David

The ham-fisted way that the government have approached this most recent round of restrictions is the problem for me. I'm not denying there's a virus out there and that elderly and vulnerable people need protecting (although the vaccine supposedly deals with that) but the way they've went about this is a prime example of the complete lack of common sense and intelligence we've seen throughout the past few years. 500 people in grounds. Why? There must have been some sort of scientific process to come up with that number, right? I'm no scientist, but surely the way to approach this would have been to take into account that we're talking about an outdoor event. I would think they'd have looked at increased social distancing, masks being worn while moving around the stadium, and been able to put some of those all-knowing individuals that we're not allowed to question to work in coming up with a crowd percentage that would apply to each stadium? Since it seems like the in-thing to just grab numbers out of thin air on a whim, what about having each stadium at 50% capacity? So, for example, Celtic park would allow more fans than Fir Park, and Fir Park would allow more than somewhere like Gayfield. And this nonsense about the problem not being people actually in the stadiums, but travelling to the stadiums? It's fucking obvious that it was a group of men who thought that one up, as me no longer being at the football and not riding the train to Airbles doesn't mean I now sit in the house and can be considered one less super-spreader on the street. No, as soon as the football was cancelled the wife immediately said "Great! We can now go and check out the sales, and maybe grab some lunch and drinks!" All journeys that will have my arse sat on the same train carriage I'd have been on going to the football! The only difference is that instead of being sat shivering in the pissing rain outdoors, I'll be wandering the indoor confines of every fucking shop known to man.

If the NHS had been properly funded, by politicians both past and present, we maybe wouldn't be in this position, but that's a topic for another time.

Meanwhile Cowan will be chuckling like fuck at the fact it's become "a thing"

With no income maybe football clubs should park paying taxes for a while as well? The same goes for businesses being crippled by this.

I'd be very surprised if there was. Usually a great deal of self-belief is part of what gets a footballer to the level they're at. If Tony Watt were to be offered a great deal by Everton, for example (and we know he won't but let's say for the sake of discussion they come in for him) he'll most likely think he's good enough if given the opportunity at that level. If anything most footballers are somewhat delusional when it comes to how good they really are.

Exactly. Footballers, especially like Watt who have seen the highs and the lows the game has to offer, will be all too aware that while he may be a star for us this season, he could very easily see a drop in form next season. His next contract, considering the form he's in just now, could very well be the most important in his career. While some fans may see a move to a Barnsley, Luton, or Millwall as one that isn't offering much from a footballing point of view it will see him earn a good deal more than we can offer, and spread over a 3 or 4 year contract that's a decent bit of coin. Of course, there's no player in the professional game who doesn't think they can make the cut at a higher level than they're currently at. If they thought that way they likely wouldn't have made it this far to begin with.

Well, not quite the 5-0 pumping that some had it marked down as. We played well I think and deserved something from the game. Bring on St Johnstone.

If I was Tony Watt I'd be looking to wait until the summer before making any decisions. See who comes in for him, look at the money, the circumstances, the league, the location and so on, then make a choice. As long as we're not left hanging on for a ridiculous amount of time waiting on his decision I'm fine with him weighing up his options.

Was hoping we'd get to half time on level terms, but it's not to be. How we come out in the next 15 minutes will determine how this goes, but I fear we'll do not too badly before losing another goal midway through the second half and possibly another late on.

It's not about being scared, and more about the sheer gulf in finances, which leads to a severe gulf in quality. The increase you mention over the past twenty years coincides with both old firm sides, but mainly Celtic in recent years increasing the chasm between themselves and the other clubs financially. I'm sure there was a report or two in the media that highlighted that the gap between Celtic and most other premier league clubs is larger than the gap between Celtic and PSG. That should give us a little perspective. Funnily enough, when Celtic themselves have to play against a side such as PSG where the financial and quality gap is reversed they've been beaten by scores of 4-0, 7-1, and 5-0 in recent games.

No, I don't think so. Anything from this game is a bonus.

Make your choice...

That idea may be applicable if we win the world cup. As it is? I don't think so.

If it's sarcasm, you'll know.

He certainly hasn't been at his best for us of late, I'll give you that. But is he "utter shite"? I'd say no. And thankfully Steve Clarke and Graham Alexander seem to think the same.

That aged well.

Like Jacob Brown has over the past two seasons? On last night's performance, O'Donnell was superb. The only thing that really prevents him playing at a level above us is consistency at club level.

Barring injury, I think we all know the answer to that. And it ain't Mugabi.

I do think there's maybe something to that. I know we tend to think that it's as easy as just getting rid of players we don't want, but when managers have to work with limited transfer time due to the windows, and we have players under contract that aren't wanting to move on or haven't been offered anything suitable, it can be a difficult process. I have heard it said that a manager really needs three windows, two of which should be summer windows, to really sort out a team, which obviously isn't always an option, but I think if we can maintain a decent league position Alexander will be given the time needed to put his own team together.

We only need to come out on top more often than four to six other clubs over the course of the season. Would I be right in saying that Graham Alexander teams have a history of playing football that isn't easy on the eye? Salford City fans were grumbling about the same thing it seems. Coincidentally, when Alexander was sacked Salford were 5th in League 2 and unbeaten in their first five games. Now they're 19th with four wins out of 15 this season. I read they're a lot nicer to watch now though, so there is that (legit what I've read, not sarcasm for those who are interested )

5th in the table after beating Aberdeen 2-0 away from home? Not bad considering our manager apparently hasn't got a clue what he's doing, eh?

Make your choice...

I apologise for my lack of smiley usage, and will make sure to include one in future.

That'll be a bit of a whoosh then? It was a sarcastic post, I'm not actually saying no one should post unless they have hard stats to back up their information! The stats in question are very telling, mind you.

Stats? Pffft! No place for that kind of chat round these parts! who needs stats when you have under-qualified opinions and rants?