DoofersDad

No prediction from me - I'm just pleased that there's no chance of it being Ally McCoist.

Great result for Everton. It would be good for the game if one or two of the clubs that are not mega rich could really get in the mix this year - but I'll settle for the Villa staying up.

Young, Berbatov and Van Persie on the bench. What hope for the rest of the footballing world when a club can afford to have such hugely talented players sitting out the first game of the season. And shouldn't we, the paying public, feel short changed by the fact that so many top players are sitting on the bench or aren't even in the squad. They should be on view entertaining the crowds week in and week out when they are fit. The big clubs buy some of the top players not because they need them but to stop other clubs buying them. Teams like ICT struggle to find decent strikers and the reason is that so many good players are signed up to top clubs and only get a handful of games

I am picking up a general feel good factor from contributors to the forum this season. In general people like what they see but they are not going to go on and on about it. The nature of a forum is to discuss things which are controversial and hopefully we can do so in a way which can be both humerous and respectful. If anyone does not like the way particular folk contribute then they don't have to read their posts. In football as in other things, the way to guarantee medioctity is to focus on praising the good and to brush aside the bad. The way to success is to acknowledge and praise the good but to focus on the bad and to try and eliminate it. You can be sure that the coaches of all the medalists for team GB did just that. You don't improve unless you understand what is not 100% and then work to improve on it. I would hope and expect that if we were top of the league we would still have people on this forum criticising certain things and making suggestions for improvement. I would however be very disappointed if they did not also recognise it was brilliant to actually be top of ther league. This season has stated with some promising displays and a change of style. There is a lot to be optimistic about but let's be honest, the big talking point has to be the sendings off of 2 of our most experienced midfielders and I really fail to see how discussing that can be called negative.

Perhaps Dougal can offer B&B?

You're probably right. Whatever we say is unlikely to change the Manager's view on his favourite player but it's interesting to hear what views others have.

You appear to be making excuses for him but my point is that it is precisely in these sort of situations where refs make poor decisions and where opponents commit fouls that a clear head is needed. The captain needs to keep his head and ensure his team mates retain their focus. Today he was a very poor example to his team and it is to their huge credit that they kept their composure and directed their agression constructively in salvaging a draw. I hope Foran has learnt a lot from the youngsters today.

He's pretty much been a defence-minded midfielder for the best part of a season. How many goals should he be scoring? It's only relatively recently that he has been more defence minded. Remember that last season he claimed he was going to fill the void left by Rooney and what did het get? Just a couple of goals if I remember correctly. But the number of goals is really a side issue to the main points about whether he should remain captain or even be in the starting XI at all.

The question of where Butcher plays Foran is immaterial if he is constantly suspended. In his post match interview Terry rather dismissed the sending off saying that lack of match practice caused him to miss his timing and he was keen to get stuck in! No Terry! Nice try for the media but this was Foran raging at a decision he did not like and losing the head. Hopefully Terry is raging at Foran behind the scenes and setting him straight. Last week Foran was absent on suspension and OTJ, another influential midfielder had a rush of blood to the head and saw red. We have a small squad and simply cannot afford to be losing players due to suspension. I would expect that Terry has been speaking to the whole team about the need for discipline and control after OTJ's inexcusable behaviour last week, but what do we get? We get our captain, returning from suspension himself and unable to last 45 minutes before he too gives the team a mountain to climb. It is interesting to reflect that a number of people on this forum were saying that it was indiscipline amongst the team which put them from buying season tickets and to my mind there is no doubt that we would encourage more to attend if the players were better role models. Defenders of Foran will no doubt say we need a captain to be fired up and to play for the shirt. But that is only one quality needed in a captain. Leadership requires control and that is what Foran lacks. What use is a captain if he is sitting in the dressing room whilst his team are 2 goals and a man down? And that brings me to the question of just how influential a captain is he in the first place? We have had 2 pretty decent performances without him and then he plays for 45 minutes and we go 2 - 0 down. He is absent for the 2nd 45 minutes and we pull the 2 goals back being a man down. It really does beg the question of whether or not he is the best man for the captaincy. I know that Foran rather divides the fan base and I would have to say that I am really undecided even after all the time he has been with the club. He can be brilliant but at other times he seems to snipe rather than encourage and he has a real weakness in his self control which he has demonstrated spectacularly today. Apart from the captaincy, he also does not score as many goals as he should. Should he remain captain? Should he be in the starting line up at all? To be honest I would have to say "I don't know" to both questions and would be interested to hear what others think.

