MrCaleyjag

HT: 1v0 FT: 3v1 1st ICT: A Shinnie 1st Opp: Samaras Crowd: 42769

Albion @ 2.40 please

HT: 1v0 FT: 2v1 1st ICT: A Shinnie 1st Opp: Higdon Crowd: 3539

It's a dump!!! The ground I mean plus you'll freeze your doggies off in January, and it's not equal travel either - it's roughly 40-45 miles further from Edinburgh to Aberdeen as it is from Inverness to Aberdeen.

HT: 1v0 FT: 3v1 1st ICT: A Shinnie 1st Opp: R Stevenson Crowd: 3863

Partick v Dunfermline - Draw @ 3.50 please

Do we really care that much about where we play it, surely the fact that we are in it should be enough for all. No matter where it was held the SFA were on a hiding to nothing - Edinburgh and some moan about travel which by the way is the same distance if not slightly closer than Glasgow and Hampden, Perth or Dundee and there won't be enough tickets available and some would miss out. From Inverness the trip south at that time of year is still going to be bad!! Let's focus on being in the semi-final rather than picking negatives with where it is being played Oh by the way Caleyjag and I will be there to answer the original question.

Great news and shows some forward thinking, I said at the end of last season that this one would define TB as a manager and whether his reign would continue and finally we can see the rewards of everyones hard work as it was hairy for a wee while back there. It shows that the board are buying into his philosophy as I am sure they have been instrumental in the past with regards to what they can and can't offer him as a budget and by offering two year deals it gives us a great back bone to continue working with as opposed to uncertainty esepcially with the squad. It will be good for the boys to have the stability and for TB and MM to know who they have available to them without the worry of losing them on free transfers, it also means should the vultures start looming as inevitably they will we can actually demand good money from them rather than have them wait in the sidelines to pounce for nothing. Yes we have others that we need to secure on deals but I am sure it will come over time, if the boys sign extensions I am sure it'll spur on the rest to stay as well.

I'm delighted that we got Hearts especially with the way things are going with them, no doubt there squad will be stripped even more in January that's if they are even in business come then. My question is what happens if the worst comes to the worst for them and they go to the wall? Extreme I know but something to consider, technically if they come back as a Newco like Sevco then they are a completely new company and can't automatically take the place of out-going Hearts, the way things have gone with Scottish football in the last year nothing surprises me anymore. Easter Road? Gives both teams the chance to fill it and create a great atmosphere which would be lost at Hampden, it's tighter and you sit closer to the pitch as well as opposed to miles away like at Hampden so of all the venues available I would say the best choice. Plus from a purely selfish point of view Caleyjag and I get the chance of another night out in Edinburgh and another visit to our favourite restaurant, I also haven't been to Easter Road yet so will be a nice change.

HT: 0v1 FT: 1v2 1st ICT: McKay 1st Opp: Kelly Crowd: 4379

BOOM BOOM BOOM we're all goin to Hampden!!!!!

Ayr @ 2.25 please

HT: 1v1 FT: 2v1 1st ICT: A Shinnie 1st Opp: Hasselbaink Crowd: 3527

As with any game I go to I don't read the thread before posting about it and last night's game is no different, only just getting chance to post now so if I am repeating anything that has been spoken about I apologise. Cracking result at a ground where we may have otherwise dropped points in the past although travelling to the game and on the way up to the ground I never had a thought that we wouldn't get anything other than a win especially going by our form and I hoped that the international break didn't have a negative effect and I was proved right. It was a game that beforehand most would have said that we should have taken something from if not all saying a win. Really enjoyed the game on the whole especially the first and last fifteen minutes, we hit the ground running and looked composed, confident and weren't afraid to pop the ball about and pass our way through Dundee. You can see what TB and MM are setting out to do and our play at times defintely showed this with the players looking confident in playing a passing game. Ok Dundee started to come more into the game but to be fair, especially in the first half, they only had one out ball and that was up to Colin Nish who we struggled to cope with in the first half but was very quiet in the second. For all Dundee came into the game and made it less comfortable for us they didn't greatly threaten our goal and when they did Reguero stood up to the task with one particularly good save sticking in my mind spreading himself down to his right at point blank range - I forget who from. It's weird how being at a game your thoughts are different from that of watching the game on tv and being actually being there and when we got back and watched it on Alba on the re-run it didn't seem like Dundee posed us as many problems as I thought they did. Overall it was a good performance and a great away win and you can't ask for anymore from these types of games and I am thoroughly delighted and was also good to get to a game as well and a great start to the weekend. We do have areas where we need to improve quite quickly, RB being one as we were hopelessly caught out too often with Raven hugging in too close to the CBs and leaving masses of space for their runners to get into. I also think we lack someone on the left wing and where I thought Roberts played well he looked a bit isolated at times and uncomfortable but he did make one excellent run where he bent his shot just passed the far side post. Bringing Sutherland on definately changed the balance back in our favour again and good to see TB making a change earlier than he normally does. All in all one very happy Jaggie today

