hislopsoffsideagain

Feel free to do this with Narey's Toepoker if you like, Scotty.

I understand the AGM was last night? I'm surprised that there isn't any talk about it on the forum. Given the less-than-impressive accounts and the recent staff turnover, I was wondering if any interesting info had come out of it?

I know the drainage issues are longstanding and well known, but to be fair the weather has been awful all week and this morning it was like a monsoon when I drove over the bridge. Hard to see how any pitch could cope with this. I also note the forecast is for more rain later so I doubt there will be any chance for it to dry out.

Given the number of points we've thrown away from decent positions this season, I'm pretty okay with boring 1-0 wins like that one. I didn't think we were particularly special but after we took the lead we were the only team that looked like scoring. Morton set out to suffocate us in midfield and stuck to it until about an hour in. Once they went two up top we had to sit a little deeper but we saw it out very comfortably. Our back four (plus McCart until he got injured) were all outstanding. I feel like I should single out Brad McKay for particular praise given his patchy form this season - aside from missing that chance in the first half he was flawless. In an attacking sense you can see that we miss Walsh because his pace allows him to get up to support White. I did think that McDonald looked very classy and it was a shame he got injured. I imagine Robbo would have liked to get Austin on but for having to use up 2 subs for injuries. As an aside, some folk may have noticed that the club were running live audio commentary on the game (with yours truly behind the mic) using Periscope. It was kind of a test run so we didn't make much of a deal of it beforehand but I'd be grateful for any feedback from people who did listen in. It's something we're hoping to do at 3pm Saturday games in the future, so all being well we'll try to do it again for the Falkirk game on 30 March.

It's worth noting that players can change squad number mid-season if they haven't played. So just because McCauley has got the no. 8 shirt doesn't mean Beith is away. The official website still lists him as well as McCauley; if he was gone I'm sure he'd just have been deleted.like George Oakley has been. I think it is safe to assume there is far more to this than is in the public domain. If he was still injured, or had picked up a new injury, I'm sure the club wouldn't have been coy about it and it would have been mentioned before now. Might there be personal issues here instead? I'm going to assume that there's a good reason for the lack of info here.

I thought I might feel a bit less angry about the end of that game after I'd slept on it. Nope, turns out I'm just as angry. We've led in sixteen of our last twenty-seven games - and held onto that lead in just eight. That's a dreadful record, and even more so because it's the same pattern again and again. We sit deeper and deeper, we look nervous in possession, we make bad decisions, and we give away goals through individual errors. Some of it - Chalmers' idiotic shot from distance in the 90th minute when he had an easy pass on - is either players being panicky or just plain thick. This isn't a team of kids; they really should be capable of keeping their heads under pressure. Other bits such as the substitutions are a coaching issue. Either accept you're under siege and bring on a defender (McHattie at LB with Tremarco going more central) to deal with it properly, or bring on a player with fresh legs who will at least cover a lot of ground, chase the ball and maybe offer a counterattack threat (Austin or MacGregor). For the love of god, don't bring on a central midfielder with the turning circle of a bus who neither protects the defence nor offers any quality in possession. It does us no favours at all. And yet every bloody time Robbo seems to think bringing Trafford on will protect our lead. What's did Einstein claim the definition of insanity was again? I didn't think we were all that great last night, but we were much better than County. The problem is that I can't see County being that lousy next week, whereas it's very easy to see us being our own worst enemy yet again.

The article you speak of is here: https://nareystoepoker.blogspot.com/2018/12/in-defence-of-liam-polworth.html And you appear to have done your best to misrepresent it. Anyone reading this can tell that the link to Iniesta is quite obviously tongue-in-cheek. I was comparing how elsewhere skilful players are lauded for what they do, whereas in Polworth's case his good bits (his assist for Walsh's goal, his incredible assists record last season, even that nutmeg of Billy King by his own corner flag) rarely get any praise whereas every mistake he makes comes under the spotlight. And the 'neanderthal' description was not used as a reference to the MOTM award (though the people sitting around me were not booing the award because it was 'bizarre', because they were making abusive comments about Polworth at the time too). It was a reference at the end of the article to those who abused his family earlier in the year, who slag him off every week regardless of what he does, who are making him a scapegoat for the team's - and the club's - ongoing struggles. And there are too many of them at home games. Frankly, anyone who thinks that booing their own player will actually improve his performance is not very bright. As for 'just desserts', I'm not sure what that even means? Put Polworth in a team with a centre-forward who shows any intelligence whatsoever in his off-the-ball movement (we certainly don't have one in our squad currently) and watch him fly. I'm fed up of seeing him driving into the final third with the ball and looking for a killer pass to play, only for his teammates to be tightly marked and either making the same runs they have done all game or just not running at all. And when he is either tackled or tries to force a pass that isn't on it's him who gets the blame every time instead of his attackers.

I would strongly agree with those who have said that our unbeaten run has helped mask big problems with the squad - problems that were laid bare for all to see on Saturday. First there is the defence. We have been unlucky at left-back with Tremarco injured and then Calder (correctly) being punted. McCart looks solid enough defensively but offers no attacking threat at all there. On the other side Rooney is as erratic as QOS fans said he would be. His attacking play has improved and he offers a set-piece threat but lapses like the one that led to Falkirk's second goal are all too frequent. Brad McKay is going through a dreadful spell of form too. Add in a return of the yips for Ridgers in the last two games and you have a backline that are conceding too many cheap goals, all too often when we are on top as well. At the other end, we've regressed right back to where we were a year ago. The midfield are badly hindered by the lack of pace, movement and holdup play from whoever is playing up front. We seemed to have solved the problem when we got in Austin but he's had a rotten season so far. White (too slow, doesn't win enough against smaller CBs, poor in front of goal) and Oakley (fouls defenders too often, too predictable with his movement) put in typical performances against Falkirk, though at least Oakley got a goal. I think our midfield setup is pretty good but too often Welsh, Walsh, Polworth and Doran got possession in decent areas and didn't have anyone to play the killer ball to - the exception being the opening goal. Our Plan B is to go 4-4-2, which we did for the second half of this game and against Morton too. But then our midfield play breaks down, we only have Walsh as a natural wide player and Doran is a fish out of water as second striker...but White and Oakley are a dreadful partnership. But what else can you do when you only have two senior outfield players on the bench? And therein lies the biggest issue of all. Our squad depth is pitiful. Sure, we had four players out injured this weekend but should we really be down to the bare bones. Our failure to augment the team with loan players is bizarre - just look at the impact Zak Rudden and Aidan Keena have had against us in recent weeks. We have signed only one loan player since Robbo came in - Matthew Elsdon. At one point in February I believe we were the only SPFL team (out of 42!) who didn't have a player in on loan. We can still finish fourth, but to do so we need reinforcements, up front at least.

The club have confirmed he has been dismissed. The right decision, in my opinion.

Falkirk at least have an excuse to change goalkeeper Sending out new signing Prince Buaben with his name spelt 'BURBAN' on the back of his shirt really doesn't help dispel the general feeling of incompetence surrounding Falkirk at the moment. But in the hostile Cappielow atmosphere, stoked by Morton's feelings of betrayal towards Ray McKinnon, the Bairns gave as good as they got in the first half; whilst Gary Oliver hit the post for the hosts, Zak Rudden - who looks like a real prospect - should have scored for Falkirk. Sadly it all went wrong in the second period. Too often this season Leo Fasan has cost his team goals (not that he's the only one) but the keeper had a terrible moment of madness as Michael Tidser raced through on goal. Had he charged out he might have got to the ball first, but instead he hesitated and then found himself outwith his penalty area as Tidser got control of the ball. The seasoned midfielder did the clever thing by taking it round the goalie, who brought him down and earned an inevitable red card. It was curious that McKinnon claimed afterwards that experienced ref John Beaton had called it a handball - it clearly was a foul, but not a handball, and Fasan certainly didn't help himself by looking as guilty as a puppy sitting next to a pile of poo. After that it was a siege until Bob McHugh finally nicked a deserved winner for the home side. Fasan's upcoming suspension should mean that David Mitchell, who made some decent saves in relief, should finally get his chance to stake a claim. It will be interesting to see if there is a sharp drop in the number of cheap goals conceded as a result. Billy Mckay is firing on all cylinders Josh Mullin justifiably got the plaudits for a terrific - and ultimately decisive - solo goal in Dingwall. It was Mullin's sixth goal since moving north in the summer and if the wideman has any regrets about leaving high-flying Livingston it isn't showing. Mullin's exploits did somewhat overshadow those of County's other goalscorer. Billy Mckay's opener was a lovely snapshot half-volley into the top corner, the instinctive finish of an on-form striker. And that is what Mckay is. He has scored five in his last three games now and looks increasingly like the forward who used to score for fun in Inverness...and his teammates now seem capable of creating chances for him to feast on. If the Northern Irishman is indeed back to his best, he will score a hatful this season and get his team promoted in the process. You can't miss Lyndon Dykes It's hard to miss Lyndon Dykes at the best of times now that the Australian has turned himself into a peroxide blonde, but the Queen of the South man drew attention for plenty of other reasons at East End Park. Best known as a forward, Dykes has increasingly been used in central midfield this season and the combination of size, strength and speed that he offers in that area is quite scary - even more so as he gets more familiar with the position. On a day where the Doonhamers sat in and frustrated the Pars for long periods, Dykes did a great job breaking up play...no more so than to set up the visitors' smash-and-grab winner for Josh Todd by winning the ball back with a shoulder-barge on Malaury Martin which was simply filthy. It would be easy to be overshadowed by Stephen Dobbie but in both looks and actions Dykes is very hard to miss. Partick Thistle need to find goals from somewhere The figure in the dugout may have changed, but it was the same old story for Partick Thistle on their travels - a fifth consecutive league defeat away from Firhill that leaves them third from bottom and just two points better off than their conquerors Alloa. Thistle have scored three times in those games - but all were consolation goals in defeats at Dundee United and Inverness. In fact it's one win in seven in all competitions and the lack of confidence was plain to see at the Recreation Ground. A goal threat would help a bit. Thistle's forwards have a total of one league goal between them this season and Miles Storey, who has started all ten of their league games, remains barren. The introduction at last of Souleymane Coulibaly, who made his debut on Saturday as a sub, brings some hope; admittedly, the Ivorian looked really rusty but with Storey looking like a lost cause and Kris Doolan possibly a fading force Thistle need him to get up to speed quickly if they are to salvage their season. Laszlo might actually have left Dundee United in decent shape Csaba Laszlo will not be mourned in the slightest by supporters of Dundee United, but his legacy may prove a bit less toxic than expected. The Hungarian probably wouldn't have got the best out of them, but his last two signings have made a real difference to the Terrors at both ends of the pitch. Rachid Bouhenna has looked solid at centre-back and will only improve with more game time, while Pavol Safranko has impressed up front, keeping Nicky Clark and Craig Curran out of the team. His aerial prowess showed up again with a bullet header to score against Caley Thistle and he did a great job of leading the line alone again - which in turn allows United to play a bunch of creative midfielders who can provide him with ammunition. The Slovakian may be the best thing Laszlo ever did for United, though it will be Robbie Neilson who reaps the benefits. Lawrie Spence has ranted and spouted his ill-informed opinions on Narey's Toepoker since September 2007. He has a life outside this blog. Honestly. View the full article

