DoofersDad

The point is that expectations are not the same as hopes and dreams. I can hope that we win the league one year and I can dream that we win the Champions league, but I don't expect we will win either. By not getting carried away with my expectations it is less likely I will be disappointed at what the club achieves, I will see an outcome as success whereas someone with unrealistic expectations will be disappointed by the same outcome. And I can still enjoy my hopes and dreams as well. Seems pretty positive to me!

One can't help but laugh at the irony of the SNP attempting yet again to adopt the moral high ground on this one. This is the party which is apparently so outraged at Scotland being taken out of the EU. Yet it is the EU's internal freedom of movement policy which is the reason for the immigration rules relating to non EU citizens which they are so vociferously trying to undermine. Whether or not the SNP thinks the currently legislation is right or not, as the elected Government of Scotland they have a responsibility to uphold and support the due process of the law. By doing the exact opposite and acting as a pressure group on this issue, the SNP are demonstrating yet again that they are not fit to govern.

What on Earth is negative about Kingsmills' post? Just because some people engage in realistic, objective discussion about the team does not mean they don't want the team to win and doesn't mean they are not optimistic. It's no wonder we're fast becoming a country full of depressives when people cling to unrealistic expectations only to have those expectations shattered when reality bites.

I sit in the North stand and can barely catch a word the announcer says. Haven't had that problem with others.

Surely, with Alloa being the seeded side we will be going down there as underdogs. No complacency from me, but it must be seen as a great chance to pull off another cup upset!

You're sounding awfully like a closet County fan!

That was fun! Clearly Arbroath are not the greatest of teams but I think this was more a case of excellent attacking play than poor defending. Last year we had a lot of possession but seemed incapable of creating chances, but today we were pulling them this way and that with players running at the defence, we were pinging long diagonal balls across the park, we were slotting measured passes behind defenders and we were chipping balls over the top. Sometimes the delivery wasn't that great, but the variety of passing, the movement off the ball and the way players constantly wanted to get forward was very impressive. The way we played can perhaps best be summed up by the fact that Carl Tremarco will be disappointed he didn't get a hat-trick. It is looking good for the future. To my mind, one of the most promising aspects of the start of Foran's reign as manager is the quality of player he has brought in. With MacNaughton, King, Boden and Mulraney, Richie has already brought in considerably more talent than Hughes managed in nearly 3 years. Of course, we are yet to play any Premier Division opposition so next week will be a real test of how the team is shaping up. On today's performance there are very real grounds for optimism. that the club can start moving forwards again.

We never even scored 12 goals in a month under Hughes.

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Oh! This is priceless! So, supporters of independence who also wanted to be in the EU, voted against independence despite the fact that the Prime Minister was promising a referendum on EU membership should the Tories be re-elected in 2015. Apparently they did this because they thought he was lying, They also apparently thought this was a surer method of retaining EU membership than voting for the independence they wanted and having a Scottish Government that was very vocal in their support for EU membership. Then, when Cameron actually calls the referendum, they claim they've been duped because they could not reasonably have expected the Prime Minister to keep his word! It's not really the strongest argument for having a 2nd indy referendum, is it? I know the nationalists are good at creating grievances, but feeling aggrieved because the UK Prime Minister has the audacity to actually honour a promise he made to the nation really is sinking into new depths of desperation.

