starchief

Nah, way too early for Wilson. I doubt he'd have been first pick for Rangers and he'll struggle to get anything other than a 'squad' game for Liverpool (a CIS cup or whatever it's called or some meaningless game before a Euro tie). I'd like to have seen Riordan in the squad.

That could be a difficult team to beat if Levein plays a more (unfortunately) negative game. McGregor Hutton - Berra - Webster - Whittaker Robson - Fletcher - Thomson - Adam - Dorrans Fletcher McGregor the first choice keeper at Rangers and better than Marshall, so gets the gloves. Thomson is better in the holding role than Brown, so gets the nod. He also isn't attacking enough, so Charlie Adam gets his chance. Fletcher in the lone striking role but Dorrans and Robson can both get forward, as can Adam. I'd bring on McFadden and Boyd to switch to a 4-4-2 at half-time. Got to get to know players and system for a friendly, rather than all-out to win the game.

He seemed to become an essential player when played in defensive mid last season. I'd like to see him and Cox be that partnership long-term (although I wouldn't just drop Duncan but there will come a time...) I think if we ever switched to five at the back, he'd make a terrific sweeper. Just wish we'd tried that with Tokely and LDZ as the wing-backs.

Nope. Far lower in states without the Death Penalty (42% less murder rate in fact on the 2007 figures). You could argue about the demographics as much as 'no deterrent but lower conviction rates' that I've outlined above. One thing's for sure: states with the Death Penalty have executed innocent men. Horrific, unjust and lets the real murderer away with little chance of reopening a case.

Stefan Kiszko, the Guildford 4, the Birmingham 6 etc etc would all be dead by now in that case. That's my biggest objection to capital punishment. Kiszko, for a start, admitted the crime. There was no doubt he killed and raped someone...then, 16 years later, he was released when new evidence showed that was physically impossible. He was a fantasist that couldn't distinguish between reality and tv/newspaper reports. The Birmingham Six judge publicly stated he would hang them if he had the authority. As they had firm forensic evidence (or so they thought at the time), no-one doubted their guilt until years later. How can a state live with killing an innocent man because it's cheaper to execute than jail? There's also other things like burden of proof being higher, so more guilty people go free or get a reduced charge ("Are you sure he's guilty?" Yes! "Sure enough that your decision will mean his death?" Um...) I don't go for the deterrent argument as 1. it doesn't seem to deter anyone in other countries and 2. I don't think it'll stop people like Huntley who don't think of the consequences. That said, should he get any money? Nope. Prison, given that it's full of criminals, is inheritantly dangerous. An attack just means that the prison can learn some lessons for next time. While you're in there, no rights and no compensation. It should be a harsh place where non-lifers can come to the decision that life on the outside, no matter how difficult it is to find a job/house/whatever, is much better than being inside. At the moment, it's a 24-hour factory. Boring, but not exactly fear-filled terror that ensures those inside will do anything but re-offend.

Eagle was probably on the cusp of a new deal. He looked better than Hayes in pre-season but he'd never actually played much before so the standard/fitness dropped. I think if he played regularly for a season, he would be a genuine contender for a first team place at ICT (not that I think he'll be back but hypothetically).

You've dropped Munro? Any reason why?

World Cup 4-2-3-1? How about SFL1 formation? Esson Proctor Tokely Munro Golly Duncan Cox Hayes Sanchez Foran Rooney We're ahead of the game.

I've a funny feeling the AWPR might be going over to Loirston Loch way if you've ever heard of that :_wink:

I noticed it's still all kick and rush stuff. Same with Celtic. Both teams picked to defend and counter-attack. Neither played the system. Every time, it's Miller (or whoever) knocks it long and wide to Riordan (or whoever), so that it's a physical battle as the winger and full-back race to the ball. Then launch it into the box hoping someone's there as there is no time to pick out a colleague. No skill required. How about Miller to de Graff to Miller to Riordan to Weatherspoon to Miller to Riordan back to Weatherpsoon etc etc etc until they have carved a good opening for Stokes to pounce. For years, Scotland has been getting pumped by players that wouldn't get in our teams (Baldur Bett was a key player when an Icelandic team beat Dunfermline, MyPa, player for player, were substandard to Motherwell etc etc etc). It's just embarrassing. It's much the same with England and English teams, hence the demise of the successful British manager, with very few exceptions. Still, gotta laugh :_blah:

I suspect he'd be even too expensive for Aberdeen or Dundee Untd but what a signing Caldwell would be.

I've yet to come across a place where box junctions are respected. In Aberdeen, people just seem to walk across the road without looking to see if there are any cars. It was one of my pet gripes about the city, then, when McGhee first signed as manager, he was complaining about the same thing.

