rocket_scientist

Leighton Boel - Miller - McLeish - Robertson Strachan - Buchan - Simpson - Graham Harper - Black I know it's a lopsided team in some ways and I should have put Martin in beside Willie but I couldn't write Miller without McLeish. Subs: Clark, Kennedy, Hermiston, Bett (actually, Jim instead of MB who goes back to replace McLeish), Weir, Forrest, Archibald, Hewitt Bound to have forgotten some obvious but no Charlie Nick for me unfortunately. Not including Zoltan Varga either. And no Peter Hetherston nor Paul Bernard unsurprisingly. That's my first draft. Will have another go later. Draft 2 and final XI: Leighton Boel - Buchan - Miller - Robertson Strachan - Bett - Simpson - Weir Harper - Black Subs: Clark, Kennedy, Hermiston, McLeish, Forrest, Graham, Archibald, Hewitt, Charlie Nick What an awesome team, both for players and balance. The strongest, indisputable pick is Davie Robertson at LB even though WM best I've ever seen. He has quality competition at CB whereas nobody ever came close to Davie for LB. Oh look, fuck all from not just this century but for over 20 years, since the chairman inveigled his way in. Manager: Eddie Turnbill. Fuck that weegie thief.* * after reading King Joey. Plus his unauthorised biography. Plus what I know from good sources at St Mirren. Plus when he tried it on re Rock of Gibraltar. Plus his son's agency at Man U. Calderwood and Langfield close but no cigarillo.

Agree with you. Hayes was the only spark in the first half at Tannadice first game of the season and consistently delivers danger into the box. He has speed and skill. Put desire and determination and a good mindset on top of that, I don't think we can ask for much more from any footballer.

What I don't get is why Hayes feels compelled to quash rumours, particularly those of the ridiculous type. Where are these rumours still circulating? I don't tune in to any other AFC webchatspeaksites - one through my choice, the other through their admin's choice - so I can't believe the manager shagging Taylor's missus and training room bust ups etc. are still being discussed? It must be leading questions from the journo that stoked it up, raking up stuff from weeks ago and putting words into his mouth. Now that Jack and now Hayes have publicly, within a week of one another come out with denials, I think it must be bastard pig journalists trying to "have a laff" and praying for a slip-up. The best way to deal with the ridiculous is to ignore it. Or it used to be. Maybe in this internet age, shite grows legs and doesn't seem to abate. Whatever the motives of a journo or two and whatever is being said on social media etc., I would still like to know why AFC performed like shit for six straight games, before beating shit on Saturday in a pretty shit quality game? I can't work it out. There is no reasonable or acceptable explanation that I can imagine other than we're not very good but that doesn't wash when there was so much evidence that we could be good until Easter Road.

If Bono or the "edge" offered me a ticket to see them, I would decline. If they offered me money to watch them, I would decline. It is possible that there would be a large enough sum to tempt me. But I would far rather accept half of the sum to not attend.

Finally picked up Zen Flesh, Zen Bones, a book given to me by my daughter a couple of years ago. I had quoted a couple of the wee stories to them when they were kids that I had picked up without ever having read the whole. It's fucking crazy but a beautiful crazy. So uplifting for the spirit. Fuck knows what it's all about.

For my next read, I'm just away to start King Joey. He got turfed from that bar at the top of Union Street for having his fingers in the till. Not sure that will appear in the book. Edit: when I start a book and I get into it, I tend to read it in a one-ner. It's aligned to my personality. Addictive, I think they call it. For me it's simple enthusiasm. Plus freedom. Unless it's massive and not possible to read in six or eight hours, or heavy or complex like Proust - there's 800 pages of my life I'll not get back and that was only volume 1. Not finished Joey's autobiography yet, well written by Charlie Allan by the way, but spooky coincidence. The Roth novel I just read had polio as its pervasive theme. Never knew Joey was hospitalised for four months with polio as a kid. It's one of those conditions I've heard of but until this week, never really knew what it was. Wonder if I'll finally learn about cystic fibrosis next week, an ailment I similarly have had no idea about. Harper was great. Truly, truly great. The first goal I ever saw at Pittodrie was his.

Charlie Nicholas is a good man. I admired him as a footballer at Celtic and when he went to Arsenal, my mate and I went to Highbury to watch him. We were catching a train to Europe anyway, we didn't go down just to see him. We were amazed to get served pints at the back of the North Bank during the game, let alone in glasses! Met him in a Princes Square bar when it was new in Glasgow and he was an articulate, friendly, down-to-earth rich superstar and so I was delighted when he signed for AFC. I like him on Soccer Saturday, passionate, enthusiastic and speaks sense.

