Rousseau

I never read it right through so I missed it: "But it is thought a group of Rangers fans, who were sitting among the Motherwell support, were responsible for the flare." How can they possibly come to that conclusion? Should they not collect evidence before they pass judgement?

Calm down. I think it's fair to say Leeds have a significant place in history. However, to say that they were just below the top 4 sides in Britain is stretching it IMO. How does one measure history? I checked the number of trophies won (a decent measure, I think). The top English sides are: 1 Manchester United 62 2 Liverpool 60 3 Arsenal 42 4 Chelsea 28 5 Aston Villa 24 = Everton 24 = Tottenham Hotspur 24 8 Manchester City 17 9 Newcastle United 13 = Nottingham Forest 13 = Wolverhampton Wanderers 13 12 Blackburn Rovers 12 13 Leeds United A.F.C. 9 Then the Scottish sides: 1 Rangers 115 2 Celtic 98 3 Aberdeen 19 4 Heart of Midlothian 16 5 Queen's Park 10 6 Hibernian 9 Leeds are joint-13th in the English table, and that would be joint-19th (?) in a British table. Perhaps I took your 'argument' a bit too far, but I thought it was an interesting point. How does one measure history? It's mostly subjective. And, of course, 'history' is unrelated to current form. Then, does one apply greater weighting to English sides because of their greater challenge, or greater weighting to the rank of trophies won? Tricky question. (I think I took it too far...)

Yes, 'secret' were they?

I'm in favour of giving the players another chance. Most, if not all, have not stepped up at all, but to be fair we've not really had a change in approach. The three Micks were of the same mold. A fresh approach, fresh eyes and ideas, might just spark the players into life. It's patently obvious that a managers philosophy has a huge affect on how a player performs. I say, lets wait and see.

I agree with the criticisms leveled at Bell -- he doesn't command his box etc. and that we probably need a better 'keeper -- but I cannot possibly comprehend how Robinson is better than Bell? Robinson played a few games, but was never that great; I remember him conceding silly goals. Bell, ignoring the stupid mistake against Motherwell, was always decent; not spectacular but decent. Like I said, I'd like a 'keeper to dominate the box like Courtois, but Bell always did OK to me. I remember we were praying for his return after the injury. Do we have so short a memory?

Stevie May http://www.eveningtelegraph.co.uk/2015/06/22/rangers-eye-sheffield-wednesday-striker-stevie-may/

I understand your reservations. He hardly played last year because of the injury. I don't think Warburton (and Sheffield Wed and Leeds Utd for that matter) would even consider signing him if they thought the injury was going to inhibit his ability to play next year. He played 39 games last year at 34; I don't think another year is going to make a difference. It's undoubtedly a short-term acquisition. We have a lot of young players, and the new signings would appear to be young also, so I think we need that experience. I think he'd be useful next year and possibly the year after. It's a free transfer, so it's not as if we're taking a big gamble.

I'm really quite content with us going for Eustace. Everything I hear is good. Warburton rates him. If he can play for another few years it'd be worth it. Like he said, "you want young, hungry players in the team — however, they need guidance." Disappointing -- if true -- that we're not going after the young Dane; just the kind of signing I'd like to see.

In terms of professionalism, surely it's only right that anyone not having their contract renewed should be told so. However, he must have known it was unlikely. It's hardly professional bitching about it afterwards though -- he's just trying to get his name in the papers.

I think we differ on whether he can play regularly in the SPL. If he can't, then yes, overlook him, but I think he could contribute something. He is a free, isn't he? So it's not much of a hit. We can only wait and see.

I agree with that. It was more for me than a Manager. I haven't seen him play other than the times he played against us. I wanted to see his stats so I could get an idea of how well he's done. Looking at a performance is subjective, and you'll get a different opinion from each person you ask -- 'He's shite', 'He's class'. 15 Assists in 30 games seems a pretty good stat that suggests he has an influence on the team.

I agree, but surely a midfielder needs to be judged on something?

Good point. I suppose it would need to be split into short-pass-success-rate and long-pass-success-rate. Obviously the difficulty is different, but I would argue the short pass is still a very important pass. Xavi is renowned for the short pass; Pirlo the long pass. Which is more difficult? probably the latter. Which is most important? Both, I'd say. Although pass-success-rate doesn't take into account difficulty, I still think it's an important stat with which to judge a midfielder -- It suggests the importance of the player to the team. What do you think?

I appreciate where you're coming from, and if we could get another 'younger' sitting-midfielder with experience, than I'd prefer to go down that route. However, I think he could be a shrewd acquisition. He's experienced, he can pass a ball, tackle, etc. -- he's certainly not short of admirers! --, and if he plays for the next 2/3 years he'd be a success. If we can go younger, then, yes, that's the way to go, but he's a realistic option just now, so I'm ok with it. I'm not too excited, but I can see the logic.

Thanks for that. Of course it's not American Football, but we judge strikers by goals scored etc., so it makes sense to judge a midfielder on assists and passes, pass success rate etc. no? Incidentally, Allan contributed 15 assists in 30 games last year. I think that's decent; it certainly makes me more interested in signing him.

