where a bus would take me up to the end of the purple line. It is an alternative, but not a good one. In the end it took nearly 3 hours to get home instead of 1.5 and if it happens during the World Cup with a lot more people in the downtown core, its going to be a logistical nightmare and you know that Uber and Lyft will have surge pricing in force for the whole competition and Toronto taxi prices are already insane. I don't feel full of confidence that the TTC or the Toronto City Council have a proper transit plan in place for the world cup and local news articles about what may be planned (fast track lanes on the streets) make me think that getting around the already congested city in Summer 2026 is going to be almost impossible.
    Travellers, who do persevere and get a ticket will also have to put that perseverance to the test when travelling around Toronto.

  12. Adding CTO as a Web App to your phone

    Website Tutorials · Scotty · 07/10/2025 03:08 PM

    Don't want to load Edge or Chrome (or Safari) then navigate to CTO in your browser? Why not add CTO as a Web Application right on your phone screen? Its easy and there is little you need to do as its already been set up.
    What is a WebApp?
    In its simplest form (like here) it is basically comparable to a desktop shortcut or bookmark. It is not an installable application, but a link to a web-based application. On the back end of CTO we have it setup so that this link performs a little differently than the standard browser page. It uses more of the screen real-estate and also refreshes more often and pushes out notifications etc rather than just being static.
    OK. I'm in. How do I set it up?
    It is easy and more dependent on your browser than your phone (although I have an iPhone so some instructions may be different for Android).
    Step 1: Navigate to https://caleythistleonline.com on your browser of choice (Edge/Chrome/Safari screenshots provided below).
    Step 2: Follow the instructions in the screenshots below to add CTO as a Web App
    Step 3: Create and name the desktop shortcut
    Step 4: close browser and load CTO from the app/shortcut

    EDGE


    CHROME


    SAFARI


    In the end, all of them bring you to this screen where you can name the shortcut and stick an APP on your phone screen like this


    What does it look like?
    Once on your phone, it looks the same regardless of browser. There are far better navigation options at the bottom of the screen than the standard browser navigation and you can also bring up the full menu by clicking the menu button.



  13. How to add pictures in V5

    Website Tutorials · Scotty · 07/09/2025 05:10 PM

    Second article on the new system is about how to add pictures to the forums ... It's pretty straightforward but there are some additional options compared to the previous version of the software.
    In the old version you could simply drag-and-drop or choose to upload from your computer. Those options are still there at the bottom of the editor box:

    NEW to the bottom of the editor box is over on the right hand side with a couple of icons ...

    The first allows you to insert something you added elsewhere to save you uploading it again (and to save us using up so much space). As you can see in my case, it shows images I have previously uploaded in recent days and can also extend to images i added to the gallery and elsewhere.


    The second icon allows you to add stock images from Pixabay. These are royalty free images and you can search using keywords. Dont see much use for it in most threads, but it is available. We also dont have any control over what the keywords bring up as its an external service.


    The editor itself has also changed from the last version and we will cover that in a future article, but there are a couple of image related items in there too ....
    In the top part of the editor box, everyone will recognise the emoticon/smiley button and that functions pretty much as before with the addition of globally approved emoticons... I do have to go through and verify that the classic CTO emoticons are still all there but if not they will be restored! There is also a new image insertion tool called GIF which will allow you to insert an animated GIF from GIPHY. Again, we have no control over the search results so dont complain if you cant find something!


    Edited to add ... You can also add FontAwesome icons from the Emoji list. Click icons instead of emojis and the full list of fontAwesome standard icons are there. Also checked that the classic CTO icons are there and they are. You just need to scroll all the way down to the bottom to find them (or know their name to bring them up in a search)


  14. How to find new content?

    Website Tutorials · Scotty · 07/09/2025 02:51 PM

    We just upgraded our forum and site software from the Invision Community software V4 that we have been using for many years to their latest release of V5. A LOT of things have changed in this major version change so over a number of blogs we are going to post a few 'How To' guides or tips to get the most from the new system. I am going to do this via the Site Admin blog and explain some of the new features implemented with this new version of our website software.
    First item is how to actually find new content as this has changed.
    On the main menu there is a menu item called 'activity streams'. This contains pre-configured searches that will bring up results based on Articles, Topics and various other options. Try them out and see what you might like. If you find one you do like you can use the options window within the feed result to set it as your default. If you set it as default then you can view it from the little page icon next to your profile information as shown on the images below.



    If you do not like any of the options, or want to tweak it slightly, you can click show filter and setup a custom feed using the filters then save it as a default in the same way.


    The same default new content search is also available at the bottom of each page ...

  15. Scottish football finances

    · Scotty · 03/20/2019 10:41 AM

    Those of you who follow me on Twitter will know I'm a bit geeky about the financial side of Scottish football. That's partly because it is a simple way of judging who is over- and under-achieving, as well as being a pretty good indicator of which clubs are well-run and which aren't.

    Moreover I increasingly worry that it is only a matter of time until another Scottish football club ends up in an administration event. Very few are self-sustaining. As I previously blogged it feels like most Championship clubs are getting by on donations and goodwill. Meanwhile the clubs at the lower end of the top flight are rather dependent themselves on a combination of overachieving (higher league positions and cup runs) and selling players. In fact, even Celtic and Rangers, despite having budgets that dwarf the rest, face their own challenges.

    For comparison though, only three Scottish clubs - Celtic, Rangers and Aberdeen - have turnovers higher than the bottom end of the English Championship. Celtic's turnover is lower than that of all 12 Premier League clubs who have published figures for last season. Rangers' wage bill would put them in the bottom half of the Championship, and Aberdeen's is lower than all Championship clubs.

    That's what Scottish football is up against.

    So let's look at all the info we have on Scotland's top clubs...

    (This is the point where I should really shout out to Kieran Maguire, whose analysis of football club accounts is invaluable reading when it comes to this)

    ABERDEEN
    TURNOVER: £15.4m (2016/17 - £15.3m)
    LOSSES: £800k (2016/17 - profit of £500k)

    Did Aberdeen really spend £1.3m on new players last season? Apparently so. Hopefully they'll be better value than Paul Bernard and Robbie Winters were. Despite posting a loss for 2017/18 the Dons seem to be in a perfectly decent position due to a turnover that is the third highest in Scotland. The question is how to increase income further - cup runs this season may help - and also how much prudence will be required in the coming years as the club (subject to about the gazillionth appeal by opponents) build a new stadium at Kingsford with the aim of moving there as soon as 2021.


    CELTIC
    TURNOVER: £101.6m (2016/17 - £90.6m)
    PROFIT: £17.3m (2016/17 - £6.9m)

    Celtic's status as an enormous fish in a small pond domestically, but as a relative tiddler in the continental ocean (oof, you've pushed that metaphor far enough - Ed) presents them with unique challenges. For a start, making the Champions League is worth a huge amount of money; missing out leaves a large hole in their finances...as seen in their interim results from the first 6 months of this season where turnover dropped by £20m compared to the same period of the previous year.

    This gap in the past has been easily filled by selling a player (see: Fraser Forster, Virgil Van Dijk, Moussa Dembele). The quandary is whether to save money for those years where they miss out on the Champions' League, or to invest it to increase their chances of getting through qualifying.

    From a domestic point of view however there is no comparison. Their turnover is roughly equal to the other 11 Premiership clubs put together.


    DUNDEE
    TURNOVER: £4.6m (2016/17 - £3.9m)
    LOSSES: £425k (2016/17 - £350k)

    Dundee are in their sixth season since being taken over by FPS, their American backers led by John Nelms and Tim Keyes. The first five years have resulted in combined losses of £2.3m...despite about £1.3m from selling Kane Hemmings, Greg Stewart and Jack Hendry. Their wage bill is more than 70% of turnover, which is far from ideal.

