SteveC

Thanks Frankie, for that good preview. I fear that this is wildly optimistic though: "Surely 2017 will be better?" given that the first things you mention as being rotten in 2016 all start to bear their bitter fruit next year. Still, if ever there was a weekend to be 'wildly optimistic' then this is it. We need all of our players to be 100%, no silly errors (even when we won the cup semi by playing brilliantly, Roberts missed an open goal) and them to have a total off day as, by all reports and by results, they are a far better team than they were last season. Such things can and do happen.

I rarely end a sentence with a preposition either and never would with "thereto". The register (tone) is out of plae in any case, as you note. I was just pointing out that it is a matter of style and not grammar despite what generations of teachers taught us in schools. I do not think style is unimportant. I admire you whatever connections with Greek that you had. It was not present at our school at all. Not that it would have done me any good as I was not a good scholar. I only attended school after 14/15 because the polis caught me playing hookey at a magic shop in Glasgow. Some 7 months of freedom blown in one silly error on my part. Well two errors, as I also infuriated Frank Coulston (ex Thistle - PE teacher) by not turning up for a County marathon run and he was on my trail that very week. Anyway, I ended up having to go to school until I was 16 by which time, by a quirk of catchment areas, I'd already sat my 'highers'. If I hadn't been caught, I'd still have been avoiding the damn place. So, the moral of this story is - play truant for as long as you can if you want to get good exam results PS Sorry to stray so wildly off topic. The end of the year always make me reflect on the past. I'll stop now.

I did panic at the thought myself and then thought - ah well, hell mend me if there are any. My excuse would be that a note in a forum is not held to such strict standards. However, that is rather flimsy and so it would be a "riddy". Therefore I am going to bed without checking it as I want to have a peaceful sleep. Goodnight all.

I'm reasonably strict on such grammatical matters, BH, to the point of pedantry* some might say. As with so many things we were taught as "grammatical rules", they are actually stylistic fashions rather than having basis in linguistic rigour. The 'do not end a sentence with a preposition' one was introduced by one the neo-classicists Dryden, Pope or Addison. Dryden, I think, complaining of Pope using one such sentence in a piece of one-upmanship snobbery over classical learning misapplied to English. Basically they wanted English to run as much as possible on Latin lines but those Roman tracks were not made for the English language. However, teachers for centuries afterwards followed these fashion guidelines as though they were strict rules and even now they hold some sway. In summary, ending a sentence with a preposition is not 'wrong', but it can often appear inelegant and there is usually a more elegant way to write a sentence that avoids doing this. Consequently, there is some justification to this being a guideline to good writing if not a rule per se. The second non-rule, re not starting a sentence with a conjunction (probably from the same sources though, tbh, I cannot clearly recall) has no merit behind it whatsoever. As Bill Bryson put it in "Troublesome Words": “The belief that and should not be used to begin a sentence is without foundation. And that’s all there is to it.” I write this as someone who was chastised at school if I ever started a sentence with "but". Oh to go back and point all this out I also agree more care should be taken but I'm always hesitant to point out infelicitous sentence construction or grammatical errors as, quite rightly, the replies come back with "well, at least they are doing something, what are you doing?". On the other hand, the more carefully a message is written then the clearer it is heard. * I prefer the term, "accuracy". ;-) Now, about Joe Garner............

Yes, me too - I was astonished at this: "the hanging of effigies of Rangers supporters " = exactly what I've been critical of the MSM for writing

Does this include the Starry plough that they always let them wave as well as Kill All Huns banners. I see that wasn't mentioned in the article, and i noted the orangeman effigy was again not mentioned.

No, it usually doesn't. It's a tired old football cliche that contradicts the statistical facts

Thoroughly depressing after a bright start. Goodnight all

Why does Butcher spout such cliched shit? And why the f@@@ does he think that these crap sayings are funny? It's like stuff from a christmas cracker

He gifted them a goal under no pressure at all. He wrestled one of them to the deck in our box and he punched one of them (albeit quite softly) in the chestin their box. Plus another couple of wobbly moments. Doing better now. Just as well as Hill is looking injured.

The bias is breathtaking. Warburton said he didn't like plastic pitches and there were pages and shows glaore slating him for daring to say so. brenda did the same and.........not a peep

That arse of a commentator keeps saying two penalties. They followed on one after the other so if the first was given then the second would not exist.

too big an "if", unfortunately. We've diced with disaster since the goal

Jesus effing C Criminal

Yessssssssssssssssssss Mckay Very well deserved

unlucky Miller, great run

refereeing is just mental in Scotland (watching BT Sport here)

Maybe, but if he'd been going for a back four I'd have expected Hodson to be left back

Is that a back 3? 3-4-3? 3-5-2?

He may well have protected a stricken Rangers player on the ground in the centre circle after the cup final. At least he did according to one report I read. I can forgive a lot for that, if true.

But it's not sung as a righteous complaint against the covering up of child abuse, instead it's sung as gleeful revelling in the "feet of clay" of our bitterest rivals' most legendary figure. Were that not the case it would not be sung in the manner it is and we would have sung re other characters from all walks of life who've covered things up, especially such abuse, in the past.

There was need to considering we we were lucky to be ahead with 11 v 11 and only just hung on with Wallace staying on for nuisance/tying up a man value. We were all crapping it in the closing minutes of the game.

It isn't, you are right there. However, it is beyond me, after what has been done to us, to be anything other than resentful and filled with hatred. It may be wrong, and is assuredly unhealthy, as well being unproductive, but it is how I feel with every fibre of my being. That does not stop me from saying that I agree with you here: "I don't agree that supporting a valid complaint is a sign of weakness; on the contrary it would strengthen our position in any similar situations in the future."

Ian, I am slightly confused here. you may have to explain things slowly to me. I followed this link and it took me to a strange place where folk who hang effigies and wave banners saying "Kill All Huns" are saying that the words "we are the people" are racist and akin to singing "up to our knees in f------n blood". Obviously this cannot be the case so how did I misread things so badly?

RTV keep on going on about as being effectively down to 10 men so what it's ICT ffs..... then they tell us the Timz strolled it 0-3 with 10 men. ...but still say we are under pressure cos Wallace is crocked