DoofersDad

Marley is injured. He's got a broken jaw!

Maybe. But I still think we've been sold a turkey.

Here we are hoping to get 7th spot so we can get an extra £65,000 or so of extra cash for next season in the Scottish Premiership. Meanwhile, Middlesbrough and Brighton are playing a promotion decider this afternoon which is estimated to be worth £170,000,000 to the winners. Given that kind of money, you would have thought that the game's administrators in Scotland could have wring a little more out of the deal. The thing is that if the broadcasters paid more, the clubs could afford better players and deliver a better product.

The Board's statement of last Thursday stated that Devine's decision on his contract offer was "imminent". I guess different people have different interpretations of what imminent means. If Devine were to turn down a contract would Raven then be offered one? Either way, lets hope we hear something this week along with the details of the pre-contract agreements of "at least 2 incoming players" Having made their welcome statement, it is really important that the Board delivers on the substance of it.

I think Roberts had taken a knock. He was certainly struggling a few minutes before he was taken off. I was more surprised at Polworth coming off as he was getting stuck in more than most and had just demonstrated the value of his perseverance with the 2nd goal. In terms of quality, Roberts was head and shoulders above anybody else tonight although I think there must be question marks about his work rate. It seemed everybody else had a bit of a bad day at the office. Yogi was bemoaning the players' lack of effort after the game but he wasn't exactly doing much in the technical area to chivvy them along. An end of season damp squib and, as PerfICT rightly points out, probably a very costly one. After improved form in recent games and particularly last week against Partick, hopes have been high that we could finish in 7th place. On this performance that now seems unlikely and we need to be careful we don't finish in 9th or even 10th place.

Surely the point here is that whilst the Board state that the budget is similar to last year's initial budget, they also state that the initial outlay last year was significantly more than in other previous seasons. Last year the Board also found additional money to help with the injury crisis and nobody should expect that similar resource will be available this year and certainly not as part of the initial budget. The message seems pretty clear that Hughes has a bigger budget to work with than any previous manager and that the Board expect him to use it We really should be hearing what signings are being made with the available cash pretty soon.

Obviously an overwhelming victory for the SNP but the much anticipated 2nd overall majority did not materialise. Some were also suggesting the SNP might win all of the constituency seats but they actually fell 14 seats short of that. The SNP constituency share of the vote was 46.5% which was lower than any opinion poll rating since December 2014. It would appear that the SNP have peaked and are on theeir way down. We can therefore expect the SNP's strategy for the next parliament to be focussed on gaining sufficient support for independence to justify a 2nd referendum ASAP. It is clear that voting in the Holyrood election is broadly based on voters' views on independence. Those who want an independent Scotland vote SNP because it is only with an SNP Government that there will ever be a 2nd referendum. This, of course, was why the door to a 2nd referendum was left open in their manifesto. Whilst the Lib Dems have slipped to 5th, it is interesting to note that their constituency vote of 7.8% is higher than any opinion poll rating since Feb 2014. They'll be back as a force before too much longer. Now attention can focus on the EU referendum. Clearly a vote to leave by the UK as a whole will reopen the independence debate here again. It should be an interesting few weeks.

HT 2-0 FT 3-1 1st ICT Mutombo Ist Opp Ofere Time 16mins

I'm not staying up either. Looking forward to a better result tomorrow night!

What an extraordinary thing to say! You don't use a deficit, responsible politicians try and reduce it. This statement says more about the mentality of certain separatists than I ever could!