In other words you are doing what others do and having a pop at Charles without even attempting to respond to the numerous objective criticisms made of the SNP Government. As to offering ideas as to how they could do things better, I'm not sure how often ones needs to repeat things. What the SNP need to do is to respect the results of the referendums and work with others for the common good. Sturgeon made a major speech earlier this week in which she identified 5 "key interests" which she says must be protected, and it is maybe worth look at these in a bit more detail. What these are and what she said are in italics below followed by brief comment from me. Democratic interests - "the need to make sure Scotland's voice is heard and our wishes respected." The SNP needs to ensure that the wish of the 55% who voted for Scotland to remain in the UK is respected and their voice heard. People everywhere in the UK will expect that their political representatives make their voice heard regardless of how they voted. Economic interests - "safeguarding free movement of labour, access to a single market of 500 million people and the funding that our farmers and universities depend on". There is a need to respect the wishes of the voters of all the UK and the concerns a majority has on free movement. The SNP needs to recognise that free trade with the rest of the UK is more important than with the EU but that it is just as important for the rest of the UK as it is for Scotland that trade deals are optimised and the UK Government funds farmers and universities appropriately. Social protection - "ensuring the continued protection of workers' and wider human rights". Why would a post Brexit Government not ensure this? Some of our legislation actually goes well beyond EU requirements. Ironically the Supreme Court has ruled today that the Scottish Government's Named Person legislation is not compliant with human rights! That is of course subject to appeal, but it hardly gives the SNP any right to bleat about threats to human rights. Solidarity - "the ability of independent nations to come together for the common good of all our citizens, to tackle crime and terrorism and deal with global challenges like climate change". There is absolutely no reason why Brexit stops us doing that! These are worldwide issues and worldwide bodies like the UN are the key players. Arguably, major economic trading blocs might be seen as a barrier to wider international cooperation. Having influence - "making sure that we don't just have to abide by the rules of the single market but also have a say in shaping them." Does Sturgeon seriously believe that an independent Scotland will have any influence in the EU? Scotland has had far more influence as part of the United Kingdom and if influence is seen as important, Scotland needs to remain in the UK. In addition, the UK Government is far more concerned about the interests of the Scottish people than the EU is or ever will be. Sturgeon went on to call the Leave campaign "liars". The words "pot", "kettle" and "black" spring to mind. Let's face it, there was a lack of honesty on both sides, but no worse than in the Indy referendum when the SNP's lies about the NHS were described by the then leader of the Scottish Labour Party as the most disgraceful bit of electioneering she had even come across. She then went on to call Cameron "reckless" for calling the EU referendum. What on earth is reckless about giving the electorate the opportunity to vote on our place in the the EU when the EU has changed beyond all recognition from the union we voted to join over 40 years ago? It is called giving the electorate a democratic voice. It was no less reckless than agreeing to the Indy ref when public opinion polls put support for independence at less than support for leaving the EU was (would she have been happier if the indy referendum had never been called?) And it was certainly far less reckless than the SNP's suggestion of a 2nd indy referendum so soon after the people have clearly stated their wish to remain in the UK. She then called Cameron's failure to plan for Brexit "one of the most shameful abdications of responsibility in modern political history". Strong words, but when do politicians ever campaign on what they are going to do when they lose a vote! What was shameful was the lack of planning by the SNP in the event of them winning the Indy vote. No workable policy on currency, no clarity on EU membership, no realistic financial plan. I'm sorry this is so long but it simply a reflection of the extent to which the SNP is being fundamentally dishonest and undemocratic and is failing to act in the interests of the Scottish people. As we have said repeatedly before, the SNP will only gain sufficient support for independence if it can persuade sufficient voters that Scotland will be better off independent from the UK. It is therefore not in it's interests to have a UK in which Scotland is seen to be a flourishing part and benefits by being part of a greater whole. And that is what Sturgeon's speech was all about. It wasn't about being constructive in the interests of the Scottish people, it was about stirring up grievance, creating divisions and maximising uncertainty. No wonder political leaders in the rest of the UK and in the EU are getting increasingly frustrated by her whinging posturing. The SNP is dominated by the "Independence for better or worse" brigade. They will no doubt be loving Sturgeon's sound bites but this appalling negativity is not in the interests of the people of Scotland. Like it or not, the people of Scotland voted to stay as a part of the United Kingdom and the people of the United Kingdom voted to leave the EU. The Scottish Government have a responsibility to accept the democratic will of the people in those votes and to work constructively with others to make it work for all of us. It is about time Sturgeon and her colleagues abandoned the politics of grievance and started acting in the interests of the people of Scotland. I'm not holding my breath, though.

It's all gone quiet over there...

