Ya Bezzer!

I'd probably pick McKinnon over Hammell myself but McKinnon, off the top of my head, had four seasons at Fir Park, Hammell been here a lot longer so it depends on how you weigh these things.

Funnily enough the first time I really remember Hammell was against Celtic. He came in as a 17 year old to replace McMillan who was out for some reason and he was absolutely brilliant. McMillan was one of our best players at that time but he struggled to get back into the team at left back and I remember 'Studs' having to move to left centre back. It's a great achievement to get to 400 matches and arguably he's been the best left back we've had for 20 or 30 years.

Celtic have won 2 out of their last 7 away matches, one of which was against Ross County, the other against a poor Hibs side who took the lead against them and then collapsed. They haven't won away from home in the league for 4 matches, dropping points at Kilmarnock, Hearts and Rangers. Having just gone into the second quarter Celtic have dropped points to 5 out of the 11 SPL sides (St. Johnstone, Rangers, Hearts, Kilmarnock and Hibs). They have conceded 10 goals in their last 6 SPL matches. I don't expect us to win at the weekend but I expect us to try and win. This Celtic team is not a great one and there is absolutely no reason why we can't get something out of this match. Literally half the teams in the league have already taken at least a point off Celtic, we should be aiming to do the same.

I rarely watch Sportscene and generally just watch the highlights on the web. BBC Scotland seems to me to be very cliquey. It seems as if once you are in its a job for life and we get the same people over and over again. It seems very stagnant with no innovation. Problems are - limited highlights package restricting what can be shown - dull show format, show frontman stating obvious to inarticulate footballer/football manager - limited show budget - only 6 games to choose from (against 10 in the Premiership, more likely to get good games with goals, incidents etc. that they can front load the show with) I think they have chosen to go deliberately conservative after the Scotsport debacle and it is also probably an older audience that tunes into TV these days but I think the programme really needs to be freshened up and enlivened with younger presenters (Annie Maguire?), and a more interesting format. Currently it is like a relic from the 1960s. I know they don't currently have the rights but I wouldn't even mind if the BBC cast their net further than the SPL and broadcast a programme covering the First division or all the leagues rather than concentrating solely on the SPL.

Wasn't really a Hughes fan. Obviously he has great ability but he didn't use it enough the first time he was here and I say he's a 1 in 4 kinda player. Not quite as bad as Gow in that regard but in a similar mold. I'm not going to complain if we sign him cos we need a bigger squad but I have a skeptical eyebrow raised as regards him. He'd have to improve his consistency to win me over and it remains to be seen if he is the kind of player that would fit into a side that's done quite well without him. Obviously he adds something we don't have at the moment but what would we lose dropping someone for Hughes?

Dundee United didn't form until 1909 so some teams would have 20 seasons worth of points before they got going. Also they were Dundee's pishy wee team until the mid 70's.

We'll never have a better chance of beating Celtic. They have lost two and drawn one of their last 3 away matches and one of them was the only time they've score more than 2 goals away (Killie 3-3) all season. Celtic are the ones under pressure, not us. If we win on Sunday, their support is going to be in uproar, I'd fully expect their manager to resign and the club is in turmoil. So instead of playing it down, and being calm and not expecting much out of this what about having the guys coming up the tunnel snorting fire and then getting fucking hammered in to them? The last thing you want to do with a team who is a) lacking confidence and who's moral is suspect but are b) technically better, is to let them play their game and give them time on the ball. The only time we've done anything against Celtic recently was when we got the early goal last season, more off a mistake than us pressing but that's what we need to do, say to them "we are playing our way and you have to match us for guts and determination" rile them up, get in their face, make sure everyone of them goes in at half time sore. We've had a great season but I'm sick of this mob running over us and there is absolutely NO reason why we can't do what Kilmarnock or Hibs or St. Johnstone or Hearts, teams all way behind us in the league, have done and get a result on Sunday. It's time for McCall and the players to deliver.

So Halsman v Celtic then?

I thought the Aberdeen v Dunfermline match would have a dismal attendance and was proved wrong. Maybe you are right but surely you have to give it a chance before you write it off. As I said before I'd rather this than getting out my bed to go to a game!

Probably the only people that saw the Leighton lampin' were the guys in the Cooper. Everyone else was looking down the other end. I only saw the aftermath. Right scunnered that day, definitely not one of those ones where you took the defeat with a shrug of the shoulders.

I'd rather go to a Friday night match than last weeks 12.45 kick off.

The first part is very true. Take Radio Scotland for instance. They spend most of the week running down Scottish football. The newspapers are full of it too. The phrase "Scottish Football" has become a synonymy for "Shite" to the average punter but I go to every home match and as many away games as I can afford (admittedly not many) and I just don't agree. Scottish football has a lot wrong with it and we are still a long way from the quality levels of the 80's and 90's but I absolutely believe we are heading in the right direction and for me the SPL has improved season on season for the last 4 seasons. Most teams at least try to play good football even if they don't quite manage it in contrast to about 5 years ago when I didn't see a single decent team come to Fir Park all season. The second point might also be true but I don't think clubs can afford to reduce prices any further unless more fans start attending so its a bit of a catch 22 situation, especially in the current financial climate when clubs are being hit not just by player wages but by higher fuel costs, tax increases, general inflation, reduced corporate support and advertising, lack of sponsorship etc...

Actually their form isn't poor at all. In the last 7 matches their record is W3 D2 L2, i.e lost only 2 out of 7, one of which was Celtic away. They are undefeated in 3 matches (2 wins) and they haven't lost at home since Rangers beat them there back on the 13th August, 5 home matches ago - a pretty decent home record. I think this is going to be a tougher match than a lot of people think. They got off to a bad start, their worst defeat of the season was against us on the opening day, but they are actually in much better form than any of our recent opponents, Kilmarnock, Hibs or Dundee Utd right now, despite their league position.

