DoofersDad

He took his time about it though. If any of the defenders had been doing their job they just might have got back in time to block or at least put pressure which might have caused him to pull it wide from 2 foot.

A great shame for Rory but apart from that it was fantastic to watch. With just a few holes to play, any one of 9 players could have won it. There was the drama of Donald hitting the flag with his 2nd to the 18th and the ball richocheting off the green only for him to hole his chip back for a birdie and then the 3 aussies surging through the field only to be pipped at the end by the South African with 4 birdies in the last 4 holes. I don't suppose the Scottish Open will have quite the same drama but there will be a lot of good players on show and the excitement of the Masters should help to boost attendance. Get your tickets now!

I hope Rory can hang on to win, if not Rory then another brit. if not another bit then a european, if not a european then please not a yank but it if is a yank please, please let it not be bloody Woods.

I would like to think Caley D was right . However, I wonder if the situation in Wales is a pointer here. The bigger Welsh club sides of Cardiff and Swansea have always played in the English leagues (as have Wrexham) and despite now having entry into European competition, the teams that make up the Welsh league are dire. Quality and gates are low. There is an argument that if those 3 clubs returned to a Welsh league (the opposite of what we are suggesting) the interest in the league and the overall standard would rise significantly. Obviously they are not going to do that but I think the argument of what would happen if they did seems logical. It therefore seems reasonable to argue that the reverse process in Scotland could only lead to an overall drop in standards. Of course there are significant differences in Scotland. We have a bigger population and several significantly bigger teams than in Wales so there is a momentum to keep this going. Football fans in other towns in South Wales will tend to support the local big club because over the years they are in effect seen to be representing Wales and are not directly competing with their home town club. Also, Wales is more Rugby orientated and this reduces the football fan base. The big Welsh clubs playing in England undoubtedly makes the Welsh league weaker, but would the same be true in Scotland? I don't think it would and would certainly love it if we had the opportunity to find out.

Motherwell have won 2-1 so for us to beat them to the top 6 slot we need them to lose to Hearts and then get 7 points from the next 3 games. Possible but it is out of our hands now. If Motherwell get a draw we will need 3 straight wins. If they win its all over. With St Mirren winning Hamilton are all but down and with Dundee Utd losing Hearts are all but assured of 3rd. Once the top six make up is finally decided there will now only be which of the OF wins the title as anything worthwhile to play for. Serious anticlimax to the season unless Hearts can do us a big favour by beating Motherwell and rolling over against us.

Had the game gone ahead, there is surely no way sanctions would have been taken by the SPL. Had commonsense prevailaed with the agreement of both clubs and the TV company we would have witnessed a football match taking place on a beautiful spring afternoon - a slightly greasy surface no doubt but otherwise a perfect day for a game of football. The decision to have gone ahead would have received praise from the media and the fans. Any suggestion that the game was nearly called off would have been considered laughable. In these circumstances the suits in at the SPL would have to be completely barking mad to impose sanctions. Ah! Of course! So I'm wrong. There would have been serious sanctions!

County used to get games called off due to the state of their pitch whilst our games went ahead. Now it is the other way round. The met office is also telling us that for the UK as a whole this has been the driest March since 1953. Saturday's rain was heavy but not exceptional and it was not preceded by a period of rain which would have left the ground saturated - a fact evidenced by the river levels being pretty normal for the time of year. The tide theory is intersting but a red herring - the pitch is above high tide level and should have drained enough before the spring tides to allow the new rain to soak into the soil. Note that the exposed aspect of the pitch allows wind and sun to dry the pitch better than more enclosed stadia. Rain fell from the skies and the tides ebbed and flowed long before the USH was installed. We even used to have Bobby Mann compressing the ground but we didn't have these problems before the USH went in. Commonsense says the USH must be a factor here.

Right or wrong, this was clearly a marginal decision and a difficult one for the referee. It is often the case in these situations that there is just one area of the pitch which is causing some concern. It would be this type of situation where the cricket pitch type roller could come into its own. These bits of kit can shift a lot of water and would make short work of a small area of concern. But you can never win. If we had such kit it would be used in circumstances where without it an earlier postponement would be straightforward. There would be valiant efforts to get the pitch playable but all to no avail. A late call off would then lead to criticism of the club.

