Biblio

It annoys me to see the likes of Gary Neville doing his moral grandstanding bit. This is a man who bought EFL status for Salford City by distorting the playing field in which they were competing against other non-league clubs. How is this proposed ESL any different to what he did, other than in scale? I don't lie the idea of a ESL but part of me would love to see the back of clubs who have showed no concern for the welfare of the sport at all over the last few decades.

Looking at the news, I'm finding the moral condemnation from some quarters, especially Premier League fans, pretty amusing. Have they only just noticed the corruption that their favourite clubs have indulged in for the last 20 odd years? 

I always wonder how the likes of Guardioa, Klopp and Mourinho would do in these circumstances. My guess is that, without their magic chequebooks, they would fail spectacularly. I think they know this, which is why they won't go to a club that doesn't give them the facility to buy success.

Rangers 3 Cove 0

Morelos

14 minutes ago, Bill said:

You bring back distant memories of being captivated by world cup finals, the exotic mystery of fabled countries like Uruguay, Brazil and Argentina. Players you'd never heard of became heroes overnight. It was like opening a window on the world but without the bad taste of politics, poverty, etc.  I remember falling in love with the game in 1970, it was like being introduced to champagne. Where did all that go eh? Now these tournaments are like watching the Champions League - same players, same football, different shirts. I haven't watched a CL game in years and the magic of international football died in the money pit long ago. 

 

 

1970 was my first World Cup as well. Me and my twin brother had shown no interest in football, despite our dad taking us to Anfield twice. When the World Cup came around we got obsessed with collecting the Soccer Stars stickers and from there watched every match we could. It was an amazing tournament. My dad was really pleased with how things had developed and was able to take us to Anfield productively in the future. But now I feel the same way as you about international football, I can't even be bothered watching these days, especially since there seems to be some sort of transfer system where players can choose what country they represent these days (started with Jack Charlton and Ireland but it seems to have spread everywhere now).

A great player. He was supposed to be signing for Liverpool in 1972 but it fell through on medical grounds. The rumours in Liverpool at the time were that he had VD and that there was no way that Bill Shankly was going to allow someone like that in the team. Probably bollocks but it even in the unlikely event it was true it doesn't detract from what a great player and colourful character he was.

If the gap in points was around 6, then I would find the tension tomorrow unbearable. As it is, the main job has been done and that has taken a lot of the worry off for me. I'd still like to win though.

It has been a great season, winning the only competition that really mattered. Europa was always a bonus but I think it was a bit naive to think that winning it was ever very likely,as most of FF seemed to believe. There is a big difference between the teams at this stage in EL and Dundee Utd.

Does anyone else remember the 2007 (I think) EPL season, when one of the last matches was Chelsea v Man U. Both teams had been challenging for the title but Utd clinched it a couple of weeks before the supposed showdown match. Because nothing was at stake, both teams fielded their youth sides and a Chelsea team, who had contributed little or nothing to Chelsea's season lined u for a G of H for Utd players who had not played a first team game between them before that night. That should really have made it clear that this whole Guard thing is a nonsense and should be scrapped.

All part of the Skyification of football. 

21 minutes ago, onevision said:

I always thought that if someone chooses to fight you then you retaliate with more muscle in the hope that the fighting stops.

Yes, against the perpetrators, in this case armies, navies, factories, railways, ports etc, or if it will bring the war to a quicker end (eg Hiroshima, which ultimately saved lives). Not against civilians. It is legitimate to bomb cities where there is a strategic target. If there is not, as in the case of Leipzig, then it is an act of terror, deliberately intending to traumatise the civilian population. The Harris case is complex and the arguments for or against have been debated by historians, some in favour, some not, but "they started it" is not a legitimate justification when it comes to the possibility of war crimes. As I already mentioned, Winston Churchill was horrified at these bombings.

That said, I have really enjoyed the "bombing" of the guilty parties and vindictive haters in Bluedell's poem, especially those paricular clubs who actually wanted to literally destroy us. They have certainly reaped what they sowed

54 minutes ago, Bill said:

I'd back him or his successors to do it again to any country that bombed our cities first. War is war and you reap what you sow. I do hope we're not on the brink of some nonsense about "it wasn't Germany, it was the Nazis wot done it, nothing to do with the Germans".

The thing is that we bombed German cities on a scale far in excess of what they bombed ours.  The most bombed place in the UK was Bootle. My dad lived in Bootle during the Blitz, so I'm aware of how bad it was, but it didn't amount to 10% of what Dresden and Leipzig got. There really wasn't much military necessity for the bombings, other than the Russians wanted it and the raids were not going after strategic targets, so in many ways it was a political decision, although Churchill was horrified by it and saw it as very close to being a war crime.

But it also gives the home side an extra 30 minutes on their own ground, a massive advantage, which nullifies the away goals advantage for me.

I think this will be a tough tie. They did not get this far by being crap and their result against Leicester was one that none of the English press saw coming. All I wanted this season was to win the league, that was always the main objective. Now that has been done anything else is a bonus. I'm really hoping for a bonus though.

Last August did anyone think it would be won this early? It's unbelievable.

I share a surname with Steven Gerrard (no relation as far as I know) and grew up in the same Merseyside borough (Knowsley, although he was from Whiston and I lived in Halewood) so this is a great time for me. Nobody can now say he has not won a league title. And he won it despite being outspent and (according to the experts) outgunned by Celtic. Seeing off Lawell and Lennon makes it all the better.

I know it's not mathematically certain but this really is the winning day. There is no way that Celtic could make up the goal difference even if we lost all our matches and they won all of theirs, which won't happen of course.

Very pleased with that and also relieved. I have been worrying about this one and, despite the points difference and despite the fact that it would be very, very difficult to lose the league now, I have been coming up with all kinds of nasty scenarios which are now three points closer to not arising.

I would love to hear from a fly on the wall at the Graham Speirs house tonight. 

I was really anxious again in the hours leading up to the match but feeling better now. I still feel a bit worried but every team in the world would like to be this far ahead with eight games to go, so maybe I should learn to relax more. Looking forward to Thursday, the players must be full of confidence.

Dundee United got a big victory with only 10 men last week so any thoughts that this will be easy would be misplaced. Any win would do me but I hope for a at least a couple of first half goals for us to steady my nerves.

The tie isn't over yet but I think the rollercoaster way things went tonight, fighting back from real adversity, has to give the players a real confidence boost, not just for the second leg but for the rest of the season. Hope so anyway.

I think that this is a game that can be enjoyed with less tension than league matches. I know that I won't be as nervous as on the last couple of Sundays or the coming one. What I really want is to win the league asap and anything else is a bonus, so I view tonight as an opportunity to get in some good practise against better than usual opposition with hopefully a win at the end of it.

A draw 0-0