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Highlanders can be a curious bunch at times; exhibit A. I met an Oban Celtic player in Brisbane of all places. He explained that a toss of a coin many years ago decided the club's name and strip, had it fallen on the other side they'd have been called Oban Rangers and worn blue. He did assure me that almost all of their players supported Rangers, and often wore Rangers attire to training to even things up. Still, 'mon the Oban Camanachd.

Jack's not going to quit international football this season, that's for sure.

CHAIRMAN’S UPDATE Unfortunately this update is with regards to a new shutdown for our football club As most will be aware, all football below the Scottish Championship level has been suspended by the Scottish FA Joint Response Group (JRG). This includes the Stenhousemuir men’s first team and all other teams within the structures that flow underneath. The younger age groups in our community programme are still able to train, and the club will remain in contact with parents to make them aware of any changing arrangements. News of the suspension is disappointing. There is no evidence to suggest that football clubs are responsible for spreading the virus between clubs or into other communities. The positive test rate amongst players has been no greater than the rest of society. If there was evidence to suggest that football clubs were a source of wider virus spread then of course action would need to be taken, but there isn’t. Whilst this decision is disappointing, we will do all we can to keep the players ready for a resumption of football when we are allowed to do so once again. The suspension places further strain on our club, will limit the ability of our staff to carry out their duties, and it has significant potential to interrupt our ability to do business in the transfer window. As many people will have heard, we found out about the suspension from the Scottish FA/SPFL when we were sent a copy of a press release addressed to the media. There had been no consultation with clubs, no warning and no support offered. We find this deeply disappointing. As has also now been widely reported, there was a scheduled SPFL General Meeting of Members held on Wednesday 13th January where clubs expected to be able to discuss this critical development. To clarify the timeline, this meeting was just 48 hours after the decision to suspend clubs was announced in the media. I am bitterly disappointed to confirm the reports in the press that the SPFL refused to allow any discussion between clubs on this topic, and any other issues in that meeting. Club representatives had their microphones muted and the only communication accepted was where clubs could email questions to the secretary, who would in turn email them to the Chairman and he would read them out. At no point were clubs allowed to speak. I made a number of requests to speak, and they were all refused. So faced with the news of this imposed suspension of football, our own league body refused clubs the opportunity to discuss this at our own Members General Meeting. For the record, we have been represented at every league meeting held, and this censured format has never been used before. I very much doubt that I need to say much more on this as many football club supporters will be outraged at hearing this, but sadly not surprised. Fans own our game, they are the biggest stakeholders in our clubs. Silencing the club voices who are in place to represent fans, in arguably the worst crisis Scottish football has faced, is an affront to supporters everywhere. We will continue to raise concerns on this matter, just as we will do everything in our control to work towards getting our game back. Football fans deserve better than this from our league bodies – change is needed, reform must be put on the agenda at some point soon. We will campaign for change and we hope that other clubs and supporter groups will too. https://www.stenhousemuirfc.com/2021/01/15/chairmans-update-12/

This is beneficial to Daredevils Dubai FC, then?

Funny, I would have said Gerd Muller, who gave my favourite all-time quote when challenged that he only ever scored goals and didn't 'track back' in the modern parlance: "Listen, nobody ever ONLY scores goals."

I wish Jack would quit international football. Another big game on Sunday. Fir Park is a tough place to go, so any kind of win will do. Hopefully Kent and Morelos continue last week's form and the defence remain hard to break. Mon The Rangers! ??

About Shinty I know nothing except that it’s violent. Nonetheless the Shinty scores delivered by Hugh Dan Maclennan at about 5.40pm on the old Sportsound twenty + years ago carried the same fascination as the Shipping Forecast. It mattered not that Glenurquhart had drawn with Boleskine, just so long as Oban Celtic got beat.

