stewarty

I'm sceptical as to the tangible benefits it will provide but if, and I stress if, it brings in money and increases brand awareness then I dont have any objections.

Rangers, Scotland and any team playing Celtc

Cant claim credit for it but it made me laugh and was worth sharing...

Menu; Starter - Sour Grapes Main Course - Plaice (might be 2nd) Pudding - Selection from (Caldwell, McManus, Donati or Veneegor of Hessledink) Followed by HARD CHEESE & BISCUITS or fresh fruit - ORANGES . Drinks available at bar (mainly TRIPLES) - but NO TROPHY BITTER !! Also a special selection of WHINES from STRACHAN'S vast cellar !!! Coffee or tea served in mugs - SORRY NO CUPS AVAILABLE RIGHT NOW !!! CHARITY AUCTION AT END OF NIGHT; Main item - ONE TROPHY CABINET (surplus to requirements)

The point about politicians getting involved is mainly about forcing the hand of the existing parties i.e. the SFA, SFL and SPL. Given that Salmond is in power he is therefore accountable and should get his party involved whether you like his politics or not. Each existing body serves their own needs and as the old saying goes - Turkeys dont vote for christmas so I cannot see a situation where all three bodies agree to merge for the common good. The structure of the SFA alone makes this difficult. If the government of the time were to force the issue then they would have no option. Where I agree with Juffery in a sense is that you would not want sport to become a party political ping pong ball that is subject to the short termist meddling which has been the hallmark of politics for too long.

Listening to Real Radio this evening I heard one caller query the selection of referees for cup finals. According to this man, 73% of cup finals in the past 10 years have been refereed by just two men - Kenny Clarke and Hugh Dallas. It got me thinking, since I'm the cynical type, is this really true? Now, before we get to the facts, I didn't catch whether this caller was of the green and white persuasion, Dundee United or any other club but suffice to say he should think about re-sitting his Primary 4 maths test. So, first up - the Scottish Cup. Somewhat surprisingly, Dougie McDonald has refereed the past two but there is a spread of referees with no-one else getting it two seasons running. Scottish Cup Year Referee 2007 Dougie McDonald 2006 Dougie McDonald 2005 John Rowbotham 2004 Stuart Dougal 2003 Kenny Clark 2002 Hugh Dallas 2001 Kenny Clark 2000 Jim McCluskey 1999 Hugh Dallas 1998 Willie Young Then we have the League Cup... League Cup Year Referee 2008 Kenny Clark 2007 Dougie McDonald 2006 Stuart Dougal 2005 Mike McCurry 2004 Willie Young 2003 Kenny Clark 2002 Hugh Dallas 2001 Hugh Dallas 2000 Kenny Clark 1999 Hugh Dallas So, to sum this up in terms of percentages.... Referee Finals % Dougie McDonald 3 15% John Rowbotham 1 5% Stuart Dougal 2 10% Kenny Clark 5 25% Jim McCluskey 1 5% Hugh Dallas 5 25% Willie Young 1 5% Mike McCurry 1 5% It doesn't take Stephen Hawking to work out that Kenny Clark and Hugh Dallas have refereed 50% rather than the fanciful 73% suggested by this mathematically challenged halfwit. :uzi: It's still a very high percentage but it's down to the fact we have very few decent referees. Overall I thought Clarke had a decent game yesterday. Like most refs in most games he did make a couple of mistakes and it's only usually the ones that are perceived to be crucial that get highlighted. Most people are saying it was a stone waller. Others are saying the United player went down too easily. Some described it as a Judo throw to the ground and others say it was good strength and determination to get to the ball first from Cuellar. Crucially, Clarke didn't give it. From the angle he saw it you can understand why. Both players were trying to do the same thing it's just that Carlos won the challenge. So, to conclude... -There was no injustice. -The referee gave it as he saw it. -This decision did not decide the outcome of the game - there was 119 minutes and 55 seconds worth of play + penalties that did that. And another thing. I'm sick of hearing how gutted Eddie Thompson is/was. I know he's ill but some of the media coverage before and after the game has been boring as hell. Think of something else to write about. Give us another angle that has some thought and is researched. Stop fuelling this thicko mentality that believes everything the Sun tells them which is then regurgitated on football phone ins as poorly conceived ideas masquerading as fact. Rant over.

FAO Fraser - Mind you have a preview to do... :cheers:

I'm looking forward to seeing Steven Fletcher getting his first cap. He has to be the best striking option we've produced for some years now. He's a good finisher, has a good left foot, has decent pace and can actually play football - get him signed!

6 if you consider Hemdani a centre half since he has played there in the past for us and Marseille....

Take it a step further. We had 5 centre half's playing yesterday!! Big De Vries might be a handful with his height but we didn't need five of them to cope with him

I agree with what you are saying and I am reluctant to criticise Walter, but given the crammed schedule and the injuries and suspensions we have at the moment, 4-4-2 with Boyd starting should always have been the starting line up yesterday. If JCD wasn't fit we didn't exactly have many options so for me it was a no brainer.

I must have missed Gow in the press. What was he saying? Anything I've hear d about him, usually from Yogi Hughes talking about 'Gowser', has always been very positive about his attitude...

Cuellar for me too. What about young player of the year? Thats quite tough since Walter hasn't played any young players. I guess we would have to define young as being under 27 so in that case it's King Carlos for POTY and YPOTY!

And a Brazilian through naturalisation.... Ooh err missus! :devil:

Not saying it's not true but Barry wears his heart on his sleave and even if he had been keeping it quiet I'm sure we would have noticed some emotion from him after the final yesterday.

The thing that annoys me is how he usually fails to read game situations. A few times yesterday and in recent games he seems to be about 3 seconds late in reacting to space opening up in dangerous areas. By that time defenders have also noticed this and are covering and the half yard he could have made is lost . I noticed this at the semi final too and I have never really understood the criticism Burkey has taken until recently.

Agree 100%. It may take government intervention to force the hand of all three bodies. I wonder if Alex Salmond will have the balls to do something on this unlike Joke McConnell and his Labour cronies.

A ken exactly whit ye mean. Nae borra by ra way. :devil:

What's biasm? Are you hinting at some skeletons in his closet? :fish:

I would say Gordon would still be Scotland number one as he is the man currently in the position at the moment. It's great for the national team to have two fine keepers pushing each other similar to the Goram/Leighton scenario. If Gordon's form slips or he makes a couple of howlers then Shagger Al will be in there.

Cant claim the credit for it but I reckon there might have been one or two bluenoses in the crowd to see the big man back playing...

There's all the omens with teams that play in Green and also we keep playing teams with 'N' in their names. Oh, and we played Sporting in the QF's when we won the Cup Winners Cup too....

He might be 37 but he's still got it. Linky :cheers:

I've applied anyways Juffers so your sorted if I get one. Knowing my luck I'll get tickets but we wont make it though...

Sporting will be difficult opponents so they shouldn't be under estimated. Great draw nonetheless.