So 'banjoing' is a correct legal term now :_beatme:

Proctor is a centre-back as cover. But his best position is defensive mid. I'm more than happy with three (Duncan/Cox/Proctor) competing for two slots plus back ups in Morrison and McBain. Spend any money elsewhere. And it's the injury-prone bit of Mackay-Steven that makes me (and others) want to go for a short-term contract. His record suggests talent. If he can prove himself fitness-wise, looks a sound investment. If not, no real harm on such a small outlay

It does mean we get the coefficient our teams deserve though. Can we really ask to be anything more than a minor league? I didn't see Celtic doing much away to the Portuguese runners-up. I thought the line-up was fine but not the way they played. Instead of counter-attacking (as a 4-5-1 suggests), Celtic tried to dominate. Little chance of that with Samaras on his own and Maloney and Ledley not supporting. I see Mulgrew's getting a bit of criticism. I think he did ok considering no-one helped him at all down the left. I'd blame either Ledley or Maloney for not covering, meaning that when he got forward, he had to go further with no-one ahead, meaning he was out of position at the back. I suspect, financially, there's little difference between the OF. The crucial one is that Murray won't or can't put more money into the team. 5 years ago, a debt of ?30M wasn't unmanageable (they paid off ?90M before without much trouble). So, whether Celtic hurt depends on Dermot Desmond entirely. I'm still going for Rangers for the league. Their defence is better, their midfield more settled, plus, I can't see Fortune, Samaras or Murphy scoring much, which leaves it all down to the untried Hooper. Rangers don't have Boyd of course but (even though I've been big critics of them) Miller and especially Lafferty came on to a game late last season. All to play for but I'd take the experience of Smith over the youth of Lennon any day.

And IMO one more centre back. I think we're ok for centre-backs (Innes, Munro & Tokely with Proctor or Golly if desperate) and centre-mids (Proctor, Cox, Duncan, Morrison, McBain all competing for 2 places). LB is an absolute priority. Forward I'm not so sure is that much needed. I'd be happy to give Sutherland, Gil and Odi their chance to back-up Rooney. After that, it's more about getting a quality player that can depose a current first-teamer, rather than any squad players. We've a good first team and lots of good young players. I'd like to see Mackay-Steven on a short-termer as it's possible he could really add to the team.

I've noticed that happens a lot. John Hughes/Tony Mowbray lacked the big booted defender. Souness didn't like anyone that spoke out. Dalglish didn't rate Peter Beardsley. The list is endless and quite surprising. I presume it's something about wanting other players to play, whilst not realising their own style and contribution.

Such a shock that the goal machines of Samaras and Murphy couldn't score :_beatme: Mulgrew was asked to do way too much on the left but did it quite well. Still, when you have to do the work of two men, he's always going to go missing somewhere. Bar Brown, the midfield was completely absent. I expected more from the new internationals signed. Terrible sportsmanship from Murphy at the end. FAIL! FAIL!

Same formation as we're still playing a Division One team. I'm assuming Rooney isn't 100%, so a place on the bench. Esson Tokely - Innes - Munro - Golabek Cox - Duncan Ross - Gil - Shinnie Sutherland Subs: Tuffey; McCann; Odi; McBain; Rooney Unfortunately Tokely's at RB due to lacklustre reports about McCann and good ones for Innes. Really this is a chance to shine for Ross, Sutherland and Shinnie. If they're out of their depth against Queens, then what hope in the SPL. It's either Odi or Sanchez for the bench, with Odi doing better in pre-season, so gets the nod.

Not for me , if they sign Hendrie and Hartley I'd expect them to finish top 6 . The rules would get changed to keep them up anyway . The papers are reporting signing Hartley means missing out on Hendrie. A midfield with Hendrie and Hartley could have saved McGhee's season. Hartley alone? A struggle against relegation. 9th or 10th this season.

How about bolding the whole quote for a start? "a rookie manager in the SPL (and not that experienced elsewhere), plus lower SFL signings" Different situations as none of them took over a club that was already struggling. Robbo got a club going places, promoted. Brew and Christie had to sustain a club confident of survival. Saints without Dorman are always going to struggle to survive. Billy Reid had to change his whole philosophy at Accies but had some terrific players. Can Lennon do that whilst signing Cowden players? I doubt it. And it's always a risk taking on a rookie manager. You might get the next Alex Ferguson but you might get another Maurice Malpas (sorry, but it's true). We were lucky Brew was still playing first time around, otherwise I think 1 out of those might not be on your list.

If Hearts can land Bryson, plus a striker, I think they can challenge the OF. Rangers will be more hard to beat than all-out winners, so might drop points when last year, they would have got a 1-0. Celtic are the great unknowns. Will Hooper and Murphy be up to it? So, it's possible. For Killie, I thought they had a better squad than is showing up here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilmarnock_F.C.#Current_squad I wasn't aware they had lost so many players. Prior to this season, I've been surprised they've been down in the relegation mire with players like Wright, Pascali, Hammill, Kyle, Fernandez, Taouil and, best keeper in the SPL last season, Bell. I guess some of them are gone, plus no Maguire or Severin on loan and some other decent, if not great, players like Skelton and Ford moving on. If they don't add to that threadbare squad, it might well be the death knell for them.

That would be my thoughts, unless either McCann or Innes can play left-back.

No pangs of conscience about predicting your old team will go down?... I'd much rather they stayed up. Most of my family still support them and I'm not averse to a game when in town but a rookie manager in the SPL (and not that experienced elsewhere), plus lower SFL signings? Doesn't look good. D. Lennon needs to learn some anti-football (unfortunately) to get the best out of a Dorman-less Saints. It's going to be very tough. I can only see the Accies being as bad but Billy Reid knows how to scrap and, presumably, has money in the bank. Never really understood that kind of attitude. I think it's all fascinating (bit of league restructuring and it could be even better, mind). Although I reserve my right to say "I don't really follow the minor leagues" when Dundee and County supporters come on :_wink:

Yeah, I'd like to have seen a 6-month deal with add-ons depending on him staying fit.