Over the last 5 seasons it averages out at 49 points for 6th place and 63 points for 3rd place. That's including the final fixtures though so to get into the Top Six I reckon you would need about 45 points at the split.

Murphy is being wasted that far wide and that far deep. Seemed to me that the difference from say, the Inverness game, is that Law and Murphy have basically swapped positions. Law is now playing the role behind Higdon and Murphy is back out on the left. Neither player is suited to that position. It should also be mentioned that when teams play 5 across midfield away from home which makes it difficult for the home team. You either match up or risk losing the midfield battle by playing two up. Maybe it's a coincidence but the three teams we beat at home this season played 4-4-2 or 4-4-1-1 whereas we haven't scored against Rangers or Kilmarnock when they played 5 across the middle.

Not too many stand out performances unfortunately. Clancy was solid but Jennings had probably his best game that I've seen this season. Looked a lot sharper and fitter today.

Not much different from the Aberdeen. The only difference being that the substitutes didn't really make the game changing difference. First half we played some decent football but we were poor in the final third and didn't really create enough clear cut chances. Second half we started OK but then it seemed to sink about the hour mark that we weren't really making any impact and performances dipped all over the park, our organization disintegrated a little bit and from then on I thought Kilmarnock were more likely to score than we were but defences at both ends were on top. For a lot of the second half I'd have been happy with a point and that's what we got but we'll need to improve a lot for the next home match.

Kilmarnock were probably the best team I've seen that we didn't lose to this season so I think it will be a difficult match, especially since we seem to struggle a wee bit at home. Heffernan will need watching and by all accounts Dean Shiels has been in great form in recent weeks. Can see a few a goals being scored today, wouldn't be surprised if it turned out to be a similar game to the Hibs league cup match. It's difficult to predict because it could go any way but maybe the fact that Killie lost that 3-0 lead last week will mean they are on a wee bit of a downer and their confidence might be a little shaky if we can get an early goal.

Just as in a individual match, luck plays a big part. We have been very lucky on several occasions regarding relegation and I think it's fair to say if we had gone done we could easily be a Morton or an Airdrie right now. Probably the most crucial stroke of luck was not going down during the administration season. Just look at Dundee to see how things could have happened. A bigger club than us but a playing tiny squad, bottom of the first division, barely struggling to stay alive, if they go down this season you would seriously worry that they would ever regain their status as Scotlands 6th club and they might even go under. A lot of credit goes to Terry Butcher and John Boyle post administration. They rebuilt the club and laid the foundations for one of the most successful periods in the clubs post war history. It's just a shame that guys who I think deserve to lift silver wear haven't done so yet despite various opportunities, but who knows....maybe this season will be the one.

The 'Archie McPherson' coat will be coming out the cupboard tomorrow, I think!

Daft fud website, daft fuds in the video. Looks like west central Scotland is full of daft fuds but we knew that.

Stevie Hammell is 6 matches away from having the SPL appearance record (348, currently held by Scott Severin with 347). Jim Fowler is only one behind Stevie so it could be an exciting dash for the record!

Anyone with an iPod will know there is a stopwatch function. Think I might use mine to time the first "Higdon get tae fuck!!!" (or variant) shout from the East Stand. Anyone fancy a sweep stake?

1993/94 was a 12 team top division but we were still operating under the 2 points for a win system. Celtic.......D..H..2-2 Dundee.......W..A..2-1 Kilmarnock...W..A..1-0 Raith Rov....W..H..4-1 St.Johnstone.L..A..0-3 Hearts.......W..H..2-0 Partick......L..A..0-1 Dundee Utd...D..A..0-0 Aberdeen.....D..H..0-0 Rangers......W..A..2-1 Hibs.........L..H..0-2 Adjusted to the current points system that gives us 18 points or 1.63 points per game. 1994/95 was a 10 team top division but switched to the 3 points for a win system. Rangers......L..A..1-2 Hearts.......D..H..1-1 Kilmarnock...W..A..1-0 Dundee Utd...D..A..1-1 Hibs.........D..H..1-1 Partick......D..A..2-2 Celtic.......D..H..1-1 Falkirk......W..H..5-3 Aberdeen.....W..A..3-1 That gives us 14 points or 1.55 points per game. We only lost one match in this opening quarter but played and won fewer matches. 2007/08 was, as you probably remember, by the current system of 12 team league and 3 points for a win. St.Mirre.....W..A..1-0 Inverness....W..H..2-1 Kilmarnock...L..H..1-2 Gretna.......W..A..2-1 Hearts.......L..H..0-2 Aberdeen.....W..A..2-1 Falkirk......L..A..0-1 Rangers......D..H..1-1 Dundee Utd...L..A..0-1 Hibernian....W..H..2-1 Celtic.......L..A..0-3 That gives us 16 points or 1.45 points per game. We were positioned 5th in the league at the end of the first quarter (I don't have weekly league position stats for the 90's seasons). 2011/12. This season we have 22 points or 2.00 points per game. Therefore... BEST STARTS IN SPL/SCOTTISH PREMIER DIVISION AFTER FIRST QUARTER. 2011/12 - 2.00 points per game (23 points/11 matches) ///Final league pos. ? 1993/94 - 1.63 points per game (18 points/11 matches)* ///Final league pos. 3rd. 1994/95 - 1.55 points per game (14 points/9 matches) /// Final league pos. 2nd. 2007/08 - 1.45 points per game (16 points/11 matches) /// Final league pos. 3rd. * By current points system, not actual number of official points.

I'll contribute my bottle of coppers.