Subscribers only. https://tv.rangers.co.uk/video/0_ylu1kl89

I have just returned from visiting the local Supermarket, the wife insisted I sit outside in the car park. Apparently, it is easier for her to shop unfettered by my presence? Anyways, I am left with the car radio for company and BBC Radio Scotland's news and sport. A number of sports stories have broken today; Andy Murray has Covid, England have bowled out Sri Lanka and batted to within 8 of the islanders total, and ra Sellik have registered another UK first - they have furloughed their entire Youth Academy. What do you think was the headline and the three/four minute Sports discussion? Has Chris McLaughlin got a trio of young ambitious Bhoys lined up for interview, articulating their frustration at being denied progression? Ah mean, surely Chris can see the dichotomy of his beloved club squandering nearly £300,000 on a five star jolly in Dubai, and stubbing out the Academy, which is left to the responsibility of the British tax payer? Well, no. Chris was posted missing as PQ concentrated on Shinty. I am all for our friends in the Highlands and Islands being kept fully informed of Camanachd life, it will be a great relief for lusty teenage lads, sleeping with and tenderly stroking their wood. A four minute interview with the Chair of the Camanachd Association will send them all back to sleep. I suspect the Gang Hut are going to find endless fascination with Curling, stone skimming, and Judo in the next two/three months? I saw a comment this morning from a Thistle fan on Lawwell's attempted at an apology last evening. He watched the video of Sellik TV's Gerry McCulloch interviewing THE Chief Executive and posted, "he brought all the authority of a sixty-odd year old drunken man in a strip club, convinced all the girls find him irresistibly attractive" . Come on Chris, save us from Gerry and the Shinty, you are Peter's number one go to for necessary relief.

Preview from @Govan Rear Bear Preview: Motherwell v Rangers Sunday, 12:00 Sky Sports Main Event/Sky Sports Football. With Rangers going into this weekend’s game against Motherwell 21 points clear of Celtic, unbeaten in the league to date and on a superb winning run, you’d be excused for thinking that Sunday’s game against Motherwell was a mere formality. It is fair to say that Motherwell have not had their troubles to seek in what has been a bleak season so far. The Steelmen are currently without in a win eleven games and sit tenth in the table, one point off bottom placed Ross County, albeit having played two games less than the Highland club. Celtic’s draw with Hibs on Monday night in their rearranged fixture has given Steven Gerrard and his players the benefit of a 21 point lead, although that would be reduced if Celtic secure victory over Livingston on Saturday. The lead is a substantial one, even if Celtic do claw back full points in their games-in-hand. However you sense that Steven Gerrard is very uncomfortable at any talk of this league being over, and is wary of the challenge that a potentially rejuvenated Motherwell may provide at Fir Park. Speaking at his press conference on Friday he said: “We expect a tough challenge, we will certainly respect a new manager going in and things will be slightly different. “We have to be ready to adapt to whatever is thrown at us but our focus and the majority of our preparation has been on us, where we are at and what we have to do to try and get the three points. “A manager always goes in and tries to put his own stamp on things. Normally you get a bit of a bounce and a boost and you are galvanised. “I am sure they will be trying to do all they can to derail us and try and be the first team to beat us from a league point of view this season.” Celtic’s challenge is not yet over, but there is a feeling with every passing game that there is a real lack of belief in Neil Lennon’s squad that they have what it takes to claw themselves back into contention. The recent Dubai debacle provided further evidence suggesting that Celtic are off the pace in more ways than one in this campaign. However, with the Covid-19 pandemic now at a worse level than it was in March and April, there has been renewed talk of “null and void”. Wednesday’s meeting between member clubs and the SPFL Board provided more questions than answers, and resulted in series of statements from the likes of Falkirk, Partick Thistle and Stenhousemuir seriously questioning the governance of the game in Scotland. Add to that the sudden turnaround by the SPFL on the punishments dished out to St Mirren and Kilmarnock for breaching Covid protocols, and you suspect that Rangers will need to be more than better than Celtic on the park in the coming weeks and months if they are to secure their first title in nine years. As far as the Rangers manager is concerned, however, there is no debate on this issue. “My opinion on this is exactly the same as it was in March and April”, he said. "For football's sake and the sake of competition I think everything has to try to be finished in the right way. "I am not just saying that now because we are sitting where we are in the competition this year. Because my opinion was exactly the same in March and April. "My opinion will never change as long as I am involved in the game.” Gerrard provided some positive updates with regards to the current injury situation, confirming that Ryan Jack returned to full-training on Thursday and that Kemar Roofe should do the same at some point next week. Scott Arfield, who sustained ankle ligament damage against Dundee Utd in December, is still some way off returning but stepped up his rehab this week. Given that injury situation, it is hard to see Gerrard deviating much from the starting eleven which deservedly secured three points at Pittodrie last week, which will mean a 300th appearance in a Rangers jersey for Steven Davis. The Irishman has been a splendid servant for Rangers, and he has yet again shown a tremendous level of consistency in his performance levels this season. It would be a fitting reward for his efforts to secure his fourth league medal with the club. Rangers had moments last week against Aberdeen where they started to look like they were starting to fire on all cylinders again – perhaps a result of no midweek fixture for the first time this season. None looked more rejuvenated than Alfredo Morelos, who scored a double and put in a performance level rarely seen from the Columbian this season. If he is coming back into to a rich vein of form, then it has come at the perfect time. As for Motherwell, it is hard to see a repeat of the 5-5-0 formation which they adopted at Ibrox recently under Stephen Robinson. Robinson’s teams had a reputation for being overly physical. It will be interesting to see where new boss Graham Alexander takes them in terms of playing style. Alexander went with a 4-4-3 against St Mirren in his first game in charge last week, with a front three of Jake Hastie, Tony Watt and Devante Cole. Hastie is ineligible to play against his parent club, which makes you wonder is Alexander will opt for a 4-4-2 on Sunday. But the former Scotland international has already said that he will use a system that suits the players at his disposal, rather than enforcing his own style on a group of players which are not currently his. It is not the first head-to-head with Steven Gerrard for Alexander, and his previous experiences have not been good ones. "I’d rather forget those couple of occasions, to be fair” the Motherwell gaffer joked. “When I was in the Premier League with Burnley we played Liverpool at Anfield and Turf Moor against him and I think he scored a couple of goals and sent us down, actually, so I’ll want to thank him for that on Sunday”. Steven Gerrard will be hoping he extends his winning run against Motherwell and Alexander.

