Kmcalpin

If Big Dec played for the Dons he'd be hailed as one of their "best central defenders in generations". Russell Anderson was going to be even better than Miller or McLeish.

The SPFL/SFA guidance is at best unclear. In their defence however, its an almost unprecedented situation but yes, they have failed to show leadership and clarity. Also in their defence, the guidance provided by the Scottish Government (and maybe also the UK Government in England) is inconsistent and not totally clear; arrangements made between the Scottish Government and the footballing authorities are inconsistent and somewhat haphazard. I'm basing this opinion on an interview given by professor Jason Leitch who admits as much here. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/54408588 Its interesting that he rightly differentiates between the outbreaks at Aberdeen and Celtic, which were individual, and the one at Kilmarnock which was workplace based. In that case, why did the footballing authorities punish Celtic and Aberdeen? The issue of whether clubs themselves want to admit a small number of fans on the basis of financial viablity has been raised. Thats an entirely separate matter. The issue here is whether they are allowed to do so, irrespective of whether they want to do so or not.

There used to be a rule, maybe unofficial, that if a team had 3 or more players on international duty then they’d be granted a postponement. Injuries are another matter ie our cup replay in 1976 against Hibs at Ibrox (I’m still bitter about that). Were Shotts BA not involved in some controversy with the Junior FA a few years ago about a postponement due to injury/illness? It always has been very unclear.

A compelling case then for the long long overdue amalgamation of the SFA and SPFL.

Any update on the SPFL investigation? I see that Robbie Neilson has suggested that the SPFL draw up guidelines for games in which one team can't participate (he's suggested that the opposition is awarded 3 points). The silence is deafening. He is right though - this situation will crop up again.

Good post. I didn’t realise until this evening that bingo halls have been open, albeit with social distancing in place. Given that I really can’t see why lower league clubs shouldn’t be allowed to admit a limited number of home fans.

Yes, these figures can be misleading. How many who have tested positive had visited shops in the previous fortnight? That said, pubs are probably virus hotspots. Even the Covid19 mortality statistics are subject to considerable error and are probably overstated, although the number of those infected is probably understated. A major problem throughout the UK is non compliance with self isolation, quarantine etc etc. Mixing of households is also a major source of infection, and I suspect commonplace.

I seem to recall that in England the majority of infections were said to originate in households but have no idea of the figures.

I agree with you in that Governments face extremely difficult challenges and they won't get everything right, if indeed there is any right and wrong way to handle the crisis. These are almost unprecedented times. In general yes,the country should pull together but in reality there will always be dissenting voices; thats life. Even the UK Government's SAGE Committee of experts and scientists disagree frequently amongst themselves. In many instances, so called "scientific advice" is not agreed by all the experts. In terms of the crisis management there is no real right and no wrong approach, its all about balance. I would expect trade and industry organisations such as the SPFL, SFA, Homes for Scotland, Scottish Retail Consortium and trade unions to name but 5 to continue to represent their members. They have to because no government can be all seeing and hearing. Its not irresponsible though for various parties to air their dissension, so long as its not disagreeing for the sake of it , which yes does go on all the time in wider society. You cannot try to stifle or discourage free speech in a democracy. League officials are simply fighting their corner. As you probably know, I still favour some limited fan return to football games but I know others don't share that view, we'll agree to disagree on that. Government policy at all levels is riddled with inconsistency and thats not surprising given the complexity of the situation. There are "idiots" as you describe them but in all sectors of our society not just those "pressing on the gates", and in some places that would surprise you.

Germany has handled the pandemic very well but you can’t compare these specific figures are they are compiled very differently. The figures for the likes of China, Russia and Brazil, for example are nothing short of incredible. Some months ago the Italian government did not know if care home deaths were counted or not as each of its regions counted deaths differently.

Yes I was there and remember it well. Really was some game and some football. We played like clockwork as almost everything fell into place. Dundee’s 3 goals have given generations of younger fans the wrong impression. We absolutely scudded them and 7 -0 wouldn’t have been unjust. Pettigrew and Graham were an amazing pairing but were probably overshadowed by Ferrier and Stevenson. Very few, if any, posters will have seen them in action; they were true giants of British football.

We can still sign out of contract players. I think Alan Burrows said somewhere that we may sign someone in the next few days.

Was he still under contract? Will we receive a modest fee?

Surely someone has something better to do with their time? Why just why do it?

Bobby Graham was a player I hardly noticed during games. It was only when we scored a goal or after we won that I realised how valuable he was and had a great football brain. He made others tick. He'd ghost about during games pulling the strings. On another tack your namesake was one of my favourite players. Not the best footballer in the world but wholehearted and a real asset to the team. My abiding memory of him was the photo of him holding his arms aloft after we beat Spurs in the Texaco Cup.

In the current climate there are people of all persuasions out to make mischief, Iain. In terms of inconsistencies I was referring to a wider context, but will not go into that as it involves other issues. We know very little of the Kilmarnock situation and how it will unfold. Things may become clearer after the SPFL investigate or then again they may not. We'll just have to wait and see.

Ok but you'd need to deduct more than 3 points, probably 6, from the guilty club as they could win the rearranged game and therefore cancel out a 3 points deduction.

I get your logic and agree with it. However what would happen to that team's opponents on the day? They would be disadvantaged by denying them the chance to pick up 3 points or even 1. In the event they'd be treated as though they'd lost the game and would be punished in effect. All other teams in the league would have the opportunity to win points.

Yes, the problem here is inconsistency between different Health Boards and there's plenty evidence of this at the moment. Kilmarnock did what they had to do. The SPFL investigation will try to determine if Kilmarnock followed guidance/rules. As things stand, there is no proof that they haven't. However if the investigation finds that they have not followed guidance thats a different matter. By way of comparison does anyone know what the punishment would be for fielding an ineligible player in a league game? Am I right in thinking that the punishment for failing to provide the opposition with your team line within the specified time before kick off is to award the opposition a 3-0 victory (as it is in the women's game).

The jury is still out on the strikers for me as well, although 5 does seem a disproportionate amount for a squad of our size. The reason though that I'm still undecided on them is that the quality and quantity of service given to them by the midfield has been poor. If we can sort out midfield ie Polworth regaining form and perhaps field a decent winger or two, then that will be the time to judge our strikers. What I would say though is that our current crop of strikers are unsuited to a long ball game or in modern parlance, thunderdome football.

Maybe I'm wrong but I really can't see the SPFL investigation throwing up anything untoward. In the case ofthe Aberdeen and Celtic players, they were spotted by members of the public breaking the rules. Unless a member of the public has witnessed Killie players doing something similar then this will go nowhere.

They'll need good luck to get to the bottom of this but there's no way the fixture will be cancelled and we'll be awarded the 3 points. Apparently Kilmarnock were advised to self isolate their squad by their local "Problem Assessment Group", whatever that is. They were part of that group. Therefore the SPFL had little choice but to agree to Killie's request. Given this postponement and the recent case involving St Mirren we now need consistency from NHS Scotland and the SPFL.

Like others I’m not convinced of Cole. Yet another striker in. I agree Hylton will be no great loss but that now leaves us with 2 wingers neither of whom have performed. We need to strengthen the central midfield and bring in a pacy winger, but that will depend on moving others on probably.

Yes it'll be interesting to hear the explanation if a full one is given. Surely it cannot be on footballing grounds? During the course of a normal season a few teams have had to play despite bugs ravaging their squads. Will this decision now set a precedent.

Totally agree Allan. Also, each country has only have one league champion per year, so they should only be one entrant per country for the Champions League.