FoolPhysio

As our man-up-front, it would be daft to say his goals were not important - of course they were. That, after all, was his job and he was expected to deliver on a regular basis. However, what I think the poster may have meant was that they were not essential in that we had others getting in on the act and were / are also able to score, so easing the pressure a little on Billy when he was out of form, which is inevitable for every player. Once he was back onto scoring ways though, these goals were as necessary as every other one that gets banged in. Having said all that, I am also concerned that we do not have a known striker who is the obvious point man for our attack. Watching with interest to see how Yogi juggles the team to compensate for the loss of Billy.

Our next investment must have to be this:

Well, we won't have to worry about them next season. Unless they draw us as their "big team" in the cup!

#justsaying ;-)

Salt-water

Having chatted with a trainer of our local youth team, he was not a fan of the summer football idea, due mainly to the damage that the pitch would get during what is prime growing season, so over a few seasons it would be patchy and probably cost more to replace top-soil more often. Made sense at the time but since I am not a qualified groundsman I don't know how much that would differ from the care and maintenance a Premier league pitch gets now. Mind you, if we got a 4G artificial pitch, as discussed elsewhere, that aspect of the discussion becomes moot.

The problem with football is that we now have the culture where those inside are worried to make negative comments because of direct and indirect consequences from the authorities. When the referee is on the pitch, their authority is and should be absolute, but that needs tempered with a means of making appeals (or even voluntarily rescinding) decisions such as yellow and / or red cards. Unfortunately it is not possible to change scores or to amend points as there is no way to tell, unless it was beyond doubt, how a game could have turned around and then possibly turned back again - look at our semi-final when 2 men and a goal down until almost the last second. Add to that, as I posted elsewhere, there needs to be an effective means of monitoring the performance of the refs to achieve high standards at the top level. Too often the principle of the on-pitch authority is needlessly extended to include almost every aspect of the sport. The structure of the sport and how it is applied should never be beyond criticism.

As an ex-ref in the Grampian region, albeit at very minor levels, we trained as all grades which included Grade 1. Referees here had regular meetings and all Association refs were eligible to attend. Meetings included all sorts of things, often reviews of controversial incidents in other nations leagues and a discussion on what the appropriate interpretation of the laws would be. It will come as no surprise that in a room full of refs, there were some who would red card an incident others would not even have called a foul! It led to interesting discussions, but the point was that the Grade 1s were our mentors in proper interpretation, so we could at least try to have a consistency in the individual game performance regardless of level. Behind that is the monitoring process. At my level it was infrequent, but at top level it is supposed to be every match. The observer should meet with the referee afterwards, review the key points, give an outline of their observation and clarify any points of difference. The purpose is to promote consistent application of the laws and to keep standards from slipping. You get to take on board what they say, or you run the risk of being reduced in Grade and have to work at getting back if you still wish to do so. Obviously the observer system is also meant to identify the young thrusters who are tagged as being potentials for the higher grade and encourage them to do so, replacing those who inevitably have to bow out when the time comes. It seems Collum has now had his collar felt and warning issued, so if he cannot get a grip on what he is doing then chances are he will be reduced in Grade and we will not see him ruin another SPFL game again.

Rocker

Office

Yes, I have noticed that as well. We seldom win. Most teams just lose against us! Long may it continue . . .

Dougal, why are you convinced the game is on Saturday? You are going to be awful lonely.

Wot 'e said

Captain

2-0!!!!!!

Much as I consider myself a solid BBC man, totally agree with the comments above. Considering all teams were Premier league sides, we only get moments to fill two and half minutes, some of which is interviews? And one of those shown is currently joint-top of the highest league in the land. Meantime, we can get two and half minutes of a non-league side playing a League One (2nd Div) team, 7 and a half of one Championship (Div 1) team playing a team in the upper league and fully 9 minutes of another such pairing! Very poor show BBC. It's almost as if we are beneath your notice.

Of course. Those who voted No were really secret Yes voters and were "duped". Is this because you simply cannot understand that the majority were not persuaded that ripping ourselves out of the union was such a good idea? Fact is, what you were being sold was the opposite to what is being critiqued here. Remember, the separatists who were peddling their fairy tales are also politicians, and hence by definition lying to you. They are all as bad as each other.

City

Now I think that is an excellent idea - one, it adds money to our coffers, two, it adds atmosphere to the game so making it better for viewers and three, it makes those who are watching it on TV wish they were there!

As mentioned by and confirmed by the SFA, only Ryan Christie suspended for tomorrow. Apparently it is six yellow cards not 5 as I thought. So he will be available after all! Yes. You were obviously thinking ahead to the next game, not this one!

So, Oddquine, I am to take it that anyone who disagrees with your view is a numptie then? It was that sort of attitude that showed those who were not wholly convinced on independence what it was that those who were actually thought of them. And they showed what they thought of that at the ballot box. Insult us as much as you like - it only strengthens us.

That'll do. Another win chalked up to the board.

Ryan Christie sent off??????

Yes. Yes we do. The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Spicy