    This season is likely to follow that trend following the sacking of Neil McCann and a plethora of new signings for successor Jim McIntyre. Obviously there would be a huge problem if FPS stepped away, though there are no signs of them doing so even if the club are relegated this season. The bigger concern is if the stalled plans for a new stadium come to nothing, because that seems to be the key to the business plan going forward.


    HAMILTON ACCIES
    TURNOVER: unreported
    RETAINED EARNINGS: £502k (2016/17 - £968k)

    Accies don't report turnover, which only tells us that it is less than £6.5m. In reality it will be much smaller than that, the lowest in the top flight by a pretty significant margin. This was a dreadful year financially for Hamilton because of the Vishing scam in 2017 which cost the club £700,000. Even though they sold Greg Docherty and Mikey Devlin they have now ended up with £450,000 of bank debt that they didn't have before. Things should be better this year though with them still in the top flight and having sold Lewis Ferguson.


    HEARTS
    TURNOVER: £12.1m (2016/17 - £11.3m)
    PROFIT: £1.8m (2016/17 - £2.3m)

    Interpreting Hearts' situation is tricky given they got £2m donated towards the new stand and another £1m donated towards player costs. The previous year's profits came after £2.5m of donations. And they got another £3.25m of donations in the first quarter of 2018/19! Now the new stand is completed it'll be interesting to see where turnover is at going forward. Still, it's a far cry from the Romanov days...


    HIBERNIAN
    TURNOVER: £9.5m (2016/17 - £7.6m)
    PROFIT: £214k (2016/17 - losses of £263k)

    On returning to the top flight, Hibs posted the fifth highest turnover in Scotland and finished an excellent fourth in the league. It's interesting to note they spent £500,000 in transfer fees for players during 2017/18. . Given the club's wages/turnover ratio is a solid 56%, things have come a long way since seven figure losses during the 2013/14 relegation season and the subsequent campaign. The sale of John McGinn will make this year's filings look quite decent.


    KILMARNOCK
    TURNOVER: £5.1m (2016/17 - £5.1m)
    LOSSES: £180k (2016/17 - profit of £960k)

    Killie's increased success on the pitch came at an increased cost as the wage bill went up by nearly £1m; some of that may be to do with the dismissal of Lee McCulloch. (Of note, this increase came after several years of costcutting. Wages and income are still lower than five years ago) It's curious that turnover was static despite finishing three places higher in the league. The increased optimism - and crowds - at Rugby Park this season should make this season's figures more impressive.


    MOTHERWELL
    TURNOVER: £6.8m (2016/17 - £4.2m)
    PROFIT: £1.7m (2016/17 - losses of £181k)

    Two cup finals, you say? Decent fees for Ben Heneghan and Louis Moult, you say? It all added up to a bumper year for Motherwell. Staff costs were the sixth highest, but a wage/turnover ratio of 57% is sustainable enough. That said, this campaign's turnover is bound to dip because of a lack of cup income - Motherwell's gate receipts had more than doubled last year - though the sale of Cedric Kipre will cover some of that. And luckily the £1.7m of ongoing interest-free loans show no signs of being called in.


    PARTICK THISTLE
    TURNOVER: £4.5m (2016/17 - £4.1m)
    PROFIT: £343k (2016/17 - £97k)

    Thistle had broken even for years, and last year managed a nice wee profit on the back of larger gates - they played Celtic and Rangers twice at home despite finishing bottom six. Relegation is an expensive business though and they were quick to wield the axe and cut costs - so much so that the outcome is that they are now in danger of dropping to League One, which would be catastrophic. But if they stay up they should be in reasonable nick going forward though this year's results are likely to be impacted further by the need to dismiss manager Alan Archibald.


    RANGERS
    TURNOVER: £32.7m (2016/17 - £29.2m)
    LOSSES: £14.3m (2016/17 - £6.7m)

    *Opens can of worms* Rangers, on the face of it, remain a financial basketcase. An optimist would say that now the whole Takeover Panel thing is out of the way and there appears to be a settled management team things should finally improve. And the interim results for the first 6 months of 2018/19 showed a healthy profit.

    The flipside is that said profit was almightily dependent on European qualification, and at the same time last year they claimed they had broken even up to that point...and finished the year £14m in the red. Add in the estimate in the 2017/18 accounts that they would need a £4.6m cash injection just to get through the year and yet another loan from financial house Close Brothers last week and it seems that things are not rosy yet. But as much as many fans of other clubs are hoping for it, there are no signs of an administration event in the near future.


    ROSS COUNTY
    TURNOVER: accounts not filed yet (2016/17 - £3.8m)
    PROFIT: accounts not filed yet (2016/17 -debt of £1.4m forgiven)

    County's situation is unique amongst the clubs on this list, given they have the unconditional support of Global Energy mogul Roy MacGregor, one of Scotland's wealthiest men. With his ongoing input, County don't really need to worry about money.


    ST JOHNSTONE
    TURNOVER: not reported (2016/17 - £4.9m)
    LOSSES: £258k (2016/17 - profit of £49k)

    St. Johnstone noted in their annual accounts that their losses pretty much reflected the consequence of missing the top six for the first time in years; These were the poorest financial results since Steve Brown became chairman in 2011, but this can probably be forgiven it was a season of transition for Tommy Wright's side. And, you know, they're not too bad, really - there's still £2m in the bank! The Perth Saints are the model example of what a well-run small club in Scotland can accomplish.


    DUNDEE UNITED
    TURNOVER: £3.2m (2016/17 - £3.5m)
    LOSSES: £219k (2016/17 - £1m)

    Thank goodness for the new American owners. United sold their training ground for £1m and made £1.4m from the sell-on clauses of Andy Robertson and Stuart Armstrong and still ran at a loss. That's after losses of £2.5m over the previous two seasons. United would be in a proper help-ma-boab situation had Mark Ogren not completed his takeover.


    FALKIRK
    TURNOVER: £2.7m (2016/17 - not reported)
    PROFIT: £140k (2016/17 - losses of £300k)

    Falkirk arrested a run of loss-making seasons partly by closing their youth academy, having reasoned that they couldn't pay for it unless they made £400k of transfer income annually. One suspects the dismissal of Paul Hartley and the fine for tapping up Ray McKinnon will badly affect the balance sheet for 2018/19

    INVERNESS CT
    TURNOVER: £2m (2016/17 - £3.6m)
    LOSSES: £810k (2016/17 - £400k)

    Relegation hit Caley Thistle like a sledgehammer. Turnover nearly halved and despite dramatic costcutting and loans from directors totally around £400k they still made a high six-figure loss. Whilst there has been further pennypinching since then and the run to the Scottish Cup semi-finals will be a welcome boost, that's still a heck of a hole to fill.


    ST MIRREN
    TURNOVER £2.8m (2016/17: £2.4m)
    PROFIT £77k (2016/17: £15k)

    How much does promotion cost? Well, St. Mirren only made a profit because they sold Stevie Mallan and Lewis Morgan for £700k.


    As for the other 2017/18 Championship clubs, Dunfermline made a very small profit but admit to being dependent on £300k of annual donations. Queen of the South made a £200k loss despite having a tiny squad and relying on local businessmen to pay the wages of Stephen Dobbie. Livingston haven't filed their accounts for last season yet, but the previous ones contained a going concern as liabilities were worth £700k more than their assets. Promotion will certainly have helped things though. Dumbarton's accounts were hard to read but it seems like they made a significant loss (correct me if I'm wrong). There wasn't much info to note on Morton's accounts, and Brechin City don't seem to publish any.


    Lawrie Spence has ranted and spouted his ill-informed opinions on Narey's Toepoker since September 2007.  He has a life outside this blog.  Honestly.



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  16. I know I keep banging on about it, but the Scottish Championship really is a compelling league. As we enter the final quarter of the season, all ten clubs have something to play for.

