weeyin

People also claimed Twardzik was responsible for our improvement in form when he came in on loan (so much so, they insisted we sign him full time). It's rarely as simple as that. I still maintain that, as good as he is, he would not have been as influential if we had slotted him into the team and formation we were playing in August.

I think, basically, McLeish is a better coach than he is manager. He showed with us that, given the right players, he was able to get the best from them. When he needed to be a manager and sign new players and build a new system, he failed on a grand scale. If he was coaching the Scotland squad from the 70s or 80s he'd probably do just fine. However, the last manager to get the best out of a limited Scotland squad was probably Craig Brown.

Glad they didn't add the hoop to the yellow one, but looks great on the amber version.

Haha! Very true. Although that other one was a bit more like England winning the Ashes or Cambridge winning the boat race.

I wouldn't for one second attempt a diagnosis, but it was obvious from his media appearances prior to the Scotland job that he had some kind of illness. Primarily from the mild slurring in his speech. Of course, that doesn't mean dementia - for all I know it could be a dental issue. Or even a mild stroke from which he's made an otherwise full recovery. Unfortunately, as a prominent centre-half in his day that spent many years heading heavy footballs, it is more likely to be some kind of head-trauma related condition. Regardless, I agree with Al B. Putting his history as Motherwell gaffer aside, he is worthy of the legend status playing in a team that broke the OF stranglehold on the SPL title, winning a European trophy and being half of a defnesive partnership with Willie Miller that was truly world class. He just shouldn't have been anywhere near the Scotland job.

He's also a better LB than Graeme Shinnie.

Spot on that he combined well with Bigi and Cadden during that period? Agreed!

We don't seem to fare well after breaks, winter or international. Having our youngsters on international duty might be an advantage (as long as they are injury-free) as it might mainitain the sharpness we'll need to win this one.

Not going to happen until after we lose the Europa Nations Runners Up Celebrity Subbuteo Play-off semi-final.

Everyone already know what one I liked - the Adidas one that was the wrong colour and didn't come with a change version.

Was thinking the same thing. Greavsie even adopted Accies as his Scottish team to add some Lanarkshire rivalry to The Saints regular mentions of Motherwell.

Turnbull first shone when Bigi was played alongside him in Oct/Nov (although Cadden's form in Oct/Nov wasn't too shabby either). Tait played well in Oct/Nov too, so not sure how that changes my original point. As good as Turnbull has been, it's ridiculous to suggest that, in a team game, he was single-handedly responsible for turning our season around.

The turn around in the season has been due to the combination of players (Turnbull, Ariyibi and Hastie), plus guys like Campbell getting back to his best. Turnbull has absolutely been one of the best performers, but it's difficult to argue against Tait and Aldred's contribution this season. I can't remember Tait having a bad game this season.

Hibs were OK, we were a bit less than OK. Every now and then we play a game where the effort is there, but no real spark. Yesterday was one of those days.

Remind us of your ideas on how to make them sign?

My original point was just that if Hibs draw with us or beat us, they will have a cushion that will be difficult for us to overcome in a small number of games.

I'll be pleasantly surprised if we finish top 6, but definitely agree we should be aiming for that. If we don't win this one, that gives Hibs the edge in the race. The extra cash is always welcome, and if we're going to give the youngsters some more game time, might as well give them a run out against the top teams. Plus, it gives us something to play for over the last few pre-split games and would quite an achievement given where we were in late December.

And from a risk perspective, the team doesn't have to pay the money up front, so a team like Sevco could stiff us for even a small fee.

Adding to the above, there are different rules when player's contracts have expired and the player is moving to a club in the same association, so it's quite possible if Hastie does move to Rangers after his contract is up, we might end up with the bare minimum payment. It seems that calculation is specific to each assocation, so I presume SFA rules apply. Lee Erwin was changing associations and moving to a higher tier club, so the calcuation applied there was more benficial to us.

There's a FIFA formula, and some associations (like the English FA) have their own formula. The English FA allows for payments for things like sell-on fees and promotions, but I believe the FIFA one is just a single payment. Interestingly, when I was googling for the formula, one example from the English FA is a certain Anthony Straker:

In general, it's just bad business to discuss deals, prospective deals or general speculation. Nothing is done until a contract is signed. (And in the case of pre-contracts being signed, even those aren't binding until the real contract is signed in the summer).

If he signs a pre-contract with anybody I'd still be putting him in the team every week until he has a bad game. That's what the "pre" in pre-contract entails. While we're paying your wages, you need to keep working for us.

You're on a roll. Can you give us your prediction for last week's lottery numbers too?

Very noticable that Turnbull has stepped up his game off the ball, turning him into an even more effective player.

Nah, just old age. The last time I got upset about losing a player was when Pettigrew moved to Dundee Utd.