RicoS321

Great post. The bit in bold is evidently true. For a player to have scored three goals against the Tims and one against the Hun yet still be treated as "one of them" is just weird. I don't think I've heard a single Lewis Ferguson chant from the dons in his entire time here. Even when he scored that goal against Burnley and the time he was phenomenal against the scum at Hampden and scored the winner. Yet we went collectively weak at the knees when a Celtic fan and legend turned up at our door to play a retirement cameo. Edit: I mean I do get the reasoning. It's because of his sulky face. Jack was never really liked either, and McGinn suffered from it. Cheeky, cheery, broony brooner was just a loveable rogue.

You're not going to get flak, Ferguson isn't exactly a popular player. You could repeat what you said about Ferguson for McRorie (2 years older), yet he was voted player of the season when Ferguson finished top scorer. I can confirm that Ferguson does look more dominant in the flesh than on the telly, having been to all our home games and watched most away games on telly. He covers a lot of ground and does a lot of good running. He's been our best player this season and scored goals against both the scum and dominated several games. However, you're also right! He should be doing much more. His one assist this season speaks for itself. He's tried to do things all himself when he would have been far more effective bringing others into the game (McLean did both in his final year, but in a much better side). The debate for me is whether this was the player's fault or that of his teammates and manager. I'd say both. Ferguson has been let down this season after he didn't get his move. At a time when he should have been the senior player in midfield alongside another similar player, ala Jack and McLean (perhaps McRorie, perhaps another), he was unnecessarily shackled to a more senior player in Brown, who did nothing for his game and would have only served to make him more disillusioned (a criticism of Glass, not Brown). It was a stupid way to develop a player, removing responsibility from him instead of adding it. It went completely against the stated objectives of the club and something a better chairman than Cormack would have spotted. There is obviously an argument to say that it's not all about Ferguson, in which case we can't complain about his performances. There is certainly a question mark over his attitude this season, as those events have resulted in him becoming selfish and putting himself before the team, but it would be harsh to put most of the blame on him for that. There are more experienced players in Gallagher, Bates, Ojo, Ramirez etc that have failed to show any battle when things were tough. Both McLean and Jack had the foundations to thrive in their final seasons, and even then Jack was regularly criticised by the "fit dis he actually see?" crew. The huge worry is the player that we're now left with. We really, really don't need a regressing player on our hands and a stalled season will not see offers flying in from the type of team Ferguson would/should aspire to. We'll correctly get offered significantly less than last year, but I'd like to think the club will cut their losses and take whatever we can. It'll be interesting to see where he goes from here, and if he can recover his game from in the mindset it currently resides. It's a gamble for any club taking him on, but definitely worth it as he could turn his game round relatively quickly and become a great player. Last season he'd have been a good signing for a high end championship team or even lower EPL, this season he'd be better trying the McKenna route and looking at a lower end championship team with aspirations to hit the playoffs. I really hope we're not lumbered with him either way, an unhappy Ferguson seems to leech out to those around him (the opposite also true) and will negatively affect the team. I'm not sure I trust Goodwin to handle that particularly well, amongst all the other shite going on.

You can't reply to a post that doesn't exist.

You'll eat your words when we sail through the playoffs next season.

Also, I'd happily get rid of that entire back four ahead of next season.

It's been a long time in the making too. Very impressive, and high risk given they didn't know that the vote would go in favour of var when they signed Ojo.

It's fucking awful, isn't it? The subs are pointless. Rooney been good for them. He's a beast.

Stop it, that's not funny. He's not been terrible tonight in fairness, and if he was less of a fanny - which he might be with more starts - he'd be decent. I think he'll do alright next season on loan at someone, but it's not our job to get an unproven Tim up to speed. We've shifted the ball about nicely at times tonight. Ruth been pish since we said he was good! Barron an inch away from making things happen. Anyway, settle down to watch the big game at half time.

It was typical of their performances all season. This is not a working pairing. We were looking pretty bright too, Ruth looking good. Might get himself a club.

Fuck sake, we really needed him to be punching one in again tonight.

Please make it another year without a Scottish club winning another European trophy. You can even take back the super cup.

All to play for after tonight's result. If you told me at the start of the season that with two games to go 8th place would be within our own hands, I'd have bitten your hand off.

It's already decreed on the other thread, he's now a right back. Unfortunately he's out because of the concussion in the previous game (which he didn't agree with). Ojo to come in and score a hat trick from the fullback position.