If a deal was in the offing I'm not sure that B'ham would have played him against Hibs at the weekend. B'ham's trip to Scotland would have been an opportunity for him to take a couple of days up North to see friends and family and so perhaps some folk are drawing wrong conclusions of sightings of him up here. Taking Shinnie on loan would be a costly signing for a position where we already have a number of good options. His goal scoring record since he left us is very poor with only 4 to his name since then. So whilst the thought of his return is certainly interesting I'm not sure I'm desperately excited at the prospect. Having said that, a move back here may be just the thing to give him a bit of a confidence boost and reignite his career.

What a great result and, by the sound of things another highly entertaining match. It is great to see Vigurs getting a hat-trick and I expect there may be a good few more to come from him. In my view, he is one of the most composed finishers we have ever had. If he is playing a bit more forward and we are playing with 2 wingers then that will create the space in the middle to give him opportunities. Very interesting to see how many Premier league sides came a cropper or struggled against lower league opposition that they should have beaten comfortably. It is therefore vital that we don't underestimate Arbroath on Saturday although I would expect that the prospect of needing to win by more than Dundee Utd in order to secure top spot in our group should ensure that we beat them comfortably. As for County, is this the first time that any team's defence of a national trophy has ended before the end of July?

In the last 3 or so weeks numerous points have been made criticising the SNP's position and nobody has addressed any of the points. Instead the only responses are personal attacks on Charles and a suggestion we take our thoughts out of the public domain. I think it is pretty clear from numerous posts above that not only would we warmly welcome someone attempting to defend the SNP's increasingly irrational position on constitutional matters, but we are rather frustrated that nobody seems willing or capable of doing so. So please, feel free to join in.

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I've heard it said that Josh has had a recurrence of his knee problems. No idea if that is true or not. I would hope that Josh is not thinking of moving on if he's thinking that he may not be able to command a regular starting place this year with the rehabilitation of Raven and the arrival of McNaughton. Let's face it, Raven, McNaughton and Warren are hardly spring chickens and we need younger defenders of quality in the squad. If McNaughton becomes a first choice CB (and on Saturday's performance that looks very likely) then I think Josh will learn a lot from the experienced defenders in the team. First choice or not, he will get plenty of opportunities this season and competition for places should help to sharpen his game.

So, not only do you appear to have absolutely no reasoned argument against objective criticism of the SNP Government, you now want to keep that objective criticism out of the public domain. What an excellent demonstration of the the fact that separatists know their arguments are nonsense!

I really like many of Turner's paintings. I know he painted Edinburgh quite a lot and did some illustrations related to some of Sir Walter Scott's books but I can't recall ever having registered that any of his paintings were of the Highlands. Do you know if any of these Highland sketches were used as the inspiration for subsequent paintings? I was interested to see the sketch of Kinkell Castle which is close to where I live. It has a separate artistic connection because it was bought and restored by the artist Gerald Laing who died at the castle just 5 years ago. Laing was internationally renowned and (to bring a sporting theme in here) is the sculptor responsible for the famous 4 statues of rugby players outside Twickenham.

Well Charles, I see the red dot brigade are at it again. They don't like what you say but seem quite incapable of making any argument against it, I agree with much of what you say, but in my opinion I don't think that EU would block an application for membership from an independent Scotland.You are, however, quite right in that the terms of entry would not be as favourable as the UK electorate has just said "No" to. Also, the implications of an independent Scotland being an EU member and the UK not being a member are much more profound than most voters will have imagined. I think the real issue here is that if an independent Scotland negotiated entry into the EU, the Scottish electorate would probably reject the package. As you rightly point out, there are many Nationalists who voted Remain or who abstained because they knew that a UK vote to Leave and a Scottish vote to remain represented the best chance of a 2nd indy ref. But in addition, there are many, like me, who voted Remain but who would not vote for an independent Scotland being in the EU if it compromised our relationship with the rest of the UK - and it undoubtedly would. That being the case, the whole basis of the argument for a 2nd indy referendum would be undermined. But of course, all of this assumes that there is a valid argument for a 2nd indy referendum when there patently is not. Contrary to what the SNP repeatedly state, Scotland has not voted for Scotland to remain in the EU. Their "Remain means Remain" refrain has no validity in this context. The question on the referendum ballot paper was "Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union?" Scotland wasn't mentioned. There was no mention of any bits of the UK which might vote to stay maybe being allowed to stay in the EU! It wasn't just a Scottish vote. It was a UK vote for an outcome for the whole of the UK and we, the voters of the United Kingdom, voted to leave. I voted to remain but unreservedly accept the democratic will of the majority. I do, however, accept the concept that "Remain" should mean "Remain". And in doing so, I would point out that the only referendum we have had which has asked the Scottish voters specifically whether they want Scotland to remain in a Union or not was the 2014 Independence referendum when, on a very high turn out, the people of Scotland voted by a significant margin to remain in the UK. If the SNP is so strong on "Remain means Remain" then they should finally accept that clear instruction from the electorate. They should also recognise that by voting to remain in the UK we were voting to be bound by the democratic decisions made by the UK Government and the wider UK electorate. The Scottish Government's refusal to accept the democratic will of the people in 2 referendums is making Scotland an international laughing stock, it is creating additional economic uncertainty and is damaging our country. It really is no wonder that people are so scathing in their criticism of the SNP.