Alloa @ 2.40 please

HT: 0v1 FT: 0v3 1st ICT: A Shinnie 1st Opp: Conroy Crowd: 5364

trip

To answer your question unfortunately I don't think so, not at the moment anyway but time will tell. I wouldn't agree that all games without Celtic are entertaining nor are the games with them covered, make no bones about it the quality of Scottish Football is poor and will take a long time to get better, I for one do not jump to watch an SPL game. Yes we will be biased on here and say that the last few games have saw us significantly improve and show good signs of playing decent football but lets not hide behind the fact that ESPN and Sky show certain games for a reason and not because they just want to - Firstly Rangers are no longer in the package so they have more games free to show other teams as they cannot monopolise the screen with Celtic Secondly they have chosen the Hearts games because they are struggling and there is a chance that we may upset them again and push them closer to trouble, that coupled with our impressive come back in the last game with them adds to potential excitement Thirdly Motherwell are riding high and they will probably see this as a possible 'giant killer' (for lack of a better phrase) game where we topple a team near the top. Lastly ESPN have to do something to promote their station and football package for next season as they have lost theie rights to the EPL as it has gone to BT so they need to keep the viewers. Yes it is good that we are getting the coverage on tv however it takes fans away from the gate, I am not in the best position to talk about not going to games for personal reasons as stated before, but the main aim must be getting fans through the turnstile. Just because we are shown in extra games in the league doesn't mean we get extra money as it is all included in the package. If we are going to be shown on tv I would rather that it was cup games where they have to pay for them on an individual basis.

Erecting seating on existing terracing does not class as a rebuild as you put it Only the main stand was rebuilt, a great opportunity was lost by the SFA and shame on them, we have a national stadium that is a complete eyesore when you compare it to Wembley, The Millenium Stadium in Cardiff and the Aviva Stadium in Dublin Parkhead, Ibrox and Murrayfield are all far superior stadiums with higher capacities to Hampden and that's where showpiece finals and internationals should take place I'd personally leave Hampden as an athletics arena after the Commonwealth Games Dougal There was a little bit more put into it than you make out Dougal however I for once have to agree with you that the SFA really did miss a trick, I hate Hampden as a National Stadium and the days of an oval stadium even when Hampden was re-done was well and truly over. All the great stadiums in the world are now colse to the pitch all the way round and we took a big backward step with ours. There is no atmosphere at all and even if there is it is lost upwards. The facilities may be up there with the best however as a spectactor arena it is not

Looking forward to it, first away game in a while for Caleyjag and I. Hopefully we can carry our good form into the game after the International break

Well rid of IMO, we don't need anyone who is disruptive and causes problems, we have a small enough squad as it is with lots of youngsters so this puts down the marker to them as to what will happen when you don't tow the line or act the big man regardless of the promise you show or have.

Am I the only laughing at the top I'm wearing, oh wait was I supposed to be playing for them last night?

My feelings on the game the day after can be summed up with the very four words I used after Doran scored the 3rd 'BOOOMMM!!! Get in there'

He's always been a bad referee it's just that now he's worse than that, on another night those stupid picky decisions could easily have gone against us and it would have been all so different. Yes they have a difficult job but it's not made easier by decisions like the yellow card on Doran was woeful. My brother is an up-and-coming referee and hasn't got a good word to say about his performances. I can understand why TB gets frustrated and has thoughts but we all know the SFA rules and unfortunately nothing can be said directly. The best referees are those that are not seen or talked about as they always have full control of the game and players, when a referee decides he's going to make his mark on a game or stamp is authority, which usually happens in bigger games/derby games, then you know it's going to be one of those nights.

Falkirk v Dunfermline - Draw @ 3.50 please