we will drop points at some point i suppose. while motherwell are bottom it is never ideal playing a team with a new manager. Let's hope point dropping comes later in the year.

Rangers look to extend impressive winning run as Steven Davis celebrates 300th milestone. Preview: Motherwell v Rangers Sunday, 12:00 Sky Sports Main Event/Sky Sports Football. With Rangers going into this weekend’s game against Motherwell 21 points clear of Celtic, unbeaten in the league to date and on a superb winning run, you’d be excused for thinking that Sunday’s game against Motherwell was a mere formality. It is fair to say that Motherwell have not had their troubles to seek in what has been a bleak season so far. The Steelmen are currently without in a win eleven games and sit tenth in the table, one point off bottom placed Ross County, albeit having played two games less than the Highland club. Celtic’s draw with Hibs on Monday night in their rearranged fixture has given Steven Gerrard and his players the benefit of a 21 point lead, although that would be reduced if Celtic secure victory over Livingston on Saturday. The lead is a substantial one, even if Celtic do claw back full points in their games-in-hand. However you sense that Steven Gerrard is very uncomfortable at any talk of this league being over, and is wary of the challenge that a potentially rejuvenated Motherwell may provide at Fir Park. Speaking at his press conference on Friday he said: “We expect a tough challenge, we will certainly respect a new manager going in and things will be slightly different. “We have to be ready to adapt to whatever is thrown at us but our focus and the majority of our preparation has been on us, where we are at and what we have to do to try and get the three points. “A manager always goes in and tries to put his own stamp on things. Normally you get a bit of a bounce and a boost and you are galvanised. “I am sure they will be trying to do all they can to derail us and try and be the first team to beat us from a league point of view this season.” Celtic’s challenge is not yet over, but there is a feeling with every passing game that there is a real lack of belief in Neil Lennon’s squad that they have what it takes to claw themselves back into contention. The recent Dubai debacle provided further evidence suggesting that Celtic are off the pace in more ways than one in this campaign. However, with the Covid-19 pandemic now at a worse level than it was in March and April, there has been renewed talk of “null and void”. Wednesday’s meeting between member clubs and the SPFL Board provided more questions than answers, and resulted in series of statements from the likes of Falkirk, Partick Thistle and Stenhousemuir seriously questioning the governance of the game in Scotland. Add to that the sudden turnaround by the SPFL on the punishments dished out to St Mirren and Kilmarnock for breaching Covid protocols, and you suspect that Rangers will need to be more than better than Celtic on the park in the coming weeks and months if they are to secure their first title in nine years. As far as the Rangers manager is concerned, however, there is no debate on this issue. “My opinion on this is exactly the same as it was in March and April”, he said. "For football's sake and the sake of competition I think everything has to try to be finished in the right way. "I am not just saying that now because we are sitting where we are in the competition this year. Because my opinion was exactly the same in March and April. "My opinion will never change as long as I am involved in the game.” Gerrard provided some positive updates with regards to the current injury situation, confirming that Ryan Jack returned to full-training on Thursday and that Kemar Roofe should do the same at some point next week. Scott Arfield, who sustained ankle ligament damage against Dundee Utd in December, is still some way off returning but stepped up his rehab this week. Given that injury situation, it is hard to see Gerrard deviating much from the starting eleven which deservedly secured three points at Pittodrie last week, which will mean a 300th appearance in a Rangers jersey for Steven Davis. The Irishman has been a splendid servant for Rangers, and he has yet again shown a tremendous level of consistency in his performance levels this season. It would be a fitting reward for his efforts to secure his fourth league medal with the club. Rangers had moments last week against Aberdeen where they started to look like they were starting to fire on all cylinders again – perhaps a result of no midweek fixture for the first time this season. None looked more rejuvenated than Alfredo Morelos, who scored a double and put in a performance level rarely seen from the Columbian this season. If he is coming back into to a rich vein of form, then it has come at the perfect time. As for Motherwell, it is hard to see a repeat of the 5-5-0 formation which they adopted at Ibrox recently under Stephen Robinson. Robinson’s teams had a reputation for being overly physical. It will be interesting to see where new boss Graham Alexander takes them in terms of playing style. Alexander went with a 4-4-3 against St Mirren in his first game in charge last week, with a front three of Jake Hastie, Tony Watt and Devante Cole. Hastie is ineligible to play against his parent club, which makes you wonder is Alexander will opt for a 4-4-2 on Sunday. But the former Scotland international has already said that he will use a system that suits the players at his disposal, rather than enforcing his own style on a group of players which are not currently his. It is not the first head-to-head with Steven Gerrard for Alexander, and his previous experiences have not been good ones. "I’d rather forget those couple of occasions, to be fair” the Motherwell gaffer joked. “When I was in the Premier League with Burnley we played Liverpool at Anfield and Turf Moor against him and I think he scored a couple of goals and sent us down, actually, so I’ll want to thank him for that on Sunday”. Steven Gerrard will be hoping he extends his winning run against Motherwell and Alexander.