For those of us bored to tears by Celtic's seven consecutive and pretty much unchallenged titles, and who grew up during the era of Rangers' nineties nine in a row, the current Scottish Premiership table makes for good reading. League Table Scottish Premiership Team P GD Pts 1 Hearts 8 8 19 2 Hibernian 8 13 17 3 Celtic 8 9 16 4 Kilmarnock 8 6 16 5 Livingston 8 3 15 6 Rangers 8 10 14 7 Aberdeen 8 2 12 8 St Johnstone 8 -11 8 9 Hamilton 8 -10 6 10 Motherwell 8 -6 5 11 St Mirren 8 -13 4 12 Dundee 8 -11 3 Hearts lost at Ibrox last time out but they're still top, and with Hibernian just behind them. The SPFL are going to have a real headache after the split this season, as they work out when to schedule the Edinburgh derby title decider. I jest, I jest. There are thirty league games left. That's plenty of time for a return to the status quo. It's just a blip. Or is it? Steve Clarke celebrated a year as Kilmarnock manager this week. Remembering they were bottom of the league when he took over in October 2017 - and had won their first league game of the season only two days before, under caretaker management - I went and looked at his stats for those 12 months in charge. Kilmarnock's league record under Steve Clarke: Played 37 Won20 Drawn 9 Lost 8 Scored 55 Conceded 41 69 points That is really rather outstanding https://t.co/9QEO6UrXGw — Narey's Toepoker (@Nareystoepoker) October 14, 2018 You've got to say that's pretty impressive. For comparison, his three predecessors (Lee McCulloch, Lee Clark and Gary Locke) won 21 league games between them...out of 99. Clarke is the first Kilmarnock manager with a win percentage above 45% since Willie Waddell, who led them to their only title in 1964-65. Then for interest, I thought I would compare Clarke's record between October 2017 and now with other clubs. Points since Steve Clarke became Kilmarnock manager a year ago: Celtic 75 Hibernian 71 Kilmarnock 69 Rangers 67 Aberdeen 62 Hearts 56 (NB note how well Hibs have done, too!)— Narey's Toepoker (@Nareystoepoker) October 14, 2018 That's over a 37 game period, so not quite a full league season's worth. But that is quite a big sample size. And in that sample, Killie have more points than everyone except Celtic...and, er, Hibs. Hibs? Yeah. Because it turns out Hibs have been terrific too. For a whole year - in 2018 they have lost only three league games, away at Celtic, Hearts and Livingston. Despite losing John McGinn in August they've kept going and their 6-0 annihilation of Hamilton Accies was frighteningly good. A league table for the whole of 2018 so far would look like this: Hibernian 49 Kilmarnock 49 (played 1 game extra) Celtic 47 Rangers 44 Aberdeen 42 Hearts 38 Heck, Hibs have scored fifty league goals than anyone else - only Rangers (fifty-two) have more - and have the joint best goal difference (with Celtic, +25). That isn't a blip, not at all. That's sustained success. And you know, it's actually Hearts who are top of the league. Of course, as I stated earlier, there's plenty of time for things to reset to the default. Celtic have such an advantage both in quality and depth and over a whole season that tends to shine through. And in resource terms, Aberdeen, Hearts, Hibs and Kilmarnock aren't even fighting at the same weight as Rangers, let alone their neighbours. But the conditions for a diddy team title challenge have not been this favourable for a long, long time. Both Celtic and Rangers have to battle on multiple fronts because of their Europa League progress. Aside from international weeks, neither have a free midweek until just before Christmas. With Rangers still a bit short on numbers and Brendan Rodgers seeming to lack trust in his backup players, there's a real chance of fatigue setting in. And whilst their wage bills are dwarved by those at the other end of the M8, both Edinburgh clubs have put together teams that are far closer in quality to Celtic's for a long, long time. Sure, part of that is down to Celtic stagnating a bit, but most of it is due to the excellent work down by Hearts and Hibs. So whilst it is understandable that Celtic are still massive odds-on favourites - 1/4 with most bookies - to win the title, since when has there even been a 20% chance that they wouldn't do so? Miracles do happen. And, even better, perhaps a miracle is no longer needed for there to be a proper title battle in Scotland. Lawrie Spence has ranted and spouted his ill-informed opinions on Narey's Toepoker since September 2007. He has a life outside this blog. Honestly. View the full article

The natural instinct of the football fan is of course knee-jerk reactivity. A big win? Everyone's a genius. An embarrassing defeat? Sack the manager, drop everyone and play the youth team. So when my gut feeling after a result is as black and white as that, I try to repress it. Resist the urge to put out a Twitter call for heads on a plate, I tell myself. Sleep on it, then re-evaluate the situation the next day. But after a performance like Scotland's in Tel Aviv, the lust for bloodshed has barely weakened after a good night's kip. One hopes that Alex McLeish gave Allan McGregor a big hug after the game, because the Rangers goalkeeper made a string of saves to keep the score down. That was the sort of awful performance that can get a manager sacked, but luckily for McLeish the 2-1 result doesn't look dreadful on paper. Make no mistake, there are plenty of parallel universes out there where Israel scored five or six and he got his jotters before boarding the plane home. It's safe to say there are none in which Scotland kept a clean sheet and returned with three points. Scotland were an absolute shambles in every area of the pitch, but nowhere more so than in defence. McLeish has hung his hat on playing a back three, sticking with it through friendly defeat after friendly defeat, but it is clear that practice has not made perfect. In fact he is committing the cardinal sin of management - making the team far less than the sum of their parts. Out of the back five that started (and Scott McKenna who came on at half-time), only John Souttar has much experience playing in a back three and even he doesn't do so every week. If it is all about shoehorning both Andrew Robertson and Kieran Tierney into the team (I'm not convinced it is, as I think Tierney certainly has the tools to play centre-back) then as Robertson himself stated post-match they are both being played out of position and struggling because of that. Robertson and fellow full-back Stephen O'Donnell both look completely uncertain of their positioning, with both constantly caught too high up the pitch or sitting far too deep, unable to find a happy medium. At least Robertson's pace and ability often got him out of trouble; O'Donnell had the sort of night that could lead to him being taken somewhere safe where he can be researched by 'top men'. (This may be the first and last time I try to make a Raiders Of The Lost Ark joke in a blog) Further up the pitch there is plenty of reason for concern too. The 3-5-2 system pretty much makes it impossible to fit two of the country's most on-form players, Ryan Fraser and James Forrest, into the lineup as there is no obvious place for a wide forward. It is also far from the best way to utilize the country's best striker by miles, Leigh Griffiths. Talking of Griffiths, his decision to pull out of the squad was on the face of it quite troubling, and I bet I wasn't the only person who had a few cynical thoughts when Fraser, hung out to dry as a left wing-back in the friendly against Belgium last month, withdrew too. Given that James MacArthur and Robert Snodgrass have made the curious decision to step back from international football, one worries this is a sign of players railing against the manager. For all his faults, Gordon Strachan was remarkably good at keeping the players onside even when they weren't playing. The number of call-offs at the moment feels reminiscent of the Burley and Levein eras. Those really, really weren't good eras. The big factor in Big Eck's favour right now is that Scotland are actually still top of their Nations League group, and will surely win it with a win and a draw from the final two games. And given that those games are next month there is no way the plug will be pulled on him right now. The flipside is that failure in those matches really does put him in an untenable position. With Scotland certain to be seeded third or lower for the European Championship qualifiers, there is a decent chance they might be drawn in a group where second place would be extremely difficult to achieve. Therefore they need the option of qualifying via the Nations League. Besides, whilst Albania and Israel are no mugs, failing to finish top of a group with those two, with the squad currently available to him, would be catastrophic. Moreover, McLeish has no capital at all with the Tartan Army. They have long memories and remember all to well how he used the Scotland job the first time round to rebuild his reputation and then jumped ship for Birmingham City at the first opportunity. And of course he wasn't the first choice to replace Strachan, only getting the post after Stewart Regan botched the pursuit of Michael O'Neill; McLeish's appointment stank of panic back then and time has only reinforced that view. Of course, he wasn't appointed under the watch of current Chief Executive Ian Maxwell, who could well use that as his pretext to make a change in the winter if next month proves as farcical as last night. If McLeish isn't in 'shoogly peg' territory already, then he should be. Lawrie Spence has ranted and spouted his ill-informed opinions on Narey's Toepoker since September 2007. He has a life outside this blog. Honestly. View the full article

