weeyin

Here's hoping Santa has a striker or two he left in the bottom of his sack. Take your pick...

I just spent the last hour and half clearing snow so I'd be finished in time for kick off. It had better be worth it.

That isn't going to appease the Mhob. They will be demanding the spending of many pounds (or Euros).

Will be interesting to see what Celtic do in January. Do they back Nancy and let him spend to try and win a league title? Or sit on the fence in case they need to punt him too? Given the politics of the situation, I imagine their Board would be much less unhappy conceding the title to Hearts than they would see it end up at Ibrox. Dream scenario for us is winning both OF games while Hearts are losing. More realistic for now is we are in a fight to hang on to 3rd and then see what happens after that.

This, plus I expected to concede 4 or 5 goals from misplaced passes when we're knocking it around across the edge of the penalty box.

To be fair, I think we are currently too far behind to be in a realistic title discussion. If we extend our unbeaten run for another 10 games, then we can talk.

Oooft

That's the key though. When we are conceding, goalies often take the blame. Sometimes deserved, sometimes not. Defence, however, needs a team effort from front to back with the keeper being the last resort. Much better to prevent shots on target before he is needed.

It's often hard to judge forwards, or players as there are so many factors in play over and above footballing talent. That's why we often see players over or underperform at different clubs. Theo Bair is a recent example. This far into his 15 goal season for his he had only scored 2 goals. So it can be very difficult to predict who is going to settle in and hit form.

Turns out he's not very good. Who knew?

A good defence wins titles!

Of course. I think we notice it more when we are having so much possession, but if you watch a Man City game for example, even a beast of a goal machine like Haaland misses his fair share of "easy" chances. I remember when Roberto Baggio broke the transfer fee world record. We played Italy in a World Cup qualifier (at Ibrox) and he was put through clear on goal with enough time to pick his spot. He almost put it out for a shy.

If we adopt a similar approach to the Hibs game, by applying pressure to their defence, we have a chance. That continues to be their weak spot.

I would never bet against Murray, but his scoring form has been poor this season.