    Inconsistency has been the dominant theme as teams go from periods where everything goes in to ones when they seem to have smashed a mirror over a black cat whilst walking under a ladder, or vice versa. The table is so tight that some teams who were in the promotion playoff hunt a month ago are now looking over their shoulders with trepidation, whilst others who appeared set for a relegation dogfight are now dreaming of nicking a top four spot.

    The latter group include Dunfermline, who in mid-February lay seventh, just three points above bottom spot in a total mess following Allan Johnston's departure. Luckily for them his replacement, Stevie Crawford, has proven the most unlikely saviour since the disciples went to the wrong stable at the start of Life Of Brian. It also helps to have a centre forward in form; step forward Aberdeen loanee Bruce Anderson, clearly scarred for life by his parents' decision to give him a name that it is impossible to say without putting on a dodgy Australian accent. Young Brucie, as surely everybody must refer to him by law, is taking his revenge on society, or at least that part of it that stands between goalposts in Scotland's second tier.

    An in-form striker can only take you so far though, particularly when the rest of the squad is so thin that home fans at Palmerston have started taking their boots with them in case they are required on the bench. I give to you Queen of the South, who as recently as the end of January bodied Dundee out of the Cup on the back of Stephen Dobbie's goals. It's tough enough for any forward to score more goals than his age; for a 36 year old one to do so two months before the clocks change is mental. A fifty goal campaign for the veteran wasn't just a possibility at that point, it was odds-on.

    And then it all went, er, south. An extraordinary 4-0 demolition of Ross County in mid-January has been followed by seven straight league defeats; Dobbie's last league goal came in the first of those seven. Saturday's loss at home to Caley Thistle was marred by goalkeeper Alan Martin giving home fans the bird when the half-time whistle went. He was substituted at the break because "of a back injury" according to manager Gary Naysmith. Aye. Sure.

    So the Doonhamers have essentially swapped places in the table with Dunfermline. The problem is that, at the business end of things, there are now teams directly below them that have form and momentum. Falkirk and Partick Thistle are both finally reaping the rewards of their 'sign an entirely new team for our entirely new manager strategy'. If they haven't quite reached Dunfermline's Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds levels of giddiness, those two have at least moved into It's Getting Better territory, though with the duo set to clash next weekend somebody is going to suffer a rotten climbdown.

    There are exceptions to the incredible ups and downs that has permeated this division, all of which seem to exist north of the Tay. Caley Thistle are so determined to become the definition of mediocrity that physicists are concerned the universe could implode with shock if they moved either above fourth or below sixth in the table. They last won consecutive league games in September and have mastered the unfortunate habit of playing up to strong opposition and down to weaker ones. The trouble is that whilst they could argue that they have deserved at least a draw in all six league games they've played against Ross County and Dundee United, they haven't actually won any of them. They have knocked both out of the cup at least, so if John Robertson manages to drag them into the playoffs after all - by no means a certainty if Dunfermline keep going like this - and cons the players into thinking it is a knockout competition, they might pull off a miracle after all.

    As for their neighbours, "County have been crap for months" bewailed one Staggie friend of mine recently...with his team sitting top of the league. The thing is, the concept of form doesn't seem to have actually reached Dingwall. If football is indeed a results business, Ross County have got it down to such an extreme art form that Tracy Emin is nodding with approval. It's not that they haven't been playing well at times, it's just that it seems that ninety per cent of the time it doesn't matter. After an hour and a half of football each weekend, it turns out they've won. It's just one of life's certainties and there's no point fighting it.

    You just know that every single person in the country put Ross County 2-0 Greenock Morton on their pools coupon last weekend, though part of that is because Jonatan Johansson is so risk-averse away from home that even Jose Mourinho would accuse them of being too negative. They've actually scored more than once in only three of the Finn's twenty-four league games in charge. Boring your way to survival is certainly a bold strategy, Cotton. We'll see if it pays off.

    And then there's the tangerine-coloured elephant in the room. While many of the other Championship clubs have more highs and lows than the characters in Trainspotting, Dundee United fans are the ones most likely to be found on the Scottish moors lamenting the hand life has dealt them. "It's s**** supporting United! We're the lowest of the low! The scum of the f***** earth! The most wretched, miserable, servile, pathetic trash that was ever s*** into civilization! Some people hate Dundee. I don't. They're just w*****s. We, on, the other hand, are a division below w*****s."

    Win, lose, draw or whatever, United seem in a state of perpetual crisis regardless. Given that Rangers: The Banter Years has dropped markedly in quality during its seventh season, we should be grateful that its Tayside-based spinoff continues to trundle along nicely despite yet another overhaul of the cast. Replacing Csaba Laszlo with Robbie Neilson was expected to result in a change of direction but the decision to stick with the tried-and-tested formula has proved a ratings hit.

    The games United do win seem to be mostly the result of collective embarrassment, as if the players' own self-respect forces them to occasionally perform somewhere close to their potential. However the shame wears off after a while and then it's back to their baseline, which appears to be to play as if everyone is still at the stage of needing nametags so that their teammates remember what their name is.

    To be fair, Neilson did sign eleven players - literally a new team - in January. But six weeks on from the end of that window one is entitled to suspect a degree of coherence. Instead United fans have been 'treated' to two weekends of watching their team toil for an afternoon, somehow against all reason find themselves in a drawing position, only for the football gods to take offence to this and part their central defence like the Red Sea to gift first Caley Thistle and then Partick Thistle deserved injury-time winners.

    Whereas Partick made a plethora of signings because they gutted their squad after relegation, and Falkirk brought in a gazillion new players to replace the donkeys that Paul Hartley had rounded up, United's squad is striking for the number of players under contract who have in the past few years been very competent at this level or above, but who have been discarded by Neilson in favour of new recruits. The temptation to spend those shiny American dollars was maybe too much to resist, but it might not have been unreasonable to look to the new coach to coax these players back to their best, rather than chuck them on the scrap heap.

    And sure, it might be that a Govan Witch Doctor cursed Tannadice in 2015 so that any player that wears the strip instantly becomes a haddie, but it's more likely that Mark Reynolds lost a yard of pace a couple of years ago and can't manage without it, and that Mark Connolly was only good when Manu Pascali babysat him through games at Killie. Neither have improved on United's previous options in central defence; after they were schooled by the just-out-of-retirement Scott McDonald at Firhill there was sufficient evidence to suggest they are actually a downgrade.

    Meanwhile further up the pitch United added to their attacking options with Cammy Smith, Aiden Nesbitt, Peter Pawlett and Osman Sow. All players with a bit of pedigree, but how do you play all four in the same team? Your guess is as good as Neilson's, which tells you that not nearly enough thought was put in to the recruitment drive.

    At least having new American owners means they probably don't need to worry about the financial implications of a fourth successive season at this level, but whilst a playoff place is pretty much a certainty getting through them is another matter. There's still the enticing prospect of a final between them and their struggling rivals from along the road, where we can be certain that the most positive thing that could be said about the victors would be 'that they were the least crap'.

    Neilson still has eight games to mould United into a decent unit and to build up enough confidence to put them in good stead for the postseason. But as it stands Arabs have good reason to fear they're headed for another year in this particular circle of hell, or at least for two more trips to Dumfries, which is pretty much the same thing.

    For the rest of us, it is compelling viewing, even if it is in the same way that you can't take your eyes off a crashing car. And if that doesn't sum up the Scottish Championship then I don't know what does.


    Lawrie Spence has ranted and spouted his ill-informed opinions on Narey's Toepoker since September 2007.  He has a life outside this blog.  Honestly.

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  17. It may not have Rangers or Hearts or Hibs in it any more, but the Championship is still a league worthy of plenty of attention.