Life after Laszlo begins now Dundee United fans had predicted a day like this for a long time. Recent results may have been acceptable, but sooner or later a half-decent opponent would rip up the facade and show them for what they really were. Whilst Ross County were far better than 'half-decent', in truth they only needed to be two things - professional and ruthless - to annihilate United on their own patch. Whether bad attitude or low confidence (or both) were to blame, this was the sort of result and performance that gets managers the sack...and so it proved. Chairman Michael Martin might have pulled the trigger early enough to save their season, what with twenty-nine league games still to play. However by waiting till the end of September, and backing Csaba Laszlo until then with whatever funds he requested, his successor faces the tricky task of moulding a coherent team out of the bloated squad Laszlo has left behind. Given 14 players were signed in the last transfer window and further funds will have been used up to 'mutually consent' the Hungarian, there's surely not much cash left lying around. And with the failure of both Laszlo and Ray McKinnon to get this side looking like anywhere near the sum of their parts, Arabs will fear that whomever sits in the dugout is somewhat irrelevant, and United are simply a broken club that needs overwhelming change in every facet. Injuries limit Johansson's impact at Morton Talking of managers inheriting someone else's squad, we come on to Jonatan Johansson at Morton, whose second game in charge, and first at Cappielow, ended in a catastrophic 5-1 defeat to Ayr United. And yet in plenty of parallel universes - ones where Michael Tidser either scored the penalty at 1-1 to give Morton the lead or handed responsibility over as he was clearly injured at that point - Morton would have won the game. Johansson actually has a decent nucleus to work with; the trouble is that there isn't much else. The loss of Tidser and veteran midfielder Chris Millar to injury in the second half led to an almighty collapse in which Ayr scored four times in the last 15 minutes. It's the side-effect of the time taken to install Ray McKinnon in the summer, which led to many senior players walking rather than waiting to see if they would get new deals. McKinnon did a remarkable job to build as good a squad as he did, but inevitably there is a lack of depth. And with Tidser and Millar joining striker Denny Johnstone on the treatment table, Johansson's focus now has to be on just getting a team out there rather than introducing his own ideas. It looks like the next little while could be quite a maangerial baptism for the Finn. Aidan Connelly's last chance to shine? One wonders what Aidan Connolly thinks of Andrew Robertson's career progression. The winger, a year younger than Robertson, played with him at Queen's Park and joined Dundee United at exactly the same time. Robertson of course has gone on to play in a Champions League final and become Scotland captain. Connolly drifted out of the United team after Jackie McNamara left and ended up at Raith Rovers, York City and now Dunfermline. His current career high point is scoring the winner in the FA Trophy final. Since returning to Scotland in the summer, Connolly had mostly been utilized only as an impact sub even as the team struggled for form and flair. But he has started the last two games and most crucially popped up with the winner against Partick Thistle on gaelic telly on Friday night. That result could kickstart Dunfermline's season; both they and Connolly, still only 23, will be hoping it can kickstart his too. Queen of the South find success by keeping it Semple Highlights were few and far between at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium, aside from a fine array of tricks and flicks from elder statesmen Stephen Dobbie and Gary Harkins (the latter's humiliation of Sean Welsh in the second half, where he nutmegged the ICT midfielder but allowed him to catch up with him 20 yards further up the field so he could skin him and leave him on his backside, will live in the memory). Queen of the South set themselves up to defend deep and stifle the home side with Kyle Jacobs man-marking Liam Polworth for long periods, largely eliminating the duo from the game. Despite this, Caley Thistle would still have expected to offer more in attack but their linkup play was utterly ineffective. The main reason for this was an outstanding showing from central defender Callum Sample, on loan from Sheffield United for the season. Only 20 last month and far from fully developed physically, Semple was expected to struggle against the bigger, stronger and more wily Jordan White, but blanketed the target man completely and in the process prevented Inverness from being able to utilize White to hold up and lay off the ball. His positional sense was also on show with a crucial late clearance from his own six yard box. Whilst Dobbie justifiably is hogging the headlines, there are signs that the Doonhamers are quietly developing a very useful young defender. Alloa need to find goals from somewhere Jim Goodwin was not in a magnanimous mood on Saturday evening, to say the least; he derided Falkirk for "embarrassing" time-wasting and was also furious that Falkirk's second goal had been given. There was certainly grounds for anger about the latter, as referee Steven Kirkland was well positioned to see Zak Rudden knock the ball over the line with his left arm and yet somehow didn't see it (the Falkirk TV footage, almost mockingly, shows the GoPro footage of the indiscretion). That said, Falkirk were deserved winners as Alloa offered very little again in an attacking sense. They now have three league goals this season - a fortunate deflection and a penalty at Inverness, and a direct free kick against Dundee United - which is a pretty dire record. They may still be above Falkirk on goal difference, but it feels like only a matter of time until that changes and the Wasps end up in bottom spot. Lawrie Spence has ranted and spouted his ill-informed opinions on Narey's Toepoker since September 2007. He has a life outside this blog. Honestly. View the full article

Does a season go by without Scottish fans getting angry about a cup semi-final kickoff time? Well, for the upcoming League Cup semi-finals we have two clubs, and their supporters, up in arms. Aberdeen face a Sunday lunchtime kickoff at Hampden against Rangers. Hearts have a 1945 start the very same evening to take on Celtic. Neither are happy campers. The Dons have certainly been here before. Their issue is not really the distance - it's 150 miles from Pittodrie to Hampden according to Google Maps - though that would mean pretty early starts for those travelling by car. The problem is public transport, or the lack of it. The first train from Aberdeen to Glasgow that day gets in at 1214, 14 minutes after kickoff. Though given the capacity of a train runs in the hundreds and the Red Army can be expected to number several thousand at least, a single train that ran on time wouldn't make a massive impact. Hearts complain that the evening kickoff will also prevent fans from attending - for example plenty of families are likely to be put off by the prospect of a late trip back from Glasgow on a school night. It should however be remembered that up until a few years ago the League Cup semi-finals were played in midweek, mind... There are also lots of concerns being raised about the prospect of both games being played on the same day. But crucially the police seem cool with it. Since this is the same police who won't let fans drink on trains and have previously predicted a catastrophe before a Hogmanay Old Firm game, their agreement with the move is rather reassuring. After all, if the presence of four sets of fans in the same vicinity on the same day is a recipe for a riot, should we not be spending more time bemoaning the fact that we can't trust said fans to behave? The fixtures have been scheduled in this way for two reasons. Firstly, both Rangers and Celtic are playing on the Thursday night in the Europa League. Whatever some say, it wouldn't be fair to have another game within 48 hours. Frankly, if Aberdeen had made the Europa League Group Stages and been forced to play on the Saturday they would be raging about it. Secondly, it'll be because BT Sport, and their cash, say so. And that's the nature of it. If the clubs don't want awkward kickoff times then they can watch the TV money disappear. BT aren't going to put one of these matches on against an English Premier League game at the same time because even a decent number of Scottish fans would rather tune in to (checks schedule) Manchester United v Everton. And both Aberdeen and Hearts know this. They are also members of the SPFL, the organization that has made this decision. They therefore have the power to demand changes, and they also have the power to try and vote off members of the board - *cough* Neil Doncaster *cough* who don't accede to their wishes. Last year both Aberdeen and Hearts had representatives on the SPFL board. Did they not have any opportunities to deal with this issue in all that time? The cynical part of me - which is pretty much all of me - suspects a lot of the whinging from Aberdeen and Hearts is just playing to the gallery. There is a good chance both clubs sell their allocations for the ties, or at least sell as many tickets as they would have done for a 3pm Saturday kickoff. Certainly the TV cash will make up any shortfall. The sympathy for their supporters may be genuine, but publicly using words like "appalling" certainly keeps them sweet and gains a few column inches. That's not to say I agree with this plan. There are bound to be a few twits at the first game who wreck some seats in a terrible rage because "the referee is clearly an orange/fenian (delete as applicable) b*****d" which will be a headache for the second match. I'm curious as to how the long-derided Hampden surface will hold up with two matches on the same day. And there is a far better option available, which was to play the second game the following weekend instead. And don't forget the traditional PR cockup from the SPFL. All of this controversy was totally predictable, after all. Any vaguely competent organization would have acknowledged these issues when the announcement was made, explain the decision-making and take control of the narrative. And the slogan 'Semi Final Sunday' rolls off the tongue so easily. But some things never change. However, as long as supporters keep turning up for games and subscribing to the TV channels then this is going to keep happening and nothing will change. And deep down we all know that, really. But that's okay because this at least allows football fans to do what they enjoy doing best - feeling aggrieved! Lawrie Spence has ranted and spouted his ill-informed opinions on Narey's Toepoker since September 2007. He has a life outside this blog. Honestly. View the full article

