CELTIC1CALEY3

Source?

Ryan Christie to Aberdeen....

Absolutely massive game for us. Difficult to know who will be available after the injuries.

££££££

From Hellgin away to Hellagain away - or half of a 3,600 gate to half of perhaps a 40,000 gate plus TV receipts. Celtic will expect put 10 past us. Interesting bit of psychology by Brendan Rogers ''I am not thinking about the Treble.....''

Doumbaya's disallowed goal looked very unfair from where I stood directly behind the goal. It was power and precision with no obvious infringement by any ICT player - one assumes the referee saw something we could not see. Wonder what he told Richie.

Curiously enough they were all injured. Cole was indeed a class act today and his loan extension could be absolutely invaluable.

Very fair and very decent. Positive management and all inclusive leadership style which needs to motivate everyone to get some positive results in the next month or so.

https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/sport/football/442177/scottish-league-two-forfar-and-stirling-finish-all-square-elgin-win-five-goal-thriller-and-arbroath-thump-berwick/ ''MARK NICOLSON admits cup fever is gripping Elgin —– and warned Inverness Caley Thistle a major upset is on the cards. City face the Premiership club in the Scottish Cup this weekend. And Nicolson — who holds the club record for appearances at Borough Briggs — knows this will be a game in a million for Elgin. He said: “All the boys are buzzing for next week now. It will be a big game for Elgin and the area as a whole. “This is my tenth season here and there have been a lot of great matches, but this is one I’m really looking forward to. “I know a lot of people still think of it as a big derby so there’s going to be a lot of people at the game. “What I would say is it’s not a game where we are just going to turn up. We are going to go out and try to win it ...''

Richie is the one suddenly sapped of confidence. His bearded look and voice do not currently inspire and after both Motherwell and County, he sounds very down but is not blaming the players. Fergie came close to the sack but survived and the rest is history. I am sure Richie will do the honourable thing even though he appears to have a 4 year contract - bound to be performance clauses in that though - if we capitulate to Elgin and Partick. We were asleep for the first few minutes of each half yesterday but overall played well. I had said in advance of the game that Lonsana needed a rest as indeed did Cole. Once those players were replaced we began to play well but were exposed by the third goal. The club has the players to get results against Elgin and Partick but should we lose against Partick, that will be the key moment for action on the managerial front.

We need to get it sorted on the pitch immediately and then take each game as it comes. Too many probaly thought that after Richie won manager of the month that we were on easy street. Lots of games were winnable. Yet here we are probably on the worse run in our history, in danger of being cut adrift, and we still think things will be all right. Motherwell was a must win according to Richie. Prior to the somewhat fluke opener by Motherwell, my aspiration was not to lose a point as so often happened in the relegation year. Despite a lot of effort, we were unable to fight back. We lost another point. One that would have taken us above Hamilton and kept Motherwell in our sights. I suspect we will see some changes for the Ross County game. Lonsana needs a rest. Aaron has a good record against County. Fisher needs a start possibly with Billy on the other wing. We definitely need to freshen up the attack. As for the three in midfield I suspect it will be Drapes, Tansey and Cole or Vigurs. Vigurs is more likely to get the nod because he knows County well, he did work hard against Motherwell and it seems Fulham want Cole back or elsewhere.

Keegan and Toshack, Rooney and Hayes, Doumbouya and Boden.....his only senior goal was against County so he might well get the call on Hogmanay...

DS and Tullochs...

Outstanding gift if confirmed.

The starting position is probably the belief we will not get relegated by being a more attack minded team. After a spell at the bottom that focussed minds, we had a fortuitous run, that lead to Richie being named Manager of the Month. Since then things have gone really pear shaped. We are not currently showing attack minded qualities that get results and the attack is far from being the best form of defence. Injuries and suspensions are an issue for all clubs beyond Celtic, Rangers, Hearts and Aberdeen. We cannot use that as an excuse. The club has a problem attracting supporters so to develop a stronger defence culture might lead to a further decline in attendances and support. However, to survive, we do need to tighten up at the back and that needs to happen pretty soon with December to the winter break looking to be a dangerous time. A defeat in Dingwall on the 31st could lead to a long and worrying January break that restarts with our bogey team Partick. To survive we need more than ever the spirit of 'Stronger together'. Like many relegated sides, the players we have can produce results if they operate better as a unit. Josh may well seek to move on in January and that could exacerbate the defensive problem but that is a known possibility.

Griffiths' tackle on Polly was from behind and potentially very dangerous. It was not intended to harm but should not have been made. I would say the failure to book him was one of the few things Crawford Allen got wrong. The other incident for me was when Jake was chopped down as he beat a range of players and was heading for goal.

Billy Mckay took until late October to score his first SPL goal for the club.....this is the first time we have had two big up front players competing for the starting position. Both players want to improve which fits the philosophy of the club. Who actually knows how far each can go.

We have to give great credit to the Telegraph. I do not read their paper but they have succeeded both with this investigation and that into the expenses scandal at Westminster in highlighting significant governance failings where regulatory or audit bodies have failed.This shows why we need a free press.

We did not play very well at Alloa on what appears to be quite a good artificial pitch. However, that learning experience for some of the newer players could help us Saturday and providing we do not get too confident given our record at New Douglas Park, we might just scrape some more valuable points.

Having now seen the penalty incident in the highlights, I have to say the referee this week, got the decision correct. The tackle on Billy took place just inside the top corner of the box.

...and who could forget

Utterly dangerous tackle that should be banned worldwide. The problem for Scottish football is that it needs referees and these people are probably subject to significant abuse, as are their families, for the decisions they make or do not make. It must be pretty intimidating. Not sure if the Compliance Officer can take the weight off Alan and take retrospective action against Craig Gordon - Scottish football just cannot endorse such dangerous play.

The Celtic view suggests they play to different laws: Celtic's assistant manager Davies says after seeing replays the decision to wave play on was the right one. "Obviously it's not a penalty," he said the day after the game. "I think the guy hasn't had enough speed to get away from him so I don't [even] think it's a foul. "I think if the guy has got speed then he goes across and probably scores a goal but I think the player is waiting for the contact, he's trying to be cute and I think the referee had a very good game. He made a very good decision." So there you have. Slow players who are kicked or held by opponents cannot be fouled. Misjudged or ill timed tackles on slow or cute players are legitimate. Patronising and clearly supporting his own player! I wonder what the Celtic view was about some of the singing? That appears to have been over looked.

To add insult to injury, Craig Thompson told Brian Rice that if he went to look at TV evidence he would be sent to the stands.

He is our top scorer and in his first season scored two goals against Celtic at home. If this was an English game, the referee would certainlt have booked or sent off Sviachenko, and then awarded a free kick on the edge of the box. Curiously enough, Chris Sutton saw it as a clear and deliberate foul by Sviachenko. Draper was not acting!!!!!!!!!!! He was brought down. That said, I think Celtic deserved a point today but the Referee did not get quite a few decisions right.