Well there's no Christian Ramirez thread on here, so it's probably not worth starting one. He's gone home to the US to "recharge his batteries" apparently. Who the fuck does that with 6 days left of the season? I'm guessing he won't be back. A shame in many ways, but we can't afford him for another season if he can't be relied upon when things aren't going well. So close to being ace.

Scott McKenna? Surely a loan spell at a lower Scottish division is on a par with cliftonville? I just assumed that there were other issues at play, like not liking the club or city or whatever. Or maybe an Ethan Ross type situation (who I'd have kept for another year or two as I thought he'd be better than McLennan etc) where the agent has been working behind the scenes. Either way, it suggests that Goodwin either has a good left sided centre back already agreed to sign, or that he genuinely thinks it's possible to turn Bates into a competent left sided player after a year of it not being the case. I'm hoping the former.

No chance. He's not nearly good enough on the ball. I mean, he can play in midfield, and he's not terrible there, but we should be aiming for a lot better in there. Ferguson needs a signed replacement. McRorie as backup if we make a cunt of it.

I mean, we're better than forest, aren't we?

That's it settled then, right back it is. I'll get on to Goodwin.

I've no idea to be honest, but I can definitely compare them! Comparing isn't the same as conflating (something politicians and journalists struggle to get their heads round). There are very few millionaires who got there without being willing to do shite that others would be unwilling to, Cormack could be one of them (I'm guessing that his line of work would allow for that, although it can be fairly sleazy). The point though, was that it doesn't really matter in the end, because if you're advocating anyone buys otherwise unaffordable success via a rich benefactor then there's yer sporting integrity up in smoke right there. The murderous dictator aspect is just an addition to that, that sort of detracts from the real issue.

Sheep shaggers is probably acceptable still, given that we're not actually all sheep shaggers (I'm speaking for you guys, I'm currently eyeing a couple out of my window as we speak). There is a crassness, as Slim suggests about singing about Dundee and Glasgow in terms of their relative poverty. I think it's fine to continue as is though, I doubt anyone actually gives a fuck. In a world where everything is filtered through the lens of social media, we have to be careful not to confuse some cunt virtue signalling on Twitter and actual loss of free speech. Nobody is stopping anyone else singing or doing anything, it's just simply a tweet that the BBC has afforded news coverage too. This person is opening a debate on the subject, and that's probably a good thing as long as it stays that way. The difficulty comes when there is a video circulated of someone singing "sign on", it goes viral and they end up losing their job in the ultimate irony. The lines are being blurred daily, and it won't be long before social media controls all boundaries of human interaction. It's a horrible thing we've created.

The problem with that question is that it suggests there is a moral high ground when injecting large sums of cash from any source into a club to gain financial advantage. If Cormack and friends chucked in £20M of cash to AFC to buy 13 new players and increase the staff budget greatly beyond our turnover, would that be okay because the money was "clean"? The overwhelming majority of rich people got there through unscrupulous behaviour, leveraging power, and always at the expense of others, there are just varying degrees of what you deem to be acceptable. For example, if Stewart Milne used his power and influence to lobby the government to relax energy efficiency standards on housing, locking in years of waste (to the detriment and expense of the homeowner) into every single new build solely to benefit the bottom line of his business, then that would add up to a fairly significant unethical practice (I'm not saying he did, for the record, I have no idea - just a hypothetical). The point is that by supporting Scottish fitba (and fitba generally) in its current form, we already support the idea that sport is actually just a function of money, so wouldn't we be (aren't we) being a little hypocritical by putting arbitrary barriers on the type of individual supplying that money? British born billionaires for British people I say. Bloody foreigners.

I think that's what Goodwin will do too. I'm just not totally sure if we need a dedicated player in there for that role against most teams. He's a bit willow flood in that regard, without the positional awareness to not be a hindrance to others. Not sure we'll see him there for the whole season. I actually think Bates would make a very good defensive midfielder in a 4-1-4-1 type format, but I don't think we'll see that either.

Agree with this, apart from perhaps the polvara bit. If we're not playing a back three, I don't see McRorie playing at the back, and I don't think he's good enough on the ball to play midfield. I'd have his energy and athleticism at right back no problem though. Just leaves us with a Ferguson replacement, bit I'm guessing Goodwin already has someone in mind.

Liverpool for £4M according to the record. Not surprising, I'm guessing there will be a lot of add-ons and sell-ons in there too. Hope he makes it, fantastic talent.

Considine motm