Another week, another strange Ross County lineup Are two heads really better than one? That's a reasonable question to ask of Ross County's co-managers after yet more chopping and changing to the starting lineup did more harm than good. This time it was the benching of Iain Vigurs, so often able to control Championship games on his own, and Josh Mullin, the team's only quick wide player. It was no surprise that County were too narrow yet unable to dominate in the centre of the pitch; for the first three quarters of the match Inverness were more likely to score. With the duo introduced as substitutes the home side finished far more strongly and could have snatched a winner, but it was ultimately too little too late. Whichever one of Stuart Kettlewell and Steven Ferguson is currently choosing the tactics needs to admit that it's the other one's turn. If it's both of them together, then they need to get a grip because they are holding back their players with strange decisions like these. (Edit 26/9/18 - at the risk of sounding cryptic, it has subsequently become clear that there were good reasons for County's lineup decision on Saturday which reflect rather better on Stuart Kettlewell and Steven Ferguson. So feel free to ignore what I wrote above) Dunfermline need a decent keeper Lee Robinson's CV probably has 'journeyman' stamped on it. Only at Queen of the South, where he spent three seasons as first choice keeper over two spells, has he ever really settled. And the Doonhamers dumped him a year ago, despite him being goalkeeping coach as well. He only ended up in Dunfermline in January as an emergency signing because of Sean Murdoch's injury. As I said, emergency. And yet he is still here, because Murdoch is still out. The Pars have another goalkeeper in Cammy Gill, but the 20 year old has been stuck on the bench since Robinson's arrival despite being highly rated. Perhaps Gill's time has come. Robinson hasn't inspired much confidence; his nadir came with a dreadful blunder that gifted Morton an equalizer and denied Dunfermline their first league win since opening day. In truth, Allan Johnston really should have worked harder at reinforcing the position in the summer. Murdoch is hardly an outstanding shot-stopper himself, but Robinson could be the weakest first choice goalie in the Championship. And a club with such aspirations need someone more talented to be their first line of defence. Alloa's resilience won't last forever "I didn't think there was much between the sides. They're a good side but I think we held our own for a part-time team. The difference between the sides was Lawrence Shankland." Jim Goodwin's post-match comments were fair enough, and were meant to be a positive take on another battling effort from Alloa. But it was another battle lost. They remain above Falkirk in the table, but are still winless since their return to the second tier. The yardstick for the Wasps is of course last season's dreadful Brechin City team. Alloa are vastly superior to them in every respect and will certainly finish with a far better record. But even the hardiest team lose confidence eventually if they are being beaten most weeks by opponents with better players and better resources. Goodwin's side have put so much into the opening two months of the season - how much competitive fire have they left for the remaining 30 games, when their situation already looks pretty hopeless? Falkirk's hard work may count for little Ray McKinnon isn't messing about; according to midfielder Paul Paton, Falkirk players are being put through three training sessions a day as the new manager tries to drill them into something vaguely resembling a Championship team (if it's also because they need to build up fitness, that reflects pretty badly on his predecessor). The Bairns were certainly better organized but that was far from sufficient against a pretty ordinary Dundee United side...though it would have helped if Leo Fasan hadn't cocked up for the first goal, or if Deimantas Petravicius hadn't spurned a golden chance for a leveller. The concern remains that organization is not the issue, or at least not the only issue. The club chairman issued a bizarre call to arms this week that reminded fans that there were "more than ninety points still available" as if a promotion challenge was still a possibility. The truth is that Paul Hartley has left McKinnon with a bunch of haddies to pick from. Big changes can't be made until January and even Guardiola himself couldn't make some of these duffers look like professional footballers. And so Falkirk's target has to be eighth, and anything higher is a pipedream. Thistle can't only depend on home comforts Having lost half of their league games so far, it says something about the tightness of this league that Partick Thistle are only four points off top spot. There was plenty of evidence in favour of them being one of the better teams in this league - not least the 18 pass move finished off by Kris Doolan for their first goal. The return of Stuart Bannigan has made an enormous difference and if he can stay fit then Thistle are a much different proposition. However, a push up the table mainly depends on finding some away form. Thistle have maximum points at Firhill and zero elsewhere. Next up is a travel to Dunfermline, before hosting Ross County and Dundee United on their own patch in a game brought forward to an international weekend from a midweek at the end of October. Where Alan Archibald's side are after those three games will tell us a lot more about their prospects. Lawrie Spence has ranted and spouted his ill-informed opinions on Narey's Toepoker since September 2007. He has a life outside this blog. Honestly. View the full article

Archibald running out of time to kickstart Thistle's seasonYou know that old adage about players coming back to haunt their former clubs? In Inverness it only worked in one direction. Sean Welsh is remembered rather more fondly at Partick Thistle than Mark Ridgers, who shipped eight goals in one and a half games at Firhill. Welsh netted a penalty against his former club while Ridgers saved one at the other end. Ridgers' stop came from ICT old boy Miles Storey who had one of those days where nothing would go right for him. At least he put in a shift before being subbed, unlike Andrea Mbuyi-Mutombo whose return to the Highlands suggested that he has improved little in the two years since he left. Mutombo and Storey were not helped by the constant chopping and changing by Alan Archibald as he tried to get his side back into the match. Storey started at centre-forward with Chris Erskine behind him, but after Thistle went behind both were pushed wide with Mutombo stuck up front - a decision which made all three less effective. Only when Erskine returned to the centre and Stuart Bannigan was brought on for the hapless Brice Ntambwe did they find a system which seemed to work. By then they were 3-0 down and it was far too late. Clearly Archibald still has to find his best eleven. The loss of Tam O'Ware to injury doesn't help at the back - Niall Keown had a torrid time against the clever Jordan White - and the attack remains toothless whilst Souleymane Coulibaly remains in registration limbo. A solution is needed soon because Thistle have already lost too much ground in the promotion race as it is. Ross County still aren't clicking Ross County haven't found their strongest XI yet either. There was yet more tinkering from their management duo, who switched to a back three for the trip to Dumfries despite Marcus Fraser's injury with Ross Draper dropping into defence. That certainly didn't do any harm to the defence - Draper was arguably their best player as he contributed to a clean sheet - but County's problems were further up the pitch as they failed to muster a shot on target. The decision to favour Declan McManus over Billy Mckay was a surprise given Mckay and Brian Graham had combined well in the last two matches, both victories, and McManus certainly didn't seem to click with his targetman partner in this one. It didn't help that the midfield didn't click either with Iain Vigurs and Don Cowie struggling to provide the creativity expected of them. Still, they kept out Stephen Dobbie which is no mean feat. And it has set up a very tasty Highland derby next time out. Fans losing patience with impotent Dunfermline On the bright side, this was Dunfermline's first point at East End Park this season. That wasn't enough to satisfy the home support though, who got stuck in at the final whistle. Whilst Alloa are indeed a better team than they get credit for it was galling for the Pars that this was an even encounter where they struggled to create much even with a very attacking lineup. Allan Johnston's side simply haven't recovered from losing Nicky Clark and Declan McManus in the summer, but they really should have. It's inexcusable that his three summer signings up front, Faissal El Bakhtaoui, Myles Hippolyte and Robbie Muirhead are yet to muster a league goal between them. Four games without a win since opening day, that win at Tannadice in August now feels like an anomaly. Rumours of Falkirk's recovery are greatly exaggerated So can Falkirk take encouragement from the fact that they were two up at half-time at Ayr (and deservedly so)? Or should they despair over a catastrophic second half collapse that saw them concede three in seventeen minutes, including the most farcial of winners? Ray McKinnon certainly didn't hold back, complaining his players "simply didn't follow instructions" in the second half. His claim that "we overplayed the ball in midfield" appeared to be a thinly veiled dig at Andrew Irving, who gave the ball away to Lawrence Shankland for Ayr's first goal. But Leo Fasan's chocolate wrists should have kept out Shankland's shot from distance. This was the sort of goal struggling teams concede; Fasan's own goal which completed the comeback was a hundred times more so, as Lewis Kidd's goalline clearance hit his prostrate keeper on the back and flew in. The bottom line is that these are the results and performances that are associated with teams that get relegated. And the Bairns, now pointless after five matches, are already beginning to fret about the prospect. Will Fyvie's return do United more harm than good? Fraser Fyvie's sub appearance against Morton was his first league game for Dundee United this year, and how they could have done with his quality in midfield at the end of last season and the beginning of this. His recovery from a cruciate ligament injury coincides with a hernia problem for Sam Stanton, but the duo should soon form the best central midfield pair in the division. The hope for United is that they can give the team a platform from which they can finally realise their potential. But the fear remains that United are unsalvageable under Csaba Laszlo. While Fyvie saved them a point against Morton with his late equalizer it was barely deserved as the home side toiled and struggled to create much of note, not helped by the lack of width caused by Laszlo's insistence on keeping his full-backs as narrow as possible (to the chagrin of Arabs, the manager later claimed afterwards that it had worked effectively). A fit-again Fyvie will surely improve things, but the worry is that it will simply delay Laszlo's increasingly inevitable-looking exit. Lawrie Spence has ranted and spouted his ill-informed opinions on Narey's Toepoker since September 2007. He has a life outside this blog. Honestly View the full article

