DoofersDad

Wasn't Barrowman it s was a Aaron Muirhead own goal That makes sense. A miss hit shot from Barrowman hitting a defender and going in seems more likey than the ball going from any part of his anatomy straight into the goal.

Dissapointing to draw after starting brighter and scoring a terrific goal. I felt had we pressed harder a 2nd goal might have knocked the stuffing out of them but it didn't happen. We need to make a few more of our attacks count as we always looked far more dangerous than Hearts. But credit to Hearts. It was a nervy start from them but midway through the first half they began to get stuck in and our midfield and front players were given very little time on the ball. We were not as fluid as of late and we did not find our passes as well, but in a large part I think that was down to the pressure Hearts applied. Raven, Warren and Meekings were our standout players. Most of Hearts' success came when attacking Shinnie and he looked vulnerable at times. Roberts was again disappointing. He has talent but seems scared to take defenders on. I hate to say it, but he seems to be going backwards and not developing at all. Doran did not have his best game but always looked far more effective than Roberts. OTJ scored a great goal but otherwise failed to impress. That may have had something to do with the return of Foran as I don't feel OTJ and Foran work together as well as OTJ and Draper do. I think we really missed Draper's presence in midfield today. I'm never quite sure what to make of Foran. He does a lot of things very well. He works hard, he's great in the air and today he made several superb tackles and yet I tend to get the impression that the team plays better when he's not there. There is a tendency for him to follow the ball and the team loses shape. If Draper is fit for the next match it will need to be Roberts who gives way and I would put Foran in left midfield where he will be able to provide useful cover for G Shinnie who should be encouraged to be more attack minded than he was today. And finally a word about a few of our moaning fans again. Yes it was a generally poor team performance by this season's standards and it was disappointing to lose a late goal but that does not excuse the significant exodus when Hearts scored. A bloke in front of me got up in disgust and said he was "not watching anymore of this nonsense". FFS! We are just 2 points off the top of the SPL and have now gone 10 games since we last lost! We are also 1 more point further ahead of County than we were this morning. So all in all, I think that's pretty good. If Barcelona can lose to Celtic, surely we can be excused for drawing with Hearts.

Well. I'm afraid our sing song was rudely interupted by the Liverpool and Accrington Useless Rules for the Enforcement of Nonsense Committee Executive However, I am delighted to say that following an appeal to the Ministry of Commonsense, permission to continue the sing song has been obtained. So, shower gel at the ready. Here we go! When you sit in the Kop put a peg on your nose And don't be afraid of the smell You will soon get a shower When the sprinkler starts And the scousers will get one as well Wash on through the rain Wash on in the drain Let your hair be washed and blown Wash on, wash on, with soap on your parts And you'll never wash alone You'll never wash alone :ictscarf: :ictscarf:

Barrowman for the pars

Harry's just been on Radio Scotland. He say's he's not interested - you know.

You mean we're going to bribe someone to get there?

No. The SFA think that as well. And it wouldn't surprise me if it wasn't for much the same reasons.

Why on earth would we want to pay for any of their players to come here on loan!

You'll never wash alone.

I suspect A Shinnie misses very few in training but it is not so easy when the pressure is on. Maybe it just needs a bit more practice because really you should fail to score on vert few occasions. Hit it hard enough and wide enough in those difficult to reach places and no keeper will stop it. Easier said than done but the technique Renegade refers to is one I can't understand is not used more. There is a little loss in power but it is more than compensated for by the fact that the keeper simply has no opportunity to move before the ball is struck. It gives a greater margain for error but because you are not taking a run up there is less scope for making an error. Of course, if you must take a run up then take a tip or two from the best. A few penalies from the King towards the end of this clip.

**** I'll be out of the country. I'll just look forward to Inverurie Locos at home in the 5th round. Whilst not the draw I would have wished for, this must be a great draw for football in the Highlands. Should be a cracking game. Hopefully the interest it will create will help to increase interest in football in the North in general and this will be reflected in league attendances as well. A win would really help to cement our confidence and dominance over County and leave them with just survival to play for.

Dangerous thing to say. You could still be right.

From the bemused expressions on their faces it looked as though some of them had never seen clean water before. It reminds me of the bewildered astonishment of a Malaysian student we had on a placement when she saw snow for the first time.

I'll bet there's fans, players and clubs up and down the country who will be seeing us as the team to avoid.