Council? Do I come across as a committee man? I would counsel you to read more books to improve your linguistic abilities ? I've got I Married A Communist in the house but his award winning American Pastoral is great.

Cameron at Chatham House. Surely the British people aren't this stupid? His proposed referendum is to follow his "renegotiation". It's not a negotiation when both sides want the same outcome. Merkel and Cameron are on the same side, the one ruled by Obama's bosses. The referendum is required because 5m people voted for UKIP. The "renegotiation" is going to be a strategy designed to appease UKIP type voters as well as the more informed Euro sceptics. And an opportunity for Cameron to try and make himself look like he cares about British people.

I'd never heard of him 24 hours ago. After the Souness one, I wish I still hadn't. For the same reasons as stated. The begging at the start was bad enough but his sycophantic sucking of the Souness cock was skincrawlingly revolting.

Fit like min Dave.

I've just started Nemesis by Philip Roth. Probably his latest novel as written in 2010. Not a book I necessarily recommend (yet, as it's a pretty harrowing subject matter and without his usual excellent humour thus far) but he is a brilliant must-read author. Won the Pulitzer Prize in 1997. Edit: finished it tonight. Definitely NOT a book I recommend! Weird one. Troubling. Sad. Not an enjoyable experience at all. This reminds me when I first started exploring his books. Some great but some not so good. I reckon he's bi-polar.

Only one was a sloppy pass. The other time, the first one, he was so slow he got stripped of possession. His crime was not thinking effectively, not having a clue what he was going to do with it and not having a plan to execute. That he wanted the ball so much, good. That he did nothing with it all the time, bad. If he's international class then I'm a Spanish waiter in Austria.

If it says I can post nonsense in my own thread, that's good enough for me. As this is my thread, you lot can all just take a hike and leave me be to have a conversation with myself and deliberate on the nature of the next personal insult to be delivered or received. I met a real wanker last night who wasn't a teacher. Who tells somebody "you're getting mixed up" when they make an innocuous mistake? The same person who describes himself as an engineer (weegie tradesman come to oil) and who tells a total stranger within 10 minutes that they own 10 houses. There is no fine line between self confidence and narcissism. It's a chasm. It takes a certain kind of self obsessed arsehole to bridge that gulf and peddle their sickness in public. All because they were thick at school and uneducated and can't believe they "made it" in life.

Maths not your strong point then? Twenty three and a third quid to the fifty Ozzie badgeringtons.

Thank you very much. Appreciated. Nice to be loved. I'll give you an autograph. Those who boast about easy money when a double figure to one shot comes in aren't professional gamblers. But I never said I was a professional gambler. I didn't say you were, I'm just pointing out the retardation of your ways. Boasting is ugly. I never boast about my advantages over you poor, inferior scum. It's just all too apparent and obvious. I love you all so much, I give of myself unto you in a great spirit of altruistic philanthropy.

In terms of the rehabilitation of offenders act, I'm not sure you can say that. It's like you're continuing to punish me for crimes and misdemeanours of yesteryear. This morning, I'm going to see my lawyers about you. A future spouse or future employer could be reading this. Give me fifty badger and I'll drop the charges. You prick.

That's a fucking piss weak excuse but whatever. Sharm. Have you seen the state of the fat bastards there? Anyone who chooses to holiday there is scum. Bomb the planes. Who cares? Fucking losers the lot of them.

The 86 final, the Yonny Hewitt show when he stuck two fingers up to the corrupt tink Ferguson, wasn't at Pittodrie of course but one of the best ever displays by AFC.

I was lucky enough to be old enough to be there. Bayern 1983. My wife was there, more than 3 years before we met. How's that for good karma? We will pass 30 years together next summer. I was in Goteborg however and she wasn't. Piner.

Or were you just reinforcing to us all how clever you are? A familial trait.

Maths not your strong point then. A 3/1 shot doubled with a 7/2 shot = 18. Rooney might have been good value but since when was 2-0 that short of odds? Scorecasts are what keep the bookies winning. Fleecing thick cunts who don't understand betting value.

It was on Alba was it? Amazed you wanted to watch it again. It was turgid live. As I said last week though, a predictable win against a shite football team. The goals were good, both thanks to Hayes. Struggling to remember anything decent beyond that.

Yes McLean wasn't good today. Very greedy once in the 2nd half instead of setting up a very good chance. PP's pass to Hayes was good. His getting the first touch on Hayes cross was why the ball popped up perfect for the strength of Rooney. Didn't agree re Flood. Industrious without doing anything positive.

Yoonighted are a poor poor team. Hayes's was a screamer. Jack twice in the 1st half losing possession too easily could've cost us. Ash made a couple of crucial interventions but distributed/sliced bad. Not a good quality game. Predictable result.