hislopsoffsideagain

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

PREDICTED LEAGUE POSITION: Twelfth LAST SEASON: Promoted via playoffs NOTABLE INS: Cameron Blues (Falkirk), Callum Crane (Hibernian), Liam Kelly (Rangers), Ricki Lamie (Greenock Morton), Steven Lawless (Partick Thistle), Kenny Miller (Rangers, player-manager), Steven Saunders (The New Saints), Craig Sibbald (Falkirk), Ross Stewart (St. Mirren), James Brown (Millwall, loan), Ryan Hardie (Rangers, loan), Egli Kaja (Milton Keynes Dons, loan) NOTABLE OUTS: Gregor Buchanan (Greenock Morton), Jackson Longridge (Dunfermline Athletic), Dylan Mackin (Falkirk), Josh Mullin (Ross County), Steven Boyd (Hamilton Academical, end of loan), Adam Frizzell (Kilmarnock, end of loan), Jordan Thompson (Rangers, end of loan), Neil Alexander (retired) LAST SEASON'S BEST XI (Departed players crossed out): Alexander, Gallagher, Halkett, Lithgow, Da Vita, Mullin, Byrne, Pittman, Longridge, Miller, Hardie This writer has always found rooting for Livingston to be rather difficult. Historically it was due to a close rivalry with Caley Thistle as the two sides raced up the divisions, and the resentment that Livingston tended to be a step ahead. More recently there has been the distaste left by their administrations in 2004 and 2009, the latter of which resulted in demotion to the fourth tier; the use of a loophole to bring in 'amateur' signings to help avoid relegation in 2005; a points deduction in 2014 for tax breaches; and, currently, the employment of one player who served a jail sentence for fracturing someone's skull with a baseball bat, another who was previously placed on the sex offenders register, and an assistant manager who spent several years in prison for his part in cocaine dealing. As you do. And yet it was a joy watching Livingston see off Dundee United and Partick Thistle in last season's promotion playoffs. Having only just come up from League One, David Hopkin's side were expected to aim for consolidation rather than further progress...expected by everyone else, that is. They were grossly underestimated by opponents on a weekly basis, even when it became clear they were heading for second spot in the Championship and even in the aforementioned playoffs. For Livi showed how far excellent organization, work ethic and stamina can take a team. Difficult to break down - not least thanks to an outstanding centre-back trio - they frustrated opponents whilst in turn wearing them down with seemingly tireless running. It's possible that the only time midfielder Scott Pittman stopped moving all season was when he ended up in the back of the net, with the ball, after scoring a crucial goal against Partick Thistle; of course, he had made a lung-busting burst from deep to get into the box to score. Hopkin deserves a huge amount of credit; in fact he should have been Scotland's manager of the year and surely would have been were the award not announced before those playoff matches. And yet a week later he chose to let his contract run out and leave. Linked with Morton, St. Mirren, Bradford and Carlisle at various points, he curiously remains unemployed. Time will tell whether his former club sink or swim without him. It took thirty days to appoint a new manager. In that time assistant boss David Martindale seems to have taken control of transfer policy and the new faces that arrived before Kenny Miller did. Livi fans will not have fond memories of having a player-manager in the top flight - Paul Lambert managed only two league wins in six months in the role in 2005/06. Kenny Miller can hardly do worse, though given that he is now well into his thirty-ninth year and last season there was finally evidence of the inevitable decline in his performances on the pitch, any positive impact surely has to come from the dugout. In the short-term, he could do worse than rely on his predecessor's strategy. It helps that the triumvirate of Craig Halkett, Declan Gallagher and Alan Lithgow remain - Halkett was outstanding last season and will surely have had offers from bigger clubs. Pittman, the closest thing Scottish football has to a Duracell Bunny, remains also. Out of those who have left only Josh Mullin and