    Firstly, there's a title race (no, there isn't one in the Premiership. Rangers being six points behind does not a title race make). Whether Ayr can sustain a challenge is unclear but Ross County are good value for top spot and Dundee United have used their new American money to buy an entire new team in January as they look to pull back the current six point deficit to the Staggies.

    Secondly, there's a bona fide relegation battle. As the division's only part-timers Alloa were meant to give a far better account of themselves than Brechin's wretched squad last season, but were still certainties to finish bottom. Except someone forgot to give Jim Goodwin the script; his Wasps currently lie in ninth.

    Their position actually looked stronger a fortnight ago but Falkirk and Partick Thistle - both of whom made an insane number of signings in January - seem to have found form and pulled themselves back within touching distance. Now only three points separate the bottom four with Dunfermline having being dragged into a relegation dogfight.

    Yet the middle of the table is so close that the Pars are just eight points off a promotion playoff. On any given Saturday, anyone can beat anyone else. This league has been busting coupons all season long.

    So it's all rather exciting. So exciting that...pretty much everyone wishes they weren't in it.

    Alloa are the exception to that statement; the second tier is realistically as high as they can aspire to and staying up should be sufficient to make Goodwin a Manager of the Year candidate. But the other nine teams all have aspirations to go up. Inverness, Dundee United, Ross County and Partick Thistle have all been in the Premiership recently; Dunfermline and Falkirk have plenty of history at the highest level; Morton, Queen of the South and Ayr can all point to Livingston's recent success and ask "why not us too?"

    The other problem is that the Championship is not a very good place to be from a financial point of view, particularly since the big fish of recent years (and their enormous away supports) have left the pond. In recent years, the biggest financial concern for Scottish football has been top flight clubs spending outwith their means. Right now, it is smaller full-time clubs finding that is increasingly hard to make ends meet.

    For those relegated to the second tier, turnover drops by more than £1million in the first season following the drop, not least because the prize money for even winning the Championship is just half that of the figure for finishing bottom of the Premiership. In recent years relegated clubs have lost a third of their annual turnover as a result. This means huge cuts in the playing squad and elsewhere, making it very hard to bounce back.

    Dundee United's losses for last season, their second back at this level, were £200,000 - which sounds acceptable until one discovers that they had to sell their training ground for £400,000 and made £1m from Andrew Robertson's move from Hull to Liverpool. Without this they would have lost £1.6m, following on from £1.5m in 2015-16 (when they were relegated from the Premiership) and £1m in 2016-17. Their annual turnover of £3.1m is also down a third of what they were making two years ago. Without the Robertson money and the new investors they would be in what Scottish accountants (probably) call a 'help ma boab' situation.

    It's not just the 'bigger' names who are suffering. Queen of the South are a very solid fifth in the table and were comfortably mid-table last year too. And their star striker, the freewheeling and free-scoring Stephen Dobbie, has his wages subsidized by local businessmen. Their austerity state is summed up by a near-weekly failure to completely fill the subs bench. Yet last week they announced losses for 2017-18 of £200,000. That's twice as bad as the year before, which the club described as "difficult and challenging".

    Dunfermline, who enjoy a relatively healthy support, managed a profit for 2017/18 of all of £5,000, and noted they get approximately £300,000 per year in donations. The Pars were of course in administration only six years ago.

    So why don't these clubs live within their means? The problem of course is that in football you have to run just to stand still. Fail to invest in the playing squad and you'll quickly get flushed down the toilet and into the seaside leagues where income will be even more sparse. Clubs have to take a financial risk just to stay in this lousy division; the consequences of ending up in League One are for many not worth thinking about.

    But of course this is Scottish football, where the attention of the fans, the media and even those in charge of the game is focused on and devoted to only the biggest and strongest. Of course, if asked those people would say that anything other than a full-time second tier would be a disaster for the game in this country. But by the time they notice, said disaster may already have happened.

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  18. After Brendan Rodgers told the media that Martin Canning "has done a wonderful job" at Hamilton, one couldn't help thinking of the bit in Return Of The Jedi when Obi-Wan Kenobi tries to convince Luke Skywalker that his claim that his father was dead "was true, from a certain point of view".

    That point of view is certainly held by Canning's employers. They are quick to point out that this is the fifth consecutive season that Accies have spent in the top flight, no mean feat considering that as recently as 2001 they were fighting it out in what is now League Two. This is the longest run they've managed at this level since the Second World War.

    And they've been doing it on a shoestring. That's inevitable given their average attendance has been bottom of the pile in each of those five years they've been back in the Premiership. Said shoestring has become even tighter after the club lost £700,000 in a vishing scam last year; now saddled with £450,000 of bank debt, goodness knows what might have become of them had they been relegated last season.

    But they weren't. In fact they went one better than they did in 2016-17, finishing tenth ahead of Partick Thistle and Ross County and so avoiding a second consecutive relegation playoff.

    When I say 'one better', I mean their league position. They finished with one fewer point than in 2016-17, when they had to beat Dundee United to secure their status. Most seasons, 33 or 34 points gets you relegated. Accies have been extraordinarily fortunate to enjoy three straight campaigns - including this one - with extraordinarily inept teams; ICT in 2016-17, Thistle and County last time out, Dundee and St. Mirren this season.

    The final league positions in Canning's three full seasons in charge have been tenth, eleventh and tenth. His initial half-season saw them come seventh...after they plunged down the table as they won three of his first eighteen games in charge.

    I know I've made this quip before, but Accies are Scottish football's Theresa May - consistently hopeless, yet somehow still surviving thanks to the unimaginable incompetence of others. But it makes for a grim spectacle, often not helped in the past by an artificial pitch that on many occasions seems to slow down the ball far more than it should. The surface was improved last summer at some cost; the quality of play has not improved with it.

    The supporters are tiring of it all. I suspect you would too if your team had won just nineteen home games in the league in four years, just one in every four played. The closest thing they've come to a spectacular result at the Hope CBD Stadium is a couple of derby wins over Motherwell. Away from home there's been a win at Ibrox, but it's Canning's only victory against either of Scotland's biggest clubs in twenty-three attempts. Twenty of those games, including Saturday's reverse at Celtic Park, were defeats.

    Nor have there been cup runs to crow about. They managed the last eight of the 2016-17 Scottish Cup...only to be thumped by Rangers. That's the only year Canning has won a Scottish Cup tie. They've been eliminated in the first knockout round of the League Cup four times in a row.

    In short, there has been a complete dearth of euphoria moments, or results to be proud of. Add in a turgid style of play which contrasts badly with the swashbuckling attacking play of his predecessor - but so resembles that of the much deplored (outside Hamilton at least) Billy Reid, who signed Canning for Hamilton as a player - and it's no wonder fans are losing the rag. Once the novelty of playing the best clubs in the country every week wore off, what was left?

    It's not often that one can try to compare the plight of Hamilton Accies with that of Tottenham Hotspur. But when Mauricio Pochettino dismissed the thought of winning a cup as not nearly as important as Spurs' league form, I imagine Accies fans could relate to the feeling of deflation amongst the White Hart Lane faithful. Watching football is supposed to be a form of entertainment. We enjoy watching good football.  We really enjoy lots of goals. We really love it when our team wins. And those moments when something really special happens - I think of them as 'McFadden in Paris' moments - these are the ones we cherish, the ones that make up for a hundred ****** nil-nil draws in horizontal rain.

    Trophies, promotions, victories against the odds - these are what football fans live for. But those who run the clubs prioritize other things - mostly the bank account. And of course they have to, because if that bit is screwed up then you end up without a club at all. And that's fine until the fans revolt and stop spending their money. Following Hamilton currently requires a quite remarkable amount of loyalty.