Unlikely, I'd say.

If he indeed signs a pre-contract with us, life in Aberdeen will probably be miserable for him and his.

I would be tempted to leave Wright at Aberdeen for the duration of the season - he may help them to more points against the Tims.

Blatantly obvious and just more bias cheating from the guardians of Separate Entity FC that is the SFA/SPFL Now ready yourself for the league being null & void!

Green grow the birks on bonnie Ythanside Though furloughed the furloughbhoys of Dubai-o Well the Deevil's name was Pete but he had to sit and greet When he had to kiss his 10 a bitter goodbye-o

This is where we old geezers need help. Derby of colour mibbees.

don't see him quitting for years TBH

It's hard to quantify that one, aye less games equates to less chance of injury, but the likes of Steven Davis has managed a fair amount of caps, which has enriched his game. Bill, I'm hoping the lure of CL football will keep Kamara here for a while yet. If he goes though, best of luck, we'll do well out of the deal. Keen to see this boy Campbell of Well in the game, as he seems to be getting good reviews, must say I've not paid much attention to him.

Jolly good but that's besides the point. He'll have a longer career if he retires from it.

The courage of these victims is humbling

I bought 3 tickets, One which was #6 and nearly took #7 (my birthday) but opted for my son’s instead. ?

Plus ca change... Still hate the Crown, still love the half-crown.

Let the comparisons between Alfie and Gerd Muller begin. The low centre of gravity, those lightening turns, rolling the defender whilst releasing the shot with little back lift, soaring and hanging in the air, ................ etc. El Buffalo becomes Der Bomber. I think Alfie will need a year of constant application to equal Gerd's legendary consumption of ten steins of Bavarian lager per evening?

Interesting the Wolves manager Nuno Santo under pressure for the first time at Wolves. They seem to be in a bit of a struggle yet perhaps over achieved in the past 2 seasons. He is a manager I rate and thought would be a good fit for Arsenal.

Yeah really enjoy these. Kent really did pick a good spot it was just excellent defending.

Intrigued by this one. I need to see more of him. I know he was credited with bringing Aberdeen back into it when he came on against Celtic. Low risk and when we have the likes of Jones and Stewart surely on the way out soon it does seem a good option.