Kmcalpin

I've wiped that game from memory.

An assessment of Zak Rudden by the Dundee Courier, primarily for St Johnstone fans. https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/sport/football/st-johnstone/2911191/zak-rudden-analysis-did-st-johnstone-signing-target-show-in-partick-thistle-v-kilmarnock-game-he-is-what-perth-club-need/ As an aside, Dundee United are announcing, via the tabloid press, that a deal for Tony Watt is imminent and in time for tomorrow night's games.

Sorry I was being facetious about Partick. I don't have a soft spot for them either. It was a phrase used not uncommonly by the media, who have had a long love in with Partick. Maybe because the BBC had their HQ not far from Maryhill. The last person I heard say something along these lines was Richard Gordon a few years ago. Something about every Scots fan's second club being Partick. Patronising and untrue.

Of course there are many promising players in the lower leagues, including the Championship, who have potential and will make the step up succesfully. However Rudden is slightly different. If he had been playing with the likes of Arbroath, Morton or QoS there would not have been as much media hype. But the fact is that he plays with a team that every Scots football fan has a soft spot for. His manager Ian McCall has said that 8 or 9 clubs would be watching him on Friday. Stirring up an auction...yes. Its not uncommon for a decent player to supposedly attract interest from 3 or maybe 4 clubs - I give you Dykes, Turnbull, Shankland, Campbell, Watt et al. However "8 or 9" suggests that this player is something extra special. Thats what fans have been basing their expectations on. You can't judge a player on one game of course, but with so many watching eyes from the stands he is under pressure to prove what he's capable of. Friday night wasn't a good start.

I have the impression, maybe wrongly, that he's overhyped, for a number of reasons including the club he currently plays for. GA and KL will have a far better eye for a player than we do, but he has to have the basic attributes now, such as how to trap a ball and pass. If he hasn't, he can't be taught them now. In other aspects of his game he can, of course, be developed.

Faissal el Bakhtaoui looked an absolute standout at East End but failed to make the grade at a higher level with Dundee. Quite a few promising players in the Championship fail to make the step up to the Premiership. Potential isn't always realised.

A very hefty income for anyone but presumably he'll be paying National Insurance and income tax at the highest rate?

Quote from the Dundee Courier. "United are now working hard to bring Watt in from Motherwell this month. The up-front portion of the fee secured for teen star Kerr Smith from Aston Villa – understood to be around £800,000 – may allow the Tangerines to seal an early deal with the Well for his services." Another planted press story directly from Tannadice. With time fast running out, we should make it quite plain to United to come up with the cash we want or there's no short term deal. We don't want to be in the position of hunting around for a replacement at the very end of the window. That said, I'm sure we actively looking at another striker, should we need one. We could be a bit short up front just now; maybe speaking to Hearts about extending Jordan Roberts' loan? At least we're not in the farcical sitaution that Dundee are currently in! They're desperately trying to offload Cummings and cut short Griiffiths' loan deal, whilst Celtic are trying to extend his loan!

No, you're not the only one OTF. In the 2-1 reverse at Fir Park that season he completely bossed Alan Campbell. That day he controlled the midfield.

You're probably right Yorky. By way of a very rough comparison, as they're different types of players, St Mirren are supposedly looking for £350K for McGrath, who is also out of contract at the end of the season. The caveat is that its tabloid talk and Saints are, of course, media darlings. I hope we are looking at replacements for Watt but we can't afford to strike a deal at the very last minute without being able to bring someone else in. Edit: BBC football page saying "Tony Watt has been secured for the summer and talks continue to expedite that deal, but a reported fee of £100,000 is a high price for four or five months. " and "Jamie McGrath and Ethan Erhahon are St Mirren's most sought-after players and January is the club's last chance to sell Republic of Ireland midfielder McGrath, with Aberdeen rumoured to be interested (for less than £100K presumably?)."

My thoughts exactly.

Thanks. It's now shown up.

How will fans prove if they have had a booster vaccination? Currently it's not possible to do that.