the retired Neil Alexander were regulars last season. But it's reasonable to expect that guts and grit won't be enough on their own for the step up. Opponents at this level will be better and fitter. And relying on team spirit is easy when the results are coming, but less so when you're not winning most weeks. And the club themselves have made it clear that, whilst their playing budget will treble this season they are not going to break the bank to increase their slim chances of survival. Miller will have to do what he can with what he has inherited, augmented by the signings made before he arrived plus whatever he can find himself. For a start he needs to improve on his striking options unless he really is betting big on himself. Getting Ryan Hardie back on loan from Rangers for a third time is a huge boost and it will be intriguing to see how effective he is in the top flight, but until he recovers from a foot injury the manager only really has himself and namesake Lee as options - with a combined age of 73 between the duo. The latter will win a lot of headers and put himself about it but is only really useful as a late sub. The midfield will not be short of sweat with the aforementioned Pittman and Keaghan Jacobs, but quality? Raffaele Da Vita is out injured long-term, so they desperately need Craig Sibbald to finally step up and fulfil the awesome potential he showed at Falkirk as a teenager. They have also brought in widemen Egli Kaja (on loan) and Steven Lawless. If they can create the chances and Hardie can put them in, they have hope. That is, of course, as long as the defence continue to combine well and new keeper Liam Kelly can fill Neil Alexander's gloves. Kelly has lots of caps at age levels for Scotland, but he also has no league experience above League One. It's a big opportunity for him and a big risk for Livi. Ultimately the plan is clear. Staying up would be fantastic but it isn't worth putting the club at risk; better to think of the future and make sure that in the event of relegation they are strong enough to bounce straight back up again and have a better shot at survival next time. And that's just as well because they are relegation favourites and surely the weakest side to come up since Dundee were belatedly promoted in 2012 without getting any time to prepare. But fans can look to Hamilton Accies for hope - a club who keep staying up against the odds, who also have a plastic pitch (Livi installed one this summer) and who, on paper, also look pretty weak this season. Accies have proved everyone wrong for years. Can Livi follow their lead? THE SQUAD (players born after 1 January 1997 in italics) Goalkeepers: Liam Kelly, Gary Maley, Ross Stewart Defenders: James Brown, Callum Crane, Declan Gallagher, Craig Halkett, Ricki Lamie, Alan Lithgow, Jack McMillan, Steven Saunders Midfielders: Cameron Blues, Shaun Byrne, Nicky Cadden, Raffaele De Vita, Keaghan Jacobs, Egli Kaja, Steven Lawless, Jack Ogilvie, Scott Pittman, Scott Robinson, Craig Sibbald Forwards: Jack Hamilton, Ryan Hardie, Matthew Knox, Kenny Miller, Lee Miller, Kyle Sampson 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: Fourth LAST SEASON: Second, 73pts NOTABLE INS: Tomas Cerny (Partick Thistle), Lewis Ferguson (Hamilton Academical), Chris Forrester (Peterborough United), Stephen Gleeson (Ipswich Town), Dominic Ball (Rotherham United, loan), Tommie Hoban (Watford, loan) NOTABLE OUTS: Kari Arnason (Vikingur), Daniel Harvie (Ayr United), Anthony O'Connor (Bradford City), Adam Rooney (Salford City), Danny Rogers (St. Mirren, loan), Ryan Christie (Celtic, end of loan), Chidi Nwakali (Manchester City, end of loan), Greg Stewart (Birmingham City, end of loan), Freddie Woodman (Newcastle United, end of loan), Nicky Maynard LAST SEASON'S BEST XI (Departed players crossed out): Lewis, Logan, McKenna, O'Connor, Considine, Shinnie, McLean, McGinn, Christie, Mackay-Steven, May You'd have been forgiven for thinking at times that last season was a poor one for Aberdeen. Sure, they were not as cohesive in attack as in the 2016/17 campaign, scoring far fewer goals. They failed to make a cup final after managing two in the previous campaign. And - until the final game of the season