glasgow sheep

hearts are playing killie this weekend. Here is what a hearts fan has to say about it:

quantify "some"

Might as well start early for this one. Any word on Aluko or Fyvie? I suspect will be too soon for Fyvie (although Panda on P&B was suggesting he would be back for this) but hopefully we can have aluko down one wing and pawlett down the other. Be interesting who we play in the middle for this one with McDonald suspended. Referee is Craig Thomson (best of a bad bunch ) Suspect it will be another draw, especially as the huns are still unbeaten domestically....how the fuck have they managed that? However lets hope that Bougherra is banned by Wattie for being a naughty boy and that Bodypen injures himself tomorrow

As a season ticket holder I agree completely. I also agree that the promotions always seem to fall flat. Mainly, I believe, because they are always along the lines of: ST holders get a mate in for a fiver (mate sitting nowhere near ST holder); complicated family deal; they always suffer because folk have to buy tickets in advance, never an option to pay on the gate for these offers. I remember a couple of matches in the early 00s where it was £5 for adults everywhere, ground was packed out each time. Offers should be cheap, across the board, easy to understand and available on the day at the gate and not tied to a ST holder.....why would a non-ST holding mate want to take you up on the offer a cheap ticket only to sit at the other side of the stand from you?

Grimmer was excellent vs Wales in the Victory Shield. Excellent news he has signed up with us, although if he gets anywhere near his potential I suspect we won't be seeing any more bootroom pics

How shit is Fortune?

Well looks like they have finally sorted their pitch as no word of a pitch inspection despite the monsoon conditions down here for the last few days. Our record seems pretty good at Fir Park (10wins from 21 and only 6 defeats in 10yrs) but expect a close match. Fingers crossed for some goals but I won't be holding my breath Maguire (suspension) and Aluko (injury) out as well as Zander. Mo Ross back into an otherwise full squad. Helpful info from afc (presumably after the shambles at Easter Road)

He lived briefly in Aberdeen as a kid He plays in the MLS. He plays international football for the US He is NEVER coming to Aberdeen have I missed anything

possibly however the RDS didn't put us in debt, and if it did it has more than paid for it self. It was the crazy wages and fees in the mid 90s that built up the debt and the continued mismanagement since....I mean £1.2M loss this year was "good"!? Anyway as much as I love walking down Merkland Road to Pittodrie the place is a dump has no atmosphere and really needs pulled down in it's entirety and started again.

aye that was brilliant This week I have been mostly watching: The Thick Of It Spooks Andrew Marr's History of Modern Britain History of Scotland How Long Is A Piece of String Top Gear

