Ten Caat

Dhims down to 10 men after ridiculously brainless challenge from Ntcham who was already on a yellow. St Boo giving a good account of themselves even before the red, look a different team under this new manager than the one we saw a few weeks back

Better they get this sorted out now and ensure all future decisions are correct than carry on as they are letting McGregor assault oppo players willy nilly then find out 6 months down the line he should be getting red carded for his behaviour.....

McKenna back in full training. Not sure if Saturday will come too soon for him to play but fingers crossed with Devlin suspended. Hoban getting his surgery next week, not sure what the delay was but he was sent down to Watford for their medics to take a look. DM also "hopeful Wilson will be able to play a part"

It was definitely McLeish who pulled out "injured" in the warm up. The Bett story you are thinking about happened on the coach on the way back after the game......(allegedly)

Haven't been to McDiarmid since the day of the 5-0 walloping we got when Davie Robertson got a red card after about 20 minutes having been booked early on yet persisted in flying into wild challenges. Was also the day McLeish pulled out "injured" before the warm up with rumours of a bust up in coach coming down when Gillhaus (who may or may not have had an ahem "friend" in tow) turned up late for the coach and AM informed Smith if Gillhaus was playing he most certainly wasn't. Everyone remembers the oldco game at the end of the season where we needed a draw to win the title but this was the game where the title really was lost....a 1-0 victory against a St J team who really weren't fir to lace our boots would have seen us lift the title despite that result at Ibrokes. Anyway after the embarrassment I vowed never to set foot in McDiarmid ever again. However courtesy of my St Johnstone supporting son I am the recipient of a ticket so 27 years after that debacle I'm finally heading back to the scene of the crime. In Driving Driving 1-2 (Consi, Anderson)

Ive just got what he meant. Was too busy concentrating on my bacon roll to see he meant Scotland and Kazakhstan not Scotland v Kazakhstan. Duh

Not convinced we will see Hampden regularly filled. A fair whack of sevconians have abandoned Scotland and taken to supporting Guffland and/or Norn Irn. And Celtic fans historically seem to prefer supporting Eire. For fans from outwith the central belt, Hampden is a bugger to get to for an early kick off or home from for an evening kick off especially if using public transport. Years of utter pish has also turned many fans off supporting the National team. And of course the SFA who only seem to want 2 teams to flourish could themselves find themselves victimised by fans of teams who believe their club side is dealt an unfair hand by the corrupt bastards. £35 quid for a ticket against Belgium for a friendly won't help. The team is actually doing fairly well in actual competitive fixtures as opposed to friendlies....last night was the 7th competitive fixture in a row we have remained unbeaten in. I suppose if we do look like qualifying for a Finals then the fans will return but till then unless we are playing Brazil, England, Argentina, Italy, Germany or Spain I think we will continue to see Hampden no more than half full

Except that Scotland were playing Albania. And Albania didn't score

Need to start getting him on for 15-20 minutes regularly with a view to starting him against the Livis and St Mirrens before the January break. With a bit of luck he could be getting a regular start in place of Ball or Gleeson by Easter.

Decent enough performance so far, McGinn been excellent although has sold the shirts with a coupe of intercepted passes that Albania should have made more of.

The Record are going with the SFA offering Queens Park £4 million for Hampdung. QP are supposedly after £6 million which will allow them to do up Lesser Hampden. The whole site is huge I would have thought QP could have got a far bigger offer from a developer ( If Pittodrie is "worth" circa £20 million then the whole Hampden site Id have guessed worth at least twice that probably nearer 3 times it). That would have taken the whole question out of the SFA's hands at a stroke. I really would have preferred a new dedicated ground built near a motorway and accessible within an hour of Edinburgh/Glasgow/Dundee but that isn't on the cards so Murrayfield to me is the best option. We should only use it for actual qualifiers though. Friendlies can be taken round the country. What has to be avoided at all costs is the SFA saying that Ibrokes/Porkheed will become the dedicated options on a rotational basis.

He's a brain fart in waiting and there is no way he would get away with assaulting oppo players in the box the way refs at home let him do.....instant red card and a penalty. I agree on pure goalkeeping terms he's better than Gordon but he's lost his marbles and just cannot be trusted. But McLeish has already said he is starting so fingers crossed he has been started on that Ritalin they give to kids with ADHD and just pray for the best.

Could easily have been 6 or 7. At least we learned Souttar is definitely not international class, alongside Fraser and McDonald. I know the teams we face in the Nations League will be nowhere near the level of Belgium but they also won't be the minnows that they were in the 70s and 80s.......and there is no doubt also that we have fallen every bit as much as they have gotten better. I think we will scrape a result against Albania but it won't be pretty. I do worry though that we don't do well overall, McLeish gets the boot and that he is available when DM's reign reaches it's inevitable conclusion in 18-24 months time. Cos I dont think Wiggy could resist if he was.......