Semi final or not, it is the league cup and not the Scottish cup and it simply doesn't have the same pull. I don't think there will be many who wish to travel to Hampden and personally I would rather it was at Perth as fans will be closer to the action than at Hampden and it will create a better atmosphere. The fact that Perth is easier to get to will also be an attraction for some. But even if it is at Perth we won't sell our allocation. Just my view and I look forward to being proved wrong. What I am certain of is that the few who do go will do the team proud.

I hope not. I would hate for him to leave us and sink without trace. Rooney is out on loan at Swindon and was taken off at half time today.

Shiels' interview with Chick Young was a disgrace. He would not answer a straightforward question on whether he thought Kilmarnock should have had a penalty because he said that if he criticised the referee he would be in trouble. Even when Chick Young explained to him that he wasn't asking him to criticise the referee - just to give an opinion on whether he thought it should have been a penalty - he still refused to say because he would get into trouble if he told the truth! He says he has to be really careful what he says - but he's actually been very careful to deliberately refuse to express an opinion on a particular matter in a way which made it absolutely clear what he thought and which implied strong criticism of both the referee and the authorities. What he said was clearly designed to be far more controversial than simply saying that he thought the referee got it wrong. But worse, to my mind, is the quote above about a fellow manager. Just what is he saying there? It's said in a pally sort of way and is seemingly complimentary to Terry, but it is very difficult to interpret his statement in any other way but that Terry has developed a relationship or arrangements with referees such that they will give the 50:50 decisions our way. That is a very serious thing indeed to imply and he really needs to be taken to task for that.

We've had more penalties simply because we are playing the ball on the deck in the box. Long may it continue. What we do need is a reliable penalty taker. Whatever their other attributes may be the Shinnies do not look like natural penalty takers - apart from those that have been missed the ones that have been scored have looked saveable. Also, I would not be surprised if the referees start giving us only ones that are stonewallers. If they see us getting more than what might be seen as our "fair share" they may think we are playing for the penalties and we'll not get them. Worse still, we may have players booked for simulation. If that happens it will be important not to complain but just get on with it. We are creating enough chances that we should not need penalties to win games.

With us leading the way by going third in the SPL, it has been a good day for North football. I have to grudgingly acknowledge the gudgies win against Aberdeen whilst Elgin thumped a team in the division above them in the cup. Also in the cup there were wins for Deveronvale and Turriff whilst Nairn and Inverurie both drew against 2nd division opposition. Clach and Cove both went out but by the odd goal away to Ayr and Partick respectively but those are very respectable performances. It really goes to show what a good standard the Highland league is. All in all a very, very good day for North football.

Its more than novelty. Regardless of what the Dons fans were doing, that crowd demonstrates that the County fans are getting begind their team well. After a solid but unspectacular start it looked as though they might be finding it a little bit tough, but they have picked themselves up after getting humpred by us and are managing to secure wins when they might have been content with a draw. We may be 3rd (which is brilliant) but they are only 3 points behind us. We need to keep winning to stay in front of them and we will need to get the support behind the team. Our crowd against St Johnstone was pathetic on a good day for watching footy - hopefully the message will get through to a few more folk that this could be our best season ever both in terms of what the club achieves and the way the team is playing.

I'm shocked too. I didn't think Dennis was the type to go anywhere near a nightclub.

But you're not comparing like with like. When you watch an SPL match you are watching the top footballers in the country. If you were to watch the top performers in the country in music, drama or comedy etc you would be paying at least as much. If you are go skating you are entertaining yourself. Skating's an expensive way to entertain yourself - you can kick a ball around the Bught for free!

Roll on retirement. Then I might be able to get to some of these away games. I'd love to be there as I think it should be a good occasion and a great game.

Esson was somewhat shakey in the games I've seen this year - not the same confident Esson of last year. Reguero has really impressed since he has come in and to my mind deserves the chance. It may just be coincidence with the back 4 gelling at the same time as Reguero has come in, but I just get the sense that there is better communication from him, and his central defenders in particular have more confidence in him. Even when Esson is playing well and makes good saves and is commanding on crosses, a weakness in his game is that he is not vocal enough. The keeper has a good view of what's in front of him and needs to keep his defence aware - I never feel that Esson does that enough. Reguero has done nothing wrong and for deserves a decent run in the side to give him the opportunity to prove whether or not he is better than Esson.

Was this before or after she died?