hmm where have I heard these songs before

Thousands turn out to deliver message to fascists Standing precariously on a bin as thousands of people swarmed into George Square banging drums and chanting, anti-racist campaigner Aamer Anwar yesterday proclaimed a victory for the people of Glasgow over “racism, fascism and the Scottish Defence League (SDL)â€. His celebration followed a day in which the far-right group’s threat to march on Glasgow Central Mosque came to nothing, as police penned its members into a pub before bussing them to various spots on the periphery of the city, extinguishing the chances of a conflict before it had the chance to ignite. There were a few minor skirmishes in and around the city centre between the tiny SDL contingent and rival demonstrators, who were out in their thousands. Five people were arrested. Although both sides claimed to have achieved their aims, the sheer numbers that mustered under the banner of Scotland United, a broad-spectrum alliance of political parties, trade unions and civil society groups, demonstrated that most of Glasgow has little truck with the “anti-Islamic†policies of the SDL and its English counterpart. Mr Anwar, speaking at the head of a thousand protesters as they marched into George Square, said: “Just over 100 members of the Scottish and English Defence Leagues came to Glasgow today, skulked in a pub and were then bussed off away from the city centre. We proved that the only group that the people of Glasgow would tolerate on their streets were Scotland United. I would call this a victory.†We have enough problems in this city without them stirring up hatred. They have no place here Daniel O’Donnell, SNP member The SDL, announced plans to march in Glasgow several months ago after the English Defence League (EDL) attracted hundreds, and sometimes thousands, of supporters to rallies in cities including Leeds, Manchester and Birmingham. The groups formed to protest exclusively against what they view as Islamic extremism, and claim to be a new political movement which has dispensed with the racist policies of far-right parties like the British National Party (BNP). But critics, such as Mr Anwar, claim they are nothing but “a violent wing of the British National Partyâ€. Yesterday, the first protest in a day of political action in Glasgow took place at St Enoch Square at 10am. Organised independently of Scotland United, the demonstration was made up of socialists, left-wing students and anti-fascists, who gathered outside the underground station before marching up Buchanan Street, chanting “Nazi scum off our streets†and “we’re black, white, Asian and we’re Jewsâ€. Daniel O’Donnell, a 61-year-old member of the Scottish National Party and veteran of anti-fascist protests, said: “Far-right and fascist movements have got more publicity now than I remember them ever having before, particularly after the BNP were allowed to speak on Question Time. “The Scottish Defence League claims to be different from the BNP, but on paper, say critics, they look the same. “This is not about showing the SDL who’s boss,†said O’Donnell, “but showing them that they are not welcome in Glasgow. We have enough problems in this city without them stirring up hatred. They have no place here.†This splinter protest was organised by people who backed the aims of Scotland United but felt a bulwark against the Defence League was needed early in the day. Scotland United’s Glasgow Green rally was not until noon, which gave the SDL all morning to march the streets. Sam Beaton, a 21-year-old student, said he and his fellow protesters had gathered to make sure the SDL demonstrators knew there would be someone to stand up against them if they took to the streets of Glasgow. He said: “We’re mobilising here against the SDL, to make sure there is an anti-fascist presence in the town centre all morning. We have to be prepared for them, even if they decide to use violence. We’re not scared because we are a bigger, broader movement than them. They will not cause the same trouble they did in Leeds and Manchester.†An hour after the protest started in St Enoch Square, the SDL gave out information about its meeting point on a phone number it had advertised on internet bulletin boards. Its members had organised the demonstration in secrecy on Facebook, other social networking sites and online discussion forums, withholding their exact plans from police and the city council. The Sunday Herald was at the meeting point, a small pub in the city centre called The Cambridge where around 150 activists gathered, although police claimed there were only 70. Some covered their faces with scarves as they chanted and waved banners in the street. Several key members of the SDL and EDL had been stopped on their way to the pub and some claimed to have been visited by officers from Strathclyde Police and banned from the city centre for the day. Hundreds of police had formed a cordon around the pub, refusing to let anyone in or out. Inside,the leader of the SDL, who would only give his name as Don, attacked the anti-fascist protesters, claiming they were “spouting tired old rubbish†by labelling the SDL Nazis or racists. Don said: “As soon as you say anything you’re labelled a racist, a Nazi, a fascist or a knuckle-dragging skinhead. We’re none of those things. We just want to highlight the Islamification of the country and show people that some, not all, young Muslims are having hate and militancy preached to them. “People say that this sort of thing doesn’t happen in Scotland, but it is. I bet they didn’t think someone would try to blow up Glasgow Airport. We don’t want young Muslim schoolboys to be radicalised, go away to train and then come back to blow up the city.