I have referenced "What Scotland Thinks" ( not "wants, Sneckboy!) earlier in this thread and I referred to it in making my post. The poll questions ask people how they would vote if there was a referendum now. The salient facts are the answers to that question. What you have done in order to boost perceived support for independence is to make an assumption that those who responded "don't know" would, in actual fact, vote in proportion to those who did state a preference. That is an assumption and not a fact. In any case, if we are talking about support for independence, by definition, somebody who is a "don't know" does not support independence. Equally, they also do not oppose it. The measure of support for independence should therefore be judged only on how they those polled answered the question. Prof Curtis is perfectly entitled to use the facts to surmise what the outcome might be on the basis of assuming "don't knows" either won't vote or vote in proportion to the decided, but the actuality of the level of support for independence and the likely outcome of a referendum based on that level of support are 2 different things. This is important because as Sneckboy rightly points out, Sturgeon has stated that she thinks a referendum would be appropriate if the support for independence was 50% or more for a prolonged period of time. So let's stick with the level of support as identified by the pollsters. "What Scotland Thinks" reports on 40 polls since the referendum. The average "Yes" score is 44.7%. After the referendum there was a definite "edging up" and the first 10 polls after the referendum showed support averaging 45.9%. The last 10 polls average out at 43.4% with the last 5 at 42.8%. I really don't think that a drop of 2 - 3% in those answering "Yes" can be interpreted as an "edging up" of support for independence. As for Unionists continuing to talk about a future referendum, we do so of course, only because the SNP continue to threaten to have one. Sturgeon clearly has not the slightest intention of honouring her once in a generation commitment and if her words then meant so little, one can have little faith that she will honour the "50% or over for a prolonged period of time" comment. If that meant anything at all, then the potential for another referendum would not have been included in the Manifesto. Don't get me wrong, I have no issue with the SNP pushing the case for independence and seeking a further referendum at some point. After all, independence is their raison d'etre. But for goodness sake, why on earth can't they behave with some level of honour and respect for democratic principles? If only their manifesto had stated that they accepted the result of the referendum and that whilst they will hope to have another at some point, there will not be one during this coming parliament. That would have been appropriate given their earlier commitments and it would have allowed a proper focus on the things of day to day Government. Unionists will stop going on about the threat of a 2nd referendum when the separatists stop threatening one. Simple.

I agree. But it is not just about keeping injury free. It is about fitness levels and general physical conditioning of all the squad. It's about having that extra little bit of oomph in your legs that allows you to get to the ball first in the 90th minute. Specialist expertise in sports medicine would be a very sound investment.

Of course Robertson will have hoped that devolution would have killed the SNP stone dead but that does not mean that devolution was granted simply as an anti-SNP measure. Devolution was granted because it was felt that it was what the Scottish people wanted (and it was - we voted for it!) and that the benefits of a devolved parliament within the UK would reinforce the long held wish of the Scottish people to be part of the Union. The SNP, however have embraced devolution not because it is good for Scotland, but because they correctly recognise that once in place it gives the UK Government less and less room to hand over any further powers without full independence. They have also recognised that if application of devolved powers leads to palpable benefits to Scotland then there will be no appetite for further change (if it ain't broke, don't fix it). Hence the terrier like pursuit of further devolution post-referendum followed by the failure to actually use those powers to any meaningful extent. When the SNP are no longer successful in blaming Westminster for the problems in Scottish society, the SNP will become less popular and the support for independence will drop. Incidentally, whilst the current level of support for independence is, of course, a good bit higher than when the SNP came to power, it has been broadly static since the referendum and has been generally in the low 40s. It is certainly not edging up.

I don't think you will be far wrong. I think the SNP may be 2 or 3 more than that but I also think that Labour will beat the Tories and that the Greens will edge the Lib Dems for 4th. UKIP don't deserve any seats but it may be that the proximity of the EU referendum will have raised their profile a bit. However, I don't think it will be quite enough to sneak a seat somewhere.

The SNP don't do sensible. They do whatever it is they judge will best further the cause for independence. It is they who are making any promises they like because they think they will be able to blame their failure to deliver on Tory austerity. It is the SNP who are making bigger and grander promises than than those parties who have the guts to recognise that to reverse the impact of the Tory/SNP austerity of recent years, the Scottish Government needs to raise more money by putting taxes up. And what nonsense to claim that devolution is "intended to cut the feet from under the SNP and nothing else". This, I suppose is why the SNP were so vocal and forceful after the referendum in getting further devolved powers that we, the electorate have never had the opportunity to say whether we wanted or not. After months of outraged bleating the SNP now have these devolved powers yet refuse to use them. This is not sensible Government. If the SNP think there are factors which prevent the new devolved powers from being used effectively, then how utterly incompetent and irresponsible of them to have agreed to them.

Dundee Courier also carrying the story now and suggesting Raith Manager Ray MacKinnon is expected to take over. Doesn't look like we'll be needing a new manager unless Yogi fancies a move to Kirkcaldy.