I think I'm pretty cool about that second half performance. Partick had a lot of the ball but actually created very little until the last 10 minutes. And the second goal came when we were down to 9 and a half men, with Polworth limping after Oakley had gone off. And for the half an hour after our opening goal, it was indeed just like watching Brazil. I'm not sure how well that 4-2-3-1 will work against teams that sit in against us, but when we're away from home or against opponents like Partick who come to have a go it works really well. White is the perfect striker for it, holding up the ball and linking play really well. His movement also dragged the centre-backs all over the place, opening up space for others to run into. Doran and Polworth fed off him well and both kept finding pockets of space between the lines with ease; they were the two best players on the pitch in that first half. The first goal came when, after a counterattack, the ball broke for Polworth who smacked a shot off the post from 20 yards; the ball spun around the six yard box and White got there before the keeper to bundle it in from close range. The second was from a Polworth corner that was headed back across goal; Cammy Bell then flapped it down to Rooney who hooked a volley into the net. The third, Welsh's penalty, was the result of Polworth (him again, for those people out there who still don't like him) robbing Ntambwe and racing clear, only for the Partick player to haul him down. Even under the new rules I think it should have been a red for Ntambwe given it looked like a shirt tug rather than an attempt to play the ball. Partick had started brightly but went to pieces as soon as White scored. Even when they got a penalty of their own (which looked a soft one to me) Ridgers saved from the hapless Storey. It was great to see Ridgers get such an ovation - a penalty save is worth a goal, after all. The second half was a non-event, but I can't say I felt worried at any point. My main concerns were losing Rooney and Oakley to injuries and Polly looking lame too. A top of the table Highland Derby next week? Sounds like fun...

With league action returning this weekend after the international break, and the transfer window shut - except for free agents - till January, now seems like a good time to look back at each Premiership club's summer activity and decide who has strengthened and who looks worse off... ABERDEEN BEST SIGNING? Lewis Ferguson was supposed to be one for the future, but he's already established himself as a first choice in midfield and that goal against Burnley will be remembered for years to come. Given he only turned 19 in August, he should still have plenty of room for improvement. MOST DUBIOUS SIGNING? Dominic Ball didn't exactly set the heather alight last season, so bringing him back for a second year on loan looked like an odd move. His verstatility comes in handy - he has played in central midfield and at right-back so far this season rather than in his preferred centre-back role - but too often he looks like the weak link, a jack of all trades but competent at none. BIGGEST LOSS? Unquestionably Kenny McLean, who was outstanding in the second half of last season. The exit of McLean and Ryan Christie has led to increased emphasis on the wide players for creativity but the former leaves a gap that was always going to be hard to fill. STRONGER OR WEAKER? It's easy to argue that the defence is stronger. If James Wilson lives up to his pedigree the forward line will be too. But the midfield has taken a step backwards, so I'm going to say they're slightly weaker overall. CELTIC BEST SIGNING? There aren't exactly many to choose from. Whilst Filip Benkovic could prove to be an upgrade in defence, we haven't seen him play yet. So we'll have to pick Odsonne Edouard, whose signing on a permanent deal looks a shrewd move after that deadline day fiasco/ MOST DUBIOUS SIGNING? Youssouf Mulumbu clearly made an impression on Brendan Rodgers when he put in one of the great individual performances in Killie's win over Celtic last season. But it's difficult to see where the veteran midfielder fits into the lineup. BIGGEST LOSS? Obviously Moussa Dembele, though getting £20m for a £500k signing goes down as phenomenal business. The issue here is as much psychological as anything else - what sort of message does it send to the squad and the fans about the club's ambition going forward if they sell their best player? STRONGER OR WEAKER? Weaker, though Dembele's departure should be covered by Edouard and Leigh Griffiths. If Benkovic solves their defensive problems Celtic will be just as far ahead of the pack as they were last season. DUNDEE BEST SIGNING? Benjamin Kallman was considered a big prospect in his native Finland so getting the young striker on a loan deal was a good effort. He's already got off the mark too. MOST DUBIOUS SIGNING? Has Kenny Miller still got it? I strongly doubt the 38 year old striker will prove the answer to any of the number of problems that have beset the Dark Blues this season. BIGGEST LOSS? Steven Caulker not so much for his quality but for the fact that, according to the club, they had turned down a seven figure offer for the player earlier this year. To then lose him for zilch is a complete ****-up. STRONGER OR WEAKER? That's very hard to judge. The club moved on a whopping 21 players, yet few tears have been shed over any of them. Meanwhile the 11 newcomers haven't really been around long enough to give us an idea of their abilities. A lot will depend on whether Kallman keeps scoring and whether deadline day signings Andy Boyle and Ryan Inniss finally solve their defensive woes. HAMILTON ACCIES BEST SIGNING? It may turn out to be Scott Martin, who was quite highly thought of by many people at Hibs but who has been allowed to leave and spread his wings. There's also defender Matthew Kilgallon who comes with an impressive pedigree. MOST DUBIOUS SIGNING? The clear winner here is Adam Phillips, who returned to parent club Norwich before the end of the transfer window after playing only twice. Though former Falkirk squad player Tom Taiwo's signing seems to be tailor-made for blogposts like these. BIGGEST LOSS? David Templeton was a class above all Accies' other forwards last season, offering both goals and creativity. Where those will come from now is anyone's guess. STRONGER OR WEAKER? The loss of Templeton, Lewis Ferguson and Ali Crawford strongly suggests they will be weaker. Martin Canning made a whopping 17 signings in the summer window (including the now-departed Phillips) - is it too much to hope that some of these newbies will turn out to be gems? HEARTS BEST SIGNING? Plenty to choose from here, which is clearly a good sign. Take your pick between Peter Haring, the central defender from the Austrian second tier who has turned out to be a midfield colossus, and striker Uche Ikpeazu who has been bench-pressing defenders every week. MOST DUBIOUS SIGNING? Ryan Edwards looked like an odd signing at the time, and even more so when Craig Levein continued to sign midfield players. Unsurprisingly he's now been punted out on loan to St. Mirren. BIGGEST LOSS? Goalkeeper Jon McLaughlin is about the only player who Levein couldn't find an upgrade on, which is not surprising considering how impressive he was last season. STRONGER OR WEAKER? Unquestionably stronger in every area except in goal. No-one has done better in this window than Hearts have. HIBERNIAN BEST SIGNING? Getting Flo Kamberi on a permanent deal for about a hundred grand is outstanding work. So is teaming him up with Jamie Maclaren again. MOST DUBIOUS SIGNING? There aren't really any standout candidates here. The jury is of course out on Mark Milligan, a 33 year old Australian defensive midfielder who hasn't played yet - but it is a position of need. BIGGEST LOSS? Clearly John McGinn, though the blow to Hibs fans was softened by the fact that instead of being unsettled by Celtic he was immense in the Europa League qualifiers and then signed for Aston Villa instead. STRONGER OR WEAKER? Lennon himself said that McGinn was pretty much irreplaceable, but retaining their best strikers and improving in wide areas could compensate for that. So I'm going for 'about the same'. KILMARNOCK BEST SIGNING? Greg Stewart wasn't all that great at Aberdeen last year but his amazing debut at Pittodrie suggests Steve Clarke will get the best out of him. MOST DUBIOUS SIGNING? Ross Millen wasn't even the best player at Queen's Park in League One last year. His move to Killie clearly comes on the cheap and because his dad is on the staff, but still... BIGGEST LOSS? Youssouf Mulumbu of course. The Congolese midfielder was far too good for a club like Killie and instead of trying to replace him Clarke has sensibly changed his tactics to compensate for his departure. STRONGER OR WEAKER? Weaker, because you just can't replace a guy like Mulumbu. But not as much as I thought they might be. LIVINGSTON BEST SIGNING? He's out injured at the moment, but I suspect that when he's fit Ryan Hardie will be this team's best hope of getting goals. Getting him back on loan from Rangers again was a big plus. MOST DUBIOUS SIGNING? Can I say Kenny Miller? No? In that case lets choose one of his own loan signings. James Brown returned to parent club Millwall after only one appearance where he got less-than-glowing reviews. BIGGEST LOSS? Can I say David Hopkin? No? In that case, whilst Liam Kelly has done alright in goal, Neil Alexander proved last season that he was still a very decent goalkeeper as well as offering invaluable experience. His retirement was a shame. STRONGER OR WEAKER? They're a newly promoted side who have brought in sixteen players. They had better be stronger. MOTHERWELL BEST SIGNING? Danny Johnson has been a massive hit so far up front since arriving from Gateshead. MOST DUBIOUS SIGNING? Stephen Robinson had apparently been after Spanish schemer Alex Rodriguez Gorrin since January. Now he's got him, he's barely played him. BIGGEST LOSS? The exit of Cedric Kipre on the eve of the first league game was made all the more worse by the near-simultaneous injury to Charles Dunne that leaves Motherwell short defensively. Still, they got a million quid for Kipre which is pretty good given they signed him for nothing a year ago. STRONGER OR WEAKER? Probably weaker because Kipre has gone, though Johnson and Connor Sammon have strengthened the attack. RANGERS BEST SIGNING? Either Connor Goldson or Nikola Katic - nether central defender came cheap but they have massively strengthened the club's weakest area. MOST DUBIOUS SIGNING? Umar Sadiq's record before coming to Ibrox wasn't that great, and the striker has barely got a sniff of action so far. The arrival of Kyle Lafferty risks pushing him even further away from the starting lineup. BIGGEST LOSS? Steven Gerrard has actually done really well in pushing unwanted players towards the exits and keeping those who were attracting attention from elsewhere. But David Bates was arguably their best central defender last season and losing him for nothing was reckless. STRONGER OR WEAKER? Definitely stronger. Not strong enough to challenge for the title, mind. And there may be a lack of depth that is exposed by the heavy schedule of the coming months. ST JOHNSTONE BEST SIGNING? The romantics among us hoped that Tommy Wright might be the manager who could salvage the talent of Tony Watt. So far, so good; Watt was Player Of The Month for August. MOST DUBIOUS SIGNING? Hearts fans have not been complementary about Ross Callachan, who offered little positive other than the occasional well-timed arrival in the box during his time at Tynecastle. He's done little to deserve another chance at this level. BIGGEST LOSS? To be fair, the time had probably come to move on from Steven MacLean anyway. But the veteran striker has been such a fixture for years that it still feels odd to watch Saints play without him. STRONGER OR WEAKER? Stronger. Wright has been given the chance to revitalize the squad, which is just as well as fresh blood was needed. Not only are St. Johnstone better, they are also better to watch. ST MIRREN BEST SIGNING? Ooft. There are 13 names to choose from and yet none of them feel right. In theory, Lee Hodson and Ryan Edwards should prove decent enough in time. In theory. MOST DUBIOUS SIGNING? Only one? Lets go for Jim Kellerman, signed from Aldershot Town on a two year deal but already sent back to England on loan. BIGGEST LOSS? Lewis Morgan obviously, but his departure was expected. Why Alan Stubbs withdrew a contract offer for Gavin Reilly, the club's best striker, is an absolute mystery. STRONGER OR WEAKER? Quite remarkably for a promoted club, you could easily argue that they are weaker. Oran Kearney has a lot of work to do to salvage this mess. Lawrie Spence has ranted and spouted his ill-informed opinions on Narey's Toepoker since September 2007. He has a life outside this blog. Honestly View the full article