†In The Cambridge, there was a febrile atmosphere. The curtains were closed but the bar stayed open, serving pints to the SDL contingent, who mostly resembled old-school skinheads, replete with tattoos. They were loath to give their names, and insisted we took no photos. One member from the Airdrie branch said: “We’re just here to protest against extremist Islam and Republican terrorists, who have tried to take over our country for 40 years and failed. We’re not racist, we’re not Nazis and we’re not the BNP. I’ve got black friends and Muslim friends – race doesn’t bother me.†He added: “Our great-grandfathers fought and fell against the Nazis in two world wars. It’s a slur on our grand-fathers to call us Nazis.†There was a brief stand-off as the anti-racist protesters from St Enoch Square marched near the pub, after using the SDL’s phone line to find out its location. They rallied for a few minutes before heading down to Glasgow Green to the mainstream Scotland United event to listen to the speakers. After being penned into the bar from 11am until about 12.30pm, police briefly allowed the SDL members out to protest, giving them the opportunity to chant slogans like “no surrender to the IRA†or sing Rule Britannia. Police tolerated their protest for barely 20 minutes before packing them off in a bus. They were dumped at the Red Lion, a pub on Paisley Road West, and warned that anyone who tried to go back into town would be arrested. The SDL’s original plans to march on Glasgow Central Mosque were thwarted at the point of application. Glasgow’s policy on marches is “somewhere between Northern Ireland and England†said a city council source, with special legislation designed to manage Orange marches. This means that while a static demonstration requires no permission from the council or police, any moving procession needs to be given the go-ahead by the authorities. However, the SDL’s application for a moving procession was made using only the first name, Donald. The council’s request for more information was rejected. When the SDL was warned that its members would not be allowed to use the streets to protest, it replied that they would be happy to use the pavement – something a council source said would still be illegal. At the same time as the SDL’s brief protest, the Scotland United rally at Glasgow Green heard speakers including Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon, Scottish Tory leader Annabel Goldie, Labour MP Mohammed Sarwar and the Rev Ian Galloway from the Church of Scotland. They praised Scotland’s multiculturalism and slammed the SDL, with Mr Sarwar labelling its members “nutsâ€. He said: “The message from here is loud and clear: BNP, Scottish Defence League, English Defence League are not allowed to march on the streets of Glasgow. Scotland is united against these thugs and fascists. “I want to congratulate Glasgow City Council for rejecting the application from these nuts to march on the streets. I am proud to be a Glaswegian and a Scot, because we are different. There were confrontations in Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds, but we are having a peaceful rally. People in England and Europe can learn a lot from us.†In a rousing speech, Ms Sturgeon said: “I’m proud to be standing shoulder to shoulder with Scotland’s Muslim communities, with all of Scotland’s communities. We are a diverse county, a multicultural county and that is what makes us strong. We are proud to defend that multiculturalism every single day or whenever it is put under attack.†Ahead of the Scotland United event Osama Saeed, chairman of the Scottish Islamic Foundation, said that the only people missing from the coalition were Muslim elders themselves. There had been frantic wrangling behind the scenes as Mr Saeed and Mr Anwar tried to persuade mosque elders to take part. Mr Saeed said: “The people running mosque don’t get involved in anything and tend to be very reclusive – this is another manifestation of it. A lot of them are immigrants and don’t see themselves as part of society, not the prominent actors they could and should be. It requires a huge change of mindset.†After the Scotland United rally had finished, some 3500 people marched through the city towards George Square, where a minute’s silence was observed for the victims of racist killings in Scotland, including Indian naval officer Kunal Mohanty and Pollokshields teenager Kriss Donald. Afterwards, Aamar Anwar claimed his coalition had inflicted a “humiliating defeat on the Nazi defence leagueâ€, but Don, the organiser of the SDL protest yesterday, gave one final warning: “He may say it’s a victory, but it’s hollow, because we’re not going nowhere. The next victory will be ours. We will stage demonstration after demonstration after demonstration. Today has gone well. We’ve had a peaceful protest, we’ve not hurt anybody. We’ve had the real victory today and won many more supporters. It’s been a big day for us.†But not all SDL members agreed with Don. On the group’s Facebook site, even supporters were questioning the success of the Glasgow demonstration. In a post called Demo Today, one SDL member wrote: “I’m embarressed (sic).†Another wrote: “People were literally laughing at us like we were clowns.†He added: “What demo in Glasgow? People were too scared to leave the pub. What a f******* shambles wae people laughing at us?â€, while another claimed: “It was an absolute shambles. ‘SDL’ is utter pish.â€

