Caley Stan

That's just feckin fantastic. Wish i was there but listening to it is great.

Sounds like Rooney's doing a lot of good defensive work. It's a side of his game that he doesn't get much credit for but it will be very important to us this season.

yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaassssssssssssssssssssssssssss!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11

Listening on BBC and can hear only ICT fans singing much like Thursday night when only AEK could be heard. GIRUY Thomson - even if there are only 10 of us we'll out-sing your dirty Arab sweetie-rustlers.

Nice avatar - TB looks absolutely delighted to be in the presence of the immortal one. In the words of 12th Man - just remove that thought from your brain.

A top league of 20 is not viable for a country of Scotland's size. Even with 3 relegation places it would contain a huge number of meaningless mid-table fixtures. England, Spain, Italy and France get away with it because they have so many European places. The other thing that these countries have in common is large populations. Almost all European countries with smaller poulations operate with 10-12 teams in their top flights and experiments with expansion has generally resulted in falling attendances. We just don't enough people or enough big clubs to make a 20 team top flight attractive. A 20 team league with 3 up 3 down would see clubs like Forfar and Brechin playing in front of a handful of fans in ramshackle stadiums. Televison and sponsorship would run a mile. The discussion that is taking place within the SPL at the moment is about how to make the SPL more competitive and therefore more attractive to fans, television and sponsors - expansion to 16/18/20 clubs just isn't on the agenda. Any change will be minor and focused on convincing clubs to vote for play-offs for Europe and relegation. At best, this will mean a 14 team league with a 6/8 split after 26 games.

Yeah, any changes in the structure of the SPL will be geared towards making more money. A 16/18 team league is simply not on the agenda for this reason. Discussions will centre around the introduction of play-offs for relegation and Europe and maybe expansion to 14 teams with a 6/8 split.

Yes, Villa's wage bill is clearly unsustainable but that just underlines how unrealistic it was to expect O'Neill to deliver Champions League football. A club their size just can't compete with the money offered by United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool. I can't find a decent source for EPL wage bills but i don't think Villa got close to the wages offered by those clubs during O'Neill's reign. City, Spurs and Newcastle have also spent huge amounts on wages over the past 4 years without much success. I think three consecutive 6th place finishes is reasonable in this context. Obviously he's no Clough or Fergie, that's just media sillyness, but he is, in Marcotti's words, "someone who does the job to the level you would expect, given the resources at his disposal". That, for me, makes him a decent manager.

What i saw from our full-backs on Saturday suggests that we won't be playing 3 at the back any time soon. The full-back's we've signed are primarily defenders who will have to learn to tuck-in and protect our central defenders from being exposed by their lack of pace. This worked fine in the first half but fell to pieces in the second when Celtic's movement led us to lose our shape completely. In the modern game, most teams play with a single striker meaning that 3 central defenders is a waste anyway. I think one of our biggest strengths is the shield that Duncan and Cox can bring in front of the defence. I wouldn't want to substitute one of them for a central defender who will be less dynamic and less comfortable on the ball.

As Charles said, the BBC are covering it on the internet. For me, the choice will come down to which commentators i prefer. The last time we were in the SPL the BBC commentary usually came from Scott Davie and Brian Irvine and tended to be bit dreary. It'll be intersting to see who Moray Firth have lined up. Hopefully an ex-ict player for analysis.

"Never again will you be capable of ordinary human feeling. Everything will be dead inside you. Never again will you be capable of love, or friendship, or joy of living, or laughter, or curiosity, or courage, or integrity. You will be hollow. We shall squeeze you empty and then we shall fill you with ourselves." Capitalism has been more effective in producing these results than communism IMO. Orwell was a fan of neither and 1984 offers comment on both. DornochCaley, given your interest in all things left wing, i would recommend that you continue to read Orwell, especially his autobiographical pieces such as Homage to Catalonia, Down and Out in Paris and London and The Road to Wigan Pier.

Those figures will look very different once Milner and Young are sold. I'm not sure that net spend on transfer fees is the best way to form expectations anyway - what about wage bills? Surely that's what has kept the top 3/4 so far ahead of the rest for the past few years. Randy Lerner backed O'Neill with substantial funds but he didn't count on City and Spurs doing the same. The result was 3 consecutive 6th place finishes. It might not look spectacular but plenty of Premiership teams have spunked money and achieved less. Marcotti says "O'Neill strikes me, ultimately, as someone who does the job to the level you would expect, given the resources at his disposal. Nothing less, nothing more". That may be true, and he rightly points out that Moyes and Redknapp have exceeded expectations at their clubs, but not many managers can do that. I have feeling that in a few years time Villa fans will look back on the O'Neill years with misty eyes. When appraising O'Neill's career overall, it's important not to forget the successive promotions he achieved at Wycombe, or his time at Leicester where he won 2 League Cups and finished in the top half of the table for 4 consecutive seasons.

You'll get it here soon.