Jeez...I shudder to think what Hissy thought of my username then...

Another week, another episode of the Stephen Dobbie show If you looked up 'futility' in a dictionary, you might find the clip of a drunk Ayr fan - at least, we hope he was drunk - invading the pitch as Stephen Dobbie missed a penalty (QOS were 4-0 up at the time, and it wasn't even half-time yet). Or you might find Daniel Harvie, shown a second yellow for dissent in the second half. Harvie has given away a penalty and been sent off in each of his last two league appearances for Ayr. Or you might simply find the word's definition is now 'trying to defend against Stephen Dobbie'. Despite having that spot kick saved, the striker scored a stunning four times in the Doonhamers' 5-0 win. That's following on from his hat-trick at Falkirk last week and moves him onto eighteen goals this season. Add in a treble on the last day of last season and he's on twenty-one from his last eleven matches. It led Dobbie to joke afterwards that he'd only leave Palmerston if Rangers moved for him. Lest we forget, Dobbie is 36 in December. Remarkably whilst his experience no doubt contributes to his wonderful decision-making and off-the-ball movement, he still clearly has a burst of pace over a few yards which is enough to gain space on defenders. He also seems to be enjoying his football as much as ever, going by his repertoire of goal celebrations. Dobbie is not the only talent in the Queen of the South squad, though he is unquestionably the biggest. Lyndon Dykes is proving the perfect foil for him up front, while fellow veteran Gary Harkins continues to wind the clock back with some glorious performances and a superb goal of his own at the weekend. The price of having all three at a club with a limited budget is threadbare depth, so if any of those three get crocked the team will be an entirely different proposition. If that doesn't happen, they could go as far as Dobbie can fire them. Dunfermline's defensive woes continue Allan Johnston worked hard to improve Dunfermline's attacking options ahead of the transfer deadline. Schemer Malaury Martin should do well at this level after a torrid spell at Hearts, while Robbie Muirhead is less than two years removed from being a first choice at Tynecastle and could tear apart this league. Another forward, Aidan Keena, was also signed. But the Pars' problems are at the other end of the park. They've now shipped twelve goals in four league games, and after a close first half they went to pieces when they fell behind to Inverness. As soon as the home side started chasing the game they were picked apart, with Liam Polworth and Aaron Doran wreaking havoc for the visitors. The club are still recovering from losing lynchpin Callum Morris in the summer, but it's unclear whether the problem is lack of quality, or the three at the back system, or both. Mark Durnan and Danny Devine arrived at the club on the back of terrible years at Dundee United and Partick respectively and both have continued their lousy form. Worryingly the previously solid Lee Ashcroft has been dragged down with them. And playing all three means no space for a creative player like Kallum Higginbotham. Even when they went to a back four at 1-0 down Johnston didn't help things by sacrificing right-back Ryan Williamson for Higginbotham and moving Ashcroft to an unfamiliar role on that flank where he struggled badly. A solution needs to be found quickly before any more ground is lost. Another game, another disappointment for Dundee United Coming off back-to-back league wins, United's draw at Alloa - who continue to show they can punch well above their part-time weight - could on the face of it be regarded as a blip rather than a disaster, especially when it took a wonder-goal from Iain Flannigan to deny them the three points. But United had toiled for long periods before goal machine Paul Watson's opener and the fact that they didn't deserve the win stuck in the craw of the travelling Arabs. There were plenty of signs for concern aside from the performance, with tales of midfielder Adam Barton getting into a slagging match with supporters criticizing his efforts and a disagreement between the two benches at the end when Alloa boss Jim Goodwin went to shake hands just before the final whistle rather than after. Whilst United still have enough quality to win without playing well, there are too many signs still that this will be a re-run of the last two seasons. Thistle look reinforced and ready to challenge The post-game focus at Firhill was understandably on the goal that somehow wasn't given, but thankfully Thistle won anyway so the assistant referee's moment of insanity didn't matter so much. More importantly, after a tough start to Championship life there are clear roots of recovery. Alan Archibald has managed to reinforce a squad that was dreadfully depleted a few weeks ago. Deadline day signings Tam Scobbie and Jai Quitongo weren't ready for this game, but Brice Ntambwe did enough on his debut to suggest he can fill the midfield gap vacated by Abdul Osman. With Souleymane Coulibaly hopefully available soon, this now looks like a very decent team. But most crucially of all, Stuart Bannigan made his first appearance for nearly a year with a 15 minute cameo off the bench. If he has finally overcome his injury problems he could light up this division just like he did five years ago...which is when Thistle last won it. County's strength in depth puts them top Ross County took 68 minutes to break the deadlock but don't let that fool you. They absolutely dominated against a Falkirk side clearly treading water until Ray McKinnon takes over this week and the victory, which takes them top, was pretty much inevitable. The fact that the two goalscorers, Jamie Lindsay and Declan McManus, were substitutes shows what incredible options County's management team have on the bench. Ross Stewart also came on, while Davis Keillor-Dunn was unused. Harry Paton and Ryan Dow weren't even part of the matchday squad. With so many options available in the event of injury or loss of form, County's depth going forward is awesome and will prove crucial over a full season. Lawrie Spence has ranted and spouted his ill-informed opinions on Narey's Toepoker since September 2007. He has a life outside this blog. Honestly. View the full article