The pressure of the situation is off them and the pressure of the crowd is off them. They might actually be able to enjoy playing for a change. We under-estimate them at our peril. Their out of contract players will also be out to impress a premiership manager who is known to be looking for new players! I think it should be a good, open, competitive game of football.

Last night I was hearing quite a lot of recognition of Pearson's role in laying the foundation and this is certainly something Ranieri himself acknowledges. There is a world of difference between Ranieri and Hughes. Ranieri went into a struggling club, identified the strengths, built the tactics around those strengths and as a result, vastly improved the team. I'll not get into any analysis of Hughes' impact on ICT on this thread. I take Kingsmills' point about Leicester being a big club but they are still 17th in the Premiership in terms both of value of what they have paid for the squad and what the wage bill is. It would be a bit like making the Scottish Premiership into a 20 club league and having Queen of the South winning it.

I can't let Leicester City's fantastic achievement of winning the English Premiership go without mention. Looking certain for relegation halfway through last season and 5,000 to 1 against winning at the start of this season, they have defied the odds and deservedly won the title with 2 games to spare. And they have done it with a bunch of players who are basically the same as were staring relegation in the face last year. This is a team which has been assembled at a cost of a small fraction of what the big name clubs in England spend. It is absolutely remarkable by any standards. It is not often that an un-fancied team comes through to win a big cup competition but this is a much, much bigger achievement than that. Winning a cup requires maybe 2 or 3 excellent performances and maybe a bit of luck. To win a league of 38 matches requires consistency over the whole season. To have done that in one of the strongest leagues in the world is astonishing. This is truly one of the great stories, not just of football, but of any sport. What it shows without doubt, is that the team is greater than the sum of it's parts. Of course you need good players, but you need to play to their strengths and to get the best out of them. That is what Ranieri has done. He has come in and assessed the players and developed a way of playing that suits the team. Leicester have shown the world that football is a team game - and how! But there are some interesting coincidences in Leicester's success. The last time a Midlands club lifted the English title was in 1981 when Villa won. Villa, of course have been relegated this year but back in 1981 Leicester were relegated. The previous time a Midlands club won the title was in 1978 when Nottingham Forest won. It so happens that Leicester were relegated in that season too! A further quirk here is that after their title successes, both Forest and Villa then went on to win the European cup the following season. Leicester surely can't repeat that - can they?

I think there have been a lot of reasons given for why not to vote for the SNP. What has been seriously lacking is the lack of any coherent reason why anyone should vote for them - this despite the fact that there are clearly a lot of SNP supporters who have been reading this thread. IBM, who to vote for? To be honest, I don't know. If I were a supporter of any one of the other parties specifically then I would have done what you and all the other SNP supporters have failed to do and made a case. Labour, Lib Dems and the Greens all support making use of the new powers to raise revenue to address the consequences of the Tory / SNP austerity programme of recent years so I will be voting for one of them. By the way, wasn't Ed making the case for the Tories?

Isn't McKay still contracted to Wigan? In which case he has been promoted and not relegated - not that he can exactly claim the credit there!

Well, into election week, and whilst I sense a slight move away from the SNP, it will be far too little and far too late. I do sense the other party leaders have become a little more assured as the campaign has progressed whilst Sturgeon has become a little less so. There is an unpleasant hard edge to her when rattled - a bit like Thatcher. I think the penny is finally beginning to drop with people that the SNP have been blaming others for things they should be held accountable for. They are also wondering why, if the SNP are so opposed to austerity, they are not using the newly devolved powers to add to increase public spending instead of simply aping the Tories at Westminster. Assuming the SNP do get elected, we can at least take some consolation from the fact that they will not get away with blaming the Tories for their under-funding of public services in 5 years time. We may then once again get a Government that puts the interests of the Scottish people top of their agenda.

I take it that the fact this is a David Raven thread is a clue?

Well done indeed. Are the club sending an official note of congratulations, I wonder? It would be a nice gesture.

Personally, I'm looking forward to the game about as much as any this season. Any lingering relegation worries are gone and in the last few games we seem to be seeing a rather more positive approach with more attractive, attacking football as a result. It should be an opportunity for the team to play with a bit of freedom. In addition, with there being concerns about attendances and the need to boost the numbers coming through the gates there really should be an emphasis on entertaining the fans.