    So that's the tricky situation Accies find themselves in. Canning has produced just enough on the pitch to keep his employers onside...but not nearly enough for the supporters. But Canning could argue that it's becoming ever harder to come up with a decent product for them. The five most talented players in his squad from just over a year ago - Michael Devlin, Ali Crawford, Greg Docherty, Lewis Ferguson and David Templeton - have all moved on. None have been adequately replaced.

    Ferguson, the one bright spark in a relatively barren period at the club's famed academy, chose to leave for Aberdeen rather than sign a new deal. The £240,000 compensation was critical in the context of the recent financial issues but given the teenager's outstanding form in the North-East it now looks like daylight robbery. The current youth side have impressed this season but aren't apparently ready for promotion to the first team; in the meantime only two youth products, Scott McMann and Ziggy Gordon, have started more than half the club's matches this season. And Gordon doesn't really count given he has just returned from a two year spell away.

    Of course in football you often have to run just to stand still, but its harder to do so with such a tight budget. For every David Templeton that pops up there has been a Fredrik Brustad, a Marios Ogkmpoe (who has been out injured for a year), an Oumar Diaby or an Antonio Rojano.

    And the risk of replacing Canning is that, instead of finding the next Alex Neil, his replacement turns out to be even worse. St. Mirren fans could testify to that - when they tired of Danny Lennon, their decision to replace him was followed by relegation and three hellish years. Relegation has done considerable harm to much bigger clubs than Accies, ones with far more capacity to absorb disaster than they do.

    Canning made 250 appearances for Hamilton as a player. He needs to last another couple of years in the dugout to beat that tally as a manager. The chances of that are looking pretty slim.




    MARTIN CANNING AT HAMILTON ACCIES February 2008 - joined club as a player, made over 250 appearances over 10 years 2012/13 - started coaching under-17s January 2015 - became interim manager and then permanent boss after Alex Neil left for Norwich. Accies were third in the league at the time. They won three of their last 18 games and finished seventh. 2015/16 - Tenth in the Premiership, seven points clear of the playoff spot. Knocked out of the cups by Raith Rovers and Annan Athletic respectively. 2016/17 - Won only seven league games all season and finished eleventh. Avoided relegation by thumping Dundee on the final day of the season and then beating Dundee United in a playoff. 2017/18 - Won nine league games and finished tenth, ahead of Partick Thistle on goal difference. 2018/19 - Only four wins in twenty-three games so far but still just ahead of Dundee and St. Mirren. Have scored fewer goals and conceded more than any other Premiership side so far. Overall record - Played 178, won 42, drawn 43, lost 93, scored 185, conceded 102 Overall league record - Played 155, won 34, drawn 37, lost84, scored 154, conceded 270, 139 points

    Lawrie Spence has ranted and spouted his ill-informed opinions on Narey's Toepoker since September 2007.  He has a life outside this blog.  Honestly.


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  19. Who'd be a referee?

    The aftermath of the Old Firm game and the treatment of John Beaton - regardless of how you felt about his performance - has not been a proud moment for Scottish football. And it follows on from four months of seemingly endless refereeing controversies and criticisms. According to several managers and clubs, there is a real problem with the standard of officiating. According to the officials, it is harder than ever to do their job right, and they are being given an unfairly hard time...as well as being put at risk of harm.

    And as ever there are lots of complaints and very few suggestions for improvement. That's because there is no easy fix. To be frank, it's not just referees who are to blame for this. Not by a long shot.

    If Scottish football is indeed motivated to sort this problem out, it needs to deal with several different groups and the problems they have created. Let's go through them, one by one...

    THE REFEREES THEMSELVES
    They make mistakes. Apparently this is news to many people in football, despite the fact that it is a pretty common occurrence amongst human beings in many other walks of life. Is this is down to bad luck, incompetence, or some sort of bias? That, I suppose, is open to debate.

    So is the widely-held belief that officials have never been as bad as this. I myself often hark back to a 'golden era' 20 years ago. Back then, Hugh Dallas' gravitas (he was fourth official in a World Cup Final, after all), the possibility that John Rowbotham might abduct dissenting players and take them back to his home planet, and the beaks' annual fiddle of Willie Young's fitness test results (so he could continue exuding his wonderful command of games even when several yards behind the play) gave the impression that our referees were decent.

    But the fact is that back then, and even earlier, newspaper columnists decried the standard of officiating. And twentieth century refs didn't have to cope with the forensic examination of their decision making that there is now.

    That said, there hasn't been a Scottish referee deemed worthy of a World Cup since 2002, though there has been one at each of the last two European Championships.

    So how do we stop them making mistakes? Apart from suggesting they need to get better - which is not particularly helpful - the best way to avoid this will be to give them more support, which we'll come to.

    I'm not up for asking officials to explain decisions post-match...simply because no answer they give will actually satisfy those who feel wronged. Besides, they have enough on their plate without having to worry about media training as well.


    PLAYER BEHAVIOUR
    It's easy to forget that in any given match there are many players - possibly a majority - who will actively attempt to deceive the officials. This may range from claiming a throw-in that isn't theirs to Darren O'Dea's disgraceful antics, with a heck of a lot of other incidents inbetween. If there are a million and one attempts to con the ref over the course of ninety minutes, is it any surprise that even a handful of them succeed?

    Moreover there is the constant badgering and harrassing of referees by players. There's constant appealing and questioning of decisions, often in an aggressive or confrontational manner. It would require an iron will to not be discomforted by this.

    Making it easier for the referees to do their job would certainly help. Sadly, it seems unrealistic to stop Ryan Christie appealing for a foul whenever he feels the slightest gust of wind on his back though. A good start would be putting the kibosh on dissent once and for all. There is no good reason why football can't copy rugby and have a system where only captains can talk to officials, with any backchat at all deemed worthy of a card. In one televised game recently Rangers' Ryan Jack could be seen shouting "f*** off" at a referee who was booking him for a foul. That can't be right.


    THE BEHAVIOUR OF MANAGERS AND CLUBS
    Post-match interviews are wonderful entertainment, but it's actually pretty unfair to stick a manager in front of the cameras/microphone straight after a stressful match. Inevitably they will say things that, in the cold light of day, they probably wish they hadn't, or at least that they had phrased better. And often that includes slagging off referees. As one wit put it on Twitter recently: "a common side effect of a bad performance is blaming the officials."

    But coaches and their clubs making statements insinuating conspiracies is inappropriate and embarrassing. And don't try to persuade me that there are sincere motives behind doing so. If there were, they would be suggesting changes that might help. And don't dare forget that all these moaning clubs have had representatives in high places in the SPFL and SFA in recent years ,yet have shown no interest in doing anything about these issues. The aims are simply to deflect from their own problems, appease the lowest common denominators amongst their support, and to put pressure on officials going forward.

    And they forget that said lowest commond denominators include a tiny minority of Grade A morons who will be incited to do stupid things like, say, threatening John Beaton...


    THE FANS
    As ever, the sage Old Firm Facts sums it up perfectly.




    There's a bloke who sits near me at Caley Thistle games who accuses the officials of being biased against Inverness every single week, regardless of who they are, what they've done and what the score is. And I'm pretty sure it isn't tongue-in-cheek.

    Let's face it, rocks will melt in the sun before Aberdeen fans stop singing their infamous ditty "referee, you're such a f****** p****. Referee, you're a horse's a***". But social media now gives the real nutjobs a loud voice, as well as an echo chamber for encouragement. That in itself is a societal issue, so expecting football to sort it out is not realistic though.


    THE SFA THEMSELVES
    Here's how I'd like the SFA to handle things:

    - Be completely transparent over who is on the panel that decides what happens to players that get cited. In fact, make them all referees. Whisper it, but the panel doesn't actually have referees on it. And yet, when they change the decisions everyone assumes the match official is the one who got it wrong.

    - Force said panel to publish reasoning behind the decisions they make. This makes it harder for them to be inconsistent.