A slightly disappointing result but a much more entertaining game than we have been used to seeing for the last 2 and a bit years. When we got the ball we are always looking to get forward and pressure the opposition. We created enough chances to have won the game comfortably but we need to be more ruthless in front of goal. Polworth and Boden should both have done better with chances they had. The new signings look very promising. As others have said, McNaughton was excellent. He may lack a bit of pace but he more than makes up for it in the way he reads the game and in his execution. King was excellent too. On that performance I am at a loss to know why Hearts have put him out on a season long loan - particularly to a side that might be challenging them for a European place at the end of the season. Boden also did well enough. I don't think he saw a lot of the ball and he appears to lack the movement and sharpness of Mckay, but he holds the ball up well and seems to have good vision. A bit more sharpness and he could be a very good signing. Mulraney also did well on his home debut. He clearly has talent but needs to have a bit more awareness of the options available to him. Richie seemed to have it right at the Q&A session when he said he was a raw talent who needs developing to realise his potential - a bit like Jonny Hayes when he first came here. He's going to excite us at times but he's also going to frustrate us at times. Hopefully fans will give him time and not get on his back on days when it just doesn't work for him. It was good to see Mackay get a start in goal. To be fair, he was never really tested but his distribution was good. It's a shame he had a penalty shoot out to contend with but you can't fault him the outcome of that. Of the established players I don't think any of them had a particularly good or bad game. One real positive was the use of Tremarco's long throw. Now that we don't have to worry that we may lose possession with a long throw, we can use it to create goal scoring opportunities. Our midfield core of Draper, Tansey, Polworth and Vigurs were not as effective as sometimes but give credit to Utd here. I thought they looked a lot sharper than the team that got relegated last season and they will certainly be challenging hard in a very competitive Championship this season. It is difficult to judge much on a single game I know, but the impression I have is that whilst we may not be good enough for top 6 this year, we should be good enough to avoid relegation. What I am far more confident about is that the football on offer at TCS this year is going to be far more entertaining than we have seen in a while. My man of the match? Richie Foran!

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This is really no different from the arrangements that operate at most entertainment venues or visitor attraction of any size. If you have bought a ticket before you simply go to the entrance. If you haven't, you go to the ticket office and then go to the entrance when you have your ticket. The general principle is correct but the issue is whether infrastructure designed for a different system will be adaptable enough to cope with what, in principle should be a better system. If it doesn't then the club will need to consider investment to change it. In this day and age, the traditional football turnstile operated by someone in a booth does seem very dated. Electronic systems may require a level of investment but they allow for far quicker flow of people and save on staffing costs. So let's give the new arrangement the chance to bed in. If it doesn't work it will give us the opportunity to look at more innovative ways of getting crowds into the ground than the current archaic system.

A particularly weak bench IMO. 3 home grown youngsters who have yet to prove themselves at this level and two new signings who have also to prove themselves at this level. What is also of concern is that there were only 5 on the bench. This shows our squad is pretty threadbare and we do still need at least 2 or 3 signings to compete in the top flight. At least Richie is off to a better start than Brendan Rodgers.

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