http://www.heraldscotland.com/polopoly_fs/scottish-defense-league-1.932538!image/3495476206.JPG_gen/derivatives/landscape_620/3495476206.JPG[/img]

no preview of threads when you hover over them in the menu's at the moment

I never called it a sitter, I was merely quoting Ptayles. And you'll notice I said he did ok. Are you suggesting he did better than ok?

Well the sitter he missed and the time he was clean through and got tackled by the pitch. But yeah, despite that, and the comments of many around me, he did ok when he came on. Clearly lacking in confidence/skill but no surprise there.

Nope basically all the good work (cash boost) achieved with the euro league was pissed away last season. Will be even worse this season as presumably the real effect of the Setanta collapse won't be seen in these accounts

yup apparently Sky muted the volume during the mins silence and you didn't even hear the whistle go to mark the end of the minute. On the radio, from about 10s in, you could clearly hear celtic fans singing one of their dour, monotonous dirges that passes as a folk song. Apparently those fans inside the stadium observed the minute silence but it was folk outside the ground who were making the noise. No doubt the excuse will be that they were outside and didn't know what was going on but clearly they avoided heading in for that very reason, and it's hardly like the mins silence will have come as a surprise to any of them

http://www.football-finances.org.uk/aberdeen/2009/

Sounded like the tims were singing through the mins silence today too.

warning to folk coming from the south. Apparently they are digging up Market Street again again again

Maybe I missed this elsewhere but our young English loon has been selected for Scotland under the "Andy Driver" rule.