    - There's a stupid FIFA directive that stops a decision being changed if the ref 'saw it at the time'. It's a stupid directive. Find a way of circumventing it. By all means re-referee all games, like in rugby, if the footage is there to do so.

    - I'm a bit of a VAR sceptic, but officials and clubs want it and there's a way of paying for it, then go for it. It can't be any worse than what we have.

    - And finally there needs to be a change in how referees are picked for matches and rise up the rankings. Because if Andrew Dallas is refereeing a League Cup Final then something is very, very wrong.


    But how motivated are these different groups to change?

    I'm sure for a start that referees would prefer to be as accurate and fair as possible. But they are a convenient scapegoat - for clubs, for players, for fans and even for the SFA. That's been the case for a long time. The current situation, one of coin throwing, death threats and police protection, should surely focus some minds. But I wouldn't hold my breath.



    Lawrie Spence has ranted and spouted his ill-informed opinions on Narey's Toepoker since September 2007.  He has a life outside this blog.  Honestly.
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  20. Looking ahead to January

    · Scotty · 12/21/2018 08:32 PM

    The January transfer window always seems a bit mental. With it being the last decent chance to bring in new players, we often see managers panic and bring in an entire team of players, the footballing equivalent of throwing a ton of stuff at a wall and hoping some of it will stick. There are also inevitably some unexpected arrivals, and some unexpected departures too. So frankly, predicting what will happen is a mug's game.

    But we're going to do it anyway, because, you know. Let's have a look at who each Premiership side might punt, and which areas they need to strengthen in...


    ABERDEEN
    Outs? Have the Dons given up on Chris Forrester already? The midfielder has made just a single start for the club after joining for £150,000 in the summer, though he did make his first appearance for more than two months against Dundee in midweek. Derek McInnes will have been gutted that Max Lowe, the loanee who has excelled in recent weeks at left-back, has been recalled by Derby County. However he may well look to end James Wilson's spell at the club early with the Manchester United forward having failed to impress. Oh, and don't forget Greg Tansey who has been out injured but was out of favour anyway.

    Ins? A left-back to replace Lowe is a necessity unless the Dons want to play Andrew Considine there for the rest of the year. Central defensive reinforcements may be needed if Michael Devlin can't get over a foot problem. A pacey wide player would add a new dimension. And of course a centre-forward who scores regularly - unless Sam Cosgrove can keep up his recent form.


    CELTIC
    Outs? The recent injury crisis may mean Brendan Rodgers has to hold on to some players just for the sake of having numbers. But there appears to be no future at the club for Marvin Compper, Cristian Gamboa, Scott Allan or Kundai Benyu. Might they try to cash in on Dedryck Boyata before his contract runs out in the summer?

    Ins? Rodgers has intimated he wants to upgrade three or four positions in January. Another option up front is a necessity. Right-back has looked like a weak area all season too.


    DUNDEE
    Outs? This is Jim McIntyre's chance to move on anyone he inherited who he doesn't rate. That group will probably include midfielders Karl Madianga and Elton Ngwatala and forwards Sofien Moussa and Jean-Alassane Mendy. Adil Nabi's contract is up in January and unlikely to be extended, while Andy Boyle's loan also runs out; it's unclear whether he and Ryan Inniss (who could be sent back south early) have done enough to impress the new boss.

    Ins? Aside maybe central midfield, the Dark Blues could justifiably seek reinforcements in every position. There is a dire need for new central defenders.


    HAMILTON ACCIES
    Outs? Summer signings Sam Kelly, Aaron Smith and Kieran Monlouis have barely registered on the radar so far this season so one wonders if they have any future at the club.. It wouldn't be a surprise to Mason Bloomfield's loan terminated early. Jan Mucha is only on a short-term deal but given he is already first choice keeper you'd expect Accies to try and extend his contract.

    Ins? Martin Canning has already stated his intention to sign a couple of players. It wouldn't be January if Hamilton didn't sign a Dutchman or Greek who went on to barely play for the first team...


    HEARTS
    Outs? Danny Amankwaa appears to be completely out of favour after a brief return to the lineup in the Autumn. However, the Jambos will hope to extend the loan contract of Jimmy Dunne, which runs out in January. Expect a number of young players to be loaned out.

    Ins? Czech striker David Vanecek will join on after signing a pre-contract in the summer.


    HIBERNIAN
    Outs? Charis Mavrias' short-term contract will be up. However they will hope to extend Emmerson Hyndman's loan deal.

    Ins? Given that Neil Lennon pulled a few rabbits out of the hat this time last year, it wouldn't be a surprise if there were one or two interesting new faces. Gillingham striker Tom Eaves has recently been linked.


    KILMARNOCK
    Outs? Jack Byrne has already left for Shamrock Rovers. The loans of Bright Enobakhare and Mikael Ndjoli are both up in January but the latter has proven a useful squad player and might be kept on. Ross Millen's short-term deal also runs out.

    Ins? Steve Clarke may find it hard to improve on his current best XI and though he has a great track record of convincing decent players to join his project he may feel that any depth concerns can be dealt with by youngsters returning from loan spells.


    LIVINGSTON
    Outs? Egli Kaja has returned to parent club AFC Wimbledon. Otherwise expect Gary Holt to try and keep the squad he has.

    Ins? Could ex-Lion Stefan Scougall come back for a second spell? Otherwise the club will think hard before risking disrupting the current team with newcomers.


    MOTHERWELL
    Outs? Andy Rose will join Vancouver Whitecaps once the window opens. Forward George Newell's development seems to have stalled and it would be no surprise to see him leave, at least on loan. Connor Sammon's spell at the club has gone as well as most predicted, but it may be that Hearts refuse to take him back early!

    Ins? Unless Trevor Carson's return is well before the end of the season they may look for an experienced keeper to compete with Mark Gillespie. The Steelmen would probably also prefer not to need to play Richard Tait out of position at left-back if they could avoid it.


    RANGERS
    Outs? Umar Sadiq's exit was hardly a surprise. But Ovie Ejaria had started 23 games this season before he returned to Liverpool. Though his performances had dropped off, it leaves Rangers short in that area. Further departures will surely only be the result of unrefusable (is that a word?) offers for the likes of James Tavernier or Alfredo Morelos.

    Ins? Steven Gerrard has already made it clear he wants several new faces in this window, though Dominic Solanke and Kieran Dowell seem optimistic targets. Steven Davis has been linked with a return to Ibrox having captained Rangers prior to liquidation.


    ST. JOHNSTONE
    Outs? Stefan Scougall has been told to find a new club after failing to live up to expectations in his 18 months at the club. Greg Hurst can go too. Tristan Nydam has confirmed he will return to parent club Ipswich, while young midfielders Kyle McClean and Ali McCann will be loaned out.

    Ins? Whilst Saints have managed much better than expected after losing Drey Wright for the season, they could do with finding a pacy wide player to take over his role in the side. Tommy Wright might also look for another striker to take the pressure off Tony Watt.


    ST. MIRREN
    Outs? This will be Oran Kearney's chance to clear house and get rid of a bunch of has-beens and never-weres signed by Alan Stubbs. Matty Willock is already gone, and expect Josh Heaton, Alfie Jones, Cole Kpekawa and Cody Cooke to be moved on if possible. Goalkeeper Dean Lyness and midfielder Adam Hammill are both out of contract next month, though the club will be desperate to keep the latter.

    Ins? Expect the Buddies to be very active; frankly, it's hard to think of an area of the park they wouldn't consider strengthening.


    Lawrie Spence has ranted and spouted his ill-informed opinions on Narey's Toepoker since September 2007.  He has a life outside this blog.  Honestly.