It is hard to believe that just over three years ago Falkirk should have won the Scottish Cup. Having matched top flight Caley Thistle from the off, they took control after Carl Tremarco's sending off and deservedly equalized against the ten men; at that point Inverness were out on their feet and there was only going to be one winner. Then Jamie MacDonald gifted a goal to James Vincent and Caley Thistle nicked the victory and the glory. It's also hard to believe that the following Spring Falkirk probably should have been promoted to the Premiership - they deservedly beat Hibs (who were about to win the cup themselves) in the playoffs and took a first leg lead to Rugby Park in the finale only to run out of puff against Kilmarnock. In fact, Falkirk should have been in the playoff final again in 2016/17, but conceded twice in the last fifteen minutes at home to Dundee United when ahead in the tie. You'd have fancied them to have done a better job than United against a dreadful Hamilton Accies side in the final. Falkirk might have been out of the top tier since 2010, but only once in the next seven seasons did they come lower than third in the Championship - and that was the season where they had their momentous cup run. How times change. Fast forward to the end of August 2018, and the club appears to be going through some sort of footballing apocalypse. Paul Hartley became the second manager in the country to be punted this season, and it was no surprise to anyone. Not only are they bottom of the table with three defeats out of three, but the statistics from their loss at home to Queen of the South tell their own story - one of a performance so utterly abject that a manager simply cannot survive it. It was 3-0 going on seven or eight. Even before that match his jacket was on a shoogly peg given there had also been a League Cup loss at Montrose and only a narrow Challenge Cup win with a first-choice XI against Rangers Colts. The defeat to the Doonhamers only hastened the inevitable. In past times - and in times as recent as October 2017, when Hartley was appointed, the Falkirk job would have been an attractive one. It is a club with a support base comparable to other Championshp clubs and therefore with plenty of potential to return to the Premiership. There was also a very successful youth academy to boot. In those seven years following relegation Jay Fulton, Stephen Kingsley, Murray Wallace, Conor McGrandles, Botti Biabi, Ryan Blair and Tony Gallacher were all developed and sold on for six (in the case of McGrandles, seven) figure sums. But that academy was disbanded in December 2017, with the club claiming that despite the sales of so many players in recent years the model was no longer sustainable. Given the past record of success, this was a damning indictment of youth football in this country, but that's another story. Instead all resources would be concentrated on the first team - and they were. In less than eleven months Hartley signed twenty-five players either on loan or permanently (including fifteen in this transfer window alone), getting rid of most that he inherited. Only seven players still on the books precede him, including two reserve goalkeepers and two players, Alex Harris and Joe McKee, who had been frozen out and who may yet have futures under the new regime. Hartley turned things around last season thanks to an excellent January in which he procured some excellent loan signings from down south, particularly forwards Alex Jakubiak and Andrew Nelson. Neither remained beyond May, and the strikers signed this window have been poor...as indeed have nearly all the summer newcomers. The English lower league market was aggressively targeted for rough diamonds - a strategy that has worked well for other Scottish clubs in the past - but it has turned up little more than fool's gold on this occasion. Therefore a change of manager seems unlikely to be sufficient to clear up the mess quickly. An appointment will surely not be made before the transfer window shuts and new rules prevent any loan signings from then until January. The new boss will have to make do with what he has, which at the moment are a load of Hartley signings who do not look up to the task. Worse, this year's Championship is as competitive as ever. Whilst the sole part-timers Alloa are surely doomed, there are no other teams who are certs to finish in the bottom half; Queen of the South, who humbled the Bairns at the weekend, probably have one of the lowest budgets in the division. The worry is that by the time Falkirk become competitive this season they could already be so far adrift that ninth place and a playoff to avoid relegation is their best hope. And that's just this season. The damage to the first team will take a long time to repair, the youth academy is gone and the promised land of the Premiership is as far away as it has been since they last graced it. Falkirk's future looks uncertain. Lawrie Spence has ranted and spouted his ill-informed opinions on Narey's Toepoker since September 2007. He has a life outside this blog. Honestly. View the full article

Where on earth do you start with an omnishambles like that?! It's easy to forget that in the three minutes before Alloa equalized their keeper made three really great saves - though, as was the theme of the day, the latter two should have been goals. And the only reason that we didn't get the three points was a complete and utter brain fart from our right-back (which I'll get to shortly). But that was just an extraordinary watch. We started like the clappers, but after getting one up we eased off, giving the impression that we thought we could score whenever we liked. When Alloa got their fortuitous leveller, we panicked and we were lousy up till half time. Having been handed the game on a plate by Karadachki's minute of madness we then reverted back to 'score anytime we like' mode - to the point that Donaldson was so casual with his penalty that you'd have thought it was pre-season. Yet when they got it back to 2-2 we went to pieces and they actually had the best chance to win it after that. Even though we were on top, we didn't play well for long spells. Our dip in the first half coincided with the decision to switch Walsh and Polworth, which was weird as Walsh had their right-back on toast. Yet Robbo stuck with that shape until well into the second period. Oakley and Austin continue to struggle as a partnership; I thought Austin looked dangerous today but Oakley was having one of those 'control it further than I can pass it' days. Taking off Austin, our quickest striker, for White, our slowest, was bizarre given we were ahead and playing on the counter. The other changes did counteract this a bit with Calder doing well down the left (though I thought the pen he won was soft as hell) and Doran causing havoc in the middle. However taking Welsh off (I assume due to lack of fitness) robbed us of some vital experience and nous that we could have done with. But then Rooney happened. Only he will know what he was thinking - he had several goes at fouling the guy outside the box before finally deciding to shove him at the back when he was heading for the byline and in a cul-de-sac. It's one of the stupidest things I've ever seen a professional footballer do. And it cost us two points. There's not a lot of positives to take from this one. At least subsequent results have shown Ayr are a better team than we thought they were and our 0-0 wasn't quite as calamitous as it seemed. But this was one almighty kick in the teeth. It'll be interesting to see how we respond at East End Park, but I'm not confident it'll be in the right way.

United in crisis...and we've only just started If Dundee United were to put a motto on their club crest, I would eschew the traditional latin for something French - 'plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose', perhaps. A new season, plenty of new players - eight were making their first league starts for the club - and yet it felt like nothing had changed since the campaign...nor the previous one. United toiled badly and were lucky to scramble their way in front before the break; when they conceded it was no surprise that they collapsed, letting in three in twenty-five minutes. Worse, a significant chunk of their tactical plan was based on physically upsetting their opponents. Faissal El Bakhtaoui was clearly a target, and Christoph Rabitsch was very fortunate that Willie Collum was in an unusually lenient mood when he flattened the forward with a challenge that should have got him a second yellow before half-time. Whilst we hardly expect tiki-taka, United should be dominating teams with the quality of their play, particularly given they clearly have the highest budget in the league by a decent margin. Given the dreadful League Cup showing, Csaba Laszlo is justifiably feeling the pressure. A few more results and performances like this and his position becomes untenable. Three's a crowd for County In Jamie Lindsay, Ross Draper and Iain Vigurs, Ross County have three excellent central midfielders. They also play a 4-4-2 system which makes shoehorning them all in very difficult. With Michael Gardyne suspended against Alloa, it was no surprise to see Vigurs line up on the left of midfield, and no surprise to see him wander inside. But given left-back Sean Kelly offers little threat on the overlap, County were unbalanced, lacked width and the centre of the park had a 'too many cooks' feeling. Only once Draper had been substituted for winger Davis Keillor-Dunn did County really get a grip on the game, and it was the replacement who set up Marcus Fraser's winner. That gives co-managers Steven Ferguson and Stuart Kettlewell two selection headaches going forward - whether to use Gardyne or Keillor-Dunn on the flanks, and which of their talented trio is going to have to drop to the bench. Thistle are still suffering their relegation hangover According to Alan Archibald, Partick Thistle were without two players suspended and another who was ill, which explains why they only had three outfielders on the subs bench at Ayr. But the main problem of course is lack of depth. Thistle seem determined to hang on till the end of the transfer window to try and pick up quality players, but they risk a slow start and playing catchup all season. In the meantime they look like a side still affected by last season's malaise, which is odd given their lineup contained only five players left over from relegation. In contrast, Ayr still appear buoyed by the elation of promotion, with Lawrence Shankland taking his awesome form up a division. They thoroughly deserved their win, but the question is whether it was a sign that they are better than we thought, or that Thistle are worse. Falkirk need time to gel Caley Thistle fans will have got a sense of deja vu from watching the home side here, with the uncertainty and lack of coherence remarkably similar to that of Inverness last year as John Robertson tried to gel a lot of new players together and took time to find his best lineup. Falkirk had nine players making their league debuts for the club and it showed particularly in the first half as the visitors looked far more comfortable on and off the ball. Paul Hartley can maybe take solace from an improved display in the second period where his side probably did enough to deserve a draw. But the worry will be that they are at real risk of emulating Inverness' nightmare start to last season which wrecked their playoff hopes before the clocks changed. Next week's trip to Firhill will be an acid test for both the Bairns and their opponents. Morton grateful to Scully I'm looking forward to seeing the highlights from Cappielow - the only ones not available at the time of writing - mainly because of the exploits of Morton keeper Ryan Scully. Named man of the match, the ex-Partick man made one second half double-save so good that it was lauded on Twitter by Derek Gaston...the keeper who Scully has replaced. Now that's what I call team spirit. Despite blowing a two goal lead, the home side could consider themselves somewhat fortunate to get a point. They had only three shots on goal, two of which went in. Reassuringly for the Doonhamers, it turns out that players other than Stephen Dobbie can score goals. Lawrie Spence has ranted and spouted his ill-informed opinions on Narey's Toepoker since September 2007. He has a life outside this blog. Honestly. View the full article