My guess, and its a total guess, is that restrictions will continue to apply for the midweek league games but be removed by Cup weekend. But who knows? Yes, infection rates in Scotland and England are very similar Iain and what little divergence there is could well be down to other factors. Certainly restrictions at football matches and elsewhere don't seem to be making much, if indeed any, difference and Professor Leitch's view (I haven't heard or read it) doesn't seem to reflect the commonly acknowledged position that restrictions are a balance between health and economy. There are always conflicting stories and you can always find at least one expert arguing against other experts and the press zero in on the outliers to generate interest, discussions, political point scoring and last but not least sales.

A good decision. GA has turned our club around since coming in and you can see progress. This will give us continuity going forward and hopefully convince out of contract players to commit.

I wouldn't be too sure about that.

So we've joined the queue for Rudden have we? St Johnstone, Dundee and now us. Maybe Thistle don't want to lose him in this window as he'll be worth more to them if he scores goals to earn them promotion? Six figures does seem a lot for a Championship player with 6 months remaining on his contract though. Is he that good? Maybe the next Shankland; speaking of which his agent is doing a damn fine job getting more exposure for him with the BBC. BBC also reporting we're miles apart with Dundee United regarding Watt's fee. Although they seem to have plenty of cash to burn on wages they've suddenly become hard up when it comes to paying out fees. Ah well, they'll get him in the summer for nought.

Hopefully the armed forces will cope with all the pressure being heaped on to them just now. Why are many hospitals not coping? Its a complex situation and I just don't know. How do the numbers stack up compared to the early days of the pandemic? I'd guess less patients in intensive care. However many staff are off sick and or are isolating so its hard to gauge. The pandemic is like the straw thats breaking the camel's back. Long running issues coming home to roost.

Yes, Shields does deserve his chance. I get the impression that Tierney is an attacking midfielder, not a striker. If we lose both Roberts and Watt then I think at least one replacement is necessary up front.

Liam Shaw now officially confirmed.

It would seem that our Covid outbreak has happened at the right time if there is such a thing. Hopefully we'll have a reasonably full squad for the game.

Great post Al. On the whole I'd say that the NHS has done well with the resources it has had at its disposal and many of its problems are long standing. Like any other organisation though there are very good staff, good staff, average staff, poor staff and very poor staff. That has come directly from family members and others who work for the NHS. It has coped very well with COVID but poorly with other medical issues. I had cause recently to visit my local hospital for a routine test (with an appointment). I had great trouble actually getting into the building itself as many entrances had been closed off to the public. Had I turned up in a car with someone requiring A & E treatment I don't know what I would have done. The overall statistics for total COVID infections to date are likely to be a gross underestimate for many reasons. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-59899547 People are not reporting LFT results for example and other infected individuals are keeping quiet, but I guess that is to be expected. I find the issue of face coverings to be interesting. We go into our local supermarkets and indoor shopping malls and despite their use being obligatory (with limited medical exceptions), many folk just don't bother. The same applies to public transport. The same happens at Fir Park. When in your seating area they're not obligatory and thats fair enough. But in enclosed indoor spaces???? Many just aren't bothering. The bottom line is that we're just going to have to live with this horrible virus. I don't envy the politicians as they have the hard decisions to make but please just be open with us. Its a fine balance between economy and health. As for advisers - please advise and stop short of speaking for the political decision makers. Irrespective of the statistics, the 500 figure needs to be amended or tweaked but that is only one of many wider inconsistencies.

I've posted about this issue before Davkel. I'm not sure what size has to do with it. There's a common misconception that big guys are lumbering, carthorse like, hammer throwers. Some are of course but many are not. Size and skill/speed are not mutually exclusive. Usain Bolt, for example, is 6-4 and a little faster than average. Christiano Ronaldo and Eric Cantona are both 6-2 and have/had a fair measure of skill. Nearer to home Michael Higdon and Andy Ritchie were big guys but not short of skill.

Are you sure about that? I don't know but it seems ridiculous if so.

According to court evidence, Charlie Adam is on £3,500 a week at Dundee.