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  21. In defence of Liam Polworth

    · Scotty · 12/17/2018 02:33 PM

    In the Spring of 2015, I was lucky enough to be on a city break in Barcelona right on time to take in the second leg of Barca's Champions League Quarter Final against Paris St. Germain. You may well remember the home side's opening goal; facing his own goal, midway inside his own half, Andres Iniesta took a pass into feet with a PSG player steaming in to close him down. The crowd collectively took a deep breath, only for Iniesta to spin 180 degrees and leave his opponent for dead. The 80,000 cheers that greeted the audacious skill were followed quickly by two louder ones as Iniesta then danced past two flailing tackles and over the halfway line. With everyone already on their feet, he then played Neymar clean through with the perfect pass, and the Brazilian went round the keeper to score. The actual celebrations for the goal were relatively short, the subsequent chants of "INIESTA! INIESTA!" that went round the ground went on far longer.

    You may think it is a little bit of a stretch to segue from one of the greatest players of the last decade to Caley Thistle midfielder Liam Polworth, but bear with me. Against Dundee United on Saturday, Polworth played in Tom Walsh to open the scoring. It was an exquisite through ball into the inside-right channel, and was in fact identical to goals set up and scored by the same players in each of Caley Thistle's previous two games. In the second half there was a moment where Polworth was trapped by United's Billy King against his own corner flag, only to outrageously nutmeg him before galloping up the pitch.

    That's not to say Polworth was especially outstanding in the match. He was as guilty as many teammates of giving the ball away cheaply, though his forwards too rarely got into space to receive the ball from him. But nor was he one of the poorest players. And what always makes him stand out in this Inverness side is that he always looks to get on the ball, though this may be a reflection on his teammates' timidity as much as anything.

    And that makes the crowd's reaction to him all the more curious and, frankly, nauseating.

    For what it's worth, Polworth's bit of skill near his own corner flag brought barely a murmur from the home support. But they did attract their attention, though, was a shanked cross. Polworth himself showed frustration at his error. However, he was quickly drawn to the loud catcalls and booing coming from the main stand. With as much subtlety as a brick, he turned towards them and shouted something which I suspect probably was a bit less polite than "sorry about that, I'll do better next time".

    Now, a common criticism of Polworth in these parts is that he has 'lousy body language'. Of course, that is entirely objective. When an on-form or well-liked player gets frustrated at the mistakes of himself or others, it's because he cares, because he wants to win, because others aren't as switched on as he is. When an off-form or unfavoured player does so, it's because he's a whinger with lousy body language. Of course, if said player doesn't react at all, it's because he doesn't care. Isn't it great how you can prove that the player you don't like has the wrong attitude, whatever his actions are?

    And it gets extrapolated. Social media and online forums are filled with complaints that Polworth doesn't get back into position, or goes missing, for no apparent reason other than that these traits would fit the ongoing narrative. I have urged other fans to actually watch him, not where the ball is, for 5 minutes at a time; then they would see a player constantly on the move both when Caley Thistle have the ball and when they don't, a guy who does a really impressive shift compared to some of his teammates. But they don't - either because the rest of the match is too distracting or, more likely because it's far easier and more reassuring to have a convenient scapegoat to blame for the fugue that has enveloped the club in the last couple of years.

    Polworth got the same criticisms last season, a campaign which finished with him credited a whopping 25 assists, 15 of which were in the league. When the SPFL Twitter account declared that statistic, it was met with scepticism because the number was more than double that of the next best. Whatever you think of 'assist' as a stat, the bottom line is you must be a pretty decent player to set up that many goals.

    And yet the consensus view then was much the same as it is now. After all, it's only four months since he was 'punished' with abusive chants about his family from the home end during a clash with Ayr United - all because he missed a penalty. Some so-called fans were banned as a result, but depressingly it seems the respite for the player was only temporary.

    In the final moments of the Dundee United match, Polworth was announced as the sponsors' Man Of The Match. It was a slightly bemusing decision, given that Walsh and Mark Ridgers had clearly been Caley Thistle's best two players, but usually an odd MOTM pick is met with shrugged shoulders and a collective "you what?" In this case, it was met with more boos.

    For what it's worth, the same fans who largely ignored Polworth's corner flag nutmeg, berated his lousy cross and booed the decision to make him MOTM reserved much of their applause and acclaim during the game for midfielders slide-tackling the ball out of play, or defenders heading the ball really hard. It is a peculiar thing, perhaps a British thing. That sort of stuff doesn't get a cheer at the Camp Nou. A nutmeg by your own corner flag might, though.

    Ultimately, Polworth will have to leave Inverness to get the acclaim he deserves, and he will; his contract is up at the end of the season and it is common knowledge that it won't be renewed unless he takes a pay cut. One suspects he won't have to go as far as Spain to find someone who appreciates him though, as most coaches and scouts are surely more insightful than the football neanderthals that populate Tulloch Caledonian Stadium. As for said neanderthals, their views on his attitude and body language probably say a lot more about them than it does about him.


    Lawrie Spence has ranted and spouted his ill-informed opinions on Narey's Toepoker since September 2007.  He has a life outside this blog.  Honestly.

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  22. Thoughts on the Israel game

    · Scotty · 11/21/2018 09:29 AM

    Ladies and gentleman, the James Forrest Show
    Few players are more frustrating to watch than nippy wingers who are playing badly. Conversely, few excite quite as much as nippy wingers who are in top form and oozing confidence. Step forward James Forrest, who has now scored five goals in two Scotland games - and 11 in 11 games for club and country. There was more than just the hat-trick to savour; his decision-making, so often erratic at best, was perfect again and again as he weaved in and out of traffic and left more than one Israeli with twisted blood. But his calm, emphatic finishing, like in Tirana, was the sort of stuff you associate with world-class centre-forwards. Even if this turns out to be temporary form rather than permanent class, it was exhilarating and the Tartan Army won't forget it for a while.


    We can't play like this in every game
    Whether it was the pressure of hanging onto a single goal lead, or the fact that Israel were throwing everything forward, the players looked knackered in the latter stages. That wasn't a huge surprise given that in both this week's matches Scotland pressed high up the pitch. Stuart Armstrong and Ryan Christie were both substituted mainly because they were gassed; the former in particular ran himself into the ground and the introduction of the energetic Graeme Shinnie was a sensible move in the circumstances. Obviously though a different style will have to be adopted when the opposition is stronger and more technically able than this; the trouble is that in friendlies against better teams a more passive approach has resulted in Scotland being ripped to shreds. That's something for big Eck to ponder going forward, but he has bought himself several months to find a solution to that.


    Relief for the SFA
    The SFA can now confidently throw their weight behind McLeish for the Euro 2020 qualifiers, which is just as well because having to dismiss him would have reflected as badly on the Hampden suits as it would have on the manager. The hope obviously is that this week has been some sort of turning point, and we now have some momentum to take forward (and an insurance policy as well in the form of the Nations League playoffs). The fear is that the efforts of Forrest and his teammates have masked the problems at the SFA for a little bit longer.


    Connotations for Euro 2020
    Not only did Scotland win their group, but they actually ended up ranked as the top team in League C - that thumping win over Albania helped them finish ahead of Norway on goal difference. So if it turns out that they need this fallback to try and qualify for Euro 2020, they'll have to win a home semi-final in March 2020 - against Finland, as it stands - and then another game after that - against Norway or Serbia, as it stands - to make it. Let's hope it doesn't come to that though: one of the other bonuses of winning the group is that Scotland go into pot 3 for the qualifiers draw instead of pot 4.

    That said, Germany are in pot 2. If we get them, I think we can just start focussing on those March 2020 playoffs straight away...