http://www.afc.premiumtv.co.uk/articles/archie-baird-20091104_2212158_1866433 Archie Baird 04.11.2009 Another link with this football club's past was lost forever tonight with the sad news that former player, and Aberdeen legend, Archie Baird, has passed away. However his memory will always live on at Aberdeen Football Club. Whenever the Scottish Cup comes around, talk will be of the side that carried off the crown in 1947, for the very first time, and Archie Baird's role in it. That will never die. Archie Baird Interview taken from RedMatchday earlier this year Being the oldest known living former Don was not a burden that would have worried Archie Baird; after all he has been through some incredible experiences in what has been a memorable playing career and personal life. Archie had celebrated his 90th birthday on the 8th May and was the only surviving Don from the team that won the Dons first Scottish Cup in 1947. Archie Baird Born in Rutherglen, Archie joined Aberdeen as a youngster of great promise in the summer of 1938. Aberdeen offered Archie a two-year contract which was unusual back then for any young player to be rewarded with more than a year's contract. "I had offers from Blackpool, Motherwell, St Mirren, Partick and others but my mother influenced my final decision due to the fact that Aberdeen manager Dave Halliday had good, honest eyes that were what clinched my move to Aberdeen. I had always admired the Dons and their style and moving to Aberdeen was a clean break. It all happened so quickly; six months after starting as a Junior I was away to Aberdeen and earning £4 per week with a £20 signing on fee. I set out on my great adventure in July 1938 leaving Buchanan Street station in Glasgow in the company of someone called Willie Waddell but not my right wing buddie from Strathclyde. By a strange coincidence there was another young player of that name with Renfrew and he too had just signed for Aberdeen. Willie was a fine player and we grew to become close friends for many years." Archie soon began to realise what being at a football club like Aberdeen was all about as he started out in the reserves. "We got a taste of full-time training the month before the start of the season. Donald Colman was the trainer at that time; a quiet-spoken intelligent man. He made an immediate impression on me. When he entered the dressing room you could sense he had the respect of the hard-bitten pros. Donald was detailed in everything he did and that rubbed off on the players. He would advise players on their fitness and diet and the importance of living healthy. He was ahead of his time. He also got the best out of players and that was his real strength. Matt Armstrong was struggling to make it at Celtic but Colman transformed him at Pittodrie and he went on to become one of the best forwards ever to play for the Dons. I soon began to realise that I would turn to Donald for guidance as my form began to suffer and I lost confidence. I saw my friend Willie Waddell promoted to the first team and I was delighted for him but things were not going well for me and I was struggling to make an impact." It was at that point that events in Europe were soon to have an impact on the whole country as Britain declared war on Germany in September 1939. All football was immediately stopped as every attention turned to the war effort. Events during those difficult times would have a huge bearing on Archie. "It all happened so quickly. Here I was in Aberdeen and trying to make my way as a professional player and also training to be an architect. A couple of months later I was conscripted and was very soon in France as a member of a medical corps unit with the ill-fated British Expeditionary Force. I missed the evacuation of Dunkirk, and only managed to leave France on the last ship out of St Nazaire. That was in the summer of 1940. By Christmas I was in the Western Desert, and by May 1942 had been captured by the Germans near Tobruk and handed over to the Italians. It was at El Adem when our field ambulance attached to the infantry unit had been surrounded by a squadron of German tanks. We ended up in a camp near Tripoli, called Suani Ben Adem. It was a filthy hell-hole, a huge rectangular strip of oasis surrounded by a wire fence and sentry towers. Prisoners were unable to do anything and many died there. What an eternity those four years seemed and how different from my teenage dreams; my twenty-first birthday spent in a tent 'somewhere in France'; my football confined to games for the unit team, a kick about with the lads and the occasional improvised training session. Since the war broke out I had played only two first class games, both with Leeds United as a guest player while I was stationed at Headingly Cricket Ground awaiting transfer to Egypt. Lying there under the clear Italian sky, I relived the excitement of playing against the pre-war Everton stars; Jones, Britton, Mercer and the great Tommy Lawton. But not even the good memory of scoring a goal for Leeds that day could make me forget the seriousness of my situation." Archie spent much of his time during the hostilities as a POW in Italy but it was his story of what happened after his escape that was truly a tale of human courage and compassion. After eighteen months as a captive, Archie and his close friend Harold 'Smudger' Smith escaped to the foothills of the Appenines, free, but still in enemy-occupied territory. They headed south after news of an Allied landing on the Italian coast suggested that would have been their best route. However the journey was an arduous one with German patrols prominent. Their route to safety was achieved by living off the land and the generosity of sympathetic Italian farmers and peasants they met along the way. "We had encountered many dangers along the way but the local Italian people were humble, generous people." It was on that long trek to freedom that Archie came across an Italian family that would go to 'adopt' him as one of their own for several months as the harsh winter set in. The Pilotti family were Italian farmers who looked after Archie as his good friend Harold and Tom who had joined them along the way, found similar families nearby to home the escapees. Archie made life-long friendships during those days and daily news of Allied advances helped raise spirits. Archie also by his association with his new friends managed to speak the language in time. As the German occupation waned by the day and news of the Allied efforts in Italy were successful. "As we made our way to eventual freedom we could hear gunfire in the distance. The Germans were retreating north and their convoy was an easy target for our fighters and bombers. The activity in the air was increasing as we made our way north. We eventually arrived in a village called Sarnano where it was soon to become Allied occupied territory, my feelings were mixed as the Italian people did not really understand what was happening as the Union flag was raised in their town. "I came back a completely different person. I went away as a raw young laddie and came back after experiencing a lot, I had more confidence in myself and as far as football was concerned I was thrust straight into the Aberdeen first team so it just developed from there. On my return to Falmouth I had started playing for my unit team and for Aldershot. By early 1945 I was stationed at Edinburgh Castle and playing for Aberdeen when I could get leave arranged. The Scottish Command then selected me for a tour of Orkney Islands and I met up with some players I would face in the coming months. However the most important day for me was stepping out at Pittodrie to face Hearts for the first time in seven years and I was at last, making my first team debut. The war ended in May 1945 and I was demobbed in September." It was in January 1946 that Archie gained his one Scotland cap when he played against Belgium at Hampden. "That game should never have been played as the ground was covered in snow. The game ended in a 2-2 draw but the thick fog made conditions all the more difficult. Jimmy Delaney and Gordon Smith were alongside me in that side. It was not an ideal international to play in but the Victory International against England was something else. It was the last wartime international and was seen as a celebration of the end of hostilities. I was delighted to be selected for the Scotland team. I would be facing some famous names like Frank Swift, Len Shackleton and Billy Wright. The Saturday before the international we were playing Partick at Firhill. I went down in a tackle with Jacky husband and I knew at once that I was seriously injured. On the Monday I had to call off from the Scotland team as the injury worsened. It was a sad day for me although my team mate George Hamilton took my place." The highlights of Archie's Pittodrie career came in the Dons Southern League Cup win in May 1946 and the Scottish Cup a year later. "I had a month to recover from that injury to make it for the final against Rangers. We prepared in Largs for three days before the game and we also had to contend with the butt of all jokes as Aberdeen had never won a national trophy at that time. The game was a real highlight for me personally as I scored a goal in the opening minute. Andy Cowie sent in a long throw and George (Hamilton) flicked the ball on with his head. I managed to leap past George Young to score. When Stan Williams scored just before half time, the big Aberdeen contingent was convinced we had done enough. Rangers back though and the game was tied at 2-2 as we moved into the final minutes. In the last seconds George Taylor popped up with a sensational winner and the cup was ours. "A year later we took the Scottish Cup as well after beating Hibernian. There was a huge Aberdeen following that day as supporters came from all over, as far away as Orkney and Shetland; a true north east invasion. It was an amazing experience and after we lost a goal in the opening minute we came back to win with Stan Williams scoring the winner. I took up a position at the near post as Stan cut in from the bye-line. I was shouting at Stan to cut the ball back, but he flicked the ball in at the near post for a great goal. Stan later admitted to me that he heard my shout but he noticed Hibernian keeper Kerr move off his line in anticipation." Looking back at his playing career, one player stood out from the rest as far as Archie was concerned; "George Hamilton was the best player to play for the club. George was the complete player and it was a privilege to play alongside him. It was all so different in those days, there wasn't a great deal of influence from the manager regarding tactics or coaching. Any success we had was usually down to us playing off the cuff as it were." After finishing his career in 1956 after three seasons with St Johnstone, Archie immediately began working for the Scottish Daily Express as a north east beat reporter. Despite offers to go full time as a journalist, Archie continued with his career as a PE teacher, a profession he had taken up during his time at Pittodrie. "You have got to look at the whole picture and I count myself lucky to have survived the war. That was the big thing. To have been able to come back and play football again was a great thrill. To be honest I have never looked upon myself as being unlucky during the war and I don't have any regrets."

should this be re-named the ManU/Liverpool Pish Thread?