at Celtic Park - they continued to disappoint in matches against the two big Glasgow sides. But they actually finished second in the table - for the fourth time in a row. Their final points total was only three lower than in 2016/17. For the most part, the Dons still got the results. However, there remains a much bigger gap to Celtic than the nine point margin last year suggests. And in turn there is very little to separate Aberdeen from the clubs that finished just below them. Rangers seem to have improved, and if Hibs continue their trajectory from the end of last season then they will do better too. Can Aberdeen avoid being knocked off the podium? On the one hand, it looks like they might finally (famous last words) have sorted out their chronic problem at centre-half. Scott McKenna has emerged as a fine player who is likely to go on to be the club's most expensive ever sale. They now also have Michael Devlin, who looks fully recovered from the knee injury that kept him out for the whole of last season, and Watford loanee Tommie Hoban who should be a massive upgrade on the departed Kari Arnason and Anthony O'Connor. Hoban can also play at left-back, where the club still have Andrew Considine as a solid, unspectacular option. Shay Logan was disappointing last year by his high standards but there's no reason why he can't bounce back. And with Joe Lewis in goal too, Aberdeen should be very difficult to beat. The problem is very much at the other end of the pitch. The side of 2016/17 could boast Jonny Hayes, Kenny McLean, Ryan Christie, Niall McGinn and, in the first half of that season, James Maddison as creative options. Now only McGinn is left, and he has struggled to get near the form he showed before his brief move to Korea. McLean has signed for Norwich; Christie has returned to parent club Celtic. McInnes has brought in three new midfielders, plus Dominic Ball on loan again as a more defensive option. It was interesting that against Burnley the manager preferred to partner Graeme Shinnie with ex-Hamilton teen Lewis Ferguson rather than Irish playmaker Stephen Gleeson or attacking threat Chris Forrester. Ferguson might be considered one for the future, but they really need Gleeson and Forrester to succeed in the present if they are to compensate for the loss of McLean and Christie. The creative burden therefore is likely to fall on McGinn and the entertaining-but-erratic-as-ever Gary Mackay-Steven. If Scott Wright pushes on after a season of stagnation then that would help; otherwise another flair player would be most welcome to prevent the club relying solely on direct balls to Sam Cosgrove or Stevie May. And if McInnes has to go forward with only those two strikers to choose from he won't be happy either. May was a huge letdown last year and there are now concerns that he'll never bounce back to his old St. Johnstone form. Cosgrove is certainly a hard worker but he is still young and should really be considered as a project. It's no surprise they keep being linked with Louis Moult and other attackers, and one would imagine the crazy fee received for third-choice Adam Rooney will go towards a new signing in this area. And to cap it all this could well be the thinnest squad in the Premiership at the time of writing, considering that Mark Reynolds is out long term and Greg Tansey has been frozen out. A handful of injuries and they would have a problem early doors. Ultimately the defensive reinforcements are all very well but the weakness in attack is a huge concern. No question the club will make more transfer moves between now and the end of August but until we see who has come in - and whether they flourish - it's hard to see Aberdeen holding onto that second spot yet again. THE SQUAD (players born after 1 January 1997 in italics)Goalkeepers: Tomas Cerny, Joe LewisDefenders: Dominic Ball, Andrew Considine, Michael Devlin, Tommie Hoban, Shay Logan, Scott McKenna, Mark ReynoldsMidfielders: Dean Campbell, Lewis Ferguson, Chris Forrester, Stephen Gleeson, Gary Mackay-Steven, Frank Ross, Graeme Shinnie, Greg TanseyForwards: Sam Cosgrove, Stevie May, Niall McGinn, Connor McLennan, Scott Wright 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