I don't mind us signing a 35 year-old player, simply because he's bound to play DM where pace is not necessary. He's obviously had injuries last year, and that is the worrying aspect: is it an unfortunate injury, or is it related to age? To be fair, I would still be happy with the gamble; he's obviously a leader so if he can play 20+ games he'd have an influence. I also appreciate most, and me included, feel we should be building for the future and a 35 year-old doesn't fit the bill. However, he might be able to play a few years yet. If his influence is beneficial to the team, and he plays for another 2/3 years would that be acceptable? It would for me. Why is there no decent stats (outside appearances and goals -- there not really a good judge of performance for a midfielder! I need pass accuracy, pass success rate, assists, touches etc.) for Scott Allan? Allan's a strange case. He's always been overrated in my opinion, and his record in England would corroborate that (although, in his defense his loan spells were only a month or two in length), but his performances in Scotland have been lauded. I think he's overrated, but would actually quite like to sign him. Cognitive dissonance?! When in doubt, check FIFA16! (He's level 66.) In absolute terms he's probably a level below what I would like for us; although in my mind we're in Europe! Perhaps he'd be a decent signing for now, but not for the European stage. Does that mean we should overlook him? I'm not so sure. I think I'd take him; he's certainly one of the better players in Scotland, and he's probably good enough for the Premiership.

Again I'm underwhelmed with Eustace -- his age being the main cause for concern -- however, after doing a bit of research, he could be a shrewd acquisition. He's a sitting midfielder, quite strong on the ball and can pass it, so he seems to fit the style WW are after. He's not going to have the legs but that's not necessary in his position and his age doesn't seem to have hindered him over the last few years in the Championship. His experience could be beneficial for youngsters. If he's playing regularly in the Championship at 33, 34 and 35 (He only missed out last year through injury, and, if some tweets from Derby supporters are trusted, they really missed him -- Derby are not a bad side), then I think he should be able to play with us for 2 or 3 years. (I can't believe I'm about to say this but Neil Lennon was playing for Them at 35 and looked average, but was considered an important player. )

That's fair enough. It wasn't directed at you -- I actually thought I seen it a few times from others, but on looking through I only see you using it. Apologies.

I don't think it was badly handled at all IMO. They want to create a 'singing section', which is a good idea in principle, and then they've asked those that would be affected for their feedback. Nothing's been decided as far as I can see. I don't see the problem.

I'm not defending him, and I'm not critcising the punishments -- ok, maybe the 'punishment' handed to Erwin. I'm merely suggesting the media would have us believe he was the devil in that situation, while there has been nothing much said about the push by Erwin, and nothing much said about the 5-on-1 assault following the incident. To rank the events according to severity, I would suggest Erwin's was 3rd, Mohsni's response 2nd, and the 5-on-1 assault was worst.

I was looking at the squads of the U-21 European Championship teams (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2015_UEFA_European_Under-21_Championship_squads). We should be poaching the young talent from countries/leagues that are inferior/less wealthy than ours. The Scandinavian leagues are considered lesser than ours are they not? There are some decent names in their squads we should seriously consider. I always notice that they get picked up by Dutch sides if they show any promise -- we should get in there first!

How are we defining "one-trick pony"? "a person or thing with only one special feature, talent, or area of expertise." I think most footballers would come under that definition -- Messi does the same stuff over and over again. Vuckic has one special talent, and that is his left foot. He's not particularly quick, or skillful, but he has a decent 'jink' (?), or acceleration to move away from a player and a very good left foot. He started his career as a striker and I think most can see he isn't particularly effective/suited in midfield. He needs to be played further up. I think he was sussed out to a degree at the end, but he was still able to beat a man to get a shot off (I'm thinking of the Hibs play-off game at Easter Road), but it seemed to me it was executed from further and further away from the goal. If we could get him cheaply, then I'd take him; he'd do a job. He was one of our 'better' player, but relatively speaking he's not an exceptional talent. Most players do in fact specialise, which can come under the definition of 'one-trick pony'. I think Vuckic could be considered a 'one-trick pony' in the sense that he specialises on his strength, but IMO most players do so, so it shouldn't be a derogatory assignation.

I would love to copy a Chilean approach, however unrealistic it may be: energetic, fast, technically proficient young players, but almost 'stock' players, no superstars; and combine that with the most progressive, high pressure, technical game you'll ever see in Bielsa's tactics (and his disciples) and it makes for a fascinating team/game (3-3-1-3 formation! Who doesn't want to see that!) I like the idea of no superstars, but working players, with good technical ability, that can play in a number of positions.

Many were underwhelmed when Warburton was linked to the job -- me included! I have since come to realise that he appears to have the skills that we need at this time. I'm quite confident he will be beneficial in terms of rebuilding the club, and also playing attacking football. However, while I despair at the lack of positivity in the new manager by some, I appreciate that some will require tangible results before they can judge; that's fine, but it works both ways, so I would suggest keeping the criticism -- for that is what it is, and that's what others are most frustrated at -- to a minimum until he can be judged properly.

Vacation!? Another Americanism slipping into our dialect. I despair.