starchief

I'd rather leave police work to the police. As far as detective skills go, I'm sure they're best equipped.

As long as we don't use England's 0-2-2-2-2-2-0 formation, we'll be okay.

Duff's far better in attack than defence. No doubt he'd be in the Duncan/Cox role but I'd prefer him either in the Sanchez/Odi position, or even out wide.

Probably end up at Hibs then.

I thought he gave his absolute best. Tried desperately for every shot, right until the very last game. Nadal, on the day, was just better than him. As Mowbray used to say, sometimes you have to take it on the chin.

But if you have a terrible manager, do you work as hard? I don't mean deliberately but keen-ness for the job wanes. It's not somewhere you want to be. Unhappiness doesn't produce good workers. When I manage in the workplace, I try to inspire. I try to get my people to focus on why they are in the job and what it means (I'm lucky enough to work in a field that's as much a vocation as a career). The project goal then takes care of itself (to a certain extent). Sure, you do your job, no matter what, as that's what you're paid for. Put in a decent manager, then it becomes so much easier to do a good job. And of course, if your manager is the one giving directions/tactics, if his guidance is patently not working and he won't listen to ideas, it's doomed to failure. So, no, it's not always the managers fault. Individuals can let themselves down, but when it just isn't happening for the whole team - football, office or factory - you've got to look at the boss first to see if it's their fault.

I've gone for Danny Lennon. Not so sure filling up your team with 'Beath players is a great idea. They may well struggle between that and a rookie manager. MacPherson did well for them. They could well press the panic button. I think Hughes and Mixu will both see the season out. De Graff has a good pedigree so could see Hibs hit Top Six again, without that much of a struggle. Mixu's done well with smaller teams in the past, so could well be the man to make Killie stay up. McGhee will really struggle. A good shout for the sack, especially if he continues to have a problem getting players in. He barely has a team as it is. Lennon's targets seem bizarre. McManus, Hooijveld and Loovens, with Rogne, Thompson and O'Dea in reserve are good enough for the SPL. They just had a silly number of central defender injuries last year. Campbell is a waste of money. Three of four years ago, Bullard would have been a fine acquisition but too long out with poor form and injury. We'll see about Darryl Murphy but the striking position is the place definitely needed. Stokes would seem to be the ideal purchase. In fact, Liam Miller would also be a good acquisition to sit with Scott Brown. But unless he gets a striker in, then I can't see the likes of Fortune or Samaras suddenly being goal machines. A lot of players required for Celtic, plus Lennon struggled against some teams last season. Even if he did win in the end, it was far from convincing. I'm not sure Celtic will be much to shout home about this season. Rangers could do with a few squad members but only really NEED one player - a replacement for Boyd. Lafferty seemed a different player when played through the middle mind you at the end of last season. A left-winger is of course still required but they did okay the last couple of years without one.

I don't think so. With such a high risk of disease............they wouldn't go near him. It was plain that Wayne Rooney couldn't score in a brothel during the World Cup

Gerrard's going to get one BIG shock when he finds out - his wife doesn't have a sister! She does have a brother or two. I suspect it'll be the first pregnant man... ...yeah, that'll be it... ...or it's complete :moon2:

I think it might be tough for Adam this season if we play the one up front. If we do, then maybe he'll be as much a provider than a scorer. That position can either work as a goal-hanger or someone to hold up the ball whilst the attacking mids get a chance to join. It's going to be a tough role, no matter who plays it. Barrowman v Rooney? Both have played SPL and SFL1 levels. Compare the stats. That tells you all.

Too early to tell. Give them this season and we'll see what they're really made of.