I wonder .... Do angry sheep break french windows?

The point about those who engage in violence and do damage at these demonstations is that it completely undermines the message that the vast majority of protestors are wanting to get across. It has three very negative effects. Firstly, it captures all the publicity so that the arguments the organisers want to get across is lost. Secondly it results in the cause and the genuine protestors being associated with criminal actions. Thirdly, the threat of violence puts people off attending either because they are geniunely fearful for their safety or because they do not wish to be associated with such acts. Those who engage in such activity do so much damage to the cause of the protest that I often wonder whether they are in the pay of those the protesters are protesting against.

Isn't the plan for the season to start in July? That may be the case but it can still take place in July before the season starts.

They could go into liquidation, be fined 25 points and still be in the top 6. This is a complete non issue that will no doubt dominate the OF obsessed media for weeks.

We've been here many times before. We wouldn't have this debate if the rules the stewards (good or bad) weren't so stupid. Bring back terracing and atmosphere!

The reason Scots is included is so that if the majority of the population feel some recognition is being paid to their cultural heritage, they will be more tolerant to the promotion of gaelic.

...and sober.

At least they shouldn't have fans running onto the pitch. You'd be knackered before you got there. Apart from the distance, the seating towards the front is incredibly flat which will mean your view of the distant action is impaired by the people in front of you. I suggest they instal big screens all round the running track so that fans can see the action. Loud speakers could be installed behind the screen to project the noise from the stands so that the players can be aware that there are actually some fans in the distant reaches of the stands.

I think, judging by the red dots, that my command of the english language has wooshed right over the heads of a few people. For something to be your least favourite then in must be in your favourites list. i.e the lesser of your favourites. Interesting point. I wonder if you have a dictionary definition to support your case? I can see where you're coming from but I would argue that the common use of the phrase to mean "most disliked" takes precedence over any technical linguistic argument. Its part of the evolution of language. Being the least favourite is placing something at the bottom of your ranking of liking something.

Damn it! Another poll I wanted to vote in but can't. I think the answer is 104 but it's not included in any of the options.

Would be good to support the youngsters at this and I would expect a good standard. England currently bottom of the mini league of 5 I see. I might have to sit in the South Stand to support the underdogs!

I'm not voting because I think the answer is 10. The poll provides an option for 2 - 10 and also one for 10 - 50 and therefore there is no valid choice for me to express my view. If I opt for 2 - 10 then my vote is not included within another option which also contains my chosen number , so whilst my chosen number is within the range 10 - 50, I cannot vote for it. This means I am disenfranchised. I therefore refuse to chose between the 2 possible options as a matter of principle. I shall be in contact with the United Nations asking them to intervene in restoring true democracy to this forum. I also call upon the mods to move this to the nonsense forum.

Perhaps if the guy's aim had been better it would not have been necessary to mop around his feet.

Starting line up spot on. As for the subs - depends on who Terry wants to rest when we are 4 - 0 up midway through the 2nd half. But the first bit is pobably right.

I didn't like to be too pedantic before but the first option is 0 - 50. There is of course a world of difference to thinking there are none and thinking there are as many as 50. But then the second choice is 50 - 150. So if I think there are 50, what do I go for? 0 - 50 or 50 - 150? Worryingly this is a basic mistake you often see in what are supposed to be serious surveys by qualified researchers Anyhow, it's all been nonsense but it's been fun. There's been precious little else on the forum of late so, thank you, Dougal, for giving us a laugh.

Couldn't agree more, particularly with Jonny back. It is clear that teams are scared of Jonny and whenever he has the ball there are 2 or often 3 defenders on him. That means there should be one or two of our team who are being given space. Putting someone up front with Rooney will mean there is either space to exploit or Jonny gets more freedom to terrorise defences.

I take it that this detail has been posted here because the wise words of the contributors to this forum make it obvious that there are numerous members of CTO who would do a much better job than the present incumbant? I'd like to help but you can't afford me.