Penalty was for King holding Sutton. If he was holding then it's a pen by the rules - but where is the consistency? If a pen was given every time a defender held a player there would 20 pens every game. Brilliant effort to come back with 10 men from 2 goals down. I expect there are some choice words on the Hearts forum just now!

Don't know that your description reflects the game I saw. The BBC report suggested ICT had 56% of possession which seems more consistent with my impression of a very strong first quarter from us but with Kilmarnock edging the game after that. It also reflects more passing and maintaining possession better than last season's long ball tactic. I agree that you see the game better from an elevated position but you can shout more effectively from the touchline. There needs to be communication from someone with a better view to those on the touchline.

The Tartan Army are nothing but a bunch of kilt-wearing, cringe-inducing, drunken hooligans. Better the Tartan Army than the trouser wearing, cringe inducing, drunken hooligans that have shamed the name of English football so often in the past.

Just because someone was born in Scotland doesn't necessarily make them Scottish. 6 gold medals were won for team GB by athletes born outside the UK. This was an event for people eligible to represent GB and NI so there is really no point trying to claim Scottish medals. Let's wait till the commonwealth games when athletes who meet the eligibility criteria for Scotland and elsewhere can decide for themselves whether they want to be considered as Scottish or not. I have no doubt that on that basis Scotland will win more medals per head of population than the English. I think the games have been brilliant. Team GB came 3rd in the medal table with significantly more gold medals than Russia and Germany who normally would be expected to be well ahead of us. Whilst the Government may have spent a lot of money on infrastructure, the athletes have been supported through the lottery and their achievements will hopefully inspire youngsters to try out a variety of different sports and we will have a healthier population as a result. Also, top marks to the BBC. Coverage has been superb - and still is through their website.

Is there a reason the magazine / programme can't be sold inside the ground? Surely more would be sold if they were.

Looks promising to me. We haven't got a replacement for Jonny Hayes on a good day but to be honest, he didn't have too many of those - we tended to see flashes of brilliance rather than consistent tormenting of defences over 90 minutes. I just get the sense that this team will blend together nicely and will end up having a better balance to it. We just need someone to get some confidence in front of goal.

Since when when has supporting a club meant you can't express an opinion of the way a club is managed? We know that the club does not have a lot of money but the comments IHE and others make are generally comments about how we deploy the players that we have. The club needs bums on seats and therefore the club needs to hear what it is that prevents people putting their bums on the seats. Expressing a view point which just happens to be critical should be seen as helpful. And whether you like it or not, you should at least respect people's right to express it. It really is pretty tiresome getting these constant tirades which suggests that saying anything other than that Butcher is the new Messiah should be a hanging offence. I don't know IHE personally but I have seen him at matches and believe me, if a few more people supported the club the way he does the club would be a hell of a lot better off for it and the match day experience would a hell of a lot better.

But that's where inconsistency and discrimination creep in and cause problems. Are you saying it's OK for a dad with a young child or for a "respectable" looking middle aged lady to be allowed to break the rules but not a group of perfectly decent youngsters who are wearing team shirts. If stewards use what they think is common sense and initiative it will mean that some supporters will get annoyed not just because a silly rule is being enforced but because the steward has made a judgement that the person they have targeted might just be the type of ned who will throw a bottle onto the pitch. It will be the inconsistency of approach andthe prejudices of individual stewards that will cause the agro rather than the rule itself. The rule should be "no throwing of bottles" rather than "no bottles". That way, everyone can be treated the same and with respect.

I agree with the first bit but why should Butcher make him suffer? He is potentially one of our most influential players for the coming season and Butcher's job is to make sure OTJ understands that he cannot afford to react like that again. He also needs to understand that every other team in the SPL will now be primed to press OTJ's buttons. Butcher will understand from his own personal experience the dangers of misplaced aggression and far from making OTJ suffer he needs to support him and work with him to channel his aggression constructively to the benefit of the team.