    More needs to be done to encourage fans
    21000 is a dreadful attendance for such an important game. But until Saturday night there was very little reason for supporters to attend other than a sense of duty. And sadly there were plenty of reports of difficulties in buying and collecting tickets on the day. £25 a ticket for a midweek match against a middle-of-the-road opponent is foolish as well. The powers that be need to decide what national team matches are meant to achieve - is the top priority just to make as much money as possible, by milking loyal Tartan Army members for all they're worth to make money? Or should the focus be on filling Hampden at all costs, thus providing a better atmosphere and more support to the team as well as promoting them to as many fans (particularly children) as possible? Given that topping the group means another €750,000 in prize money, I do hope Ian Maxwell might be more generous in the future.

    But a little success does no harm. It might only be one group in the third tier of the Nations League, but Scotland have actually won something, and the post-match lap of honour was justified in the circumstances not only to make the players feel good but the supporters as well. Maybe, just maybe, this could be the start of something special.


    Lawrie Spence has ranted and spouted his ill-informed opinions on Narey's Toepoker since September 2007.  He has a life outside this blog.  Honestly.
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  23. Thoughts from Tirana

    · Scotty · 11/18/2018 12:49 PM

    Fraser was the spark
    Ryan Fraser started the match like a man with something to prove - and maybe he did, given that injuries have prevented him from repeating his outstanding Bournemouth performances for the national team. Within seconds of kickoff he had nicked the ball and raced into the box; whilst that didn't lead to anything it was a taste of things to come. In addition to a fine goal he set up the fourth for James Forrest and was not so much a winger as a blur of energy throughout. And his enthusiasm, along with the quality of his play, set the tone for his teammates.


    The players care
    There remains a healthy dose of scepticism about many of the calloffs that have plagued the squad for this game. But those who played in Tirana very much gave the impression that they were playing for the manager and the shirt. Even when the match was over as a contest the midfield and forwards continued to press high up the pitch, not least because they could sniff a chance to fill their boots. Subs Matt Phillips and Johnny Russell continued the theme when they came on for the latter stages. After such a disjointed and lethargic effort in Israel this was very welcome.


    Is this Callum McGregor's best position?
    Last night I couldn't help remembering how Andrea Pirlo started his career as an attacking midfielder whose technique and ability didn't really come to the fore until he dropped into a more deeper role. Obviously Callum McGregor isn't in the same league as the great Italian, but it was striking how comfortable he looked sitting at the base of the midfield, taking the ball off his centre-backs and spraying it all over the park. Obviously he won't play many international opponents as accomodating as ten-man Albania, but in light of his outstanding showings in that position for Celtic recently is it possible that this could turn out to be his strongest position?  Regardless, you can't buy the level of versatility and reliability that he offers.


    The case for the defence
    I'd rather not play stronger opposition with that back four - particularly since Neil Warnock deleted the file marked 'how to play at right-back' from Callum Paterson's database when he converted him to a forward - but if you've prevented the home side managing a shot on target, you can certainly claim to have had a good game. Scott McKenna doesn't seem to do nerves anyway - he's what you'd get if Skynet designed central defenders instead of Terminators - and whilst David Bates always looks on edge he never actually looked under pressure. I'd rather we didn't play anyone good with those two in front of Allan MacGregor in the near future, but I'd like to think I'd be up for it in two or three years. Surely it's not too much to ask that two of McKenna, Bates and John Souttar can go on to be international class?


    Let's not get carried away
    Albania were cack, and they played with ten men for three quarters of the game, and the referee awarded us an outrageous penalty. And if we don't beat Israel on Tuesday then it's all for nothing really. But a result and performance as good - and as enjoyable - as that doesn't come around too often for the Scotland national team and even if we shouldn't savour it too much we should give credit where it is due to the players and the manager.


    Lawrie Spence has ranted and spouted his ill-informed opinions on Narey's Toepoker since September 2007.  He has a life outside this blog.  Honestly.
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  24. AJ under pressure at Dunfermline?
    So many of Dunfermline's home games this season have ended with the sound of booing, so Allan Johnston may be immune to it now. But a derby defeat to Falkirk was the lowest ebb of the Pars' season so far, one in which they've managed just one win and two goals in seven league matches at East End Park. No wonder the fans are revolting (no, not in that sense).

    This one might have turned out differently had Andy Ryan not missed the mother of all sitters for the home side in the first half, and what can any manager do when all his forwards seem to have suffered a collective slump in form? However, the bottom line is that Dunfermline have promotion playoff aspirations. And too often at East End Park the script has been familiar - plenty of possession but a lack of end product, a few decent chances spurned, and a sucker punch at the other end.

    Whether the board feel the same way as the fans is unclear. After all, this is only the club's third year back in the second tier after AJ got them out of their League One nightmare. And in such a competitive league, it could be a lot worse - just look at Falkirk or Partick Thistle. He may not be on borrowed time yet, but with the support at least he has used up all previous goodwill.




    Ross County and Dundee United are the two best teams in this league
    In years to come, Dundee United fans may thank their lucky stars that Ross County thumped them 5-1 last month and brought about the end of Csaba Laszlo. The transformation under Robbie Neilson has been stark and United have four wins and a draw under his leadership, including something of a statement win in Dingwall.

    That's not to say they overwhelmingly deserved the victory - far from it, in fact. But having scrambled their way in front through Paul Watson the visitors defended without panic and refused to buckle under pressure, an outcome that would have been unthinkable a short time ago.

    There seems little question that United will compete strongly for that automatic promotion slot. But on the evidence of this encounter so will Ross County.  When the two sides play each other here again on 6 April 2019, it could well be something of a title decider.




    Not for the first time, Mark Ridgers rescues ICT
    Mark Ridgers deserves most of the plaudits for ending Caley Thistle's crazy run of seven consecutive draws; the goalkeeper's penalty save from Blair Spittal meant that Tom Walsh's goal proved decisive. It was Ridgers' second save from the spot this season, with the first coming against the same opponents in Inverness. This comes just a week after a wonder save from Billy Mckay in the Highland derby.

    It was Ridgers' seventh league clean sheet of the season and his fourteenth in the twenty-four league games ICT have been unbeaten. Whilst his backline aren't too shabby either, Ridgers has been outstanding for the whole of 2018 - not bad going for a journeyman goalie who, at 28, is at his tenth club. An Inverness native, it seems that he has found that there is no place like home.




    Do Alloa stick or twist in January?
    As the only part-timers in this league, weren't Alloa supposed to finish bottom by some way? Clearly they didn't get the memo as they now find themselves out of the bottom two after winning at Cappielow. Far from being punchbags or even simply being overpowered by stronger opponents, they show no signs of being out of their depth at all. It is increasingly conceivable that they could survive.

    That said, the sides below them - Falkirk and Partick Thistle - are certain to bring in significant reinforcements in January to save their season. Should Alloa try to do the same? Can they afford to (or not to)? And, if some of their best players keep performing like this - Iain Flannigan is the obvious standout - will they be able to keep them, or will full-time clubs sweep in?

    Ach, one gets the feeling that Jim Goodwin and co aren't going to concern themselves with those sort of worries. They#re just going to enjoy this while it lasts.




    Connor Murray shows up Frizzell's failings
    Kudos to Connor Murray for coming off the bench at Ayr to grab a late equalizer for Queen of the South. The winger's opportunities have been few and far between but the club obviously see something in him, given that he'll be 22 in March but they've still kept him around. But a penny for the thoughts of Adam Frizzell, left sitting on the bench yet again. The little Kilmarnock loanee would seem on paper to be a better option as an impact sub and yet he's played only 85 minutes of football, all as a replacement, since moving south temporarily. That's pretty unimpressive for a guy who had 24 Premiership starts to his name when still a teenager. Frizzell also had a lousy (and injury-hit, to be fair) loan spell at Livingston last season but it looks increasingly like the 20 year old, previously considered such a prospect at Rugby Park, is stagnating.



    Lawrie Spence has ranted and spouted his ill-informed opinions on Narey's Toepoker since September 2007.  He has a life outside this blog.  Honestly.
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