PREDICTED LEAGUE POSITION: Second LAST SEASON: Third, 70pts NOTABLE INS: Scott Arfield (Burnley), Connor Goldson (Brighton & Hove Albion), Jon Flanagan (Liverpool), Nikola Katic (Slaven Belupo), Allan McGregor (Hull City), Jamie Murphy (Brighton & Hove Albion, loan made permanent), Lassana Coulibaly (Angers, loan), Ovie Ejaria (Liverpool, loan), Ryan Kent (Liverpool, loan), Umar Sadiq (Roma, loan) NOTABLE OUTS: David Bates (Hamburg), Bruno Alves (Parma), Fabio Cardoso (Santa Clara), Harry Forrester (Tractor Sazi), Liam Kelly (Livingston), Kenny Miller (Livingston, player-manager), Michael O'Halloran (Melbourne City), Jordan Thompson (Blackpool), Joe Dodoo (Blackpool, loan), Ryan Hardie (Livingston, loan), Eduardo Herrera (Santos Laguna, loan), Jason Holt (Fleetwood Town, loan), Carlos Pena (Necaxa, loan), Jason Cummings (Nottingham Forest, end of loan), Dalcio (Benfica, end of loan), Sean Goss (Queen's Park Rangers, end of loan), Russell Martin (Norwich City, end of loan) LAST SEASON'S BEST XI (Departed players crossed out): Foderingham, Tavernier, Bates, Bruno Alves, John, Jack, Holt, Candeias, Windass, Murphy, Morelos Off the field, nothing much has changed. Rangers are still a mess. £17million in debt as of this time last year, they admitted in their last accounts that they would need £7million of external funding over the next two years to keep going. Their 'penniless' (his own lawyer's words) chairman keeps finding increasingly spurious excuses to delay his takeover of the club and is facing a Contempt of Court charge as a result. And in the last few days a case has been settled out of court that will require the club to pay about half a million in legal fees to long-term bugbear Mike Ashley. But on the field, are we finally seeing progress? Steven Gerrard's start in the Ibrox hotseat has been quietly encouraging. Rangers haven't blown away their Europa League opposition so far, but they've won their two ties and looked solid and well-organized. That in itself is a dramatic improvement from recent years. It's still early days, but so far it is hard to find fault with the rookie manager. Crucially, he quickly identified the weakest area in the squad - central defence - and set about improving it. Most of the budget has been blown on Connor Goldson and Nikola Katic, but that's no bad thing, though the decision to let David Bates walk looks dreadfully shortsighted. With Jon Flanagan also added, apparently to play left-back, the hope is that the consistent concession of cheap goals that has been characteristic of the last two years will stop. Gerrard's pragmatism is a good sign; rather than having delusions of playing reckless attacking football straight off the bat he has instead concentrated on the fundamentals and trying to make Rangers difficult to beat. The question is whether, if the entertainment value is initially poor and/or there is a slow start - trips to Aberdeen, Motherwell and Celtic in their first four games is not exactly an easy opening to the league campaign, he will be given time. Ibrox is not exactly renowned for its patience. There have been additions elsewhere too, of course. Four midfielders have come in, including Ryan Kent and Ovie Ejaria on loan from Liverpool. Lassana Coulibaly, another loanee, is expected to add a physical presence alongside Ryan Jack at the base. Scott Arfield, often a regular in the Premier League with Burnley, should be a good signing if he can be fitted into Gerrard's system, but he isn't quite enough of a winger for a 4-2-3-1 system - unlike Jamie Murphy - and may find it hard to find a place in the centre of midfield with so many options available. Up front they still look a bit light as well, especially if Josh Windass, a perfectly viable second striker, leaves. Umar Sadiq is a bit of an unknown quantity, whereas we know what we will get from Alfredo Morelos - a lot of hard work, a headache for the opposing centre-backs, and too many missed chances. Morelos has plenty of room to improve (he is only 22 after all) but Gerrard will want to bring in at least one more forward, with Kyle Lafferty recently linked. There will be plenty of departures yet, either permanently or on loan. Greg Docherty has been deemed not ready for first team action, which is a shame. Wes Foderingham has been frozen out in favour of Allan McGregor, which seems more of a sideways move than an upgrade in goal. Lee Wallace could also be moved on if a suitor can be found, after his fallout with the club at the end of last year. The bottom line is that Rangers are still a hell of a long way behind Celtic, and therefore a hell of a long way away from where they want to be. The trick is recognizing it, and thinking in terms of gradual improvements instead of desperate attempts at big leaps which end up in a Luxembourger bush. If they trust Gerrard, and he proves worthy of their faith, they should surely climb one step on the podium this year. That might not sound much to their fans, but it would be positive progress for the first time in a long while. THE SQUAD (players born after 1 January 1997 in italics) Goalkeepers: Jak Alnwick, Wes Foderingham, Allan McGregor Defenders: Myles Beerman, Kyle Bradley, Jon Flanagan, Connor Goldson, Lee Hodson, Declan John, Nikola Katic, Ross McCrorie, James Tavernier, Lee Wallace Midfielders: Scott Arfield, Jamie Barjonas, Liam Burt, Daniel Candeias, Lassana Coulibaly, Greg Docherty, Graham Dorrans, Ovie Ejaria, Andy Halliday, Ryan Jack, Ryan Kent, Glenn Middleton, Jordan Rossiter, Josh Windaass Forwards: Alfredo Morelos, Jamie Murphy, Umar Sadiq THE BEST XI? Lawrie Spence (LS) has ranted and spouted his ill-informed opinions on Narey's Toepoker since September 2007. He has a life outside this blog. Honestly. View the full article

PREDICTED LEAGUE POSITION: Seventh LAST SEASON: Seventh, 48pts NOTABLE INS: Liam Donnelly (Hartlepool United), Mark Gillespie (Walsall), Danny Johnson (Gateshead), Neil McLaughlin (Partick Thistle), Alex Rodriguez (Sepsi Stantu Gheorghe), Aaron Taylor-Sinclair (Plymouth Argyle), Conor Sammon (Heart of Midlothian, loan) NOTABLE OUTS: Russell Griffiths (AFC Fylde), Cedric Kipre (Wigan Athletic), Deimantas Petravicius (Falkirk), Shea Gordon (Partick Thistle, loan), Jake Hastie (Alloa Athletic, loan), Ross MacLean (Greenock Morton, loan), Neil McLaughlin (Stirling Albion, loan), Tom Aldred (Bury, end of loan), Nadir Ciftci (Celtic, end of loan), Stephen Hendrie (Southend United, end of loan), Ellis Plummer, Luke Watt LAST SEASON'S BEST XI (Departed players crossed out): Carson, Tait, Aldred, Kipre, Hartley, Dunne, Cadden, McHugh, Campbell, Main, Moult There is a fair bit of optimism in the air at Fir Park. Fair enough - they're coming off a campaign where they reached two cup semi-finals and finished comfortably in mid-table. Can they kick on further? The fans certainly think so. Manager Stephen Robinson thinks so too. But it will be hard, not least because however astute the club are run, their budget is not in the same league as Aberdeen or the Edinburgh clubs, let alone the Gruesome Twosome. And like the other six clubs in the division, the first priority always has to be to stay clear of the drop. Motherwell should be confident of that happening, unless there is some sort of implosion in form and attitude. Whether they can finish higher than last season will probably depend on what sort of goal threat they offer. Louis Moult's goals were always going to be difficult to replace, and in fact Robinson did quite well to come up with Curtis Main, a battering ram who scored eight times after arriving in January, as well as bullying many a centre-back into submission. But other players weren't hitting the net sufficiently, to the point that Moult was the top scorer despite playing his last game for the club on 2 December. Ryan Bowman managed to score ten in all competitions but he doesn't look like a good fit alongside Main, given that he is taller but less strong and neither offer much in the way of movement or pace. Bowman has been linked with a move away, whilst Nadir Ciftci showed only brief flashes in a loan spell and is long gone. In come two new options, Danny Johnson and Conor Sammon. The latter is a surprising arrival on loan and has done precious little in recent years to justify any faith in him. Johnson is a busy player who had a good goalscoring record at Gateshead...but so did Bowman before he moved north. Ultimately, the best option in the squad to partner Main is probably Craig Tanner, but he may not return from a knee injury for several months yet. Elsewhere there are few question marks. Robinson tended to use a back three for most of the second half of last season which could easily switch to a back four if necessary, though only Elliott Frear is the only natural winger available. The loss of Tom Aldred will be offset by the return from injury of new club captain Peter Hartley, but the loss in recent days of Charles Dunne to injury and then, on the eve of the new campaign, Cedric Kipre to Wigan Athletic suddenly leave gaping holes. Carl McHugh may drop into the backline as a stopgap solution, but the sizeable fee for Kipre needs invested in a replacement pronto. New boys Liam Donnelly and Aaron Taylor-Sinclair are comfortable both as full-backs and wing-backs, though Donnelly will struggle to dislodge the extremely underrated Richard Tait on the right flank. Taylor-Sinclair always used to look good back in his Partick Thistle days and may provide better balance in a 3-5-2 than Frear. In the middle of the park there's no shortage of options either. Chris Cadden has steadily continued his upward trajectory and surely won't be around for much longer. Allan Campbell came to prominence last year and the tigrish midfielder, who only turned 20 this summer, should only get better. With Campbell, Liam Grimshaw, McHugh and Andy Rose the Steelmen have, er, no shortage of midfield steel. (I'm sorry, I'll stop doing this now). It would be nice to have a creative player in there, mind. Tanner could fill that role when he returns, but with Gael Bigirimana failing to live up to his pedigree from his Newcastle days Robinson will hope Alex Rodriguez Gorrin, a Spanish midfielder long coveted by the boss, proves an astute signing. All in all, Motherwell look to be in decent nick for the new campaign. Will that be enough to separate that from the teams around them, or to turn them into this season's Kilmarnock? That's surely the target. THE SQUAD (players born after 1 January 1997 in italics)Goalkeepers: Trevor Carson, Rohan Ferguson, Mark GillespieDefenders: Liam Donnelly, Charles Dunne, Peter Hartley, Adam Livingstone, Barry Maguire, Richard Tait, Aaron Taylor-SinclairMidfielders: Gael Bigirimana, Liam Brown, Chris Cadden, Allan Campbell, Elliott Frear, Liam Grimshaw, Carl McHugh, Alex Rodriguez Gorrin, Andy Rose, Craig Tanner, David TurnbullForwards: Ryan Bowman, Danny Johnson, Curtis Main, George Newell, Connor Sammon, James Scott THE BEST XI? Lawrie Spence (LS) has ranted and spouted his ill-informed opinions on Narey's Toepoker since September 2007. He has a life outside this blog. Honestly. View the full article