Similar suggestions were being made last season but they came to nothing as Rangers strolled to the title finishing 24 points above 3rd place, losing just 3 games in the process. The Old Firm may be weaker than they were 5-10 years ago but then so is everyone else - there's less money in the Scottish game overall. Is the gap narrowing? Maybe a little. 30+ point gaps between 1st and 3rd are less common now than the were in the recent past, but 20+ is still the norm. That's not to say we won't beat Celtic in a one off game. Don't think we should attack them though. Keep it tight and sneak a goal on the break.

Iwelumo's a big strong target man and the only player of his kind in the squad. Craig Levein has had similar types in all of his teams from de Vries at Hearts all the way through to Daly at United. Scotland need the option that a target man brings. When Burley brought Iwelumo on against Norway it was the correct decision. We were losing the ball in midfield and needed the outlet that the long ball to Iwelumo brought. He actually won a lot in the air when he came on which instrumental in allowing us to get into the game but nobody remembers that. I don't think Iwelumo will be 5th choice striker under Levein. He's a genuine option and unless Kevin Kyle or Garry O'Conner show superior form then he'll stay in the squad. He'll score more goals than Boyd in the Championship if he avoids injury - i'm convinced of that. Boyd isn't going to have his own way with Championship defenders and if Boro struggle then he'll be the first to be benched. Iwelumo, on the other hand, has been scoring goals in that league for years and will be an automatic pick for Burnley.

Well, yeah, but full of comment on human nature, governmemt, technology, capitalism etc. My interest here is in the conflict between individual freedom and social stability. Unfortunately, i've been on the p1ss and haven't finished it yet. Mott The Hoople is about as heavy as it'll be getting for me tonight........

Interesting. Similar to the system that Argentina played in the World Cup. It can only work for us if we have a genuine playmaker to link between the defensive midfielders and the strikers. I haven't seen Blumenshtein so i don't know if he's that type of player. Eric certainly isn't. If he plays behind Rooney this season then it will be to chase long balls and flick-ons. Has anything happened in pre-season to suggest that we won't be playing 4-2-3-1 again? It's the sensible choice and the fact that Butcher hasn't bought a striker is telling. I think our 4-2-3-1 will look a lot like 4-6-0 in the SPL. There will be a lot of long balls and lot of moaning on here. Anyway, nice shape, Renegade - keep them coming.

Caley 3 Peterhead 2 - 1991 Qualifying Cup Final at Borough Briggs I was only 9 years-old and can't remember it in much detail, but i do have a strong memory of the euphoria and pitch invasion that followed a late come back that was completed with a last minute screamer from Wilsie. Does anybody have more detail on this game? Mantis?

They've made the investment in the wages of the players you list (though Rankin doesn't belong on that list IMO), as well as a training geound and a new stand. Hibs are a well run club. Cut and paste from my P&B post on the debacle: Great crowd and atmosphere at Easter Road last night as the game started and a real shame that the team couldn't deliver. I'm not convinced by Maribor and i think Hibs could've beaten them over the two games if they'd been solid and patient. It would've been interesting to see Dundee United play them in a tight game. As it was, Hibs chasing the game were embarrassingly easy to pick apart. They set up with a completely dysfunctional midfield (only de Graaf had any presence in there) and didn't give themselves a chance. The key to Hibs' lack of balance was, of course, Derek Riordan - a player without any positional discipline who refuses to track back leaving the whole of the left side exposed. Ian Murray had a very poor game as a result. For all that, i think Hibs have quite few decent players and should be entertaining to watch this season. Inconsistent - probably, tactically naive - definitely, but entertaining none the less.

Feck. Think i should just stick to the odd weekend accumulator.

A truly repulsive character in every way. Does he find a place for himself in the 50?

I find his novels very pleasant to read but they tend to leave me feeling a little empty in the end. 'Norwegian Wood' and 'A Wild Sheep Chase' are both worth a look. Some of his short stories are nice. Tell us what you think of Sputnik Sweetheart when you finish it. I'm nearly finished Aldous Huxley's 'Brave New World'. I've tried to read it about 5 times in the past 10 years and never got past the first chapter where the weird sciency feel of the whole thing kept freaking me out (i've always suffered from an aversion to science fiction of any kind, but i think i'm getting over it). Huxley has lots to say in this novel and i'm still not sure what to make of it all. Will update.

Bad hygiene, eh? I wouldn't hold it agianst him - the smeg gets the better of most of us from time to time.

Yeah, it Smeltz like a hoax. He's scored 40 goals in the last 2 A-league seasons and probably makes decent money. Shame though, could've been an extravaganza of puns on this thread if we'd signed him.

In no way is 6/1 to finish in the top 6 a better punt. We could end up finishing bottom and still collect from Totes at 9-1. If we do finish in the top 6 (highly unlikely IMO) then you definitely collect at 9-1 as no top 6 team will finish 48 points behind the champions.