The Tin Man

Coming back on June 17th. Meanwhile in Scotland our game continues to hate itself into oblivion

Getting these interviews before the red tops is a thing of beauty. You’d think it’d maybe have their money men asking questions as to why but I’d imagine they’ll just keep churning out negative shite whilst trying to figure out why their circulation is dropping like a ten bob hooer!

If that price and deal structure are accurate we’ve played an absolute blinder here!

https://twitter.com/jordanc1107/status/1265366271299858433?s=21

Looks like Genk have deleted their statement from their website...

Happy to get this one done. If nothing else it’ll give the conspiracy theorists a fair old time of it!

REFEREE John Beaton has opened up on the vile death threats and online abuse he received following a Celtic vs Rangers clash in 2018. The SFA whistler came under fire after the Old Firm match in December 2018 when the Light Blues won 1-0. The 37-year-old was outed after failing to punish striker Alfredo Morelos for a stamp on defender Anthony Ralston, a clash with Ryan Christie and a kick at Celts skipper Scott Brown. Parkhead chiefs then released a statement calling on the SFA to allow Beaton to explain his decisions publicly. On the abuse he received after the game, Beaton said: “It was a tough time for me and had a massive impact. It was probably a turning point in terms of seeing the scrutiny that we are put under in games like that. The pressure on those games is incredible and it’s such a unique rivalry. It’s about survival for the referees, players and managers. You have to manage your way through those games as best as possible. “The feeling immediately after the match was that it had gone well for us a refereeing team. But clearly the media fallout was such that the perception of my performance had very quickly changed. “I was due to referee Ayr United v Falkirk at the height of the difficult period and I remember speaking to John Fleming, the Head of Refereeing at the time, who said I could have the weekend off. I said no to that offer as I felt it was really important for the younger guys coming through that they saw me fulfilling that appointment. It was important to do the game and show I wasn’t going to lie down to the criticism. “I don’t remember anything about the game at Somerset Park, it was just about getting through the 90 minutes. I was glad I did it. “It was a while before I was back involved with either of the teams, but I took charge of the Aberdeen v Celtic match in April 2019, that saw Celtic clinch the league title. That was a real show of faith from the Scottish FA and a boost for me personally to be appointed to the match and to do well in it.

Football is "likely" to be played in Scotland in August, says Scottish FA chief executive Ian Maxwell. Non-contact outdoor sports are set to be allowed next week in phase one of the Scottish government's restrictions easing, with football in phase two. National clinical director Professor Jason Leitch warned there are "no guarantees" that will be in mid-June as predicted but Maxwell said playing in August is "definitely achievable". "I'm sure we can do that," he said. "We're seeing it in countries across Europe, whether they're finishing league programmes or starting new ones. "We have to make sure that we're giving the government comfort and that we can do it in a manner that keeps everyone involved in the game safe." Speaking to BBC Scotland, Maxwell also said: There's a "real desire" to meet the "challenge" of maintaining 42 senior clubs It is "right" that the Scottish FA should help fund testing around training and matches Football will be "different" and the sport must be "adaptable and creative" The Scottish game will find out at the end of June if they can get financial help from Fifa It's important that the Scottish FA work out how to get the grassroots game back 'It could be three weeks, it could be six weeks' Maxwell also echoed the initial suggestion players would need "touching six weeks" to be ready to play. And, with that in mind, the SPFL is to ask the Scottish government if football clubs can resume training from 10 June. "We're working through a three-stage plan," Maxwell said. "It will start with a return to training, then it will move on to a return to matches, then obviously on to spectators being allowed back in to stadiums at some point." It had been estimated that 18 June would be when phase two kicks in and players are allowed to return to training, but that depends on strict criteria being met. Golf, tennis & bowls set to be allowed Read the lockdown easing roadmap "There are no dates attached to phases two and three," Professor Leitch said. "They may be be three weeks apart if everything goes well, but they might be six weeks apart, or it might be five-and-a-half weeks. "There is no guarantee when they will happen. It might go backwards a bit or some of the things we said might happen, might not." However, Professor Leitch told BBC Scotland's Off the Ball that matches could be played behind closed doors in phase three and that the country's major sports will be able to begin preparing for that. "We've been in conversation with each of them - in particular rugby and football," he said. "They have five or six-step plans and we would expect that process to begin in phase two. "That's when you would begin to think about - in phase three - could you have an event behind closed doors or with a small, socially-distant crowd? We'll have to answer those questions as and when we reach those moments."

It’s like watching a softer spoken Gordon Sawyers. No wonder Lawell runs rings around them!

Doesn’t look like the club are preparing for it in any way. Season tickets are selling as normal so it will be interesting to see what happens if the government does insist on some kind of measure before giving the go ahead to play

Love these wee stories from the very beginning. Could read them all day!

Whilst I’ve no sympathy for those captaining the good ship Dunfermline it’s difficult not to have some sympathy for the players who’ve been effectively tossed on to the dole queue. Dunfermline statement earlier today: All Scottish football clubs are now faced with challenging and uncertain times. As a consequence of this continued uncertainty, we are afraid to announce that unfortunately our club will not be in a position to offer new contracts, at this time, to any of the players who are out of contract over the coming days.As we don’t know when we will be playing games again we have no other option but to protect the future of the club itself. This has not been an easy decision to make, being aware of the impact this may have. We would like to offer our very best wishes to all of the players and their families, as well as thanking them for their services to our club.

Maybe I’m slightly paranoid but I’m not entirely sure Mr Stewart has honourable or fair intentions when asking. I think we’ll see a lot more of this as the summer goes on, mostly aimed in our direction and ignoring those in similar circumstances...

Morning all. First time poster so please be gentle! Going by the worlds worst £1 signings musings this morning I think it’s clear to see what the narrative will be during the transfer window. Anyone would think we were the only club to use the furlough facility. Here’s his take on the Hagi rumour... “I see some media reporting that Rangers are closing in on a £5m signing of Hagi. Can anyone explain how the club lost £11m, was needing £10m to see the season out, then Coronavirus hit and has deferred huge amounts in wages but can be linked with a £5m signing?”