Devil's advocaat

It would obviously need to be a FIFA edict, similar to the passback rule change, although this would be the biggest change ever in the rules, and as it would need to be FIFA led, I wouldn't hold my breath.

Agreed. Now is the chance to get some real hard work in on the areas we've struggled a little.

Rugby seems to my untrained eye all about the big hit. Big, incredibly strong, quick guys rolled on and off, sort of akin to special teams in American Football, not expected to last 80 minutes due to the stamina required not really being matched to their physiques. God knows how they address that.

I don't know if it is singled out, is it? This has came about because of a number of high profile ex players who are now suffering, Rugby has had and still has it's own issues, but to be honest I'm ignorant of these in general, as it's not a sport I'm particularly interested in. Their primary issue is big hits, but I'd imagine repeated smaller hits and concussions will be an issue in the long term. There's not a huge number of other sports that come to mind that have repeated head impact, outwith the fighting sports.

In Boxing, hurting someone is the name of the game, I'm not a fan so have no beef with it, let them manage their own sport. Running doesn't wreck your legs, that particular myth has been debunked years ago, and as for other extreme sports, the benefits far outweigh the risks. There's thousands of people climbing in Scotland on a weekend, yet very few accidents as the ethos of the sport is built around safety. If we went on all evidence, it's the sofa and the microwave that would be banned, and folk going to the pub would be wearing head protection. ? Truth is, if there is a direct link, and the evidence would suggest there is, then it will end up being taken out of the game. It wouldn't bother me, I don't fear change, there would be obvious advantages, no more would we be binning talented boys at 12 years old because their parents are 5'6", we'd never have to suffer Ross Tokely and his ilk, the game would be played where it should be, on the ground. Bring it on. Edit - Weight of the ball matters not a jot, it's force that does the damage, Force = mass x acceleration, modern balls are whipped in at speed, if you watch old footage, crosses were looped affairs (because of the weight of the ball). Also, players are fitter and generally stronger than they were in Astles day, so it's potentially worse now.

Vaccination reduced transmission of the previous Kent Variant by 40-50%, I've looked for similar data around Delta, but there's not much in evidence (I work for a rather large Pharma company, though not one of the vaccine providers, and so have access to research data) There was a large study in France that concluded - -Vaccinated people with symptomatic covid shed similar levels of virus during the symptomatic phase. -The symptomatic phase in the vaccinated is however far shorter. -Vaccination reduces that chances of catching Covid even with Delta so you have fewer Covid carriers around So even on this simplistic level, it makes sense. I am however aware of the irony that only 7 EPL* clubs have higher than 50% of their squads vaccinated, these entitled young men have been allowed to operate all through this, yet we've to show vaccination status to watch them. * Haven't seen such data for our game, I don't imagine it's any better.

A penalty all day long. I take solace in the fact that they seem even more gash than they were last year.

Really pleased to hear Lundstram had a good game, we really should trust SG in his choice of midfielders!.

Spot on Bill. We will improve, that's for sure, we know we can be far more incisive, as this same squad showed us last year. I'm trying not to judge Lundstram this early, as I remember McCoist and Hateley amongst others who started slowly, but I don't think players get as long these days to pick up, rightly or wrongly.

Tbh, I'd imagine most TV viewing figures must be pretty bad, although certainly not as dire as that. I don't really watch live TV at all, the Virgin remote rarely moves from it's perch, it's all on demand these days. Live TV must be going the way of print media, with the exception of maybe live sports and soaps.

Can't bieve Sunetra Gupta is still kicking about, she's been discredited so many times even the BBC and their need for balance don't have her on anymore.

This lot are due a good pumping from us.

It's not really about covid infection rates per se, that ship sailed when we opened nightclubs and 'vertical drinking' was permitted tbh, the vaccine lessens the chances of you being hospitalised and subsequently dying. I see Douglas Ross voted against it, and then said he'd vote FOR the same motion in Westminster. So he's not just pish at running the line then eh?.

It'll be coming to an English ground very soon too, mark my words. And it's not just the football world either, Shell have already admitted that they will do the same (some suggestions that they're doing it already) - no jab no job, and the NHS in England is about to commence a massive survey on doing the same. I totally agree from a logistics point of view, it won't be easy, but there's a hell of a lot of stuff we've managed to implement that looked impossible 18 months ago.

Entirely up to you, something I've never been bothered about to be honest, in all the years I've been going.

This 100%. Sing about The Rangers.

Ah, bugger, missed that! Cheers Mack.

I had a wee sneaking suspicion that we may go for him. Agreed Bill, good young striker, would be good if we could loan them Katic, get him game time, see how he shapes up post recovery.

My mistake, I was sure PSG had a 40% on any sell on, not profit. In either case, not the cash cow the press had us believe he'd be, imagine that?.

They're losing money on Edouard at £15M, and still buying reams of attacking players when a blind man running for a bus can see their defence is stinking. Keep it coming.

What utter horseshit.

Listened to an interview of his with Louis Theroux, he wasn't what I expected at all, very thoughtful and articulate, and a cracking striker too btw.

Yes. We should stick to common decency, doesn't really matter how low our opponents will stoop.

As ever, I prefer to see us going into a game against that lot with something to prove, we got the job done but SG will not be happy with them. Conversely, I think the first spanner has fallen into the spokes of the great antipaedoean revival.

Would our players not have been vaccinated in order to travel to the various countries we had on our euro run last season? I know there wasn't such a thing as vaccine passports per se, but I'd imagine at least one country would've insisted.... Maybe not. Like many I suspect, kinda losing track of it all now, over the past 18 months.