There isn't a perfect precedent for this. Albion Rovers were thrown out of the competition, but that was in a knockout tie rather than the group stage of a competition. Just over two years ago Dundee United did something similar in a league game against us where they won 3-2 - they were deducted three points, but we were not awarded them. I think the most likely outcome is that either Hearts are deducted the points, or that Cove are awarded a walkover victory. I don't see Hearts being thrown out because they have three group games left - if nothing else, it would deny other clubs much needed cash from the matches (assuming gate money is split like in most cup competitions!). Either of the above would be obviously to our advantage as, if we beat Raith, the only way a team could finish above us would be on goal difference.

Partick Thistle fans I've asked have been effusive in their praise for Welsh - when he's fit. Apparently he's a very good passer of the ball and solid defensively, yet not too bad when he gets forward. Not a bad replacement for Vigurs, potentially. The problem of course is that he seems to be made of glass. He played very little between 2013 and 2015 because of knee problems, and barely played at all in 2017 because of injury, to the point that he was without a club for the first half of last season. Falkirk fans are not positive about his performances for them last season, but he did join a struggling team mid-season which is always tough. Hopefully he's on a pay-as-you-play deal...

I heartily endorse the McCart signing. I thought he was the most impressive (or, more accurately, the least hopeless) of the players Foran used at centre-back. Given he's only 21 this month, there's plenty room for improvement too. At the very least he offers good depth. It does make me wonder about how Robbo's tactics for next season. Whilst we've signed Rooney, he may still be planning to use Brad McKay as a right-back, perhaps in a similar fashion to how Aberdeen use Considine as left-back to offer an attacking threat at the back post rather than for width in possession. An alternative possibility is that he wants to play three at the back, with McCart, Donaldson and McKay. Donaldson in particular is very comfortable stepping into midfield with the ball...which may compensate for the lack of a deep-lying playmaker. Could this be the solution to life without Vigurs?

I have a few thoughts after reading this thread. Firstly, it should be acknowledged that none of this is the fault of Gary Warren, a club stalwart for six years and club captain for the last three. In January 2016 (when Yogi was manager, in fact) he was offered a three and a half year contract on (presumably) very good terms, which apparently also contains an appearance fee. He is of course completely within his rights to stand his ground and demand the club honour it. None of us would do anything different in our own walks of life. Even if Warren was willing to leave - because he wants to play regularly, for example - his options are limited somewhat. There is only one other full-time club within 100 miles, so if they aren't interested he either has to move elsewhere (either separating himself from his family or uprooting them) or go part-time (not that his options there are good either unless Elgin fancied him, especially since Brora aren't paying crazy money anymore). And whilst he is a qualified teacher, i imagine he cannot just step back into that role overnight. He may be one of our highest paid players, but a lot of folk don't seem to realize that the wages of SPFL Premiership players (outside the top 5 clubs are so) are not exactly extortionate, especially given that anyone on much more than £1k/week then ends up on a higher tax band. His football career will not have set him up for life, and the contract he is currently on will be his last one of any significance as a professional footballer. I also wonder whether, given he has passed his UEFA A licence, whether his intention was to follow Foran into the coaching setup and that was a reason behind being given such a contract. If that was the case, clearly that door is not open under Robbo. That being said, he is on an onerous contract. Out of those left over from relegation, only he and Polworth (and Fon Williams of course) are still on a contract signed before the drop (Tremarco and McKay have signed new contracts since). And unfortunately his play has declined sharply in the last two seasons; he struggled badly in our relegation season and in the first half of 2017/18, though his form certainly improved in the run-in. McKay and Donaldson are ahead of him in the pecking order though, which means that if he is one of the highest paid players at the club he is not good value for money at all. Worse, his 'appearance fee' means that he costs us less if he sits on the bench or in the stand. If it is true that we could get in three players for his wage - and it may well be - then it is a no-brainer for Robbo to try and punt him, because in such a tight league having those players could make a very significant difference to our promotion prospects. If even one of those three proves more of an asset than Warren is then it will have been worth it. I do sympathise with the manager here - neither he nor the current board were involved with what looks with hindsight to be a terrible contract to give to a player who was already 31; you don't see teams like St. Johnstone offering more than two years at a time to their senior players, and for good reason. His comments to the press appear to be a crass attempt into shaming Warren into leaving by giving people the impression that he is a burden, and I am very uncomfortable with them; they are reminiscent of the way we treated David Raven a year ago. But clearly Robbo had already had the conversation privately with Warren at the end of the season and feels that Warren is not making sufficient effort to find a new club, so he has decided to force the issue. What happens next? I have no idea. The nuclear option would be to freeze him out in preseason, but it would be a shame if it came to that. As stated above, Warren doesn't really have much in the way of alternatives other than standing his ground. It's difficult to see how this plays out in a way that suits everyone. But it does appear that we will be weaker if Warren stays than if he goes.

Jamie Durent's match report for the P&J seems to suggest that Cameron Harper's 'injury' looked feigned so that we could sub Brad McKay on - any one got any insights on this? Something doesn't add up. Seems completely crazy that McKay wasn't in the matchday squad in the first place if he were fit. If he were injured then surely we wouldn't have played him for 85 minutes. Did someone make a total ****-up with the teamsheet or something? Are we really as incompetent as that?