Don't think we will be seeing much of Hoban this side of Xmas if at all given that he was sent down to Watford for their medical team to have a look prior to having his definitely required shoulder surgery.

I actually think Logan could be the one to suffer in the system. Lowe seems a more natural wing back than Logan. I'd expect GMS and McGinn to rotate for one of the attacking midfield roles and the same with Ball/Gleeson for the holding role though I just have a feeling DM prefers Ball overall as he is more mobile and a bit more physical too. Wright should get a decent amount of game time, Ferguson has astonished us all so far but will need a rest sooner or later, his last 2 performances have been average at best compared with his sparkling start. I could be totally wrong but I just feel DM is preparing us for the loss of Logan and possibly Shinnie at season's end by trying out a new system where Shay really won't be missed and Shinnie could be fairly easily replaced.

If he isn't a millionaire then he must spend cash like water. As First Minister he would have lived free of charge for 7 years. I think they even get housekeeping staff thrown in, plus chauffeured around wherever he fancied. Essentially no living costs for 7 years whilst trousering his First Minister's salary. IIRC it was £125k when he started and he finished on over £140k.....thats well over £800k as it is. AS an MP/MSP for almost 29 years......and for 11 of those don't forget he doubled up...... he would not have been short of a bob or 2 certainly earning way over the national average probably nearer twice it. I think he was by a donkey's mile the most talented politician of any party of his generation. Whilst accepting his right to be innocent until proven guilty, I do find it extraordinary (and nauseating tbh) that he has funded his upcoming legal defence costs by crowdfunding. If he is innocent as he says he is, surely he would be refunded those costs once the case is completed? Even if that wasn't the case, he would surely have a watertight case for suing for damages and costs. I still believe no matter the outcome, his career in politics is finished. There is only one job he desires and that is to be the leader of a newly independent Scotland. Even if proven innocent his reputation is so damaged this must be a desire that proves impossible. So I believe he is no longer a politician.

I believe Mcinnes, when he has 3 fit/not suspended centre backs available fully intends to go 3-5-2 for the majority of games this season. So I fully expect at least initially once Wilson is fit he will play Wison and May as a partnership. If that proves unsuccessful then Anderson has a chance of getting a start for a few games but really would only expect him to get 10-30 minute cameos as a sub probably till November anyway. I do not think May will ever be prolific for us but if he can give us 10 goals a season whilst laying on goals for his strike partner and linking play with the midfield I believe he will stay in the team. At least we should see (well hopefully anyway) an end to defenders lumping long balls up to him as a lone forward and expecting to retain posession.

Or we could sign a free agent.......Steven Caulker is available.......and we instantly are covered for when McKenna leaves in January

That is partly the point though...no yellow cards were dished out and yellows cannot retrospectively be applied. It's either a red card or case dismissed in the eyes of the Compliance officer/panel of ex refs. I would probably agree that the level of "violence" in the Morelos/both McGregor incidents were minimal but nevertheless such behaviour would not be tolerated in the street.......if a copper saw that happening it would be a night in the cells probably followed by a caution in the morning. And Dicker from Killie must be furious after his red card for a perfectly legal challenge that wasn't overly physical is not rescinded whilst the 2 sevconians get off scot free.

I guarantee there will be a shedload of kids (and possibly amateur adults) now taking sly kicks....not "violent" but annoying and get the right part of the body (baws, ankle bone etc) it is still painful. When ref tries to send them off there will be howls of protestation from the parents quoting this new shitty rule saying how dare you send off my kid. And a shedload of appeals thereafter in all levels of the game that the relevant authorities could well do without. Yes football is a contact sport and I think theyve gone too far in punishing what were perfectly fair challenges even just 10 years ago. What was never allowed was to stick a fly one on your opponent.

You certainly couldn't take a kick at anyone in the street no matter how soft the blow might be. Why the hell should it then be acceptable on a football pitch? Especially with the footballing authorities so keen on showing respect for opponents and for fair play. Letting him off with it sets a bad example for kids who will no doubt copy his actions believing they can also get away with it. Dangerous precedent and I still think had it been a player outwith the arse cheeks they would have found some way to hammer him.

I also think Ryhun will be slotted in, probably in place of McTominay.

Would be interesting to see how the SFA would react if Plod were to get involved should an anonymous onlooker report the matter. That's 2 weeks in a row that sleekit c@nt has got away with assaulting an oppo player.....

I disagree as that (in a back 4) would have 3 left footers with O' Donnell at right back as the only right footer. Now that I think of it I think it is a lot more likely he will go with a back 3 and 5 across the midfield. Find out soon enough.

They need to shoehorn Tierney into the side so will play him at centre back alongside Souttar. If they play a back 3 then Mulgrew enters the equation.