This was my first game of the season. It was an interesting day and these are my thoughts for what they are worth. It was disappointing not to win after the start we got. We could have been out of sight after 20 minutes. Twice the ball broke free in the 6 yard box but there was nobody following up from midfield to take the pickings on offer. This was a symptom both of playing generally too deep and also a general lack of understanding of where everbody was meant to be playing. It's a new unit and that better understanding will come. King and Warren looked pretty solid and Raven was generally OK. I thought Shinnie played well and offered more creatively going forward. OTJ and Draper both have a presence and skill. Draper in particular looks inpressive going forward but both appeared to need either to up their work rate or get a bit fitter. I'm still not convinced by Sutherland as a winger and feel Mackay would be more effective playing off Sutherland up front. The crowd was poor both in terms of numbers and noise. The guy next to me, for example, clapped when Shinnie scored and at no other time. I just do not get the mentality of people who attend and cannot be bothered to even applaud when players play well. Then there were the usual hecklers who shouted abuse to our own team whenever a move broke down. How on earth do they think that is going to motivate the guys? Then there were the ones who left early - a couple of guys left, one saying "I've had anough of this sh*te". It's not what goes on on the pitch that might put me off going to games, it is being surrounded by people like that which p***es me off. I could maybe understand that reaction at the end of last season when there had been a lot of problems and the style of play was not good. But what was really pleasing yesterday was that there was a real desire to play attractive football. It seems that the criticism of the style of play has been listened to and we will get a more attractive passing game. There were very few hoofed high balls up to Billy Mackay and as a result I thought he looked a lot more threatening than I have seen previously. Of course, for this to work well the team needs to get a better understanding and at times yesterday they looked very much as though they were trying to find their way. I saw a lot yesterday which gives me cause to think that when the players get to know each other better we could see some really good football at TCS this season. I just hope that supporters appreciate what's on offer and give the team some proper support.

There was a lady a few rows in front of me in section C who was not in the first flush of youth and who was drinking from a small plastic bottle. Hardly a threat to anyone. Two stewards approached her and she had to hand over the bottle. She was allowed to finish the water (or gin) but it was like an addict having their dose of methadone being supervised in a pharmacy. It may seem very unnecessary but the problem lies with the rule and not the stewards. It is all very well saying stewards should use their common sense and not enforce these rules, but where do you draw the line? Most people who might have a bottle of water to slake their thirst on a warm day are not going to look as though they may hurl the bottle onto the pitch, and how can a steward reasonably say to somone that they are confiscating their bottle because they look as though they are the sort of person who may throw it. And what happens if they don't enforce the rule and then someone throws a bottle and someone gets injured? The stewards would be pilloried for not doing their job. As with so many things in life the answer should be in dealing severely with those who cause trouble rather than preventing trouble by penalising law abiding decent folk. Not being able to take a bottle in with you to drink is crazy.

You ask what the point is of carrying on with the arguments and then proceed to carry on with the argument! Why should the 800,000 scots or however many there may be living in England or anywhere else get a vote? Why should people who happen to have been born in Scotland and have chosen to live elsewhere get a vote? It is those of us who actually live in Scotland regardless of where we were born who should get the vote. Terry Butcher was born in Singapore so are you suggesting he should only be allowed to vote on matters affecting Singapore?

It's a lovely day to day. The walk will do you good.

Soldiers down South get the olympics but those stationed up North get to watch ICT. Those down South must be thinking it is all so unfair.

Laurence, if the thought of independence is so awful you could always move back to England. I'm English, I like it here and I'm staying.

We live in a parliamentary democracy with laws being made by the people for the people. If you don't like a law there are ways of lobbying to get the law changed. Some laws are stupid because sometimes we elect stupid people to parliament. Some people think some laws are stupid but fail to understand the rationalle for that law. But love 'em or hate 'em laws are laws and there are penalties for breaking them. If you knowingly break a law which you don't happen to like then you can really have no complaint if you receive that penalty.