I'm certainly following this thread with interest. I assume Alan Savage hasn't much/any input at the moment? I assumed after he picked up some of those Hospice shares that he would be getting back into the mix...and also that the return of Robbo had his fingerprints on it.

I agree that with Austin and Oakley available we don't need Baird, simply because he seems the least able of the trio. However I'm pleased Robbo wants to make a couple of loan signings. A right-back please, so McKay can renew his partnership with Donaldson. And I would still make a few overtures across the bridge, where they have so many strikers that surely they'd let us have a shot of a Mr B. Mckay for the run-in?

I think it's probably best to judge Robbo and Brewster's two spells separately - Robbo's because circumstances are different and they are 13 years apart, and Brewster's because his availability as a player made such a significant difference in his first period in charge. Here's how I'd rank them, from last to first: 10. Foran - an absolute catastrophe. Tactically inept, clearly unable to manage a squad and absolutely hopeless at signing players. If we'd ditched him even in March 2017, we would have stayed up. His spell in charge has done this club a huge amount of harm. 9. Brewster's second spell - after an initial strong start things went badly wrong and the last eight months or so were awful. Another manager who struggled tactically and who wound up all the players the wrong way. And giving Andrew Barrowman a three year contract on a big wage?! 8. Baltacha - certainly had some challenges to deal with, given it was our first year in the league. But not even finishing in the bottom half of the Third Division with that squad was a disappointment and too often our style of football was dull as ditchwater. 7. Robbo's second spell - Controversial perhaps, but the bottom line is that we're still only seventh the Championship even though things have certainly improved after a terrible start. Assuming we don't go back up this season, the big test for him will be improving the squad this summer despite a likely reduction in budget. 6. Christie - I have a soft spot for Charlie, who signed some decent players and who often sent out the team to be quite adventurous. And the 2-1 win over Rangers in December 2006 is still one of my favourite ICT moments ever. But he couldn't crack top six. 5. Brewster's first spell - we went from relegation candidates to missing the top six on goal difference in five months. His ability and leadership as a player were undoubtedly huge factors. He also brought in Craig Dargo and established Ian Black (signed by Robbo) in the team. 4. Robbo's first spell - beat Celtic in the cup in his first half-season, won the first division and got us to two cup semi-finals. He had started getting us on the right track for survival when he left for Hearts. Oh, and he signed Darren Dods, who improved our defence about one-hundred fold when he got in the team. 3. Paterson - deserves his legend status because of our rise through the leagues and that incredible win at Celtic Park (and the oft-forgotten win at Tynecastle two years later), along with the reckless attacking football that we played. That said, he had a lot more to work with than most managers in the bottom two divisions did, and couldn't get us over the last hurdle. Not our best manager, but the guy who was managing us when we were the most fun! 2. Hughes - I imagine this will be heavily criticised! If this ranking was entirely on coaching ability he would certainly be top (he turned Carl Tremarco into a footballer!!!) and if it was entirely on transfer market success he would be near the bottom. Bottom line is he took us to third in the league and a Scottish Cup win, feats which may never be repeated - and did so with us playing some pretty sexy football. The fact that his reign started and ended pretty badly shouldn't detract from that. 1. Butcher - obviously left us in pretty acrimonious circumstances, and no-one would suggest that he was a tactical genius. But...he nearly kept us up in 2009 (we were five points adrift when he took over). He got us back up at the first attempt. He turned us into a top six team. The number of quality players he signed was quite remarkable. And man he was good with the media, talking us up all the time. (puts tin hat on, awaits incoming fire)

You're right re there being specific rules - the guidance is here https://sportscotland.org.uk/media-imported/1534421/scottish-sports-concussion-guidance.pdf That said, at the end of last season Alex Fisher talked about getting concussed at Dens Park in the penultimate game of the campaign and still started against Motherwell 4 days later. Make of that what you will.

I'd be tempted if he were cheap (which he won't be) and wasn't injury-prone (which he is). His bust-a-gut bursts into the penalty area to support the centre-forward and the amount of running he would do in games always made a positive difference. That said, in our current system he would best fit into the role that is currently occupied by Polworth, and he wouldn't be a sufficient upgrade to be worth taking any risks on.