More exposed than Tony's what?!? :(

I think that line-up has a chance, with Barry concentrating on the defensive side. Still would fancy Germany but Harry's has got a much better chance. Captain - you've misunderstood me. Many of my points were about preparation before the World Cup. My point was that Capello only cultivated a first team, not an experienced squad. The likes of Carragher, King, Milner and Warnock had little to no experience before the Finals, so injuries took a hard toll. Sure, Carragher or King are decent players but untried in that current defence. Put it this way, if ICT had done a Ross County and got to the Cup Final, would you have dropped Tokely from central defence to put in, say Bougherra? Possibly the best defender in Scotland but completely untried in our defence, with no understanding of how Munro plays. Capello had years to prepare for the World Cup. Naturally, he'll have a first 11 but he also has to look beyond that, in anticipation of key players being injured. For such a meticulous, experienced man, I'm surprised he didn't insist on both King and Carragher having games before the World Cup. I could repeat myself about balancing the midfield, not being able to cover for injuries there, or playing players on reputation (Rooney hasn't scored for either club or country since that 'minor' injury in Munich) rather than form. Capello may have struggled to win the game no matter what but the strict formation he played and selecting on reputation led to that huge loss. Having said that, he's lost two games in his whole time and coasted through qualifying. He deserves a chance to learn from his mistakes. Burley? Something else entirely. A good club manager, that thrives on unearthing talent. It just doesn't work that way at international level though. I think he'd do well at ICT but not an international style manager.

Some strange errors from Fabio when examined properly: - the defence had a first team 4 but no-one to replace them (which experienced player would play with an injury to either A. Cole or Johnson?) - no automatic replacement for Rio Ferdinand, instead Fabio chose players without knowing how well they played together. Carragher couldn't be bothered turning up and King was too injury-prone. He should have made sure the defence could fit by insisting these players turn up or are dropped. - the team was picked on reputation, not form. Lampard was poor but was first pick to the detriment of a Gerrard, who looked half-decent but was completely sidelined out wide. Rooney never looked like he could score but rather than being dropped or moved out to the left, played every game as a non-scoring striker 'til the end. - Heskey was never good enough. There to make Rooney play better but he never did. Crouch and Defoe would have scored goals but never got the chance. - no replacement for Beckham. Gerrard, Lennon and Wright-Phillips were all tried with Walcott left at home. How come it was such a shock to Capello that his first 11 might not be fit? So few replacements. - not having a first-team goalie was madness. He's had years to settle on one, yet never did. It surprises me but Capello just didn't do enough preparation. Besides the goalie, he had 10 outfield players as his first team. No squad though ready to step in (how many games did Warnock, Carragher, King, Milner, Wright-Phillips have?), so the whole pack fell apart with one or two injuries.

It's a close call who I dislike more - England or Germany.

I despise Italy. I'll even support England over them. Full of world class talent but content to sit out 1-0 leads against far poorer teams. I've no problem with the likes of Scotland or Austria playing defensively, as they don't have the players. Italy do (or certainly have in the past). They can always cite their success for keeping that system but, as a neutral, that means nothing to me. Italy bore me rigid. Glad they're out.

Maybe it's about time that the Highland League realised what it's all about. It's importance has been hugely diminshed by the loss of Caley, Thistle, Elgin, County and Peterhead. Perhaps this whole 'own ground' thing needs a respite to look for the good of the game, rather than the league's own importance?

Campbell's a good manager. Did well with Brechin, not bad with Partick and was shamefully sacked whilst top of the table by County. That's a better record than many managers.

Think it might be the Saints turn. Rookie manager filling his team with the Blue Brazil. Doesn't look great.

Many Israelis are dual citizens due to the country not being very old.

I was shocked Italy got a dodgy penalty today. Didn't the referee realise they wanted a win? I'd have at least expected a red card or two to go with it. Well done New Zealand. That cheered me up (although I was feeling fairly chipper before it anyway - beautiful weather and no work, y'see) I think Scotland are about USA/ Algeria/ Slovenia level. Nothing too great in that lot and not much to separate them either. We could have got to the second stage with the right attitude, but then, we would never have been seeded like England. I still expect England to go through (although I'll happily be cheering on Slovenia). They've got a good squad but it needs a little tinkering. For me, Rooney, on the left, Lampard dropped and Crouch/ Defoe up front.

Maybe we've got a chance now that Celtic have lost such talents as Braafheid, Kamara and N'Guemo (potentially). Hmmm, on second thoughts, maybe it would have been better if they had stayed. All we've got to do now is keep Fortune and Brown from scoring...mind you, we couple play without a keeper and still do that!

Far better to just base it on what happened last year than some seeding system that would drop a higher-placed team like 'Well for a more popular club like Aberdeen. That would be more controversial.

Is this the consensus? I thought it's been a pretty decent WC, so far. One or two duff matches but pretty decent overall.

Depends. Possibly if he's played as the usual wing-back role. But if he stays as centre-back, he could have years left at a high level.